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Title:  The  Gardener's  monthly  and  horticultural  advertiser, 

V.  15 

Place  of  Publication:  Philadelphia 

Copyright  Date:  1873 


Master  Negative  Storage  Number:  MNS#  PSt  SNPaAg1 14.3 


Volume 


15 


J 


1873 


SUhiJ  (§ixrAtMfB 


0ntltlg 


AND 


HORTICULTURAL  ADVERTISER 

DEVOTED  TO  HORTICULTURE,  ARBORICULTURE,  BOTANY  &  RURAL  AFFAIRS. 


Edited  by  THOMAS   MEEHAN, 

FOKMERI^V  HE*D  GaBDENSR  TO  CALEB  UOPE.  Esa..  AT  SPBINGBBOOK.  AN«  AT    r„K  BaBTRAM    BoTANIC  <Jah,.KS» 

NEAR  Philadelphia;  Obaduatb  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Kf.w  (London)  Engl, 
Member  of  the  Academy  oP  Natpbal  Sciences.    Author  of  •'  American 
Hand-Book  of  Ornamental  Trees,"   Etc. 


.AND. 


-♦•♦- 


VOLUME    XV^,    1873 


PHILADELPHIA: 

CHARLES     H.     MAROT,     PUBLISHER, 

No.    814    Chestnut    Street. 

1673. 


SB  I 


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I 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Colored  Plate,  Frontispiece El^agnus  Parvifolius. 

B 

Brussels  Sprout 

147 

c 

Canada  Victor  Tomato '. go 

Carnation,  Perpetual-Flowered,  La  Belle gjy 

Coxcomb,  New  Japan ^^. 

Coxcomb,  New  Tricolor ^^. 

^  ,  lo4 

Cucumber,  Improved 

.144 

■  F 

Fruit  Drying' Apparatus ^^ 

c 

Grape  Berry  Moth,  Larva  and  Cocoons,  (i  Cuts) ^^1 

Greenhouse,  Small,  Plan  of. *'  | 

Godctia  Dunnettii 

316 

H 

Hot  Water  Heating,  Method  of. 

Houses  of  S.  B.  Parsons  &  Co.,  Diagram  of. ..!!!!!i!!....7..*.l.... 106 

Lobelia,  Carter's  Cobalt-Blue 

155 

Marblehead  Squash 

Mimulus  Cupreus,  Variety  Brilliant ^  ^^^ 

Mole  Traps " ^^^ 

237-238 

o 

^-'range  Apple 

• 844 

Parterre,  Design  of 

Peas,  New  English 

Pipes  to  warm  a  Greenhouse,  Situation  of ''|''" -q^ 

s        ■  • 

Scarlet  Runner,  The 

Tomato  Trellis 

m    ,    ,,      ,      297-298 

Iwin  Nozzle,  The,  (2  Cuts) g^^ 


I  i 


Absorption    of    Moisture    by 

Leaves,  61,  376 
Abutilon  Boule  de  Neige,  220 
Academy   of  Natural  Sciences 
of  Phila.,  128,  320 
Acclimation  Society,  An,  lOT 
Achyranthus  Casei,  29 
Acknowledgments,  ii'ersonaliSS 
Adams,  Dudley  W.,  as  a  candi- 
date for  Gov.  of  Iowa,299 
Address  by  President  Hoopes, 
'1  he  Annual,  63 
•*        of  Marshall  P.  Wilder, 
202,  325 
Adlantum  Farl^yense  and  Be- 
gonia 8anguinea,360 
"  Formosa,  376 

Adiantums,  296,  338 
Advantages  of  Hot  Water  over 

Steam,  3o4 
Advertisers,  Addresses  of,  309 
African  Lily,  Blue,  Treatment 

of  the,  331 
Age  of  Trees,  Relative,  359 
Agricultural  Fairs,  311 

"  Papers,  New,  92 

'•  Society,  Worces- 

ter, Muss.,  378 
Alcohol  a  remedy  for  i he  Mealy 

Bugs,  2<:0 
Alexander  Peach,  29 
Allen,  C.  L.,  The  Flower  Farm 

of,  69 
Altemanthira  Amabilis,  5fi 
Altheas,  Raising,  91 
Amaranthus  Salicifolius,  30 
Amaryllis,  Treatment  of  the,300 
Amorican  Ferns,  312 

"  Horticulture,  68, 107 

"         Pomological  Society, 
31,  85, 192,  221,  318 
America,  The  Problem  of,  107 
Ampelopsis  Dissecta,  65 
Andromeda,  Origin  of  the  Bo- 
tanical Name,  249 
Anemone  Japonica,  220 

Alba,  142 

Angular    divergence    in     the 

branches  of  Plant8,189 

Antharium  Scberzerianum,233, 

306,  349 
Apple,  Crittenden,  153 
**        Jonathan,  South,  125 
•*        Old,  67 
••        Orange,  343 
"        Pen,  21,  93,  162 
*•        Pike's  Fall,  64 

Red  Hawthornden,  64 
Seedless,  53 
Seed,  Old,  148 
Smith's    Cider,    Origin 

of,  281 
Stark,  379 
Trees,  Destruction   of, 

916 
Volney,  163 
Wagener,  in  Michigan, 

68.  103 
West  Brook  or  Speckled 
93, 163 
Apples  and  Pear.s,  Improved, 63 
£leven  Summer,at  Lan- 
sing,   Mich.,  recom- 
mended, 346 


It 


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(• 


INDEX— VOLUME  XV. 


Apples  for  Central  Illinois,  188 
'^       How  to  keep,  347 
"        Illinois  Pippin,  93 
<*        Sweet  and  Sour,  123 
Apricot,  Moor  Park,  The,  378 
April  Number,  Notes  on  the,170 
Aquilegla  Leptocera  Aurea.278, 

279,344 
"  "       Lutea  2i0 

"        The  Yellow,  314 
Aralia  Spinosa,  51 
Arboretum,  Mr.  Cope's,  6) 
Arborvitse    and    Garden    Edg- 
ings, 214 
"  New  Golden,  187 

Architecture,  Landscape,  217 
Ariculas,  307 

Article  about  the  Lilies,  Ad,  7 
Articles  on  hand,  182 
Asbestos  Roofing,  120 
Ashes  and  Lime  for  Pears,  23 
Asparagus,  Green,  1 82 
Atmospheric    influence     upon 

Vegetation,  336 
Australia,  Recollections  of,  223 
Azalea,  Best  White,  62 
Indica  Alba,  147 
"         Gloxinias,  etc..  Propa- 
gating, 90 


Baltimore,  A  Horticultural  So- 
ciety wanted  in,  378 
Bankrupt  Nurserymen  308 
Bartram,  Dr.  Darlington's  Life 

of,  68 
Beatrice  Peach,  218 
Beautiful  Letter,  A,  338 
Beautifying  of  Grounds,  The,  64 
Bedding    Plant^    Pelargonium 
Mane  Lemo  ne,  377 
Bedding  Plants,  24 
Beech,  Knowfleld,  The,  30 
Bee-keeper's  Society,  The  North 

American,  94 
Bee  Plant,  Polanlsia  Purpurea, 

311 
Bees  and  Honey  in  France,  284 
Beet,  New  forms  of  Ornament- 
al, 166 
Begonia  Cocclnea,  308 
"        Intermedia,  167 
•'        Sanguinea,  360 
Belle  Magniflque,  Cherry,  276 
Berberis  Darwinii,  167 
Best  time  to  cut  Grafts,  The, 119 
Beurre  Dubnisson  Pear,  244 
Bigelow,  Dr.,  311 
^ilberglas.  Propagating,  20 
Birch,  Cut-leaved  Weeping,219 

"        Purple-leaved,  A,  67 
Black's  Early  Peach,  The,  28 
Bland's  Hardy   Hybrid  Fuch- 
sias, 30 
Blackberries  In  California,  373 
Blood- Leaved    Peach,    History 
•  of  the,  142 

"  "        The,  183 

Blue  African  Lily,  The,  377 
Blunder,  A  Printer's,  149 
Boiler  for  a  Propagating  House, 

215 
Boilers,  Hot  water,  6,  233 

•'         Leaky.  249 
Bonne  Sllene  Rose,  120 


Book  on  Flower  Cultivation, 123 
Borer.s,  Fruit  tree.  Tarred  paper 

against,  306 
Boston  Florists,  Excursion  of, 
283 
'«        Rhododendron  Show,223 
Botanist,  An  undevout,  109 
Botany,  6^ 
'*        and     Gardening,     The 
Literature  of,  109 
Bouquets,   Ornamental    leaves 

for,  38 
Bouvardias,  New,  188 
Bouvardia  Vreelandii.  220 
Branching  of  some  Coniferse, 
Numerical   order  in 
the,  333 


Cabbage    early,    Experiments 

with,  282 
Calceolaria,  Seedling,  216 
Calceolarias,  Improved,  306 
California,  Blackberries  in,  373 
•'        Horticulturist,The,  92 
•'        Medical  Botany  of,188 
Californian  Thistle,  The,  250 
Calla  Ethiopica,  Double,  338 
•  ♦'      Flowering  of,89 

Lily,  89 
Calycanthus,  White,  57 
Camellia,  Carter's  Cobalt  Blue, 
166 
"         Princess  Alexandre, 
155 
Campanula  Medium    Calycan- 
thema,  279 
"  Turbinata.  94 

Canada,  Hale's  Early  Peach  In, 

373 
Canada  Victor  Tomato,  62 
Canning,  Pears  for,  63 
Capital  riddance.  A,  276 
Carnation,  Perpetual-fl»wered, 

La  Belle,  219 
Carnations,     New     Perpetual 

flowering,  280 
Caroon  Cherry,  The,  218,  313 
Carter's  Champion  Scarlet  Run- 
ner, 241,306 
"       Cobalt  Blue  Camellia, 
155 
Cassia  Corymbosa,  169 
Catalpa,  The,  25 
Catching  the  Codling  Moth,  189 
Cedar,  Deodar,  Disease  in,  183 
Celosia  Japonica,  Note  on,  136 
Centennial  Committee  on  Hor- 
ticulture, 88 
"  Exhibition,  The,  62 

"  Horticultural     Ex- 

position, 285 
'•  World's  Fair,  The, 

12 
Chamber's  Pear,  314 
Chameleon  Coleus,  120 
Chemical  Powers  of  the  Sun- 
light, 61 
Cherries  and  other  Frults.names 
of.  Touching,  340 
•'        Names  of,  215 
Stock  for,  104 
Cherry,  Belle  magniflque,  276 
Carooo,  The,  218,  313 
History  of  the,  273 


(• 


Cherry,  Wild   Black,   Grafting 

the,  21 
Chestertown,  Md.,  Climate  of, 

341 
Chilopsls  Linearis,  339 
Choisia  Ternata,  376 
Chromo,  Oar,  36) 
Cinerarias,  Double,  371 
Circulation   of  Hot  water.  As- 
cending,   vs..    the 
Descending     Prin- 
ciple, 77 
Clematises,  New,  244 
Climate  of  Chestertown,Md  ,341 
Climber,  A  Mexican,  .S31 
Clover  In  Orchards,  312 
Cockscomb,  New  Japan,  124 

'•  Tricolor,  New,  164 

Codling  Moth,  Catching  the,  189 

"        "       The,  63 
Cold,  Extreme,  Influence  of,  oa 
the  Curcullo,  13 
'•      Weather,  The,  89 
Coleus,  Chameleon,  125 
ColUnsia  corymbosa,  6 ) 
Colorado  and  Kansas,  Capabili- 
ties of,  85 
♦•        The  Flora  of,  128 
Compost  for  Grapery  Borders, 

Suitable,  41 
Concord    Grape    going    back- 
wards, 368 
Coniferse,  On   numerical  order 
in  the  branching  of 
some,  333 
Connecticut  State  Board   Ag., 
6th  Annual  Report 
of,  342 
Conservatory,  Grt enhouse  and, 

24 
Cope,  Alfred,  69 
Cope's,  Mr.,  Arboretum,  69 
Correspondents,  To,  21 
Cotton,  Singular  variety  of,  69 
Covering,  Grape,  6 
Crab  Apple,  The  Soulard,  218 
Crawf  rd  and  Sterling  Straw- 
berries, The,  218 
Crittenden  Apple,  The,  153 
Ciocns  Scharajanl,  65 
Cross  Fertilization,  173  216 
«»  .»  Hybrid  I  z  a- 

tionand,S02 
"  •«  on  Seed,  Im- 

mediate Ef- 
fects of,  104 
Cryptogamic  Plants  in  the  Re- 
gion of  the  Yel- 
lowstone, 149 
Cucumber,  Improved   144 
Cultivating     Double-  English 
Primroses,  275 
"  Fruit  Trees,  311 

•*  Orchards,  91 

Cultivation  of  the  Fuchsia,  204 
'*  Latura  Arbore*, 

358 
Culture,  Fruit,  166 

"        of  Ferns,  The,  2i6 
of  Fruit  Trees,  34(^ 
Orchard,  140 
••        Soil,  30i 
•*        Tree.  38 
Cnrcullo  and  the  Pea  Beetl*, 
The,  111 
Influence  of  extren 
cold  on  the,  13» 


TffU   QABDEJVER'S   MOJ^'-THLY. 


Curcullo,  The,  52,  280 
Currants,  287 

Cut  Flowers,  Prices  of,  308 
Cat-Leaved  Weeping  Birch,  219 


Dahlia,  Emperor  Franz  Joseph, 
»  »  125 

Dahlias,  New,  30 
Darlington's,  Dr..  Life  of  Bar- 
tram,  68 
Batura  Arborea  Cultivation  of 

3^3 
Death  of  Dr.  John  Torrey,  114 
"        Elias  Dur.ind,  311 
"        Hon.    Simon    Brown. 
C  115 

"        John  L.  Russell,  213 
"        Joseph  Breck,  241 
"        J.  S.  Downer  83      • 
"        Lawrence  Touiig,  49 
"        Luther  Tucker,  83 
"        Samuel  Feast,  82 
Deceased  members,  Amer.  Po- 

mol  Society,  328 
Degenf  ration  of  Pansies,  242 
Delachampsia  Koezeliana,  23 
Delicious  Pear,  29 
Delphinium  Belladonna,  156 

•'  Nndicaule,  94 

Dendrobiam  Macrophyllum  Gl- 
ganteum,  2«)1 
^lerardil,  201 
Pulchellum  Purpu- 
reum,  88 
Deodar  Cedar,  Di.sease  in,  183 
Destruction  of  Apple  trees,  215 
"  the  Mealy  Bug, 

Dicentranthera  Macrophylla,55 
DiefTenbachia  Nobilis,  245 
Dinner  Table  Decoration,  Pub- 
lic, 374 
Disease  in  Root  Grafts,  143 
"  the   Deodar   Cedar, 

]  go 

Distinguished  Citizens,  70 
Double   Lwarf   Pelargoniums, 

Mr.  Laxton's,  160 
Flowered  Peaches,  243 
Cinerarias,  371 
Downing,  109 
Downing's  Fruits,  Appendix  to, 

28 
Dracocephalum,37 
Duke     of    Buccleugh     Grape. 

The,  28 
Dutch  Bulbs,  Short  Purses  and, 

39 


1* 


i< 


ii 


Early  Ascot  Peach,  151 
"      Barnard  Peach,  54 
"      Beatrice  Peach,  315,  339 
"      Out-door  Flowers,  233 
•'      Pea,  An,  281 
Echasserie  P<  ar,  'I  he,  153. 
Echovcria  Rosea,  278. 
Editorial  Notes,   Domestic,  17 
47,   83.    ll.>, 
146,  179,105. 
239 
'•  "      Foreign,  14  44, 

80,  L'lO,  236, 

Education  Age.  The,  108 

ii-flects  of  Climate  on  the  Har- 
dine<<8  of  trees,  363 

•ilaagnuB  Parvifollu-— Silver 
Thorn— Frontis- 

-p„  .     piece,  370 

Jsllwanger  k  Barry,  Catalogues 

»     ,  of.  312 

England,  Horticultural  Obser- 
vations in, 127, 159. 

r,  271  ' 

English  Grapes.  34S 

^'Pyphyllums,  377 
Errata,  86 
Errors  excepted,  12 
MpwtoGnws.The,  548     • 


Eucharis  Amazonica,  Growing 
and  flowering,  284 
Eucoide  Bartonoides,  169 
Euphorbia  Variegata,  169 
Evergreen  H.-rbaceous  Plants, 

50 
Evergreens,  Death  of,  288 

•*  How  to  grow,  from 

seed,  201,  268 
••  Japan,  21 

•'  Winter  killing  of, 

263 
Exhibition  Roses,  349 
Exotic  Grapes,  171 
Experiments  with  Peas,  357 
Express  Charges,  23 
Expressive  Names,  281 


L.   Allen, 

Pleasure 
1,  33  65, 
161,   19J, 


Fairs,  Agricultural,  311 
Farm  Laborer  in  Prussia,  The,62 
'•     School,  The  Centre  Co., 
64 
Favored  Guests,  The,  126 
February  Number,  Our,  88 
Fence.si,  A  few  remarks  on,  63 
Fence  Posts,  Live,  £69 
Ferns,  369 

American,  812 
Culture  of.  The,  266 
Hardy,  157 
Fertilization,  Cross,  173 
Field  Associations,  108 
Figs,  70,  190 
Filberts,  189 
Flattened  Shoots,  14S 
Flora  of  Colorado,  The,  126 

"        the  Prairie,  The,  126 
Floriculture,  58 

"  in  Phllada.,  100 

Florist  and  Pomologist,  The,186 
Florists,  Boston,  Excursion  of. 

283 
Flower  Cultivation,   Book  on. 
123 
'*        Farm  of  C. 
The,  59 
'*        Garden  and 
Ground, 
97,    129, 
22;3,  (^21,  353 
"        Shrubs  in, 24 
Flowered    Zonale   Geraniums, 

Double,  124 
Flowering  of  Calla  Ethiopica,89 
"        Treating     Hyacinths 
after,  89 
Flowers  at  the  New  York  Stock 
Exchange,  372 
'•        Early  Out-door,  235 
**        Hardy  Herbaceous,  for 
June,  214 
Improveirent  of,  112 
Insect  agency  in,  265 
in  Winter,  46 
Native,  2?8 
0.1oi><  of,  241 
.   by  natural  heat,  78 
Foresi.s  ard   Forest  Culture  of 
8w«if«jn,  Report  of 
Dopar  t  m  e  n  t    of 
Statu  un,  1S5 
Foreign  trees  to  be  preferred, 

70 
Foster,  P.  H.,  88 
France,  Boes  and  Honey  in,  2S4 
Franciscea  MAgniflca,  2S0 

•'  Violacea      Qrandi- 

flora,  280 
Praxlnus  Ornus,  216 
Freezing  of  Sap  in  Plants,  113 
Winter,  242 
Fries,  Pref.,  A  Mycologist.  How 

he  became,  375 
Prittlllaria  Tuliplfoiia,  279 
Frvst,  Smoke  aud  37.t 
Fruit  and  Berry  Baskets,  Paper, 
85 
Committee,  Annual   Re- 
port of  the,  63 
Culturo,  166 
Drying,  17 
Finest  in  the  world,  285 


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it 


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*•      Growing,       Kemarkablo 
exi<erience  in,  47 


it 


Loude<  218 

••      M-leb,  The,  343 
"      Now  Native   343 
Grapery  Borders,  Suitable  com- 
post for,  41 


Fruit  Garden,  2,  34,  66,  98,  130, 
162,  195,  227,  ^259, 
291   322 
•'    Grower's  Societ   yof  Pa., 

31,  62,  91,  b78 
"     Instructor,  Purdy's,  92 
"    North  Carolina,  253 
"    Northwestern  Penna.,  339 
"    Notices,  330 

Peculiarities  of,  6 
Prospects  at  South  Pass, 
Ills.,  120 
"    Recorder,  The,  27 
"    Trees,  Cultivating,  311 
"      Culture  of,  340 
Fruits,  32 

"     Best  soil  for,  199 
"    Large  and  small,  109 
"    most  in  favor  witfi  Penn- 
sylvania, The,  64 
'•     Stocks  tor  working,  335 
Fuchsia,  Cultivation  of  the,  204 
Fuchsias,  149 

New  Hardy  Hybrid,30 


Garden  Edgings,  Arborvitce  and  ' 
214 
The  London,  92 
Gardens  of  Mrs.  Packer,  Wash- 
ington Heights,  N.Y., 
o62 
Gardener's  Mats,  281 

Monthly,  Stoppage 
of  the,   26 
"       Subscrib- 
ing to  the, 
50 
"  "      Value     of 

the,  23 
'■  Wages,  200 

Gardening  for  Women,  282 
"  in  the  United  States. 

309 

VegeUble,  261 
Gas  Tar,  3S 

*•        in  Greenhouses,  264 
"        on  Greenhouse  bench- 
es, 'JOS 
Geranium,  Pride  of  Mt.  Hope, 

New  Bicolor,  29 
Geraniums,   Double   Flowered 

Zonale,  124 
Germautown,  69 

Daily   Chronicle, 
The,  110 
"  Horticultural  So- 

ciety, 84,   160', 
263,  351 
"  is  waking  up,  110 

The  Ne  i  g  h  b  0  r- 
hood  of,  108 
Qladoli,  Soucbet's  New,  154 
Qladioluvi  Bulblets,  120 

*•         New  varieties  cf.The 
43 
Glazing  Greenhouses,  .310 
Gleicbeuia  Kupestris,  376 
Gloxinias,  Propagation  of,  25 
Qodctia  Dunuettl,  315 
Good  Breeding:,  Rules  for,  21 
Goo.^eberries,  287 
Grafting  Mice-Girdled  trees,183 
"        Natural.  2^:4 
•*       The  Wild  Black  Cher- 
ry, 21 
Grafts,  Best  time  to  cut,  1!9 
•'        Root,  Disea8e  in,  148 
Grape  Beny  M  .  th.  The,  121 
*'      Champion,  Th-», 343 
"      Concord     going      back- 
ward s,  C68 
•'     Covering,  6 
*•      Cultur*',  64 
•'     Duke  of  Buccleugh,  The. 

23 
*'     Gros  C<-lman,  152 


ft 


ti 

it 


Grapes,  287 

English,  348 
"        Exotic,  171. 
"        Foreign,  363 
"        Native,  363 
"        Rare,  Foreign,  122 
Grass,  Esparto.  The,  348 

'•      Lawn,  183 
Green  Asparagus,  182 
Greenhouse,  290 

'*  and  Conservatory. 

24,  61 
'*  Benches,  Gas  Tar 

on,  203 
Pitch  of,  25,  310 
Plants,  134 
Small,  79 
Greenhouses,  Gas  tar  in,  264 
Glazing,  31  ' 
Heating,  178 
Wood  Lice  in,  IJO 
Gro9  Colman  Grape,  152 
Growing   and    Flowering   Eu- 
charis Amazonica,  284 

H 

Hardy  Ferns,  157 
"       Herbaceous  Flowers  for 
June,  214 

"  "  Plant8,24  60 

Hawthorn,  216 
Heating  a  Plant  Case,  128 
"        by  Hot  Water,  216 
"        by  Steam,  303 
"        Greenhouses.  178 

Hot  Water,  14 
"  **  Small  pipes 

in,  140 
"        Natural,  Forcing  by,78 
"        Specific,  in  Plants,  5 
Hedge  Plant  for  the  shade,  122 
'•        "       Pyrus      Japonica 
as  a,  122 
"      The  Tupelo  as  a. 
142 
Hedges,  Address  on,  120 
"        Ornamental,  373 
Herbaceous  Vegetablesxhanges 
in  the  pr.  ximate 
principles  of,  348 
Herstine  and  Saunders  Rasp 

berries.  The,  53 
Highly      Ornamental      Exotic 

Shrubbery,  169 
Historical  Sketch,  293 
History  of  the    Blood-Leaved 
Peach,  142 
•'  "      Cherry.  273 

"        Strawberry.  307 
Holly,  The  Engli.sh,  248 
Horticultural  Directory  wanted 
215 
••  Exposition,  Cen- 

tennial, 286 
••  Library,  A,107,369 

Observations  in 
England,  127,159, 
251 

••  Paper,  A  monthly 

23 

••  Society,  German- 

town,  Phila ,    84 
160,  253,  361 
Society,    Illinois, 
Tran.saction8    *»f 
the,  27 

••  Society,  III.,  Slaje 

37S 
•*  Society,      Ma.s8a- 

chusetts,  15  1,287, 
352 

**  Society.  Missouri 

State,  31,  96 
•*  Society.    Mtmtir'y 

Co.,  Pa.,  2.4 
Society,    Penna., 
190  252,286,320. 
360 
*'  Society  wanted  in 

Baltimore,  373 
••  Phllada.,  109 

"  Western  N.  Y  ,  32 

HorticQllare,  Advance  In,  108 
.    '*  American,  68, 107 


TEE    GARDE J^EB' IS  MOJVTMLY. 


«( 


(t 


Horticulture  ftt  Salt  Lake^  342 
««  Centennial  Com- 

mittee on,  The, 
88 
»•  in  the  country  ,276 

HothouBe  and  Greenhouse  Stag- 
ing, Tar  on,  134 
Hot  Water,  Advantages  of,  over 
Steam,  364 
Boiler  Flues,  143 
Boilers,  6,  233 
Circulation    of.    As- 
cending vs.,  the 
Descending  prin- 
ciple, 77 
Experience,  76 
Heating,  14,  216 
"        small  pipes 
in,  140 
House  Culture  of  Roses,  149 
Houses  of  S.  B.  Parsons  &  Co., 

105 
How  to  grow  Evergreens  from 
Seed,  201,  268 
♦'    keep  Apples,  347 
Hoy  a  Bella,  250 
Humboldt  College,  Address  de- 
livered at  open- 
ing of,  27 
Hyacinths  in  Water,  249 

"         after  flowering,  treat- 
ing. 89 
Hybridization  and  Cross   Ter- 

tilizatlon,  302 
Hybrid  Raspberries,  314 

"        What  is  a,  216  , 

Hvdranffea  Paniculata  Grandi-  | 

^  flora,  219 

Hydrophobic  Insects,  375 


I 


Illinois,  Central,  Apples  for,188 
't        Horticultural  Society, 
Transactions  of,  27 
«•        Industrial    University, 
Experiments  with, 
Early  Cabbage,  282 
««        Pippin  Apple,  93 
"        State  Horticultural  So-  j 
ciety,  378 
Improved  Cucumber,  144 
Improvement  of  Flowers,  112 
Index,  Our,  365 
Inflaence  of  extreme  cold  on 

the  Curculio,  137 
Insect  Agency  in  Flowers,  265 

»»      on  the  Linden  Trees,  307 
Infects,  Hydrophobic,  375 
Interpretations  of  the  Postal 

Laws,  22 
Inauirert  and  Correspondents, 
^  To,  307 

M         Our,  52 
»«         T  0,  216 
Iowa,  Tree  Planting  in,  89 
Iris  Itherica,  125 
Items  of  Late  Experience,  169 
It  Is  not  good  for  man  to  live 

alone,  208 
It/,  The,  150 


JapanEvergreets,  21 
Jonathan  Apple  South,  Th«,126 
Journal  of  Agriculture,  The,160 
June,  Pruning  in,  136 
Junlperis  Chinensu  Aurea,  56 


E&nsM  and  Colorado,  Capabili- 
ties of,  86 
"        Timber  Trees  for,  341 
Knowfield  Beech,  The,  30 


Landscape  Architecture,  217 

'♦  Gardener,  The,  107 

Lansing,  Mich.,  Eleven  Sum- 
mer Apples  recom- 
mended at,  346 
Lapageria  Rosea,  306 
Large  Hickory  Nut,  53 
Late  Peaches,  340 
Lawn  Grass,  183     ,    .    ^     , 
Lawns,  Touching  their  Grades 

and  Grasses,  361 
Lawrence  Pear,  Trouble  with 

the,  287 
Leaky  Boilers,  249    ^  ,,  .  ^ 
Leaves.  Absorption  of  Moisture 

by,  61,  :^76 
Letter,  A  Beautiful,  338 
««        A  mysterious,  88 
Lexington,  Ky.,  Magnolias  at, 

283 
Library,  A  Horticultural,  107, 

369 
Lilies,  An  Article  about  the,  7 
"      On,  164 

"      Successive  increase  ol  the 
Genus  from  Linne 
to  our  time,  10 
Ulj,  Blue  A/P-.3J-;?""' 
«•    Blue  African,  The,  377 
"    Calla,  89 

"    from  Tyro,  Mis;*,  216 
Lilium  Auratum,  A  good,  38 

"        Washingtonianum,  187 
Lime  and  Ashes  for  Pears,  23 
Linden  Trees,  Insect  in  the,  ^v 
Linne,  from,  to  our  time,  Suc- 
cessive increase  of 
the  Genus  Lilies.lO 
Lislanthus  Princeps,  156 
Live  Fence  Posts,  369 
Lobelia,  Carter's  Cobalt  Blue,155 

"  New  Variegated,  187 
Locust  Seed,  Boiling,  50 
London  Garden.  The,  92 
Longest  Lived,  The,  110 
Longiflora,  Fuchsia,  30 
Lonicera  Tartarica,  276 
London, 109 

Lord  Palmerston  Peach,  <J7U 
Louse,  Grape,  248 
Luther  Tucker,  Death  of,  8d 


Missouri  (C.  V.  Riley)  State  En- 
tomologist,     Fifth 
Annual  Report  of, 
166 
««       State    Horticult  u  r  a  1 
Society,  31,  96 
Monarch  of  the  Park,  The,  60 
Montgomery  Co.,  Pa,  Horticul- 
tural Society,  154 
Moor  Park  Apricot,  378 
Mountain  White    Pine,   Pinus 

Flexilis,  341 
Moth  Codling,  Catching  the,  189 
•«         •'    The,  63 
'•     Grape  Berry,  The,  121 
Muhlenbeckia  Complexa,  122 
Museum,  Sir  W.  Hooker's,  108 
Mushrooms,  70  374 

"  at  Washington,  221 

Myostis  Alpicola,  279 
Mytteries  of  the  Postal  Laws, 

'  The,  242 

Mystery  of  Metropoli6ville,The, 
'  187 


North  American  Bee  Keeper's 
Society,  The,  94 
•«        Carolina  Fruit,  253 
Norway  Maple.Managing young 

182 
Note  on  Adiantum  Farleyenso 
and    Begonia  San- 
guinea,  360 
Notes  at  the  Rosedale  Nursery, 
Philada.,  358 
*'      Domestic,  17,  47,  83, 115, 

146,179,205.239 
"      Foreign,  14,  44,  80,  210, 

236,  270 
♦•      from  Western  Penna.,  5 
«'      on  April  number,  the,170 
"      on  Celosia  Japonica,  135 
"      on   some    Hardy   Herba- 
ceous Plants,  36 
"      on  the  Season  in  Western 
Pennsylvania,  363 
Notices,  Fruit,  330 
Noticing  Advertisements,  50 
Nurserymen,  Bankrupt,  303 
Nympheea  Odorata,  168 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


Ladles,  The,  110 
Laelia  Anceps,  135 


Magnolias  at  Lexington,  Ky.,283 
Malva  Tree,  The,  '.^78 
Manual  of  Weeds,  or  the  Weed 
Exterminator,  150 
Manures,  Root  attraction  to,  5 
Maples,     Norway,     Managing 

young,  182 
Marblehead  Squash,  The.  23,  34 

53 
Maryland  Vineyard,  A,  245 
Mass.  Horticultural  Society ,150, 

287,  352 
Mats,  Gardeners'.  281 
Maturity  of  Peaches,  57 
Maxwell,  T.  C.  &  Brc,  Cata- 
logue of,  313 
McArthur,  Son  &  Co.,  51 
Mealy  Bugs,  Alcohol  a  remedy 
for  the,  260 
«•  Destruction  of  the, 

358 
Medical  Botany  of  California, 

The,  188 
Medinella  Magniflca,  347 
Melia    Azaderack,    A     choice 
tropical  plant,  The,143 
Mercury    in    the     Allegheny 
Mountains,  The,  52 
Mexican  Climber,  A,  331 
Michigan  State  Pomological  So- 
ciety, Transactions 
of  the,  27 
«         Wagoner  Apple    in, 
68, 103 
MilesGrape,  The.  343 
Milton's  MansflelJ,    Essay   on 

Adiantums,  338 
Mimulus  Cuprous,  Variety  bril- 
liant, 277 


li 
«< 
(i 
(t 

(i 

« 

(( 

(• 

II 
(i 

t( 
(• 

i( 
(( 

CI 

(i 
l( 
II 
II 


li 
t( 
•( 
t( 

II 


New 


NaUing  Vines  to  Stakes,  91 
Name  of  Mammoth  Tree,  Cor- 
rect, 338 
Plant,  148,184,  216,243 
Names,  Expressive,  281 
"         of  Cherries,  215 
u  «        and  other 

fruits,touch- 
ing,  340 
National  Park,  108 
Native  Grapes,  363 
Natural  Grafting,  234 

"        History  of  Grape  Bi  rry 
Moth,  121 
Nature  and  Origin  of  Soils,  261 

"       Variations  in,  39 
Nebraska,  Prize  Essay  on  Fruit 
tree  growing  in,l 87 

Nectarine,  The,  248 
Neglected  American  Trees  and 
Shrubs,  81 
«         Plants,  137 
Nertera  Depressa,  37 
New  Agricultural  Papers,  92 
"    Bicolor  Geranium,  Pride 
ofMt.  Hope,  29 
Bouvardias,  188 
Clematises,  244 
Coxcomb,  Tricolor,  154 
Dahlias,  30 
forms  of  Ornamental  Beet, 

166 
Fruits,  325  „  ^  ,^ 

Fuchsias,  Hardy  Hybrid, 

30 
Gladioli,  Souchet's,  154 
Golden  Arborvitce,  187 
Holland,Ob8ervation8  and 
Recollections  of,173,197 
Holland,     Peregrinations 

in,  71 
Japan  Coxcomb,  124 
Magenta   Primrose,  Lady 
Madeline  Taylour,  30 
Ornamental  Trees,  165 
Peach,  Late,  244 
Pears,  343 

Perpetual  Flowering  Car- 
nations, 280 
Poinsettia,  157 
Roses,  371 

Roses,  Speculating  in,  I08 
Seedling  Strawberry,  29 
South  Wa!es,Recollection8 
ofParammatta.Sydney 
and  Botany  Bay,  324 
Species  of  Rose,  A,  316 
Style  of  Pansy,  A,  219 
Variegated  Lobelia,  187 
Varieties  of  Oladiolus.The 

43 
Vegetable,  A,  260 
White    Rose,    Madelaine 
Lacharme.Observations 

on,  277 
York    Stock    Exchange, 
Flowers  at,  372 


It 


Oakwood  Horticultural  Society, 

239 
Obituary,  49,  82, 114,  213,  241 
Observations  and  Recollections 
of  NewHolland,17,3,197 
Odors  of  Flowers,  241 
Ohio  State  Horticultural  Society 
Sixth  Annual  Report 
of,  C43 
"    Strawberry  culture  in.lSl 
Orange  Apple,  The,  343 
Orchard  Culture,  140 

"        Pear,  A  handsome,  311 
Orchards,  Clover  in,  312 
'•  Cultivating,  91 

"  Preparat'n  of  ground 

for,  63 
Orcharding,  Profitable,  64 
OrchidetB.  U,  172,  201,  360 
Orchids,  346 

«<        another  word  about,203 
Origin  of  the  Botanical  name  of 

Andromeda,  249 
Ornamental  Hedges,  373 

"         Leaves  for  Bouquets, 

Trees  and  Plants,  32 
"     New,  166 
Osage  Orange,  372 
Osmanthus  Ilicifoli»«,  125 
Our  Chromo,  366 
'«   Index,  366 


Packing  trees  for  8hipment,148 
Pansies,  Degeneration  of,  242 
Pansy,  A  new  style  of,  219 

White,  275 
Park  Cities,  68 
Parks,  Public,  16 
Parry's,  W.,  small  fruits  at,  345 
Parterre,  The,  40 
Parsons,  S.  B.  &Co.,  Houses  of, 

105 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  341 
Paullinia  Thalictrifolla,  188 
Pea,  An  Early.  281 
••    Beetle,  The  Curculio  sad 
the, 111 
Peaoh,  Alexander,  29,  315 
•'        Beatrice,  218 
•«       Black's  Early,  28 

Blood-leaved,  The,  183 
••  History  of 

the,  142 
Early  Ascot,  161 
**     Barnard,  54 
«     Beatrice,  316,339 
a  ,•«        Hale's  Early,  la  Canada 
373  ' 
"       Lerd  Palmerston,  370 
•«        New  Late,  244 
•»       Piquet,  Late,  162 
Salway,  220 


li 
ii 

II 
II 

II 


Peach,  Tellows  in  the  South,69 
Peaches,  Culture  of,  The,  63 
Double  Flowered,  243 
Early  Beatrice  and  Lord 

Palmer.ston,  315 
Late,  340 


li 


II 

li 


Maturity  of,  57 


i« 
11 
li 

IC 


II 
ii 


<i 


i( 


Peake's  Fall  Apple,  54 
Pear,  Beurre  Dubulsson,  244 
Brockworth  Park,  29 
Chamber's,  .314 
Delicious,  29 
Echasserie,  153 
Lawrence,    Trouble    with 

the,  287 
Orchard,  A  handsome,  311 
Pond,  54 
Pears,  Lime  and  Ashes  for,  23 

"      New,  343 
Peas,  Experiments  with,  357 
Peculiarities  of  Fruit,  6 
Pelargoniums,  Double  dwarf, 
Mr.  Laxton's,  156 
'*  Marie  Lemoine  as 

a  Beddirg  Plant,  377 
Pen  Apple,  The,  21,  9.3,  152 
Penna.  Fruit  Grower's  Society, 
31,  62,  91,  378 
'•        Horticultural     Society, 
192,  252,  286,  320,  350 
"        North-western  Fruit  in, 

339 
<*        Women's  Med.  College 
24th    Annual     Re- 
port of,  185 
Pentstemon  heterophyllum,279 
People,  The  best,  «9 
Peregrinations  in  New  Holland 

71 
Persimmons,  283,  340 
Personal  Acknowledgment.s,  88 
Peter's,  Randolph,  Wilmington, 
Del.,  Catalogue  of,  342 
Philada.,  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  128 
Floriculture  in,  100 
Horticultural  Society 
.       109 

Phylloxera,  Correction,  •?42 
Picquet  Peach,  Late,  152 
Pinus  Flexili8,Mountain  White 
Pine,  319 
'•        Parvi flora,  56 
Pitch  of  Greenhouses,  .310 
Plant  Case,  Heating  a,  123 
'*      Cases,  Portable  propagat- 
ing, 90 
'*      Choice    Tropical,    Melia 
Azaderick,  143 
Name  of,  148,  184,216,243 
Not  too  old  to,  107 
What  shall  we,  70 
Plants,  American,  108 
"        Angular  divergence  in 
the  branches  of,  189 
Bedding,  24 
Evergreen  Herbaceous, 

50 
Freezing  of  the  sap  in, 

113 
Hardy  herbaceous,24,50 
**  '*     Notes  on 

some,  36 
in  bloom    at    Rhosyn- 
myndd,  24,  50   86 
In  Islands  of  the  Dela- 
ware rlver,Growth 
of,  148 
In  Sleeping  Rooms,  178 
Neglected,  137 
Speciflc  heat  in,  5,  141 
Specific  Heat  of,  359 
Rare,  91 

Stove  and  Greenhouse, 
61 

"        Sub-troplcal,  107 
Pleroma  Elegans,  306 
Poinsettia,  A  new,  157 

"  What  1  know  of,  336 

Polanasla  Purpurea,  Bee  Plant, 

311 
Pomegranate,  The,  348 
Pomological  and  Horticultural 
Society,  Southern, 
215 


11 
ii 
II 


li 


II 


II 


II 
II 
II 
li 
il 
ii 


Pomological  Society,  American 

31,  85,  192,  318 
Pomology,  25 
Pond  Pear,  The,  54 
Portable     Propagating     Plant 

Cases,  90 
Postage  on  Seed  Packages,  182 
"        Seeds,  etc.,  when  the 
law  goes  in  eflect,52 
Postal  Laws,  88 

"  Interpretations  of 

the,  22 
'•  Mysteries   of   the, 

242 
Postal  Seed  Business,  The  Fath- 
er of  the,  122 
Post  Office  Rulings,  86 
Potting,  Rapid,  204,   260,  300, 

330,  3ii2,  368 
Precocious,  Bearing  of  Vines,  6 
President   Wilder    Strawberry 

ia  the  South,  152 
Prices  of  Cut  Flowers,  308 
Primrose,  New  Magenta,  Lady 
Madeline  Taylor,  30 
Primroses,  Double  Engli8h,Cul- 

tivatinf?,  275 
Primula  Japonica,  55,  219 
".      Sinensis,  6 
'♦  ''        Seeds  of,  184 

Princess  Alexandria  Camellia, 

155 
Prizes,  Something  like,  96 
Problem  of  America,  The,  107 
Productions,  Wonderful,  234 
Profitable  Orcharding,  64 
Progress,  68,  294 
Propagating  Azaleas,  Gloxinias, 
etc.,  90 
''  Billjergias,  20 

"  Curly  wooded  forms 

of  trees,  120 
"  House,  Boiler  for  a, 

216 
"  Shrubs,  147 

Propagation  of  Gloxinias,  25 
Pruning  in  June,  V.Q 

'*      Street  Trees,  274 
Prussia,  The  Farm  Laborer  in, 

62 
Public  Dinner  Table  Decora- 
tion, 374 
Public  Parks,  16 
Pulverizing  the  Soil,  145 
Purdy's  Fruit  Instructor,  20 
Purple-Leaved  Birch,  A,  57 
Pyrus   Japonica    as   a    Hedge 
plant,  122 


Q 


Quince,  The,  285 


Railroad,    Sending    Seeds  and 

Trees  by,  26 
Raising  Altheas,  91 
"        Seedlings  of  trees, fruits,  I 
etc.,  182,  270,  304 
Rapid  Potting,   204,    260,   300, 

330,  332,  368 
Rare  Foreign  Grapes,  122 

"     Plants,  91 
Raspberries,  287 

"  Heretine  and  Saun- 

der's,  53 
"  Hybrid,  314 

Raspberry,  Seedling,  from  Mr. 

Price,  276 
Red  Hawthornden  Apple,  54 
Ronnie's  Illustrated  Catalogue, 

27 

Recollections  of  Australia,  228 

' '  Parr  a  m  a  1 1  a, 

Sydney    and 

Botany     Bay, 

New    South 

Wales,  324,.3.55 

•'  Traveling,336  365 

Report  of  Prof.  C.V.  Riley,  State 

Entomologist    of 

Mo.,5th  annual, 186 


Rhododendron  in  the  West,  171 
Show,  The  Boston 
223 
Rhododendrons,  216 
Rhus  Osbeckii,  315 
Rochester  Seed  Firm,  123 
Roofing,  Asbestos,  120 
Root  attraction  to  manures,  5 
Rose,  A  new  species  of,  316 
"      Bonne  Silene,  120 
"     New  White,  Madame  La- 
charme.  Observations 
on,  277 
"    Slug,  Remedy  for  the,  215 
"     The,  110 
Rosedale     Nursery,     Philada., 

Notes  at  the,  35  8 
Roses,  Exhibition,  341 
"       Hou.se  Culture  of,  149 
"      Hybrid  Perpetual,  871 
•'        New  371 

"      New,  Speculating  in,  158 
"      Tea,  Perle  de  Lyon,  278 
•'      Tree^  Stock  for,  310 
Rules  for  Good  Breeding,  21 
Runner,  The  Scarlet,  176 
Rural  Improvements,  135 
Rustic  Work,  Rough  Cork  for, 60 


s 


Sage,  White  Scarlet,  26 
Salt  Lake,  Horticulture  at,  342 
Salway  Peach,  The,  220 
Sap,  Freezing  of,  in  winter,  242 
Sawdust,  Utilization  of,  57 
Saxifraga  Pel  lata,  278,  279 
Saxifrages,  The  Large-leaved,36 
Scarlet  Runner,  170 

"  "      Carter's  Cham- 

pion, 241,  306 
"        Sage,  White,  26 
Seed,  Apple,  Old,  148 
"    Cross    Fertilization,    Im- 
mediate efl'ects  of, 
104 
"    How  to  grow  Evergreens 

from.  201,  268 
**    Locast,  boiling,  50 
"    Package,  Postage  on,  182 
Seedless  Apple,  53 
Seedling  Calceolaria,  215 
"        Pears,  2*^7 
'•        Raspberry    from    Mr. 

Price,  276 
"        Strawberry,  New,  29 
♦'        Via,  29 
Seedlings  of  Trees,  Fruits,  etc., 
Raising,  182,270,304 
Seeds  and  Trees  by  Railroad, 
Sending,  26 
*'    of  Primula  Sinensis,  184 
Sequoia  and  its  History,  28 
Shepherdia  Argentea,  23 
Short  Purses  and  Dutch  Bulbs, 

39,  86 
Shrubbery,  Exotic,  Highly  Or- 
namental, 169 
Shrubs  in  Flower,  24 

'*        Propagating,  147 
Silene  Alpe^^trLs,  37 

•*        Vlrginica,  124 
Situations,  21 

Silver  Thorn— Elaeagnus  Parvl- 
folius — Frontis- 
piece, 370 
Sleeping  Rooms,  Plants  In,  178 
Small  Fruits  at  W.  Parry's,  345 

*'      Greenhouse,  79 
Smilax  Hlsplda,  342 
Smith's  Cider  Apple,  Origin  of, 

281 
Smoke  and  Frost,  373 
Sell  Culture,  305 
"    for  Fruits,  The  best,  199 
"    Pulverizing  the,  145 
Soils,  Nature  and  Origin  of,  261 
Soulard  Crab  Apple,  218 
Southern  Planter  and  Farmer, 
Richmond,  Va.,187 
"        Pomological  and  Hor- 
ticultural   Society, 
215 


South  Pass,  111.,  Fruit  Prospects 
at,  120 
'<        Spring  In  the,  149 
Specific  Heat  in  Plants,  5, 141 

••  of  Plants,  359 

Spring  In  the  South,  The,  149 

"        Late,  148 
Sprouts,  The  Tanyah,  43 
Spruce,  White,  309 
Squash,  Marblehead,  23,  24,  53 
Standards,  110 
Stark  Apple,  370 
Steam,  Heating  by,  303 
Stock  for  Cherries,  104 
Stocks  for  Working  Fruits,  335 
Stove  and  Greenhouse  Plant8,61 

"     Plants,  134 
Strawberries,  287 

*♦  Crawford      and 

Sterling,  The,218- 
"  Varieties  of,  ,0n, 

132 
"  Culture  In  Ohio, 

131 
«*  History,  307 

"  New  Seedling,  29- 

"  President  Wilder 

in  the  South,  152 
Strelitzea  regina,  89 
Sirophanthus  Hispidus,  A  new 

poison,  282 
Sualig&t,   Chemical   powers  of 

the,  61 
Sweet  and  Sour  Apples,  123 
Swindlers,  122 


Tanyah,  The,  Sprouts,  43 
Tar  on   Hothouse  and  Green- 
house staging,  134 
Tarred    paper    against    Fruit 

tree  borers,  306 
Tea  Rose,  Perle  de  Lyon,  278 
Texas,  Tulip  Tree  in,  306 
Theory  and    Practice  of  Treo 
_^  Planting,  240 

Thistle,  The  Californian,  260 
Thujopeis  Standishil,  56 
Thynus     Citriodorus      Aureus 

Marglnatus,  125 
Timber  trees  for  Kansas,  341 
Tomato,  Canada  Victor,  52 
"        TrelliP,  297 
•'        Troubles,  90 
Transparent  Blue  Wash,  183 
Traveling  Recollections,336,36  5 
Treating  Hyacinths  after  Flow- 
ering, 89 
Treatment  of  Amaryllis,  300 
Tree  Carnatlon,Perpetual  Flow- 
ering, 66 
"    Culture,  38 
"    Malva,  The,  278 
"    Mammoth,  Correct  name 

of,  338 
' '    Planting,  Theory  and  prac- 
tice of,  240 
"    Planting  in  Iowa,  89 
♦'    Roses,  Scock  for,  310 
"    Tulip,  in  Texas,  306 
Trees  and  Plants,  Ornamental, 
32 
"      and    Shrubs,    Neglected 

American,  81 
"      injured  by  last  winter, 

267 
"      Effects  of  Climate  on  the 

Hardiness  of,  368 
"      Mice-Girdled,    Grafting, 

183 
"      New  Ornamental,  155 
Packing  for  Hhipment,148 
Propagating  curly  wood- 
ed forms  of,  120 
Relative  Age  of,  369 
Street,  Pruning,  274 
"         "  ••       The  ori- 

gin of, 
200 
"      Timber  for  Fansas,  341 
••      Trimming,  243 
"      Uses  of,  The,  107 


il 


II 


\ 


THE    GARDEJTER'S  MOJ^TELY. 


Treet.Watering  in  drj  weather 
184 
•      Western,  233 
♦•      Whitewashing,  6 
Trellis,  Tomato,  297 
Trimming  Trees,  243 
Tucker,  Luther,  Portrait  of, 369 
Tulip  Tree  in  Texas,  306 
Tupelo  as  a  Hedge  Plant,  The, 
.J  1*2 

u 

Under-draining,  64 
Under  the  Violets  282 
United  States.  Gardening  in  the 

309 
Utilizing  waste  material,  168 


Variations  in  Nature,  39 
Tarieties  of  Strawberries,  On, 

1.32 
Tegetable,  A  new,  250 

••  Garden,  4,   35,    67, 

99.  181,  163.  196, 
2i8,  259,  354 


Vegetable  Gardening,  261 

Vegetable8,herbaceou8,changes 
in  the  proximate 
principles  of,  348 

Vegetation,  Atmospheric  influ- 
ence upon, 335 

Verbena  Montana,  289 

Via  Seedling,  29 

Viclc's  Illusfd  Floral  Guide,  27 

Vines,  Nailing  to  Stakes,  91 
"      Precocious  bearing  of,  6 

Vineyard,  A  Maryland,  245 

Viola  Connuta,  168 

Violet  Sensation,  245 

Violets,  Under  the,  282 

Volney  Apple,  153 

w 

Wages,  Gardener's,  200 
Wandering,  241 
Washington,  Muahrooms  at,221 
Waste  material.  Utilizing,  ItiS 
Water,  Hyacinths  in,  249 
Watering  trees  in  dry  weather, 

184 
Watson,  Wm.,  Brenham,  Tex., 

Catalogue  of,  217 
Weather,  The  Cold,  89 


Weeds,  Noxious,  ft4 

West  Brook  or  Speckled  Apple, 

The,  93,  153 
West,  Rhododendron  in  the,  171 
Western  New  York  Horticultu- 
ral Society,  32 
«'        Pennsylvania,    Notes 

from  5 
"       Penna.,  Noteson  tha 

SeasioQ  in,  36} 
•'       Trees,  233 
What  I  know  of  Poinsettia,  335 
When   the    Postal    Law    goes 

into  effect,  52 
White  Calycanthus,  57 
Pansy,  275 
Scarlet  Sage,  26 
Spruce,  30f) 
was'iVo^:  trotja,  5 
Wild  Black    Cherry,  Graftin^:: 

the,  21 
Wilder,  Marshall  P.,  Address 

of,  292,  325 
Williams,  H.  T.,  53 
Wiater,  Flowers  in.  46 

•'       Freezin;^  or  sap  in,  242 
»'       Killing  of  Evergreens, 

2t53 
••       Last,  Trees  Injured  by, 
267 


Wonderful  Productions,  234 
Wood  Lice  in  Greenhouses,  120 
Worcester  Co.,  Mass.,  Horticul- 
tural Society,  Pro- 
ceedings of,  150,185 
"  Mass.,  Agricultural 

Society,  378 
World's  Fair,  The  Centennial, 
12 


ti 


Xantboceras  sorbifolia,  241 


Yellowstone  Region,  Cryptoga- 
mic  Plants  in  the, 
149 

Yucca  Baccata,  278 


Zonale  Geraniums,  double  flow- 
ered, (24 


* 


@h«  ($mitMx'% 


011  tit  Id, 


DEVOTED  TO 


Horticulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs. 

EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAi^^. 


Old  Series,  Vol  XV.  fAJYUAR7,    1873.       New  Series,  Vol.  VL  No,  1 


HINTS    FOR   JANUARY. 


HINTS  FOR  THE  MONTH. 

At  the  beginning  of  every  new  year  we  note 
in  our  audience  new  features,  among  the  many 
old  faces,  to  whom  some  little  introduction  seems 
necessary.     Be  it  known  then   that  once  on  a 
time  there  was  a  little  plot  of  land  much  given 
to  gardening,  which  contained  several  millions 
of  people,  and  they  were  all  willing  and  anxtous 
to  do  all  things  by  rule  and  square.     In  those 
days  there  was  little  science.     No  one  cared  to 
know  the  reason  of  things.     It  was  enough  for 
them  to  know  that  work  was  to  be  done,  and  to 
do  it.     This  little  tract  of  land  did  not  contain 
naore  than  perhaps  8000  square  miles,  about  the 
size  of  one  of  our  average  states,  and  as  the  sun 
rose  and  set  generally  at  one  time,  and  spring 
came  in  and  spring  went  out  nearlv  on  the 
same  day— nay,  even  the   sun  shone,\and   the 
ram  fell,  and  the  winds  blew,  pretty  much  all 
alike  at  one  time  over  every  part  of  it,  it  was 
very  easy  to  set  forth  every  day  a  job  of  work  to 
be  done  that  day  in  the  garden.  Hence  arose  good 
men  who  got  up  gardener's  calenders,  in  which 
all  the  work  of  a  garden  was  mapped  out  for  the 
year-just  what  should  be  done  on  a  certain  day 
and  what  should  not.     Some  of  the  descendants 
of  these  men  came  to  America,  and  of  course 
they  wanted  the  same  thing  done  here.    But  how 
was  this  to  be  in  a  country  where  at  one  end  the 
snow  has  hardly  began  to  melt,  and  at  the  other 
end  has  ripe  strawberries  I  A  calender  is  prepos- 
terous 1  But  besides  this  there  is  not  the  need  in 
these  days   for  this    precise   way  of   working. 
Science  has  pervaded  the  masses.    They  may  not 
call  it  science,  but  the  general  application  of  ab- 
stract knowledge  picked  up  here  and  there,  is 


but  science  applied.  All  people  need  now  is  gen- 
eral suggestions,  and  what  they  have  seen  and 
heard  of  before  enables  them  to  turn  these  sug- 
gestions to  a  useful  account.  Thus  we  give  Tn 
these  columns  but  seasonable  hints,  generally 
timing  them  so  much  in  advance,  that  any  one 

in  any  part  of  the  Union  may  profit  by  some  of 
them. 


*•••»■ 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

To  many  of  our  readers   the  only  **  pleasure 
ground  "  they  will  have  at  this  season  is  the  few 
pots  growing  in  windows  or  plant  cabinets.    But 
since  the  introduction  of  coal  gas  into  our  dwell- 
ings, it  is  not  so  easy  to  grow  plants  well  as  in 
former  times.     But  as  this  gas  is  only  lit  up  at 
night,  if  provision  be  made  for  enclosing  plants 
from  the  fumes  at  night,  they  do  pretty  well 
This  IS  accomplished  very  easily  where  there  are 
bay  windows,  by  drawing  curtains  across,  or  by 
having  plants  so  arranged  that  cases  can  be 
closed  around  them.     New  beginners  in  ^rowing 
window    plants    often   ask  us   how  often  they 
should  water  plants.     The  more  freely  a  plant  is 
growing,  the  more  water  will  it  require  ;  and  the 
more  it  grows,  the  more  sun  and  light  will  it  need. 
In  all  cases,  those  which  seem  to  grow  the  fast- 
est, should  be  placed  nearest  the  light.     The  best 
aspect  for  room  plants  is  the  south-west.     They 
seem  like  animals  in  their  affection  for  the  morn- 
ing sun.  The  first  morning  ray  is  worth  a  dozen 
m  the  evening.     Should  any  of  our  fair  readers 
find  her  plants,  by  some  unlucky  calculation  fro- 
zen  in  the  morning,  do  not  remove  them  at'onc6 


2 


THE    GARDEJ^'ER'S   MOJ^TBLY,      January, 


to  awarm  place,  but  dip  them  in  cold  water,  and 
set  them  in  a  dark  spot,  where  they  will  barely 
escape  freezing.  Sunlight  will  only  help  the 
frost's  destructive  powers. 

Tt  is  better  to  keep  in  heat  in  cold  weather  by 
coverincr,  where  possible,  than  to  allow  it  to  es- 
cape, calculating  to  make  it  good  by  fire-heat, 
which  is,  at  best,  but  a  necessary  evil.  Where 
bloom  is  in  demand,  nothing  less  than  55  will 
accomplish  the  object ;  though  much  above  that 
is  not  desirable,  except  for  tropical  hot-house 
plants  Where  these  plants  are  obliged  to  be 
wintered  in  a  common  greenhouse,  they  should 
be  kept  rather  dry,  and  nut  be  encouraged  much 

to  grow,  or  they  may  rot  away. 

After  Cyclamens  have  done  blooming,  it  is 
usual  at  this  season,  to  dry  them  off;  but  we 
do  best  with  them  by  keeping  them  growing  till 
snrincr  then  turning  thrm  out  in  the  open  bor- 
der a'^nd  repot  in  August  for  winter  flowering. 

In  potting  window  plants,  the  soil  for  potting 
Bhould  be  used  rather  dry  ;  that  is  it  should  be 
in  such  a  condition  that  it  will  rather  crumble 
when  pressed,  than  adherecloscr  together.  Large 
pots-those  over  four   inches,    should  have    a 
drainage     This  is  made  by  breaking  up  broken  ^ 
pots  loathe  size  of  beans,  putting  them  in  the  | 
bottom  a  quarter  or  half  an  inch  deep,  and  put-  , 
ting  about  an  eight  of  an  inch  of  old  moss  or  any  , 
Biinilar  rough  material  over  the  mass  of 'crocks" 
to  keep  out  the  earth  from  amongst  it.     Little 
benefit  arises    from  draining  pots  below    four 
inch    the  moisture  filtering  through  the  porous 
pots' quite  fast  enough;  and  the  few  pieces  of 
u  drainage  "  often  thrown  in  with  the  soil  placed 
riRht  oveT,  is  of  Utile  or  no  use. 

Ferneries  are  now  so  deservedly  popular,  that 
we  must  have  a  word  to  say  for  them  at  times, 
though  their  management  is  so  simple  there  is 
little  one  can  say.  It  is  probably  their  ease  of 
niana^^emeht,  and  the  great  results  obtained  for 
the  litUe  outlay  of  care  that  has  rendered  them 
80  popular.  It  should  not,  however,  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  case  in  which  they  are  enclosed  is 
not  to  keep  out  the  air,  but  to  keep  in  the  mois- 
ture as  ferns  will  not  thrive  in  the  dry  atmos 
phere  of  heated  rooms.  A  few  minutes'  airing 
every  day  will,  therefore,  be  of  great  benefit  to 
ihtm  Decayed  wood,  (not  pine),  mixed  with 
•  about  half  its  bulk  of  fibrous  soil  of  any  kind, 
and  a  very  small  proportion  (say  a  tenth  of  the 
bulk)  of  well  rotted  stable  manure,  makes  a  good 
compost.  Most  kinds  particularly  like  well- 
drained  pots.    This  is  usually.effected  by  filling 


a  third  of  the  pots  in  which  the  ferns  are  to 
grow  with  old  pots  broken  in  pieces  of  about 
half  an  inch  square,  on  which  a  thin  layer  of 
moss  is  placed,  before  filling  the  pots,  to  keep  out 
the  soil  from  choking  the  drainage. 

In  regard  to  the  kinds  of  plants  for  windows 
and  rooms,  as  a  general  thing  bulbous  or  succu- 
lent plants  do  best.     Those  plants  which  in  their 
native  places  of  growth  choose  dry  places,  seem 
also  especially  adapted  to  room  culture  if  they 
have   plenty  of  sunlight.     The  old  wall-flowers 
and  stockgillies  are  excellent  for  this  purpose  ; 
and  there  are  few  things  superior  to  the  modern 
race  of  carnations,  known  as  the  perpetual  or 
tree  carnation.     The  English,  single  and  double, 
and  the  Chinese  primroses,   together  with   the 
whole  race  of  violets  are  capital  for  window  cul- 
ture, where  the  room  is  not  too  warm— they  do 
not  do  well  where  the  temperature  is  over  55°. 
These  last  named  plants,  especially,  as  well  as 
many  others,  are  liable  to  the  attacks  of  the  Red 
Spider,  which  is  the  great  foe  to  window  plant 
culture.     They  are  so  small  as  seldom  to  betray 
their  existence  until  some  damage  is  done.     The 
first  we  know  is  a  slight  yellowish  tint  among  the 
healthy  green  of  the  leaves,  and  then  a  common 
pocket  lens  will  decide  whether  the  little  insect 
is  doing  the  damge.     On  primroses  and  violets 
they  usually  koep  on  the  under  surface  of  the 
leaves,  and  hence  are  very  diflicult  to  be  got  at. 
We  have  found  the  best  thing  is  the  plan  first 
recommended  some  years  ago  in  the  Gardener's 
,  Monthly,  to  take  warm  water,  say  about  120^  or 
1 130%  just  a  little  greasy,  and  with  a  little  pow- 
'  dered  sulphur  floating  on  it,  and  dip  the  plant  in 
I  for  an  instant  only.     It  will  rarely  destroy  a  leaf 
'  unless  very  tender,  by  growing  too  much  in  the 
'  shade,  while  it  bothers  the  red   spider  badly. 
'  The  Green  Aphis  may  be  got  rid  of  in  the  same 
manner. 


<•■» 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 
There  are  few  things  connected  with  fruit 
f^rowing  which  gives  greater  pleasure  than  a 
knowledge  of  the  names  of  the  varieties.  Utili- 
tarians may  say  with  truth  that  of  all  the  long 
lists  in  the  cfitalogues  and  in  the  books,  the  half 
of  them  are  worthless,  and  of  the  other  a  dozen 
at  most  is  all  one  need  have.  But  there  is  a  sat- 
isfaction in  a  good  number  of  kinds,  and  though 
we  find  most  men  desirous  to  cut  down  their 
lists  to  two  or  three  kinds,  they  always  hesitate 
to  do  it,  when  the  time  for  action  comes.  As 
then  people  will  have  an  **  assortment ' '  of  kinds, 


1873, 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ\/THLY. 


3 


it  becomes  an  important  question  how  to  label 
them  so  that  it  shall  be  permanent,  and  yet  not 
take  too  much  labor  and  trouble  to  accomplish- 
In  planting,  the  trees  of  course  are  in  some  kind 
or  order,  usually  in  rows,  and  a  book  should,  at 
once  on  setting  out,  be  provided,  and  the  names 
entered  therein  in  the  order  they  run  on  the 
ground.  But  we  do  not  want  to  have  the  book 
always  with  us,  so  must  have  labels  attached  to 
the  trees  in  some  way.  The  cheapest  and  easi- 
est is  the  Wilder  plan  with  the  zinc  labels. 
These  are  cut  about  four  or  six  inches  long  and 


fVom  one  half  to  an  inch  wide,  ^r^^lZl    {^^'^  Z^^V.^^  7  ''  ^'^ 
put  in  water  a  dav  or  so  to  nw.ii.n  ...  ,..u.  "  I  u..i.k„  .1^       ''^''^  ^''°  ^''^  ^^^"^^  ^^  revenge 


season.  Orchard  trees  generally  get  too  much 
pruning.  In  young  trees  only  thin  out  so  as  not 
to  have  the  main  leaders  crossing  oi^  interfering 
with  one  another.  Or  when  a  few  shoot:?  grow 
much  stronger  then  the  rest,  cut  these  away. 
Insist  on  all  the  branches  in  young  trees  growin<^ 
only  on  a  perfect  equality.  On  older  trees  which 
have  been  iu  bearing  a  number  of  years,  it  will 
often  benefit  to  cut  away  a  large  portion  of  the 
bearmg  limbs.  By  a  long  series  of  bearincrg 
branches  will  often  get  bark  bound  and  stunte'l 
preventing  the  free  passage  of  the  sap  to  the 


put  in  water  a  day  or  so  to  oxydize,  are  written 
on  with  a  common  lead  pencil.  It  needs  no 
"  chemical  "  ink.  It  is  not  very  legible  at  first, 
but  blackens  with  age.  We  believe  such  labels 
will  last  perfectly  plain  for  fifty  years  or  more 
The  only  trouble  we  have  found  is  in  the  wear- 


itself  by  forcing  out  vigorous  young  shoots  a  long 
way  down  from  the  top  of  the  tree.  It  is  down 
to  those  vigorous  young  slioots  that  we  would 
cut  the  bearing  branches  away.  One  must  use 
his  own  judgment  as  to  the  advisability  of  this. 
If  the  tree  bears  as  fine  and  luscious  fruit  as  ever 


ing  away  of  the  holes  through  which  u^iti^i  ::rZz:'^:::z:7^z^  t:a "  T^ 

mg  wire  passes,  by  the  wind.     Tf  «om.  <^  ...i.f  „    ;p  ....   .u„„     .  r'^''.  ^""^^  "^'^'^  ^^  ^^^°«.  but 


ing  wire  passes,  by  the  wind.  If  some  "  eyelet  " 
of  durable  material  could  be  stamped  in  the  hole 
for  the  copper  wire  to  rub  against,  it  would  be 
perfection.  The  wire  must  of  course  be  loose 
enough  to  allow  of  the  branch  increasing  in  size 
but  even  with  this  wires  must  be  looked^to  some- 
times, for  wood  does  not  grow  as  we  all  thou-ht 
It  did  a  few  years  ago,  by  a  downward  layer  from 
the  leaves,  which  would  naturally  push  out  of 
the  way  any  foreign  thing  on  the  outside  of  the 


if  not,  then  now  is  the  time. 
*  And  above  all  look  after  the  nutrition  of  tl.e 
trees.  Some  people  say  that  land  which  w\\ 
raise  good  corn  will  grow  good  fruit  trees  which 
18  all  right ;  but  they  should  add  that  like  corn 
they  require  regular  and  continuous  manuring 
There  are  some  p.xrts  of  the  country  where  corn 
can  be  successively  taken  for  half  a  life  time 
without  manure  ;  on  these  soils  we  need  not  ma- 
nure fruit  trees,  but  in  all  others  we  must  to 


bark ;  but  by  the  germination  or  budding  ou  7f    la;;  Z  re^ts      tLI  i"  .t' r  ",  T  ""^  '' 
cells,  and  thus  even  a  loose  wire  will  h^  .n.«i_  i  SJlf.l''!''^^''     ^^.'^  ''  Particularly  essential 


cells,  and  thus  even  a  loose  wire  will  be  envel- 
oped by  the  new  growth  of  wood,  as  badly  as  if 
It  fitted  tight,  provided  the  wire  be  perfectly  sta- 
tionary. It  is  a  good  season  to  go  over  and  ex- 
amme  the  wires  of  fruit  trees  and  attend  to  these 
other  labeling  and  naming  matters ;  of  course 
when  the  weathor  is  sufficiently  warm  to  allow 
ot  It  being  done  with  comfort. 

In  young  orchards  some  species  of  scale  in- 
sects are  likely  to  be  troublesome.  These  should 
be  killed  by  washing  at  this  season.  If  the  trees 
be  very  badly  infested,  cut  back  the  young  shoots 
and  the  stouter  branches  can  then  be  more 
thoroughly  done.  Some  people  use  weak  lye  for 
washing,  with  good  results  ;  we  do  not  object  to 
some  hrae  and  sulphur  going  in  with  it.  Old 
trees  are  very  much  assisted  by  having  the  rou-h 
bark  scraped  off*  of  the  trunk  and  main  branches, 
and  then  coated  with  a  similar  wash.  ISTever 
mud  what  people  say  about  stopping  up  the 

breathing  pores."    Try  it  once,  and  you  will 
always  want  to  repeat  the  practice. 

This  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the  pruning 


where  trees  are  grown  in  grass,  as  both  the  trees 
and  the  grass  require  food.  Where  trees  are 
grown  in  grass,  we  prefer  top  dressing  in  June 
or  July,  but  if  it  has  not  been  done  then  do  it 
now.  Where  trees  are  kept  under  clean  surface 
culture,  the  manure  is  of  course  ploucrhed  or 
harrowed  in  with  the  crop  in  the  spring  of  the 
year.  To  know  whether  trees  require  manure 
or  not  ask  the  leaves.  If  in  July  they  are  of  a 
dark  rich  green,  nothing  need  be  done  to  them 
but  If  they  have  a  yellow  cast,  hunger  is  what  is 
the  matter.  This  of  course  is  supposing  they 
are  not  infested  by  borers,  in  which  case  they 
will  be  yellowish  in  the  richest  soil. 

Yellowness  will  also  sometimes  come  from 
trees  being  in  wet  ground  while  they  are  grow- 
ing ;  but  fruit  trees  should  not  be  planted  in  wet 
ground.  At  the  same  time  if  one  has  a  piece  of  wet 
ground  desired  to  be  used  for  orchard  planting 
we  would  not  uuderdrain  it.  Wo  do  not  think 
It  ever  paid  any  man  to  underdrain  for  an  or- 
chard.  The  roots  in  time,  will  very  likely  get 
into  the  drains  and  choke  them.     We  would 


THE    GARDEJSTER'S    MOJ^'THLY,       January, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJfER'S    MONTHLY. 


5 


r. 


rather  plough  the  ground  into  narrow  ridges,  on  , 
which  plant  the  trees.     This  can  easily  be  done  j 
by  starting  the  plough  on  the  line  where  the  trees  | 
are  to  go,  and  then  continuing  to  plough  towards  1 
this  line  on  both  sides,  until  a  breadth  of  twenty  | 
or  twenty-five  feet  is  done.     By  another  or  sev-  j 
eral  ploughings  in  the  same  beds,  one  can  get  \ 
the  tree  line  a  foot  or  two  higher  than  the  ditch,  \ 
and  in  this  way  no  surface  water  will  ever  be 
able  to  stay  about  the  tree.     After  the  trees  are 
in,    in    succeeding    years,    the    earth  may    be  . 
ploughed  towards  the  stems  of  the  trees,  which  | 
will  carry  the  beds  still  higher.     The  burying  of 
the  roots  by  this  process  will  not  hurt  the  trees, 
as  the  fibrous  roots,  which  are  the  feeders,  and 
are  the  ones  which  suffer  from  water,  come  to 
the  surface  with  the  increasing  deposits.     This 
will  not  only  be  found  to  be  a  mu<;h  cheaper  plan 
than  underdraining,  but  the  deep  soil  where  the 
trees  are  <:?rowing  will  be  found  to  have  a  won- 
derful effect  on  their  growth.     This  plan  is  pop- 
ular in  some  of  the  flat  lands  of  the  West.     The 
celebrfited  orchard  of  Mr.  M.  S  Dnnlap,  of  the  , 
Chicago  Tribune,  is  treated  in  this  way.  | 

In  regard  to  grapes  we  have  a  groat  partiality 
to  rich  soil  for  these.     Many  so  called  failures  , 
undoubtedly  arise  from  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  , 
In  this  connection  we  must  refer  to  Mr.  Riley's 
valuable  discovery  of  one   very  great  cause  of ' 
failure—  presence  of  numberless  small  insects—  , 
the  grape  louse— feeding  on  the  roots.     One  can  , 
tell  by  an  examination  with  a  good  lens  whether 
he  is  favored  by  a  vit^it  from  these  notables.     If 
he  is  he  will  not  want  to  entertain  them  long. 
But  how  to  get  rid  of  them  is  not  yet  well  known. 
In  lawn  culture,  and  in  greenhouse  pot  culture, 
we  have  found  that  lime  water  will  drive  out  all 
forms  of  animal  life.     A  lawn  watered  with  lime 
water  will  be  covered  soon  afterwards  with  my- 
riads of  "worms."      Before   people   knew  the 
value  of  the  earth  worm,  this  was  how  ihey  were 
destroyed.     Perhaps  it  may  "do  for"  the  PhyU 
loxera.     At  any  rate  something  will  surely  be 
found  out,  which  while  inoccuous  to  plants,  will 
destroy  the  life  of  these  minute  pests. 


«aw» 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

There  is  nothing  so  much  relished  in  early 
spring  as  the  first  vegetables— it  hardly  matters 
what  they  are.  Many  of  these  things  can  be 
forwarded  several  weeks  by  the  use  of  glass,  and 
considering  how  cheaply  this  may  be  had,  it  is  a 
wonder  that  more  hot  bed  vegetation  is  not  in- 


dulged in.     Radishes,  lettuce,  asparagus,  straw- 
berries—these in  particular  can  be  forwarded  by 
simple    frames,    without    the    aid    of   manure^ 
although  where  this  can  be  had,  of  course  it  is 
an  advantage.     An  asparagus  bed,  made  in  the 
open  ground,  of  such  length  and  width  that  any 
desired  frame  will  cover  it,  may  have  rich  soil 
put  over  it  inside  the  frame,  several  inches— even 
six  or  more,  and  en  this  radishes  and  lettuces  bo 
sown.     The  radishes  will  be  in  use  before  the  let- 
tuce is  much  interfered  with,  and  the  asparagus 
will  not  find  much  in  the  road  when  it  pushes 
through.     For  this  kind  of  cold  frame  it  is  best 
o  have  the  glass  slope  very  much  to  the  south. 
If  the  frame  be  made,  say  two  feet  above  the 
ground  at  the  back,  and  six  or  nine  inches  in  the 
front,   it   will   be    all   the   better.      These  cold 
frames  may  be  much  aided  by  having  an  ever- 
green hedge  on  the  cold  side.     This  will  make  a 
shelter  from  the  wind,  and  very  much  help  the 
carliness.     A  strawberry  bed  in  the  open  ground 
will  yield  fruit  nearly  two  weeks  earlier  if  a  low 
glass  frame  be  put  over  the  plants.     A  very  little 
!  heat  tickles  the   strawberry,  and  will  make  it 
'  laugh  in  delicious  berryness.     Even  the  planting 
I  on  a  warm  rich  bank,  sloping  to  the  sun   will 
give  us  fruit  considerably  in  advance  of  level  flat 
ground. 

I      In  getting  ready  for  spring  vegetables  do  not 
fear  to  pile  on  the  manure.     It  is  the  rank  rich 
sirowth  which  gives  the  agreeable  tenderness  to 
them,  and  without  an  abundance  of  manure  this 
cannot  be  done.     Deep  soil  is  also  a  great  ele- 
ment of  success     Though  we  do  not  favor  sub- 
soiUng  and  underdraining   for   fruit    trees,    we 
regard  it  as  very  profitable  in  vegetable  growing. 
In   arranging    new   vegetable   gardens,   it   is 
always   best   to  have   it  in  a  pirallogram,   as 
whether  it  is  to  be  worked  by  a  plough  or  the 
spade,  this  form  saves   much   time   and   labor. 
Those  who  have  not  much  money  to  spare,  or 
who  are  to  grow  vegetables  on  a  large  scale,  will 
want  to  use  the  plough,  and  for  this  of  course  a 
long  narrow  strip  is  preferable  to  a  square.    For 
this,  one  walk  through  the  centre  may  be  enough, 
and  box  edgings,  or  even  a  narrow  grass  border 
may  do  to  line  the   walk.     This  is  a  very  good 
arrangement  for  a   farm  garden.     Along  each 
side  of  this  central  walk  may  be  the  currants  and 
gooseberries,   and   even   garden   flowers,  a  row 
or  so  of  dwarf  pears  and  dwarf  apples  or  straw- 
berries, or  other  low  growing  things  that  would 
;  not  do  to  grow  in  the  land  which  we  want  to 
keep  under  the  plough.     At  each  end  of  the  long 


narrow  strip,  space  could  be  left  for  the  plough 
to  turn.  The  walk  perhaps  may  be  all  of  grass, 
made  level,  and  kept  neatly  mown.  During  the 
year,  as  the  successive  crops  are  to  be  put  in, 
the  digging  fork  will  easily  prepare  the  ground 
once  ploughed  in  spring,  even  in  those  neater 
kept  gardens  where  the  plough  does  not  enter, 
the  digging  fork  will  be  found  to  do  fourfold  the 
work  of  the  spade  in  the  same  time.  But 
whether  the  plough  or  spade  be  used,  and  in 
whatever  way  the  garden  be  laid  out,  w^e  should 
recommend  the  greatest  care  to  have  everything 
neat  and  in  order.  It  annoys  us  considerably 
when  asked  to  look  at  some  friend's  orarden,  to  ! 


see  things  slovenly  and  untidy.  When  we  h:nt 
as  much— for  we  never  hesitate  to  say  in  as  kind- 
ly a  way  as  possible,  just  what  we  think  of  such 
neglect,  we  are  often  reminded  that  it  may  be  all 
very  well  for  fine  people  to  have  fine  gardens, 
and  things  kept  nice,  but  they  have  a  living  to 
get,  and  such  work  "don't  pay."  We  get  out 
of  patience  with  such  people.  As  a  general  rule 
it  will  be  found  that  it  takes  no  more  time  to  do 
things  neatly  than  untidily.  There  never  was  a 
truer  saying  than  that  lazy  people  take  the  most 
trouble.  There  is  no  more  excuse  for  a  dirty, 
untidy  garden,  than  for  going  with  one's  clothes 
torn,  or  flesh  unwashed. 


0  0  M  M  U  N  I  C  A  T  I  0  N  S. 


NOTES  FROM   WESTERN  PENNSYL- 
VANIA. 

BY  A.  IIUIDEKOPER,  MEADVILLE,  PA. 
PU00RE8S. 

As  the  evenings  grow  longer  I  find  it  pleasant 
to  bring  the  'old  and  new"  face  to  face,  by 
looking  over  the  back  numbers  of  the  Garden- 
ers Monthhj,  noting  the  chancteristic  dltfuse- 
ness  of  young  theorists,  the  "compactness  of  ex- 
perienced scientists,  the  change  of  opinions,  and 
the  origin  and  development  of  new  fruits.  One 
meets  with  a  great  many  articles  passed  over 
hastily  at  the  time  of  publication,  which  are  in- 
teresting now  in  the  light  of  a  wider  experience. 

Then  amid  the  suggestivencss  of  its  pages  I 
wish  to  say  that  one  cannot  but  be  impressed 
with  the  real  character  and  dignity  of  the 
Monthly,  with  its  mild  but  firm  criticisms  and 
general  spirit  of  fairness.  I  am  sure  its  readers 
must  feel  and  catch  its  generous  inspiration. 

WHITE  WASHING   TREES. 

If  I  had  not  already  obtruded  on  its  pages 
more  than  my  share  of  horticultural  matter,  I 
would  like  to  suggest  that  when  you  admitted  ' 
you  saw  nothing  but  bad  taste  to  be  urged 
against  white  washing  trees  that  it  might  have  ! 
been  well  to  add  that  thougli  a  gray  wash  of 
fioot  and  sulphur  might  destroy  lichens  and 
mosses,  yet  there  is  this  superior  advantage  in 
white  wash,  that  it  reflects  and  wards  off  the 
sunshine,  often  detrimental  to  the  trunks  of 
trees  alike  in  summer  and  winter. 


.SPECIFIC   HEAT   IN   PLANTS. 

There  was  an  article  in  the  volume  of  1870, 
page  47,  "on  specific  heat  of  plants,"  by  Dr.  L. 
Fritsche,  based  upon  observation  in  the  Cana- 
dian forests,  in  which  he  attributes  the  interval 
of  an  inch  or  two  between  the  trunks  of  trees 
and  the  snow,  to  vegetable  'heat,  upon  which  I 
intended  at  the  time  to  express  a  doubt,  but  it 
escaped  me  before  I  did  so. 

I  have  often  noticed   the  same  phenomena  in 
our  western  forests,  but  the  cause  of  it  was  two- 
fold, and  neither  the  one  in  that  article  assigned 
for  it.     When  the  wind  is  blowing  strongly  at 
the  time  the  snow  is  fulling  it  will  drive  a  cur- 
rent of  air  around  the  tree  that  forces  the  snow 
away  from  it.     An  other  cause  is  the  happen- 
ing of  a  bright  sunny  day  in  the  winter  time? 
when  the  solar  heat  reflected  from  the  bark,  or 
absorbed    by    it    melts   the   snow    from    about 
it ;  I  do  not  wish  to  controvert  the  theory  that 
there  may  be  such  a  thing  as  some  vegetable 
heat,  but  take  away  the  agencies  I  have  stated, 
and  you  w^ill  find  snow  rest  against  trees  all 
winter  without  thawing  or  separating  from  their 
trunks  as  indicated.     I  should  be   glad,  as  win- 
ter is  at  hand,  to  have  the  observations  made 
which  the  writer  of  that  article  in  the  true  spirit 
of  research  calls  for. 

ROOT  ATTRACTION    TO  MANURES. 

I  had  occasion  last  week  to  tear  down  an  old 
vinery  and  to  give  away  the  vines.  On  digging 
up  the  latter  we  turned  up  many  an  old   bone, 


6 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJ^THLY.     January, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOKTHLY. 


but  failed  to  find  that  *' historical"  tendency  ofj 
the  grape  roots  to  interlace  and  fill  up  the  inter- 
stices with   spongioles ;    on  the  contrar}'',   the  ! 
roots  had  r  imbled  free  and  far,  apparently  pay 
ing  no  attention  to  the  bones.     I  am  beginning 
to  think  there  is  something  in  the  doctrine,  not 
to  make  borders  too  rich,  but  to  let  the  vines  do 
something  towards  "  workins:  for  a  living.'' 

COVERING  GRAPE. 

^  I  trim  and  cover  my  vines  always  by  the  first 

i        orXovcmber,  as  I  think  they  are  bcttL^r  covered 
than  to  be  exposed  to  the  great  changes  of  late  ' 
autumnal  weather.     If  there  is  any  objection  to 
this  course  I  fail  to  discover  it. 

PRECOCIOUS  BEARING   OF   VINES. 

The  precocity  of  bearing  (in  following  season) 
a  tributed  to  early  pruning  by  an  English  jour- 
n  il  some  years  ago,  Gardener^s  Monthly,  18G7, 
pige  368,  may  possibly  be  owing  to  the  vine, 
w'tli  surplus  sap,  doing  some  of  its  spring  work 
i'.i  the  fall,  may  it  not,  instead  of  its  being  an 
cTort  of  enfeebled  vitality. 

I  would  that  you  were  more  accessible  that  I 
might  send  you  some  siiecimcns  of  fruit ;  per- 
h  ips  il  1  cannot  do  this  the  next  best  thing  will 
be  not  to  trouble  you  with  a  surplus  of  individu 
al  speculations. 

PECULIARITIES  OF  FRUIT. 

I  send  in  a  small  box  herewith,  followimr 
specimens  : 

A  medium  sized  Winter  Nelis  Pear,  to  show 
,  how  early  they  will  Hpai  with  ns,  notwithstand- 
ing being  wrapped  in  paper  and  kept  in  a  mod- 
erately cool  room. 

A  few  berries  of  Muscat  of  Alexandria  grapes 
to  show  how  near  they  will  ripen  in  a  cold 
grapery  without  fire  heat. 

A  f(?*^  berries  of  Gros  Maroc,  ripened  in  cold 
grapery.  I  believe  Mr.  Buist  considers  this  the 
same  as  Black  Morocco,  but  catalogues  })lace 
them  as  distinct. 

[The  fruits  were  very  fine.  In  regard  to  the 
ripening  of  fruits  there  is  evidently  something 
more  ihan  latitude  to  be  taken  into  account. 
Early  in  October,  Major  Freas,  of  the  German- 
town  Telegraph,  sent  us  some  Glout  Alorcv-au 
pears,  which  in  size  and  quality,  including  j.er- 
fect  ripening,  rivalled  anything  California  could 
produce.] 


*•»•* 


and  having  had  some  experience  in  both  ways 
of  heating  mentioned  in  the  said  article,  would 
like  to  ask  you  some  questions  and  give  you 
some  of  my  experience  in  both  ways  of  heat- 
ing by  hot  water  and  flues.  I  would  like  to 
know  what  kind  of  a  boiler  your  correspondent 
used  ;  but  I  think  it  must  have  been  a  very  in- 
ferior one,  that  had  to  have  a  clear  bright  fire  to 
keep  up  a  circulation.  Now  the  question  as  to 
which  is  the  best  and  most  economical  boiler,  is 
of  interest  to  every  greenhouse  man,  more  espe- 
cially new  beginners,  and  I  would  like  to  see  it 
more  fully  discussed  in  all  our  agricultural  pa- 
pers. But  I  do  know  that  he  must  have  had  a 
miserable  affair  of  a  boiler  if  it  would  not  keep 
up  a  circulation  with  as  much  heat  as  he  says  it 
took  to  do  it,  if  he  could  keep  his  flue  warm 
enough  by  banking  his  fire  ;  why  did  not  the 
boiler  do  the  same  ?  Then  again,  I  ask  you  how 
water  can  absorb  heat  when  it  is  contained  in- 
side of  cast  iron  i)ipes  ?  would  the  pipe  absorb 
more  heat  with  water  inside  than  it  would  if  it 
was  heated  with  liot  air  to  the  same  degree  ? 
Now  if  the  water  takes  the  heat  from  the  coal  as 
you  say  in  the  fiist  place,  why  did  it  not  do  so 
in  the  second  case  and  not  heat  the  chimney  so 
hot?  Then  a  heating  api)aratus  must  be  very 
small,  or  the  heat  would  not  get  up  and  tlien 
cool  so  soon.  I  have  used  a  flue  two  winters, 
and  am  now  using  hot  water  (one  of  Ilitching's 
Corrugated,  No.  15,  boilers,)  and  if  your  corres- 
pondent wishes  to  hear  my  experience,  I  will 
give  it  him  cheerfully,  and  am  positive  that  with 
the  coal  that  he  used  in  one  winter,  I  could  heat 
mv  house  twelve  winters.     House,  54x15. 

[We  know  nothing  of  the  facts  of  our  former 
correspondent's  failure  with  his  boilers,  beyond 
what  was  given  in  his  communication.  We  feel 
that  we  can  answer  for  our  correspondent  as 
well  as  for  our  other  readers,  that  they  will  be 
very  glad  to  have  Mr.  Jones'  experience  as  of- 
fered.] 


HOT  WATER  BOILERS. 

BY  A.  p.  JONES,  FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 

I  have  been  reading  an  article  on  page  336, 
Gardener^s   Monthly,    on   heating    greenhouses, 


PRIMULA  SINENSIS. 

BY    MR.    MANSFIELD     MILTON,   NORTHEASTON, 

MASS. 

The  Chinese  Primrose  is  known  and  admired 
by  all  lovers  of  fli)wers.  It  has  been  so  improved 
by  crossing  and  cultivation  that  some  of  its  va- 
rieties, especially  the  double  ones,  appear  dis- 
tinct species  from  the  original ;  and  its  culture  is 
so  simple  that  the  occupant  of  a  single  room  may 
have   his    window  adorned   with   its   beautiful 


flowers,  as  well  as  the  owner  of  the  best  cared 
for  greenhouse. 

For  spring  flowering  the  seeds  should  be  sown 
in  August,  in  a  seed  pan  or  small  box  filled 
with  a  soil  of  equal  parts  of  loam,  leaf  mould 
and  sand,  watering  well  before  sowing  the  seeds, 
covering  them  lightly  with  fine  sifted  soil,  and 
then  cover  the  top  of  the  pan  or  box  with  a 
piece  of  wood  which  retains  the  moisture,  and 
hastens  germination ;  as  soon  as  they  ger- 
minate, remove  the  covering  and  shade  for  a 
few  days.  When  the  plants  are  large  enough 
for  handling,  put  them  singly  into  thumb  pots, 
afterwards  shifting  into  three  inch  pots,  and 
finall}"  into  six  inch  pots,  with  a  soil  composed 
of  loam,  leaf  mould  and  well  rotted  manure. 

For  winter  flowering  most  people  sow  the 
seeds  in  March  ;  but  I  practice  the  following 
method,  deeming  it  more  satisfactory.  In  Octo- 
ber I  sow  the  seeds  and  treat  as  previously  de- 
scribed, only  1  keep  them  in  the  three  inch  pots 
until  tliey  flower.  I  then  choose  those  worth 
growing,  pick  off  all  the  flowers,  pot  them  into 
six  inch  pots,  and  towards  the  end  of  May  put 
them  out  doors,  plunging  them  in  some  place 
well  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  give  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  water  during  summer ;  by  fall  they  make 
excellent  plants,  and  commence  blooming  as 
soon  as  taken  into  the  house,  continuing  so  all 
winter.  As  double  ones  cannot  be  increased  by 
^  seeds,  they  have  to  be  propagated  by  cuttings, 
/  treating  otherwise  the  sime.  I  have  sown  a 
good  many  packets  of  seeds  advertised  by  nur- 
serymen as  *' saved  from  the  finest  double  flow- 
ers," etc.,  not  expecting  to  raise  any  double  va- 
rieties, but  supposing  them  to  be  saved  from 
some  superior  strain  I  might  get  some  excellent 
single  varieties  ;  I  am  sorry  to  say,  however,  I 
was  always  extremely  disappointt^d. 


AN  ARTICLE  ABOUT  THE  LILIES. 

BY  P.   DUCHARTRE. 

Translated  from  the  ♦'  Revue  Hwtieole''  of  July  \st,  1871, /or 
the  Gardener's  Monthly. 

In  one  of  our  former  numbers  we  have  spoken 
of  an  article  about  the  Lilies,  published  by  M. 
Huchartre,  member  of  the  Institute,  in  the  An- 
nals of  the  Central  Society  of  Horticulture  of 
France.  An  account,  as  short  as  the  one  given 
hy  us  or  even  a  much  larger  one,  would  be  insuf- 
ficient to  do  justice  to  the  important  work  in 
question,  whose  modest  title,  "Observations 
about  the  genus  Lily,"  does  not  indicate  its 
value.    It  is,  one  may  say,  the  history  of  this 


genus  of  plants,  so  interesting  in  many  respects, 
as  complete  as  it  can  be  made.  What  increases 
the  importance  of  this  work,  but  surprises  no 
body,  is  the  impartiality  shown  by  the  author ; 
the  numerous  researches  he  had  to  make  to  give 
each  his  proper  share  of  merit  of  showing  the 
successive  increase  of  species  introduced.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  add  that  the  scientific  part  has 
not  been  forgotten  or  that  the  citations  made  by 
Mr.  Duchartre  are  the  results  of  close  studies  of 
the  best  sources.  We  consider  it,  therefore,  a 
good  thing,  and  intend  to  make  known  this  valu- 
able work  by  increasing  its  publicity.  •  The  genus 
lily,  (Lilium  of  Tournefort)  of  the  family  lilia" 
cese,  from  which  it  has  its  name,  is  not  only  one 
of  the  prettiest  of  the  branches  of  Monocotyledo- 
nous  plants,  but  of  all  the  phaenogameous  or 
flowering  plants.  The  species  forming  it  have 
an  elegant  port,  their  flowers  combine  graceful- 
ness and  distinction  of  form,  with  a  variety  of 
colors  ;  fulness  of  dimensions,  and  are  nearly 
always  sweet  scented.  Besides  this,  the  culture 
of  most  of  them  is  very  simple,  on  account  of 
their  hardiness  under  the  climate  of  Paris  ;  and 
the  more  tender  ones  require  only  to  be  shelter- 
ed against  frost  and  dampness  during  winter. 
Notwithstanding  that  all  these  good  qualities 
are  seldom  found  combined,  the  lilies  have  not 
yet  found  in  gardens  the  prominent  place  occu- 
pied by  other  kinds  of  plants,  certainly  beautiful, 
but  in  total,  of  less  value.  Besides  the  White 
Lily,  (candidum),  which  is  the  widest  spread  o^ 
all,  the  Martagon,  l»ulbiferum  and  umbellatum, 
already  less  common,  nothing  is  found  but  three 
or  four  fine  species  of  Japan  origin,  while  the 
rest  of  the  genus  is  only  to  be  met  with  in  some 
botanical  gardens,  collections  of  amateurs,  and 
a  small  number  of  large  commercial  horticultu- 
ral establishments,  such  as  Messrs,  Van  Houtte, 
in  Ghent,  Belgium ;  Krolage,  in  Harlem,  Hol- 
land ;  Laurentius,  in  Leipzig, Haage  & 

Schmidt,  Erfurt,  Prussia,  (mem.  of  translator.) 
It  is  hard  to  explain  what  is  the  reason  of  this 
so  little  justified  neglect ;  perhaps  we  must  look 
for  the  motives  in  the  slowness  by  which  these 
plants  increase,  giving  very  few  offsets  of  bulbs, 
and  through  seeds,  very  limited  resources.  In 
the  high  prices  asked  for  most  of  them,  by  the 
large  number,  one  is  exposed  to  loss  even  with 
an  exten«led  experience  ;  the  difficulty  to  get 
them  even  at  high  prices,  and  mostly  in  the  in- 
contestable fact  that  they  are  little  or  badly 
known.  It  is  therefore  of  the  first  importance  to 
get  acquainted  with  them,  and  then  to  make 


8 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOMTELY.      January, 


1878. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


their  acquisition  easier  than  it  has  been  so  far. 
Concerning  the  necessity  to  get  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  them,  we  must  collect  for  that 
purpose  as  largely  as  possible,  species  and  varie- 
ties, in  order  to  bring  forward  large  quantities, 
and  in  that  way  to  see  and  make  our  study  on 
the  live  plant,  to  be  in  the  end  enabled  to  pub- 
lish the  result  of  our  observations.  Concernin<r 
the  second  point,  it  is  important  to  make  out  of 
this  a  collection— in  the  first  instance  got  up  for 
personal  gratification  and  study— a  centre  of  dif- 
fusion, which  could  be  reached  without  too  many 
difficulties  by  those  who  would  like  to  follow  so 
laudable  an  example. 

This  is  the  double  object  acted  on  by  Mr.  Max 
Leichtlin,  distinguished  horticultural  amateur, 
who  is  at  the  head  of  a  large  industrial  establish- 
ment in  Carlsruhe,  Baden,  Germany.  Passion- 
ate amateur  of  the  lilies,  he  has  tried  for  several 
years  to  get  together  the  species  and  varieties  of 
this  fine  genus,  has  for  this  end  made  us  one  of 
his  commercial  correspondents,  has  set  himself 
n  relation  not  only  with  foreign  countries,  but 
also  with  travelers  and  collectors  of  plants.  The 
botanical  gardens  of  Kew  and  St.  Petersburg 
have  assisted  him  from  their  rich  stores— even 
from  their  latest  acquisitions,  or  given  him  the 
means  to  extend  the  circle  of  his  acquaintances  ; 
besides  this,  money  was  no  object  to  him,  and  't 
is  known  that  he  has  spent  large  amounts  tc  ^et 
hold  of  some  lots  of  species  very  rare  or  new  in 
Europe.  By  thesi'  means  he  has  succeeded  in 
bringing  together  the  largest  collection  of  species 
and  varieties  of  lilies  existing  anywhere,  and  is 
enabled  to  make  a  perfect  study  of  these  plants  ; 
besides  this,  being  very  obliging,  he  helps  others 
in  their  studies.  I,  who  am  myself  several  times 
under  his  obligations,  am  glad  to  find  this  op- 
portunity to  express  to  him  herewith  my  best 
thanks.  This  first  point  gained, Mr.  Max  Leicht- 
lin has  sought  to  obtain  the  other.  In  posses- 
sion of  his  marvelous  collection,  he  has  come  to 
the  decision  to  let  others,  who  love  these  beauti- 
ful, profit  by  it,  by  disposing  of  a  part  of  the 
samples  he  has  succeeded  in  collecting  by  great 
pcrseverence  and  numberless  ways  and  steps. 

"We  consider  this  good  news  for  the  amateurs. 
Mr.  Max  Leichtlin  has  lately  communicated  to 
me  the  list  of  species  and  varieties  of  lilies  he 
possesses,  and  on  my  request,  has  given  the  al- 
lowance to  publish  it.  In  consequence,  I  profit 
by  his  consent,  and  reproduce  the  list  such  as  I 
received  it.  By  perusal,  it  will  be  seen  how  far 
my  correspondent  has  outrun  the  most  renown- 


ed horticultural  establishments,  and  then  how 
largely  and  splendidly  the  genus  lilies  can  be 
represented  in  the  gardens.  But  as  this  list  is 
only  a  show  of  the  actual  state  of  science  of  hor- 
ticulture in  this  regard.  I  think  it  would  be  in- 
teresting to  accompany  it  by  details,  particular- 
ly historical,  in  order  to  show  the  gradual  ex- 
pansion of  the  knowledge  of  this  genus  lilium 
Irom  Linne  to  our  time.  By  so  doing  I  give  a 
rapid  view  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  the 
species  of  this  genus  over  the  globe,  but  at  the 
same  time  I  must  observe  that  I  have  not  the 
pretention  to  say  that  my  recital  is  complete.  I 
ofien  take  species  as  they  are  published,  without 
trying  vigorously  to  investigate  its  value.  A 
discussion  to  obtain  such  a  result  could  only  be 
reached  by  a  more  graphic  exactitude,  for  which 
I  feel  myself  far  from  being  competent. 

Herewith  is  first  the  list  of  the  collection  of 
Mr.  Max  Iv-ichtlin,  such  as  I  have  received  it ; 
the  historical  details  of  the  successive  increase  of 
the  species  of  lilies  as  they  became  known,  will 
follow  afterwards  as  explanations  and  comple- 
ment of  these  first  indications.  My  correspond- 
ent has  added  to  the  names  of  the  plants,  the 
following  signs  of  great  utility  : 

The  sign  f !  placed  before  a  name  shows  that  the 
decision  of  the  specie  is  regarded  by  him  ascertain. 
On  <he  contrary,  the  sign  (V)  following  a  name, 
snows  that  the  determination  of  the  specie  or 
variety  should  not  be  regarded  as  certain.  With- 
al that  the  name  in  question  miy  be  often  found 
in  gardens,  it  docs  not  guarantee  the  scientific 
appellation.  The  names  accompanied  by  an  (N) 
are  now,  either  lor  the  gardens  or  entirely.  Mr. 
L.  has  an  (K)  behind  the  names  of  lilies  of  par- 
ticular beauty  of  form  or  color  Sometimes  the 
name  of  plants  are  accompanied  l>y  the  designa- 
tion of  the  locality  where  they  came  from.  In 
that  case  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  a  close  scruti- 
ny will  show  in  them  as  many  forms  or  distinct 
varieties. 

List  of  species  and  varieties  of  lilies,  represent- 
ing the  collection  of  Mr  Max  Leichtlin,  in  Carls- 
ruhe, Grand  Duchy  of  B.iden,  Germany  ; 
Lilium  abchasicum,  ? 

alternans,  I     Sieb.  and  Ve 

aurantiacum,  ? 

auratum,  1     Lind. 

auratum,  I  macranthum    R 

avenaceum,  I  Fich      R 

Brownii,  1     Brow. 

1  bulbiferum    L 

I  Buschianura     Lodd. 


u 

(( 

u 
u 
u 


ii 


u 

Buschianum  granditlorum    R 

(( 

Buschianum  nanum 

(( 

Californicum,  I  Hort.     N.  R 

(( 

callosum,  ? 

(( 

Camtschatcense,  ? 

ct 

Canadense,  L.,  of  New  Hampshire 

(< 

Canadense,  I  L.,  of  Brentwood 

(t 

"              L.,  of  Sheffield 

(( 

"             L.,  Superbum 

(( 

candidum,  !     L 

(( 

**            1  fol.  argenteo  variegatis 

(( 

I  carniolicum     Bernh 

t( 

Carolinianum,  of  Chester    R 

t( 

1  Catesb{ei,  Walt.     R 

(( 

I  Chalcedonicum     L 

(1 

Chalcedonicum,  flore  luteo 

(( 

'■                majus 

(( 

*'                punctatum,  ? 

(( 

Columbianum,  ?    Oregon 

(C 

I  con(;olor     Salisb. 

(C 

I  cordifolium     Thunb 

(( 

1  Coridion     Sieb.  and  Ve 

(( 

I  croceum,  Fuchs  (and  Chois) 

ii 

croceum  praecox 

it 

*'        fl.  saturato    N.  R 

(i 

I  davuricum    Gawl. 

ii 

!  eximium     Court. 

.  (i 

1  formosum     Ch.  Lem. 

it 

formosissimum,  ? 

(( 

fulgens  var.     Leichtlinii,  ? 

ii 

giganteum    AVall. 

ii 

1  ilumboldtii     Roesl.  N,  R 

(< 

japonicum     Thunb.  ? 

»t 

JeflTersoni,  V 

(i 

latifolium,  ? 

ii 

I  Leichtlinii    D.  Hooker 

(( 

Leichtlinii  splendens,  ? 

K 

lilacinum,  ? 

it 

I  longirtorum     Thunb. 

ii 

I  longitlorum  de  Lin-Kin 

ii 

I          '*            de  liin-Kin  praecox               ' 

it 

I          '*            Takesima 

U 

1          *•            Wilsonii     R 

t( 

1  Martagon    L 

C( 

I         "•           album 

{( 

1         "            Catauii,  Vis.     N.  R 

(i 

i  t 

^         *'            dalmaticum     Maly. 

tl 

I         **        maculatum  splendens  Leicht- 

lin, N.  R 

i' 

'*            Superbum 

t  1 

**            tigrinum  tardivum 

1 1 

''           hort  varieties 

(( 

1  Mazimowizii    Regel,  X 

u 

1  Monadelphicum    Bieb 

(( 

(( 
(I 
(k 
(( 
(( 
n 

u 

(( 

u 

(( 

u 

t( 

(t 

i. 

ii 

n 

I( 

ii 

ii 

i( 

(i 

i. 

n 

(( 

ii 

(I 

l( 

t( 

ii 

(( 

I . 

tl 

ii 

(( 

(( 

t( 

i\ 

(I 
ii 
l( 
(( 

(( 
n 
n 
(i 
t( 
ti 
il 
u 


I  pardalinum    Kellogg,  N.  R 

I  parvum    Kellogg,  N 

I  Partheneion    Sieb.  and  Ve 

1  Pennsylvanicum 

peregrinum     Will,  ? 

1  Philadelphicum     L 


I 


it 
ii 
ii 
ii 
it 
i( 


andinum     Hook,  R 

of  Brentwood 

of  Connecticut 

of  Massachusetts 

of  Orange   Mountains 

WansharOicum 


(1 
it 
tt 
li 


pinifolium,  ? 

polyphyllum     Royle,  N 

1  pomponium     L 

majus 

flavum,  ? 

pandanoides,  ? 

var.  Hort.     Enofl. 

I  ponticum     C.  Koch 

I  pseudo  tigrinum    Carr. 

1  puberulum     Torr.,  N.  R 

1  pubescens     Gernh. 

I  pumilum     Red 

1  puniceum    Sieb.  and  Ve 

pygmaeum,? 

Sanguineum,  ? 

Sieboldi,  ? 

Sinicum    Lind.,  R 

I  Speciosura     Thunb. 

I  Speciosum     Kaempferi  Zucc. 

punctatum 

*'       late  maculatum, R 

atropurpureum     R 

roseura     Wilsoni,  R 

rubrum 

"      sanguineum  Red.  R 

Schrymakersii     R 

Vestalis 

I  Spectabile     Link  Fisch. 

"  bicolor.  V 

**         maculatum,  ? 

I  Superbum     L 

*'  from  Connecticut 

*'  "     South  Carolina 

I  tenuifolium     Fisch. 

1  testaceum     Lindl. 

1  Thunbergianum     Roem  &  Schult 
tk 

ii 

It 


it 
it 

t( 
tt 
it 
it 
i( 
it 


R 


i< 

t( 


atrosanguineum 
aurantiacum 
aureum 
rtora  pleno     R.  N 
marmoratum     grandi- 
florum 


10 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJfTELy.      January, 


187S. 


THE    GAEDEJVEIt'S   MOJVTHLY. 


11 


(( 


cc 


Scarlatiaum  Leichtlin, 
N.  R 
"        !  Thomsonianutn    Lindl. 
•*        I  tigrinum      Gawl. 
**        1        *'        Fortunii 
*'  "        erectum 

*«  "        t'oliis  variegatis    N 

*<  "        flora  pleno    E.  N 

"        Splendens    Lichtl.     R 

tricolor,  ? 

tubiflorum    Wight    R 
"        !  venustum    Ilort.     borol 
*'        1  Wallichianum    Roera  &  Schult 
•*        1  Washingtonianum    Kellogg    N.  R 

1  Wilsoni    Ilort.     N.  R 


(( 


44 


(( 


(( 


Lilies  still  without  Name. 

No.  3,  4,  15,  16,  17,  18,  20,  200,  201,  203  from 
California. 

No.  131,  1G4,  165,  166,  received  from  the  botani- 
cal gardens  of  Kew. 

No.  163,  from  Wisconsin. 

No.  187,  received  from  tho  botanical  garden  in 
Berlin. 

No.  23,  132,  134,  received  from  the  botanical 
garden  in  St.  Petersburg. 

Martagon  from  Japan    N.  R. 

Successive    Increase  of  the  Genus   Lilies  from 
Linne  to  our  time. 

In  the  third  edition  of  his  "Species  Pljiiila- 
rum,"  dated  1762,  Linne  indicated  nine  species, 
composing  the  whole  genus  lilium,  which 
species  are  found  again  without  change,  even  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  enumerated,  in  his 
*  Systema  Vegetabilium,"  dated  1774,  bearing 
the  name  of  F.  A.  Murray  as  its  author,  but  to 
the  making  up  ot  which  book  the  great  Swedish 
Naturalist  is  known  to  have  contributed 

Here  are  the  names  of  the  nine  species,  with 
the  indication  of  the  countries  given  as  their 
home  in  the  "  Species  Plantarum  :" 

1.  Lilium  candidum,  of  Palestine,  Syria  and  Ca- 

diz, with  two  varieties. 

2.  Lilium  bulbiferum,  of  Italy,  Siberia  and  Aus- 

tria, with  seven  varieties. 

3.  Lilium  pomponium,  of  the  Pyrenees  and  Si- 

beria, with  two  varieties. 

4.  Lilium  Chalcedonicum,  of  Persia  and  Paltina, 

in  Carniola,  with  two  varieties. 

5.  LiHum  Superbum,  of  Middle  America. 

6.  Lilium  Martagon,  of  Hungary,  Switzerland, 

Siberia  and  Leipzig. 

7.  Lilium  Canadense,  of  Canada. 
Lilium  philadclphicum,  Canada. 


9.  Lilium  Kamtschatcens,  Canada  and  Kamt- 
schatka. 
Concerning  the  characters  by   which  Linne 
distinguished   these  nine  species,   the  four  last 
ones,  most  of  which  have  verticillate  (forming 
rings)  leaves,  may  be  separated  from  the  five  first 
ones,  whose  leaves  are  always  scattered,  that  is 
alternate  or  better  in  a  spiral  form  ;  two  of  them 
have  bell  shaped,  upright  flowers,  that  is,  wide 
open  and  not  rolled  up  on  the  outside  ;  these  are 
L.  candidum  and  bulbiferum.     The  flowers  of 
the  others  are  pending  or  reflected,  rolled  up  on 
the  outside,  or  revolute ;  these  are  L.  pomponi- 
um, L  chaledonicum  and  L.  superbum.     From 
the  two  first  ones  the  L.  candidum  is  easily  to  be 
recognized,  the  flowers  being  of  s  )  pure  a  white, 
that  it  has  become  proverbial  and  glossy  on  the 
inside,  while  the  L.  bulbiferum  distinguishes  it- 
self through  its  deep  orange  colored  flowers,  the 
inside  face  of  which  is  covered  with  numerous 
little    papillas   or    prominences.      Besides    this 
developes  in  the  axles  of  the  upper  leaves,  as  the 
name  indicates,  very  small  bulblets,  which  might 
serve  for  multiplying.    Between  the  three  species 
with  pending  or  recurved  flowers,  the  American 
one,  the  L.  Superba,  is  a  large,  fine  plant,  whose 
flowers  are  deprived  of  the  inside  prominences, 
are  red,  passing  to  yellow,  and  marked  by  numer- 
ous brown-black  dots  ;  between  the  othor   two 
whose   flowers  have   the  same  figure,   and  can 
vary  in  color  from  the  most  deep  red  to  yellow. 
Linne  makes  the  distinction  that  the  one,  L. 
pomponium,  lias  lineal  leaves,  that  is,  very  nar- 
row, sharp,  hollowed  out  on  the  upper  face,  in 
the  form  of  a  prism  of  three  angles ;  while  on 
the  other,   L.    chalcedonicum,    the  leaves    are 
wider,    lanceolate,   nearly   covering    the  whole 
stem.     Between  the  four  species,  most  of  which 
have  verticillate  (forming  rings)  leaves,  the  one 
is  particularly  remarkable  by  its  reflected  flow- 
ers, most  of  purplish  color,  but  often  also  found 
of  other  shades,  whose  calyx  is  rolled  up  to  the 
outside  turban  shape,  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is 
commonly  called  the  Turban  lily,  this  is  L.  Mar- 
tagon.    Another  one,  the  L.  philadclphicum,  Is 
easily  distinguislied  on  account  of  its  upright 
flowers  of  orange  red  color,  turning  to  yellow  in 
the  centre,  where  are  many  purplish  black  dots  ; 
have  the  b.  pieces  (?)  slightly  turned  inside,  and 
ending  in  a  long  spur  ;  the  flowers  m  )re  or  less 
reflected,  campanulated  and  slightly  turned  up 
of  orange  yellow  color,  the  inside  marked  with 
many  purplish  black  spots  of  the  L.  canadense, 
are  sufficient  to  distinguish  this  specie  from  L. 


Camtschatcense,with  upright,  small,  campanula- 
ted, bell-shaped  flowers  of  dark  purplish  red 
color,  getting  lighter  and  turning  to  yellow  on 
the  base,  where  numerous  little  black  spots  are. 
As  it  is  seen  by  the  indications  which  Linne 
gives  of  the  nativity  of  his  nine  species,  five  of 
his  plants  are  found  all  over  Middle  Europe,  and 
the  others  natives  of  North  America.  It  follows 
that  the  eastern  part  of  Asia  and  particularly 
Japan,  which  has  contributed  since  much  more 
than  any  other  countr}"  to  the  increase  of  the 
species  of  this  genus  of  bulbous  rooted  plants, 
were  entirely  neglected  by  the  immortal  botan- 
ist, with  all  that  is  his.  *Araaenitates  academi- 
cae,  (5d  fasc,  pp.  870-872)  published  in  1712, 
Kaempfer  had  mentioned  several  lilies  belonging 
to  that  part  of  Asia,  particularly  those  which 
later  received  the  names  L.  cordifolinm,  specio- 
sum  and  tigrinum.  But  the  Japanese  species  very 
soon  dispersed  the  dark  in  which  Linne  had  left 
them.  Thunberg,  who  in  his  "  Flora  Japonica,*' 
1/ublishcd  in  1784,  was  only  pre-occupied  by  the 
one  idea  to  bring  them  all  under  the  European 
species,  very  soon  found  out  how  much  forced 
were  the  imitations  so  made  by  him.  In  a 
memorandum  entitled  ''Botanical  observations 
on  the  Flora  Japonica,"  which  he  inserted  in  the 
second  volume  of  Transactions  of  Linua^an  So- 
ciety of  London,  he  created,  but  only  cliaracter- 
izu'd  them  brieliy : 

1.  The  L.  cordifolum,  (p.  332)  the  Sjire,  Sjiroi 
and  Osjirsi  of  the  Japanese  and  Kaempfer,  whifih 
previously  figured  under  the  name  of  Hemorical- 
lls  cordata,Thuiib.,  in  the  flora  Japonica  (p.  143  ) 

2.  The  L  Speciosum,  (p.  332),  the  Kesbiako 
or  Konokko  Juri  of  the  Japanese  of  Kaempfer, 
which  was  named  L.  superbum  in  his  first  work, 
(p.  I'M). 

3.  The  L.  longiflorum,  (p  333 j,  named  by  him 
L.  candidum  in  the  Flora  Japonica,  (p.  133),  or 
the  Tiakko  of  Kaempfer. 

4.  The  L.  lancifolium,  (p.  333),  whose  name 
was  unfortunately  transferred  by  all  our  horti- 
culturists to  L.  speciosum,  and  thereby  occasion- 
ed a  great  confusion  ;  he  had  it  in  his  flora  the 
L.  bulbiferum.  lie  is  wrong  to  attach  as  syn- 
onym, the  Kenton  or  Oui  Furi,  of  Kaempfer, 
(Amoen.  ex.  p.  871j  which  can  only  be,  it  seems 
to  me,  a  species  described  later  by  Gawler,  in  the 
Botanical  Magazine,  under  the  name  of  L.  tigri- 
num. 

5.  The  L.  maculatum,  (p.  334  ,  which  he 
mixed  up  in  his  *' Flora  Japonica,'*  (p.  135), 
with  L.  canadense. 


i  Thunberg,  later  on,  took  up  with  more  care, 
the  same  subject,  and  made  the  description  of 
the  Japanese  lilies  a  special  writing,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  1st  volume  of  the  Memoires  do 
Pacademie  imperiale  de  St.  Petersburg,  (1811, 
under  the  title  of  ''Examen  Liliorum  Japonico- 
rum,"  (pp.  200-208,  pi.  3,  4,  5.)  In  this  new 
work,  which  comprises  eight  species,  he  speaks 
more  completely  of  the  five  species  already  men- 
tioned in  his  first  work,  gives  very  badly  exe- 
cuted figures  of  three  of  them,  (L.  lancifolium 
L,  longiflorum,  L.  maculatum),  and  then  de- 
scribes or  figures  two  new  ones,*  under  the 
the  names  of  L.  elegans,  (p  203,  pi.  iii.  fig.  2)> 
and  japonicum,  (p.  205,  pi.  v.  fig.  2).  Persisting 
nevertheless  in  his  wrong  tendency  to  refind  the 
European  plants  in  Japan,  he  brings  in  this 
work  under  the  name  of  L.  pomponium,  L.,  the 
lily  which  Siebold  and  Zuccarini  in  their  Flora 
Japonica,  has  described  and  figured  1035,  as  their 
L.  callosum. 


ORCIIIDE^  No.  8. 

BY   Mii.    JAMES  TAPLIN,  MANAGER   TO  GEORGE 
SUCH,  ESQ.,  SOUTH  AMBOY,  N.  J. 

DENDR013IUM  PULCHERIMUM  PERPUREUM. 

This  pretty  little  plant  is  a  native  of  Sylhet, 
and  like  all  the  fine  species  from  that  district, 
requires  a  brisk  heat  during  the  growing  season, 
with  abundance  of  moisture.  Urlike  most  den* 
drobiums  which  make  shoots  from  two  to  eighj 
feet  long,  this  species  seldom  exceeds  that  num- 
ber of  inches,  but  the  shoots  on  a  well  grown 
plant  will  be  covered  with  flowers  the  entire 
length,  and  as  it  annually  makes  abundance  of 
shoots,  it  should  be  a  :5ias8  of  bloom,  the  sepals 
and  petals  arc  white,  edged  with  green,  with  a 
bright  orange  blotch  in  centre  of  lip,  and  beauti- 
fully fringed  ;  the  flowers  last  in  perfection  for 
two  weeks. 

This  is  a  very  easy  plant  to  grow,  and  may  be 
managed  in  a  warm  greenhouse,  for  it  makes  its 
growth  during  our  hot  weather  and  is  at  rest  in 
the  coldest  season  of  the  year,  when  it  may  be 
kept  day  or  night— temperature  of  50''  will  not 
hurt  it. 

This  plant  should  be  grown  in  a  round  wire 
basket,  and  the  shoots  pressed  round  the  out- 
side, when  they  will  root  into  the  spagnum  and 
rough  peat  witli  which  the  basket  should  be 
filled,  and  in  a  short  time  make  a  perfect  ball. 
This  is  the  best  plan  for  amateurs,  as  the  plant 
will  not  be  so  liable  to  suffer  from  neglect  of  wa- 


12 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJfTHLY.       January, 


1873. 


THE    GABDEJVER'S   MOJV'THLl. 


IS 


! 


( 


? 


tering  in  the  growing  season  as  when  grown  on 
a  block  of  wood,  which  is  the  system  we  adopt 
I  select  a  hard  block  of  oak  and  fasten  the  plant 
to  it  by  copper  wire,  with  a  little  spagnum  moss, 
when  it  at  once  roots  on  to  the  wood  and  requires 
no  more  attention,  excepting  abundance  of  water, 
with  slight  shade  during  the  growing  season, 
and  to  be  kept  dry  from  November  until  it  shows 
flowers  about  February,  when  it  requires  occa- 
sional watering  and  plenty  of  light  until  the  (low- 
ers expand.  It  being  a  deciduous  species,  will 
lose  all  its  leaves  previous  to  flowering.  I 
would  stron<^y  recommend  this  species  to  alj 
lovers  of  Orchidese— it  is  very  pretty,  easily 
grown,  and  the  plants  are  not  expensive. 


ill 
III 

[J! 
ill 


ERRORS  EXCEPTED. 

BY   EDWARD  II.  BEEBE,  GENEVA,  ILLS. 

I  find  copied  in  the  November  number  of  the 
Gardener''s  Monthly,  Prof.  Asa  Gray's  address 
on  the  Distribution  of  Plants,  and  the  sime 
error,  as  it  appeared  in  the  d  lily  papers  of  Du- 
buque in  August  last.  It  was  then  siid,  and 
now  repeated,  that  ''a  relative  of  this  is  Podo- 
phylluni,  our  mandrake,  a  common  inhabitant  of 
the  Atlantic  United  States,  hut  found  nowhere 
c?se."  "Somebody  has  blundered."  Not  the 
Gardener''s  Monthly -yon  have   followed   copy. 

Prof.  Wood,  in  his  Manual,  says  of  Podophyl- 
lum, *'in  woods  and  fields  common  in  Middle 
and  "Western  States;  rare  in  New  England.''' 
Prof.  Asa  Gray  says  in  his  Manual,  (5th  edition) 
page  54,  "found  in  Ohio  by  W.  C.  Hampton, 
with  two  carpels  "  I  can  c  mfirm  both  of 
these  statements,  for  we  know  it  to  be  common 
in  the  Western  States.  Prof.  Gray  says  it  is 
found  in  Ohio,  consequently  it  is  found  some- 
where else  besides  the  Atlantic  States,  and  the 
statement  above  is  somehody'^s  error.  Whose  is 
it  ?  In  my  paper  in  the  same  number,  page  331, 
the  scourge  of  the  apple  tree  bark  louse  is  named 
Chalcis  "Aspidiatus  Conchiforinis.'"  I  would 
state  that  this  was  the  name  given  to  the  stran- 
ger before  it  was  scientifically  christened,  Dr 
W.  Le  Barron  now  calls  it  Chalcis  Apholinus 
raytilaspidis.  (We  outsiders  that  are  not  very 
buggy  call  it  the  bark  louse  chalcis  for  short. ) 

A  full  scientific  description  is  given  of  the  in- 
sect by  Dr.  l^e  Barron,  on  page  3G0,  vol.  2 
American  Entomologist.  I  would  state  that  in 
1871, 1  made  the  attempt  to  colonize  the  Chalcis. 
Doctor  Le  Barron  furnished  me  with  a  number 
of  twigs  taken  from  trees  in  Kane  County,  and 
supposed  to  be  infesled  with  Chalcis  larvae.  The 


twigs  were  taken  to  Galena,  and  tied  upon  trees 
in  three  different  orchards,  the  trees  of  which 
had  been  carefully  examined,  and  not  a  trace  of 
a  chalcis  could  be  found  ;  the  nearest  point  at 
which  they  had  been  observed  was  in  Lee  Coun- 
ty, eighty  miles  south  of  Galena.  In  July  last, 
fifteen  months  alter  the  twigs  had  been  placed 
upon  the  trees,  Dr.  Le  Barron  and  myself  dis- 
covered the  chalcis  mark  upon  them — a  few,  only 
got  enough  to  prove  that  the  chalcis  was  around* 
We  could  find  no  marks  except  upon  the  trees 
on  which  the  twigs  from  Kane  County  had  been 
tied.  The  presumption  is  that  the  experiment 
of  eolon'zing  is  a  success.  But  we  prefer  wait- 
ing until  another  year,  expecting  that  they  wil^ 
have  increased  sufliciently  to  enable  us  to  find 
the  insect  instead  of  his  mark,  and  the  absence 
of  the  chalcis  between  the  points  where  it  is  now 
known  to  exist,  some  eighty  miles,  will  go  to  es" 
tablish  the  fact  that  it  can  be  colonized  and  the 
bark  louse  cleaned  out. 

[Our  correspondent  fails  to  perceive  that  when 
Dr.  Cray  uses  the  term  "Atlantic  United 
States,"  it  is  in  contradistinction  to  States  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  There  are,  however,  several 
errors  of  a  typographical  nature  in  Dr.  Gray's 
address  as  given  in  our  columns  -not  ours,  but 
errors  made  in  the  copy  we  used.  We  had  not 
at  the  time  one  from  Dr.  Gray  himself,  as  we 
since  have.  Some  of  the  errors  we  saw  and  cor- 
rected, but  others  escaped.  At  page  361,  line 
15,  *  translated  "  should  read  tabulated.;  next 
line,  "I  ever''  should  be  Ileer ;  304,  line  5, 
"print  "should  be  fruit;  line  15  from  bottom 
should  be  totality  not  "vitality;''  line  15  from 
end  of  the  article,  "  the  "  should  be  this.  There 
are  other  mistakes  of  a  similar  character,  but  on 
the  whole  we  have  no  doubt  any  intelligent  mind 
will  see  them,  and  that  no  great  evil  will  follow. 
We  supposed  that  by  following  printed  copy 
from  first  class  authority,  we  had  the  best  se- 
curity against  error,  but  the  best  of  us  can  fall, 

it  seems.] 

»   » . 

THE  CENTENNIAL  WORLD'S  FAIR. 

BY  W.  L.  AKERS,  JOHNSTOWN,  PA. 

What  shall  ice  do  for  the  Centennial  ?  Only 
three  more  years  for  action,  and  yet  so  much  to 
be  done  I  Doubtless  many  of  our  leading  horti- 
culturists are  j)Zan?7ingf  and  perhaps  j^reparingr  for 
the  great  display.  But  is  isolated  effort  the  best? 
or  could  we,  by  organization  and  concert  of  ac- 
tion accomplish  greater  results? 

The  world  has  never  witnessed  such  an  event 


as  this,  it  is  altogether  new  and  distinct  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  and  must  exert  a  wonderful 
power  in  meltin^down  national  asperities,  and 
bringing  all  the  people  of  the  world  nearer  to 
each  other  in  one  great  brotherhood.  In  view 
of  this  great  international  feature  of  the  exhibi- 
tion, it  has  been  suggested  that  gardeners  and 
nurserymen  should  unite  in  an  effort  to  produce 
a  grand  display  of  all  the  leading  wood  plants  of 
the  world.  But  is  it  possible  ?  who  shall  say  no? 
The  gardeners  and  nurserymen  of  this  country, 
united  and  aided  by  their  correspondents  abroad, 
would  be  a  wonderful  power.  Think  of  such  a 
meeting  I  All  the  oaks  of  the  world  brought  in- 
to one  great  family,  and  the  pines  I  What  a  j 
glorious  wondrous  display  they  would  make  I 
The  old  historic  trees  that  have  been  connected 
with  the  history  of  man  from  the  days  of  his 
creation,  would  salute  those  of  the  western  con- 
tinent, hoary  with  the  thousands  of  years  of 
solitude  they  have  witnessed.  The  idea  is  so 
grand  and  so  beautiful  that  practicability  alone 
comes  in  the  way,  and  if  no  financial  crisis 
should  mtervene,  such  an  approach  towards 
completeness  could  be  made  as  would  astonish 
even  those  who  are  aware  of  the  nature  of  the 
task.  It  is  sincerel}'  hoped  that  the  project  may 
not  be  considered  altogether  .visionary,  but  may 
have  that  consideration  and  discussion  which  it 
is  entitled  to 

[This  timely  letter  demands  serious  attention, 
and  our  columns  shall  be  cheerfully  open  to  any 
suggestions.  Our  iiupression  is  that  horticulture 
has  been  wholly  ignored  by  the  general  commit- 
tee, at  least  we  have  watched  the  proceedings 
very  closely,  and  if  a  committee  on  horticulture 
has  been  appointed,  their  names  have  strangely 
escaped  us,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  be  set  right 
by  those  who  have  the  chance  to  know.] 


INFLUENCE  OF  EXTR*EME  COLD  ON 
THE  CURCULIO. 

BY  T.  T.  SOUTHWICK,  DANSVILLE,  N.    Y. 

In  seeking  for  some  u-eful  lesson  taught  by 
the  last  winter,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that 
something  possibly  could  be  learned  in  reference 
to  the  curculio  and  his  works.  The  winter  was 
marked  for  long  continued  cold  and  almost  en 
tire  absence  of  snow.  The  soil  froze  to  a  great- 
er  depth  and  more  solid  than  for  years. 

The  plum  crop— I  speak  for  this  section  of  the 
State — was  the  largest  known  for  years.  The 
last  good  crop  previous  to  the  one  referred  to 
was  after  a  winter  quite  similar  to  the  past  win- 


ter. The  trees  seldom  or  never  fail  to  bloom 
freely  and  set  well,  but  the  little  "  turk'"  marks 
them  for  destruction.  The  past  summer  I  hard- 
ly saw  the  mark  of  the  curculio  on  plum  or 
other  fruit. 

The  theory  I  draw  from  the  facts  is,  that  dur- 
ing winter  when  the  soil  is  much  exposed  to  long 
contined  freezing,  the  frost  penetrates  to  a  depth, 
and  with  sufficient  intensity  to  reach  and  destroy 
the  pupa.  In  the  foregoing  facts,  and  the}'  are 
true,  and  they  are,  1  think,  the  lesson  learned, 
would  be  to  freeze  the  curculio  out.  On  the 
approach  of  cold  weather  to  clear  the  ground  un- 
der and  about  the  fruit  trees  from  snow,  and  allow 
the  frost  to  penetrate  the  soil  as  deep  as  may  be. 
I  think  no  harm  would  result  to  the  trees,  as 
they  do  not  suffer  when  the  soil  is  naturally  ex- 
posed. 

I  do  not  make  any  positive  assertion  that 
there  is  any  positive  connection  between  a  cold 
and  snowless  winter  and  a  short  crop  ef  'bugs" 
the  season  following,  but  I  think  there  is.  What 
do  you  think  ? 

[We  are  glad  that  Mr.  Southwick  has  intro- 
duced this  matter,  as  it  suggests  a  couple  of 
questions  that  we  believe  have  not  been  settled 
by  that  positive  evidence  which  which  is  re- 
quired to  establish  a  scientific  truth. 

First,  does  the  curculio  hybernate  in  the 
ground, — and  in  what  state  or  condition  ?  As 
we  understand,  the  weight  of  evidence  is  asjainst 
the  earth  shelter  of  the  curculio  ;  Itut  entomolo- 
gy is  such  a  vast  study,  that  only  those  engaged 
in  its  special  pursuit  are  competent  to  decide  on 
these  disputed  questions,  and  we  bhould  be  glad 
to  have  the  latest  exposition  of  well  ascertained 
facts. 

Secondly,  will  cold  destroy  hybernating  insects 
in  any  of  their  forms  ?  We  know  it  is  the  gen- 
eral imprc  ssion  that  it  will  ;  but  some  assert  it 
will  not.  "  It  is  said"  fishes  have  been  thor- 
oughly encased  in  ice,  and  kept  so  for  some  time, 
but  that  the  vital  ])rinciple  has  been  sufficient  to 
keep  up  the  animal  heat  and  to  keep  out  the 
frost.  Of  course  if  they  would  lose  their  heat 
and  become  thoroughly  frozen,  they  would  die, 
but  it  is  said  the  vital  principle  is  sufficient  to 
resist  the  freezing  and  keep  things  going  till  the 
warm  weather  returns. 

What  we  would  like  to  know  is,  can  "It  is 
said"  be  relied  on  ?  who  is  he  ?  where  did  he  try 
his  experiments  ?  and  on  what  did  he  try  them  ? 

We  have  found,  unfortunately,  that  even  emi- 
nent scientific  men  are  very  often  not  to  be  fully 


u 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S  MOJ^TELY.      January, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJTER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


15 


V. 


trusted  in  their  facts.  They  adopt  too  readily 
a  part  from  other  people  to  add  to  their  own,— 
when  even  a  very  full  personal  observation,  like 
a  telegraph  message,  will  bear  repeating  before 
one  can  be  sure  it  is  true.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
note  that  the  area  of  careful  original  observers 
is  widening.  TVe  should  like  to  hear  from  Pro- 
fessor Riley  on  these  matters.  Few  entomolo- 
gists have  more  fully  gained  the  public  confi- 
dence than  he.] 


**m»* 


HOT  WATER  HEATIXG. 

BY  W.    SAUNDERS,   WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 

Referring  to  your  editorial,  page  336.  I  would 
remark  that  the  heating  of  small  greenhouses  is 
sometimes  a  perplexing  question,  especially 
where  the  idea  prevails  that  the  old  fashioned 
flue  is  obsolete.  The  first  cost  of  a  hot  water 
apparatus  is  a  large  item  when  brought  in  con- 
trast with  the  expense  of  building  a  moderate 
sized  house,  without  considering  the  necessary 
waste  of  fuel  connected  with  boilers  when  used 
as  exclusive  heating  mediums. 

The  most  economical  mode  of  heating  a  glass 
structure  of  say  80  feet  in  length  by  24  feet  in 
breadth,  is  by  a 
combination     of 
hot    water    and 
the  hot  air  flue. 
A  small  boiler  set 
so  as  to  form  a 
cover  to  the  fur- 
nace, is  perhaps 
the    most    com- 
plete   arrange- 
ment of  this  kind; 
Buch  boilers  have 
frequently    been 

advertised  in  your  columns.  The  furnace  should 
be  placed  near  the  centre  the  length  of  the  house, 
one  end  of  the  building  being  warmed  by  pipes 
attached  to  the  boiler,  and  the  other  end  heated 
by  the  flue.  The  piping  may  be  increased  at  the 
end  farthest  from  the  furnace  as  shown  in  the 
sketch,  and  in  all  cases  of  laying  hot  water  pipes, 
the  principle  of  a  constant  descent  from  the  boiler, 
or  a  high  point  as  near  to  it  as  practicable, 
should  be  strictly  adhered  to. 

In  localities  where  a  boiler  proper  cannot 
readily  be  procured,  a  coil  of  piping  placed  in 
the  furnace  will  answer  as  good  a  purpose,  or  a 
simple  bent  pipe  as  figured  at  page  215,  volume 


7th,  Gardener's  Monthly,  which  can  be  cheaply 
made  at  any  plumbing  establishment,  will  heat 
200  feet  of  piping,  provided  tlife  pipes  are  laid  so 
as  to  form  a  triangle,  as  shown  at  page  263  of 
your  September  number. 


*•»•» 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

FOREIGN. 

Death  of  Lady  Hooker.— This  distinguished 
lady  who  assisted  her  husband,  the  late  Sir  W. 
Hooker,  in  his  scientific  pursuits,  died  recently 
at  Norwich,  England,  aged  75.  Mrs.  Lindley, 
widow  of  the  distinguished  Professor  Lindley,  is 
still  living  in  the  same  town. 

Government  Aid  to  Science.— In  striking  con- 
trast to  the  action  of  some  of  our  State  Govern- 
ments is  the  liberality  which  some  of  the  be- 
nighted governments  of  the  old  world  show  to 
science.  They  seem  to  act  on  the  theory  that 
the  object  of  governments  should  be  to  do  for 
the  people  collectively  what  the  people  cannot 
do  for  themselves  in  an  individual  capacity.  In 
Pennsylvania,  Prof.  Porter,  at  his  own  expense, 
gets  together  a  magnificent  flora  of  the  State, 
but  unless  he  consents  to  let  it  go  as  government 
''pap''  to  feed  a  public  printer,  the  State  will  give 

nothing  towards 
its  publication. 
On  the  other 
hand,  such  an 
old  fashioned 
government  as 
Spain  has  for  a 
number  of  years 
past  granted  a 
large  sum  of 
money  annually 
to  Jose  Triana 
to  enable  him  to 
publish  the  flora  of  Columbia.  The  result  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  valuable  works  in  the 
world.  It  was  expected  to  be  finished  by  this 
time,  but  not  being,  the  government  has  extend- 
ed the  grant  to  five  years  more  to  enable  him  to 
do  it.  Our  national  government  is  a  little  bet- 
ter than  some  of  the  States.  It  as  trustee  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  did  undertake  to  issue 
a  valuable  work  on  the  lower  order  of  water 
plants  by  Dr.  Horatio  Wood.  Some  thousands 
of  dollars  have  been  very  well  expended  on  it, 
but  wanting  some  thirty  dollars  more  than  has 
been  appropriated,  it  must  wait  for  another 
year. 


Kew  Onion— The  Queen— The  English  papers 
say  that  this  is  an  extra  early  kind.  '•  If  sown 
in  February  it  will  produce  onions  from  one  to 
two  inches  in  diameter  in  four  months."  It  is 
also  said  to  be  a  good  keeper. 

Expenditure  of  Force  by  Plants  in  Overcoming 
Gravitation.— Vnder  this  head  the  editor  of  this 
magazine  contributed  a  paper  to  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  showing 
how  much  vital  force  was  spent  by  plants  in 
their  erect  growth,  in  opposition  to  the  gravita- 
ting power,  which  drew  them  towards  the  earth. 

A  practical  use  has  been  made  of  this  law  by 
a  French  fruit  grower,  which  is  thus  described 
in  a  French  magazine  : 

"An  amateur  horticulturist  noticed  that  whenever  a 
pear  produced  upon  liis  Rrpaliers  (trees  trained  against 
a  wall)  rested  upon  a  branch,  its  size  was  always  larger 
than  those  which  were  not  thus  sustained.  He  sur- 
mised that  this  difference  was  caused  by  tlie  weiglit  of 
a  fruit,  when  arrived  at  a  certain  size,  causing  the  sap 
vessels  of  the  stem  to  be  compressed,  thereby  prevent- 
ing a  large  flow  of  sap,  and  consequently  as  full  expan- 
sion as  when  a  fruit  was  placed  in  a  position  favorable 
to  receive  all  the  nourishing  sap. 

Several  experiments  confirmed  this  opinion.  A  pear 
grown  upon  a  branch  and  not  resting  upon  a  support 
measured  on  the  13th  of  September  nine  inches  and 
one-sixteenth;  another  measured  at  the  same  date  eight 
Inches  and  a  quarter.  This  was  supported  by  a  piece  of 
board,  allowing  it  a  rest.  On  the  30th  of  September  fol- 
lowing, both  pears  were  culled.  The  first  had  increased 
but  one  thirty-second  of  an  Inch  ;  the  other  gained  one* 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  measure." 

The  Rustic  Orchard  House. — This  is  the  name 
of  a  new  idea  in  fruit  culture  under  glass,  origi- 
nated in  England.  The  house  is  simply  a  dou- 
ble pitch  glass  structure,  as  in  all  greenhouses, 
but  the  sides  — about  six  feet  high — are  lattice 
work.  The  fruit  is  said  to  be  of  much  better 
quality  than  when  wholly  enclosed  in  an  ordina- 
ry house. 

Influence  of  Strange  Pollen  on  the  Form  of 
Fruit. — A  few  years  ago  we  believed  that  pollen 
did  not  affect  the  fruit,  but  only  the  progeny  of 
that  fruit ;  but  facts  that  the  editor  and  some  of 
our  correspondents  have  observed  and  noted, 
have  gradually  led  us  to  a  contrary  opinion.  "We 
recently  offered  a  few  thoughts  on  this  very  sub- 
ject. The  Gardener's  Chronicle  has  now  the  fol- 
lowing confirmation : 

"In  reference  to  the  influence  of  strange  pollen  on 
the  form  of  fruit,  some  interesting  experiments  are  re- 
corded by  Maximowicz.  The  species  experimented  on 
were  L.  davuricura  and  L.  bulbiferum,  and  the  plants 
were  kept  in  a  sun-warmed  apartment.  The  pollen  of 
each  species  of  Lily  was  applied  to  the  stigmas  of  the 
other  species,  the  process  being  repeated  upon  several 
Individual  plants.  Tiie  result  was  that  the  capsules 
borne  by  the  several  plants  were  found  to  have  the  form  j 


characteristic  of  the  pollen  parent;  while  the  form  of 
the  seeds  was  intermediate  between  that  of  those  of  the 
two  parents.  The  subject  was  incidentally  alluded  to  at 
one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Scientiflc  Committee  some 
time  since." 

Unity  of  Origin  of  Deodar  and  Cedar  of  Xe6- 
anon. — Dr.  Brandis,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  read  a  paper  in  which  he  takes  ground 
that  the  Cedars  of  the  Himalayas,  of  Lebanon, 
of  Taurus  and  of  Atlantis,  have  all  sprang  from 
one  original  form,  and  are  therefore  but  fixed 
varieties  one  of  another. 

A  Sensitive  Oxalis. — The  late  Dr.  Welwitsch, 
of  the  Gardener's  Chronicle,  tells  us  he  discover- 
ed in  Angola,  an  Oxalis  so  sensitive  that  its 
leaves  would  close  by  a  mere  foot-fall  near  it. 
But  the  leaf  stalk  does  not  fall  as  in  the  common 
sensitive  plant,  but  closes  in  over  the  crown 
— going  up  instead  of  going  down. 

Portrait  of  ^Professor  Gray. — The  London 
Gardener's  Chronicle  has  an  excellent  likeness  of 
this  distinguished  Botanist,  with  a  brief  account 
of  his  life  and  great  services  to  science  : 

"  Dr.  Gray  was  born  at  Paris,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  in 
1)^10;  graduated  in  medicine  in  1831,  and  became  Profes- 
sor of  Natural  History  in  the  Harvard  University,  and 
director  of  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Cambridge  (Mass.) — 
oflfices  he  still  holds.  In  many  of  his  works  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  veteran  Dr.  Torrey,  in,  others  with 
Dr.  Engelman,  of  St.  Louis,  and  as  a  university  Profes- 
sor he  is  the  colleague  and  associate  of  such  men  as 
Longfellow,nolmes,  Agassiz,  ond  others  who  have  given 
Boston  a  world-wide  celebrity.  Dr.  Gray  is  a  foreign 
member  of  our  Royal  and  Linnean  Societies. 

How  to  Keep  Birds  from  Strawberry  Beds. — 
An  English  correspondent  of  the  Gardener'^s 
Chronicle  has  his  plants  growing  in  long  narrow 
beds.  He  has  a  post  at  each  end,  a  wire  stretch- 
ed to  each,  a  ring  on  the  wire,  a  string  or  light 
rope  on  the  ring,  and  a  cat  on  the  other  end  of 
the  rope.  Pussy  can  walk  up  and  down  the  bed 
but  nowhere  else.  The  birds  decrease  in  num- 
bers, and  pussy  likes  the  job. 

Succession  of  Forest  Trees. — It  appears  Amer- 
ica is  not  the  only  place  where  one  set  of  trees 
succeed  another.  When  the  chestnut  trees  of 
Mo\int  Cenis  are  cut  down.  Larches  follow,  but 
the  people  uf  the  old  world  do  not  look  on  it  as 
anything  mysterious,  or  that  the  seeds  of  the 
larch  have  been  there  since  the  creation  of  the 
world. 

Aubergines. — Under  this  name  goes  our  long 
purple  egg  plant  in  France,  where  it  seems  to  be 
very  popular.  Our  English  friends  are  debating 
whether  to  eat  it  or  not,  *'  so  many  of  the  Sola- 
nacese  being  poisonous,"  but  Mr.  Forsyth  in  the 


16 


TEE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^THLY.      January, 


■ 


the  Oardeners  Chronicle^  assures  them  that 
thousands  have  ate  egg  plants  for  the  past  two 
hundred  years  without  being  poisoned. 

Retinospora  o6(wsa.— This  beautiful  evergreen, 
which  has  been  found  so  thoroughly  hardy  in 
the  United  States,  is  thus  referred  to  by  a  cor- 
respondent of  London  Gardener'' s  Chronicle  : 

"  Said  to  grow  in  Japan  to  the  lieiglit  of  from  70  to  100 
eet,  and  from  8  to  5  feet  in  diameter.  In  tiiis  country  it 
Is  already  widely  spread,  thriving  witli  less  or  more 
luxuriance  wherever  planted,  if  in  soil  at  all  good,  and 
In  a  moderately  sheltered  situation.  It  appears  to  be 
quite  as  hardy  as  most  of  our  ordinary  shrubs,  and 
where  well  established  grows  nearly  as  freely  as  does 
the  Cupressus  Lawsoniana,  formingan  important  addi- 
tion to  our  finest  lawn  plants.  Its  foliage  when  in  fine 
health  is  almost  of  an  emerald  green,  its  branches  are 
spreading,  the  lateral  ones,  in  two  rows,  spreading  out 
almost  like  a  fan.  Mr.  Gordon,  in  the  Pinetutn  says, 
•It  constitutes  a  large  portion  of  the  forests  in  the 
mountains  on  the  Island  oi  Nippon,  in  Japan.  Its  tim- 
ber is  wliite,  fine  grained,  compact,  and  acquires,  when 
worked,  the  brilliancy  of  silk,  and  in  consequence  of  its 
valuable  properties  the  Japanese  dedicate  it  to  the  God 
of  the  Sun ;  and  construct  chapels  and  small  temples 
out  of  its  timber,  for  divine  purposes.'  This  beautiful 
tree  is  called  Hennak  by  the  Chinese,  and  Fa-si-no-ki 
(Tree  of  the  Sun)  by  tlie  Japanese. 

JVeio  Canterbury  Bell. — Almost  everybody 
knows  the  Canterbury  Bell.  Large  blue  ®r 
white  flowers,  and  covering  a  pretty  large  plant 
with  large  blossoms,  there  are  not  many  new 
plants  showier  than  this  old  fashioned  thing. 
Lately  this  has  been  "  improved."  At  the  base 
of  the  bell  shaped  corolla  there  is  usually  a  green 
five  cleft  calyx  ;  but  in  this  new  race  the  green 


calyx  segments  have  been  developed  into  broad 
petal-like  processes  of  the  same  color  as  the  co- 
rolla, giving  the  plant  a  very  unique  and  grand 
appearance.  But  our  readers  must  not  look  for 
it  in  the  seed  catalogues  as  Canterbury  Bell, 
This  is  too  vulgar,  but  they  will  see  it  as  Cam- 
panula  medium  calycanthema  alba. 

Weeping  Sequoia.— So  far  as  we  know  the 
mammoth  tree  of  California  does  not  succeed 
except  in  a  very  few  favored  locations,  such  as 
at  EUwanger  and  Barry's,  at  Rochester,  New 
York.  But  it  has  found  itself  a  home  in  En- 
gland, except  in  a  few  places,  where  it  seems  lia- 
ble to  the  attacks  of  a  fungus,  similar  or  the 
same  to  the  one  which  takes  it  off  in  the  Eastern 
United  States.  In  England  they  are  even  get- 
ting "improved"  varieties,  a  Weeping  Sequoia 
being  among  the  latest  announcements. 

Improved  Varieties  of  Strawberry. —We  think 
it  hard  that  we  cannot  get  out  a  new  strawberry 
that  will  hold  ;  but  with  every  new  attempt  still 
have  to  fall  back  on  Wilson's  Albany  and  such 
old  kinds.  There  may  be  a  sort  of  satisfaction 
in  the  feeling  that  they  are  no  better  off  in  the 
Old  World.  In  a  recent  paper  by  one  of  their 
most  distinguished  strawberryisls,  we  find  the 
most  popular  sorts  still  the  very  old  ouf  s.  El- 
ton, Black  Prince,  Alice  Maud  and  Vicomtesse 
Hericart  de  Thury  are  called  the  best.  Frog- 
more  Pine  and  Eleanor,  two  old  sorts,  also  get 
much  praise. 


E  D  I  T  0  H  I  A  L  . 


PUBLIC  PARKS. 

It  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  time  may  come 
when  the  average  public  mind  will  be  ruled  by 
common  sense.  We  all  know  how  it  is  'now. 
Though  we  know  we  shall  be  robbed, —though 
we  are  absolutely  certain  our  money  will  be 
wasted,— we  must  go  with  the  party  whichever 
it  may  be,  and  all  the  offices  in  all  the  details 
must  be  filled  with  party  men,  rather  than  with 
capable  men,  in  order  that  we  may  be  sure  of 
the  party  triumph  next  time.  It  is  too  much  to 
hope  that  party  shall  not  rule.  Indeed  it  may 
be  desirable  that  it  shall  rule,— but  at  least  com- 
mon sense  should  dictate  that  the  details  of  every 
day  life  should  be  removed  far  from  its  influence. 
Then  wo  may  have  public   parka  and   public 


grounds  that  will  be  a  credit  to  us,  and  cost  no 
more  than  the  figures  honestly  show.  In  the 
meanwhile  we  may  help  the  good  time  coming 
by  studying  a  lesson  from  what  we  have  done. 

The  New  York  Central  Park  is  the  earliest  of 
these  great  efforts.  The  idea  originated,  we  be- 
lieve, with  Downing  and  Mayor  Kingsland, 
chiefly.  It  took  form,  and  plans  were  advertised 
for.  Over  thirty  plans  were  submitted,  and  the 
one  by  Olmstead  and  Vaux  selected.  The  work 
was  commenced  in  1856,  under  a  commission 
nominated  by  the  Legislature,  and  independent 
of  the  city  government.  To  the  astonishment 
of  every  one  familiar  with  our  "  system,"  party 
politics  was  kept  out  of  this  business  till  1870. 
The  work,    under   the  original  designers,  was 


1873. 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^TELlL. 


17 


honestly  and  creditably  done.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  opinions  of  men  educated  in  the 
various  schools  of  landscape  gardening,  there 
was  no  dispute  about  the  work  as  a  whole.  It 
was  universally  conceded  to  be  a  magnificent 
piece  of  work,  and  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 

All  who  have  had  experience  in  even  local 
landscape  gardening  know  what  it  costs.  A 
few  thousand  dollars  soon  go  when  we  haul  a 
little  dirt  here  and  cut  it  down  there,— build 
now  this  little  bridge,  and  now  set  there  the  lit- 
tle fountain, — and  when  we  come  to  make  the 
good  and  substantial  road — but  here  we  may  as 
well  drop  the  veil.  But  the  Central  Park  Com- 
missioners carried  on  this  tremendous  work  for 
fourteen  years,  at  a  cost  of  but  $6,000,000— a 
large  sum  to  be  sure,  but  really  very  little  in 
proportion  to  the-  magnitude  of  the  design. 

But  in  1870  the  long  feared  event  came.  The 
local  politicians  got  hold  of  it,  and  ruin  ran 
*' like  mad."  We  need  not  particularize  here, 
for  the  shame  is  already  published  world  wide. 
How  bronze  statues  were  painted  white  ;  how 
the  restored  fossil  skeletons  of  ante-diluvian 
monsters  were  smashed  to  atoms  ;  how  museum 
buildings  were  ransacked  and  wrecked;  how  cow 
yards  and  other  common  place  objects  were 
erected  where  the  most  refined  elegancies  of  art 
previously  found  a  home  ;  how  trees  generously 
nature  gifted,  were  trimmed  to  *' bare  poles," 
and  gorgeous  masses  of  ten  year  growing  shrub- 
bery cut  away  to  let  in  the  "  light  and  the  air," 
as  well  as  to  pay  by  a  few  days  work  for  the 
votes  hired  on  election  day  ;  all  this  and  more, 
is  it  not  too  well  known  ?  And  to  crown  the 
whole,  two  millions  and  a  quarter  of  dollars  spent 
in  eighteen  months  I 

Happily  this  is  ended   now.     The  men  who 
conceived  this  noble  work  and  carried  it  on  so  ably 
and  80  honestly  for  ten  years,  are  mostly  back 
to  their  posts,  ButhoWloagwillitbe?  There  is  not 
a  New  Yorker,  poor  or  rich,  but  who  is  proud 
of  the  Central  Park.     No  one  seems  to  begrudge 
paying  for  it.    Nothing  is    too  dear  for   this 
whistle.     But  the  number  of  those  who  know 
what  is  true  art,  is  but  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean 
to    those    who    do    not.      For  every    one  who 
would  select  a  portrait  of  Washington,  by  Peale, 
there  are  a  thousand  who  would  rather  admire 
thCFather  of  his  country''  on  some  swinging 
tavern  sign  or  hackney  wagon  ;  and  it  is  these 
^  w  ^^"^  the  average  man  which  rules. 
We   need    pursue    no  further  the  moral  to 


which  these  reflections  point.  Those  who  have 
at  heart  the  elevation  of  the  masses,  by  furnish- 
ing them  true  art  for  their  education  instead  of 
vile  counterfeits,  have  to  guard  their  cherished 
objectagainst  the  half  educated  prejudices  which 
culminate  in  a  "  popular  vote."  Wherever  this 
can  be  successfully  done,  we  hope  for  good  pub- 
lic parks,— where  it  is  not,  we  are  in  constant 
danger  of  the  repetition  of  the  vandalism  and 
iconoclasm  of  the  eighteen  months  of  popular 
rule  in  Central  Park. 


FRUIT-DRYING. 

No  subject  has  a  greater  interest  to  horticul- 
turists, than  what  to  do  with  their  surplus 
fruits  ;  and  of  all  methods  which  suggest  them- 
selves, fruit-drying  is  the  most  practicable.  But 
the  old  system  of  sun-drying  is  too  slow,  an&, 
for  the  matter  of  that,  too  dirty  ;  while  machine- 
drying  has  been  too  cumbrous  and  too  expen- 
sive. We  are  glad,  therefore,  to  give  prominence 
to  a  neat  little  aflair,  which  all  may  use,  and 
which  is  represented  in  the  cut  given  herewith. 


This  machine    is  the  offspring  of  the  fertile 
brain  and  the  patent  right  of  Dr.  B.  L.  Ryder, 
of   the   Horticultural  and   Health    Institute  of 
Chambersburg,  who  has  already  contributed  to 
our  pages  many  useful  hints  to  his  gardening 
brethren.     The  fruit  which  we  have  seen  dried 
by  the  process,  were  as  near  perfection  as  we 
think  dried  fruit  can  be.     All  kinds  of  fruit  or. 
vegetables  can  be  dried  in  a  few  minutes.     We 
do   not  go  into  particulars  here,  as  those  who 
wish  for  further  details  will  consult  the  adver- 
tisements. 


<•••» 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC. 

Nailing  Grape  Vines  to  Stakes.- -A  correspon- 
dent of  the  Ohio  Farmer  says  he  trains  his  vines 


18 


THE   GARDE JVEB'S   MOJ^TTELY.      January, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


19 


I 


to  the  top  of  the  seven  feet  stakes,  and  then 
nat7sthe  branches  to  the  top,  thus  saving  all  tying 
forever  afterwards.  This  is,  no  doubt,  an  ex, 
cellent  idea,  and  it  is  a  wonder  no  one  has 
thought  of  it  before.  He  says  he  has  applied 
for  a  patent,  and  if  granted,  people  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  drive  the  nails  *'on  most  reasonable 
terms." 

Pears  in  Canada.— ^Ye  find  in  the  Canada 
Farmer  the  address  of  the  President  of  the 
Fruit  Growers'  Association  of  Ontario,  in  which 
he  says  the  Flemish  Beauty  is  there  preferable 
to  the  Scckel  ;  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey  is  next  in 
value.  Gray  Doyenne  is  preferred  to  Sheldon  ; 
Glout  Morceau  "  is  A  No.  1 ;  "  Beurre  Diel  re- 
ceives high  praise,  often  so  large  and  good  as  to 
be  mistaken  for  Buchesse.  Elliott's  Early  he 
thinks  will  supersede  Doyenne  d'Ete  and  Made- 
leine as  an  early  pear.  It  was  raised  by  Judge 
Elliott,  of  Amherstburg,  Michigan.  Onondago 
thrives  superbly  on  clay  soils.  Easter  Beurre  is 
a  noble  pear;  Duchesse  d'Angouleme  is  uncer- 
tain, but  excellent  when  well  grown  ;  Bartlett  is 
everybody's  favorite  ;  Brandywine  is  one  of  the 
best  of  pears,  and  Beurre  d'Anjou  looking  up  ; 
"Winter  Nelis  is  a  superb  pear  ;  Belle  Lucra- 
tive is  a  splendid  pear,  but  Fondante  de  Ma- 
ines  and  Fondante  de  Cornice  are  "splendider  ;" 
Lawrence  the  best  pear  for  winter  use  ;  Vicar, 
uncertain ;  Beurre  d'  Amanilis  "too  little  known. ' ' 
Other  pears  named  as  doing  very  well  are  B. 
Superfin,  B.  Bosc,  B.  Langelier,  Delices  de  Har- 
den pont.  Ananas  d'Ete,  B.  de  Noel,  (as  a  mar- 
ket variety,  ripening  at  Christmas,)  St.  Ghislain, 
Kingsessing,  Clapp's  Favorite,  Josephine  de 
Malines,  Baron  de  Mello,  Graslin,  Triomphe  de 
Jodoigne  ;  others  are  named,  but  these  seem  the 
most  highly  praised. 

The  Oum  Trees  of  Australia.— lS,lo8t  of  our 
readers  who  have  followed  Mr.  Harding's  inter- 
esting account  of  Australian  vegetation,  will  re- 
member the  gigantic  Eucalyptus  or  gum  trees, 
little  inferior  to  the  great  Mammoth  of  Califor- 
nia. They  are  being  freely  introduced  into  those 
countries  where  they  will  thrive.  Immense 
numbers  are  being  planted  in  Spain  by  the  rail- 
road companies,  and  in  our  own  country  Califor- 
nia leads  in  extensive  plantations  of  them.  We 
do  not  hear  of  them  in  the  Southern  States, 
where  it  would  do  as  well  as  in  its  own  country. 
White  Orapes.—Dr.  Parker  writes  to  the  Hor- 
ticulturist that  at  Ithaca,  New  York,  the  Maxa- 
tawney  did  not  ripen  when  first  introduced,  be- 
fore October  25th,  now  old  vines  mature  the  mid- 


dle of  October.  He  thinks  highly  of  it.  He 
names  Cuyahogo,  Croton,  Lydia  and  Rebecca 
as  all  varying  in  quality  with  soil  and  season,— 
the  last  named  seems  to  be  his  favorite  next  to 
Maxatawney. 

Horticulture  at  the  Michigan  Agricultural  Col- 
/efjfe.—Under  the  wise  management  of  Prof.  Beal, 
horticulture  progresses  hero.  Mr.  Adam  Oli- 
ver, an  experienced  landscape  gardener,  has 
beed  engaged  to  lay  out  the  grounds.  Mr. 
AVhittel  is  highly  spoken  of  for  his  abilities  as 
pardoner  ;  an  arboretum  has  been  begun,  and 
the  fruit  departments  are  in  a  prosperous  condi- 
tion. 

Apples  for  Southern  IlUywis.—At  the  Novem- 
ber meetini:  of  the  Alton  Horticultural  Society. 
Dr.  Long  said  the  Ben  Davis  is  now  the  first  ap- 
ple in  esteem.  He  also  praised  Early  Harvest, 
Red  Astrachan,  Maiden  s  Blush,  Dominie,  New- 
town Pippin,  Gilpin,  Pennock,  Pryor's  Red, 
Wincsap  ;  would  not  plant  Janet  because  the 
markets  are  glutted  with  them.  Mr.  Redaker 
liked  Janet  because  it  bloomed  after  the  lato 
frosts,  and  he  was  thus  sure  of  a  late  crop— val- 
ued Smith's  Cider.  Dr.  Hull  valued  Lady  ap- 
ple and  Newtown  Pippin.  Remarking  on  the 
above,  the  editors  of  Prairie  Farmer  say  they 
would  add  Primate.  Chenango  Strawberry,  Be- 
noni,  Limber  Twig  and  Carolina  Red  June. 

Number  of  Varieties.— The  Country  Gentleman 
says : 

There  are  more  than  a  thousand  named  and  described 
varieties  of  the  pear  raised  in  this  country,  in  the  gar- 
dens of  pomologists  and  others,  and  about  2.j()0  varieties 
of  the  apple.  But  few  practical  cultivators  will  want 
more  than  a  dozen  of  each. 

This  is  true  enough,  but  what  troubles  nur- 
serymen, who  have  to  keep  on  hand  what  the 
public  want,  is  to  know  which  is  that  dozen 
which  the  few  praptical  cultivators  want? 

Culture  of  Peach  Trees,— At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  New  York  Farmer's  Club,  Dr.  Trimble 
said  that  Thomas  Meehan  recommended  a  man 
in  southern" New  Jersey  to  put  his  peach  orchard 
in  grass.  He  took  the  advice.  The  trees  grew 
worse  and  worse,  and  the  man  had  to  move  away 
to  keep  himself  from  ruin.  Poor  fellow  I  Mr. 
R.  J.  Dodge  very  properly  replied  that  Mr. 
Meehan  did  not  merely  recommend  keeping 
trees  in  grass,  but  he  also  insisted  that  they 
sho  it.  be  properly  fed  at  the  same  time.  When 
this  poor  broken  down  peach  grower  reads  Mr. 
Dodge's  explanation,  he  will  probably  joyfully 
return  and  try  it  again.  It  is  generally  your 
half  idea  people  that  give  the  most  trouble.     An 


acquaintance  of  ours  recently  went  to  a  lecture 
by  Charles  G.  Ames,  the  distinguished  orator. 
The  speaker  was  discoursing,  we  suppose  on 
love  matters,  for  he  is  reported  to  have  said  that 
•*it  was  a  mistake  for  couples  to  cease  courting 
with  marriage."  Our  informant  thought  it  a 
horrible  doctrine  to  teach  that  ^'  married  people 
should  go  courting  other  people  through  life." 
She  was  astonished  at  our  suggestion  that  pos- 
sibly married  folks  could  court  each  otiier  as  well 
as  other  people  I  We  suppose  there  always  will 
be  some  people  who  will  never  understand  the 
difference  between  grass  orchards  starved  and 
neglected,  and  grass  orchards  kept  up  in  fertili- 
ty. For  such  we  have  hardly  the  charity  our 
friend  Dodge  exhibits.  We  are  generally  dis- 
posed to  let  them  '^  run  away  or  burst,''  which- 
ever they  please. 

Grapes 'Which  Mildew.— In  wh^i  is  called  the 
science  of  pomology,  we  have  a  difficult  task. 
The  Held  is  full  of  writers  and  thinkers  who  seem 
unable  to  look  beyond  their  own  gate  posts. 
Here  is  a  long  article  before  us  in  which  the 
writer  says  the  Croton  and  Senasaua  is  good  for 
nothing,  and  the  Eumelan  milde'ws  worse  than 
any  grape  he  has.  The  Martha  is  not  only 
worthless,  but  is  positively  a  nuisance,  the  fruit 
having  a  poor,  bad  flavor  ;  but  the  Delaware, 
Crcveling,  and  so  forth,  do  not  mildew  ;  these 
are  the  kinds  for  people  to  plant. 

We  have  been  careful  to  keep  such  stuff  out 
of  our  magazine.  We  suppose  that  by  this  time 
everybody  knows  that  all  grapes  are  as  liable 
to  mildew  and  other  diseases  as  are  all  men  to 
cholera  or  8mallpox,-and  that  a  grape  usually 
reputable  will  sometimes  disgrace  itself  by  bad 
flavor,  as  that  a  tolerably  good  Christian  n>.iy 
once  la  a  while  have  a  very  bad  temper.  This 
Kind  of  pomology  has  no  charms  for  us.  The 
mere  fact  that  some  varieties  do  well  and  others 
do  not,  or  how  they  vary  with  varying  seasons, 
are  wull  enough  as /acfs;  they  lead  us  to  form  ideas 
01  general  character.  But  to  imagine  our  little 
experiences  in  a  season  or  two,  should  be  a  gen- 
eral rule  for  all  others  and  for  all  time,  is  poor 
pomological  science. 

I'rep'U'iwj  Ground  for  Fruit  Trees,— In  one  of 
our  issues  last  year,  we  remarked  : 

•'onlTJ''"*^;'"  P''^*P^^»'in«  i"i  orchard,  about  making 
biuit  "°'«"^«r  all  ti.e  trees.    This  seems  wilti'. 

Pav     wl  ^"^^^''^^  ^l»l^-l^  very  few  orchards  will  ever  re- 

oom.nenH     ,  ''^  ''"^''^  ^'^  '^^'''^^  ''»  ^'»^^  <»««P  »»«l««  wo   re- 
tothH*.v?."     "^  *" '^"^•'»  C'^^Gs  we  would,  ratlier  than  go 

dera.arin"''*^"'''"'''^"*''''^  the  whole  orchard,  or  un- 
»^'  i"g,  plant  higher  than  they  grew  belore-hlgh- 


er  than  the  surrounding  soil,  mounding  the  earth  as  It 
were,  above  the  level.  No  water- will  ever  stand  here- 
and  the  money  spent  In  making  "  one  big  hole"  of  the 
whole  orchard,  or  in  underdraining,  we  would  spend  in 
annual  surface  dressing  the  ground. 

Commenting  on  this  the  Western  Bural,  one 
of  our  most  intelligent  and  resiiected  western 
contemporaries,  says  : 

"The  ]resfcrn  Rural  has  firmly  advocated  one  large 
hole  for  the  trees  in  an  orchard,  that  is.  making  the 
xvhole  plat  of  one  uniform  depth  in  tilth,  and  it  has  the 
sanction  of  those  who  best  know  our  prairie  soils  Tho 
advico  has  also  been  coupled  with  the  additional  state- 
ment tliat  to  insure  perfect  success  in  extra  deep  plow- 
ing, whether  in  the  orchard  or  out,  tiiat  it  must  be  pre- 
ce.lod  by  thorough  drainage.  The  reason  is  obviou'=  It 
is  to  prevent  the  mortaring  of  soils,  and  other  unto- 
ward  mechanical  action." 

For  our  part  we  do  not  understand  how  the 
water  will  pass  away  more  readily  from  *'ono 
large  hole"  in  an  acre  than*  from  forty  small 
ones.  But  after  all,  the  main  suggestion  intend- 
ed to  be  conveyed  was  that  the  stereotyped  ad- 
vice  to  underdrain  and  subsoil  an  orchard  two 
feet  deep,  is  a  profitless  operation  in  the  vast 
majority  of  cases.  We  think  that  by  mounding 
or  ridging  the  soil,  so  that  the  trees  can  be  plant*^ 
ed  higher  than  the  natural  ground  was,  and  the 
water  drain  away  over  the  surface,  the  trees  will 
do  just  as  well,  and  the  results  be  in  every  way 
as  good,  as  by  going  to  the  enormous  expense  of 
making  'Une  large  hole"  all  out  of  one  acre. 

Moreover,  we  believe  that,  notwithstanding 
this  century  hallowed  advice,  few,  if  any,  have 
ever  followed  it.  It  is  one  of  those  things  which 
book  makers  think  ought  to  be  accomplished, 
but  which  orchardists  seldom  do. 

Who  has  underdrained  and  subsoiled  two  feet 
deep  an  orchard  of  say  several  acres  ?  Will  ^e 
please  report  the  fact  and  the  results.  The  de- 
t  ails  of  such  an  experiment,  extending  over  say 
ten  or  fifteen  years,  would  be  read  with  great 
interest  by  our  readers. 

The  Benoni  Apple.— In  various  quarters  we 
note  the  rising  popularity  of  this  rather  old  ap- 
ple. In  the  southwestern  and  western  States, 
we  have  of  late  seen  frequent  notices  of  its  good 
behavior.  The  most  recent  is  by  a  correspondent 
of  the  Maine  Farmer,  and  shows  how  well  it 
does  in  the  east.  Some  beautiful  specimens 
were  sent  to  the  Editor,  who  says  of  it  ; 

•♦  In  regard  to  the  name  of  the  apple  we  can  give  no 
Information,  other  than  that  It  originated  in  Dcdham 
Mass..  and  its  good  qualities  have  caused  its  culture  to* 
be  widely  extended,  although  Thomas  says  it  has  not 
succeeded  well  In  all  localities.  It  Is  n  late  sunnuer 
fruit,  highly  esteemed  for  dessert  purposes,  and  Warder 
says  'indispensable  to  the  amateur.'  It  Is  possible, 
could  Its  history  be  fully  known,  that  It  might  be  found 


^0 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S  MOJ^THLY.      January, 


187S. 


to  perpetuate  some  event  in  family  history  of  which  we 
know  notlilng." 

The  Trophy  Tomato. — The  Tomato  varies  very 
much  by  soil,  and  by  general  health.  To  so 
great  an  extent  docs  this  occur,  that  people  of- 
ten think  they  have  the  wrong  kind,  or  tl  at 
there  is  no  difference  between  one  kind  and  an- 
other. To  get  at  the  real  value  of  a  variety 
we  have  therefore  to  look  to  its  general  behavior. 
As  a  rule  we  believe  the  Trophy  has  given  satis- 
faction the  past  year.  Tf  care  be  taken  in  the 
selection  of  the  seed,  weeding  out  sickly  plants, 
and  by  gathering  only  those  fruit  for  seed  which 
are  typical  of  the  best  virtues  of  the  Trophy,  it 
may  keep  in  popular  estimation  for  years.  We 
believe  it  is  only  because  care  has  not  been  given 
in  these  particulars  that  other,  once  good,  varie- 
ties "  ran  out." 

Underhill,  NewsonS;  Co.,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  says 
a  prominent  western  agricultural  paper,  have 
one  of  the  "  largest,  best  assorted  and  most  re- 
liable nurseries  in  the  Southern  States." 

The  Bed  Maple.— The.  Country  Gentleman  say ^ 
that 

"An  English  horticultural  work  says  that  the  rc<l 
maple,  so  common  in  all  parts  of  this  country,  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  of  maples,  on  account  of  its  scarlet 
flowers  in  spring,  its  red  fruit  in  early  summer,  and  the 
red  tint  of  its  decaying  foliage  in  autumn." 
And  this  is  just  what  we  have  been  telling  our 
people  over  and  over  again  for  years  past.  The 
time  will  come  when  this  native  tree  will  be  as 
popular  for  general  planting  as  the  Norway 
Maple  now  is. 

The  American  Fomological  Society.— The  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  have  decided  to  fix  September 
10th,  11th  and  12th  for  the  meeting  this  year  in 
Boston.  Although  sixty  acres  of  their  good  old 
city  is  burned,  we  are  pleased  to  learn  that  no 
part  of  their  disposition  to  welcome  their  friends 
has  been  consumed  by  the  devouring  element, 


T:EI;    GARDEiN-EWS   MOJ^THLY, 


but  that  the  horticulturists  are  determined  that 
those  who  attend  there  this  session  shall  class 
their  visit  among  the  most  pleasant  reminis- 
cences of  their  lives. 

Boston  Losses  by  the  Fire.— So  far  as  we  are 
able  to  learn,  the  horticulturists  of  Boston  have 
not  been  among  the  serious  losers  by  the  fire. 
The  names  of  Parker,  Wilder  &  Co.  were  in  the 
published  lists  as  among  the  very  heavy  suffer- 
ers, but  we  are  pleased  to  be  able  to  say  that, 
except  by  failures,  in  some  few  instances,  of  in- 
surance companies  to  make  entirely  good  their 
responsibilities,  there  will  not  be  much  loss* 
This  will  be  cheering  news  to  Col.  Wilder's 
host  of  friends. 

Tree  Labels.— In  one  of  our  earlier  numbers, 
Prof.  Page,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  communica- 
ted an  interesting  article,  showing  how  mica 
might  be  made  to  protect  the  writing  on  wooden 
tree-labels,  so  as  to  make  them  last  for  many 
years.  We  have  often  been  surprised  that  this 
excellent  hint  remained  dormant.  It  required 
every  one  to  do  the  work  for  himself;  but  people 
have  too  much  to  do,  and  if  it  could  only  be 
(lone  cheaply  for  them,  it  would  be  immensely 
popular. 

And  now  we  have  it.  Some  samples  from 
Wood  &  Hall  are  very  neat.  The  label  consists 
of  a  flat  piece  of  brass,  with  the  edges  turned 
down  over  a  piece  of  mica,  through  which  we 
read  the  neatly  printed  label,  as  though  we  were 
reading  time  from  a  watch  dial-plate  through 
the  glass.  For  durability  and  neatness,  it  is  as 
near  perfection  as  it  is  possible  to  get. 

If  now  some  one  will  invent  a  plan  by  which 
one  may  easily  open  and  close  a  similar  label,  by 
which  we  ourselves  can  write  any  name  we  need 
beneath,  absolute  perfection  of  labeling  will  be 
reached. 


^1 


SCRAPS   AND     QUERIES. 


Propagating  Bilbergias.— 5.  K  P.,  St, 
Joseph,  Mo. :  ''  Will  you  please  inform  me  in 
what  way  Bilbergias  are  propagated,  either  by 
seed  or  otherwise.  I  have  a  packet  of  seed  from 
which  I  very  much  desire  to  grow  a  few  plants, 
as  they  are  difficult  to  obtain  from  florists  ;  also 
whether  the  '  Ilermannia'  and  'Sparmannia'  are 
the  same  plant  ?" 


[Bilbergias,  like  all  the  pineapple  family  to 
which  they  belong,  usually  propagate  by  suckers 
which  generally  appear  freely  when  the  plant  ia 
in  flowering  condition.  The  seeds  will  doubtless 
grow  readily  in  a  moist  stove  heat  of  about  70®. 

The  Ilermannia  and  Sparmannia  are  very 
different  plants.  The  common  Ilermannia  odo- 
rata  is  a  dwarfish  finely  cut  leaved,  yellow  flow- 


ering greenhouse  shrub,  and  sometimes  called 
Mahernia  odorata.  Sparmannia  africana  has 
large  coarse  Linden  like  leaves,  and  orange  and 
white  flowers.] 

The  Pen  Apple.— T.  Z.,  writes:  "Some 
three  or  four  years  ago,  more  or  less,  there  was 
quite  a  talk  about  a  new  apple  which  orit^inated 
somewhere  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I  think  Lan- 
caster county.  It  was  called  "  Pen''  apple,  not 
the  old  Wm.  Penn.  I  believe  it  was  exhibited 
two  or  three  times  at  the  winter  meeting  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Fruit  Growers'  Society,  where  it 
was  highly  praised ;  also  I  believe  a  premium 
was  offered  and  given  at  the  annual  exhibition 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural  Society  in 
September,  1871.  Can  you  or  any  of  your  rea- 
ders give  any  further  information  as  to  its  ori- 
gin, character,  &c.,  and  has  it  really  proved  a 
new  and  valuable  variety  ?" 

[We  have  several  accounts  of  this  apple,  and 
have  stated  in  former  numbers  what  we  know 
about  it,  and  should  be  glad  to  hear  direct  from 
headquarters  what  they  say  of  it.] 


Grafting  the  Wild  Black  Cherry.— TT. 
T.  B.,  Hammonton,  N.  ,/.,  says  :  "I  Imve  se- 
cured some  young  and  thrifty  wood  of  the  Wild 
Black  Cherry,  and  would  like  to  be  informed  in 
the  Monthly  if  there  is  any  way  to  propagate  it. 
I  can  get  good  stock  to  graft  on  if  that  can  be 
done  successfully.  Can  it  be  propagated  by 
grafting,  budding  or  by  cuttings,  and  if  so,  will 
you  please  inform  when  it  should  be  done  and 
mode  of  doing  it?" 

[The  Cerasus  serotina  is  the  cherry  probably 
meant.  There  has  been  no  occasion  probably 
before  to  make  the  grafting  of  this  desirable, 
but  by  analogy  in  other  cases,  no  doubt  it  would 
graft  or  bud  readily  on  seedlings  of  its  own  kind. 
No  doubt  slit  layers  of  young  wood  would  also 
root  readily.] 


Situations.— The  past  two  months  we  have 
been  inundated  by  letters  from  parties  wishing 
'suitable  men,"  or  from  others  oflering  their 
services  for  all  sorts  of  purposes.  It  would  re- 
quire a  couple  of  hours  each  day  to  answer  these 
letters.  We  have  not  these  hours  to  give  to  the 
subject.  There  are  some  personal  friends  who 
have  a  claim  oti  our  time.  We  must  try  when 
these  come  to  us  to  serve  them,  more  than  this 
we  cannot  do.  If  letters  come  we  read  them.  If 
It  come  in  our  w.iy  wo  -a-W  d)  what  we  can  for 


the  writers,  but  under  no  circumstances  €an  we 
enter  into  any  correspondence  on  these  matters. 

Rules  for  Good  Breeding.— A  correspon- 
dent remarks  that  a  note  he  contributed  to  the 
Oardener^s  Monthly  some  years  ago  drew  him  in- 
to a  correspondence  which  consumed  considera- 
ble time,  he  had  little  ability  to  spare.  No  gen- 
tleman writes  to  another  without  having  personal 
reasons  for  knowing  that  such  correspondence  will 
be  agreeable.  And  persons  who  presume  to 
write  to  perfect  strangers  without  this  know- 
ledge, have  no  right  to  be  offended  when  they 
receive  no  replies.*  Knowing  that  many  persons 
do  not  understand  these  rules  which  prevail  in 
good  society,  we  usually  withhold  the  fu'l  name 
of  many  of  our  correspondents,  except  in  cases 
where  we  know  it  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  them. 
If  any  one  have  anything  to  ask  of  our  corres- 
pondents, our  pages  afford  the  proper  medium 
for  all  legitimate  enquiries. 


To  Correspondents.— We  have  to  return 
our  best  thanks  to  our  numerous  correspondents 
for  their  many  favors  during  the  past  year, 
which,  judging  by  the  number  of  excellent  com- 
munications now  on  hand,  bid  fair  to  be  conj 
tinued  for  the  future  as  in  the  past.  We  some- 
times like  to  keep  these  on  hand  a  little  while, 
in  order  to  have  the  chance  of  varying  the  con- 
tents of  each  number.  In  case  the  favors  are 
not  immediately  used  we  hope  our  friends  will 
not  therefore  imagine  their  favors  are  not  valued. 

We  once  in  a  while  receive  offers  from  parties 
to  write  for  "fair  pay"  for  our  magazine,  but 
the  Oardener^s  Monthly  was  established  to  afford 
horticulturists  a  medium  for  communication  one 
with  another,  whereby  all  may  learn.  This  is 
the  reason  of  the  low  price  of  the  magazine — 
two  dollars  a  year.  If  we  were  to  make  it  a  mere 
money  speculation,  the  price  would  be  four  dol- 
lars a  year.  We  feel  that  we  have  a  moi-al 
claim  on  any  good  idea  from  our  readers  **  with- 
out money  and  without  price."  We  do  not  ask 
for  long  articles,  such  as  high  priced  magazines 
would  expect  to  pay  for,  but  good  hints,  and 
perhaps  brevity  has  the  advantage. 


Japan  Evergreens.  —  /?.  B.,  Philadelphia^ 
says :  *'  I  do  not  see  that  any  of  you  have  given 
a  reason  why  the  evergreens  of  Northern  Asia 
stood  the  extent  of  the  past  spring's  severity 
better  than  the  American  natives.  Crack  that 
nut." 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY.      January, 


187S. 


TEE    aARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


2S 


31 


[That  is  a  "nut, ''.and  well  worthy  of  the 


"  There  is  nothing  in  the  postal  law  to  pro- 


fitudy  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  evolving  the    hibit  the  enclosure  of  printed  matter  in  packages 
laws  of  creation.     There  never  was  a  better  at-    of  merchandise,  proyidecl  tho  postage  is  prepaid 


tested  fact  than  that  all  of  the  plants  of  Asia — de- 
ciduous as  well  as  evergreen,  stood  our  last  win- 
ter comparatively  uninjured,  in  the  midst  of  the 
terrible  destruction  among  our  own  trees. 

It  has  also  been  demonstrated  by  the  Garden- 
er^s  Monthly/  correspondents  that  the  physical 
cause  of  the  loss  was  the  drying  out  of  the 
moisture  in  the  plants  faster  than  the  roots  could 
supply  it. 


thereon — 2  cents  for  each  2  ounces  or  fraction  of 
2  ounces.''  We  suppose  under  this  decision  one 
might  send  packages  of  circulars  or  catalogues 
to  one  address  in  this  way. 

Any  wniting^  even  an  'alteration,"  subjects  a 
printed  article  to  letter  postage.  This  will  ne- 
cessitate our  catalogue  makers  to  look  sharp  af- 
ter the  proofreaders. 

Manuscript    for    magazines,    and    all    other 


This  reduces  the  question  to  this :  why  have  ,  manuscript  but  hook  manuscript,  can   only   be 
the  plants  of  Asia  a  greater  power  of  resisting  I  sent  at  letter  rates. 

Nothing  must  be  written  on  the  wrapper  but  the 
address.  If  printed  matter  be  sent,  and  "print- 
ed matter''  be  written  on  the  wrapper,  the  whole 
package  is  subject  to  letter  postage,  and  the  re- 
ceiver pays  double  letter  rates  on  the  whole 
thing.  It  used  to  be  required  to  write  on  the 
wrappers  "seeds,"  "bulbs,"  "plants,''   and  so 


winter  evaporation  than  so  many  of  our  own 
trees  V 

In  connection  with  this  subject  may  perhaps 
be  associated  the  fact  that  the  plants  of  the  Pa- 
cific coast  all  do  so  indifferently  in  the  Eastern 
States,  while  the  plants  of  the  colder  parts  of 
Asia  do  so  well ;  and  further  may  be  considered 
the  interesting  fact  so  ably  devclopi^d   by  Prof,  i  on,  as  a  guide  to  the  postmaster  to  see  whether 


Gray  in  his  Dubuque  address,  that  while  the 
plants  of  the  Pacific  coast  rather  favor  the  flora 
of  Europe  ;  that  of  the  Atlantic  States  favor  Ja- 
pan. There  is  evidently  h(.'re  a  mystery  not  al- 
together beyond  the  solution  of  man  ;  and  we 


these  things  were  so.     It  will  be  seen  this  is  for- 
bidden. 

Packages  of  herbs  and  roots  will  only  be  for- 
warded when  the  wra[)pcrs  arc  so  arranged  that 
the  contents  may  be  examined  without  destroy- 


commend  the  whole  subject  to  Mr.  Darwin,  Dr.  I  i»g  or  injuring  the  v.q-apper. 


Gray  or  Prof.  Shaler  of  Harvard,  who  have  op- 
portunities in  the  line  of  their  studies  for  some 
intereslinji  discoveries. 


Interpretations  of  the  Postal  Laws. — 
As  no  one  can  iell  the  meaning  of  the  postal 
laws  by  reading  them,  we  have  had  recourse  to  •  scape  gardeners  and  architects  who  have  heroto- 


Cards,  circulars,  and  ''&c.,''  whatever  this 
may  be,  go  at  one  cent  for  each  two  ounces  or 
fraction  thereof. 

Manuscript  drawings  are  not  to  be  considered 
l)rints  or  engravings,  and  so  must  pay  letter 
postage.     This  will  operate  badly  on  our  land- 


the  general  office  at  Washington.  Post  offices 
through  the  country  go  by  these  interpretations. 
The  decisions  affecting  horticulturists  are  : 

Dealers  in  seeds  must  prepay  two  cents  for 
each  fraction  of  two  ounces. 

Letters  not  fully  paid  must  pay  double  the 
prepaid  rate  which  should  have  been  paid,  when 
it  reaches  its  destination. 

All  merchandize  is  limited  to  twelve  ounces. 
"The  dealer  in  plants  is  on  the  same  footing  as 
dealers  in  any  other  kind  of  merchandise." 

Chromos  and  engravings  are  not  merchandise. 
These  may  go  in  packages  of  4  lbs.,  at  one  cent 
for  each  fraction  of  two  ounces. 

Any,  matter  contained  in  a  sealed  envelope 
must  pay  letter  postage  ;  even  tutting  or  notch- 
in';  at  the  end  makes  no  difference. 


fore  sent  their  plans  by  mail. 

Letters  addressed  to  initials  are  to  be  sent  to 
the  dead  letter  offices.  This  will  operate  against 
gentlemen  advertising  for  gardeners  or  garden- 
ers advertising  for  places  unknown  to  each  other. 
"  Apply  to  J.  B.,"  or  "pro  bono  publico,"  or 
any  similar  sign,  will  now  have  to  be  banished 
from  the  newspapers. 

Any  writing  of  any  character  inside  a  pack- 
age of  seeds,  plants,  grafts  or  cuttings,  subjects 
the  whole  package  to  letter  postage.  Thus  one 
may  not  write  the  name  or  in  any  way  desig- 
nate by  any  "character"  the  names  of  the  seeds 
or  scions  sent,  unless  such  characters  are  prinf- 
ed.  Large  dealers  can  print  the  names,  but  for 
amateurs  and  others  for  who.se  use  one  would 
suppose  the  law  made,  will  find  it  troublesome. 


Proof   sheets   of  all  descriptions,    ex(  ept  of   One  can  perhaps  cut  out  the  ])rinted  letters  or 


hooks^  must  pay  letter  postage. 


figures  in  a  newspai)er  or  hand  bill  and  wrap 


around  each  little  piece  of  graft,  and  refer  in  a 
letter  to  these  letters  or  numbers. 

Another  decision  says  that  the  government  is 
not  liable  for  any  mail  matter  after  it  is  out  of 
its  control.  There  are  many  of  us  would  like  to 
know  whether  it  is  responsible  before  it  leaves.  It 
would  be  a  good  many  dollars  in  some  of  our 
pockeis  if  it  were  Tiie  Postmaster  General  evi- 
dently thinks  it  is  responsible  by  the  form  in 
which  this  decision  is  given.  We  believe  he  is 
wrong,  but  he  ought  to  know  best. 

This  close  our  "  post  office"  chapter  for  to- 
day. There  are  few  matters  more  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  horticulturists  than  this  one  of  post- 
age, and  we  feel  we  need  no  apology  for  the 
space  we  devote  to  it. 

Since  this  was  written,  Messrs.  Ilarmer  and 
Townsend  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  deter- 
mined to  get  relief  at  once,  but  the  difficulty  was 
to  get  rid  of  "  routine."  They  enlisted  General 
Butler  of  Massachusetts  in  the  cause,  who,  al" 
ways  distinguished  in  the  ways  of  Parliamentary 
law,  got  Mr.  Townsend's  bill  an  immediate 
hearing.  Now  the  rate  and  weight  are  put  back 
to  last  year  ;  but  it  is  manifest  from  our  abstract 
of  "decisions,"  that  the  whole  code  needs  a  re- 
vision.     Let  horticulturists  still  keep  the  ball 


movmg. 


SiiEPiiERDiA  ARGEXTEA. — The  Buffalo  Berry 
is  the  plant  refened  to  by  E.  Y.  T.,  Bichmond^ 
//uZ.,  in  the  following:  "1  enclose  twigs  and 
leaves  of  what  I  called  Nebraska  Currant,  a  na- 
tive of  a  marshy  place  in  Nebraska.  It  is  said 
to  bear  enormous  crops  of  fruit  almost  exactly 
resembling  Red  Dutch  Currant,  one  kind  red  and 
one  yellow.  1  am  told  it  has  many  seeds  like  a 
currant.  The  plant  looks  to  me  like  Black  Haw. 
Do  you  know  from  these  what  it  is  ?" 


Express  Charges.— We  have  expensive  rea- 
sons for  again  saying  to  our  correspondents,  that 
unless  their  packages  are  marked  "paid  thro','' 
and  the  receipts  marked  "paid  thro',''  in  like 
manner  the  receiver  has  to  pay  again.  If  merely 
marked  "paid,"  the  companies  insist  they  are 
only  paid  in  part,  and  we  very  often  have  to  pay 
over  again  as  much  as  the  sender  originally  paid. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  Adams\ 


He  says:  "  A  monthly  paper  is  almost  unen- 
durable to  a  western  man,  but  the  Gardcner^s 
Monthly  may  possess  quality  enough  to  bear 
with  it.'' 

[We  hoped  long  a-:;©  that  the  taste  for  pure 
horticulture  as  distinguished  from  mere  agricul- 
ture, would  advance  so  as  to  warrant  a  first- 
class  weekly.  When  the  time  comes  it  will  no 
doubt  be  done.  Those  who  wish  for  this  thing 
must  work  more  for  the  "  love  of  horticulture" 
than  most  have  been  in  the  habit  of  doing.] 


Delachampsia  Roezeliana  is  the  name  of 
the  plant  referred  to  below  by  a  "subscriber.'' 
"Will  Mr.  MeeVian  please  inform  me  the  botan- 
ical order  of  the  enclosed,  'Delacampia  carnea' 
by  florists?'* 

[It  belongs  to  the  natural  order  of  Euphorhia- 
cecc,  of  which  the  common  Poinsetta  is  an  illus- 
tration. The  flower,  properly  speaking,  is  in 
the  centre  of  the  heart  shaped  flesh  colored 
bracts  ;  just  as  they  are  in  fact  in  the  Poinsetta, 
where  the  crimson  leaves  are  well  known  to  bo 
but  floral  bracts.  ] 


Value  of  the  Gardener's  MoNTnLY.— In 
accordance  with  our  rule,  we  have  no  "  free 
list. ''  We  have  al  wayapreferred  a  fair  list  of  good 
paying  subscribers,  than  to  boast  of  "  our  circu- 
lation," when  that  circulation  is  half  made  up 
of  'dead  heads,"  who  hardlj' deign  to  read  what 
they  do  not  think  worth  paying  for.  Hence  the 
publisher  feels  gratified  by  the  following  note  from 
one  of  his  "  renewals  :''  "I  have  free,  three  lead- 
ing papers  and  a  hard  dry  summer  to  contend  with 
and  little  time  to  read  them  ;  but  still  the  Month- 
ly comes  every  time  like  a  flower,  fresh  and  gay, 
and  will  always  be  found  interesting,  old  or  new. 
I  will  not  give  it  up.  Enclosed  is  my  subscrip- 
tion for  1873. " 


Lime  and  Ashes  for  Pears.— JE7.  H.  S., 
Suspension  Bridge,  says  :  "I  have  applied  lime 
and  ashes  when  digging  the  pear  trees  in  the 
fall,  consisting  of  bones  and  all  sorts  of  rubbish, 
in  the  spring  close  pruning  and  thinning  out  of 
branches.  Fruit  wonderfully  improved,  especial- 
ly the  Seckel  variety,  which  is  now  No.  1.'' 


A  Monthly   IIouticultural  Paper.—/. 

o.,  Walhridge,  Pa.aski  county,  Illinois,  was  told  | 
by  a  friend,  and  we  wish  we  had  hundreds  of* 
such  friends,  that  the  Monthly  might  suit  him.  ' 


Marblehead  Squash. — Mr.  Gregory  writes: 
"I  send  you  a  couple  of  pieces  of  my  new 
squash,  'Marblehead.'  I  find  on  an  average 
this  new  sort  has  a  more  flinty  shell  than  the 
Hubbard,  of  a  diflercnt  color,  and  is,  as  a  rule,  of 


H 


TEE    GARDEJ^TER'S   MOJVTHLY.      January, 


187S. 


THE    GAEDEJVER'S   MOJTTELY. 


96 


\ 


I 


Ik; 


kii 


a  different  shape,  being  flatter  on  the  stem  end, 
and  has  a  greater  specific  gravity  ;  it  combines 
sweetness  and  dryness  more,  and  keeps  longer. 
One  capital  characteristic  is  that  it  is  perfectly 
pure  from  all  admixture  with  any  other  sorts, 
and  none  but  those  who  have  undertook  the 
task  of  working  a  badly  mixed  variety  up  to  a 
standard  of  comparative  purity,  can  fully  appre- 
ciate this.  In  size  and  yield  it  equals  the  Hub- 
bard. I  have  tested  scores  of  kinds  of  squashes 
sent  me  from  every  part  of  the  United  States 
since  first  I  introduced  the  Hubbard,  but  have 
found  but  this  and  one  other  variety  worthy  of 
being  introduced  as  standard  sorts." 

[The  above  was  not  intended  for  publication, 
but  we  like  to  help  a  good  thing  along— our 
**  chief  cook,''  to  whom  we  referred  this  matter — 
And  if  she  does  not  know,  nobody  does,  asserts 
that  it  is  the  best  thing  out.  The  editor  agreed 
with  her  at  the  eating.] 


The  Marblehead  Squash.— Mr.  Gregory 
says  :  ''  I  omitted  to  state  when  writing  of  the 
specimen  of  squash  sent  on,  that  they  must  not 
be  confounded  with  a  blue  variety  that  some- 
times grows  with  the  Hubbard,  which  is  a  hy- 
brid, and  when  planted  by  itself  the  fact  is  more 
strikingly  shown  by  the  numberless  sports  that 
come  from  it.  It  was  made  originally  by  grow- 
ing a  thin  skinned  blue  variety  along  side  the 
Hubbard  ;  we  used  to  call  the  thin  skinned  sort 
the  Middleton  Blue.  The  new  kind  I  send  you 
is  on  the  contrary  as  remarkable  for  purity,  be- 
ing without  exception  the  purest  squash  1  ever 
grew." 

'  Plants  in  Bloom  at  Rhosynmynydd,  the 
suburban  residence  of  J.  P.  Jones,  Esq.,  Block- 
ley,  West  Philadelphia,  Pa.— October,  1872. 


Sedum 

Japonicum,  Stonecrop 

variegata 

. 

BEDDING  PLANTS. 

Aloysia 

citriodora.  Lemon  Verbena    , 

Celosia 

cristata.  Cockscomb 

Erythrina 

cristagalli,  Coral  tree 

Petunia 

hybrida 

Ruellia 

formosa 

Salvia 

coccinea,  Sage 

splendens 

Verbena 

chamedrse  folia 

Viola 

tricolor,  Pansy 

SHRUBS  IN  FLOWER. 

Cydonia 

japouica,  Japan  Quince 

Eleagnus 

hortensis.  Oleaster 

Lonicera 

Belgica,  Monthly  Honeysuckle 

flexuosa,  Chinese 

Ilalleana,  Japan 

sempervirens,  Trumpet 

Spiraea 

Douglassi 

Rosa 

(Hybrid  Perpetual) 

Baron  Prevost 

Geant  des  Battailes 

Jules  Margottin 

(Bourbon) 

Souvenir  de  la  Malmaison 

(Indica) 

Archduc  Charles 

Hermosa 

Rose 

(Indica  fragrans) 

Bougere 

Cells  multillore 

GREENHOUSE  AND  CONSERVATOUY. 

HARDY 

Achillea 
Anemone 

Begonia 
Centaurea 

Chrysanthemum 

Coreopsis 

Erysimum 

Gentiana 

Lychnis 

Phlox 

Plumbago 


HERBACEOUS  PLANTS. 

ptarmica.  Yarrow 
japonica  alba,  Wind  flower 

rubra 
Evansiana 

Americana,  Blue  Bottle 
cyanus 

indicum  var..  Chusan  Daisy 
lanceolata,  Tiokseed  sunflower 
PeroflTskianum 
Andrewsii,  Closed  Gentian 
dioica  albo    pleno.   Bachelor's 
paniculata,  Lychnidea  [Button 
Larpeutse,  Lead  wort 


Abutilon 


Ageraturo 

Asclepias 

Bouvardia 

Canna 

Cestrum 

Clerodendron 

Cuphea 


Cyclamen 
Daphne 


album,  Chinese  Bell 

Adolpho  Burangere 

niviura 

striatum 

Thompson  iana 

vexilarium 

grand  iflorum 

Mexicanum,  Blue  Mist 

curassavica,  Swallow  wort 

jasminiflora 

triphylla 

indica,  Indian  Shot 

Warscewiczii 

regale 

japonicum  fl.  pi. 

Daniolsiana,  Cigar  flower 

platy<!entra 

strigulosa 

hederajfolium,  Sow  bread 

odora.  Spurge  Laurel 


Eupatorium 

Fuchsia 

Geranium 

Jasminum 

Justicia 

Malcomia 

Olea 

Oxalis 


Passi  flora 

Plumbago 
Primula 
Russeir.a 
Salvia 


Serissa 


Solanum 

Tricyrtis 

Tropajolum 

Thea 

Veronica 


fruticosum.  White  Mist  • 

coccinea  var.,  Ladies  Eardrop 

zonale,  Crane's  Bill 

grandiflorum,  Jasmine 

carnea 

maritima,  Virginian  stock 

fragrans,  Olive 

Bowii,  Cape  Sorrel 

flabellifolia 

floribunda  alba 
rosea 

grand  i  flora 

intermedia,  Passion  flower 

Kermesina 

capensis.  Lead  wort 

sinensis.  Primrose' 

juncea 

coccinea.  Sage 

involucrata 

splendens 

foetida 

flora  pleno 

albo  margin  a  ta 

jasminoides 

variegata 

hirta,  Japan  Uvularia 

Lobbianum,  Indian  Cress 

viridis.  Tea  [well 

Anderson ii,    Shrubby     8peed- 


The  Catalpa.~P.  B.  Tt.^  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
says:  '*  The  Catalpa  grows  three  feet  i3  ft.) 
from  seed  the  first  year  in  Iowa.  I  have  several 
ofthat  height  (and  one  37  inches)  raised  from 
seed  sown  about  April  20th,  on  old  land  22  years 
in  cultivation,  and  never  manured,  the  only  pre- 
paration being  to  fork  it  up  eleven  inches  deep 
and  rake  it  fine. 

With  other  tree  seeds  I  have  had  only  tolera- 
ble success.  Better  with  Norway  Spruce,  Scotch 
and  White  Pine  than  some  others.  Contrary  to 
expectation,  I  succeeded  better  with  late  than 
early  sown  evergreen  seeds.  Winter  comes  ear- 
ly and  suddenly  ;  on  the  12th  of  December  I  was 
planting  trees  and  shrubs,  on  the  15th  it  froze 
up  to  stay.'» 

[The  Catalpa  is  not  only  a  very  rapid  grower, 
out  the  timber  in  durability  is  superior  to  Chest- 
uut.  The  worst  of  this  tree  is  that  the  terminal 
oud  gets  killed  when  young,  and  as  a  side  bud 
has  to  make  a  leader,  the  trunk  becomes  some- 
what crooked.  But  this  could  no  doubt  be 
remedied  by  cutting  back  the  young  trees  to  the 
ground  when  about  three  years  old,  when  a  vert/ 


vigorous  straight  trunk  succeeds.  We  regard 
the  Catalpa  as  among  the  most  valuable  of  all 
our  timber  trees.] 


Propagation  of  Gloxinias.—/?.  S.,  SL 
Louis,  Mo.,  writes:  "Will  you  please  tell  me 
where  Gloxinia  seeds  is  to  be  had,  and  how  is 
best  to  raise  them  ?  I  do  not  see  the  seed  ad- 
vertised. I  have  a  small  greenhouse  attached 
to  my  dwelling,  and  wish  to  grow  some  of  these, 
having  been  attracted  by  their  beauty  when 
east." 

[These  are  seldom  raised  from  seed  except  by 
hybridists  who  wish  to  raise  new  varieties. 
They  are  propas:ated  from  leaves.  These  are 
planted  just  as  one  would  cuttings,  and  placed 
in  a  close  atmosphere  with  a  temperature  of 
about  70,  when  a  small  bulb  is  formed  at  the 
base  of  the  leafstalk  from  which  a  plant  pushes 
up  next  year.] 


Pitch  of  a  Greenhouse.— e7?io  S.,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  says  :  "  I  am  about  building  a 
small  conservatory,  and  in  reading  up  on  the 
subject  see  it  recommended  that  the  roof  should 
have  an  angle  of  45^  My  carpenter  thinks  this 
entirely  too  steep,  and  as  I  have  no  gardener 
who  understands  this  matter— only  a  good  fel- 
low who  looks  after  my  horses,  and  by  whose 
aid  I  expect  to  manage  the  little  conservatory,  I 
apply  to  you,  seeing  that  you  invite  all  to  come 
with  their  little  troubles." 

[We  can  hardly  advise  as  to  the  pitch  of  a 
plant  house  without  knowing  the  width,  aspect, 
kinds  of  plants  to  be  grown,  and  so  on.  It  is  the 
fault  of  most  books  on  this  subject,  that  they 
take  these  things  into  small  account.  45°  is 
steep,  but  for  winter  flowering  a  house  will  get 
more  light,  and  plants  will  bloom  better  than  in 
a  flatter  angle.  Steep  pitches  have  also  other 
advantages.  They  are  stronger,  do  not  get  out 
of  repair  as  soon,  and  less  breakage  of  glass  than 
flat  houses,  and  then  the  drip,  which  in  our  cli- 
mate is  very  troublesome,  from  condensed  moist- 
ure inside,  runs  down  the  rafters  and  ribs  of  a 
steep  house,  instead  of  falling  about  every  whore 
in  the  other  kind.  Without  knowing  what  cir- 
cumstances of  especial  moment  might  interfere 
to  warrant  another  decision,  we  should  incline 
to  say  go  on  with  your  45^  angle.] 


Pomology.  -  A  correspondent  asks  "  why  we 
do  not  give  more  attention  to  pomology.  Draw- 
ings and  descriptions  of  new  fruits  would  make 


I 


!    ■'; 


.i 


'I' 

If! 


i' 


K 


w  w 


i 


S6 


THE    GARDEMEB'S  MOJ^TELJ.     January, 


the  Monthly  particularly  attractive  to  some  of 
us,  at  any  rate."     We  believe  we  give  as  much 
attention  to  pomology  as  to  any  other  depart- 
ment of  gardening.    Indeed,  it  has  more  charms 
for  the  editor  than  many  other  brandies  of  hor- 
ticulture ;  but  we  mustdifler  from  friends,  if  any 
there  be  who  consider  "Everybody's  Pippin,"  | 
*' Cute-eye's  Beurre,"  "Amor's  Lovely  Ann," 
or  "Puffem's  Delight "  as  the  essence  of  pomol- 
ogy.    We  never  had  much  weakness  for  tliis 
style  of  literature  ;  and  if  we  have  any  sins  to 
answer  for,  it  is  very  likely  to  be  that  we  did 
give  more  attention  to  it  in  the  earlier  part  of 
our  editorial  life  than  it  was  worth.     But  we 
notice  that  other  first-class  papers  have  profited 
by  experience,  as  well  as  we.     The  Jiaral  Neiv 
Yorker,  American  A(jnmlturisL  Countrfj  GenilC' 
man,  Prairie  Farmer,  and  others  which  one  time, 
like  the  Gardener's  Monthh/,  deli,',htcd  in  "cuts 
and  descriptions  of  new  fruits,"  are  all  now  very 
chary  of  them,  leaving  them  almost  wholly  to 
heads  le^s  gray  ;  and  when  one  is  necessary,  it  is 
not   unlikely   they  can   find    a    cut    to    match 
among  the  old  stores  on  hand.     In  leed,  we  are 
quite  sure   we  see  "the  same  old  cut"  doing 
duty  over  and   over    again   for    lots   of  'new 
things."     We   keep  our  readers    ])03te(l  on  all 
that  we  feel  satisfied  is  really  new  in  fruit-cul- 
ture, in  its  widest  sense,  but  will  not  lend  a  hand 
to  the    multiplication    of   hundreds   of   things 
which  are  of  no  value  in  the  end. 

We  are  glad  to  find  that  not  only  our  leading 
magazines,  but  leading  horticulturists,  are  in 
hearty  accord  with  us.  One  of  our  leading 
authors,  commending  our  coiirsi^  in  this  matter, 

sayn : 

"  The  fruit  question  is  also  a  puzzle  to  me - 
that  is,  to  know  when  and  where  to  stop,  and 
what  to  introduce  and  recommend,  now  that  so 
many  new  fruits  are  coming  forward,  and  I  am 
sometimes  almost  disgusted  with  it,  and  think  I 
will  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it ;  but,  as 
people  will  introduce  them  and  bring  them  be- 
fore the  public  in  catalogues  and  various  ways, 
I  concluile  that  the  better  way  is  to  find  out 
what  is  best,  adopt  it,  and  let  the  rest  go  ;  or, 
at  any  rate,  note  it  as  unworthy." 


Stoppage  of  the  Gaudenisr's  Monthly. 
—We  are  informed  by  a  friend,  that  he  inlnnds 
to  "stop  the  Grrdtner's  Monthh;''  i\i  the  con- 
clusion of  his  present  subscription,  because  an 
article,  which  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural 
Society   thought   worthy  of  one  of  its  highest 


premiums,  received  no  notice  whatever  in  our 
report  of  the  October  exhibition. 

The  October  meeting  of  the  Horticultural  So 
ciety  was  held  very  late  in  the  month.  If  we  had 
waited  till  the  end  of  the  exhibition,  we  could 
have  given  no  notice  of  it  whatever,  as  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Monthly  at  its  regular  time  cannot 
be  put  off  for  these  things.  The  notes  we  made 
were  taken  before  the  judges  had  examined  the 
articles  on  exhibition.  Some  things  were  thus 
brought  into  the  room  after  our  examination  was 
made,  which  was  a  misfortune  for  the  exhibitor, 
but  not,  we  think,  our  tault. 

It  would  be  a  greater  blow  to  our  thousands  of 
readers  and  to  the  publisher  than  it  would  be  to 
the  editor,  who  would  not  care  at  all,  to  have 
the  Monthly  thus  summarily  "stopped  ;"  and  we 
hope,  for  their  sakes,  that  our  injured  friend 
will    kindly    allow  tlic   Monthly  to    "so    on" 


again,  after 


the  explanation  we  have  made. 


White  Scarlet  sage.— A  correspondent 
says  :  "  I  like  your  sui^rgestion  that  the  long 
latin  name  for  this  new  s  ige  ia  entindy  too  much  ; 
but  then  it  seems  so  absurd  to  say  White  Scarlet 
Sage.  How  can  a  thiog  which  is  scarlet  be 
white?  Can  you  not  give  us  somethmg  more 
pleasing  to  the  ear  ?" 

[This  is  rather  an  old  objection  for  these  cases, 
and  arises  from  persons  not  distinguishing  be- 
tween a  mere  name  and  the  thing  itself.  There 
is  a  celebrated  English  judge  by  the  name  of 
Scarlet ;  but  so  far  as  we  know  he  is  never  scar- 
let except  when  he  blushes.  At  all  other  times 
he  is  classed  with  white  men -yea  1  a  white 
Scarlet.  There  be  also  Browns  and  Blacks, 
and  Whites  all  in  the  same  race— white  "  Black  '» 
men  and  black  "  White  "  men.  So  also  in  pro- 
fessions, a  "Smith"  may  be  a  gardener,  and  a 
"  Knif^ht,"  who  never  took  up  arms  in  his  life, 
but  bo  the  broadest  of  Quakers. 

One  might  as  well  quarrel  with  the  name  of 
"  Scarlet  Sage  "  itself,  for  there  are  hundreds  of 
saues  as  scarlet  as  this  one,  and  it  has  no  right 
to  claim  to  itself  the  distinction  of  the  Scarlet 
Sage.  Let  our  friends  remember  that  a  name  is 
but  a  sound  Its  only  use  in  life  is  to  distin- 
cTuish  sotnething,  and  when  it  does  that  positive- 
ly, it  is  a  good  name.] 

Sending  Seeds  and  Trees  by  Railroad. 
—if.,  New  York  City,  says  :  "  I  do  not  know 
why  you  think  the  going  back  a  half  dozen  years 
in  our  postage  laws  was  not  intended  to  benefit 


1873. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOA''TMLY. 


27 


the  express  companies.  You  are  altogether  too 
cliaritable.  I  happened  to  be  in  an  express  office 
recently  as  they  were  changing  loads,  and  the 
number  of  small  parcels  with  our  leading  seeds- 
men's brands,  was  astonishing. 

I  hear  that  thn  old  stage  coach  companies  are 
taking  heart  at  Mr.  Cresswell's  new  postage  law, 
and  have  some  hope  of  getting  Congress  to  pro- 
hibit certain  goods  from  going  by  railroad. 
With  the  railroad  and  post-office  cut  ofl',  they 


expect  jolly  times.  It  is  hardly  credible  that 
the  Government  will  take  so  retrograde  a  step  as 
this  ;  but  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  they  may 
abolish  the  three  cent  letter  rate  and  go  back  to 
the  old  six  cent  charge  Retro,  not  progression, 
seems  the  order  of  the  day." 

[Our  correspondent  writes  seriously,  but  were 
it  not  for  our  unfortunate  experience  witli  the 
last  postal  law,  we  should  think  he  was  in 
jest] 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


The  Fruit  Recorder.— No  one  magazine 
can  do  everything  well.  It  is  always  an  advan- 
tage when  one  specialty  can  be  managed  so  as  to 
receive  undivided  attention.  Purdy  started  a 
paper  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to  small  fruits. 
It  has  ]>roved  a  complete  success,  and  we  note 
that  ho  is  seriously  thinking  of  making  it  appear 
twice  a  month. 


Transactions  of  the  Michigan  State 
Pomological  Society.— We  are  under  obliga- 
tions to  Mr.  C.  J.  Dietrich,  Secretary,  for  a  copy 
of  this  handsome  and  useful  publication,  which 
came  to  hand  sometime  since,  —but  got  removed 
to  our  library  cases  from  the  "book  table"  be- 
fore we  had  examined  its  contents. 


Transactions  of  the  Illinois  IForticul- 
TURAL  Society  for  1872. -From  O.  B  Ga- 
lusha,  Secretary,  another  handsome  and  useful 
volume  highly  creditable  to  all  concerned.  $1  30 
pays  for  membership,  and  membership  entitles 
to  the  report.  The  discussions  and  reports  are 
very  fully  given,  and  afford  an  excellent  inside 
view  of  pomology  as  it  now  is  in  Illinois. 


Address  Delivered  at  the  Opening  of 
Humboldt  College,  Springvale,  Iowa,  by 
President  S.  II.  Taft. -Nothing  interests  on.' 
traveling  in  the  far  west  more  than  the  great 
importance  evidently  given  to  education.  The 
bare  necessities  of  life  are  hardly  secured, -in 
any  new  settlement,  before  the  school  house 
goes  up.  and  this  often  proves  for  some  years, 
the  handhomest  building  in  the  town.  But  it  is 
not  only  in  the  mere  matter  of  an  education 
which  shall  in  time  enable  the  student  to  gather 


together  the  more  easily  dollars  and  cents,  that 
the  western  men  concern  themselves  with,  but 
the  love  of  truth  for  its  own  sake,  call  it  science 
if  you  will,  but  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing, 
seems  to  have  a  stronj;  foot-hold  among  these 
people  Nothing  surprises  an  eastern  man  more 
than  the  knowledge  of  the  science's  dis})layed  by 
the  average  of  peo])le  he  meets.  The  deeper  know- 
ledge would  probably  be  found  in  a  few  select 
eastern  instances,  but  the  general  acquaintance 
with  these  things  is  a  western  trait. 

These  suggestions  occur  to  us  in  reading  this 
address.  Here  is  a  college  which  has  started 
out  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  outshining 
Harvard,— and  this  too  on  a  tract  of  land  which 
fifteen  years  ago  was  but  "a  howling  wilder- 
ness." AVhat  is  more  to  the  point,  they  are 
succeeding  in  getting  towards  that  eminent  po- 
sition at  a  prett}  rapid  pace.  Humboldt  College 
is  already  among  the  great  and  wonderful  suc- 
cesses of  this  wonderful  west.  May  it  have  all 
it  desires.  What  would  this  country  have  been 
without  Harvard  ?  What  will  it  be  when  we 
have  a  score  or  so  like  it  ? 


liENNiE's  Illustrated  Catalogue,  Toron- 
to, Canada. — Most  catalogues  are  so  very  much 
alike,  even  in  their  excellencies,  that  it  is  seldom 
we  can  find  any  with  special  points  which  will 
permit  of  a  special  notice,  but  in  this  very  largo 
and  full  catalogue  we  note  sketches  of  several 
agricultural  implements,  which  appear  to  have 
some  merit,  but  which  are  not  in  use  this  side 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  any  great  extent. 


ViCK's  Illustrated  Floral  Guide.— It  is 
a  pleasure  to  liandle  so  beautiful  a  catalogue  as 


2S 


■■■]. 


m 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLY.      January, 


Mr.  Vick  alwaj's  issues,~and  then  independent- 
ly of  its  value  as  a  seed  catalogue,  it  is  filled 
with  directions  and  bints  for  ornainentin<y 
grounds,  that  it  is  equal  to  a  good  garden  book 
at  the  same  time.  There  is  a  beautiful  colored 
plate  of  the  new  Japan  Cockscomb,  which  is 
scarlet  instead  of  maroon,  as  in  the  common 
kind.  Tick's  chromo  this  year  is  a  collection  of 
Holland  bulbs,  very  distinct  from  his  former 
ones,  but  quite  as  beautiful  as  any. 


Appendix  to  Downing's  Fruits.— We  have 
received  this,  which  gives  the  fruits  named  and 
described  in  various  places  since  the  appearance 
of  Mr.  Downing's  large  book. 

We  find  by  this  that  during  tlie  past  three  or 
four  years  we  are  enriched  to  the  tune  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  new  apples,  and  fifty-nine  new 
synonyms,  which ^  for  "  pomological"  purposes, 
are  as  good  as  new  varieties.  Grapes  have  be- 
come disgusted,  and  give  us  only  five  new  ones. 
Peaches  have  shown  more  courage,  and  have 
brought  forth  eleven.  Pears  give  thirty-three, 
but  America  furnishes  but  six  of  these.  The 
quince  has  but  one  improvement ;  and  the  rasp- 


berry but  four.  In  the  index  we  find  named  the 
apple,  grape,  peach,  pear,  quince,  raspberry  and 
"Susqueco,"  whatever  class  of  fruit  that  may 
be,— and  shade  of  W.  R.  Prince  !  no  new  straw- 
berry I  However,  the  other  departments  have 
done  their  share.  Mr.  Downing  deserves  the 
thanks  of  the  whole  community  for  his  arduous 
labors  in  keeping  us  in  the  run  of  all  these  new 
things.  But  where  is  it  to  stop  ?  Are  we  to  go 
on  this  way  for  the  next  few  years  ?  if  so  we 
shall  have  a  "new"  fruit  for  each  member  of  the 
community,  when  a  man  may  not  only  sit  under 
"  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree,"  but  have  his  own 
variety  also.  But  seriously,  if  this  thing  is  to 
continue  we  had  better  give  up  naming  things 
at  all,  and  each  sow  seed  for  himself,  for  it  must 
be  evident  that  if  the  majority  of  this  immense 
number  of  fruits  was  really  worth  naming,  a 
poor  fruit  in  a  lot  of  seedlings  must  be  the  ex- 
ception rather  than  the  rule. 


Sequoia  and  its  History,  by  Prof,  Asa 
Gray.— This  is  the  Dubuque  address  of  Presi- 
dent Gray,  issued  in  neat  pamphlet  form  by  the 
Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Mass. 


NEW  AND   RAllE   FRUITS. 


The  Duke  of  Buccleuch  Grape.— After  | 
what  has  already  been  said  in  favor  of  this 
Grape,  it  may  appear  unnecessary  to  add  any- 
thing in  its  favor.  I  am,  however,  of  opinion 
that  those  who  have  spoken  well  of  it  in  other 
respects,  underrated  its  keeping  qualities.  I  am 
led  to  Ray  so  from  having  on  the  l*2th  inst.  seen 
a  bunch,  of  it  at  the  Tweed  Vineyard,  in  a  good 
state  of  preservation.  Some  of  the  berries  were 
showing  signs  of  shrivelling,  still  the  bunch  was 
in  a  presentable  condition,  and,  considering  that 
it  was  ripe  early  in  July,  the  flavor,  to  my  taste, 
was  decidedly  good.  The  Duke  is  undoubtedly 
a  stroMg  grower,  when  compared  with  other 
standard  varieties  growing  side  by  side  with  it 
Its  superiority  in  this  respect  is  very  evident. 
My  visit  to  the  Tweed  Vineyard  was  of  a  hur- 
ried nature,  a  circumstance  I  much  regret,  as 
any  one  interested  in  Vine  or  Pine  growing 
could  not  fail  to  benefit  by  a  thorough  examina- 
tion ©f  llie  various  structures  devoted  at  this 
place  to  the  culture  of  these  fruit*.     The  Lady 


Dowue's  house  is  at  the  present  time  worth 
going  a  day's  journey  to  sec.  Fancy  a  span- 
roofed  house  200  feet  long  by  25  wide,  furnished 
on  each  side  from  floor  to  ridge-board  with  an 
extra  heavy  crop  of  Grapes,  as  black  as  Sloes, 
and  fine  both  in  bunch  and  berry  as  regards  size, 
and  you  have  a  Grape  picture  not  to  be  seen 
every  day.— J.  H.,  Brayton,  in  Gardener''$ 
Chronicle, 


Black's  Early  Peach.— Z.  writes  :  **  Your 
correspondent  will  find  an  engraving  and  a  full 
description  of  Black's  Extra  Early  Peach,  by 
Dr.  J.  Stayman,  in  the  Poinologist  and  Garden- 
er of  1871,  September  number,  page  217.  Als» 
a  notice  of  it  ia  the  appendix  to  Downing's. 
Fruits  and  Fruit  Trees,  of  1872.  ' 

[We  now  remember  the  introduction,  and 
that  we  were  so  much  disgusted  with  the  state- 
ment thai  it  was  ''  ten  days  earlier  than  Hales,'* 
that  we  made  no  note  of  it  for  the  Gardener's 
Monthly  as  we  generally  do  of  "likely  "  things. 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ\fTHLY. 


1873. „_    „„ „ 

39 

It  is  strange  that  all  these  wonders  should  be  |  smel7fra!?ranf   nnH  fw  \  ' 

just  ten  days  in  advance.     Won't  some  one  have  I  sample    Mr    Tm^h     T  n  ■"""  '^"'"*°'-    '^"^ 
the  goodness  to  vary  this  thing  a  little  -nine  or  '  tJ^J.l:f  ,  ''"'  '*"'   "''  '"^^  '""^en  ^om 

even  nine  and  a  half  would  b^  a  chan-r    o^Tf  I  '  T"  •■'''''"2-     "«  «ay«  h"  has  been 

tenisnottobethelimitjetitbe  etvef  butin    k'n^'T''"'^^^  '"^"^  *^««  "^  ^^"0«» 

any  event  do  not  keep    he  raise  ev  rriime  1°    It' "l"™!^'''^''  incidentally  that  he  found 


more  money  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  than  in 
any  other  pursuit  he  had  ever  engaged  in.- 
Petersburg  Messenger. 


New  Seedlikg  Strawberry._i  have  re-  

cently  received  from  G.  Cowing,  of  Muucie  Ind  I  n 
a  box  of  his  Seedling  strawberry,  contLinin^  I  .^fO^^^^Of™  Park  Peak. -This  new  En- 
some  of  the  largest  berries  I  have  ever  seen  The  '  f"^"  P'^="">which  has  already  been  noticed  in  the 
fruit  is  produced  in  immense  clusters,  berries  '  ^^''"""f'  ^PP^'*'"^  ^  keep  up  a  high  reputation 
frequently  irregularly  flattened,  is  of  dark  red  i  '°  ^"§'^"''- 


color,  firm  texture,  sprightly,  not  very  acid  fla- 
vor, and  excellent.  The  plant  is  an  extraordi- 
narily  strong  grower,  and  apparently  more  har- 
dy than  most  varieties,  and  I  hope  will  be  a 
valuable  addition  to  the  small  list  of  varieties 


Alexander  Peacil-Wc  noticed  some  time 
a^o  a  peach  raised  by  Messrs.  Jabez  Capps  & 
teons  and  by  a  plate  now  before  us  we  find  it 
has  been  named  the  Alexander.     If  the  colored 


,...«c.„.v.  c.v^«xtiuu  Lu  uic  smaii  iist  or  varieties  "'"''  '^^'^^  uamea  Uia  Alexander.  If  the  colored 
that  are  really  adapted  to  general  cultivation  'A  ^^^^^  ^^  correct,  (and  as  it  is  made  by  Prestele 
but  of  course  it  will  require  an  extended  trial  in  i  '^^  "^^Y  assume  that  it  is)  it  is  the  most  beautil 
different  localities  to  prove  its  general  value,  i  ^"^  ^^^"S  in  the  peach  way  we  have  ever  seen  It 
Mr.  Cowing  is  an  intelligent  amateur,  who  has  ;  ^^^^'^^  ^^  ^^'^^e  shaded  stripes  like  an  apple -and 
given  many  years  to  the  cultivation  of  strawber- !  '^I'^ost  as  dark  as  a  Red  Astrachan.     Indeed 


Ties,  and  selected  this  as  the  best  from  among 
many    thousand   seedlings,   and  after  years   of 
watching,  has  full  confidence  in  its   value.      I 
believe  he  has  no  plants  for  sale  at  present.— E. 
Y.  Teas  in  Country  Oentleman. 


Via  Seedling.— We  have  received  from  Ur. 
W.  T.  Justice,  of  Lunenburg  County,  samples 
of  a  fine  looking  apple  called  the  Via  Seedling, 
for  which  he  will  please  accept  our  best  thanks 


except  of  course  it  is  not  as  large,  one  mi-ht 
suppose  that  an  apple  like  the  Alexander,  sucr, 
gested  its  name.  " 


Delicious  Pear-A  correspondent  in  north- 
ern Maryland,  sends  us  a  box  of  Pears  and  a 
letter,  saying  '* don't  publish,''  which  is  rather 
a  hard  hint  for  an  editor.  There  is  perhaps  no 
harm  in  saying  that  at  this  date,  December  20 
the  pears  are  being  eaten,  and  that  they  are' 
equal  to  Seckels,  and  are  about  the  same  size 


NEW  AND  EARE  PLANTS. 


New  Bicolor  Geranium,  »*  Pride  op 
Mount  HoPE.>'-It  is  a  seedling  of  Messrs. 
*|Uwanger  &  Barry,  and  a  cross  between  Buist's 
i^eauty  and  the  well-known  Mrs.  Pollock  ;  foli- 
age  large  and  of  a  brilliant  yellow  color,  with  a 
^road  chocolate  zone.  Unlike  all  other  Bronze 
geraniums  we  have  yet  seen,  this  succeeds  best 
^nuer  the  hottest  sun;  the  bright  colors  of  the 
aveg  do  not  appear  on  plants  grown  in  the 
«naae  or  under  glass.  Its  vigorous  habit  and 
^^chly  colored  foliage  will  make  it,  we  think  a 


very  effective  and  valuable  plant  for  borders, 
edgings,  &c.  **  It  is  certainly  far  more  effective 
than  any  tricolor  or  bicolor  yet  introduced,'*  is 
a  reliable  English  opinion  of  it. 


ACHYRANTHUS  Casei— During  the  summer 
of  1871,  Mr.  Case,  of  Richmond,  Ind.,  secured  a 
Sport  from  Achyranthus  Lindenii,  very  similar 
in  its  markings  to  Achyranthus  Aurea  Reticu- 
lata, but  differing  from  Achyranthus  Aurea  Re- 
ticulata  in  haying  perfect  leaves,  like  the  origi- 


ii 


]'< 


^1 


If: 


I 


I 


iii 


H; 


Iii! 


so 


TEE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ^TELY.      January, 


nal  Achyranthus  Lindenii.  It  stood  the  sun 
well  during  the  past  summer,  retaining  its  color, 
and  every  way  proved,  Mr.  Case  says,  a  good 
bedding  plant 

New  Magenta  Primrose.  Lady  Madel- 
ine Taylour  (Knox)— Mr.  Cannell,  in  his  En- 
glish Catalogue,  says  :— Who,  when  they  first 
see  the  clear  old  English  Primrose  showing  its 
bright  yellow  bloom,  can  help  but  welcome  it  as 
the  herald  of  approaching  spring,  and  feel  that 
stern  and  dreary  winter  has  passed  and  gone, 
and  that  the  glorious  and  flowery  summer  is  near 
at  hand  ;  but  how  much  more  is  that  beautiful 
yellow  emblem  surpassed  by  the  introduction  of 
the  above  splendid  bright  magenta  colored  vari- 
ety, which  valuable  kind  was  raised  in  Ireland  ; 
its  habit  of  growth  and  freoness  of  bloom  is  in 
every  way  similar  to  the  yellow  variety,  it  is 
figured  in  the  Floral  Worlds  and  considered  by 
the  editor  of  that  periodical,  who  had  a  plant 
submitted  to  him  for  inspection,  to  be  one  of  the 
choicest  hardy  gems  of  new  plants  this  year. 
A  great  acquisition  for  spring  bedding. 


*  Kew  Hardy  Hybrid  Fuchsias.— Under 
this  head  the  English  papers  are  advertising  a 
race  of  Fuchsias,  as  having  ''stood"  the  En- 
glish *'  winters  of  1871  and  '72. ''  Of  course  they 
will  not  stand  the  winters  of  the  Northern  and 
Middle  States  of  America,  but  will  be  much  more 
hardy  than  the  ordinary  classes  of  greenhouse 
Fuchsias.  These  originated  with  the  writer  of 
this  paragraph  in  1841,  with  Fuchsia  fulgens,  a 
tender  Brazilian  species  as  one  of  its  parents ; 
**St.  Clare,'*  the  best  selection  of  the  seedlings 
from  this  cross,  being  first  in  the  field.  These 
later  races  have  been  raised  between  hardier 
species,  and  will  bear  considerable  frost,  provi- 
ded it  be  in  an  atmosphere  not  very  dry,  in 
which  frost  is  much  more  trying  to  plants. 

The  following  are  the  names  and  characters  of 
BO  me  of  these  sub-hardy  kinds  : 

Bland's  Hardy  Hi^brid  No.  1— Is  a  per- 
fect Qlobosa  in  shape,  and  when  its  buds  are 
about  to  burst  exceeds  in  this  respect  the  old  va- 
riety ;  free  graceful  habit ;  flowers  of  a  fine  col- 
or ;  growth  from  4  to  8  feet  high. 

Bland's  Hardy  Hybrid  No.  2- A  most 
profuse  blooming  variety,  medium  size  ;  flowers 
of  bright  color,  evidently  the  result  of  a  cross 
with  the  old  Gracilis;  it  grows  up  to  quite  a 
bush,  and  is  particularly  attractive. 

Bland's  Hardy  Hybrid  No.  3— Somewhat 


similar,  but  a  very  late,  small,  and  abundant 
bloomer.  For  a  mild  climate,  and  fine  autumn 
months  in  England,  it  is  a  most  valuable  out- 
door variety. 

Bland's  Hardy  Hybrid  No.  4— Has  the 
largest  blooms,  and  evidently  a  fine  cross  with 
Glohosa  tind  Try  Me  '0;  its  large  unexpanded 
and  perfectly  round  pods  and  small  tubes  give  a 
very  striking  appearance-,  strong  grower,  and 
a  profuse  bloomer.  A  fine  out-door  variety,  and 
for  shrubs  and  hedges  this  must  ultimately  form 
a  conspicuous  object  in  our  garden  decoration. 

Longiflora  (species}.— This  hardy  variety 
appears  to  have  been  introduced  many  years  ago 
into  the  garden  of  II.  Doubleday,  Esq.,  of  Ep- 
ping,  Essex ;  and  although  possessing  great 
beauty,  stmng  vigorous  habit,  and  produces 
abundance  of  long  pendulous  blooms  of  the 
brightest  coral  scarlet ;  glossy  and  ornamental 
'foliage.  It  appears  to  be  totally  unknown  in 
this  country,  and  in  consequence  of  its  long  flow- 
ers I  have  named  it  as  above.  It  is  certainly  one 
of  the  best  hardy  species  that  we  possess,  and 
ought  to  be  in  every  garden,  says  Mr.  Cannel, 
whose  language  we  use. 


The  Knowfield  Beech.— Every  one  knows 
the  beauty  of  the  Blood-leaved  Beech.  This  new 
variety  is  advertised  in  England  at  a  high  figure. 
It  is  said  to  have  stripes  of  green  and  gold, 
through  the  regular  blood  colored  leaves.  The 
little  plants  are  $5.00  each.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
a  sport  from  a  blood  leaved  Beech,  and  hab  main- 
tained its  character  under  propagation.  If  it 
comes  out  as  it  is  represented,  it  ought  to  be  one 
of  the  finest  things  ever  introduced. 


New  Dahlias.— Mr.  Gerhard  Schmitz,  the 
amateur  Dahlia  fancier  of  Philadelphia,  still  con- 
tinues in  the  good  work  of  improving  his  favor- 
ite flower.  We  have  before  us  a  list  of  twenty- 
four  new  ones  for  1873.  One  thing  we  do  not 
understand  is,  why  names  should  be  so  scarce 
that  two  should  have  the  same.  Here  we  have 
'*  Ceres,  rose  shaded  white ;"  and  another^ 
"Ceres,  orange  shaded  buff."  Is  this  a  typo- 
graphical error,  or  what  ? 


Amaranthus  salicifolius.— This  new  plant 
of  last  year  did  not  please  in  the  early  part  of 
the  season  ;  but  in  the  f^ill,  when  it  change!  the 
color  of  its  upper  leaves,  it  became  a  great  fa- 
vorite. 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


31 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


AMERICAN  POMOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

Fourteenth   Session,   to  be  held  at  Boston^ 

Mass.,  on   Wednssday,  Thursday  and 

Friday,  the  10th,  ll(h  and  12th  of 

September.  1873. 

Dear  Sir  :— 

In  view  of  making  the  next  above-named 
meeting  a  complete  success,  and  with  regard  to 
the  probability  of  a  large  attendance,  we  respect- 
fully ask  of  you  to  suggest  a  system  of  orders  or 
rules  for  its  daily  sessions. 

If  you  have  any  special  item  upon  which  you 
wish  a  discussion,  please  name  it  distinctly ;  and 
at  the  same  time,  state  how  much  time,  in  your 
opinion,  ought  to  be  occupied  by  it. 

If  you  have  any  names  of  persons  whom  you 
think  should  be  on  the  Committees,  please  name 
them  and  state  the  Committee  upon  which  they 
should  be  placed. 

Please  address  your  reply  to  F.  R.  Elliott, 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  be  received  on,  or  before  the 
2d  day  of  January,  1873. 

Marshall  Pinckney  Wilder, 
F.  R.  Elliott,  President. 

Secretary, 


MISSOURI  STATE  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 

The  Fourteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  this  Socie- 
ty will  be  held  at  Jefierson  City,  on  Tuesday, 
"Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Friday,  January 
7th,  8th,  9th  and  10th,  1873.  Delegates  are  cor- 
dially invited  from  other  State  and  local  Horti- 
cultural Societies,  and  a  full  attendance  of  the 
Farmers,  Fruit  Growers  and  Gardeners  of  Mis- 
souri is  earnestly  solicited,  and  all  lovers  of  Hor- 
ticulture are  requested  to  be  present  and  partici- 
pate in  the  discussions  of  the  meeting. 


.  PENNSYLVANIA  FRUIT  GROWERS' 

SOCIETY. 
The  Fourteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  this  flour- 
ishing society,  will  be  held  in  the  city  of  Read- 
ing,  Pa.,  commencing  January  15,  1873,  at  2 
0  clock  P.  M.  Visitors  to  the  meeting  are  re- 
quested to  bring  with  them  such  fruits  as  they 


may  possess.  New  varieties  of  merit  are  speci- 
ally desired,  and  improved  horticultural  imple- 
ments will  also  be  regarded  as  appropriate.  The 
following  will  be  the  order  of  business  : 

Election  of  Officers  ;  Report  of  the  General 
Fruit  Committee,  &c. 

Address  by  the  President.  New  and  unfin- 
ished business. 

The  remainder  of  the  sessions  will  be  devoted 
to  discussions  on  the  following  topics,  as  report- 
ed by  the  Committee  on  Business.  Gentlemen 
whose  names  are  affixed  to  each,  are  expected  to 
open  the  same  with  a  short  essay  or  impromptu 
address. 

1st.  What  is  the  most  economical  kind  offence 
for  farms,  orchards,  or  gardens,  and  what  is  the 
best  method  of  treating  live  fences  ?~TiiOMAS 
Meeiian. 

2nd,  What  is  the  best  time  to  plant  fruit  trees? 
— T.  B.  Jenkins. 

3rd.  What  is  the  best  preparation  of  ground 
for  an  orchard  ?— H.  M.  Engle. 

4th.  What  is  the  most  profitable  way  of  man- 
aging a  fruit  orchard  and  garden  ?— E.  Satter- 

THWAIT. 

5th.  What  is  the  best  method  of  manurinsr 
fruit  trees  ?— T.  M.  Harvey. 

6th.  What  new  or  little  known  varieties  of 
pears  or  apples  are  believed  to  be  worthy  of  more 
notice  ?— Tobias  -Martin. 

7th.  How  does  water  benefit  plants ;  how  do 
plants  feed  ;  and  has  science  aided  fruit-culture  ? 
—J.  S.  Stauffer. 

8th.  What  method  of  propagating  grapes  pro- 
duces the  healthiest  plants ;  has  grape-growing 
jiroved  profitable  ;  has  any  grape  introduced 
since  the  Concord,  been  generally  reliable  ;  and 
why  have  so  many  gaapes  failed  ?— F.  F.  Mer- 

CERON. 

9th.  How  can  we  best  promote  the  interests 
of  fruit-growing  ?— A.  S.  Fuller. 

10th.  Is  it  profitable  to  beautify  one's 
grounds  ?— Chas.  H.  Miller. 

11th.  What  are  the  must  profitable  modes  of 
securing  fertilizers  for  the  soil  ?— Willeam 
Saunders. 

12th.  What  are  the  best  methods  of  ripening 
and  preserving  pears  ?— Samuel  W.  Noble. 

13th.  Is  underdraining  profitable  ?—H.  T. 
Williams, 


r 


82 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJfTHLY.       January, 


1 1  I 


fi  I 


f'  ■■*' 


ilnrff 


14th.  What  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds 
to  the  fruit  grower,  and  should  there  be  laws  en- 
acted for  weed  extermination  ?— Wm.  Parry. 

15th.  Are  there  any  advantages  to  be  derived 
from   shelter  belts  around  orchards  V — J.  Hib- 

BARD  BARTRAM. 

Each  member  of  the  Society  will  be  expected 
to  hand  to  the  Secretary,  at  the  opening  session 
a  written  answer  to  the  following  question,  and 
the  result  will  be  announced  before  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  convention,  viz  : — What  are  the  best 
six  Apples,  six  Pears,  six  Peaches,  two  Straw- 
berries, and  two  Grapes  for  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania ? 


WESTERN    NEW    YORK    HORTICUL- 
TURAL SOCIETY. 

We  very  much  regret  that  we  do  not  receive 
notices  of  the  meetings  of  the  various  Horticul- 
tural and  Pomological  Societies,  to  serve  them  by 
a  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  meeting  in 
these  columns.  There  are  some,  we  suppose, 
which  do  not  feel  that  any  notice  is  of  any  value 
to  them  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  know  that 
there  are  others  who  imacjine  that  when  their 
efforts  are  unnoticed,  it  is  because  the  Garden- 
€r's  3Ionthly  is  indifferent  to  their  success,  when 
really  it  is  the  fault  of  the  Societies  themselves, 
in  not  furnishing  us  with  early  information. 

Just  as  we  go  to  press,  we  receive  the  circular 
of  the  Western  Horticultural  Society  of  New 
York.  It  is  to  be  held  at  Geneva,  commencing 
January  8th.  People  do  not  generally  "get  up 
and  go,"  but  like  to  arrange  their  little  trips  a 
week  or  two  in  advance.  W<e  hardly  suppose, 
therefore,  that  any  of  our  readers  will  be  able  to 
go  after  receiving  this  number;  but,  to  show 
our  new  friends  that  we  wish  to  serve  them  if 
they  will  only  give  us  the  news  in  time,  we  ap- 
pend below,  as  a  matter  of  interest,  the  titles  of 
the  subjects  they  intend  to  discuss  : 

FRUITS. 

Apples. — 1.  What  is  the  best  way  to  keep 
Apples  for  family  use  ?  On  shelves,  in  boxes, 
barrels,  &c.,  &c.?  2.  What  new  varieties  of 
Apples  promise  well  ? 

Pears.— 1.  What  are  the  best  six  market 
Pears  ?  Discussion  and  ballot.  2.  How  late 
«hould  winter  Pears  be  gathered  as  compared 
with  Apples,  and  what  is  the  best  mode  of  keep- 
ing ?  3.  Is  the  cultivation  of  the  Dwarf  Pear 
becoming  more  successful  in  general  ?  4.  What 
new  varieties  give  promise  of  excellence  and 
value  ? 


Plums,  Peaches  and  Cherries.  —  1.  What  are 
the  best  market  sorts  ?  2.  What  new  sorts  pro- 
mise well  ? 

Small  Fruits. —1.  Which  of  the  small  fruits 
are  most  profitable  for  market  culture  ?  2.  What 
experience  have  we  of  the  superior  value  of 
small  fruits  with  extra  care  of  raising  and  pack- 
ing for  market,  as  compared  with  ordinary  man- 
agement ?  3.  What  new  varieties  of  Strawberry, 
Raspberry,  Gooseberry,  &c.,  promise  well  ? 

Ompes. — 1.  What  does  recent  experience  sug- 
gest in  regard  to  the  proper  distance  for  setting 
Grapes  in  the  vineyard  V  2.  What  are  the  great- 
est crops  that  vines  can  safely  bear  at  different 
ages  ?  3.  What  is  the  experience  of  the  past 
year  with  the  newer  sorts— the  lona,  the  Eume- 
lan,  the  Rogers'  Hybrids,  the  Arnold's  Hybrids, 
Underbill's,  &c.  ? 

Nuts. — 1.  Can  any  of  the  Nuts  be  grown  here 
with  profit  ? 

Dryincf  Fruits. — 1.  Has  there  been  any  recent 
improvement  in  the  method  of  drying  fruits  and 
vegetables,  by  artificial  heat?  2.  Is  it  likely 
that  the  drying  by  artificial  heat  will  greatly  in- 
crease the  demand  for  fruits  ?  3.  Can  Raisins 
be  successfully  made  from  any  of  our  Grapes  ? 

Insects. — 1.  What  insects  are  most  injurious  to 
fruits  and  fruit  trees,  and  how  destroyed?  2. 
What  is  the  best  contrivance  for  destroying  the 
Curculio  ?  3.  What  new  facts  have  we  relative 
to  the  Codling  Moth  ? 

ORNAMENTAL  TREES  AND  PLANTS. 

1.  What  was  the  cause  of  so  much  injury  to 
Evergreen  trees  in  the  winter  of  1871  and  '72  ? 

2.  What  newly  or  recently  introduced  orna- 
mental trees,  shrubs  or  plants  are  worthy  of 
special  commendation  ? 

3.  What  are  the  best  six  and  twelve  orna- 
mental foliaged  plants  for  garden  decoration  in 
summer,  especially  for  ribbon-gardening  ? 

4.  What  are  the  best  large  foliaged  plants  for 
what  is  called  subtropical-gardening  ? 

GENERAL   SUBJECTS. 

1.  What  experiments  have  been  made  in  re- 
gard to  thinning  fruits,  and  results  on  crops, 
prices  in  market  and  condition  of  trees  ? 

2.  Is  there  any  encouragement  for  the  produc- 
tion of  new  varieties  of  fruits  and  ornamental 
trees,  plants  and  flowers  by  hybridizing  ? 

3.  Have  we  made  any  real  advancement  in  the 
improvement  of  fruits  during  the  past  ten  years  ? 

4.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  nurserymen,  fruit- 
growers, &e.,  to  contribute  more  freely  of  their 
experience  to  the  horticultural  press  ? 


dard^iur's 


on  tit  I  u. 


DEVOTED  TO 


Horticultitre,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs^ 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.   XV.  FEBBUARJ,    1873.      NC'^  Series.  Vol.  VL  No.  2 


HINTS    rOK   FEBHUAEY. 


FLOWER  GARDEX  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

Very  few  of  our  readers,  except  of  those  who 
have  been  in  Europe,  know  what  standard  roses 
are.  There  is  in  Europe  a  species  of  wild  rose 
known  as  the  Dog  Rose,  one  closely  allied  to  the 
sweet  brier,  but  which  has  a  very  hard  woody 
stem.  These  are  collected  from  the  woods  when 
about  one  inch  in  diameter,  and  cut  back  to 
about  five  or  six  feet  from  the  roots.  Near 
where  the  head  is  cut  off  from  three  to  five 
shoots  are  left  to  grow  during  the  next  season, 
and  when  the  proper  time  comes  in  the  summer, 
these  are  buflded  with  any  kinds  desired.  Thus 
they  make  heads  on  these  straight  stiff  stems, 
and  are  then  standard  roses.  In  this  country 
no  great  success  has  followed  their  introduction. 
In  the  first  place  the  majority  of  our  pretty  va- 
rieties are  not  hardy  enough,  and  in  the  next, 
the  hot  dry  suns  evaporate  the  juices  so  rapidly 
that  not  enough  gets  to  the  growing  head.  The 
circulation  up  the  stems  becomes  obstructed, 
and  while  the  head  becomes^  weakened,  the  sap 
which  wants  to  get  up  the  stem  and  cannot, 
finds  a  vent  in  a  crop  of  suckers,  which  still 
more  divert  the  course  of  the  sap  from  the  head, 
and  thus  the  plant  we  have  grafted  and  cared 
for,  soon  dies  out.  Many  have  often  regretted 
that  we  cannot  have  standard  rosjshere  as  they 
have  in  Europe,  and  yet  we  now  find  Europe- 
ans getting  up  an  outcry  against  the  whole 
thing.  For  our  part  we  feel  that  the  standard 
rose  business  has  been  overdone  in  the  old 
world,  and  should  be  sorry  to  see  them  succeed 
here  to  the  extent  they  are  used  there  ;  and  yet 
we  like  a  little  of  this  kind  of  art  in  our  garden 


arrangements,  and  feel  that  we  have  much  too 
little  of  it. 

So  far  as  the  rose  itself  is  concerned,  the  Dog 
Rose  as  we  have  said,  does  not  well  suit  our  cli- 
mate ;  but  it  is  said  just  as  good  stocks  can  be 
made  of  our  Prairie  Rose.  This  is  worth  trying. 
The  Prairie  Rose  strikes  as  easy  as  the  Manetti, 
and  it  would  not  be  hard  to  get  up  a  good  sup- 
ply of  them.  Not  only  the  rose,  but  many  other 
striking  objects  can  be  had  by  grafting  things 
"  standard  high,"  and  in  other  ways.  It  is  this 
principle  which  gives  value  to  the  Kilmarnock 
Weeping  W^illow  and  similar  trees.  Besides 
this,  much  may  be  done  by  training  up  trailing 
things  to  a  certain  height,  and  then  leaving 
them  to  take  care  of  themselves.  The  trailing 
junipers  treated  this  way,  make  very  pretty  ob- 
jects ;  and  the  Chinese  Wistaria  is  particularly 
grand.  While  however  we  favor  this  artificial 
style  to  some  extent,  one  must  be  careful  of  too 
much  trimming  and  pruning  Some  places  are 
laughing  stocks  to  every  person  of  true  taste — 
every  thing  sheared  and  cut  into  one  regular 
formal  shape  all  over  the  ground. 

As  a  general  rule  evergreens  please  best  when 
they  are  close  and  densely  clothed  with  foliage. 
If  one  has  thin  open  trees  they  can  be  made  into 
the  most  enviable  specimens  by  a  judicious  use 
of  the  kuife.  As  soon  as  the  frost  has  probably 
departed  is  an  excellent  time  to  do  this.  Cut 
back  the  growth  of  last  year  to  within  a  few 
inches  of  where  it  started  from.  It  is  very  essen- 
tial, however, to  remember  that  the  whole  plant, 
leading  shoot  included,  must  be  done  at  one  time. 
It  is  particularly  essential  that  the  leader  be 
shortened.     A  new  one  will  push,  and  generally 


•     .1 


■««    . 


I 


34 


THE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ^THLY.     February, 


will  grow  straight ;  if  not,  a  little  art  will  help 
it.  Several  leaders  will  come  out  sometimes, 
but  of  course  all  must  be  sprouted  off  but  one. 
By  this  simple  treatment,  any  dilapidated  old 
scrub  may  be  brought  to  the  perfection  of  beau- 
ty, if  it  have  not  lost  its  lower  branches,  when 
of  course,  it  is  beyond  grace  to  restore.  Prun- 
ing of  all  kinds  should  be  got  through  with  as 
soon  as  possible— the  earlier  this  is  done  the 
stronger  will  plants  push  in  spring.  Nothing 
weakens  trees  or  shrubs  more  than  to  be  cut 
severely  just  as  the  new  growth  is  pushing. 

Rustic  adornments  very  often  highly  embel- 
lish grounds.  These  can  be  made  of  split  wood 
nailed  to  board  frames.  The  worst  feature  is  that 
they  rot  away  so  soon  in  our  climate  as  scarcely 
to  serve  long  enpugh  for  the  labor.  To  guard 
against  this  every  part  of  the  frame  work  should 
be  tarred  or  painted,  and  the  pieces  used  for  the 
fancy  work  should  be  stripped  of  its  bark,  and 
painted  of  various  shades  of  color  to  represent 
natural  shades  of  bark.  The  effect  is  not  so 
striking  as  when  the  bark  is  left  on,  but  we  have 
to  sacrifice  a  little  to  permanence. 

In  those  parts  of  the  Union  where  frost  is  over, 
February  is  the  great  planting  month,  but  do 
not  plant  immediately  after  the  frost  leaves  the 
soil ;  wait  till  it  dries  a  little,  when  you  can 
tread  the  soil  firmly  about  the  roots  without  risk 
of  rendering  it  hard  as  it  dries  more.  If  circum- 
stances  make  it  necessary  to  plant  in  wet  soil, 
do  not  press  the  soil  much  until  it  gets  drier.  It 
is  important  to  have  the  so' I  well  pressed  about 
the  roots,  but  it  injures  soil  to  press  it  when 
wet. 

As  soon  as  the  frost  leaves  the  ground,  the 
lawn  should  be  rolled  with  a  heavy  roller,  while 
it  is  yet  soft ;  this  will  make  it  have  a  smooth 
surface,  take  out  many  small  inequalities,  and 
press  again  into  the  soil  the  roots  of  the  finer 
grasses  which  the  frost  may  have  drawn  out. 
AVhere  new  lawns  have  to  be  made  next  spring, 
the  seeds  should  be  sown  as  early  in  March  as 
possible,  and  the  ground  should  be  prepared  for 
that  now,  if  opportunity  offers.  For  a  good  lawn 
the  soil  should  be  loosened  at  least  twenty  inches 
deep,  and  be  well  enriched  with  stable-manure, 
where  practicable,  in  preference  to  any  concen- 
trated preparations.  Guano,  super-phosphates, 
<fec.,  are  well  enough  ;  but  they  do  not  give  the 
soil  that/t'6re,  or  lend  it  i\\2it  porosity  by  which  it 
retains  moisture  and  air,  so  essential  to  perfect 
vegetation. 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

Grape  Vines  are  of  course  all  pruned  and  tied 
up.  Just  as  the  buds  are  bursting  the  steel  blue 
beetle  attacks  them.  Hand  killing  is  the  remedy. 
AVhere  Grape  Vines  are  to  grow  fast,  use  twiggy 
stakes  or  wire  trellis  for  them  to  cling  to.  It  is 
as  good  as  manure.  Also  in  planting  Grapes  be 
sure  to  have  a  dry  bottom.  The  best  security 
against  wet  roots  is  to  raise  the  soil  above  the 
level  of  the  surface.  Also  the  drier  the  soil  the 
richer  it  may  be  without  risk  of  injury.  Organic 
manures  sour  rapidly  in  wet  places,  and  injure 
fibres. 

Remember  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  the 
root  insect  — the  Pliylloxiera  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  importance  of  this  discovery.  It  is 
believed  that  most  of  the  failures  arise  from  this 
root  insect,  and  the  man  who  shall  succeed  in 
discovering  a  cure  will  be  one  of  the  great  bene- 
factors to  grape  culture.  We  noted  some  time 
ago  that  it  could  be  drowned  out.  Forty-eight 
hours  under  water  will  kill  them  ;  but  this  can 
be  done  only  when  the  plants  are  not  growing. 
Forty-eight  hours  under  water  to  a  growing 
vine  will  kill  it  as  well  as  the  insect.  We  hardly 
expect  much  will  be  done  in  this  way  this  year. 
It  will  take  the  whole  season  for  those  who  are 
interested  to  become  familiar  with  the  insect. 
They  say  that  though  so  minute,  it  will  rapidly 
take  every  part  of  bark  from  the  roots,  leaving 
them  powerless  to  supply  food  to  the  plants. 

The  rule,  in  pruning  grape-vines,  is  to  shorten 
the  shoots  in  proportion  to  their  strength  ;  but  if 
the  advice  we  have  given  informer  summer  hints 
has  been  attended  to,  there  will  be  little  dispro- 
portion in  this  matter,  as  summer  pinching  of 
the  strong  shoots  has  equalized  the  strength  of 
the  vine.  Those  who  are  following  any  particu- 
lar system  will,  of  course,  prune  according  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  ob- 
ject of  pruning  in  any  case  is  to  get  strong 
shoots  to  push  where  they  may  be  desired,  or  to 
increase,  with  the  increased  vigor  of  the  shoot, 
which  pruning  supposes  will  follow  the  act,  in- 
creased size  in  the  fruit  it  bears. 

Gooseberries  and  Currants  should  have  their 
weaker  shoots  thinned  out,  and  a  little  of  those 
left,  shortened.  It  makes  the  fruit  much  larger. 
The  foreign  varieties  mildew  badly  unless  grown 
where  the  roots  will  be  moist  and  cool  in  sum- 
mer, but  not  wet.  All  these  mountain  or  high 
northern  races,  want  a  <  ool  summer  aoil.     Wit!) 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLr. 


36 


the  exception  of  the  Cluster  there  has  not  been 
much  improvement  on  the  Houghton's  Seedlint^ 
which  is  the  most  popular  of  the  more  hardy 
American  class  Of  Currants  the  Red  and 
White  Dutch  and  Versaillaise  are  we  think  still 
the  best. 

Of  Strawberries,  Wilson's  Albany  remains  the 
rr.oiit  generally  popular  ;  deficient  in  flavor,  as  it 
undoubtedly  is.  Of  course  they  'may  be  set 
out  now,"  if  the  spring  has  cone,  but  such  hints 
are  almost  too  stereotyped  to  be  of  service  to  our 
readers. 

Of  the  Fruit  Garden  for  February  we  may  say 
in  a  general  wny— 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.  In  planting  these  have  a  care 
of  deep  planting,  Even  two  inches  lower  than 
the  roots  are  is  often  fatal.  Plant  on  a  dry  day, 
barely  cover  the  roots  ;  but  beat  or  press  the  soil 
very  hard  and  firm. 

As  to  tjie  best  varieties  of  fruits  to  plant,  that 
is  a  question  which  a  work,  intended  as  ours  is 
for  the  whole  United  States,  cannot  answer. 
We  are  continually  publishing  fruit  lists  adapted 
to  the  different  sections  in  the  body  of  our  work, 
aed  to  them  we  rfer. 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

In  the  Middle  States,  the  work  for  February 
will,  for  the  most  part,  consist  of  preparations 
for  future  operations,  and  particularly  for  deal- 
ing with  the  manure  question.  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  cabbage,  lettuce,  spin- 
ach, etc.  The  other  class  which  is  grown  prin- 
cipally for  its  seeds  or  pods,  as  beans,  peas,  etc., 
do  not  require  much  manure  of  this  character, 
in  fact,  they  are  injured  by  it.  Ic  causes  too 
great  a  growth  of  stem  and  leaf,  and  the  earli- 
uess— a  great  aim  in  vegetable  growing— is  inju- 
riously affected.  Mineral  manures,  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  ;  theugh  to  the 
8mell  no  trace  of  "  ammonia  "  remains  in  it. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  a  vegeta- 


ble garden  is  a  hot  bed  for  starting  seeds  early. 
I  The  end  of  the  month  will  be  time  enough  for 
;  those  who  have  not  command  of  a  large  supply 
!  of  stable  mixnure,  as  the  very  low   temperature 
we  often  get  at  the  end  of  the  month,  soon  ab- 
,  sorbs  all  the  heat  the  hot-bed  possessed.    It  is  in 
!  any  event  best  to  put  up  the  beds  in  the  warm- 
j  est  and  most  sheltered  spots  wo  can  find,  and  to 
j  keep  co'd  winds  from  che  manure,  by  covering  it 
with  branches  of  trees,  or  mats  ;  and  the  glass 
I  should  always  be  covered  with  mats  at  night. 
I  Tomatoes,  egg-plants,  peppeis  and  cucumbers, 
I  are  the  first  seeds  to  be  sown  this  way.     Cooler 
,  frames  can  be  got  ready  for  cauliflower,  lettuce, 
beets,  celery  and  Early  York  cabbage,  a  little  of 
;  which  may  be  sown  about  the  end  of  the  month 
;  for  the  earliest  crops.     The  Cauliflower  is  a  par- 
I  ticuhirly  valued  vegetable,  and  no  expense  spared 
!  to  get  them  in  perfection  will  be  regretted  when 
i  one's  efforts  are  successful. 
1      Thrse  who  have  hot-beds  will  now  sow  Toma- 
toes, Egg-plants,  Peppers,  and  other  vegetables 
:  that  can  be  forwarded  by  this  means ;  and  those 
I  who  have  not,  will  sow  them  in  boxes  or  pans, 
1  and  forward  them  in  windows.     Every  garden 
ought  to  have  at  least  a  few  hot-bed  sashes  to 
;  forward  early  vegetables  ;  for  if  they  liave  no 
I  means  of  applying  artificial  heat  to  them,  the 
I  sash  will  of  itself  forward  some  things  consider- 
ably. 
j      Many  parties  like  to  have  Turnips  sown  in 
spring.     The  only  way  to  succed   with  them  is 
j  to  sow  as  early  as  possible,  and  on  a  very  rich 
piece  of  ground,  where  they  may  grow  speedily. 
If  they  do   not  swell  before    the  hot   weather 
I  comes,  they  will  certainly  run  to  seed. 
I      About  the  middle  or  end  of  the  month,  or  still 
'  later  at  the  North— say  the  middle  of  March— 
,  Celery  and  late  Cabbage  may  be  sown.     Here 
j  we  usually  sow  the  second  week  in  March. 
I      All  gardens  should  have  beds  of  herbs.     They 
I  are  always  looked  for  in  the  fall,  and  nearly  al- 
ways forgotten  in  the  spring.     Now  is  the  time 
to  plant  Thyme,  Sage,   Mint,  Balm,  and  other 
perennial  herbs,  and  Parsley  and  other  seeds  of 
hardy  kinds  may  be  sown.     When  we  say  now, 
it  is  of  course   understood  to  mean  where  the 
frost  has  evidently  broken  up  for  the  season. 
Our  readers  in  less  favored  climes  will  not  forget 
it  when  it  does.  ^ 

In  the  anxiety  to  have  early  crops,  people  often 
work  the  ground  while  it  is  wet.  But  nothing 
is  gained,  not  until  it  will  powder,  when  it  is  dug 
is  it  fit  for  turning  up. 


36 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJiTHLY.      February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJVTHLl. 


37 


i    , 


?1 


» 


Hit!. 


I 


C  0  M  M  U  N  I  C  A  T  I  0  N  S. 


NOTES  ox  SOME  HARDY  IIEHBACEOUS 

PLANTS. 

py  JOHN  DUNCAN,  LEXINGTON,  KY. 
THE  LARGE   LEAVED  SAXIFRAGES. 

8.  Stiacheyi.— This,  well  marked  species  is  fig- 
ured in  the  "Botanical  Register ''  under  the 
name  of  S.  ciliaia  of  Royle,  which  it  is  not.  It 
differs  from  true  S,  ciliata  in  having  glabrous 
leaves,  and  also  in  the  circumstance  that  here 
the  leaves  are  sessile,  that  is  willnnit  stalks. 
The  blossoms  are  arranged  in  good  large  pani- 
cles, and  present  themselves  in  spring.  The 
corolla  is  white,  or  sometimes  with  a  plight  in 


of  the  most  commanding  objects  that  can  be  put 
upon  rockwork.  An  idea  of  what  a  good  speci- 
men of  this  kind  is  like,  may  be  conveyed  by  the 
fact  that  I  have  measured  leaves  two  and  a  half 
feet  long,  inclusive,  of  course,  of  the  stalk,  the 
blade  on  such  being  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
inches  across.  It  is  not  evergreen.  The  blos- 
soms are  in  panicles,  and  coming  early  in  spring 
before  the  leaves,  are  not  near  so  effective  as 
they  would  be  were  the  leaves  evergreen.  The 
petals,  though  uncommonly  pile  in  color,  arc 
nevertheless  very  pretty.  Branches  are  pro- 
duced pi  'utifully,  and  by  means  of  these  it  is 


fusiou  of  rose  color.  The  plant  is  a  native  of  the  ,  quite  easy  to  increase  the  stock;  and  the  opera- 
Himalaya  Mountains,  quite  hardy  in  England,  !  tion  should  bo  i)crrormed  early  in  autumn  or  in 
and  I  expect  will  prove  the  same  in  this  coun-  spring,  after  flowering  is  over.  Almost  any 
try  when  introduced,  which  it  well  deserves  to  be.  '  kind  of  earth  will  do,  but  there  must  be  no  stag- 
It  is  evergreen,  admirably  adapted  to  rockwork  \  nant  water.  The  best  carlh  is  a  rich  loam,  con- 
decoration  as  well  as  pot  culture,  and  its  in- '  taiuing  a  good  amount  of  leaf  mould —and  I  re- 
crease  and  general  treatment  is  the  same  as  that  i  peat  again,  every  care  must  be  taken  to  have  the 
required  to  do  Justice  to  IS.  ciliata.  I  never  drainage  good.  A  neglect  of  this  precaution  is 
saw  our  present  subject  except  at  Kew  Gardens,  .  sure  to  result  fatally,  and  may  further  lead  to 
En<yland,  !  the  erroneous  belief  that  this  sort  is  tender.     A 

S.  purpurascens.-Tlurc  are  only  live  large  ,  native  of  the  coldest  parts  of  the  Himalayas,  and 
leaved  species  of  the  present  genus  in  cultiva-  j  pretty  common  in  the  gardens  of  Europe, 
tion,  and  this  is  by  far  most  handsome,  ami  j  S.  lirjulata.—lt  is  not  easy  to  see  to  what  part 
amongst  the  rarest  of  all.  The  leaves  are  ever- I  of  the  jdant  this  specific  name  has  reference, 
green  and  (luite  destitute  of  hairyness  on  any  '  An  evergreen  which  flowers  in  spring,  and  does 
part,  and  in  these  two  respects  they  may  be  said  '  so  perhaps  more  freely  than  any  allied  sort.  The 
to  resemMe  theleaves  of  >S  cra.ssi/o/m,  but  in  the  I  leaves  are  inversely  egg-shaped,  stalked,  and 
kind  (ui(!<  r  consideration  the  leaves  are  simply  ;  hairy  along  the  edges  only.  This  last  character 
ovat  ■.   the  broadest  part,  of  course,   below  the  i  separates   our  subject  from   S.  ciliata^   which, 


middle,  whereas  in  S.  crassffoUa  the  leaves  are 
obovate  or  inversely  egg-shaped,  the  broadest 
part  being  nearer  the  extremity  than  the  base  of 
the  blade.    And  besides,  to  the  experienced  aye, 
the   flowers  can  yield  important  aid  in  distin 


strange  as  it  may  appear  when  one  thinks  of  the 
name,  is  hairy  all  over,  and  as  S.  jri.rpura.^cens 
and  S,  crissifolia  arc  completely  destitute  of  all 
hr^iryness  from  them  also.  Also  our  subject  may 
be  known  from  S.  .sUackeyi  by  the  well  defined 


guishing  the  kind  before  us  from  the  one  with  j  stalks,   present  here,   but   absent    there       The 


which  w^!  have  been  comparing  it.  The  blos- 
soms come  early  in  spring,  and  all  their  parts 
are  of  a  deep  red  or  purple  color,  bright  and 
beautifu  ,  and  in  this  way  even  the  peduncles 
an;  tinted  down  to  the  very  base.  A  native  of 
the  Uimal.iyas,  and  probably  |^ould  be  hardy  in 
America  to  which  it  has  not  yai,  I  presume, 
been  introduci'd.  As  regards  culture,  propaga- 
tion, etc.,  it  should  be  dealt  with  according  to 
the  details  given  below  for  S.  ciliata. 

S.  ciliata  -  This  tar  sur[>asses  all  its  relatives 
as  regards  IMi  ige,  and  on  this  account  forms  one 


(corolla  of  a  rose  is  not  unfrequently  a  purple  col- 
or, and  the  inflorescence  a  panicle.  For  partic- 
ulars relating  to  culture,  etc.,  see  under  S.  cras- 
nifolia.     A  native  of  the  Himalaj'as. 

S  craa-sifoUa.  An  old  favorite,  needing  no 
recommendation.  The  leaves  are  stalked  in- 
versely egg  shaped,  and  without  hairs,  and  also 
evergreen.  The  fl  )wers  bloom  out  early  in  spring, 
and  are  arranged  in  considerable  panicles.  The 
corolla  is  very  beautiful,  the  petals  being  each 
about  half  an  inch  long,  and  of  a  rose  or  purple 
color,     [ucrease  by   parting  should   take  effect 


after  the  flowers  fade.  Does  best  in  a  stony, 
well-drained  deep  loam,  and  is  fit  for  border  or 
pot  culture,  and  looks  admirable  on  rockwork. 
A  native  of  Siberia.  There  is  a  variety  of  this 
species  known  as  intermedia,  or  sometimes  cordi- 
folia,  and  readily  distinguished  by  the  short 
roundish  leaves. 

NERTERA   DEPRESSA 

This  is  an  extremely  peculiar  little  plant,  and 
is  also  at  the  same  time  exceedingly  beautiful. 
Its  habit  and  size  are  about  the  same  as  that  of 
Sagina  procumbens.  The  flowers  are  produced 
very  plentifully,  but  being  small  and  green,  just 
the  color  of  the  leaves,  it  is  not  an  easy  matter 
for  the  uninitiated  to  detect  them.  The  berries 
are  the  principal  ornament  of  our  subject,  and 
they  reach  the  zenith  of  their  beauty  in  autumn. 
They  are  about  as  big  as  the  fruit  of  the  English 
mountain  ash,  colored  pretty  much  like  that, 
but  rather  more  delicate  and  pleasing,  and  made 
80  partly  by  a  polished  glistening  surface.  The 
wonder  is  that  all  this  happens  on  a  plant  no 
bigger  than  a  moss,  and  that  the  berries  not  un- 
frequently form  quite  a  dense  mass,  as  the  quan- 
tity of  blossom  already  referred  to  might  lead 
one  to  expect.  Probably  in  this  country,  except 
in  the  sunny  South,  it  would  not  prove  hardy, 
because  in  the  neighborhood  of  London,  Eng- 
land, in  very  severe  winters,  it  required  a  little 
protection  ;  but  it  deserves  this  and  far  more. 
It  is  a  native  of  New  Zealand.  I  do  not  think 
it  has  yet  been  carried  to  these  shores  in  the 
living  state.  What  a  gem  it  would  be  for  a 
Wardian  case,  or  any  similar  place  I  It  is  al- 
most as  readily  increased  as  a  Selaginella,  and 
delights  in  a  rich  loam.  Either  seed  or  partiniz 
may  be  resorted  to  for  the  purposes  of  ic-iiii pli- 
cation, the  former  to  be  sown  in  spring,  and  the 
latter  may  be  done  almost  any  time  if  care  is 
exercised 

DRACOCEPHALUM. 

i>.  peregrinum. — In  this  species  the  stem  and 
branches  are  of  the  same  general  character  as 
those  of  D.  austriacum,  but  a  distinguishing 
mark  may  be  found  in  the  leaves,  these  being 
lanceolate  and  irregularly  toothed  along  the 
edges.  In  the  plant  before  us  the  blossoms  are 
purple,  and  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long, 
and  produced  in  handsome  racemes  at  the  end 
both  of  the  primary  and  secondary  shoots.  In- 
crease by  parting  by  cuttings  or  by  seed,  the  first 
to  be  done  early  in  the  fall,  and  the  second  and 
last  in  the  spring.  A  rich  deep  loam.  A  na- 
tiye  of  Siberia,  and  would  prcbably  prove  hardy 


any  where  south  of  Boston,  and  well  deserving 
of  introductitjn,  if  not  already  in  the  land.  In 
many  European  collections. 

D.  austriacum. — This  is  a  most  beautiful  plant 
—  herbaceous  in  the  sense  that  it  dies  down 
every  year,  but  the  shoots  are  of  a  hard  woody 
texture,  and  grow  almost  a  foot  high.  The 
leaves  are  opposite,  and  cut  into  four  or  five  seg- 
ments. The  flowers  are  large  and  handsome, 
being  an  inch  long  ;  purple  for  the  most  part, 
and  produced  in  terminal  spikes.  The  lower  lip 
of  the  corolla  is  very  delicately  spotted,  much  in 
the  same  way  as  the  inside  of  the  corolla  of  D/gr- 
italis  purpurea,  or  English  Foxglove.  The  blos- 
soms exhibit  during  summer,  and  the  species  is 
easily  increased,  either  by  cuttings  or  seed  after 
the  manner  referred  to  above  under  the  other 
sort.  A  native  of  Austria,  and  probably  would 
be  hardy  anywhere  in  the  States  south  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Not  very  rare  in  collections  in  Eu- 
rope. 

SIXENE  ALPESTRIS. 

This  beautiful  plant  grows  about  six  im  hes 
high.  The  blossoms  seem  almost  whiter  than 
snow,  so  pure  do  they  look  when  they  first  ex- 
pand, and  they  are  produced  at  the  extremity  of 
the  erect  and  slender  shoots.  Strictly  herba- 
ceous and  almost  evergreen.  The  stems  are  of 
a  red  color,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  plant  is 
viscid,  to  the  discomfort,  if  not  ruin  of  any  small 
fly  that  may  be  in  the  way.  I  do  not  know  a 
more  charmingly  effective  little  mountain  gem 
than  this.  The  tlowers  begin  to  display  them- 
selves early  in  summer,  and  do  not  like  some 
other  flowers  of  other  members  of  the  genus, 
close  and  unclose  again,  but  continue  open 
without  intermission  from  the  first  expansion 
until  the  fading  takes  i)lace.  Our  lovely  subject 
can  develop  perfectly,  either  in  a  sunny  or  sha- 
ded situation,  and  loves  a  deep,  well  enriched 
loamy  soil,  enriched  not  by  manure,  but  by  de- 
cayed leaves,  peat,  or  such  like.  Also  plenty  of 
moisture  during  the  whole  of  the  dry  and  warm 
portion  of  the  year.  The  rockwork  is  the  near- 
est approach  to  its  native  Alpine  home  that  art 
has  yet  discovered,  and  after  growing  in  one  po- 
sition for  a  couple  or  three  years,  it  should  be 
taken  up  and  the  earth  renewed,  when  it  can  be 
put  back  again  in  the  same  place.  It  does  very 
well  on  a  border  or  in  a  pot,  but  stones  should 
always  surround  it.  S.  viscida,  a  synonym.  In- 
crease by  parting  or  seed.     A  native  of  Austria. 


3S 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^'TRLY.      February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJ\fTHLY. 


S9 


\ 


iii. 


A  GOOD  LILIUM  AURATUM. 

BY  W.  L.  AKERS,   JOHNSTOWN,  PA. 

Dr.  John  Lowman  of  this  place  has  a  plant  of 
the  above  variety  growing  in  his  grounds,  wor- 
thy of  note  in  connection  with  those  mentioned 
by  "J.  B."  in  the  November  issue  of  the  Gar- 
dener's Monthly.  It  has  remained  in  the  same 
position  for  several  years,  sending  up  but  one 
stem  each  season  ;  but  increasing  in  size  and 
number  of  flowers  each  year.  This  season  the 
stem  was  full  five  feet  high,  and  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter, with  fifty-six  flower  buds  -some  thirty  of 
which  were  developed  at  one  time,  and  all  came 
into  flower  during  the  season.  It  was  a  magni- 
ficent spectacle,  and  filled  the  air  with  perfume. 


*  • 


ORNAMENTAL  LEAVES  FOR  BOU- 
QUETS. 

BY  G.  C.  T.,  rniLA. 
R.  M.  in  Gardeiier'^s  Chronicle^  quoted  in  No- 
vember Gardener''s  Monthly^  recommends  Ber- 
beris  aquifolium  as  a  border  for  bouquets.  I 
have  for  years  used  these  leaves  for  bouquets, 
and  consider  them  equal  to  anything  I  know  of. 
The  evergreen  fern,  common  about  German- 
town,  is  also  a  fine  bordering.giving  the  bouquet 
a  star-like  look.  In  thn  late  spring  and  early 
summer  months,  I  make  great  use  of  the  young 
shoots  of  the  Hornbeam.  Their  pleasing  red- 
ish  brown  liuu  ami  beautifully-  crimped  leaves, 
have  a  fine  effect  in  bouquets  The  leaves  of 
nearly  all  the  Begonias  can  be  used  They  are 
striking  and  unique  in  bouquets.  Eew  persons 
seem  to  be  aware  of  the  great  beauty  of  leaves 
and  their  value  in  floral  decoration.  I  make 
great  use  of  leaves  ;  have  even  at  times  used 
successfully  the  blades  of  our  ordinary  roadside 
grasses. 

GAS  TAR. 

BY   THOMAS    OTTAWAY,    MIDDLEBURG,    OHIO. 

I  have  been  using  Gas  Tar  for  eight  years  on 
greenhouse,  staging,  pit  benches,  cucumber  and 
melon  frames,  and  never  seen  any  damage  re- 
sult from  it,  but  now  I  am  told  by  Mr.  Bundy, 
that  EUwanger  &  Barry,  also  Mr.  Hooker,  both 
of  Rochester,  have  lost  piles  of  plants  by  it. 

As  regards  Gas  Tar,  I  believe  it  contains  car- 
bon and  ammonia.  Certainly  there  is  nothing 
injurious  in  that.  As  an  application  there  is 
trouble  when  the  ammouical  properties  are  too 
strong  for  vegetation.  Twelve  months  ago  I 
built  a  new  pit  40x13,  divided  it  in  the  centre, 
had  all  the  woodwork  well  tarred  over,  mid  three 


days  after  filled  it  with  roses,  geraniums,  &c.,  in 
cool  part.  The  hot  part  was  filled  with  tender 
plants  and  general  stock.  Now  I  would  like  to 
hear  from  other  friends  on  this  subject. 

Gas  tar  I  find  the  best  thing  I  can  use  on 
greenhouse  benches  for  preserving  the  wood- 
work ;  water  lime  the  next.  I  have  used  gas 
tar  on  eight  separate  rooms.  My  plants  always 
grew  and  looked  well,  as  other  parties  can  testi- 
fy. My  cucumber  and  melon  frames  I  always 
tar  inside  and  out.  I  would  like  to  see  the  par- 
ties that  had  better  luck.  Never  missed  cutting 
the  first  week  in  May  since  I  have  been  growing 
them,  I  have  seen  twelve  cucumbers  (Long 
Greens)  growing  from  one  light  at  one  time. 
Surely  gas  tar  did  not  hurt  them. 

[Gas  tar  often  contains  creosote,  then  it  is  dan- 
gerous ] 


<•••> 


TREE   CULTURE. 

I    Theoretical  and  Deductive  P/dlosojyhies  about  it. 

BY  A.  UUIDEKOPER,  MEADVILLE,  PA. 

A  New  Englander  told  me  the  other  day  that 
a   fellow  coach  passenger  had  called  his  atten- 
tion  to  some   white  washed  trees,    remarking, 
I  '*  that  shows  the  fools  are  not  all  dead  yet ;  it  is 
1  stransre  that  farmer  don't  know  that  the  bark  of 
!  a  tree  is  like  the  skin  of  a  man,  if  you  stop  up 
I  the  pores  of  the  latter  the  man  will  die.''     This 
shows  reasoning  by  analogy  is  dangerous,  cspe- 
I  cially  when   we  .jump  at  the  analogies.     If  the 
'  critic  had  been  put  to  it  he  would  probably  have 
J  found  little  in  common  between  the  bark  and 
'  the  skin,  except  that  of  position  ;  the  functions 
being  quite  different.     He  might  as  well  have 
said  to  a  surgeon,  do  not  cut  off*  that  man's  mu- 
tilated feet,  they  are  to  him  what  the  root  is  to  a 
tree.     Every  body  knows  if  you  cut  away   the 
roots  of  a  tree  it  will  die. 

I  picked  up  the  other  day  an  essay  on  Or- 
chards, which  I  thought  sensible  until  1  came  to 
the  advice  not  to  scrape  the  loose  bark  from  the 
trees,  because  if  nature  had  not  a  use  for  the 
bark  it  would  not  be  there.  Now  nature  in 
loosening  that  bark  is  making  an  effort  to  get 
rid  of  it,  and  the  scraper  is  an  aid,  not  an  antag- 
onist of  nature.  A  hostler  would  have  smiled 
if  the  lecturer  had  said  to  him,  do  not  curry  that 
horse  while  he  is  shedding  his  coat,  if  nature  had 
not  a  use  for  that  looselv  attached  hair  it  would 
not  be  on  the  animal. 

