4GG 
JOURNAL  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
May  28,  1903. 
place,  as  the  shrubs,  flowers,  aud  other  subjects  are  aiwanged 
and  cultivated  together  in  their  natural  orders.  It  is  under  the 
practical  management  of  Mr.  John  Dunbar,  a  Scotsman,  who  is 
as'-istant  .superintendent,  and  who  obtained  his  American  expe¬ 
rience  under  our  friend  Mr.  Falconer.  Mr.  Barr  was  driven  over 
the  park  .system,  Avhich,  on  the  Avhole,  is  a  worthy  institution  for 
the  comparatively  small  town  of  Rochester.  On  one  side  of  the 
River  Hudson  is  .situated  a  large  expanse  of  meadow,  opposite  it 
being  a  high  and  somewhat  steep  bank,  which  it  \vas  contemplated 
to  plant  with  the  native  flora  of  the  State. 
Reverting  to  the  Ellwanger  and  Barry  nursery,  it  was  here 
that  our  A’ictoria  INIedallist  saw  them  lifting  trees  with  the 
plough,  which  will  give  some  idea  of  the  great  extent  of  their 
culture.  The  trees  are  thrown  out  on  to  their  sides,  and  simply 
hauled  out  and  packed  off.  Mr.  Barr  was  informed  that  Apple 
trees  are  never  grown  twice  on  the  same  land,  and  on  inquiring 
how  they  managed  to  get  fresh  land,  the  answer  was  that  for 
juiles  around  Rochester  there  was  not  a  good  bit  of  soil  that  had 
not  been  at  one  time  or  another  planted  with  young  Apple  trees. 
Mr.  Barry  is  the  .son  of  the  original  Barrj^,  and  is  a  man  of 
about  sixty  years  of  age.  Mr.  Ellwanger,  the  original  partner,  is 
over  ninety  years  of  age,  .still  hale  and  hearty,  but  feeble.  His 
sons  have  a  literai’y  turn  of  mind,  and  have  written  several  very 
intere.sting  books  on  gardening  topics. 
Rochester  leads  on  to  Buffalo,  X.Y.,  and  is  within  hail  of 
Niagara  Falls.  Buffalo  is  an  old,  and  very  large,  city,  well  built, 
with  fine  streets,  good  parks,  and  well  planned  avenues.  It  is 
here  that  Mr.  William  Scott  dwells,  he,  the  most  prolific  writer 
in  the  American  gardening  Press,  and  a  very  notable  personality. 
Making  his  acciuaintance,  Mr.  Barr  got  rid  of  some  bottles  of 
champagne  ( ! )  which  friends  at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  had  insisted 
on  his  taking.  A  health  to  ye,  Mr.  Scott ! 
Crossing  the  border  to  Canada,  the  renowned  Canadian  fall  at 
Niagara  wa.s  inspected,  admired,  and  w’ondered  at.  Mr.  Barr’s 
cicerone,  the  Scotch  gardener  at  the  park  here,  was  of  opinion 
that  the  Niagara  Falls  are  shrinking,  but  on  this  point  there  is 
considerable  difference  of  opinion.  At  Niagara  there  are  two 
societies,  one  on  the  Canadian  side,  the  other  on  the  American, 
each  devoted  to  hi.storical  research  and  the  literature  touching 
the  period  when  the  contention  between  the  U.S.  and  Great 
Britain  for  that  portion  of  Canada  was  rife.  Through  the  kind¬ 
ness  of  the  superintendent  of  the  Queen  Victoria  Park,  Mr.  Barr 
was  presented  with  a  volume  from  the  Canadian  point  of  view ; 
but  he  was  not  so  fortunate  with  reference  to  the  American. 
(To  be  continued.] 
Summer  Bedding  Arrangements. 
f  Concluded  from  page  446). 
Last  sea.son  was  not  a  particidarly  happy  one  in  regard  to 
weather,  and  under  the  dull,  .sunless  skies  Pelargoniums  were  not 
a  success  as  bedding  plants.  Present  conditions  seem  tO'  indicate 
that  we  may  have  a  similar  experience  this  summer,  but  let  ns 
hope  our  gloriously  unceiTain  climate  has  a  pleasant  surprise  in 
store  for  us  instead.  Dui’ing  a  hot  .season  Zonal  Pelargoniums, 
notwithstanding  all  the  abuse  which  has  been  heaped  upon 
them,  are  .some  of  the  most  attractive  plants  which  can  be 
employed  in  the  adonnnent  of  a  garden,  and  the  gardener  who 
would  banish  them  entirely  from  an  extensive  flower  garden, 
would  be  a  bold  man  indeed.  Bright  bit.s  of  colour  are  wanted 
in  every  garden,  and  such  plants  as  Pelargoniums,  Calceolarias, 
and  Tuberous  Begonias  are  hard  to  beat  for  supplying  such 
brightness. 
