THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
27 
(luced in very eonipaet, nearly globose, from live- to 
seven-flowered elustei's and are eonspieuous Iroin the 
large size of the deep rose-eolored anthers of the twenty 
stamens. The fruit whieh is a good deal eovenal hy th(‘ 
foliage, rij)ens and falls gradually during tlu' month ol 
()etoi)er and is suhgtohos<‘, nearly an ineh in diametcu', 
dark erimson, very lustrous and erect on short pedieils 
in compact clusters. This handsome |)lant is a native 
of the region in the neighborhood of St. Louis. The com¬ 
pact flower and fruit clusters readily distinguish it from 
allied species. 
(hi.\T.\EGus succulent.a. Tliis is a good representative 
of a peculiar grou{) of Thorns (Tomentosae), distin¬ 
guished from the other grouj)S hy the deep longitudinal 
cavities on the inner face of the nutlets of the fruit. The 
h'aves of this Thorn are thick, lustrous, dark green, ellip¬ 
tic in outline, loherl only above the middle, and not bril¬ 
liantly colored in the autumn. The flowers with twenty 
stamens and small rose-colored anthers hang on long 
slender stems in many-flowered clusters. The fruit is two- 
thirds of an inch in diameter, scarlet and very lustrous, 
and its beauty is increased by the contrast of color with 
the dark green leaves among which it is suspended. 
Crataegus fecunda. This is also a native of the St. 
Louis region and is a good representative of the great 
Crus-galli Group of which the well-known Cockspur 
Thorn is the type. C. fecunda is a large, round-topped 
tree with lustrous leaves broadest at the apex, small 
flowers with rose-colored anthers in many-flowered 
clusters, and abundant orange-red fruits which droop on 
slender stems. Other ])lants in this collection to which 
attention is called are C. prunifolia, C. Douglassi, the 
black-fruited species of the Puget Sound region, of 
which there is a large specimen here, C. rivularis from 
the southern Rocky Mountain region, a smaller tree also 
with black fruit, C. arkansas, C. Arnoldiana, C. Dawson- 
iana, and forms of the European C. oxyacantha. 
Crataegus on Peter’s Hill. A large number of 
Thorns in the Peter’s Hill Collection have flowered this 
year and several of them are now bearing good crops of 
fruit. Of special interest just now are the plants of 
the Intricatae and Uniflorae Groups, many of which are 
covered with fruit. These groups are of particular in¬ 
terest to gardeners for, with a few exceptions, they are 
small shrubs and begin to bloom when only a few years 
old. The flowers w Inch usually open later than those of 
most of the Thorns, are large and showy with either yel¬ 
low or rose-colored anthers. The fruit, which is large 
and usually sub-globose, is on different individuals scar¬ 
let, crimson, orange-color, green or yellow, and the leaves 
of most of the species turn late in October to beautiful 
shades of orange, red or scarlet. This group of shrubs 
is at the eastern base of Peter’s Hill on the lower side of 
the drive and near a large White Oak. Some of the 
species which are most attractive at this time are C. fruti- 
cosa, C..Bisselln, C. Peckii, C. Smithii, C. foetida, C. mo- 
desta, C. nemoralis, C. cuprea, C. intricata, C. Boyntonii 
and C. Buckleyi. Long overlooked by botanists, these 
little plants have not yet found the place in gardens 
which, when better known.’ they are destined to occupy. 
Crataegus punctata. There is a group of this Thorn 
on the southern side of the Overlook on Bussey Hill 
which well shows the variation in the color of the fruit 
on different individuals of this species. On some of 
these plants the fruit is red, and on others yellow, orang(‘ 
color or rose. C. punctata is one of the largest and most 
widely and generally distributed of the species of the 
eastern states where it is often a tree thirty feet tall with 
wide-spreading branclu's which form a flat oi‘ round- 
topped head of great beauty. This species, wbicb has 
been known for more than a century and is often culti¬ 
vated, is })eculiar in the fact that soim* individuals have 
tlowers with ros(‘-colored anlluM’s and otluus have 
tlow'crs with yi'llow anthers, and that the plants with 
the rose-colored anthers produce red fiuit while those 
w ith yellow anthers produce yellow fruit. 
Crataegus cordata. Near the group of C. putict(da on 
the Bussey Hill Overlook ar(‘ two large plants of C. cur- 
data or the Washington Thorn, as it is sometimes called. 
This is a narrow tree sometimes thirty feet tall \v ith er<icl 
branches and small nearly triangular lustrous h'aves 
which are lunv beginning to turn bright scarlet. The 
small globose truits are also turning scarlet and will re¬ 
main on the branches until spring with litth* loss of 
beauty. This is the latest of all the species of Crataegus 
in the Arboretum to flower. The only drawback to Itu.s 
handsoiiK* little tree is lound in the brittleness oi the 
branches w hich are often broken by high w inds. A 
century ago it appears to have been frequently used in 
the middle states as a hedge plant. 
Stuartia pseudocamellia. This small Japanese tree 
is of interest at this time on account of the dark bronze- 
purple color of its autumn leaves which is unlike that of 
any other plant in the Arboretum. B should be grow n, 
too, for its pure white cup-shaped flowers which re¬ 
semble those of a single-flowered Camellia. This 
Stuartia is a narrow tree with slender erect branches and 
pale gray, smooth bark wiiich separates in large thin 
plates. It grows slowly but is perfectly hardy. 
Enkianthus perulatuS;, or japonicus as it is perhaps 
better known, is unusually handsome this year, equalling 
and even surpassing the Highbush Blueberry {Vacciniuni 
corymbosum) in the brilliant scarlet of its autumn leaves. 
Unlike Enkianthus campanulata it is shrubby in habit 
and forms a dense broad bush. The white bell-shaped 
flowers are attractive, but in the Arboretum the plants 
have not produced seeds, and this Enkianthus is there¬ 
fore rare in American gardens. It is found, however, in 
all Japanese gardens where it is grown for its autumn 
colors and where it is usually cut into dense balls. The 
best collection of Enkianthus is on the lower side of 
Azelea Path, where several species are flourishing. 
MANURES. 
Farmyard manure is the safest and best of all fertiliz¬ 
ers and unfortunately it is getting scarcer as the auto¬ 
mobiles become more plentiful. It is a complete fertiliz¬ 
er in itself, containing all the plant foods from the soil, 
water and air, and in addition when it is jilowed under 
it separates the soil, allows water and air to enter freely 
By its decomposition it creates heat and w arms the soil, 
carbonic acid is given off and in coiijunction w ith limi' 
plant foods made soluble and essential bacteria brought 
into being. 
These importaiil functions are not all produced by ar¬ 
tificial fertilizers and for this reason they are not com¬ 
plete in themselves, but ihmmI the addition of green crop 
jilowed under to bring the soil in good fertih‘ condition. 
Nitrogenous manures give luxuriance of growTli. 