Wlieu  I  was  full  of  boyish  faith  in  what  I 
found  in  print,  I  came  across  the  direction  of 
some  theorist  to  prune  fruit  trees  in  June,  be- 


cause being  then  full  of  sap,  the  wounds  would 
the  sooner  heal  up.  I  applied  the  saw  to  some 
(fortunately  worthless)  seedling  apple  trees,  and 
found  the  sunshine  on  the  exuding  sap  produced 
canker  and  nearly  destroyed  the  trees.  In  the 
autumn  I  saw  a  Rambo  apple  tree  split  in  the 
centre  with  its  weight  of  fruit.  The  half  that 
fell  down  was  cut  away,  leaving  a  large  wound 
exposed  to  the  frosts  of  the  following  winter. 
Very  bad  theoretically  for  its  recovery  ;  yet  it 
started  next  year  with  a  healthy  healing  pro- 
cess, which  has  gone  on  for  thirty  years,  while 
the  tree  has  in  alternate  seasons  been  bearing 
large  crops  of  fruit.  From  this  T  concluded  that 
"an  ounce  of  practice  is  worth  a  pound  of 
theory,"  and  1  have  since  done  pruning  that 
seemed  necessary  in  the  autumn,  as  soon  as 
the  main  growth  of  the  tree  was  over  and  the 
wood  began  to  ripen  —not  hesitating  to  cut  away 
limbs  where  they  grew  too  thickly,  or  to  shorten 
in  for  a  season  a  vine  or  the  shoot  of  a  i)ear  tree, 
when  they  were  slender,  in  order  to  get  a  better 
base,  nor  to  advise  my  neighbor  when  his  vines 
had  become  a  wilderness  of  self  strangling  com- 
})lications,  to  cut  awaj'  nine-tenths  of  the  wood 
that  the  residue  might  ripen  and  bear  better 
fruit.  I  even  believed,  that  where  an  apple  tree 
had  a  tendenc}-  to  shoot  up  to  such  an  altitude 
that  a  fiirmer  could  only  look  at  its  fruit,  but 
would  be  unable  to  come  to  it  without  tlie  aid  of 
a  balloon, that  it  would  be  well  t©  cut  otf  the  en- 
tire stem  of  such  a  tree  six  or  eight  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  make  it  throw  out  strong  laterals, 
which  would  give  an  open  head  to  the  tree,  and 
place  its  fruit  where  it  could  safely  be  reached 
with  a  ladder,  when  my  settled  convictions  were 
run  into  by  somettiing  I  saw  in  the  Gardcner-s 
Monthly  (I  cannot  find  it  as  I  write)  aliout  'all 
pruning  being  a  shock  to  the  vitality  ot  a  tree." 
This  would  be  a  very  popular  gospel  among 
some  of  our  lazy  orchardists. 

This  elementary  principle  is  reached,  I  be- 
lieve, by  deduction,  the  formula  being  as  follows: 
A  tree  can  be  pruned  to  death  ;  therefore  any 
pruning  is  a  shock  to  its  vitality.  I  use  the  for- 
mula in  a  different  way,  thus  :  A  plant  can  be 
watered  to  death  •,  therefore  any  water  is  a  shock 
to  the  vitality  of  a  plant,  and  I  find  the  rule  has 
Its  limitations  or  contradictions  in  practice. 
Knowing  how  eminently  wise  is  the  Gurdener''s 
Monthly^  I  sought  for  some  broader  inU^rpreta- 
tion  of  its  *' shocking  "  theory,  that  I  could  sub- 
scribe to,  and  I  think  I  find  it  in  the  ambiguity 
of  its  terras.     Thus  the  ''Monthly  "  teaches  that 


when  a  tree  is  transplanted,  the  top  should  be 
shortened  into  a  proper  relation  to  the  mutila- 
ted roots.  Neglect  of  this  is  death— observance 
of  it  promotes  growth.  Now  the  vitality  of  a 
tree  consists  in  its  life  and  development,  and 
the  "  shock  "  of  pruning  here  referred  to  is  akin 
to  the  shock  of  a  galvanic  battery  when  applied 
to  a  paralyzed  limb,  to  which  it  is  expected  to 
restore  healthy  circulation  and  its  normal  func- 
tions. A^'itality  in  plants  and  trees  depends 
largely  on  relations  to  sunshine  and  shade  to 
proper  proportions  of  the  top  to  the  stem  or  the 
top  to  the  roots.  So  I  suppose  the  ''Monthly'*'* 
uses  that  word  '-shock''  in  a  double  sense; 
constructively,  when  the  pruning  shocks  a  tree 
into  better  conditions,  and  destructively  when 
the  work  is  ill-timed  or  too  radical  The  doc- 
tors tell  us  that  a  drug  may  be  a  narcotic  or  a 
stimulant,  in  accordance  with  the  quantity  of  it 
that  is  taken.  The  Ganlener\s  Monthly,  I  am 
pretty  sure,  will  permit  us  to  cling  to  our  faith 
that  pruning  is  beneficial  or  otherwise,  accord- 
ing to  the  good  sense  or  the  bad  judgment  that 
may  direct  the  arm  holding  the  saw  or  the  pru- 
ning knife.    Will  it  not  ? 


VARIATIONS   IX  NATURE. 

BY    C. 

Just  as  I  read  thy  paper  on  variation  not 
caused  always  by  domestication,  1  was  cours- 
ing the  memoirs  of  El  Baber,  the  founder  of  the 
Mongol  dynasty  in  India,  (16th  century)  a  great 
fiuhter,  and  a  close  observer  of  nature,  and  an 
ardent  admirer  of  pretty  flowers.  In  one  of  his 
military  expeditions  in  the  mountainous  region 
N.  E.  of  Cabul,  he  found  immense  numbers  of 
wild  tulips,  of  whieh  he  noticed  twenty-five  dif- 
ferent kinds,  and  in  one  locality  a  hundred- 
leaved  tulip,  which  appears  to  have  delighted 
him  much,  both  by  its  beauty  and  unusual  form, 
and  also  because  it  was  found  only  in  that  one 
locality  of  limited  extent.  The  art  of  man  evi 
dently  had  done  nothing  in  this  case. 


»•■»> 


SHORT  PURSES  AND  DUTCH  BULBS. 

BY  R.  W.,  LANSINGBURa,  N.  Y. 

These  few  words  are  addressed  to  persons  of 
limited  means  especially,  for  the  reason  that  a 
supposition  exists  that  t«  enjoy  the  delights  of 
bulb  culture  necessitates  the  possession  of  a 
very  long  purse  well  filled,  and  this  supposition 
frequently  prevents  that  inquiry  which  would 
prove  the  perfect  falsity  of  the  previous  impres- 


!ii 


40 


TEE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MONTHLY.     February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOMTHLY. 


41 


n 


t 


''•^ 


sion.  Thus  many  persons  miss  an  innocent  |  blue,  and  one  pink,  to  be  planted  together.  They 
pleasure,  a  source  of  much  real  enjoyment,  and  j  look  very  pretty  grown  in  this  way,  and  take 
pass  the  long,  dreary  winter  without  one  flower  '  less  room.  Any  of  the  following  are  as  good  as 
to  cheer  and  gladden  their  sense  of  the  beautiful,  the  best.  Mdl'e.  Hodson  Norma,  Mdlle.  Zont- 
To  prove  that  a  good  collection  of  bulbs  may  be  '  man,  and  Bouquet  Royal.  The  first  named  is 
obtained  for  a  small  outlay  of  money,  and  to  give  rery  good,  having  a  rich  bright  color  and  deli" 
the  names  of  such  as  are  best  calculated  to  grow  '  cate  fragrance.  Norma  has  fewer  bells  to  the 
and  bloom  satisfactorily  in  the  hands  of  the  no-  |  truss  than  most  others,  but  what  is  lacking  in 
vice,  is  the  object  of  the  writer.  ;  number  is  made  up  in  size,  each  tlower  being 

We  will  suppose  our  readers  to  be  familiar  '  very  large.  Do  not  plant  Bouquet  lioyal  with 
with  the  fact  that  Dutch  Bulbs  are  cultivated  any  of  the  others  mentioned,  as  it  blooms  later 
in  immense  quantities  in  Holland,  where  peculi-  than  they.  Planting  in  groups  we  wish  all  to 
arities  of  soil  and  climate,  and  the  scientific  cul-  bloom  together,  and  did  we  expect  Bouquet  Roy- 
ture  given  them,  induce  their  fullest  develop-  !  al  to  bloom  with  Crantatus  or  Grand  Vain- 
ment.  It  is  from  Holland  the  world  draws  its  I  queur,  we  would  be  disappointed.  Any  of  the 
supply  of  hyacinths,  tulips,  crocuses,  narcissus,  |  hyacinths  specified  can  be  bought  of  the  dealers, 
etc.,  and  from  Holland  alone.  |  at  twenty- five  cents  singly  or  three  dollars  per 

In  selecting  hyacinths,  the  bewildering  con-  |  dozen.  And  should  you  mention  that  you  were 
fusion  of  names,  the  expansive  lists  of  colors—  |  making  your  first  attempt  at  bulb  growing,  we 
dark  blue,  light  blue,  porcelain  and  lilac,  red,  ;  would  not  be  surprised  if  upon  opening  your 
pink,  rose  and  blush— requires  considerable  i  parcel  after  getting  home  you  fouud  a  little  addi- 
courage  on  the  part  of  the  beginner  in  bulb  cul-  j  tion  to  your  order,  given  by  way  of  encourage- 
ture  to  be  attacked  by  him  ;  but  he  need  not  be  !  ment  to  you  from  the  kind  hearted  dealer— for 
disheartened- nearly  a??  good;  some  are  better  ,  most  seedsmen  and  fiorists  are  very  kind  of 
suited  to  his  pui'pose  than  others,  and  these  are  I  heart.  Perhaps  goodness  and  tenderness  are 
equally  found  among  the  cheapest  sorts  as  well  j  exhaled  with  the  fragrance  which  fills  so  large  a 
as  among  the  higher  priced.  Of  course  we  wish  1  portion  of  their  domicil.  We  have  often  thought 
white,  pink  and  blue,  and  for  our  white  variety    so  ^ 


let  us  have  Gran^  Vainqueur.  If  we  have  one 
or  a  dozen,  we  can  find  none  superior  to  it.  Its 
especial  recommendations  are  earliness,  a  tall 
Btem,  and  truss  of  large  size,  bearing  no  tinge  of 


Hyacinths  have  boen  given  the  first  place,  not 
because  we  think  them  so  superior  in  beauty  to 
ottiers,  but  because  being  so  sure  of  bloom,  so 
brilliant  of  color  and  so  sweetly  fragrant,  the 


color ;  pure  and  stainless  as  new  fallen  snow.  !  preference  is  usually  given  them. 
For  many  years  the  writer  has  enjoyed  its  beau-  1      Polyanthus  Narcissus,  Tulips  of  some  varie- 
ty and  sweet  smell,  thinking  it  each  year  more  !  ties,  and  Crocuses  also  do  well  with  window  cul- 
beautiful  than  the  year  previous.     In  others  of    ture,  and  are  not  less  desirable  than  hyacinths, 


different  shades  there  are  many  of  great  merit  at 
a  low  price. 

Crantatus  for  a  light  blue,  is  excellent.  Al- 
ways bearing  a  large  truss,  oftentimes  an  im- 
mense one,  of  flowers,  good  in  shape,  and  of 
cerulean  blue.  It  is  fit  to  be  the  companion  of 
Grand  Vaniqueur — and  is,  for  they  bloom  at  the 
same  time  when  planted  together. 

Charles  Dickens,  for  a  darker  sort,  is  very  su- 
perior. Blue,  of  medium  shade,  with  a  darker 
line  through  the  centre  of  each  petal  ;  sweet  and 
Bpicy  in  smell  ;  always  sure  to  bloom.  We  must 
indeed  have  at  least  one  of  this  variety. 

If  we  can  afford  another  blue  let  us  select 
Prince  Von  Lux  Weimar.  He  is  clothed  in  roy- 
al livery,  and  worthy  of  a  place  in  our  collection. 
We  must  have  some  pink  kinds,  for  if  but  three 
roots  are  purchased,  one   must  be  white,  one 


and  as  they  are  of  low  price,  and  so  of  interest 
to  the  short  pursed  lover  of  flowers,  we  will  con- 
sider their  merits  at  some  future  time. 

Nothing  has  been  said  of  cultivation,  for  where 
our  beginner  is  fully  persuaded  to  try  his  luck 
in  bulb  growing,  he  will  find  directions,  which 
are  very  simple,  in  any  of  the  catalogues  pub- 
lished, and  these  he  may  procure  without  difla- 
culty— without  money  and  without  price. 


4«»»» 


*'THE  PARTERRE." 

BY  W.  B.  WICKEN. 

The  writer  has  seen  many  pleasure  grounds, 
which  in  many  respects  were  laid  out  with  taste 
and  propriety,  but  with  an  almost  total  neglect, 
or  at  best,  a  poor  attempt  at  the  Parterre,  which 
if  tastefully  planm  d  and  executed,  adds  greatly 
to  the  beauty  and  interest  of  any  grounds. 


Beautiful  colors,  arranged  and  contrasted  in 
elegant  and  tasteful  figures,  in  their  combina- 
tion, give  an  effect  that  is  wanting  when  each 
are  separate  from  the  other.  There  is  often  seen 
on  beautiful  lawns,  a  circle  described  here,  a 
diamond  shaped  bed  there,  and  yonder  perhaps 
a  crescent,  suggesting  the  idea  they  had  dropped 
from  the  sky,  and  had  been  let  remain  where 
they  fell,  there  being  no  attempt  at  symmetrical 
arrangement  or  system. 

It  is  evident  that  the  beauty  and  pleasing 
effect  of  any  geometrical  design  is  dependent  on 
the  relative  bearing  of  one  line  on  the  other,  as 


selves  anywhere,  but  it  is  possible  for  us  to  make 
use  of  this  beauty  in  such  a  manner  that  we  may 
derive  greater  pleasure  thereby.  Of  course  some 
judgment  is  required  in  planting,  habit  and 
color  considered. 

It  is  decidedly  not  the  object  of  this  paper  to 
advocate  laying  out  of  pleasure  grounds,  with 
walks  and  general  features  in  a  style  of  geomet- 
rical precision.  But  there  can  be  no  place  laid 
out  in  whatsoever  style  to  which  the  parterre 
will  not  be  an  interesting  and  beautiful  addition. 
If  at  all  possible,  the  parterre  should  be  laid  out 
near  the  terrace  or  house,  as  its  beauty  is  great- 


there  is  certainly  as  much  respective  harmony 
in  form  as  in  sound.  Perhaps  the  accompany- 
ing sketch  of  a  few  beds  may  help  to  demon- 
strate the  ideas  of  the  writer,  and  perhaps  may 
set  some  of  your  fair  readers  thinking;  and  plan- 
ning, and  so  bring  about  a  better  state  of  things 
next  season. 

There  may  be  some  impression  that  similar 
beds  would  require  an  extra  quantity  of  bedding 
stuff  to  fill  them,  but  there  are  many  plants 
that  are  planted  in  one  corner  or  another  and  so 
on,  that  might  be  planted  here  with  heightened 
effect.    Of  course  flowers  are  beautiful  in  them- 


ly  enhanced  when  seen  from  some  point  above, 
as  the  piazza,  terrace,  or  house,  then  all  the 
shape  in  detail  can  be  taken  into  the  eye  at  once. 


SUITABLE    COMPOST     FOR    GRAPEUV 

BORDERS. 

BY   MANSFIELD  MILTON. 

The  cultivation  of  the  grape  vine  has  been 
practised  by  all  nations  from  their  earliest  ages, 
and  no  fruit  better  repays  good  cultivation.  lu 
delicious  flavor  and  health  giving  qualities 
making  it  preferable  to  every  other. 

Although  several  species  are  indigeueoui  to 


i 


Jf'2 


THE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJ^THLY.      February, 


187S. 


TEE    GARDENER'S   MONTHLY. 


SS 


\ 
\ 

t 


1 


nil  I 


« 


II 


11 


I 


III 


■t* 


this  country,  and  well-flavored  varieties  by  hy- 
bridizing and  crossing  been  raised,  still  none 
equal  in  flavor  the  different  varieties  of  the  Eu- 
ropean species  Vifis  vinifera  Very  good 
hybrids  have  been  raised  from  hybridizing  some 
of  the  American  species  with  the  European 
species.  We,  however,  believe  that  a  greater 
success  will  yet  be  attained,  and  varieties  raised 
possessing  the  hardiness  of  the  American  species 
and  the  delicious  flavor  of  the  European. 

As  the  European  varieties  cannot  with  anj'- 
thing  like  success  in  the  Northern  States,  be 
grown  out  doors,  it  is  consequently  necessary  to 
cultivate  them  under  glass.  We  shall,  therefore, 
give  a  few  remarks  upon  the  compost  best  suit- 
able for  grapery  borders. 

Turfy  loam  should  constitute  the  main  part  of 
the  compost.  The  surface  of  old  pasture,  half 
decayed  sods,  or  any  good  fibrous  loam  that  has 
not  been  under  cultivation  for  a  good  while 
being  the  most  suitable.  The  more  fibrous  loam 
is, the  more  adapted  it  is  for  supplying  for  years 
vegetable  nourishment.  If  of  an  inert  state 
when  put  into  the  composition  of  a  border,  it 
soon  acquires  that  sour,  deadened  state  so  detri- 
mental for  supplying  suitable  food  for  plants, 
especially  grape  vine  roots,  as  they  aro  very  im- 
patient in  stagnant  or  inactive  soil  But  if  of  a 
fibrous  nature,  it  for  years  retains  that  life  and 
porosity  so  necessary  for  soil  which  has  to  be 
undisturbed  for  years.  Another  evil  to  guard 
against  is  chopping  the  soil  too  (inc.  We  believe 
in  leaving  it,  (especially  loam  th:it  is  to  be  used 
for  a  grapery  or  any  permanent  border)  in  a 
rather  rough  state.  We  have  seen  several  bor- 
ders with  all  the  soil  carefully  sifted,  one  of  the 
most  foolish  ideas,  as  no  one  of  ordinary  ol  >  i- 
vant  qualities  but  knows  the  b.7st  of  the  soil  is 
taken  out  by  sifting.  Peat  or  muck  in  part  is 
very  good  for  borders  if  not  of  too  spongy  a  na- 
ture, as  it  is  then  so  apt  for  getting  saturated 
with  water,  especially  if  a  large  quantity  of  it  is 
used,  and  also  converts  the  loam  into  the  same 
inactive  state.  If  the  loam  is  good  there  is  no 
need  for  using  much  peat,  but  if  of  a  gravelly  na- 
ture peat  may  with  advantage  be  more  freely 
used.  Well  decomposed  leaf  mould  is  better 
than  bad  peat ;  carefully  clearing  out  all  pieces 
of  wood,  as  they  create  a  fungus,  which  prove 
injurious  to  grape  vine  roots. 

Manures  for  grapery  borders  are  very  numer- 
ous, each  liaving  its  advocate,  but  from  personal 
experience,  and  observing  the  results  of  the  ex- 
periments of  others,  we  think  but  few  are  really 


suitable.  Plenty  of  manures  there  are  that  for 
a  year  or  two  create  a  most  luxuriant  effect, 
then  as  quickly  in  effect  decay.  The  principle 
aim  being  to  secure  fertilizers  not  only  suitable 
for  causing  a  vigorous  growth  to  the  vines,  but 
the  essential  qualities  of  which  are  of  a  lasting 
nature. 

The  best  animal  manure  for  this  purpose  is 
horse  manure,  which  ought  to  be  mixed  with  the 
soil  in  a  half  decomposed  state,  for  if  allowed  to 
decompose,  too  much  ammonia  escapes— the 
most  important  component  of  the  manure,  as 
from  it  nitrogen  is  derived,  which  is  the  main 
food  for  the  grape  vine  The  more  ammonia 
therefore  that  pervades  the  soil,  the  more  bene- 
ficial the  results  in  procuring  strong,  healthy 
vines  and  foliage.  Unless  the  vines  be  possess- 
ed of  a  strong  constitution  in  the  commence- 
ment of  their  growth,  they  ever  after  show  the 
effects  of  early  weakness 

Cow  manure  does  not  contain  so  large  an 
amount  of  ammonia  as  horse  manure,  ndV  does 
it  possess  so  warm  a  nature.  It  is  also  slower 
in  action,  and  is  apt  for  becoming  a  deadened 
mass  when  used  in  large  quantities,  but  when 
mixed  with  horse  manure,  and  well  fermented, 
it  then  becomes  highly  serviceable,  and  thought 
by  many  when  so  used  to  be  more  beneficial  than 
horse  manure  alone. 

Pig  manure,  although  containing  more  ammo- 
nia than  either  horse  or  cow  manure,  assimi- 
lates the  latter  in  other  qualities,  and  therefore 
should  be  used,  mixed  with  horse  manure. 
Without  being  well  decomposed  it  should  not  be 
allowed  to  come  directly  in  contact  with  the 
roots,  being  so  strong  as  to  generally  (](>-Ui)y 
them.  , 

Crushed  bones  is  one  of  the  most  useful  ma- 
nures there  is  for  grapery  borders.  If  crushed 
into  dust  their  effect  is  immediate,  but  not  so 
lasting  as  when  broken  into  one  inch  pieces. 
Not  only  do  they  supply  vigorous  growth  to  the 
vine,  but  also  contribute  suitable  nourishment 
required  for  the  enlargement  of  the  fruit. 

The  dead  bodies  of  animals  in  a  crude  state 
have  been  extensively  used  in  thi^  formation  of 
borders.  Few  people  using  them  once,  and  close- 
ly observing  the  effect,  will  do  so  a  second  time, 
and  would  advise  those  intendins:  doing  s»  to 
abandon  their  intention.  Dead  bodies  in  their 
crude  slate  are  more  antagonistic  than  useful  as 
food  for  vegetation,  and  not  until  an  advanced 
stage  of  decomposition  has  been  reached  can 
plants    derive    any   nourishment    from    them. 


Those  intending  to  use  them  for  border  purposes 
should  decompose  them  before  applying,  by 
burying  in  loam  or  muck  until  well  rotted,  and 
mixing  well  by  several  turnings  of  the  whole 
mass.  One  particular  part  to  be  attended  to  is 
mixing  the  soil  for  the  border  and  manure  tho- 
roughb^  before  either  forming  the  inside  or  out- 
side border.  About  one  fourth  of  the  whole 
mass  should  be  animal  manure,  and  we  have 
advantageously  used  from  eight  to  twelve  bar- 
rels of  bones  for  the  borders  of  large  houses.  ; 

We  deem  about  fifteen  feet  wide  and  three  feet 
deep  sufficient  for  outside  borders.    Giving  good 
drainage,  for  unless  all  superfluous  water  is  car- 
ried off* (allowing  the  compost  to  be  of  the  best  ; 
materials)  only  a  few  years  will  be  suffieeiit  in  [ 
showing  the  evil  effects  of  improper  drainage,  ' 
or  both  vines  and  fruit 


THE  NEW  VARIETIES  OF  GLADIOLUS. 

BY  GEO.  SUCH,  SOUTH    AMBOY,  N.  J. 

I  notice  in  the  Decembt  i*  number  of  the  Oar- 
den€r\^  Monthltj^  a  short  article  taken  from  the 
London  Journal  of  IIorHcuUurc^  in  which  com- 
ment is  made  regarding  the  new  varieties  of 
Gladiolus.  The  writer  says,  ''From  what  I 
have  seen  here  and  elsewhere,  there  is  but  little 
new  or  good  amongst  them  ;  indeed  some  of 
them  are  merely  repetitions  of  the  old  sorts." 

Allow  me  to  say  that  this  judgment  is  ex- 
tremely unjust,  and  by  n  ferring  to  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture  for  October  24th,  you  will  notice 
that  the  liev.  Mr.  Dombrain,  one  of  the  very 
best  authorities  on  the  Gladiolus,  says  that  ''  so 
far  from  thinking  the  sorts  sent  out  last  autumn 
the  worst  set  we  have  had  for  some  years,  I  think 
them  one  of  the  best." 

Having  grown  all  the  new  varieties  but  one, 
in  my  own  garden,  the  following  impressions 
may  be  of  some  value  : 

Antigone  is  certainly  a  very  fine  flower,  being 
tender  rose  color,  flamed  with  crimson,  and  with 
a  very  long  flower  spike. 

Aria7ie  has  a  white  ground  more  or  less  blazed 
with  rose  and  lilac ;  very  handsome. 

Alcyon  and  Arsinoe  are  good,  but  not  very 
remarkable. 

Antiope  is  a  showy  and  very  neatly  shaped 
flower,  its  general  tone  of  color  being  cherry 
tinted  with  orange. 

Beatrix  is  admirable  ;  a  pure  white  ground, 
slightly  marked  with  crimson  lilac. 

Oelimene  I  do  nol  ?«  >  much  like,  however,  as  it 


is  a  shade  of  red,  to  my  taste,  not  at  all  pleasing. 

Dtdon  is  a  flower  that  Mr.  Dombrain  con- 
siders only  second  rate,  but  as  I  saw  it,  no  taste, 
however  critical, could  fail  to  be  pleased  with  it. 
The  throat  of  this  flower  is  largely  pure  white, 
gradually  deepening  towards  the  edges  into  the 
most  delicate  lilac  imaginable. 

Jupiter  is  gorgeous,  a  dark  and  superb  crim- 
son, flaked  with  blackish  crimson. 

Minerva  was  the  only  one  I  did  Hot  see. 

O.isian  has  a  fine  spike  of  rose  colored  flowers, 
tinted  with  deep  violet  and  carmine  ;  not  suffi- 
ciently remarkable  to  be  in  the  first  rank,  but 
decidedly  fine. 

Phoebus  is  very  fine  indeed,  throwing  up  a 
flower  spike  of  striking  fire-red  flowers,  finely 
lighted  up  with  white. 

Virginalis  is  exquisite,  being  very  pure  white 
bordered  with  delicate  rose  color. 

These  few  remarks  I  make  in  the  spirit  of  jus- 
tice merely  as  to  the  new  varieties,  and  by  no 
means  intending  to  make  little  of  the  older  kinds, 
many  of  which  are  of  such  superb  beauty  as  to 
be  quite  unsuri)assable  in  their  peculiar  sections. 

I  am  from  time  to  time  called  upon  by  custom- 
ers to  name  what  I  consider,  say,  the  best  dozen 
kinds  of  Gladiolus,  and  it  is  a  dilficult  matter  to 
decide.  Not  long  ago,  replying  to  a  letter  from 
Boston,  I  named  i  welve  that  were  all  admirable, 
and  the  gentleman  to  whom  I  wrote  expressed 
his  surprise  at  not  seeing  the  name  of  any  one 
of  the  latest  novel 'ies  mentioned  in  the  dozen  ; 
but  in  reality  there  was  no  cause  for  surprise, 
the  novelties  beini;  novel  from  the  fact  of  beins: 
distinct  from  the  other  kinds  rather  than  as  sur- 
passing them. 

Such  flowers  as  Shakespeare^  Meyerbeer,  and 
Madame  D'-Sporta  -not  mentioning  others  of 
former  years  -have  such  claims  upon  our  admi- 
ration as  will  enable  them  to  securely  hold  their 
own  against  all  new  comers.  Shakespeare  and 
Met/erheer  especially,  stand  distinct  from  all 
others,  and  to  attempt  a  comparison  between 
these  and  others,  whether  new  or  old,  would  be 
like  attempting  to  compare  a  very  fine  peach 
with  a  pear  of  cquall3'  fine  quality. 


THE  TANYAII-SPROUTS. 

BY  J.  1.  CLOW,  M.  D. 

As  the  season  for  preserving  this  valuable  es- 
culent for  winter  use  is  approaching,  a  few  sug. 
gestions,  dictated  by  a  long  experience  in  their 
cultivation  and  use,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to 
some  of  your  numerous  readers.     As  the  fall  up 


t 


] 


■i 


u 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY.     February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJVTHLT. 


45 


I 


I 


to  this  time  (Octoi)er  7^,  has  been  unusually  dry 
for  this  latitude,  the  roots  have  made  but  little 
progress  toward  maturity,  but  as  we  have  just 
had  a  fine  shower,  and  the  prospect  of  more  rain 
is  favorable,  it  is  not  too  late  for  them  to  make 
yet,  as  I  have  found  that  the  roots  make  more 
from  this  time  until  the  top  is  killed  by  frost 
than  ill  all  the  preceding  part  of  the  season  ; 
and  under  no  circumstances  should  they  be  dug 
until  the  top  is  entirely  killed,  for  they  continue 
to  enlarge  their  roots  after  the  frost  has  killed 
the  leaves,  and  I  never  dig  them  until  just  before 
Christmas,  and  sometimes  not  until  January. 

I  accidently  discovered  a  plan  of  raising 
sprouts  two  winters  since,  which  I  have  success 
fully  employed,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
are  fond  of  them  I  will  now  describe.  In  dig- 
ging  a  patch,  and  after  separating  the  small 
roots, from  the  large  central  bulbs,  the  latter 
were  thrown  into  a  conical  heap  and  covered 
with  dry  weeds  and  dirt ;  and  as  I  had  housed 
those  intended  for  eating  in  the  potato  house, 
those  in  the  heap  were  left  undisturbed  until 
about  the  last  of  February,  when,  on  opening 
the  heap  it  was  found  that  the  bulbs  had  sent 
up  large  sprouts,  which  had  penetrated  the  in- 
terstices of  the  whole  heap,  some  of  them  a  foot 
long  and  as  thick  as  my  wrist.  By  introducing 
a  knife  and  cutting  them  otf  near  the  crown  of 
the  root  I  soon  gathered  a  large  mess,  and  had 
them  cooked  by  boiling  and  then  dressing  with 
butter,  pepper  and  salt,  and  all  who  partook  of 
them  pronounced  them  a  first-rate  dish.  We 
continued  to  use  them  for  a  month  Like  Aspa- 
ragus, as  fast  as  you  cut  off  the  sprout  it  put  out 
again,  and  by  the  time  you  go  over  the  bank  the 
first  will  be  ready  to  cut  again.  Since  that  time 
I  have  made  a  bed  of  the  bulbs  by  placing  them 
on  top  of  the  ground,  close  together,  as  in  ma- 
king a  potato  plant  bed,  and  after  covering  with 
a  thick  coat  of  dry  weeds  or  corn  stalks  covering 
them  with  dirt  five  or  six  inches  deep.  The  bed 
should  l^e  made  in  a  place  exposed  to  the  sun, 
and  if  there  was  a  coat  of  some  fermenting  sub- 
stance, such  as  stable  manure  or  cotton  seed,  it 
would  be  still  better. 

I  had  a  bed  of  four  or  five  barrels  last  winter, 
from  which  [  used  in  February  and  March. 
About  the  first  of  April  the  roots  may  be  taken 
up  and  planted  in  hills,  and  they  grow  as  well 
as  if  they  had  not  been  sprouted. 

[We  take  the  above  in  regard  to  the  common 
Caladium  (Colocasia  esculentem),  from  Our 
Home  Journal  of  New  Orleans.] 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

FOREIGN. 

The  Tthuhnrh  of  Commerce.  Prof.  Baillon,  in 
the  recent  session  of  the  French  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  says  :  Chinese  and 
Russian  rhubarb  appears  to  be  the  result  of  a 
single  species  growing  in  Thibet,  on  a  tract  of 
land  so  inaccessible  that  it  has  been  but  seldom 
examined  by  Europeans.  It  is  in  latitude  W. 
It  is  said  that  the  Chinese  have  zealously  guard- 
ed this  plant  from  stranger  eyes  ;  but  in  1868  a 
plant  reached  France  alive,  which  flowered  Inst 
year.  It  is  ^^Y>roba,h\y  Rheum  palmatum.">  It 
is  not  herbaceous  as  in  our  species,  but  has  *'  a 
stem  one  to  two  feet  long  covered  with  a  black 
bark  ;  is  soft,  humid,  and  containing  yellow  sap 
wood."  The  leaves  resemble  rather  those  of 
our  common  castor  oil  plant,  than  the  common 
rhubarbs.  The  commercial  article  is  not  the 
root  as  we  have  all  along  supposed,  but  ''the 
aerial  stems  and  branches. "  It  is  found  to  be 
hardy  in  France. 

The  Quinoa—Chenopodium  Quinoa.  The -Lo?i- 
(lon  Journal  of  Pharmacy  says  that  in  Mexico 
this  plant  rates  in  agriculture  in  importance 
with  the  potato,  maize  and  wheat.  On  high  re- 
gions where  rye  and  barley  will  Hot  ripen,  it  is 
the  chief  object  of  agriculture.  It  grows  three 
or  four  feet  high,  and  bears  an  immense  quanti- 
ty of  seeds.  Its  general  appearance  might  ha 
likenened  to  a  gigantic  spinage.  It  is  used  as 
"mush,"  the  meal  not  being  tenaceous  enough 
to  make  bread.  The  leaves  are  eaten  as  spinage. 

The  Boldo.  We  note  in  our  Western  papers 
that  rising  importance  is  being  given  to  this  in 
medicine.  It  is  Peumus  boldus  of  Baillon,  and 
Boldoa  fragrans  of  Jussien.  It  has  a  distant  re- 
lation to  our  sassafras. 

Timber  of  the  Yellow  Cypreaa.  A  correspond- 
ent says  that  the  timber  of  the  Cupressus  Nut- 
A:aen,?i.s  has  been  found  superior  for  ship  building, 
and  is  likeW  to  come  into  extensive  use  for  this 
purpose. 

The  Mammoth  Sequoia  in  England.  As  recent- 
ly noted,  the  wild  plants  of  California  are  found 
to  be  much  more  closely  allied  to  the  wild  flora 
of  England  than  are  the  wild  species  of  the  East- 
ern United  States.  So  when  the  trees  and  plants 
of  California  are  introduced  to  England  they 
find  themselves  at  home,  as  they  will  not  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  correspondent  of  the 
Gardener  s  Chronicle  says  of  the  mammoth  tree  : 

''One  of  the  finest  plants  in  England  is  said  to  be 
at  the  Marquis  of  Huntley's,  Orton  Hall,  in  Hunt- 


ingdonshire. Mr.  Sharp'reports  it  as  being  36  feet 
in  height ;  circumference  of  trunk  at  the  base,  5  feet 
8  inches ;  circumference  of  branches,  45  feet.  As  is 
well  known,  there  are  numerous  others  of  nearly 
equal  dimensions,  as  at  Windsor,  Boconnoc,  &c 
In  Scotland,  there  are  several  fine  plants  ;  one  of 
the  largest  is  at  Dalzell,  Motherwell,  Lanarkshire, 
the  residence  of  Major  Hamilton,  M.  P.,  which  he 
reports  as  measuring  '  35  feet  6  inches  in  height; 
its  girth  at  3  feet  from  the  ground  is  4  feet  2  inches  ; 
it  was  planted  alxjut  12  inches  high,  in  November, 
1857,'  consequently  it  must  have  made  an  average 
growth  of  nearly  3  feet  for  the  twelve  years  it  has 
been  planted.  There  is  a  specimen  of  nearly  equal 
dimensions  at  Murthly  Castle.  The  best  plant  at 
Castle  Kennedy  is  about  18  feet  in  height,  growing 
in  deep  moss  —a  perfect  cone,  feathero(r  to  the 
ground,  and  in  fine  health.  Judging  from  some 
specimens  which  I  have  seen  in  various  parts  of 
Ireland,  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  will,  in  that 
bumid  climate,  reach  a  size  not  to  be  surj)assed  in 
anj  other  parts  of  these  islands  " 

The  Phylloxera  Vantatrix.  Tins  terrible  grape 
enemy  is  imitating  the  goings  on  of  the  Colora 
do  potato  bug,  in  giving  a  preference  to  another 
kind  of  food  than  that  which  first  sustained  it. 
Though  said  to  be  an  American  insect,  it  is  giv- 
ing its  moai  delicate  attentions  to  the  roots  of 
the  hot  house  or  European  grape,  and  this  to  so 
ardent  a  degree  that  it  is  becoming  a  fearful 
scourge  to  the  English  grape  grower.  Some 
graft  the  vine  on  American  bottoms,  under  the 
idea  that  the  insect  does  not  like  so  well  its  na- 
tive root. 

Ttoses  for  Orecnhoase  Floweriny.  The  Gar- 
denerKs  Chronicle,  in  reply  to  a  correspondent, 
gives  the  following  list  of  six  climbing  roses  for 
wall  of  greenhouse  :  M.irechal  Niel.  Celine,  For- 
estier,  Charles  Lefebvre,  Gloire  de  Dijan,  Belhi 
de  Bordeaux,  Glory  of  Waltham.  Six  roses  for 
pots  :  Beauty  of  Waltham,  Madime  Victor 
Verdier,  Alfred  Colombe,  Madame  Alfred  de 
Rougemont,  Anna  Alexidflf,  Madame  Willer- 
moz  ;  and  in  reply  to  another  inquirer  in  recrard 
to 

Gardenerls  Situations  in  America,  gives  ano- 
ther correspondent  the  following  information, 
for  which  we  return  our  thanks  : 

*'  G.  L.     Advertise  in  the  American  Gardener'^ 
fomiy^  publislied  at  814  Chestnut  Street,  Phila-  ' 
aelphia;  or  in  any  other  of  the  American  horticul-  ! 
lural  journals."  j 

Vegetable  Gardening  in  Rome.  In  and  around 
all  large  towns,  on  account  of  the  advantage  of 
^heap  and  abundant  fertilizers,  vegetable°gar- 
aenin  r  prospers.  For  some  reason  or  other 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  much  of  this  kind  of 
gardening  about  the  Eternal  City  ;  but  the  sup- 
ply 18  drawn  from  other  regions  a  long  way  otf. 


The  Rome  correspondent  of  the  London  Times 
wrote  : 

*'  I  was  yesterday  in  one  of  these,  hard  hv  a  gate 
of  the  city.  Part  of  its  boundary  consisted  of  the 
loop-holed  wall  through  which  the  Papal  Z'.uaves 
fired  on  the  approaching  Italian  troops  in  1870. 
There  was  a  glorious  avenue  of  trees,  interlacing 
overhead,  a  vault  of  foliage  hundreds  of  yards  long, 
a  cool  and  delicious  summer  retreat.  The  damask 
Roses  bloomed  in  profusion,  and  happy,  bare-headed 
children  were  playing  on  the  grass  and  in  the  shrub- 
bery walks.  It  was  like  a  warm  spring  day  in  En- 
gland. At  a  corner  of  this  pleasant  domain  "l  looked 
over  a  gate  into  a  large  kitchen-garden,  whieli,  pro- 
perly cultivated,  might  sui)plv  a  small  town.  But 
rhe  Roman  owner  thought  not  of  the  advantage  to 
be  derived  from  it.  It  contained  a  larize  bed  of 
gigantic  Cabbages,  rising  rank  amid  a  wilderness  of 
weeds,  and  it  contained  nothing  else.  While  reflect- 
ing on  this  deplorable  insouciance  and  neglect,  I 
heard  the  railway  whistle,  and  saw  in  the  distance 
the  train  from  Naples,  bringing  crates  of  crushed 
vegetables  for  to-day's  market." 

Tree  Planting  in  the  Public  Streets  In  Eng- 
land street  trees  are  generally  the  property  of 
the  city,  and  are  planted  by  the  authority  and 
under  the  oversight  of  the  city  councils,  instead 
of  being  all  left  toindividual  notion  as  here.  The 
city  (»f  Brighton  has  recently  advertised  for  '•  five 
hundred  planes,  poplar-,  limes,  elms  and  syca- 
mores, tifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  for  tliis  pur- 
pose." 

'  New  Peas.  Our  fever  in  the  way  of  grapes 
and.  potatoes,  is  about  equalled  by  the  English 
in  new  peas.  By  the  immense  interest  taken 
there  in  new  peas  one  might  almost  suppose  all 
England  lived  wholly  on  peas,  and  that  it  was 
the  i)ea,  and  not  the  turnip  which  paid  the  in- 
terest on  the  national  debt. 

Chrisfmas  Trees.  The  idea  of  the  Christmas 
tree  we  have  received  from  the  fiermans.  It  has 
now  spread  to  the  English.  A  few  years  ago  no 
one  thought  there  of  the  Christmas  tree.  The 
Holly  and  the  Mistleto  were  all.  Now  the 
Christmas  tree  enters  largely  into  the  annual 
festivity. 

Tuberoses.  The  climate  of  England  is  not  hot 
enough  to  bring  the  tuberose  to  flowering  perfec- 
tion though  they  will  bloom  there  after  being 
once  grown.  Italy  furnished  the  crop  ;  but 
recently  America  supplies  them  largely,  and  our 
roots  are  found  of  the  highest  excellence. 

Bud  Variation.  In  an  article  in  the  Popular 
Science  lieiuew,  Dc  M.  T.  Masters  examines  the 
whole  subject,  and  concludes  by  saying  : 

'To  sum  up,  then,  we  may  say  that  there  is 
no  absolute  diflferencc  between  bud  variation  and 


Jf6 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S  MOJVTMLY.    February, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^'THL  Y. 


^7 


seed  variation.  The  (3han£res  manifest  them- ;  difference  between  a  bud  formed  as  the  result  of 
selves  in  the  same  manner  and  in  the  same  or-  j  fertilization,  ?'.  e.,  an  embryo,  and  one  formed 
gans,  in  the  case  of  buds  or  seedlings  respective-  without  the  direct  agency  of  the  two  sexes,  i,  e., 
ly.    The  conditions,  so  (iar  as  we  know,  that   a  bud." 

produce  variation  in  the  one  are  the  same  that '  The  Oarrhnerl^i  Chronicle  and  the  Oardener^s 
are  effectual  in  the  other.  F.astly,  ai)art  from  Monthly  are  credited  with  the  leading  facts 
the  different  mode  of  origin,  there  is  no  essential    which  have  wrought  out  this  conclusion. 


E  D  I  T  0  E  I  A  L  . 


FLOWERS  IN  WINTER. 

Many  would  have  the  kixury  of  llowers  in 
winter^  if  they  could  do  so  without  the  heavy 
expense  which  usually  attends  their  produc- 
tion. To  such  there  is  a  good  opportunity  in 
the  plan  of  growing  half  hardy  plants  in  the 
natural  ground,  under  glass.  This  is  the  me- 
thod generally  adopted  by  llorists  in  i  roducing 
the  immense  quantities  of  (lowers  now  in  de- 
mand in  large  cities.  The  results  in  dowers  are 
wonderful,  while  the  expense  is  comparatively 
small. 

In  Philadelphia  one  of  the  largest  cut  dower 
establishments  is  that  of  Pennoek  Bros.  One  of 
the  firm,  A.  L.  Pennoek,  has  a  large  quantity  of 
glass,  devoted  to  winter  llower  growing  at  Dar- 
by, near  Philadelphia,  and  we  dropped  in  ©ne 
day  about  the  end  of  December,  to  see  what  we 
could  pick  up  for  our  readers.  The  glass  covers 
over  three-quarters  of  an  acre,  and  is  on  the 
southern  slope  of  a  gentle  hill.  On  three  sides 
of  the  square  are  the  larger  houses.  In  one  are 
planted  out  chietly  Camellias,  and  in  the  upper- 
most—on the  highest  ground— the  Roses.  Of 
the  varieties  of  Camellias,  the  light  kinds,  chietly 
the  old  double  white  are  grown.  In  the  rose 
house,  Tea  roses  chietly  rule  ;  of  these  the  most 
popular  are  Satfranoand  Isabella  Sprunt.  There 
are  also  large  quantities  of  the  half  tea,  half 
noisette  rose,  Marshal  Neil  ;  but  as  a  general 
rule  noisette  roses  do  not  flower  as  freely  under 
glass  as  tea  roses,  unless  in  situations  fully  ex- 
posed to  direct  sunlight.  The  space  between 
the  large  boundary  houses  is  filled  by  numerous 
parallel  low  narrow  houses-  so  low  that  one  can- 
not stand  upright  in  them.  They  are  made  this 
low  in  order  to  get  the  plants  in  the  ground  near 
to  the  glass,  which  is  essential  to  the  production 
of  an  abundant  bloom. 

Each  of  these  houses  is  deycted  to  ons  thing 


I  only.  One  has  violets  alone,  another  tree  car- 
I  nations,  another  mignonette  ;  and  so  on  with 
I  Poiusettas,  Sweet  Alyssum,  Heliotrope,  and  the 
I  other  staple  items  which  all  winter  bouquets 
I  and  baskets  must  have.  The  whole  of  this  mass 
I  of  glass  is  teated  by  four  Pennoek  boilers— the 
j  invention  of  the  proprietor,  and  with  which  all 
readers  of  our  advertising  columns  are  familiar. 
I  In  the  construction  of  these  boilers,  Mr.  P.  has 
;  aimed  to  use  every  atom  of  heat  from  the  coal, 
I  so  that  none  shall  be  lost,  as  so  often  is  the  case, 
!  up  the  smoke  flues.  In  one  which  we  examined 
j  here,  the  hot  water  pipes  were  so  warm  that  one 
I  could  not  bear  the  hand  on  them,  while  the 
I  smoke  flue,  which  rises  direct  from  the  furnace, 
and  is  not  carried  arouud  the  houses,  as  is  so 
j  often  done,  was  barely  warm.  The  pipes  are 
I  carried  through  the  houses  in  every  direction, 
,  and  are  laid  along  a  few  inches  from  the  ground. 
I  The  houses  and  heating  arrangements  cost  about 
,  ten  thousand  dollars,  but  we  believe  have  been 
I  found  very  profitable.  This  immense  mass  of 
I  vegetation,  through  its  growing  in  the  natural 
ground,  requires  very  little  expenditure  of  labor. 
Three  hands  manage  the  whole. 

Intended  solely  for  commercial  purposes— to 
make  money,  there  has  been  no  attempt  here  to 
make  things  neat  and  substantial.  No  one  who 
wished  houses  for  his  personal  gratification,  and 
to  add  to  ihe  attractions  of  his  home,  would 
want  structures  exactly  like  these ;  but  with  a 
very  little  extra  cost,  any  one  might  hare  an  ele- 
gant flower  house,  which  would  add  immensely 
to  their  winter  pleasures.  What,  for  instance, 
could  possibly  be  more  interesting  than  a  small 
house  of  Roses,  or  of  Heliotrope,  or  Bouvardia, 
or  Tree  Carnations ;  or  anything  which  will 
make  continuous  flower  all  through  winter? 
There  would  be  missing,  to  be  sure,  the  charm 
of  variety  which  the  mixed  greenhouse  affords ; 


but  then  the  planting  in  the  ground  is  a  perma- 1  ture.  Prof.  Agassiz  laid  himself  out  on  Darwin 
nent  thing.  ;  to  a  considerable  extent.     As  reported  in  the 

There  is  not  needed  any  skilled  knowledge  in  :  Cultivator,  he  did  give  the  author  of  the  Origin 
watering  and  general  attention,  for  when  one  ;  ^/species  full  and  particular  attention.  It  is  the 
thing  alone  is  grown,  one  soon  becomes  familiar  j  misfortune  of  Darwin  that  the  wits  have  hold  of 
with  all  its  wants.  We  really  do  not  see  why  \  him  as  they  have  of  Horace  Greeley,  and  what  is 
these  open  ground  greenhouses-  little  winter  Darwinism  and  what  is  not  is  about  as  hard  for 
gardens  they  may  be  called— should  be  confined  i  the  public  to  understand  as  it  would  be  were  we 
to  florists.  There  is  no  reason  why  they  should  to  read  Mark  Twain's  explanations  of  "  What  I 
not  be  on  every  place-evgn  jmore  common  than  '  know  of  Farming,"  instead  of  the  ori<^inal  work 
greenhouses  and  graperies.  j      it  is  pardonable  when  one  of  the  mere  public 

'•■•*  mistakes   the   teachings  of  a  irreat   man     but 

REMARKABLE  EXPERIENCE  IN  GRAPE  :  when  a  leader  like  Prof.  Agassiz  so  errs!'there 

GROWING.  I  is  no  justification.     We  quote  what  is  said  in 

Opposite  to  Mr.  Pennock's  cut  flower  estab-  j  reference    to    natural    selection    in    regard    to 
lishment    at  Darby,    two  young    men    named  j  plants  : 
Price  have  started  in  the  cut   flower  growing 
trade  also,  and  have  several  houses  well  filled 
with  Roses,  Heliotrope,  Lilies,  Spiraea  Japonica, 
and  other  popular  flowers  of  this  character.    Be 


1- 


"  T  do  not  know  how  animals  originated;  a  bri 
liant  imagination  that  of  Darwin  ;  a  very  necessary 
faculty  iu  the  scientist.     The  sense  I  know  too  well 
to   misquote  him.     Hasty  generalizing  of  observa- 

- ---  i  ^lon  is  Darwin  all  over.     Natural  selection  is  out  of 

sides  this  they  have  a  vineyard  of  about  an  acre   I  generation.     Natural  necessltv,  what  is  it  ?     Do  wo 

in  which  are  most  of  the  rare  and  nonular  I  i  ^  .^^'''^.  ?."^^p"''^  ^H^""^  beget  families  ?  Observe 
cranes   crrowincr  in  n  ^fafn.f  1.1     '  P^PUiar    pi.nts  at  the  foot  of  the  White  mountains,  where 

grapes,  giowmg  in  a  state  ot  luxuriousness  rare-  I  are  large  trees,  and  so  up  the  summit,  where  tliev 
ly  seen.  What  is  most  remarkable  is  that  while  ^^^  "^^re  shrubs.  The  weak  may  and  do  survive  as 
such  a  usually  delicate  grower  as  Allen's  Hybrid  n^^\^^  ^^^®  strong.  Ignorance 'lies  at  the  base  of 
he.  grows  wi.h  the  U.xuriance  an.l  vigor  of  "  a  j  !!o„:''CnreVesf^rdVr"rrKt •'J"''^- 
weed."     The  Concord,  wh.ch  usually  does  so  j      If  the  learned  Professor  had  ever  „roperlv  read 

W  r.7  V' 'T/'"  ^'''■'' "*■  ""  "'°'"'-  "^  understood  Mr.  Darwin's  works,  he  woud 
We  could  scarcely  ered.t  our  eyes  that  the  long  j  know  that  Mr.  Darwin  never  contended  that 
row  of  puny  growth  ever  came  from  the  Con- :  mere  size  was  strength.  Mr.  D.  knows  quite  as 
ord,  wh,  e  the  row  next  to  it,  with  the  rankness  i  well  as  Prof  Agassiz  that  the  largltrees  are 
0  a  w,ld  fox  grape  should  be  our  old  friend  the    found  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  smlll 

fl™  ::""'•  •  '^'"  ""^r'^'  ^'^  "'°"""  ^™^  '  ""'""=«  ^'  "^«  '°P  ;   -<!  he  contends  that  the 

™1"''  "  ""'  '"'"'  '"^""'""^  of  Ismail  bushes  are  hardier,  and  that  it  is  because 

grapes  when  grown  on  vigorous  vines  like  these,  j  they  are  hardier  that  they  are  found  in  these  in- 

vye  have  always  insisted  that  grapes,  as  a    clement  places,  to  the  exclusionfcof  the  lar^-er 

drv  inT.  '"'  ^  r"^'  "''  "'■"""^  "*"  ""'  *"■  '°°  ^"''"-  "T*^"  ^^'-^"^  '"^y  =^"'1  dT survive  The 
M? '"  P  •  K  ,'"  ^"'''^'''*-  P«'-f'-''="°"-  The  strong."  Yes,  but  if  there  be  war  between  the 
Messrs.   Price  believe  especially  in  the  latter,    two,  the  weak  will  not  survive  long,  and  it  is 

wouI,fwTi  i"  "^'""•■''".y  "^"'""g'  "^^l  '^a'"  only  in  cases  where  there  is  this  war- a  6(r«!;iJe 
Zrn  ,        -T  ^^,      "  ""  "•     ^"  '*•''""''"  '"  "^'^  i-^'"'  ''^^'  ^'  ^^'-  O^'^'^in  terms  it,  that  he  claims 

ln!/lVI^\°^r' "''''''"''''''' ''''''y'''''''''P'  '■"^  ""^  P"""l"«  ^"y  '^g^n^y  in  regard  to  the 
along  one  side  of  the  square  formed  by  the  vin-    origin  of  species 


yard.  But  besides  those  drying  advantages,  the 
whole  is  traversed  by  several  well  constructed 
under-drains,  which  render  it  impossible  that 
water  can  remain  in  the  ground  long.  But  why 
's  It  the  Concord  gets  no  benefit  from  these 
conditions  ? 


I... 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC. 

/^Wm  on  Darwin.     At  the  winter  meeting 
the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agricul- 


Whether  Mr.  Darwin's  generalizations  are 
wholly  true  or  not  is  not  the  question  here  ;  but 
those  who  love  trees  and  flowers  are  too  much 
indebted  to  this  great  man  for  the  many  natural 
laws  he  has  been  the  means  of  revealing  to 
them,  to  take  patiently  the  insinuations  of  Prof. 
Agassiz  that  he  is  a  mere  ignoramus,  and  ruled 
mainly  by  a  "  brilliant  imagination." 

Postal  Laics.  We  have  not  yet  seen  the  bill 
which  has  passed  all  branches  of  the  Govern- 
ment in   regard   to   nostal  relief,   but  no  post- 


:||l, 


4S, 


TEE    GARDENER'S   MOM'TULY.     February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJYTELY. 


49 


H;  ,  > 


1^ 


master  can  act  on  it  till  the  Postmaster  General 
has    had   the  chance  of   making  decisions   on 
'» what  it  means."    We  have  already  seen  that 
the  attempt  to  be  guided  by  the  letter  of  the  law 
instead  of  the  spirit,  led  to  all  sorts  of  absurdi-  j 
ties,  and  unless  the  law  is  worded  so  as  to  put  j 
decisions  out  of  the  question,  it  is  by  no  means  t 
certain  that  there  will  be  no  mo-e  trouble.  | 

There  is,  indeed,  one  point  on  which  there  pro-  i 
bably  will  be  trouble,  unless  the  law  is  worded  I 
so  a's  to  avoid  it.     Merchandize  must  pay  one  j 
cent  an  ounce,and  weigh  not  over  twelve  ounces. 
If  seeds  or  plants  go  for  half  these  rates,  and  in  j 
four  pound  parcels,  how  are  the  postmasters  to  1 
know  whether  the  packages   contain   seeds  or  I 
merchandize  ?     Once  we  were  not  only  allowed 
but  ordered  to  write  ''seeds''  or 'plants"  on  i 
the  outside,  and  this  gave  the  cue  to  tke  post-  > 
master  who  could  "open  the  wrapper  without 
destroying,'"  if  he  suspected  things  were  n  )t  as  I 
represented.     Without  this  cue  there  is  nothing  i 
but  to  open  every  four  pound  package  to  see  that 
it  is  not  merchandize.     Of  course  this  will  not  ; 
be  done,  and  all  sorts  of  merchandize  will  steal 
through    under  the   seed  law.      But  the  Tost- 
mastJr  General  has  decided  that  any  writing  ex- 
cept the  address,  subjects  the  whole  package  to 
letter  postage. 

But  there  are  many  other  matters  of  detail 
which  require  looking  to  ;  and  it  would  be  well 
for  some  one  to  try,  while  we  are  about  it,  and 
get  up  a  sensible  law— one  just  to  the  Govern- 
ment, accommodating  to  the  people,  and  easy  to 
be  understood.  Why,  for  instance,  if  one  tiuds 
he  has  sold  out  an  item  in  a  catalogue,  and  runs 
his  pencil  through  to  erase  it  from  the  list  to  in- 
dicate the  fact,  that  should  subject  the  whole 
catalogue  to  letter  postage,  does  not  seem  clear 
to  common  sense,  as  the  Government  could  not 
possibly  be  injured.  Why  a  name  or  written 
number,  or  anythmg  to  indicate  the  naine  of 
the  plant,  seeds  or  cuttings  sent,  unless  printed, 
should  be  forbidden,  is  equally  incompr^^heusi- 
ble ;  and  that  small  packages  of  seeds  enclosed 
under  one  wrapper -every  little  pinch  and  grain 
must  be  in  an  "open  paper,"  not  pasted  or 
gummed  to  make  it  secure  against  getting  into 
the  mail  bag,  seems  of  no  benefit  to  any  body, 
nor  ot  any  effect  to  any  purpose  but  to  obstruct 
a  branch  of  the  postal  service  that  one  would 
suppose  the  intention  was  to  encourage. 

Above  all,  these  laws  should  be  clear.  Some 
of  our  friends  may  think  we  have  borne  rather 
hard  on  this  matter,  but  other  papers  have  had 


more  trouble  to  understand  the  rulings  than  we 
have.  The  Cincinnati  Gazette  says  the  Post- 
master General  himself  is  "  bothered"  to  decide 
things,  and  gives  the  following  as  a  specimen  of 
some  of  his  recent  "  rulings  :'' 

"  A  postmaster  is  not  permitted  to  make  any 
material  change  in  the  site  of  his  postoffice  with- 
out affixing  a  two-cent  stamp  for  every  two 
ounces  He  can  charge  double  postage  for  sight 
of  the  postmaster. 

Shirts  may  be  mailed  at  the  rate  of  two  cents 
for  every  two  ounces  of  shirt.  If  the  owners' 
name  is  on  the  shirt,  letter  postage  must  be 
charged.     This  rule  is  indelible. 

A  subscriber  residing  in  a  county   in  which  a 
paper  is  printed,  can  take  the  paper,  provided 
he  pays  in  advance,  and  urges  his  neighbors  to 
subscribe.     If  he  does  not  live  in  the  county  in 
which  he  resides,  and  the  paper  is  not  printed  in 
the  same  county  in  which  it  has  its  press  work 
I  done,  then  the  county  must  pay  double  postage 
:  on  the  man— we  mean  a  two  cent  county  must 
;  be  affixed   to  every  posiage  stamp  -that  is  to 
say,  every  two  ounces  of  a  man— we  mean  the 
paper  county— the— mau— well,  we  must    leave 
this  ruling  to  the  discretion  of  the  postmaster." 
Japan    Wax—Bkus   Succedaniam.     This  wax 
is  coming  into  extensive  use,  and  is  the  product 
I  of  the  plant  we  have  named.     If  it  could  be  cul- 
tivated in  the  United  States  it  would  be  of  im- 
i  mense  value.     The.  writer  of  this  paragraph  was 
fortunate  in  raising  two  plants  from  seed  of  the 
Perry  expedition.     One  was  left  out  to  test,  but 
was  killed  by  a  Philadelphia  winter  ;  the  other 
was  sent  to  Mr.  Berckmans,  of  Augusta,  Ga., 
in  1859  or  'bO,  but  whether  still  in  existence  or 
not  we  do  not  know  at  Ihis  writing. 
I      Flora  of  California.     Dr.  Brewer  is  engaged 
'  on  this  good  work.     It  is  in  such  a  state  of  for- 
wardness as  to  be  probably  ready  for  the  press 
by  the  end  of  the  year.     Prof.  Gray  and  Mr. 
1  Sereno  Watson  are   lending  a  hand,  so  as  to 
hurry  on  the  work  to  an  early  completion. 

T/te  Apple  Worm  in  California.  A  few  spe- 
cimens of  the  Carpocapsa  pomana  have  at  length 
been  captured  in  California.  It  is  believed  that 
the  present  comparative  immunity  from  eastern 
insects,  will  not  long  last  in  the  Golden  State. 

Zanthoxylon  fraeineum  for  Hedges.  We  see 
the  prickly  ash  named  as  a  hedge  plant.  It  is 
thorny  enough,  but  surely  it  cannot  everywhere 
be  as  troublesome  in  ihe  way  of  suckers  as  it  is 
wherever  we  have  known  it,  or  no  one  would  be 
found  to  s»ay  a  word  ia  its  I'avjr. 


mstory  of  the  Blood-Leaved  Peach.  The  Bu-  ,  flowers  are  grades  towards  masculinitv  and 
ral  S«H  seems  to  imagine  we  gave  the  legend  of  |  that  whether  a  seed  germ  becomes  of  one  sex  or 
the  origin  of  the  blood-leaved  peach,  which  we  the  other  depends  on  the  amount  of  nutrition  it  is 
found  floating  about  in  the  newspapers,  as  a  I  able  to  assimilate  in  a  very  early  stage  of  life 
mat  er  of  fact  It  will  be  remembered  the  story  i  The  lowest  power  of  assimilation  produces  the 
went  that  a  dying  General  ate  the  peach  from  i  double  flower. 
the  stone  of  which  this  tree  sprung.     The  Rural  \      In  one  capsule  are  many  seed  germs.     Some  of 


Sun  shows  that  this  could  not  be,  as  the  battle 
of  Fort  Donelson  was  fought  amid  the  snows 
of  February,  when  peaches  were  not  about. 

We  hardly  supposed  when  we  gave  the  cur- 
rent story,  that  any  one  would  take  it  in  earnest, 
much  less  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  "ex- 
plode'' it.  It  seems  like  undertaking  the 
job  of  examining  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  Red 
Rose  having  sprung  from  the  blood  of  Venus, 
when  a  thorn  pierced  her  foot  in  her  hunt 
through  the  woods  in  the  search  for  Adonis. 

As  a  matter  of  history,  however,  we  should 
like  to  know  where  the  original  tree  did  spring. 
The  Baral  Sun,  quoting  the  Baral  Carolinian', 
says  it  originated  "in  Mississippi  in  1870.''  If 
we  are  not  very  much  mistaken,  Mr.  Hatch,  of 
whom  we  first  heard  of  it,  told  us  it  grew'  at 
Fort  Donelson,  so  far  in  accordance  with  the 
legend,  and  of  course  the  only  part  we  regarded 
as  true. 

Single  and  .Double  Flowers.  Some  time  since 
the  Baral  Carolinian  had  tke  following'  para- 
graph :  ° 

"Why  do  some  of  the  seeds  from  a  double  flower 

?rom"fh/^«''^'  ^r''^"^«  ^^^^"^^'  ^^^"^^  other  seed 
from   the   same    flower   produce  double  flowerinxr 

^^.'^lV^1'''^/'  ^"^'^^^^'•'  ^«  ^'^  sometimes  gJt 
nearly  all  double  flowering  plants  from  a  planting 
of  seeds,  when  another  plantinii  from  the  same 
package,  made  at  another  time,  oFin  another  place 

feTUL'J'u^^  .""  '"^^  ^"^^^^^  This  1ms  oecu?- 
Itij^rt^'^^^  '"  ^"''  «^'"  expeiience.  For  in- 
stance last  year  we  had  one  of  the  finest  displays 
0  double  znmias  that  we  ever  saw,  but  few  of  our 
&l!/5?l"^"l^..«i"g^«  flowers.      Cs  y^r     we 


these  will  not  have  the  life  principle  so  thorough- 
ly incorporated  in  them  as  the  others  through  a 
defective  supply  of  a  certain  kind  of  nutrition, 
and  will  yield  double  flowers  sooner  than  others' 
Without  perceiving  this  law  as  clearly  as  it  has 
been  since  demonstrated,  those  who  have  had  t« 
do  with  raising  double  flowers  have  yet  often 
approached  it.  For  instance  in  raising  double 
stock  gillies,  seed  being  saved  from  single  kinds, 
it  has  been  found  that  the  first  flowers  formed 
produce  chiefly  double  flowers,  and  the  last  chief- 
ly single.  This  is  an  experience  of  more  than 
thirty  years.  The  reason  is  that  on  the  first  for- 
mation of  flowers,  the  plant  is  still  devoting 
much  of  its  nutrition  to  plant  growth.  After 
that  is  satisfied,  it  gives  its  whole  attention  to 
perfecting  seed. 

It  is  curious  to  notice  in  the  production  o^ 
double  flowers, how  when  nutrition  fails,  it  effects 
the  male  organs  of  a  flower  before  the  female.  A 
stamen  for  instance  is  a  higher  organized  body 
than  a  petal ;  indeed  it  is  formed  out  of  a  petal, 
which  in  its  turn  is  formed  out  of  a  leaf.  But 
when  there  is  not  jiower  enough  to  turn  the 
petals  into  stamens-that  is  when  the  flower  be- 
comes double,  as  it  is  called  -the  pistil  will  never- 
theless remain  perfect.  Hence  we  can  often 
raise  seed  from  double  carnations,  double  roses, 
double  hollyhocks,  and  so  on,  if  we  can  only  ob- 
tain foreign  pollen  to  fertilize  them. 

Whether  or  not  any  weakening  influence  on 
the  seed,  a/^cr  it  has  once  been  fully  formed,  will 
planted' some' of  the^t^edT'iyt  over VromTe'same  ^'''''^  ''''^'  influence  in  producing  double  flowers 
vp«r  a^n'i^'"'"''  ^'''",'  ^^'^  fl"^«^  ^o"^>'<^  flowers  of  last  '^^  ^^^^""^  ""^y  ^^^"^  ^ur  own  experience;  but  there 
se'dsmen  'K  rtultsTom'^.l/'ru  ^•'"^^^^^^^^^  "««<!  to  be  a  belief  prevalent  among  English  gar- 
very  few  exceptionrtt'r    hMmmS^sir.:    '^"'^^^  ""^  ^''' '~  "^^^      ^  ' 

Sed^ditor  nrT"'V>^°^.^^^^^"^  ^'  theaccom- 
snmi  •  ^.^  ?  ^hc  Gardener's  Monthly  inve  us 
some  light  on  this  point  in  vegetable  physiology  ?" 

Not  wishing  to  ^'take  the  job  ^'  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  other  friends  named,  we  have  left 
tion  tn  rr/l""'' ^"' ^^  they  show  no  disposi- 

ul«r      .u ''^^  "^  ''^  '^'''^  "^'-^3'  ^«  "^  ^^^^^^  in 
uogesting  that  the  papers  on  the  "  laws  of  sex," 

stalt  r'f  '^"^^  •^'""^"^^'  ^^P'^i"  thecircum- 
Btaiice  referred  to;    Ic  is  there  seen  that  double 


deuers  that  old  seeds  of  the  Balsam,  or  ''  Lady's 
Slipper,"  would  more  certainly  produce  double 


than  single  flowers. 


OBITUARY. 

LAWRENCE   lOUNG. 

This  distinguished  horticulturist  died  on  the 
23d  of  December,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  the 
eighty-second  year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Young  was 
not  well  known  to  our  readers,  as  he  ceased  con- 


tributing 


to  the  horticultural  press  with  the  pass 


50 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MONTHLY.     Fehrxiary, 


1873. 


I  !! 


I 


I 


ing  away  of  the  Horticvlturist  from  Downing,  by 
his  death  ;  but  most  of  us  who  are  no  longer  on 
the  green  side  of  life,  will  remember  how  much 
profit  in  the  years  gone  by  we  derived  from 
the  writings  and  labors  of  Lawrence  Young. 
In  the  earlier  years  of  the  American  Pomologi- 
cal  Society,  Mr.  Young  took  an  active  part  in 
its  successful  working,  and  the  only  time  the 
writer  had  the  pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaint- 
ance was  at  one  of  the  Pomological  Society's 
meetings  in  Philadelphia,  twenty  years  ago.  It 
was,  we  believe,  the  last  he  ever  attended.  In 
his  own  immediate  vicinity,  however,  he  labored 
effectively  for  horticulture  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  The  Kentucky  Horticultural  Society  is 
one  of  the  live  societies  of  which  we  have  much 
too  few  ;  and  very  much  of  this  useful  activity 
has  been  due  to  the  intluence  of  Mr.  Young. 


He  was  born  in  Caroline  county,  Virginia, 
but  from  three  years  old  was  brought  up  in  Ken- 
tucky. He  worked  in  early  life  on  his  father's 
fiirm,  educating  himself  in  a  great  measure* 
finally  becoming  a  school  teacher.  At  length 
he  devoted  some  time  to  merchandize,  and  the 
study  of  the  law.  At  thirty  he  married,  and 
after  finishing  his  university  studies,  again 
opened  a  school  ;  but  finally  gave  up  all  for  farm- 
ins:  and  orchardins:.  When  the  Western  Rural- 
ist  was  started,  he  admirably  edited  the  horticul- 
tural department,  and  up  to  quite  a  recent  date 
contributed  to  other  papers  in  his  vicinity.  He 
was  buried  on  Christmas  day,  and  leaves  three 
sons  and  one  daughter,  besides  a  name  which 
will  long  endear  him  to  the  horticulturists  of 
what  may  almost  be  called  his  native  State. 


TJIE    GARDE JVEM'S   MOJYTHLY. 


51 


SCUAPS   AND     aUERIES. 


Noticing  Advertisements. — We  have  oc- 
casional offers  of  "good  pay  "  if  we  will  "notice" 
advertisements  in  our  reading  columns  ;  and  one 
firm,  very  respectable  of  course,  refuses  to  adver- 
tise in  the  Gardener's  Monthly  because  we  will 
not  do  so.  Not  one  line  that  has  ever  appeared 
la  the  body  of  the  Gardener"* s  Monthly  has  ever 
been  paid  for  directly  or  indirectly,  and  we  do 
not  mean  that  it  ever  shall  be.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  not  fair  that  one  shall  have  a  free 
notice  and  another  none.  Equal  justice  to  all 
our  advertisers  is  our  motto.  We  trust  our 
friends  will  spare  us  the  pain  of  declining  "  no- 
tices." We  think  every  one  reads  our  adver- 
tisements, 60  that  the  notice  is  superogatory  at 
all  events. 


which  any  one  reader  desires  information,  a  line 
to  the  editor  will  always  bring  it,  if  in  his  power. 

Boiling  Locust  Seed.— A  correspondent 
asks  if  it  is  proper  to  boil  the  seed  of  the  yellow 
locust  before  sowing.  Boil  the  seed  I  What  a 
question  !  He  says  he  is  told  so.  If  they  ever 
grew  after,  the  water  must  have  been  boiled  on 
the  top  of  Pike's  Peak,  where  they  say  water 
boils  at  a  temperature  not  so  very  many  degrees 
above  the  freezing  point  I  But  w^e  do  not  recom- 
mend it  here.  Pour  boihng  water  on  the  seed  if 
i  hard  and  dry,  but  do  not  boil  in  this  part  of  the 
world. 


Subscribing  to  the  Gardeners  Month- 
ly.— The  publisher  desires  to  thank  the  many 
subscribers,  who  with  their  renewels  have  en- 
couraged him  by  kind  expressions  of  their  regard 
for  the  magazine.  In  this  connection  one  of  the 
most  gratifying  events  is  the  unusually  large 
number  who  on  account  of  the  war,  misfortune, 
or  some  other  cause,  had  to  cease  subscribing  to 
the  Montlily^  have  renewed  again  with  frank  con- 
fessions of  their  feeling  of  loss  by  its  non-appear- 
ance all  the  long  years.  After  all,  the  Monthly 
is  just  what  the  subscribers  themselves  wish  to 
make  it.     If  there  be  any  topic  neglected  on 


1     Plants  in  Bloom  at  Rhosynmynydd,   the 
I  suburban  residence  of  J.  P.  Jones,  Esq.,  Block- 
;  ley,  West  Philadelphia,  Pa, 
j  NOVEMBER,  1872. 

]  HARDY   HERBACEOUS  PLANTS. 

'  Anemone  Japonica  alba,  Windflower 

I  Chrysanthemum  Indicum  var.  Chusan  Daisy 
I  Helleborus  niger,  Christmas  Rose 

'  Lychnis  dioica  fl.alba  pleno,  batchelor's 

[button 

EVERGREEN   HERBACEOUS  PLANTS 

that  enliven  the  dreary  winter  walks  in  the  plea- 
sure grounds,  by  their  curious  and  beautiful 
foliage. 


Ajuga 


Acorus 
Arabis 

Aubretia 

Arum 

Dianthus 


Helleborus 
Lilium 


(( 


a 


reptans.  Bugle 

variegata 

calamus  variegata,  sweet  Rush 

alpina.      Wall  cress 

variegata,        " 

purpurea 

maculatum.  Wake  Robin 
barbatus.  Sweet  William 
Caryophyllus,  Carnation 
plumarius,  Pink 
niger,  Christmas  Rose 
candid um,  Lily 
variegata  a  urea 
Pachysandra         procumbens 
Pyrola  elliptica,  false  Wintergreen 

baxifraga  Andrewsi,  Saxifrage  (Irish) 

crassifolia 

sarmentosa.  Wandering  Jew 
umbrosa,  London  Pride 
virginiensis 

GREENHOUSE  AND  CONSERVATORY 

Abutilon  striatum,  Chinese  bell 

vexillarium  " 

grandiflorum       ** 
Ageratum  mexicanum,  Blue  Mist 

cpelestinum,         " 
Asclepias  curassavica.  Swallow-wort 

Bouvardia  triphylla 

Browallia  Jamisonii 

Cactus  speciosum 

Camellik  fl.  alba  pleno,  Camellia 

testrum  regale 

Cuphea  Danielsiana,*  Cigar  flower 

platycentra,  ** 

Btrigulosa,  •» 

^ypripedium        insigna,  ladies  slipper 
i^aphne  odora,  spurge  laurel 

£upat0rium         fruticosum,  white  mist 

G^rTn-*  coccinea,  var.,  ladies  eardrop 

^eranmm  Zonale,  var. 

Jasminum  grandiflorum.  Jasmine 

Justicia  carnea 

Malcomia  maritima,  Virginia  stock 

^^ea  fragrans,  Olive 

^^^18  floribunda  rosea.  Sorrel 

alba 
grandiflora, 
lutea,  ti 

p  .  versicolor,  *« 

Kn^^l^  sinensis,  Primrose 

Kusselha  j^oca 

^^^  coccinea,  Sage 

involucrata,  Sage 
splendens,       " 


Serissa 
Solan  um 


Tropaeolum 
Thea 

Veronica 


foetid  a 

Jasminoides 

variegata 

Lobbianum,  Indian  cress 

viridis.  Tea  tree 

speciosa,  Speedwell 

Andersonii,    " 
The  garden   rocket,    (Hesperis  matronalis  fl. 
pleno  albo)   or  Dames  Violet,  an  old  favorite 
hardy  herbaceous  plant  of  England  and  Ireland 
recently  introduced  here,  is  well  worth  a  little  at- 
tention as  to  its  culture.     I  will  give  my  experi- 
ence  with  it.     It   being  a  true  biennial  in  its 
single  state,  (commonly  called  Gilliflower)    of  a 
purplish  red  color,  bearing  seed  and  sowin-  itself 
profusely.     Therefore  the  subject  of  my  remarks 
being  double  flowered,  and  bearing  no  seed    it 
requires   to  be   propagated   every  year  by  side 
shoots  or  cuttings  oft'  the  old  plant  in  earlv 
spring  or  fall.     I  found  that  when  the  plant  was 
wel     established,    not     being    transplanted    or 
parted,  it  grew  coarse  and  straggling,  but  by 
parting  the  crowns  every  spring  as  soon  as  it 
shows  signs  of  growth,   I  have  beautiful  com- 
pact spikes  of  its  double  white  clove  scented 
flowers,  rivalling  the  Pink  or  Carnation,   and 
very  sliowy. 


Mc Arthur,  Son  &  Co.,  Meridian,  Miss 
--The  publisher  begs  to  return  thanks  to  the 
above  firm  for  a  complimentary  notice   of  the 
Gardener^s  Monthly  inserted   in    their   nursery 
catalogue. 


Aralia  spinosa.-^.   F.   8.,   MoUne,   Ills., 
writes:     "I  enclose  herewith  a  few  seeds  for 
name.     They  grew  upon  a  small  tree,  perhaps 
now  about  eight  feet  high,  and  at  this  time  there 
IS  not  the  sign  of  a  limb  upon  it,  they  having  all 
lallen  ofl;  to  come  out  again  in  the  sprincr      The 
limbs    and   the   side   limbs,  or    more    properly 
speaking,  the  foot  stalks  of  the  leaves  are  attach- 
ed to  the  tree  by  clasping  around  the  stem  or 
stems,  and  when  frosts  come  they  loosen  up  and 
tail  to  the  gromid.     The  body  is  covered  with 
short  blunt  thorns.     Having  been  a  subscriber 
to  the  Gardener^s  Monthly  from  the  beginnincr 
I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you.    Please  give 
ns  a  name  and  somewhat  of  its  character.     The 
flower  grew  upon  the  extreme  top  of  the  tree  • 
was  not  very  showy,  although  large  as  a  bucket,' 
and  grew  very  much  like  the  elder  flowers." 

[This  is  the  Aralia  spinosa,  or  Hercules  Club 
Also  called  angelica  tree.     It  is  one  of  the  most 


6^ 


THE    GABBEJVEB'S   MOJ^THLY.      Februarij, 


1873. 


THE    GABBEJVEB'S   MONTHLY. 


53 


ill 


it' 


etriking  objects  one  can  possibly  bave  on  a  lawn  . 
inferior  in  many  respects  to  some  tropical 
plants  yet  more  popular.  It  is  liable  to  annoy 
a  little  by  suckers,  and  should  be  planted  where 
these  will  not  be  very  objectionable.l 

The  Centennial  Exhibition.— Mr.  Akers 
gays  :  "Mr.  Morroll,  who  is  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Centennial  Commis- 
sion, informs  me  that  the  Committees  which  will 
be  charged  with  the  details  of  the  exposition, 
have  no"  yet  been  appointed.  He  also  assures 
me  that  the  great  horticultural  interest  shall  be 
recognized  in  all  its  importance.  This  I  can 
weirconfide  in,  as  I  know  him  to  be  ardently 
devoted  to  that  interest  himself." 

[The  committee  to  which  we  had  reference  was 
the  local  committee  of  finance.     Sub-committees 
were  appointed  to  represent  every   branch  of 
trade  and  all  the  professions.     There  were  com- 
mittees on  agricultural  implements,  on  seeds,  on 
agriculture,  and  so  forth,  but  we  believe  no  com- 
mittee for  horticulture.     It  was  perhaps  a  mat- 
ter of  little  consequence  in  this  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, as  horticulturists  are  found  in  every 
other  ''calling,    and   besides    these    committees 
were  merely  for  the  question  of  local  finance  ; 
but  we  are  very  jealous  of  the  position  of  horti- 
culture in  this  great  affair,  and  feared  even  this 
small  slight  might  be  but  the  prelude  to  greater 
ones.     We  do  not  want  to  feel  that  horticulture 
is  but  the  tail  end  of  a  seed  shop.] 


The  Curculio.— a  Johnstown,  Pa.,  corres- 
pondent says  :  "  Mr.  Southwick's  experience  in  | 
regard  to  the  curculio  is  fully  corroborated  by  | 
results  here.  We  had  a  most  extraordinary 
crop  of  plums  last  summer.  Hope  the  "little  ; 
turk  ''  will  stay  frozen.  He  is  getting  another  ^ 
gi)od  freezing  this  winter,  only  there  is  plenty  of  j 
snow  to  save  his  infant  jacket.''  | 


I  shall  put  up  a  small  greenhouse  myself,  this 
summer.  Shall  not  have  room  for  many  articles. 
I  shall  try  to  grow  Camellias,  and  especially 
want  a  real  good  white  Azalea.  Which  one 
would  you  recommend  to  me  ?" 

[We  think,  taking  all  things  into  considera- 
tion, perhaps  the  azalea  indica  alba  is  still  the 
best.  '  Mr.  Buist  is  one  of  the  best  authorities  on 
azaleas.  If  he  thinks  there  is  a  better,  we  should 
like  to  know.] 

Our    Inquirers. -Our   last    number   must 

bave  been  an  unusually  satisfactory  one,  if  the 

small  number  of  queries  on  hand  this  month  be 

any  te.st.     But  we  may  say  to  our  readers  that 

this  column  is  always  at  their  service.     If  one 

I  want  to  know  nothing  of  anything  but  grass  or 

I  cucumbers,  still  we  are  ready  to  tell  even  what 

!  we  may  know  about  these. 

Canada  Victor  Tomato. -While  sending 

!  the  engraving  of  the  Marblehead  Squash,  Mr. 

Gregory  sends  us  a  sketch  of  a  new  tomato,  of 

which  he  speaks  very  highly,  as  near  the  perfec- 

,  tion  of  earliness  and  beauty.     We  know  nothing 

of  it  from  our  own  experience. 


The  Mercury  in  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains.—A  correspondent  from  Johnstown, 
says  :  "  The  mercury  in  the  thermometer  made 
the  following  record  this  winter:  December 
22d,  ten  degrees  below  zero  ;  December  24th, 
five  below  ;  December  25th,  fifteen  below.'' 

Best  White  Azalea.— ili.,  Qou^crs'pori,  Pa. 
writes  :  "  In  this  far  away  region,  horticul- 
turally  considered,  you  may  not  expect  to  find 
gardening  highly  appreciated,  but  it  is  growing 
n^re  th&n  you  may  imagine,  perhaps.     I  think 


When  the  Law  goes  into  Effect.— So 
many  enquiries  reach  us  as  to  when  the  new  law 
goes  into  effect,  that  we  appUed  to  the  Hon.  A. 
C.  Harmer,  who,  as  we  have  before  said,  has 
taken  a  warm  interest  in  the  matter,  t©  get  the 
information  for  us.  The  following  is  the  letter 
in  response  to  Mr.  Harmer's  query  : 

Sir:— Please  inform  your  correspondent,  Mr. 

Thos.  Meehan,  that  this  Department,  though  not 

officially  notified, is  advised  that  the  President  has 

now  signed  the  bill  rei^ently  passed  by  Congi^ess, 

whereby    seeds,    bulbs,   roots  and    scions,   arc 

classed  with  printed  matter  in  regard  to  postage 

I  and  weight  of  i)ackages— that  is,  one  cent  for 

each  two   ounces  or  fraction  thereof,  limited  to 

'  four  pound  packages— and  the  same  is  now  the 

'  law.     Postmasters  will  be  advised  as  s©on  as 


possible  after  the  official  notice  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  is  received. 

The  same  law  provides  that  all  third  class 
matter  must  be  prepaid  in  full  by  stamps  affixed 
at  tlie  office  of  mailing,  otherwise  the  same  shall 
not  be  forwarded. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  W.  Marshall, 

1st  Ass't  P.  M.  Gen'l. 
Hon.  A.  C.  Harmer, 

House  of  Representatives. 

Since  this  was  in  type,  "  effect''  has  be  taken. 


The  Herstine  and  Saunders  Raspber- 
ries.—It  is  our  habit  to  give  our  readers  all  the 
information  to  be  had  in  regard  to  any  horticul- 
tural topic,  whether  the  information  accords 
with  our  own  experience  or  not.  In  regard  to 
the  raspberries  named  above,  our  experience  is 
in  favor  of  their  extra  productiveness,  but  Mr 
Purdy  says  in  his  Fruit  Recorder:  "Judging* 
from  the  crop  and  fruit  on  plants  set  one  "year 
ago  last  spring,  we  cannot  see  wherein  they  ex- 
cel either  the  Clark  or  Naomi,  while  neither  of 
them  have  shown  so  much  fruit  on  our  plants  as 
either  of  the  last  two  named  sorts.'' 


from  Illinois,  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago.  It  was, 
I  think,  two  inches  through  ;  it  is  now  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  eight  or  nine  inches  in  diameter. 
Last  June  I  cut  a  ring  around  It  quarter  of  an 
inch  wide,  leaving  four  points,  (say  eighth  of  an 
inch),  equally  distant  uncut  to  insure  safety.  It 
did  not  heal  over^  but  the  sap  run  some,  keeping 
the  lips  of  the  wound  wet  and  raw.  The  upper 
lip  enlarged  some.  Several  of  the  top  shoots 
dropped  their  leaves  early.  What  species  is  it 
with  so  large  a  nut  ?  Will  it  bear  next  year 
with  the  upper  lip  enlarged  so  little  ?" 

[In  this  section  th&  large  fruited  varieties  of 
the  hickories  belong  mostly  to  the  shellbark, 
Carya  alba,  though  very  often  they  belong  to 
Carya  sulcata,  which  after  all  is  probably  but  a 
"development"  from  the  shellbark  species,  and 
not  very  far  advanced  at  that.] 


Marblehead 
Squash.— In  a  re- 
cent number  of  the 
Oardener^s  Mojithly 
we  had  to  speak  fa- 
vorably of  this  va- 
riety from  a  sample 
furnished  by  Mr. 
Gregory.  We  now 
give  an  engraving 
furnished  by  Mr. 
Gregory,  which  will 
enable  those  who 
grow  it  to  identify  the  correctness  of  the  variety. 

Large  Hickory  Nut. -A  Connecticut  cor- 
respondent  says:     '»I  planted  a  hickory  nut 


H.  T.  Williams. — Among  the  most  welcome 
visitors  to  the  Fruit  Growers'  Society  at  Reading, 
was  Mr.  H.  T.  Williams,  editor  of  the  well 
known  Horticulturist.  Mr.  W.  's  cordial  suavity 
of  manner,  and  willingness  to  contribute  all  in 
his  power  to  the  pleasure  and  instruction  of  his 
fellow  horticulturists,  always  make  his  ])resence 
gratifying  to  the  members  of  these  societies.    He 

reports    the    Horti- 
culturist as  in  aTlour- 
i  s  h  i  n  g  condition, 
and   his    new    ven- 
ture,  the    Floral 
Cabinet.,    which    by 
some  accident   has 
not  come  to  our  book 
table,  as  being  a  par- 
particular    favorite 
with  the    ladies  of 
the  country.     Few 
men  better  deserve 
success  than  Mr.  Williams,  and  his  very  nu" 
merous  friends  will  be  glad  to  know  he  is  obtaiu- 
inirit 


NEW  AND   HARE   FRUITS. 


Seedless  Apple.- J.  Donaldson,  Kittanning, 
Armstrong  Co,,  Pa  ,  says:  ''I  send  you  this 
day  two  samples  of  a  seedless  apple,  which  I  con- 
sider a  valuble  acquisition  to  our  list  of  Ameri- 
can apples.      It    is  a  regular  and   prodigious 


bearer,  long  keeper  and  vigorous  grower  ;  it  is 
worthy  of  general  cultivation,  and  saves  much 
time  in  preparing  it  for  the  table,  as  it  needs 
not  to  be  cored.  The  flower  is  without  petals, 
and  apparently  without  pistils.     The  quality  of 


5Jf 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJYTHLY.     February, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDE JfER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


55 


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the  apple  is  left  for  you  to  decide  from  speci- 
mens sent." 

fWe  regard  this  as  a  valuahle  acquisition  for 
the  reasons  given  h}-  our  correspondent.  There 
is  no  "core"  to'speak  of.  The  flavor  is  excel- 
lent, something  akin  to  that  of  a  Newtown  Pip- 
pin, from  which  it  may  be  a  seedling.  It  is, 
however,  smaller  than  an  average  Newtown. 

Besides  its  comnirr,  ial  value,  it  has  some  in- 
tellectual interest.  It  is  no  wonder  that  it  pro- 
duces an  "apple"  without  having  perfect  sexual 
organs,  for  many  things  are  known  to  do  this. 
The  Osage  Orange  will  produce  seedless  balls, 
when  there  is  no  pollen  near  to  fertilize  it  with. 
The  cucumber  also  does  this.  But  this  gives  us 
a  capital  illustration  of  the  doctrine  that  a  fruit 
is  but  a  bundle  of  altered  leaves.  We  see  that 
the  outside  of  the  apple  is  made  up  of  five  leaves 
which  end  in  the  i:sual  5  calyx  sepals  ;  but  the 
union  is  so  perfect  that  no  one  can  trace  any 
distinction.  AVhen  we  cut  an  apple  through, 
there  is  ahvays  seen  a  fibrous  incurved  line  mid- 
way between  the  core  and  the  rhind,  termi- 
nating in  the  calyx  basin.  In  this  we  sec  that 
this  line  is  capped  by  five  hard  gland-like  pro- 
cesses, which  are  all  that  represent  the  petals  ; 
these  are  divided  some  distance,  showing  that 
five  leaves  went  to  form  the  interior  layer, 
which  is  bounded  by  the  fibrous  line  in  the  ap- 
ple. Generally  there  seems  to  be  a  rapid  ab- 
sorption of  the  cycle  or  cycles  which  go  to  form  the 
stamens,— but  the  carpels— which  form  the  set  of 
five  divisions  known  as  the  core,  usually  takes  a 
new  start,  and  make  the  core  cavities.  In  this 
case  they  are  nearly  abortive,  something  having 
interfered  with  the  nutritive  process  necessary 
to  their  development. 


pears  for  many  years,  some  of  which  are  valua- 
ble acquisitions  to  the  list  of  American  varieties. 
The  "  Pond'  is  of  medium  size,  has  a  rich,  su- 
gary flavor,  and  would  be  highly  esteemed  by 
those  who  prefer  sweet  pears  to  those  of  a  sub- 
acid or  vinous  flavor.— iVeu?  England  Farmer. 

Peake's  Fall  apple  is  described  as  an  Octo- 
ber apple  from  South  Carolina,  resembling  the 
Rawle's  Janet  in  tree  and  fruit.  The  Prairie 
Farmer  thus  describes  it  :  Shape  flattish-conic. 
An  ordinary  specimen  of  the  present  year  meas- 
ures 2f  x2:[  inches.  Calyx  medium,  rather  open  in 
a  shallow  and  small  basin.  Stem  rather  long  and 
slender,  in  a  deep  and  open  cavity.  Flesh  white, 
brittle,  very  juicy,  of  a  sprightly  acid,  and  good 
to  very  good  in  quality.  Capsule  rather  small, 
closed,  with  rather  small  brown  oblong  and  not 
plump  seeds.  Season  here  November  rather 
than  October,  and  would  probably  keep  through 
December.  A  little  farther  North  it  would  be- 
come a  Winter  apple.  Tree  vigorous,  but  not  a 
strong  grower  thus  far. 


The  Early  Barnard  Peach  —Mr.  Fla<y<T 
says  :  Two  points  in  this  confusion  we  thiiik  we 
have  settled  to  our  own  satisfaction .  Fi  rst,  that  the 
true  Yellow  Rareripe  is  a  peach  ripening  a  little 
later  than  or  with  Early  Crawford,  a  deeper  col- 
ored and  better  peach.  Secondly,  that  Early 
Barnard  is  a  well  marked  variety,  differing  from 
the  Yellow  Alberge  in  being  of  better  quality 
and  having  the  dark  brownish  red  color  noticed 
by  Thomas.  It  ripens  before  Early  Crawford. 
But  we  confess  to  being  at  sea  as  regards  the 
Ye  low  Honest  John. 


The  "  Pond  Pear."— This  is  the  name  given 
to  a  new  pear  by  Dr.  S.  A.  Shurtleff,  of  Brook- 
line,  Mass.     The  Dr.  has  been  introducing  new 


Red  IIA^vT^ORNDEN  Apple.— Thouch  so 
old  an  apple,  the  Ilawthornden  is  yet  a  rare  one 
in  collections,  and  merits  notice  here.  The  fol- 
lowing correspondence  will  have  an  interest.  It 
is  a  very  profuse  bearer  :  "I  notice  an  article 
in  th  Baral  New  Yorker,  Dec.  7,  concerning 
*  Red  Hawthornden.'  Why  do  you  call  a  lohite 
apple,  with  an  occasional  blush  cheek,  'Red 
Ilawthornden?  '  I  have  grown  the  Hawthorn- 
den with  great  satisfaction  for  many  years.  It 
is  a  great  producer  of  very  uniform  fruit,  and 
sells  well  in  market  for  culinary  use,  but  is  not 
80  good  for  the  table  as  the  Maiden's  Blush, 
which  it  closely  resembles.  It  relieves  itself  of 
its  surplus  fruit  somewhat  prematurely,  but  al- 
ways perfects  a  Fall  crop.  But  it  is  in  no  re- 
spect entitled  to  the  prefix  '  Red'  to  its  old-fash- 
ioned name.  Better  continue  to  call  it  plain 
Ilawthornden,  and  then  we  shall  understand 
what  apple  we  arc  talking  about.— I.  D.  G.  Nel- 
son. 

If  our  good  friend  will  read  the  article  to 
which  he  refers,  again,  he  will  sec  that  we  were 
quoting  from  an  English  journal  a  description 
of  a  fruit  known  locally  in  England  as  *  Red 
Ilawthornden  ;'  and  if  he  compares  that  descrip- 
tion with  Downing's  description  of  *  Ilawthorn- 
den,' or  the  old  '  White  Ilawthornden,'  he  will 
see  some  dissimilarity,  although  the  two  apple • 
may  possibly  be  the  same.  But  in  England  the 
the  apple  is  known  as  Red  Ilawthornden,  and 
as  such  we  gave  it.  — Rural  New  Yeyrker. 


NEW  AND  RAllE  PLANTS. 


The  following  new  plants  have  recently  been 
illustrated  in  some  of  the  European  magazines. 
Alternantjiera  amabilis  — Amarantacea). 
Tills  is  one  of  the  finely-colored  dwarf  bushy- 
growing  foliage  plants  used  for  color  massing  in 
geometrical  gardening,  and  which  has  been  so 
remarkably  beautiful  at  Battersea  and  elsewhere 
during  the  past  summer.     It  has  considerably 
larger  and  more  richly  colored  foliage  than  the 
species  already  known   (spathulata,   &c.);  the 
leaves  are    of  an    elliptic    acuminate    outline, 
greenish  in  some  stages,  with  the  principal  ribs 
stained  with  red,  but  under  free  growth  becom- 
ing almost  entirely    suffused    with    rose  color 
mixed  with  orange,  the  midribs  continuing  to  be 
of  a  deep  red  hue.     It  is  a  native  of  Brazil,  and 
has  been  introduced  by  M.  A.  Verschaffelt. 

Ampelopsis  dissecta.— VitaccfB.   A  slender 
and  very  elegant  free-growing  hardy  climbing  \ 
f^hrub,   furnished   with  long  reddish   branches^  - 
which  tear  palmisected  leaves  having  pinnatifid  ' 
segments,  so  that  the  leaves  closely  resemble  in 
form  the  fronds  of  Litobrochia  pedata.     It  bears 
small  roundish,  bluish,  glaucescent  fruits.     Two 
or  three  varieties  of  the  plant  have  been  intro 
duced  from  China  to  the  Jardin  du  Museum  at 
Paris. 

Collinsia  cORYMBosA.-Scropliulariace«. 
This  pretty  dwarf  free-blooming  annual  is  of  a 
much-branched  habit,  and  has  ovate-stalked 
leaves,  the  upper  ones  becoming  sessile  under 
the  umbel-like  inflorescence  of  numerous  white 
and  blue  flowers  ;  the  lower  lip  is  white,  three- 
parted,  larger  than  the  grey-blue  upper  one,  its 
middle  lobe  is  compressed  or  folded,  while  its 
two  lateral  lobes  are  flat  and  spreading.  Native 
of  Mexico,  and  introduced  by  Messrs.  Haage  & 
Schmidt. 

Crocus  Scharojanl— Iridaceje.  A  pretty 
»iardy,  autumn-flower  bulb,  related  td  C.  Su- 
warowianus,  and  producing  its  blossoms  before 
deleaves  appear.  The  flowers  are  of  a  deep 
satTron  color,  and  are  developed  in  the  early  au- 
tumn months.  It  is  found  in  the  western  Can- 
casus,  and  has  been  introduced  to  the  St.  Peters- 
»>urg  Botanic  Garden. 

DiCENTliANTHERA      MACROPHYLLA.-Acan- 

tiiaceai.  An  ornamental  stove  shrub,  with  very 
^arge  obovate  lanceolate  leaves,  and  terminal 
erect  spikes  a  foot  long,  of  handsome  bilabiate 


bell-shaped  flowers,  which  are  rosy  purple  exter- 
nally, and  almost  pure  white  within.  It  comes 
from  tropical  Africa,  and  has  been  raised  and 
flowered  in  the  Glasnevin  Botanic  Garden. 


Primula  JAPONICA. -We  have  given  before 
notices  of  this  remarkable  Primrose.     It  will  do 
no  harm  to  reprint  what  Mr.  Cannell  says  of  it 
!  after  another  year  of  trial. 

Primula  jnponica,  which  has  been  recently 
figured  in  the  Florist  and  Pomologist,  Floral 
Mayazine-aud  Botanical  Magazine;  the  opinion 
of  every-one  who  has  seen  it  in  blossom  may  be 
expressed  in  one  word  "lovely  I"  When  exhibit- 
ed before  the  Floral  Committee  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society,  it  was  voted  a  First  Class 
Certificate  by  acclamation. 

The  Florist  says  of  it,~"  Hail  I  Queen  of  the 
Primroses  ;  for  so  its  introducer  designates  the 
lovely  flower  we  now  figure,  which  is  hardy  as  a 
peasant,  resplendent  as  a  princess.    It  is  just 
ten  years  since  Mr.  Fortune  met  with  it  in  Ja- 
pan, a  basketful  of  blooming  plants  having  been 
brought  to  his  door ;  they  were,  of  courle,  se- 
cured, but  the  journey  home  was  too  much  for 
them,  and  despite  every  care  none  reached  En- 
gland alive.     Ever  since  that   time,  endeavors 
have  been  made  to  introduce  this  lovely  plant, 
but  till  now  without  success,  the  seeds  having 
been  found  to  loose  their  germinating  power  in 
the  course  of  transmission  to  Europe.     At  last, 
however,  perseverance  has  been  rewarded,  and 
from  seeds   imported  by   Mr.  Fortune,  plants 
have  been  raised  in  the  establishment  of  Mr.  W. 
Bull,  of  Chelsea.     Our  gardens  have  thus   se- 
cured a  perfectly  new,  thoroughly  hardy,  and 
exquisitely  lovely  Primrose,  one  which  is  really 
valuable  on  account  of  its  intrinsic  beauty.     Of 
the  hardiness  of  the  Primula  japonica  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  since  plants  which  have  been  stand- 
ing all  the  winter,  fully  exposed,  in  the  trying 
atmosphere  of  London,   are  perfectly  healthy, 
and  came  into  bloom  about  the  middle  of  May, 
some  two  or  three  weeks  later  than  the  plants 
which    had    been    potted    and   flowered   under 
glass." 

Its  Treatment,  tt'c,  bf/  an  Amateur,— Thin 
hardy  new  Japan  Primrose  is  one  of  those  gen- 
uine acquisitions  to  our  floral  wealth  that  occurs 
only  at  rare  intervals,  and  in  the  hands  of  hy- 


56 


THE    GARBEJVER'S   MOJ^ITHLY.      February, 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJfTRLH. 


57 


bridizers  it  will  probably  become  the  parent  of  a 
series  of  new  varieties  that  will  play  an  impor-  j 
tant  part  in  the  spring  decoration  of  the  flower 
garden.     A  Primrose  growing  to  the  height  of 
18  inches,  and  producing  whorl  above  whorl  of 
flowers  of  a  rich  magenta  color,    each   flower 
measuring  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, is  likely  to  reverse  all  our  previous  notions  \ 
of  Primroses.     The  sentiment  of  humble  beauty 
universally  attached  to  the  common  Primrose 
cannot  be  applied  to  this  variety,  which  may  be 
said  to  assume  magnificent  proportions.     It  is 
pow  excellence,  a  plant  for  the  amateur,  for  its 
great  beauty,  its  hardiness,  and  its  free-seeding  i 
qualities,   whilst  its  culture  is  of   the  easiest  i 
kind.     Strong  plants  should  be  at  once  planted  ' 
in  any  deep  rich  garden  soil,  and  although  it  is  ; 
believed  to  be  perfectly  hardy,  it  might  be  well,  ! 
until  a  stock  is  in  hand,  to  plant  it  where  some  ! 
slight  natural  protection  is  afforded.     By  mid- 
winter the  whole  of  the  large  handsome  leaves  ' 
will  have  decayed,  and  a  few  only  of  the  small-  ' 
est  will  be  left  to  mark  the  heart  of  the  plant ;  I 
this  being  its  habit,  no  uneasiness  need  be  felt,  ! 
but  when  in  this  state,  should  the  weather  be  | 
unusually  severe,  it  may  be  well  to  invert  a  pot  i 
or  pan  filled  with  dry  leaves  over  the  crown  ;  im- 1 
mediately  the  weather  moderates  this  must  be 
removed.     A  plant  treated  in  this  manner  last 
winter  threw  up  a  very  strong  flower  stem  in  the 
spring,  and  was  altogether  the  finest  we  have  yet 
seen. 

It  produced  eight  whorls  of  its  lovely  flowers 
in  succession,  one  above  the  other,  and  from  it 
was  gathered  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of 
good  seed.  Coddling  should  be  strictly  avoided, 
for  the  only  failure  of  a  good  bloom  we  have 
noted  resulted  from  over  carefulness  in  the  mat- 
ter of  protection.  The  most  effective  way  of  prop- 
agation is  by  division  of  the  plants  after  bloom- 
ing, as  it  secures  strong  blooming  plants  for  the 
next  season.  In  most  cases  every  bloom  spike 
will  cause  the  plant  to  multiply  by  two.  When 
these  off*shoot8  are!  of  a  good  size  the  plant 
should  be  taken  up  and  divided,  each  crown 
with  its  own  portion  of  roots.  Replant  in  good 
soil  in  a  half  shady  border,  from  whence,  when 
the  plants  are  well  established,  they  should  be 
removed  with  large  balls  to  the  situation  in 
which  it  is  desired  they  should  bloom. 


amongst  golden  leaved  Conifers  must  be  accord- 
ed to  Mr.  Maurice  Young's  Juniperus  chinensis 
aureus.  The  Chinese  Juniper  is  well  known  as 
one  of  the  hardiest  and  handsomest  of  Conifer- 
ous shrubs,  and  when  we  state  that  the  novely 
just  referred  to  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  its  pa- 
rent, in  all  but  its  color,  and  that  that  color  is 
equal  at  least  in  richness  of  hue  to  any  golden 
Conifer  hitherto  known,  but  little  further  men- 
tion of  it  is  needed.  We  may  however  add, 
from  a  recent  personal  inspection  of  the  stock, 
that  it  is  thoroughly  constant.  Not  a  plant 
amongst  the  entire  stock  shows  the  least  ten- 
dency to  run  back,  but  all,  whether  infants  of  6 
inches  or  adolescents  of  3  feet  high,  appear  in 
the  same  aristocratic  'cloth  of  gold'  array.  *  *  * 
Our  notes  indicate  that  the  propagated  plants 
take  on  a  close  pyramidal  habit,  and  have  more- 
over the  twofold  character  of  foliacie  which  is 
seen  in  the  parent,  and  that  the  color  of  the 
more  prominent  portions  of  the  plants  as  bright 
as  the  tint  of  a  Golden  Holly.  Taking  these  va- 
rious points  into  account,  and  coupling  with 
them  the  free-growing  hardy  character  of  the 
plant,  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  pronouncing 
this  novelty  to  be  one  of  the  best  and  most  de- 
sirable of  ornamental  Conifers." 


Perpetual  Flowering  Tree  Carnation, 
La  Belle. — The  forerunner  of  a  new  race  of 
varieties.  The  flowers  of  the  purest  white,  are 
very  large  and  smooth,  perfectly  double,  and  de- 
lightfully fragrant,  and  are  produced,  all  the 
year  round,  in  such  profusion  that  one  or  more 
plants  should  be  grown  wherever  cut  blooms 
are  in  request.— Gardeners'  Magazine. 


TnuJOPSis  Standisiiil— Introduced  from 
Japan  in  1861  by  Mr.  Fortune,  who  discovered  it 
growing  near  Yeddo.  It  somewhat  resembles 
the  T.  dolabrata  in  its  general  appearance.  Its 
leaves  are  smaller,  of  a  bright  glossy  green 
above  and  dull  glaucous  color  below  ;  its  branches 
are  slender  and  pendulous.  It  is  quite  hardy, 
and,  like  its  congener,  of  slow  growth,  at  least 
when  young,  requiring  apparently  similar  treat- 
ment to  T.  dolabrata.— A.  Fowler,  Castle 
Kennedy,  in  Oar.  Chronicle. 


Juniperus  Chinensis  aurea.  Young's  New 
Golden  Chinese  Juniper.— The  Gardener's  Chron- 
icle says  :  '*  Certainly  one  of  the  foremost  places 


PiNUS  PARViFLORA.— This  is  One  ot  the  pret- 
ty, small-sized,  coniferous  trees  recently  intro- 
duced from  the  northern  parts  of  Japan,  and  al- 
though not  likely  to  prove  of  any  value  in  this 
country  for  its  timber,  it  promises  Jo  be  of  some 


importance  as  an  ornamental  tree,  particularly 
in  situations  where  a  larger-sized  one  would  be 
inadmissable. 

When  seen  in  good  health  it  has  a  pleasing 
appearance,  although  it  is  rather  stiff*  and  formal 
in  habit ;  its  branches  are  horizontal  and  spread- 
ing, its  foliage  is  glaucous  on  both  sides,  twisted 
and  tortuous,  and  about  two  inches  in  length. 
It  is  one  of  the  fine-leaved  varieties,  but  quite 
hardy.  A  strong  loam  suits  it  best,  but  it 
thrives  well  in  most  ordinary  soils,  preferring 
an  open  if  not  exposed  situation  to  close  shaded 
or  confined  ones.  —  Gar.  Chronicle. 


White  Calycanthus.— Mr.  Berckmans  re- 
ports in  the  Farmer  and  Gardener,  that  a  white 
flowered  variety  of  the  Calycanthus  has  been  dis- 
covered in  middle  Georgia.  It  blooms  continu- 
ously till  frost.  This  sweet  shrub  will  be  in 
great  demand  by  the  cut  flower  folks,  as  we 
should  judge  it  would  force  easily  through  win- 
ter. 


A  Purple-leaved  Birch  has  been  found 
by  some  one  connected  with  the  firm  of  Transon 
Bros.,  Orleans,  France,  and  is  now  under  propa- 
gation.    It  is  a  variety  of  Betula  alba. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


An  Old  Apple.— In  the  window  of  the  store 
of  Messrs.  E.  R.  Laighton  &  Co  ,  on  Congress 
street,  is  exhibited  a  genuine  curiosity  ;  perhaps 
the  only  one  of  its  kind  and  age  extant— an  ap- 
ple one  hundred  years  old-  the  property  of  Mr. 
Henry  Shute,  of  this  city.  It  was  picked  up  in 
the  year  1772,  the  outside  being  carefully  stuck 
with  whole  cloves,  so  that  no  part  of  the  fruit 
could  be  discovered  peeping  through.  The 
grandfather  of  Mr.  Shute,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  85  years,  came  into  possession  of  this  curiosi- 
ty when  quite  a  youth,  and  at  his  decease  it 
descended  to  the  present  generation  The  flavor 
of  the  cloves  even  is  still  quite  perceptible,  while 
the  apple  itself  is  plump  and  solid.  Looking  at 
this  remarkable  specimen  of  fruit  preservation, 
we  are  reminded  that  a  gentleman  of  this  city 
has  a  doughnut  which  is  within  a  few  weeks  of 
being  twelve  years  old,  kept  as  a  relic  of  a  dona- 
tion party  held  in  Stratham  in  1861.  It  is  in 
good  condition,  and  with  care  must  last  for  many 
years  yet— Portsmouth  Journal. 


ly  saturated  with  urine  or  sewer-water.  Saw- 
dust thus  treated  may  be  used  on  partially  ex- 
hausted soils  with  great  a dvanta.ize.— Depart- 
ment OF  Agriculture. 


Utilization  of  Sawdust.— M.  Gustave 
Hueze  says  that,  though  sawdust  decomposes 
very  slowly,  yet  it  may  be  economically  used  as 
litter  in  stables,  and  left  for  several  months  in 
contact  with  the  solid  and  liquid  excrement  of 
animals,  which  it  readily  absorbs.  It  may  also 
^  composted  with  quick-lime  and  left  in  a  heap 
for  about  a  year.  Additions  may  be  made  to 
this  heap  from  time  to  time,  but,  when  such  ad- 
ditions are  made,  the  whole  heap  should  be  well 
stirred.    It  will  be  improved  by  being  frequent- 


Maturity  of  Peaches— In  comparing  our 
notes,  made  during  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  as 
to  the  periods  of  maturity  of  the  leading  varie- 
ties of  peaches,  we  find  the  variation  small  when- 
ever the  fruit  crop  was  an  abundant  one ;  but 
when  the  yield  was  small,  the  difference  in  time 
of  maturity  has.  always  been  more  marked,  and 
usually  later  than  in  good  fruit  seasons 

On  the  3d  of  August  we  had  splendid  speci- 
mens of  Amelia,  a  variety  which  we  have  seldom 
kept  as  late  as  July  20th.  Hale's  Early  com,, 
menced  to  mature  June  10th,  and  continued  until 
the  middle  of  July,  when  the  last  specimens  were 
eaten.  In  1871  the  whole  crop  was  gone  on  the 
10th  of  June.  Some  seasons  our  Early  York 
matured  before  the  Early  Tillotson,  althouirh 
the  latter  is  conceded  to  ripen  a  week  before  the 
former.  These  variations  are,  as  before  stated, 
more  marked  when  late  spring  frosts  have  in- 
jured the  fruit  crop,  and  likewise  upon  the  first 
productions  of  a  tree  newly  transplanted.  Many 
persons  complain  of  the  behavior  of  Hale's  Early 
when  first  fruiting,  its  season  of  maturity  being 
sometimes  lengthened  for  several  weeks,  instead 
of  embracing  only  a  period  of  ten  days.  These 
defects  become  less  apparent  when  trees  becorat 
older,  unless  caused  by  climatic  influences  ;  and 
these  causes  not  bemg:  generally  known,  hav« 
occasioned   the    numerous   controversies   lately 


58 


TEE    QARDEJVEB'S   MOJYTHLY.     February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S    MOMTRLY. 


69 


II 


* 


circulated  in  the  horticultural  mai^azines. 
Berckmans,  in  Bural  Caroliniar}. 


-P.J. 


Park  Cities.— The  plan  of  Ridley  Park  has 
been  confided  to  one  of  the  ablest  landscape  gar- 
deners in  the  country — Mr.  Robert  Morris  Cope- 
land,  a  Harvard  graduate  and  citizen  of  Boston, 
but  now  for  a  long  time  resident  on  the  spot  he 
is  improving.     He  knows  well  how  to  compose 
his  picture,  arranging  the  groves  and  lakes  in 
the   most  beautiful  sequence,  leaving  sites   for 
fine  houses  in  the  manner  of  pedestals  for  beauti- 
ful statues,  and  shading  with  discreet  and  natural 
veils  the  more  utilitarian  and  prosaic  features  of 
the  scene.  He  has  already  had  much  experience  in 
the  laying  out  of  towns  on   novel  plans  adapted 
to  the  situation  ;  his  improvement  of  parts  of 
Newport  has  elevated  his  name  into  very  proud 
notoriety.     At  Martha's  Vineyard  he  has  built 
a  summer  village  known  as  Oak  Bluffs  ;  on  Long 
Island  he  has  designed  a  beautiful  city  of  sum- 
mer worship  for  the  Methodists,  half  encamp 
ment  and  half  metropolis— a  very  Jerusalem  for 
loveliness ;  lie  has  established  and  designed  an 
ornamental  village  on  the  seashore  at  Duxbury, 
near   Boston ;    and   has   planned  another  near 
Grantville,  on  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad. 
He  is  also  the  author  of  an  ingenious  public  plan 
for  the  improvement  of  Boston  with  a  constella- 
tion of  small  parks  and  pleasure  grounds,  skil- 
fully arranged   in   the   portions   where  land  is 
cheapest,  and  most  available.     Even  in  his  tem- 
porary residence  at  Ridley,  the  restless  itch  of 
artistic  skill  has  not  permitted  him  to  leave  the 
place  without  changing  an  i  yesore  into  a  master- 
piece.    A  little  judicious  rustic  work  has  trans- 
formed the  farmhouse  assigned  for  his  residence  | 
into  a  beautiful  vine-clad  chalet,  and  he  has  sur-  j 
rounded  it  with  spacious  and  rare  flower-beds,  ; 
which  look  like  cathedral  windows  lying  on  the  ' 
ground.     The  railway-station,  even,  at  Ridley  | 
Park  is  a  novel  and  interesting  piece  of  architec-  j 
ture,  bridging  the  whole  breadth  of  the  road,  j 
provided  with  elevators  for  the  baggage  and  fan-  \ 
cifully  sheeted   with  slate.— Ltppmco«'s  Maga- 
zine. 


|| 


Floriculture.  -The  Floral  is  the  beautiful 
garden  spot  in  the  field  of  horticulture.  It  is  as 
a  paradise  full  of  that  influence  which  refreshes 
and  delights  the  physical  senses,  and  elevates 
the  moral,  the  social  and  the  spiritual  nature. 
It  brings  us  nearer  home— nearer  rest— carries 
us   beyond   the   results  of   menial  labors,   and 


teaches  us  that  it  is  not  on  bread  and  meat  alone 
that  we  hve.     This  garden  of  beauty,  however, 
does  not  encourage  inaction,  nor  reward  without 
some  labor.     God  requires  of  us  no  labor  or  duty, 
which,  if  properly  performed,  is  not  only  plea- 
surable   in    the    performance,    but   fruitions  in 
results.      In  assigning  women  to  thU  depart- 
ment in  horticulture,  requiring  her  delicate  and 
refined  taste  and  judgment,  we  do  not  infer  that 
I  her  presence  or  assistance  would  in  any  other 
department  be  dishonorable.     As  man's  auxili- 
I  arj,  her  ability  and  circumsiances  in  life  must 
;  suggest  her  labors  and  duties.     But  in  this  brief 
essay  we  must  confine  our  suggestions  alone  to 
1  the  influence  of  floral  embellishments  and  adorn- 
ments of  home. 

!      The  education  of  woman  cannot  be  regarded 
:  as   complete   in   all   the   refinements  without  a 
I  knowledge   of  floriculture.     What   to   her  is  a 
1  knowledge  of  the  dead  languages  if  she  cannot 
I  converse  with  the  living  flowers?    What  to  her 
is   the  French  dialect  if  she  cannot  teach  the 
silent  tongue  of  the  flowret  to  speak  ?    What  to 
her  to  be  able  to  count  and  appellate  the  stars 
so   far  above,   and   blush   in   ignorance  of  the 
names  and  structure  of  the  smiling  flowers  at 
her  feet.     In  this  respect  the  education  of  woman 
should  in  no  wise  be  neglected.     No  motlur  with 
children  under  her  charge,  no  wife  with  a  hus- 
band whose  heart  she  deli-ln-   lu  gladden,  can 
afford  to  be  destitute  of  ihis  knowledge  of  the 
beautiful.     As  knowledge  refines  the  feelings  of 
the  soul,  so  do  the  feelings  of  the  soul  beautify 
nature,  and  she  who  through  this  proper  know- 
ledge appreciates  these  beauties  will  find  them 
gathering  about  her.    No  diff^erence  how  humble 
her  cottage  or  limited  her  means,  like  angels' 
spirits  or  divine  agencies,  they  will  come  to  cheer 
and  felicitate  her  and  hers,  purifying  and  sancti- 
fying the  associations  of  her  home.    What  would 
life  be  ?    What  would   home  be  without  these 
creatures  of  loveliness  and  perfume,  or  without 
the  faculty   within   us  to  enjoy  and  appreciate 
them.     In  this  we  perceive  and  must  acknow- 
ledge the  goodness  of  God.— Mrs.  J.  A.  Blair. 


The  Wagenek  Apple  in  Michigan. —The 
Michigan  Farmer  says:  "Here  is  the  great 
home  of  the  Wagener  apple,  and  we  had  a  fine 
opportunity  to  see  it  in  all  its  various  stages, 
from  first  bud  up  to  trees  eighteen  years  old.  On 
this  soil  and  in  this  section  of  Michigan  this 
apple  not  only  seems  to  do  well,  but  does  well. 
Here  were  trees  on  a  farm  close  by  that  had  been 


set  out  eighteen  years,  and  had  borne  every  year 
good  crops  since  they  first  started.     Last  year 
these  trees  had  borne  a  good  crop.     This  year 
we  saw   them    laden   with   fruit,    and   with    a 
healthy  vigorous  growth  of  wood,  and  the  foliage 
perfection.     On   the  other  hand,  there  were  in 
the  nursery  young  frees  growing  about  five  feet 
in  height,  this  being  the  third  year  from  the  bud  ; 
at  the  top  of  the  second  year's  growth  there  were 
one  or  two  clusters  of  young  apples,  and  nearly 
the  whole  slock  of  this  variety  at  the  same  ago 
had   thrown  out  flower  buds.     On  trees   of  an 
older  growth  there  were  fruit  also,  all  going  to 
show  that  here  was  an  appfe  that  could  Ikj  relied 
upon  to  produce  a  crop  at  an  early  age  ;  and  this 
is  a  point  not  to  be  overlooked  in  this  section  of 
the  State  where  settlers  are  cutting  their  way 
into  the  woods  and  making  fiirms,  and  cannot 
buy  fruit  even  if  they  had  the  money  to  spare  for 
its  purchase,  which  they  have  not.     Mr.  Husted 
said  he  had  tried  many  kinds,  and  especially  the 
Red  Canada,  and  whether  it  was  the  soil  or  the 
climate,  or  the  treatment,  he  could  not  say,  but 
the  stock  was   not   successful.     The  reputation 
and    favor    with   which    the    Red   Canada,   or 
Steele's  Red  was  viewed  when  he  first  established 
his  nurseries,  caused  him  to  devote  to  it  a  very 
large  share  of  attention,  but  it  did  not  prove  a 
successful  sort.     It  was  diflScult  to  grow,   and 
especially  difficult  to  get  a  well  formed  tree.     It 
was    quite    slow    in    coming  into   bearing,    ho 
thought  even  slower  than  the  Northern  Spy*^  and 
when  grown  the  fruit  was  not  perfect,  like  the 
Esopus  Spilzenburgh.     Ihe  Wagener  was  just 
the  reverse,  and  a  man  might  grow  two  orchards 
of  Wageners,  and  market  the  crops  of  one  of 
them  before  the  Canada   Red    would  bear  an 
apple.      The  Wagener    was  also  a  handsome 
compact  upright  growing  tree,  that  might  be  set 
in  rows  not  over  twenty  feet  apart.     No  apple 
nad  given  more  satisfaction  at  the  West  than 
this  one.     He  had  adopted  it  as  a  leading  sort, 
rather  against  his  worst  impressions,  and  after 
havmg  proved  that  it  was  adapted  to  the  climate, 
the  soil  and  wants  of  the   people    of  western 
Michigan.     The  original  Wagener  tree  at  Penn 
^an.  New  York,  only  died  out  about  two  years 
ago,  after  bearing  full  crops  to  the  last,  being 
then  about  eighty  years  old. '» 


excursionists,  and  looked  after  their  safety  and 
comfort  while  on  his  road.  Fifty  or  sixty  mem- 
bers and  guests  formed  the  party,  and  were  de- 
barked, literally,  in  the  midst  of  a  fifty  acre 
flower  farm,  radiant,  just  now,  with  acres  of 
Gladioli  and  Lily  blooms. 

There  were  eighteen  acres  of  Gladioli  in  blos- 
som.    Perhaps  our  readers  can  imagine  the  mass 
of  gorgeous  color  which  three  hundred  named 
varieties,   massed  to  this  extent,  would   make. 
Perhaps  they  may  have  some  conception  of  the 
adjectives  used  and  the  number  of  exclamation 
points  required  to  report  what  the  Club  and  its 
guests  said  on  being  pushed  off"  a  plank  into  this 
sea  of  bloom.     Then,  in  addition  to  the  three 
hundred  named  varieties,   there  was  a  bed  of 
I  3  500  seedling  Gladioli— among  them  as  fine  spe- 
cimens as  can  be  found  among  the  three  hun- 
dred  named   varieties  ;   and   several    that  will 
become  distinguished  for  their  unique  beauty. 

Tben  imagine  ten  acres  of  Lilies,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  which  were  in  bloom.  These  embrace 
also  about  15,000  seedlings,  most  of  which  take 
the  form  and  characteristics  of  Tif/rinum  and 
Fortunei.  We  saw  here  the  only  Leltchlinii  in 
bloom  to  be  found  in  the  country,  it  was  said. 

Fifteen  or  twenty  acres  are  cultivated  in  Tube- 
roses. John  Henderson's  new  dwarf  variety  is 
here—about  half  as  tall  in  growth  as  the  old  sort, 
and  double- a  decided  acquisition,  Mr.  Allen 
says.— KuraZ  New  Yorker. 


Tite  Flower  Farm  of  Mr.  0.  L.  Allen. - 

Ahe  Central  Railroad  of  Long  Island  very  gen- 

the  ri  1^^^""^  a  special  train  at  the  disposal  of 

^"^-     ^^^^  Superintendent  accompanied  the 


Peach  Yellows  in  the  South. -Peach 
trees  are  never  attacked  by  the  yellows  in  this 
section,  the  sickly  color  of  their  foliage  is,  doubt- 
less, caused  by  their  stunted  and  consequently 
starved  condition,  and  the  presence  of  borers  at 
the  roots.  To  guard  against  the  latter,  remove 
all  the  worms  you  can  discover  under  the  bark 
of  the  root?,  apply  a  handful  of  lime  or  ashes  and 
afterwards  hill  up  the  trees  as  you  would  a  hill 
of  potatoes.  Leave  the  trees  earthed  up  until 
November,  when  the  cone  of  earth  should  be 
levelled  ;  and  repeat  the  hilling  up  every  Spring, 
before  insect  life  becomes  active.— P.  J.  Berck- 
mans in  Farmer  a7id  Gardener. 


Singular  Variety  of  Cotton.— Dr.  T.  L. 
Anderson,  of  Wilkes  county,  Ga.,  has  developed, 
by  cultivation  and  careful  selection  of  seed,  a 
variety  of  cotton  which  is  certainly  a  curiosity, 
and  may  prove  a  very  valuable  variety.  This 
cotton  is  peculiar  on  account  of  its  excessive 
fruitfulne.ss  and  the  manner  in  which  the  balls 


60 


THE    QARDEJ\rER'S   MOJVTELY.      February, 


1873.  THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOXTHLY. 


61 


'! 


are  developed.  As  described  by  the  AVashing- 
ton  Gazette^  in  growth  and  appearance,  the  weed 
has  the  resemblance  of  the  prolific  varieties, 
growing  up  in  a  somewhat  conical  form,  though 
we  think  the  growth  is  more  vigorous  than  these 
varieties.  The  squares  and  blooms  grow  in 
clusters,  and  very  thick.  A  very  large  propor- 
tion of  the  bolls  are  what  we  would  call  double 
for  want  of  a  better  word  ;  that  is,  two  bolls  are 
produced  from  the  same  square.  This  tendency 
to  doubling  is  exhibited  throughout  the  plant, 
and  stalk  and  limbs  of  many  specimens  seem  to 
take  on  the  same  characteristic,  there  being  a 
groove  on  each  side,  presenting  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  a  double-barreled  gun.  This 
crowding  of  the  bolla  does  not  seem  to  diminish 
their  size,  but  they  are  generally  very  large  and 
healthy  in  appearance.  Upon  one  stalk  in  his 
field  Dr.  A.  exhibits  fifteen  young  bolls  so  closely 
clustered  as  to  be  cevered  with  a  single  open 
hand.  He  has  taken  great  pains  during  the  past 
two  or  three  years  to  preserve  the  seed  pure  and 
unmixed  with  other  varieties.  He  has  now 
several  acres  planted  in  this  cotton,  and  we  wish 
that  his  experiment  may  be  of  value  to  himself 
and  the  cotton  interestsof  the  country.— C7iarZes- 
Von  Courier, 


The  Monarch  of  the  Pauk.— Near   the 


West  State  street  entrance  to  the  park,  on  the 
north  side,  stands  a  grand  old  elm,  whose  leafy 
boughs  and  long  branches  extend  from  the  out- 
side of  the  pavement,  west,  over  to  the  sloping 
bank  in  the  park  in  an  opposite  directioH,  cover- 
ing an  area  sixty-five  feet  in  diameter,  or  about 
195  feet  in  circumference.  The  elm  is  supposed 
to  have  been  planted  some  time  between  1816  and 
1820,  by  the  late  Gov.  Shunk,  who  was  then 
clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  after  the 
capitol  was  built,  and  has  since  that  time,  had 
several  narrow  escapes  from  the  attacks  of 
storms  and  tornadoes.  The  trunk  is  8  feet  3 
inches  in  circumference  ;  and  has  a  heavy  iron 
bolt,  with  nut  and  plate  through  it,  about  eight 
feet  above  the  ground,  where  it  had  been  split, 
several  years  ago.  At  a  point  about  fifteen  feet 
high  it  has  another  iron  rod  and  bands,  and  still 
higher  up,  (probably  twenty-five  feet)  it  is  again 
secured  with  a  stout  iron  rod  and  bands — which 
brace  the  heavy  branches,  and  prevents  their 
breaking  off"  by  the  annual  storms.  The  foliage 
of  the  elm  is  very  thick,  of  a  dark  green  color, 
and  its  shade  is  sought  daily  (except  at  this  sea- 
sou  )  by  hundred s  of  visitors  to  the  grounds.  The 
superintendent,  Col.  Reinehardt,  has  given  spe- 
cial instructions  to  his  assistants  to  keep  a  con- 
stant watch  over  the  big  Q\m.— Harriahurg  State 
Journal. 


FOREIGN     INTELLIGENCE. 


Rough  Cork  for  Rustic  Work.— Some  few 
years  since  a  company,  owning  large  Cork  for- 
ests in  Portugal,  introduced  for  rustic  work,  and 
other  horticultural  purposes,  a  quantity  of  Vir- 
gin Cork.  This  first  crop  of  the  bark  of  the 
Cork  Oak  (Quercus  Suber)  is  very  rugged  and 
uneven  on  its  outer  surface  ;  it  is,  moreover,  of 
a  dusky  grey  color,  is  frequently  covered  with 
Lichens,  and  has  altogether  a  weather-worn  as- 
pect :  all  which  appearances  recommend  it  for 
the  purposes  for  which  it  was  introduced.  Be- 
tides its  uses,  however,  for  growing  Ferns  and 
Orchids  upon,  it  is  much  used  for  imitation 
work  in  aquariums,  and  its  latest  application 
was  for  a  similar  purpose,  but  on  a  much  more 
gigantic  scale,  for  in  the  pantomime  which  has 
been  played  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  we  under- 
stand the  rock-work  was  formed  of  this  Vircrin 


Cork.  The  more  general  utilization  of  this 
Cork  in  Europe  must  be  a  great  advantage  to 
the  owners  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Cork 
forests,  as,  from  the  fact  of  the  Cork  beins;  un- 
even,  comparatively  hard,  and  full  of  holes,  it  is 
useless  for  bottle  corks.  This  virgin  or  original 
bark,  is  usually  taken  from  the  tree  when  it  is 
about  25  or  30  years  old,  and  it  is  removed  with 
much  care  so  as  not  to  injure  the  mner  bark, 
which,  of  course,  would  interfere  with  the  for- 
mation of  the  second  crop,  besides  injuring  the 
tree  itself.  After  the  removal  of  the  first  crop 
the  following  crops  are  taken  off  about  every 
eight  or  ten  years,  but  the  third  and  succeeding 
crops  are  of  the  best  quality,  and  consequently 
the  most  valuable.  A  remarkably  fine  speci- 
men of  Cork,  stripped  in  one  piece  from  a  tree 
which  grew  in  the  Sierra  Morena,  Estrcmadura, 


has  lately  been  presented  to  the  Kew  Museum. 
When  we  state  that  it  is  5  feet  9  inches  high* 
and  8  feet  8  inches  in  circumference,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  tree  from  which  it  has  been  taken, 
was  of  no  mean  size. — Gardeners'^  Chronicle. 


Stove  and  Greenhouse  Plants.— For  win- 
ter and  spring  blooming  the  best  are  : 

stove. 

Franciscea  confertiflora. 

Eucharis  amazonica. 

Euphorbia  jacquiniseflora. 

Stephanotis  floribunda. 

Gesneria  exoniensis. 

Aphelandra  cristata. 

Gardenia  florid  a. 
**        citriodora. 

Imatophyllum  miniatum. 

Poinsettia  pulcherrima. 

Franciscea  calycina. 

Plumbago  rosea. 

Eranthemum  pulchellum. 

Clerodendron  Balfourianum. 

Impatiens  Jerdonite. 

Amaryllis,  of  sorts. 

greenhouse.      • 

Lapageria  rosea. 
**         alba. 

Bouvardia  leiantha  compacta. 

Acacia  Drummondi. 

Statice  profusa. 

Epacris  Lady  Panmure. 
''       Sunset. 
"       salmonea. 

Richard  ia  ajthiopica. 

Monochietum  sericeum  multiflorum. 

Epiphyllum  Ackermani. 

Camelias,  of  sorts. 

Cinerarias,  of  sorts. 

Azaleas,  of  sorts. 

Cyclamens,  of  sorts. 

Chinese  Primroses. 

Daphne  indica  rubra. 
Gardeners'  Chronicle. 


ticular  action  of  the  different  rays  is  now  pretty 
well  known.  The  various-colored  rays  which 
compose  white  sunlight,  as  shown  on  analysis 
!  by  the  prism,  are  generally  classed  as  the  red 
j  (including  the  ultra  red),  the  yellow  and  the 
blue  (including  the  violet  and  the  ultra  violet) 
rays.  The  })rincipal  effect  of  the  last,  or  blue 
rays,  is  chemical,  actinic  as  it  is  termed,  and 
chiefly  influences  the  germination  of  seed ;  their 
illuminating  and  heating  powers  are  smallest, 
instead  of,  as  erroneously  stated,  their  giving 
"giving  the  largest  quantity  of  solar  heat." 
The  yellow  rays,  which  have  the  greatest  illumi- 
nating power,  influences  the  growth  of  the 
plant,  the  decomposition  of  carbonic  acid,  and 
the  formation  of  coloring  matter.  The  red  rays, 
the  heating  power  of  which  is  the  greatest,  in- 
fluence fructification  mainly. 

As  a  ray  of  ordinary  sunlight  consists  of  rays 
of  all  the  colors  of  the  spectrum,  the  eflect  ef 
blue  glass  is  in  reality  to  intercept  the  comple- 
mentary rays— i  c,  the  yellow,  red,  and  ultra 
red,  and  it  would  consequently  be  more  correct 
to  say  that  the  sun  cast  a  diminished  portion  of 
yellow  and  red  rays  on  every  leaf  in  the  grapery, 
instead  of  *' cast  a  beam  of  violet  light,"  as  if 
the  violet  were  an  addition  to  instead  of  a  com- 
ponent of  the  ordinary  ray.     If,  therefore,  the 
effect  of  violet-colored  glass  should  be  to  auor- 
ment  the  growth  of  plants  in  the  extraordinary 
manner   stated,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the 
influence  of  the  other  rays  which  are  intercept- 
ed by  the  glass— i.  c,  the  yellow  and  red  rays — 
is  to  diminish  vegetation,  which  is  quite  incon- 
sistent with  all  experiment. 

These  facts  are  perfectly  well  known  to  physi- 
cists and  those  conversant  with  vegetable  physi- 
ology. The  chief  practical  result  in  this  direc- 
tion of  scientific  investigation  is  the  introduc- 
tion for  conservatories  of  a  glass  colored  green- 
ish by  the  oxide  of  copper,  which  intercepts  the 
excess  of  the  red  or  heating  rays.— Spectro- 
SCOPIST,  in  London  Journal  of  Horticulture. 


Chemical  Powers  of  the  Sunlight.— The 
facts  stated  in  an  article  under  this  heading, 
quoted  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  if  correct, 
must  be  erroneously  attributed  to  the  cause  as- 
signed. The  author  is  obviously  verjj  imper- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  results  of  recent  re- 
search into  the  constitution  and  effects  of  light, 
the  influence  of  which  upon  vegetation  has  been 
the  subject  of  many  experiments,  and  the  par- 


Absorption  of  Moisture  by  Leaves  -Mr. 
M.  Cailletet  has  lately  been  investigating  Uie 
question  as  to  whether  the  leaves  of  plants  are 
capable  of  absorbing  water  in  a  liquid  state  ;  and 
sums  up  the  result  of  his  experiments,  by  stating 
that  the  fact  seems  to  be  demonstrated  that  a 
plant  growing  in  a  humid  soil  and  receiving  by 
its  roots  the  quantity  of  water  necessary  to  its 
normal  condition,  does  not  absorb  the  water 
which  moistens  its*leaves,  but  that  such  absorp- 


I  If"' 


62 


THE   GABDEJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLY.    February, 


1873. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


63 


h\m 


tion  takes  place  as  soon  as  the  leaves  begin  to 
wither,  in  consequence  of  the  dessication  of  the 
soil.  In  this  way  he  explains  the  phenomenon 
of  certain  plants  maintaining  a  healthy  condi- 
tion without  any  contact  with  the  soil,  and  even 
absolutely  isolated  from  all  assimilable  substan- 
ces. Thus,  a  specimen  of  Fourretea  a  rootless 
Bromeliaceous  plant,  maintained  a  healthy  ex- 
istence and  exhibited  considerable  increase  in 
weight,  while  suspended  for  more  than  six  years 
in  the  air  by  a  wire.  K^  moisture  ever  reached 
it  except  that  from  the  garden  syringe,  and  yet 
it  was  continually  putting  out  new  leaves  and 
flowering  abundantly. 


fi, ,  The  Farm  Laborer  in  Prussia  —Prussia 
has  been  the  favorite  theme  for  the  eulogy  of 
English  economists,  jet  what  does  Mr.  Howard 
(Bedford)  tell  us  that  he  found  near  Cologne? 
''The  men,  as  in  France  and  other  parts  of  the 


Continent,  sleep  in  the  stable  with  their  bullocks 
and  horses.  The  wages  to  farm  laborers  are 
paid  all  in  money,  and  are  from  Is.  2d  to  Is.  6d. 
per  day  in  summer,  and  Is.  to  Is.  3d.  in  win- 
ter ;"  and  this  after  a  rise  of  25  to  20  per  cent, 
within  the  last  25  years,  and  amidst  agricultural 
operations  on  a  splendid  scale  of  expenditure. 
On  another  Prussian  farm,  where  Beet  is  largely 
grown,  and  additional  quantities  bought  for  the 
distillery,  the  wages  throughout  the  year  are  Is. 
2d.  a  da}^  ;  in  the  summer  months  the.  working 
hours  are  from  5.30  A.  M.  to  8  P.  M.  The 
woman  get  lOd.  a  day  ;  and  in  this  district  of 
German}',  "  there  are  a  great  number  of  small 
holdings. '  In  Prussian  Silesia,  life  uses  the 
wretched  laborer  still  more  cruelly.  In  winter 
he  has  4d.  a  day,  the  spring  raises  him  to  an  ad- 
ditional Id.,  and  he  attains  his  climax  in  sum- 
mer, when  7^d.  to  lOd.  constitutes  his  share  of 
the  rewards  of  the  harvest.  —Blackwood. 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


PENNSYLVANIA  FRUIT  GROWERS' 

SOCIETY. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Reading,  on 
the  15th,  16th,  17th  of  January.  The  amount 
of  business  transacted  was  very  large,  and  from 
time  to  time  during  the  year  we  hope  to  avail 
ourselves  of  much  of  the  material  that  may  in- 
terest our  distant  readers.  In  the  meantime 
the  following  from  the  correspondence  of  the 
Philadelphia  Press,  will  give  an  idea  of  some  of 
the  topics  introduced  and  the  manner  of  their 
treatment : 

The  Fruit  Growers'  Society  of  Pennsylvania 
is  one  of  those  institutions,  of  which  we  have 
many  in  the  State,  which,  beginning  in  an  un- 
pretentious, modest  way,  has  grown  to  be  one 
of  useful  influence,  and  to  reach  a  commanding 
position.  Its  scope  originally  was  to  aid  the 
fruit  growing  interest ;  but  it  has  since  taken  in 
broader  subjects,  and  now  discusses  all  matters 
of  a  scientilic  and  practical  nature  that  have  any 
reference  to  the  profitable  culture  of  the  soil.  It 
is  rather  a  horticultural  society,  in  which  fruit 
culture  is  the  most  prominent  feature.  Though 
discussing  pear  culture  for  proGt,  a  talk  on  ros°8 


I  does  not  come  amiss  to  these  gentlemen ;  and 
essays  on  beautifying  grounds  seem  as  accept- 
able as  the  ascertaining  to  a  pennyweight  the 
exact  figures  which  any  given  pippin  can  attain. 

THE  MEETINGS 

are  held  in  different  towns  in  the  State,  and  an- 
nually grow  in  interest  and  the  numbers  who 
attend  them.  Of  late  years  the  State  has  deemed 
:  the  proceedings  worth  publishing,  and  makes  an 
appropriation  for  the  purpose,  and  the  last  two 
volumes  issued  in  this  way  have  done  credit  to 
the  Legislature  and  to  the  Society.  The  mem- 
bers are  usually  a  liberal  set  of  fellows  in  com- 
municating their  discoveries  freely,  and  in  utter 
forgetfulness  of  all  patent  laws,  and  thus  the 
public  become  possessed  of  a  large  amount  of 
useful  information  without  price,  but  at  the  cost 
of  money  and  time  to  the  good  old  souls  who 
attend.  On  the  present  occasion  the  Reading 
Railroad  shared  in  the  good  work  by  a  liberal 
reduction  in  the  rate  of  fare,  much  to  the  good 
feeling  of  the  members  of  the  Society. 

ONE  GOOD   THING 

lias  resulted  from  the  labors  of  the  Society.     Be- 
fore its  existence  most  of  our  best  fruits  were 


natives  of  other  States  ;  now  it  is  found  that  our 
own  seedlings  are  equal,  and  some  superior,  to 
any  outside  productions.  For  instance,  wher- 
ever we  go  praises  are  heard  of  the  Lawrence 
pear,  a  Massachusetts  variety,  and  whoever 
plants  thinks  he  must  at  least  have  one  tree  of 
these.  But  this  meeting  developed  the  fact  that 
a  variety  raised  here,  known  as  the  Reading 
pear  is  a  superior  variety  for  winter  use  to  this 
celebrated  Lawrence,  and  will  no  doubt,  in  time, 
completely  take  its  place. 

THE  CULTURE  OF  PEACHES. 

An  interesting  discussion,  started  by  Mr.  Levi 
Reist,  of  Lancaster,  resulted  in  demonstratintr 
that  there  was  no  serious  trouble  in  peach  cul- 
ture which  could  not  be  overcome,  so  as  on  all 
occasions  the  peach  should  be  healthy  and  toler- 
ably productive.      Overbearing  was  one  great 
evil,  shortening  the  life  of  the  peach  tree  ;  and 
this  thinning  out  the  fruit   while  quite  young 
would  remedy.     Borers  in   the   stem   near  the 
ground  could  be  kept  out  by  the  use  of  paper  gas 
tarred  on  the  outer  surface.    Fungus  at  the  root, 
one  cause  of  yellows,  could  be  destroyed  by  pour- 
ing hot  water,  if  the  tree  be  small,  about  the 
roots,  or  by  adding  caustic  potash  or  gas  tar  to 

the  soil.      The    fourth    evil -poverty— manure 
cured. 

IMPROVED   APPLES    AND   PEARS. 

Tobias  Martin,  of  Mercersburg,  introduced 
the  subject  of  improved  apples  and  pears  in  an 
admirable  address.  Most  of  our  market  apples, 
he  said,  come  from  other  States.  These  are  such 
as  Rhode  Island  Greening  and  Baldwin,  and 
then  our  people  plant  these  trees,  but  they  are 
not  the  best  for  us.  The  summer  Rambo  was 
our  best  summer  apple.  He  also  named  as  the 
best  applet  for  Pennsylvania,  Smith's  cider,  Im- 
perial russet,  York  imperial,  and  Hubbardson's 
Nonsuch.  In  pears  he  named  among  the  best 
Tyson,  Brandywine,  Kingsessing,  Dana's  Ho- 
vey,  Dix,  Glout  morccau,  and  Lawrence. 


FOR  CANNING    PEARS, 

Wr.  Williams,  of  the  Horticulturist,  said  the 
Lawrence  was  the  best  he  knew.  Pears  were 
profitable  for  this  purpose.  Some  not  worth 
eight  dollars  per  bushel  in  the  general  market 
had  brought  twenty  dollars  this  way. 

^r.  Engle,  of  Marietta,  said  the  Howell  was 
another  excellent  pear  for  this  purpose.  The 
demand  for  pears  for  canning  was  increasing, 
out  was  not  yet  equal  to  that  for  peaches, 
^lass  IS  more  expensive  than  tin  for  cans  but 
seems  most  popular. 


j     THE  ANNUAL   ADDRESS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

President  Hoopes'  annual  address  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  progress  of  the  year.  He  had  the 
past  season  examined  the  fruit  gardens  in  Eu- 
rope, and  except  in  glass  houses,  saw  no  such 
fruit  as  we  can  raise.  We  had  the  finest  climate 
for  fruit  in  the  world,  but  hardly  knew  it. 

A   FEW  REMARKS  ON  FENCES. 

Mr.  Meehan  was  called  on  to  open  a  discussion 
on  fences.  He  referred  to  the  growing  price  of 
lumber,  the  improbability  that  individuals  would 
largely  engage  in  timber  raising,  and  the  desira- 
bility of  Government  fostering  tree  culture.  He 
thought  live  fences  the  cheapest,  and  named  the 
various  kinds  of  plants  adapted  to  hedge  pur- 
poses ;  but  he  thought  the  perfect  hedge  plant 
had  not  yet  been  found.  With  many  defects, 
the  Osage  Orange  was  the  best.  Too  much  kind- 
ness was  given  it.  It  ought  not  to  be  cut  while 
young.  Let  it  grow  as  it  will  for  three  or  four 
years,  then  cut  to  the  ground  and  trim  the  sub- 
sequent young  growth  to  shape. 

THE  PREPARATION  OF  GROUND  FOR 
ORCHARDS. 

The  best  way  of  preparing  ground  for  orchards 
produced  an  animated  discussion,  with  some  di- 
vergence of  views.     Messrs.  Ed.  Satterthwaite, 
William  Parry,  Williams,  Engle,  Reist,  Paschall 
Morris,  Stauffer,  and  others  participated.    Some 
thought  the  ground   should   be   ploughed  deep, 
subsoiled,  and  under-drained  ;  others,  that  this 
was  too  expensive  to  be  profitable,  and  by  ridg- 
ing up  the  ground  by  the  plough  so  as  to  keep 
away  the  surface  water  from  the  roots,  success 
was  as  much  assured.     All  agreed,   however, 
that  in  some  way  the  roots  of  the  trees  must  be 
secured  against  water  lying  long  about  the  roots 
in  the  summer  time. 


ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE    FRUIT    COMMITTEE. 

Edwin  Satterthwaite  read  the  annual  report  of 
the  Fruit  Committee.  He  thought  the  reason 
for  the  immense  crops  of  last  year  not  yet  well 
explained,  and  thought  it  well  worthy  of  a  better 
study  from  close  observers,  so  that  perchance  we 
might  profit  from  the  lesson  for  all  time  to  come. 

THE  CODLING   MOTH. 

In  the  discussion  on  insects  injurious  to  the 
apple  crop,  it  came  out,  that  pieces  of  old  shin- 
gle, screwed  loosely  together,  formed  so  attrac- 
tive a  nest  for  the  codling  moth,  the  apple's  great 
enemy,  that  it^vas  no  longer  to  be  the  dreaded 
scourge  it  had  been. 


64 


THE    GABDEJfEK'S   MOJfTHLY.     February, 


PROFITABLE  ORCHARDING. 

On  the  question  how  to  make  orchards  the 
most  profitable  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion. 
Apples  and  pears  are  some  years  coming  into 
bearing,  and  what  best  to  grow  from  the  first 
planting  of  ground  was  the  question.  Some 
thought  an  annual  manuring  of  the  trees  and  of 
the  gras8  brought  heavy  and  profitable  crops. 
Others  would  not  grow  grass,  but  grain.  AVni 
Parry  would  grow  raspberries  and  small  fruits 
between  the  trees  ;  had  known  as  much  as  $700 
per  acre  to  be  had  in  this  way  before  the  apples 
came  to  bear 

THE  BEAUTirYiNG   OF  GROUNDS 

Is  it  profitable  to  beautify  one's  grounds  ?  was 
introduced  by  Mr.  C.  H  Miller,  of  Germantown, 
and  produced  a  very  animated  discussion.  All 
seemed  eager  to  agree  that  beauty  was  not  only 
mighty  pleasing  to  the  eye,  but  a  capital  thing 
for  replenishing  one's  purse  in  the  case  of  a  sale 
of  one's  house  and  grounds,  and  many  a  farmer 
will  go  home  from  this  meeting  with  a  determi- 
nation to  have  his  pi^  yard  a  little  further  away 
from  his  front  door  than  ever  before. 

UNDER-DRAINING. 

In  regard  to  the  profit  of  under-draining,  mem- 
bers did  not  seem  as  enthusiastic  for  the  practice 
as  they  used  to  be.  Swamps,  they  all  agreed  on, 
were  benefited  ;  but  the  English  experience  that 
nearly  all  lands  could  be  profitably  uiiderdrained 
did  not  seem  to  b.'.  borne  out  by  American  expe- 
rience. 

GRAPE    CULTURE 

was  introduced  by  Mr.  Merceron,  of  Catawissa. 
He  raised  a  sensation  by  asserting  that  a  seven 
years'  experience  in  not  stirring  the  ground,  but 
growing  grass  between  his  grapes,  had  proved 
it  to  be  the  best  plan.  The  prices  of  grapes  had  j 
been  downward  for  some  years.  They  were 
hardly  profitable  of  late,  and  how  to  utilize  the 
surplus  grapes  was  a  question.  Some  thought 
of  wine.  Rev.  Mr.  Calder,  of  the  Agricultural 
College,  hoped  wine-making  would  be  discour- 
aged. Jellies,  preserves,  and  other  plans  would 
take  large  quantities  of  the  surplus.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams said  grape  vinegar  had  been  found  very 
profitable.  In  regard  to  varieties,  the  Concord, 
Clinton,  Telegraph  or  Christine,  Hartford,  and 
Ives,  were  named  as  still  the  best. 

NOXIOUS   WEEUS, 

'by  Wm.  Parry,  brought  out  the  fact  that  the 
Canada  thistle  and  the  horse  nottlo  were  the  on- 


ly very  bad  pests.  Parry  thought  some  judi- 
cious legislation  would  do  no  harm  in  regard  to 
preventing  their  spread. 

THE  CENTRE  COUNTY  FARM  SCHOOL. 

Rev.  Mr.  Calder  was  asked  to  give  some  ac- 
count of  the  farm  school  in  Centre  county.     He 
explained  the  immense  difficulties  of  the  posi- 
tion.     Death    and    other  misfortunes  had    re- 
moved five  presidents.     He  had  been  president 
but  eighteen  months  (about  as  long  as  the  long- 
est),  and  the  frequent  change  of  plans   with 
heads  could  not  but  be  injurious.     The  institu- 
tion was  heavily  burdened  by  debt,  and  original 
errors  which  could  not  be  immediately  helped 
now  depressed  the  spirits  of  the  trustees.     But 
they  were  determined  time  should  mend  these, 
and  they  were  being  slowly  mended,  and  it  was 
fast  gaining  public  confidence.    When  he  took  it 
there  were  but  37  students,  now  there  were  150, 
32  of  whom  were   girls.     They  were  not  only 
taught  the  higher  branches  of  learning,  but  also 
to  work— and  horticulture  was  among  the  sub- 
jects of  instruction.      There  had  been  a  great 
deal  of  adverse  criticism,  but  he  was  sure  the 
public  did  not  know  of  the  immense  difficulties 
under  which  the  institution*had  labored,  or  how 
much  with  small  means  had  been  done  to  re- 
move them.     He  felt  it  would  not  be  long  before 
the  institution  would  be  one  to  do  credit  to  the 
State. 

THE  FRUITS  MOST  IN  FAVOR   WITH    PENNSYL- 
VANIA. 

In  a  vote  to  indicate  which  fruits  were  most 

in  favor  with   Pennsylvania  fruit -planters,  the 

apples  Smoke-house,  Smith's  Cider,  and  Fallo- 

water  received  very  heavy  votes.     Pears  — Bart- 

'  lett,  Lawrence  andSeckel.  Peaches— Crawford's 

j  Early,  Crawford's  Late,  Old  Mixon,  and  Smock. 

:  Strawberries— Wilson's  Albany  and   Triomphe 

!  de  Gand  ;  and  in  grapes  only  the  Concord  had 

!  any  votes  worth  speaking  of. 

\  THE  NEXT  PLACE   OF   MEETING. 

!      in  addition  to  the  encouragement  given  by  the 
1  Reading  Railroad,  the  hotel  proprietors  also  re- 
;  duced  their  rates  of  board,  the  Mansion  House 
j  being  particularly  attentive  to  a  numerous  body 
I  of  guests.     The  Library  Company  granted  the 
!  use  of  their  splendid  hall  free  of  charge,  and 
,  the  members  generally  were  delighted  with  their 
reception.     York  and  Mechanicsburg,  in  Cum- 
berland county,  made  a  bid  for  the  next  January 
meeting,  and  the  latter  place  was  adopted. 


ill*  (Sard^n^r's  P0ntltlo,. 


DEVOTED  TO 


Horticulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs. 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.  XV.  MARCH,    1873.  New  Series.VoL  VL  No.  3 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

March  is  one  of  the  worst  times  for  a  maga- 
zine like  ours  to  offer  hints  for  the  mouth.  While 
at  the  southern  end  of  our  "parish  "  the  dutch 
bulbs  are  almost  out  of  blossom,  and  the  rose 
season  well  nigh  come  ;  on  our  northern  coast 
winter  "still  lingers  in  the  lap  of  spring,"  and 
scarcely  a  snowdrop  has  handed  its  clear  white 
cup  up  from  mother  earth  to  our  admiration. 
But  our  hints  are  always  to  be  taken  as  general, 
rather  than  as  special  directions -and  if  in  some 
places  the  time  should  be  gone  by  for  any  useful 
action,  what  we  say  can  be  remembered,  and  we 
hope  they  will  profit  some  one  next  year,  if  too 
late  for  this. 

We  have  very  little  to  chronicle  this  year  as 
especially  new  in  gardening  taste.    There  is  pos- 
sibly not  so  exclusive  a  regard  for  mere  masses 
of  plants  for  the  effects  of  their  color  as  there 
was.     Flowers  are  more  loved  for  their  own 
sakes  than  formerly;   and  this   will   brin<r  up 
again  the  Hollyhocks,   Chrysanthemums,  Dah- 
lias, Pansies,  Pinks,  Phloxes,  Polyanthuses,  and 
other  old  fashioned  things  which   the  rage  for 
massing  nearly  drove  out  of  sight.     Still  the 
beautiful  effects  on  the  garden  landscape  pro- 
duced by  the  newly  introduced  colored  leaves 
Winch  continue  to  come,  will  keep  the  massin- 
style    popular    for    many    years    yet.        It    is 
ound  that  a  very  slight  variation  in  colors  of  a 
leat  make  a  remarkable  difference  in  the  effect 
wnen  massed.     Thus  we  may  have  two  plants  of 
wo  kinds  of  Coleus  together,  and  we  see  little 
umerence  between  them ;  but  when  there  are  a 
^ew  dozen  of  each  kind  in  a  mass  together,  we 


HmTS    FOU   MARCH. 


take  in  the  aggregate  of  the  difference,  and  the 
effect  seems  very  striking.  As  these  plants  vary 
very  much  from  seed  there  will  be  room  for 
many  unique  effects  in  this  way  from  them  for 
many  years  to  come. 

There  have  been  some  interesting  and  novel 
features  introduced  into  European  flower  gar- 
dens the  past  year  in  the  employment  of  dwarf 
hardy  shrubs  as  permanent  borders  for  tlower 
beds.     The  little  dwarf  variegated  Japan  Euony- 
mus,  E.  radicans  variegata,  for  instance,  makes 
a   charming   border    for  Coleus,   Achyranthus 
and  such  other  things.    Then  the  Golden  Arbor- 
vitses,  Golden  Yews,  and  so  forth,   by  a  little 
shearing,  such  as  we  give  box  edgings,  come 
nicely  into  play  with  many  brilliant  colored  leaf 
plants.      There  is  an  additional  merit  in   this 
style,  that  the  beds  do  not  look  so  naked  in  win- 
ter as  they  do  when  annual  plants  alone  are  em- 
ployed.     The  Ivy  is  very  much  employed   for 
this  purpose,  and  there  are  now  so  many  varie- 
ties of  Ivy  that  a  set  of  a  score  or  more  of  beds 
may  be  given  a  very  varied  appearance  by  the 
means  of  Ivy  borders  alone. 

So  far  as  the  general  hints  applicable  to  the 
every  year  management  of  the  flower  crarden 
department  is  concerned,  the  annual  prunin<. 
must  be  got  through  with  as  soon  as  possible.  ° 

Many  delay  i)runing  shrubbery  until  after  se- 
vere weather  passes,  so  as  to  see  what  injury 
may  be  done,  but  with  March  all  should  be  tin- 
ished,  taking  care  not  to  trim  severely  such 
Shrubs  as  flower  ouc  of  last  year's  wood  as  for 
instance  the  Wiegelia ;  while  such  as'  flower 
from  the  spring  growth,  as  the  Althea,  Moc 


66 


THE    GARDEJVER'H   MOJVTHLl.         March, 


1873, 


ll*^ 


Orange,  &c.,  are  benefitted  by  cutting  back  vig- 
orously. 

Do  not  transplant  extensively  till  the  ground 
is  warm  and  the  buds  are  about  to  push.  Many 
things  die  by  exposure  to  winds  for  a  few  weeks 
before  they  have  warmth  to  push  roots  and 
leaves  into  growth. 

The  rule  for  pruning  at  transplanting  is  to  cut 
in  proportion  to  apparent  injury  to  roots.  If 
not  much  the  worse  for  removal,  cut  but  little  of 
the  top  away.  Properly  pruned,  a  good  garden- 
er will  not  have  the  worst  case  of  a  badly  dug 
tree  to  die  under  his  hands.  In  a  nursery,  where 
these  matters  are  well  understood,  trees  "never 

die.' 

Box  edgings  lay  well  now.  Make  the  ground 
firm  and  level,  plant  deep,  with  tops  not  more 
than  two  inches  above  ground. 

If  flowers  have  been  growing  in  the  ground 
many  years,  new  soil  does  wonders.  Eich  ma 
nure  makes  flowers  grow,  but  they  do  not  always 
flower  well  with  vigorous  growth.  If  new  soil 
cannot  be  had,  a  wheelbarrow  of  manure  to 
about  every  fifty  square  feet  will  be  enough.  If 
the  garden  earth  looks  gray  or  yellow,  rotten 
leaves- quite  rotten  leaves— will  improve  it. 
If  heavy,  add  sand.  If  very  sandy,  add  salt- 
about  half  a  pint  to  fifty  square  feet.  If  very 
black  or  rich  from  previous  years'  manurings  use 
a  little  lime,  about  a  pint,  slacked,  to  fifty  square 

feet. 

If  the  garden  be  full  of  hardy  perennial  flow- 
ers, do  not  dig  it,  but  use  a  fork,  and  that  not 
deeply. 


»•■•> 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

Take  borers  out  of  fruit  trees,  and  wrap  tarred 
paper  round  the  stem  at  the  collar  to  keep  them 
out  for  the  rest  of  the  season. 

Wash  the  bark  of  trees,  where  not  done,  to 
kill  the  eggs  of  insects,  and  soften  the  old  skin 
80  as  to  permit  it  to  swell  freely. 

For  small  places,  a  plentiful  supply  of  Straw- 
berries, Raspberries,  Blackberries,  Gooseberries, 
and  Currants  should  be  provided,  and  the  Grape- 
vine by  no  means  forgotten.  These  seldom  fail 
to  do  well.  Stra>>fberries  do  well  on  a  rich,  dry, 
but  deep  soil.  On  banks  that  are  not  too  poor 
or  dry,  they  seldom  fail  to  do  well,  and  are  often 
three  weeks  earlier  than  when  on  level  soil.  The 
Blackberry  also  will  do  on  dry,  rich  bank.  We 
mention  this  as  there  are  often  such  spots  in 
small  gardens  which  it  is  desirable  to  render  use- 
ful.     Strawberries  seldom    do  well  in  low,   wet 


ground.     Raspberries  and  Gooseberries  do  better 
there. 

Of  course  all  our  readers  know  by  this  time 
that  deep  planting  causes  the  annual  death  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  both  Blackberries  and 
Raspberries.  An  inch  under  ground,  and  the 
earth  beaten  or  trodden  firm,  is  enough  for 
these  plants. 

The  Strawberrv,  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. 

In  planting  fruit  trees  aim  to  have  them  so 
that  the  hot  dry  sun  will  not  have  full  effect  on 
the  ground  about  the  roots.  The  great  heat  in 
this  way  injures  the  trees.  Many  who  have  trees 
in  gardens  plant  raspberries  under  them.  The 
partial  shade  seems  to  be  good  for  the  raspber- 
ries, and  helps  the  trees.  Blackberries  would, 
no  doubt,  do  well  in  the  same  situation  ;  and 
Strawberries,  it  is  well  known,  do  not  do  badly 
grown  in  the  same  way. 

The  gooseberry  and  currant  also  do  well  in 
partial  shade.  In  fact  if  you  would  have  the 
gooseberry  and  currant  in  great  perfection,  get 
a  lot  of  old  brush  wo  .d  and  cover  the  rows  close- 
ly, so  that  the  plan  is  will  have  to  push  through 
and  you  will  be  astonished  at  the  growth  and 
healthfulness  of  the  bushes.  The  decaying  wood 
also  lurnishes  an  excellent  manure  for  them. 
The  finest  currants  ever  grown  can  be  had  by 
mulching  with  old  chestnut  burrs,  or  even  saw- 
dust. 

Tn  fruit  growing  remember  that  fruits  are  like 
grain  and  vegetable  crops,  in  this,  that  they 
must  have  manure  to  keep  up  fertility.  Unlike 
vegetables  and  grain,  however,  their  feeding 
roots  are  mostly  at  the  surface.  It  is  best, 
therefore,  annually  to  top-dress  fruit  trees.  If 
manure  cannot  be  had,  any  fresh  earth  from 
ditches  or  road  sides,  spread  a  half  an  inch  or  so 
under  the  trees,  will  have  a  wonderful  effect. 
Indeed,  we  do  not  know  but  that  for  the  pear 
tree  a  thin  layer  of  road  sand  is  one  of  the  best 
of  manures.  We  have  seen  apples  thrive  ama- 
zingly with  a  coating  of  coal  ashes. 

Apple  trees  in  orchards  are  often  so  thickly 
matted  with  branches,  that  none  of  the  leaves 
get  their  full  share  of  light  and  air.  This  should 
never  have  been  permitted,  but  as  it  is,  a  vigor- 
ous thinning  should  be  effected,  though  the  axe 


THE    GARDE.YER'S  MOJ^TELY. 


and  saw  be  called  in  to  effect  it.      Sprouts  wi'l 
corae  out  thick  next  summer,  after  such  prunino- 
but  they  should  be  torn  out  while  green.  °' 

Peaches,  is  is  said,  grow  too  strong  generally 
and  should  not  be  prune  d  ;  but  the  same  rule 
holds  good  as  with  apples.  Thin  out  all  weak 
or  crowded  shoots.  Our  experience  is  that  if  a 
peach  tree's  constitution  is  not  impaired  by  bad 
treatment,  it  seldom  grows  too  strong  for  its 
own  good. 

Grapes  that  have  become  weak  from  acre  mav 
be  renewed  by  layering  down  a  branch  some  feet 
just  under  the  surflxce,  and  then  cut  back,  so 
that  one  good  eye  only  be  left  at  the  surfac^  of 
the  soil.  The  plant  will  then  recover  its  <.ood 
appearance  quite  as  well  as  by  cutting  down 
with  the  advantage  of  not  sacrificing  a  year's 
crop  of  fruit.  °       ^ 


67 


VEGETABLE  GARDEK. 
In  the  open  ground  Peas  and  Potatoes  receive 
ThentpH  "''^"•.    "^'^^   ^^^^«  -^  C-^tl 
and  Parsley.    Beyond  this,  unless  in  more  favor- 

one  St  'T.  ^--^^--a,  little  can  be 
done  till  the  first  week  in  April.  There  is 
nothmggai,,,  in  working  soil 'until  it  has  b! 
come  warm  and  dry. 

Those  who  have  no  Spinacli  sown  in  the  fall 
should  do  that  right  away  ;  no  amount  of  saSe 
manure  but  will  be  a  benefit  to  it,  though  guano 
■>  even  smallish  doses,  will  kill  t.    Guano  nro' 

wh  le  It  18  bemg  dug  for  that  crop.    Cabbage 

beginnL  !.^    ^^*  "^  ^^^^  '"  ^^''^^  'be 
too  we    t        'f  '"'"*'"'  '*■  ">«  g^°"nd  «  not 

When  the  t.   ^^'  """^  "■°''*'^"  »'  "«*'«»  flr-n 

not  to  havetnkm  ''""'''=  '"^  «'""""  -«•>' 
nnduna»  n  manure-wood  ashes  and  pure 

undunged  loam  will  alone  produce  an  exceUenI 

ow  18  the  time ;  the  ground  should  be  rathe^ 


moist  than  dry,  and  be  trenched  two  feet  deon 
mixing  ,n  with  it  a  goodquantity  of  stable  dungi 
and  If  the  ground  be  inclining  to  sand,  add  some 
salt ;  the  beds  should  be  marked  out  four  feet 
wide,  and  the  alleys  about  two  feet.     If  pegs  are 
driven  down  at  the  corners  of  the  beds  pwrna- 
nently,  they    will  assist   operations    in  future 
years.    Having  marked  the  positions  of  the  beds 
and  procured  a  stock  of  two  year  old  plants, 
place  them  on  the  soil  nine  inches  apart  in  rows 
one  foot  asunder,   making  three  rows  in  each 
bed  ;  then  cover  the  whole  with  soil  from  the 
alleys  and  rich  compost  a  couple  of  inches. 

To  have  Turnips  goed  in  spring  they  must  be 
sown  very  early  ;  they  are  hardy,  and  must  be 
put^  m  as  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  caught 

Jc^ul^  ''"'=''''  '"  '^  ''"^  S^'^^^'ly  loam,  and 
should  be  sown  very  early. 

Parsnips,  another  crop  which  should  receive 
early  attention,  also  delights  in  a  deep  gravelly 
soil,  but  detests  rank  manure. 

Lettuce  and  Eadishes  continue  to  sow  at  in- 
tervals. 

Herbs  of  all  kinds  are  best  attended  to  at  this 
season-a  good  collection  is  a  good  thing. 

The  Carrot  will  thrive  in  soil  similar  to  the 
iieet ;  hme  is  an  excellent  manure  for  it-we 

t"hL  H^?^''='•     ^''"y  "''y  ^  ^o^n  about 
the  end  of  the  month,  in  a  bed  of  very  light  rich 

oil,  and  Tomatoes,  Egg  Plants  and  feppers 
sown  m  pots  or  boxes,  and  forwarded.  It  is  a» 
bad  to  be  too  early  with  these  as  too  late,  as  they 
become  stunted.  ' 

In  vegetable  garden  culture  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  we  have  to  operate  the  reverse  of 
what  we  do  in  fruit  culture.  A  woody  growth 
IS  What  we  require  for  fruit  trees  ;  but  w!  need 
for  vegetables  a  soft,  spongy,  succulent  charac- 
ter the  very  reverse  of  this.  For  this  end  the 
ground  cannot  be  too  deep,  too  rich,  or  too  much 
cultivated.      The  hoe  and  the  rake  should  be 

.nH  „r°!'.°"'"!?'  ^"'"S'  '°°««°'°«  'be  surface 
and  admitting  "air  and  light »  as  the  old  book. 

used  to  say.    There  is  not  only  an  advantage  in 

this  for  the  direct  beneBt  of  the  plant ;  but  an 

early  use  of  these  tools  keeps  down  the  weedF. 

and  thus  we  save  labor.    It  is  a  great  thing  to 

be     forehanded  "  in  the  weed  war, 


68 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY.  March, 


187S. 


THE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJVTSZr. 


69 


,.    ... 


i|i"l 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


AMERICAN  HORTICULTURE. 

AddrcM  delivered  before  the   Oermantown  ITorticultural 
Society,  January,  1873. 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT,   JOHN  JAY    SMITH,   ESQ. 

[Ccmdensed  for  the  Gardener's  Monthly.'] 

Mr.  Smith,  after  returning  thanks  for  the 
honor  of  his  election,  put  his  audience  in  a  good 
humor  by  the  anecdote  of  a  witty  old  gardener, 
who  when  asked  after  his  health,  said  he  had  no 
exact  disease,  but  was  afraid  he  had  a  little  touch 
of  the  complaint  called  Anno  Domini  I  and  that 
it  was  probably  this  gardener's  reckless  son  who 
said  the  only  botanical  terms  he  ever  could  re- 
member were   Aurora   Borealis  and    Delirium 

tremens  ! 

A  large  and  attentive  audience  then  listened 
to  an  address,  from  a  stage  elegantly  decorated 
with  the  rarest  exotics,  &c. : 

PROGRESS 

This  country  has  something  yet  to  do  before 
we  entirely  rival  the  planting  and  the  gardening 
of  Europe,  for  which  science,  time,  labor  and 
money  have  done  so  much.     We  began  by  cut-  ' 
ting  down  the  forests  with  which  the  whole  land  | 
was  covered.     Wc  are  beginning  to  replant  it  | 
with  beauty,  utility,  shelter  and  shade.  * 

The  condition  of  horticulture  only  60  years  ' 
ago,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  there 
were  then  very  few  greenhouses,  and  they  were 
mostly  filled  exclusively  with  lemon  trees.  Eu- 
rope itself  had  made  but  incipient  progress  ;  and 
with  our  small  culture,  and  the  difficulties  of 
importation,  in  sailing  packets,  l)ut  Utile  ad- 
vance in  either  theory  or  practice  had  been 
made. 

BARTRAM 

had  a  commercial  nursery,  and  was  himself  a 
great  pioneer  botanist  and  amateur.  The  11am- 
iltons,  at  the  Woodlands,  near  by,  set  a  good 
ex:in)|»le.  The  Landreth  brothers  began  to  en- 
lui gc  their  open  air  and  glass  accommodations, 
and  did  much  to  excite  a  taste  for  the  improve- 
ment ot  the  garden.  Thm  came  Pratt's  private 
establishment,  including  spacious  gardens,  at 
one  time  under  the  direction  of  ]Mr.  Buist,  who 
is  still  living,  and  who  made  of  the  whole  estab- 
liyhmint  a  fairy  scene.  With  these  exceptions 
and  McMahon's,  wc  must  close  the  catalogue  ot 
accessible  or  even  known  places  in  our  neighbor- 


hood, where  the  few  results  of  horticulture  could 
be  studied.  It  marks  the  humble  nature  of  our 
comforts,  when  we  know  that  ice  in  families,  so 
late  as  1812,  was  an  unknown  luxury.  We  then 
lighted  our  fires  and  our  cigars  by  means  of  a 
tinder-box  and  a  Hint.  As  to  planting  the  trees 
of  other  countries,  that  pleasing  occupation  was 
almost  unknown.  To  the  many  it  was  utterly 
so.  The  Bartrams  were  supplying  seeds  of  our 
native  trees  to  England,  and  perhaps  to  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  but  they  received  little  or 
notliing  from  abroad. 

Their  plantation  still  contains  the  best  evi- 
dences of  their  love  of  nature  ;  but  their  speci- 
mens it  will  be  remarked  from  those  still  stand- 
ing, w^ere  mostly  American,  some  of  them 
brought  by  the  elder  brother  in  his  saddle-bags 
from  southern  climates.  All  this  story  is  inimi- 
tably told  in 

DR.  DARLINGTON'S  LIFE  OF  BARTRAM, 

with  its  simple  and  yet  enthusiastic  correspon- 
dence with  Collinson,  Fothergill,  and  Lord 
Petre,  a  book  not  inferior,  in  its  way,  to  Bos- 
well's  Johnson. 

See  what  progress  we  have  made  in  the  brief 
lifetime  of  a  single  person  I  Let  us  go  forward 
with  the  hope  of  more  progress  ;  we  can  never 
hope  to  /i?n'.s/i  the  work  ;  for  the  duties  and  plea- 
sures of  a  garden  are  endless,  and  are  constantly 
increasing  in  interest.  In  this  line,  however, 
beauty  is  only  to  be  obtained  by  toil,  but  it  is 
toil  conducing  always  to  pleasure  and  to  health, 
and  to  what  Bacon  calls  the  "  purest  of  human 
pleasures." 

BOTANY. 

It  should  be  the  desire  of  every  young  garden- 
er to  follow  the  exatnple  of  Bartram,  called  by 
Linnseus,  the  greatest  natural  botanist,  and  to 
make  botany  a  subject  of  his  studious  attention. 
It  will  assist  him  in  every  attempt  to  improve 
himself,  and  will  be,  in  fact,  his  right  arm.  He 
will  be  very  apt  to  fiiil  in  the  highest  aspirations 
of  his  profession  if  without  the  immense  advan- 
tages it  affords.  The  only  possible  objection  to 
the  botanist,  and  it  is  a  very  slight  one  indeed, 
is  that  he  takes  his  draughts  of  kuowledgu  from 
ins  herbarium  rather  dry  I 

No  man  is  Lhorou-jlily  educated  who  has 
ignored  what  was  so  dear  to  Linnaeus,  Darling- 


ton and  Gray.  We  have  in  this  place  several 
good  botanists  to  refer  to  in  difficulties.  All 
must  admit,  however  reluctantly,  thfit  in  our 
floral  concert,  the  botanist  plays  the  first  violin. 
There  is  immense  enjoyment  in  this  science  when 
attained ;  but  Lessing  declared  that  if  he  had 
been  offered  between  the  possession  of  truth  and 
the  pleasure  of  seeking  for  it,  he  would  have  un- 
hesitatingly preferred  the  latter.  Botany  offers 
the  best  illustration  of  this  perhaps,  that  could 
be  adduced. 

Let  me  hint  to  all  young  gardeners  that  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  luck.  What  does  Richard 
Sharpe  say  ?  "  Untoward  accidents  will  some- 
times happen ;  but  after  many,  many  years  of 
thoughtful  experience,  I  can  truly  say  that 
nearly  all  those  who  began  life  with  me  have 
succeeded  or  failed  as  they  deserved.''  If  this 
be  true  of  life,  may  it  not  also  be  said  of  the 
greenhouse  and  garden  cultivators  ? 

THE  BEST   PEOPLE. 

The  best  people  and  the  best  trees  are  cynical- 
ly said  to  be  the  scarcest  and  rarest.  So  it  is  with 
precious  stones.  Diamonds  are  rare  and  dear, 
but  because  diamonds  and  pearls,  and  taper- 
ing rare  pines  are  too  expensive  for  the  masses, 
the  masses  should  not  despise  elrcrance  easily 
attained.  We  need  not  forego  the  fragrance  of 
the  hyacinth  because  a  neighbor  has  a  plant  of 
the  Olea  fragrans cultivated  at  a  heavy  cost.  In 
all  probability  the  hyacinth  of  our  own  cultiva- 
tion will  afford  the  greater  pleasure  to  us. 

As  a  converse  to  the  proposition  that  the  best 
trees  and  the  best  people  are  the  scarcest,  it  may 
be  said  with  equal  epigrammatical  accuracy, 
that  the  cheapest  trees  are  the  dearest.  To  be 
very  cheap  they  must  be  of  rapid  growth,  and 
rapid  growth  is  followed  by  rapid  decay. 

OERMANTOWN. 

This  society  is,  perhaps,  the  opening  wedge 
which,  by  bringing  together  the  leading  minds 
of  the  district,  will  inspire  a  determination  to 
improve  our  neighborhood,  and  while  we  put 
our  own  shoulders  to  the  work,  induce  legislation 
for  our  just  share  of  improvements.  That  we  do 
want  a  little  more  public  spirit  about  our  sur- 
roundings must  be  evident  to  all.  Successors  of 
the  original  German  element,  which  was  apt  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  we  are 
purchasing  and  pulling  down  their  teneuKMit.*, 
or  building  on  their  pastures.  We  are,  in  fact, 
erecting  dwellings  suited  to  the  more  wealthy 
period  which  has  overtaken  the  country,  and  is 
everywhere  exhibiting  the  happiest  results.     If 


we  are  true  to  the  objects  we  propose  to  realize, 
other  results  will  surely  follow,  until  our  whole 
region  becomes  an  example  of  horticultural 
beauty. 

The  speaker  then  alluded  to  the  remarkable 
trees  around  Germantown,  and  gave  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  most  interesting  arboretums 
around  Philadelphia  and  in  Germantown,  that  of 

ALFRED   COPE,   ESQ., 

on  the  old  York  road,  above  Fisher's  lane,  which 
contains  one  of  the  best  selected  collections  of 
trees  and  shrubbery,  chiefly  exotic,  that  can  be 
found  in  this  part  of  the  United  States.  This 
collection  embraces  more  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  species  and  varieties  of  hardy  forest  trees 
and  shrubs,  and  has  been  made  with  great  judg- 
ment. It  is  especially  rich  in  specimens  from 
Siberia,  Central  Asia,  China,  Japan,  and  our 
own  far  western  regions.  Although  of  too 
recent  origin  to  contain  many  large  specimens, 
it  is  highly  worthy  of  attention  irom  scientific 
botanists,  as  well  as  from  professional  horticul- 
turists, who  will  there  find  some  of  the  rarest 
and  most  interesting  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  old 
and  new  worlds.  I  hand  the  secretary  a  list 
prepared  by  Mr.  Cope  himself. 

With  the  exception  of  the  remarkable  trees 
named,  our  predecessors  have  left  us  but  little  to 
admire  in  the  way  of  fine  productions.  Occa- 
sionally you  meet  with  a  large,  old  box  bush, 
and  wonder  who  was  good  enough  to  plant  even 
that  I 

MR.  COPE»S  ARBORETUM. 

It  will  doubtless  occur  to  many  of  my  hearers 
that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the  future 
of  the  work  done  at  Fairfield  and  the  work  gen- 
erally done  in  a  plant  house.     That  difference 
consists  in  the  fact  of  the  arboretum  planting 
having  a  permanent  character,  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  herbaceous  plants  a  more  temporary  one. 
Mr.  Cope  is  preparing  knowledge  and  enjoyment, 
not  only  for  to-day,  but  for  all  time.     When  the 
hothouse  has  ceased  its  ornamentation,  however 
beautiful  and  valuable  its  results,  and  decay  has 
laid  the  structure  low,  the  arboretum  will  have 
improved.     Its  curious  and  teaching  treasures 
will  have  attained  their  growth,  and  many  of  its 
trees  will  have  become  like  giants  of  the  forest, 
while  the  permanent,  slow  growing  kinds  will 
have  the  appearance  they  put  on  in  their  native 
habits. 

Not  that  we  would  in  the  least  discourage  the 
lover  of  the  hothouse.  Each  has  its  great 
merits,  but  where  there  is  space,  we  advise  the 


4 


0 


THE    GARI)EJ\/ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


71 


cultivator  of  the  closer  quarters  to  look  some- 
tiraes  out  of  doors,  and  see  if  he  cannot  find  a 
few  spots  for  permanent  growths  also. 

The  two  occupations  and  exporiences  harmon- 
ize well  together,  and  should,  in  fact,  wherever 
possible,  be  united  in  the  same  person. 

MUSHROOMS. 

The  way  to  become  useful  as  well  as  famous, 
is  to  suppl}'  some  of  the  many  unsupplied  wants 
of  human  beings.  Who  will  not  agree  that 
there  is  a  lack  of  some  desirable  articles  for  the 
table  which  might  be  sold  in  quantities,  and 
which  almost  every  taste  appreciates.  To  men- 
tion one  article — the  Parisian  market  is  supplied 
with  abundance  of  fresh  mushrooms.  Every 
bill  of  fare  announces  them,  and  everybody  eats 
them.  How  they  are  grown  so  abundantly  is 
told  by  William  Robinson,  in  a  little  London 
book.  He  goes  so  far  as  to  say  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty whatever,  and  he  would  undertake  to  pro- 
duce them  even  in  so  inauspicious  a  locality  as 
an  old  shoe  I  There  are  various  places  where 
this  desirable  esculent  can  be  grown  ;  there  is  no 
reason  why  plenty  should  not  be  provided. 
There  is  a  gold  mine  in  this  to  any  one  who  will 
raise  a  regular  supply.  The  hotels  alone  would 
take  large  quantities. 

FIGS. 

In  a  climate  like  ours,  every  addition  to  its 
luxury  of  fruits  is  to  be  studied.  We  cannot 
have  many  of  the  productions  of  more  southern 
climes,  but  we  can  have  some  not  generally 
grown,  by  a  little  attention  and  thought.  For 
instance,  ripe  figs  are  very  acceptable  to  many, 
if  not  to  most  persons  ;  but  how  very  few  grow 
them  here.  That  it  is  perfectly  practicable  to  do 
80  is  shown  in  several  places  round  us. 

Mr.  Smith  then  exhibited  fine  cones  of  the 
Cedar  of  Lebanon,  planted  thirty-five  years  ago, 
by  himself,  at  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  of  which 
he  is  the  founder  and  President,  showing  that 
in  this  latitude  this  noble  tree  may  be  acclimated. 
He  has  done  the  same  with  the  Magnolia  Gran- 
di flora,  which  blooms  profusely  with  him.  The 
Franklinia,  now  Gordonia  pubescens,  is  also 
hardy  at  Philadelphia,  and  with  the  yellow 
wood,  Virgilia  lutca,  should  be  in  every  planta- 
tion. 

DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

The  speaker  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  allu- 
ded with  feeling  to  the  decease  of  three  remark- 
able scientific  residents  of  Germantown,  who 
have  lately  gone  to  their  long  homes;  two  of 
them  ladies.    Charles  J.  Wister  was  remarkable 


for  his  extensive  knowledge  in  all  science,  espe- 
cially of  astronomy  and  botany,  having  an 
observatory  of  his  own,  and  a  garden  of  rare 
plants.  Margaretta  and  Elizabeth  Morris  ;  the 
oAe  a  writer  of  merit  on  insects  injurious  to  vege- 
tation, the  locusts  and  the  hessian  fly  ;  the  other 
an  accomplished  botanist,  the  friend  and  coad- 
jutor of  Gray,  and  both  the  correspondents  of 
Agassiz  and  the  companions  of  learned  men. 

[Mr.  Smith  might  here,  but  for  his  modesty, 
though  we  hope  not  for  years  to  be  classed  with 
the  deceased,  have  said  that  he  himself  was  the 
successor  of  Downing  in  editing  the  famous  Hor- 
ticulturisU  so  that  Germantown  makes  no  mean 
pretensions  to  be  known  as  a  seat  of  science. -Ed.] 

WHAT  SHALL  WE  PLANT  ? 

is  the  constant  enquiry  of  beginners.  What  we 
shall  not  plant  is  almost  equally  important. 
That  we  should  employ  trees  and  shrubs  on  our 
home  grounds,  foreign  to  our  own  immediate 
locality,  is  a  general,  though  with  slight  reser- 
vations, a  universal  rule.  It  is  a  truth  that 
seems  even  now  startling.  It  was  known  long 
ago,  but  Loudon  enforced  it  to  the  popular  mind, 
his  argument  running  thus  : 

FOREIGN  TREES  TO  BE  PREFERRED. 

*'  In  modern  landscape  gardening,  considered 
as  a  fine  art,  all  the  more  important  beauties 
and  effects  produced  by  the  artist,  may  be  said 
to  depend  on  the  use  which  he  makes  of  foreign 
trees  and  shrubs,  for  the  principle  is  established 
that  all  art,  to  be  acknowledged  as  such,  must 
be  avowed.  This  is  the  case  in  the  fine  arts. 
There  is  no  attempt  to  conceal  art  in  music, 
painting  or  sculpture  ;  none  in  architecture,  and 
none  in  the  geometrical  style  of  landscape  gar- 
dening. Why  should  there  be  an  attempt  to 
conceal  art  in  modern  landscape  gardening? 
Because,  we  may  be  told,  it  is  an  art  which  im- 
itates nature.  But  does  not  landscape  painting 
also  imitate  nature  ?  and  yet,  in  it  the  work  pro- 
duced is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  art.  Recur 
to  what  is  meant  by  the  imitation  of  nature,  and 
reflect  on  the  diflference  between  repetition  and 
imitation.  In  the  imitative  arts,  the  imitation 
is  always  made  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce 
a  totally  distinct  work  from  the  thing  imitated, 
and  never,  on  any  account,  so  like  as  to  be  mis- 
taken for  it.  In  landscape  painting,  scenery  is 
represented  by  colors  on  a  flat  surface  In  sculp- 
ture, forms  which  in  nature  are  colored,  are  rep- 
resented in  colorless  stone.  The  intention  of  the 
artist,  in  both  cases,  is  not  to  produce  a  copy 
which   shall  be  mistaken  for  the  original,   but 


rather  to  show   the  original   through   the   n)e- 
dium  of  a  particular  description  of  art ;  to  reflect 
nature  as  in  a  glass.     Now  to  render  landscape 
gardening  a    fine  art,  some  analagous  process 
must  be  adopted  by  the  landscape  gardener.     In 
the  geometrical  style,  he  has  succeeded  perfect- 
ly ;  his  straight  lines,  forms,  and  artificial  sur- 
faces, so  different  from  nature,  are  at  once  recog- 
nized as  works  of  art.    A  residence  thus  laid  out 
is  clearly  distinguished  from  the  woody  scenery 
of  the  surrounding  country,  and  is  satisfactory 
because  it  displays  the  working  of  the  human 
mind,  and  confers  distinction  on  the  owner  as  a 
man  of  taste  and  wealth      A  place  laid  out  in 
the  modern  style,  with  the  surface  of  the  ground 
disposed   in    imitation    of   the    undulations    of 
nature,  and  the  trees  scattered  over  in  groups 
and  masses,  neither  in  straight  lines  nor  cut  into 
artificial  shapes,  might  be  mistaken  for  nature, 
were  not  the  trees    planted  chiefly   of  foreign 
kinds,  not  to  be  met  with  in  the  natural  or  gen- 
eral scenery  of  the  country.     Almost  everything 
in  modern  landscape  gardening,  depends  on  the 
use  of  foreign  trees  and  shrubs  ;  and  when  it  i> 
properly   understood   that  no   residence   in  the 
modern  style  can  have  a  claim  to  be  considered 
as  laid  out  in  good  taste  in  which  the  trees  and 
shrubs  are  not  either  foreign  ones  or  improved 
varieties  of  indigenous  ones,  the  grounds  of  every 
country  seat,  from  the  cottage  to  the  mansion, 
will  become  an  -irboretum,  differing  only  in  the 
number  of  species  which  it  contains." 

We  might  illustrate  this  by  a  forcible  example. 
Suppose  a  man  living  in  a  pine  woods  should 
make  a  pleasure  ground,  we  should  be  tempted 
to  smile  at  him  if  he  planted  only  the  surround- 
ing pine  trees.  His  visitors  would  surely  see 
little  beauty  inside  the  territory. 
(  To  he  Continued.) 


PEREGRINATIONS  IN  NEW  HOLLAND. 

r.Y  W.  T.  HARDING,  NONANTUM  HILL  NUR- 
SERY,   BRIGHTON,    MASS. 

The  good  people  of  Armadale,  New  South 
Wales,  who  had  hiflierto  enjoyed  peace  and 
quietness  in  their  pastoral  pursuits,  secluded  as 
they  were  withiif  a  pleasant  and  romantic  val. 
Icy,  were  one  day  aroused  from  their  semi-repose 
with  the  startling  intelligence  that  they  were 
absolutely  walking  throunrh  streets  literaliy  paved 
With  gold.  The  gold  fields  of  Uralia  were  adja- 
cent, and  Armadale  being  on  the  North  Road, 
370  miles  from  Sydney,  and  near  to  Trial  Bay,  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  rapidly  changed  from  its  former 


quiescent  state,  to  a  stirring  and  busy  town  of 
considerable  importance. 

Such  exciting  news,  though  doub  ful  at  first, 
was  soon  corroborated  on  the  arrival  of  that  in- 
dubiatable  personage  who  settles  all  doubtful 
questions,  "the  reliable  gentleman,"  who  seri« 
ously  assured  the  bucolic  plodders  who  earnest- 
ly inquired,  "are  ye  sure  the  news  is  true?" 
with  the  affirmative  yes,  and  as  "seeing  is 
believing,"  exhibited  specimens  of  "nuggets'' 
and  "dust."  Like  a  theatrical  transformation 
scene,  everybody  and  everything  suddenly 
changed  as  the  whirl  of  excitement  spread  more 
speedily  than  their  destructive  bush  fires,  and 
flashed  the  news  from  the  centre  to  the  circum- 
ference of  New  Holland. 

The  first  Australian  gold  was  discovered  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Bathurst,  by  a  Mr.  Ilar- 
greaves,  in  1851,  and  the  excitement  which  ^V 
lowed  was  then  at  its  height.     The  "gold  fever" 
became   contagious    generally,   and  during   its 
paroxysms  so  affected  the  people,  that  men  like 
maniacs,  rushed  from  their  legitimate  callings 
and  went  off  instanter  to  the   diggings.      The 
lonely  shepherd  and  stockman,  far  in  the  wilder- 
ness, left  their  flocks  and  herds  to  take  care  of 
themselves.     The   skilled  artisan  and   cunning 
craftsman  in  the  city,  left  their  employment,  and 
side  by  side  with  the  professional  man,  eminent 
in  science,   the  hoary   headed    "old   lag,"    on 
whose  sinister  looking  features,  convict  was  dis- 
cernable,  were  eagerly  delving  for  the  hidden 
treasure   with   the   wildest  enthusiasm.     Ships 
were  deserted  in  the  harbors,  and  left  without 
either  captain  or  crew.     Everything  mundane 
seemed  topsy-turvy  throughout  the  land,  and 
especially  so  in  the  sequestered  little  town  of  Ar- 
midale.     Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  thirst  for 
gold  and  the  thirst  for  brandy  seemed  unquench- 
able.     Nearly  every  house  was  turned  into  a 
store  or  tavern,  in  which  the  shrewd  venders 
soon  amassed  fortunes  and  retired  from  business, 
as  becoming  to  Colonial  yentlcmen. 

At  the  principal  hotel,  "The  Jolly  Diggers' 
Uetreat,"  they  were  keeping  open  house,  the 
bar-room  door  of  that  imposing  edifice  having 
been  removed,  and  placed  under  the  wide  spread- 
ing boughs  of  a  large  blue  gum  tree,  Eucalyptus 
piperita,  for  a  dance  board,  where  a  party  of 
lucky  diggers  had  joined  a  jovial  crew  of  run- 
away sailors,  who  were  heel  and  toeing  it  in  their 
bare  feet,  to  the  screechy  tones  of  a  weasy  old 
fiddle. 
In  years  gone  by,  I  remember  seeing  Cook,  on 


72 


THE    GAEDHJVJSB'S   MOJVTHZr. 


March, 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MONTHLY. 


78 


the  London  stage,  as  "  William,"  in  the'  play  of 
"Black-eyed  Susan,"  delight  the  happy  play- 
goers with  his  matchless  Sailor's  Hornpipe,  but 
never  since  then  did  I  ever  see  such  terpsichore- 
an  feats  as  were  performed  by  "Jack  ashore.'' 

0  I  departed  shades  of  Paganini  and  thy  inimi- 
table violin,  whose  soul  stirring  strains  wil' 
never  echo  again.  How  blessed  is  thy  spirit, 
where  no  wicked  bush  fiddler,  with  the  ai^onizinff 
wail  of  persecuted  music,  can  awaken  thy 
slumbers  ! 

1  have  long  since  forgiven,  though  not  forgot- 
ten, poor  Paganini  the  second,  wiio  I  believe 
*'  did  his  level  best  "  as  a  professor  of  "  the  art 
divine."  No,  worthy  man,  I  entertain  no  un- 
kind feelings  toward  Ihee  ;  I  rather  feel  to  pity 
thee  with  all  thy  musical  fliults,  and  love  thee 
still. 

Such  carousals  were  commbn  to  Australia  in 
those  days.  Ludicrous  in  the  extreme  were  the 
antics  and  vagaries  of  the  jolly  diggers  and  rol- 
licking sailors.  Some  experts  had  shown  their 
skill  as  portrait  painters,  and  had  produced  some 
such  striking  likenesses  as  would  have  put  the 
"Old  Masters  "  to  blush  if  they  could  only  have 
seen  them.  A  party  of  miserable  blacks  were 
hanging  around,  whose  naked  bodies  had  been 
painted,  some  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  in 
a  succession  of  stripes,  after  the  fashion  of  a 
barber's  pole,  while  others,  according  to  the 
fancy  of  the  artist^  had  some  humorous  pictures 
delineated  on  their  faces  and  bodies.  As  a  fron- 
tispiece, one  pot-bellied  fellow  was  ornamented 
with  a  figure  of  "Neptune,"  trident  in  hand, 
while  another  equally  proud,  was  decorated  with 
an  allegorical  subject,  namely,  "Old  Nick"  on 
the  rampage.  It  has  happily  been  my  good  for- 
tune to  see  the  celebrated  portraits  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  famous  "  Kit  Cat  Club,"  by  Sir  God- 
frey Kneller,  and  the  no  less  celebrated  Gallery 
of  Portraits,  by  Hogarth,  but  never  did  I  see 
"  the  human  face  divine  ''  so  wonderfully  painted 
as  were  these  of  the  sable  ladies  and  gentlemen 
in  New  Holland. 

The  veil  of  night  was  gently  falling  over  the 
setting  sun,  which  gradually  withdrew  to  the 
eventide  shades,  as  the  rude  and  boisterous 
revellers,  one  by  one,  succumbed  to  the  potation 
so  freely  imbibed,  and  were  soon  oblivious  to  all 
the  cares  of  life. 

Bonniface,  mine  host  of  "  The  Jolly  Diggers' 
Retreat,"  was  "all  the  worse  for  liquor,"  and 
his  wife  was  not  much  better.  The  only  .sober 
one  connected  with  the  hotel  was  ''Tow8er,''a 


sagacious  and  sullen  bulldog,  whose  temper 
seemed  soured  with  the  lax  state  of  affairs. 
He,  "Towser,"  had  assumed  the  responsibilities 
of  house  keeper  and  bar  tender,  and  sternly  re- 
fused to  admit  any  one  within.  A  moreeflicient 
house  Iceeper  I  never  knew,  as  he  sat  grimly  and 
defiantly  on  the  counter,  growling  vengeance 
against  all  intruders.  He  reminded  me  of  that 
ominous  warning  of  Dante's:  "abandon  hope 
all  ye  who  enter  here." 

Footsore  and  weary  as  I  was,  I  retired  to  rest 
in  an  empty  bullock  dray,  which  luckily  for  me 
was  unoccupied,  and  proved  a  snug  and  cosy 
little  bed  room,  in  which  I  slept  soundly.  When 
morning  broke,  the  gibbering  savages,  who  had 
figured  so  in  the  previous  day's  doings  in  all  the 
glorious  colors  the  motley  paint  pots  of  Arma- 
dale could  ])roduce,  had  brought  in  some  other 
sable  "beauties  without  paint,"  anxious  to  be 
similarlv  ornamented,  and  who  I  doubt  not^ 
were  made  equally  happy  in  due  time. 

We  started  in  search  of  something  to  eat, 
which  having  obtained,  and  laid  in  a  fresh  sup- 
ply for  the  onward  journey,  we  bid  adieu  to  Ar- 
madale and  the  jolly  diggers  therein.  Taking  a 
southwesterly  course  for  some  distance,  we 
crossed  the  Poel  River,  which  waters  the  rich 
pasture  lands  of  Liverpool  plains.  The  soil  is 
very  fertile,  and  is  farmed  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent. Here  Palms,  the  "  Princes  of  the  vegeta- 
ble kingdom,"  as  Linnseus  very  appropriately 
terms  them,  were  numerous  and  strikingly  beau- 
tiful. 

Generally  adjaci  nt  to  the  sea  beach  are  found 
the  Pandanas  spiralis,  or  screw  pine,  as  they  are 
commonly  called,  from  their  resemblance  to  a 
huge  pine  apple  plant  ;  of  spiral  growth.  Some 
unusually  lar2:e  specimens  were  here  met  with. 
Old  plants  have  a  i)eculiar  appearance,  and  are 
remarkable  for  the  large  aeriel  roots,  which  seem 
to  rise  from  the  rarth,  instead  of  descending  to 
it.  Very  oddly  tbey  seem  to  stand,  propping  up 
to  some  thirty  or  forty  feet  high  their  immense 
crowns  of  handsome  foliage.  In  cultivation  they 
are  indispensable  as  hothouse  ornaments,  where 
they  have  sufficient  room  to  grow  and  flourish 
in. 

Of  the  singular  family  of  marsupials  which 
abound  in  New  Holland,  the  red-necked  Kanga- 
roo, Helmaturis  ruficoUis,  is  perhaps  the  most 
numerous  and  conspicuous.  Here  seemed  to  be 
a  favorite  feeding  ground,  where  they  quietly 
graze  on  the  rich  grasses  which  cover  the  allu- 
vial plains.     It  is  amusing  to  watch  the  gambols 


of  the  young  ones  as  they  lightly  bound  with 
surprising  agility  in  their  sportive  play.     They 
are  somewhat  chary  of  the  too  near  approach  of 
man, or  rather  that  remorseless  biped,  sportsman, 
(so  called)  who,  when  armed   with   the  deadly 
rifle,  ruthlessly  slaughters  the  poor  inofiensive 
animals.     Poor  timorous,  meek  lookins:  creature, 
there  seems  to  be  no  guile  in  thy  mild  and  come- 
ly countenance,  yet  man,  both  white  and  black, 
are  at  enmity  with  thee  I     The  "Boomerang," 
that  curiously  shaped   wooden    weapon,   when 
thrown  by  the  savage,  whose  practised  hand  di- 
rects its  eccentric  course,  is  alike  fatal   when 
within   range.     They  seem  to  sniff*  the   preda- 
ceous  blacks  in  the  wind,  who  cunningly  and 
stealthily  approach  them  loe-ward  to  cast  their 
death  dealing  missile.     When  one  of  them  falle, 
quick  as  lightning,  and  with  incredible  speed, 
the  remainder  bound  ofl'  with  astonishing  leaps, 
to  the  fiistness  of  the  forest. 

Serpents,  of  which  1  have  a  mortal  fear,  and 
as  ugly  and  loathsome  as  appeared  the  first  one 
after  beguiling  "Mother  Eve,''  were  more 
numerous  than  I  had  hitherto  seen  them.  Some 
species  have  absolutely  "the  jaws  of  death," 
their  bite  is  fatal,  while  others  are  more  or  less 
dangerous. 

I  shall  ever  remember  when  at  Toowoomba, 
some  eighty  miles  from  Brisbane,  a  rich  grazing 
district,  which  reaches  from  the  summit  of  the 
great  dividing  range  to  the  Darling  Downs,  how 
near  I  was  to  a  deadly  black  snake,  which  glides 
about  the  tree  tops  with  the  same  facility  they 
do  on  the  ground.  Singular  as  it  may  seem, 
they  appear  to  have  a  penchant  for  figs.  I,  too, 
confess  to  a  weakness  of  the  same  kind,  and  with 
the  permission  of  a  friend,  was  indulging  to  my 
heart's  content  in  some  luscious  fruit  on  the 
upper  branches  of  a  large  tree  in  his  garden, 
when,  to  my  horror  and  dismay,  I  beheld  several 
disgusting  snakes  wriggling  towards  me.  I 
vacated  in  a  summary  manner,  at  the  peril  of 
broken  bones. 

The  black  and  white  wattle  trees,  Acacia  aflS- 
nis  and  A.  mollissima,  seemed  alive  with  wood 
ducks,  so  named  from  their  habits  of  perching 
and  roosting  among  the  branches  of  high  trees. 
As  I  stood  to  gaze  upon  this  fertile  spot,  teeming 
with  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth,  a  splendid 
crane,  Grus  Anstralis,  stalked  by  without  exhi- 
oitmg  the  least  symptom  of  alarm.  It  is  a  large 
and  stately  bird,  gay  in  its  bright  red  hood, 
which  covers  the  back  part  of  the  head,  and 


meets  like  a  fancy  crayat  or  necktie  round  the 
throat. 

After  being  several  days  out,  and  still  pursu. 
ing  the  same  course,  we  crossed  a  number  of 
small  streams,  and  finally  struck  the  Maquarie 
River.  While  passing  through  the  river  region 
we  frequently  met  with  large  tracts  of  Marsilea 
macropus,  or  Australian  Nardoo.  It  is  a  sub- 
acquatic  plant,  and  covers  extensive  fields  in  the 
low  or  swampy  grounds.  The  natives  collect 
and  prepare  it  for  food  by  pounding  it  to  a  mass, 
which  is  then  rolled  into  balls  and  covered  with 
hot  ashes  to  bake  ;  when  so  prepared  they  seem 
to  relish  it. 

When  the  luckless  traveler's  appetite  is  sharp- 
ened by  hunger,  almost  anything  that  can  be 
swallowed  to  appease  the  craving  for  food  is 
greedily  seized,  as  was  a  quantity  of  Nardoo, 
found  in  a  4'  gunya,"  or  native  hut,  by  the  only 
survivor  of  the  ill-fated  Burk's  exploring  party, 
and  which  sustained  the  wretched  man  for  two 
weeks.  Newly  baked  Nardoo  approximates 
more  to  the  consistency  and  taste  of  hot  putty 
than  any  other  substance  I  can  compare  it  to^ 
and  is  about  as  nutritious  as  a  southern  clay 
eater's  food,  with  which  he  regales  his  vitiated 
appetite. 

Vast  and  extensive  undulating  prairie-like 
plains,  which  at  intervals  are  varied  by  the  wild- 
est of  earthly  scenes,  alternate  with  the  impene- 
trable jungle,  scrub,  and  illimitable  forests. 

Some  two  or  three  hundred  miles  from  the 
coast,  on  the  elevated  table  lands,  is  the  great 
wool  growing  region,  where  countless  flocks, 
spreading  for  miles,  fatten  upon  the  rich  grasses  ' 
which  roll  like  the  billowy  sea  in  deep  smarag- 
dine  waves.  There,  too,  horses  and  cattle 
increase  and  multiply  amazingly,  and  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  greatly  diminish  their  value.  Hun- 
dreds and  thousands  may  be  seen  herding 
together. 

As  we  strolled  along  the  bed  of  a  dried  ttp 
water  course,  which  only  flows  during  heavy 
rains,  we  were  led  to  a  deep  and  romantic  pass, 
guarded  on  each  side  by  grand  old  rocks,  nearly 
half  a  mile  in  perpendicular  height,  and  seemed 
as  if  riven  asunder  by  some  supernatural  agency 
or  convulsive  throbs  of  nature.  Here  we  paused 
to  contemplate  and  reflect  on  "what  aspects 
old  Time  in  his  progress  has  worn  "  from  the 
beginning  until  now. 

At  best  but  a  mere  speck,  an  atom,  on  the 
earth's  surface-man  seems  indeed  but  a  puny 
creature,  weak  and  feeble,  when  he  looks  around 


7Jf 


TEE    GARDEJ^TER'S   MONTHLY. 


March, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJiTER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


75 


»*■ 


it 


and  feels  bewildered  with  the  stupendous  and 
wonderful  works  of  Him  '*  who  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth.''  This  deep  defile  was  about 
two  miles  wide  and  sixteen  in  length.  In  the 
bottom  were  several  deep  pools  and  miuature 
lakes,  well  stocked  with  fish,  and  literally  cover- 
ed with  water  fowl.  How  the  fish  had  got  there 
was  a  puzzle  to  my  inquiring  mind,  and  a  mys- 
tery I  could  not  solve — it  seemed  beyond  human 
ken. 

Here  1  met  with  a  solitary  specimen  of  Phj'lo- 
cladus  rhomboides,  remarkable  as  being  the  only 
one  I  ever  met  with  in  Australia.  In  New  Zea- 
land I  saw  thousands  of  them.  It  is  a  hand- 
some tree  of  the  genus  Taxacse,  and  generally 
known  as  the  celery  topped  pine. 

Some  of  the  ponds  were  completely  hidden 
beneath  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  the  Nelumbium 
speciosum,  or  the  Sacred  Lotus.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful acquatic  plant,  nearly  allied  to  the  Nym- 
pheas,  or  water  lilies.  In  the  lagoons  and  estu- 
aries of  the  Murry,  Darling,  Warrengo  and 
Munumbigee  Rivers,  they  grow  in  vast  quanti- 
ties. 

The  history  of  the  Sacred  Lotus,  has  frequent 
ly  bc!  n  given  by  modern  writers,  who  quote  from 
Herodotus,  Strabo,  and  Theophrastus,  who  each 
mention  it,  and  describe  the  religious  associa- 
tions connected  therewith.  It  was  held  in  the 
greatest  veneration  by  the  heathenish  devotees 
of  Isis. 

The  Egyptian  beau  of  Pythagoras  is  supposed 
to  be  the  fruit  or  seed  of  the  Nelumbium  he  al- 
ludes to.  The  color  of  the  flowers  are  liarht 
pink,  and  in  form  are  very  beautiful ;  both  roots 
and  seeds  are  edible.  There  are  about  seven  or 
eight  species  in  all,  and  are  widely  dispersed 
from  India  to  Egypt,  Australia,  Malabar,  Ja- 
maica, the  Caspean  Sea,  and  several  parts  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  I  planted  some 
Nelumbium  luteum  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  which  I 
procured  at  Sandusky  ;  and  also  in  Fairmount 
Park,  Philadelphia,  which  I  dug  from  a  creek 
flowing  to  the  Schuylkill,  at  the  Neck,  near  the 
city. 

*'  Fair  Flora''  seemed  to  have  chosen  this 
beautiful  defile  as  a  garden  spot  wherein  to 
grow  her  flowers,  and  had  lavishly  and  profuse- 
ly scattered  them  around.  Some  of  her  loveli- 
est and  fairest  floriferous  productions  were  ex- 
panding their  charms  in  all  their  native  gran- 
deur. The  graceful  Babingtonia  camphorosma, 
a  perfect  mass  of  prettiness,  like  coy  beauties, 
were  peeping  through  their  leafy  bowers];  with 


Boronias,  blended  Banksia  integrifolia,  a  really 
handsome  shrub,  and  is  to  be  found  generally 
under  cultivation  in  the  colonists'  gardens  ;  it  is 
called  the  Australian  Honeysuckle,  and  is  re- 
markable for  the  quantity  of  honey  stored  in  its 
pretty  flowers.  A  more  gayish  beauty,  in  gay 
attire,  was  the  Grevillea  robusta  or  silk  oak.  It 
is  a  noble  tree,  often  attaining  to  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  high,  and  is  a  fine  representative 
of  the  order  Proteaceaj,  to  which  it  belongs.  The 
varieties  are  numerous,  and  well  known  to  the 
practical  gardener.  They  are  a  peculiar  genus, 
and  well  worthy  a  place  in  every  conservatory  ; 
the  flowers  are  mostly  red,  and  are  produced  on 
long  spikes,  often  measuring  from  ten  to  fifteen 
inches  in  length. 

Some  fine  Dendrobium  cassythoides,  a  climb- 
ing orchid,  allied  to  the  Vanilla,  had  embraced 
the  trunk  of  a  splendid  Flindersia  australis  or 
Australian  Mahogany,  a  useful  and  beautiful 
tree,  the  wood  of  which  is  valuable  for  cabinet 
work. 

This  charming  locality  seemed  to  abound  in 
Westringea  rosemarinifolia,  so  like  a  Kosemary 
in  habit  of  growth  and  foliage,  but  unlike  one  in 
its  florescent  state.  Its  flowers  are  a  pretty  pale 
blue  and  very  profuse.  It  is  a  very  ornamental 
evergreen  shrub,  and  grows  to  about  eight  or 
ten  feet  high. 

Sphenotoma  capitata,  with  their  dense 
heads  of  immaculate  blossoms,  looked  like 
mounds  of  snow.  Pultnoeas,  and  when  I  men- 
tion them,  it  seems  rather  invidious  to  name 
any  in  particular,  as  all  that  interesting  family 
are  as  pretty  as  they  well  can  be.  Their  comely 
garments  of  various  shades  of  green,  mottled 
with  golden  clusters  of  flowers,  are  beautiful  in- 
deed. Here  the}'  seemed  to  surround  us  as  we 
gently  stepped  among  them  while  passing  along. 

I  noticed  several  terrestrial  orchids,  namely, 
Prasophyllum  fimbriatum,  a  kind  more  singu- 
lar than  beautiful,  Pterostylis  gibbosa,  P.  re- 
flexa  and  P.  grandiflora,  with  other  interesting 
kinds  ;  also  fine  specimens  of  Trichilia  glandu- 
losa,  a  very  ornamental  tree,  growing  from  sev- 
enty to  one  hundred  feet  high,  of  symmetrical 
form. 

The  richest  and  softest  of  living  carpets,  Ly- 
copodiura  densum,  spread  thickly  beneath  the 
noble  trees,  flowers  and  shrubs,  which  adorned 
this  floral  defile,  where  I  could  truly  say  "pure 
emotion,  kindled  by  the  sweetness  of  nature, 
sufficed  to  please''  the  appreciative  traveler  who 


heartily  thanked  God  for  the  boon  of  beholding 
so  fair  a  scene. 

In  all  probability  the  Caucasian's  foot  had 
seldom,  if  ever,  brushed  the  dew  from  the  grass, 
or  left  its  imprint  on  the  soil  of  this  primeval 
glen,  with  its  myriads  of  flowers,  where  we  wan- 
dered at  will. 

As  a  fitting  accompaniment  to  the  romantic 
scene,  I  watched  the  gambols  of  two  Satin  Bow- 
er  b'rds,   Pielorcorhynchus    holosericeus ;    the 
plumage  of  the  male  bird  is  a  beautiful  black 
satin-like  texture  ;  nothing  could  bc  more  inter- 
esting than  the  habits  of  the  Bower  birds,  they 
seem  to  exhibit  a   taste  for  architecture,   and 
weave  together  twigs,  leaves  and  feathers,  and 
con^^truct  little  arbors  with  them,  to  and  from 
which  are  neatly  formed  covered  passage  ways, 
through  which  they  run  in  and  out  after  each 
other,  in  a  very  amusing  and  playful  manner. 
It  is  really  laughable  to  see  them  meet  and  pro- 
foundly and  respectfully  bow  to  each  other.    No 
courtier,   belle   or  beaux,  however  schooled   in 
etiquette,  could  i)ossibly  salute  each  other  with 
more  grace  of  manner  than  do  these  singular 
birds  ;  they  seem  the  very  models  of  Chester- 
fieklian  politeness.     Their  little  love  bowers  are 
tastefully  and  cunningly  constructed. 

The  ever  present  Turquoisinc  Parrots  made 
things  lively  above  as  they  chattered  incessantly 
m  the  trees,  while  the  lovely  little  zebra  grass 
parrots  hopped  about  the  grass  and  low  bushes  ; 
Its  note  is  not  so  ear  torturing  as  are  some  of  its 
bigger  kindred.     This  exquisite  little  creature  is 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and   beautiful  of 
cage  birds,  thousands  of  which  are  annually  im- 
ported to  England  and  various  parts  of  Europe  ; 
see  '*  Gould's  Ornithology  of  Australia,''  pub- 
lished in  1841,  in  which  they  are  fully  described. 
Feeling  assured  that  I   should  never  return 
again  to ''view  those  scenes  so  eh  irminir,''  which 
everywhere  presented  some  original  and  pleas- 
ant features,  and  delighted  the  senses  and  filled 
the  heart  with  such  earthly  joys,  I  decided  to 
remam   until   the   next    day.      Heaven    knows 
a  poor  horticulturist  as  I  was,  that  I  felt  "as 
tiappy  as  a  king"  and  "  as  rich  as  a  Rothschild" 
n  the  sequestered  arcadia  wliere  I  camped  for 
the  night. 

My  cup  of  bliss  was  filled  to  the  brim, and  the 
nectar  was  sweet  which  the  soul  quaffed,  and 
le  t  satisfied  that  there  was  happiness  on  earth 
A  he  soft  and  refreshing  night  breezes  were  gently 
P'aying  among  the  trees,  and  wafted  the  "balm 
01  a  thousand  flowers''  fresh  from  the  great  labo- 


ratory  of  nature,  and  which  would  have  de- 
lighted the  olfactory  organs  of  a  Phalon,  Lubin 
or  Rimmel  with  their  exquisite  perfume.  The 
twinkling  stars,  bright  celestial  gems,  glittered 
and  sparkled  in  the  blue  arch  above,  like  fairy 
lamps  lighting  the  sky. 

Stretched  on  the  ground,  snugly  wrapped  in  a 
Wombat-skin  rug,  and  with  a  Banksia  log  for  a 
pillow,  thinking  of  beloved  ones  afar,  and'recall- 
ing  the  poet's  words, 

V   "  O'er  the  past  too  fondly  wandering, 
On  the  hopeless  future  pondering." 
went  soundly  to  sleep  on  a  bed  of  flowers.  Some 
time  near  midnight  I  awoke  with  an  idea  that 
somebody  was  touching  me  to  see  if  I  was  asleep 
or  not.    Perhaps  some  cut-throat,  bush-ranger  or 
treacherous  native  was  about  to  rob  and  murder 
me.     With  the  courage  of  the  Cid,  grasping  ray 
gun,  I  sprang  to  my  feet  on  the  defensive,"feel. 
ing  determined  to  do  something  to  somebody, 
but  not  a  soul  could  I  see.     "The  sweet  silver 
light  bonny  moon,"  in  full  splendor,  illumined 
the  forest  with  the  light  of  her  silvery  sheen,  so 
peculiar  to  New  Holland.     Looking  around  for 
the  intruder,  but  a  few  paces  from  me,  ^nd  evi- 
dently more  astonished  than  I,  stood  an  inofl^en- 
sive  littleWombat,  which  in  its  nocturnal  wander- 
ings had  stopped  to  ascertain  what  usurper  was 
ensconsed  within  its  fellow  Wombat's  skin.  With 
a  hearty  laugh  at  the  poor  animal,  I  bid  him 
good-night  and  went  back  to  dream-land  again. 
Refreshed    with  sweet   slumbers,   we  awoke 
with  the  morning  chorus  of  thousands  of  plum- 
aged    birds,    whose    unmusical    notes     seemed 
strangely  out  of  tune  in  the  noisy  burlesque  of 
ornithological  carrols.     After  the  morning's  ab- 
lutions among  Lotus  and  water  lilies,  we  break- 
fasted and  traveled  on.  Leaving  the  middle  of  the 
valley  for  the  shady  side  of  the  lofty  and  rugged 
cliff's,  we  were  delighted  beyond  measure  with  the 
many   Helichrysum  apiculatum   bushes   which 
clung  to;the  steep  face  of  the  frowning  rocks.  As 
a  greenhouse  plant  they  rank  high  among  the  rare 
and  beautiful.     I  suppose  every  practical  gar- 
dener remembers  Helichrysum  odoratissimum 
as  "one  among  ten  thousand."  Running  among 
them  were  the  most  luxuriant  Eustrephus  lati- 
folius,  a  pretty  evergreen  climber  as  I  ever  saw, 
their  light  purple  flowers  are  uncommonly  beau- 
tiful.    The  ornamental  Ficus  mutia,  an  ever- 
green shrub,  had  accommodated  itself  in  a  fis- 
sure at  a  considerable  altitude,  where  it  stood 
all  "alone  in   its  glory."    The  curious  green- 
flowering     herbaceous     plant,    Geitonopleaium 


76 


TMJi   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTBLY. 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLl. 


77 


raontannm,  grew  in  masses  on  the  scarped  sides  \ 
of  the  rocks  in  pleasing  contrast  to  its  more  : 
showy  compeers.  Goodyeria  gracilis  and  G.  he-  j 
terophylla,  the  former  a  pretty  yellow  flowering 
kind,  and  the  latter  red,  two  as  handsome  her-  | 
baceous  plants  as  are  to  be  met  with,  formed  j 
handsome  beds  at  the  base.  Kennedya  coccinea  i 
and  K.  ovata,  with  several  other  beautiful  ever-  j 
green  climbers,  draped  the  projecting  crags,  , 
where  they  hung  like  curtains  or  screens  of  pret-  i 
ty  foliage  and  flowers. 

As  we  neared  the  opening  of  this  wildly  pic- ! 
turesque  defile  we  had  so  happily  rambled  i 
through,  we  were  delightfully  surprised  with  ; 
the  number  of  Telopea  specio5<issima,  so  beauti-  i 
ful  and  brilliant  were  they  in  the  full  blaze  ofj 
scarlet  flowers.  In  the  greenhouse,  it  is  one  of  I 
the  most  conspicuous  ornaments. 

The  most  rugged  surface  man  ever  attempted  j 
to  pass  over  was   before  us.     Ugly  masses  of  i 
conglomerate  ironstone  rock,  varied  with  lumps 
of  sharp  edged  quartz,  were  scattered  in  every 
conceivable  way,  as   if  to  prevent  our  further 
progress.  Trul}^  it  was  "  a  hard  road  to  travel,"  ; 
but  the  worst  plague  I  ever  encountered  was  await-  ; 
ing  us  further  on.     Our  onward  course,  in  the 
direction  we  were  pursuing,  was  abruptly  check- 
ed by  a  nettle  brake,  which  stretched  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  before  us.     A  previous  acquain- 
tance with  them  had  taught  me  that  nothing 
mortal  could  ever  be  induced  to  face  one  a  second 
time  after  once  experiencing  the  infernal  torture 
they  are  capable  of  inflicting. 

Urtica  gigas,  the  gigantic  stinging  nettle  of 
Australia,  known  as  the  "traveler's  terror,'' 
and  well  named  indeed.  I  do  not  remember 
ever  having  met  with  a  more  terrible  vegetable 
monster  than  the  subject  under  notice.  Most  of 
the  Monthly  readers  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  common  stinging  nettle,  Urtica  dioica,  and 
have  a  lively  remembrance  of  how  keenly  they 
were  made  to  smart  when  incautiously  handling 
them ;  the  sensation  of  pain,  though  sharp 
enough,  is  of  a  very  mild  type  when  compared 
to  the  torture  inflicted  by  the  Australian  pest. 
The  fabulous  effects  of  the  baneful  Upas  tree  of 
Java,  Antiarus  toxicaria,  could  not  possibly  be 
worse  or  more  to  be  dreaded  by  man  or  beast, 
than  this  diabolical  nettle  tree  of  New  Holland 

In  a  previous  communication  I  alluded  to 
having  seen  U.  ferox  growing  in  New  Zealand, 
and  fierce  and  formidable  they  were,  but  were 
somewhat  dwarfed  by  its  gigantic  compeers  U. 
gigas,  the  stings   of  which  cause  a  maddening 


pain,  almost  beyond  enduring,  the  effects  of 
which  are  dangerous  indeed.  From  forty  to 
sixty  feet  high  is  a  usual  size,  with  a  stout  tree 
like  trunk.  The  foliage  is  gigantic  too,  having 
measured  leaves  of  sixteen  inches.  The  near- 
est comparison  to  this  horrid  barrier  I  ever  saw, 
was  a  Cactus  hedge,  in  Central  America,  the 
thoughts  of  which  stop  my  communication 
with  a  shudder. 


HOT  WATER  EXPERIENCE. 

BY  A.  P.  JONES    FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 

According  to  your  wish,  I  will  give  you  my  ex- 
perience in  heating  greenhouse.  I  built  my 
greenhouse  in  the  i\\\  of  1870— (54xlG.)  Put  in 
a  flue  for  heating,  56  fe'et  on  the  ground  and  25 
foot  higli  chimney.  The  flue  was  6  inches  wide 
and  1  foot  deep  inside.  Then  I  had  the  fire-place 
built  4  feet  square,  with  two  separate  fire  holes, 
two  doors  and  two  grates  ;  then  I  put  in  a  coil 
of  pipe  in  one  of  the  fire  holes  for  heating  water 
in  propagating  tank.  Flue  bothered  all  winter 
by  -moking— no  draught,  and  by  being  a  great 
deal  Colder  on  farther  end  of  house  than  at  the 
end  nearest  the  fire  hole— generally  ten  degrees 
difference,  and  could  hardly  ever  get  the  fiirther 
end  of  the  flue  w^armer  than  blood  heat.  The 
next  winter,  1871,  I  rebuilt  a  part  of  my  flue  and 
fire  holes,  put  in  a  coil  of  pipe,  (1  inch  gas  pipe), 
instead  of  grate  ;  then  I  put  in  T's  between  my 
grate  and  propagating  tank,  and  run  a  pipe 
around  the  house  as  far  as  the  chinmey  and 
back  to  grate ;  this  helped  to  heat  house  very 
much,  besides  affording  me  means  to  regulate 
the  heat  in  tank  by  means  of  valves  ;  but  the  flue 
would  smoke  in  all  damp  weather,  or  when  the 
fire  was  first  started. 

I  cannot  tell  how  much  wood  I  burned,  as  the 
wood  was  used  from  the  same  pile  that  was  used 
in  the  dwelling  house,  but  I  do  know  that  it  was 
a  continual  stream  of  wood,  and  continual  firing 
up  ;  especially  the  first  winter,  besides  the  dam- 
age it  must  have  been  by  its  continual  smoking  j 
and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  if  I  should  have  a 
thousand  greenhouses,  that  not  another  brick 
flue  should  ever  be  built  in  them.  Accordingly, 
I  commenced  corresponding  with  all  the  manu- 
facturers of  heating  apparatus  that  I  could  hear 
of,  and  I  at  last  decided  on  the  one  to  get, 
although  not  the  cheapest,  but  the  dearest  one 
that  I  had  offered  to  me,  and  that  was  '^Hitch- 
ings  "  No.  15,  corrugated  boiler,  with  220  feet 
3  inch  pipe,  and  I  can  say  with  much  pride  and 
confidence,  that  it  works  to  perfection  I     In  the 


coldest  weather  the  thermometer  does  not  vary 
over  3  or  4  degrees  in  any  part  of  the  house  ;  and 
I  am  using  peat  at  twenty  cents  per  100  lbs.,  and 
it  takes  from  75  to  100  lbs.  per  day  when  the 
thermometer  is  0  to  10  below  zero  outside  to  keep 
the  temperature  at  50  to  55  inside— water  in 
pipes  at  140  to  150  ;  and  I  intend  to  put  another 
greenhouse  up,  60  by  14,  to  be  heated  by  the 
same  boiler,  as  soon  as  I  can  make  it  pay  to  do 
so.  I  have  burned  some  coal  this  winter,  but 
find  that  it  makes  too  strong  a  heat  with  the  ap- 
paratus that  I  now  have.  My  greatest  difficul- 
ty is  to  keep  the  fire  small  enough,  and  to  keep 
it  burning  the  longest,  and  I  find  that  peat  comes 
the  nearest  to  what  I  want  until  1  have  more 
house  or  room  to  heat. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  think  it  depends  altogether 
on  the  way  the  pipes  are  laid  or  arranged  in 
heating  greenhouses,  when  they  are  less  than 
100  feet  in  length.  I  am  positive  that  one,  or 
even  two  houses  of  50  feet  can  be  heated  more 
economical  and  better  by  hot  water  than  by  flue, 
if  the  hot  water  apparatus  is  of  the  right  kind 
and  properly  arranged  and  set  up. 

I  will  send  you  a  diagram  of  my  boiler  and 
pipes  if  you  wish  it,  and  would  say  that  I  would 
like  to  hear  from  some  more  experienced  green- 
house man  upon  this  subject,  as  I  intend  to 
make  some  alterations  in  my  house,  and  perhaps 
build  more  in  addition  to  what  I  now  have,  and 
am  anxious  to  get  all  the  information  I  can. 

We  have  had  seven  days  here  that  the  ther- 
mometer was  below  zero,  and  went  as  low  as  34, 
and  my  greenhouse  has  not  been  below  48  F. 
this  winter,  and  shall  consider  my  heating  appa- 
ratus all  right  until  we  get  colder  weather. 

[Send  plans  and  the  cost.— Ed.] 


CIll(;ULATION   OF  HOT   WATER.     AS- 
CENDING vs.  THE  DESCENDING 
PRINCIPLE 

BY  oil  AS.  F.  HITCHINGS,  NEW  YORK. 

In  the  Gardener^s  3Iontlily  for  January,  page 
14,  reference  is  again  made  to  the  principle  of 
laying  the  line  of  heating  pipes  in  a  greenhouse, 
on  a  constant  descent  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest  parts  of  the  boiler,  so  that  the  pipes  and 
boiler  form  a  triangle,  with  the  boiler  one  side 
of  the  triangle,  as  decribed  in  the  September 
number  of  the  MontJihj.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
most  rapid  circulation  of  water  is  secured  when 
the  pipes  arc  laid  on  this  descending  principle, 
and  consequently  the  most  eflicient  apparatus. 

Unquestionably  water  will  circulate  through 
pipes  so  laid,  but  not  with  the  same  rapidity  or 


eflaciency  as  it  does  when  the  boiler  is  placed  be- 
low the  line  of  heating  pipes  in  the  usual  man- 
ner ;  nor  does  the  descending  plan  offer  the  same 
advantages  in  locating  the  pipes  within  the 
house,  nor  the  same  facilities  in  laying  pipes  to 
convey  heat  from  the  same  boiler  to  several 
houses,  or  several  divisions  of  the  same  house, 
without  obstructing  the  paths  and  doorways. 

The  circulation  of  water  is  due  to  the  differ- 
ence in  the  density  of  two  columns  of  water,  the 
one  of  water  expanded  by  heat  and  contained 
within  the  boiler  and  the  ascending  flow  pipe, 
the  other  the  column  of  water  within  the  de- 
scending return  pipe,  which  is  at  a  lower  tem- 
perature and  consequently  more  dense  ;  and  the 
rapidity  of  the  circulation  increases  with  the  in- 
creased height  and  greater  difference  in  the  tem- 
perature of  these  two  columns  of  water.  This 
being  the  case,  it  follows  that  the  height  of  the 
ascending  and  descending  columns  of  water  is 
of  the  first  importance.  To  secure  this,  the 
boiler  is  placed  below  the  level  of  the  house 
which  it  is  intended  to  warm,  and  the  flow  and 
return  pipes  carried  upward  from  the  boiler  to 
connect  with  the  Jieating  pipes  within  the  house, 
then  from  the  point  of  connection  with  the  ver- 
tical pipes  from  the  boiler ;  the  heating  pipes, 
both  flow  and  return,  should  bo  carried  round 
the  house,  both  on  the  same  grade,  either  level 
or  with  an  ascent  as  they  leave  the  boiler,  as 
may  best  suit  the  levels  of  the  house.  Any  as- 
cent to  the  line  of  heating  pipes  increases  the 
force  of  the  circulation. 

By  the  arrangement  described,  we  have  the 
full  eflect  of  the  height  of  the  column  of  water 
within  the  boiler  and  ascending  flow  pipe,  at 
the  highest  temperature  and  most  expanded 
state  produced  by  the  fire,  opposing  a  column  of 
cooler  water  of  similar  height  within  the  de- 
scending return  pipe,— water  that  has  made  the 
entire  circuit  of  the  heating  pipes  and  has  been 
reduced  in  temperature  equal  to  the  amount  of 
heat  imparted  to  the  atmosphere  through  which 
the  pipes  have  passed,  and  consequently  has  at- 
tained the  lowest  temperature  and  greatest 
density  when  it  enters  the  descending  pipe  to 
add  force  to  the  current.  Nor  do  the  advantages 
stop  here  ;  when  the  boiler  is  set  below  the  level 
of  the  house  which  is  to  be  warmed,  the  main 
pipes  leading  from  the  boiler  may  be  readily  car- 
ried below  the  level  of  the  doorways  and  paths 
with  branch  pipes  rising  at  suitable  points  in 
the  house  or  in  several  houses  near  or  adjoining, 
and  there  connect  with  the  several  lines  of  heat- 


78 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJ^'TELY, 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOXTHLY. 


79 


.nil 


ing  pipes,  and  the  water  will  circulate  through 
all  with  promptness  and  certainty.  It  also  ad- 
mits of  placinpf  the  heating  pipes  under  the  side 
benches  and  near  the  floor,  where  the  heat  radi- 
ated from  them  is  most  effective  in  warming  the 
house. 

Thus  far  I  have  endeavored  to  explain  the  ad- 
vantages of  elevating  the  heating  pipes  above 
the  boiler,  and  the  necessity  of  making  a  quick 
descent  in  the  return  from  these  pipes  to  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler. 

Now  if  we  turn  our  attention  to  tho  descend- 
ing plan,  we  find  that  the  conditions  necessary 
to  produce  the  quickest  circulation  are  not  so 
fully  carried  out.  The  height  of  the  opposing 
columns  of  water  is  limited  to  the  distance  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  pipes  at  the  boiler, 
this  in  practice  cannot  exceed  two,  or  at  most 
three  feet,  without  placing  the  upper  pipe  at  an 
inconvenient  distance  from  the  floor,  and  where 
the  heat  from  it  would  be  less  effective  in  heat- 
ing the  house.  Then  when  the  line  of  pipes  is 
laid  with  a  gradual  descent  from  the  top  to  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler,  the  force  exerted  by  the  de- 
scending column  ©f  water  is  but  little  more  than 
one-half  of  that  which  is  properly  due  to  the 
height  of  the  column  and  the  difference  in  tem- 
perature of  the  two  ends  of  the  pipe,  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  water  is  reduced  in  heat  and  in- 
creased in  density  gradually  as  it  descends  from 
the  high  point  through  the  line  of  pipes,  and 
when  it  has  reached  the  end  of  the  line  and  at- 
tained the  lowest  temperature  and  greatest 
density,  it  has  already  reached  the  lowest  point 
in  the  descent  and  ceases  to  exert  force,  so  that 
instead  of  the  eff*ective  force  due  to  the  height  of 
the  columns  of  water  at  the  extremes  of  tem- 
perature, we  have  only  the  force  due  to  the  aver- 
age temperature  of  the  whole  line  of  pipe. 

Even  should  we  set  aside  the  fact  of  the  di- 
minished force  of  the  circulation,  there  still  re- 
mains the  objections  and  difficulties  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  pipes  to  avoid  obstructing  the 
doorways  and  paths.  It  would  be  impractica- 
ble to  follow  this  plan  and  carry  the  heating 
pipes  into  several  detached  or  adjoining  houses, 
or  to  regulate  or  stop  off  the  heat  from  the  pipes 
in  several  divisions  of  the  same  house  (as  is  fre- 
quently done  when  pipes  are  laid  in  the  usual 
manner)  without  interfering  with  the  doorways 
and  paths,  and  without  waste  of  material  and 
heat. 

To  my  mind,  there  is  not  a  single  advantage 


attending  this  plan,  except  perhaps  the  saving 
i  in  the  depth  of  the  boiler  pit  ;  even  in  that  re- 
!  spect  the  advantage  is  doubtful,  as  there  is  an- 
I  other  and  in  some  respects  a  better  way  of  ac- 
complishing that  object  when  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  do  so. 


FORCING  BY  NATURAL  HEAT. 

BY  JAMES  WEED,  MUSCATINE,  IOWA. 

A  writer  in  the  Scientific  American,  of  Novem- 
ber 23d,  upon  ''  Scientific  and  Mechanical  Pos- 
sibilities," says  : 

"Heat  increases  about  one  degree  to  every 
fifty  feet  that  we  penetrate  the  earth  ;  shafts  are 
now  sometimes  sunk  to  a  depth  of  2,000  feet.  It 
is  not  within  the  possibility  of  mechanism  to 
bore  4,000  feet  more.  At  that  depth  we  should 
find  a  heat  of  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  de- 
grees, and  in  many  places  even  greater  than  this. 
Mechanical  power  could  be  obtained  from  the 
steam  and  water  forced  up  from  this  depth. 
Heated  water  and  steam  from  these  wells  could 
be  carried  into  our  houses  and  warm  our  dwell- 
ings to  a  summer  temperature.  Conducted  in 
pipes  under  the  soil  protected  by  glass,  we  could 
cheaply  grow  in  New  England,  all  of  the  South- 
ern and  tropical  plants  and  vegetables.  The 
snow  could  be  kept  melted  frem  the  streets  of 
New  York,  and  all  of  the  buildings  warmed  from 
this  spontaneous  flow ;  useful  also  for  cooking 
and  other  purposes. 

The  Garden  of  Plants  in  Paris  is  heated  by 
water  from  an  artesian  well  1800  feet  deep, 
which  has  a  temperature  of  82°  Fah.,  and  is 
carried  in  pipes  under  the  soil.  A  salad  garden 
at  Erfurt,  in  Saxony,  is  heated  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  is  said  to  have  yielded  ^60,000  a  year  to 
the  proprietor." 

That  the  cost  of  artesian  wells  is  not  too  great 
to  grow  tropical  plants  in  New  England  cheaply 
by  heat  thus  obtained,  is  not  shown.  Whether 
the  internal  heat  of  the  earth  cannot  be  made 
available  for  winter  forcing,  is  a  question  worthy 
of  careful  consideration. 

In  this  locality  a  uniform  temperature  of  52'* 
is  found  at  a  depth  of  not  more  than  twenty 
feet,  and  probably  it  would  be  about  the  same  in 
the  latitude  of  42*"  from  this  to  New  England. 

It  would  seem  to  be  among  ''scientific  and 
mechanical  possibilities »'  to   utilize  this  proxi- 


mate internal  heat,  in  securing  to  plant  structures 
a  proper  night  temperature,  which  need  not  be 
above  45^  for  greenhouses— the  sun,  in  bright 
days,  giving  a  day  temperature  of  sixty  to  eighty 
degrees.  This,  cheaply  accomplished,  will  it  not 
inaugurate  a  new  era  in  winter  gardening  ? 


«♦••» 


SMALL  GREENHOUSE. 

BY  W.  C.  STRIPE,  KEOKUK,  IOWA. 

Agreeable  to  promise  I  herewith  hand  you 
apian  and  estimate  of  my  greenhouse  recently 
erected.  It  answers  my  fullest  expectation,  and 
I  am  entirely  satisfied  with  the  operation  of  the 
boiler,  which  I  procured  from  Mr.  Ellis  of  New 
York.    It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  the 


erection  of  a  greenhouse  entails  a  great  expense  ;. 
mine  cost  as  follows  : 

Brick  work,  $103 

Carpenter  work,  145 

Boiler,  60 

Pipes,  55 

Incidentals,  50 

Glass,         •  42 


S455 


Total, 

I  would  not  be  without  it  for  thrice  the  cost. 
The  furnace  is  charged  at  6  P.  M.,  and  every- 
thing is  warm  and  comfortable  next  morning. 

The  house  is  35x15  feet  in  the  clear  (inside). 
The  potting  table  is  under  the  stage,  the  flue 
running  around  one  end,  and  the  front,  and 
doubling  on  itself.  It  will  work  admirably  and 
to  my  entire  satisfaction. 


Z/frr 


80 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJfTRLY. 


SI 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

FOREIGN. 

37ie  Chrysanthemum.  This  beautiful  fall  bloom- 
ing plant  maintains  a  high  popularity  in  En- 
gland. As  a  guide  to  some  of  the  best  varieties 
still  grown  in  England,  we  copy  the  following 
from  an  article  in  Shirley  Hibberd's  Magazine: 

*'  Not  only  are  all  the  new  and  most  popular  kinds 
represented,  but  old  floweis  which  were  at  one  time 
held  in  high  estiniatiou,  but  are  now  nearly  forgot- 
ten, had  a  i)lace  allotted  them.  Here  was  Etoile 
Polaire,  an  incurved  flower  of  the  deepest  yellow, 
which  is  but  little  known,  although  one  of  the  best 
in  its  Color.  Then  there  are  also  examples  of  Beau- 
te  du  Nord,  rich  violet  carmine,  a  glorious  shade  of 
color;  Madam  Poggi,  brownish  crimson,  wonder- 
fully effective  ;  Prince  Albert,  another  flower  of  the 
richest  shade  of  crimson  ;  Progne,  Amaranth,  Tri- 
omphe  du  Nord,  reddish  chestnut  and  wonderfully 
deep  crimson,  very  large  and  showy.  Of  those 
which  are  well  known,  Guernsey  Nugget  was  rep- 
resented by  plants  bearing  flowers  six  inches  in 
diameter;  Miss  Isabella  Bott,  with  flowers  propor- 
tionately large,  as  also  were  General  Bainbrigge, 
Golden  Trilby,  which  I  sent  out  many  years  ago, 
and  which  well  holds  its  own  against  new  coiners; 
Miss  Marcheaux,  Mrs.  G.  Ruudle,  which  should  be 
grown  in  every  conservatory  in  the  country  for  its 
fine  habit,  freedom  of  flowerinir,  and  the  purity  of 
its  flowers;  White  Globe,  Miss  Mary  Morgan, 
Prince  of  Wales,  Lord  Derby,  Prince  Alfred,  Venus, 
and  others  too  numerous  to  mention." 

How    to   get  Pyramidal   Grown  Plum   Trees, 

Scott's  Orchardist  says  : 


under  which  he  can  grow  other  crops,  notwithstand- 
ing what  may  have  been  said  against  his  practice  or 
his  want  of  knowledge  as  a  fruit  tree  cultivator." 

The  Andcharis  alsinastrum.  It  seems  to  be 
the  fashion  of  travelers  to  put  on  airs  and  to  cut 
up  generally  when  they  get  away  from  home, 
and  plants  seem  to  do  much  the  same.  A  water 
weed,  with  the  above  long  botanical  name,  does 
not  interfere  much  with  our  disposition  of  Amer- 
ican waters ;  but  it  found  itself  in  England,  and 
there  grew  to  such  an  enormous  extent  as  to  ob- 
struct navigation  in  some  of  the  rivers.  Swans 
were  introduced  to  keep  down  the  weed,  but  it 
appears  the  people  are  now  crying  out  to  be 
saved  from  their  saviour  : 

*'At  a  meeting  of  the  Thames  Angling  Associa- 
tion held  recently,  a  resolution  was  passed  request- 
ing the  chairman  (Mr.  li.  J.  Gilman)  and  the  ofla- 
cers  of  the  association  to  form  themselves  into  a 
sub  committee,  with  a  view  to  prevail  upon  the 
authorities  to  reduce  the  number  of  swans  on  the 
Thames,  which  belong  partly  to  her  Majesty,  the 
Queen,  and  partly  to  two  City  Companies.  A  letter 
was  addressed  to  the  Lord  Chamberlain  by  the 
committee,  from  which  we  take  the  following  ex- 
tract: '  Tiiese  birds,  as  is  well  known  to  all  who 
frequent  the  river,  are  very  destructive  of  the  fish- 
spawn.  We  do  not  desiie  their  entire  removal,  but 
only  the  reduction  of  their  number.  We  would  also 
respectfully  suggest  that  while  in  their  excessive 
number  mischievous  here,  a  portion  of  them  would 
be  useful  and  ornamental  in  other  public  waters.' 
To  this  letter  an  answer  was  received  by  Mr.  With- 
ered, M.  P.,  from  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  ottice,  to 


"  I  have  found  that  Plums  are  more  difticnlt  to 
manage  as  pyramids  than  any  other  kind  of  fruit  i  the  eflect  that  there  had  been  no  increase  of  late  in 
tree.    To  overcome  their  seeming  obstinacy,  I  found    the  number  of  her  Majesty's  swaus,  and  that  his 
that  by  leaving  them  upon  short  stems,  eighteen    lordship  had  no  control  over  those  belonging  to  the 
inches  to  two  feet,  and   regularly  taking  them  up 
without  cutting  either  the  roots  or  l)ranches  much, 
replanting  them  on  a  hardened  surface,  merely  cov- 
ering the  roots   a  few   inches  deep,  they  were  as 
manageable  as  the  others," 

Soil  for  the  Paradise  Apple  Stocks.  Scott  says 
in  his  Orchardist.^  that  the  Paradise  stock  is  ad- 
mirably suited  to  wet  soils,  where  the  common 
stock  will  not  do  well  Of  these  dwarf  apples 
he  says : 

"  Dwarf  bushes,  on  my  Pommier  de  Paradis 
stocks  are  useful  in  small  gardens,  where  space  can- 
not be  spared  for  large  trees,  and  are  easily  managed 
by  thinuing  the  branehes  and  keeping  them  short 
by  pruning  in  winter,  or  by  pinching  them  in  once, 
in  summer,  taking  care  not  to  pinch  too  close,  as 
then  they  will  be  a  mass  of  un ripened  young  wood 
unfit  to  bear  fruit ;  however,  when  a  tree  begins  to 
get  loo  gross,  or  to  grow  too  much,  take  it  up  and 
replant.  This  is  an  easy  matter  with  trees  ui)on  the 
above  stock,  as  all  the  roots  are  near  the  surface, 
and  like  the  Quince,  form  masses  of  fibre  by  being 
occasionally  lifted.     Api)le  culture,  as  pyramids  or 


City  Companies.  His  lordship  had  given  directions 
that  a  gradual  reduction  should  be  made  in  the 
swans  belonging  to  the  Queen  ;  but  he  would  ob- 
serve that  when  some  few  years  ago,  upon  a  similar 
complaint  from  the  Thames  Angling  Preservation 
Society,  a  considerable  reduction  was  made  in  their 
number,  the  weeds  in  the  river  increased  so  rapidly 
that  on  the  representation  of  many  persons  connec- 
ted with  the  river,  anglers  amongst  others,  it  was 
thought  that  the  number  of  swans  should  not  be 
greatly  diminished.  Mr.  T.  O.  Wethered,  M.  P., 
has  written  to  thank  the  Lord  Chamberlain  for  his 
answer,  observing  that  whilst  recognizing  the  use  of 
the  swaus  in  checking  the  giowth  of  weeds,  he  re- 
si)ectf'ully  submits  that  the  present  nu.nber  of  birds 
is  excessive,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mar- 
low.  On  the  last  occasion  of  the  swans  being  num- 
bered, there  were  372  grown  birds  aud  145  cygnets. 
-Mr.  Wethered  concluded  by  requesting  an  interview 
with  the  Lord  Chamberlain." 

J{»se  Stocks  for  Grafting  On.    The  Gardener^ s 

Magazint    is  not    satisfied   that  they  have  yet 

found  the  best  stock.     It  thinks  the  choice  will 

lie  between  the  Dog   Hose,  and  the  Itatian,  as 

lish  friends 

We  8U8- 

endsbest  served  by  growing  tolerably  large  trees,  '  pect  it  will  be  found  in  this  that  America  will 


dwarf  bushes,  is  very  interesting,  and  to  amateiu's    ^XiQW  call  the  Manetti.     Let  our  Englif 

will  be  a  source  of  pleasure  and  amusement,  but  II,  n     •  •     •>  i 

opine  that  the  commercial  cultivator  will  find  his  ,  ^^'^^  ^"^'  ^^'^^''^^^  ^^'^«^'  ^.'^^  '^^P^^'^  ^>^^  ^^• 


distance  both  England  and  Italy.     The  subject 
is  becoming  quite  an  exciting  one  in  Europe. 

Lilium  Washingtonianum.  This  lily,  not 
many  years  ago  named  and  described  by  Prof. 
Alphonso  Wood,  is  becoming  rapidly  popular  in 
Europe.  Large  consignments  of  bulbs  from 
California  are  being  sold  at  hii^h  prices  in  En- 
gland. 

A  Great  Walker.  We  find  the  following  para- 
graph in  an  Encrlish  paper.  The  person  refer- 
red to  was  an  em  ilovee  of  the  father  of  the  wri- 
ter. As  he  has  trained  one  to  walk  so  much 
and  a  son  to  wiite,  some  ingenious  calculator 
might  as  well  see  how  many  times  round  the 
world  the  editor's  printed  lines  would  reach  : 

"According  to  a  local  contemporary,  some  man 
of  figures  has  taken  the  trouble  to  compute  the  ex- 
traordinary distance  walked  by  Mr.  W'lliam  Wheel- 
er, a  gardener  of  Brading,  who  lias  worked  at  West- 
ridL'^e,  Ryde,  for  a  period  of  fifty-one  years,  three 
months  and  seven  days,  and  has  during  the  present 
month  left  his  employment.  The  distance  from  his 
home  to  Westridge  is  six  miles,  and  for  the  period 
above  mentioned  he  has  walked  there  and  back 
daily  (with  the  exception  of  two  daj''s  holiday  year- 
ly and  one  month's  absence  through  sickness.) 
ThiK  gives  a  total  of  92,G40  miles.  Taking  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  globe  at  25,020  miles,  it  would 
appear  that  he  has  walked  a  distance  of  four  limes 
the  circumference  of  the  globe  (except  4,44'»  miles) 
in  Lining  to  and  from  his  work.  But  if  only  one 
mile  a  day  is  allowed  for  walking  about  the  garden, 
&c.,  then  his  pedestrian  feat  would  be  increased  by 
15,028  miles,  making  a  total  of  108,568,  or  four  times 
the  earth's  circumference,  with  11,488  miles  to  i 
spare." 

Extraordinary  Growth  of  Grape  Vines.  Some 
of  the  French  newspapers  are  analyzing  General 
Pleasonton's  figures  in  his  blue  glass  pamphlet. 
A  Monsieur  De  Jeune  says  that  in  five  months 
from  the  time  of  planting,  the  vines  had  grown 
forty-five  feet,  which  supposing  they  did  not 
start  in  a  very  rapid  growth  for  soqie  weeks 
after  planting  would  make  a  daily  growth  of 


between   four  and  five   inches.     He  says  there 
were  thirty  vines,  each  with  forty-five  feet  of 
wood,  which  bore  fruit  the  following  year,  and 
he  says    "on   the  best  authority,"   there   was 
estimated   12,000  lbs.   of  grapes.      This  is   343 
lbs.  to  each  vine.     Supposing  the  odd  five  feet 
was  all  that  these  canes  were  shortened,  leaving 
40  feet  to  bear,  and  that  the  nodes  or  eyes  were 
nine  inches  apart,  and  that  two  bunches  were 
left  from  each  eye,  it  would  give  3^  lbs.  to  each 
bunch  of  grapes.     But  as  it  is  not  likely  he  says 
every  bunch  was  exactly  the  same  weight,  some 
less  than  this,  he  thinks  many  might  have  been 
four  or  five  lbs.     The  next  year  he  says  the  same 
canes  produced  ten  ton— 22,000  lbs.,  this  giving 
an  average  of  six  lbs.  to  each  bunch.     He  says 
he  believes,  therefore,  in  blue  glass,  and  we  think 
he  ought  to 

There  is  no  doubt  but  General  Pleasanton  had 
a  magnificent  crop  of  grapes,  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  so  many  figures  were  merely 
estimated. 

Colors  on  Plant  Life.  M.  P.  Bert,  in  the 
Horticole  Belgique,  has  been  going  over  the  ex- 
periments of  General  Pleasanton,  and  after 
detailing  the  different  degrees  oi' injury  resulting 
from  various  colored  glasses,  concludes  by  say° 
ing: 

'*  Lastly,  all  colors,  taken  alone,  are  detrimental 
to  plant  life ;  tlieir  union  in  the  proportions  consti- 
tutmg  ordinary  or  white  ligiit  is  requisite  to  healthy 
vegetation,  and  it  therefore  behooves  horticulturists 
to  renounce  the  idea  of  employing  colored  glasses 
or  other  colored  materials  for  glasshouses  and 
garden  frames." 

A  recent  writer  on  the  Dead  Sea  Flora  says 
he  saw  'quantities  of  Maiden  llair  flourishinty 
in  a  waterfall  not  more  than  twenty  yards  from 
the  Sea.  »  In  America  he  would  probably  find 
considerably  more  of  Jute  in  the  waterfall  than 
Maiden  Hair,  or  any  other  kind  of  hair. 


E  D  T  T  0  11  I  A  L  . 


NEGLECTED    AMERICAN    TREES    AND 

SHRUBS. 
In  a  letter  before  us.  Dr.  Hooker  of  the  Royal 
Gardens,  Kew,  expresses  his  surprise  that  after 
examining  American  nursery  catalogues,  he 
learns  that  but  few  of  the  many  beautiful  trees 
and  shrubs  of  America  are  systematically  culti- 
vated 1    But  Dr.  Hooker  will  doubtless  be  still 


more  surprised  when  he  learns  why  this  is.  It 
is  not  because  these  beautiful  plants  are  not 
appreciated,  but  because  the  most  of  our  rarer 
kinds  of  nursery  stock  is  imported  from  Europe, 
and  we  are  of  course  unable  to  sell  again  what 
they  have  not  on  hand  to  sell  to  us.  In  regard 
to  these  native  trees  we  have  great  difficulty, 
A  very  large  number  of  American  nurserymen 


8£ 


THE    GdBDEJ^EB'8   MOJVTMLl.         March, 


1873. 


VHR    GARDEJVER'S   MOXTHLY. 


8S 


1 

.aim 


I 
III 


do  not  understand  the  business.  They  will  graft 
fruit  trees- no  country  can  produce  men  who 
can  equal  American  propagators  in  this  line- 
but  when  it  comes  to  seed  raising,  or  propaga- 
ting rare  trees  and  plants  rapidly  and  cheaply, 
they  know  nothing  at  all.  There  are  not  per- 
haps, a  score  of  nursery  firms  in  America  to-day, 
which  could  take  in  hand  a  general  assortment 
of  plants  as  an  European  nursery  would,  and  go 
through  with  their  successful  propagation. 

But  there  is  yet  another  difficulty.     The  price 
of  labor— skilled  labor  is  enormous  ;  and  with  the 
heavy  competition  of  European  stock,  very  few 
American  nurserymen  can  afford  to  pay  for  the 
intelligent  labor  necessary  to  raise  this  stock,  if 
even  they  be  convinced  of  the  value  of  possessing 
it.     It  may  be  objected  that  surely  the  "score 
or  so"  of  intelligent  firms  referred  to  might  be 
exceptions.     They  might  show  some  attention 
to  these  neglected  things.     Still  there  are  diffi 
culties.     First,  there  are  few  chances  of  finding 
any  one  in  the  locations  where   the  neglected 
things  grow,  who  knows  them  and  would  get 
them.     Secondly,  if  they  can  be  had,  it  costs 
enormously  to  get  them,  a*  the  average  Ameri- 
can man  will  not  go  out  of  his  ordinary  track  to 
do  a  job  of  this  kind,  unless  he  can  make  five  or 
ten  fold  his  average  day's  wages.     Perchance  a 
few  individuals  of  a  less  graspiug  kind  are  found, 
but  these  often  go  about  the  work  honestly,  but 
80  clumsily,  that  a  very  large   bill  for  a   very 
small  stock  is  the  result,  and  the  enterprise  is 
disheartening  in  the  extreme. 

One  might  think,  however,  that  having  over- 
come all  these  obstacles,  and  some  desired  rarity 
obtained,  then  it  would  be  easy  for  these  few 
intelligent  firms  to  increase  them  rapidly,  and 
then   get  a  heavy   sale  for  them.     Alas  1  No  1 
The  American  tree  lover  rarely  visits  an  Ameri- 
can nursery.     He  has  no  time  for  this.     He  is 
fond  of  these  rare  things,  and  would  gladly  have 
them.     He  reads  about  them  in  the  books  and 
magazines,   and     wishes    he    could    get    them. 
Though  they  may  probably  be  grown  by   the 
hundreds  in  his  next  door  neighbor's  nursery 
grounds,  he  does  not  know  it.     Catalogues  are 
sent  him,  but  he  has  no  time  to  read  them,  or  if 
he  reads,  no  time  to  make  out  a  list  and  send  for 
them.     So  the  matter  goes,  and  at  last  the  tree 
agent  comes  along  with  his  score  or  two  of  com- 
mon things,  the  order  is  taken,  and  there  is  no 
room  for  more.     It  is  probably  not  far  wrong  to 
say  that  not  one  hundredth  part  of  the  trees  and 
shrubs  sold  in  the  United  States  are  between  the 


nurseryman  and  the  customer  direct ;  and  that 
probably  not  one  in  a  thousand  who  buy  trees  and 
plants  were  ever  in  a  nursery  where  trees  and 
plants  are  raised.  One  may  go  through  some  of 
our  most  popular  nurseries  day  after  day,  or 
week  after  week,  and  rarely  find  a  visitor  inter- 
ested in  the  subject,  unless  it  be  a  peddler,  dealer 
or  nurseryman  on  the  lookout  for  saleable  stock. 
If  people  who  like  these  pretty  things  were  to  go 
to  nurseries,  and  thus  personaUy  encourage  the 
culture  of  them,  they  would  be  raised  ;  but  those 
who  do  the  selling— who  stand  between  the  pro- 
ducer and  purchaser— know  very  little  about  the 
things  they  sell,  and  of  only  a  few  common 
things  at  any  rate,  and  thus  it  is  that  there  is 
hardly  any  encouragement  to  the  enterprising 
nurseryman  to  introduce  and  propagate  the 
rarer  kinds. 

In  the  letter  referred  to.  Dr.  Hooker  kindly 
suggests  that  ''  probably  the  taste  for  these  beau- 
tiful American  trees  and  shrubs  is  not  highly 
developed,''  but  we  think  it  is.     It  is  not  the 
lack  of  appreciation,  but  the  supposed  lack  of 
time  which  keeps  the  nurseryman  and  his  cus- 
tomer forever  apart.     Some  of  our  most  popular 
trees  and  shrubs  arc  Americans.     The  Hemlock 
Spruce  and  the  American  Arborvitse  are  univer- 
sally grown  and  planted  by  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands ;  and  the  Balsam  Fir,  and  the  White  Pine 
are  also  very  popular  ;  but  these  would  not  be  in 
the  demand  they  are,  if  they  had  not  got  into  the 
hands  of   dealers  and     pedlars,  who   *'push»' 
them  everywhere.     The  Holly,  the  Sweet  Mag- 
nolia, the  Wood  Azalea,  the  Rhododendron,  the 
numerous     Andromedas,     the    Stuartias     and 
Franklinias,  rare  deciduous  and  evergreen  trees 
and  shrubs,  as  well  as  beautiful  native  plants  in 
great  numbers,  are  well  known  and  appreciated 
by  the  American  people.     But  the  difficulties  we 
have  mentioned,  and  especially  tho  difficulty  of 
<Tettin<r  the  lovers  of  these  things  to  go  to  nurse- 
ries  and  let  the  raisers  know  of  their  regard  for 
these  things,  have  hitherto  been  the  great  bar- 
riers to  their  wide  dissemination. 


«•■•» 


OBITUARY. 

MR.    SAMUEL   FEAST. 

We  have  only  just  learned  that  our  good 
friend  has  passed  away,  and  beyond  the  simple 
fact  h%ve  no  particulars  of  time  or  place.  The 
Feasts  have  been,  we  m.iy  say,  for  several  gen- 
erations intimately  connected  with  horticultural 
Baltimore,  and  in  connection  with  the  Camellia-j 


Prairie  Roses,  and  other  matters,  have  a  world 
wide  reputation. 

He  was  one  of  the  earliest  friends  of  the  Qar- 
dener^s  Monthly,  and  so  continued  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  Last  year  he  sent  us  sixty  sub- 
scribers, and  always  had  a  good  word  for  us  in 
every  way.  It  was  not  our  good  fortune  to  meet 
him  often  enough  to  know  him  intimately,  and 
should  be  glad  if  some  of  his  personal  friends 
would  contribute  a  worthier  sketch  of  his  life 
and  services  to  horticulture. 


LUTHER   TUCKER. 

After  the  Gardener^s  Monthly  went  to  press 
last  month,  came  the  news  of  the  death  of  this 
distinguished  man.  We  do  not  refer  to  it  now 
as  a  mere  matter  of  news,  but  we  cannot  let  the 
occasion  pass  by  without  reminding  our  readers 
how  much  horticulture  as  well  as  agriculture  is 
indebted  to  the  good  friend  who  has  passed 
away. 

The  several  notices  which  have  appeared  of 
him  tell  what  he  has  done  for  agriculture,  and 
truly  this  has  been  much.  He  was  the  father, 
or  at  least  one  of  the  early  fathers  of  our  present 
high  grade  of  agricultural  literature  ;  but  even 
this  to  our  mind  is  not  so  great  a  subject  for 
gratitude  as  that  he  left  us  the  Country  Gentle- 
man, which,  as  we  have  freely  stated  on  several 
occasions,  is  equal  if  not  superior  in  ability  to 
any  similar  journal  published  in  the  old  world. 
It  is  one  of  those  distinctively  American  insti- 
tutions of  which  all  of  us  have  long  been  proud. 
But  we  are  not  sure  but  we  owe  him  as  much  as 
the  agricultural  folks  do.  He  was  the  original 
publisher  of  the  Horticulturist,  under  the  editor- 
ship of  A.  .T  Downing  Whether  he  was  the 
instigator  of  this  publication,  or  whether  the 
idea  and  plan  were  altogether  Downing's,  we 
never  knew  ;  but  their  nameswent  together  with 
the  publication,  and  ceased  together  with  Down- 
ing's death.  Hovey's  Magazine  had  done  much 
to  elevate  American  gardening  ;  but  with  Down- 
ing and  Tucker's  Horticulturist,  a  seemingly 
new  class  of  enthusiastic  friends  of  the  cause 
came  into  being  ;  and  we  all  know  that  it  is  one 
of  the  most  marked  eras  in  American  garden 
history. 

But  his  interest  in  American  gardening  did 
not  pass  away  with  his  ownership  of  the  Horti- 
mltuHst.  The  Country  GentUman  has  been  of 
marked  service  to  it.  In  those  branches  of  gar- 
dening in  which  almost  every  farmer  may  inter- 
est himself,  the  paper  has  always  borne  a  high 


character.     At  his  death,  Mr.  Tucker  was  seven- 
ty-one years  of  age. 

J.  S.    DOWNER. 

Just  as  we  go  to  press  we  learn,  with  regret,  of 
the  death  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Downer, of  Fairview,  Ken- 
'  tucky,  which  occurred  on  the  10th  of  February. 

So  soon  following  another  of  Kentucky's  ener- 
getic horticulturists,  Mr.  Laurence  Young,  his 
loss  will  be  the  more  keenly  felt.  For°forty 
years  Mr.  Downer  has  occupied  a  very  promi- 
nent position,  and  many  of  our  best  fruits  owe 
their  origin  to  him.  His  experiments  in  the 
cherry  resulted  in  some  first  class  varieties,  some 
of  which  are  yet  indispensable  to  a  complete 
list.  Of  late  years  he  has  been  prominent  in  the 
improvement  of  the  strawberry,  Downer's  Pro- 
lific, though  now  an  old  sort,  is  yet  one  of  the 
best ;  and  Charles  Downing  and  Kentucky  Late 
grow  in  public  estimation. 

Mr.  Downer  was  the  type  of  honor,  and  in 
his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men,  always  com- 
manded their  esteem  and  highest  regard. 
Painstaking  in  all  he  undertook,  his  seedlings 
when  offered  to  the  public  were  taken  hold  of 
without  any  hesitation,  the  public  feeling  satis- 
fied that  the  name  of  Downer  was  a  sufficient 
guarantee  of  excellence  of  character.  His  opin- 
ions in  the  American  Pomological  Society 
always  carried  weight,  through  the  great  confi- 
dence all  felt  in  his  intelligence  and  honor.  At 
the  last  meeting  at  Richmond,  in  Virginia,  he- 
was  among  the  most  welcome  of  all  the  members 
present ;  and  we  well  know  that  this  announce- 
ment of  his  death  will  be  received  with  sorrow 
by  his  late  associates  there  especially,  as  well  a* 
by  the  whole  horticultural  public.  Mr.  Downer 
was  64  years  of  age. 


■-*♦ 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC. 

The  Commissioner  of  Agriculture.  There  ha» 
been  of  late  a  species  of  attack  on  Commissioner 
Watts,  with  which  we  do  not  sympathize.  That 
he  makes  mistakes  is  certain.  His  ignominious 
dismissal  of  Dr.  Parry,  as  we  said  at  the  time 
was  one  of  these.  His  criticism  of  Dr.  Parry's^ 
language,  also  has  provoked  a  fair  retort  by  the 
'*want  of  perspicuity"  in  his  own.  In  this 
respect  his  reports  are  by  no  means  good  models 
of  the  English  language.  There  are  also  many 
other  matters  which,  if  one  were  disposed  to  be 


8Jf 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY.  March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


85 


critical,  ceuld  very  readily  be  turned  against 
this  officer,  some  of  which  from  time  to  time,  it 
seemed  but  our  duty,  in  connection  with  some 
subject  discussed,  to  freely  state.  But  of  late 
the  opposition  to  the  Judge  has  taken  a  very 
puerile  turn,  and  we  feel  as  much  disposed  to 
protest  against  this  as  to  criticize  real  defects. 
It  is  charged  that  his  sons  are  appointed  to 
clerkships  ;  but  if  they  are  respectable,  educated 
men,  and  fit  for  the  position,  why  not  they  as 
well  as  any  others  ?  And  then  he  "  distributes 
seeds  "  That  this  is  a  waste  in  many  respects 
we  believe,  and  have  freely  stated  ;  but  he  did 
not  inaugurate  this,  and  if  he  were  out  to-mor- 
row, we  suspect  his  successor  would  have  to  dis- 
tribute seeds  all  the  same.  But  perhaps  the 
silliest  attack  was  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, when  Mr.  Farnsworth  supposed  the  Com- 
missioner cooked  the  seeds  of  the  department  for 
his  own  family  table  I  It  was  not  bad  when 
another  member  responded  that  a  former  Com- 
missioner had  occasionally  "  made  butter  for 
the  Presidential  table ''—and  indeed  the  whole 
matter  reminds  one  of  the  attacks  made  on  the 
former  Commissioners,  Newton  and  Capron. 

But  Mr.  Cox  furnished  the  climax      He  does 
not  like  Latin  names  for  bugs  and  plants— and 
the  Commissioner  has  been  guilty  of  the  great 
enormity  of  using  these  in  his  annual  reports  I 
After  taking  some  trouble  to  select  and   pro- 
nounce a  few  of  what  seemed  to  be  hard  names, 
Mr.  Cox  said  in  triumph,  "now  these  reports 
have  been  published  at  great  expense,  and  this 
information,  sir,  is  of  course,  intended  for  the 
common  people.'^     But  why  blam(3  Mr.  Watts 
for  Latin  names  ?    He  does   not    make    them. 
And  if  plants  have  no  other,  what  is  he  to  do  V 
To  be  sure  some  things  have  common  names 
and  it  is  possible  some  Commissioner  may  be 
found  who  will  in  such  cases  use  these  names. 
Tlieu  we  may  read  in  a  Government  report  that 
"about  this  time  the  'Skunk  Pot '  comes  into 
flower,   to  be  succeeded   by  '  Robin-run-in-the- 
hedge,  followed  by  the  '  Ued-hot  Poker.'    Child- 
ren may  find  in  shady  places  the  '  Preacher  in 
the  Pulpit,'  when  it  will  be  time  to  sow  in  good 
garden  soil  the  '  Devil  in  the  bush.'    Those  who 
have  hanginjj  baskets  may  put  in  the  middle  a 
*  Beef  steak  plant,'  and  around  this  set  in  a  few 
sprigs  of  '  Aaron's  beard,'  and  to  hang  over  the 
edges  a  few  plants  of  the  '  Wandering  Jew,'  and 
see  that  '  Forget-me-not '  be  not  forgotten.     A 
few  pieces  of  'Blow-mc-up  '  will  give  elegance  to 
the  whole,  and  if  in  early  spring  a  '  Datty  down 


dilly  '  can  be  contrasted  with  the  '  Hoop  petti- 
coat,' it  will  have  a  cheering  effect." 

The  common  people  forsooth  1  We  are  tired 
of  such  stuflf  I  Judge  Watts  is  not  a  paragon  ; 
but  judging  by  the  past  Commissioners,  he  is 
much  about  "as  good  as  they  make  them,''  and 
as  good  as  they  are  likely  to  be  made  at  $3000 
a  year,  unless  some  one  can  befound  who  expects 
to  make  the  office  subservient  to  some  ulterior 
purpose. 

Qtrmantjown  Horticultural  Society.— It  is  not 
perhaps  generally  known  that  Germantown  has 
for  the  past  twenty  years  been  a  part  of  Phila- 
delphia, though  originally  it  was  a  borough  of 
some  six  miles  away.     It  is  an  older  place  than 
old  Philadelphia,  having  been  settled  by  Swedes 
and  Germans  before  the  Philadelphia    colony 
was  formed  under  Penn.     Being  on  high  land, 
and  some  two  or  three  feet  above  the  Delaware 
River,    and    with    the   charming    Wissahickon 
scenery  forming  a  part  of  it,  it  has  always  been 
a  po]mlar  place  of  resort  for  wealthy  Philadel- 
phians,    as    well    as    carrying    on    distinctive 
branches    of  business  of  its  own.     Whatever 
gardens  old   Philadelphia  may  have  had   they 
have  now  mostly  disappeared.'  Pratt's,  Camac's, 
Longstreth's,  McArran's,  Landreth's  and  others 
have  long  since  gone  "into  brick  and  mortar  ;" 
while  McMahon's   and  some  more  have  little 
more  than  some  of  the  old  buildings,  or  here  and 
there  a  rare  tree  which  happened  to  come  into  a 
street  line  to  mark  the  spots  so  once  celebrated. 
Indeed  Germantown  alone  has  managed  to  re- 
tain anything  of  much  moment  of  the  ancient 
garden    character    of    Philadelphia.       It    was 
thought  a  great  credit  to  Germantown  that  Mr. 
Robinson,  the  talented  English  Garden  author, 
should  say  of  it,  that  it  was  the  only  place  in  all 
his  American  travels,  that  reminded  him  of  the 
careful  cultivated  gardening  of  his  own  country. 
Most  of  Philadelphia's  leading  botanists  of  the 
past  age  either  resided  in  Germantown  or  spent 
most  of  their  time   there.     Nuttall,   McClure, 
Collins,  Haines  and  others  known  in  scientific 
history,  have  all  left  the  impress  of  their  hands 
on  the  old  place.     For  a  little  while  German- 
town  rested  under  a  cloud, — but  with  the  pass- 
ing of  its  railroad— the  first  in  the  United  States 
— into  the  hands  the  Reading  Railroad,  and  the 
consequent  increased  accommodations  and  care 
for  the  comfort  of  passengers,   the  grand   old 
place  has  again  revived,  and  is  prospering  in 
every  line. 

It  is  only  meet  th  It  horticulluro  should  pro- 


gress with  the  rest,  and  the  new  Horticultural 

Society  will  assuredly  become  one  of  its  leading 

institutions. 
From  the  considerations  given,  the  address  of 

Mr.  J.  Jay  Smith  will  possess  more  than  a  local 

interest, — and  we  have,  therefore,  made  full  notes 

of  it  for  our  readers  in  another  column. 

Capabilities  of  Kansas  and  Colorado. — Every 
once  in  a  while  we  meet  with  people  east  who 
have  somehow  imbibed  the  notion  that  these  far 
away  countries  are  very  poor  places,  that  it 
hardly  ever  rains,  and  that  trees  "  can't  be  made 
to  grow  there."  We  never  believed  so  much  as 
this,— but  still  it  was  a  surprise  to  find  on  our 
first  view  of  Kansas  and  Colorado  that  the 
popular  view  was  so  very  far  away  from  the 
truth.  There  is  not  a  richer  soil  in  the  world, 
it  does  rain  in  most  part  of  it,  and  where  it  does 
not  rain,  irrigation  is  a  cheap  and  effective  sub- 
stitute,—and  as  for  trees  not  growing,  they  will 
do  as  well  as  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

Col.  Dickinson  recently  took  occasion  to  cor- 
rect some  of   the   misapprehensions  regarding 
these  States,  in  some  rcMnarks  before  the  New  | 
York  Farmer's  Club,  which  in  the  main  we  can 
confirm  from  our  own  experience.     He  says  : 

"It  is  at  all  times,  sir,  a  pleasure  to  correct  a  mis- 
statement, and  imrticularly  so  when  that  correction 
makes  our  position  stronger  in  asserting  that  the 
soil  and  climate  of  Kansas  are  as  well  adapted  as 
any,  and  better  tlian  that  of  many  of  the  States,  for 
the  production  of  all  kinds  of  cereals,  fruits,  and 
vegetables.  I  would  further  say,  Mr.  Chairman, 
that  there  are  some  men  who  will  never  do  well 
anywhere  ;  if  you  would  place  them  in  Mahomet's 
seventh  heaven,  they  would  want  then  a  place 
where  somebody  would  wink  their  eye-lids  for 
them  They  are  not  willing  to  work,  and  they 
have  looked  to  Kansas  as  a  place  where  they  can 
live  without  any  exertion  ;  they  go  there,  and  find 
It  a  mistake  ;  then  they  complain.  At  the  Soldiers' 
Convention  in  Philadelphia  a  few  nights  since,  there 
was  just  such  a  man,  and  his  voice  was  louder  and 
his  words  were  plentier  than  the  best  men  there. 
He  denounced  Kansas  as  a  place  where  a  man  could 
not  make  a  living.  But  when  he  sat  down  some 
one  got  up  and  said  that  no  wonder  he  found  fault 
With  Kansas,  for  he  had  been  trying  for  forty  years 
to  live  in  Philadelphia  without  work,  and  was  not 
worth  a  sou-markee  ;  he  tried  Kansas,  and  as  every 
man  there  had  to  "root  hog  or  die,"  he  namf>  hack 
^^/^^i^adelphia,  where  he  could  spong  •  nn  a  few 
soft-hearted  friends.  In  my  opinion,  no  <>\ni  man's 
statement  should  be  taken  as  a  guide  for  any  section 
or  btate.     In   the  multitude  of  counsel  and  with 

good  judgment  to  discriminate,  alone  is  there  wis- 
uom." 

The  lack  of  timber  was  the  only  drawback  to 

Perfection.     But  even  this  is  not  without  some 

advantages.     There  is  no  forest    to  clear,   no 

stumps  in  the  road,— and  as  trees  will  grow 


there  as  well  as  anywhere  when  once  planted, 
all  people  have  to  do  is  to  plant  tliem.  The  leg- 
islature is  encouraging  it.  A  law  of  Kansas 
says : 

"Every  person  planting   one   acre  or  more  of 
prairie  land,  within  ten  years  after  the  passage  of 
this  act,  with  any  kind  of  forest  trees,  and  success- 
fully growing  and  cultivating  the  same  for  three 
years,  or  one-half  mile  or  more  of  forest  trees  along 
any  public  highway,  said  trees  to  be  so  planted  as 
to  stand  at  the  end  of  said  three  years  not  more 
than  one  rod  apart,  shall  he  entitled  to  receive  for 
twenty-five  years,  commencing  three   years  after 
said  grove  or  line  of  trees  has  been  planted,  an  an- 
nual bounty  of  two  dollars  per  acre  for  each  acre  so 
planted,  and  two  dollars  for  one- half  mile  for  each 
mile  so  planted,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of 
the  county  in  which  said  grove  or  line  of  trees  may 
be  situated.     The  hounty  to  be  paid  so  long  as  said 
grove  or  trees  are  cultivated  and  kept  alive,  and 
kept  in  growing  condition.     That  the  County  As- 
sessor shall  not  assess  lands  planted  and  encumber- 
ed with  forest  trees  any  higher  than  the  lands  ad- 
joining on  account  of  the  said  lands  being  so  en- 
cumbered ;  and  that  any  person  planting  an  osage 
or  hawthorn  fence,  or  who  shall  build  of  stone  a 
fence  of  the  height  of  four  and  one-half  feet  around 
any  field,  within  ten  years  after  the  passage  of  this 
act,  and  successfully   growing  and   cultivating  the 
same,  or  keeping  up  the  fence  until  it  successfully 
resists  stock,  shall  leceive  an  annual  bounty  of  $2  for 
every  forty  rods  so  planted  and  cultivated,  or  built  and 
kept  up— the  bounty  to  commence  as  soon  as  said 
fence  will  entirely  lesist  cattle,  and  to  continue  for 
eight  years  thereafter.     Said  bounty  to  be  paid  from 
the  treasury  of  the  county  in  which  said  fence  may 
be  situated." 

American  Pomological  Society. — Col.  Wilder, 
Secretary  Elliott,  and  other  good  workers,  are 
busy  with  the  arrangements  for  the  meeting  of 
the  Society  next  fall,  in  Boston.  We  have  let- 
ters from  these  gentlemen,  Mr.  Saunders  and 
others,  all  seeming  enthusiastic  in  their  efforts 
to  make  this  one  of  the  most  valuable  meetings 
in  the  Society's  history.  The  President,  Col. 
Wilder,  feels  a  personal  pride  in  this  meeting 
near  his  own  home,  and  is  leaving  nothing  un- 
done to  make  everything  pleasant  and  agreeable 
in  every  way. 

Paper  Fruit  and  Berry  Baskets.— We  believe 
the  Gardener^s  Monthly  has  the  credit  of  inau- 
gurating the  movement  which  resulted  in  the 
attempt  to  make  fruit  baskets  so  cheap  that  they 
could  be  given  away,  and  thus  save  much  trou- 
ble in  the  return  of  crates  and  boxes  to  the  fruit 
grower.  Si  ill  the  idea  has  not  been  wholly  a 
success.  Baskets  and  crates  have  still  to  be  re- 
turned in  large  numbers. 

In  a  recent  issue  of  Purdy's  Frm't  Recorder^ 
there  is  an  account  of  a  cheap  paper  basket 
which  can  be  given  away,  and  is  as  good  ia 


I   : 


^! 


I 


;( 


*»'' 


m 


ii^Hl 


III' 


86 


THE    GARDE JfER'S  MOJ^TELY, 


Marchf 


every  way  as  any  woodea  one.     Mr.  P.  says   it 
is  an  entire  success. 

Post-office  BuUngs. — Since  our  last  went  t© 
press,  some  new  concessions  have  been  made  in 
the  Postmaster  General's  interpretations  of  the 
law.  We  pointed  out  that  by  the  rulings  up  to  that 
time  we  could  not  alter  a  figure  in  a  price  list, 
unless  it  were  a  bona-fide  proof  sheet,  without 
subjecting  the  whole  to  letter  postage.  It  is 
now  decided  that  we  may  alter  when  the  print- 
ed figures  are  manifestly  not  what  they  were  in- 
tended to  be ;  but  no  erasures  or  alterations, 
other  than  corrections  are  to  be  allowed.  If, 
therefore,  a  nurseryman  erases  the  name  of  an 
article  of  which  he  may  have  sold  all,  the  re- 
ceiver must  pay  letter  postage  on  the  catalogue. 

Then  it  was  ruled  that  the  numerous  small 
papers  of  seeds  which  seedsmen  and  others  send 
in  boxes,  or  under  one  envelope,  gummed 
or  pasted,  must  pay  letter  postage.  Not  only 
the  one  outside  wrapper,  but  each  little  paper 
beneath  "  must  be  open  at  the  ends.''  This  is 
so  absurd,  that  if  insisted  on,  there  might  as 
well  be  no  seed  law.  Few  people  would  go  to 
the  trouble  of  folding  each  little  package  so  that 
it  ct.'uld  be  open  so  as  to  be  *'  examined  without 
destroying  the  wrapper.''  A  patent  has  recent- 
ly been  taken  out  for  '*  oiled  muslin  transparent 
bags,''  and  curiously  enough  the  department 
rules  simultaneously,  that  *'  transparent  muslin 
bags"  may  be  closed  at  the  ei^ds.  Surely  the 
j;aper  in  use  by  most  seedsmen  is  transparent 


enough  to  show  that  it  is  really  seeds  and  not 
**  merchandize,"  without  attempting  to  compel 
the  whole  United  States  to  throw  all  its  trade 
into  the  cap  of  one  transparent  bag  firm. 

There  are  yet  some  other  matters  we  might 
refer  to,  but  cannot  afford  the  space.  The 
whole  of  this  post-office  business  has  been  a  dis" 
graceful  piece  of  legislation.  Mr.  Cresswell 
himself  has  been  compelled  to  appeal  to  the  At- 
torney General  for  an  interpretation  of  the  laws, 
for  it  is  conceded  to  be  past  the  power  of  the 
most  skilled  grammarians  to  understand.  It 
would  be  best  to  repeal  the  whole  thing,  and 
start  anew. 