The  free  style  of  bedding  Avhich  came  into  vogue  a  few  years 
ago  was  for  a  time  carried  to  the  extreme,  with,  the  result  that 
many  exponents  of  the  style,  by  failing  to  supply  tbe  necessary 
warm  touches  of  colour  which  flower  gardens  surrounded  by  ti'ees 
required,  scored  only  partial  success,  and  others  had  to  admit 
failure.  A  change  has,  however,  gradually  been  taking  place, 
and  in  many  in.stances  it  is  highly  pleasing  to  find  a  happy  com¬ 
bination  of  “  the  old  and  the  new  ” — a  half-way  house  as  it  were 
between  dazzling  brightness  combined  with  stiffness,  and 
elegance  of  outline  altogether  deficient  in  warmth  of  colouring. 
In  large  establi.shnients  there  is  room  for  all  styles,  and  when 
they  are  welded  together  with  a  due  sense  of  proportion,  interest 
and  delight  are  contributed  at  every  step. 
In  carrying  out  bedding  airangements  it  is  necessary  to  have 
in  the  mind’s  eye  a  clear  conception  of  the  ultimate  result,  and 
although  in  the  majority  of  instances  the  plan  of  arrangement 
has  been  definitely  settled,  in  others  it  has  yet  to  be  done,  and 
ideas,  when  such  work  is  being  canned  out,  often  prove  of  great 
service.  To  my  mind  the  first  points  to  determine  are  the  posi¬ 
tions  of  masses  of  tall,  tropical  plants,  and  the  beds  which  are  to 
be  planted  with  a  low  groundwork  and  taller  plants  rising  above 
them. 
lTnle.ss  there  is  a  particular  object  in  view  in  doing  so,  it  is. 
never  wise  to  plant  thickly  ma.sses  of  tall  plants  at  any  point, 
because  the  practice  tends  to  convey  an  impre.ssion  of  lack  of 
breadth  and  .space.  There  are,  however,  generally  beds  at  wide 
distances  aioart,  Avhere  bold  Cannas,  Ricinuses,  Eucalyptuse.s,  and 
other  plants  of  a  like  nature  can  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  a  bold 
and  striking  effect,  without  imparting  a  cramped  appearance. 
Beds  to  contain  “  dot  ”  plants  disposed  on  a  groundwork,  can 
then  be  arranged  here  and  there,  tO'  ensure  something  approach¬ 
ing  uniformity,  or  perhaps  I  .should  .say  balance  of  growth.  And 
in  all  instances  it  is  wise  to  leave  between,  beds  to  be  filled 
entirely  with  dwarf  plants  of  bright  or  telling  colours.  These 
bright  beds  are  the  “  saving  point  ”  in  many  flower  gardens,  ju.st 
as  a  few  Palms  well  placed  were  formerly  the  redeeming  feature 
in  an  otherwise  fonnally  planted  garden,  only  in  olden  times  the 
Palms  were  too  sparingly  employed,  whereas  in  modern  days  the 
fatdt  has  been  in  having  too  few  beds  of  dwarf  plants  ,to  supply 
colour. 
Pelargoniums,  with  the  exception  of  the  Ivy-leaved  kinds,  are 
e.s.sentially  plants  for  forming  dwarf  ma.sses' without  dot  plants, 
as  they  want  full  exposure  and  a  light,  open  position  to  ensure 
blossom  in  abundance.  The  “  Ivies.”  however,  when  used  as  a 
carpet  for  tall  plants  of  Fuchsias,  Teas,  Humeas,  or  Marguerites, 
succeed  splendidly,  and  help  to  form  highly  attractive  beds.  In 
large,  oblong  beds  an  excellent  effect  may  also  be  produced  by 
planting  them  entirely  with  Ivy-leaved  Pelargoniums,  the  bulk 
of  the  shoots  being  pegged,  but  a  few  .strong  plants  trained  to 
stakes  at  regular  intervals  to  take  off  the  flatness.  Old  plants 
are  usually  the  be.st  for  the  latter  purpose.  Calceolarias  succeed 
either  in  masses  or  intermixed  vuth  other  plants.  Here  is  a 
combination  which  makes  a  striking  bed  if  it  is  a  large  one. 
