THE SEED LIST 
‘(Continued from Page 272).... .... .... 
that all the pound lot buyers want the first 
picked seed for his early planting. Natural- 
ly all orders cannot be filled the first day and 
thus the first orders are filled from the first 
seed; and that is why we do our contract- 
ing now and the same good reason for the 
Pansy grower who needs seed by the ounce 
and pound to also speak for his seed. Do 
not wait too long before ordering. 
SEED COLLECTING 
There are a great many kinds of seed that 
are secued only from local collectors, not 
the professional collector. We have many 
such who do this sort of work but it is 
mainly those who have the particular tree or 
shrub right in their garden, that can afford 
to gather the seed. We have in mind our 
supplier of Paulownia seed; a tree grows 
on his Jawn and he is glad to have the pods 
cleaned up at one time as they do cause 
much untidiness during the fall months if 
not cleaned up two or three time a week; 
if one was employed to go a distance to 
gather this seed the cost would be prohibit- 
ive besides the quantity needed is not great, 
some years little is sold and others quite a 
little; always more seed is distroyed than 
is sold and as surprising as it may seem, this 
is the case with many seeds. ; 
We are also interested in corresponding 
with anyone well versed in plant ident- 
ification, who is planning field trips during 
the summer. 
ACROSTEMMA 
Githago 
BUILDING FOUNDATIONS 
It will be soon time for many to be set- 
ting out nursery stock and we wish to ment- 
ion just one point here, 
The majority of shrubs and vines will be 
set close to a building and we have seen so. 
many such plants lost by planting them too 
close to the building foundation and especial- 
ly is this true of vines. Never set a plant 
nearer than 12 inches from the wall and if 
your building has good eves, than even more. 
Vines should be well set back and a support 
made of sticks for it to lay on till it has 
grown large enough to get its support from 
the building. 
“a 
Creeping Wild Thyme 
“The Baih House at Pyrmont and Part of the Park Surrounding It. 
PRUNING- Why and How 
You will learn how to prune trees and 
shrubs more easily if you know why you 
are doing it, says. the Wisconcin Experiment 
Station. Reduced to a simple statement, 
these are the reasons: 
To balance top and root system at plant- 
ing time. 
To reduce size of established plants. 
To rejuvenate old plants. 
To increase bloom. 
To improve the form of a plant. 
To get rid of diseased wood, sanitation. 
Our problem at this point is mainly con- 
cerned with the first reason. We want to 
insure the successful growth and develop- 
ment of the newly planted tree or shrub. 
The best insurance is to be sure that there 
are not more stems and leaves above the 
ground than the roots can support. First 
of all, even with careful digging, some roots 
are lost or ~injured. Then too, for some 
time, the shock of transplanting makes it 
impossible for the roots to do their work 
as they should. Therefore less food and 
water will be supplied to the top growth. If 
none of this top growth is removed by prun- 
ing, the entire plant might die. At best, it 
will be greatly retarded in its growth, the 
general vigor of the plant is decreased, 
and it is more likely to be harmed by insects 
and disease. 
As a rule of thumb, we usually remove 
about a third of the tops from well rooted 
nursery stock at planting time. Up to one- 
half might be desirable for trees or shrubs 
that are dug up in the wild or wherever 
there is a sonsiderable loss of roots in digg- 
ing. 
You could do this amount of pruning 
very simply by estimating the third or half 
that should be cut off and then shearing it 
‘back to that point. But there is a much 
better way. Thin out and head back so that 
what you have left retains the general ap- 
pearance and form of the original plant. 
Gn a shrub, you can remove some of the 
canes right down to the ground. Others 
may be cut back to side shoots until the 
proper amount of wood has been removed. 
In a tree, the same general pattern is fol- 
lowed except that some branches are re- 
moved by cutting them off at the trunk and 
heading back other twigs or branches to a 
side shoot. You will ‘still have a tree or 
shrub of natural form after such treatment 
instead of a stubby, clipped specimen. 
Much the same procedure is followed ity 
pruning to reduce the size of established 
plants or to rejuvenate old ones. 
Root pruning is unnecessary unless a root 
is damaged. Then it would be well to re- 
move it by making a clean cut that will 
soon heal over to prevent decay. Long 
Straggly roots that cannot be streched out in 
their normal position should also be cut 
off rather than wadded up into a tight ball 
in the planting hole. 
Editor’s Remarks: After nearly 40 years 
experience in transplanting tree and shrubs 
I believe the most common cause in losing 
plants is in crowding or forcing the plant 
into the hole. This not necessarily means 
that one stands on the plant, but even the 
slightest force will only react in a few days 
by the plant raising itself upwards and 
thus forming an alr pocket right under the 
crown of the plant, its most vital spot. 
This is especially noticeable in the planting 
of rose bushes. Either dig the hole big 
enough, or cut the roots off to fit the hole, 
the latter way being not recommended, but 
to be preferred over crowding. 
Another important point is the proper 
tamping of the soil around the roots. This 
should be done mainly at the lower part of 
the hole and not at the top. After you 
have completed your work the plant should 
be so set that a light pull on it will show that 
it also has some hold on the soil, in other 
words it wants to be securely set. The top 
soil should be loose to prevent the soil from 
ecoming packed and thus sheading tha 
water. 
If you grow plants of any kind you will 
find that you can list them in these columns 
for less than you can print your own list; 
besides it will reach thousands of buyers. 