Horticulturists  and  agriculturists  probably 
make  use  of  the  mail  to  a  greater  extent  than 
any  other  class.  Wise  post-office  laws  are  so  in- 
timately connected  with  horticultural  progress, 
that  we  have  felt  warranted  in  going  out  of  our 
usual  course  in  avoiding  these  questions.  It 
has  been  our  pride  that  the  Gardener^ s  Monthly 
should  favor  no  religion  and  no  politics.  It  ig- 
nores *'free  trade''  and  '•  protection,''— it  is 
neither  '*  Jew"  nor  "Gentile," — it  sides  neither 
with  the  *' north"  nor  with  the  "south,''— it 
seeks  only  to  add  to  the  horticultural  pleasures 
of  man^  under  whatever  state  or  condition  he  is 
found.  In  the  present  case  we  found  a  matter 
which  seemed  to  aff'ect  us  all  alike  of  every 
shade  of  thought  and  opinion,  and  we  trust  some 
good  has  resulted  from  our  work. 


SCKAPS   AND     aUERIES. 


Errata.  — In  the  article  in  the  February 
number,  "Short  Purses  and  Dutch  Bulbs," 
"Crantatus"  should  read  Orandatus;  "Lux 
Wiemer''  should  be  Sax  Wiemer;  "doraicil" 
should  be  domain. 


OxTR  February  Number  —From  some  cause, 
which  is  a  mystery  to  the  editor,  a  very  large 
number  of  letters  have  been  received  compli- 
mentary of  the  February  number.  One  enthu- 
siastic friend  wishes  it  was  "double  the  size, 
even  though  fourfold  the  price."  It  is  probably 
owing  to  the  extra  interest  which  has  been  grow- 
ing the  past  year  in  the  spirits  of  our  correspond- 
ents, who  are  aiding  us  generouslj^  with  their 


little  hints  and  observations  from  every  section 
of  the  Union.  Such  encouragement  always  puts 
spirit  into  the  dull  soul  of  an  editor.  We  have 
quite  a  number  of  good  things  on  hand  from 
valued  correspondents,  but  still  have  abundant 
room  for  more. 


Plants  in  Bloom  in   the  Grecnbouse  and 
Conservatory  at  Rhosynmynydd,  the  suburban 
residence  of  J.  P.  Jones,  Esq.,  Blockley,  West 
Philadelphia.     DECEMBER,  1872. 
Abutilon  striatum,  Chinese  bell 

Thompsonianum,  " 

vexillarium,  " 

grandiflorum,        *' 


a 
u 


IS7S. 


TEJ£    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOMTHLY. 


87 


Age  rat  um 
ti 

Azalea 
Bouvardia 


Blue  mist 


Cactus 

Browallia 

Camellia 

Canna 

Cestrum 

Cuphea 
(( 

<t 


(( 


(( 


coeruleum, 
raexicanum, 
Indica  narcissiflora 
Hogarth 

**        Hendersonii 
tryphylla 

speciosum,  Crab  cactus 
Jamesonii 

Jap.  alba  pleno,  Japan  Rose 
indica,    Warscewiczii,      Indian 
regale  [shot 

Danielsiana,  Cigar  flower 
platycentra, 
strigulosa, 
C>pripedium      insigne.  Ladies'  slipper 
Daphne  odora.  Spurge  laurel 

Eupatorium       fruticosum,  White  mist 
Geranium  aonale,  Crane's  bill 

"  "        var. 

Jasminum  grandiflorum.  Jasmine 

Justicia  carnea 

Lopezia  lineata 

Malcomia  maritima,  Virginian  stock 

Narcissus  tazzetta  alba,  Narciss 

Olea  fragrans,  Olive 

Oxalis  grandiflora,  Sorrel 

"  versicolor,         " 

Phlox  Drummondii,  Phlox 

Primula  sinensis.  Primrose 

Russellia  juncea 

Salvia 

involucrata, 

splendens, 

f'»rtida 

j  isminoidcs 

**  variegata 

Tropaeoluni       Lobbianum,  Indian  cress 
Veronica  speciosa,  Speedwell 

**  "        Andersonii 

Viburnum         suspensura 
Dwarf  Evergreen  Shrubs  and  Climbers  that  are 
very  beautiful  most  of  the  winter  in  the  open 
air,  slightly  protected  from  the  full  sun 
and  cutting  winds  by  Pines,  Firs,  &c. 
Akebia  quinata 

Andromeda       pulverulenta 
Aucuba  Japonica 

"        longifolia 
"        macrophylla 
Buxus  arborea  variegata  aurea,  Box 

'*  "         alba 

Japonica 
Cotoneaster       microphylla 
Crataegus  pyracantha,  Fiery  thorn 


coccinea,  Sage 


i( 


Serrissa 

Solanum 
it 


•i 


li 


(( 


(( 


Daphne 
Eleagnus 

Erica 
Evonymus 


C( 


(( 


It 


it 


(( 
(( 


pontica.  Spurge  laurel 
hortensis 

"        aurea  marginatus 

carnea.  Heath 

Japonicus,  Burning  bush 

"  "      variegatus,  *' 

"  macrohpylla, 

radicans  fol.argenteo  raarginata" 
Gaultheria         procumbens.  Tea  berry 
Hedera  Helix 

"  "    dentata,  Ivy 

"    hibernica,  '* 

**  "    variegata," 

"    maculata, 
"     tricolor. 
Ilex  Aquifolium,  Holly 

cornuta, 
opaca , 
Kalmia  latifolia  Sheep  laurel 

"  glauca,  " 

Ligustrum         sempervirens.  Privet 
Lonicera  brachypoda,  Honeysuckle 

"  "  reticulata,      " 

**  flexuosa,  " 

Magnolia  grandiflora,  Magnolia 

"        ferruuinea, 
angustifolia, 
Mahonia  Aquifolium,  Barberry 

Japonica, 

"  Beali, 

repens, 
Mitchella  repens.  Partridge  berry 

Rhododendron  amoenum,  Rose  bay 

Catawbiense,     " 
Cunninghamii,  " 
maximum, 
ponticum, 

punctatuni,        "  [cotton 

Santolina  chamaecyparissus.         Lavender 

Spartium  scoparium,  Broom 

Vaccinium        macrocarpon,  Cranberry 
Vinca  minor  aurea     var  ,  Periwinkle 

major  argenteo  "  " 

Yucca  filamentosa,  Adam's  needle 

angustifolia,  Bear's  grass 
glauca, 
gloriosa, 

Shrubs  with  ornamental  berries  and  seed  pods 
that  hang  on  through  the  winter,  that  are 
very   beautiful   things  to  have  in   the 
shiubbery. 
Celastrus  scandens,  Staff" tree 

Cephalotaxus    Fortunii,  Yew  tree 

masc,  "     [bower 


c« 

C( 

tt 
it 


tc 


it 
tt 
tt 


tt 
II 


tt 


t( 


88 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJfTELY. 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


89 


$p 


Clematis 


u 


grandiflora  azurea,   Virgin's 

"         var.,    Virgin's  bower 
Virginiana,  " 

vitalba,  Traveler's  joy 
Crataegus         pyracantha,  Fiery  thorn 

oxyacantha,  Hawthorn 

"        punicea,  " 

•*        rubra  pleno,       *' 
Eunonymous     atropurpureus,  Burning  bush 
Gaultheria         procumbens,  Tea  berry 
Ilex  glabra, (prinos  glabra),  Ink  berry 

opaca,  Holly 

verticillata,(P.verticillata),Black 
Hedera  Helix,  Ivy  [alder 

Ligustrum         sempervirens,  Privet 
Mitchella  repens,  Partridge  berry 

Rhamnus  lanceolatus.  Buckthorn 

Symphorioearpus  racemosus,  Snow  berry 

vulgaris,  Indian  currant 


one  of  which  all  the  Union  will  be  proud,  shall 
have  to  be  sustained  by  such  a  handful  of  devo- 
ted men. 


P.  II.  Foster,  Babylon,  N.  Y.— The  pub- 
lisher returns  thanks  to  Mr.  P.  H.  Foster  for  a 
kind  notice  of  the  Monthly  in  his  nursery  cata- 
logue, which  catalogue,  besides  the  usual  popu- 
lar kind  of  fruits,  has  the  names  and  descriptions 
of  some  rare  and  valuable  kinds. 


(( 


Dendrobium,  pulciiellum  purpureum. — 
This  should  have  been  the  title  of  Mr.  Taplin's 
last  paper  on  Orchidses.  The  incorrect  orthog- 
raphy was  the  printer's  fault. 


Personal  Acknowledgments.— The  Edi- 
tor's thanks  are  due  to  the  Practical  Farmer^ 
American  Farmer,  and  other  journals,  for  kind 
personal  remarks  in  regard  to  the  Editor  of  this 
magazine,  in  connection  with  the  Reading  meet- 
ing. When  these  comi)liments  are  paid  to  the 
magazine,  we  regard  them  as  much  for  our 
readers  and  correspondents  as  for  the  editor,  and 
transfer  them  to  our  pages ;  but  in  the  present 
case  all  the  editor  can  do  is  to  assure  his  friends 
that  he  will  at  least,  try  to  deserve  the  kind 
opinions  they  hold  ot  him. 


The  Centennial  Committee  on  Horti- 
culture.—We  understand  that  the  reason  why 
horticulture  seemed  to  have  been  overlooked  in 
the  arrangements  ot  the  local  committees,  was 
because  it  was  understood  that  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Horticultural  Society  should  take  full  charge 
of  this  department  of  the  national  exhibition. 
Under  date  of  February  7th,  a  note  from  Mr.  J. 
E.  Mitchell,  Chairman  appointed  by  the  Horti- 
cultural Society,  we  are  informed  that  a  finan- 
cial sub- committee  has  at  length  been  appointed. 
The  Horticultural  Society  is  moving  energetical- 
ly in  the  matter,  but  it  seems  to  us,  sadly  needs 
the  encouragement  of  our  local  horticulturists. 
At  the  meetings  for  the  arrangements,  barely  a 
dozen  attend.  Jt  is  gratifying  to  feel  as  we  do, 
that  this  dozen  are  quite  enough  to  see  the  pro- 
ject through  to  success.  It  will  be  a  grand  suc- 
cess, whether  any  more  lend  a  hand  actively  or 
not.  But  it  seems  a  shame  that  the  horticultu- 
al  branch  of  this  affair,  which  we  feel  will  be 


Postal  Laws. — A  lady  writing  from  Llewel- 
lyn Park,  Orange,  Neio  Jersey,  says  :     '*  I  read 

j  with  interest  what  you  said  in  January  number 
about  postal  matters,  and  agree  with  you  in 

I  thinking  the  laws  rather  imperfect  as  applied  to 

]  the  transfer  of  miscellaneous  articles.  They  are 
subject  to  too  much  risk.  For  instance,  I  sent 
off  yesterday,  some  pressed  specimens  of  the 
Climbing  Fern  that  I  procured  in  Hartford  this 
winter.  The  package  was  carefully  examined 
and  approved  by  the  postmaster  here,  and  that 

!  would  seem  to  be  enough  ;  but  at  the  other  end  it 
is  to  go  througli  the  same  thing,  and  some  ruth- 
less hand  will  perhaps,  mash  all  the  beauty  and 
delicacy  of  that  most  beautiful  and  delicate  of 
plants.  Should  not  the  power  of  endorsing  such 
packages  he  granted  to  the  offices  from  which 
they  are  sent,  so  as  to  secure  them  from  farther 
examination  ?" 


A  Mysterious  Letter.— Sometimes  friends 
not  knowing  the  address  of  the  publisher,  send 
their  letters  to  the  editor,  and  though  on  the 
publisher's  account,  in  which  the  editor  has  no 
manner  of  interest,  he  is  always  glad  to  accom- 
modate. Thus  the  following  fell  into  his  hands. 
The  letter  was  unpaid,  and  cost  the  editor  ten 
cents.  Feeling  assured  that  one  who  "never 
takes  unpaid  letters,''  would  not  send  any,  we 
suppose  the  whole  thing  a  hoax,  and  wait  further 
information  before  giving  the  letter  to  the  pub- 
lisher :  '*  Sir — Please  send  me  specimens  free, 
as  I  wish  to  get  or  subscribe  for  a  good  paper. 
Address,  Wm.  H.  Cooper,  Dorchester  Station  P. 
O.,  Ontario,  Canada  N.B. — Please  prepay  the 
whole  postages,  as  I  never  take  unpaid  papers 
out  of  the  P.  O." 


The  Cold  Weather.— Thursday,  January 
30th,  will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  cold- 
est days  the  United  States  ever  knew.  At  the 
Germautown  Kurseries,  the  lowest  was  14^  below 
zero,  two  lower  than  in  the  memory  of  its  oldest 
inhabitant.  But  letters  from  numerous  corres- 
pondents speak  of  various  grades  between  this 
and  45°.  On  the  Hudson  it  ranged  about  30° 
below.  In  our  vicinity  we  do  not  see  that  any 
thing  is  hurt.  What  a  lesson  for  those  who  are 
studying  the  effects  of  cold  on  plant  life  !  So 
much  hurt  last  year,  and  the  glass  hardly  to 
zero  ;  and  this  year  so  little,  and  yet  the  glass  so 
low  I 


Tree  Planting  in  Iowa.— A  Clinton  cor- 
respondent says:  *' We  have  had  a  terrible 
winter  here  and  north  us.  I  fear  for  stock,  un- 
less thoroughly  matured,  and  even  then  it  is 
hard  to  conceive  of  any  fruit  trees  escaping  with 
the  mercury  at  45°,  as  in  Northern  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.  I  really  fear  that  after  the 
destruction  of  those  great  pine  forests,  that 
entire  country  will  be  inhabitable.  Down  here 
I  think  we  are  planting  out  about  as  fast  as  they 
are  destroying,  so  we  will  probably  be  in  shape 
to  meet  the  storm,  which  sooner  or  later  must 
come." 


Flowering  of  Calla  Ethiopica.— '  Li7?/," 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  says:  '^To  me  one  of  the 
charms  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  is  the  many 
interesting  lessons  we  receive  in  rei^ard  to  the 
habits  of  our  tloral  friends.  They  seem  to  be 
always  furnishing  us  fresh  lessons  of  wonder  at 
the  amazing  beauty  and  order  which  all  nature 
seems  anxious  to  teach  those  who  are  willing  to 
learn.  I  noticed  a  fact  in  my  Calla  lilies  which 
seems  new  to  me.  1  have  six  very  strong  ones, 
and  ten  weaker  ones.  The  six  large  olies  all 
flowered  about  the  same  day  together,  between 
Christmas  and  New  Years  ;  but  the  smaller  ones 
did  not  flower  at  all,  and  I  thought  this  w(,uM 
oe  all  the  blooms  I  should  have,  but  now,  (Feb. 
•10th)  all  the  small  ones  are  showing  flower,  and 
stninge  to  say,  the  old  ones  are  also  going  to 
bloom  again,  and  I  do  n«t  believe  there  will  be 
a  «ay's  difference  between  the  second  flowering 
ot  the  old  plants  and  the  first  flowering  of  the 
younger  ones.  How  is  this  ?  There  appears 
just  about  two  months  between  the  two  sets  of 
Dowers.'* 

[One  who  has  the  gift  of  observing  these 
things  as  '*  Lily  '>  does,  will  not  fail  to  enjoy  flo- 


riculture. There  are  thousands  of  just  such 
observations  yet  to  be  made  which  nobody  has 
seen  yet.  In  the  calla,  a  certain  amount  o^ 
growth  and  peculiar  form  of  vigor  has  to  be 
obtained  before  flowers  are  formed.  In  the 
strong  callas,  this  point  had  been  reached  when 
the  plants  went  to  rest  last  summer.  Witli  the 
new  growth,  there  was  nothiuGr  to  do  but  to  un- 
fold  the  already  pre  formed  bud,  which  was 
nestling  down  in  the  concealed  leaves  near  the 
bulb.  The  second  flowers  are  from  the  offshoots, 
which  are  about  the  same  age  as  the  younger 
plants,  and  ought  therefore  to  come  in  about  the 
same  time  as  they  do.  ] 


Calla  "Lily.''~A^.  L.,  Oak  Park,  Ills. 
writes  :  '*  I  wish  to  ask  one  question,  but  shall 
not  feel  hurt  if  you  do  not  pay  any  attention  to 
it  in  the  Monthly— it  is  this.  Is  the  Calla  a 
lily  ?  I  cannot  think  that  it  is,  still  I  see  it 
called  Egyptian  Lily,  Lily  of  the  Nile,  etc.,  in 
catalogues  of  some  that  should  know." 

[Our  correspondent's  remarks  illustrate  the 
folly  of  those  who  would  have  no  latin  names  for 
plants,  but  all  English  ones  ;  for  in  time  one 
half  the  people  would  not  know  what  the  other 
half  talk  about.  As  he  remarks,  the  Calla  is 
not  a  lily,  but  of  the  arum,  or  as  the  botanists 
would  say,  the  aroid  ftimily,  and  very  distinct 
from  the  Liliaceous  plants.  But  travelers  in 
Egypt  have  accustomed  themselves  to  call  the 
Calla,  the  Lily  of  the  Nile,  and  hence  the  absurd 
term  here  of  Calla  lily.  In  different  parts  of  the 
world  other  things  are  termed  lilies.  In  Eng- 
land the  Convolvulus  arvensis-'m  very  commonly 
known  as  the  lily.] 

Strelilzia  regina.— ^  E.  B.,  Dover,  New 
Jersey,  writes :  *'  Please  inform  me  in  the 
Monthly  of  the  botanical  family  of  the  Strelitzia, 
and  oblige." 

[It  belongs  to  the  Plantain  or  Banana  family. 
Notwithstanding  the  very  great  apparent  dif- 
ference between  the  flowers  of  this  and  the  musa^ 
or  Banana,  the  organic  structure  is  very  close. 
The  leaves  will  suggest  an  external  resemblance 
more  than  the  flowers  do.] 


i( 


Treating  Hyacinths  after  Flowering. 
A  lady  amateur,  Cazenovia,  N".  Y.,  says: 
Will  you  inform  a  lady  reader  of  the  Garden- 
er's  Monthly, through  its  'inquirer's  column,'  whal 
is  the  proper  treatment  for  Hyacinths  and  Polyan- 
thus narcisRus  in  pots,  after  flowering?     I  have 


90 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


March, 


1873. 


TEE    GARBEJVER'S   MOJVTRLY. 


91 


^ 


w 


•m 


i 


1 

4 


very  fine  ones  this  year,  and  would  like  to  know 
whether  they  will  bloom  again,  and  how  to  treat 
the  offsets.'* 

[Hyacinths,  as  we  get  them  from  Holland,  have 
not  been  allowed  to  flower,  and  hence  have  much 
concentrated  strength  in  them,  which  they  never 
regain  after  once  flowering.  But  they  will  pro- 
duce some  flowers  another  year,  if  well  cared  for. 
As  soon  as  the  flower  fades  cut  away  the  stem, 
and  give  the  plants  all  the  benefit  of  light  possi- 
ble, and  keep  the  soil  rich  by  a  light  top  dressing 
of  manure,  and  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
ground  opens  and  frost  is  certainly  gone,  plant 
them  in  the  open  ground.  The  offsets  will,  how- 
ever, make  the  best  bulbs.  Plant  these  in  spring 
in  very  rich  ground,  and  in  the  fall  replant  again 
in  rich  earth,  picking  out  the  flower  buds  which 
it  may  make  the  succeeding  year.  The  season 
following  they  will  approach  the  foreipjn  bulb  in 
excellence.  We  have  not  so  far  been  able  to 
equal  the  Hollanders  in  raising  bulbs,  but  Mr. 
Such  was  experimenting  some  years  ago  with 
some  hope  of  success.] 


In  regard  to  time,  *'  come  and  see  "  if  the  nur- 
sery is  neglected  The  editor  says  very  little 
about  his  nursery  in  the  pages  of  the  Gardener' % 
Monthly^  because  the  magazine  does  not  belong 
to  him,  but  to  Mr  C.  H.  Marot,  and  he  feels  he 
has  no  more  right  to  use  its  columns  to  his  own 
personal  interest  than  he  has  to  allow  any  other 
nurseryman  to  use  it  for  his.  He  takes  his  place 
along  with  the  rest  of  his  nursery  brethren  in 
the  regular  advertising  pages.  He  gives  one 
afternoon  a  week  to  the  Gardener^s  Monthly^  and 
for  the  rest  of  the  week  idles  away  his  time  at 
home  waiting  for  customers,  perhaps  sitting  on 
fern  clad  rocks,  gazing  in  thoughtful  reverie  on 
the  waters  of  the  Wingohocking  babbling  at  his 
feet,  or  in  some  other  way  equally  pleasant, 
until  some  one  catches  his  eye,  who  may  possi- 
bly need  a  bill  of  goods,  or  have  some  new  thing 
in  facts  or  philosophy  to  report  to  him. 


m\ 


Propagating  Azaleas,  Gloxinias,  &c.— 
J.  J.  B.  11,^  Indianapolis^  Jnc/.,  writes  :  ''How 
do  you  propagate  Azaleas?  Can't  you  write 
up  Gloxinia  and  Achimenes  culture,  also  Gesiu'- 
ria  ?  I  often  wonder  when  you  find  time  to  edit 
a  paper  and  attend  to  a  nursery  too.  Do  you 
work  harder  than  other  people,  or  do  you  neglect 
your  nursery  ?" 

[Cuttings  of  the  half  ripened  wood,  in  a  pot  or 
pan  of  sandy  soil,  sunk  to  the  rim  in  a  bed  of 
sand  or  earth  which  has  a  temperature  of  about 
60^,  and  under  partial  shade,  will  root  in  a  few 
weeks.  Gloxinia,  Achimenas,  and  the  tuber- 
ous rooted  Gesnerias,  are  beautiful  things,  and 
will  never  bring  shame  on  the  pen  which 
''writes  them  up."  To  raise  the  plants  of  the 
bulbous  kinds,  leaves  are  planted  under  much 
the  same  conditions  as  given  for  Azalea.  In  the 
course  of  time,  a  little  bulb  will  form  at  the 
base  of  the  leaf  stalk,  and  next  year  a  plant,  will 
spring  up  from  the  little  bulb.  The  tuberous 
rooted  kinds  increase  very  rapidly  by  their  under 
ground  scaly  roots  or  tubers.  They  like  a  turfy 
soil,  through  which  the  water  will  rapidly  drain 
away,  and  must  have  a  moist  atmosphere^  with  a 
temperature  of  60  or  70^  to  do  well  in.  Towards 
fall,  as  the  leaves  wither  after  flowering,  the 
roots  are  kept  rather  dry  till  the  new  growth 
shows  signs  of  starting  when  they  are  again  put 
into  new  soil,  for  a  fresh  season's  growth. 


Portable  Propagating  Plant  Cases.— 
A  lady  amateur  asks:  "I  wish  to  know 
whether  you  know  of  any  plant  cases  manufac- 
tured in  this  country,  for  forcing  seeds  and  cut- 
tings in  the  house.  They  are  made  in  England, 
and  are  mentioned  in  ^Window  Gardening,' 
by  Williams." 

[We  do  not  know  at  the  present  tinu^  any  one 
who  makes  these,  as  the  descriptions  so  often 
published,  are  intended  to  aid  any  handy  car- 
penter in  puttins:  them  together.  In  the  early 
numbers  of  the  Gardener^s  Monthly^  Mr.  James 
Daniels  advertised  them.  For  some  years  past 
he  has  been  in  Norristown,  Pa.,  we  think  still 
in  the  florist  business,  and  would  no  doubt  make 
them  if  ordered.] 

Tomato  Troubles.  —  '' Subscriber  since 
1860,"  New  YorJc^  asks  :  "  The  last  two  years 
the  crop  of  tomatoes  has  been  remarkably  small 
in  this  section  of  our  country.  Nothing  in  our 
market  used  to  be  as  abundant  as  tomatoes— of 
late  years  they  comr;  along  sparingly.  Worse 
than  that,  they  were  but  half  ripe,  and  even 
those  that  were  fully  ripe  were  watery  and  had 
no  flavor.  Has  the  same  been  experienced  in 
other  parts  of  this  country  ?  I  shall  be  sorry  to 
learn  that  tomatoes  degenerate,  following  the 
example  of  U.  S.  Senators.  Another  question. 
I  have  eaten  a  good  many  varieties  of  the  toma- 
to, but  never  found  one  with  the  slightest  differ- 
ence of  flavor.  Are  there  any  differently  or 
stronger  flavored  than  the  rest  ?" 

[Our  New  York  friend  starts  a  subject  of 


which  we  had  no  knowledge,  for  we  had  not 
known  before  that  the  tomatoes  were  so  bad  in 
New  York  market  last  year.  We  have  not 
heard  that  there  was  any  degeneration  particu- 
larly last  year,  though  we  do  know  that  the 
tomato  is  one  of  the  worst  of  all  vegetables  to 
keep  pure.  Only  by  the  most  careful  selection 
of  seed  can  any  one  variety  be  kept  long  from 
degeneration. 

As  to  how  one  variety  excels  another  is  also  a 
hard  question.  There  is  a  great  difference  in 
size  of  some  varieties,  and  also  in  the  smooth- 
ness of  their  outline.  Also  are  some  more  solid 
than  another ;  but  yet  as  we  have  said  all  these 
will  vary  more  or  less  in  seed  of  the  same  kind.] 


Cultivating  Orchards.— When  we  have 
recommended  growing  orchards  in  grass— not 
neglecting  orchards  in  grass— we  have  been  met 
once  in  a  while  with  the  objection  "  possibly  it 
might  do  in  the  Middle  States,  but  it  will  never 
do  in  Western  New  York."  As  the  letter  from 
which  the  enclosed  is  an  extract,  is  ''private,'' 
we  withhold  the  writer's  name  and  address,  but 
we  may  say  in  connection  with  the  reflections 
given  above  that  it  is  from  Western  New  York : 

^^If  1  would  plant  another  orchard  again  1 
would  neither  prune  or  cultivate  so  much.  I 
believe  that  if  your  teachings  in  regard  to  the 
management  of  orchards  would  be  more  follow- 
ed, fruit  growing  would  be  more  profitable  to 
many  than  it  is  now.  Having  an  orchard  in 
grass  and  neglect  seem  ingeparable  with  many. 
From  this  notion  I  differ,  for  sirce  I  have  my 
orchard  in  grass  I  take  more  c:\re  of  it  then  I 
could  do  before,  for  in  open  winter  weather  it  is 
almost  forbidden  to  walk  in  cultivated  clay  soil, 
while  in  grass  orchard,  pruning,  destroying 
insect  nests,  &c.,  can  be  done  with  the  greates't 
ease  and  pleasure.  This  letter  is  not  intended 
for  publication.     I  conclude  with  the  remark 


that  I  wish  you  would  be  able  for  many  years 
to  come  to  conduct  the  Gardener^s  M(mthlyj  for  I 
have  no  paper  which  gives  me  so  much  instruc- 
tion." 


Nailing  Vines  to  Stakes.— 3fr.  /.  H. 
Simpson,  of  Vincennes,  Knox  County,  Ind.^  says  : 
"In  your  January  number  you  mention  that 
some  one  in  Ohio  expected  to  get  a  patent  for 
nailing  grape  vines  to  posts  and  trellises.  This 
mode  of  fastening  vines  was  explained  to  us  free 
of  charge  at  our  State  Horticultural  meeting  in 
January,  by  a  Mr.  Tillinghast,  of  Indianapolis, 
who  adopted  this  method  two  or  three  years 
ago.'' 


Rare  Plants.— J5.  A.  K.,  Concord,  N.  If , 
asks:  "In  your  February  issue  for  New  and 
Rare  Plants,  Golden  Chinese  Juniper  and  Per- 
petual Flowering  Tree  Carnation — where  can 
they  be  obtained  ?  Can  they  be  grown  in  this 
climate  with  any  degree  of  success  ?" 

[The  tree  carnation  La  Belle,  and  the  Golden 
Chinese  Juniper  were  described  in  the  English 
works  from  which  we  quoted.  We  do  not  know 
whether  or  not  they  are  yet  in  this  country  If 
not  it  is  likely  they  soon  will  be.  Enterprising 
American  florists  are  not  long  behind  their  Eu- 
ropean brethren.  R.  Buist,  Philadelphia,  often 
has  new  plants  as  soon  as  they  are  announced  in 
Europe.] 


Raising  Altheas.— O.  P.,  Marietta,  Ga.: 
"  Will  you  please  tell  me  how  to  propagate  the 
Althea.  I  raised  some  from  seed  a  few  years 
ago ;  but  they  flowered  last  season  and  are  not 
double  like  their  originals.  I  suppose  there 
must  be  some  other  way  to  raise  them." 

[They  grow  by  cuttings,  put  in  in  spring,  or 
by  budding  on  other  stocks  in  June.] 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


Pennsylvania  Fruit  Growers'  Society. 
-Annual  report  for  the  year  1 872.    Philadelphia 


meeting 


This  is  beautifully  illustrated  with  lithographs 
of  the    Reading    Pear,— and    the    Fallawater, 


Krauser  and  Smith's  Cider  Apples.     It  is  the  in- 
tention of  the  Society  to  continue  in  each  vol- 
ume sketches  and   histories  of  all  the  leading 
Pennsylvania  fruits. 
Former  volumes  have  had  expensive  illustra- 


PS 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


March, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


93 


tions  of  Insects,  beneficial  and  injurious  to  the 
fruit  grower.  The  present  has  plates  of  some 
twenty  four  of  the  leading  birds  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, with  descriptions  from  the  able  pen  and 
pencil  of  Mr.  Jacob  Stauffer.  Besides  these 
beautiful  illustrations  are  the  excellent  reports 
of  the  several  committees,  and  such  of  the  es- 
says as  were  given  in  in  writing.  The  Secreta- 
ry's notes  of  ihe  discussions  are  very  meager, 
and  would  have  been  better  entirely  omitted. 
He  does  not  seem  to  have  caught  well  the  spirit 
of  the  speaker  ;  for  instance,  Mr.  Carville  (Car- 
bell  he  is  called  in  the  report)  made  some  high- 
ly interesting  remarks  on  fruit  culture, — but  he 
is  credited  only  with  stating  that  when  he  ''dug 
and  manured  round  an  old  apple  tree,  a  vast 
change  was  etfected,''  a  cause  and  an  effect  which 
has  followed  one  another  for  so  many  hundred 
years,  that  if  this  was  all  Mr.  Carville  had  to 
say,  it  would  not  have  been  worth  his  while  to 
have  spoken  at  all,  or  worth  the  Secretary's 
while  to  have  reported  what  he  did  say.  Mr. 
Eaton  asks  to  be  excused, — but  from  what  he  is 
to  be  excused,  the  reporter  does  not  say.  Har- 
rison is  rcportod  as  wishing  to  '*  grow  trees  by 
high  fertilization,  so  vigorous  that  they  may  be 
vigorous  ;''  and  also  is  credited  with  the  won- 
derful discovery  that  when  "people  are  healthy 
physicians  are  not  needed."  Meehan  is  made 
to  say  that  "old  beets  and  such  like  offal"  is  a 
good  mulch  for  the  gooseberry  ;  and  that  ever- 
greens make  "the  ground"  in  which  they  grew 
warmer,  which  is  a  very  absurd  thing  for  Mee- 
han to  say,  and  the  Secretary  would  have  been 
justified  in  leaving  such  nonsense  entirely  out  of 
his  report.  Members  are  continually  made  to 
say  they  agree  or  disagree  with  some  other 
speaker,  but  what  it  is  they  are  to  agree  or  dis- 
agree with,  is  not  visible  through  the  report. 

'In  spite  ©f  this  defect  the  Proceedings  are  of 
great  value.  Paschal  Morris,  Editor  of  Practi- 
cal Farmer^  says  of  one  of  the  meetings,  that 
it  was  worth  SIO  to  be  present, —but  surely  a 
volume  like  this  is  worth  alone  the  membership 
fee. 


M 


'i^ 


New  Agricultural  Papers.— On  our  ex- 
change table  we  find  two  uew  agricultural 
papers.  The  Shenandoah  Valley  Farmer^  from 
Martinsburg,  Va.,  and  the  Farmers^  Advocate^ 
of  Jackson,  Tcnn.,  both  promising  in  appear- 
ance and  contents.  The  last  name  is  already  in 
use  by  a  Canadian  paper,  and  it  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  original  titles  cannot  be  found. 


The  California  Horticulturist,  The  second 
volume  of  this  excellent  publication  has  just 
closed,  and  we  are  sorry  to  learn  that  it  has  not 
received  the  patronage  which  its  merits  deserved. 
It  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  Carmany  &  Co., 
publishers  of  Overland  Monthly,  and  they  pur- 
pose to  make  it  so  valuable  that  no'  Western 
horticulturist  can  afford  to  do  without  it.  We 
wish  them  every  success. 

The  Eclectic  Buralist  is  the  title  of  a  small 
periodical  to  be  published  at  a  cheap  rate  by  Mr. 
Geo.  T.  Fish,  of  Rochester,  Kew  York.  The 
object  is  to  aid  in  the  advancement  of  horticul- 
tural knowledge,  and  at  the  same  time  keep  in 
view  the  interests  of  the  nursery  trade. 


PuRDY's  Fruit  Instructor.— The  value  of 
Purdy's  Small  Fruit  Instructor^  which  has  been 
advertised  in  our  columns,  heretofore,  may  be 
judged  from  the  following  subjects  which  it  con- 
tains. "Advice  to  new  beginners;"  "What 
we  would  do  with  ten  acres  ;''  "  Profits  of  small 
fruits  ;''  "  Secrets  in  making  small  fruits  profit- 
able ;>»  "  Marketing  fruits  ;"  "  Gathering  fruit;" 
"Wagons  for  drawing  fruit;''  "Shipping  fruit 
that  perishes  quickly;"  "Size  of  shipping 
crates ;''  "  Plan  for  laying  out  and  planting  a 
twenty  acre  plot  with  fruit  and  vegetables  ;" 
"Plan  for  kitchen  garden  for  fruit  and  vege- 
tables;"  "Stands  for  gathering  the  fruit;" 
"Protection  from  winds  ;"  "Raising  new  sorts;'* 
"Manures;"  "Liquid  manures."  Strawber- 
ries—Their profit — Time  to  set — Preparation  of 
the  soil— To  grow  large  fruit — To  produce  fruit 
late  in  the  season — Mulching  material — Winter 
protection — Taking  up  plants  for  setting — Large 
and  small  plants— Growing  plants  for  resetting 
— Directions  for  setting— Care^  of  plants  after 
setting — Crooked  and  straight  rows— Different 
modes  of  culture  and  varieties.  The  same  of 
raspberries,  blackberries,  currants,  gooseber- 
ries and  grapes.  "Fig  culture;"  "  Plan  for  a 
drying  house  ;"  Propagating  plants  from  root  cut- 
tings, &c.,  &e.  The  work  is  finely  illustrated  with 
plain,  easily  understood  drawings,  and  is  of  such 
a  practical  character  that  it  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  man  who  owns  even  a  rod  of 
grourid.     Price  only  25  cents. 

Address,  A.  M.  PuRDY, 

Palmyra,  N.  Y. 


gardening,  commenced  the  publication  of  a 
weekly  paper  in  London,  called  The  Garden, 
Though  ordered  several  times  through  our  regu- 
lar importing  sources,  it  only  recently  came  to 
hand.  Mr.  R.  had  the  advantage  of  an  early 
love  for  gardening,  and  a  continuous  practical 
experience  as  a  gardener.  This,  with  his  culti- 
vated literary  and  scientific  attainments, 
would  lead  the  public  to  expect  a  superior  pub- 
lication in  the  Garden,  nor  will  they  be  disap- 


pointed. England  already  has  at  least  three,  if 
not  more  garden  papers,  that  seem  as  near  per- 
fection as  anything  in  this  line  can  be.  The 
Gardener's  Chronicle,  the  Gardener^s  Magazine, 
and  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  seemed  to  cover 
all  the  ground.  But  a  perusal  of  the  Garden 
shows  that  Mr.  Robinson  has  found  a  large  un- 
occupied tract,  and  he  is  cultivating  it  so  well 
that  in  speaking  of  the  superior  English  papers 
on  gardening,  the  four  must  go  together. 


NEW  AND   KAHE  FRUITS. 


Apple— Illinois  Pippin. —The  Horticultu- 
rist for  Februar}^  figures  and  describes  an  apple 
under  this  name,  which  promises  to  be  a  good 
thing.  It  is  rather  large,  flattened,  yellow, 
striped  with  carmine,  with  a  white,  sub-acid 
flesh.     In  season  in  January. 

Mr.  Hammond  of  Warsaw,  says  it  is  likely  to 
be  an  honor  to  the  State.  It  is  superior  in  qual- 
ity to  Ben  Davis  and  Willow  Twig,  and  has 
most  of  their  good  qualities.  It  flowers  two  or 
three  days  before  Rawles'  Janet,  and  is  a  native 
of  Warsaw,  Illinois,  from  seed  sown  by  a  Mrs. 
Chandler  in  183.^. 


Pennsylvania,  and  shall  be  glad  to  diffuse  it  to 
any  wishing  grafts  ;  it  would  more  than  replace 
the  often  failing  Bellflower.  Nor  is  it  known  in 
Eastern  New  York  or  New  England.  Mr. 
Downing  made  a  great  mistake  in  supposing  it 
identical  with  some  New  England  variety — I 
forget  the  name.  It  is  abundant  only  where  I 
have  myself  distributed  it,  in  Western  New 
York. 

Very  Truly  and  Respectfully, 

LORIN   BlODGET.'' 


The  London  Garden.— About  a  year  ago, 
Mr.  W  Robinson,  well  known  to  and  esteemed 
by  so  many  of  our  readers  through  his  books  on 


The  West  Brook,  or  V  Speckled  "  Apple. 
—The  following  letter  was  received  after  the 
writer  of  this  paragraph  returned  from  Reading. 
Mr.  Downing  supposed  it  was  identical  with  the 
Fall  Orange  of  Western  New  York.  In  order 
to  test  the  matter,  the  writer  of  this  has  a  tree 
of  each  in  h  s  specimen  orchard,  and  the  growth 
of  the  two  is  so  widely  different,  that  they  can- 
not possibly  be  identical,  however  near  they  may 
approach  in  the  appearance  of  the  fruit : 

"Apropos  to  the  Reading  Convention,  which  I 
greatly  regret  that  I  cannot  attend,  I  beg  to  send 
you  a  few  last  specimens  of  my  '  Speckled,  or 
West  Brook  Apple'— ^n  apple  unequalled  in 
productiveness,  hardiness  of  tree,  and  general 
excellence  as  a  dessert  market  apple.  I  have 
grown  it  for  thirty  years,  often  to  the  extent  of 
five  hundred  bushels  (from  about  23  trees)  in  a 
single  year— and  I  have  never  met  its  equal.  It 
ranges  from  September  to  January  in  keeping, 
as  you  see  I  have  often  before  kept  them  until 
January  and  February, 

"  I  regret  that  it  is  not  known  in  Eastern 


The  Pen  Apple.— Our  reader.^  may  remem- 
ber that  some  years  ago  there  was  quite  a  sensa- 
tion raised  by  the  'uinouncement  that  an  apple 
far  superior  to  Baldwin  in  general  characteris- 
tics, had  been  raised  in  Lancaster  County,  Pa. 
Not  from  seed,  but  by  a  natural  branching  off 
or  developement,  which  is  technically  known  in 
the  craft  as  "  sporting."  It  was  also  said  that 
this  apple  was  known  as  the  Pen  Apple. 

Mr.  Engle  took  the  matter  in  hand  last  win- 
ter, and  went  personally  to  the  place  of  origin  of 
the  Pen,  and  obtained  specimens  which  he 
brought  to  the  meeting  at  Reading,  and  it  turns 
out  that  the  ''  Pen  "  is  not  at  all  like  Baldwin 
but  is  a  very  different  and  inferior  fruit.  Those 
therefore  who  have  received  these  apples  under 
the  name  of  Pen,  have  not  the  Pen,  in  all  proba- 
bility, but  have  a  very  superior  article  of  Bald- 
win. 

We  still  think  that  there  is  enough  difference 
between  the  Lancaster  County  Baldwin  and  the 
original  to  warrant  a  separate  distinction,  and 
would  suggest  that  as  the  name  of  Pen  must  be 
dropped,  it  be  known  as  the  Lancaster  Baldwin. 


9Ji. 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


March, 


1878. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJfTHLI, 


96 


!'■>' 


T'.    ^    I 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


Campanula  turbinata.— For  upwards  of 
two  months  this  gem  has  been  producing  its 
charming  flowers  in  the  greatest  profusion  in  my 
London  garden,  and  although  now  on  the  wane, 
it  is  still  very  handsome,  and  the  delight  of  all 
beholders.  It  forms  a  dense  compact  tuft,  never 
exceeding  8  or  9  inches  in  height,  blooms  inclu- 
ded. The  flowers  are  large,  erect,  bell-shaped, 
and  rich  dark  purple.  There  is  also  a  white 
form,  which  resembles  that  described  in  every 
respect  saving  color.  I  would  ask  why  these 
are  not  more  grown,  for  they  are  perfect  jewels 
in  the  flower  border.  They  come  from  the 
mountain  regions  of  Transylvania. — Journal  of 
Hfyi'ticulture. 


Delphinium  nudicaule.— This  species  is  a 
new  introduction  from  California,  and  to  all  my 
readers  who  have  not  yet  purchased  the  plant 
my  advice  is,  do  so  at  once.  Tt  is  dwarf  in 
habit,  seldom  exceeding  18  inches  in  height ;  the 
leaves  are  somewhat  small,  palmately  lobed,  and 
of  a  dark  green.  The  flowers  are  large  and  free- 
ly produced  both  in  terminal  and  axillary  spikes; 
the  sepals  and  spurs  are  bright  orange,  and  the 
petals  bright  red.  This  plant,  I  think,  cannot 
fail  to  please  every  one  when  it  becomes  estab- 
lished, its  dwarf  habit  and  brilliant  color  being 
great  recommendations ;  but  I  cannot  endorse 
the  views  I  have  heard  respecting  its  becoming 
'  a  good  bedding  plant.— eZburnai  of  Horticulture, 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  BEE-KEEP- 
ERS' SOCIETY. 

Bee-keeping  has  grown  to  be  a  great  interest 
during  the  past  few  years.  Bee-keepers  have 
their  separate  periodicals,  and  meet  in  Conven- 
tions and  discuss  bee  matters  as  enthusiastically 
and  intelligently  as  any  other  class  of  citizens  do 
their  special  fancies.  We  have  before  us  the 
report  of  the  Bce-Keepers  meeting  held  at  Indi- 
anapolis, last  December,  and  find  it  replete  with 
interesting  matter.  Bee-keeping  would  seem  to 
be  a  branch  of  agriculture  than  of  horticulture  ; 
and  we  find  the  speakers  at  this  meeting  class  it 
with  stock  raising  and  milk  dairying.  Yet  flow- 
er raising  in  connection  with  bee-keeping,  brings 
home  the  subject  so  nearly  to  our  own  special 
department,  that  we  make  no  apology  for  refer- 
ring to  the  interesting  proceedings  of  this  con- 
vention here. 

One  of  the  questions  discussed  was  :  "  Will 
right  management  of  bees  develop  peacefulness 
of  disposition,  as  we  know  wrong  management 
develops  the  opposite." 

Dr.  Bohrer,  of  Louisiana,  thought  not. 

Dr.  liUcas,  of  Peoria,  thought  ihey  could. 
They  could  be  taught  to  know  their  keeper  from 
other  people. 


Mrs.  Tupper  thought  it  could  only  be  done  by 
*'  natural  selection  "  in  breeding  from  good  tem- 
pered bees.  But  they  could  be  taught  to  know 
their  owner. 

Many  joined  in  this  discussion.  It  seemed  to 
be  the  impression  that  bees  from  home  or  over- 
fed, did  not  care  to  sting,  and  thus  the  '-tamed  " 
bees  often  exhibited  at  fairs  were  accounted  for. 

In  regard  to  bee  feed  it  was  decided  that  sugar 
did  not  pay,  nor  make  good  honey  if  it  would. 

About  wintering  bees  there  was  much  said. 
It  appeared  however  that  the  advantage  depen- 
ded on  location. 

D.  L.  Adair,  of  Ky.,  said  of  course  the  man- 
agement had  to  be  adapted  to  the  climate,  but 
housing  could  be  advantageously  adopted  at  the 
South,  yet  bees  wintered  so  well  in  the  open  air, 
that  very  few  would  take  the  trouble  to  house 
them.  They  could  not  be  made  to  understand 
that  it  was  necessary.  Mr.  Moon  had  said  that 
if  bees  could  fly  but  once  in  three  weeks  they 
would  not  suff^er  from  disease.  In  the  South, 
even  as  far  north  as  Kentucky,  there  was  seldom 
a  time  but  what  bees  could  fly  out  that  often, 
yet  in  1868,  the  bee  disease  was  very  fatal  there, 
in  some  parts  destroying  all  the  bees  over  large 
districts. 


I.  Z.  Smith,  of  Ohio,  said  he  built  a  wintering 
house  26x12  feet  and  10  high,  with  double  walls 
filled  in.  Had  an  eight  inch  square  hole  at  top 
and  bottoms  for  ventilations.  Has  in  it  fifty-two 
colonies. 

How  should  extracted  honey  be  managed  to 
prevent  souring  ? 

Mrs.  Tupper  never  has  had  any  extracted 
honey  to  sour.  Extract  when  nearly  ready  to 
cap.  Lets  it  stand  twenty-four  hours,  then 
takes  off*  and  puts  it  up.  Dealers  reject  boiled 
honey  as  not  good. 

How  to  bring  back  run  away  swarms  seemed 
to  show  that  anything  which  confused  the  colo- 
ny succeeded. 

W.  R.  King,  Ky.,  had  stopped  a  valuable 
swarm  after  they  had  gone  three -fourths  of  a 
mile,  by  throwing  dirt  among  them.  Had  seen 
them  brought  down  several  times,  by  shooting 
among  them  with  a  shot  gun. 

We  have  frequently  "brought  down''  geese, 
ducks,  and  before  we  believed  in  their  value  to 
the  tiller  of  the  soil,  the  crow,  and  other  birds  in 
this  way;  but  we  should  be  afraid  the  bees 
"  brought  down  "  in  this  way  would  be  useless 
for  honey  making  purposes. 

'What  is  honey  ?'» 

D.  L.  Adair,  of  Ky.  There  is  no  distinct  f^nb- 
stance  that  can  be  called  honey.  Bees  gai her 
anything  that  has  enough  sugar  in  it  to  give  it 
a  decided  sweet  taste.  Three  kinds  of  sugar  are 
recognized,  fruit  sugar,  grape  sugar,  and  cane 
sugar.  They  are  all  vegetable  secretions  and 
difier  but  slightly  in  their  constituent  elements. 
They  only  vary  in  the  amount  of  hydrogen  and 
oxygen  (which  are  the  elements  of  water)  and  are 
convertible  into  each  other.  As  ordinarily  gath- 
ered from  flowers,  honey  is  a  mixture  of  sugar 
and  other  secretions  of  plants,  and  consequently 
differs  widely  in  its  composition,  depending  on 
the  source  from  which  it  is  obtained.  The  pecu- 
liar scent  and  flavor  of  the  honey  is  imparted  to 
it  in  the  hive  by  the  absorption  of  the  musky 
particles  given  off*  by  evaporation  from  the 
bodies  of  the  bees,  a  scent  that  all  bee  keepers 
will  recognize  who  have  opened  a  hive  or  walked 
among  them  of  a  calm  evening. 

As  to  honey  plants,  Catnip  was  recommended  ; 
also  Polanisia  purpurea,  and  Dr.  T.  B.  Hamlin, 
presented  a  dried  specimen  of  Vesicarla  Lescurii, 
a  I)lant  peculiar  to  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  one 
of  the  best  early  honey  plants  he  knew. 

I.  Z.  Smith,  Ohio.  All  farmers  could  keep 
bees  with  profit.     He  kept  his  bees  as  his  hired 


men.  to  work  all  the  time,  and  he  made  it  a 
point  to  furnish  w«rk  for  them.  What  was  lack- 
ing in  natural  forage  he  supplied  by  planting 
honey  crops.  Alsack  clover  could  be  made  very 
valuable  by  cutting  the  first  crop  at  different 
times.  It  was  valuable  also  as  a  forage  crop. 
Made  good  hay. 

In  regard  to  the  Profits  of  Bee-Keeping,  said 
Mrs.  Tupper,  of  Iowa,  I  met  a  farmer  and  his 
wife  coming  out  of  Des  Moines.  He  had  re- 
ceived $12  for  4  loads  of  corn  while  she  had  $25, 
the  proceeds  of  three  hives  of  bees.  Women  could 
make  it  successful  whether  men  could  or  not. 
It  will  pay  in  suburban  homes,  and  even  on  the 
house  tops  of  cities. 

And  J.  AV.  Hosraer,  of  Minn.,  said  it  was  as 
profitable  as  to  raise  milk  and  butter,  and  he 
considered  it  an  argument  against  keeping  cows 
to  say  that  every  body  did  not  make  it  profitable, 
as  it  was  against  bees  to  say  every  body  could 
not  manage  them  successfully.  Not  one  family 
in  a  thousand  in  Chicago  had  honey,  and  not  one 
in  a  hundred  oven  see  it  once  a  year. 

Mr.  Quinbys  question  was,  ''The  cause  of 
the  mortality  among  bees  last  winter,  and  can  it 
be  remedied  in  the  future.'' 

Mr  Zimmerman.  Too  many  old  bees  and 
long  cold  winters  were  causes  of  the  dysentery. 
Let  some  of  his  bees  fly  in  a  warm  room  last 
winter  and  saved  them,  while  others  wintered 
with  them  that  did  not  fly  out  died. 

The  next  topic  discussed  was,  "  Is  the  Italian 
superior  to  the  little  black  bee  ?" 

The  discussion  was  a  lengthy  one,  and  was 
participated  in  by  Dr.  Lucas,  Dr.  Bohrer,  Mrs. 
Tupper,  J.  B.  Smith,  of  Ohio  ;  Hoagland,  of 
Penna  ;  Dunlap,  of  Ills.;  H.  A.  King,  of  N.  Y.; 
Disler,  la.;  Southworth,  Ills.;  J.  S  Hill,  Ohio; 
Zimmerman,  Ohio;  Shipley,  Ohio;  Allen,  Mo.; 
Dr.  Hamlin,  Tonn.,  President  Clark,  N.  C. 
Mitchell  and  other. 

None  of  the  speakers  expressed  a  negative 
opinion,  though  some  contended  that  they  had 
been  puffed  too  much  and  had  virtues  attributed 
to  them  that  they  did  not  possess.  The  speak- 
ers did  not  all  praise  them  for  gentleness,  and 
many  agreed  that  in  natural  swarming  they 
were  more  likely  to  become  intelligent  in  hiving 
than  the  black  bee.  They  were  also  accused  of 
having  some  other  faults. 

We  have  referred  to  but  a  very  few  matters 
discussed  in  this  convention,  but  they  are  enough 
to  show  how  wide  is  the  field,  and  how  interest- 
ing is  the  subject  of  bee  culture. 


96 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVIHLY. 


March, 


li'*' 


MISSOURI  STATE  IIORT.  SOCIETY. 

The  Missouri  State  Horticultural  Society  met 
at  JefTerson  City,  January  7th,  8th,  and  9th 
The  reports  of  a  few  of  the  committees  appointed 
at  the  preceding  annual  meeting  were  listened 
to  with  decided  interest.  The  guess  papers  were 
present  as  usual ;  but  only  those  that  gave  accu- 
rate experiment  and  experience  were  accorded 
attention.  The  discussion  concerning  the  grape 
preceded  all  others,  and  was  led  by  George 
Hussman.  He  was  closely  and  persistently 
questioned  by  the  members  present,  and  very 
many  facts  elicited  of  great  value  to  the 
vinyardist. 

Besult. — That  the  Concord  has  proved  itself 
all  in  all  the  most  reliable  and  useful  gra]>e  for 
Missouri.  But  it  has  been  overplanted,  and  the 
market  is  now  so  glutted  that  in  this  season 
Concord's  being  only  two  to  four  cents  a  pound 
in  St.  Louis.  More  varieties  should  be  planted, 
although  the  Concord  should  still  head  the  list. 
Martha  is  recommended  as  doing  finely.  Ives 
useless.  Goethe  as  standing  the  test,  and  rank- 
ing next  to  Concord.  Underhill's  seedlings, 
Croton  and  Senasqua  as  doing  well  so  far. 

The  discussion  on  Apples  was  led  by  one  of 
our  largest  growers,  O.  H.  Leah.  For  about 
one  hour  he  answered  questions  concerning  dif- 
ferent varieties,  and  their  adaptiveness  to  the 
soil  and  climate  of  the  State. 

Besult  — The  Rawles'  Janet  is  the  standard  of 
quality  and  fecundity.  But  it  has  also  glutted 
the  market,  and  docs  not  pay  for  picking.  A 
score  or  more  of  varieties  were  named  that  are 
especially  good.  Among  these  stand  prominent, 
Ben  Davis,  White  Bellefleur,  Wine  Sap.  &c.  A 
superb  show  of  apples  was  spread  ©n  the  tables 
of  the  Societ3\ 

The  discussion  on  Pears  was  mainly  led  by 
Rev.  E.  P.  Powell. 

Results.— Vl&nt  in  well  drained  heavy  soil. 
Cultivate  in  the  sod ;  that  is,  grow  them  in 
grass,  but  well  worked  about  and  thoroughly 
mulched.  Plant  trees  limbed  low ;  thin  out 
weak  shoots  in  summer,  and  cut  back  the 
remaining  wood  in  autumn,  till  the  tree  gets  too 
large  to  manage.  Every  way  grow  the  tre^ 
slowly,  and  get  ripened  wood ;  and  protect  the 
roots  from  tlie  effect  of  extreme  changes  of  tem- 
perature. In  this  way  Mr.  P©well  had  preserved 
two  orchards,  one  in  New  York,  the  other  in 
Michigan,  from  any  traces  of  blight. 

Judge  Krekel  discussed  Cherries,  as  did  the 
Chairman,  Henry  T.  Mudd. 


JJesuZf.— Deal  with  the  finest  cherries  very 
much  as  with  the  pear.  Slow  growth  and  care- 
ful mulching  will  preserve  the  trees  in  a  healthy 
condition. 

It  can  hardly  be  said  that  any  special  person 
led  in  the  discussion  of  the  wine  The  commit- 
tee that  retired  with  the  social  fluid  had  a  pro- 
longed session,  and  reported  as  men  well 
acquainted  with  the  subject.  Most  of  the  pre- 
miums went  to  Dr.  Claggett. 

Tuesday  and  Thursday  evenings  were  occu- 
pied with  addresses  by  Rev  E.  P.  Powell  and 
Prof.  C.  y.  Riley.  The  first  on  Horticulture  in 
Cities  ;  the  latter  on  Entomology. 

The  session  was  of  much  practical  value  to  the 
State,  as  it  has  tended  to  correct  a  tendency 
to  plant  too  few  varieties,  thus  glutting  the 
market  with  a  pet  grape  or  apple,  and  reducing 
the  price  below  the  cost  of  gathering. 

The  Society  will  hold  its  next  session  at  Han- 
nibal, in  January,  1874. 


<•»•» 


SOMETHING  LIKE  PRIZES. 

At  the  Annual  Rose  Show  of  the  Mass.  Horti- 
cultural Society,  at  Boston,  elune  17th,  special 
prizes  for  Hybrid  Perp'3tual  Roses,  offered  by 
H.  II.  Hunnewell.  Esq.  Open  to  all. 
For  the  best  six  new  varieties,  never  before  ex- 
hibited, S40.00. 
For  the  best  six  named  varieties,  $20.00, 

For  the  next  best,  $10.00. 
For  the  best  twelve  of  any  one  variety,  $20.00. 
For  the  next  best,  $10  00. 
All  roses  competing  for  these  prizes,  to  be  ex- 
hibited in  boxes  the  same  size  as  those  compe- 
ting for  the  Society's  prizes  ;    the  size  of  the 
boxes  for  the  six  new  varieties  and  the  named 
varieties,  one  foot  six  inches  long,  one  foot  six 
inches  broad,  six  inches  high  at  the  back,  and 
four  inches  high  at  the  front. 

Special  Prizes  for  Roses,  offered  by  0.  S. 
Sargent,  Esq.    Open  to  all. 
For  the  best  twenty-four  distinct  named  varie- 
ties, three  flowers  of  each,  $G0  00. 
For  the  next  best,  $40.00. 
All  roses  to  compete  for  this  prize  to  be  exhi- 
bited in  wooden  boxes  to  be  four  feet  long,  one 
foot  six  inches  broad,  six  and  one  half  inches 
high  at  the  back,  and  four  and  one  half  inches 
high  at  the  front.    The  roses  to  be  placed  on  a 
neatly  arranged  carpet  of  moss.     Regard  will  be 
had  to    the    manner  in    which    the  roses  are 
exhibited. 


®li«  (Sard^tt^r's  Ponthlj, 


DEVOTED  TO 


EorticuUure,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs. 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol,  XV. 


APRIL,    187 S.  ^ew  Series,Vol.  VIH^o.  A 


HINTS    FOU   APRIL. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

Here  is  a  picture  before  us,  which  the  artist 
says  is  '*  the  old,  old  story."  A  trustful  heart 
has  been  drinking  in  the  music  of  a  sweet  love 
song,  and  both  the  singer  and  his  one  beloved 
auditor  both  seem  happy.  It  is  indeed  the  old, 
old  story,  but  to  thousands  of  souls  it  comes  as 
fresh  and  joyous  as  if  their  young  morning  of 
life  was  the  beginning  of  a  newly  created  world. 
And  to  us  who  love  trees  and  flowers,  gardens 
and  garden  art,  April  brings  the  same  old  story 
of  faith  and  hope— of  work  to  do.  and  trust  to 
enjoy  the  labors  of  our  hands.  Digging  and 
raking,  seed  sowing  and  tree  planting,  planning 
and  designing— the  same  old  story  it  is  every 
year ;  but  yet  not  the  same,  for  flower  garden 
history,  like  the  general  world's  history,  never 
repeats  itself.  Our  trees  hare  grown  larger,  the 
shrubs  are  bushier,  the  vines  have  lovingly  cov- 
ered every  deformity,  even  our  flower  beds 
will  be  somewhat  changed,  and  the  very  plants 
we  grew  in  them  not  as  the  plants  were  last 
year. 

The  flower  gardens  of  the  old  world  are 
renowned  ;  but  yet  with  some  judgment  we 
might  excel  them,  because  in  our  hot  climate  we 
can  take  advantage  of  so  many  tropical  things 
for  out  door  decoration  which  they  cannot  grow, 
besides  most  of  what  they  rely  on  for  their  best 
effects.  Of  these  valued  for  their  colored  leaves 
are  the  increasiagly  numerous  varieties  of  Cole- 
U8,  Irisene  and  Achyranthus,  Alternantheras, 
Dracoenas,  and  the  like.  There  has  been  also 
much  attention  given  to  the  silvery  leaved 
plants,  which  are  almost  essential  in  forming  a 


proper  contrast  with  the  more  brilliant  hues. 
Centaurea  ragusina,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
C.  candidissima,  was  the  first  step  in  this  direc- 
tion, unless  indeed  the  «»ld  Cineraria  maritima 
can  be  said  to  have  been  in  use  for  this  purpose. 
Now  we  have  C.  Clementei  and  C.  plumosa, 
Gnaphalium  tomentosum,  and  some  others, 
which  give  us  a  variety  in  form  and  stature,  as 
well  as  keeping  up  for  us  the  silvery  hue. 

While  speaking  of  silvery  hued  leaves,  one 
may  refer  to  the  beautiful  silvery  plumes  of  the 
Pampas  Grass,  which  towards  the  fall  of  the 
year  give  a  magnificent  appearance  to  a  lawn, 
especially  if  the  plants  are  grown  in  very  rich 
soil.  The  Erianthus  Ravennoe  is  also  a  very 
striking  grass  of  this  character. 

Of  flowering  plants  which  thrive  well  in  our 
climate,  we  have  a  good  selection.     The  Gerani- 
ums are  amongst  the  best,  although,  botanically 
they  are  not  distinct  from  Pelargoniums  ;  yet  it 
serves  a  good  purpose  to  retain  the  name  as  a 
popular  designation  of  an  useful  class  in  flower 
gardening.  There  are  now  double  varieties  ;  but 
for  flower  gardening  purposes,  double  flowers  are 
inferior.     These  varieties  do  not  flower  as  freely 
as  the  single  ones.     This  has  proved  to  be  the 
case  with  the  Petunia,  the   Pansy,  and   other 
things,  and  we  suppose  the  rule  will  hold  good 
here.     The  Rose  Geraniums  flower  somewhat 
steady  throughout  the  year,  and  are  indispensa- 
ble for  their  delightful  fragrance  and  elegant 
foliage.     The  Verbena  used  to  be  the  main  reli- 
ance for  bedding— but  the  great  ravages  of  the 
verbena  rust,  has  made  it  somewhat  unreliable'; 
and,  although  it  is  indispensable  yet,  it  does  not 
take  the  front  rank  as  formerly. 


98 


THE    GARDEJVER'S  MOJ^TTHLJ. 


April. 


1873. 


Ill 


In  the  clapB  of  Kcontcd  flowers,  the  Hehotrope, 
the  Mianonette,  and  the  Sweet  Alyseum,  com- 
mand a  prominent  place.  The  last  is  liable  to 
suffer  much  from  the  cabbage-fly.  A  syringing 
with  water,  in  which  a  few  drops  of  coal  oil  has 
been  spread,  soon  settles  his  business.  There  is 
a  variegated  Sweet  Alyssum  which  is  very 
pretty. 

Lantacas  are  very  desirable  ;  but  to  have  the 
best  results  from  them,  they  should  be  planted 
in  poor  soil.  A  very  pretty  species,  trailini;  like 
a  Verbena,  but  not  much  known,  is  Jj,  Sf.llotcii. 
The  varieties  of  Lobelia  make  fair  bedding 
plants  if  not  put  in  too  dry  a  soli,  or  too  warm  a 
situation. 

The  old  double  white  Feverfew  is  one  of  the 
most  desirable  of  bedding  plants.  White  flowers 
can  be  cut  from  it  all  summer,  and  yet  have 
plenty  left  to  bloom.  The  Petunia,  though  of 
no  account  for  cutting,  keeps  up  a  brilliant  show 
the  whole  season.  They  do  also  very  well  in  hot 
places  where  little  else  will  do.  The  singles  give 
the  most  flowers.  For  cutting  purposes,  the 
Monthly  or  Tree  Carnations  are  lovely  things, 
though  they  are  ugly  growing  plants  and  do  not 
make  much  show  on  the  grounds.  The  blue 
Ageratum  is  not  very  showy,  but  blooms  so 
profusely,  that  every  one  likes  to  have  it. 
The  old  Nierembergia  gracifis  is  another  n<it 
very  showy  plant,  but  flowers  so  well,  and  is  so 
satisfied  with  indiflerent  treatment,  that  one 
cannot  let  it  go.  The  Gazania  is  curious,  and 
makes  a  brilliant  show  of  orange  and  black  on  a 
fine  day,  but  is  not  well  adapted  to  a  hot  place. 
The  little  Cvphea  platycentra  has  rather  too  much 
green  for  a  show  plant  ,  but  if  the  soil  is  not  too 
rich,  gives  fair  satisfaction. 

For  late  summer  and  fall  blooming,  we  have 
Giadiolus,  (excellent  for  cutting  for  baskets  and 
l)lates  of  flowers',  Tu')erose^',  (ditto),  Chrysan- 
thcmuuiS,  Dahlias,  atid  paiticulariy  llie  Scarlet 
Sage,  without  which  no  garden  is  complete. 
These  are  very  well  known  and  popular  bed- 
ding plants. 

Besidis  these,  there  are  some  not  so  well 
known  bui  which  will,  pcrha])s,  become  as  pop- 
ular tor  some  purposes  as  the  others  The  Ivy 
Geraniums  are  being  much  improved,  and  an; 
\w^X  the  things  for  vases  and  growing  over 
mounds  or  elevated  p'aces.  All  the  forms  ot 
Sedums  are  also  excellent  for  vases  and  dry 
places-  as  are  also  several  varieties  of  hardy 
Cactuses,  half  hardy  Kcheveria*-,  and  other  suc- 
culents. 


Aloes  of  many  kinds  suit  the  centre  of  these 
vases  and  flower  beds  remarkably  well.  The 
variegated  Geraniums,  and  variegated  leaved 
plants  generally,  do  only  where  protected  from 
hot  suns.  The  common  Perilla,  with  dark  coh 
ered  leaves,  however,  does  best  in  the  full  sun. 
The  shrubby  New  Zealand  Veronicas  flower  mest 
of  the  season,  and  are  suited  to  many  localities. 
But  perhaps  if  it  be  put  in  very  rich  soil  it  might 
do  better.  Even  England,  which  in  some  re- 
spects may  be  regarded  as  the  home  of  the  Pansy, 
and  where  so  much  use  is  made  of  some  of  the 
varieties  for  bedding  purposes,  it  is  found  neces" 
sary  to  a  continuous  bloom  to  put  a  shovelful  of 
manure  under  each  plant,  in  order  to  secure  a 
bloom  long  into  the  summt  r  >•  iison. 

The  new  hybrid  DianthuMS  promise  to  be 
amongst  the  most  popular  of  bedding  flowers. 
The  Bouvardia  leiantha  and  other  Bouvardias 
are  rather  ragged  growers,  and  seldom  have 
many  flowers  on  at  a  time  ;  but  one  can  cut  for 
ever  from  them,  and  new  flowers  rapidly  suc- 
ceed. The  Viola  cornuta  does  not  make  much 
show,  but  blooms  well  in  our  climate  all  sum- 
mer. 

There  is  quite  an  excitement  on  new  Clema- 
tises as  summer  blooming  plants.  They  bring 
yet,  very  high  prices,  and  have  to  be  tested  more 
in  our  climate,  though  they  will  probably  be  a 
success.  In  Chrysanthemums,  a  great  advance 
has  been  made  in  the  production  of  an  earlier 
class  of  bloomers.  It  has  always  been  against 
the  Chrysanthemums  tliat  they  have  been  a  little 
too  late  lor  decorative  cardeninji.  Lilies  of  all 
kinds  are  also  growing  in  popularity  and  cheap- 
ness, and  there  arc  some  double  rose-colored 
Feverfews  that  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  a 
flower  garden. 


TEU    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


99 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

Grafting  can  be  continued  till  the  bud  a  of  the 
trees  are  nearly  pushed  into  leaf.  Sometimes^ 
from  a  pressure  of  other  work,  some  valuable 
scions  have  been  left  on  hand  too  late  to  work. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  know,  that  if  such 
scions  are  put  into  the  ground,  much  the  same 
as  if  they  were  cuttings,  they  will  keep  good  for 
six  weeks  or  two  months,  by  which  time  the 
bark  will  run  freely,  when  the  scions  may  be 
treated  as  buds,  and  will  succeed  just  as  well  as 
buds  taken  from  young  summer  shoots. 

In  planting  dwarf  Pears,  it  is  very  important 
to  have  them  on  a  spot  that  has  a  moist  j^ubsoil, 


either  natur.^l]y  or  made  so  by  subsoiling  or  mix- 
ing some  material  with  the  soil  that  wilfgive  out 
moisture  in  dry  weather.  Trees  already  planted 
on  a  dry  gravelly  subsoil,  should  have  a  circle 
dug  out  two  feet  deep,  and  two  or  three  feet 
from  the  tree.  This  should  be  filled  up  with 
well  enriched  soil.  If  the  dwarf  Pear  does  not 
grow  freely,  it  is  a  sign  that  something  is  wrong- 
It  should  at  once  he  severely  pruned,  so  as  to  afd 
in  producing  a  vigorous  growth. 

In  Europe  they  find  much  advantage  from 
often  taking  up  the  dwarf  Pear  and  replantin*^  • 
and  the  result  in  this  is  to  disprove  the  observa- 
tion of  Poor  Richard,  who  ^*  never  saw  a  tree 
or  an  oft  removed  family,  which  did  so  well  as 
those  which  settled  be." 

Strawberry  beds  are  very  frequently  made  at 
this  season,  and  though  they  will  not  bear  fruit 
the  same  year,  are  much  more  certain  to  crrow 
and  will  produce  a  much  better  crop  next  year 
than  when  left  till  next  August.  Though  it  is 
a  very  common  recommendation,  we  do  not 
value  a  highly  manured  soil.  It  should  be  well 
trenched  or  subsoiled  ;  this  we  consider  of  great 
value.  In  rich  soils  there  is  too  much  danger  of 
having  more  leaves  than  fruit. 

Buds  that  were  inoculated  last  fall  should  not 
be  forgotten  ;  but  as  .soon  as  vegetation  has 
pushed  forth,  the  buds  should  be  examined,  and 
all  other  issues  from  the  old  stock  taken  away 
It  may  also  be  necessary  to  make  a  tie,  in  order 
to  get  the  young  shoot  of  the  bud  to  go  in  the 

Udlpar  ""^"'^  ^""^  "^"""^'^  ''''^  h^Ti^^^t^v  have 

without  posting  yourself  afresh  on  the  various 
methods  recommended  for  destroying  insects,  or 
preventing  their  attacks.  The  advant^.ge  of  a 
stitch  in  time  is  never  more  decided  than  in  the 
great  sruggle  with  fruit  destroying  insects  A 
mass  of  information  on  this  point  lies  scattered 
through  our  past  volumes,  that  will  well  repay  a 

mshing  one's  ideas  in  that  line. 

anv    wi  •^i'''^'  ^'^°''  ^"^^^^  ^^  P"«h  watch  for 
any    which   may  seem    inclined   to    push    out 

trees     t'''  ?.^''^  '^^"^^  ^"  "^  ^'"^«  ^^^^^^  ^»  ^^uit 
the!;    ^^'^'^y''^  is  to  get  all  the  branches  of 

tl  e  tr       ""!    '™  '*''"S*^  ^"^  ^ig^^  throughout 
e  tree,  and  this  cannot  be  done  where  t^o  or 

ree  vigorous  fellows  arc  allowed  to  take   to 

tjemjlves  all  the  nutrition   which    the  root^ 


"^3^ 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

South  of  Philadelphia,  the  more  tender  kinds 
of  garden  vegetables  may  now  be  sown -beans 
corn,  cucumbers,  squashes,  &c.~that  it  is  not 
pruident  to  plant  in  this  latitude  before  the  first 
of  May  ;  and  tomato,  ^gg  plants,  etc.,  may  alsa 
be  set  out  in  those  favored  places.     Cucumbers 
squashes,  and  such  vegetables  can  be  <rot  fori 
ward  as  well  as  tomatoes,  egg  plants,  etc.,  by 
being  sown  in  a  frame  or  hot-bed,  and  potted  off- 
into  three  inch  pots.     They  will  be  nice  plants 
by  the  first  week  in  May.     Rotten  wood  suits 
cucumbers  and  the  squash  tribe  exceedincrly  well 
as  a  manure.     Tomatoes  and  ^gg  plants  That  are 
desired  very  early,  are  best  potted,  soon  after 
Uiey  come  up,  into  small  pots.     They  can  then 
be  turned  out    into  the  open  air  without  any 
check  to  their  roots.      Of  course  they  should 
be  gradually   inured  to  the  open  air-not  sud- 
denly  transferred  from  a  warm  and  moist  air  to 
a  very  dry  one. 

Bean  poles  may  be  planted  preparatory  to  sow- 
ing the  Lima  Bean  in  May.  Where  bean  poles 
are  scarce,  two  or  three  hoop  poles,  set  into  the 
ground  one  foot  from  each  other,  and  tied 
together  at  the  top,  make  as  good  a  pole,  and 
perhaps  better. 

Dwarf  beans  should  have  very  warm  and  deep 
soil-sow  them  only  two  inches  apart.  The 
Valentine  is  yet  the  best  early,  take  it  all  in  all 

Peas  should  be  sown  every  two  weeks  for  a 
succession-do  not  make  the  soil  very  rich  for 
them. 

Lettuce,  for  a  second  crop  of  salad,  should  be 
sown  about  the  end  of  the  month      Tlie  Drum 
head  cabbage  is  usually  sown  for  a  summer  crop  • 
but  the  old  kinds  of  Cos  lettuce  would,  no  doubt' 
be  found  very  valuable  in  rich  soils. 

Early  York  Cabbage  for  early  use  should  be 
set  out  early  this  month.  It  is  an  excellent  plan 
to  make  the  holes  with  a  dibble  first,  where  the  • 
cabbage  is  to  be  set ;  then  fill  up  the  holes  with 
manure  water,  and,  after  the  water  has  soaked 
away,  set  in  the  plants.  It  is  rather  more  labori 
ous  than  the  old  way-but  the  cabbage  grows 
so  fast  afterwards  that  it  pays  pretty  well. 

It  is  not  a  good  plan  to  cut  all  the  Aspara^rus 
as  soon  as  they  appear.  A  few  sprouts  should 
always  be  left  to  grow  from  each,  to  strengthen 
the  plants.  ° 

Celery,  with  most  fomilies,  is  an  important 
crop,  and  should  be  sown  about  this  period.  A 
very  rich,  moist  spot,  that  will  be  shaded  from 


100 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


April, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THL^. 


101 


\%^^' 


the  midday  April  sun  should  be  chosen— or  a 
box  in  a  frame,  by  those  who  have  the  conveni- 
ences. 

Few  things  mark  a  well  kept  garden  better 
than  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  herbs.  Now 
8  the  time  to  make  the  beds.     Sage,  Thyme  and 


Lavender  grow  from  slips,  which  may  be  set  in 
now,  precisely  as  if  an  edging  of  box  were  to  be 
made  of.  them.  They  grow  very  easily.  Basil 
and  Sweet  Marjoram  must  be  sown  in  a  rich 
warm  border.  Salsafy  and  Scorzonera  like  a 
damp,  rich  soil. 


C  0  M  M  U  N  I  C  A  T  I  0  N  S. 


FLORICULTURE  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

.    BY  X    Y.    Z. 

It  has  occasionally  occurred  to  me  that  somcr 
thing  is  at  fault  with  the  florists  of  Philadelphia 
and  its  vicinity.  They  have  not  increased  the 
taste  in  flowers  that  the  standing  of  society  here 
might  demand.  Philadelphia,  geographically, 
is  as  well  suited  for  the  growth  of  exotics  as  any 
other  city  on  the  sea-board  ;  her  people  have 
more  room  about  their  dwellings,  are  as  refined, 
have  more  real  wealth  than  any  other  large  city 
in  the  United  States. 

At  the  present  time,  the  florists  here  are 
somewhat  behind  the  same  class  of  men  in 
other  cities  east  and  north  of  us.  Not  a  few 
around  New  York,  though  brought  up  to  some 
mechanical  branch,  are  proficient  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  flowers,  and  are  classed  among  the  suc- 
cessful florists.  They  have  studied  to  grow  a 
few  flowers  well,  and  they  do  it,  so  much  so  that 
many  of  them  are  in  comparatively  easy  cir- 
cumstances, and  most  of  them  are  approaching 
that  way. 

But  in  taking  a  view  of  the  florists  around 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  we  are  debarred  from 
arriving  at  the  same  conclusion,  for  during  the 
last  twenty  years  little  or  no  progress  has  been 
made.  The  same  variety  of  ornamental  plants 
has,  with  ^QVf  exceptions,  been  produced,  and 
the  sales  in  the  spring  have  not  embraced  a 
large  area  of  the  city. 

We  might,  with  propriety,  suggest  that  this 
economy  in  production  has  contributed  largely 
to  the  lack  of  progress.  They  almost  invari- 
ably heat  their  greenhouses  with  the  old  brick 
flue,  which,  in  severe  winters,  is  very  hurtful  to 
vegetation,  for  should  the  plant  escape  being 
dried  with  heat  or  saturated  with  moisture  at  a 
distance  from  the  fire,  every  plant  in  the  house 
is  retarded  in  its  growth  by  the  fumes  of  sul- 


phur escaping  from  the  flue,  combined  with  a 
humid  atmosphere.  Any,  indeed  all  of  these, 
are  evils  that  the  gardener  is  unable  to  success- 
fully guard  against  where  such  an  imperfect 
agent  is  used.  To  conduct  the  business  of  a 
floriculturist  with  such  inefficient  means  for  the 
production  of  heat,  is  disheartening  in  the  ex- 
treme, hence  we  find,  too  often,  plodding  and 
grumbling  in  the  place  of  successful  enterprise. 
To  help  my  fellow  workers  out  of  this  ''  slough 
of  despond''  is  the  object  of  this  article. 

The  Philadelphia  florist  is  well  aware  that 
those  who  use  water  to  distribute  heat,  have 
their  establishments  superior  to  those  who  use 
the  brick  flue  ;  their  houses  are  apparently  com- 
fortable, their  plants  healthy,  with  no  obnoxi- 
ous gases  to  impair  or  destroy  the  flower.  On 
the  other  hand,  those  who  still  adhere  to  the 
old  system,  use  every  device  but  the  right  one 
to  nurse  and  economize  In  support  of  this  as- 
sertion, I  may  remark  that  I  made  a  few  visits 
among  the  florists  a  couple  of  weeks  ago,  and 
found  that  those  who  clung  to  the  brick  flue  had 
lost  as  much  by  the  fumes  uf  sulphur  and  by 
frost  as  would  have  put  up  a  hot  water  appa- 
ratus. 

Most  of  them  are  well  aware  that  labor  con- 
sumes one-third  of  their  sales,  even  under  the 
most  successful  management ;  another  third 
goes  for  material,  while  the  remaining  third  is 
all  that  is  left  for  repairs,  rent  and  profits  ;  this 
is  without  doubt  the  only  safe  basis  on  which  to 
calculate.  But  by  continuing  the  old  method  of 
heating,  one  half  is  taken  for  labor,  one  fourth 
for  material,  (they  boast  of  this)  and  the  balance 
for  rent.  Profits  and  repairs  are  deferred  till 
next  year,  and  they  console  themselves  with  the 
thought  that  those  who  use  the  improved  method 
of  heating  are  just  so  much  poorer  than  them- 
selves ;  whereas  the  latter  economize  in  labor 


nearly  one-half,   an   important    item    in   these 
times  of  high  priced  and  inefficient  service. 

It  is  my  sincere  desire  to  put  the  florists  of 
Philadelphia  in  the  position  they  ought  to  oc- 
cupy, and  therefore   I  place   before   them   my 
views,  the  result  of  many  years  experience,  con- 
cerning the  heating  of  greenhouses  by  the  com- 
mon air  flue  or  distributing  heat  with  hot  water. 
Before  I  describe  the  mode  of  heating,  a  few 
remarks  may  not  be  out  of  place  about  the  erec- 
tion of  a  planthouse.     Many  plans  have   been 
adopted,  but  most  of  them  have  very  imperfect- 
ly answered  the  purpose  they  were  intended  to 
serve.     Some  maintain   that  a  house  with  the 
roof  at  an  angle  of  35°  or  less  is  the  cheapest 
and  best,  and  much  easier  to  keep  at  a  moder- 
ate temperature  than  one  with  a  greater  angle  : 
Others  approve  of  a  low  narrow  house,  as  then, 
the  plant  being  so  much  nearer  the  glass,  grows 
better ;  others  adopt  the  large  moderately  high 
house  as  the  best.     Of  the  three,  the  last  is  de 
cidedly  to  be  preferred,   being  much  easier  to 
manage.     A  house  twelve  feta  from  ground  to 
apex  will  contain  nearly  double  the  quantity  of 
air  that  a  low^ flit  or  low  narrow  house  would, 
and   may   be  considered  the  medium  height  a 
house  ought  to  be  ;  it  has  the  disadvantage  of 
holding  more  air  to  vvarm  ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  there  is   more  to  mol  at  night.     Such  a 
house  can  be  used  from  November  to  April  with- 
out giving  air.     The  low  house  is  easily  warmed, 
(or  rather  overwarmed)  and  requires  as  many 
feet  of  pipe  to  keep  it  at  the  same  te.Tiperature 
as  the  high  house,  with  this  disadvantage,  that 
it  cools  much  more  rapidly.    This  may  be  looked 
upon   by  some  as    a   mis-statement,   but  it  is 
nevertheless  correct.     Nearly  everybody  will  say 
that  a  house  containing  5000  feet  of  air  can  U  ! 
kept  at  the  same  temperature  as  one  containing 
7500  feet,  and  so  it  may  if  the  area  it  covers  be 
one-third  less  ;  but  if  both  cover  the  same  area, 
there  will  be  the  same  cool  surface  and  less  air 
to  cool.     Ilcnce  I  conclude  that  a  house  ten  or 
twelve  feet  from  ground  to  apex  is  easier  to  be 
kept  at  an  equal  temperature,  with   the  same 
quantity  of  fuel,  than  a  low  house,  and  without 
having  to  admit  cold  air  for  nearly  five  months. 
We  will  estimate  the  cost  of  putting  up  the 
heating  apparatus  in  two  ways— water  and  the 
common  brick  flue.     A  house  100  feet  by  25  feet 
by  11  feet  would  allow  the  walls  to  be  4  feet  and 
the  roof  45^  making  It  a  span  roof.     To  keep 
the  atmosphere  at  65^  or  70°— mercury  outside 
at  zero-it  will  require  1000  feet  of  4  inch  pipe 


(a  fire  surface  of  4  feet  0  inches  is  capable  of 
making  the  water  180°  in  the  boiler,  and  per- 
haps a  trifle  higher,  which  will  keep  the  house 
nearer  80°  than  less)  to  keep  the  same  tempera- 
ture, which  with  the  brick  flue  would  require 
four  fires  and  four  flues.  The  fire  places  would 
each  be  2  feet  by  1  foot,  altogether  8  feet  of  fire 
surface  for  the  boilers  against  4  feet  6  inches ; 
diff*erence  in  favor  of  hot  water,  3  feet  6  inches. 

But  it  will  be  said  that  the  larger  furnace  will 
consume  more  fuel  in  proportion  to  the  greater 
body  of  fire,  and  that  if  no  flue  be  used  from  the 
fire,  there  will  be  a  greater  draught.  Let  me 
try  the  question  by  figures  : — 

The  cost  of  1000  feet  of  piping,  ] 
&(•.,  to  be  from  $320  to  S350,  \       S350.00 
say  the  largest  sum,  ) 

Boiler,  with  necessary  fixings  ) 
in  a  plain,  substantial  man-  >         $65.00 
ner,  put  in  place,  ) 

Ijabor,  etc.,  for  completing  the  ) 


same 


J 


Whole  cost. 

Each  furnace  and  flue.  ])lain  und 
well-built,  will  cost  .^50  00  ;  at 
the  end  of  two  years  will  require 
rebuilding  at  half  cost,  $25.00  ; 
and  at  the  end  of  two  years 
more,  renewal,  $50  00,  S125, 
which    multiplied    by    4   gives 


$245.00 


SGOO.OO 


$500.00 


$160.00 


Difference  in  favor  of  brick  in  six 
years,  , 

But  at  the  end  of  the  six  years,  the  flue  be- 
gins to  be  more  costly  than  hot  water,  for  the 
only  renewal  required  by  the  latter  is  occasion- 
ally new  fire  bars  or  a  pipe.  If  made  of  cast 
iron,  the  waste  is  very  little  indeed,  and  may 
last  fifty  years.  With  the  former,  the  same 
labor  and  cost  are  expended  during  the  second 
period  of  six  years  as  during  the  first.  It  has,  it 
is  true,  its  lower  original  cost  to  recommend  it, 
but  its  disadvantages  are  so  many  and  so  seri- 
ous to  the  gardener,  that  the  wonder  is  why  he 
has  suffered  so  long  without  a  murmur. 

The  saving  by  hot  water  may  be  estimated  at 
fully  two-thirds  in  labor  alone.  Healthy  plants, 
plants  in  bloom  just  at  the  right  time,  are  ad- 
vantages worth  far  more  than  the  difference  in 
the  prime  cost  between  hot  water  and  air  flues. 

As  an  appendix  to  what  has  been  said  before, 
a  few  general  remarks  may  not  be  without  in- 
terest. Three  or  four  days'  absence  of  sun  will 
cause  the  atmosphere  of  the  greenhouse  to  be- 
come heavy  and  humid  ;  but  the  admission  of  a 
little  fresh  air,  or  even  one  hour's  sun,  will  re- 


1/ 


102 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


April, 


H 


m 


store  it  to  its  proper  state.  In  the  absence  of 
sunlight,  carbonic  gas  increases,  though  not  suf- 
ficiently to  injure  vegetation ;  but  the  brick- 
flue,  in  very  cold  weather  with  a  brisk  fire,  has 
a  red  heat  near  the  fire,  and  all  the  oxygen  that 
comes  in  contact  with  that  part  is  converted 
into  carbonic  gas.  Any  person  who  uses  hot  air 
for  his  dwelling,  will  tell  you  that  in  very  cold 
weather  the  air  which  is  shut  in  from  the  fur- 
nace causes  a  sensation  of  partial  suffocation, 
the  air  being  overcharged  with  carbon  and  the 
oxygen  proportionately  diminished.  In  large 
halls,  if  the  warming  be  not  thoroughly  attended 
to,  and  if  the  audience  be  numerous,  many  be- 
come drowsy,  this  is  occasioned  by  the  carboni- 
zation of  the  air  before  entering  the  hall.  It  is 
the  same  with  greenhouses  and  plants.  The 
makers  of  hot-air  furnaces  would  but  fulfil  their 
duty  to  society  by  producin-,'  an  efficient  article, 
at  a  price  that  men  of  moderate  means  could 
afford. 

There  are  some  low-pressure  steam-boilers  in 
use,  but  with  the  small  amount  of  knowlcdize 
possessed  by  domestic  help,  they  may  prove 
very  dangerous,  and  so  are  not  likely  to  be  ex- 
tensively used.  The  only  improvement  I  can 
suggest  in  the  system  of  heating  dwellinss  is, 
that  the  furnace  and  air  chambers  be  larize 
enough  to  give  the  required  heat  without  put- 
ting the  former  to  a  red  heat,  as  is  the  case  in 
greenhouses  where  the  air  flue  is  used. 


the  same)  in  the  pipes  deposits  a  bluish-black 
sediment  very  much  like  varnish,  which  dimin- 
ishes the  radiating  power  of  the  iron  The  ope- 
rator puts  this  down  te  the  insufficiency  of  the 
boiler,  because  the  house  does  not  get  warm  as 
quickly  as  before.  To  remedy  this,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  empty  the  boiler  in  summer,  and  allow 
air  to  circulate  through  the  whole  for  two  or 
three  months,  when  both  boiler  and  pipes  will 
perform  their  work  as  well  as  at  first.  The  ope- 
rator should  be  instructed  by  the  mechanic  that 
puts  them  up,  if  the  latter  know  his  business  as 
he  ought  to  know  it. 

To  successfully  warm  a  green-house,  ?'.  ^.,  to 
produce  an  equable  temperature,  the  pipes  must 
be  placed  with  some  judgment.  If  the  house  be 
100  feet  in  length,  and  the  water  travel  quickly, 
the  return  pipe  near  the  boiler  will  not  be  many 
degrees  cooler  than  the  flow,  and  very  few  feet 
more  piping  at  the  further  end  from  the  fire  will 
be  necessary ;  but  should  the  pipes  be  so  laid 
that  the  water  has  a  sluggish  motion,  or  should 
the  boiler  be  of  imperfect  construction,  the 
lengths  of  piping  will  have  to  be  materially  in- 
creased. However,  to  most  of  the  boilers  now 
in  use  and  for  sale,  that  complaint  does  not  ap- 
ply. If  the  house  be  200  feet  long,  it  might  re- 
quire 25  per  cent,  more  piping  at  the  further  end 
from  the  boiler  ;  and  for  a  general  assortment  of 
hot-house  plants,  I  would  place  my  pipes  in  the 
following  manner  : 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJYER'S   MOJs'THLY. 


10  S 


Complaints  have  frequently  been  made  by 
those  using  hot  water  in  greenhouses  and  steam 
in  factories,  that  the  heating  power  of  both 
diminishes.  That  this  is  true  there  can  be  no 
question.  The  gardener  lays  it  to  the  boiler, 
the  factory  owner  to  anything  but  the  right 
cause.  Pipes  newly  used  radiate  boat  very 
freely,  but  in  two  years  the  water    ^team  does 


The  figure  represents  the  end  of  a  span-roofed 
house,  25  feet  wide,  and  as  long  as  the  owner 
might  require.  A.  is  a  table  on  each  side  of  the 
house,  at  a  distance  of  4  inches  from  the  wall. 
The  usual  way  is  to  cover  the  table  close  to  the 
front  wall  in  order  to  economize  room.  This  is 
false  economy,  for  during  cold  weather  a  stra- 
tum of  cold  air  is  generated  under  the  glass  to 


the  depth  of  about  12  inches  at  the  bottom   of   best  of  opportunity  to  compare  with  several  hun- 
the  glass,  and  in  this  atmosphere  nothing  will    dreds  of  other  varieties,  also  in   my  orchards  ; 
grow  during  cold  weather.     It  is  better  for  the    besides  which  1  have  not  failed  to  watch  its  suc- 
cultivator  to  have  an  opening  as  shown  at  a.    cess  in  other  localities  in  the  State,  and  I  have 
To  convey  the  air  so  cooled   to  the  heated  air    become   satisfied  that   what  po})ularity   it    has 
under  the  table  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows,    acquired  has  mainly  arisen   from  its  vigor  and 
When  spring  opens,  that  space  may  be  occupied  ,  excellent  habit  of  growth  in  the  nursery ^  and  its 
at  a  time  when  comparatively  no  artificial  heat  j  very  early  productiveness  ;  and  my  observation 
is  required.     Each  table  has  a  double  bottom ;  i  both  at  home  and  abroad  has  but  confirmed  ray 
the  lower  one  of  boards,  the  upper  one  of  slate  |  early  conviction,  that  its  early  and  excessive  pro- 
Between  the  floors  is  one  of  the  pipes  to  serve  for  i  ductiveness,  unless  checked  by  careful  thinning, 
bottom  heat  for  small  plants   or  cuttings  (b).  \  (which  with  us,  is  not  to  be  hoped  for),  is  infalli- 
Under  the  table  four  pipes  at  a  convenient  dis-  !  bly  fatal  to  the  proper  growth  and  development 
tance  from  the  floor  (c)  ;  making  in  all  five  pipes  j  of  the  trees,  while  it  further  results  in  inferior 
on  each  side  of  the  house— three  for  the  flow  and  !  size  of  the  fruit,  and  on  account  of  the  short  stiff 
two  for  the  return.     The  object  in  using  two  re-  I  fruit    spurs,     and     the    consequent    crowding 
turn  pipes  is  to  regulate  the  heat,  equalize  the  j  together  of  the  fruit  upon  the  branches,  in  the 
pressure  and  to  cause  occasionally  a  slight  vari-  .  actual  crowding  off  of  more  or  less  of  the  fruits 
ation  in  heat.  j  in  the  process  of  growth,  and  as  a  result  of  the 

At  this  writing,  it  is  snowing  ;  mercury  about  \  same  habit,  at  the  time  of  gathering,  fully  one- 
33deg;  inside  of  61  degrees  at  front  wall.  Nine  |  half  the  entire  crop  is  found  upon  the  ground, 
inches  below  the  glass  58  deg.  This  is  a  slight  '  and  consequently  worthless  except  for  cider. 
Vdriation,  but  the  house  is  five  degrees  lower 
than  it  would  be  if  there  were  no  snow  :  and  the 
mercury  at  the  lowest  part  of  the  roof  is  five  de- 
grees higher  than  it  would  be  with  outside  at 
zero. 

In  conclusion :  What  is  the  excuse  for  not 
adopting  the  better  method  of  heating  green- 
houses ?  Is  it  the  first  cost  ?  Certainly  not,  for 
the  labor  saved  in  one  winter  is  fully  one-eighth 
of  its  cost.  Is  it  the  want  of  means  ?  That  can 
be  overcome  in  one  j'car.  Is  it  the  habits  or 
education  of  the  man   that   prevent  him  from 


Inasmuch  as  I  have  an  intimate  personal 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  article  in  question  found  its  way  into  th 
Farmer^  I  will  take  occasion  to  say  that  the  nur 
seryman  in  question,  (Mr.  Husted),  has  made 
this  variety  a  specialty,  and  no  doubt  he  very 
honestly  believes  it  to  be  all  that  he  claims,  as 
his  personal  acquaintance  with  it  is  believed  to 
have  been  mainly  in  the  nursery.  I  am  how- 
ever well  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  many 
who  have  been  induced  to  pant  it  extensively 
upon  his  recommendation,  already  regret  the 
doing  himself  a  service?  This  is  the  most  likely  I  step.  These  plantations  are  mainly  in  newly 
solution;  and  if  these  few  remarks  be  the  means  I  settled  regions,  and  hence  on  virgin  soils,  on 
of  leading  any  one  to  exercise  that  faculty  of  which  the  tendency  to  wood  growth  will  proba- 
judgment,  given  to  all  in  a  greater  or  less  de-  j  bly  in  part  remedy  the  natural  tendency  of  the 
gree,  the  object  of  the  writer  will  be  answered.      ,  variety.     Yet  notwithstanding  this,  it  is  to  be 

„,„ I  feared  that  the  experience  of  the  next  few  years 

will   determine   the  extensive   planting  of  this 


THE  WAGENER  APPLE  IN  MICHIGAN. 

BY  MR.    T.    T.    LYON,    TLYMOUTH,    MICH 

I  obsnve,  with  a  degree  of  regret,  an  article 
in  your  February  issue,  extracted  from  Midiujan 
Farmer,  speaking  very  highly  of  the  success  of 
the  Wagenor  apple  in  Michigan.  I  regret  this 
not  because  this  variety  is  believed  not  to  be 
successful  here,  but  because  I  can  see  no  reason 
to  believe  it  more  successful  than  in  many  other 
localities. 

I  have  in  my  orchards  a  number  of  trees  of 
Wagener,  planted  when  it  was  first  introduced  ; 
say  about  1840  or  1847,  which  I  have  had  the 


variety  to  have  been  a  mistake,  so  far  as  finan- 
cial results  are  concerned. 

Mr.  Ilusted  also  takes  occasion  to  apeak  of 
Red  Canada  as  comparatively  unsuccessful.     It 
is  obvicus  to  all  who  may  be  familiar  with  both 
varieties,  that  with  its  weak,  slender  habit  of 
growth  while  young.  Red  Canada  can  never  be 
either  popular   or  profitable  with  nurserymen, 
and  had  it  not  chanced  to  win  popularity  upon 
top-grafted  trees,  it  would  in  all  probability  have 
been  comparatively  unknown  among  us  as  a  pro- 
fitable market  fruit  ;  but  coming  into  notice  as 
it  did,  when  an  extensive  region  which  in  the 


10  J^ 


THK    GARDE.N'ER'S    MOJVTHLY. 


April, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^TBLY. 


105 


early  settlement  of  the  State  had  been  planted 
with  seedling  orchards  were  being  regrafted,  it 
established  itself  fn  eastern  Michigan  and  in  the 
markets  of  the  northwest,  as  beyond  all  compar- 
ison the  most  profitable  of  our  market  apples. 
In  western  Michigan  the  growing  of  fruit  for  the 
market  is  a  comparatively  recent  business,  and 
although  in  eastern  Michigan,  after  a  forty  years 
continuous  acquaintance  with  Red  Canada 
(generally  under  the  spurious  name  of  Steele's 
Red  Winter),  fully  one-third  of  all  the  recent 
orchards  are  of  this  variety,  it  has  been  but 
slightly  known  and  sjiarsely  planted  at  the 
west,  a  fafct  largely  to  be  attributed  lo  the  cir- 
cumstance that  it  was  known  as  ''Steele's  Red 
Winter;"  and  when  trees  were  ordered  from 
Eastern  nurseries  under  this  name,  such  orders 
were  invariably  filled  with  Baldwin,  a  fact  that 
beyond  doubt  has  much  to  do  with  the  general 
distrust  of  foreign  nurseries  among  our  orchar- 
dists. 

Although  I  am  not  warranted  in  questioning 
the  allegation  of  Mr  ITustod,  that  Red  Canada 
is  unsuccessful  with  him.  I  can  confidently  state 
that  it  has  been  grown,  but  a  few  miles  distant, 
for  more  than  fifteen  years,  and  that  those  who 
grow  it  claim  that  it  is  quite  as  successful  as  it 
has  proved  at  the  cast. 


STOCK  FOR  CHERRIES. 

BY  ADDI. 

May  I  say  to  your  Mr.  L.  B.,  that  experience, 
two  years  in  succession,  proves  to  me  practical- 
ly, that  either  grafting  or  budding  of  our  Ccrasus 
sylvestris,  or  what  we  know  as  our  cultivated 
Sweet  Cherry,  upon  the  wild  common  sort  of  our 
woods,  or  Cerasus  serotina  is  a  waste  of  time. 
The  buds  or  grafts  will  grow  to  three  or  four 
leaves,  and  possibly  a  few  will  continue  the  first 
season  with  five,  but  that  will  be  their  end. 


IMMEDIATE   EFFECTS  OF   CROSS  FER- 
TILIZATION ON  SEKD. 

BY  C.    ARNOLD,  PARIS,  CANADA    WEST. 

In  your  February  number,  for  1871,  I  sent  you 
a  sample  of  fruit,  said  to  be  grown  upon  the 
brangh  of  a  tree  that  had  for  years  previous  (and 
this  year  also)  produced  pears  and  pear  leaves. 
The  appearance  and  taste  of  the  pulp,  in  the 
opinion  of  all  who  saw  it  and  tasted  it,  being 
apple.  In  my  communication  sent  at  that  time 
I  remarked  :  *'  We  all  know  that  if  we  plant  a 
few  grains  of  dark  purple  corn,  and  near  by  we 


plant  white  sweet  corn,  that  we  shall  find  in  the 
fall  both  varieties  of  corn  in  the  same  ear."  To 
this,  Mr.  Jacob  Moore,  of  Rochester,  in  the  Au- 
gust number  of  Horticulturist^  replies  :  '*  I  differ 
with  him  entirely.  I  don't  know  any  such  thing, 
in  fact,  I  am  confident  they  will  show  no  mix- 
ture whatever  the  first  year." 

Mr.  Moore's  remarks  appeared  to  me  so  very 
dogtuatic  and  uncourteous,  that  I  did  not  consi- 
der them  worthy  a  reply  ;  but  for  the  sake  of  ex- 
periment, I  planted  last  spring  a  grain  of  dark 
purpln  corn,  of  a  variety  that  I  knew  was  not 
grown,  nor  would  be  grown  this  year  near  this 
place,  and  I  now  send  you  two  ears,  one  all  purple^ 
the  other  without  a  purple  grain  in  it,  but  un- 
mistakably composeil  of  two  other  distinct  vari- 
eties. Both  ears  grew  upon  the  same  stalk  and 
sprung  from  this  purple  seed,  and  my  sole  object 
in  sending  them,  is  to  show  you  that  I  have 
proved,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  existence  of  a  phe- 
nomenon that  most  naturalists  have  called  in 
question,  and  no  one  that  I  am  aware  of,  has 
ever  before  proved,  viz  :  What  has  been  termed 
superfoetation  In  the  vegetable  kingdom,  or  in 
other  words,  one  seed  being  the  joint 'issue  of 
two  males. 

As  stated  above,  both  the  ears  of  corn  grew 
upon  the  same  stalk,  nnd  from  the  seed  of  a 
dark  purple  corn  like  thit  upon  the  large  ear. 
This  ear  was  allowed  to  'oe  fructified  by  pollen 
grown  upon  its  own  stalk.  The  pollen  of  this 
purple  variety  was  then  ail  removed  and  destroy- 
ed. And  as  the  silken  pistils  of  the  smaller  ear 
began  to  show  themselves,  pollen  of  a  yellow 
variety  of  corn  was  supplied,  by  suspending  small 
bottles  filled  with  water  ami  the  stalk  bearing 
the  pollen  plunged  therein,  then  after  a  short 
time  this  yellow  pollen  was  removed,  and  pollen 
of  a  white  variety  of  corn  was  furnished  in  the 
same  way.  By  examining  the  individual  grains 
upon  the  small  ear  you  will  observe  that  they 
are  yellow  at  the  base  and  white  upon  the  top. 
You  will  tht  n  please  remember  the  purple  seed 
from  which  i  he  stalk  and  the  two  entirely  dilTerent 
ears  grew,  nnd  after  a  thorough  examination,  I 
feel  contident  that  every  unbiased  intelligent  per- 
son will  agree  with  me  that  in  corn  at  any  rate, 
two  different  varieties  of  pollen  can  be  made  to 
intluence  one  seed,  and  that  the  pollen  will  have 
an  immediate  efftct  upon  the  color  of  corn^  if  upon 
nothing  else. 

Thus  far  I  have  confined  myself  to  a  simple 
statement  of  the  facts  as  they  have  developed 
themselves.     No  doubt  many  persons  who  have 


given  this  subject  but  little  attention,  will  say 
that  even  if  all  this  be  true,  of  what  practical 
value  can  it  be  to  horticulturists  or  agricultu- 
rists. Upon  a  moment's  reflection,  however,  I 
think  incalculable  benefits  will  be  obvious,  pro. 
vided  fruits,  flowers,  cereals,  and  vegetables  shall 
be  found  to  yield  to  the  same  influences  in  the 
hands  of  skilful  operators.  There  is  one  kind 
of  superfoetation  that  was  observed  by  Mr.  An- 
drew Knight,  of  England,  many  years  ago. 
That  is  by  using  two  kinds  of  pollen  to  the  same 
flower,  he  succeeded  in  producing  different 
kinds  of  peas  in  the  same  pod  the  first  season. 
The  same  thing  occurred  with  me  last  year  by 
using  pollen  of  Champion  of  England  and  Alpha 
upon  the  pistil  of  Little  Gem.  The  product  was 
three  different  kinds  of  peas  in  the  same  pod.  In 
sowing  the  seeds  of  a  singlo  raspberry  or  straw- 
berry, the  result  will  be  similar.  And  in  apples, 
I  have  reason  to  believe  the  first  mentioned  kind 
of  superfetation  is  attainable,  viz  :  One  individ- 
ual seed  being  the  joint  issue  of  two  males.  I 
send  you  two  apples,  that  in  my  opinion,  point 
very  strongly  in  this  direction  Both  apples 
grew  from  seeds  of  a  Northern  Spy,  and 
although  pollen  of  Spitzenberg  and  Wagner  was  | 
applied  to  its  pistil,  I  have  always  thought  it 
probable  that  pollen  of  a  large  yellow  apple  tree  | 
that  stood  close  by  stole  a  march  upon  me  and 
furnished  the  yellow  skin  of  the  apple  marked 
No.  8.  The  other  apple  marked  No.  4,  seems  to 
give  almost  the  fine  flesh  of  Wagner,  with  the 
spice  and  habit  of  tree  of  Spifzenberfr. 

It.  would  be  easy  to  conjecture  a  thousand 
articles  that  might  be  improved  by  this  process, 
and  no  doubt  many  will  suggest  themselves  to 
your  numerous  readers.  I  will  mention  only  one 
other  that  I  have  had  experience  with  that  would 
seem  to  be  a  good  subject  for  such  improvement, 
viz:  Wheat.  The  greatest  difficulty  that  I 
have  had  to  contend  with  in  crossing  wheat  has 
been  its  tendency  to  sport  and  run  into  different 
forms  after  being  thoroughly  crossed.  To  such 
an  extent  has  this  peculiarity  shown  itself  in 
some  instances,  that  a  person  who  did  not  know 
to  the  contrary,  would  have  supposed  on  cxara- 
inmg  the  straw  and  grain,  that  several  varieties 
of  wheat  had  been  sown.  This  has  always 
appeared  to  me  strange  and  unaccountable,  and 
1  believe  was  equally  so  to  Mr.  Knight  in  his 
aay.  I  now  hope  that  this  difficulty  has  been 
overcome  and  that  by  selection  and  using  pollen 
ot  two  different  varieties  of  wheat  to  one  pistil, 
this  difficulty  will  be  overcome.      Some  three 


years  ago  I  determined  to  try  this  method  of 
crossing  wheat,  and  although  I  must  confess  I 
had  at  that  time  but  little  faith  in  being  able  to 
place  one  embryo  grain  of  wheat  under  the  influ- 
ence of  pollen  of  two  other  distinct  varieties  of 
wheat,  yet  the  wheat  produced  by  the  operation 
seems  to  me  to  strongly   indicate   it.      At  all 
events  its  character  seems  perfectly  fixed,  and  it 
is  so  improved  in  productiveness,  hardiness,  and 
quality,  that  the  Ontario  Agricultural  Society, 
after  appointing  a  committee  to  investigate  it, 
awarded  me  a  gold  medal  for  producing  it. 

I  am  well  aware  that  many  intelligent  persons 
are  of  opinion  that  so  soon  as  a  pollen  grain  falls 
upon  the  stigma,  it  passes  entire  and  immediate- 
ly into  the  ovary,  and  that  it  can  then  be  influ- 
enced by  no  other  pollen.  For  my  own  part  I 
would  much  rather  believe  that  each  pollen  grain 
is  filled  with  thousands  of  minute  separate  parti- 
cles, each  etheralized.  It  may  be  that  some  of 
these  particles  of  thi.s  fovilla,  as  it  is  called,  may 
exhaust  themselves  upon  the  stigma,  and  thea 
other  particles  may  be  supplied  of  another  varie- 
ty, and  conjointly  aid  in  the  formation  of  one 
individual  seed.  But  my  object  in  writing  is 
not  to  advocate  or  condemn  any  theory,  new  or 
old,  but  merely  to  state  facts  as  I  have  found 
them. 

I  trust  that  you  will  submit  the  two  ears  of 
corn  to  a  thorough  examination  by  the  scien- 
tists of  Philadelphia,  and  then  return  the  small 
ear  to  me,  that  I  may  further  experiment  with 
it. 

I  have  put  in  two  apples  of  another  variety, 
No.  1,  to  show  that  the  several  seeds  in  the 
same  apple  will  produce  quite  distinct  varieties 
of  fruit.  These  three  kinds  all  come  from  the 
seed  of  one  Northern  Spy. 


«•■•» 


HOUSES  OF  S.  B.  PARSONS  &  CO. 

BY   X. 

The  following  is  a  diagram  of  a  range  of  houses 
recently  erected  by  S.  B.  Parsons  &  Sons,  of  the 
Kissena  Nurseries,  Flushing,  N.  Y.  They  are 
erected  on  locust  posts  with  tinned  valleys 
between  the  houses  and  the  sides  bricked  up  with 
brick  on  edge.  There  is  a  grade  of  two  feet  from 
north  to  south,  and  three  feet  from  east  to  west. 
Each  house  opens  by  a  glass  door  into  the  pro- 
pagating house  and  packing  room,  thus  enabling 
the  foreman  to  see  at  a  glance  the  whereabouts 
of  the  men,  and  also  giving  facilities  for  carrying 
out  plants  from  each  house  for  packing,  or  other 


106 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTMLY. 


April, 


187S. 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MONTHLY. 


107 


t 


lil 


purposes.  Under  the  packing  room  is  a  capa- 
cious cellar  into  whicli  a  trap  door  opens  from 
the  front  of  each  h©use.  By  this  means  stocks 
in  pots  for  grafting  can  be  handed  up  from  the 
cellar  with  great  ease.  Between  the  doors  of 
the  greenhouses  and  in  the  potting  room,  and 
also  below  the  outside  windows  of  the  potting 
room  and  potting  benches,  soil  and  pots  are 
passed  on  these  benches  from  carts  through  the 
outside  windows,  or  can  be  carried  in  on  a  light 
railroad  track  to  run  through  the  centre  of  the 
potting  shed  and  connect  all  the  houses  with  the 
playing  ground.  Thus  stocks  for  grafting  kept 
in  the  cellar  can  be  handed  up  through  the  trap 
doors  into  the  grafting  houses,  and  after  being 
kept  close  the  required  time,  can  be  put  on  the 


connecting  these  houses  with  valleys  was  bor- 
rowed from  England  in  1859,  and  the  first 
houses  in  this  country  on  that  plan  were  erected 
by  S.  B.  Parsons,  in  1860.  It  has  since  been  ex- 
tensively used,  and  is  found  to  be  an  economical 
and  useful  mode. 

The  heating  apparatus  was  furnished  and  put 
up  by  the  Shawmut  Iron  Works,  Cambridge- 
port,  Mass.  The  boilers,  three  in  number,  are 
arranged  side  by  side  in  the  boiler  room  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  lean-to  house,  and  are  so  con- 
nected that  either  one  can  be  used  separately  or 
all  in  connection.  But  two  are  required  to  heat 
the  houses,  the  other  being  held  as  a  reserve. 
Each  boiler  has  a  heating  capacity  of  about  fif- 
teen horse  power,  and  is  connected  to  an  eight 


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railroad  and  run  out  to  the  frames  in  the  plung- 
ing ground.  The  potting  room  is  heated  by  one 
flow  and  one  return  pii)e,  which  enables  work  to 
be  done  safely  in  the  coldest  weather.  The  office 
is  also  heated  by  hot  water. 

Watering  pots  are  very  little  used,  and  one 
man  in  a  few  hours  can  water  all  the  houses  by 
means  of  a  hose  connecting  with  a  hydrant  in 
each  house,  to  which  the  water  fiows  from  a 
reservoir  on  a  neighboring  hill.     The  mode  of 


inch  main  and  return  flow  pipe  with  six  inch 
pipe,  fitted  with  valves  to  shut  off*  either  boiler 
if  necessary.  The  main  flow  pipe  passes  through 
the  entire  length  of  the  lean-to,  and  across  one 
end  of  the  upper  house,  at  which  point  is  placed 
an  expansion  tank  to  receive  the  expansion  of 
water  for  the  whole  block  of  houses.  From  this 
point  the  distributing  flow  runs  buck  toward  the 
boiler  room,  and  from  it  the  branches  are  taken 
for  supplying  the  circulating  pipes.     These  are 


also  connected  to  the  return  flow  which  carries 
the  water  back  to  the  boilers  to  be  re-heated 
Each  house  has  two  sets  of  heatin;?,  or  circula- 
ting pipes,  which  are  so  arranged  that  either  or 
both  can  be  shut  off*,  or  so  checked  in  their  flow 
as  to  regulate  the  heat  to  any  required  tempera- 
ture. All  the  pipes  are  so  arranged  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  grade  of  the  walks. 

Since  they  were  erected  the  cold  has  been  22^ 
below  zero,  and  the  houses  were  kept  in  a  state 
entirely  satisfactory.  During  that  extreme  cold 
the  circulation  was  shut  oflT  from  the  large  west- 
ern house,  and  yet  the  temperature  was  kept 
sufficient  because  the  grade  enabled  it  to  gather 
in  heat  from  the  other  houses  through  the  trench 
which  held  the  connecting  pipes. 


AMERICAN  HORTICULTURE. 

Adflress  delivered  before  the    Oe^-mantovm    florticulturnl 
Society,  January,  1873. 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT,   JOHN  JAY    SMITH.    ESQ. 

\Condenfted  for  the  Gardener's  ^^onthly.] 

( Concluded. ) 

NOT  TOO  OLD  TO  PLANT. 

Many  persons  think  they  are  too  old  to  plant. 
This  is  an  absurdity.  Men  at  even  seventy  do 
not  hesitate  to  lay  up  means  for  their  children  ; 
then  why  not  plant  f®r  posterity,  and  why  give 
up  to  self  what  was  meant  for  mankind  ?  It  is 
founded  on  a  vulgar  error,  on  mistaken  and  pre- 
judicial notions.  Many  trees  only  ten  years 
planted  are  known  to  be  between  thirty  and 
forty  feet  in  height.  At  thirty  feet,  a  tree,  prac- 
tically speaking,  will  effect  all  the  general  pur- 
poses for  which  trees  are  planted.  It  will  then 
afford  shade  and  shelter.  It  will  display  indivi- 
duality of  beauty  and  character,  and  confer  ex- 
pression on  landscape  scenery,  while  during  all 
the  period  of  its  growth,  it  will  give  pleasure  and 
inspire  hope.  Very  many  trees  bear  fruit  in  a 
much  shorter  period  than  ten  years. 

THE  USES  OF  TREES 

is  a  large  subject,  on  which  time  will  not  now 
permit  us  to  enter.  One  instance  must  suffice. 
There  is  a  variety  of  Gleditschia  called  horrida, 
which  has  a  tremendous  crop  of  ugly  spines 
attached  all  over  its  body,  thrice  as  numerous 
aud  dangerous  as  the  triacanthos.  It  is  put  to 
a  moral  use.  When  a  man  has  committed  a 
cnme  against  society,  he  is  stripped  aud  sent  to 
the  top  on  a  ladder.  The  ladder  being  removed, 
he  gets  down  as  well  as  he  can.  This  mode  of 
punishment  is    said    to    be    more    effectual   of 


reform  than  even  the  famed  Delaware  whipping 
post,  and  might  be  economically  substituted. 

THE   PROBLEM    OF  AMERICA. 

Our  ancestors  were  too  hasty  in  cutting  down. 
Hence  our  sjreat  problem  in  America  is  how  to 
replace  what  has  been  ruthlessly  wasted.  We 
must  provide  shelter  for  the  prairies,  and  with 
our  great  stretch  of  sea-coast,  we  want  to  know 
what  trees  will  flourish  near  salt  water,  exposed 
to  pitiless  winds;  and  we  want  information 
regarding  the  suitability  of  different  vegetations 
in  our  variable  climates.  All  this  is  beinor 
studied  and  made  known.  I  do  not  despair  of 
seeing  the  transactions  of  this  society  published, 
containing  such  knowled2:e  as  this,  and  much 
more  that  our  young  country  is  yearning  to 
know.  Here  is  work  for  a  horticultural  society 
to  employ  its  extra  means  on  experiments  of 
world-wide  interest. 

AN  ACCLIMATION  SOCIETY 

is  much  required  in  America.  \yho  shall  say 
that  Germantown  may  not  initiate  it  ?  but  with 
aid  from  other  kindred  societies. 

SUB-TROPICAL   PLANTS 

also  afford  a  wide  field  for  inquiry  and  instruc- 
tion. The  subject  has  been  treated  with  eff'ect 
in  a  new  work  by  a  rising  English  writer,  Wil- 
liam Robinson,  whose  book  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  practitioner  of  horticulture.  And 
this  leads  naturally  to  the  subject  of 

.     A   HORTICULTURAL    LIBRARY, 

an  acquisition  we  should  not  be  slow  in  secu- 
ring. To  this  a  portion  of  the  society's  means 
should  be  devoted.  Very  probably  many  mem- 
bers have  books  to  bestow. 

THE   LANDSCAPE  GARDENER 

The  rule  enforced  by  Loudon  being  as  previ- 
ously stated,  if  not  always  to  its  full  extent,  we 
see  the  necessity  of  the  gardener,  the  horticul- 
turist, the  nurseryman  and  the  landscape  gar- 
dener ;  for  very  few  will  undertake  the  importa- 
tion of  the  plants  or  trees  of  each  kind  required* 
We  must  have  large  magazines  of  plants,  so  to 
speak,  from  which  each  can  draw  his  limited 
supplies. 

The  landscape  gardener  is  appearing  in 
America  wherever  his  services  are  demanded. 
We  have  good  artists  among  us  in  this  line,  and 
perhaps  a  few  pretenders.  Sir  Joseph  Paxton's 
will  not  be  wanting  as  demand  creates  supply. 
His  art  should  always  be  called  in  where  the 
best  permanent  effects  are  desired.  He  can  tell 
to  what  size  a  tree  will  attain.     Without   him  a 


108 


THE    GARDE JfER'S   MOJfTBLY. 


April, 


187S. 


THE    GARBEJ^EKS   MOJ^THLY. 


109 


*!■ 


few  years  must  brine  into  roquisilion  the  dreaded 
axe  and  the  knife.  If  it  is  almost  as  diffioult  to 
keep  money  as  to  make  it,  so  we  may  say  it  is 
more  difficult  to  know  what  to  plant  than  to 
bring  numerous  specimens  together.  On  the 
subject  of  planting  it  is  still  well  to  remember 
Cicero's  advice  :  ''  When  to  build  is  the  ques- 
tion, a  man  should  reflect  a  great  while,  and 
perhaps  not  build  at  all ;  but  when  to  plant,  he 
should  not  reflect,  but  plant  immediately.'' 
Much  time  is  frequently  wasted  and  years  lost 
by  not  commencing  with  trees  the  first  year  your 
property  is  in  possession. 

THE  EDUCATION  AGE. 

We  have  had  our  Iron  and  our  Golden  Aije. 
This  is  emphatically  that  of  Education.  It  is 
now  proposed  that  every  human  being  shall  have 
an  opportunity  in  life  to  rise  with  the  world's 
rising  fortunes.  Schools  without  individual 
payment  for  instruction  are  formed  almost 
everywhere,  and  they  are  to  teach  apt  scholars, 
differing  wonderfully  from  the  old  and  mentally 
idle  Spaniards  of  California,  all  now  unheard  of. 
No  sooner  had  we  secured  possession  of  that 
great  State,  then  a  mere  terra  incognita,  than  we 
picked  up  gold  by  millions  of  dollars,  found  the 
great  tree\'^  and  the  Yo-Semite,  and  in  the  heart 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  we  arc  now  surveying 
a  great 

NATIONAL   PARK, 

more  wonderful  than  anything  related  in  the 
Arabinn  Nights,  with  geysers  more  astonishing 
than  t  lie  long  believed  unique  water  spouts  of 
Icehuul. 

AMEIUCAN    PLANTS. 

From  those  once  far  off  countries  we  shall  have 
new  introductions  for  the  garden.  We  must 
take  care  that  Europeans  do  not  surpass  us  in 
these,  as  they  have  surprissed  us  in  the  skill  with 
which  they  cultivate  what  they  call  "American 
plants,"  including  one  of  our  greatest  and 
most  neglected  glories,  the  Rhododendron.  The 
"Yew  grows  more  rapidly  here  than  in  England. 
Suppose  our  predecessors  of  two  hundred  years 
ago  had  planted  Germantown  simply  with 
cedars  of  Lebanon,  Rhododendrons  and  Yews  1 
These  alone  would  have  made  our  district  the 
admiration  of  the  world,  and  shall  we,  because 
they  grow  but  slowly,  deprive  our  successors  of 
the  next  two  hundred  years,  of  this  imposing 
beauty— this  joy?  Loudon  immortalizes  the 
planters  who  introduced  "Cedars"  on  their 
domains.  A  Scotch  Duke  planted  his  bleak 
lulls  with   the   Larch,   and  lived  to  see  shi;i 


launched  from  the  timber,  and  now  the  Larch 
plantings  are  yielding  imm  ense  profits,  from  the 
demand  for  railroad  ties.  The  Marquis  of 
Blandford,  afterwards  Duke  of  Marlboro,' did 
not  hesitate  to  pay  enormous  prices  for  every- 
thing beautiful,  and  he  is  remembered  for  this 
single  act  of  bounty  to  his  country,  and  for  this 
alone.     Let  us  imitate  all  this. 

ADVANCE  IN  HORTICtTLTURE. 

All  the  good  things  of  Europe  have  been,  or 
are  to  be,  repeated  in  America.  I  have  record- 
ed but  three  or  four  greenhouses  in  Philadelphia 
sixty  years  ago.  A  valued  friend,  who  knows, 
assures  me  there  are  now  in  Germantown  alone, 
seventy-five  greenhouses,  graperies,  and  plant 
cases  which  deserve  the  name,  besides  uncount- 
ed hotbeds  and  appliances  for  an  early  salad. 
Twenty  years  ago  I  doubt  if  five  could  have  been 
found.  This  neighborhood,  too,  abounds  in  plant 
structures. 

The  advance  in  horticulture  is  one  of  the  great 
triumphs  of  onr  age.  This  period  of  a  few 
decades  has  seen  the  products  of  the  whole  world, 
once  unknown  and  despised,  brought  to  our 
doors  and  cultivated.  Manufactures  and  the 
arts  are  vastly  indebted  to  the  garden  for  their 
success.  We  have  em[)loyed  new  grasses  for 
useful  purposes,  and  even  sul)dued  the  hard 
trees  of  the  forest  for  paper. 

SIR   WILLIAM   HOOKER'S    MUSEUM. 

One  of  the  very  useful  thiuirs  done  by  the  late 
Sir  Wjlliam  Hooker,  was  the  formation  of  a 
museum  in  which  he  collected  all  the  i)lants  and 
their  woods  that  are  useful  to  manufactures, 
adding,  with  singular  success,  every  manufac- 
tured product  from  each  kind  ;  an  institution 
that  it  will  be  well  to  ke(  p  in  mind  in  our  city, 
where  the  products  of  the  mill,  thi-  loom,  and 
the  workshop,  so  predominat(\  It  should  be 
side  by  side  with  the  proposed  art  gilU-ry,  and 
may  be  considered  quite  as  useful 

THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  GERMANTOWN, 

as  I  have  said,  is  replete  with  means  of  study. 
We  have  some  native  advantages  of  soil,  eleva- 
tion and  water.  We  have  resources  in  conser- 
vatories, greenhouses,  plant  cases,  and  garden?. 
We  have  also  celebrated  botanical  fields. 

FIELD   AS.'-OCTATIONfJ. 

It  is  now  the  custom  in  Great  Britain,  the 
faslr.on  I  might  say,  to  form  field  associations 
from  the  members  of  the  various  horticultural 
societies,  to  explore  different  neighborhoods  for 
new  and  curious  plants.    They  are  attended  by 


both  ladies  and  gentlemen,  affording  opportuni- 
ty for  social  intercourse,  while  teaching  valuable 
information.  Herbariums  are  thus  formed,  and 
a  taste  for  botany  is  implanted.  The  members 
of  this  little  band  might  with  great  advantage 
institute  such  an  association.  Let  them  at  the 
same  time,  caution  their  excursionists,  when 
they  discover  a  rich  placer  of  the  fringed  Gen- 
tain,  the  untamed  Epigsea,  or  a  rare  fern,  not 
wantonly  to  pull  all  up  by  the  roots,  leaving 
nothing  for  successors.  vSome  of  the  best  botan- 
ical grounds  have  suffered  total  ex^tinction  in 
this  way.  The  native  Kalmia,  which  was  for- 
merly abundant  in  this  vicinity,  has  mostly  dis- 
appeared. The  Gen  tain  and  Epigfea  are  such 
favorites  that  we  are  doing  our  very  best  to  ex- 
tinguish the  race.  This  association  should  also 
set  its  face  against  the  too  common  theft  of  the 
tops  of  evergreens  for  Christmas  trees. 

If  we  are  rich  beyond  the  average,  in  appli- 
ances for  instruction,  we  are  moreover  fortunate 
in  being  near  to  our  co-workers,  the  great 

PHILADELPHIA  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 

of  which  many  of  us  are  members.  To  all  the 
associates  of  that  time-honored  institution  we 
shall  extend  the  cordial  hand  of  greeting,  hoping 
that  we  shall  often  have  the  pleasure  of  acknow° 
ledging  their  presence,  as  well  as  their  contribu- 
tions and  good  will,  and  not  only  so,  but  all 
similar  societies  everywhere.  When  they  may 
have  new,  rare,  or  useful,  or  ornamental  objects, 
we  shall  always  welcome  these  also  to  our  exhi- 
bitions. 

These  displays  should  present  some  great 
beauty  or  novelty.  In  this  rural  neighborhood, 
where  almost  every  householder  has  space 
enough  f«r  cultivation  of  some  fruits  or  flowers, 
we  shall  he  expected  to  show  results  that  cannot 
be  obtained  in  the  closely  packed  city.  We  shall 
not  grudge  them  their  triumphs,  but  will  endea- 
vor to  outvie  them.  ^ 

I  must  refer  you  to 

THE  LITERATURE  OF  BOTANY  AND  GARDENING, 

as  well  as  to  their  poetry.  Fortunately  these 
are  extensive  and  entertaining,  from  Pliny  and 
^-velyn  to  Cowper,  while  but  yjterday  Whittier 
nas  given  us  a  poem  about  G^rmxntown,  Pasto- 
rius,  the  Aloe,  and  all  that. 

We  place  Cowper  among  the  most  pleasin^r  of 
the  po.t8  for  his  delicate  appreciation  of'^thc 
dehghts  afforded  by  a  garden.  Who  does  not 
leraember  the  lines  beginning, 

"  Who  loves  a  garden^loves  a^greenhouse  too  ?" 


But  there  may  be  others  who  will  listen  to  the 
description  of  the  labors  and  troubles  inevitable 
to  the  cultivator.  They  forcibly  recall  the  care 
and  attention  bestowed  upon  the  flowers  and 
fruits  provided  for  the  table  and  ball  room.  They 
should  be  conned  by  the  belle  of  the  dance  when 
she  is  carelessly  holding  the  petals  that  have  cost 
so  much  : 

*'  Grudge  not,  ye  rich,»'  &c. 

THE   BOOKS   OF   THE  MASTER   MINDS, 

the  great  explorers  of  nature,  are  full  of  anec- 
dote and  interest,  of  knowledge  and  of  fact. 
The  whole  world  has  been,  as  it  were  but  yester- 
day, explored  for  the  benefit  of  the  botanist  and 
culturiat. 

AN  UNDEVOUT  BOTANIST. 

If  it  be  a  truth  that  *'an  undevout  astrono- 
mer is  mad,"  shall  we  not  also  say  as  much  of 
the  undevout  botanist  ?  For,  when  he  studies 
the  mystery  of  the  science,  he  must  arrive  at  the 
fact  4hat  in  the  entire  range  of  even  the  inani- 
mate world  there  is  the  most  evident  design~-2i 
design  running  through  the  whole  enormous 
catalogue,  so  extensive  that  the  life  of  man  is 
not  long  enough  to  understand  it  all.  This  con- 
sideration cannot  fail  to  lead  him  onward  in  the 
sublime  pathway 

'*FroDi  Nature  up  to  Nature's  God." 

LOUDON 

is  our  great  leader.  His  works  may  be  consul- 
ted with  advantage  by  even  the  best  informed. 

DOWNING. 

In  our  country.  Downing  happily  appeared 
just  after  steam  navigation  rendered  it  possible, 
nay,  easy,  to  import  into  America  tli(;  rare  trees 
and  plants  of  all  distant  regions.  He  inau^ura- 
ted  the  era  of  fine  planting,  and  may  be  still 
consulted  on  his  topics,  with  the  certainty  of 
obtaining  correct  information.  He  has  been 
followed  by  apt  students,  well  informed,  aad 
with  a  genius  for  his  pursuit.  His  premature 
death  will  be  long  mourned  as  a  misfortuue. 

Remembering  the 

FRUITS,  LARGE  AND  SMALL, 

we  must  not  forget,  also,  that  to  this  society  is 
entrusted  the  teaching  as  to  what  fruits  are  the 
best.  The  best  raspberry  or  strawberry  to 
plant,  will  continue  to  be  of  interest  so  long  as 
new  kinds  are  brought  forward.  The  best 
peaches,  the  best  grapes  for  indoor  or  outdoor 
«julture,  are  wants  of  everybody  who  has  a  gar- 
den. This  society  must  keep  pace  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  day,  and  it  must  show  each  in 


110 


THE    GARBEJ^ER'S    MOJ^'TELY. 


April, 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


Ill 


its  seaeon  the  very  best,  not  only  for  marketing, 
^r  that  is  often  only  the  best  for  looks  or  easy  to 
transport,  but  the  best  for  private  families  in 
resiKict  to  flavor  and  beauty,  as  well  as  produc- 
tiveness. The  public  will  look  forward  to  the 
exhibitions  of  the  Germantown  Horticultural 
Society  for  facts  and  truths  in  these  matters,  and 
I  feel  sure  they  will  not  bo  disappointed. 
In  Europe,  and  especially  on  the  continent, 

THE  ROSE 

assumes  an  importance  as  yet  comparatively 
unknown  among  us.  This  again  is  due  partly  to 
climate  ;  but  they  employ  art,  by  grafting  or  bud- 
ding the  finest  kinds  as 

STANDARDS, 

four  feet  high,  on  the  Manetti,  or  Dog  rose 
stocks.  We  have  then  a  living  bouquet  of  unri- 
valled beauty. 

Life  seems  to  me  worth  taking  care  of  when, 
every  day  in  winter,  we  can  enter  and  enjoy  the 
fragrance  and  the  beauty  of  a  well  kept  conser- 
vatory or  rose  house.  Gardeners  should  prepare 
such  gratifications  for  themselves,  for  according 
to  late  statistics,  they  are 

THE  LONGEST  LIVED 

of  all  the  professions.  A  recent  paper  read  to 
the  Institute  of  Actuaries  of  Great  Britain,  on 
the  influence  of  occupation  on  health,  shows  the 
ratio  of  mortality  per  thousand  persons  from  25 
to  GO  years  of  age  to  be  of  gardeners,  10.4  ;  ma- 
sons, 17.6;  beer  sellers,  21.5  ;  wine  and  spirit 
merchants,  25  ;  inn  and  hotel  keepers,  27.  Be- 
tween the  ages  of  45  and  65,  32.2  hotel  keepers 
die  for  every  14.5  gardeners.  Let  the  German- 
town  vomers  of  poison  take  note  of  it.  It  seems 
as  if,  1  might  say,  there  is,  besides  the  reform 
association,  an  old  man  with  a  scythe  on  his 
shoulder  close  behind  them.  Against  his  deci- 
sion they  will  have  no  vote  of  option,  local  or 
otherwise. 

GEIIMANTOWN    IS   WAKING  UP— 

this  society  is  one  evidence,  while  there  are 
several  other  indications.  Our  infant  society  is 
not  alone  ;  but  we  have  an  especial  aid  to  this 
new  impetus,  without  which  our  efforts  would  be 
much  retarded,  in 

THE    GEIIMANTOWN    DAILY    CHRONICLE, 

a  most  valuable  institution  for  all  good  purposes, 
and  already  aflbrding  evidence  that  it  will  give 
to  all  our  rightly  directed  movements  its  sub- 
stantial aid.  We  have  also  the  Qar(Untr'>s 
Monthly,  edited  in  Germantown,  by  one  of  the 
best  botanists  and  practical  cultivators  in  Amer- 


ica, which  circulates  everywhere,  to  the  enlight- 
enment of  thousands.  Then  we  have  the  long 
established  Telegraph,  a  weekly  so  well-known 
for  its  advocacy  of  farm  and  garden  culture,  that 
it  is  only  necessary  to  name  it  as  another  evi- 
dence of  Germantown  progression. 

[Mr.  Smith  then  gave  a  vivid  description  of  the 
additional  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  a  know 
ledge  of  plants,  which,  wherever  seen,  stand  \x\ 
to  shake  hands  with  us  ;  and  added  that  in  an 
imaginary  model  republic,   no    one   should   bo 
allowed  to  travel  who  could  not  distinguish  the 
families  at  least  to    which   flowers  belong,   or 
know  at  sight  our  principal  botanical  riches. 
He  closed  with  the  following,  which  is  so  good 
that  we  cannot  omit  it,   and  with  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  orator  and  contributors,  a  very 
pleasant  evening  closed  :] 

THE  LADIES. 

There  can  be  no  man  here  who  is  not  cheered 
to-night  by  the  presence  of  the  ladies.  Woman's 
rights  aro  sometimes  discussed,  but  there  is  at 
least  one  right  she  shall  never  be  deprived  of— 
the  right  to  possess,  to  control,  t*  work  in,  and 
to  thoroughly  enjoy  a  garden.  They  do  not 
require,  and  do  not  want  defenders.  In  a  new 
translation  of  Aristophanes,  by  an  English  cler- 
gyman named  Collins,  I  find  the  following  free 
lines  from  the  women's  chorus  of  a  Greek  play, 
which  run  so  trippingly,  and  are  so  appropriate, 
that  with  them  I  close  these  hasty  remarks, 
which  have  already  detained  you  too  leng.  But 
the  subject  is  really  inexhaustible. 

Without  the  presence  and  approbation  of  the 
ladies,  no  Horticultural  society,  no  garden  would 
be  attractive.  They  are  the  best  patrons  of  the 
advanced  gardener.  They  are  the  best  of  crea- 
tion—our household  gods,  in  fact  the  fairest  flow- 
ers we  have,  or  can  hope  to  see  : 

"  They're  always  abusing  the  women 
As  a  terrible  plague  to  men  ; 
Tbey  say  we're  the  root  of  all  evil, 
And  repeat  it  again  and  again. 

Of  war,  and  quarrels,  and  blood -shed, 
All  mischief  too,  be  what  it  may  ; 

And  pray,  then,  why  do  you  marry  us, 
If  we're  all  the  plagues  you  say  ? 

And  why  do  you  take  such  care  of  us, 

And  keep  us  so  safe  at  home. 
And  are  never  easy  a  moment 

If  ever  we  chance  to  roam  ? 


When  you  ought  to  be  thanking  Heaven 

That  your  Plague  is  out  of  the  way, 
You  all  keep  fussing  and  fretting— 
'*  Where  is  my  Plague  to-day  ?" 

If  a  Plague  peeps  out  of  the  window, 
Up  go  the  eyes  of  the  men  ; 

If  she  hides,  they  all  keep  staring 
Until  she  looks  out  again." 


THE  CURCULIO  AND  THE  PEA  BEETLE. 

Dx   S.  S.  R. 

At  the  late  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Fruit 
Grower's  Society,  held  at  Heading,  Penna.,  it 
appears  that  Col.  John  A.  Sheetz,  of  Womels- 
dorf,  stated  "that  he  had  discovered  a  remark- 
able similarity  between  the  curculio  of  the  plum 
and  the  jm  i  beetle,  and  from  a  microscopic  ex- 
amination, regarded  them  as  the  same."  To 
our  apprehension,  that  *' discovery  "  was  not  a 
very  "remarkable  »'  one,  for  there  is  a  mimicry 
in  the  insect  realm,  through  which  a  superficial 
observer  may  readily  confound  one  species  with 
another,  even  belonging  to  different  orders.  But 
when  a  "microscopic  examination  "  is  made  by 
one  professing  to  study  the  distinctive  charac- 
ters of  insects,  we  look  for  conclusions  more 
definite  and  reliable  than  those  Mr.  Sheetz  has 
come  to. 

The  plum  curculio  and  the  pea  beetle  are  no 
more  "the  same  "  than  a  sheep  and  a  goat  are 
the  same,  or  a  horse  and  an  ass  It  is  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  entomological  researches  of  more 
than  half  a  century  to  make  such  a  statement  at 
this  time.  If  they  were  the  same  «ve  might  soon 
be  rid  of  them  ;  for  it  would  only  require  a  uni- 
versal consent  to  destroy  all  the  infested  peas 
and  such  is  the  antipathy  to  the  cure  lio,  that 
the  country  would  cheerfully  make  the  sacrifice 
m  order  to  destroy  so  formidable  a  foe  to  peaches 
and  plums  as  that  insect  is. 

The  statement  hardly  needs  a  refutation-the 
two  insects  being  so  dissimilar  in  their  stuctures 
and  habits  ;  and  yet  it  was  made  so  confidently, 
and  before  such  an  intelligent  body  of  men,  in- 
volving as  it  did,  such  an  important  interest, 
that  many  of  the  members  were  taken  "aback,' 
and  hardly  knew  wh  it  reply  to  make.  Of  course 
|t  18  well  known  to  the  commonest  observer  that 
the  pea  beetle  passes  its  larval,  pupal,  and  Ijy- 
bernating  periods  within  the  seed  of  the  pea,  and 
nowhere  else,  unless  the  life  of  a  mature  iudivi- 
aual  should  be  prolonged  into  the  winter  folio «v- 
ing  Us  summer  sojourn. 


This  is  not  the  case  with  the  plum  curculio, 
which  it  is  just  as  well  known,  passes  its  larval 
period  in  a  plum,  a  peach,  a  cherry,  or  some 
other  kind  of  fruit,  and  its  pupal  and  hyberna- 
ting  periods  in  the  ground.  But  these  two  in- 
j  sects  differ  quite  as  much  in  their  forms  as  they 
I  do  in  their  habits.  They  do  not  belong  to  the 
same  family,  and  therefore  quite  distinct. 

The  pea  beetle,  {Bruchus  2nsi),  is  the  type  of 
the  family  Bruchidce^  a  term  derived  from  the 
Greek,  which  means  to  hite;  and  it  has  not  the 
extended  proboscis,  or  snout,  which  distin- 
guishes the  plum  curculio,  nor  yet  its  rough  or 
tubercular  wmg  covers.  There  are  at  least  fif- 
teen species  of  these  bruchians  known  to  Amer- 
ican entomology,  all  of  which  deposit  their  eggs 
in  the  germs  of  peas,  beans,  and  other  legumi. 
nous  plants.  But  there  are  several  other  allied 
gonera  also  destitute  of  the  long  snout. 

Curculio,  which  is  Latin,  and  simply  means  a 
corn  worm,  is  the  type  of  a  large  family  of  '*  snout 
beetles,"  or  weevils,  [Gurculionidce),  but  as  a 
distinctive  genus,  has  now,  so  far  as  I  know,  not 
a  single  species  in  this  country.  They  are  all 
ruled  out  into  other  genera.  In  the  time  of  Lin- 
naeus, this  term  would  have  included  the  whole 
^hree  hundred  species  or  more,  now  known  to 
American  entomology,  but  not  one  of  which  is  re- 
tained in  the  original  genus  curculio.  This  term 
has  become  popularized,  and  is  mainly  applied 
to  the  insect  that  infests  the  peaches  and  the 
plums,  Conotrachelns  nenuphar,  and  yet  we  have 
twelve    or    fourteen    species   belonging   to    this 


genus. 


Practically  speaking,   therefore,    we   have  at 
least   three   hundred  species    of  circulians,   or 
snout  beetles,  divided  into  some  seventy-five  or 
eighty  genera,    without   including    any   of  the 
bruchians  ;  and  these  vary  in  size  from  the  head 
of  a  small  pin  up  to  an  inch  and  a  halt  or  more 
in  length.     They  infest  si'cds,  grains,  nuts,  fruits 
and  timber,  as  well  as  the  leaves  and  stems  of 
vegetation.     Each  is  organically  adapted  to  the 
substance   upon  which    it   feeds.     Those  which 
infest  the  chinquapin  and  the  chestnut,  have  a 
rostrum  or  snout,  long  enough  to  penetrate  the 
fruit,  in  sjnte  of  ihe  defending  spines.     Each  has 
an  interesting,  if  not  a  useful  history,    which 
will  probably  never  be  written,  and  if  writteDf 
perhaps  never  would  be  read. 

1  regret  that  these  things  are  not  more  gener- 
ally read  and  retained,  for  no  true  entomologist 
desires  to  monopolize  the  knowledge  extant  on 
this  subject,  aud  hide  it  "  under  a  bushel.''    Nor 


):' 


112 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOKTELl. 


April, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MONTHLY. 


1 


do  I  degire  to  so  magnify  this  subject  that  it  will 
discourage  amateurs  or  others  from  investiga- 
ting and  exploring  the  deep  arcitna  of  the  insect 
world.  But  I  wish  to  impress  the  fact  that  the 
scientific  status  of  the  plum  weevil  and  the  pea 
beetle  have  been  fixed  long  ago,  and  therefore 
all  speculations  intending  to  identify  them  as  the 
same  insect,  are  worse  than  useless,  and  is  not 
the  kind  of  knowledge  tkat  the  farmer  and  fruit 
grower  now  most  needs.  Science  has  establish- 
ed what  these  insects  are,  and  when  and  where 
to  look  for  them,  and  it  is  left  to  those  who 
encounter  them  in  their  daily  avocations  to  de- 


113 


termine  what  is  the  best  remedy  for  their  destruc- 
tion, and  how  and  where  to  apply  it. 

Col.  Sheetz  said  that  he  found  jarring  the  trees, 
and  syringing  them  with  dilute  carbolic  acid, 
effective  remedies.  This  is  good  common  sense, 
and  without  disregarding  other  auxiliary  reme- 
dies, is  perhaps,  the  best  that  has  yet  been  dis- 
covered. T3ut  if  we  can  bring  our  fruit  trees 
into  a  profuse  bearing  condition,  one  need  not 
dread  the  curculio.  There  were  as  many  curcu- 
lios  when  I  was  a  boy  as  there  are  now,  but  there 
was  immensely  more  fruit,  and  this  insect  pruned 
it  out. 


EDITOR lAL. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  FLOWERS. 
Every  one  knows  how  great  a  variety  a  few 
«imple  forms  of  flowers  have  given  us.  A 
very  few  years  ago  we  had  but  one  or  two  Ver- 
benas, Pansics,  Geraniums,  Fuchsias,  Chrys- 
anthemums, and  so  forth,— but  how  many  we 
have  now  needs  no  remark. 
It  is  usual  to  speak  of  the  vast  changes  in  these 
few  simple  flowers,  as  being  the  result  of  the 
florist's  skill.  It  is  said  that  these  numerous  va- 
rieties are  the  result  of  the  florist's  knowledge 
in  hybridizing  ;  and  it  is  very  common  to  give  to 
hybridization  all  the  credit  for  the  great  change. 
We  have  to  thank  the  florist  undoubtedly  ;  but 
it  is  rather  the  florist's  care  than  the  florist's 
skill.  It  is  Nature  herself  which  changes.  The 
Florist  does  little  more  than  say  in  which  direc- 
tion the  change  shall  go. 

It  is  recognized  that  Nature  will  change  of 
her  own  unaided  power.  Florists  call  these 
changes  "variations."  There  is  no  hybridiza- 
tion required  ;  no  peculiar  soil  or  treatment 
brings  it  about;  but  all  at  once,  and  no  one 
knows  why,  some  new  form  will  appear,  so  far 
as  the  human  mind  has  yet  discovered,  inde- 
pendent of  any  extraneous  agency  whatever. 
Science  has  recognized  this  tendency  to  change 
under  the  name  of  "Evolution;"  and  some 
have  endeavored  even  to  account  for  the  origin 
of  species  by  taking  these  known  variations  as  a 
basis,  and  running  change  back  to  an  unlimited 
degree. 

However  this  may  be,  our  purpose  here  is  to 
show  our  readers  that  this  principle  of  inherent 


chan,2;e  is  possessed  by  all  plants,  independent  of 
cross  fertiliz  ition,  and  that  this  principle  is 
really  of  more  import:ince  in  the  improvement  of 
our  races  of  flowers  than  is  generally  supposed. 
For  instance,  there  was  but  one  species  of 
Dahlia  introduced.  There  was  nothing  to  hy- 
bridize with,  yet  by  watching  for  Nature's  vol- 
untary changes,  saving  seed  from  these  ad- 
vanced individuals,  and  so  on  again  and  again, 
we  have  brought  the  Dahlia  up  to  its  present 
stage.  In  the  Dahlia  there  has  been  hardly  the 
attempt  at  hybridization,  yet  we  see  how  nume- 
rous and  how  striking  have  been  the  changes. 
The  original  wild  Dahlia,  when  first  brought  to 
the  notice  of  cultivators,  had  little  more  to  re- 
commend it  than  the  wild  asters  of  our  woods 
and  fields 

The  Cineraria  is  another  plant  of  which  we 
had  but  one  solitary  species  to  begin  with,  as  is 
also  true  of  the  Carnation,  Heliotrope,  Pansy, 
Petunia,  Hollyhock.  China  Aster  and  many 
other  things.  There  are  allied  species  of  some 
of  these  known,  but  thoy  had  no  hand  in  the 
change  we  now  see.  In  a  state  of  nature  these 
things  change  just  as  much  as  they  do  under 
culture  ;  but  Nature  does  not  select  as  man 
does,  and  hence,  they  generally  get  crowded 
out.  Indeed,  it  has  always  seemed  to  the  writer 
that  the  principles  of  the  struggle  for  life,  on 
which  Mr.  Darwin  founded  his  theory  of  natu- 
ral selection  to  account  for  the  origin  of  species, 
would  in  as  many  cases  operate  against  the  con- 
tinuance of  new  forms,  as  in  favor  of  their  pre- 
servation.     A  single  individual,   though   with 


Brobdignagian  proportions,  is  likely  to  suc- 
cumb if  attacked  at  once  by  a  thousand  Lillipu- 
tians. 

So  far  as  hybridization  is  concerned,  we  do 
not  owe  very  much   to  it  in  starting  our  first 
variations    in  florists'    flowers.     The  Fuchsia 
Pentstemon,   Phloxes,  Tropoeolums  and  a  few 
others  were,  it  is  true,  of  not  much  importance 


they  are  wholly  correct,  get  us  into  trouble  all 
round. 

In  Horticulture  this  is  particularly  the  case. 
One  man  institutes  a  set  of  experiments,  which 
result  in  a  certain  way,  and  all  the  world  forever 
afterwards  applies  this  single  experiment  to  all 
sorts  of  things,  in  all  sorts  of  times,  and  under 
the  most  opposite  circumstances.    To-day,  if  we 


as    florists'    flowers,    until  cross    imprecmation    Z     T    ^'^'^''''  circumstances.    To-day,  if  we 

was  resorted  to.  Bu^  it  is  just  as  likX  th^tT  he  I  T     .        "''  ^'T  ^"'''^'^  ^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^  P^^^^^^' 
attempt    had    been   made  indenenlL     o^^^^^^^^    ogy,it  is  a  rare  chance  if  we  are  not  referred  to 


attempt  had  been  made  independent  of  this 
cross  practice,  that  just  as  striking  changes 
might  have  been  found  to  result  from  simple 


Grew,  or  Hale,  or  Seuebier,  or  Loudon,  or 
Knight,  or  Lindley,  who  made  a  few  score  of  ex- 
periments, in  the  long  dim  light  of  ages  past. 


evolution  with  selection,  as  from  the  use  of   he  ^'""^'^^''  '\  .'^^  ^^^^^^  ^'"^  ^^^1^^  ^f  ages  past. 

pollen  of  diifering  forms'in  hybridization  l^ T  7"^"^^  '"^r.  ^''^'  ^^^^^«  '^  ^-^^^e, 

Our  object  in  this  paper  is  to  encourac^e  our  "\  'T.Z  T  ''"''  '^'''  '^^^  ^^  ^^  '  ^"* 

aders  to  try  themselves  and  aid  flnr.l  n.^...ee  ^  '^^^}^^^  that  common  sense  is  a  better  guide 


than  the  most  inspired  leader  science  ever  bore 
for  us.  In  regard  to  the  sap  freezing  question, 
we  found  years  ago  that  "authority"  was 
against  us.  We  thought  however  we  had  placed 
it  in  the  light  of  common  sense,  and  that  the 
world  had  followed  us  wholly  by  this  time.  But 
it  appears  not  wholly,  as  the  following  from  the 


readers  to  try  themselves  and  aid  floral  progress 
in  the  evolution  of  new  forms.  There  is  no  one 
who  grows  a  flower  of  any  kind,  but  may  pro- 
duce something  more  striking  than  the  horticul- 
tural world  has  yet  seen.  It  may  be  that  we 
have  a  plant  growing  which  produces  a  long, 
narrow  petal,  and  we  know  if  it  were  broad  or     . 

round  how  beautiful  it  would  be.  Sowin^  seed  V^^'T^'i  '''!,*  ^^'''"^'  ^'  ^^' 
from  this  we  note  among  the  progeny  one  ;hich  ^''"  ^'^^^"^  ^^'^'^  '^^"^^  '' 
has  a  little  broader  petal  than  another.  Seed  ''.^^  the  risk  of  being  classed  with  the  irreverent 
from  this  again,  and  selecting  ac^ain  the  brond-  ^^^^^^^^^  ^  feel  obliged,  notwithstanding  my  great 
est  wnun  an  probability  ,rJ..:t,.  desi  Jt  S'^,^ ^^^^i^^-^^y  T^i 
suit.  This  ,s  tlie  way  the  Pansy  was  first  I  ff  the  freezing  of  sap  m  plants.  1  cannot  agre^w"^^ 
Drought  to  Its  present  perfection  of  form      In  its  i       ,  "  "•"  '*P  '"  P'auts,  like  tlie  blood  in  ani- 

wild  state,  in  English  coru-fields  thn  two  i.nnov  I  ™»'^'f"?r'ot  freeze  and  retain  life."      From  the 

petals  are  much  tie  largest,  and  ItX^Z    -P'  '  """""''  '  "^'  "  """""' ''''" 

io +..„„!  ,        .,         .     _  "  For  instance :     I  have  repeatedly  taken  gerani- 

ums from  my  garden  and  potted  them  for  the  house 
after  the  succulent  leaves  had  been  frozen  stiff,  and 
those  same  leaves  remained  on  the  plants  green  and 
healthy  for  months  afterward.  Here  the  sap  was 
surely  frozen  ;  but  cold  water  was  freely  showered 
over  the  plant,  and  it  came  out  uninjured.  If  the 
tender  geranium  can  thus  live  after  the  freezing  of 
Its  sap,  It  would  seem  likely  that  the  oak  and  pine 
can  do  it  as  well. 

*'As  to  the  freezing  of  the  roots  of  plants— who 
doubts  that  the  roots  of  the  parsnips  we  leave  in  the 
ground  through  the  winter  freeze  with  the  ground 
in  which  they  are  enclosed  ?  Do  we  not  leave  them 
there  because  we  believe  freezing  improves  their 
flavor  ?  It  IS  no  uncommon  thing  for  turnips  to  be 
Irozen  into  the  ground  in  the  autumn— frozen 
thoroughly  to  the  heart-and  yet  wlion  tliey  have 
afterward  thawod  gradually  with  the  ground,  and 
been  carefully  harvested  and  stored  where  they  will 
not  again  freeze,  they  nuiy  the  next  season  be  suc- 
cessfully UFed  to  raise  seed  from.  It  also  frequentlv 
happens  that  small  turnips  which  are  left  in  the 
ground  all  winter  where  they  grew,  will,  in  the 
spring,  send  out  new  leaves,  and  shoot  up  a  seed 
stem.  In  this  we  have  evidence  that  the  sap  in  the 
roots  or  some  plants  may  be  frozen  without  destroy- 
ing the  plant ;  and  if  the  roots  of  these  very  juicy 


lateral  ones  are  less  than  the  bottom  one  ;  but  by 
gradually  selecting  from  those  which  exhibited 
an  increase  in  the  proportionate  size  of  these 
lower  petals,  the  perfectly  round  ones  so  prized 
by  florists  have  been  obtained.  It  is  the  same 
m  regard  to  the  thick  velvety  petals,  so  much 
admired  in  this  flower  ;  color,  markings,  outline 
and  so  forth  ;  and  it  is  in  this  way  that  we  have 
got  so  much  more  of  value  in  floral  variety,  and 
m  the  rare  and  beautiful  form. 

There  is  no  mystery  about  it.     Any  one  raav 
oe  an  improver  who  so  desires. 


FREEZIKG  OF  THE  SAP  IN  PLAINTS. 

If  people  would  only  reflect  that  very  few 
^^ings  are  more  than  partially  true,  we  should 
tiave  fewer  errors  in  the  world.  Absolute  truth 
|s  rare  yet  in  society,  in  politics,  and  in  science 

which  /  ^''"''^l'/""  "    a^«    brought  forward  on 

^     c     to  establish  law,  which  are  onlv  correct    •      .1       ,    - 1  ""^" j  ^^  ...,..^..  »yitiiuutuesi,roy- 

80  far  as  they  go  ;"  but  on  the  sunnosition  fhnf    *T  ♦      ^^^^^ '  "^^^  ^^  *^'^  ''^^^^  ^^  ^'^^««  very  juicy 
Jo,     uui  on  uie  supposition  that    plants  may  survive  severe  freezing,  does  it  not  seem 


."^I 


114 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MONTHLY. 


April, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTRLY. 


115 


li  ■*■ 


I 


■ 


at  least  as  likely  that  the  roots  of  any  of  m\xx  liardy 
trees  may  be  so  constituted  as  to  bear  uninjured  the 
effects  of  frost?" 

We  like  the  tone  of  this  comraunication.  The 
appeal  to  the  plant  suits  us  exactly  ;  but  lest  we 
mistake  the  plant's  language,  let  us  first  take 
common  sense.  This  great  authority  tells  us 
that  life  itself  is  but  heat  transformed,  that  with- 
out heat  there  can  be  no  life.  When,  therefore, 
a  plant  is  frozp/a — when,  in  other  words,  it  has 
lost  its  heat,  for  life  cannot  be  sustained  at  so 
low  a  temperature  as  32'',  we  think  the  living 
thing  must  go.  If  therefore  the  plant  tells  us 
'*  it  is  alive  ''  after  its  internal  temperature  has 
fallen  below  32°,  we  prefer  not  to  believe  it,  but 
would  rather  imagine  that  its  spirit  has  been 
called  up  by  some  medium  to  answer  for  it. 

Again,  common  sense  tells  us  that  water  when 
it  freezes  expands.  If  there  be  any  who  do  not 
understand  this,  let  them  put  a  bottle  of  water 
out  in  the  frost.  It  will  burst.  A  turnip  or  par- 
snip is  mostly  water,  and  if  it  really  froze  there 
would  be  the  biggest  kind  of  expansion ;  but  a 
parsnip  three  inches  thick  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
will  be  found  to  be  only  three  inches  thick  in  the 
ground,  though  the  thermometer  be  at  zero,  and 
we  should  therefore  doubt  whether  the  parsnip 
told  the  truth  if  it  said  to  us  that  it  was  frozen 
through.  But  common  sense  still  helps  us  fur- 
ther. In  all  the  liquids  frozen  through,  we  have 
never  been  able  to  make  a  knife  penetrate.  If 
any  one  doubt  this,  let  him  try  the  nearest  icicle 
hanging  from  tree  or  roof.  But  we  never  yet 
saw  the  parsnip,  however  badly  "frozen,'*  that 
we  could  not  readily  run  a  knife  through  and 
through,  though  mostly  water. 

Beyond  all  this,  every  one  knows  that  at  the 
fall  of  the  leaf,  there  is  no  sap  to  speak  of  in  the 
maple  tree.  We  may  not  only  pierce  the  bark^ 
but  cut  a  branch  clear  across,  and  only  see  the 
faintest  moisture.  A  frost  follows  at  once.  The 
branches  are  "  frozen  solid,"  for  of  course  if  the 
roots  protected  by  earth  freeze,  the  unprotected 
branches  must  have  a  worse  ordeal.  They 
remain  "  frozen  solid  *>  till  towards  spring,  when 
though  all  nature  is  still  *'  frozen  solid,"  the  sap 
flows  vigorously  from  the  wouaded  stem.  Now 
common  sense  tells  us  that  liquid  will  not  flow 
up  through  matter  "frozen  solid,''  and  yet  this 
liquid  somehow  did  flow  up'  through  the  system 
during  this  severe  winter  weather. 

Well  all  the  great  names  may  tell  us  the  plant 
was  frozen  through— the  plant  itself  may,  as  our 
New  England  correspondent  says  it  does,  say  it 


ia  frozen  through,  but  we  prefer  common  sense, 
and  don't  believe  it. 

But  we  have  often  been  over  this  ground  iu 
the  Gardener'>s  Monthly,  and  in  these  past  arti- 
cles, have  shown  that  the  plants  themselves  told 
us  a  different  tale  from  what  they  told  to  our 
New  England  friend.  But  we  thought  in  this 
article  we  would  appeal  rather  to  common  sense 
than  to  isolated  facts,  and  notice  whether  or  not 
it  would  have  more  effect  than  the  other  line  of 
argument  seems  to  have  had. 


-• — ♦- 


OBITUAKY. 

DR.   JOHN  TORREY. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  in  the  80th  year  of  his 
age,  passed  away  the  father  of  modern  botany. 
In  its  early  history,  America  had  many  who  did 
it  honor  ;  but  the  botany  of  every  age  seems  to 
be  of  a  distinct  character  from  that  which  pre- 
ceded it,  and  botany  as  it  is  now  in  our  land, 
dates  in  a  great  measure  from  the  commence- 
ment of  Dr.  Torrey's  career.  When  the  Whip- 
ple Exploring  Expedition  returned,  the  plant 
collections  were  determined  chiefly  by  Dr.  Tor- 
rey,  and  the  result  placed  him  at  once,  though 
still  young,  among  the  leading  botanists  of  the 
world.  He  was  so  painstaking  and  so  thorough 
in  his  investigations,  and  his  knowledge  of  plant 
structure  and  plant  life  through  all  its  morpho- 
logical and  physiological  changes  so  complete, 
that  he  was  particularly  apt  in  taking  in  the 
best  specific  and  generic  character  in  his  dis 
crimination,  and  thus  it  came  that  a  plant 
named  by  Dr.  Torrey  was  rarely  found  to  belong 
to  any  other  position  than  that  in  which  he  had 
placed  it,  and  his  names  consequently  rarely 
changed  or  disturbed. 

But  the  great  charm  of  Dr.  Torrey's  career 
was  his  personal  character,  which  seemed  to 
attract  others  to  him  almost  on  a  mere  acquaint^ 
ance,  and  led  them  on  to  share  his  overflowing 
enthusiasm  in  the  pursuits  he  loved.  It  is  very 
questionable  if  we  should  have  had  an  Asa  Gray 
if  we  had  not  first  been  blessed  by  a  Torrey,  and 
in  one  way  or  another,  thousands  can  trace  their 
enhanced  love  of  nature,  and  consequent  increas- 
ed pleasures  of  life,  to  the  character  and  labors 
of  this  good  man.  A  poet  says  that  when  a 
good  man  dies  the  angels  weep.  They  love  man- 
kind, and  they  know  how  rare  and  how  benefi- 
cent to  his  fellows  is  a  truly  good  man.  Such  a 
character  as  Dr.  Torrey's  might  well  have  sug- 
gested such  a  thought  as  this. 

Though  well  nigh  an  octogeDarian,  he  seemed 


so  strong  and  active  that  it  is  hard  to  realize 
that  he  is  taken  away.  It  seems  but  yesterday 
that  we  could  almost  hear  the  sound  of  his  voice 
coming  out  of  the  letters  of  his  clear  and  distinct 
hand  writing.  He  had  written  for  the  writer's 
photograph,  and  the  letter  was  in  reply.  As  a 
general  thing,  we  seldom  publish  private  corres- 
pondence, but  this  last  note  we  ever  received 
from  him  is  so  overfiovving  with  good  will  for  all, 
and  so  characteristic  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
man,  that  we  are  sure  his  friends  will  pardon 
us : 

New   York,   October  12th,  1872. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Meehan  :— 

On  my  return  frrmi  California  and  Colorado, 
after  an  absence  of  more  than  two  months,  I 
found  your  esteemed  favor  of  August  7th,  en- 
closing a  photograph  of  yourself.  I  shall  place 
the  latter  in  my  album  of  botanists,  of  which  I 
have  now  a  pretty  laroje  number.  Please  accept 
a  carte  of  my  own  old  face,  taken  from  a  nega- 
tive for  which  I  sat  in  July  last. 

My  late  journey  was  the  second  I  have  made 
to  California,  for  I  was  there  in  1805  ;  but  I  had 
never  till  this  season  visited  Colorado.  On  my 
way  (accompanied  by  one  of  my  daughters) 
across  the  continent,  I  met  at  Cheyenne,  Mr. 
John  Redfield  and  his  daughter.  They  had  just 
come  from  Colorado,  and  were  going  to  Califor- 
nia, so  we  had  their  pleasant  company  for  near- 
ly a  month.  Mr.  II.,  although  an  active  busi- 
ness man,  is  an  ardent  lover  of  natural  sciences, 
and  especially  of  botany.  A  letter  just  received 
from  him,  states  that  in  his  journey  he  collected 
specimens  of  .570  species  of  plants,  and  brought 
them  home  in  good  condition.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  Natural  Sciences, 
and  you  may  be  acquainted  with  him. 

I  collected  pretty  largely  myself,  and  although 

I  found  little  that  was  new,  I  had  great  pleasure 

in  seeing  and  preserving  a  goodly  number  of  my 

old  acquaintances.     In  Colorado  I  spent  most  of 

nay  time  in  the  mountainous  part  of  the  territory, 

and  visited  Gray's  Peak.     Saw  Dr.  Parry,  and 

spent  two  days  with  him  at  Empire  City,  which 

nad  been  his  headquarters  for  several  months. 

I  wo  or  three  times  a  week,  he  ascended  some 

mountain  to  collect  herbarium  specimens  and 
seeds. 

Do  you  correspond  with  Bolander  &  Bloomer, 
Of  California  ?  Both  of  them  collect  roots,  bulbs 
and  seeds  as  part  of  their  business. 

I  did  not  go  to  Dubuque,  for  to  do  so  would 
prevent  my  visiting  the  more  interesting  regions 


west  and  southwest.     You  have  probably  read 
Dr.  Gray's  address  on  the  "  B  g  Trees." 

Hoping  to  see  you  next  winter,  or  earlier,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  to  have  a  good  botanical  talk 
with  you, 

I  remain,  cordially  yours, 

John  Torrey. 

P.S  —Don't  you  rejoice  over  Dr.  Hooker's 
triumph  ? 

As  to  specifying  all  the  work  which  Dr.  Torrey 
has  done,  it  is  so  well  known  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary. It  is  like  painting  the  lily.  It  is  enough 
that  we  present  the  flower,  and  ask  all  to  admh-e 
its  purity  and  fragrance. 


HON.    SIMON   BROWN. 

Agricultural  literature  has  met  with  a  loss  in 
the  person  of  Hon.  Simon  Brown.  For  years 
past  he  has  been  one  of  the  editors  of  the  New 
England  Farmer,  which  by  his  labors,  has 
achieved  a  leading  position  amongr  the  agricul 
tural  literature  of  the  day.  Like  so  many  agri- 
culturists and  horticulturists  recently  deceased, 
Mr.  Brown  was  as  highly  esteemed  for  his  many 
virtues  as  a  man,  as  for  the  excellent  influence 
he  exerted  on  progressive  agriculture. 


«>»>» 


EDITORIAL  N0TE9. 

DOMESTIC 

Tenperature  to  Grow  Mushrooms,  In  past 
numbers  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  we  have 
stated  that  the  chief  points  in  successful  mush- 
room culture  is  to  be  able  to  preserve  an  uniform 
atmosphere  as  regards  moisture  and  heat,  and 
that  about  65^  is  the  temperature  required.  We 
have  heard  it  stated  that  a  much  lower  tempera- 
ture than  this  is  sufficient.  This  winter  we  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  continuous 
production  of  mushrooms  naturally  in  a  green- 
house. Plunging  a  thermometer  in  the  ground 
the  earth  proved  G2°,  and  the  atmosphere  at  the 
surface  72^  We  still  think  about  65°  is  the 
figure  to  aim  at. 

American  Pomological  Society.  We  notice  in 
some  quarters  a  disposition  to  urge  on  the 
American  Pomological  Society  a  departure  from 
its  legitimate  work  and  enter  the  field  of  general 
horticulture.  The  same  class  of  persons  have 
been  for  years  urging  that  we  should  add  an 
**  agricultural  department,"  a  *' household  de- 
partment," a  ** youth's  department,''  and  no 
end  of  other  "departments  ''  to  the  Gardener^s 
Mmxthly. 


116 


THE    GARDEJSf'EK'IS    MOJ^TBLY. 


Jprily 


We  cannot  enter  here  into  the  reasons  why  we 
are  compelled  to  dissent  from  the  opinions  of  our 
good  friends,  nor  will  we  attempt  to  show  why 
it  would  be  unwise  in  the  Pomologlcal  Sr.ciety  to 
depart  from  its  chosen  mission.  But  we  will 
say  emphatically  and  briefly  to  the  gentlemen 
who  have  at  heart  the  interest  of  the  society, 
don't  make  the  change  proposed. 

WImi  are  Good  Flowers.  In  Europe,  the  im- 
provers of  florist's  flowers  i-eek  to  get  races  of 
flowers  on  certain  set  standards.  A  perfectly  cir- 
cular outline  is  generally  the  first  consideration. 
All  those  which  have  not  this  character  are  gen- 
erally discarded,  no  matter  what  other  good 
points  they  may  have.  In  this  matter  we  have 
reference  chiefly  to  the  Dahlia,  Pansy,  Gerani- 
um, Cineraria  and  Primula.  Then  the  colors 
are  to  be  distinct  when  there  are  more  than  one, 
not  run  into  one  another,  as  if  one  had  been  try- 
ing to  write  with  ink  on  damp  paper.  The  Cin- 
eraria and  Pansy  particularly  have  been  brought 
to  great  perfection  in  these  particulars. 

Errors.  Once  in  a  while  some  friend  calls  to 
our  attention  some  error  in  some  body's  paper, 
which  it  is  thought  we  ought  to  notice  and  cor- 
rect. But  we  feel  that  we  have  blunders  enough 
of  our  own,  and  it  is  none  of  our  business  what 
other  people  do.  But  when  an  intelligent  cotem- 
porary  writes  the  Cryptomeria  japonica  as  the 
Cryptogamia  japonica,  the  blunder  is  so  amusing 
that  one  may  be  excused  a  laugh  just  this  one 
time. 

Post- Office  Peculiarities.  Among  the  papers 
which  have  ably  aided  us  in  our  efibrts  for  Post- 
office  reform,  the  New  York  Weekly  Tribune  has 
been  particulary  conspicuous.  Quoting  some 
remarks  of  ours  recently,  it  pointedly  adds  : 

"The  Post-Office  is  the  people's  institution.  It 
is  a  necessity  of  their  prosperity  and  happiness  nnd 
comfort.  Its  management  should  be  plain  and  sim- 
ple, and  the  price  of  its  services  should  be  as  small 
as  possible.  What  it  undertakes  to  do  it  should  do 
promptly,always  manifesting  a  spirit  of  accommoda- 
tion, and  keeping  clear  of  ungenerous  suspicions. 
The  number  of  those  who  care  to  cheat  tlie  Post- 
Office  is  very  small,  but  the  Department  always  acts 
as  if  everybody  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to 
swindle  it  out  of  a  shilling  or  so." 

Cut  Flowers,  Large  numbers  of  people  in  our 
Eastern  towns,  who  feel  that  it  is  inconvenient 
for  them  to  grow  flowers  for  themselves,  now 
have  a  basket  or  bouquet  of  flowers  sent  regular- 
ly to  their  houses  once  a  week  from  the  florists. 
It  is  a  very  pretty  custom,  and  one  which  gives 
perhaps  as  much  real  gratification  as  any  one  of 
the  many  fancies  which  society  people  indulge 


in.  A  New  York  paper,  noticing  this  growing 
fashion,  says  the  following  are  some  of  the  prices 
which  ruled  there  the  past  season  : 

"The  following  will  show  the  prices  paid  for 
leadinc:  sort?  this  winter :  The  price  of  a  handsome 
basket  is  from  five  to  fifty  dollars.  Bouquets  can 
be  made  at  from  three  to  twenty-live  dollars.  Single 
rosebuds  cost  twenty  five  cents,  and  carnations 
twenty  cents.  Smilax  is  sold  at  one  dollar  a  yard, 
and  violets  by  the  dozen  at  twelve  cents.  One 
spray  of  lilies  of  the  valley  costs  twenty-five  cents.'* 

WliaVs  in  a  Name?  Some  of  our  English 
cotemporaries  are  joining  with  us  in  protesting 
airninst  the  ten  rod  names  some  varieties  are 
receivinsf.  One  says  he  was  looking  at  what  he 
supposed  to  be  an  old  fiishioned  Daflfodil,  when 
he  thought  he  heard  it  exclaim  :  "  Look  at  me  I" 
*'  They  call  me  now  Pseudo-Xarcissus  aureus 
maxim  us  flore  pleno  sive  roseus  Tradescanti. 
and  have  doubled  my  price  accordingly." 

The  Poison  Vine.  We  have  frequently  seen 
cows  eat  the  young  growth  of  the  poison  vine, 
and  never  knew  any  harm  result  to  the  cow. 
Some  people  however  have  an  idea  that  **  milk 
sickness ''  in  children  results  from  this  milk, 
but  it  may  be  but  a  supposition. 

The  following  from  the  Pacific  Bural  Press, 
shows  that  it  has  not  resulted  in  injury  when 
eaten  there  : 

"Experiments  with  animals  go  to  prove  that 
Poison  Oak,  {rhus  toxicodendron),  may  be  eaten 
with  impunity.  Indeed,  we  have  frequently  heard 
it  asserted  by  persons  in  California  that  they  have 
seen  it  eaten  by  men,  with  a  view  of  its  acting  as  an 
antidote  to  its  poison  externally,  or  from  mere  brag- 
gadocio. All  Californians  are  aware  of  the  violence 
with  which  its  juice  acts  when  applied  to  the  skin 
of  most  persons,  many  being  severely  poisoned  by 
its  slightest  touch.  It  is  also  claimed  that  some 
people  are  so  sensitive  to  its  action  as  to  be  seriously 
poisoned  by  its  exhalations,  without  any  contact 
whatever  with  either  its  juice  or  foliage. — Pacific 
Rural  Press. 

New  English  Peas.  Beccntly  we  remarked 
on  the  passion  developed  by  our  English  friends 
for  new  peas.  They  are  quite  excusable,  for 
there  has  been  remarkable  improvement  in  them 
of  late  years.  The  English  climate  is  more 
favorable  for  the  full  development  of  the  pea  than 
ours  is,  and  those  who  have  had  no  experience 
in  English  gardening  can  scarcely  imagine  how 
very  fine  they  ar^.  In  order  to  give  our  readers 
an  idea  of  how  fine  these  new  peas  are,  and  how 
magnificently  they  grow  in  Europe,  we  give  an 
engraving  from  a  photograph  taken  in  England 
of  Carter's  '*  G.  F.  Wilson  "  marrow  pea.  Most 
of  the  wrinkled  marrow  peas  are  late  peas. 
This  one  ranks  with  the  very  early  kinds. 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJfTHLY. 


117 


lis 


THE   OARDEJ^ER'S  MOJ^TELY. 


April, 


187$. 


THE   GARDEJVER'S  MOJ^'THLY. 


119 


Hot-Water  Heating.  When  a  couple  of  years 
or  80  ago,  we  tried  to  explain  how  hot  water  cir- 
culated, and  expressed  our  belief  that  gravita- 
tion had  more  to  do  with  it  than  any  other  prin- 
ciple— though  of  course  not  alone — we  had  no 
idea  of  starting  such  an  interesting  discussion  as 
has  since  taken  place.  Mr.  Saunders  has  since 
become  the  leading  centre  around  which  the 
gravitating  men  have  gravitated,  and  he  de- 
serves the  honor,  for  he  has  attempted  what  so 
few  disputants  do,  the  proving  of  his  faiih  by  his 
works.  In  a  local  newspaper  before  us,  we  find 
an  account  of  his  boiler  erected  on  this  principle. 
The  account  says  it  has  worked  like  a  charm 
this  winter.  The  pipes  are  2500  feet.  At  340 
feet  from  the  boiler,  one  may  get  the  St.  Vitus 
dance  by  accidentally  sitting  on  the  pipe. 

Essay  on  Tree  Culture.  The  Nebraska  State 
Horticultural  Society  offered  a  premium  of  ^200 
for  the  best  essay  on  tree  culture.  This  has 
been  secured  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Allan,  of  Omaha,  one 
of  the  largest  timber  growers  in  that  part  of  the 
world. 

The  Madrona  Tree.  This  is  the  Arhutus 
Menziesii.  Dr.  Kellogg,  in  California  Horticul- 
turist, writes  enthusiastically  in  praise  of  this 
Californian  tree.  In  its  evergreen  character,  he 
says  it  is  the  equal  of  Magnolia  grandijlora.  The 
orange  and  red  berries  are  delicious  to  the  taste 
— the  white  and  hlushing  blooms  are  magnifi- 
cent. Even  the  old  leaves  are  grand  when  they 
fade,  changing  from  green  to  gold  and  purple 
It  throws  up  "  knees  ''  like  the  Taxodium  distich- 
um.  Reading  this  article  made  us  feel  a  deep 
regret  that  all  attempt  to  make  it  like  our  Atlan- 
tic climate  has  failed. 

Drouth  as  a  Fertilizer.  Our  agricultural 
friends  do  not  keep  pace  with  their  horticultural 
brethren,  in  pressing  advancing  science  into 
their  cause  as  they  go  along.  Witness  the  fol- 
lowing from  the  Country  Gentlemen  : 

"  B  F.  J.  attributes  tlic  favorable  condition  of  the 
corn  crop  to  the  protracted  drouths  of  1870  and  1871 , 
and  points  to  it  as  'a  piece  of  strong  testimony, 
going  to  show  that  the  tendency  of  plant  food  is  al- 
ways, except  during  a  rainfall,  toward  the  surface  of 
the  earth.' 

*'Thi8  may  be;  and  fruitful  seasons  follow  a 
drouth,  but  only  when  they  are  favorable  or  rainy 
seasons,  showery  and  warm,  like  the  present.  One 
drouth  following  another,  as  in  tlie  past  two  years, 
shows  little  or  no  difference.  Would  another  anc' 
another  added  make  the  difference  more  clear  ? 
Have  we  data  to  this  effect  ?  On  the  other  hand, 
will  not  two  or  more  favorable  (moist)  seasons  in 
uccession  produce  good  crops  ?  Not  so  good  the 
last,  probably,  in  consequence  of  material  being 
abstract!  d  from  the  soil,  which  is  less  the  case  wheie 


the  growth  is  less  as  in  a  drouth,  and  may  account 
for  the  improvement,  as  land  lying  idle  or  '  resting^ 
is  thought  to  improve. 

"  If  the  fertilizing  matter  is  brought  to  the  surface 
by  the  heat,  or  the  dryness  of  the  land,  or  by  any 
other  means  during  a  drouth,  it  is  clear  also  that  it 
may  be  carried  further  and  escape,  and  there  is  no 
question  but  this  is  the  case  where  the  soil  is  quite 
dry  and  well  heated.  In  this  light  a  drouth  is  a 
damage  ultimately,  as  though  it  may  set  loose  unde- 
composed  matter,  it  will  also  lose  some.  We  pre- 
fer moist,  growing  seasons — avoidinir  extremes  of 
moisture -as  they  are  not  only  the  most  productive, 
but  furnish  material  for  enriching  the  land.  Thus 
what  the  rains  bring  down  and  the  air  furnishes  to 
the  plant,  increases  the  root  material,  the  refuse  of 
the  stem  and  the  aftermath.  Timely  rains  and 
warmth  are  the  great  agents  of  agriculture  What 
interferes  with  these  must  be  a  loss." 

We  think  our  readers  have  learned  the  lesson 

so  well  that  we  never,  never  repeat  it  again.     It 

is   that   dry   earth  absorbs   ammonia  from   the 

atmosphere— wet  soil  does  not,  therefore,  a  dry 

time  is  particularly  favorable  to  enriching  a  soil, 

so  far  as  ammonia  will  do  it      This  is  the  under- 

lyinir  principle   of   the    fertilizing  of  soils    by 

drouth.     This  fact  is  now  so  well  demonstrated, 

that  "earth  closets  ''  are  the  result. 

Seventeen  Year  Locusts.  Prof.  C.  V.  Riley  is 
very  anxious  to  get  information  about  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Cicadas,  or  so  called  17  and  15 
year  locusts.  It  will  oblige  the  editor  of  the 
Gardener''s  Monthly  if  any  one  who  may  get  any 
information  this  year  will  send  it  at  once  to  Prof, 
R.,  at  St.  Louis.  We  extract  from  Mr.  Riley's 
report  below  by  which  people  will  see  what  he 
wants  to  know  : 

BuooD  yii.—Tredeeim — 1859,  1872. 

In  the  year  1872,  and  at  intervals  of  thirteen  years 
thereafter,  they  will  in  all  probability  appear  in 
.Jackson  county  and  around  Cobden  and  Joncsboro, 
in  Union  county,  south  Illinois,  in  Kansas,  Missou- 
ri. Georgia,  Louisiana,  Tennessee  and  Mississippi. 

According  to  Mr.  Paul  Frick,  of  Jonesbero,  they 
were  in  Union  county,  111.,  in  1858,  and  he  also 
thinks  it  was  a  great  year  for  them  about  1832. 
Those  of  1858  were  prol)ably  premature  stragglers 
of  the  1859  brood,  while  Mr.  Frick  is  most  likely 
mistaken  as  to  the  year  1832,  since  the  Rev.  George 
W.  Ferrell,  of  Cobden,  Union  county,  witnessed 
their  appearance  at  that  place  in  1838,  and  also  in 
1840  and  1859  ;  and  Cyrus  Tliomas  has  also  record- 
ed their  appearance  in  1859  in  the  fifth  report  of  the 
Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  page  458,  while 
a  paragraph  in  the  Baltimore  CMd.^  Sun,  of  June 
18,  18  '9,  says  "the  locusts  have  made  their  appear- 
ance in  '  Kgypt,'  in  southern  Illinois,  and  cover 
woods  and  orchards  in  swarms."  This  brood  not 
improbably  extends  westward  into  Missouri,  for 
several  of  the  old  settlers  around  Eureka,  in  St. 
Louis  county,  Mo.,  recollect  it  being  *'  locust  year" 
about  the  time  of  its  last  appearance,  while  Mr.  L. 
D.  Votaw.  of  Eureka,  and  Wm.  Muir,  of  Fox 
Creek,  Mo.,  both  believe  it  was  exactly  nine  years 


ago,  or  in  the  year  1859.  Dr.  "Smith  records  it  in 
DeKalb,  Gwinett  and  Newton  counties,  Georgia,  in 
1846  and  '59;  in  the  northern  part  of  Tennessee, 
also  in  1846  and  '59 ;  in  the  whole  eastern  portion 
of  Mississippi  from  the  ridge,  which  is  45  miles  from 
the  river,  on  the  west  to  the  eastern  boundary  in 
1820,  '33,  '46  and  '59  ;  in  Carroll  Parish,  Louisiana, 
in  1859;  and  in  Philips  county,  Kansas,  in  the 
Bame  year. 

By  referring  to  brood  XV,  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
1846,  or  during  the  first  year  of  the  Mexican  war, 
this  thirteen  year  brood  appeared  simultaneously 
with  a  seventeen  year  brood  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio. 

I  have  abundant  proof  of  their  appearance  in 
south  Illinois,  especially  in  Union  county,  in  St. 
Louis  county,  in  Missouri,  in  Tennessee  and  Missis- 
sippi, but  not  in  Georgia  or  Louisiana. 

BROOD  viir. — Sepetemdecim — 1855,  1872. 

In  the  year  1872,  being  the  same  year  as  the  pre- 
ceding, and  at  intervals  of  seventeen  years  there- 
after, they  will,  in  all  probability,  appear  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Massachusetts,  across  Long 
Island  ;  alons:  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  up  the  Susquehanna  at  least  as  far  as  to  Carlisle 
in  Pennsylvania ;  also,  in  Kentucky,  at  Kanawha 
in  Virginia,  and  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  on  the  Ohio  river. 
This  is  the  brood  referred  to  in  brood  V.,  and  which 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  is  the  one  recorded 
by  Morton  in  his  ''Memorial,"  as  occurring  in 
1633. 

Dr.  Fitch,  in  the  account  of  his  third  brood,  (N. 
Y.  Rep  L,  p.  39),  says:  "The  third  brood  ap 
pears  to  have  the  most  extensive  geographical  range. 
Prom  the  southeastern  pait  of  Massachusetts,  it  ex- 
tends across  Long  Island,  and  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  up  the  Susquehanna 
at  least  as  far  as  to  Carlisle  in  Pennsylvania ;  and  it 
probably  reaches  continuously  west  to  the  Ohio,  for 
It  occupies  the  valley  of  that  river  at  Kanawha  in 
Virginia,  and  onwards  to  its  mouth,  and  down  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  probably  to  its  mouth,  and 
up  its  tributaries,  west,  into  the  Indian  Territory. 
This  brood  has  appeared  the  present  year,  1855,  and 
I  have  received  specimens  from  Long  Island,  from 


south  Illinois,  and  the  Creek  Indian  country  west 
of  Arkansas,"  etc. 

There  is  every  reason  to  beieve  that  Dr.  Fitch, 
in  this  account,  has  confounded  this  sepetemdecim 
brood  VIII.,  with  the  great  tredecim  brood  XVIII., 
for  it  so  happened  that"  they  both  occurred  simulta- 
neously in  1855,  but  the  exact  dividing  line  of  these 
two  broods  is  not  so  easily  ascertained.  Certainly, 
after  reaching  the  Ohio  river,  the  septemdecim  brood 
extends  beyond  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  for  Prof.  Potter, 
in  his  "Notes  on  the  Cicada  decem  septima," 
records  their  appearance  at  that  place  in  1821 ;  and 
Pr.  Smith  records  their  appearance  at  Frankfort, 
Lexington  and  Flemingsburg,  Kentucky,  in  1838 
and  1855.  But  I  strongly  incline  to  believe  that 
well  nigh  tlie  rest  of  the  territory  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Fitch  was  occupied  by  the  tredecim  brood,  the 
reasons  for  which  belief  will  be  found  in  the 
account  of  brood  XVIII. 

Cicadas  also  appeared  in  Buncombe  and  McDow- 
ell counties,  North  Carolina,  in  1855,  but  until  they 
appear  there  again  it  will  be  impossible  to  say,  pos- 
itively, w^hether  they  belong  to  this  aeptemdecitn^ 
brood  VIII.,  or  to  the  tredecimhrood  XVI II. 

Horticultural  Journals. — Miss  B.  L.  P. — 
The  Gardener'' s  Monthly,  Philadelphia,  and 
the  Horticulturist,  New  York,  are  the  principal 
horticultural  journals.  You  will  also  find  much 
horticultural  matter  in  the  American  Agricultu- 
rist, 

Agreed,  but  don't  ignore  the  Farmer  and  Gar- 
dener, which  has  some  claims  upon  Southern 
horticulture.  So  says  the  Farmer  and  Garden- 
er, and  we  extract  its  remarks  for  the  purpose 
of  saying  that  no  Southerner  can  afford  to  do 
without  the  Farmer  and  Gardener,  which,  with 
its  horticultural  department  in  the  hands  of  Mr, 
Berckmans,  treats  horticultural  matters  suited 
to  that  section  of  the  country  in  a  way  which 
not  even  the  best  magazines  of  Philadelphia  or 
New  York  has  the  opportunity  to  do. 


SCRAPS   AND     aUERIES. 


Best  Time  to  Cut  Grafts. —  /S.  asks  : 
'*  Does  there  take  place  any  chemical  change  in 
the  sap  of  a  scion  remaining  on  the  tree  till  mild 
wmter  or  early  spring  ;  or  is  there  any  change 
in  the  physical  condition  between  say  December 
let  and  March  1st  ?  I  have  often  been  told  by 
those  who  make  orchard  top  grafting  a  business, 
that  they  would  much  rather  have  scions  cut  in 
March  to  those  cut  in  early  winter,  no  matter 
now  well  the  latter  are  preserved.     Conversing 


with  a  man  who  has,  probably,  set  more  orchard 
grafts  than  any  man  in  the  United  States,  he 
said  twenty-five  years  of  extensive  experience 
had  proved  to  him  beyond  doubt,  that  scions  cut 
in  March,  if  not  hurt  by  winter,  were  far  better 
than  those  cut  in  early  winter,  no  matter  how 
well  kept.  Nurserymen  think  scions  for  root 
grafting  must  be  cut  early.  Spread  a  little  ink, 
friend  Meehan,  on  this  subject." 

[We  see  here  the  importance  of  what  is  termed 


190 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S    MOJ^TELY. 


April, 


** abstract  science.''  Those  who  believe  that 
the  sap  of  trees  remain  frozen  solid  through  the 
winter,  must  of  necessity,  answer  this  question 
negatively— that  is  that  there  is  no  change  in 
the  sap,  for  vital  action  cannot  go  on  when  the 
juices  are  frozen  solid.  The  change  from  starch 
to  sugar  is  a  vital,  not  a  chemical  process,  and 
the  change  of  the  starchy  matter  of  the  sugar 
maple  in  the  fall  to  the  saccharine  juice  of 
spring  must  be  the  result  of  vital  action  going 
on  in  the  unfrozen  juices  during  winter. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  there  is  vital  action  in 
vegetation  during  the  winter,  and  thus  under- 
stand that  it  is  quite  possible  for  some  difference 
to  be  seen  in  the  vitality  of  grafts  as  noticed  by 
our  correspondent.  We  do  not  know  from  expe- 
rience that  it  is  so  ;  but  it  is  evident  from  the 
experience  referred  to,  that  it  may  not  be  alto- 
gether an  illusion.] 

Gladiolus  Bulblets.— TT.  K.  T.,  Barnes- 
ville,  O.  asks  :  "  Will  you  please  give  through 
the  Gardener's  Monthly,  the  best  mode  of  grow- 
ing Gladiolus  bulbs  from  small  bulblets.'' 

[Our  own  plan  is  to  put  them  thickly  in  boxes 
of  earth,  as  soon  as  taken  from  the  parent  bulb 
in  the  fall.  Let  them  sprout  as  they  may  in  the 
cool  greenhouse  during  winter,  and  then  dibble 
them  out  in  spring.] 

Address  on  Hedges.— B.  F.,  Camden,  X. 
J.  writes:  "I  have  seen  with  some  interest, 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  V  Morris  in  regard  to  your 
address  at  Reading,  on  the  hedge  question.  It 
is  a  subject  which  we  are  all  interested  in  about 
here,  and  there  was  just  enouijh  rej)ortcd  to 
make  us  wish  for  the  whole.  Cannot  you  give 
it  entire  in  the  Gardener's  Monthly?''' 

[The  address  referred  to  was  given  oft-hand, 
and  we  are,  therefore,  unable  to  meet  our  corres- 
pondent's wishes.  There  was  a  phonographic 
reporter  present,  but  in  whose  employ  we  do  not 
know.  We  suppose  it  will  turn  up  some  day, 
and  if  so,  will  make  a  note  of  it  for  our  corres- 
pondent's benefit.] 

Bonne  Silene  Rose.— A  correspondent  asks 
whether  we  know  this  rose  to  be  distinct  from 
Gouboult?  We  have  not  seen  this  rose  for 
some  years,  hut  our  impression  is  that  it  is  not 
the  same.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to  decide  a 
question  of  this  kind  from  memory,  and  without 
the  two  plants  side  by  side.  ' 

There  is  getting  to  be  as  much   trouble  in  ' 


identifying  roses  as  in  strawberries  or  apples. 
It  is  quite  likely  roses  themselves  take  to  vary- 
ing a  little  at  times  independently  of  seeds.  For 
instance  there  is  a  Triumphe  de  Luxemburg 
about  Philadelphia,  which  is  much  better  than 
some  others.  Some  florists  regard  them  as  dis- 
tinct, but  there  is  little  doubt  they  are  all  from 
one  stock.  Some  think  this  improved  Luxem- 
burg is  the  same  as  Bonne  Silene,  but  there 
seems  to  us  to  be  a  slight  difference.  The  fact 
is  for  winter  cutting,  for  which  Bonne  Silene  is 
so  popular,  any  one  of  these  roses  will  satisfy 
any  one. 


Fruit  Prospects  at  South  Pass,  Ills.— 
P.  E.,  March  1st,  writes  :  "  Peaches  all  killed 
in  Illinois,  except  a  few  at  Villa  Ridge,  near 
Cairo.  The  trees  generally  killed  in  the  central 
part  of  State.  It  has  .been  a  disastrous  winter 
for  western  horticulture.  Pears  not  injured 
here,  but  reported  so  farther  north.  Mercury 
went  35  and  40^  below  in  central  Illinois— here 
it  was  14°." 


Asbestos  Roofing.— Cheap  roofing  material 
is  eagerly  sought  after  by  so  many  people,  that 
every  new  idea  is  welcomed  when  it  promises 
well.  We  have  had  our  attention  called  to  the 
asbestos  roofing  material,  introduced  by  Mr. 
Johns,  and  believe  from  all  that  we  have  heard 
of  it,  that  it  does  not  disappoint  those  who  have 
put  their  faith  in  it.  It  is  said  to  be  fire  proof, 
and  this  alone  gives  it  advantages  over  many 
articles  in  common  use. 


Wood  Lice  in  Greenhouses. --_¥rs.  D.  E. 
H.,  Middlehun),  asks:  ''Will  you  please  tell 
me  throuiih  your  Monthly,  without  giving  my 
name,  how  to  rid  my  grer-nhouse  of  the  wood 
lice,  which  trouble  very  much.  At  the  time  the 
greenhouse  was  built,  an  old  building  was 
removed  tf)  make  room  for  it  With  all  my 
efforts,  the  bugs  infrst  the  house." 

[Th(>y  are  easily  caught  by  putting  pieces  of 
boiled  potatoes  in  flower  pots,  and  some  dry 
sweet  hay  loosely  over  this.  These  traps  exam- 
ined once  a  day.  will  soon  »'.lear  a  greenhouse  of 
the  pest.] 


Propagating  Curley  Wooded  Forms  of 
Trees. ~r.  T.  N„  Carthage,  hid.,  writes: 
''Cannot  curly  walnut,  or  other  kinds  of  curly 
timber  be  propagated  by  budding  or  grafting 
young  stocks  of  such  trees  with  buds  or  jrrafts 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


121 


taken  from  trees  that  are  known  to  be  curly  ? 
Such  timber  is  very  valuable,  and  walnut  being 
a  rapid  grower,  a  supply  could  soon  be  produced 
if  there  is  any  known  way  of  propagating  trees 
that  have  the  trait  of  growing  in  that  peculiar 
way.  I  was  led  to  make  such  an  inquiry  by  ob- 
serving that  the  wood  of  the  Summer  bon  Cre- 
tain  pear  tree  has  always  a  similar  twist, 
whether  from  graft  or  bud,  so  far  as  my  know- 
ledge extends.'' 

[We  have  never  been  able  to  form  a  theory 
which  satisfies  us  completely  as  to  the  cause  of 
curled  grain  in  trees.  We  can,  therefore,  offer 
no  opinion  in  advance  of  experiment,  as  to  the 
probability  of  success.  It  is,  however,  as  our 
correspondent  suggests,  a  matter  well  worth 
trial,  and  we  should  be  glad  to  know  that  some 
one  is  testing  it.] 


The  Grape  Berry  Moth.— A  ''New  Sub- 
scriber,''—the  post-office  name  illegible— asks  : 
•*  Can  you  or  any  of  your  correspondents  give 
me  any  information  in  regard  to  habits  of  the 
insect,  the  maggot  of  which  is  found  in  grapes 
in  the  fall.  It  seems  to  be  on  the  increase  in 
the  vineyards  of  the  Hudson  river,  and  if  it  con- 
tinues to  increase  at  the  present  rate,  grape 
growing  as  a  business  will  have  to  be  discon- 
tinued. I  have  not  heard  of  it  in  any  of  the  ag- 
ricultural or  horticultural  journals  of  the  day, 
and  hope  you  or  some  of  your  correspondents 
will  be  able  te  inform  me  (through  Gardener's 
Monthly)  of  its  habits,  and  the  means  of  its  de- 
struction. When  it  first  appeared  it  confined 
Itself  to  one  jor  two  trellises,  affecting  all  the 
fruit,  but  now  has  spread  over  the  whole  vine- 
yard. What  is  the  root  insect,  Phylloxera,  you 
speak  of  in  February  number  ?  I  have  not  heard 
of  It.  I  need  not  say  I  am  a  new  subscriber. 
^  [This  is  the  Grape  Berry  Moth,  which,  with 
Its  larva,  is  represented  in  the  figure  1.] 

Fig.  1 


[The  color  (a)  is  deep  brown,  pale  buff  and  slaty  ; 
KO)  18  ohve  green,  or  brownish.  ] 


ITS  NATURAL  HISTORY 

may  be  given  as  follows  :    About  the  1st  of  July, 
the  grapes  that  are  attacked  by  the  worm  begin 
to  show  a  discolored  spot  at  the  point  where  the 
worm  entered.     (See  Fig.  1  c)    Upon  opening 
such  a  grape,  the  inmate,  which  is  at  this  time 
very  small  and  white,  with  a  cinnamon-colored 
head,   will  be  found  at  the  end  of  a  winding 
channel.     It  continues  to  feed  on  the  pulp  of  the 
fruit,   and  upon  reaching  the  seeds,   generally 
eats  out  their  interior.    As  it  matures  it  becomes 
darker,  being  either  of  an  olive-green  or  dark 
brown  color,  with  a  honey-yellow  head,  and  if 
one  grape  is  not  sufficient,  it  fastens  the  already 
ruined  grape  to  an  adjoining  one,  by  means  of 
silken  threads,  and  proceeds  to  burrow  in  it  as 
it  did  in  the  first.     When  full  grown  it  presents 
the  appearance  of  Figure  1  b,  and  is  exceedingly 
active.     As  soon  as  the  grape  is  touched  the 
worm  will  wriggle  out  of  it,  and  rapidly  let  itself 
to  the  ground,  by  means  of  its  ever  ready  silken 
thread,  unless  care  be  taken  to  prevent  its  so 
doing.     The  cocoon  is  often  formed  on  the  leaves 
of  the  vine,  in  a  manner  essentially  characteris- 
tic.    After  covering  a  given  spot  with  silk,  the 
worm  cuts  out  a    clean  oval  flap.   leavin«T  it 
hinged  on  one  side,  and  rolling  this  flap  over 
fastens  it  to  the  leaf,  and  thus  forms  for  itself  a 
cozy  little  house.     One  of  these  cocoons  is  rep- 
resented at^  Figure  2  b,  and  though  the  cut  is 

sometimes  less  regular  than 
shown  in  the  figure,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly the   normal  habit 
of  the  insect  to  make  just  such 
a  cocoon    as    represented. 
^  Sometimes,  however,  it  cuts 
two  crescent  shaped  slits,  and 
rolling  up    the   two    pieces, 
fastens  them  up  in  the  middle  as  shown  at  Fitr- 
ure  3.     And  frequently  it  rolls  over  a  piece  of 
the  edge  of  the  leaf,  in  the  manner  commonly 
[Mff.  3].  adopted  by  leaf-rolling  larvse,  while  we 
have  had  them  spin  up  in  a  silk  hand- 
kerchief, where  they  made  no  cut  at 
all. 
In  two  days  after  completing  the 
cocoon,  the  worm  changes  to  a  chrysalis.  In  this 
state  (Fig.  2  a),  it  measures  about  one-fifth  of 
an  inch,  and  is  quite  variable  in  color,    being 
generally  of  a  honey-yellow,  with  a  green  shade 
on  the  abdomen.     In  about  ten  days  after  this 
last  change   takes    place,   the  chrysalis   works 
itself  almost  entirely  out  of  the  cocoon,  and  the 


a 


'^olor,  (a)  honey  yellow. 


in 


THE    GARDE JTER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


April, 


little  moth  represented  at  Figure  1  a,  makes  its 
escape. 

Mr.  Riley,  who  prepared  the  cuts  illustrating 
this  insect,  writes  to  us  that  it  is,  in  all  probabili- 
ty, like  so  many  of  our  worst  insect  foes,  an  im- 
portation from  Europe.  It  was  first  described 
in  this  country  by  Dr.  A.  S.  Packard  Jr.,  as 
Penthina  vitivorana^  but  subsequently  proved  to 
be  the  European  Eudemis  hotrana,  W.  V.  ; 
treated  of  in  European  works  under  the  synon- 
yms of  reliquana  and  vitisana.  He  also  says 
that,  according  to  the  observatieus  of  Dr.  Hull, 
the  second  brood  of  worms  make  their  cocoons 
under  the  sheltered  places  afforded  by  loose  bark 
and  stakes,  and  that  they  may  be  allured  and 
destroyed  by  means  of  rags  or  other  traps,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  apple  worms 


Rare  Foreign  Grapes.—^.,  Augitsta,  Me.: 
*'  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  give  me  some 
more  definite  and  reliable  information  concern- 
ing the  following  foreign  grapes  than  can  be 
found  in  the  catalogues.  I  desire  to  know  the 
American  experience  as  to  their  season,  quality, 
productiveness,  and  health  in  cold  vineries,  as 
compared  with  the  Black  Hamburg  as  a  stan- 
dard of  excellence  :  Due  de  Magenta,  Golden 
Champion,  Trentham  Black,  Golden  Hamburgh, 
Muscat  Hamburgh,  Royal  Ascot." 

[Will  some  of  our  grape  growers  who  have  had 
the  experience  kindly  respond.] 


The  Father  of  the  Postal  Seed  Busi- 
ness.—We  cordially  endorse  the  following  by 
Mr.  F.  R.  Elliott  : 

'*  I  believe  it  is  part  and  parcel  of  your  life  to 
give  credit,  in  your  public  writings  as  well  as  in 
your  private  life,  to  men  for  the  good  thej  have 
done,  or  the  item  valuable  they  have  inaugura- 
ted. Let  me  suggest,  therefore,  that  when  from 
the  time  the  postal  laws  come  up,  you  insert 
this,  my  belief,  that  B.  K.  Bliss,  formerly  of 
Springfield,  Mass.,  now  of  New  York,  was  the 
first  to  make  a  specialty,  and  so  draw  attention 
of  the  public  to  the  value  of  transmission  by 
mail  at  a  cheap  rate,  of  seeds,  plants,  etc.  1 
think  it  well  to  keep  these  little  items— if  so  we 
may  call  them,  of  men's  acts,  before  the  people, 
that  during  one's  life  they  may  see  and  know  of 
the  appreciation.  Is  it  not  better  so  than  a 
record  after  death  ?'* 


Hedge  Plant  for  the  Shade.— 5,    Au- 
pasta  Maine  :    *'  Will  any  hedge  plant  do  well 


under  the  shade  of  quite  large  trees  ?  Most  of 
our  New  England  cities  are  well  shaded  with 
elms  and  maples,  bordering  the  lots.  A  hedge 
running  from  tree  to  tree  would  be  much  shaded 
at  the  ends." 

[No  plants  do  very  well  under  the  shade  of 
trees.  Pyrus  japonica  and  the  Silver  Thorn  are 
the  best.] 

Muhlenbeckia  complex  a.— -Dr.  H.  C.  W., 
Mathawom,  N.  Y.  This  is  the  name  of  the 
plant  referred  to  by  this  correspondent :  '*  Will 
you  oblige  me  by  naming  the  enclosed  plant  in 
your  journal  ?  It  puzzles  the  gardeners  here, 
and  some  in  New  York,  Mr.  Flemming  inclu- 
ded. It  is  a  climbing  perennial,  and  bears  clus- 
ters of  waxy  white  flowers,  and  I  should  judge 
it  to  be  half  hardy.'' 

[In  old  catalogues  it  was  known  as  a  Polygo- 
num. It  is  closely  allied  to  this  genus.  It  is  a 
native  of  Australia.  The  flowers  are  not  white 
but  green,  but  after  flowering,  the  green  sepals 
become  succulent  and  of  a  waxy  white.  This 
change  always  interests  students  in  botany.  In 
the  centre  of  the  waxy  cup,  is  a  triangular  black 
seed,  like  buckwheat,  which  is  also  a  Poly- 
gonum] 


Pyrus  Japonica  as  a  Hedge  Plant.— 
B.,  Augusta,  Maine,  asks:  "What  do  you 
think  of  the  Pyrus  Japonica  for  an  ornamental 
hedge  ?    It  is  hardy  with  us  as  a  shi'ub.'' 

[One  of  the  best  hedge  plants  in  the  world  for 
beauty  and  effectiveness.  The  only  drawback 
is  that  it  is  too  slow  for  fast  people,  requiring 
nearly  double  the  time  that  most  other  hedge 
plants  reqiTire.] 


Swindlers. — We  have  received  the  following 
from  W.  A.  B.,  Zanesville,  O.:  "As  the  swin- 
dling operations  of  men  acring  as  tree  agents  are 
on  the  increase,  I  think  it  would  be  well  if  nur- 
serymen would  give  such  names  publicity,  and 
thus  protect  others.  1  warn  all  parties  to  keep 
clear  of  men  traveling  under  the  names  of  *  * 
*  *  *  *  *  hailing  from  Sago^ 
Ohio.'' 

[We  have  striken  out  the  names,  but  yet  pub- 
lish the  letter,  in  order  to  add  a  word  on  this 
subject.  We  feel  as  heartily  as  any  one — indeed 
we  do  not  know  but  we  have  greater  reasons  in 
dollars  and  cents  for  the  feeling  than  himdreds 
who  read  these  lines— the  want  of  soma  means 
of   protection   against  horticultural   swindlers, 


187S. 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTSLl. 


ns 


but  cannot  make  up  our  minds  that  the  publica- 
tion of  names  in  the  Gardener  s  Monthly  is  the 
proper  way  to  reach  the  matter.  Here  in  Penn- 
sylvania, the  law  tells  us  it  will  take  the  whole 
responsibility  of  punishing  criminals.  It  not 
only  tells  us  how  we  are  to  proceed  in  criminal 
cases,  but  tells  us  it  will  punish  us  if  we  take  the 
law  into  our  own  hands  and  punish  the  criminal. 
It  says  to  us  in  effect,  "you  wou'd  have  a  pretty 
state  of  society  if  individuals  are  to  be  judge, 
jury  and  executioner."  There  is  at  the  present 
time  an  editor  in  Philadelphia  under  sentence 
because  he  stated  a  fact  in  his  paper,  which  the 
court  decided  ought  to  have  been  given  in  a 
court  of  justice,  and  not  in  a  newspaper.  It  is 
not  for  us  to  question  the  wisdom  of  these  laws, 
but  as  we  know  it  is  the  law,  we  have  to  abide 
by  it. 

Now  it  seems  to  us  the  best  way  to  guard 
against  swindlers  of  this  class  is  for  the  horticul- 
turists of  a  neighborhood  to  do  as  farrriers  do 
against  horse  thieves— form  an  association  to 
prosecute  offenders.  It  is  not  fair  that  one  or 
two  men  should  have  the  burden  in  time  and 
money  of  ridding  a  neighborhood  of  these  swin- 
dlers. It  is  to  the  interest  of  the  whole  neigbor- 
hood  that  they  should  keep  the  place  pure  in  its 
reputation.  At  Springfield,  Ohio,  for  instance, 
there  is  a  person  flourishing  who  has  for  years 
been  preying  unmolested  on  the  public,  and  the 
result  is  that  the  whole  horticulture  of  Spring- 
field suffers  in  public  estimation.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  the  Springfieldians  on  the  spot  could 
catch  the  fellow  if  they  had  a  mind  to,  but  it  is 
no  one  person's  business,  and  so  the  whole  have 
to  suffer— an  ori:anization  could  do  it. 

Philadelphians  have  set  some  such  an  exam- 
ple. The  wine  plant  men  were  once  driving  a 
good  trade,  but  a  few  farmers  combined  to  pro- 
secute, and  a  conviction  with  six  months  in  jail, 
for  "  selling  as  wine  plants  what  they  well  knew 
were  but  rhubarb  plants,  with  intent, '»  and  so 
forth— to  get  forty  dollars  per  hundred  for  what 
was  worth  but  five -completely  broke  up  the 
'*  wine  plant »'  trade. 

With  every  desire  to  aid  our  friends  in  their 
fight  with  the  swindlers,  we  do  not  see  that  we 
can  aid  them  in  the  publication  of  names.  In 
the  co-operative  plan  of  prosecution,  we  see  the 
only  chance.] 

Heating  a  Plant  CASE.-Dr.  H.  C.  TT., 
Mathawom,  N.  Y.:  "Is  there  any  device  for 
heating  an  enclosed  window  garden  ?    It  is  shut 


off  from  the  room  on  account  of  coal  gas,  which 
makes  it  too  cold  for  plants  to  thrive." 

[In  cases  like  this  it  is  not  unusual  to  heat  a 
miniature  boiler  and  pipes  with  a  gas  or  lard  oil 
jet.  The  gas  light  must  of  course  be  entirely 
secured  from  the  plants,  or  the  fumes  will  injure 
them.  A  pipe  must  bring  fresh  air  from  the 
outside  of  the  case  to  feed  the  lisrht,  and  another 
must  convey  the  fumes  away.  In  one  case  we 
have  seen  a  simple  "  drum  "  heated  in  this  way 
by  a  gas  jet  without  any  hot  water  arrange- 
ments, and  it  answered  perfectly.] 


Sweet  and  Sour  Apples. — A  correspond- 
ent sends  us  an  elaborate  argument  founded  on 
"laws  of  vegetable  physiology,"  from  some 
paper  he  does  not  name,  to  account  for  the  phe- 
nomena of  sweet  and  sour  apples  on  the  same 
tree,  or  even  in  the  same  fruit.  We  have  read 
it  over  and  do  not  understand  it.  We  doubt 
whether  the  writer  of  the  paragraph  understands 
it  himself;  and  we  doubt  whether  any  one  of  our 
readers  would  make  anything  of  it  -  and  we  have 
no  room  to  merely  "fill  in  a  column."  There 
is  indeed  no  need  of  any  theory  of  "blending  of 
sap  from  scion  with  stock  to  account  for  it  " — 
as  the  Rhode  Island  Greening,  generally  a  sour 
apple  in  the  Atlantic  States,  is  nearly  always, 
indeed  so  far  as  we  can  say  from  our  own  experi- 
ence, is  always  sweet  on  the  Pacific,  "blending 
of  blood  "  notwithstanding. 


Book  on  Flower  Cultivation.— P.  B.y 
New  Castle,  Pa.,  writes:  "1  wish  to  ask  a 
favor  of  you.  Is  there  such  a  book  published  in 
America  or  Europe  as  a  botany  on  flowers,  or 
"Floral  Botany''  in  the  English  language? 
One  that  would  be  a  great  help  to  a  young  flo- 
rist. I  have  Gray's  Botany  and  Lessons,  but  it 
is  not  the  book  that  I  would  like  to  have.  I 
would  like  to  have  a  work  giving  the  name,  des- 
cription, picture  of  flower,  and  cultivation  of  all 
the  different  plants  and  flowers  at  present  in 
cultivation.  If  you  know  of  any  such,  you 
would  greatly  oblige  me  by  giving  me  the  name 
of  the  book,  where  it  can  be  had,  and  the  proba- 
ble cost  of  the  same,  and  oblige.'' 

[There  is  no  such  work.  Loudon's  Encych- 
poedia  of  Plants  is  the  nearest  approach  to  it.] 


Rochester  Seed  Firm.— i^.  B.,CorpusdriS' 
ti,  Texas. — The  person  you  refer  to  is  Jas.Vick, 
Jr.,  one  of  the  most  honorable  men  in  the  seed 
trade. 


nA 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


April, 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


New  Japan  Cockscomb.— The  old  cocks- 
comb is  an  universal  favorite.  It  used  to  be  one 
of  the  stock  things  which  the  gardeners  of  the 
old  school  loved  to  grow.  The  effort  was  to  get 
them  as  dwarf  as  possible,  and  then  the  flower 
as  long  and  wide  as  they  could  be  induced  to 
grow.  Still  it  was  simply  a  ''show"  plant. 
The  flowers  could  not  be  cut  or  made  much  use 
of  when  taken  from  the  parent  plant.  One  mag- 
nificent head  and  that  was  all. 

Japan,  which  has  given  us  so  many  good 
things,  now  sends  us  a  kind  which  is  as  hand- 
some in  color  as  the  old  kind,  but  divides  itself 


up  into  a  large  number  of  small  bunches.  Tliis 
will  allow  of  cutting  if  desirable  without  sacrifi- 
cing the  whole  plant.  The  cockscomb  is  easily 
raised  from  seed,  after  the  weather  gets  warm, 
but  requires  very  rich  soil  to  develop  itself  pro- 
perly. To  get  the  best  results,  a  rather  humid 
atmosphere  is  the  best,  and  for  this  reason, 
although  they  are  very  beautiful  in  the  open 
ground,  they  never  are  quite  so  fine  as  when 
grown  in  a  hot-bed  frame. 

We  observe  in  Carter's  advertisements  that  it 
is  known  as  Cclosia  japonica,  but  whether  a  dis- 
tinct species  or  not  from  the  old  one  we  cannot 
say.  Our  illustration  gives  an  idea  of  its  branch- 
ing character. 


Double  Flowered  Zonale  Geraniums. 
—Mr.  Jean  Sisley,  wh©  has  had  such  remarka- 
ble success  in  raising  double  zonale  geraniums, 
is  a  wealthy  amateur  of  Lyons,  and  one  of  the 
leading  officers  of  the  horticultural  society  of 
that  great  French  city.  Last  year  he  was  fortu- 
nate in  producing  a  double  white  of  a  first-class 
character.  A  French  nurseryman  is  now  send- 
ing out  a  new  set  raised  by  Mr.  Sisley  last  year. 
They  are  : 

Aline  Sisley^  which  is  a  white  of  the  style  of 
the  single  Madame  Vaucher. 

Asa  Gray.  This  is  after  the  fashion  of  Gloire 
^e  Corbery,  and  is  said  to  have  made  a  sensa- 
tion at  the  Exposition  Universelle  of  Lyons. 

Charles  Lyell.  This  has  a  coppery  ground, 
and  shaded  on  the  edges  to  a  white.  *'  Thii 
color  is  the  admiration  of  all  the  leading  horticul- 
turists who  saw  it  at  Mr.  Sisley's." 

Jeane-  Alegatiere  Brilliant  rosy  lilac.  After 
the  style  of  Y ictoire  de  Lyon. 

Exposition  de  Lyon.  A  cherry  magenta  Of 
fijreat  brilliancy,  also  after  the  style  of  Yictoire 
de  Lyon. 

Last  spring  the  French  had  in  the  market 
several  other  first  class  double  geraniums  which 
ought  to  be  now  ready  for  sale  by  our  own 
florists.  The  best  of  these  were  Charles  Darwin, 
Francois  Aries  Dufour,  Emilio  Castellar,  Kose 
Pur,  Deuil  de  Strasbourg,  and  Alba  plena,  which 
is,  we  note,  advertised  by  Mr.  Buist. 

Jeane  Alegatiere  and  Exposition  de  Lyon  are 
not  Mr.  Sisley 's  seedlings. 

Xothwithstanding  the  very  low  prices  at 
which  things  are  sold  in  France  as  compared 
with  our  country,  and  the  large  number  of 
people  who  purchase  novelties  of  this  character, 
these  new  doubles  sell  there  in  large  quantities 
at  $2.50  each. 


SiLENE  VIRGINICA.— For  the  introduction  of 
this  really  beautiful  plant  we  are  indebted  to 
the  unwearied  energies  of  the  Messrs.  Backhouse 
&  Son,  of  York,  who  deserve  the  thanks  of  the 
horticultural  world  for  their  endeavors  to  popu- 
larize and  foster  the  love  for  herbaceous  plants 
amongst  the  rising  generation  of  amateurs  and 
gardeners.  This  Silene  attains  a  height  of  from 
1  to  2  feet.  It  is  a  native  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  is  familiarly  known  as    the 


187S. 


THE    GABBEJVER'S   JUOJVTHZY. 


125 


"Fire  Pink,"  from  the  brilliant  appearance  of 
its  large,  deep  crimson  flowers,  which  are  pro- 
duced throughout  the  months  of  June  and  July. 
To  succeed  well  with  this  plant  it  must  be  placed 
in  a  somewhat  shady  situation,  and  the  soil 
should  consist  of  about  two  parts  good  leaf 
mould  to  one  of  light  loam,  with  the  addition  of 
a  small  portion  of  sandy  peat. — Journal  of  Hor- 
ticulture. 


OsMANTHus  iLTCiFOLius.— This  lovcly  shrub 
is  not  well  known,  although  it  cannot  now  be 
classed  among  the  novelties.  It  deserves  a  note, 
for  amateurs  who  take  an  interest  in  hardy 
shrubs  may  properly  consider  the  world  a  blank 
80  long  as  they  are  without  it.  In  botany  it  is 
allied  to  the  privets,  in  aspect  it  is  allied  to  the 
hollies.  But  there  is  no  green  holly  so  elegant 
and  lady-like  as  this  osmanthus,  and  its  leaves, 
which  are  of  a  rich  green  color  and  highly 
polished,  suggest  to  a  fanciful  observer,  not 
what  a  holly  is,  but  what  it  ought  to  be.  It 
grows  fast,  and  makes  a  remarkably  elegant 
dark  green  bush,  distinct  from  every  other  ever- 
green in  the  garden,  Shepherd's  Holly  included. 
As  to  hardiness  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  my 
plants  have  stood  three  years  on  a  damp  border 
of  heavy  clay  under  a  wall  which  screens  off  the 
sun  all  the  year  round,  except  for  an  hour  or  so 
in  the  morning,  from  the  beginning  of  May  to 
the  end  of  July.  The  variegated  Osmanthus  is, 
in  my  opinion,  scarcely  worth  growing.— Gar- 
dene?' 's  Magazine. 


Thymus  Citriodorus  Aitreus  Margika- 
Tus  (Lemon-scented  Gold-edged  Thyme),  raised 
by  Fisher  Holmes  &  Co.— An  exceedingly  pret- 
ty Thyme,  of  an  erect-growing  but  much 
branched    habit,    with    large    obovate    leaves, 


which  are  of  a  very  bright  dark  green  in  the 
centre,  and  with  a  broad  rich  golden  yellow  mar- 
gined variegation  ;  is  very  handsome  and  attrac- 
tive. It  will  prove  very  affective  for  edging 
flower  beds,  borders,  or  riband  planting,  and 
for  growing  in  masses  on  banks,  or  in  other 
varied  forms  ;  it  may  be  grown  as  bushes  or  py- 
ramids for  winter  bedding,  having  proved  per- 
fectly hardy.  Altogether,  it  may  be  considered 
as  one  of  the  most  charming  bedding  plants 
known,  and  with  the  additional  delicious  fra- 
grance of  the  sweet-scented  Lemon  Thyme. 

It  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  on  June  21,  1871,  and  received  a  first- 
class  certificate  ;  also  at  the  Royal  Horticultu- 
ral Show  at  Nottingham,  a  first-class  certificate. 


Dahlia  Emperor  Franz  Joseph.— It  is 
the  grandest  acquisition  of  a  variegated  foliage 
Dahlia  ever  introduced  into  this  country.  It  is 
of  a  free  growing  and  branching  habit ;  foliage 
bright  green,  with  a  beautiful  silver-white  mar- 
gin ;  grows  about  two  to  three  feet  high,  and 
gives  a  most  wonderful  contrast  when  planted  as 
an  outline  of  a  Dahlia  group. 


CoLEus  Chameleon.— It  is  one  of  the  finest 
new  Coleus,  of  various  colors,  somewhat  chan^^e- 
able,  blotched,  and  margined  with  white,  yellow, 
dark  crimson,  green,  rose  and  magenta  colors  ; 
strong  habit  and  growth ;  good  for  bedding,  and 
an  admiration  for  the  conservatory  and  green- 
house.   

Iris  itherica.— This  rare  and  beautiful  Iris 
has  recently  flowered  in  the  collection  of  the 
Bellevue  Nurseries,  at  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 
Mr.  Chitty,  the  Superintendent,  is  very  enthusi- 
astic in  getting  together  valuable,  rare,  and 
beautiful  thinsrs. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  Jonathan  Apple  South.— A  South- 
ern paper,  we  forget  which,  says  of  this  variety  : 
"  It  is  really  astonishing  how  slowly  some  of  our 
best  fruits  are  working  their  way  into  the  favor 
of  Southern  fruit  growers. 

The  Jonathan  Apple  is  a  marked  illustration 
of  the  general  distrust  with  which  all  Northern 


emanations  are  received,  however  much  their  in- 
trinsic excellence  may  entitle  them  to  our  esteem. 
We  have  been  practically  acquainted  with  this 
variety  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  South, 
and  have  studied  its  character  closely  as  devel- 
oped in  other  sections,  and  have  yet  to  see  or 
hear  the  first  objection  made  to  it  as  a  fall  and 


196 


THE   GARDEJfER'S   MOJ\rTBLY. 


April, 


1873. 


THE   GABDEJtTER'S  MOJfTHLY. 


1S7 


early  winter  fruit.  So  far  as  a  large  and  lono: 
experience  goes,  we  believe  it  succeeds  just  as 
well  in  the  South  as  it  does  in  the  West,  and  bet- 
ter than  it  does  in  New  York  where  it  originated. 
Of  course  it  ripens  earlier  here,  in  September, 
or  about  the  time  of  the  Koxbury  Russet,  Hub- 
bardson,  Nonsuch  and  Taunton— and  like  the 
two  first  requires  good  soil  and  culture  to  bring 
out  all  its  good  qualities.  One  chief  reason  of  its 
unpopularity  no  doubt  is  that  in  the  nursery, 
the  tree  is  a  miserable  grower— but  in  the 
orchard  it  makes  a  fine  tree  and  bears  large 
crops  of  sound,  handsome,  long  keeping  (after 
gatherinsj)  fruit,  which  for  quality  is  excelled  by 
no  other  variety  with  which  we  are  acquainted." 


The  Flora  of  Colorado.— Captain  W.  W. 
Nevin,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  newspa- 
per press  of  Philadelphia,  thus  writes  of  the 
flowers  of  the  plains  abutting  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, near  Colorado,  Pike's  Peak  : 

THE  FLORA   OF   THE  PRAIRIE, 

which  wantons  in  a  bewildering  brilliancy  and  a 
beautiful  luxuriance,  which  recalls  the  efflores- 
ence  of  the  tropics.  Whole  acres  of  the  golden 
coriander,  the  blue  larkspur,  the  scarlet  cactus, 
or  the  black  and  yellow  sunflower,  make  the 
prairie  gorgeous,  and  yet  hormonize  with  each 
other  as  thoroughly  and  artistically  as  if  some 
student  of  effects  had  planned  their  pianting. 
Indeed,  the  plains  often  look  like  some  garden 
planted  to  produce  its  effects  by  the  massing  of 
colors. 

It  is  wonderful  to  see  how  every  flower  of 
home  is  reproduced  here,  and  what  are  the  new 
ones  I  cannot  tell.  The  contributions  of  Colorado, 
•however,  to  the  national  flora  must  be  regal. 
The  nameless  beauties  of  hill  and  plain  are 
countless.  Several  distinguished  botanists  have 
been  making  collections  this  summer,  and  their 
enthusiasm  is  boundless.  Their  stories  of  new 
•discoveries  I  shall  not  imperil  my  character  for 
veracity  by  repeating. 

I  cannot  give  any  better  idea  of  the  floral 
wealth  and  luxuriance  of  this  country  than  by 
making  a  list  of  the  flowers  gathered  yesterday 
evening  in  a  single  walk  by  two  or  three  of  us, 
none  of  whom  were  professional,  or  even  ama- 
teur botanists,  and  whose  pleasant  labors  were 
therefore,  by  no  means  exhaustive  of  the  field. 
All  these  flowers,  I  must  repeat,  grow  within 
half  a  mile  of  our  hotel,  which  is  a  specially 
favored  spot,  it  is  true,  in  the  way  of  beauty. 


being  situated  just  where  the  prairies  roll  up  and 
break  against  the  foothills  of  the  mountains. 
There  are  here  in  profusion  wild  roses,  the  wild 
clematis,  wild  heliotrope,  violets,  blue  gentian, 
the  wild  jessamine,  cacti,  pale  pink  in  single 
flowers,  and  again  flaming  in  huge  piles  like 
burning  bushes,  strawberries,  wild  bergamot, 
the  larkspur  in  every  variety  and  shade,  portu- 
laccas  in  profusion,  the  brilliant  coriander,  dai- 
sies, buttercups,  forget-me-nots,  prairie  pinks, 
sunflowers,  poppies,  tiger  lilies,  the  graceful 
eglatine,  wild  geraniums,  beautiful  in  the  grace 
of  leaf  and  flower,  the  statuesque  yucca,  chaste 
and  stately  ;  a  brilliant  scarlet  flower  of  peculiar 
grace,  drooping  and  lovoly,  known  as  a  cypress, 
the  real  blue  bell  of  Scotland  (campagnola), 
ferns,  primroses,  verbenas,  foxglove,  four-o'- 
clocks,  the  fresh  brilliant  morning  glories  (con- 
volvulus), wild  cherries,  Missouri  currants, 
gooseberries,  the  widow's  tear  — that  rustic  sar- 
casm— the  sweet  columbine,  the  white-fringed 
spirea,  and  the  queenly  fleur-de-lis  (iris).  All 
these  are  the  glories  and  pride  of  the  Springs,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  fairer  flowers  which  pay 
eighteen  dollars  a  week  for  the  privilege  of  bloom- 
ing on  the  piazzas  and  adorning  the  croquet 
grounds. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  many  of 
these  flowers  are  repeated  in  an  infinite  variety 
of  shade  and  species,  and  that  some  of  them,  as 
the  rose  and  ferns,  represent  whole  fami'ies. 
And  this  wealth  of  beauty  covers  the  whole  Ter- 
ritory— whether  it  be  plain,  prairie,  mountain, 
or  park  country.  Sometimes  you  can  ride  for 
days  over  rolling  hill  and  grazing  land,  richly 
and  brilliantly  carpeted  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach  with  ever-changing  hues.  When  swept  by 
the  winds  the  fields  often  seem  to  tremble  as 
under  a  kaleidoscopic  shower  of  color. 

Nor  is  the  vegetable  wealth  of  Colorado  mere- 
ly ornamental.  Currants  and  gooseberries  and 
strawberries  grow  everywhere  wild,  as  do  also 
grapes  of  many  varieties.  Professor  T.  C.  Por- 
ter, recognized  authority  on  botany,  has  discov- 
ered near  Canon  City  three  distinct  varieties  of 
indigenous  potatoes,  and  he,  in  common  with 
every  student  of  the  natural  sciences,  is  in  i*ap- 
ture  over  the  bounteous  promise  of  this  land. 

It  is  worth  while  knowing  who  are  enjoying 
all  this  waste  of  beauty. 

THE  FAVORED  GUESTS 

of  this  first  great  Western  reception  of  Flora 
held  at  these  Springs  of  Colorado,  curiously 
enough,  came  this  year  from  two  or  three  main 


localities.  Of  these  Philadelphia  leads,  Pitts- 
burg comes  next,  and  then  Chicago.  This  from 
the  East.  Of  course,  nearly  one-half  of  the 
transient  visitors  come  from  the  West  itself,  i.e., 
west  of  the  Missouri  river.  These  guests  gen- 
erally come  bringing  their  own  equipage,  men- 


age, and  servants,  and  camp  out  in  tents.  Their 
neat  domestic  encampments— their  brilliant  little 
bivouacs— their  parked  trains  and  horses,  teth- 
ered by  the  guardian  lariat,  relieve  the  prosaic 
details  of  hotel  life,  and  lend  the  pleasing  charm 
of  novelty  to  the  scene. 


FOREIGN    CORRESPONDENCE. 


HORTICULTURAL    OBSERVATIONS    IN 
ENGLAND,  No.  3. 

Newton  Ahhot^  Devonshire. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  adding  my  testimony  to 
others,  of  the  geniality  of  the  climate,  the  salu- 
brity of  the  atmosphere,  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
and  the  beauty  and  variety  of  the  scenery  in 
this  part  of  England.  The  crop  of  grain  just 
harvested  has  been  more  than  an  average  one, 
and  for  three  weeks  during  the  time  they  were 
getting  it  in,  there  was  not  a  shower  of  rain. 
In  some  places  two  good  crops  of  grass  have 
been  cut  off"  the  same  meadows,  consequently 
hay  will  be  reasonable  in  price  the  coming  win- 
ter. We  hear  complaints  all  the  time  of  the 
potato-rot.  There  are  a  good  many  diseased, 
but  on  high  land  there  are  pretty  good  crops- 
price  in  the  market  this  week,  twenty-eight  cents 
'per  twenty  lbs. 

The  *'  American  Rose  »'  is  becoming  a  favorite 
here— scarcely  any  rot  amongst  them.  Read  a 
repor*  from  a  grower  yesterday,  who  from  three 
lbs.  of  seed,  dug  eighty  lbs.  Those  that  have 
them  are  keeping  them  for  seed. 

There  are  also  in  this  district  some  very  fine 
•crops  of  ruta  baga  and  mangel  wurzel.  The 
favorite  variety  of  the  latter  grown  is  the 
*' Champion  Orange  Globe.»»  The  many  agri- 
eultural,  horticultural  and  cottage  garden  exhi- 
bitions held  here,  tend  materially  to  foster  a 
taste  and  excite  a  generous  rivalry  among  the 
people.  Premiums  are  offered  for  the  best  kept 
flower  and  kitchen  gardens.  Competent  judges 
go  round  and  examime  them  a  few  days  before 
•the  show,  and  you  would  be  surprised  and 
pleased  to  see  how  skilfully  some  of  them  are 
laid  out,  planted  and  kept.  They  would  do  cre- 
dit to  any  professional  gardener. 

The  little  flower  gardens  at  the  various  rail- 


road stations  are  also  a  pleasing  feature.  At 
this  station  there  is  a  small  greenhouse  for  pro- 
pagating and  keeping  the  plants  in  winter.  On 
a  sloping  green  bank,  are  seventeen  beds  cut  in 
the  turf,  filled  with  scarlet  and  var.  Pelargoni- 
ums, Calceolarias,  Lobelias,  Fuchsias,  Agera- 
tums,  &c. ,  and  scattered  between  the  beds  are 
forty-five  standard  roses,  many  of  them  now  in 
full  bloom.  Trained  on  a  fence  at  the  back  are 
various  climbers.  Across  the  way,  in  a  nursery, 
is  a  regal  plant  of  the  Pampas  Grass,  (Gyneri- 
um).  Over  fifty  spikes  of  its  beautiful,  graceful 
silvery  plumes  are  out  now. 

Fernmouth  is  a  pretty  little  place— a  favorite 
resort  for  health  seekers  and  bathers.  A  flower 
show  was  held  here  a  few  weeks  ago,  which  was 
well  patronized.  The  plants  were  exhibited  in 
tents  on  a  lawn  facing  the  sea.  There  was  a 
fine  collection  of  scarlet  and  variegated  Pelargo- 
niums. Two  of  the  best  in  the  bronze  section 
were  A.  H.  Wills  and  Sultan.  Three  of  the  best 
in  the  tricolors,  Sophia  Dumaresque,  Sir  R  Na- 
pier and  Lady  Callam.  The  best  silver  leaf, 
Almo  ;  an  extra  fine  pink  variety  with  white 
eye,' (Rose  Rendatler)  a  splendid  trusser.  The 
Fuchsias  were  fine,  also  the  Ferns ;  among  the 
latter,  Adiantumconcinnum,  three  feet  through'; 
do.  A.  Farleyense,  nearly  as  large  ;  Neottopte- 
ris  australacia,  (fine)  ;  Lomaria  gibba,  a 
noble  plant  of  Caladium,  Prince  Albert  Edward, 
veined  and  marked  with  crimson  ;  also  C.  Chan- 
tinii ;  Scuttellaria  macciniana,  is  a  showy  plant, 
scarlet  tube  and  upper  lip,  lower  lip  yellow ; 
Croton  longifolia,  and  two  noble  specimens  of 
0.  picta,  Allamanda  Hendersoni,  Yucca  alioe- 
folia  variegata,  jEschynanthus  refulgens  ;  also 
a  very  fine  plant,  well  flowered,  of  Lapageria 
rosea. 

The  show  of  fruit  was  nothing  extra,  except- 
ing Cherries  and  some  fine  specimens  of  Necta- 


If' 


ns 


TEE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJ\rTELY. 


April, 


<  I 


rines  and  Gross  Mignonne  Peaches.  A  good 
show  of  Potatoes— among  them  Breeze's  Prolific, 
do.  Peerless.  Best  Cabbage,  Enfield  Market  and 
Sutton's  Imperial— the  latter  particularly  fine. 

A  fine  collection  of  Roses  from  Messrs.  Carter 
&  Co.'s  nursery,  at  Torquoy.  This  firm,  I  find, 
carries  away  the  palm  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. They  had  a  fine  seedling,  ''  Bessie  John- 
ston," on  exhibition,  which  will  be  quite  an 
acquisition  to  rose  fanciers  ;  also,  John  Hopper, 
Leilia,  Reine  de  Blanche,  Duke  of  Wellington, 
fine  dark,  Alfred  Colomb,  Madame  Rothschild, 
Zavier  Pluto,  Charles  Lefevre  and  Pierre  toll- 
ing, good,  and  the  finest  box,  thirty-six  blooms, 
of  Marechal  Niel  I  ever  saw. 

I  have  seen  some  very  fine  Dahlias  in  various 
places.  The  following  are  some  of  the  best, 
ranging  in  colors  from  white  to  black  :  Redan, 
Formosa,  Admiration,  Prince  of  Wales,  Leah, 
Peri,  Mephistopheles, Criterion,  Monarch, (splen- 
did dark),  Goldendrop,  Julia  Wigalt. 

Passed  through  Powderham  Park  the  other 
day,  the  seat  of  Earl  Devon,  eleven  miles  from 
here.  The  castle  is  situate  on  elevated  ground, 
near  the  centre  of  the  park,  which  is  ten  miles 
in  circumference,  and  contains  some  magnificent 
specimens  of  forest  trees,   evergreens,   &c.      I 


thought  the  Elms  in  New  Haven  and  the  Con- 
necticut valley  were  grand,  but  these  surpass 
them.  One  English  Oak,  whose  branches 
touched  the  ground,  I  measured  the  outer  cir- 
cumference seventy  yards,  an  Elm  over  eighty 
do.  ;  also  a  grand  old  cork  barked  oak,  a  Cryp^ 
tomeria  perfect  in  shape,  fifty  feet  high,  circum- 
ference eighty-one  feet.  Trained  up  on  the 
mansion  walls  were  Magnolia  grandiflora,  cover- 
ed with  buds  and  bloom  right  up  to  the  roof; 
Eugenia  myrtifolia.  Lemon  Verbena,  Oleanders, 
Lamarque  Roses.  Right  in  front  a  large  geo- 
metrical flower  garden  brimful  of  flowers,  with 
perfect  specimens  of  Irish  Yews,  fifteen  and 
twenty  feet  high— one  Auracaria  imbricata, 
eight  feet  round  the  stem  ;  also  some  fine  Se- 
quoia gigantea,  over  twenty  feet  high,  Cupres- 
sus  macrocarpa,  &c. 

On  an  eminence  near  the  castle,  is  a  triangu- 
lar tower  called  the  Belvidere,  seventy-five  feet 
high  ;  from  the  summit  you  have  a  grand  pano- 
ramic view  of  the  country  for  miles  around, 
including  Exeter,  (only  six  miles  off),  with  its 
filmed  cathedral,  the  river  Exe,  villages,  ham- 
lets, &c.  This  noble  estate  I  believe  ha«  been 
in  the  Devon  family  for  many  centuries. 

J.  W.  W. 


HORTICULTUML    NOTICES. 


PHILADELPHIA  ACADEMY  OF  NATU- 
RAL SCIENCES. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  on  February 
18th,  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan  said  that  as  was 
well  known,  the  Violet  and  the  Balsam,  (Impa- 
tiens),  produced  two  distinct  formof  flowers— one 
with  a  corolla  and  the  other  without,  and  the 
former  producing  the  last  class  underground. 
It  was  remarkable  that  these  secretly  produced 
(cleistogenous)  flowers,  in  which  there  was  no 
opportunity  for  anything  but  self  fertilization, 
should  be  more  fertile  than  those  which  had  the 
most  abundant  opportunities  of  aid  from  wind, 
insects,  and  other  favoring  influences. 

The  Catalonian  Jasmine  of  our  greenhouses 
was  another  illustration  of  this  phenomenon. 
He  had  observed,  and  no  doubt  others  had  often 
done  the  same  for  many  years  past,  that  there 
was  a  great  tendency  to  a  supposed  abortion  of 
the  flowers  in  this  plant.  But  this  year  he  had 
some  plants  which  failed  to  produce  a  single  per- 


fect flower.  To  his  astonishment,  these  plants 
were  covered  with  developing  seed  vessels,  while 
in  the  plants  producing  perfect  flowers  there  was 
no  sign  of  any  such  tendency.  On  examining 
these  imperfect  flowers,  he  found  a  mfhiature 
corolla  was  formed,  but  so  closely  twisted 
together  that  it  could  not  open,  and  always 
remained  inside  the  calyx  segments.  The  pistils 
in  these  flowers  were  differently  formed  from 
those  in  the  perfect  flowers.  The  last  have 
the  two  segments  of  the  divided  pistil  coiled 
in  spiral  manner— the  former  has  no  appear- 
ance of  any  division,  but  seem  united  into  a 
small  cone.  In  many  cases  the  style  was 
somewhat  flattened,  and  there  appeared  to  be  a 
stigmatic  surface  along  each  edge.  It  appeared 
from  his  examination  that  there  was  very  little 
pollen  in  the  anthers  of  these  flowers,  and  the 
apex  of  the  pistil  was  pushed  beyond  them,  and 
the  idea  occurred  to  him  that  possibly  fertiliza- 
tion might  occur  along  the  apparent  stigmatic 
surface  referred  to. 


Whi  #a:rd«n«r^s 


onthh, 


DEVOTED  TO 


HorticuUiLre,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural   Affairs. 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.  XV. 


MAT,   1873. 


New  Series.  Vol.  VI.  No.    5 


HINTS    FOR   MAY. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

Flowers  in  pots  and  tubs,  for  adorning  roads 
and  gardens,  now  spring  like  lovely  butterflies 
from  their  winter's  hiding  places.  Cellars  give 
forth  their  treasures,  and  barns,  pits  and  green- 
houses bring  forth  their  lovely  things  each  after 
its  kind. 

This  branch  of  gardening  has  not  been  enough 
valued.  There  are  many  things  which  do  not 
well  endure  our  winter,  that  are  truly  beautiful 
when  a  little  protection  is  afforded  them  ;  but 
because  they  are  only  half  hardy,  are  not  grown 
at  all.  The  following  are  well  worthy  of  being 
grown  in  this  way  : 

Magnolia  fuscata,  Pittosporums,  Cleroden- 
dron  Bungei,  Hydrangea,  Figs,  Oleander,  pink 
and  white  ;  Pomegranate,  single  for  fruit  and 
double  for  show;  Bignonia  Capenses,  Bouvar- 
dia  triphylla,  Oranges,  Lemons,  Laurel,  Bay, 
Laurustinus,  New  Zealand  flax,  Mahonias,  par- 
ticularly M.  Darwinii,  Euonymus  japonicus. 
Aloes,  Agaves,  and  others.  In  very  cold  cli- 
mates, Peaches,  Nectarines,  Apricots  and  Plums 
might  be  grown  in  this  way,  and  would  not  only 
charm  the  eye  during  the  flowering  season,  but 
add  their  mite  to  more  material  pleasure,  in  a 
way  agreeable  to  most  persons  of  taste,  if  not  of 
refinement. 

Flower-gardening,  as  wc  have  often  said 
before,  aflbrds  scope  for  many  pretty  fimcies, 
besides  arrangement  of  color,  which,  in  the 
hands  of  a  person  of  taste,  render  a  garden  a 
paradise  of  enchantment.  Borders  and  edgings 
of  Ivy,  Periwinkle  or  variegated  plants,  may  be 
made  to  appear  as  frames  to  the  pictures  of  pret- 
ty flowers  enclosed  by  them.   Waves  and  fringes 


of  green  may  be  led  along  through  a  large  flaw 
er-bed,  and  the  various  divisions  formed  be  filled 
with  its  own  color,  making  a  natural  and  living 
bouquet ;  different  colored  gravels  may  be  cho- 
sen for  paths  between  beds ;  different  shades  of 
green  may  be  made  by  the  selection  of  grasses 
of  different  hues,  where  grass  walks  are  employ- 
ed. Old  stumps  or  roots  may  be  occasionally  in- 
troduced in  the  centre  of  beds,  and  covered  with 
green  vines,  or  flowering  climbers,  as  taste  may 
dictate  ;  rustic  baskets  and  vases,  and  even  in 
many  instances  where  artificial  styles  prevail, 
the  topiary  art  may  be  called  in,  and  good  effects 
result  from  the  use  of  the  knife  and  shears  on 
certain  plants. 

To  grow  flowers  well  fresh  soil  is  very  impor- 
tant.  Have  a  care  that  the  roots  of  neighborinsr 
trees  do  not  get  into  the  bed ;  they  rob  it  and 
dry  it,  and  the  flowers  dwindle  and  die.  If  beds 
are  near  trees,  go  round  the  bed  once  a  year 
with  a  spade  and  cut  of  all  the  roots  that  may 
have  strayed  into  the  bed.  This  is  very  impor- 
tant in  beds  of  evergreen  shrubs,  like  Mahonias, 
Euonymus  and  Bliododendrons,  which  like  shade, 
but  not  dry,  impoverished  soil. 

Leaf  mould  is  good  for  flowers  if  two  or  three 
years  old,  and  very  much  decayed  ;  when  but 
half  rotten  it  is  an  injury.  Rotten  sod  is  the 
best  soil  for  flowers,  and  cow  manure,  which 
has  lain  two  years  to  rot,  the  best  fertilizer. 
Where  rotten  ^d  is  not  easily  obtained,  the 
edging  parings  of  walks  may  be  preserved  in  a 
heap  for  flower  purposes. 

In  planting  out  flowers  don't  take  them  at 
once  from  the  hot  liousc  to  the  open  ground,  set 
the  pots  out  for  a  few  days  in  a  cold  frame,  with 
plenty  of  air,  or  uudcra  tree  in  a  sheltered  place. 


ISO 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJfTELY. 


May, 


1873. 


Before  turning  them  out  of  pots,  water  ;  and  I  Watch  all  young  fruit  trees  against  bearing 
when  set  in  the  earth,  press  the  soil  very  hard  |  too  abundantly  while  young,  and  the  first  season 
about  the  flower  roots.  If  the  ground  be  dry,  |  after  planting.  There  can  be  no  objection  to 
the  earth  cannot  be  pressed  too  hard.  the  ripening  of  one  or  two  fruits  on  a  tree  the 

l!)on't  make  the  beds  very  high,  or  the  rains  j  first  season  of  setting  out,  in  order  to  test  the 
in  summer  will  run  off  too  rapidly.  After  |  kind,  or  to  administer  to  curiosity,  if  the  tree  be 
smoothing  the  surface  peg  down  the  plants  as  ]  otherwise  growing  freely.  If  little  growth  is 
much  as  possible  so  as  to  cover  the  surface  soon,  making,  no  fruit  at  all  should  be  permitted.  It 
The  plants  also  push  out  side  shoots  easier,  j  is  a  better  practice  to  disbud  or  take  out  soon 
Where  small  twigs  can  be  had,  split  and  double  I  after  shooting  all  shoots  that  are  needless  to  the 


them  like  hair  pins,  for  pegging  down  ;  where 
these  are  not  at  hand,  small  pieces  of  bast  mat 
or  twii\!B,  doubled  and  dibbled  in  the  earth  by 
the  ends,  make  very  fine  pegs. 


perfect  shape  of  the  tree,  than  to  wait  till  fall  or 
winter.  The  pruning  knife  need  then  only  be 
used  to  shorten  a  branch  in  to  where  several 
branches  are  desired  to  push,   or  to  induce  a 


In  this  climate,  hothouse  plants  often  make  j  more  vigorous  growth  from  the  pruned  parts, 
noble  bedders.  The  Chinese  rose  Hibiscus,  is  In  the  gooseberry,  raspberry  and  strawberry 
a  first  class  thing,  making  a  gorgeous  show  all  |  also,  no  more  shoots  should  be  suffered  to  grow 


summer.  The  Geranium  also,  is  getting  im- 
mensely popular.  The  tree  Carnation  is  also  in 
much  request.  The  Madagascar  Periwinkle, 
rose  and  white,  is  also  now  often  seen  in  beds 
and  masses. 


than  will  be  required  to  bear  the  next  season. 

Where  water  can  be  commanded,  there  is 
nothing  so  profitable  as  to  well  soak  the  soil 
about  small  fruits  ;  first  about  the  time  that 
they  have  set  their  fruit.     Much  of  the  value  of 


Climbing  plants  grow  faster  on  trellis  than  if  :  this  operation,  however,  will  depend  on  the  na- 
left  to  themselves  ;  stick  them  in  as  soon  as  the  i  ture  of  the  soil.  The  advantages  are  least  in  a 
climbers  are  set  out.  i  tenacious,   and  greatest  in  porous   soil.     It  is 

Tuberoses,  Gladiolus,  Tigridias,  Dahlias,  and  I  sa-id  that  an  animal  derives  most  benefit  from 


other  bulbous  things  which  cannot  be  put  out 
till  the  ground  gets  warm,  ought  not  to  be  kept 


food  when  it  is  hungry  before  it  begins  to  eat — 
it  is  certainly  so  with  plants.  .  Water  applied  to 


out  of  the  earth  any  longer  than  necessary.  It  i  soil  already  wet  is  an  injury;  and  water  never 
was  once  supposed  they  thrive  best  in  poor  soil  has  so  telling  an  advantage  on  vegetation  as 
— an  error;  they  love  rich  food.  ,  when  every  leaf  is  about  to  wither  up  for  want 

Mow  lawns  very  early  the  first  mowing,  or  at  of  it*  A  plant  that  never  seems  to  want  water 
every  subsequent  mowing,  the  lawn  will  look  i  is  in  a  very  doubtful  condition  in  regard  to  its 
brown.     A  thin  sprinkling  of  salt  is  good  for  the    health, 

lawn,  just  enough  salt  to  see  the  grains  on  the  ;  In  summer  pruning  or  dis-budding,  it  is  also 
surface,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  apart.  An  worth  while  to  watch  for  shoots  pushing  strong- 
overdose  will  destroy  the  grass.  Frequent  roll-  ,  er  than  others,  and  always  take  them  out.  This 
ing  is  one  of  the  best  ways  to  get  a  good  close  ;  is  the  only  way  that  shoots  of  equal  strength  can 
sod.     When  coarse  weeds  get  in  the  lawn,  hand  i  be  encouraged  in  every  part  of  the  tree.     This  is 


weeding  is  the  best  remedy. 


particularly  true  of  grape  vines.     If  a  shoot  once 
get  the  start  of  the  others  in  strength  and  vijror, 
the  others  will   gradually    get   weaker    to  the 
other's  increasing  luxuriance. 
We  gave  in  a  former  volume  the  pith  ©f  what 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

In  this  part  of  the  world  the  Black  Knot  on 
the  Plum  and  Cherry  commences  to  work  in  ,  we  considered  the  philosophy  of  vine  pruning, 
May.  A  mere  sappy  abrasure,  green  and  spon-  and  as  we  have  not  yet  seen  anything  to  add  to 
gy,  first  appears  above  the  bark  ;  cut  it  out  and  or  take  from  what  we  then  expressed^  we  repro- 
burn  as  fast  as  it  appears,     It  is  no  use  to  cut  it  j  duce  the  remarks  here. 

out  after  a  month  old.  Fire  blight  in  the  pear,  i  As  to  the  best  system  of  pruning  grapes,  there 
and  many  other  diseases  of  fungoid  origin  may  are  several  '*  schools,'*  all  contendiHg  that  their 
be  kept  down  by  watching  for  their  first  appear-  '  views  are  »'  decidedly  best."  In  such  cases,  we 
ance  and  cutting  away,  or  by  using  a  lime  and  have  generally  found  there  is  much  to  admire  in 
sulphur  wash,  as  recommended  by  Mr.  Saun-  I  them  all— situations  and  peculiar  circumstances 
^®^s»  deciding  the  point  in  each  individual  instance 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


ISl 


There  are  a  few  points  incontrovertible  to  insure 
success,  and  it  matters  little  what  system  of  pru- 
ning is  followed  so  that  they  are  secured.    First, 
a  healthy  set  of  roots  of  the  previous  year's 
growth  is  essential  to  produce  vigorous  start  of 
growth    the    year    following.      Secondly,   after 
starting,  these  roots  can  only  be  kept  vigorous 
by  encouraging  an  abundance  of  healthy  foliage, 
to  be  retained  on  the  vine  as  long  as  possible. 
Thirdly,  the  leaves  of  the  first  growth  are  at 
least  of  double  the  value  to  the  plant  than  those 
from  secondary  or  lateral  shoots,  they  should, 
therefore,  be    carefully    guarded    from    injury. 
Fourthly,  checking  the  strong  growing-siioots 
strengthens  the  weaker  ones,  equalizes  the  flow  of 
sap  to  every  part  of  the  vine,  and  insures  regular 
and  harmonious  action  between  all  the  parts. 
Any  system  that  secures  this,  does  all  that  is 
necessary  for  the  general  health  and  vigor  of  the 
vine  ;  and  where  some  special  objects  are  desira- 
ble, such  as  dwarfing,  particularly  early  bearing, 
productiveness  at  the  expense  of  longevity,  spe- 
cial means  must  be  employed  to  bring  them 
about. 


<•■•» 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

In  the  cultivation  of  garden  crops,  the  hoe 
and  rake  should  be  kept  continually  at  work. 
Weeds  should  be  taken  in  hand  before  they  are 
barely  out  of  the  seed-leaf,  and  one-half  the  usu- 
al labor  of  vegetable  gardening  will  be  avoided. 


I  Hoeing  or  earthing  up  of  most  garden  crops  is 
of  immense  advantage  in  nearly  every  case.  One 
would  suppose  that  in  our  hot  climate  flat  cul- 
ture would  be  much  more  beneficial ;  but  a  fair 
trial,  say  on  every  other  row  of  a  bed  of  cab- 
bages, will  show  a  great  difference  in  favor  of 
the  earthed- up  plants.  It  would  be  easy  to  ex- 
plain the  reason  of  this,  but  in  this  column  we 
try  to  confine  ourselves  to  "  hints,"  and  leave 
reasons  to  our  other  departments. 

Cabbage,  Cauliflower  and  Brocoli,  are  now 
set  out  for  fall  crops,  and  Endive  sown  for  win- 
ter salad.  Lettuce  also  for  summer  and  fall  use. 
This,  however,  must  be  sown  in  very  rich  soil, 
and  in  a  partially  shaded  situation,  or  it  will  go 
to  seed.  Peas,  Beans,  and  other  crops  should  be 
sowed  every  two  weeks.  They  do  much  better 
than  when  a  large  crop  is  sown  at  one  time,  and 
then  have  too  many  on  at  one  time  to  waste. 

Melons,  Cucumbers,  Corn,  Okra,  Squash, 
Beans,  Sweet  Potatoes,  Lima  Beans,  Pepper, 
Egg-plants,  Tomatoes,  and  other  tender  vegeta- 
bles that  do  well  till  the  sun  gets  high,  and  the 
ground  warm,  should  go  into  the  soil  without 
delay. 

Bean  poles  should  be  set  before  the  beans  are 
planted  ;  and  near  cities  where  they  are  compa- 
rative high  priced,  their  ends  should  be  charred. 
This  will  make  them  last  some  years.  Try  also 
short  stout  poles  for  cucumbers  and  tomatoes. 
They  do  remarkably  well  this  way. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


STRAWBERRY  CULTURE  IN  OHIO. 

BY  M.  B.  liATEHAM,  PAINESVILLE. 

The  extraordinary  cold  weather  of  December 
and  January  destroyed  nearly  all  the  chances  for 
any  crops  of  raspberries,  blackberries  and  cher- 
ries, except  Morrellos,  in   most  parts  of  Ohio, 
and  doubtless  in  several  adjacent  States.   Straw- 
berry plants  were    generally  so    protected   by 
snow  as  to  escape  serious  injury,  hence  this  fruit 
will  be  almost  the  sole  reliance  of  our  people  for 
the  first  part  of  summer,  with  little  else  but  cur- 
rants to  follow  until  apples  and  grapes  appear, 
as  peaches  of  course  are  out  of  the  question.     It 
|8  therefore  quite  certain  that  strawberries  will 
oe  regarded  as  more  of  a  luxury,  and  bring  high- 


er prices  in  our  markets  than  for  several  years 
past,  and  as  a  consequence,  a  fresh  impetus  will 
be  given  to  the  culture  of  this  fruit.  Then,  too, 
the  old  question  will  be  discussed  by  the  grow- 
ers :   What  varieties  shall  we  2ylantf 

I  think  it  will  be  admitted  that  Ohio  has  done 
as  much  as  any  other  State  in  the  production  of 
new  and  fine  varieties  of  strawberries,  and  in 
teaching  the  best  modes  of  culture.     Still  it  is 
true  here,  as  elsewhere,  that  in  spite  of  all  the 
progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  matter  of 
varieties,  the  old  Wilson,  with  its  admitted  in- 
ferior quality,  is  yet  the  staple  supply  of  our 
markets,  and  the  sole  kind  in  a  majority  of  pri- 
vate gardens.     Like  the  Concord  among  grapes, 


133^ 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


Majff 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TTHL^. 


ISS 


it  is  regarded  as  the  berry  *;for  the  million,'* 
because  it  is  of  the  easiest  culture  and  the  surest 
to  produce  a  crop. 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  true  that  with  the 
growth  of  our  cities  in  population  and  wealth, 
and  the  increase  of  intelligence  about  fruits 
among  the  people,  there  is  more  discrimination 
made  by  the  buyers  in  regard  to  quality,  and 
better  prices  than  formerly  are  obtained  for 
superior  fruits,  so  that  the  growers  are  finding 
it  for  their  interests  to  plant  the  best  varieties 
and  give  them  the  best  of  culture,  and  then  send 
the  fruit  to  market  in  the  best  manner.  This 
was  the  lesson  so  plainly  taught  and  so  clearly 
demonstrated  by  our  lamented  friend,  the  late  J. 
Knox,  of  Pittsburgh,  whom  we  claimed  as  an 
Ohioan,  though  of  late  years  he  lived  over  the 
border  of  our  State.  His  motto,  as  everybody 
knows,  was  plant  the  best  varieties  on  the  6est 
soil  and  give  the  last  of  culture,  then  you  will 
obtain  the  h^sX  prices,  and  find  the  highest  satis- 
faction in  the  business  of  fruit  growing.  Many 
of  the  strawberry  growers  of  this  country  owe 
more  than  they  are  aware  of  to  the  teachings  of 
Mr.  iCnox.  Let  us  keep  his  memory  green,  for 
we  have  not  many  such  wise  and  genial  teach- 
ers. 

The  best  school  of  strawberry  culture  in  our 
^ate,  for  several  years  past,  has  been  the 
grounds  of  Mr.  Louis  Ritz,  of  Plainville,  near 
Cincinnati.  For  a  dozen  or  more  years,  Mr.  R. 
has  been  engaged  in  collecting  all  the  approved 
varieties  of  this  fruit  that  he  could  find  or  hear 
of,  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  then  testing 
them  in  his  grounds  with  different  modes  of  cul- 
ture. He  has  also  experimented  largely  in  grow- 
ing new  varieties  from  seed,  and  although  the 
required  standard  of  excellence  is  now  so  high, 
it  is  the  opinion  of  experienced  judges  that  he 
lias  two  or  three  varieties  which  have  now  been 
five  or  six  years  on  trial,  that  give  promise  of 
much  value.  The  finest  of  these  has  been  named 
Br,  TTarder,  in  compliment  of  the  worthy  Presi- 
dent of  our  State  Horticultural  Society.  At  the 
late  annual  meeting  of  this  society,  Mr.  Ritz,  by 
request,  read  an  essay  on  small  fruits,  which 
was  of  considerable  jntcrest. 


<•■•» 


ON  VARIETIES  OF  STRAWBERRIES. 

BY   LOUIS   IlITZ.      , 

What  varieties  to  plant  will  depend  on  your 
soil  and  your  market ;  for  distant  shipment  the 
]ist  is  very  limited,  while  for  home  markets  there 
axe  many  sorts  that  will,  with  fair  treatment, 


make  ample  returns.  It  is  best  not  to  rely  on 
any  one  kind,  however  good  it  may  be,  as  one  is 
not  always  able  to  command  a  sufficient  number 
of  pickers,  or  your  markets  may  be  glutted  just 
at  the  time  the  bulk  of  your  crop  comes  in. 

For  distant  shipment,  we  have  for  earliest  the 
Princess  of  Wales,  which  ripens  a  few  days  after 
the  Downer's  Prolific  ;  it  is  firm,  large,  showy 
and  of  excellent  flavor,  though  of  foreign  origin, 
it  grows  on  the  hill  system,  in  a  well  enriched, 
heavy  clay  soil;  strong  and  vigorous,  is  quite 
productive,  and  commands  a  very  high  price  in 
market,  as  it  has  to  compete  only  with  soft  ber- 
ries. But  I  would  not  advise  its  planting,  ex- 
cept where  good  culture  is  given  ;  and  I  may 
mention  here,  that  foreign  varieties  will  do  bet- 
ter if  annually  renewed,  a  plan  that  is  generally 
adopted  on  the  continent,  and  I  incline  to  think 
that  our  native  sorts  would  likewise  yield  better 
returns,  if  this  plan  was  adopted. 

Next  we  have  the  Wilson  and  Seth  Boyden, 
maturing  about  medium  season,  both  very  pro- 
ductive on  the  matted  row  plaa  ;  the  former 
yielding  a  larger  amount  of  fruit,  the  latter, 
however,  commanding  a  much  higher  price  in 
market.  The  Seth  Boyden  is  not  reliable  in 
light  and  sandy  soil.  Mr.  Wm.  Parry,  of  New 
Jersey,  informs  me  that  in  1871,  the  Seth  Boy- 
den surpassed  any  strawberry  crop  he  over 
raised  ;  very  perfect,  large  and  productive.  But 
this  year  he  had  ten  acres  of  light,  sandy  soil  in 
strawberries,  all  of  which  looked  well  until  the 
fruit  began  to  form,  when  the  severe  draught  set 
in  and  the  Seth  Boyden  suffered  most,  the  Chas. 
Downing  least,  while  Wilson  and  Kentucky 
were  only  moderate  crops.  The  Seth  Boyden  in 
my  grounds  has  always  given  satisfaction, 
neither  suffering  from  extreme  heat  nor  cold. 
Mr.  Samuel  Miller,  of  Missouri,  and  others 
attest  to  the  same  fact,  and  say  it  is  with  them 
all  that  is  desirable  in  a  strawberry. 

For  late  market  there  is  the  Jacwnda,  wher- 
ever it  does  well,  as  in  Belmont  county  and  some 
other  localities  in  this  State,  and  the  Triomphe 
de  Oand,  both  requiring  hill  culture  ;  the  latter 
in  compact,  rich  soil,  well  mulched,  being  one  of 
the  best  paying  varieties. 

For  homo  markets  there  arc  besides  the  Elea- 
nor, which  grown  broadcast,  is  of  no  account, 
but  cultivated  in  hills,  yields  a  very  early  and 
large  crop.  I  picked  one  season  from  500  stools, 
830  quarts.  Berries  are  rather  above  medium 
size,  and  of  a  peculiar,  to  most  palates,  very 
pleasant  flavor. 


BurrK^  New  Pine.  A  great  bearer,  in  matted 
rows,  annually  renewed  ;  its  fine  light  color  and 
excellent  flavor,  make  it  a  favorite  everywhere, 
and  it  will  bring  in  Cincinnati  twice  as  much  as 


rich  deep,  and  above  all,  a  moist  soil,  can  grow 
any  variety  to  perfection. 

Most  of  the  varieties  named  will  do  equally 
well  for  the  home  garden.     Lovers  of  fine  fruit. 


the  Wilson,  if  the  berries  have  been  properly  j  however,  should  not  do  without  the   Lennig's 
^^^^^^^^'  I  White  or  the  President  Wilder,  and  for  the  epi- 

Charles  Downing.  Another  large,  bright  i:ed  \  cure,  who  does  not  mind  time,  labor  or  cost, 
and  regular  shaped  berry,  having  made  many  \  there  are  numerous  other  sorts,  combining  the 
friends  during  the  last  two  years  ;  will  only  do  j  highest  standard  of  excellence,  size  and  flavor, 
well  in  stools,  but  yields  then  heavily  ;  rich  But  my  list  of  varieties  would  be  incomplete 
sandy  loam  is  its  favorite  soil,  and  Mr.  Parry  '  without  mentioning  the  Ida  and  the  General 
considers  it  his  second  best  berry.  |  Meade,  and  more  particularly  the  first.     Mother 

Lady  of  the  Lalce.  An  old  favorite  of  mine,  I  earth  seems  to  grow  them  spontaneously  for 
and  worthy  of  more  attention  than  it  has  thus  those  of  her  favorites  who  like  to  reap  without 
far  received,  as  it  seems  to  stand  neo:lect  even  I  sowing.     Let  those  who  are  afllicted  with  this 


better  than  the  Wilson.  Mr.  Scott,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  for  the  last  thirty  years  the  most  ex- 
tensive strawberry  grower  in  the  ITew  England 
States,  has  informed  me  that  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake  yields  with  him  40  or  50  bushels  more  per 
acre  than  the  Wilson,  or  about  200  bushels 
actual  count,  which  averaged  him  $^9  50  in  Bos- 
ton market. 


failing,  try  the  Ida.  Plant  it  close  enough  for 
the  runners  to  cover  the  ground  the  first  season, 
and  they  will  afterwards  take  care  of  the  weeds 
themselves. 

And  now  a  few  words  about  new  seedling 
varieties,  some  of  /which  promise  a  bright 
future : 

1.  The  Col.  Cheeney  I  saw  for  the  first  time  in 


Fillmore,  which  Mr.  Knox  used  to  style  his  ^^"it  last  summer  at  Barnesville,  in  what  I  con- 
second  best  berry,  has  to  be  kept  in  stools,  and  j  si^er  one  of  the  regions  best  adapted  to  small 
gives  in  strong,  rich  loam,  an  abundant  crop  of  j  ^^'"it  culture  in  our  State,  of  which  fact  our  Bel- 
large  berries.  niont  county  friends,  I  am  happy  to  add,  seem 

Agriculturist  does  not  succeed  everywhere,  to  ^e  fully  aware.  The  berries  on  exhibition 
but  should  be  grown  where  it  does.  were  extremely  large,  of  fine  showy  appearance. 

Green  Prolific.  Yielding  in  hills  a  very  large  i  fair  taste,  but  rather  soft.  In  productiveness 
crop.  It  has  averaged  with  me,  some  seasons,  i  the  Col.  Cheeney  appears  to  rival  the  far-famed 
two  quarts  to  the  stool,  and  is,  on  account  of  its  \  Mr.  Xicaise,  as  the  berries  were  few  and  far 
color,  very  saleable  in  market.  It  is  the  only  i  between— it  certainly  took  a  good  many  plants 
variety  which  will  live  and  give  satisfaction  in  j  to  fill  a  few  quarts.  I  suppose  the  plant  to  be 
the  warm,  sandy  soil  of  our  Miami  bottoms,  (  pistilate,  as  by  far  the  larger  number  of  berries 


where  neither  the  Wilson  nor  any  other  sort  ever 
outlived  a  single  season  ;  it  will,  no  doubt,  do  as 
well  in  other  similar  localities. 


were  small  and  of  no  account. 

2.  Black  Defiance.      Raised  by   Mr.   Durand 
from  the  Green  Prolific  and  Triumph.     It  is  a 


js.entucky,  which,  in  matted  rows,  hill  or  '  strona,  healthy  grower,  and  seems  to  have  many 
oroaccast,  seems  to  do  equally  well ;  and  in  ap-  •  good  qualities,  but  with  me  the  fruit  stems  ar» 
pearance  size  and  flavor,  a  most  excellent  ;  so  short  tliat  the  berries  cannot  be  kept  clean  : 
fI7  „i     ?'•  '**"'"  ''"'™  *  ^'^  °*'  1200  ,  this,  however,  may  be  a  defect  in  the  soil,  as  it 

Wn  "/"^"'ig  the  bed,   which  had  not    is  highly  spoken  of  in  the  Eastern  States, 
fonr  kIk  ,     Z  "f »»'•«<'  fo--  three  years,  over       3.  Monarch  cf  the  West.     Plant  very  strong 

These  v'h°,'''"  ^^'^'''  "f"'^'-  I  '^-'^  '««"hy.  fruit  large  and  handsome.     I  lear^ 

mLuril  ''"'  "'*™"' '°  "'^  '""^"  "'■"'"'■^  i  ^""^  ^'^^  Wm.  Parry,  that  it  is  the  largest  and 

of  them  ;mT'"'"""  T'""  """  ''""*'"•  •^°""'  ^°"«'  strawberry  he  has  ;  foliage  remarkably 
than  annl  "  ''?"'''  ^*'"'""  '°  "°*  '''*''*'"y  '  "'■""S  '*°''  vigorous,  standing  the  past  hot  and 
bvpvr^         '  ^"^""^  =''°'^'""  '"'^  ^°  ''""'  '""  I  '"'■y  summer  without  injury,  when  the  AVilson 

best  for  i""^"'*'  ""  "■  **"""  *"''''''  '"'''•=''  '*'"®  the  .  and  other  sorts  were  nearly  ruined.  The  fruit 
cons!rW,r  ""T,'  ''*'^'''"  "■■  '""'  '■'*'''""  "''^'^y'  '°  ''  '''^'"'  delicious  and  handsome,  selling  at  $1 
red  coin?  ,r,  /  '■'"'^^'*  *""■"*"  of  a  bright  per  quart  in  Philadelphia,  when  the  Wilson  sold 
derat        t  Whoever  has  the  great  desi-    at  twenty-flve  cents. 

wm  of  the  strawberry  vine,  a  well  drained,        4.  Malihla.      A  seedling  from  Triomphe  de 


ISA 


THE    GARDEMER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


May, 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


135 


Gand  ;  a  large,  handsome,  strawberry,  firm  and 
quite  productive.  Mr.  A.  S.  Fuller  recommend- 
ed it  as  a  market  berry,  though  deficient  in  fla- 
vor, while  Mr.  Charles  Downing,  who  has 
repeatedly  visited  the  original  plantation,  speaks 
very  highly  of  it,  and  says  that  the  Matilda  (ac- 
cording to  his  taste)  will  class  very  good  or  best. 
The  berries  sell  about  one-third  higher  than 
Wilson's,  while  there  is  only  a  little  difference  in 
the  yield.  I 

5.  And  last,  but  not  least,  the  Dr.  Wavders.  \ 
If  this  berry  will  show  during  the  next  six  years 
as  bright  a  record  as  it  has  through  the  past, 
(and  I  have  no  doubt  it  will),  then  it  cannot  fail 
to  occupy  as  prominent  a  position  among  straw- 
berries, as  its  godfather,  our  noble  president,  so 
deservedly  occupies  amongst  horticulturists.  In 
another  year  we  will  hear  more  from  it,  as  it  is 
being  largely  planted  in  New  Jersey,  Missouri, 
Kentucky  and  other  States  for  market  purposes. 

The  actual  yield  with  me  of  200  feet  on  the 
matted   row  plan,   without  winter  covering  or  j 
manure,  was  two  bushels  and  twelve  quarts  of  I 
such  berries  as  I  exlnbited  here  in  Zanesville  | 
and  other  localities,  without  counting  what  was 
taken  off"  by  visitors. 

To  show  the  relative  value  of  strawberries  in 
market,  I  may  mention  that  the  following  varie- 
ties ranged  on  the  same  day  in  Cincinnati  at 

50  cents  for  Jucunda. 

40  cents  for  Triomphe  de  Gand  and  Seth  Boy- 
den. 

30  to  35  cents  for  Kentucky  and  Agriculturist. 

20  cents  for  Charles  Downing. 

10  to  15  cents  for  Wilson's  Albany. 

TAR  ON  HOTHOUSE   AND  GREEN- 
HOUSE STAGING. 

BY  W.  BENNETT,  GARDENER  TO  O.  BREWER, 
ESQ.,  NEWPORT,  R.  I. 

Eighteen  months  ago  my  employer  built  three 
ranges  of  houses  here,  and  being  advised  to  tar 
the  stages  to  preserve  the  wood,  to  our  mis- 
fortune it  was  all  well  tarred  ;  two  span  roof 
houses,  the  wood  work/ all  being  tarred  before 
fixed.  As  soon  as  the  houses  were  filled  in  with 
plants,  and  we  commenced  firing,  we  soon  found 
out  the  dangerous  effects  of  tar.  The  plants 
began  to  look  sickly,  the  leaves  became  black- 
ened and  dropped  off ;  consequently  the  whole 
of  the  stages  was  removed -every  particle  that 
had  tar  on,  and  replaced  by  new.  I  then  filled 
these  two  houses  again  with  a  general  collection 


of  stove  plants  and  orchids,  &c.,  when  they  soon 
began  to  make  new  leaves  and  assume  an 
healthy  appearances. 

The  other  range,  which  is  a  hothouse  and 
greenhouse,  the  staging  all  being  fixed  before  it 
was  tarred,  consequently  the  man  when  putting 
the  tar  on  the  staging,  spilt  a  quantity  on  the 
pipes.  Now  after  having  the  whole  of  the  sta- 
ging removed  from  these  two  houses,  and  put- 
ting new  staging  in,  we  feel  the  evil  effects  of 
the  tar  as  soon  as  the  pipes  become  heated. 
Last  fall  all  the  leaves  come  off"  in  two  or  three 
nights,  both  in  tho  hothouse  and  greenhouse, 
and  the  plants  had  to  be  cleared  out  again,  and 
the  few  common  plants  I  left  in  during  the  win- 
tor  are  nearly  dead. 

The  following  plants  are  what  suffered  moat : 

GREENHOUSE  PLANTS. 


Acacias, 

Camellias, 

Aphelexis, 

Hederomas, 

Tremandras, 

Chorizemas, 

Correas, 

Mvrtles, 

Ericas, 


Boronias, 

Adenandras, 

Pimelias, 

Diosmas, 

Dracophyllum, 

Croweas, 

Taxonias, 

Oranges, 

Polygalas, 


Kenncdyas,  and  a  host  of  others. 

STOVE   PLANTS. 


Marantas, 

Crotons, 

Clerodendrons, 

Cyanophyllums, 

Dieffcnbachias, 

Stephanotes, 


Pandanus, 

Dipladineas, 

Ixoras, 

AUamandas, 

Francisceas, 

Palms — some    varieties 
nearly  killed. 
Anthureums,  Euc^haras,  &c. 

•  Last  winter  I  moved  some  Yandas  into  the 
stove,  on  account  of  being  more  heat  there  than 
in  some  of  the  other  houses,  which  were  show- 
ing flower  spikes  ;  to  my  surprise,  in  three  days 
the  flower  spikes  turned  black  and  withered 
away.  Cypripediums  and  Cattleyas,  Oncidiums, 
Aerides,  Saccolabiums,  Phaloenopsis,  all  lost 
their  leaves  in  that  house,  and  would  have  died 
had  I  let  them  remain  there.  For  instance,  an 
old  plant  of  Justicia  carnea,  which  has  been  in 
the  house  all  the  winter,  continually  keeps  drop- 
ping off"  at  the  joints,  and  I  believe  the  plant 
will  be  quite  dead  by  the  spring. 

Now  we  are  quite  sure  the  tar  is  the  cause  of 
all  our  trouble,  and  unless  we  can  remove  the 
evil,  we  shall  never  have  a  healthy  plant  in  these 
two  houses.     For  instance,   a  plant  not  only 


requires  its  roots  and  stem,  but  its  leaves  to  per-  [  the  remainder  filled  with  the  fibre  of  orchard 
form  its  functions  ;  but  strip  a  plant  entirely  of  peat,  keeping  the  plants  in  a  night  temperature 
its  leaves,  and  its  vital  actions  for  the  time  of  from  50^  to  55°  in  the  winter,  and  place  them 
cease.  In  my  opinion,  tar  is  dangerous  to  plant  in  a^  open  greenhouse  with  air  day  and  night  in 
life  ;  however,  I  have  found  it  so  here.  I  should  summer,  shade  from  bright  sun  during  the  heated 
be  pleased  to  hear  from  some  of  your  correspond-    weather,  and  expose  to  full  light  in  a'utumn. 


ents  if  there  is  any  remedy  for  removing  the  tar 
from  the  pipes. 


The  plants  flower  from  December  to  January, 
and  last  in  flower  more  than  a  month,  so  that  it 
-^-^ I  flowers  at  a  very  desirable  season,  when  choice 

NOTE  ON  CELOSIA  JAPONICA  ^'^^''  ^^^  scarce  and  always  in  request.     The 

flowers  are  about  four  inches  across  ;  beautiful, 
BY  MRS.  F.  very  lilac  and  deep  purple.     It  lasts  for  a  long 

A  subscriber  to  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  who    time  when  cut  and  placed  in  water  in  a  raoder- 
saw  at  the  floral  exhibition  of  the  Western  New  \  ate  heated  room. 
York  Fair  last  fall,  the  new  Japan  Cockscomb, 
Celosia  Japonica,  which  is  being  introduced  this 
season  by  Mr.  James  Yick,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
writes  to  the  editor  as  follows  : 
As  regards  the  beauty  of  this  novelty,  it  must 


*•>•» 


RURAL  IMF^ROYEMENTS. 

BY   WALTER   ELDER. 

^, „..        Nothwithstanding  the  many  books  published 

be  seen  to  be  fully  appreciated.    Imagine  a  plant  i  "P<5»  the  culture  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  our 
growing    from   two    to    three   feet    high,    very  \  horticultural   magazines   are   mostly  taken   up 

branching  ;  the  stalks  of  which  are  of  a  bright    -"'''"   ""  '  

scarlet  or  crimson,  and  every  branch,  however 


with   things   to   eat;  their  foreign  readers  will 
think  that  "we  Yankees"  are  awful  people  for 


small,  terminating  in  a  comb,  or  rather  a  clus-  |  "stuffing  our  kites." 

ter,  consisting  of  an  immense  number  of  combs.  The  love  for  the  beautiful  and  fragrant  in  or- 
having  the  appearance  of  the  finest  scarlet  or  j  namental  gardening  is  fast  spreading  among  our 
crimson  silk  velvet ;  ruffled  and  crimped  into  j  wealthy  citizens.  Almost  every  family  wishes 
large  heads  in  a  most  delicate  and  beautiful  for  a  rural  retreat  of  their  own,  so  as  to  improve 
^^^^^^-  j  it  to  suit  their  fancies.     Our  seedsmen,  florists 

The  fohnge  is  also  very  fine,  being  of  a  dark,  i  and  nurserymen  are  using  their  best  endeavors 
changeable  crimson,  green  and  bronze,  which  in  !  to  further  their  desires.  It  is  astonishing  to  see 
sunlight  gives  to  the  plant  a  most  splendid  ap-  I  the  numerous  new  species  and  improved"  varie- 
pearance.  This  certainly  is  no  "5fpor«,"  but  a  !  ties  of  annuals,  biennials  and  perennials  of  areat 
true  and  distinct  variety,  entirely  new,  and  alto-  .  beauty  and  delightful  fra^rrance. 


gether  different  in  habit  from  the  old  varieties. 


