12 
THE NATIONAL NURSE RYH AN 
The Use of Hardy Perennials on a Lawn 
The use of hardy perennials on a lawn as shown in 
the picture is ideal. Compare it mentally with any ar¬ 
rangement you may have seen where they are planted in 
borders or beds where there are geometrical lines and 
you will (juickly come to the conclusion the semi-natural 
arrangement is the best. 
How many suburban and countiy j)laces there are with 
natural contours of ground, woodland and lawn, that 
while very nice in their way show more of the strained 
effort of the landscape gardener than beauty. 
The arrangement as shown in the picture can hardly 
be called natural, because whoever saw such a condjina- 
tion of plants growing wild? It is safe to say if neg¬ 
lected, it would soon be a mass of weedy growth. 
It is simply good gardening, putting plants where they 
will thrive and look well. 
It will be noticed there are no stiff or exotic looking 
kinds such as the paeonies and hollyhocks or even those 
obviously foreign, such as the .lapanese and German Iris, 
chrysanthemums, etc. 
These plants are more appropriate in the borders and 
beds. 
While such finely drawn lines in the use of hardy per¬ 
ennials may be ridiculed it is the small things that go to 
make a harmonious whole and it is only the master, with 
a thorough knowledge of his plants, that can produce 
real pictures. 
It is generally believed that Iris have water associa¬ 
tions which is quite true of the Iris Kempferi varieties, 
/. pseudo acorus, I. siberica and others of the narrow¬ 
leaved kinds but it is almost pathetic to see the Germania 
types used as bog plants when they are really upland 
plants. 
In a garden, of course, plants may be used in any way 
desired w ithout outraging their natural associations, but 
where they become part of the landscape they ought to 
be fitting and look at home. 
The picture shows a position wdiere the fertility and 
moisture is evidently good, too often near large trees this 
is not always the case. 
EVERGREEN CUTTINGS 
January and February are good months in which to 
propagate many kinds of evergreens. In northern lo¬ 
calities the nurseryman cannot do much out of doors and 
if there is a cool greenhouse which can be kept about 
forty degrees the time can be profitably used in putting in 
evergreen cuttings. Arbor Vitaes, Biotas, Retinisporas, 
Yews, Junipers and such types propagate readily from 
cuttings. Spruces, Firs, Pines and Cedars, of course, 
have to be propagated from seed and in the case of special 
forms or varieties by grafting. 
It is better to put the cuttings in flats rather than in a 
cutting bench, as sometimes it takes them quite a long 
while to root and the advancing season may necessitate 
moving them to a different position before they are ready 
to pot up or transplant. It is best to have the flats made 
of a convenient one-man size and about three inches deep 
and properly drained. The sand should be clean and 
sharp so as to avoid water logging and consequent fun¬ 
gus. 
In selecting the wood for cuttings it is best to cut it in 
mild weather and store in a cool, moist place until needed. 
The size to make the cuttings depends upon the kind of 
wmod available and the variety. Some of the commoner 
kinds of Arbor Vitae root very readily and rather large 
sized cuttings, say from four to six inches long may be 
used. For the slower rooting ones three inches or small¬ 
er wdll be about right. 
Among the Arbor Vitaes Thuya occidentalis George 
Peabody does not root so easily as the green kinds. 
Among the Retinisporas, the obtusa varieties are more 
diflicult to root than the plmnosa and pisifera. 
The Junipers, however, take the most careful w^atchlng. 
If the temperature gets too high they start to grow with¬ 
out making roots and then they are hopeless. They should 
be kept cool and moist, syringing and shading them dur¬ 
ing bright weather. If a little bottom heat can be given 
w bile the atmosphere of the house is kept cool, better and 
quicker results will be obtained. 
The subsequent handling after they are rooted will de¬ 
pend on facilities. The best,and surest results wdll be,had 
by potting into small pots or bedding them in frames 
where they can receive :special attention. 
If the season and ground is favorable a few^ of the 
quick-grow ing sorts can be put right out iji the field, but 
it is much safer to keep them where they can be looked 
after during the summer. Should circumstances not per¬ 
mit of attention at the proper time, they may be left in 
the cutting boxes all the summer, in fact this is advisable 
in some instances, as when they are not w ell rooted. By 
the follow ing spring they w ill be w ell hardened and bet¬ 
ter able to take care of themselves. 
Iowa State College is making a s])ecial study of top 
working standard varieties of apples on hardy stocks, 
with the idea of getting the comparative values of the 
different stocks used for sjiecial varieties. 
The Slate College woald be very grateful if anyone 
has information, or will refer them to publications of 
interest along this line. 
