UMASS/AMHERST ^^JLS- %M mM tr LIBRARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE No._.4__0_L___ DATE.A^.-rlMsr SOURCE. Aiuni.l\.L....£ui.\d^.. CHAPEL •rrvi. THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY AND HORTICULTURIST. DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN, STATE BOTANIST OF PENNSYLVANIA, FORMERLY HEAD GARDENER TO CALEB COPE, ESQ., AT SPRINGBROOK, AND AT THE BARTRAM BOTANIC GARDENS, NEAR PHILADELPHIA. GRADUATE OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW (LONDON), ENGLAND. MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. AUTHOR OF "AMERICAN HANDBOOK OF ORNAMENTAL TREES," " FLOWERS AND FERNS OF THE U. S.," ETC. VOLUME XXIV, 1882, PHILADELPHIA : CHARLES H. MAROT, Publisher, No. 814 Chestnut Street, CHAPEL ^' ^^ ILXjTJSTIS--A.TIOniTS. Portrait of Patrick Barrv, Adiantum aneitense, Anthurium scherzerianum maximum, Begonia Schmidtii, . Bignonia magnifica, Calendula officinalis meteor, Celosia. President Thiers, Chysis Chelsonii, Croton rpcurvifolius, Croton Sinitzianus, . Cymbidium eburneum, Davallia Fijiensis, 2 cuts, Ficus exculpta. . Fig Culture, Winter Covering, Qlobba coccinea, Heliconia aureo-striata, Heraanthus Kalbryeri, . Ixora splendida, James Vick, Portrait of, Jasminum gracilimum, Map of Cook's Ranch, California, Mushroom Culture, Nepenthes Madagascariensis, Nepenthes Morganise, Nepenthes R;ijrth, Nertera depressa, Pavonia Makoyana, Philodendron carderi Pritchardia grandis, Rheum officinale. Rheum ril>es, Rosa villosa, . Selaginella Victorise. 2 cuts Side Cleft Grafting, 3 cuts. Steam Heating, 2 cuts, , Tree Label, A New, D P G H I J M N Wind Clapper for Bird Scaring, Wire Glove for Protection against Rough Bark, W Frontispiece 865 23 47 40 362 185 138 237 13 265 56 79 284 299 204 75 221 4& 101 243 344 372 318 152 171 121 90 69 133 216 143 232 51 174 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY AND HORTICULTURIST. DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE. ARBORICULTURE AND-- RURAL AFFAIRS. Edited by THOMAS MEEHA.N. Vol. XXIY. JANUARY, 1882. Number 277. Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. SEASONABLE HINTS. In starting on our New Year's journey, it may be well to remind the reader that gardening is to be followed chiefly for the pleasure we derive from it. Pretty flowers and handsome trees, beautiful lawns and artistically designed grounds, are the essential elements of gardening. As in other rational enjoyments, the more intelligence and mental culture we throw into the work, the greater enjoyment does gardening afford. At the present titne there is something of a revival in true gardening taste. Works on art in gardening, publishers tell us, are in more than usual request, and fine books like "Scott's Suburban Home Grounds." have a more than usual sale. Maga- zines which in years gone by, would busy them- selves only with how shall we eat, and what shall we wear, now find some of their most popular articles are those which relate to garden culture and garden art. We cannot forbear repeating what we have taken several occasions to say of late, that there is a great want of intelligent landscape gardeners of business tact and talent to meet with this increasing demand. Many, to be sure, have had little encouragement of late years. When a chance has offered for good work, it is disheartening to find some one engaged in it, utterly ignorant of what good gardening requires. But the good landscape gardener must remember that this is the fate of all professions ; lawyers, doctors, clergymen, and other profes- sions, have a dozen incompetents for every one fit for his business. The intelligent man must wait for his chance to show what he is. There are few large cities now in the Union but would welcome an intelligent landscape gardener among them. In some places where there are already a few, there is room for many more. It will also be well for those who are about to make or improve their gardens, to remember that true garden taste ought to save and not spend money. It is often sad to pass by places being "laid out" by some bungler, where hundreds of dollars are being wasted, under the name of "practical gardening." It will be money saved to try to find out the man who understands what fine land- scape gardening is. We have often stated that one of the grievous errors of American gardening is that gardens are too large. American fortunes are not so steady. We have a succession of years of prosperity, and among other luxuries form a good garden ; but it is hardly put in fair order before we find that its necessary expenses are too large for our income and the establishment runs down. We see these places everywhere. Here are gardens which ought to have half a dozen men to keep them properly, cut down perhaps to one laborer, be- THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January^ sides the gardener; and the gardeners engaged are of the cheapest kind, and for all grudgingh* paid. It should never be forgotten that it costs something to keep up a garden as well as to maintain horses and carriages. We build sta- bles, and buy fine animals, but we well know that this is but the beginning of an annual cost. A garden must be viewed in the same light. Many lose interest in their gardens through getting poor gardeners. There is nothing new, no taste, no enjoyment. Far better to get some one of superior education and pay him well, though we have but half the extent of ground, or a much less number of greenhouses. We should advise all our friends to cut down their large gardens, employ with the difference only first-rate men at a fair price, and it will be wonderful how much the interest in the garden will grow. Some judgment is required in pruning flower- ing shrubs, roses, etc., although it is usual to act as if it were one of the most common-place opera- tions. One of the most clumsy of the hands is commonly set with a pair of sheers, and he goes through the whole place, clipping off everything indiscriminately. Distinction should be made between those flowering shrubs that make a vigo- rous growth and th ose which grow weakly ; and between those which flower on the old wood of last year, and those which flower on the new growth of next season, as the effect of pruning is to force a strong and vigorous growth. Those specimens that already grow too strong to flower well, should be only lightly pruned ; and, in the same individual, the weakest shoots should be cut in more severely than the stronger ones. Some things like the Mock Orange, Lilacs and others, flower on the wood of last year— to prune those much now, therefore, destroys the flower- ing; while such as Altheas, which flower on the young wood, cannot be too severely cut in, look- ing to that operation alone. Among the prettiest effects in gardening is the combinations of various plants. A mass of Hol- lyhocks for instance, in front of an evergreen is singularly pretty. In the fall of the year the colored leaves of the Andromeda arborea, give great beauty to a mass of Rhododendrons, as also do Chrysanthemums and Japan Anemones in the fall of the year. There are positions in gar- dens where hardy Cactuses, and such artificial things as Yuccas, look particularly beautiful. It is the test of true garden culture, that one is able to bring out fine eff"ects from these simple and well known things. COMMUNICA TIONS. RARER ORNAMENTAL TREES AND ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. BY SAMUEL PARSONS, JR. (Prize Essay for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.) (Concluded from page 359.) Among the lindens, our attention is attracted by a curious variegated linden, which shows leaves spotted and streaked with yellowish- white, often to the total exclusion of green. And we must not forget to notice, down near the stream, a fine specimen of the purple-leaved birch. It is one of the best among new acqui- sitions of lawn planting material. The general ' habit is that of a somewhat dwarf-growing birch, but the color is brownish red, copper color, or more truly a deep rich purple. Good purple- leaved varieties of any tree are not common. Indeed, we may not hope soon to gain anything j of equal value with the purple beech, but the I birch is in itself so fine that it is a great thing to discover a purple-leaved variety of that tree. j I feel that I have only touched on the man)' [new and valuable deciduous, trees on the lawn, but have accorded them more space than the evergreens, because I believe deciduous treea are, in the main, best suited to our lawns in America. Intense though short-lived heat and sudden changes do not favor the growth of ever- greens in the same degree as the more equable climate of Europe. We find, however, on this lawn, a very choice collection of new evergreens. Among the spruces we noted several, and chief among those the large-leaved hemlock (Abies Canadensis macrophylla), the weeping hemlock (Abies Canadensis pendula Sargentii), and the blue spruce of the Eocky Mountains (Abies pun- gens). The hemlocks of this trio are peculiarly suited to small places, but the last named spruce is of larger size. Breadth and depth of masses and color, statuesque form and curious yew-like habit characterize the broad-leaved hemlock. It has little of the ordinary appearance of the hemlock about it, and is more hardy under the peculiar conditions that sometimes affect the common hemlock. It was a seedling discovered , in Flushing a few years since, yet it has already achieved favorable recognition frona the best judges of lawn planting material. If the broad- leaved hemlock is somewhat stern and mascu- line in its outline, the weeping hemlock is es- sentially feminine in its graceful curves and fountain-like sprays of green. Many ordinary 1882. AND HORTICULTURIST. 3 hemlocks take on this weepuig form in early youth, but it soon passes awa}' with increasing years. With Sargent's weeping hemlock, how- ever, this beautiful habit is absohitely perma- nent on all specimens grown from grafts of that tree. ]\[r. H. W. Sargent discovered this weep- ing hemlock about twenty years ago, near his place, at Fishkill on the Hudson, and moved by his enthusiasm and appreciation of choice orna- mental trees, entrusted it for propagation to the distinguished expert J. R. Trumpy. Turning from this queenly tree, we note the rich grand- eur of the third member of our trio of distin- guished evergreens. Abies pungens is said to be very grand in its natural home of the Rocky Mountains, but its j'oung and more carefully cultured growth on the lawn is without question more beautiful and charming. It is, moreover, the bluest of evergreens, and extremely hardy and vigorous growing withal. I should, perhaps, note in passing a fine large Abies excelsa elata, a very singular variety of Norway spruce originating in Flushing. It grows strongh^ and throws out long branches of gro- tesque form. One might fancy it, by a little stretch of the imagination, a fit substitute for Araucaria imbricata, which many wish to grow on their lawns in America, but cannot. The next group of evergreens we notice is Japanese, and clustered variously in the same section of the lawn. Abies polita, the tiger-tail spruce, is one of the finest and most- valuable of the Japanese conifers. It is rich and very char- acteristic in form. The yellow-barked branches extend out stiff" and straight, and the glossy bright green stifi'-pointed leaves are as sharp and i not unlike the spines of a hedgehog. The curious appearance of the ends of the young growth or half bursting leaf buds doubtless sug- gested the name tiger-tail spruce. Abies polita | grows slowly, and therefore belongs to the class of evergreens specially fitted for small places. But this little cluster of evergreens close by is even better fitted for such work. They are Japanese junipers, and very hardy. Their ele- gant forms and rich tints would indeed render them distinguished anj'where. One is silver}', at least on a portion of its leaves ; another is almost solid gold, and another, Juniperus aurea variegata. has its leaves simply tipped with gold in the daintiest fashion imaginable. Let us look at these two Japanese pines that show so richly even at a little distance. One is Pinus densiflora, with bright green leaves, long and very effective. This tree grows very rapidly, soon requiring the application of the pruning knife. In coloring and general habit it is, per- haps, the best of Japanese pines, except Pinus Massoniana, which only surpasses it in a yellow- ish tint that generally pervades the leaves. But the Pinus Massoniana par excellence is the golden-leaved form of that species. It is bright gold, that seems to gain a touch of deeper gold as you pause to look at it. This peculiar effect is greatly enhanced by the fact that Pinus Mas- soniana has two leaves onlj- in a sheath, and these leaves are so clustered on the end of the branches as to spread in every direction. It was this peculiarity that gave rise to the name sun ray pine. But the noteworthy habit of this pine is its late variegation. In June, while in full growth, it is rather greenish golden than golden, but all through the summer its yellow grows bi'ighter, until in September, it makes a very striking object amid the fading leaves of fall. It makes, in fact, a worthy companion for the golden oak, Quercus Concordia, which you will remember has the same peculiarity. It should be also noted that the brightness of the sun ray pine remains uninjured during winter, and never burns in summer, a quality that other so-called golden pines have sadly needed. The bright yellow of the sun ray pine is confined in a peculiar manner to about two-thirds of the leaf. Beginning at the base, first comes gold, then an equal amount of green, and then again as much gold at the tip. The dividing lines between these colors are marked out with singu- lar distinctness, thus giving the utmost delicacy and finish to the variegation. Pinus Massoniana variegata is on the lawn in question, but it is nevertheless very rare and hardly to be obtained anywhere. We come now to theRetinosporas, Japan cy- presses, choicest, I was about to say, of all ever- greens ; certainly- the choicest, as a class, of all recently introduced evergreens. To Robert For- tune, the great English collector of plants in Japan, we owe probably the real introduction of the leading species of Retinosporas, namely : R. plumosa aurea, R. pisifera and R. obtusa, and a greater benefit could hardly have been done the lawn planter than the introduction of these evergreens. They are hardy, of slow growth, and of most varied beauty in individual speci- mens, the latter being a quality greatly wanting among some evergreens commonly used through- THE GARDENERS MONTHLY [January, out the country, arborvitaes for instance. And apropos of arborvitaes, let me say that the retinosporas bear a much more close relation to that species than they do to cypresses, notwith- standing the latter has been adopted as the English name. The retinosporas graft readily on the thujas or arborvitse, and bear a certain resemblance to them, but the resemblance only that can exist between a beautiful plant and one much less attractive. Let us look at a group of the new and rare retinosporas, although unfor- tunately all retinosporas are comparativelj' rare on our lawns. In asking you to look first at fllicoides, I am selecting one of the very choicest and most curious green species or varieties. If it were not for a peculiarly thick, curled border along the leaf of this retinospora, it might be readily taken while young -for an evergreen fern. It is a spreading plant, of slow growth and great hardiness. Indeed, I might say once for all, that the retinosporas are of unexcelled hardiness, both winter and summer, and that their variega- tions are all permanent. Can a higher character be given to any other evergreen ? There are two distinct kinds of weeping reti- nosporas, namely, a beautiful fern-like pendu- lous form of E. obtusa, originating in Flushing, and an extravagant attenuated form imported recently from Japan through Mr. Thos. Hogg. The long thread-like leaves of this variety fall directly down and curve about the stem in swaying meagre masses, which suggest that in this plant the extreme of the weeping form among evergreens has been reached. Almost as curious as this is another introduction of Mr. Thos. Hogg— R. filifera aurea. We have known R. filifera for some time as a rare tree, with tesselated, shaggy masses of green thread-like foliage, but Mr. Hogg's new variety offers the same strange mass of foliage, only in this case it is turned into gold — broad, solid, permanent gold. While I am pointing out the golden reti- nosporas, which are veritable sunbeams amid other evergreens, let me call your attention to R. obtusa aurea, one of the best and most dis- tinct of all variegated forms. It is free-growing, with a beautiful combination of gold color inter mixed with glossy, rich green all over the plant. Although not exactly a new plant, I am con- strained to call your passing attention to R. obtusa nana, one of the very best of dwarf ever- greens, a dense, flat tuft of glossy deep green spray, a cushion or ball of evergreen foliage that will hardly grow two feet in ten years. The golden form of R. obtusa nana is charming. Its yellow is a rich bronze, and I do not know any- thing of the kind more attractive. R. pisifera nana variegata is also very beautiful, a dense miniature bush of a general bluish-gray aspect, except a portion of the lesser branchlets and leaves, which are pale yellow. But do not think I have begun to exhaust the curious forms of these retinosporas. I have only given the most noteworthy to be found on a superior lawn. Any large group of R. obtusa will give you a dozen beautiful diverse forms of weeping, pyramidal and dwarf or spreading evergreens. All, or practically all, kinds of retinosporas now used, came from Japan, where they are common but highly valued in the beautiful gardens of that country. Mr. Hogg has not only introduced several of these new retinosporas, but has given us possibly more new Japanese plants than any collector since the time of Robt. Fortune's fa- mous horticultural explorations, I must not leave these retinosporas without calling attention again to their excellent adaptation to small places. If we restrict the planting on a small lawn to Japanese maples, retinosporas and two or three shrubs like Spii-ea crispifolia, we may almost defy, with a little skill, the power of time to compass, by means of trees, the destruction of our grass plots. I must add, however, one other conifer to this seemingly short but really varied list of new, hardy plants suited to minia- ture lawn planting. I refer to Sciadopitys verticillata, the parasol pine, one of the most extraordinary evergreens known. The plant we see on this lawn is scarcely two feet high, and yet it is more than ten years old. Travelers in Japan tell us of specimens in Japanese gardens fifty and one hundred feet high, but certainly in youth the plant is wonderfully dwarf. Its strange habit is produced by the curious long, broad, dark- green needles, or narrow strap-shaped leaves that cluster in parasol-like tufts at the end of each succeeding year's growth. The color is as dark as that of the yew, and the growth as com- pact. It is, moreover, very hardy, and thus presents a combination of choice qualities of the most strange, attractive and valuable char- acter. The plant is so entirely original in its forms, that it seems some lone type, the correla- tions of which are lost or yet to be found. As we look upon it we commence to realize how thoroughly most plants of the same genus, all over the globe, are related to each other, just 1882. A ND HOR TICUL TURIS T. because we can think of nothing else that re- sembles the parasol pine. A Japanese yew near by, of rich and spread- ing habit, exemplifies this resemblance between various members of a sjrenus situated in various parts of the earth. This Japanese yew, Taxus cuspidata is, however, very noteworthy for great hardiness, a character that can be scarcely ac corded to any other yew in this climate. Thui- opsis Standishii is another Japanese plant on this lawn of comparatively recent introduction. I want to call your attention to it, situated near the retinosporas, not only because it is a beau- tiful evergreen, somewhat like the Arborvitse in general appearance, but because it does better here, apparently, than in England. This is a peculiarity remarkable in an evergreen, for the moist climate of England seems to make for them a very home. I should like to speak of other plants on this lawn, but they are either too difficult of attain- ment, like theCercidiphyllum, a promising tree, or like the dwarf pines and spruces, hardly new enough to come within the scope of this essay. Before leaving the spot entirely, however, let us stand a moment and take a last look at the unity of effect accomplished on this lawn. Streams, borders of foliage, statuesque small trees and larger specimens, all flow, as it were, together in natural lines. Indeed, harmony of color, and lines combined with contrasts distinct enough to give variety, characterize the entire scene. The position of each plant is so related to the other, for purposes of beauty and perfect development, that one delights in the fair pro- portion and entire unity of the design. It is a picture and yet something more than a picture ; a combination of foliage and grass constructed, not in servile imitation of nature, but on the principles employed by nature in her most pleasing work. The copse or glade is suggested, and yet the treatment of each plant of our lawn is very difierent from that of the wildwood, and indeed more honorable to that plant's highly cultured nature. Perfect maintenance, exquisite keeping are evident everywhere, from the skill- fully-pruned shrub to the velvet turf that catches athwart its beautiful surface the level rays of the setting sun. Unfortunately such lawns are ex- tremely rare in America. We are learning to appreciate them, and in time will have them, though the progress in that direction is slow; and I feel certain that nothing is more likely to aid in the development of a true knowledge of the resources of lawn planting than the consid- eration of new hardy ornamental trees and shrubs, and their tasteful and effective arrange- ment. MR. HUNNEWELL'S GARDEN AT WEL- LESLEY, MASS. BY WILLIAM FALCONER. NO. I. The garden of Mr. H. H. Hunnewell, at Wel- lesley, needs no introduction to American hor- ticulturists ; it ranks pre-eminent among private gardens. Wellesley is a town on the Boston and Albany Railroad, and some forty-five minutes ride from Boston. Mr. Hunnewell's garden \a fifteen to twenty minutes walk from the depot. Some visitors like to walk there, others to ride from the station—tbe latter may find good and reasonable accommodation at a stable near the depot. The garden comprises some forty acres, and is beautifully situated with the Waban lake on its north side, Wellesley College and its park-like grounds, and a wooded hilly country beyond the lake, and an uneven timbered country broken up with handsome and well-tilled farm lands all around. Before the south front of the mansion is a many-acred open lawn that in unbroken sweep reaches to the turnpike limit. Deciduous trees and evergreens are set as isolated speci- mens, groups, groves and avenues, towards the side out-edges of the lawn until they reach and form a part of the pinetum or rather arboretum. The terrace garden lies between the mansion and the Waban lake, as also the rockery and wild garden. There are some flower-beds near the mansion, but the main flower garden is a short distance off, somewhat of an oblong square in form ; on two sides bounded by hedges, and on the others by a curving belt of trees and shrubs and a mixed border. The beds are cut out on grass, and the patterns in the beds por- trayed by the plants used to fill them. There is a Rhododendron garden, an Azalea garden, a kitchen garden, and a village of greenhouses in which are grown handsome plants and lovely flowers and tender fruits. Mr. Harris,' who is the gardener, is a ntian of fine professional talent, cordial disposition and gentlemanly bearing. I cannot well refer in detail to so large a gar- den, but will confine myself to a few of its prominent features. Greenhouse pto??Ys— include leading decora- tive sorts, and some of the choicest and rarest of THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, exutics. DrHrtvnns ;iie a s|)Oci!i]'y, and besides the elite of such kinds as may he seen elsewhere there is a house well-nigh filled with Wellesley seedling plants, at once remarkable for their ex- ceptional beauty, substance and vigorous consti- tution. A bold, sturdy nature seems to pervade the whole race, and their coloring is deep and well defined. Some are named Mrs. Hunnewell, Waban, Bella and Harrisi. and others deserve countenance. When Phyllotaenium Lindeni and Alocasia crystallina were sent from Wellesley to the Boston exhibition they were declared the finest examples of cultural skill that had been seen anywhere, and now Mr. Harris points out to me Alocasia Thibautiana, a young plant with leaves 16 to 20 inches long, deep crimson on the back, and broadly marked with silver on the fnjnt, and tells me this is the coming king. Aralia spinulosa is another novelty. Berto- lonias glitter inside cases ; Hibiscus schizopeta- liis is in bloom, so are Dipladenias fostened to the rafters, and many other seasonable plants. But .'or a winter show of blossoms what can be brighter or better than Zonal pelargoniums? Wonderful, New Life and C. H. Wagner are among the many in a greenhouse here; the others have too hard names in French for my remembrance. Orchids.— M^v. Hunnewell has gathered to- gether a large namber of these, especially the freer blooming and more serviceable sorts. There are large pans of C^'pripedium Doyanum, a handsome leaved as well as a pretty flowering plant, but more decided in the variegation of its foliage, is a companion specimen of C. Law- renceanum. Several other species are in bloom, and on one plant of insigne I counted forty-three flowers. A very fine lot of Phalsenopsis grandi- flora, amabilis and Schilleriana were growing in a dark corner, and far awaj^ from the glass. The pots containing them were set upon empty pots that were standing in saucers filled with water; these act as evaporating pans, and at the same time prevent the approach of wood-lice, cock- roaches, slugs and other insects that might in- jure the flower-spikes or roots. Mr. Harris ex- pressed himself as averse to growing the mass of orchids up close to the glass, and quoted his Phalsenopsis as an example of shadier treat- ment. We also remembered the splendid Mas devalleas at Albany, and which were the biggest and thriftiest specimens I ever saw, and they were grown right by the floor of a high green- house with apparentlv as little concern as if they were palms or club-mosses. But notwith- standing these exceptional examples, I am in favor of nearer the glass. The Dendrobiunis were gathered together in a cool house to ripen their shoots. D. Goldii with terminal spikes of purple flowers, and Formosum giganteum, white and yellow, were beautifully in bloom. And in a little basket overhead I beheld D. Brymerianum with two shoots about eight inches and thirteen inches long — ten guineas worth ; and near by the almost equally choice Lselia anceps alba with four flowers. It would take too much space to wander through the host of Cattleyas, Calanthes, Odontoglossums, On- cidiums, and other genera, but their uncommon thrift and vigor are well worth critical examina- tion. IPOM/EA CRANDIFLORA. BY P. D. BARNHART, B.