*•■>» 


LAELIA  ANCEPS.— No.  9. 


BY  MR.   JAMES  TAPLIN,  MANAGER  TO  OEORGE 
SUCH,  ESQ.,  SOUTH  AMBOY,  N.  J. 

J  If  aImI  ''""f  f .?""'  ^•"'  ^y  ''""''''- 1  """'^"•^  !"«"'«  f«-  their  embcllishme..t.     But  in 


The  same  is  the  case  with  ornamental  trees 
and  shrubbery.  The  great  increase  and  surpass- 
ing beauty  of  ornamental  vines  is  also  very  en- 
couraging. Those  having  rural  estates  to  im- 
prove, need  only  to  visit  our  commercial  gardens 
and  examine  the  various  stocks  therein,  to  choose 


finn  ^e  ri^^w  1  •     n    ...    «  -^  -"t^ck^.v.  ^MrtiiLo  lui  Liieir  emueiiisument.     I5ut  m 

t'^S'^'::i:'\^^'^''^^''^^^r'''\^^^^^"^  -^  •J'-ting  the  i,npr,ve„.e„ts,   we 


by  those  who  grow  but  few  other  varieties  of 
choice  plants,  it  being  one  of  the  species  which 
IS  easily  grown  by  any  one  possessing  a  green- 
house for  winter  flowering  plants.  This  being 
a  Mexican  species,  does  not  require  a  strong 
heat,  but  would  in  time  be  so  much  weakened 
by  a  high  temperature  that  few  or  no  flowers 
would  be  obtained. 

This  plant  may  be  grown  either  in  a  pot,  bas- 
ket, or  on  a  block,  but  the  pot  or  basket  is  the 
best  in  this  climate.  We  grow  the  plants  in 
Jrame,  three  parts  filled  with  broken  pots,  and 


quote  a  sentence  from  the  Philadelphia  Public 
Ledger:  ^'It  is  necessary  to  have  a  man  who  un- 
derstands the  business.'''  Such  a  man  will  repre- 
sent himffclf,  and  not  carry  bundles  of  script  to  tell 
what  he  can  do;  nor  will  he  ride  upon  other  peo- 
ple s  shoulders  to  get  up  in  the  world. 

We  earnestly  beseech  all  our  commercial  gar- 
deners to  encourage  rural  improvements,  rather 
than  discourage  them,  in  commending  suitable 
men  to  direct  the  works,  independent  of  their 
"being  regular  customers.''  No  man  can  buy 
all  he  needs   from  each   individual  dealer.     A 


136 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJ^TBLY. 


May, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


137 


I 

man's  qualifications  should  be  the  mark—h\%  \ 
doings  will  be  sure  to  bring  trade  to  the  firm. 
He  may  save  ten  times  the  amount  of  the  price 
of  his  hire  in  his  direction.  He  will  make  selec- 
tions of  nursery  stocks  as  will  flourish  upon  the 
soil  and  exposure  of  the  place,  and  will  set  them 
out  in  a  way  to  insure  their  thrifty  growth,  and 
give  the  most  pleasing  effect.  Every  place  will 
require  a  plan  to  suit  itself.  A  pleasing  diversi- 
ty can  be  made  upon  very  small  grounds.  Ever- 
green hedges  make  the  most  beautiful  and  last- 
ing enclosures  for  small  grounds.  Perhaps  some 
large  grounds  may  be  belted  with  trees,  many  of 
them  being  evergreens  for  winter  shelter,  and  to 
shut  out  the  vulgar  stare. 

Several  species  of  fruit  trees  are  highly  orna- 
mental upon  a  fine  lawn.  The  Cherry,  Pear, 
Peach,  American  and  Spanish  Chestnut  trees, 
&c.,  are  all  beautiful,  and  their  fruits  valuable. 
The  number  of  individual  species  and  varieties 
of  deciduous  trees  and  shrubs  are  vast,  and  their 
diversity  surprising  ;  so  it  is  with  flowering 
plants,  their  splendors  are  dazzling,  and  their 
sweet  perfumes  are  charming.  Our  rural  and 
suburban  improvements  have  made  rapid  strides 
within  the  past  twenty  years,  and  I  feel  assured 
that  the  ensuing  twenty  years  will  quadruple  the 
past  in  the  extent  and  gorgeousness  of  their  im- 
provements. 


«•»•» 


PRUNING  IN  JUNE. 

BY  L.  J.  TEMPLIN,  KOKOMA,  IND. 

I  have  become  so  much  accustomed  to  accept- 
ing the  teachings  of  the  Gardener^s  Monthly^  as 
sound  doctrine,  that  I  feel  somewhat  surprised 
to  feel  compelled  to  dissent  from  anything  found 
in  it.  But  I  find  I  sometimes  have  to  disagree 
with  those  who  are  my  best  friends,  and  who 
are  also  competent  to  teach  me  on  almost  all 
subjects.  The  spirit  that  pervades  the  pages  of 
the  Gardener's  Mont  My  ^  both  editorial  and  com 
municated,  assures  me  that  any  effort  to  either 
discover  or  communicate  truth,  will  bo  not  only 
tolerated,  but  encouraged. 

In  an  article  on  tree  culture,  in  the  February 
Dumber  of  your  magazine,  I  find  among  some 
very  good  things,  that  we  should  do  well  to  take 
heed  to  a  fling  at  pruning  fruit  trees  in  June,  as 
a  theory  fit  only  for  boys  who  are  full  of  faith  in 
what  they  see  in  print.  Now  I  believe  that 
aith,  even  when  found  existing  in  boyhood,  is  a 
good  thing,  and  departinir  from  the  faith  of 
childhood  has  led  many  a  man  to  his  ruin  ;  but 
fortunately  or  otherwise,  I  had  no  faith  on  the 


subject  of  tree  pruning  till  after  boyhood  had 
fled  forever,  as  my  thoughts  and  studies  all  led 
to  different  fields  of  knowledge,  and  when  I  was 
led  to  investigate  the  subject  of  tree  culture,  I 
first  became  prejudiced  in  favor  of  winter  and 
early  spring  pruning,  and  it  was  only  after  seve- 
ral years  of  both  study  and  practice  that  I 
became  convinced  that  for  certain  purposes  in 
pruning,  June  is  the  best  possible  season  of  the 
year. 

I  presume  that  everybody  will  agree  that  a 
single  fact  is  hardly  sufficient  to  either  establish 
or  overthrow  a  general  principle.  Mr.  II. 's  ex- 
periment in  pruning  in  June  does  not  necessari* 
ly  prove  that  it  is  folly  to  prune  at  that  season. 
The  trees  may  have  been  in  bad  health,  or  some 
other  unknown  cause  may  have  produced  the 
evil. 

In  the  fall  of  1865  I  pruned  a  young  orchard 
in  the  month  of  November.  The  previous  sum- 
mer had  been  one  of  excessive  wet ;  the  follow- 
ing winter  was  a  very  cold  one.  The  weather 
up  to  the  time  of  pruning,  and  for  some  time 
after,  was  mild  and  fine,  but  the  result  was  that 
a  large  number  of  the  trees  died,  and  the  trunks 
of  those  that  survived  were  generally  as  black  as 
tar,  below  the  wounds  made  in  pruning.  Now 
I  do  not  think  it  was  the  season  altogether  that 
produced  all  this  evil,  but  think  perhaps  it  was 
caused  by  a  combination  of  unfavorable  influen- 
ces with  which  I  was  at  that  time  unacquainted. 
For  seven  years  past  I  have  pruned  somewhat 
extensively,  both  in  orchards  and  nursery,  and 
have  observed  with  considerable  of  interest  the 
experien(  e  of  others,  and  have  arrived  at  the  fol" 
lowing  conclusions  : 

1st.  If  the  design  is  to  increase  the  vigor  of  a 
tree  and  produce  a  large,  strong  wood  growth, 
pruning  should  be  done  as  early  in  the  season, 
after  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  as  we  can  be  sure  that 
it  will  not  be  followed  by  excessive  freezing. 

2nd.  If  it  is  desired  to  check  excessive  wood 
growth,  and  throw  the  tree  into  bearing,  pru- 
ning should  be  done  late  in  the  summer— say 
latter  part  of  July  and  during  August. 

3rd.  When  the  wish  is  to  merely  thin  out  sur- 
plus and  improperly  placed  branches,  and  regu- 
late the  bhape  of  a  tree,  and  leave  it,  so  far  as 
vigor  is  concerned,  iii  statu  quOy  it  should  be 
pruned  at  the  time  it  has  fairly  commanced  to 
make  its  most  vigorous  growth  for  the  season, 
whether  it  be  in  May  or  June. 

These  opinions  have  been  formed  not  only  on 
the  facts  as  they  have  presented  themselvis  to 


my  mind,  but  the  why  and  wherefore  of  these 
results  have  been  carefully  inquired  into,  and 
every  effect  so  traced  to  its  cause,  that  I  con- 
ceive it  would  not  be  a  hard  task  to  show  that 
the  above  conclusions  are  based  upon  sound 
physiological  principles.  This  is  a  question  of 
great  practical  importance  to  myself  and  thous- 
ands of  others— too  important  to  be  laughed  out 
of  company,  and  if  my  conclusions  are  erronous, 
no  man  would  rejoice  more  than  myself  to  have 
the  error  pointed  out ;  but  to  make  this  plain, 
will,  perhaps,  require  something  more  than  a 
simple  intimation  that  such  opinions  are  based 
exclusively  in  childish  credulity. 

I  will  not  at  this  time,  ask  to  occupy  your  val- 
uable space  by  going  into  an  investigation  of  the 
scientific  principles  involved  in  these  questions, 
as  this  might  be  considered  theorizing,  which  is 
estimated  very  lightly  by  some,  but  shall  con- 
tent myself  with  giving  some  experimental  testi- 
mony. 

In  1866  I  had  a  young  orchard  that  I  began 
to  prune  in  February,  and  continued  at  intervals 
till  August,  and  those  pruned  in  June,  did  bet- 
ter, healed  over  sooner,  than  any  pruned  either 
before  or  after  that  period.  In  1871  I  began  to 
renovate  an  orchard  ten  years  old,  that  had  been 
trained  according  to  the  absurd  fashion  of  low 
heads  which  prevailed  at  that  time.  It  took  a 
great  deal  of  cutting  and  trimming,  but  I  was 
determined,  and  persevered  ;  the  result  was  that 
every  wound  made  in  June-  the  time  the  work 
was  done,  began  at  once  to  heal  over,  and  by  the 
time  growth  stopped  in  the  fall,  every  place 
where  a  branch  had  been  cut  off,  had  a  beautiful 
ring  of  new  bark  and  wood,  of  from  one-third  to 
one-half  inch  in  width  all  around  it,  and  still 
they  are  doing  well. 


*•»♦» 


NEGLECTED  PLANTS. 

BY  JOHN    TULLY,  ROSEDALE  NURSERY,  PIIILA- 

DELPklA. 

Passiflora  Princeps  racemosa.  This 
charming  old  plant  is  one  of  the  many  all-but- 
forgotten  in  the  race  for  novelties.  It  is  a  stove 
climber,  of  easy  culture,  and  this,  coupled  with 
the  beauty  of  its  flowers,  should  make  it  a  gen- 
eral favorite.  What  can  have  a  more  pleasing 
effect  in  one's  stove  than  these  beautiful  raceums 
of  scarlet  flowers  hanging  from  the  rafters.  By 
the  following  treatment  I  had  it  in  bloom  for 
nine  months  in  the  year  : 

In  front  of  my  house,  and  immediately  under 


my  hot  water  pipes,  I  excavated  a  pit,  from  two 
feet  to  two  and  a  half  feet  deep,  and  about  two 
feet  in  width.  For  drainage  I  put  in  about 
eight  inches  of  coarse  lime  rubbish  ;  I  then  filled 
my  pit  with  a  compost  of  one-half  rough  fibry 
loam,  one-fourth  turfy  peat,  with  a  free  admix- 
ture of  well  decomposed  cow  manure  and  fresh 
water  sand.  I  put  in  my  plants  in  February, 
placed  a  board  between  tlu  m  and  the  pipes  ;  by 
the  middle  of  June  they  were  to  the  top  of  my 
stove  and  showing  bloom. 

I  have  grown  Passiflora  quadrangularis  very 
successful  in  this  way.  I  also  planted  it  early 
in  February,  took  it  up  to  the  roof,  fertilized  my 
flowers  as  they  expanded,  and  by  the  end  of 
August  I  had  fine  large  oval  fruit  fit  for  dessert, 
some  swelling,  and  plenty  of  beautiful  flowers  at 
the  same  time  ;  it  acts  as  a  shade  for  the  plants 
in  summer,  and  in  winter  it  will  bear  to  be 
spurred  like  a  vine.  I  have  grown  that  beauti- 
ful scarlet  trumpet  flower,  Bignonia  Cherei,  in 
the  same  manner,  with  great  success.  At  the 
Rosedale  Nurseries,  Philadelphia,  there  is  a 
plant  of  Bignonia  venusta  grown  in  a  similar 
manner,  and  I  am  sure  it  has  well  repaid  the 
trouble  bestowed  on  it  some  years  ago,  for  it  is 
at  present  literally  covered  with  its  fine  clusters 
of  beautiful  bright  orange-colored  blossoms, 
which  one  will  not  often  see  at  this  time. 


INFLUENCE  OF  EXTREME  COLD  ON 
THE  CURCULIO. 

BY  PROFESSOR  RILEY,    MISSOURI    STATE 
ENTOMOLOGIST. 

It  is  with  difficulty  that  I  find  time  now-a- 
days  to  write  anything  fugitive ;  but  as  you 
have  expressed  the  desire  (p.  14)  to  hear  mj 
opinion  on  the  above  subject,  I  will  give  it, 
however  briefly, 

Ist.  In  assuming  that  the  Plum  Curculio  (for,  I 
take  it,  no  other  is  intended)  hibernates  in  the 
pupa  state  in  the  ground,  Mr.  Southwick  starts 
out  with  a  mistaken  premise,  which,  of  course, 
very  materially  weakens  his  conclusion,  that 
"when  the  soil  is  much  exposed  to  long  con- 
tinued freezing,  the  frost  penetrates  to  a  depth, 
and  with  sufficient  intensity^  to  reach  and  destroy 
the  pupa." 

2d.  Prolonged  expi'rience  and  experiment  have 
convinced  me  that  this  insect  invariably  hiber- 
nates in  the  perfect  beetle  state,  either  above  or 
just  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  This  is  a 
settled   fact,  and  there  can  be  no  good  reason 


138 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOMTELY. 


May, 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJYER'S   MOXTHLY. 


139 


given  for  doubting  it.  I  have  invariably  found 
that  the  beetles  issue  from  the  ground  long  before 
the  frost  sets  in,  and  have  kept  numbers  all 
through  the  winter,  and  found  them  at  that 
season  in  their  winter  quarters  out  of  doors. 
(For  details  see  3d  Mo.  Ent.  Rep.  pp.  11-13.) 

3d.  Intense  and  continued  cold  in  winter  is 
not  so  apt  to  destroy  insect  life  as  constant 
freezing  and  thawing.  Once  torpid,  most  insects 
may  be  frozen  solid  with  impunity,  and  our 
little  Turk  is  as  tough  us  any  of  them.  Re- 
peated freezing  and  thawing  is  far  more  prejudi- 
cial than  continued  freezing,  and  if  we  are  to 
attribute  the  scarcity  of  the  Curculio  in  1872  to 
anything  at  all,  I  should  prefer  myself  to  attri- 
bute it  to  the  unprecedented  heat  and  drought 
of  the  summer  of  1871 ;  for  it  is  an  established 
fact  that  excessive  heat  and  dryness  will  destroy 
many  insects  which  transform  underground,  if 
it  occur  at  the  time  they  are  undergoing  such 
transformations. 

[As  a  matter  of  interest  we  quote  what  Mr. 
Riley  says  of  the  Curculio  in  the  third  report  of 
the  Missouri  Entomologist. — Ed.  ]: 

"  I  shall  not  here  repeat  what  has  already 
been  published  about  this  insect ;  but  shall  con- 
fine my  remarks  principally  to  the  unsettled  and 
mooted  points  in  its  natural  history,  aad  to  the 
new  discoveries  that  have  been  made  since  the 
appearance  of  my  first  Report.  I  am  glad  to  be 
able  to  say  that  I  have  forever  settled  the  prin- 
cipal question,  namely,  as  to  its  being  single  or 
double  brooded.  Authors  have,  from  the  begin- 
ning, held  different  views  on  this  subject,  and 
this  fact  should  not  surprise  us,  when  we  bear 
in  mind  that  they  reasoned  simply  from  conjec- 
ture ;  nor  will  it  surprise  us  when  we  under- 
stand the  facts  in  the  case.  The  facts  that 
fresh  and  soft  Curculios  are  found  in  this  lati- 
tude as  early  as  the  last  of  June,  and  that  they 
still  come  out  of  the  ground  in  August,  or  as 
late  as  September,  and  even  October  in  more 
northerly  latitudes,  are  well  calculated  to  mis- 
lead ;  while  it  was  difficult  to  imagine  an  insect 
living  ten  months  before  ovipositing,  without 
dwindling  away  through  the  action  of  its 
enemies.  But  in  the  beetle  state,  the  Curculio 
has  few,  if  any  enemies,  and  in  my  former 
writings  on  this  subject,  I  have  shown  that  the 
other  facts  do  not  in  the  least  prove  the  insect 
to  be  double-brooded.  AmoHg  those  whose 
opinions  commanded  respect,  from  their  pro- 
found entomological  knowledge  and  general 
accuracy,  was  Mr.  Walsh,  who,  during  his  last 


years,  strenuously  contended  that  this  insect 
was  double-brooded.  For  several  years  I  have 
entertained  a  different  opinion,  believing  that  it 
was  single  brooded,  as  a  rule,  and  only  exception- 
ally double-brooded  ;  and  the  facts  so  fully  bear 
me  out  in  this  opinion,  that  were  ray  late  asso- 
ciate living  to-day,  I  should  bring  forth  the 
testimony  with  a  feeling  of  triumph,  for  he  was 
not  often  in  the  wrong  I  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
however,  that  Mr.  Walsh's  first  impression,  as 
given  by  him  in  the  year  1867*,  was  that  this 
insect  is  single  brooded  ;  his  first  opinion  thus 
coinciding  with  what  I  have  now  proved  to  be 
the  facts  in  the  case.  In  my  first  Report  I  have 
reviewed  the  experiments  which  led  him  to 
I  change  his  opinion,  and  have  shown  that  they 
!  did  not  warrant  his  final  conclusion. 

I  The  many  words  that  have  been  penned  in  the 
discussion  of  this  question  would  fill  a  volume  ; 
but  one  stern  fact,  one  thorough  experiment,  is 
worth  more  than  all  the  theories  that  were  ever 
conceived,  or  the  phrases  that  were  ever  writ- 
ten on  the  subject.  At  first  it  seems  to  be  a 
very  simple  question  to  settle,  but  the  fact  that 
it  remained  unsettled  so  long  would  indicate  the 
reverse.  Judge  A.  M.  Brown,  of  Villa  Ridge, 
at  my  suggestion,  endeavored  in  the  summer  of 
1869  to  solve  the  problem  by  imprisoning  the 
first  bred  beetles  and  furnishing  them  with 
plucked  fruit.  Dr.  Hull  partially  performed  a 
like  experiment,  and  I  did  the  same  myself;  but 
we  were  met  by  the  advocates  of  the  two- 
brooded  theory  with  the  objection  that  such  a 
test  was  of  no  value,  as  the  Curculio  would  not 
deposit  «n  plucked  fruit  or  in  confinement ;  and 
to  add  weight  to  their  argument  they  could  cite 
us  to  numerous  instances  among  butterflies  to 
prove  that  many  insects  really  will  not  deposit  in 
confinement.  But,  as  we  shall  see.  they  placed 
too  much  confidence  in  the  instinct  of  Mrs. 
Turk  when,  from  such  premises,  they  made 
these  deductions  apply  to  her. 

As  I  proved  over  and  over  again,  the  question 
could  not  be  solved  with  any  more  certainty,  by 
confining  beetles  to  living  boughs  containing 
fruit,  as  the  boughs  could  not  well  be  covered 
with  any  substance  through  which  the  beetles 
would  not  gnaw  their  way  out.  So  I  deter- 
mined last  spring  to  build  a  frame  over  a  large 
tree  and  entirely  enclose  it  in  stout  gauze,  that 
would  neither  let  a  flea  in  or  out,  much  less  a 
Curculio.     Having  accomplished  this  before  the 


♦Practical  Entomologist,  Vol.  II,  No.  7. 


blossoms  had  fallen  off  the  tree,  I  awaited  with  ' 
pleasurable  interest  the  result  from  day  to  day,  i 
from  week  to  week,  and  from  month  to  mouth  ; 
engaging  a  competent  person   to  watch,  when,  ' 
from  necessity,  I  was  obliged  to  be  awav.     It 
were  worse  than  waste  of  time  to  detail  here  the 
many  interesting    observations    made  on    this 
tree  which  I  had  under  control,  or  to  enumerate 
the  many  other  experiments  which  I  conducted  \ 
in  other  ways,  or  the  innumerable  flicts  obtained  ;  \ 
and  it  will  suffice  to  give  in   a  summarj-  man- 
ner the  results — premising  only  that  every  pre- 
caution was  taken,  and  no  expense  spared,  to  ' 
prevent    failure ;     that    the    experiments    were 
satisfactory  beyond  my  expectations,  the  results 
conclusive  beyond  all  peradventure,  and  that  I 
can  prove  every  statement  I  make.     To  sum  up  i 
then  :  —  The  Plum  Curculio  is  sinfjle  hmnded,  and 
I  have  a   number  now  alive   which   were   bred 
during  the  latter  part  of  Jane  from  the  first  stung 
peaches.     (At  the  time  the  printer  is  ready  for 
this  Report  the  beetles  are  still  alive  and  flour- 
ishing—February  24th,   1871.)      But,   as  there 
seem  to  be  exceptions  to  all  rules,  so  there  are 
to  this ;  yet  the  exceptions  are  only  just  about 
sufficient  to  prove  the  rule,  for  as  far  south  as 
St.  Louis  not   more  than  one  per  cent,  of  the 
beetles  lay  any  eggs  at  all,  until  they  have  lived 
through  one  winter ;  or  in  other  words,  where 
one  female  will  pair  and  deposit  a  few  eggs  the 
same  summer  she  was  bred,  ninety-nine  wilt  live 
on  for  nearly  ten  months  and  not  deposit  till  the 
following  spring.     In  more  northern  Latitudes  I 
doubt  if  any  exception  to  the  rule  will  be  found. 
"As    to    the    other    mooted    point,    namely, 
whether  this  insect  ever  hibernates  under  ground 
in  the  larvfe  state,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that 
it  never  does,  but  that  it  passes  the  winter  inva- 
riably as  a  beetle,  under  all  sorts  of  shelter  in 
the  woods ;  generally,  however,  near  the  surface 
of  the  ground.     Indeed,  it  often  makes  for  itself 
a  hole  in   the   ground,  seldom,   however    deep 
enough  to  more  than  barely  cover  its  own  body. 
In  short,  there  is  very  little  to  alter  or  modify  in 
the  eslablished    facts    in    its    natural    history, 
which   I    have   already   published.       The  egg, 
instead  of  being  *  ova V  as  there  stated,  would 
be  better  described  as  '  oblong-oval,'  measuring 
exactly  0  03  inch   in  length,  and   being   nearly 
three  times  as  long  as  wide.     It  should  also  be 
remarked  here,  that  when  depositing  the  eggs  in 
apples,   the    female    often    neglects    the    usual 
symbol  of  Mohammedanism,  which  she  so  invari- 
ably inscribes  upon  stone  fruit :  and  that  where 


this  mark  is  made  on  apples,  it  more  easily  be- 
comes obliterated. 

*'  During  their  beetle  life,  these  insects  feed 
continually,  just  as  long  as  the  weather  is  mild 
enough  to  make  them  active.  While  fruit  lasts, 
they  gouge  holes  in  it,  and  after  peaches  have 
gone,  apples  are  badly  attacked.  They  also 
gnaw  large  holes  in  the  leaves,  and  when 
nothing  else  presents,  will  feed  on  the  bark  of 
the  tender  twigs. 

"  The  beetles  often  make  a  peculiar  creaking 
noise  (a  fact  not  mentioned  before  of  this 
species)  by  rubbing  the  tip  of  the  abdomen  up 
and  down  against  the  wing-covers.'^ 

"  Let  us  be  thankful,  therefore,  that  there  can 
no  jonger  reasonably  be  difference  of  opinion,  or 
discussion  on  these  questions,  which,  though  of 
no  very  great  practical  importance,  were  yet  of 
great  interest  to  us  all. ' ' 


*A  great  many  different  beetles  belonging  t(»  widely  dif 
foront  families  have  the  power  of  making  a  stridulating 
creaking  noise,  and  though  the  instrument  is  found 
upon  d iflfer en t )  tarts  of  the  body  in  difl'erent  species,  yet 
it  is  always  made  after  one  plan,  namely,  a  file-like  rasp 
and  a  scraper.  In  Darwin's  new  book  (Descent  of  Man 
pp.  8G()-7.'{)  an  interesting  account  of  the  diflferent  meth- 
ods employed  will  be  found.  Every  entomologist 
knows  how  commonlj"  this  creaking  noise  occurs  in 
the  Long-horn  beetles,  and  that  the  rasp  is  situated  on 
the  mesothorax,  and  is  rubbed  against  the  prothorax. 
In  the  Burying  beetles  (Necroi'HORID.=e)  these  rasps 
are  situated  on  the  fifth  abdominal  joint,  and  are 
scraped  by  the  posterior  margin  of  the  elytra.  In  the 
Dung-beetles  again  it  is  variously  situated  upon  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  body.  Dr.  Fitch  (lOth  Ann.  Rep* 
p.  12)  has  noticed  the  creaking  noise  by  the  Three-lined 
Leaf-beetle  (/vC7na  Ar«7///ea/:rt)  which  l»  produced  by  the 
same  motions  as  those  witnessed  in  our  Curculio;  but 
in  this  instance,  as  iu  all  other  stridulating  Chrysome- 
lidje,  the  rasp  is  situated  on  the  dorsal  apex  of  the 
abdomen  known  as  the  pvgidium,  and  is  scraped  by 
the  wing-covers;  while  in  the  closely  allied  Curculio- 
nida^  which  have  this  power  the  parts  are  completely 
reversed  in  position.  Any  one  who  will  take  the  trou- 
ble to  carefully  examine  t.ie  wing-covers  of  our  Plum 
Curculio  will  find  on  the  lower  apical  edge  of  each,  a 
horny,  slightly  raised  plate,  about  a  third  as  long  as  the 
whole  wing-cover,  and  transverselj-  and  obliquely 
ribbed  by  numerous  paralU^l  ridges.  There  is  also  a 
longer  cord  or  carina  near  the  sutural  edge  which  may 
help  to  intensify  the  noise.  The  dors  il  apex  of  the 
abdomen  or  pygidiuin  forms  a  yellowish  and  rough" 
ened  plate,  with  the  sides  liorny  and  emarginate,  so 
that  wnen  the  abdomen  plays  up  and  down,  these 
horny  edges  grate  or  scrape  at  right  angles  against  the 
rasp. 

In  some  instances  the  stridulatlon  is  possessed  prln' 
cipally  by  one  sex  and  serves.no  doubt  as  a  sexual  call ; 
but  with  our  Curculio  as  with  most  other  stridulating 
beetles,  both  sexes  seem  to  share  alike  in  the  power, 
and  it  then  no  doubt  serves  as  a  mutu.al  call,  or  is  used 
under  the  influence  of  distress,  fear,  or  even  pleasure 
for  I  have  always  more  particularly  noticed  the  noise 
of  an  evening  when  the  Curculios  were  most  adtlve 
and  preparing  for  their  active  night  work. 


IJfO 


TEE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJfTHLY. 


May^ 


1873, 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY. 


141 


:i 


♦ 


SMALL  PIPES  IN  HOT  WATER  HEATING 

BY  L.  B.  G.,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

In  Oardener'>s  Monthly,  Vol.  VI,  p.  53,  you 
discourage  the  use  of  small   pipe   in   the   fire. 
Last  fall  I  built  a  small  propagating  house,  and 
to  heat  tank  I  suspended  the  boiler,  holding  two 
gallons,  over  the  fire.     I  found  when  the  furnace 
was  banked  I  could  not  obtain  sufficient  heat. 
I  then  made  a  boiler  10  inches  long  by  3  inches 
in  diameter,  to  receive   flow   and   return  pipes, 
to  the  bottom  of  which   I  attached  1|  inch  gas 
pipe,  which  drops  through  the  fire  nearly  to  the 
bottom  of  the  grate :  to  keep  up  circulation  in 
this  pipe  I  placed  inside  a  .{  inch   tube,  reaching 
from   near  the   bottom   of  the  gas  pipe  nearly 
to   the  top  of  the  boiler.     I  now  get  as  much 
heat  with  a  dull  fire.     The  boiler  works  so  well 
that  I  thought  of  using  such  an  arraui'ement  on 
a  larger  scale  in  a  propagating  house  I  am  about 
to  build.     How  can   pipe   in   the   fire  give  out 
when  it  will  not  get  much  hotter  than  the  water  ? 
Do  you  think  a  small  saddle  boiler  would  answer 
better?     I  notice  houses  here  with  both  brick 
and  cement  flues  leak  gas  badly  on  dull  days. 
In  a  house  80  feet  long,  11  feet  wide,  would  it 
not  be  better  to  rum  the  flue  forty  or  fifty  feet, 
and  heat  the  balance  with  water  ?    Suppose  clay 
or  tile  pipes  had  one  end  coated  with  pitch,  then 
the  joints  butted   together  and  cemented  with 
mortar,  similar  to  the  collar  illustrated  in  Oar- 
denei^'s  Monthly,  Vol.   V,  p.  86,  would  not   the 
pitch  by  preventing  the  mortar  from  adhering 
to  the  pipe  allow  the  pipe  to  expand,  and  yet  be 
sufficiently  tight  to  prevent  leakage  ?     1  enclose 
clipping  from  Scientijic  American  relating  to  the 
same  subject : 

A.  B.  says :  —The  heating  pipes  of  a  greenhouse 
are  common  sewer  tiles,  composed  of  lime  and 
gravel,  the  end  of  each  joint  slipping  into  the  next 
one.  I  find  the  heat  or  cold  expands  and  contracts 
them,  breaking  the  cement  that  I  put  them  together 
with,  consequently  permitting  the  smoke  to  escape 
and  fill  the  greenhouse,  to  the  no  small  detiimeat  of 
the  plants.  How  can  I  obviate  this  evil,  and  is 
there  any  kind  of  springy  cement  with  which  I 
could  join  them  ?  2.  What  is  the  force  per  square 
inch  of  freezing  water?  3.  The  news  dealer 
charges  me  8  cents  for  the  Scientific  American,  that 
is  14.16  per  year.  Does  $3  sent  to  you  include 
postage  ;  if  not,  what  would  the  postage  be  ?  An- 
swers :  1.  As  an  expedient,  we  suggest  that  you 
cover  the  joints  with  a  band  of  thin  sheet  tin,  the  ends 
of  which  you  can  lap  and  bend  over  with  your 
fingers  with  sufficient  tightness.  2.  The  expansive 
force  of  water  in  freezing  has  been  estimated  at 
thirty  thousand  pounds  per  square  inch.  3.  The 
postage  on  the  Scientific  American  is  5  cents  a 
quarter  or  20  cents  a  year,  payable  by  the  sub- 
scriber. 


Perhaps  these  inquiries  are  answered  in  Gar- 
dener^s  Monthly,  1862,  for  which  Vol.  I  have  just 
sent.  As  I  have  neglected  to  take  the  Monthly 
for  the  past  five  years,  I  find  myself  behind  the 
times  in  regard  to  new  improvements.  The 
volumes  I  have  I  would  not  exchange  for  the 
best  book  in  the  country,  and  will  soon  send  for 
those  I  have  neglected  to  take. 


ORCHARD    CULTURK. 

BY  G    ZIMMERMAN,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

I  In  your  editorial  of  the  January  number,  the 
I  remarks  on  ''  Preparing  ground  for  fruit  trees," 
!  will  be  valuable  to  all  those  who  wish  to  plant 
i  an  orchard  on  land  which  is  not  naturally 
j  underdrained. 

j      The  general  opinion  is,  that  such  land  is  not 
fit  for  successful  fruit  growing,  which  seems  to 
i  be  true  to  the  observer  who  passes  through  the 
:  countrv  and  sees  the  difference  between  orchards 
I  planted   on   sandy  or  gravely  knolls  and  hill- 
sides,  and   those  planted    on    level   clay   land, 
i  managed  in  the  ordinary  way,  viz  :  of  constant 
i  plowing  and  cropping  between  the  trees. 
j      I  have  in  my  mind  two  orchards,  both  within 
;  four  miles  of  Buffalo,  the  planting  and  managing 
of  which,   with  the  results,  may  give  light  on 
\  the  question. 

I  The  one  belongs  to  an  old  German,  who  never 
reads  any  paper  or  book  but  his  Bible,  but 
whose  keen  observation  and  shrewdness  make 
him,  in  my  estimation,  one  of  the  best  fruit 
growers  I  ever  knew. 

His  trees  are  all  planted  on  the  surface,  then 
plowed  up  several  times,  so  that  the  beds  on 
which  the  trees  stand  are  at  least  two  feet  higher 
in  the  middle  than  the  side  furrows.  He  then  seeds 
it  down,  keeps  it  mowvd,  and  never  plows  again, 
but  give  the  trees  an  annual  dressing  on  the 
surface,  either  of  compost  or  stable  manure, 
which  he  covers  with  creek  sand,  to  which  he 
has  easy  access.  The  trees  are  among  the  best 
I  ever  saw.  His  mode  of  pruning,  too,  shows 
more  knowledge  than  the  work  of  most  farmers, 
for  they  generally  do  too  much.  He  is  well 
known  to  the  fruit  dealers  in  Buffalo  for  his  fine 
fruit,  more  especially  the  cherries,  which  is  a 
favorite  fruit  with  him  ;  next  in  his  estimation 
is  the  apple. 

That  he  realizes  large  profits  from  fruit  grow- 
ing is  clear  by  what  he  said  a  year  or  two  ago, 
when  buying  as  usual  a  number  of  apple  trees. 
If  I  were  only  50  years  old  instead  of  over  70, 


I  would  come  with  the  hay-rake  and  get  wagon 
loads. ^^ 

The  other  is  an  orchard  of  about  twenty-five 
acres,  and  was  planted  about  twenty  years  ago, 
on  a  piece  of  rolling  land  of  a  light  sandy  loam, 
mostly  new  at  that  time,  the  whole  well  under- 
drained  and  otherwise  prepared,  as  is  recom- 
mended by  the  best  writers  on  the  subject.     The 
owner  is  a  very  sensible  man,  of  a  liberal  char- 
acter, who  never  hesitated  a  moment  to  make 
an  outlay  when  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
seemed  to  require  it ;  the  whole  orchard  was 
kept  in  the  highest  culture,  and  vegetables  grown 
between  the  trees.     The  result  was,  the  trees 
grew  vigorously  in  the  extreme,    but    several 
times  the  blight  made  sad  havoc  among  the 
pear  trees,  and  even  a  number  of  the  apple  trees 
were  badly  aflfected,   but  these  mishaps  could 
not  shake  the  enthusiasm  of  our  friend— new 
trees  were  procured,  and  the  vacancies  filled  as 
fast  as  made ;  but  this  excessive  growth  had  a 
more  serious  fault ;  the  fruit,  although  fine,  was 
very  little  in  quantity,  making  the  difference  in 
the  balance  sheet  from  year  to  year  larger  on 
the  wrong  side.     Unfortunately,   too,   for  the 
orchard,  it    happened    that    about  that    time 
(when  trees  were  expected  to  bring  good  returns) 
that  a  tree  carpenter  (as  you  so  fitly  call  them) 
saw  the  orchard,  and  I  presume  expressed  the 
opinion    that     these    trees    are    not    properly 
pruned,  and  would  not  bear.     They  must  have 
the  shape  of  an  inverted  umbrella,  so  that  the 
air  and  sun  can  get  in.    This  seemed  reasonable  ; 
the  pruner  got  the  job,  a;id  he  did  it  thoroughly. 
The  centre  of  each  tree  was  cut  out  down  to  a 
few  of  the  lowest  tier  of  branches.     Dwarf  and 
Standard,  Apple  and  Pear  trees,  were  all  treated 
ahke.     The  consequence  was,  that  this  expen- 
sive orchard  was  half  ruined,  and  did   not  pay 
the  owner  any  better  afterwards.      It  lost  its 
charm  for  him,  and  a  few  years  afterwards  was 
6old  to  a  market  gardener,  who  now  cuts  down 
one  lot  of  trees  after  the  other,  and  threatens  to 
cut  down  all  the  apple  trees  if  they  do  not  soon 
bear  better. 

These  two  orchards  are  not  over  three  miles 
apart:  the  one  which  is  made  and  managed 
with  comparatively  little  cost  brings  the  shrewd 
owner  such  satisfactory  results,  that  he  says  : 

nothing 2Jays  hi7n  so  well  as  his  orchard.''  He 
has  an  experience  of  over  thirty  years'  fruit 
growing  on  the  same  place. 


(t 


SPECIFIC    HEAT    IN    PLANTS. 

BY  G.  DROBISCII,  COLUMBUS,  OHIO. 

Is  there  any  specific  heat  in  plants  ?  From 
time  to  time  I  have  seen  this  question  discoursed 
in  different  papers,  and  always  read  the  argu- 
ments, for  and  against  the  existence  of  such, 
with  great  interest,  yet  without  being  fully  con- 
vinced as  to  which  is  the  true  theory. 

In  your  January  number,  page  5,  I  see  a 
short  notice  on  the  subject  by  a  correspondent, 
in  which  he  refers  to  a  former  article,  by  Dr. 
L.  Fritsche,  and  in  which  he  explains  in  a  very 
plausible  way  the  phenomena  on  which  Dr.  F. 
based  the  existence  of  specific  heat. 

I  consider  myself  entirely  incompetent  to  give 
any  opinion  as  to  which  is  the  right  explanation 
in  the  mentioned  case,  as  I  never  observed  those 
facts  under  the  same  circumstances,  but  I  will 
give  you  my  experience,  in  making  an  observa- 
tion which  spoke  much  in  favor  of  vegetable 
heat. 

Four  years  ago,  in  the  latter  part  of  February, 
I  noticed  one  morning  after  a  cold  night  a  heavy 
fog  or  dew  deposited  all  over  the  surrounding 
landscape,  forming  a  peculiar  coating  of  frosted 
particles  of  the  finest  texture,  and  formation  on 
trees,  shrubs,  and  vines,  giving  them  a  very 
interesting  appearance.  The  weather  remained 
very  dull  and  cloudy  all  morning,  preventing  the 
bright  rays  of  sunshine  to  break  through  even  for 
one  minute,  yet  the  temperature  rose  gradually 
towards  noon,  without  reaching  actual  thawing. 
At  12  o'clock  at  noon,  I  noticed,  in  passing °a 
number  of  grape  vines,  this  fine  frosted  coating, 
which  rested  on  them  in  the  morning,  had  dis- 
appeared wherever  the  vines  had  any  life 
in  them,  but  on  the  extreme  ends,  which 
were  of  matured  growth,  and  consequently 
winter  killed,  and  also  on  the  dead  tendrils  all 
over  the  vines  it  remained  on.  This  was  cer- 
tainly a  very  strange  phenomena,  and  surprised 
me  very  much,  and  in  trying  to  find  any  expla- 
nation for  it,  I  could  come  to  no  other  conclusion 
but  what  this  could  only  be  specific  heat  in  the 
vines,  which  caused  the  thawing  of  this  fine 
frost.  Had  it  been  the  effect  of  exterior  heat,  I 
should  suppose  it  to  thaw  first  where  deposited 

I  in  smallest  quantity,  that  is,  on  the  fine  tendrils 
and  the  slender  tips  of  the  vines,  but  the  fact  of 
being  just  the  reverse,  and  to  see  all  the  tendrils 
still  covered  with  frost,  while  the  live  canes  to 
which  they  were  attached  were  thawed  ofi;  made 
it  most  striking  that  this  was  to  be  attributed  to 

I  some  other  agency. 


U2 


THE    GABDEJVER'S   MOJfTELY. 


May, 


1873. 


THE    OARDEJVER'S   MOJYTHLr. 


I  have  never  since  been  able  to  make  the  same  ! 
observation  again,  and  I  think  it  was  owing  to  ; 
the  peculiar  weather  and  temperature  at  that  j 
time,  for  if  the  temperature  had  been  any  lower 
I  don't  suppose  the  specific  heat  of  those  vines 
would  have  been  strong  enough  to  thaw  that 
frost,  and  again  at  a  higher  degree  (which  it 
reached  an  hour  later)  it  would  have  thawed  off 
80  suddenly  at  once,  without  giving  any  oppor-  ' 
tunity  of  making  any  observation  at  all. 

In  the  above,  I  simply  state  the  facts  as  I 
found  them,  and  should  like  to  have  your,  and 
some  of  your  readers,  opinion  on  the  subject, 
whether  there  is  any  other  explanation  for  this 
phenomena.  j 


143 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BLOOD-LEAVED 

PEACH. 

BY  A  LADY  SUBSCRIBER,  VICKSBURG,  MISS. 

Seeing  in  the  Gardenerls  Monthly  for  Febru- 
ary a  desire  expressed  to  know  where  the 
**  blood-leaved  Oen.  Tilfjhman  Peach  tree"  did 
spring,  I  wrote  out  to  Mr.  DeHebron,  at  Bovina, 
for  the  correct  history  of  it,  and  I  take  the 
liberty  of  enclosing  his  reply.  I  have  one  of  the 
trees  growing  finely.  It  certainly  presents  a 
very  singular  appearance  when  in  i3loom,  the 
flowers  being  very  large  and  nearly  white,  and 
the  foliage  dark  red.  I  enclose  a  twig.  I  hope 
this  information  may  prove  as  acceptable  as  it 
is  reliable. 

Dear  Madam — Your  letter  was  received  a 
few  days  ago,  and  in  reply  T  take  pleasure  in 
giving  you  a  full  statement  of  the  General 
Tilgham  Peach  tree.  It  was  found  at  Champion 
Hills,  in  Hinds  County  (near  the  spot  that  Gen. 
Tilgham  was  killed)  by  my  nurseryman,  Mr.  P. 
T.  Connor. 

Mr.  C.  belonged  to  Cowan's  Battery,  and  was 
present  when  the  General  was  shot.  In  1866, 
Mr.  C.  took  a  stroll  over  the  battle-field,  and 
near  by  the  spot  where  the  General  died,  in  a 
cluster  of  briars,  this  singular  peach  tree  stood. 
He  brought  it  to  my  nursery,  and  it  still  bears 
its  bloody  appearance. 

Yours  very  ro^spectfuUy,   John  L.  Hebron. 

[Our  correspondent  has  our  best  thanks  for 
this  note.  She  says  her  peach  has  large  whitish 
flowers  ;  ours  is  small  and  deep  pink.  The  twig 
pushing  into  leaf  alse  seems  to  have  broader 
leaves  than  the  one  sent  to  us  before.  Are 
there  two  kinds  ?--Ed.] 


AKEMONE  JAPONICA  ALBA. 

BY  R.  W.,  LANSINBURGH,  X.  Y. 

Mr.  Duncan's  notes  on  hardy  herbaceous 
plants,  in  your  February  number,  were  very 
good,  and  called  attention  to  some  worthy  of 
more  consideration  than  they  receive,  particu- 
larly the  saxifrages,  but  I  was  disappointed  in 
finding  no  mention  made  of  the  anemone  japon- 
ica  alba.  There  is  no  herbaceous  perennial  in 
my  garden  I  value  so  highly  as  I  do  this,  and  it 
is  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  that  it  is  not  more 
fully  appreciated.  AVhen  in  bloom,  loaded  with 
its  snowy  blossoms,  it  never  fails  to  excite  the 
admiration  of  those  who  see  it,  and  during  the 
summer  its  tufts  of  leaves  are  always  bright  and 
fresh,  presenting  none  of  the  weedinesa  common 
to  many  plants  in  general  cultivation.  This 
plant  undoubtedly  possesses  the  very  quaUties 
which  place  it  foremost  among  hardy  herba- 
ceous plants,  viz :  great  beauty  and  perfect 
hardiness.  In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  quote  Mr. 
Robinson,  who,  in  his  '-Parks  and  Gardens  of 
Paris,"  says:  this  beautiful  autumn  bloomer 
should  be  in  every  garden  where  a  hardy  flower 
is  valued,"  and  I  fully  agree  with  him,  and 
trust  those  who  have  not  the  anemone  japonica 
alba  will  be  persuaded  by  these  words  to  add  a 
root  or  two  to  their  flower  border.  The  addition 
will  certainly  not  he  regretted. 


THE  TUPELO  AS  A  HEDGE  PLANT. 

BY  W.  M.  NOBLE,  BRIDGEPORT,  CONN. 

You  say  at  some  Society's  report  in  the  July 
Monthly,  that  the  perfect  hedge  plant  had  not 
been  found.  True,  but  in  the  search,  let  me 
offer  to  your  consideration  "  Nyssa  sylvat- 
ica  Tupelo  Gum  or  Pepperige  tree."  I  have 
never  seen  it  named,  but  I  think  it  will  be 
found  as  hardy,  handsome,  and  impenetrable  as 
any  other  plant.  As  a  fence  plant,  I  believe  it 
has  a  natural  growth  and  aptness,  which,  with- 
out the  shears  no  other  can  boast. 

I  know  a  natural  pepperige  hedge  near  here, 
never  shorn,  growing  up  twelve  feet  high,  beside 
a  stone  wall,  on  a  high  and  dry  bank,  which  no 
creature  could  break  through.  The  very  hori- 
zontal or  depending  branches  and  style  of  this 
tree,  fits  it  by  nature,  to  interiace  its  wiry  shoot 
into  a  ready  formed  hedge  and  stout  barrier. 

The  foliage  and  form  of  this  tree  is  striking 
and  attractive  in  every  season.  Its  winter  spray 
is  stout,  yet  gracefully  depending,  and  of  a  pleas- 
ing grey.     The  bright  and  glossy  leaves  of  its 


summer  form,  rival  the  richest  verdure  of  the 
season.  In  autumn,  no  foliage  but  that  of  the 
scarlet  maple  can  rival  the  rich  and  enduring 
tints,  which  glow  upon  and  adorn  the  woodland 
drapery. 

It  should  be  much  oftener  sought  for— the 
arboretum  on  the  lawn,  clustered  with  others,  or 
standing  alone,  its  spire-like  form  yields  a  rare 
and  stately  beauty. 

Cut  out  its  leader  when  twelve  feet  high,  and 
the  whole  strength  of  its  vegetation  crowds'  into 
the  lower  depending  limbs,  and  quickly  makes 
of  this  a  lovely  weeper.  I  have  seen  such.  The 
shoots,  which  push  up  so  vigorously  in  most ! 
trees  when  so  treated,  only  shows  in  this  after  | 
a  long  interval,  during  which  the  depending 
branches  extend  and  perfect  its  new  form. 

I  confess,  so  strong  is  this  weeping  tendency 
of  the  Tupelo,  that  I  leok,  ere  long,  to  find  some 
sport  therefrom,  which  has  taken  the  form  of  a 
persistent  weeper. 


HOT  WATEH  BOILER  FLUES. 

BY  W.  B.   WICKEN. 

The  writer  is  by  no  means  one  of  those  who 
believe  there  is  nothing  like  the  ."good  old 
times,"  but  it  is  his  intention  to  write  a  letter 
in  favor  of  the  old  and  now-a-days  despised  Flue. 

There  are  men  of  small  means  starting  into 
business  who  cripple  themselves  too  much  by 
putting  in  expensive  hot  water  apparatus,  when 
properly  constructed  flues  would  answer  equally 
as  well,  and  could  be  furnished  at  much  less 
expense. 

And  for  more  pretentious  structures  than 
tlie  commercial  florist  would  build,  the  flue 
could  be  made  available.  There  are  many  who 
would  build  small  conservatories,  but  are  deterred 
>J  ilio  consideration  of  expensive  hot  water 
apparatus.  An  objecticn  against  the  flue  in 
this  case  may  be  urged  against  its  unsightly  , 
appearauce,  which  could  be  easily  met  by  a  little 

001  ot  the  house,  and  covered  witii  ornamental 

7ZT'  ?'^  ""^  ''  ^^^'^  ^^^^  ^^'''^  pipes  are 
used  in  such  places. 

drvr'fr'"  M  '^^  ^^'  ^^^*  ''^^"^  ^  ^1"«  i«  'nore 
h  a  th'v  r  n'"'  ''""^  ""''  '^^'"'^  ^^^  i«  ^«t  so 
eas   tlfo        ''''  ^'"^"^  ^^P^^^*«'  ^^t  in  either 

nrmofshr   '"^^^'^^  ^^  ^  "^'y  ^'^'^  ^«  there  can 
moisture  pass  through  the  pipes ;   the  one 


advantage  the  pipes  have  in  this  instance,  is 
that  the  heat  is  radiated  from  a  surface  of  lower 
temperature,  and  does  not  decompose  the  atmos- 
phere to  such  an  extent  as  does  the  superheated 
flue,  but  that  fault  can  be  counterbalanced  by 
j  having  on  or  near  the  flue  pans  of  water,  with 
^  large  evaporating  surface.  Too  often  flues  are 
I  built  too  narrow,  and  the  draught  too  rapid 
'  thereby  consuming  more  fuel  than  is  necessary' 
j  and  overheating  the  material  of  the  flue. 

[  The  writer's  idea  of  a  good  flue  would  be  one 
)  somewhat  of  more  capacity  than  those  in  ordi- 
:  nary  use,  and  with  a  slower  draught,  giving  a 
larger  heating  surface  and  radiating  heat  at  a 
lower  temperature,  and  consequently  consuming 
less  fuel ;  another  advantage  the  flue  possesses 
(and  will  not  admit  it  is  a  valuable  one)  it  can  be 
left  without  attention  from  four  to  six  hours 
longer  than  can  a  boiler. 

Flues  are  certainly  as  economical  in  point  of 
fuel  as  hot  water  apparatus,  if  not  more  so. 

The  writer  would  not  wish  to  be  understood 
to  claim  that  flues  are  better  in  every  case  than 
hot  water  apparatus,  but  believes  in  many  cases 
flues  are  entitled  to  consideration  as  answerincr 
equally  as  well,  and  being  cheaper  than  heatin* 
by  hot  water.  "* 


THE    MELIA    AZADERACK-A   CHOICE 

!  TROPICAL  pla:n-t. 

I 

.  BY  F.  T. 

I      While  on  a  recent  visit  to   the  commercial 
establishment  of  James  Ritchie,  exotic  florist,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  grows  one  of  the  choicest  and 
varied  collections  of  tender  exotics,  and  has  been 
famous  for  a  third  of  a  century  past  for  a  plenti- 
ful production  and  artistical  arrangement  of  cut 
flowers  to  public  and  private  entertainments,  a 
pretty  plant  in   bloom,  attracted  my  attention 
and  got  its  name  as  Melia  azaderack.     It  is  of 
neat  habit  and  lovely  blossom,  of  lilac  color  and 
sweet  scented,  and  in  bloom  in  early  February 
I  predict  for  it  a  wide  distribution  amon-  the 
admirers  of  beautiful  tropical    plants.     There 
were  about  two  score  of  plants  on  the  shelf,  and 
all  being  in  flower,  made  a  fascinating  show.    It 
IS    yet    rare,    and    commonly    called    *' Cuban 

W  [This  is  the  China  tree,  a  popular  ornamental 
tree  in  the  South.— Ed.] 


■ 


lU 


TEE   GARDENER'S  MONTHLY. 


April, 


187S. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MONTHLY. 


U5 


i 


:>. 


3; 


EDTTOK lAL. 


IMPROVED  CUCUMBER.  | 

In  its  wild  Persian  home,  the  cucumber  would  i 
hardly  know  the  improved  varieties  of  English 
gardens.    Even  our  readers  accustomed  to  the  | 
wagon  loads  of  *'  short  pricklies ''  which  abound 
in  our  markets,  can  have  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  i 
beauty  and  perfection  of  form  to  which  garden- 1 


they  are  highly  prized,  and  the  gardener  who 
expects  to  get  a  first-class  situation  there, 
must  be  sure  not  to  omit  from  his  advertisement 
that  he  is  well  acquainted  with  the  growth  of 
cucumbers.  Even  if  the  cucumber  were  not 
valued  as  a  delicate  article  of  food  in  these  old 
world  establishments,  a  cucumber  house  would 


MARQUIS  OF  J.OBNB  CUCUMKER. 


«r8  bring  them,  who  have  them  under  glass  cul- 
ture. There  are  some  who  cannot  eat  cucum- 
bers—indeed now  and  then  are  individuals  who 
affect  to  regard  them  as  lit  only  for  hogs ;  but 
such  arc  not  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  as  the 
enormous  quantity  raised  and  sold  in  the  United 
States  abundantly  testifies,  as  well  as  does  the 
fact  that  in  every  aristocratic  garden  in  Europe 


still  be  esteemed  as  much  for  the  interest  attached 
to  its  culture,  and  the  really  attractive  show 
it  makes,  as  for  the  mere  production  of  fruit 
itself. 

Where  houses  arc  not  constructed  especially 
for  cucumbers,  they  arc  grown  in  hot  beds,  made 
of  stable  manure,  and  only  those  who  have  been 
throudi  it  all  know  with  what  enthusiasm  the 


first  seed  leaves  are  received,  and  how  the  plants' 
growth  is  almost  hourly  watched,  until  from  leaf 
to  flower— from  the  opening  of  the  flower  to  the 
artificial  setting  of  the  fruit— from  the  first  set- 
ting until  through  hollow  glass  tubes  they  have 
been  made  to  grow  straight  and  slender,  and 
covered  with  a  lovely  waxy  bloom. 

The  properties  of  a  good  cucumber  are,  that 
it  should  be  long,  two  feet  if  it  likes,  not  very 
thick,  two  to  three  inches  is  enough— be  almost 
round,  that  is  to  say  with  the  ribs  or  ridges  near- 
ly obliterated  ;  and  the  end  which  is  nearest  the 
parent  stem  should  start  with  the  thickness  it 
is  to  have  all  the  way  through,  that  is  it  should 
not  be  bottle  nosed.  Then  the  seed  should  be 
small,  and  the  space  to  be  occupied  by  the  seed, 
confined  to  the  smallest  possible  compass.  When 
to  this  there  is  a  mild  flavor,  the  perfection  of 
cucumber  growing  has  been  reached. 

We  givfe  with  this,  an  illustration  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Lome,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the 
new  English  varieties.  It  not  onlv  serves  to 
show  off  this  fine  variety  to  advantage,  but  it 
gives  a  general  idea  of  what  we  have  written  in 
this  chapter. 


PULVERIZING  THE  SOIL. 

All  of  us  admit  that  when  our  very  ancient 
forefathers  turned  up  the  soil  with  a  stout 
crooked  log,  drawn  by  a  steady  old  ox,  there 
was  considerable  room  for  improvement.  Indeed 
there  has  been  a  great  advance.  The  plough 
and  the  spade  sing  a  merrier  song,  and  by  their 
aid,  happiness  has  been  added  to  thousands. 

But  it  is  worth  while  occasionally  to  ask  our- 
selves whether  we  have  gained  from  nature  all 
she  will  give  us.  For  our  part  we  firmly  believe 
we  have  not  learned  by  cultivation  to  get  from 
her  the  half  she  is  willing  to  bestow. 

We  know  that  it  is  not  pleasant  to  lead  oflf  in 
opposition  to  popular  sentiment.  Generally  it  is 
not  till  long  after  a  man  is  dead  that  the  truth 
he  taught  comes  to  be  recognized  as  just  the 
thing  to  enter  into  a  general  creed.  Most  people 
shrink  from  the  ridicule  and  the  combat  which 
the  enunciation  of  a  new  truth  is  sure  to  bring 
forth,  and  rest  satisfied  with  simply  recording 
their  facts  and  observations  for  other  men  to 
make  use  of;  but  those  other  men  seldom  come, 
and  thus  hundreds  of  valuable  facts  are  thrown 
on  the  great  public  sea,  which  are  not  like  that 
proverbial  bread,  which,  cast  upon  the  waters, 
returns  after  many  days. 

Now  the  Gardener's  Monthly  has  faith  in  pro- 


gress. It  does  not  believe  we  have  learned  all 
that  is  to  be  known  of  the  best  culture.  It  has 
braved,  and  is  willing  to  brave  any  amount  of 
ridicule  for  what  it  believes  to  be  true.  It  has 
lived  t©  see  many  of  the  principles  for  which  in 
the  past  it  battled,  accepted  as  valuable  general 
truths,  and  in  the  future,  it  hopes  to  know  that 
many  more  have  been  added  to  the  list. 

Well  just  now  we  want  to  ask  our  readers 
what  is  the  use  of  the  continual  upturning  of 
the  soil  which  so  much  ground  receives  ?    Why, 
replies  one,  only  plant  on  two  inches  of  soil,  and 
along  side  set  out  the  same  things  on  soil  six 
inches  or  a  foot,  and  note  the  difference.     Th  s 
is  true,  but  we  do  not  ask  what  is  the  use  of  deep 
soil  —this  we  know  all  about,  but  after  you  have 
it  deep,  why  turn  it  topsy  turvy  every  year,  as 
if  the  world  were  naturally  made  wrong  side  up  ? 
We  must  remember  that  by  the  aid  of  the  Oar- 
dener's   Monthly,   we  now  know  that  there  are 
two  distinct  sets  of  roots  in  plants,  as  distinct 
from  one  another  in  their  functions  as  the  leaves 
are  from  the  branches,  and  that  while  one  set  of 
roots  are  like  branches  in  this  that  they  are  mere 
supports  and  conductors  of  fluid  ;  the  real  work- 
ers, or  providers  of  plant  food,  are  the  numerous 
small  fibers,  which  like  the  leaves,  perish  when 
their  year's   work   is  done.     We  further   now 
know  that  the  surface  soil,  when  dry,  absorbs 
nutritious  gases  from  the  atmosphere,  and  that 
it  is  at  the  surface  that  the  small  fibers  feed. 
Now  the  bottom  soil  can   never,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, be  as  good  for  plant  food  as  the  sur- 
face, and  the  fibres  do  not  go  there  to  feed  ;  yet 
we  year  after  year  turn  the  surface  down,  where 
there  are  few  fibres  to  make  any  use  of  it.     We 
know  much  more  now  than  we  did  fifty  years 
ago  about  the  advantages  of  surface  manuring  ; 
but  even  those  who  have  learned  this  lesson,  dig 
and   plc^gh   so    as   to   bury   deep   the   manure 
beneath    the   surface   of   the    ground,   and    all 
because    they  think, the   soil  needs  an   annual 
loosening  before  crops  will  grow. 

Now  there  have  been,  time  and  again,  facts 
given  which  prove  that  all  other  things  being 
equal,  the  solid  soil  has  the  advantage  over  the 
loose  soil.  Stephens,  in  that  magnificent  work, 
the  '*  Book  of  the  Farm,'»  tells  how  it  was  found 
by  careful  experiment,  that  wheat  sown  after  the 
land  had  been  suffered  to  be  long  enough  ploughed 
to  become  packed  and  solid,  always  yielded  much 
better  than  when  sown  on  the  newly  loosened 
soil.  Mr.  Downing,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
in  the  Horticulturist,  gave   numerous   facts °to 


UB 


THE   GABDEJfER'H  MOJSTTHLY. 


May, 


187S. 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S  MOJVTELY. 


147 


show  that  -garden  vegetables  and  small  fruits 
yielded  better  on  the  compact  soil  of  alley  ways, 
than  in  the  loosened  soil  of  the  beds  between. 
The  best  plant  cultivators  in  pots,  use  dryish 
soil,  and  then  pound  it  in  as  hard  as  a  blunt 
stick  can  make  it ;  and  about  Philadelphia,  the 
most  successful  tree  planters  ram  the  trees  into 
the  earth  with  a  rammer,  precisely  as  they 
would  a  post.  All  along  our  public  highways, 
we  find  trees  which  have  to  push  their  feeding 
roots  among  the  hard  rocky  bed  of  the  road,  or 
under  the  flag-stones  of  pavements  making 
growths  which  the  same  kinds  of  trees  never 
make  in  the  looser  ground  of  gardens  which  the 
sidewalk  bounds.  In  fact  without  going  more 
into  detail  here,  we  may  briefly  express  our 
opinion  that  thousands  of  dollars,  and  the  swoai 
of  ten  thousand  brows  are  annually  wasted  in 
digging  and  turning  up  ground  which  would 
have  borne  just  as  good  crops  without  it. 

Of  course  there  are  thousands  of  ca^es  where 
the  surface  must  be  turned  under.  There  is 
grass,  and  there  are  briars  ;  weeds,  long  strawy 
litter,  and  rough  stufl*of  many  kinds.  There  arc 
rows  of  trees  to  be  planted,  corn  stalks  of  last 
year — in  short,  lots  of  good  reasons  why  the  sur- 
face should  at  times  be  turned  over,  but  we  want 
to  enter  our  protest  against  the  act  being  any 
special  benefit  to  the  soil  itself,  or  of  any  benefit 
to  the  roots  which  are  to  collect  food  in  it.  They 
want  ric/i  soil,  and  would  sooner  go  into  the 
pores  of  a  solid  bone  to  find  it  than  into  the 
loosest  soil  without  manure. 


»   ♦ 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC 

Tkt  Japan  Gold  Banded  Lily.  We  wonder 
whether  the  Japanese  do  anything  to  Lilium  an- 
ratum  to  make  them  bloom  extra  stronu^?  As  we 
generally  see  them  they  never  flower  as  well 
after  the  first  year.  The  Hollanders  pinch  out 
the  flowers  of  young  Hyacinth  roots,  and  wlv  n 
we  get  them  they  are  thus  extra  strong.  They 
never  do  as  well  any  succeeding  year  as  the  first 
Do  the  Japanese  do  something  the  same  with 
this  prince  of  Lilies  ? 

Orchid  Culture  in  America.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  th(  se  curious  and  beautiful  plants  is  very 
much  on  the  increase  in  this  country.  It  is 
found  that  many  of  them  at  least  do  not  requir. 
auch  expensive  arrangements  as  was  tliought 
necessary  years  ago.  The  newest  idea  is  to 
grow  them  in  connection  with  grape  culture,    it 


is  said  that  the  hothouse  grape  and  the  orchid 
generally  agree  very  well  together. 

Complimentary.  Our  thanks  are  due  to  tho 
Farmers^  Home  Journal^  of  Louisville,  and  the 
Western  Farmer^  of  Madison,  Wis.,  for  kind 
personal  notice  8. 

Pilinq  on  the  Agony.  There  is  a  certain  man 
at  Springfield,  Ohio,  who  has  perhaps  fleeced 
more  nurserymen  in  the  Union  than  any  other 
living  man,  but  who  always  manages  to  keep 
''strictly  within  the  law,''  so  the  Springfield ians 
say.  Not  long  since  he  got  a  New  Yorker  into 
his  m;t,  and  refused  to  open  the  mouth— by  a 
letter  to  say  he  was  alive,  that  he  might  find 
his  way  out.  Our  New  York  friend  started  tor 
the  Buckeye  State  to  learn  what  the  matter  was. 
Arriving  at  Springfleld,  he  learned  that  the 
"fruit  farm ''  was  some  distance  out.  He 
started  for  his  Mecca.  On  the  road  he  met  a 
"  gentleman  "  in  a  wagon  and  inquired  the  way, 
stating  he  was  a  stranger  and  from  New  York. 
The  'gentleman'  gave  the  required  informa- 
tion, but  added  that  he  happened  to  know  the 
"proprietor  of  (his  wife's)  fruit  farm  "  had  siu- 
Linlarly  enough  started  for  New  Y<^rk  that  very 
daj,  on  a  bill  paying  expedition  I  Sad  and  sor- 
rowful our  wear}'  traveler  looked  back  on  distant 
Springfield,  and  enquired  for  some  way  to  get  a 
ride.  The  wagoner  was  not  going  exactlv  there, 
but  would  take  New  York  to  the  siation  for  fifty 
cents.  This  was  paid.  Happening  to  tell  his 
disa|)pointment  in  the  car  on  his  return,  he  had 
an  eye  opener  in  the  news  that  the  man  who 
broui-ht  him  in  was  the  man  he  was  in  search 
ofl 

P.S.-  Fifty  cents  has  been  added  to  the  claiii 
against  the  husband  of  the  celebrated  fruit 
farm. 

A  New  Hitch  in  the  Postal  Law.  Until  the 
l)reReut  mysterious  mass  of  matter  called  tho 
"revised  postal  code  *' is  utterly  swept  away, 
an<l  some  common  st-nse  enactment  substituted, 
we  hoped  to  let  the  queer  thing  die  peacefully. 
Hut  here  comes  the  Postmaster  General  with 
another  "  Wliat  is  it  ?  '  in  the  shape  of  a  deci- 
sion, which  aflects  horticulturists  severely. 

The  Posnufister  G^'ueral  got  so  bothered  in 
his  efforts  to  make  any  Kn^jlish  out  of  the  law  in 
regard  to  partly  unpaid  postages,  that  he  gave 
It  up  in  despair  L'e  Lh«)nght  the  lanj:ua<^e  said 
that  a  letter  partly  unpaid  must  pay  double  the 
pre-jtaid  rattj  on  deliv.'ry  ;  but  wlnither  it  was 
to  Ih)  double  the  amount  actually  j)re-paid,  or 
double  the  amount  which  ought  to  be  pre-jmid, 


DO  one  ever  knew.  Finding  the  English  lan- 
guage of  the  postal  code  too  much  for  him,  he 
called  in  the  Attorney  General,  whose  know- 
ledge of  English  led  him  to  a  different  conclu- 
sion. It  was  not  "double  the  pre-paid  rate," 
but  the  unpaid  part  only. 

But  now  the  Postmaster  General  is  sure  that 
if  this  is  so,  the  code  only  "says  letters,"  and 
therefore,  all  matter  of  '-the  third  class,"  not 
being  letters,  must  pay  "double  the  pre-paid 
rate."  Our  readers  therefore  must  be  sure 
that  their  seed  parcels,  cuttings,  circulars  and 
so  on,  are  fully  paid,  or  their  innocent  corres- 
pondents will  have  some  pretty  heavy  bills  to 
foot  for  other  people's  inadvertence. 

The  Sprinyfidd  Republican  gives  vent  to  its 
feelings  on  the  subject  in  this  wise  :  • 

"  The  postal  department  claims  the  right  to  charge 
double  rates  on  anything  not  absolutely  and  specifi- 
cally forbidden  by  law,  and  there  is  no  knowing 
where  its  ingenuity  will  break  out  next.  There  is  no 
law  against  running  the  mails  through  a  hay  cuiter 
and  charging  three  cents  on  every  separate  particle 
of  the  chaff,and  we  may  come  to  that  some  day." 

For  our  part  we  only  express  a  regret  that  a 
knowledge  of  the  English  language  does  not  seem 
to  be  at  all  necessary  to  men  sent  to  make  laws 
for  a  great  nation  like  this. 

The  Brussels  Sprout.  Of  the  various  forms 
into  which  the  original  wild  cabbage  of  tho  Eu- 


ropean coasts  has  developed,  the  Brussels  sprout 
is  one  of  the  most  singular.  It  throws  up  a 
straight  stem  two  or  three  feet  high,  and  after 
forming  a  small  head  on  the  top,  produces  a 
large  number  of  small  hard  cabbages,  about  the 
size  of  an  ordinary  orange,  all  along  the  length 

of  the  stem.  They  are 
deliciously  sweet,  and  are 
very  much  grown  in  En- 
gland. They  are  not  as 
popular  in  America,  indeed 
so  fewknowanythingof  them 
that  we  have  thought  this 
account  will  be  like  descri- 
bing a  new  thing  to  many. 
The  seed  requires  to  be 
sown  about  the  same  time 
as  the  common  late  Drum- 
head cabbage. 

In  order  that  our  readers 
may  have  a  better  idea  of 
how  they  grow,  who  have 
not  seen  them,  we  give  the 
accompanying  illustration. 
There  are  many  good  va- 
rieties This  one  is  known 
as  Scrymgcr's  Giant,  and 

is  esteemed  as  the  best  now  grown  in  the  old 

world. 


SGHAPS  AND    aUERIES. 


Azalea  indica  alba  ^Mrs.  A.  E.  F.,  Can- 
andaigtia,  AT.  F.,  writes:  "In  the  February 
number  of  the  Oarde^-er's  Monthly,  I  nr)tice  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  best  white  azalea.  Noticing 
also  that  you  recommend  the  Azalea  Lndica 
Albans  being  the  best,  and  having  one  of  ihat 
kind  in  blossom,  among  other  plants  in  my  hay 
window,  I  take  the  liberty  to  send  you  a  stereo- 
graph taken  from  it. 

**I  obtained  the  plant  last  spring  after  flower- 
ing, from  Mr.  John  Cadness,  Flushing,  Long 
Island.  Although  less  than  two  fec^t  in  height 
it  has  now  sixty-five  buds  and  blossoms,  many 
of  which  are  semi-double  ;  and  is  also  making  an 
abundance  of  new  growth  for  anotiicr  season.'' 

iThis  makes  a  beautiful  stereograph.  The 
flowers  are  remarkably  large  and  lino.    We  have 


rarely  seen  larger  flowers,   though  under  the 
hands  of  the  best  gardeners.] 


PiiOPAGATiNQ  Sni|UBS.-J.  K.,  Tidioute, 
Pa.,  writes  :  "  I  wish  to  inquire  the  method  of 
|)rop.igating  f-hrubs.  The  best  season,  whether 
U'ider  ghi>s  or  out  doors  is  the  best,  and  id  fact, 
the  general  manner  as  practised  by  nursery- 
men." 

[There  fire  scarcely  two  kinds  of  plants  that 
are  propagated  in  the  same  way.  Some  are 
gn)ft':d,  others  layered,  some  inarched,  some  by 
cuttings  ;  and  some  which  are  raised  in  one  way 
will  not  grow  by  the  other.  Then  some  will  not 
do  ov.t  of  doots,  and  i^nme  only  that  way.  Others 
inu^^t  be  operated  in  the  fall,  others  in  spring, 
and  some  during  the  growing  summer  time.     If 


148 


THE   QARDEJ^ER'S  MOJVTBLY. 


May, 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJVER'S  MOKTHLY. 


IJfi 


our  correspondent  will  specify  any  one  particu- 
lar thing  we  will  gladly  help  him.] 


Name  of  Plant.— T.  3f.,  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, says :  *'  I  have  enclosed  an  orchid 
bloom,  of  which  I  will  thank  you  for  its  name. 
It  has  been  in  bloom  about  five  weeks.  The 
pseudo  bulbs  are  from  nine  to  eleven  inches 
long,  and  the  leaves  from  five  to  seven  inches  in 
length.*' 

[The  crushed  and  almost  shapeless  mass  seems 
to  be  Epidendrum  ciliare.] 


Late  Spring.— A  Johnstown,  Pa.,  corres- 
pondent says,  under  date  of  26th  of  March  .. 
"Winter  still  lingers  with  us.  Last  week  we 
had  six  to  eight  inches  snow,  which  melted  away 
on  Sunday.  To-day  we  have  five  or  six  inches 
more,  and  mercury  at  29°  >' 


Growth  of  Plants  in  the  Islands  of 
THE  Delaware  River. — J,  D.  K.,  says  :  "I 
have  been  surprised  since  living  here  at  the 
growth  of  fruit  on  reclaimed  marsh  land.  At 
the  pea  patch  islands,  (Fort  Delaware)  pears  and 
grapes  fruit  profusely  year  after  year.  Pruning 
or  no  pruning,  cultivation  or  sod,  it  is  all  one  ; 
and  the  site  is  below  tide  land,  but  properly 
drained.  Fine  hedges  abound  in  the  same 
region 


»> 


Old  Apple  Seed.—"  Pomology,^^  Blooming- 
ton,  Ills.,  writes :  "  I  find  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  nurserymen  as  to  whether  apple  seeds 
will  grow  when  one  year  old.  I  should  be  glad 
if  you  would  insert  an  inquiry  in  the  Gardener's 
Mcmthly  as  to  whether  any  one  can  say  of  his 
own  knowledge  that  apple  seed  a  year  old  grew 
to  any  considerable  extent.  Of  course  four  or 
five  per  cent,  is  not  what  I  want  get  at.  Will  it 
grow  any  thing  near  as  good  as  new  seed  ?  '' 


Disease  in  Root  Grafts.— J.  D.,  ' Kiitan- 
ning,  Pa.,  writes  :  '*  I  have  been  engaged  in 
the  nursery  business  for  twenty  years.  I  have 
never  had  any  difficulty  in  keeping  root  grafts 
(apple)  until  three  years  ago,  when  I  lost  fifty 
per  cent.— last  winter  about  ten  per  cent.,  and 
this  winter's  grafting,  as  near  as  1  can  tell  now, 
about  ten  per  cent.  I  keep  them  in  a  cave,  with 
a  rtue  from  the  centre  for  ventilation,  six  inches 
square.  I  pack  in  oyster  boxes  with  sawdust, 
(pine  or  hemlock),  the  grafts  being  set  upright, 
the  points  are  exposed  to  the  iKx.     The  difficulty 


seems  to  be  fungus  or  mould.  Whether  it 
attacks  the  top  or  splice  first  I  am  unable  to  say ; 
but  I  know  that  it  spreads.  It  kills  graft  or 
scion  (not  affecting  the  roots)  about  one  inch  of 
the  lower  end  or  splice,  and  the  same  of  the  up- 
per end  or  top.  Is  there  any  preventative  or 
even  cure  for  the  disease  ?  Do  you  suppose  the 
cave  is  not  ventilated  sufficient,  or  does  the  fun- 
gus spread  from  the  o'd  boards  which  form  the 
roof,  and  are  beginning  to  decay  ?  By  giving 
me  any  information  on  this  matter,  you  will  con- 
fer a  great  favor  upon  me.'' 

[Decaying  wood  often,  much  oftener  than 
people  think,  originates  fungus,  which  after  it 
has  once  got  into  active  life,  will  attack  healthy 
vegetation  and  destroy  it.  The  facts  are  so  well 
established  that  there  is  no  doubt  «f  this  now. 
No  doubt  if  the  cave  be  thoroughly  white- 
washed—a  little  sulphur  in  the  white-wask  would 
be  a  benefit,  for  these  minute  fungi  hate  sulphur 
—and  all  decaying  wood  kept  away  from  the 
grafts,  they  would  do  as  well  as  they  formerly 
did.  One  of  the  most  successful  grafters  we 
know,  so  hates  wood  that  he  does  not  use  even 
sawdust,  but  sand.  We  doubt  whether  he  loses 
one  grafted  plant  in  ten  thousand — and  has  the 
same  uniform  success  every  year.] 


Packing  Trees  for  Shipment.— 5.  says : 
"  I  wish  you  would  start  the  subject  of  tree 
packing  again,  and  call  for  communications 
from  your  readers.  Ask  your  readers  to  answer 
the  question  :  Is  quite  wet,  or  only  moderately 
damp  packing  best  ?  Will  very  wet  or  rather 
dry  packing  best  stand  frost  ?  Does  much  water 
hurt  the  roots  ?" 


Flattened  Shoots.— T.  S.  says  :  *'  In  cut- 
ting scions  for  grafting  or  budding,  I  occasion- 
ally come  across  a  scion  flat,  and  the  buds 
arranged  peculiarly.  These  singular  shaped 
branches  are  most  frequently  found  on  the  top 
of  heart  and  biggareau  cherries,  and  sometimes 
found  on  pears  of  the  soft  wood  varieties.  I 
can't  remember  ever  having  seen  one  on  an 
apple,  Crab,  or  Morello  cherry.  I  send  you  a 
very  good  sample  bv  mail  of  a  Bartlett  scion. 
Of  course  you  have  often  seen  the  same  thing. 
Pray  tell  us  the  cause.  The  balance  of  the  trees 
seem  like  other  trees.  It  would  look  as  though 
two  buds  had  formed  a  natural  union.  If  this 
is  so,  it  would  go  to  show  that  buds  could  b« 
joined  artificially,  as  claimed  by  the  *'  Sweet  and 
Sour  Greening ''  writers. 


[These  appearances  used  to  be  attributed  to 
great  vigor,  but  are  in  reality  just  the  reverse. 
Except  that  in  some  way  or  another  the  plant 
has  lost  in  this  particular  part,  some  of  its  vital 
power,  no  one  has  been  able  to  get  to  the  imme- 
diate cause.  The  subject  was  pushed  this  far  in 
a  paper  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
American  Association,  at  Troy,  New  York,  in 
1870.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  specimen 
sent.  The  pith  and  interior  wood  is  diseased. 
This  may  not  prove  that  disease  caused  the  flat- 
tening ;  but  it  certainly  shows  it  is  not  vigorous 
health.] 

FvCHSiAS.— Miss  L.  B.  M.,  EddyviUe,  (no 
State  named  ;  one  State  will  often  suggest  varia- 
tions in  treatment.  It  is  best  always  to  give  it) 
says :  "I  wish  to  enquire,  through  your 
columns,  the  manner  that  Fuchsias  should  be 
treated  in  order  to  secure  an  early  bloom.  I 
have  a  conservatory,  and  keep  a  large  assort- 
ment of  flowers,  and  while  my  Geraniums,  Roses, 
Heliotropes,  Verbenas,  etc.,  are  flowering  so 
freely,  my  Fuchsias  still  refuse  to  put  forth  a 
single  blossom  I  have  often  noticed  how  florists 
have  them  to  flower  so  beautifully  when  so  very 
small.  If  you  could  write  up  Fuchsia  culture 
you  will  greatly  oblige." 

[The  Fuchsia  deservedly  holds  a  place  in  our 
correspondent's  regard.  We  are  always  glad 
when  any  one  asks  us  to  write  about  Fuchsias, 
for  a  well  grown  fuchsia  is  among  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  all  flowers.  In  regard  to  early  flowering, 
there  are  some  which  have  a  natural  tendency 
to  bloom  earlier  than  others.  Coecinea  rosea, 
Lustre,  and  Bianca  marginata  are  of  tlii.s  rlass. 
But  to  get  early  flowers,  plants  a  ye:u  ol<l  nre 
better  ihau  young  ones.  After  being  a  little 
dried  up  by  the  summer,  prune  in  severely,  and 
after  the  buds  have  pushed  a  little  into  new 
growth,  shake  out  of  the  old  soil,  put  in  small 
pots  with  new  earth ;  encourage  this  new 
growth,  and  when  they  are  housed  for  the  sea- 
son, keep  them  in  a  temperature  of  about  60^, 
with  plenty  of  sunlight,  and  they  will  probably 
flower  well  by  February  or  March  at  latest.] 


The  Spring  in  the  South.— J.  H.  S., 
Alexandria,  La,  March  28th,  says  :  "  We  had 
a  killing  frost  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,— ther- 
mometer 28°  at  sunrise.  Corn  cut  off",  and  all 
oottonup,  killed. '» 

And  by  the  same  mail,  J.  W.  M.,  of  Ladore, 
Jfeosha  Co.,  Kansas,  says:     *'The  weather  is 


very  warm  and  spring  like.  Prospects  excel- 
lent.'' It  is  reversing  things  when  Kansas 
crows  over  Louisiana. 


A  Printek's  Blunder.  —  Advertisements 
do  not  pass  through  the  editor's  hands,  hence 
printers  who  do  not  know  botany  or  technical 
terms,  are  always  thankful  when  the  hand  wri- 
ting is  very  plain.  Mr.  Campbell  usually  writes 
a  very  clear,  plain  hand,  and  there  really  seemed 
no  excuse  for  printers,  or  anybody  else,  when 
at  page  sixteen  of  April  number,  they  made  him 
say  his  potatoes  yielded  one  or  two  ''berries,' 
instead  of  barrels.  The  public,  however,  know 
pretty  well  by  this  time,  that  Mr.  Campbell's 
potato  is  a  pretty  good  thing,  and  berries  or 
barrels,  have  no  doubt  laid  in  a  good  stock,  or 
if  ihey  have  not,  they  ought  to. 


House  Culture  of  Roses.— H.  B.,  Dela- 
ware, Ohio,  writes  as  follows.  We  should  be 
glad  if  some  of  our  rose  growers  would  give  their 
experience  :  "I  wish  to  ask  a  few  questions  in 
regard  to  roses.  Do  you  think  ihey  do  as  well 
grown  on  the  side  staging  of  the  greenhouse,  in 
close  proximity  to  the  glass,  (from  4  to  8  inches), 
or  on  the  middle  staging,  from  10  to  20  feet  from 
the  glass  ?  Several  years  ago  we  grew  them  on 
the  middle  staging,  and  never  saw  roses  do  bet- 
ter. On  removing  our  greenhouses,  we  put  up 
all  small  houses,  and  now  in  the  spring,  about 
the  latter  end  of  April,  they  seem  to  scorch  and 
burn  as  if  under  the  direct  influence  of  fire,  not- 
withstanding they  are  freely  ventilated.  Some 
of  the  tender  growing  kinds  it  seems  to  cut  down 
altogether,  and  others  it  only  blights  the  buds 
and  prevents  flowering.  We  have  tried  paint- 
ing the  glass  with  whitewash,  and  find  it  bene- 
fits;  but  are  uncertain  the  true  cause  of  this 
calamity.  AVhen  one  wishes  to  begin  growing 
roses  in  large  quantities,  what  season  of  the  year 
is  best  to  buy  preparatory  for  propagating  ?  To 
buy  in  spring  and  propagate  in  summer  and  fall, 
or  buy  in  fall  and  propagate  in  winter  ?  Please 
give  me  a  few  leading  ideas  on  propagating 
roses— the  best  and  most  rapid,  &c." 


Cryptoqamic  Plants  in  the  Region  of 
the  Yellowstone.  — a  correspondent  who 
was  on  this  expediton,  writes:  '*We  made 
large  collections  of  Lichens,  few  Mosses  and 
Hepaticas,  but  very  few  Ferns,  and  no  Lycopo- 
diums.  The  Algaj  were  quite  numerous,  espe- 
cially Desmids  and  Diatoms." 


150 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


May, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJVTHLT. 


151 


BOOKS,    CATALOGUES,    ETC 


Manual  or  Webds,  or  The  Weed  Ex- 
terminator.—By  Dr.  Ezra  Michcner  :    Pub- 
lished by  Henry  L.  Brinton,  Oxford,   Chester 
County,  Pa.     The  war  against  weeds  is  a  right- 
eous war,  and  we  welcome  into  the  ranks  every 
new  recruit  that*  offers  especially  such  a  valu- 
able volunteer  as  Dr.   Michener.     There  have 
already    appeared    works   on   weeds ;    but    the 
weeds  progress  faster  than  their  literature.     Be- 
fore a  work  which  describes  them  all  is  hardly 
from  the  press,  numbers  of  .new  weeds  appear. 
New  works   therefore  are  always  appreciated. 
Dr.  M.'s  work  is  not  a  large  one — it  being  sold 
by    the    publisher,    mail   free,   for  seventy-five 
cents,  but  it  contains  a  great  amount  of  valuable 
nformation.     The    weeds  are  brought  down  to 
date,  and  described  both  botanically  and  popu- 
larly, so  that  any  intelligent  person  can  recog- 
nize them.     Besides  the   particular  means  for 
weed  destruction  given  with  each  species,  there 
is  a  special  chapter  devoted  to  the  advocacy  of 
weed  destruction  by  law.     The  Doctor  wants  an 
inspector  of  weeds  appointed  in  each  agricultural 
district.     We  suppose  these  things  are  all  right. 
We  have  no  wish  to  meddle  with  politics.     But 
here  in  Philadelphia  we  have  found  to  our  sor- 
row, that  *' inspectors ''  will  not  work  without 
pay— and  that  their  pay  comes  out  of  the  taxes  ; 
and  as  we  have  ^'inspectors"  for  almost  every- 
thing:, from  peanuts  to  fiddle-strings,  our  taxes 
to  pay  them  have  swollen  to  beautiful  propor- 
tions, till  we,  that  is  the  Gardener's  Monthly, 
sometimes  wonder  whether  it  is  not  as  well  to 
confine  *' inspection"  to  those  cases  wherein  life 
and  health  are  in  immediate  danger,  at  a  moder- 
ate expense,  than  to  be  paying  such  enormous 
sums  in  order  to  show  we  have  "rights.'* 

It  may  be  that  being  only  the  "'Gardener's 
Monthly,'*''  we  may  be  very  ignorant  of  politics, 
and  it  may  be  owing  to  our  having  no  politics, 
that  we  candidly  confess  we  would  rather  pitch 
our  farm  down  in  the  midst  of  a  whole  district 
of  Canada  thistles,  and  agree  with  Brother 
Southwick  that  the  Canada  thistle  is  a  blessinc 
to  creation,  rather  than  have  our  farm  taxes  in- 
creased to  pay  a  lot  of  fellows  to  ''  inspect,"  the 
half  of  whom  would  not  know  a  Canada  thistle 
from  a  bull-rush.  A  weed  inspector,  indeed  I 
Why  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  farmers 


don't  kuow  a  noxious  weed  when  they  see  it. 
Let  us  have  an  inspector  of  agricultural  igno- 
rance, and  fine  every  fellow  ten  dollars  who  doe» 
not  subscribe  to  and  pay  for  the  Gardener'^t 
Monthly.  It  can  be  readily  demonstrated  that  a 
hundred  million  a  year  would  be  saved  to  the 
country  if  every  cultivator  read  this  invaluable 


magazme. 


Proceedings  or  the  Massachusetts  Hor- 
ticultural Society  for  1872.— There  are 
few  horticultural  societies  which  give  such  sub- 
stantial evidence  of  vigorous  usefulness  as  the 
Massachusetts  Society.  In  its  exhibitions;  its 
influence  of  the  whole  social  atmosphere  of  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  in  the  value  of  its  published  proceed- 
ings to  the  whole  country,  it  is  perhaps  unrival- 
led by  any  existing  American  institution.  We 
always  receive  their  publications  with  pleasure, 
and  lay  them  carefully  aside  for  future  reference. 
The  present  one  is  equal  in  value  to  any  which 
have  preceded  it. 

The  Journal  of  Agriculture,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. — This  venture  of  but  a  few  years  ago,  ha« 
proved  a  great  success.  It  has  recently  been 
sold  for  $100,000  to  a  company,  in  which  the  old 
proprietors  are  among  the  leading  stockholders. 
General  Marmaduke  still  remains  managing 
editor ;  Thos.  T.  Turner  is  live  stock  editor ; 
W.  Muir,  horticultural  editor ;  C.  V.  Kiley,  en- 
tomological editor  ;  Rev.  M.  L.  Lewis,  editor  of 
the  light  reading.  It  has  been  before  conducted 
with  marked  ability  ;  the  chief  secret  of  its  great 
success. 


The  Ivy. — A  monograph  :  By  Shirley  Hib- 
berd.  Editor  of  the  Gardener'^s  Magazine.  Lon- 
don :  Groombridge  &  Son.  No  plant  has  struck 
so  deep  into  the  hearts  of  men  as  the  Ivy.  The 
holly,  the  rose,  the  cypress  and  myrtle— these 
and  others  have  appealed  in  various  ways  to  our 
affections  ;  but  none  have  come  so  close  to  us  as 
this.  The  others  seem  rather  the  companions 
of  our  lighter  hours;  the  ivy  seems  almost  a  part 
of  ourselves. 

The  association  of  the  plant  with  old  ruins, 
churches  and  monuments,  no  doubt,  has  much  to 
do  with  this.  We  consign  to  earth  the  remains 
of  our  loved  ones  ;  but  not  solely  to  the  cold  em- 


braces of  death,  for  the  ivy  lives  and  grows,  and 
fteems  to  offer  itself  as  a  barrier  against  decay 
and  ruin.  We  can  do  nothing  more,  but  the  ivy 
still  protects  when  we  are  gone. 

Those  who  have  not  been  in  Europe  can 
scarcely  appreciate  the  depth  of  the  associaticms 
which  cluster  round  the  ivy  ;  but  yet  all  who 
have  a  knowledge  of  English  literature  in  some 
degree  share  the  feeling.  Americans  can 
scarcely  be  expected  to  be  found  among  ivy  wor- 
shippers ;  and  yet  there  is  not  a  reader  of  these 
lines  but  is  more  or  less  interested  in  ivy  history, 
ivy  knowledge,  and  ivy  culture. 

We  almost  envy  Mr.  Hibberd  the  pleasure  of 
his  task,  for  that  it  has  been  a  pleasure  the  work 
itself  abundantly  shows.  Starting  with  the 
cover  in  green  and  gold,  beautifully  embroidered 
with  ivy  leaves,  there  is  scarcely  a  page  which 
has  not  a  halo  of  poetry  round  the  dry  facts, 
perfectly  glorious.  The  first  part  of  the  work  is 
devoted  to  a  sketch  of  the  causes  which  induced 
Mr.  H.  to  write  ;  the  second,  a  historical  and 
literary  examination  of  the  subject.  Here  he 
tells  us  how  in  the  most  ancient  times  the  ivy 
was  associated  with  religious  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies How  the  most  classic  nations  joined  in  this 
form  of  veneration  equally  with  the  most  bar- 
barous. How  it  entered  into  mythology  ;  and 
how  even  Bacchanalian  orgies  paid  a  tribute  to 
the  ivy's  wand.  Scripture  history  even  is  not 
complete  without  a  reference  to  ivy,  the  "cor- 
ruptible crown  "  of  1  Cor.  ix :  25,  being  the  ivy 
crown  of  the  Isthmian  games.  It  entered  into 
the  politics  of  the  Greeks,  but  more  largely  into  j 
the'  literary  excellencies  of  that  polished  people : 
*'  An  ivy  wreath,  fair  learnings  prize, 
Raises  Maecenas  to  the  skies." 


In  the  earliest  Christian  times  the  ivy  figured 
largely.  The  holly,  the  symbol  of  jollity,  was 
always  enlivened  with  ivy  to  give  it  a  more  un- 
dying tone.  In  these  and  numerous  other  ways, 
Mr.  H.  works  up  a  curious  ivy  history.  The 
second  part  is  devoted  to  the  characteristics  of 
the  plant.  Here  one  may  learn  how  it  grows, 
or  trails,  or  climbs— what  it  does  in  all  circum- 
stances. What  it  can  do  is  not  yet  known,  for 
no  tower  or  tree  has  yet  been  built  the  top  of 
which  the  ivy  could  not  reach;  How  long  it  will 
live  is  equally  unknown,  for  buildings  many 
hundreds  of  years  old,  crumbling  into  dust,  still 
are  covered  by  its  ancient  ivy  halle  and  green,  at 
if  but  of  yesterday.     As  Dickens  says  : 

*'  Whole  ages  have  fled  and  their  works  decayed, 
And  nations  have  scattered  been  ; 
But  the  stout  old  ivy  shall  never  fade 
From  its  hale  and  hearty  green." 

The  uses  of  the  ivy  are  told  in  an  interesting 
chapter,  showing  how,  in  numerous  ways,  sel- 
dom thought  of,  the  ivy  may  be  made  to  aid  us 
in  the  adornments  of  our  homes,  and  to  add  to 
the  attractions  of  our  gardens  and  grounds. 
Then  there  are  chapters  on  cultivation,  and  on 
the  species  and  varieties  in  cultivation,  excellent 
illustrations  being  given  to  guide  the  reader  in 
distinguishing  them. 

The  growing  attention  to  ivy  culture  in  Amer- 
ica at  this  time,  will  make  the  work  particularly 
sought  after  by  our  readers.  TL  ough  a  very 
beautiful  work,  it  is  not  so  large  as  to  be  costly, 
but  we  are  not  advised  of  its  price.  It  can  be,  no 
doubt,  obtained  by  ordering  it  through  any 
bookseller  who  has  connections  in  the  large 
cities. 


NEW  AND  RAKE  FRUITS. 


Early  Ascot  Peach.— Of  this  choice  second- 
Parly  Peach  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Radclyffe  has  grown 
excellent  samples.  '*It  was  raised  a  few  years 
since  by  Mr.  Standish,  of  the  Royal  Ascot 
Nursery,  and  proves  to  be  a  variety  worth  intro- 
ducing to  general  cultivation.  Our  note  of  Mr. 
Radclyffe's  fruit  runs  thus  : -Fruit  middle-size, 
roundish,  some^vhat  depressed,  with  a  shallow 
suture  Skin  flushed  with  bright  red  on  nearly 
all  parts,  suffused  on  the  shady  side  with  crim- 


son, and  on  the  exposed  side  with  a  deeper 
blood-red,  almost  black.  Flesh  slightly  tinted 
with  red  at  the  stone,  from  which  it  parts  freely; 
pale  greenish  straw-color,  with  abundant  juice, 
and  an  excellent  flavor.  Mr.  Radclyffe  reports 
that  the  tree  is  hardy,  and  a  good  setter,  and, 
moreover,  suggests  that  its  name  ought  to  have 
been  called  Royal  Ascot.  ^This  variety  belongs 
to  the  section  which  bears  small  flowers,  and 
has  small  roundish  reniform  glands  on  its  peti- 


K! 


15^ 


TEE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJ^TELY. 


May, 


1878. 


TEE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MO JV TEL  J. 


16S 


oles.  We  learn  from  Mr  Standlsh  that  it  was 
raised  from  the  Elruge  Nectarine  fertilized  either 
by  the  Noblesse  or  Barrington  Peach. — [Florist 
and  Pomologist^  3s.,  v.  6.,  p.  1.) 


Gros  Colman  Grape.— I  will  not  attempt, 
nor  have  I  the  means  to  demonstrate,  to  whom 
we  are  indebted  for  this  continental  production 
— whether  to  casual  results  or  judicious  selec- 
tions by  some  worthy  member  of  the  craft ;  but 
whatever  its  origin,  I  am  certain  of  one  thing, 
that  in  it  we  possess  a  Grape  of  the  first  quality. 

Gros  Colman  is  of  free  growth,  robust  in  con- 
stitution, and  sets  under  any  ordinary  treatment 
like  Hamburg.  The  bunches  are  produced  in 
great  quantities,  of  a  compact  round  form,  some- 
thing after  the  style  of  the  Hamburg,  an  average 
when  fully  swelled  from  1  to  4  lbs  in  weight. 
The  berries  are  quite  round,  very  thin-skinned 
as  compared  with  those  of  other  late  kinds,  and 
are  the  largest  blacks  in  cultivation.  Their  jet 
exterior  carries  a  magnificent  bloom.  Their 
flavor  when  rip«j  is  very  juicy,  mellow,  and  rich, 
and  loses  nothing  by  the  bunches  hanging 
months  alter  ripening,  as  the  berries  retain  a 
plumpness  found  in  few  Grapes  in  March.  This 
observation  applies  alike  to  it  when  planted  in  a 
house  with  Lady  Downs,  Alicante,  Barbarossa, 
Black  Prince,  and  others,  or  under  pot  culture. 
Why  the  sterling  merits  of  this  Grape  as  regards 
flavor,  color,  &c.,  should  be  impugned  by  some  as 
they  have  been,  I  cannot  understand.  Probably 
the  imperfect  representatives  sometimes  met  with 
may  have  furnished  erroneous  inferences,  and 
therefore  should  not  be  regarded  as  conclusive.— 
J.  M.  C,  in  Journal  of  Horticulture. 


President  Wilder  Strawberry  in  the 
South.— In  strong  sandy  loams  or  alluvial  soils 
we  have  never  .--een  a  strawberry  that  pleased  us 
80  well  for  all  purposes  as  this  new  variety. 
The  plant  is  very  vigorous,  hardy  and  product- 
ive, and  the  fruit  of  the  largest  size,  of  the  hand- 
somest shape  and  color,  and  of  the  most  delic- 
ious quality.  When  we  add  that  it  is  also  a 
good  keeper  and  shipper,  we  have  said  about 
enough  to  give  our  readers  an  idea  of  how  highl^^ 
we  esteem  it.  Jn  our  opinion  it  is  the  coming 
**  upper-ten  "  market  strawberry  for  the  South  ; 
but  it  will  take  two  or  three  years  more  to 
decide  that  point.  In  the  meantime  all  should 
test  it,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  judge  for  them- 
selves. Perfect  blossoms.  Rather  late.- i?Mra/ 
Alabama. 


Late  Peach,  Picquet.— In  a  late  number 
of  the  Rural  Alabamian^  the  editor  gives  a  list  of 
market  fruit  for  the  south,  among  which  the 
Picquet  peach  is  considered  as  unrivaled  at  its 
season.  He  says:  *'This  variety  is  by  no 
means  as  widely  known  and  planted  as  it  should 
be..  For  its  season,  it  is  the  evidence  of  all  who 
fruited  it,  that  it  has  no  compeer.  Large  to 
very  large,  bright  yellow,  and  of  the  most  excel- 
lent quality,  it  cannot  lail  to  become  one  of  our 
most  profitable  market  peaches,  ripening  as  it 
does  when  good  peaches  are  scarce,  and  the 
^  trees  being  fine  growers  and  abundant  bearers. 
Season,  first  half  of  September  ;  freestone.'' 

This  ma'jnificent  peach  originated  in  the 
orchard  of  Antoine  Picquet,  Bel-Air,  Georgia. 
In  1858  we  cut  the  grafts  from  the  original  tree 
which  died  the  following  year.  After  fruiting  it 
for  four  consecutive  seasons,  we  put  it  in  the 
trade,  feeling  assured  at  that  time  that  it  was 
destined  to  become  a  most  valuable  market 
peach.  In  this  we  have  not  been  disappointed; 
and  it  is  a  source  of  congratulation  to  us  to  have 
added  this  peach  to  our  list  of  superior  fruits 
and  saved  it  (rom  destruction.  It  ripens  with 
the  Smock  to  which  it  is  immensely  superior  in 
size,  appearand*  and  quality.  The  Salway  also 
matures  at  the  ^same  time,  but  is  also  inferior  to 
the  Picquets,  fmm  a  limited  experience  in  fruit- 
ing the  former,  and  from  reports  of  others  who 
fruited  boih  varieties  side  by  side. 


Pen  AppLE.~iVr.  //.  M.  E^ujlesays:  *'The 
article  on  Pen  apple  in  March  number  of 
Gardener^ s  Monthhj  will,  I  think,  bear  further 
comment.  The  apple  exhibited  as  Pen — re- 
ser  hlhuj  Baldwin,  is  grown  on  trees  received 
from  the  Xursery  ol  Huston  &  Milllin,  Columbia, 
Pa.  The  trees  were,  no  doubt,  sent  out  by  mis- 
take, as  the  real  Pen  Apple  which  I  exhibited 
at  Reading,  were  handed  to  me  by  Mr.  James  L. 
Richards,  of  Columbia,  who  assured  me  that 
they  were  from  the  original  Pen  Tree,  which 
grew  near  a  pig  pen, — hence  the  name.  Mr. 
Richards  is  related  to  the  right  family  on  whose 
premises  the  tree  stands.  He  has  also  fruited 
young  trees  of  the  Pen  on  his  own  ground. 

The  fruit  under  the  name  of  Pen,  (by  mis- 
take,) is  now  concedeil  to  be  Baldwin  ;  compe- 
tent judges  have  pronounced  them  identical. 
Their  habit  of  growth  is  the  same.  What  has 
been  most  puzzling  is,  that  the  so-called  Pen  is  a 
better  keeper  than  Baldwin  ;  but  we  have  as  yet 
no  instance   where   the  two   were  fruited  side 


by  side ;  and,  therefore,  soil  and  situation  may 
have  their  influence.  My  own  theory  is  the 
above  named  nurserymen,  having  introduced 
the  Baldwin  many  years  ago,  and  having  propa- 
gated it  for  successive  generations,  it  has  thus 
become  somewhat  acclimated, — hence  the  slight 
difference  between  it  and  the  Baldwin,  planted 
direct  from  New  York,  or  Eastern  nurseries. 
Whether  this,  or  the  theory  of  it  being  a  sport, 
be  correct,  will  probably  require  further  investi- 
gation or  stronger  evidence. 


VoLNEY  Apple. — We  have  before  as  (April 
10th)  a  specimen  of  this  new  apple,  sent  us  by 
Prof.  Volney  Munson,  of  Lexington,  Ky.  He 
also  sends  us  a  description  which,  so  far  as  the 
fruit  is  concerned,  we  can  endorse  as  accurate. 
The  perfume  was  delicious,  in  this  respect, 
equalling  any  we  know.  It  has  not  yet  been 
distributed  ;  but  we  see,  by  a  paragraph  in  the 
Farmer's  Home  Journal,  of  Louisville,  that  the 
nurserymen  of  that  region  have  it  under  propa- 
gation. 

"  Volney."*^ — Origin,  orchard  of  Wm.  Munson, 
of  Fulton  County,  Ills.  Tree  vigorous,  with  a 
broad  upright  head  ;  a  good,  regular  bearer. 
Fruit ;  large,  oblate,  regular  and  uniform  in 
size,  of  a  rich  waxen-yellow  color  with  a  bright 
pink  cheek,  sprinkled  all  over  with  light  brown 
dots  ;  stalk  short,  usually  bearing  a  gland  near 
the  insertion,  set  obliquely  in  a  shallow  cavity 
surrounded  by  slight  russet  stripes ;  calyx  closed, 
in  a  broad,  shallow,  slightly  wrinkled  basin  ; 
flesh,  white,  tender,  juicy  with  a  rich,  subacid, 
pineapple  flavor,  very  good  to  best ;  core  very 
small  and  firm  ;  endures  handling  and  transpor- 
tation remarkably  well.  Season,  January  to 
May. 


West-brook  or  Speckled  Apple.  — In 
March  number  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  Mr. 
Blodget  and  yourself,  think  I  am  mistaken  as  to 
the  identity  of  this  apple  with  the  fall  orange, 
but  I  believe  I  am  right,  and  give  you  some 
proof  of  it.  Mr.  Blodget,  in  September  of  1870, 
sent  me  specimens  of  S[)eckled  or  West-brook, 
which  I  concluded  were  Fall  Orange,  and  not 
having  any  of  the  kind  on  hand,  sent  to  three 
difterent  persons  in  western  New  York  for  fruit, 
which  reached  us  in  a  few  days,  and  confirmed 
me  in  my  opinion.  I  immediately  sent  speci- 
mens to  Mr.  Blodget,  with  some  of  the  West- 
brook  or  Speckled  apples  he  had  sent  me.  In  a 
few  days  he  replied,  *'  the  samples  you  sent  me 


are  identical  with  the  speckled.'*  Is  not  this 
some  proof  that  they  are  one  and  the  same 
apple  ? 

I  have  taken  some  pains  to  ascertain  the 
origin  of  this  apple,  and  without  going  into  a 
long  history,  say  that  it  came  up  near  the  hog- 
pen of  Deacon  Allen,  in  the  town  of  Holden, 
Massachusetts,  nearly  a  hundred  years  since, 
and  was  first  called  "Hog-pen''  apple,  but  was 
afterward  changed  to  *'  Holden,"  which  is  still 
the  common  name  in  that  State.  I  am  inform- 
ed that  grafts  of  it  were  taken  to  Western  New 
York,  some  forty  or  fifty  years  since,  and  the 
name  probably  having  been  lost,  it  received  the 
name  of  "  Fall  Orange,''  which  name  has  been 
retained  because  more  generally  known, — which 
is  the  case  with  Bartlett  instead  of  Williams 
Bonchretieu,  the  original  name.  It  has  the  fol- 
lowing names  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
country  : 

Holden,  Holden  Pippin, 

Hog-pen,  Red  Cheek. 

Orange,  Jones'  Pippin, 

Speckled,  West-brook, 

White  Newell,  Long  Island, 

New  York  Bell  flower,  White  Graft. 

I  am  satisfied  that 'Fall  Orange,'' and  Speck- 
eled  or  West-brook,  are  identical ;  but  if  any 
doubt,  I  propose  that  both  kinds  be  sent  to 
American  Pomological  Society  in  September  next, 
to  be  decided  by  the  committee  on  synonyms,  that 
is,  if  the  Society  approves  of  it.— C.  Downing. 


The  Eciiasserie  Pear.— This  is  the  excel- 
lent old  pear  referred  to  in  the  following  note 
from  a  New  Jersey  correspondent.  We  place  it 
under  this  head  for,  although  not  by  a  very  long 
way  a  "new  fruit,''  it  has  been  so  much  dis- 
carded for  worse  new  ones,  that  it  is  "rare'' : 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  annoy  you  with  my  mania 
for  winter  pears,  but  having  toiled  the  past 
twenty  j'cars  of  my  life  in  vain  dependence  upon 
nurserymen  and  pomologists,  to  give  me  pears 
that  would  keep  at  least  lo  the  holy  days,  I  feel 
somewhat  elated  at  having  found  two  growing 
right  here  that  keep  like  russet  apples.  These 
that  I  now  send  you  were  shaken  from  the  tree, 
put  >in  barrels  in  a  damp  cellar,  where  they 
have  remained  till  now." 


The  Crittenden  Apple.— The  following 
memoranda  in  reference  to  the  above  wore 
obtained  from  Mr.  Winn  Gunn  : 

This  apple  originated  in  Shelby  county,  about 


t^j 


I. 


"M 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


May, 


187S. 


TSE    GARD EATER'S   MOJTTRLY. 


155 


four  miles  from  Shelbyville,  on  a  farm  formerly 
owned  by  Mr.  Gunn,  but  now  the  property  of 
Mr.  W.  Belloo.  Tree  rather  a  slow  grower ; 
the  fruit  about  the  same  size  as  that  of  the 
Prior's  Red  ;  sweet,  fit  for  use  throughout  the 
whole  winter,  and  has  been  known  to  keep  until 
September  of  the  year  following  its  ripening ; 


Mr.  Gunn  has  himself  kept  the  fruit  until  June. 
The  tree  never  received  any  pruning  during  the 
time  it  was  in  Mr.  Gunn's  possession.  Under 
better  treatment,  doubtless,  the  fruit  would  be 
larger  in  size  and  better  in  quality.  Mr.  Gunn 
named  the  variety  in  honor  of  John  C.  Critten- 
den.— FarmtfB  Home  Journal, 


NEW  AND  RAHE  PLANTS. 


SouCHET'8  New  Gladioli  —Monsieur  Sou- 
chet,  of  Fontainebleau,  who  is  unusually  suc- 
cessful in  the  cultivation  of  Gladioli,  has  again 
raised  somti  new  kinds,  remarkable  for  their  size 
and  perfection  of  form,  as  well  as  for  new  colors. 
Among  them,  the  following  will  be  found  desira- 
ble additions  to  any  collection,  viz.: 

Addison.— Sp\ke  large  ;  flowers  very  large  and 
of  a  deep  amaranth,  striped  with  white.  A  love- 
ly plant  of  middle  height. 

Benvenuto.Sinke  long  and  striking;  flowers 
very  large,  much  open,  of  a  pink  or  pale  orange 
color,  very  brilliant  and  transparent,  spotted 
with  white.     Plant  of  a  middle  height. 

Elvire. — Spike  long  and  fine  ;  flowers  large 
and  pure  white,  edged  with  carmine.  Plant 
middle  height. 

Eva. — Spike  ample ;  flowers  large,  ground 
color  white  tinted  and  shaded  with  rose  and  pale 
lilac.     A  fine  flower.     Plant  of  middle  height. 

2^tfiraro.— Flowers  large  and  open,  rose  or  red- 
dish-orange, tinted  with  a  deeper  shade,  and 
having  large  spots  of  pure  white.  A  grand 
plant. 

Xc  P/iare. —Spike  very  long;  flowers  large, 
brilliant  bright  red  and  very  open.  Plant  me.li- 
um  height. 

XuHi.— Spike  good  ;  flowers  large  and  perfect ; 
bright  cherry  slightly  tinted  with  orange ; 
ground  color  clear,  the  inferior  division  striped 
with  carmine.     Plant  of  middle  size. 

Macdulay  —Spike  long  and  splendid  ;  flowers 
large,  deep  crimson  slightly  tinted  with  violet 
and  spotted  with  deep  carmine  ;  centre  clear 
and  transparent      Plant  of  middle  height. 

Margarita,— Spike  very  long;  flowers  large 
with  a  white  ground,  tinted  with  carmine.  A 
strong  growing  and  beautiful  variety. 

Octavie.— Spike  long  ;  flowers  large,  of  a  pret- 
ty pale  pink,  slightly  edged  with  red,  and  lined 
and  spotted  with  pure  white  ;  centre  very  clear. 


A  low  growing  variety,  but  one  that  is  exceed- 
ingly beautiful. 

Beine  Blanche. — Spike  very  long  ;  *  flowers 
beautiful ;  pure  white  with  small  spots  of  deep 
carmine. 

Venus.  —Spike  very  long  ;  flowers  large  ;  pure 
white  flushed  with  pale  pink.  A  splendid  varie- 
ty of  middle  height. 

— E.  A.  Carriere,  in  Garden. 


New  Cockscomb,  Tricolor.— In  our  last 
we  gave  an  illustration  of  a  new  cockscomb  in- 
troduced from  Japan,  and  to  which  a  lady  refers 
in  our  present  nuinbor.  The  one  we  now  illus- 
trate is  a  florist's  improvement,  and  has  a  head 


of  various  colors.  There  is  a  broad  stripe  of 
crimson,  then  of  gold,  and  the  next  of  rich  car- 
nation. It  is  surprising^  that  this  character  has 
become  so  well  fixed  as  to  reproduce  Itself  from 
seed,  but  they  say  this  Tricolor  does  it,  and 
does  it  well. 


Lobelia  —  Carter's  Cobalt-Blue.  —  We 

saw  this  flowering  last  year ;  and  nothing  is 
handsomer  than  the  dwarf  compact  form— more 
like  a  mass  than  a  flowering  plant,  only  that  it 
is  crowned  by  the  dense  mass  of  light  blue  flow- 
ers. Mr.  Shirley  Hibberd  says  of  it  in  the  Qar- 
dcner''s  Magazine  of  January  6th,  1872  :  *'  There 
was  one  piece  of  a  new  bedding  Lobelia  which 
surpassed  every  thing  of  its  class  on  the  greund, 
ft  better  thing  even  than  Blue  King,  but  in  that 
way;  the  color  a  clear  pure  blue,  the  growth 
tompskct ;  in  fact  the  whole  thing  perfect,  as  if 
4UI  ti  la  mould  and  colored  by  a  master  of  par- 
terre  planting,    who    knows    exactly   what    is 


sis  borealis  alba,  is  a  charming  plant,  originally 
a  sport  from  T.  borealis,  and  although  bearing 
a  resemblance  to  Cupressus  Lawsoniana  albo- 
spica,  it  is  distinct  from  it.  This  is  another 
valuable  acquisition  to  our  hardy  Conifera.  A 
fine  example  of  Quercus  pannonica,  with  its  ' 
large  dark  green  foliage,  is  to  be  seen  here,  and 
it  is  a  species  which  should  find  its  way  into 
every  villa  garden  and  shrubbery.  Acer  poly- 
morph um  dissectum  is  a  lovely  small  growing 
Japanese  Maple,  the  foliage  of  which  is  just  now 
of  a  bright  scarlet  color.  Messrs.  Standish  Jb 
Co.  possess  also  the  stock  of  a  very  distinct, 
hardy,  and  almost  evergreen  Maple  from  Japan, 


LORKLIA— C  VRfER'S  C.»BALT-Bj.UE. 


^^5- 


wanted.  I  was  desired  to  name  this,  and  pro- 
posed it  should  be  called  Carter's  Cobalt-Blue, 
and  under  this  designation  it  will  probably  be 
ofiered  to  a  discriminating  public  ;  the  stock  is 
to  be  made  from  seed,  and  the  variety  is  to  be 
distributed  in  seed.'*  The  distinguishing  char- 
acter of  this  plant  is  that  it  has  no  white  in  the 
eye  of  the  blossom,  nor  any  purple  on  the  calyx  ; 
so  that  the  brilliant  blue  has  the  entire  posses- 
sion of  the  field  of  color. 


Acer  rufinerve,  a  strong  growing  kind,  which 
retains  its  foliage  until  Christmas,  and  in  very 
mild  districts  would  be  really  evergreen.— W. 
Dean,  in  Gardener^s  Chronicle. 


New  Ornamental  Trees.— Messrs.  Stan- 
dish  have  in  their  collection  the  new  Japanese 
Larch,  Larix  leptolepis,  which  resembles  the 
common  Larch  in  habit,  but  is  of  more  robust 
growth  and  larger  foliage  ;  this  tree  will  be  a 
great  acquisition.     Their  new  Conifer,  Thujop- 


Camellia  Princess  Alexandra.— A  very 
beautiful  addition  to  the  regal  group  of  Camellia 
Japonica.  In  growth  this  variety  is  free  and 
robust,  in  verdure  a  rich  deep  lustrous  green,  in 
bloom  above  average  size  ;  near  to  perfection  in 
its  circular  outline,  uniform  and  evenly  imbri- 
cate in  its  structure  and  build  :  petals  thick  and 
leathery  in  substance,  the  outer  ray  of  petals 
nearly  round  (rose-like),  graduating  in  size  and 
outline  to  the  full  centre.  In  color  a  delicate 
rosy-blush,  suff*used  with  a  rich  carmine  tint, 
delicately  traced  with  ramose  veins,  leaving  an 


1-1 


I 
mi 


m 


% 


166 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


May, 


187S. 


TEE    GARDEJVER'S  MOJVTRLY. 


167 


outer  margin  of  blush  white  on  each  petal,  the 
outer  ones  being  occasionally  marked  with  broad 
crimson  bars.  The  union  and  varied  contrast 
of  rich  roseate  tints  blending  with  an  outer  zone 
or  margin  of  silvery  white,  forms  an  exquisite 
feature  in  this  beautiful  flower.  So  says  an  Eng- 
lish writer. 


Delphinium  Belladonna.— Although  by 
DO  means  new,  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
choicest  of  border  flowers.  Unfortunately  with 
me  it  is  somewhat  delicate  in  constitution,  yet 
it  flowers  abundantly  ;  still,  it  does  not  increase 
much  in  size  from  year  to  year,  and  as  it  is  per- 
fectly barren  there  is  no  method  of  propagating 
it  save  by  division.  The  flowers  are  of  a  lovely 
sky  blue,  a  color  so  rare  amongst  plants  that  it 
renders  it  at  once  conspicuous  and  efllictivo. — 
Journal  of  Horticulture. 


appeared,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  I  shall  be 
able,  time  and  opportunities  permitting,  to  bear 
out  Dr.  Denny's  remarks,  and  obtain  by  cross- 
breeding the  result  sought,  or  at  all  events  an 
approximation  thereto,  although  I  have  been 
anticipated  in  this  respect,  to  some  extent,  by 
Nature,  who  it  appears  on  this  occasion,  as  she 
frequently  does,  has  favored  our  Continental 
neighbors.  I  hope  to  send  you  shortly  some 
remarks  on  Dr.  Denny's  paper  on  hybridization. 
—Thomas  Laxton. 

[Of  the  flowers  sent.  Jewel  is  much  the  best. 
It  is  rich  and  clear  in  color,  and  remarkably  full 
and  well  formed.  No.  30  is  a  little  more  open- 
eyed,  while  Aurora  is  semi-double,  and  the 
brijQjhtcst  of  all.  E.  J.  Lowe  does  not  appear  to 
open  well,  and  in  consequence,  looks  pinched  up. 
We  look  upon  Jewel  as  a  real  and  decided  acqui- 
sition.—Eds.  Gardener'' s  Chronicle.] 


Viola  Cornuta  we  noticed  a  few  years  ago. 
It  grows  about  six  inches  high.  The  flowers 
are  borne  all  well  up  above  the  foliage,  and 
forms  a  compact  mass  of  rich,  deep  violet  color- 
ed flowers.  Its  hardy  constitution  and  profuse 
blooming  qualities  renders  it  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  Spring  and  Summer  bedding  and 
border  plants.  There  is  now  a  variety  resem- 
bling the  above  in  all  the  characters  and  habits, 
excepting  color,  which  is  pure  white.  "We  see  it 
is  advertised  by  a  Rochester  flrm. 


Mr.  Laxton's  Double  Dwarf  Pelargo- 
niums—I have  forwarded  a  small  box  contain- 
ing blooms  of  my  new  seedling  double  dwarf 
Zonal  Pelargoniums,  Jewel  (First-class  Certifi- 
cate, Royal  Horticultural  Society),  E.  J.  Lowe, 
No.  30,  and  semi-double  Aurora.  The  flowers 
of  the  two  former  are  almost  mimics  of  various 
Roses,  and  if  mounted  with  small  rose  foliasre 
and  buds  in  a  miniature  stand,  would  almost 
pass  for  Liliputians  amongst  the  queen  of  flow- 
ers. E.  J.  Lowe,  from  the  white  exterior  of  the 
petals,  has  a  striking  eflect  in  the  truss,  and 
Aurora  is  a  very  free  blooming,  bright  colored 
variety  of  the  Tom  Thumb  race,  to  which  all  the 
varieties  belong,  having  none  of  the  blood  of  the 
old  coarse  growing  Inquinans,  or  Gloire  de  Nan- 
cy type  in  them.  1  have  also  been  cross-breed- 
ing for  variety  in  color,  and  have  obtained  some 
striking  novelties  in  dark  purplish  tints  ;  and 
although  I  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  getting  a 
pure  white— one  of  the  ol\jects  I  have  been  aim- 
ing   at,   several    blush    and   light    pinks    have 


LisiANTHUS  PRINCEPS.— It  has  bccn  called  a 
greenhouse  plant,  but  there  is  little  doubt  it  will 
be  found  to  thrive  best  in  an  intermediate  house. 
This  superb  Gentianaceous  plant  was  consider- 
ed by  the  late  Dr.  Lindley  to  be  "  one  of  the 
best  plants  in  existence."  It  is  a  compact 
branching  shrub,  growing  about  two  feet  in 
height ;  the  leaves  are  opposite,  oblong-lanceo- 
late, acuminate  audi  dark  green  on  the  upper 
side,  paler  below  ;  the  blooms  are  produced  in 
graceful  drooping  racemes  of  from  three  to  five  ; 
the  flowers  are  tubular,  the  calyx  being  about 
half  an  inch  long,  and  the  corolla  about  six 
inches  in  length,  and  upwards  of  an  inch  wide  ; 
the  color  of  the  tube  is  rich  scarlet,  melting  into 
golden  yellow  at  each  end.  It  is  found  growing 
at  elevations  of  from  10,000  to  11,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  in  the  province  of  Pamplo- 
na, in  New  Grenada,  but  it  is  a  rare  plant  even 
in  its  native  country. 


New  Forms  of  Ornamental  Beet.— Mr. 
John  Clark,  gardener  to  Mr.  Mitchell  Jones,  of 
Edinburgh,  furnished  a  surprise  for  the  habiteus 
of  South  Kensington,  on  the  15th  inst ,  by  send- 
ing up  a  box  of  his  new  forms  of  ornamental 
Beet,  and  which  in  tlie  stage  ef  growth  as  exhi- 
bited, presented  some  of  the  richest  and  most 
beautifully  marked  foliage  to  be  found  in  plants 
outside  the  stove,  and  which  elicited  from  Mr. 
J.  Bateman  the  declaration  that  even  the  Or- 
chids would  have  to  look  to  their  colors,  other- 
wise they  would  lose  the  honors  of  the  day.  Mr. 
Clark's  box  of  Beet  comprised  twenty-one  plants, 


all  growing  in  48  sized  pots,  and  all  about  nine 
inches  in  height,  the  habit  in  most  cases  being 
good,  and  some  of  them  as  dwarf  and  compact 
as  could  be  desired.  The  diversity  of  coloring 
was  great,  no  two  plants  being  exactly  alike, 
and  comprising  shades  of  silvery  white,  buflf, 
orange,  red,  scarlet,  vermillion,  claret,  maroon, 
crimson  and  purple.  Some  of  the  leaves  had 
veins  of  one  color  and  the  edges  of  another.  It 
is  a  peculiarity  of  these  forms  of  Beet,  that 
whilst  all  the  taproots  are  of  the  ordinary  color, 
the  small  rootlets  are  of  the  same  color  as  the 
fohage.  They  were  highly  commended  for  green- 
house and  conservatory  decoration  in  the  win- 
ter, and  for  that  reason  was  awarded  a  First- 
class  Certificate,  but  if  they  produce  these  bril- 
liant colors  in  the  open  ground  they  would  be 
inyaluable  for  bedding. — Gardener'' s  JRecord. 

Berberis  Darwinil— (1^  to  2^  feet).  This 
is  the  most  beautiful  of  the  tribe.  It  is  q  lite 
evergreen,  and  covered  in  spring  with  deep 
orange-colored  flowers  of  a  large  size .  It  is  well 
adapted  for  a  large  bed  or  ornamental  fence,  or 
as  individual  plants. 

Begonia  intermedia.  —  This  remarkably 
fine  hybrid  Begonia  is  the  result  of  a  cross 
between  the  B.  Veitchii  and  B.  boliviensis.  In 
habit  it  partakes  strongly  of  the  B.  boliviensis, 
being  a  strong  upright-growing  plant,  branching 
freely,  and  attaining  an  average  height  of  fifteen 
to  eighteen  inches.  The  leaves  have  much  the 
form  and  substance  of  the   Veitchii,    but  are 


toothed  like  boliviensis.  The  flowers  are  of  the 
size  and  form  of  Begonia  Veitchii,  and  resemble 
it  also  in  color,  but  are  of  a  rather  darker  shade. 
This  is  the  hardiest  hybrid  we  have  yet  raised. 
It  succeeds  well  in  a  greenhouse,  and  can  be 
wintered  in  a  cold  frame  ;  indeed,  it  has  lived 
during  a  mild  winter  out-of-doors  with  us.  It 
was  awarded  a  First-class  Certificate  at  the  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society,  June  14, 
1871. — Vietch's  Catalogue. 


A  New  Poinsettia.— When  in  the  nursery 
of  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Sons,  at  Chelsea,  a  short 
time  since,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a 
variety  of  our  old  friend  Poinsettia  pulcherrima^ 
which  will  undoubtedly  quite  take  the  place  of 
the  old  form,  both  for  market  work  and  home 
decoration.  It  differs  from  the  latter  in  havin<y 
much  broader  bracts,  packed  so  closely  together 
round  the  flowers  as  to  form  a  double  series, 
instead  of  being  set  at  right  angles  like  the  sails 
of  a  windmill.  The  color  is  also  much  richer, 
and  the  bracts  are  fully  developed  quite  fifteen 
days  earlier  than  those  of  plants  of  the  normal 
type  grown  under  precisely  the  same  conditions. 
To  say  more  in  its  praise  is  not  necessary ;  those 
who  are  interested  in  having  poinsettias  in  full 
bloom  earlier  than  is  now  possible  to  have  them, 
and  of  a  finer  quality,  without  increased  efforts, 
will  act  wisely  in  looking  after  the  variety  which 
will,  in  all  probability,  be  distributed  by  Messrs. 
Veitch  as  Poinsettia  pulcherrima  major.— Gko, 
Gordon,  in  Gardener^s  Magazine. 


FOREIGN     INTELLIGENCE. 


Hardy  Ferns.— To  grow  hardy  Ferns  in 
perfection  a  humid  atmosphere  is  necessary,  and 
when  they  are  making  fresh  growth  the  house 
which  holds  them  should  be  shut  up  in  the  after- 
noon, and  the  plants  syringed  through  a  rose. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  young  fronds  de- 
velop themselves  as  if  by  magic,  and  are  a 
source  of  much  enjoyment  to  those  who  take  an 
Interest  in  this  class  of  plants.  Ferns  from 
warm  latitudes,  as  a  matter  of  course,  require  a 
higher  temperature— 55°  in  winter  is  a  good 
medium  for  them,  and  from  65°  to  70°  in  summer 
18  essential  as  a  night  temperature.  Nearly  all 
the  species  luxuriate  in  a  compost  of  equal  parts  ! 
turfy  loam  and  tough  fibry  peat,  with  the  addi- ' 


tion  of  a  fair  proportion  of  silver  sand  and  a  few 
lumps  of  charcoal.  1 1  is  of  vital  im portance  that 
the  drainage  be  perfect,  as  the  Fern,  though  a 
moisture  loving  plant,  dislikes  stagnant  water 
about  the  roots.  Tlie  potsherds  used  must  be 
clean,  and  placed  with  the  convex  side  down- 
wards, the  largest  pieces  at  the  bottom,  the 
smallest  at  the  top,  and  over  this  some  fibry 
material  must  be  placed  to  prevent  the  mould 
used  in  potting  from  mixing  with  the  drainage. 
In  potting  press  the  compost  in  firmly,  but  not 
so  much  so  as  is  done  with  fruit  trees  or  hard- 
wooded  greenhouse  plants.  Overpotting  should 
also  be  avoided,  as  indeed,  this  is  frequently  the 
cause  of  failures.     The  fresh  compost  gets  sod- 


I 

i 


168 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJfTHLY. 


May; 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJFTHLY. 


159 


den  with  water  before  the  roots  can  ramify  into 
the  mass,  and  mischief  ensues. 

Then  with  regard  to  propagation.  Some  of 
the  species  are  very  easily  increased  by  division, 
and  it  is  thus  that  most  of  the  Adiantums  and 
Pterises  are  reproduced.  Take,  as  an  example, 
that  most  useful  of  all  the  Maiden-hairs,  Adian- 
tum  cuneatum.  "We  are  continually  using  its 
delicately  cut  fronds  for  hand,  button-hole,  and 
other  bouquets,  and  well  grown  plants  of  it  are 
always  ready  for  dinner  table  and  genera' 
in-door  decoration.  You  may  take  a  large  plant, 
and  with  a  knife  or  small  trowel  divide  it  into  a 
dozen  pieces,  which  if  put  into  small  pots,  and 
placed  in  a  close  moist  atmosphere  and  a  stove 
temperature,  will  each  make  a  nice  plant  in  a 
few  weeks.  Some  species  grow  with  a  single 
Btem,  and  therefore  cannot  be  divided.  Of  these 
the  Lomaria  gibba  is  one,  and  a  very  desirable 
species.  It  is  very  freely  propagated  from 
spores  ;  about  sowing  which,  there  is  no  need  to 
trouble,  as,  if  they  are  allowed  to  ripen,  the 
young  plants  will  be  plentiful  enough.  How- 
ever, should  a  large  quantity  be  required,  it  is 
as  well  to  sow  them.  Sei^d-pans  or  ordinary 
flower-pots  should  be  used  for  this  purpose. 
Drain  them  well,  and  fill  up  with  the  compost 
already  recommended,  but  with  the  addition  of 
a  third  part  of  pounded  bricks.  The  spores 
when  matured  should  be  placed  on  the  surface, 
and  after  being  watered  with  a  fine  rose,  covered 
with  a  square  of  glass  to  maintain  a  moist 
atmosphere.— JbirnaZ  of  Horticulture, 


Speculating  in  New  Roses.— My  motto 
in  respect  to  roses  is,  '•''Prove  all  things;  hold 
fai^t  to  thai  which  is  good!^^  This,  it  will  be  said, 
is  good  advice  to  the  rosarian  of  limited  means, 
and  is  intended  tor  him.  Propagate  and  buy  in 
tl^e  good  roses,  now  abundmtly  proved,  lists  of 
which  are  periodically  placed  before  the  readers 
of  the  Gardener's  Magazine,  written  by  men  ot 
undoubted  talent,  judgment  and  honesty.  The 
wjitcrs  of  arti(jl(s  on  roses  and  other  flowers  in 
the  Magazine,  be  it  known,  have  nothing  to 
gain  but  the  gratitude  and  good  will  of  their  bro- 
ther ro.sarians  and  florists  generally.  It  is  to 
the  s:r«*ut  humbug  our  neighbors,  the  French 
nurserymen,  are  imposing  upon  us  that  I  wish 
to  direct  attention  ;  it  is  now  an  ascertained 
fact  that  not  more  than  about  one  new  rose  in 
ten  rmiains  in  the  English  catalogue  more  than 
tbiee  or  ibur  years. 


There  are  two  classes  of  rosarians ;  the  first 
are  the  gentlemen  of  great  private  means,  who 
can  easily  aflford  to  ride  hobby-horses,  and  buy 
in  all  the  new  roses  as  soon  as  they  are  to  be  pro- 
cured. They  select  those  which  they  think  best, 
and  are  led  on,  year  after  year,  by  glowing 
descriptions  given  by  the  French  raisers,  and 
not  by  the  English  nurserymen,  who  cannot 
possibly  describe  a  rose  unseen.  In  July  the 
great  rose  exhibitions  are  held  at  Kensington 
and  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  are  anxiously 
attended  by  amateurs,  who  note  down  all  the 
varieties  which  take  their  fancy.  The  poor 
amateur  is  often  deceived  with  his  eyes  wide 
open.  The  rose  that  has  taken  his  fancy  per- 
haps, turns  out  a  weak'grower,  most  delicate  in 
habit,  and  not  at  all  suited  to  his  soil  or  situa- 
tion. Bui  his  mind  is  made  up  ;  he  must  have 
it  in  his  collection  ;  it  was  really  so  very  beauti- 
ful at  Kensington,  He  never  once  thinks  that 
that  particular  rose  has  been  grown  by  a  most 
skilful  cultivator,  who  has  spared  no  pains  to 
bring  it  to  its  present  state  of  perfection.  If  it 
were  not  for  that  natural  longing  for  change, 
advance  and  improvement,  we  should  hate  toil, 
and  treat  work  and  exertion  as  a  curse  ;  but 
kind  Nature  has  made  improvement  in  flowers, 
the  rose  particularly,  as  well  as  other  things, 
both  the  law  and  necessity  of  our  existence,  and 
has  so  made  us  that  the  inspiration,  the  com- 
mand, and  the  spur  are  all  within. 

The  second  class  of  rosarians  have  the  same 
feelings  and  desires  as  those  of  the  first  class, 
but  are  limited  in  their  means,  and  must  be  con- 
tent to  ride  third  class.  They  get  to  their  jour- 
ney's end  slower  than  by  the  '*  express.''  They 
have  the  advantage  of  buying  roses  that  have 
been  proved  good ;  they  have  seen  them  with 
their  own  eyes,  and  they  procure  them  at  a  much 
cheaper  rate  than  their  richer  brethren,  who 
purchase  things  unseen.  Another  great  advan- 
tage awaits  them— the  road  has  been  cleared  and 
the  rubbish  swept  away.  The  rich  rosarians 
must  be  encouraged  by  high  prizes  being  given 
to  them,  and  nurserymen  also,  for  introducing 
new  roses  of  merit,  else  they  would  cease  to  im- 
port them,  and  bring  them  before  the  public— 
Oardener'^s  Magazine, 


Nymphs  A  Odor  at  a.— In  Nymphse  odorata 
we  have  a  perfect  miniature  of  the  N".  alba.  Its 
flowers  are  white,  about  the  size  of  a  florin,  and 
highly  fragrant,  and  they  usually  appear  about 
July  or  August.     When  cultivated  in  the  op  a 


air  the  leaves  average  about  two  inches  across, 
but  when  grown  in  the  stove  or  greenhouse  (as 
it  often  is,  though  perfectly  hardy)  the  flowers 
will  be  two  inches  and  the  leaves  four  inches 
across,  the  latter  generally  of  a  reddish-purple 
underneath. 

It  is  of  all  others  the  plant  for  small  tanks  or 
basins,  requiring  only  a  depth  of  from  six  inches 
to  nine  inches  of  water  for  its  perfect  develop- 
ment. If  planted  in  a  pond,  it  shoiild  be  near 
the  margin,  and  must  not  be  planted  more  than 
a  foot  below  the  surface.  It  will  also  be  advisa- 
ble to  introduce  a  few  rough  pieces  of  rock,  so 
placed  that  the  water  can  flow  in  and  out,  to 
separate  it  from  the  rest  of  the  pond  ;  and  also 
to  lay  a  few  smooth  pebbles  over  the  surface  of 
the  soil,  to  keep  it  in  its  place. 

The  native  habitat  of  this  desirable  acquaiic  is 
in  ponds  and  slow-flowing  streams  from  ''  Cana- 
da to  Carolina.*'  It  is  the  most  lovely  of  all  the 
small  growing  water  plants,  save  and  except 


that  it  has  a  rosy-cheeked  cousin  across  the  At- 
lantic, which,  when  introduced  from  the  Cana- 
dian lakes,  will  become  a  formidable  rival  to  it. 
Be  it  known,  therefore,  unto  *<  Ye  Englysshe  »» 
that  the  Nymphaea  odorata  rosea  does  exist  in 
those  lakes,  and  when  we  get  the  two  to  flower 
side  by  side,  one  rose  and  the  other  white,  both 
equally  fragrant  withal,  and  corresponding  in 
size,  it  will  be  a  sight  to  see,  and  would  almost 
justify  us  if  we  were  to  adopt  the  old  name  for 
these  flowers,  viz..  Water  Roses,  for  thus  they 
were  termed  in  this  country  about  the  time,  now 
nearly  three  centuries  ago,  that  Prosper  Alpi- 
nus  wrote  his  work  on  ''  Egyptian  Plants,''  the 
13G  plates  of  which,  containing  the  Nelumbium, 
Papyrus,  &c.,  were  cut  in  ^'brasse."  The  N. 
odorata  occasionally  ripens  seed  in  the  open  air 
in  this  country,  and  young  plants  have  been 
raised  therefrom  ;  still  it  is  slow  to  increase,  and 
is,  therefore,  comparatively  rare.— W.Buckley, 
in  Florist  and  Pomologist. 


FOREIGN    CORRESPONDENCE. 


HORTICULTURAL    OBSERVATIONS    IN 
ENGLAND,   No.    5. 

January  7th,  1873. 
The  weather  here  at  the  present  time  is  a 
prolific  theme  of  conversation,  and  I  suppose  I 
am  a  little  tainted  with  the  epidemic  myself,  as 
I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  make  a  few 
remarks  about  it  to  you  and  your  readers.  In 
the  first  place  we  have  had  a  very  wet  season  so 
far,  not  only  here  but  all  over  England,  and  also 
for  this  season  of  the  year  a  very  uniform  high 
temperature. 

In  a  former  communication,  I  think  I  told 
you  that  we  had  a  slight  frost  on  the  23d  of 
September,  which  cut  some  of  the  tender  plants 
on  low  ground  ;  that  is  the  only  approach  to 
frost  we  have  had  excepting  a  similar  touch  on 
tbo  12th  of  December.  I  have  a  very  correct 
thermometer,  and  have  kept  a  careful  record 
since  the  1st  of  August  last  three  times  a  day, 
▼12  :  at  9  A.  M.,  12  and  6  p.  m  ,  and  I  have  not 
seen  it  yet  down  at  the  freezing  point,  32-^ 
^ough  it  must  have  just  gone  down  to  that  in 
ine  night,  as  the  ground  was  a  little  crisp  in  the 
mornmg,  but  my  glass  marked  34^  each  time  a^- 

«in«  \'  ^""^  ^^'®  ^"""^^^^  '^  *^^8  been  at  that  time, 
since  December  12th,  has  been  40^  and  at  that 


only  once,  December  30th.  if  you  think  It 
worth  printing,  I  will  give  you  an  abstract  of 
my  record  from  December  20th  to  January  8Lh. 
December  21st,  9  A.  M.,  48^ ;  12  m.,  ;'G^  ;  6  p.  m., 
5(5;  22d,  56^  62^  56^;  23d,  56^  60\  56^  24th 
5(5°,  58^  56° ;  25th,  56°,  60°,  56° ;  26th,  54\  55°i 
53°;  27th,  52°,  56°,  53°;  28th,  54o,  55°,  52°. 
29th,  51°,  53\  50° ;  30lh,  40°,  50°,  49^ ;  31st,  50°,' 
52°,  48°;  January  1st,  46°,  50°,  5|°;  2d,  48°, 
48°,  48° ;  3d,  48°,  52°,  50°  j  4th,  52°,  55°,  55° ; 
5th,  46°,  52°,  gO° ;  6th,  50°,  55°,  54° ;  7th,  50°. 
51°,  52°.  '        • 

With  such  a  temperature  you  can  imagine  the 
appearance  the  country  assumes  under  such 
favorable  conditions.  I  passed  a  meadow  yester- 
day on  a  sunny  slope,  and  it  was  nearly  white 
with  daisies  in  full  bloom,  and  in  an  orchard 
close  by  was  a  thrush  in  full  song.  I  could 
actually  hear  him  for  near  half  a  mile. 

In  almost  every  garden  the  English  sweet- 
^  scented  Violet  is  in  bloom,  and  in  two  or  three 
,  places  I  have  seen  the  native  Primrose  in  bloom  . 
already.  In  one  of  the  squares  is  a  residence 
with  a  piazza  fifty  feet,  with  a  plant  of  Passi- 
flora  coerulla  in  full  leaf,  covered  the  whole 
length  with  the  lemon-colored  seed  pods:  two 
ornamental  boxes  outside  on  the  window  silU 


fl 


160 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTBLY. 


May, 


•I 


I 


(never  been  taken  inside  yet)  full  with  gera- 
niums, some  of  them  in  bloom. 

In  several  places  I  see  fine  plants  of  Veronica 
Andersonii  in  full  bloom.  Laurustinus,  every- 
where beautiful,  single  specimen  plants  eight 
feet  high  and  more  through  ;  perfect  hedges  of 
them  three  and  four  feet  high  some  in  bloom, 
but  all  full  of  buds  ready  to  burst.  Plenty  of 
double  Daisies,  and  a  polyanthus  I  saw  in 
bloom  to-day ;  also  the  old  China  or  Belmont 

Rose. 

Evergreens,  and  evergreen  shrubs,  are  in 
their  glory  here.  Arbutus  unedo,  some  in 
bloom,  some  going  out,  and  others  covered  with 
their  beautiful  pink  pericarps ;  fine  specimens 
also  of  Aucuba  Japonica,  Alaternus,  Portugal 
and  Common  Laurels,  Magnolia  grandiflora, 
with  its  regal  glossy  foliage ;  another  beautiful 
evergreen  shrub,  which  blooms  continuously 
from  August  to  December,  is  Escallonia  maca- 
rantha.  There  are  three  distinct  plants  which 
flourish  and  make  extraordinary  growth  in  this 
locality,  viz  :  the  Weeping  Ash,  Cupressus 
macrocarpa,  and  the  Cotoneasters  :  the  two  first 
make  shoots  in  one  season  from  two  to  five  feet 
long,  and  the  last  you  will  see  as  a  beauti- 
ful upright  hedge,  in  other  places  covering  rock- 
work,  and  again  trailing  over  the  walls,  hanging 
down  four  or  five  feet,  and  all  covered  thick 
with  berries.  Yesterday,  to  my  astonishment, 
in  passing  a  house,  where  not  more  than  two 
months  ago,   I  saw  the  common    Nasturtiam 


trained  up  the  walls,  and  now  here  were  a 
whole  batch  of  seedlings,  three  inches  high, 
come  up,  and  growing  and  flourishing  as  if  it 
was  midsummer.  Take  a  walk  in  the  woods 
with  me  and  I  will  show  you  the  holly  and  ivy, 
the  latter  running  to  the  tops  of  the  tallest 
trees,  covered  with  berries;  here  again  is  the 
dainty  little  evergreen,  the  Butchery  broom 
(Ruscus  aculeatus)  with  its  bright  solitary 
berries  '' ruddier  than  tlie  Cherry;'^  here  on  the 
ditch  banks  a  thick  mass  of  Ivy  ;  also  the  ground 
Ivy  (Glechoma  hederacea)  and  various  other 
plants,  with  the  young  leaves  and  buds  of  the 
primroses  trying  to  forc^  their  way  through; 
but  without  exception  the  most  shewy  native 
plant  we  have  in  the  winter  here  is  the  Iris 
foetedissima  :  it  grows  in  the  woods  and  lanes, 
and  its  tri-parted  pericarpt  burst  open  in  the 
pale,  and  reveals  and  exposes  its  future  progeny 
in  its  bright  scarlet  persistent  berries,  which 
remain  all  winter,  even  if  you  cut  them  and  put 
them  in  a  vase  on  the  chimney  piece,  and  then 
to  add  to  its  beauty  is  its  bright  green  Gladioli- 
like  foliage,  eighteen  inches  long.  Yesterday, 
by  a  fine  plant  of  Scolopendrium  (which  grows 
every  where  here)  I  saw  a  plant  of  Lamium 
Album  in  full  bloom.  But  enough,  Mr.  Editor, 
I  fear  if  I  expatiate  any  more  on  the  native 
beauty  of  Devonshire,  you  may  be  tempted  to 
advertise  your  establishment  for  sale,  and  come 
over  here  to  *'  roam  the  woods  with  me.'' 

J.  W.  W. 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


OERMANTOWN  (Pa.)  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 
The  first  exhibition  of  this  young  Society, 
held  early  in  April,  was  a  great  success.  A  large 
number  of  members  are  enrolled,  and  some  Of- 
teen  hundred  tickets  were  sold  to  non-members 
at  the  door.  The  exhibition  was  well  sustained 
in  all  its  departments;  and  in  the  rarity  of 
some  of  the  specimens,  and  the  excellent  growth 
of  others,  would  have  done  credit  to  much  older 
and  better  known  societies.  Most  of  the  florists 
and  nurserymen  of  the  vicinity  contributed; 
amongst  them  Messrs.  Miller  &  Hays,  John  Kin- 
nier,  David  Fergusson,  Wm.  Grassie,  L.  C.  Ban- 
nan,  Mrs.  Waltemate,'Wm.  Young  and  Thomas 


Meehan.     Mr.  Kinnier  took  the  leading  part  in 
the  great  work  of  the  details  of  the  aff'air. 

Of  the  gardeners  and  amateurs  who  exhibited 
there  were  chiefly  Alfred  Cope,  Frederick  Wes- 
sel,  gardener  to  Jos.  H.  Lovering  ;  T.  T.  Mather, 
Dr.  Levitt,  James  Thomas,  gardener  to  E.  J. 
Buckuor;  Joseph  Ilouseley,  gardener  to  W.  H. 
Sowers ;  John  Casey,  gardener  to  Dr.  Ashtoa ; 
Alex.  Lawson,  gardener  to  T.  Charlton  Henry ; 
John  Warr,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Fisher ;  Tlios. 
Hendricks,  gardener  to  J.  Jay  Smith ;  Geo.  1. 
Morris,  John  Kelley,  gardener  to  E.  W.  Clark 
Alex.  Newitt,  gardener  to  H.  Pratt  McKean 
Dr.  Haryjy  Roop. 

The  next  meetino:  is  in  June. 


ht  (Sard^n^r's 


mililn, 


DEVOTED  TO 


Norticultfire,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs, 


EDITED   BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.  XV, 


JU.ArE,    1873. 


New  Series,  Vol.  VL  No.  6 


HINTS  FOR  JUNE. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

A  worthy  friend  of  ours  visiting  Europe  last 
summer,  found  himself  in  a  beautiful  garden 
owned  by  one  of  the  cWef  of  England's  aristoc- 
racy. The  gardener  was  apologizing  for  the 
appearance  of  things,  on  the  ground  that  "his 
Lorrlship"  had  met  with  some  reverses,  and  it 
was  tliought  best  to  cut  down  expenses.  "  We 
had,  said  he,  always  fifty  men  employed,  but  we 
have  now  to  do  the  best  we  can  with  twenty- 
five.'' 

People  often  ask  the  question  here  why  we 
cannot  have  gardens  as  they  have  in  Europe, 
and  some  few  attempt  to  have  them,  with- 
out ever  giving  a  thought  to  the  skilful  care 
necessary  to  keep  them  in  condition.  These  few 
attempts  generally  end  in  failure,  and  then  we 
are  told  the  country  is  not  adapted  to  gardening 
as  England  is.  Our  people  are  fond  of  garden- 
ing and  flowers,  but  they  attempt  too  much.  A 
place  is  fitted  up  with  work  enough  for  a  dozen 
men,  and  after  it  is  done,  the  gardener  is  expect- 
ed to  keep  things  in  order  with  one  or  two.  He 
is  always  on  the  drive.  It  is  as  much  as  he  can 
do  to  keep  things  neat,  and  as  to  putting  forth 
any  superior  skill  in  order  to  excel  in  anything, 
it  is  impossible.  He  soon  gets  into  a  regular 
**dog  trot.''  There  is  nothing  especially  in 
which  he  takes  a  pride  ;  the  true  gardening  am- 
bition dies  out,  and  he  "goes  into  some  other 
business.'* 

Now  one  of  the  first  things  in  laying  out  a  gar- 
den should  be  the  consideration  how  many  men 
we  can  afford  to  keep  about  it-one,  two,  three 
-^we  will  hardly  say  a  dozen,  for  we  suppose 

'  "0  r.r'*  not  a  dozen  places  in  America  where 


that  many  are  kept.  AVhen  this  is  decided  on, 
then  lay  out  and  build  with  regard  to  that ;  and 
we  might  say,  always  aim  to  keep  within  bounds. 
If  you  think  you  can  keep  four  men,  lay  out 
enough  work  for  two,  and  so  on  through  the 
whole  scale.  We  have  before  called  attention  to 
this  matter  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  season  ; 
but  it  is  as  well  that  we  take  a  June  view  of  the 
situation,  and  unless  we  are  much  mistaken, 
there  will  be  in  most  places  annoyances  at  hosts 
of  things  being  but  half  done,  or  undone,  than 
we  hoped  for. 

But  there  are  a  large  number  of  our  readers 
who  are  their  own  gardeners,  who  keep  no  one 
employed,  or  at  least  only  get  a  laborer's  aid 
once  in  a  while  to  see  through  the  rougher  work. 
We  would  advise  these  also  in  the  same  way  to 
curtail  their  gardens  one-half.  The  great  beau- 
ty of  one's  place  is  in  its  excellencies.  These  can 
never  be  done  when  one  is  overworked. 

One  always  feels  with  the  incoming  of  June, 
that  something  must  be  said  of  Roses.  There  is 
always  a  struggle  between  the  tender  tea  and 
china  roses  which  bloom  ''all  the  time,"  and  the 
hardy  ones  which  after  the  glorious  June  dis- 
play, produce  bat  a  scattering  flower  or  so  in  the 
later  summer  months.  If  we  could  only  winter 
out  these  charming  arud  sweet  everbloomers, 
how  glorious  it  would  be.  We  have  stated 
before  in  these  columns,  that  if  bent  down  and 
covered  with  earth,  they  will  generally  do  well. 
But  it  is  often  hard  to  get  the  branches  down 
without  breaking,  and  besides  with  all  this,  they 
often  suffer  from  the  damp.  A  friend  tells  us 
that  he  has  improved  on  this  by  burying  them 
standing  up.  The  weak  unripe  shoots  are  cut 
off*  in  the  early  winter  or  late  fall,  and  a  wheel 


f^ 


16S 


TEE    GARDENER'S  MOJVTSLY. 


June, 


1878. 


TBE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJVTHLl, 


16S 


ii 


barrow  load  of  earth  put  in  over  and  about  them. 
This  is  taken  away  early  in  spring,  and  the 
whole  plant  comes  out  in  splendid  order  to  bloom 
again  in  double  profusion  the  next  season.  We 
repeat  this  valuable  note  here  just  now,  that  it 
may  be  kept  in  view  to  protect  them  in  this  way 
when  the  season  comes  round. 

Rare  roses  are  increased  by  layers,  buds  and 
cuttings  ;  layers  arc  made  of  the  strong  growths 
as  soon  as  the  wood  gets  a  little  hard,  a  slit  is 
cut  in  the  upper  feide  of  the  shoot  to  be  layered, 
and  it  is  bent  down  into  rich  soil.  Everything 
roots  sooner  in  rich  than  in  poor  soil.  The  cut 
used  to  be  made  on  the  under  side,  but  they  are 
then  liable  to  break  on  bending  down.  Budding 
is  done  by  taking  out  a  piece  of  bark  with  an 
eye,  and  inserting  it  under  the  bark  of  another 
kind  and  then  tied  in.  It  is  nice  amusement  for 
ladies,  and  any  Uorist  will  explain  the  process 
to  those  who  do  not  know.  Budded  roses  are 
not  very  popular  owing  to  the  tendency  of  the 
kinds  used  for  stocks  to  throw  up  suckers, 
which,  unless  the  intelligence  of  the  grower  is 
equal  to  keeping  them  ofl',  in  the  end  kill  the 
kinds  budded  on  them.  Rose  cuttings  arc  gen- 
erally easily  raised  by  those  who  know  little 
about  it.  In  proportion  as  one  becomes  a  skilful 
florist,  the  failures  to  strike  Rose  cuttings  in- 
crease. Almost  every  one  who  puts  in  a  few 
**  slips  "  of  half  ripe  wood  into  a  pot  of  earth, 
and  sets  the  pot  under  a  shady  fence,  succeeds  ; 
but  as  soon  as  he  or  she  knows  "  all  about  it," 
they  can't  strike  roses.  Here  at  least  is  an  en- 
couragement to  the  new  beginner. 

Peg  down  roses  where  a  heavy  mass  of  flow- 
ers is  desired.  The  side  shoots  push  more  freely 
for  this  treatment. 

Cut  off"  the  flowers  of  roses  as  they  fade— the 
second  crop  will  be  much  better  for  the  atten- 
tion. Seeds  of  all  flowering  plants  should  be 
also  taken  ofl";  all  this  assists  the  duration  of 
the  blooming  season. 

Propagation  by  layering  may  be  performed  any 
time  when  strong  vigorous  growing  shoots  can 
be  had.  Any  plant  can  be  propagated  by  lay- 
ers. Many  can  be  readily  propagated  no  other 
way.  Cut  a  notch  on  the  upper  side  of  the  shoot, 
not  below,  as  all  the  books  recommend,  and  bend 
down  into,  and  cover  with  rich  soil.  In  a  few 
weeks  they  root,  and  can  be  removed  from  their 
parents.  Stakes  for  plants  should  be  charred  at 
the  ends  before  using,  when  they  will  last  for 
years. 

Flower-beds  should  be  hoed  and  raked  as  soon 


as  the  ground  dries  after  a  rain.  Loose  surface 
soil  prevents  the  under  stratum  drying  out. 
Peg  down  bedding-plants  where  practicable. 
Split  twigs  make  the  best  pegs.  In  dry  weather 
do  not  water  flower-beds  often ;  but  do  it 
thoroughly  when  it  is  done.  See  that  the  water 
does  not  run  off,  but  icto  and  through  the  soil. 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

Whoever  grows  wheat  or  any  other  farm  crop, 
knows  that  the  soil  will  not  maintain  its  fertility 
without  manure.  He  knows  that  however  rich 
a  virgin  soil  may  be,  it  cannot  long  remain  rich 
without  his  artificial  aid.  Hence,  an  annual 
manuring  becomes  in  time,  as  necessary  as  an 
annual  sowing  of  seeds.  How  few  remember 
this  in  orchard  management.  The  tree  has  to 
flourish  in  the  same  soil  for  years— or  perchance 
after  all  the  best  of  the  soil  has  been  taken  away 
by  regular  farm  crops,  and  then  comes  the 
*'  wonder  why  our  climate  will  not  grow  trees  as 
it  once  did."  Soils  calinot  well  bo  too  rich  for 
fruit  trees  ;  not  to  have  manure  dug  deeply  in, 
but  spread  on  the  surface.  Possibly  we  suffer 
more  from  the  Apple  and  Plum  borer  than  we 
one  time  did,  but  these  are  so  easily  kept  out  by 
oil  paper  about  the  collar  of  the  tree,  that  ex- 
cuses for  not  raising  fruit,  on  account  of  injury 
to  the  trees  by  borers,  is  only  exhibiting  one's 
laziness.  Fire  blight  and  plum  knot  may  be 
easily  kept  under,  and  the  curculio  *'  fixed  "  by 
hull-catchers.  The  codlin  moth  may  bo  pretty 
well  kept  under  by  persistence  in  destroying 
wormy  apples,  so  that  with  the  exception  of  leaf- 
blight  and  injuries  from  frost,  there  is  really  no 
formidable  obstacle  to  the  way  of  successful  fruit 
trrowinji.  Leaf  blight  is  not  yet  mastered.  If  it 
is  true  as  appears  probable,  that  the  fungus 
which  produces  the  effect  we  see,  can  only  germi- 
nate in  a  high  temperature,  we  may,  by  taking 
steps  to  keep  the  great  refl^^ction  from  our  sum- 
mer sun  parched  soil  from  operating  on  the 
leaves,  yet  master  this  last  great  evil. 

The  evil  effects  of  severe  summer  pruning  on 
fruit  trees  arc  also  now  clearly  recognized.  AH 
pruning,  winter  or  summer,  is  an  injury  to 
vitalit3\  Frequently  the  injury  is  so  slight  that 
the  tree  soon  recovers,  and  some  other  advan- 
tage being  gained,  pruning  on  the  whole  may  be 
a  benefit.  It  is  well,  however,  to  always  keep  in 
view  the  principal  that  pruning  always  weakens, 
in  order  to  do  as  little  of  it  as  possible,  consist- 
ently with  what  we  wish  to  accomplish.  At  this 
season  we  may  do  some  good   in  saving   the 


necessity  for  winter  pruning,  by  pinching  out 
shoots  we  may  not  want,  while  they  are  in  a 
young  and  immature  state. 

Grapes  first  coming  in  bearing  should  not  be 
permitted  to  perfect  large  crops  of  fruit  while 
young.  It  is  excusable  to  fruit  a  bunch  or  so  on 
a  young  vine,  '*  just  to  test  the  kind,  "  but  no 
more  should  be  permitted  till  the  vine  has  age 
and  strength.  Vigorous  growth,  and  great  pro- 
ductiveness, are  the  antipodes  of  the  vegetable 
world.  Encourage  as  much  foliage  as  possible 
on  the  vines,  and  aim  to  have  as  strong  shoots 
at  the  base  as  at  the  top  of  the  cane  ;  this  can  be 
done  by  pinching  out  the  points  of  the  strong 
shoots  after  they  have  made  a  growth  of  five  or 
six  leaves.  This  will  make  the  weak  ones  crow 
stronger.  Young  vines  grow  much  faster  over 
a  twiggy  branch,  stuck  in  for  support,  than  over 
a  straight  stick  as  a  trellis,  and  generally  do 
better  every  way.  Where  extra  fine  bunches  of 
grapes  are  desired,  pinch  back  the  shoot  bearinjx 
it  to  about  four  or  five  leaves  above  the  bunch. 
This  should  not  be  done  indiscriminately  with 
all  the  bunches.  Too  mutch  pinching  and  stop- 
ping injures  the  production  of  good  wood  for 
next  season.  These  hints  are  for  amateurs  who 
have  a  few  vines  on  trellises  ;  for  large  vine- 
yard culture,  though  the  same  principles  hold 
good  as  far  as  they  go,  they  will  vary  in  their 
application. 

Strawberries,  when  grown  in  hills— the  most 
laborious,  but  most  productive  method  of  grow- 
ing them— should  have  runners  cut  off  as  they 
grow,  and  the  surftice  soil  kept  loose  by  shallow 
hoeings  occasionally.  Short  litter,  half  rotten 
as  a  mulch,  is  also  beneficial.  Lawn  mowings 
are  often  applied,  but  with  little  benefit.  Where 
they  are  grown  in  beds,  they  should  not  be  too 
thick,  as  they  starve  one  another,  and  the  crop 
next  year  will  be  poor. 

Blackberries  are  not  always  ripe  when  they 
are  black.  Leave  them  on  till  they  part  readily 
from  their  stalks. 

Currants  are  so  easily  grown  as  to  require  few 
hints  for  their  management.  If  they  throw  up 
many  suckers,  take  out  a  portion  now,  instead  of 
waiting  till  winter  to  cut  them  away.  The  Cur- 
rant borer  is  a  great  pest,  eating  out  the  pith  of 
the  young  shoots,  and  causing  them  to  grow 
poorly,  and  bear  but  small  fruit  next  year. 
Gummy  *'  flypaper  »  is,  wo  think,  the  best  thing 
to  catch  them. 

Gooseberries  should  have  the  soiL  and  even 
the  plants,  if  it  were  practicable,  shaded  a  little. 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

Peas  for  a  fall  crop  may  be  sown.  It  is,  how- 
ever, useless  to  try  them  unless  in  a  deeply 
trenched  soil,  and  one  that  is  comparatively  cool 
in  the  hottest  weather  overhead,  or  they  will 
certainly  mildew  and  prove  worthless.  In  Eng- 
land, where  the  atmosphere  is  so  much  more 
humid  than  ours,  they  nevertheless  have  great 
difficulty  in  getting  flUl  Peas  to  go  through  free 
from  mildew  ;  and  to  obviate  these  drying  and 
and  mildew  producing  influences,  they  oftea 
plant  them  in  deep  trenches,  made  as  for  Celery, 
and  are  then  much  more  successful  with  them. 

Cabbage  and  Brocoli  may  still  be  set  out  for 
fall  crops,  also  requiring  an  abundance  of  ma- 
nure to  insure  much  success.  Lettuce,  where 
salads  are  much  in  request,  may  yet  be  sown. 
The  Curled  Indian  is  a  favorite  summer  kind  ; 
but  the  varieties  of  Cos,  or  plain-leaved  kinds, 
are  good.  They  take  more  trouble,  having  to  be 
tied  up  to  blanch  well.  Many  should  not  be 
sown  at  a  time,  as  they  soon  run  to  seed  in  hot 
\veather. 

At  the  end  of  June,  some  Celery  may  be  set 
out  for  early  crops,  though  for  the  main  crop  a 
month  later  will  be  quite  time  enough.  It  was 
once  customary  to  plant  in  trenches  dug  six  or 
more  inches  below  the  surface  ;  but  the  poverty 
of  the  soil  usually  at  this  depth  more  than  de- 
creases tli^  balance  of  good  points  in  its  favor. 
Some  of  our  best  growers  now  plant  entirely  on 
the  surface,  and  depend  on  drawing  up  the  soil, 
or  the  employment  of  boards  or  other  artificial 
methods  of  blanching. 

Beans  produce  an  enormous  crop  in  deeply 
trenched  soils,  and  are  improved  as  much  as  any 
crop  by  surface  manuring.  We  hope  this  method 
of  fertilizing  the  soil  will  be  extensively  adopted 
for  garden  crops  this  season.  Those  who  havo 
not  yet  tried  it  will  be  surprised  at  the  economy 
and  beneficial  results  of  the  practice. 

Cucumbers  for  pickling  may  be  sown  this 
month,  and  Endive  for  fall  Salad  set  out.  Pars- 
ley for  winter  use  may  be  sown  now  in  boxes  of 
rich  soil,  and  set  in  a  cool,  shady  place  till  it 
germinates. 

Asparagus  beds  should  not  be  cut  off  after  the 
stalks  seem  to  come  up  weak,  or  there  will  be  but 
a  poor  crop  the  next  season,  and  the  beds  will 
'*  run  out  "  in  a  few  years. 

Tomatoes,  after  trying  all  kinds  of  trellises 
recommended,  will  be  found  to  do  best  on  stakes 
tied  up  singly.     It  is  best  to  plant  a  strong  pole 


♦  ii 


164 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJsTTELl. 


June, 


187S. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJYIMLY. 


165 


as  for  Lima  Beans,  with  the  plants  when  first 
get  out,  and  tie  up  as  they  grow.  Marketmon 
generally  let  them  f?row  as  they  will,  on  the 
ground,  which,  perhaps,  although  not  yielding 
as  much,  costs  less  lahor,  and  may  thus  be  most 
profitable. 

The  Swede  Turnip  or  Ruta  Baga  should  be 
sown  about  the  end  of  the  month.  A  well  en- 
riched piece  of  ground  is  essential,  as  by  growing 
fast  they  get  ahead  of  the  ravages  of  the  fly. 
Manures  abounding  in  the  phosphates— bone- 
dust,  for  instance,  are  superior  for  the  Turnip. 

Sweet  Potatoes  must  be  watched,  that  the 
vines  do  not  root  in  the  ground  as  they  run, 
which  will  weaken  the  main  crop  of  roots.  They 
ghould  be  gone  over  about  once  a  month,  and 


with  a  rake  or  pole,  the  vines  disturbed  some- 
what from  their  position. 

Parsley  for  winter  use  may  be  sown  now  in 
boxes  of  rich  soil,  and  set  in  a  cool,  shady  place 
till  it  germinates. 

Herbs  for  drying  for  future  use,  should  be  cut 
just  about  the  time  they  are  coming  into  flower. 
Dry  them  in  the  shade,  and  after  sufficiently  dry 
to  put  away,  tie  them  in  bunches,  and  hang  in  a 
cool  shed,  or  place  them  loosely  between  the 
paper,  and  stow  away  in  cupboards  or  drawers. 
The  last  mode  is  by  far  the  cleanest  and  most 
approved  plan  with  the  best  housekeepers. 
Some,  indeed,  powder  the  leaves  at  once  after 
drying,  and  put  them  away  in  bags,  ready  for 
use. 


0  0  M  M  U  N  I  G  A  T  I  0  N  S. 


ON  LILIES. 

BY  P.  DUCUAUTRE. 

TranslaieO  from  the  Reveu  Horticole  of  Julf/  ICtth,  1871, /or 

Gardener's  Monthln. 

Several  of  the  Japan  Lilies  which  Thunberg 
had  published,  are  to-day  well  known  in  the  gar- 
dens. These  are  distinctly  characterized,  and 
therefore  it  is  impossible  to  confound  with  any 
of  these  the  Lilium  cordifolium,  Thunb.,  which 
resembles  only  one  species,  discovered  much 
later  in  the  Nepaul,  by  Wallich— Lilium  gigan- 
teum,  Wall.,  by  its  particular  part,  its  heart- 
shaped  leaves,  its  long  nearlj^  tubulous  and  little 
opened  flowers,  whose  color  is  of  a  dirty  white, 
and  which  have  on  the  outside  purple  stripes  and 
spots,  drawing  near  together  and  forming  a  band 
on  the  median  veia  of  the  petals  ;  but  its  smaller 
size,  (1  metre  the  largest),  the  generally  less 
number  of  little  opened  flowers,  its  capsules  with 
prominent  longitudinal  corners,  make  it  a  spe- 
cies totally  different  from  the  one  from  Nepaul. 

The  Lilium  speciosum,  Thunb.,  is  a  magnifi- 
cent plant,  of  which  Siebold  brought  later  bulbs 
to  the  botanical  gardens  at  Ghei^t,  who  have 
since  their  first  flowering,  in  1833,  made  a  veri- 
table sensation.  The  straight  and  glabrous  stem 
bears  alternate  oval-oblong  leaves,  at  the  base 
more  or  less  rounded,  or  short  stems  with  gener- 
ally five  or  seven  longitudinal  nerves.  These 
leaves  get  narrower  near  the  top  of  the  plant, 
which  has  many  branches,  so  that  it  bears  nu- 
merous flowers.    These  are  very  large  reflected, 


re  volute,  and  the  leaflets  of  their  calyx  are  cov- 
ered with  warts,  generally  colored  pink ;  more 
or  less  brilliant.  This  superb  lily  has  produced 
numerous  varieties,  the  flowers  of  which  vary 
from  the  deepest  pink  to  a  pinkish  white— even 
to  pure  white,  and  of  which  one  variety  is  a 
monstrosity ;  with  flattened  stem,  flowering  in 
much  greater  profusion,  but  having  much  small- 
er flowers  than  the  others.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  Belgian  gardeners,  following  herein  the 
example  of  Mussche,  the  head  gardener  of  the 
botanical  gardens  at  Ghent,  have  transferred, 
without  any  reason  whatever,to  this  species,  the 
name  of  Lilium  lancifolium,  under  which  name 
it  is  more  widely  known  than  under  its  own 
denomination.  The  true  L.  lancifolium, Thunb., 
has  not  yet  been  introduced  in  Europe.  Thun- 
berg, who  then  had  only  seen  our  Lilium  bulbi- 
ferum,  recognized  herein,  later,  a  different  spe- 
cies, (Trans,  of  the  Linn.  Soc,  II.,  1794,  pp. 
333.)  characterized  by  its  stem  of  only  about 
0  33  metres  height,  angulous,  rough  or  reddish  ; 
by  its  alternate,  numerous,  sessile,  lanceolated 
and  pointed  ;  glabrous  leaves,  rather  small  and 
getting  smaller  near  the  top  of  the  plant,  where 
bulblets  are  produced  in  the  areoles,  and  by  it« 
white  small  solitary,  upright,  nearly  companu- 
lated  flower,  the  leaflets  of  whose  calyx  shrink 
together  to  a  sharp  point. 

Another  Japan  Lily,  which  like  the  foregoing, 
has  also  not  yet  been  introduced  in  Europe,  i» 


the  one  which  1  hunberg  had  taken  first  in  his 
flora  (p.  135)  for  L.  ranadense,  and  of  which  in 
1794  he  made  his  Lilium  maculatum.     Later  he 
gave  a  figure  of  this  plant,  (mem.  dii  1'  acad. 
imp,  des  Soc.  de  Saint  Petersbourg  III.  p.  204, 
plate  5,  fig.  1.)    To  judge  by  this  figure  and  the 
description  to  it,  the  spotted  lily  is  of  an  average 
height  of  about  0.33  metres  ;  its  glabrous  stem  is 
rounded,  striped  or  furrowed,  single  to  where  the 
flower  appears ;  it  has  numerous  small  or  mid- 
dle sized  leaves,  lanceolated,  pointed  towards 
the  base,  but  without  stem,  they  have  on  the 
under  side  several  projecting  nerves,  these  leaves 
draw  together  to  a  whirl  at  the  base  of  the  flow- 
er.   The  plant  has  from  4  to  6  middle  companu- 
lated  sized  flowers,  which  throw  the  pieces  of 
their  calyx  a  little  outward  ;  their  color  is  blood 
red,  colored  on  the  inside  with  dark  purple  points 
and  spots.     Dr.  Asa  Gray,  (Diagnostic   charac- 
ters of  new  species  of  Phaenog.  plants,  collected 
in  Japan  by  Chr.  Wright.     Mem.  of  the  Ameri- 
can Acad.,  VL,  p.  434)  cites    with  doubt  this 
plant  as  a  variety  of  L.  superbum,   L.,  which 
determination  it  seems  to  me  might  be  attacked. 
The  Japan  Lily  which  Thunberg  named  Lili- 
um elegans  (mem.  del'  acad.  de  St.  Petersbourg, 
III.,  p.  203,  plate  3,  fig.  2)  and  which  he  had 
first  called   L.  philadelphicum   in  his  flora,  (p. 
135)  and  then  L.  bulbiferum  in  his  memiors  of 
Japan  plants,  (Trans,  of  the  Linn.  Soc,  IL,  p. 
333)  is  also  not  possessed  in  Europe.     It  is,  says 
the  Swedish   botanist,    a   plant   of   about  0.33 
metres  height,  has  middle  sized,  alternate,  erect 
leaves,  and  ends  in  a  large  flesh  colored  cam- 
panulated  flower,  which  throws  the  ends  of  the 
oblong  pieces  of  its  calyx  a  little  to  the  outside. 
Thunberg  compares  this  species  willi   h.  bulbi- 
ferum, from  which  it  is  distinguished,  he  says, 
by  its  single,  smooth,  or  flower  bearing  stem, 
neither  striped  nor  divided  by  its  leaves,  more 
oval  oblong,  and  distanced,  and  lastly  by  the 
pieces  of  its  calyx,  which  are  oval,  and  not  ter- 
minating in  a  point  at  the  base.     The  figure  he 
publishes  gives  only  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  the 
plant.     Lilium    longiflorum,    Thunb.,    (Trans. 
n.,  p.  133,  and  mem.  de  1'  acad.  de  St.  Peters- 
bourg,  III.,  p.  203,  plate  4)   is  not  only   well 
known,  but  also  to-day  frequently  cultivated  in 
the  gardens.     It  belongs  to  a  group  of  Japan 
blies,  with  large  white  flowers,  of  which  Thunb. 
had  already  distinguished  an  other  species  under 
the  name  L  japonicum.     (See  mem.  de  1'  acad. 
de  St.  Petersbourg,  III.,  p.  205,  plate 5,  fig.  1). 
It  IB  easy  to  characterize  the  L.  longiflorum, 


a  plant  of  a  height  from  about  0.33  to  0.50  me- 
tres, whose  round  glabrous  stem  has  many  alter- 
nate, thick,  lanceolated  leaves,  rather  long  for 
their  size,  sharp-pointed,  having  on  the  under- 
side three  prominent  nerves,  and  terminating  in 
one  or  two  (seldom  three)  large  fine  flowers,  pure 
white  on  the  inside,  and  of  a  white,  a  little  dirty 
on  the  outside,  pending  a  little,  and  having  the 
tube  comparatively  a  little  short,  this  tube  en- 
larges gradually  from  its  base,  to  become  at  its 
end  large,  quite  open,  and  very  showy.     Less 
easy  is  it  to  understand  that  it  is  the  plant 
which  Thunberg  has  designed  since  1783,  in  his 
Flora  japonica,    (p.    133)   under  the   name   L. 
japonicum.     We  thei'efore  see  that  in  the  cata- 
logue of  his  collection,  Mr.  Leichtlin  indicates 
by  a  sign  of  interrogation,  (?)  that  he  is  not  at 
all  sure  of  the  specific  identity  of  the  Lily  which 
he  cultivates  under  that  name.     Truly  the  char- 
acters by    which    Thunberg    distinguishes    his 
species,  lack  precision,  and  the  badly  executed 
figure   he  gives,    certainly  cannot    destroy  the 
doubts  his  description  creates  ;  it  is  evtn  in  oppo- 
sition in  certain  respects,  with  the  text,  forwhile 
it  represents  the  leaflets  of  the  calyx  as  being 
oblong,    lanceolate,    very    much    and    sharply 
pointed,  his  text  describes  the  same  leaflets  as 
elliptic.     The  total,  after  this  botanist,  tht;  L. 
japonicum  is  a  plant  of  about  0.65  metres  height, 
whose  rounded  glabrous   stem  has  few   leaves, 
about  0.20  metres  (Si)ithamaea)  long,  alternate, 
seldom  opposite,   glabrous,  pale  on  the  under- 
side, where  five  nerves  are  to  be  observed.     The 
stem  terminates  in  a  single  whitish  flower,  cona- 
panulated,  and  about  0.081  metres  (palmnris) 
long.     This  Lily  Thunberg  qualifies   as   being 
very  fine,  and  adds  that  simultaneously  at  Mia- 
co  and  elsewhere,  it  is  often  cultivated  by  the 
Japanese  as  an  ornamental  plant.     These  s'pe- 
cies  of  Japan  lilies  which  are  due  to  Thunberg, 
being  retrenched,  it  remains  only  the  one  which 
he  compared  wrongly  to  our  Lilium  pomponlnra, 
or  from  Pompone,  and  of  which  more  recently 
Siebold  and  Facharini  have  made  their  Liliuo^ 
callosum. 

While  Thunberg  at  the  end  of  the  last  century 
studied  and  made  known  the  Japan  lilies,  the 
French  botanist,  Andre  Michaux,  explored  the 
United  States  to  examine  their  vegetable  i>ro- 
ductions.  The  results  of  his  explorations  are 
consigned  in  his  Flora  boreali  Americana,  pub 
lishcd  in  1803.  He  made  us  acquainted  with 
many  new  plants,  and  added  considerably  to  the 
already  known  species  of  several  genus  of  plauta; 


( 


166 


TEE    GARDMJTER'S  MOJVTSLY. 


June, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJVTELY. 


167 


but  the  genua  lily  he  left  nearly  in  its  prior  state, 
in  fact  he  mentions  in  his  work  only  three  spe- 
cies ;  the  first  one  of  Linne,  the  Lilium  cana- 
dense,  L.,  the  second,  which  had  already  been 
distinguished  by  Walter,  in  his  flora  of  the  Caro- 
linas,  published  in  1788.  I  have  reference  to  the 
charming  Lilium  Catesbaei,  Walter,  a  plant  of 
the  Middle  States,  already  distinguished  and 
figured  since  1733,  by  Catesby.  Its  stem  is  of 
about  0.33  to  0.50  metres  height,  round,  glabrous, 
and  somewhat  brownish  on  the  inside ;  has 
alternated,  distanced,  lineal-lanceolated  pointed 
leaves,  a  little  glaucus  on  the  upper  side,  and 
nearly  upright,  and  has  one  large  upright  flow- 
er, of  a  blood-red  color,  which  turns  to  yellow 
towards  the  middle,  where  it  has  many  brown- 
ish, purple  spots  ;  the  very  much  rolled  up  leaf- 
lets of  its  calyx  are  undulated  at  the  edges,  ter- 
minating at  the  top  end  in  a  long  point,  and 
also  getting  very  narrow  at  their  base.  The 
third  specie,  considered  new  by  this  botanist,  he 
named  Lilium  carolinianura.  He  characterized 
it  by  its  leaves,  nearly  all  in  whorls,  without  any 
apparent  nerves,  and  by  its  flowers,  either  single 
or  numbering  two  or  three,  which  are  reflected, 
very  much  rolled  up,  of  scarlet  color,  turning  to 
yellow,  more  or  less  orange  towards  the  middle, 
where  numorous  brownish-red  spots  are  scatter- 
ed. This  pretty  Lily,  instead  of  forming  a  sepa- 
rate species,  is  only  a  variety  of  L.  superbum, 
L.— smaller  than  the  type  of  this  fine  plant.  It 
is  the  same  plant  which  received  later,  by  Poi- 
ret,  the  name  of  L.  Michauxii,  (Encyclo.  Sup., 
III.,  p.  157),  and  by  Roemer  and  Schultes,  the 
one  of  L.  Michauxianum,  (Syst.  Vlt  ,  p.  404). 

Summed  up,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
in  1805,  when  Persoon  published  the  first  vol- 
ume of  his  Synopsis  plautarum,  or  Enchiridum 
botanicum,  containing  all  the  phaenogamous 
plants  know  at  that  time,  the  genus  Lily  was  in 
this  work  only  represented  by  seventeen  species, 
of  which  hereby  the  names  belonging  to  the  two 
sections  in  which  they  were  divided  by  this 
botanist,  viz.:  First,  upright  flowers  with  corn- 
pan  ulated  calyx  : 

1.  Lilium  cordifolium,  Thunb. 

2.  **        longiflorum,       " 
^       **        candidum,  Linne 
i.       •*        japonicum,  Thunb. 
ft»       ''        lancifolium,      *' 

i.  '*  bulbiferum,  Linne,  and  C.  croceum, 
a  plant  from  the  Dauphinc,  Switzer- 
land, and  which  was  before  and  right- 
ly   considered    a    distinct     species, 


under  the  name  L.  croceum,  by 
Chaix,  in  the  history  of  the  plants 
of  the  Dauphine,  by  Villers,  (1786), 
and  even  before  that  time  by  Fuchs. 
Second,  flowers,  the  leaflets  of  whose  calyx  are 
rolled  up  to  the  outside  : 

7.  Lilium  Catesbaei,  Walter 

8.  "        Speciosum,  Thunb. 

9.  **        Pomponicum,    Linne 

10.  *'        Chalcedonicum,     ** 

11.  *•     *  Superbum, 

12.  "        Martagon, 

13.  **        Carolinianum,  Michaux 

14.  *'        canadense,  Linne 

15.  ''        maculatum,  Thunb. 

16.  **        Camschatccnse,  Linne 

17.  "         Philadelphicum,     *' 

Is  it  necessary  to  observe  that  this  list  would 
have  been  augmented  by  another  species,  if  in 
1805,  Thnnberg  had  already  distinguished  hii 
Lilium  elegans  ? 


(( 


(C 


-<#»» 


FRUIT  CULTURE. 

BY  J.    STAUFFER,  LANCASTER,  PA. 

The  remarks  made  by  Tobias  Martin,  of  Mer- 
cersburg,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Fruit  Growers'  Society,  assembled  at  Reading, 
January  16,  1873,  arrested  my  attention ;  the 
facts  stated  in  his  plain  practical  manner,  and 
his  well  known  success,  led  to  a  further  inquiry. 

In  answer  to  a  letter,  he  writes  to  me  under 
date  February  10,  1873,  from  which  I  copy  a  few 
statements:  *'lst.  He  planted  on  a  very  deep, 
rich  limestone  loam,  composed  of  decayed  vege- 
table matter.  The  trees  grew  finely  but  did  not 
last. 

**2nd.  Then  on  red  and  some  black  slate, 
which  had  a  soil  from  six  to  eight  inches  deep. 
This  was  broken  up  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  inches,  with  two  plows,  four  horses 
in  each,  in  the  same  furrow,  throwing  up  the 
crumbling  slate,  which  gave  the  field  the  appear- 
ance of  a  macademized  road.  These  slates 
crumbled,  and  by  the  action  of  the  frost,  rain, 
and  sunshine,  became  a  surface  soil  in  a  few 
years  of  a  fine  mellow  condition,  eighteen  inches 
deep,  and  proved  to  contain  all  the  elements 
essential  to  produce  choice  fruit  of  the  finest 
flavor  and  color,  and  in  great  abundance.  The 
wood  growth  was  very  strong  and  solid,  the  foli- 
age of  a  dark  rich  green."  He  adds,  the  sand- 
stone soil  is  hilly,  the  slate  only  moderately  so. 
He  then  continues :  "  We  also  have  17,000 
trees  in  an  orchard  at  the  base  of  the  North 


Mountain,  two  miles  from  town.  The  surface 
soil  is  sandy  with  clay  mixed  ;  sand  and  iron- 
atone  on  top,  and  limestone  subsoil,  with  iron 
ore  cropping  out  in  many  places.  The  soil  evi- 
dently contains  iron  in  large  proportion,  hence 
the  high  color  and  flavor  of  the  fruit." 

In  giving  the  above  abstract,  I  desire  to  ap- 
pend a  few  geological  and  meterological  consi- 
derations suggested,  not  so  generally  under- 
stood as  the  subject  deserves.  Let  us  consider 
the  locality,  1st,  in  a  geological  aspect.  We  find 
that  the  North  Mountain  belongs  to  what  is 
termed  tlie  upper  Silurian,  while  the  village  of 
Martinsburg,  but  a  few  miles  east  of  it,  is  located 
in  the  lower  Silurian.  (For  a  fuller  understand- 
ing of  the  terms  of  upper  and  lower  Silurian, 
consult  Dana,  or  other  works  on  geology.)  We 
can  but  briefly  refer  to  the  facts  for  a  ground 
work  to  our  comments  At  Gettysburg,  we  find 
the  new  red  ;  the  cambrian  or  hilly  region  inter- 
spersed on  the  border  of  Adams  and  Franklin 
Counties.  A  strip  of  limestone  on  the  East, 
while  the  Cumberland  Valley  is  limestone,  as  in 
portions  of  Lancaster  County.  The  trap  rock 
ascends  and  descends  the  slopes  of  North  Moun- 
tain. These  belong  to  the  palse  ozoic  system, 
and  often  connected  with  iron  ore,  especially  on 
the  margins  of  the  limestone  formation.  Hence 
we  find  this  locality  peculiar  in  the  close  prox- 
imity and  blending  of  various  geological  forma- 
tions in  the  soil.  The  black  and  red  slate  men- 
tioned, over  a  limestone  subsoil.  Trap  or  iron- 
stone mixed  with  sand,  iron  ore  and  clay,  as 
mentioned  in  the  other  case.  These  facts  are 
sustained  by  Leslie  and  Rodgers,  in  reference  to 
Mercersburg  and  vicinity. 

The  shales  or  argillaceous  rocks,  which  split 
in  some  degree  like  slate,  are  so  little  altered  as 
to  be  easily  reducible  to  clay  by  mechanical  rub- 
bing and  pounding,  and  differ  from  schists  in 
being  almost  entirely  argillaceous,  and  slightly 
metamorphic,  iron  and  limestone  occur  mixed 
with  them,  but  are  not  essential  to  form  shale. 
There  is  a  general  similarity  in  the  appearance 
of  shale,  slate  and  schists,  requiring  some  study 
and  attention.  Pyrites  (sulphuret  of  iron)  de- 
composed, may  be  altered  into  alum,  t.  €.,  a 
crumbling  rock  or  shale,  thus  impregnated  with 
alum.  In  short,  we  find  a  combination  of  alum, 
soda,  or  ammonia  in  the  place  of  potash,  oxide 
of  iron,  or  of  manganese  in  the  place  of  ammo- 
nia, together  with  carbonate  of  lime.  The  whole 
forming  a  combination  intermixed,  which  may 
be  called  a  calcareous,  argillaceous,  ferruginous 


and  tyritiferous  conglomeration,  containing  all 
the  essential  elements  of  plant  food,  simply 
requiring  the  aid  of  frost,  rain  and  sunshine  to 
dissolve  in  and  impregnate  the  soil  and  bring  it 
to  the  condition  required  for  absorption  by  the 
root-hairs  and  spungeoles  of  the  plant. 

Having  briefly  considered  the  geology  of  the 
soil,  let  us  consider  what  this  has  to  do  with 
vegetable  growth.  It  is  well  established  that 
atmospheric  water  enters  crops  through  the  soil, 
with  which  it  becomes  incorporated.  Carbonic 
acid  is  composed  of  say  thirty-two  parts  by 
weight  of  oxygen,  and  twelve  parts  of  carbon. 
It  exists  in  immense  quantity  thus  combined  in 
nature.  Limestone,  marble  and  chalk  contain, 
when  pure,  44  per  cent,  of  this  acid  united  to 
lime,  as  in  carbonate  of  lime  or  carbonate  of 
soda.  The  carbonic  acid  is  present  in  the  atmos- 
phere. This  is  very  apparent  by  the  white  film 
of  carbonate  on  exposing  lime  water  in  an  open 
vessel  to  the  air  for  a  short  time.  Water  dis- 
solves carbonic  acid  according  to  the  degree  of 
the  temperature  and  pressure,  taking  up  about 
its  own  volume  ©f  the  ixas.  At  the  freezing 
point  it  may  absorb  nearly  twice  as  much. 

So  early  as  1771,  Priestly,  in  England,  found 
that  the  leaves  of  plants  immersed  in  water, 
sometimes  disengaged  carbonic  acid,  sometimes 
oxygen,  and  sometimes  no  gas  at  all.  A  few 
years  later,  Ingenhou.ss  proved  that  the  exhala- 
tion of  carbonic  acid  takes  place  in  the  absence, 
and  that  of  oxygen  in  the  presence  of  solar  light. 
But  according  to  Sennebier,  the  oxygen  exhaled 
came  from  the  water  in  which  the  plants  were 
immersed.  No  one  now  doubts  the  absorption 
of  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere  by  foli- 
age. In  short,  vegetation,  in  order  to  flourish, 
must  be  in  an  atmosphere  which  at  least  con- 
tains a  certain  amount  of  carbonic  acid,  which 
is  absorbed  by  the  leaves,  and  by  the  influence 
of  the  sunlight  decomposed  within  the  plant,  and 
converted  into  the  tissues  of  the  wood,  while  the 
oxygen  is  exhaled  into  the  atmosphere  in  the 
free  state.  Oxygen  is  endowed  with  great  chem- 
ical activity,  and  performs  an  important  part  in 
germination  to  develope  the  buds  ;  it  is  also  ab- 
sorbed by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  in  the  process 
of  growth  to  build  up  the  vegetable  structure. 
The  function,  so  far  as  known,  of  free  gaseous 
oxygen  in  vegetable  nutrition,  is  in  aiding  to 
effect  the  conversion  of  the  materials  which  the 
leaves  organize,  or  which  the  root  absorb,  into 
the  proper  tissues  of  the  growing  parts— the 
opening  of  the  bads,  flowers,  and  ripening  of  the 


'iPi 


168 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


June, 


fruits.  T^o  opposite  processes  go  on— the  ab- 
sorption of  oxygen  and  exhalation  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  the  absorption  of  carbonic  acid  and 
evolution  of  oxygen.  Similar  to  the  respiration 
of  animals,  in  one  case,  the  other  may  he  termed 
as  the  fixation  of  carbon  as  woody  fibre.  Of 
course  this  inter-changeable  action  is  governed 
by  the  cell  action,  which  counter  balance  each 
other  in  their  effects  by  the  atmosphere  sur- 
rounding the  plant.  The  experiments  made 
during  many  years  are  too  numerous  to  mention 
— often  contrary  views  are  had,  but  the  sum  and 
substance  is  that  a  slight  alteration  in  cell  action 
modifies  the  simple  elements,  and  gives  charac- 
ter to'each  specialty  in  the  resultant  or  product, 
80  diverse  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  all  however, 
derived  from  the  few  primary  elements  essen- 
tially necessary. 

Huxley  says:  "Life  depends  on  the  pre- 
existence  of  certain  compounds,  namely,  carbon- 
ic acid,  water  and  ammonia  ;''  he  adds,  ^'with- 
draw any  one  of  these  three  from  the  world,  and 
all  vital  phenomena  comes  to  an  end."  I  how- 
ever recognize  a  force  existing,  independent  of 
all  matter— a  crcn  tive  force.  It  is  true  this  force 
may  not  be  manifest  to  our  physical  senses  with- 
out the  intervention  of  matter,  yet  it  exists  none 
the  less  and  like  space  and  duration  and  Deity, 
belong  to  the  infinite,  which  our  finite  minds 
cannot  grasp.  This  is  that  hidden  mysterious 
power  that  begets  and  works  out  the  wonderful 
combinations  presented  to  us  in  the  physical 
world  that  surrounds  us.  Light,  electricity  and 
heat,  however  much  we  may  experiment  with, 
are  yet  like  mind  itself,  a  terra  inco(jnito^  which 
our  savans  can  see  but  superficially,  and  simply 
note  the  phenomena  resulting— however  diversi- 
fied and  unknown,  are  not  the  less  interestino'  to 
investigate,  so  far  as  we  can  go  ;  but  let  us  go 
softly  and  rev(  rently.  There  is  a  power  behind 
all  this  that  demands  our  filial  fear  and  adorinf^ 
love. 

To  get  back  to  the  main  subject.  In  physical 
geogrjiphy  there  is  shown  what  are  termed 
Isothermal  zones,  having  the  same  mean  tem- 
perature. We  find  how  much  the  high  mass 
of  the  Alleghenies  reduce  the  temperature  of  the 
central  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  deflecting  the 
isothermal  lines  to  the  South.  Along  the  imme- 
diate valley  of  the  Susquehanna,  these  lines 
curve  very  sharply  northward,  and  this  valley  is 
really  warmer  than  can  be  represented  by  the 
position  of  these  lines.  Again,  the  shelter,  like 
that  afforded  by  the  North  Mountain  from  the 


northwest  winds,  is  a  consideration  as  favorable 
as  is  proximity  to  the  Lakes  or  the  waters  of  the 
Ocean.  To  conclude.  So  many  contingencies 
may  exist,  that  each  special  result  must  be 
traced  to  the  conditions  and  surroundings.  A 
vast  field  is  open  for  investigation.  I  must  now 
abruptly  stop.  More  may  be  said  at  a  future 
day. 


UTILIZING   WASTE  MATERIAL. 

BY  J.    JAY   SMITH. 

In  the  address  delivered  before  |<he  new  Ger- 
man town  Horticultural  Society,  and  which  you 
have  honored  by  republishing,  I  took  occasion 
to  remark  that  there  were  still  unsupplied  wants 
of  the  human  family,  and  instanced  the  absence 
in  America  of  purchasable  mushrooms,  so  much 
employed  abroad.  It  interests  me  to  know  that 
an  intelligent  gardener  has  already  adopted  the 
idea,  and  has  a  mushroomery  in  successful  com- 
mencement. 

Are  there  not  other  things  that  are  also 
neglected,  and  which  ingenious  minds  and 
hands  could  turn  to  very  profitable  account. 
This  idea  is  enforced  by  a  paragraph  from  a  late 
St.  Louis  paper,  describing  a  new. industry  now 
in  operation  lliore.  Some  time  since,  a  party  of 
citizens  conceived  the  plan  of  turning  to  profit 
the  gas  water  running  waste  from  the  gas 
works.  It  contains  a  large  per  centage  of  am- 
monia. They  separated  the  ammonia  held  in 
solution  and  reaped  a  great  profit.  The  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  produced  was  of  superior 
quality,  and  the  demand  exceeded  the  capacity 
of  the  works,  while  there  grew  up  at  once  a 
demand  from  distant  points,  including  places 
east  of  the  Alleghanies,  New  Orleans,  and 
Charlestown,  S.  C,  &c. 

This  was  utilizing  waste.  Let  us  see  if  we 
can  give  a  profitable  outlook  for  some  other  per- 
son, be  he  gardener  or  housewarmer.  As  I  pass 
a  certain  large  woolen  factory,  I  am  often  sur- 
prised that  somebody  does  not  take  possession  of 
the  waste  steam  which  is  continually  discharged 
on  the  level  of  the  ground,  and  which  creates  a 
cloud  sufficiently  large  to  frighten  unaccustomed 
horses  as  they  pass  it.  Now,  Mr.  Editor,  why 
should  not  this  warmth  be  conducted  to  and 
through  the  neighboring  tenant  houses ;  or 
could  not  you  tell  some  one  how  to  convert  it 
into  grapes  by  erecting  over  it  a  grape  house  ? 
Again,  could  not  unlimited  amounts  of  saleable 
flowers  and  fruits  be  produced  in  the  unused 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJ^THLY. 


169 


garrets  of  great  factories  by  utilizing  the  waste 
steam  always  discharging  ? 

Is  the  above  a  practical  idea  ?  If  you  can  say 
it  is  so,  I  will  charge  nothing  for  it,  valuable  as 
I  conceive  it  to  be,  except  a  bunch  of  the  first 
Black  llamburgs  that  result*. 


•♦- 


ITEMS  OF  LATE  EXPERIENCE. 

by  j.  c.  johnston. 

Cassia  corymbosa. 
In  the  spring  of  1870  I  raised  from  seed  a  few 
plants  of  Cassia  corymbosa.  So  far,  have  ob- 
tained no  returns  from  this  shoot  within  doors, 
(which  was  the  object  in  view).  But  planted 
out  in  May,  the  result  is  well  worth  noting  for 
the  benefit  of  all  desirous  of  a  choice  subject  for 
flower  border  decoration.  Towards  the  middle 
of  September,  at  latest,  our  specimens,  some  two 
feet  high,  and  of  a  graceful,  bushy  form,  are 
literally  covered  with  a  mass  of  lovely  blossoms  ; 
pea  shaped,  and  of  a  rich  canary  color.  And  so 
it  remained  until  cut  down  by  frost  in  October. 
For  over  four  weeks  it  was  sheeted  over  with 
these  lovely  flowers,  and  attracted  the  admira- 
tion of  all  visitors.  I  am  ignorant  of  any  subject 
that  can  rival  this  elegant  shrub  for  the  purpose 
indicated.  As  the  centre  of  a  bed,  surrounded 
by  scarlet  Zonales  of  dwarf  habit,  nothing  could 
be  better.  Cuttings  root  promptly,  and  any 
ordinary  cultivation  will  suffice,  provided  the 
early  growth  is  not  permitted  to  be  lanky,  and 
the  roots  pot  bound. 

Euphorbia  variegata. 
This  is  an  annual  of  late  introduction,  more 
worthy  of  commei\dation  than  some  others  which 
have  been  hoisted  into  notice.  Its  merits  are 
confined  to  the  foliage,  which  is  a  peculiar  shade 
of  green,  that  sets  off  a  silvery  white  edge  better 
than  any  other  shade.  It  reminds  one  of  a  sil- 
ver-edged Zonale,  that  in  old  times  everybody 
grew,  (the  name  slips  my  memory  now)  but  only 
in  the  combination  of  color.  This  plant  grows 
some  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches  high,  with  some- 
what slender  stem.  Three  or  four  ought  to  be 
grown  together  and  attached  to  slender  stakes 
as  they  grow.  It  is  a  pretty  contrast  among 
Bouvardias,  Gladiolus,  and  Dwarf  Zonales,  in  a 
mixed  bed,  if  about  midway  between  the  edge 
and  centre. 

EUCNIDE  BARTONOIDES. 

Let  those  who  prize  Primula  Sinensis  of  all  the 
shades,  and  wish  to  blend  with  these  a  similar 
plant  of  a  fine  yellow  color,  take  the  hint  here 


offered.  It  is  an  annual,  but  of  no  use  in  our 
climate  out  of  doors.  Treated  just  as  one  do 
Primulas  for  blooming  in  January  or  Febru- 
ary, it  is  a  real  gem,  giving  a  succession  of  love- 
ly flowers  eight  weeks  or  more.  A  single  pot  of 
it  in  a  greenhouse  elicits  high  commendation. 
The  young  seedlings  must  not  be  permitted  to 
run  up  spindly,  but  be  developed  as  much  as 
possible.  The  shoots  should  not  be  trained 
upward.,  but  kept  low  by  attaching  to  small  and 
very  slight  stakes,  round  which  the  shoots  ought 
to  be  led.  As  the  foliage  is  slender,  very  moder- 
ate watering  will  suffice.  There  can  bo  no  more 
worthy  companion  plant  to  associate  with  Cin- 
nerarias  and  Primulas  than  this. 


HIGHLY  ORNAMENTAL  EXOTIC 
SHRUBBERY. 

by   WALTER   ELDER,    PHILADELPHIA. 

Ahutilon  Thompsonii  is  one  of  the  most  oma-' 
mental  foliage  plants  we  have  for  decorating  the 
summer  shrubbery.  It  is  shrubbery,  grows  seven 
feet  tall ;  the  leaves  are  beautifully  marbled  with 
green  and  golden  yellow,  and  are  brightest  when 
growing  in  full  sunshine,  and  the  soil  not  too 
rich.  The  strong  growing  shoots  should  have 
their  points  nipped  off  every  fortnight,  to  make 
the  plant  a  massy  bush.  It  is  a  greenhouse 
plant,  but  is  planted  in  the  open  ground  in  June, 
and  dug  up  in  fall  before  hard  frost  sets  in. 

Hibiscus  Sinensis. — There  are  several  species 
or  varieties.  One  bears  large  and  splendid  crim- 
son single  blooms.  Carnea  bears  buff  colored, 
double  blooms,  very  beautiful.  Lutea  has  yel- 
low, double  blooms,  very  ornamental.  Rubra 
pleno  has  deep  crimson  double  blooms.  Varie- 
gated plcno  has  double  variegated  blooms.  All 
these  Hibiscus  bloom  the  whole  growing  season. 
They  are  hothouse  plants,  and  are  planted  in  the 
open  garden  in  June,  and  have  a  rich  appear- 
ance all  the  growing  season.  They  are  shrubbery 
plants,  and  show  well  either  set  out  as  indivi- 
dual standards  or  massed  in  groups.  They 
thrive  in  almost  every  fertile  soil,  and  are  most 
ornamental  in  the  hottest  weather.  They  grow 
four  and  five  feet  tall ;  the  points  of  very  ram- 
pant growing  shoots  are  nipped  off,  and  the 
plants  grow  more  bushy  and  bloom  more  pro- 
fusely. They  are  dug  up  and  set  in  pots  just 
before  hard  frosts  in  the  autumn  ;  tkey  are  kept 
in  glasshouses  all  winter. 

Layerstraemia  has  four  species  or  varieties. 
Indica  has  pink  blooms ;  Elegans,   pale  pink ; 


170 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MONTHLY. 


JunSf 


Regia,  red  ;  purpurea,  purple  blooms.  They  al 
bloom  in  August  and  September,  and  are  among 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  exotic  shrubs.  They 
are  tender  north  of  Philadelphia,  but  are  planted 
out  in  May  and  dug  up  before  hard  frosts,  and 
set  in  tubs  or  boxes,  and  kept  in  cellars  or  caves 
all  winter. 

Plumbago  capensis  is  a  glasshouse  exotic 
plant,  half  herbaceous  and  half  ligneus.  It  forms 
a  shrubby  bush  thirty  inches  high  when  full 
grown.  It  is  admirable  for  bedding  out  when 
even  small ;  it  is  set  out  in  May  and  du<x  up 
before  hard  frost  in  fall.  It  will  keep  all  winter 
in  a  cellar  or  iilasshouse  with  its  roots  in  a  box 
or  flower  pot.  It  keeps  up  a  continual  bloom 
from  June  to  November.  The  blooms  are  lis;ht 
blue— that  makes  it  doubly  valuable,  as  blue  is 
80  scarce  a  color  among  flowers.  It  blooms  most 
profusely  in  not  too  rich  a  soil,  and  in  full  sun- 
shine. 

Night  Smelling  Jasmine.  Is  a  glasshouse 
exotic  shrubbery  plant,  five  feet  high  ;  it  is  of  free 
growth,  requiring  the  most  simple  culture,  and 
is  admirable  for  setting  out  in  the  growing  sea- 
son, either  with  its  roots  in  the  ground  or  in  a 
pot ;  it  keeps  up  a  constant  bloom  from  June  to 
November.  It  is  set  out  in  May  and  dug  up 
before  hard  frost  in  autumn.  It  blooms  most 
freely  and  grows  most  compact  if  the  soil  is  not 
too  rich  ;  and  if  placed  in  full  sunshine,  it  will 
keep  all  winter  in  a  room  or  glasshouse,  moder- 
ately warm.  The  blo:)ms  exhale  a  delightful 
fragrance  after  sunset,  or  as  the  poet  writes  it, 
**  scents  the  evening  gale.'> 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  there  is  a  summer 
group  of  exotic  shrubs  upon  a  well  kept  lawn  — 
let  it  be  a  circle  or  an  oval,  edged  with  a  dwarf 
ArhorvitCE  or  Retinispora  ericoides^  and  kept  fif- 
teen or  eighteen  inches  high  by  annual  clipping. 
8et  a  stately  plant  of  Lagerstroemia  in  the 
centre,  and  next  to  it,  Abutilon  Thompsonii, 
then  arrange  all  the  Hibiscus  and  Night  Smell- 
ing Jasmine  around,  and  Plumbago  capensis  on 
the  outer  edge.  There  will  be  ornamental  foU- 
agc  and  a  splendor  of  blossom  of  various  colors, 
all  perfumed  with  the  sweet  odors  of  the  Jas- 
mine. The  plants  may  all  be  planted  in  the 
ground,  or  their  roots  kept  in  pots  or  tubs  as 
might  be  desired. 


NOTES  ON  THE  APRIL  NUMBER. 

BY  F.  R    ELLIOTT,  CLEVELAND,  O. 

Your  April  number  of   Qardener^s  Monthly 
does  me  good.     Truly  to  me  it  seems  the  best 


you  have  issued,  and  1  suppose  because  it  agrees 
with  my  own  impressions.  The  old,  old  story 
is  of  ray  own  daily  record,  and  I  think  of  every 
writer  of  and  operator  in  horticulture.  Those 
who  write,  feel  that  the  touching  up  again  of  the 
old,  old  story,  and  teHing  again  and  again  of  how 
to  prune,  plant,  etc.,  is  but  a  repetition  of  pre- 
vious life,  and  while  here  and  there  comes  in  an 
item  new,  yet  the  whole  is  so  much  a  repetition 
of  years  gone  by,  that  were  it  not  for  our  innate 
feeling,  that  of  the  readers,  there  are  many 
young,  and  who  have  the,  to  us,  old,  old  story 
to  begin  anew,  and  that  our  respect  of  years 
gone  by  of  practice,  is  to  them,  like  life  to  the 
new  made  bride  and  bridegroom,  a  lovely  start 
in  the  production  of  blooming  beautj' ;  surpass- 
ing all  the  world  ever  saw,  we  should  hesitate 
to  repeat  our  teachings,  or  rather  records  of 
what  we  know  life's  pursuits  need  and  require, 
and  the  results  thereof.  And  so  with  us  in 
practice.  As  we  go  out  among  our  flowers, 
plants,  shrubs  and  trees,  note  the  bursting  here 
of  beautiful  Saxifrages  among  a  cluster  of  rocks, 
the  fresh  bright  colors  of  Crocus  and  Lily  of  the 
Valley  as  they  peep  up  amid  the  old  leaves  blown 
over  and  covering  them  in  winter,  as  perfectly 
as  does  the  downy  damask  of  manufacture  the 
early  budding  of  Eve's  generation. 

But  leaving  this,  you  touch  me  again  in  feel- 
ing when  you  uphold  the  Managers  of  the  Amer- 
ican Pomological  Society  in  holding  to  its  origi" 
nal  and  chosen  mission,  whicb,  crude  and  im- 
perfect as  it  may  be  to-day,  has  accomplished  an 
advance  creditable  and  credited  all  over  the 
country,  and  in  its  objects  and  labors  covers  a 
specific  ground  of  value  and  interest  to  our 
country,  hardly  equalled  by  any  other  product 
of  rural  life  productive  pursuits. 

Your  touch  on  errors  is  one  over  which  your 
laugh  is  all  right,  but  you  know  that  wo  often 
read  proof,  make  our  corrections,  but  when  it 
comes  before  our  readers,  we  find  the  compositor 
neglected  his  duty,  and  we  have  often  worse 
blunders  than  your  Cryptogamia  for  Crt/ptome- 
ria.  But  we  laugh  over  it  and  say  to  ourselves, 
well  if  the  reader  knows  aught  he  will  see  that 
it  is  a  typographical  error,  and  if  he  does  not 
know  anything  at  present,  it  may  possibly 
induce  him  to  wonder  what  the  word  means,  and 
so  try  to  hunt  it  up,  failing  of  which,  he  writes 
and  asks  a  question,  thus  bestirring  his  brain, 
when  if  we  or  the  compositor  had  not  made  the 
blunder,  he  would  never  have  exerted  himself  to 
correct  our,  to  him,  error.    All  of  these  blunders. 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S  MO.N-THLY. 


171 


I  think,  stir  up  the  egotism  of  humanity,  and  as 
oft  do  good  as  bad. 

The  weather  is  warm  here.  A  heavy  fall  of 
rain— more  than  we  have  had  any  one  week  in 
four  years.  Cherry,  Pear,  Apple  and  Plum 
buds  and  trees  all  good.  Peach  buds  gone,  but 
trees  and  wood  all  right.  Grapes,  such  as  Dela- 
ware, Teleuraph,  Concord,  etc.,  appear  all  right 
in  wood,  and  the  buds  of  fruit  on  three-fifths  will, 
I  think,  prove  perfect  hereabouts,  and  ten  miles 
or  more  east  of  Cleveland,  on  the  high  locations, 
and  twenty  miles  west  of  Chicago.  My  Naomi, 
Herstine,  Clark  and  Kirtland  raspberries,  all  un- 
protected, are  good  to  the  very  tips. 


EXOTIC  GRAPES. 

BY  A.  HUIDEKOPER,  MEADVILLE,  PA. 

The  enquiry  of  B.  in  the  April  number  of 
Gardener's  Monthly  as  to  the  relative  value  of 
sundry  exotic  grapes  in  comparison  with  the 
Black  Hamburgh,  expresses  a  want  felt,  no 
doubt,  by  many  others.  It  is  very  desirable  our 
leading  cultivators  should  jrivc  the  public  the 
benefit  of  their  experience  with  the  varieties  of 
grapes  lately  introduced  Such  reports  would 
have  the  weight  of  proximate,  not  absolute  au- 
thority, sensible  readers  making  the  necessary 
allowance  for  difference  of  taste  and  success  in 
culture. 

B.  will  find  in  Oardener'>s  Monthly  for  1862, 
page  16,  "  Fox  Meadows ''  opinion  of  Trentham 
Black,  viz.:  that  it  is  inferior  in  size,  and  by  no 
means  superior  in  quality  to  the  Black  Ham 
burgh.  The  opinion  of  Fox  Meadow  illustrates 
the  conflict  of  experience  I  have  referred  to.  He 
says,  **the  Golden  Hamburgh  will  never  have 
the  flavor  of  the  Buckland  Sweetwater.''  With 
me  the  Golden  Hamburgh  ripens  the  earliest  of 
the  two.  has  the  most  flavor,  and  the  largest 
bunches,  as  a  general  rule ;  and  yet  sometimes 
the  fruit  of  the  two  kinds  will  be  so  much  alike, 
it  would  puzzle  any  one  to  tell  the  difference. 
The  Golden  Hambursjh  is  a  free  srrower,  and 
does  not  harden  or  ripen  up  its  wood  quite  as 
well  as  the  Black  Hamburgh,  and  the  fruit  has 
80  many  shoulders  or  branches,  that  it  requires 
to  be  well  thinned  out  and  tied  up,  or  the  lower 
berries  will  be  soft  and  flavorless.  It  is  but  a 
moderate  keeper  after  maturity,  but  when  well 
grown  and  ripened,  it  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  showy  grapes  for  a  cold  vinery  I  have  yet 
grown. 

The  Muscat  Hamburgh  was  accused  at  first  of 
lacking  constitution,  and  was  sometimes  grafted 


on  Black  Hamburgh  to  improve  it.  With  me 
the  vine  is  vigorous  enough,  but  the  fruit  stems 
are  not  stout  enough,  and  the  grapes  at  the  low- 
er end  of  the  bunch  are  smaller  and  ripen  imper- 
fectly in  consequence.  Being  a  musk  grape,  any 
comparison  as  to  flavor  must  depend  on  taste. 
It  is  rich,  sweet,  with  a  sub-acid  base  to  it,  and 
when  well  fertilized  has  a  good  bloom  and  is  a 
showy  grape.  A  novice  would  succeed  better 
with  a  Black  Hamburgh.  The  fruit  ripens  soon 
after  Black  Hamburgh— early  enough  for  a  cold 
vinery.  The  Golden  Champion  I  hope  to  fruU 
this  year. 

A  revision  is  needed  of  vinery  grapes  by  a 
competent  authority.  The  books  give  little  in- 
formation about  the  new  kinds  of  fruit,  and 
when  an  error  creeps  in  about  the  older  kinds, 
it  is  repeated  and  perpetuated  in  the  catalogues. 
Mr.  Allan's  long  list  gives  some  information,  bat 
lacks  systematic  arrangement. 

There  is  some  confusion  of  names  that  needs 
clearing  up.  Thus  Charles  Downing,  under  the 
head  of  "  Royal  Muscadine,"  describes  the 
variety  largely  disseminated  as  the  Golden  Chas- 
selas,  as  is  evident  from  his  describing  the  wood 
as  stouter,  and  the  fruit  as  somewhat  larger  than 
the  Sweetwater.  Golden  Chasselas,  Chasselas 
de  Bar-Sur  Aube,  and  Chasselas  Fontainbleau 
are  often  given  as  synonymes,  while  some 
authors  describe  the  fruit  as  quite  distinct. 
Prince,  in  his  catalogue  of  1860,  makes  the  Roy- 
al Muscadine  a  synonyme  of  the  White  Nice  and 
Xeres,  fruits  quite  distinct  from  the  Royal  Chas- 
selas. Allan  says  bunches  of  Royal  Muscadine 
sometimes  weigh  six  pounds.  Mcintosh,  page 
439,  quotes  Parkinson  as  saying  the  same,  and 
adds,  in  our  day  it  yields  no  such  fruit— clustert 
out  doors  weighing  a  pound,  and  in  vinery  a 
half  more.  One  would  think  the  identity  of  one 
of  the  most  popular  varieties  might  be  by  this 
time  clearly  established. 

THE  RHODODENDRON   IN   THE   WEST. 

BY  ARTHUR  BRYANT,  FRTNCKTON,  ILLS. 

In  the  Monthly  for  June  last,  your  correspond- 
ent *'  D."  asserts  that  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas, 
Kalmias  and  Ericas  cannot  be  successfully  cul- 
tivated in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  assigns  as 
the  principal  reason  the  presence  of  lime  in  the 
soil.  I  believe  it  is  true,  that  many,  perhaps 
most  attempts  at  their  cultivation  in  the  West 
have  failed.  My  observations  have  not  qualified 
me  to  speak  positively  in  regard  to  the  unfavor- 
able influence  of  lime  upon  plants  of  this  class  ; 


172 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJSTTHLY, 


June, 


but  a  brief  detail  of  my  experience  in  the  treat- 
ment of  some  of  them  may,  perhaps,  show  that 
the  case  is  not  quite  so  hopeless  as  your  corres- 
pondent seems  to  suppose.  I  may  here  premise 
that  the  water  of  wells,  springs  and  streams  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  everywhere  contain  so 
much  lime  as  to  incrust  the  inside  of  tea-kettles. 
With  the  culture  of  Rhododendrons  I  have 
had  little  to  do.  8ome  twenty  years  since,  I 
received  some  from  EUwannjer  &  Barry,  of 
species  maximum,  I  think.  These  perished  the 
first  winter,  and  I  concluded,  somewhat  hastily 
perhaps,  that  the  climate  was  too  severe  for 
them. 

My  first  attempt  at  cultivating  Azaleas  was 
with  two  or  three  plants  of  A.  nudidora,  which 
were  planted  in  black  prairie  loam  in  an  open 
situation.  These  bloomed  two  seasons,  but 
never  thrived,  and  perished  the  third  year. 
Afterwards,  along  with  some  evergreens  import- 
ed from  France,  I  received  five  or  six  each  of 
Azalea  nudiflora,  A.  viscosa,  and  A.  calondula- 
cea.  These  were  also  planted  in  open  ground, 
and  in  like  manner  perished  within  three  years, 
excepting  one  or  two  of  the  last  named  species. 
The  survivors  were  transferred  to  the  shade  of 
a  fence,  where  one  of  them  has  grown  to  the 
height  of  six  feet.  In  the  month  of  June  this  is 
commonly  covered  with  a  mass  of  bloom  of  such 
exceeding  beauty,  as  fo  show  that  Pursh  was  not 
far  wrong  when  he  pronounced  it  the  handsom- 
est shrub  in  North  America.  I  have  since  set 
several  of  A.  nudiflora  on  the  north  side  of  a 
fence,  mulching  (hem  with  decayed  chips,  where 
they  have  bloomed  and  flourished  for  more  than 
ten  years.  It  would  seom  that  those  which 
perished,  did  so  from  exposure  to  the  fierce  rays 
of  the  sun,  rather  than  from  the  effects  of  lime. 

Six  years  ago,  I  received  thirly  small  plants  of 
the  Mountain  Laurel.  [  Kalmia  latifolia).  These 
were  planted  in  prairie  loam,  partially  shaded, 
and  well  mulched  with  rotten  chips.  All  lived 
and  I  have  not  yet  lost  one  of  them.  They  have 
usually  made  an  annual  growth  of  six  inches  or 
more,  and  the  brilliancy  of  their  foliage  shows 
good  health.  The  only  injury  they  have  re- 
ceived from  the  climate  was  in  the  winter  of 
1871-2,  when  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  cold 
weather  bleached  and  destroyed  a  great  part  of 
the  leaves  on  most  of  them.  They  have  since 
recovered  ;  and  the  intense  cold  of  the  winter 
just  past  does  not  seem  to  have  done  them  any 
damage,  except  that  some  of  the  flower  buds 
appear  to  be  injured. 


With  some  others  of  the  Heath  family,  I  have 
been  less  successful.  I  have  three  times,  to  no 
purpose,  tried  to  cultivate  the  Mayflower,  (Epi- 
gaoe).  I  have  several  times  planted  the  Winter- 
green,  (Gaultheria),  but  it  obstinately  refuses  to 
thrive,  or  even  live  more  than  two  or  three  years 
under  any  circumstances.  Six  years  since  I 
planted  twenty-five  of  the  Blueberry,  (Vaccinium 
corymbosum).  They  all  lived  through  the  first 
year,  but  began  to  die  in  the  second.  At  pres- 
ent only  one  remains,  which  is  not  as  large  as 
when  first  planted. 

I  once  saw  the  cranberry  growing  and  bearing 
fruit  in  dry  ground  on  the  side  of  a  hill  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. It  had  been  there  for  years,  and 
appeared  to  be  perfectly  naturalized.  I  took 
some  plants  home,  but  they  perished  in  two 
years,  like  those  which  I  had  previously  tried. 
Clethra  ainifolia,  a  plant  of  the  same  class,  suc- 
ceeds perfectly  well. 

The  intense  cold  of  the  winter  just  past,  has 
done  great  damage  to  fruit  trees  and  nursery 
stock  in  this  region,  but  it  is  yet  too  early  (April 
1st)  to  determine  the  full  extent.  I  have  long 
held  the  opinion  that  the  greater  dryness  of  the 
atmosphere  is  one  reason^  perhaps  the  principal, 
why  a  given  degree  of  cold  is  often  more  fatal  to 
many  trees  and  shrubs  in  the  West  than  in  the 
Atlantic  States.  The  winter  of  ISlo-G,  which 
was  so  destructive  to  fruit  trees  in  the  Mississip- 
pi Valley,  was  followed  by  an  unusually  dry 
spring ;  and  the  parching  winds  of  March  and 
April  appeared  greatly  to  aggravate  the  injury 
done  by  cold.  It  may  be  that  some  of  the 
Heath  family  cannot  thrive  in  a  dry  atmos- 
phere. 

Is  the  Azalea  arborescens  now  in  cultiva- 
tion ?  Torrey  and  Gray  describe  it  as  growing 
in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
attaining  a  greater  size  than  others  of  the  genus, 
and  producing  very  fragrant  rose  colored  flow- 
ers—larger than  those  of  A.  nudiflora. 

The  shoots  of  the  Japan  Sophora  mildew  here 
every  season,  so  that  its  progress  is  very  slow. 
Is  there  any  way  to  prevent  it  ? 


»   ♦ 


ORCHIDE^  No.  9. 

BY  JAMES  TAPLIN,  MANAGER  TO  GEORGE  SUCH, 
ESQ  ,  SOUTH  AMBOY,  N    J. 

CCELOGYNE  CRISTATA. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  lovely  of  the  winter 
blooming  Orchideee.  Of  easy  culture  and  taste  ; 
in  perfection  four  or  five  weeks.  The  flowers 
are  a  beautiful  white  with  a  blotch  of  yellow  on 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MO^''TELY. 


173 


the  lip;  there  are  usually  from  four  to  eight 
flowers  on  a  spike.  I  notice  Williams  in  the 
*' Orchid  Growers'  Manual,''  mentions  a  speci- 
men with  as  many  as  sixty  spikes.  I  exhibited 
a  plant  with  ninety-six  spikes  at  one  of  the  meet- 
ings of  the  London  Horticultural  Society,  on 
which  occasion  the  Gardener'>s  Chronicle  stated 
it  WIS  the  most  magnificent  Orchidese  ever  ex- 
hibited. I  notice  also  this  winter  there  have  been 
plants  exhibited  in  London  with  even  one  hun- 
dred spikes  of  bloom.  There  are  at  present  no 
such  large  plants  in  this  country,  but  some  larcje 
enough  to  show  its  great  beauty. 

There  are  two  points  to  be  noticed  by  growers 
of  this  plant ;  one  is  never  to  fumigate  a  house 
without  removing  the  plants,  for  smoke  spoils 
the  foliage  ;  and  the  second,  never  to  allow  the 
plant  to  get  at  all  dry,  or  the  bulbs  shrivel  and 
never  plump  up  again  thorougnly,  which  is  a 
great  check  to  the  plant.  Any  house  which  is 
not  allowed  to  fall  below  SC  on  winter  nijrhts, 
will  grow  this  plant,  but  it  must  be  shaded  from 
bright  sun  from  end  of  February  until  Novem- 
ber. 

I  used  to  grow  them  on  blocks  of  wood  in 
England,  but  find  it  best  in  this  country  to  grow 
in  well  drained  pan^,  with  bulbs  raised  well 
above  the  surfiice,  in  a  mixture  of  peat  fibre  and 
spagnura  moss.  By  this  plan  they  do  not  suffer 
from  want  of  water  so  quickly  as  when  grown 
on  blocks.  This  is  a  charming  flower  for  a 
ladies'  hair,  or  for  using  in  bouquets,  for  like 
most  Orchideaj,  it  lasts  a  long  time  when  cut. 


«•»•» 


CROSS  FERTILIZATION. 

BT   REV.  li.  J.  TEMPLIN,  KOKOMA.  IND. 

The  question  of  the  immediate  effects  of  the 
cross  fertilization  of  plants  is  both  a  very  curi- 
ous and  interesting  one,  and  also  a  very  impor- 
tant one  practically.  Mr.  A  mold's  experiments 
seem  to  be  conclusivi;  that  the  immediate  fruit  is 
effected  by  the  cross,  but  so  far  as  the  experi- 
ment with  corn  is  concerned,  it  is  no  more  than 
occurs  in  thousands  of  cornfields  at  the  West 
every  year. 

Every  farmer  out  here  knows  that  if  two  dis- 
tinct varieties  of  corn  are  planted  in  contiguous 
plats  or  fields,  there  will  be  an  admixture  of  the 
two  varieties  for  some  distance,  gradually  dimin- 
ishing or  receding  from  the  line  of  separation, 
till  it  finally  disappears  entirely.  I  have  ob- 
served such  results  in,  I  think,  hundreds  of 
cases.  The  planting  of  a  single  row  of  sugar  or 
sweet  corn,  or  of  blue  or  red  corn  through  a  field 


of  common  white  or  yellow  field  corn,  invaria- 
bly results  in  a  similar  admixture  for  some  dis- 
tance on  both  sides  of  the  row.  Another  in- 
stance of  the  immediate  effect  of  cross  fertiliza- 
tion is  often  seen  in  the  common  sorgum— the 
cane  and  broom  corn  mixing  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  greatly  injure  the  quality  of  both,  the  cane 
becoming  dry  and  spongy,  and  the  broom  corn 
losing  length  and  flexibility  of  brush.  That 
the  crossing  did  not  take  place  the  year  previous 
is  certain,  from  the  fact  that  there  was  no  expo- 
sure to  such  fertilizing  influences,  and  of  the 
whole  field  which  was  planted  with  homogene- 
ous seed,  none  was  found  mixed  but  that  ex- 
posed to  the  fertilizing  influence  of  a  different 
variety  the  current  year.  What  the  experiment 
of  carefully  selecting  this  mixed  seed  and  plant- 
ing it  would  result  in  I  am  not  able  to  say,  but 
the  opinion  prevails  among  careful  farmers  that 
such  mixture  is  not  best  for  seed,  hence  it  is 
usually  avoided  in  the  selection  of  seed  for 
planting. 

I  shall  look  with  interest  for  the  results  of  Mr. 
Arnold's  experiments.  A  series  of  carefully 
conducted  experiments  in  this  field,  would  cer- 
tainly result  in  some  interesting  discoveries. 
My  past  observations  seem  to  favor  the  idea  that 
each  grain  of  corn  takes  the  color  of  the  variety 
by  which  it  is  fertilized  ;  but  I  cannot,  in  the 
absence  of  careful  experiments,  speak  with  con- 
fidence, and  merely  sugi,^est  the  thought  to  stim- 
ulate inquiry  in  this  direction.  If  every  farmer 
and  gardener  would  but  keep  his  eyes  open  to 
the  various  workings  of  nature  around  him,  we 
should  soon  be  in  possession  of  thousands  of 
her  secrets  that  now  lie  hid  frovu  our  observa- 
tion. 


«•»•» 


OBSERVATIONS  -AND  RECOLLECTIONS 
OF  NEW  HOLLAND. 

BY   W.    T.    HARDING,    NONANTUM    HILL   NUR8H- 
RY,  BRIGHTON,  MASS. 

On  the  way  we  passed  through  the  town  of 
Tambaroora,  where  we  replenished  our  stock  of 
provisions  and  journeyed  on.  Went  along  the 
banks  of  the  Tambaroora  creek,  where  several 
hundreds  of  miners  were  busily  engaged  at  their 
exciting  toil,  and  on  the  whole,  were  mostly  suc- 
cessful. Inclining  to  the  south-east,  we  were 
fairly  on  the  way,  through  dingle  and  dell,  over 
cultivated  fields,  where  pleasant  habitations 
dotted  the  sylvan  plains. 

The  cQurse  followed  was  on  the  ascent,  which 


174 


THE    GARDE JfER'S   MOJVTBLY. 


June, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJ^THLY. 


175 


fd^i 


gradually  attained  to  a  height  of  several  thous- 
and feet.  In  this  upper  region,  tlie  air  was 
sharp,  cold  and  bracing.  The  atmosphere  so 
clear,  from  the  earth  to  the  heavens,  where  not 
a  streak  or  the  outline  of  a  cloud  intervened  in 
the  illimitable  space.  The  scene  was  like  a  vast 
panorama  laid  before  me,  where  bird's  eye  views 
of  the  distant  landscape  could  be  had,  which 
seemed  to  have  neither  limit  nor  end,  like  the 
space  in  the  blue  ether  above.  The  situation 
seemed  to  be  one  of  those  which  prompts  the 
mind  to  meditate  and  reflect,  and  set  in  motion 
speculative  thoughts  and  conjectures — one  of 
those  spots  which  makes  us  think  of  by-gones. 
There  are  times,  too,  ''  when  pensive  thought 
beguiles  a  tear,"  and  relieves  the  heart  qf  its 
pent  up  sorrows,  when  the  flood  gates  of  the 
soul  burst  open— not  with  remorse,  but  with  sad 
regrets  for  the  loved  ones,  whose  "absence  makes 
the  heart  grow  fonder,"  and  whose  like  we  shall 


never  see  agam. 


"There's  a  grief  that  wrings  the  heart,  a  grief  more 

sad  tlian  death  can  give, 
From  scenes  of  early  home  to  part,  and  leave  thr^ 

friends  that  live." 

**  Up  above  the  world  so  high,"  on  the  lofty 
ranges,  I  met  with  Delabachea  rupestris,  or  bot- 
tle tree,  so  called  from  the  form  of  the  stem, 
which  singularly  swells  out  in  the  form  of  a  huge 
bottle,  and  contains  a  gum  like  substance,  which 
the  natives  eat.  Altogether,  the  tree  has  a  gro- 
tesque appearancp,  and  will  claim  attention  as 
an  arboreal  oddity.  Several  ''  Bush  Apple  " 
trees,  Achras  australis,  from  thirty  to  forty  feet 
high— not  edible  of  course,  were  in  fruit.  It  is  a 
very  thorny  subject,  more  pleasant  to  look  at 
than  to  handle.  In  the  natural  order  Sapota- 
cese,  to  which  it  belongs,  includes  the  West 
Indian  Sapota,  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  fruit. 
When  ripe,  the  flesh  is  soft,  rich  and  juicy,  of 
the  color  of  an  apricot,  and  about  the  size  of  a 
Golden  Russet  apple.  Bossoea  linophylla  and 
B.  rufa,  two  excellent  greenhouse  plants,  with 
Platylobium  murrayanum,  Scottia  Icevis  and  S. 
dentata,  elegant  little  evergreens,  were  really 
beautiful.  Cold  as  it  was,  they  seemed  to  like 
i\ic  high  life  they  were  enjoying. 
^  The  natural  picture,  as  seen  from  every  stand- 
point, was  grand  and  imposing.  The  vast  area, 
so  varied  with  a  boldness  of  outline  of  such  a 
striking  nature,  as  to  arrest  the  beholder's  atten- 
tion, whose  enraptured  gaze  is  fascinated  with 
the  scene.  As  1  stood  on  the  highest  point, 
looking  over  the  great  picture  which  extended 


far  beyond  the  eye's  range,  I  felt  how  applicable 
was  the  poetical  sentiment : 

"  Earth  how  beautiful !  how  clear 
Of  cloud  or  mist  the  atmosphere  I 
What  a  glory  meets  the  eye!" 

The  descent  was  gradual  to  the  country  before 
us,  which  was  beautiful  and  park  like,  with  gen- 
tie  undulations  alternating  with  forest  and  moor- 
lands, picturesque  ravines  and  bosky  dells, 
where  babbling  brooks  meander  along  romantic 
glens,  in  the  primeval  solitudes.  Such  a  blend- 
ing of  beautiful  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  from 
the  mammoth  Eucalyptus,  the  stately  Palms, 
the  beautiful  Araucarias,  the  graceful  Alsophi- 
las  and  Cyatheas,  (tree  ferns),  the  elegant  Aca- 
cias, the  many  lovely  leguminous  shrubs,  the 
curious  Orchids,  epiphytal  and  terrestrial, 
the  pretty  herbaceous  plants,  and  humble  cryp- 
togams, could  no  where  else  be  seen.  Here  the^^, 
country  was  thinly  sprinkled  with  trees,  with  a 
velvety  turf  covering  the  open  glades,  where  un- 
counted thousnnds  of  sheep  and  cattle  would  at 
no  distant  time  fatten,  where  now  herds  of  kan- 
garoos were  disporting  themselves  undisturberl. 

The  Fauna  of  Australia  is  as  remarkable  as 
the  Flora.  It  abounds  in  marsupial  animals  of 
such  singular  and  abnormal  types,  as  to  greatly 
astonish  the  new  comer  with  their  novel  appear- 
ance, when  seen  for  the  first  time.  For  instance, 
what  animals  could  seem  more  strangely  formed 
when  first  seen  than  the  hairy-nosed  Wombat, 
Phascolomys  latifrons,  or  the  Derbyan  Kanga- 
roo, Ilelmaturas  Derbyanus,  especially  if  near 
enough  to  see  the  fumaks  carryins:  their  young 
families  in  the  pouches  beneath  the  abdomen. 
The  little  ones  seem  very  cosy  when  peeping  out 
of  the  comfortable  receptacles  nature  has  pro- 
vided for  them.  There  is  another  marsupial 
which  lives  in  the  trees,  and  is  as  expert  a  climb- 
er as  either  monkeys  or  squirrels,  namely,  the 
Vulpine  Phalanger,  or  Phalengista  vulpina.  Its 
food  consists  of  leaves,  bark,  buds,  fruit  or  seeds, 
which  it  gathers  only  up  the  trees.  I  never 
heard  of  its  having  been  seen  on  the  ground, 
although  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not 
when  in  its  nocturnal  movements  seeking  for 
food.  It  is  rarely  seen  by  daylight,  as  it  keeps 
concealed  in  the  hollow  trees.  Tlic  noisy  par- 
rots and  screaming  cockatoos  are  screeching  and 
yelling  at  all  times,  their  abominable  din  never 
ceases  until  darkness  puts  an  end  to  their  noisy 
clamors.  "Pretty  Poll "  and  "Pretty  Cocka- 
too ' '  are  not  there  regarded  as  household  pets 
by  any  means.     All  the  feathered  tribe,  although 


80  beautifully  plumaged,  are  wretched  songsters 
indeed. 

It  is  said  of  Linnajus,  that  he  wept  when  he 
came  suddenly  upon  a  wide  expanse  of  Golden 
Furze,  Ulex  Europea.  The  heart  of  the  writer 
has  been  often  moved  with  like  familiar  scenes, 
scenes  which  will  never  be  erased  from  memory 
until  life's  last  lingering  hour  obliterates  all 
recollections.  Here  Epacrises,  in  place  of  the 
Golden  Furze,  presented  in  some  respects,  a 
similar  scene,  and  covered  a  wide  expanse  o 
rising  ground.  The  flowers  are  beautiful,  and 
are  produced  on  pretty  evergreen  shrubs,  grow- 
ing from  two  to  six  feet  high.  They  cover  im- 
mense tracts  of  land  in  the  untrodden  wilds  of 
Australia.  Could  the  gentle  Linnseus  but  have 
sion  them,  the  joyous  tears  would  have  glistened 
on  his  honest  cheeks  as  when  he  saw  the  fifld  of 
Golden  Furze, 

Next  to  Ericas,  Epacris  rank  high  among  the 
exquisite  beauties  which  adorn  the  conserva- 
tory. They  are  gems  of  the  greenhouse,  and 
like  diamonds,  and  rubies  among  precious 
stones,  are  deservedly  admired  for  their  rare 
beauty  and  intrinsic  value.  The  most  delicate 
kinds  require  the  highest  horticultural  skill  to 
grow  and  flower  them  successfully  in  this  coun- 
try. Epacris  impressa  alba,  an  excellent  free 
flowering  kind,  is  grown  largely  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston  for  florists'  uses.  For  in- 
stance, at  the  nursery  where  I  am  at  present 
engaged,  (W.  C.  Strong's,  Brighton,  Mass.)  we 
cut  twenty-three  thousand  five  hundred  sprigs 
during  Christmas  and  New  Year's  anniversary. 
Of  the  more  choice  and  delicate  kinds,  a  few  will 
suflice  to  mention,  namely,  Epacris  grandiflora, 
scarlet ;  E.  nivalis,  white  ;  E.  impressa,  crim- 
son ;  E.  variabilis,  pink  ;  E.  purpurescens,  pur- 
ple ;  E.  paludosa,  flesh  colored  ;  E.  carapanula- 
ta,  deep  blush  ;  E.  alba  odorata,  white,  and 
very  sweet  scented.  In  Australia,  their  native 
home,  they  are  as  frequently  met  with  as  are  the 
Furze,  or  heath  covered  moors  of  Great  Britain. 
I  remember  some  years  ago,  when  I  had  charge 
of  Wade  Hampton's  estate,  near  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  having  some  handsome  Furze 
bushes,  which  blossomed  annually  in  front  of 
some  of  the  finest  English  Laurel  I  ever  saw, 
and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal,  as  England  is 
justly  famous  for  them,  and  also  the  Furze.  I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  native  born  Anglo- 
Saxon  of  Australia,  will  at  some  future  time, 
regard  his  Epacris  covered  hills  with  the  same 


veneration  the  Scot  does  his  "  bonny  Highland 
heather." 

Happy  are  the  people  of  whatever  country  or 
clime,  whose  simple  tastes  are  so  cultivated  as 
to  see  a  beauty  in  the  humble  little  flowers  of 
their  native  homes,  and  whose  souls  are  in  rap- 
tures when  they,  perchance,  meet  with  them  in 
some  distant  land.  Such  happy  reminders  of 
the  past  often  occur.  The  mute  appeals  for  ad- 
miration and  love  the  littlo  floret  makes  as  it 
almost  beseeches  us  with  its  sweet  humility  to 
caress  and  regard  it,  as  a  type  of  His  goodness, 
who,  in  the  economy  of  nature,  created  it  and 
us  for  some  undoubted  good.  Only  think  what 
a  gloomy  and  cheerless  world  this  would  be  if 
there  were  no  flowers.  In  an  event  so  dire,  of 
course  there  would  be  no  fruit.  Neither  "  Flo- 
ra," ''Ceres,'  nor  "Pomona"  could  offer  their 
bounteous  gifts  to  unhappy  mankind.  Thank 
God  it  is  not  so,  for  we  are  promised  that  "  while 
the  earth  remaineth,  seed  time  imd  harvest,  cold 
and  heat,  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and 
night  shrill  not  cease." 

As  I  have  wandered  personally  and  figurative- 
ly among  the  Epacris  bushes,  both  here  and  in 
Australia,  I  must  return  again  to  the  many 
readers  of  the  Monthly.^  and  give  them  a  pen- 
picture  of  the  gigantic  climber,  Cissus  antarcti- 
ca,  or  the  monster  vine  of  New  Holland.  Ima- 
gine before  you  a  gigantic  vine,  whoso  deatlly 
grip  had  destroyed  many  a  goodly  tree  of  fair 
proportions.  Its  appearance  was  truly  remark- 
able, not  only  on  account  of  its  enormous  length 
— six  hundred  and  seventy  feet,  and  in  circum- 
ference at  the  base,  three  feet  nine  inches,  but 
from  the  manner  of  its  growth.  Originally,  at 
some  distant  period,  it  had  undoubtedl3''  climbod 
up  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree,  and  whose  close 
embrace  had  death  in  its  coils,  as  it  silently 
wound  around  its  victim,  anaconda  like,  and 
pressed  it  to  death.  Literally,  it  was  an  arbo- 
real thug  of  the  forest. 

I  will  endeavor  to  draw  the  outline  sketch  as 
clear  as  my  pen  can  trace  it.  Fancy  then  you 
sec  a  smooth  and  lofty  column,  nearly  two  hun- 
dred feet  high,  spiral  in  form,  (and  like  a  mam- 
moth cable,  strong  enough  to  moor  all  the  fight- 
ing ships  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile)  and  from  the 
summit  of  which,  stretched  in  an  horizontal 
line,  its  huge,  continuations  for  more  than  ono 
hundred  and  thirty  feet,  without  any  support, 
until  it  reached  a  Eucalyptus  tree,  on  which  it 
rested  and  encircled  the  trunk  several  times, 
and  then  threw  out  a  number  of  stems,  which 


176 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


June, 


seemed  to  be  taking  possession  of  all  the  trees  in 
the  neighborhood  of  its  wanderings.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  an  intelligent  shepherd,  a  burly  York- 
shire man,  who  directed  me  to  the  spot,  that  the 
vine,  having  strangled  the  trees  which  formerly 
supported  it,  had  perished  and  wasted  away, 
and  80  left  it  standing  as  I  saw  it,  a  marvel 
indeed.  Without  making  any  pretentions  to  a 
knowledge  of  botany  or  nomenclature,  the  shep- 
herd had  named  it  '^The  Devil's  Cork  Screw." 
Not  far  from  the  monstrocity  I  have  depicted, 
was  a  fine  specimen  of  Callistemon  salignum, 
or  paper  bark.  It  is  a  remarkably  graceful  tree, 
BO  like  a  weeping  willow  in  habit  of  growth. 
While  young  the  leaves  are  rose  colored,  and 
when  seen  at  a  distance,  have  the  appearance  of 
flowers  Of  very  striking  appearance,  and  grow- 
ing contiguous,  was  a  round  headed  bush  of 
Grevillea  rosmarinifolia,  of  about  ten  feet  high. 
It  is  an  elegant  shrub.  Pimelia  drupacea,  or 
cherry  fruited  Pimelia  It  is  a  curious  over- 
green  shrub,  and  produces  a  mass  of  pretty 
white  flowers,  which  are  succeeded  by  a  crop  of 


fruit,  (not  very  edible  of  course)  very  much  like 
Black  Heart  Cherries  to  look  at. 

As  we  journeyed  onwards,  the  scenery  assumed 
a  varied  aspect,  while  the  vegetation  also  seemed 
in  unison  with  the  savage  scene.  Huge  snow 
white  blocks  of  quartz  lay  in  unshapely  masses 
on  all  sides,  and  rendered  locomotion  very  diflfi- 
cult  and  fatiguing.  Of  the  extensive  order 
Geraneacea,  I  saw  but  two  species  in  Xew  Hol- 
land, namely.  Pelargonium  inodorum  and  P.  au- 
stral. The  former  a  small  light  purple  flower- 
ing kind,  and  the  latter  rose  colored.  When 
growing  in  masses  they  had  a  pretty  eflect. 
There  are  nearly  three  hundred  species  indige- 
nous to  Africa,  and  are  mostly  found  about  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  I  was  so  captivated 
with  the  flora,  especially  the  Ericas.  To  exam- 
ine their  elegant  fl'owers  afforded  me  a  never 
ending  pleasure,  when  rambling  among  them. 
I  feel  to  regret  their  absence  now,  whose  exqui- 
site charms,  so  dear  to  remembrance,  I  shall 
never  see  again. 

(  To  he  Conlinued.) 


EDITORIAL. 


THE   SCARLET  RUNNER. 

It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that 
the  Scarlet  Runner  has  never  obtained  a  foot- 
hold among  the  cultivators  of  garden  vegetables. 
In  almost  all  portions  of  Europe,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  esteemed,  and  we  think  there  is  scarcely  a 
garden  where  any  fair  collection  is  grown,  that 
this  one  is  not  found  among  them.  They  are 
used  as  much  as  our  dwarf  beans — broken  or 
cut  to  pieces,  and  eaten  in  the  green  podded 
state.  On  rich  ground  they  have  very  thick  suc- 
culent pods,  much  more  so  than  any  dwarf  bean, 
and  the  flavor  is  very  different  from  them.  The 
plant  in  fact,  belongs  to  another  species,  Pliase- 
oliis  muUifloras,  althousjh  until  the  last  century 
it  was  generally  believed  to  be  a  form  of  the 
East  Indian  or  dwarf  bean,  Phaseolus  vulga- 
ris. This  is  from  the  warmer  parts  of  South 
America. 

The  flowers  are  of  great  beauty,  rivaling  the 
color  of  the  brightest  scarlet  Zonale  Geranium, 
and  give  more  gaiety  to  a  vegetable  garden  than 
any  plant  known.  It  is  a  great  fashion  in  some 
parts  of  England  to  make  them  border  the  gar- 
den walks.  Very  light  poles  are  employed— not 
thicker  than  broom  handles,  and  two  are  attach- 


ed together  somewhat  like  the  letter  X,  only 
that  the  point  of  crossing  is  near  the  apex. 
Another  pair  is  made,  and  one  set  at  the  upper 
line  of  the  walk  and  ono  at  the  lower.  Then  a 
horizontal  series  is  fixed  from  the  points  where 
the  pieces  cross,  and  the  whole  when  finished, 
very  much  like  a  common  "saw  buck"  or 
"  wood  horse."  The  frame  is  then  filled  by  nu- 
merous poles,  set  about  one  foot  apart,  and  all 
in  the  X  manner.  This  is  imrtiensely  strong, 
takes  little  time,  allows  of  the  use  of  lighter  ma- 
terial than  our  lima  bean  does,  and  when  in 
bloom,  gives  a  solid  sheet  of  scarlet  flowers, 
which  any  one  who  once  sees  will  never  forget. 

We  cannot  tell  why  it  has  been  so  much 
neglected  with  us.  It  does  not  come  into  use 
quite  so  early  as  the  dwarf  bean,  but  we  think 
would  be  in  before  the  lima.  It  is  likely  many 
would  prefer  the  lima  in  an  absolute  choice 
between  one  and  the  other  ;  but  we  all  like  varie- 
ty, and  do  not  want  to  live  on  one  thing,  no 
matter  how  good  it  may  be. 

The  old  time  beans  were  considered  good  at 
six  inches  long.  The  one  we  take  to  illustrate 
this  article,  is  a  great  march  in  the  way  of  im- 
provement.   It  is  called  Carter''s  Champion, 


SraSORSKSif^sSitS 


%^^^- 

i|<;^^^^ 


/( 


/;' 


•{"'.''V 


f 


178 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOKTELY. 


June, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEMEWS   MO^'THLY. 


HEATING  GREENHOUSES. 
The  many  articles  which  have  appeared  on 
hot  water  heating,  boilers,  and  so  on,  during  the 
past  year,  show  how  great  is  the  interest  in  the 
question  of  heating  plant  structures.  And  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  remembered 


again  instead  of  wasted  ;  and  we  have  on  several 
occasions,  shown  how  vae^tly  superior  are  pii^es 
made  of  fire  clay  over  common  brick  flues.  The 
thinness  of  the  material— one  inch,  over  the  two 
and  a  half  inch  of  brick,  makes  all  the  difference, 
and  for  just  the  same  reason  that  a  common 


that  it  is  a  very  poor  garden  which  has  no  green- '  brick  flue  consumes  less  heat  than  a  column  of 
house  ;  and  that  greenhouses,  with  their  cheerful  hot  water.  That  these  pipes  will  crack  is  true, 
winter  flowers,  give  more  pleasure  than  half  the  i  and  so  will  brick  flues  sometimes.  The  pipes 
best  summer  gardens  goinir.  !  have  the  advantage  in  this  that  a  wire  can  be 

Many  more,  very  many  more  greenhouses  \  firmly  put  round  each  ])iece,  and  then  no  matter 
would  be  built,  and  the  pleasures  of  gardening  i  if  they  do  crack  there  is  no  esc  ape  of  gas  or 
he  considerably  increased  if  it  were  not  for  the  \  smoke,  except  after  a  fire  has  been  suffered  to 
fear  of  heavy  cost  in  the  building  and  in  the  ',  die  entirely  out,  and  the  pipes  allowed  to  become 
heatinir  apparatus  For  those  who  have  the  |  damp  and  cold.  In  this  respect  the  pipes  have 
means  to  enjoy  gardening  on  a  very  lariie  scale,  i  the  same  objection  as  flues— the  same,  no  more, 
and  whose  greenhouses  are  proportionately  ex-  ;  As  to  the  combined  economy  of  these  suggest- 
tensive,  there  will  be  no  question  about  how  to  |  ed  plans,  there  is  now  no  question.  We  know  a 
heat  them.     Hot  water  will  alw\ays  carry  away  !  set  of  small  houses    built   somewhat    on  Mr. 


the  prize.  It  is  so  neat,  and  the  pipes  can  be 
carried  anywhere  where  it  is  most  convenient, 
that  houses  may  be  built  on  almost  any  plan 
desired.  But  where  hot  air  is  to  be  used,  there 
arc  only  certain  forms  to  be  employed,  as  the 
heavy  flues  cannot  be  carried  about  here  and 
there  as  hot  water  pipes  can.  Again,  unless  the 
builder  or  planner  is  very  well  versed  in  the 
knowledge  of  draughts  and  currents,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  warm  a  house  well  and  satisfacto- 
ry if  with  flues  of  any  considerable  extent. 


Strong's  principle,  which  occupy  three  thousand 
square  feet  of  ground,  and  are  heated  by  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  of  fire  clay  pipe,  the  most 
of  which  pipe  have  seen  fifteen  years  of  constant 
service.  These  houses  cost  only  SIOOO,  and 
have  had  a  profusion  of  flowers  all  winter,  inclu- 
ding such  flowers  as  Stanhopeas,  Phajus,  Cypri- 
pediums,  Poinsettas,  and  other  great  heat  lovers, 
at  an  expense  of  only  about  thirteen  tons  of  coal, 
and  this  too  during  one  of  the  most  terrible  win- 
ters on  the  coal  bills  under  record.     We  venture 


But  all  this  is  very  different  with  small  houses.  \  to  say  that  no  such  results  could  be  had  with 
If  properly  constructed,  and  the  laws  of  heat  '  any  set  of  houses  built  on  other  principles  thau 

Mr  Strong's,  or  even  on  Mr.  Strong's  principle, 
if  heated  in  any  other  way  than  by  fire  clay 
pipe. 


circulation  well  attended  to,  hot  air  will  be 
found  very  satisfactory  and  much  cheaper,  both 
in  the  first  cost  and  in  the  subsequent  mainten- 
ance. We  need  not  go  over  here  with  what  has 
already  been  stated  in  this  magazine,  that  it 
takes  a  bushel  of  coal  to  heat  a  house  by  hot 
water   to   the   same    temperature    that    three 


PLANTS  IN  SLEEPING  ROOMS. 

A  great  deal  of  nonsense  originates  with  peo- 
ple who  think  but  do  not  observe.  They  take 
fourths  of  a  bushel  will  by  hot  air;  and  though  |  hold  of  what  is  reallv  true,  and  imagine  a  great 
this  is  more  than  made  up  in  a  large  house  by  \  deal  more,  by  means  of  which  they  build  up  a 
the  greater  distance  the  heat  can  be  conveyed,  '  tolerable  ''  bugaboo,"  at  which  people  who  trust 
and  by  other  advantages  recently  well  explained  to  the  learning  of  the  builders,  get  very  much 
by  our  correspondents,  th«n-care  few  correspond-  frightened.  Thus  it  is  known  that  plants  give 
ing  advantages  in  a  small  house.  \  off"  carbonic  acid  gas  at  night,  and  straightway 

But  much  as  the  advantages  of  hot  air  in  \  arises  a  commotion  as  to  the  danger  of  having 
economy  in  a  small  house  is  conceded,  not  near  them  in  sleeping  rooms  at  that  time. 
as  much  is  made  of  it  as  might  be.  Mr.  Strong  i  The  quantity  which  they  give  out  is  so  small 
once  pointed  out,  in  one  of  the  most  valuable  I  that  it  does  not  compare  in  a  slight  degree  with 
articles  we  ever  published  in  the  Qardencr's  what  human  beings  give  out.  We  venture  to 
Monthly^  how  heat  instead  of  escaping  through  say  that  a  sleeping  infant  would  exhale  more 
the  apex  of  the  house,  as  most  commonly  it  does,  j  carbonic  acid  in  one  night  than  a  hundred  pot 
can  Ixi  made  to  a  considerable  extent,  to  pass  !  plants,  yet  whoever  suggested  that  the  health  of 
into  one  of  a  higher  elevation,  and  thus  be  used  i  a  mother  was  seriously  aff*ected  by  the  baby  rest- 


179 


mg  in  her  arms  ?     As  to  the  mj„ry  from  vegeta-  had  more  carbonic  acid  l.v  ni.^it  thau  by  dav   I 

Uon  those  of  us  who  have  had  to  sleep  at  vari-  gathered  two  specimens  of  ai;  u  diff  «ut  ^arts 

ous   .mes  m  woods,  w,th  but  green  branches  for  of  the  house,  at  two  o'clock  P.  m     1  pH    nfh 

a  pillow,  and  the  sweet  wild  green  grass  instead  Thtse  >.ave  1  40  md  1  ^K  ,.^J.J'l    .  ^ 

of  a  feathered  bed,  know  well  after  a  few  davs  of  in  10  iinn  !/  '         ^   carbonic  acid 

such  experience,  that  it  is  the  moTt  healh  .Win!  '  Lm  .  f  "/"'"'•'*=«  "*  ^'^^  !'«'•'«■  showing 

of  all  luxuries,  'notwithstandinrt!:r'"l;V7^  Tn  did  Tl^:tr''  ™'^"  ^""""'^  "'' 

injuries  it  ougM  t^  S  theTu  Js' mo':  l^  '  J!  rin^^'trd"'^'"'"'^. '""",  '''''''''  '''''  '' 
cially  than  any  other  part  of  the  .ystem   vet  thl    Z  ,  '     ^^  '"°"*"''  '*'*'  '^'^"""'^  »«'<* 

experience  of  Lmvlif.Tsabunda^l,t^»*^  '^^/leeping-room  ,>n  this  continent,  we 

^ight  as  we„;.,ie  f;r  ^z::^::'^  t  s^;"::^  ^r^^^^:^  ^^ 

woods  and  fie  ds  as   "on  i  ff-ithpr  h«.i    •  o.,.i        t*  •  ^  i^juic  mc  ^leep.rs. 

4  •   «     .1  \  feather  bed,     and  ,      It  is  so  easy  to  be  deceived  bv  a  namp  '    T 

«  ™,d.,  th.  c.rt„„„  »o,j  „,  „„„  ,„  „,„..  „„„„,„  „„,„„„  ,,„."; ;°„*:,:iz;i 

tstiii    f.,„t.   „    1    p  ,  ^^'  "**  ^'S*^*  ^^^  smell  of  flowers,  and  without 

Gov  To  tir  l''T  '  "'"  '""^'  people,  question  their  innuence  is  .ood  Yet  flowers 
Irov.  Molt  addressed  a  etter  to  Vmf  lc«^,i^io  ^f       u  i    ^i  •  c^"^^^^-     ^*^^   nowers 

the  Michigan  Agricultur  Collo.^  re.^n  Iv  o  bS  T  '^^^  ""'^  "f  •''""  ''  "'''  """^ 
thP  RiibioPt      tL  t>     r        1-         .   recnriy,  on    b}  night  I     The  flowers,  bv  the  r  agreeable  odor 

makSfonowiir.i^t:':':'"^ '' '"^""-  ^"^ . -^-^ f^^^ ''"'"'-'^ '■"'-■■^ -- ^'- °^ ^''-^'"'■ 
S  ~^ra'S^L:r''ThuT'-''r't"  V  '''''  ''-''"^'^  "^  ^"-"-  "■  -•'--  -'<^  - 

tikini  the  :r,   f  '  '"    ""'    "^   ""^  ""'  ""■>■  '!"<'«"""  i"  regard  to  the  hbalthful- 

ilts  I  LT,-;/°°^r"r^'r"  "  *■*""  •"-"'•pi-^^'-'vroom.  The  state  of  moisture 
house  wh,:ro,?eH  rZ  ''  ?'"''"""  "'''"■  '"  ""■'  =^'^  "''  *''«  ^""'"  '"'^y  '^''''^""'e  ^"  '"'Portant 
iTthV^eru     air  b'fo  '     "'*'  ="•«  growing   ,  question,  especially  in  the  case  of  persons  afflict- 

ingsofA   r,    CH      ^'f ;';''"""'  ""  t'-e  morn- ,  cd   with   rheumatic  or.  pulmonary   complaints. 

do4d    o^^        T    !     ', '  '^"  """"  '""'  '""^"  '  ""'  I  "•"'  ""'  "»ke  up  that  subject. 
Closed  tor  more  than   twe  ve  hours   and  if  tho  I      ^'  o  „ 

plants  exhaled  cnrbonic  acid  to  „„  iniuHous  It-  '         "''  "''"'=''""-^'  -^""^  *''^'^'^"'  ^•^"''"'' 
tent,  the  analysis  of  air  from  such  a  room  would  !  ^*  ^'  Kedzie.'» 

certainly  disclose  this  fact.  The  three  speci- 
mens of  air  -alhered  on  the  morning  of  April 
16th,  from  different  parts  of  the  room,  -ave  4.11, 
4.00  parts  of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000  of  air,  or  an 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC 

average  of  4  03  in  in  Of^n     t^i     f     '  "'   "  ^"J      ^^'^  Amenities  of  Horticultural  Literature.— 

air  gatlrcd  AprVl7r..vI^Vn'^'  T^Z"'  "' '  '^''  ^'  ^'  ^^'^^^""'  '^  "^^  ""^'^^^^'^  ^--^^'  ^^s 
Of  e;rhoni:'atir    V  '^r:^^^^^  ^  ^^'^'^  ^  ^^^  -^.1-^  ^^^h  which  we  cordial- 


Of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000,  or  an  average  on  the 
Whole  of  3.94  parts  of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000  of 
^n'^rinn  ^''"^  ^^'^  outdoor  air  contains  4  parts  in 


ly  agree.  Tie  says  there  has  been  a  marked  inir 
provement  in  the  tone  of  papers  which  appear 
in   horticultural  journals  of  Jate  years.     That 


10,000      It  will  fi..,.  ^      ;/7  r       ^  '"^   noriicuitural  journals  of  late  years.     That 

gr  enhouse  was  h  t    '''r\'^'''  ''''  ""  ^"  '^'    ^^^'"^«  ^"^  correspondents  write  more  friendly 

ThTs  d  fi^^^^^^^^  ""'"'^  ^  ^t^^r  «Pint   than  they  ever  did! 

^^ol!:^lr:Z:^  ::'^^  I  7'^-  -  y-  ^^-  -eeptions  to  thi^  he  thinks, 


due  to  the  absorption  of  carbonic  acid  and  con- 
sequent accumulation  of  oxygen  during  daylight, 
since  the  windows  of  the  greenhouse  were  closed 
%  and  night  on  account  of  the  cool  weather. 
10  ascertain  whether  the  air  of  the  greenhouse 


but  on  the  whole  there  is  a  great  improvement. 
We  like  to  see  this  encouraged.  A  man^s  mo- 
tives may  be  bad,  but  then  again  they  may  not 
be.  Let  us  always  give  those  who  oppose  us  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt. 


180 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


June, 


1873, 


THE    GARBEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


181 


Dahlias,  Philadelphia  has  an  amateur  who  ; 
hae  stuck  to  the  Dahlia  through  all  its  varying 
phases  of  popularity,  and  now  that  it  is  regain- 
ing high  favor  with  all  classes,  he  feels  justly 
proud  of  his  faithful  love.  He  raises  auHually  a 
large  number  of  seedlings,  and  many  of  them 
have  proved  superior  to  either  French  or  Eng- 
lish varieties.  Mr.  Gerhard  Schmitz  deserves 
the  thanks  of  all  Dahlia  lovers  for  his  persistent 
and  successful  efforts  for  their  improvement. 

Does  Sap  Ft'ceKC  in  the  Winter  ?  We  find  in 
a  recent  number  of  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  an 
article  by  our  friend  J.  R.  Temple,  on  the  Gar- 
dener^ s  Monthly's  recent  article  on  this  subject. 
As  we  like  to  have  all  that  can  be  said  for  or 
against  a  position,  set  side  by  side  together,  we 
give  the  major  part  of  the  communication  : 

"  I  regard  the  editor  of  the  Gardener'' 8  Monthly  as. 
one  of  the  ablest  vegetable  physiologists  living  ;  but 
he  is  not  alone  in  holding  and  teaching  the  doctrine 
that  a  temperature  of  320  cannot  be  endured  by  a 
plant  and  the  life  of  the  plant  be  preserved.  But 
notwithstanding  these  high  authorities,  whom  I 
delight  to  follow  in  most  things,  on  an  appeal  to  the 
plant  itself,  which  they  have  encouraged  me  to 
make,  I  feel  compelled  to  accept  the  statements  of 
the  plant  in  opposition,  as  it  appears  to  me,  to  their 
teachings. 

Prof  Leconte  teaches  that  the  sap  of  trees  and 
shrubs  does  become  frozen  without  the  slightest 
damage  to  them.  Pictet  and  Manrico,  of  Geneva, 
made  observations  on  a  horse  chestnut  tree  from 
179G  to  1800,  which  developed  the  fact  that  there 
was  not  more  than  0.04  of  a  degree's  difference 
.  between  the  temperature  of  the  centre  of  the  tree 
and  the  atmosphere  surrounding  it.  In  1826,  Hol- 
der found  trees  below  the  freezing  point  and  in  a 
congealed  state,  without  injury  to  their  vitality. 
Many  other  experiments,  made  by  the  most  able 
and  careful  observers,  go  to  prove  the  same  point. 
During  the  past  winter  we  have  had  a  temperature 
as  low  as  33^  Fah.  It  froze  through  thirteen-inch 
brick  walls.  Are  we  to  believe  that  the  sap  in  an 
apple  tree  three  inches  in  diameter  could  resist  such 
a  degree  of  cold  and  not  congeal  ?  Even  i\w 
branches  and  small  twigs  endure  it  and  live.  Now 
one  of  three  things  is  true  :  1  The  sap  does  not 
freeze  at  all,  or,  2.  it  freezes  without  injury  to  the 
plant;  or,  8.  there  is  no  sap  in  the  tree  or  plant  at 
the  time  of  the  cold  weather  As  to  the  first,  we 
have  the  evidence  of  our  senses  that  it  is  frozen. 
By  chopping  into  a  tree  during  a  long  continue.l 
spell  of  very  cold  weather,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
cells  of  the  wood  are  filled  with  small  particles  o; 
ice.  A  turnip  may  be  taken  from  a  pit  so  hard  that 
it  can  scarcely  be  cut  with  a  knife ;  by  scraping,  it 
will  be  found  full  of  icy  particles.  That  a  tree  or 
plant  can  survive  this  freezing  is  evident  fn  m  the 
fact  that  forest  trees  do  survive  the  cold,  even  ot 
high  northern  latitudes.  As  suggested  by  the  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  England  Farmer y  the  roots 
of  vegetables  do  freeze  and  survive.  That  they  are 
frozen  is  evident  from  the  fact,  as  I  stated  abovt, 
they  are  found  full  of  ice,  and  if  one  is  taken  and 


thawed  in  a  warm  atmosphere,  or  in  tepid  water, 
its  texture  will  be  destroyed  and  it  will  be  soft  and 
spongy  ;  while  those  left  in  the  pit  till  warm  wea- 
ther will  live  and  grow.  I  have  observed  this  phe- 
nomenon often.  'Whether  there  is  less  sap  in  a  tree 
in  the  fall-  than  in  the  spring,  or  whether  it  is  only 
less  active,  I  am  not  able  to  say ;  but  any  one  who 
doubts  the  presence  of  sap  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
freeze,  may  easily  satisfy  himself  of  its  presence  by 
filling  his  stove  with  green  wood  on  a  cold  day  and 
sitting  and  listening  to  it  frying,  provided  he  can 
get  it  hot  enouorh  to  fry.  That  a  frozen  turnip  is 
full  of  sap  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  a  frozen  tur- 
nip is  as  heavy  as  the  savne  not  frozen  ;  and  when 
thawed  in  a  warm,  dry  atmosphere  it  becomes  a 
mere  sponge  saturated  with  water,  and  if  left  alone 
it  would  have  grown." 

It  is  hard  to  tell  what  our  friend  is  driving  at. 
He  tells  us  distinctly  that  a  turnip  frozen,  when 
thawed  in  a  warm,  dry  atmosphere,  becomes  a 
mere  sponge  saturated  with  water.  Of  course 
we  all  know  that  one  ''not  frozen"  does  not 
come  to  this  conditioo  under  the  same  circum- 
staaces.  We  suppose  Mr.  T.  means  to  say  that 
the  frozen  turnip  lost  its  vitality  when  it  turned 
to  a  "mere  sponge,''  which  is  exactly  what  we 
contend. 

Trees  Given  to  the  Goveniriunt.     Much  talk  is 
made  in  the  daily  papers  about  a  gift  of  30,000 
seedling  Scotch  Pines  by  an   European  firm  to 
the  American  Government.     The  Government 
"  proposes  to  distribute  them  at  once  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  or  not  they  are  adapted  to  ex- 
tensive planting  in  the  West."      It   is  rather 
strange   that  the  "Government"  should  thus 
want  to  "ascertain"  a  fact  already  well  known 
to  thousands  of  Western  men,  who  well  know 
that  the  Scotch  Pine  does  as  well  as  any  other 
of  the  hardy  pine  trees.     If  the  "  Government" 
will  write  to  Douglass,  Bryant,  or  any  other  of 
the  many  pioneers  in  Western  planting,  it  may 
find  all  it  wishes  to  "  ascertain  "  about  the  mat- 
ter.    The  ignorance  displayed  in  this  matter  ex- 
plains many  of  the  mysteries  of  the  few  years 
past.     Not  long  since  it  was  proposed  by  an  act 
of  Congress,  suggested  it  was  said  at  Washing- 
ton, to  allow  trees  imported  by  amateurs  to  come 
in  duty  free,  while  all  imported  by  nurserymen 
were  to  pay  duty.     We  believe,  for  no  one  knows 
but  a  few  hours  at  a  time  whether  a  law  is  or  is 
not— that   this  proposition   never  became    the 
law.     But  supposing  it  was  made  in  good  faith, 
it  must  have  been  through  a  belief  that  Western 
nurserymen  were  a  poor  set,  and  need  not  be 
considered  or  consulted.    We  may  say  for  the 
information  of  the  "Government,  '  that  Scotch 
Firs,  Larches,  and  many  other  timber  trees  are 


raised  in  the  West  by  the  milUo7is,  and  we  have 
no  doubt  if  the  "  Government  "  will  give  as  much 
for  30,000  as  it  paid  freight  on  this  gift,  and  dis- 
tribute them  in  small  lots,  saying  with  each  as  it 

will  do  with  these,  "raised  by Ills.," 

a  "gift"'  of  30,000  from  Illinois  will  soon  be 
forthcoming. 

At  first  we  were  disposed  to  think  this  'gift 
distribution ''  would  do  no  harm  at  any  rate — 


ent  of  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger,  gives  hope 
of  a  fair  average  crop— probably  3,000,000  has 
kets  may  go  forward.  Strawberries  will  be 
enormous  ;  and  Asparagus  is  being  raised  in 
immense  quantities  over  other  years.  Much 
diflficulty  is  however  felt  in  marketing,  and  prices 
will  perhaps  rule  low. 

P.  0.  Rulings — with  a  Crooked  Ruler.     And 
now  our  poor  publisher  is  in  a  quandary.     He 


that  it  might  encourage  many   to  experiment    has  to  prepay  postage  to  Holland,  Belgium,  Aus- 


who  would  not  otherwise  ever  be  interested,  but 
on  second  thought  it  will  probably  work  the 
ether  way.  Packages  will  be  sent  from  now  to 
middle  of  June  to  hundreds  of  persons  who  care 
little  for  them,  and  the  result  will  be  they  will 
nearlv  all  die,  and  then  we  shall  have  news- 
paper  paragraphs  by  the  score  that  "  the  Scotch 
Pine  has  been  extensively  tried  and  found  to  be 
utterly  unadapted  to  the  Western  climate." 

An  Incident  in  the  Life  of  Dr.  Torrey.  We 
do  not  know  how  true  the  statements  in  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  from  a  daily  paper  may  be, 
but  similar  trifles  have  fixed  the  bent  of  many  a 
distinguished  man  : 

"The  late  Dr.  John  Torrey,  the  distinguished 
scientist,  is  said  to  have  first  acquired  a  taste  for 
scientific  pursuits  in  the  following  remarkable 
manner  :    His  father  held  some  oflflcial  station 
which  required  him  to  visit  the  prisons  of  the 
city   of  New    York,    and   the  lad    frequently 
accompanied    the     parent    on    these    tours    of 
inspection.     In  the  old  State  Prison,  which  at 
that  early  day  was  somewhere  about  Twenty- 
third  street,  and  situated  in  the  country,  they 
found  a  man  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent 
who  had  been  condemned  to  serve  out  a  short 
term,  but  was  generally  believed  to  have  been 
innocent  of  any   offence.     This   prisoner    was 
taken  into  the  office  to  keep  the  books.     He  was 
a  man  of  learning,  and  especially  a  fine  botanist. 
Whenever  young  Torrey  appeared  at  the  prison 
the  book-keeper  would  point  out  from  the  win- 
dow some  plants  growing  in  the    vacant  lots 
opposite,  and  ask  the  boy  to  go  and  fetch  them  ; 
the  two  then  sat  down  in  the  office  to  analyze 
and  dissect  the  specimens,  presenting  the  curi- 
ous spectacle  of  a  prisoner  in  convict's  costume 
teaching  a  well  dressed  boy.     The  lad  never 
forgot    the  lessons,   and   from   the    taste    thus 
acquired  dates  his  application  to  the  study  of 
botany,  in  which  science  he  was  destined  to 
achieve  the  most  distinguished  success.'' 

The  Delaware  Peach  Crop,     The  correspond- 


tralia,  and  South  America,  in  which  distant 
places  he  has  a  fair  list  of  subscribers.  This  has 
l^een  72  cents  each  per  year.  Now  the  "  ruler  '» 
decides  this  is  wrong,  and  96  cents  is  the  "  legal 
fare."  He  collects  from  his  subscribers  in  ad- 
vance, resting  on  the  good  faith  of  his  respected 
Uncle  at  Washington,  and  of  course  will  rather 
so  to  sleep  and  dream  over  being  plundered  by 
the  Government,  than  enter  into  distant  negoti- 
ations with  numberless  subscribers  for  the  paltry 
sum  of  each,  but  a  great  deal  to  him  on  the 
whole. 

It  may  be  that  one  of  these  days  the  postal 
wheel  will  turn  round,  informing  us  that  two 
cents  is  all  that  is  required  for  these  distant 
postages,  when  we  shall  have  already  coUeoted 
ninety-six  cents  from  our  unfortunate  subscri- 
bers. Well  we  know  that  there  is  a  ''  conscience 
fund  ''  always  open  for  us  where  we  can  return 
all  we  thus  unwittingly  rob  others  of ;  but  un- 
fortunately we  are  not  in  a  position  to  vote  our- 
selves "back  salary  pay,"  when  the  joke  is  on 
the  o;her  side. 

An  erican  Pomological  Society.  The  coming 
quarter  centennial  of  the  American  Pomological 
Society,  at  Boston,  will  undoubtedly  be  a  bril- 
liant feature  in  the  annals  of  Pomology.  Besides 
what  the  circular  of  the  Society,  published  in 
another  column  indicates,  we  hear  that  the  dis- 
tinguished scientists,  Professor  Gray  and  Agaz- 
zis,  will  take  part  in  the  proceedings.  There 
will  be  an  additional  programme  of  particulars 
issued  next  month. 

Horticulture  and  the  ^kntennial.  The  Penn- 
sylvania Horticultural  Society  is  working  ener- 
getically for  the  success  of  the  Centennial.  The 
eaWy  neglect  of  horticulture  by  the  Centennial 
CoMimittee,  of  which  we  complained  in  our  past 
issues,  has  been  tardily  atoned  for  by  the 
appointment  of  a  committee.  We  do  not  know 
any  of  the  gf^ntlemen  named  except  Col.  FurnaSi 
of  Nebraska,  but  if  they  are  all  like  him,  they 
are  the  right  kind  of  material  to  make  a  com- 
mittee out  of 


18$ 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TEL  y. 


June, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJfER'S   M0J\'2ELY. 


1S3 


SCRAPS   AND     QUERIES. 


Green  Asparagus. —A  Cunberland  Coun- 
ty, Pa.,  correspondent  writes  :  "I  have  quite 
a  number  of  seedling  asparagus  in  my  lot  of 
plants  growing.  It  mainiains  a  yellowish  white 
all  through.  Do  you  think  it  worth  separating 
and  placing  separate  to  raise  a  new  variety  ? 
Please  give  me  your  views." 

[All  plants,  and  animals  too  for  that  matter, 
produce  what  are  known  as  albinos  at  times— 
that  is  pale  forms  in  which  the  color  is  wanting. 
In  asparagus  this  has  long  been  known,  and  the 
pale  form  is  the  "green  top,"  while  the  original, 
or  rather  most  natural,  is  the  "purple  top." 
Albinos  are  all  less  vital  than  the  normal  forms, 
and  are  generally  the  first  to  disappear.  Hence 
it  is  not  often  that  the  green  top  is  seen  in  culti- 
vation. This  one  before  us  appears  to  be  only 
an  albino— the  usual  "green  top"  asparagus. 
The  continual  disappearance  of  the  green  top  is 
also  aided  by  the  fact  that  the  asparagus  plant 
being  dioecious,  cannot  fertilize  itself.  Pollen 
from  the  "  purple  top  "  would  therefore  be  con- 
tinually getting  to  the  "green  tops,'  and  the 
seedlings  would  not  come  like  the  originals.  It 
is  impossible  therefore  to  reproduce  any  aspara- 
gus true  from  seeds,  and  hence  what  are  called 
"new  varieties'*  have  no  real  existence.  By 
selecting  a  few  dozen  plants  of  the  "  green  tops  " 
however  from  a  seed  bed.  and  planting  them  by 
themselves  far  away  from  any  other  kind,  the 
rar,€  of  albinos  may- be  preserved,  and  though 
the  plants  among  themselves  will  vary,  and 
there  is  no  way  to  make  any  variety  keep  itself 
pure,  the  race  will  continue.  Whether  or  not 
the  plants  in  this  case  will  be  worth  selecting  and 
preserving  will  depend  on  taste.  As  a  rule  we 
think  the  "  purple  topped  '  shoots  are  preferred, 
though  some  may  like  the  green  ones.] 


Postage  ON  Seed  Package— 7?  G,  White 
Willow,  Kansas,  says:  "Some  time  since  I 
had  to  pay  thirty-six  cents  double  distilled  extra 
postage  through  the  neglect  of  a  correspondent, 
and  through  no  fault  of  my  own,  the  authorities 
thus  punishing  me  for  another  man's  fault. 
Now  I  have  a  package  of  seeds  from  another 
friend,  on  which  he  has  innocently  placed  twelve 
cent  stamps  instead  of  two  as  he  intended.     I 


a.^k  our  postmaster  for  the  return  of  fifty  cents 
overpaid,  but  he  only  laughs  at  me.  Can  I  not 
recover  ?  I  suppose  you  in  the  East  with  so 
much  business,  know  how  to  go  about  these 
matters.  It  is  small,  but  I  suppose  there  is  a 
principle  involved  which  I  should  be  glad  to 
understand.'' 

[All  we  have  to  say  is,  "  poor  fellow  I"] 

Raising  Seedlings  of  Trees,  Fruits,  &c. 
— Under  this  caption,  "  J.  M  ,"  of  Philadelphia, 
furnished  a  very  interesting  article  for  the 
Monthhj  of  September.  1871,  (for  which  he  will 
please  accept  my  thanks)  from  which  it  is  evi- 
dent that  he  knows  a  thing  or  two  about  seed- 
lings. Would  he  be  so  good  as  to  give  his  expe- 
rience nnd  practice  with  evergreens  the  first 
winter— how  he  obviates  the  throwing  out?  Mere 
covering  with  litter  on  the  approach  of  frost, 
does  not  seem  to  be  effectual  with  me. — TIORTO, 


Articles  on  Hand.— We  have  several  ex- 
cellent communications  on  hand,  and  trust  our 
friends  will  not  lay  aside  their  pens  whea  they 
do  not  immediately  appear.  We  like  to  have  a 
lot  on  hand,  as  it  gives  us  a  better  opportunity 
of  varying  the  contents  of  each  number— a  great 
point  in  giving  interest  to  the  Monthly, 


Managing  Young  Norway  Maples—/. 
i/..  Old  Westhury,  L  I.,  says:  "  We  have  ob- 
tained 30  many  useful  and  profitable  hints 
through  the  Gardeners  Monthly,  that  we  would 
like  to  know  thy  experience  in  the  management 
of  the  Norway  Maple  in  the  nursery  rows.  Sev- 
eral kinds  of  shade  trees  are  greatly  improved 
by  cutting  them  off  after  one  year's  growth  in  the 
rows ;  but  we  cannot  decide  from  the  short  ex- 
perience we  have  had  whether  Norway  and 
Sycamore  should  be  so  treated.  We  think  that 
they  had  bettor  remain  for  two  or  more  years 
until  they  are  well  rooted  before  they  are  cut, 
and  if  those  that  are  thrifty  and  straight  ought 
to  be  cut  back,  then  we  wish  to  know.  If  thee, 
when  thee  replies,  would  give  thy  views,  if  thee 
has  time,  we  will  be  much  obliged,  and  will,  if 
desirable,  at  a  leisure  season,  give  our  ideas  of 
trimming  trees  in  the  orchard  and  nursery  for 
the  ^,\irdener's  Mfmthly,'* 


[Whether  it  is  best  to  cut  back  the  young 
trees  depends  on  the  reason  for  cutting  back,  of 
which  there  are  two.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary 
to  cut  back  somewhat  to  save  life.  The  roots 
may  be  dry,  or  there  may  be  proportionately  but 
few  roots.  In  this  case  we  cut  back  young 
plants  the  first  year,  or  very  often  the  second 
year.  For  this  reason,  however,  we  seldom  cut 
much  more  than  the  young  twigs,  leaving  a  good 
proportion  of  the  leading  stem.  To  cut  back  for 
making  a  straight  stem,  we  leave  the  whole  mat- 
ter until  the  plant  has  made  an  abundance  of 
roots,  and  then  cut  back  pretty  close  to  the 
ground.  The  Norway  and  Sycamore  will  gen- 
erally bear  this  after  the  first  season's  growth, 
though  sometimes  it  is  best  to  leave  it  to  the 
second.  The  notes  on  trimming  orchard  trees 
will  be  very  acceptable. 