Get  .strong  plants  of  Humea  elegans,  4ft  apart,  and  employ  yellow 
Calceolarias,  and  a  rather  dark  coloured  Heliotropium  as  a 
groundwork,  the  latter  plants  being  regularly  intermixed. 
Tuberous  Begonias  I  usually  like  to  give  a  bed  to  themselves, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  tall,  graceful  plants  in  the  centre, 
and  light  Grasses  springing  above  them  at  other  ijoints.  As  they 
seem  to  reejuire  massing  to  be  .seen  to  advantage,  the  above 
remarks  on  Begonias  apply  to  the  erect  flowering  kinds.  Those 
having  large  pendulous  flowers  look  extremely  effectiv^e  if  planted 
15in  or  18in  apart,  having  for  a  groundwork  one  of  the  dwarf 
Sedums. 
Where  very  light  dot  plants  are  required,  Eulalia  japonica  and 
the  variegated  form  are  excellent,  because  they  can  easily  be 
prevented  from  becoming  too  dense  by  the  simple  expedient  of 
removing  a  few  shoots.  Carex  europpea  variegata  is  also  one 
of  the  brightest  and  prettiest  of  the  dwarf  dot  plants,  and  I  have 
an  idea  that  the  common  round  pointed  Rush,  which  gi'ows  freely 
in  swampy  places,  might  be  used  with  splendid  effect  in  the 
flower  garden.  At  any  rate  I  mean  to  try  it  this  season.  The 
Bamboos,  Dracsenas,  Ficuses,  Funkias,  Aralias,  Sparmannias, 
Aloe.s,  Araucarias,  Acacias,  and  hosts  of  other  plants  of  a  like  nature 
which  are  at  command  can  be  turned  to  good  account,  if  used  uuth 
taste  and  discretion,  so  as  to  give  variety  instead  of  a  repetition 
of  effect.  A  few  quaint  mixtures  should  always  be  attempted 
each  year,  provided  the  ideas  are  well  thought  out  beforehand, 
or  have  been  noticed  as  successful  in  other  places.  Here  is  one 
which  I  saw  last  year,  and  was  particularly  struck;  vuth. 
It  is  suitable  for  either  a  large  round  or  oblong  bed,  or  for  a 
wunding  border.  Plant  strong  Gannas  4ft  or  5ft  apart,  then  u.se 
an  equal  number  of  plants  of  the  rose  coloured  Nicotiana, 
arranging  them  in  a  zigzag  form  between  the  Cannas,  the 
remainder  of  the  space  being  tben  filled  in  with  dwarf  planfs  of 
Salvia  rutilans  and  mixed  Salpiglossis,  each  being  used  in  about 
equal  proportions.  Mixed  Larkspurs  might  be  sub.stituted  for 
the  Salpiglossis.  A  broad  band  of  Cerastium  tomentosum,  Sedum, 
or  dwarf  Antirrhinum  (rose), forms  a  suitable  edging  for  an  arrange¬ 
ment  of  this  type,  and  the  effect  must  be  seen  to  be  fully  appre¬ 
ciated.  Stereotyped  methods  of  arrangement  one  need  not 
advance,  as  they  are  worked  out  with  unfailing  regidarity  in  too 
many  in.stances.  What  everybody  should  strive  for  is  originality, 
which  captivates  the  fancy  at  once,  because  better,  rather  than 
slightly  inferior,  to  older  methods. — Onward. 
The  Veitchian  Nurseries. — This  is  the  title  of  a  publication  by 
Mr.  James  Herbert  Veitch,  F.L.S.  (author  of  “  A  Traveller’s 
Notes”),  of  the  firm  of  James  Veitch  and  Son,  Limited,  Chelsea, 
S.W.,  and  which  is  composed  entirely  of  beautiful  photographic 
views  of  the  various  nurseries  of  this  great  horticultural  finn.  It 
is  printed  for  private  circulation  only. 
Publications  Received. — “  Garten  Flora,”  with  coloured 
illustrations  of  China  Asters.  *  *  “The  Orchid  Review,’ 
May,  1903,  6d.,  from  the  editor.  Lawn  Cresc^t,  Kew,  Surrey. 
*  *  “  UndorgrouTid  Irrigation  in  the  Britisli  Isles  and  in 
India,”  by  John  Grant,  Is.  *  *  “Journal  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,”  vol.  27,  Part  4. 