^NKSVILLE, PA. On page 269, September number of Garden- er's Monthly, you ask for some information about Ipomsea grandiflora. In reply, will say that I have cultivated it for the past five years and find it to be a very desirable plant for cover- ing trellises, summer houses or verandas, it being a rapid grower, with large heart-shaped leaves, and the flowers, which are very large — seven inches in diameter — of the purest white and delightfully fragrant, expanding only at night. They begin to open — a curious sight to see— about 6 o'clock p. m., and close the next morning, to be succeeded by a new^ flower the following evening. It seldom seeds, but is a tender perennial of the easiest propagation. There is one peculiarity ai)out its flowering stem that I have never seen in any other plant. The stems start from the axil of a leaf and continue to grow and produce blossoms the entire season. I have had them grow ten inches long, with uo signs of stopping, when the cold weather cut it short I may say that on that stem were pro- duced twelve flowers. It thrives well in hot, dry situations. On page 280, the question is asked whether any one knows where Teasel is cultivated in the United States. In our section of the State it is so much of a pest that it is with diffi- culty we get it exterminated. It crowds out grass, and the stems while in bloom are as hard as young hickory trees, and if cut before bloom- ing they throw out a multitude of smaller heads later in the season, which necessitates two cut- tings in a season. 1882.1 A^'D HORTICULTURIST. I have made a rough diagram of a hot- bed which I find much better than the old style. First, for durability; second, the difference in -cost of making; third, to regulate the heat at will. The arch and furnace walls only made of common brick, and the fiue made of small stones which generally abound in this section of country, BERMUDA CRASS. BY ELBERT S. CARMAN. EDITOR RURAL NEW YORKER. Referring to your note (page 3il Garden- ers Monthly) let me say: Early in the sum- mer I received a sod of Bermuda grass about a foot in length by three inches in width from Tennessee. It remained in the office until thoroughly dry and apparentlj' dead. It was then taken to the Rural Farm and planted in a very dr_v muck-and-sand soil. In a few days it showed signs of life, and in a few weeks was a mass of green, of a bright blueish- green color. It soon began to send out its short- jointed, wiry shoots in all directions, which grew on an average an inch and a half in twenty-four hours, rooting at each joint as they proceeded along the surface of the ground, easily making their waj" under stones, pieces of wood, etc., which had been placed to ascertain in how far these would obstruct or in what way change the growth. From so small a sod a little plot seven feet in diameter had formed by the latter part of August. It has bloomed freely during the entire summer, and is blooming now (November 12). While all other grasses were browned or killed by the severe drought which prevailed from mid- summer until mid-October, this retained its fresh, pale green color throughout. Its flowers are borne in spikelets of from three to five, two inches long, similar to those of common crab grass (Panicum sanguinale). Though nearly positive, it would neither seed nor prove hardy so far North, my object in the experiment was to settle those questions bej^ond doubt. You are aware how the rootstocks of couch grass (Triticum repens) grow. They run underground, rooting at every joint, from each of which an- other plant grows. The rootstocks (as we may call them) of Bermuda grass creep on the sur- face of the ground by preference, rooting like couch grass at every one of its joints. Though the leaves are narrow and short, this grass forms a network of roots, rootstocks, stems and leaves that soon become an entangled mat, and take complete possession of the soil. EDITORIAL NOTES. Golden Plume Arbor Vit.e.— We are glad to find our excellent contemporary, the American Agriculturist, in the field with us against the European absurdity of long Latin names for mere garden varieties. It christens Retinospora plumosa aurea, " golden plume arbor vitae." In this crusade against the absurd, it will, however, be necessary to guard against confusion. The names should be given at the first introduction, and then stick to them, just as Americans have done with the "George Peabody" and "Tom Thumb" arbor vitse, in spite of European re- pudiation, and attempt to stick on the fearfully useless Latin abominations. For some years past this Retinospora has been known as "Golden Japan Cedar," and it may be as well to decide at once which one of the two to retain, the old one or the nev/ one suggested by the Agriculturist. In regard to botanical names, the decision is on the question whether it is best to have to learn for one plant one "hard" Latin name, or several score of "easy" English or vernacular ones. An Avenue of Cryptomeria Japonica. — Mr. Maries writes to the Garden, that starting from Nikko, which is two days journey from Yeddo, in Japan, there is an avenue of Cryptomeria Japonica, along the roadside, extending for fifty miles. One of these trees, blown down, meas- ured one hundred and seventy-three feet long. The common Brake fern of our country and Europe, Pteris aquilina, was also abundant in the Japanese forests here. History of the Manetti Rose. — This variety, once very popular in America as a stock to bud garden roses on, is said, in a recent treatise on roses, to have been obtained "from Como by Mr. Rivers over thirty years ago." We do not know exactly what may be meant by " over " in this connection. Certainly a good many years over thirty years ago it was in common use about Philadelphia for stocks, and it is very nearly about that time since the force of public opinion caused florists to utterly discard it. It has long been a matter of conjecture with us what this rose sprung from. A recent mono- graph of roses, by a distinguished Russian botanist, classes it with Rosa sempervirens, a native of Southern Europe. It may be, but the botanical characters agree exactly with our own native Rosa lucida in every thing except the 8 THE GARDENER'S MONTHL Y [January, superior vigor of the Manetti, and it is very rare that a double variety grows stronger than the single original from which it sprung. Railway Gardening.— The Boston and Maine Company now allows its station agents $10 a year each with which to buy seeds, plants, etc., and Ofi'ers prizes of $50, $30 and $20 to the agent whose stations are best kept and present the neatest and most attractive appearance.— *Scfen- tific American. Fine Chrysanthemums.— At the November meeting of the Germantown Horticultural So- ciety, some remarkably fine varieties of Chry- santhemums were exhibited by Mr. Walter Coles, gardener to J. I. Blair, Esq , of Belvidere, New Jersey. They showed that tlie improvement of this pretty fall flower has not yet been finished. These had the petals all of one uniform breadth, and all curved inwards regularly. The flowers attracted much attention Mr. Coles is one of that class of gardeners whose intelligence and genuine love of his profession makes gardening so attractive to so many. The Cactus Dahlia.— Blooms of this new species. Dahlia Jaurezi, were exhibited by Peter Henderson at the November meeting of the New York Horticultural Society. Florida Jute. — The mixing up of common names among numerous plants, is a fearful pest to the intelligent reader. The newspapers tell us that " a plant which grows wild in Florida — Florida Jute," produces an article " in tensile strength superior to Indian Jute," and that a company has been formed in Philadelphia. Sti-angely, however, we are told in the same paragraph "seed has been ordered from India," although the "indigenous Florida jute" is so superior. At any rate what is Florida jute? SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Injured Bark. — "L.W.," Philadelphia, writes : "Some vandal permitted his horse to bark two of my maple trees, both within three feet of hitching posts. The weather and growth of trees burst the strings with which I had secured a plaster of earth and cow dung, and I find the edges of the bark healed, but a good deal of bare wood exposed. Is there anything I can put on to prevent a rotting of this wood. The trees are about twelve years old and very healthy." [It is best in these cases to paint the wood, to keep it from decaying, until the new wood and bark at each side grow over the exposed part. — Ed. G. M.] A Blue Bedding Plant. — " W. D.," Sandusky, Ohio, says: "Can you give me the name of a bedding plant that can be used in ribbon gar- dening, as blue, in making a banner or flag (Union), with acharanthus and centaurea for red and white, or any other plant, no matter what size. Please let me know, if this is not asking too much from you, for which I shall be thankful, and oblige." [Do any of our readers know anything better than blue Lobelia?— Ed. G. M.l Greenhouse and House Gardening. SEASONABLE HINTS. Flowers grown in pots often need re-potting while they are growing. This is an operation requiring much thought and care. As a rule there is more danger of a plant being in too large than in too small a pot. It may not grow well in a small pot ; the leaves may not be of as dark a green as when it has plenty of earth to grow in. The trouble with a large pot and a small plant is that the water does not always run away fast enough. When this is the case small mould grows, or, as gardeners say, the soil gets sour, and the young and tender points of the roots are rotted. The plant sickens and very often dies. In old times, say forty years ago, there were gardeners who prided themselves on their success with what they termed the " one- shift system." A plant would be taken from a thumb pot, and at once put into one six, eight or ten inches in diameter, and they often did succeed admirably. But it was very much like the effort of the celebrated driver, who loved to see the wheels of his vehicle go straight along within a quarter of an inch of the chasm, with- out throwing you a thousand feet down below. 1881 AND HORTICULTURIST. You would prefer the driver who kept further away. These "one-shift" fellows had to use unusual care. One-third of the pot would be filled with broken pots or broken bricks, and the soil would be turfy, cut up into squares, or used in very coarse pieces. All these precautions enabled the water to pass rapidly away. It is safest especially for those with no pretension to skill not to re-pot unless the plant has a number of active roots, and to put it in a new pot not more than a half inch or an inch larger than before. The hole at the bottom of the pot should be carefully guarded so as to be sure it will not get choked. It is this which allows of the rapid escape of water, which is the great essential of successful plant culture. The soil for potting is usually one-third of sand, and this is to enable the water to pass rapidly away. For nourishment nothing is better, if it can be had, than thoroughly decayed cow manure. Any kind of manure, if thoroughly decayed, is good for pot plants. It is not easy to give special rules for different plants, though in some re- spects there are variations on which one might fill the whole magazine with rules. For instance we might say : Tree Carnations. These now indispensable winter flowering plants, want a very light place to do well. They do not generally care about very large pots — about five or six inches — but they are very much benefited by rich ma- nure water. The Calla Lily is now extremely popular. This also loves light. It must have a good supply of water, and good soil to flower well. Towards spring the Cineraria comes in re- markably well for cutting. This is a " queer'' plant. It is one of the easiest to suffer from frost, and yet will not do well in a high tem- perature. It also requires much light, and to be very near the glass. So also of the Pansy and Violet, although some frost will not hurt these. If Pelargoniums are wanted to flower well next May and June, they should be attended to, and grow well through the winter. They want a rather warm house to keep them growing, and should be pinched back as they grow, to keep them bushy. A good supply of young Fuchsias should be coming on now — re-pot as their roots fill each pot, let them not want for moisture or light ; do not pinch off" their tops, but let them grow rap- idly. The temperature in which thej"^ are grown should not exceed 55°. A turfy loam, moder- ately enriched with well decayed manure, and well drained with charcoal, suits them ad- mirably. This is only an illustration of what all plants require, and any one who gets the exact idea as to how to pot and care for plants, could adapt the rules given to these few items, to almost any other plant. COMMUNICA TIONS. THE CINCINNATI FLORAL COMPANY'S ESTABLISHMENT. BY WALTER GRAY, COLLEGE HILL, CINCINNATI, O. Those who are conversant with horticulture will do well to pay a visit to this extensive plant establishment. In addition to the many thou- sands of new plants this enterprising com- pany is forming a large collection of orchids and nepenthes, all of which are in remarkably fine health. There are to be seen some fine ex- amples of Dendrobium nobile, which, with judicious treatment, can be flowered at almost any season of the year. D. formosura, D. Jame- sianum, D. Wardianum, D. thyi-siflorum, D. suavissimum, D. Findlayanum, etc., all making splendid growths, and many completed and put into their winter quarters to rest. The Cattleyas are also remarkably well grown, showing their many flower spathes for a good display of flow- ers next season. All the best varieties are grown, including the beautiful C. Warnerii, C. gijas, C. intermedia, C. Mossiae grandiflora, C. Skinnerii, C. citrina, C. margin ata, etc., a long season of rest is very advantageous to these plants, causing them to flower freely and grow more vigorously afterwards. Cypripediums are also well repre- sented. There are fine examples of C. Sedenii, a plant which, Avhen established, is nearly always in flower. A most beautiful hybrid raised between C. Schlimii and C. longifolium ; good grown plants of C. Stonei C. niveum ; C. Harrisianum, another hybrid rai^sed between C. barbatum and C. villosum, exactly intermediate ; C. candatum, C. Lawrenceanum, C. venustum, C. insigne, C. barhatum, all these varieties are well adapted for a warm greenhouse, as they are of easy cul- tivation, requiring a liberal supply of water af all seasons. The remarkably handsome Cymbi- dium eburneum is just showing its flower spikes. The pretty small-grovnng Pleione lagenaria is in bloom. This is frequently called the Indian Crocus. Odontoglossum citrosmum, 0. Rossii I'O THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, majus, O. vexillarium, 0. Eoezlii, Coelogyne cris- tata, Oncidium Kramerianum, 0. incurvum, O. flexuosum, O. varicosum, Phalsenopsis Schilleri- ana, P. amabilis, P. grandiflora, and a large im portation of Lselia majalis, with numbers of others, are in such condition of strength and vigor as is not usually met with. A fine stock of the New Anthurium Andreanum, an extremely attractive plant when in flower. It remains in perfection for three months, render- ing it a valuable plant ; the cultivation required is the same as A. Scherzerianum, of which the Cincinnati Floral Company have a large stock. To give the public some idea of the import- ance of this collection, this company was awarded at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition of this year no less than fifty-two first prizes for plants. Their Crotons, Palms, Ferns, Pandanus, Musas, Marantas, Dieffenbachias, Caladiums, were grand objects of cultural skill, fiUing an area of nearly six thousand feet in the horticul- tural hall. A HOTHOUSE ALARM TO GUARD AGAINST FROST OR GREAT HEAT. BY CHAS. DUDLEY WARDE, CONCORD, N. H. To any one who has had the care of a hot- house during one of our terrible northern win- ters, the mere mention of a frost suggests hours of anxious watching and apprehension. I have sometimes thought that the pleasure taken in my hothouse during its first winter jvas more than counterbalanced by the constant anxiety and fear lest by some unforeseen circumstance the little silver column should drop below the fatal point, 32°, and in an hour the result of the patient labors of months, and the objects of my 'especial pride, should turn to blackness and de- cay. This fear grew to become a perfect night- , mare, and my slumbers were frequently dis- turbed with visions of plants frozen and covered with ice. One cold night, after having made three visits to the hothouse to see that all was right, I resolved that something must be done, and commenced soon after to investigate the subject of electricity and its adaptation to burg- lar and fire-alarms. After a series of futile ex- periments, I obtii.ined a small fiat rod or bar about twelve inches long, three-eighths inch wide, and one-sixteenth inch thick, formed by a thin piece of brass and a similar piece of steel fastened securely together. This was suspended by one end being firmly fastened in a small block of wood placed on a board, and the rod was so placed that the free end could swing back and forth and just clear the board. On both sides of the bar, and about one inch from it, near the free end a thumb-screw was placed, so that if the bar be moved it would strike the ends of the screws. The end of the bar was fastened, and the screws were so arranged as to be easily connected with wires. Now the well-known law of physics that "heat expands and cold con- tracts " is true in metals, but in a diff'erent de- gree, and by consulting the tables of the expan- sive qualities of metals it will be found that steel and brass are widely different in this respect, and in the arrangement above described it was found that when heat was applied the brass ex- panded more than the steel, causing the rod to bow, and the free end to swing in the direction of the screw on the steel side of the bar ; and the application of cold caused the brass to con- tract more than the steel, and the bar to swing in the other direction. By testing this machine in various different temperatures, it was easy to make a scale, and to place the thumb-screws so that the end of the rod would touch them at any given point of temperature. Then obtain- ing a common electric call bell, and a battery, such as the telephone companies use (any good battery will answer, but this one is always in order), the bell was placed in my chamber, and the battery and machine previously described placed in the coldest part of the hothouse. One pole of the battery was connected by a copper wire with the bell, and from the bell the wire was carried out to the machine and connected with the end of the bar that was fastened, and the thumb-screws connected to the other pole of the battery. I then placed the screw on the brass side so that it would com'fe in contact with the bar in case the thermometer should reach 40°, having previously found that the slightest contact would complete the circuit and ring the bell. After waiting about two weeks without hearing anything from the apparatus, I was startled from my chamber by the ringing of the bell, and hastened out to find that a sudden and severe change had lowered the temperature to 38° in the hothouse, and but for the increased fire that was added the plants would have suf- fered a bad chill, if not frozen before morning. This has been kept in operation for two years, and has several times saved my plants from total destruction, or at least from great injury. By adjusting the screw on the steel side of the bar too great heat is easily detected. Since thor- 1882 AND HORTICULTURIST. 11 oughly testing the alarm have come to put great confidence in it, as it can be regulated to within a single degree, and while absent or asleep my anxiety is reduced to a minimum. TAR WATER FOR INSECTS. BY D. M. DEWEY, ROCHESTER, N, Y. In conversation to-day with a farmer friend, I got from him what I think every planter should know. As he is a reliable' man, I give you his statement, believing you will confer a favor on many of your readers by publishing it: Gas tar water sure death to potato bugs- Mr. S. R. Hart, of Brighton, N. Y., near Rochester, has for two years past used on his potato vines water which has been impregnated with gas tar. Two quarts of gas tar in a pail, and fill the pail with water ; stir it up well, and let the tar settle. Then sprinkle the vines with the water from a sprinkling pot. This has proven more effective than Paris green. He has also tried it on cur- rant bushes, and finds it equally effective. It is inexpensive and perfectly reliable, and no doubt will prove equally sure death to insects of every kind on trees. This gas tar can be had for $1.00 a barrel, and one barrel would supply a whole township. I give you this information, believing your readers will find it a great desideratum in these days of insect pests. EDITORIAL NOTES. Growth of Plants by Electric Light.— We do not know how the idea originated that plants do not grow in the dark, though tfie idea seems widely prevalent in Europe. In America it has been proved that Indian corn grows more rapidly by night than by day. In American cellars potatoes sprout, and all kinds of vegetables grow to our aggravation, if there is any heat much above the freezing point. True they require light to make a green growth, but the actual rapidity of growth is at least the same. It does not seem to be true in England, however, where they are much exercised over Dr. Siemen's ex- periments with the electric light. The doctor has a large forcing-house, in which are many kinds of fruits and vegetables which mature dur- ing the winter. There has to be a steam engine to make the electricity which gives the light; and the waste steam from the engine, condensed, gives hot water, by which the temperature is kept at 60 degrees. So far as we have been able to gather from Dr. Siemen's experiments, they are not com- parative. The electric light was kept all night in his forcing-house, and under this perpetual brightness by night and by day, the crops were wonderfully productive and remarkably satis- factory. This is all the experiments amount to. There was not another house just alike, and under the management of the same excellent gardener, to show how much better the lighted house was. So far as the electric light on the growth of plants is concerned, 'we do not feel that it will be of great value in our culture, not only be- cause plants grow as well in the dark, but be- cause the means of communication between the ti-opical and the arctic portions of our country are so perfect that we can have the rarest sum- mer fruits and vegetables on our tables while zero winds are blowing on our homes. Forcing- houses are not as popular as in the old world. But there is great value to us in Dr. Siemen's experiments as showing how the introduction of the electric light may be made use of in heating greenhouses. As a general rule it will not pay to buy and run a steam engine for lighting our country homes instead of gas or oil; but if at the same time we can heat our greenhouses with the waste steam, or make the engine useful in other things, it may come into general use. Sick Trees and Flowers. — Mr. Walter Elder, of Philadelphia, makes the very good point that the knowledge obtained from long experience and close study of the laws of health in vegeta- tion, is deserving of as much pecuniary reward as, at least, the knowledge required for sick ani- mals. There should be physicians of trees and flowers, as well as doctors for horses, cows, dogs and cats. And we have no doubt that people would be just as willing to pay for good advice for a valuable plant as for a valuable animal, if only those who have the knowledge would charge for their advice and services. There is Mr. Elder himself, for instance, who has for so many years contributed of his knowledge freely to so many periodicals, could render valuable assistance to his Philadelphia amateur friends in this way. There is no reason why he should not be consulted and paid for his advice. We have no doubt it would be well w«rth the small fee he would charge. Tuberous Rooted Begonias. — An Upland (Pa.) correspondent of the Ridley News gives a highly 12 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, interesting account to that paper of the re- markable manner in which the tuberous Begonias have been improved by a Mr. Tipping, of Not- tingham, England. Choosing Hyacinths. — A correspondent of the ■Garden says : "Nothing, I am told by an emi- nent seedsman, amuses the trade more than the prejudices of gardeners on the subject of Hya- cinth bulbs. Customers come to the shop and pick cut the largest roots only, while others will only have the heaviest and pay no regard to the size. Both, my informant says, are mistaken in thinking they are securing the best blooms by their choice in this way. It is getting much like trying to determine the sex in eggs, but, as a rule, those bulbs which are high in the shoulders produce the best blooms, and it is said that the German bulb growers select these when they wish to produce fine examples of culture. Some of the ugliest and most lumpy-looking bulbs they say do best." A KoYAL Bouquet. — Success in floral arrange- ments— whether such consist in their disposal in a vase, a bouquet, a button-hole, or any of the many ways in which flowers are now so much used— depends upon the taste of the individual engaged in the work. A combination of the most graceful forms and beautiful colors which the world of flowers affords ends in failure unless the executant is possessed of a naturally artistic eye. Amongst those who stand out as particu- larly successful in the leading competitions with bouquets is Mr. Cypher, of Cheltenham, whose productions — made by his daughter — are invari- ably illustrative of correct taste alike in the combination of form and color of the flowers used as in their arrangement. On the recent visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Chepstow, Miss Cypher had the honor of pre- senting a bouquet to the Princess, which was graciously received by Her Royal Highness. It was composed of Gardenias, Stephanotis, white Lapagerias, Eucharis amazonica, Dendrobium formosum, Odontoglossum Roezlii, O. Alexandrse, and the violet Cattleya Loddigesii, interinixed with the ferns Gleichenia rupestris and Maiden- hair.— Gardener's Chronicle. NEW AND RARE PLANTS. are Heinze's white and Heinze's red, which are local varieties, having been raised some years ago by Mr. Heinze, florist of that place. Mr. H. takes great interest in raising carna- tions, as well as importing all the best kinds that can be obtained from abroad. Cymbidium eburneum. — The increased atten- tion given to orchid culture in the United States renders any information about them particularly desirable. Some of them are particularly hand- some, and many of these have in addition a de- lightful fragrance of the genus Cymbidium. One species, C. aloifolium, is not uncommon in American collections, where it is highly appre- ciated for its delicious fragrance, though the dull brown flowers are not showy. In this species, C. eburneum, we have one which not only has the same odoriferous trait of character, but also large waxy white flowers. It has been intro- duced through the efforts of Mr. William Bull, of Chelsea, near London, England, and will, we think, become an universal favorite. See cut. Fine Winter Flowering Carnations. — Mr. A. D. Mylius tells us that the most popular varieties for growing for cut flowers in Detroit SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Eucharis Amazonica. — A Philadelphia corres- pondent says: "I have about three hundred blooms now out, and have a specimen with fifteen flower stems. To my mind nothing can be handsomer." New Coleus. — "T.W.," New Albany, Ind., says: "Enclosed please find a leaf of our new Coleus, which is a sport of the Kentish Fire. We have kept it all summer, and find it good in every respect. It has not gone back in any instance. Also find a leaf of our new seedling Begonia. Will be glad to have your opinion." [The Coleus is very good. Its value for bed- ding will have to be decided by competition with others already known. Begonias of the Welto- niensis class sometimes come with spotted leaves like those sent.