Disease  in  the  Deodar  Cedar.— An  Ala- 
bama correspondent  writes  :  "  We  have  in  our 
yard  the  most  beautiful  ornamental  tree  I  have 
ever  seen  ;  about  thirty  feet  high,  rich  in  foliage 
and  graceful  in  form— a  Deodar  Cedar.  Some 
three  or  four  weeks  ago,  it  began  to  show  a  dead- 
ness  in  one  of  the  limbs.  Since  then  several 
other  limbs  are  affected,  and  all  the  foliage  is 
beginmng  to  turn  of  a  brownish  tint,  and  to  fall 
off.  My  wife  and  I  are  much  distressed  about 
it,  and  fear  we  will  lose  our  pet  tree.  Can  you 
tell  me  what  to  do  for  this  sirk  tie.-  ?  What 
is  the  matter,  and  what  treatment  shall  we 
bestow  ?  Something  must  be  done  or  our  favor- 
ite will  die.  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  tell 
me  what  is  to  be  done  ? 

[Never  having  seen  or  heard  of  any  such  dis- 
ease in  the  Deodar  Cedar,  we  were  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  reply  to  make  to  this  when  it  was 
first  received,  but  we  have  since  learned  that  a 
small  borer  attacks  the  trees  in  the  South,  and 
this  is  probably  what  is  the  matter  in  this  case. 
Specimens  of  the  diseased  part  would  be  accept- 
able.] 


attention  to  it,  as  these  things  need  referring  to 
again  and  again.  There  is  one  original  feature 
in  Mr.  D.'s  plan.  The  connecting  piece,  after 
being  shaved  on  its  inner  face,  and  cut  the  ex  ct 
length,  is  nailed  in  inst  ad  of  being  tied.  It  is 
therefore  firmer,  and  we  th' nk  this  an  advantage. 


The  Blood  Leaved  Peach. — In  a  recent 
number  we  stated  that  the  blood  leaved  Peach 
we  had  seen  from  Mississippi,  had  small  flowers, 
while  that  described  by  a  recent  correspondent 
had  large  flf>wers.  Since  the*^  we  have  seen  the 
same  plant  flower  again,  ft  has  large  flowers* 
We  were  mistaken  :  there  is  hut  the  one  kind. 


Grafting  Mice  (tirdled  Trees.— Mr. 
Adam  Deisher,  of  Tuckerton,  Berks  Co.,  Pa., 
leaves  at  our  oflice  specimens  of  trees  whicli  had 
been  completely  girdled  by  mice,  ^nd  yet  saved 
by  taking  young  pieces  of  the  same  tree,  and 
grafting  them  in  connecting  the  upper  and 
lower  edges  of  barks.  This  plan  has  been  long 
known  to  our  readers,  and  is  generally  practiced 
by  them  when  they  desire  to  save  valued  trees. 
But  Mr.  D.  has  our  best  thinks  for  calling  our 


Transparent  Blue  Wash.  -A  correspond- 
ent sends  us  a  sample  of  blue  wash  for  shading 
greenhouses  in  summer  time.  General  Pleas 
anton's  paper  has  made  blue  popular,  but  those 
who  think  they  are  following  him  forget  that  he 
only  used  blue  glass  in  alternate  strips  with 
comrpon  glass.  In  the  remarks  made  on  his 
paper  by  those  in  Europe  who  have  criticized 
it,  this  fact  seems  to  have  been  overlooked. 
Although  we  have  not  been  able  to  feel  that  the 
crops  in  General  Pleasanton's  greenhouse  was 
wholly  due  to  those  alternate  strips  of  blue,  yet 
it  is  but  justice  to  his  paper  to  notice  the  weak 
point  of  his  critics. 

In  regard  to  blue  powder,  we  can,  of  course, 
oflTer  no  opinion.  Most  plant-houses  in  America 
require  shading  of  some  kind  during  the  hot 
weather,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  this  may  do 
as  well  as  the  Rye  flour,  and  whitening  com- 
monly used.  These  things  are  not  well  under- 
s*^ood  yet,  and  we  are  glad  of  any  experiment  in 
that  direction. 

In  most  washes  used,  a  difficulty  is  found  in 
either  keeping  it  on  long  enough,  or  getting  it 
off  when  not  needed.  Our  correspondent  says 
his  wash  will  come  off"  when  hot  water  is  used. 


Lawn  Grass. — B.,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  says: — 
"  I  want  to  sow  a  small  piece  of  lawn  this  fal), 
and  on  consulting  authorities  I  find  three  things 
named  by  diflferent  writers — mixed  lawn  grass, 
rye  grass,  and  green  grass — which  do  you  regard 
as  the  best?" 

[Mixed  lawn  grasses  are  mostly  theotler  two, 
with  a  little  sweet  vernal  or  other  English 
grasses  mixed  with  them,  and  which  soon  die 
out  in  a  lawn  in  our  climate.  Rye  grass  is 
rather  coarse,  and  it  will  not  bear  to  be  cut  very 


18Jf 


TUB   GARDEJ^ER'8   MOJVTHLY. 


June, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ{THLY. 


135 


close  by  a  lawn  mower,  or  it  may  die  out  under 
a  very  hot  sua;  but  it  comes  into  "  green '»  so 
very  early  in  Spring,  and  has  such  a  cheerful 
shining  tint,  that  we  are  very  partial  to  it. 
Green  grass  stands  the  vicissitudes  of  our  cli- 
mate better  than  any  grass,  and  makes  a  capital 
bed  for  a  lawn  mower.  A  mixture  of  the  two 
would  not  be  unobjectior»able,  for  if  the  close 
mowing  did  injure  the  rye  grass,  the  green 
would  creep  in  and  take  its  place.  It  may  save 
mistakes  to  add  that  what  we  call  green  grass 
is  Poa  campestris,  and  Lolium  perenne  the  Rye 
grass.  ] 


Watering  Trees  in  Dry  Weather.  ~J5., 
Pittsburg.  Pa.,  says:  -'I  find  a  difference  of 
opinion  among  some  who  know  more  than  I 
about  gardening,  as  to  whether  some  trees  I 
planted  this  Spring  should  be  watered  or  not. 
Most  say  water,  but  a  few  whom  I  reg'^rd  as 
knowing  something  say  not.  Which  is  the 
**  approved  "  pra'^tice  ?" 

[A  difficult  question  to  answer  in  a  general 
iWay.  There  are  times  when  water  is  almost 
essential,  but  it  is  best  to  avoid  it  if  possible. 
In  many  cases  trees  are  injured  far  more  by  the 
kind  hand  which  holds  a  water  pot  than  they 
would  by  full  exposure  to  dry  weather.  If  a 
iiewly  planted  tree  shows  sign  of  withering  its 
leaves  on  the  least  warm  weather,  we  should 
most  likely  cut  off  a  few.  of  its  branches,  which 
would  lessen  the  evaporating  surface.  If  it 
still  seemed  to  suffer,  choose  a  dry  day  to  loosen 
the  earth  on  the  surface  about  it,— loosen  say 
half  an  inch,  and  then  with  a  rammer  give  it  an 
"unmerciful"  punching  and  pounding.  This 
will  so  thoroughly  pulverize  the  soil  that  it  will 
attract  moisture  from  the  surrounding  ground. 
If  after  all  the  leaves  do  not  wear  a  cheerful 
aspect,  make  a  shallow  basin  about  the  roots, 
and  pour  in  a  bucket  full  or  two  of  water,  and  a 
day  or  80  following  fill  in  again  with  the  dry 
earth,  iiressing  it  in  closely.  This  will  do  for 
the  wlmle  season.] 


Kame  of  Plant.— £.,  Fairfield  County,  0.: 
*'  I  send  you  three  bulbs,  attached  in  a  triangu- 
lar position,  one  of  them  with  a  leaf  like  a  Tigri- 
dia,  the  others  without  leaves,  and  seeming  to 
be  respectively  one  and  two  years  older  than  the 
lirst.  They  were  growing  in  the  woods  in  rich 
ground,  on  a  north  hillside,  and  not  far  below 
the  surface.     1 1  is  new  to  me.     Will  you  be  kind 


enough  to  tell  us  its  name  and  something  about 
it  in  the  Monthly.'*'* 

[This  appears  to  be  an  orchid— probably  a 
Cypripedium,  but  the  species  can  scarcely  be 
made  out  from  a  bulb.  It  is  planted,  and  when 
it  grows  we  may  be  able  to  say  more  about  it.] 

Seeds  of  Primula  Sinensis.—"  One  of  the 
Under  Current "  writes  :  "  Oblige  by  informing 
me,  (and  I  presume  the  information  would  be 
acceptable  to  others)  how  I  may  obtain  seed 
from  Primula  Sinensis.  I  have  now  many 
years,  sought  in  vain  for  seeds,  but  find  only  an 
inflated  capsule  devoid  of  seed.  The  Eastern 
continental  seedsmen  must  find  them  more 
readily  or  they  could  not  afford  us  fifty  or  a 
hundred  seeds  of  their  choicest  varieties  for  a 
dollar.  But  the  question  is  how  is  it  done. 
While  the  ink  is  moist,  let  me  make  my  record 
as  being  one  of  those  who  would  commend  the 
plant  to  the  cultivation  of  all  flower  lovers,  as 
being  one  which  will  not  disappoint  their  ex- 
pectations. Now-a-days,  especially  when  there 
are  so  many  lovely  varieties,  both  in  foliage  and 
flower,  and  if  I  cannot  raise  seed,  I  can  buy 
enough  for  a  dollar  or  two  to  raise  a  hundred 
plants,  which  yield  me  pleasure  for  a  whole  year. 
They  trouble  me  a  little  before  coming  into 
rough  leaf  by  damping  off,  but  as  soon  as  they 
obtain  their  rough  leaf,  no  more  difficulty,  but 
all  gratification  until  they  bloom,  when  it  is 
intensified,  and  continues  throughout  the  winter 
a  source  of  pleasure  by  their  continued  bloom. 
Endorse  this  if  you  can  consistently." 

[It  has  been  discovered  by  Mr.  Darwin,  that 
many  plants  have  a  horror  of  self  fertilization, 
and  though  stamens  and  pistils  may  seem  per- 
fect in  the  same  flower,  it  is  often  difficult  to  get 
seed  from  those  which  rely  on  their  own  pollen. 
They  will  have  the  pollen  from  other  flowers  or 
none  at  all.  This  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
the  wonderful  part  performed  by  insects  in  cross 
fertilization  The  genus  Primula  is  especially 
one  of  those  which  generally  refuses  to  be  self 
fertilized.  In  the  common  English  Primrose 
and  Polyanthus,  there  are  two  classes  known  to 
florists  as  the  "  pin  eyed  "  and  the  **  Ihrum  '' 
eyed.  In  the  former  case  the  pistil  is  above  the 
anthers,  filling  the  centre  of  the  flower;  the 
apex  protruding  like  the  head  of  a  pin.  This 
one  will  never  take  its  own  pollen.  It  seems  as 
if  it  pushed  beyond  the  anthers  expressly  to 
avoid  being  fertilized  by  them  ;  but  with  the  pol- 
len from  another  flower  it  generally  sets  very 
well.     In  what  are  called  the  *'  thrum  ''  eyed 


forms,  the  anthers  have  pushed  beyond  the  pis- 
til, and  close  up  the  throat.  They  rarely,  though 
sometimes,  succeed  in  fertilizing  their  own  flow- 
er ;  but  when  the  pollen  from  these  get  to  the 
*''pin  '»  eyed  forms,  the  result  is  almost  always 
in  favor  of  a  full  seed  vessel.     These  facts  may 


serve  our  correspondent  in  becoming  more  suc- 
cessful next  time  with  the  Chinese  kind.  With 
our  correspondent's  estimate  of  the  Chinese  prim- 
rose we  quite  agree.  There  is  no  plant  which 
will  usually  furnish  more  varied  gratification 
than  this.] 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


Report  to  the  Department  of  State 
ON  THE  Forests  and  Forest  Culture  of 
Sweden.  By  C.  C.  Andrews,  United  States 
Minister  :  This  is  a  pamphlet  published  by  the 
Department  of  State,  at  Washington,  and  is  a 
very  valuable  document,  especially  just  now 
when  timber  planting  is  one  of  the  greatest  of 
present  American  questions.  The  Government 
of  Sweden  takes  an  immense  interest  in  the 
growth  of  its  forests,  and  the  whole  subject  is 
treated  by  Minister  Andrews  in  the  most  exhaus- 
tive manner. 


Twenty-Fourth  Annual  Report  of 
the  Womens'  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Whether  any  practical  good  to 
Society  will  ever  result  from  the  exercise  of  the 
ballot  by  women,  or  by  the  triumph  of  what  is 
knowH  politically  as  "womens'  rights,''  is  a 
question  which  does  not  concern  the  Gardener's 
Monthly  in  the  least ;  but  it  does  believe  that  the 
interests  of  horticulture  are  served  greatly  by 
every  effort  for  women's  higher  education.  One 
of  the  best  institutions  for  this  purpose  that  we 
know  of  is  the  one  represented  by  the  little  pam- 
phlet before  us.  It  is  gratifying  to  find  it  flour- 
ishing. The  list  of  matriculants  numbers 
seventy,  and  are  from  nineteen  different  States. 
Among  the  professors  are  Miss  Rachel  Bodley, 
Br  Henry  Hartshorne,  and  Dr.  J.  G.  Hunt,  all 
eminent  as  botanists,  besides  in  the  chairs  they 
fill  in  the  college. 

Proceedings  of  the  Worcester  County 
(Mass.)  Horticultural  Society,  for  1873.  | 
As  a  general  rule  the  proceedings  of  societies  ' 
are  dry  reading,  and  we  are  sorry  to  say  that  ' 
some  of  them  are  worth  but  three  cents  per  ' 
pound.  Not  of  this  class  is  the  annual  volume  ' 
from  this  Society.     It  is  carefully  read— always  ' 


with   profit— and  preserved  with  respect.     Th^ 
present  issue  is  equal  in  value  to  any  of  its  pre- 
decessors.    Besides  the  dry  record  of  who  takes 
the  premiums,  there  is  generally  an  intelligent 
essay  by   the  chairman  of  each  committee,  en- 
deavoring to  sum  up  the  neft  results,  and  a  sort 
of  record  of   progress    made.     Here   we  have 
excellent  reading  in  the  report  of  W.  T.  Harlow, 
of  the  fruit  committee.    He  takes  up  the  thread- 
bare theory  of  Knight  as  to  the  wearing  out  of 
varieties,  and  puts  new  floss  on  it.     He  shows 
that  the  theory  may  not  be,  as  we  all  know  it  is 
not,  true  in  the  narrow  way  in  which  it  has  been 
presented  to  us  ;  but  yet  that  it  is  a  general  philo- 
sophical principle,  and   must  be  true  in  some 
sense  ;  and  we  cordially  agree  with  him.     Not 
so  cordially  can  we  agree  with  him  in  the  pro- 
position   that   "every    winter,   doubtless,"  all 
trees  in  this  latitude  are  completely  frozen,  root, 
body  and  branch.     It  has   been  stated   in  the 
Oardener^a  Monthly,  that  grape  vines  with  their 
roots  out  in  ground  may  liave  the  earth  frozen  solid 
about  them,  and  yet  when  the  canes  in  the  house 
have  been  forced  they  have  grown  and  flowered 
while   these   roots  were  out  in  the  solid  frost. 
And  that  Hyacinth  roots  put  four  inches  or  six 
inches  deep  in  the  ground  in  November,  and 
frost  immediately  set  in  on  and  around  them, 
will  yet  have  their  crowns  at  the  surface  when 
the  first  spring  thaw  comes,  though  the  whole 
mass  has  been  frozen  solid  all  that  time.     We 
know  these  facts  are  true  as  represented,  but  how 
can  ''  things  frozen  solid  "  make  several  inches 
of  growth  while  in  that  condition  ?     It  is  aston- 
ishing to  us  that  this  "frozen  solid  ''  theory  ever 
had  any  place  in   an  intelligent  mind.     If  we 
saw  any  living  thing  "froz'^n  through,"  and  yet 
live,  we  should  doubt  the  evidence  of  our  own 
eyes.    Certainly  they  may  appear  frozen  some- 
times,  as  a  drowned  man  sometimes  appears 


186 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


June, 


1873. 


I'HE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOMTRLY. 


187 


dead  ;  but  when  the  drowned  man  recovers  we 
are  bound  to  believe  that  the  raan  was  not  really 
dead,  in  spite  of  all  appearances. 


Transactions  of  the  Plymouth  County 
(Mass.)  Agricultural  S?ociety,  is  another 
serial  we  always  welcome  to  our  table.  The 
editor  or  "supervisor,"  has  some  sensible  re- 
marks on  the  relation  of  labor  to  the  value  of 
manures.  He  also  deals  extensively  in  figures 
in  regard  to  the  profitablo.npss  of  the  various 
modes  of  culture  of  various  crops  ;  and  there  is 
a  capital  chapter  on  tree  culture  for  timber  in 
the  county.  The  progress  of  agriculture  there 
is  shown  in  no  better  way  than  by  the  statement 
that  though  the  area  under  farm  culture  has 
decreased  in  the  county,  the  sum  of  the  products 
is  as  great  as  ever  it  was,  and  profitably  so. 


Fifth  Annual  Report  of  Prof.  C.  V. 
Riley,  State  Entomologist  of  Missourl  — 
The  State  of  Missouri  deserves  the  thanks  of, 
not  only  her  own  citizens,  but  also  of  the  people 
of  other  States,  whose  legislatures  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  see  the  importance  of  aiding 
science,  especially  those  branches  which  imme- 
diately affect  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  a 
people  as  do  entomology  and  those  of  a  kindred 
character.  In  the  preface,  Mr.  Riley  expresses 
hie  gratification  to  find  his  work  more  and  more 
appreciated,  but  we  think  that  not  he  himself 
has  a  faint  idea  of  tho  high  degree  of  estimation 
in  which  his  labors  are  really  held. 

The  present  volume  has  a  timely  chapter  on 
the  relation  of  the  science  to  agricultural  pros- 
perity, and  gives  brief  instructions  for  collecting, 
studying,  and  preserving  insects. 

A  chapter  on  the  Codling  Moth,  brings  down 
k  nowledge  of  it  to  the  present  time.  In  regard 
to  traps,  Wier's  shingle  trap  was  found  to  be  of 
some  use  ;  but  paper  bandages,  rags,  or  some 
similar  matter,  tacked  on  and  around  the  trunk, 
and  when  full  of  larvie  taken  of'  and  burnt,  were 
found  better  ones. 

The  Colorado  Potato  Beetle  receives  some 
attention.  The  Apple  twig  borer  has  reached 
the  Atlantic  States,  and  there  are  many  other 
brief  notes  of  insect  advances  during  the  past 
year.  There  has  been  much  of  importance  dis 
covered  in  regard  to  the  Phylloocera,  all  tending 
to  sustain  Mr.  Riley's  previous  position  that 
this  minute  root  insect  is  one  of  the  leading 
causes  of  grape  failure  in  America. 


The  oyster  shell  bark  louse  is  figured  and  de- 
scribed under  the  name  of  My^ilaspis  pomicor- 
ticis,  Riley;  and  its  history  and  character  fully 
given.  He  gives  reasons  for  changing  from  the 
old  name  of  Aspidiotus  conchiformis.  Another 
chapter  is  that  relating  to  a  very  common  nui- 
sance—the Pine  Scale  insect — which  so  often 
completely  cover  the  leaves  of  pine  trees  with 
minute  white  specks,  and  which  is  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  trees  on  which  it  feeds.  Mr  Riley 
has  found  a  certain  remedy.  Pines,  as  a  general 
thing,  will  not  make  a  new  set  of  "needles"  if 
the  old  ones  are  destroyed  ;  but  if  taken  oif  just 
as  they  are  expanding  new  ones  will  then 
appear,  and  by  thus  taking  off  the  leaves,  eggs 
and  all  are  involved  in  one  common  ruin,  and 
the  new  growth  comes  forth  insect  free. 

A  new  species  of  Hickory  borer,  Scolytus 
careyoe,  of  Riley,  is  described,  and  its  bad  deeds 
fully  told.  The  Rose  bug  has  a  chapter  devoted 
<^o  it,  as  also  has  "a  new  en^my  to  the  grape 
vine  and  others,"  named  nymis  destructor  by 
^Tr.  Rile}' :  then  there  is  a  chapter  devoted  to 
"insects  injurious  to  the  grape  vines." 

In  this  volume  also  appears  a  full  history  of 
the  new  discovery,  Pronuba  yuccasella,  the 
insect  by  the  aid  of  which  the  yucca  is  supposed 
to  be  alone  fertilized.  This  discovery  is  remark- 
able in  this  that  for  the  fifty  or  more  years 
the  Yucca  has  been  in  cultivation  about  Phila- 
delphia and  other  places  abounding  in  Ento- 
mologists and  who  must  or  might  have  seen 
thousands  of  capsules  bored  by  this  insect  (for' 
the  writer  doubts  w'^ether  he  ever  saw  one  that 
was  not),  no  one  seems  to  have  thought  of 
looking  for  the  insect  which  did  it,  and  should 
leave  it  to  Mr.  Riley's  industry  to  let  us  know 
all  about  it. 


The  Florist  and  Pomologist.— This  beau- 
tiful English  publication  is  not  as  well  known  in 
the  United  Sta'es  as  it  deserves  to  be.  It  is  a 
monthly,  in  small  octavo  form,  and  every  num- 
ber beautifully  illustrated.  A  set  now  before  us 
has  colored  plates  of  a  new  variety  of  the 
English  Primrose,  Early  Ascot  Peach,  Lilium 
tigrinum,  Lishmanni,  Iris  ibirca  Perryana, 
Maranta  makayana,  Young's  Weeping  Birch, 
Ricotees,  Gladiolus  Alice  Wilson,  Geonoma 
Seemanni,  and  other  plain  cuts  and  lithographs. 
This  will  show  that  a  wide  range  ?8  taken.  The 
articles  on  Horticultural  subjects  are  numerous 
and  varied,  embracing  matters  of  science  as 
well  as  plain  cultural  details. 


The  Southern  Planter  and  Farmer  of 
Richmond,  Ya.,  has  always  maintained  a 
high  character  among  Southern  Agricultural 
magazin'-'s.  It  has  changed  hands  frequently  of 
la*e  years  Now  it  is  edited  by  T.  L.  Payne, 
and  published  b}'^  L.  R.  Dickinson. 


Prize  Essay  on  Forest  Tree  Growing 
in  Nebraska— by  J.  T.  Allan.  This  is  full  of 
facts  as  to  what  has  actually  been  done  in 
Nebraska  in  tree  raising,  and  will  be  a  valuable 
guide  to  those  who  are  settling  in  that  »'pgion, 
as  well  as  to  tree  plantc  s  generally  in  the  West. 


The  Mystery  of  Metropolisville.    By 
Edward  Eggleston.     Published  by  0»^ange  Judd 


&  Co.  It  is  generally  beMeved  that  for  some 
time  after  the  passing  of  the  Hearth  and  Home 
nto  the  ownership  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
American  Agriculturist^  it  wns  what  is  known 
to  those  who  understand  money  matters  as  a 
heavy  load  to  carry.  But  of  late  it  has  been 
rather  the  other  way,  and  we  are  glad  of  it,  for 
there  are  few  papers  of  its  class  so  intelligently 
conducted,  and  yet  so  weU  adapted  to  the  moral 
wants  of  "Home  circle  and  the  Hearth's  side." 
The  poorly  educated  and  the  most  learned  ;  the 
young  and  the  old  ;  the  rural-st  and  the  citizen, 
all  derive  profit  from  its  pages.  Egg'eston's 
stories  have  had  much  to  do  with  this  prosper- 
f'ws,  tide  in  the  affairs  of  the  paper.  This  one 
has  been  through  its  columns,  and  is  now  pub- 
lished ir  book  form. 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


New  Golden  .KnBORYVTM.-Burrmv  &  Wood 
Fishkill,  N  F.,  write  :  "We  think  we  have  a 
very  fine  Seedling  Golden  Arborvitse  of  dwarf 
habit,  which  originated  with  us  about  the  year 
1858.  We  hand  you  a  young  plant  by  to-day's 
mail  for  a  sample,  and  in  return  would  like 
your  opinion." 

[There  are  now  many  of  these  golden  Ameri- 
can Arborvitaes  under  cultivation,  and  the  merit 
of  any  new  one  will  depend  on  how  the  plants 
look  after  they  acquire  a  little  age.  That  is  on 
their  mature  habit.  The  one  sent  us  has  a  dif- 
ferent habit  from  any  other  golden  Arborvitse 
we  have  seen,  and  we  are  inclined  to  think  it 
will  be  a  desirable  addition.  This,  however, 
only  a  large  plant  can  definitely  decide  ] 


Dr.  Kellogg  had  ten  years  previously  named  and 
described  this  lily  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Ca'i- 
fornia  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1858,  and  tho 
remarkable  part  of  Prof.  Wood's  remarks  is 
rather  that  he  should  have  been  ignorant  of  what 
other  botanists  had  done.  Through  the  unusual 
circumstance  of  two  authors  employing  the  same 
name,  the  confusion  and  trouble  which  loose 
and  careless  habits  in  describers  bring  to  scien- 
tific  students,  the  inconvenience  in  the  present 
case  will  not  be  great,  but  it  is  but  justice  to  Dr. 
Kellogg  that  this  correction  should  be  made  in 
ihe  records  of  the  Academy, 


LiLiUM  Washingtonianum.— At  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  Natural 
Sciences,  on  May  20th,  Mr.  Thos.  Meehan  re- 
ferred to  a  paper  entitled  a  sketch  of  the  Liliacece 
of  the  Pacific  Coast,  read  by  Prof.  Alphonso 
Wood,  and  published  in  the  volume  of  proceed- 
mgs  for  1868,  in  which  he  describes  a  ''new 
species  "  of  Lilium  as  L.  Washingtonianum,  giv- 
ing as  a  reason  for  the  name  that  it  was  gener- 
ally known  as  "  the  Lady  Washington  "  by  the 
miners.  Prof.  W.  said  in  his  paper  that  it  wa^ 
remarkable  that  so  fine  a  plant  had  been  over- 
looked by  other  botanists.     It  so  happens  thai 


New  Variegated  Lobelia.— Messrs.  Clag- 
gett  &  Munger,  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  write  :  "  At 
a  time  when  baskets  filled  with  plants  are  so 
much  in  use,  and  especially  variegated  plants 
so  much  admired  for  that  purpose,  we  take  plea- 
sure in  sending  you  a  Lobelia  which  originated 
in  our  establishment  last  season,  and  as  we  have 
not  noticed  any  such  plant  advertised  in  any 
catalogue,  we  thought  it  might  be  of  interest  for 
your  readers  to  know  that  such  a  plant  will  be 
offered  for  sale  at  an  early  day.  We  leave  you 
to  pass  an  opinion  whether  such  a  plant  wduld 
be  welcome  to  lovers  of  fiowers  at  large.  This 
Lobelia  appeared  in  a  lot  of  seedlings  last  year. 
At  first  we  thought  it  to  be  caused  by  sickly 
growth,  but  by  close  examination  we  found  it  ta 


IS  8 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MO.YTHLY. 


June, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


189 


be  in  a  perfectly  healtky  condition,  but  still  was 
not  cared  for  as  mucb  as  ought  to  have  been. 
This  season  we  find  it  to  be  one  of  our  finest 
growing  plants  of  that  class.  It  has  white  flow- 
ers edged  and  dotted  with  rich  blue  and  has  by 
U8  received  the  name  of  Lobelia  PaxtoniaVarie- 
gata  " 

[This  is  a  valuable  addition  to  our  srarden 
plants.  The  white  is  clear  and  the  green  is  live- 
ly, while  the  plant  itself  is  in  viororous  health 
We  are  sorry  for  its  long  name.  Why  not  call 
it  at  once  Claggett's  Variegated  or  the  "  Clag- 
gett."  Latin  names  are  bad  enough  for  species, 
although  we  cannot  do  without  them  there,  but 
they  serve  no  useful  purpose  whatever  in  a  gar- 
den variety. — Ed.] 


New  Bouvardias.  —Attention  is  being  given 
in  England  to  the  improvement  of  these  beau- 
tiful winter  blooming  flowers.  The  following 
are  some  that  have  just  been  introduced  : 

Alha  Oc/orrtta.— This  is  a  valuable  addition  to 
the  group,  differing  from  B.  longiflora  in  its  more 
compact  and  vigorous,  yet  dwarf,  habit,  also  in 
its  greater  profusion  and  longer  continuance  of 
bloom.  The  flower  trusses  are  large,  with  pure 
white  petals  of  great  substance,  and  very  richly 
fragrant,  the  snowy  whiteness  of  the  lobes  form- 
ing an  elegant  contrast  with  the  rose-tinted 
trumpet  like  flower  tubes. 

Bridal  Wreath.— T\\\%  fine  h>'brid  Bouvardia 
is  recognized  from  its  allied  forms  by  the  pecu- 
liar greyish,  or  white-tinted  stems,  and  obscure- 
ly hairy  or  pilose  leaf  margins  ;  in  other  features 
it  is  free,  vigorous  and  compact  in  growth,  inter- 


mediate between  B.  longiflora  and  B.  jasmia-i 
flora.  The  bloom  is  produced  freely  in  lar^^e 
cymose  clusters  of  snow-white  flower-lobes, 
broader  than  any  other  in  its  section  ;  delight- 
fully fragrant,  and  fading  off  with  a  delicate  car- 
mine tint.  The  greater  width  of  its  petals  and 
large  racemes  of  bloom,  render  it  a  very  effective 
plant  for  late  autumn  and  winter  flower  groups. 
Queen  of  Roses. — A  very  beautiful  variety  in 
the  colored  group  of  Bouvardias,  and  the  first 
known  with  fragrant  colored  flowers,  producing 
large  terminal  branching  clusters  of  pure  bright 
rosy-pink  trumpet-like  blossoms,  on  crimson 
tinted  flower  tubes.  Its  neat,  vigorous,  and 
freely  branched  growth  yields  a  long  succession 
of  bloom  during  the  late  summer  and  autumn 
months,  forming  a  very  distinct  and  desirable 
plant  for  pot  culture  in  the  greenhouse,  conser- 
vatory, or  open  front  border  in  the  summer  flow- 
er garden. 


Paullinia  Thalictrifolia.— a  very  beau- 
tiful semi-scandent  stove  foliage  plant,  which 
will  be  most  useful  for  all  kinds  of  decorative 
purposes.  It  is  of  slender  growth,  producing 
very  freely  its  beautifully  cut  leaves,  which 
resemble  the  fronds  of  a  highly-divided  Maiden- 
hair Fern.  The  matured  leaves  are  of  a  striking 
bright  green,  the  young  shoots  and  foliage  being 
of  a  beautiful  rosy  tint. 

The  plant  may  be  grown  either  on  a  trellis  or 
in  the  bush  form,  and  as  such  is  a  very  great 
acquisition,  both  as  a  plant  for  table  decoration 
or  to  cut  from.  This  plant  was  introduced  from 
the   Brazils  through  the  late  Mr.  Bowman.— 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


Apples  for  Central  Illinois.— Rural, 
of  the  Chicago  rnftunc,  says  :  —  '*  We  must  not 
have  all  regard  for  high  prices ;  for,  while  the 
liady  apple  may  sell  readily  at  $2.50  per  bushel, 
it  is  less  profitable  than  the  willow  twig  at  50 
cents.  We  must,  therefore,  take  all  things  into 
consideration,  if  we  would  make  a  wise  selection. 
Then,  again,  the  farmer  who  grows  apples  for 
market  should  confine  himself  to  a  few  varieties, 
for  his  customers  will  desire  the  same  kinds,— 
that  is,  if  they  are  good  ones.  For  summer  and 
fall  apples,  Saps  of  Wine,  Red  Astrachan,  Lovel, 


Rambo,  Fall  Wine,  Porter,  Standard  and  Snow 
are  amongst  the  best.  For  sweet  apples,  Goideu 
Sweet,  Rumsdell's  Sweet,  Baker's  Sweet,  Pound 
Sweet,  and  Paradise  are  as  good  as  any," 


The  Medical  Botany  of  California. - 
Dr.  W.  P.  Gibbons,  of  Alameda,  has  been  devot- 
ing considerable  time  and  labor  to  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  medical  properties  of  the  plants  pecu- 
liar to  this  Coast,  and  solicits  the  aid  of  his 
professional  brethren  in  different  quarters.  In 
a  paper,  lately  read  before  the  State  Medical 


Association,  he  describes  a  number  of  cases 
showing  marked  benefit  from  the  Grindelia  in 
Asthma,  and  thinks  it  will  prove  a  valuable 
remedy,  if  employed  with  proper  discrimination. 
There  are  two  species  which  appear  equally 
active,  the  rohusta  growing  in  low  places,  and 
the  hirsutula  on  dry  fields  and  hills.  The  infu- 
sion he  regards  as  the  best  preparation.-^  CaZi- 
fornia  Horticulturist. 


The  Angular  Divergence  in  the 
Branches  of  Plants. — Some  grow  quite 
prostrate,  and  others,  though  closely  allied  spe- 
cies, might  be  strictly  erect.  Late  in  the 
autumn  we  may  note  plants  with  prostrate 
leaves  or  branches,  which  in  spring,  will  have 
them  in  a  sharp,  upright  angle.  The  Verbas- 
cunis,  especially  Verbascum  Blattaria,j  had 
their  root  leaves  so  firmly  pressed  against  the 
ground,  that  on  lifting  they  would  fall  back 
with  a  spring  ;  as  soon  as  the  central  axis  grew, 
the  leaves  from  that  would  be  almost  upright. 
In  some  respects,  erection  or  prostration  became 
almost  specific  characters.  The  Rubus  villosus 
usually  grew  erect  even  from  infancy,  and  the 
Rubus  canadensis  generaly  trailed  ;  yet  the  last- 
named  would  sometimes  throw  up  strong  erect 
stems,  which  could  scarcely  be  distinguished  in 
that  stage  from  R.  villosus.  Again,  the  same 
species  of  tree  would  often  produce  individuals 
quite  erect,  and  at  other  times  very  pendant, 
and  hence  we  had  in  horticulture  the  class  of 
weeping  trees.  All  trees  seemed  to  have  this 
power  of  producing  pendant  individuals.  The 
Oaks,  Ashes,  Poplars,  Elms,  all  ^furnished 
tamiliar  examples. 

It  was  usual  with  botanists  to  pass  these 
things  over  as  '*  weaknesses."  But  the  term 
weakness  explained  nothing.  To  say  that  these 
plants  had  lost  the  power  of  erection  was  simply 
restating  the  primary  fact.  Moreover,  some  of 
these  prostrate  forms  had  apparently  more  vigor 
than  the  erect  ones.  Rubus  canadensis  was 
weaker  than  R.  villosus,  truly  ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  some  of  Russian  trailing  Junipers  were 
far  more  vigorous  than  any  of  the  upright  indivi 
duals.  The  Weeping  Beech  also  was  in  appear- 
ance more  vigorous  than  the  ordinary  forms. 
All  Beeches  had  their  young  growth  pendant. 
As  the  growth  matured,  the  branches  became 
erect ;  but  in  the  weeping  form  erection  did  not 
come  with  maturity,  and  hence  it  remained  pen- 
dant. In  the  Ashes,  however,  there  was  no  pen- 
dency in  the  young  growth ;  but  the  Weeping  Ash 


was  one  of  the  most  decided  of  all  drooping  trees. 
In  such  ^ases  as  these,  the  law  which  governed 
the  angles  of  divergence  must  either  be  different 
in  each  case,  or  operate  at  different  stages  of  the 
development  of  the  branches 

Mr.  Meehan,  in  his  late  travels  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  came  on  a  track  covered  profusely 
with  one  of  the  small  creeping  Euphorbias, 
probably  E.  cordata,  in  which  a  large  quantity 
grew  perfectly  erect.  Sometimes  only  a  portion 
of  the  plant  exhibited  this  character,  at  other 
times  all  the  plant  was  upright.  The  specimens 
he  exhibited  were  of  the  erect  class.  In  all  these 
cases  the  plant  was  attacked  by  a  small  fungus, 
^cidium  Euphorbia^  hypericsefolia  of  Schwein- 
itz.  He  thought  that  the  fact  that  this  little 
fungus  should  be  able  to  make  a  usually  creeping 
plant,  rooting  from  every  joint,  entirely  lose 
this  character  and  become  erect,  was  worthy  of 
some  notice  by  students  in  this  branch  of  botany. 
— T.  Meehan. — Extracts  from  a  Paper  in  Pro- 
ceedings  of  the  Academj/  of  Ifafural  Sciences, 
Philadelphia, 


Filberts  — We  were  surprised,  on  visiting 
one  of  our  Broadway  fruit  shops,  to  find  fresh 
filberts,  imported  from  Kent,  in  England,  selling 
with  their  heavy  green  husks  on  for  eighty  cents  per 
pound,  and  this  has  been  the  average  for  several 
years.  Why  should  not  our  farmers  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern  States  grow  filberts  ?  The  climate 
wliich  will  produce  good  peaches  will  also  pro- 
duce filberts,  and  all  of  our  light  tobacco  lands 
in  the  bnsin  of  the  Chesapeake  are  as  well  suited 
to  their  growth  as  the  soil  of  Kent,  and  certainly 
at  the  prices  ruling  now  in  New  York,  or  at 
even  half  these  prices,  filberts  would  prove  the 
most  profitable  product  within  the  whole  range 
of  agriculture.  Nor  is  the  adaptation  of  the 
soil  and  climate  of  our  Middle  States  to  the 
growth  of  these  nuts  at  all  problematical,  for 
they  have  been  grown  in  a  small  way  on  some  of 
the  old  homesteads  in  Virginia  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years. — lurf,  Field  and  Farm. 


Catching  the  Codling  Moth.— There  has 
been  a  great  deal  of  superficial  instruction  given 
in  this  country  for  the  trapping  of  noxious 
insects.  Bottles  with  sweetened  water,  and 
lighted  lamps  hung  in  trees,  were  recommended 
by  A.  J.  Downing  many  years  ago,  and  copied 
by  a  number  of  writers  since.  It  was  supposed 
that  curculio,  codling  moth  and  other  insect 
depredators  might  be  easily  caught  in  this  way. 


wo 


THE    GARDEMER'ti    MOJ\-THLY. 


June, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJV'THLJ. 


191 


_  I 

In  contrast  with  this  conjectural  advice  are  the ' 
careful  and  accurate  scientific  examinations  of; 
C.  V.  Riley,  State  Entomolon;ist  of  Missouri,  who  \ 
says  in  his  last  report   to   the  State  Board  of  | 
Agriculture  :  '•  I  have  elsewhere  ^iven  it  as  my  • 
decided    opinion    that   neither   fires,    lights,   or ' 
bottles  of  sweetened  water,  vinegar  or  any  other  ' 
liquid,  can  be  used  with  any  degree  of  success  in 
fighting  the  codling   moth.'     lie   then  states 
that  three  years  ago  he  kept  a  trap  of  this  kind, 
made  of  bright  tin,   well  lighted,  and   that  he  ' 
never  caught  a  single  specimen.    During  another 
summer,  two  kerosene  lamps  and  a  bright  re- 
flector attracted  hundreds  of  insects,  yet  only 
one  or  two  codling  moths  were  caught  among 
all   this   multitude.      At  the   same   time  many  \ 
wide-mouth    bottles,  with    decoying    solutions, 
were  hung  in  trees.     Many  insects  were  caught^ 
—small  harmless  moths  ;  some  that  were  injuri  1 
ous,  and  others  known  to  be  beneficial.     Among  I 
the  latter  were  numbers  of  two  species  known  to 


jwey  on  the  codling  moth~whi\e  but  three  codling 
moths  were  caught  all  summer.  Mr.  Riley  fur° 
ther  adds  that  on  showing  specimens  of  the  cod- 
ling moth  to  intelligent  cultivators,  they  candidly 
confessed  that  they  did  not  know  it  by  sight, 
and  hence  other  moths  were  mistaken  for  it. 
We  note  these  observations  to  show  that  the 
common  loose  way  of  making  such  examinations 
is  too  careless  and  vague  for  reliance. --OoM7?trv 
Qentlemen. 


Figs.— There  is  no  more  delicious  or  healthful 
fruit  than  the  fig,  and  we  are  surprised  that  so 
little  attention  is  given  at  the  South  to  its  culture 
and  propagation.  It  will  thrive  well  in  any 
part  of  the  cotton  States.  Figs  dried  in  the  sun, 
by  simply  mashing  and  placing  them  on  tins, 
are  superior  in  flavor  to  those  imported,  and 
will  keep  as  long.— P^/,r)<a<ton. 

But  they  get  wormy.  Dry  them  on  a  kiln,  or 
even  in  a  large  cook  stove.— J1fo6i7^  liegisfer. 


HORTfClILTURAL    NOTICES. 


THE  PENNSYLYAKIA  TTORTTCULTU- 
RAL  SOCIETY. 
The  Society  decided  to  hold  this  year  a  grand 
spring  exhibition,  with  the  idea  of  affording  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  a  jrlimpse  of  whatllow- 
ers  arc  at  this  season  ;  the  fall  exhibition  izener- 
ally  resolving  itself  into  a  first  class  fruitdisplay, 
with  the  flowers  rather  as  a   collateral.     This 
season,  however,  was  so  late  that  gardeners  and 
nurserymen  found  themselves  up  to  their  eyes  in 
work,  and  thus  very  reluctantly  were  compelled 
to  forego  the  pleasure  of  exhibiting.     Notwith- 
standing these  drawbacks  the  exhibition  was  an 
excellent  one,  and  in  many  respects  more  inter- 
esting than  any  of  its  predecessors. 

There  is  a  great  lack  in  all  our  exhibitions  of 
well  grown  plants  ;  indeed  the  idea  of  growing 
things  in  a  very  superior  7nanner,  except  in  a 
very  few  instances,  is  becoming  one  of  the  lost 
arts.  Most  of  our  exhibitions  depend  on  the 
miscellaneous  matter  hastily  gathered  up  from 
gardens  anl  greenhouses,  and  while  showing' 
ordinary  skill,  and  worthy  of  ordinary  commen''- ' 


,  dation.  litt'e  of  it  is  of  that  superior  order  which 

I  horticultural  exhibitions  are  expected  to  foster 

and  bring  forth.     This  is  said  by  way  of  encour- 

agem.Mit  to  better  exertion.     We  all  need  a  hint 

'  or  two  as  to  what  we  may  do  sometimes. 

There  were  on  this  occasion  several  things 
well  worthy  of  being  classed  with  superior  excel- 
lencies. One  of  these  was  a  hanging  basket  by 
C.  W.  Trotter.  The  centre  was  a  fuchsia,  Rose 
of  Castile,  we  believe,  grown  as  well  as  any  oftep 
seen  in  pots.  It  had  seventy-five  expanded  flow- 
ers. The  outside  filled  with  luxuriant  pendant 
vines  of  various  kinds.  A  large  Red  Azalea,  by 
Robert  Scott,  was  four  feet  high  and  four  feet 
across,  bearing,  we  may  surely  say,  thousands  of 
flowers.  A  very  beautiful  Yucca  quadricolor, 
by  H.  C.  Gibson,  was  nearly  three  feet  high  in 
the  stem,  and  with  a  profusion  of  luxuriant 
healthy  foliage. 

An  Anthurium  Schurzianum,  by  Mr.  Alex. 
Newett,  gardener  to  H.  Pratt  McKean,  Esq., 
had  seven  flowers  on.  The  scarlet  waxy  texture 
of  the  flowers  of  this  plant  will  ever  make  it  a 


popular  favorite.  Every  one  admires  the  satiny 
surface  and  pretty  markings  of  the  leaves  of  Oy- 
anophyllum  magnificum.  Mr.  Lucking,  gar- 
dener to  M.  Baird,  Esq.,  had  a  plant  with 
numerous  leaves  two  feet  long  by  about  one 
wide. 

The  bouquets  and  table  designs,  were  of  the 
highest  excellence,  and  did  much  credit  to  the 
taste  of  the  exhibitors.     It  is  long  since  such 
excellent    material  appeared    on   the   Society's 
tables.     In  Mr.  John  Dick's  excellent  collection, 
use  was  made  of  the  rather  rare  fern  Lomaria 
gibba.     Pennock  &  Bro  ,  in  a  magnificent  pla- 
teau of  flowers,  seemed  to  rest  chiefly  on  Roses 
(Marshal  Neil,   Bon   Silene,   Saff'rano,    mostly) 
and  Lilies  of  the  Valley,   with  ferns.     Robert 
Sherwood  had  more  CarnHionsand  Pinks  in  his 
than  the  others,  and  gave  it  a  markevl  character 
by  having  the  roses  thrown  out  from  the  mass 
of  flowers  on  longer  drooping  stems.     Among 
other  articles  deserving  of  special  notice,  were 
some  Pansies  by  Mr.  J.  Thomas,  r^ardener  to  A. 
J.   Bucknor,    Esq.,   some   of   which   were   two 
inches  across.     His  dwarf  Cinerarias  were  ab*^  ut 
eighteen  inches  across  their  flower  heads  ;  and 
Calceolarias,  on  one  of  which  we  counted  a  few 
over  one  hundred  open  Uowers.    These  are  wo^th 
ranking  with   "well  grown    plants."    In  Mr. 
Newett's  collection,  as  well  as  in  one  or  two 
others,   was  the  new  Coleus,    •* Camellia."    It 
has  a  stripe  of  vermillion  in  the  leaf,  a  tint  not 
before  known  in  Coleus  ;  but  it  is  hard  to  keep 
in  this  condition,  as  it  '*  runs  ''  out,  as  variega 
ted  leaves  do  sometimes.     It  is  a  variety  raised 
last  year  near  New  York.     A  fine  Nephrolepis 
in  this  collection  reminds  us  to  say  that  it  is  one 
of  the  best  of  all  ferns  for  hanging  baskets.  This 
on-*  was  N.  bulbifcra,  but  all  the  genus  is  good 
for  this  purpose.     In  the  same  collection  were 
well  grown  plants  of  Dracoena  regina,  Calocasia 
macrorhiza  variegata,   with   leaves    about    ten 
inches  long,  Clerodendron  splend  ns,    Begonia 
glaucophylla  scaudens,  with  nice  white  and  rose 
flowers. 

Mr.  H.  A.  Dr«^er  had  f.  neat  collection  of  small 
plants,  in  which  wis  exhibited  for  the  first  time 
the  Scarlet  Larkspur,  Delphinium  nudicaule. 
The  Fuchsia  Sun-ray,  a  variety  with  three 
colors,  and  Lobelia  Snowflake,  also  attracted 
attention.  Alongside  of  these  were  some  admi- 
rable forced  strawberries,  the  fragrance  of  which 
added  much  to  the  pleasure  of  the  occasion,  even 
if  the  fruit  had  not  been  so  remarkably  fine  as 
they  were.    It  is  rare  to  see  in  market  as  fiiM 


ones  as  these  were.  They  come  from  Mr.  Blair, 
of  Roxboro.  Albany  Seedling  and  Triomphe  de 
Gand. 

In  Mr.  Fergusson's  collection,  from  his  Lau- 
rel Hill  nursery.  Azaleas  made  a  particularly 
striking  show.  One  of  the  best  was  a  white 
with  carmine  stripes  and  fringed  edges— Alexan- 
dra IL  Mr.  Harris,  florist,  of  Darby  Road, 
always  excels  at  these  exhibitions  in  the  well 
grown  florists  flowers  in  his  collections.  Some 
beautiful  "Elm  City"  Fuchsias,  and  the  well 
known  Coleus,  Beauty  of  Windmere,  were  much 
admired. 

Mr.  G.  Huster,  gardener  to  J.  B.  Heyl,  Esq., 
had  in  his  collection  a  very  full  flowered  Epiphy- 
num  Jenkinsii,  which  made  the  visitors  wonder 
why  this  fine  old  plant  is  so  seldom  seen  now-a- 
days.  Here  also  was  an  old  fashioned  purple 
Gloxinia  with  over  one  hundred  flowers  on  i^. 

Mr.  Moon,  of  Morrisville,  had  a  large  number 
of  hardy  evergreens  in  pots. 

The  honor  of  exhibiting  the  best  quantity  of 
rare,  new,  or  interesting  plants,  was  borne  on 
this  occasion  by  Mr.  J.  Dick.  Among  a  splen- 
did collection  of  Tricolor  Geraniums,  Miss  Gohr- 
ing  had  four  colors  in  the  leaves  ;  and  is  a 
superior  variety  to  Lady  Cullum,  and  this  is 
saying  a  great  deal.  "  Mrs.  John  Dick  "  is  also 
an  excellent  variety.  Among  the  new  plants  is 
Aiocasia  zebrina,  with  striped  stems  ;  T'iUandsia 
Lindeni,  flowers  purple  and  white  ;  Dracoena 
Guilfoilii,  with  narrow  leaves,  striped  white  and 
pink;  the  curious  leaved  Chamoepeuce  cassa- 
bona,  Croton  aucubtefolia,  with  distinct  gold 
markings,  and  some  others. 

Mr.  Johnston,  gardener  to  Dr.  Camac,  had  a 
collection  of  one  hundred  species  of  ferns,  all 
remarkably  well  grown. 

Miller  &  Hayes,  of  Mount  Airy,  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  of  our  younger  firms,  had  an 
elegant  lot  of  plants,  in  which  Echeverias  played 
an  important  part.  They  also  had  some  new 
roses  and  varieties  of  rare  evergreens. 

In  one  of  the  halls  the  experiment  was  tried 
of  holding  a  flower  market,  in  which  auch  as 
desired  might  sell  their  i»lants  and  flowers.  It 
was  well  patronized  by  the  public,  and  promises 
to  be  a  valuable  feature  of  the  spring  exhibition. 
Great  credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Thos.  C.  Andrews,  on 
whom  the  whole  arrangement,  in  the  absence  of 
the  regular  committee,  fell.  Messrs.  J.  S. 
Houghton,  J.  E.  Mitchell,  and  Secretary  Harri- 
son, also  did  almost  superhuman  work  on  it. 


<^« 


192 


THE    GARBEJ^ER' a   MOJ^TELJ. 


June, 


AMERICAN  POMOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

FOURTEENTH  SESSION,  AND  QUARTER  CEN- 
TENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Whereas,  the  American  Pomological  Society, 
at  its  last  session,  accepted  the  invitation  of 
the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  to  hold 
its  Quarter  Centennial  Celebration,  and  Bien- 
nial Session,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  in  1873  ; 

Therefore,  in  conformity  with  said  acceptance, 
the  undersigned  give  notice  that  the  Fourteenth 
Session  of  this  National  Association  will  be 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  Massachusetts  Horticul- 
tural Society,  Treraont  Street,  in  Boston,  com- 
mencing Wednesday,  September  10th,  1873,  at 
10  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  continue  for  three  days. 

All  Horticultural,  Pomological,  Agricultural, 
and  other  kindred  associations,  in  the  United 
States  and  British  Provinces,  are  invited  to 
send  delegations,  as  large  as  they  may  deem 
expedient,  and  all  persons  interested  in  the 
cultivation  of  fruits,  are  invited  to  be  present 
and  take  seats  in  the  Convention. 

The  coming  session  will  be  especially  intiTest- 
ing,  commemorating,  as  it  will,  the  termination 
of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  the  existence 
of  the  Society,  and  it  is  believed,  will  be  one  of 
the  most  important  and  useful  that  the  Society 
has  ever  held.     On  this  occasion  there  will  be 
brought  together  the  best  cultivators  and  fruits 
of  our  widely  extended  country,  when  may  be 
examined  and  compared,  the  fruits,  not  only  of 
the  cooler  climes  of  the  North,  but  of  the  South, 
the  West,  and  the  Pacific  Slope.     It  is  therefore 
very  desirable  that  every  State,  territory,  and 
province  of  America,  should  be  fully  and' ably 
represented  in  this  convention,  thereby  p-omot- 
ing  the  advancement  of  one  of  the  great   re- 
sources of  our  national  wealth,— the  extension 
and   perpetuation   of   the  amicable  and  social 
relations  which  have  heretofore  existed  amon^r 
the  members  of  the  Society,-and  the  diff-usion 
throughout  the  land,  of  our  deliberations,  for 
the  benefit  of  our  constantly  expandinc.  terri- 
tory.  '^ 

It  is  therefore  hoped  that  there  will  be  a  full 
attendance  of  delegates  from  all  quarters  of  our 
country,  thereby  stimulating  more  extensive 
cultivation  by  the  concentrated  information  and 
experience  of  cultivators,  and  aiding  the  Society 
in  perfecting  its  Catalogue  of  Fruits.  This  will 
be  one  of  the  prominent  subjects  which  will 
come  before  the  Society,  and  we  therefore  re- 
spectfully urge  the  various  State  and  Local 
Committees  which  have  not  already  responded 


to  the  circulars  of  P.  Barry  (Chairman  of  the 
General  Fruit  Committee,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,)  to 
do  so,  with  such  information  and  lists  of  fruits 
as  may  aid  in  determining  what  varieties  are 
best  adapted  to  their  several  localities. 

At  this  session  the  Society  will  appoint  the 
place  for  its  next  meeting,  and  also  decide  what 
action  it  shall  take  on  the  invitation  to  partici- 
pate in  the  National  Exhibition  at  the  Centen- 
nial Celebration  of  1876,  in  Philadelphia,  and  it 
is  respectfully  requested  that  members  come 
prepared  to  express  their  opinions  in  regard  to 
this  subject. 

Arrangements  will  be  made  with  Hotels,  and 
as  far  as  p'^ssible  with  the  railroads  termi- 
nating in  Boston,  for  a  reduction  of  fare,  and  of 
which  notice  will  be  given  in  a  future  circular. 
Similai-  arrangements  can  undoubtedly  be 
made  by  the  various  delegations,  with  roads  in 
their  localities. 

Members  and  Delegates  are  requested  to  con- 
tribute specimens  of  the  Fruits  of  their  respec- 
tive districts,  and  to  communicate  in  regard  to 
them  whatever  may  aid  in  promoting  the  objects 
of  the  Society  and  the  science  of  American 
Pomology.  Each  contributor  is  ^-eq nested  to 
prepare  a  complete  list  of  his  collection,  and  to 
present  the  same  with  his  fruits,  that  a  report 
of  all  the  varieties  entered,  may  be  submitted 
to  the  meeting  as  early  as  practicable. 

The  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture  have  kindly  appropriated  Five 
Hundred  Dollars,  and  liberal  sums  have  been 
promised  by  other  generous  patrons.  See  pre- 
mium list. 

An  increased  interest  will  be  given  to  the 
occasion  by  the  Grand  Exhibition  of  Plants  and 
Flowers  by  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural 
Society,  which  will  occur  at  the  same  time. 

Packages  of  Fruits,  with  the  name  of  the 
contributor,  may  be  addressed  as  follows:— 
"American  Pomological  Society,''  care  of  E. 
W.  Buswell,  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Soci- 
ety, Boston. 

All   persons   desirous  of  becoming  members 
can  remit  the  fee  to  Thomas  P.  James,  Esq., 
Treasurer,   Cambridge,    Mass.      Life   Member- 
ship, Twenty  Dollars  ;  Biennial,  Four  Dollars. 
Marshall  P.  Wilder,  President, 

Boston,  Masp. 
F.  R.  Elliott,  Secretary,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Newspapers  and  Periodicals  that  take  an 
interest  in  Pomology,  are  respectfully  requested 
to  publish  the  above. 


f*-rx    r 


®f  Af  pE^«^@i  ®®Et®. 


Crop  1873. 

Particulars  on  Application. 


-^"*^ 


OUR  WHOLESALE  PRICED  LIST, 

Will  be  Mailed  to  Applicants. 


I 


Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 


BOOKS  FOR  RURAL  LIFE. 

WUI  be  forwarded  hj  mail,  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

Allen's,  R.  L ,  Amerieaa  Farm  Book $1  ^0 

Allen's,  R.  L.,  Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals 1  60 

Allen's,  L.  F.,  Raral  Architecture 1  60 

Allen's,  L.  F.,  Aroerioan  Cattle 2/5" 

Allen's,  R.  L  A  L.  V.,  New  Amerieaa  Farm  Book 2  HO 

American  Architect 7  00 

American  Agricultaral  Annual,  paper  60  ;  cloth 75 

American  Horticultural  Annual,    "  "        75 

American  Bird  Fancier  (Brown's) 30 

American  Farmer's  Encyclopedia 8  00 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Plants 1  75 

ArtofSaw  Filing 7J 

Architecture,  Modern  American,  CummingH  &  Miller 10  00 

"        Principles  and  Practice  of  By  Loring  &  Jenning  12  00 

Baker's  Fruit  Culture 4  00 

Bassetton  Cranberry  Culture 3'> 

Barry's  Iruit  Garden 2  60 

Bement's  Poulterer's  Companion 2  00 

Bement's  Kabbit  Fancier 3 

Beet  Root  Su^ar 1  ^ 

Bicknell's  Village  Builder,  77  plates 2  00 

Bommer'.M  Method  of  Makiog  Manures 2.5 

Hook  of  Roses.     F.  Parkmao 3  00 

Boussini^au't's,  J.  B.,  Rural  Economy I  60 

Brown's  Field    Book  of  Manures 1  &0 

Krowue's  Trees  of  America 6  00 

Breck's  N»^w  Book  of  Flowers 1  75 

Bridgcmnn's  American  Gardener's  Assistant 2  W 

Bridgeman's  Florists  Guide 1  00 

Bridgeman'8  Fruit  Cultivator's  Manual 1  00 

Bridgeman's  Kitchen  Gardener's  Instructor 1  00 

Buist's  Robert,  Am.  Flower  Garden  liirectory 1  6D 

Buist's,  Robert,  Family  Kitchen  Gardiner 100 

Burr's  Field  and  Garden  Vegetables  of  America $  OJ 

Carpenter  and  Joiner  (R.  Riddeil) 7  oO 

Carpenter  and  Joiner's  Hand  Book  (Holly) 75 

Ohorlton's  Grape  Grower's  Gu  de 75 

Chemistry  of  the  Farm  (Nichols) I  25 

Cleveland's  Villas  and  Cottages 4  00 

Cobbett's  American  Gardener 75 

Cole's,  S.  W.,  American  Fruit  Hook 7') 

Cole's  American  Veterinarian 75 

<':ooper's  Rural  Hours 2  00 

Copeland's  e:onntry  Life 5  00 

Dadd's,Geo   U.,  American  Cattle  Doctor 160 

Dadd's  Modern  Horse  Doctor 1  50 

Dadd's  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Hurse  (plaiu  plates)  3  50 

Dana's,  Samuel  H.,  Muck  Manual 1  25 

Darwin's  Variations  of  >«nimalsand  Plants  (2  vols) 6  00 

DeVoe's  Market  Assistant 2  50 

Downing'st  A  J..  Landscape  Gardening 6  50 

Downinif's  Cottage  Residences 3  On 

Downing's  Fruits  and  Fi  nit  Trees  of  America 4  00 

Downing's  Rural  Kssays 5  00 

Du  Breull's  Vineyard  Culture  (Dr.  Warden^ 2  00 

Eastwood  on  Cultivation  of  ihe  Cranberry 75 

Elliott's  Western  Fruit  Grower's  Guide 1  60 

Elliot's  Lawn  and  Shade  Trees 1  60 

Every  Woman  her  own  Flower  Gardener .,,,.,        50 

Farm  Talk  (Brackett) 1  00 

Farming  for  Boys 1  50 

Field's.  Thomas  W.,  Pear  Culture i  2j 

Fishing  in  American  Waters  (Scott) 3  60 

Flagg's  European  Vineyards i  fio 

FlaxCulure. 50 

Klint,  ChHH.  L.,  on  Grasses 2  50 

Flint's  Milch  Cows 2  60 

Flower  Gardens  for  Country  Homea ,  25 

Fowler's  Homes  tor  All i  fio 

Frank  Forester's  Fish  and  Fishing,  8  vo.  lOO  engravings....    6  60 

Frank  Forester's  Manuel  for  Toung  Sportsmen,  8  vo 3  Ot> 

French's  Farm  Drainage ,    i  60 

Fuller's  Grapn  Culturist : 150 

Fuller's  Small  Fruit  Culture .,     150 

Fuller's  strawberry  Culturist .,,*        25 

Fuller's  Forest  Tree  Culturist 150 

Fulton  on  Peach  Culture j  qq 

Geyelin's  Poultry  Breeding \    125 

Gray's  How  Plants  Grow .         \  25 

Oray'-<  Manual,  Botany  and  Lesvons,  in  ooe  vol, . .     4  Oi> 

Gray's  School  and  Field  Book  of  Botany 2  5J 

Green  on  Trout  Culture *.'.      ]  00 

Gregory  on  8qaa.she8,  paper 

Gueraon  on  Milch  Cows .•••..„,,,        75 

Gnide  to  Fortune *     |  qq 

Haratthy'H  Gr»tpe-culture  and  Wine-making [^  5  qq 

Harazthy's  California  Grape-culture !!**!!  6  00 

Harris'  Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,  clo.  $4;  col.  eng's..*.*.  6  60 

Harris  on  the  Pig J^'J  j  qq 

Hatfield's  American  House ''arpenter *.*.'.!!IIJ  8  60 

Henderson'a  Practical  Floriculture , .....I.'!!I  1  60 


Henderson  s  Gardening  for  Profit. ••     1  60 

Herbert's  Bints  to  HorMkeepers 1  75 

Hoopes  on  Evergreens. 3  00 

Hooper's  D4g  and  Oun,  paper  30  cents,  cloth 60 

Hop-culture 40 

How  to  Buy  a  Farm,  and  Where  to  Find  One 1  75 

How  to  Manage  a  Building   Association 2  00 

Hussmau's  Grapes  and  Wines 1  fO 

Jacques' Manual  of  the  House. 1  60 

Jricques'  Manual  of  the  Garden 1  00 

Jennings' Cattle  Doctor 1  76 

Jennings  on  the  Horse  and  his  Diseases 1  76 

Jennings' Sheep,  Swine  and  Poultry 1  76 

Johnson's  How  Crops  Grow..... 2  00 

Johnson's  Peat  and  its  Uses 1  25 

Johnston's  Elements  of  Ag.  Chemistry  and  Geology.. 1  50 

Johnston's,  J.  S.  W.,  Agricultural  Chemistry 1  76 

Kemp's  Landscape  Gardening..... 2  60 

Klippart's  Farm  Drainage 1  75 

Langstroth,  Key.  L.  L.  on  the  Hive  and  Honey  Bee ^  0') 

Leuchars' How  to  Build  Hot-house 1  60 

Leibig's,  Justus,  Familiar  Lectures  on  Chemistry 76 

London's  Encyclopeedia  of  Plants 16  00 

Lyman's  Cotton-culture 150 

Mayhew's  Practical  Book-keeping  for  Farmers 90 

Mead's  Grape-culture 3  00 

Mechanics'  Companion  (Nicholson) 3  00 

Meehan's  Ornamental  Trees 1  00 

McMahon's  American  Gardener 2  26 

Mileson  the  Hor>e's  Foot 75 

Miner's.  T.  B.,  Bee-keeper's  Manual , 1  25 

Mohron  the  Grape-vine 1  (0 

Money  in  the  Garden 1  60 

Munu's,  R.,  Practical  Land-drainer 75 

My  Vineyard  at  Lakeview 1  26 

My  Farm  of  Edgewood 1  75 

My  Ten-rod  FHrni 66 

North  American  Sylva,  6  vols.,  156  col.  plates,  in  .SO  parts, 

unbound 60  00 

"  •*  h« If  Turkey  Antique,  gilt 70  00 

full  "  76  00 

Neil'sPac.  Fruit,  Flower  &  Kitchen  Gardener's  Companion..  1  25 

Nichol's  CheniKsiry  of  the  Farm  and  Sea 1  26 

Norton's,  John  P.   Elements  of  Scientific  Agriculture 75 

Norris'  Fish-culture 1  76" 

Onion-culture 20 

Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres,  paper  .SO  cents,  cloth 60 

Packard*8  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,  8  parts,  each 60  • 

Pardee  on  Strawberry-culture 75 

Parson,  Samuel  B..  on  tlie  Roe 1  60 

Parkman's  Book  of  Roses 3  00 

Peat  and  its  Uses 1  26 

Pear-culture,  Fields 1  25 

Pedder's,  James,  Farmer's  Land-measurer 60 

Percheron  Horse 1  00 

Peters-  n's  Preserving,  Pickling  and  Canning  Fruit 60 

Phin  on  Wme-mtikitig 1  60 

Qi  linn's  Pear-ciiitut-e  tor  Profit 1  00 

Quinby's  Mysteries  of  Bee-keeping  Explained 1  60 

Randall's  Sheep  Husbandry 1  50 

Randall's  Fine  Wool  Sheep  Husbandry 1  00 

Raud's  Bulbs 3  00 

Raiid'H  Flowers  for  Parlor  and  Garden 3  00 

Rand's  Seventy-five  Flowers 1  60 

Rand's  Flower  Garden 3  00 

Reemelin's,  Charles.  Vinedressers'  Manna! 76 

Richardson  on  the  Dog,  paper  30,  cloth 00 

Riddell's  Architect 16  OC 

Roosevelt's  Five  Acres  Too  Much „ 1  60 

Rose  Culturist,  pa^er.SO cloth      76 

Robbins',  R  ,  Produce  and  Ready  Reckoner 76 

Rural  Studies 1  76 

Saunders'  Domestic  Poultry,  Paper  40 cloth      76 

.Saxton's  Hand-books,  in  four  series,  each 1  60 

Schenck's  Gardener's  Text-book 76 

Scribner*8  Ready  Reckoner  and  Log-book 36 

Strong's  Cultivation  of  the  Grape S  00 

Ten  Acres  Enough 1  60 

Thomas' Fruit-culturist;  new  edition 3  Ou 

Warder's  American  Pomoiofiy S  00 

''        Hedges  and  Evergreens 1  M 

Waring's  Drainage  for  Protit  and  Health 1  60 

*'         Eiemnntsol  Agriculture 1  00 

'*  Farth  Cllosets , *5 

Webster's  Dictionary,  Unabridged 13  00 

Well's  Every  Man  his  own  Lawyer 2  06 

Window  Gardening 1  W 

White's  Gardnning  for  the  South 2  00 

"        Cranberry  Culture 1  26 

Workingman's  Way  to  Wealth 75 

Wright's  Practical   Poultry  Keeper 2  00 

Tonattonthe  Horse 1  76 

Youman's  Household  Science ~...  2  00 

Address,  OfiAS.  H.  MABOT, 


DEVOTED  TO 

Horticulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural   Affairs. 

EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.   XV. 


JULY,    1873. 


New  Series,  Vol.  VI.  No.  7. 


HINTS  FOR  JULY. 


]|^=^SEE   FIRST   PAGE,  FACING   COVER. 


FLOWEU  GARDEN-  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 
If  thanks  be  due  to  the  man  who  invented 
sleep,  as  some   writer  particularly  insists,  how 
many    thanks   are   due    to  him   who  invented 
lawn  mowing  machines.     When  the  writer  was 
a  boy  he  had  to  rise  *' with  the  lark, '»  and  go 
out  with  the  mowers,  in  order  that  the  grals 
might  be  cut  before  the  dew  went  offfrom  it ;  now 
if  he  chooses  he  can  lie  in  bed  and  dream  his 
thinks  to  the  sleepy  fellow,  resting  assured  that 
with  a  jrood  mower  he  can  cut  any  time  in  the 
day.    But  thanks  are  not  only  due  to  the  inven- 
tor of  the  mowers,  but  to  those  who  have  so 
sedulously  improved  them.    It  is  not  more  than 
a  year  or  two  ago  but  we  could  hardly  go  over 
a  lawn  wit'i  our  machines   without  a    pony. 
Now  the  hand   mowers   will   do    an    immense 
amount  of  work  in  a  short  time,  and  unless  in 
v-ry  extensive  places,  a  horse  is  not  thought  of. 
But  to  us  the  greatest  triumph  of  the  mower  is  | 
that   we    need  no!  set    aside    all    other   man- 
ner of  work  whatsoever,  and   go  to    mowiucr 
because  the  cutting  time  has  come.     We  can 
now  mow  long  grass  as  well  as  short  grass-and 
indeed  this  is  perhaps  the  greatest  gain  of  all. 
It  was  the  f^ult  of  some  of  the  earlier  machines 
that  we  had  to  cut  often,  whi-h  meant  of  course 
pretty  close,  and  this  close  cutting  weakened  the 
grass  to  such  an  extent  that  small   creepinor 
weeds  were  aided  in   their  growth    by    being 
brought  fair  to  the  sunlight,  and  in  the  struggle 
|or  lite,  the  grass  was  crowded  out.    In  view  of 
ihi8  we  have  had  to  recommend  that  the  lawn 
Should  be  lea  to  grow  without  mowing  every 
ew  years,  if  grass  was  to  be  permanent.    Now 
we  have  machines  which  will  cut  at  any  height 


For  our  part  we  do  not  see  the  beauty  of  a  very 
close  shave,  and  think  that  an  even  and  reorular 
growth  of  a  half  to  one  inch,  prettier  than  one 
cut  so  low  down.  But  this  is  a  matter  of  taste, 
and  we  do  not  insist,  only  a  very  short  cut  is 
fatal  to  a  long  lived  lawn.  With  the  improved 
hand  mowers  of  the  present  day.  there  is  proba- 
bly no  one  among  our  readers  but  will  want  to 
have  a  neat  little  bit  of  grass  in  good  keeping 
about  his  house.  ° 

But  passing  from  the  lawn  to  the  trees  upon 
it-the  time  is  coming  when  transplanted  trees 
of  the  past  fall  and  spring  will  suffer  more  than 
during  any  other  part  of  the  season.     If  they 
show  a  vigorous  growth  of  young  wood,  no  dan- 
gi^r  need  be  apprehended,  as  it  indicates  that  the 
roots  are  active,  and  can  supply  all  the  moisture 
the  foliage  calls  for ;  but  if  no  growth  has  been 
made,    no  roots  have    been   formed,    and    the 
leaves  are  living  for  the  most  part  on  the  sap  in 
the  wood  and  bark,  and  hot,  drying  weather  will 
tell  with  injurious  effect  on  such  trees.     This  is 
generally  first  shown  by  the  peeling  off  of  the 
bark  on  the  southwestern  side  of  the  tree-the 
most  dryini:  aspect ;  and  where  such  exhaustion 
appears  probable,  much  relief  may  be  afforded 
by  cutting  back  some  of  the  branches,  syringing 
with  water,  occasionally,  shading  the  trees  where 
practicable,  or  wrapping  the  trunk  in  hay  bands, 
or  shading  the  southwest  with  boughs  or  boards. 
Plants  set  against  walls  and  piazzas  frequent- 
ly suffer  from  want  of  water  at  this    season, 
when  even  ground  near  them  is  quite  wet.  Draw 
away  the  soil  around  each  plant  so  as  to  form  a 
basin  ;  fill  in  with  a  bucketful  of  water,  allowing 
it  time  to  soak  gradually  away,  and  when  the 
surface  has  dried  a  little,  draw  in  loosely  the  soil 


!• 


^ii 


194 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S  MOJ^THLY. 


July. 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJVER'S  MO^THLl. 


o?er  it,  and  it  will  do  without  water  for  some 
weeks.  This  applies  to  all  plants  wanting 
water  through  the  season.  If  water  is  merely 
poured  on  the  surface,  it  is  made  more  compact 
by  the  weight  of  water,  and  the  harder  the  soil 
becomes,  the  easier  it  dries ;  and  the  result  is, 
the  mere  water  you  give  the  more  is  wanted. 

Keep  the  pruning  knife  busy  through  the  trees 
and  shrubs,  with  the  object  of  securing  good 
form.  Judgment  will  soon  teach  one  which 
shoots  would  spoil  the  shape  if  not  taken  out. 

In  most  kinds  of  soil  the  keeping  the  surface 
loose  by  hoeing  and  raking  in  dry  weather,  will 
be  an  excellent  method  of  keeping  the  main  body 
cool  and  moist— admitting  the  air,  which  is  a 
good  non-conductor.  In  soils,  however,  which 
are  deficient  in  loam,  and  in  which  sand  prevails 
to  a  great  extent,  frequent  stirrings  have  a  dry- 
ing tendency,  and  a  mulching  of  short  grass,  or 
decaying  vegetable  matter  of  any  kind,  will  be 
found  very  useful  around  transplanted  trees, 
shrubs  and  other  things. 

We  should  like  to  call  attention  to  a  note  we 
gave  last  year,  that  some  beautiful  objects  for 
lawn  decorations  can  be  made  of  Wisterias,  by 
training  them  as  standards.  A  young  plant  is 
selected  and  trained  to  a  stake  six  feet  high. 
When  the  plant  reaches  this  it  is  headed  off. 
The  second  year  the  stake  may  be  taken  away, 
and  the  young  plant  will  support  itself.  It  will 
never  make  running  branches  after  this,  as  it 
takes  all  its  nutritive  powers  to  overcome  grivi- 
tation  and  sustain  itself  erect.  A  beautiful  um- 
brella-like head  is  formed,  and  its  hundreds  of 
drooping  flowers  in  spring  thus  shown  off  to 
beautiful  advantage.  Another  point  of  interest 
to  a  nurseryman  in  this  is,  that  with  this  check 
to  growth  the  reproductive  powers  are  called  into 
play,  and  the  plants  then  usually  produce  seed 
abuvdantly.  There  is  hope  for  numerous  im- 
proved varieties  as  soon  as  these  facts  become 
generally  known.  This  is  a  very  good  season  to 
train  plants  up  for  this  purpose. 

Many  of  the  earlier  sown  annuals  will  be  seed- 
ing now,  and  those  flowers  which  opened  first 
will  make  the  best  seed  to  save.  Where  seed  is 
not  desired,  it  is  best  to  cut  away  all  as  it  forms. 
The  annuals  will  continue  to  bloom  much  lont^er 
for  this  care.  In  getting  seed  of  Double  Holly- 
hocks, much  difficulty  is  often  experienced.  The 
petals  prevent  the  pollen  from  falling  on  the  pis- 
til. It  is  best,  therefore,  to  fertilize  them  by 
hand.  They  then  produce  as  much  seed  as  the 
single  ones.    Another  advantage  of  this  artificial 


195 


4 


hybridization  is,  that  we  can  get  any  color  we 
please  from  seed.  If,  for  instance,  we  want  to 
reproduce  the  kind  perfect,  fertilize  with  its  own 
pollen  ;  but  if  we  would  raise  new  varieties,  use 
pollen  from  a  plant  of  different  color  from  the  one 
we  employ  for  seed. 

Those  who  wish  for  a  good  supply  of  window 
flowers  next  winter,  should  commence  prepara- 
tions about  the  end  of  the  month.  The  Chinese 
Primrose,  Cineraria,  Mignonette,  Alyssum  and 
other  desirable  plants  should  be  sown  in  pots, 
and  kept  in  a  cool  frame  until  they  grow.  Most 
people  fail  with  these  beautiful  plants  by  sowing 
too  late.  The  Wallflower  is  a  nice  old-fashioned 
window  flower,  and  cuttings  of  the  double  kinds 
should  be  struck  at  once.  Cuttings  of  Gerani- 
ums and  other  things  for  this  coming  winter's 
blooming  may  still  be  put  in. 

We  have  so  often  spoken  of  hedge  manage- 
ment in  these  hints,  that  it  seems  to  us  as  if 
every  one  ought  to  know  about  it ;  but  it  is  won- 
derful how  few  do.  Only  recently  one  whom  we 
know  to  be  one  of  our  most  attentive  readers, 
and  to  have  been  one  from  the  beginning, 
remarked  as  he  passed,  what  everybody  calls  "a 
very  beautiful  Norway  Spruce  hedge  on  our 
grounds,  that  it  was  really  beautiful,  but  it  was 
a  great  error  to  have  it  so  unnecessarily  wide  at 
the  base.  This  hedge  is  five  feet  high  and  five 
feet  wide  as  the  base,  which  makes  it  rather 
wider  than  it  is  high  ;  of  course  it  is  trimmed 
into  a  truncate  triangular  form. 

Now  it  is  one  of  the  essentials  of  a  permanent 
prosperous  hedgp,  that  it  mu^t  be  at  least  as 
wide  at  the  base  as  it  is  high,  and  that  it  must 
be  trimmed  with  a  flat  or  gently  curved  surface 
to  a  point  at  the  top.  The  light  then  has  a  chance 
to  play  directly  on  every  part  of  the  leaf  surface, 
without  which,  it  is  impossible  to  have  a  hedge 
long  in  order.  For  that  part  which  receives  the 
greater  share  of  sunlight,  w|l}^get  stronger,  and 
that  which  gets  the  lea»i' 'gradually  grows 
weaker,  till  a  thin,  poor  base  is  the  final  result. 
This  is  one  great  object  in  pruning  to  remedy. 

The  Gladiolus  has  become  one  of  our  most  pop- 
ular summer  flowers.  Those  who  have  collec- 
tions of  them  arrange  the  varieties  very  taste- 
fully according  to  their  colors.  Take  a  list  of 
colors  as  they  flower,  so  as  (o  arrrnge  them  pro- 
perly next  year.  We  give  the  same  advice  for 
Petunias,  Verbenas,  and  Geraniums.  The 
various  shades  of  colors  of  these  varieties  pro- 
perly arranged,  make  beds  peculiarly  pleasing. 
This  is  one  of  the  arts  of  modern  flower-t^arden- 


ing,  to  arrange  flowers  properly  according  to 
shades  of  color. 


«•••» 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 
One  of  the  worst  inflictions  a  writer  has  is 
dealing   with  stupid    people.     Large    numbers 
have  an  idea  that  fruit  culture    is    an    exact 
science,  and  that  after  they  have  learned  to  do 
a  few  things,  the  sura  total  of  success  ought  to 
follow  as  regularly  as  the  rule  of  three.     This  is 
especially  the  case  in  fruit  culture.     If  you  tell  a 
man  that  deep  soil  is  essential  to  good  culture, 
like  enough  he  turns  all  his  rich  top  soil  down 
two  or  three  feet,  and  sticks  his  plants  in  the  old 
poor  clay  he  has  brought  to  the  surface,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  season,  points  to  the  result  as  a 
specimen  of  your  folly.     If  you  say   that  soil 
pressed  firm  enables  the  little  roots  to  touch  the 
earth  and  draw  in  moisture  better  than  loose 
earth,  ten  chances  to  one  if  he  don't  drill  holes 
in  the  middle  of  a  turnpike  road,  and  after  drop- 
ping a  grain  of  corn  into  it,  assert  in  the  end 
that  you  are  the  veriest  of  humbugs.     If  they 
read  that  summer  pruning  fruit  trees  weakens 
them,  under  no  circumstances  will  (hey  touch  a 
branch  ;    and  when  you  teach  that  fruit  trees 
are  often  very  much  benefitted  by  summer  pru- 
ning, they  think  you  are  the  most  iaconsistent 
wretch  living.     It  is  indeed  very  unsafe  to  give 
such  people  rules,   and  yet  illustrations  serve 
them  no  better.     Say  to  them  that  the  roots  of 
most  of  our  fruit  trees  suffer  by  the  heat  of  our 
summers,  and    that   the   best    success    follows 
where  the  roots  are  cool,  and  they  will  imagine 
you  mean  to  import  a  cargo  of  ice  to  pack  around 
them.     Then  you  say  that  this  is  extravagant, 
you  would  sooner  mulch  with  any  old  vegetable 
material,  they  will  tell  you  it  is  too  expensive— 
they  cannot  afford  it.     Tell  them  in  reply  to  put  ' 
the  orchard  in  grass  or  clover,  and  they  will  say  ! 
to  you  that  the  land  is  poor,  and  will  not  sup-  i 
port  two  crops.     Point  out  that  this  is  another  ' 
question,  that  the  two  crops  must  have  manure. 
But  after  all  they  have  not  the  manure.     Then 
in  despair  you  say,   well  then  keep  the  grass 
mowed,  and  let  it  lay  where  it  falls.     It  will  be 
better  than  no  manure  at  all. 

But  after  all,  it  is  no  use  to  talk  to  such  peo- 
ple ;  they  are  bound  to  **  have  "  you,  but  there 
are  intelligent  people  who  well  know  that  to 
have  success  in  fruit  growing,  there  is  no  rule  of 
three.  A  man  must  know  with  the  tree  before 
nina  what  that  tree  v^ants.  Books  will  not  tell 
bim ;  principles  will  not  tell  him  ;  the  most  ex-  ' 


perienced  tree  grower  at  a  distance  cannot  tell 
him— he  must  listen  to  that  tree's  own  tale. 
Then  he  may  apply  what  he  has  read  and  seen 
to  the  immediate  case.     There  is  no  other  road 
to  success.     With  this  view,  let  our  readers  re- 
member that  the  roots  want  plenty  of  food,  as 
much  so  as  any  other  garden  crop  ;  want  to  have 
their    feeding    roots    near  the    surface  of  the 
ground,  and  want  to  be  kept  at  a  temperature 
below  80^    Whatever  accomplishes  this  is  favor- 
able to  the  best  results  in  fruit  culture.     All  the 
discussions  about  clean  culture  or  grass  culture  • 
harrowing  early  or  harrowing  late,  and  many 
other  matters  about  which  some  people  love  to 
argue,  are  of  but  secondary  consequence.     They 
are  but  the  tools  with  which  the  work  is  to  be 
done.     Which  does  the  best,  is  best  to  be  done. 
Sometimes  it  is  one,  sometimes  the  other— ask 
the  tree.     But   this  matter  of  earth  heat  is  of 
great  consequence  to  the  cultivator.    Many  roots 
cannot  stand  80^  and  the  plants  remain  healthy. 
The  gooseberry  is  particularly  of  this  class.     As 
soon  as  the  earth's  heat  goes  over  70°,  the  goose- 
berry commences  to  mildew.    Any  surface  cov- 
ering that  will  keep  down  the  temperature,  is 
good  for  the  gooseberry. 
j      In  the  fruit  garden,  if  trees  set  out  last  fall  or 
.  spring  do  not  show  signs  of  growing  freely,  cut- 
I  ting  back  a  portion  of  the  branches  will  make  a 
j  great  difference  in  their  favor.      It  is  a  great 
,  point  with   good   fruit-growers  to  havp  all  the 
branches  in  a  tree  of  uniform  vigor.     This  can 
be  gained  by  pinching  off  the  growing  points  of 
the  stouter  ones,  leaving  the  weaker  ones  to  gain 
strength  by  the  check  to  the  others.    Where  the 
branches   are  likely  to  be  too  thick,  some  may 
be  taken  out  while  green,  instead  of  waiting  till 
winter  to  do  it ;  not  fori^etting,  however,  that  a 
loss  of  foliage  is,  in  some  degree,  an  injury  to 
the   tree  ;   and   that  as  little  of  this  should  be 
done  as  is  consistent  with  necessity.     Some  re- 
commend trees  to  be  pruned  in  summer,  because 
the   wounds  heal  better  then.      It   is  true  the 
wound  does  heal  better,  but  the  loss  of  so  much 
I'oliage  is  an  injury  not  compensated  by  the  heal- 
ing of  the  wound.    However,  where  the  trees  are 
young,  and  the  branches  to  be  cut  away  but  a 
small  fraction  of  the  foliage,  the  injury  is  little, 
and  the  summer  trimming  is  thus  a  gain.    Nur- 
sery trees  are  best  served  in  this  way.     Straw- 
berries, Raspberries  and  Blackberries  are  **  sum- 
mer pruned  "  chiefly  by  thinning  the  suckers 
and  runners.     Strawberries  are  often  grown  in 
beds,  and  the  mass  of  runners  suffered  to  grow 


196 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJVTBLY. 


July, 


1878. 


TEE    GARBEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


197 


Apple  and  Peach— and  summer-pruning  are  the 
main  suhjects  of  attention  at  this  particular  sea- 
son. Where  the  soil  is  not  very  good,  as  may  be 
noted  by  a  weak  growth  of  the  trees,  a  surface 
manuring  may  be  yet  given  with  advantage. 
Every  day's  experience  more  decidedly  shows 
the  great  advantages  to  the  pomologist  of  this 
method  of  applying  manure. 

It  used  to  be,  and  is  yet  to  a  great  extent,  the 
recommendation  of  writers  to  cut  away  rasp- 
berry canes  as  soon  as  they  have  borne  fruit ; 
fruit-growers  know  better  now.  The  slight 
shade  these  old  stalks  afford,  is  agreeable  to  the 
new  growth  which  is  to  bear  next  year. 

In  regard  to  training  fruit  trees,  this  is  the 
most  important  month  in  the  year.  If  a  shoot 
appears  where  it  is  not  wanted,  pinch  it  off,  this 
throws  the  sap  into  other  directions  where 
strength  and  vigor  is  desired.  A  good  summer 
pruner  does  not  leave  much  to  be  done  in  the 
winter  time. 


♦•»»» 


together  as  they  will.  This  is  the  best  way  for 
parties  who  have  little  time  to  give  to  their  gar- 
dens. When  grown  in  hills,  or  with  the  run- 
ners cut  off,  something  is  necessary  to  place 
between  the  rows  or  the  plants,  in  order  to  keep 
the  fruit  from  getting  gritty  after  rain.  When 
they  are  in  beds,  the  fruit  keeps  cleaner  without 
much  difficulty.  But  with  this  plan,  the  run- 
ners should  be  thinned  out  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  leaving  them  only  about  three  or  four 
inches  apart.  Of  course,  we  weed  these  Straw- 
berry-beds ;  a  large  part  of  the  runners  should 
be  treated  as  weeds  and  taken  out  at  the  same 
time.  Raspberries  and  Blackberries  should  be 
gerved  the  same  way.  All  the  suckers  not 
wanted  to  bear  next  year,  should  be  taken  out 
as  they  appear.  If  the  kind  be  valuable,  the 
young  offsets  taken  up  may  be  transplanted  any 
time  through  the  season,  by  well  watering  and 
nipping  out  the  young  tender  tops.  About  the 
end  of  the  month  it  is  often  the  practice  to  clip 
off  the  growing  ends  of  Blackberries  and  Rasp- 
berries. It  is  said  to  stiffen  the  canes,  and  it 
renders  stakes  to  support  them  in  a  measure  un- 
necessary. 

People  sometimes  are  anxious  to  get  rare  kinds 
of  strawberries  to  fruit  early,  and  hence  planta- 
tions are  made  in  the  fall.  For  general  crops 
we  think  there  is  not  much  gained  by  fall  plant- 
ing. In  the  case  of  rare  varieties,  however,  it 
is  often  worth  a  little  extra  trouble  \o  do  things 

well.     The  best  way  to  proceed,  is  to  get  small 

pots  with  rich  earth,  and  sinking  them  in  the 

ground,  layer  runners  into  it.    Such  plants  be- 
come very  strong,  and  can  be  transplanted  from 

the  pots  without  injuring  the   roots,  and  will 

imake  strong  stocks  which  will  fruit  very  well 

.next  year.     We  raised  some  excellent  President 

Wilder's  this  way  last  year.      Of  course  the 

result  was  not  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  form 

an  opinion  of  its  whole  character  ;  but  we  may 

gay,  that  in  spite  of  the  excessively  hot  weather, 

it  has  turned  out  remarkably  well.     In  regard 

to  the  best  strawberries,  it  is  remarkable  that  the 

bulk  of  all  the  thousands  of  bushels  which  come 

to  the  Philadelphia  market  is  still  Albany  Seed- 
ling.   Amongst  amateurs  there  is  no  one  that 

carries  universal  supremacy  with  it,  as  personal 

taste  dictates  the  favorite.     But  certainly  those 

which  arc  grown  the  most  extensively  are  Green 

Prolific,  Triomphe  de  Gand,  Jucuuda,  Agricul- 

t-irist  and  Downer's  Prolific. 
The  thinning  of  fruit— watching  of  insects,        Tomatoes  trained  to  stakes  give  the  sweetest 

especially  the  borers  in  Dwarf  Pears,  Quince,    fruit,  and  remain  in  bearing  the  longest ;  but 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

Preparations  for  the  Celery  crop  is  one  of  the 
chief  matters  in  this  department  at  this  season. 
No  plant,  perhaps,  requires  a  richer  soil  than 
this,  and  of  all  manures,  well  decayed  cow  dung 
if  found  to  be  the  best.  After  so  many  trials 
with  difl'erent  ways  of  growing  them,  those  who 
have  their  own  gardens— amateurs,  for  whom 
we  write— find  that  the  old  plan  of  sinking  the 
plants  in  shallow  pits  is  about  the  best.  Trenches 
are  dug  about  six  inches  deep,  and  three  or  four 
inches  of  manure  then  dug  in,  of  which  cow  ma- 
nure is  the  best.  They  can  be  watered  better 
this  way  in  dry  weather,  when  in  these  trenches, 
and  it  is  so  much  easier  to  fill  the  earth  about 
them  for  blanching  purposes  than  when  grown 
on  the  level  surface.  Salt  in  moderate  doses  is 
usually  a  wonderful  special  fertilizer  for  the 
Celery  plant. 

Late  Cabbage  is  often  planted  in  gardens  be- 
tween rows  of  potatoes,  where  it  is  an  object  to 
save  space.  Some  fancy  that  the  Cabbage  is 
better  preserved  in  this  way  from  the  Cabbage- 
fly,  which  they  say  prefers  the  potato  ;  but  on 
this  point  we  are  not  sure.  We  do  not  think  the 
Cabbages  do  quite  as  well  as  when  they  have  the 
whole  ground  to  themselves  ;  but  of  course  a 
double  crop  could  not  be  expected  to  be  quite  so 
fine. 


many  cultivators  who  grow  for  size  and  quantity 
only,  believe  they  have  the  best  results  when 
growing  them  on  the  level  ground. 

For  winter  use.  Beets  are  occasionally  sown 
now,  and  also  Cucumbers  for  pickling  purposes  ; 
but  not  often  ;  and  at  any  rate  it  must  be  attend- 
ed to  early  in  the  month. 

The  Lettuce  is  another  cool  country  plant.  It 
can  only  be  grown  well  in  hot  weather  when  in 
very  rich  and  cool  soil. 

Bush  Beans  may  also  be  sown  for  late  crops. 
A  very  deep  rich  soil  is  necessary  to  tender,  crisp 
pods.      The  Lima  Bean   will  now  be  growing 


rapidly.  It  is  time  well  spent  to  tie  them  up  to 
poles  as  they  grow.  The  poles  should  not  be  too 
high— about  eight  feet  is  enough.  They  com- 
mence to  bear  freely  only  when  the  top  of  the 
pole  is  reached. 

In  many  amateurs'  gardens  late  Peas  are 
valued.  It  is  essential  that  they  be  planted  in 
the  coolest  part  of  the  ground.  The  Pea  is  a 
cool  country  plant,  and  when  it  has  to  grow  in 
warm  weather,  it  mildews.  The  Marrowfat 
class  are  usually  employed  for  late  crops.  They 
need  support.  All  Peas  grow  better  and  pro- 
duce more  when  grown  to  stakes. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


OBSERVATIONS  AND  RECOLLECTIONS 
OF  NEW  HOLLAND. 

BY  W.   T.    HARDING,  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE, 
COLUMBUS,    OHIO. 

(Concluded.) 
In  this  hemisphere,  Ericas  are  meagrely  repre- 
sented by  a  few  free  growing  imported  kinds, 
which  appear  to  thrive  tolerably  well,  while  the 
more  delicate,  choice  and  beautiful  varieties  seem 
only  to  grow  under  protest.  The  skill  required 
to  grow  them  is  obtainable,  no  doubt,  but  some- 
how there  is  a  something  wanting  for  their  suc- 
cessful cultivation.  Doubtless  an  uncongenial 
climate  is  the  chief  cause  why  they  do  not  flour- 
ish. At  the  "  Golden  Gate  "  nursery,  San  Fran- 
cisco, I  saw  the  best  examples  of  successful 
Erica  and  Epacris  growing  on  this  continent. 

England  is  famed  for  her  many  rich  and  ex- 
tensive collections,  where  the  highest  skilly  with 
every  necessary  aid  is  employed  in  their  cultiva- 
tion. There  are  upwards  of  six  hundred  species 
known  to  the  botanist,  all  natives  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  In  this  country  there  is  but  one 
in  Nova  Scotia  "native  to  the  manor  born.'» 
Keither  are  they  in  Australia.  In  Europe  there 
are  several  pretty  kinds,  which  cover  large  tracts 
of  uncultivated  land,  and  are  used  for  various 
domestic  purposes.  It  is  known  in  Great  Britain 
as  the  Heath,  or  *Mieather  bell »'  of  the  poets. 
If  the  reader  has  unweariedly  followed  my 
footsteps  thus  far,  I  will  conduct  him  still  far- 
ther, and  introduce  him  to  the  gold  fields.  Here, 
and  on  every  side  were  the  holes  or  mines, 
Where  anxious  men  were  picking  and  digging  in 
warch  of  the  precious  mettle  with  untiring  zeal 


—I  had  almost  said  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  bet 
ter  cause,  when  I  looked  at  the  toiling,  dirty, 
ragged,  unkempt  grovellers,  burrowing  like  rats 
in  their  holes,  some  up  to  the  thighs  in  water, 
scratching  for  '*  filthy  lucre,''— I  thought  surely 
the  folly  of  the  ancient  Israelites  was  being 
enacted  again  in  the  nineteenth  century  by  wor- 
shipping a  golden  calf. 

Near  by  was  a  sight  more  grave  than  gay,  as 
the  narrow  bed  just  excavated  was  awaiting  the 
weary  one,  who  had  ceased  from  his  labors ; 
notwithstanding,  the  scene  partook  more  of  the 
serio-comic  than  the  dramatic.  The  angel  of 
Death,  while  hovering  around  the  sick  man,  had 
lovingly  descended  to  receive  his  disembodied 
spirit,  and  silently  ascending  to  the  realms  above, 
had  ushered  it  within  the  portals  of  bliss. 

In  an  open  tent  adjacent,  which,  by  the  way, 
was  of  primitive  construction,   without  either 
sides  or  top,    having  only  a  mud  bottom,   on 
which  were  seated  the  surviving  **chum3"ol 
the  deceased  digger,  who  had  but  a  few  hours 
before  "shuffled  off  his  mortal  coil,"  and  waa 
laid  in  a  stringy  bark  coffin,  awaiting  the  last 
sad  obsequies  the  living  pay  to  the  dead,  his 
late  companions  were  having  a  "wake"  over 
the    silent  remains,  according  to  the    ancient 
usages  and  custumes  of  their  fore-fathers  in  old 
Ireland.      They,   the   mourners,  seemed   to  be 
more  whiskey  full  than  mournful.,  having  treated 
their  noble  selves  to  big  lashings  of  the  same. 
Lustily  they  sang : 

"  Terry  O'Rau  was  a  nate  young  man, 
And  was  loved  by  the  lassies  of  Derry  O,** 


198 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


July, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


199 


which  was  all  true,  no  doubt,  and  then  quaffed 
another  dram  to  the  memory  of  their  departed 
comrade. 

Whether  from  being  infused  with  the  spirit  of 
wine  or  influenced  by  the  Spirit  divine,  I  cannot 
•ay,  but  at  any  rate  they  seemed  to  hare  come 
to  the  conclusion 

"  That  to  talk  about  trifles  is  trifling  folly, 
So  the  best  aim  of  life  is  to  live  and  be  jolly." 

Alas!  poor  fellow,  I  exclaimed,  he  is  but  a 
young  man,  "cut  down  like  a  flower.''  The 
grim  tyrant  "that  spares  neither  age  nor  condi- 
tion," has  followed  him  here.  "Poor  fellow  I 
you  may  well  say,"  remarked  a  grimy  bystand- 
er. "But  then  it  was  his  own  fault,  his  being 
pisoned.  You  sec,  sir,  he  bad  not  long  come 
from  the  old  country,  and  had  brought  out  some  ■ 
queer  notions  with  him  ;  he  was  a  tee-total  chap, 
and  refused  to  drink  anything  stronger  than 
pison  water  we  get  about  here.  It  is  rank 
enough  to  pison  the  strongest  old  lag  at  the  dig- 
gings, unless  he  mixes  it  with  good  liquor.  Only 
fools  wet  their  whistles  with  such  belly  ven- 
gence,  and  if  they  are  not  pisoned  outright,  why 
they  get  water-logged,  which  is  just  as  bad." 

The  once  beautiful  landscape  was  sadly  mar- 
red by  the  operations  of  the  diggers.  Its  sylvan 
and  picturesque  features  were  disfigured  by  loose 
heaps  of  earth  and  stones  the  miners  had  thrown 
out  of  their  "  claims. "  To  pick  ones  way  among 
them  from  one  hole  to  another  was  no  easy  task^ 
especially  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  when  the 
fierce  rays  of  the  sun  glistening  on  the  quartz, 
to  almost  blind  and  scorch  whoever  makes  the 
attempt.  A  fight  about  some  disputed  '-claim," 
brought  to  the  surface  hundreds  of  men  who  had 
been  vigorously  plying  pick  and  shovel  below. 
Like  a  resurrection  scene,  they  arose  from  the 
earth  where  they  were  immured,  to  see  that  the 
pugilists  had  fair  play  in  their  fisticuff- encoun- 
ter.  How  the  battle  ended  T  know  not.  Whether 
the  best  man  lost  or  the  worst  one  won  I  care 
not. 

The  basest  passions  which  influence  mankind 
were  exhibited  among  the  lawless  and  unscru- 
pulous adventurers,  who  swarmed  around  the 
diggings  ready  for  anything  and  cverythin^r  but 
honest  labor.  Some  were  lucky  in  finding  the 
precious  metal,  and  some  were  lucky  in  stealin<r 
it.  and  from  the  condition  of  Lazarus  were  trans^ 
formed  in  a  moment  to  rich  gentlemen.     Other 

unlucky  dogs  "  made  nothing,  but  lost  the  lit- 
tle they  had-all  their  hopes,  their  health,  and 
happiness,  and  di«d.    To  many  a  villainous  old 


convict  the  mines  proved  a  God-send.  Little 
did  the  taxpayers  of  Great  Britain  think  they 
were  doing  a  kindness  to  the  scoundrels  whose 
passages  they  paid  to  the  modern  El  Dorado. 
The  mortality  among  the  diggers  was  great. 
Dysentery  seemed  chronic  among  all  classes, 
superinduced  by  the  unnatural  mode  of  living,* 
and  especially  from  the  use  of  the  brackish 
water,  which  was  dirty  and  disgusting  to  the 
palate,  and  unwholesome  to  the  stomach. 

Wattle  and  daub  huts,  stringy  bark  wigwams 
and  canvas  glory  holes,  were  called  restaurants, 
hotels  and  dining  saloons,  and  at  which  the  uni- 
versal pabulum,  grog,  the  great  panacea  for  all 
the  ills  a  digger's  flesh  is  heir  to,  could  be  readily 
exchanged  for  gold  dust  or  nuggets.  I  saw  but 
few  of  the  softer  sex  there,  and  felt  sorry  for 
them.  It  seemed  to  be  a  shocking  place  for  love- 
ly woman  to  degenerate  in. 

As  I  turned  my  back  to  "  the  tented  field"  in 
search  of  more   congenial  scenes,   heavy  rain 
drops  began  to  patter  on  the  trees,  indicative  of 
a  coming  storm.     Australia  is   proverbially  a 
dry  country,  but  for  all  that,  it  does  rain  some- 
times.    The  hot   wind  had  scooped  up  all  the 
loose  particles  of  dust  and  sand  and  whirled  it 
about  in  the  air,  to  the  discomfort  of  all  living 
creatures.     During  a  dust  storm  the  atmosphere 
becomes  dark    and  gritty;    like   the   Egyptian 
darkness  it  can  he  felt,  and  from  which  there  is 
no  escaixj,  neither  indoors  nor  out,  until  the  south 
wind  bearing  heavy  masses  of  clouds  from  the 
ocean,  meets  the  withering  hot  blasts  from  the 
interior,  and  in  the  war  of  elements  which  fol- 
lows, discharges  the  deluging  rain.     All  nature 
seems  gladdened  and  refreshed  with  the  welcome 
showers.     The  dried  up  river  beds  and  water 
courses  are  suddenly  filled,  and  flow  for  a  few 
days  and  then  form  ponds  and  mud  holes  until 
the  intense  heat  evaporates  the  remaining  moist- 
ure, and  then  the  river  bed  becomes  dry  again. 
The  sticky  mud  which   follows   a   shower   "is 
something  to  be  talked  about,"  and  is  as  like 
*  Spaulding's  liquid  glue'»  as  anything  I  can 
compare  it  to. 

By  dint  of  perseverance  I  plodded  through 
the  semi-fluid,  among  struggling  horses  and 
floundering  oxen,  and  landed  among  the  scrub. 
Twilight  had  begun  to  throw  its  uncertain  light 
across  the  fading  landscape,  while  the  lengthened 
shadows  of  the  lofty  Eucalyptus  grow  longer 
and  longer  as  the  fiery  chariot  of  "Phoebus" 
rolled  on  in  iis  downward  course,  and  left  an 
evanescent  halo  in  his  track,  and  disappeared  in 


the  immeasurable  space  where  the  Eternal  has 
placed  him,  and  whose  unending  day  has  known 
no  night  from  the  dawning  of  Creation  until 
now.    Catching  a  sight  of  a  red  handkerchief 
elevated  on  a  pole,  and  doing  duty  as  a  flag,  to 
indicate  the  spot  where  something  could  be  had. 
Urged  on  by  hunger,  and  in  a  sorry  plight,  I 
wended  my  way  to  the  "Big  Nugget  Hotel." 
Peeping    through    a   chink    in    the    shanty,    I 
observed  a  noisy  crowd  had  gathered  within, 
and  were  guzzling  "  nobbier »'  after  "  nobbier '» 
of  the  fiery  fluids,  dispensed  by  a  blear  eyed  ruf- 
fian and  a  tawdry  dressed  female.     I  hesitated 
some  time  before  entering  such  dubious  quarters, 
but  as  "necessity  knows  no  law,''  I  yielded  to 
the  importunities  of  a  rebellious  stomach,  and 
ventured  within.     The  murky  atmosphere  was 
redolent  of  Burton  ale,  nasty  tobacco  smoke,  red 
herrings,  old  cheese,  onions  and  Jamaica  rum. 
As  a  great  favor,   I  obtained  a  tin  cupful   of 
boiled  tea  with  some  molasses  stirred  in,  and 
some  putty    bread  and   fly-blown    mutton,   for 
which  I  paid  the  moderate  sum  of  seven  shil- 
lings, equal  to  about  $1.75.    As  I  had  my  bed 
on  my  back,  I  retired  to  rest  outside  on  a  pros- 
trate tree,  as  I  had  often  done  before,  and  slept 
as  soundly  as  "the  sceptred  king  "  on  a  regal 
bed  of  down  within  his  palace  chamber. 


«•■»» 


THE  BEST  SOIL  FOR  FRUITS. 

BY  B.   MANNING,   HARRISBURGH,    FRANKLIN 
COUNTY,   OHIO. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  in  regard  to 
the  cultivation  of  fruits,  and  the  adaptability  of 
certain  kinds  of  soils  for  certain  kinds  of  fiuit 
For  instance,  that  soil  will  bring  good  apples, 
and  that  good  pears,  &c.  This  idea  contains  a 
good  deal  of  truth  ;  but  not  all  truth.  For  ex- 
ample, I  find  after  an  experience  of  eighteen 
years  in  fruit  growing,  that  my  greatest  success 
is  in  putting  the  different  varieties  of  apples  and 
pears  in  certain  localities  where  the  greatest 
results  can  be  obtained.  I  am  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  nearly  all  upland  soil  varies  very 
greatly  in  chemical  compounds,  from  the  fact 
when  I  planted  my  grounds  first,  I  supposed  any 
variety  of  apple  or  pear  that  would  do  well  any- 
where on  it,  every  variety  would  do  equally 
well.  Such  is  not  the  fact,  and  for  a  want  of  a 
proper  knowledge  of  adaptability  of  certain 
varieties  to  certain  spots,  I  have  been  under  the 
necessity  to  regraft  one-half  of  ray  grounds.  All 
the  authorities  1  have  on  pomology  say  the  New- 
town Pippin  is  a  slow  grower  as  a  general  rule. 


I  grant  it,  but  plant  it  on  soil  that  just  suits  it, 
and  it  is  a  very  rapid  grower— as  much  so  as 
Fallawater,  Baldwin  or  Fall  Pippin.     At  first  I 
had  my  Newtown  Pippins  scattered  in  difierent 
places.    I  soon  discovered  that  in  some  places 
they  had  a  stunted,  haggard  appearance— the 
leaves  of  a  yellowish  green  appearance  ;  in  other 
places  the  trees  grew  rapidly,  the  leaves  of  the 
richest  dark,   silvery  green    color,  remarkably 
l>eautiful  at  the  distance  of  seventy-five  yards. 
Where  the  trees  were  thrifty,  I  got  the  finest 
possible  fruit ;  where  they  were  unthrifty  I  got 
nothing  but  small  gnarly  fruit,  not  fit  for  sale  at 
all.     The  only  reason  this  variety  has  the  name 
of  a  slow  grower,  is  for  the  reason  I  have  just 
indicated.     Put  in  the  right  place  and  it  is  one 
of  the  best  for  profit.     Nor  is  this  all,  the  Ben 
Davis,  Black  Apple,  and  others  will  bear  and 
do  well  where  the  soil  is  so  thin,  that  the  Red 
Astrachan,  Fourth  of  July  and  Shockly  would 
starve.      The  Bellefleur  is  another  of  peculiar 
habit ;  in  some  spots  I  find  after  it  attains  six 
inches  or  so  in  diameter  of  trunk,  it  almost  en- 
tirely ceases  to  grow  and  be  so  unthrifty  as  to 
shortly  end  its  life,  while  in  other  places  not  far 
distant,  it  is  a  very  rapid   grower.     The  only 
remedy  I  have  found  is  to  top  graft  with  another 
variety  that  does  well  in  the  same  locality. 

We  now  come  to  pears.  When  I  first  planted 
the  Beurre  Clairgeau  pear,  I  planted  it  on  the 
strongest,  or  what  I  thought  was  the  best 
pear  soil  I  had.  The  trees  were  very  unthrifty, 
scarcely  growed  at  all,  and  what  few  fruit  they 
bore  were  wretched  small,  nasty  specimens.  I 
tried  this  variety  in  different  places,  all  on  strong 
soil— all  were  a  failure.  1  had  condemned  the 
variety  as  worthless,  and  top  grafted  all ;  mean- 
time I  had  previously  grafted  one  tree  over, 
standing  on  high  thin  soil,  and  to  my  surprise, 
when  it  bore  fruit  it  was  of  the  largest  and  most 
perfectly  developed— and  the  tree  thrifty.  I  find 
the  Bvjurre  d'Anjou  on  strong  soil  is  a  rapid 
grower;  on  thin  soil  it  will  starve.  I  regrafted 
one  over  that  stood  still  on  high  thin  soil  with 
Beurre  Clairgeau,  and  it  was  very  thrifiy.  Th 
Doyenne  du  Comice  I  find  does  far  better  on  Ihin 
soil  than  on  r.trong  The  Golden  Beurre  of  Bil- 
boa  is  a  very  poor  grower  on  thin  soil,  and  rapid 
on  strong.  Had  I  left  my  orchard  as  I  firs 
planted  it,  one-half  would  have  been  worthless, 
as  on  these  principles  do  the  whole  or  greatest 
success  of  fruit  growing  depend — on  putting 
varieties  where  the  soil  will  produce  a  thrifty 
tree  and  good  fruit 


200 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJfTHLY. 


July; 


1873. 


Now,  Mr.  Editor,  for  the  truth  of  this  position, 
my  trees  are  living  witnesses.     I  could  show  you 
plenty  of  trees  formerly  so  unthrifty  as  to  be 
worthless,  now  regrafted  with  another  variety 
suitable  to  the  place,  and  doing  finely.     These 
evidences  show  beyond  dispute,  that  in  at  least 
Bome  localities  where  most  persons  would  think 
the  soil  Has  very  nearly  the  same,  the  chemical 
combination  is  quite  different.     As  the  combina- 
tion of  both  wood  and  fruit  of  different  varieties 
is  very  different,  it  follows  that  different  varie- 
ties require  different  food.     I  have  never  seen 
any  very  perceptible  benefit  from  leached  or  other 
ashes  when  applied  to  the  pear ;  but  all  varie- 
ties of  apples  are  greatly  benefitted,  the  Newtown 
Pippin,  I  think,  as  much  so  as  any  other. 

Kow  then,  Mr.  Editor,  these  views  may  seem 
rather  strange,  or  they  may  not  accord  with 
your  experience  ;  if  so  I  have  only  to  say  your 
soil  then  is  not  so  varied  as  mine.  To  all  whose 
experience  is  different  from  mine  at  this  locality 
these  remarks  don't  apply.  To  all  those  who 
have  had  similar  experience,  the  remedy  I  have 
suggested  is  the  only  one.  I  do  not  offer  these 
views  supposing  all  will  be  benefitted,  but  do 
think  If  they  are  followed  out,  at  least  some 
will  be. 


fields  was  spread  over  the  surface  three  inches 
thick,  and  raked  and  rolled  as  fine  as  a  flower 
garden  ;  grass  seeds  were  sown  early  in  Septem- 
ber, and  soon  the  equinoctial  rains  made  the 
whole  grow,  and  soon  the  surface  was  covered 
with  the  young  grass.  Noxt  June,  when  the 
families  moved  out,  the  grass  had  been  mown 
and  rolled  smooth ;  all  were  delighted  with  the 
improvements. 

These  merchants  had  lar£:e  trees  at  their  ware- 
houses  in  the  city,  and  got  them  also  headed 
down,  and  they  became  handsome  trees-others 
did  the  same,  the  practice  spread  from  city  to 
city  and  town  to  town,  until  it  became  univer- 
sal. Laboring  men  out  of  work  in  winter  got 
ladders,  saws  and  pole-shears  and  Mmmed  street 
trees,  and  still  continue  to  make  an  honest  living 
in  that  way.  Some  people  want  their  trimming 
done  cheap,  and  the  trimmers  cut  the  trees  to  suit 
the  prices-many  trees  are  killed  by  that.  Re- 
monstrance is  folly,  as  people  are  hound  to  have 
their  own  ways  with  their  own  properties.  The 
Gardener's  Monthly  has  been  indiscreet  in  slur- 
ing  the  industrious  men  who  make  honest  livings 
in  trimming  trees  to  please  the  people. 


TJfE    GARDEJ^EWS  MOJ^THLY. 


201 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  PRUNING  STREET 

TREES. 

BY  CHRONICLER. 

All  Scotch  forester  became  forester  for  a  wealthv      ^     .u  , — f'-j- 

nobleman  in  England,  who  admired  all  sDeciP«  '          »PP^»cants  usually  inquiring  of  us  the 

of  American  trees,  and  had  many  growin-  unon  '^\^'  "^^'^  '°  ^^"^  ^''^^'    ^«  *  g"^^«  *<>  «"c»>> 

his  estate.     He  sent  his  forester  to  the  -fand  of  ?     ^"^  ^^^^  ""^  ^'""^  '°  replying,  we  here  state 

Washington"  to  see  American   trees  in  thpir  i^^^*^®  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^c  vicinity  of  New  York,  vary 

natural  forests,  and  gave  him  notes  of  introdur     ["""  ''."^     ™^''  ^'"""^  ^^^  *^  ^^^  P«^  ™o«^h  and 
tion  fnun^^^^i  „.„_,..  """^-    board,  and  for  married  men  from  1^35  to  $75 

nrSfli   K/MioA  i^  i:— ^  ;„        rr<i  _     .         _ 


GARDENER'S  WAGES. 

BY  PETER    HENDERSON. 

We  are  constantly  having  applications  for 
gardeners  from  our  customers,  in  sections  of  the 
country  were  none  have  been  previously  employ- 
ed ;  the  applicants  usually  inquiring  of  us  the 


x;^^    ■  •  o  -      -   "wk^_o  ui     lUirOQUC- 

tion  to  several  wealthy  merchants  in  New  York 
I^k"  ;  '  ^'■'"r''  '^"""^  merchants  took  him  to 


With  house  to  live  in.    The  average  of  the  former 
may  be  given  as  $40  per  month  and  board,  of 

f.hA     l£l<for>     of     «S;n     ««- ii_  ,      ,  _- 


see  their  rural  summer  retreats  Manv  oTihl  T^  ^  ^'''^°  **  *^*^  P*""  ™°°">  ""^  board,  of 
mansions  stood  at  the  edges  of  forests  and  ,om!  J*"*""  *'  *^°  P*""  '"°°*''  ^^^  house.    The 

mside  a  little  way,  so  in  lookin<r  out  at  the  w^  I  ^[^  "  "'"  "^""^  P*'"^  "^  <=""'■««  '»  '»  the  ratio  of 
dows  the  bare  earth  and  naked  stems  of  tho  uZ.  \  ^  ^'^'  ""^  *""'""'  "''  *=''*'"g«  *"  ^^  '"^en.  In  no 
were  only  seen.  The  forester  expressed  surnX  i  °'*'"P''"°°  '«  «°  """^h  inj-ry  done  as  in  the  gar- 
atthe  uncomely  surroundings  of  such  fine  dwell  '  ^fT^"  '""  S'^^^'^^^e,   by    changing  of 

Ings,  and  advised  improvements  whirh  w»ll"  "!f°"  horticulture,  the  work  done  is  nearly 
afterwards  fully  executed.  Two-thirds  of  th!  "  f°8P«ctive,  and  what  the  gardener  does  or 
trees  were  uprooted  and  hauled  off  In  thrwin  fu^  '*  ^  ^^  ^"'^"^  "'"  °°*  probably  show  for 
t«rfnii„».„..  .„,-.  •    "  t^e '""-   three  or  six  months  after.    Hence,  the  necessity 


terfollowmg  all  left  were  headed  down  ;  fnThe 
Wnl^.f  "■"■""'•  '^'>'°  '•^'^ '"««  had  bushy 
'  n'r 'r    .r  ."P^""'^'' '  '•>«  ground  Cleared 


of  keeping  the  man  satisfied  in  his  position,  for 
if  not  satisfied,  and  on  the  alert  to  move,  it  is  not 
probable  that  he  will  interest  himself  as  much  in 


and   smoothed;    the    surface  grubbed   and   all    ^        . '^'^ '*' ^"^  ^'^'''^«' *^'™««^^^«  ™"<^^i^ 
weeds  hauled  away  ;  fresh  loam  from  ploughed    FnrTh      "'       ^''  ""f  ^oui^r^i^d  with  his  place. 

n  piougned  I  For  this  reason  we  have  ever  considered  it  bad 


policy  to  displace  a  good  man  for  a  few  dollars 
advance  in  salary.  We,  ourselves,  even  with  all 
our  opportunities  of  selecting  men,  and  with  our 
thorough  personal  knowledge  of  the  business, 
have  often  paid  foremen  one-half  more  than  we 
could  have  got  equally  good  men  for,  just  to 
keep  them  contented. 


ORCHIDE^  No.  10. 

BY  JAMES  TAPLIN,  MANAGER  TO  GEORGE  SUCH, 
ESQ.,  SOUTH  AMBOY,  N.  J. 

Dendrobium  Pierardii. 

This  is  an  old  and  very  easily  grown  plant, 
which,  to  show  its  beauty,  must  be  grown  in  sus- 
pended baskets.     The  plant  being  of  a  naturally 
pendulous  habit  of  growth,  it  makes  shoots  of 
from  two  to  four  feet  long,  and  will  flower  the 
whole  length  of  the  shoot,  leaving  all  its  leaves 
and  the  buds  advance,  and  making  new  shoots 
after  flowering  to  bloom  the  following  winter. 
It  requires  plenty  of  moisture  and  heat  while 
making  its  growth,  and  to  be  kept  dry  until  the 
flower  buds  appear.     The  variety  called  latifolia 
18  much  larger  in  all  its  parts,  and  usually  flow- 
ers later  if  kept  in  same  house.     It  is  much 
•career  than  this  type.     These   varieties  have 
been  neglected  of  late  years,  but  I  consider  them 
well  worth  a  place  in  any  collection.      Their 
graceful  habit  and  free*  flowering  qualities  added 
lo  Its  delicate  white,  almost  transparent  flower, 
make  it  very  desirable. 

Dendrobium  macrophyllum  giganteum, 
Or  as  it  is  now  called,  Superbum  giganteum. 
ini8  IS  a  scarce  and  very  magnificent  plant, 
in  fact,  I  recollect  but  one  very  fine  speci- 
men besides  the  large  plant  here,  which  I  am 
surprised  at,  for  it  is  a  very  free  grower  if  allowed 
plenty  of  heat  and  moisture  in  the  growinor 
season.  ° 

This  should  be  grown  in  a  suspended  basket. 
Where  the  drooping  shoots  will  hang  down  four 
leet,  and  at  the  end  of  February  be  covered  with 
H8  rich  rosy  purple  flower  the  .whole  length,  the 
flower  being  over  four  inches  across.  A  hundred 
or  so  make  a  grand  display.  It  has  lasted  in 
fi^l  beauty  with  me  this  year  for  a  month, 
fln  u}^  deciduous,  losing  its  leaves  as  the 
nower  buds  advance,  and  commencing  a  new 
growth  as  the  flowers  open.  I  give  this  plant 
ifie  high  temperature  of  the  East  Indian  house, 
and  keep  it  dry  when  the  growth  is  complete. 


HOW  TO  GROW   EVERGREENS  FROM 

SEED. 

BY  J.  C.  WOOD,  FISHKILL,  N.  Y. 

Having  a  few  leisure  moments,  and  havin<r 
had  some  experience  in  growing  some  of  the  hart 
dier  varieties  of  evergreens  from  seed,  I  thought 
your  Journal  would  be  a  good  medium  to  aive 
many  readers  the  results  of  our  experience.  "^  In 
the  first  place,  I  would  say  our  mode  of  growing 
evergreens  from  seed  is  not  new,  but  with  us  has 
been  very  successful,  and  any  one,  either  on  a 
large  or  small  scale,  who  wishes  to  try  it,  by  fol- 
lowing the  simple  directions  here  laid  down  will 
be  certain  of  success:    In  the  first  place,'pro- 
cure  good  seed*,  which  is  not  a  difficult  matter, 
providing  you  order  of  reliable  parties.     I  have 
bought  seed  of  most  of  the  larger  dealers  in  the 
United  States,  and  have  generally  found  them 
good  ;  however,  for  the  past  five  years,  I  have 
bought  my  evergreen  seeds  of  Thomas  Meehan, 
of  Germantown,  Pa.,  and  they  have  invariably 
proved  satisfactory. 

I  generally  order  my  seeds  in  the  fore  part 
of  winter,   or  as  soon   as  I  can  get  a  list  of 
varieties  and  prices.     Then  I  take  moderately 
moist  sand  and  pass  it  through  a  quarter  sieve, 
so  as  to  rid   it  of  all  stones  or  lumps,   then 
take  glass  boxes  or  any  other  boxes  of  a  conve- 
nient size  for  handling,  then  spread  in  the  bot- 
tom a  layer  of  sand,  say  ^  inch  thick,  then  a 
layer  of  seed,  moderately  thick,  say  \  inch,  and 
then  a  layer  of  sand,  and  so  on  until  the  box  is 
filled,  when  the  lid  is  fitted  nicely  to  it,  and  then 
the  box  is  taken  outside  in  some  sheltered  place, 
usually  against  the  side  of  some  brick  wall  or 
building,  and  buried  just  under  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  then  allowed  to  push  just  as 
hard  as  they  have  a  mind  to  until  time  for  sowing, 
which  in  this  latitude  is  from  the  1st  to  the  20th 
of  April.     As  soon  as  the  ground  gets  in  nice 
working  order  I  manure  and  plough  it  thorough- 
ly, having  prepared  a  year  ahead  a  composrof 
muck  and  manure-about  two  parts  of  the  for- 
mer to  one  of  the  latter,  then  after  leveling  down 
with  a  good  harrow,  my  ground  is  ready°to  lay 
out  in  beds,  which  is  done  in  the  following  way: 
We  use  hemlock  strips  five  inches  wide  and  thir- 
teen feet  long,  dropping  two  of  them  in  a  place 
across  the  piece,  then  I  have  prepared  a  lot  of 
small  posts  as  large  as  a  man's  arm,  and  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  long,  and  drop  two  at 
each  end  of  the  strip  and  two  in  the  middle,  then 
I  stretch  my  line  the  whole  distance  across  the 
piece,  and  draw  it  tight  with  a  strong  real,  after 


I 


II 


to? 


THE   GABDEJ^BB'S  MOJ^THLY. 


July, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJ^IHLY. 


SOS 


which  I  drive  one  of  the  posts  in  the  ground, 
leaving  out  about  seven  inches  right  along  the 
line.      When   I  set  up  my   board  or  hemlock 
strips,  my  post  at  the  end  answers  for  two  ends 
of  boards.    I  have  three  railing  for  each  board, 
one  at  each  end  and  one  in  the  middle — three 
eight-penny  nails  we  find  sufficient.     After  the 
first  line  is  completed,  I  take  a  common  builder's 
lath,  pine  or  hemlock,  four  feet  long,  and  put 
one  end  of  it  against  the  post  just  set,  which 
sticks  up  above  the  hemlock  piece  two  inches, 
and  drive   another    post    down   to  within   five 
inches  of  its  length,  which  makes  the  bed  just 
four  feet  between  the  posts  or  three  feet  ten 
inches  in  the  clear,  when  I  continue  on  in  the 
same  way  until  the  bed  is  any  desired  length  I 
may  wish,  or  the  length  of  my  plot,  which  is 
about  three  hundred  feet.     After  which  I  set  a 
man  forking  and  raking  the  bed,  being  particu 
lar  to  have  it  forked  up  good  and  dug  and  raked 
level,  which  is  not  a  very  severe  piece  of  work, 
from  the  fact  that  the  ground  has  been  thorough- 
ly prepared  with  the  plow  before  hand.     Then  I 
lay  the  beds  out  with  a  drill,  four  inches  apart, 
or  a  gang  of  them  nailed  together,  the  right  dis- 
tance apart,   with   their  lower  edges  beveled, 
blunt  wedge-shaped,  then  with  two  good  boys  or 
men  the  drills  are  laid  out  by  mashing  the  driller 
down  in  the  soft  ground  at  any  desired  depth, 
according  to  the  size  of  seed  intended  to  be  sown, 
then  the  seeds  are  dumped  from  the  boxes  in 
which  they  have  been  stored  through  the  win- 
ter, into  pans  or  measures  of  convenient  sizes 
for  sowing  out  of  and  the  seeds  are  strewn  along 
the  drills  by  hand,  which  with  a  little  experi- 
ence is  done  quite  rapid.     A  good  handy  man 
will   sow  five   pounds  of  such  seeds  as  pines  or 
Bprucu  in  an  hour,  aiid  do  it  good,  after  which 
I  cover  the  seeds  with  the  back  of  an  iron  rake, 
walking  backwards  and  drawing  and   pushing 
the   rak«  carefully  after  me,  after  vvhich  I  roll 
the  ground  moderately  with  a  moderately  heavy 
roller,  or  pack  with  a  board.     Then  if  the  wea- 
ther has  the  appearance  of  being  dry  for  a  few 
days,  I  give  the  beds  a  pretty  thorough  water- 
ing  through   the  nose    of  a   watering  pot,   or 
through  a  hose  and  force  pump,  after  which  I 
place  on  my  shades,  which  are  made  in  the  fol- 
lowing way  :     We  take  a  ten  inch  pine  board, 
thirteen  feet  long  and  one  inch  thick,  as   free 
from  knots  as  possible,  and  rip  it  in  two  four 
times,  making  each  strip  two  inches  wide,  thir- 
teen feet  long  and  one  inch  thick,  upon  which  I 
nail  common  lath  half  inch  apart,  the  lath  bein^y 


about  one  inch  wide.     I  use  shingle  nails  for  the 
purpose,  putting  two  nails  in  each  end  of  the 
end  lath,  so  they  will  not  pull  off  in  lifting  about 
which  is  necessary  at  different  times  through  the 
summer  for  weeding,  &c.,  when  they  are  imme- 
diately placed  on  the  beds  before  they  are  allow- 
ed to  get  dry,  always  taking  the  precaution  to 
distribute  poison  pretty  freely  in  the  beds  imme- 
dately  after  sowing.     I  have  used  with  pretty 
good  effect,  Bennetts  Sure  Death  and  Coster's 
Rat  Exterminater, mixed  with  butter  or  lard,and 
spread  on  bread,  the  bread  being  cut  up  in  small 
pieces  and  spread  along  the  beds.      I  find  it 
quite  necessary  to  be  particular  in  this  matter, 
as  mice  are  very  fond  of  some  of  the  different 
kinds  of  evergreen  seeds,  particularly  pines  and 
spruces.     I  do  not  have  any  trouble  from  birds 
like  I  saw  at  Mr.  Douglass',  of  Waukegan,  111., 
when  I  paid  him  a  visit  last  June,  from  the  fact 
that  my  shades  fit  so  nicely,  and  the  laths  are 
so  close,  that  birds  cannot  get  in  them.     I  find 
I  have  no  further  trouble  with  my  seeds  the  first 
summer  except  to  keep  them  free  from  weeds, 
which  I  do  by  hand  weeding,  always  taking 
them  as  soon  as  they  show  themselves ;    the 
seeds  usually  come  up  according  to  kinds  from 
ten  to  twenty  days.     Spruces  usually  show  them- 
selves first.     I  have  in  a  few  instances  watered 
the  beds  occasionally,  two  or  three  times  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  weeks  after  the  seeds  were 
sown,  but  never  after  during  the  summer,  and 
my  experience  has  been  a  fine  lot  of  nice  ever- 
green seedlings  in  the  autumn. 

I  treat  the  larch  in  the  same  way  as  the  ever- 
greens, and  always  prove  successful.  As  for 
varieties  I  usually  sow  the  Norway  and  Ameri- 
can Spruces,  Hemlock  Firs  in  variety,  Piiuvs  iu 
variety,  such  as  Scotch,  Austrian,  Norway, 
Weymouth,  &c.,  Arborvitse,  American,  &c.,  at 
the  end  of  the  first  summer's  growth.  The  size 
of  our  plants  depends  a  little  upon  the  summer. 
If  a  very  dry  and  hot  one  like  the  two  past,  with 
the  exception  of  pines  and  larches,  they  will  be 
but  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  inches  high, 
but  if  the  season  is  moderately  moist,  they  are 
usually  double  that  size,  and  larches  quite  often 
from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  hiarh.  In  about  the 
month  of  November  of  the  first  season,  I  draw 
leaves  and  cover  the  beds  over  about  three  inches 
deep,  and  then  place  on  the  shades  to  keep  the 
winds  from  blowing  them  off  when  they  are  left 
until  about  April  1st,  when  they  are  raked  oflf 
with  a  cover-toothed  wooden  rake  and  taken 
to  the  manure  yard   to  rot— and  I  most  alwayi 


find  my  plants  bricrht  and  in  fine  condition.  I 
should  have  stated  if  the  autumn  is  reasonably 
moist,  I  remove  the  shades  altogether  about  the 
first  or  middle  of  September,  but  if  dry,  like  the 
fall  of  1872,  I  leave  them  on  all  of  the  season. 

Now  for  the  results.  The  material  for  making 
a  bed  four  feet  wide  and  thirteen  feet  long,  every- 
thing complete,  including  labor,  65  cents.  I 
sow  thirty-five  rows  of  seeds  in  thirteen  feet ; 
each  row  will  produce  on  the  average,  two  hun- 
dred nice  plants,  which  will  make  for  the  one 
length  of  4x13  feet,  seven  thousand  plants, 
which  if  you  are  growing  for  market,  at  the  end 
©f  the  scond  year,  will  bring  at  least  $2.00  per 
thousand,  or  $14.00  per  length,  which  even  at 
this  low  figure,  if  one  is  growing  in  large  quanti- 
ties, will  pay  very  well. 

With  your  permission,  will  give  you  the 
second  and  third  year's  treatment  of  small  ever- 
greens.    [Please  do.] 

ANOTHER  WORD  ABOUT  ORCHIDS. 

BY  GEORGE    SUCH,    SOUTH   AM  BOY,   N.   J. 

You  are  quite  right  in  what  you  say  as  to  the 
increasing  taste  for  Orchid  growing  in  this  coun- 
try. A  very  considerable  amount  of  credit,  how- 
ever, belongs  to  you,  Mr.  Editor,  for  your  help 
in  inducing  amateurs  to  make  a  beginning,  no 
matter  how  small,  in  the  cultivation  of  these 
glorious  plants. 

Still  there  is  one  point,  I  think,  on  which  you 
have  not  laid  sufficient  stress,  and  that  is  on  the 
absolute  necessity  for  would-be  Orchid  growers 
to  make  their  beginning  with  good  strong  plants. 
Naturally  enough  all  wish  to  get  as  much  as 
possible  for  their  money,  and  therefore  most 
begmners  aim  to  get  as  many  varieties  as  they 
can  for  the  sum  expended.  But  this  is  quite 
^rong.  Be  the  money  to  be  spent  much  or  little, 
the  buyer  should  insist  upon  having  strong 
plants  of  good,  standard  sorts,  so  that  he  may 
have  a  reasonable  expectation  of  seeing  his 
plants  soon  in  bloom,  and  also  a  proper  amount 
ot  satisfaction  from  the  flowers  when  thev 
appear.  "^ 

This  advice  of  mine  may  seem  to  *' smell  of 
the  shop,"  but  my  aim  is  not  in  that  direction. 
I  do  not  advise  persons  without  experience  to 
spend  much  money  for  Orchids,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, but  the  idea  is  that  whatever  money 
IS  spent  should  be  laid  out  for  fine  plants  only- 
that  none  other  be  tak.  u,  no  matter  how  cheap 
apparently. 


All  who  import  Orchids  from  their  native 
country,  are  sure  to  have  among  the  number 
some  that  are  botanically  interesting,  but  the 
flowers  of  which  are  thoroughly  insignificent. 
A  large  mass  of  Govenia  now  ornaments  (?)  the 
rubbish  heap  behind  our  orchid  house,  thrown 
out  for  the  reason  that  the  flowers  are  absurdly 
small  and  strikingly  deficient  in  color.  I  am  so 
much  a  lover  of  plants  that  I  scarcely  consider 
any  of  them  "  common  or  unclean,''  but  I  con* 
fess  that  I  grudge  the  space  occupied  in  the 
orchid  house  by  so  inconspicuous  a  plant  as  this 
Govenia.  It  is  evident  that  eight  or  ten  dollars 
spent  on  a  fine  Cattleya  would  give  to  most  men 
more  satisfaction  than  the  purchase  of  twenty 
Orchids  no  more  showy  than  the  one  above 
mentioned. 


GA8  TAR  ON  GREENHOUSE  BENCHES. 

BY   PETER   HENDERSON,   JERSEY  CITY,   N.   J. 

In  your  May  number,  a  correspondent  men- 
tions having  had  plants  injured  by  the  use  of 
gas  tar  on  the  wood  work  of  his  greenhouse. 
We  have  used  gas  tar  on  the  boarding  for  our 
benches  for  over  twenty  years  without  injury  in 
the  slightest  degree  to  the  plants ;  but  it  is  put 
on  boiling  hot,  and  when  dry  covered  with  sand 
an  inch  or  so  in  depth.  I  apprehend  that  your 
correspondent  had  not  had  the  tar  covered,  and 
on  the  application  of  heat,  gases  were  thrown  off 
that  caused  the  mischief.  * 

Where  it  has  got  on  the  pipes,  there  is  no 
remedy  I  think  but  having  the  portion  taken  out 
and  subjected  to  a  heat  strong  enough  to  burn  it 
out.  Tl  ere  w^as  a  notable  instance  of  this  kind 
that  occurred  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  some  dozen 
years  ago.  A  Mr.  Park,  a  well  known  florist, 
took  it  into  his  head  one  day  to  paint  his  pipes, 
and  as  black  was  a  suitable  color,  and  gas  tar 
cheaper  than  paint,  he  set  to  work  and  painted 
the  whole  of  them,  numbering  several  thousand 
feet.  All  went  on  well  enough  until  getting  into 
severe  winter  weather,  when  the  pipes  had  to 
become  heated  to  a  temperature  high  enough  to 
throw  off  the  deleterious  gas,  when  off  came  the 
leaves  in  showers,  destroying  nearly  everj  plant 
in  the  houses  for  that  season.  He  tried  every 
expedient  to  get  it  off,  but  all  failed,  and  there 
\v:)s  nothinj:  for  it  but  to  take  down  the  pipes 
and  subject  them  to  a  red  heat,  which  was  com- 
pletely effectual. 


ii 


.'ti 


^OJf 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY, 


July^ 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJYER'S   MONTHLY, 


CULTIVATION  OF   THE  FUCHSIA. 

BY   THOMAS  F.  WEBB,  GARDENER   TO  MR.    A.  C. 
GIBSON,  OAK  LANE,  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  Fuchsia  is  a  universal  favorite,  and  de- 
servedly 80,  for  there  are  few  plants  that  come 
under  the  care  of  the  gardener  that  are  possessed 
of  so  many  useful  properties  for  the  decoration 
of  the  greenhouse  or  cottage  window  ;  if  we  take 
into  consideration  the  graceful  habit,  the  abun- 
dance of  blossoms  and  variety  of  color,  and  the 
length  of  time  it  continues  in  bloom,  there  are 
very  few  plants  that  are  more  worthy  of  general 
favor.     The  best  time  I  find  to  propagate  the 
Fuchsia  from  cuttings  for  growing  fine  speci- 
mens the  following  season,  is  from  the  middle  to 
the  end  of  August,  and  always  select  young 
healthy  shoots  for  the  cuttings;  avoid  the  points 
of  shoots  from  a  flowering  plant,  for  they  will 
not  make  such  fine  plants  as  a  young  healthy 
shoot  without  flower  buds  upon  it ;   cuttint^s 
from    flowering    plants,    however,    will    come 
earlier  into  bloom,  and  upon  very  small  plants. 
The  best  way  that  I  know  of  is  to  select  a  plant 
of  each  sort  we  intend  to  grow,  and  plant  them 
out  about  the  middle  of  May  in  a  well  prepared 
compost  of  turfy  maiden  loam  in  a  shaded  situ- 
ation, and  by  attention  in  giving  them  water 
when  they  require   it,    and   pinching   out  the 
points  of  the  shoots  to  prevent  them  from  flow- 
ering, they  will  supply  a  stock  of  fine  healthy 
cuttings.     The  best  material  for  striking  them 
is  in  equal  parts  of  leaf  mould  and  sand, 'a 
Composition  that  almost  any  plant  will  readily 
strike  roots  in.    I  generally  put  one  cutting  in  a 
thumb  pot.     If  the  cuttings  are  put  in  at  the 
time  mentioned,  and  sprinkled  over  the  foliage 
with  a  fine  rose  watering  pot,  and  placed  in  a 
close  frame  and  well  shaded  from  the  sun,  they 
will  strike  root  freely  without  artificial  'heat. 
As  soon  as  they  commence  to  grow,  give  them 
a  little  air  to  prevent  them  from  getting  weakly. 
As  soon  as  they  are  well  rooted,  they  should  be 
removed  to  a  more  airy  situation,  with  as  much 
light  as  possible,  avoiding  the  sun,  to  harden 
thera    for    the   winter.       About    October  they 
should    be  shifted   from   the  small  thumbs  to 
three  inch  pots,  which  will  be  large  enough  to 
winter  in,  for  tlie  less  growth  they  make  durincr 
that  season  the  better  for  them  in  future.     A 
soil  composed  of  turfy  peat,  leaf  mould,  and 
river    sand,   equal    parts,    is    best    for    winter 
potting,  for  being  porous  it  allows  the  water  to 
pass  off"  quickly.     Those  who  wish  to  have  their 
plants  early  in  bloom  should  place  them  in  heat 


205 


in  the  month  of  January,  in  a  temperature  of 
from  45°  to  50^  increasing  the  heat  as  the  season 
advances.     If  not  convenient  to  start  thera  so 
early,  let  them  rest  till  March,  for  if  they  are 
started   early  and   then  get  a  check   to  their 
growth,  they  will  not  grow  freely  afterwards. 
When  the  plants  commence  to  grow,  allow  the 
soil   to  get  rather  dry,  then  turn  out  of  their 
pots  and  shake  as  much  of  ihe  mould  off"  as 
possible  without  breaking  the  roots,  and  re-pot 
into  five  inch  pots  well  drained,  in  turfy  loam, 
turfy  peat  and  leaf  mould,  equal  quantities,  and 
sand  ;  water  overhead  with  a  fine  rose  pot  and 
replace  in  a  close  frame  or  warm  greenhouse,  as 
near  the  glass  as  possible ;  shift  from  time  to 
time  as  the  plants  fill  the  pots  with  roots.    They 
will  not  stand  the  summer  sun,  the  leaves  will 
be  scorched  up.     They  must,  if  planted  out,  be 
placed  in  a  shaded  situation  ;  if  somewhat  moist 
in  the  atmosphere  they  will  grow  far  finer.    If 
the  syringe  is  used  freely  during  dry  weather, 
it  will  keep  the  plants  clean  and  healthy,  and 
free  from  the  attacks  of  insects.     In  fact,  if  the 
Fuchsia  is  properly  grown,  it  is  seldom  troubled 
with  any  insect  but  the  green  fly,  which  some- 
times attacks  it,  but  a  fumigating  with  tobacco 
smoke   (from  the  stalks  of  the  leaves  I  find 
strong  enough)  in  the  evening :   if  damp,  dull 
weather,  it  is  better,  as  the  smoke  will  not  so 
readily  escape.     Syringe  the  plants  freely  the 
next  morning  to  wash  off  the  dead  flies.    Fuch- 
sias laid  on  their  sides,  under  the  stage  in  the 
greenhouse  during  winter  is  the  best  place  for 
them  :  they  will,  however,  do  in  any  cellar  or 
out  building,  where  frost  can  be  excluded. 

Dark  Fuchsias,  I  find,  are  the  hardiest  when 
the  plants  are  intended  to  be  grown  during  the 
season  in  a  well-ventilated  house.  Very  fine 
plants  can  be  obtained  by  standing  the  pots  on 
a  bed  of  well  rotted  dung  and  loam,  and 
allowed  to  root  through  their  pots  into  it, 
taking  care  not  to  remove  them  from  their 
position. 


*•■•» 


RAPID  POTTING. 

BY  PETER  HENDERSON,  JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J. 

A  few  months  ago  I  gave  an  account  in 
another  journal,  of  the  extraordinary  rapidity 
attained  by  one  of  our  workmen  here,  James 
Markey,  in  pottiug  and  other  greenhouse  opera- 
tions. The  statement  then  made  created  con- 
siderable comment  and  some  doubts  that  there 
must  have  been  error  in  the  article.     I  stated 


that  he  had  accomplished  the  feat  of  potting 
seven  thousand  (7000)  rooted  cuttings  in  ^  inch 
pots  in  ten  hours.     The  fact  of  the  accuracy  of 
the  statement  being  doubted,  stimulated  "Jira'» 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  declared  that  he  would 
yet  pot  ten  thousand  in  the  same  time,  which  he 
actually  accomplished  by  starting  at  7  A.  M.  on 
the  morning  of  May  Sth,  and  finished   potting 
ten  thousand  (10,000)  verbenas  by  half  past  5 
P.  M.,  of  the  same  day,  doing  the  work  in  his 
usual  excellent  style,— of  course  he  did  nothing 
but  pot,  the  plants  being  brought  to  him  and 
taken  away  so  as  to  afford  him  evei:y  facility. 
Where  it  is  known  that  pitting  two  thousand  is 
considered  fair  average-work  for  a  hand,  the 
wonder  is  how  much  this  man  has  excelled  his 
fellows.      It    is    true,    he    has  been    with   me 
since  he  was  12  years  of  age,  (he  is  now  26)  and 
has   passed    in    that    time    millions    of  plants 
through  his  hands;    but   we  have   perhaps  a 
dozen  others  who  have  been  with  us  as  long, 
who,  having  had  equal  opportunities,  have  show°n 
no  special  ability.      Markey  is  rather  a  small 
man,  but  of  great  muscular  development,  and 
excels  in  all  feats  of  agility.     1  think  it  quite 
impossible  that  the  feat  of  potting  ten  thousand 
plants  m  a  day  has  ever  before  been  accomplished ; 
and  as  most  of  the  florists  and  nurserymen  in 
the  country  are   readers  of  the   Monthly,  this 
wonderful  day's  work  may  have  some  interest 
for  them.     His  work  is  almost  exclusively  that 
of  poLtmg  young  stock  ;  and  the  average  number 
he  pots,  when  cuttings  are  in  proper  condition, 
IS  about  five  thousand  daily. 


-• — ♦- 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

DOMESTIC 

I>mo^t  in  t/ie  Deodar  Cedar.  Recently 
we  had  an  inquiry  about  a  disease  in  the  Deo- 
dar  Cedar,  unknown  to  us  in  this  section.  We 
have  since  seen  the  following  in  the  Farmer  and 
hardener : 

»i"  Deodar  Cedars  are  similiarly  affected  in  <his 
section.  The  loss  of  their  branches  is  caused  by 
insects  of  the  hylobius  class,  whose  larv«e  are  de- 
posited under  the  bark,  and  whose  soft  inner 
surface  they  devour.  The  larvae  deposited  in 
fall  begin  to  show  their  presence  in  the  spring 
when  branches  begin  to  die  out ;  again,  in  the 
summer  another  generation  seems  to  spring  into 
existence,  as  we  have  noticed  during  S^eptember 
a  number  of  trees  affected  in  the  same  manner, 
i-nis  denotes  that  the  insects  must  undoubtedly 


deposit  their  eggs  both  in  spring  a^d  fall  The 
only  remedy  which  we  found  to  arrest  the  rava- 
ges was  to  cut  off  the  limbs  close  to  the  body  im- 
mediately upon  showing  signs  of  being  attacked 
by  the  insects.  This  can  be  seen  by  the  leaves 
turning  yellow.  The  branches  must  be  burned 
before  the  larvae  hatch  and  a  new  generation  of 
insects  is  produced." 

There  is,  however,  another  drawback,  caused 
by  an  insect  which  often  destroys  the  leader  of 
the  Deodar,  and  seriously  affects  its  future  per- 
fect growth.  This  insect  is  the  pissodes  strobi, 
or  white  pine  weevil,  and  whenever  the  leader 
shows  signs  of  disease  it  must  be  cut  out,  a  pole 
attached  to  the  stem,  and  a  side  shoot  tied  to  it. 
This  must  be  made  to  replace  the  leader,  and  if 
attended  to  at  the  beginning  of  the  trouble,  the 
future  growth  of  the  tree  will  not  be  interfered 
with. 

The  Twin  Nozzle.  As  a  general  rule,  we  have 
a  suspicion  of  implements  which  are  to  do  every- 
thing. The  writer  remembers  well  how  proud 
he  was  in  his  boyhood  days  of  a  pocket  knife, 
which  was  knife,  corkscrew,  screw  driver,  and 
one  can  now  hardly  remember  what  else,  except 


that  its  weight  was  that  of  a  little  tool  chest, 
but  after  a  year  or  so  of  experience  it  did  seem 
really  of  no  use  to  carry  about  every  day  so 
much  which  was  to  be  used  only  once  in  a  while, 
and  perhaps  it  was  this  experience  which  gave  us 
the  prejudice  we  speak  of.  But  in  regard  to  this 
nozzle  we  may  say  that  we  also  remember  how 
with  every  syringe  and  garden  engine  came  lots 
of  pieces,  which  are  sure  to  get  lost  just  about 


the  time  they  are  needed.  Here  are  two  very 
essential  pieces  which  are  needed  almost  every 
lime  the  machine  is  used,  all  in  one,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  lost.  We  think  it  an  excellent  idea. 
It  has  been  sent  us  by  Piatt  &  Green,  of  Phila- 
delphia, although  Wheeler,  of  Chicago  is  the 
maker. 

Pinckneya  pubens.     Thii  beautiful  tree  used 
to  be  one  of  the  leading  ornaments  in  the  old 


I 


ii 


m 


206 


THE    GARDIiJfER'S   MOJVTSLY. 


JU'ly, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJfTHLY. 


S07 


Landreth  collection,  (the  site  now  occupied  by 
busy  Philadelphia)  but  we  find  it  in  no  collection 
now  anywhere.  The  following  full  account  of  it 
is  from  Mr.  Berckman's  department  of  the  Far- 
mer and  Gardener: 

"This  fine  tree  was  first  discovered  by  the  elder 
Michaux.  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Mary's,  in  South- 
eastern Georgia.  It  must  be  very  rare,  for  during 
extensive  travels  through  the  South  we  have  never 
met  with  it  but  once,  and  that  was  in  cultivation  at 
a  planters  near  Newberry,  in  South  Carolina,  who 
told  us  that  it  was  indigenous  not  far  from  his  resi- 
dence. Nor  have  we  ever  received  specimens  of  it 
from  any  Southern  botanist  in  exchanging  plants  ; 
nor  do  we  find  it  in  any  nursery  catalogue.  Michaux 
states  that  it  is  still  more  interesting,  by  the  pro- 
perties of  its  bark,  than  by  the  elegance  of  its 
flowers  and  of  its  foliage.  Its  flowers  are  white, 
tubular,  with  longitudinal  rose  colored  stripes.  The 
flowers  are  quite  large,  and  collected  in  beautiful 
panicles  at  the  extremity  of  the  branches,  rendered 
quite  conspicuous  by  its  ovate,  pink  colored  floral 
leaves.  Each  flower  has  one  of  these  floral  leaves, 
which  is  bordered  with  rose  color  near  the  upper 
edge. 

'*It  is  a  low  tree,  with  numerous  branches  rarely 
more  than  twenty-five  feet  high,  with  a  diameter  of 
trunk  of  from  five  to  six  inches.  According  to 
Chapman,  it  is  found  on  the  marshy  banks  of 
streams  in  the  pine  barrens  in  Florida,  and  north-  ' 
ward  to  South  Carolina.  | 

"Michaux  carried  seeds  and  young  plants  of  it 
to  a  garden  which  he  had  near  Charleston,  South  ' 
Carolina,  and  although  the  soil  was  poor,  yet  in  six-  i 
teen  years  they  grew  to  be  about  twenty-five  feet  ' 
high  and  seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter.  This  ' 
proves  that  the  Pinckneya  will  grow  in  poor  sandv  ' 
land.  -^ 

"  According  to  Michaux,  the  wood  of  the  Georgia  ! 
bark  is  soft  and  unfit  for  use  in  the  arts,  but  its  in-  i 
ner  bark  is  extremely  bitter,  and  appears  to  partake  ' 
ot  the  febrifuge  virtues  of  the  Cinchona.  He  says  I 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern  parts  of  Georgia  ' 
employ  it  successfully  in  the  intermittent  fever,  ' 
which,  during  the  latter  part  of  summer  and  autumn  ' 
prevail  in  that  region.  A  handful  of  the  bark  ii  ,' 
boiled  in  a  quart  of  water  till  the  liquid  is  reduced  ' 
one-half,  and  the  infusion  is  given  to  the  sick  ' 
From  the  properties  of  its  bark  it  derives  its  com-  ! 
mon  name.  Its  botanical  name  is  in  honor  of  I 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckuey,  a  prominent  citizen  ' 
ol  Charleston  many  years  ago. 

"We  hope  that  the  Pinckneya  will,  ere  long  be  ' 
common  in  cultivation  at  the  South.  Its  rarity  has 
kept  It  in  the  background,  while  many  other  thincrs 
of  less  beauty  and  value  are  extensively  cultivated 
The  medical  properties  of  its  bark  ought  to  be  tested* 
It  It  be  a  good  substitute  for  Cinchona,  it  should  be 
known  and  grown  on  that  account. 

"  The  planter  who  had  it  in  cultivation  at  New- 
berrv,  lived  on  the  edge  of  town,  and  he  had  quite 
a  large  number  of  the  young  trees.  We  would  give 
his  name,  but  we  have  forgotten  it :  nor  have  we 
the  diary  which  we  then  kept  to  refer  to.  It  was 
in  1858  when  we  were  there,  hence  the  Pinckueyas, 
by  this  lime,  ought  to  be  quite  large  seed-bearin- 
trees.  Named  in  honor  of  a  worthy  man  whose 
name  is  identified  with  the  history  of  the  country 


it  is  a  monument  more  enduring  for  Pinckney  than 
one  of  bronze  or  marble. 

*|The  habitat  of  *Pinkneya'  is  very  circum- 
scribed, and,  so  far  as  we  have  ascertained,  it  is 
found  only  in  a  few  localities  near  the  coast  of  Geor- 
gia  and  South  Carolina.  Seed  seems  diflicult  to 
germinate,  as  we  have  failed  with  all  we  have  ever 
received." 

The  First  Fuchsia.  Round  and  round  the 
circle  during  the  past  twenty-five  years,  has  been 
printed  an  account  of  how  Mr.  Lee  first  bought 
his  first  Fuchsia  "from  a  poor  woman  whose 
husband  brought  it  from  the  West  Indies  ;'»  but 
the  poetry  has  long  since  been  taken  out  of  the 
story  by  its  being  pretty  certain  the  ** first*' 
Fuchsia  was  stolen  from  Kew  Gardens,  We 
now  have  another  history  in  the  Rural  New 
Yorker,  concerning  F.fulgens,  which  we  suspect 
is  equally  apocryphal.  Still,  as  it  will  go  its 
."  rounds,''  we  give  it  here  : 

"  Some  twenty  years  ago,  an  old  Scotch  garden- 
er told  me  a  story  which  will  answer  very  well  as  a 
sequal  to  the  above,  although  I  would  not  like  to 
vouch  for  the  truth  of  either.     Many  years  after  the 
introduction  of  the  '  first  Fuchsia,'  the  agent  of  Von 
j  Humboldt,  who  had  lately  returned  from  his  travels 
j  in  Mexico,  called  upon  Mr.  Lee,  desiring  to  sell  him 
j  the  entire  stock  of  a  new  fuchsia  which  they  had 
j  brought  home  with  them.     Years  before  this,  two 
I  Spanish  naturalists,   by  the  name  of  Mocino  and 
Jesse,  had  met  with  a  remarkable  species  of  this 
I  genus  in  Mexico,  the  flowers  of  which  were  some 
I  tour  or  five  inches  long  and  of  a  bright  Vermillion 
,  color.     Of  course,  this  was  a  treasure  which  any 
!  florist  might  be  excused  for  coveting,  especially  as 
I  no  fuchsia  with  flowers  more  than  half  as  long  was 
,  then  known  to  European  florists.     When  the  agent, 
I  referred  to  above,  informed  Mr.  Lee  that  the  plants 
offered   were   of  this  long    coveted   species,    upon 
which  a  botanist  had  bestowed  the  name  of  Fuchsia 
fulfjena,  (Glowing;,  it  can  be  readily  imagined  how 
anxious  he  must  have  been  to  close  a  bargain  for 
the  stock  of  this  wonderful  plant.     A  thousand  gui- 
neas was  the  price  nsked  and  paid,  the  agent  giving 
xMr.  Lee  a  written  guarantee  that  the  plants  pur- 
chased comprised  the  entire  stock  brought  home. 
In  the  days  of  no  steamboats  and  few  iravelers  visit- 
ing Mexico,  there  was  no  danger  from  competition, 
tor  several  years  at  least,  and  the  possessor  of  choice 
plants  haa  little  fear  of  rival  gardeners.     Mr.  Lee 
propagated  his  new  fuchsia  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  as  soon  as  the  stock  on  hand  would  warrant, 
the  plants  were  offered  to  the  public  at  that  good  old 
price  of  a  guinea  each. 

*'  But  an  unknown  rival  appeared  in  the  market ; 
Cunningham,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  announced 
that  he  had  good  plants  of  the  said  new  fuchsia, 
price  half  a  guinea.  Mr.  Lee  dispatched  an  agent 
to  Edinburgh  to  learn  what  this  meant,  and  if  possi- 
ble, ascertain  where  Mr.  Cunningham  obtained  his 
stock,  provided  he  really  had  the  genuine  sort.  The 
said  agent  obtained  no  further  information  than  thai 
Mr.  Cunningham's  plants  were  the  same  as  Mr. 
Lee's,  and  the  number  on  hand  nearly  if  not  quite 
as  great.  Mr.  Lee  reduced  the  price  to  half  a  gui- 
nea ;   then   Cunningham   followed  by  putting  the 


price  of  his  plants  down  to  five  shillings.  This  was 
too  much  for  Mr.  Lee,  and  he  got  out  an  injunction 
to  prevent  his  rival  disposing  of  more  plants  at  such 
a  ruinous  Cto  him)  low  price.  Cunningham  paid 
no  attention  to  the  injunction  but  continued  to  sell 
his  plants,  while  Mr.  Lee  held  on,  hoping  to  make 
Cunningham  pay  for  the  loss.  The  suit  came  up 
before  the  courts,  Cunningham  getting  the  trial  ad- 
journed from  time  to  time,  or  carrying  up  the  suit  to 
higher  courts,  in  order  to  increase  the  costs  as  much 
as  possible.  After  bafiJing  his  opponent  in  ^very 
manner  possible,  and  he  (Cunningham)  being  driven 
to  the  wall,  where  he  must  show  his  title  or  have 
the  case  go  against  him,  he  brought  forward  his  cash 
book,  and  showed  that  at  a  certain  date  in  the  same 
year  that  Mr.  Lee  bought  the  imported  plants  of  the 
new  fuchsia,  he  had  purchased  for  a  small  sum  of 
one  of  the  axemen  of  the  party,  a  package  of  fuch- 
sia seed. 

"Of  course,  Mr.  Lee  was  beaten,  and  had  the 
costs  to  pay,  which  had  amounted  to  many  thous- 
ands of  pounds.  It  was  said  that  the  Lee*s  never 
fully  recovered  from  this  blow  upon  their  finances. 
Mr.  Lee  got  all  he  purcfiased,  and  the  agent  deliver- 
ed to  him  every  plant  as  agreed  upon ;  but  neither 
party  probably  ever  thought  that  there  were  any 
seed  in  existence— at  least  not  in  Europe.  Of 
course,  Mr.  Cunningham  came  as  honestly  by  his 
plants  as  Mr.  Lee  by  his  first  and  last  fuchsia. 

Producing  Double  Flowers,  To  obtain  double 
flowers  in  Geraniums,  Petunias,  and  other 
things,  is  now  well  known.  The  process  is  to 
watch  for  flowers  which  have  a  tendency  to  form 
small  petals  on  their  stamens,  instead  of  perfect 
anthers.  The  pollen  of  such  flowers  placed  on 
the  pistils  of  single  flowers  are  likely  to  yield 
double  ones. 

This  has  long  been  understood  by  practical 
flower  breeders,  but  not  so  well  known  to  the 
general  public.  Col.  Wilder  long  since  employed 
this  law  in  the  raising  of  Camellias,  in  which 
field  he  was  once  very  successful.  The  Country 
Gentleman  thus  condenses  what  Col.  Wilder  said 
about  this  recently  : 

"Col.  Wilder  stated,  in  a  lecture  before  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Horticultural  Society,  that  the  Rhododen- 
cron  and  Azalea,  distinct  genera,  had  been  hybri- 
uized,  but  no  one  had  ever  succeeded  in  making  a 
nybrid  between  the  apple  and  the  pear,  or  between 
the  raspberry  and  the  blackberry,  which  belong 
respectively  to  the  same  genera.  It  was  doubted 
tor  a  time  that  hybrids  could  be  obtained  between 
ine  vitis  vinifera  and  V.  labrnsca,  but  Rogers,  Un- 
niii,  tanripbell  and  others  have  settled  the  question 
and  produced  them.  Col.  Wilder  said  that  his  ear- 
liest experience  in  hybridizing  was  in  the  floral 
Kingdom,  in  crossing  species  and  varieties  of  the 
^amellia.  He  discovered  that,  to  produce  double 
uowers,  it  was  important  that  the  pollen  be  taken 
flm?}i*  Pff""^^  anther,  that  is  an  anther  born  on  a 
small  petal,  (the  filament  being  flattened  out  in  its 
was  Rtti'Tr?/"'''!?  i^^  """Sinai  form),  and  that  this 
n/rf.  A^'^^^  ^^  ^^"^"^  a  double  flower.  He  also 
thi  fl^"?^^  interesting  experiments  with  the  lily  : 
ine  nrst  was  the  red  Japan  and  the  Tiger  lily.    Seed- 


lings were  produced  with  different  shades,  from  deli- 
cate rose  to  dark  crimson.  He  also  found  that  pol- 
len preserved  its  fertilizing  power  a  long  time.  In 
one  instance,  a  camel's  hair  pencil,  which  had  not 
been  used  for  several  days,  was  found  with  pollen 
on  it.  This  was  applied  to  the  stigma  of  a  lily,  and 
produced  impregnation.  In  another  instance,  he 
fertilized  with  pollen  carried  a  long  time  in  his 
pocket. 

"  The  science  of  hybridization,  says  Col.  Wilder, 
is  yet  in  its  infancy.  To  use  the  language  of  Dr. 
Lindley  :  *  We  have  but  stepped  over  the  borders, 
and  the  whole  field  of  hybridizing  lies  widely  spread 
before  us;  its  boundaries  are  lost  in  the  horizon, 
and  we  shall  find  them  si  ill   receding  as  we  ad- 


vance. 


>>t 


D,  W.  Adams,  one  of  the  candidates  for  Gov- 
ernor of  Iowa,  is  thus  spoken  of  by  the  Chicago 
Tribune : 

"Mr.  Adams  was  born  in  Winchester,  Mass.,  in 
1832,  and  is  a  member  of  the  famous  Adams  family, 
of  whom  that  State  and  the  whole  nation  are  justly 
proud;  He  graduated  at  a  good  school,  and  at  the 
age  of  23,  removed  to  his  present  home  a  confirmed 
invalid.  In  a  rough-and  tumble  fight  with  disease 
and  poverty  for  nearly  ten  years,  he  was  at  last  vic- 
torious over  both.  He  became  convinced,  at  an 
early  day,  that  fruit-growing  could  be  made  a  suc- 
cess in  this  State,  and  devoted  his  whole  attention 
to  its  development.  Experimenting  with  varying 
success  for  many  years,  he  now  has  the  solid  satis" 
faction  of  having  the  finest  bearing  orchard  in  the 
Northwest,  a  large  nursery  (of  fruit  trees),  a  com- 
fortable competence,  and  a  wide  and  unsullied  repu- 
tation. For  many  years  he  has  been  favorably 
known  as  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Horticultural 
Society,  an  active  member  of  the  State  and  many 
diflTerent  County  Agricultural  Societies.  He  has 
also  been  a  generous  contributor  to  many  of  the 
leading  agricultural  and  horticultural  papers,  and 
his  articles  have  always  been  marked  for  their  clear- 
ness and  conciseness.  Lately  he  has  been  Master 
of  the  State  Grange,  and  at  present  occupies  the 
enviable  position  of  Master  of  the  National  Gramre. 
That  Mr.  Adams  is  a  man  possessed  of  rare  ability, 
is  beyond  doubt." 

Our  readers  will  remember  a  contribution  of 
Mr.  Adams  to  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  in  which 
he  pointed  out  that  apple  roots  partook  of  the 
branching  character  of  the  trees  grafted  on  them. 
We  have  always  regarded  this  paper  as  one  of 
the  most  valuable  contributions  to  horticultural 
science. 

Testing  Kew  Varieties.  We  find  the  followinir 
in  the  *' dairy  of  a  gentlemen'*  in  the  liaral 
New  Yorker.  We  do  not  know  how  this  hard- 
hearted fellow  could  write  so  cooly  about  this 
tender  subject.  Our  thoughts  have  often  been 
in  the  same  direction,  though  we  disliked  to 
hurt  any  one's  feelings  in  saying  so.  But  as  the 
*'cat  has  been  let  out  of  the  bag,"  we  may  as 
well  say  that  if  we  were  to  *'  try  »'  all  the  things 
sent  to  us  for  the  purpose,  it  would  require  us  to 


I 


W8 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


July, 


187 S. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


209 


set  on  half  a  dozen  more  men,  and  require  an 
expenditure  of  about  $3000  per  annum.  Some- 
times it  is  a  sore  temptation,  and  we  feel  grate- 
ful for  the  good  intentions  of  the  donors.  Here 
for  Jinstance  is  a  case  of  pulses,  lentils,  and 
grains  of  various  kinds  from  the  East  Indies 
No  doubt  one  or  two  of  the  many  scores  of  seeds 
might  be  found  of  benefit  to  our  country,  but  we 
cannot  try  them.  One  lot  of  soven  hundred 
kinds  of  hardy  flower  seeds  was  too  great  a 
temptation  to  withstand.  There  was  such  a 
chance  to  get  *' knowledge,"  to  "get  wisdom," 
and  to  get "  understanding,''  that  the  writer  had 
to  take  a  couple  of  men  for  a  week  away  from 
the  regular  work,  much  to  the  indignation  of  the 
foreman,  who  could  "  hardly  get  through  as  it 
is.' 

It  is  pleasant  perhaps  to  feel  that  you  are 
worth  being  tempted ;  but  on  the  whole  we 
rather  subscribe  to  the  doctrines  of  the  extract 
below : 

*'  These  remarks  were  provoked  by  a  letter  ask- 
ing me  to  accept  of  a  few  plants  of  a  new  fruit,  the 
donor  hoping  that  I  would  '•  find  it  worthy  of  com- 
mendation." That  last  remark  exposes  the  motive, 
which  is  merely  to  get  the  thing  indorsed,  and  per- 


haps, mentioned  in  this  Diary,  or  in  other  words 
advertised  free  in  the  Rural  New  Yorker.  I  beg 
to  decline  the  honor;  having  pretty  nearly  escaped 
such  inflictions  in  my  younger  days,  I  do  not  now 
propose  to  enter  the  arena  and  be  shot  at  for  telling 
the  trulh,  or  falsehood  either.  If  such  men  as 
Downing,  Hoopes,  Meehan,  Elliott  and  Fuller  can 
be  coaxed  into  trying  every  new  fruit  that  is  sent 
to  them,  well  and  good  ;  for  they  have  been  fired 
at  so  often  by  disappointetl  originators  of  new  varie- 
ties tlffet  no  ordinary  shot  takes  effect  on  their  well- 
tried  armor." 

Oardening  at  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital.  Mr. 
Johns  Hopkins,  of  Baltimore,  has  donated  a 
large  sum  of  money  for  a  hospital  in  Baltimore. 
It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  Mr.  W.  D.  Bracken- 
ridge  has  been  selecte  '  as  the  landscape  gardener. 
It  is  an  encouraging  sign  when  those  who  have 
charge  of  these  public  works  have  judgment 
enough  to  select  the  right  sort  of  talent  to  do 
credit  to  these  undertakings.  The  selection  of 
Mr.  Brackenridge  is  a  rare  instance  of  good  judg- 
ment, and  the  Commissioners  deserve  encour- 
agement for  such  a  judicious  choice. 

2/ie  Benom  Apple  in  Iowa,  Oar  correspond- 
ent. Dr.  J.  Weed,  regards  the  Benoni  as  the 
best  apple  in  all  his  orchard.  Besides  its  excel- 
lent qualities,  it  makes  straight  nice  trees. 


EDITOR lAL. 


IT  IS  NOT  GOOD  FOR  MAN  TO  LIVE 

ALONE. 

The  unity  of  natural  law  is  an  interesting 
theme.  We  discover  a  fact,  and  suppose  it  ol" 
little  account ;  but  it  finally  proves  to  be  univer- 
sally applicable,  and  another  illustration  of  the 
one  universal  law  which  makes  the  whole  world 
akin.  "  It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone," 
has  had  its  separate  and  special  application - 
and  yet  it  is  but  part  of  one  great  truth.  Whether 
it  is  in  the  animal  kingdom  or  in  the  vegetable, 
it  is  not  good  to  be  alone.  The  most  perfect 
happiness  is  to  get  out  of  ourselves,  and  to 
gather  in  from  abroad  some  stranger  ones  to 
share  life  with  us. 

This  is  the  law  of  nature,  urging  us  not  only 
onward,  but  outward.  We  have  love  and  regard 
for  our  immediate  relations,  but  these  bonds 
must  be  broken,  and  in  the  reunions  of  the  bro- 
ken circle,  heaven  showers  the  greatest  blessin<r8 
generally  on  those  who  know  each  other  leas" 


The  agriculturist  finds  the  same  law.  By  close 
breeding  he  makes  a  race,  and  he  can  develop 
in  this  manner  a  few  leading  points  by  inheri- 
tance, but  it  is  generally  at  the  expense  of  other 
qualities,  and  evea  then  does  not  last.  Race 
after  race  appear  in  this  way,  only  in  time  to 
disappear  to  be  replaced  by  some  new  one  from 
the  original  heterogeneous  stock.  In  the  vegeta- 
ble world  we  find  it  still  the  same.  Here  we 
supposed  the  great  natural  hatred  of  close  rela- 
tionship ceased.  A  plant  with  its  stamens  and 
pistils  in  the  same  flower,  was  surely  arranged 
especially  for  the  perpetuation  of  an  individual 
family  race.  But  no— the  discoveries  of  Spren- 
gel,  Darwin,  Gray,  and  others,  have  shown  that 
even  these  little  floral  children  of  both  sexes, 
raised  so  lovingly  together  in  one  family  home, 
finally  look  abroad  for  their  future  companions, 
and  in  this,  strive  to  harmonize  themselves 
with  this  one  universal  law.  In  some  flowers 
the  pistil  protrudes  itself  from  the  floral  envel- 


opens  long  before  the  anthers  are  mature,  and 
receives  the  pollen  from  strange  flowers  in  ad- 
vance of  the  maturity  of  the  pollen  in  its  own 
flower.  This  pollen  as  it  advances  to  ripeness, 
performs  the  same  ofldce  for  other  strange  flow- 
ers; and  thus,  as  we  should  say  of  animals,  there 
is  a  continual  infusion  of  new  blood  into  family 
life.  The  rushes,  (Juncus)  Luzulas  and  sedge 
grasses  [Carex)  are  familiar  examples  of  this 
kind  of  cross  breeding.  Others  depend  on  the 
agency  of  insects  in  the  matter,  which  take  on 
themselves  the  part  of  "  the  intimate  friend," 
and  introduce  the  strange  but  yearning  parties 
one  to  another.  In  many  flowers,  as  if  for  the 
very  purpose,  are  arrangements  for  covering 
the  insect  with  pollen,  at  the  same  time  guard" 
ing  the  pistil,  and  which  pollen  the  insect  must 
take  to  the  pistil  of  some  flower  before  it  can  get 
the  honeyed  reward.  The  plant,  as  well  as  the 
animal,  has  learned  to  the  fullest  extent  that  it 
is  not  good  for  man  to  live  alone. 

Indeed  when  we  come  to  look  closely  into 
things,  we  find  that  man  alone  of  all  created 
beings,  understands  less  fully  the  depth  and 
capacity  of  this  universal  law.  He  knows  it  is 
true  of  all  these  matters  in  the  limited  family 
circle,  but  he  does  not  generally  know  that  it  is 
as  true  of  man  in  society  as  of  man  as  an  indivi- 
dual, and  that  it  extends  to  the  whole  of  his 
relationship  with  nature. 

We  are  divided  into  city  and  country  ;  but  if 
either  try  to  live  wholly  to  itself,  it  is  unnatural. 
Man  collectively  as  the  country,  or  the  country 
as  a  set  of  people  living  together,  can  no  more 
live  alone"  than  one  man  or  woman,  one  fami- 
ly,  one  flower,  or  any  other  part  of  nature  can. 
Ihere  is  m  every  human  heart  a  response  to  this 
sentiment.  The  one  brought  up  to  city  life 
continually  hungers  for  life  in  the  country,  and 
the  ambition  of  many  a  country  youth  is  to  get 
to  the  city  to  live.  These  yearnings  are  natural, 
and  are  only  unnatural  whenever  the  country  or 
the  town  endeavors  to  keep  all  to  itself  alone. 

There  are  now  in  all  our  larger  cities,  men 
Who  recognize  this  natural  principle,  anal  who 
are  striving  to  bring  about  these  marriages  of 
town  with  country  in  various  directions.  Ihey 
torm  settlements  in  the  country  near  to  the  town, 
and  by  the  aid  of  railroads,  bring  the  two  closely 
together.  In  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  there 
are  many  of  them  on  all  the  leading  railroad 
'ines.  Gerraantown  and  Chestnut  Hill  are  much 
Of  this  class,  and  they  have  the  advantages  of  a 
railroad  running  closer  into  the  heart  of  the  city 


than  any  other,  and  this  matter  of  time  iff  of 
great  moment  to  a  business  man.  Ridley  Park, 
on  the  southwest  of  Philadelphia,  is  another  of 
these  bridal  spots,  and  of  which  we  gave  the 
wedding  account  last  year.  There  was  a  sort  of 
christening  there  early  in  June.  The  Board  of 
Brokers  of  Philadelphia  visited  the  spot,  and  the 
Oardener^s  Monthly  was  taken  along  to  partici- 
pate in  the  happy  ceremony.  Within  the  year, 
several  beautiful  houses  have  been,  and  others 
are  being  built.  The  boarding  house  is  about 
finished,  and  already  the  projector  feels  the  warm 
breath  of  popular  encouragement. 

These  newer  settlements  learn  from  the  errors 
of  their  predecessors.  Once  a  company  took  a 
tract  of  land,  surveyed  it,  took  the  plans  and 
sold  'Mots.»'  Everything  else  was  left  to  chance. 
Society  shaped  itself,  just  as  each  individual 
might  operate  on  the  whole  to  make  it.  Very 
often  they  were  to  be  settlements  of  certain' 
classes.  Here  was  an  aristocratic  quarter—there^ 
the  location  of  mechanics.  Perhaps  this  was  to 
be  a  German  settlement,  and  that  a  Hebrew 
quarter.  People  of  a  peculiar  theological  shade 
would  herd  together,  or  perhaps  a  literary,  or  a 
commercial  class.  The  wants  of  man  as  among 
men  were  seldom  considered.  Roads,  markets, 
labor,  beauty— a  thousand  other  things  were  left 
to  shift  for  themselves.  Wc  know  scores  of  such 
places  struggling  along,  trying  almost  in  vain  to 
find  their  buried  treasures.  Here  in  German- 
town,  for  instance,  after  a  man  has  his  '*lot'' 
secured,  he  finds  it  costs  him  more  to  "  civilize 
it ''  than  the  original  purchase,  and  even  then  it 
won't  come  up  to  the  mark.  The  roads  are  in 
a  great  measure  just  as  they  were  on  the  paper 
plans  when  the  'Mots  "  were  bought,  perhaps  a 
hundred  years  ago.  At  various  seasons  peoplfe 
wade  through  the  mud  to  their  homes  on  stilts, 
or  grope  their  way  through  dust  clouds  as 
through  a  fog.  Having  begun  at  the  wrong  end 
first,  there  are  too  many  interests  involved  now. 
Though  every  one  wants  better  roads,  and  are 
willing  to  pay  for  better  roads,  no  one  knows 
how  to  go  about  getting  them.  In  these  new 
places  such  as  Ridley  Park,  all  these  things  are 
thought  over  and  arranged  far  in  advance.  They 
know  people  when  they  go  to  the  country,  want 
country  in  perpetuity.  Hence  small  tracts  and 
large  tracts  are  devoted  to  park  purposes,  to  be 
sustained  by  a  fund  from  the  purchase  money. 
They  know  that  rich  and  poor  cannot  live  apart 
from  one  another,  so  there  are  lots  at  figures 
within  the  incon^e  of  the  respectable  working 


gio 


THE   GAEDUJVDE'S   MOJVTHLY. 


July, 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJVEB'S   MOJVTHLJ. 


SII 


man^s  means,  as  well  as  for  the  man  of  wealth- 
Then  the  roads  are  all  made,  and  well  made, 
and  shade  trees  planted,  so  that  all  the  settler 
has  to  do  is  not  to  begin  with  a  home,  but  to 
finish  with  one. 

We  are  glad  to  see  these  efforts  to  bring  the 
country  and  the  town  together,  in  a  manner  so 
adapted  to  modern  wants.  It  is  not  yet  all. 
Companies  must  yet  take  in  hand  to  furnish 
even  more  than  this.  They  must  solve  the  soci- 
ty  question,  and  the  female  servant  question, 
and  they  must  remember  that  most  men  now 
a-days  have  busy  lives,  and  will  need  help  even 
In  the  building  of  the  houses,  for  the  details  of 
which  so  many  have  no  time.  But  we  are  going 
beyond  our  usual  space.  Our  object  is  to  show 
that  even  the  most  home-like  body  must  go 
abroad  for  its  fullest  happiness— that  communi- 
ties are  under  the  same  law,  and  that  the  greater 
the  growth  of  a  city,  the  greater  is  the  need  of 
the  country  being  brought  to  the  citizens,  and" 
really  made  ready  for  them.  Such  experiments 
as  this  at  Ridley  Park,  are  all  in  the  right  line, 
and  we  wish  them  every  success. 


*•■•» 


EDITORIAL  NOTES. 

FOREIGN. 

The  Phylloxera,  or  Orape  Root  Louse.— Too 
much  attention  can  scarcely  be  given  to  this 
very  destructive  insect,  which  Prof.  Riley  be- 
lieves to  have  caused  more  trouble  in  American 
grape  culture  than  anything  else.  Many  things 
have  been  found  which  will  destroy  the  insect 
without  injuring  the  grape  roots,  but  nothing 
thus  far  very  practicable. 

.  The  Garden  gives  the  following,  which  seems 
more  practical  than  anything  we  have  seen 
before : 

*  Sulphuret  of  calcium  dug  in  around  the  roots  of 
vines  is  considered  to  have  a  powerful  eflect  in 
destroying  Phylloxera.  This  gives  rise  to  a  true 
sulphuric  acid,  in  consequence  of  the  moisture  of 
the  soil  and  the  gentle  disengagement  of  carbonic 
acid.  It  serves  also  equally  well  to  destroy  cater- 
pillars and  other  injurious  insects  which  are  fre- 
quently so  difficult  to  remove  from  vegetation." 

Cissvs  discolor.— It  is  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  this  lovely  climbing  plant  is  not  used  for 
out-door  summer  gardening  to  a  greater  extent 
than  it  is.     The  Garden  says  : 

'In  the  gardens  of  Mr.  Linden,  at  Gand,  there  is 
now  growing  one  of  these  plants  which  during  the 
past  year  produced  new  shoots,  the  total  aggregate 
of  the  length  of  which  amounted  to  1,625  feet. 
We  are  informed  that  the  plant  was  grown  in  a 
mixture  of  coal  ashes  and  spent  tan." 


Hoteia  japonica, — This  plant,  which  in  some 
catalogues  goes  as  Spircea,  and  in  others  as 
Astilbe  japonica,  has  been  found  one  of  the  best 
white  flowers  for  forcing  that  we  have  in  Ameri- 
can greenhouses  The  following  hint,  which 
we  find  in  Mr.  Robertson's  Garden,  will  help 
those  who  have  not  yet  tried  to  grow  it : 

**  This  beautiful  hardy  plant  may  be  increased  by 
division  of  the  roots,  or  by  means  of  cuttings,  and 
plants  produced  in  both  ways  soon  make  good 
flowering  specimens,  if  well  supplied  with  water 
during  spring  and  summer,  when  the  weather  is 
dry.  Divide  the  old  plants  into  small  pieces,  each 
furnished  with  eyes,  and  plant  them  in  good  rich 
ground,  a  foot  apart.  Plants  to  be  broken  up  must 
not  have  been  forced  this  year.  If  cuttings  are 
preferred,  take  them  from  plants  that  have  done 
flowering,  and  strike  them  in  heat.  When  rooted 
pot  them  off  into  3-inch  pots,  and  place  them  in  a 
warm  dung  frame  until  they  have  become  well 
established,  after  which  harden  them  off.  Plants 
raised  from  divisions  may  be  put  out  in  the  latter 
end  of  May  or  in  the  beginning  of  June,  well 
watering  them  in  at  planting  time.  In  order  to 
prepare  them  for  forcing,  they  should  be  lifted  in 
October,  and  plunged  in  leaves,  as  they  root  all 
winter.  After  they  have  been  introduced  into  heat, 
give  them  plenty  of  water,  or  they  will  not  flower." 

Hoses  which  will  not  Sucker, — We  find  the  fol- 
lowing in  the  Garden  : 

"  The  first  idea  of  raising  Briar  stocks  from  seed 
has  been  claimed  by  M.  Riviere  for  M.  Guillot,  a 
Rose  grower  at  Lyons,  who  has  raised  his  stocks  in 
this  way  for  the  last  twenty  years.  To  M.  Guillot, 
also,  belongs  the  credit  of  ex-cogitating  a  means  of 
preventing  his  Briars  from  producing  suckers. 
Reflecting  that  suckers  are  nothing  more  than  sub- 
terranean branches,  which,  like  all  other  branches, 
must  issue  from  the  axil  of  a  leaf,  he  considered 
that  by  inserting  the  bud  on  the  part  of  the  stem 
below  the  axils  of  the  lowest  or  cotyledonous  leaves 
Cwhich  are  usually  under  the  surface  of  the  soil]  he 
would  deprive  the  stock  of  all  power  to  produce 
suckers  in  future.  In  practice,  M.  Guillot  simply 
removes  the  soil  from  about  the  lower  part  of  the 
stock  and  inserts  the  bud  close  to  the  neck  The 
result  is  that  his  Roses  seldom  or  never  show 
suckers,  and  if  one  chances  to  appear,  it  is  sure  to 
be  from  the  buried  part  of  the  Rose  graft,  and  not 
this  from  the  Briar  stock." 

We  have  not  much  faith  in,  however,  as  those 
of  us  who  have  had  experience  in  the  raising 
root  cuttings,  know  that  it  is  not  always  by  any 
means  necessary  for  an  "axillary  bud  "  * 'above 
a  leaf,"  to  produce  a  growth.  Adventitious 
buds  come  out  anywhere,  and  it  is  these  which 
give  trouble  in  Rose  stock. 

The  Nanie  '''•Black  Hamburg  ^^  Grope.— The 
histories  of  nations,  peoples,  or  things,  are  often 
sought  to  be  wrought  out  by  tracing  analogies 
of  language,  or  by  taking  up  some  clue  which 
language  is  supposed  to  afford.  But  language 
changes  so  arbitrarily,  that  it  is  dangerous  to 


accept  its  suggestions.  When  the  Fastolf  rasp- 
berry was  introduced  it  was  as  much  as  the  hor- 
ticulturists could  do  to  keep  the  people  from 
calling  it  Falstafl:  They  had  heard  of  this  old 
fellow,  but  they  knew  nothing  of  the  castle,  and 
they  held  out  for  the  Shakspearian  name.  In 
like  manner  we  have  had  to  argue  with  very 
smart  people  that  the  Vicar  of  Winkfield  Pear 
was  not  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield  of  Oliver  Gold- 
smith, and  it  has  been  quite  an  effort  to  keep 
the  original  name  pure  and  uncorrupted.  Know- 
ing all  this  we  are  disposed  to  listen  to  the  fol- 
lowing note  from  the  Journal  of  Horticulture, 
although  it  seems  to  us  at  the  time  it  refers  to 
the  Alhambra  palace  was  nearly  as  well  known 
to  the  English  people  as  the  city  of  Hamburg 
itself: 

"'What's  in  a  name?'  Not  much,  perhaps, 
unless  it  leads  to  correct  apprehension ;  and  the 
name  'Black  Hamburg  Grape'  does  lead  to  the 
erroneous  idea  that  the  original  Grape  was  brought 
to  England  from  the  German  port  of  Hamburg, 
sometimes  spelt  Hambro',  a  place  where  the  vine 
does  not  grow,  except  under  hothouse  culture. 

"The  Vine  in  question  was  introduced  into 
England,  I  believe,  by  Mr.  Warner,  about  150 
years  ago,  the  original  vine  being  found  by  him  at 
the  Moorish  palace  in  Spain  called  the  palace  of  Al 
Hambra,  whence  he  called  it  the  Black  Hambra 
Grape.  Now,  the  palace  in  question  being  little 
known  in  comparison  with  the  town  of  Hamburg, 
the  spelling  was  soon  by  many  persons  corrupted 
to  Black  Hambro',  the  final  letter  only  being 
changed.  When  that  spelling  became  general  it, 
no  doubt,  somewhat  obscured  the  history  of  the 
Grape ;  but  the  present  spelling,  Black  Hamburgh, 
does  80  effectually,  and  it  seems  to  me,  therefore, 
desirable  that  the  original  spelling,  Black  Hambra 
Grape,  should  be  at  once  destroyed.— T.  Thompson 
Welton,  Brough,  Yorkshire.'' 

The  Best  Orchid.  Since  so  much  attention 
has  recently  been  given  to  the  growth  of  these 
curious  and  beautiful  flowers  in  this  country,  it 
is  well  to  know  that  what  in  Europe  is  called 
"one  of  the  best,»»  belongs  to  a  class  very  easy  to 
grow.  Generally  the  Cypripediums  will  do  in  a 
cool  greenhouse,  almost  as  well  as  geraniums, 
or  any  common  plant.  A  report  of  a  meeting 
in  Brussels,  says : 

•'In  the  class  (confined  to  nurserymen)  for  ten 
J^ypripediums,  there  was  no  competition.  The  best 
Urchid  m  the  whole  show  was  contributed  by  Mr. 
tjmden  m  the  next  class  as  a  single  specimen— viz. : 
^ypripedium  villosum,  a  grand  specimen,  beautiful- 
ly bloomed,  with  upwards  of  fifty  flowers.  This 
plant  deservedly  received  the  first  prize,  the  second 
oemg  awarded  to  Mr.  Van  Geert  for  a  nice  plant  of 
Udontoglosum  Pescatorhi,  with  five  spikes  of 
bloom." 

Ficus  repens.  The  Journal  of  Horticulture 
calls  attention  to  this  plant.     We  have  found  it 


one  of  the  most  beautiful  things  for  covering  the 
back  walls  of  greenhouses.  It  grows  in  partial 
shade  almost  as  well  as  the  common  ivy,  and 
clings  to  the  wall  in  the  same  manner.  It  is  a 
first-rate  vase  or  basket  plant.  We  have  found 
it  endure  the  freezing  point  without  injury.  The 
Journal  says : 

"  This  is  a  creeping-stemmed  plant,  and  attaches 
Itself  very  closely  to  walls  and  woodwork.  For  the 
former  it  is  particularly  suitable,  and  grows  more 
freely  than  on  the  latter,  as  the  wall  retains 
more  moisture.  The  plant  has  proved  itself  to  be 
hardier  than  was  thought  years  ago,  it  being  now 
introduced  freely  into  warm  greenhouses  and  con- 
servatories, and  thrives  there  very  satisfactorily. 
Very  little  rooting  space  is  needed  as  compared  to 
many  other  plants,  for  it  throws  out  rootlets  at 
almost  every  joint.  Too  much  moisture  must  be 
guarded  against  with  these  cooler  temperatures, 
otherwise  the  foliage  will  be  apt  to  damp-off." 

Culture  of  Persimmons,  There  have  been  many 
attempts  to  select  and  cultivate  persimmons  in 
our  country,  over  and  over  again  ;  but  notwith- 
standing they  "  have  an  apricot  flavor  blended 
with  medlar,"  as  our  excellent  cotemporary, 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture  says  the  Japanese 
kinds  have,  they  do  not  grow  fast  in  popular  esti. 
mation.  Still  it  is  well  to  know  all  about  per- 
simmons, and  the  following  is  of  interest  in  con- 
nection therewith : 

"Messrs.  Teutschel  &  Co.,  Colchester,  have  a 
sale  at  Messrs.  Stevens'  on  the  10th,  of  a  New 
Fruit  Tree  from  Japan,  the  Persimmon,  in  eight 
varieties.  It  is  the  first  time  this  tree  has  been 
offered  in  Europe.  There  have  to  be  sold  105  trees 
received  from  Mr.  Kramer,  also  some  new  and  rare 
Lilies,  Wilsoni  and  Krameri  from  Japan,  Michauxii, 
Humboldtii,  Puberulum,  and  Washingtonianum 
from  North  America,  with  Colochortus  and  Eryth- 
ronium.  The  fruit  tree  is  a  Diospyros,  respecting 
the  proper  name  of  which  there  has  been  some  con- 
troversy ;  M.  Carriere  calling  it  at  first  Diospyros 
Kaki,  afterwards  D.  costata  ;  and  M.  Decaisne,  who 
objects  to  both  of  these  names,  D.  Schi-tse.  It  is  a 
native  of  Eastern  Asia,  and  has  bright  orange-col- 
ored fruit,  which,  in  the  climate  of  Paris  are  from 
2  to  2^  inches  in  diameter,  and  have  an  Apricot 
flavor,  blended  with  that  of  the  Medlar.  It  will 
probably  succeed  against  a  wall  in  the  warmer  parts 
of  this  country." 

Phajus  grandiflorus  is  the  name  of  a  very 
popular  warm  greenhouse  plant  with  us,  which 
is,  perhaps,  as  well  known  and  as  deservedly  as 
any  orchid  grown— under  the  name  of  Bletia 
Tankervilloe.  The  following  little  bit  of  history 
from  the  Gardener's  Magazine,  also  has  some 
good  hints  for  its  culture  and  management : 

"This  is  an  old  inhabitant  of  our  gardens,  having 
been  introduced  from  China  in  1772.  It  is  a  terres- 
trial Orchid  of  the  easiest  possible  culture,  and  flow- 
ers most  profusely  about  this  time  of  the  year. 
When  well  grown,  it  soon  develops  itself,  and  forms 


tm 


TEE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MO.YTHLY. 


July, 


1813. 


THE    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOMIRLY. 


213 


fine  specimens,  with  from  twenty  to  thirty  spikes  of 
effective  white,  brown,  and  purple  flowers.  It  is  a 
gross  feeder,  and  does  well  in  a  compost  of  fibrous 
loam,  well  decomposed  hot  bed  manure  or  leaf- 
mould  and  coarse  sand.  Drain  the  pot  effectually, 
and  then  give  an  abundant  sui)ply  of  water  at  the 
roots  when  the  plants  are  making  their  growth. 
Like  many  more  terrestrial  Orchids,  it  is  found 
growing  in  its  native  country  by  the  margins  of 
streams.  A  little  weak  liquid  manure  may  be  /riven 
with  advantage  when  it  is  in  full  growth,  and  this 
also  greatly  assists  such  plants  of  it  as  are  pot-bound. 
Good  specimens  are  very  useful  at  this  season  for 
conservatory  decoration." 

Triloma  uvaria.  It  always  has  seemed  to  us 
that  the  botanical  name  Tritoma  was  easy 
enough  and  pretty  enough  for  any  one,  and  that 
the  usual  complaint  of  hardwords  surely  did  not 
apply  here.  But  our  people  have  chosen  to  call 
it  the  *'  red-hot  poker  plant,"  and  we  really  can- 
not see  that  it  is  any  improvement  on  Tritoma. 
The  English  however  call  it  "  torch  lily,"  and  if 
our  friends  will  insist  that  Tritoma  is  too  hard 
for  "  the  people,"  let  us  take  to  torch  lily  rather 
than  to  a  whole  set  of  fire  irons,  and  all  in  a 
glow  at  that. 

Japan  Pea.     Sooja  hispida,  is  the  name  of  the 

plant  referred  to  in  the  following  extract  from 

the  London  Garden: 

" '  We  claim  the  honor,'  says  the  Mobile  Register^ 
*  of  having  started  a  new  interest  in  Japan  Peas, 
and  we  are  proud  of  it,  for  the  Japan  Pea  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  best  things  for  our  climate.  It 
is  easily  raised,  will  grow  on  almost  any  soil,  and 
yields  enormously.  As  food  for  man  we  think  it 
has  no  equal  in  the  Pea  or  Bean  way.'  What  is 
this  Japan  Pea?" 

Peter  Lawson  &  Smx.,   the  celebrated  Scotch 

nurserymen,  have  gone  into  bankruptcy.    Their 

assets  are   regarded  as  about  $400,000,  while 

their  liabilities  are  reported  at  about  $1,750,000. 

A  Lawson  Company,  in  which  the  old  firm  are 

interested,  and  which  carrries  on  the  chief  part 

of  the  old  firms  business,  is  said  to  be  unaffected 

by  the  failure. 

Tower  Qrove'^0»rdens.  We  are  very  glad  to 
find  that  Mr.  Shaw's  princely  benefactions  to  the 
people  of  St.  Louis,  but  in  which  after  all,  any 
one  from  every  quarter  who  goes  to  St.  Louis 
also  shares,  is  meeting  with  that  recognition 
abroad  which  has  long  been  accorded  to  them 
here  We  find  the  following  note  in  the  Oardin  : 
"  The  Missouri  papers  record  an  act  of  munifi- 
cence on  the  part  of  Mr.  Shaw,  an  English  settler  at 
St.  Louis,  which,  though  happily  not  rare  in  this 
country,  is  almost  unexampled  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  the  free  gift  of  a  noble  park  to  the  inhabitants 
of  St.  Louis.  The  tract  set  apart  for  this  purpose  is 
situated  close  to  the  town,  is  richly  wooded,  and 
abounds  in  picturesque  scenery.     It  covers  an  area 


of  over  300  acres,  and  its  value  is  estimated  at  about 
£100,000. 

Hardy  Bamboos.  Some  of  these  recent  intro- 
ductions from  China  seem  to  be  hardier  than  we 
have  supposed.  The  Garden  says  of  some  recent- 
ly introduced  into  France  : 

*'  The  following  species  of  Bamboo  are  stated  by 
M.  E  A.  Carriere  to  he  "  very  hardy  "  about  Paris, 
viz.:  Bambusa  viridi-glaucescens,  violascens,  aurea, 
mitis,  nigra,  (perhaps  a  shade  less  hardy  than  the 
rest)  si?Tionii,  and  Metake.  These  are  the  most  in- 
teresting species  grown  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Paris,  and  are  mentioned  in  the  order  of  individnal 
merit  M.  Carriere  adds  that  except  in  unusually 
severe  winters  even  B.  aurea  and  B.  nigra  do  not 
suffer  in  the  least  from  the  cold  there,  and  that  all 
the  kinds  grow  bett,  according  to  his  experience,  in 
a  cool  sandy-clay  soil. 

Gesyiera  elongata.  For  some  years  past  this 
old  plant  has  bv^cii  coming  into  appreciation 
amongst  those  wlni  love  cut  flowers  in  winter, 
about  Philadelphia.  When  the  flower  is  fully 
expanded  it  soon  falls,  but  cut  just  before  it 
opens,  it  remains  as  long  in  good  condition  as 
anything  The  rich  velvety  brown  gives  a  pecu- 
liar character  to  it  which  those  who  are  real 
artists  in  flower  arrangements,  know  how  to 
avail  themselves  of.  We  see  also  that  it  is  beins 
revived  in  Europe.     The  Garden  says  : 

"Last  December  there  were  in  the  warm  houses 
of  the  Museum  at  Paris  some  fine  specimens  of  this 
Gesnera  completely  covered  with  brilliant  scarlet 
flowers.  This  fine  old  plant  seems  to  have  become 
rather  rare  in  France.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  win- 
ter-blooming kinds,  the  flowers,  although  small, 
being  very  numerous  and  of  the  most  exquisite  deep 
scarlet  color,  while  the  habit  of  the  plant  itself  is 
very  pleasing  and  elegant.  It  was  originally  dis- 
covered by  Humboldt  and  Bonpland  in  Peru,  not 
far  from  the  city  of  Quito. 

Insects  on  Peac/i  Roots.  The  discovery  of 
small  insects,  known  as  Phylloxera^  or  grape 
roots,  and  their  connection  with  the  vine  disease, 
promises  to  develop  further  knowledge.  Mr. 
Berkely,  in  the  Gardener  s  Chronicle,  thus  speaks 
of  some  similar  appearances  on  peach  roots  : 

"It  is  only  by  slow  degrees  that  one  becomes 
acquainted  with  the  manifold  diseases  to  which 
plants  are  subject,  and  where  these  depend  cither 
upon  very  obscure  or  minute  moulds  and  insects, 
the  progress  is  necessarily  very  slow.  We  have 
long  since  been  acquainted  with  certain  small  ex- 
crescences on  peach  roots,  which  ultimately  become 
more  or  less  confluent  and  decay,  but  we  have  been 
quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  them.  The  excrescen- 
ces which  are  so  common  on  pear  leaves  have  at 
last  brought  to  light  an  extremely  minute  four- 
footed  acaroid,  belonging  to  the  same  category  as 
that  which  is  so  destructive  to  Nuts  and  Black  Cur- 
rants, and  one  of  which  is  well  known  as  inhabiting 
certain  gall-like  tubercles  on  Lime  leaves.  This 
bids  fair  to  explain  a  host  of  affections  to  which  the 


leaves  of  various  trees  are  subject.  We  have  now 
before  us  an  explanation  of  the  peach  root  excres- 
cences Mr.  G.  F.  Wilson,  to  whom  horticulture  is 
60  much  indebted,  has,  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Joshua  Saunders,  just  sent  to  us  from  the  Rev.  J. 
Heyworth's,  Westbury-on-Trym,  solne  roots  attack- 
ed by  a  minute  insect  which  is  clearly  verv  closely 
allied  to  the  Phylloxera.  The  way  in  which  the 
roots  are  affected  is  almost  precisely  that  in  which 
the  vine  roots  are  attacked.  Tlie  insect,  either  alone 
or  in  company,  settles  upon  the  roots,  the  tissues  on 
either  side  swell  from  hypertrophy,  and  there  is  thus 
a  little  nidus  for  the  insect  which  lives  upon  the 
juices.  The  little  nodes  gradually  decay,  and  the 
whole  root  eventually  becomes  highly  diseased. 
The  insect  is  yellow,  like  the  young  Phylloxera, 
about  one  thirty-fifth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  two- 
thirds  as  much  in  width  in  the  broadest  part,  with 
six  legs  and  two  three-jointed  antennse,  which  have 
two  very  minute  bristles  at  the  tip.  How  far  this 
may  be  constant  it  is  difficult  to  say,  without  an 
opportunity  of  examining  the  matter  on  the  spot, 
for  the  insect  does  not  travel  well,  and  out  of  eleven 
pieces  of  root  one  only  could  be  found  bearing  the 
little  pest  after  very  diligent  search.  Apparently  the 
insects  have  just  lost  their  activity,  and  are  now 
gradually  entering  upon  the  coccus  state,  like  the 
Phylloxera,  for  one  or  two  specimens  occur  twice 
as  large  as  the  rest  and  much  stouter.  Further  op- 
portunities will  doubtless  occur  of  studying  the  in- 
sect, the  discovery  of  which,  especially  considering 
its  close  resemblance  to  the  Phylloxera,  is  of  some 
importance." 

Labels  for  Arboretums.  This  has  engaged  the 
attention  of  many  persons  in  America,  and 
though  some  plans  are  excellent  as  fur  as  dura- 
bility is  concerned,  they  have  been  too  expen- 
sive, or  wanting  in  that  handiness  which  is  es- 
sential to  a  popular  article.  We  find  the  follow- 
ing in  a  recent  number  of  the  Journal  of  Horti- 
culture, which  sceras  to  possess  the  germs  of  a 
good  idea : 

"  At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Socie- 
ty, held  on  Wednesday  last,  Mr.  Green,  gardener 
to  W.  Wilson  Sauader,  Esq.,  exhibited  some  ex- 
ceedingly useful  plant  labels.  They  consisted  sim- 
ply of  cast  iron  of  various  forms  for  large  i)lHnts  ; 
that  part  which  is  inserted  in  the  earth  was  pjiinted 
lead  color,  and  that  for  writing  on  white.  After  the 
white  portion  has  become  thorouiihly  dry  a  coating 
of  black  paint  with  :i  goodly  admixture  of  drying  in- 
corporated with  it,  is  applied  over  the  white,  and 
four  or  five  minutes  afterwards  the  name  may  be 
written  on  it.  A  flat  piece  of  board  with  a  hole  in 
it  for  the  reception  of  the  shank  was  also  exhibited, 
and  by  means  of  this  a  rest  for  the  hand  in  writing 
is  obtained,  without  any  fear  of  touching  the  paint 
The  names  are  written  with  a  pencil  consisting  of  a 
piece  of  wire  inserted  into  a  wooden  socket.  The 
writing  is  white,  somewhat  resembling  that  done 
with  a  fine  camel-hair  bru^h  and  it  is  extremely 
lasting  ;v for  labels  made  and  written  on  in  the  man- 
ner described  were  quite  as  good,  clear,  and  distinct 
after  five  years'  wear  as  those  newly  written  on.  For 
small  pot  plants  zinc  labels  painted  and  written  on 
in  the  same  way  are  neat  and  legible.  No  delay  need 
be  experienced  on  account  of  wet  paint,  for  a  certain 


quantity  can  be  painted  first,  and  after  a  lapse  of  five 
minutes  written  on  without  halting. 

Gardener's   Wages.      The  following  from  the 

London  Gardener's  Magazine,  applies  with  still 

greater  force  to  America  : 

"The  present  position  of  the  gardener  is,  then,  a 
very  unsatisfactory  and  critical  one.     Good  places 
are  becoming  fewer  every  year.     Many  gentlemen 
who  formerly  kept  good  establishments  in  the  coun- 
try are  getting  to  live  in  suburban  villas,  so  as  to  be 
near  to  town,  and  are  engaged  in  the  intricacies  of 
financial  schemes  instead  of  cultivating  the  love  of 
a  garden.     Moreover,  gardener's  wages,  as  a  rule, 
are  much  too  low  ;  taking  a  wide  circle  for  an  aver- 
age, it  would  appear  to  be  about  24s.  per  week. 
This  is  less  than  is  paid  to  a  good  laborer,  who  has 
no  need  whatever  to  bring  any  scientific  knowledge 
to  the  performance  of  his  duty,  while  the  gardener 
is  expected  to  be  acquainted  with  the  thousand  and 
one  things  which  have  to  do  with  his  profession. 
No  one  expects  a  carpenter,  a  builder,  or  a  smith  to 
work  for  laborer's  wages,  and  yet  even  their  work 
entails  very  little  responsibility  compared  with  the 
gardener,  who  has  to  battle  against  many  enemies, 
among   which   may^   be  named  untoward  seasons, 
when  the  crops  are  killed  in  the  spring  ;  grubs  and 
insects  that  come  sometimes  (as  the  past  summer) 
so  numerously  as  to  destroy  all  his  winter  provision  ; 
cross  and  cantankerous  cooks,  who  never  can  have 
the  right  thing  in  the  kitchen,  and  who  frequently 
set  the  ball  a  rolUng  which  knocks  the  gardener  out. 
Then  there  are  many   other  circumstances  which 
makes  situations  less  permanent  than  is  desirable,  be- 
cause.as  the  saying  is,a  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss, 
and  this  was  never  more  true,  perhaps,  of  any  class 
of  men  than  gardeners ;  for  a  change  in  an  estab- 
lishment removes  the  man  and  takes  away  his  living, 
and  the  next  that  opens  is,  perhaps,  a  hundred  miles 
away,  and  no  traveling  expenses  allowed  ;  thus  the 
money  goes,  and  sometimes  the  furniture  too." 


OBITUARY. 
On  the  7th  of  June,  died  John  L.  Russell,  of 
Salem,   Mass.,  and   in   his  death,  horticultural 
science  loses  one   of  its  best   friends,  and  the 
world   at  large   another  good   man,  of  whom> 
as  we  recently  said  of  Dr.  Torrey,  it  has  much 
too  few.     Unlike  Torrey,  and  some  others,  he 
published  little;  but  his  knowledge  was  acute  and 
extensive,  and  he  freely  gave  of  his  vast  stores 
to  whoever  needed.     In  vegetable  microscopy  he 
hid   few  superiors  ;  and   in   the  minute  fungi, 
which    we    know  have    such   an    immense    in- 
fluence  on  the  order  of  firings,  his  knowledge 
was  perhaps  equal  to  that  of  any  living  person. 
We  believe  the  last  paper  he  ever  published  was 
a  contribution  on  this  subject  to  the  American 
Naturalist.     In  general  botany  and  horticulture 
he  always  took  a  lively  interest,  especially  those 
branches  which  called  into  play  the  higher  intel- 
lectual powers.     His  means  were  not  liberal,  but 
such  as  they  were,  they  freely  went  in  aid  of 


2U 


THE    GABDEJfER'S  MOJVTELJ. 


July, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MONTHLY. 


M5 


progressive  intelligence,  in  which  he  seemed  to 
place  his  greatest  hopes  for  the  general  welfare 
and  happiness  of  mankind.  In  early  life  he  was 
a  Unitarian  clergyman;  but  when  the  more  liber- 
al school  under  Theodore  Parker  made  head- 
way, and  Mr.  Russell  found  himself  in  sympathy 
with  it,  and  not  fully  in  accord  with  his  im- 
mediate congregation,  he  resigned  his  charge, 
and  became  disconnected  with  the  ministry,  de- 
voting his  life  to  scientific  study  and  research. 
His  was  one  of  those  rare  minds  which  loved 
truth  and  justice  for  its  own  sake,  and  he  was 
always  ready  to  brave  the  loss  of  fame  or  friends 
in  behalf  of  what  he  deemed  right.  Indeed  if  he 
had  any  weakness  it  was  right  here.  Did  he 
but  imagine  any  one  was  being  trodden  en  who 
deserved  a  better  fate,  he  was  ready  to  enter  the 
lists  in  his  behalf  at  any  cost.  Often  in  these 
cases  he  could  see  only  the  injustice  at  the  mo- 
ment; but  after  the  struggle  was  over,  and  alone 
or  with  intemates,  the  moisture  would  rise  to  his 
eyes  in  the  fear  that  in  the  contest  he  might 
have  hurt  the  feelings  of  those  opposed  to  him. 
A  letter  now  before  the  writer  of  this,  and  we 
believe  near  the  last  one  he  ever  wrote  well 
illustrates  something  of  this. 


An  article  had  recently  appeared  in  high 
scientific  quarters,  which  was  unfortunately  in- 
accurate in  its  statements.  In  his  paralyzed 
condition  he  wrote  pointing  out  the  errors,  but 
he  added,  **  in  times  past  he  has  been  at  my 
house  and  partaken  of  my  hospitalities,  and  I 
would,  under  no  circumstances,  say  anything  to 
hurt  his  feelings  ;  but  in  the  interest  of  truth 
and  science  you  can  do  it  at  some  time  without 
offence  to  any  one. "  The  correction  was  made 
as  suggested  ;  no  one  grieved,  but  rather  we 
think  with  the  thanks  of  the  person  corrected. 

His  little  garden  at  Salem  was  always  a  treat 
to  any  visitor  who  loved  flowers— not  a  square 
inch  of  ground  but  had  something  in  it.  We 
doubt  whether  so  great  a  variety,  so  well  cared 
for,  ever  grew  together  on  so  small  a  space.  It 
well  proved  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  have 
great  riches  in  order  to  enjoy  floral  life— and 
then  how  much  was  learned  from  these  few  well 
watched  treasures  I 

Mr.  Russell  was  an  honored  member  of  many 
learned  sodilies,  but  few  will  miss  him  more 
than  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society, 
in  which  he  held  the  position  of  Professor  of 
Botany,  an  honor  every  way  well  deserved. 


SCRAPS   AND    aUERIES. 


Arborvit^  and  Garden  Edgings.— 7?., 

Angv^ia^  Maine,  asks,  under  date  of  Ju^ie  4th  : 
*'  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  inform  me  as 
regards  the  following  :  1.  Is  not  this  a  good 
season  to  transplant  Arborvitae  ?  2.  Which  is 
the  best  and  most  hardy  variety  for  edgings  like 
box?  The  more  dwarf  the  better.  .3.° How 
many  six  inch  plants  lo  the  yard  ?  4.  What  is 
tho  full  size  of  the  Tom  Thumb  ? 

[Arborvitse  is  transplanted  in  this  part  of  the 
world  all  through  the  summer  season.  The 
earth  has  to  be  tightly  packed  round  the  roots, 
and  this  tight  packing  is  not  merely  a  light  per- 
formance by  heel  an^  toe.  but  a  ramming  as  if 
one  was  setting  a  po«t.  If  the  weather  be  dry 
or  likely  to  be  dry,  water  is  given  with  the  plant 
at  planting.  Unless  the  season  be  a  very  extra- 
ordinary one,  or  the  situation  very  dry,  they  do 
M  well  as  at  any  season.  There  is  some  risk  in 
all. 

2.  The  American  globe,  Thvja  glohosa,  or  the 
German  globe,  {Thuja pumila),  are  both  good. 


i      3.  Depends  on   the   age  of  the  pktnts   used. 
From  four  inehes  to  one  foot  apart. 

4.  Tom  Thvmh,  and  its  elder  brother,  the 
heath-leaved,  or  Tlwja  ericoides,  are  both  good 
for  dwarf  edgings,  though  not  as  hardy  as  the 
con  mon  Arborvitses  from  which  they  sprung. 
T^hey  have  the  same  relation  among  plants  as 
imbeciles  among  human  "  beings— individuals 
which  carry  their  juvenile  simplicity  into  old 
age.  All  arborvitfes  have  the  character  of  these 
the  first  few  months  of  their  existence,  but  these 
never  grew  out  of  their  childhood's  ways.  They 
have  not  the  vigor  and  hardihood  of  maturity. 
In  the  mild  climate  of  Georgia,  we  believe,  are 
specimens  ten  feet  or  more  high.  We  have  not 
seen  any  so  large  North.] 


Hardy  Herbaceous  Flowers  for  June. 
~M.  B  /.,  West  Philadelpfiia,  Penna.,  writes: 
"  Will  you  please  say  in  the  Oardener's  Monthly 
what  you  would  regard  as  the  best  hardy  herba- 
ceous flo»ver8  to  blossom  e^rly,  say  up  to  middle 


of  June.  About  a  dozen  of  them  with  their  col- 
ors for  a  selection.  We  usually  leave  here  during 
the  summer,  and  do  not  care  so  much  for  late 
blooming  things,  and  want  some  things  which 
will  take  care  of  themselves  from  year  to  year." 
[It  is  not  easy  to  select  the  best  for  a  brief  list 
like  this,  but  the  following  will  be  good  enough 
for  most  people  :  Achillea  tomentosa,  Lysima- 
chia  paniculata  and  Hemarocallis  graminifolia 
for  yellows.  Blue— Salvia  pratensis.  Iris  Yir- 
ginica,  Anchusa  aspera,  or  A.  bohemica.  Rosy 
or  red — the  ragged  robin  ( Silene  not  the  Lych- 
nis) Geranium  sanguineum,  Achillea  millefoli- 
um rubrum.  Purple— Pentstemon  grandiflorus. 
Campanula  nobilis,  Gladiolus  communis.  White 
— Auemone  Pennsylvanica.  Besides  these  of 
various  colors  are  Sweet  Williams,  Scotch  Pinks 
and  Peonys.  These  are  mostly  all  over  by  the 
end  of  June.] 

Seedling  Calceolaria.— P.  <{;  P.,  La 
Orange,  Tnd.:  '*  We  send  you  a  flower  of  a  seed- 
ling Calceolaria,  which  we  have  raised  from  a 
packet  of  seed  of  the  *  Jamas'  International 
Prize '  variety.  Please  inspect  it  and  give  your 
opinion  as  to  its  worth,  &c.'» 

[The  flower  was  squeezed  flat  in  a  letter,  and 
had  lost  all  color,  becoming  brown  as  it  dried. 
It  appears  to  be  a  very  good  variety — as  good  at 
least  as  the  average  of  improved  kinds.] 


Horticultural  Directory  Wanted— 
For  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington,  and 
places  adjacent.— il/r.  Bateham,  says  :  '*  As  a 
large  number  of  horticulturists  from  distant 
parts  of  the  country  will  doubtless  visit  Phila- 
delphia and  Washington  about  the  time  of  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Pomological  Society  in 
September,  would  it  not  be  a  good  thing  to  pub- 
lish in  the  Monthly  before  that  time  a  sort  of 
directory  or  guide  to  the  places  of  interest  to  the 
profession  in  these  two  cities  and  their  envi 
rons  ?  Mention  the  principal  parks  and  ceme- 
teries, florist  and  nursery  establishments,  with 
a  few  good  examples  of  landscape  and  suburban 
home  adornment,  describing  the  leading  features 
of  each  ;  also  the  best  means  of  reaching  them, 
and  of  going  from  one  to  another,  so  that  per- 
sons who  cannot  spa^e  time  to  visit  them  all, 
may  choose  such  as  are  of  most  interest  to 
them.»' 

[Mr.  Bateham's  idea  is  an  excellent  one,  and 
we  would  make  such  a  list  at  once  if  we  knew 
positively  that  it  would  be  agreeable  in  every 


case  to  have  visitors  to  the  gardens  or  grounds. 
If  those  of  our  friends  who  have  anything  of 
interest  in  the  horticultural  line,  and  have  no 
objection  to  visitors  enjoying  them,  will  notify 
us  of  the  fact,  with  route,  and  at  the  same  time 
giving  hints  as  to  any  public  gardens  or  grounds 
that  may  be  near  them,  that  could  be  seen  at 
the  same  time,  we  will  try  a  list  as  Mr.  Bateham 
suggests.  Of  course  this  applies  to  commercial 
as  well  as  to  private  places.] 


To  Inquirers.— The  editor  will  with  pleasure 
respond  to  inquiries  through  this  department, 
but  has  not  the  time  to  spare  for  answering  in- 
quiries by  private  letter. 


Names  of  Cherries.— D.  S.  Jf.,  Bridgemlle, 
Bel :  It  is  difficult  to  name  fruit  with  absolute 
certainty  from  a  few  specimens  only.  Yours 
appear  to  be  :  1.  May  Duke  ;  2.  Early  Purple 
Guigne  ;  3.  Belle  de  Choisey ;  4.  Early  May. 
We  would,  however,  say  to  this  and  every  other 
reader,  never  to  take  any  one  person's  opinion 
as  final  in  regard  to  a  fruit's  name,  if  it  is  intend- 
ed to  disseminate  the  stock.  Try  several  per- 
sons, and  if  they  all  agree,  it  may  be  regarded 
as  conclusive. 


Destruction  of  Apple  Trees— An  Iowa 
correspondent  says  fully  one-half  the  young 
apple  trees  in  Northwestern  nurseries  were  killed 
by  the  winter. 


Boiler  for  a  Propagating  House— An 
Iowa  correspondent  inquires  about  a  small  hot 
water  boiler  for  a  propagating  house  12  feet  by 
35.  We  should  uot  think  of  any  sort  of  a  hot 
water  boiler  for  a  house  like  this,  and  put  our 
reply  in  this  shape,  so  that  if  there  be  any  ob- 
jection to  this  opinion,  we  may  hear  of  it.  For 
such  a  small  house  as  this  we  should  certainly 
heat  by  a  common  pipe  or  flue. 


Southern  Pomological  and  Horticul- 
tural Society — Auxiliary  to  the  National 
Society.  We  see  a  proposition  of  this  kind  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Leighton,  of  Norfolk,  and  it  is  an 
excellent  one.  Why  may  not  all  our  State  socie- 
ties be  made  auxiliaries  also  V  In  some  sense 
they  are  now,  as  they  generally  send  delegates  ; 
but  there  might  be  a  closer  and  more  useful 
relationship. 

Remedt  for  the  Rose  Slug.-  E,  H.  B,^ 


S16 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJYTHLY. 


July, 


1873. 


Geneva^  Ka^e  County,  llls.^  says:  "I  would 
call  your  attention  to  my  communication  in 
regard  to  the  Rose  Slug,  published  in  Gardener^s 
Monthly,  August,  1872,  page  239,  and  request 
you  if  you  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  troubled 
>\ith  the  pest  to  give  the  remedy  a  trial  this 
year.  Try  black  pepper  as  directed  in  my  letter 
on  your  cucumber  vines  for  the  Striped  Beetle.'' 


TBU    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^'TRLY. 


them,  with  leaves  rather  more  divided  than  the 
common  forms.] 


217 


What  is  a  Hybrid?-^.  H.  B.,  asks:  "Some 
one  defines  it  as  a  plant  which  is  produced  from 
a  cross  of  different  species,  the  seed  of  the  Hy- 
brid beinjr  unfertile,  or  refiisino:  to  germinate. 
The  Hybrid  being  only  reproduced  by  cuttini^s 
Is  this  correct  ?" 

[It  is  difflcult  to  define  *  hybrid."  We  are 
-not  able  now  to  define  "speciep."  Species,  va- 
rieties, and  individuals  are  but  grades  of  one 
another,  and  we  are  unable  to  tell  where  one 
ends,  and  the  other  begins.  The  old  test  of  ster- 
ility has  been  found  wanting  also.  Very  closely 
allied  pin  11  ts,  which  no  one  would  call  species, 
are  soi^KMimes  sterile  in  their  progeny,  while 
othnr.s  which  seem  widely  separated,  give  very 
productive  erosses.  Then  the  "  hybrids  »'  theni- 
selves  nre  sometimes  sterile  and  sometimes  not. 
The  m>iie,utterly  unproductive  in  a  cool  country, 
is  tolerably  fertile  in  the  tropics.  We  should 
say  that  "  a  hybrid  was  the  offspring  of  what  arc 
commonly  regarded  as  distinct  things,"  without 
introducing  any  question  of  sterility  or  species.] 

Fraxinus  ornus.—A  Doylcstown  corre- 
spondent sends  us  a  specimen  of  this  pretty  tree 
for  name.  It  ought  to  be  more  grown.  Its  foli- 
age is  as  c:ood  as  the  best  of  Ashes,  while  the 
clusters  of  white  Oowers  are  quite  showy. 

Hawthorn  -(\  L  J.,  Waynesville,  0.:    "I 
forward  by  himU  some  cuttings,  &c.,  of  a  thorn, 
to  see  if  you  can  name  it  through  the  MnUhly 
I  discovered  it  in  the  woods,  ten  years  since  • 
have  looked  in  vain  for  other  plants  of  the  same' 
but  find   none.      Some   English   and   Hibernia 
friends  here  think  it  allied  to  the  En-lish  thorn 
but  on  comparison,  they  are  not  alike.     I  have 
shown  it  to  other  persons  repeatedly,  but  they 
fail  to  recognize  it.     It  is  about  eight  feet  high 
well  branched  from  the  ground  up.     I  think  it 
would   make  a  fine  ornamental    bed  ^e   plint 
though  I  have  not  tried  to  grow  it  from  cut- 
tings." 

[There  are  many  varieties  of  the  English  Haw- 
thorn,   Crat(Bgu8   oxyacantlm.      This  is  one  of 


Rhododendrons.— As  wears  writing,  Boston 
is  having  a  rhododendron  show.  We  have  had 
kind  invitations  from  Prof.  Sargent,  Mr.  Wilder, 
and  o'her  friends  to  come  on  and  enjoy  it; 
but  unfortunately  our  duties  here  keep  us  from 
the  great  floral  feast  It  is  only  when  we  get 
perfectly  desperate  that  we  get  up  and  run  away 
somewhere,  and  we  may  do  that  yet  this  sum- 
mer; but  we  have  not  quite  reached  that  point 
yet  Still  a  rhododendron  show  is  a  great 
temptation,  and  we  really  envy  our  Boston 
friends.  The  progress  which  gardeni)ng  is 
making  in  that  city  reflects  credit  on  its  public 
spirited  citizens. 


•  Lily  from  Tyro,  Miss.— Some  time  in  the 
winter  a  subscriber  from  this  part  of  the  world 
sent  us  a  root  for  a  name.  It  is  now  in  flower, 
and  proves  to  be  Lilium  superbum. 


Heating  by  Hot  Water— 2^.  L.  S^.,  says  : 
"  I  have  been  much  interested  in  the  different 
opinions  given  in  your  excellent  periodical,  the 
Gardener's  Monthly,  upon  heating  by  hot  water, 
but  I  do  not  yet  understand  as  well  as  I  would 
wish.  I  think  a  correspondent  some  months 
since,  who  signed  his  initials  F.  N.  F.,  if  I 
remember  correctly,  spoke  of  heating  lofty  build- 
ings. This  it  is  in  which  I  am  more  particular- 
ly interested,  and  would  feel  greatly  obliged  for 
further  information  from  the  correspondent 
referred  to.»» 


NA3IES  OF  Plants.— TT.  T.,  Union  Cemete- 
ry, Kansas  City,  Mo.,  writes  :  'M  send  you  a 
sprig  of  a  beautiful  bush,  which  is  growing  on  a 
high  rocky  place.  The  fragrance  of  its  bloom  is 
very  sweet.  [Rhamnus  lanceolatus.]  Also  the 
bloom  with  stem  and  leaves  of  a  little  plant, 
which  I  don't  remember  of  meeting  with  before. 
It  is  growing  on  rocky  ground  in  the  bush,  near 
a  spring.  I  would  call  it  a  primrose,  but  it  has 
but  four  stamens.  [Aphyllon  uniflora.]  Please 
give  me  their  name  through  the  Monthly. '^ 


Cross  Fertilization.— ''Paris,  14th  June, 
1873.  The  Rev.  L.  J.  Templin  and  myself  are 
pretty  n-pjl  agreed  as  to  the  cross  fertilization  of 
corn,  buL  r  ^car  he  has  slightly  misunderstood 
me  on  one  point.  He  says  :  » Mr.  Arnold's  ex- 
peri  n.(  ^  s  eeni  to  be  conclusive  that  the  imme- 
diate Jiiiit  is  atfocted  by  the  cross.'     I  would 


now  beg  to  say  that  in  my  opinion  it  is  a  rare 
occurrence  for  foreign  pollen  to  have  an  imme- 
diate effect  upon  the  pulp  surrounding  the  seed 
of  an  apple  or  pear.  I  hope  the  important  point 
in  my  article  in  your  April  number  will  be  kept 
in  view,  viz.:  superfcetatton,  in  other  words,  one 


individual  seed  being  formed  by  the  joint  influ- 
ence of  several  varieties  of  pollen  upon  one  stig- 
ma. This  I  am  confident  will  be  found  to  be 
true  as  regards  corn,  and  I  am  of  opinion  will  bo 
found  to  be  equally  true  with  various  fruits. 

Charles  Arnold." 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


Landscape  ARCHiTECTrF^E    By  H.  W.  S, 
Cleveland.     Chicago:    Jansn.,,  McClurg  &  Co. 
This  is  an  essay,  or  rather  a  «. lies  of  essays,  by 
a   distinguished    landscape    gardener,    on    the 
arrangement    of    cities,    parks,    gardens,    and 
grounds,  as  suited  to  the  wants  of  man  rather 
than  as  an  abstract  art.     For  this  reason  he  has 
chosen  Landscape  Architecture  as  a  term  to  ex- 
press the  direction  of  his  thoughts,  rather  than 
the  term  landscape  gardening.    Mr.  C.  has  writ- 
ten this  little  book,  he  says,  especially  in  view  of 
the  wants  of  the  West,  in  the  hope  that  new 
towns,  which  are  continually  springing  up,  may 
avoid  the  mistakes  of  older  ones.     All  who  have 
given  intelligent  attention  to  the  arrangements 
of  old  places,  well  know  what  excellent  examples 
most  of  them  afford  as  to  what  not  to  do,  and  it 
18  somewhat  astonishing  that  western  people  do 
uot  improve  on  the  mistakes  of  others.     New 
York  and  Philadelphia— we  refer   to  them  only 
because  we  happen  to  know  more  of  their  wants 
and  weaknesses,  and  not  that  they  are  alone - 
both  found  to  their  sorrow  that  beauty  builds  up 
a  town  as  much  as   business  ;  and  Fairmount 
and  Central  Parks,  with  other  public  works  of  a 
similar  character,  are  the  patches  placed  on  in 
the  endeavor    to  improve    the    original  misfit 
Yet  numberless  new  places  are  going  up  utterly 
Ignorant  of  the  wonderful  beauties  they  possess, 

Which  would  be  worth  h;Uf  their  town  to  the  people 
tlid  they  know  their  value,  and  take  care  to  pre- 
serve  them.  Tlii.s  is  Ji,.t  ag  true  of  small  settle 
inents,  and  indeed  of  individual  properties  as  of 
cities  ;  and  thousands  annually  destroy  beauties 
in  building,  indeed  make  things  ugly  and  incon- 


venient because  they  knew  not  of  the  advantages 
by  which  they  were  surrounded.     Most  people 
suspect  this   before   they  begin  to  build.     It  is 
quite  possible  that  the  propriety  of  consulting  a 
landscape  gardener  occurred,  or  was  suggested 
to  them;   but  it   must  be  confessed  that    the 
results  as  shown  by  the  works  of  some  excellent 
landscape  gardeners,  have  not  been  always  such 
as  to  encoura^re  the  tasteless  to  make  use  of  their 
services.     Garden  artists  too  often  forget  that 
stern  utility  is  at  the  bottom  of  most  garden 
arrangements,  and  not  merely  the  creation  of 
some  living  picture  of  ftiiry  land.     Garden  art 
should  not  bow  wholly  to  utility— at  the  same 
time  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  this  is  not 
a  coUl,  hard  hearted,  barren  world.     After  our 
physical  wants  have  been  served,  there  is  noth- 
ing which  '*  pays  '>  like  bpauty  ;  and  those  ciMes, 
and  those  individuals  who  the  most  fully  appre- 
ciate this,  are  destined  in  this  great  country  to 
be  classed  among  those  who  are  "the  healthy, 
wealthy  and  wise." 

We  are  glad  to  find  a  landscape  gardener  of 
Mr.    Cleveland's  great   reputation   working   so 
well  in  this  Geld.     His  little  book  cannot°co8t 
much  from  its  size   and  we  should  like  to  know 
t!)at  it  has  a  good  circulation. 


Catalogue  of  W.  Watson,  Brenham, 
Texa<.  The  ]>ublisher  desires  to  return  thanks 
i>  Ml-.  \Va(s.>n  for  a  kind  notice  of  the  Monthly 
wiiich  appears  in  his  new  descriptive  catalogue 
just  is8ued«»  The  catalogue  is  a  neat  pamphlet  of 
fifty  pages,  and  gives  pretty  full  descriptions  of 
the  plants  and  fruits  popular  in  the  South. 


i;^. 


ns 


THE    GARDEJTER'S   MOJ^TTHLY. 


July, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJfTHLY. 


$19 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


NEW  ANl)  RARE   FRUITS. 


Beatrice  Peach.— In  various  papers  there 
are  notices  recently  of  the  Beatrice  peach,  in 
which  the  writers  '*  understand''  such  and  such 
things  *' about"  it.  Information  is  wanted  as 
to  what  people  know  of  it.  It  is  always  to  be 
taken  with  considerable  allowances  when  any- 
thing is  announced  as  so  very  much  earlier  than 
other  things.  Still  some  people  have  faith  in 
the  Beatrice.  One  peach  raiser  in  Maryland 
has  set  out  15,000  trees  of  it  the  pist  spring. 


The  Caroon  Cherry.— The  Bucks  County 
Intelligencer  says  the  most  i)opular  cherry  of  that 
region  is  the  Caroon.  It  is,  it  says,  rather  large, 
solid,  white  and  pink,  and  probably  belongs  to 
the  Biggareaus.  They  are  excellent  for  eating, 
baking  or  preserving. 


SouLARD  Crab  Apple.  — *' The  Soulard  ap- 
ple is  a  variety  originated  at  Galena,  by  James 
G.  Soulard,  for  forty-five  years  a  nurseryman 
and  orchard ist  in  the  West,  and  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Jo  Davios  County  Horticultural  So- 
ciety. The  Soulard  apple  has  been  grown  and 
fruited  many  years  as  far  north  as  St.  Paul,  and 
its  hardihood  is  established  beyoad  all  question. 
As  a  dessert  fruit  the  Jo  Davies  County  Horti- 
cultural Society  voted  unanimously  that  it  was 
the  best  of  any  known  variety  of  its  season— a 
compliment  paid  no  other  sort.— Gardener's 
Mon(hly.'>^ 

This  implies  that  the  Soulard  won't  grow 
north  of  St.  Paul.  W^  beg  to  assure  the  Month- 
ly that  the  Soulard  grows  at  Pembina,  more 
than  300  miles  from  St.  Paul.  The  Soulard  of 
all  other  crabs,  is  the  most  valuable.  It  cannot 
be  used  as  an  eating  apple.  It  is  bitter,  worse 
than  a  quince,  but  for  preserves  it  is  quite  equal 
if  not  superior  to  the  quince.  We  consider  it 
today  the  most  valuable  fruit  grown  in  the 
Northwest— i^armer'5  Union,  Minneapolis, 


The  Crawford    and   Sterllng    Straw- 


berries—The  following  is  a  description  of  the 
two  berries,  written  by  F.  R.  Elliott  in  1870  : 

*'  At  the  Exhibition  of  the  East  Cleveland 
Horticultural  Society,  held  in  June,  the  10th 
inst.,  Mr.  Matthew  Crawford  exhibited  some 
very  choice  new  seedling  strawberries,  and  we 
are  indebted  to  him  since  then  for  samples  from 
which  to  make  notes  and  descriptions,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  The  3£argfaret  is  an  unusually  deep  colored 
berry,  and  to  the  eye  of  an  expert  in  fruits  it 
exhibits  richness  in  the  quality  of  its  flesh  with 
delicacy,  and  not  too  much  of  acid  to  make  it 
pleasant  to  eat  out  of  hand,  but  is  too  dark,  we 
think,  to  ever  become  popular  as  a  market  ber- 
ry. It  is  about  as  large  as  the  *  Triomph  de 
Gand,'  is  more  uniform  in  shape,  being  of  broad, 
conical  form,  with  the  surface  more  or  less  un- 
even. Its  color  is  a  deep  purplish  or  liver-like 
red,  and  on  the  upper  or  sunny  side,  the  seeds 
are  mere  dents,  but  on  the  under  side  the  seeds 
are  yellow,  sharply  pointed  and  prominent ;  the 
flesh  is  firm,  of  a  crimson-red  in  centre  and  dark- 
ening toward  the  outer  rim  ;  is  juicy,  rich,  and 
not  too  acid.  The  Margaret,  Mr.  Crawford 
writes  us,  has  taken  two  first  premiums,  one  for 
the  best  seedling  and  one  for  the  best  flavored 
berry. 

"In  the  Sterling  ihG,  originator  has  a  berry 
that,  if  its  productiveness  half  equals  its  appear- 
ance and  firmness,  will  become  a  popular  mar- 
ket berry.  In  appearance  it  resembles  a  well 
formed  and  thoroughly  ripened  '  Triomph  de 
Gand';  being  of  a  regular  broad  or  oboVate,  coni- 
cal form,  a  rich,  glossy,  vermillion-red,  thickly 
studded  with  golden  yellow  seed  prominently  on 
the  surface.  The  flesh  is  quite  firm,  of  a  vermil- 
lion-red, and  having  a  white  rim  around  the 
core,  is  rich,  sprightly  and  brisk,  slightly  acid, 
but  not  so  much  so  as  the  '  Wilson.'  In  appear- 
ance, size  and  quality,  it  has  all  the  good  points 
of  a  market  berry,  and  it  only  remains  to  be 
seen  how  productive  it  is  in  varied  soils  and 
locations.') 


Perpetual  Flowered  Carnation,  La 
Belle.- Of  late  years  the  perpetual  flowering 
carnations  have  made  themselves  essential  to 
all  who  have  flowers.  Few  persons  outside  of 
the  large  cities  have  any  idea  of  the  enormous 
quantity  grown  for  cut  flower  purposes.  Many 
a  greenhouse  is  devoted  entirely  to  their  growth, 
and  the  flowers  varying  from  two  to  five  dollars 
per  hundred  are  readily  sought  for  by  persons 
in  the  cut  flower  trade.  The  worst  feature  is 
the  straggling  habit  of  growth,  but  when  at- 
tached to  frames  and  trained,  this  bad  habit  is 
turned  into  **  just  the  thing." 

The  accompanying  is  an  illustration  of  La 
Belle  as  recently  exhibited  at  one  of  the  London 
shows.    It  shows  how  they  may  be  trained  to 


iiUHufiniiu^^ 


advantage.  Besides  this  they  are  led  over  flat 
trellises,  and  where  the  greatest  number  of  flow- 
ers in  the  smallest  possible  space  is  not  an  object, 
in  which  case  the  balloon  trellis  has  the  advan- 
tage ;  a  flat  trellis  makes  a  very  pretty  affair. 
Of  this  new  variety.  La  Belle,  the  English  papers 
speak  very  enthusiastically.  A  London  paper 
says: 

''The  forerunner  of  a  new  race  of  varieties  of 
the  highest  possible  value.  The  flowers,  of  the 
purest  white,  are  very  large  and  smooth,  perfect- 
ly double,  and  delightfully  fragrant,  and  are 
produced  all  the  year  round  in  such  profusion 
that  one  or  more  plants  should  be  grown  where- 
ever  cut  blooms  are  in  request.'* 


marine  blue,  with  a  well  formed  eye  of  very  deep 
violet-purple.  They  are  also  of  good  substance, 
have  strong  stalks,  and  stand  well  above  the 
leaves.  M.  Benary  has  named  it  *  Viola  tri- 
color, var.  maxima  Emperor  William,'  and 
states  that  the  variety  reproduces  itself  with 
certainty  from  seed." 

Primula  Japonica. —Though  so  recently  in- 
troduced, this  has  already  been  broken  up  into 
many  distinct  varieties.  Mr.  Bull  announces 
the  following  kinds ; 

Primula  Japonica  alba.  This  variety  pro- 
duces white  flowers  with  a  golden  yellow  zone 
round  the  eye. 

Primula  Japonica  carminata.  Pure  carmine 
red,  with  a  maroon  crimson  ring  round  the  eye. 

Primula  Japonica  lilacina.  Eye  surround- 
ed by  a  zone  of  orange  red,  shading  outwards  to 
a  beautiful  rosy  lilac,  the  outer  portion  of  the 
corolla  lobes  being  white. 

Primula  Japonica  rosea.  Very  distinct, 
with  flowers  of  a  lilac  rose,  and  having  a  crim- 
son ring  round  the  eye. 

Primula  Japonica  splendida.  Flowers  of  a 
deep  bright  magenta,  the  zone  of  a  rich,  bright 
crimson  color. 


A  Kew  Style  of  Pansy. -The  London 
Journal  of  Horticulture  says  :  "  M.  E.  Benary, 
a  horticulturist  at  Erfurt,  announces  a  new  Pan- 
sy, which  has  large  flowers  of  a  splendid  ultra- 


IIyDRANGEA  PANICULATA  aRANDIFLORA.— 

This  is  a  handsome  shrubby  plant,  from  20  to 
over  30  inches  high,  introduced  from  Japan 
about  the  year  1864  by  M.  Siebold.  The  flow- 
ers, which  arc  produced  in  a  dense,  handsome 
panicle,  are  at  first  white,  and  afterwards  pass 
through  various  shades  of  rose  color  to  a  violet- 
red,  changing  at  last  to  a  greenish  brown,  so 
that  their  appearance  varies  from  day  to  day. 
It  is  exceedingly  ornamental,  thrives  in  almost 
any  soil  or  position,  is  quite  hardy,  and  can  be 
propagated  with  the  greatest  facility  from  cut- 
tings. 


Cut-Leaved  Weeping  Birch  —In  a  list  of 
rare  trees,  (to  the  Iowa  Homestead,  we  believe), 
Mr.  D.  W.  Adams,  of  Waukon,  Iowa,  says: 
''The  Cut-Leaved  Weeping  Birch  is  another 
tree  comparatively  seldom  seen  here,  which  is 
equally  hardy,  very  thrifty,  and  with  age  be- 
comes a  perfect  beauty.  It  should  be  better 
known.    A  specimen  in  my  lawn,  planted  nine 


no 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJVTRLY. 


July, 


187S. 


THE    GARBEJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


m 


years  ago  at  one  year  old,  now  measures  twenty- 
four  inches  in  circumference  at  the  ground,  and 
is  much  admired." 


BouvARDiA  ViiEELANDii  figured  a  few 
years  ago  in  the  Oardener''s  Monthly^  is  also 
becoming  popular  in  England.  Mr.  Standish 
says  of  it :  '*  As  a  Bedding  Plant,  this  beauti- 
ful plant,  which  is  so  universally  admired  for 
greenhouse  cultivation,  has  proved  itself  un- 
equalled for  bedding  out.  If  placed  in  a  rich 
border  about  the  middle  of  May  it  will  very 
speedily  become  a  mass  of  flowers,  retaining  its 
beauty  till  late  in  the  autumn  ;  the  plants,  if 
then  lifted  and  protected,  will  continue  to  bloom 
some  months." 


(( 


Abutilon  Boule  de  Neige.— The  rather 
new  white  Abutilon  is  now  generally  known  and 
valued  for  winter  flowering.  It  is  not  however 
a  very  clear  white.  This  is  said  to  be  an  im- 
provement. The  flowers,  as  the  name  indicates, 
are  of  the  purest  white.  The  plant,  which  is  of 
the  most  robust  ani  vigorous  habit,  throws  its 
flowers  outside  the  foliage,  thus  making  it 
always  attractive.  It  has  successfully  withstood 
the  winter  in  the  South  of  France,  which  will 
make  it  invaluable  for  sub-tropical  planting  in 
this  climate. 


We  are  much  pleased  to  notice  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  new  yellow-flowered  Columbine  (Aqui- 
legia  leptocera  lutea),  which  is  thus  described  in 
the  catalogue  of  Messrs.  Backhouse  &  Sou,  York, 
just  received  by  us.  *This  is  unquestionably 
one  of  the  finest  perennials  we  ever  introduced. 
Its  large  golden-yellow,  long-spurred  flowers  are 
produced  in  great  abundance  from  densely-tufted 
plants,  which  maintain  a  long  succession  of 
bloom.  This  species  has  not  yet  flowered  with 
us ;  but  magnificent  dried  specimens  of  the 
blossoms  have  been  forwarded  to  us  from  North 
America.  These  are  not  unlike  very  large  ex- 
amples of  A.  coerulea,  with  long  straight  horns. 
So  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  this  plant  has  noth- 
ing whatever  to  do  with  A.  aurea  of  Roezl,  of 
which  the  flower  is  scarcely  half  the  size,  of  a 
sulphur  yellow  shaded  with  green.'  " 


Aquilegfa  leptocera  lutea  —Wc  can  en- 
dorse what  is  said  of  the  following  in  the  Garden, 
as  we  saw  it  in  flower  in  a  garden  near  Philadel- 
phia last  Rummer.  It  is  about  two  weeks  after 
Aquilegia  ccmadensis  in  blossoming,  and  contin- 
ues through  most  of  the  season  : 


Anemone  japonica.  -Is  not  this  good  old 
plant  again  losing  caste  amongst  us  as  a  bedding 
plant  ?  AVe  possess  three  or  more  varieties,  and 
very  beautiful  objects  they  are  when  in  bloom. 
They  thrive  well  in  moist  situations,  and  will 
flourish  on  a  damp  cool  soil,  flowering  freely 
where  many  plants  would  not.  Besides  you 
may  plant  them  almost  anywhere  in  a  flower 
garden,  and  they  seem  to  prosper  with  ordinary 
attention.  Where  the  summer  display  is  not 
required  in  perfection  until  late  in  July  or  Au- 
gust, this  is  a  peculiarly  useful  subject  for  the 
centre  of  beds,  as  it  tends  to  increase  the  variety 
of  contrasts,  and  to  multiply  effects,  such  as  are 
not  seen  where  vivid  colors  alone  are  dis}»1aycd 
or  employed— William  Earley,  in  Garden- 
er'^s  Chronicle. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  Salway  Peach.— In  speaking  of  this 
new  late  peach,  which  is  exciting  considerable 
interest  just  now,  both  in  England  and  this 
country,  Mr.  PuUen,  in  a  note  to  the  Maryland 
Farmer,  says  :  '*  The  Sal  way  Peach  is,  as  you 
will  observe,  a  large  yellow  freestone  of  very 
high  color  and  remarkably  handsome.  It  ripens 
after  the  Smock  and  therefore  adds  several  days 
to  the  peach  season.  It  is  an  English  peach  and 
was  first  imported  about  five  years  ago," 


Mr.  Neflf,  of  Ohio,  having  fruited  the  Salway, 
says  he  finds  it  hardy,  a  good  grower  and  pro- 
ductive, and  endorses  all  that  Mr,  Pullen  says 
in  its  favor.  It  was  briefly  noticed  in  the  Re- 
port of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Fruits,  to  the 
American  Pomological  Society,  at  Richmond, 
last  fall,  as  *'a  variety  of  considerable  promise 
for  all  Southern  peach  growing  localities,  and 
described  as  large  to  very  large  in  sizt^,  creamy 
yellow,  with  a  thick,  deep  yellow   flesh  stained 


with  red  at  the  stone,  and  in  season  according 
to  climate,  from  October  first  to  November 
10th."  In  the  middle  cotton  belt  it  will  ripen 
from  the  20th  August  to  15th  September. 

Mr.  Gaines,  of  Alabama,  informs  us  that  he 
has  fruited  it  the  present  season  and  thinks  well 
of  it,  but  decidedly  prefers  the  Picquet's  Late, 
which  ripens  about  the  same  season.  Both  are 
undoubtedly  very  fine  varieties,  and  should  be 
generally  tested  for  market  purposes,  as  good 
peaches  never  fail  to  command  high  prices 
"about  these  days." 


Mushrooms  at  Washington.— The  system 
80  successfully  practiced  by  the  Parisians  for 
several  years  past  of  propagating  the  mushroom,  ) 
and  thus  insuring  a  constant  and  fresh  supply  of 
this  delicious  esculent,  has  been  introduced  in 
the  gardens  of  the  Executive  Mansion  in  this 
city  by  Mr.  T.  P.  Hoover,  under  the  direction 
of  General  Babcock,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds.  Mr.  Hoover  has  paid 
a  great  deal  of  attention  to  this  subject,  and  has 
for  the  last  two  years  been  experimenting  in  San 
Francisco,  where  he  was  very  successful  in 
raising  the  mushroom  by  means  of  spawn. 
There  is  no  delicacy  that  combines  to  the  same 


extent  the  best  qualities  of  the  animal  and  vega- 
table  kingdom,  and  none  that  is  more  thorough- 
ly appreciated  by  the  hon  vivant  and  epicure. 
Heretofore  the  mushroom  could  only  be  obtained 
in  its  purity  in  certain  seasons,  and  we  were 
compelled   to    rely    almost    entirely    upon    the 
canned  preparations,  and  even  then  doubts  were 
entertained  as  to  its  genuineness— the  wild  spe- 
cies often  containing  specimens  that  were  poi- 
sonous.    The  bed  planted  by  Mr.  Hoover  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  and   we  understand  that 
he  has  also  supplied  the  Arlington  and  Worm- 
leys  with  a  similar  arrangement  in  their  cellars. 
The  cost  of  construction  and  planting  the  bed  is 
only  about  one  hundred  dollars,  from  which  an 
almost  unlimited  supply  of  this  desirable  vege- 
table can  be  obtained  and  multiplied  indefinitely 
by  spawn  at  a  trifling  expenditure.     After  the 
bed  is  prepared  and  the  spawn  is  procured,  there 
is  very  little  additional  expense,  inasmuch  as  the 
proper  degree  of  heat  is  derived  from  the  furnace 
or  steam  with  which  the  buildings  are  warmed. 
They  only  require  a  certain  degree  of  heat  and 
moisture,  are  easily  managed,  and  I  should  not 
be  surprised  if  the  system  were  generally  adopted 
by  the  leading  hotels  throughout  the  country.— 
Daily  Paper. 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


AMERICAN   POMOLOGICAL  SOCIETY- 
FOURTEENTH  SESSION,  AT  BOSTON, 
COMMENCING  SEPTEMBER  10,  1873. 

PREMIUM  LIST. 
Pive  Hundred  Dollars  has  been  offered  by  the 
Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Agricul- 
ture, and  One  Hundred  Dollars,  each,  is  tender- 
ed by  the  following  gentlemen,  for  Premiums, 

and  the  promotion  of  the  objects  of  the  Society, 
viz. ; 

^!1!1:  n^^^'  Fearing,  Pres't.  of  Hingham  Ag'l  Soc. 

So^i'e?"''"^^'        '^''  ^'^^'^'  ""^  Mi^^lese^  Ag'l 

^^'  8oci^*°  ^"rfee,  Ex-Pres't.  Bristol  Central  Ag'l 

Wm   Knowlton,  Esq  ,  Ex-Pres't.  Worcester  8.  E. 
Ag'l  Society. 


Charles  O.  Whitmore,  Esq.,  of  Boston . 
Gardner  Brewer,  Esq.,  of  Boston. 

The  following  Prizes  will  therefore  be  offered, 
in  accordance  with  the  above  generous  dona- 
tions : 

APPLES. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Apples, 
correctly  named,  from  any  State  or  Society,  three 
of  each  variety,  1st  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil- 
ver Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-flve 
Dollars. 

For  the  larsest  and  best  collection  of  Apples, 
correctly  named,  grown  by  one  individual,  three 
specimens  of  each  variety,  1st  Premiuni,  the 
Society's  Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd 
Premium,  the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  $25.00 


IB 

i 


^M 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


July, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MONTHLY. 


22S 


PEARS. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Pears, 
correctly  named,  from  any  State  or  Society,  three 
of  each  variety,  Ist  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil- 
ver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dorars.  2nd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Pears, 
correctly  named,  grown  by  one  individual,  three 
of  each  variety,  1st  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil 
ver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 

GRAPES. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  named 
Native  Grapes,  from  any  State  or  Soc'ety,  three 
bunches  of  each  variety,  Ist  Premium,  the  Socie- 
ty's Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd  Pre- 
mium, the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty- 
five  Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  named 
Native  Grapes,  grown  by  one  individual,  three 
bunches  each  variety,  Ist  Premium,  the  Society's 
SiWer  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  named 
Grapes  grown  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
two  bunches  each  variety.  Premium,  the  Socie- 
ty's Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Native 
Grapes,  correctly  named,  grown  south  of  the 
Southern  line  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Missouri, 
AC,  two  bunches  of  each  variety.  Premium,  the 
Society's  Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Grapes 
grown  under  glass,  two  bunches  each  variety. 
Premium,  the  Society's  Silver  Medal  and  Fifty 
Dollars. 

PEACHES. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Peaches, 
correctly  named,  from  any  State  or  Society, 
three  each  variety,  1st  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Peaches, 
correctly  named,  grown  by  one  individual,  three 
of  each  variety,  Ist  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil- 
ver Med«l  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2Qd  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 


PLUMS. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Plums, 
correctly  named,  from  any  State  or  Society,  three 
of  each  variety,  1st  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil- 
ver Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2ud  Premium, 
the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and  Twenty-five 
Dollars. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of  Plums, 
correctly  named,  grown  by  one  individual,  three 
specimens  of  each  variety,  Ist  Premium,  the 
Society's  Silver  Medal  and  Fifty  Dollars.  2nd 
Premium,  the  Society's  Bronze  Medal  and 
Twenty-five  Dollars. 

SEEDLING  FRUITS. 

For  the  best  collection  of  seedling  Apples, 
grown  by  one  individual.  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal. 

For  the  best  collection  of  seedling  Pears,  grown 
by  one  individual,  Premium,  the  Society's  Sil- 
ver Medal. - 

For  the  best  collection  of  seedling  hardy  Na- 
tive Grapes,  either  from  native  seeds  or  hybrids, 
grown  by  one  individual,  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal. 

For  the  best  collection  of  seedling  Plums, 
grown  by  one  individual,  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal. 

For  the  best  collection  of  seedling  Peaches, 
grown  by  one  individual.  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal. 

FIGS. 

For  the  best  collection  of  fresh  Figs  grown  in 
open  ail",  Premium,  the  Society's  Silver  Medal. 

For  the  best  exhibition  of  Dried  Figs,  grown 
and  cured  in  the  United  States,  Premium,  the 
Society's  Silver  Medal. 

ORANGES. 

For  the  best  collection  of  Oranges  grown  in 
open  air,  Premium,  the  Society's  Silver  Medal. 

LEMONS. 

For  the  best  collection  of  Lemons  grown  in 
open  air,  Premium,  the  Society's  Silver  Medal. 

RAISINS. 

For  the  best  exhibition  of,  grown  and  cured 
in  the  United  States,  Premium,  the  Society's 
Silver  Medal. 

DRIED  FRUITS. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of,  with  full 
description  and  expense  of  process.  Premium, 
the  Society's  Silver  Medal. 

CANNED  FRUITS. 

For  the  largest  and  best  collection  of,  giving 
full  description  of  process  and  expenses,  Premi- 
um, the  Society's  Silver  Medal. 


Premiums  are  subject  to  the  general  rule  of 
restriction,  that  where  objects  are  not  worthy, 
prizes  will  be  withheld.    No  State,  Society,  or  in- 
dividual can  compete  for  more  than  one  premi- 
um with  the  same  variety  or  varieties  of  fruits. 


PROOEAMME  OF  BUSINESS. 

HOURS  OF  MEETING. 

Wednesday,  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Thursday,  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Friday,  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Rules  for  Speaking.— Five  minutes,  and  no 
person  to  speak  more  than  twice  on  the  same 
subject  without  leave. 

Wednesday,  10  A.  M.  Introductory  Exerci- 
ses ;  Appointment  of  Committees,  viz.:  on  Cre- 
dentials, on  Nomination  of  Officers,  on  Record 
of  Fruits  Exhibited,  on  Awards  of  Premiums. 

3  P.  M.  President's  Address;  Reports  of 
Committee  on  Credentials,  and  on  Nomination 
of  Officers  ;  Election  of  Officers  ;  Reception  of 
Treasurer's  Report;  Discussion  in  regard  to 
place  of  holding  next  meeting;  also,  in  regard  to 
what  measures  the  Society  will  take  to  partici- 
pate in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  in 
Phibidelphia ;  and  in  reference  to  the  policy  of 
awarding  premiums  by  this  Society. 

Thursday,  9  A.  M.  Reports  of  Standing  Com- 
mittees ;  Discussion  of  the  value  of  fruits  enu- 
merated in  the  Catalogue,  as  indicated  by  stars, 
to  be  called  by  the  Secretary,  in  alphabetical 
order,  as  follows  :  Apples,  Pears,  Grapes,  etc., 
etc.  At  the  close  of  each  division,  statements 
relative  to  new  varieties  will  be  received. 

Friday,  10  A.  M.  Reports  of  Committees  on 
Fruits  Exhibited,  and  on  Premiums  ;  Reception 
of  Essays  ;  Completion  of  discussion  on  values 
of  fruits,  as  per  catalogue,  and  introduction  of 
names  of  new  va'-ieties. 
3  P.  M.    Resolutions,  etc. ;  Adjournment. 

ESS  A  Y8. 
The  following  persons  were  appointed  at  the 
last  meeting  to  prepare  Essays,  as  follows,  viz.: 
Hon.  W.  C.  Flags,  Illinois,  on  Diseased  Apple 

Trees,  and  their  Cause. 
Wm,   Saunders,    Esq.,   District    Columbia,   on 

Theory  and  Practice  of  Pruning. 
Thomas  Meehan,  Esq.,  Pennsylvania,  on  Fungi 

on  Ftuit,  and   Fruit   Diseases,   as  Cause, 

Result,  or  Concomitants  of  one  another. 


P.  J.  Berckmans,  Esq.,  Georgia,  on  Cause,  Re- 
medy, or  Preventative  of  Pear  Blight. 
In  addition  to  the  above,  the  following  named 
gentlemen  have  been  invited,  and  are  expected 
to  prepare  short,  condensed  practical  essays,  or 
papers,  as  follows : 

Prof.    Louis   Agassiz,   of  Harvard  University, 
Massachusetts,   on  the  Geological  Age  of 
Fruit-Be.\ring  Plants. 
Dr.  John  Strentzel,   California,  on  the  Cultiva- 
tion of  the  Fig  in  the  United  States. 
Dr.  E.  S.  Hull,  Illinois,  on  Root  Pruning,  and 

how  to  grow  the  fairest  fruit. 
Mark  Miller,  Esq.,   Iowa,  on  Fruit  Growing, 
and  Varieties  in  Iowa  and  other  Western 
States. 
Geo.  W.  Campbell,  Esq.,  Ohio,  on  Grapes,  Cul- 
ture, Varieties,  etc. 
C.   M.  Hovey,   Esq.,   Massachusetts,   on  Pear 

Culture. 
P.  Barry,  Esq.,  New  York,  on  How  to  Grow 

and  Keep  Pear  Trees  in  vigor  and  shape. 
Robert  Manning,  Esq.,  Massachusetts.  Is  there 
a  permanent  decline  in  the  Apple  Tree  and 
its  Crop  in  New  England  ? 
P.  T.  Quinn,  Esq.,  New  Jersey,  on  the  Exhaus- 
tion of  Fruit  Trees,  and  the  remedy  there- 
for. 

Josiah  Hoopes,  Esq.,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  In- 
fluence of  the  Stock  on  the  Graft,  or  of  the 
Graft  on  the  Stock. 

A.  S.  Fuller,  Esq  ,  New  Jersey,  on  Culture  and 
Varieties  of  Small  Fruits. 

Wm.  Parry,  Esq.,  New  Jersey,  on  the  Cultiva- 
tion and  Varieties  of  the  Apricot  and  Plum. 

W.  C.  Barry,  Esq  ,  Now  York,  on  the  Keeping 
and  Ripening  of  the  Apple,  Pear,  and  Grape. 

F.  R.  Elliott,  Esq  ,  Ohio,  on  the  Clierry. 


«>»» 


THE  BOSTON  RHODODENDRON  SHOW. 

Boston,  June  11  —It  has  often  been  remarked 
that  there  is  always  one  thing  specially  worth 
seeing  in  Boston— sometimes  a  dozen  such— but 
always  one,  of  some  sort  or  other,  and  varying 
from  month  to  month  and  year  to  year.  Just 
now  the  thing  to  be  seen  is  the  flower  show  on 
the  common,  which  is  not  only  a  very  lovely 
sight  in  itself,  but  the  first,  best  and  only  exhibi- 
tion of  the  sort  that  ^las  ever  been  seen  in  New 
England.  It  is  shown  under  a  huge  tent  about 
midway  of  the  common,  but  nearer  Fremont 
and  Beacon  street,  and  occupies  something  more 


njf 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


July^ 


than  half  an  acre  of  ground,  the  tent  being  300 
feet  long  by  80  wide.  This  ground,  a  few  weeks 
ago,  was  an  unsightly  hollow,  upon  which  the 
muddy  ice  of  the  long  winter  had  been  carted, 
and,  melting  away,  had  left  a  sort  of  dirty 
slough.  The  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Socie- 
ty put  its  workmen  there,  under  the  direction  of 
a  landscape  gardener  and  ba'ked  by  Mr.  Hollis 
Hunnewe'l  with  his  millions— expended  $10,000 
in  making  knolls,  lawns  and  paths  in  miniature, 
and  in  transplanting  from  Mr.  Hunnewell's 
grounds  at  Ne^dham,  some  hundreds  of  his  mag- 
nificent rhododendrons  and  azaleas — and  the 
result  is  worthy  of  fairy  land.  As  you  enter  the 
tent  from  the  Park  street  end,  the  west  end  being 
closed,  you  walk  through  a  short  avenue  of  tree 
ferns,  palms  and  other  tropical  and  Australian 
plants,  down  a  sloping  path  which  presently 
branches  on  either  side,  and  is  bordered  with 
gorgeous  azaleas  in  full  bloom  and  of  a  dozen 
shades  of  color.  Directly  in  front  of  you,  in  the 
centre  of  the  tent,  is  an  oval  mass  of  rhododen- 
drons, perhaps  covering  .30  square  rods,  and 
rising  from  all  sides  toward  the  middle.  The 
path  runs  around  this,  ascending  as  you  ap- 
proach the  farther  end  of  the  tent,  and  bordered 
on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  tent  with  a  well 
turfed  fetrip,  interspersed  with  single  plants  of 
the  rhododendron  family.  At  the  height  of  land 
in  the  extreme  end  of  the  tent,  is  another  plat  or 
turf  also  dotted  with  single  plants  and  clumps 
and  with  seats  beyond,  commanding  a  view  of 
the  whole  scene,  as  you  look  back  toward  the 
point  of  entrance.  Seats  are  Fcattered  here  and 
there  throughout  the  enclosure,  and  near  the 
middle  on  one  side  is  a  band  of  music  behind  a 
screen  of  s!  rubbery,  which  plays  in  the  evening 
to  the  promenading  crowd. 

At  first  but  a  small  portion  of  the  great  mass 
of  rhododendrons  in  the  middle  were  in  tlower, 
but  every  day  adds  to  the  accumulation  of  color, 
while  the  rich,  glossy  leaf  is  everywhere  in  sight, 
and  is  only  partially  concealed  by  the  full  splen- 
dor of  the  flowers.  An  azalea  in  complete  blos- 
som is  one  mass  of  bloom,  but  the  rhododendron 
has  much  more  green  to  show,  notwithstanding 
the  greater  size  of  its  flower  clusters.  Then  the 
azalea,  with  a'l  its  beauty,  is  comparatively  a 
common  plant ;  it  g»-ows  wild  in  our  woods  and 
swamps,  and  of  late  years  has  been  much  culti- 
vated in  greenhouses  and  gardens,  while  the  rho- 
dodendron is  still  unknown  to  half  our  people. 
Probably  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  those  who 
visit  this  show  ever  saw  in  their  lives  so  many 


b  ! 


plants  of  this  family  as  are  here  collected.  Like 
the  azalea,  it  was  originally  an  American  plant, 
but  the  European  gardeners,  particularly  those 
of  Holland,  have  been  breeding  the  wild  originals 
into  a  thousand  varieties  of  size  and  color,  scarce- 
ly any  of  which  are  known  in  this  country,  out- 
side of  a  few  gardens.  The  largest  as  well  as 
the  choicest  collection  of  rhododendrons  in  the 
United  States  is  that  of  Mr.  Hunnewell,  on  his 
great  estate  at  Wellesley,  from  which  these 
plants  are  taken ;  and  one  great  object  of  the 
show  is  to  give  our  people  ocular  evidence  of  the 
surprising  beauty  and  richness  of  this  class  of 
plants,  and  to  convince  them  of  the  ease  with 
which  they  may  be  cultivated.  They  require 
protection  from  the  severity  of  our  winters,  and 
shade  from  the  heat  of  summer  sunshine,  but 
bearing  this- in  mind  they  are  said  to  be  as  man- 
ageable as  most  garden  plants.  They  ought  to 
be  taken  into  the  cellar  in  winter,  like  fig  trees, 
and,  when  set  out,  must  be  planted  in  the 
shade ;  but  even  without  these  precautions  they 
can  be  kept  alive,  and  with  proper  care,  as  Mr. 
E.  S.  Rand  says  in  his  book  about  them,  '*  they 
can  be  grown  as  easily  as  lilacs,  and  bloom  as 
freely;  they  are  attractive  at  all  seasons;  in 
flower  they  are  magnificent,  in  foliage  they  ex- 
cel any  evergreen.'* 

This  show  is  the  finest  exhibition  of  art  now 
open  in  Boston,  and  the  art  which  made  it  pos- 
sible is  a  very  high  and  beautiful  one.  Mr. 
Hunnewell  may  be  called  an  artist  in  flowers,  as 
well  as  a  patron  of  art ;  he  knows  his  plants 
thoroughly  and  individually,  and  gives  them  a 
great  deal  of  his  personal  attention.  He  is  a 
Boston  millionaire,  with  his  home  in  the  sub- 
urbs, and  has  certainly  found  a  wise  use  to 
which  he  may  devote  his  surplus  income.  His 
rhododendrons  on  the  common  are  all  set  out  in 
the  artificial  soil  constructed  for  them  by  the 
horticultural  society  ;  the  azaleas  and  smaller 
plants  are  generally  in  pots  sunk  almost  out  of 
sight  in  the  soil.  This  is  the  English  manner 
of  exhibiting  flowers,  and  Boston  takes  to  itself 
some  credit  for  having  so  good  an  imitation  of 
a  good  English  fashion.  The  Advertiser  calls  it 
**a  perfect  photograph  of  a  flower  show,  such  as 
may  be  seen  at  Regent's  Park  or  South  Kensing- 
ton.'' But  if  anybody  imagines  himself  in  Lon- 
don for  the  moment,  the  Boston  east  wind  will 
undeceive  him  when  h6  comes  out  of  the  tent. 
It  has  been  unwontedly  cold  and  easterly  here 
for  some  days,  indeed  almost  ever  since  June 
came  m.—Correnpondent  of  a  Daily  Pap(tr. 


&Pps-0¥®i  lost S« 


Crop  1873. 

Particulars  on  Application. 


■♦-♦- 


OUR  WHOLESALE  PRICED  LIST, 


w@m  mmsiE^MBS  QME^Wi 


» 


Will  be  Mailed  to  Applicants. 


Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 


#! 


BOOKS  FOR  RURAL  LIFE. 

Will  b«»  IV  rwarded  by  mall,  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

Allen's,  R- L  ,  American  Farm  Hook f^  50 

AUen'e,  K.  l'  Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals 1  50 

AUea's,  R.L*       ral  Architecture 160 

Allen's,  L.  F*  Am  orican  Cattle 2  60 

Allen's,  R.  l'&  1.  ^j  New  American  Farm  Book 2/50 

AmerloHn  Architect • ^  00 

Ameri'  an  Agric  i  turMl  Annual,  paper  60  ;  cloth 7' 

American  Hort  cnltueral  Annual,    *'               "        Jo 

American  Bird  Fancinr  (Brown's) -JJ 

American  Farmer's  E   cyclopedia »  "'j 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Hams l  7> 


Art  of  Saw  Filing. 


75 


Architecture,  Modern  AmetVcan,  Cummings  &  Miller.......  10  rO 

"        Principles  and  V  ractice  of,By  Loring  &  Jenning  12  00 

Baker's  Fruit  Cultnre *  00 

Baseett  on  Cranberry  Culture J^ 

Barry's  bruir  Garden j»  ^ 

Bement's  Poulterer's  Companion ^  ou 

Bement'e  Rabbit  Fancier 3 

Beet  Root  Sugar I  f'O 

Bicknell's  Village  Builder,  77  plates 2  (U 

B.  mmer's  Minhod  of  Making  Manurts 2.' 

Book  of  Roses.     F.  Parkman 3  00 

Boussingau't's,  J.  B.,  Rural  Economy 1  60 

Brown's  Field    Book  of  Manures 160 

Browne's  Trees  of  America 6  00 

Brack's  fif-vr  Book  of  Flowers 1  75 

Bridgi^man's   American  Gardener's  Assistant 2 />0 

Bridgeman'H  Florl>«t8  Guide 1  0) 

Br  do;em,in'8  Fruit  Cultivator's  Manual 1  00 

Bridgeman's  Ktchen  Gardeners  Instructor 1  0» 

Buist'h  Robert,  Am.  Flower  Garden  Directory 1  6(> 

Buist's,  Robert,    Family  Kitchen  Gard»-ner 1  <iO 

Burr's  Field  and  Garden  Vegetables  of  America 5  0) 

Carpenter  and  Joiner  (R.  RiddeM) 7  I'U 

Carpenter  and  J   iner's  Hand  Book  (Holly) 7) 

Chorlton's  Grape  Grower's  Gu'de 75 

Chemistry  of  the  Farm  (NMcho's) 1  2.'» 

Cleveland's  Vil'as  and  Cottages 4  t^O 

Cobbett'H  Americnn  Gardener 7.5 

Cole's,  S.  W.,Aroerican  Fruit  Book 73 

Cole's  American  Veterinarian 75 

Cooper's  Rural  Hours 2  00 

Copeland's  ronntry  Life 5  00 

Cottage  Gardener's  Dictionary 3  60 

Dadd's,Geo   H..  American  Cattle  Doctor 160 

Dadd's  Mixlern  Horse  Doctor 1  ?)0 

Dadd's  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Horse  (plain  plates)  3  50 

Dana's,  8amuel  H.,  Muck  Manual 1  25 

Darwin's  Variations  of  a  nimals  and  Plants  (2  vols) 6  00 

DeV<  e's  Market  Assistant 2  .50 

Downin^'s,  A   J  .  Landscape  Gardening... 6  60 

Duwnini^''8  <  ottage  Residences A  0  i 

DowDing'rt  Fruits  and  Fruit  Trees  of  America 4  (  0 

Downinx's  Hnral  Kvsays 6  OJ 

Du  breuil's  Vineyard  Culture  (Dr.  WardenV... 2  0) 

East  WO' )d  on  <'ultivation  of  the  Cranberry 75 

Elliott's  Western  Fruit  Grower's  Guide.... 1  .50 

Elliot's  Lawn  and  Shade  Trees , 1  60 

Every  Woman  her  own  Flower  Gardener .'io 

Fariu  Talk  (Brackett) 1  00 

Farm  I  rift  for  Boys 1  50 

Field's.  Thomas  W  .  Pear  Culture ....  i  2> 

Flaj^g's  European  Vineyards 1  6) 

FiaxCulure. 60 

Flint,  <  hHs.  L.,  on  Grasses 2  .50 

Flint's  Milch  Cows 2  60 

Flow,  r  Gardens  for  Country  Homes 2) 

Fowler's  Homes  for  All i  flO 

Frank  Forester's  Fish  and  Fishing,  8  vo.  loO  engravings....  6  50 

Frank  Forester's  Manuel  for  Young  yportsmen,  8  vo 3  0.t 

French's  Kami  Drainaye , 1,0 

Fuller's  Grap-- Culturist :  i  .>o 

Fuller's  Small  Fruit  Culture ,,  X  5) 

Fuller's  strawberry  Culturist 26 

Fuller's  Forest  Tree  Culturist , ,.,  1  sj 

Fulton  on  P.-ach  Culture 1  50 

Oe>elln'H  Poultry  Breeding i  25 

Gray's  How  Plants  Grow... i  25 

Gray's  Manual,  Botany  and  Les>^ons,  in  one  vol, 4  Oi) 

Gray's  School  and  Field  Book  of  Botany , 25> 

Green  on  Trout  Culture i  0(i 

Or'Kory  on  8qua.«»he8,  paper ;jr 

GnerooQ  on  Milch  Cows 75 

Gaide  to  Fortune 1  Oq 

Harazthy's  GrMpe  cultnre  and  Wine-making 5  oo 

Harazthy'H  California  Grape-culture 5  oo 

Harris'  Innects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,  clo.  $4;  col.  eng's  ...  6  60 

Harrison  the  Pig , j  qq 

Hatfield's  American  Ilouse  '  arpenter '.*.*.!!.'J.*  3  50 

llenderson's  Practical  Floriculture „*,.,  i  59 


Henderfcon  s  Gardening  for  Profit. ....••    1  BUf 

Herbert's  Hints  to  Horsekeepers 1  76 

Hoopes  on  Evergreens 8  00 

Hooper's  Dog  and  Gun,  paper  30  cents,  cloth... 00 

Hop-culture t 40' 

How  to  Buy  a  Farm,  and  Where  to  Find  One 1  75 

How  to  Manage  a  Building   Association.... 2  00^ 

Hussmao's  Grapes  and  Wines • 1  tO 

Jacques' Manual  of  the  House 1  60 

Jncques'  Manual  of  the  Garden 1  00 

Jennings' Cattle  Doctor «<««.«...  1  76 

Jennings  on  the  Horse  and  his  Diseases ...•••..  1  76 

Jennings' Sheep,  Swine  and  Poultry 1  76 

Johnson's  How  Crops  Grow 3  00 

Johnson's  Peat  and  its  Uses • 1  25 

Johnston's  Elements  of  Ag.  Chemistry  and  Geology 1  60 

Johnston's.  J.  S.  W.,  ARrieultural  Chemistry 1  76 

Kemp's  Landscape  Gardening 2  60 

Klippart'H  Farm  Drainage 1  76 

LangstnUh,  Rev.  L.  L.  on  the  Hive  and  Honey  Bee 2  00 

Leucbars' How  to  Build  Hot-house 160 

Leibig's.  Justus,  Famidar  Lectures  on  Chemistry 76 

Louden's  Encycloptedia  of  Plants 16  00 

Lyman's  Cotton-culture 160 

Mayhew's  Practical  Book-keeping  for  Farmers 90 

Mead's  Grape-culture 3  00 

Mechanics' Companion  (Nicholson) 3  00 

Meehan's  Ornamental  Trees 1  00 

McMahon's  American  Gardener 2  26 

Miles  on  the  Hor.^^e's  Foot 76 

Miner's,  T.  B.,  Bee-keeper's  Manual. 1  25 

Mohr  on  the  Grape-vine 1  ^0 

Money  in  the  Garden 1  '^ 

Minn's.  R.,  Practical  Laud-drainer 76 

My  Vineyard  at  Lakeview 1  25 

M  y  Farm  of  >'.dge wood 1  75 

My  Ten-rod  Frtrni 65 

North  American  tylva,  6  vol-.,  156  col.  plates,  in  30  parts, 

unbound 60  00 

•♦  "  h^lfTurkey  Antique,  gilt 70  00 

•'  "  full  *'  75  00 

Neil's  Pi  ac.  Fruit,  Flower  &  Kitchen  Gardener's  Companion. .  1  25 

^■icl,ol's  Chemi-siry  of  the  Farm  and  feea 1  25 

Norton's,  John  P.   Klements  of  Scientific  Agriculture 75 

Norris'  tish-culture 1  75 

Onion-culture 20 

Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres,  paper  .30  cents,  cloth 60 

Packard's  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,  8  parts,  each 60 

Pardee  on  Strawberry-culture 76 

Parson,  Samuel  13..  on  tlie  Ro&e I  50 

Parkman's  Book  of  Roses 3  00 

Peat  and  its  Uses 1  26 

Pear-cuiture,  Fields 1  25 

Pedder's,  James,  Farmer's  Land-mea.-urer 60 

Percheron  Horse 1  00 

Peters"  n'a  Preserving,  Pickling  and  Canning  Fruit 60 

Phin  ou  Wine  niitkiiig 1  60* 

Qninn'8.Pear-ci;lti;ie  lor  Profit 1  00 

Quinby'H  Mysteries  of  Bee-keeping  Explained 1  60 

Handall's  bheep  llnsbiindry 1  60 

Randall's  Fine  Wool  bhecp  Husbandry 1  00 

Raud's  Bulbs 3  00 

Rand's  Flowers  for  Parlor  and  Garden 3  00 

Hand's  t^eventy-tive  Flowers 1  60 

Rand's  Flower  Garden 3  00 

Reenielin's,  Charles  Vinedressers'  Manual 76- 

Richardson  on  the  Dog,  paper  30,  cloth 60 

Riddell's  Architect 16  00 

Roosevelt's  Five  Acres  Too  Much 1  60 

Rose  Culturif-t,  pa  er  30 cloth      76 

Robbinii',  R  ,  Produce  and  Ready  Reckoner 76 

Rural  Studies 1  74 

Saunders'  Domestic  Poultry,  Paper  40 cloth      7ft 

Saxton's  Hand-books,  in  four  series,  each 1  60 

Schenck's  Gardener's  Text-book 74 

Scribner's  Ready  Reckoner  and  Log-book S5 

Strong's  Cidtivation  of  the  Grape S  00 

Ten  Acres  Enough 1  60 

Thomas' Fruit-culturist;  new  edition 3  00 

Warder's  American  Pomology 3  00 

•'        Hedges  and  Evergreens 1  tO 

Waring's  Drainage  for  Profit  and  Health 1  60 

"         £lem>^ntsot  Agriculture 1  00 

"  Farth  Closets ^ 25 

Webster's  Dictionary,  Unabridged 12  00 

Well's  Every  Man  his  own  Lawyer 2  00 

Window  Gardening 1  60 

White's  Gardening  for  the  South 2  00 

"        Cranberry  Culture 1  25 

Workingman's  Way  to  Wialth 75 

Wright's  Practical   Poultry  Keeper 2  00 

Youait  on  the  Horse , 1  75 

Youman's  Household  Science «...  2  00 


Address. 


OflAS.  H.  MAROT, 


1|^=*SEE  FIRST  PAGE,  FACING  COVER. 


i  I 


ilu 


Olardeit^r^s  Pontltlj. 

DEVOTED  TO 

Horticulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs. 

EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.   XV.  AUGUST,     1S7S.  New  Series.VoL  VL  No.  8. 


HINTS  FOU  AUGUST. 


FLOWER  GARDEX  AXD  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

Some  time  since  thn  writer  found  himself  in 
a  company  comprised  in  part  of  men  of  ijreat 
wealth,  and  the  other  were  men  of  j^reat  promi- 
nence in  science  and  le'ter.s.  "  Who  is  the  jren- 
tleman  you  were  speakinj?  with  ?"  enquired^one 
of  the  money  kini^'s,  and  referrini?  to  one  of  the 
most  dJHtinLniished  men  of  the  cf»mpany.     He 

was  informed  that  it  was  Dr. ,  vvrll  known 

as  a  popular  leader  and  etlitor  of  one  of  the  most 
powerful  pajiers  of  the  day.     Our  wealthy  friend 
seemed  incredulous.     "It  must  be  the  same." 
he  at  lenoth  remarked,  half  addressinir  himself; 
"and  yet  he  used  to  pull  teeth  for  me   in  his 
father's  office    when    he   was   a  youui^  '  man." 
There    is    always  a   surprise,   and    wi"th    rij^ht 
niindetl  people,  a  pleasant  one,  to  know  that  an 
old  friend  or  acquaintance  has  been  successful 
in  lifu-to  find  one  who,  as  the  world  ffoes,  is 
but  one  of  a  crowd,  performing  his  duty  in  that 
position    faithfully  and    well,    advance   to   the 
front,  and  becomes  of  use  to  thousands  of  others 
in  a  way  he  never  could  in  his  old  station.  Yet  it 
always  takes  time  to  reconcile  us  to  the  change. 
We  knew  what  he  once  was.     We  know  our 
own  weaknesses,  and  that  we  should  not  in  all 
prt.bahility  have  deserved  such  success,  and  it 
IS  natural  to  suspect  that  others  could  not  have 
tairly  obtained  what  it  could  not  bo  ours  to  do. 
We  find  this  true  of  our  plant  acquaintances,  as 
weU  as  of  those  of  llesh  and  blood.     We  knew 
■oleus  Blumei  oi  old,  and  that  he  was  nothing 
particular  to  brag  of;  and  when  we  heard  thai 
he  had  branched  out  into  myriads  of  gay  colors, 
and  had  become  a  great  favorite  with  England's 


aristocracy,  we  shook  our  heads,  and  declared 
our  belief  that  they  were  raakin-z  a  srreat  fuss 
over  an  additional  spot  or  so.  But  it  proved  more. 
We  democrats  of  America,  as  well  as  Euro- 
pean aristoer.icy,  had  to  bow  down  to  the  merits 
of  our  humble  old  friend,  and  to-day  the  im- 
proved Coleus  stands  as  high  as  any  favored 
flower  with  Us. 

