REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS, FOR THE YEAR 1895. By JOHN G. BARKER, CHAIRMAN. The season of 1895 has not differed in many respects from those that have preceded. For the H. H. Hunnewell Triennial Premium no application has been made, but we are glad to report that we already have an application for 1896, and another one is confidently expected. For the best arranged and best kept Flower Garden, named Hardy Perennial and Biennial Plants admissible, although we should naturally think that this prize would draw attention from those who have flower gardens, in many years not more than one application has been received. No application was received for the Rose House. Some changes have been made in the Schedule, which we trust may attract the attention of the various growers. We find it impossible to arrange a Schedule that will include all that we should like to offer prizes for. But this fact need not deter anyone from calling the attention of the Committee to any object he may have worthy of inspection. During the season of 1895 we have made nine visits, and we trust that the account presented of each one will be sufficient evidence to the Society of the continued usefulness of the Garden Committee. MR. S. C. PRATT'S STRAWBERRY GARDEN, READING. Mr. Pratt having made his entry for the best Fruit Garden, the Committee made their visit on the 18th of June. We found that he devoted about fifteen acres to the cultivation of Strawberries, and we were informed that his business is more for the sale of plants than fruit. A complete system of irrigation is in use, which of course is indispensable. About one ton of fertilizer is used to each acre, the chemicals being obtained from a reliable source, Mr. Pratt doing his own mixing, using 1,500 pounds of dissolved Bone Black and 500 pounds of high-grade Sulphate of Potash, costing about $22. A bed is fruited but one season, and firstclass fruit is obtained. Mr. Pratt says that his experience with fruiting an old bed has not been satisfactory; the berries are second class and give the grower a poor reputation. The first fruit picked for the market was June 15, from Beder Wood; the last picking was on the 10th of July, from Beverly, Timbrell, and Fountain. Two acres were fruited that were grown in the narrow row system, for fruit only, Beverly and Barton's Eclipse yielding 20,000 baskets of first-class fruit. Mr. Pratt says: "I am satisfied that with such a yield it pays to raise the fruit at six cents a quart," and that he received twice that at wholesale. J. W. MANNING'S HERBACEOUS GARDEN, READING. On the same day the Committee enjoyed a very profitable visit at the grounds of Mr. Manning, especially in looking over the collection of Herbaceous Plants and some new shrubs of merit. Those who are attendants at the weekly exhibitions have admired and profited by the exhibits of Mr. Manning, and we desire to record our satisfaction at the care bestowed upon his plants, not only in cultivation but in keeping them true to name. No garden is complete today without the hardy bed, for there is nothing that the landscape gardener can use that will give greater satisfaction. Mr. Manning writes us as follows: READING, Mass., Jan. 21, 1896. MR. JOHN G. BARKER, Chairman of Committee on Gardens: Dear Sir:- Agreeably to your request I take pleasure in giving you some notes upon the Hardy Perennials and other plants that your Committee viewed at the Reading Nursery last September. At Reading we labor under considerable difficulty in the matter of soil, which is quite generally a very light loam, devoid of any traces of clay, but with an excessive preponderance of gravel at times; consequently in many cases we find it quite out of the question to attempt the raising of certain classes of nursery stock which are better grown on a clay soil. For this reason large blocks of Pears, Plums, and Cherries are not to be seen with us. On the other hand for the raising of many sorts of Hardy Herbaceous plants and most of the Shrubs, our soil is exceptionally well adapted. Among new Hardy Shrubs we find the following of the greatest promise and worthy of extended culture: Stephanandra flexuosa, of Japanese origin, forms a densely branched shrub with deeply toothed foliage, of a rich glossy green, taking on unusual tints of reddish purple in its young growth and again at its autumn ripening. The branches are long and slender, densely clothed with branchlets, and the white flowers, though minute, are borne in such profusion as to give considerable effect. A plant that clothes itself well to the ground even with age,— a feature of itself. Rubus deliciosus, the Rocky Mountain Bramble, is very hardy with us and of neat habit of growth, with foliage of a pleasing light green, and a wealth of rich white flowers in June and July; each an inch and a half across, giving the effect of single roses. Caryopteris Mastacanthus, the so-called Blue Spiraea, is proving of great interest, with its dense whorls of rich deep blue flowers in late September, continuing till frost. Much after the habit of the Desmodium, this probably will kill back nearly if not quite to the ground yearly, but will not kill out completely unless present indications and reports are decidedly wrong. We are indebted to China for this acquisition. Hypericum Moserianum, with its rich foliage and elegant large golden flowers in great profusion, is of highest merit but the matter of a good winter covering of leaves must not be overlooked. Double Lilacs and the new single forms, of which there is such a confusing variety, at present show remarkable improvements, and cannot fail to add greatly to our early summer shrubbery effects. I note among the best the following: Philemon.-Rich wine red; perhaps the deepest colored of all the single or double sorts. Comte Horace de Choiseul.- Double, deep reddish purple. Chinensis alba.- A dwarf form, with pure white starry flowers with distinct lilac eye. Trainoniana.-Rich blue; very prolific. Louis Spaeth.- Deepest reddish purple. Spiraea arguta.- A new Japanese species, among the earliest and best of new Spiraeas. Daphne Genkwa.— A deciduous species from Japan, with dense clusters of small intensely fragrant, lilac flowers. It can be highly recommended. Berberis ilicifolia, the Holly-leaved Barberry is a stronger grower than the Mahonia; not quite so evergreen but with a rich purple shading of foliage in the younger growth and a deep clear green with age. Seemingly quite hardy, this gives great promise. Colutea purpurea is a notable improvement in flower over the old form of the Bladder Senna; more prolific and richly colored. Viburnum tomentosum cannot be too highly recommended as a large growing shrub. Its great profusion of showy flat cymes of pure white flowers are well set off by its rich foliage. Among the newer variegated foliaged shrubs, Cornus alba var. Spaeth, with rich shading of green and gold; the Golden Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata var. aurea); the Variegated Syringa or Mock Orange, with handsome marbling of silver and green; and the Variegated Hypericum Moserianum, with shades of green, gold, and flesh color, are all notably good additions. In trees the most remarkable good new things that we have tested are the Van Houtte's Golden Elm, with beautiful golden foliage having a charming metallic luster in the full sun, and Dampier's Golden Elm, nearly if not quite as good,- both varieties of the English Elm; the Weeping Purple Beech, a grand thing with good weeping tendencies and a particularly rich purple coloring of foliage; the Tricolor Beech, having the foliage handsomely variegated with shades of purple and red; Teas's Weeping Mulberry, and Bunge's Catalpa; this last forming a dense globe of large and showy foliage, and on specimens grafted on a good standard stem forming a particularly desirable tree for lawn use. Our collection of Hardy Herbaceous Perennials, of which we feel that we have a very fair one, embracing as it does something over two thousand varieties at the present time, with a discardure after careful testing during the last ten years of perhaps one-half |