— Ed. G. M.] Medinilla magnifica. — "P." asks : " Will some of the readers of the Monthly please be so good as to give me some information concerning the treatment of Medinilla magnifica?" Odontoglossum Cervantesii. — "F." asks: ''Will C. H. S. please give me a few hints as to the cul- tivation of Trichopila suavis and T. tortilis, also Odontoglossum Cervantesii?" Begonia Schmidtii. — "C. E. P." says : " If any 1882.] AND HORTICULTURIST. 13 of the readers of the Monthly have had any Seedling Coleuses.— John S. F., Evanston, experience with, or can give me any informa- \ Ills., writes : "By this day's mail I send you two CYMBiDiuM eburneum. (See opposite page. tion concerning Begonia Schmidtii, I would I of my seedling Coleuses, which I think are an esteem it as a great favor." | acquisition to our list of Coleus ; they are good 14 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, bedders. I had them planted out fullj' exposed to the sun, and they never burned. The yellow variety is dwarf and bushy, the other not so much so. Give your opinion of them through the Monthly and greatly oblige." [The Coleuses are very good, but the full' value for bedding will have to be decided by competition with others already known. — Ed^ G. M.l Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. COMMUNICA TIONS. PLUM STOCKS FOR PEACH TREES. BY W. C. STRONG, BRIGHTON, MASS. As you invite testimony on this question in j'our November number, I give my limited expe- rience. The growth of Myrobolan stocks is so vigorous that I was tempted to bud the peach upon it, three years since. The buds have taken only fairly well, and the subsequent growth has disappointed me. The stocks have been on heavy and also on upland soil. Though I do not yet abandon the trial, yet the indications are not favorable for a vigorous and healthy growth. On the other hand, the white and pink almond and Prunus triloba, as also the varieties of plum, make a very strong growth on this stock. This season, I have budded into the Damson and St. Julien stocks, but as yet cannot report results. These experiments have been made on a consid- erable number of stocks, in order to arrive at a definite conclusion. For it has seemed to me reasonable to expect that the plum stock would give exemption from the fungus which we call yellows, and also might give us a more perma- nent tree, and in lieavier soils than the peach stock will thrive in. Considering the common European practice of budding upon the Muscle stock, it is surprising that this question has not long since been tested and decided in this coun- try. It seems to me that no other question in fruit culture is so important, at the present time, as this. If we can find a plum stock which suits the peach, and will give us exemption from this greatest drawback to peach culture, the yel- lows, and may possibly add some other advan- tages, then indeed shall we make an immense advance in our art. I can think of no field so encouraging for experiment. In this connection, and as a warning to make haste slowly, and also because I owe it to the public, I must state that my experiments in budding the pear upon a strong seedling of Cydonia (or Pyrus) japonica have proved disappointing. The buds grew well the first season, and some varieties have con- tinued to grow for the second and third seasons. But, the indications are plain, after several years of extensive trial, that there is a want of con- geniality between the stock and the cion. Of course, everybody is now wise enough to see that a Pyrus communis will not thrive on a Py- rus japonica seedling, however strong it may be. Well, I am content to be a martyr for the public good. For one, I confess that I did not know until the trial was made. PLUM STOCKS FOR THE PEACH. BY H. F. HILLENMEYER, LEXINGTON, KY. I notice an inquiry from " A.," Union Spring, N. Y., as to the value of plum stocks in the pro- pagation of the peach. Eight or ten years ago we worked a small lot on native and- imported stocks, part of which were sold, and part planted on our own grounds. Of ten varieties planted in our own orchard, all are gone, except two Oldmixon Free trees. None of the trees did well. The growth was dwarfed,, and the crops, though full, were inferior. The fruit, in quality, did not compare with that of the same variety grown on our peach roots. The trees were not altogether exempt from the borer; none developed a tendency to the yellows, but seemed to perish from an unsuitability of the stock. Some of these trees, planted on tenacious clay, deemed unsuitable for the peach, on its own root, have done no better. The same ex- periment, made by my father, twenty years be- fore, on different soil, dev-eloped exactly the same results. Peach on its own root does well here, and if pruned and kept free of worms will generally last twenty or twenty- five years. 1882.] AND HORTICULTURIST. 15 THE TRUTH AS APPLIED TO TREE AGENTS. BY CHARLES FREUND, GENEVA, N. Y. Having recently noticed in your magazine, also in the New York Weekly San, some remarks in regard to tree agents, it would seem, notwith- standing the ingenious letter written by a Ko- Chester dealer, and which you published a short time ago, that the plain truth had not been stated. You qualified your remarks, by stating that the public need not be afraid to purchase from the authorized agents of responsible firms ; but, unfortunately, the public is not very discrimi- nating in its treatment of tree agents; as a rule, classing them all alike, and in sections, where some man has misused them, it makes no difference how good a firm a man represents, he is classed as a fraud. The writer of the article in the Sun, with all due respect to his literary abilities, proved, by his sweeping and ignorant abuse, that he knew as little of the manner in which nursery stock is sold, retail to the public, as the buyers know themselves ; and it would have been but simple justice, on his part, to have, by proper inquiry, placed the blame and fault where they properly belong. The majority of tree agents are employed by nurserymen and dealers, and therefore, in view of foregoing facts, it is plain to be seen th#,t, in the present state of the case, the public are, more than likely to make the many suffer for the faults of the few, and thus inflict a great and too often irreparable injustice on, an honest and hard-working class of men. The only tree agents who can swindle the public are those who sell for themselves, and they constitute a very small portion of those engaged in the business, probably not the one- hundredth part. These men, being irresponsi- ble and having no reputation to lose, sell for just such prices as they can obtain, irrespective of the market value of nursery stock, and when they come to purchase what they have sold, often find that they cannot fill their orders with genuine trees, except at a loss, and then, per- haps, as a not unnatural consequence, they buy whatever they can obtain the cheapest, and make such as they purchase take the place' of what they have sold. The greatest, as well as the most innocent, swindler in the tree business is the harmless little label, and if it could only speak what trouble it would cause— what fraud it would expose. The remedy for the fraud practiced in the tree business is in the hands of those who have its welfare at heart — the responsible nurserymen and dealers throughout the States, and if they would but use their influence to prevent all wrong-doing, the nursery business would be ele- vated to the position that its great usefulness, and the many benefits it confers, justify it in holding. The agents who represent nurserymen and dealers cannot swfndle the public, for the reason that they neither grow the stock they sell, nor pack the orders they take, and being, as a rule, when they engage in the business, inexperienced as to the values of the various varieties of fruits that they sell, tell people just what their em- ployers instruct them to say, or what the des- criptions of the various plates they have in their books, represent such fruits as they describe to be. If there is any swindling done here the agent is certainly not the guilty party. The public is, like nature, very cruel, and often makes assertions that it cannot sustain. As a rule, a man who buys trees, and who for want of proper care loses them, considers that he has been swindled, and consequently calls the agent who sold them a fraud. Nine- tenths of the people who purchase nursery stock give it little or no attention, and seldom if ever plant it properly, and as a very natural result lose most of what they purchase ; and this ac- counts for nine-tenths of the so-called swindling on the part of tree agents. The other tenth may be ascribed as explained in this letter, or to the persistent resolve of the public to buy trees from those who can tell the biggest stories and sell the cheapest, irrespective of whom they are buy- ing from ; they have yet to learn, at least in the nursery business, that the cheapest is not always the best ; and as soon as our pomological socie- ties can make the public understand that the value of a fruit is not to be measured by the size of the tree on which it grows ; that all trees do not grow straight and large ; that nature, and not the nurseryman, shapes them ; that trees will at times die from natural or unnatural causes, such as excessive drought, cold, &c., for which the nurseryman, being but human, is not to blame, just so soon will they cease to make most of their complaints of having been swin- dled. The act of delivering any tree that is not 16 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January perfectly straight, to some people, is quite suffi- cient cause to them to complain of being swin- dled. Let us be just to the tree agent, so that he may not be prevented by wrongful accusation from earning his livelihood; and let us also en- deavor, through the powerful mediums of the press, that are directly connected with the busi- ness, and of which your magazine is such an able representative, to instruct the public what is best for them to plant, in their section, and also from whom they should purchase — viz., responsible men, or their authorized representa- tives only. To obtain reform we must first have reformers, and the most needed reforms in the tree business are the following : 1. Education of the public, by means of the press and pomological societies, as to the nature of trees and plants ; their various habits, their adaptability to different sections of country, and to the important fact that they should purchase only from responsible parties, or their author- ized representatives, who can if necessary prove iheir responsibility. 2. Public and prompt exposure of all known frauds in the business. 3. Sufficient testing of new varieties before selling them. 4. Honest and careful discrimination in sell- ing varieties best adapted to different localities. We live in a practical age, and men will readily learn what it is to their advantage to Itnow. I ask you to publish this letter in the interest of and injustice to a vast number of men whose appellation of tree agent makes it, at present, difficult for them to reap a just return for their labor, and who I am sure will gratefully thank you, for anj" effort on your part to place their position properly before the public. EDITORIAL NOTES. Stealing from Gardens. — It appears that in England as well as in America, there are lawyers and judges who do not know the law. In a recent trial for stealing hot-house grapes, the prosecu- ting attorney said : " It was a part of our law that a man could not be charged with stealing growing grapes, and as these had been cut from a vine, the prisoner could not be charged on that aocount. But a pair of scissors had been stolen from the same place and at the same time, and therefore he would be tried on that charge." The judge regarded this as good law, and for stealing a pair of grape scissors tne prisoner was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. In spite of this " whipping the devil around the stump,'' the English law stands as follows : " Sec. 24th and 2.5th, Vic, Chap. 96 : Whosoever shall steal or destroy, or damage with intent to steal, any plant, root, fruit, or vegetable produc- tion growing in any garden, orchard, pleasure ground, nursery ground, hot-house, green-house or conservatory, shall on conviction thereof be- fore a justice, either be committed to the com- mon gaol or house of correction, there to be im- prisoned and kept to hard labor for any term not exceeding six calendar months, or else shall for- feit and pay over and above the value of the ar- ticles stolen or the amount of the injury done, such sum of money, not exceeding twenty pounds, as to the justice shall seem meet." Shippers and Growers — Mr. M. T. Brewer of San Francisco, in an address before the Califor- nia Horticultural Society, contended that the fruit grower should consider the interest of the shipper his own interest. As it was, some fruit growers did not deal fairly — mixing inferior fruit with good fruit in the crates, or otherwise prac- ticing deception, or " want of thought," by which the shippers lost trade, and eventually the grow- ers. Honesty is the best policy in all cases, but especially when it is necessary to do business through an agent. Painted Labels. — The writer was just in from puzzling over some " tree labels," just after a rain shower. These labels had been written less than two weeks, and were almost illegible. On the ta- ble were some samples of '' machine painted la- bels" from thePenfield Block Company, of Lock- port, and they were there just in time to impress in the most emphatic manner their immense value. It will not be long before the tree seller who does not use these labels will be regarded as a fossil of the most indurated type. Bad News for Tobacco Raisers. — After a careful investigation by disinterested scientific men, the French Government has concluded that the use of tobacco interferes with the men- tal faculties, and general ability to study, and has prohib'ted absolutely its use in all the Gov- ernment schools. It is also said that no regular smoker ever took the highest degree in Harvard, and the authorities there are inclined to look into it. Glout Morceau Pear. — The Garden quotes Dictionarie de Pomologie, as authority for the state - 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST. 17 meat that Glout Morceau is the same as Beurre d'Arenberg, and gives it as but a synonym of the latter name. Years ago this was discussed in America, and the conclusion reached that they were different fruits. Yet it is remarkable that no. one is able to give any separate history to the Glout Morceau. It is said that Parmentier gave it the name temporarily, because the original name was lost. Bees and Grapes. — The honeybees, like many other creatures, seem to profit by experience and grow wise in their generations. Every year there is increasing trouble in Germantown gar- dens from the ravages of bees on grapes. We never knew the fruit to be so badly injured as last year by them. It may be that the very dry season was unfavorable to clover, and other blos- soms, and they were driven by necessity to feed on the grape. But however this may be, we fear they will not forget in the future how good grapes are. To be sure, a bee only lives one season, but we suppose an acquired habit is in some degree hereditary. Curing the Yellows in the Peach. — There is a prevalent belief that when a tree once has the disease known as the Yellows, it can never be cured. Yet we frequently read of apparently well authenticated cases of cure. When these are brought to the attention of practical men, they shrug their shoulders and say, " The tree probfibly had yellow leaves from starvation, or from injuries from the borer, and not the disease known as the Yellows." Does any one know of a case , recognized by those who know, as being diseased, that ever recovered, either by being left to nature or through any supposed treatment? Improved Cranberries. — Few fruits have greater commercial importance than the Cran- berry. Those who labor for improvement in them deserve credit. Some varieties are better able to resist unfavorable circumstances than others. Some are earlier, some larger, and oth- ers again more productive. There are many fields in which improrements may be worked out. Among varieties well spoken of, are " Ea- ton's Bell" and "Mansfield Creeper." The former ripens in Connecticut by the 5th of Sep- tember. New Varieties of Fruit.— Mr. M. S. Combs, in a paper read before the Kentucky Horticultu- ral Society, asserts that it is far better to spend a little pains in crossing, than to rely on chance seedlings for the improvement of the varieties of fruit. Wearing Out of Soil.— Our farmers and gardeners in the West who regard the soil worn out after they have taken twenty years of crops without manure, from them, must not lose heart. An exchange says that around Shanghai in Chi- na, the ground has been cropped for '• countless generations," and is as good or even better to- day than it ever was. When nature has done with the ground, art can recover it always. Man is greater than nature when he sets himself to work. Peach Yellows.— W. K. Higley contributes to tlie Am. Naturalist a paper on the scientific study of the disease known as the " Yellows," in the peach. His conclusions, however, do not seem to have any direct connection with his experi- ments. " Care must be exercised in cultivation, pruning, &c.," and the yellows come "from a lack of phosphoric acid and potash." Just what this " care " is to be ; what kind of " cultivation " is to be practiced ; how the " pruning " is to be done ; or what the "ei cetera " is to cover, is not quite clear, and it is just possible, though this paper appears as a contribution to science in an able scientific serial, that the author does not quite know himself what he means. Certainly we do not. Henderson on Delusions. — Few men keep doing so much for horticulture as Mr. Peter Henderson does, by his shrewd, practical com- mon sense. He may sometimes get wrong, but he is generally right, and always does good. In a recent paper on " Delusions," he shows up the notion that plants in sleeping rooms are inju- rious ; that money is to be made from the busi- ness without practical knowledge of the business ; that there is much special virtue in special manures for special crops ; that plants take more nitrogen from insects than they can get from the atmosphere in the ordinary way; that the pro- duction of variegated leaves by inoculation is a proof of the truth of graft-hybridism, and some other notions of similar character. Let us hope that Mr. Henderson will keep at it. There is plenty of such work to be done yet. The Keiffer Pear. — We are watching with some interest the behavior of this interesting hybrid, as it comes into bearing in other than its original locality. The editor of the Germantown Telegraph reports on some which he has had this season, and which he reports favorably, as to 18 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, quality. The editor of The Country Gentleman has had some from New Jersey and from Ro- chester. Of the former he speaks favorably ; the latter were poor. We have had some on our table this winter that were delicious — and some from the same grower that were as poor as poor can be. NEW OR RARE FRUITS. Tomato— President Garfield. — This is the title of a new tomato advertised in Germany. All the information we can gather concerning it is that " it will not fail to cause a great sensa- tion." Peach — Dyer's June. — This is a chance seed- ling which was found near Ava, Missouri. It is said to be a good addition to the earlj^ kinds. It is three inches across, which is a good size for an early peach. Unfortunately it is a cling- stone. EuBY Currant. — The American Garden has a pretty illustration of this variety which was raised by Mr. Jacob Moore, the originator of the Brighton grape. The branches, as represented here, are five inches and a half from their at- tachment to the branch to the terminal berry. Mr. Hooker— excellent authorit}^ — vouches for its superiority. The berries, though not so large as either the Versaillaise or the Cherry, are next to them in size, with the advantage of larger bunches and better fruit. It was raised from the Cherry, believed to have been crossed with the White Grape. The Two Sisters Pear.— Pears and other fruits are so often named after the raisers, discoverers, or places where found, that it is worth noting when one can be named after some peculiarity of its own. The "Deux Soeurs" is a French variety, raised by the two Misses Knoop, of Malines, and which at the same time usually has the fruit appearing in pairs. It is allied to the Marie Louise class, and may therefore not be of great value in our country, where they are no sooner ripe than rotten. But it makes a beautiful picture in the Florist and Pomologist. SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Progress in Raspberry Culture. — Mr. N. Ohmer, of Dayton, Ohio, writes : " Raspberries are attracting much more attention at this par- ticular time than ever before. Raspberries have always been appreciated more or less on account of filling in the place nicely between strawber- ries and blackberries. It is a fruit much ad- mired by many, though never so popular as the strawberry. Up to within a few years there were but few varieties. The Red_ Antwerp, American Black, or common Black Cap and Brinkle's Orange, were popular as far back as I can recollect. As much improvement has been made in late years in the raspberry as in any other fruit ; we are now not confined to three or four varieties, but varieties of distinguished merit can be counted bj' the dozens. I have grown the raspberry more or less since I have been engaged in fruit culture, now twenty odd years, but never to the same extent as at present, I now plant largely of them, because I find their culture profitable. I can and do grow raspberries almost as cheaply as I do corn (not counting the cost of gathering), and any of you can do the same if you have suitable soil, varie- ties, and understand the proper mode of culture. Winter Nelis Pear. — We made a note of the superior reputation the Winter Nelis Pear had achieved about Rochester. The ink was scarcely dry before a sample came to hand from EU- wanger & Barry, and they were indeed worthy of all that had been said about them. With them were samples of Josephine de Malines, and the Jones' Seedling, also remarkably fine. We believe E. & B. were chiefly instrumental in making the last known, and it surely does credit to their good judgment. Gros Colman Grape. — "G. H.," Yarmouth, Mass., says : '' Please let me know in your Gar- dener's Monthly of Gros Colman grapevine. Will it do for a cold grapery, quality, color, size of bunch ?" [The Gros Colman grape is not considered a first-class variety for a cold grapery, and it does not stand as the highest for warmer houses. — Ed. G. M.] Japan PERSiMMON.-Mr. P. J. Berckmans writes : " I send by mail two specimens of Japanese Per- simmons. The large is Tanenashi or Seedless, not ripe, but may become eatable in a couple of weeks. Fruit is not more than two-thirds the size it attained last year, owing to protracted drought. " The small one is Kurokume, and will be ripe in a few days. I notice that birds begin to find them out. This specimen is one of fifty-five, 1882. AND HORTICULTURIST. 19 grown upon a tree planted in March, 1880, and now 3^ feet high. It is one of the smaller va- rietes, but of excellent quality." [Hard worked editors cannot get around to see all the new things as they would like to do, and are always grateful to those who help them to keep their knowledge up to the times in the kind manner Mr. Berckmans has done. It was a pleasure to see such fine fruit. One of them weighed 6^ ounces, and was exhibited to the Germantown Horticultural Society. We have tried, and know others try, many varieties near Philadelphia, but all have been killed to the ground by the winters ; but why can they not be grown in tubs as oranges and lemonsare?— Ed. G. M.l Forestry. EDITORIAL NOTES. Timber is King.— Prof. P. W. Sheafer, of Potts- ville, in his excellent paper on the geology of Schuylkill county, says : " In Schuylkill county we are specialists. We are dependent on one substance ; coal is king." We fancy after awhile it will be found in Schuylkill county that timber is king. It is not possible to work a coal mine without timber. Of Pinus rigida alone enough is used by one company in that county in one year to reach, if the logs are placed end to end, from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. Forests will soon have to be planted there in an intelligent manner, or coal will no longer have regal honor. Protection to Forestry. — The United States Government is already doing much to protect the lumber interest in so far as it concerns the des- truction of our forests, and there can be no reason why it should not recognize the same principle in the encouragement of new planta- tions. While farmers and fruit-growers have to build their own railroads, or construct their own canals, the Government spends money for the sole reason that the forest-owners may get their, timber to market. Immense sums of money have been spent on the Guyandot River in West Virginia, for no other reason than improving on raft navigation. Protection of Forests a Necessity. — By S- Van Dorrien. Xew York : B. Westerman & Co. This is a pamphlet of thirty-one pages, which goes over and over again the same old story : trees, clouds ; clouds make rain ; rain makes springs ; springs make rivers ; rivers make seas ; seas make universal prosperity. Well, every- body knows the story. What is really needed is not sermons of this sort ; but to know what is the best method of encouraging timber culture? It is a pity some good, practical mind does not turn its attention more to this matter, and to ease the minds of the poets and philosophers, who are forever urging that " something must be done," but leave to others the work of doing and paying for it. We read carefully through this pamphlet to get some good idea as to what ought to be done. To our amazement, the only comfort after reading thirty-one pages is the assurance that " what is to be done, must be done at once." There is one satisfaction, however, in reading it; we may learn what not to do. If there is any special object in the author's min(i as he wrote, besides the furnishing of a pen-portrait of an arboreal Jeremiah, it is that our Government should do something, — something because for- eign governments have done something; but a careful reading of what he tells us about the action of foreign governments, shows their action to have utterly failed to be of the slightest benefit. No one would for an instant want to have repeated here what has been attempted there. Strange to say the writer seems to sym- pathize with the tremendous tyranny and oppres- sion which has often been attempted under the name of forestry laws. He takes occasion to re- flect on the " demoralizing penuriousness of the agricultural classes," who seemed to think they had the same right to try and make all they could from their land as the mill-owner would from his mill ; he thinks it scandalous that the farmer should " loudly demand indemnity " for being compelled to keep his land in forest when it would pay him so much better to make graz- ing ground of it ; and he can scarcely find lan- guage strong enough to characterize his detesta- 20 THE GARDENERS MONTHLY [January, tion of the "narrow-mindedness which was re- luctant to make a personal sacrifice for the in- terest of all." He looks back lovingly to the time in France when the "Church and religious institutions," and great land-holders in their in- terest, had possession of most of the lands of France. Then they had forests indeed ! and the happy owners would hunt and sport to their heart's content. Fortunately, these views do not suit our American atmosphere. We want timber be- cause we have use for it; we want planting en- couraged where it can be done with some show of being within no remote time useful. We do not want to tax ourselves too heavily for the benefit of posterity ; but it is the duty of govern- ments to look after that which private enterprise will not do, when it bears on national prosperity; but no American wishes that all the cost of this national work should fall on the " penurious farmer." They are all willing to lend a hand, and would rather raise a "penny subscription from every American," than be charged with in- justice. Lumber in Virginia.