•  Then  there  came  a  time  when  we  were  told 
that  the  English  had  taken  the  Beet  into  their 
floral  affection,  and  that  it  had  risen  to  the  front 
rank  in  floral  decoration.  "  Impossible."  said 
we.  "  What,  the  old  garden  Beet,  whose  leaves 
we  had  thousands  of  times  twisted  off  in  the 
truck  patch,  and  which  was  never  known  to  be 
of  any  use  but  to  ignobly  serve  in  the  cooks 
department!"  But  our  surprise  again  had  to 
give  way.  The  old  garden  Beet  had  really  be- 
come  a  prince  in  the  flower  garden,  even  putting 
some  of  its  companions— richer  in  flowers— to 
considerable  shame.' 

Now  all  this,  good  reader,  is  preliminary  to 
introducing     to    your    attention     another    old 
acquaintance,  which  has  marked  virtues  which 
fits   it  for  a   much   higher  position   than  that 
which  it  now  occupies.     We  refer  to  the  com- 
mon garden  ClmmomUe.     You  know  we  here  in 
the  East  had  a  terribly  dry  time  this  season. 
Grass  dried  up  ;  white  clover  was  nowhere,  and 
it  was  very  hard  indeed  to  find  any  low  creeping 
thing  that  was,  right  green.    But  a  row  of  cham- 
omile under  the  writer's   observation,  kept  its 
beautiful  verdure  bright  through  to  the  day  of 
the  fresh  rain,  as  pure  as  on  its  first  advent  in 
spring.     Then  it  lies  so  flat  on  the  ground,  and 
makes  no  attempt  to  throw  up  anything  until 


2S6 


THE   GARDEJTER'S  MOJ^THLY.         August, 


1873. 


4^ 


after  raid-summer,  when  the  flower  stems  could 
be  easily  cut  away,  and  thus  keep  it  green,  that 
we  really  do  not  see  why  we  could  not  make  ex- 
cellent use  of  it  in  a  decorative  way.  There  are 
many  old  fashioned  things  that  we  could  thus 
make  use  of,  and  we  would  suggest  here  to  our 
friends  to  look  through  their  old  borders  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  and  see  what  can  be  done  in 

this  way. 

We  have  learned  to  protect  ourselves  from 
cold  wintry  winds,  bat  the  art  of  making  a  place 
cool  in  summer  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  There  is 
nothing  accomplishes  this  better  than  'plmty  of 
grass,  and  the  neat  deciduous  tree  foliage.  The 
making  of  flower  beds  with  box  edgings  and 
gravel  walks  suits  Dutch  and  French  gardening, 
but  it  is  too  hot  for  us. 

The  beds  should  be  cut  in  grass.  The  walks 
round  about  a  place  should  also  be  in  grass  as 
much  as  possible ;  only  those  likely  to  be  fre- 
quently used  should  be  gravel  walks.  Even 
these  wheie  tan  can  be  obtained,  are  much  cool- 
er when  this  mateiial  can  be  used,  than  when 
gravelled.  In  the  planting  of  roads,  art,  as  we 
read  it  in  the  books,  plants  only  in  corners,  and 
makes  its  most  strikmg  effects  to  be  seen  from 
the  drives  *,  but  American  art  as  it  should  be, 
plants  all  the  chief  drives  with  deciduous  shade 
trees,  and  yet  allows  you  to  look  through  be- 
neath them  to  the  beauties  beyond. 

The  best  kinds  of  deciduous  trees  for  this  pur- 
pose are  the  Silver,  Sugar,  Sycamore  and  Nor- 
way Maples ;  American,  (and  where  the  borer 
is  not  troublesome)  the  English  Linden  ;  Ameri- 
can and  European  Ash,  Horse  Chestnut,  Mag- 
nolia tripetela  and  acuminata,  with  its  flrst 
cousin  the  Tulip  tree  ;  the  sweet  Gums,  Elms, 
Kentucky  Coftee  and  Oaks  of  all  kinds.  For 
farm  roads  the  Cherry,  Black,  English  and 
White  Walnuts,  Chestnuts,  and  even  the  Pear 
may  be  employed.  Besides  these  in  the  South 
there  are  the  Mimosa,  the  Melia  Zederack,  Mag- 
nolia grandiflora  which,  though  an  evergreen, 
has  the  lightness  of  a  deciduous  tree  ;  besides 
Live  Oaks,  &c. 

But  besides  the  selection  of  trees  for  drives, 
weeping  trees  should  be  liberally  introduced, 
some  of  which,  like  Weeping  ashes,  make  cool 
and  shady  arbors  preferable  to  any  the  carpen- 
ter's hand  could  make.  Of  these  are  th«  large 
varieties  of  Wet-ping  Willow,  Weeping  Sophora, 
Weeping  Birch,  Lindens,  Elms,  &c.,  though 
none  tqual  the  Ash  fur  arbor  purposes. 

Then  again  very  much  may  be  done  by  plant- 


ing two  or  three  trees  together  so  that  as  they 
grow  up,  they  will  form  natural  seat  backs. 
For  this  purpose  there  is  nothing  like  the  Oak 
tribe. 

Sometimes  we  cannot  get  the  coveted  shade 
because  we  have  planted  slow  growing  trees— 
generally  the  prettiest  and  best  worth  waiting 
for— this  may  be  effected  by  planting  liberally 
of  Alders,  Poplars  and  similar  ephemeral  trees, 
to  be  cut  away  as  they  gradually  interfere  with 
the  permanent  kinds. 

The  plantinj;  season  will  soon  come  around, 
and  now  is  the  time  to  look  about  and  select  the 
desirable  kinds,  and  to  decide  on  the  proper 
places  to  set  them. 

The  latter  end  of  August  is  one  of  the  best 
seasons  of  the  year  to  transplant  evergreens. 
The  young  growth  of  the  past  season  has  got 
pretty  well  hardened,  so  as  to  permit  of  but  very 
little  evaporation— and  the  earth  being  warm, 
new  roots  push  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  tree 
becomes  established  in  the  ground  before  cool 
autumn  winds  begin.  The  chief  difficulty  is 
that  the  soil  is  usually  very  dry,  which  prevents 
much  speed  with  the  operation  ;  and  the  weather 
being  usually  very  warm,  the  trees  have  to  be 
set  again  in  the  ground  almost  as  fast  as  they 
are  taken  up ;  so  that  it  is  not  safe  to  bring  them 
from  a  distance.  It  is  as  well,  therefore,  to 
make  all  ready  in  anticipation  of  a  rain,  when 
no  time  may  be  lost  in  having  the  work  pushed 
through.  Should  a  spell  of  dry  weather  ensue, 
which  in  September  and  October  is  very  likely, 
one  good  watering  should  be  given,  sufficient 
to  soak  well  through  the  soil  and  well  about  the 
roots.  A  basin  should  be  made  to  keep  the 
water  from  running  away  from  the  spot,  and  to 
assist  its  soaking  in.  After  being  well  watered, 
the  loose  soil  should  be  drawn  in  lightly  over 
the  ^ratered  soil,  which  will  then  aid  in  prevent- 
ing the  water  from  drying  out  soon  again. 

As  soon  in  the  fall  as  bulbs  can  be  obtained, 
they  should  be  planted— though  this  will  not 
generally  be  the  case  till  October ;  but  it  is  as 
well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  earlier  they  are 
planted,  the  fintr  they  will  flower. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  month,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, evergreen  hedges  should  receive  their 
last  pruning  till  the  next  summer.  Last  spring, 
and  in  the  summer,  when  a  strong  growth  re- 
quired it,  the  hedge  has  been  severely  pruned 
towards  the  apex  of  the  cone-like  form  in  which 
it  has  been  trained,  and  the  base  has  been  suf- 
fered to  grow  any  way  it  pleases.     Now  that,  in 


THE    GARDEJ^EWS   MOJVTHLY. 


Zi7 


turn,  has  come  under  the  shears,  so  far  as  to  get 
it  into  regular  shape  and  form.  It  will  not  be 
forgotten  that,  to  be  very  successful  with  ever- 
green hedges,  they  ought  to  have  a  growth  at  the 
base  of  at  least  four  feet  in  diameter. 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

August  and  September  are  favorite  months  to 
plant  ont  Strawberries,  with  those  who  desire  a 
crop  of  fruit  the  next  season.  In  making  a  straw- 
berrj-bed  a  warm,  dry  spot  of  ground  should  be 
chosen,  with,  if  possible,  a  good  loamy  or  clayey 
subsoil.     A  moist  wet  situation  is  very  unfavor- 
able.      It  is  best  to  subsoil  at  least  eighteen 
inches  deep,  and  if  the  soil  is  poor,  let  it  be  mod- 
erately enriched  with  well  decayed  stable  man- 
ure.   In  setting  out,  take  care  that  the  plants 
do  not  become  dry  from  the  time  they  are  taken 
up  till  they  are  replanted,  and  see  that  they  do 
not  wither  afterwards.     Many  persons  cut  off 
the  leaves,  if  they  are  afraid  of  their  wilting 
under  hot  suns,  but  a  much  better  plan  is  to 
shade.    Inverted  4.inch  flower-pots  are  excellent 
for  this  purpose  ;  they  may  be  taken  off  at  night. 
The  dews  will  so  invigorate  them,  that  the  shlide 
will  only  be  required  for  a  few  days.     Sometimes 
in  September  they  may  need  a  erood  watering ; 
but  this  should  never  be  attempted  unless  a 
through  saturation  of  the  bed  be  given  ;  and  in 
a  few  days  after,  the  hoe  and  rake  should  be 
employed  to  loosen  and  level  the  surface,  which 
the  heavy  watering  will,  in  all  probability,  have 
caused  (obake  and  become  very  crusty. 

Strawberries  are  best  grown  in  beds  about 
four  feet  wide  for  the  convenience  in  gathering 
fruit,  and  giving  them  the  best  of  cultivation! 
About  three  rows  in  a  bed,  and  the  plants  twelve 
inches  apart  in  the  row,  will  be  a  good  arrange- 
ment. ^ 

Many  kinds  of  fruit  trees  that  have  arrived  at 
a  bearing  age,  may  perhaps  be  growing  very 
vigorously  and  producing  very  little  or  no  fruit. 
Those  who  have  read  our  remarks  in  past  num- 
bers, will  understand  that  whatever  checks  the 
wood  producing  principle,  tends  to  throw  the 
plant  mto  a  bearing  state.  For  this  purpose, 
Bummer  pruning  is  often  employed,  which,  by 
Checking  the  most  vigorous  shoots,  weakens  the 
Whole  plant,  and  throws  it  in  a  fruitful  condi- 
tion. The  same  result  is  obtained  by  root  pru- 
ning, with  this  difference,  that  by  the  last  oper- 
ation the  whole  of  the  branches  are  proportion- 
ately checked,  while  by  pinching  only  the  strong 


growing  shoots,  the  weak  ones  gain  at  the  ex- 
pense  of  the  stronger  ones.  Presuming  that  the 
branches  have  been  brought  into  a  satisfactory 
condition  in  this  respect,  root  pruning  may  now 
be  this  month  resorted  to.  We  cannot  say  ex- 
actly how  far  from  the  trunk  the  roots  may  be 
operated  on,  so  much  depends  on  the  age  and 
vigor  of  the  tree.  In  a  luxuriant,  healthy  tree, 
one-fourth  may  be  safely  dispensed  with.  In  a 
four  year  old  standard  pear  tree,  for  instance, 
the  roots  will,  perhaps,  have  reached  four  feet 
from  the  trunk  on  every  side.  A  circle  six  feet 
in  diameter  may  then  be  cut  around  the  stem, 
extending  two  feet  beneath  the  surface  It  is 
not  necessary  to  dig  out  the  soil  to  accomplish 
the  result ;  a  strong  post  spade,  or  strong  spado 
of  any  kind,  may  be  driven  down  vigorously 
describing  the  circle,  and  doing  the  work  very 
effectually.  Of  all  trees,  the  peach  is  as  much 
benefitted  by  root  pruning  as  any,      ^ 

The  Grape  vine  at  this  season  will  require 
attention,  to  see  that  the  leaves  are  all  retained 
healthy  till  thoroughly  ripened.  It  is  not  a  sign 
of  healthiness  for  a  vine  to  grow  late ;  on  the 
contrary,  such  late  growth  generally  gets  killed 
in  the  winter— but  the  leaves  should  all  stay  on^ 
to  insure  the  greatest  health  of  the  vine,  until 
the  frost  comes,  when  they  should  all  be  so  ma- 
ture as  to  fall  together.  Frequent  heavy  syring- 
ings  are  amongst  the  best  ways  to  keep  off  in- 
sects from  out-door  grapes,  and  so  protect  the 
foliage  from  their  ravages. 

A  little  trimming  is  useful  to  most  trees  at 
this   season.      The  Blackberry  and  Raspberry 
may  have  their  tops  shortened  so  as  to  leave  the 
canes  about  four  feet.     Some  do  this  eariier  in 
the  season,  but  the  buds  are  apt  to  burst  if  done 
too  soon.     In  like  manner,  pear  and  apple  trees 
that  grow  well,  but  produce  no  fruit,  are  benefit- 
ted  by  having,  say  half  of  some  of  the  young 
growth  cut  back.     The  buds  then  left  are  very 
likely  to  form  flower  buds,  in  place  of  growth 
buds  for  next  season.     Many  take  out  the  old 
shoots  of  raspberry  and  blackberry  after  they 
have  done  bearing,  and  we  have  in  times  past 
recommended  it  ourselves  ;  but  on  further  obser- 
vation, we  see  very  little  good,  if  not  positive 
injury.    The  partial  shade  the  old  stems  make, 
seems  rather  beneficial  than  otherwise  under  our 
hot  suns.     Frequently  the  sun  shining  on  the 
hot    ground,   seems    particularly    favorable  to 
fungoid  developement.     The  lower  leaves  then 
fall  before  the  wood  is  ripe,  when  it  dies  In  the 
winter,  and  is  noi  hardy. 


ns 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^THLY.         August, 


l! 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

Toward  8  the  end  of  the  month, a  sowing  of  Spin- 
ach may  be  made  in  rich  soil,  which  will  come 
In  use  before  winter.  That  desired  for  winter 
and  early  spring  use,  is  usually  sown  in  Septem- 
ber in  this  region.  A  few  Turnips  may  be  also 
sown  for  an  enrly  crop,  but  will  be  hot  and  strin- 
gy unless  the  soil  is  very  rich. 

As  fast  as  endive  is  desired  for  salad,  it  should 
be  blanched.  Matting  thrown  over  is  the  best 
for  this  purpose,  as  the  plants  are  not  so  liable 
to  rot  as  when  pots  or  boards  are  employed.  In 
cold  or  mountainous  regions.  Melons  are  hasten- 
ed in  the  ripening  process  and  improved  in  flavor 
^by  a  piece  of  tile  being  placed  under  the  fruit. 
,^   Celery  will  require  earthing  up  as  it  grows,  to 


1873. 


get  it  to  blanch  well.  It  is  not  well,  however, 
to  commence  Loo  early,  as  earthing  up  tends  in 
a  slight  degree,  to  weaken  the  growth  of  the 
plants.  Take  care  also,  not  to  let  the  soil  get  into 
the  heart  in  earthing,  or  the  crown  is  apt  to  rot. 
At  this  season  of  the  year,  more  than  perhaps 
at  any  other,  it  is  important  to  hoe  and  rake  be- 
tween jJie  rows  of  growing  crops.  A  loose  sur- 
fiice  soil  not  only  admits  the  various  gases  that 
the  roots  luxuriate  in,  but  it  also  prevents  evap- 
oration and  checks  a  too  great  absorbtion  of 
heat,  and  then,  besides  all  this,  the  weeds  are 
kept  down,  and  neatness  and  order  reigns.  -After 
every  heavy  shower,  if  the  time  can  at  all  be 
spared,  the  hoe  and  the  rake  should  be  freely 
employed. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


229 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AUSTRALIA. 

BY   W.   T.    HARDTXa.  AORTCULTURAL  COLLEGE, 
COLUMBUS.    OHIO. 

Certainly  no  potentate's  couch,  surrounded 
-with  all  the  skill  and  mystery  of  the  upholster- 
-er's  art,  was  equal  to  mine  ;  so  beautifully  dra])ed 
-and  curtained  was  my  forest  bed.  with  climbing 
plant8,vin('s  and  creepers,or  multifarious  habits, 
foliaiie  and  flowers.  Such  a  bed,  and  such  a 
epot,  would  have  been  all  the  novelist  could  do- 
•fiire  for  his  heroine  to  repose  on.  when  driven 
from  home  by  a  cruel  and  unrelenting  paterfa- 
milias And  it  answered  every  desired  purpose 
for  me  too,  an  unromantic  traveler. 
-  In  a  grove  of  Fliudersia  australis,  Banksias, 
-of  several  kinds.  Acacias,  Driandrias,  Melaleu- 
cas, Grevellias,  and  the  beautiful  foliagcd  ever- 
green. Stenocarpu^j  Cunninghamii,  all  beautiful, 
the  latter  especially  so,  among  the  many  rar't, 
choice,  gooil  and  uncommnn  stove  and  green- 
house plants  in  the  valuable  collection  of'^C.  S. 
Sargent,  Esq  ,  of  Brookline,  near  Boston,  may 
be  seen  a  handsome  specimen.  p>oni  the  upper 
branches  of  the  above  named  evergreens,  hung 
the  singular  climber,  Cassytha  cuscutiformis,  or 
scrub  vine.  It  is  a  cufious  semi-parasite,  which 
tenaciously  fastens  upon  the  trunks  and  branches 
of  whatever  trees  are  within  its  reach,  an<l 
where  ever  it  touches,  throws  out  rootlets,  which 
penetrate  the  bark  and  draw  their  nutriment 
therefrom.     As  a  vine  cr  climber,  this  vegetable 


vampire  bears  no  resemblance  to  any  other  in 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  Its  general  form  and 
appearance  may  be  compared  to  thousands  of 
long  green  wires  dangling  in  the  wind.  It  is 
entirely  destitute  of  leaves  and  produces  little 
white  flowers,  which  protrude  from  the  scales, 
which  closely  cover  the  stem.  It  is  exceedingly 
hard  and  heavy,  and  about  as  tough  as  telegraph 
wire. 

In  heavy  and  rich  masses,  grew  the  handsome 

\  Ripogonum  album,  an  evergreen  climber  of  the 

I  smilax  family,  while  among  its  glossy  green  foU- 

,  age,    beautiful    white    florets    were    plentifully 

scattered,    like  tiny  rosettes  in   a   garland.     Its 

I  average  growth  is  from  six  to  eight  feet  high.    I 

I  have  not  met  with  it  in  this  country,  which  is 

rather  surprising,  as  it  is  worthy  of  cultivation, 

I  and  would  be  a  decided  acquisition  to  the  florist 

I  for  decorative  purposes.      It  would  help  to  vary 

the  very  popular  Myrisiphyllum  asparagoides, 

1  whose  elegant  and  graceful  streamers   wave  to 

the  harmony  of  motion  with  the  form  of  many  a 

beautiful  maiden,  whose  charms  are  still  more 

fascinating  when  smilax  lends  its  aid.     It  is  like 

getting  a  glimpse  of  heaven's  own  when  we  see 

lovely   woman,    tiie   type   of  an   angel,   with  a 

wreath  or  tire  of  smilax  upon  her  snowy  brow. 

Gentle  reader,  pardon  my  divergent  rambling. 

It  seems  so  natural  to  associate  God's  best  gift 

to  man  with   the  other  beautiful  flowers  which 

adorn  the  world  we  live  in. 


m 


'♦And  bid  me  not  from  memory's  land, 
Cull  fair  fl«)wer8  of  rich  perfume," 
80  we  will  gather  as  we  go  along. 

It  is  presumed  that  we  are  not  pressed  by 
Time,  although  he  is  said  to  wait  for  no  man ; 
80  let  us  linger  beneath  the  old  gum  tree,  and 
observe  how  the  stags  horn  fern,  Platyccrium 
grande  clings  to  the  trunk  of  the  mighty  colos 
BUS,  whose  ponderous  bulk,  silent  and  solemn  as 
the  Sphinx,  towers  up  like  a  vegetable  monu- 
m.'nt,  hundreds  of  feet  high  in  the  solitary  wil- 
derness. 

In  close  companionship  with  this  very  pecu- 
liar fern,  is  an  Orchid,  Dendrobium  minutum,  a 
pretty  little  variety,  bearing  white  flowers  ;  and 
yet  another,  more  curious  still,  I),  pugioniform 
with  its  dagger-shaped  leaves  and  beautiful  yel- 
low flowers.     As  most  of  the  Monthly's  readers 
are  aware,  the  Nat-Ord.  Orchidese  is  considered 
the  most  curious,  beautiful  and  fragrant  of  all 
"Flora's''  offlirings,  and  are  much  admired  by 
all  her  votaries.    Every  day's  experience  convin- 
ces us  that  as  they  are  becoming  more  generally 
known,  they  are  consequently  better  understood 
and  appreciated.     At  present  they  are  attracting 
much  attention  from   a  deserving  public,  who 
need  only  to  see  them  to  admire.     Thanks  to 
Mr.  Taplin,  whose  interesting  communications 
graces    the   Monthly's    pages   at   intervals,    for 
bringing  them  into  notice,     hi  the  cultivation 
and  management  of  Ondiids,  there  is  some  sJcill 
required,  no  doubt,  but  none  of  the  mysferi/  with 
which  they  were  formerly  surrounded,  and  as 
Mr.  T.  alleges,  any  one  may  grow  some  of  them 
If  they  have  a  common  greenhouse.     However, 
I  will  not  anticipate  our  good  friend  with  any 
remarks  about  their  c  ilture,  as  he  is  fully  able 
and  willing  to  instruct  all  who  desire  to  learn, 
and  so  plain  are  his  directions,  that  "  he  who 
runs  may  read." 

I  trust  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  we 
shall  hear  the  gentle  women  discussing  the  beau- 
ty and  merits  of  their  Calandenias,  Maxillarias, 

JJoettias  Gongoras,Cymbidiums,  Epidcudruius,' 
^iiitleyas,  Dendrobiums,  Zygopetalums,  Gastro- 
oeas,  Vandas,  Aerides,  Anrectochelus,  Lselias, 
1  laloenopsip,  Oncidiums,  Stanhopeas,  &c.,  with 
all  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  becoming  the /aiV 
ones.  But  what  awful  names,  says  Mrs.  B.  Or- 
^iis  ;  do  you  think  I  shall  ever  remember  them  V 
ys,  good  lady,  just  as  well  as  the  names  of  any 
of  your  true  friends  whom  you  love  or  esteem'. 
^0  write  an  order  for  one  hundred  selected  kinds 
to  Mr.  George  Such,  or  John  Cadness,  whle  I 


return  again  to  the  readers,  and  portray  a  scene 
at  the  antipodes. 

It  was  a  bright  Australian  morning,  with  a 
clear    and     exhilarating     atmosphere,     which 
seemed  to  infuse  us  with  new  life,  and  with  a 
bouyancy  of  feeling— a  freshness  of  body  and 
mind,  which  makes  us  feel  young  again.     Al- 
though  so  fearfully  hot  at  times,  the  Ibeginning 
of  day  is  generally  cool  and  salubrious.    The 
den  zeuj;  of  the  forest  are  early  astir,  and  with 
strange  and  discordant  yells,   shrieks,  whoops, 
croaks  and  cries,  usher^in  the  new  born  day. 
Both  the  fauna  and  flora  seemed  to  be  influenced 
alike,  to  be  cheery  and  biythe.     What  an  enjoy- 
ment the  traveler  feels  too,  when   his  brow  is 
fanned     with     the   flower-laden   zephyrs    which 
float  in  the  air.     Here  the  naturalist  and  botan- 
ist especially  may  find  a  broad  field  and  a  long 
range  to  study  their  favorite  sciences  in.     On 
every  side  are  presented  so  many  beautiful  and 
interesting  objects. 

The  dew-drops  glitter  and  twinkle  like  lucid 
pearls,  hanging  pendant  from  foliage  and  flow- 
ers, and  sparkle  and  flash  like  liquid  diamonds, 
bending  the  green  grass  blades.  O  Nature  I 
how  sweet  are  thy  charms  when  so  lovinirly  seen 
in  the  rosy  mornings  first  blushes.  IIow 
delightful  to  explore  the  forest  jungles— tbe 
rocky  defiles  and  silent  glens,  and  gaze  upon 
new  .scenes  in  those  primeval  spots  for  the  first 
visited  or  seen  by  civilized  man,  and  from  con- 
templating Nature,  look  up  to  Nature's  God. 

Looking  downwards,  we  see  the  simple  and 
tiny  mosses  and  delicate  tracery  of  fern  life. 
How  admirable  I  IIow  beautiful  are  they  I 
Looking  upwards,  behold  the  mighty  old  and 
hoary  Eucalyptus-massive,  sombre  and  grim, 
in  their  loneliness,  and  pause  and  marvel  at  their 
vast  proportions, 

"Flinging  their  shadows  from  on  high, 
For  Time  to  count  his  ages  by." 
The  untraveled  reader  can  scarcely  form  an  idea 
of  the  enormous  pondro^ity  of  trunk,  and  the 
altitudes  they  reach,  unhss  he  actually  see 
them.  Imagine  a  tree  nearly  five  hundred  feet 
liigh,  and  compare  it  with  the  loftiest  you  have 
around  you,  and  the  one  will  appear  a  pigmy 
and  the  other  a  giant. 

Midway  between  Tambaroraand  a  low  moun- 
tain, called  ''Monkey  Hill,''  on  an  extensive 
tract  of  forest  laud,  and  known  to  the  miners  by 
the  classical  name  of  *  Sally's  Flats,''  were  some 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  these  wonderfully  huge 
Eucalyptuses  to  be  met  with  in  Australia.     Of 


^so 


THE    GARBUJVEB'S   MOJVTBLY.        August, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDE JfER'S   MONTHLY. 


231 


w 


!l 


■1 
f: 


It 

I 


if 

'.tl 


the  most  remarkable  species,  I  will  mention  but 
a  few,  viz.:  E.  amygdalina,  a  very  robust  kind, 
with  foliai'e  like  an  almond.  The  loftiest  trees 
I  ever  saw  were  of  that  kind.  The  next  in  eize, 
E.  diversicolor,  with  its  various  shades  of  foli- 
age. E.  globolus,  or  blue  gum,  is  one  of  the 
most  useful  timber  trees  in  the  colony,  and  is 
generally  used  where  strength  is  required.  It  is 
very  desirable,  and  stands  the  drying  effects  of 
the  sun  and  hot  winds  without  warping.  I  have 
seen  well  seasoned  English  oak  to  curl  and  twist 
BO  far  from  the  form  it  was  shaped  to,  as  to 
become  entirely  useless. 

In  Tassmania,  I  have  seen  some  noble  speci- 
mens on  the  summits  of  the  highest  hills,  where 
Bnow  is  often  seen.  It  is  valued  for  its  strength 
and  durability.  I  have  no  doubt  but  what  it 
would  grow  in  the  Southern  States,  and  proba- 
bly in  Pi'unsylvania.  It  is  of  rapid  growth,  and 
would,  if  it  succeeded,  soon  outstrip  any  other 
tree  I  know  of  in  this  hemisphere.  Some  few 
years  ago  I  saw  some  thrifty  trees  growing  in 
the  neighborhood  of  San  Francisco,  and  which 
were  astonishing  the  Californians  with  the  sur- 
prising growth  they  had  made  in  so  short  a  time. 
If  they  have  so  continued  to  flourish,  they  will 
soon  be  classed  as  '-big  trees,''  and  in  time 
become  rivals  to  the  famous  Sequioas.  With 
them  I  also  saw  a  grove  of  the  beautiful  E.  eu- 
genoides,  like  an  immense  Eugenia  bush,  with 
E.  myrtifolia,  like  a  mammoth  myrtle  tree  ;  E. 
saligna,  willow  like;  E.  pulchella,  a  beautiful 
and  symmetrical  kind  ;  E.  perfoliata,  of  curious 
foliage  and  handsomely  shaped ;  E.  pulverulen- 
ta,  with  its  powdery  leaves  and  glossy  stems ; 
E.  albicaulis,  a  remarkable  tree  with  clear  white 
stems  and  branches,  conspicuous  among  its  fel- 
lows, and  generally  found  throughout  Australia. 

E.  sideroxylon,  is  miscalled  the  iron  bark, 
instead  of  the  iron  wood  tree.  It  is  one  of  the 
hardest  of  the  many  hard  kinds  of  New  Holland. 
It  is  a  very  handsomely  formed  tree.  E.  margi- 
nata,  or  Jarrah  tree,  is  very  tenacious,  hard  and 
close  grained,  and  has  the  character  of  never 
decaying.  It  is  said  to  resist  the  action  of  fresh 
and  salt  water  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time, 
and  to  be  proof  against  the  attacks  of  insects  and 
worms- -probably  on  account  of  its  adamantine 
nature.  The  list  could  readily  be  extended,  and 
why  they  are  not  as  yet  cultivated  in  the  South- 
ern States  is  something  remarkable.  Even  in 
eu(  h  effete  old  countries  as  Spain,  Italy  and 
Portugal,  they  seem  to  know  their  value,  and 
are  planting  them  by  the  tens  of  thousands. 


While  aUuding  to  the  Eucalyptuses,  I  must 
not  omit  the  E.  obliqua,  or  stringy  bark  gum 
tree,  which  is  a  fine  heavily  timbered  tree.  The 
wood  is  useful  for  almost  every  desired  purpose. 
The  bark,  also,  to  the  squatter  is  valuable,  large 
rolls  of  which  are  easily  removed  from  the  trunks 
of  the  growing  trees,  and  when  laid  out  in  the 
sun,  and  pressed  flat  with  heavy  weights,  soon 
dries,  and  retains  its  form.  A  few  large  slabs 
of  bark  are  sufficient  to  cover  in  the  roof  and 
sides  of  the  settler's  cabin,  and  shelter  him  and 
his  family  when  he  first  makes  a  start  on  iiis  own 
account.  Rude  specimens  of  household  furni- 
ture are  made  of  the  bark,  as  it  is  pliable,  and 
easily  formed  into  such  simple  articles  as  sutUce 
to  make  comfortable  the  inmates  of  ''home, 
sweet  home.'' 

Following  the  circuitous  forest  road,  which 
winds  amonj:  the  hills,  down  to  the  hamlet  of 
Sofala,  to  the  river  Truron,  the  banks  of  which 
were  said  to  glitter  with  thti  precious  metal, 
while  its  sluggish  waters  literally  Cowed  over 
golden  sands.  We  \7ere  then  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  famous  ''  Golden  Point.'*  Among  elegant 
and  graceful  tree  ferns,  A^sophilaaustralis,  Zaa- 
thorrhoea  hastata,  X.  bractcata,  Cordyline  can- 
nsefolia,  Zamia  spiralis.  Acacia  pubescens,  A. 
dealbata,  and  A  pulchella  grouped  and  cluster- 
ed together  on  the  river  banks.  While  admiring 
these  singular,  graceful,  and  interesting  speci- 
mens, we  fell  in  with  a  party  on  their  way  to 
the  diggings,  and  whose  further  advance  in  that 
direction  had  suddenly  ended,  through  a  rather 
ludicrous  incident. 

Two  heavily  laden  drays,  drawn  by  sixteen 
oxen,  and  whose  slow,  but  sure  progress  had 
thus  far  continued  from  Sydney,  through  every 
kind  of  country,  rough  and  smooth,  had  at  last 
finally  halted  in  the  bed  of  the  Truron.  The 
poor,  thirsty,  hard  driven  animals  were  severely 
suffering  for  the  want  of  water,  and  on  sighting 
the  river,  had  rushed  down  its  sloping  bank, 
and  plunging  into  the  stream,  had  freely  im- 
bibed the  c  )veted  water.  As  it  frequently  hap- 
pens with  horses  and  cattl'%  when  deprived  of 
water  in  a  hot  and  thirsty  country  like  Austra- 
lia, the  drivers  lose  all  control  over  them  when 
approaching  water,  as  they  madly  rush  to  it  to 
quench  iheir  thirst,  and  in  their  greedy  eager- 
ness, literally  burst  with  repletion.  Such  was 
the  dilemma  a  worthy,  honest  and  prosperous 
farmer,  the  husband  of  a  happy  wife,  and  the 
proud  father  of  eleven  sons  and  daughters  was 
placed  in,    having  sold  out  and  loaded  up  for 


the  digging  with  a  stock  of  provisions,  solid  and 
fluid,  intending  to  open  a  tavern  for  the  good  of 
the  mining  population  in  the  commonwealth  of 
Di/gerdom.      The    bloated    circ^sses    of    five 
oxen  lay  dead  in  the  river  bed.     Decomposition 
soon    begins    after    death    in     all    hot   coun- 
tries,   Australia    especially.       Finding    it    im- 
possible   to    drag     out    the     dniys     with    the 
diminished   team,   they  had   unloaded  most  of 
the  merchandise  and  carried  it  on  to  the  bank. 
While  so  engaged,    the   othi^r   oxen   had   gone 
astray  and  could  not  be  fimnd.     After  a  fruitless 
search  for  the  cattle,  they  had  returned  to  the 
scene  of  the  disaster,  feeling  downcast  and  dis- 
heartened.     Seating     themselves    among    the 
stores,  and  not  knowing  what  to  do,  they  had 
given  way  to  despair  while  brooding  over  their 
misfortunes.     Finding  their  spirits  were  rapidly 
sinking,  they  had  as  a  dernier  resource,  drawn 
the  cork  from  a  bottle  labelled  "An. 'els  Whis- 
pers," (not  whispers  of  hope,  I  ween)  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  their  falhm  spirits,  if  not  their 
fallen  fortunes  again.    While  *'  waiting  for  some- 
thing to   turn    up,»»  Micawber  like,    they   had 
emptied  bottle  after  bottle  of  the  angelic  fluid, 
until  the  case  was  finished,  and  then  *'  Blissful 
Bitters"  seemed  to  have  followed  suit,   while 
^'Nnorgety   Brandy,"  was  giving  aid  and  com- 
fort to  the  bachanalian  family,  to  whom  we  were 
unexpectedly  introduced. 

Not  being  able  to  get  away  with  the  stores, 
they  had  concluded  to  remain  with  them  until 
consumed,  as  that  seemed  to  ba  the  only  feasi- 
ble way  of  disposing  of  them  to  advantage. 
With  a  box  of  red  herrings,  a  barrel  of  ship  bis- 
cuits, so.-ne  pickles,  and  any  amount  of  mysteri- 
ous fluids,  all  seem  'd  to  be  in  clover,  and  were 
enjoying  themselves  satisfactorily.  If  earthly 
bliss  and  happiness  were  to  be  found  in  a  liquid 
form,  it  was  surely  there  on  the  banks  of  the 
Truron,  and  if  such  celebrated  6ran4«  of  cordials, 
wines  and  liquors,  {specially  prepared  for  mining 
the  digger's  stomach)  were  not  capable  of  pro- 
ducing any  and  every  desired  effect,  I  doubt  if 
any  others  could.  The  annexed  list  of  pacifica- 
tory decoctions  ought  to  convince  any  skeptic 
of  their  marvellous  potency,  viz.:  '* Digger's 
Comforts,"  ''Heavenly  Gin,"  *' Jolly  Grog," 
"Extract  of  Happiness,"  "  Miner's  Delight," 
"Golden  Ambrosia,"  "Frolicsome  Fluid," 
"  Digger's  Cordial,''  "  Delight  of  Man -Rum,'' 
I*  Celestial  Whiskey,"  "Blissful  Brandy,'' 
"Stroke  of  Luck  Gin,"  and  "Digger's  Devo- 
^lon,"  with  sham  Champagne,  and  other  wines 


of  wonderful  efficacy.  Whether  they  finished  the 
liquors  or  the  liquors  finished  then-*,  I  am  un- 
able to  say.  With  pity,  I  may  truly  say,  I 
turned  to  leave  them,  while  the  old  philosophi- 
cal toper  began  in  a  maudlin  way,  to  recite 
''  Plato's  advice,"  who  asks,  "why  should  man 
be  vain,  since  bounteous  heaven  hath  made  him 
great  ?"     I,  too,  wondered  why,  as  I  left  him. 

Surrounded  on  all  sides,  and  with  an  ever 
changing  landscape   as  we  proceeded  on   over 
hills  wooded  to  the  summit,  while  others  were 
bare    and  barren,   long    sweeps    of  undulating 
pasture  lands,   broken  and  rugged  rock-lands, 
with  the  most  enchanting  glens  and  fall  of  lights 
and  shadows,  the  very  scenes  that  would  delight 
either  artist  or  horticulturist,  and  make  them 
feel  all  the  paradisical  pleasures  such  Eden-like 
spots  can    give.     Heavy    masses  of  vines   and 
climbing  plants,  gracefully  festooned,  were  hang- 
ing from  tree  to  tree.     Marsdenia    suaeiolens, 
and    M.    flavescens,    the    former,    very    sweet 
scented,   often   rambled   to    the  tree  tops  and 
formed  a  living  canopy  above,  prettily  draped 
with  dark  green  foliage  and  snow  white  flowers. 
Trees  so  completely  covered  have  a  weeping  or 
drooping  appearance.      As  a  contrast    to  the 
sweet  Marsdenias,  near  by  grew  Hibbertia  volu- 
bilis,  a  rampant  climber,  remarkable  alike  for  its 
beautiful  pale  yellow  flowers,  frequently  measur- 
ing from  two  to  three  inches  across,  and  emits  a 
most  foetid  odor.    A  number  of  handsome  bushes 
of  Gompholobium  venulosum,  a  pretty  purple 
flowering  kind,  and  G.  polymorphum,  a  beauti- 
ful yellow,  were  very  attractive,  and  reminded 
me  of  the  much  prized  specimens  I  had  so  lov- 
ingly tended  in  days  gone  by.    These  with  Bar- 
ronia  serrulata,  another   favorite,  and  Calochi- 
lus  paludosa,  a  curious  terrestrial  Orchid,  and 
Burchardia  umbellata,  a  showy  and  beautiful 
herbaceous    plant,   well    covered    with    whitey 
green     flowers,    formed   an    irregular    shaped, 
though  pleasing  group  of  flowers  and  shrubs  sel- 
dom, if  ever  surpassed,  under  the  cultivator's 
care.     Standing  in  the  foreground  were  some  ele- 
gant specimens  of  ferns,  Blechnum  cartilagine- 
um,  averaging  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  high, 
with  beds  of  the  Davallia  gibbosa,  Pteris  scabe- 
rula,    Adiantum    assimile,   Aspidium    unitum, 
Lomaria  Pattersonia  and  Cheilanthus  c.iudata, 
spread  in  wild  abandon,  beneath  the  umbrage- 
ous branches  of  numberless  Sterculia  diversifolia 
trees,  models  of  arboreal  beauty. 

Wyagden  hills  lay  before  us,  a  wild  and  rocky 
range,  over  which  the  busy  miners  were  toiling 


232 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^'lHLY.  August 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MONIRLY. 


233 


P 


like  slaves,  digging  and  delving  for  the  aurifer- 
ous treasures  beneath.  Leaving  the  diggings 
behind,  I  followed  a  clear  rivulet,  which  flowed 
along  a  verdant  valley,  and  led  to  the  picturesque 
little  village  of  Peel.  After  dining  and  restinu^ 
at  a  cosy  little  inn,  until  the  night  breezes  cooled 
the  atmosphere,  we  started  on  our  journey 
towards  the  Maquarrie  river.  All  was  calm  and 
serene,  and  in  the  silence  of  niiiht,  Nature  was 
hushed.  The  noisy  parrots  had  ceased  from 
troubling,  and  the  shrieking  cockatoos  were  at 
rest.  Save  now  and  again,  the  Dingo's  growl, 
a  wolfish  looking  animal,  whose  nocturnal  wan- 
derings disturbed  the  forest  sleepers,  all  was  still. 
About  the  close  of  the  last  century,  Dampier 
describes  them  '"as  beasts  like  hungry  wolves, 
lean  like  so  many  skeletons,  and  being  nothing 
but  skin  and  bones."  He  is  indeed  a  vicious 
and  ''evil  beast,''  the  plague  of  the  sheepfold, 
whose  nightly  forays  among  the  flocks  have  to 
be  guarded  against.  Neither  are  they  safe  by 
day,  as  the  Dingo  seerns  to  be  ever  on  the  watch, 
ready  to  make  a  raid  among  them.  I  always 
felt  belligerent  whenever  I  saw  one,  and  shot 
s-veral,  considering  them  as  alien  enemies  to 
•  mutton  and  all  mankind. 

Passed  most  of  the  night  in  »'  a  house  not  built 
with  hands."  My  bedchamber  was  in  the  hollow 
of  a  stringy  bark  gum  tree,  and  as  I  boarded 
myself,  and  my  lodgings  were  free,  slept  sound- 
ly, without  a  fear  of  the  grim  ghost  of  the  hotel 
keeper  haunting  me  with  a  bill  in  the  morning. 
Like  a  free  ranger  as  I  was,  (there  was  no  tres- 
passing in  so  wide  a  domain)  my  course  lay 
towards  the  Maquarrie,  which  was  low  enough 
to  wade  through.  Having  crossed  the  stream, 
I  entered  Bathurst,  a  town  having  some  pre- 
tentions to  beauty  and  business,  on  the  main 
road  to  Sydney.  Bathurst  plains  are  noted  for 
their  rich  grasses,where  thousands  of  sheep  were 
quietly  grazing,  and  whose  only  value  then  was 
their  wool.  Passed  through  groves  of  Arauca- 
na  Cunninghamii,  with  an  undergrowth  of  Lop- 
tospermum  scoparium,  or  Australian  Tea  plant 
An  infusion  oftlie  leaves  of  this  bogus  Bohea  is 
not  very  disagreeable  to  drink,  and  has  some' of 
the  color,  an<l  a  lUtle  of  the  taste  of  *'the  cup 
that  cheers.'' 

From  the  summit  of  Mount  Tamby,  the  hioh- 
est  mount  in  New  South  Wales,  the  view  was 
pleasantly  varied  with  every  kind  of  land- 
scape. Large  tracts  of  grazing  land,  the  silver 
streak  of  a  winding  stream,  meandering  throu<^h 
cultivated  farms-the  boundless  forest,  the  im- 


passable  jungles,  dreary  scrub,  and  solitary  wil- 
derness, alternated  with  each  other,  in  the  vast 
scene  before  me,  where 

*•  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole, 
Whose  body  Nature  is,  and  God  the  soul.»' 

Gathered  some  fine  specimens  of  the  re^narkable 
Pteris  vespertiliensis,  or  bat-winged  f^rn,  which 
grew  along  the  mountain  path.  Also  Patter- 
sonia  longifolia,  a  beautiful  blue  flowering  her- 
baceous plant,  and  Burtonia  conferta.  anek^gant 
leguminous  plans  literally  covered  with  a'rich 
profusion  of  violet  colored  flowers. 

While  resting  beneath  th.;  shade  of  a  finely 
proportioned  Oxleya  zanthoxyloma  tree,  of 
about  two  hundr.  d  feet  high,  observed  quanti- 
ties of  Orthrosanthus  multillorns  a  lovely  her- 
baceous plant,  well  covered  with  a  mass  of  pret- 
ty blue  flowers.  The  settlers  call  it  the  Pt-ep  o' 
Day  flower,  from  its  habit  of  early  expanding 
when    *  Aurora  opes  the  gates  of  day.'' 

I\)lypodium  Billarderii  scandens,  an  interest- 
ing creeping  fern,  flourished  in  the  shady  ravines 
which  led  towards  the  romantic  swiss  looking 
village  of  Hartley,  some  eighty  miles  from  Syd'^ 
ney.     In  this  sequestered  spot,  where  *  the  val- 
ley and  the  village  church,  and  the  cottage  by 
the  brook,"  invited  me  to  tarry  awhile  and  en- 
joy the  hospitalities  of  the  liltle  inn,  kept  by  a 
Mrs.  Goodman.     Her  husband  was  a  sergeant 
in  the  gold  escort  troop,  and  which  had  halted 
for  the  night  on   their  way  to  Sydney.     Mrs. 
Goodman  was  also  a  good  woman,  a  good  cook, 
a  good  housekeeper,  and  as  like  a  good  Samari- 
tan as  any  good  English  woman  could  be.     As 
the  gallant  Sergeant  had  met  with  no  foeman 
worthy  of  his  steel,  on  his  way  through  the  bush, 
he  valiantly  cliarged  at  the  head  of  his  trusty 
troopers,  at  the  smoking  flanks  of  a  fat  kanga- 
roo,   which    soon    fi-ll    before    their    trenchant 
blades.     Although  ostensibly  a  n»an  of  peace,  I 
could  not  forget  that  I  belonged  to  a  fighting 
nation,  which  had  produced  a  Marlborough,  a 
Nel^son,   and   a   Wellington,  so  arming  myself 
with  a  Sheffield  blade,  I  eagerly  joined   in  the 
fray.      It    was    'Svar  to  the   knie"  and  fork 
while  it  lasted,  and  which  happily  terminated 
without  either  killed  or  wounded  on  our  side. 
So  with  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  plenty  of 
good  eatables  and  drinkables,  we  forgot  all  the 
cares  and  concerns  of  life,  and  were  soon  after 
snugly  ensconced  in  the  cosiist  ef  bunks  that 
ever  invited  weary  mortals  to  recline  and  repose 
on,  where  we  slumbered  safe  from  war's  alarms. 


ANTHURIUM  SCIIURZERIANUM. 

BY  JAMES  TAPLIN,  MAXAOER  TO  GEORGE  SUCH, 
ESQ.,  SOUTH  AMBOY,  N    J.' 

This  is  one  of  the  most  showy  hothouse  plants 
ever  introduced  to  cultivation,  and  also  one  of 
the  easiest  to  grow.  The  proper  treatment  is 
to  drain  the  pots  or  pans,  as  if  it  was  for  potting 
a  Cattleya— that  is,  fill  it  two-thirds  full  of  bro- 
ken pots  ;  the  soil  should  consist  of  two  parts 
fibre  from  Orchid  peat,  and  one  part  live  spag- 
num  moss,  with  a  liberal  mixture  of  white  sind. 
In  turning  the  plant  out  of  the  old  pot,  pass  a 
thin  knife  round  to  separate  the  roots  from  the 
sides,  for  they  cling  to  the  pot  like  Orchidese 
ro^ts,  and  are  also  very  brittle,  requiring  care 
not  to  break  them.  Place  some  of  the  prepared 
soil  over  the  drainage,  remove  any,  or  all  the 
old  soil  if  sour;  raise  the  crown  of  the  plant 
well  above  the  pot,  as  if  potting  an  Orchidese; 
press  the  soil  firm  and  fini-h  off  with  a  laj^er  of 
livespagnum,  choppc^d  fine  This  holds  moist- 
ure, of  which  the  plant  requires  abundance, 
both  at  the  root  and  over  foliage  with  syringe. 
Place  the  ]ilants  near  the  glass,  in  a  temperature 
of  60^  in  winter,  and  from  70°  to  90''  in  summer, 
and  it  will  commence  to  flower  when  two  years 
old,  and  improve  yearly,  both  in  size  of  plant  and 
number  of  flowers. 

They  flower  with  us  in  four  inch  pots.  As 
the  plant  increases  in  size,  it  is  best  to  use  shal- 
low pots  or  frames,  for  the  roots  spread  on  the 
surface,  rather  than  downwards.  Besides  its 
magnificent  scarlet  color,  the  flowers  of  this 
plant  have  the  desirable  quality  of  lasting  in 
perfection  from  two  to  three  months.  One  of 
our  specimen  plants  here  had  thirty,  and 
another  about  twenty  flowers  open  at  once  for 
several  weeks,  so  your  readers  who  grow  plants 
for  exhibitions,  can  judge  what  a  valuable  plant 
it  is  for  that  purpose.  There  is  usually  some 
flowers  on  the  plant  all  the  year. 


HOT  WATER  BOILERS. 

BY  TnOS.    OTTAWAY,   MlDDLEBURY,   O. 

I  see  there  is  some  little  excitement  on  the 
heating  question.  It  is  impossible  to  give  one 
principle  for  all,  for  some  burn  wood,  some  hard 
coal,  and  others  who  have  to  use  soft  coal  ; 
also  coke  and  cinders.  In  ray  experience,  I 
have  used  them  all,  at  different  places.  I  have 
used  several  sorts  of  boilers -the  Saddle,  New- 
town, Cylinder,  Hitchings'  Conical,  also  his  new 
Corrugated  Saddle  boiler ;  Weathered  &  Chere- 


voy's  ;  Minos  Tubular  and  pipe  coils  in  variety. 

But  now  I  am  come  to  the  conclusion,  by  ex- 
perience, my  choice  is  those  boilers  where  the 
fires  lie  against  the  water  to  heat  by  contact, 
and  not  by  radiation.  But  always  combine  the 
two  if  }^ou  can,  especially  if  you  use  hard  coal  or 
coke.  With  soft  coal  little  is  gained  by  radia- 
tion, for  they  will  get  covered  with  soot  (except 
where  the  fire  strikes  direct)  in  six  hours.  For 
soft  coal,  I  like  Weathered  &  Chercvoy's,  and 
Hitching's  new  Corrugated  Saddle.  For  hard 
coal  I  should  recommend  Hi'ching's  new  Cor- 
rugated Boiler,  but  for  a  good,  cheap  boiler  for 
hard  or  soft  coal  and  wood,  &c.,  Hitching's  new 
Corrugated  Saddle  is  the  best  I  have  used. 

I  have  built  three  sets  of  small  houses  this 
summer  for  different  parties  ;  I  used  the  Corru- 
gated Saddle  in  each  ;  they  all  work  well  and 
give  good  satisfaction.  They  have  to  burn  soft 
coal  and  slack  at  that, 

Mr.  Editor,  I  guess  I  will  tire  your  patience 
on  boilers  so  I  won't  say  any  more  this  time. 
If  it  is  wished  for,  next  time  I  will  say  a  little 
on  pipes  and  water  circulation. 

[The  hot  water  subject  is  by  no  means  ex- 
hausted.— Ed.] 


••m»* 


WESTERN  TREES. 

BY  E.    F.,   BLOOMINGTON,   ILLS. 

In  the  June  number  of  Gardener's  Monthly^  I 
notice  some  useful  advice  to  the  Government,  in 
which  you  state  that  on  certain  very  reasonable 
conditions,  Illinois  would  furnish  thirty  thous- 
and evergreens.  Thanks  for  compliment  to 
our  State.  We  could  do  it  a  dozen  times  over. 
Our  friend  Douglass  grows  them  by  the  ten  mil- 
lions ;  also  at  the  nurseries  of  F.  K.  Phoenix, 
near  this  city,  there  is  in  one  lot  over  seventy 
acres  of  evergreens  closely  planted,  mostly  of 
shipping  size,  besides  other  smaller  patches; 
and  of  seedlings,  several  acres -the  latter  under 
ghade.  Bryant  &  Ellsworth's,  in  northern  part 
of  the  State,  are  also  largely  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duction of  evergreens,  so  if  the  Government  will 
only  take  the  hint  and  be  liberal  with  its  own 
citiz.^ns,  and  patronize  home  products,  they  can 
do  a  big  business  in  evergreens,  with  the  advan- 
tage of  getting  everything  which  has  been  proved 
adapted  to  the  climate. 

The  West  has  also  an  enormous  crop  of  apple 
and  other  fruit  trees.  During  a  recent  visit  to 
the  Phoenix  Nurseries  above  mentioned,  the 
writer  was  shown  one  block  of  apple  trees  of  one 


'J34 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJ^TMLY.       August, 


hundred  acres,  another  of  seventy-five  acres, 
averaging  twenty  thousand  to  the  acre,  this 
would  figure  up  the  modest  number  of  three  and 
a  half  millions.  This  I  think  is  not  bad  for  one 
of  the  nurseries  of  Illinois,  and  may  serve  to  in- 
dicate to  our  Eastern  friends  the  stupendous 
proportions  which  the  nursery  business  has 
assumed  in  the  West— Illinois  in  particular. 

If  the  Government  were  liberal  enousrh  to  give 
to  every  new  coming  settler  enough  trees  to 
plant  an  orchard  on  his  new  home,  the  cost  being 
trifling— from  two  to  five  cents  a  tree— I  doubt 
whether  they  could  do  anything  better  calculated 
to  encourage  emigration  and  consequent  build- 
ing up  of  the  great  West.  Such  action  would 
certainly  deserve  more  grateful  remembrance 
than  the  scramble  for  back  pay  and  other  emol- 
uments of  office  and  influence  of  which  men 
with  souls  are  guilty  of. 


-^•»»» 


NATURAL  GRAFTING. 

BY  B.,   GLEN  MILLS,   PA 

The  assertion  is  made  in  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly,  for  March,  1873,  that  botanists  know 
that  stumps  of  pine  and  fir  trees  increase  in 
diameter  by  forming  new  woody  layers  for  j^ears 
after  the  trees  have  been  cut  down.     Dul rochet 
says  that  in  1836,  a  stock  of  Pmus  picea  was  still 
living,  and  had  formed  fourteen  thin  layers  of 
new  wood,  one  in  each  year  ;  one  felled  in  1743 
was  still  alive,  and  had  formed  ninety-two  new 
layers.     Vegetable  physiologists  were  no  doubt 
incredulous    in   hearing    such    narrations,   but 
Goeppert,  of  Breslau,   undertook  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  subject,  and  found  a  union  of  the 
roots  of  the  fallen  trees  with  the  roots  of  living 
trees  in  the  vicinity.     The  union  of  the  roots 
was  sometimes  woody,  sometimes  only  by  the 
bark  of  the  roots.     So  far  as  observed,  the  anas- 
tomosis, or  natural  grafting,  is  conflned  to  coni- 
ferous  trees,  and  to  a  few  species  only  of  them  ; 
chiefly  the  Silver  Fir,  the  Spruce,  and  occasion- 
ally the  Scotch  Fir.     In  the  London  Gardener's 
Chronicle,  August  31st,  is  an  instance  of  this 
kind  of  anastomosis  in  the  roots  of  a  Larch. 
Some  idea  of  how  this  is  affected  is  given,  attri^ 
buting  it  to  cell  growth  through  the  medullary 
rays.     This  spring  I  observed  an  apple  tree  in 
my  orchard  with  limbs  so  crowding  each  other 
that  I  resolved  to  sacrifice  one  of  them.    I  sawed 
it  off"  where  it  was  three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
tried  to  push  it  off-,  but  found  it  impossible  to^o 
BO.     Removing  the  ladder  so  as  to  enable  me  to 


reach  the  place  of  resistance,  I  found  that  the 
dismembei>'d  branch  was  firmly  united  to  a 
limb  beneath  it.  With  a  hatchet  I  then  cut  it 
near  the  anastomis,  and  removed  three  feet,  but 
the  end  of  the  branch  still  lives,  and  was  clothed 
with  blossoms,  and  is  full  of  leaves,  with  some 
fruir.  Shortly  after  I  saw  another  apple  tree 
but  a  few  yards  distant,  which  appeared  to  have 
limbs  united  in  a  similar  manner.  By  means  of 
a  ladder,  I  examined,  and  found  a  case  exactly 
similar  to  the  former,  except  thit  the  branches 
were  of  smaller  size.  I  had  never  before  seen  or 
heard  of  such  a  case  in  app'e  trees,  but  I -do  not 
think  it  so  difficult  to  account  for  as  the  condi- 
tion of  the  coniferous  trees.  It  is  natural  to 
suppose  tliat  the  motion  of  the  wind  may  occa- 
sion abrasion  of  the  bark  on  the  limbs  of  apple 
trees,  and  thus  prepare  them  for  this  natural 
grafting ;  but  in  the  c  ise  of  roots  under  ground, 
such  cause  for  union  cannot  operate.  In  both 
these  instances  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the 
trees  were  of  the  kind  called  American  Pippin, 
or  Grindstone. 


«•••» 


WONDERFUL  PRODUCTIONS. 

BY  CHRONICLER 

In  January,  1835,  "  Ilovey's  Seedling  Straw- 
berry "  was  announced.  Its  virtues  far  sur- 
passed its  praise.  It  was  quickly  distributed  all 
over  the  nation,  and  reigned  queen  of  good 
strawberries  for  twenty-five  years,  when  Wil- 
son's Albany  Seedling  took  its  place. 

In  March,  1835,  we  learned  of  a  new  *'  Chinese 
corn.''  *' A  merchant  of  New  York  found  a 
few  grains  in  a  tea  box.''  Messrs.  Thorburu,  of 
New  York,  grew  them  in  their  gardens  at  Asto- 
ria ;  each  seed  grew  a  stalk  six  feet  tall,  with 
many  branches,  like  a  tree,  and  produced  nu- 
merous ears  upon  each  branch,  and  the  plant 
occupied  no  more  space  than  a  naked  stalk  of 
common  garden  corn  ;  the  ears  were  sweet  for 
green  corn.  Its  fame  lasted  three  years.  We 
have  not  heard  of  it  since,  but  it  was  sold  for 
twenty- five  cents  per  ear  the  first  two  years. 

In  183l5,  the  '*  Rohan  Potito  "  was  introduced. 
It  was  a  large,  soft,  deep-eyed  and  yellow  fleshed 
tuber,  scarcely  eatable.  It  first  sold  for  twenty- 
five  cents  a  tuber  ;  came  down  to  five  dollars  per 
bushel,  and  lastly  for  five  dollars  per  barrel.  It 
got  out  of  repute  in  four  years. 

In  1837,  a  tall,  purplish,  curled  Kale  was  in- 
troduced. The  seeds  sold  for  ten  cents  each,  or 
ten  seeds  for  one  dollar.     It  was  to  grow  five  feet 


187S. 


TEE    GARDEJVER'S  MOJVTMLY. 


2S5 


high,  with  a  bead  as  broad  as  a  large  umbrella, 
and  the  stalk  covered  with  small  cabbage  heads. 
Each  plant  was  to  serve  a  sheep  all  winter  for 
food  from  its  stalk,  and  the  head  would  afford 
sufficient  shelter ;  it  was  to  occupy  only  the  space 
Gf  a  late  cabbage,  it  being  a  biennial.  Lasted 
four  years. 

In  1837,  the  "  Morris  Multicaulis ''  came  forth. 
It  was  to  make  all  cultivators  millionaires,  and 
all  our  people  were  to  be  clothed  in  silks  and 
satins.  Old  and  young,  rich  and  poor  grew  it ; 
others  got  silk  worms  and  fed  them.  The  folly 
lasted  four  years. 

In  1837,  the  "  Lawton  Blackberry  "  sounded 
loud,  and  met  a  strong  opposition,  but  its  supe- 
rior virtues  forced  it  into  general  culture,  and  is 
still  a  public  favorite. 

The  *'Ailanthus  tree''  made  a  tremendous 
noise  about  the  same  time.  It  was  a  very  saini^ 
and  called  the  "  tree  of  heaven."  It  is  still  in 
culture,  to  the  disgust  of  all  its  owners. 

About  1840,  the  *'Paulownia  imperialis  tree  " 
made  a  rustling  sound,  threatening  to  drive  all 
other  trees  out  of  existence  by  its  large,  coarse, 
ugly  leaves.     It  is  now  out  of  favor. 

In  1835,  the  Lore  Apple  (Tomato)  was  first 
put  into  general  culture  and  use.  It  has  proved 
to  be  a  great  blessing. 

About  1838,  the  general  budding  of  pear  scions 
upon  quince  roots  began— that  has  greatly  pro 
moted  our  pear  culture. 

About  1840,  the  general  bedding  out  of  tender 
exotic  plants  began— that  has  increased  a  taste 
for  floriculture,  and  it  is  surprising  now  to  see 
the  vast  number  of  choice  species  and  improved 
varieties  of  ornamental  plants  now  cultivated. 
The  Coleus,  AchyranthuSy  and  all  the  silver-leaved 
class,  are  charming  to  mix  among  the  flowering 
classes.  There  have  not  been  many  additions 
to  the  sweet  smelling  class  ;  but  the  species  and 
varieties  are  numerously  grown  to  afford  a  plea- 
sant perfume  all  over  the  flower  gardens.  Orna- 
mental climbers  have  greatly  increased,  and  are 
very  charming. 


*•■»» 


EARLY  OUT-DOOK  FLOWERS. 

Essay  read  be/ore  the    Gardener's  Improvement  Society, 

Oermantoum. 

BY  J.   M. 

I  have  spent  some  time  thinking  over  what 
I  knew  of  horticulture,  in  order  to  select  some 
suitable  subject  for  to-night's  essay,  and  have 
at  last  adopted  the  above  named  one  as  about 
the  best  at  my  disposal.     I  do  not  feel  capable 


of  doing  justice  to  so  good  a  subject,  but  as  with 
others,  I  have  tried,  I  can  tell  you  something 
on  it.  At  this  time.  May  18th,  our  woods  are 
full  of  flowers.  Many  of  our  earliest  sorts,  such 
as  Epigeas,  Drabas,  Saxifragias  and  Hepaticas 
are  in  their  prime,  or  mostly  over  ;  but  the  flow- 
ers still  come  on  other  kinds,  and  so  rapidly  too, 
that  we  hardly  miss  those  that  gave  us  so  much 
pleasure  but  a  week  or  two  ago. 

The  woods  at  the  present  time  may  be  likened 
to  life  in  a  city,  where  the  constant  stream  of 
fresh  faces  make  us  forget  those  we  have  seen, 
but  yet  occasionally  one  will  appear  so  striking- 
ly beautiful,  or  with  some  strongly  marked  char- 
acteristic, as  to  indelibly  stamp  the  recollection 
on  our  mind.  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have 
had  nothing  to  impress  us  with  any  brilliancy 
or  display  in  what  we  have  met,  but  all  have 
been  mostly  noted  for  their  delicacy  of  hue  and 
humble  growth. 

In  the  Ilcpatica,  Anemone,  Sanguinaria, 
Claytonia,  Houstonia,  Lycopsis  and  others,  all 
now  in  flower,  or  over,  we  find  a  light  huf^  pre- 
dominating, calling  from  us  admiration  for  their 
loveliness  and  modesty,  rather  than  for  any  rich- 
ness of  color.  This  absence  of  brilliant  hues  in 
early  native  flowers  is  worthy  of  notice.  In  the 
hardy  borders  of  cultivated  flowers,  many  plants 
are  now  blooming,  and  many  are  about  to  bloom. 
The  pink  and  the  white  Phlox  procumbens  are 
now  about  over,  at  least  the  white  variety  is,  it 
being  nearly  a  week  alwaj'S  in  advance  of  the 
pink  one.  This  Phlox,  as  its  name  implies,  is  a 
creeping  kind.  It  would  be,  I  should  think,  a 
most  capital  thing  for  cut  flower  men  to  force  in 
winter,  as  the  flowers  could  probably  be  pro- 
duced by  Christmas.  Among  other  border 
plants  about  now  in  bloom,  is  the  Vincu,  herba- 
cea,  blue ;  Iberis  scmpervirens,  white ;  Viola 
blanda,  white  ;  Viola  cucculata,  with  many 
others  very  nearly  open. 

The  most  of  what  are  called  hardv  border 
plants  will  be  in  bloom  in  June,  and  a  better  list 
could  then  be  made  out.  We  have  next  hardy 
trees  and  shrubs,  and  from  them  have  quite  a 
list  to  prepare  from.  The  Red  Maple  is  pretty 
both  when  in  flower  and  when  with  branches 
full  of  scarlet  seeds,  as  it  now  is.  The  Pyrus 
japonica  is  now  most  past  its  prime,  and  though 
regretting  this,  yet  we  have  in  the  beautiful 
double  dwarf  Almond,  the  white  and  the  pink, 
something  to  make  us  look  less  sadly  on  its  de- 
cline. The  English  Bird  Cherry,  with  its  long 
racemes  of  white  flowers,  is  beautiful,   and  we 


236 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY.         August, 


1873. 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLy. 


237 


may  foro;ive  it  its  sickening  odor  for  the  sake  of '  and  from  generation  to  generation  about  the  Upas 
its  shining  black,  ornamental  fruit  in  early  fall.  '  ^^^^  of  Java." 


The  Spirea  prunifolia  and  Syringias  are  now  out 
and  the  Spirea  l^eevesii,  Weigelias,  Philadel- 
phias,  and  a  host  of  other  trees  and  shrubs  are 
nearly  ready  U  please  us  with  their  bloom. 


Freezing  of  Sap  in  the  Winter.  A  remark- 
able  paper  has  recently  been  contributed  to  a 
German  magazine,  by  Prof.  Mohr,  showing  not 
only  that  the  sap  does  not  freeze  in  trees  and 


The  love  of  flowers  seems  a  natural  gift  to  all,  plants  whic'i  live  through  hard  winters,  but  also 
and  after  the  winter  months,  our  earl>'  flowers  '  ^'^^  reason  why  it  does  not  freeze.  He  says  that 
are  a  source  of  much  pleasure.  Those  who  truly  ^^i^ugh  it  is  true  water  as  we  generally  see  and 
love  them -who  can  watch  their  growth  with  :  un^lerstand  it,  freezes  at  32^  it  does  not  do  so 
interest,  are  better  men  than  those  whouninter-  ,  ^'^^"  ^^»  particles  are  finely  divided.  Tropical 
estedly  pass  them  by.  AVe  should  never  deem  Plants  have  large  cells,  and  these  are  the  ones 
the  time  lost  spent  in  tending  and  watching  ^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^'^^^  sap  freezes  ;  but  in  plants  with  very 
them,  but  believinc:  it  a  part  of  the  Creator-s  !  ^'"''^^'  ^^^'^  '^  which  the  liquid  particles  are  fine- 
desinrns  to  thus  aid  our  hnpp'ness,  we  should  '  '^  divided,  there  is  no  freezing  of  the  liquids 
'*      '       '  '  'until  after  the  structure  has  received  injury  of 

some  sort.  This  is  true  he  says  of  insects  and 
insect  i)upae.  They  never  freeze  ;  but  cut  one 
apart,  soon  after  the  humors  solidify,  and  on 
thawing  life  flies.  There  is  a  translation  of  this 
paper  in  the  May  number  of  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly,  to  which  we  refer  all  those  interested, 


IPP- 

think  we  hear  him  in  the  words  of  the  Chris 
tain's  song,  saying  to  us,  "It  is  I,  be  not  afraid,'' 
for  our  encouragement. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE>;. 

FOREION. 

A^^  ^x  m  T     .^      ^  I       ^'  "^  ""'vti   TTV/  ituji  tm  muse  iiiieresiea. 

Age  of  Trres      In  the  Botanie  Garden  of  Di-  ,  to  whom  what  we  said  on  Ibis  subject  during 

jon   there  is  a  Poplar  tree  470  years  old.     We  I  the  past  has  not  been  wholly  conclusive. 

suppose  the  same  tree  would  not  live  half  that 


A  Legend  of  the  Horse  Radish,  We  like  to 
keep  our  readers  well  versed  in  all  that  is  said 
about  plants,  but  we  may  premise  that  "  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago  "  the  horse  radish  was  tolerably 
"  notorious  "  in  many  places  besides  London. 
The  Garden  says : 

"  What  brought  horse  radish  into  greatest  noto 
nety   was  the  following  circumstance  :      Between 


aje  here  We  believe  none  of  the  European 
trees  will  live  here  much  over  one  hundred  years. 
When  the  feebleness  of  age  takes  hold  of  a  tree, 
it  soon  falls  a  prey  to  the  elements  The  ma^r- 
nificent  Silver  Fir,  figured  in  the  Horticulturist 
about  fifteen  years  ago,  not  near  one  hundred 
years  old,  thounrh  one  hundred  feet  high,  is  fast 
going  backwards  ;  and  the  old  English  Elm^  on    ^J^^  ^?®-  ^'^®  f^l'owing  circumstance:      Between 

the  revolulionarv  hittle  c.ro,inrl  nfr  T  I     '^  ^"'^  '''^^Z  ^V"'^  *"^'  "^  ^''^^''s  I""  Lane,  was  a 

nnt  mnl  n        ^        i     T         ^^^^^rmantown,    vast  mountain  of  years  and  years  accumulated  Lon- 
not  mnra  n..«   .«.  k.,..__.  ,,  ..  I  ^^^^   cinder-dust,   filth    and   garbauc  ;    yes,   a  real 

mounlain  of  it ;  and  amongst  its  vast  and  varied  ac- 
cumulations  were  immense  plants  of  horse  radish, 
growing  riirht  up  through  the  whole,  the  produce 
probably  of  crowns  cast  from  sculleries  to  the  dust- 
bin. Here  it  found  a  favorable  site  ;  and  as  the 
mountain  increased  in  size  and  lieight,  sq  did  the 
horse  radish,  with  its  great  strength  and  spear- 
headed crown,  continue  to  thrust  itself  throu<rh  it. 
tinough  at  least  did  po  to  create  astonishment  in 
those  days,  and  to  bring  the  horse  radish  into  pro- 
niment  notice;  for  when  this  mountain  of  refuse 
was  removed,  the  immense  length  and  size  of  the 
horse  radish  roots  were  discovered. 

*'  We  had  no  horticultural  journals  in  those  days ; 
hut  the  Times  and  the  few  papers  we  had,  promi- 
nently adverted  to  this  wonderful  horse  radish,  and 
rehued  how  and  where  it  grew.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
real  phenomenon,  the  leaves  being  as  large  and 
thick  as  ihoge  of  a  banana,  while  its  roots  were  as 
Iar;:e  and  long  as  scaflTold  poles.  Ho^  many  hun- 
dred weight  a  root  of  it  weighed,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  guess,  yet  one  root,  as  large  as  a  farm  yard 
gate  po.st  was  dug  out  and  exhibited.     The  publici- 


not  more  than  one  hundred  years  old,  are  all 
decaying  now— some  of  them  are  dead. 

The  Upas  Tree.  This  tree  exists  in  many 
collections  of  hothouse  plants  in  Europe.  The 
writer  once  had  a  plant  under  his  management, 
and  there  was  no  more  venom  in  its  »*  exhala- 
tions "  than  in  a  Papaw  tree,  to  which  it  was 
not  very  unlike.     A  traveler,  Davidson,  says  of 

''Such  a  tree  certainly  exists  in  .lara,  but  the  tales 
that  are  told  of  its  poisonin.^  the  air  f.,r  hun  leds  of 
yards   round,  so  that  birds  daro  not  approac     it 
that  ve^etat.on  is  destroyed  beneath  its^  biSe  ' 
and  that  man  cannot  conie  near  it  with  imnun  tv' 

in-?!r!^  r  ,      '^-  ^'^^^nchfs  where  he  took  liia  lunch 
and  smoked  a  c..,ar.     The  tree,  however  doe=." on 
^ni  poison,  .nd  the  natives  extract  the  sap  with 
winch   they    rnh   their    spoars    and    krisg   blades 

mol'af   Sif  ri'j-''  :'f''^  *'"'^    anofnted'are 
im^'^ T'"  ^"  ''«  ^h^  ^"^^n  "f  the  many 


fabulous  stories  that  havrpasscd  from^^^^  '^  tinm  given  to  the  matter,  and  the  extraordinary 

ave  passed  from  hand  to  band,  I  perfection  the  roots  attained  in  so  rich  a  pasture, 


proved  how  simply  horse  radish  can  be  grown,  and 
induced  everybody  to  cultivate  it  in  earnest." 

Blood-Leaved  Peach  in  France,  According  to 
the  Garden: 

"We  learn  from  the  Revue  Horticole  that  M. 
Paillet,  nurseryman  at  Chatenay-les  Sceaux  (Seine), 
has  lately  received  from  America  a  singular  variety 
of  the  Peach  tree.  It  is  described  as  beinj;  a  vigor- 
ous grower,  with  lari^e  leaves  of  a  deep  purple  color, 
with  metallic  reflections.  The  fruit  is  said  to  be  of 
good  size  and  quality,  and,  when  ripe,  of  a  uniform 
red  color  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  skin." 

But  we  happen  to  know  that  M.  Paillet's 
peach  is  not  of  *'  good  size,"  or  of  "  red  color,'' 
but  medium  in  size,  and  white.  The  fruit  is 
good,  however.  The  mistake  is  in  the  color 
chiefly. 

Tlie  Home  of  the  Phylloxera,    It  seems  to  have 

been  concluded  that  America  is  the  home  of  this 

pest,  but  we  .see  by  the  Garden  that  this  is  to  he 

contested.     It  says  : 

"  M.  Laliman,  of  Bordeaux,  is  about  to  s>ubmit  to 
the  Academie  at  Paris  the  results  of  his  investiga- 
tions into  the  origin  of  the  Phylloxera,  which,  he 
is  convinced,  has  not  been,  according  to  the  leceived 
opinion,  introduced  by  means  of  imported  Ameri- 
can vines.  In  a  communication  to  a  l*orUiguese 
journal.  M.  Laliman  states  that,  as  a  wine-grower, 
all  his  hopes  for  the  future  rest  on  vines  grafted  on 
the  American  species— Vitis  astivalis,  cordifolia. 
and  vulaina,  which  he  has  found,  are  never  attacked 
by  the  Phylloxera." 

Keeping  Grapes   in  Water.      We  have    from 

time  to  time  nc^ticed  that  in  France,  grapes  are 

kept  far  into   the  next   season  by  cutting  the 

bunches  and  putting  the  ends  in  small  bottles  of 

water,  and  then  keeping  them  in  places  having 

a  regular  temperate  atmosphere.     In  reference 

to  this,  Mr.  Tillery,  one  of  the  most  reliable  of 

English  grape  growers,  has  the  following  note 

in  the  Garden : 

"Much  that  is  unsupported  by  fact  is  being  writ- 
ten in  some  gardening  periodicals  about  the  keeping 
of  late  Grapes  in  bottles  of  water.  The  advocates 
of  the  system,  who  know  anything  about  it,  only 
contend  that  there  are  great  advantages  in  cutting 
ott  tlie  bunches  of  late  Grapes,  say  in  February  or 
March,  on  purpose  to  get  the  vines  pruned  and  pro- 
perly dressed.  I  used  at  one  time,  year  afcer 
year,  to  keep  the  bunches  of  Lady  Downe's 
Seedling  haniiing  on  the  vines  until  the 
beginning  ot  May,  when  the  flow  of  sap  began 
to  burst  the  berries,  and  the  bunches  were 
hidden  by  the  young  shoots.  Now,  since  I  have 
put  the  bunches  in  bottles  of  water,  I  can  keep  the 
same  variety  in  good  condition  until  the  middle  of 
June,  and  have  certainly  given  the  vines  more 
strength  and  done  thorn  more  justice  by  doing  so. 
It  is  said  by  some,  why  keep  late  grapes  until  that 
season,  when  early  grapes  can  be  ripened  in  April 
or  May  V  Gently,  ye  doubters  ;  look  at  the  present 
price  of  coals  for  early  forcing,  and  the  price  per 


pound  that  would  have  to  be  charged  for  these  early 
forced  grapes  in  the  market  in  order  to  make  their 
forcing  profitable.  I  have  heard  from  my  friend, 
Mr.  Thomson,  that  in  his  Jireat  vine-growinir  estab- 
lishment on  the  banks  of  the  Tweed  he  will  trust 
to  his  crops  of  late  Grapes  to  bring  the  most  'grist 
to  his  mill."  Late  Grapes  carry  better  to  the  mar- 
ket than  early  forced  ones,  and  they  brinir  remuner- 
atin<i  prices  when  the  ruck  of  the  Ilamburifhs  and 
Muscats  is  over.  By  all  means  let  Grapes  hang  ou 
the  vines  when  ripe  in  the  summer  and  autumn, 
and  even  up  to  till  February,  should  no  bedding- 
plant  exigencies  stand  in  the  way  of  their  keepiuii,  ; 
but  after  that  date  bottling  the  bunches  will  be  found 
to  answer  best  for  the  welfare  of  the  vines.  In  the 
latter  end  of  February  this  year.  I  cut  two  housesof 
late  Grapes,  consisting  of  the  following  varieties; 
Black  Alicante,  Barbarossa,  Royal  Vineyard,  and 
Lady  Downe's  Seedling,  and  they  will  be  consumed 
in  the  order  in  which  they  are  placed.  They  were 
all  bottled,  and  the  bottles  tied  to  the  wires  of  one 
of  the  late  h^^uses,  where  the  temperature  could  be 
properly  regulated,  and  the  roof  shaded  on  sunny 
days.  Late  ripened  Grapes  had  a  very  bad  season 
to  contend  with  in  1872,  and  they  are  not  so  well 
colored  as  usual,  nor  so  good  in  their  keeping  pro- 
perties, t)ut  yet  I  expect  to  have  them  in  fair  condi- 
tion up  till  the  end  of  May." 

Raisin  Making  does  not  progress  in  the  L^ni- 
ted  States— why  we  do  not  know.  It  is  said 
that  there  is  not  sugar  enough  in  the  native 
grape  ;  but  it  was  once  said  also  of  it  in  connec- 
tion with  wine  inakmg.  Other  countries  seem 
to  be  successful.  Some  have  been  said  to  be 
well  made  in  California,  but  only  from  the 
foreign  grape.  We  suppose  this  is  the  kind 
referred  to  in  the  following  from  the  Grocer : 

''  We  have  just  seen  a  case  of  Raisins  sent  over 
here  as  a  s-ample  of  what  can  be  grown  and  cured 
by  the  Australian  col«>nists.  This  small  consign- 
ment, the  first  of  its  kind  that  ever  reached  England, 
arrived  a  few  days  ago  from  Adelaide,  The  fruit 
is  of  fair  quality  on  stalk,  though  daik  and  rather 
small.  It  has  a  deal  of  bloom  ou  it,  not  unlike  that 
on  Muscatels." 

Mole  Traps,  We  do  not  know  but  the  (dd 
English  mole  trap  is  as  good  as  any.  'J  his  is 
given  in  the  following  cut. 


But  people  are  not  fond  in  these  days  of  mak- 
ing their  own  traps.  They  prefer  to  buy  them 
ready-made. 

We  have  had  in  America  for  some  years,  a 


eS8 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY.  August, 


1873. 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJTTHLY. 


S39 


trap  which  when  set,  has  an  iron  jaw  well  set 
with  sharp  teeth,  which  when  the  mole  goes 
through,  its  run  is  thrown  by  the  loosening  of  a 
Bpring,  and  the  mole  is  transfixed. 

The  Belgian  mole  trap,  recently  introduced, 
is  much  on  the  same  principle.  We  give  the  fol- 
lowing engraving,  which  explains  itself. 


of  either  side  of  the  stem  of  a  pumpkin  or  vege« 
table  marrow,  it  will  in  the  course  of  the  night 
approach  it,  and  will  be  found  in  the  morning 
with  one  of  the  leaves  on  the  water. 

This  experiment  may  be  continued  nightly 
until  the  plant  begins  to  fruit.  If  a  prop  be 
placed  within  six  inches  of  a  young  convolvulus 


I 


^Experiments,  There  is  nothing  by  which  the 
student  in  horticulture  can  learn  more  than  in 
repeating  the  experiments  made  by  others.  The 
following  is  one  easily  made  : 

If  a  pan  of  water  be  pla-ed  within  six  inches 


or  scarlet  runner,  it  will  find  it,  although  the 
prop  may  be  shifted  daily.  If,  after  it  has 
twined  some  distance  up  the  prop,  it  be  un- 
wound, and  twined  in  the  opposite  direction,  it 
will  return  to  its  original  position  or  die  in  the 


attempt ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  if  two  of  these 
plants  grow  near  each  other,  and  have  no  stake 
around  which  they  can  entwine,  one  of  them  will 
alter  the  direction  of  the  spiral  and  they  will 
twine  around  each  other. 

Duhamel  placed  some  kidney  beans  in  a  cylin- 
der of  moist  earth  ;  after  a  short  time  they 
commenced  to  germinate,  of  course  sending  the 
plume  upwards  to  the  light,  and  the  root  down 
into  the  soil.  After  a  few  days  the  cylinder  was 
turned  one-fourth  around,  and  again  and  again 
this  was  repeated,  until  an  entire  revolution  of 
the  cylinder  was  completed.  The  beans  were 
then  taken  out  of  the  earth,  and  it  was  found 
that  both  the  plume  and  the  radicle  had  bent  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  every  revolution, 
and  the  one  in  its  efforts  to  ascend  perpendicu- 
larly, and  the  other  to  descend,  they  had  formed 
a  perfect  spiral.  But  although  the  natural  ten- 
dency of  the  roots  is  downward,  if  the  soil 
beneath  be  dry,  and  any  damp  substance  be 
above,  the  roots  will  ascend  to  reach  it. 

DOMESTIC. 

A  High  Price  for  Horticultural  Writing,  Mr. 
F.  R.  Elliott,  in  Cleveland  Herald,  *M3  not  a 
little  amused''  that  writers  should  contribute  to 
horticultural  maji^azines  without  being  specially 
paid  for  each  article.  As  Mr.  E.  is  getting  con- 
siderable *•  back -pay''  from  the  Horticulturisty  and 
the  ** editors  and  publishers''  of  some  other 
magazines,  for  some  of  his  writings,  his  *•  amuse- 
ment "  at  the  bad  luck  of  his  l^rethren  of  the 
quill  is  very  natural  under  the  circumstances. 

Hearth  and  Home  Chronios,  The  Strawberry 
Girl  and  Misdiief  Brewing,  are  two  of  the  most 
beautiful  that  have  come  to  our  table  this  year. 
Many  **  valuable  gifts ''  of  this  character  are  but 
poor  daubs. 

Freezing  of  Insects  in  Winter,  It  seems  our 
investigation  as  to  whether  the  sap  of  plants  will 
freeze  is  starting  inquiry  in  all  directions.  A 
Peoria,  Illinois,  man  found  a  wasp  **  frozen, '' 
and  took  thy  insect  into  the  house  and  held  ii 
by  the  tail  while  he  warmed  his  ears  over  a  gas 
Jet.  You  wouldn't  believe  it,  says  an  eye  wit- 
ness, but  the  Peoria  naturalist  says  its  tail 
thawed  out  first,  and  while  its  head  was  so  stiff 
and  icy  it  couldn't  wink,  its  "  probe  "  worked 


with  inconceivable  rapidity,  to  the  great  distress 
of  the  minister  who  was  present,  who  was  dread- 
fully horrided  by  the  hideous  profanity  conse- 
quent on  each  and  every  movement  of  the  probe 
aforesaid . 

Practical  Horticultural  Education.  We  are 
very  much  interested  in  the  following  notice 
which  we  find  in  a  New  York  newspapers.  We 
have  no  doubt  our  readers  will  thank  us  for  re- 
publishing it  here : 

*<Oakwood  Horticultural  Society.— A  Stu- 
dent's Horticultural  Society  has  been  recently 
formed  at  Friend's  Academy,  Union  Springs,  at  the 
organization  of  which  twenty-four  enrolled  their 
names  as  members.  The  small  entrance  fee  goes  to 
the  purchase  of  seeds,  bulbs  and  plants.  A  leading 
object  is  ornamenting  and  polishing  the  grounds  of 
the  institution,  of  which  there  is  an  acre  of  lawn 
and  trees  immediately  surrounding  the  buildings, 
with  a  two  acre  oak  grove  adjoining.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  Horticultural  Society  have  already  laid 
out  and  planted  circular  and  elliptical  flower-beds 
with  bedding  plants  and  the  seeds  of  annuals,  and 
have  cleared  up  the  grounds  and  given  them  a  hand- 
some finish.  The  advantages  which  they  derive 
from  the  pleasant  exercise  and  intellectual  recreation 
thus  afforded,  as  well  as  the  practical  knowledge 
gained  in  horticulture,  and  the  cultivation  of  taste 
in  laying  out  grounds,  can  be  hardly  overestimated. 
Not  less  important  is  its  elevating  tendency,  when 
compared  with  the  influence  of  the  mere  play  exer- 
cise of  schools  generally.  The  members  (many  of 
whom  belong  to  the  class  in  Botany)  have  been  favor- 
ed at  some  of  their  meetings  with  discourses  on 
practical  gardening  and  the  principles  on  which  suc- 
cess depends,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  23d  inst., 
an  hour's  lecture  on  vegetable  anatomy  was  given 
by  J.  J.  Thomas,  one  of  the  managers  of  the  Aca 
demy  illustrated  with  over  fifty  magnified  pictures 
thrown  by  means  of  the  scioptican  on  a  twelve-foot 
screen. 

**  We  believe  this  is  the  first  instance  of  the  organ- 
ization of  a  society  of  this  character  by  the  students 
of  an  institution  of  learning,  and  the  example  is 
well  worthy  of  general  imitation.  Friend's  Acade- 
my Cwhich  receives  both  young  men  and  young 
ladies,  under  an  admirable  provision  of  good  order) 
has  been  distinguished  for  its  thoroughness  in  study 
and  its  scientific  character;  and  now  successful 
efforts  are  in  progress  to  make  everything  as  practi- 
cable as  possible." 


240 


THE    GARDEJfER'S   MOJ^THLY.  August, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE JfER'S   MOJ\''THLY. 


241 


EDITORIAL. 


THEORY  AND  PllACTICE  OF   TREE 
PLANTING. 

From  everything  we  see  and  read,  it  is  clear 
that  the  great  part  played  by  evaporation  in  suc- 
cessful tree  planting  is  not  generally  understood, 
yet  on  this  one  thing  alom  rests  failure  or 
success.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  it  be 
winter  or  summer,  there  is  always  moisture 
escaping.  In  winter  it  is  from  the  stems  and 
branchlets,  and  in  summer  from  these  and  from 
the  leaves.  All  this  continuous  lo-s  of  moisture 
must  be  immediately  made  good  by  root  action 
or  the  plant  is  lost  ;  or  the  part  of  the  plant 
which  suffers  most  goes  first.  It  is  a  popular 
notion  that  there  is  no  evaporation  in  winter. 
This  is  a  fatal  mistake.  There  is  not  near  as 
much  as  in  summer,  but  still  quite  as  much  in 
proportion  to  the  activily  of  the  roots. 

Now  in  transplanting  trees,  there  is  but  o»e 
absolute  cause  of  failure,  and  tliat  is  that  the 
moisture  escapes  faster  than  the  roots  can  sup- 
ply it,  and  therefore  in  transplanting,  everything 
we  do  should  be  for  the  encouragement  of  rapid 
root  growth,  or  for  the  prevention  of  rapid  eva- 
poration, until  the  roots  grow. 

Of  course  there  are  incidental  causes  of  failure 
If  a  tree  be  badly  dug,  and  half  the  roots  cut 
away  that  ought  to  be  on  it,  it  has  a  worse 
-chance  for  its  life  than  if  properly  dug.  Or  if 
the  roots  be  allowed  to  dry,  the  smalltr  root* 
are  injured,  and  only  the  thicker  ones  are  left  to 
carry  on  the  water  work.  Still  it  all  amounts  to 
the  one  thing,  which  is  the  moisture  dries  out 
of  the  branches  faster  than  the  roots  can  supply 

We  know  how  this  is  in  making  cuttings,  and 
it  is  equally  true  of  a  tree.  We  take  a  piece  of 
stem  without  roots,  but  as  we  know  it  will 
wither,  we  put  it  in  a  damp  greenhouse,  or  even 
cover  it  with  a  hell  glass.  If  we  did  not  it  would 
dry  uj)  before  the  roots  appeared.  So  in  out- 
door cuttings.  If  we  take  a  large  willow  branch 
and  plant  it  just  as  it  comes  from  the  tree  it 
will  likely  die.  The  sap  is  escaping  from  all  the 
small  branches  and  there  are  no  roots  yet  to 
make  good  the  waste.  We  cannot  put  a  bell 
glass  over  a  large  willow  branch.  If  we  could  it 
would  check  the  ev-^poration  and  perhaps  there 
would  be  stronger  and  better  roots  for  m II  this 


top.  But  not  being  able  to  do  this  we  do  the 
same  thing  in  another  way.  We  cut  away  all 
the  small  branches,  leaving  nothing  but  a  stake 
or  a  post,  and  then  it  sprouts  out  like  grass  on  a 
warm  summer's  day.  Though  it  has  no  roots 
at  all,  yet  such  a  willow  stake  grows  better  than 
a  willow  tree  with  all  its  roots,  and  the  numer- 
ous twiggy  branchlets  left  on. 

This  is  the  lesson  for  the  tree  planter.  A  tree 
may,  and  often  does,  grow  well  without  any 
pruning  of  its  tops ;  but  as  there  are  always 
some  injury  to  its  roots,  whereby  they  are  pre- 
vented from  immediately  or  fully  supplying  eva- 
poration, a  shortening  is  always  beneficial  ;  and 
this  cutting  back— sometimes  to  **  bare  poles," 
should  always  be  proportionate  to  the  apparent 
injury  done  to  the  roots,  or  according  to  the 
amount  of  cold,  dry  winter  wind,  or  warm,  hot 
spring  weather  that  the  plant  is  liable  to  en 
counter. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  there  is  a  greater  risk 
in  winter  from  fall  planting,  than  in  tlie  spring 
season  from  planting  at  that  time,  if  the  trees 
happen  to  have  large  heads  with  numerous 
branches;  but  if  this  matter  of  evaporation  be 
fully  understood,  and  the  tree  pruned  according 
to  the  season,  there  is  no  more  risk  at  one  sea- 
son than  at  another. 

This  knowledge  of  the   loss  of  plants  by  evp- 
poration  of  their  juices  can  be  turned  into  great 
practical  value  in  the  management  of  young  nur- 
sery stock  for  the  winter.   If  set  out  in  their  fioal 
places  in  fall,  they  are  pretty  sure  to  have  either 
ihe  sap  dried  out  of  them,  or   be  drawn  out  < ! 
the  earth  by  the  freezing  and  thawing  of  the 
ground.     The  best   way  is,    therefore,   to  bury 
them  wholly  in  earth  on  the  ground,  or  in  the 
earth  that  slopes  well,  so  that  no  stagnant  water 
can  be  about  the  roots.     One  of  the  best  nurse- 
rymen we  know,  who  plants  out  thousands  on 
thousands  of  young  trees  every  ye.ar,  and  rarely 
loses  one  in  a  million,  gets  all  his  young  stock 
in  the  fall,  covers  it  with  earth  in  this  way,  and 
thus  has  it  on  hand  to  work  at  whatever  day 
suits  his  purpose  in  spring.     Trees  of  larger  size 
are  also  pruned  at  planting,  and  we  have  heard 
him  remark  that  in  his  opinion  most  nurseries 
which  fail   in   America-and   hundreds  of  new 
ones  annually  do  fail-  mostly  from  their  failures 


to  get  stock  to  grow,  which  need  not  be,  provid- 
ed they  are  properly  handled. 

We  believe  this  firmly,  and  further  that  half 
the  trees  annually  planted  die,  the  majority  of 
which  might  be  saved  if  only  this  thought  of 
evaporation  of  the  moisture  were  uppermost  in 
the  minds  of  the  planters.  There  is  probably 
little  new  in  this  chapter  to  intelligent  horticul- 
turists ;  yet  we  believe  it  will  be  a  benefit  to 
thousands,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  losses  we 
see. 


«•■•» 


WANDERING. 

The  Editor-in-Chief,  Mr.  Meehan,  is  taking  a 
yacation  in  the  far  West.  While  we  commend 
him  to  the  readers  who  may  meet  with  him,  his 
Nursery  and  the  Monthly  go  on  as  usual. 

<•■•» . 


OBITUARY. 


The  Bofiton  Cultivator  has  the  following  notice 
of  the  death  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
horticulturists  of  the  past  generation,  as  will  be 
seen  by  his  age.  He  had  claim  to  rest  from  ac- 
tive labors  for  the  good  of  horticulture  before  the 
appearance  of  the  Gardener^ s  Monthly,  but  he 
always  took  a  warm  interest  in  its  success  : 


JOSEPH  BRECK, 

another  venerable  agriculturist  and  horticultu- 
rist, and  an  occasional  contributor  to  the  CuUi- 
vator,  died  on  Saturday,  aged  78  years,  11 
months  and  14  days,  widely  known  as  seedsman 
and  senior  of  the  well  known  agricultural  ware- 
house of  Breck  &  Son,  of  North  Market  street, 
Boston.  The  deceased  was  a  native  of  Medfield  ; 
began  business  for  himself  in  Pepperell  and 
removed  to  Boston,  where  he  continued  in  busi- 
ness down  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
publisher  of  the  '*01d  New  England  Farmer,»» 
which  he  discontinued,  selling  his  list  of  sub- 
scribers to  the  Albany  Cultivator;  author  of 
"  The  Flower  Garden,  or  Breck' s  Book  of  Flow- 
ers," the  most  popular  hand-book  ever  published 
in  this  country,  in  1851,  re-issued  in  1866  as 
'*  New  Book  of  Flowers,''  re-written  and  pub- 
lished by  Orange  Judd  &  Co.,  New  York ;  was 
member  of  the  State  Senate  ;  one  of  the  founders 
of,  and  always  one  of  the  most  liberal  contribu- 
tors to  the  exhibitions  of  the  Massachusetts 
Horticultural  Society  ;  was  president  for  a  time 
of  the  society,  and  a  true  Christian  gentleman 
of  the  old  school  in  the  noblest  and  purest  sense 
of  that  term.  "He  was  a  good  man,"  and  his 
memory  will  be  cherished  by  all  who  knew  him 
intimately,  as  we  had  known  him  for  years. 
Requiescat  in  pace. 


SCRAPS   AND     aUERIES. 


Carters  Champion  Scarlet  Runner.— 
A  correspondent  informs  us  that  Messrs.  Thor- 
burn  has  tried  this  variety  of  bean  in  this  cli- 
mate, and  that  it  did  not  appear  different  with 
them  from  the  scarlet  runner. 


Odors  of  Flowers.— Ihe  Editor  of  the  Hy- 
giene, New  York,  asks  us  to  submit  the  follow- 
ing to  our  readers  : 

In  view  of  the  recent  discoveries  of  Prof.  Man- 
tegazza,  of  Pavia,  I^aly,  concerning  the  produc- 
tion of  ozone  by  certain  plants  and  fruits,  and 
the  probable  hygienic  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  the  cultivation  of  such  plants,  it  is  desired 
to  obtain  the  experience  of  nurserymen  and  flor- 
ists concerning  the  following  points  : 

1.  What  is  the  popular  opinion  of  the  effect  of 
odorous  plants  on  health  ? 


2.  What  plants  are  believed  to  affect  the  health 
favorably  by  their  odors  ? 

3.  What  plants  are  believed  to  exert  injurious 
effects  by  their  odors  ? 

4.  What  diseases  are  believed  to  be  affected  by 
odorous  plants,  and  how — favorably  or  unfavor- 
ably ? 

5.  Have  you  noticed  any  exemption  from  such 
diseases  as  fever  and  ague,  or  other  malarious 
diseases,  by  those  engaged  in  floriculture  ? 

6.  Do  you  know  any  instances  of  the  health  of 
a  neighborhood  having  been  beneficially  affected 
by  the  cultivation  of  flowers  ?  If  so,  what  dis- 
eases were  modified  or  checked,  and  what  were 
the  flowers  and  plants  to  the  cultivation  of  which 
the  result  was  attributed  ? 

Answers  to  the  foregoing  questions,  and  any 
other  information  touching  the  subject,  may  be 


ZJf^ 


TEE    GARDE J{EWS   MOJ^THLY.  August, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJV'THLl. 


S43 


made  as  briefly  or  as  elaborately  as  you  choose 
—the  object  being  to  elicit  such  facts  as  exist, 
and  the  publication  of  which,  it  is  believed,  may 
do  much  towards  increasing  the  cultivation  of 
flowers  for  sanitary  reasons,  if  for  no  other. 

A  copy  of  Hygiene^  containing  the  result,  will 
be  mailed  to  those  who  contribute  by  their 
answers  to  this  effort.  Answers  should  be  ad- 
ilressed  to  Editor  of  Hygiene. 


Freezing  of  Sap  in  Winter.— Our  corres- 
pondent, I/.  J.  Templin,  of  Kokomo,  Ind..  Juve 


16,   says 


(C 


In   the    Gardener^s    Monthly    for 


June,  I  see  you  have  given  a  part  of  an  article 
of  mine,  published  in  the  Rural  New  Yorker. 
In  your  introductory  note,  you  have  somehow 
got  my  name  metamorphosed  into  J.  R.  Tem- 


they  produce  little  bits  of  flowers  not  fit  to  be 
seen." 

[There  is  no  degeneracies  in  the  variety.  In 
the  hands  of  the  best  growers,  it  is  the  same  as 
with  you.  As  the  season  advances,  the  flowers 
always  get  smaller  ;  but  seeds  saved  from  these 
will  give  plants  which  will  produce  large  flow- 
ers again  next  year.  Indeed,  the  plants  now 
flowering,  if  kept  over  the  winter,  as  they  often 
can  be,  will  have  just  the  same  flowers,  large 
and  small,  as  they  had  this.  All  that  is  neces-" 
sary  is  to  give  a  dressing  of  new  and  good  soil 
to  them  before  they  begin  to  grow  next  spring. 
The  Pansy  likes  new  and  rich  soil.] 


Watkin's  Glen,  N.  Y.— Our  readers  will 
remember  the  account  we  gave  of  the  wondrous 
pie,  which  is,  as  you  are  aware,  wide  of  the  ;  beauty  of  this  spot  a  few  years  ago,  then  but 
mark.  You  seem  unable  to  understand  what  I  recently  discovered.  The  place  has  since  be- 
am *  driving  at.'  If  my  language  was  ambigu-  come  a  fashionable  place  of  summer  resort,  and 
ous  or  indefinite,  it  is  my  own  fault  that  I  am  our  old  friend,  Col.  Frost,  has  had  to  transform 
not  undei'stood.  What  I  meant  to  say,  and  his  beautiful  residence  into  a  large  hotel  and 
what  I  affirm,  is  that  vegetables  can,  and  do  be-  boarding  house,  capable  of  accommodating  sev- 
come 'frozen  solid,' without  injuring  their  vitali- j  eral  hundred  boarders,  under  the  management 
ty.    You  have  succeeded  in  bringing  the  world    of  one  of  the  leading  Xew  York  hotel  keepers. 

to  your  views  on  several   points,   but  on  this  I  

question,  I  opine,  you  will  tind  it  a  harder  task  |  The  Mysteries  of  the  Postal  Laws.— 
to  convince  men  than  on  any  theory  you  have  |  Mr.  Harding  says:  ''  You  will  observe  on  the 
heretofore  advanced.  It  would  be,  I  think,  '  envelope  which  enclosed  the  last  MSS.  I  sent 
about  as  easy  to  convince  m^n  that  the  surface  ;  you,  the  word's  'book  manuscript,'  w'th  two  2- 
of  our  lakes  and  rivers  does  not  become  'frozen  :  cent  stamps,  and  which  ought  to  have  carried 
solid,*  as  that  the  sap  in  vegetable  substances  I  through  as  heretofore.  The  Postmaster  refused 
does  not  become  so  frozen  without  injury  to  to  mail  it  without  the  additional  stamps  required 
their  vitality.  They  have  the  evidences  of  the  for  letter  postage.  As  addressed  to  the  Editor 
same  senses-sight  and  touch-to  the  one  that  ,  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  it  did  not  come 
they  have  to  the  other."  I  under  the  caption  of  *  book  manuscript,'  as  a 

[We  understood  our  friend  to  say,  just  as  he  monthly  magazine  'is  only  a  part  of  a  book,  and 
now  says  it,  that  vegetables  can  and  do  become  '  consequently  not  a  whole  one, »  as  the  Postraas- 
frozen  solid  without  injury  to  their  vitality,  and  '  ter  understands  it. 

further  than  this,  we  understood  him  to  attempt  |  **  i^  Uke  some  of  your  other  correspondents, 
the  proof  of  this  affirmation  by  referring  us  to  wish  I  had  a  better  understanding  of  the  myste- 
frozen  turnips  which  became  fatally  injured  by  1  ries  of  the  post  office,  which  seem  to  a  plain  and 
being  frozen  I    We  had  nothing  to  say  against  ]  simple  body   like  the   writer,   inexplicable.     Is 


his  assertion,  but  merely  doubted  the  value  of 
the  proof] 

Degeneration  of  Pansies.— ilf.  S.,  Paris, 
Ky.^  writes  :  "  Some  time  when  writing  of  Pan- 
sies,  please  let  us  know  why  it  is  they  degene- 
rate, and  what  we  can  do  to  prevent  their  degen- 
eration.    We  have  bought  the  best  seed  we  can 


there  no  Soloman  now-a-days,  with  wisdom 
enough  to  solve  the  enigma  ?  Perhaps  Dr. 
Gumming  could,  as  he  professes  to  understand 
all  about  ancient  visions,  and  so  possibly  would 
be  able  to  interpret '  Uncle  Samuel's.'  Probably 
some  spiritualist  medium,  or  modern  '  witch  of 
Endor  '  can  be  induced  to  raise  up  the  spirit  of 
'  Beltshazzar,'  master  of  the  magicians,  who 
get  every  year,  for  some  years  past ;  and  they  would  give  '  the  interpretation  thereof,'  to  the 
bloom  qmte  up  to  what  the  advertisements  say  letter  writing  public.  Should  such  a  ghost  ever 
about  them,  but  before  the  season  is  half  over  I  present  its  supernatural  form  within  sight  of  the 


writer,  like  Shakspeare's  'Horatio,'  I  would 
hail  it  as  he  did,  '  by  Heaven,  I  charge  thee, 
speak.' " 

[As  our  correspondent  says  such  is  the  ruling 
of  the  Postmaster  General,  though  every  one 
knows  such  was  not  the  intention  of  the  law 
when  passed.  There  can  be  no  reason,  under 
common  sense,  why  a  book  should  be  favored 
with  free,  or  nearly  free,  postage  any  more  than 
the  publisher  of  a  magazine.  Indeed  it  is  no 
unusual  thing  for  matter  to  be  run  through  a 
magazine  before  it  goes  into  a  book  form.  But 
unfortunately,  common  sense  is  not  English 
grammar,  and  if  the  Postmaster  chooses  to  be 
governed  by  what  the  words  of  the  act  say, 
rather  than  by  a  common  sense  meaning,  who 
can  blame  him  ?  We  have  heard  of  an  eminent 
man  whose  hand  writing  was  none  of  the  best, 
who  finished  up  an  editorial  by  the  magnificent 
quotation  that  "virtue  is  its  own  reward,"  and 
who  was  horrified  to  find  in  print,  that  he  had 
written  "washing  with  soap  is  absurd."  Our 
postal  laws  have  been  made  something  after 
this  fashion,  and  we  shall  not  be  at  all  surprised 
if  the  P.  M.  G.  does  not  find  somewhere  in  the 
code,  a  clause  which  warrants  him  in  ordering 
that  all  editors  shall  be  hanged.] 


Double-Flowered  Peaches. —M.  S.  , Paris, 
Ky.,  asks:  "Will  double  blossomed  Peaches 
bear  fruit  ?  A  friend  of  mine  says  some  she 
purchased  of  an  agent  has  fruit  on.  I  tell  her 
she  has  been  imposed  on,  as  I  believe  double 
flowers  never  seed  or  produce  fruit." 

[Very  double  flowers  do  not  seed,  but  many 
things  are  not  quite  double.  The  pistils  are 
often  perfect,  and  only  the  anthers  are  deformed. 
Thus  some  double  Roses,  Carnations,  Holly- 
hocks, and  so  forth  seed.  Double-flowered 
Peaches  are  of  this  class,  and  sometimes  fruit.] 


Kame  of  Plant.— Jtfrs.  F.,  Canandaigua, 
N.  T.,  writes  :  "I  send  you  by  mail  to-day,  a 
climbing  plant,  grown  from  seeds  given  me  by  a 
friend  direct  from  Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands. 
It  has  a  tuberous  root,  and  in  some  of  the  plants 


the  tubers  grow  one  below  another  on  the  same 
root  stalk.  My  friend  told  me  that  the  plant, 
when  in  blossom,  was  very  beautiful,  and  that 
in  the  Islands  it  grew  very  luxuriantly,  com- 
pletely covering  verandahs,  and  running  over 
the  roofs  of  buildings.  It  is  called  there  the 
Mexican  Climber,  and  my  friend  knew  no  other 
name  for  it.  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  one 
to  you,  thinking  you  may  know  something  more 
definite  respecting  it.  I  planted  the  seed  four 
years  ago,  and  now  have  three  plants  remaining. 
Every  year  they  make  very  fine  foliage,  but  no 
flowers.  Probably  window  culture  is  not  suit- 
able for  it.  The  plant  which  I  send  you  has 
been  cut  back,  and  is  now  making  new  growth. 
Give  it  support,  and  it  will  grow  very  rapidly. 
I  shall  be  much  pleased  to  learn  anything  which 
you  may  know  relative  to  it,  through  the 
columns  of  the  Gardener'>s  Monthly.'''' 

[The  plant  is  a  species  of  Cocculus — what  spe- 
cies can  scarcely  be  told  without  flowers  or  fruit. 
It  is  not,  however,  very  distinct  from  the  Coc- 
culus Carolinus  of  our  Southern  States,  which 
is  quite  hardy  so  far  north  as  Philadelphia.  As 
our  correspondent  remarks,  it  is  a  beautiful 
climbing  plant,  and  then  the  fruit  adds  a  new 
charm  to  it  in  a  pro'^usion  of  red  currant-like 
berries  ;  but  as  the  different  sexes  are  on  sepa- 
rate vines,  the  fruit  is  seldom  seen.  We  have 
never  seen  the  berries  on  the  cultivated  speci- 
mens as  they  are  on  wild  plants,  where  both 
forms  grow  freely  together  in  the  woods.] 


Trimming  Trees.— TT.  D.,  Westchester,  Pa.^ 
says  :  "  The  skilful  Scotch  gardeners  told  of  by 
'Chronicler,'  in  the  Gardener^s  Mmxthly,  who 
came  over  to  this  country  about  seventy-five 
years  since,  and  introduced  the  system  of  maim- 
ing, hacking,  and  eventually  ruining  our  beau- 
tiful God-formed  trees,  had  better  have  remained 
at  home.  Nature  wants  no  such  assistants. 
Their  art  is  essentially  false.  Art  is  only  worth 
calling  such  when  it  approaches  Nature  in  its 
methods  and  spirit,  and  certainly  there  is  no 
such  revelation  in  Nature  as  these  abominable 
tree-trimmers  have  sought  to  thrust  upon  us. 
May  the  worms  devour  them  at  last.'' 


24Ji. 


THE    GARDEMER'S   MOJVTHLY.         August, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S  MONTHLY. 


246 


i;  ? 


NEW  AND   RARE   FRUITS. 


Beurre  Duuuisson  Pear. — Respecting  this 
Pear,  which  attracted  so  much  attention  last 
eeason  in  Belgium,  we  read  the  following  re- 
marks in  the  Bulletin  d^  Arboriculture:  "We 
consider  the  Beurre  Dubuisson  the  most  valua- 
ble acquisition  of  the  present  generation,  as  it 
equals  the  finest  October  Pears  in  quality,  and  is 
in  perfect  condition  in  February  and  March,  a 
time  when  thoroughly  melting  fruits  are  not  to 
be  had.  It  has,  moreover,  another  invaluable 
quality,  viz.,  that  of  keeping  ripe  in  a  fruit-room, 
without  suffering  any  change,  for  four  months, 
commencing  from  the  beginning  of  December." 
The  following  description  of  this  Pear  is  given 
by  M.  Du  Mortier,  in  the  Pomone  Tournaisi- 
enne:  "Fruit  very  large,  oblong,  slightly  in- 
dented, truncate,  and  ribbed  at  the  base,  some- 
what attenuated  towards  the  top.  Stalk  short, 
thick,  oblique,  not  much  sunk  in  the  flesh.  Skin 
yellov/,  dotted  and  spotted  with  russet,  some- 
times slightly  colored  on  the  side  next  the  sun. 
Flesh  fine  grained,  buttery,  sweet,  slightly  aro- 
matic, and  very  juicy.  Quality  unsurpassed.'' 
The  Beurre  Dubuisson  is  finely  figured  in  the 
Bulletin   d' Arboriculture  for  Sept  ,   1872,  where 


its  aspect  in  the  colored  plate  fully  supports  all 
that  has  been  written  in  its  favor.— T/ie  Garden. 


A  New  Late  Peach.— Under  the  name  of 
Peche  Belle  de  Saint-Geslin,  a  new  Peach  is  de- 
scribed, in  the  last  number  of  the  Revue  Horticole^ 
as  the  latest  ripening  kind  known  to  French  cul- 
tivators. The  stock  from  which  it  sprung  was 
discovered  some  yeirs  since  growing  amongst  the 
ruins  of  the  old  tower  of  St.  Geslin,  near  Riche- 
lieu (Indre-et-Loire).  The  discoverer  (M.  Jou- 
tron)  finding  that  it  fruited  much  later  than  any 
of  the  other  kinds  he  possessed,  continued  to 
propagate  it.  The  quality,  of  the  fruit  is  excel- 
lent, the  flesh  being  very  melting  and  sweet, 
with  a  slightly  perfumed  flavor.  It  is  also  of 
large  size  and  handsome  appearance.  Its  chief 
merit,  however,  is  that  it  ripens  as  late  as  the 
beginning  of  November,  somewhat  later  than 
the  Salway  Peach.  The  tree  is  described  as  a 
vigorous  grower,  with  long  stout  branches  cov- 
ered with  bark  of  a  uniform  blood-red  color. 
Leaves  long,  oval-lance  shaped,  very  finely 
toothed.  Flowers  like  those  of  Grosse  Mig- 
nonne.— The  Garden. 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


That  splendid  hardy  shrub,  Xanthoceras  sor- 
bifolia,  which  was  named  and  described  by  M. 
Dccaisue  some  years  since,  and  of  which  only  a 
single  specimen  exists  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Museum  at  Paris,  is  now  completely  covered 
with  flowers.  These  are  of  a  pure  white,  slight 
ly  tinged  with  lilac-rose  on  the  margin,  and°are 
produced  in  dense  and  effective  clusters.  Few 
flowering  shrubs  are  finer  than  this,  and,  when 
better  known^  it  cannot  fail  to  become  a  general 
favorite.— r/ie  Garden. 


New  Clematises— Since  the  introductio- 
of  the  Japanese  species,  the  improvement  of  the 
Clematis  by  hybridization  has  been  very  groat. 
But  the  limit  has  not  been  reached.  The  Gar- 
dener's Re&rrd  says  of  the  recent  exhibition  in 
London : 

"  Some  very  beautiful  neat  types  of  spring  flow- 


ering Clematises  were  shown  by  Mr.  Charles 
Noble,  of  Sunning  Dale,  and  to  one  of  them,  0. 
Mrs.  Villiers  Ulster,  white,  with  dark  stamens, 
and  a  bright  lilac  flame  on  each  petal,  distinct, 
but  with  slar-shaped  flowers,  a  first-class  certifi- 
cate was  awarded.  A  curious  circumstance  oc- 
curred in  connection  with  the  granting  of  this 
certificate,  as  two  of  three  of  the  judges,  whose 
names  were  appended  to  the  certificate  as  having 
awarded  it,  emphatically  repudiated  all  know- 
ledge of  it,  and  further  said  that  the  flower  cer- 
tificated was  the  very  one,  if  not  the  only  one, 
they  should  have  passed  without  notice.  The 
other  varieties  were  Charles  Noble,  violet  mauve, 
darker  on  the  edges,  the  young  flowers  when 
first  expanded,  have  quite  a  reddish  violet  tint; 
this  is  a  very  fine  broad-petalled  variety ;  Ma- 
dame Albani,  pure  mauve,  a  very  beautiful  flow- 


Torriani,  pale  ground,  very  charmingly  and 
prettily  tinted  with  pink,  a  very  distinct 
variety." 

Dieffenbachia  Nobilis. — In  a  late  number 
of  the  Gardener'^s  Chronicle.,  we  observe  an  ex- 
cellent illustration  of  this  beautiful  plant,  intro- 
duced, we  believe,  by  Mr.  W.  Bull,  King's 
Road,  Chelsea,  London.  It  is  described  as  being 
one  of  the  finest  of  its  class,  and  very  effective  as 
a  decorative  plant.  The  leaf-stalks  are  about  a 
foot  long,  thick  and  channelled,  margined  near 
ly  up  to  the  blade,  very  pale  green,  mottled 
transversely  with  brighter  green.  The  blades 
are  oblong  ovate,  sub-cordate,  20  inches  long 
and  9  inches  across,  ending  in  a  short  abruptly 


acuminate  point ;  they  arc  of  a  deep  rich  green^ 
marked  over  the  central  portion  to  within  about 
an  inch  of  the  margin  with  largish  angular, 
irregular,  and  variously  confluent  white  spots, 
wkich  contrast  strongly  with  the  color  of  th« 
margin  and  intervening  portions. 


Violet  "Sensation.''— Mr.  Williams'  new 
Violet  "  Sensation  "  is  described  in  the  columns 
of  a  cotemporary  as  being  now  in  perfect  bloom 
in  the  Victoria  Nurseries,  and  also  to  be  one  of 
the  finest  things  in  its  way  that  has  yet  been 
sent  out.  It  is  intermediate  in  character  be- 
tween a  good  violet  of  the  Coronuta  race  and  a 
blue  Pansy,  and  has  the  early-blooming  charac- 
ter of  the  Pansies.  —  Gardener'' s  Record. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


er. 


with  splendid  broad   petals ;  and  Madame 


A  Maryland  Vineyard  —In  our  August 
number  we  wrote  at  some  length  of  the  adapta- 
bility of  th'^  soil  and  climate  of  the  South,  and 
particularly  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  to  the 
growing  of  grapes  and  the  making  of  wine,  and 
it  is  with  great  pleasure  that  we  are  now  able  to 
offer  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  position  we 
there  assumed  as  to  a  new  and  profitable  open- 
ing being  offered  to  land  holders  in  the  direction 
indicated,  and  to  present  an  illustration  of  the 
success  attainable  in  this  branch  of  culture  as 
shown  by  the  operations  of  a  vineyard  near 
Baltimore. 

Mr.  Charles  T.  Schmidt,  a  German  gentleman 
of  intelligence  and  education,  long  resident  in 
this  country,  and  formerly  the  owner  of  a  vine- 
yard on  the  Hudson  River,  some  twenty  miles 
above  the  City  of  New  York,  desirous  of  living 
in  a  climate  in  which  the  winters  were  less  rigor- 
ous, removed  some  years  ago  into  Maryland  ; 
and  having  purchased  a  farm  near  Avalon,  on 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad,  he  planted 
upon  it  a  vineyard  which  is  now  in  ful!  IxMiring, 
and  each  season  being  enlarged  by  additional 
plantings.  There  are  now  21  acres,  occupied  by 
about  17,000  vines,  and  producing  last  year  from 
11,000  to  12,000  gallons  of  wine.,  which  is  put  on 
the  market  in  the  purest  form,  with  the  addition 
of  no  foreign  substance  whatever,  and  which  is 
fast  making  for  itself  a  very  excellent  reputa- 
tion. 


Mr.  S.  grows  a  large  variety  of  grapes,  many 
of  them,  however,  only  in  numbers  sufficient  for 
properly  proving  their  merits  for  wine  making, 
he  relying  mainly  upon  a  few  well  tested  kinds, 
such  as  the  Concord,  Ives'  Seedling,  Norton's 
Virginia,  Hartford  Prolific,  Delaware  and  lona. 
Besides  these  he  grows  for  the  production  of  a 
white  wine  the  Perkins,  a  grape  not  very  exten- 
sively known,  and  popularly  not  highly  appre- 
ciated, but  one  which  for  the  purpose  named  is 
here  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  of  American 
grapes.  The  wines  produced  from  the  first  four 
and  the  last  named  varieties  are  made  and  pre- 
served separately,  while  the  Delaware  and  lona, 
as  well  as  the  various  Rogers'  Hybrids,  the  Al- 
vey,  the  Telegraph,  &o.,  are  used  by  mixtures 
in  different  proportions  with  other  Grapes  or 
with  each  other. 

Whether  it  be  from  the  peculiarly  favorable 
situation  as  regards  soil  and  exposure,  or 
whether  it  come  from  greater  care  and  more  in- 
telligent management  of  the  vines  than  they 
ordinarily  receive,  we  cannot  tell;  but  the  grapes 
in  this  vineyard  certainly  seemed  to  us  the  day 
we  were  in  it  to  have  attained  a  degree  of  per- 
fection in  size  and  flavor  almost  unequalled  in 
our  experience.  The  Concords  were  very  large, 
rich  an  1  melting,  and  entirely  free  from  the 
faintest  suspicion  of  that  foxincss  which  se^ma 
everywhere,  notwithstanding  the  wide  spread 
and  deserved  popularity  of  the  grape,  to  be  the 


246 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY.         August, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVIHLY. 


247 


standing  reproach  cast  upon  this  hardy,  produc- 
Jtive  and  useful  variety.  It  may  be  due  to  some 
peculiarity  of  treatment  or  location  that  we  are 
able  to  rank  the  Concord  here  grown  as  a  deci- 
-d'edly  superior  grape  for  eating  to  the  lona,  grow- 
ing alongside  of  it  under  identically  similar 
vsage.  The  latter,  thouirh  fair  to  view  and  suf- 
fering little  from  rot,  gains  nothing  by  a  fair 
comparison.  This,  we  know,  is  reversing  the 
general  judgment,  and  as  it  is  a  matter  of  taste, 
the  opinion  of  others  might  not  coincide  with 
ours,  even  though  they  tested  the  two  together 
as  we  did. 


Of  the  othor  kinds  largely  grown  here,  Alvey 
is  a  black  ifrape  of  medium  size,  of  a  sprightly 
vinous  flavor  and  little  or  no  pulp  and  few  seeds. 
Ives  is  a  fiir  table  grape  and  very  valuable  for 
wine.     The  herry  is  juicy  and  sweet,  but  with 
considerable  pulp  and  rather  thick  skin.     Hart- 
ford Prolific  has  a  large  black  berry  with  tough- 
ish  skin,  but  sweet  and  rather  juicy  flesh  with 
considerable  pulp.     J^orton's  Virginia  grows  in 
long   ^oose  bunches  of  medium  size,  the  berries 
rath.T  small  but  rich,  juicy  and  sweet.     This  is 
one  r;f  the  best  of  grapes  in  this  locality  for  wine 
making.     It  is  a  black  grape.     Telegraph,   (or 
Christine),  is  a  juicy,  sweet,  delicious  flavored 
grape,  growing  in  medium,  compact  bunches. 
It  i8  a  desirable  variety,  worthy  of  much  wider 
trial  than  has  been  given  it.     Of  the  Rocrers' 
Hybrids,  No.  4,  (  Wilder),  is  a  large  black  gnipe 
^  good  flavor,    somewhat  pulpy,    but   tender ; 
No.  19,  (Merrimack),  is  also  a  large  sweet  and 
jmcy  black  grape.     Neither  of  these  two,  how- 
ever, compare  in  quality  to  the  No.  1,  {Goethe) 
which  is  of  a  reddish  amber  color,  of  large  size' 
growing    in    well    filled,   good  sized     bunches'; 
sweet,  juicy,  vinous;  flesh  tender  and  meltincr' 
of  delightful  flavor-a  delicious  grape   for  the 
table  and   of  merit   for   wine,  though  not  yet 
thoroughly  tested  in  this  respect.     The  Perkins 
we  did  not  see  or  taste  ;  it  being  a  comparative- 
ly early  variety,  the  fruit  had  all  been  picked 
before  our  visit  to  the  vineyard.    It  is  a  medium 
sized  red  grape,  generally  described  as  being  in- 
ferior  and    almost  valueless ;    but,    as    stated 
before,  found  by  Mr.  Schmidt  to  be  one  of  the 
most  useful  and  desirable  of  all  the  varieties 
grovvn  by  him.     The  Catawba  and   Clinton  are 
not  grown  here,  the  former  from  its  tendency  to 
rot,  and  the  latter  having  been  superseded  by 
more  valuable  kinds.  ^ 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  in  passing,  that  little 


or  no  damage  is  sustained  from  any  disease  of 
the  vines  now  in  bearing  in  this  vineyard. 

Of  the    Wines  produced  from  these  grapes 
that  from  the  Concord  approximates  in  compar- 
ison with  European  wines,  nearest  to  a  light 
Claret,  those  from  the  Ives  and  Norton's  Virtri- 
nia  to  a  fuller  bodied  Burgundy,  and  the  whUe 
wines  from   the   Delaware  and  lona,   (mixed), 
and  the  Terkins,  more  nearly  resemble  the  Rhine 
wines  of  Germany.     To  the  average  American 
taste,  unused  to  the  light  and  somewhat  acid 
wines  so  largely  produced  in  Europe,  these  na- 
tive wines  wiU  not  at  first  trial  be  found  very 
attractive,  their  very  purity  and  freedom  from 
the  "doctoring"  and  sweetening  largely  prac- 
ticed  with  the  foreign  productions  to  artificially 
prepare  them  for  our  markets,  giving  them  a 
novelty  of  flavor,  which  though   not  so  much 
relished    at    first,    speedily   becomes,    however, 
agreeable  and  attractive.     It  scarcely  admits  of 
a  question,   we  think,  that  as  these  light  and 
pure  wines  are  introduced  into  popular  use,  and 
the  masses  of  our  people  become  accustomed  to 
drinking  them,  that  the  consumption  of  whis- 
key will  diminish  in  a  degree  proportioned  to 
their  use. 

We  can  refer  but  briefly  to  the  operation  of 
wine  making.     The  grapes  as  picked  are  brought 
from  the  vineyard  in  tubs  and  emptied  into  a 
mill  which  mashes  and  grinds  them,  its  rollers 
being  so  arranged  that  the  seeds  are  not  broken. 
The  crushed  grapes  and  the  juice  pass  from  this 
mill  by  a  spout  through  an  aperture  in  the  floor 
into  the  fermenting  vats  in  an  apartment  below, 
a  sieve  in  charge  of  a  boy  preventing  the  passage 
through  of  the  stems.     These  vats  are  of  the 
capacity  of  800  or  900  gallons,  and  are  arranged 
with  two  false  heads  which  operate  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  rising  to  the  surface  of  the  fermenting 
must  of  the  husks  of  the  grapes.     They  are  filled 
with  the  juice,  pulp  and  skins  of  the  grapes, 
and  the  process  of  fermentation  at  once  begins, 
the  carbonic  acid  which  rises  being  by  an  inge- 
nious bui  simple  contrivance,  allowed  to  escape 
Without  permitting  the  entrance  of  atmospheric 
air,  which  H  is  necessary  to  exclude  during  every 
process  .>i  ilie  manufacture. 

This  lirst  fermentation  continues,  for  the 
white  wiaes,  for  two  or  three  diys  only,  and  for 
the  red,  from  six  to  eight  or  twelve.  In  the 
making  of  white  wines  the  fermented  must  is 
racked  off"  without  further  fermentation  upon 
the  husks.  With  the  red  wines,  the  husks  are 
pressed  by  means  of  a  suitable  mill  and  the  ex- 


tracted juice  added  to  the  must  already  racked 
off"  from  the  vats. 

The  casks  as  filled  from  the  vats  are  set  aside 
and  another  fermentation,  known  as  the  quiet 
fermentation  ensues,  this  continuing  for  four  or 
five  months,  and  in  most  cases  recommencing 
the  second  summer.  During  this  process  a  sim- 
ilar arrangement  for  the  escape  of  carbonic  acid 
and  the  exclusion  of  common  air  to  the  one  allu- 
ded to  above  is  used,  consisting  of  an  inverted  U 
shaped  tube,  one  arm  of  which  enters  the  barrel 
through  the  bung,  the  end  of  the  other  arm 
being  immersed  in  a  small  vessel  of  water 
arranged  to  receive  it. 

At  or  before  the  termination  of  the  quiet  fer- 
mentation the  casks  are  removed  to  the  cellar 
or  vault,  where  they  remain  for  about  a  year — 
at  the  end  of  which  period  the  wines  are  ready 
for  use.  This  cellar  is  built  in  the  side  of  a  hill, 
so  that  an  even  temperature  is  maintained.  Its 
storage  capacity  is  about  16,000  gallons. 

Mr.  Schimdt  is  now  also  making  to  a  limited 
extent  a  grape  brandy,  which  doubtless  as  a 
pure  article  will  find  a  ready  sale  for  medicinal 
purposes,  displacing  the  villainous  compounds 
imported,  or  professing  to  be,  under  that  title. 

We  were  particularly  struck,  in  witnessing  the 
operations  of  wine  making,  with  the  extreme 
cleanliness  everywhere  prevailing  — a  feature 
peculiarly  cheering  and  gratifying  in  comparison 
with  the  statements  made  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  same  processes  are  managed  in  Euro- 
pean vineyards.  If  the  stories  told  of  them  are 
not  the  inventions  of  travelers,  we  will  have  the 
double  satisfaction  in  drinking  American  wines 
of  knowing  that  they  are  not  only  purer,  but 
cleaner  than  the  "  vile  drinks  ''  from  the  "  other 
Bide." 

The  vineyard  of  Mr.  Schmidt  is  situated  on 
the  sidea  of  a  hill,  declining  in  almost  all  direc- 
tions except  towards  the  West.  He  finds  but 
slight  difference  of  results  from  various  expo- 
sures of  the  vines,  preferring  however,  if  any, 
the  Northern  inclination,  although  in  his  case  a 
still  higher  hill  somewhat  shelters  him  from  the 
wintry  Northers.  The  land,  which  is  a  rather 
stiff"  loam  intermixed  with  considerable  gravel, 
was  thoroughly  subsoiled  before  the  vines  were 
planted,  one  of  the  Pittsburgh  subsoil  plows 
drawn  by  six  mules  having  been  used.  The 
vines  are  planted  at  distances  of  about  eight 
feet,  in  rows  six  feet  apart,  though  some  varia- 
tion is  made  for  diff'erent  varieties.  The  vines 
are  supported  on  trellises  of  wires  running  hori- 


zontally from  posts  about  twenty  feet  apart. 
Ordinary  iron  wire  is  used,  and  very  little  trou- 
ble is  experienced  with  it,  the  posts  being  well 
braced.  Vines  one  year  old  are  planted,  and 
they  come  into  their  full  bearing  about  the  fourth 
year,  when  each  vine  will  yield,  according  to  the 
variety  and  the  season,  from  ^  gallon  to  2  gal- 
lons of  wine.  The  variation  in  the  weight  of  the 
diff'erent  grapes  required  to  make  a  gallon  of 
wine  is  very  considerable,  the  Alvey,  for  instance, 
making  a  gallon  from  11  pounds  of  grapes,  the 
the  Concord  from  14,  whilst  of  the  Ives  from  16 
to  18  pounds  are  required  to  the  gallon. 

In  the  vineyard  clean  cultivation  is  practiced. 
As  soon  as  the  crop  is  gathered  the  cultivators 
are  put  into  the  rows,  while  the  spaces  between 
the  vines  are  hoed  by  hand.  In  the  spring  as 
soon  as  the  ground  opens  the  workings  begin 
again,  being  repeated  as  often,  sometimes,  as 
eight  times  in  a  season.  The  coming  spring 
Mr.  Schmidt  proposes,  instead  of  hand  working 
between  the  vines  as  usual,  to  sow  white  clover 
around  them,  believing  the  sod  will  keep  the 
roots  of  the  vines  cooler.  The  cultivation  be- 
tween the  rows  will  of  course  be  continued. 

Of  manures  for  the  vine,  stable  manure  is  pre- 
ferred above  all  other,  except  for  its  excessive 
cost ;  after  that  bone  dust  or  bone  ash.  The  en- 
suing season  experiments  are  to  be  made  on  a 
considerable  scale  with  Prussian  potash  salts. 

Mr.  S.  has  made  a  number  of  trials  of  foreign 
varieties  of  grapes,  including  some  from  the 
Rhine  and  others  from  the  vicinity  of  Bordeaux, 
but  finds  them  unable  to  withstand  our  winters, 
all  of  them  dying  down  to  the  ground,  and  being 
consequently  unworthy,  of  course,  of  attention 
from  American  vineyardists. 

The  pruning  of  the  vines  begins  immediately 
after  the  crop  is  removed  and  continues  till 
March,  or  until  all  the  vines  are  trimmed,  the 
system  varying  somewhat  according  to  the 
variety  and  its  characteristics  of  growth. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  this  section  are  con- 
sidered by  Mr.  Schmidt  to  be  admirably  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape,  and  he  can  sug- 
gest nothing  as  lacking  for  complete  success,  un- 
less it  be  more  manure  at  less  cost,  a  want  which 
many  of  his  fellow  culturists  in  other  fields  will 
loudly  echo.  There  are  no  secret  processes  in 
his  operations,  and  to  persons  who  contemplate 
planting  vineyards  for  the  production  of  wine, 
he  is  willing  freely  to  impart  of  his  knowledge 
and  experience,  being  anxious  to  see  the  busi- 
ness extended,  believing  that  it  would  be  to  his 


SJf8 


TEE    GARDEJSfEWS   MOJ^IELY.  August, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^EWS   MOJ^'THLY. 


249 


interest  to  see  vineyards  established  on  every 
side  of  him.  This  indeed  is  being  already  done, 
his  example  having  already  produced  fruit  in  his 
immediate  neighborhood,  where  several  small 
vineyards  have  been  set  out  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  wine  on  a  small  scale  begun,  the  owners 
having  received  valuable  hints  as  well  as  pro- 
cured their  vines  from  Mr.  S.,  who  makes  the 
sale  of  the  latter  a  portion  of  the  business  of  his 
place. 

The  wine  produced  on  this  vineyard  all  comes 
to  the  agents  of  Mr.  Schmidt  in  Baltimore,  Mes- 
srs. Geyer  &  Wilkens,  of  117  W.  Lombard  street, 
a  very  respectable  house  largely  engaged  in  the 
tobacco  trade  with  Germany  and  HoHand,  and 
who,  in  addition  to  that  sold  in  this  city,  make 
large  shipments  of  the  wine  to  other  places 

As  a  matter  of  interest,  and  to  show  the  value 
of  the  products  of  the  vine,  we  give  the  prices  at 
which  these  wines  are  sold  by  this  liouse-in 
quantities  of  say  five  gallons,  there  being  some 
reduction  on  larger  quantities:  The  red  and 
white  Concord,  S1.50 ;  the  Ives  and  the  Nor- 
ton's Virginia,  $2;  the  Delaware  and  lona 
(mixed)  and  the  Perkins,  $2.50  per  rralion  -- 
American  Farmer. 


at  the  same  time  a  mephitic  odor  calculated  to 
finish  him.  Some  prefer  to  sow  this  plant 
around  the  field  of  vines,  to  form  a  sanitary 
hedge.  Others  recommend  dusting  the  roots 
with  orpiment  (sulphuret  of  zinc)  which  proves 
so  efficacious  in  Persia,  as  an  insecticide  powder. 
In  fact,  there  is  no  end  to  receipts— the  cures 
only  are  wanting.  An  agriculturist  draws 
attention  to  his  fiirm  which  was  infested  with 
thistles  ;  he  tried  every  means  to  extirpate  them; 
weeding  even  failed.  By  laying  the  land  down 
in  lucern,  and  cutting  the  forage  as  frequently 
as  was  profitable,  the  nuisance  disappears -thus 
a  practical  denial  is  given  to  nemo  me  impune 
lacessU  —Correspondence  of  Prairie  Farmer. 


Grape  Louse. -The  Phylloxera  perplexes 
alike  vineyard  proprietors  and  entomologists 
but  from  opposite  motives.  Is  the  insect  a  cause 
or  an  effect,  or  having  originated  by  a  simple 
effect,  has  it  now  become  a  direful  cause  ?  It  was 
found  on  the  vin3s  long  before  1867.  It  is  pro- 
posed to  sow,  auout  the  middle  of  October,  the 
Madta  sativa,  between  the  vines,  at  the  rates  of 
8 lbs.  per  acre  ;  the  plant  quickly  springs  up,  and 
attains  the  height  of  nearly  two  foet  apart  in 
April,  shading  the  soil  by  its  branches  ;  in  June 

I.   r'?u''"^    ^'^^^'  ^    glntinous  exudation, 
which  catches  the  bug  like  bird  lime,  and  emits 


The  Nectarine. -This  fruit,  possessing  all 
the  excellence  and  characteristics  of  the  peach, 
with  the  glossy  skin  of  the  plum,  and  perhaps 
unoqualled  in  beauty  by  any  other  fruit  when 
finely  grown,  has  been  nearly  given  up  by  most 
cultivators  on  account  of  the  destruction  of  the 
crop  by  the  curculio.  This  insect  selects  young 
nectarines  in  preference  to  all  other  fruits  for 
the  deposit  of  its  eggs,  which  has  made  it  nearly 
impossible  to  secure  a  crop.  But  now  that  effi- 
cient means  have  been  devised  for  destroying  the 
curculio,  we  would  advise  those  cultivators  who 
are  willing  to  take  the  necessary  trouble  to  pro- 
tect the  fruit,  to  set  out  nectarine  trees.  The 
former  modes  of  jarring  the  trees  by  striking 
them  with  padded  mallets  and  other  inefficient 
tools,  brought  down  but  a  portion  of  the  insects  ; 
but  the  better  way  of  giving  them  sharp  blows 
on  the  heads  of  inserted  iron  spikes,  makes 
thorough  work,  brings  all  down,  and  is  more  ex- 
peditious. Nectarine  trees  may  be  set  out  the 
present  autumn,  if  the  soil  is  well  drained  or 
naturally  dry,  and  the  exposure  is  not  a  windy 
one.— Country  Gentleman. 


F  0  11  E  I  G  N      I  N  T  E  L  L  I  G  E  N  C  E 


The  ENOTJsn  IIolly.-As  we  write  these 
lines,  cart  l..ads  of  holly  aro  passing  our  win- 
dows, Mistletoe  pours  into  our  great  metropoli- 
tan market  by  the  ton,  and  Spruce  Firs  in 
quantities  sufficient  to  form  a  veritable  Wood  of 
iiirnan,  are  carried  by  our  doors.  Away  in  the 
country,  shrubberies    have   been   ruthlessly  de- 


spoilel  of  their  stores,  the  orchards  of  Somerset 
and  Worcester,  of  Normandy  and  Brittany, 
have  yielded  their  stores  of  mystic  Mistletoe, 
and  nimble  fingers  are  gaily  stitching  and  tack- 
ing and  nailing  the  leafy  devices  w^^ich  are  to 
quicken  our  thankfulness,  gladden  our  hearts, 
and  testify  that  even  in   the  gloomiest  of  mid- 


winters hope  and  joy  and  good  fellowship  are  to 
be  found  among  us. 

If  we  remember  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
spelling  of  the  words  "holiday''  and  "holy- 
day,"  to  justify  our  pronouncing  the  former  as 
if  it  were  spelt  holliday,  and  that  this  pronunci- 
ation is  solely  determined  by  custom,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  believe  that  what  we  now  call  the 
Holly  Tree  was  by  the  earlier  writers  upon  plants 
spoken  of  as  the  'holy  tree."  But  if  we  go  back 
to  the  Saxon,  we  fined  *IIolegn  "  is  the  Holly 
tree,  while  "halig"  is  holy.  In  Anglo-Saxon 
times,  too,  the  Holly  was,  according  to  Dr. 
Prior,  called  "elebeam,"  or  oil  tree,°from  its 
branches  having  been  used  for  Olive  branches 
and  strewed  before  the  image  of  Jesus,  in  cer- 
tain  solemnities  of  the  Church  that  represented 
His  entry  into  Jerusalem.  It  is  evident  that 
the  fruiting  branches  of  the  tree  have  long  been 
in  use  for  religious  festivals  amongst  °many 
northern  nations  in  Europe,  since  we  find  it 
called  Christmas  in  England,  Christdoan  by  the 
Germans,  and  Christoon  by  the  Swedes  and 
Danes.  Doubtless  its  "thorny  leaves,  and 
b  Tries  like  crimson  drops,"  have  been  regarded 
by  Christians  in  all  times  as  symbolical" of  an 
event  which  they  thankfully  keep  in  remem- 
brance. 

We  all  know  how  extensively  the  branches  of 
this  tree  are  used  for  decoration  at  this  season, 
both  m  houses  and  churches,  both  with  berries 
and  without  berries,  although  there  is  no  Scrip- 
tural  authority  or  warrant  for  its  use,  sincenone 
of  the  kinds  grow  in  Western  Asia,  and  it  is  not 
one  of  the  trees  mentioned  in  the  Bible. -Oar- 
dener's  Chronicle. 

Origin  of  the  Botanical  Name  Andro- 
meda-Botanists  are  frequently  taxed  with  the 
want  of  euphony  and  of  poetry  in  the  Plant 
J!^ames  which  they  bestow  ;  and  it  must  be  ad- 
nutted  that  many  fearful  "jawbreakers  "  might 
be  cited  in  support  of  the  charge.  Occasionally, 
however,  we  find  names  bestowed  in  a  more  ro- 
mantic spirit ;  and  such  is  the  case  with  the 
Andromeda,  a  title  which  Linnteus  first  bestowed 
upon  our  British  example  of  the  genus,  A.  poli- 
lolia.  In  his  "  Tour  in  Lapland  "  he  tells  us  of 
the  connection  between  the  flower  and  the  hero- 
ine of  mythology  which  led  to  his  selection  of 
the  name  ; 

**  As  I  contemplated  it,  I  could  not  help  think- 
ing of  Andromed  ,  as  described  by  the  poets; 
and  the   more  I  meditated  upon  their  descrip- 


tions, the  more  applicable  they  seemed  to  the  lit- 
tle plant  before  me  ;  so  that  had  these  writers 
designed  it,  they  could  scarcely  have  contrived  a 
more  apposite  fable.  Andromeda  is  represented 
by  them  as  a  virgin  of  most  exquisite  and  un- 
rivalled charms  ;  but  these  charms  remain  only 
so  long  as  she  retains  her  virginal  purity,  which 
is  also  applicable  to  the  plant  now  preparing  to 
celebrate  its  nuptials.  This  plant  is  always 
fixed  on  some  little  turfy  hillock  in  the  midst  of 
the  swamps,  as  Andromeda  herself  was  chained 
to  a  rock  in  the  sea,  which  bathed  her  feet,  as 
the  fresh  water  does  the  roots  of  this  plant. 
Dragons  and  venomous  serpents  surrounded  her, 
as  toads  and  other  reptiles  frequent  the  abode  of 
her  vegetable  resembler,  and  when  they  pair  in 
the  spring,  throw  mud  and  water  over  its  leaves 
and  branches.  As  the  distressed  virgin  cast 
down  her  blushing  fice  through  excessive  afflicf 
tion,  so  does  this  rosy  colored  flower  hang  its 
head,  growing  paler  and  paler  till  it  withers 
away.  ...  At  length  comes  Perseus,  in  the 
shape  of  summer,  dries  up  the  surroundinfr  wa- 
ter,  and  drives  away  the  monsters,  rendering  the 
damsel  a  fruitful  mother,  who  then  carries  her 
head  (the  capsule)  erect."— Gardener\s  Chroni- 
cle. 


Leaky  Boilers.— Here  is  a  hint  which  some 
of  our  practicals  might  do  well  to  act  on,  if 
necessary  ;  it  refers  to  an  expeditious  method  of 
stopping  a  leak  in  a  boiler.  M.  Paul  Hanguel, 
in  the  Bevue  Ilorticole,  calls  attention  to  a  self- 
acting,  costless,  and  instantaneous  remedy  for 
this  troublesome  and,  it  may  be,  dangerous  ac-^ 
cident.  The  plan  so  confidently  recommended 
consists  in  getting  a  quantity  of  horsedung  (7—8 
litres,  say  agallon  measure),*stirring it  thorough- 
ly till  it  is  completely  dissolved,  and  then  pour- 
ing the  mixture  into  the  boiler.  If  the  leakage 
is  not  stopped  by  this  proceeding,  the  plan  may 
be  repeated  a  second  time.  M.  Hanguel  declares 
that  he  has  repeatedly  tried  the  plan,  and  always 
successfully.  We  should  be  glad  to  know  if  this 
method  has  been  tried  here.— Oardener^s  Chron- 
icle. 


Hyacinths  in  Water.— To  have  good  Hy- 
acinths the  Gardener's  Magazine  recommends  a 
correspondent :  "  You  do  quite  right  iu  putting 
the  bulbs  in  a  dark  cupboard  until  they  are 
rooted.  Rain  water  is  preferable  to  hard  water, 
and  does  not  require  changing,  unless  it  become* 
impure,   and  then  it  should  be  replaced   with 


250 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'H  M0JVTML7.       August, 


1'7S. 


tepid  rain  water.  We  do  not  recommend  any 
addition,  as  you  suggest.  Single  varieties  are 
the  most  suitable  for  growing  in  water,  but  none 
of  the  varieties  will  produce  such  fine  spikes  of 
flowers  as  they  will  do  when  planted  in  a  gen- 
erous compost." 

The  Californian  Thistle.— The  follow- 
ing Notes  were  read  before  the  Royal  Society  of 
Tasmania  by  Mr.  W.  Archer,  F.  L.  S.  : 

"The  genus  Carduus,  as  established  by  Lin- 
naeus, consists  of  what  are  called  '  true  Thistles,' 
with  a  haiiy  pappus  or  calyx  ;  and  '  plume  This- 
tles,' with  a  feathery  pappus  or  calyx.  Ben- 
tham,  in  his  '  Handbook  of  the  British  Flora.' 
follows   Linnajus,  but  some  botanists  class  the 

*  true  Thistle  '  under  the  genus  Carduus,  and  the 

*  plume  Thistles,'  under  the  genus  Cnicus  or  Cir- 
sium.     The   Milk  Thistle   (Carduus   Marianus) 
represents  the  true  Thistle  in  Tasmania,  and  the 
Carduus  lanceolatus,  or  Spear  Thistle   (Cnicus 
lanceolatus  of  the  British  Flora  of  Hooker  and 
Arnott),  the  Plume  Thistle.     The  Spear  Thistle 
of  England  is  what  is  called  in  Tasmania  the 
Scotch  Thistle,  but  it  is  not  by  any  means  pecu- 
liar to  Scotland.     (The  Scotch  heraldic  Thistle 
is  the  Onopordon  Acanthium,  which  is  a  native 
of  Central  Europe  and  of  Asia,  but  certainly  not 
a  native  of  Scotland,  according  to  Bentham.) 
The  Spear  Thistle  (Carduus  or  Cnicus  lanceola- 
tus) has  a  biennial  root-stock,  which  sends  up 
for  two  years  (after  which  it  dies)  annual  stems, 
winged  and  prickly,  with  broadish,  pinnatified 
prickly-lobed  leaves,  and  large,  egg-shaped  flow- 
er-heads,   enveloped    in    involucral    spreading 
bracts,  with  stiff",  largish  prickles.     The  Creep"^ 
ing  Thistle  (Carduus  or  Cnicus  arvensis)  has  a 
perennial  and  creeping  root-stock,  which  sends 
up  perpetually,  annual  stems,  with  rather  nar- 
row, pinnatified,  very  prickly-lobed  leaves,  and 
dioecious   flower-heads -the   male    flower-heads 
nearly  globular,  and  the   female    flower-heads 
egg-shaped,   enveloped  in  involucral  appressed 
bracts,    with  small  prickles.      Both  the  Spear  j 
Thistle    and  the    Creeping    Thistle  are    found 
abundantly  in   Europe   and  Asia.     The   Spear 
Thistle  is,  of  course,  the  more  easily  destroyed 
of  the  two ;    the  Creeping  Thistle  seems  to  be 
quite    ineradicable.      The  Creeping   Thistle   is 
mentioned  by  Prof.  Johnson  as  being  called  in 
the    United   States  of   America   the   Canadian 
Thistle— probably    because  it  traveled   thither 
from  Canada ;  and  so  I  suppose,  the  same  This- 
tie  is  called  here  the  California  Thistle  because 


it  has  come  to  us  from  California.  It  is,  never- 
theless, the  Creeping  Thistle  of  Great  Britain, 
and  it  never  quits  a  country  into  which  it  has 
been  introduced." 


A  New  Vegetable.— The  Oardener'>8  Chron- 
icle says  :  *'  In  the  current  number  of  the  Jour- 
nal of  Botany,  Dr.  Hance  describes  a  Chinese 
Culinary  Vegetable,  consisting  of  the  shoots  of 
a  grass,  Hydro py rum  latifolium,  wild  in  North- 
ern China  and  the  Amoor  Land,  and  cultivated 
in  Southern  China  in  standing  water.  As 
brought  to  market  the  '  cane  shoots '  occur  in 
cylindrical  pieces  of  a  white  color,  2^-3}  inches 
long,  1  to  1^  inch  in  diameter,  tapering  upwards 
into  a  conical  point,  and  surrounded  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  leaves  and  culm,  from  which 
they  are  readily  detached.  In  taste  the  raw 
shoot  is  not  unlike  a  half-ripe  nut,  but  it  is  never 
eaten  uncooked.  By  the  Chinese  it  is  stewed 
with  meat,  and  by  foreigners  cut  longitudinally 
into  two  or  three  pieces,  well  boiled,  and  served 
with  melted  butter.  Prepared  in  this  way  it  is 
stated  by  Dr.  Hance  to  be  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able of  vegetables.  *  It  is  difficult,'  says  the 
writer  from  whom  we  quote,  Ho  describe  its 
exact  flavor,  but  it  is,  perhaps,  nearer  to  that 
of  unripe  Maize,  as  boiled  and  eaten  by  Ameri- 
Ciins  under  the  name  of  green  corn,  though  it 
possesses  a  richness  and  delicacy  to  which  I 
know  no  parallel  in  any  other  vegetable. '  The 
species  in  question  is  nearly  allied  to  the  Ameri- 
can species  H.  esculentum,  formerly  grown  in 
this  country.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the 
Chinese  plant  would  also  thrive  in  our  climate, 
on  which  account  we  are  glad  to  hear  that  Dr. 
Hance  intends  to  send  home  living  plants." 


HoYA  Bella— This  beautiful  little  plant  is 
not  met  with  so  frequently  as  it  should  be,  for  it 
is  one  of  the  most  charming  of  small  stove  plants. 
The  essential  points  of  its  treatment  are :  A 
strong  moist  heat  while  growing ;  abundant 
moisture  at  the  root ;  and  a  perfectly  open  well- 
drained  soil.  The  latter  may  consist  of  a  mix- 
ture of  about  equal  parts  of  good  fibrous  peat, 
leaf-mould,  and  sand.  When  started  in  spring 
the  temperature  should  be  from  65"  to  70" ;  when 
ripening  in  Autumn  from  65"  to  60"— the  plant 
being  then  placed  on  a  shelf  near  the  glass  and 
kept  drier,  though  not  so  much  so  as  to  afffect 
the  foliage.  It  is  a  good  stove  basket  plant.  —  W. 
H.  O.,  in  Gardener"* s  Chronicle. 


^SE    GARDEJVEE'S   MOJVTELY. 

FOREIGN    CORRESPONDENCE. 


251 


HORTICULTURAL   OBSERVATIONS    IN 
ENGLAND,   No.   6. 

Took  a  stroll  the  other  day  through  the  nurserv 
estabhshments  of  Messrs.  Veitch,  also  Lucombe 
Pince  &  Co.,  Exeter.     The  Veitch  nurseries  are 
not  so  extensive  as  they  were  some  years  ago, 
as  the  original  place  has  been  broken  up  and 
bmlt  upon,  but  the  present  one  is  compact,  well 
stocked  and  well  conducted.     They  are  located 
m  a  prominent  part  of  the  city.     You  enter  the 
grounds  through  a  broad,  uvll  gravelled  walk, 
well  planted  on  both  sides  with  fine  specimen 
Rhododendrons,  all  the  choice  varieties  of  Coni- 
teras,  &c.     As  you  approach  the  houses  there  is 
a  choice  and  large  collection  of  Alpine  plants  in 
pots  plunged  in  sand.     In  the  houses  also  are 
numerous  fine  specimens,  many  of  them  grown 
specially  for  exhibition  purposes-such  as  An- 
thuriums,  Allamandas,Clerodendron  Balfourii, 
i^erns,   &c.     Among   new  things  in   the   Fern 
tribe  was  Davallia  Tyermanii,  which  promises 
well.      Among  climbers,   Tacsonia   exoniensis, 
which  they  have  a  fine  stock  of.    Croton  multi- 
color  and    various    other  varieties.      Take    it 
altogether,  it  is  a  wed  conducted  establishment, 
and  well  worth  a  visit. 

^J/k'  ^T""^"  ^  ^^°"^  ^"^•^^^y.  «'nce  the 
death  of  Mr.  Pince,  is  carried  on  by  Dr.  Good- 

man,  a  relative  of  the  family.  It  still  maintains 
its  reputation  as  a  first  class  nursery  in  all  its 
various  departments. 

The  first  object  that  arrests  the  attention  on 
entermg  the  grounds,  is  the  Original  Lucombe 
^aAr.  It  ,8  now  a  noble  tree.  On  the  opposite 
siae  of  the  road  are  two  magnificent  Pinus  insig- 
nia, fifty  feet  high  I  should  think.  Also  superb 
plants  of  Araucaria  imbricata,  the  finest  in  the 
country  I  presume.  Irish  Yews  from  one  foot 
to  twenty,  by  the  hundreds.  One  of  the  best  ex- 
amples of  rock  work  [  have  ever  seen  is  here- 
whether  you  take  the  variety  and  size  of  the 
rocks  that  coinp:)8e  it,  the  natural  and  artistic 
manner  in  which  they  are  thrown  together,  or 
the  beauty  and  appropriate  variety  of  the  plants 
that  adorn  it.  There  is  a  natural  ruggedness 
about  it  which  is  extremely  pleasing.  In  dimen- 
sions, I  should  think  it  must  be  over  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  but  when  you  get 
inside  it  is  such  a  perfect  labyrinth  of  twists, 
turns,  caves,  &c.,  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 


what  size  it  is.    Among  the  plant  drapery  that 
adorns  it,  the  most  striking  were  Skimmia  Ja- 
ponica,    Desfontainea,    Abies   Gregoriana,     A. 
pymsea,  Cupressus  echiniformis,  Thuja  gigantea, 
Thujopsis  dolobrata,  and  Biota  orientalis,  fifteen 
feet  high ;  Cotoneaster,  Pampas  Grass,  all  the 
hardy  ferns,   &c.     Near    by,   overshading   our 
fine  English  Yews,   Abies  nobilis,   twenty-five 
feet  high  ;  Sequoia  gigantea,   forty  feet ;  Abies 
pinsapo,  about  as  high.    Quite  a  sudden  contrast 
to  this  near  by  is  the  formal,  but  tastefully  de- 
signed Italian  Garden,  completely  enclosed  by  a 
perfect  clipped  Yew  hedge  six  feet  high.     The 
enclosure  is  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  wide.     A  Per- 
gola, or  arbor  runs  through  the  centre,  covered 
with  Wistarias,  Passifloras,  and  all  the  various 
climbers.     On  both  sides  of  the  arbor  are  long 
formal  beds  in  the  grass,  artistically  planted  with 
the  scarlet   and  variegated   Pelargoniums,  &c. 
Then  running  parallel  the  whole  length  a^-e  Irish 
Yews,   twelve  feet  high,  planted  in  p?\irs  ;  be- 
tween each  pair  are  large  white  vases  filled  with 
choice  plants.     This  is  quite  a  pleasing  illustra- 
tion of  the  Italian  st3'le  on  a  moderrUe  scale. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  remain  with  you 
in  the  open  air  any  longer,  so  let  us  take  a  peep 
at  this  far-fiimed  camellia  house.     Here  it  is  in 
all  its  majesty.     It  is  a  noble  house,  and  con- 
tains some  regal  plants.     It  is  two  hundred  and 
forty  feet  long.     The  side  walls  about  fifteen  feet 
high,  completely  covered  from  end  to  end  like  a 
mass  of  ivy— and  when  I  saw  it  before  in  Febru- 
ary, this  wall  was  covered  with  flowers  as  well 
as  foliage.     One  row  of  plants  only  occupy  the 
centre— but  such  plants  I     They  are  as  large  as 
fair  sized  apple  trees.     Some  eighteen  months 
ago  the  roof  of  the  house  was  raised  at  a  cost  of 
€000     N'^ar  to  this  is  another  large  house  filled 
chiolly  with  choice  hard  wooded  plants.     The 
Heath  family  is  well  represented  here.      This 
tribe  has  not  received  the  attention  during  the 
past  twenty  years  as  it  did  the  preceding  twen- 
ty ;  but  they  are  waking  them  up  again  now. 
They  have  a  tolerable  good  stock  of  plants  in 
various  sizes.     In  bloom  were  E.  vestita  alba, 
E.   perspicua    nana,   E.    ventricosa    magnifica, 
(fine),  E.  Hartnellii,  E.  ampulacea,  E.  ventri- 
cosa coccinea,  and  many  other  varieties.    A  fine 
plant   of   Phenocoma   prolifera    Barnesii ;   also 


25^ 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTBLY.        August, 


1878. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


'nni 


Aphelexsis  macrantba  purpurea,  Genetylis 
tuUpifera.  Fine  plant  of  Acacia  grandis,  Pime- 
lias  and  Eriostemons,  Lescheuaultia  formosa, 
biloba,  &c.,  and  a  good  plant  of  the  beautiful 
biennial  ?  Clianthus  Dampierii  in  bloom. 

Pardon  a  digression  for  a  moment.  On  the 
first  of  April  I  was  passing  through  a  sunny  lit- 
tle village  on  the  banks  of  the  Teign,  when  1 
observed  a  climber  trained  up  the  front  of  a 
pretty  cottage,  almost  covered  with  deep  scarlet 
or  crimson  pendulous  flowers.  I  could  not  con- 
ceive what  it  could  be,  so  I  opened  the  little 
gate  and  walked  up  to  the  house,  and  to  my  sur- 
prise found  it  was  Clianthus  puniceus.  I  could 
not  resist  the  impulse  to  manifest  my  surprise 
to  the  owner  of  the  house,  so  1  rapped  at  the 
door  and  a  lady  came  out,  and  she  told  me  it 
had  been  planted  out  there  about  three  years, 
and  that  she  cut  four  or  five  spikes  of  bloom  of 


253 


it  on  Christmas  day  to  decorate  the  font  in  the 
village  church. 

But  to  return  to  the  nursery.  There  is  in  all 
about  thirty  plant  houses  in  this  establishment, 
all  well  filled  and  in  fine  order.  They  have  fine 
plants  in  tubs,  boxes  of  the  Conifera.  &c.,  for 
decorative  purposes,  such  a<»  Thuja  Donniana, 
T.  Dolobrata,  Cryptomeria  elegans,  Araucarias, 
Palms,  <&c.  They  also  have  a  manufiictory  ad- 
joining the  nursery,  where  they  make  frames, 
sashes,  vineries,  and  other  horticultural  struc- 
tures. Also  keep  an  experienced  landscape 
gardener  and  draughtsman  for  designing  and 
laying  out  new  places  and  improving  old  ones, 
and  I  must  add,  from  what  I  have  seen  of  their 
work  in  this  line  of  business,  that  it  would  re- 
quire talent  of  no  mean  order  to  equal  or  surpass 
them  in  design,  execution  or  planting. 

N€icto7i  Abbott,  Devon.  J.  W.  W. 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


PENNSYLVANIA  IIOKTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 

AUTUMNAL   EXHIBITION. 

Philadelphia,  September  im,  17th,  mhand  10</j, 

1873. 

The  Members  of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultu- 
ral  Society  desire  to  make  the  Autumnal  Exhi- 
bition this  year,  as  far  as  possible.  National  in 
its  character,  preparatory  to  the  Grand  Centen- 
nial Exhibition  in  187(5  The  grounds  for  the 
Horticultural  Garden,  the  Grand  Conservatories 
and  Plant  Houses  for  the  Centennial  Exhibition, 
have  already  been  set  apart  by  the  Commission- 
ers, and  it  is  expected  that  some  of  the  buildings 
will  be  erected  early  next  year. 

The  meeting  of  the  American  Pomological  So- 
ciety will  be  held  this  year  in  Boston,  on  the 
10th  of  September,  nearly  a  week  before  the  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural  Socie- 
ty, which  will  enable  Fruit  Growers  from  the 
South  and  West  to  visit  Philadelphia  conve- 
niently on  their  return  home,  which  they  are 
cordially  invited  to  do. 

The  Pennsylvania  Horticultural  Society  will 
be  happy  to  hold  a  conference  with  Horticultu- 
rists from  other  States,  as  to  the  requirements 
of  the  country  in  regard  to  the  Centennial  Ex- 
position of  Horticulture  in  1876,  for  which  we 
are  already  working  with  much  zeal.  Promi 
nent  members    of  our  Society  are  at  Vienna 


studying  the  results  of  European  labor  in  this 
department. 

PREMIUM  LIST. 

Auttimnal  Exhibition  of  Pennsylvania  Horticul- 
tural Society,  September  IQth,  1873. 

The  following  are  the  principal  Premiums 
ofi'ered  by  the  Society  for  Fruits.  The  Premi- 
ums for  Plants  and  Flowers  are  omitted: 

COLLECTIONS  OF    FRUIT. 

Collections  of  Fruit,  by  any  State  or  Society, 
if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Committee,  the  col- 
lections are  suflltiently  large  and  varied  to  merit 
the  award,  1st  premium,  $100  00. 

Collections  of  Fruit,  by  any  individual  or  firm, 
1st  premium  $50  00 ;  2d  premium,  $30  00 ;  3d 
premium,  Silver  Medal. 

PEARS. 

Collection  of  not  less  than  100  named  varieties, 
3  to  G  specimens  each,  Ist  premium,  $30  00. 

Collection,  not  less  than  50  named  varieties,  3 
to  6  specimens  each,  Ist  premium,  $20  00, 

Collection,  20  named  varieties,  3  to  6  speci- 
mens each,  1st  premium,  $15  00;  2d  premium, 
$iO  00. 

Collection,  1')  varieties,  3  to  6  specimens  each, 
Ist  premium,  $12  00 ;  2d  premium,  $8  00 

Collection,  10  varieties,  3  to  6  specimens  each, 
Ist  premium,  $6  00  ;  2tl  premium,  $4  00. 


SINGLE  DISHES  OF  PEARS. 

Duchess  d»  Angouleme,  12  specimens,  Ist  pre- 
mium, $5  00. 

Beurre  Clairgeau,  12  specimens,  1st  premium, 

$5  00. 

Vicar  of  Winkfield,  12  specimens,  Ist  premi- 
um, $5  00. 

Beurre  Bosc,   12    specimens,  Ist  premium,$5. 

Lawrence,  12  specimens,  1st  premium,  $5  00. 

Any  other  variety  approved  by  the  Commit- 
tee, premium,  $3  00. 

APPLES. 

Collection  of  named  varieties,  6  specimens 
each,l8t  premium,  $20  ;  2d  premium,  $10. 

Collection  of  12  named  varieties,  6  specimens 
each,  Ist  premium,  $5  00. 

Any  variety,  12  specimens,  approved  by  Com- 
mittee, premium,  $2  00. 

Packages  of  Fruit  may  be  sent  by  Express, 
addressed  as  follows:  Thomas  A.  Andrews, 
Superintendent  of  Exhibition,  Horticultural  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

The  Fruit  Committee  have  power  to  award 
any  other  Premiums  for  Collections  of  Fruits— 
or  single  dishes  of  great  excellence— to  any  ex- 
tent that  the  merit  of  the  specimens  may  require, 
which  awards  are  always  sanctioned  by  the  So- 
ciety. 

A  Plant  and  Flower  Market  will  be 
held  in  the  Lower  Hall,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  Exhibition,  where  contributors  may  offer 
for  sale  any  Plants,  Trees,  Flowers,  or  other 
Horticultural  products.  This  has  been  found  to 
be  a  very  interesting  and  useful  feature  of  the 
Exhibitions. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  TRUIT. 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultu- 
ral Society,  held  on  the  20th  of  May,  1873,  a 
resolution  was  passed,  as  follows  : 

Iiesolved,~The  Pennsylvania  Horticultural 
f  XT^**^  leaving  learned  that  the  soil  and  climate 
ot  North  Carolina  is  exceedingly  favorable  to  the 
production  of  tine  Fruit,  we  hereby  earnestly  in- 
^J.^^  ^-^e  ^ruit  Growers,  Societies  and  Afuateurs 
01  that  State  to  send  specimens  of  their  products, 
such  as  Apples,  Pears,  Grapes,  and  specimens 
o;  native  Wine,  &c  ,  to  the  Autumnal  Exhibi- 
tion of  this  Society,  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia, 
on  luesday,  September  16th,  1873,  to  continue 
lour  days— and  that  tab'es  be  set  apart  for  the 
aisplay  of  this  Fruit,  and  that  Money  Premi- 
ums and  MedaU  be  awarded  by  the  proper  com- 


mittees, for  such  collections  of  Fruit,  ao^reeablv 
to  the  published  schedule  of  the  Society." 

Packages  may  be  sent  by  Express,  addressed 
to  Thomas  A.  Andrews,  Superintendent  Horti- 
cultural Hall,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Letters  respecting  contributions,  may  be  sent 
to  the  same  address. 


«•»•»• 


gekmantow:n^  (pa.)  horticultural 

SOCIETY. 

The  second  exhibition  of  this  new  Society  held 
the  end  of  June,  afforded  some  facts  which  have 
more  than  a  local  interest.  Among  the  cut 
flowers  was  one  of  the  richest  vases  of  flowers 
that  could  possibly  be  made.  This  was  wholly 
composed  of  the  flowers  of  Amaryllis,  Johnsonii, 
White  Oleander,  and  the  leaves  of  Mahonia 
aquifolia,  with  a  few  white  Deutzia  scattered 
through.  In  another  collection  excellent  use 
had  been  made  of  the  leaves  of  Centaurta  gym- 
nocarpa.  In  Roses  for  cut  flower  work,  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  that  will  compare  for  gen- 
eral usefulness  with  Saffrano  and  its  offspring, 
Isabella  Sprunt.  Mr.  Baumann,  in  his  Pla- 
teaus of  cut  flowers,  used  them  extensively. 

A  very  good  plant  for  arches,  designs  and  so 
on,  is  Lythrum  Salicaria.  A  hardy  herbaceous 
plant,  pretty  well  known.  It  does  not  wither  so 
easily  as  many  flowers  ;  and  after  it  has  withered 
still  makes  a  show.  It  was  used  with  much 
effect  in  one  of  the  designs. 

Among  summer  decorative  plants,  in  tubs  for 
lawns,  few  are  better  than  the  Eugenia  Jambos, 
The  large  bay-like  leaves,  and  silky  tassel-like 
flowers  are  freely  produced,  and  look  fresh  under 
our  hottest  suns.  Mr.  Berry,  gardener  to  Mr. 
Adamson,  had  a  very  well  grown  plant. 

To  most  gardeners  a  very  interesting  plant 
was  one  from  Mr.  Wister's— a  very  large  speci- 
men of  an  Azalea,  with  hundreds  of  blossoms. 
We  boast  of  our  skill  in  getting  flowers  early, 
but  an  Azalea  so  retarded  as  to  be  in  full  bloom 
at  the  end  of  June,  is  surely  an  accomplishment 
of  which  one  may  be  proud.  There  were  some 
fine  plants  of  Hoteia  (spirteaand  astilbe)  Japoni- 
ca  by  Thos.  Hendricks,  gardener  to  Mr.  John 
Jay  Smith.  One  plant  had  fifty  spikes  of  flow- 
ers. This  is  the  plant  now  so  popular  for  win- 
ter forcing.  He  also  had  Heliotropes  several 
years  old  in  pots,  blooming  profusely.  Miller  & 
Hayes,  in  their  collection,  had  a  nice  plant  of 
the  gold  blotched  Euonymus,  which  makes  a 
very  ornamental  tub  plant,  on  account  of  the 


25Jf 


THE^ARDEJy^ER'S   MOJSTTBLY.  August, 


187S. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


&55 


freedom  with  which  it  produces  flowers,  as  well 
for  its  ornamental  leaves.  From  Meehan's  Kur- 
series  was  a  Stanhopea  tigrina,  with  half  a  dozen 
unexpanded  flowers,  exhibited  chiefly  to  show 
that  many  of  these  orchids  can  be  grown  to  great 
perfection  in  common  greenhouses.  William  E. 
Meehan,  a  young  son  of  the  Editor  of  Garden- 


rlf^"l"?i^s  f^- • --- i  ■"- -"^^^^^^^^ 


The  morning  was  spent  in  examining  the 
grounds  of  Mr.  Kramer.  A  portion  of  the  gen- 
tlemen,  under  the  lead  of  the  host  himself,  took 
a  tramp  through  the  vineyard,  examined  the 
blackberry  and  raspberry  buds,  &c.,  whilst 
others,  with  the  ladies,  visited  the  greenhouses 
which  were  filled  with  choice  flowers  all  in  the 


florist  by  obtaining  the  first  premium  for  basket  \ 
of  cut  flowers.  The  Lilium  longijlorum,  of  Mr. 
Newett,  were  superb.  The  "  Lilies  of  the  field  " 
never  excelled  these  in  purity  and  sweetness. 
In  the  search  for  new  lilies,  let  not  this  desirable 


old  one  be  overlooked.     Some  exhibitor  had  a    ^^^^"^^^^  ^^  several  of  the  members.    Mr.  Mum- 
collection  of  Phlox  Drwrnmondw,  ofa  very  great '"^^  remarked  that  in  planting,  care  should  be 


collection  of  Phlox  Drummondii,  of  a  very  great 
variety  of  form  and  color.  The  perfection  to 
which  the  Germans  have  brought  this  Phlox  is 
wonderful.  Mr.  W.  J.  Young,  who  is  known 
to  our  readers  as  leading  in  the  growth  of  fruit 
trees  in  pots,  had  a  good  specimen  of  peach  with 
numerous  fruit  in  a  twelve  inch  pot,  which 
pleased  everybody.  Mr.  Kinnier,  florist,  had 
also  some  very  attractive  rustic  ornaments,  in 
which  various  kinds  of  rare  Ivies  were  made  to 
play  very  useful  parts. 

June  exhibitions,  unless  early,  are  very  heat- 
ing kinds  of  mental  food.  This  was  a  success  ; 
but  a  May  meeting  would  probably  be  more  so. 

Mr.  Housely,  gardener  to  Mr.  Somers,  had  a 
splendid  Epiphyllum  Jenkinsii,  a  first-class, 
though  old-fashioned  summer  blooming  plant. 
And  speaking  of  summer  blooming  plants,  we 
must  not  forget  the  Fuchsias. 


After  dinner  was  over.  President  Ohmer  called 
the  meetmg  to  order  and  the  regular  order  of 
business  was  proceeded  with. 

The  subject  of  planting  trees  and  shrubs  was 
discussed  by  several  of  the  members.    Mr.  Mum- 


taken  not  to  crowd  the  roots  in  planting  out 
trees.     The  holes  where  they  are  to  be  planted 
should  be  made  six  or  eight  inches  larger  than 
required  to  admit  the  body  of  roots,  and  from 
two  to  three  feet  deep,  filled  with  good  surface 
soil,  on  which  to  place  the  tree  or  shrub  to  be 
planted.     He  also  preferred  spring  to  fall  plant- 
ing.    In  removing  from  the  nursery,  secure  all 
the  roots  possible  with  the  tree,  and  trim  the 
I  tops  closely,  always  to  correspond  with  the  root. 
I  President  Ohmer  believes  in  shallow  planting 
I  on    heavy    clay    soil,   and    mounding    the  dirt 
j  around  the  tree.     Mr.  Longstreth,  by  excava- 
j  ting  holes  two  feet  square  and  two  feet  deep,  and 
I  filling  with  good  soil,  and  securing  good  drain- 
I  age,  for  grapes  and  peaches,   secured  a  rapid 
iiiig  pianis,  we  '  -^^^^^-     President  Ohmer  said  grapes  needed 
Mr.   Lonsdale,  '  ^7  ^^^^  ^"^  ^^y  atmosphere.     Mr.  Clough  had 
house  foreman  at   the  Germantown   nurseries'  !  ^^^^^^  ^^^^  grapes  planted  in  deep  holes,  but  by 
had  a  young  one  of  Rose  of  Castile,  very  well  ''  ^^^^^"°^    pruning  and  planting  shallow,   was 
grown.    Mr.  Casey  and  L.  C.  Baumann  also  had  i  ™^®^^"«  ^^^^   success.      Mr.    Kramer   thought 
good  plants  of  popular  kinds.     After  all  said    ^^^^  Plowing,  in  ordinary  soils  is  sufficient  pre- 


good  plants  of  popular  kinds.  After  all  said 
about  various  things,  there  is  nothing  better  for 
summpr  blooming  pot  plants  than  good  Fuch- 
sias. 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY  HORTICULTU- 
RAL SOCIETY. 

Dayton,  Ohio,  April  5th,  1873. 
The  Society  met  at  the  residence  of  William 
Kramer,  Esq.,  on  Wednesday.  The  attendance 
was  very  fair,  considering  the  muddy  roads  and 
chilly  wind  which  prevailed,  and  what  was  lack- 
mg  m  numbers  was  made  up  in  sociability  and 
good  feeling.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kramer  bestowed 
every  attention  upon  their  visiting  friends,  and 
fully  sustained  their  high  reputation  in  this  re- 
spect. 


paration  of  the  ground  for  grapes. 

Mr.  Van  Ausdal  had  found  it  necessary  on  a 
retentive  clay  soil,  to  underdrain,  in  order  ta 
secure  a  crop  of  grapes. 

The  general  opinion  of  those  present  seemed 
to  be  that  for  grap'^s,  where  there  was  natural 
drainage,  a  thorough  pulverizing  of  the  soil  was 
all  that  was  necessary,  otherwise  sub-soiling 
would  have  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  remove 
the  surplus  moisture. 

Mr.  Linxweiler  spoke  of  the  progress  made  in 
the  manufacture  of  native  wines,  and  praised 
highly  Norton's  Virginia  Seedling  Grape  for 
that  purpose.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  wines 
would  soon  be  made  in  this  country  equnl  to  the 
best  wines  of  Europe.  President  Ohmer  said 
the    Ives    Seedling    seldom    rots  or    mildews. 


although  not  a  first-class  wine  grape,  by  com- 
bining the  Ives  and  Concord  in  equal  propor- 
tions, produced  a  good  wine,  a  sample  of  which 
he  exhibited  to  the  meeting,  and  on  being  tested 
was  quite  highly  praised. 

FRUITS   AND   VEGETABLES. 

President  Ohmer  exhibited  apples  called  Bent- 
ley's  Sweet,  of  very  fine  appearance,  and  possess- 
ing extra  keeping  qualities,  which  highly  recom- 
mend it  to  cultivators.  He  stated  that  they  bore 
fruit  the  fourth  year  after  planting  on  his  farm. 

Pears  were  also  shown  by  Mrs.  Dudley,  re- 
markably well  preserved. 

The  committee  reported  as  follows  : 

COMMITTEE  ON  FRUITS. 

Your  committee  would  report  that  two  varie- 
ties of  fruit  were  submitted,  to  wit :  Apples- 
Wine  Apples,  by  N.  Ohmer  ;  Bentley,  sweet,  a 
new  variety  from  Eastern  Ohio,  fine  keeper- 
keep  until  July,  also  handsomely  colored,  and 
neither  sweet  nor  sour  in  flavor.  Pears  from 
Mrs.  Duell,  fine  keepers  ;  flavor,  sweet,  good  for 
preserves.  This  pear  seems  to  be  the  Oak  Leaf 
variety.  Wm.  Longstreth, 

j.  h.  w.  mumma, 
James  M.' Smith. 

Mr.  John  Powell  communicated  the  following 
paper  on 

PEAR  trees. 

As  the  season  of  planting  fruit  trees  is  now 
close  at  hand,  I  would  suggest  the  best  kinds  of 
pears  for  our  soil  and  climate,  and  will  make  a 
list  of  some  kinds  ripening  in  succession.  I 
would  remark  that  this  list  is  for  standard 
trees : 

Doyenne  d'  Ete,  best  early  variety,  July  1st 
Rosteiser,  a  first-rate  fruit,   two   weeks   later 
Tyson,  rich  and  good,  a  shy  bearer,  July  25th 
Clapp'8  Favorite,  a  noble  variety,  new  and  fine 
Bartlett,  a  royal  pear  in  all  respects,  August  1st 
Flemish  Beauty,  a  grand  Iruit  in  this  region  , 
Onondaga,  large,   handsome,    but  rather   tart, 
September  6th  ;    Howell,   a   noble,   large,   rich 
pear,  October  6th  ;  Buerre  d'  Aujou,  new  and 
ranked  as  best ;  Lawrence,  first-rate,  juicy  and 
a  good  bearer,  November  ;  Mt.    Vernon,  new, 
promises  first-rate;  Doyenne  d'  Alencon,   new 
and    a    good    keeper ;    Buerre    Easter,     keeps 
through  the  winter,  but  is  very  difficult  to  ripen. 
I  have  not  ripened  it  yet.     As  to  dwarf  pears,  I 
bave  come  to  the  conclusion,  after  nearly  twenty 


years  experience,  that  they  are  not  worth  grow- 
ing for  profit.  If  I  had  a  small  city  lot  and 
wanted  some  playthings,  I  would  have  a  few 
dwarfs.  I  have  quite  a  number  that  have 
thrown  out  root  from  the  pear  stock,  and  from 
these  I  get  a  good  supply  of  fruit. 

Compton's  "surprise"  potatoes  were  shown 
by  John  Sackstedter.  This  new  variety,  sent 
out  this  year  for  the  first  time,  is  reported  to 
have  yielded  last  season  at  the  rate  of  826  bush- 
els per  acre,  and  sell  now  at  the  moderate  rate 
of  three  dollars  per  pound.  Mr.  Sackstedter 
will  undoubtedly  report  his  success  with  it  next 
fall. 

June,  1873. 

The  June  meeting  of  the  Montgomery  County 
Horticultural  Society  was  held  at  the  residence 
of  Mr.  John  Sackstedter,  on  the  river  road,  a 
short  distance  southwest  of  the  city.  Notwith- 
standing the  very  busy  season,  the  attendance 
was  good,  quite  up  to  the  average,  indicating 
that  there  is  no  lack  of  zoal  in  the  cause  of  hor- 
ticulture on  the  part  of  its  friends  in  Montgome- 
ry county,  at  least. 

After  discussing  the  merits  of  a  substantial 
collation  skilfully  prepared  for  the  occasion, 
where  entire  unanimity  of  sentiment  seemed  to 
prevail,  the  company  adjourned  to  the  parlor, 
when  President  Ohmer  called  the  meeting  to 
order.  The  Secretary  being  absent,  on  motion, 
Wm.  Ramsey  was  appointed  pro  tern,  and  regu- 
lar business  proceeded  with. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and 
approved. 

Mr.  J.  H.  W.  Mumma,  Committee  on  Small 
Fruits,  was  not  ready  with  a  written  report,  but 
would  state  verbally  that  the  prospect  of  an 
abundant  yield  of  small  fruit  did  not  seem  to  be 
very  flattering.  His  strawberry  crop  would  be 
materially  short,  not  much  exceeding  a  quarter 
of  a  crop.  The  same  was  partially  true  of  his 
blackberries  ;  indeed,  so  far  as  their  cultivation 
was  concerned,  he  begnn  to  feel  symptoms  of 
discouragement.  The  Mammoth  Cluster  Rasp- 
berry seemed  to  be  the  only  one  among  the  more 
valuable  of  the  small  fruits  which  has  come  un- 
scathed through  the  severities  of  the  past  long 
and  unusually  cold  winter. 

Mr.  William  Kramer,  upon  the  subject  of 
grapes,  reported  that  they  seemed  to  be  doing 
well. 

SMALL  fruits  AND  VEGETABLES. 

Mr.  S.  M.  Sullivan  opened  the  discussion  by 
triumphantly  holding  up  to  view  a  basket  of 


256 


THE   GARDEJfER'S   MOMTHL  Y.         August, 


magniiicent  Wilson's  Albany  Strawberries,  and 
facetiously  exclaiming,  "do  you  call  these  small 
fruits  1" 

Mr.  J.  M.  Smith  wanted  some  information 
with  regard  to  the  qualities  of  the  Green  Prolific 
strawberry.  Mr.  Kramer  and  Mr.  Mumma  con- 
curred in  representing  this  variety  as  quite 
promising;  the  plants  were  hardy,  the  fruit 
large  and  of  good  quality,  in  flavor  nearly  equal 
to  Burr's  New  Pine,  and  in  productiveness  ap- 
proaching the  standard  of  the  Wilson,  lacking 
only  in  the  quality  of  firmness.  Mr.  Clough 
had  failed  in  getting  his  plants  to  grow,  although 
he  had  bestowed  upon  them  the  tenderest  care. 

Mr.  Mumma  called  the  attention  of  the  mem- 
bers to  the  fact  that  the  blackberry  plant  this 
season  is  more  or  less  affected  with  a  species  of 
rust,  particularly  the*  Kittatinny  variety.  What 
is  the  probable  cause  and  remedy  ? 

Mr.  Ohmer  had  noticed  the  same  phenome- 
non ;  it  was  probably  a  species  of  fungi ;  on  his 
grounds  the  Kittatinny  appeared  to  suffer  most ; 
he  suggested  that  the  best  remedy  was  to  dig  up 
the  affected  plants  and  burn  them. 

Inquiry  was  made  as  to  whether  the  Colorado 
bug  had  made  its  appearance  or  not.  This  gave 
rise  to  a  somewhat  extended  discussion  of  the 
subject  of  entomology,  or  rather  that  branch  of 
it  which  treats  of  insects  destructive  of  fruits, 
flowers,  &c. 

Mr.  Ohmer  remarked  that  Professor  Riley,  an 
accomplished  entomologist,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  United  States  Agricultural  Society,  recently 
heM  at  Indianapolis,  stated  that  a  new  and  de- 
structive insect,  somewhat  resembling  in  appear- 
ance the  measuring  worm,  but  different,  had 
made  its  advent  in  the  forests  west  of  Indian- 
apolis. 

Mr.  Pierce  stated  that  the  slugs  so  destructive 
to  the  rose  appear  not  to  be  so  numerous  or  de- 
structive as  formerly.  Paris  green,  applied  in  a 
liquid  form,  or  as  a  powder,  was  recommended 
as  a  good  agent  for  the  destruction  of  the  slug  or 
any  similar  insect. 

The  question  was  asked  about  how  strong  the 
solution  should  be  to  kill  the  rose  slug. 

Mr.  Ohmer  replied  that  Prof.  RiTey  recom- 
mended one  part  Paris  green  and  thirty  parts 
of  flour  as  amply  strong  enough  to  kill  these  in- 
fects, if  the  Paris  green  was  genuine,  but  that 
none  was  genuine  except  that  possessing  a  deep 
green  color. 

Mr.  Smith  cautioned  the  public  against  pur- 
chasing an  adulterated  article. 


Mr.  Ewing  remarked  that  a  druggist  told  him 
that  the  genuine  article  is  never  sold  at  retail. 

Mr.  Clough  observed  that  there  is  in  existence 
a  small  force  pump,  for  the  purpose  of  applying 
the  Paris  green  in  a  liquid  form. 

Mr.  Ohmer  here  remarked  that  the  planting 
of  shade  trees  along  the  public  highways  was  a 
good  thing,  and  hoped  the  committee,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  invoke  the  aid  of  legislation  in 
the  furtherance  of  this  object,  would  push  the 
thing  along  with  vigor. 

Mr.  Jonah  Bull  thought  that  the  planting  of 
shade  trees  ought  not  to  be  restricted  to  sixty- 
foot  roads,  but  should  be  extended  to  those  for- 
ty feet  wide,  also,  an  opinion  generally  concurred 
in. 

The  discussion  taking  a  wide  range,  the  sub- 
ject of  fences,  stock  running  at  large,  &c.,  came 
in  for  a  share  of  attention. 

Mr.  Ohmer  thought  fences  a  very  expensive 
luxury  to  indulge.  Those  in  Ohio  alone  costing 
not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  nnllions 
of  dollars,  and  their  total  cash  value  in  the  whole 
United  States  being  sufficient  to  pay  off  the  Na- 
tional Debt. 

Mr.  Steele  remarked  that  a  gentleman  from 
Cleveland,  on  a  visit  to  our  city  recently,  ex- 
pressed grea,t  surprise  that  stock  was  allowed  to 
run  at  large. 

Mr.  Smith  said  that  a  proposition  to  establish 
a  pound  within  the  city  limits  to  enclose  stock 
running  at  large,  &c.,  was  lately  laid  on  the 
table  by  the  City  Council.  A  member  suggested 
that  perhaps  a  prudent  regard  for  the  contingen- 
cy of  a  re-election  to  office  had  something  to  do 
with  the  disposition  of  that  proposition. 

"Yes,"  responded  Mr.  J.  II.  W.  Mumma,  *'I 
know  something  about  that  sort  of  thing  myself, 
for  I  was  a  candidate  for  Trustee  in  my  Town- 
ship th's  spring,  and  my  well  known  determina- 
tion to  enforce  the  stock  law,  caused  my  defeat." 

Mr.  Van  Ausdall  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted  with  but  one  dissent- 
ing voice  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  notices  with  plea- 
sure the  introduction  into  the  City  Council  of  a 
proposition  to  establish  a  pound  to  enclose  stray 
swine  and  cattle  running  at  large  within  the 
city  limits.  In  the  opinion  of  this  Society  the 
enforcement  of  the  State  law  prohibiting  the  run- 
ning at  large  of  stock  would  greatly  promote  the 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  poop'e  of  the 
city  and  country,  and  would  save  the  expendi- 
ture of  thousands  of  dollars  of  money  each  year. 


Mt  (Sard^n^r's  P0nfltln, 


DEVOTED  TO 


Horticulture,   Arboriculture,    Botany    and   Rural   Affairs. 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.  XV.        SEPTEMBER,     1873,    New  Series.Vol  VI.  No.  9 


HINTS  FOE  SEPTEMBER. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

In  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  summer 
gardening  is  the  most  attractive,  and  most  that 
is  done  there  is  with  that  view.     With  us  the 
spring  and  autumn  is  more   enjoyable,  and   if 
American  gardening  is  ever  to  have  a  distinctive 
feature  of  its  own,  it  will  be  efforts  specially 
directed  to  one  or  both  of  these.     Our  summers 
are  usually  hot  and  dry,  and  people  are  either 
"away,"  or  very  much  indisposed  for  out-door 
enjoyment,   except  such  as   may  be   found   in 
shady  woods,  or  on   some  heights  where  the 
cool  breezes  blow.     At  any  rate  we  shall   not 
go  wrong  by  doing  our  best  for  good  effects  with 
spring  flowers,  and  it  is  time  to  think  about 
these  things  now.     There  is  scarcely  anything 
more  beautiful  in  spring  than  abed  of  Hyacinths 
and  Tulips  well  intermixed.     The  Hyacinths  go 
out  of  flower  just  as  the  Tulips  come  in.     In  the 
spring  Gladiolus  and  Tuberoses  can  be  placed 
between  these  ;  or  if  desirable,  some   flowering 
bedding  plants,  and  in  this  way  the  gaiety  and 
interest  can  be  preserved  from  spring  to  fall. 
Crown  Imperials  are  capital  things  for  the  cen- 
tre of  small  beds,  and  the  regular  bedding  plants 
can  go  round  them.     Narcissuses  keep  their  foli- 
age too  long  after  flowering,  as  does  the  Snow- 
<Jrop.      These  can   hardly    be   made  available 
where  regular  bedding  is  desirable  for  summer. 
They  are  best  in  odd  patches  by  themselves. 
Crocus  does  well  anywhere.     It  may  even  be  set 
in  the  grass  about  the  lawn,  as  it  is  generally 
over  before  the  first  mowing  takes  place.     But 
it  would  not  be  admitted  into  our  best    kept 
lawns.     The  vast  tribe  of  lilies  come  in  rather 


late  for  spring  gardening,  but  few  will  care  to  be 
without  them.  Besides  these  there  are  many 
little  items  which  are  noted  in  almost  all  bulb 
catalogues,  from  which  many  interesting  spring 
blooms  can  be  had.  No  one  will  go  amiss  in 
looking  well  to  this  class  of  plants.  The  best 
time  to  plant  is  from  now  to  frost.  Mice  and 
vermin  are  very  liable  to  attack  these  roots. 
Poisoning  is  the  best  remedy. 

In  traveling  through  the  United  States,  one 
cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  fact,  that  there  is 
a  growing  taste  for  gardening  as  a  fine  art ;  but 
that   very   little   knowledge  exists  as  to   what 
should  or  could  be  done.     It  is,  indeed,  surpri- 
sing with  so  much  attempted  gardening,  there 
should  be  so  little  true  taste  ;  and  yet  not  more 
so  perhaps,  that  there  should  be  so  many  build- 
ings and  so  few  fair  specimens  of  fnir  architec- 
ture.    Yet  it  is  not  that  our  people  are  alow  to 
learn,  but  that  they  have  nothing  to  learn  from. 
The  great  want  of  the  time  is  a  better  knowledge 
of  landscape  gardening,  and  true  taste  among 
our  nurserymen  and  florists.     In  some  places  it 
is  easy  to  see  that  there  is  some  one  about.     At 
Boston,  New   York,   Philadelphia,   Cincinnati, 
Cleveland  and  St.  Louis,  it  is  easy  to  see  by  the 
not   uncommon  specimens  of  good   taste,   that 
there  is  one  somewhere  near  who  has  been  sow- 
ing the  good  seed,  and  in  other  places  we  see 
once  in  a  while  a  specimen  of  what  good  garden- 
ing should  be  ;  but  generally  this  is  the  result  of 
missionary  work  from  the  places  before  mention- 
ed, and  not  from  regular  residents  on  the  spot. 
Good  landscape  gardeners  are  wanted  all  over 
the  country  ;  not  men  whose  ideas  run  into  the 
higher  and  more  expensive  channels  of  arts 


268 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY.     September, 


1873. 


THE   GARBEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY 


269 


II 


although  these  are  by  no  means  so  numerous  as 
they  ought  to  be  ;  but  good  men  who  have  the 
capacity  to  regulate  their  recommendations  to 
"What  those  "who  employ  them  can  understand 
and  afford.  As  we  have  said,  nurserymen  and 
florists  might  de  more  by  example.  It  is  very 
rare  that  we  see  anj'  place  with  any  more  taste 
than  a  common  fruit  garden  or  farm,  where  a 
single  eye  is  kept  to  the  immediate  return  of 
every  dollar  spent  and  nothing  else.  "We  know 
that  nothing  pays  a  florist  better  than  to  lead  off 
in  these  matters  of  taste.  He  creates  a  custom, 
which  it  is  very  profitable  to  him  to  supply. 
We  know  one  who  takes  a  pleasure  in  doing  a 
little  every  year.  He  cannot  do  much,  but  every 
year  he  does  something  which  every  one  admires. 
Last  year  he  moved  a  few  large  arborvitses  of 
which  he  had  an  over  stock,  very  carefully  so  as 
to  make  a  background  to  a  small  curved  border. 
Adopting  our  hint  about  the  beauty  of  Holly- 
hocks when  seen  against  a  background  of  ever- 
greens, he  has  a  row  of  most  beautiful  varieties 
forming  a  line  in  front  of  these.  Then  he  has  a 
row  of  Coleus  in  front  of  these,  again,  before 
these  is  a  row  of  Chrysanthemums,  and  in  front 
of  them  a  row  of  bedding  Geraniums  of  many 
shades  of  color.  So  pretty  is  the  effect  of  even 
this  simple  arrangement,  which  may  be  so  easily 
improved  on,  that  it  is  admired  by  so  many  as 
to  get  him  many  orders  for  similar  material  next 
ecason. 

Another  matter  we  saw  which  pleased  us. 
There  were  on  the  lawn  belts  and  borders  of 
shrubbery ;    but  in  front  of  these  belts  were 
Geraniums,   Petunias    and    Verbenas,    besides 
other  gay  colored  bedding  plants.    Now  beds  | 
of  these  plants  are  very  common  in  flower  gar- 
dens, but  this  combination  of  shrubbery  and 
flowers  is  very  unusual,  and  is  capable  of  very 
varied  application.     It  is  just  these  little  things  | 
which  cost  nothing  much  but  a  few  minutes 
study,  which  every  nurserymen  and  florist  might 
have,  and  which  would  go  a  long  way  to  devel- 
ope  the  taste  for  beautiful  grounds,  which  every- 
where exists,  but  dormant  for  want  of  some  en- 
couragement of  the  kind. 

Shrubs  for  this  kind  of  gardening  we  have 
alluded  to,  should  of  course  be  of  a  free  flower- 
ing character.  Of  those  which  can  be  made 
very  effective,  the  following  may  be  used  :  Py- 
rus  japonica,  the  red  and  the  white  ;  Spirea  pru- 
nifolia,  S.  Reevesii ;  S.  Billardii ;  Deutzia  gra- 
cilis, scabra,  and  crenata  pleno  ;  Weigelia  rosea 
and  W.  aniabilis,  Philadelphus  coronarius,  and 


P.  Gordonianus ;  Forsythia  viridissima  ;  Hy- 
pericum prolificum ;  Altheas  in  variety  ;  Per- 
sian, and  even  the  common  Lilacs ;  Tartarian 
and  Fly  Honeysuckles ;  Hawthorns,  Double 
Almonds,  and  perhaps  some  others.  But  all 
these  are  common  in  most  nurseries ;  are  very 
easy  to  grow,  and  very  pretty  effects  may  be  had 
at  a  small  outlay. 

Many  persons  who  have  got  but  a  few  of  these 
plants,  will  like  to  raise  some  more.  The  end  of 
the  month  is  a  good  time  to  take  off  cuttings, 
unless  the  weather  be  very  warm.  Of  those  we 
have  named,  all  but  the  Pyrus  and  Almond  will 
grow  by  cuttings.  These  two  grow  by  pieces  of 
roots.  Cuttings  should  be  made  about  four  or 
six  inches  long,  and  planted  out  in  rows,  and 
set  two  or  three  inches  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  In  spring  planting  we  put  them  right 
level  with  the  surface. 

In  many  parts  of  the  Northern  States  the 
leaves  will  have  changed  color  previous  to  the 
incoming  of  winter,  and  the  planting  of  trees 
and  shrubs  will  commence  as  soon  as  the  first 
fall  showers  shall  have  cooled  the  atmosphere 
and  moistened  the  soil.     Further  south,  where 
the  season  will  still  remain  "summer"  a  while 
longer,  the  soil  may,  at  any  rate,  be  prepared, 
that  all  may  be  in  readiness  when  the  right  sea- 
son does  come.     What  leaves  remain  on  should 
be  stripped  off,  and  the  main  shoots  shortened. 
They  will  then  do  better  than  if  planted  very 
late.      In  fact,   if  planting  cannot  be  finished 
before  the  beginning  of  November  in  the  North- 
ern and  Middle  States,  it  is  better,  as  a  rule, 
deferred  till  spring.     In  those  States  where  little 
frost  occurs,  this  rule  will  not  apply.     The  roots 
of  plants  grow  all  winter,  and  a  plant  set  out  in 
the  fall  has  the  advantage  over  spring  set  trees, 
that  its  roots  in  spring  are  in  a  position  to  sup- 
ply the  tree  at  once  with  food.     This  is,  indeed, 
the  theory  fall  planters  rely  on  ;  but  in  practice 
it  is  found  that  severe  cold  dries  up  the  wood, 
and  the  frosts  draw  out  the  roots,  and  thus  more 
than  counterbalance  any  advantage  from    the 
pushing  of  new  roots.     Very  small  plants  are, 
therefore,    best  left  till  spring  for  their    final 
planting.     It  is,  however,  an  excellent  plan  to 
get  young  things  on  hand  in  fall,  and  bury  them 
entirely  with  earth,  until  wanted  in  spring.   Such 
things  make  a  stronger  growth  the  next  season, 
than  if  just  dug  before  transplanting. 

At  this  season  of  the  year,  people  think  of 
making  cuttings  of  bedding  and  other  plants,  in 
order  for  another  year.     The  best  way  to  propa- 


gate all  the  common  kinds  of  bedding  plants  is 
to  take  a  frame  or  hand-glass  and  set  it  on  a  bed 
of  very  sandy  soil  made  in  a  shady  place  in  the 
open  air.  The  sand  should  be  fine  and  sharp, 
and  there  is,  perhaps,  nothing  better  than  river 
sand  for  this  purpose.  The  glass  may  be  white- 
washed on  the  inside,  so  as  to  afford  additional 
security  against  injury  from  the  sun's  rays. 
Into  this  bed  of  sand  cuttings  of  half  ripened 
wood  of  the  desirable  plants  may  be  set,  and 
after  putting  in,  slightly  watered.  Even  very 
rare  plants  often  do  better  this  way  than  when 
under  treatment  in  a  regular  propagating  house. 
In  making  cuttings,  it  is  best  to  cut  the  shoots 
just  uhder  a  bud— they  root  better,  and  are  not 
so  likely  to  rot  off  and  decay.  A  cutting  of 
about  three  eyes  is  long  enough  for  most  strong 
growing  things,  such  as  Geraniums,  Fuchsias^ 
(fee. 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

It  is  very  strange  that  people  will  continue  to 
grow  trees  year  after  year  without  any  fruit, 
and  yet  praise  their  system  as  the  best  possible 
one  against  any  thing  else  that  can  be  done.  We 
have  contended  for  years  that  fruit  culture  will 
never  be  successful  until  some  very  different  sys- 
tem than  that  usually  praised  shall  be  adopted. 
The  ground  must  be  so  dry  to  grow  good  fruit  that 
water  will  not  lie  24  hours  in  summer  (in  winter 
it  is  of  no  consequence)  without  passing  away  ; 
the  fibrous  roots  must  be  kept  as  near  the  surface 
as  possible  and  kept  shaded  from  the  intense 
heat  of  summer.  Then  they  must  be  kept  high- 
ly fed  by  occasional  dressings  of  surface  manure- 
These  are  the  principles  without  which,  depend 
on  it,  American  fruit  culture  will,  with  occa- 
sional exceptions,  always  be  a  failure. 

The  planting  of  the  Pear,  Apple,  Plum  and 
Cherry  will  soon  be  in  season  ;  Peaches,  Apri- 
cots and  Grape  Vines,  except  south  of  the  Poto- 
mac being  for  the  most  part  left  till  spring. 
Choose  a  dry  piece  of  ground.  If  not  naturalfy 
dry,  it  is  best  to  throw  the  earth  up  into  banks 
or  ridges  and  plant  on  them.  This  is  cheaper 
and  lietter  than  uuderdraining.  In  planting,  if 
the  roots  appear  deep,  cut  away  some  of  the 
deeper  ones,  and  shorten  some  of  the  top  of  the 
tree  at  the  same  time.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  dwarf  Pears  which  are  often  grafted  on  rather 
long  Quince  stocks.  Cut  all  away  of  the  quince 
root  but  about  six  inches,  and  if  this  should  be 
found  to  leave  few  roots,  cut  away  the  top  cor- 
respondingly.   Most  of  the  failures  with  dwarf 


Pears  comes  from  bad  quintie  roots,  so  deep  in 
the  ground  the  lower  parts  decay,  and  this  de- 
cay gradually  communicates  upwards  until  the 
whole  system  becomes  diseased.  The  more 
tenacious  the  sub-soil  the  more  necessary  is  it  to 
attend  to  this  matter.  We  spoke  of  pruning  in 
proportion  to  injury.  It  will  be  found  that  all 
trees  are  a  little  injured  by  removal,  therefore  all 
trees  should  be  a  little  pruned  at  transplanting. 

Trees  that  have  long  stems  exposed  to  hot 
suns,  or  drying  winds,  become  what  gardeners 
call  »* hide-bound."  That  is,  the  old  bark 
becomes  indurated— cannot  expand,  and  the  tree 
suffers  much  in  consequence.  Such  an  evil  is 
usually  indicated  by  grey  lichens  which  feed  on 
the  decaying  bark.  In  these  cases  a  washing  of 
weak  lye  or  of  lime  water  is  very  useful ;  indeed^ 
where  the  bark  is  healthy,  it  is  beneficial  thus 
to  wash  the  trees,  as  many  eggs  of  insects  are 
thereby  destroyed. 

Whitewash  is  frequently  resorted  to  by  farm- 
ers ;  but  the  o-reat  objection  is  its  unsightly 
appearance— the  result  is  otherwise  good.  The 
great  opposition  to  washes  formerly  was,  that 
the  pores  of  the  bark  were  closed  by  them— thi» 
was  on  the  supposition  that  the  bark  was  alive, 
but  the  external  bark  of  most  trees  has  been 
dead  years  before  the  time  of  application  ;  and 
"the  breathing,"  if  so  the  operations  of  the 
pores  can  be  called,  is  through  the  CT*evices 
formed  in  the  old  bark  by  the  expansion  of  the 
growing  tree,  by  which  the  living  bark  below 
has  a  chance  of  contact  with  the  air.  No  mat- 
ter what  kind  of  coating  is  applied  to  the  bark 
of  a  tree,  it  will  soon  crack  sufficiently  by  the 
expansion  of  the  trunk  to  permit  all  the  *'  breath- 
ing "  necessary. 


»   ♦ 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

Cabbage  and  Cauliflower  are  sown  this  month 
for  spring  use.  The  former  requires  some  care, 
as,  if  it  grow  to  vigorous  before  winter,  it  will 
all  run  to  seed  in  the  spring.  The  best  plan  is 
to  make  two  sowings  —one  early  in  the  month, 
the  other  at  the  end.  The  rule  is  get  them 
only  just  so  strong  that  they  may  live  over  the 
winter  in  safety.  Many  preserve  them  in 
frames  ;  but  they  should  have  wooden  sashes  or 
shutters  instead  of  glass,  so  as  not  to  encourage 
them  to  grow  much. 

Cauliflower,  on  the  other  hand,  cannot  well 
be  too  forward.  Most  persons  provide  a  pit  of 
stone,  brick  or  wood,  sunk  five  or  six  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground,   into  which 


260 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'H   MOJVTHLy.    September, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


261 


iBfl' 


manure,  or  any  waste  vegetable  matter  is  filled 
When  quite  full,  it  is  suffered  to  heat  a  little, 
when  it  will  sink  somewhat  and  have  more  ma- 
terial added  to  it ;  about  six  inches  of  good  rich 
loam  is  then  placed  on  it,  and  early  in  Novem- 
ber the  Cauliflower  planted  out.  The  object  in 
refilling  the  leaves  so  often  is  to  insure  the 
plants  remaining  as  near  the  glass  as  possible, 
which  is  very  essential  in  the  growth  of  Cauli- 
flower. Lettuce  is  treated  in  the  same  way,  and 
seed  should  be  sown  now  to  prepare  for  the 
planting.  The  Cabbage  Lettuce  is  the  kind 
usually  employed. 
The  main  crop  of  Spinage  should    now  be 


sown.  Properly  cooked,  there  are  few  vegeta- 
bles more  agreeable  to  the  general  taste,  and  few 
families  who  have  gardens  will  wish  to  be  with- 
out it.  It  is  essential  that  it  have  a  very  well 
enriched  soil,  as  good  large  leaves  constitute  its 
perfection  as  a  vegetable.  As  soon  as  the  wea- 
ther becomes  severe,  a  light  covering  of  straw 
should  be  thrown  over  it.  A  few  Radishes  may 
be  sown  with  the  Spinage  for  fall  use. 

Tu'-nips  also  may  still  be  sown.  In  fact,  if 
the  soil  be  rich,  a  better  quality  of  root  for  table 
use  will  be  obtained  than  if  sown  earlier. 

Celery  and  Endive  will  still  require  the  atten- 
tion in  blanching  described  in  former  hints. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


RAPID  POTTING. 

BY  MR.   H.    E.   CniTTY,   SUPT  BELLEVUE  NUR 
SERIES,   PATERSON,   N.    J. 

The  process  of  potting  plants  consists  of  a  cer 
tain  combination  of  skilful  and  precise  move- 


in  his  movements,  can  overcome  the  element  of 
time  sufficiently  to  make  from  four  to  five  thous- 
and distinct  movements  in  an  hour,  each  move- 
ment requiring  at  least  one  second  of  time,  and 
every  man  at  all  acquainted   with  the  potting 


ments  which  result,  or  should  result,  in  setting  bench,  knows  perfectly  well  that  not  even  a 
the  plant  in  the  pot  in  such  a  manner  that  the  ^^^oted  verbena  cutting  can  be  transferred  to  a 
plant  may  almost  immediately  commence  a  de-  ;  P^*-  ^^^  passed  in  less  than  four  movements, 
velopement  of  roots -and  extension  of  growth,  i  "^^^-^^  "^^y?  however,  be  a  method  of  bringing 
These  movements,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  may  ^  P^^^*^»  P^^*  ^^^  soil  together  with  a  jerk,  in 
be  made  with  military  exactness.  The  operator  |  ^^^"^^  ^  manner  that  once  in  a  while  the  roots  of 
may  seize  the  pot  with  oae  hand,  the  plant  with  ^  P^^"t  ^^J  happen  to  catch  a  favorable  hold 
the  other  at  one  and  the  same  time  ;  he  may  \  ^"^^  ^^^  P^^^^  grow  ;  but  in  this  case  the  time 
then  complete  the  operation  in  either  three  or  i  ^^^  ^^^^^  required  in  emptying  the  pots  after- 
four  exact  movements.  In  the  former  case  the  \  ^^'ards,  will  be  so  great  that  the  method  will 
plant  would  be  potted  in  four  seconds,  in  the  I  never  be  adopted  for  profit.  After  considerable 
latter  case  five  seconds,  which  would  amount  to  \  experience  in  this  line,  I  am  fully  convinced  that 
seven  thousand  two  hundred  (7200j  in  a  day  ofl^^^ess  plants  are  decently  handled  in  potting 
ten  hours.    But  part  of  the  operation  of  potting  :  ^^^Y  soon  show  it,  whether  they  are  rooted  cut- 


small  plants  or  rooted  cuttings  cannot  be  execu- 
ted with  such  precision,  viz.:  the  proper  dispo- 
sition of  the  roots.  If  the  roots  of  the  plant  are 
pushed  into  the  pot  in  a  wad,  the  movement 
would  then  form  one  of  the  four  or  five,  and  the 
operation  completed  in  four  or  five  seconds,  but 


tings  or  plants  of  more  mature  growth. 


ALCOHOL    A    REMEDY    FOR    THE 
*' MEALY  BUGS." 

BY  J.   M.  JORDAN,    ST.    LOUIS,   MO. 

As  I  have  been  very  much  annoyed  wi^h  the 
if  the  roots  were  placed  in  the  pot  as  they  should  \  Mealy  Bug,  I  have  been  experimenting  for  some 
be  to  make  a  profitable  job  of  it,  the  time  con-  time  endeavoring  to  find  something  that  would 
sumed  would  be  about  equal  to  all  the  rest,  :  kill  them  and  still  not  injure  the  delicate  plants 
which  would  reduce  the  number  of  plants  potted  that  they  infest.  At  last  I  think  I  have  found 
in  a  day  of  ten  hours  to  about  three  thousand,  ;  a  simple  remedy,  and  one  within  the  reach  of 
or  from  that  to  three  thousand  five  hundred,  i  every  one.  I  gladly  communicate  it  to  the 
which  is  all  that  any  man  can  do  in  a  workman- ,  many  readers  of  the  Qardcners  Monthly, 
like  manner.    As  no  man,  be  he  ever  so  skilled  '     By  the  appliCcVtion  of  alcohol  diluted  with  five 


per  cent,  of  water,  the  Mealy  Bug  can  be  com- 
pletely destroyed.  The  best  way  to  apply  it  is 
to  put  the  alcohol  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  with 
a  fine  brush  put  through  the  cork  and  apply  the 
alcohol  frequently  for  a  few  weeks,  and  they  will 
entirely  disappear.  I  have  removed  them  from 
thousands  of  the  most  delicate  stove  plants,  and 
have  never  injured  one  of  the  plants. 


♦ — ^- 


VEGETABLE  GARDENING. 

BY  J.    EWING,    DAYTON,    OHIO. 

Read  before  Montgomery  County,  Ohio,  Hort  Society. 

Vegetable  Gardening,  like  other  kinds  of  farm- 
ing or  cultivating  of  the  soil,  is  but  imperfectly 
understood,  even  by  those  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness. But  few  understand  how  much  land  may 
be  made  to  produce,  or  the  way  to  make  it  pro- 
duce the  most  The  man  that  produces  the 
most  from  his  acre  adds  most  to  his  country,  as 
well  as  to  his  own  pocket.  There  is  no  one  thing, 
perhaps,  less  understood  than  the  need  of  fertil- 
izers in  raising  vegetables. 

There  are  but  few  varieties  of  vegetables 
grown  but  what  pay  in  proportion  to  the  fertili- 
zers used,  other  things  being  equal.  To  experi- 
enced growers  I  know  that  I  can  say  nothing 
that  will  benefit  them.  To  begin  I  would  say, 
in  the  first  place,  soil  is  of  the  first  importance. 
You  want  light,  sandy  loam  ;  without  this  you 
will  always  be  several  days  behind  those  having 
the  proper  soil.  Earliness  being  the  cream  of 
the  business.  Then  you  want  your  ground 
thoroughly  fertilized  ;  this  you  cannot  do  in  one 
year,  nor  in  two— three  heavy  coats  of  manure 
^then  you  may  expect  remunerating  crops ; 
but  you  must  continue  the  fertilizing  every  year. 
Another  thing,  is  being  ready  to  put  in  your 
seeds  at  the  proper  time.  Gardening  consists 
largely  in  preparation.  No  one  need  be  afraid 
of  having  his  ground  too  much  pulverized,  even 
if  he  should  plough  it  twice  or  three  times,  and 
roll  it  and  harrow  it  as  often.  Get  your  ground 
thoroughly  mellow  before  you  put  your  seeds  in, 
then  you  are  ready  for  your  planting.  Now  you 
want  pure  seeds  of  the  kind  of  vegetables  you 
wish  to  grow  ;  without  these  you  cannot  suc- 
ceed. The  gardener  that  has  his  ground  proper 
ly  prepared,  with  good  seeds  planted  and  up 
ready  for  cultivating,  has  made  a  beginning 
Which  he  has  only  to  follow  up  diligently  to 
make  a  good  crop. 

But  he  must  not  allow  the  weeds  to  grow,  or 
fail  to  stir  the  ground  often.     Many,  very  many, 


fail  in  not  cultivating  the  soil  enough.  Some 
may  read  this  who  are  thinking  of  engaging  in 
the  business,  if  so,  I  would  advise  them  to  con- 
sider some  of  the  hardships  they  may  expect  to 
endure,  such  as  being  exposed  to  all  kinds  of 
weather,  and  working  sixteen  or  eighteen  hours 
of  the  twenty-four. 

I  wish  that  I  could  say  something  here  that 
would  induce  my  farmer  friends  to  raise  more 
vegetables  for  their  own  tables.  How  many 
farmers  have  side  hills  lying  to  the  east,  where 
peas  and  beans  might  be  raised  just  as  early  as 
any  vegetable  gardener  can  raise  them  ;  also 
sweet  corn  ?  Then,  without  glass,  he  might 
make  a  box,  six  by  twelve  feet,  and  put  in  ten 
inches  of  horse  manure,  properly  prepared,  with 
eight  inches  of  good  loam  on  top  of  the  manure, 
and  cover  at  night  if  necessary.  This  would 
furnish  one  family  with  radishes  several  days 
before  they  can  be  raised  in  the  garden. 

I  have  kept  radishes  in  these  boxes  through 
the  last  cold  spell  of  March  19th  and  20th,  with- 
out glass  on  them,  when  my  thermometer  went 
twelve  degrees  below  freezing. 

Or  take  the  south  side  of  it,  fence  and  manure 
well ;  spade  it  up  deep  in  the  fall  and  sow  in  the 
spring  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out.  For  early 
cucumbers  take  one-half  of  a  flour  barrel,  and 
fill  two-thirds  full  of  horse  manure,  tramp  it 
well,  and  fill  the  other  third  with  loam  ;  put  it 
on  the  south  side  of  a  building,  or  fence,  and 
water  freely  and  they  will  yield  abundantly. 


NATURE  AND  ORIGIN  OP  SOILS. 

BY    DR.    A.    JEWETT,   DAYTON,    OHIO. 

Read  before  Montgomery  County,  Ohio,  Hort.  Society. 

It  will  be  my  object  on  this  occasion  to  pre- 
sent a  few  remarks  explaining,  in  the  simplest 
manner  that  I  can,  the  nature  and  origin  of 
soils. 

Soils  differ  widely  in  their  immediate  origin, 
in  their  physical  characters,  in  chemical  consti- 
tution, and  in  agricultural  capabilities  ;  but  all 
soils  capable  of  producing  profitable  crops  pos- 
sess two  common  characteristics.  First,  they 
all  contain  organic  matter  in  greater  or  less  pro- 
portion, and  secondly,  they  all  contain  ten  or 
twelve  inorganic  elements. 

Soils  are  derived  from  the  disintegration  of 
the  various  rocks  forming  the  earth's  crust.  A 
soil  may  be  derived  directly  from  the  rocks  on 
which  it  rests,  or  it  may  have  been  transported 
by  water  or  other  means  from  a  great  distance. 


26B 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MONTHLY.     Septtmher, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^TTHLY. 


263 


It  may  be  so  thin  as  scarcely  to  cover  the  under- 
lying rock,  or  it  may  have  gradually  accumula- 
ted till  it  acquires  a  thickness  of  even  hundreds 
of  feet.  Where  a  soil  lies  in  a  thin  stratum  on 
a  level  bed  of  rock,  we  should  expect  to  find  it 
composed  chiefly  of  the  components  of  the  under- 
lying rock ;  but  where  it  has  been  transported 
from  a  distance,  it  may  not  correspond  with  the 
rock  upon  which  it  rests,  but  its  origin  may, 
perhaps,  be  found  hundreds  of  miles  away. 

The  proportion  of  organic  matter  in  soils 
capable  of  bearing  profitable  crops,  varies  from 
one  to  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  whole  weight  of 
the  soil  after  it  has  been  carefully  dried.  With 
less  than  one-half  per  cent,  of  organic  matter  a 
soil  will  scarcely  support  vegetation  at  all.  It 
is  only  in  peaty  and  boggy  soils  that  the  organic 
matter  ever  amounts  to  the  very  large  percentage 
mentioned  above.  Sometimes  such  soils  con- 
tain even  more  than  seventy  per  cent.,  but  when- 
ever there  is  this  excessive  amount  of  organic 
matter  it  requires  admixture  of  inorganic,  or 
earthy  matter,  to  make  a  good  tillable  soil. 
Oats  and  rye  may  be  raised  in  soil  containing 
only  one  or  two  per  cent,  of  organic  matter  ; 
barley  requires  two  or  three  per  cent.;  and  our 
best  wheat  lands  do  not  contain  on  an  average, 
more  than  from  four  to  six  per  cent,  of  orc^anic 
matter. 

The  organic  matter  consists  partly  of  decom- 
posed animal  substances,  but  chiefly  of  decayed 
vegetable  substances.  That  portion  which  is  of 
vegetable  origin  will  be  found  on  examination  to 
consist  partly  of  brown  fibres  still  bearing  some 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  original  plant  from 
which  it  was  derived  ;  partly  of  dark  brown  par- 
ticles, and  not  infrequently  the  organic  matter 
will  be  found  to  consist  of  nearly  colorless  com- 
pounds, soluble  more  or  loss  completely  in  water. 
Even  in  soils  apparently  consisting  entirely  of 
sand  or  chalk  these  forms  of  organic  matter  may 
sometimes  still  be  detected  in  considerable  quan- 
tities. 

The  organic  matter  consists  first,  of  humus— 
the  name  given  to  the  fine  brown  powder  which 
gives  to  garden  soils  and  vegetable  moulds  their 
fertility,  and  which  is  formed  by  the  gradual 
decay  of  vegetable  matter  ;  second,  of  humic 
acid  ;  and  third,  of  ulmic  acid-two  organic 
acids  which  are  formed  during  the  dec^y  of 
vegetable  matter,  and  exist  in  the  soil  in  combi- 
nation  with  lime,  alumina,  or  magnesia,  formina 
humates  and  ulmates  of.  these  bases.  The4 
bumates  and  ulmates  wh  n  exposed  to  the  air 


are  gradually  decomposed,  giving  oflf  carbonic 
acid  gas,  and  are  converted  into  carbonates ; 
fourth,  crenic  acid,  and  fifth,  apocrenic  acid, 
which  are  formed  in  a  similar  manner  with  the 
humic  and  ulmic  acids,  and  like  them  are  com- 
bined with  lime,  alumina,  and  other  bases. 

Malic  and  acetic  acids  are  thus  formed  ;  and 
probably  many  other  similar  compounds  are 
foi  med  in  the  soil  and  minister  directly  to  the 
growth  of  plants. 

Thus  much  in  regard  to  the  organic  com- 
pounds found  in  soils.  It  is  not  necessary,  nor 
would  the  limits  of  such  an  essay  allow  me  to 
attempt  to  enter  into  a  description  of  the  meth- 
ods of  determining  their  presence  or  their 
amount. 

While  organic  matter  is  thus  a  necessary  con- 
stituent of  all  fertile  soils,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  inorganic  constituents  are  no  less 
necessary  to  perfect  plant  growth.  For  this 
reason  we  may  have  two  soils,  alike  in  physical 
properties  and  location,  and  both  having  nearly 
the  same  percentage  of  organic  matter,  and  still 
one  may  be  fertile,  producing  good  crops,  and 
the  other  be  nearly  sterile,  simply  because  in  the 
one  all  the  necessary  inorganic  elements  are 
present,  while  some  of  them  are  wanting  in  the 
other.  These  inorganic  components,  like  the 
organic,  may  vary  greatly  in  quantity  in  differ- 
ent soils  and  still  be  there  in  sufficient  amount 
to  answer  all  requirements  of  plant  life— their 
average  amount  being  perhaps  about  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  weight  of  the  soil  when 
freed  from  moisture. 

From  numerous  analyses  of  the  ashes  of 
plants,  it  has  been  fully  established  that  some 
ten  or  twelve  different  inorganic  elements  are 
always  present,  viz.:  Potassium,  sodium,  cal- 
cium, magnesium,  aluminium,  iron,  mangane  e, 
silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  chlorine,  and  oxy- 
gen—never in  their  simple  form,  but  always  in 
combination,  forming  definite  compounds.  Now 
these  inorganic  elements  are  derived  directly  from 
the  soil,  and  hence  the  soil  must  contain  them, 
and  its  fertility  will  depend,  among  other  cir- 
cumstances, upon  its  ability  to  supply,  readily 
and  in  suflTicient  quantity,  all  these  necessary  in- 
organic elements. 

The  absence  of  any  one  of  them  would  make 
the  soil  incapable  of  producing  crops.  Some  of 
these  elements  may  be  present  in  such  small 
quantities  as  to  be  entirely  overlooked  in  a  hasty 
analysis,  and  still  be  present  in  quantities  suffi- 
cient for  the  growth  and  nutrition  of  plants. 


Thus  if  in  every  thousand  grains  of  soil  there 
exists  only  seven  hundredths  of  a  grain  of  gyp- 
sum or  sulphate  of  lime,  it  would  require  a  care- 
ful analysis  to  detect  this  minute  quantity — and 
yet  this  seven  hundredths  of  a  grain  to  a  thous- 
and grains  of  soil  would  amount  to  about  two 
hundred  weight  to  the  acre,  where  the  soil  is 
one  foot  deep — a  large  quantity  in  the  aggregate, 
although  so  small  in  the  amount  usually  opera- 
ted upon  in  a  chemical  analysis.  Phosphoric 
acid  is  very  much  more  difficult  of  detection  than 
gypsum,  and  may  be  present  in  a  much  smaller 
quantity  and  still  be  present  in  quantities  suffi- 
cient to  supply  all  the  wants  of  plants. 

The  failure  to  detect  these  minute  quantities 
in  the  sample  operated  upon,  may,  perhaps,  ex- 
plain the  very  unlike  results  which  have  fre- 
quently followed  the  application  of  a  given  fer- 
tilizer—results so  unlike  and  apparently  contra- 
dictory as  to  cause  many  to  lose  all  reliance  upon 
soil  analysis.  I  would  not  be  understood,  how- 
ever, as  claiming  that  soil  analysis  will  in  the 
present  state  of  science  always  show  why  a  given 
soil  will  not  produce  good  crops  ;  but  in  most 
instances  an  analysis  carefully  made  will  show 
wherein  the  soil  is  deficient,  and  knowins:  what 
is  deficient,  we  know  what  to  add  to  make  the 
soil  complete  and  capable  of  producing  good 
crops. 

The  earthy  part  of  the  soil,  though  contain- 
ing some  twelve  different  constituents,  consists 
chiefly  of  three  ingredients,  viz.:  First,  lime, 
mostly  in  combination  with  carbonic  acid,  form- 
ing sometimes  chalk,  and  sometimes  our  com- 
mon limestone,  which  may  exist  of  all  degrees 
of  fineness.  Second,  silica,  or  flint.  This,  like 
the  lime,  is  found  of  all  degrees  of  fineness  ;  and 
third,  alumina,  or  oxide  of  aluminium.  Alumi- 
na rarely  occurs  as  simple  alumina,  but  is  gen- 
erally found  in  combination  with  silica  forming 
silicate  of  alumina,  or  clay  ;  and  this  combina- 
tion of  alumina  is  also  the  base  of  slate  and  slaty 
rocks,  and  it  further  enters  largely  into  the  com- 
position of  most  rocks. 

We  never  meet  with  a  tillable  soil  formed  ex- 
clusively of  only  one  of  the  three  chief  ingredi- 
ents mentioned  above  ;  but  in  common  language, 
soils  are  called  sandy  where  silicious  sand  large- 
ly predominates— calcareous  where,  as  in  our 
limestone  districts,  carbonate  of  lime  is  found  in 
large  quantities,  and  clayey  when  silicate  of  alu- 
mina predominates.  The  clays  are  of  greater  or 
less  tenacity,  in  proportion  as  the  silicate  of  alu- 


mina is  more  or  less  free  from  admixture  with 
other  substances. 

I  look  upon  agricultural  chemistry  as  one  of 
the  most  important  branches  of  chemical  science, 
though  I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  own  that  I 
have  as  yet  studied  it  comparatively  little,  and 
have  instituted  no  special  investigations  of  my 
own.  This,  I  trust,  will  be  kindly  accepted  as 
sufficient  apology  for  whatever  lack  there  is  of 
originality  in  this  brief  essay.  But  if  I  shall 
have  succeeded  in  directing  increased  attention 
to  an  important  subject,  my  object  will  have 
been  accomplished. 


<•»»» 


WINTER  KILLING  OF  EVERGREENS. 

BY  ALEXANDER  NEWETT,  GARDENER  TO  H. 
P.  M'KEAN,  ESQ  ,  GERMANTOWN,  PHILA. 

(Address  to  the  Oermantown  Horticultural  Society, 

July  %th,  1873.) 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen 
— The  few  remarks  I  have  to  make  on  this  sub- 
ject are  the  result  of  my  own  observations— I 
have  no  theory. 

It  is  necessary  before  asserting  my  own  con- 
victions, to  examine  the  generally  received  theo- 
ries or  opinions  of  others.  In  doing  so  I  dis- 
claim putting  forward  any  assertion  merely  for 
the  novelty  of  the  thing. 

Let  us  suppose  a  number  of  evergreens,  such 
as  Norways,  hemlocks,  or  any  of  our  hardy  ever- 
greens, placed  in  all  respects  exactly  alike. 
Some  have  been  killed  outright,  others  scorched 
or  half  killed,  while  others  remain  as  green 
and  beautiful  as  ever.  These  are  not  mere  sup- 
positions ;  they  are  realities  which  any  of  my 
hearers  who  feel  interested  (and  who  are  not)  in 
the  preservation  of  our  evergreens,  the  beautify- 
ing of  our  homes,  can  see  for  themselves.  Now, 
I  ask,  if  any  be  winter  killed,  why  are  not  all  ? 
They  are  all  equally  hardy— why  are  they  not 
all  killed  ?  Surely  there  miXst  be  some  predis- 
posing cause.     What  is  it  ? 

In  the  month  of  May,  .1871,  (which  was  the 
summer  before  the  terrible  so  called  winter  kill- 
ing took  place),  my  attention  was  first  attracted 
by  the  yellow  appearance  of  a  very  beautiful 
hemlock  hedge  on  Fernhill ;  this  yellow  appear- 
ed in  large  patches,  some  parts  still  retaining 
their  natural  green.  On  close  examination  I 
found  myriads  of  red  spiders  all  over  these  yel- 
low patches,  and  also  extending  their  depreda- 
tions to  the  green  parts  remaining.  I  was  in 
great  tribulation  ;  I  scarcely  knew  what  to  do  ; 


^64 


THE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJYTELY.    September, 


1873. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MONTHLY. 


^65 


the  hedge  was  gone  almost  too  far  for  recover3\ 
At  first  I  thought  that  I  had  unwittingly  been 
the  cause  of  the  misfortune  myself,  in  having 
placed  a  number  of  plants  from  the  greenhouse 
in  close  proximity  to  the  hedge,  though  not  by 
any  means  touching  it.  But  after  a  little  I  felt 
somewhat  relieved  of  my  responsibility  in  the 
matter  on  finding  that  a  large  number  of  my 
immediate  neighbors  were  suffering  from  the 
same  cause,  and  they  did  not  place  any  plants, 
or  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  had  no 
plants  to  place  near  their  trees.  One  of  them, 
a  gentleman  living  close  by,  cut  off  the  top  of  a 
very  handsome  Norway  and  brought  it  to  me 
for  inspection,  saying:  *'Mr.  :N"ewett,  what  is 
the  matter  with  my  ISTorways  ?  they  are  all 
going  in  this  way.' »  I  took  the  piece  from  his 
hand  ;  there  was  scarcely  a  leaf  left,  and  those 
that  were,  were  merely  held  on  by  the  little 
webs  of  the  red  spider.  A  few  of  these  also 
remained  to  prove  my  position. 
^  Well,  I  took  this  gentleman  to  the  aforemen- 
tioned hedge  (first  having  shown  him  the  cause 
of  the  death  of  his  Norway)  and  showed  it  to 
him,  and  explained  my  treatment.  I  don't 
know  if  he  ever  followed  my  advice  ;  but  one 
thing  I  do  know,  the  great  majority  of  his  trees 
were  then  killed,  and  when  the  following  spring 
arrived  he  was  obliged  to  have  a  great  lot  of  fine 
specimens,  togpther  with  a  very  nice  and  well-es- 
tablished hemlock  hedge  rooted  out  and  cast  into 
the  fire.  Jt  may  be  that  this  gentleman  believes 
in  the  winter-killing  theory  ;  but  I  believe  I  can 
confidently  assert  that  every  tree  he  lost  was 
summer-killed,  or  more  properly,  killed  by  the 
red  spider,  for  I  examined  them  all. 

Every  experienced  gardener,  I  presume,  knows 
from  his  own  observation,  if  not  otherwise,  that 
the  red  spider  thrives  and  multiplies  prodigious- 
ly m  a  hot  and  dry  atmosphere  ;  the  opposite  of 
this  IS  detrimental  to  him  ;  he  cannot  live  in  a 
damp  atmosphere.  Therefore  it  is  not  hard  to 
find  out  a  remedy.  In  my  case  I  had  the  hed-e 
copiously  syringed  three  or  four  times  a  week 
always  m  the  evening,  with  water  from  the  hy- 
drant. I  saved  the  hedge  by  this  treatment. 
It  does  not  look  as  well  as  formerly,  but  I  feel 
quite  confident  I  saved  it  by  the  treatment  I 
have  described. 

But  prevention  is  better  than  cure  ;  and  this 
reminds  me.     I  have  often  asked,  when  seein- 
people  having  iheir  pavements  washed  off  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  hose  with  a  nozzle  attached 
why  they  would  not  have  the  dear  trees  washed 


off  also.  If,  on  the  approach  of  dry  weather 
the  evergreens  get  a  portion  of  the  water  usually 
used  on  the  pavements  sprinkled  evenly  all  over 
them,  say  two  or  three  evenings  in  the  week 
they  will  fully  repay  for  all  the  trouble,  by  the 
bright  green  dress  they'll  wear,  and  I  feel  con- 
fident in  asserting  they  never  will  rust  or  be 
winter  killed. 

If  by  pursuing  the  mode  of  treatment  I  have 
indicated  any  of  my  hearers  save  their  ever- 
greens, I  shall  feel  a  hundredfold  rewarded  for 
the  little  trouble  I  have  taken. 

Mr.  Kewitt  illustrated  his  remarks  by  show- 
ing some  branches  of  hemlock  and  Norway 
spruce  in  various  stages  of  consumption  (so  to 
speak)  by  the  pestilent  red  spider,  presenting 
the  appearance  so  familiar  to  our  hedges. 

[This  address  of  Mr.  Newett's  we  heartily 
commend  to  the  readers  of  the  Gardener's  Mmih- 
ly.  Our  readers  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that 
anything  which  half  kills  a  tree  in  summer,  ren- 
ders it  an  easy  prey  to  cold  in  winter  ;  and  how 
well  one  of  these  great  summer  injuries  is  repre- 
sented by  the  red  spider,  Mr.  :N'ewett  conclusive- 
ly shows.— Ed.] 


<•»•» 


GAS  TAR  IX  GREENHOUSES. 

BY  BURROW  &   WOOD,    FISHKILL,   N.    Y. 

Noticing  in   Monthly  for  May,  an  article  by 
Mr.  W.  Bennett,  Gardener  to  G.  Brewer,  Esq., 
of  Newport,  R.  I.,  *'  On  the  injurious  effects  of 
tar  on  plants  when  used  on  the  stages  of  plant- 
houses,"  we  would  state  that  we  have  put  up  in 
the  last  four  years,  nine  houses,  from  50  to  80 
feet  long,  and  containing  7000  feet  of  staging, 
and  are   filled  the  year  round  with  the  different 
varieties    of    greenhouse,    bedding    and    stove 
plants,   ferns,  &c  ;  also  used   for    forcing    the 
f^trawberry,  and  for  rooting  all  of  our  hardy  and 
tender  cuttings,  and  have  never  seen  the  least 
injurious  effects,  although  in  the  winter  of  '71 
and  '72,  we  finished  up  a  house  80  by  20  feet, 
gave  the  staging  two  heavy  coats  of  tar,  put  on 
two  inches  of  sand,  and  filled  the  house  with 
almost  every  variety  of  bedding  and  hard  wood- 
ed plants.     Also  filled  one  table  4x40  feet  with 
tender  cuttings    inside   of   ten   days  after  the 
taring  was  finished,  and  our  success  was  com- 
plete, although  the  table  was  boxed  up  tight 
with  three  four-inch  pipes  underneath,  with  one 
of  Hitching's  boilers  working  on  them  night  and 
day. 

Mr.  Bennett  does  not  state  what  kind  of  tar 


he  used,  but  presume  it  was  gas  tar.  Ours  was 
not.  Put  it  on  cold,  and  find  it  a  very  great 
saving  to  the  woodwork,  although  it  probably 
would  preserve  the  wood  better  by  applying  it 
hot.  We  think  the  trouble  with  Mr.  Bennett's 
plants  is  the  fumes  from  the  tar  spilt  on  the 
pipes,  or  a  gas  leak  from  his  boiler  or  flue—either 
would  soon  leave  his  plants  barren  and  un- 
healthy. 

INSECT  AGENCY  IN  FLOWERS. 

BY   THOMAS   MEEHAN. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  art  has  not  so  much  to  do 
with  garden  variations  as  is  generally  supposed  ; 
that  variations  in  nature  are  as  great  as  in  hor- 
ticulture ;  and  that  the  florist's  credit  is  chiefly 
due  in  preserving  the  form  which  unassisted 
nature  has  provided  for  him.  It  was  at  one 
time  part  of  the  essential  idea  of  a  species  that 
it  would  reproduce  itself.  If  any  variation  oc- 
curred in  nature,  it  was  taken  for  granted  that 
seedlings  from  this  variation  would  revert  to  the 
parent  form.  But  it  is  now  known  that  the  most 
marked  peculiarity  in  variation  can  be  repro- 
duced in  the  progeny,  if  care  be  taken  to  provide 
against  fertilization  by  another  form.  Thus, 
the  blood-leaved  variety  of  the  English  Beech 
will  produce  blood-leaved  Beeches ;  and,  as  I 
have  myself  found  by  experiment,  the  very  pen- 
dulous Peach  produces  from  seed  i>lants  as  fully 
weeping  as  its  parent ;  and  when  the  double- 
blossomed  Peaches  bear  fruit,  as  they  sometimes 
do,  I  have  it  on  the  authority  of  a  careful  friend, 
that  the  progeny  is  double-blossomed  as  its 
parent  was.  But  I  need  not  refer  particularly 
to  this.  Any  intelligent  florist  of  the  present 
age  can  testify  to  the  fact,  that  varieties  will  re- 
produce themselves  as  fully  as  the  original  forms 
from  whence  they  sprung.  I  do  not  think  botan- 
ists, as  such,  are  so  fully  aware  of  these  facts  as 
florists  are.  They  scarcely  admit  of  much  in- 
herent variation  in  form  in  nature  ;  but  look 
rather  to  hybridization,  and  insect  agency  in 
connection  therewith,  to  account  for  such 
changes  when  they  occur.  In  order  to  avoid  the 
possibility  of  these  agencies  acting  as  the  sole 
factors  in  evolution,  I  have  generally  taken  a 
genus  consisting  of  only  one  species  in  a  given 
locality,  to  show  how  great  is  the  variation  in  ' 
form,  where  no  congenital  species  could  mix 
with  it.  I  have,  for  this,  chosen  Epigtea  repens. 
Chrysanthemum  leucanthemum,  and  the  Quer- 
CU8  neo-mexicana  (Q.  Gunniasonii  ?)  of  the 
Rocky   Mountains.      Another  familiar  plant  to 


illustrate  this  is  the  common  yellow  toad  Flax 
(Linaria  vulgarie).  In  a  handful  of  specimens 
gathered  in  an  afternoon's  walk,  I  have  found 
some  marked  variations,  differing  from  each 
other  almost  as  much  as  species  do.  In  regard 
to  the  spur,  which  is  generally  as  long  as  the 
main  portion  of  the  corolla,  some  had  them  only 
one-third  or  one-fourth  as  long ;  and  in  one  in- 
stance the  plant  bore  flowers  entirely  spurless. 
Dr.  Darrach  informs  me  that  he  believes  he  has, 
in  years  past,  gathered  a  spurless  form,  but  has 
neglected  to  place  it  on  record.  Then  some 
plants  had  flowers  with  spurs  thick,  and.  others 
with  narrow  ones ;  and  while  some  had  spurs 
quite  straight,  others  curved  so  as  to  describe 
nearly  the  half  of  a  circle. 

Now  this  Linaria  is  an  introduced  weed,  with 
nothing  allied  to  it  anywhere  in  the  localities 
where  we  usually  find  it,  with  which  it  can  pos- 
sibly hybridize.  The  variations  must  be  from 
some  natural  law  of  evolution  inherent  in  the 
plant  itself  Varieties  of  course  may  cross-fer- 
tilize as  well  as  species  ;  and  some  of  these  vari- 
ations may  be  owing  to  one  form  fertilizing 
another  form  ;  but  there  can  be  no  avoiding  the 
fact,  that  at  least  the  first  pair  of  varying  forms 
must  have  originated  by  simple  evolution.  Now, 
going  back  to  our  florists'  experience,  the  ques- 
tion occurs,  that  as  varieties  once  evolved  will 
reproduce  themselves  from  seed,  why  does  not 
some  one  of  these  Ijinarias,  which  has  been 
struck  off  into  some  distinct  mould,  reproduce 
itself  from  seed,  and  establish,  in  a  state  of  nat- 
ture,  a  new  race,  as  it  would  do  under  the  flor- 
ist's care  ?  Why,  for  instance,  is  there  not  a 
spurless  race  ?  It  is  scarcely  probable  that  the 
solitary  plant,  found  on  this  afternoon's  walk, 
is  the  only  one  ever  produced.  Dr.  Darrach 's 
recollection  shows  it  is  not  a  solitary  case. 
The  humble  bee  furnishes  the  answer.  They, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see,  are  the  only 
insects  which  visit  these  flowers.  They  seem 
very  fond  of  them,  and  enter  regularly  at  the 
mouth,  and  stretch  down  deep  into  the  spur  for 
the  sweets  gathered  there.  The  pollen  is  collec- 
ted on  the  thorax,  and  of  course  is  carried  to  the 
next  flower.  The  florist,  to  '*fix"  the  form, 
carefully  isolates  the  plant  ;  but  in  the  wild  state 
a  spurless  form  has  no  chance,  the  bee  from  the 
neighboring  flower  of  course  fertilizing  it  with 
the  pollen  from  any  of  the  other  forms.  If  there 
were  no  bees,  no  agency  whatever  for  cross  fer- 
tilization, nothing  but  the  i>lant's  own  pollen  to 
depend  on,  there  would  undoubtedly  be  races  of 


^66 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLY.    September, 


1873. 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S  MOJVTHLY. 


267 


this  Linaria,  which,  again,  by  natural  evolution 
at  times  changing,  would  produce  other  races  ; 
and  in  time  the  difference  might  be  as  great  as 
to  be  even  thought  generic.  But  we  see  that 
by  the  agency  of  the  humble  bee  the  progress  of 
the  newly  evolved  form  is  checked.  The  pollen 
of  the  original  form  is  again  introduced  to  the 
offspring,  and  it  is  brought  back  at  least  half  a 
degree  to  its  starting  point.  Insects,  in  their 
fertilizing  agencies,  are  not  always  abettors,  but 
rather  at  times  conservators  of  advancing  evolu- 
tion. 

[Since  the  above  was  published  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  Academy  of  !N'atural  Sciences,  the  author 
finds  that  Prof.  Asa  Gray  had  previously  pointed 
out  in  Silliman'^s  Journal  that  insects  must  often 
act  as  retarders  of  evolution  —Ed.] 


.^.  —  — 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FEKlSrS. 

BY  THOS.   T.    WEBB,    GARDENER    TO   A.    C.    GIB- 
SON,  ESQ.,    OAK  LANE,   PHIL  A. 

Ferns  are  propagated  either  by  sowing  the 
seeds  or  by  dividing  the  plants  ;  when  the  latter 
mode  is  adopted  it  is  best  to  turn  them  out  of 
pots  and  shake  as  much  soil  from  their  roots  as 
possible.  Such  Ferns  as  have  creeping  rhizomes 
are  readily  propagated  by  dividing  them  so  that 
each  portion  wanted  for  a  plant,  has  one  or  m^re 
fronds  and  some  roots  in  a  healthy  condition. 
They  should  at  once  be  potted  in  pots  as  small  as 
possible,  in  a  compost  of  fibry  loam,  lumpy  peat, 
well  mixed  with  river  sand,  then  placed  in  a  cool 
moist  frame  and  shaded  well  until  established. 
The  spring  season,  just  when  about  to  start 
into  growth  is  the  best  time  to  propagate  them, 
although  it  may,  with  many  sorts  be  done  safely 
with  a  little  extra  care  at  any  time.  Some  sorts 
produce  miniature  plants  on  their  fronds.  These 
should  be  pegged  down  in  a  pot  filled  with  the 
proper  soil  and  placed  near  to  the  parent  plant 
so  that  the  frond  to  be  propagated  from  will 
remain  attached  to  it.  When  they  have  formed 
roots  and  pushed  up  new  fronds,  they  can  be 
cut  from  the  parent  plant  and  potted  in  two  or 
three  inch  pots,  watered  overhead,  and  put  in  a 
warm  shady  place.  Some  kinds  form  young 
plants  so  strong  that  they  can  at  once^  be  re- 
moved from  the  parent  plant  and  potted.  The 
most  interesting  mode  of  propagation  is  by  the 
seed.  Most  kinds  will  germinate  in  a  moderate 
heat,  and  sufficient  moisture. 

Ferns  from  cold  climates  will  require  only  a 


cold  close  frame  or  pit,  with  protection  from 
frost.  Species  from  temperate  regions  will  do 
well  in  an  ordinary  greenhouse,  and  the  tropical 
species  in  a  hothouse.  The  most  convenient  and 
best  way  to  raise  seedlings  I  find  is  to  fill  some 
shallow  pans  with  broken  crocks  or  small  pieces 
of  sandstone  ;  then  with  a  compost  of  turfy  peat 
soil,  mellow  loam,  spagnum  moss  cut  up  short, 
and  sandstone  broken  to  the  size  of  peas,  well 
mixed  and  not  pressed  too  firmly  in  the  pans ; 
then  take  a  frond  of  the  sort  to  be  propagated 
and  brush  over  a  sheet  of  paper,  (white  is  best) 
the  dust-like  seed  to  be  thinly  scattered  over  the 
soil ;  then  cover  with  a  flat  piece  of  glass,  fitting 
to  the  pans,  placing  them  in  larger  pans  and  these 
fill  with  water  ;  then  place  them  in  a  cold  frame 
in  the  greenhouse  or  hothouse,  as  may  best  suit 
the  sorts.  A  warm  shady  part  of  the  hothouse 
will,  however,  be  the  best  place  for  many  of  the 
exotic  varieties.  As  soon  as  the  seeds  commence 
to  germinate,  small  green  scales  will  appear  on 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  Water  liberally  and  keep 
the  plants  covered  with  the  glasses  until  two  or 
more  fronds  show  themselves  ;  then  the  glasses 
must  be  tilted  on  one  side  for  a  short  time  every 
day,  and  gradually  removed  altogether.  After 
two  or  three  weeks  they  may  be  taken  up  and 
carefully  separated  and  potted  singly  in  small 
pots.  They  should  then  be  placed  under  hand- 
glasses until  established. 

All  ferns  require  a  light  open  soil.  The  best 
I  find  for  either  hothouse  or  greenhouse  varieties 
is  fibrous  sandy  peat  two  parts— one  part  of 
turfy  loam,  leaf  mould  and  plenty  of  sand. 
Green  Fly  and  Thrip  will  sometimes  appear  on 
them.  Fumigating  with  tobacco  will  extermi- 
nate the  former ;  the  latter,  however,  will  not 
be  got  rid  of  quite  so  readily,  and  care  must  be 
taken  that  the  fronds  do  not  get  injured  during 
the  operation,  more  particularly  such  as  the  old 
favorite  Adiantum  cuneatum,  whose  fine  young 
fronds  are  liable  to  be  injured  by  fumigation. 
To  be  successful  in  the  cultivation  of  these  favor- 
ites, a  humid  atmosphere  must  at  all  times  du- 
ring the  growing  season  be  maintained.  I  free- 
ly syringe  two  or  three  times  daily,  and  well 
sprinkle  the  floor  and  stands.  The  Gymnogram- 
ma  class  must  never  be  watered  overhead  ;  they 
will  do  best  in  a  moist  high  temperature,  du- 
ring the  growing  season  from  March  till  the  lat- 
ter part  of  October,  they  should  then  be  removed 
to  the  warmest  and  dryest  part  of  the  hothouse, 
and  rather  sparingly  watered  during  the  winter 
months.    Small  plants  of  the  gold  and  silver  va- 


rieties do  best  placed  upon  shelves  during  those 
months,  taking  care  to  keep  the  fronds  perfectly 
dry. 

Ferns  of  most  kinds  do  much  better  standing 
upon  a  somewhat  moist  bottom  of  gravel,  spent 
bark  or  ashes.     In  summer  allow  a  free  circula- 
tion of  air,  and  aim  at  keeping  the  temperature 
low  and  as  much  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  as 
possible.     Sunshine  should  never  he  allowed  on 
the  growing    plants.      Ferns    in    pots    should 
always  be  well  drained  to  about  one-fourth  of 
their  depth,  then  a  thin  layer  of  spagnum  moss, 
then  lay  a  little  of  the  prepared  soil  upon  the 
moss ;  lay  out  the  roots  carefully,  filling  in  the 
soil  and  work  well  among  the  roots  untiUhe  pot 
is  filled  within  one  inch  of  the  top,  taking  care 
that  the  soil  is  neither  too  wet  or  too  dry.  ^From 
the  end  of  March  until  May  the  general  potting 
up  may  be  done.    Small  plants  in  a  vigorous 
growing  state,  may  require  another  shift"about 
the  end  of  July.     If  the  soil  is  not  sour,  and  the 
pot  very  full  of  roots,  do  not  re-pot,  for  the  less 
the  roots  of  ferns  are  disturbed  the  better.     Dry- 
ness at  the  roots  is  death  to  many  of  the  fronds  if 
not  to  the  entire  plant,  and  if  once  allowed  to 
droop  from  want  of  water,  very  few  of  them  will 
ever  recover  their  vigor.     If  on  the  other  hand  a 
continuation  of  dull,   damp  weather  prevails, 
they  will,  of  course,  not  require  so  much  water 
to  the  roots  or  syringing  the  fronds.    Soft,  or  at 
least  water  somewhat  aerated,  should  always  be 
used,  taking  care  that  only  very  clear  water  is 
used  for  syringing,  or  the  plants  will  soon  have 
a  dirty  appearance.     If  any  sign  of  mouldiness 
appears,  give  more  air  and  less  moisture  in  the 
atmosphere  till  that  is  checked. 

The  following  are  a  few  good  free-growing 
greenhouse  ferns  that  can  be  easily  managed  by 
any  lady  or  gentleman  not  keeping  a  profession- 
al gardener  :  Adiantum  cuneatum,  Brasiliense, 
assimile,  formosum,  pubescens,  setulosum,  ca- 
pillus  veneris,  Alsophila  australis,  a  very  fine 
tree  fern  of  rapid  growth  ;  Asplenium  bulbife- 
rum  ;  Cibotium  regale,  a  handsome  tree  fern  ; 
Cyathea  medularis,  also  a  tree  fern  ;  Cyrtomium 
falcatum,  Davalliacanariensis,  hare's  foot  fern  ; 
bullata,  squirrel's  foot  fern  ;  pyxidata,  Doodia 
aspera,  cordata,  Lastrea  patens,  Lastrea  Siebol- 
dii,  Lomaria  Gibba,  tree  fern  ;  Lomaria  Gibba 
crispa,  Lygodium  scandens,  climbing  fern  ; 
Nephrodium  molle,  Nephrodium  molle  coryar- 
biferum,  Nepbrolepsis  exaltata,  a  very  fine 
graceful  growing  fern,  good  for  pot  specimens  or 
basket  culture  ;  Nephobolus  lingua,  Oncychium 


japonicum,  Polypodium  cambricum,  Phlibodi- 
um  aureum,  a  strong  grower ;  Pteris  argyrea, 
cretica  albo  lineata,  geranifolia,  hastata,  serru- 
lata,  serrulata  cristata,  tremula,  fine  specimen 
fern  ;  Woodwardia  radicans,  to  which  might  be 
added  a  few  Lycopodiums,  such  as  Selaginella 
denticulata,  Wildenovii,  densa,  and  involvens. 
There  are  a  host  of  others,  but  these  would  be  a 
good  start  in  fern  culture  for  a  beginner  to  grow 
well. 

An  out  door  fernery  could  be  made  to  occupy 
any  dark   shady   nook   or  corner,    however   ill 
adapted   for  the  growth  of  flowers  or  shrubs. 
Ferns  could  be  made  to  luxuriate  with  little  ex- 
pense or  trouble  if  under  large  trees,  or  to  hide 
unsightly  fences,  walls,  or  other  objects,  nothing 
will  suit  so  well  as  to  place  a  few  loads  of  soil 
and  rubbish  of  almost  any  description,  where 
the  intended  rockery  is  to  be  made,  then  take 
pieces  of  natural  rock  of  any  description,  or  in 
lieu,  stumps  of  trees,  brick  rubbish,  or  cinders 
from  furnaces,  and  place  in  and  upon  the  soil, 
and  made  to  have  a  pleasing  effect,  and  to  ap- 
pear as  natural  as  possible.     If  near  water,  so 
much   the   better,  the  ferns   would   grow  finer 
assisted  by  the  evaporation,  giving  the  moisture 
so  necessary  to  the  well  growing  of  them  ;  they 
would  of  course  be  firmly  planted  in  the  crevices 
between  the  pieces  of  rock  or  stumps.     If  a  little 
proper  fern  soil  specified  above  could  be  used  in 
the  planting,  so  much  the  better  for  the  plants- 
it  would  be  an  assistance  at  starting.     A  few 
Geraniums,  Fuchsias,  Sedums,  Saxifragas,  Ver- 
benas, Vincas,  and  other  subjects  could  also  be 
introduced  amongst  the  ferns  in  some  situations, 
and  make  a  lively  contrast  with  the  green  of  the 
others. 


<•»•» 


TREES  INJURED  BY  LAST  WINTER. 

BY      E.     MANNING,     HARRISBURG,     FRANKLIN 

COUNTY,    OHIO. 

Another  winter  is  past  and  another  summer 
has  come,  and  as  the  past  winter  has  been  the 
hardest  in  this  locality  since  the  hard  ones  of 
'55  and  '56,  I  have  taken  my  pen  in  hand  to  tell 
you  of  its  effects  on  trees  and  shrubs  on  my 
lawn  : 

Pinus  Austriaca,  strobus,  sylvestris,  laricio 
and  Pyrenaica,  all  uninjured.  Newer  varieties, 
P.  excelsa,  cembra,  and  Benthamiana  also  un- 
injured. Of  the  Firs,  Picea  balsamea,  unin- 
jured ;  pectinata,  smartly  injured ;  picta,  Par- 
sonsiana,  casiocarpa,  uninjured ;  Nordmania- 
na,  slightly  browned  and  half  the  buds  or  more 


:t- 


268 


TEE    OABDEJVER'S   MOJSTTHLY.     September, 


187S. 


TEE    GARDEJVEB'S   MOJVTELY. 


269 


are  injured  so  as  not  to  grow—the  top  buds  on 
the  main  leaders  iiave  not  yet  started  ;  nobilis 
also  somewhat  injured ;  grandis  somewhat 
browned,  otherwise  uninjured  ;  pinsapo,  con- 
siderably injured. 

Abies  excelsa,  nigra,  coerulea,  Whitraanina, 
archangelica,  Menziesii,  uninjured  ;  alba,  all 
uninjured  ;  morinda,  slightly  injured  ;  oriental- 
is,  slightly  browned,  otherwise  uninjured  ;  Juni- 
perus  Virginiana,  suecea,  glauca,  Japan,  glau- 
ca  Virginiana,  variegata,  squamata,  alpina,  all 
uninjured  ;  excelsa,  considerably,  but  not  fatally 
injured,  also  oblonga  pendula,  Mahonia  Japoni- 
ca,  and  intermediates,  killed  to  the  ground  ; 
Yuccas,  two  varieties,  uninjured  ;  Rhododen- 
drons, all  fatally  injured. 

Buxus,  upright,  killed  ;  aurea,  injured  ;  lance 
leaved,  injured  ;  Fortuni,  killed  ;  latifolia  and 
arborescens,  slightly  injured  on  upland— killed 
on  lowland  ;  Cephalotaxus  Fortuni,  slightly  in- 
jured ;  Taxus  aurea  and  adpressa,  both  killed  ; 
Th'  ja  aurea,  Siberian  and  Rosedale,  all  unin- 
jured. Cupressus  Lawsoniana,  a  tree  of  fifteen 
feet  high,  somewhat  injured  on  upland— a  small 
one  on  lowland  killed. 

Tornya  nucifera,  fatally  injured  ;  Retinospo- 
ra  aurea,  a  small  plant  killed  ;  Magnolia  acumi- 
nata, auriculata,  glauca,  tripetala,  all  uninjured  ; 
Alexandrina,  conspicua,  superba,  Soulangeana, 
longifolia,  Lenn^,  triumphans,  albo  spectabilis, 
gracilis,  purpurea,  all  had  their  flower  buds 
partly  killed  ;  Salisburia  adlantifolia  and  lacini- 
ata  macrophylla,  uninjured ;  Liriodendron  or 
tulip  tree  uninjured.  Also  uninjured,  TiHa  ar- 
gentea,  Virgilia,  Populus  alba,  BetuK  laciniat^, 
pendula,  alba,  Alnus  imperialis  laciniata,  Glyp- 
tostrobus  sinensis,  Sorbus  or  Mountain  Ash, 
Acer  platanoides,  laciniata  or  Eagle's  claw, 
Taxodium  distichum,  Catalpa  syringafolia,  Ne- 
gunda  violacca,  Salix  "  Kilmarnock  Weeping," 
Fraxinus  aucuboefolia.  Injured— CatalpaKoemp- 
feri,  Laburnum  Killed— Fraxinus  lentiocifolia 
pendula,  ornus,  Europoeus,  macrophylla. 

Shrubs  uninjured-  Exochordia  grandiflora, 
Rhus  cotinus,  Eleagnus  angustifolius,  Loniceras 
in  varieties,  Pyrus  aria  flowering  Flawthorns. 
Slightly  injured -Wiegelias  of  different  varieties. 
Viburnum  plicatum,  macrocephalum,  Spirea 
prunifolia  and  Reeves! i  ;  Deutzia,  double  flower- 
ing, while  and  purple  killed  to  the  ground  ;  also 
Forsythia  viridissima. 

Of  Vines  — Hignonia  radicans,  slightly  in- 
jured ;  grandiflora  and  Thunbergia,  badly  in- 
jured ;    Atupelopsis    hxleracea,   uuinjured  ;    bi- 


pinnata,  killed  to  the  ground ;  Lonicera  Halli- 
ana  and  flexuosa  slightly  injured  ;  Belgica, 
killed;  Peripoca  grseca  uninjured. 

There  are  many  more  of  the  commoner  varie- 
ties I  have  omitted  to  mention,  which  are  most- 
ly uninjured.  Nearly  all  of  my  evergreen  and 
deciduous  trees  were  mulched,  or  I  think  the 
destruction  would  have  been  worse. 
June  lUh,  1873. 


HOW  TO  GROW  EVERGREENS  FROM 

SEED. 

BY  J.    C.    WOOD,   FISHKILL,   N.    Y. 

[Continued.) 
The  second  year  I  find  but  little  to  do  except 
to  keep  them  clear  of  weeds  by  an  occasional 
hand  weeding  ;  but  we  find  this  takes  but  little 
time  where   beds   have  been   kept    thoroughly 
clean  the  first  season  after   sowing.      I  never 
shade  my  seedlings  the  second  season — find  they 
are  sufficiently  hardy  to  stand  the  sun  without 
any  further  protection.     Tn  spring  of  third  sea- 
son, usually  as  soon  as  I  can  get  to  it,  which  is 
with  me  from  first  of  May  to  first  of  June,  or  as 
soon  as  I  can  get  my  deciduous  stock  out  of  the 
way,  I  transplant  into  beds  five  feet  wide,  and 
any  desired  length,  according  to  plat  intended 
for  the  purpose ;  but  before  so  doing,  the  ground 
receives  a  thorough  preparation  about  as  fol- 
lows :     In  the  first  place  the  piece  receives  a 
very  thorough  plowing  the  fall  previous,  and  as 
soon  as  the  ground  gets  in  good  working  order  in 
the  spring,  I  apply  a  very  nice  dressing  of  tho- 
roughly rotted  manure,  prepared  a  year  ahead 
if  possible,    after    which    it    receives    another 
thorough  plowing  and  harrowing,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  leave  it  in  very  fine  condition.      Then 
I  proceed  to  lay  out  my  plat  in  the  following 
way  :    Commencing  at  one  side,  allov/ing  eight- 
teen  inches  for  path  ;  then  measure  two  and  a 
half  feet ;  then  stick  up  laths,  one  at  each  end  of 
plat;  then  again  measure  six  and  a  half  feet,  and 
again    place  laths  at  each  end  as  before,  and 
continuing  on  in  the  same  way  measuring  six 
and  a  half  feet  and  planting  laths  until  I  have 
as  many  beds  as  I  desire,  after  which,  with  the 
heavy  plow,  again  I  turn  a  back  furrow  up  to 
each  row  of  laths,  until  the  dead   furrow  comes 
just  about  mid-way  between  them— usually  four 
furrows  on  each  side  will  answer  ;  then  I  rake 
from  centre  each  way  to  dead  furrow  until  the 
ground  is  level  again.     The  raking,  I  find,  is  not 
a  very  expensive  piece  of  work,  as  the  ground  is 


very  mellow  and  loose,  and  I  use  the  common 
wooden  hay  rake  for  the  purpose,  as  it  works 
more  readily  through  the  soil,  and  the  work  can 
be  performed  much  faster  than  with  the  iron 
rake,  and  good  enough  for  the  purpose.     Now 
my  ground  being  all  ready,  I  stretch  my  line  the 
whole  length  of  plat,  leaving  eighteen  inches  for 
path,  then  tighten  up  firmly,  for  I  like  to  have 
the  sides  of  my  beds  straight,  then  I  lay  my 
board  down  directly  across  one  end  of  the  bed, 
and  at  right  angle  with  the  line  ;  bring  an  end 
which  is  sawed  square    right  along  the  line. 
Here  let  me  add,  the  board  I  use  to  plant  most 
kin'ls  of  stock  by  is  just  five  feet  long  and  seven 
inches  wide,  sawed  square  at  both  ends.     I  find 
this  a  convenient  length,  and  about  the  right 
width  for  most  kinds  of  plants      After  the  board 
is  placed  in  position,  a  boy  is  placed  at  each  end, 
each  armed  with  a  light  spade.    Each  boy  brings 
his  spade  down  on  the  board  with  two  or  three 
good  sharp  raps,  after  which  they  proceed  to 
open  \  perpendicular  trench  right  alon^x  the  edf^e 
of  board,  four  or  five  inches  deep,  according  to 
size  of  plants  intended  to  be  planted,  after  which 
each  boy  proceeds  to  plant. 

The  plants  having  previously  been  prepared 
in  the  packing  sheds  by  sorting,  sizeing  and  pru- 
ning—the latter  pretty  thoroughly,   especially 
the  tops,  as  I  find  my  success  is  very  much  in 
creased  by  a  pretty  severe  shortening  in  of  top 
and  side  shoots,  and  at  the  same  time  helps  to 
improve  the    plants   by   making  them   branch 
more  thick  and  stocky.     After  thus  prepared, 
they  are  packed  very  nicely  in  small  boxes,  such 
as  glass  or  soap  boxes,  and  thoroughly  wet  and 
covered  up  with  some  old  cloth  or  mats,  then 
each  gang  of  two  boys  is  thus  provided  each 
with  a  box  of  plants,  which  we  are  very  particu- 
lar to  have  kept  covered  up  except  when  they 
are  getting  out  a  handful  for  planting,  the  size 
of  which    is  regulated  according  to    weather. 
When  warm  and  dry,  we  take  out  only  a  small 
handful  at  a   time  ;  when  moist   more.    Com- 
mencing at  each  end  of  board,  the  planters  pro- 
ceed by  holding  one  plant  in  one  hand  and  haul- 
ing just  enough  soil  with  the  other  to  cover  the 
roots,  and  pressed  down  firmly  at  the  same  time 
until  the  middle  of  board  is  reached,  or  until  the 
planters  meet.     The  distance  apart  is  regulated 
somewhat  according  to  size  and  kinds  of  stock 
I  am  handling— usually  from  thirty  to  fifty  in  a 
row.     Spruce,  Norway,  two  year  seedlings,  thir- 
ty-five to  forty  plants  ;  Arborvitse,  American, 
fiay  forty  to  fifty  ;  the  stronger  growing  Pines, 


thirty  to  thirty-five  plants.  After  the  first  row 
is  planted,  the  soil  is  hauled  back  to  its  place 
and  around  the  plants  until  the  ground  is  level 
again.  Then  we  use  a  duplicate  border,  just  the 
same  as  the  first  one,  which  is  planted  right 
down  in  part  of  the  row  just  planted,  the  edge 
being  brought  up  snug  to  it,  being  particular  to 
bring  one  square  end  right  along  the  line  every 
time,  and  again  it  is  settled  into  the  ground  by 
a  few  sharp  raps  with  the  spade  as  before,  and 
another  trench  is  opened  and  planted.  Then 
the  first  board  is  taken  up  and  moved  just 
ahead  of  the  second,  and  so  on  as  the  operation 
proceeds. 

The  object  in  using  two  instead  of  one  board 
is,  where  T  use  but  one  board  in  forming  the 
ground  after  planting  a  row,  the  plants  are  all 
driven  to  one  side,  but  where  two  boards  are 
used,  the  plants  all  remain  perpendicular  in  their 
places.     I  place  a  good  deal  of  importance  on 
packing  the  ground  very  firmly,  particularly  if 
the  ground  is  getting  a  little  dry.     If  wet,  of 
course  I  do  not  pack  so  hard.     I  use  boys  from 
14  to  17  years  old  altogether  fur  this  kind  of 
work.     I  find  they  can  perform  the  operation 
just  about  as  fiist  as  men,  and  by  studied  watch- 
ing just  as  good,  whereas  their  wages  is  only 
about  half  as  much,  and  most  boys  will  learn  it 
very  quick -a  half-day  is  sufficient  to  get  him  so 
he  can  plant  quite  as  wer  and  nearly  as  fast  as 
a  more  experienced  hand.     I  consider  for  two 
boys  that  have  had  a  little  experience,  10,000 
plants  a  day's  work.     However,  there  is  a  dif- 
ference in  boys,  some  can  adapt  themselves  to  it 
much  quicker  than  others,  and  at  the  same  time 
plant   much  faster.     Some  of  my  more  experi- 
enced hands  will  plant  15  000  in  a  day,  and  do 
it  well  -that  is  the  gang  of  two  boys,  7500  each. 
I  find  wherfe  I  am  particular  in  handling,  that  in 
not  allowing  the  plants  to  dry,  my  loss  is  very 
small,  often  not  more  than  one  per  cent.     Still 
the  season  of  1873  is  an  exception,  as  we  had  no 
rain  from   middle  of  April  to  middle  of  July. 
Frequently  the  wind  almost  blew  a  gale  from 
West  and  Southwest,  with  bright  sun  —mercury 
often   standing  90'    in    the    shade,    which,    of 
course,  made  it  almost  impossible  to  keep  life  in 
anything.     My  loss  was  quite  heavy— say  twen- 
ty-five per  cent.;  and  those  that  did  live  are 
making  only  about  half  as  much  growth  as  they 
would  have  done  had  they  had  sufli  ;ient  moist- 
ure. 

With  the  exception  of  Larch  and  some  of  the 
stronger  kinds  of  deciduous  trees,  I  leave  my 


i: 


Y 


^70 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLY.    September 


1873. 


THE   GARDE JVER'S  MOA'-TffLY. 


271 


plants  in  these  seed  beds  two  years,  when  they 
are  large  enough  for  planting  in  nursery  rows. 
In  addition  to  spring  planting,  I  have  some  sea- 
sons planted  quite  extensively  the  last  week  in 
August  and  the  first  two  weeks  of  September, 
and  if  the  weather  is  moist  and  cool,  find  it  quite 
as  safe  as  spring  planting,  except  in  the  case  of 
very  small  plants,  which  usually  get  throwed 
out  most  too  much  in  spring  with  the  frost,  hav- 
ing but  little  root  to  hold  them  in.  AH  small 
plants,  when  planted  in  the  fall,  should  be  cover- 
ed in  some  way  the  first  winter,  either  with 
leaves,  evergreen  boughs,  or  lath  shades,  so  as 
to  keep  the  ground  frozen  until  the  weather  be- 
comes settled  in  the  spring. 


RAISIKG  SEEDLINGS  OF  TREES, 
FRUITS,  &c. 

BY  J.   M. 

In  your  June  number,  **  Horto,"  referring  to 
an  article  of  mine  headed  as  above  in  the  Sep- 
tember number  for  1871,  wishes  me  to  say  how 
to  obviate  the  seedlings  being  thrown  out  by 
frost  the  first  winter.  Wherever  seedlings  are 
exposed  to  freezing  and  thawing  the  first  winter, 
or  any  time  before  the  roots  are  lengthy,  the 
most  of  them  will  be  out  of  the  ground  in  the 
spring  " high  and  dry."  They  must  be  kept  by 
some  means  from  thawing  after  once  frozen. 
Mere  shade  in  winter  is  not  enough.  There 
must  be  a  suflicient  thickness  of  material  over 
them  to  keep  them  frozen  solid  contiuually  till 
spring,  enough  to  prevent  two  or  three  days  of 
warmth  which  we  sometimes  get  in  winter,  from 
thawing  them  out.  A  thick  litter  of  leaves  with 
some  heavier  material  on  the  top  is  first  rate. 
"Horto  "  says  :  "  mere  covering  with  litter  on 
the  approach  of  the  frost  does  not  seem  to  be  ef- 
fectual.'' He  probably  has  made  the  covering 
too  light,  and  if  he  will  "pile  it  on"  thicker 
another  season  I  think  he  will  successfully  win- 
ter them.  I  am  glad  that  my  former  article  was 
of  use  to  him,  and  propose  before  the  next  seed 
sowing  time  comes  to  revise  somewhat  what  I 
then  wrote,  and  give  the  result  of  what  I  have 
since  learned  on  the  subject. 


<•■»> 


EDITORIAL  KOTES. 

FOREIGN. 

Stigmaphyllon  ciliatum.  This  is  a  free  erowinff 
and  abundant  flowering  plant,  first  introduced  to 
our  collections  towards  the  end  of  of  the  last  centu- 
ry,  yet  seldom  to  be  found  occupying  the  position 


it  deserves.  Its  blooms  are  bright  orange  yellow 
produced  in  large  umbels,  whilst  the  cordate  leaves 
are  light  green,  and  furnished  at  the  edges  with 
numerous  eyelash-like  hairs.  The  flowers,  which 
at  first  sight  resemble  Orchid  blooms,  are  produced 
for  many  months  in  succession.  It  should  be  pot- 
ted in  a  mixture  of  about  two  parts  loam,  one  part 
peat  and  leaf  mould,  and  one  part  sand.  Native  of 
Brazil. 

We  find  the  above  in  the  Journal  of  Horficul- 
ture,  and  copy  it  in  order  to  remind  our  readers 
of  what  we  said  of  it  a  couple  of  years  ago,  that 
it  is  one  of  the  best  possible  plants  for  out-door 
gardening  in  America.  It  suits  our  hot  climate 
and  commences  to  flower  in  June,  continuing 
till  frost.  Any  florist  who  would  take  hold  of 
it,  and  push  it,  would  certainly  give  satisfaction 
to  his  customers,  and  bring  in  a  good  profit  to 
himself. 

Why  Seed  Grows  so  easily  sometimes  and  in 
some  countries,  is  yet  a  mystery.  This  is  illus- 
trated by  a -discussion  going  on  in  an  English 
magazine  between  our  Mr.  Downing  and  the 
gardener  at  Fulton  Park.  Mr.  D.  had  said  that 
the  seeds  of  the  Buffalo  Berry  sown  in  spring 
will  not  grow  till  spring  following.  Mr.  Muir, 
of  Oulton,  says  Mr.  Downing  is  wrong— his 
seeds  sown  in  spring  growing  soon  after.  He 
says,  however,  his  seeds  grew  at  once,  because 
he  preserved  the  dried  pulp  on  th'^m  ;  but  we  in 
America  know  that  the  best  success  follows 
cleaned  seeds  of  trees  as  a  general  rule.  The 
only  ascertained  facts  are  that  seeds  want  dark- 
ness, air,  and  moisture  to  germinate  well.  These 
conditions  are  better  secured  by  an  English  cli- 
mate than  an  American,  and  hence  a  seed  that 
takes  a  season  to  sprout  here,  may  come  up  at 
once  there. 

Superfntation.  In  reference  to  Mr.  Arnold's 
interesting  paper  of  last  year,  the  following  from 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture  will  have  an  interest. 
It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  there  must 
have  been  two  distinct  fertilizations  in  this  pear 
case,  as  there  certainly  was  in  Mr.  Arnold's 
corn  experiment.  If  a  pear  were  carefully  fer- 
tilized with  one  flower,  and  all  contact  with 
other  pollen  prevented,  still  there  would  be  no 
two  fruits  alike  among  the  seedlings.  At  least 
it  has  been  found  so  in  other  things,  and  we  in- 
fer it  would  also  be  the  case  here  : 

**  Whilst  on  the  subject  of  Pears,  I  may  mention 
what  seems  to  me  to  be  a  subject  of  some  interest 
as  touching  on  seminal  varieties.  Some  fifteen 
years  since  I  noticed  a  fruit  on  a  tree  of  the  Seckle 
of  three  or  four  times  the  usual  size,  and  I  saved  the 
pips,  and  raised  two  trees,  which  have  now  been 
bearing  two  or  three  years.     The  interesting  point 


to  which  I  wish  to   call  your  attention    is,   that 
although  both  these  trees  were  raised  from  the  same 
fruit,  they  are  completely  difierent  from  each  other 
in  flavor  and  appearance.     One  is  an  enlarged  Sec- 
kle rather  coarse  in  flesh,  but  improves  every  year 
over  the  quality  of  the  preceding  one,  and  this  year  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  speak  of  its  quality  double-worked 
on  Quince, and  grown  in  the  orchard  house.   Hitherto 
it  has  only  been  grown  as  a  standard  in  a  locality 
where  the  original  Seckle  has  never  been  anything 
better  or  larger  than  a  small  Crab.     The  other  Petfr 
is  a  medium-sized  melting  Pear  of  high  flavor,  ripe 
in  October,  having  no  resemblance  to  the  Seckle 
whatever.     The  tree  from  which  these  two   were 
raised  grew  in   close  proximity  to  a    Beurre    de 
Ranee  ;  but  as  other  Pear  trees  were  growing  on 
the  same  wall,  the  blossom  from  which  the  fruit 
came  may  have  been   fertilized  by  the  bees  from 
some  other  tree.     The  singular  thing,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  is  that  there  must  have  been  two  distinct  fertili- 
zations in  the  same  blossom,  as  there  is  no  resem- 
blance in  the  leaf,  mode  of  growth,  appearance  and 
quality  of  fruit,  or  in  anything  else  between  these 
two  fruits  raised  from  the  same  Pear." 

Great  Age  of  a  Botanist.  The  Unitarian 
Congregation  of  Lowescroft  in  England,  gave  a 
party  recently  to  Lady  Smith,  on  the  occasion 
of  her  hundredth  birthday.  Like  her  celebrated 
husband.  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  his  widow 
is  a  botanist  of  considerable  reputation. 

Value  of  Orchidaceous  Plants.  The  price  our 
English  friends  are  willing  to  pay  for  beautiful 
flowers,  are  indicated  in  the  following  extract 
from  the  Garden : 

**  Of  Vanda  cserulescens,  a  rare  and  beautiful  blue- 
flowered  kind,  a  considerable  importation  from  Bur- 
mah  was  sold  the  other  day  at  Stevens'-  A  mass 
of  it,  consisting  of  eleven  strong  plants,  realized 
£20.  Of  Vanda  Denisoniana,  another  rare  species 
from  the  same  district,  six  plants  fetched  £11,  and 
Dendrobium  thyrsiflorum,  a  fine  showy  species, 
fetched  £13  13s.  The  whole  amount  realized  for 
443  lots  was  a  little  over  £889." 

The  Hardiest  of  the  Barer  Coniferce.  During 
the  past  quarter  of  a  century  many  new  conifer- 
ous plants  have  been  introduced  into  England, 
{vnd  by  this  time  they  are  enabled  to  judge  what 
may  be  classed  among  the  generally  hardy. 
The  Scottish  Arboricultural  Society  has  recent- 
ly published  a  list  of  such,  which  we  reproduce 
here,  because  it  corresponds  very  much  with 
American  experience.  All  the  alteration  we 
should  make  would  be  to  carry  the  remarks  in 
connection  with  the  Deodar  Cedar  to  most  of  the 
others.  We  find  most  young  evergreens  in  the 
Middle  States,  need  shelter  while  young  : 

Name  of  Species.  Remarks. 

Wellingtonla  glgantea,  Universally  vigorous. 

Thnjopsis  borealis,  Very  hardy. 

dolobrata,  Not  in  general  cultivation 

Thuja  glgantea,  Very  universally  hardy 

Lobbll,  Not  so  generally  grown 


Cupressus  Lawsoniana, 
"        Lambertiana, 


<i 


Goveniana, 
Cedrus  Deodara, 

"  "       robusta, 

Llbanl, 


'*        atlantica, 
Abies  Douglasii, 

"      orientalls, 
"      Menziesli, 

•*      obovata, 
*•      Mertensiana, 
Picea  nobilis, 
"     cephalonica, 

•'     Pinsapo, 

••     bracteata, 


Nordraanniana, 

Balsamea, 

canadensis, 

Fraseri, 

grandis, 

Pichta, 

Pindrow, 

religlosa, 


<t 


rubra, 
"Webbiana, 
Pinus  Laricio, 


II 


II 
11 

(I 
II 
(i 


excelsa, 
Lambertiana, 

monticola, 
ponderosa, 
insignis, 


The  hardiest  of  the  Cupres» 

BUS  family 
Sometimes  tarnished   by 

winds 
Generally  stands  well 
Requires  care  when  young 
Better    habit  and   leadw 

than  above-named  var. 
More  adapted  for  England 
than  for  Scotland;  thrives 
well  in  Ireland. 
Hardy 

Worthy  of  extended  culti- 
vation. 

Ditto 

Sometimes   rather  defici- 
ent in  Scotland 
Not  generally  grown         ♦ 
Hardy 

Hardy  in  most  situations 
Sometimes    suffers    from 

spring  frost 
Sometimes    browned    in 

spring 
Sometimes   suffers    from 

spring  frost 
Hardy  in  most  places 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Ditto 
Sometimes  injured   by 

spring  frosts 
Hardy 
Ditto 
Worthy  of  general  cultiva 
tion,  and  where  rabbits 
abound. 
Sometimes  doubtful 
Peculiar  as  to  soil  and  dis- 
trict 
Hardy 
Ditto 
Sometimes  suffers  from 


i( 


II 


II 


rlgida 
pyrenaica, 
austriaca, 
Sabiniana, 
Taeda, 
Taxodium  serapervlrens 


i( 
II 
(I 


frost 
maritima  or  Pinaster,  Valuable  for  coast  planting 
taurica,  Hardy 

Cembra,  Very  hardy 

uncinataor  Mugho       Hardy 

Ditto 
Very  hardy 

Ditto 
Usually  hardy 
Ditto 

Browned  by  spring  winds 
In  some  situations,  but 
thriving  in  many  places 
The  Iris.  It  is  the  fate  of  many  good  plants 
to  get  set  aside  for  novelties  not  near  as  good. 
The  Iris  has  been  one  of  these  unfortunates. 
But  it  is  growing  again  into  favor  in  England. 
The  varieties  are  very  numerous,  and  there  is  no 
flower  capable  of  giving  more  interest  than  a 
collection  of  these.  They  flower  as  the  Hyacinth 
goes  out,  and  are  excellent  plants  to  go  together 
with  them. 


27^ 


TUM   GARBEJfER'S   MOJVTBLY.    September, 


1873. 


Best  Hardy  Spring  Flowers.  In  America 
spring  gardeniDg  has  much  more  attractions 
than  summer.  The  following  list  of  spring 
blooming  plants  is  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
'Garden.  Most  of  them  can  be  had  in  American 
nurseries : 


Adonis 

vernalis 
Allium 

neapolitanum 

paradoxum 
Alyssum 

alpestre 
,    montanum 

saxatile 
Anchusa 

sempervirens 
Androsace  in  var. 
Anemone 

alpina 

apennina 

coronaria 

fulgens 

memorosa 

palmata 

patens 

Pulsatilla 

ranunculoides 

stellata 

sulphurea 

sylvestris 

trifoliata 

vernalis 
Antennaria 

dioica 
Arabis 

albida 

arenosa 

blepharophylla 

petrsea 

procurrens 

purpurea 
Arenaria 

verna 
Armeria 

vulgaris 
Asperula 

odorata 
Aubrietias,  all  kinds 
Bell  is  in  var. 
Borago 

orientalis 
Br^-anthus 

erectus 
Bulbocodium 

vernum 
Caltha  palustris  plena 
Centaurea 
cyan us 
nionlana 
Cardamine 

trl  folia 
Cerasiium  in  var. 
Oheiranthus 
Chc'iri 
Dillcni 
Marshallii 


Chelidonium 
grandiflorum 
japonicum 
Claytonia 

Virginica 
Collinsias  in  var. 
Collomia 

cocclnea 
Convallaria 

majalis 
Corydalis 
bracteata 
lutea 

Marschalliana 
nobilis 
tuberosa 
Crocus 
biflorus 
imperatonius 
luteus  and  vars. 
reliculatus 
Sieberi 

vernus  and  vars. 
versicolor 
Cyclamen  in  var. 
Delphinium 
nudicaule 
Dentaria 
digitata 
Dicentra 
eximia 
spectabilis 
Doronicum 
Cducasicum 
Clusei 
Columnse 
Dodecatheon,  all  kinds. 
Draba  in  var. 
Epimediums 
Eiodium  hymenodes 
Eranthis 

liyemalis 
Erica 
herbacea 
carnea 

Moditerranea 
Erysimum 

ochroleucum 
Erythronium 
Pens  canis 
Eschscholtias,  all  kinds 
Ficaria 

grandiflora 
Fritillaria,  all  kind 
Galanthus 
nivalis 
plicatus 
Gentiana 
acaulis 


Gentiana 

verna 
Helleborus,  all  kinds 
Hepatica 

angulosa 

triloba 
Hutchinsia 

alpina 
Hyacinthus 
.  amethystinus 

orientalis 
Iberis,  all  perennial  kinds 
Iris 

germanica 

nudicaulis 

pumila 

reticulata 

stylosa 
Jeffersonia 

diphylla 
Leucojum 

flestivum 

vernum 
Limnanihes 

Douglasii 
Lithospermum 

prostratum 
Lunaria 

biennis 
Malcolmia 

maritima 
Meconopsis 

cambrica 
Muscari,  all  kinds 
Myosotis 

alpestris 

dissitiflora 

palustris 

sylvatica 
Narcissus,  all  kinds 
Nemophila,  all  kinds 
Omphalodes 

Luciliae 

verna 
Orobus 

cyaneus 

flaccid  us 

vernus 
Petrocallis 

pyrenaica 
Phlox 

divaricata 
procumbens 
reptans 
setacea 
subulata 
Primula,  many  species 


FIT  A'    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


i 


Pulmonaria,    all   kinds 
Puschkinia, 
scilloides 
Kamondia 

pyrenaica 
Ranunculus 
aconitifolius 
acris 
alpestris 
amplexicaulis 
chserophyllus 
Gouani 
gramineus 
monspeliacus 
montanus 
spicatus 
Sanguinaria 

Canadensis 
Saponaria 
calabrica 
Saxifraga,    most    kinds 
Scilla 
amoena 
bifolia 
rosea 
Sibirica 
Silene 

pendula 
Sisyrinchium 

grandiflorum 
Soldanella,    all    kinds 
Stocks  in  var. 
Stylophorum 

diphyllum 
Stocks  in  variety 
Tbalictrum 

anemonoides 
Tiilaspi 

latifolium 
Trientalis 
Europaja 
Triteleia 
uniflora 
Tulipa,  all  kinds 
Uvularia 
grandiflora 
Veronica 

pectinata 
Vesicaria 

utriculata 
Vinca  in  variety 
Viola 
odorata 
suavis 

tricolor  in  variety 
Waldsteinia 
geoides 
trifolia 

Potatoes.  One  would  think  that  potato  cul- 
ture ought  soon  to  reach  perfection.  What  with 
vaiieties  and  modes  of  culture  there  are  this 
year  growing  in  the  Ro3^al  Horticultural  Gar- 
dens at  Chiswick,/oMr  hundred  diflferent  lots,  by 
way  of  experiment. 

Failure  of  the  California  Mammoth  Tree  in 
Great  Britain.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Botanical 
Society  of  Edinburgh,  a  few  months  ago,  Mr. 


^7S 


McNab  exhibited  a  section  of  a  stem  of  Sequoia 
gigantea,  which  after  reaching  four  feet  seven 
inches  in  circumference  since  1858,  had  died  in 
1872.  He  says  there  are  none  doing  well  in  that 
part  of  the  world,  and  he  concludes  thut  it  is 
'*  constitutionally  weak.*'  In  this  country  we 
find  them  almost  universally  attacked  by  a  par- 
asitic fungus  in  summer  time;  and  wc  should 
not  be  surprised  if  this  is  not  what  is  the  matter 
with  the  British  trees. 

Beautifying  Young  Specimen  Trees.'  When  a 
young  tree  of  a  rare  kind  is  set  out  on  the  lawn, 
it  is  often  many  years  before  it  makes  any  great 
show.  In  England,  a  fashion  is  becoming^pre- 
valent  to  set  some  other  plant  round  it  for^'some 
years  till  it  grows  up  to  make  a  show  for  its- 
self.  These  are  mostly  hardy  herbaceous  plants 
that  know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and 
will  yet  make  a  good  show,  in  spite  of  the  roots 
of  the  young  trees  during  the  summer  season. 

Flowers  in  Cemeteries.  A  writer  in  the  Gar- 
den commends  the  American  practice  of  highly 
ornamenting  and  keeping  up  in  good  floral  con- 
dition the  resting  places  of  the  de^d,  and  thinks 
it  will  be  imitated  in  all  English  speaking  lands. 
The  projectors  of  Mount  Auburn,  at  Boston* 
and  Laurel  Hill,  at  Philadelphia,  may  well  feel 
proud  of  the  general  acceptance  of  their  leadino^ 
work.  ° 

Kaki.  The  following  from  the  Garden  has 
reference  to  the  Japan  Persimmons  : 

*'At  the  present  moment,  imported  fruit  of  the 
Japanese  Kaki  are  offered  for  sale  in  the  shoo  win- 
dows of  MM  Cuvillier,  et  frcres,  marchands  de 
comestibles,  16,  Rue  de  la  Paix,  Paris.     They  have 


been  apparently  dried  and  prepared  in  the  same 
manner  as  our  dried  Figs  and  Hnisins.  The  fruit 
m  their  dried  state,  are  three  inches  or  more  in 
length,  and  are  described  as  having  a  firm  and 
shj-htly  gelatinous  substance,  of  a  reddish-brown 
color,  and  sweet  and  aLneeable  to  the  taste.  Manv 
species  of  Kaki  arc  cultivated  in  Japan,  with  fruit 
varying  in  dimensions  from  the  size  of  a  larae  fowl's 
e^g  to  that  of  a  man's  fist.  When  fully  ripe  thev 
are  said  by  M^   Coifr„et  to  be  dried  in  the  sun  and 

best  dried  Figs.     M.  Carriere,  however,  states  that 
whether  from  habit  or  not,  he  prefers  the  Figs." 

Indian  Rubber  Packed  Joints.  We  believe 
the  practice  now  becoming  prevalent  in  Enor. 
land  of  joining  hot  water  pipes  by  an  rubber 
band,  instead  of  tow  and  ^-ed  lead  has  not  been 
referred  to  in  the  Gardener's  Monthlij.  The  fol- 
lowing is  from  a  correspondent  of  Mr.  Robin- 
son's Garden: 

"Your  correspondent's  inquiry  fsee  p.  302)  res 
pecting  the  fitness  of  india-rul)ber  rings  for  iointinff 
hot- water  pipes  merits  more  than  a  passing  remark 
My  own  experience,  thouirh  small,  has  satisfied  me 
tliat  these  rings  make  entirely  water-tight  joints 
and  are  easily  fixed,  effecting  a  great  saving  of  time* 
compared  with  the  old-fashioned  fliode  of  packing 
vyith  hemp  and  lead.  The  ring  being  drawn  over 
the  end  of  the  pipe  to  be  jointed,  one  man  holds  it 
steady  while  another  pushes  it  into  the  socket,  the 
ring  rolling  round  and  becoming  flattened  and  per- 
fectly  water-tight  as  the  pipe  '  goes  home.'  When 
all  the  piping  is  fixed,  a  little  wet  Portland  cement 
IS  run  m  round  the  joint  with  the  fingers,  and  then 
the  whole  is  complete.  Some  hot-  water  pipes  fixed 
here  were  jointed  with  these  rings,  and  the  men  who 
used  them  stated  that  they  were  greatly  superior  to 
the  old  packing  method,  which  causes  delay,  and  is 
not  unfrequently  productive  of  leaks  and  annovance 
It  IS,  however,  desirable  to  pack  such  joints  as  are 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  boiler,  as  the  heat  there  is 
sometimes  detrimental  to  the  india-rubber  ringa^»» 


EDITORIAL. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CHERRY. 
It  is  very  remarkable  that  there  should  be  so 
many  cultivated  plants,  the  early  history  of 
^liich,  is  absolutely  unknown.  Nations  have 
passed  away,  languages  have  died,  most  proba- 
ble, land  which  bore  the  originals  of  many  of  our 
fruits  and  vegetables,  are  now  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea;  but  the  plants  themselves,  useful  to 
n^an  in  all  ages,  have  been  taken  with  man  in 
his  migrations  and  handed  down  to  us  from  ages 
past,  far  beyond  the  power  of  even  the  oldest  tra- 
dition to  say  exactly  when. 


The  Cherry  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  Europe 
and  Asia  ;  but  its  real  o-iginal  wild  home  is  not 
known.  Sometimes  we  think  we  can  trace  his- 
tories of  these  things  by  their  names  ;  but  lan- 
guage varies  so,  even  in  our  day,  that  we  have 
no  security  from  error  in  this  luode  of  historic 
investigation.  •  Many  of  us  for  instance,  have 
been  puzzled  in  our  younger  days  to  know  why 
a  cherry  which  rarely  ripened  where  the  name 
was  best  known  bef<»re  Juiih,  should  be  called  the 
**  May  Duke  ;"  and  then  some  one  tries  to  get  us 
out  of  the  scrape  by  saying  that  it  was  derived 


^74 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^TELY.    Septimber, 


187S. 


THE   GARDEJVER'S  MOJVTHLr. 


&75 


from  "Medoc,"  and  the  English  took  the 
French  pronunciation  and  left  the  French 
orthography  behind.  It  is  not  at  all  improba- 
ble that  some  ingenious  historian  will  prove  to 
our  satisfaction  some  day,  that  the  Modoc  Indi- 
ans and  May  Duke  Cherry  had  one  and  the 
same  origin  1  Who  knows  how  far  we  are  to 
believe  ancient  history  in  similar  cases  ?  We 
are,  for  instance,  told  that  the  Romans  brought 
the  cherry  from  Keresown,  a  town  in  Turkish 
Asia,  and  that  therefore  they  gave  it  the  name 
of  Cerasus.  It  is  said  to  have  been  brought  by 
the  Roman  General  LucuUus,  on  his  return  from 
the  Mithradatic  war.  But  we  suspect  it  was 
pretty  much  in  those  days  as  it  is  in  ours  where 
great  men  frequently  find  things  which  were 
never  lost,  and  bring  things  for  tlie  first  time  to 
countries  where  they  have  existed  for  years 
before.  Thus  we  had  in  our  country  the  great 
head  of  the  Bureau  of  Agriculture  sending  to 
China  to  introduce  a  few  tea  plants  into  the 
Government  Gardens  at  Washington,  a  few 
years  ago  ;  and  we  were  confidentially  told  by  a 
good  friend  lately,  that  he  had  sent  to  Africa  for 
a  few  living  coffee  plants,  so  as  to  astonish  the 
world  with  a  sight  of  the  growing  trees  at  the 
great  American  Centennial  in  1876 !  Our  doubts 
about  LucuUus  bringing  the  first  known  cherry 
to  Italy  arise  from  the  fact  that  in  about  twen- 
ty years  after,  as  Pliny  tells  us,  the  cherry  was 
well  known  all  over  Europe-  even  in  '*  Britain, 
beyond  the  Ocean."  We  do  not  know  how 
these  ancient  Britishers  obtained  their  first 
stocks  to  graft  the  cherries  on,  or  whether  these 
half  barbarians  knew  anything  about  grafting. 
If  they  had  to  depend  on  the  seed,  and  if  the 
seed  did  no  better  than  our  seed  does,  which 
usually  degenerates  to  very  poor  "  Mazzards,'' 
whatever  this  name  may  mean,  for  we  have 
never  been  able  to  find  out. 

The  Romans  perhaps  grafted.     Pliny  tells  us 
they  did.     Notwithstanding  the  slow  traveling 


of  those  days,  grafts  may  have  been  successfully 
introduced  from  Pontus  to  Rome,  and  this 
would  have  given  them  some  half  a  dozen  years 
within  the  twenty  to  fruit  a  few,  and  send  the 
stones  to  the  wild  English,  who  raised  their  trees 
from  them.  But  the  whole  story  is  smoky,  and 
in  short,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  with  all  respect  to 
the  great  LucuUus,  and  the  great  botanist  Mith- 
radates —Pliny,  the  historian,  and  aU  included, 
we  don't  believe  it,  and  thus  we  cannot  tell  our 
readers  that  the  'Cherry  came  to  us  from  Asia 
via  Rome,''  as  the  good  books  tell  us;  nor  do 
we  know  where  the  cherry  did  spring  from. 
Pliny  wrote  about  one  hundred  years  after  the 
event,  and  we  know  how  it  is  now.  We  can 
hardly  trust  a  man  to  writ"  an  account  of  what 
happened  a  year  before. 

As  before  hinted,  it  is  remarkable  how  the 
cherry  dcgonerates  when  left  to  itself.  Although 
our  good  friend  Gray  does  not  tell  us  so  in  his 
*•  Manual,"  the  cherry  is  one  of  the  commonist 
of  wild  or  naturalized  plants  in  Pennsylvania. 
There  are  thousands  on  thousands  of  wild  trees 
through  the  State,  and  in  some  places  the  bor- 
ders of  woods  in  spring  will  be  quite  white  with 
the  blossoms  of  the  cherry  trees.  These  have 
no  doubt,  in  the.first  instance,  been  carried  from 
cultivated  trees,  and  yet  how  rare  is  it  to  find 
one  that  will  in  any  way  compare  with  our  fine 
garden  fruit  I  In  numberless  cases  there  is  little 
left  of  the  cherry.  A  good  sound  stone  it  is 
true  ;  but  a  little  piece  of  red  skin  drawn  over  it, 
and  the  *' fruit"  little  more  acceptable  than 
would  be  the  red  berries  of  the  common  dog- 
wood. It  would  be  a  poor  business  for  pro- 
gressive development  theories  if  they  had  to  de- 
pend on  facts  like  these.  Still  it  is  an  interest- 
ing question,  this  of  where  the  cherry  came  from, 
as  it  is  as  to  where  the  other  fruits  and  vegeta- 
bles originated,  and  we  are  sorry  we  can  not 
thi'ow  any  light  on  it. 


SCRAPS   AND    aUERIES. 


Pruning  Street  Trees.— 3f.  Digram,  West- 
chester, Pa,,  says:  *' The  following  extract 
from  paper  read  before  California  Academy  of 
Sciences,  July,  1872,  covers  *  Chronicler's  '  case 
completely  :  ^  Again  it  is  frequently  the  case 
that  the  lower  branches  are  trimmed  off  to  a 
mischievous  extent,  which  also  is  a  mistake,  for 


where  a  tree  has  sufficient  space  to  grow  in,  but 
little  trimming  is  necessary,  and  it  is  a  false 
taste  which  seeks  to  improve  (?)  upon  nature  by 
depriving  a  tree  of  its  normal  physiognomy *and 
distinctive  character  by  carving  it  into  grotesque 
or  inappropriate  shapes ;  it  is  simply  mutila- 
tion, and  is  certain  to  result  in  premature  de- 


cay and  death  of  the  victim.     The  fiatteniag  of 
the  head  by  certain  aboriginal  tribes,  and^the 
distorted  feet  of  the  fashionable  Chinese  ladies, 
are  further  and  pertinent  illustrations  of  anala- 
gous  hideous  violations  of  natural  form.'  " 

White  Pansy.-/.  W.  M.,  Utica,  2r.  F.; 
"Herewith  I  send  flower  of  a  white  Pansy  that 
originated  with  me  this  season.  What  can  vou 
say  of  it?'' 

[Can  say  it  is  the  best  white  we  have  seen  so 
far.  It  is  wholly  white,  except  a  small  orange 
spot  in  the  centre.  There  will  yet  be  room  for 
improvement  in  the  form  and  texture  of  the 
petals,  but  until  some  one  is  more  fortunate  we 
should  rank  this  as  No.  1.] 


A  Capital  Riddance.— The  absence  of  the 
Editor  who  is  examining  the  orchards  of 
the  Shenandoah,  gathering  wild  flowers  in  Tex- 
as, and  studying  native  timber  trees  in  the 
Wahsatch  and  Rocky  mountains,  will  sutficient- 
ly  account  for  the  superior  excellence  of  the  Au- 
gust and  September  numbers. 


Cultivating  Double  English  Prim- 
roses. -X,  Sf.  Louis,  Mo.,  writes:  "When 
East,  a  few  winters  ago,  I  noticed  that  much  use 
was  made  of  the  double  white  Primrose  for  bou- 
quets. I  purchased  half  a  dozen  plants,  but 
they  have  now  all  died.  They  seem  to  get 
through  ihe  summer  badly.  What  is  the  best 
way  to  cultivate  them  ?'» 

With  this  query  we  find  a  full  paper  on  the 
subject  from  the  English  Gardener's  Ckronicle, 
merely  adding  that  the  summer  shade  and  shel- 
ter from  rain,  is  of  still  more  importance  here  : 

"To  give  simple  details  of  the  cultivation  of 
any  single  plant  is  to  me  an  irksome  task,  for 
when  I  attempt  it  I  have  an  innate  feeling  that 
my  remarks  may  be  read  by  those  who  are 
already  acquainted  with  all  I  may  write,  and 
that  those  who  are  ignorant  will  not  think  them 
worth  perusing  beyond  the  first  few  lii.es  It 
must  be  understood  then  that  these  remarks  are 
not  addressed  to  the  former  class ;  on  the  con- 
trary, I  will  canvass  for  converts  amongst  the 
latter — such  as  may  have  a  desire  to  become 
successful  in  the  cultivation  of  a  beautiful  and 
useful  old  plant. 

"  I  believe  the  most  difficult  process  in  the  cul- 
ture of  the  Double  Primula  is  its  propagation, 
and  after  trying  various  ways  of  inducing  it  to 
root,  I  have  found  no  plan  better  than  the  fol- 


lowing :  As  soon  as  the  plants  have  done  flow- 
ering, place  them  in  a  temperature  of  55°  at 
night,  with  an  advance  of  10°  by  day.  For  want 
of  a  more  suitable  place,  I  recently  put  some  in 
a  temperature  of  65°  to  70°  at  night,  but  in  this 
they  got  drawn.  If  any  of  the  plants  appear 
sickly  and  the  growth  insufficient  to  make  cut- 
tings from,  they  should  be  repotted,  at  the  same 
time  removing  all  the  soil  possible  without  in- 
juring the  roots;  others  will  be  benefitted  by  a 
top-dressing.  In  about  six  weeks  from  the  time 
they  are  placed  in  the  above  temperature  the 
cuttings  will  be  ready,  for  though  some  may  not 
be  much  larajer  than  when  placed  there,  they 
will  be  sufficiently  excited.  The  whole  plant 
should  then  be  cut  up,  and  every  shoot  that  has 
half  an  inch  of  old  brown  wood  attached  to  it, 
put  in  as  a  cutting.  I  have  tried  to  keep  old 
plants,  but  they  have  made  only  miserable  ob- 
jects compared  with  the  yearly  ones.  The  cut- 
tings are  inserted  each  into  a  thumb-pot,  the 
mixture  being  peat  with  a  sixth  of  loam,  and  a 
very  liberal  portion  of  sand  ;  if  tbe  loam  is  light 
I  use  more  of  it.  Each  cutting  will  require  a 
stake  and  a  tie  to  support  and  steady  it. 

"  The  most  suitable  place  for  them  now  will 
be  along  the  west  edge  of  a  Cucumber  or  a  Mel- 
on frame  newly  planted.  There  they  will  have 
an  increase  of  temperature,  and  will  be  sur- 
rounded with  sufficient  atmospheric  moisture  ; 
at  the  same  time  they  will  receive  sufficient  air 
to  keep  them  from  damping: ;  and  they  can  be 
shaded  if  necessary  without  interfering  with  the 
more  legitimate  occupants  of  the  frame.  When 
sufficiently  rooted  they  should  be  removed  into 
an  unheated  frame,  facing  the  north,  and  placed 
on  ashes  as  a  security  against  worms.  They 
should  be  kept  close  for  a  few  days,  and  gradu- 
ally inured,  so  that  they  may  ultimately  have 
all  the  air  possible.  When  sufficient  roots  are 
made  to  retain  the  soil  together,  they  may  be 
potted  into  48's.  I  am  not  particular  as  to  soil, 
relying  more  on  its  mechanical  texture  than  on 
the  relative  quantity  of  the  ingredients.  Loam 
and  peat  in  equal  proportions  will  do  when  the 
former  is  friable.  Leaf-mould  may  be  substitu- 
ted for  peat,  but  above  all  things,  I  would  insist 
upon  a  liberal  allowance  of  silver  sand  being 
used.  Porosity  in  the  soil  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance. The  delicate  silky  roots  are  unable 
to  penetrate  a  clammy  compound,  let  its  rich- 
ness be  ever  so  inviting.  After  they  are  newly 
potted,  they  will  require  shading  for  a  few  days 
during  sunshine,  and  even  after  they  are  estab- 


^v-. 

*!<• 


_£7^ THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJSTTHLY.    September. 

lished,  a  thin  shading  for  an  hour  or  two  during  j  the  ones  our  correspondent  thought  she  was  to 
the  hottest  part  of  the  day  will  be  beneficial,  ,  get.  The  upright  Honeysuckles  are  very  orna- 
withan  occasional  sprinkling  from  the  syringe  '  mental  as  bushes-the  Tartarian  especially  so 
or  a  fine  rose  in  the  evening,  and  the  light  may  There  are  two  kinds,  one  with  whitish  flowers  • 
be  left  off  at  night  when  there  is  no  probability  of  i  the  other  with  deep  rosy  pink.  Aizain  there  is  a 
heavy  rain.  They  will  now  make  rapid  pro-  ^  variety  with  yellowish  amber  berries,  and  one 
gress,  and  some  may  fill  their  pots  in  time  to  I  with  berries  of  a  coral  red.  It  is  for  these  they 
have  a  shift  into  32»s  ;  but  I  have  not  been  able  |  are  valued,  and  not  for  climbinc.  purposes  For 
to  get  much  larger  plants  in  this  size  than  in  this  you  should  order  Japan,  Chinese,  Red  Scar- 
48's.  The  only  advantage  I  have  found  is,  that  i  let  Coral,  or  Belgian  Monthly.  It  is  to  be  re- 
they  are  later  in  flowering,  and  the  individual  |  gretted  however,  that  nurserymen  do  not  adopt 
flowers  are  generally  more  double,  and  certainly  |  the   latin  name    CapHfolium   for   the  climbincr 


I87S. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJTTHLY. 


nr 


larger.  In  September,  all  depending  on  the 
weather,  they  may  be  removed  into  an  airy 
house,  the  front  of  one  where  means  are  supplied 
for  front  ventilation.  Excluding  frost  and 
guarding  against  damp  will  be  the  chief  atten- 
tion they  will  require,  but,  like  the  Chinese  Pri 


Honeysuckles,  to  avoid  mistakes.] 


Horticulture  in  the  Country.— A  Lan- 
caster^ Pa.,  correspondent  gives  a  very  encour- 
aging account  of  horticulture  in  that  city.     New 
mula,  they  are  rather  benefited  than  otherwise  !  plants  are  much  sought  for,  and  every  branch  of 


by  a  night  temperature  not  below  40  degrees. 
In  November  they  will  be  in  full  flower,  and 
will  continue  so  for  four  months  or  more. 

"The  reader  of  these  few  lines  will  now  be 
ready  to  ask— What  result  may  be  expected 
from  this  apparent  trouble,  and  what  are  the 
advantages  of  growing   these   when   scores  of 
plants  of  the  Chinese  Primula  may  be  raised 
from  a  packet  of  seed  ?    The  result  with  me  has 
been  the  possession  of  pyramids  in  48  pots,  from 
one  foot  to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  the  same 
across,  and  any  one  possessing  suitable  accom- 
modation may  attain  still  better  results.     They 
claim  special  advantages,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
useful  for  indoor  decoration,  the  purple  one  espe- 
cially ;  and  possessing  a  pyramidal  habit,  they 
contrast  favorably  with  the  **  squatty  »'  appear- 
ance of  seedlings.     They  are  also  useful  for  cut- 
ting from,   and  the    flowers  will  remain  fresh 
after  being  cut  as  well  as  most  others.    The  in- 
dividual flowers  can  be  used  for  bouquets  if  they 
are  wired ;  and,  finally,  on  a  pinch,  they  may 
come  in  for  ladies'  hair  and  aleo  for  gentlemen's 
button-holes." 


gardening  meets  with  encouragement. 


Lonicera  tartarica.— ^.  J.  B.y  near  Ce- 
dlion,  Md.,  writes  :  **  I  purchased  by  a  descrip- 
tion in  a  nursery  catalogue,  a  plant  called  Loni- 
cera tarlarica,  represented  to  be  a  honeysuckle 
and  planted  it  near  a  piece  of  lattice  work,  for  it 
to  run  over  but  it  does  not  run'more  than  a  lilac 
bush  in  my  garden.     Is  this  as  it  ought  to  be  ?  » 

[This  is  right.  There  is  a  class  of  Honey- 
suckles which  grow  as  bushes,  {Lonicera  proper). 
The  climbing  ones  (properly  VapHfoliums),  are 


Belle  Maonifique  Cherry.— J.  T.,  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  writes  :  *'  From  accounts  that  I 
have  seen.  I  have  been  desirous  to  possess  the 
Belle  Magnifique  Cherry,  and  a  few  years  ago 
procured  trees  of  it  from  what  I  should  regard 
as  a  perfectly  reliable  source.  Now  that  they 
are  in  fruit,  a  gardener,  who  claims  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  these  things,  asserts  that  it  is  but 
the  Late  Duke.  Have  I  any  claim  on  the  nur- 
seryman for  disappointing  me  ?" 

[Any  person  has  a  claim  on  another  for  dis- 
appointing him  in  anything  ;  but  in  this  cherry 
matter,  "be  sure  you  are  right"  will  apply. 
We  should  doubt  very  much  the  judgment  of  the 
average  man  who  should  decide  at  once  between 
Belle  Magnifique  and  Late  Duke,  unless  they 
were  both  growing  near  each  other.  Belle  Mag- 
nifique has  a  slightly  firmer  flesh,  and  the  fruit 
stalks  are  rather  larger,  otherwise  the  fruit,  foli- 
age and  growth  are  about  the  same.  At  any 
rate  you  are  not  badly  hurt,  for  we  do  not  know 
in  any  respect  that  one  has  an  advantage  over 
the  other.] 


Seedling  Raspberry  from  Mr.  Price.— 
This  is  a  dark  variety— same  color  as  Philad*»l- 
phia,  but  belongs  to  the  Antwerp  stock.  The 
fruit  is  medium  size,  of  good  flavor,  and  evident- 
ly produced  in  great  abundance.  Its  positive 
value  will  depend  on  comparison  while  growing 
together  with  the  other  kinds. 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


MiMULUS  cupreus,  variety  "Brilli- 
ant."—There  are  few  things  more  gay  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  than  the  various  varieties  of 
•'monkey -flower.-'  They  are  besides,  of  very 
easy  culture,  if  a  few  simple  precautions  are 
taken.  The  chief  of  this  is  to  keep  them  from 
great  heat.  They  like  rich  soil,  and  to  be  in  the 
full  light  ;  and  like  moisture,  but  not  to  be  sod- 
dened  or  wet.  A  saucer  with  water  under  the 
pot.  Is  an  excellent  way  to  keep  up  this  regular 
supply.  There  are  many  cool  places  about 
buildings  and  in  greenhouses,  just  suited  to  it. 
In  every  other  respect  it  is  of  easy  culture. 


Observations  on  the  New  White  Rose, 
Madame  Lacharme.— What  the  reporters  said 
;  about  the  new  white  hybrid  i)erpetual  rose,  Ma- 
I  dame  Lacharme,  having  been  shown  in  a  pink 
;  dress  at  South  Kensington,  on  the  2nd  April 
j  last,  was,   literally  speaking,  true  ;  plants  were 
I  there  exhibited  by  two  persons,  and  the  report- 
ers said  that  the  blooms  were  of  a  decided  pink 
color.     It  is  satisfactory   to  know  that  the  rose 
in  question  is  white  when  fully  expanded.     The 
rose  is  very  distinct,  and  cannot  be  mistaken 
when  once  seen.     The  flowers  open  with  a  tint 
of  rose  or  pink,  but  this  color  is  on  the  back  part 


The  variety  we  now  illustrate  is  said  to  be  a 
scarlet,  which  if  so,  will  render  it  peculiarly  de- 
sirable.    Messrs.  Carter  say  of  it  : 

*'An  extremely  showy  half  hardy  plant, 
selected  by  us  some  years  since  from  Mimulus 
Cupreus ;  it  differs  materially  from  the  parent 
plant  in  being  more  compact  in  its  habit  and  lar- 
ger flowers  ;  the  color  is  totally  distinct  from  6V 
preus,  and  approximates  to  that  of  King  of  Tom 
Thumb  Nasturtium,  a  brilliant  deep  scarlet.  We 
feel  confident  this  plant  will  receive  extensive 
cultivation  as  a  half-hardy  annual  ;  it  is  equally 
desirable  for  pot  cultivation,  rockeiics,  or  for 
out-door  betldin(T.>' 


of  the  petals  ;  as  the  blooms  expand  the  petals 
reflex,  and  quite  obscure  the  outside  color ;  the 
flower  when  fully  developed  is  quite  white.  This 
answers  to  the  description  given  by  Monsieur 
Lacharme,  who  says  :  "  The  rose  Madame  La- 
charme  is  very  vigorous,  beautiful  deep  green 
foliage,  majestic  carriage,  flowers  very  large, 
and  very  full ;  white,  opening  with  a  very  slight 
tinge  of  rose,  when  fully  expanded  passing  to 
pure  white;  Ctntifolia  form,  very  perpetual ;  the 
best  hybrid  white  yet  produced  ;  a  seedling  from 
Juies  Margottiii."  The  description  given  by  the 
raiser  is  faithful.  Tlic  plants  exhibited  by  Mr. 
W.  Paul  and  Mr.  IL  Bennett  had  been  procured 


I  .• 


^78 


TEE    GARDEJ^EWS   MOJ^IHLY.     September, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


279 


from  Monsieur  Lacharme's  establishment  at 
Lyons,  and  were  consequently  genuine.  The 
plants  shown  at  South  Kensington  had,  unfor- 
tunately blooms  on  them  which  were  not  suffi- 
ciently open  to  show  the  rose  in  its  true  charac- 
ter. Monsieur  Lacharme  says  that  the  only 
English  rose-growers  who  have  seen  this  rose 
growing  in  France  art^  Mr.  W.  Paul  and  Mr.  H. 
Bennett,  and  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  persons 
of  their  experience  coul  I  bo  mistaken.  We  may 
therefore  feel  certain  that  plants  of  Madame  La- 
charme sent  out  by  them  will  be  the  true  varie- 
ty—Henry  Taylor,  in  Gardener's  Magazhe, 


rendering  the  plant  a  very  attractive  and  cheer- 
ful object  in  the  very  deadest  season  of  the  year. 
Echeverias  generally  are  interesting  plants  in  the 
winter  and  early  spring,  for  many  of  them  are 
then  ill  flower,  and  make  the  fact  known  by  their 
display  of  dashing  blooms.-  S.  H.  in  Gardener's 
Magazine.  • 


Yucca  baccata.— This  new  and  very  dis- 
tinct species,  found  in  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and 
Arizona,  and  introduced  into  cultivation  in  Eu- 
rope last  year  by  M.  Linden,  of  Brussels.  In 
the  rigidity  of  its  habit  and  the  texture  of  its 
leaves,  it  bears  a  greater  resemblance  to  Y.  cor- 
nuta,  or  Y.  Treculeana,  than  to  any  species  of 
the  aloifolia  section.  It  has  a  thick,  wrinkled 
stem,  about  a  foot  high,  on  the  summit  of  which 
are  closely  crowded  the  short,  straight,  erect, 
pointed,  boat  shaped  leaves  of  a  light  green 
color,  bearing  on  their  margins  numerous  long* 
broadish,  and  sharply  pointed  shaving-like  ap 
pendages.  The  fruit  is  a  capsule,  as  in  all  the 
Yuccas,  but  has  the  shape  and  flesliy  consist- 
ence of  a  ripe  Banana,  by  which  name  it  is 
known  to  the  natives  of  Western  America.  The 
taste  is  sweet  and  agreeable,  and  the  Indians, 
who  are  very  fond  of  it,  gather  and  dry  large 
quantities  for  winter  use  The  uncooked  fruit 
is  said  to  possess  highly  cathartic  properties.— 
M.,  in  Garden. 


Saxifraga  peltata  —The  rare  and  remark- 
able Saxifraga  peltata,  quite  a  giant  among  Sax- 
ifrages, is  now  in  flower  in  the  Stansted  Park 
Nursery,  Forest  Hill.  It  belongs  to  the  large- 
foliaged  section,  the  leaves  when  fully  developed 
h'Ang  as  large  as  those  of  Rhubarb.  It  ig,  there- 
foro,  as  remarkable  for  its  fine  foli;ige  as  for  its 
flowers,  which  are  rose-colored.- harder?. 


Aquilegia  leptocera  aurea.  -The  Gar- 
den says  of  a  specimen  recently  exhibited  in 
London:  '  That  fine  yellow  Columbine  (Aqui- 
legia aurea)  shown  at  Kensington  the  other  day. 
is  a  distinct  and  handsome  plant,  with  fine  clear 
yellow  flowers,  making  it  worthy  of  association 
With  the  very  finest  species  of  Columbine.'* 

^  Eciieveria  Rosea.  -  This  pretty  plant  is  now 
m  perfection,  and  amateurs  who  as  yet  know 
nothing  of  echeverias  should  contrive  to  see  it. 
The  plant  is  one  of  the  neatest  and  brightest  of 
Its  class  at  any  time,  but  during  winter  its  bright 
green  elliptical  leaves  become  delicately  edired 
with  carmine-red,  and  when  this  colorincr  i^'at 
Its  height  there  ris  s  from  every  crown  .C  spike 
o.  flowers  of  a  very  peculiar  purplish-rose  color. 


Tea  Rose  Perle  de  Lyon  {Behj  Hort.^ 
1873,  3).— A  charming  portrait  of  a  lovely  rose 
lately  introduced  in  commerce,  and  included  in 
the  latest  list  in  the  Garden  Oracle.  It  is  de- 
scribed by  our  friend,  M.  Sisley,  as  a  vigorous 
grower,  the  young  stems  purplish,  the  leaves 
richly  bronzed,  the  flower-buds  elegantly  conical, 
and  the  flowers  cupped-globular,  and  of  a  most 
delicate  pale  yellow  color  shading  to  citron  in 
the  centre.  Yellow  roses  are  in  high  favor  with 
English  amat(!urs,  not  a  few  of  whom  will  de- 
sire soon  to  possess  the  Pearl  of  Lyons. 


The  Malva  Tree.— At  a  late  meeting  of 
the  Sacramento  Farmer's  Club,   the  following 
report  was  given  in  regard  to  this  tree  :     *'  The 
malva  tree  seems  originally  to  have  come  from 
Japan  ;  its  botanical  name  is  Lavatera  assurgen- 
t'flora  [Kellogg^)  and  is  valuable  for  ornament, 
shade  and  for  feed  for  animals  of  all  kinds.     It 
attains  a  maximum  height  of  thirty  feet  in  about 
eight  years  ;  is  evergreen,  and  blooms  nearly  the 
whole  year  round.     The  trees  grow  from  seeds 
which  drop  from  the  tree,  and  require  no  culti- 
vation whatever.     They  grow  rapidly,   and  in 
two  years  cattle  could  be  allowed  to  browse  on 
them,  as  they  do  not  eat  the  branches,  only  the 
large,  muciiaginous  leaves.     Cattle,  sheep!  hor- 
-^es,   rabbits  and  goats  all  seem  to  pr  fer  the 
leaves  to  any  other  food.     The  trunk  or  body  of 
the  tree  is  the  part  which  contains  the  fibre,  for 
(he  branchi's  are  nearly  always  tender  and  green, 
not  wood.     Its  leaves  and  seeds  possess  much 
medical  virtue  as  a  demulcent,  having  the  pro- 
perties of  both   field-mallows  and  slippery  elm. 
To  get  a  good  start,  these  trees  should  not  be 
molested  by  cattle  for  at  least  two  years  ;  after, 


tlie  leaves  will  grow  as  fast  as  they  are  eaten  off", 
leaving  the  flowers  to  mature  and  the  seeds  to 
fall  unmolested,  and  the  fibrous  trunk  to  grow.'' 


cause  it  is  apt  to  perish  of  wet  in  the  open 
ground.  In  summer,  when  making  its  growth, 
it  Will  bear  abundance  of  water,  and  musl  have 
it  in  plenty  if  free  growth  is  to  be  encouraged, 
The  Journal  of  Horticulture  refers  to  the  fol-  !  but  the  drainage  should  be  very  good.     On  well 


lowing 
Aquilegia  leptocera  aurea.  —This  is  a  new  in 


constructed  rockwork  it  will  succeed  better  than 
on  level  borders,  and  may  be  left  out  in  winter  if 


troduction  from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  |  care  is  taken  to  cover  it  in  prolonged  wet  wea 
closely  rehted  to  A.  canadensis,  and  in  habit  of  ther  with  a  cloche  or  bell  glass.  Gritty  loam  is 
growth  foliage,  and  height  resembles  that  spe- 
cies. The  flowers  are,  however,  pale  straw- 
colored  ;  and  being  a  free-flowering  plant,  it  will 
form  a  very  desirable  contrast  to  the  blues  and 
reds  of  other  species  and  varieties.  It  appears 
to  be  as  easily  cultivated  as  any  of  it  congeners, 
and  quite  as  hardy. 

Fritillaria  tuliinfolia.—Th\9  is  one  of  those 
hardy  flowers  that  may  be  described  as  peculiar 
and  striking  rather  than  beautiful  or  ornamen- 
tal ;  but  being  a  spring  flower,  it  will  be  of  in- 
teres:  to  amateurs  and  others  who  delight  in 
variety  of  character  independently  of  showy  col 
ors.  The  flowers  are  solitary,  drooping,  large 
and  like  an  inverted  Tulip,  very  dark  or  brown 
purple  inside,  and  milky  blue  outside.  It  is 
very  hardy,  and  grows  freely  in  common  garden 
soil.    Native  of  the  Caucasus. 

Campanula  Medium  calycanthema.  -The  Can- 
terbury B  11,  though  a  favorite  flower,  and  culti- 
vated of  old  with  more  zest  than  now,  has  not 
improved,  nor  had  any  very  striking  feature 
added  to  it  till  within  the  last  few  years.  The 
pale-rose  varieties  are  the  most  marked  improve- 
ment in  color  that  have  been  introduced  for  a 
generation  or  two,  but  we  can  now  speak  of  an 
alteration  in  the  calyx  in  the  present  subject, 
which  adds  a  new  interest  and  value  to  this  old- 
fashioned  flower.  In  this  new  variety  of  Can- 
terbury Bell,  the  calyx  is  p-tal-like  in  color,  and 
to  some  extent  it  approaches  the  petal  in  size 
also  being  mufdi  enlarg.^d  At  present  the  calyx 
is  the  same  color  as  the  petal  —blue  or  white,  as 
the  case  may  be  ;  but  a  roso-colored  calyx  and 
white  petal,  or  a  blue  petal  and  white  calyx,  or 
vice  virsa,  may  be  amongst  the  possibilities  of 
the  not  very  distant  future. 

Mtjosotis  alpicola  —This  is  a  diminutive  but 
very  pretty  Forget-me-not.  It  forms  a  neat  tuft 
about  3  inches  high,  with  small,  dark  green, 
hairy  leaves  and  deep  blue  flowers,  slightly  fra- 
grant—the latter  quality  most  noticeable  at 
Dight.  It  is  best  adapted  to  pot  culture  among 
choice  Alpines  in  a  cold  frame.  The  protection 
of  a  frame  in  winter  is  of  most  importance,  bc- 


the  most  congenial  soil  for  it.    It  is  an  old  plant, 
but  rare. 

Pentstemon  heterophyllum.  —Beautiful  and  nu- 
merous as  are  the  species  and  varieties  of  this 
favorite  genus,  the  present  species  lately  intro- 
duced to  cultivation  is  scarcely  equalled  in  point 
of  color  by  any  of  the  older  and  better  known 
ones.     It  grows  about  18  inches  high,  in  neat 
compact  style.     The  leaves  are  narrow  lanceo- 
late, pale  green  or  glaucous.     The  flowers  are 
produced  on  long   racemes,   borne  on    slender 
stalks,  and  are  brilliant  sky-blue.     From  seed, 
the  plant  varies  somewhat  in  color  in  the  depth 
of  the  blue,  and  occasionally   in  being  reddish 
purple      It  is  a  native  of  California.     I  cannot 
speak  from  experience  of  its  hardiness  and  culti- 
vation, but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  more  diffi- 
cult than  that  of  other  Pentstemons.     In  wet, 
cold  localities,  stock  should  be  struck  in  autumn 
in  pots,  to  keep  over  winter  under  protection. 

Primula  elatior  magnifica.  —This  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  elatior  ti;ibe  of  Primroses. 
It  has  the  compact  tufted  habit  of  all  the  breed. 
The  flowers  are  large,  about  the  same  size,  and 
fringed  in  the  way  of  a  good  type  of  Chinese 
Primrose,  bright  gold  in  the  centre  and  shading 
into  clear  primrose  yellow  on  the  margin.  They 
are  supported  on  stout  stalks  high  above  the  foli- 
age in  great  profusion,  and  are  very  fragrant. 
It  is  a  beautiful  plant  for  spring  bedding  being 
very  showy  and  effective  in  masses  at  a  distance, 
and  withal  neat.  For  pot  culture,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  greenhouse  decoration  early  in  spring,  it 
is  very  desirable,  as  it  bear.-*  forcing  \o,ry  well, 
and  lasts  a  considerable  iimi^  in  bloom. 

Saxifraga  peltatx. — One  of  the  most  extraordi- 
nary and  distinct  of  its  family.  It  produces 
large  lobed  leaves  8  inches  across,  attached  near 
the  centre  to  strong  stalks  18  inches  or  2  feet 
long,  and  bearing  striking  resemblance  to  an 
umbrella,  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  popular- 
ly called  Umbrella  plant.  The  flower  stacks  rise 
to  the  height  of  2  feet,  bearing  cymes  of  large, 
white,  rose-tinted  flowers.  It  forms  strong  fleshy 
creeping  stems,  and  is  found  growing  on   the 


-%i 


280 


THE   GARDEJVER'S  MOJVTMLl.    September, 


lit 


margins  of  streams  in  Cjilifornia,  with  the  stems 
frequently  submerpred.  This  at  once  suggests 
its  fitness  for  ornamentinpr  the  banks  of  streams 
and  lakes  in  this  country. 


187S. 


Franciscea  Magniftca.— This  fine  hybrid 
is  intermediate  between  F.  exim^a  and  F  caly- 
cina.  Its  comparatively  largo  Laurel-like,  ob- 
long, lanceolate,  wavy  margined  leaves  partnke 
of  the  latter  in  habit,  whilst  the  remarkably 
large  rich  lilac  salver-shaped  blossoms  assimilate 
to  the  former,  but  which,  being  nearly  double 
the  size  of  F.  eximea  in  bloom,  proves  "the  pro- 
portionate merit  ancj  greater  beauty  of  the 
plant. 


Malakoff,  pure  white,  clove- scented,  good 
growth;  Madame  Ammont,  violet  self-color- 
Estelle,  claret-rose  self ;  General,  pure  clear  yel- 
low-tipped scarlet ;  Daylight,  yellow,  with  deep 
rose  margin  ;  Duchesse,  white,  margined  cher- 
ry-red ;  Clarabel,  white  veined  with  scarlet- 
salmon. 


TEJS    GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


281 


New  Perpetual-flowertng :Carnations. 
-Coronet,  pure  white,  fine  quality,  profuse 
bloomer;  Alphonse  Xarr,  beautiful,  a  brilliant 
scarlet-flake  on  white,  fine  habit  and  growth; 
Golden  Eagle,  yellow,  with  thin  marcrin  of  re^' 
nearly  a  yellow  self;  Dragonfly,  brilliant  oran-e 
tinted  scarlet:  Royal  Scarlet,  splendid  scarlel, 
the  finest  in  cultivation,  robust  and  fine  habit  • 


Franciscea  Violacea  Grandiflora.- 
This  is  an  equally  fine  hybrid  production,  be- 
tween.  F.  calycina  and  F.  laurifolia,  forming  a 
very  vigorous  evergreen-leaved  stove  shrub,  with 
elliptically  oblong  leaves  less  wavy  or  glossy  than 
the  preceding  one,  but  equally  free  and  robust 
in  growth,  producing  its  large  rich  dark  purplish 
lilac  salver-shaped  flowers  in  the  «-arly  sprin<r 
and  summer  months.  ° 


Verbena  Montana.— This  is  a  hardy  creep- 
ing variety  from  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
introduced  to  us  of  the  East,  but  which  has 
never  made  headwa^r.  it  is  rose  color,  and 
blooms  from  spring  till  frost.  It  appears  to  be 
getting  popular  in  Europe. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


CuRCULio.-The  Gardener^s  Monthly,  for 
January,  1873,  contains  an  article  on  the  *'  In- 
fluence of  extreme  cold  on  the  Curculio  '»  T 
T.  Southwick,  of  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  lakes  the 
ground  that  when  the  soil  is  frozen  hard  and 
long  during  the  winter,  and  reaches  far  enou<rh 
down  frost  destroys  the  pupa,  and  advances  the 
theory  that  the  Curculio  will  freeze  out  in  win- 
ter. 

Last  year  was  every  where  noted  for  freedom 
from  the  Curculio.  In  the  fruit  regions  of  New 
^ork,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Michigan  and 
Missour.,  (the  same  true  to  a  large  extent  in 
1  Imois,  though  we  remember  to  have  read  com- 
pamts  of  them  from  some  sections  of  that 
fetate),  plum  trees  bore  the  largest  and  finest 
crop  for  man}^  years. 

The  question  arises,  to  what  was  this  freedom 
from  Curculio  attributable  ?  In  this  section  the 
answer  has  been- to  the  use  of  the  Ransom 
trap,  and  the  general  destruction  of  the  little 
turk  with  the  sheet,  and  also  to  the  picking  up 
or  alien  frui^.  ^  r.  "f 


Another  answer  is  found  in  the  large  increase 
of  the  parasite  discovered  by  W.  B.  Ransom, 
pointed  out  to  Professor  Riley,  State  Entomolo- 
gist of  Missouri,  aiid  subsequently  described  by 
him. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  method  of 
accounting  for  freedom  from  the  Curculio  in  the 
Michigan  peach  region,  will  not  apply  to  sec- 
tions of  country  where  no  such  modes  of  exter- 
mination have  be°n  applied.  The  fact  also  thai 
the  absence  of  Curculio  was  general  in  1873 
would  indicate  a  general  cause  for  their  destruc- 
tion. 

Our  fruit-growers  do  not  believe  that  extreme 
and  continued  cold  exterminates  the  curculio, 
because  the  weight  of  belief,  (no  reliable  testimo- 
ny of  the  fact  is  yet  on  record  in  Michigan),  is 
in  favor  of  thp  curculio  hibernating  out  of  the 
orchard.  The  grounds  of  the  belief  are  these : 
Firs^,  the  curculio  crop  are  all  hatched  and  out 
of  the  ground  long  before  cold  weather  closes  (ho 
ground  They  pass  their  transformaliou^in  from 
21  to  28  days.     In  the  spring  without  an  excep- 


tion, before  the  curculio  fly,  when  the  Ransom 
traps  are  set  through  the  whole  orchard,  curcu- 
lio will  only  be  taken  under  the  traps  set  on  the 
first  two  or  three  rows,  arid  the  number  regular- 
ly diminishes  toward  the  heart  of  the  orchard. 
The  concurrent  testimony  in  this  direction  is  so 
strong  that  many  careful  fruit-growers  in  the 
early  season,  hnving  set  their  traps  before  the 
appearance  of  curculio,  only  watch  the  outside 
row  of  trees  where  the  curculio  invariably  make 
their  first  appearance.  We  do  not  believe  cur 
culio  arc  generally  destroyed  by  cold  ;  but  from 
an  experiment  of  our  own  on  curculio  kept 
through  the  winter,  are  satisfied  that  they  can 
be  frozen  and  thawed  so  many  times  as  to  ki  1 
them. 

A  reason  for  the  destruction  of  curculio  last 
year,  and  the  year  previous,  suirgested  we  be- 
lieve by  Prof.  Riley,  commends  itself  to  our  fruit- 
growers as  more  reasonable  than  the  free  zing- 
out  theory,  namely,  intense  and  long  continue'd 
heat.  Two  seccessivc  years  have  presented 
heated  terms  so  intense  and  continued  that  the 
ground  has  been  baked  for  lack  of  moisture, 
throwing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  soft  worm 
entering  the  ground,  living  in  the  ground,  and 
leaving  the  ground  after  its  transformation. 

We  present  this  subject  to  our  readers  for  their 
cotisideration,  leaving  them  to  investigate  the 
Bubject.  Where  does  the  curculio  hibernate? 
Does  extreme  and  continued  cold  destroy  the 
curculio?  Does  extreme  and  continued  heat 
destroy  the  curculio  ?  How  far  will  the  parasite 
destroy  the  curculio  ?  Can  we  afi<)rd  to  let  the 
traps,  t^e  bugging  sheet,  and  picking  up  the 
fallen  fruit  go  and  depend  on  natural  means  of 
destruction  for  the  curculio  alone  ?  For  our- 
selves we  answer  the  last  question  emphatically, 
No  I  and  so  think  it  would  be  answered  by  every 

careful  fruit  grower  in  this  section. -/Sf.  Joseph 
herald. 


An  Early  Pea— The  -*  Philadelphia '»  is 
the  name  of  a  fine  variety  of  the  pea,  a  sample 
of  which  has  been  left  at  our  office  by  E.  Rishel, 
Esq,  of  this  county.  iMr.  R.  says  this  pea  is 
very  early;  and  will  shell  out  in  five  weeks  from 
planting— OentmZ   Union  Agriculturist,     ' 


Origin  of  Smith's  Cider  Apple  -This 
apple  originated  on  the  farm  of  Thomas  Smith, 
(who  died  many  years  ago),  in  Ikickinghani, 
Bucks  County,  Pa.  Mahlon  Smith,  a  venerable 
old  gentleman,  ninety  years;:of  age,  was  in  at 


tendance  at  Bucks  Quarterly  Meeting  of  Friends 
last  week.  He  informed  the  writer  that  he  lived 
when  a  boy  near  Thomas  Smith's,  and  that  he 
had  seen  the  original  apple  tree  *'  hundreds  of 
times. '»  His  remembrance  in  relation  to  it  is 
corroborated  by  several  other  aged  people  in  the 
neighborhood.  I  know  some  other  farms  have 
claimed  the  honor  of  originating  this  apple,  but 
they  are  not  entitled  to  that  distinction.  As  I 
am  seventy  years  of  age  myself,  and  have  lived 
in  this  vicinity  all  my  life,  it  may  be  presumed  I 
know  whereof  I  speak.— F.,  in  Germantown  Tele- 
grcqjh 


Expressive  Names.  — A  writer  in  the  Amer- 
ican  Agriculturist  quaintly  observes,  "We  are 
not,  after  all,  up  to  our  English  brethren  in  de- 
vising names  for  horticultural  fixtures  and  ap- 
pliances.     Does  frost  injure  your  Peach  trees  ? 
—Then  grow  them  under  the   '  Portable  Fruit 
tree   Crymoboethus.'      If  this   is  not  sufficient 
protection,  cover  the  glass    with    '  Frigi-domo,' 
and  increase  the  temperature  inside  by  means  of 
a  'Calorigen.'      Should  the  trees    grow  out  of 
bounds,  you  can  shorten  them  with  an  *  Aver- 
runcator,' and  shouM  scale,  mealy-bug,  and  the 
like  molest,  you  have  cmly  to  apply  some  '  Phy- 
tosmema.'      Truly   it   must   be   lots    of  fun   to 
*  horticult » in  England." 


Gardeners   Mats.— Although  late  in   the 
season  for  such  articles  as  '*  Gardener's  Mats," 
allow  me  to  use  a  little  space  to  describe  a  frame 
I  have  constructed  to  facilitate  the  weaving  of 
mats,  which  has  been  thoroughly  tested  during 
the  winter ;  one  somewhat  different  and  better 
in  many  respects  than  any  I  have  ever  seen. 
Make  side  pieces  two  and  five-eighth  yards  long, 
of  stout  material  -  mine  being  made  of  an  old 
ladder  frame.     Make  ends  of  narrow  strips,  of 
board  one  and   three-eighth  yards  long.     Ihe 
legs  are  slanted  outward  and  strengthened  by 
cross  pieces  nailed  near  the  floor.     Place  on  the 
outside  of  the  side  pieces,  narrow  strips  as  a 
guide  for  laying  on  the  straw.     Next,  procure 
two  strips  of  board  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
width,  and  one  and  three-eights  yards  in  length. 
Bore  holes  in  the  ends  of  these,  also  the  end 
pieces  of  the  frame.     Screws  should  be  put  in  at 
regular    intervals    in    each    of   these    movable 
boards,  and  four  wooden  pins  or  large  nails  near 
at  hand.     Now  here  is  where  I  claim  advantage. 
Place  the  movable  boards  in  the  frame  and  in- 
sert the  pins.     At  the  workman's  end,  tie  the 


282 


THE    GARDEJV'ER'S   MOJ^TELY.    September, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE JTEWS   MOJ^IRLY. 


283 


u 


twine  in  loops  and  place  on  the  screws  ;  stretch 
across  and  tie  in  a  half  bow  knot  at  the  opposite 
end.  After  weaving  as  far  as  one  can  reach, 
remove  th^  loops,  slide  the  opposite  board  along 
to  a  set  of  holes  made  in  the  side  pieces,  pull  the 
mat  over  and  its  own  weight  will  keep  it  in 
place,  and  so  on  until  the  mat  is  completed. — 
Correspojident  of  Maine  Farmer. 


Illinois  Industrial  University  -Exper- 
iments WITH  Early  Cabbage  —These  ex- 
periments, says  Mr.  H.  K.  Vicroy,  orchardist 
and  gardener,  were  made  on  poor  land,  lightly 
manured  with  course  horse  manure  and  plowed 
under  about  8  inches  deep.  They  were  planted 
the  same  day.  May  8,  1872,  and  received  the 
same  care.  The  gross  weight  given  is  that  of 
the  whole  plant  above  the  stalk,  the  n<'t  weight 
that  of  the  cabbage  with  the  leaves  trimmed  off 
ready  for  market 

The  following  list  in  the  order  of  ripening  have 
done  well  in  the  market  garden  and  vicinity; 
a  few  Little  Pixie  for  very  early— too  small  for 
profit- Jersey  Wakefield,  Early  Wyman,  Fal- 
ter's  Improved,  Winningstadt,  and  Schwein- 
furth. 

Winningbtadt  is  very  solid  from  the  time  it 
begins  to  head  to  maturity,  and  is  very  valua- 
ble on  this  account,  as  it  will  do  to  market  before 
it  is  ripe 

Six  plants  of  each  wem.  set  out,  but  as  one  or 
two  plants  died  in  some  cases,  the  following 
averages  are  not  all  made  from  six  heads  : 


Vai'iefies. 

Dwarf  Locli 

Early  Dwarf  Savoj' 

PJarly  Wyman 


Enfield  Markot 
Early  Hlood  R«.(l. 
Jersey  Wakeflold 

Little  Pixie 

Large  Oxhoart.... 

Large  York 

Schweinfnrth 

Rutrar  Lojif. 

Winningstadt  .... 
Wheeler 


Ma- 
tured. 
July  23 

Aug.  10 


••      1 
July  23 


Aug.  1 

••   in 
••    10 


;      Wei 
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fc-oz. 

4-  1 
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a-  -i]4 

(J- 91^ 
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(i-131^ 
2-1.-.!^ 


</ht. 
I    Net 
It-oz. 

l2-l-i 
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4-  1 

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1-11 

3-13 

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fti — ozl;>  c/ 
1-5  1 32.3 
1-IIU  -)0 

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!     Iim21.r, 

•  1-  Si^  2S  .-) 

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1-11^ 'Jill 

:2-  1      136  0 

2-13^  11.7 

1-  9'^^  VVJ 


Gardening  for  Women.— There  is  nothing 
better  for  wiv^s  and  daughters,  physi(;ally,  than 
t  >  have  the  care  of  a  gard.'n  ;  a  flower  pot,  if 
nothing  more.  What  is  plensanter  than  to 
spend  a  portion  of  every  day  in  working  among 
plants,  watching  their  growth,  and  observing 
the  opening  of  their  flowers,  from  week  to  week" 
as  the  season  advances  ?  Then  how  much  it 
adds  to  the  enjoyment  to  know  that  your  own 
hands  have  planted  them  and  have  pruned  and 


trained  them— this  is  a  pleasure  that  requires 
neither  great  riches  nor  profound  knowledge. 
The  advantages  which  woman  personally  derives 
from  stirring  the  soil  and  sniffing  the  mornin<» 
air  are  freshness  and  beauty  of  cheek  and  bright" 
ness  of  eye,  cheerfulness  of  temper,  vigor  of 
mind,  and  purity  of  heart.— IT.  B.  Stowe. 


Under  the  "Violets.     By  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes  :  — 

Her  hands  are  cold  ;  her  face  is  white  ; 

No  more  her  pulses  come  and  go  ; 
Her  eyes  are  shut  to  life  and  light  ;— 
Fold  the  w^hite  vesture,  snow  on  snow, 
And  lay  her  where  the  violets  blow. 

But  not  beneath  a  graven  stone. 
To  plead  for  tears  with  alien  eyes  ; 

A  slender  cross  of  wood  alone 
Sh  Ul  say  that  here  a  maiden  lies 
In  peace  beneath  the  peaceful  skies. 

And  grey  old  trees  of  hiigest  limb 
Shall  wheel  their  circling  shadows  round 

To  make  the  scorching  sunlight  dim 
That  drinks  the  greenness  from  the  ground, 
And  drop  their  dead  leaves  on  her  mound. 

When  o*er  the  boughs  the  squirrels  run. 
And  through  their  leaves  the  robins  call. 

And,  ripening  in  the  autumn  sun, 
The  acrrns  and  the  chestnuts  fall, 
Doubt  not  that  she  will  heed  them  all. 

For  her  the  morning  choir  shall  sing 
Its  matins  from  the  branches  high, 

And  every  minstrel  voice  of  spring, 
That  trills  beneath  the  April  sky, 
Shall  greet  her  with  earliest  cry. 

When,  turning  round  their  dial  track. 
Eastward  the  lengthening  shadows  pass, 

Her  little  mourners  clad  in  black, 
The  cricket,  sliding  through  the  grass. 
Shall  pii>e  for  her  an  evening  mass. 

At  last  the  rootlets  of  the  trees 
Shall  find  the  prison  where  she  lies, 

And  bear  the  buried  dust  they  seize 
In  leaves  and  blossoms  to  the  skies. 
So  may  the  soul  that  warmed  it  rise 

If  any  born  of  kindlier  blood, 
Should  ask,  What  maiden  lies  below  ? 

Say  only  this  :     A  tender  bud, 
That  tried  to  blossom  iti  the  snow, 
L'es  withered  where  the  violets  blow. 


called  incea,  which  is  said  to  be  more  subtle  than 
digitaline.  It  is  obtained  by  pressure  from  the 
seeds  of  Strophanthus  hispidus^  an  apocynaceous 
plant,  found  in  Gaboon  ;  and  from  experiments 
made  with  samples  of  it,  taken  from  arrows, 
upon  which  the  natives  place  it,  it  appears  that 
it  acts  more  powerfully  than  digitaline  or  antia- 
rine,  and  quickly  paralyzes  the  heart.  Three 
milligra'^mes  kill  a  fn»g,  a  sparrow,  or  a  dog, 
though  the  resistance  of  certain  animals  varies. 
A  snail,  for  instance,  requires  five  milligrammes  ; 
a  mouse  has  withstood  three  milligrammes  of 
the  extract  (obtained  by  macerating  the  seeds 
in  alcohol),  while  this  latter  dose  kills  a  do^r 
nearly  a  thousand  times  heavier  than  the  mouse. 
The  heart  comes  to  a  complete  standstill  after  a 
few  irregular  efforts.  — T/ie  Druggist. 


The  Persimmon.— We  are  not  a  little  sur- 
prised year  after  year  that  this  beautiful  orna- 
mental shade  tree,  rich  in  its  glossy  leaves,  clean 
and  neat  in  its  contour,  majestic  in  its  height, 
graceful,  yet  stately,  in  its  outline,  and  possess- 
ing besides  the  elements  that  generally  bring 
mankind  to  a  full  conception  of  its  value,  riz  : 
a  production  of  fruit  that  pays  pecuniarily,  should 
be  so  long  and  so  generally  neglected.  We  know 
there  are  varieties  that  bloom  and  do  not  mature 
fruit,  also  that  there  are  varieties  the  fruit  of 
which  is  austere  and  almost  uneatable,  even 
after  severe  frosts  have  toned  it  down  quiescent- 
ly ;  but  we  also  know  there  are  varieties,  the 
fruit  of  which  ripens  in  early  September,  before 
any  frost  has  come,  and  the  fruit  whereof  is  deli- 
cately rich  and  lusciou?,  and  is  sold  in  the  mar- 
kets of  our  Southern  cities,  as  readily  and  at  as 
good  prices  as  peaches  or  grapes. 

Let  us  say  a  few  words  then  to  those  who  are 
about  to  plant  ornamental  trees,  one  or  more, 
think  ere  you  plant,  look  at  and  count  the 
beauty  of  our  native  Persimmon.  See  its  hardi- 
hood and  cleanliness,  estimate  its  fruit  produc- 
titms,  and  dont  waste  time  or  ground  with  Ail 
anthus,  Catalpa  or  Cottonwood,  when  you  can 
bave  the  Persimmon.  It  is  easily  and  readily 
grown  from  seed.-F.  R  Elliott,  in  Fruit  Re- 
corder, 


A  Xew  Poison  -Strophanthus  hispidus. 
-There    has  lately  been   discovered   a   poison 


Magnolias  at  Lexington,  Ky.— Every 
one  in  Lexington  who  cares  much  for  flowers, 
has  heard  of  the  deservedly  famous  Magnolia 
that  adorns  the  surburban  home  grounds  of 
Horace  Craig,  Esq.  Nowhere  have  we  enjoyed 
the  sight  of  a  finer  specimen  of  the  kind  than 


the  one  here  referred  to  ;  and  early  in  the  season, 
shortly  after  the  blossoms  have  unfolded,  and 
before   the   spotlessly    pure  white  corollas  get 
blemished  by  a  single  trace  of  decay,  if  we  mis- 
take not,  Mr.  Craig's  lawn  has  one  rich,  rare 
object,  without  an  equal  in  all  the  Blue  Grass 
country.     That  peerless  representative  of  Mag- 
nolia conspicua,  originally  from  China  or  Japan, 
came  to  this  section  over  twentj^  years  ago  ;  was 
purchased  from   the  late  A.  J.   Downing,  the 
prince  of  American  landscape  gardeners,  and 
has  grown  up  to  testify  to  the  culture  and  re- 
finement of  James  O  Harrison,  Esq.,  who  then 
owned  and  ornamented  the  property  with  many 
of  the  most  beautiful  trees  and  shrubs,  some  of 
which    have   been   destroyed.      The   flowers  of 
Magnolia  conspicua   are    produced    before   the 
leaves,  anl,  as  Thomas  Meehan  says,  "combine 
the  fragrance  of  the  lily  with  the  beauty  of  the 
rose."    There  is  another  Magnolia  fr  )m  China 
known  amongst  botanists  as  M.  purpurea,  hard- 
ly less  valuable  and   frasrrant   than   the   white 
kind  described  above.     The  former  becomes  a 
small  tree,  whilst  the  one  now  engaging  our  at- 
tention does  not,  in   so    far  as   we  know,  get 
beyond   the  dimensions  of  a  large   shrub.      M. 
purpurea  is  not  very  rare  in  the  country  around 
Lexington,  and    there   are  a  couple   of  superb 
specimens  in  the  little  neglected  garden  forming 
a  part  of   our    Agricultural   Collegia  grounds. 
And,  moreover,  in   this,  as  in   the  above,  the 
flowers  are  fully  open  before  the  devel  )pment  of 
any  foliage.     The  corolla   is  of  a  lilac-purple 
color  on    the    outside,  but    paler   within,  and 
nearly  every  bud  expands  into  a  blossom.     We 
have  not  been  able  to  learn  who  set  out  the  two 
noble  specimens  of  M.  purpurea  now  growing  at 
Woodlands.— i^armer's  Home  Journal.  Lexini^- 
ton,  Ky. 


Excursion  of  Boston  Florists.  -The  deck 
and  cabin  of  the  steamer  Favorite  were  the 
scene  of  a  most  enjoyable  excursion  yesterday, 
the  occasion  being  an  assemblage  of  florists  of 
Boston  and  vicinity,  to  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  wh  >  responded  to  the  invitation 
of  Messrs.  Dee  &  Doyle,  and  M.  U.  Morton, 
each  of  whom  have  receiveil  from  his  brother 
florists  during  the  past  S'.'ason  a  fine  Howard 
watch,  and  in  return  for  whi(;h  they  tendered 
this  compliment.  BetwefMi  tht;  efl'orts  of  Mossrs. 
Wm.  H.  Hunt,  the  well-known  humorist,  G.  F. 
Kotchum,  the  facial  phenomenon,  and  E. 
McElroy,  the  carterer,  no  moment  of  the  day 


28M. 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJ^TELY.     September, 


1873. 


THE    GJlRDEJVEB'S   MONTHLY. 


S85 


was  allowed  to  pass  unoccupied  or  unenjoyed. 
The  sturdy  gardeners  from  the  suberbs  threw 
off,  for  the  nonce,  their  busy  cares  and  labors, 
and  becoming  boys  again,  enjoyed  with  unusual 
zest  and  quips  and  cranks  of  the  professional 
jokers  and  their  own  outbursts  of  playfulness. 
The  band  filled  up  the  spaces,  and  it  was  hard 
to  find  time  for  the  event  of  the  day,  which  was 
the  presentation,  by  Mr.  Thomas  W,  Dee,  in  be 
half  of  his  fellow  florists,  to  Mr.  F.  L  Harris, 
gardnener  to  II.  H.  Hunnewell,  Esq.,  of  a  mair- 
nificent  watch   and  chain,  costing  .$400.      Mr. 


Dee's  speech  was  pointed  and  graceful,  and  Mr. 

Harris,  totally  taken  by  surprise,  was  scarcely 

able  to  find  words  for  a  reply. 
The  trip  extended  below  Nahant  and  across  to 

the  South  Shore,  and,  in  returning,  the  company 

whiled  away  an  hour  or  two  at  Long  Island. 

If  the  unanimous  and  oft  repeated  endorsements 
I  of  the  company  are  any  criterion,  the  trio  of 
.  gentlemen  whose  generosity  and  gratitude  in- 
I  augurated  this  excursion,  have  every  season  to 

congratulate  themselves  on  the  perfect  success 

of  their  enterprise.— i^osiOH  Journal^  July  31st. 


FOREIGN     INTELLIGENCE 


Bees  and  Honey  in  France.— Honey  and 
wax  are  harvested  twice  a  year  in  France.  The 
earlier  occurs  according  to  location,  from  the 
latter  part  of  May  to  the  middle  of  July.  This 
is  called  the  summer  harvest,  and  is  usually 
better  both  in  quantity  and  quality  than  the  fall 
harvest.  The  honey  is  finer,  better  flavored, 
more  aromatic,  and  more  easily  drained  from  the 
wax.  It  is  a  pure  nectar,  collected  from  a  great 
variety  of  flowers,  and  is  little  contaminated 
with  pollen,  particularly  if  gathered  in  supers. 

At  the  beginning  of  July  the  honey  harvest  is 
usually  at  an  end  in  Gatinais,  while  it  is  then 
just  beginning  in  Picardy  and  at  Troyes.  In 
some  of  the  southern  departments  the  harvest 
commences  a  few  weeks  earlier  than  in  the 
northern. 

In  the  departments  of  Eure  and  Loire,  they 
generally  estimate  that  the  product  of  a  good 
stock  of  bees  is  five  per  cent,  on  the  capital  in- 
vested. The  yield  of  honey  and  wax  in  the  four 
departments,  Gironde,  Landes,  Lot  et  Garonne, 
and  Dordogne.  amounted  to  about  two  millions 
of  pounds  in  the  year  1866.  In  1867,  the  sum- 
mer harvest  of  honey  in  Gatinais  amounted  900  - 
000  lbs.,  which  was  regarded  as  a  fair  avera4 
yield.  ° 

The  fall  harvest  begins  about  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  continues  till  the  end  of  December 
accordmg  to  the  greater  or  less  abundance  of 
the  yield,  and  the  state  of  the  weather.    - 

At  th..,  su.nm  T  harvest  only  a  portion  of  the 
honey  and  wax  is  taken,  a  sutli.iently   supply 


being  always  left  in  the  hives  to  ensure  the  safety 
of  the  colonies  in  the  event  of  an  unfavorable 
season  or  a  deficiency  of  pasturage.  The  largest 
portion  of  the  honey  harvested  in  the  fall  is°de- 
rived  from  buckwheat,  heather,  and  late  blos- 
soming plants  ;  and  is  much  inferior  to  the  sum- 
mer honey  in  quality  and  flavor.  It  is  also 
darker  in  color,  and  very  soon  crystalizes.  It 
does  not  drain  so  readily  from  the  wax,  com- 
monly requiring  heat  and  pressure  to  eflect  a 
separation,  thus  deteriorating  the  product. 

The  honey  is  stored  in  large  vessels  or  barrels, 
and  care  is  always  taken  that  the  place  where  it 
is  deposited  is  dry  and  warm.  Watery  honey 
deposited  in  a  damp  place  soon  spoils,  and  even 
the  best  honey  will  in  time  be  injured  if  exposed 
to  dampness. 

Let  the  harvest  be  good  or  bad,  the  bee-keep- 
ers always  keep  honey  enough  on  hand  to  carry 
their  bees  safely  through  the  longest  winter- 
Canada  Farmer. 


Growing  and  Flowering  Eucharis  Ama- 
ZONICA.-I  wish  to  place  before  your  readers 
the  treatment  which  has  been  carried  out  here 
for  noarly  twenty  years.  About  that  number  of 
years  ago  we  obtained  two  bulbs  ;  they  rapidly 
increased,  and  now  we  have  a  very  large  stock, 
many  pots  full  of  bulbs  from  8  to  12  inches  in 
diameter,  besides  several  larger  from  18  to  24 
inches,  great  ma.<:se8  which  have  not  been  repot- 
ted lor  several  years.     These  produce  from  six- 


teen to  twenty-four  flower  stems  at  a  time,  and 
bloom  from  three  to  four  times  annually. 

Our  treatment  is  simple  ;  the  pots  remain  in 
the  same  places  all  the  year  round  in  a  moderate 
stove  heat,  varying  from  a  maximum  of  80^  in 
summer,  to  a  minimum  of  about  52^  in  winter. 
They  are  never  compelled  to  so  to  rest,  but  are 
freely  watered  whenever  they  appear  to  require 
it,  and  the  foliage  is  a  brilliant  deep  green  all 
the  year  round.  Whether  this  treatment  is  or- 
thodox or  not,  I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  but  that 
it  is  successful  is  apparent  from  the  results  of 
the  period  of  bloom  during  the  past  year  :— 

Days  in  flower. ..January 31 

February 28 

March 30 

April 21 

May 

June 30 

July 31 

August 25 

September 30 

October 27 

November 30 

*'  December 31 

Total,  314  days  out  of  366,  not  a  bad  result, 
and  such  has  been  the  case  here  for  several 
years.— John  Sayers,  Gardener,  Rockville, 
Blackrock,Co.  Dublin,  in  Journal  of  Horticulture. 


K 


t( 


i( 


t« 


(t 


4i 


l( 


IC 


an  oval  mass  of  croam-colored  pulp,  imbeded  in 
which  are  two  or  three  seeds  about  the  size  of 
Chestnuts.     This  pulp  is  the  eatable  part,  and 
its  consistence  and  flavor  are  indescribable.     A 
rich    butter-hke   custard    highly   flavored   with 
almonds  gives  the  best  general  idea  of  it,  but  in- 
termingled with  it  come  wafts  of  flavor  that  call 
to    mind    cream-cheese.    Onion-sauce,    brown- 
sherry,  and  other  incongruities.     Then  there  is 
a  rich  glutinous  smoothness  in  the  pulp  which 
nothing  else  possesses,  but  which  adds  to  its  deli- 
cacy.    It  is  neither  acid,  nor  sweet,  nor  juicy, 
yet  one  feels  the  want  of  none  of  these  qualities' 
for  it  is  perfect  as  it  is.     It  produces  no  nausea 
or  other  bad  effect,  and  the  more  you  eat  of  it 
the  less  you  feel  inclined  to  stop.     In  fact,  to  eat 
Durians  is  a  new  sensation,  worth  a  voyage  to 
the  East  to  experience.— GarcZe/i. 


The  Finest  Fruit  in  the  World.  —The 
purian,  a  fruit  about  which  very  little  is  known 
in  England,  but  which  is  reckoned  by  natives 
and  Europeans  in  the  Malay  Archipelago  to  be 
the  finest  fruit  in  the   world,  grows  in  great 
abundance  in  Java  and  Borneo.     It  grows  on  a 
large  and  lofty  forest  tree,  somewhat  resembling 
an  Elm  in  its  general  character,  but  with  a  more 
smooth  and  scaly  bark.     The  fruit  is  round  or 
slightly  oval,  about  the  size  of  a  large  Cocoanut, 
of  a  green  color,  and  covered  all  overVith  short 
stout  spines,  the  basis  of  which  touch  each  other, 
and    are    consequently    somewhat    hexagonal, 
while  the  points  are  very  strong  and  sharp.     It 
is  so  completely  armed,  that  if  the  stalk  is  broken 
off  it  13  a  ditticult  matter  to  lift  one  from  the 
ground.     The  outer  rind  is  so  thick  and  tough, 
that  from  whatever  height  it  may  fall  it  is  never 
broken.     From  the  base  to  the  apex  five  very 
famt  lines  may  be  traced,  over  which  the  spines 
arch  a  little  ;  these  are  the  sutures  of  the  carpels, 
and  show  where  the  fruit  may  be  divided  with  a 
heavy  knife  and  a  strong  hand.     The  five  cells 
are  satiny  white  within,  and  are  each  filled  with 


The  Quince. -The  Quince  is  a  native  of 
Crete,  i.  e.,  Candia,  but  is  also  found  apparently 
wild  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  and  I  think  in 
Armenia,  about  Mount  Ararat ;  but,  although  a 
native  of  warm  latitudes,  it  nevertheless  is  tolera- 
bly har^y  in  this  country,  but  not  completely  so, 
very  severe  winters  often  damaging  it  much.     I 


need  not  enumerate  the  mere  ornamental,  sorts, 
which  are  principally  from  Japan  and  China,  as 
they  have  as  yet  proved  of  but  edible  fruits,  and 
I  need  only  particularise   the  Apple,  the  Pear, 
and  Portugal  as  the  only  sorts  worth  growing  as 
fruit-trees,  although  there  are  a  few  varieties 
more  that  are  largely  grown  for  budding  and 
grafting  the  Pear  upon .    Columella  says  Quinces 
''  not  only  yield  pleasure,  but  health.»»    None  of 
the  sorts  have  as  yet  been  so  ameliorated  as  to 
be  fit  for  eating  raw,  but  are  much  esteemed 
when  preserved  and  otherwise  cooked  ;  to  apple- 
tarts  they  communicate  a  delightful  flavor  and 
piquancy,  and  by  adding  sufficient  sugar  and 
water,  a  tolerable  wine  may  be  made  from  them ; 
as  a  medicine  they  are  supposed  to  be  useful  in 
asthma. 

The  Apple-shaped  is  perhaps  the  most  profita- 
ble to  grow  as  a  market  fruit,  as  it  bears  abund- 
antly, and  stews  well.  The  Angers  and  PaHs  or 
Fontenay  Quinces  are  mere  varieties  of  the  above, 
and  are  largely  used  for  working  Pears  upon  ; 
but  the  Portugal  sort  is  a  far  better  stock,  being 
hardier,  a  free  grower,  and  keeps  pace  with  the 
Pear  worked  upon  it,  whilst  the  graft  overgrows 
the  other  varieties  when  used  as  stocks  :  these 
are,  however,  much  more  used  than  the  Portu- 


S86 


TEE   QARDEJVER'S  MOJ^TBLY.     September, 


1873. 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S  MOJ^TELY. 


HS7 


gal,  as  they  are  freer  to  strike  root.  Hence  the 
nurseryman  can  more  easily  get  up  a  supply  of 
them,  for  grafting  his  Pears  upon. 

The  Pear-shaped  Quince  is  drier  and  tougher 
than  the  Apple-shaped,  and  is  of  less  value  in 
cookery  ;  the  fruit,  however,  keeps  much  longer 
tlian  the  apple  variety. 

The  Portugal  Quince  is  superior  to  all  the 
rest  in  quality  and  flavor.  For  cooking  and 
preserving  it  is  much  to  be  preferred,  as  the  fruit 
turns  a  beautiful  purple  or  deep  crimson  when 
cooked,  and  the  tree  grows  stronger,  but  unfortu- 
nately does  not  bear  so  freely  as  the  others; 


hence  it  has  not  been  so  much  cultivated,  grow" 
ers  generally  preferring  quantity  to  quality,  a 
vice  I  decry,  as  I  think  the  best  should  always 
have  pref.^'rence.  As  an  instance  of  how  much 
some  cultivators  value  quality  or  the  production 
of  the  best  article  for  the  market,  I  may  mention 
that  I  had  an  order  for  a  quantity  of  that  nasty 
little  Pear  called  Bonm  Jeanne,  of  third-rate 
size,  and  much  below  third-rate  quality,  but  an 
enormous  bearer,  the  gentleman  ordering  not 
caring  whether  the  public  got  good  fruit  or  not, 
so  long  as  he  could  pocket  the  bawbees.  -  ScoWs 
*'  Orchardist  " 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


PENNSYLVANIA  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 


CENTENNIAL   HORTICULTURAL    EX- 
POSITION. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultu- 
ral Society,  held  on  Tuesday  Evening,  August 
19th,  1873,  a  communication  was  received  from 
the  National  Centennial  Commissioners,  request- 
ing this  Society  to  co-operate  with  the  Centenni- 
al Commission  in  the  preparation  and  manage- 
ment of  the  Horticultural  Department  of  tlie 
Centennial  Exposition  in  1876. 

In  compliance  with  this  request,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Horticultural  Society  voted  to  instruct  the 
President  of  the  Society,  W.  L.  Schaffer,  Esq., 
and  J.  E,  Mitchell,  Esq.,  Chairmen  of  the  So- 
ciety's Committee  on  the  Centennial,  and  of  the 
Committee  of  the  City  Councils  (who  has  just 
returned  from  Vienna),  to  invite  the  Horticul- 
tural Societies  throughout  the  United  States  to 
end  each  a  Delegate  to  a  meeting,  to  be  held 
in  Philadelphia,  on  Wednesday,  September 
17th  next,  at  the  opening  of  the  Autumnal  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural  So- 
ciety. 

The  official  notices  shall  be  issued  in  a  few 
days. 

The  Publication  Committee  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Horticultural  Society  have  issued  this  mes- 
sage promptly,  in  order  to  notify  the  friends  of 
Horticulture  of  the  above  matters  as  early  as 
possible,  so  that  proper  action  may  be  taken  to 
secure  a  Delegate  from  each  Society  before  mem- 


bers  leave  for  the  meeting  of  the  National  Pome 
logical  Society  at  Boston,  September  10. 

COLLECTIONS    OF     FRUITS     FOR     SEPTEMBER 
EXHIBITION,    1873. 

In  connection  with  the  above,  the  Publication 
Committee  of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultural 
Society  earnestly  solicit  Delegates  to  the  Nation- 
al Horticultural  Convention,  called  as  above 
stated,  to  bring  with  them,  or  send  per  Express, 
collections,  large  or  small,  as  may  be  convenient, 
of  specimen  Fruits,  (Pears,  Apples,  Grapes, 
&c  ,)  to  be  exhibited  at  the  Autumnal  Exhibi- 
tion of  the  Pennsylvania  Society,  September  16th 
to  19th.  Fruit  Growers  generally.  Horticultu- 
ral Societies,  &c.,  are  also  invited  to  contribute 
to  the  Autumnal  Exhib  tion. 

The  Members  of  the  Pennsylvania  Horticultu- 
ral Society  desire  to  make  the  Autumnal  Exhi- 
bition this  year,  as  far  as  possible,  National  in 
its  character,  preparatory  to  the  Grand  Centen- 
I  nial  Exhibition  in  1876.     The  grounds  for  the 
I  Horticultural  Garden,  the  Grand  Conservatories 
j  and  Plant  Houses  for  the  Centennial  Exhibition, 
have  already  been  set  apart  by  the  Commission- 
.  ers,  and  it  is  expected  that  some  of  the  buildings 
will  be  erected  early  next  year. 

A  Plant  and  Flower  Market 
will  be  held  in  the  Lower  Hall,  during  the  con- 
tinuance  of  the  Exhibition,  where  contributors 
may  offer  for  sale  any  Plants,  Trees,  Flowers,  or 
other  Horticultural  products.  This  has  been 
found  to  be  a  very  interesting  and  useful  feature 
of  the  Exhibitions. 

Packages  of  Fruit  may  be  sent  by  Express, 
addressed  as  follows :   Thos.  A.  Andrews,  Su- 


perintendent of  Exhibition,  Horticultural  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


<•••» 


MASSACHUSETTS  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 

It  is  often  a  matter  of  regret  with  us  that  no 
one  in  Boston  ever  thinks  it  worth  while  to  send 
notes  of  anything  which  occurs  at  the  meetings 
of  the  Society,  for  publication  in  the  horticultu- 
ral journals.  Because  nothing  much  appears, 
our  readers  must  not  think  the  Society  inactive  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  one  of  the  most  active,  and 
its  influence  on  the  community  in  and  around 
Boston,  of  the  most  decided  character.  The 
Volume  of  Proceedings  for  1872,  kindly  sent  to 
us  by  the  Secretary,  we  have  noticed  before  ; 
but  the  following  in  detail,  condensed  for  the 
Country  Oentleman,  contains  so  much  of  inter- 
est to  our  readers,  that  we  give  it  in  full  : 

The  TransDctions  of  the  Massachusetts  Hor- 
ticultural Society  for  1872,  a  volume  of  nearly 
two  hundred  pages,  contains  rich  treasures  in 
the  shape  of  horticultural  information,  some  of 
which  we  present  to  our  readers  in  a  condensed 
form. 

STRAWBERRIES.— The  Coloncl  Cheney  is 
highly  commended  by  the  Fruit  Committee, 
being  large,  handsome,  brisjht  scarlet  with  yel- 
low seeds,  resembling  the  Jucunda,  and  slightly 
irregular  in  form.  Flesh  solid,  of  fair  quality, 
but  not  equal  to  Triomphe  de  Gand— pistillate. 
The  Nicanor  is  pronounced  the  best  early  straw- 
berry, larger  in  size  than  Jenny  Lind,  of  good 
quality,  and  *' quite  as  productive  as  the  Wil- 
son "—the  plants  very  vigorous  and  hardy, 
standing  through  winter  better  than  any  other 
sort.  This  was  the  experience  with  Mr.  Heus- 
tis— it  had  not  succeeded  quite  so  w  11  with 
others.  A  new  seedling,  raised  by  J.  B.  Moore, 
of  Concord,  was  reported  ;  a  darC  red,  glossy, 
conical,  solid  and  rich  berry,  comparing  favor- 
ably with  the  President  Wilder. 

Mowing  Strawberries  was  recommended,  sev- 
eral having  found  the  practice  beneficial,  by 
producing  a  growth  of  more  vigorous  foliage. 

Currants.— The  Versailles  carried  off  the 
prizes  for  red  varieties,  while  Dana's  Transpa- 
rent was  superior  to  any  other  white.  The  spe- 
cimens of  the  latter  were  **  the  best  ever  shown, 
and  it  may  safely  be  pronounced  the  most  desi- 
rable wh^.te  currant." 

White  hellebore  is  still  regarded  as  the  best 
remedy  for  the  currant  worm,  and  as  cheap  as 


any.  A  good  way  to  apply  it  is  to  put  it  in  a 
wide-mouthed  jar,  with  a  lip  round  its  opening, 
over  which  one  or  two  thicknesses  of  fine  muslin 
are  tied.  Through  this  the  hellebore  is  shaken 
directly  where  it  is  wanted,  and  is  certain  death 
to  every  worm  it  reaches. 

Gooseberries. -The  first  prize  was  awarded 
to  the  Downing,  second  to  Smith's  Seedling,  and 
third  to  Houghton -all  being,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  committee,  superior  to  the  Mountain  Seed- 
ling. 

Raspberries. -The  Clarke  grows  in  estima- 
tion, particularly  for  family  use.  Of  Blackber- 
ries, the  Dorchester  still  holds  the  preference. 
The  Wilson  has  done  well. 

Seedlino  Pears.— Messrs.  F.  &  L.  Clapp 
have  exhibited  several  of  their  seedlings  of  such 
excellence  that  a  few  years  since  every  one 
would  have  been  thought  worthy  of  a  name  and 
introduction  ;  but  the  standard  is  higher  now, 
and  they  are  on  trial.  Francis  Dana  showed 
one  considerably  resembling  the  Lawrence; 
another  like  Winter  Nelis,  beside  two  others  ; 
but  we  do  not  learn  that  they  are  better  than 
old  sorts.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  collec- 
tions was  presented  by  President  Wilder,  and 
grown  by  B.  Fox,  San  Jose,  Cal.  They  were 
all  from  the  seed  of  Belle  Lucrative,  but  with 
one  exception  no  resemblance  to  the  parent  could 
be  discovered  ;  but  several  of  them  present 
strong  likenesses  to  other  well  known  sorts. 
One  resembled  Bloodgood  ;  another.  Winter 
Nelis  ;  and  others  Seckel,  Lawrence,  Superfin, 
Josephine  de  Malines,  &c.  This  result  is  as- 
cribed^to  the  fertilization  of  these  sorts  standing 
near. 

Trouble  with  the  Lawrence,— FsLvker  Earle,  of 
South  Pass,  III.,  sent  very  large  specimens  of  the 
Lawrence,  which  had  the  appearance  of  being 
bruised  around  the  eye,  but  which  he  says  is 
something  worse,  being  a  sort  of  watery  decay— 
one-fourth  of  his  crop  being  thus  affected,  either 
on  the  tree  or  just  after  gathering,  so  as  to  be 
unfit  for  marketing.  These  spots  were  wholly 
independent  of  any  insect  injuries  or  bruises. 
The  specimens  sent  were  perfectly  sound  when 
put  up.  Possibly  he  thinks  it  may  have  been 
the  result  of  the  very  hot  summer — or  perhaps, 
we  suggest,  something  like  fire  blight,  in  the 
fruit. 

Grapes.— Among  the  new  grapes,  the  Mar- 
tha seems  to  gain  favor,  being  very  vigorous, 
and  ripening  better  than  formerly.  It  is  pro- 
nounced as  good  as  the  Concord,  which  is  mild 


288 


t 

I 

I* 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJTTMLY.     September 


praise.  A  new  cfrnpe  was  mentioned,  raised  by 
J.  II.  Rickets,  of  Newburgh,  N".  Y.,  a  seedling 
of  the  Clinton,  hybridized  by  a  Muscat— bunch, 
long,  shouldered  ;  berry,  medium  in  size,  round, 
black  ;  flavor,  a  sprightly.  Muscat.  We  hope  it 
will  be  hardy,  but  mildew  is  likely  to  be  a  for- 
midable trouble  before  many  years  with  t!ie 
crosses  of  native  and  foreign  sorts.  Moore's 
Early,  from  J.  B.  Moore,  of  Concord,  has  a  large 
bunch  and  berry,  and  although  regarded  by  him 
as  the  best  of  two  thousand  seedlings  which  he 
has  tested,  and  thoui^ht  by  the  committee  as  the 
best  of  fifty  exhibited  last  year,  yet  it  is  said  to 
have  "  a  hard  pulp,  and  some  foxiness."  This 
is  probably,  however,  a  fair  average  of  success 
in  raising  new  varieties  without  crossin<r 

Native  Flowers.— The  large  collections  of 
native  flowers  shown  during  the  season,  consti- 
tuted one  of  the  most  interesting  and  gratifying 
parts  of  the  exhibition.     On  the  27th  of  April" 
*'  E.  H.  Hitchings  and  John  Robinson  had  each 
a  choice  collection  of  native  flowers,  among  them 
Draha  verna  and  IIepaticas.'>'    On  the  ISth  of 
May,  C.  W.  Jenks  exhibited  '<■  fifty-two  varieties 
of  native  flowers  ;  John  Robinson  twenty  one  ;» 
besides  smaller  collections.     How  many  of  these 
were  distinct  species,  and  how  many  varieties 
only,  we  are  not  informed.     A  little  more  scien- 
tific accuracy  in  this  respect  would  be  better. 
The  same  exhiuitors  had  large  collections  May 
26th,  June  8th,  June  29th,  and  August  10th  and 
24th.     Among  some  of  these  fine  flowers  were 
Cypripedium  acaule,    Pyrola    secunda,    Pogonia 
ophioglossoides,  Lilium  superbum.  Orchis  JimhrU 
aia,  Aletris  farinosa^  &c. 

Death  of  Evergreens. -A  report  on  this 
subject  ascribes  the  great  loss   which  occurred 
durmg  the  winter  of  lS71-'2,   to    the    severe 
drouth  in  connection  with  the  cold,  and  many 
interesting  facts  are  given  bearing  on  the  sub- 
ject.    It  was  not  the  intense  cold  that  did  the 
work,  as  was  shown  by  the  entire  escape  of  the 
fruit  buds  of  the  peach  in  localities  where  hardy 
evergreens  were  killed  to  the  ground.     In  one 
place  the  hemlocks  were  killed  down  ;  in  another 
they  nearly  all  escaped.     Several  varieties  of  the 
Rhododendron     proved    perfectly     hardy     and 
others   were  destroyed.     Native  Kalmias  were 
Killed.     Among  the  evergreens  in  the  list  that 
proved  hardy,  we  observe  Picea  Nordmaniana, 
Thvja  tartariva,  Taxus  b^^ccnta,  Pinvs  amtrmcl 
temhra  and  Pumilo,  and  Juniperus  Ckinensis 

IKESIDENTWILDEH'S    LECTURE. -The  most 

mteresiing  and  valuable  paper  in  this  volume,  is 


I 


,  the  Lecture  of  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  delivered 
before  the  Society,  on  ''  Hybridization  and  Pro- 
duction  of  New  Plants  for  Seed."    The  subject 
I  is  quite  thoroughly  treated,  and  the  four  differ- 
1  ent  modes  or  systems  compared,  being.  1.  The 
natural  mode  of  self-impregnation,  or\y'wind 
jand  insects.     2.  Van  Mon's  system,  by  succes- 
I  sive  generations  from  wild  seedlings.     3.  Aitifi- 
j  cial   or  cross   hybridi'^ation.     4.  Sebcting  and 
grafting  from  sporting  branches.     Amon'g  the 
I  successful  results  of  the  natural  mode,  or  "more 
I  correctly   of  accidental    impregnation,   Olapp's 
j  Favorite  pear  is  mentioned.     It  came  from  the 
I  seed  of  the  Bartlett,  while  the  tree  and  leaves 
I  are  so  strikingly  those  of  the  Flemish  Beauty, 
that  it  obviously  was  fertilized  by  pollen  from  it! 
Among  the  fruits  which  have   been    much  in- 
creased in  size  from  their  parents,  the  Beurre 
Clairgeau  is  cited  as  being  obviously  a  seedling 
from  the  Capiaumont ;  and  the  Northern  Spy 
apple,  which  is  supposed  to  have  its  origin  from 
the  Red  Canada.      President  Wilder  attaches 
but  little  merit  to  the  Van  Mons  method,  and 
thinks   his  best   results   came   from   accidental 
crossings  with  adjacent  standard   sorts.      The 
artificial    mode,   practiced    so    successfully    by 
Thomas  Andrew  Knight,  and  by  many  others 
since  his  day,  is  the  most  reliable,  satisfactory 
and  certain.     He  refers  to  the  experiments  more 
recently  performed  by  *'  Messrs.  Rogers,  of  Sa- 
lem ;  Underbill,   of  New  York ;  Campbell,   of 
Ohio;    Arnold,    of    Canada;  Moore,    of  New 
York,  and  Wylie,  of  South  Carolina, '»  as  having 
afforded  interesting  results. 

President  Wilder  urges,  with  his  own  peculiar 
eloquence,  the  importance  of  giving  increased 
attention  to  the  production  of  new  fruits,  and 
says,  **  If  the  members  of  the  Society  could  pro- 
duce only  one  new  fruit  annually,  suited  for  gen- 
eral cultivation  over  a  wide  extent  of  country, 
like  the  Bartlett,  Beurre  d'Anjou.  and  Clapp's 
Favorite  pear,  the  Baldwin,  the  Rhode  Island 
Greening  and  Williams'  Favorite  apple,  it  would 
be  worth  more  to  the  country  than  the  expense 
of  sustaining  all  the  horticultural  societies  in  the 
ITnited   States  for  fifty  years    to    come."    He 
utters  these  words,  worthy  of  being  put  in  let- 
ters of  gold,  *»  I  would  rather  be  the  man  who 
shall  originate  a  luscious  fruit,   suited  to  culti- 
vation throughout  our  land,  of  which  successive 
generations  shall  partake,  long  after  I  shall  be 
consigned  to  the  bosom  of  mother  earth,  than  to 
wear  the  crown  of  the  proudest  conqueror  who 
has  ever  triumphed  over  his  fellow  men.»' 


Winter  Plants  for  Blooming. 

Carnations  y 
BouvardiaSf 
Oalla  Lilies^ 
PoinsettiaSy 
Violets^ 
Begonias^ 
EupatoriumSf 
Euphorbias  jacquiniflora^ 


Store  aDi  ^reeDbonse  Piants. 

Alocasias, 

Orassula  perfoliata, 
EcheveriaSy 
Eucharis  Amazonioa^ 
Eittonias, 
Latania  borboniea, 
MarantaSy 
Peperomias, 
Sanchesias. 


00  NOT  FAIL 

To  Correspond   Oonoerning, 

OE  CALL  AND  EXAMINE 

OUR  STOCK 


O  F 


m 


» 


RED  BANK,   N.  J. 


Nurseries  and  Greenhouses  near 


Hauls  for  Horisls'  StooL 


Alalia  Indica^ 

BigoniaSy 

Gape  Jassaminey 

Dracmna  terminaliSy 

Peristrophe  angustifoUa  »ar., 


Bnllis  &  Tnliers  for  Florists'  Ml 


TuberoseSy  all  sixes, 
Galla  Liliesy 
GladioluSy 
Gannasy 
Dahlias. 


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BOOKS  FOR  RUEAL  LIFE. 

Will  be  forwarded  by  mail,  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

Allen's,  R.  L.    A.™eric8n  Farm  Hook $1  50 

Allen's,  R.  L.'^Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals 1  50 

Allen's,  R.L.    Ra  I  Architecture     160 

Allen's,  L.  F.   Amorican  Cattle 2  60 

Allen's,  R.  l'&  L.  F.,  New  American  P'arm  Book 2  fiO 

American  Architect 7  00 

Ameri  an  Agricultural  Annual,  paper  60  ;  clotli 7^ 

Ameiican  Hojticultueral  Annual,    "  '*        76 

American  Bird  Fancinr  (Brown's) ^ 

American  Farmer's  G  cyclopedia 6  00 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Hants 1  75 

Art  of  Haw  Filing 76 

Architecture,  Modern  AmnTican,  CummingM  &  Miller 10  00 

"        Principles  and  t  ractice  of,By  Loring  &  Jenniag  U  00 

Baker's  Fruit  Culture 4  00 

Bassetton  Cranberry  Culture 3" 

Barry's  l<ruit  Garden 2  60 

Bement's  Poulterer's  Companion 2  00 

Bement's  Babbit  Fancier 30 

Beet  Root  Sugar 1  ^^ 

Bicknell's  Village  Builder,  77  plates 2  00 

Bommer'K  Method  of  Mabiog  Manures 2.'i 

Book  of  Roses.     F.  Par  km  an 3  00 

Bousflin^rauit's,  J.  B.,  Rural  Economy 1  60 

Brown's  Field   Book  of  Manures 1  bO 

Browne's  Trees  of  America 6  (K) 

Breck's  New  Book  of  Flowers 1  75 

Bridgf-man's.  American  Gardener's  Assistant 2  W 

Bridgeman'sForists  Guide 1  0^ 

Bridyeman's  Fruit  Cultivator's  Manual 1  00 

Bridgeman's  K'tchen  <Tardpner  s  Instructor 1  OJ 

Buist's  Robert,  Am.  Flower  Garden  Directory 1  60 

Bui st's,  Robert,  Family  Kitchen  Gardener.. 1  ^0 

Burr's  Field  and  Garden  Vegetables  of  America *  OJ 

Carpenterand  Jo  ner  (R.  Riddeil) 7  00 

Carpenter  and  J  Iner's  Hand  Book  (Holly) 7j 

Ohorlton's  Grape  Grower's  Guule 75 

Chemistry  of  the  Farm  (Nichols) 1  25 

Cleveland's  Villas  and  Cottages *  00 

Cobbett's  American  Gardener 75 

Cole's,  S.  W.,American  Fruit  Book 7.'> 

Cole's  American  Veterinarian 75 

Cooper's  Rural  Hours 2  00 

Copeland's  Country  Life 6  00 

Cottage  Gardener's  Dictionary 3  50 

Dadd'H,  Geo.  H..  American  Cattle  Doctor «...  1  AO 

Dadd'ft  Modern  Hor«e  Doctor 1  60 

Dadd's  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Horse  (plain  plates)  8  60 

Dana's,  Samuel  H.,  Muck  Manual 1  26 

Darwin's  Variations  of  /^  nimals  and  Plants  (2  vols) 6  00 

DeVoe's  Market  Assistant 2  50 

Downing's,  A   J..  Landscape  Gardening 6  50 

DowninK*s  Tottage  Residences '6  Oi) 

Downing's  Fruits  and  Fmit  Trees  of  America 4  CO 

Downing's  Rural  Ks-says 6  OJ 

Du  breuil's  Vineyard  Culture  (Dr.  WardenV... 2  OJ 

Eastwood  on  Cultivation  of  ihe  Cranberry 75 

Elliott's  Western  Fruit  Grower's  Guide 1  50 

Elliot's  Lawn  and  Shade  Trees 1  50 

Every  Woman  her  own  Flower  Gardener 50 

Farm  Talk  (Brackett) 1  Qp 

Farming  for  Bovs 1  60 

Field's  Thomas'W.,  Pear  Culture 1  2i 

Flagg's  European  Vineyards ..  1  6) 

Flax  Cul  lire 60 

Flint,  Chas.  L.,  on  Grasses 2  50 

Flint's  Milch  Cows 2  60 

Flower  Gardens  for  Cx)untry  Homes 2i 

Fowler's  Homes  for  All 160 

Frank  Forester's  Fish  and  Fishing,  8  vo.  100  engravings....  6  60 

Frank  Forester's  Manuel  for  Young  Hportsmen,  8  vo..,..  .  3  0(» 

French's  Farm  Drainage l  50 

Fuller's  Grape  Culturist :  l  .50 

Fuller's  Small  Fruit  Culture 1  6J 

Fuller's  Strawberry  (  ulturist 25 

Fuller's  Forest  Tree  Culturist 1  50 

Fulton  on  P«-ach  Culture 150 

Geyelin's  Poultry  Breeding 1  25 

Grays  How  Plants  Grow 1  25 

Gray'H  Manual,  Botany  and  Les>onc,  in  one  vol, 4  Oi» 

Gray's  Hchool  and  Field  Book  of  But  any ,  2  6) 

Green  on  Trout  Culture i  0* 

Grt'gory  on  Squashes,  paper :*>' 

Gnernon  on  Milch  Cows , ,,        75 

Guide  to  Fortune [ !!!!!!!  1  00 

Harazthy's  Grape-cnUnre  and  Wine-making.....! ',,1',,  6  00 

Rarazthy's  California  Grape-culture 500 

Harriu'  Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,  clo.  *4:  col.  eng's....  6  60 

Harris  on  the  Pig " I  qq 

Hatfield's  American  House  'arpenter..  .,1*. *.**.*.*****.*,**.! !JJJ  3  /io 

Henderson's  Practical  Floriculture .*....!...,  1  60 


Henderson  8  Gardening  for  Profit ••••    1  00 

Herbert's  Hints  to  Horeekeepers 1  75 

Hoopes  on  Evergreens 8  00 

Hooper's  Dog  and  Gun,  paper  30  cents,  olotb 60 

Hop-culture ..f  ••.••...      40 

How  to  Buy  a  Farm,  and  Where  to  Find  One 1  75 

How  to  Manage  a  Building  Association 2  00 

Hussmao's  Grapes  and  Wines 1  60 

Jacques' Manual  of  the  House. 1  60 

Jacques'  Manual  of  the  Garden 1  00 

Jennings' Cattle  Doctor 1  70 

Jennings  on  the  Horse  and  his  Diseases 1  76 

Jennings' Sheep,  Swine  and  Poultry. 1  76 

Johnson's  How  Crops  Grow 2  00 

Johnson's  Peat  and  its  Uses 1  26 

Johnston's  Elements  of  Ag.  Chemistry  and  Geology C.  1  60 

Johnston's,  J.  8.  W.,  Agricultural  Chemistry 1  76 

Kemp's  Landscape  Gardening 2  60 

Klippart's  Farm  Drainage 1  76 

LangHtroth,  Rev.  L.  L.  on  the  Hive  and  Honey  Bee 2  00 

Leuchars' How  to  Build  Hot-house 160 

Leibig's,  Justus,  Familiar  Lectures  on  Chemistry 76 

Louden's  Encyclopedia  of  Plants 16  00 

Lyman's  Cotton-<mlture 160 

May hew's  Practical  Book-keeping  for  Farmers 90 

Mead's  Grape-culture 3  00 

Mechanics' Companion  (Nicholson) 3  00 

Median's  Ornamental  Trees 1  00 

McMahon'w  American  Gardener 2  29 

Mileson  the  Hor-e's  Foot 76 

Miner's,  T.  B.,  Bee-keeper's  Manual. 1  26 

Mohr  on  the  Grape-vine 1  (0 

Money  in  the  Garden 1  60 

Munu's,  R.,  Practical  Land-drainer 76 

My  Vineyard  at  Lakeview 1  26 

M  y  Farm  of  .^dgewood 1  76 

My  Ten-rod  Farm 60 

North  American  Sylva,  6  vol«.,  156  col.  plates,  in  30  parts, 

unbound 60  00 

"  •*  hn If  Turkey  Antique,  gilt 70  nO 

•'  «  full  •*  76  00 

Neil's  P'  ac.  Fruit,  Flower  &  K^^chen  Gardener's  Companion. .  1  26 

Nichol's  Chemistry  of  the  Farm  and  Sea 1  26 

Norton's,  John  P.  Elements  of  Scientific  Agricultare 76 

Norris'  Fish-culture 1  75 

Onion-ca  It  ure 20 

Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres,  paper  30  cents,  cloth 60 

Packard's  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,  8  parts,  each 60 

Pardee  on  Strawberry-culture 75 

Parson,  Samuel  B.,  on  tl)e  Roae 1  60 

Parkman's  Book  of  Roses , 1  60 

Peat  and  its  Unes 1  26 

Pear-culture,  Fields ,. 1  26 

Pedder's,  James,  Farmer's  Land-measurer 60 

Percheron  Horse 1  00 

Peterst  n's  Preserving,  Pickling  and  Canning  Fruit. 60 

Phin  on  Wine-mnking 1  60 

Quinn's  Pear-cultUie  for  Profit 1  00 

Qulnby's  Mysteries  of  Bee-keeping  Explained 1  60 

Randall's  bheep  Husbandry 1  60 

Randall's  Fine  Wool  Sheep  Husbandry 1  00 

Rand's  Bulbs 3  00 

Rand's  Flowers  for  Parlor  and  Garden 3  00 

Rand's  Seventy-five  Flowers 1  60 

Rand's  Flower  Garden 8  00 

Reemelin's,  Charles  Vinedressers'  Manual 76 

Richardson  on  the  Dog,  paper  30,  cloth 60 

Riddell's  Architect t..l6  00 

Roosevelt's  Five  Acres  Too  Much 1  60 

Rose  Culturist,  pai  er  30 cloth      76 

Kobbins',  R  ,  Produce  and  Ready  Reckoner. 76 

Rural  Studies 1  76 

Saunders' Domestic  Poultry,  Paper  40 cloth      76 

Saxton's  Hand-books,  in  four  series,  each 1  60 

Schenck's  Gardener's  Text-book 76 

Scribner's  Ready  Reckoner  and  Log-book 36 

Strong's  Cultivation  of  the  Grape 3  00 

Ten  Acres  Enough 1  60 

Thomas' Fruit-culturli«t;  new  edition 3  Oft 

Warder's  American  Pomology 3  00 

"        Hedges  and  Evergreens 1  60 

Waring's  Drainage  for  Profit  and  Health .,  1  61) 

"         Elements  of  Agricultare 1  00 

"         Farth  Closets ., 25 

Webster's  Dictionary,  Unabridged 12  00 

Well's  Every  Man  his  own  Lawyer 2  00 

Window  Gardening 1  60 

White's  Gardening  for  the  South 2  00 

"        Cranberry  Culture 1  26 

Workingman's  Way  to  Wealth 75 

Wright's  Practical   Poultry  Keeper 2  00 

Youattonthe  Horse 1  75 

Youman's  Household  Science 2  00 


DEVOTED  TO 

Horticulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural   Affairs, 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series.  Vol.  XV.  OCTOBER,     1873.       New  Series.Vol.  VI.  No.  10. 


HINTS  FOR  OCTOBER. 


AddresB, 


OHAS.  H.  MABOT. 


FLOWER  GARDEJ^  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

Dahlias,  Gladiolus,  Tuberoses  and  other  plants 
that  require  winter  protection  for  their  roots  in 
cellars,  should  be  taken  up  at  once  on  their 
leaves  getting  injured  by  the  first  white  frosts. 
The  two  latter  should  be  pretty  well  dried  be- 
fore storing  away,  or  they  may  rot.  Dahlias 
may  be  put  away  at  once. 

Chrysanthemums  now  in  flower  should  have 
their  names  and  colors  rectified  against  the  time 
when  in  spring  they  may  have  to  be  replanted, 
when  they  can  be  re-arranged  with  accuracy 
and  satisfaction,  according  to  the  owner's  taste. 

Herbaceous  hardy  border  flowers  are  often 
propagated  in  the  fall  by  dividing  the  roots  ; 
but,  unless  it  is  convenient  to  protect  the  newly- 
made  plants  through  the  winter,  it  is  better  to 
defer  this  till  spring,  as  the  frost  draws  out  of 
the  ground  and  destroys  many*  Where  it  is 
now  resorted  to,  a  thick  mulching  of  leaves  or 
litter  should  be  placed  over  the  young  stock 
when  transplanted. 

Few  things  are  more  valued  in  winter  than  a 
bunch  of  Sweet  Violets.  A  few  may  now  be 
potted,  and  they  will  flower  in  the  window  to- 
ward spring  ;  or  a  small  bed  of  them  may  be  in 
a  frame,  which  should  be  protected  by  a  mat  from 
severe  frost.  To  have  Pansies  flower  early  and 
profusely  in  spring,  they  may  be  planted  out  in 
a  frame,  as  recommended  for  the  Violet. 

Many  kinds  of  hardy  annuals  flower  much 
better  next  spring,  when  sown  at  this  season  of 
the  year.  A  warm,  rich  border  should  be  chosen, 
and  the  seed  put  in  at  once.     Early  in  spring 


they  must  be  transplanted  to  the  desired  posi" 
tion  in  the  flower  border. 

Hyacinths,  Tulips,  Crocuses,  and  hardy  Dutch 
Bulbs  generally,  must  have  immediate  attention. 
Crocuses  and  Snowdrops  are  often  planted  out 
in  the  grass  on  the  lawn  ;  the  former  is  not  very 
objectionable  ps  the  leaves  have  so  close  a  ^rass- 
like  appearance  ;  but  the  last  should  never'be  so 
employed,  the  foliage  giving,  the  whole  summer 
afterwards,  a  very  course  and  weedy  tppeara nee 
to  the  lawn. 

Hyacinths  and  Tulips  may  be  set  out  in  the 
beds  devoted  to  summer  flowering  bedding- 
plants,  as  they  will,  in  a  great  measure,  be  out 
of  flower  before  the  bedding  time  comes  around, 
when  they  can  be  either  taken  up  and  trans- 
planted to  an  out-of-the-way-plsice  to  ripen,  or 
the  bedding-plants  can  be  set  in  between  where 
the  bulbs  grow,  without  either  much  interfering 
with  the  success  of  the  other. 

As  a  manure  for  these  bulbs,  nothing  has  yet 
been  found  superior  to  well-decayed,  sandy  cow- 
manure;  but  where  this  is  not  conveniently  at 
hand,  well  decomposed  surface-soil  from  a  wood 
will  do  as  well. 

The  first  two  weeks  in  October  will  be  the 
great  tree-planting  month  of  the  fall  season  ; 
and,  as  we  have  last  month  stated,  the  operation 
cannot  be  proceeded  with  too  ra|)idly.  In  this 
region,  at  least,  after  the  end  of  this  month, 
every  day's  delay  increases  the  risk  of  loss  by 
the  severity  of  winter;  and,  after  the  loth,  we 
would  not  care  to  plant  evergreens,  unless  they 
were  comparatively  small,  and  the  operation 
conducted  with  great  care.  Occasionally  great 
success  follows  later  planting— owing  more  to 


Hl^^SEE   FIRST  PAGE,  FACING  COVER. 


290 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MO^TTEL  Y. 


October. 


1873. 


good  luck  than  souud  judgment.  Where  plant- 
ing is  of  necessity  delayed,  the  risk  is  made  less 
by  pruning.  The  later  a  tree  is  planted,  and 
the  more  exposed  the  situation,  the  more  in  pro- 
portion should  it  be  pruned.  It  has  become  a 
pretty  well  settled  axiom  in  American  gardening 
that  the  way  frost  acts  in  destroying  fall-planted 
trees  is  by  excessive  evaporation,  by  which  the 
moisture  is  dried  out  of  them  ;  and  this  is  to  be  ob- 
viated by  shelter  from  cold  winds,  protection  from 
the  sun's  rays,  pruning,  and  other  ways,  which 
will  suggest  themselves  to  the  reader  according 
to  his  peculiar  circumstances. 

All  operations  connected  with  ground-work 
are  now  being  pushed  forward  rapidly — grading, 
road-making,   lawn-making,   and    so    on.      So 
much  has  been  said  of  lawn-making  in  our  past 
issues,  that  little  remains  to  be  said  here.     One 
of  the  newest  improvements  in  sodding  a  lawn  is 
not  to  lay  the  pieces  of  sod  close  to  each  other. 
Pieces  can  be  cut  into  any  size  or  shape  and  laid 
down  several  inches  from  each  other,  the  soil 
being  loosely  thrown  aside  by  the  trowel  to  make 
the  surface  of  the  sod  and  the  surrounding  soil 
nearly   level.     On  a  large   scale,  a  wide  drill 
which  any  ingenious  laborer  could  construct,  or 
even  a  shallow  furrow  with    a  plough   as  in 
"  marking  out "  for  a  corn  crop,  might  be  em- 
ployed, and  the  pieces  of  sod,  about  six  inches 
square,  set  in  four  or  six  inches  apart.     A  bush- 
harrow,  afterwards  drawn  over  the  lot,  levels 
the  loose  soil  in  the  spaces  between  the  sods,  and 
the    roller    afterwards  passed  over    the  whole 
makes  a  good,  firm,  plain  job.     When  the  grass 
commences  to  grow  in  the  spring,  it  soon  spreads 
into  the  unoccupied  spaces  ;  and  before  midsum- 
mer the  whole  becomes   one   uniform  sheet  of 
grass.     This  method,  which  may  be  called  sod- 
ding by  inoculation,  saves  just  one-half  the  cost 
of  sodding  by  the  usual  mode,  and  is  very  near 
as  good,  in    fact,  quite  as  good,  after  a  few 
months  of  time,  and  costs  a  very  little  more  than 
seeding-down,  which,  except  under  the  manage- 
ment of  one   who  thoroughly  understands  his 
subject,  is  one  of  the  most  unsatisfactory  of  all 
regular  modes.     Where  seeding-down  is  to  be 
the  mode,  now  is  the  time  to  see  about  it. 

The  greatest  difficulty  we  have  to  contend 
against  in  making  good  lawns,  is  the  coarse  rank 
weeds  with  which  most  parts  of  our  country 
abound;  and  no  effort  that  can  be  made  to 
guard  against  their  introduction,  or  to  provide 
for  their  eradication  at  the  outset,  will  be  ill 
spent.    It  is  often  an  easy  matter  at  first ;  but 


after  they  have  once  been  suffered  to  establish 
themselves,  it  is  often  better  to  dig  or  plough  up 
the  whole  surface  and  lay  it  down  anew.  Some- 
times much  may  be  accomplished  in  old  lawns 
by  digging  out  the  weeds  with  a  trowel  or  spade, 
filling  up  the  holes  with  soil,  into  which  the 
grass  will  soon  run  and  obliterate  the  traces  of 
the  work. 

In  all  our  operations  savinq  labor  ^should  be 
our  first  consideration— not  that  kind  of  labor- 
saving  which  half  does  an  operation,  but  which 
will  produce  an  equal  result  at  a  less  cost.  The 
introduction  of  grasses  that  will  always  remain 
green,  and  yet  grow  so  slow  as  to  require  little 
mowing,  is  one  of  the  new  features  in  this  line. 
Experiments  are  wanted  with  many  kinds  of 
native  plants  that  are  to  be  found  in  most  locali- 
ties. Of  course,  all  those  who  propose  new  im- 
provements, or  try  novel  experiments  will  be 
laughed  at  and  pointed  out  as  "humbugs,"  but 
that  should  not  deter  any  one  from  following  the 
path  of  progress. 

Where  a  choice  can  be  had  of  a  kind  of  grass 
for  a  lawn,  in  our  opinion  the  perennial  Rye 
grass  [Lolium  perenne^)  is  the  best  for  general 
purposes.  Its  shining  green  leaves,  playing  in 
the  spring  suns,  give  a  very  cheerful  effect  to 
lawn  scenery.  Its  only  drawback  is  that  it  will 
not  bear  very  close  mowing  in  hot  weather,  if 
once  allowed  to  grow  long.  Kentucky  Blue 
grass,  [Poa pratense,)  the  Green  Grass  of  Penn- 
sylvania, also  makes  a  fine  lawn. 


TSE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


291 


<•»•» 


GREENHOUSE. 


There  are  but  few  things  in  the  greenhouse 
that  will  require  special  treatment  at  this  time. 
Camellias  and  Azaleas,  as  they  cease  to  grow, 
will  require  less  water ;  but  it  is  now  so  well 
known  that  moisture  is  favorable  to  growth,  and 
comparative  dryness  favorable  to  flowering,  that 
we  need  do  no  more  than  refer  to  the  fact. 

Bulbs  for  flowering  in  pots  should  be  planted 
at  once.  Four  or  five-inch  pots  are  suitable. 
One  Hyacinth  and  about  three  Tulips  are  suffi- 
cient for  each.  After  potting,  plunge  the  pots 
over  their  rims  in  sand  under  the  greenhouse 
stage,  letting  them  remain  there  until  the  pots 
have  become  well  filled  with  roots,  before  bring- 
ing them  on  to  the  shelves  to  force. 

Where  many  flowers  are  desired  for  bouquets 
in  winter,  a  good  stock  of  such  as  flower  easily 
should  be  provided,  especially  of  white-flowering 


kinds,  without  a  good  sprinkling  of  which  a 
bouquet    has    but    a   very  commonplace    look 

Deutzia  gracilis  and  D.  scabra,  Philadel- 
phuses,  and  Tamarix  are  very  good  hardy 
plants  to  pot  for  winter  flowerino-.  The  Iberis 
sempervirens  is  also  a  splendid  white  to  force 
for  Its  whito  flowers.  Lopezia  rosea  is  nearly 
indispensable  for  giving  a  light,  airy  graceful- 
ness to  a  bouquet;  and  Camellias  and  Azaleas 
cannot  possibly  be  done  without. 

Many  kinds  of  annuals  also  come  well  into 
play;  amongst  other  things,  Phlox  Drummon- 
dii.  Sweet  Alyssura,  Collinsia  bicolor,  Schizan- 
thuscs,  Mignonette,  and  :N-emophila  are  essen- 
tial. 


FRUIT  GARDENS'. 

There  is  considerable  art  in  raising  fruits  ;  but 
there  is  as  much  or  more  in  gathering  and  ripen- 
ing them.    Pears  and  apples  are  ready  as  soon 
as  the  seeds  begin  to  turn  black,  or  as  soon  as 
they  will  part  easily  from  the  tree  by  gently  rais- 
ing  the  stalk,  or  as  soon  as  the  leaves  show  indi- 
cations of  falling  from  the  trees  ;  indeed,  whether 
they  are  duly  ripe  or  not,  no  length  of  time 
will  avail  them  aught  after  the  leaves  fall.     I^o 
rules  can  be  given  for  the  exact  place  to  put 
them  away  in,  but  the  principle  must  be  applied 
to  each  individual  case.     In  the  first  place,  the 
truit-shelves  must  be  secure  from  frost.     In  the 
next  mace,  it  must  be  just  moist  enough  to  pre- 
vent withering,  but  not  too  much  so,  or  the  flavor 
will  be  inferior.     Nor  must  it  be  too  hot,  or  your 
fine  Beurres  may  become  Fondantes,  or  resemble 
cooked  Pommes  des  terres,  alias  boiled  potatoes. 
If  It  IS  too  cold— barely  above  the  freezing  point, 
the  fruit  becomes  insipid  and   tasteless.     The 
nappy  idea  is  to  strike  central  to  all  these  ex 
tremes.     Of  course,  they  must  be  hand-picked 
from   the   tree,  as   the  slightest    bruise  causes 
decay.     The  stock  must  be  occasionally  over- 
hauled anyhow  to  take  out  such  as  will  be  found, 
from   various    accidents,  in  a  decaying    state! 
Apples,  for  commercial    purposes,  are   usually 
barrelled  up,  with  chafl-or  other  light  substance 
between  each   layer ;    and  some  pears,  such  as 
I^awrence,  will   bear  the  same  treatment  ;   but 
such  preserved  fruits  are  never  equal  in  quality 
to    those    preserved    in  a  more  open  way  on 
shelves. 

We  may,  perhaps,  repeat  the  advice  to  plant 
considerably  more  fruit  trees  together  on  the 
sap^e  space  of  ground  than  is  usually  done,  even 
though  some  has  to  be  cut  away  in  time.     This 


should  especially  be  in  the  case  where  parties 
J  prefer  to  keep  the  surface  soil  clear  ;  as  the  in- 
i  tense  heat  reflected  from  bare  soil  is  one  of  the 
,  great  sources  of  disease  in   young   trees       It 
i  might  be  well  to  introduce  nurse  trees  into  or- 
;  chards,  to  obviate  this  somewhat.    Alders   Pop- 
lars or  Willows  might,  we  think,  be  used  'to  ad- 
I  vantage  ;  of  course,   cutting  them  away  before 
j  they  grew  largu  enough   to  interfere   with  the 
roots  of  the  fruit  trees.     A  dry  warm  bottom 
but  cool  surface  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
fruit  growing. 

The  past  season  in  most  parts  of  the  country 
has  been  one  of  very  abundant  bearing,  and  un- 
less the  food  has  been  kept  up  by  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  manure,  there  will  be  many  weak  and  ex- 
hausted trees,  and  short  crops  next  season.    We 
prefer  to  manure,  in  such  cases  as  these,  in  mid- 
summer. The  cells  of  trees  are  like  honey-combs 
and  store  up  matter  for  use  the  next  season! 
They  have  of  course  to  do  this  while  growincr. 
Whenever  this  has  not  been  done,  mat'ter  for"a 
surface   dressing  should  be  got    ready  during 
autumn   and   winter.      Much   injury   has  been 
done   to  fruit  culture   by  the  expressed   dread 
some  cultivators  have  of  a  *'  two  rank  growth,'* 
and  a  consequent  advice  not  to  manure.  A  fruit 
tree  never  suffers  from  too  much  manure,  if  the 
roots  are  healthy.     If  a  tree  seems  to  suffbr  after 
a  heavy  manuring,  it  is  only  that  it  was  in  a 
bad  way  before  this.     Of  course,  if  one  were  to 
empty  a  cesspool,  a  cart  load  of  fresh  lime,  or 
some  other  inordinate  mass  of  food  under  a  tree, 
it  would   suffer  ;  but  our  meaning  is   that  no 
amount  of  manure  that  would  be  found  of  bene- 
fit to  any  regular  garden,  will  be  otherwise  than 
beneficial  to  a  fruit  tree,  if  the  roots  he  healthy. 


VEGETABLE  GARDE^q". 

Celery  as  it  grows  will  require  earthing  up, 
and  endive  successively  blanched  ;  but  the'maia 
business  of  the  month  will  be  preparations  for 
housing  the  root  crops  for  the  Winter.     Beets 
are  generally  the  first  thing  attended  to,  they 
being  the  most  easily  injured  by  frost ;  Carrots, 
Salsafy  and  Parsnips  following.     The  latter  are 
never  really  good  until  they  have  been  well  fro- 
zen ;  and  many  leave  them  entirely  in  the  ground, 
taking  them  up  as  wanted  for  use.     We  prefer 
taking  them  all  up  and  packing  them  in  sand  or 
half  dried  loam,  in  a  shed  or  cellar,  which  can 
be  kept  just  above  freezing  point ;  yet  the  cooler 
the  better.     If  suffered  to  be  in  heaps  they  heat 


29Z 


THE   GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJ^TRLY.        October, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJfER'S   MOJVIHLY. 


293 


and  soon  rot.  In  the  same  situation  Endive 
and  Cape  Brocoli  may  be  preserved  to  the  end 
of  the  year — they  are  taken  up  with  a  small 
quantity  of  earth  adhering  to  them,  and  placed 
siderby-side  together.  Tomatoes,  if  dug  up  also, 
and  suspended,  roots  upward,  in  such  a  situa- 
tion, will  keep  good  a  long  time  ;  but  this  must 
be  dene  before  the  least  frost  has  touched  them. 
It  is  a  wise  plan  to  sow  a  little  more  Early  York 
Cabbage  early  in  the  month,  as  in  fine  mild  win- 
ters the  September  sowing  grows  too  forward 
when  protected.  A  very  slight  protection  is  bet- 
ter for  them  than  any  elaborate  aftair,  the  sun 
principally  injuring  them.  The  same  remarks 
apply  to  Lettuce  intended  to  be  kept  over  winter 
for  s])ring  use,  though  the  sun  is  less  destructive 
to  them  than  to  the  cabbage. 

Forcing  vegetables,  wherever  the  least  com- 
mand of  heat  can  be  had,  is  the  most  interesting^ 
and  useful  part  of  gardening.  It  is  not  by  any 
means  what  it  is  often  considered,  an  operation 
by  which  you  pay  a  dollar  for  a  mouthful.  The 
Asparagus,  Sea  Kale,  Lettuce,  Radish  and 
Cauliflower  can  be  had  for  months  earlier  than 


in  the  open  ground,  wherever  a  regular  tem- 
perature of  55°  can  be  obtained,  with,  of  course 
the  proper  amount  of  air,  moisture,  &c.     As- 
paragus can  be  had  under  a  greenhouse  stage 
though  of  course  the  tops  will  not  be  so  green 
nor  will  it  be  much  else  but  indifferent  under 
such  circumstances,  as  it  would  be  in  full  light. 

Radishes  require  an  abundance  of  air,  and 
Lettuce  light.  Cauliflowers,  if  kept  for  some 
months  with  all  the  light  and  air  possible,  at  a 
temperature  of  50  or  55°,  may  have  it  gradually 
raised  to  60  or  65°,  and  even  70^,  and  thus  come 
into  use  in  February,  when  there  is  no  vegetable 
more  desirable. 

Cucumbers,  Tomatoes  and  Beans  require  a 
temperature  of  at  least  65°  degrees  to  begin  with. 
If  a  temperature  of  70  can  be  maintained  in  the 
coldest  weather,  a  few  of  these  might  be  sown 
by  the  end  of  the  month,  which  will  produce 
some  very  acceptable  dishes  about  New  Year's 
day.  Rhubarb,  if  carefully  taken  up  at  the  fall 
of  the  leaf  and  potted,  or  put  into  boxes,  will 
also  come  forward  well  if  put  under  the  stage  in 
a  house  of  the  last  temperature. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


ADDRESS   OF   MARSHALL   P.  WILDER, 

AT  BOSTON,    SEPTEMBER  IOtH. 

Gentlemen  of  the  American  Pomolooi- 
CAL  Society  :— With  the  close  of  this  session 
a  quarter  of  a  century  will  have  elapsed  since 
the  establishment  of  our  national  association. 

Most  heartily  do  I  congratulate  you  upon  the 
pleasant  circumstances  under  which  we  are  as- 
sembled, and  upon  the  progress  and  prosperity  of 
our  society.  We  meet  on  this  occasion  not  only 
to  assume  the  labors,  discussions  and  duties  in- 
cident to  another  biennial  session,  but  to  com- 
memorate by  appropriate  exercises  a  period 
which  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  record  of 
our  existence.  We  accept  with  great  pleasure 
the  cordial  welcome  extended  to  us  by  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Horticultural  Society,  whose  liberali- 
ty has  made  such  ample  provisions  for  our  ac- 
commodation, and  while  acknowledging  these 
courtesies  we  desire  also  to  express  our  obliga- 
tions  to  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promotincr 
Agriculture,  and  to  the  gentlemen  who  with 
them  have  presented  funds  for  the  promotion  of 
our  cause. 


Nothing  could  be  more  grateful  to  my  feelings 
than  your  presence  at  our  old  homestead,  and  in 
my  own  behalf  I  bid  you  welcome  to  the  privi- 
leges and  enjoyments  of  the  occasion.  We  meet 
as  representatives  and  co-laborers  from  different 
and  widely  distant  sections  of  this  great  republic. 
We  come  from  various  districts,  but  with  no 
other  rivalry  than  a  laudable  ambition  to  pro- 
mote a  great  industrial  pursuit,  whose  salutary 
influences  are  for  the  benefit  of  our  common 
country.  From  whatever  section  you  come — 
whether  from  the  sunrise  or  the  sunset  shores  of 
our  continent,  from  the  Dominion  of  the  North, 
the  valleys  and  prairies  of  the  great  Central 
West,  or  from  the  broad  plains  and  hill  slopes 
of  the  sunny  South— I  extend  to  all  a  hearty 
welcome  to  our  time-honored  metropolis  of  New 
England. 

Especially  do  I  welcome  you  to  our  own  be- 
loved Commonwealth,  the  home  of  the  Pilgrims, 
where  our  fathers  planted  the  germs  of  a  civiliza- 
tion which  we  believe  will  ultimately  be  extended 
to  the  remotest  nations  of  the  globe.  Here  the 
tree  of  liberty  was  planted,  under  whose  genial 


shade  our  whole  land  now  rejoices ;  and  here 
Concord,  Lexington,  and  Bunker  Hill  rear  their 
monuments  of  historic  fame,  to  remind  us  of  the 
priceless  blessings  wo  enjoy.  Here  were  the 
gardens  and  orchards  of  Gov.  Endicott,  whose 
pear  tree  at  Dan  vers  still  survives  the  revolu- 
tions of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Here  at 
Marshfield  are  the  relics  of  the  apple  tree 
planted  by  the  first  male  child  born  of  the  Pil- 
grims. Here  on  Boston  common  were  the 
orchards  of  William  Blackstone,  the  first  settler. 
Here  were  the  gardens  of  Gov.  Winthrop,  of 
golden  pippin  renown,  and  here  a  later  date  the 
gardens  and  orchards  of  John  Hancock,  the  first 
signer  to  the  Declaration  of  American  Independ- 
ence, Gardiner  Green  and  others,  from  whence 
were  disseminated  some  of  the  first  fruits  intro- 
duced into  this  country  from  the  mother  land. 
Here  is  the  home  of  the  Massachusetts  Society 
for  Promoting  Agriculture,  of  whose  munificence 
I  have  before  spoken  ;  the  home  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural  Society,  under  whose  aus- 
pices we  meet,  both  of  which  institutions  were 
the  second  of  their  respective  kinds  established 
in  America.  In  this  vicinity  were  the  fields  of 
labor,  of  Lowell,  Dearborn,  Manning,  Kenrick, 
the  Perkinses,  Downer,  and  other  early  pomolo- 
gists,  and  here  are  the  homes  of  many  now  liv- 
ing, whose  names  will  be  remembered  as  promo- 
ters of  our  cause  when  they  also  shall  be  gathered 
to  their  fathers.  Here  within  the  limits  of  our 
city  were  planted  the  first  Bartlett,  and  the  first 
Flemish  Beauty  pear  trees  imported  to  this 
country,  both  of  which  survive  to  this  day. 
And  here  the  Dix.  the  Dearborn,  Dana's  Ho- 
vey,  Clapp's  Favorite  pears,  and  the  Downer 
Cherry  were  born.  And  here  within  a  few 
miles  were  originated  the  Ilovey's  Seedling 
Strawberry,  the  Concord,  Diana,  and  Roger's 
Hybrid  grapes. 

Many  of  those  who  participated  in  the  forma- 
tion of  this  Society,  and  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  much  of  its  success  have  ceased  from 
their  labors,  and  gone  to  receive  their  reward. 
But  I  am  most  happy  to  recognize  among  those 
present,  to-day,  some  of  the  noble  pioneers,  who 
aided  in  the  establishment  of  our  Society,  who 
rocked  the  cradle  of  its  infancy,  and  who  now 
rejoice  with  us  in  the  grand  development,  which 
this  day  witnesses.  We  recognize,  also,  many 
others,  who  in  later  times  have  contributed  and 
shared  with  us  in  this  march  of  improvement, 
who  like  them  have  stood  as  faithful  sentinels 
on  the  watch-tower  of  duty,  whose  efforts  to  ad- 


vance our  objects  will  demand  and  receive,  in 
coming  time,  the  thanks  of  millions  of  grateful 
hearts.  To  no  one  is  this  occasion  of  more  in- 
terest than  to  him  who,  by  your  kind  indulgence, 
has  occupied  this  chair  for  so  many  years,  an.l 
who,  in  the  course  of  nature,  cannot  again  witness 
the  assembling  of  its  members  in  this  city  of  his 
home.  With  feelings  of  no  ordinary  gratifica- 
tion, we  receive  you  here,  where  some  of  the 
first  efi*orts  were  made  in  the  cause  of  fruit  cul- 
ture, and  from  whence  in  the  early  history  of 
our  country,  as  well  as  in  later  years,  so  much 
has  emanated  for  its  extension  throughout  our 
land. 

HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 

In  my  former  addresses  I  have  often  spoken 
of  the  acquisitions  and  usefulness  of  our  art ;  but 
in  the  presence  of  so  many  intelligent  cultivators, 
who  from  scientific  attainments  and  practical 
skill  have  become  renowned  as  teachers  them- 
selves, I  would  not  trespass  on  your  time  by  a 
repetition  of  well  established  opinions,  but  would 
rather  offer  my  congratulations  on  the  progress 
we  have  made,  and  draw  therefrom  motives  and 
inducement  to  increase  efforts  and  perseverance 
in  our  benevolent  work. 

I  have  heretofore  alluded  briefly  to  the  history 
of  our  Society,  but  it  might  be  deemed  an  omis- 
sion of  duty  did  I  not  on  this  quarter  centen- 
nial make  a  record  of  its  origin  and  progress, 
not  only  for  the  benefit  of  those  present,  but  for 
the  information  of  those  who  are  to  come  after 
us.  I  propose,  therefore,  even  at  the  risk  of  re- 
peating what  may  be  well  known  to  our  earlier 
members,  to  place  in  the  annals  of  our  society  a 
page  which  shall  survive  when  we  are  gone. 
Thus  shall  we  ''bind  fast  and  find  fast"  the 
record  of  our  times. 

Briefly  then,  let  me  state  that  the  idea  of  a 
pomological  convention  appear^  to  have  occurred 
to  individuals  in  different  States,  at  about  the 
same  time —as  new  ideas  in  regard  to  progress 
frequently  do.  Thus,  in  the  summer  of  18-18, 
consultation  was  had  with  Andrew  Jackson 
Downing,  the  great  American  landscape  garden- 
er and  editor  of  the  Horticulturist^  then  on  a 
visit  to  the  city  of  Boston,  in  regard  to  a  chaotic 
condition  of  our  pomology— the  want  of  accu- 
rate and  well  defined  knowledge  of  our  fruits, 
whereby  correct  conclusions  could  be  drawn  as 
to  their  various  merits  ;  the  best  means  for  im- 
proving the  condition  of  fruit  culture,  and  the 
expediency  of  establishing  an  American  society, 
so  that,  by  interchange  of  experience,  more  cor- 


m)A 


THE   GAEDEJV^S^    MOJs'-TIlLY.  Octoher, 


h 


dial    intercourse  and    by  general    consent,  we 
might  preserve  those  fruits  which  were  valu- 
able, discard  those  which  were  worthless,  correct 
the  confused  nomenclature,  and  establish  a  po- 
mology for  our  whole  country.  To  establish  such  a 
society  was  a  great  work,  but  it  was  considered 
as  the  only  means  which  could  accomplish  the 
desired  object.     A  correspondence  was  immedi- 
ately opened  with  some  of  our  prominent  a<rri- 
cultural  and  horticultural  societies,  and  with  Ihe 
fading  nur.serymen  and  pomologists  of  our  land. 
This  resulted  in  the  proposal  of  the  American 
Institute  of  New  York  to  have  a  convention 
held  under  its  auspices  in  that  city.    Pursuant 
to  these  arrangements    a  circular  was  issued 
wgned  by   committees   of  the  Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania.  New  Jersey  and  New  Haven  Hor- 
ticural  societies  and  the  American  Institute  of 
New  York,  proposing  to  hold  a  "  Great  National 
Convention  of  Fruit  Growers  -  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  October  10,  1848. 

Of  the  fifteen  persons  whose  names  were  ap- 
pended to  this  call,  three  only  remain.  All  t4 
rest  have  joined  the  great  procession  of  the  dead. 
The  convention  met,  and  the  Society  was  or- 
ganized as  the  "  American  Congress  of  Fruit 
Orrowers,'-  by  the  choice  of  Marshall  P  Wilder 
as  President,  a  Vice-President  from  each  of  the 
several  States  represented,  and  three  Secretaries. 
Of  these  S.  B.  Parsons  and  P.  Barry  are  here 
to-day. 

The  first  national  pomological  assemblage 
solely  for  the  consideration  of  pomological  sub- 
jects met  at  Buffalo,  Sep.  1,  1848,  at  the  call  of 
the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  and 
after  an  intm.stin2  session  resolved  to  perpet- 
uate Itself  under  the  name  of  the  "  North  Ameri- 
can Pom-.logical  Convention."  But  it  was 
plain  that  there  could  be  but  one  national  ov^:m\. 
zation  that  could  carry  due  weight.  A  confer- 
ence was  therefore  had,  which  resulted  the  next 

nnXr,,  "  '=''"^"'''''"i«n  of  tho  two  associations 
under  the  name  of  the  "  American  Pomological 
Congress."  The  first  meeting  of  the  united 
associations  was  held  at  Cincinnati,  1850.  In 
consequence  of  a  death  in  the  family  of  the  presi- 
ident,  he  was  absent,  and  Dr.  AV.  D.  Brinckle 
wa  chosen  to  preside,  but  at  the  next  meetin.. 
declined  a  re-election,  and  the  present  incumbeiU 

srtS'datr  '"^  ^'"'•'  ^"'^'^ '-  ■'-  - 

Its  sessions,  since  the  first  tliree,  have  been 
he  d  biennially.  There  have  been  tl.ree  in  New 
>:ork  City;  one  in  Cincinnati ;  three  in  Phila- 


delphia  ;  three,  including  the  present,  in  Boston  • 
two  in  Rochester  ;  one  in  St.  Louis  ;  and  one  in 
Richmond.  The  first  session  at  Philadelphia,  in 
lbo2,  will  ever  be  memorable  as  the  occasion 
when  a  eulogy  was  pronounced  by  the  person 
who  now  addresses  you,  on  Mr.  A.  J.  Downin- 
one  of  the  chief  projectors  of  the  society,  whos'e 
sudden  death  had  occurred  a  short  time  previous 
At  this  session  a  constitution  and  by-laws  was 
adopted,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
American  Pomological  Society. 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJS'THLY. 


295 


I  PROGRESS. 

I      We  hail  the  present  anniversary  as  one  of  the 
I  most  interesting  in  our  progress,  commemorating 
as  It  will  the  history  of  this  Society  from  its  in- 
fancy to  its  present  stature  of  manhood.    Nor 
can    language  express  the  grateful  sensations 
which  I  experience,  that  my  life  has  been  spared 
to  this  time ;   that   I  have  been  pernutted  to 
witness  the  rapid  growth  and  increasiucr  influ- 
ence of  our  institution  ;  and  that  you  have  so 
kindly  consented  to  come  once  more  to  the  city 
of  my  adoption,  to  my  own  home,  to  celebrate 
with  me  the  silver  wedding  which  after  so  long 
a  service  has  still  found  us  united  in  the  bonds 
of  affection  and  regard      There  may  be,  and 
probably  will  be,  periods  in  the  future  history 
of  our  Society,  when  equal  or  greater  progress 
will  be  made,  but  it  is  a  peculiar  and  grateful 
privilege  to  be  able  to  record  what  has  already 
been  accomplished  ;   to  look  back  to  its  early 
beginnings  ;  and  here,  perhaps  for  the  last  time 
tojom  with  you  in  congratulations  on  its  success, 
and  to  look  forward  with  confident  hopes  to  the 
time  when  every  section  of  our  wide  spread  ter- 
ritory shall  be  embraced  in  our  association,  and 
our  standard  of  pomology  be  established  through- 
out the  Western  continent. 

The  marvellous  growth   of  our  country  has 
constantly  been  opening  up  new  states  and  ter- 
ritories for  fruit  culture.     These  have  b.en  em- 
braced within  our  fold,  thus  bringing  together 
the  wisest  and  best  cultivators,  and  combining 
not  only  the  men,  but  the  fruits  of  our  rich  and 
varied  clime,  and  States  which  had  no  place  in 
our  Union  at  the  formation  of  this  association, 
have    become  the   most   fruitful    in    resources. 
Thus  we  have  gone  on,  step  by  step,  encourag- 
ing whatever  was  worthy,  rejecting  what  was 
unworthy,  treasuring  up  the  best  information, 
and  promulgating,  for  the  benefit  of  our  whole 
people,  the  results  of  our  wide-spread  rcseaches. 
Few  are  aware  of  the  great  revolution  which 


has  taken  place  in  fruit  culture  since  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  National  Pomological  Society, 
or  of  the  laborious  efforts  of  those  patient  pioneers 
and  investigators  who  have  spent  their  lives  for 
the  promotion  of  our  art.    Nor  can  we  omit  here 
lo  acknowledge  the  influence  of  the   press,  to 
which  we  are  so  much  indebted  for  the  dissemi- 
nation of  our  experience.     Some  are  now  living 
who  can  remember  the  time  when  there  was  not 
an  agricultural  or  horticultural  paper,  or  a  book 
on  fruit  culture,  published  on  this  continent. 
Look  back  and  compare  that  period  with  the 
present  time,  with  its  flood  of  books,  newspapers, 
and  periodicals  which  are  wholly  or  in  part  devo- 
ted to  the  spread  of  pomological  knowledge,  and 
we  shall  appreciate  the  great  advantages  arising 
therefrom.     Many  of  those  present  cm  remem- 
ber the  time  when  there  were  but  few  apples 
sent  from  our  Western  States  to  the   Eastern 
coast.     Compare    this   with   the   thousands   of 
barrels  of  fruit  that  are  now  annually  sent  to 
the  markets  of  the  East.    But  time  would  fail  me 
were  I  to  enumerate  the  vast  quantities  of  pears, 
peaches,   grapes  and  small  fruits   which  come 
from  the  Western,  Southern,  Middle  and  Pacific 
States  to  our  great  Northern  and  Eastern  cities. 
Some  are  present  who  can  remember  the  time 
when  there  was  not  a  nursery  of  any  note  west 
of  the  Hudson  river,  where  now,  as  from  the 
great  commercial  nuseries  at  Rochester,  Geneva 
and  other   Western  cities,   there  are   annually 
sent  out  millions  of  trees  and  plants  to   other 
sections  of  the  Union. 

The  thought,  therefore,  which  most  impresses 
me  on  this  occasion  is  the  rapid  progress  in 
American  pomology,  the  beneficial  results  which 
have  arisen  from  the  establishment  of  this  na- 
tional institution,  and  the  duty  of  perpetuating 
and  preserving  it  for  all  coming  time.  No  mo- 
dern event  connected  with  the  culture  of  the 
soil,  and  the  sanitary  condition  of  our  people, 
has  been  fraught  with  more  salutary  effects  than 
the  establishment  and  operations  of  this  Society. 
The  more  I  reflect  on  its  benign  influence  in 
promoting  the  wealth,  health  and  happiness  of 
the  nation,  the  more  am  I  desirous  to  do  what 
I  can  in  my  day  and  generation  for  its  advance- 
ment. True,  much  had  been  done  by  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts  Horticultural 
Societies,  the  leading  pioneers  in  ]the  east,  to 
open  the  way  for  this  new  epoch  in  the  fruit 
culture  of  our  country.  Much  has  been  done 
by  other  associations  and  individuals,  in  the 
Way  of  co-operation,  but  here  was  a  new  depar- 


ture, here  was  a  union  for  concerted  action, 
which  should  thenceforward  embrace  every  sec- 
tion of  our  constantly  increasing  territory.  How 
grateful  to  the  feelings  of  our  departed  associ- 
ates, could  they  have  seen  the  growth  and  in- 
fluence of  our  Society  I  How  would  the  hearts 
of  Downing,  Brinckle,  Walker,  Hancock, — not 
to  speak  of  the  living, — have  swelled  with  joy 
could  they  have  seen,  as  we  now  see,  the  pro- 
gress of  fruit  culture  in  our  land,  and  the  pro- 
spect which  is  opening  up  in  the  great  future  of 
our  science. 

How  striking  the  progress  in  our  own  day  I 
It  is  not  fifty  years  since  the  first  Horticultural 
Society  was  established  on  this  continent.     It 
is  but  half  that  period  since  the  formation  of 
this,  the  first  National  Pomological  Society  in 
the  world.     And  what  do  we  see  in  the  grand 
cornucopial  display  of  to-day  ?  Not  merely  the 
fruits  confined  mostly  to  the  Eastern  States, 
where  our  exhibition  is  held,  but  the  fruits  of 
almost  all  climes  of  the  habitable  globe — here  in 
council  are  assembled  the  representatives  of  our 
wide-spread    territory    laden    with     rich    ex- 
perience and  with  precious  fruits,  far  excelling 
the  fabled  gardens  of  antiquity. 

Here    the  Canadas,  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
England  warm  to  the  genial  influences  of  the 
sunny  South  ;  here  the  great  Central  West  re- 
sponds to  the  East ;  here  California,  with  golden 
fruits  more  precious  than  her  golden  sands  ;  here 
peaceful  Kansas  brings  her  crimson  fruits  ;  here 
youthful  Nebraska,  representative  from  the  great 
American  desert,  where  sixteen  years  ago  not 
a  fruit  tree  had  been  cultivated,  comes  with  her 
car  of  precious  products  and  with  h^r  Governor 
at  the  head  ;  and  here  from  territories,  where  but 
a  few  years  since  the  track  of  wild  beast  and  the 
trail  of  the  wild  man  only  marked  the  soil;  to- 
day, in  this  northern  clime  of  granite  and  ice,  on 
this  rock-bound  coast,   we  meet  as  representa- 
tives of  a  united  and  prosperous  people,  to  re- 
joice together  in  a  jubilee  crowned  with  fruits 
surpassing  those  of  any  other  nation  of  the  earth. 
Such  is  the   progress   of  American   pomology  ; 
such  the  harvest  we  are  permitted  to  reap  ;  such 
the  fruition  of  our  fondest  hopes. 

But  who  can  even  estimate  the  progress  of 
our  art,  the  importance  of  this  industry  to  our 
nation  ?  Whose  prophetic  eye  can  survey  the 
grand  expanse  which  is  to  open  on  our  course 
during  the  next  twenty-five  years  ?  Ere  that 
time  shall  have  arrived  much  of  the  unoccupied 
territory  of  our  country,  now  greater  in  extent        / 


B96 


THE   GARDEJ^BR'S   MOJ^THLY.  O etcher, 


^i\ 


than  that  of  all  our  present  States,  will  by  the 
aid  of  our  trans-continental  railroads  be  opened 
to  cultivation,  and  Columbia  river,  Puget  Sound, 
and  the  whole  Tacific  coast,  with  its  untold 
treasures,  be  united  with  us  in  the  great  work  of 
promoting  the  pomology  of  this  land.  Give  us 
twenty-five  years  more,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
from  the  Dominion  to  the  Gulf,  our  hillsides 
shall  be  clad  with  the  vine,  our  great  valleys 
adorned  with  orchards  and  gardens,  and  the  fig, 
olive,  orange,  of  the  South  and  Pacific  shores^ 
shall  rival  those  of  exotic  growth.  Give  us 
twenty-five  years  more  and  our  catalogue  of 
fruits  shall  be  filled  with  native  varieties,  and 
dedicated  to  American  pomologists  who  by  their 
labors  and  benevolent  efforts  have  contributed 
to  theweaHh  ofour  country  and  the  happiness 
of  its  people. 

[To  he  continued  in  November  number.) 


*•■•» 


ADIANTUMS. 

BY   MANSFIELD    MILTON,   NORTH    EASTON,   PA. 

Maiden-hair  Ferns  are  universally  admired. 
Ko  genius  of  ferns  beino:  more  graceful  in  char- 
acter or  better  adapted  for  growing  in  glass  cases 
than  some  of  the  species,  and  none  excels  them 
in  the  formation  of  bouquets.  The  culture  of  a 
good  many  of  these  species  is  very  easy,  and  no 
collection  of  plants  but  ought  to  contain  a  few 
of  them.  They  are  propagated  from  spores  and 
by  divisions  of  the  root. 

Propagating  from  spores  is  the  most  interesting 
of  horticultural  operations.     I  shall  give  a  few 
remarks    upon    the   mode  generally  practiced 
which  may  be  applied  to  all  ferns  grown  from 
spores. 

Mix  a  compost  of  small  lumps  of  peat,  char- 
coal, broken  pieces  of  pots  and  a  good  quantity 
of  fine  sand  ;  take  six-inch  pots,  -ive  good  drain- 
age, and  fill  to  about  an  inch  of  the  rim  with  this 
compost,  give  a  thorough  watering,  then  scatter 
the  seeds  or  spores  evenly  over  the  soil,  layin-  a 
piece  of  glass  on  the  rim  of  the  pot,  and  set  tlie 
pots  m  pans  containing  about  an  inch  of  water 
placing  them  under  the  stage  of.  the  greenhouse! 
or  in  some  shady  place  where  moisture  and  heat 
are  plentiful.  Change  the  water  in  the  pans  oc- 
casionally, and  thus  prevent  the  soil  from  sour- 


ing. 


On  the  surface  of  pots,  on  moist  walls  and 
under  stagings  of  houses  where  ferns  are  grown 
young  plants  will  continually  make  their  appear^ 
ance.    If  those  specially  grown  in  pots,  as  also 


those  coming  up  spontaneously  through  the 
house,  are  planted  into  flats  about  an  inch  apart 
as  soon  as  the  first  frond  appears,  and  allowed 
to  remain  until  large  enough  for  potting  sincrly 
into  thumb  pots,  then  judiciously  managed  V 
shifting  regular,  and  otherwise  treating  properly, 
will  soon  attain  large  specimens. 

Adiantums  thrive  best  in  a  soil  composed  of 
three  parts  peat,  and  one  part  good  fresh  loam 
with  plenty  of  white  sand.  Allow  the  compost 
to  lie  a  few  days  previous  to  using.  Give  pretty 
large  pots  with  plenty  of  drainage,  which  should 
be  done  thoroughly,  as  good  drainage  is  indis- 
pensable to  all  plants  requiring  a  good  supply  of 
water.  Although  a  class  of  plants  the  foliage  of 
which  repels  water,  a  good  many  species"  are 
very  impatient  with  much  syringing  over-head, 
especially  the  Trapezfforme  groupe,  the  foliage  of 
which  gets  black  with  too  much  of  it. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  easiest  cultivated  : 

A.  assimile.-A  beautiful  evergreen  species 
with  dark  green  foliage,  from  Au^ralia,  of  easy 
culture,  requiring  shade  and  plenty  of  moisture. 
As  the  centre  of  large  plants  is  apt  to  get 
open,  it  is  well  to  divide  the  plants  and  grow  in 
medium  s?zed  pots  for  handsome  specimens. 

A.  cuneatum,~The  besc  known  of  the  Mai- 
den-hair Ferns,  and  one  of  the  most  useful  for 
bouquet  making,  and  easy  culture,  native  of 
Brazil. 

A.  colpodes.—AnoihGr  beautiful  fern  for  cut- 
ting, requiring  more  heat  than  the  preceding, 
being  a  native  of  Tropical  America. 

A.  concinmum.-Ahenutlhil  fern  for  exhibition, 
having  a  drooping  habit  and  very  distinct,  variety 
Jcetum,  is  a  good  deal  superior  in  habit  and  general 
beauty.  Requires  plenty  of  heat  to  see  its  real 
loveliness. 

A.  excisum  muUifidum.—A.  garden  variety 
making  a  handsome  plant  when  well  grown, 
suitable  for  bouquet  making;  the  apex  "of  the 
frond  is  divided,  forming  a  beautiful  "tassel." 
It  does  well  in  greenhouse  temperature,  but  at- 
tains a  looser  habit  when  grown  in  a  stove. 

A.  Farleyense.— The  most  magnificent  fern  in 
cultivation,  having  broad  pendulous  fronds,  the 
sterile  pinnaj  being  beautifully  fringed.  Al- 
though only  introduced  into  England  from  Bar- 
badoes  in  1865,  some  superb  plants  of  it  are 
possessed  by  several  of  the  London  nurserymen, 
but  two  plants  in  ihe  excellent  collection  of  Mr. 
Such.  New  Jersey,  are  said  to  equal  any  in  cul- 
tivation.    Too  much- praise  cannot  be  given  it. 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJV'ER'S  MOJV'TELY. 


297 


No  one  can  see  it  without  admiring  its  graceful- 
ness ;  and  none  having  accommodation  for  grow- 
ing, ought  be  without  a  plant  of  it. 

A.  formomm.~A  fine  greenhouse  species, 
easily  grown,  and  admirably  adapted  for  cutting 
and  exhibition  purposes. 

A.  fulaum.— Another  early  cultivated  fern 
from  New  Zealand. 

A.  macrophyllum.—A  handsome  hothouse 
^ern  from  the  West  Indies,  having  large  erect 
growing  fronds,  the  pinnse  being  a  faint  pink 
when  young,  changing  to  dark  green. 

A.  tenerum.~An  evergreen  hothouse  specie 
with  large  fronds,  growing  very  strong  with 
plenty  of  heat  and  moisture.  From  the  spores 
of  this  specie,  A.  Farleyense  and  A.  Qkeeabrighti 
are  supposed  to  have  been  raised. 

A.  trapeziforme  van.  Lanctce  Catherince.—A 
noble  fern  of  easy  culture,  beautifully  adapted 


for  decorative  purposes,  requiring  a  brisk  heat 
when  sending  up  its  fronds,  but  will  do  remarka- 
bly well  in  a  greenhouse  temperature.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  syringe  over-head, 
as  it  causes  the  pinna3  to  get  black  ;  nor  the 
the  young  fronds  to  be  handled,  as  it  destroys 
them. 


^•■•» 


TOMATO  TRELLIS. 

BY  A  GREEN  CITY  FARMER. 

Any  city  yard  with  a  fence  in  southern  expo- 
sure, may  have  a  beautiful  and  useful  addition 
to  its  attractions,  in  the  simple  fixture  repre- 
sented in  the  following  drawing.  The  sketch 
endeavors  to  show  how  the  vines  do  the  work  of 
supporting  themselves,  if  the  trellis  is  made  to 
their  liking.  In  full  season,  the  effect  of  the  ripe 
tomatoes  and  green  vines  neatly  suspended  in 
the  sun,  rivals  a  flower  garden  in  brilliancy. 
We  have  had  it  in  use  five  years  this  season. 


The  plants  se'dnm  require  handling  during 
their  growth,  each  vine  being  supported  by  the 
wires  of  its  triangular  section  or  cage,  aided  by 
its  own  co-operation.  By  the  time  the  young 
plant  reaches  the  first  wire,— one  foot  from  the 
ground,  — enclosing  the  narrow  part  of  the  cage, 
it  is  getting  weak  in  the  knees,  and  is  just  ready 
to  settle  itself  down  preparatory  to  those  contor- 
tions it  undergoes  in  the  uncivilized  state.  But, 
the  support  being  offered,  its  arms  flill  across, 
and  rest  with  relief  on  this  first  wire,  when  its 
habitual  gyrations  ore  postponed  until  it  is  a 
little  taller.  When  this  age  arrives,  it  would 
fain  settle  down  again  into  round  shoulders, 
like  a  too  fast  growing  boy,  but  his  arms  fall  on 
the  second  wire,  enclosing  a  larger  space  adapted 
to  his  increased  size,  and  the  awkward  disposal 
of  limbs  peculiar  to  this  period  of  youth.     Then 


the  young  fellow  rests  his  weakness,  and  takes  a 
new  departure.  By  this  time  he  has  branched 
considerably— several  arms  doing  duty  over  these 
welcome  supports.  When  the  third  wire  and 
much  increased  space  is  reached,  he  begins  to 
fill  up  the  triangular  cage,  seeming  to  '*  feel  his 
oats,"  and  to  have  acquired  the  habit  of  know- 
ing what  to  do  with  his  numerous  limbs,  now 
resting  on  and  over  the  wires  in  every  part. 
'^  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  Ac- 
cordingly the  full  grown  plant,  soon  reaching 
the  last  and  widest  story,  formed  by  the  two 
surmounting  wooden  braces,  leans  his  weight, 
strength,  experience  acd  many  armed  resources 
thereon,  with  a  mature  expression  of  having 
performed  a  work  well  done;  being  willing  to 
be  judged  by  the  fruits  hanging  now  for  weeks, 


M 


£98 


THE    GARDE JV-ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


October, 


1873. 


A. 


in  all  stages  of  development,  from  greenness  to 
red  perfection,  in  full  view  of  sun,  against  a 
dark  green  background.  If  the  right  exposure 
of  this  trellis  should  chance  to  be  in  view  of 
3^our  dining  room  windows,  no  scene  could  be 
more  suggestively  in  keeping  with  the  deeds 
done  in  that  apartment.  The  fruit  is  convenient 
and  fresh  for  a  cool  table  relish  ;  and  your  wife 
will  say  "it  is  much  better  than  buying  stale  to- 
matoes out  of  a  cart.'' 


THE    GARDE J^ER\S   MOJ\'THLY. 


299 


We  dont  set  up  to  teach  the  readers  of  the 
Gardener's  Monthly  much  that  is  "new  and 
strange''  about  fiirminnr,  which  art  we  know 
nothing  about,  having  only  succeeded  in  inveig- 
ling a  gawky,  but  right  down  companionable 
vegetable,  out  of  its  sprawling  country  habits 
into  the  observance  of  ways  that  fit  it  for  city 
behavior  and  address.  We  may  add,  that  he 
has  also  perceptibly  gained  a  cultivated  tastem 
course  of  his  bringing  up.  The  following  sketch 
shows  a  section  of  trellis  and  the  pieces  : 


Make,  and  set  up  the  trellis  as  follows  :    Get 
full  length  lumber  from  the  mill  sawed  in  strips 
one  and  one-fourth  inch  wide,  by  three-fourth 
inch  thick,  and  in  quantity  for  required  number 
of  uprights  in  the  trellis.     Cut  these  into  four 
feet  lengths  for  uprights  A,  bevelling  the  ends  to 
square,  when  upright  stands  at  30^  perpendicu- 
lar.    This  cuts  the  lower  bevel   7i  at  sharper 
angle  than  the  upper  one  g.     The  pieces  B  are 
made  of  lighter  stuff  one  and  one-eighth  inch 
wide    by   half  an    inch    thick;    or,  from   very 
strong  laths.     Cut  these  into  about  two  feet  nine 
inch    lengths    and    bevel    ends,   to    square    to 
gether    on   (/,   and    the    other    ends    to  adjust 
against   fence  at   distance  of  three   feet.      The 
pieces  C  are  one-fourth  inch  stuff,  cut  as  indica- 
ted for  cleats  or  studs  to  serve  as  lateral  bear- 
ings, when  uprights  A  are  being  nailed  to  fence, 
as  well  as  for  firmness  and  solidity  to  trellis. 

Lay  off  your  fence  in  spaces,  enclosed  by  per- 
pendicular lines  three  feet  apart,  dividing  into 
as  many  spaces  or  sections  of  fence  as  you  have 
plant-room.  On  each  line  mark  four  points,  e 
one  foot  apart,-the  lowest  point  one  foot  from 
ground.     Also  mark  another  point  d  in  every 


section,  two  inches  from  ground,  half  way  be- 
tween,--thus  alternating  at  eighteen  inches  be- 
tween the  perpendicular  lines.  At  each  point  d 
set  one  of  the  cleats  C  with  its  inside  angle  on 
the  point :  nail  C  with  two  brads  to  the  fenqp . 
Set  the  uprights  A  at  their  ower  bevels  h  against 
the  fence  in  the  angle  of  C,  driving  two  nails 
through  end  into  the  fence,  which  sets  A  at 
about  30^  Nail  the  braces  B,-two  brads  in 
each,  to  the  top  of  A  at  g,  their  bevels  squaring 
together  :  nail  their  other  ends  to  the  fence  at 
the  uppermost  points  e,  and  resting  on  small 
strips  of  wood  on  fence  for  bearings.  These 
ends  lap  the  ends  of  tkeir  neighbor  braces  of 
sections  on  either  side. 

You  have  now  a  moderately  firm  frame.  The 
wires  hive  yet  to  be  added,  not  only  to  make  it 
a  trellLs,  but  to  give  the  whole  job  its  strength 
and  solidity  ;  binding  eacli  section,  as  well  as 
the  whole  series  together.  You  have  up  as 
many  sections  of  these  three  pieces  each  as  you 
liave  spaces  for  plants,  and,  if  the  row  has  been 
systematically  constructed,  the  points  g  at  ends 
of  uprights  are  all  sighted  in  line.  Now  drive 
staples  at  the  three  other  paints  e  on  the  left  of 


trellis  ;  to  each  staple  attach  the  end  of  a  No  15 


galvanized  wire  and  of  length  sufficient  to  cro 
unbroken  to  end  of  series.  ^ 

Having  notched  the  uprights  A  at  the  points/ 
as  represented  in  cut,  at  the  same  level  as  the 
several  points  c,  draw  your  wires  from  e  tightly 
over  the  notches,  carrying  them  down  to  fence 
at  the  next  points  e,-at  each  of  which,  as  you 
go,  drive  a  staple,  the  wire  sliding  under  it 
Draw  wire  tightly  at  each  notch  and  staple,  and 
so  on  successively  to  end  of  trellis,  fastenincr 
ends  of  wires  at  the  last  staples. 

You  have  at  last  a  very  light,  neat,  strong  and 
solid  trellis  of  wood  and  wire  entirely  clear  of 
the  ground,  suspended  on  the  fence,  and  lasting 
for  years.  It  is  also  cheap,  especially  to  the 
man  who  is  handy  about  house,  and  likes  to  be 
his  own  journeyman. 

The  lower  wires  form  a  small  space  for  the 
young  plant,  the  second  and  third  wires,  and  top 
braces  successively  larger,  to  accommodate  the 
growing  vines. 

Set  the  young  plants  near  the  fence  and  close 
to  the  foot  of  uprights,  one  plant  at  each.     They 
will  do  the  work  of  supporting  themselves  on  the 
trelhs  as  they  grow,  without  ever  being  tied  and 
require  no  further  care-if  any-than  laying  a 
stray  branch  now  and  then  over  the  wires  as 
you  pass.     Th-  beds  are  made  up  each  season 
without   disturbing  the   trellis.      The   growing 
plants,  on  this  congenial  support,  are  more  self- 
acting  than  a  grape  vine,  and  the  temptation 
18  strong  to  head  this  sketch,  "  The  Au-^omaMc 
Trdhs,"  which  it  strictly  is;   but  we  refrain, 
leanng  the  suspicion  of  an  intended  pun,  a  levity 
too    unseemly    for    the    staid     pages    of    your 
magazine.  ^ 


■■<•■»» 


DUDLEY  W.  ADAMS  AS   CANDIDATE 
FOR  GOVERNOR  OF  IOWA. 

BY     G.     ^Y.     THOMPSON,     STELTON     NURSERIES, 
NEW  BRUNSWICK,    N    J. 

It  gives  me  such  pleasure  to  think  that  the 
Gardener^,  Monthly  is  always  right,  even  when 
'  talks  heresy  in  orchard  culture,  that  I  am 
sorry  you  seem  to  indorse  the  nomination  of  D. 
>v.  Adams  as   Governor  of  Iowa.     Now  you 
^now  that   they  can  make  a  governor  out  of 
almost  any  kind  of  stuff,  and  make  almost  any- 
hmg  out  of  him  when  he  is  used.     Not  so  with 
^ne  leader  of  a  great  popular  movement-he  re- 
quires to  be  trained  in  just  such  a  school  as  Mr 
Atiams  has  been  learning  in.     Mr.  Adams  is  the 


I  right  man  in  the  right  place  where  he  is ;  and 
though  T  have  no  doubt  he  would  be  the  ricvht 
man  as  Governor,  he  would   be  in  the  wron^r 

I  place.  ° 

I  History  will  award  him  a  higher  niche  in  the 
fame-temple,  than  is  generally  awarded  to  gov- 
ernors as  such,  besides  it  would,  I  humbly  con- 
ceive, be  a  calamity  to  the  great  cause  he  has  so 
heartily  espoused,  should  he  accept  the  gift. 

The  "I-told-you-so"  croakers  would  th^en  have 
their  wish ;  they  have  been  picking  at  this  Asso- 
ciation ever  since  its  formation.  I  suppose  they 
did  not  let  you  into  the  secret,  at  the  Richmond 
Convention,— the  late  Master  of  the  National 
Grange,  Hon.  W.  Saunders,  has  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  in  order  to 
step  right  through  it  into  the  Commissioner  of 
Agricultural  office. 

I  will  not  attempt  a  defence  of  Mr.  Saunders,— 
history  will  do  that ;  and  can  bide  his  time,— 
suffice  it  to  say  he  held  the  office  with  credit  to 
himself  and  advantage  to  the  Order  ;  and  laid  it 
down  with  a  self  abnegative  dignity,  appreciated 
by  his  associates,  and  which  is  not  burdensome 
I  to    those   who  tried   to  traduce  his  motives  in 
espousing  the  cause  of  the  farmers  of  the  country. 
Whatever  the  croakers  may  say,  Mr.  Saundersj 
and  successor,  Mr.  Adams,  may  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  brain  is  necessary  to  a 
conservator,    or  the  leader  of  a  great  popular 
movement ;   but  not  always  a  prerequisite  in  a 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture  or  the  Governor  of 
a  State. 

[We   had  no  idea  that  what  we  said  of  Mr. 
A  dams,  would  be  taken  either  for,  or  against 
his  nomination  as  Governor.     The   Gardener^s 
Monthly  endeavors  to  steer  clear  of  all   these 
questions.     Its   mission   is  simply  horticulture; 
and  whether  a  man  is  a  Patron  of  Husbandry 
or  a  monopolist,  a  northern  man  or  a  southern 
man,  a  Jew  or  a  gentile,  a  mormon  or  shaker, 
a   republican  or  democrat,  if  he  is  but  a  good 
horticulturist,  our   magazine  regards  him  as  a 
friend  and  brother,  and  wants  to  take  him  by  the 
hand.     We  have  at  various  times  stated   that 
Col.  Col  man  was  spoken  of  as  Governor  of  Mis- 
souri, Col.  Furnas  of  Nebraska,  and  Mr.  Adams 
of  Iowa  ;  and  have  referred  to  their  horticultural 
reputations  equally,  yet  we  believe  they  are  all 
of  different   politics  ;   and,  if  the  Monthly  had 
any  politics,  it  could  not  "endorse''  thein  all. 
The  fact  is,  we  rejoice  whenever  any  one  in  au- 
thority is  fond  of  flowers  ;  and,  however  much 
the  editor  may  differ  in  politics  with  a  candidate 


300 


THE   GARDEJ\rER'S  MOJVTITLY. 


October. 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ\rTHLY. 


301 


for  office,  is  "almost  persuaded  "  in  an  election 
to  go  on  the  side  of  the  one  who  loves  the  garden. 

If  "history"  needs  any  writings  in  regard  to 
the  motives  of  Mr.  Wm.  Saunders  in  "espous- 
ing the  cause  of  the  Granges,''  the  editor  of  this 
journal  stands  at  all  times  ready  to  testify  to  the 
fact  that  the  "  Comraissionship  of  Agriculture  " 
had  no  place  in  Mr.  Saunders'  mind.  The  edi 
tor  believes  he  was  among  the  first  consulted  in 
regard  to  the  proposed  establishment  of  this 
Order.  He  did  not  give  in  his  personal  adhesion, 
because  he  wished  and  wishes  to  keep  the  Gar 
dener'^s  MordWy  clear  of  all  connections  with 
any  special  bodies  which  might  possibly  be 
thought  to  influence  its  independent  course; 
but,  the  confidence  placed  in  him  at  that  time, 
enables  him  to  feel  sure  in  stating  that  Mr. 
Saunders'  great  idea— not  in  "  espousing '"  but 
in  being  chief  founder  of  the  Order,  was  simply 
the  interests  of  agriculture.  Others  mny  have 
different  views,  but  we  do  not  believe  he  had. 
And  in  regard  to  the  coramissionship  of  agricul- 
ture itself,  we  may  say  that  there  has  never  been 
a  change  in  the  oflSce  talked  of;  but  we  have 
been  approached  by  people  to  use  what  influence 
we  might  have  in  the  Gardener  s  Monthly,  and 
observe  in  their  behalf  for  the  position,  but  never 
once  by  Mr.  Saunders.  On  the  contrary,  when 
his  name  was  once  used  by  some  newspaper  in 
connection  with  the  office,  he  assured  the  writer 
he  would  prefer  to  be  as  he  was. 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence  to  the  Gar- 
deners  Monthly  whether  Messrs.  Saunders  or 
Adams  are  connected  with  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry or  not,  but  they  are  capital  horticultu- 
rists, and  on  this  ground  it  affords  us  the  great- 
est pleasure  to  say  a  good  word  for  them,  when 
we  truthfully  can] 


RAPID  POTTIXG. 

BY  PETER    HENDERSON,   JERSEY  CITY,    N    J. 

In  your  September  number,  Mr.  II.  E.  Chitty, 
superintendent  of  the  Bellevue  Nurseries,  Pat- 
erson,  N.  J.,  says  in  substance  that  it  is  impos 
Bible  that  the  number  of  Verbenas— ten  thousand 
in  ten  hours— which  I  stated  as  having  been 
potted  by  one  of  my  workmen,  James  Markey, 
on  the  8'h  of  May  last,  could  have  been  done 
well.  They  were  done  so  well  that  nearly  all 
were  sold  in  four  weeks  from  the  time  of  potting, 
with  a  loss  of  less  than  one  per  cent,  dead  in  the 
whole  lot. 

As  I  stated  before,  Markey 's  average  work  is 


five  thousand  per  day, — of  some  things  he  ac- 
complishes more,  of  some  things  less ;  for  in- 
stance to-day,  I  find  on  examination,  he  has 
potted  nearly  seven  thousand  Smilax  plants  in 
two  and  one-quarter  inch  pots,  tomorrow,  should 
he  be  potting  Rose  cuttings,  he  probably  will 
not  run  over  three  thousand.  Markey's  work  is 
nearly  exclusively  that  of  potting  off  cuttings 
and  has  been  so  for  the  past  three  years.  May 
be  I  am  not  so  able  to  judge  of  what  is  "well 
done  ''  in  potting,  as  the  superintendent  of  the 
Bc'llevue  Nurseries,  but  I  am  vain  enough  to 
think  I  am. 

Mr.  Chitty  says  that  in  potting  off  cuttings,  it 
is  necessary  to  make  proper  "disposition  of  the 
roots,"  which  I  suppose  means  that  the  roots  re- 
quire to  be  spread  out.  This  we  might  grant 
if  the  propagator  did  not  know  enough,  or  was 
careless  enough  not  to  pot  oft' his  cuttings  until 
the  roots  became  so  long  that  they  needed  spread- 
ing ;  but  any  propagator  that  properly  knows 
his  business,  will  pot  off  as  soon  as  roots  are 
emitted,  never  letting  them  be  longer  than  an 
inch  when  possible.  And  in  many  soft  wooded 
plants  such  as  Geraniums,  there  is  no  necessity  for 
waiting  until  the  cutting  is  rooted  in  the  bench 
at  all,  when  well  calloused  they  root  just  as 
quickly  in  the  small  pots. 

The  wonderful  work  of  tiiis  young  Irishman— 
who  has  had  no  more  experience  than  an  Ameri- 
can training— has  roused  the  ire  of  numbers  of 
gardeners,  who,  because  they  have  happened  to 
graduate  in  Europe,  and  yet  find  that  with  all 
that,  they  have  never  yet  been  able  to  quite  pot 
ten  thousand  plants  in  ten  hours,  affect  toV- 
lieve  that  either  the  feat  was  not  done  as  stated, 
or  else  if  done,  was  not  accomplished  in  a  work- 
manlike  manner. 

It  is  nothing  more  than  an  extraordinary  gift 
of  rapidity  of  movement  in  the  individual,  given 
to,  perhaps,  only  one  man  in  ten  thousand,  just 
as  we  get  a  Webster  in  the  forum,  or  a  Beechcr 
in  the  pulpit  once  in  a  generation  ;  yet  then  it 
did  not  help  hundreds  of  envious  would-be  ora- 
tors, snarling  at  the  "God-like,"  nor  to-day 
does  it  prevent  thousands  of  small-souled,  but 
truly  orthodox  parsons  spitting  venom  at  the 
Great  Preacher. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  AMARYLLIS. 

BY  CONRO   KRETCIIMAR. 

The  diflcrent  sorts  of  Amaryllis  are  indisputa- 
bly the  most  beautiful,  and  by  far  the  most 
grateful  in  returns  of  bulbous  plants  for  the  green 


and  hothouse.  These  are  also  well  adapted  for 
the  sitting  room.  The  finest  kinds  can  be 
brought  into  bloom  there,  and  often  in  the  win- 
ter season,  when  every  flower  is  of  double  value. 
The  Amaryllis  has,  like  the  Dracaenas, 
Aletris,  Cbarlivodia,  Cordyline,  Dianella,  &c., 
been  divided  by  Botanists  according  to  their 
diversity  in  the  formation  of  flowers,  the  pollen 
of  flowers,  the  seed  capsule,  &c.,  &c.,  into  dif- 
ferent genera,  viz  : 
1    Amaryllis  (Amaryllis  Belladonna.) 

2.  Ammocharis  (Ancoranica.) 

3.  Brunsrigia  (Amaryllis  Josephine.) 

4.  Biiphone  (Amaryllis  toxicaria.) 
6.  Coburgia  (Amaryllis  seticulata.) 

6.  Ilyppeastrum  (Amaryllis  Reginse.) 

7.  Lycoris  (Amaryllis  aurea  ) 

8.  Neriue  (Amaryllis  sarniensis.) 

9.  Oporantheus  (Armaryllis  lutea.) 

10.  Spreclia  (Amaryllis  formosissima.) 

11.  Strumaria  (Amaryllis  Crispa.) 

12.  Vallotta  (Amaryllis  purpurea.) 
Notwithstandiug  the  many  strictly  divided  or 

classified   genera,  they  are  to  the  florist    and 
amateur,  in  all  their  varieties,  a  favorite  flower. 

Only  a  few  species  preserve  their  leaves 
tnrough  the  whole  year.  Most  of  them  have  a 
period  of  rest,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  perfection  of  a  free  and  luxuriant  flowering. 
The  different  sorts  do  not  approach  their  rest  at 
the  same  time, — some  entering  upon  it  in  sum- 
mer, others  in  winter.  It  requires  only  a  little 
attention  to  discover  this.  Wben  no  more  new 
leaves  are  seen,  and  the  old  ones  stop  growth, 
by  degrees  become  enfeebled  and  lose  their  suc- 
culent green,  or  begin  to  turn  yellow  at  the 
leaves,  is  the  time  of  rest  at  hand. 

If  these  signs  are  observed,  watering  should 
be  withheld  by  degrees ;  and  when  the  leaves 
turn  yellow  and  wilt  down,  they  must  be  de- 
prived of  it  altogether.  When  arrived  at  this 
state  the  pots  containing  the  bulbs  should  be 
put  on  a  back  shelf  in  the  green,  or  hothouse,  or 
any  other  suitable  place  where  they  are  out  of 
the  influence  of  the  sun.  They  should  be  left 
there  till  a  new  growth  takes  place,  which  can 
be  discovered  in  the  appearance  of  new  leaves, 
or  a  flower-bud  and  stem  ;  the  latter,  in  some 
sorts,  making  their  appearance  before  the  leaves. 
Then  is  the  time  to  repot  them.  Take  the  bulbs 
from  the  pots  and  shake  out  all  the  soil  from  be- 
tween the  roots.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to 
break  or  wound  the  latter,  or  it  will  hinder  their 
activity  in  growth,  or  bring  on  decay  of  the 


bulb.  All  sound  roots  should  be  left  untouched, 
but  the  dead,  rotten  or  damaged  should  be  cut 
off  with  a  sharp  knife.  As  soon  as  the  earth 
has  been  removed,  and  the  bulbs  cleansed  of  all 
useless  and  dead  skins,  they  should  be  replanted. 
For  this  purpose  use  6  or  7-inch  pots.  Put  a 
handful  of  bits  of  broken  pots  at  the  bottom  and 
cover  them  with  soil  made  up  in  the  shape  of  a 
hill  of  the  proper  height,  to  receive  the  base  of  a 
bulb.  Place  the  bulb  upon  it,  and  spread  the 
roots  evenly  on  all  sides  of  it,  holding  the  neck 
of  the  bulb  with  one  hand,  and  filling  in  the  soil 
with  the  other.  Give  the  pot  a  slight  shaking 
to  settle  the  earth  among  the  roots.  When  the 
pot  is  full,  the  earth  should  be  pressed  down 
gently,  so  as  to  leave  a  space  of  half  an  inch  be- 
tween it  and  the  top  of  the  pot  for  the  reception 
of  water.  In  planting,  the  bulb  should  be  set  so 
that  the  neck  rises  hi^h  above  the  ground  ;  and 
the  longer  the  neck,  the  more  necessary  this 
arrangement,  so  as  to  bring  the  strong  influence 
of  the  sun  upon  the  bulb,  which  is  needful  for 
the  formation  of  new  flower  germs. 

With  respect  to  the  soil,  the  Amaryllis  does 
not  make  as  strong  claims  as  many  other  species 
of  plants.  However,  this  rule  must  be  strictly 
regarded,  that  no  fresh  undecomposed  vegetable 
or  animal  matter  be  mixed  with  it,  as  the  con- 
sequences would  be  the  rapid  decay  of  the  bulb. 
The  best  compost  for  the  Amaryllis  is  well- 
rotted  turfy  peat,  or  a  mixture  of  loam  and  leaf 
mould,  or  hot  bed  muck.  To  each  add  a  good 
quantity  of  sharp,  white  sand. 

The  watering  of  the  Amaryllis  should  not  be 
done  in  an  indifferent  way,  but  must  keep  equal 
pace  with  their  growth.  With  the  exception  of 
evergreen  species,  they  should  not  be  watered  at 
all  during  their  periods  of  rest.  When  the  bulbs 
show  sign  of  new  life,  and  are  already  repotted, 
if  there  is  some  moisture  in  the  earth,  do  not 
water  them  for  the  first  few  days.  If  the  soil 
gets  very  dry,  or  is  dry  already,  when  potting 
the  bulb  pour  a  little  water  around  the  edge  of 
the  pot,  but  do  not  moisten  the  bulb  itself.  In 
general  they  should  be  watered  so  that  the  water 
enters  the  earth  near  the  outer  edge  of  the  pot, 
and  never  over  the  bulb,  as  only  the  ends  of  the 
root,  and  not  the  bulb  itself,  absorb  the  water, 
and  such  nutritious  substances  as  are  dissohed 
by  it.  If  the  growth  is  rapid,  an  abundance  of 
water  should  be  given.  Once  or  twice  a  week  a 
thin  solution  of  sheep  manure  may  be  given,  or 
horn  chips,  or  scrapings  from  the  combmakers 
worked  in  the  soil.     This  is  done  when  the  roots 


^1 


302 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTELY.  October, 


1873. 


TEE    GARBEJ^EWS   MOJVTELY. 


303 


are  filling  the  pot,  in  order  to  perfect  the  flowers. 
After  blooming  water  should  be  given  accord- 
ing to  the  growth,  and  when  diminishing, 
gradually  withdrawn  till  the  cessation  of  growth' 
when  the  waterin.i?  should  cease  also. 

The  evergreen  species  should  never  be  allowed 
to  dr}^  out,  but  must  be  kept  moist,  and  at  their 
time  of  growth  receive  a  liberal  supply  of  water. 
Except  during  their  period  of  rest,  the  Ama- 
ryllis cannot  be  kept  in  too  sunny  a  place. 
Their  perfection,  namely  :  a  plentiful  bloom,  de- 
pends chiefly  on  the  unbounded  influence  of  the 
sun  upon  the  bulbs.  For  this  reason  :  whether 
in  the  greenhouse,  sitting  room  or  open  air,  the 
most  sunny  location  should  be  chosen.  The 
maturity,  viz  :  the  formation  of  the  future  flower 
germs  is  the  more  completely  attained  the  more 
the  bulb  is  under  the  influence  of  the  Sun. 

The  practice  here  and  there  of  taking  the  bulbs 
out  of  the  pots,  and  keeping  them  dry  during 
their  periods  of  rest,  is  in  nowise  to  be  recom"^  i 
mended.     By  this  method  the  roots  dry  up,  and  I 
are  consequently  lost.     However  dry  the  bulbs  | 
may  become  in  the  pot  during  their  periods  of ' 
rest,  still  they  will  not  be  so  dry,  but  that  they 
will  be  enabled  to  start  a  new  growth  as  soon  as 
they  are  transplanted    into  fresh   soil;    conse- 
quently these  have  a  great  advantage  over  those 
which  are  deprived  of  their  roots,  and  which 
must  wait  on  the  favors  of  time  and  nature  to 
renew  their  strength  and  beauty. 

The  Amaryllis  bulbs  are  propagated  in  two 
different  ways.  First,  by  offsets  formed  on  the 
parental  bulb ;  secondly,  by  seeds.  The  offsets 
are  removed  from  the  parent  bulb,  and  repotted 
singly,  or  with  several  in  one  pot.  As  soon  as 
they  have  reached  an  independent  existence, 
they  should  be  treated  as  old  roots. 

The  seed  should    be  sown,  if  the   season  is 
favorable,  right  after  their  maturity,  or  in  the 
following  Spring.     Sow  them  in  seed  pans,  in  a 
light  Amaryllis  compost.     Water  them  moder- 
ately, and  set  them  in  a  hot-bed.    Keep  a  close 
observance  of  their  condition,  and  see  that  a  soft 
and  equal  moisture  is  preserved,  when  they  will 
soon  germinate.     The  seedlings  require  the  same 
treatment  as  the  offsets.     If  there  are  no  hot-beds 
where   the    young  seedlings   or  offsets   can   be 
planted  out,  they  may  be  planted  singly  in  the 
smallest  sized   pots  that  can  be  obtained.     As 
often  as  the  roots  reach  the  outside  of  the  pot, 
they  should  be  transplanted  to  a  larger  sized  one' 
without  disturbing  the  ball  of  earth.     The  less 
the  roots  arc  disturbed,  the  sooner  they  will 


mclose  the  new  earth  again,  and  take  their  nour- 
ishment out  of  the  same.     This  advice  is  only  a 
seeming  contradiction  to  that  given  in  recrard  to 
the  older  bulbs.      The  latter  commence"  annu- 
ally a  new  period  of  growth,  while  the  youn^^ 
bulbs   require  a   growth   uninterrupted,  which 
would  be  intermitted  if  the  earth  was  shaken 
from  the   roots,  thus  preventing  the  rapid  ac- 
complishment of  their  maturity. 
Amaryllis  bulbs  imported  either  from  Europe 
,  or  their  native  country,  are  generally  in  a  dry 
;  shrunken  condition  on  their  arrival  here,  and 
without    roots.      Their    condition    would 'lead 
;  many  to  conclude  that  ihey  should  be  placed 
immediately  in  the  earth,  and  their  growth  re- 
I  newed  ;  but  this  would  be  the  mistake  of  ignor- 
ance, because  it  might  be  in  contradiction  to  the 
I  natural    disposition   of   the    species.      With  a 
I  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  respective  spe- 
j  cies,  it  is  easy  to  bring  the  growth  of  the  bulb  in 
unison  with  its  natural  period  of  activity  ;  but  if 
not  thus  acquainted  with  its  nature,  it  is  best  to 
put  the  bulb  into  a  pot  of  loaming  sand,  and  set 
It  aside  in  a  dry  place  of  moderate  temperature, 
where  there  is  no  danger  of  further  shrinking  in, 
or  of  premature  dampness.     Let  their  condUion 
be  under  constant  observation  ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  least  sign  of  growth  is  seen,  either  in  the 
formation  of  the  roots,  or  the  swelling  of  the 
head  of  the  bulb,  then  is  the  time  to  pot°and  ad- 
vance the  same  in  a  raised  temperature,  which 
agrees  with  them.     Bottom  heat   is  be«t.     To 
such  bulbs  the  smallest  pots  possible  should  be 
given  ;   but  as  often  as  they  fill  with  roots,  they 
should  be  shifted  without  hurting  the  roots. 


■*•■>» 


HYBRIDIZATION  AND  CROSS  FERTILI- 
ZATION. 

BY  REV.    L.   J.   TEMPLIN,  OF  KOKOMO,  IND. 

The  question  as   to  whether   the   immediate 
fruit  of  a  union  of  two  different  species  orgenera 
is  effected  by  such  union  is  one  of  considerable 
practical  importance,  and  is  worthy  of  carefbl 
examination.     In  a  note  in  the  July  number  of 
the  Gardener's  Monthly  Mr.  Arnold,  of  Canada, 
while  admitting  that  in  corn  the  effbct  is  imme- 
diate, thinks  that  in  the  apple  and  pear  '*  it  is  a 
rare  occurrence  "  for  the  pulp  to  be  affected.  The 
apple  and  pear  being  distinct  species,  the  com- 
mon progeny  of  the   two  is  a   real   hybrid.     I 
think  it  doubtful  whether  such  hybrids  are  very 
often  produced,  yet  that  they  do  occur  at  rare 
intervals  is  a  well  established  fact.     Mr.  Arnold 


himself  reported  a  very  interesting  case,  which 
was  published  in  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  page 
43,  1871.     Two  apples  were  found  growing  on 
a  pear  tree   in   the  orchard  of  Dr.^Lawrence. 
These  were  genuine  hybrids  in  which  the  pulp 
of  the  fruit  partook  of  the  nature   of  the   male 
parent.     A  case  of  pears  growing  on  an  apple 
tree  occurred  on  the  farm  of  Mr.    Walter,  near 
Englewood,   N.  J.,  noticed    in   the   Journal  of 
Commerce   and   afterwards   in    the    Gardener's 
Monthly,  page  .343,    1872.      In   this  case   three 
pears  were  found  growing  on  the  branch  of  an 
apple  tree,  that  grew  so  near  a  pear  tree  that 
the  branches  often  met   when   swayed   by   the 
wind.     The   branch  was  preserved  with  apple 
leaves,  two  pears  and  an  apple  on  it ;  the  apple 
being  situated  between  the  two  pears.     In  this 
case   the  parentage  was  the  reverse  of  that  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Lawrence.     It  is  probable  that 
such  hybrids  are  produced  much  oftener  than 
they  are  reported  to  the  public.     At  least  there 
seems  no  good  reason  why  they  should  not  be  as 
often  as  circumstances   combine   favorably  for 
their  production.     The  fertilization  of  one  varie- 
ty by  another  is  perhaps  more  easily*  effected, 
and  therefore  more  frequently  occurs  ;  but  the 
change  is  less  violent  and  consequently  less  no- 
ticeable than  where  it  takes  place  between  two 
genera.     It  is  not  very  unusual  to  find  specimens 
of  apples  differing  from  the  variety  on  which  they 
grow,  in  color,  flavor  and  texture,  as  widely  as 
some  of  entirely  distinct  varieties.     Is  it  not 
probable    that  these  variations  are  caused  by 
cross-fertilization  V  Indeed  is  it  not  reasonable 
to  expect  that  in  every  case  of  cross  fertilization 
the  resulting  fruit  should  partake  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  male,   as  well  as  of  the  female 
pareut  to  some  extent  ?     It  is  the  direct  result 
of  this  fertilizing  influence.     The  fiemale  organs 
of  the  plant  have  no  more  power  to  develop  the 
embryo,   and  produce  a  perfect  fruit,   without 
such  fertilization,  than  has  the  female  animal 
to  bring  forth  young  with  out  the  intervention  ol 
a  male.     In  the  animal  kingdom  we  find,  that 
when  two  animals  of  pure,  bui  distinct  breeds, 
have  fertile  intercouise,  not  only  is  the  offspring  a 
cross  between  the  two  breeds,   but  the   female 
herself  becomes  a  cross  with  the  animal  by  which 
she  tirst  becomes  pregnant.     In  animal  hybrids 
the  progeny  resembles  the  male  parent  in  out- 
ward form  and  figure.     The  mule  has  the  ears, 
hoofs,  tail  and  color  of  the  ass,  while  the  hinuey 
has  those  of  the  horse.  If  this  is  the  law  govern- 
ing in  the  animal  kingdom,  may  we  not  con- 


clude that  it  controls  largely  in  the  vegetable 
world  ?  The  cases  cited  above  prove  this  to  be 
nature's  method  in  some  cases,  and,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  I  think  we 
may  safely  conclude  that  it  is  her  law  in  the 
vegetable,  as  well  as  animal  kingdom.  M  to 
the  law  of  superfaiation,  which  Mr.  Arnold 
thinks  he  has  established,  I  think  while  he  seems 
on  the  right  track  to  determine  the  niatler, 
further  evidence  seems  to  be  needed  to' set  aside 
the  many  objections  that  seem  to  lie  with  great 
weight  against  it.  Let  investigations  go  or°that 
truth  may  be  discovered  and  established. 


HEAT^G  BY  STEAM. 


BY  N.    D.    ALLEN,    CHICAGO,    ILLS. 

I  have  of  late  become  much  interested  in  read- 
ing the  articles  in  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  on 
the  erection  and  heating  of  greenhouses,  for 
growing  plants  and  cut-flowers. 

I  have  ten  houses  in  a  body,  facing  east  and 
west,  each  100  by  U  feet,— 7  feet  in  height, 
warmed  by  steam  pipes  running  from  one  "flue 
boiler.  The  steam  is  conveyed  from  the  boiler 
by  a  2-inch  pipe  passing  through  the  centre  of 
the  propagating  house,  under  the  propagating 
bench  to  the  farther  end  of  the  house,  connecting 
a  2-inch  pipe  which  passes  across  the  end  of 
each  house,  conveying  the  steam  into  1-inch 
pipes,  which  radiates  the  steam  through  all  the 
houses.  * 

So  far,  the  heating  by  steam  has  been  a  success 
in  the  saving  of  labor,  as  it  requires  only  one 
fire.  The  required  temperature  can  more  easily 
be  kept.  The  propagating  bench  is  4  by  80  feet, 
and  every  part  of  it  works  like  a  charm.  The 
mercury  need  not  vary  five  degrees. 

During  the  past  long  severe  winter,  with  the 
mercury  varying  from  fifteen  to  thirty  degrees 
below  zero,  I  have  not  lost  by  freezing  more  than 
fifty  plants,  and  should  not  have  lost  those,  but 
the  propagating  bed  crowded  out  plants  so  fast, 
that  I  was  obliged  to  put  them  in  houses  that 
were  only  heated  sufficiently  to  grow  lettuce, 
(with  but  two  1-inch  pipes.) 

Heating  by  steam  creates  a  moist  balmy  at- 
mosphere well  adapted  to  plant  growing,  as  they 
look  healthy,  vigorous,  and  bloom  profusely.  A 
florist  who  saw  them  in  the  winter  said  that 
Fuchsias  grown  in  their  native  climate,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  could  not  be 
more  luxuriant  and  healthy  than  mine— the 
same  could  be  said  of  all  the  plants.     I  attribute 


SOJ^ 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


October. 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


the  result  greatly  to  steam,  as  I  am  a  Dovice  in 
the  art  of  plant  growing.  Why  has  heating  by 
steam  been  so  ignored  by  florists  ? 

[Where  heat  has  to  be  carried  long  distances, 
steam  will  have  the  preference  over  any  other 
mode  of  heating ;  but  for  short  distances  it  is 
thought  to  be  more  expensive  than  hot  water, 
on  the  idea  that  it  takes  more  fuel  to  make 
steam — than  to  get  hot  water  to  circulate.  But 
our  correspondent  furnishes  good  reasons  for  a 
suspicion  that  this  idea  is  fallacious.  We  would 
be  glad  to  have  the  views  of  others  of  our  corre- 
spondents.] 


»  ♦ 


KAISING  SEEDLINGS  OF  TREES, 
FRUITS,  &c. 

BY  J.    M.,   PHIL  A. 

A  shore  time  ago  I  promised  you  my  experi- 
ence on  seedling  raising,  and  have  since  been 
pleased  to  see  my  proposed  task  made  easier  by 
the  writings  of  Mr.  Wood  on  "How  to  grow 
evergreens  from  seed."  However,  I  can  find 
enough  to  say  on  deciduous  trees,  and  hope  it 
will  prove  as  instructive  as  has  Mr.  Wood's 
writings. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  our  people  are 
getting  better  acquainted  every  day  with  this 
branch  of  gardening,  and  that  many  amateurs 
as  well  as  professional  men,  can  now  increase 
their  valuable  plants  with  good  success.  I  have 
no  desire  to  work  injury  to  any  nation  whatever, 
nevertheless  I  have  always  been  the  most  pleased 
when  I  have  found  our  own  people  had  raised 
for  us  plants  we  wanted,  as  cheaply  as  the 
agents  of  foreign  houses  could  offer  them  for. 
It  has  been  but  a  lack  of  knowledge  how  to 
raise  seedlings,  that  made  us  dependent  so  long 
When  once  the  principle  is  understood,  the  rest 
is  tolerably  easy. 

In  transplanting  trees  it  is  generally  undcr- 
Btood  that  above  all  things  the  roots  must  not 
be  allowed  to  dry.  The  moister  they  can  be 
kept  the  better  the  success.  The  ditterence  is 
not  great  between  seeds  and  trees.  Moisture  in 
both  cases  is  life,  dryness  is  death.  A  seci  can 
no  more  germiuate  with  dry  surroundings,  than 
a  tree  can  live  similarly  situated.  It  is  then 
but  a  question  of  how  much  moisture  each  kind 
of  seed  requires  to  be  successful  with  them  ? 
Many  seeds  which  ripen  through  the  summer 
can  be  kept  dry  till  fall,  and  some  till  spring, 
and  sown  with  certainty  of  success.  Others 
must  have  moist  earth  or  sand  mixed  with  them 


from  the  start,  or  they  will  not  grow.     It  is  this 
knowl  dije  of  the  requisites  of  each  kind  of  seed, 
broi^ght  about  by  long  observation  or  attention 
that  alone  will  bring  success. 

Evergreens  will  mostly  all  grow  the  first  sea 
son  without  previous  preparation,  though  they 
come  up  quicker  if  previously  mixed  with  earth  ; 
and  it  is  of  vast  importance  to  get  them  up  early 
and  have  them  strong  before  the  weather  gets 
burning  hot.  Some  kinds  of  evergreens  will  re- 
main a  year  in  the  ground  before  coming  up,  or 
they  can  be  kept  in  a  cellar  in  boxes  of  earth  for 
the  same  time— a  much  better  plan.  Such  kinds 
are  Buxus  sempervirens,  Cratse^us,  Ilex,  Juni- 
perus,  Taxus,  &c.  The  Mahonia  will  germinate 
the  spring  following  its  ripening,  if  kept  in  moist 
earth  till  sowed. 

The  following  kinds,  if  kept  cool  till  sowed  in 
fall,  require  no  previous  mixing  with  moist 
earth  or  sand:  Alnus,  Acer  iEscuius,  Ailanthus, 
Amorpha,  Amelanchier  ,Berberis,  Celtis,  Eu- 
onymus,  Eleagnus,  Liriodendron,  Lauru?,  Mag- 
nolia,  Nyssa,  Rhamnus,  Syringa,  Viburnum,  &c. 
I  would  mix  with  earth  as  soon  as  gathered 
and  cleaned,  to  sow  in  fall,  the  different  kinds  of 
Cherries,  Hickories,  Oaks,  Chestnuts,  Walnuts, 
Peaches,  Plums,  &c. 

Many  persons  keep  all  of  these  last  named 
kinds  in  boxes  of  earth  till  spring,  especially  in 
States  where  the  winters  are  very  dry,  for  if  the 
seeds  suf!er  from  moisture,  no  matter  whether 
indoors  or  out  they  will  die  ;  and  when  indoors, 
its  one's  own  fault  if  they  become  too  dry. 

Many  kinds  do  very  well  if  kept  cool  without 
mixing  with  earth,  and  sown  in  spring— they 
are,  Aralia,  Acacia,  Anona,  Betula,  Cassia, 
Cyiissus,  Cercis,  Catalpa,  Calycanthus,  Cladas- 
trus,  Diospyros,  Gleditschia,  Gymnocladus 
Kolreuteria,  Liquidambar,  Madura,  Paulow- 
nia,  Uobini:!,  Salisburia,  Sambucus,  Sophora, 
Taxodiura,  &c. 

It  is  the  practice  of  large  raisers  to  sow  no 
seeds  but  what  will  germinate  at  once,  or  soon. 
Such  kinds  as  require  a  season  to  start  them,  are 
not  as  formerly  sown  out  and  allowed  to  occupy 
the  ground  a  whole  season  to  no  purpose,  but 
are  kept  all  summer  in  boxes  and  sown  in  fall. 
The  following  kinds  should  be  mixed  with 
earth  some  time  soon  after  ripening,  and  kept 
in  a  cellar  oue  year  and  sown  in  fall :  the 
next  spring  they  will  grow  finely  :  Cornus,  Cra- 
taegus, Carpinus,  Chionanthus,  Fraxinus,Fagu8, 
Gaultheria,  Ilalesia,  Myrica,  Pyrus,  Prinos, 
Tiha,  &c. 


305 


As  has  been  before  said,  moisture  is  the  main 
requisite  with  seeds  ;  and  if  they  get  this  it  does 
not  matter  where  they  receive  it.  We  have 
known  nurserymen  lo  sow  fields  of  Mazzard 
Cherry  in  the  fall,  and  quantities  of  the  same 
seeds  which  had  been  kept  moist  indoor,  in  the 
spring.  There  was  no  difference  in  the  growth 
of  either  sowing,  both  growing  finely.  Shade  is 
best  for  all  young  seedlings,  and  essential   to 


many.  Where  seed-sowing  is  a  yearly  business 
probably  lath  nailed  together,  as  has  been  recom- 
mended for  evergreens,  is  best.  Where  it  is 
carried  on  but  on  a  small  scale,  brush-wood  or 
corn-stalks  would  answer,  removing  it  gradually 
as  the  seedlings  grow.  On  the  approach  of 
frost  cover  thickly  with  some  light  material  to 
prevent  thawing,  so  as  to  keep  them  frozen  solid 
all  winter. 


EDITOR lAL 


SOIL  CULTURE. 
It  will  never  hurt  an  intelligent  man  to  know 
why  he  does  things.  Rather  will  he  profit  in 
this,  that  he  can  better  adapt  himself  to  circum- 
stances. There  are  in  horticulture  hosts  of  prac- 
tices—all good  practices— about  which  none  of  us 
know  the  reasons,  or  if  we  reason  at  all,  rea- 
son wrongly;  and  hence  we  often  do  work 
which  might  as  well  be  undone  for  all  the  good 
it  is  to  us. 

There  are  innumerable  things  in  greenhouse 
building  and  greenhouse  wfi.rming,  in  plant 
growing  and  fruit  culture,  the  labor  on  which  is 
absolutely  thrown  away,  simply  by  doing  what 
others  have  done,  without  knowing  why  they 
did  it ;  and  yet  the  practices  may  have  been 
very  good  in  themselves  at  the  time  and  for  the 
purpose,  whatever  it  may  have  been,  but  of  no 
avail  to  the  purposes  of  the  modern  imitators. 

It  is  not  long  since  the  writer  was  talking  to 
one  of  the  leading  scientists  of  Europe,  and  wish- 
ing to  learn  the  present  condition  of  physiological 
science,  introduced  the  topic  of  root-growth.     It 
was  contended  by  our  really  learned  friend,  that 
roots  could  only  grow  well  when  in  very  loose 
soil,  which  soil  must    be  very  loose  in  order 
to  *' admit  air  to  the  roots,"  for,  "without  a  free 
communication  of  the  roots  with  the  atmospher- 
ic gases,  rapid  grgwth  was  impossible."     He 
was  at  once  referred  to  grape  vines,  which,  for 
mere  experiments,  had  been  set  in  what  might 
be  termed  a  turnpike  road.     It  was,  in  fact,  the 
side  of  a  road  which  had  been  heavily  stoned, 
and  over  which  horses  and  heavy  carts  have 
been  running  for  twenty  years.    The  ''  turnpike'' 
had  to  be  torn  open  with  a  pick  to  admit  the 
grape  vine  roots,  and  the  material  picked  out, 
filled  in  again  after  the  roots  were  set  in.    Yet 


these  vines  make  an  annual  growth  of  twenty 
feet,  and  bear  fruit  of  the  very  best  description. 
The  grower  top-dresses  with  rich  manure, 
prunes  "according  to  the  art,"  and  so  forth. 
The  plants  have  the  best  professional  treatment, 
but  '*  loose  soil  to  admit  the  air  "  they  have  not. 
Our  friend  looked  at  the  illustration,  shook  his 
head,  and  passed  on.  It  is  a  question  whether 
the  circumstance  will  ever  be  called  up  again  to 
his  mind.  He  will  yet  teach  that  plants  ''must 
have  loose  soil,"  as  strenuously  as  ever.  He 
will  no  doubt  think  that  one  or  two  instances 
are  exceptions;  and  yet  on  "one  or  two  facts," 
or  experiments,  as  they  are  generally  called,  by 
not  merely  "one  or  two,"  but  often  by  one  origi- 
nal observer,  most  of  the  current  literature 
called  "  vegetable  physiology  "  is  founded.  If 
"  one  or  two ''  plants  can  grow  magnificently  in 
hard,  solid  soil,  but  with  an  abundance  of  good 
fertilizing  matter,  without  being  "  loose  to  admit 
the  air,''  why  may  not  a  thousand  ? 

But  these  "  one  or  two  "  facts  are  not  the  only 
ones.  The  writer  is  in  favor  of  ploughing  and 
digging  our  soil,  very  much  as  before.  There  are 
many  reasons  why  we  must  do  so ;  but  if  w  e 
ever  believed  that  the  mere  loosening  of  the  soil 
was  to  be  one  of  these  reasons,  it  is  clear  from 
these  facts,  and  from  facts  which  we  gave  some 
months  ago  in  a  similar  article,  we  should  be 
worse  than  an  idiot  to  continue  on  in  that  belief. 
We  shall  have  to  dig  and  plough  and  cultivate 
for  many  reasons ;  we  often  do  so  now  be- 
cause we  think  the  roots  requires  this  ;  but 
where  there  is  no  other  reason  than  this,  we  may 
save  ourselves  this  much  labor  and  expense. 
With  abundant  plant  food  they  will  take  care 
of  themselves. 

We  mentioned  these  circumstances  to  Mr.  Vick- 


ij 


it] 


306 


THE   GARDEJ^EWS  MOJ^THLY. 


Octcher, 


roy,  who  has  charge  of  the  experiments  at  the 
Industrial  University.  He  sustained  **one  or 
two"  facts  by  his  own  experience  with  corn. 
For  four  years  corn  had  been  planted  in  two 
lots  side  by  side.  In  one  the  ground  was  ma- 
nured and  "worked  »'  in  the  usual  manner  for 


1873. 


corn,  in  the  other  it  was  manured  in  the  same 
way  without  any  working.  There  was  no  differ- 
ence whatever  in  the  crops  produced  from  either  lot. 
Kow  because  these  facts  are  true,  we  do  not 
propose  to  stop  all  digging  or  ploughing  up  of 
the  soil,--we  propose  to  go  on  as  usual. 


SCRAPS   AND    QUERIES. 


Carter's   Champion  Scarlet  Runner.— 
Messrs.  James  Carter  &  Co.,  High  Holborn,  Lon- 
don, write  :    "  Carter's  Champion  Scarlet  Run- 
ner.    This  is  an  established  variety,  quite  dis- 
tinct   from  ordinary   scarlet    runners,    and   an- 
nounced to  be  very  superior  by  the  Royal  Horti- 
cultural Society  of  England.     We  notice  in  your 
August  issue  that  Messrs.  Thorburn  stated  to  a 
correspondent  they  have  tried   this  variety  of 
beans,  and  that  it  does  not  appear  different  to 
them  from  the  Scarlet  Runner.  Messrs.  Thorburn 
did  not  buy  any  Carter's  Champion  Runner  from 
us  last  season,— we  therefore  don't  see  how  they 
are  in  a  position  to  offer  an  opinion  about  it. 
They  may  have  got  Carter's  Champion  Runners 
from  some  other  house,  and  it  may  not  have 
been  true ;   in  fact  it  could  not  be  true  if  they 
made  it  to  be  the  same  as  the  ordinary  Scarlet 
Runner." 


greenhouse.  It  does  best,  however,  in  a  stove. 
We  have  known  it  to  do  tolerably  well,  however, 
in  a  house  where  the  winter  temperature  was 
between  45°  and  60°. 


Anthurium  Schurzerianum.— a  lady  cor- 
respondent desires  to  know  the  best  treatment 
for  this  plant.  Will  some  of  our  friends  who 
have  it,  kindly  respond?  We  have  seen  it 
beautifully  grown  at  Mr.  Geo.  Such's,  and  also  by 
Mr.  Alex.  Newitt,  in  Germantown. 


Tarred  Paper  Against  Fruit  Tree 
Borers— /S.  R.  B.,  Phila.:  "I  want  some  in- 
formation about  the  use  of  tarred  paper  as  a 
preventive  of  the  borer  in  fruit  trees.  Will  you 
be  so  good  as  to  inform  me  through  the  Garde- 
ner's Monthly  where  it  can  be  procured,  and  how 
it  is  applied  ?  " 

[Paper— newspaper  or  any  paper  is  tied  loosely 
about  the  collar  of  the  tree,  and  warmed  tar  ap- 
plied with  a  brush.  It  is  a  perfect  and  simple 
guard  against  borers.] 


Improved  Calceolarias.— /Sfara/i  E.  P., 
St.  Joseph,  Mich.:  *'  What  are  the  peculiarities 
of  .lames,  international  prize  Calceolaria  ?  " 

It  is  the  effort  of  Calceolaria  growers  to  have 
the  flower  as  rounded  in  outline  as  possible, 
and  of  as  many  harmonious  tints  of  color  as 
they  can  set.  and  with  the  lines  of  color  well  de- 
fined. 

We  suppose  James  had  a  premium  for  extra 
good  kind,  and  the  seeds  from  his  plants  will 
therefore  bring  a  better  price.  We  do  not 
know  that  there  is  any  especial  peculiarity  ia 
the  strain. 


The  Tulip  Tree  in  Texas.— A  Washing- 
ton County  correspondent  tells  us  that  his  trials 
with  this  have  proved  the  Liriodendron  to  be 
admirably  adapted  to  that  climate.  Several 
hundred  trees,  but  a  foot  or  so  high,  two  years 
ago,  are  now  twelve,  and  the  admiration  of  all 
who  see  them. 


Pleroma  elegans.— 5f.  E.  P.,  St.  Joseph, 
Mich.:  You  can  succeed  with  this  in  an  ordinary 


Lapageria  rosea.— 3frs.  S.  E,  P.,  St, 
Joseph,  Mich.,  asks  for  a  description  of  this  plant. 
The  following  is  from  an  English  publication, 
and,  though  referring  to  a  white  variety,  suits 
her  inquiry  in  all  but  the  color  of  the  variety  : 

Lapageria  Rosea  var.  Albiflora. —Uuiz  and 
Pavon,  Spanish  botanists,  were  the  first  to  dis- 
cover this  plant,  clinging  to  the  trees  of  the  for- 
ests of  Rere  and  d'ltota,  in  Chili  and  Peru,  as 
described  in  their  grand  work  on  the  flora  of 
those  countries  ;  but  the  first  plant  was  brought 
to  England  by  the  Rev.— Wheelwright,  and 
sent  to  Kew.  Shortly  after,  the  celebrated  bo- 
tanist Thomas  Lobb  sent  over  several  cuttings 
to  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Son.  It  is  a  climbing 
plant,   with  long  and  numerous   branches ;  its 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJ>rTHLY. 


307 


stem  and  branches  are  sub-cylindrical,  bare  be- 
low, and  scaly  here  and  there.     The  leaves  are 
alternate,  far  apart,  lanceolate  acuminate,  thick, 
and  shining,   having   five  longitudinal   nerves, 
connected  by  a  reticulated  nervation  ;  thev  are 
about  four  inches  long,  and  two  inches  and  a 
half  wide.    The  petioles  are  very  short,  twisted, 
channeled  beneath,  striated  above,  dilated  at  the 
base,  and  serai-amplexical ;  they  enlarge  after 
the  fall  of   the  leaf,   and  become   more   deeply 
striated.     The  peduncles,  longer  than  the  peti- 
oles, are  axillary,  solitary,  dull  colored,  with  sov- 
eral  scales  at  the  base  (colored).     The  flowers 
are  large  and  beautiful,  comparable  in  form  and 
dimensions  to  those  of  the  white  lily ;  they  are 
of  the  richest  possible  crimson,  or  a  lively  rose 
color,  in  the  species  we  possess,  and  ornamented 
with  white  points  inside,   and   on   the  exterior 
sides  of  the  internal  segments.     In  the  variety 
now  under  notice,  the  flowers  are  of  a  creamy- 
white  tinted  with  yellow.  In  those  first  describ- 
ed, the  external  base  is  spotted  with  dark  violet; 
in  the  white  flowers  with  rose,  or  often  not  spot- 
ted at  all ;  they  are  about  three  inches  and  a 
half  long,  and  about  two  and  a  half  broad. 


Strawberry  Histort.-K  JV.,  Knoxville, 
Tenn.:  "I  have  odd  numbers  of  the  Gardener's 
Monthly  from  vol.  1  No.  1,  to  1870  ;  and  in  run- 
ning over  them  recently,  I  have  been  much  in- 
terested in  several  points  started  by  you,  upon 
some  of  which  I  am  tempted  to  ask  information. 

(1).  In  the  strawberry  controversy  with  Long- 
worth,  did  he  claim  that  the  Staminate  and  Pis- 
tillate characters  were  unknown  or  disregarded 
before  he  drew  attention  to  them  ? 

(2).  Do  you  know  of  any  one  having  studied 
the  strawberry  bloom  with  the  microscope  ?  If 
so,  who  ? 

(3).  By  whom  is  the  strawberry  most  thor- 
oughly discussed  ? 

(4).  Was  the  series  of  entomological  papers  of 
Mr.  Rathvon  ever  published  in  book  form.  If 
80,  by  whom,  and  at  what  price  ? 

I  trust  you  may  find  it  not  too  inconvenient  to 
answer  these  questions,  as  the  answers  to  the 
three  first  may  materially  influence  my  own 
study  of  the  strawberry.  " 

(1).  [Mr.  L.  contended  that  the  fact  of  separate 
sexes  in  the  strawberry  plant  was  not  known  until 
communicated  to  him  by  an  old  German  market 
woman  in  Cincinnati.  It  was  not  entirely  un- 
known previously,  but  yet  it  was  so  little  known, 
that  for  all  practical  purposes  Mr.  Longworth 


was  right.  Mr.  Longworth  was  also  right  in 
urging  the  necessity  of  growing  male  flowering 
plants  alongside  of  female  ones,  in  order  to  get 
a  full  crop. 

But  Mr.  Longworth  was  wrong  in  contending 
that  a  plant  once  female  was  always  female. 
The  "  controversy  "  referred  to  was  in  regard  to 
this  point.  In  many  cases  of  female  varieties, 
(which  had  the  stamens  arrested  in  their  devel- 
opment,) circumstances  would  favor  the  pro- 
duction of  stamens,  and  thus  a  plant  pistillate 
in  one  place,  would  become  hermaphrodite  in 
another.  This,  Mr.  Longworth  denied.  The 
value  of  the  question  was  chiefly  in  regard  to 
the  identity  of  the  varieties  furnished  by  nur- 
serymen. 

(2).  We  know  of  no  person  who  has  specially 
studied  in  this  way. 

(3).  Pardee  on  the  Strawberry  is  so  far  the 
best  work.  There  was  another  work  published 
by  J.  E.  Tilton  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  and  written 
by  Mr.  Merrick,  which  contains  full  descrip- 
tions of  the  varieties  known  at  that  time. 

(4).  They  were  published  by  Brinckloe  &  Ma- 
rot,  at  the  office  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly.  ] 

Insect  in  the  Linden  Trees.— A  Phila- 
delphia correspondent  sends  us  the  following 
note  :  "  I  have  a  very  handsome  row  of  English 
Lindens,  which  are  about  forty  years  old.  The 
Grub  got  into  them,  and  I  have  lost  several.  If 
you  would  inform  me  what  I  could  do  to  kill  this 
destructive  worm,  I  should  be  much  obliged  to 
you. " 

[We  do  not  know  that  any  remedy  has  been 
found  against  the  Linden  borer.  Unlike  the 
apple,  peach,  and  quince  borers,  this  one  works 
all  over  the  tree.  If  any  one  has  had  any  suc- 
cessful experience,  we  should  be  glad  to  know.] 

Auriculas.— fl.  B.,  Chicago,  Ills.,  says: 
'*  Will  some  one  who  has  had  experience,  write 
of  the  culture  of  the  Auricula?" 


To  Inquirers  and  Correspondents.— A 
long  absence  this  summer  has  delayed  some  of  our 
correspondence.  If  any  desiring  notice  in  this 
department  have  been  overlooked,  we  shall  be 
glad  to  give  them  attention.  Inquiries  for  this 
department  are  always  welcome,  as  it  generally 
happens  that  what  one  wants  to  know  about,  is 
just  the  knowledge  hundreds  are  seeking.  Notes 
and  observations  about  horticultural  matters 
are  always  welcome. 


SOS 


TEE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ\/ TELY.        October, 


1873. 


TEE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


809 


Begonia  coccinea.— X.  B.  C,  Bichmond, 
Indiana:  "  I  want  to  trouble  you  a  little  for  a 
name,  as  I  know  of  no  one  else  competent  that 
I  think  will  do  it  for  me. 

In  my  collection  of  Begonia  I  have  two  named 
Begonia  sanguinea^  the  first  one  (marked  No.  1) 


have  '  fixed  '  them.     They  were,  I  think,  much 
heavier  in  seeds  than  in  the  nursery  line." 


Prices  of  Cut  Flowers.— 5.   Q.   C.—**  It 
has  been  suggested  by  florists  here,  and  I  am  re- 
quested to  make  it  known  to  you,  that  it  would 
is  said  to  be  from  Mr.  R.  Buist's  place,  and  named  j  be  a  feature  of  interest  to  many  western  florists 


by  him  ;  but  I  find  in  Paxton's  Botanical  Dic- 
tionary, B.  sanguinea  has  red  flowers,  and  B. 
sanguinea  atropurpurea  flowers  black  red.  My 
plant  from  Mr.  Buist's  has  white  flowers  in 
great  profusion. 

I  received  from  a  German  gardener  last  spring, 
among  a  lot  of  Begonias,  a  plant  labeled  B.  san- 
guinea, similar  in  habit  to  B.  hydrocotylifolia, 
and  suggesting  to  him  it  might  be  misnamed,  he 
teld  me  that  in  the  King's  garden  of  Hanover, 
the  one  he  sent  me  was  labeled  B.  sanguinea, 
and  the  other  is  labeled  B.  coccinea.     But  Pax-  j  tarnations,  per  doz 0 

ton  says  it  has  scarlet  flowers  ;    the  Hanover  j  HellT^s,      -       -sp^ay^:;;;:: :::::;::;  ^ 

Mignonette,  12  bun 3 


if  you  would  give  the  market  quotations  for  lead- 
ing cut  flowers  (rose-buds,  carnations,  etc.)  as  is 
given  in  the  London  Chronicle,  for  London,  for 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  during  the  fall  and 
winter  Nos.  of  the  Oardener^s  Monthly.  Think 
of  it,  please.'' 

[Our  correspondent  refers  to  the  following 
which  we  take  from  Gardener'' s  Chronicle  of  Au- 
gust 2ud: 

Cut  Flowers. 


8. 


plant  has  not  yet  flowered,  but  I  forward  a  leaf. 

[The  leaves  came  to  hand  during  our  absence 
last  summer,  and,  being  very  much  crushed  in 
the  mail,  could  not  be  preserved  well  without 
rottinff. 


d.    8.  d, 

3  tol    0 
0 — 6 
— 0 
0 — 6 

Pelargoniums,  Zonale,  p.  12  sprays 0    3 — 0 

Pinks,  p.  12  bun 2    0 — 4 

Ranunculus,  per  doz.. ..bunches 4    0 — 6 

Koses,  "        0    6 — 6 

—    Moss,        "        bunches 4    0 — 9 

Stephanotis,  per  12  sprays 2    0- 


Ine  true  B.  sangumea  has,  however,  a  leaf   Tropajolum,  per  doz.  bunches 1    0 — 2 

sharper  than  No.  2  appears  to  be,  but  not  so 


0 
6 
0 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 


sharp  as  No.  1.  The  plant  is  a  strong  growing, 
shrubby  one,  and  not  half  herbaceous  and  low 
growing  as  hydrocotylifolia  is.  The  under  sur- 
face of  the  leaf  is  a  blood  red,  whence  its  name  ; 
but  the  upper  is  of  a  dark  green.  Send  some  of 
each,  and  a  leaf,  when  in  flower.] 


Plants  in  Pots. 


Bankrupt  Nurserymen.— An  Illinois  cor- 
respondent does  not  seem  to  like  the  idea  of  a 
nurseryman  going  into  bankruptcy  ;  and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  cases  of  well  established 
firms  going  over  are  very  rare.     He  says  : 
^     '*  In  regard  to  Peter  Lawson  &  Son  going  into 
'bankruptcy,  you    doubtless    know  much  more 
about   it   than  I  do ;    but  I  was  astonished  in 
the  old  country  to  hear  of  their  branching  out 
in  so  many  directions.     I  can't  tell  the  particu- 
lars, but  as  well  as  I  now  remember  they  had 
immense    investments    in    Guano    Islands  and 
other  speculations— the  last  of  which  I  read  of 
quite  lately.    It  was  to  get  control  of  Hayti  or 
some  great  interest  there.     I  remember  in  read- 
ing that  it  seemed  to  me  quite  as  wild  as  old 
John  Lewis'  South  Sea  bubble.     Of  course  I 
can't  vouch  for  these  things,  but  have  no  doubt 
there  is  substantial  trufli  in  it.    Tl.is  last  may 


f.  d.     8.  d. 

Azaleas,  each to  

Begonias,  per  doz 6    0 — 12    0 

Bouvardia,     **       9    0—18    0 

Calceolarias,  per  doz 3    0—  9    0 

Rhodanthe  '*      6    0—    ... 

Dracsenna  terminalis,  per  doz 12    0 — 30    0 

"  viridis,  »*      12    0—24   0 

Erica,  in  variety,  from 12    0—30   0 

Fuchsia,  per  doz 4   0—18   0 

Double  Pelargoniums,  per  doz 4    0 —  8   0 

Mignonette,  per  doz 3    0—  5   0 

Myrtles,  per  doz 3    0—9   0 

Pelargoniums,  per  doz 6    0—18   0 

Petunias,  per  dcz 4    0 —  9    0 

Spiraea  japonica,  per  doz —    ... 

Scarlet  Pelargoniums,  per  doz 4    0—  6   0 

Unfortunately  there  are  no  flower  markets  in 
America  such  as  Covent  Garden  in  London ; 
and  hence  there  are  no  regular  prices  to  quote . 

The  price  of  flowers  is  generally  a  "  dicker'' 
between  each  buyer  and  seller  :  and  at  the  very 
time  you  may  be  paying  ^20  to  530  per  hundred 
for  Camellia  flowers,  another  buys  from  your 
neighbor  at  $10  to  $20. 

Some  attempts  at  having  a  regular  market 
rate  from  week  to  week,  according  to  supply 
and  demand,  have  been  made  from  time  to  time 
in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  a 
few  leading    items  such   as  Camellias,  Roses, 


Heliotropes,  &c.,  are  sometimes  dealt  in  by  the 
hundr'^d,  at  something  like  a  regular  rate.  But 
attempts  of  this  kind  have  never  been  well  se- 
conded by  the  cut  flower  trade  generally,  as  for 
their  best  interests  they  ought  to  be.] 


Addresses  of  Advertisers.— ^n.  Illinois 
firm  write  :  ''  Seeing  quite  a  number  of  cards  in 
the  Monthly  from  parties  wishing  situations,  we 
have  written  to  several,  but  have  had  our  letters 
returned  to  us  because  the  address  was  not 
written  in  full.  Under  the  present  Post  Office 
regulations,  letters  which  are  not  addressed  to  a 
persons  full  name,  are  not  delivered  in  future. 
So  put  in  the  full  name  in  situations  wanted,  so 
that  letters  addressed  to  the  parties  will  reach 
their  destination." 

[Our  advertisers  will  please  take  note  of  the 
above  hint.     It  is  a  great  hardship  that  persons 
may  not,  if  they  choose,  seek  for  information  in  a 
newspaper,  without  being  obliged  to  publish  to 
all  the  world  their  private  business.     You  need 
a  cook,  or  a  washerwoman,  or  a  gardener,  or  a 
conchman,  but  you  don't  want  that  busy  body 
Jones  over  the  way  to  know  that  "there  has 
been  trouble  again  between  Smith  and  his  hired 
folks  ;»'  and  "  what  I  wonder  has  been  the  trou- 
ble between  them  ;  '^  so  you  advertise  that  A.  B. 
A.  C.  ''  wants,"  &c.     This  has  been  the  custom 
all  over  the  world  for  ages,  and  still  is  all  but 
here;  but  it  was  left  to  the  wiseacres   of  our 
Post  Oflfice  people  to  find  out  the  enormity  of  the 
practice.     Still,  as  it  seems  to  be  the  '*  ruling," 
our  advertisers  had  better  take  notice. 

Another  correspondent  tells  us  that,  wishing 
to  call  our  attention  to  a  newspaper  article  he 
marked  by  a  line,  as  has  been  the  custom  of 
every  body  since  the  world  began,  but  his  post- 
master happened  to  see  it,  and  called  his  atten- 
tion to  a  *•  ruling ''  that  any  mark  or  signs  on 
printed  matter  with  pen  or  othewise  '*  subjected 
the  whole  package  to  letter  postage.'' 

How  long  the  American  people  intend  to  stand 
this  nonsense,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say.  For  our- 
selves we  feel  indignant  whenever  we  think  of  it.] 


Gardening  in  the  United  States.— "I 
am  a  young  unmarried  man,  with  a  thorough 
practical  knowledge  of  gardening  in  all  its  de 
partments.  And  am  also  *  thoroughly  up' in 
stock  and  tillage  farming— having  left  a  situa- 
tion in  Ireland  which  I  held  as  Land-steward 
and  Gardener  for  six  years,  to  come  to  Canada, 
where  I  have  been  for  the  past  two  years.     My 


'Old  Country'  testimonials  and  Canadian  refer- 
ences are  first  class  in  regard  to  character  and 
ability,  as  well  as  splendid  success  on  the  exhi- 
bition table.  I  hold  a  good  situation  as  garden- 
er at  present ;  but  I  am  led  to  believe  that  there 
is  higher  wages  as  well  as  a  better  and  wider 
field  for  first-class  men  in  the  States.  I  have  a 
strong  desire  to  try  my  luck  there  ;  and,  having 
no  person  to  ask  advice  of,  I  would  take  it  as 
a  great  favor  if  you  would  be  kind  enough  to 
reply  to  the  following  queries,  through  the  pages 
of  the  Gardfi.ner'^s  Monthly: 

1.  Should  I  stick  to  gardening  alone?  2.  Should 
I  stick  to  farming  alone  ?  3.  Should  I  combine 
the  two  ?  4.  The  best  time  to  change  ?  5.  What 
place  would  you  advise  me  to  try,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ?  " 

[This  is  one  of  those  peculiar  questions  which 
ought  to  be  answerable,  and  yet  puzzles  us  to 
do  it.     It  is  not  true  that  the  wages  of  garden- 
ers are   higher  than   they   are   in   England  or 
Canada.      Nominally  the   are ;    but   when   the 
purchasing  pewer  of  the  currency  is  taken  into 
account— and    this    is    really    what    "wages" 
amounts   to,— English    wages  are   better.     We 
suppose  a  situation  would  be  considered  below 
the  average  in  England,  which  did  not  pay  30 
shillings  a  week  with  house,  coal  and  vegetables. 
A  gardener  here  with  the  purchasing  power 
of  our  money,  ought  to  have  $50  a  month,  house, 
fuel,  &c.     And   few  places— such  as  they  go — 
give  more  than  this.     There  are  places   which 
give  $75  to  $100  per   month ;    but   very  few. 
There  are  probably  not  a  hundred  gentlemen's 
gardeners  in    the   United   States   who    receive 
over  $80  per  month.     As  a  rule,  men  are  better 
paid  in  commercial  establishments  than  in  pri- 
vate gardens.     We  are  inclined  to  think  that  on 
the  whole,  gardeners  are  not  paid  as  well  here  as 
in  Europe  ;  and  certainly  not  near  as  well  paid 
as  they  ought  to  be.    Every  year  large  numbers 
of  excellent  gardeners  leave  the  profession  for 
others  which  pay  better.     The  places  where  gar- 
dening and  farming  are  combined,  are  still  scar- 
cer.    We  think  that  either  alone  will  be  the  best 
course.     Changes,  when  made,  are  usually  in 
February  or  March.      In   regard   to  the  fifth 
question,  the  thickly    settled    portions  of   the 
country  usually  exhibit  more  horticultural  taste, 
and  pay  more  than  others.] 


White  Spruce. — A  correspondent  sends  us 
cones  and  branches,  inquiring,  "did  you  ever 
see  cones  of  the  white  spruce  five  inches  long  ?  " 


SIO 


THE    GARDE J^EWS   MOJ^TELY.         October, 


\ 


I 


It  affords  the  opportunity  to  say,  that  there  is  in 
Europe  a  grey  form  of  Norway  spruce,  and  is 
known  there  as  the  white  or  blue  spruce.  This 
is  not  the  true  white  spruce  of  Northern  Ameri- 
ca, which    is    rather  related    to    the   Mensies'        Ptt/^tt    ^«,    n«™ 

spruce  of  the  West,  than  to  the  Norway  spucTofip^^^^^^^  ^;    ^^^'^ 

Europe.       Our    American    whit«    LL    ..n  I    1^'"''   ^^•^  . .  ^^^^"^    ^^   reconstruct   re- 


1873. 


never  leakage  in  a  house  like  this.  Only  those 
in  this  locality  who  do  not  read  horticultural 
papers,  use  putty  in  the  old  way.] 


Europe.  Our  American  white  spruce  can 
always  be  distinguished  from  white  forms  of  the 
Norway  Spruce,  by  the  sharp,  spine-like  termi- 
nation of  the  leaves.  The  Norway,  although  it 
has  a  short  slender  point,  has  bluntish  leaves. 


cently  a  span  roof  forcing-house,  I  looked  in  my 
books  for  instructions  as  to  the  pitch  of  the  roof 
but  could  find  nothing  applicable  to  the  case,' 
though  I  did  find  articles  upon  the  suitable  pitch 
of  lean— to  houses,  according  to  the  latitude  of 
the  location  of  the  house,  and  the  purposes  for 
which  it  might  be  intended.  I  accordingly 
adopted  the  pitch  followed  in  ray  old  house 
which  is  less  than  45°— perhaps  about  40°— 
with  horizontal  line  ;  and,  although  it  will  be  too 
late  for  your  advice  to  be  of  service  to  me  at  this 


Stock  for  Tree  Roses.— A  Bloomington. 
Illinois,  correspondent  asks,  whether  "there  is 
no  good  hardy  native  rose  on  which  to  get  up 
standard  or  tree  roses." 

The  prairie  rose  class,  Rosa  ruhifolia    is  the 
best.     Our  native  roses'  have  not  very  woody    Ze'^I  IZ  h'^f.*?'  ''"""'  ''  "^  '' '''''' 
stems  ;  or  if  woody,  do  not  grow  verv  sTron/  '  .  "^""^  *^  '""  '^"^"  '"™^^^«  ^^^"^ 

Bosa  luaaa,  the  coLonist  o!o7r  ETsLt;ifd    ZZITmZ:1:'T^^^  '""'T'^'''  ^"  ''' 
roses,  and  which  we  all  kuow  by  its  lar-e   rosv     ^''''^'''''^  '  Monthly      I  assume  that  a  span-roof 
sweet  flowers,  seldom  grows  bL  two  fr' thr  ^    hou^e  runs  north  and  south  like  mine." 
feet  high.     Bosa  cinn:momeoXl^l  ZeXe    .f,!^':^^;  ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^'^^  P^teh  of  greenhouses, 
place  of  this  to  a  great  exten    in  the  far  West   !  J/^^^^^^^^^  ^^P^^.^^nt  on  what  the  houses  are 
^~  "  —       —  ^^^®^'  '  f^r.     General  pnnciples  can  only  be  given,  which 


IS  not  much  larger  ;  and  the  swamp  rose  of  the 
Middle  States,  B,  Carolina,  is  about  the  same  in 
growth.  These  are  the  chief  strong  growin<T 
native  roses ;  and  none  but  B,  ruhifolia  at  all  £i 
for  stocks. 

There  is  the  Manetti  rose,  which  is  said  to  be 
of  Italian  origin  ;  but  we  know  of  no  European 
species  to  which  to  refer  it ;  and  strongly  sus 


can  then  be  applied  to  circumstances. 

In  the  first  place  it  takes  more  lumber,  more 
glass,  more  paint,  and  more  labor  to  build  a  steep 
than  a  flat  roof,— and  expense  is  a  consideration 
with  many  persons.  On  the  other  side  a  flat 
roof  does  not  permit  of  water  running  down 
easily- there  is  drip,— it  sags  sooner  by  its  own 
weight,  and  by  the  weight  of  rain  and  snow- 


pect  it  is  but  a  strong  form  of  our   American  I  Th  '   ,  '  ^     ,'  uT'""'  ""^  '^'"  '"^^  «"'"'- 

MosaU^.^^  Butstro4ast.,isformi.:rs    "i^^^I^T^::^^  ^^^^  ^^-:   /» 


enough  to  make  a  good  tree  rose  stock. 

Glazing  Greenhouses.- i^.  T.  B.,  Cindn 
nati,  O.,  writes  :     "  I  am  much  troubled  by  drip 
in  my  greenhouse.     The  water  seems  to  come  in 
between  the  putty  and  the  wood  on  the  outside 
Is  there  any  way  to  prepare  putty  so  that  it  will 
not  do  this  ?  " 

[Puttying  outside  of  a  greenhouse  is  a  relic  of 
barbarism.  No  one  who  has  kept  up  with  the 
progress  of  gardening  does  it  any  more.  The 
glass  is  cut,  or  rather  the  wood-work  is  so  ar- 
ranged, that  the  panes  fit  very  loosely  in  the 
rabbets.  Putty  is  placed  on  the  ledge,  and  the 
glass  pressed  on  forces  the  putty  up  between 
the  very  small  space  between  the  glass  and  the 
wood.  This  forced  up  putty  is  then  smoothed 
off  level  with  the  glass,  and  this  is  all.  After- 
wards the  wood-work  is  well  painted.     There  is 


its  bad  habit  of  suckering,  it  grows  hardiv  tall  .       u     T,^^*^^'^°^^S^«    ^^    ^he     future    are 

enough  to  make  a  good  tree  rose  stick  ^"^t^"""  '^^"^  *^'  ^""^'^  ^""^^  ^*  ^''^  «"  ^  st^^P 


roof. 

All  this  in  regard  to  construction.  Now  in 
regard  to  plant  growth.  To  fiower  plants  well 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  are  very  important. 
For  winter  flowering  a  steep  house  receives 
these  direct  rays  much  better  than  a  fiat  one, 
and  so  a  profusion  of  blooms  can  be  kept  up 
with  much  less  coal,  in  a  steep  roofed  house. 
Where  winter  flowers  are  not  wanted,  there  is 
no  cultural  objection  to  a  very  flat  house.  In 
view  of  all  these  various  things  to  be  considered, 
those  who  give  general  instructions  for  building 
houses,  are  unable  to  say,  in  a  general  way,  what 
the  proper  pitch  should  be,'— they  therefora  gen- 
erally employ  the  angle  of  *'  45"  '  as  the  average. 
Many  houses,  however,  are  much  less  than  this, 
and  few  more.  For  winter  flowering,  however, 
we  like  full  45°  as  well  as  for  the  strength  and 
durability  which  such  a  steep  angle  gives.] 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S  MOJ^THLY. 


311 


A  Handsome  Pear  Orchard.— TFaZt/?or«/i, 
^.  y.,  sends  us  the  following  :  "I  have  a  crop 
of  pears  in  my  pear  orchard,  that  exceed  by  far 
any  sight  of  fruit  I  ever  saw  ;  and  all  who  have 
seen  it  express  their  admiration  of  it.  I  am 
reluctant  to  write  to  you  to  come  a  long  way  to 
see  it,  but  am  confident  you  would  feel  compen- 
sated for  some  effort  an  1  time  spent  in  that  way. 
We  are  six  miles  north  of  Palmyra.  Bear  Ig^ 
mind,  my  orchard  is  in  grass." 

[Though  a  semi -private  letter,  we  take  the 
liberty  to  publish  it,  because  it  comes  from  one 
of  our  most  distinguished  pear  growers,  and  one 
who,  if  we  mistake  not,  was  at  one  time  one  of 
the  warmest  advocates  of  clear  surface  culture, 
and  thus  the  invitation  has  a  public  interest 
which  will  warrant  the  use  we  make  of  it.  This 
season  of  fairs,  and  hard  work  generally,  does 
not  permit  of  our  acceptance  of  the  kind  invita- 
tion, much  to  our  regret.] 


Cultivating  Fruit  Trees.— During  the 
past  summer,  while  the  editor  was  in  the  West, 
several  articles  appeared  in  the  Country  Gelitle- 
man  on  this  subject.  One  correspondent  gave 
a  sad  account  of  some  experiments  conducted  on 
what  he  called  Meehan's  system.  Another  cor- 
respondent expressed  some  doubts  as  to  whether 
the  other  understood  the  '*  system,''  as  he  called 
it.  Whereupon  he  replied  that  he  understood  it 
to  be  to  keep  orchard  trees  clean  and  cropped 
with  vegetables  for  six  years,  and  then  put  it 
down  in  grass.  We  give  the  substance,  not  hav- 
the  correspondence  before  us.  Of  course  no  reg- 
ular reader  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly  under- 
stands us  in  this  way  ;  and  it  goes  to  show  that 
most  of  the  attacks  made  on  us,  are  made  under 
a  misapprehension. 

We  do  not  know  of  one  case  where  the  trees 
have  been  in  grass  from  the  start,  and  the  trees 
and  grass  liberally  top-dressed  with  fertilizing 
matter,  that  the  owner  would  willingly  go  back 
to  any  other  system  ;  but  we  do  know  of  scores 
of  failures  on  the  traditional  plan. 


Bee  Plant— Polanisia  purpurea.— i?.  N. 
^.  **  You  will  recollect  you  mentioned  a  bee 
plant  indigenous  to  Colorado,  which  grows  quite 
freely.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  describe  it 
minutely  either  in  a  letter  or  through  the  Gar- 
dener's Monthly  ?  " 

[Polanisia  purpurea  is  the  plant  referred  to ; 
and  the  writer  stated  it  to  be  a  good  bee  plant, 
on  the  authority  of  Miss  Ella  Dunlap,  of  Illinois, 


who  knows  everything  about  bee  management  if 
anybody  does. 

In  this  part  of  the  world  the  bees  do  not  seem 
to  care  greatly  for  it,  because  they  get  plenty  of 
white  clover— and  a  bee  "in  clover"  cares  for 
nothing  else  in  this  world— as  neither  will  the 
writer  when  he  gets  there.  Where  the  West 
has  no  clover,  the  Polanisia  is  just  the  thing. 

The  description  of  the  plant  is  not  easy» 
unless  one  has  some  acquaintance  with  botanical 
terms.  It  is  of  the  natural  order  Capparidacece, 
and  nearly  allied  to  the  well  known  Cruciferous 
order,  but  the  stamens  are  all  of  equal  length, 
while  they  have  four  long  and  two  short  as  a 
general  rule.  Again  the  seed  vessel  is  elevated 
above  the  petals  by  a  short  stalk  unusual  in 
most  plants.  The  flowers  extend  nearly  an  inch 
from  the  stem,  and  the  spike  several  inches  long. 
The  flowers  of  a  whitish  purple  color.  The 
leaves  are  unlike  most  plants  of  this  region— pal- 
mate—or  like  a  miniature  horse-chestnut  leaf. 
The  plant  grows  about  two  or  three  feet  high, 
along  the  Platte  River,  near  Denver,  sparingly, 
and  very  abundantly  in  the  Salt  Lake  Valley, 
where  itis  mixed  with  an  allied  yellow  one,  cZco- 
mella  lutea.] 

Agricultural  Fairs.- We  are  under  obli- 
gations to  friends  all  over  the  Union  for  tickets 
and  kind  letters  of  invitation  to  meetings  all 
over  the  Union.  They  have  our  good  wishes, 
and  are  sorry  our  presence  cannot  always  go 
with  them. 


Dr.  Bigelow. — One  of  our  pleasant  recol- 
lections of  Boston  is  a  brief  call  on  this  veteran 
botanist.  His  delightful  flora  of  Boston  and  va- 
cinity  did  as  much  to  make  a  race  of  botanists 
as  Barton's  work  did  in  Philadelphia,  and  Tor- 
rey's  in  New  York.  The  value  of  these  local 
floras  has  scarcely  been  appreciated  from  this 
point  of  view.  He  is  now  about  seventy-five 
years,  blind,  amd  confined  to  his  room,  unable  to 
receive  any  but  a  few  intimate  friends  ;  but  still 
bearing  his  infirmities  of  age  cheerfully  in  the 
consciousness  that  he  has  faithfully  performed 
the  work  appointed  for  him  to  do,  and  that  his 
life  has  not  been  spent  in  vain. 


Elias  Durand. — This  distinguished  botanist 
departed  this  life  in  the  15th  of  August  last, 
after  a  life  of  laborious  usefulness,  in  his  80th 
year.  As  one  of  his  associates  in  the  botanical 
department  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 


312 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


October. 


1873. 


!|( 


t 


the  writer  has  been  invited,  by  a  special  resolu- 
tion, to  prepare  some  account  of  his  life  and  ser- 
vices, to  be  read  before  that  body.  We  shall 
therefore  defer  what  we  otherwise  would  have 
said,  to  a  future  occasion. 


THE    GARBEJ^EWS   MOJ^TRLY. 


American  Ferns.— /.  B  ,  Pater  son,  JV.  /., 
asks  for  the  principal  kinds  of  Xorth  American 
ferns  that  can  be  supplied  by  our  nursery  firms. 
Who  has  full  collections  ? 


Clover  in  Orchards.— J.  L.  M.  J.,  Parlces- 
ville,  Indiana.      *'Mr.  A.   M.   Pnrdy  &  H.  T. 
Williams  say  that  you  have  a  more  practical 
and  scientific  knowledge  of  plants  than  any  man 
in  North  America,  or  words  implying  as  much. 
Now  then,  I  will  give  conditions,  then  a  ques- 
tion.    I  planted  an  orchard  of  six  acres  in  the 
fall  of  '70,  I  sub-soiled  it  twice  in  '69  and  '70  to 
the  depth  of  18  to  22  inches.     It  is  tiled  from  2i  to 
3  feet  every  35  feet.     The  land  is  rather  a  clayey, 
hough  nearly  a  loam  soil.     It  has  a  southern 
and  eastern  slope.     I  laid  out  this  land  in  quin- 
cunx style  of  33  feet.      The  1st  row  I  planted 
an  apple  tree  every  33  feet,  and  in  between  the 
apple  a  standard  pear.     The  2ud  row,  every  33 
feet,  an  apple  and  standard  cherry,  and  so  on 
through  the  entire  ground.     Again  in  the  mid- 
dle, between  each    apple    tree  row,   I  planted 
vines  7^  by  16^  feet  through  the  entire  ground. 
I  have  cultivated  this  orchard  in  root  crops  three 
years  in  October  next,— when  I  say  cultivate  I 
mean  cultivate.     I  prune  in  March  and  July  of 
each  year.     The  trees  are  truly  large  for  their 
age.  The  grape  vines  in  spring  I  will  train  in  hori- 
zontal arm  style.     Now,  sir,  one  question.     I 
want  in  the  spring   to  sow  red  clover  on  the 


ground,  and  mulch  the  trees  and  vines  the  entire 
surface.  Ought  I,  or  dare  I,  to  do  so  without 
injury  to  trees  and  vines  ?  I  know  what  other 
writers  and  horticulturists  say.  I  want  to 
know  what  you  say  individually. 

[With  pleasure  we  would  answer  inquiries 
"individually,'' but  Ufe  is  not  long  enough  for 
such  a  task  if  we  were  to  undertake  it.  Any 
question  that  is  likely  to  interest  others  as  well 
as  the  writer,  and  most  are,  we  will  cheerfully 
answer  in  the  Gardener's  Monthly.  Such  inqui- 
ries are  always  welcome. 

In  the  case  in  hand  there  will  be  no  objections 
whatever  to  sowing  the  orchard  in  clover,  pro- 
vided it  be  remembered  that  clover  requires  ma- 
nure as  well  as  root  crops.  There  is  no  need  to 
mulch  the  trees.  Cut  the  clover  when  it  is  fit  to 
cut.  Make  hay  of  it  and  turn  it  into  money ; 
and  with  part  of  the  money  buy  manure  and  put 
heavily  under  the  trees  every  year  as  far  as  the 
young  roots  are  likely  to  extend  ;  and  once  a 
year  give  the  clover  a  light  dressing  of  some  fer- 
tilizing material. 

The  trees  are  now  growing  nicely.  Keep 
them  growing  by  nice  rich  surface  dressincr. 
We  often  hear  of  trees  in  the  West  growing  too 
vigorously,  and  thus  becoming  injured  by  "  grow- 
ing too  late  in  the  fall.''  But  this  is  only  where 
the  surface  roots  are  injured.  When  the  feeding 
roots  are  at  the  surfiice,  they  know  when  the 
seasons  change,  which  they  cannot  do  when 
deep  down.  They  know  when  to  stop  work; 
and  such  roots  can  never  be  over  fed.  When 
roots  are  thus  surface  fed,  even  manure  heaps 
piled  up  under  fruit  trees  will  be  appreciated  by 

the  tree  rather  than  objected  to,  even  in  the  rich- 
est western  soil.] 


313 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


CATALOGtiES     OF     ElLWANGER    &     BARRY, 

Rochester,  N.  Y.— We  have  before  us  a  com- 
plete set  of  these  catalogues  bound  in  one  neat 
cover.  We  have  always  been  proud  «f  the 
catalogues  of  our  American  nursery  and  seeds- 
men. They  compare  favorably  with  the  best  of 
Europe.  If  such  as  these  had  been  sent  to  the 
Vienna  Exposition,  they  would  have  done  Ameri- 
ca credit.  We  hope  the  hints  will  not  be  lost 
eight  offer  the  American  Centennial. 


Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture  of  Missouri— From 
John  F.  Wilandy,  Cor.  Secretary.— Several  of 
our  States  have  State  Boards  or  departments  of 
agriculture,  and  all  of  these  publish  annual  re- 
ports ;  but  few  come  to  our  table  that  are  so 
carefully  and  instructively  compiled  as  this.  It 
affords  a  careful  view  of  the  agricultural  pros- 
perity, and  commercial  progress,  on  which  agri- 
culture 80  much  depend  of  the  State,  and  must 


be  of  great  use  to  all  those  who  propose  to  settle 
within  her  borders.  Attached  to  the  volume  is 
the  5th  report  of  the  State  Entomologist,  Prof.  0. 
V.  Riley,  to  which  we  have  already  referred  in 
a  former  number. 


Catalogues  of  Messrs.  T.  C.  Maxwell 
&  Bro.,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.-Our  nurserymen's 
catalojjues  are  all  so  much  alike,  and  all  gener- 
ally so  excellent,  that  it  is  difticult  to  single  out 
any  one  as  having  special  features.  This  is'one  of 
these  very  superior  publications.  On  looking 
throuoh  it,  however,  we  find  that  tlie  beautiful 
golden  arborvitre,-which  these  gentlemen  have 
advertised  as  "Geo.  Peabody,"  and  which  many 
ot  us  have  now  growing  and  admiring  as  Geo. 
Peabo  ly,  is  not  to  be  Geo.  Peabody,  simply  be- 


cause somebody  in  England  will  not  have  it  so 
We  are  coynmanded  henceforth  to  call  it  Thuja 
Occidentalis  lutea.    Not  if  we  know  it.    The  same 
''authorities"  made,  or  rather  vainly  tried  to 
make,  Ellwanger  &  Barry  call  their  pLint  some- 
thing else  besides  "  Tom  Thumb ;  "  and  we  trust 
Maxwell  &  Co.  will  show  a  similar  commenda- 
ble spirit.     We  shall  sustain  them  in  tlu-ir  ricrht 
to  name  their  own  wares.     As  to  the  Laliin 
name,  besides  the  absurdity  of  Latinizincr  war- 
den varieties,  and  the  horrid  length  of  thil  one 
the  name  will  lead  to  confusion,  as  Kurrows  & 
Wood  and  others  have  golden  varieties,  which 
are  as  much  '^  luteous  "  as  this  one  is.     Stick  to 
your  name,  Messrs.  Maxwell.    We  are  quite  sure 
the   intelligent    English   horticultural   journals 
will  sustain  you. 


NEW  AND   RAEE   FRUITS. 


Caroon  Cherry. ^Jfr.  Elliot  says  ;  "It  is 
hardly  worth  while  for  an  old  snubbed  fellow 
like  me  to  touch  anything,  but  when  you  in 
your  list  of  new  and  rare  fruits  touched  the  ca- 
roon cherry,  I  have  to  say  that  my  remark  in  the 
A.  IS.  foot  notes  comes  in  upon  you,  for  it  is 
well  known  by  all  penologists,  that  it  is  only 
the  old  Black  Heart,  or  again  possibly  a  simple 
iilack  Mazzard.  More  likely  your  Bucks  Coun- 
ty  Intelligencer^ s  knowledge  is  made  up  of  Amer 
Heart,  when  he  says  *  white  and  pink,'  but 
again  he  may  have  the  old  Bigurreau." 

[We  are  always  very  glad  to  have  any  facts 
irom  any  quarter,  and   they  are  always  very 
welcome  from  Mr.  Elliott,  who  has  had  more 
opportunilies  than  have  fallen  to  many  of  us  to 
get  horticultural  knowledge,  and  who  has  well 
improved  those  opportunities.     We  have  never 
snubbed"  his  knowledge,  but  admire  it ;   but 
we  have  objected    to  what  seemed    to  us  his 
snubbing"  of  other  people's  knowledge.    We 
are  quite  sure  this  is  done  thoughtlessly,  and 
without  his  duly  weighing  the  force  of  his  lan- 
guage ;  and  thus,  though  we  were  the  first  to 
comment  on  his  injudicious  *'f©ot  notes,"  when 
we  were  reviewing  the  published  proceedings  of 
the  Richmond  meeting,  we  have  not  joined  in 
the  recent  crusade  against  him  for  these  very 
foot  notes,  because  we  believe  it  possible  for  the 
best  of  us  to  make  these  thoughtless  and  un- 


guarded mistakes.  We  want  Mr.  Elliott's 
knowledge,  and  if  we  cannot  have  it  without  his 
weaknesses,  are  very  willing  to  have  it  with 
them  ;  just  as  we  have  it  now. 

We  found  in  the  Bucks  County  Intelligencer,  a 
paragraph  to  the  effect  that  a  first-class  cherry 
was  grown  about  Doylestown,  and  that  it  was 
known  as  the  Caroon.     It  was  very  evident  from 
the  description,  that  this  was  not  the  Caroon 
of  our  accepted  pomology,  and  it  was  well  worth 
while  calling  public  attention  to  it.     Thus  we 
published  the  paragraph  without  comment,  as 
we  often  do  others  under  similar  circumstances. 
If  for  this,  we  **come  under  his  foot  notes" 
which  say  that  editors  of  magazines  know  noth- 
ing of  fruits,  we  presume    Mr.  Elliot   himself 
comes  under  them  also,  for  his  note  shows  that 
he  does  not  know  any  more  than  we  do,  what 
cherry  it  is  that  these  good  Doylestown  peeple 
call  Caroon.     It  "may  be  "  the  Biggareau,  but 
*'  may  be  "  is  not  horticultural  knowledge. 

As  we  are  on  the  subject  of  the  Caroon,  let  us 
say  that  we  think  our  horticultural  writers  are 
at  fault  in  identifying  it  with  the  Mazzard. 
What  is  the  Mazzard  cherry?  Downing,  and 
we  believe  all  other  writers,  identify  it  with  the 
"Merry''  of  the  English  gardens.  This  is  a 
Small  black  cherry  not  as  large  as  the  Black 
Heart,  with  a  rather  small  stone,  and  very  full 
black  juicy  flesh.     The  true  Mazzard  is  simply 


314 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJTTHLY.        October 


1878. 


THE    GARDE JVER'S   MOJ^'THLY. 


Vie  cherry  which  has  for  ages  ran  wild  in  the 
woods  of  France  and  the  continent  of  Europe, 
and  which  are  degenerate  wildlings  of  the  origi- 
nal Asiatic  introductions.  These  are  of  all 
classes  of  fruit,  and  many  of  them  as  far  re- 
moved from  the  cultivated  ''  Merry  "  of  English 
gardens,  as  the  Merry  is  from  the  Cleveland 
Biggareau.  Some  of  them  are  nothing  but 
stone  with  a  thin  red  skin  drawn  over  them, 
others  are  red,  black,  white  or  pulpy,  as  good  or 
some  even  better  than  the  *' Merry."  These 
wild  fruits  have  long  been  popular  in  France  for 
■tockson  which  to  work  the  named  garden  kinds  ; 
and  we  suppose  because  they  were  thus  used,  are 
called  Mazzard  by  the  English,  as  the  last  s  at 
least  in  the  French  masse  would  have  the  z  sound, 
and  the  word  would  readily  be  rorrupted  (as  so 
many  others  have  been  similarily)  to  Mazzard  ; 
that  is  stocks.  We  have  never  met  with  any  ex- 
planation of  the  term,  but  suppose  this  is  right ; 
and  if  so,  the  identity  of  the  Mazzard  with  the 
Merry  and  the  Caroon,  is  broken  up. 

We  do  not  know  personally  the  Caroon. 
Never  saw  a  tree  so  named  by  authority  ;  but 
suppose  that  caroon— from  the  crow  black  color 
—might  properly  belong  to  the  ''  Merry  "  of  the 
English  ;  although  the  term  Mazzard  does  not. 

If  th  s  explanation  still  leaves  us  ''  under  those 
foot  notes,"  perhaps  Mr.  E.  will  give  us  some 
better  light  by  which  we  may  get  out. 

Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  the  following 
from  another  correspondent— which  not  only 
gives  us  some  informRtion  as  to  what  this  Penn- 
sylvania Caroon  is,  but  also  some  hints  about 
the  Napoleon  Biggareau,  which  we  had  sup- 
posed named  for  another  Napoleon  :] 

** Seeing  a  notice  in  Gardener's  Monthly  in  re- 
gard to  the  Caroon  Cherry,  I  will  state  I  have 
known  the  trees  for  several  years,  and  that  I 
think  is  the  Napoleon  Biggareau  of  *  Downing's  ' 
fruit  and  fruit  trees  of  America. 

I  was  informed  by  a  nurseryman,  formerly  of 
Trenton,  New  Jersey,  that  the  above  cherry  was 
disseminated  from  the  Bonaparte  place,  at  Bor- 
dentown.  New  Jersey,  and  that  it  was  the  same 
as  the  Caroon.  It  rots  very  badly  if  the  weather 
is  dull  at  the  time  of  ripening.  Would  prefer 
the  Elton,  which  ripens  a  few  days  sooner. 

Titusville^N.J.  I«A  J- Black  WELL. »' 


SIS 


Chambers  Pear  —ifr.  W,  M,  Cox,  Anchor- 
age,  Ky.,  writes:  '*0n  yesterday  evening  I 
forwarded  you  by  express  a  small  box  of  speci- 


mens of  the  Chambers  pear,  which  I  trust  will 
reach  you  just  ready  to  eat,  instead  as  of  last 
year,  reach  you  just  in  a  condition  to  be  thrown 
away.  These  specimens  hardly  give  this  va- 
riety credit,  but  you  can  form  an  idea  of  what  it 
is  when  we  have  a  good  season." 

[These  were  re-mailed,  and  reached  us  in 
Denver— not  in  the  best  condition  after  so  long 
a  journey— but  in  sufficient  good  order  to  enable 
us  to  testify  to  their  good  character.] 


Hybrid  Raspberries.— ^1/  ^r.  W.  Saun- 
ders, London,  Ontario,  Canada.— In  the  last 
report  of  the  Fruit  Growers'  Association  of  On- 
tario—of  which  I  believe  I  sent  you  a  copy— you 
will  find  a  paper  of  mine,  giving  details  of  my 
experiments  in  hybridizing.  Among  other  hy- 
brids you  will  find  reference  made  to  twenty- 
nine  plants  of  a  cross  between  Doolittle  Black 
Cap  female,  and  the  Philadelphia  Raspberry 
male.  The  seed  of  this  cross  germinated  two 
years  agot  his  spring,  and  most  of  them  are  now 
fruiting. 

I  send  you  by  mail  samples  of  the  fruit  of  the 
first  one  to  ripen,  which  I  think  shows  un- 
doubted evidence  of  the  blood  of  both  parents. 
In  habit  and  manner  of  growth  all  these  seed- 
lings resemble  the  Black  Cap,  and  they  root 
from  the  tips,  although  not  so  readily  as  the 
Black  Cap.  The  foliage  shows  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  Philadelphia.  The  fruits  of  these 
seedlings  will  vary  much  in  their  period  of  ripen- 
ing :  some  of  them  are  not  more  than  half 
grown.  The  fruit  is  of  a  dark  red  color,  and 
seems  to  me,  without  doubt,  te  blend  the  flavor 
of  the  raspberry  with  that  of  the  Black  Cap.  If 
you  examine  the  receptacle  on  which  the  fruit 
sets,  you  will  see  that  it  is  intermediate  in  form 
between  that  of  the  Black  Cap  and  Red  Rasp- 
berry. 

I  regard  this  Red  Cap  as  in  every  way  a  very  in- 
teresting addition  to  our  fruits.  I  think  the  plant 
from  which  I  send  you  these  specimens,  is  quite 
as  prolific  as  any  of  the  Black  Caps.  If  you 
wish  I  will  send  you  samples  of  some  of  the  later 
varieties  as  they  ripen. 

Please  let  me  know  how  the  specimens  reach 
you,  and  what  you  think  of  the  fruit. 

[The  fruit  referred  to  reached  us  while  in  the 
West,  and  was  not  in  condition  to  be  re-mailed 
to  the  editor,  as  instructions  were  left  when  any- 
thing of  interest   arrived   during   his  absence. 

The  experiment  of  Mr.  Saunders  has  an  intel- 
lectual interest,  beyond  the  good  which  may  re- 


sult to  practical  horticulture,  and  we  should  be 
glad  to  know  more  in  future.] 

Early  Beatrice  PEACH.-3fr.  Watson  of 
Brenham,  Texas,  says  :  You  ask  in  the  Monthly 
what  people  know  about  Early  Beatrice  Peach 
I  had  some  young  trees  fruit  this  season,  and  it 
proves  good  with  me  ;  first  ripe  May  19th.  I 
think  it  very  valuable  as  a  market  fruit.  Will 
ship  well.     Is  fine  in  quality  and  very  pretty. 

Early  Beatrice  and  Lord  Palmerston 
Peaches  -The  Early  Beatrice  Peach  is  bear- 
mg  heavy  crops  ef  medium  sized  fruit,  and  is,  per- 
haps, the  earliest  peach  we  have  in  cultivation 
being  three  or  four  weeks  in  advance  of  the  Early 
York,  and   specially  interesting  on  account  of 
lis  having  been  obtained  from  a  stone  of  River's 
White  Nectarine.     Early  Louise,  another  seed- 
ling, IS  but  a  day  or  two  later  than  the  last 
and  ripens  in  an  orchard  house  about  the  Uth 
of  July.     One  of  the  finest  of  all   the  seedlincr 
peaches   that  have   been  raised  at  Sawbrid-e" 
worth,  IS  Lord  Palmerston,  which  is  perhaps  the 
largest-fruited  and   finest  peach   for  exhibition 
purposes  ever   added   to  our  collection.      Two 
small  standards  of  it  in  11-inch  pots  are  now 
ripening  h.  avy  crops,  one  of  the  fruits  of  which 
was  gathered  while  we  were  present   weighed 
11  ozs.     The  flowers  of  this  variety  are  larcre  and 
handsome,  and    the    foliage   is  furnished"  with 
prominent  round  glands- a  section  not  so  liable 
to  be   affected   with   mildew   as   such   as   have 
glands  of  other  forms     It  is  a  seedling  from  the 
Princess  of  Wales  (Rivers),  and  ripens  naturally 
about  the  middle  or  latter  end  of  September      It 
is  a  free-stone  variety  with  a  slight  tendency  to 
clmg  on  the  shady  side  unless  thoroughly  ripe 


and  it  has  firm,  though  luscious,  meltincr  flesh 
very  rich  and  juicy.  Though  a  seedling" raised 
at  Sawbridgeworth,  in  size  and  beauty  it  resem- 
bles its  grand  parent,  the  monstrous  Pavie  of 
Pompone.  The  skin  is  of  a  creamy,  white  tinged 
with  rosy.pink  on  the  sunny  side,  and  irregularly 
streaked  with  crimson.  Many  hundred  seedling 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  are  annually  raised  here, 
and  often  fruit  the  second  or  third  year  from 
seed.  The  pedigree  of  all  promising  varieties  ia 
carefully  preserved — The  Garden. 


Alexander  Peach.— From  a  little  memor- 
anda made  at  the  time,  I  find  the  first  "  Alexan- 
der ''  was  eaten  July  18,  and  the  last  July  26 
The  first  '^Hale"  (windfall)  August  2,  but  no 
fairly  ripened  sound  peach  of  that  variety,  such 
as  would  serve  for  a  fair  test  of  comparison  with 
the   others,  was   obtained   until  a  week  later. 
The  fairest  statement  I  can  make  of  the  time 
of  ripening  for  each  is  July  20  for  *' Alexandpr  '» 
and  August  10  for  the  '^Hale."— [C.  A.  Alex- 
ander, in  Capps'  Journal  of  Horticulture. 

We  give  the  complete  history  of  this  variety 
originating  at  Mt.  Pulaski,  Logan  Co.,  Ills.,  be- 
cause we  regard  this,  if  not  the  result  of  prema- 
ture diseased  ripening,  the  most  valuable  addi- 
tion that  has  been  made  to  our  list  of  peaches 
since  Hale's  Early.  We  see  no  reason  why  the 
season  of  the  peach  should  not  be  made  as  early 
as  that  of  the  apricot,  and  hope  this  new  variety 
will  be  an  important  step  in  that  direction. 
The  entire  failure  of  the  peach  crop  this  year 
will  prevent  a  second  test  before  1874  ;  and  even 
the  propagating  of  the  variety  has  been  much 
hindered  by  the  unfavorable  season. —Praine 
Farmer. 


NEW  AND  RARE  PLANTS. 


Rhus  Osbeckii-Is  the  name  of  the  Japanese 
tree  referred  to  by  a  correspondent  :  ''  My  atten- 
tion was  attracted  yesterday  while  visiting  Anda- 
lusia, on  the  Delaware,  to  a  tree  in  full  bloom, 
which  none  of  the  family,  or  any  one  in  the 
vicinity  knew  the  name.  Col.  Chas  I.  Biddle, 
while  a  member  of  Congress  in  1860,  brought 
from  the  Agricultural  Department  a  small  root. 
The  tree  is  now  about  18  feet  high,  head  round, 


and  closely  covered  with  flowers,  presenting  a 
very  beautiful  appearance.  Will  you  please  give 
me  the  *name,'  as  I  stated  to  the  family  that 
if  any  one  could  do  so  you  would  be  the  proper 
person." 


GODETIA  DuNNETTiL-The  class  of  plants  to 
which  the  common  evening  Primrose  belongs 
(CEnothera  viennis)  aflbrds  numerous  handsome 


316 


THE    GARDEJTER'S   MOJ^TBLY.         October 


1873. 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY. 


W 


species  which  are  among  the  most  valued  of  our 
garden  plants.  In  the  Eastern  States  we  have 
scarcely  a  dozen  good  species,  but  in  the  far 
west  and  along  the  line  of  the  Pacific  southward 
they  increase  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  num- 
bered by  the  hundred. 

The  genus  has  been  divided  by  some  botanists 
and  Oodnia  is  little  more  than  a  subdivision  of 
CEnothera  ;  one  of  the  earliest  and  best  known  of 
these  is  Godetia  ruhicunda,  and  this  still  remains 
among  the  best  for  ornamental  purposes.  O, 
Whitney,  introduced  some  half  a  dozen  years 
since,  is  an  improvement  on  the  old  form,  possi- 
bly a  good  species,  and  now  we  have  a  Garden 
Variety  of  (E.  ruhicunda  raised  in  England  and 


317 


A  New  Species  of  RosE-7?osa  Bugosa  Be- 
geliana.~We  must  beg  our  readers  who  may 
feel  interested  in  the  accuracy  of  botanic  nomen- 
clature to  turn  back  to  a  description  given  by  us 
some  twelve  months  ago  of  a  fine  rose  figured 
and  described  under  the  name  o^  Hoea  Begeliana 
[Illust,  Ilort.,  1871,  plate  1.) 

The  plant  in  question  was  forwarded  to  M* 
Linden  unnamed.  It  came  from  Japan,  where 
it  had  been  collected  by  M.  Maximowicz.  De- 
prived by  the  war  of  the  assistance  of  our  foreign 
correspondents,  and  without  a  library  at  hand 
for  reference,  we  were  fain  to  rely  on  the  opinion 
of  a  friend,  who,  after  an  examination  of  some 
fine  dried  specimens  with  blooms,  pronounced  it 


[godetia  dunnettii.] 


II 


named  (E.  Dunnettii,  which  is  at  least  equal  to 
any  raised  in  the  size  of  its  flower,  and  general 
good  habit,  and  of  which  we  give  with  this  a 
sketch.  The  color  is  rosy  lilac,  and  the  crimson 
blotch,  so  prominent  in  Q,  ruhicunda  is  particu- 
larly prominent  in  this. 

Its  parent  is  a  hardy  Californian  annual,  and 
this  improvement,  like  all  the  hardy  annuals, 
should  be  sown  early  in  Spring,  in  order  to  have 
the  best  results  from  them. 


to  be  a  new  species.     B,  Begeliana  was  accord- 
ingly given  to  the  public  forthwith. 

But,  very  shortly  afterwards,  a  skillful  botan- 
ist, well  up  in  roses,  M.  Crepin,  sent  word  to  us, 
through  M.  Linden,  that  our  new  rose  was  very 
probably  B.  rugosa  of  Thunberg,  adding  that 
this  species  was  common  in  England,  where  it 
was  known  as  the  *'  hedgehog»»  rese.  We  accord- 
ingly lost  no  time  in  acknowledging  the  receipt 
of  the  communication,  and  promised  to  institute 


inquiries  into  the  matter  and   to  publish  the 
results.     This  promise  we  now  redeem. 

The  explanation,  put  forward  voluntarily  and 
in  all  good  faith,  nevertheless  failed  to  satisfy 
certain  of  the  smaller  fry  of  the  profession,  who, 
to  push  their  catalogues,  scruple  not  to  bespat- 
ter friends  as  well  as  foes  ;  narrow-minded,  short- 
sighted, begrudging  mortals,  the  chief  products 
of  whose  gardens  are  ''  cares  and  an  abundance 
of  sour  apples,"  to  paraphrase  the  words  of 
Rabelais. 

These  gentry  at  once  decided  that  our  rose 
was  an  old  subject  brought  out  intentionally 
under  a  fresh  name. 

And  now  for  the  facts  elicited  by  our  inquiries. 
The  rose  described  by  us  is  not  B.  rugosa  de- 
scribed  by  Thunberg   and   Siebold,    and   intro- 
duced in  Europe  some   time    since,   although 
apparently  it  belongs  to  the  same  family,  which  | 
has  been  cultivated  in  Japan  from  time  imme- 
morial, and  includes  numerous  garden  varieties. 
The  greater  part  of  these  varieties  are  of  higher 
stature  than  ours,  with  more  erect  port,  exceed 
ing  four  or  five  feet  in  height,  in  place  of  two  o 
three  feet  at  most,  with  double  flowers,  some 
times  of  a  red  or  purplish  color,  but  most  often 
white.     Specimens  of  the  plant  were  imported  a 
good  while  ago,  and  some  of  them  are  still  in 
cultivation  ;  we  have  seen  several,  notably  a 
very  fine  one  in  the  Paris  Museum.     As  regards 
our  inquiries  in  England,  we  have  been  unable 
to  learn  anything  of  the  '*  hedgehog  rose,"  which 
must  have  sprung  up  in  our  critic's  brain. 

Accttrding  to  Siebold   and   Zuccarini   (Flora 
Japonica,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  66,)  the  plant  is  called 
in  Japan  Hama-nasi^  literally,  **the  waterside 
pear,"  in  allusion  to  its  pyriform  fruit.     Bunge 
says  that  it  grows  on  sandy  soils  on  the  banks 
of  streams,  and  that  he  has  seen  it  cultivated  in  | 
the  North  of  China.     Very  probably  the  roses  i 
admired  by  La.  Pey rouse  on  the  coast  of  Tar-  i 
tary  belonged  to  this  species,  which  may  well  be 
closely  related  to,  or,  as  Siebold  supposes,  iden- 
tical with,   B.   kamschatica.    In  China  it  has 
been  grown  since  the  days  of  the  Sung  (?)  dy- 
nasty, A.  D.  1100  ;  and  the  ladies  of  the  Imperial 
Court  are  said  to  make  a  choice  pot-pourri  of  its 
petals  intermixed  with  musk  and  camphor. 

We  have  said  that  our  rose  is  not  that  intro- 
duced in  Europe  some  time  since  under  the 
name  B.  rugosa.  Now  let  us  see  whether  it 
corresponds  with  the  type  so  minutely  described 
by  Siebold  and  Zuccarini  in  Flora  Jax)onica.  In 
place  of  a  long  dissertation,  we  prefer  to  show  i 


the  differences  subsisting  between  the  described 
type  and  the  specimen  before  us,  in  a  tabular 
form. 


H.  RUGOSA.  Thunberg. 
Plant  under  cultiva* ion  4  to  5  ft. 

in  height  with  erect  p<yrt. 
Leaflets  aio8tl7  with  7  to  0  foli- 

oles. 

Stipules  very  entire  or  obscure- 
ly   serrated. 
Flowers  solitary. 

Peduncles  unarmed,  or  with 
prickles  on  lower  portions 
on.y,  pilose  with  pubescent 
pointed  bracts. 

Calyx  with  5  spreadinr/,  pub- 
escent, uprif/ht  sepals  com- 
pressing  the  fruit  whoa  ripe 

Corolla  red,  often  white  in  culti- 
vated specimens. 


R.  Reoeliana.  Linden  A  Andre 

Plant  2  to  3  ft.  in  height  at  most, 
half  rambling. 

Leaflets  with  at  most  5  to  7 
folioles  on  all  specimens  ex- 
amined. 

Stipules    glaucescent    beneath 

and  irregularly  dentate. 

Flowers  numerous,  in  magnifi- 
cent terminal  corymbs  on 
vigorous  branchlets. 

Peduncles  with  numerous 
priokles  on  every  part,  and 
glaucescent  dentate  bmcts. 

Calyx    with    5,   6,  8    reflexed, 
shining,   prickly  sepals,   not 
inclining    upwards    or     com- 
pressint,'  the  fruit. 
Corolla  poppy-red. 

We  consider  it  needless  to  insist  upon  differ- 
ences so  obvious  :  the  reader  will  have  already 
formed  his  own  conclusions.  We  pass  over 
other  characteristics  described  in  minute  detail 
in  the  Flora  Japonica,  as  these  would  necessi- 
tate a  fresh  comparison,  and  in  reality  are  not 
essential  to  the  determination  of  the  point  at 
issue. 

If  it  be  admitted  that  there  are  differences 
between  the  above  descriptions,  our  species  ought 
to  stand  good.  We  ourselves  have  no  doubt 
about  the  matter.  Still,  we  believe,  as  we  have 
observed  above,  that  our  plant  belongs  to  the 
rugosa  type,  although  it  differs  therefrom,  just 
as  we  find  cultivated  varieties  of  other  roses 
changing  their  characteristics  without  leaving 
any  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  true  origin. 

Very  certainly  the  plant  brought  over  by  M. 
Maximowicz,  if  not  a  hybrid,  is  a  variety 
(whether  natural  or  artificial  we  cannot  say)  of 
Thunberg's  species  ;  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
repeat  what  we  have  before  asserted— that  it  is 
a  very  beautiful  plant,  which  well  deserves  to  be 
more  widely  known  and  distributed. 

This  choice  and  distinctive  variety  should 
therefore,  as  it  seems  to  us,  be  hereafter  known 
definitely  under  the  name  of  Bosa  rugosa  Begeli- 
ana—Ed.  Andre,  in  Illust.  Ilort. 

[We  are  rather  astonished  that  Mr.  Andre 
should  not  "be  able  to  learn  anything  of  the 
hedgehog''  rose  in  England.  One  was  well 
known  there  thirty  years  ago,  and  this  one  was 
B.  Kamschatica.  This  rose  by  the  way  is  well 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  American  cultivators, 
for  the  great  richness  of  the  large  rosy  petals, 
and  for  the  delicious  fragrance  of  the  flowers, 
much  sweeter  than  any  rose  we  know.  The 
genuine  Hosa  cinnamomea  of  the  llocky  moun- 
tains not  excepted.— ED.  G.  m.] 


318 


THE   GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


October, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


319 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


AMERICAN  POMOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  meeting  of  the  American  Poraological 
Society  this  season  in  Boston,  was  in  some  re- 
spects an  event  long  to  be  remembered  by  those 
who  participated.  The  regular  business  accom- 
plished was  not  wholly  as  full  as  was  expected  ; 
but  on  the  other  hand,  this  being  a  quarter  cen- 
tennial, it  was  expected  that  much  more  time 
would  be  given  to  social  enjoyment  than  usual, 
and  in  these  high  expectations  the  members 
were  by  no  means  disappointed. 