— The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway is now consuming lumber and timber at the average rate of 600,000 feet a month. In the seven past months of this year, its consump- tion has been 4,200,000 feet, brought mainly from along its line in West Virginia. Much of this has been used in the New ports-News ex- tension. A Large White Oak.— A white oak tree re- cently cut in Salem County measured six feet and two inches across the stump. Trees of this size are now scarce in South Jersey ; or East Jersey either for that matter.— iV. J. Mirror. • Waters of Lake Ontario. — The daily papers say that : " No little concern is felt by persons interested in the harbor accommodations of Lake Ontario by reason of the assured fact that the level of the lake has fallen steadily, and in a marked de- gree, for many years. The records have been accurately kept, and leave no room for doubt. Many wharfs in many ports were formerly ac- cessible to vessels which cannot now come near them. The entrance to the harbor of Toronto has been kept open only by means of thorough dredging, and now, when rock bottom has been reached, there is scarcely enough water to float the largest of the vessels which seek to pass. Various explanations for the subsidance of the water have been offered, but none of them seems to be adequate." In these cases geological reasons are usually satisfactory. A change in the streams which flow underground, make a great difference in the flow of a lake. But it will be in order to have the above paragraph in the next treatise on forestry. Forest Fires. — Ontario is said by the daily papers to have lost $10,000,000 by the forest fires of last season, — and next year, and another, and another, she will probably lose $10,000,000 every time. And yet all this may be avoided by spending a few hundred thousand dollars in carefully keeping down underbrush ; and insist, ing on the burning at once of the waste from forest clearings. But somehow it seems both to Canadians and Americans much easier and more humanitarian to raise half a million dollars to give to the widows and orphans of sufferers by fire, than to spend a quarter of a million in pre- venting their homes, with the fathers and hus- bands, from being burned up. It is a funny world, especially where it is about forestry.. Natural History and Science. COMMUNICA TIONS. SCIENCE NOTES BY PROFESSOR T. C. PORTER, EASTON, PA. In a recent number of the Monthly you say with a doubt, that you encountered the famous potato bug on the plains of Colorado in 71. In 73 I saw a stalk of Solanum rostratum in a new street on the outskirts of Denver, covered with them, and saw them also on the same plant at a railroad station of the Kansas Pacific, between Salina and Denver. Is Campanula rotundifolia to be HaiV-bell, or Hare bell ? The Origin of the name should de- termine that. I see no connexion between the flower and the hare. The plant grows on steep, rocky cliffs, which hares do not frequent. Nor do I see any connexion between the flower and hair, except the remote supposition that it might have 1882. AND HORllCULTURIST. 21 been so called because used by ladies to adorn their hair, or because the slender peduncles have a capillary look. My own conjecture is that the name is a corruption of Air-Bell, confused through similarity of sound with the true Hare- bell, which is probably a Muscari. Looking up at them from the base of a cliff, as I have often done in my walks about Easton, the tiny bells ot Campanula rotundifolia appear as if suspended in the air on invisible threads, and might well suggest the name. Why not adopt it and so write it? «-•» ■ EDITORIAL NOTES. Work for Natural History Clubs. —In young clubs it should not be a point to get new fiicts, so much as to familiarize the members with common ones. This is best done by each member making original observations and re- peating them, instead of studying from books. We were much interested in the way this is done in the Agricultural College at Lansing, Mich., as reported in the College Speeulum. " An illustrated paper was presented on ' A Comparison of the Flowers of Apple Trees with those of Pear Trees,' by F. F. Rogers. In gene- ral the apple flowers are larger than those of the pear. The sepals of apple flowers are shorter and broader than those of the pear. In both the sepals are more or less woolly. The sepals of pears are at least half as long as the petals, and are usually quite long and taper-pointed. Their stamens are not very un- like. The most marked difl'erence is seen in the styles. In the case of the apple the styles are united from one-fourth to one-half of their length, forming a stalk or stipe ; while in the pear the styles are distinct to the base. The calyx tube of the pear is somewhat globular, while that of the apple is urn- shaped." Here is information, communicated by a col- lege student. The facts.no doubt numbers have seen, but which very few, probably, really knew. Calochortus.— The common name in Califor- nia is Mariposa Lily. In Colorado, Dr. Newberry says, the two species Calc; choitus Nuttallii, and C. Gunnisonii are known as ''Black-eyed Susan." The Indians of Utah call it " Sego." Hygeinic Value of Jussieua grandiflora. — Dr. Cartwright of Natchez, attributes the exemp- tion of some districts of Louisiana from malarial fevers to the abundance of this pretty, creeping aquatic plant. We feel bound, as news-gather- ers, to record this piece, because it will no doubt have wide currency, but have to confess that we see no other ground for the doctor's opinion than because it so happens that this plant grows there. Probably hundreds of other plants are abundant there as this ; and even then the abundance ia no proof of value. Torch Lilies.— The great objection to com- mon names is that they become so very com- mon that each plant gets a score, and no one knows what the other person is talking of. It is not altogether because names axe hard that English ones are chosen, but because the Latin ones seem too leaj^ned for common people. What is easier than Tritoma? yet our people made it " hot poker flower." Not to accept a name from Americans the English christened it over again* They name it "Torch lily," according to Mr. Robinson's Gardening Illustrated. But in Mr. Robinson's new book it is again named " Flame flower." We see by these illustrations that how- ever easy it may seem, and desirable to accom- plish, it is impracticable to make any reforms in this manner. We hope our good friend, the Garden, will pause in its eff"orts in this way. Malarial Fever.— W^e are often misled by names. Malarial fever has nothing to do with malaria as we used to understand it— gases from decayed matter along rivers and in marshes. A letter from Las Cruces, in New Mexico, now be- fore us, speaks of the alarming extent of mala- rial fever this year, in a country usually as dry as dust. Flowering of Bermuda Grass.— Dr. G. W. Smith, Canton, Miss., says : " I think you are mistaken in regard to the common belief as to the flowering of the Cynodan dactylon in the South. It is not that the grass produces no flower spikes, but that it does not perfect seed; and when it is not kept down by graz- ing, it produces, on good land, flowers in profuse abundance, but diligent and repeated search has failed ever to find a seed." Introduction of the Camellia.— In a recent article we showed the strong probability that the weeping willow was introduced to Europe from China by the Dutch, when they enjoyed the ex- clusive privilege of trade with China in the earli- er times. It is known that the camellia came in that way. It was first carried by them to their settlements in the Phillipines, and brought from there to Spain by a priest named Camelli, after whom it was named by Linnaeus. An Almond Growing from a Peach. — The Rural Press notes the case of an almond pushing 22 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January' out from among the branches of a fruiting peach tree. A correspondent refuses to believe in such bud variation, but the editor properly reminds him that it is too late in horticultural experience to deny the existence of sports. Certainly the cases where the nectarine has pushed out from peach branches have been too well attested to admit of doubt. It originated in that way. Local Names of Plants. — If any of our readers know of any common names of plants which have not come into general use, or may not be generally known. Dr. W. K. Gerard, 9 Waverly Place, New York, would like to have them. He is making this department of popular history a special study. Cambridge Botanic Garden.— John A. Lowell has left $20,000, on condition that it be called the " Lowell Botanic Garden." SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Autumn Flowers of the Berkshire Hills.— An English lady, after a trip in late autumn through this beautiful district of Massachusetts, writes : '' I have just returned from a most de- lightful trip (principally by carriage and horses) through the Berkshire Hills. The beauty of the country reminded us constantly of England, and the wild asters by the roadside, in such a won- derful variety of color, delighted us. It seems to me that large beds of them — in public parks, etc., in the autumn — would be very attractive. I am in some perplexity as to whether a profu- sion of straight-stemmed plants, covered with blue flowers, are gentians or penstemons. If gentians, they do not much resemble their Caro- lina cousins, and are certainly far more lovely. I found them between Pittsfield and Lenox, growing on the hillsides, while our gentians have the deep shade of swamp land." White Cedar.— "P.," Vineland, New Jersey, "writes: "In the East where I came from, the Arborvitse is known as white cedar ; but here I find a very different wood called white cedar. What is the proper one, and how does this con- fusion arise?" [The " confusion arises" from the mere use of common names, which, unlike botanical names originate with people who are not recognized as authority in naming plants. Anyone has the right to give a common name to a plant, and no one can decide which is the "proper one." There may be a score of different white cedars for aught we know. In Oregon the Lawson cypress is " white cedar." In California, Liboce- drus decurrens is "white cedar." In New Jer- sey, Cupressus thuyoides is " white cedar," and "white cedar" in New England is Thuja occi- dentalis. As there is no authority to decide your question, you will have to choose one for yourself.— Ed. G. M.] Early Weeping Willows in America. — W. Kite, Germantown, says : " I see in thy Monthly some notices of willow trees. If it will be of interest I can tell of one. " In the yards back of the old mansions on the north side of Chestnut street, grew many fine old trees. One of them was called Frank- lin's willow — a stately tree of say eighteen inches girth, (diameter ? — Ed.) — sixty-five years ago when I used to see it daily. I had it from my grandparents that Franklin did plant it. The usual story of the osier basket and the green twig was attached to the history of this tree. It was as handsome a weeping willow as one often sees." Twin Afple. — James H. Cook, Strathroy, On- tario, sends a very pretty specimen of a twin apple. Such cases sometimes occur. The two original stems are less than one-fourth of an inch apart. From this upwards there is a com- plete union for about three-fourths the distance to the apex, where the apple again separates to two distinct ones, each having its separate calyx and crown. It shows that in some very early stage the two apples were quite distinct, and united later. But as there is no trace of skin in the joined portion, we may learn this further fact, either that skin is not formed until there is a contact with the atmosphere, or else it is ab- sorbed and changed into ordinary cell tissue after being formed. In the Wistaria bark- — that is skin— is often found in the stem after the wood has been cut across, it having come about by the over-growing of the irregular outline of the wood, which does not grow in regular cir- cles. The bark is not absorbed in these cases, so we are brought down to the probability that these twins, originally distinct, formed their union before they had any skin properly so-called. Bracts and Leaves. — In a recent number we gave, in a reference to Antigonon, some idea as to how large leafy calyxes are seen to represent the leaves they really are. This change from leaves to floral parts is moi*e readily seen in the 1882. AND HORTICULTURIST. case of i)lants belonging to the Arum family, of which the common Richardia, or Calla lily, is a and the flower stem is seen to be nothing but a mass of leaves coiled up so that all trace of the Iv ANTHURIUM SCHERZERIANUM MAXIMUM. Striking example. In that case the usual white I original leaf stalks of each leaf is nearly lost, spathe often is half as green as in a real leaf, | In the plant here illustrated the spathe is scarlet 24 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, instead of white, and the real flowers are the little angular figures on the worm-like spadix. The common Anthurium Scherzerianum is now well known. This one of Mr. Wm. Bull's intro- ductions is double the size of that very popular species. Literature, Travels I Personal Notes. COMMUNICA TIONS. NOTES AND QUERIES-NO. 30. BY JACQUES. The following scraps for the Gardener's Monthly were found on a table by the death- bed of Mr. John Jay Smith, after his decease. It is a remarkable illustration of how the love of horticulture entered even into his dying thoughts : Goldsmith.— Who does not like Goldsmith and his writings does not enjoy one of the most genial and pleasant authors of the English lan- ■guage. The series of '' English men of letters," small as they are, give to the present generation an opportunity of enjoying the characteristics and peculiarities of the persons who pleased the leisure hours of our grandfathers, while they taught them what literature is. The life of Dr. Johnson, by Leslie Stevens, as already remarked, is one of the most agreeable and informing books in the language ; Goldsmith's life by Wil- liam Mack, the novelist, fairly comes within the list for high praise. Impecunious, careless. Goldsmith was ; he adds another to those so frail, so seemingly inapt, who are the instru- ments through which providence works its will upon the world. What a large araiy they make coming down to our own time. What an anomaly was Poe; his career has now been the topic of many writers who agree as to his ability, but do not save his habits from severe animad- version ; how curious that his first biographer, Griswold, should owe his name being saved from oblivion by this one act of unworthy vitupera- tion. Very few can have perused Goldsmith's life of Beau Nash, but it is worth being over- hauled. He says what was eminently true of the ladies of those days and their want of edu- cation : " But were we to give laws to a nursery, we should make them childish laws ;" the women of that day were little more than infants in men- tal acquirements. "Followed your prescrip- tion? No," says the Beau, whose intellectual capacity is not magnified. " Egad, if I had, I would have broken my neck, for I flung it out of a two pair of stairs window." The work con- tains some excellent warnings against the vice of gambling. The bad practice of pidling floicers by children and even grown people, who ought to know bet- ter, continues. Let out a few city youthful tramps into a new park and the chances are that all the butter cups in a given space will be gath- ered and almost instantly withered, leaving nothing for the next comers, and so with other things. The park planter will tell you that ivies and all running vines are no sooner planted than they are pulled up and carried home. A lady was arrested the other day with her apron la- dened with new ivies, and by good luck only, escaped a week in jail. This tendency to theft can be partially corrected by careful teaching in the public schools. The police of public gar- dens would be greatly more useful if they were taught the difference between weeds and flowers. Great attention is now very properly paid to the cultivation of the important cinchona, or qui- nine bark. New specimens have been intro- duced into Madras by the government, obtained in South America at a distance of three hundred miles from the coast ; the Santa Fe variety yields, by analysis, ten per cent, of pure sulphate of quinine. Jamaica, too, is growing very val- uable kinds. Improvements in agricultural machinery feed a hundred men with greater ease than at one time a man could feed himself alone. — Scientific American. The enemy of the vine Phylloxara is declared to be mightier than a German army, for the latter, once satisfied, goes home, but the former stays forever. Creatures, unconscious of what they do, terrify whole nations and give the lie to the arrogance of man. 1882.] AND HORTICULTURIST. 25 The Rose.— The passage " Mary Ann" would seek from Spencer, is this : "Eternal God, in his almightie power To make ensample of his heavenly grace, In Paradize whylomedid plant this flowie; Whence he it fetched out of her native place. And did in stocke of earthly flesh enrace. That mortal man his glory should admyre In gentle ladies' breste, and bounteous raco Of womankind, in fayrest flowre doth spyre, And beareth fruit of honor and all chast desyre." EDITORIAL NOTES. Our Correspondents, [A friend in Indiana, pleasantly writes : '' I was very much pleased with Mr. Harding's ' Under the Hawthorn,' which in this connec- tion was doubly interesting to me. But the Monthly has such a splendid corps of contribu- tors that every page is replete with information for all classes of readers, and I always think after reading each number, what a treat you must have, to be in correspondence with such enter- taining and instructive gentlemen and ladies from all parts of the country, and most likely entire strangers, personally, to you." Pleasant it is, and 3'et it has its dark side. It is unfortunately the case that there are but twenty-four hours in one day, and of these even six or seven must go for sleep. Hence, the edit- or's correspondence has to be very one-sided. Fortunately the great majority are tender hearted and kind, and write him dozens of letters to his one in reply. They know it is easier for a hun- dred persons to write to one than for one to write to a hundred. Yet the editor often wishes he could show his appreciation of his correspon- dents betfer than he does. The Phylloxera in France. — By the kind- ness of Mr. Charles Joly, we have received the report of M. Tisseraud, on the efforts made to conquer this foe to the vineyard during the year ending 1880. It is very pleasant to learn from M. Tisseraud that " the Phylloxera, like the vine mildew, is in a fair way to be conquered by sci- ence." It appears the insect can certainly be destroyed, wherever the grapes are in a situation to have the roots submerged during the winter season, and some useful insecticides have been discovered. The best preventative is the roots of American species. Horticulture. — There seems to be a misap- prehension in the minds of even intelligent per- sons, as to the use of the word "horticulture." In most cases they mean pomology. Horticul- ture has to do with fruit culture ; but then, so has agriculture. Whether it should be treated from the agricultural or the horticultural stand- point, depends on its special treatment. As a general thing, however, our Professors of horti- ciilture are really agriculturists. Laws Against Weeds —A correspondent from Berlin, Conn., writes : " I have been querying of late what course our law makers will take when next they meet, in re- gard to the law about carrots and Canada thistles. No attention is paid* to the present law by the majority of the people, and it does not beget re- spect for law to have plain, specific directions re- main a dead letter on the statute book." We do not know what more anyone could ex- pect. If our correspondent will examine the back numbers of the Gardener's Monthly, he will find that we have always opposed these en- actments as silly in the extreme. Diamond Tuberose. — After our letter-press was struck off for last rtionth, we received a brief note from Nanz & Neuner not to make any note of it. It was of course too late. After this the advertisement came to the publisher, as the reader may have noted, (page 14, Dec. No) with- drawing offers to sell it. Sh: ce then we have had notes from Peter Henderson, V. H. Hallock, Son & Thorpe, to the eflfect that a tuberose under this name was offered to them, and found to be in no way different from the Pearl, and suggest- ing that Nanz & Neuner had been victimized. Whether Nanz & Neuner had this suspicion when making the advertisement above referred to, we do not at this moment know. For fear there may be something wrong we think it due to our readers, as this number is now going to press, to make this cautionary signal, as the weather men would say. Law of Branches Overhanging Neighbors.— The Philadelphia PuhliG Ledger says : Two persons own land separated by a line fence, wlvich is common property between the two parties. One has an apple tree on his side ! of the fence, whose limbs overhang the fence on the side of the other. Apples foil on either side. The question often asked is. Do the apples that fall on one's land belong to one or the other, or to both ? This subject has been several trnies discussed, with some contradictory decisions and judgments, but the rules are now pretty well es- tablished. If the stem or trunk of the tree groAVS so close to the line that parts of its actual body extend into each, neither owner can cut it down without the consent of the other, and the fruit is to be equitably divided. If the stem of the tree 26 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, stands wholly within the boundary line of one owner he owns the whole tree with its products, although the roots and branches extend into the property of the other. There was an old rule of law that the latter might claim from the yield of the tree as much as would be an offset for the nourishment it derived from his estate, but this is now obsolete. The law gives the land owner on whose soil the tree stands the right to cut it down at his pleasure, and to pluck all the fruit from it while it stands. In New York State the courts have decided that trespass for assault and battery would lie by the owner of the tree against the owner of the land over which its branches extended if he prevented the owner of the tree, by personal violence, from reaching over and picking the fruit growing upon these branches while standing on the fence dividing the lands. The owner of the land over which the branches extend may lop the branches close to his line. He may also dig down and cut the roots square with his line, if he so elects. In plain terms, if no portion of the trunk is within his line he may refuse all trespass of the tree on his premises, either above the ground or below it. But if he gives the tree license either to ex- tend its roots under liis soil or to hang its branch- es over his premises he does not thereby gain any right to its fruit. He cannot pick it for him- self nor interfere with the picking by the owner, as long as the latter remains in the tree or on the fence which divides the property. This right to the fruit does not, however, permit the other owner to come upon the soil on the other side of the line to gather the fruit, and all the fruit which fliUs without violence to the ground on that side may thus become the property of its owner. Areca Baueri. — Seaforthia robusta, is a syno- nym of Areca Baueri, as no doubt most persons who read the note at p. 380, last month, under- stood, though the accidental omission of the usual marks ( ) of parenthesis, made it, perhaps, ob- scure to some. Ancient Ploughing.— The annexed illustration of an ancient British plough and ploughman, is from a recent lecture by Mr. C. C. Babbington, as given in The London Gardener's Chronicle. Scholarly Writing. — Sometime since we noted the request of a correspondent to " excuse his poor writing, as he had not the benefit of a scho- lastic education." We copied a piece from a school book by Comstock, and hoped our cor- respondent would continue to write somewhat different from such an example of the scholas- tic. A contemporary copies what we said, and gives the following from another school book, by a Professor Harris, but the title of the book is not given : " The reality pushes out the potentiality. Or there may be a reality whose actuality and po- tentiality exclude each other. Or, when all po- tentialities are real, it is an immortal being. Or, when one potentiality is real all its potentialities are realized in itself." Southern Nurseries. — Nothing gives us more pleasure than to see or hear of the increase or prosperity of first-class Southern nurseries, for there is no part of the Union which has so many facilities for the best specimens of gardening as the Southern States. There are already quite a number of excellent fruit nurseries, and some, especially that of Mr. Berckmans, of Augusta, have quite a high reputation for general nursery supplies. We hear from a friend who has re- cently visited the Rosebank Nurseries near Nashville, that these also are taking a high stand in this superior line. As they are the oldest nurseries in the South it is quite a pleasure to know that they are also up among the leaders in the new order of things. T. R. Trumpey. — Among the many changes so frequent in gardening and nursery establishments it is pleasant to note the fact of Mr. T. R. Trum- pey having just passed his twenty-fifth year as propagator to the Messrs. Parsons, of Flushing. A quarter of a century with one firm is truly re- markable. Of the many thousands of rare trees now giving pleasure to numbers over the length and breadth of the land, how much of this pleas- ure is due to Mr. Trumpey's labors ! It may be that he is not yet rich in this world's goods, (how that may be we do not know) but he must at least be rich in the satisfaction he must feel when he thinks of these things. James Markey, thb Celebrated Potter.— On the evening of November 15th, James Markey, who has gained a national reputation as an ex- pert greenhouse workman, dropped dead of heart disease, near his residence on Jersey City Heights. Though only thirty-four years of age, he had been employed in the greenhouses of Pe- ter Henderson for nearly twenty-three years- having begun at the early age of eleven years. In all operations in the greenhouse Mr. Hen- 1882.] AND HORTICULTURISl. 27 derson has alwaj's claimed he had no peer for rapidity and neatness. In the operation of pot- ting he daily did the work of two average men, and was paid accordingly. It will be remembered that some years ago when Mr. Henderson asserted in the columns of the Monthly that James Markey potted 7,500 plants in ten hours, several of our readers ques- tioned the fact. Long since then Mr. Markey had far surpassed even that extraordinary record, and had repeatedly potted 10,000 in one day of ten hours ; and on one special occasion, in April of this year, potted 11,500 rooted cuttings of ver- benas in 2| inch pots ; a feat probably never equalled or even approached. Besides being an extraordinary workman, few men of his years were possessed of such varied and comprehen- sive knowledge of greenhouse work. Mr. Mar- key was a native of county Meath, Ireland, but came to this country at an early age, and, ex- cept two years which he served in the war of the Eebellion, had been from first to last in the em- ployment of Mr. Henderson. He was modest and unassuming to a fault ; a generous-hearted, open-handed fellow, and enjoyed the respect of his employer and fellow-workmen to an extent that few men ever attain. A. S. Fuller. — This Avell-known entomologist and writer on gardening has taken to the study of mineralogy. At least, he was at last accounts directing some silver mining operations in New Mexico. M. J. Donnelly.— This well-known Rochester nurseryman we find claimed by the Montreal Post as being formerly " one of them," before Jonathan absorbed him. He does not, however, forget liis old friends, as he went back there last September and astonished them with an exhibit of one hundred varieties of apples, and forty of pears. The Botanical Index. — The publication of this valuable quarterly has been temporarily suspended, the editor, Mr. Case, having had to engage in the meantime in some pursuits which would interfere with his work on it. There are numerous admirers of this unpretending effort who will be glad to welcome its reappearance. The Flowers and Ferns op the United States. — When this work was commenced it was regarded as but an experiment, and it was issued as an experiment by Messrs. Prang, who promised to issue one series of 196 chapters only. So far as popular support went, it was a great success ; but they found, as being in the business of litho- graphic printing, it was not wise for them to go into a publishing business. Over 5,000 subscx'i- bers were found for the work, a number perhaps unparalelled for a mere scientific work. Mr. Charles Eobson, who purchased the work, concluded also to try the series plan, before issuing it as a regular thing. In this way a second successful series was issued. It became evident tliat the American public would perma- nently sustain a work of this character, and ar- rangements were in progress to commence a regular monthly issue on this first of January. The drawings were all prepared, and the edi- tor has over fifty chapters ready, so as to be sure to always have enough ahead to guard against sickness or accidents interfering with the regular appearance of the work, when Mr. Robson died suddenly, of cholera, in September, leaving no arrangements whatever for the continuation of his business. Up to this time the administrator has not been able to make a satisfactory sale of the right to " Flowers and Ferns," and there is therefore no one as yet to continue the publication of the work, as was intended. As soon as this matte* shall be settled and another publisher found, the author hopes to continue in a permanent form a work which he is jileased to know has given pleasure to so many thousands of men and wo- men all over the world. Proceedings of the Georgia State Horti- cultural Society. — President P. J. Berckmans, We note that the Nickajack apple is losing favor in Georgia. In regard to peaches, the Alexan- der seems the favorite among the societies. Numbers of new-fangled things, with high re- commendations, were voted worthless, or nearly so; and the famous old Crawford's early, and Crawford's late, still found to be at the top of the favorable list. The society seems to confine itself entirely to fruit culture, and to be doing excellent work in that line. American Newspaper Annual, for 1881, hj N. W. Ayer & Son, Newspaper Agents, Phila- delphia. There is nothing more necessary to a successful business than judicious advertising. Fortunes are made and fortunes are lost by ad- vertising. To advertise, and to know just how to advertise, is the mainspring of success. If a pa- per has a hundred thousand readers, and j^ou have that to sell which a hundred thousand 28 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, readers want, that paper is just what you need; but, even then, you must be sure that the adver- tisements are read by the "readers," or your money will be thrown away. It may be that what you have to sell will not be needed by one in a thousand, in that case a paper of ten thou- sand readers will be just as well as one of a hun- dred thousand, and perhaps better. These, and points "too numerous to mention," as the hand- bills say, enter into the success of advertising. It seems to us that the great merit of this An- nual is, that it gives attention to these matters, more than similar works have done in the past. It gives some account of the business and sur- roundings of the leading towns in the country, among the people of which the papers circulate, and this is a great help to the advertiser, in de- ciding whether such " readers " are likely to be any use to him. Probably too much importance is still given to mere " circulation ;" a set of figures supposed to represent this standing after each paper's name. Of course, some idea of circula- tion must enter into an idea of advertising, but the great trouble is to get at the accurate figures and the character of that circulation. We know, for instance, of a paper which has less than two thousand which is given here as eight thousand ; such errors are very annoying to other papers which tell the truth, and exasperate them against " Annuals " of this kind. But, granting that some idea is necessarj', it is difficult to see how the editors of these books are to do any better, where they have so many to guess at ; and all we can say is that it only illustrates an every-day fact, that the innocent must continue to suffer for the guilty. We cannot, on account of this difficulty, avoid the conclusion that, for all, advertisers cannot afford to do without a work like this, A Practical Treatise on Tree Culture in South Australia. — By J. G. Brown. Published by the Forest Board of South Australia. South Australia sees, as other portions of the earth see, the absolute necessity of looking for- ward to its forest interest. It has not yet been shown that a forest planted to-day will prove profitable to the owner within a reasonable time, neither is it always made manifest that one who plants a forest is investing safely for his children. Yet it is a national interest that there should be forests. Thousands of interests de- pend on timber, and it therefore becomes the duty of governments to encourage that planting which it will not pay an individual to do for himself. Our American State governments have recognized this principle in various ways, though their manner of doing it has often been puerile and sometimes ridiculous. In Pennsyl- vania, for instance, one dollar is deducted from the road tax of the person who plants four trees along the road-side ! In other words the whole community is to wallow in slush, and wade through a quagmire to pay a dollar for every four trees, which, after all the planter may cut down for bean poles a few years afterwards, for all the law, as it is written, prevents him. The only good of such a simple law as this is that it virtually acknowledges the duty of a State to enact protective laws in the fostering of forestry. South Australia, as we find by Mr. Brown's work, acknowledges its duty in a more sensible manner. It first looks about to see where for- ests may be needed. It does not like the Penn- sylvania law, pay a man twenty-five dollars for a hundred trees planted in front, perhaps, of a huge forest which is so inaccessible that it would not pay for firewood ; but it decides first on what part of the colony shall be a " Forest district." In such distx'ict, and on his own actually-occu- pied land he must plant five acres, the kinds prescribed by the government forester as fit for that district. The tract must be securely fenced from cattle. The trees are to be set in accord- ance with good rules provided, and at the end of five years, " if the trees are in a vigorous, healthy condition," and " at least ten feet high," he is entitled to two pounds sterling ($10.00) for every acre so planted. There are some other minor details, but this is the main feature of this intelligently practical law. This work of Mr. Brown is intended to teach farmers how to plant and care for the forests, and all they are likely to want to know in order to make their plantings successful. It seems an admirable plan all through. Plants of Indiana. — Catalogue by the editors of the Botanical Gazette and Charles Barnes, Lafayette, Indiana. Local catalogues are of great value. They not only aid the collector, but they serve very materially those who are studying the geography of plants ; for we are not only able to judge of distributions as they are now, but by comparing them with lists that have been made in the past, we get an idea of the changes of location that are continually going on. It is chiefly through local lists like these 1882. AND HORTICULTURIST. 29 that we have learned of late years that plants are almost as restless as man. They ai-e con- tinually on the move, and the very term " in- digenous" has to be limited to modern times. According to this list there are now known as indigenous to Indiana 1,432 species and , 577 genera. Among some recently suggested changes here adopted, the critical botanist will notice his old friend the "Pearl Everlasting"' Gnaph- alium, or Antennaria margaritacea, has been i-emoved by Bentham and Hooker to Anaphalis. It is now Anaphalis margaritacea. This genus was made many years ago by De Candolle to cover a dozen or more of old time Gnaphaliums of the East Indies, and this change gives America a representative in this Indian family. Indian Corn. — An essay by Prof. Beal. This is another of those little pieces of excellent work which Prof. Beal i_s continually performing. One might read a heavy volume on corn, and not learn more than is taught here. A point which interested us very much in this paper is that though the effects of crossing will often be shown in the grain of the same season, it is not always so. Sometimes the characteristics of the male parent do not appear in the seed till the succeeding generation. This is a very impor- tant fact which Prof Beal should have the full credit of discovering. Even the fate of a lawsuit might hang on such knowledge. General Index to the Nine Eeports on the Insects of Missouri. — By Charles V. Eiley. Published by the United States Entomological Commission. The great want of the age is the indexing of the facts brought to light of late years. Socie- ties and public bodies year after year give to the public " original papers," which are in no sense new, but a sheet waste of time and money to publish ; and chiefly for want of good indexes, few know what is new. The government can do no more useful work than issue papers like these. A Glimpse at Michigan Horticulture.— By Charles W. Garfield, Secretary of the State Hor- ticultural Society. This should have been enti- tled Michigan Pomology, for it deals with this single branch of horticulture. It shows a won- derful advance in fruit culture in the State, and how well the State is adapted to fruifc growing. Mr. Garfield concludes his able remarks by ob- serving : "Michigan has a motto upon her coat of arms, Si quceris peninsuluin amcenam circumspice — If you wish to see a beautiful peninsula, look about you. That is no flaming advertisement of exaggerated proportions, but is a simple in- troduction to those who enter our borders, the apparently complimentary language of which is found by every visitor to be a truthful state- ment. " The oil derisive songs that told of ague, marshes, rattlesnakes and wolverines as the natural products of Michigan, are not sung any more ; and none visit the peninsular State who do not go away with pleasant accounts of her climate, soil, productions and people." * The Hessian Fly.— By Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr.; being Bulletin No. 4, United States Entomologi- cal Commission. Published by the Department of the Interior. This is another of the very useful treatises published by the United States Gt>vernment far which the people will thank their representa- tives. No. 5 of the same series is by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, and treats of the chinch-bug. The Wild Garden; or, our groves and gar- dens made beautiful by the naturalization of hardy exotic plants; being one way onward from the dark ages of gardening, with sugges- tions for the regeneration of the bare borders of the London parks. By Wm. Eobinson, London, and New York, Scribner & Welford. 1881. This heavy title reminds of the revival of learning, indeed, when the mighty warriors in the cause of truth, issued their " Sandy foun- dations shaken," or "Satan attacked by his own sword," or some other equally valiant book which carried defiance on the very title page. Yet we sympathize heartily with the object of the work, and hope it will be the means of not only inducing a greater love of hardy exotics, but also for the many pretty native plants in which British woods abound. Mr. Robinson's books are always as beautiful as they are useful, and this, to say the least, is no way behind any of its predecessors. We hope it will have a large sale, both in this country as well as in the old world, aiding, as we are sure it must, a genuine love for flowers. In perusing its beautiful and instructive pages, the only thing we are sorry for is to find that Mr. Robinson is not yet convinced that his well-meant efforts to avoid the use of hard Latin words of plants are only leading to unutterable confusion. We had hoped it would have stopped with the Garden, and not have found a place in a work of such THE GARDENERS MONTHLY [January, permanent value as this. There is no doubt that the work will lose very much of its value in this country where the local English names, or the new ones coined, will not be understood. Not half the readers here will have any idea what plants are referred to. If one meets with a botanical name, and does not know what the plant is, a reference to some botanical work will explain it ; but there is no work that will tell him anything about plants with these funny names. We venture to say that if a list of them were given even to a first class English nursery, the order would be returned with the remark that they could not be supplied, simply because they are not known by those names. Though we have endeavored to keep the track of Mr. Robinson's new names as they appeared in the Garden, we find a large number here that we know nothing about, and in consequence all that he says about the plants might as well have been written in Chinese. We suppose " Ched- dar pink" is some sort of a Dianthus, and have something of an idea what a "wind gentian," " Bavarian gentian," or " Caucasian comfrey" may be ; among the many of these species there is some sort of chance to understand how they look; but when it comes to "Barren wort," " Mug wort," " Handsome evergreen alkanet," "Pretty little Rosy Bindweed," and so on, even " can imagination paint" becomes a question. Moreover, it does not seem to us that the ob- ject sought — the introduction of easy names over hard Latin ones, is really accomplished. "Geneva Bugle dwarf Boragewort" does not seem easier to say than if we use its full botani- cal name — whatever that may be. " Goat's beard spiraea" is surely no better than Aruncus ; and as for "Bears-breeches," we fancy Acanthus, clas- sical though it be, will be preferred to the plain English. It is some sign, however, of a faltering in this confusing work to find Mr. Robinson himself evidently disgusted with it before he gets through. When he comes to give lists of flow- ers adapted to his wild garden, he uses nothing but botanical names. That he may go on under this conviction of wrong-doing will be the wish of the many admirers of his useful labors. The New Botany. — A lecture on the best methods of teaching. By Dr. W. J, Beal, Pro- fessor of Botany in the Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. Neither botany nor horticulture is what it was a half century ago. True gardening in these days embraces a knowledge of flowers to an ex- tent that makes the gardener really a botanist, while botany is a great deal more than a mere classification of a lot of dried sticks. In the new order of things botany deals with plant-life, just as gardening does. Few have done so much, probably no one has done more to make botany popular than Professor Beal. In this lecture he tells how he does it. No better service could be. rendered to botanists and gardeners than to have this lecture in the hands of every teacher. We hope it will have a wide circulation. SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Various Questions. — " G. McC," Boulder, Colorado, sends us various questions, written on both sides of a sheet of paper, which prevents us from classifying them, as it is generally best to do ; so we have to find a place for all of them under the " literary " head. It is never wise to write on more than one side of a sheet when sending matter to the press. He says : " Will you please give me information upon the following points in the Gardener's Monthly : 1. What work on landscape garden- ing is best adapted to small rural places ? Can you recommend Scott's? " 2. Give the names and addresses of the secre- taries of the State Horticultural Societies of Cal- ifornia and Kansas, also Utah, if there are such. " 3. It is said that fruit of first-class flavor can- not be grown on land on which water is allowed to stand, and hence such fruit cannot be grown in localities which require irrigating. Further- more, it is said that California Oranges and other fruits, though often of monstrous size, are defi- cient in flavor, and cannot compete in the eas- tern markets with those grown in Florida or Louisiana. Is this true ? '' 4. An esteemed horticultural friend of mine takes strong ground against horticultural socie- ties and journals. He says, ' When an inventor discovers any thing of general value he at once secures to himself the advantages by letters pa- tent, instead of turning it out to public use. Why, then, should a pomologist be expected to be so generous as to give away the results of long and costly experiments ! As to horticultu- ral papers, it is generally the novice that writes for them. The experienced and successful man, 1882 J AND HORTICULTURIST. 31 holds his tongue, and endeavors to profit by his discoveries.' This reasoning seems cogent. What says the Gardener's Monthly about it?" [For first-class work, on large or small places, there is no work like Scott's. Every one inter- ested in genuine horticultural taste should have this work in his library. For smaller efforts, such for instance as the making of a farm neat and cheerful in its surroundings, the work of Elliott, published by Dewey, of Rochester, gives valuable assistance. 2. There are either horticultural or pomologi- cal societies in all the States named. The officers are usually changed about this time every year ; but if you will write to Mr. John Reading, Salt Lake City, Utah; Mr. Charles H. Shinn, Niles, California, and J. K. Hudson, Topeka, Kansas, they will no doubt with pleasure give the names of those in office. 3. Report is correct ; but why should water be allowed to "stand?" It seems to us no more difficult to under drain land that is to be irrigated than land which is watered by the rain. The "writer of this paragraph has had three separate occasions of being personally well acquainted with the soil about Boulder city, and is quite sure there is no more reason why as good fruit cannot be grown there as in any part of the United States. Indeed he looks on irrigation as a better agent, in successful agricultural or hor- ticultural operations, than the agency of nature in her fickle rule of rain, and has seen nothing to take back since he announced these views in an address in Greely, in 1871. 4. Your friend is perfectly right, if all the knowledge he expects to gain is only such as inventors can patent, or such as any man may be largely interested in keeping to himself. We quite agree that no man should be expected to be so generous as to give away the results of long and costly experiments. We do not pretend to give, for two dollars a year, this costly and valuable information. But though our readers may not get a thousand dol- lars' worth of information for two dollars, it is generally believed that they do get two dollars worth ; and we have little doubt, if the esteemed friend did not want quite so much for the money, he would find two dollars spent on the Garde ner's Monthly wortli at least that sum.] Horticultural Societies. CO M MUNI C A TIONS. HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. BY WILLIAM SUTHERLAND, PHILADELPHIA. On page 320 of the Gardener's Monthly, for October, you ask why do not exhibitors exhibit, and say that those engaged in getting up exhibi- tions have generally to get on their knees and beg of exhibitors to send something to the fair, etc. Now, I had an idea that editors were well posted persons on all subjects, and that the editor of the Gardener's Monthly was the best in- formed man among them all. But I regret to see that I have been mistaken. Why exhibitors do not exhibit is simply be- cause the premiums are not enough to cover the expenses. Allow me to give yourself and readers some incidents of personal experience. In September, 1876, at the Pennsylvania Horti- cultural Society's autumnal fair, I exhibited one hundred varieties of succulents, consisting of Echeverias, Sempervivums and Cotyledons — many of them were new plants shown for the first time, and were growing in four, six and eight-inch pots. The cost of getting them to and from the hall, cleaning the pots and labeling the plants, was as follows : Two men one day each (at $1.50 per day), $3.00 ; one load furniture car to hall, $1.00 ; one load furniture car from hall, $1.00; one hundred large labels for plants, $1.00 ; one man one-half day returning with plants, etc.,75 cents ; making a total expense of $6.75. This exhibit covered about one hundred and fifty square feet of table room, and, although it was the centre of attraction, the committee for awarding prizes gave a special premium of only $2.00. You will readily see that I was likely to be $4.75 out of pocket. But be it said, to the credit of the secretary of the THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [January, society, that he was so ashamed of the action of the committee that he made up the deficiency out of his own private purse; but exhibitors do not always come out so well, and consequently will not bring their best productions to the ex- hibition. Last year, at the State Fair of the Pennsyl- vania Agricultural Society, I exhibited fifty dis- tinct varieties of Coleuses, grown in eight-inch flower pots, and, after sending a man to water them every other day during the fiir, which lasted two weeks, I received the munificent sum of $3.00 for my prize — about one-fourth the price of the production of the specimens, and certainly not half the price paid for the plants, as many of them were new varieties. Again, look at the Chester County's Agricul- tural Society premium list of the State Tair, held at West Chester in September. For green- house plants (strong growing collections), first prize, $5.00 ; second, $3.00 ; while for the Bicycle race the first prize was $20.00; second, $10.00. For designs of cut flowers for table decoration the first prize was $2.00; the second, $1.00; while for the best carriage afghan of zephyr work, which any one could roll up and carry under his arm, a prize of $3.00 was given for the best, and $2.00 for the next best. Now this kind of treatment is not very en- couraging for horticulturists to bring their best productions to the various exhibitions, and, as long as the prizes will not cover the expenses, exhibitors will be scarce. It is all very well for those who have the getting up of exhibitions in charge to tell ex- hibitors that it acts as a good, free advertisement, thus bringing their names more fully before the public, etc., etc.; but the most of exhibitors — at least all of the commercial ones — are willing to pay for printer's ink for that purpose, and gener- ally do so. EDITORIAL NOTES. Pennsylvania State Horticultural Society. — The annual meeting will be held this year in Harrisburg, on Wednesday and Thursday, 18th and 19th of January, in the rooms of the State Board of Agriculture. The usual programme will be ready shortly. State Horticultural Societies. — Most of these have their annual meetings in January ; ;md after a while we shall have requests foru "notices," to appear in our January number. It does not seem to occur to all of our readers that the preparation of a monthly magazine be- gins a month before the date of its appearance. At the time of this writing we have no notice at hand of any one of those meetings. We can only say that in former times, when devoted to fruit growing for market chiefly, they were always interesting, but since the most of them have changed from pomological to horticultural societies, and now take in every branch of gar- dening, they appeal to every person of intelli- gent culture, and are more than ever worthy of the support of the best people in the districts where the meetings are held. Horticultural Exhibitions. — According to a recent paper by M. Joly, the first horticultural exhibition ever held in France, (vas by order of Francois de Neufchateau, Minister of the Inte- rior. It was held in 1798, and brought out 110 exhibits. The Horticultural Society of Paris was founded in 1827 ; held its first exhibition in the orangery of the Louvre, and of the Luxem" burg Palace. Vilmorin had much to do with their success. The grand iaternational exposi- tions of 1855, 1867 and 1878, in Paris, did a great deal to foster and encourage horticulture. In referring to the exhibitions of London, M Joly shows how much of the success is due to the enterprise of its leading nurserymen; and names especially in this connection Veitch, Bull, Sutton, and Carter. He claims that France should be, by virtue of its climate, the garden of Europe ; but inclines to the belief, that the princely love of flowers is not as great as in Eng- land. He believes that the French horticultural societies have a mission to fulfil in doing more to reach the floral eminence of England. Essays at Horticultural Meetings. — The Germantown Horticultural Society had essayists who were appointed at one meeting to prepare a paper for the next. This worked well for a little while, but it was found in time that all the work fell on a few. Now a person is appointed to pre- pare a subject for discussion. The subject is announced at one meeting, to be discussed at the next. In this way the members come prepared either to ask more questions, or to communicate what they may know. A recent discussion on rose culture was especially interesting, from the many good points thrown in by persons who sually say not a word. THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY AND HORTICULTURIST. DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE. ARBORICULTURE AND RVRAL AFFAIRS. Edited by THOMAS MEEHA.N. \rol. XXIY. FEBRUARY, 1882. Number 278. Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. SEASONABLE HINTS. It is often a matter for surprise that the English should grow what they call " American plants" better than we can. These plants form the greatest attraction of their grounds. Why should not America grow American plants? Now, what they call American plants are only those chiefly which belong to the Ericaceous family. These are Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Kalmias, Andromedas and such well-known beautiful flowering shrubs in which America abounds. But it is not generally known here that they could not grow them there if it were not for the garden art and garden skill at the back of their culture. We could grow them just as well here if we took pains to understand their wants. All these plants have delicate, hair-like roots, and require a cool, aerated soil to do well in. They hate water above all things, and yet desire a soil in which moist air abounds. In their native places in our country they are often found growing, apparently, in swamps; but when we examine carefully none of the roots, or at moat only the tap roots are down in the water ; all the hair-like roots are in the moss which abounds above the water in the swamp, or in the cool peaty matter which is above the water in those places. There is moisture in this material. It can be often squeezed out as from a wet sponge ; but there is air, too, any quantity of it, and it is this combination which these plants desire. Not even England, where the atmos- pheric condition is so favorable from the combi- nation of air and moisture, would the plants do well unless the same conditions were supplied to the ground. The good gardener would not think of planting these shrubs in the ordinary earth. Soil is usually provided for the pur- pose, and tons and tons of peat often brought from long distances in order to grow them well. It is not necessary that we should get peat for them. Anything that will tend to lighten the soil and permit the free passage of air and water through it is sufficient. Broken bricks, stones old boots and shoes, rotten logs — anything of this kind will do, and of course the part of the grounds the least subject to drying winds should be chosen. There is no reason why, with a little study to adapt our circumstances to the wants of these plants, we should not have as good ••American plants" as they have in England. As the season for planting is approaching, it may be as well to remind the planter that there are now thousands of beautiful trees and shrubs to choose from. At one time there was some excuse for the man who planted, over and over again, soft maples and poplars. These have still their uses, but the choosing of more variety and 34 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, beauty is one of the best marks of an educated taste. Those of our readers who have followed the excellent papers on new or rare trees and shrubs given in our columns last year, will have good guidance as to what to choose. All of this in a general way. It may be as well to offer a few practical suggestions in the matter of detail work suited to the season. Many delay pruning shrubbery until after se- vere weather passes, so as to see what injury may be done — but with March all should be fin- ished— taking care not to trim severely such shrubs as flower out of last year's wood, as for instance, the Wiegela — while such as flower from the spring growth, as the Althaea, Mock Orange, &G,, are benefited by cutting back vigorously. Those which flower from young wood, cut in and dry. Do not be in a hurry, or you may get behind. When a clot of earth will crush to powder as you tread on it, it is time to dig — not before. If perennial plants have stood three years in one place, separate the stools, replanting one- third, and give the balance to y«ur neighbor who has none. Box edgings lay well now. Make the ground firm and level, plant deep, with tops not more than two inches above ground. Roll the grass well before the softness of a thaw goes away. It makes all smooth and level. In planting trees remember our repeated ad- vice to use the pruning knife freely. We would again repeat a suggestion we re- cently made in regard to rustic summer houses. severely to make new growth vigorous. Tea, They can often be very cheaply made. In our China, Bourbon and Noisette roses are of this j country they should be open on all sides, class. What are called annual flowering roses, ««•- as Prairie Queen and so on, require much of last year's wood to make a good show of flowers. Hence, with these, thin out weak wood and leave all the stronger. To make handsome, shapely specimens of shrubs, cut them now into the forms you want, and keep them so by pulling out all shoots that grow stronger than the others daring the sum- mer season. COMMUNICA TIONS. PROPAGATING YUCCAS. BY A LADY OF CHARLESTON, S. C. Yuccas, or as we in South Carolina call them, " Spanish Bayonets," grow wild with us. At a pic-nic in the woods I had left our party and was hunting wild flowers at the edge of a tide Graft trees or shrubs where changed sorts are I swamp when I came upon a quantity of large desirable. Any lady can graft. Cleft grafting is the easiest. Split the stock, cut the scion like a wedge, insert in the split so that the bark of the Yuccas lying across my path. Evidently they had been cut off" the land to clear a path for some wood cutters, and there they lay in the hot stock and scion meet; tie a little bast bark sun in a heap. around it, and cover with Trowbridge's grafting | I had the handsomest brought to Charleston, wax, and all is done : very simple when it is ! and used them on my house for Christmas de- understood, aiid not hard to understand. ; coration, where certainly they remained for If flowers have been growing in the ground j several days. They were afterwards thrown into for many years, new soil does wonders. Rich : a corner of the yard. Sometime afterwards I manure makes plants grow, but they do not I perceived my trees were throwing out roots, and always flower well with vigorous growth. If : I finally planted them about the garden. They new soil cannot be had, a wheelbarrow of ma- all grew but one, and are now fine specimens, nure to about every fifty square feet will be | As I put in the ground the great stems entirely enough. If the garden earth looks grey or yel- j without roots, I thought it might interest florists low, rotten leaves— quite rotten leaves— will im- \ to know they can be propagated in that way. prove it. If heavy, add sand. If very sandy, ; Planted in the shifting sand of a blufi" by the add salt — about half pint to fifty square feet. If sea, they prove excellent aids to preserve the very black or rich from previous year's ma- j blufl" from being blown away by the wind, and •nurings, use a little lime, about a pint, slacked, : when in bloom in large heaps, as we see them, to fifty square feet. j they are very imposing, the heads of blossom so If the garden be full of hardy perennial flow- 1 exquisitely white against the stiff" dark leaves, ers, do not dig it, but use a fork, and that not I There is a large-flowered evening primrose, deeply. j Oenothera, (originally the seed was brought from Dig garden ground only when the soil is warm Germany, it is said.) which covers the sands 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST. 35 'every summer on the coast near Charleston, which has lately attracted much notice from its beauty and profusion. The flowers bloom close to the ground, and are so numerous that the sands are golden in the evening. The plant has thick reddish stems, which throw out deep stiff roots, holding firmly to the sand. The leaves are insignificant and greyish in color. SOME NEW ROSES OF 1881. BY JEAN SISLEY, LYONS, FRANCE. Tea, Etoile de Lyon (Guillot), splendid yellow, large, free bloomer, strong grower. Tea, Beauts de 1' Europe (Gonod), very vigor- ous, like Gloire de Dijon, large, very full, dark yellow. He Bourbon, Abbe Girardin (Bernaix), large, full, well shaped, delicate pink, darker centre. Hybrid perpetual, Ulrich Brunner (Levet), is- sue from Paul Neyron, cherry red, large, well made. Hybrid perpetual, Violette Bouyer (La- charme), large, well shaped, white, shaded flesh, style of Jules Margottin. Hybrid perpetual, Helene Paul (Lacharme), very large, globular, beautiful white, sometimes shaded pink. Style of Victor Verdier. PUBLIC GARDENS OF ST. LOUIS. BY CHARLES CRUCKNELL, ST, LOUIS, MO. One of the favorite parks of St. Louis is " Lafayette," and a beautiful place it is. Thou- sands of people gather here, more particularly on Sunday, and are seen wandering through the shady avenues, or sitting about under the trees enjoying the beauties of nature. The park con- tains about thirty acres, is centrally located and of easy access by street car. Near the centre is erected a^ bronze statue of Benton and beneath are the words, "There is the East; there is India," from a speech of the great statesman. On the south side of the park is a statue of Washington, around which are planted very pretty beds of foliaged plants. The carpet and mosaic beds have been a chief feature of the attractions this season. No less than twenty-five thousand plants were set out, chiefly foliage plants. These are contracted for and furnished by the city florists. In addition many beds are made up of annuals, Cannas, Caladiums, grasses, roses and herbaceous plants. Nine hundred Coleus Verschaffelti and fifteen hundred Ck)leus Setting-sun were planted, these being the only Coleus used. The last named bids fair to equal the former in general usefulness. It has stood the heat and dryness of the past season extremely well, and being of a rich golden color has imparted a glorious effect to the grounds. A variegated Stevia worked in well for lining the designs. " Lafayette Park " in large letters cut in the grass near the walk proved an immense attraction to young and old. Two rows of Echevaria secunda glauca formed the outside, and a single row of Alternanthera spathula in the centre completed each letter. A c'rcular bed of more intricate design contained the Missouri coat of arms. The ground work of this appeared to be a dwarf Pilea about three inches high, and remained green all through the season. The bears in this bed made a good deal of amusement for the youngsters but they were perfectly tame. Another bed cut in the shape of a large cornu- copia, the mouth filled with tea roses, and the balance planted with various colored foliage plants was charminglj' pretty. Of the many carpet beds planted, nearly all retained their distinctive features until the first frost of the season occurred, November 2d, thus ruthlessly destroying the floral beauties of this, the garden park of St. Louis. BROWALLIA AS A BLUE BEDDER. BY CHARLES E. PARNELL, QUEENS, L. I. In reply to W. D., who asks for the name of a blue bedding plant in the January Monthly, page 8, 1 would say that I know of none better than Browallia elata major, (grandiflora of some cata- logues). This Browallia is an old plant but is not as extensively known as its merits entitle it to be. It is a half-hardy annual growing about eighteen inches in height. It can be readily raised from seed. The plants should be set about ten inches apart. The flowers are produced in the greatest abundance and are both beautiful and delicate. I do not think that the blue Lobelia will answer W. D.'s purpose and would advise him not to try it. MR. HUNNEWELL'S GARDEN AT WEL- LESLEY. BY WM. FALCONER. NO. II. Rhododendrom.— There is no finer show in any other garden in the country than that afforded bv the Rhododendrons at Wellesley in early THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, May. There are hundreds upon hundreds of half-hardy plants, vast bushes and little ones, tastefully arranged in beds upon the grass, un- der the skeleton framework of a mammoth tent. While the shrubs are in blossom, the can- vas is spread over the frame, but as soon as the flowering time is over the canvas is removed and the shrubs allowed to make and ripen their new growth unshaded. Old flowers and seed vessels are picked ofi" and lots of water given in protracted drouths. In November these half- hardy Rhododendrons, with as good balls of roots and earth as can be taken with them, are transplanted, or " heeled-in " rather, in earth beds, in large cellars and other more favorable quarters, specially constructed for them. Here they remain cool and uninfluenced by variations of temperature till April, when they are again transferred to their outdoor places, as before. Besides the spacious accommodations formerly provided .for wintering halfhardy rhododen- drons in, Mr. Hunnewell has just had completed a substantial structure of masonry, with an in- side measurement of 66 feet long, 18^ feet wide, and 12 feet high; light and ventilation are ad mitted by windows on the roof and ends. This building is among the trees on a northern (I think) slope, and is provided with large doors and a good cartway leading to them, so that very large plants may be conveniently handled. An older but somewhat similar cellar-bjiiilding is fitted up with double sashes and shutters as proof against severe w^eather, and in it is a fire- place and flue to be used in case of dampness. In the summer time palms and other suitable plants are associated with the rhododendrons under the tent frame, the pillars and timbers of which are clad and draped in Clematises, Wista- rias and other permanent vines. And surround- ing this are deep banks of hardy Ehododen- drons, backed for effect and shelter's sake with other shrubs and trees, and on one side with hedges. Lilies and other bulbous plants grow up among the bushes and prolong the flowering time. But outside of this particular spot, rhodo- dendrons, old and large, are massed in groups, banks, and beds, and in great numbers too. In the case of the hardy rhododendrons, the beds containing them were deeply and well made, to begin with, and now they are heavily mulched with tree leaves every fall. These leaves are a partial protection against frost in winter, and are allowed to remain during sum- mer, partly for nourishment, and partly as a re- lief against drought. But Mr. Harris says he ■ should prefer to have the rough leaves removed in spring, and a dressing of rotted leaf soil ap- plied instead, as he would thereby not only be feeding the plants, but bringing their roots within the influence of every passing shower, in spring and summer, whereas, when the heavy mulching of undecomposed leaves remains upon the beds in spring, many a light but beneficial shower is spent upon the mulching without reaching the roots. The following hardy and half-hardy kinds of rhododendrons are recom- mended by Mr. Harris : Hardy, — Album elegans, blush, changing to white ; Alexander Dancer, bright rose with pale centre ; Archimedes, rosy crimson ; Caractacus, rich purplish crimson ; Charles Dickens, dark scarlet; Delicatissimum, pale blush ; Everestianum, rosy lilac ; H. H. Hunnewell, dark rich crimson ; H. W. Sargent, crimson ; Lord John Russell, pale rose (apt to get a little winter hurt) ; Mrs. John Clutton, white, very fine ; Mrs. Milner, rich crimson and Purpureura elegans, fine purple. Half-hardy, — Alarm, white, edged with crimson ; Auguste Van Geert. rosy purple ; Brayanum, rosj"^ scarlet ; Cynthia, rosy crimson ; Elfrida, rose, much spotted ; Fleur de Marie, rosy crimson ; James Macintosh, rosy scarlet ; J. Marshall Brooks, rich scarlet; John Waterer, dark crimson; Jo- seph Whitworth, dark lake ; Lady Armstrong, pale rose, and Lady Eleanor Cathcart, pale rose. Indian Azaleas are largely represented, and in addition to forming with the hardy varieties and the Rhododendrons a special show in the spring, they are in blossom in succession from Christ- mas till June. As they finish blooming they are introduced to warm, moist quarters, and encour- aged in growth. They are then gradually inured to cooler treatment, and in the summer time plunged out of doors, in a well-sheltered yard, there to remain till the end of September or first of October, when they are removed to cool greenhouses or pits. They remain in these pits till December when a majority of the latest of them are moved into the cellars with the Rho- dodendrons, to stay till spring. When any of them grow out in a straggling, misshapen man- ner, Mr. Harris has no hesitation in pruning them hard into the old wood ; this he does early in the season, and introduces them at once into heat, moisture and shade. Buds break out all over the old wood, and although an idea prevails that this first year's wood will not yield flowers, Mr. Harris tells me he succeeds in getting some 1882.] AND HORTICULTURIST. 37 blossoms from it. Among the more recent addi- tions, Mr. Harris recommends Empress of In- dia, Charmer, Madam Jean Wolkoff, Oswald de Kerchove, Jean Vervain, Paul de Deschry- mer, Countess of Beaufort, Princess Louise, Ar- gus, Imbricata, Madam Marie Van Houtte, and Segismund Rucker. And he speaks highly of Prime Minister, Lady Musgrave, and one or two other varieties of Amoena, and which are an im- provement on the typical form ; they must be- come popular, as they are so easily forced. Deciduous or hardy Azaleas are the chief furni- ture of a garden, by themselves, where they are grown in beds like roses. They comprise what are generally known as Ghent Azaleas, also the Japanese mollis, and its many varieties. The azalea garden is surrounded by trees and shrubs, and it is instructive to note how the azaleas turn their backs to their shade-bearing shelter, and stretch forth their branches to the light. They are not mulched with leaves, as the Rho- dodendrons are, but instead are top-dressed with compost. The brilliance and variety of these beautiful shrubs, when in bloom, are great, and they are so hardy too that they appeal to every amateur. Although there are many named va- rieties, Mr. Harris is of the opinion that mixed varieties are good enough for any purpose. Speaking of azaleas reminds me of a remark by Professor Sargent, and made to me in his garden a year or two ago : " If I were confined to one shrub, I should choose the hardy azalea." remarks about designs, letters, or otherwise in beds, not being done with neatness. I have read and travelled for information on this sub- ject, but have always come back home with your opinion. Bedding I have studied for years as done in Europe and elsewhere. I thank you for your kind remarks on my beds, of which I sent you photographs, which only give you an imperfect idea of what they are, as many other designs are just as correct in line and form as those sent. BLUE FLOWERS FOR MASSING. BY N. ROBERTSON, GOVERNMENT GROUNDS, OTTAWA, CANADA. For "W.D's.," Sandusky bed, instead of the blue Lobelia (you suggest) to accompany the Achry- anthus and Centaurea would be the Ageratum John Douglas, and then the Achryanthes and Centaurea will have to have frequent stopping to keep them to one height and be effective. A better bed can be made of his design if he will use any of the following plants that I sug- gest: Alternanthera, red; Leucophyton'Brownii, white, and then blue Lobelia, as they grow about one height, and the two first will bear trimming. Another, Phlox Drommondii, scarlet and white and blue Ageratum, but must be in good mass, the phlox to be pegged down to the same height and line, which will much add to the mass of color. I can assure you that I agree with you in your NOTES FROIVI THE WEST. BY IROQUOIS. How we all admire a beautiful lawn, during summer, with a well selected collection of orna- mental trees, shrubs and vines, properly trim- med and otherwise cared for, but how desolate and dreary this same lawn usually looks, for at least four months of the year, especially if not well supplied with evergreens. Now we all know that nearly or quite all the so-called ever- green trees and shrubs, not included in the class of Conifers, in this latitude (40° North), wil retain their foliage but a short time after the cold and freezing weather of autumn and early winter has fairly set in ; and that the true ever- green of our temperate zone must, almost ex- clusively, be a Conifera, which is not, as a rule, a popula* or even desirable tree or shrub to I plant on the lawn, with the majority of our peo- I pie, whose idea of a fine tree or shrub is one that produces " lots of flowers " during spring. As a rule, the existence of the lawn during the winter is perfectly ignored, except possibly to tie up a favorite and tender rose and shrub with a big bundle of straw or some other equally unsightly object. Now it is a well known fact that our native trees, shrubs and to a large extent our native vines are not considered worth the time and trouble of transplanting, by the majority of our people, consequently, not being saleable, our nurserymen devote very little time and attention to their culture and improvement. But there certainly are among our native forest trees, many that are worthy a place on any lawn, and equal, if not superior, to many foreign and unacclimated species for which we are all often only too glad to pay an exorbitant price to secure even a poor, sickly specimen. Among the number of worthy native trees— and the last whose foliage seems to defy the conquering elements with its great 38 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, power of endurance — is the oak ; and, as if to add additional beauty to its majestic form in the last days of autumn, it is clothed with the most gorgeous dress of crimson, bronze and green, which makes it the glory of our autumn forest. However, their foliage is in time seared and browned from the effects of the continuous frosts and crisping autumn winds, and although often attached to the tree for a long time, still, by the middle of November or first of December their beauty is gone for the season. Were it not for an insignificant, and (by the landscape gardener) rejected native vine, our forests would be entirely devoid of green foliage after the first of December. This despised vine, our native Smilax, or as it is popularly called by the country people, the Bramble or Greenbrieri comes nearer being a true evergreen than any of our native deciduous plants. Holding as it does its large glossy green leaves until late in the winter, it forms a very conspicuous feature in many a thicket and grove, especially if it be in a warm and sheltered position. In our enquiry among those living near its native habitat, no one seems to know it by the names of cat brier China brier, rough-bindweed, or even sarsaparilla as the popular name is some- times said to be applied to it in some botanical works. Our standard botanies enumerate fifteen species as natives of the United States* all of which are found growing wild in the great Mis- sissippi Valley, and all of which are worth culti- vating; but I do not remember to have ever seen a single specimen under cultivation. I very much doubt there being a half dozen plants so grown in the country. All portions of the world furnish a proportionate number of spe- cies, many of which are of great economic value in their contributions to medicine ; while a few foreign tropical species are among our choicest greenhouse plants. Perhaps it would not be amiss to say that Sir Joseph Paxton, in his Botanical Dictionary, reduces the whole species of Smilax to six, four of which are found in North America and two in China, while the remaining forty species he classes as varieties or synonyms of valid species. This is without doubt too conservative a view of the subject to meet the ideas of the botanical student of to-day. As Smilax rotundifolia, or the large round leaf Bramble would be to our notion the handsomest cultivation, we will call particular attention to ite many good qualities, with the hope that it may stimulate a desire on the part of those want- ing plants of actual merit for ornamental pur- poses, to make a trial of this native vine ; for the effort certainly will repay all cost and trouble. As seen in its uncultivated condition, we find this species growing in moist, rich ground, usually in a thicket of underbrush, where its long and flexible stem often reaches the length of thirty feet; not usually, however, growing more than ten or fifteen feet high, but creeping from branch to branch, holding fast to each one by its wire-like tendrils thrown out from the base of each leaf-stem. While the whole upper portion of the stem is thickly covered with large round-ovate or heart-shaped leaves. Sometimes it prefers a location in a neglected fence corner,^ when it trails along the fence, occasionally grasp- ing a stray weed or shrub for additional support ;: and rarely it is seen climbing to the height of twenty or twenty-five feet from limb to limb on a thorn-apple bush or something of similar habit, where its glossy foliage makes it an object of great beauty after the tree has dropped all its leaves and fruit. Now, if we only follow nature's instruction and plant in deep rich soil and grow them to cover a fence, frame, or even on a low- growing tree, and to make up for their natural lack of branches, plant a number of specimens near together, we have from our own fields what we cannot procure from the nurseryman, i. e., an evergreen vine, hardy, and most certainly adapted' to our climate. One serious objection to its popularity with many will be its inconspicuous greenish flowers, but its bunches of bluish black fruit in autumn will more than compen- sate for the loss of flowers in spring when all nature seems to be alive with flowers. and most desirable of all our native species for A FEW HINTS ON THE CHRYSAN- THEiVrUM. BY WALTER COLES, BELVIDERE, N. J. Having received several inquiries respecting the Chrystinthemums I exhibited at the Ger- raantown Horticultural Society, probably a^ short article on their culture would be interest- ing to lovers of this beautiful Fall flower. I have been asked what varieties they were, andl where they can be obtained. There were only four in number, which were George Glenny, Venice, Virgin Queen, and Eve, which I got from Mr. Peter Henderson of New York ; there 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST are many more varieties which are just as good, if not better than those named. While in Phila- delphia, in November last, I made a visit to the Horticultural Hall at Fairmount Park. The Palms and Ferns were a lovely sight, and in ex- cellent condition. But to my eye the most striking thing there was a house of Chrysanthe- mums. There was almost every color you can mention, with the exception of blue, and that we must never expect to see, if we look into the natural law of colors. I made note of one or two of the most striking varieties, — Temple of Solomon, a very large yellow, extra fine ; Hero of Stoke Newington, Antonella, Empress of China, Jardin des Plantes, Mrs. George Mundle, and many others. I find it best, if good specimen plants are wanted, to start the cuttings from November to January, but I prefer the former ; after the cuttings are started, a cold greenhouse near the glass is the best place to grow them ; never let them get dry or pot-bound. When they have obtained a height of four or five in- ches the top should be pinched out, to encourage side shoots ; as soon as the small pots are filled with roots give them a liberal shift, which, by the end of June, will require pots from eight to twelve inches. I think the Chrysanthemum, like the rose and strawberry, delights in new, fresh loam, with one-third good, rotten cow ma- nure. Some people will advise to fill the pot one-third full of broken pots, for drainage ; but I think it is quite time for us to leave off such old whims, that our grandfathers practiced years gone by. 1 found last summer I had to water our plants twice a day, without any crocks at all in the bottom, only a piece of rough turf, and the pots plunged into the ground to their rims. I think nine out of ten will agree with me that good, rough, rich loam is better for a gross feeder like the Chrysanthemum to grow in, than a lot of old broken pots. In stopping the shoots it is im- portant to stop them all at one time, ^ou will often see some a little stronger than others; but you will find if they are stopped, and the weaker ones are left, the growth will run to the ones left untouched, and an uneven plant is the result. Last May I planted a row of young Chrysan- themums in a border, on the north side of the house, forming a back row of some bedding plants, mixing with eacli plant a good spadeful of well-rotted manure. From the end of October to the middle of December, this row of Chrysan- themums was the admiration of the town. Thev flowered fully two weeks later than our neigh- bors'. The Chrysanthemum can be trained ta almost any shape, of which I will write some other time, should the editor think it would be interesting to our readers. A BLUE BEDDING PLANT. BY C. D. WARDE, CONCORD, N. H. In answer to the inquiry of " W. D.," in the January number, would suggest as a fine blue bedding plant for ribjaon beds, and as a most ex- cellent companion for Centaurea and Achyran- thus, some of the dwarf compact growing varie- ties of the Ageratum mexicanum. Have seen beautiful effects produced with them in the Jardin de Luxembourg, in Paris, in the fine gardens of Hon. S. W. Hale, of Keene, N. H., and elsewhere. Start the plants early and trim to the proper shape. NBIV OR RARE PLANTS. New Alternanthera Aurea.— This is a great acquisition for yellow lines in ribbon-line plant- ing; of a fine habit, dwarf and compact ; foliage light green and golden yellow— the yellow pre- dominating.— P. Henderson. Dwarf Double Geraniums.— These are the "newest novelties" in the Geranium line. On the Continent of Europe, they have now Princess Stephanie of this class. It grows only from ten to twelve centimeters high. The flowers are double, rose color with a light centre. New Dahlia, " Juarezii."— The grandest nov- elty of the year, and not only a novelty but a most valuable and useful decorative plant for all purposes through the late summer and autumn months. Its blossonas are of a rich scarlet, and very much resemble in shape and color the well- known Cactus, Cereus Spedosissimus. Height about 3 ft., very bushy, flowers of very striking appearance, and quite unlike those of an ordinany double Dahlia, the florets being flat and pointed; during the fall and winter the flowers sold at fifty cents each.— P. Henderson. New Dwarf Sweet Chestnut.— A new orna- mental shrub lately introduced from Japan. The fruit or nuts are edible, and are produced freely on plants three feet high. The nuts are as large as the common " Horse Chestnut," and are equal in quality to the common small chestnut. 40 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, The enormous size and good quality of the fruit will undoubtedly make it a valuable article of commerce, while the ornamental character of the shrub will recommend it for lawns or hedges. Perfectly hardy around N. Y. — P. Henderson. Improvement op the Common Garden Mari- <30LD. — Among the triumphs of modern garden I art is the taking up of old garden flowers, and i making them yield to the improving ideas of the florist. Every body knows the common garden pot Marigold ; and, pretty and popular as it is, who would suppose that after culture for so many hundred years, anything more could be made of SCRAPS AND QUERIES. CALENDULA OFFICINALIS, METEOR. it? Yet here we have a drawing of one sent out by Haage & Schmidt of Erfurt, and which they call " Meteor," which is as " double as a daisy." Besides the double flower it has the novelty of a pale orange stripe down the centre of each straw colored petal. Now that improvement has been started, we shall expect a race of new kinds in this popular garden flower. The Diamond Tuberose. — We are crowded this month, and have hardly room for all the long correspondence on hand in regard to this plant. It seems sufficient to note that Nanz & Neuner say they were aware that an attempt was made to impose on two eastern firms a kind which was " far from being the Diamond which we offer." They "know it to be just as they repre- sented it," except that it was an error to say as we did, "five to eight inches ;" it should be " fif- teen to eighteen inches." But, since the ques- tion has been raised, they decided not to sell till they had exhibited plants this summer, so that all could see for themselves. This seems fair enough. The Drop Worm. — W. F. Bassett, Hammon- ton., N. J., writes : '• If I understand what you call ' Bag, or Drop Worm,' I think you are in error on one point. Some of the cocoons are doubtless empty, but others are full of eggs for next year's crop, and if all of them are care- fully collected now and burned, there will be none next year; as the full-grown cocoons are, from their color and size, much easier seen than the small ones, this comparatively leisure sea- son is a much better time to destroy them than summer." [Mr. Bassett is right. The statement was one of those unaccountable slips sometimes made for which there is no excuse. —Ed. G. M.] Hardiness of Rose Reine Marie Henri- ETTE. — Mr. Terwilliger, of Saratoga, N. Y., writes : " Please state that the rose ' Reine Marie Henriette,' stood outside uncovered dur- ing the winter '80 and '81, mercury going to 32° below zero, and came out nicely, bloomed all summer and is now in bloom (Sept. 6). La France was by them, also unharmed, plenty of snow to cover them." Greenhouse and House Gardening. CO MM UNI C A TIONS. CULTIVATION OF THE CHRYSANTHE- MUM. BY D. RHIND, CANANDAIGUA, N. Y. With very little care and simple treat- ment I have good success with these. I propa- gate in March ; as soon as well rooted pot them in two and a half or three inch pota, pinch- ing them if they grow too lanky before planting out, which I do as soon as the ground can be got ready. They should be placed in a cool house or frame for a few days previous to setting out; frost won't hurt them if so treated. When 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST. 41 they have grown about a foot, cut them back near the ground so as to get them stocky with as many branches as possible. Afterwards only pinch the strongest shoots every third or fourth week ; it should be discontinued some time in August, according to the weather. Water when necessary ; make a small basin around each plant to hold it. Lift and pot as soon as the flower buds can be seen. I get plants by this system having from thirty to fifty shoots. As soon as potted plunge in a tub of water, which I do with all plants taken up at this season. Place in the shade and sprinkle overhead as long as necessary. The large flowering varieties, like Empress of India, should be disbudded, leaving only one bud to a shoot. After two weeks use liquid manure till they are almost in full bloom, then discontinue — the flowers last longer. I grow about a hundred plants this way. If there is a shorter way I would be very glad to find it out. ISOTOMA LONCiFLORA. BY V. DE NIEDMAN, WASHINGTON, D. C. In the December issue of the Gardener's Monthly I have noticed the remarks on Isotoma longiflora, and was surprised at the price asked for this plant, Isotoma longiflora, or Rapuntium, or Hippobroma longiflora Don., is an inmate of our gardens here for more than thirty years, and as a native of Jamaica it will never make much in winter in a cold or greenhouse, while in a hot- house it will thrive very luxuriantly, and rather too much so, as often to my great amazement — will not say at all '' a pleasant surprise.'' I find the Isotoma, together with Pteris serrulata, Oxalis and a few more other good things, to overrun our orchid and stove-houses to such an extent that it is at times difficult to state which of them is the worst weed and the most trouble- some to the grower, as the Isotoma seeds in great quantities and freely, although the flowers generally come one by one. The plant itself, by this latter quality, will never produce a showy, striking eSect as a winter-blooming hothouse plant, but is likely more adapted for out of door culture in a rockery, perhaps, among other herbaceous plants. In regard to using Isotoma for cut-flower work, I would have little to say, as I never have used them, but would think little adapted for this kind of work on account of their length and soft character. In speaking of the fragrancy of the flowers, I would like to mention that Isotoma belongs to the order of Campanuleae lobeliarise, and, like a good many plants of the same order, possesses in all its parts poisonous properties, even also in the odor or fragrancy ; and as there are records of people having suff'ered from eff"ects of this poisonous plant, I thought a little cautioning would be per- haps not altogether disregarded. THE AUSTRALIAN GLORY FLOWER CLIANTHUS DAMPIERI. BY WILLIAM FA;.C0NER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. At Oakley, Mount Auburn, on November 20th, I saw a lovely specimen of this most gorgeous plant. Last spring Mr. Allan, the gardener, had a lot of seedlings, robust plants in good bloom- ing order; some he grew in cold frames and others planted out in the borders; those in the frames gave most satisfaction. Seeds ripened by those plants were sown on August 4th, and the beautiful specimen just referred to is one of these late seedlings. It is growing in a cold frame, well packed around with dry litter and matted over when occasion requires to exclude frost. The earth in the frame is about fifteen inches beneath the glass surface, and the branches of the plant, about four feet in spread, are trained out horizontally about eight inches under the sashes. The plant is growing vigor- ously, and from every leaf axil arises a cluster of blossoms or buds. "When we saw it, about a dozen clusters were fully expanded, and Mr. Allan assured us he had already cut off twenty- three clusters. The sunny position of the frame, the nearness of the Clianthus to the glass, and the cool temperature of the season, incited a brilliance of color not attained in the blossoms of spring and summer. . The great difficulty in growing this Glory Flower successfully is its susceptibility to damp off at the neck and sensitiveness to root-mutila- tion in re-potting. To avoid these, Mr. Allan grows his seedlings in three-inch pots, and just before they would likely need shifting knocks off the bottoms of the pots, and without disturbing the roots in the least sets the pots to within an inch of their depth in prepared beds, where the roots can ramble at will. The little pot acts as a collar-guard to the plant, and no water is afterwards allowed to be given within that col- lar; thus although the roots may be well watered the neck of the plant is kept dry. The Glory Flower is a native of the desert 42 THE GARDENERS MONTHLY [ February, regions of Australia, where it assumes the form of a small scrubby bush or woody vine. Its leaves and young wood are thickly clad with white woolly hairs; its brilliant scarlet blossoms have a large black-purple spot at the base of the standard, are very showy, and vividly distinct from any other of our cultivated flowers. Al- though a true perennial, as a garden plant, it has usually given most satisfaction when treated as an annual. TRICOPILiA,TORTILIS AND T. SUAVIS, BY C. H. S., BALTIMORE, MD. The above Orchids can both be cultivated in the same way though they come from different countries. Owing to their mode of flowering they are best cultivated in pots, and I find that they are impatient of too much water when they are beginning to grow, being liable to damp off if too much heat and moisture is given at that time. I fill the pots to within two inches of the top with broken crocks, then fill with sphagnum moss tightly pressed down, and then make a mound nearly two inches high, and on the top place your plant. This is necessary, because the flowers are pendant. It would be advisable in making pots for orchids to have some small holes under the rims, through which to run copper wire to secure the plants on the moss. After they have become well roDted the wire may be drawn out. This mode of potting is suitable to all the Tricopilias, Lycastes, Maxil- larias, Piiumnse, Bollaae. Batemania and other orchids that have large flowers with short stems. I prefer, with any of the above, to give the roots a good soaking, by putting the pots in water once every two or three days, to slightly damp- ing the moss with a syringe. This will be often enough even when in active growth, and when they have finished, once a week will be suffi- cient. Tricopilia tortilis and suavis do well with a rather dry temperature of from 50° to 60° from November 1st until April, and after that to be kept from 60° to 75°. It may be that at times the thermometer will go up to 90° in spite of shading, but it will do no harm if the house is kept well saturated with moisture. Odonto- glossum Cervantesii and all its near allies, are a little difficult to grow nicely, owing to our ex- tremely hot and dry climate. They come from an elevation of about 4000 feet in Mexico in the shady valleys. The young growth is easily rot- ted off by too much heat and moisture, which is also the case with most cool orchids. I grow 0* Cervantesii in saucers, such as are used to place under flower pots, but the saucers are hung vertically, and the plants secured by wire through holes made for the purpose. I am growing many small Orchids in these saucers, which are one and a half inches deep and of various diam- eters. Odontoglossum Rossii, 0. Ehrenberghii, Oncidium Kramerii, O. varicosum, all do well, and it is impossible almost to overwater them, even though they are dipped every day, in the growing season, as any surplus immediately runs off. These saucers can be made of any size. 0. Cervantesii should be grown as cool as possible in summer, and at about 50° through winter. STEAM HEATING. BY WALTER M. TABER, DETROIT, MICH. If agreeable to the readers of the Gardener's Monthly, we accept Mr. Fowler's invitation and give our experience with steam heating, well knowing that if it give others the satisfaction it has given us, the days of hot water heating, as well as those of all other modes are short. In August, 1880, we intended placing in our green- houses a hot water apparatus, when the articles in this magazine by Mr. Bochmann and Parker Bros, on steam heating, attracted our attention. And after quite a correspondence with these gentlemen, and for whose kindly suggestions we are grateful, we erected what we believe to be the first successful steam apparatus in the West, Our boiler is below the radiating pipes, thereby doing away with the use of a steam trap, which would only be Jiecessary were the boiler placed above the pipes, and which comes to the relief of those who cannot secure drainage, to place their boiler below the ground surface. We carry the steam from the boiler through a two inch pipe to a two inch pipe crossing the ends of all the houses, above the doorways in the shed, with a drop pipe and valve of from one to one-and-a- half inches for each coil, according to the amount of radiating surface in the coil, which connects by a manifold with one inch radiating pipes under the bench, running the entire length of the house, with eight inches fall in one hundred feet, connecting at the further end of the house by manifold pipe and valve with a two inch re- turn pipe to boiler, which crosses the ends of all the houses, receiving the condensed steam from all radiating coils — the return pipe being about one foot under the ground, and having a fall 1882.] AND HORTICULTURIST. towards the boiler, thus obtaining a complete circulation much the same as in a hot water apparatus. In the severe weather of last winter with the thermometer fifteen degrees below zero, five pounds of steam was all that was necessarj' to maintain a temperature of sixty-five degrees; and we find that steam will circulate in all the pipes when the guage shows not one ounce of pressure. We have visited the establishment of the Messrs. Reneman & Bro. of Pittsburg, whose apparatus was erected we believe by Mr. Boch- man, and noticed that their radiating pipes were two inches, each pipe being supplied by a three- quarter inch pipe, with an outlet of one half inch, their boiler being above the heating pipes; they use an Albany steam trap to return the condensation to the boiler, the use of which I think objectionable, where not necessary. Mr. Fowler says, " Regarding the larger pipes, their cost is nearly double that of the smaller, and if the latter can be made as effective, this is surely a saving." While I do not see any special advan- tage of large pipes over small except in cheap- ness, Mr. Fowler must know that more heat is obtained from one two inch pipe, than from two one inch pipes. Others were so pleased with the working of our apparatus, that to-day there are six greenhouse establishments in this city heated by steam, all erected the past summer; and as far as I know are giving entire satisfaction. Steam has been used to some extent in Chicago, but has never been made a success, and as I intend visiting that town soon, I may be able to tell the readers of the Monthly in a later number, why it is thus. THE OLEANDER. BY FLORAMANT. The Nerium, commonly called the Oleander, is a much neglected though a very beautiful plant. It is an erect-growing, evergreen shrub, of the easiest culture, abundant in flower, ex- quisite in fragrance. They flower freely when scarcely a foot high, but will attain a height of ten or twelve feet. Hardy along the gulf coast. To bloom them in perfection they need a stove, and yet do well in the parlor and out of doors, budding out finely. In potting give plenty of pot room, and use a soil composed of equal parts of loam, well rotted manure, and peat or leaf-mould. Their natural period for blooming is July ; but that may be changed and bloom produced at any season. Under favorable conditions they will bloom until frost, bedded out. One way to manage these plants is to let them have a short rest after the summer flowering, which can be effected by drying. Then trim to within a few eyes of the previous year's wood, having due regard to the symmetry of the plant, and place in a warm greenhouse, encouraging them to make a short growth before winter sets in. In the spring shift into above compost, and stop the young growth so far as necessary to make good heads^ If not convenient to shift as the plant grows, give liquid manure. Another system is to pot in spring as above ; and if any of the plants have bad heads cut them down to the shape desired. The old wood will push new shoots. Keep the plants thus headed down until May, when they may be planted in the garden ; or if that cannot be done, turn them out, reduce the ball of earth by probing with a pointed stick all around the sides and bottom of the ball, cutting ofi any very matted roots. If any of the roots are decayed cut them into the sound wood. Re-pot into same tub, filling in with fresh compost, and give very little water unless there are signs of vegetation. These plants may also be re-potted in August; and as they are of a strong habit will not be in- jured thereby, and that is a convenient season to do the work, as it is out of doors. They may be wintered in the house or in a light cellar, and should then be but slightly watered; during the growing and blooming seasons, however, they should have plenty of water. Cuttings strike root with great ease if kept moist. Neriums are generally seen, when blooming, with as much growth above the flowers as below them ; this is the result of neglect. Soon after the trusses of bloom show themselves, young growths of wood start from the base, and if these are allowed to remain, the flowers are weakened and hidden. Pick them out as soon as seen, and the flowers will form beautiful heads above the foliage. Flower buds frequently form late in the fall, lie dormant all winter, whilst the foliage and branches continue to grow, and in the spring expand into full-blown flowers, which then ap- pear stuck in the midst of leaves, with branches all around them. These plants are* frequently infested with white scale. For that, scrub stems and wipe leaves with a strong decoction of tobacco, heated to about 100°, and clean afterwards with soap THE QARDENEIVS MONTHLY I February, and water ; or, with a whisk broom sprinkle thoroughly with Paris green prepared in water, as for potato bug, repeating several times through the summer. It must be noted that the wood, bark and leaves of this plant are all poisonous. Death has resulted from eating meat in which skewers of Oleander wood have been used ; the pow- dered bark is used as a rat poison, and an infu- sion of the leaves is a powerful insecticide. The principal varieties described are Nerium oleander, the common rose-colored single-flow- ering species, from which many varieties have originated ; N. 0. splendens, the most popular, a double rose colored flower; N. 0. striata fl. pi., with double flowers, striped rose and white ; N. album maximum, semi-double, white ; N. grand- iflorum plenum, double rose ; Shaw's seedling, deep crimson, single ; N. macrophyllum, very double and large, deep pink ; N. album plenum, double white ; N. atropurpureum plenum, dark purple, rich ; N. cardinale, double rich purple vermilion, lighter in centre of petals, very fine. N. flavum duplex, double yellow, fine and dis- tinct ; Geant des Battailles, single, light blue cen- tre, petals edged with crimson, very fine; N. madoni grandiflorum, double white, free flower ing. fine ; Professor Diirand, fine double yellow ; N. 0. Elegant! ssimum, a most beautiful plant with deep, silver-edged foliage, and young wood, striped white and green ; and many other fine varieties. The writer, however, doubts whether there is such a thing as a truly double white, or a true yellow. STEAM HEATING. BY ALEX. MURDOCH, PITTSBURG, PA. FrieJid Fowler can rest assured that steam will not "smoulder." It is undoubtedly the coming heater for greenhouses — until superseded in its turn by electricity — and before long is destined to enter into the construction of all new ranges of houses ; if not substituted for other methods in those already built. Around Pittsburg it has been introduced with invariable success, and rose-growers from Summit and Madison have been here taking notes. Where we (John R. & A. Murdoch) grow our roses in the 22nd Ward, we this summer took out a No. 16 and a No. 17 Hitching's corrugated boiler and two thousand feet of four-inch pipe ; and after making an ex- tension of 100 feet by 20 feet, put in steam with most satisfactory results, adding a steam-pump, with which we raise water from the brook below to water the houses and supply the boiler. Two-inch pipe was used excepting where the valves were placed ; here we used one-inch pipes and smaller valves to reduce the cost of valves. We consider steam as safe as hot water, and much easier to regulate, aside from the economy of labor resulting in the decreased number of fires necessary. After a winter's experience, we may refer again to this important topic. DENDROBiUM CAMBRIDCEANUM. BY WALTER GRAY. "G. C." will find this plant do best to grow it on a block of wood or in a basket, with peafe and moss ; suspend it from the roof and as near the glass as possible. It requires plenty of heat and moisture when growing, and when it has made its growth, should be placed in a cooler position with less water until it begins to grow; then bring it back into more heat and moisture to give it a quick growth. It produces its flowers upon the first season's growth early in the spring.. It is a grand species ; flowers, dark yellow, some- times orange color, tip crimson. ON THE CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. BY JOHN WOODING, PENCOYD, MONTGOMERY CO., PA, The soil heat adapted to the growth of Camel- lias is a mixture of peat and rotten sod in nearly equal proportions, with a little silver sand added. Where the soil is peculiarly light and sandy, a less quantity of peat is requisite. Mix this well together, but not sifted ; use it as rough as possi- ble, as it is necessary the soil should be open and porous ; the plants will have a more healthy ap- pearance. In potting use plenty of broken crocks, thereby securing a free drainage, a cir- cumstance indispensable to the success of the plants. The proper season for the general shift- ing is when the young growth is hardened, and the blossom buds for next year can be detected at the extremity of the shoots. After shifting all those that require it, place them out in the open air in a shady place; an occasional sprinkling of the foliage will improve the ap- pearance as well as be beneficial to the health of the plants. At all times attention must be paid to watering them properly, the roots being apt to become matted in the pots, so as to render the ball of earth impervious to moisture ; hence it is necessary to see that the ball of earth is moist- 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST. 45 ened by the water poured upon it instead of the web of fibres only, this requiring an examina- tion of the roots, and reducing or pruning them at least once a year, a measure almost indis- pensable. At the respective periods of growth and flower- ing, the plants will require plentiful watering- during the latter, if not regularly supplied, the bloom buds will infallibly fall off instead of ex- panding into flower. At other times a moderate supply is essential. The effect of constantly watering may be presumed to diminish or des- troy the fertilitj' of the small quantity of earth allotted to each plant; therefore, when the an- nual re-potting occurs, carefully take away as much of the former ball of earth as can be done without injuring or cutting the roots. The Camellia may be considered as a hardy greenhouse plant, requiring a temperature only just above freezing point. Like the myrtle, it will succeed much better than when grown in a higher temperature. The usual methods of propagation are by grafting and budding on the single red Camellia, cuttings of which are found to strike root more readily than of the double varieties. The cut- tings are taken as soon as the young shoots are sufficiently ripe at the base. They are carefully prepared by being cut smoothly over with a sharp knife at a joint, and divested of one or two leaves at the bottom, and then planted firmly about two inches deep in pots filled with ihe Camellia compost, before described, and the upper part filled with fine sand. They are then well watered and the plants plunged over a little gentle heat and kept closely shaded for three or four months, by which time short fibres or a callus, from which they afterwards diverge, are produced, When sufficiently rooted to bear re- moval, they are potted singly in small pots, the sand being then carefully removed. The pots should be well drained and filled with the Camellia compost, with the addition of a little white sand. They are afterwards to be sprinkled with water and placed in a close frame or pit, until they begin to root afresh, and by degrees exposed to the air. The succeeding season they may be potted in the same soil as the other Camellias, and simi- larly treated, and many of the plants will then have obtained sufficient size and strength for budding, and all of them by the following sea- son. The best time for budding is as soon as the new wood is sufficiently ripened, but it may be done at almost any season of the year. NICHT-OPENINC FLOWERS. BY J. H. KRELAGE, HAARLEM, HOLLAND. The fact related in the Gardener's Monthly of November, 1881, page 341, of a Cactus flower- ing usually at night, and by exception in the daytime, is very interesting, and it would be of great interest to know the name and origin of this plant. From the given notice it might be Cereus triangularis (Haw.); Cereus compressus (Mill.); Cactus triangularis (Lin.); Cactus triangu- laris aphyllus (Jacq.); which in our climate usu- ally opens at six o'clock in the evening, and lasts till eleven o'clock the following morning. It has fine white flowers, and broad flat epiphyllum- like leaves. Here it flowers very rarely, and only when of some age, and when permitted to fix its aerial roots in some brick wall. Cereus Napoleonis (Grab.); Cereus triangularis major ( Sal m. not Pfeiffer's), is very near to this, also with white flowers, but which open in the morning and close in the evening of the same day. If this last was not so very scarce, one could think the described Cactus to be a hybrid between the triangularis and Napoleonis. Like some hybrids of Cereus grandiflorus, the well-known night- blooming Cactus, also, has here a different flow- ering period. ROSES FOR ORNAMENTAL FRUIT. BY W. C. STRONG. Fully endorsing your opinion as to the desira- bleness of the Dog, Cinnamon and Carolina Roses, for their showy fruit in autumn, let me add that Rosa rugosa (Japan) is superior, by far, to any other variety in this respect, and also that its large flowers and rich, luxuriant foliage render it one of the most desirable shrubs of recent in- troduction. DENDROBIUM CAMBRIDCEANUM. BY MANSFIELD MILTON, YOUNGSTOWN, O. This fine Orchid from the north of India de- serves more attention by lovers of the beautiful than it gets. It is a deciduous drooping species, and is shown to best advantage when grown in a basket, given plenty of water during the period of its growth, gradually withholding as the 46 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, -shoots mature. The flowers, which are of a bright orange, having a crimson blotch on the temperature to grow in, and will produce its flowers more abundantly if well ripened by JASMiNUM GRACiLLiMUM. (See Opposite page tip, are produced on the young growths during I being kept close to the glass, having plenty of ithe spring months. It requires a good high 1 light, but not too much of the burning sun. 1882. AND HORIICULTURIST. 47 NBIV OR RARE PLANTS. Jasminum gracillimum (see illustration on preceding page). — We have briefly noted this novelty in our last year's volume. It seems to be an introduction of more than ordinary value, on account of the great demand for first-class winter-blooming flowers. We give the following representation of it, together with a sketch of its history with which we have been favored by Messrs. J. Veitch & Son, of Chelsea, London, through whose enterprise it was first introduced to public notice : " A beautiful Jasmine, collected for us in Bor- neo by Mr. Burbidge. " The following is Sir J. D. Hooker's descrip- tion of the plant in the Gardeners' Chronicle for January 1st, 1881 : " ' A very near ally of the well-known Jas- minum pubescens of India and China, the type around which are to be arranged a good many closely-allied species, differing in habit, in the size and number of flowers, and of the divisions of the corolla, all of them natives of Eastern Asia and its islands.' '"Of these Jasminum gracillimum is one of the most distinct in its graceful habit, and in the abundance of its large sweet-scented flowers, which are also more copiously produced, in which respect I know of none to compare with it. It appears to be a small species, with long, very slender branches springing from low down on the stem, and curving over on all sides, weighed down by terminal globose panicles as large as the fist.' " We may add, that as a decorative plant for the stove and warm conservatory, Jasminum gracillimum is probably the best of recent intro- duction. It is exceedingly floriferous ; a flower- ing shoot is produced from every joint, which terminates in a dense cluster of pure white frag- rant flowers. The plant is continuously in bloom from October to January, and its grace- ful habit renders it one of the most beautiful of flowering plants for table decoration at that season." " It received the award of a first-class certifi- cate from the Royal Horticultural Society, De- cember 14th, 1880. Cyrtodeira metalica. — A new basket plant now popular. Of creeping habit. Its leaves are a rich bronze color, marked in the centre with pink. The surface of the foliage being covered with minute white hairs, gives it a silvery ap- pearance; very beautiful. — Henderson. Begonia Schmidtit.— Although we have seve- ral times referred to this pretty addition to the popular Begonias,we continue to have inquiries concerning it, and have thought that the follow- ing sketch of its history, furnished by Haage & Schmidt, of Erfurt, will be generally interesting : "Begonia Schmidtii, Kegel. A new species grown from seeds which we received from the South of Brazil. It neither belongs to the tu- berous-rooted nor to the large-leaved (' Rex hybrid') sorts and maybe classed to the shrubby, small-leaved and free-flowering kinds such as the well-known species : Dregei, incarnata, Ingrami, Weltoniensis. Among these it is certain to rank foremost and become a very popular sort on ac- count of its extraordinary abundance of flowers ; the latter are white, slightly veiled with pink, and form an agreeable contrast to the foliage, being dark green with a metallic lustre. The dwarf branching and regular globe-shaped habit of the plant makes it a most desirable acquisi- tion for decorative as well as for mai-ket pur- poses. Literally covered with flowers from May to the end of October, it will continue in bloom through the winter if treated under any ordi- nary circumstances ; so that this species may justly be called a perpetual-flowering Begonia. The culture is the same as of all the other shrubby sorts, thriving well out of doors during the summer and in a temperate stove during the winter months. SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Shy Flowering Plants. — " B." says : ''Can you or some of your readers inform me what treat- ment is required to make Ageratums bloom freely? I have three fine varieties, Blanche, Lady Jane and John Douglas, and they grow very vigor®usly but produce very few flowers. How long does it take seedling Geraniums to 48 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, flower ? I have some twenty which I raised frora seed last winter, and most of them are over one foot in height but only one shows any signs of flowering." Violet Kubra Plena. — " C. E. P." says : " If any of the readers of the Monthly have had any experience with Violet rubra plena, which is described as ' being of a red (?) color and very distinct,' and Violet Marie de Savoy which is described as being ' very large and fragrant and of a deep blue color with a white centre,' they will confer a favor on me by reporting the result through the columns of the Monthly ?" Anthurium crystallinum. — " Subscriber " wants to know: "Can you or some of your readers give me some information concerning the treatment of Anthurium crystallinum ; of what country is it a native ; do the flowers possess any beauty, or is it grown only for its superb foliage? I am giving my plant the same treat- ment that I would give A. Scherzerianum ; but it does not seem to thrive under it." Harris' Lilium lqngiflorum. — Mr. Kift places on our table a plant of his ''Floribundum," to show how freely it flowers. It having been grown in a three-inch pot. This is indeed re- markable. We have no doubt in our mind that Mr. Kift's Lily and Mr. Harris' are essentially the same, and that it is not worth while perpetuating the two names. As Mr. Harris' was first named, we suppose under the rule of priority it will con- tinue to be called the Harris Lily. Frora all we can learn this variety has become partially naturalized in Bermuda, and has come to us both direct from the island and also sent through Florida. Its original home is in Japan. Double Red Bouvardia.— F. Morat, Louisville, Ky., writes: "I sent you to-day by mail, one flower of a rose colored double Bouvardia. It is a sport of double white A. Neuner. It is quite constant. I have about 300 plants of them now in bloom." [This is very beautiful, and to say the least is quite as desirable as the double white. — Ed. G. M.] Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, SEASONABLE HINTS. In managing the vegetable garden the highest excellence should be aimed at. This is the chief source of pleasure in a garden. If one can take no pleasure in his garden, — if the watching of the beautiful processes of nature in furnishing him food, and the many lessons they teach him, which he in a thousand ways can so pleasurably and profitably apply, have no] charms or attrac- tions for him, — he had better give up gardening, for assuredly, in most cases, — even 99 in 100 instances, — the market gardener will bring the vegetables to his own door cheaper than he can grow them. Amateur gardening should prima- rily be pursued for the lessons it teaches, and the pleasure it affords ; when it ceases to do this it should be abandoned. All those kinds that are grown for their leaves or stems require an abundance of nitrogenous manures ; and it is useless to attempt vegetable gardening without it. To this class belong cab- I bage, lettuce, spinach, etc. The other class, which is grown principally for its seeds or pods, as beans, peas, etc., do not require much ma- nure of this character — in fact they are injured by it. It causes too great a growth of stem and leaf, and the earliness — a great aim in vegetable growing — is injuriously affected. Mineral man- ures, as wood ashes, bone-dust, etc., are much better for them. For vegetables, requiring rich stable manure, it is best that they have it well rotted and decayed. Nothing has yet been found so well fitted for the purpose as old hot-bed dung ; though to the smell no trace of " ammonia " re- mains in it. All fruit trees like a rather dry, rich soil. On a cold, clayey bottom, diseases are usually fre- quent. Do not plant deep ; cut off" tap roots, and do all you can to encourage surface fibres. Surface manuring is the best way of doing this, after the tree is planted. Do not allow any thing to grow vigorously around your trees the first year of 1882.J AND HORTICULTURIST. 49 planting, nor allow the soil to become hard or dry. Let trees branch low, and prune a little at transplanting. The Strawberry, where it has been covered during the winter, should be uncovered as early as possible in spring, that the warm spring suns may exert all their influence on producing an early crop. As soon as growth commences, a sowing of guano has been found to be of great benefit to the crop of fruit. Raspberries and Blackberries may be planted towards the end of the month ; they should be cut down to within a foot of the ground at planting ; they will, of course, not then bear the next season after planting. But this is a benefit; no fruit tree should be allowed to bear the same season. Pruning of fruit trees, when required, should be proceeded with at favorable opportunities. The rule, in pruning grape vines, is to shorten the shoots in proportion to their strength ; but, if the advice we have given in former summer hints has been attended to, there will be little disproportion in this matter, as summer pinch- ing of the strong shoots has equalized the strength of the vine. Those who are following any particular system will, of course, prune ac- cording to the rules comprising such system. As a general rule, we can only say, excellent grapes can be had by any system of pruning ; for the only object of pruning, in any case, is to get strong shoots to push where they may be de- sired, or to increase, with the increased vigor of the shoot, which pruning supposes will follow the act, increased size in the fruit it bears. CO M MUNI C A TIONS. FRUIT CROP IN TENNESSEE. BY E. S. NIXON, CHATTANOOGA, TENN. In this part of the South, the fruit crop of the season just closed affords a subject for reflec- tion and thought that is worth looking into. Not that there can be any remedy, as the terri- tory afiected is so extensive, but a knowledge of the probable cause of the failure may do some good. In the early spring it was noticeable that there were some localities, particularly in low ground, where the peach trees failed to bloom, and the trees looked as though they were dead, not a single bloom appearing on any of them, while on higher grounds on either side within a short dis-* tance all the trees were in full bloom. A strip of this kind running parallel with, and east of Missionary Ridge, in Tennessee, extended quite a distance into Georgia. This was our first trouble. Subsequently, or on the first day of April, there was a heavy snow storm, the wind blowing from the north-west ; the weather after it re- mained was very cold for several days. At this date the fruit trees were in full bloom. It was a beautiful sight, but to the fruit-grower a very unwelcome one. ' The cold wave seemed to take a south-east course, its eastern edge being about the line of the Nashville & Chattanooga and Western & At- lantic Railroads, resulting in the almost total destruction of the fruit crop of Alabama and that portion of Georgia west of said line, and south of Atlanta. Apples, pears and peaches all fared alike, the pears probably came off a little the best. At Calera, Alabama, there are a few pear or- chards that are well cared for ; they bore proba- bly one-tenth of a crop of defective fruit, and this was the best that could probably be produced in the State. During the summer I visited several counties of North-east Georgia, east of the Western & Atlantic Railroad and north of Atlanta, and the fruit crop there was immense. I saw hundreds of peach trees with every main limb broken down with the very heavy load of fruit on them. The apple trees were equally well loaded, but they were able to sustain the weight. It must be remembered that the trees have no care whatever, never having been pruned to make them able to sustain the weight of the fruit. The people said this was the first crop they had seen in four years. East Tennessee, which also escaped the cold wave, has had the best fruit crop it has had for some years. The people of that section dried the most of their fruit, which brought them a very good price, while the people of Georgia, with very few exceptions, saved but very little of it, the hogs coming in for the largest share. Some of the finest was hauled to the railroads, where the parties lived adjacent to them, but hardly any of it was shipped off". Most of the peaches (being grown on seedling trees) were small and the owners did not know how to dispose of them. In several localities I noticed that the Shock- 50 THE GARDENERS MONTHLY [February, ley apple trees looked very badly rusted, the leaves dropping off; many of them were dead outright, while other trees in the same or- chard looked green and healthy. I fear the days of the Shockley — in the South at least — are num- bered. It promised to be the best late apple ever introduced in the South, and I have seen some very fine ones this fall ; but from the way the trees are decaying in various places that I have seen, even before the dry weather set in, I would not plant another tree of it, or advise any of my friends to do so. FORCING STRAWBERRIES IN POTS. BY WALTER COLES, GARDENER TO J. I. BLAIR, ESQ., BELVIDERE, N. J. "P. F.," Jersey City, N. J., in your November Gardener's Monthly, asks for a few hints on strawberry forcing, which no doubt will be in- teresting to most readers of this paper. I will state the method I have most successfully fruited them. The first thing is to get a mixture of soil three parts good rotted sod, previously cut from an old pasture and one part well rotted manure thor- oughly mixed. Fill as many three inch pots as the required number of plants you wish to force, sink them to their rims alongside of the rows from which you propose to obtain your plants ; this should be done as early as possible, for in this earliness depends the success. Layer the young runners into the three inch pots; keep them well watered, and in about three weeks they will be rooted nicely. Be careful only to have one plant in a pot, as one plant produces better results than two or three. As soon as the small pots are filled with roots, they are ready to be potted into six inch pots which I consider the most suitable. They should be potted with the soil above described, rather firm. Then stand them in a open, airy situation; never allow them to get dry,but encourage them to make as much growth as possible, so as to get the six inch pots well filled with roots. If not well filled with roots before the end of the season you might as well throw your strawberry plants away as to attempt to force them. If it is convenient, after the plants are potted they had better be plunged to the rim in sawdust, coal-ashes or waste tanbark, w^hich will keep the plants moist. Be careful not to plunge them or place them anywhere for the worms to get through the bottom of the pots. Leave the plants in this open situation until the middle of November. Then they should be put in a cold frame, the pots plunged to their rima in some light material, or an old hotbed pit, filled with dry leaves would do as long as it keeps the roots from freezing, and so they can be got at easily at any time for the forcing department. The ashes should be put on to keep the plants from severe freezing, but air should be admitted on all favorable occasions to keep them as cool as possible, for one should imitate nature as near as possible; therefore, the plants should be in their dormant state at this time. Now the time of introducing the first lot of plants to heat will be considered with due regard to the time when ripe fruit is expected. If wanted by the first of March, the first lot had better be brought in about December 15th or 20th, into a heat not exceeding 45° or 50°; about this temperature should be maintained until the fruit is set. After the berries are set the temperature may be increased to 60° by night and 80° by day, with sun heat, with plenty of moisture. The plants should be liberally watered with liquid manure while they are swelling their fruit. As soon as the fruit begins to color, less water should be applied and more air ; it makes the fruit firmer and better flavored. Of course a batch can be brought in every two weeks in succession. We are not yet done with those forced plants, for if planted out in the garden in April, and all the runners kept pinched off, they will fruit agaiu in autumn, when a dish of strawberries would be very acceptable. I have forced many hundred strawberries every j^ear, for eight years, until this year. But here, I am sorry to say, we have not the room or con- veniences. FRUIT NOTES FROM ENGLAND. BY C. M., RYDE, ISLE OF WIGHT. I have been interested in your American fruits and have obtained many sorts for trial in the past few years. I have a good stock of them now, and next season hope to fruit quite a num- ber of them. Of strawberries I am much pleased with the Boyden. Some that I had in pots last season forced well, fruited freely, and the fruit was very fine. The Cumberland Triumph also promises well. But I am disappointed in Charles Downing. The fruit was very small, which sur- prised me, for, from what I had read of it, I had formed the idea that the fruit was of good size. The peaches promise very well. The Alexan- der's Early gave me a few fruits last season, as also did the Oldmixon — the latter very late in 1882.1 AND HORTICULTURIST. 51 the season. I see Elvers speaks very highly of the Alexander. It seems to bear very abun- dantly. The stock on which you work the peach — the seedling peach I think — seems much better suited to the healthy growth of the tree than does the plum stock used by our nurserymen ; and I like the look of American trees much bet- ter. With these trees stock and graft swell away together. This is not the case with the plum stock. The peach never takes kindly to it, and the result is a gnarled looking joint which does not suggest, nor is it favorable to a healthy growth. I doubt not but I shall get something good from American pears and apples, but I must wait awhile before being able to say anything positive of them. American blackberries do well with me, but somehow I don't think they would be cared for by our people. Of all the American raspberries that I have tried, there are none better than our own, if so good. There is a certain flavor which the Antwerp class have which seems lacking in American sorts, decreasing their value. They seem not so soft, even when fully ripe, as ours are, and not so good flavored. I have not yet fruited any American grape vines, but ^I have a Concord planted in a favorable place, and from the good growth made last year I think I shall get fruit this season. But our summers are hardly hot enough for these grapes out of doors, even here in the south of England. Occasionally a summer will be favorable enough to color grapes of the Black Hamburg, grow- ing against a south wall, but never enough to ripen them. Still, American sorts may do better with us. ••-■» EDITORIAL NOTES. A New Tree Label. — "J. H.", Stanwood, Iowa, writes : " I send you a sample of a new Label designed to be used on all nursery stock. The name is to be written on the outside, and inside it is also to be written, to keep a record of the name in case the outside should be washed out by the rain or weather. They are not very Kansas Products.— The farmers of Kansas raised nearly one hundred and twenty-three millions of dollars of produce the past year. Pretty good for a State reputed to be "drouthy," and in a "drouthy" year. Mild Weather. — The English seem to have had the same mild weather to new year that we had. A correspondent of the London Daily News says on December 5th : Fucshias were still in bloom in the open air of the Isle of Wight, and that he gathered ripe raspberries from late Fall growths, and strawberries were getting ripe. smoothly made yet, but you can see what they are meant for. Please attach them to a tree, and you will see how they will do. I have some that I have used for a year, and the writing in- side is as good as when put on, but the outside is gone." Remedy for Bark Scale.— An Iowa City, Iowa, correspondent sends us an article on his manner of applying a wash for scale, but has omitted to state what it is that is to be used as the wash. Season and Pears.— Few fruits are more easily afiected in their good qualities than Pears. A correspondent of the London Garden says, that in England, Williams' Bon Chretien— our Bartlett— was almost flavorless in his part of England this year. Even with us the time of gathering makes some difi'erence. As a rule we believe the Bartlett is best when gathered before it is thoroughly mature. In other words best when ripened ofi" the tree. Phylloxera Laws.— The Am. Naturalist says : The existing laws regulating the traffic in plants with a view of preventing the introduction of the Grape Phylloxera, are thus summarized in the annual report of the Syndical Chamber of Nurse- reymen at Ghent. " Introduction of living plants is wholly for- bidden in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Roumania, Alge- ria, Cape of Good Hope. " Introduction of living plants is permitted, as usual, except in the case of vines, which are pro- hibited—Germany. " Introduction of living plants packed as usual, is permitted, but with a certificate of origin, in 52 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY [February, Switzerland ; and a similar certificate attested by a consul in Austria-Hungary. " Introduction under ordinary conditions if provided with a consular certificate, viseed, is al- lowed in Portugal and its colonies." Protection from Drouth. — While some are talking of contrivances against drouth, Mr. C. M, Clay, of Madison, Ky., gives us the following ex- cellent ideas : Deep cultivation is therefore essential to all high culture. It gives more food and space to the roots of plants, and thereby increases pro duction, but in dry times it especially secures more moisture. The deeper the culture the more rain ia secured against surface drainage; Hence, steep lands deeply ploughed are often saved from washing, the soil absorbing all that falls, and no surface drainage taking place. I am now eating roasting ears of sweet Mexican corn which grow upon stalks having had hardly a single inch of rain. The ground was ploughed deep and well pulverized; then the crop was ploughed and hoed often, not waiting for weeds. The space was small and used as an experiment. The light rains and dews were utilized by imme- diate hoeings, breaking all dods, and drawing the damp surface into broad, flat hills, thus covering up, to some extent, the moisture. Squash vines, which could not be hoed, laid down in the same soil and ploughing, are entire- ly dead; and watermelon vines in grass sod, turned ten inches deep, and followed by a small plow throwing five inches more soil upon it, making in all fifteen inches of depth, are barely alive. Yet the corn grows under culture, the melons not permitting it. SCRAPS AND QUERIES. Grapes for a Cold Grapery.—" S. H.," Yar- mouth, Mass., says: "I wrote you last month, but it may have arrived too late. Which is the best vine for a cold grapery, Gros Colman or White Syrian, and which are best vines to get from the South of France? Please answer in your Gardener's Monthly." [It should be borne in mind by correspondents that it takes a great many days work for the Ed- itor to answer all the letters, and prepare for a whole month's number of the magazine. The matter for the printer has to go to the office, for the greater part, a month before the date of pub- lication. Yet it is not unusual for some corres- pondent, who may write on the 20th of the month, to wonder why there is no notice of his letter, when the magazine appears a few days later. We do not wonder at this misconception, for^few persons have a full idea of the immense amount of work involved in getting up a num- ber like ours. In regard to the grapes, we would not advise either of the grapes for a cold vinery. There is nothing equal to the Black Hamburg for this purpose. Nor do we think there would be anything gained by introducing, for this pur- pose, any from the South of France. Those which have been already well tried in our vine- ries should be preferred.— Ed. G. M.] Culture of the Quince. — Mrs. Alice M. A., Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pa. This lady in- quires for information as to the cultivation of the quince. It is remarkable that so little has been said of the culture of this fruit in works on fruit culture, for it is one of the most useful of fruits, and when well cultivated one of the most profitable for market ventures. Though not seemingly understood by authors on fruit, it is by the old-fashioned but truly practical German fruit gardeners of Southern Pennsylvania, where large quantities are very profitably grown. For their successful cultivation there is nothing like a rich sandy soil. All fruits hate poverty, but none turn up their noses more at the man who cannot afford manure, than the quince. It dearly loves to be where it can have the wash- ing of land above it, and hence when it finds itself at the base of a steep hillside, it feels just at home. Although for this reason it loves river bottoms, it does not like standing water about its roots; indeed, what is jocosely termed wet feet by some fruit growers, is the especial abhor- rence of the quince. All persons cannot have just such situations for their quince trees, but fortunately the plant will grow on the dryest soil, with good success, if the surface be well mulched. If one has the chance of hauling some sand from ditches or river bottoms and spreading it under the high ground trees, they will do well. If this cannot be had, old corn roots, gathered in spring from out of a corn field, or any similar waste material that may help to keep the body of the soil moist and cool, does good. Kitchen waste mixed with coal ashes is a capital mixture to spread under the trees to keep the surface cool and make the trees grow. To keep the soil cool and to keep the plants manured enough to grow strongly, is the chief art of quince culture ; but a few words may be added on pruning. No fruit tree is so much benefited by the free use of the knife, but only to cut out the poor, weak branches. The strong and vigorous ones should never be touched. The chief troubles arise from the fire blight, 1862.] AND HORTICULTURIST. 53 ■spur blight, and the quince borer. The best precaution against blight is annual washing of the tree with a wash of lime and sulphur. It may not be a perfect insurance, but it goes a good way. The quince borer works in near the ground. If a piece of brown paper be tied around the stem, below the ground, and extend-