As  the  guests  of  the  Massachusetts  Horticul- 
tural Society,  the  Hall  was  given  to  the  Pomo- 
logical  Society  for  its  fruit  collection  ;  and  the 
meeting  was  opened  by  an  address  of  welcome 
from  President  W.  C.  Strong,  and  responded  to 
by  President  Wilder.  The  President's  address 
we  shall  give  in  full. 

In  the  election  of  officers  there  was  some  feel- 
ing in  regard  to  the  Secretaryship.     Mr.  Elliott 
announced  that  he  positively  and  absolutely  de- 
clined a  re -nomination.     Mr.  E.  had  acted  inju- 
diciously on  several  occasions,  and  it  was  felt  by 
a  number  of  good  men  who  wished  well  to  the 
Society,  that  these  slips  ought  not  to  pass  by 
unrebuked.     On  the  other  hand,  the  earnestness 
and  industry  he  had   displayed    in  his  office, 
earned  him  friends  who  were  disposed  to  over- 
look his  faults.     In  the  large  committee  on  nomi- 
nations—one from  every  State— he  came  within 
one  vote  of  a  re-nomination ;    and   would  have 
had  enough,  but  for  two  steadily  voting  against 
him  on  the  ground  that  his  '« absolute  declina- 
tion to  serve '»  ought  to  be  respected,  and  who 
would  otherwise  have  voted  for  him.    As  it  was, 
Mr.  W.  C.  Flagg  was  nominated  by  the  commit- 
tee, and  unanimously  elected  by  the  meeting,  and 
a  vote  of  thanks  heartily,  and  it  seemed  unani- 
mously, accorded  to  Mr.  Elliott  for  his  long  ser- 
vices.    We  give  those  facts  in  detail  because  it  is 
well  known  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Elliott  in  the 
newspapers  was  very  strong,  and  in  many  re- 
spects deserved.     At  the  same  time  it  is  always 
pleasant  to  note  that  horticulturists,  as  a  rule, 
with  all  their  provocations,  are  generally  dis- 
posed to  err  on  the  side  of  good  feeling,  if  they 
are  to  err  at  all.    The  next  place  of  meeting  was 
a  spirited  question  ;  but  the  feeling  that  the  great 
West  was  doing  so  much  for  pomology  prevailed, 
and  Chicago  was  selected. 


I  An  animated  discussion  took  place  on  pre- 
miums. It  was  voted  that  these  should  never 
again  be  awarded  or  offered;  but  the  Wilder 
medal  might  be  given  for  any  meritorious  object 
that  the  Society  might  deem  worthy  of  special 
recognition. 

Most  of  the  reports  of  the  committees  and  the 
essays,  were  only  read  by  title.     They  will  ap- 
pear in  full  in  the  Society's  published  proceedings. 
In  a  discussion  on  list  of  rejected  fruits  the 
wise  conclusion   was  reached  :    that  a  balloon 
which  has  no  gas  would  soon  drop  of  its  own 
accord,  and  it  was  useless  labor  to  pull  it  down. 
About  one  day  was  taken  up  in  discussing  the 
fruit  catalogue  ;   but  as  fruits  one  year  praised 
by  one  "  delegate,''  are  put  down  by  another  the 
next ;  or  perhaps  one  kicked  out  of  the  conven- 
tion is  politely  invited  to  a  seat  by  another,  we 
could  not  take  much  interest  in  this  debate,  and 
though  we  took  full  notes,  we  hesitate  about 
publishing.     When,  for   instance,  one  delegate 
tells  us  "  the  J^orthern  Spy  is  a  complete  failure 
in  Western  New  York,''  and  a  Philadelphian 
knows  that  Western  New  York  poured  into  his 
market  Northern  Spy  apples  by  the  hundreds  of 
barrels  last  winter,  and  that  these  were  so  re- 
markably line  that  they  brought  a  dollar  a  barrel 
more  in  many  instances  than  some  others,  it 
seems  hardly  worth  recording  such  "  failures ''  as 
these.     We  cannot  but  think  these  lists  can  be 
better  prepared  by  local  committees,  under  the 
final  revision  of  the  General  Fruit  Committee, 
than  in  "  open  meeting ''  like  this. 

The  exhibition  of  fruits  in  connection  with 
the  meeting,  was  one  of  the  finest  ever  seen  in 
the  Union.      Kansas    and    Nebraska   made  a 
magnificent  show  of  apples  ;  and  it  was  difficult 
to  decide  which  was  the  best,  through  the  Com- 
mittee, of  which  Mr.  Dunning  was  a  member, 
awarded  the  premium  to  Nebraska. 
The  following  are  the  leading  premiums  : 
Pears.— State  or  society  collection,  1st   pre- 
mium, Cambridge  Horticultural  Society  of  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  2d  premium,  Connecticut  Horticult- 
ural Society  ;  individual  collection,  1st  premium 
to  EUwanger  &  Barry  ;  2d  premium,  Hovey  &  Co. 
Grapes  —State  or  society  collection,  1st  pre- 
mium, Ontario  Fruit  Growers'  Association ;  2d 
premium.  South   Haven  Pomological  Society  of 
Michigan ;   individual  collection,  1st  premium, 


J.  H.  Rickets,  Newburg,  N.  Y.;  2d  premium, 
Hoag  &  Clark,  Lockport,  N.  Y.     For  best  collec- 
tion  of  grapes  grown  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, 1st  premium,  James  Rutten,  Floren   Cal 
Best  collection  grown  under  glass,  1st  premium 
George  B.  Durfee,  Fall  River,  Mass. 

Peac/ies.— State  or  society  collection   Ist  pre- 
mium, Central  Delaware  Fruit  Growers'  Asso- 
ciation  ;  2d,  Ontario  Fruit  Growers'  Association, 
Canada.     Individual  collection,  1st,   David   F 
Myers,  Delaware. 

Plums.-State  or  society  collection,  1st  pre 
mmm,  Ontario  Fruit  Growers'  Association  ;  2d, 
Deseret  Agricultural  Association  of  Utah      In- 
dividual, Ist,  C.  H.  Greenman,  Milton,  Wis  • 
2d,  G.  P.  Peffer,  Pewaukee,  Wis.  ' 

And  the  Committee  on  special  premiums  on 
meritorious  objects,  not  provided  for  in  the  re^ru- 
lar  awards,  recommended  silver  medals  to  The 
Fruit  Committee  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  per 
D.  Bryant,  to  Fruit  Growers'  Society  of  Onta- 
rio-the  grapes  here  were  particularly  admired  • 
Mr.  Clapp  for  the  effort  to  improve  the  pear,  as' 
evidenced  by  a  large  collection  exhibited,  and 
others  for  a  splendid  dish  of  the  Clapp's  Favor- 
ite ;  to  Mr.  Ricketts  for  a  similar  effort  on  grapes 
-fifty  seedlings  of  good  quality  being  presented ; 
Polk  County  Association  and  Horticultural  So- 
ciety of  Iowa  for  collection    of  fruits ;    South 
Haven  Pomological  and  Horticultural  Society 
for  collection  of  fruits  ;   Geo.    B.    Burfee,  Fall 
River,  Mass.   for  a  large  collection  of  foreign 
grapes ;    the    Deseret  Agricultural    Society  °of 
Salt  Lake  City,  a  bronze  medal.     A  large  num- 
ber of  these  arrived  in  poor  condition,  alid  were 
not  exhibited,  or  might  have  compared   with 
some  of  the  best.    There  were  many  others  which 
are  honorably  mentioned  in  Committees'  report. 
Among    the    newer    fruits   exhibited,   there 
seemed  none  which  would,  with  certainty,  hold 
their  own  in  the  struggle  with  hosts  already 
known ;  in  the  grape  lots,  however,  were  some 
of  great  promise.    Stephen   Hoyt  had  a  very 
promising  one;   as  also   had    H.  E.  Hooker; 
while  there  were  several  in  the  lot  exhibited  bv 
Mr.  Ricketts. 

The  exhibition  of  the  Horticultural  Society 
was  charming.  We  have  never  seen  anywhere 
80  much  correct  taste  displayed  in  arranging  the 
cut  flowers,  in  this  respect  leaving  New  York  or 
Philadelphia  far  behind ;  but  we  must  defer  a 
more  critical  notice  of  this  till  our  next  number. 
The  proceedings  wound  up  by  an  elegant  banquet, 
which  will  be  remembered  by  those  who  partici- 


pated. Here  Mr.  Wilder  made  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  addresses  he  ever  gave— so  beautiful 
that  by  special  request  of  some  who  heard  it  we 
cheerfully  give  place  to  one  of  the  most  telling 
portions.  It  was  in  reply  to  Mr.  Strong's  ad- 
dress of  welcome  : 

You  have  been  pleased  to  allude  to  me  in  con- 
nection with  Horticulture  as  well  as  Pomoloory. 
Well,  sir,  let  me  say  that,  from  my  earliest  yea°rs, 
I  cannot  remember  the  time  when  I  did   not 
love  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  the  more  I 
am  brought  into  communion  with  nature,  the 
more  am  I  filled  with  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of 
all  good,  that  He  gave  me  a  love  for  fruits  and 
flowers,  and  cast  my  lot  where  I  might  enjoy 
them,  and  have  sweet  intercourse  with   these 
lovely  objects  of  creation.     And  who  does  not 
look  with  wonder  and  admiration  on  the  infini- 
tude, beauty  and  perfection  of  these  works  of  the 
Hand  Divine-the  enameled  blossom  bespan^r- 
Img  the  orchard  with  starry  spray  scarcely  less 
numerous  than  the  glittering  hosts  above,  danc- 
mg  in  rainbow  hues  and  flinging  on  the  breeze  a 
fragrance  richer  than  Ceylon's  isles,  sweet  bar- 
bmger  of  bountiful  harvest  ?    The  luscious  fruits 
God's  best  gift  to  man,  save  woraan-the  velvet 
peach,  mantled  with  beauty's  softest  blush,  and 
vieing  with  the  oriency  of  the  morning  ;  the  de- 
licious  plum,  veiled  with    silvery  bloom    over 
robes  of  purple  or  cloth  of  vegetable  gold  •    the 
royal  grape,  the  brilliant  cherry,  the  meltin- 
pear  and  the  burnished  apple,  tempting  human 
taste  from  the  mother  of  our  race  to  her  last  fair 
daughter.      But    what    pencil  can  sketch    the 
changing  hues,  the  magnificence  and  glory  when 
Pomona  pours  from  her  ever  flowing  lap   the 
varied  treasures  of  the  ripening  year.     Here  are 
creations  originally  pronounced  very  good.    Here 
are  beauties  which  fade  only  to  reappear  again 
From  the  beginning  there  seems  to  have  been  an 
mtimate  connection  between  trees  and    man 
Trees  are  spoken  of  as  though  man  could  not 
live  without  them,  as  though  Divine  Beneficence 
had  given  them  to  us  as  companions  for  life  and 
as  emblems  of  all  that  is  beautiful  in  imagery, 
excellent  in  character,  or  hopeful  in   destiny! 
Our  trees— from  the  opening  bud  to  the  golden 
harvest-from  the  laying  off  of  their  autumnal 
hvery,  and  during  their  rest  in  winter's  shroud, 
waiting  a  resurrection  to  a  new  and  superior 
life -are  all  eloquent  preachers,  proclaiming  to 
our  inmost  soul,  «'  The  hand  that  made  us  is  Di- 
vine."   God  gave  us  trees  adorned  with  inimi- 
table beauty,  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for 


"s 


\l 


320 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


October. 


food.  He  gave  us  also  a  natural  and  instinctive 
love  for  them.  Witness  the  love  of  Abraham  de- 
siring to  have  all  the  trees  that  were  in  the  field, 
and  on  the  border  round  about— of  Rosseau  Ions- 
ing  to  be  laid  under  his  own  sequestered  tree— of 
Temple  directing  that  his  heart  should  be  bu- 
ried beneath  the  tree  of  his  own  planting— of 
Washington  returning  to  the  cherished  groves 
of  Mount  Vernon -of  Webster  reclining  in  life, 
and  sleeping  in  death  under  the  umbrageous 
elms  ofMarshfield— of  our  own  Downing,  whose 
genius  lives  in  trees  which  adorn  many  a  lovely 
landscape,  many  a  beautiful  garden,  and  many  a 
fruitful  orchard  in  our  land.  But,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I  must  not  prolong  this  train  of  thought. 
Permit  me  again  to  thank  you,  Mr.  President, 
for  the  numerous  courtesies  and  hospitalities 
which  have  been  received  at  your  hands,  and 
those  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and  especially  for 
the  pleasures  of  this  occasion,  and  the  brilliant 
assemblage  with  which  you  have  surrounded  us. 


PENNA.  HORTICULTURAL    SOCIETY. 

Never  since  its  organization  has  this  Society 
held  so  successful  a  meeting  as  the  one  on  the 
17,  18,  and  19  of  the  past  month  in  Philadelphia. 

The  number  of  separate  exhibitors  was  very 
heavy,  and  the  quality  of  the  fruits,  flowers,  and 
vegetables,  much  better  than  the  average.  The 
number  of  visitors  to  the  Hall  from  the  city  was 
at  least  as  great  as  it  has  ever  been  ;  but  the 
most  pleasant  feature  of  the  occasion,  was  the 
large  number  of  amateur  and  commercial  horti- 
culturists from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  In  this 
respect  the  meeting  was  a  much  greater  success 
than  ever  before  ;  and  the  officers  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  the  influence  which  they 
have  so  long  been  instrumental  in  extending 
over  gardening  taste  in  Philadelphia,  is  slowly 
flowing  over  the  whole  land.  At  this  late  date 
we  cannot  give  any  further  account  now,  but 
may  attempt  a  sketch  of  the  salient  points  in 
our  next. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 

At  the  September  9th  meeting  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  among  the 
distinguished  visitors  present  were  Prof.  C.  V. 
Riley  of  St.  Louis,  and  Dr.  J.  E.  Planchon,  pro- 
fessor of  botany  at  Montpellier  in  France,  the 
latter  of  whom  is  now  in  this  country  under 
authority  of  the  French  Government,  to  investi- 
gate our  grape  diseases.  By  invitation  of  the 
President,  Dr.  Ruschenber,  Prof.    Riley    gave 


an  account  of  the  Phyllaotxra  or  grape  vine  root- 
louse,  with  his  most  recent  discoveries  in  regard 
to  the  same.  He  had  little  doubl  but  the  insect 
was  at  the  root  of  most  diseases  that  attack  the 
grape  in  this  country,  as  it  was  certainly  in 
Europe.  Prof  Leidy  inquired  of  Mr.  Riley  the 
;  true  position  of  the  insect  in  scientific  classifica- 
tion ;  Prof.  Riley  replied  that  it  was  not  yet 
well  settled.  Its  appearance  brought  it  some- 
where near  the  aphids,  but  it  did  not  have  suc- 
cessive broods  from  one  impregnation  ;  aphids 
did.  In  this  respect  it  approaches  coccus.  He 
thought  it  between  the  two  families. 

Prof  Planchon  described  the  ravages  of  the 
insect  on  the  i^rape-roots  in  France,  and  thought 
them  less  destructive  on  the  roots  of  American 
species  of  grapes  than  the  European  ;  and  one  of 
the  objects  of  his  mission  was  to  ascertain  this 
fact  definitely,  so  that  in  Europe  some  American 
vines  might  be  used  as  stocks  for  their  vine- 
yards. 

It  was  clear  from  the  fact,  that  the  European 
vines  had  been  but  recently  attacked  by  it,  and 
had  suffered  so  severely  from  it ;  while  in  America 
—the  home  of  the  insect— the  wild  vines  had 
done- tolerably  well  for  so  many  ages,  that  the 
vitis  vinifera  with  it  was  more  of  a  favorite. 
He  excused  himself  from  any  lengthy  remarks 
on  account  of  his  limited  English,  and  would 
briefly  say,  that  he  agreed  entirely  with  Prof. 
Riley's  views  regarding  it. 

Mr.  Thomas  Meehan  gave  a  history  of  grape- 
culture  and  grape-diseases  in  Pennsylvania  from 
the  earliest  time  to  the  present,  and  showed  that 
the  failures  had  never  been  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained on  any  theory  sometimes  given,  such  as 
change  of  climate,  or  depletion  of  the  soil. 
There  were  always  some  facts  or  figures  which 
rendered  every  previous  theory  inadmissible  to 
his  mind,  as  he  had  frequently  stated  in  other 
places.  Prof  Riley's  insect  discovery,  however, 
met  all  the  requirements  of  the  case,  so  as  to 
give  an  air  of  possibility  to  Mr.  Riley's  views, 
such  as  no  other  theory  has  possessed.  That 
when  we  saw  the  foreign  grape  and  others  which 
often  did  perfectly  well  for  years  in  one  locality, 
and  then  failed,  it  seemed  absurd  to  suppose  that 
the  climate  or  soil  suddenly  gave  out;  but  a  sudden 
incursion  of  a  brood  of  root-insects  was  a  cause 
that  could  have  such  a  sudden  eftect. 

Dr.  Joseph  Carson  gave  an  account  of  vines  in 
a  city  garden,  doing  well  for  several  years,  and 
then  suddenly  failing,  while  climatic  changes 
must  have  remained  unchanged.  He  was  satis- 
fied, from  many  circumstances,  that  failure, 
whatever  it  was,  proceeded  in  the  first  place 
through  imperfect  roots. 


filter  Plants  for  BlooiiDi!; 

Oarnationty 

Bounardias, 

Calla  Lilies, 

Poinaettiat, 

VioUU^ 

Begonias, 

Bupatoriumt^ 

Euphorbias  jaequiniflora. 


iU«*l 


store  anl  Greeilioiise  Fiaiti. 

AloeasiaSj 

Crassula  perfoUata^ 
EeTiewriaSf 
Eutharis  Amatoniom^ 
Pittonias^ 
Latania  5or5ontea, 
Marantas, 
Peperomiat, 
Sanehetias. 


DO  NOT  FAIL 

To  Correspond  Oonoerning, 

OR  CALL  AND  EXAMINE 

OUR  STOCK 


OP 


# 


f 


RED  BANK,   N.  J. 


> • *    »• •«  I 


Nurseries  and  Greenhouses  near 


Fiants  for  Florists'  Ml 


Bnliis  &  Toilers  for  Florists'  M. 


Azalia  Tndiea, 

BigoniaSy 

Cape  Jassamine^ 

DraeoBna  terminaliSy 

Peristrophe  angustifolia  tar,^ 


Tuberoses,  all  siMH. 
Calla  Lilies, 
Gladiolus, 
Cannas, 
Dahlias, 


Thoie  who  denire  any  of  the  abore  will  receive  Catalogues,  giving  Prices,  etc.,  by  mail  free  of  ekarre 
on  application.  Those  who  wish  to  visit  our  establishment  may  do  so  by  taking  the  cars  on  the  New  Jeraey 
Southern  Railroad  for  Seabright,— Depots,  Pier  28  foot  of  Murray  St.,  New  York  City,  and  foot  of  Market 
St.,  Philadelphia  ;  StagfB  that  pass  our  Nurseries  meet  all  thf  trains  at  Seabright. 


*l 

*r 

A 


.*  *  t-  i 


•Iff' 


BOOKS  FOR  RURAL  LIFE. 


WMl  be  forwarded  by  mail,  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

AUen'8,  R.  L.^  AU^eriean  Farm  Book fl  50 

lll0»'8>  B.  L.  VDia^aseH  of  Domestic  Animals 1  50 

Allen's,  R.L.    Ku  1  Architecture     160 

Allen's,  L.  F.,  Amorican  Cattle 2  fiu 

Allelic,  H.t.  A  L.  F.,  Mew  American  Farm  Book 2  50 

American  Architect.,,, 7  00 

Amerifau  Ajirioultural  Annual,  paper  60  ;  cloth 7H 

American  Horticultueral  Annual,    •'  ••        76 

American  Bird  Fancinr  (Bfown's) 30 

American  Farmer's    Ecyelopedia 6  00 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Hlants 1  75 

ArtofSaw  Filing.. 7fi 

Architecture,  Modern  American,  Cummingn  &  Miller 10  00 

"        Principles  and  ^  ractlce  o£,By  Loring  A  Jeiuipg  13  00 

Baker's  Fruit  Culture 4  00 

Bassetton  Cranberry  Culture 30 

Barry's  l<ruit  Garden , 2  50 

Kement'8  Poulterer's  Companion./. 2  00 

Bement'e  Rabbit  Fancier 30 

Beet  Root  Sugar 1  50 

Blcknell's  Village  Builder,  77  plates 2  00 

Bf)n]raer'H  Method  of  Making  Manures «...        25 

Hook  of  Roses.    F.  Parkman 3  00 

BouHsiDgauU's,  J.  B.,  Rural  Economy 160 

Brown's  Field  Book  of  Manures 150 

Hrowne's  Trees  of  America «,,.,,.••,..« 6  00 

Breck'8  New  Book  of  Flowers i  75 

BridgHinan's  American  Gardener's  Assistant....... 2  60 

Bridgeman's  Forists  Ouide 1  00 

Br  dgeman'H  F  ruit  Cultiyator'g  Manual 1  00 

Bridgeman's  K  tchen  Gardener!8  Instructor I  Oi) 

Buist's  Robert,  Am.  Flower  Garden  Directory 1  60 

Buist's,  Robert,  Family  KitehMi  Qard«ner .,..     1  00 

Burr's  Field  and  Gardeo  VegetAbles  of  America i  00 

Carpenter  and  Joiner  (R.  Riddell) 7  00 

Carpenter  and  J   ner's  Hand  Book  (Holly) 75 

Chorlton's  Grape  Grower's  Guide 75 

Chemistry  of  the  Farm  (Nichols) 1  25 

Cleveland's  Villas  and  Cottages 4  00 

Cobbett's  American  Gardener 75 

Cole's,  S.  W.,Araerican  Fruit  Book 75 

Cole's  Amcrlean  Veterinarian , •«.«....       76 

('ooper's Sural  Hours •»• •«......    2  Ofl 

Copeland's  Country  Life »>«^...    6  00 

Cottage  Gardener's  Dictionary ^    8  00 

Dadd's,  Geo  H.,  American  Cattle  Doctor 1  fiO 

Dadd'8  Modern  Horse  Doctor 1  60 

Dadd's  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Horse  (plain  plates)  B  60 

Dana's,  Samuel  H.,  Muck  Manual l  26 

Darwin's  Variations  of  Animals  and  Plants  (2  vols) 6  00 

DeVoe's  Market  Assistant 2  60 

Downing's,  A  J  .  Landscape  Gardening 6  60 

Downinif's  Cottage  Residenees ,.    3  00 

Downing's  Fruits  and  Fruit  Trees  of  America 4  00 

Downing'*  Rural  Kvsays , 5 

Downing's  Ladies'  Companion  to  the  Garden 2 

Du  Breuil's  Vineyard  Culture  (Dr.  Warden) 2 

Eastwood  on  (Cultivation  of  ihe  Cranberry 

Elliott's  Western  Fruit  Grower's  Guide l 

Elliot's  Lawn  and  Shade  Trees ». 1 

Every  Woman  her  own  Flower  Gardener 

Farm  Talk  (Brackett) 1 

Farming  for  Boys 

Field's  Thomas  W,  Pear  Culture 

Fve  Acres  to  Much,  (illustrated) 

Flagg's  European  Vineyards 

FlaxCul'ure 

Flint,  Chas.  L.,  on  Grasses .*. .  .V. V.V    2 

Flint's  Milch  Cows 2 

FlowprOai;deus  for  Country  Horaen ..*.'.',*.*.* 

Fowler^g  Homes  for  All 160 

Frank  Forester's  Fish  and  Fishing.  8  to.  100  engravings.. ..    6  50 

Frank  Forester's  Manuel  for  Toung  Sportsmen,  8vo 8  00 

French's  Farm  Drainage i^ 

Fuer's  Grape  Cultunst. ^.: ,..,      1  ao 

Fuller's  Small  Fruit  Culture 1  60 

Fuller's  Strawberry  Culturist , ,* ok 

Fuller's  Forest  Tree  Culturist. 1  go 

x'   ;f| Jft^tea; on  Ppach  Culture V.V,'.'.    1  60 

•^ixl-S«I«"n'?  Poultry  Breeding 1  25 

Gray  8  How  Plants  Grow 


Henderson's  Praetical  FlwrtenUnre 1  60 

Henderson  s  Gardening  for  Profit. J^ 

Herbert's  Hints  to  Horsekeepers lll'.l""*"    i  rJf 

Hoopes  on  Evergreens !,!!!! »  m 

Hooper's  Dog  and  Gun,  paper  30  cents,  cloth*. *.VV.V. JJ 

Hop-culture "" 

How  to  Buy  a  Farm,  and  Where  to' Find*  One.* .'.7.*.'.' 1 

How  to  Manage  a  Building  Association o  no 

Hunter  and  Trapper t  t! 

Hussman's  Grapes  and  Wines .' .**,** | 

Jacques' Manual  of  the  House !..!..*!!!!*!! 1 

Jacques' Manual  of  the  Garden.. !!!!1''* 1 

Jennings' Cattle  Doctor, i 


40 

75 


50 
00 
00 
76 
76 
76 
00 
25 


fiO 

76 
00 
50 


Jennings  on  the  Horse  and  his  Diseases i 

Jennings' Sheep,  Swine  and  Poultry VVV, 1 

Johnson's  How  Crops  Grow ] o 

Johnson's  Peat  and  its  Uses. !..!!!!!!*! f  - 

Johnston'sElementsofAg.  Chemistry  and  Qeofo'gy!!.*!!! 1  S 

Johnston's,  J.  S.  W.,  Agricultural  Chemistry ""  i  7* 

Kemp's  Landscape  Gardening '*"  o 

Klippart's  Farm  Drainage ..!!!!.*J'.*!I!'! 1 

LangHtroth,  Rer.  L.  L.  on  the  Hive  and  Honey*  Bee!! 2 

Leuchars' How  to  Build  Hot-house *"  J 

Leibig's,  Justus,  Familiar  Lectures  on  Chemistry!!! 76 

Louden's  Encyclopsedla  of  Plants 1500 

Lvman's  Cotton-culture !!!!!!!  1  60 

May hew's  Practical  Book-keeping  for  Farmers* !!! so 

Mead's  Grape-culture.... !;;;;;  300 

Mechanics  Companion  (Nicholson) s  0$ 

Meeban's  Ornamental  Trees j  qq 

McMahon's  American  Gardener !!!!!!!! 2  26 

Miles  on  the  Horse's  Foot 7. 

Miner's,  T.  B.,  Bee-keeper's  Manual !!!!!!!!! 1  ss 

Money  in  the  Garden. j  ^0 

Munn's,  K.,  Practical  Land-drainer 75 

My  Vineyard  at  Lakevlew ,* 1  A* 

My  Farm  of  .»i;dgewood 1  7)! 

My  Ten-rod  Farm *..*.'.*.*.*.*.*.!!!!!!!!*" 

North  American  Sylva,  5  vols.,  156  col.*pIate8*,*i"n**3b*'p*a*r*ts*,' 

unbound '  qq 

half  Turkey  Antique,  gilt...,!!!!!!  70 


•« 


M 

00 

00 

75  00 


Neil'sPrac.  Fruit,  Flower  A  Kitchen  Gardener's  Co*m*p*anion!.  1  26 

Michel's  Chenu.Miry  of  the  Farm  and  Sea l  2i 

Norton's,  John  P.  Elements  of  Selentiflc  Agriculture!!!!!!!      76 
Norrls' Fish-culture ,,  j  75 


Onion-culture. 


20 


Our  Farm  of  Four  Acres,  paper  80  cents,  eloth. ...!!!!!!!!!  *      60 

Packard's  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Insects,  8  parts,  each !." 

Pardee  on  Strawberry-oulture ,*!...; 

Parson,  Samuel  B.,  on  the  Bose 1 


00 

00 

00 

75 

60 

60 

60 

00 

50 

25 

50 

60 

60 

50 

60 

85 

60 


60 
76 
60 
50 
26 
26 
60 
00 


60 

60 
00 
00 
00 
60 


..,..,..,..     1  26 

Gray'sjHaoual,  Botany  and  Lesnons,  in  oneYoi'V,'.'.','.*.'.'.    4  00 
Ortty's  School  and  Field  Book  of  Botany 2  60 

00 
30 
76 


reen  on  Trout  (Culture j 

Gregory  on  SqasHh^,  paper 

OnernononR^ilchCows.'. .*.*.'.".*.',*.'.*..; 

Craide  to  Fortune...   j  00 

Maraithy's  Grape-enltnre  and  Wine-making 6  00 

Harris'  InseetH  Injurious  to  Vegetation,  clo.  $4:  col.  eng's..*,*,  6  60 

Matrls  on  the  Pig ^ j  Aq 

niatB«rd'h  AmerteAn House  ''arpenter..,!!!!;*!!*//,* '***'*'*  8  60 


Parkmau's  Book  of  Rosea 

Peat  and  its  Uses  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  i 

Pear-cu  ture.  Fields....  j 

Fodder's,  James,  Farmer's  Land-measorar 

Percheron  Horse 'J j  ^^ 

Peterson's  Preserving,  Pickling  and'cannlng*  *F*rnit*.!  !!!!!!*'      60 

Phin  on  Wine-making .,  j  go 

Qiiinn's  Pear-cultuve  for  Profit .*.*.*!!.*.*!!.!!!!!!!! 1  00 

Quinby'.s  Mysteries  of  Bee-keeping  Explained*.!!!!!!!! 1 

Randall's  Sheep  Husbandry **"  j 

Randall's  Fine  Wool  Sheep  Husbandry...!!! 1 

Rand's  Bulbs ;, *.*.*.!!!!! 8 

Rand'.s  Flowers  for  Parlor  and  Qarden!.*.*.*.*,',*,*.',*!!!!J!!!!***  8 

Rand's  Seventy-five  Flowers 1 

Rand  s  Flower  Garden 3  00 

Reemelin's,  Charles,  Vinedressers'  lianuai 7fi 

niddell's  Architect i«  a^ 

r>  ii«     r%  .  _      ••••••••••• ....10  VV 

Roosevelt's  Five  Acres  Too  Much i  60 

Rose  Culturist,  pa.  er.30       !!!!!.*.*.*.7!!.*;;:.*.*.';cl*ot*h      76 

Robbins    R,  Produce  and  Ready  Reckoner 75 

Saunders'  Doinestie  Poultry,  Paper  40 cloth      16 

^u^K^l  ^'"'^''^^W"  ^J^*- »^rtes, each 1  60 

Schenck's  Gardener's  Text-book 76 

Scribner's  Ready  Reckoner  and  Log-booii!!!.!!!!  *! 86 

Strong's  Caltivation  of  the  Grape Z*.'.*.!!!!!!!;.  8  00 

Thomas' FruitHSulturist;  new  edition 3  00 

Warder's  American  Pomology "!"  .....!!..!  8  00 

"        Hedges  and  Evergreens .........*.*.V.*..*.*.*.*.*  1  60 

Waring's  Drainage  for  Profit  find  Health .  1  60 

5    ?if  ?.^^  **^  Agricultmre.... 1  00 

Webster's  Dictionary,  Unabridged „ H  00 

Well  s  Every  Man  his  own  Lawyer..... 2  00 

Window  Gardening 1  80 

White's  Gardening  for  the  8outh......'.'.*.V.*.*.*.V.*.'.'.*.*.*.'.'.*.*.V;.Z*.'.!!!!!!  2  00 

w    ...    C^o.berry  Culture... 1  S6 

Workingman's  Way  to  Wealth  76 

right's  Practical  Ponltry  Keeper 2  00 

Touattonthe  Horse '...*...*.!.*.!.*!.*..*.*,.*.'.  1  75 

Youman's  Household  Science 2  00 


••••••••••• ■ 


Addre«»,  0HA8.  H.  If  ABOT. 


«^*SEE  FIRST  PAGE,  FACING  COVER. 


DEVOTED  TO 

RoHioulture,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural    Affairs. 

EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol.  XV.        VN^OVEMBER,     1873.     Ne.  Series.  Vol.  VL  No.  11 


HINTS  FOR  NOVEMBER. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  gets  caked  with  the  first 
real  frost,  herbaceous  plants  should  be  protected 
Though  hardy,  they  will  repay  this  extra  care,- 
mostly  natives  of  woods  or  grassy  places  in  their 
native  state,  they  expect  a  covering  of  leaves  or 
dry  grass.  We  find  dry  leaves  the  best  material 
for  the  purpose,  a  few  inches  is  a  sufficient  depth, 
-a  little  soil  being  thrown  on  to  prevent  the 
leaves  blowing  away.  Where  such  material  is 
not  at  hand,  the  common  garden  soil  may  be 
drawn  over  them,  as  before  recommended  in 
these  pages. 

One  of  the  worst  materials  for  production  es- 
pecially about  half-hardy  evergreens,  is  fresh 
stable  manure,  saturated  withammoniacal  salts 
one  might  as  well  have  dogs  innumerable  about 
them,  which  every  one  knows  to  his  sorrow  is 
misery  to  an  evergreen. 

In  the  culture  of  herbaceous  plants  it  is  well 
to  remember  that  generally  a  part  dies  every 
year.     They  seldom  come  up  in  exactly  the  same 
place  every  year,  but  a  bud  or  runner  pushes  out 
and  the  old  part  dies.     Though  all  herbaceous 
P  ants  move  in  some  such  manner,  they  do  not 
all  go  directly  under  ground,  but  make  bunchy 
stocks  just  above  ground.     In  their  native  places 
01  growth  they  manage  to  get  covered  with  de- 
caying leaves  from  the  woods  or  shifting  sands 
on  the  plains,  but  in  cultivation  nothing  of  this 
kind  can  be  naturally  accomplished,  and  unless 
art  comes  to  aid  the  plant  they  soon  die  away 
An  Auricula,  a  Primrose,  or  a  Carnation  is  a 
good  illustration  of  this.     In  the  two  former  a 
new  orown  is  formed  on  the  top  of  the  old  one 


and  as  the  lower  parts  in  time  die  away,  unless 
new  earth  is  drawn  up,  success  with  such  flow- 
ers will  not  be  great.     The  best  plan  is  to  take 
up  and  replant  every  few  years,  or  cover  the 
running  parts  above  ground  with  earth,  so  that 
they  may  have  a  chance  to  get  new  roots  from 
the  advancing  stocks.    This  is  noticed  here  at 
this  season  to  show  that  earth  is  the  natural 
covering  for  herbaceous  plants,  and  therefore  one 
of  the  surest  ways  of  preserving  them  safe  through 
winter  is  to  draw  earth  over  them.   In  the  sprincr 
they  can  be  unearthed  and  then  divided  and 
set  a  trifle  deeper  than  before,  which  is  all  they 
want.     We  are  often  asked  how  to  preserve  Car- 
nations,   Chrysanthemums,    Pansies,   Phloxes, 
Hollyhocks  and  so  forth,  safe  till  spring.     The 
principles  here  laid  down  will  explain  the  prac- 
tice. 

There  is  some  danger  of  Pampas  Grass  rot- 
ting by  moisture  getting  down  in  the  hollow  of 
the  leaves  into  the  heart  of  the  stem.  A  friend 
tell  us  he  guards  against  this  by  burning  off"  the 
old  leaves  of  the  Pampas  before  putting  the 
dry  leaf  covering  on. 

One  of  the  last  thought  of  things,  too  frequent- 
ly, is  to  apply  manure  to  flower  beds.     But  it  is 
scarcely  less  essential  to  a  fine  summer  display, 
than  it  is  to  the  production  of  fine  vegetables; 
and  certainly  as  necessary  as  to  trees,  or  the 
lawn.     Still  it  should  be  applied  with  caution. 
While  a  poor  soil  will  only  grow  plants  to  a  di- 
minutive miniature  size,  which,  though  clothed 
with  a  profusion  of  small,  starved-looking  blos- 
soms, make  to  show  ;  a  soil  over  rich  will  cause 
too  great  a  luxuriance  of  foliage,  which  is  always 
opposed  to  an  abundance  of  bloom.     In  most 


BLEED  THROUGH 


f 


32^ 


THE    GARI)EJ\rER'S   MOJ^THLJ.     J\''ovemher, 


1873. 


cases  we  prefer  half-decayed  leaves— where  these 
could  not  be  had  we  would  use  stable  manure. 
The  former  spread  over  the  soil  two  inches  thick, 
or  the  latter  one  inch,  would  form  a  dressing 
which,  in  ordinary  cases,  should  last  two  or 
three  years.  It  is  difficult  to  get  flowers  to  do 
well  in  even  the  most  favorable  soil,  if  it  is  liable 
to  hold  water  to  stagnation  in  winter.  Where 
flower-gardens  or  beds  exist  under  such  circum- 
stances, advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  pres- 
ent season  to  have  it  thoroughly  underdrained 
It  will  be  more  beneficial  in  the  end  than  the 
most  judicious  manuring  ;  it  is  indeed  in  itself  a 
powerful  means  of  fertilizing  the  soil.  Where 
circumstances  render  the  draining  of  such  places 
inconvenient,  a  temporary  advantage  can  be 
gained  by  digging  up  the  soil  at  this  season  very 
roughly,  so  as  to  expose  as  much  as  possible  to 
the  action  of  the  frost.  This  is  at  best  but  put- 
ting a  patch  on  an  old  garment — an  apology  for 
the  want  of  means  to  do  better. 

Most  of  the  tender  plants  that  we  desire  to 
preserve  over  the  season,  have  now  been  lifted 
from  the  borders,  and  removed  to  winter  quar- 
ters,—and  in  a  few  weeks  the  beds  will  present 
a  rough  and  forsaken  appearance.  It  is  too 
often  the  practice  to  leave  the  borders  just  in 
this  neglected  condition  till  spring-time  returns. 
But  the  person  of  true  taste  finishes  up  the  beds, 
and  makes  all  tidy.  In  the  absence  of  summer 
flowers,  even  order  pleases. 

As  soon  as  the  first  white  frost  has  awakened 
Dahlia  leaves^  the  stems  should  be  cut  back  to  a 
few  inches  of  the  ground,  the  label  Securely 
fastened,  and  the  root  placed  away  in  a  cool 
p^ace  secure  from  frost  till  next  March,  when  it 
should  be  *' sprouted,'  divided  and  again  set 
out.  Madeira  vines  tigridias,  gladiolus,  tube- 
roses, &c.,  require  the  same  attention. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJV^THLY. 


3S3 


«•■•» 


FRUIT  GARDEN. 

So  much  has  been  said  in  this  journal  on  the 
proper  preparation  of  the  soil  for  orchards,  that 
it  need  not  now  be  repeated.  We  should  only 
say,  that  a  light  dryish  soil  is  the  best  to  choose 
for  the  Peach.  The  Pear  does  best  on  a  strong 
loamy  soil.  Plums  much  the  same  as  the  last. 
The  Apple  prefers  a  heavy  loam,  if  on  limestone 
80  much  the  better.  The  Cherry  does  well  in 
soil  adapted  to  the  Peach 

If,  however,  a  fruit  orchard  is  dry  and  prop- 
erly top  dressed  annually,  there  is  not  much  dif- 


ference in  the  value  of  soils  for  fruit  orchard. 
With  rich  decaying  vegetable  matter  abundantly 
supplied  to  the  trees,  they  will  do  well  enough  in 
most  kind  of  sftil. 

Whatever  pruning  trees  may  require,  is  best 
done  early  if  one  have  the  time.  On  this  ac- 
count, however,  it  is  generally  deferred  to  to- 
wards spring  when  there  is  more  leisure. 

Apples,  Quinces  and  Plums,  should  be  exam- 
ined before  frost  sets  in,  and  if  any  borers  have 
effected  a  lodgment,  a  jack-knife  and  strong 
piece  of  wire  are  all  the  implements  necessary  ; 
a  man  will  go  over  several  hundred  trees  a  day. 
It  is  a  cheap  way  of  preserving  trees.  If  many 
of  the  remedies  proposed  by  correspondents  in 
our  paper,  have  been  tried  and  found  effectual, 
such  as  tobacco  stems,  &e.,  there  will  be  few 
borers  to  deal  with  in  the  examination.  After 
getting  out  the  borers,  a  piece  of  any  kiqd  of 
paper  lapped  around  the  collar  of  the  trec^,  and 
the  pnper  gas-tarred,  will  keep  out  all  future 
borers,  as  well  as  be  a  safeguard  against  mice 
and  rabbits. 

Probably  most  of  our  fruits  do  best  in  partial 
shade.  The  gooseberry  and  currant  certainly  do. 
The  former  must  have  shade ;  and  if  on  the 
moist  northern  aspect  of  a  wall,  so  much  the 
batter.  The  raspberry  prefers  a  rather  moist 
soil,  and  partial  shade. 

Where  currants,  gooseberries  and  raspberries 
are  not  to  be  disturbed,  old  low  stalks  thrown 
thickly  in  about  the  plants  and  allowed  to 
remain  and  rot  away,  keep  the  roots  cool,  and 
makes  a  condition  of  things  in  which  these  three 
kinds  of  fruit  luxuriate. 

In  cultivating  raspberries  on  a  large  scale 
thej'  do  best  in  hills,  as  the  cultivator  keeps 
them  from  crowding  each  other  so  much.  For 
garden  culture  they  are  better  in  rows,  the 
suckers  to  be  kept  hoed  out  occasionally  as  they 
grow ;  enough  only  being  left  that  will  be  re- 
quired for  fruiting  next  year.  Where  canes  are 
required  for  new  plantations,  of  course  a  portion  . 
of  the  crop  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  suckers. 

In  choosing  pears,  select  those  that  have  been 
budded  close  to  the  ground,  as  when  they  are  re- 
planted the  stocks  should  be  buried  an  inch 
below  the  pear  scion,  which  prevents  the  attacks 
of  the  quince  borer.  If  a  long  stem  has  to  be 
buried,  the  usual  consequences  of  deep  planting 
result,  and  do  as  much  injury  as  the  quince 
borer.  Also  in  choosing,  select,  if  possible, 
plants  that  have  been  raised  from  cuttings  ;  for 
1  lyered  stocks  have  almost  always  a  long  deep 


tap  looking  root,  on  which  dwarf  pears  do  not 
do  well.  If  we  have  to  use  such  dwarf  pear  trees, 
better  shorten  some  of  this  long  trunk  root 
before  planting:.  Never  plant  what  appears  to 
be  the  stem  of  a  tree  far  beneath  the  surface 
under  any  circumstances,  for  disease  will  be 
most  probably  an  ultimate  consequence. 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 


It  is  little  use  to  attempt   to  grow  vegetables 
well,  unless  the  soil  is  well  treated.    They  may  be 
and  are  grown  on  thin  soils,  not  only  at  a  great 
expense  for  manure,  and  at  a  great  risk  of  dyin^ 
out  m  a  dry  season,  and  of  having  the  roots  rota- 
ted out  m  a  wet  one.     In  those  parts  where  the 
frost  has  not  yet  been  severe  enough  to  injure 
the  celery  crop,  it  may  have  another  earthinc^  up 
Care  must  be  exercised  in  the  operation  not  to 
let  the  earth  get  into  the  hearts  of  the  plants  or 
they  will  be  liable  to  rot.     Where  the  plant  has 
evidently   finished    its  growth   for   the   season 
measures  should  be  taken  to  preserve  it  throuah 
the  winter.     For  family  use,  it  is  probably  as 
well  to  let  it  stay  where  it  is  growing,  covering 
the  soil  with  leaves,  litter  or  manure,  to  keep 
out  the  frost,  so  that  it  can   be   taken  up  as 
wanted.     Where  large  quantities  are  frequently 
required,  it  is  better  to  take  it  up  and  put  it  in  a 
smaller  compass,  still  protecting  it  in  any  way 
that  may  be  readily  accessible.      There  are  so 
many  wa^s  of  preserving  celery,  it  is  hard  to  say 
which  is  the  best.      JJesides  these  two  sucraes- 
tions,  one  described  a  few  years  ago  as  bein  °  in 
use    in    southern   Pennsylvania,  may   be  good 
where  but  a  few  are  required. 

At  this  season  a  barrel  is  sunk  into  the  ground 
and  a  little  mud  made  at  the  bottom.     Then  the 
plants  are  taken  up  on  a  dry  day  and  set  thickly 
10  the  barrel,  which  is  then  covered.     In  this 
way  It  keeps  clear  of  frost,  and  is  easily  got  at 
at  any  time.     Another  plan,  also  described  in 
lorrmer  numbers  of  the  Monthly,  is  to  stock  the 
colery  in  a  conical  manner,  so  that  there  is  an 
incline    downwards   in   each  stalk,  which  will 
Keep  the   water  from   running  into  the   heart, 
i^arth  IS  put  between  each  layer  of  stalks,  and 
the  frost  kept  from  the  earth.     It  always  keeps 
»est  in  the  natural  soil,  where  it  is  cool  and  moist 
and  free  from  frost,  and  whatever  mode  of  pro- 
tection is  resorted  to,  these  facts  should  be  kept 
in  view.     Beets,  turnips,  and  other  root  crops 
win  also  require  protection.     They  are  best  di- 
vested of  their  foliage  and  packed  in  layers  of 


sand  in  a  cool  cellar.     Parsnips  are  best  left  in 
the  soil  as  long  as  possible.     If  any  are  wanted 
for  late  spring  use,  they  may  be  left  out  to  freeze 
m  the  so.l,  and  will  be  much  improved  thereby 
Cabbage  is  preserved  in  a  variety  of  ways.     If  a 
few  dozen  only,  they  may  be  hung  up  by  the 
roots  in  a  cool  cellar,  or  buried  in  the  soil,  heads 
downward,  to  keep  out  the  rain,  or  laid  on  their 
sides  as  thickly  as  they  can  be  placed,  nearly 
covered  with  soil,  and  then  completely  covered 
with  corn  stalks,  litter,  or  any  protecting  mate- 
rial      The  main  object  in  protecting  all  these 
kinds  of  vegetables  is  to  prevent  their  growth  by 
keeping  them  as  cool  as  possible,  and  to  prevent 
shrivelling  by   keeping   them   moist.      Cabbacre 
plants,  lettuce,  and  spinach  sown  last  Septem- 
ber, will  require  a  slight  protection.     This  is 
usually  done  by   scattering  straw  loosely  over 
The   intention  is  principally  to  check  the  fre- 
quent   thawings,  which  draw  the  plants  out  of 
the  ground. 

In  making  new  vegetable  gardens,  a  south- 
east aspect  should  be  chosen,  as  far  as  practica- 
ble. Earliness  in  the  crops  is  a  very  great  de- 
sideratum, and  such  an  aspect  favors  this  point 
materially.  Too  great  a  slope  is  objectionable, 
as  inducing  to  a  great  run  of  water  in  heavy 
rains.  The  pots  for  the  crops  should  be  laid  off 
in  squares  or  parallelograms,  for  convenience  in 
digging,  and  the  edses  of  the  walks  set  with  box 
edging.  If  water  can  be  introduced,  it  is  a  crreat 
convenience.  ° 

Sometimes  broccoli  does  not  head  before  there 
is  danger  of  frosts,  especially  if  growing  vigo- 
rously. If  taken  up  with  small  balls  of°earth, 
and  set  in  a  damp  cellar,  they  will  still  perfect 
themselves. 

Asparagus  beds,  after  the  tops  have  been 
cleared  off*,  are  better  covered  with  litter  or  sta- 
ble manure.  The  plants  shoot  easier  for  it  next 
season. 

When  the  ground  becomes  frozen,  or  no  other     • 
work  offers,  preparation  can  always  be  made  for 
advancing  prospective   work  when  it  arrives. 
Bean-poles  may  be  made  ;   and  if  the  ends  are 
charred,  and  then  dipped  in  coal  tar,  the  com 
raonest  material  will  be  rendered  nearly  equal  to 
Che  best  cedar. 


,1. 


li 


if 


32Ji, 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY.   J^ovember, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJfEWS   MOJ^THLY. 


325 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF  PARRAMATTA, 

SYDNEY,  AND    BOTANY   BAY, 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

BY  W.  T.  HARDING,  AGRICULTURAL   COLLEGE, 
COLUMBUS,   OHIO. 

In  the  sylvan  groves  of  Australia  there  are 
many  Paradisiacal  scenes,  over  which  the  gentle 
goddess,  *'Fair  Flora,''  spreads  her  wings,  and 
lavishly  scatters  fresh  flowers  over  forest  and 
field.  Exquisite  aromas,  like  heavenly  incense, 
ascend  from  her  altars,  and  are  lovingly  wafted 
by  her  soft  pinions  as  she  hovers  around. 

There  is  a  strange  fascination  we  feel  in  the 
midst  of  such  enchanting  Arcadias,  which 
almost  makes  us  forget  we  are  mortal,  while 
meandering  through  the  leafy  labyrinths.  Such 
matchless  loveliness  of  landscape  often  arrests 
the  enthusiastic  traveler's  attention.  They  are 
veritable  "  beauty  spots ''  on  the  fair  and  comely 
face  of  nature,  and  which  could  not  possibly  be 
improved  by  the  hand  of  man,  however  majesti- 
cal  his  touch.  As  the  Great  Architect  fashioned 
them  in  primeval  times,  so  they  remain — even 
now.  Bright  and  beautiful  are  the  pictures  still, 
only  mellowed  with  the  tints  of  time.  In  memory, 
they  will  ever  remain  fresh  and  green.  Nor 
will  the  Master  be  forgotten,  whose  divine  pencil 
so  sublimely  portrayed  on  terrestrial  canvas, 
such  celestial  scenes. 

There  is  a  pleasing  refrain  in  one  of  Moore's 
delightful  songs,  and  which  I  could  almost  fancy 
I  heard  again,  the  *' sweet  melody,  in  music's 
softest  tune,"  as  it  seemed  to  reach  through  the 
silent  woodlands. 

"And  oh !  If  there  be  an  Elysium  on  earth, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this!  " 

Much  as  I  have  seen  in  "the  wide,  wide  world," 
I  am  free  to  admit  that  Australia  presents  some 
of  the  most  savage  and  sombre  scenes,  blended 
with  the  picturesque,  the  romantic,  the  flowery, 
grand  and  beautiful,  I  ever  beheld.  There  is 
little  sameness,  but  much  variety,  in  the  broac^ 
expansive  plains,  the  illimitable  forests,  the 
flower  belted  streams,  the  dense  scrub,  the  open 
glades,  the  impenetrable  jungles,  the  mountain 
and  moorlands,  the  deep  defiles,  the  hills  and 
dales,  the  mossy  ravines,  the  sandy  plains,  the 
ferny  glens,  the  gunny  slopes,  the  rolling  mea- 
dows and  cultivated  lands,  where  Horticulture 


and  Agriculture  unite,  fit  emblems  of  peace  and 
plenty. 

There  are  but  few  routes  a  traveler  can  take  in 
any  part  of  the  world,  more  agreeable  or  delight- 
ful, than  the  one  we  are  following,  on  our  way 
to  Parramatta  and  Sydney.  The  ever  varying 
scenery  as  we  pass  along,  seems  like  unrolling  an 
immense  panorama  of  the  most  beautiful  land- 
scape sketches.  Village,  hamlet  and  grange, 
succeed  each  other  on  the  way,  and  present  a 
unique  picture  of  "rural  felicity''  of  the  happi- 
est type.  Well  was  it  said,  "God  made  the 
country,"  where  the  most  romantic-looking 
cottages  imaginable,  embowered  in  bushes  of 
beautiful  evergreen  shrubs  and  trees,  peep  out 
from  behind  curtains  of  Kennedias,  SoUyas,  Te- 
conas,  Hardenbergias  and  Passifloras,  most 
lovingly.  Every  style  of  architecture  were  to  be 
seen,  and  all  in  good  taste,  harmonized  with  the 
surroundings.  It  is  doubtful  if  F.  R.  Elliott,  or 
Robert  Morris  Copeland,  the  eminent  landscap- 
ists, — masters  of  the  art  of  beautifying  and 
adorning  "  country  life,"  could  have  excelled,  in 
their  specialty,  their  brotherhood  of  the  Anti- 
podes. Trees  of  majestic  form  overshadowed 
sweet  flowers  of  every  hue,  which  emitted  their 
exquisite  perfumes  from  the  cedar-like  gardens 
around.  Rich  and  rare  looking  fruit  hung  temp- 
ingly  on  the  trees  and  vines  Heavy  bunches  of 
White  Syrian  grapes,  Malagas,  Muscats,  and 
Black  Hamburghs,  which  would  have  compared 
favorably  with  Speechly's  big  bunches,  and  de- 
light the  eyes  and  heart  of  the  good  old  man,  if 
he  could  have  seen  them.  Coming  again  to  the 
dividing  line,  we  crossed  a  little  stream  in  the 
valley,  whose  sinuous  windings  coursed  gently 
onwards  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  while  the  other 
streams  flowing  westward,  run  to  the  Pacific. 

Still  pushing  onwards  we  passed  through  seve- 
ral deep  gorges  in  the  shady  valleys  ;  through 
brake  and  glen,  over  mountains  and  meadow- 
lands  where  the  shepherd  tends  his  flocks,  and  the 
husbandman  tills  his  soil,  and  where  all  seemed 
"as  happy  as  the  little  plow-boy  that  whistles 
o'er  the  lea."  In  the  distance  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains loomed  up  before  us,  and  the  Nepean 
River  sparkled  in  the  midday  sun.  Some  splen- 
did specimens  of  palms,  Corypha  australis,  with 
a  number    of  the    peculiar,   though    beautiful 


genus,  Pandanus :  of  which  spiralis  and  pedun- 
culata    were    very    handsome.      In    pendulous 
masses  of  dark  green,  mingled  with  heavier  and 
broader  foliage,  were  some  gems  of  Casuarinas. 
An  occasional  tree  fern,  Alsophila  australis,  had 
spread  their  magnificent  fronds  above  the  Cho- 
rizemas  and  Boronias  upwards  of  fifty  feet  high. 
With  the  exception  of  the  elegant  Dicksonias  I 
saw  in   New  Zealand,  I  think  they  were  the 
most  suberb  types  of  cryptogamic  beauty  I  ever 
beheld.      They  are  often   met  with  aloncr  the 
river  banks.     Also  Blandfordia  aurea,  a°lar-e 
and   showy   urabellated   plant,  bearing  a   pro- 
fusion of  bright  yellow   flowers.     Xyris   loevis, 
another  singular  plant,  resembling  a  tussock  of 
rushes  densely  covered  with  pretty  golden  florets 
The  latter  would  be  a  charming  plant  for  an 
aquarium.    In  the  somewhat  famous  and  inter- 
esting district  of  Wagga  wagga  on  the  Murrum- 
bridge  river,  Victoria,  they  grow  in  great  luxuri- 
ance.    X  altissima  especially  so,  and  which  fre- 
quently attains  to  from  ten  to  fourteeu  feet  hiorh 
and  are  generally  backed   up   with  the  glossy 
leaved  nettle,  Urtica   photelnophylla,  growing 
from  thirty  to  forty  feet  high.     With  some  pretty 
Eloeodendrum  integrifolium,  I  met  with  for  the 
first  time  in  New  South  Wales,  Gela  oblongifo- 
ha  and  Spermaxyron  stricta,  the  latter  of  an 
ohve-like  habit,  and  some  ten  feet  high.     On  the 
higher  grounds  saw  some  beautiful   bushes  of 
Lissanthus  strigosus  and  L.    daphnoides,  two 
very  mterestine:  evergreen  shrubs,  nearly  allied 
to    the    Epacris,  which    they  much    resemble 
When  in  bloom,  they  are  literally  covered  with 
pretty  white  flowers.     The  colonists  use  them  as 
hedge  plants,  and  as  they  form  a  dense  growth 
are  well  adapted  for  such  uses.     Adjacent  were 
some  pretty  clumps  of  Lomatia  silicifolia,  and 
1^.  longifolia,  the  former  sprinkled  with  oran<re- 
colored  flowers,  and  the  latter  green.     Both  are 
handsome  evegreen  Protaceous  shrubs,  and  are 
highly  ornamental  in  the  conservatory. 

Journeyina:  onwards  from  the  beautiful  Ne- 
pean to  Pewrith,  passed  over  a  sand  barren   a 
flat  and  unfertile  spot,  desolate  in  the  extreme, 
ut  all  living  creatures,  a  "  lonely  pelican  in  the 
wilderness"  was  to  be  seen     I  pitied  the  poor 
and  wretched-looking  bird,  as  he  stood  silent 
and  solemnly  gazing  at  the  bottom  of  the  dried  up 
water-course.    There  seemed  a  melancholy  sad- 
ness in  the  expression  of  his  pinched  up  features, 
while  meditating  on  piscatorial  delusions,  and 
speculating  on  the  very  doubtful  chances  of  ob- 
taining a  fugitive  minnow. 


Leaving  the  dreary  scene,  we  soon  again  en- 
tered a  most  delightful  country,  and  after  a  two 
days  journey,  reached  Parramatta.     It  is  one  of 
I  the  most  beautiful  and  pleasant  little  towns  I 
ever  tarried  in.     A  paradise  indeed  1     Of  the 
many  charming  and  attractive  places  I   have 
seen.  I  do  not  remember  one  to  surpass  this. 
Here  the  useful  and  beautiful  in  nature  have 
lovingly  united  together  ;  while  the  freshness  of 
its  sunny  and  cheerful  surroundings  exhilarate 
and  gladden  the  feelings.     Such  charming  scenes 
leave  their  impress  on  the  heart,  and  brin<T  back 
to  memory  some  of  the  happiest  recollectrons  of 
life.     It  was  here  where  "  Flora  and  Pomona," 
surrounded  by  fruits  and  flowers,  presided  over 
the  royal  court  of  nature  in  all  their  glory.     The 
morning  air   was   gently   diff-using   the   "balm 
of  a  thousand  of  flowers"  from  the  gay  parterres, 
gardens  and   flower-grounds,  which  adorn   the 
residences  of  the  colonial  magnates  and  grandees, 
so    pleasantly    located    there.       The    delicious 
aroma  of  citron  blossoms  pervades  the  atmos- 
phere with  the  most  exquisite  perfume.     Heavy 
laden  orange   trees,  literally  bending    beneath 
their  burdens  of  fruit,  and  in  the  richest  luxuri- 
ance  of  growth,  hung  temptingly  on  every  side. 
Like  golden  globes  plentifully  interspersed  among 
the  dark  green  foliage,  they  were  indeed  "  pleas- 
ant to  the  sight  and  good  for  food."    In  all  coun- 
tries where  they  florish  without  protection,  they 
are  much  prized,  and  justly  so,  both  on  account  of 
their  beauty  as  evergreens,  as  well  as  for  the 
quantity  of  wholesome  fruit  they  yield. 

The  good  reader,  who  has  had  no  other  oppor- 
tunity of  judging  the  flavor  of  oranges,  than 
from  tasting  the  shriveled,  bitter  and  sour  trash 
bought  at  the  fruit  stores,  which  are  plucked 
while  green  from  the  trees,  and  shipped  oflT  to 
ripen,  or  rather  to  sweat,  and  turn  yellow  on  the 
passage,  can  have  but  a  faint  idea  of  how  sweet 
and  luscious  they  are  when  gathered  fresh  and 
fully  ripe  from  the  trees.  In  Florida  and  Cali- 
fornia I  have  seen  some  fine  plantations  in  full 
bearing,  and  a  beautiful  sight  they  were. 

(To  he  Continued.) 


*•»» 


ADDRESS   OF    MARSHALL   P.  WILDER, 

AT  BOSTON,  SEPTEMBER  IOTH. 

(Concluded  from  Sf^ptember  Number,) 

NEW  FRUITS. 

But  to  accompHsh  this  most  desirable  result, 
and  to  fulfil  our  mission  of  supplying  every  sec- 
tion of  our  country  with  fruits  suited  to  its  own 


S26 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTHLY.      J^tv ember, 


1878. 


THE   GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY. 


327 


locality,  we  must  rely  mainly  on  those  originated 
on  American  soil.  Bound  by  my  promise  in 
former  addresses,  to  ever  recognize  the  import- 
ance of  this  duty,  I  again  invoke  your  attention 
to  the  consideration  of  this  subject.  The  good 
results  already  attrained  are  but  the  harbingers 
of  still  more  glorious  rewards.  We  have  dis- 
cussed at  length  the  various  processes  of  Van 
Mons,  Knight,  Esperen,  and  others  of  the  old 
world,  but  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  superior 
fruits  produced  by  them,  we  have  the  strongest 
proofs  that  the  clear  sky  and  warm  summers  of 
our  American  climate  are  far  more  favorable  for 
propitious  results  than  theirs,  and  that  such  cir- 
cumstances will  conduce  to  the  health  and  lon- 
gevity of  a  variety.  Especially  is  this  the  case 
in  California,  where  almost  all  the  products  of 
the  vegetable  world  come  to  perfection.  From 
past  experience  it  seems  pi'obable  that  the  de- 
terioration of  certain  varieties  of  fruits  will  exist 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  and  that  the  same 
causes,  whether  from  the  removal  of  the  forests,  or 
from  whatever  circumstances,  will  still  continue 
Hence  the  necessity  of  raising  new  varieties  to 
supply  the  places  of  those  that  decline.  Happily 
this  degeneracy  is  confined  to  the  apple  and 
pear,  affecting  the  pear  more  particularly,  while 
iu  the  cherry,  peach,  plum,  strawberry  and 
small  fruits  generally,  there  are  no  signs  of  this 
deterioration. 

That  as  fine  fruits  can  be  raised  from  seed 
here  as  have  been  produced  in  any  other  country, 
there  is  no  longer  a  doubt.  That  this  is  the 
plan  prescribed  by  our  bountiful  Creator  for 
their  production  and  improvement,  is  equally 
true.  That  there  is  any  limit  to  its  progress 
and  extent,  we  have  no  reason  to  believe.  True, 
the  number  of  superior  fruits  is  small  compared 
with  the  host  of  indifferent  varieties  that  have 
come  down  to  us  from  the  past.  One  reason  for 
this  is,  that  our  taste  for  finer  fruits  has  been 
elevated  to  a  higher  standard,  and  those  of  an 
indifferent  or  medium  quality  fall  out  by  the 
way  ;  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  old  pears 
so  highly  lauded  by  historians,  were  most,  if  not 
all  of  them,  only  course  unmelting  kinds. 

When  we  reflect  upon  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  improvement  of  animals  and  vege- 
tables in  our  own  day,  and  how  many  splendid 
acquisitions  have  been  brought  forth  that  com- 
mand the  admiration  of  the  world,— when  we 
reflect  upon  the  many  fine  American  fruits 
already  obtained  with  but  comparatively  little  ef- 
fort  we  surely  have  cause  for  great  encouragement 


and  perseverance.  There  is  no  limit  to  progress 
now  or  hereafter,  and  we  believe  that  the  fruits 
of  this  earth  are  to  become  more  and  more  per- 
fect as  time  advances.  The  march  of  science  is 
ever  onward  and  upward,  and  it  is  our  duty  to 
keep  pace  with  it.  What  has  been  done  can  be 
done  again,  and  will  be  done,  until  the  final  cul- 
mination of  all  created  things.  Then  let  us  not 
be  discouraged  by  obstacles  or  disappointments, 
but,— 

"  Let  us  act,  that  each  to-morrow 

Find  us  further  than  to-day." 

If  a  pear  like  the  Bartlett  or  Bcurre  d'Anjou 
can  be  produced  which  shall  be  suited  to  every 
section,  then  another  of  like  or  better  quality 
can  be  created  and  possess  the  same  adaptation. 
Nor  is  there  any  reason  why  a  strawberry  like 
the  Wilson,  or  a  grape  like  the  Concord,  may 
not  be  raised  of  a  far  better  quality,  and  yet  pos- 
sess all  the  other  valuable  characteristics  of 
these  varieties.  That  there  may  be  a  point  be- 
yond which  a  fruit  is  not  susceptible  of  improve- 
ment as  believed  by  some,  we  can  not  aver,  but 
that  most  of  our  varieties  fall  short  of  this  per- 
fection all  will  agree.  When  we  consider  the 
character  of  the  fruits  which  have  come  down  to 
us  from  antiquity,  the  wonder  is  not  that  we 
have  no  more  of  strictly  first-class  varieties,  but 
that  we  have  already  produced  so  many  superior 
sorts.  These  considerations  afford  ample  evi- 
dence of  the  tendency  towards  improvement, 
and  lead  us  to  the  belief  that  by  planting  the 
seeds  of  our  best  varieties  we  shall  advance  still 
further  towards  perfection. 

Duhamel,  Poiteau,  and  their  contemporaries, 
after  repeated  trials  with  the  seeds  of  the  old 
varieties,  produced  but  few  worthy  of  note.  It 
was  reserved  for  Esperen,  Gregoire,  Bivort, 
Berckmans,  and  other  modern  experimenters, 
who  sowed  the  seeds  of  improved  sorts,  to  give 
US  most  of  the  fine  new  varieties  which  now 
adorn  our  tables.  In  confirmation  of  this  opin- 
ion we  have  numerous  instances  in  our  own 
country.  Witness  the  seedling  pears  of  the 
Messrs.  Dana,  Clapp,  and  Shurtleff,  of  this 
vicinity,  and  especially  the  extraordinary  pro- 
ductions of  Mr.  Fox,  of  California.  In  these  we 
have  an  illustration  of  what  can  be  accomplished 
in  the  space  of  a  few  years,  by  the  sowing  of  the 
seeds  of  modern  varieties.  In  Mr.  Fox's  experi- 
ment we  have,  also,  an  evidence  of  the  influences 
of  virgin  soil,  high  temperature,  and  clear  at- 
mosphere, giving  us  token  of  a  like  advantages 
which  we  expect  to  derive  from  the  new  lands  of 


our  western  friends,  in  the  production  of  fine 
varieties.  We  may  add  in  regard  to  Mr.  Fox's 
seedling  pears,  that  we  know  not  how  to  account 
for  the  strong  evidence  of  natural  cross  fertiliza- 
tion which  they  exhibit,  unless  it  wts  caused  by 
the  favorable  climatic  influences,  which  we  have 
just  mentioned. 

Formerly  we  were  obliged  to   rely  mostly  on 
imported  kinds  for  our  best  fruits,  but  as  time 
progresses  these  are  gradually  disappearing,  and 
their  places  are  being  filled  by  those  of  American 
origin.     Of  the  forty-three  kinds  of  plums  in  our 
catalogue,  more   than  half  are  American.     Of 
the  fifty-eight  kinds  of  peaches,  more  than  two- 
thirds  are  American,  and  in  fact  very  few  others 
are  much  in  cultivation.     Of  the  nineteen  kinds 
of  strawberries,  all  but  three  are  American      Of 
thirty-one    varieties    9f   hardy   grapes,   all    are 
American.     Thus  of  these  fruits  we  have  in  our 
catalogue  at  the  present  time,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-one  varieties,  and   with   the   exception   of 
thirty-seven,  all  are  of  American  origin.     Thus 
may  we  go  on  rising  higher  and  higher  in  the 
scale  of  excellence,  looking  forward  with  bright 
anticipations  to  the  time  when  through  the  in- 
fluence of  these  examples,  and  of  our  own  and 
kindred  associations,  our  catalogue  shall  be  filled 
with   varieties  of  American  origin,  and   every 
part  of  our  country  rejoice  in  fruits  born  on  the 
soil  on  which  we  live. 

Why  it  is  only  about  a  century  since  Van 
Mons,  Knight,  and  the  great  pomologist  of  Eu- 
rope were  born,  ft  is  within  the  present  centu- 
ry that  Coxe,  Thomas,  Buel,  Prince,  Lowell, 
Manning,  and  Kenrick  commenced  the  efforts  to 
improve  the  pomology  of  our  country.  It  is 
within  a  much  later  period  that  the  Downings. 
the  younger  Thomas,  Kirtland,  Hovey,  Ellwan- 
ger  and  Barry,  Brinckle,  Kennicott,  Warder, 
Elliott,  Berckmans,  commenced  their  operations 
for  the  advancement  of  this  cause.  These  con- 
siderations should  excite  us  to  greater  enterprise 
and  renewed  exertions.  This  is  the  great  work 
of  the  American  Pomo^ogical  Society.  We  have 
but  just  entered  upon  it.  How  vast  and  inviting 
the  field  that  lies  spread  out  before  us  I  Some  of 
these  thoughts,  perhaps  in  another  form,  I  may 
have  presented  to  you  before,  but  it  is  by  line 
upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept,  that  I 
desire  to  enforce  my  advice  ;  and  were  I  never 
to  address  you  again,  I  would  repeat  the  council 
I  have  so  often  given,  in  regard  to  the  produc- 
tion of  new  and  fine  fruits,  viz  : 

To  plant  the  most  mature  and  perfect  seeds  of 


ii 


^  the  most  hardy,  vigorous  and  valuable  varieties; 
^  and  as  a  shorter  process  insuring  more  certain  and 
^  happy  results,  cross  or  hybridize  your  best  fruits.'^^ 
I  Before   many  years  shall  have  passed  my  voice 
i  will  be  hushed  in  that  stillness  which  knows  no 
waking;   but  while  I  live  I  would  continue  to 
;  impress  on  your  minds  the  importance  of  the 
;  beneficent  work  of  providing  these  blessings  for 
I  generations  to  come  ;   and  when   I  am  dead  I 
^  would  by  these  words  still  speak  to  you.     Thus 
I  will  you  advance  one  of  the  most  delightful  and 
j  important  industries  of  the   world  ;    thus   will 
!  you  build  up  a  pomology  for  the  most  favored 
nation  upon  which   the  sun  ever  shone  ;   thus 
will  you  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  home,  kin- 
dred and  country,  and  transmit  your  names  to 
future  generations  as  benefactors  of  your  race— 

"  Our  lips  shall  tell  them  to  our  sons, 

And  they  again  to  theirs, 
That  generations  yet  unborn 

May  teach  them  to  their  heirs." 

CATALOGUE. 

In  this  collection  I  desire  to  refer  to  our  cata- 
logue of  fruits  as  the  most  important  achieve- 
ment of  our  Society.  This  was  the  first  attempt 
in  this  country  to  suppress  by  common  consent 
our  inferior  fruits  from  cultivation,  and  to  define 
the  adaptation  and  value  of  approved  varieties 
to  a  wide- spread  territory.  Few  can  have  an 
idea  of  the  pitient  investigation  which  this  has 
received  from  the  committee,  from  its  first  prepa- 
ration by  Mr.  Barry,  in  18G0,  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  With  the  issue  of  this  catalogue  com- 
menced  a  new  era  in  the  literature  of  American 
Pomology,  by  which  every  section  of  our  country 
and  the  Provinces  of  British  America  were  to 
be  acknowledged  and  recognized  in  its  classifica- 
tion 

At  the  time  of  its  first  publication  it  was 
issued  in  octavo  form,  but  in  less  than  ten  years 
we  have  been  obliged  to  enlarge  it  to  quarter 
form,  so  as  to  admit  additional  columns  for  the 
new  Stat'^s  and  territories  coming  within  our 
jurisdiction.     Instead  of  the  fifty -four  varieties 
of  fruit  recommended    in   1848,  this  catalogue 
now  contains  the  names   of  five  hundred  and 
seventy-seven   kinds,  and  with   the  list  of  six 
hundred  and  twenty-five  rejected  varieties  pass- 
ed upon  by  the  Society,  makes  a  total  of  twelve 
hundred  and  two  on  which  the  Society  has  set 
its  seal  of  approval  or  rejection.     An  important 
part  of  this  work,  not  shown  by  these  figures,  is 
the  reduction  of  our  list  as  compared  with  former 
catalogues,  by  striking  out  varieties  too  good  to 


328 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLY.     J^ovember, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S  MOJ^THLY. 


329 


be  placed  in  our  rejected  list,  yet  superseded  by 
better  sorts.  In  pears  alone,  this  reduction  has 
been  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  to  ninety- 
one  kinds.  And  thus  it  should  ever  be  our  aim 
to  condense  our  list  into  as  small  a  number  of 
varieties  as  possible.  When  we  consider  that 
our  catalogue  embraces  in  its  columns  fifty 
States  and  territories,  including  the  Province  of 
British  America,  with  great  diversities  of  soil 
and  climate  ;  that  some  of  the  new  districts  have 
but  little  experience  in  fruit-culture ;  and  that 
from  them  we  have  consequently  limited  reports, 
we  can  readily  appreciate  the  difficulties  attend, 
ant  on  this  great  work. 

It  was  an  important  step  taken  by  the  Society 
when  it  placed  its  mark  of  condemnation  on  the 
long  list  of  unworthy  fruits  which  were  then  in 
our  collection,  thereby  saving  to  cultivators  a 
vast  amount  of  time,  trouble  and  expense  in  the 
propagation  of  useless  varieties.  But  a  great 
and  important  work,  requiring  the  utmost  cau- 
tion, is  still  before  us,  to  avoid  in  the  future  the 
insertion  in  its  pages  of  the  names  of  inferior  or 
insufficiently  tested  fruits,  and  to  establish  a 
correct  nomenclature  for  all  time,  so  that  with 
every  revision  of  our  catalogue  it  may  more 
nearly  approximate  to  perfection.  To  aid  in 
this  most  desirable  work,  the  various  State 
and  local  committees  should  keep  well  organized, 
and  from  time  to  time  transmit  to  the  General 
Chairman  of  the  Fruit  Committee  all  the  infor- 
mation which  is  required  in  their  several  dis- 
tricts. It  was  the  original  object  of  the  cata- 
logue, and  must  always  continue  to  hi  its  aim, 
to  restrict  the  worthless  or  indifferent  kinds,  to 
discover  and  retain  the  most  valuable,  and  to 
furnish  to  all  sections  the  fruits  best  adapted  to 
their  respective  localities. 

For  the  purpose  of  perfecting  our  catalogue,  a 
meeting  of  the  Committees  on  Revisions  was 
held  at  Rochester,  New  York,  soon  after  our 
last  session. 

After  several  days  of  deliberation  the  present 
form,  and  the  new  plan  of  making  three  general 
divisions,  and  arranging  the  States  in  their 
order  of  climatic  and  characteristic  association 
in  regard  to  fruit  culture  was  adopted.  This 
was  a  work  of  much  difficulty,  but  I  am  happy 
to  learn  that  it  is  regarded  with  great  favor  as  a 
most  important  improvement,  and  will  consti- 
tute, it  is  believed,  through  the  united  efforts  of 
our  members,  ultimately  the  acknowledged  au- 
thority of  the  country. 


DECEASED  MEMBERS. 

While  we  rejoice  in  the  pres^^nce  of  so  many  of 
our  members  on  this  occasion,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  absence  of  some  who  have  been  removed 
by  death.  Since  our  last  biennial  session  two 
Vice-Presidents,  and  one  Ex- Vice-President, 
have  deceased. 

I  allude  to   Lawrence   Young  and   John  S. 
Downer,  of  Kentucky,  and  Dr.  J.  S.  Curtis,  of 
California.     Mr.  Lawrence  Young  was  an  early 
member  of  our  association,  and  for  a  long  course 
of  years  held  the  office  of  Vice-President  for  the 
State  of  Kentucky.     He  was  born  on  the  6th  of 
December,  1793,  in  Caroline   County,  Virginia. 
He  showed  an  early  taste  for  knowledge,  and 
made  himself  well  acquainted  with  all  branches 
of  learning,  espwcially  with  the  science  of  Agri- 
culture and   Horticulture,  and   by  his   interest 
and   example   he  learned  others   to  appreciate 
what  he  so  dearly  loved.     He  was  not  only  a 
scientific,  but  a  practical  cultivator  of  fruits,  and 
for  these  labors  his  own  and   adjoining  States 
often  expressed   their  obligations.      For   many 
years   he   was   the    Agricultural    Editor  of  the 
Louisville  Journal,     In  later  years  he  edited  the 
Wefttern  Buralist^  and  for  thirty  years  he  com- 
piled  a   monthly   meteorological    table  for  the 
Smithsonian    Institute.      Bewides    beins:    Vice- 
President  of  this  Association,  he  held  the  offices 
of  President  of  the  Jefferson  County  Horticultu- 
ral Society,  and  President  of  the  Kentucky  Po- 
mological  Society.     Energy,  perseverance,  and  a 
love  of   nature,  were   prominent   traits   in   his 
character  through  life.     He  died  at  the  ripe  old 
age  of  seventy-nine  years. 

Mr.  John  S.  Downer,  our  Vice-President  for 
Kentucky,  who  was  with  us  at  our  last  session, 
has  also  been  removed  by  death.  He  was  born 
on  the  19th  of  June,  1809,  in  Culpepper  County, 
Virginia.  His  taste  for  horticulture  and  pomolo- 
gy dawned  with  his  early  years,  and  while  yet 
a  youth  he  discovered  an  ardent  love  for  these 
pursuits  which  continued  through  life.  In  early 
manhood  he  established  the  Forest  Nursery, 
and  here  from  obscure  youth,  without  fame  or 
fortune,  he  built  up  an  enviable  reputation  as  a 
Nurseryman  and  Pomologist.  He  tested  under 
his  own  inspection  many  varieties  of  fruits,  and 
has  done  much  to  improve  Pomology  in  the 
Central  and  Southern  States,  having  produced 
several  varieties  of  fruits  which  are  now  exten- 
sively cultivated.  He  devoted  much  time  and 
patience  for  the  production  of  new  varieties  of 
strawberry,   and    the    Downer's    Prolific^   the 


Charles  Downing,  and  the  Kentucky,  bear  wit- 
ness to  his  success.  By  testing  and  disseminat- 
ing other  fruits,  he  has  conferred  blessings  on 
the  pomology,  not  only  of  his  own  region,  but 
on  our  whole  country.  He  died  on  the  grounds 
where  he  first  settled,  and  where  in  addition  to 
his  many  attainments,  he  has  left  the  name  of 
"an  honest  man,  the  noblest  work  of  God." 

The  seat  of  Dr.  Joshua  S.  Curtis,  of  Sacra- 
mento, California,   is  also   vacated    by    death. 
He  was  one  of  the  representatives  of  that  State, 
and  was  elected  Vice-President  at  our  last  ses- 
sion.    He  was  a  gentleman  of  noble  bearing, 
and  much  interested  in  the  progress  of  science, 
and  the  elevation  of  our  art.     Some  of  ue  can 
remember   the    interest  which    he   manifested, 
although  for  the  first  time  with  us,  in  the  welfare 
for  the  Society,  and  the  words  of  counsel  and 
approval  which  he  spoke  to  us  at  the  festiva] 
that  closed  our  meeting  at   Richmond,  and  it 
was  his  intention  to  be  with  us  at  this  session. 
Dr.  Curtis   was   born  in   North   Carolina,  and 
died  in  San  Joaquin  county,  California,  Novem- 
ber, 18,  1872,  aged  sixty-three  years.     He  grad- 
uated at  Chapel  Hill  College,  and  was  also  a  grad-  | 
uate  either  of  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore  Medi-  i 
cal  Ccllege.    He  went  to  Tennessee  in  1832,  where  ' 
he  extensively  engaged  in  farmini?  and  his  pro-  ' 
fession.     In  1837  he  removed  to  Holly  Springs, 
Mississippi,  owned  a  cotton  plantation,  and  was 
the  Treasurer  of  the  State.     He  went  to  Sacra-  | 
mento,  California,  in   1850,  where  he  resumed  ' 
his  practice  as  a  physician.     A  few  years  after-  | 
wards  he  gave  up  his  profession,  and  was  en-  \ 
gaged  in  farming  in  Yolo  county  until  the  time 
of  his  death.     He  represented  that   county  in 
the  State  Legislature.     His  home  was  ever  open 
to  the  poor,  and  his  house  was  the  home  of  the 
destitute. 

Nor  can  I  close  this  record  of  deceased  mem- 
bers w  ithout  allusion  to  another,  formerly  con- 
nected with  us  in  official  relations,  who  has 
been  called  from  this  to  the  spirit  land.  I  allude 
to  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Knox,  of  Pittsburgh, 
Penn.,  who  died  of  apoplexy,  Nov.  13,  1872, 
aged  fifty-eight.  His  father  was  a  minister,' 
which  profession  he  also  adopted  while  at  the  age 
of  seventeen.  He  removed  to  Pittsburg  earTy 
in  life  and  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 
He  was  sociable  and  sympathetic  in  his  in- 
stincts, prepossesbing  in  personal  appearance, 
and  gifted  with  oratorical  powers.  He  was  an 
old  member,  often  attended  the  sessions  of  this 
Society,  took  part  in  its  discussions,  and  was 


known  throughout  our  land  for  his  interest  in 
the  culture  of  the  grape,  the  strawberry,  and 
I  other  small  fruits.  His  enterprise  in  the  culture 
of  these  was  remarkable,  and  his  plantations  of 
the  strawberry  and  blackberry  were  very  exten- 
sive He  gave  to  the  Triomphe  de  Gand  a  new 
and  extensive  fame,  and  distributed  far  and 
wide  the  strawberry,  No.  700,  of  his  collection, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Jucunda.  He 
entered  largely  into  the  grape  excitement,  which 
existed  a  few  years  since,  propagating  immense 
quantities  of  vines,  especially  Concord,  Delaware 
and  Martha.  His  name  as  the  *' Strawberry 
King,''  and  the  proprietor  of  the  Knox  fruit 
farm,  will  ever  be  remembered  in  the  annals  of 
American  Pomolosry. 

These  associates  have  gone.  It  has  pleased  a 
wise  Providence  to  remove  them  from  the  sphere 
of  duty  here,  but  we  trust  in  the  hope  that  we 
shall  one  day  join  them  in  that  better  land, 
where  friends  shall  part  no  more. 

CONCLUSION. 

Pardon  me,  my  friends,  for  the  time  I  have 
j  occupied  in  the  performance  of  a  duty  required 
j  of  me  by  your  Constitution 
I      With  the  close  of  this  session  will  terminate 
;  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  history  of 
our  national  association      We  are  now  about  to 
enter  on   the  second   era  of  its  existence.     A 
great  work  has  already  been  accomplished,  but 
more  remains  to  be  done.     We  have  but  just 
entered  on  the  broad  field  which  lies  open  to  us, 
and  gathered  a  few  of  its  first  fruits.     Many  of 
its  former  members  have  paid  the  debt  of  nature, 
and  we,  who  were  among  the  founders  of  our  in- 
stitutions, shall  soon  be  called  to  follow  them. 
But    this  Society,  we  believe,  will    live  on  to 
bless    the  world,  and    as  time   progresses  the 
results  of  your  labors  in  the  development  of  our 
wonderful  resources,  will  be  more  and  more  ap- 
preciated.     And    as    our    nation  advances  in 
wealth  and   refinement,  so  will   the  culture  of 
fruits  be  better  understood,  and  their  importance 
and  usefulness  be  more  fully  realized.     Willing 
hands  and  generous  hearts  will  labor  for  the 
same  cause,  and  generation  after  generation  will 
enjoy  the  fruits  which  your  hands  have  planted 
for    them.      Persevere,  then,  my   friends,  with 
the  noble  work  in  which  you  are  employed.     Go 
on,  until  our  ultimate  object  is  attained,  in  per- 
fecting one  of  the  most   useful  and   beautiful 
sciences  of  the  world. 

We  have  traced  the  progress  of  American  Po- 
mology from  a  period  within  fifty  years.     But 


sso 


THE   GARDEJVBR'S  MOJ^TBLY.    Jfovemhe; 


1873 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THL  Y. 


li 


II 
I*  < 


who  shall  predict  its  development  for  the  haP 
century  to  come  ?  Judging  from  the  past,  we 
may  anticipate  that  ere  that  day  shall  dawn, 
our  whole  continent  shall  be  opened  up  for  us-^, 
and  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  become  scarcely 
secondary  to  any  oJher  branch  of  rural  art. 
Look  at  the  progress  of  the  past,  and  estimate, 
if  you  can,  tho  increase  of  the  future,  when  the 
population  of  our  country  shall  exceed  one. hun- 
dred millions  of  souls,  as  many  now  living  may 
expect  to  witness  ;  when  our  fruits  shall  be 
adapted  to  every  section  of  our  land,  and  become 
not  merely  a  condiment,  but  a  necessary  portion 
of  our  food. 

Standing,  as  we  do,  on  the  line  which  divides 
the  past  from  the  present,  let  us  remember  with  \ 
gratitude  the  labors  of  those  who  laid  the  founda- 
tion  of  this  institution-let  us  remember  those  who 
have  so  assiduously  co-operated  with  us  for  the 
advancement  of  its  objects  and  let  us  transmit 
to  posterity  the  priceless  blessings  our  callinor  is 
destined  to  confer.  And  as  our  members,  from 
time  to  time,  shall  assemble  to  gather  up  the 
fruit  of  their  research,  may  thev  have  reason  to 
rejoice  more  and  more  in  the  benefactions  which 
it  bestows  on  mankind  ;  and  when  at  last  we 
shall  be  called  to  relinquish  the  cultivation  of 
our  orchards,  gardens  and  vineyards  on  earth 
may  be  permitted  to  participate  in  the  cultiva^ 
tion  of 


SSL 


"That  tree  which  bears  immortal  fruit, 

Without  a  canker  at  the  root ; 

Its  healing  leaves  to  us  be  given, 

Its  bloom  on  earth,  its  fruit  in  heaven  ! 


M 


RAPID  POTTiN^G. 

BY  S.  J.  HUGHES,  CHATHAM,  PA. 

I  saw  the  boast  of  Mr.  Peter  Henderson,  in  a 
late  number  of  the  MoniWy,  that  one  of  his  gar- 
deners potted  10,000  plants  in  ten  hours,  as  if 
Kew  York  was  ahead  of  all  the  world.  I  kdmit 
it  is  fast  work;  but  I  have  a  young  man  with 
me  that  can  pot  off,  and  do  it  right.  1100  per 
tour.  So  I  think  that  there  are  some  quick  fin- 
gers in  Pennsylvania.  Though  we  may  be  be- 
hind  our  neiffhbor  in  some  things,  they  cannot 
carry  off  all  prizes. 


<•■» 


FRUIT  NOTICES. 

BY  W.    H.   cox,   ANCHORAGE,    KY. 

I  can  truthfully  say  the  present  has  been 
with  us  the  worst  wc  have  had  for  years.  Our 
winter  was  of  the  severest  kind,  and  the  sprina 


equally  as  much  so.  Orchards  bloomed  as  pro- 
fusely as  couldbe  expected  ;  every  one,  even  the 
most  dependent,  anticipated  a  full  crop  of  all 
varieties  of  fruit ;  but  alas  I  nature  forbid.  We 
had  a  great  quantity  of  rain,  followed  by  cold, 
chilly  weather,  continuing  for  into  May,  caus 
ing  the  bloom  to  blight  and  fruit  drop. 

The  strawberry  crop  was  nearly  a  failure  in 
some  localities,  the  leading  sorts,  Wilson,  Chas. 
Downing,  French  Seedling,  and  Kentucky* 
yielded  hardly  one-third  of  a  crop.  The  im' 
proved  varieties  of  cherries,  however,  stood  the 
unfavorable  season  better  ;  but  as  the  Early 
Purple  Guigne  were  beginning  to  turn  color,  that 
vexatious  little  pest,  the  cedar  bird,  visited  the 
trees  in  flocks,  defying  all  manner  of  scare 
crows,  blunderbusses,  blank  cartridges,  and  even 
"grape  and  cannist-r  ;"  they  swept  every  thing 
before  them,  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  sort's 
except  they  were  kind  enough  to  leave  us  a  few 
Morrellos. 

Now  that  it  is  time  for  our  early  apples  to 
ripen,    we    go   to  our   orchards,  must   be  con- 
tented with  a  few  snarly,  weather-beaten  scabby 
Early   Harvest,  Red  Astrachan,    Benoni,    &r.; 
and  on  passing  among  the  fall  and  winter  sorts, 
just  the  same  picture  is  before  us.     Peaches  in 
some  localities  promise  a  fair  yield,— a  remarkr.- 
ble  fact   there  will   be   more   this   season    than 
apples.     Pears   are   scarce,  more   so   than   any 
other  fruit,  but  we  are  only  too  happy  thus  far, 
to  announce  the  almost  entire  disappearance  of 
the  fire  blight  this  year.     One  or  two  varieties  up 
to  this  time  have  been  attacked,  the   Vicar  of 
Winkfield  principally,  with  an  occasional  Belle 
Lucrative,  Flemish  Beauty  and  Swan's  Orange. 
It  is  a  prevalent  opinion  that  these  varieties, 
now  suffering   attacks,  must   be  from  diseased 
limbs  or  parts  of  last  year.     We  hope  that  it  is 
leaving  us -it  is  a  terrible  scourge.     How  dis- 
couraging   to    pass    through   orchards  of  once 
beautiful  trees,  amputated  into  ugly  snags,  with 
a  few  young  shoots  barely  sufficient   to  save 
their  lives. 

I  should  like  to  see  Kentucky  represented  at 
the  American  Pomological  Society's  meeting  at 
Boston  in  September;  and  had  we  the  fruit 
season  of  last  year  this,  we  would  most  assured- 
ly open  some  one's  eyes.  We  can  only  trust  in 
the  future  Why  is  it  that  this  Society  holds  its 
meetings  so  close  to  the  Atlantic  coast  ?  To  the 
members  in  charge  of  such  matters,  I  would  say 
''look  West'  for  a  place  of  its  next  meeting. 
I  can  name  a  score  of  central  and  available 


points,  and  none  more  worthy  than  our  beauti- 
ful little  city,  Louisville,  easily  and  quickly 
reached  from  all  points,  capacious  and  unrivaled 
hotels,  and  an  abundant  hospitality  for  her 
guests. 


*•»•» 


A  MEXICAN  CLIMBER. 

BY  JOHN  QUILL,  GARDENER  TO  THE  CINCIN- 
NATI HOSPITAL. 
I  notice  in  your  Monthly  for  August,  an  in- 
quiry by  Mrs.  F.,  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y,,  in  re- 
gard to  the  Mexican  Climber.  Permit  me  to 
inform  the  lady  that  the  true  value  of  her  climb- 
ers will  be  unknown  to  her  until  she  sees  her 
plant  in  bloom. 

The  fragrance  of  this  beautiful  climber  rivals 
the  rose,  the  mignonette,  or  the  lily  When 
planted  in  a  group,  it  forms  a  perfect  mass  of 
green  foliage,  fairly  covered  over  with  spikes  of 
delicate  white  blossoms,  sending  sweet  perfume 
all  around.  Should  be  planted  in  one  half  sand 
the  other  half  loam  and  leaf  mould,  in  the  open 
ground,  and  a  warm  situation. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE   BLUE  AFRICAN 

LILY. 

BY  THOS    F.  WEBB,  GARDENER  TO  A.  C.  GIBSON, 
JR.,  OAK  LANE,  PHILA. 

The  Afjapanthus  Umhellatus  is  a  native  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  was  introduced  into 
cultivation  about  1692.  It  is  the  most  beautiful 
variety  of  this  African  lily.  It  has  rather  broad 
dark  green  leaves  of  a  drooping  habit,  bulbous 
root,  not  unlike  a  coarse  leek  ;  throws  up  in 
spring  from  well-grown  plants,  strong  stems, 
from  the  top  of  which  comes  large  bunches  of 
bright  blue  flowers,  each  standing  on  a  bold, 
strong  footstalk,  making  them  very  valuable  for 
bouquets,  baskets,  &c.  There  are  two  good 
specimens  now  in  bloom  at  this  place,  each  hav- 
ing several  noble  round  trusses  of  flowers  on 
very  fine  stems.  Upon  counting  the  number  of 
blossoms  upon  some  of  them,  I  find  there  is 
over  ninety,  each  individual  blossom  standing 
well  out.  It  is  certainly  an  excellent  decorative 
plant  for  the  lawn,  conservatory,  or  standing 
one  on  each  side  of  entrance  door  of  dwelling- 
house.  If  under  cover  from  the  sun  the  bloom 
will  last  some  time  longer  than  when  fully  ex- 
posed to  rains,  wind,  &c.  The  individual  blos- 
soms are  not  half  the  size  of  the  common  white 
or  yellow  lily  ;  they  are,  however,  much   more 


abundant,  and  form  beautiful  objects,  and  are 
extremely  easy  to  cultivate.  There  is  also  a 
striped  leaved  variety  at  this  place  :  with  me  it 
is  not  so  strong  a  grower  as  the  green  leaved 
kind.  It  is,  however,  a  very  ornamental  foliage 
plant,  and  contrasts  well  with  the  others. 

There  is  a  whitish  flowered  sort  called  albidus, 
the  only  difference  between  it  and  umbellatus  is 
the  color  of  th-  bloom.      This  noble  plant  de- 
serves  more   care   than    is  generally   bestowed 
upon  it,  and  the  consequence  is,  the  bloom  rises 
weakly    and   small,    owing    to    the  pots  beincr 
allowed  to  fill  with  offsets.     In  the  first  place" 
purchase  as  large  plants  as  possible,  take  the 
offsets  off,  then  let  the  main  plant  be  potted  in 
such  size  pot  as  will  allow  of  some  soil  around  it, 
but  not  much.     It  delights  in  a  compost  of  half 
sandy  loam,  and  well  decomposed  dung,  taking 
care  to  well  drain  the  pots.     If  this  is  done  early 
in  the  spring,  the  plant  will  be  benefited  by  a 
little  heat  to  start  it.     If  you  have  only  a  green- 
house, place   it   in   the   warmest  part.      Let   it 
grow  until  the  pot  is  well  filled  with  roots,  then 
shift  it  into  a  size  larger  pot,  and  continue  shift- 
ing as  often  as  the  roots  fill  the  pot.     It  ought 
to  bloom  by  the  time  the  plant  has  reached  a 
ten  or  twelve-inch  pot.     Every  offset  must  be 
removed  as  soon  as  it  appears,  so  that  all  the 
strength  is  thrown  into  the  main  plant.     By  at- 
tending to  this  treatment,  and  taking  care  the 
plant  gets  abundance  of  water,  it  will  produce 
fine  bloom,  and  form  a  noble  object.     When  it  is 
in  flower  it  may  be  removed  from  the  greenhouse, 
stalked,  and  put  out  of  doors,  or  what  is  better, 
under  a  verandah,  it  being  a  beautiful  object, 
handsome  enough  to  ornament  any  part  of  a 
gentlemen's    establishment.      As  soon    as   the 
flower  is  past,  remove  the  plant  to  a  more  ex- 
posed situation,  still  giving  it  a  little  shade,  and 
allowing  it  to  remain  there  until  the  first  indica- 
tion of  frost,  then  at  once  place  it  in  winter 
quarters.     It  is  by  no  means  a  tender  plant,  and 
can  be  stowed  away  in  a  cold  greenhouse  where 
the  thermometer  is  just  about  32',  or  it  can  in 
lieu  of  room  there,  be  placed  in  a  cellar  or  out- 
house with  Hydranges,  Pomegranates,  Fuchsias, 
Ac,  where,  of  course,  frost   must  be  kept  out, 
taking  care  that  it  is  not  allowed  to  shrivel  for 
want  of  an  occasional  watering.     In  the  spring 
it  may  be  turned  out  of  its  pot  and  examined. 
Any  decayed  roots  can  be  cut  away.     The  drain- 
age must  be  removed,  also  the  soil  from  the  top 
down  to  the  roots,  then  repot  in  the  compost 
specified.     It  will  not  harm  the  bulb  to  remove 


y\ 


»^. ' 


S32 


THE    GARBE^TER'S   MOJTTELY.     mvemher, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJ^IBLY. 


883 


V  \ 


Ji 


some  of  the   fibres,  and    train   any  strangling 
roots  a  little.     It  may  be  placed  in  a  greenhouse  i 
or  warm  pit,  till  it  throws  up  its  flower  spikes,  | 
then  it  can  be  removed  to  its  summer  quarters 
until  it  has  once  more  done  its  duty.     The  offsets 
which  are  taken  off  from  time  to  time,  should  be  ' 
potted  in  as  small  pots  as  they  can  be  placed  —  I 
one  in  each— and  grown  on  in  the  same  compost  ; 
and  manner  as  the  parent  plant,  until  they  are 
large  enough  for  blooming.     In  this  manner  one 
plant  may,  in  a  short  time,  produce  as  good 
stock.     In  taking  off  the  offsets,  they  will  some- 
times get  damaged  at  the  base  ;   these  and  very 
weakly  ones  will  be  the  better  for  a  little  bottom 
heat,  if  by  any  means  available.     This  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  valuable  and  easily  culti- 
vated plants  for  an  amateur. 


<•■•» 


RAPID  POTTING. 

BY    MR.    H.     E.    CHITTY,   SUPERINTENDENT    OF 
BELLEVUE    NURSERIES,   PATERSON,   N.   J. 

When  I  read  Mr.  Henderson's  article  upon 
this  subject  last  fall  in  the  Amtrimn  Agricultu- 
rist, in  which  he  made  a  statement  that  one  of 
his  men  had  accomplished  the  feat  of  potting 
seven  thousand  rooted  cuttings  in  ten  hours,  \t 
occurred  to  me  that  if  it  had  been  intended  as  an 
instructive    article,   it    would    have    contained 
something  more  than  the  bare  fact,— the  mode 
of  handling,  the  number  of  assistants,  and  gen- 
eral modus  operandi  would  have  been  given  ;°but 
as  these  little  requisites  were  withheld,  I  con- 
cluded that  it  was  only  a  little  harmless  'bluster 
which  certain  peculiar  temperaments  must  occa- 
sionally indulge  in,  in  order  to  keep  them  in 
tone.     But  when  I  saw  the  same  article  repeated 
in   the    July    Gardener's  Monthly,  with   about 
thirty  per  cent,  interest  added  to  the  feat,  and 
still  without  any  explanation  as  to  how  it  was 
done,  number  of  assistants,  &c.,  being  given,  I 
rather  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Hender- 
son  was  not    so  desirous  of  eulightening   the 
public  in  rapid  potting,  as  he  was  to  impres8°upon 
the  public  that  he  had  an  Irishman  in  his  employ, 
and  some  plants,  and  a  good  many  plants. 

As  the  publication  of  those  articles  of  Mr. 
Henderson  made  them  matters  for  public  discus- 
sion, I  had  the  audacity  to  make  a  few  comments 
upon  the  subject  of  rapid  potting,  which  were 
published  in  the  September  Monthly.  Not  havincr 
the  data  wherewith  to  calculate  the  economy  of 
sticking  ten  thousand  rooted  cuttings  into  pots 
in  ten  hours  or  less,  I  was  obliged  to  confine 


myself  to  figures  of  my  own,  and  such  facts  as 
ray  figures  dictated,  which  facts  and  figures  have 
not  yet  been  controverted. 
And  here,  I  may  as  well  say,  that  unless  we 
,  know  the  number  of  men  and  boys  Mr.  Hender- 
son's Irishman  had  to  assist  him,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  get  even  an  idea  of  the  value  of  his  day's 
work.     If  a  man  or  boy  stood  beside  him  and 
filled  the  pots  with  earth,  and  he  made  a  hole 
with  his  finger  and  stuck  the  rooted  cutting  in, 
it  might  perhaps  be  done,  as  we  have  plenty  of 
boys  around  here  who  could  stick  their  finger 
ten  thousand  times  a  day  into  soft  earth.     That 
ten  thousand  rooted  verbena  cuttings,  (or  any- 
thing else  for  that  matter)  can  be  stuck  into  pots 
in  a  day  of  ten  hours,  I  never  disputed  ;   but 
that  any  man  or  boy  can  pot  a  rooted  cutting 
every  four  seconds,  and  continue  the  same  for 
ten  hours,  doing  his  work  well,  'Mn  a  workman- 
like manner,''  I  deny,  and  am  willing  to  submit 
the  truth  of  my  proposition  to  both  European 
and  American  nurserymen  and  gardeners  of  ex- 
perience. 

Mr.  Henderson,  in  his  article  in  the  July  Oar- 
dener's  Monthly,  fippears  to  intimate  that  the  state- 
ment made  in  the  American  Agriculturist  a  few 
months  previous,  created  considerable  comment, 
and  some  doubt,  and  in  Mr.  Henderson's  last  he 
I  says  that  the  wonderful  work  of  his  young  Irish- 
man had  roused  the  "  ire  of  numbers  of  garden- 
ers."   Now  in  regard  to  "comments,"  "ire," 
&c.,  I  may  say  that  I  am  a  steady  reader  of  all 
the  leading  journals  that  would  be  likely  to  con- 
tain such  comments,  and  the  first  and  only  com- 
ments I  have  yet  seen  were  those  of  my  own,  pub- 
lished in  the  Sept.  Gardener's  Monthly;  and  per- 
mit me  to  say  to  Mr.  Henderson,  that  I  do  not 
envy  him  the  possession  of  his  wonderful  young 
Irishman,  neither  am  I  anxious  for  my  assistants 
to  emulate  his  prowess,  for  his  style  of  work 
would  not  suit  our  line  of  trade.     I  am  quite 
willing  that  our  plants  should  speak  for  them- 
selves, and  heartily  congratulate  Mr.  Henderson 
that  so  many  of  the  ten  thousand  verbenas  stuck 
into  pots  on  a  certain  day  by  his   men,  were 
actually  alive  one  month  afterwards. 

The  compliment  conferred  upon  the  great 
American  statesman,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  by  Mr.  Henderson  mentioning  their 
names  in  connection  with  his  wonderful  young 
Irishman,  is  simply  stupendous.  Methiaks  I 
8°e  the  great  dead  arise,  and  shaking  off  the 
habiliments  of  the  tomb,  present  himself  at  No. 
35   Cortlandt  Street   with  a  new  hat,  and  on 


bended  knee,  make  profound  acknowledgment, 
supplementing  the  same  with  a  good  order. 
And  the  reverend  gentleman  of  Plymouth  Church 
will  not  be  slow  to  appreciate  the  honor. 

As  is  well  known   to  a  great   many  in  the 
United  States,  my  early  years  were  spent  in  on6 
of  the  largest  plant  establishments  the  world  has 
yet    seen,  where   Heaths,   Epacris,  and    other 
other  hard  wooded  plants  were  produced  in  end. 
less  numbers.     This  was  the  work  of  the  propa- 
gator.    The  production  of  verbenas  and  other 
soft    stuff,  was    entrusted    to  the  apprentices, 
under  proper  supervision,  and  the  veriest  ninny 
among  the  boys  was  supposed  to  know  when  to 
pot  off  verbenas  ;  and  we  were  always  instructed 
that  the  first  and  most  important  thing  to  learn 
was  to  do  our  work  well ;  so  that  if  I  am  defi- 
cient in  skill  in  my  profession,  as  Mr.  Hender- 
son seems  to  intimate,  it  must  be  owing  to  the 
wrong  teachings  then  imbibed,  and  the  trashy 
horticultural  literature  to  which  I  had  access ; 
for  be  it  remembered,  the  profound  (?)  concep- 
tions which  culminated  a  few  years  later  in  the 
production  of  the  elaborate  ''practical  Floricul- 
ture," were  not  then  available.     I  have  been  a 
constant  reader  of  the  horticultural  journals  of 
England  and  America  for  over  thirty  years,  but 
until  recently  I  have  not  known  a  single  instance 
of  a  nurseryman  using  a  horticultural  journal 
as  a  medium  for  extolling  the  exploits  of  his 
laboring  helps. 

Mr.  Editor,  I  regret  that  my  comments  upon 
rapid  potting  in  your  September  number  should 
be  taken  by  Mr.  Henderson  as  a  manifestation 
of  ire  towards  his  young  Irishman,  whose 
American  training  I  have  no  doubt  has  im- 
proved his  ability ;  and  I  think  American  train- 
ing may  be  as  good  as  any  other  training,  pro- 
vided the  person  trained  has  an  experienced 
trainer. 

ON  NUMERICAL  ORDER   IN   THE 
BRANCHING    OF    SOME     CONIFERS. 

BY   THOMAS   MEEHAN. 

[Read  at   the  meeting  of  Academy   Natural  Sciences,  of 
Philadelphia,  June  28,  1872.] 

In  a  paper  entitled  *' Adnation  in  Coniferse," 
read  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
and  which  was  published  in  the  "Proceedings  " 
for  1868,  I  pointed  out  that  the  true  leaves  of 
Coniferse  were  mostly  adherent  to  the  stem— not 
merely  '*decurrent"  as  is  usually  said  of  some 
of  them  ;  and  that  the  vigor  of  the  axis  or  stem 


was  the  measure  of  the  adhesion.  I  now  propose 
to  show  that  axial  vigor  also  determines  the  law 
of  branching  in  some  cases,  and  that  the  branch- 
ing is  on  a  numerical  plan. 

In  the  most  vigorous  growths  of  Thuja  occi- 
dentalis,  the  common  American  arborvitse,  the 
leaves  are  almost  wholly  united  with  the  axis, 
only  the  delicate  sharp  awns  are  free.  These 
are  arranged  in  pairs,  one  leaf  opposite  the 
other.  The  upper  pair  alternates  with  the  lower 
(decussate).  A  branch  appears  at  the  eighth 
node  ;  and  always  at  the  eighth  node  when  the 
vigor  of  the  branch  remains  the  same.  As  the 
axis  weakens  the  branches  appear  at  the  sixth 
node.  This  is  the  general  average.  With  greater 
weakness  the  fourth  node  gives  birth  l;o  the 
branch ;  and  finally  as  the  plant  takes  on  its 
frondose  flattened  form,  a  branch  pushes  from 
every  alternate  node.  But  in  no  case  does  a 
branch  push  at  an  odd  number.  They  are 
always  from  the  second,  fourth,  sixth,  or  eighth 
node. 

In  Thuja  gigantea,  Nutt.,  the  same  law  pre- 
vails, the  sixth  and  eighth  being  more  numerous. 

In  Libocedrus  decurrens  all  appear  to  be  on  the 
alternate  plan.  T  have  seen  no  instance,  even  in 
vigorous  shoots,  where  the  branches  push  other- 
wise than  from  every  second  node.  This  is  also 
true  of  Chtm<xcyparis  Lawsoniana,  Pari. ;  and  of 
B.  ohtusa,  Sieb.,  C.  pisifera,  and  C.  retusa—2i\\ 
probably  varieties  of  one  thing. 

In  Biota  orientalis,  the  branching  is  mostly 
from  the  fourth  node,  occasionally  from  the 
second  or  sixth  ;  rarely  one  will  come  from  the 
third  and  odd  number.  In  the  curious  variety 
B.  O  pendula,  Pari.,  where  the  plant  has  lost  or 
never  achieved  the  power  to  produce  frondose 
branches,  the  numerical  order  is  lost :  branchlets 
push  at  any  indefinite  point  along  the  stem. 

Chammcyparis  sphceroidea,  Spach.,  the  Ameri- 
can white  cedar,  the  branching  is  pretty  regular 
at  the  fourth  node,  sometimes  from  the  second, 
rarely  from  the  fifth. 

Chammcyparis  Nutkcensis,  Spach.,  the  yellow 
cedar  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  course  is  the  same 
as  in  the  American  arborvitse. 

Sometimes  in  very  stout  shoots  of  this  plant 
the  leaves  will  be  in  whorls  of  three.  It  is  curi- 
ous to  note  then  that  the  branching  is  on  the  odd 
number  ;  either  at  three,  five,  or  so  on  ;  but  yet 
not  in  a  regular  graded  series  as  in  its  normal 
condition  and  in  the  arborvitses.  I  have  counted 
as  many  as  fifteen  nodes  without  a  branch,  and 
this  absence  of  order  in  branching  also  exists  in 


'L'l 


V 


I 


SSJl 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTBLY.       ^^ovember, 


1873. 


\k 


■*i 


Junipers.  In  these  the  leaves  are  mostly  in 
threes,  though  still  decussate,  and  the  branch- 
ing takes  place  at  the  odd  numbers,  and  is 
irregular. 

Callitrts  quadrivalvis  has  four  leaves  in  a 
whorl,  and  here  agaia  we  have  the  irregular 
branching  of  the  junipers. 

The  result  of  these  observations  is  that  in  a 
large  number  of  cases  the  frequency  of  branching 
is  in  company  with  declining  vigor ;  that  pres'- 
ence  of  leaves  in  an  opposite  pair  is  favorable  to 
a  regularity  of  branching  on  even  numbers  ;  and 
that  whorls  of  three  or  more  are  associated  with 
irregular  branching  on  odd  numbers. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  that   this  branchincr 
has  reference   to    the    growth    of   one   season!' 
There  are  axillary  dormant  buds  at  every  node 
which  may  push  according  to  circumstances  dur- 
ing any  subsequent  year. 

In  connection  with  this  stibject  are  some  ob- 
servations worty  of  note,  though  not  probably 
original.     As  soon  as  the  branching  at  alternate 
nodes  begins   in  Libocedrus,  Thvja,  Biota,  and 
others,  the  frondose  character  commences.     The 
pairofadnate  leaves  just  above  the  nodewhich 
bears  a  branch,  is  much  contracted.     These  are 
always  on  the  upper  and  lower  faces,  and  are 
known  as  the  dorsal  leaves.     The  next  pair  of 
leaves  are  more  developed,  more  free  from  cohe- 
sion with   the  axis,  and   from   one  of  them   a 
branchlet  usually  springs.     These  are  the  mar- 
ginal leaves.     Usually  the  branchlet,  one  from  a 
node  and  from  every  second  node,  arc  alternate 
with  the  ones  above  and  below  it ;  but  when  the 
branchlet  pushes  from  the  main  branch,  the  first 
series  of  two  or  sometimes  three  are  one  above 
another,  and  on  the  upper  side.     The  flattened 
frondose  form  is  the  result  of  this  plan  of  devel- 
opment.    Rarely   two  branchlets   will   proceed 
froji  each  node,  one  from  the  axil  of  each  opno 
site  leaf.  ^^ 

In  some  species  each  succeeding  pair  of  coher- 
ing leaves  are  of  equal  length  and  strength.     In 
the   Thvja   and    in  Chamcecyparis  Lawsoniana 
this  IS  characteristic  ;   but  in  Libocedrus  decur-  ' 
rens,  and  Cliammcyparis  obtusa,  and  allies,  every 
first  pair  succeeding  a  branchlet,  and  which  on 
the  flattened   conditions    constitute   the  dorsal 
pair,  are  very  much  abbreviated  and  shortened 
80  much  indeed  as  to  scarcely  proceed  beyond 
the  line  of  the  lower  pair,  and  thus  some  writers 
have  been  led  to  describe  these  plants  as  havin- 
4  verticillate  leaves.  ° 

The  seedling   or   firs:  year's  growt :  of  Biota 


THE    GARDENER'S   MO^''THLY. 


orientalis  exhibits  this  subverticillate  character. 
The  first  pair  of  leaves  succeeding  the  cotyledons 
IS  so  near  as  to  appear  almost  two  of  a  series  of 
four  cotyledon  lobes.  For  many  successive 
nodes  the  leaves  appear  to  be  4  verticillate. 

In  regard   to  the  early   leaves  of  coniferous 
plants,  those  which   follow  the  cotyledons  are 
nearly  free,  having  little  cohesion  with  the  stem 
or  "  decurrence,'»  as  botanists  say.     As  the  axis 
becomes  thicker,  or,  as  I  have  termed  it  in  the 
paper  referred  to,  endowed  with  more  vitality 
there  is  le*s  of  the  free  portion  and  more  of  the 
adnated   or  cohering,  until    in   Pinus  there  is 
nothing  left  but  a   thickened  bed  or  pulvinus  • 
and  the  axial  bud  which  generally  marks  the 
diverging  place  of  the  proper  leaf  has  to  push 
and  in  a  diflicult  way  perform  the  function  of 
leaves.     If  anything  tend  to  check  the  vitality  of 
the  tree,  so  that  the  axial  buds  do  not  develop, 
the  adnating  power  is  weakened  and  the  true 
leaves  again  become  free  from  the  stem.     This  is 
seen  in  Pinus  edulis,  Engl.    At  any  time  through 
Its  existence,  where  the  branches  are  weak  by 
being  shaded  or  starved  by  other  branches,  the 
pulvini  develop  in  true  leaves,  and  the  axial  bud, 
usually  producing  two  "  needles,"  does  not  push. 
Stre«>t   trees  and  osier  willows  when  annually 
trimmed,  though  the  subsequent  growth  is  vigo- 
rous, increase  their  trunks  slowly  in  girth,  and 
die  much  earlier  than  uncut  ones.     Thus  their 
vitality  is  impaired.     Some  piny  trees  when  cut 
down  push   up  strong  sprouts,  and   these  will 
often  have  the  pulvini  developed  into  true  leaves 
as  in  the  weakened  Pinus  edolis.     I  have  shown 
already,  in  the  paper  before  referred    to,  that 
Tlwjopsis    borealis     {Chamcecyparis    Nutkcensis, 
Spach.)  also  throws  out  free  leaves  always  in  the 
weakened  cutting  state.     In  some  garden  varie- 
ties of  Thuja  and   Biota  the  weak  axis  of  the 
seed'ing    condition   remains   throughout    many 
succeeding  years  of  growth.     In  all  these  cases 
the  leaves  are  free.     These  free  leaved  forms  are 
still  regarded  by  some  excellent  European  bota- 
nists   as  species  of  unknown  introduction,  al- 
though, as  stated  in  my  paper  on  »' Adnation  in 
Conifera,"  their  derivation  from  Thuja  and  Biota 
IS  founded  on  direct  evidence.     I  refer  to  this  in- 
cidental matter  chiefly  to  add  the  new  observa- 
tion, in  connection  with  the  leading  points  of  the 
present  paper,  that  with  their  weakened  condi- 
tion, the  regular  numerical  order  of  branching, 
as  noted  in  the  fully  developed  forms,  does  not 
exist. 

I  do>ot  8ui)pose  this  law  of  vital  vigor  so  far 


sss 


as  developed  will  account  for  all  the  phenomena 
of  free  or  adnated  leaves  ;  or  for  all  the  numeri- 
cal relations  of  branchlets  to  the  nodes.  I  have 
myself  pointed  out  some  apparent  exceptions, 
but  I  trust  I  have  made  it  clear  th  't  it  performs 
no  mean  part  in  the  order  of  these  things. 


STOCKS  FOR  WORKING  FRUITS. 

BY  F.    K.    Pn(ENIX,  BLOOMINGTON,  ILLINOIS. 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  effects  of  cross- 
working  varieties  on  allied  but  widely  differing 
stocks.  For  instance— some  8  years  since  I 
worked  the  Anger's  Quince  on  the  Juneberry 
(Shad  or  Service)  about  4  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  Quince  grew  well  and  soon  commenced 
bearing,  and  has  born  nearly  every  year  since. 
But  being  in  an  apple  orchard  tho  apple  trees  have 
prevented  any  fair  developement  or  test.  The 
cross-working  has  seemed  to  make  the  q.iince  more 
hardy  tha  n  any  other  method  I  have  tried.  The 
pear  also  takes  moderately  well  on  that  stock 
and  I  think  should  be  worked  and  tested  on  that 
stock  for  the  North.  I  think  the  Juneberry 
is  among  the  very  hardiest  Northern  trees  or 
shrubs. 

On  the  Eur.  Mountain  Ash  stock  at  4  or  5 
feet  from  the  ground  we  had  perhaps  50  worked 
Hawthorns  that  made  fine  heads  with  shoots 
of  three  feet  or  more.  We  thougth  what  a  splen- 
did stock  to  work  Hawthorns  on  -as  there  were 
almost  no  failures.  But  the  Hawthorn  tops  all 
died  off-  last  winter  although  other  Hawthorns 
did  not— nor  did  the  Mountain  Ash  bottoms. 
Possibly  the  Hawthorns  may  have  grown  too  late! 
I  think  the  Mountain  Ash  root  is  being  consid- 
erably used  in  the  North  West  for  grafting  the 
pear  on.     A  few  sorts  only  do  well  on  it. 

I  wish  all  hands  would  go  to  work  to  get  up 
more  choice,  hardy  seedling  fruits  for  the  North 
West.  i 


,  are    both    impatient    of  bright   sunshine    and 

,  dryness,  which  makes  them  unsuitable  for  aen- 

I  eral  bedding  out  on  open  grounds,  upon  hi^h 

,  lands  and  inland  situations  ;    they   wither  up 

if  bedded  out  in  sunny  exposure.     In  the  cities 

of  New  lork,  Brooklyn  and  Jersey  City,  those 

Geraniums  are  bedded  out  largely  in  sunny  expo- 

sures,  and  flourish  admirably.     I  saw  them  last 

August,  all    in   full    luxuriance, -not  a    plant 

had  a   withered    or   sun-scorched    leaf.     I   at 

once  perceived  that  the  humid  atmosphere  from 

the  surrounding  waters  was  the  cause  of  the 

prosperous  growth  of  the  plants. 

Celery,  which  has  to  be  grown  in  furrows  and 
trenches,  on  high  lands,  and  in  inland  situations 
IS  transplanted  upon  the  level  ground  in  rows' 
from  thirty  inches  to  three   feet  apart,  around 
New   York  and    Jersey  City,  and  it  flourishes 
admirably.      All  along  the   wayside,  from   the 
old    town   of  Jersey   City   to   Bergen   district, 
the   large  fields   were  covered    with  celery  so 
planted.      And  in  August,  the  crops  were  as 
green  and  flourishing,  as  ours  around  Philadel- 
phia are  in  October  and  November.     But  there 
the  salt  marshes  spread  up  to  near  the  fields' 
and  the  vapors  arising  from  the  marshes  durin<^ 
sunny  days,  fall  down   upon   the  celery  cropl 
during  the  night,  and  so  refresh  them,  to  pro- 
mote their  thrifty  growth.     Could  any  system  of 
irrigation  be  more  perfect  ? 


*•■•> 


WHAT  I  KNOW  OF  POINSETTA. 


ATMOSPHERIC    INFLUENCE    UPON 
VEG^EPATION. 

BY  WALTER  ELDER,    PHILA. 

That  class  of  *'Zonale  Geraniums  '»  whose 
peculiar  attraction  lies  in  the  beautiful  variega- 
tions of  their  leaves,  consisting  o[  zones,  or  rings 
of  various  hues,  and  are  so  very  conspicuously 
ornamental  in  the  glass-houses,  and  the  other 
class  called  *' golden,"  whose  leaves  are  of  vari- 
ous hues  of  yellow  and  greenish-yellow,  and  are 
exceedingly    beautiful    in    glass-house    culture 


BY  R.    BUIST,    ROSEDALE,    PIIILA. 

On  landing  in  Philadelphia  in  1828,  I  paid  a 
visit  to  the  then  famous  *'Bartram'  Botanic 
Garden,"  and  there  saw,  just  arrived  ftom  Mexi- 
co in  two  boxes,  a  few  stumps  of  remarkable 
looking  plants,  sent  by  the  late  Hon.  I.  R  Poia- 
sett  of  South  Carolina,  then  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary at  the  Court  of  Mexico.  They  were 
described  as  something  of  the  most  brilliant 
character. 

After  I  became  located,  I  made  a  small  invest- 
ment in  a  few  plants,  propagated  and  flowered 
to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  sent  a  plant  to  Mr 
McNab,  my  valued  friend  of  the  Royal  Botanic 
Gardens  of  Edinburg,  and  other  establishments 
under  the  name  of  Euphorbia  Poinsetta,  with  a 
description  of  its  grand  crimson  bractea,  which 
had  been  grown  under  my  culture  to  twenty-two 
inches  in  diameter. 


'»«.. 


'1      L- 


SS6 


THE   GARDEJVER'S   MOJVTHLY.    J^ovember, 


1873. 


I? 


'f 


[,  'I 


v-* 


At  a  breakfast  party  with  tlie  late  Sir  Wm. 
Hooker,  in  Glasgow,  the  subject  of  the  extraor- 
dinary plant  came  up.     The  very  amiable  lady 
of  the  professor  chided  me   for  practicing  such 
extravagant  Jonathanisms  upon  them.   ''prof. 
Graham  figured  it  in  the  Botanical  Magazine, 
Plate  3493,  established  a  new  genus,  and  honored 
Mr.    Poinsett,    viz:      Poinsetta     Pulcherrima, 
(Gra.) ;  Euphorbia  Poinsetta,  (Buist's  M.  S.  S  ) 
Thus  you  have  its  introduction,  and  its  sube- 
quent  culture  by  the  tens  of  thousands  in  this 
country  and  Europe  for  bouquet  makers,  winter 
decoration,  &c.     When  under  good  culture  it 
stands  unrivalled.     What  will  now  be  said  of  a 
double  Poinsetta? 

On  a  tour  a  short  time  ago  through  the 
grounds  of  Mr.  Isaac  Buchanan,  the  millionnaire 
florist  of  :N'ew  York,  he  drew  me  towards  two 
plants  of  familiar  outline  ;  but  on  inspection  I 
discovered  a  plant  entirely  new  to  me.     Is  this 


a  double  Euphorbia?    It  is,  was  the  reply  for 
which  I  paid  o»e  thousand  dollars  in  cash.      ' 

The  saddle-like  foliage  has  a  more  graceful 
outline  than  the  present  Poinsetta,  the  nerves 
of  deeper  purple,  the  petiole  (footstalk),  has  two 
erect  horns  of  about  one-forth  inch  in  height 
surrounded  by  two  glands  (a  unique  character)' 

The  dried  specimen  of  flower  before  me,  shows 
a  bunch  of  towering  crescent-like  bracts  about 
ten  inches  in  height,  and  apparently  has  been  a^ 
wide,  forming  a  dense  crimson  cone  upon  the 
top  of  each  shoot.     When  this  plant  gets  under 
the  hands  of  expert  cultivators,  it  will,  I  pre- 
sume, form  a  pyramid  twenty  inches  high,  and  as 
much    in  width,  surpassing  every    plant  now 
known  for  table  ornament  and  general  bouquet 
making  ;  and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  but  in 
the  hands  of  a  botanical  professor,  it  will  be 
made  a  new  species,  eclipsing  every  thing  that 
we  have  at  the  present  time. 


EDITOEIAL. 


TRAVELING  RECOLLECTIONS. 
Long  before  the  child  knows  the  use  of  money, 
it  has  an  eye  for  beauty  ;  and  when  it  becomes 
a  man,  he  tolls  for  wealth,  and  honor,  and  fame, 
—not  for  mere  renown,  but  that  he  may  cast  all 
at  Leauty's  feet,  or  sacrifice  the  whole  to  beauty 
m  some  of  her  various  forms.  The  higher  his 
culture,  the  deeper  lies  this  beauty  worship. 
Now  he  prostrates  himself  before  some  ideal  of 
personal  attraction,  fascinated  by  beauties  of 
mmd  or  person,  and  all  he  has  is  hers ;  and 
again  it  may  be  fine  horses,  fine  pictures,  sweet 
music,  lovely  houses  or  grounds. 

There  are  men  whom  beauty  will  not  move 
but  they  are  scarcely  men.  They  toil  on,  and 
work.  It  is  all  the  same  to  them  whether  it  is 
sunshine  or  shade.  They  heed  not  the  sin^ina 
bird,  nor  care  whether  the  flower  blows.  Furies 
may  shout,  storms  may  rage,  desolation  may 
reign  supreme  ;  still  there  are  some  to  whom  ail 
this  IS  paradise,  if  only  the  percentage  be  larc^e 
enough,  and  the  bank  account  daily  swelfs. 
*ew  who  are  men,  as  God  made  man,  envv 
lives  like  these,-leas^.  of  all  do  horticultur- 
ists envy  them,  for  we  feel  that  the  bsauty. 


I  which  for  years  many  toil,  or  even  spend  most 
of  their  lives  to  earn,  is  ours  daily  as  we  go 
along.     In  most  communities  the  warrior's  posi- 
tion has  been  held  a  noble  one  ;   but  he  fights 
only  that  his  country  may  have  peace  from  sup- 
posed foreign  foes,  and  all  the  inhabitants  may 
enjoy  the  loveliness  which  peace  brinors.     The 
statesman  labors  to  the  end  that  the^reatest 
good  may  come  to  the  greatest  number ;  and 
with  the  greatest  good  the  love  of  beauty  flows. 
The  man  of  science  labors-oftentimes  for  mere 
abstract  truth  ;  but  he  loves  to  reflect  that  there 
IS  utility  at  the  back  of  all,  and  that  every  added 
fact  of  science  is  to  make  all  the  world  more 
ovely  and  beautiful  in  other  hands,  if  not  direct- 
ly by  his  own.     No  one  ever  tires  of  beauty. 
When  one  has  once  caught  the  inspiration,  it  is 
astonishing  how  it  abounds.     In  sky,  on  earth, 
m  sunshine  and  under  cloud,  there  is  beauty 
everywhere.     For  ourselves  we  are  never  lost 
for  an  object  to  admire.     If  we  were  doomed  to 
spend  our  lives  within  the  boundaries  of  a  ten 
acre  lot,  so  long  as  it  had  birds  and  flowers-the 
green  sod  below  and  the  every  varying  heavens 
above,  we  could  be  content. 
For  all    this,    when    one   fine  day  in  July, 


TBH    GARDEJ^EWS    MOJVTHLY. 


337 


our  good  bro  her  Williams  of  the  ^orticuZ^unX  the  details,  and  anticipate  the  pleasure  which 
asked  the  editor  to  make  one  of  a  party  to  exam-  this  minor  variety  gives.  It  is  r  ot  so  w  tirr  ver 
ine  the  beauties  ot  the  far  South  and  West,  he  i  views.  No  two  are  alike-each  has  characters 
gave  his  consent ;  and  heartily  sacrificing  to  the  i  exclusively  its  own.  For  all  this  a  first  view  of 
impious  imps  of  the  printing  office;  in  order  to  the  Susquehanna  always  excites  the  admiration 
bribe  them  to  quietness  for  a  couple  of  months,  :  of  the  most  experienced  traveler.  Only  that 
he  found  himself  on  the  15th  of  July  allowed  ;  beauty  must  have  been  a  leading  element  of 
five  seconds  to  bid  adieu  to  wife  and  T.  M.,  |  creation,  such  a  boundless  waste  of  water  never 
jumor,  and  board  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  |  would  hav3  had  an  existence.  A  mile  wide 
tram,   which   went    dashing  from    New    York  I  here  a  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  ex- 

n'Z.      TK     u''^^  ^f  '^'  '^''  ^^  ^"'^^  "^'^^^  i  *"°^^°^  ^^^'^  ^^^'  P^^1^^P«^  three  hundred  miles 
an  hour      The    'India  '  was  a  beautiful  coach  |  into  the  country,  yet  abounding  w  th  rocks  and 

to  travel  in,  but  it  was  some  time  before  this  |  ledges,  and  entirely  unnavigable  throach  its 
could  be  fully  appreciated,  seeing  that  there  were  |  whole  course.  Beautifully  wooded  islands  abound 
some  thirty  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  |  and  have  furnished  materials  to  many  a  romance 
to  be  future  companions  and  friends,  to  exchange  |  writer  ;  and  the  hills  on  either  side  clothed  with 
greetings  with.  Some  it  had  already  been  our  \  a  luxurious  forest  vegetation,  leaves  nothin-  for 
good    fortune    to    travel     with.       There     was  :  the  imagination  to  wish  for 


our  good  Father  Clift,  whose  welcoming  shout 
of  "here  comes  our  glorious  old  heretic,"  was 
heard  before  the  car  door  closed  on  the  bellow- 
ing roar  of  the  engine  outside.  There  was  "daily 
rural  life  "  of  the  Ilural  New  Yorker,  who   not 


Our  party,  however,  was  not  all  sentiment. 
Observing  one  wrapped  in  deep  meditation  at  a 
window  as  the  car  went  over  the  bridge,  we 
joined  him  in  order  to  share  with  him  the  deep 
poetic  feeling  we  knew  was  swelling  in  his  breast; 


withstandiDghis  octogenarian  lendenoies,  looked  but  was  somewhat  fciken  aback  when  pointln.^ 
oLh^^r  ""^  \  °T  "•'?  ""^  ^^^  •"■"'P'"'  "*■  *°  '  '°  *  '"''''  °^  g^^-^n  l>"«h«s  «"  the  water's  edge" 
nlrhL^rn  .K,?^^.**  ■''''"'"' °^"^'^'  ''■^'^""'^•='*""'^'^'  "^  ^^  wishi  had  some  of  those 
h^fwTr  I  rf  ^""''"^ '"' ^''"°" '°°'^- '  P"P^^^  '"  ^^*'they  are  quite  as  good  to  «y 
ing  wife  at  h.s  s.de  for  so  many  weeks;  for  be  it  .  taste  as  the  best  West  Indian  bananas."  We 
known  to  the  outside  world,  an  editor  who  faith-  '  wished  he  had,  and  went  away 

to  Mnk  7rv"!f  """"'  ^lu""  'V'  ''  *'  '""""'  ^^^  i  ^^"^  ^'^^^  ""^  "^«'  ^'  »»<=«'''"  crossing,  and 
to  stick    ohis  den  worse  than  the  sorriest  bache-  !  run  southwest  towards  York,  one  of  the  most 

name  nf  ?r  ,"v"'^  -.1  1  ''  ^"""'""^  '°  '^'  '  '^""'''^  '"'^"^  >°  Pennsylvania,  and  well  known 
name  of  the  thln.^    Then  there  was  Fuller  and  ,  to  our  readers  as  the  locale  of  tlie  extensive  nur- 

Tlnri!-  »f/"ll  •'',  l^l  f  ^r  ^'"■'^""  "''"^y  ■  '"'*'  °f  ^-  J  ^^""^  *  Co,  The  whole  of  this  ride 
to  look  after  the  old  folks   (how  he  shamefully  ne-  ,  is  one  of  great  beauty.     The  land  in  this  part  of 

elected  which  duty  the  Rural  New  Yorker  ought  '  the  country  is  so  rich,  that  it  produces  timber 

IdS'^RLI^Trh'p?''  "rr''''"'r''"'-'°^"'"'"'''"*°'  proportions,  while  the  hill-sides 
ed  to    Rural'  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  and  other    are  so  steep  and   rocky,  that   it  will  never  be 

m!^vi'r"T'  ^^'•^'•t'^":,J«"«'"'''«>«">er  ladies  of  I  used  for  anything  else  but  timber  purposes;  so 
horary  fame;  and  by  the  lime  we  had  got  through  ;  that  if  forests  are  the  greatest  conservators  of 
wi  h  their  friendly  exchanges,  found  ourselves  climate,  the  great  keystone  of  the  Union  will 
well  on  towards  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  always  be  as  she  is  now,  one  of  the  healthiest 
soon  were  crossing  the  bridge  of  over  a  mile  in  \  and  best  blocks  in  the  national  arch  At  York 
length,  recent  y  built  by  the  Pennsylvania  Rail-  .  our  engine,  which  was  new  and  had  worked  so 
road  m  the  place  of  the  one  destroyed  during  poorly  as  to  put  us  an  hour  behind  time,  was 
the  war,  when  the  Southern  army  made  its  ap-  ;  changed  ;  and  we  sped  on  at  an  enormous  rate, 
pearance  at  Ihewcstern  end.  ,  hardly  noting  when  we  passed  Ilnnover  Junction 

Ihere  is  nothing  so  varied  in  the  world,  as  j  the  jumping  off  place  for  Gettysburg  butashort 
river  scenery.  We  travel  over  thousands  of  i  distance  away.  From  Hanover  junction  we  --o 
n.iles  of  land,  and  the  details  seepi  very  much    south  again,  striking  the  Gunpowder  River,  and 


alike.  Here  it  is  flat,  there  undulating,  and  now 
perhaps  mountains.  We  know  pretty  much 
before  we  come  to  a  land  scene,  what  the  gen- 
eral features  are  to  be.     We  look  for  novelty  in 


at  the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour,  timed  by  the 
writer's  watch  against  the  mile  jioles,  we  soon 
came  within  a  short  distance  of  the  city  of  Balti- 
more.    The  entrance  to  most  cities  is  through 


1 

'1 


338 


THE    GARDE J^EKS   MOJ^TELY,    JVovembe, 


137  3. 


suburbs,  characterized  by  all  sorts  of  vile  odors 
and  miserable  scenes.  Here  we  run  through  a 
beautiful  park,  containing  lovely  lakes  which 
serve  the  double  purpose  of  feeding  waterworks 
and  aiding  in  a  beautiful  picture;  and  indeed  this 
is  all  we  see  of  Baltimore,  for  after  passing  this 
we  enter  the  "•  big  tunnel,"  and  leave  the  famous 
old  city  overhead.  A  short  cut  by  way  of  the 
Relay  House,  brings  us  to  Washington,  making 
the  time  from  Kew  York  less  than  nine  hours. 
The  number  of  miles  is  greater  than  by  any 
other  route,  but  the  tunnel  saves  an  hour  usually 
spent  in  horsing  through  Baltimore  ;  and  then 
the  excellent  manner  in  which  the  Pennsylvania 
Company  makes    its    road-beds,    enables    fast 

f 


,  time  to  be  made  with  entire  safety.  The  great 
beauty  of  the  scenery  will  always  make  it  a 
favorite  line  of  public  travel. 

To  make  connection  for  our  southern  trip,  we 
had  no  more  time  in  Washington  than  to  note 
the  wonderful  change  which  is  being  made,  and 
which  is  turning  one  of  the  most  old  fashioned 
into  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the 
Union.  It  is  pleasant  to  note  that  the  capital  of 
the  country  is  being  rendered  worthy  of  its 
name.  From  here,  by  the  kindness  of  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  railroad,  we  took  cars  for  Harper's 
Ferry,  where  our  sleeper  was  switched  off,  and 
we  halted  for  the  night,  to  begin  our  journey 
proper  the  next  morning. 


SCHAPS   AND     UUERIES. 


^j  Correct  Name  of  the  Mammoth  Tree.— 
"C.  is  puzzled  to  know  the  correct  botanical 
name  of  the  Mammoth  Tree.  It  has  various 
names  with  different  writers.  What  is  its  right 
name  ?  »»  Most  botanists  use  Sequoia  giganUa; 
but  as  this  name  was  originally  intended  for  a 
kind  of  spruce,  some  think  it  ought  not  to  be 
again  used  for  another  plant ;  and  these  call  it 
Sequoia  WelUngtonia,  But  this  re-use  of  a  drop- 
ped name  is  not  uncommon.  We  should  say 
S.  gigantea  is  the  correct  name. 


years  ago,  Mrs.  B.  has  kept  the  business  going 
very  successfully.  In  tastefully  arranged  cut 
flowers  and  ferns,  the  greenhouses  have  a  good 
reputation. 


Essay  of  Mr.  Milton's.— The  editor  not 
seeing  the  proof  before  going  to  press  on  this  oc- 
casion, makes  the  following  corrections  necessary: 
"In  last  month's  number  of  the  Monthly,  the 
following  mistakes  occur  in  the  article  on  '  Adi- 
antums,'  owing  most  probably  to  my  indistinct 
manner  of  writing:  ^rth  Easton,  Pa.,  should 
be  JS-orth  Easton,  Mass.;  A.  fulaum,  A.  fulvum, 
and  A.  trapeziforme  variety  Lanctw  Catherinae, 
A.  trapeziforme  variety  Sanctoe  Catherinse. 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  Milton. '» 

Double  Calla  :ETHi0PiCA.-Mr8.  Mary 
Bissett  sends  us  a  Calla  with  two  flowers,  one 
withm  the  other,  from  the  same  flower  stem, 
ihis  happens  only  once  in  a  while  in  the  Calla 
and  always  interests  students  of  morphologv 
when  seen.  ^"^ 

Since  Mr.  James  Bissett's  decease,  some  three 


A  Beautiful  Letter.— The  Pennsylvania 
Horticultural  Society,  not  forgetting  that  its 
mission  is  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  horticulture  in 
the  community,  frequently  admits  schools  free  to 
its  exhibition.  The  following  pretty  letter  of 
thanks  comes  from  children  to  the  President, 
who  will  tell  their  own  story  : 

* 'Institute  for  Deaf  and  Mutes,  ) 
Philadelphia,  September  18,  1873.  J 

"William  L.  Schaffer,  Esq., 

"Dear  Sir :— We,  the  pupils  of  this  Institution, 
having  enjoyed  a  pleasant  visit  to  the  exhibition 
now  open  at  your  hall,  greatly  desire  to  express 
our  gratitude  for  your  kindness  in  inviting  us  to 
do  80.  The  visit  not  only  afforded  us  a  source 
of  pleasure,  but  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of  our 
minds,  and  enables  us  to  feel  that  our  knowledge 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom  has  been  very  much 
extended,  for  which  we  are  truly  grateful.  The 
delicious  fruits  of  different  sizes  and  varieties* 
spoke  loudly  of  the  fertility  of  the  States  from 
which  thejc  were  brought ;  and  the  flowers,  so 
lovely  and  fragrant  and  neatly  wrought  into 
garlands  and  wreaths,  made  everything  around 
look  beautiful,  and  gave  to  the  air  the  sweetest 
odors.     The  Hamburg  grapes  struck  our  curiosi- 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


339 


ty  more  than  any  other  kind ;   they  were  the 
largest  we  ever  saw. 

"Besi'Jes  the  interest  we  took  in  examinincr  the 
fruits  and  flowers,  we  do  not  forget  the  plants, 
of  which  there  were  so  many  kinds  that  it  was 
impossible  for  us  to  remember  the  names  of  all 
Our  principal  and  teachers  kindly  made  us 
acquainted  with  several  large  ones,  which  de- 
lighted  us  very  much.      We  have   often  seen 


Peaches  ik  Michioan.-D.  D.  Waters, 
Jisq.,  gave  aa  interesting  discourse  on  peach 
culture  at  Grand  Bapids  in  December  last  before 
the  Michigan  Pomological  Society.  They  seem 
to  bear  there  as  abundantly  and  with  about  the 
same  regularity  as  in  the  Middle  States.  He 
speaks  of  the  vicinity  of  Spring  Lake.  Here 
Early  York  mildews,  Morris  White  is  of  inferior 
size,  and  Smock  is  too  late.     His  choice  are 


ferns  in  the  >^o..uy:^^cz::i:  :z  :zXu^::i:^^^^^         r-v^^ 

wh^hwesawat  your  exhibition,  either  in  size    l^r...aj^tl^^^^^^^^^ 


or  beauty. 
"  Besides  the  fruits,  plants,  flowers,  and  all  we 


Hill's  Chili,  also  called  Stareley's  Late.    In  cul- 
ture he  advocates  a  thoroughly  clear  surface. 


saw   wedidnotforget^otirr-^s^ryTf   T^rpL^^^^^^^^^^^ 

the  building;  and  while  doing  so,  observed  that  i  hog-^n    makes  one  o?  tL    h    .      abandoned 

ryer  r  tirirc^iS^tiid^^:  i  o£r-  -  F  --«Sa^c:S: 


afforded  a  good  place  for  observing  all  that  was 
going  on  below. 

"  N-ow  that  we  are  so  well  pleased  with  our  visit 
this  time,  we  sincerely  hope  that  if  we  ever 
enjoy  such  a  pleasure  again,  we  may  not  be  less 
gratified,  and  be  assured  that  we  will  never 
forget  the  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  you,  our 
kind  benefactor. 

Gratefully  yours, 
Gertrude  B.  Smith,        Lizzie  Barstow 
Bridget  Hughes,  Luella  H.  Little 

Carrie  M.  Crease,  Maria  L.  Hess, 

In  behalf  of  the  pupils. »» 


The  prices  of  peaches  there  was  from  ^1.00  to 
.75  per  basket. 


Chilopsis  linearis. -a  Dallas,  Texas,  cor- 
respondent says  :      **  I  have  Chilopsis  linearis 
(Don.)    growing.      It    blooms  in    midsummer 
grows  6  to  12  feet  high,  and  is  called  Willow 
Leaved  Catalpa,  from  shape  and  color  of  flowers 
Blossomed  this  season  from  cuttings.     Its  only 
objection  is,  that  like  the  Buddleya,  it  becomes 
disfigured  by  old  flower  stems.     Otherwise  verv 
ornamental." 


Fruit  in  Northwestern  Pennsylvania 
~A  correspondent  from  Mercer  County  says  • 
''We  have  four  acres  in  vineyards,  and  some  of 
the  finest  grapes  this  season  that  ever  I  have 
seen.     Been  very  busy  for  the  last  three  weeks 
and  will  be  for  two  weeks  yet  in  picking  and 
shipping  away  grapes.     We  had  a  fair  crop  of 
apples  and  pears.    Would  have  liked  to  sent  you 
a  lot  of  our  apples  for  the  Horticultural  Fair 
Philadelphia,  but    had  not  time  to  get  them 
ready.»'  ^ 


Early  Beatrice  Peach.- Jfr.  Myers, 
Bridgeport,  Delaware,  gives  us  the  followincr 
account :  -  In  a  former  number  of  the  Monthly 
you  ask  for  information  about  the  Early  Beatrice 

''Having  understood  that  it  was  in  fruiting  in 
Halifax  County,  North  Carolina,  I  visited  that 
county  last  June.  I  found  a  Mr.  Bellis  shipping 
the  fruit  June  25th.  The  fruit  was  small  to 
medium  size,  well  colored,  and  free  from  rot 
Even  the  fruit  stung  by  Curculio  did  not  show 

"  In  passing  over  the  orchard  several  times  I 
saw  but  four  as  fine  peaches  of  either  Earlv 
Beatrice  or  Early  Louise,  rotting.  Five  or 
more  thousand  of  different  ages,  from  two  to 
three  years,-a  few  I  think  older-all  had  fruit 
on  Had  born  a  crop  the  year  previous.  Had 
not  had  very  good  attention  last  year.  The 
former  owner  having    failed,   Mr.    Bellis    will 

T  !^?  i^  ^""^^  ^'^"'-      T^i«  <^^<^hard  was 
planted  by  Mr.  S.  Bilyou.    Mr.  Bilyou  has  done 
the  country  great  good   in  being  the  first   to 
make  known  these  valuable  peaches. 
''Mr.  Bellis  was  shipping  the  Beatrice,  at  the 

Fuller  &  Pullen,  146  West  Washington  Market 
to  go  and  see  in  what  condition  the  fruit  arrived' 
directing  by  mark  on  crates  sent  by  Mr  b' 
Messrs^  F.  &  P.  wrote  me  the  fruit  arrived  in 
fine  order,  and  selling  at  S4.50  to  $5.00  per  box 
Boxes  not  over  |  in.  scant ;  that  should  suffice' 
A  few  days  later,  received  another  letter  from 


41 


S40 


THE    GARDE J\rER'S   MONTHLl.    Movemher. 


187 S 


THE    GARDENER'S   MOJVTELY. 


341 


1^ 

I 

if 
S 


I.'! 

i:i 
■1 

is 


1 


F.  &  P.,  sayinj;  fruit  came  in  good  order.  One 
crate,  larger  fruit  than  others,  brought  $8.00.  A 
few  days  since  T  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Bellis,  saying  his  Beatrice  paid  him  $1.00  net  a 
crate  better  than  any  other  kind.  And  he  says 
he  picked  the  last  Beatrice  twenty  days  after  he 
commenced ;  and  the  fruit  then  was  in  good 
order.  I  consider  it  the  most  valuable  peach  in 
the  world,  he  says. 

'*  I  brought  with  me  a  small  basket  of  the 
fruit,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  B.  I  kept  a 
few  of  them  up  to  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day, 
irhen  children  got  to  the  basket  and  ate  them. 
Were  in  good  condition  on  that  morning.  I 
placed  a  few  in  the  show-case  of  D.  F.  Ball  & 
Son's  store,  one  of  them  keeping  fourteen  days. 
Hale's  Early,  picked  at  the  same  time,  rotted  in 
a  day  or  two.  Hale's  was  rotting  on  trees  side 
by  side  of  Beatrice,  and  at  least  twelve  to 
twenty  days  in  ripening.  Early  Louise  is  larger 
than  Beatrice.  I  should  consider  them  enor- 
mous bearers.  Never  saw  young  trees  so  loaded. 
The  fruit  is  a  beautiful  light  straw-color— pink 
cheek  next  sun.  I  think  the  Louise  of  very 
high  quality,  and  from  what  I  saw,  consider  it 
the  second  best  very  early  peach  known :  in  fact 
I  am  not  sure  but  it  may  be  placed  ahead  of  all 
others.  Ripening  as  it  does,  but  a  few  days 
later  than  Beatrice,  and  appeared  entirely  free 
from  rot.  Part  of  the  fruit  I  kept  nine  days  was 
of  that  variety.  In  conclusion,  I  would  say  I 
think  the  world  is  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  T. 
Rivers,  of  England,  for  introducing  some  of  the 
most  valuable  very  early  peaches  ever  known.  "•' 


Persimons.— Some  one  without  explanation 
sends  us  a  box  of  excellent  persimons.  TVe  ate 
them,  and  wished  for  more.  They  were  first 
class  persimons,  and  in  striking  contrast  with 
those  which,  in  conjunction  with  onions,  some 
hypocritical  people  use  at  funerals,  according  to 
some  "reliable  gentlemen,''  though  not  of  the 
*'old  school." 


Late  Peaches.— Mr.  L.  Blodgett  sends  a 
box  of  fine  specimens.  The  yellow  freestone  re- 
ferred to  was  especially  fine  in  size  and  flavor. 

"  I  am  not  fortunate  in  showing  fruit,  but  I 
have  never  failed  to  produce  for  my  family  and 
my  friends,  an  abundant  supply  of  such  peaches 
as  I  send  you  to-day,  for  the  entire  season  from 
August  15th  to  the  last  days  of  October. 

"  These  are  four  of  No.  3,  which  I  regard  as  the 
first  peach  for  its  season,  (Oct.  Ist  to  20th)  I  ever 


saw.  I  have  four  trees  of  this  variety,  bearinfj 
in  1871  and  1872  about  twenty-five  bushels  each 
year,  and  this  year  about  three  bushels.  The 
White  Melting  peaches  and  Yellow  October 
Clings,  were  more  abundant  this  year.  Enclose 
four  peaches  of  the  Yellow  October  Cling,  No. 
11,  of  my  list  of  seedlings." 


ToucHrNG  Names  of  Cherries  and  Other 
Fruits.— J)f/\  F,  R.  Elliott  writes:  Thank 
you  I  Here  you  are,  my  good  energetic  public 
friend  of  all  connected  with  rural  life— even  to 
the  skimming  and  thinning  down  of  superfluity  of 
nomenclature.  I  read  your  calm  and  judicious 
notes  touching  the  name  of  "  Caroon^^  for  a  spe- 
cial name  or  designation  for  a  distinct  variety, 
but  confess  I  fail  to  see  your  substantiation. 
Can  you  make  the  Caroon  from  any  reliable  re- 
cord other  than  the  old  Merry  or  Mazzard,  giv- 
ing to  it  as  you  must  or  should,  the  position  of 
growth,  soil,  location,  etc. ;  and  have  you  not, 
when  completed,  the  type  parent  of  the  Black 
Heart  of  the  book  list  description  ?  I  have 
no  desire  to  touch  the  matter,  for  I  am  done 
with  pomology.  What  I  know  I  know  ;  but  it 
dont  pay  to  keep  up  a  hullabaloo  with  men  who 
have  each  an  axe  to  grind,  when  you  are  only 
working  for  the  public  good  and  correction  of 
names,  by  which  fruit  growers  shall  know  truly 
the  varieties  most  profitable  to  you. 

Here  in  your  *'foot  notes,"  friend  editor  of  Gar- 
dener s  Monthly,  you  have  a  man  giving  record 
of  the  Napoleon  as  Caroon,  and  you  seem  to  ac- 
cord with  him  " 

[Mr.  Elliott  seems  to  have  overlooked  the 
main  point  of  the  note  in  the  last  Monthly, 
which  was  to  show  that  the  Mazzard  was  not 
the  Merry  of  the  English  gardens.  The  Merry 
is  one  distinct  variety,  cultivated  and  propagated 
as  any  other  variety,  while  the  '*  Mazz.ird  ''com- 
prizes all  sorts  of  hardy  wildlings.  The  true 
Caroon  may  be  the  same  as  the  English  Merry  ; 
but  our  New  Jersey  correspondent,  and  we 
thank  him  for  the  information,  showed  pretty 
clearly,  we  think,  good  reason  for  supposing 
that  what  is  called  Caroon  by  eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  Jersey,  is  the  Napoleon  Bigga-, 
reau. 


Culture  of  Fruit  Trees.— C.  J,  i?..  Rich- 
ford,  Tioga  County,  New  York,  writes  :  "  I  have 
been  for  thirty  years  a  close  student  of  horticul- 
ture; and  besides  being  a  cultivator  of  fruits 
myself,  have  watched    the    general    course  of 


other  fruit  growers,  and  the  result  is  to  make  it 
seem  truly  strange,  that  any  *  level  headed ' 
fruit  grower  should  advocate  plowing  each  year 
among  fruit  trees.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  spite 
of  the  observation  that  they  do  best  in  grass, 
the  most  cursory  examination  of  the  roots  would 
show  that  the  small  feeders  are  all  very  close  to 
the  surface,  where  the  most  nourishment  is." 


Timber  Trees  for  Kansas.— A  correspon- 
dent makes  the  following  inquiries :  May  I 
trouble  you  to  inquire  about  the  value  of  some 
trees  that  I  am  wanting  to  try  ?  1st.  Can  you 
tell  me  anything  of  the  value  of  the  Southern 
Yellow  Piae  [Plnm  Mitts)  for  planting  as  a 
forest  tree  in  this  latitude  ?  and  can  it  be  started 
easier  than  the  Northern  Pines  ?  I  want  to 
plant  some  of  the  seed,  and  perhaps  some  young 
plants  next  spring,  but  I  shall  go  light  about  it 
unless  I  can  feel  pretty  sure  that  it  will  be  a 
valuable  tree  here. 

2d.  What  do  you  think  of  the  Deciduous  Cy- 
press for  this  latitude,  where  we  have  water  at 
4  to  10  feet  below  the  surface  ? 

3d.  Can  you  tell  me  anything  about  the  value 
of  the  Blue  Ash  as  a  forest  tree  ?  The  White 
Ash  does  not  please  me  here.  The  tree  is  small 
and  the  timber  poor,  and  the  "green  ash," 
which  is  native  here,  is  not  much  better. 

[(1).  One  '•  Southern  Yellow  Pine  "  is  Pinus 
palustria  sometimes  also  called  the  long  leaved 
Yellow  Pine,  and  is  the  timber  from  which  floor- 
board is  made  This  would  not  do  well  in  Kan- 
sas. Pinus  mitis,  another  yellow  pine,  would 
be  hardy  in  Kansas,*  but  whether  or  not  it 
would  do  well  as  a  timber  tree  is  a  matter  for 
experiment.  Is  there  any  trees  of  it  of  any  size 
in  the  State  ?  We  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  is  the  largest.  The  timber  is  excellent  if 
it  will  do  well.  The  plants  are  not  raised  as 
easily  from  seed  as  northern  species. 

(2).  The  Deciduous  Cypress  ought  to  do  well 
in  the  situation  described.  Perhaps  even  better 
than  in  the  South.  Though  naturally  found  in 
*' swamps,'' it  does  not  like  the  locality,  and 
prefers  dryer  ground  in  spite  of  the  orders  of 
nature. 

(3).  The  Blue  Ash  will,  without  much  doubt, 
do  better  than  the  White  Ash  in  Kansas  We 
have  seen  them  together  in  the  woods  of  Ohio 
and  Indiana,  always  to  the  advantage  of  the 
Blue  Ash.  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that 
the  White  Ash  Fi-axinus  Americani  is  more 
variable  than  any  other  American  tree  except, 


perhaps,  Celtis  occidentalis.  The  variations 
used  to  puzzle  the  botanists  of  the  past  age,  and 
thus  we  had  F.  lutea,  F.  epiptera,  and  F.  acu- 
minata, which  are  now  admitted  as  the  same ; 
and  F.  pubescens,  which,  though  regarded  by 
Gray  and  others  as  a  good  species,  is  not,  we 
think,  more  than  a  form,  and  not  a  very  decided 
orm  of  F.  Americana.  It  is  when  the  forms 
approach  F.  pubescens  that  the  White  Ash  is 
a  worthless  timber  tree.  The  forms  "at  the 
other  end  "  are  just  the  reverse.] 


Climate  of  Chestertown,  Maryland.— 
Massey  &  Hudson  say  :  "  Frost  holds  off  well 
here,  and  we  are  getting  an  abundance  of  stock 
for  bedding  plants  from  the  open  ground  yet 
(October  14). 

Our  locality  is  peculiarly  exempt  from  early  frost 
in  autumn.  Three  years  ago  geraniums  lived 
and  bloomed  in  our  garden  until  December  15th. 
This  Peninsula  is  too  little  known  North. 
Would  be  glad  to  see  some  editors  and  publish- 
ers here." 


Patrons  of  Husbandry.— Mr.  Saunders 
—Correction.— Tn  October  number,  page  299, 
line  15,  I  am  made  to  say  "  Hon.  W.  Saunders 
has,  etc,  whereas  my  copy  read  'had.'  The 
drift  of  this  article  pre-supposes  that  I  did  not 
mean  to  use  has,  inasmuch  as  I  am  speaking 
of  what  occurred  in  the  past.  A  mere  cursory- 
reading  of  that  part  might  make  me  seem  to  de- 
sire to  do  an  injustice  to  Mr  Saunders,  for  which 
purpose  I  would  have  no  right,  nor  would  the 
editor  allow  me  so  to  use  the  columns  of  the 
Monthly.    By  allowing  me  the  correction,  oblige, 

G.  W.  Thompson. 
[On  looking  over  Mr.  Thompson's  article,  we 
note  thit  it  might  possibly  be  construed  into  the 
meaning,  that  Mr.  Thompson  imputed  to  Mr. 
Saunders  the  motives  referred  to.  This  was  not 
his  intention,  nor  did  we  understand  it.  Mr. 
Thompson  was  referring  to  this  malicious  ru- 
mor—combatting, not  endorsing  it,— and  our 
remarks  were  intended  as  aiding  Mr.  Thompson 
in  his  effort.  We  supposed  every  body  under- 
stood this  ;  but  as  we  see  there  is  a  possibility  of 
the  misconstruction,  in  justice  to  all  we  are 
thus  explicit. 

Since  the  above  was  written  we  have  a  note 
from  Mr.  S  lunders,  with  his  thanks  for  the  un- 
sought testimony  we  gav'>  in  his  behalf.  Mr.  S. 
reminds  us  that  before  the  order  of  Patrons  of 
Husbandry  was  talked  of,  he  had  the  offer  of  a 


S4^ 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY.   mvembe; 


1873. 


III 

r 


«t 


nomination  to  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  A^r. 
riculture,  and  that  he  positively  and  absolutefy 
dechned,  as  he  has  always  done.  Few  persons 
have  had  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
Mr,  Saunders  than  the  writer  of  this  ;  and  no 
one  can  more  fully  feel  the  injustice  of  the  sugges- 
tion that  he  ever  had  any  aspirations  to'lhe 
office,  much  less  used  his  position  to  further  the 
end. 


Horticulture  at  Salt  Lake. -in  refer- 
ence to  the  note  in  the  Gardener^s  Monthly  last 
month  that  the  bronze  medal  of  the  Pomological 
Society  was  awarded  to  the  Utah  collection  a 
correspondent  writes:  "We  were  a  little  sur- 
prised at  not  so  much  as  receiving  a  letter  of 
acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  the  fruits  we 
sent  to  Boston.  And  all  the  information  we 
have  received  as  yet,  has  been  throucrh  the 
Monthly.  ° 

"Mr.  J.  S.  Houghton  has  been  kind  enoucrh  to 
forward  to  me  extracts  of  proceedings  of  your 
Fair  in  Philadelphia.  Our  Fair  closed  on  the 
9th  mst.  My  time  has  been  taken  up  entirely 
with  the  business  of  the  Fair  for  the  last  two 
weeks.  Exhibition  of  fruits  was  not  as  large  as 
I  expected  it  would  be.  But  horses  and  horned 
stock  were  better  than  ever  before.  Financiallv 
It  was  a  success.  We  had  a  severe  frost 
two  weeks  ago  to-day,  (Oct.  11th)  which  spoiled 
our  Dahlias.  Cold  winds  visit  us,  and  warn 
us  that  winter  is  near." 


one   of   the  most  beautiful   things   possible   to 
grow  ;  but  we  know  no  one  who  has  a  plant  : 

"I  send  you  from  this  comparatively  new  coun- 
try, a  leaf  or  two  with  stem  of  plant  for  name. 
I  found  it  climbing  by  tendrils  to  trees,  and 
growing  about  fifteen  feet  high.  The  stem 
when  fresh,  looks  much  like  that  of  some  of  the 
white  moss  roses.  Vines  of  all  kinds  seem  to 
luxuriate  in  this  part  of  the  country,  though  I 
fear  for  my  favorites,  the  Fuchsias.  Probably 
the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  does  not  suit 
them." 


SMIL  AX  HISPID  a. -itfrs.  5.  E  N.  Corning 
South  West  lowa.-^We  give  above  the  name 
represented  in  the  following  note.  It  is  pleas- 
ant to  note  so  much  attention  drawn  to  our 
beautiful  native  climbers.  A  near  relative  to 
his,  growing  further  south,  Smilax  Walteri,  is 


Phylloxera  -Correction.  —Friend  Mee- 
han :  In  your  October  issue,  speaking  of  some 
remarks  of  mine  before  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  you  have  the  following,  the  italics 
being  mine : 

Prof.  Leidy  inquired  of  Mr.  Riley  the  true 
position  of  the  insect  in  scientific  classification ; 
Prof  Riley  replied  that  it  was  not  yet  well  settled.' 
Ifs  appearance  brought  it  somewhere  near  the 
aphids,  hut  it  did  not  have  successive  broods  from 
one  impregnation;  aphids  did.  In  this  respect 
it  approaches  coccus.  He  thought  it  between  the 
two  families. 

I  am  sure  I  said  no  such  foolish  thing.  What 
I  did  say  was  that  the  insect  belonged  to  the 
sub-order  Homoptera,  and  that  while  it  was  at 
present  classed  with  the  plant-lice  {Aphididce)  it 
bears  close  relation  to  the  bark-lice  (CoccidcB.) 
Phylloxera  multiplies  agamically  like  all  the 
Aphidid(E,  and  therefore  does  produce  successive 
broods  from  one  impregnation. 

Yours  truly, 

C.  V.  Riley. 


BOOKS,     CATALOGUES,    ETC. 


Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Secreta- 
ry OF  the  Connecticut  State  Board  of 
Agriculture. -From  T.  S.  Gold,  Secretary.- 
It  IS  the  misfortune  of  some  societies  to  publish 

reports,'*  which  soon  find  their  way  to  the  rag 
mills,  and  these  facts  have  had  a  tendency  to 
lower  the  public  estimation  of  reports  as  a  gene- 
ral thing.  It  is  a  misfortune,  as  many  of  them 
have  valuable  material,  and  are  well  worthy  of 


perusal  and  preservation.     This  volume  is  one 
of  this  class,  which  we  are  glad  to  receive. 


Randolph  Peters'  Catalogue,  Wilming- 
ton.—The  catalogues  of  our  nursery  friends  are 
always  very  welcome.  At  one  time  we  gave 
with  pleasure  brief  notices  of  them  ;  but  they 
came  in  such  shoals,  that  we  could  not  spare  the 
room.    Then  we  limited  them  to  a  mere  notice 


TEE    GARDEJVEWS   MOJVIBLY. 


34s 


of  the  name  of  the  firm  issuins:  them  ;  but  found 
if  we  did  justice  to  all,  that  would  take  a  couple 
of  pages.  To  pick  out  a  few  is  a  sort  of  fa- 
voritism, the  readers  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly 
have  too  nice  a  sense  of  fair  play  to  tolerate ; 
so  we  are  driven  to  the  course  of  noticing  only 
when  there  are  some  special  matter  of  public 
interest  to  refer  to.     Mr.  Peters'  cataloo^ue  con-  ' 


tains  more  news  about  peaches,  peach  varieties, 
and  peach  culture,  than  any  catalogue  we  have 
had  before  us  this  year. 


Sixth  Annual  Report  of  Ohio  State 
Horticultural  Society. -Contains  much  of 
interest  to  fruit  growers  of  Ohio.  The  Society 
seems  to  be  in  a  tolerably  flourishing  condition. 


NEW  ANT)   RARE   FRUITS. 


Kew  PEARS.-Frora  Ellwanger  &  Barry  we 
have  a  box  with  the  following  newer  varieties 
of  pears  :    Marie  Louise  d'  Uceles,  St.  Therese, 
Beurre  de  Ghelin,  Bonne  de  peuits  d'  Ausault 
Madam    Andre   Leroy,    Bon   Roi  Rene,  Court 
queue  d' Automne,  Henri  Desportes,  Napoleon 
III,  Bois  Kapoleon  (Bavay),  looks  like  Urbaniste: 
Beurre  Samoyeau,  Therese  Appert,  Duhamel  du 
Morceau,  Madam  Henri  Desport,  Sarah  (Clapp) 
Andrew,  St.  Crispin  (Andrew). 

It  it  said  there  has  not  been  much  improve- 
ment in  pears  of  late  years,  and  that  the  old  and 
well-known  kinds  are  good  enough  for  any  one. 
n  every  one  can  grow  these  as  E.  &  B.  grows 
them  there  surely  must  be  progress  In  size 
aiid  beauty  most  of  these  rival  our  best  known 
kinds,  and  most  of  them  equal  at  least  to  the 
average. 


The  Miles  Grape  is  by  no  means  a  *«  new  " 
grape,  yet  it  is  somewhat  rare  in  cultivation.  It  is 
now  some  years  since  we  heard  Mr.  John  Rutter 
and  Mr.  Josiah  Hoopes  speak  well  ©f  it.  This 
year  we  have  heard  it  spoken  well  of  in  several 
quarters.     It  is  small,  but  early  and  good. 

The  Champion  Grape. -This  is  a  new  clai- 
mant for  popular  favor,  said  to  be  ten  or  fifteen 
days  earlier  than  Hartford  Prolific.  It  is  re- 
markable that  whenever  any  novelty  is  to  be 
earlier  than  any  other  well  known  kind,  it  is 
generally  "  ten  or  fifteen  days'*  in  the  advance. 
Still,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  Champion  is 
really  a  promising  kind. 


samples    of  grapes    for  inspection,    which  the 
grower  believes  to  be  a  foreign  variety,  he  hav- 
ing received    it  from  a    German    friend,   who 
claimed  to  have  brought  it  with  several  other 
varieties  from  Germany.     In  growth  and  other 
appearances  we  can  see  nothing  indicating  for- 
eign origin.     Robust  grower  like  Concord— fully 
as  kardy,  the  two  being  the  only  ones  out  of 
twenty  or  thirty  varieties  grown  here  that  were 
not  seriously  injured  or  entirely  killed  during 
the  past  two  severe  winters.     Has  been  fruited 
here  for  the  last  four  seasons.     Ripens  earlier 
than  Hartford  ;  and  we  think  will  bear  trans- 
plantation to  any  distance.     Owing  to  drought 
now  prevailing  here,  it  with  all  other  kinds  are 
under  size,  and  ripening  very  poorly.     Other 
years  it  has  been  fit  for  table  use  from  1st  to  5th 
of  August.     Should  you  recognize  it  as  a  known 
variety,  we  would  be  under  obligations  for  its 
proper  name." 

[It  is  a  native  grape  of  very  good  quality  ;  but 
not,  we  believe,  the  same  as  any  kind  in  general 
cultivation.] 


New  Native  Gnxv^.—Claggett  ik  Munger, 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  sends  with  a  bunch  of  grapes 
the  following  note  :     *»  We  send  you  per  express 


The  Orange  Apple.— J[fr.  Blodqett  writes : 
I  send  you  two  average  specimens  of  the 
"  Orange  Apple, »»  an  apple  I  have  grown  since 
1838 ;  and  one  that  was  always  a  favorite  for 
quality,  appearance  and  productiveness.  I  very 
rarely  see  it  here,  and  only  in  shipments  of  fruit 
from  western  New  York  or  Erie  County,  Penna. 

It  is  not  known  in  eastern  New  York  or  Penn- 
sylvania, nor  can  I  find  it  described  in  Down- 
ings  list,  and  as  I  do  not  claim  to  have  any 
share  in  originating  it,  perhaps  Mr.  Downing 
will  allow  me  to  describe  it,  so  that  it  may  in 
future  be  identified. 

During  last  year  I  observed  very  closely  all 


:f 


« 


'■'% 


su 


THE   GARDE J\rER'S   MOJSrTHLl.     A'ovemher, 


1873. 


II 


■la 


V 


fruits  grown  near  N'ew  York  City,  and  all  that 
were  exhibited  at  the  American  Institute  and 
other  fairs,  and  there  was  nothing  to  represent 
either  of  the  three  varieties  of  apples  which  I 
have  grown  and  valued  for  so  many  years,  viz : 
t  he  Speckled  or  Westbrook,  the  "Sour  and  Sweet,'' 
and  the  "Orange  Apple."  If  these  were  new 
and  untried  fruits  of  doubtful  value,  I  should  not 
suggest  anything  in  regnrd  to  them,  but  they 
are  next  to  the  11.  I.  Greening,  the  best  of 
standard  fruits. 

I  give  snch  description  as  I  think  distinguishes 
and  identifies  this  ''Orange  Apple." 

"Orange  Apple,"  (as  grown  in  Mr.  Blodgett's 
orchard,  near  Sugar  Grove,  Pennsylvania,  for 
thirty-five  years  ;  also  generally  in  that  variety 
in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. ) 

Tree  erect,  symmetrical ;   close  rather  than 


THE    GARBEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


spreading,   and    without    strong  leaves ;    bark 
smooth,  light  colored  ;   laterals  abundant,  very 
flexible  and  often  pendant.    Inflorescence  abun- 
dant on  tenninal  points  :  fruit  large  to  very  large, 
usually  on  pendant  twigs,  (never  on  rigid  twigs 
or  stems  hke  the  Greening)  ;  oblong,  somewhat 
abruptly  truncated,  and   with    flattened    sides 
or    segments;    calyx  deeply    set,   and    always 
closed  ;  stem  deeply  inserted,  and  of  the  length 
of  the  cavi'y ;  skin  greenish  yellow  to  bright 
yellow  on  the  sunny  side,  becoming  greasy  on 
ripening,  and  particularly  after  picking ;    flesh 
yellowish-white,  and  often  quite  yellow  on  the 
exposed  side;    very  tender  and  juicy,  sprightly 
subacid,  crisp  and  excellent  as  a  dessert  fruit, 
Season,  September  to  October,  (but  may  be  kept 
till  January  in  Warren  County). 


Is'm  AND  RAKE  PLANTS. 


The  Yellow  Aquilegia.— 3£r.  L  Querinen, 
Cambridge,  Mass.  writes  :  "I  thought  you  would 
like  to  compare  the  two  species  of  Columbines  • 
Aquikgia  nurea  of  Roezl  and  the  already  so  much 
eyncnimied  one.  now  called  at  last  Aquilegiajiava 


We  received  the  seeds  under  the  name  of  Aqui- 
legia  ccerulea  and  it  flowered  last  year  'yellow,' 
but  *  they'  said  it  was  not  different  from  Aqui- 
legia  Coerulea  except  in  color  ;  but  I  find  that 
besides  this,  it  \iM  taller,  a  later  bloomer,  and 


34s 


flowering  all  through   the  season  ;  peculiarities 
which  the  A.  coerulea  has  not. 

So  I  exhibited  it  under  the  nameof  ^.  coerula 
and  I  took  the  liberty  to  add  var.  lutea.  The 
Mass.  Horticultural  Society  awarded  it  its  silver 
medal.  It  flowered  so  long  in  the  season,  that 
at  the  autumnal  show  I  had  still  a  good  bunch 
of  flowers.  This  spring  it  has  been  called  here 
Aquilegia  coerulea  flava,  and  now  ic  is  called 
Aquilegiajiava,  and  in  England  where  Dr.  Gray 
sent  the  seeds  and  plants,  they  call  it  Aquilegia 
hptoceras  lutea. 

The  Aquilegia  aurea  of  Ro(  zl  which  you  will 
find  in  the  lower  part  of  the  box,  came  from 
seeds  direct  from  Mr.  Roezl,  it  is  now  called 
here  Aquilegia  flovescens.''^ 

[The  flower  sent  is  not  half  the  size  of  the  A. 
eptocera  aurea,  which  we  referred  to  as  having 
seen  growing  near  Philadelphia  last  year,  and 
which  agrees  exacily  with  A.  leptocera  aurea.  as 
described  in  the  Enjrlish  journals.  The  one  we 
referred  to  is  of  a  deep  golden  yellow,  with  spurs 
near  two  inches  long,  but  the  flower  itself  not 
more  than  an  inch  in  diameter  The  seeds  also 
are  different  from  A.  coerulea,  with  which  it  has 
nothing  in  common. 

While  collecting  last  summer  in  the  far  west 
the  writer  found  in  one  of  the  deep  canons  of  the 
Wahsatch  range,  a  yellow  Aquilegia,  with  very 
short  spurs,  and  the  petals  of  a  dirty  clay  color. 
There  is  no  doubt  there  will  be  many  forms  of, 
**yellow''   Aquilegia  get  into  cultivation,  and  [ 
cultivators  will  have  to  use  discretion  in  getting  , 
the  best.— ED.  G.  m.]  °  > 


Elliottia  racemosa— An  addition  to  our 
white  flowering  deciduous  shrubs,  especially 
when  its  blooming  season  is  in  mid  summer,  is 
worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  notice.  Among 
these  is  the  Elliottia,  which,  although  a  native 
shrub,  is  but  very  siddom  found.  Its  habitat  is 
restricted  to  a  few  spots  in  Middle  and  Southern 


Georgia,  and  wherever  found  the  patches  do  not 
extend  beyond  one  or  two  acres.     There,  how- 
ever,  the   whole  ground   is  covered    with    this 
shrub.     Outside  of  these  small  spots  not  a  speci- 
men is  to  be  seen.     As  far  as  known  this  plant 
has  been  discovered  in  three  places  in  Middle 
Georgia  only,  and  one  in  South  Carolina  near 
the  city  of  Augusta.     A  few  days  ago  a  friend 
took  us  to  one  of  these  localities,  and  we  were 
well  repaid  for  a  warm  ride  by  a  glorious  sight 
of  about   two  acres  of  Elliottia  in   full   bloom. 
The  shrubs  ranged  from  six  inches  to  ten  feet  in 
height,  but  few  below  three  feet  in  bloom,  show- 
ing that   the  plant  require  from   three  to  four 
years  of  age  before  flowers  are  produced.     In 
appearance  the  shrub  somewhat  resembles  yourg 
sassafras  bushes ;    branches  long   and  slender ; 
bark  smooth  ;   leaves  alternate,  lanceolate,  acu- 
minate at  each  end,  glaucous  beneath,  of  a  light 
green  color,  and  deciduous  ;  flowers  smal',  with 
four  oblong  linear  petals,  pure  white,  produced 
upon    terminal    racemes    or    spikes,   which    in 
thrifty   plants  attain   twelve  inches  in   length, 
but  when  less  vigorous  these  racemes,  although 
shorter,  are  produced  more  profusely,  and  give  a 
finer  appearance  to  the  plant.     Many  spechnens 
six  feet  high,  and  from  two  to  three  feet  through, 
were  literally  covered  with  blooms.     The  usual 
blooming  period  commences  in  early  June  and 
List  until  July.    The  soil  where  the  Elliottia  is 
found     is    sandy    pine    land,   the    surrounding 
woods  being  composed  of  long  leaf  pine,  black 
jack  oak  {quercus  nigra),  farkleberry  {vaccinium 
arboreum),  ptc.     The  plant  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  of  cyrallicecB,  or  heath-like,  and  although 
classed  as  evergreen  by  Chapman,  Darby  and 
others,  it.  however,  does  not  retain  its  foliage 
through  the  winter.     Wherever  the  soil  is  suita- 
ble, this  plant  will  be  a  most  valuable  acquisition 
to  oui-  'rnamental    gardens,  as  there  are   no 
shrubs  now  cultivated   t  lat  are  more  graceful 
when  in  full  bloom  —Farmer  and  Gardener. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


Small  Fruits  at  William  Parry's.— The 
Editor  of  West  Jersey  Press  writes  as  follows 
after  a  visit  to  Mr.  Parry»s  Nursery  : 

But  extensive  as  are  Mr.  Parry's  operations 
as    mentioned  above,  they  do  not  occupy  his 


whole  attention.  About  one  hundred  acres  of 
his  land  are  devoted  to  small  fruits,  the  chief  of 
which  are  strawberries,  raspberries  and  black- 
berries, and  it  is  this  branch  of  the  business 
which  might  be  termed  one  of  Mr.  P.'s  special- 


$A6 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOMTBLY       Jiovemher 


1873. 


^ 


.,f 


tii-8.     The  varities  of  strawberries  grown,  which 
are  most  esteemed,  might  be  mentioned  as  fol- 
lows, in  the  order  of  their  time  of  ripening  :— 
The  New  Jersey  Scarlet  French,  Wilson's  Al- 
bany, Seth  Boyden,  Charles  Downing,  Monarch 
of  the  West,  Dr.  Warder,  Black  Defiance,  Col. 
Cheny,  Late   Prolific,  Ki?sena  and    Kentucky. 
These  follow  each  other  in  regular  succession, 
and  thus  extend  the  strawberry  season  through 
a  much  longer  period  than  if  but  one  variety  was 
grown.     The  Monarch  of  the  West  is  the  largest 
and  best  strawberry  in  cultivation  in  this  local- 
ity.    The  fruit   is  of  an  almost  fabulous  size, 
many  specimens  measuring  five  inches  in  cir- 
cumference.    It  is  of  a  bright  red  color,  very 
firm,  vigorous  and  productive,  and  of  delicious 
flavor.     The  foot  stalks,  which  are  very  stout, 
bear  the  berry  well  up  from  the  ground,  and  a 
healthy  and  luxuriant  foliage  protects  it  from  the 
hot  sun.     This  fruit  is  very  highly  esteemed, 
and  finds  a  ready  sale  in  the  markets  at  a  much 
higher  price  than  ordinary  berries.     On  the  14th 
of  June,  four  crates  of  the  Monarch  of  the  West, 
in  all  amounting  to  128  quarts,  sent  to  New 
York,  brought  $64,  while  10  crates  of  Albanys, 
containing  300  quarts  brought  but  S42.      The 
country  is  so  full  of  the  sour  Albanys,  and  the 
market  so  glutted  with  them,  that   there  is  a 
great  demand  for  large  and  sweet  berries  like  the 
Monarch  of  the  West.     The  other  varieties  of 
strawberries  especially  worthy  of  mention,  are 
the  Dr.  Warder,  a  bright  red  and  large  conical- 
shaped  fruit,  of  a  productive  nature  and  rather 
late ;   the  Late  Prolific,  a  hardy  and   vigorous 
plant  with  dark  green  foliage,  and  large  berries 
of  a  rich  flavor  and  ripening  late  ;  and  the  Kis- 
sena.     The  latter,  we  believe,  was  awarded  the 
premium  for  the  best  new  seedling  at  the  New 
York  State  Fair.     It  possesses  a  delicate  flavor, 
and  is  a  very  prolific  and  promising  plant. 

The  severe  cold  of  last  winter,  besides  de- 
stroying all  the  peaches  and  apricots  upon  Mr 
Parry's  farm,  killed  at  least  half  the  crop  of 
raspberries.  The  red  varieties  especially  suffered 
most  severely,  but  notwithstanding  this  great  loss 
many  thousand  quarts  of  this  fruit  will  be  sent 
to  market  from  the  plantation.  Of  all  the  rasp- 
berries prized  for  their  delicious  flavor  and  lar^re 
size  among  the  red  berries,  the  Herstine  may  be 
classed  first.  It  stood  the  rigors  of  the  winter 
better  than  any  other  of  its  species,  and  there 
are  at  present  upon  the  bushes  a  very  fair  crop 
of  this  fruit.  The  Mammoth  Cluster  and  a  seed- 
ling raised  from  the  Duolittle.  were  unininrod  by 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MONTHLY. 


the  intense  cold,  and  give  promises  of  a  most 
l)ountiful  yield.  Blackberries,  too,  as  well  as 
raspberries,  were  destroyed  by  the  severe  winter 
and  there  will  perhaps  not  be  more  than  half  a 
crop  of  these.  The  canes  are  making  fine  growth, 
however,  and  as  they  are  n^t  exhausted  by  the 
!)roduction  of  a  heavy  yield  of  berries,  they  are 
storing  up  their  strength  for  a  most  bountiful 
crop  next  year. 

In  the  fruit  season,  Mr.  Parry  employs  about 
one  hundred  pickers  to  gather  the  berries  from 
the  vines,  and  the  quantity  sent  to  market  of 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  is  immense.     For 
the  last  two  weeks  the  number  of  strawberries 
has  reached  2500  quarts  daily,  and  several  teams 
are  kept  busy  hauling  them  to  the  railroad  sta- 
tion and  to  Philadelphia.      Apples,  pears  and 
other  fruits  are  also  shipped  in  large  quantities. 
The  canning  company  at   Riverside  have  this 
year  contracted  for  all  Mr.  P.'s  cherries,  and  for 
a  week  past,  1000  lbs.  daily  of  certain  varieties 
have   been   forwarded    from   the   farm  to  that 
establishment. 


3J^7 


The  Eleven  Summer  Apples  Recom- 
mended AT  Lansing.— 1.  Markti  ii.s<— Strict- 
ly for  market  purposes,  and  giving,  as  far  as 
practicable,  a  succession  through  the  season. 

2.  Family  List— For  family  or  culinary  purpo- 
ses, with  a  possible  surplus  for  market,  and  giv- 
ing a  succession. 

3  AmnPur  List —Tor  amateur  purposes,  con- 
sisting strictly  of  dessert  varieties,  selected  for 
high  qualities,  with  ample  varieties  and  succes- 
sion. 

Apples— Summer  Varieties. 
Market  i^s^— Early  Harvest,  Red  Astrachan, 
Duchess  of  Oldenburgh   (second  quality),  Mai- 
den's Blush. 

Family  List  —Early  Harvest.  Red  Astrachan, 
Primate,  Larse  Yellow  Bough,  Maiden's  Blush. 

Amateur  List  —Early  Harvest,  Carolina.  Red 
June  (for  the  southwest).  Sine  Qua  Non,  Early 
Strawberry.  Early  Joe,  Large  Yellow  Bough, 
Summer  Rose  (in  certain  localities.) 

The  above  constitute  the  summer  varieties  of 
apples  recommended  by  the  State  Pomological 
Society  at  its  recent  session  at  Lansing,  for  mar- 
ket, for  the  family,  and  for  amateur  purposes. 


Orchids.— A  Nashville  paper  says :  The  fol- 
lowing notice  of  these  curious  plants  is  taken 
from  the  elegant  "  Catalogue  of  New,  Rare  and 
Select  Plants,"  just  issued  by  our  fellow  towns- 


man, P.  L.  Nichol :  The  enthusiastic  amateur 
in  England,  and  other  parts  of  Europe,  regards 
the  Orchid  as  a  most  valuable  tribe  of  plants. 
At  sales  in  London,  large  plants  often  command, 
in  our  currency,  S500  each.  Their  quaint  flow- 
ers, frequently  resembling  different  kinds  of  in- 
sects, besides  their  vari-colored  and  gorgeously 
tinted  hues,  justly  entitled  them  to  be  ranked  as 
the  wonder  of  the  floral  world.  It  has  been  said 
that  nature  did  everything  for  the  Camelia, 
except  to  furnish  the  flower  with  fragrance. 
Not  so  with  some  of  the  Orchids.  To  the  deli- 
cate tints  of  nature's  paint-brush  is  added  a 
charming  fragrance.  It  is  safe  to  predict  that 
as  soon  as  the  beauty  and  value  of  these  plants 
are  well  known,  they  will  be  sought  after  more 
eagerly  than  any  other  in  the  catalogues. 

A  hot-house  is  not  absolutely  required  for  the 
treatment  of  them  all  Many  varieties  of  the 
Loelia,  Lycaste,  Dendrobium.  etc  ,  like  cool  green- 
house temperature,  with  moist  air. 

After  thus  writing  about  the  Orchids,  Mr. 
Nichol  gives  a  list  of  eleven  kinds  with  many 
sub-varieties.  The  prices  for  single  plants  varies 
from  one  to  twenty-five  dollars. 


How  TO  Keep  Apples.— At  a  meeting  of 
the  Experimental  Farm  Club,  held  at  the  Farm, 
near  West  Grove,  Chester  County,  the  subject  of 
picking  and  packing  and  storing  apples  was  dis- 
cussed.    Thomas  M.  Harvey  said  Dr.  Andrew 


Bush,  a  very  successful  fruit  culturist,  picked 
his  apples  when  ripe,  packed  them  in  barrels 
with  many  leaves,  and  they  kept  well.     Job  H. 
Jackson  said  that  apple  raisers  in  New  York 
placed  .their  apples  in  barrels  with  as  little  hand- 
ling  as  possible,  and  when  the  weather  become 
frosty,  the  fruit  were  put  where  it  was  just  warm 
enough   to  keep  them  from   freezing.     He  had 
kept  apples  by  burying  them.      James  Wilson 
had  kept  apples  until   spring  by  covering  the 
barrels  with  a  straw  stack.     The  great  requisite 
'  in  keeping  apples.  Dr.  Mitchener  said,  wag  the 
'  most  careful  handling  and  as  little  of  it  as  possi- 
ble, and  an  even  cool  temperature,  never  allow- 
ing the  fruit  to  freeze.     Charles  Hambleton  had 
kept  apples  until  a  new  crop  ripened,  by  allowing 
them  to  remain  on  the  trees  until  thoroughly 
chiiled  by  the  frost,  and  then  putting  them  In  a 
ctld  cellar.     Packing  apples  in  saw  dust,  dry 
tan  or  plaster  of  Paris  had  also  been  tried  suc-^^ 
cessfully  by  several.     Another   authority  says 
that  apples  should  never  be  gathered  during 
damp  weather,  nor  when  heavy  dew  is  upon  them 
in  early  morning.     It  is  poor  policy  to  shake 
fruit  from  the  tree  ;  it  will  almost  surely  decay 
from  the  effects  of  bruising.     Even  the  slightest 
ibrasion  of  the  skin  is  the  sure  forerunner  of  a 
lark  spot,  which   will  eventually  change  into 
some  kind  of  rot.     If  possible,  each  specimen 
should  be  taken  singly  from  the  tree  and  handled 
with  the  utmost  care  —  West  Chester  Eepuhlican^ 


FOREIGN     INTELLIGENCE 


Medinilla  MAGNiFiCA.-This  truly  grand 
and  ornamental  melastomaceous  plant  is  again 
much  sought  after  by  amateurs,  and  the  wonder 
is  to  me  however  it  came  to  be  pushed  on  one 
side  at  all,  for  when  a  well-grown  plant  is  in 
flower  the  effc  .•t  it  produces  is  most  gorgeous. 
This  is  undoubtedly  the  finest  known  species  of 
the  genus.  There  are,  however,  several  other 
kinds  which, although  they  produce  muck  smaller 
panicles  of  bloom,  are  yet  well  deserving  a  place 
in  every  stove  on  account  of  the  gay  and  pleas- 
ing effect  they  help  to  produce  during  winter,  a 
season  never  too  prolific  in  handsome  flowers. 
I  allude  to  such  species  as  M  speciosa,  Siebold- 
iana  javanensis,  and  a  few  others. 


Medinilla  magnifica  maybe  reckoned  amongst 
the  easiest  of  plants  to  cultivate       The  soil 
should  consist  of  two  parts  good  fibrous  peat, 
one  part  loam,  and  suflScient  sand  to  make  the 
whole  feel  gritty  when  taken  in  the  hand.     To 
this  may  be  added  with  considerable  advantage 
a  little  thoroughly  decomposed  manure,  whilst 
the  drainage  must  be  both  ample  and  in  good 
working  order.     It  requires  a  moist  atmosphere 
and  the  temperature  of  the  stove,  as  will  be  well 
understood  when   we  slate  that    it    is    found 
growing  in  company  with  Pitcher  plants  in  the 
mountain    forests   of   Java,   at  an  Altitude   of 
about  3000  feet.     During  the  growing  season  a 
liberal  supply  of  water  both  from  the  watering 


i 


348 


THE   GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^TELY.     J^ovembei 


1873. 


1 


•  ^'. 


I 
J 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


pot  and  syringe  is  essential  to  its  well-being,  but 
it  will  naturally  occur  to  the  cultivator  that  less 
is  necessary  in  winter.  On  no  account,  how- 
ever, must  the  plants  suffer  from  the  want  of 
moisture  at  the  roots,  otherwise  it  will  lead  to 
the  casting  the  leaves,  which  will  render  it  any- 
thiu'j  but  a  credit  to  the  cultivator  or  ornament 
to  the  stove. 

The  plant  attains  a  height  of  upwards  of  three 
feet   with  age,  and  then   forms  a   fine,  much- 
branched  shrub.    It  is  perfectly  smooth  through- 
out, the  stems  and  branches  being  four-winged  ; 
leaves   opposite,  from   six   to   ten   Inches  long,  i 
broadly   ovate,   and  clasping   the   stem   at  the  ' 
base,  whilst   the  color  is   deep   shining  green.  1 
The  panicles  are  terminal  and  pendulous,  some  ' 
eighteen   inchos    long,   ornamented   with  large  ! 
bright  mauve  pink  bracts,  which  are  arranged 
in  whorls   of  four.     The  numerous  flowers  are 
rosy   pink  tinged   with   purple,  and   the   effect 
produced   by  a   plant   bearing  some  dozens  of 
such  panicles  of  blossom  must  be  seen  to  be 
appreciated.     Its  usual  time  of  flowering  is  the 
end  of  April  and  May,  but  if  required  later  in 
the  season  it  must  be  kept  in  a  somewhat  lower 
temperature  and  shaded  from  the  effects  of  the 
sun.     By  this  means  it  may  be  retarded  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  that,  too,  without  injury. 
It  seems   to  have  had   the  name  of  Medinilla 
bracteata  erroneously  tacked  to  it  upon  its  first 
introduction.— JburnaZ  of  Horticulture, 


baryta  water,  and  the  operations  repeated  till 
eventually  the  whole  of  the  cupric  sulphate  will 
have  passed  into  the  porous  vessel,  and  there 
become  precipitated. 


The  Esparto  Grass.— At  the  Society  ot  Arts 
recently,  Mr.  Johnston  read  a  paper  on  Esparto 
Grass  (Macrochloa  tenacissima),  now  so  largely 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  paper.  The  leaf  is 
the  portion  used,  and  the  imports  have  risen 
from  fifty  tons  in  1850  to  over  one  hundred  thou- 
sand tons  in  1870,  standing  second  in  this  respect 
to  cotton  only.  The  plant  grows  best  on  the 
sea-coast  of  southern  Spain  and  northern  Africa 
and  there  seems  no  reason  why  the  culture  should 
not  bo  largely  increased  both  in  the  native 
country  of  the  plant  and  in  other  n^gions  with 
similar  climates,  etc.  The  plant  is  reproduced 
by  seed,  by  transplanting.— Ga/-(Zener's  Chronicle, 


English  Grapes. -Oa  one  occasion  Georf^e 
III.  was  so  pleased  with  a  performance  at  Drury 
Lane  Theatre,  that  he  gave  orders  for  a  hundred 
dozen  bunches  of  grapes  to  be  cut  off  from  the 
Hampton  Court  vine,  if  so  many  could  be  found 
upon  it,  and  sent  to  the  actors.  The  gardener 
executed  his  commission  and  informed  his  royal 
master  that  he  could  still  cut  off  as  many  more 
without  stripping  the  tree.— i^ood  Journal 


Changes  in  the  Proximate  Principles  of 
Herbaceous  Vegetables. -Deherain   main- 
tains that  the  proximate  principles  of  vegetables 
migrate   from   the  older   to  the   newly   formed 
leaves,  and   that   this  migration   is   associated 
with   a    transformation   of   glucose    into    cane 
sugar,  while,  when  the  seed  is  formed,  the  cane 
sugar  is  converted  into  starch  and  the  albumen 
into  gluten,  both   insoluble.     In   this   way  the 
conversion   of  soluble  into  insoluble  principles 
and  the  accumulation  of  substances  in  the  seed 
is  accounted  for,  and  is  illustrated  by  the  fol- 
lowing experiment :      If  a  porous  vessel,  con- 
taining distilled   water,    be   placed    in   another 
vessel  containing  a  solution  of  cupric  sulphate, 
the  salt  penetrates  by  diffusion  into  the  inner 
vessel.     If  then  a  few  drops  of  baryta  water  be 
added  to  the  inner  vessel,  the  salt  is  precipitated, 
the  equilibrium  is  disturbed,  and  a  new  portion 
of  cujiric  sulphate  diffuses  into  the  inner  vessel. 
The  salt    may   be    again    precipitated   by   the 


The  Pomegranate. —This    truly  beautiful 
fruit  deserves  more  attention  than  it  obtains  in 
this  country      To  bring  it  to  perfection,  a  very 
warm  south  wall  should  be  appropriated  to  it, 
and  it  should  be  trained  fan-shape,  and  thinly 
spread  on  the  wall,  s®  as  to  admit  as  much  sun 
heat  to  it  as  possible.     I  recollect  many  years 
ago  seeing  it  well  done  at  Walton-on-Thames, 
in  the  garden  of  the  Earl  of  Tankerville,  where 
it  annually  bore  some  beautiful  fruit,  but  whether 
they  were  fit  for  table  or  not  I  do  not  now  recol- 
lect.    There  are  three  fruiting  varieties  of  it, 
The  Sweet,   The  Subacid,  and  Acid-fruited  :  the 
first  is  the  only  one  worth  cultivating  for  the 
fruit.     There  is  also  the  ornamental  varieties- 
scarlet,  white,  and  yellow,  with  double  blossoms, 
very  ornamental.     In  their  cultivation  the  Paris 
nurserymen  excel.    Grown  in  small  boxes,  about 
a  foot  square,  most  charming  and  well-flowered 
little  plants  are  regularly  brought  to  the  flower 
markets,   and   meet   with  a  ready  sale.      The 
reason  we  do  not  succeed  with  them  is,  we  do 
not  get  the  wood  thoroughly  ripened,  and  we  do 


349 


not  give  them  enough  of  rest.  The  same  observa- 
tion applies  to  Orange  trees,  and  many  others. 
There  is  a  popular  error  that  an  open  mild 
winter  brings  an  early  spring,  and  we  see  nearly 
all  our  periodicals  giving  countenance  to  the 
fallacy,  because  in  some  warm  nook  a  Primrose, 
a  Snowdrop,  or  the  hardy  Aconite,  etc.,  dares 
to  put  in  an  appearance.— <ScoW's  "  Orchardist,''^ 


Anthurium  Scherzeri anum  -Of  the  many 
plants  introduced  within  a  comparatively  recent 
date  none  are  of  more  value  than  this.  For  the 
embellishment  of  the  stove,  as  well  as  for  the 
decoration  of  the  dinner  table,  it  is  simply  in- 
valuable, and  cultivators  may  well  congratulate 
themselves  on  the  fact  that  small  plants  may  be 
procured  for  a  few  shillings.  It  is,  as  a  consid- 
erable number  of  the  readers  of  these  remarks 
are  aware,  neat  in  growth,  and  the  spathes, 
which  remain  in  good  condition  for  a  very  con- 
siderable period,  are  of  the  most  brilliant  hue. 
It  will  be  found  to  thrive  in  a  mixture  of  sphag- 
num and  fibrous  peat,  incorporated  together  in 
equal  parts,  and  a  moderate  proportion  of  nodules 
of  charcoal  then  added.  The  pots  should  be 
filled  to  about  half  their  depth  with  crocks,  and 
the  base  of  the  plant  elevated  two  or  three 
inches  above  the  level  of  the  rim.  The  surface 
should -be  covered  with  live  sphagnum,  as  the 
carpet  of  green  materially  enhances  the  appear- 
ance of  well-developed  specimens  when  in  bloom ; 
the  humidity  arising  from  it  is  highly  conducive 
to  a  healthy  growth.  Liberal  supplies  of  water 
are  essential  to  success,  but  of  course  the  appli- 
cation of  water  must  not  be  ©verdone,  and  the 
health  and  condition  of  each  plant,  as  well  as 
the  season  of  the  year,  must  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. To  ensure  the  plants  flowering  early 
in  the  winter,  start  them  into  growth  early  in 
the  spring,  by  placing  them  in  the  warmest 
corner  of  the  stove,  and  afford  them  the  assist- 
ance of  bottom  heat,  if  available.— Gardener's 
Magazine, 


Mountain  White  Pine  (Pinus  flexilis).— 
This  species  occupies  the  sub-alpine  belts  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierras.  It  differs 
very  much  in  size.  At  10,000  feet  altitude  it  is 
a  tree  of  130  feet  high,  and  is  from  2  to  3  feet 
in  diameter  ;  but  on  the  high  exposed  crests  of 
the  Sierras  and  Mount  Shasta,  it  is  reduced  to  a 
mere  straggling  shrub,  creeping  on  the  ground. 
The  cones  in  consequence  vary  considerably  in 


size.  Where  the  tree  has  obtained  a  stately 
size,  as  is  the  case  on  the  mountains  of  an  eleva- 
tion of  10,000  feet  a  little  east  of  Little  Yosemite 
Valley,  its  cone  measures  from  4  to  5  inches  ; 
but  where  it  is  reduced  to  mere  shrub,  they  are 
scarcely  from  1  to  2  inches  long.  It  is  a  fine 
tree  with  tapering  trunk  and  conical  outline, 
branching  almost  from  the  base;  the  lower 
branches  are  horizontal,  the  upper  ones  ascend- 
ing. The  wood  is  white  and  soft ;  the  annual 
rings  from  one-eight  to  one-half  line,  on  an  ava- 
rage  one-fourth  line  wide.  In  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains it  occurs  from  N'ew  Mexico  to  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel,  never  forming  entire  forests. 
There  it  associates  with  P.  contorta  and  P. 
aristata.  On  the  high  crests  of  the  Sierras  it  is 
found  growing  along  with  P.  contorta  and  Abies 
Pattoniana.  The  species  sometimes  described 
under  the  name  P.  albicaulis,  and  P.  cembroides, 
is  P.  flexilis. 


Exhibition  Roses.— We  will  just  jot  down 
the  names  of  a  few  favorite  kinds  well  and  fre- 
quently shown  other  than  those  already  men- 
tioned     They  were  Prince  Camille  de  Rohan, 
Louis  van  Houtte,  Pierre  Nottiag,  Monsieur 
Boncenne,  very  dark ;  Marquise  de  Castellane, 
Madlle  Eugene  Verdier,  Abel  Grand,  Margue- 
rite de  St.  Amand,  or  St.  Arnaud,  Elie  Morel, 
Emilie  Hausberg,  Marie  Baumann  ;  Paul  Neron 
becomes  coarser  and  coarser,  though  so  lar^^e ; 
Senateur  Vaisse  and  Maurice  Bernard  n,  close 
and    symmetrical,  splendid  color,   but    appear 
falling  behind  ;  Clemence  Joigneaux,  Ferdinand 
Lesseps,  Vicomtesse,  Vezins,  Antoine  Ducher, 
Old  Comte  de  2^ateuil,  Devienne  Lamy,  Madame 
Rival,  Josephine  Guyet,  promising ;    Madame 
Morea,  fine  close  crimped  face,  somewhat  like  a 
prize  hollyhock,  but  flatter,  large  ;  Laelia  Mad- 
ame Jacquin,  Charlotte  Corday,  Victor  de  Bihan, 
Marquise    de    Mortemarte,  Leopold    I,   Victor 
Verdier,  Jules  Margottin,  and  a  few  others  were 
also  sparsely  scattered  abroad,  but  to  extend 
our  list  further  would  encroach  too  much  on  the 
space  at  our  command. 

The  Yellow  Roses  were  well  represented,  in- 
terspersed with  other  tints,  as  well  as  en  masse 
in  the  class  for  a  collection  of  yellow  roses. 
They  were,  of  course,  Marechal  Niel,  Celine  For- 
restier,  Triomphe  de  Rennes,  and  Gloire  de 
Dijon  Others  were  Bould  d'Or,  fine,  and  Mad- 
ame Margottin,  which  appears  coming  into 
vogue. — Report  of  Exhibition, 


350 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S  MOJ^THLY.      mvemher 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOKTRLY. 


361 


t 


I 


1 


Utfl 


PENNSYLVANIA  HORT.  SOCIETY. 

It  no  doubt  surprised  most  persons  who  read 
in  the  Country  Gentleman  a  few  weeks  ago,  and 
who  saw  the  exhibition  of  this  Society  in  Sep- 
tember, to  be  told  that  it  was  "said  to  be  a  great 
success,  but  that  it  was  evidently  made  up  by  a 
few  florists,''  or  words  to  this  effect.  So  far  from 
this  being  true,  there  were  nearly  one  hundred 
exhibitors,  a  greater  number  than  ever  contri- 
buted to  any  horticultural  exhibition  in  the 
United  States  before.  It  was  undoubtedly  the 
success  it  was  "said"  to  be,  as  no  doubt  the 
twenty  thousand  persons  who  visited  can  well 
testify.  The  officers  of  the  Society— at  least  the 
four  on  whom  most  of  the  hard  work  fell—may 
well  be  proud  of  the  result.  Messrs.  Mitchell, 
Houghton,  Andrews  and  Harrison,  deserve 
well  of  this  Society,  if  anybody  does. 

One  of  the  best  improvements  this  year  was 
in  tasteful  stands  of  cut  flowers.  These  were 
arranged  by  the  Society.  Three  of  the  larger 
ones  were  filled  by  collections  from  H.  A.  Dreer, 
Miller  &  Hayes,  and  Meehan's  Germantown 
Nurseries.  Each  of  these  had  between  one  and 
two  hundred  named  plants,  and  besides  the  ele- 
gant appearance  they  made,  it  gave  an  excellent 
opportunity  for  people  to  learn  the  names. 

Mr.  Marot  made  a  good  display  of  the  wild 
Sarracenia  purpurea  in  a  rustic  stand.  Mr.  H. 
E.  Chitty  of  the  Belleveu  Gardens,  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  had  a  choice  set  of  new  plants.  The 
common  Gnaphalium  lanatum,  with  variegated 
leaves,  variegated  Mesembryanthemum,  and  a 
beautiful  pale-blush  double  geranium  named 
Alice  Grouse,  were  the  most  striking. 

Geo.   Foust,  florist,  had  an   excellent  lot  of 
new    plants.      Hechtia  Ghiesbrechtii,  an  aloe- 
looking  plant  with  deep  green  leaves,  Termina- 
lia  nobilis,  and  Maranta  illustris,  with  beautiful 
feather  veins  in  the  leaves,  were  nice  things  to 
have.      R.   Buist  had  a  beautiful   lot   of  new 
things.     Antigonum  leptopus  was  very  striking, 
and  one  of  the  best  things  introduced  for  man°y 
years.     It  is  a  climber  with  something  the  ap- 
pearance and  habit  of  a  Dioscorea,  but  it  has 
beautiful  racemes  of  rosy-pink  flowers.    Dichori- 
zandra   Morrisonica,  of  the  spider- wort  family, 
has  broad  leaves  beautifully  pencilled.     Croton 
undulatum  has  red  spots  on  its  green   leaves, 
and  pretty  crisp-wavy  edges.     Then  there  were 
three  beautifully  marked  leaved  Dioscoreas  D. 


liOJiTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


metallica,    D.    chrysophylla,    and    D.    melano" 
pence.     A  beautiful  Lycpodium,   called  Selagi- 
nella  setulosa,  and  a  Hibriscus  marginata.     He 
had  also  the  new  crimson-leaved  Celosia  Hut- 
tonii,  as  also^had  Mr.  Dreer.     Mr.  Joyce,  gar- 
dener to  Mrs.   Baldwin,  had   his   usual   finely- 
grown  plants,— the  pretty  butterfly  orchid  On- 
cidium  Papilio,  and  the  "  fossil  leaf '»  Anthurium 
grandis,  attracting  many  lovers  of  the  curious. 
Mr.  Dreer  had  many  plants  of  interest.    A  large 
woolly  leaved  Salvia  argentea  looked  as  if  its 
silvery  leaves  might  be  brought  into  play  in  some 
way  in  our  modern  gardening  styles.    A  Bouna- 
partea  juncea,  seldom  seen  in  flower,  also  adorned 
his  collections.     In  cut  flowers,  Roses,  Dahlias, 
and  Gladiolus  predominated. 
^  In  Mr.  McKenzie's  plants  the  Agave  Sisala- 
ria,  one  of  the  most  unique  in  its  foliage,  was 
present ;  besides  numberless  small  plants  of  va- 
rious kinds,  which  gave  great  variety  among  so 
many  in  larger  pots.     Gerhard  Schmidt,  one  of 
the  most  persevering  improvers  of  the  Dahlia, 
had  a  nice  lot  of  good  seedlings,  but  no  names 
or  numbers  by  which  we  could  identify  them. 
Hugh  Graham  had  a  beautiful  '*  bridal  arch  »»  as 
a  design.     Nothing  more  pleasing  of  the   kind 
was  ever  seen  in  the  Hall.     The  pillars  were 
formed  of  bouquets,  which  were  given  away  to 
the  visitors  every  night.     Some  three   hundred 
were  thus  distributed.     R.  Buist,  A.  Graham, 
and  A.  Newett,  gardener  to  H.  Pratt  McKean, 
all  had  choice  collections  of  Palms  and  Ferns. 
The  Caladiums  of  H.  Graham  were  remarkably 
well  grown,  being  not  so  much  drawn  up  as 
usual. 

Mrs.  Bissett  is  quite  a  fern  fancier.  In  her 
collection  there  were  no  less  than  twenty  species 
of  Adiantums.  Mr.  B.  W.  Johnston,  gardener 
to  Mr.  Camac,  had  a  design  for  massing  a  flow- 
er garden.  It  was  beautifully  executed,  and 
attracted  perhaps  as  much  attention  as  anything 
in  the  Hall.  In  Mr.  Alex.  Newitt's,  (gardener  to 
P.  McKean,  Esq.)  collection  there  were  some  glo- 
rious specimens  of  the  old  fashioned  cockscomb, 
the  heads  about  one  foot  across.  Besides  these 
there  were  numerous  other  exhibitors,  whose 
meritorious  articles  would  take  a  whole  maga- 
zine to  detail. 

The  vegetable  department  was  well  sustained. 
Some  Peerless  Potatoes  by  Michael  Walsh,  gar- 
dener to  W.   Massey,   Esq.,  were   remarkably 


fine ;    and  some  specimens  of  corn,  15  inches 
long,  by  AS.  Felton,  could  perhaps  hardly  be 
beaten.     The  fruits  were  fully  as  fine  as  at  any 
former  exhibition,  fine  as  most  of  these  have 
been.    EUwauger  &  Barry  had  350  varieties  of 
pears,  in  which  the  Souvenir  du  Congress  was 
conspicuously  excellent.     The   Salt   Lake   City 
folks  had  an  excellent  contribution,  in  which  the 
Plums  were  no   mean  attraction.      Mr.  John 
Perkins  of  Moorestown,  N.  J.,  had  81  varieties 
of  apples.     Hovey  &  Co.,  Boston,  50  varieties  of 
pears;    Smith   &  Powell  of  Syracuse  a  large 
number  of  varieties,  in  which  Flemish  Beauty, 
Hosenshenk,    De  Tongres,    Des    Nonnes,   and 
Seckel,   were    unusually    fine    and    attractive. 
Thos.  Grigg  of  Vineland,  N.  J.,  had  very  fine 
pears,  of  which  the  Duchess  D'Angouleme  were 
as  fine  as  are  rarely  seen.     Mr.  W.  Joyce,  gar- 
dener to  Mrs.  Baldwin,  had  superior  grapes,  es- 
pecially in  regard  to  the  Black  Hamburgs  and 
Atuscats.     The  collection  sent  by  Alex.  Cox, 
gardener  to  Edward   Wright,   was   interesting 
from  so  much  variety.     Black  Frontignan  and 
Bowood  Muscat  had   remarkably  fine   berries. 
In  the  California  collection  of  pears  were  some 
Beurre  Clairgeaua  that  would  weigh  three-fourth 
of  a  pound.     Samuel  Noble  had  a  small,  but  very 
well  grown  collection   of  apples.     The  Porters 
and  Cornell's  Fancys  attracted   general  atten- 
tion by  their  size  and  beauty.     Gebhard  Huster 
had  very  fine  hothouse  grapes,  some  of  the  Mus- 
cat Hamburg  being  eighteen  inches  long.     In 
Satterthwaite  s  collection  there  were  good  speci- 
mens of  the  Rutter  pear,  a  variety  he  thinks 
very  highly  of.  Mr.  Ricketts  of  Newburg,  N.  Y., 
made  a  splendid  show  of  native  seedling  grapes 
There  were,  perhaps,  fifty  kinds,  and  so  many  of 
superior  quality,  that  if  some  do  not  prove  better 
than  what  we  now  have,  it  will  be  a  poor  busi- 
ness to  try  and  improve  the  breerl   hereafter. 
Among  the  peaches  were  dishes  of  Delaware 
White  in  excellent  condition.     It  is  a  good  rival 
to  the  celebrated  Smock  peach.      There  were 
from  Mr.  Hiron's.    Mr.  R.  Moore  of  Camden, 
N.  J,,  had  as  fine  Concords  and  Marthas  as 
were  ever  exhibited.      He  manures  with  dead 
carcasses.     Then  there  were  peaches  from  a  tree 
one  hundred    years  old ;    and   no  mean  ones 
either.     It  would  take  the  best  of  the  new  varie- 
ties to  beat  them.     H.  C.  Williams  of  Fairfax,  j 
and  Chamberlane  of  Acotink,  both  represented 
Virginia  worthily  in  fruits.     The  apples  were 
especially  distinctive.     Jos.  H.  Kent  of  Russel- 1 
ville,  also  had  very  fine  peaches,  in  which  the  | 


excellence  of  old  Mixon  Free,  and  Susquehanna, 
a  large  yellow  peach,  was  conspicuous. 


*•■•> 


GERMANTOWN  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  note  the  increased  attention 
given  to  local  horticultural  societies.  The  larger 
ones  can  have  their  immense  collections  which 
will  attract  visitors  from  far  and  near.  Those 
of  more  moderate  pretensions  improve  the 
home  taste;  and  caring  for  smaller  things 
which  would  be  too  small  for  rnore  popular  in- 
stitutions, fill  a  nitch  in  general  utility  which 
no  other  means  could  do  so  well. 

The  Germantown  Horticultural  Society  is  one 
of  these  modest  institutions,  which,  in  an  hum- 
ble way,  do  a  world  of  good.     The  September 
meeting  was  a  grand  success,  and   in  looking 
through  the  exhibition,  we  noted  a  few    points 
which  may  be  of  general  interest. 
I      Mr.  Robert  Fergusson,  of  Laurel  Hill  Nurse- 
I  ries,  had  a  Yucca  gloridsa  in  flower.    Unlike  G. 
;  fllamentosa,  this  fine  species  flower  rather  late 
I  in  this  part  of  the  world ;   but  in  a  tub  under 
I  glass  as  this  was,  there  is  a  chance  to  enjoy  its 
great  beauty.     The  plant  otherwise  is  hardy, 
and  without  flowers  is  always  appreciated. 

Begonia  Evansiana,  one  of  the  oldest,  but  yet 
one  of  the  best,  was  frequent  in  the  small  collec- 
tions, as  it  well  deserves  to  be.     It  is  one  of  the 
easiest  to  take  care  of.     In  Mr.  L.  C.  Baumann's 
collection,  was  the  rare,  rather,  but  yet  very 
beautiful  Gesnera   Donkleari ;    also   worthy  of 
general  culture.     Begonia  Mad.  Celeste,  by  John 
Carey,  gardener   to  Dr.  Ash  ton,  is  one  of  the 
best  of  the   leafy  kinds.      In  the  collection  of 
Miller  &  Hayes  of  Mt.  Airy,  Germantown,  was 
the  striped  leaved   New  Zealand  Flax,  which 
always  attracts  attention.     Yucca  recurva,  in 
the  same  collection,  is  one  of  the  best  for  vases 
aad  garden  work,  requiring  artificial  looking 
leaves.    A  wreath  of  Pansies  made  by  Miller  & 
Hayes  was  a  good  idea,  and  well  carried  out. 
Mr.  H.  A.  Dreer  of  Philadelphia  had  a  nice 
collection  of  cut  roses,  in  which  Teas  for  the 
most  part  predominated.     The  cut  flowers,  as  in 
most  of  the  exhibitions  for  the  past  year,  were 
numerous,  and  exhibited  taste  in  the  arrange- 
ment.    L.  C.  Baumann  of  the  Manheiin  Street, 
W.    E.    Meehan    of   the  Germantown,  and   J. 
Meyers  of  the  Mount  Airy  Nurseries,  were  the 
leading  exhibitorv«». 
Fruits  and  vegetables  also  were  in  great  pro- 


352 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTHLr.     JVoveniber 


I 


}' 


!!• 


l^ 


i 


fusion,   and   the  exhibition,    well  attended   by 
visitors,  was  a  great  success. 


*♦»»» 


MASSACHUSETTS  HORTICULTURAL 

SOCIETY. 

As  referred  to  in  our  last,  the  exhibition  of  the 
Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society  was  by  no 
means  the  least  of  the  enjoyments  furnished  to 
the  delegates  of  the  American  Poraological  So- 
ciety, in  connection  with  the  recent  meeting  in 
Boston.  The  fruits  were  in  the  Horticultural 
Hall,  and  in  connection  with  the  fruits  of  the 
American  Pomological  Society,  so  that  the  real 
exhibition  in  the  Music  Hall  had  to  be  sustained 
by  flowers  alone. 

Of  late  so  much  attention  has  been  given  to 
Echev arias,  and  other  succulents  for  out-door 
decoration,  that  people  love  to  look  on  collec- 
tions of  these,  so  as  to  get  more  material  to 
work  with  in  bedding  out  gardening,  as  for  the 
interests  attached  to  the  many  peculiar  forms 
and  characters  which  the  numerous  species 
represent.  There  were  here  two  very  fine  col- 
lections of  perhaps  two  hundred  each  from  Hovey 
&  Co.,  and  from  the  Cambridge  Botanic  Garden. 
Ferns  and  Palms  are  also  very  popular  here  as 
exhibition  plants.  Flowering  plants  do  not 
eeem  so  much  in  vogue.  J.  W.  Merrile  had  in 
one  collection  one  hundred  and  fifty  species  of 
ferns.  One  of  the  finest  grown  specimens  of 
ferns  on  exhibition  was  a  Woodwardia  radicans, 
from  the  collection  of  President  Strong.  Hovey 
&  Co.  and  Mrs.  Ward  had  coUectio'ns  all  re- 
markably well  grown.  Some  tree  ferns,  with 
others,  were  a  striking  feature  in  the  collection 
of  S.  B.  Peyson.  Among  the  ferns  exhibited  by 
E.  Butler,  was  one  of  the  best  imaginable  of  the 
climbing  fern  Lygodium  scandens.  It  is  a  won- 
der it  is  not  oftener  seen  in  fern  collection.  This 
one  was  on  a  cylindrical  treUis  about  5  feet  high. 

Leaf  plants  were  also  very  numerous.  Cala- 
diums,  Dracajuas,  and  Coleus,  particularly  so 
Most  of  these  were  from  Hovey,  Strong,  and 
II  unnewell. 

Though  flowering  plants  in  pots  were  not  nu- 
merous, cut  flowers  formed  an  especial  feature, 
and  were,  on  the  whole,  highly  interesting  and 
exceedingly  well  arranged.  The  side  walls  had 
narrow  sloping  shelves  against  them,  filled  with 
lilies  in  great  profusion,  Pampas  Grass,  Double 
Zinnias,  Phloxes  and  the  Myrsiphyllum  aspara-  I 
gunoidea  called  here,  SmiJax  everywhere.  It  is  I 
one  of  the  most  effective  plants  for  decorative  ' 


purposes,  as  well  as  graceful  as  a  fern,  it  is  al- 
most as  durable  as  if  mide  of  green  wax.     The 
Gladiolus  were  very  fine,  and  J  S.  Richards  had 
an    especially    grand    collection.      The   Double 
Zinnias  of  Hovey  &  Co.,  and  the   Dahlias   of 
Chas.  V.  Woer,  were  as  perfect  as  we  ever  saw 
these  flowers.     Either  the  climate  must  be  ex- 
cellent for    them,  or  the   cultivators   possessed 
of  superior    skill.     C.    A.   Law,  of  Roslindale, 
had  beautiful  Dahlias  but  no  names  to  them] 
which  took  away  half  of  the  interest      Perhaps 
as  much  interest  centered  round  a  collection  of 
wild  flowers  by  Miss  Carter,  as  on  anything  ex- 
hibited.    These  were  not  huddled  in  anyhow,  as 
if  anything  were  good  enough  for  wild  flowers, 
but  were  well  arranged  in  glasses  on  a  conical 
series    of  narrow  shelves       This  neatness    in 
arrangement  was  characteristic  of  most  things 
shown.     H    Gleason's  Gladiolus  for  instance, 
was  in  a  similar  round  sta^e.     In  the  centre,  or 
rather  towards  the  top,  were  large   masses  ot 
showy  Tritomas,  and    between  these   and  the 
Gladiolus,  a  dividing  line  of  ferns. 

The  baskets  and  designs  of  cut-flowers  were 
very  tastefully  arranged.  Tuberoses  and  "  Smi- 
lax '»  entered  largely  into  the  make  up,  and  good 
use  was  made  in  some  instances  of  th^  blue  Aga- 
panthus  umbellatus.  A  basket  by  Miss  Sarah 
Storey  was  one  of  the  prettiest  we  ever  saw.  It 
is  gratifying  to  note,  in  connection  with  this  ex- 
hibition of  cut-flowers,  that  most  of  the  competi- 
tors were  not  professional  florists.  Michael 
Welsh  had  a  design  f>r  massing,  the  flowers 
stuck  in  damp-sand,  showing  the  colors  necessary 
to  be  most  effective.  This  is  an  excellent  way  to 
educate  the  masses. 

The  hanging  baskets  and  the  rustic  stands 
were,  like  the  cut  flowers,  well  arranged,  and 
spoke  well  for  the  refined  taste  of  the  people  of 
Boston  One  in  Hovey 's  collection  much  im- 
pressed us.  The  plants  employed  were  chiefly 
the  common  variegated  Vinca,  variegated  Pan- 
icum,  Cissus  discolor,  common  Ivy,  and  Maiden 
Hair  ferns. 

As  a  beautiful  ornament  for  a  lawn,  nothing 
perhaps  was  more  attractive  than  a  specimen  of 
the  common  Broad-leaved  Italian  Myrtle,  by  an 
exhibitor  whose  name  we  did  not  get.  Ig  was 
about  ten  feet  high,  and  regularly  about  two 
feet  thick,  forming  a  perfect  cylindrical  mass  of 
thriving  green  from  the  tub  to  the  apex.  It 
was  thought  to  be  a  great  honor  in  the  past  to 
be  crowned  with  the  myrtle  wreaths ;  but  we 
would  prefer  to  o  vn  a  i  lant  like  t'  is. 


'v» 


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E I .  /^:  A  G  N  LI  S      F^  A  R  V 1 F  0  L I U  S 


COLOR  PLATE 


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W\ii  (iard^n^r^s  fEontltlg, 


DEVOTED  TO 


Horticultuyre,    Arboriculture,    Botany    and    Rural   Affairs^ 


EDITED  BY  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 


Old  Series,  Vol  XV.        DECEMBER,     1873.      ^ew  Series,  Vol.  VI.  No.  12. 


HINTS  FOR   DECEMBER. 


FLOWER  GARDEN  AND  PLEASURE 

GROUND. 

We  have  frequentl}'  urged  the  importance  of 
plantinjij  places  very  thickly  at  first,  in  order 
both  to  produce  an  immediate  effect,  and  also 
because  the  shelter  which  one  another  affords 
makes  the  trees  grow  with  greater  health  and 
vigor,  than  when  exposed  singly  to  the  force  of 
wind  and  sun.  At  this  season  no  better  employ- 
ment can  be  found  than  in  thinning  out  these 
thick  planted  places.  It  will  of  course  require 
much  judgment ;  but  one  fond  of  trees,  and  the 
effects  which  they  produce,  will  not  be  mnch  at 
a  loss.  Sometimes  it  is  hard  to  bring  oneself  to 
cut  down  a  tree  which  one  has  watched  grow  for 
80  many  years  ;  but  it  often  must  be  done  if  we 
would  preserve  the  symmetry  and  beauty  of  our 
places.  When  there  is  any  question  as  to  the 
proper  tree  to  be  taken  away,  the  size  of  the 
place  may  help  one  to  decide.  A  tree  which 
will  in  time  occupy  much  space  can  be  mjre 
easily  spared  from  a  small  place  than  one  which 
will  never  transgress  a  limited  space.  Indeed, 
except  for  the  purpose  of  rapid  growth  to  nurse 
more  valued  trees,  large  growing  things  should 
not  be  tolerated  in  small  places.  The  green 
grass  which  is  the  charm  of  all  gardens  soon  de- 
parts when  large  trees  are  about. 

Of  course,  this  talk  about  thinning  out,  brings 
us  to  another  great  winter  employment,  that  of 
pruning.  There  is  no  very  great  amount  of 
science  required  for  this,  and  yet  some  judgment 
is  necessary.  This  is  often  done  with  little  more 
reason  than  a  boy  has  for  whittling  a  chip- 
merely  to  have  something  to  do.  For,  notwith- 
standing the  many  papers  that  have  been  writ- 


ten "on  the  philosophy  of  pruning,''  the  naked 
question,  "What  is  the  best  time  to  prune 
trees  ?  is  one  with  which  the  gardener  is  con- 
tinually bored.  The  keen-edged  gardeners  give 
the  cutting  repW,  "  any  time  when  your  knife  is 
sharp;"  but  the  more  good  natured  say,  "It 
depends  on  what  you  want  to  cut  for."  The 
street  cutter  "  wants  to  keep  the  tree  head  low,'' 
and  cuts  down  to  make  them  branch  lower  ;  cut- 
ting in  winter  does  not  have  this  effect,  so  that 
unless  one  has  some  other  object  to  combine  with 
it,  such  as  to  clean  the  tree  of  bark  scales  or  the 
larva  of  other  insects,  or  the  giving  of  employ- 
ment to  some  half-starved  tree  carpenter,  the 
work  might  as  well  be  left  undone.  If  you  want 
a  branch  to  push  strongly  at  the  point  where  you 
cut  a  part  away,  prune  in  winter.  If  your  tree 
has  branches  crossing  each  other,  or  has  half 
dead  branches,  or  anything  tending  to  spoil  the 
form  or  symmetry  of  your  tree,  prune  in  winter  ; 
but  as  a  rule  the  less  pruning  is  done  the 
healthier  will  be  your  trees,  for  it  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  a  rule  in  gardening  that  all  pruning, 
whether  in  winter  or  summer,  is  a  blow  struck 
at  the  vitality  of  the  plant. 

Very  few  understands  that  an  occasional 
change  of  soil  is  very  beneficial  to  flowers  in  beds, 
though  all  know  how  important  it  is  to  flowers 
in  pots.  There  is  nothing  better  than  surface 
soil  from  an  old  pasture,  taken  off  about  two 
inches  deep,  and  thrown  into  a  heap  with  about 
one-sixth  part  old  hot  bed  dung  to  partiilly  de- 
cay. In  addition  to  this  "  staple  ''  item,  smaller 
quantity  of  different  matters  should  be  gathered 
together  for  peculiar  cases,  or  particular  plants. 
Peat,  for  instance,  will  be  found  very  useful  for 


354 


TEE   GJiRDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY.      December, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJTER'S   MOJ^TELY. 


355 


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many  kinds  of  plants.  This  is  not,  as  is  often 
supposed,  mere  black  sand  ;  but  aspony,  fibrous 
substance  from  the  surface  of  bogs  and  boggy 
wastes.  Sand  should  be  collected  sharp  and 
clean  ;  the  washings  from  turnpike  ditches  are 
as  good  as  anything.  Leaf  mould  Ir  best  got 
already  well  decayed  from  the  woods.  That 
one  makes  for  himself  from  rotten  leaves  is  sel- 
dom good  for  anything ;  it  is  always  sour  and 
seems  "  indigestible  "  to  vegetation.  A  load  or 
so  of  well-decayed  cow-manure  is  a  good  thing 
for  the  gardener  to  have  by  him,  as  all  those 
plants  that  dislike  our  hot  summers,  and  want 
a  cool  soil  to  grow  in,  prefer  it  to  any  other  ma- 
nure. A  small  pile  of  hot-bed  manure  is  almost 
indispensable  to  the  garden. 

In  thinning  out  trees,  the  best  plan  is  to  open 
the  soil  away  from  the  stem  a  few  inches  under 
the  ground,  and  cut  it  away  with  an  axe.  Often 
the  regret  to  lose  a  fine  tree  induces  an  attempt 
to  transplant ;  generally,  such  trees  fail  from 
the  usual  difficulties  of  removing  large  trees 
When  they  succeed,  they  seldom  grow  with  a 
healthy  vigor,  and  when  they  have  escaped  all 
these,  an  ugly  spot  is  left  on  the  lawn  where  the 
trees  came  out ;  for  the  grass  will  grow  stronger 
there  for  years  to  come,  and  the  lawn  have  the 
irregular  appearance  of  a  cattle  pasture.  This 
is  the  best  season  to  mark  such  trees  and  shrubs 
as  it  will  be  desirable  to  thin  out,  and  early  in 
spring  the  axe  may  be  allowed  to  do  its  duty. 

Many  kinds  of  trees  that  do  not  seem  to  thrive 
well,  will  be  greatly  improved  next  year  by  hav- 
ing a  surface- dressing  of  manure  or  rich  soil 
thrown  about  them.  .  Evergreens  are  no  excep- 
tion. A  singular  notion  used  to  prevail,  that 
manure  of  any  kind  was  injurious  to  evergreens, 
probably  through  noticing  that  they  were  usually 
found  in  poor,  barren  soil.  Our  best  American 
coniferse  growers,  however,  have  long  practiced 
manuring  them,  and  with  the  best  results. 
Guano  has  been  found  particularly  beneficial  to 
the  Spruce  family,  and  will  probably  be  found  as 
good  for  the  whole  family  of  evergreens. 

It  would  be  well,  at  this  season  of  leisure,  to 
examine  and  decide  on  the  course  of  improve- 
ments for  the  ensuing  yeai*. 

It  does  not,  in  very  many  cases,  require  much 
time  or  money  so  to  alter  the  appearance  of  a 
place  as  to  make  it  bear  a  very  different  look  to 
what  it  did  in  the  past  year.  A  new  clump  of 
cheap  shrubbery  may  be  planted,  or  an  old  one 
taken  away  to  admit  a  new  view  that  may  have 
grown  up  since  the  original  planting.    A  strip  of 


grass  may  be  laid  down  on  what  was  once  a 
bare  gravel.  Here  a  sm^ll  rockery  may  be  put 
together  ;  there  a  nest  of  roots  thrown  up,  and 
ferns  and  trailing  plants  freely  interspersed 
between  them.  In  this  corner  you  may  place  a 
stump,  and  entice  Ivy  or  some  other  climbing 
vines  to  grow  over  it — a  rustic  arbor  may  be 
fbrmed  in  some  inviting  nook,  and  in  another 
shade-enticing  spot,  a  rustic  chair  or  bench  be 
fixed.  Even  the  outlines  of  the  flower-beds  may 
be  changed,  or  of  the  walks  themselves,  or  even 
the  contour  of  the  surface  in  some  instances,  and 
all,  in  many  cases,  at  the  expense  of  a  very 
small  expenditure  of  time  and  money. 

In  all  these  undertakings,  money,  time  and 
vexation  will  be  saved  by  consulting  with  men 
who  make  it  their  business  to  study  such  mat- 
ters. Every  one  can,  of  course,  design  and  lay 
out  his  own  garden,  just  as  well  as  he  could 
make  his  own  coat,  or  design  the  pattern  of  his 
own  chandelier ;  but  he  will  find,  in  the  end, 
that  his  landscape-gardener,  his  tailor,  or  his 
manufacturer  of  lamps,  would  have  done  the 
work  much  more  satisfactorily  for  him.  Many 
suffer  from  ill  fitting  garments  and  ignorant  pre- 
tenders ;  but  the  man  who  has  not  tact  enough 
to  discriminate  in  this  respect,  through  employ- 
ing botches,  deserves  to  suffer  by  badly  designed 
gardens. 


••■•» 


VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

Very  little  can  be  done  now  in  this  depart- 
ment, except  by  way  of  pi;|^aration  for  another 
year. 

Manure  can  be  placed  on  the  ground  wher- 
ever required,  and  Asparagus  beds,  if  not 
already  done,  should  have  a  slight  covering  of 
it.  Bean-poles,  Pea-brush,  and  stakes  of  all 
kinds  should  b*  got  now,  the  tool  houses  gone 
over  and  put  in  order,  and  everything  kept  in 
good  order  and  studiously  in  its  place.  When 
the  season  of  operation  commences,  there  will 
then  be  nothing  to  hold  back  the  attention. 

Where  there  can  be  a  heat  of  60°  commanded, 
Bush-beans  can  be  easily  grown  in  pots,  and  can 
be  gathered  in  two  months  from  the  time  of  sow- 
ing. 

If  there  is  abundance  of  leaves  or  manure  at 
command,  and  small  frames,  beds  may  be  put  up 
for  early  spring  salads  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

Radishes  and  Lettuce  are,  however,  very  impa- 
tient of  too  much  heat ;  they  will  come  on  well  if 
the  temperature  be  kept  at  45°.     When  it  goe» 


above  that,  the  sashes  should  be  lifted  eatirely 
off. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  Potato  and  the 
Early  Horn  Carrot. 


Cauliflowers  in  frames  require  all  the  air  pos- 
sible. Never  allow  them  to  become  dry  ;  this  is 
the  cause  of  many  failures  by  way  of  "  buttoning 
off*.*'  ^ 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    PARRAMATTA, 

SYDNEY,  AND    BOTANY    BAY, 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

BY  W.  T.  HARDING,  AGRICULTURAL   COLLEGE, 

COLUMBUS,    OHIO. 

(Concluded from  Novemher  No.) 
From  near  the  Orange  River,  on  the  coast  of 
AfVica   to  Cape  Town,  following  the  coast  line 
to  Algoa  Bay,  and  on  to  Port  Natal,  where  they 
are  successfully  cultivated,  I  have  often  enjoyed 
them.     At  Mauritius  and  St.  Helena,  too,  where 
they  are  exceedingly  prolific,  and  of  excellent 
flavor,  I  have  eaten  them.     In  Jamaica  I  found 
them  in  abundance,  sweet  and  good.     The  same 
may  be  said  of  them  along  the  shore  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  in  South  America.     Still  further 
away  at  the  Antipodes,  I  found  them  equal  to 
any  I  met  with  in  other  lands.    In  New  Zealand, 
Tasmania,  Norfolk  Island,  and  the  several  colo- 
nies of  Australia  they  are  equally  good,  sweet 
and  grateful  to  the  palate.     In  the  neighborhood 
of  Parramatta  and  Sydney  they  are  cultivated 
extensively,  and  produce  enormous  crops.    Com- 
petent judges   pronounce   them  super-excellent. 
At  the  celebrated  Botanical  Garden  at  Woolo- 
ntooloo,  a  pleasant  suberb  of  Sydney,  (to  which 
I  previously  alluded  in  the  Monthly)  I  saw  some 
splendid  specimens  of  the  genus  Citrus  in  culti- 
vation, embracing  the  Orange,  Lemon,  Shaddock, 
Lime,   &c.,   in    all  their    recognized   varieties. 
During  the  extreme  drouth  which  occurred  there 
in  1827,  '28,  tlje  superb  collection  of  the  Citrus 
family  were  literally  burned  up  with  the  intense 
heat  from  the  furnace-like  blasts  of  hot  winds, 
which  then   prevailed   throughout  the   colony! 
The  pen  of  William  Howitt  has  graphically  de- 
scribed it. 

But  what  was  most  singular,  in  regard  to 
other  fruit  trees  imported  from  colder  climates, 
was  their  being  able  to  live  through  the  fiery 
ordeal  comparatively  unscathed.  Such  trees  as 
apples,   pears,    peaches,   plums,    apricots,   and 


cherries,  remained  uninjured,  while  plants  and 
trees  from  warm  and  sunny  climates  perished. 
It  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  nature  we  cannot 
well  understand,  any  more  than  "the  reason 
why  the  evergreens  of  Northern  Asia  stood  the 
intense  cold  of  the  winter  and  spring  of  '72  in 
this  country  better  than  the  American  natives." 
They  are  too  "hard  nuts''  for  scientific  molars 
to  crack.  "The  hard  nut''  Mr.  Buist  offered 
some  time  ago,  has  not  yet  been  cracked  satis- 
factorily. 

As  the  impressions  were  received  of  the  vari- 
ous places  I  arrived  at,  so  I  got  them  down  from 
time  to  time  ;  and  if  they  appear  to  the  reader 
rather  zig  zag,  they  are  nevertheless  as  straight 
as  I  can  draw  the  line  of  facts  which  have  guided 
me  thus  far.     Whenever  I  pronounce  one  spot 
more  delightful  than  another,  a  tree,  fruit,  or 
flower,  more  beautiful  than  others,  it  is  because 
I  thought  and  felt  it  to  be  so  then.     So,  if  I  say 
Parramatta  excels  all  other  localities,  with  its 
winding  river  and   romantic  surroundings,  its 
fields  of  pine  apples,  plantations,  groves,  and 
orchards  of  loquats,  figs,  olives,  dates,  bananas, 
guavas,   peaches,  pomegranates,  apples,  pears, 
tamarinds,  &c.,  which  cover  the  sunny  banks 
from  which  peep  out  from  among  the  delightful 
greenery,  pretty  villas,  elegant  mansions,  pictur- 
esque cottages,  and  pleasant  homes,  it  is  because 
it  seemed  so.     The  grape  vine,  with  its  prover- 
bial fruitfulness,  revelled  in  wild  abandon  among 
the  trees  and  vineyards  which  skirt  the  beauti- 
ful river.     Some  of  the  most  exquisite  scenery 
nature  had  shaped  into  pleasure  spots,  lay  along 
each  side  of  the  stream.  The  landscape  gardener, 
too,  had  displayed  a  rare  skill,  both  in  natural 
and  gardenesque  style,  in  improving  and  laying 
out    the  grounds  about    the  dwellings  of   the 
weathy  classes,  government  officials,  merchants 
and  lucky  diggers. 

The  attention  of  the  ornithologist  is  pleas- 
antly drawn  to  the  great  variety  of  beautiful 
plumaged  birds,  which  perch  and  flit  about  the 


i 

I. 


356 


THE    GABDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTSLY.     December, 


187S. 


THE    GARDE  JETER'S   MOJTTHLY. 


857 


\v 


\ 


k 

t 


I 


overhanging  trees  which  droop  over  the  river, 
and  display  their  brilliant  pinions  among  the 
rich  foliage  and  pretty  flowers  so  conspicuous  in 
the  pictures  of  Australian  scenery.  At  the  dis- 
charge of  a  gun  thousands  of  splendid  colored 
birds  start  from  the  bushes,  and  for  the  moment 
appear  like  a  grand  pyrotechnical  display,  or  the 
many  colored  flash  of  an  immense  kaleidoscope. 
The  vast  number  of  water  fowls,  on  the  lake- 
like ponds  and  lagoons  of  the  Murry  and  its 
tributaries,  are  a  wonder  and  surprise  to  the 
stranger.  Flocks  of  black  swans,  gently  sailing 
along  the  rivers,  are  frequently  seen,  while 
blue  and  white  cranes  wade  about  the  streams 
by  thousands.  To  the  Australian  Sheildrake,  is 
conceeded  the  palm  of  beauty.  Its  splendid 
*'  coat  of  many  colors "  is  really  magnificent, 
and  their  flesh  being  free  from  the  usual  ii^hy  taste 
of  water  fowl,  are  excellent  eating. 

After  a  pleasant  sojourn  among  the  orchards, 
vineyards,  and  gardens  around  Parramatta 
feasting  upon  the  many  varieties  of  home  and 
foreign  fruits,  until  sated  with  sweetness,  we  se- 


which  the  colonists  evince  a  just  appreciation. 
But  unfortunately  at  the  time  of  which  I  write, 
the  golden  attractions  of  the  diggins  had  altered 
'*  fair  sense '»  from  her  pleasant  walks,  while 
*'the  stuient's  book,  and  his  favorite  nook" 
were  abandoned,  and  *'  Fair  Flora  "  was  left  to 
languish  unloved  and  alone.  But  old(^n  memo- 
ries were  not  forgotton,  when  steadier  times  re- 
turned, and  "the  light  of  other  days  ''  beamed 
brightly  again. 

In  the  halcyon  days  which  followed  the  vota- 
ries" of  Flora,  Ceres  and  Pomona,  who  had  not 
forgotten  their  first  love,  or  renounced  their 
fealty  to  the  shine  of  nature,  met  beneath  the 
evergreen  shades  of  Woolomooloo,  and  cheery 
with  hopeful  auguries  for  the  future  welfare  of 
the  garden,  reached  down  their  silent  harps,  and 
again  "sung  the  lay  of  a  happier  time.''  But 
adieu  I  to  the  garden  :  sweet  source  of  many  a 
pleasant  hour,  I  shall  never  tread  thy  peaceful 
paths  ag^in  I 

lleferring  once  more  to  Sydney, what  a  beautiful 
English  looking  city  it  seems, with  its  noble  gran- 


cured  a  passage  on  a  steamer  to  Sydney,  some  I  ito  structures  which  have  a  firm  and  enduring 

fifteen  miles  distant.  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^  England.  No  tmsel  or 

^         .     u  *    ,        ,   T,  iL     A  ^  t-^        pasteboard  shams,  but  weighty,  massive  and  solid 

Ever  to  be  remembered,  like  a  "red  letter-    *    ^,  ,  i  •  i   *i         „^  k.,:u      -Nj/^cf  /^^ 

,,,.,.        ,      ,        p  ,.  '  ,  .     1         I  as  the  rock <iipon  which  they  are  built.     Most  ol 

day,"  in  the  calendar  of  life,  was  our  trip  down  ^ 


to  Sydney  ;  and  on  along  the  coast  to  Woolou- 
gong,  Kiama,  Jamberoo,  and  Sholehaven.  All 
pleasant  spots,  and  delightfully  situated  among 
the  most  romantic  and  exquisite  scenery.  They 
are  favorite  resorts  for  pleasure  parties  present- 
ing splendid  sketches  and  sweeps  of  river  scene- 
ry, villas,  gardens,  parks,  and  pleasure  grounds, 
on  the  rocky  and  umbrageous  bays  which  indent 
the  river.  AVe  know  we  are  neaiing  the  ocean 
by  the  mangrove  thickets  which  reach  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  the  heavy  motion  of  the 
billowy  sea  which  strikes  the  ear.  Stepping  on 
shore,  and  being  "in  light  marching  order,"  I 
soon  reached  the  "South  Head."  From  the 
rocky  bluff",  near  the  light-house,  the  grand  ex- 
panse of  the  broad  Pacific  meets  the  eye. 
While  gazing  at  "the  vasty  deep,"  and  listen- 
ing to  "the  murmuring  motion  of  the  never 
weary  sea,"  recalled  to  memory  Byron's  words  : 

"Time  writes  no  wrinkles  on  thine  azure  brow, 
Such  as  creation's  dawn,  beliold,  tliou  rollest  now." 

Returning  to  Sydney,  I  perambulated  its  broad 
and  well-paved  streets  for  the  last  time,  until  I 
reached  the  Domain,  or  Public  Park,  and  Prom- 
enade at  Woolomooloo  in  the  suburb.  Adja- 
cent is  the  excellent  Botanical  Garden,  and  of 


these  fine  specimens  of  architectural  skill  were 
raised  by  convict  labor,  during  the  time  it  was 
the  head-quarters  of  the  penal  settlement  of  New 
South  Wales.      There,    in    the  year  1780,    the 
British  Government  transported  the  first  gang 
of  felons.     Happily  for  the  colony  now,  it  is  no 
longer  tainted   with   the  convict  element,  and 
bids  fair  to  become,  ere  long,  one  of  the  most 
favored  and  fertile  spots  in  the  * 'Promised  Land." 
Bidding  a  "heartfelt,  warm  adieu''   to  the 
friends  I  left  behind  me,  and  having  made  ar- 
rangements for  a  passage  to  Melbourne  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning  strolled  along  the  shore  of  Botany 
Bay  for  the  last  time,  and  sat  down  on  the  beach, 
which  is  marked  as  the  spot  where  those  pilgrims 
of  the  ocean  first  landed,  namely,  Captain  Cook, 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  Dr.  Solander.     The  after- 
noon was  calm  and  pleasant,  with  scarcely  a 
ripple  on  the  bosom  of  the  sea,  which  gently  and 
sweetly  murmured  in  musical  cadence,  as  it  rolled 
at  my  feet.     Impressed  with   feelings  akin  to 
sadness,  reflective  memory  went  back  to  other 
days  and  other  lands.     In  ideality,  how  vividly 
I  remembered  the  time,  when  a  boy,  and  how 
my  evening  studies  were  divided  between  "  Pin- 
nock's   Catechism    of   Botany,''    and    a    well- 
thumbed    copy    of   "Captain    Cook's    voyage 


around  the  world."  How  my  young  heart 
yearned  for  the  brave  marine,  as  I  followed  him 
and  his  gallant  crew  by  the  book,  in  the  ingle 
nook  of  an  English  fire-side.  IIow  much  I 
longed  to  become  a  botanist  like  Banks  or  Solan- 
der, or  a  navigator  like  Cook,  and  "go  down  to 
the  sea  in  ships."  In  fancy,  I  felt  as  though  I 
was  one  of  them.  Then  I  had  not  seen  the 
mighty  deep,  nor  the  wonders  of  foreign  lands. 
In  the  lapse  of  time,  while  pursuing  my  calling, 
what  changes  have  occurred  since  then  I  Many 
and  strange  have  been  the  mutations  of  my 
fortune— chastened  by  affliction — anon,  cheered 
by  brighter  prospects,— sometimes  even  in  the 
enjoyment  of  prosperity— "  all  sunny  sheen." 
Again,  perchance  sinking  amid  sorrows— yet  in 
each,  and  all  of  life's  vicissitudes,  my  love  and 
attachments  to  nature  have  not  faltered  ;  nor 
will  not,  as  long  as  I  recognize  in  its  kingdom  a 
benign  Creator. 

Botany  Bay,  edged  in  by  thousands  of  beauti- 
ful trees,  shrubs  and  flowers,  lay  before  me.  In 
the  distance  rolled  the  wide  Pacific.  Landwards, 
the  highest  peaks  of  the  Australian  Alps 
reared  their  summits,  some  seven  thousand  feet 
above  tlie  sea  level. 

As  th"  mantle  of  night  gently  fell  over  nature, 
the  silvery  sheen  of  the  moon's  soft  splendor 
burst  through  the  portals  of  heaven,  where,  si- 
lentW  keeping  her  long  vigils  through  thousands 
of  years,  she  had  calmly  looked  down  on  the  mun- 
dane aflTairs  of  the  world,  and  still  seemed  to 
keep  watch  over  me.  Like  a  shining  emblem  of 
the  Christian's  faith,  and  with  a  conspicuous 
glimmer  among  the  myriads  of  twin  king:  stars, 
shone  the  bright  constellations  which  form  "  the 
Southern  Cross  "  in  the  austral  sky. 

Such  was  the  last  night  the  writer  spent  in 
New  South  Wales,  and  on  that  account  was  too 
precious  to  be  spent  in  unconscious  slumber.  Well 
knowing  that  "time  stays  for  no  man,'' I  re- 
solved to  apply  the  few  remaining  hours  as  pro- 
fitably as  I  could,  with  the  trees,  shrubs,  and 
flowers,  I  had  so  often  and  happily  wandered 
among.  I  gathered  a  few  souvenirs  and  memen- 
toes, as  reminders  of  the  spot,  to  be  looked  at 
whh  pleasant  recollections  when  fiir  away. 
Some  curious  crustaceous  specimens  I  gathered 
on  the  beach,  with  marine  and  terrestrial  vege- 
tations, hoping  at  some  future  time  to  see  them 
in  a  "cabinet  of  curiosities.''  However,  that 
was  not  to  be.  They  were  subsequently  lost, 
with  most  of  my  worldly  goods,  myself  narrowly 
escaping,  when   the    ill-fated    "  Merope "   went 


down.  Of  the  miseries  I  then  endured,  ere  I 
trod  on  "  mother  earth  "  again,  God  and  myself 
only  knows. 

As  the  morning  broke,  I  could  see  the  masts 
of  the  S.  S.  "Cleopatra,"  Captain  Cadell,  bound 
for  Melbourne,  and  was  soon  after  on  board, 
where  I  must  leave  you,  Mr.  Editor,  and  the 
readers  of  the  Monthly,  whose  weary  feet  have 
thus  far  wandered  with  me.  Perchance  we  may 
meet  again. 


<•»•» 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  PEAS. 

BY   K.,    PHIL  A. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1873,  the  editor  of  the 
Gardener  s  Monthly  placed  in  my  hands  packages 
of  peas  which  he  had  received  from  various 
sources,  with  the  request  that  I  would  report  on 
their  merits  when  tested. 

As  soon  as  the  frost  was  out  of  the  ground,  I 
planted  the  peas  on  a  piece  of  ground  favorable 
for  this  vegetable,— a  row  of  each  and  all  side  by 
side. 

The  Advancer  was  ready,  and  gathered  for  use 
on  24th  of  June,  Wonderful  on  the  26th,  Cham- 
pion of  England  on  the  27th,  Half  Dwarf  Sugar 
on  the  27th,  Knight's  Dwarf  Marrow  29th,  J. 
F.  Wilson  30th. 

The  Advancer,  though  a  few  days  earlier,  does 
not  bear  as  well  as  the  Wonderful,  although  in 
this  respect  it  is  fair  ;    but   to   my  taste,  and 
those  who  at  a  tolerable  large  table  ate  them 
with  me,   the   Wonderful    has   much   the  best 
flavor.     Indeed  I  regard  it  as  the  best  flavored 
of  any  named.     The  Champion  of  England  has 
large  peas,  but  the  croji  on  the  whole  was  no 
greater  than  on  the  Wonderful  ;  and  in  other 
respects  not  quite  so  good.    Knight's  Dwarf  Mar- 
row was  the  best  bearer  of  all  of  them.     I  sup- 
pose it  would  fill  the  bill  for  those  who  prefer 
quantity  to   quality.      To   be    sure    it    is  good 
enough  for  most  people  to  whom  a  pea  is  a  pea 
and  nothing  more  ;  and  only  that  we  were  on  a 
tasting  committee,  we  might  not  have  concluded 
the  flavor  not  so  good  as  the  Wonderful ;  and  as 
to  half  dwarf,— the  whole  dwarf  must  be  a  pretty 
tall    fellow.     These   where   all   grown  on  pea- 
brush,  and   there  was  little    difference    in   the 
height  of  any  of  the  kind.    The  half  Dwarf  Su- 
gar was  also  an  excellent  bearer,  mostly  being 
produced  at  the  tops  of  the  stems. 

J.  F.  Wilson  I  was  rather  disappointed  in. 
The  peas  were  very  large,  but  many  of  which 
there  were  the  embryos   in   the  pod   failed   to 


358 


TEE   GARDE JTER'S  MOJ^TELY.     December, 


187S. 


TEE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVTELY. 


369 


I 


perfect.  Still  it  was  nearly  as  good  as  any,  only 
we  expected  much  more  from  it. 

I  may  remark  that  the  pea  is  a  very  capricious 
vegetable.  I  do  not  think  the  same  result 
would  always  follow  in  every  place  as  here  ;  nor 
do  I  think  they  would  always  come  as  here  on 
my  own  grounds.  Still,  with  the  result  of  this 
season,  I  am  so  well  satisfied,  that  for  my  own 
use  I  shall  plant  largely  of  Wonderful  another 
year.  • 

I  feel  much  interested  in  the  pea  question 
since  trying  these  experiments  ;  and  if  any  one 
has  made  comparisons  wi<h  other  kinds  ©r  with 
these,  1  would  be  glad  to  know  through  the 
Gardener^s  Monthly. 


«•»»» 


DESTRUCTION  OF  MEALY  BUG. 

BY  HERMANN  MUNZ,  MEADVILLK,  PA. 

We  have  tried  most  all  recommended  methods 
to  destroy  the  woolly  insect  or  m«tily  bug,  and 
found  them  more  or  less  unsatisfactory.  At 
last  we  found  a  method  of  destroying  this  insect 
— most  hated  by  all  florists,  which  we  practice 
in  our  greenhouses  with  the  greatest  sktisfaction 
and  saving  of  labor. 

In  watering  our  plants,  which  is  done  by  a 
force  pump  connected  with  a  nozzel  or  rose,  as 
needed.  Finding  a  plant  affected  by  the  insect, 
we  set  it  on  the  floor,  take  off"  the  nozzel  or  rose, 
cover  the  end  of  the  hose  with  the  thumb,  and 
divert  a  fine  stream  of  water  with  all  the  force 
of  the  pump  on  the  affected  parts  of  the  plant, 
and  in  less  than  a  minute  the  insects  will  be 
all  washed  off"  the  plants,  it  will  even  wash  them 
out  of  the  bark  as  in  Medinella  magnifica,  &c. 


*•»•» 


NOTES  AT  THE  KOSEDALE  NURSERY, 
PHILADELPHIA. 

BY  CHRONICLER. 

I  visited  this  noted  establishment  the  latter 
end  of  August  last,  and  found  Mr.  Buist  direct- 
ing the  construction  of  a  new  glasshouse,  125 
feetlong,and24  feet  wide,  with  span  roof  and  broad 
front  shelves  around  ;  a  gangway,  and  a  walled 
up  pit  in  the  middle.  It  will  either  be  a  great 
Azalea  and  Camellia  storehouse,  or  a  forcing 
house  for  winter  cut  flowers,*  all  of  which,  as  a 
skilful  grower,  Mr.  Buist  has  for  forty  years 
been  distinguished. 

Among  new  stocks  in  the  open^ground,  I  saw 
a  large  bed  of  the  striped  Tuberose ;  the  leaves 
and  flower-stalk  are  striped  with  white  and 
green,  in  equal  parts,  which  makes  the  plant 


very  ornamental.  It  blooms  as  freely,  and  is  as 
fragrant  as  the  old  species.  Hydrangea  pani- 
culata  grandifloray  a  new,  stately  and  hardy 
deciduous  shrub,  was  in  bloom.  The  flower 
trusses  are  very  large  and  beautiful,  white, 
tinged  with  rose  ;  a  lovely  acquisition  to  prolong 
the  blossoms  of  the  arboretum.  Two  new  varie- 
ties of  Hibiscus  sinensis  in  bloom  ;  the  flowers 
are  seven  inches  in  diameter,  from  tip  to  tip  of 
petals  ;  one  is  shining  scarlet,  the  other  scarlet, 
splashed  with  white.  As* the  Hibiscus  is  now 
largely  bedded  out  in  summer,  and  blooms  from 
June  to  November,  those  two  new  varieties  will 
make  a  dashing  show.  A  new  Lager strcemia, 
literally  covered  with  its  white  blossoms,  and  far 
more  showy  than  the  pink  and  purple  species, 
A  bed  of  Veronica  alha,  the  white  blooms  of 
which  contrast  beautifully  with  that  of  the  blue 
species.  A  large  plantation  of  the  Bosedale  Ar- 
horvitcei  I  was  told  that  none  of  the  plants  lost 
a  leaf  by  the  cold  of  the  past  two  winters,  while 
all  the  other  varieties  of  Chinese  Arborvitse  were 
much  injured  in  foliage  and  habit.  The  Rose- 
dale  is  the  most  graceful  of  all  the  Arborvitaes. 
There  were  several  superb  new  evergreens. 
Among  the  greenhouse  exotics  there  were  very 
many  new  and  highly  ornamental  species  and 
varieties.  Although  familiar  in  this  department, 
felt  bewildered  at  seeing  so  many  new  and  superb 
plants.  The  singular  habits  of  some,  and  the 
splendid  variegations  of  others,  surpassed  my 
expectation  of  a  few  years  ago. 


•••»» 


CULTIVATION  OF  DATURA  ARBOREA. 

BY   THOS.   F.    WEBB. 

The  Datura  arborea,  sometimes  called  Brusr- 
mansia,  is  a  rapid  grower,  with  large  foliage. 
There  are  several  varieties.  The  one  generally 
found  in  our  greenhouses  is  called  Datura 
Knightii  *,  it  has  interesting  double  white  funnel- 
shaped  flowers,  and  very  fragrant,  which  it 
bears  profusely.  The  bloom  is,  however,  of 
rather  short  duration,  still  they  are  worthy  of  a 
place  in  every  greenhouse.  Can  be  slowed  away 
under  the  stage,  or  in  any  odd,  dark  corner  dur- 
ing the  winter  months.  They  can  be  propagated 
from  eyes.  The  whole  of  the  last  season's  wood 
can  be  used  as  you  would  a  grape  vine,  that  is 
with  half  an  inch  of  wood  to  each  bud,  which 
can  be  placed  in  small  pots,  or  a  number  in 
shallow  pans  or  boxes,  as  most  convenient  to 
the  cultivator.  If  a  gentle  bottom  heat  is  avail- 
able, they  will  root  much  quicker.     They  must 


be  kept  moist,  but  not  wet.     The  young  plants 
will  do  well  during  the  winter,  if  a  temperature 
of  from  50^  to  55°  can  be  maintained.     Early  in 
spring  they  may  be  potted  into  four-inch  pots, 
and  started  into  growth  in  the  hothouse ;   they 
will  soon  make  rapid   growth  if  assisted  with 
bottom  heat.     From  the  time  they  are  first  pot- 
ted, they  must  be  constantly  attended  to  in  that 
respect.     As  soon  as  the  roots  have  reached  the 
sides  of  the  pot,  shift  into  larger  size  ones  till 
they  have  reached  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches  ;  large 
plants  are  required.     If  you  wish  to  grow  dwarf 
standards,  put  stakes  to  them,  taking  care  to  keep 
the  stem  perfectly  upright,  then  the  side  shoots 
must  be  pinched  olT,  leaving  three  or  four  at  the 
top.     When  the  plant  has  attained  the  height 
you  wish— from  two  or  three  feet  is  a  convenient 
height— and    looks    well,   pinch    out    the    top. 
After  this  is  done,  the  three  or  four  side  shoots 
not  rubbed  off"  will  grow  fast,  and  are  the  founda- 
tion of  the  head.     These  shoots  can  each  have 
their  terminal  bud  pinched  out  in  the  same  way 
as  you  did  the  top  of  the  plant.     After  they  are 
three  or  four  inches  long  they  will  then  throw 
out    several    shoots    each,  and    quickly    form 
a  head.      If  any    croBS-growing    shoots  show 
themselves,    cut    them    clean    away,   or    any 
other   shoots  that  would  tend    to   crowd    the 
plant.     The  main  shoots  must  not  be  stopped 
after  this,  but  allowed  to  grow  till  they  produce 
flower  buds  ;  they  had  then  better  be  removed  to 
the  coolest  part  of  the  house  for  a  few  days,  pre- 
vious to  their  removal  to  the  greenhouse  or  con- 
servatory, where  they  will  continue  to  flower  for 
a  long  time,  filling  the  house  with  their  powerful 
fragrance.     They  grow  best  in  a  compost  loam, 
(sod  cut  from  an  old  pasture)  Jersey  peat,  and 
cow-dung    about    two  parts    of  the    first   and 
equal  parts  of  the  latter.     If  *'  sod  ''  from  a  pas- 
ture is  cut  and  laid  by  until  it  is  well  rotted,  it 
is  then  enriched    with   vegetable   matter,  and 
will    grow    anything.     Plants    of  a   succulent 
nature  like  the  Datura  will  grow  better  if  a  por 
tion  of  peat  and   cow  dung,  or  leaf-mould    is 
added.     If  the  plants  are  to  be  placed  on  the 
lawn,  or  any  other  conspicuous  place  about  the 
grounds,  protect  them  as  much  as  possible  from 
the   wind,  which,  as   the  foliage   is   large  and 
brittle,  is  very  liable  to  be  broken.     They  may 
be  planted  out  about  the  time  the  ordinary  bed- 
ding subjects  are  put  in  their  summer  quarters, 
taking  care  to  support  them  with  stout  stakes 
and  neatly  tied.     They  can  either  be  plunged  in 
their  pots,  or  turned  out. 


Before  frost  appears,  they  must  of  course  be 
taken  up  with  a  ball  of  earth,  and  packed  closely 
under  the  stage  (if  room  is  an  object)  upon  the 
ground,  keeping  them  without  water,  and  after 
they  have  dropped  their  leaves,  they  may  be 
pruned  top  and  root,  then  potted  in  fresh, 
soil  prepared  as  stated,  slightly  watered,  placed 
in  the  back  part  of  the  hothouse  or  greenhouse 
until  the  buds  commence  to  grow,  then  at  once 
remove  to  the  light. 

In  pruning  the  head  cut  in  rather  close  to  the 
stem,  that  is  within  two  or  three  buds  ;  you  can 
then  select  the  best  placed  ones  that  will  make 
the  handsomest  head,  cutting  the  others  entirely 
away.  All  they  will  require  this  season  is  to 
stop  any  shoots  that  show  a  tendency  to  become 
more  vigorous  than  their  fellows. 

The  Acarus  tellarius  or  Red  Spider  is  the 
greatest  pest,  and  care  must  be  taken  to  fre- 
quently syringe  the  plants,  more  particularly  the 
under-side  of  the  leaves.  They  cannot  exist 
here  syringing  is  well  attended  to.  Water  is 
death  to  the  Red  Spider. 


4««»» 


SPECIFIC  HEAT  OF  PLANTS. 

BY  REV.    L.   J.   TEMPLIN,  KOFOMO,  IND. 

The  question  of  the  existence  of  internal  speci- 
fic heat  in  plants  has  elicited  considerable  of  in- 
quiry, and  is  certainly  an  interesting  subject  to 
every  one  interested  in  the  phenomena  of  the 
vegetable  world.  A  correct  conclusion  can  be 
reached,  only  by  a  careful  investigation  of  all 
the  facts  bearing  on  the  subject.  Mere  theorizing, 
as  well  as  a  partial  view  of  the  facts,  is  very 
likely  to  lead  to  erroneous  conclusions. 

It  is  often  observed,  after  the  fall  of  a  snow, 
that  what  falls  against  the  trunk  and  roots  of 
living  trees  soon  melts  away  at  every  point  of 
contact  with  the  bark,  leaving  a  hollow  space 
between  the  snow  and  the  tree.  It  is  readily 
concluded  that  the  flow  of  the  sap  and  other 
internal  functions  of  the  living  vegetable  germi- 
nate so  much  heat  that  the  surface  of  the  tree  is 
kept  above  the  freezing  point.  But  then  we  find 
that  this  thawing  does  not  invariably  take  place 
after  a  snow  fall.  Sometimes  a  driving  snow 
will  beat  against  the  side  of  a  tree,  and  remain 
there  for  several  days  without  any  indications  of 
thawing.  How  is  this  to  be  reconciled,  with  the 
phenomena  noted  above  ;  or  how  can  we  account 
for  the  thawing  in  one  case  and  not  in  all  cases  ? 
Some  have  suppo-sed  this  thawing  was  the  heat 
of  the  sun  falling  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 


S60 


THE   GARBEJ^ER'S  MOJ^THLY.    December, 


1873. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S  MOJfTELY. 


S6l 


v.\ 


Hi 


I) 


and  being  reflected  back  against  the  same,  thus 
raising  the  temperature  above  the  freezing  point ; 
but  that  this  will  not  account  for  it  in  all  cases 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  thawing  is 
often  observed  where  the  sun's  rays  could  not 
reach  it,  and,  in  fact,  in  the  entire  absence  of 
sunshine.  How  then  are  these  different  phe- 
nomena to  be  explained  ?  In  order  to  obtain  a 
satisfactory  answer  to  this  query,  it  is  necessary 
to  inquire  into  the  real  condition  of  the  interior 
of  the  tree. 

From  the  fallof  theleaf  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  till 
towards  spring,  there  is  comparatively  less  sap 
in  the  tree  than  during  the  growing  season  ; 
this  sap  is  also  less  active  than  at  other  seasons 
of  the  year.  This  sap,  however,  is  always  in 
circulation  during  the  winter  till  it  has  reached 
a  temperature  several  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point.  The  circulation  of  the  sap  and  all  similar 
functions  of  the  vegetable  economy,  involve  the 
liberation  of  a  greater  or  less  amount  of  heat. 
It  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  sap  coming  up  from 
the  deeper  sub-soil,  carries  with  it  more  or  less 
heat.  But  taking  these  and  all  other  sources  of 
internal  heat, -if  there  be  any  other— experi- 
ments, long  continued  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, prove  the  interior  of  the  tree  does  not 
average  more  than  one-half  of  one  degree  above 
the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  surrounding 
such  trees.  If  this  is  true,  how  are  we  to  account 
for  the  melting  of  the  snow,  as  mentioned  above, 
when  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  below  the 
freezing  point  ? 

This  leads  us  to  notice  another  curious  phe- 
nomenon in  regard  to  the  internal  temp-^rature 
of  the  tree.  While  the  average  temperature  of  ' 
the  interior  of  the  tree  varies  but  little  from  that 
of  the  ambient  air,  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tem- 
perature do  not  coincide  in  the  two  by  a  differ- 
ence of  several  hours.  If  the  atmosphere  attains 
its  maximum  heat  at  2  oY-lock  P.  M.,  the  inte- 
rior of  a  tree  will  reach  the  same  point  from  four 
to  eight  hours  later,  following  in  almost  exactly 
the  same  circuit  of  that  of  ihe  air.  I  think  we 
find  here  an  explanation  of  the  melting  of  snow 
on  trees  when  the  ambient  air  is  below  the  freez- 
ing point.  Snow  frequently,  if  not  generally, 
falls  when  the  air  is  above  32^  fah.;  and  if  it  has 
been  in  this  state  for  some  hours,  the  conditicm 
of  the  tree  would  probably  be  the  same  and 
even  though  the  temperature  of  the  air  fall  im- 
mcdiatelybelow  that  point,  the  tree,  as  shown 
above,  will  be  some  hours  longer  in  reaching  the 
same  state  ;  and  if  the  depth  of  the  snow  is  sufli- 


cient  to  exclude  the  coldness  of  the  air,  the  tree 
may  remain  at  a  temperature  sufficiently  high  to 
melt  the  show  in  contact  with  its  surface  much 
longer  than  it  would  if  it  had  been  exposed  at 
once  to  the  cooling  effects  of  the  colder  air. 
These  considerations  will,  I  think,  reconcile 
the  apparent  contra«dictions  between  the  conclu- 
sions of  those  who  have  noted  the  internal  and 
those  who  have  observed  only  the  external  ther- 
mal condition  of  the  tree.  The  conclusion  would 
follow  that  the  heat  given  off  by  the  tree  is  not 
sensibly  more  than  it  had  previously  absorbed 
from  internal  sources.  But  inasmuch  as  this 
heat  is  given  off  by  radiation,  beginning  when 
the  heat  of  the  sun  begins  to  decrease,  and  con- 
tinuing till  the  air  is  again  warmed  by  the  sun, 
it  has  a  decidedly  modifying  influence  on  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere.  A  forest  or 
grove  may  then  be  regarded  as  a  regulator  of  the 
temperature  of  the  surrounding  medium.  It 
would  also  seem  reasonable  that  the  presence  or 
absence  of  forests  should  have  a  decided  influ- 
ence on  the  climate  of  a  country.  xV  practical 
conclusion  is,  that  by  the  employment  of  groves 
and  windbreaks,  every  horticulturist  and  farmer 
may,  within  certain  limits,  contract,  or  at  least 
modify,  the  temperature  of  his  own  locality. 


NOTE    ON    ADIANTUM    FARLEYENSE, 
AND  BEGONIA  SANGUINEA. 

BY  IJ.    BUIST,    SR.,    ROSEDALE,    PHIL  A. 

Ad'mnium  Ftirleyevse  is  a  native  of  Trinidad  ; 
was  found  on  the  estate  of  Farley  Hall,  thereby 
its  name  ;  was  sent  to  Enj^land  \iy  a  ship  from 
Barbadoes.  ^ly  plant,  now  two  feet  high,  and 
two  and  a  half  feet  wide,  came  from  its  native 
locality  in  Trinidad,  and  has  not  the  least  affinity 
to  A.  tenerum^  which  is  not,  I  believe,  found  on 
the  same  island. 

Beyonia  Sanguinea  takes  its  name  from  the 
blood-colored  leaves.  The  flowers  are  pure 
white.  Was  introduced  about  forty  years  ago 
from  Brazil  It  is  a  very  attractive  wind<iw- 
plant,  and  should  be  in  every  collection,  large  or 
small. 


ORCniDyE. 

BY   ^IR.   JAMFS  TAPLIN,    MANAGER   TO  GEO. 
SUCH,    ES(i  ,    SOUTH    AMBOY,    N.    J. 

Catlleya  Mossi.t:.— This  is  one  of  the  most 
showy  and  easily  grown  in  this  splendid  family 
of  plants,  and  a  variety  which  should  be  in  every 
collection  ;  being  comparatively  cheap,  any  ama- 
tuer  need  not  hesitate  about  obtaining  it. 


The  CatUeyas  being  natives  of  such  countries 
as  Brazil  and  New  Grenada,  do  not  require 
such  high  temperature  as  the  East  Indian  varie- 
ties of  Orchidse,  which  not  only  make  the 
house  they  occupy  more  enjoyable,  but  brings 
them  under  the  management  of  any  one  with  a 
small  warm  greenhouse  ;— in  fact  any  house  in 
which  the  temperature  does  not  fall  below  50^  in 
winter,  can  be  used  for  this  purpose,  if  they  are 
kept  dry  and  not  exposed  to  cold  drafts.  We 
grow  them  in  a  house  kept  about  60^  in  cold 
weather,  but  the  growth  is  made  during  thQ  hot 
weather,  so  that  a  lower  temperature  will  not 
injure  the  plants. 

The  plants  will  grow  and  flower  well  on  blocks 
of  wood  suspended  from  the  roof,  but  the  flowers 
are  seldom  so  large  as  when  grown  in  pots,  and 
in  a  house  kept  at  a  minimum  temperature,  care 
need  be  taken  that  the  plants  are  not  less  than  a 
foot  from  the  glass,  or  they  will  suffer  from  cold 
on  very  severe  nights.  I  prefer  to  grow  them  in 
pots  or  pans,  two-thirds  filled  -with  drainage, 
and  the  stem  parts  peat-fibered,  the  plants  being 
well  raised  above  the  surface,  and  of  course  no 
part  of  the  pseudo-bulb  bruised.  In  watering 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  let  water  in  hearts  of 
young  growth,  or  they  will  probably  rot.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  allow  these  plants  to  be  dust-dry  at 
any  time,  for  there  is  often  more  root  growth  in 
winter  than  in  summer  ;  in  fact  never  allow 
them  to  shrivel  from  want  of  moisture,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Catlleyas  are  all 
evergreens,  and  lost  leaves  are  never  renewed 
on  the  same  bulbs. 

There  are  many  varieties  among  this  species, 
both  in  flower  and  foliage  ;  in  fact  in  a  hundred 
plants,  scarcely  any  two  will  be  exactly  alike, 
which  adds  another  charm  to  any  one  getting  up 
and  adding  to  their  collection. 

This  plant  is  not  troubled  much  by  insects  ;  a 
small  white  scale  is  sometimes  found  on  it,  but 
can  be  removed  with  a  sponge  on  its  first 
appearance,  or  it  leaves  small  indented  spots  on 


the  foliage. 


TOUCHING  LAWNS-THEIR  GRADES 
AND  THE  GRASSES. 

BY   F.   R.    ELLIOTT,  CLEVELAND,   OHIO. 

Possibly  not  a  word  new  or  explanatory  of 
how  to  make,  how  to  grade,  the  variety  of  seed, 
and  quantity  to  sow,  etc.,  touching  what  we 
once  called  grass-plots  all  throughout  the  coun- 
try, but  what  now  generally  receive,  correctly 


and  appropriately,  the  name  of  lawns ;  but  new- 
readers  come  before  all  magazines  of  intelligence, 
for  theie  are  all  the  time  new  creators  of  home 
grounds,  upon  which  these  lawns  are  situated^ 
and  as  they  cannot  all  expect  to  be  read  up  in 
the  art  or  knowledge,  however  many  times 
they  may  have  been  repeated,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  for  an  outsider  to  give  yet  another  hint  and 
word  touching  the  subject,  however  capably  the 
editor  of  the  Gardener'>s  Monthly  has  oft  per- 
formed the  task. 

I  am  induced  to  this  from  two  causes  — one  the 
kindly  courteous,  truthful  words  in  the  *'  hints 
for  September  "  of  the  Monthly  of  same  month, 
and  the  second  from  observation  of  some  half 
score  or  more  of  lawns  made  last  spring,  and 
now  in  the  course  of  construction.  In  the  'hints'* 
I  would  refer  to  the  paragraph  which  is  em- 
braced on  page  257,  from  "In  traveling''  to  the 
sixth  line,  and  word  "  example  "  on  2'8  And  I 
thank  you  for  another  speaking  of  truth,  although 
you  may  have  rubbed  as  hard  against  the  sensi- 
tiveness and  egotism  of  ignorance  as  I  have 
done.  There  is  a  truth  in  the  fact  that  only  in 
the  suburbs  and  surroundings  of  cities,  where 
intelligent  landscape  gardeners  reside,  do  we 
find  true  and  appropriate  arrangements  of 
ground,  tree  and  plant.  But  thanks  to  the 
growinir  intelliirence  of  our  people,  and  the 
grand  desire  of  each  one  to  make  his  home 
grounds  features  of  beauty  as  well  as  comfort 
and  profit  with  rconomy,  we  ar^  yearly  adding 
to  the  numbers  in  which  irue  taste  is  at  least 
attempted  to  be  developed  in  the  grade,  line  of 
path,  and  planting  of  tree,  shrubs  and  flowers, 
surrounding  the  home  fiimily  house. 

Money  and  wealth,  and  expense  of  after  care, 
are  not  strictly  a  part  and  parcel  of  tasteful  make 
up  of  a  homestead's  household  surroundings. 
It  is  more  in  fhe  careful  study  bef  )re  doin^  the 
work  :  first  of  whore  the  hou.-^e  should  stand  in 
order,  according  to  its  plan,  to  give  the  rooms 
most  to  be  used,  the  best  light,  and  best  and 
pleasantest  views  ;  second,  how  the  paths  loading 
to  and  from  the  doors  can  be  made  graceful  and 
easy,  (for  no  person  will  ever  walk  naturally  a 
straight  line  of  one  hundred  feet)  and  at  the 
time  just  where  the  main  items  of  daily  necessa- 
ry travel  have  to  be  followed.  I  acknowledge 
this  is  a  thought  demanding  no  little  study, 
but  it  is  a  feature  of  every  day  life,  that  in  the 
first  fitting  of  one's  home-grounds  should  be  con- 
sidered. The  next  in  point  is  the  establishment 
of  the  grade,  which  should  always   be,   upon 


S6i 


TEE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJVTffLT.    December, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^TER'S   MOJVTMLY. 


S6S 


what  we  term  level  ground  on  the  average  fron- 
tage of  suburban  country  home  grounds,  so 
toned  that  while  it  rises  from  the  street  line,  it 
does  so,  hiding  mainly  the  portion  of  the  path- 
ways from  those  however  useful  and  necessary 
to  the  grounds,  and  no  more  a  feature  of  beauty 
thereto  than  is  the  chimney  to  the  house.  They 
are  not  the  items  in  the  architecture  of  the 
work  that  belongs  to  the  study  and  application 
of  a  fine  taste  in  the  formation,  saving,  and  ex- 
cept that  they  are  necessities  which,  when 
shown,  exhibit  the  daily  walks  and  wants  of 
grounds,  as  do  the  chimneys'  positions,  and  uses 
of  the  rooms  in  the  house. 

But  fearing  that  I  may  be  outliving  the 
reader's  patience,  let  me  just  say  a  word  touching 
first  the  fact  that  a  good  deep  soil,  thoroughly 
trenched  eighteen  inches  deep,  raked  down, 
with  every  stone  removed,  and  seeded  per  acre 
with  five  bushels  of  what  is  generally  termed 
lawn  grass  seed.  The  mixture  I  would  make 
should  be  twenty-eight  pounds  of  clean  Kentucky 
Blue  Grass— (/le  same  of  Red  Top  —  Twelve  pounds 
of  white  clover  and  ten  pounds  of  Creeping 
Bent  Grass  to  the  acre.  In  sowing  this  seed  do 
it  three  several  times,  i.  e.,  divide  it  into  three 
parcels.  Sow  first  east  and  west,  then  rake 
the  ground  lightly  ;  then  sow  north  and  south, 
rake  again  lightly,  not  over  half  an  inch  deep, 
with  a  light  steel  rake,  then  sow  again  the  last 
third  of  the  seed  east  and  west,  and  roll  it — rake 
no  more,  but  roll  it,  first  east  and  west,  then 
north  and  south,  and  then  again  east  and  west. 

I  have  made  many  a  good  lawn  from  this  sys- 
tem or  course  of  practice,  and  in  sixty  days 
from  the  seeding  in  spring,  have  had  the  lawn 
mower  put  on,  and  thirty  days  thereafter  croquet 
playing  has  been  a  feature  upon  the  lawn. 

I  never  permit  any  of  the  coarse  grasses,  such 
as  Rye  Grass,  Sweet  Vernal  Grass  or  Timothy. 


GARDENS  OF  MRS.  PACKKR,  WASHING- 
TOX  HEIGHTS,  N    Y. 

BY.  R.    F     S.,  LENNOX,    MASS. 

Some  eight  weeks  ago  I  was  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  my  attention  was 
called  to  an  article  which  appeared  in  two  or 
three  of  the  daily  press  of  both  these  cities 
about  Scottish  gardening,  which  I  enclose,  the 
arlicle  for  your  inspection. 

And  to  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity,  I 
'Went  to  see    the  grounds  of  Mrs.    Packer,  and 


well  was  it  worthy  of  a  visit  at  the  time  I  was 
there— everything  gay  indeed.  The  flower-gar- 
den, graperies  and  plant-houses,  all  in  splendid 
order ;  and  they  alone  can  s])eak  volumes  in  praise 
of  Mr.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Packer's  able  and  intelli- 
gent gardener. 

There  are  to  be  seen  in  the  flower-garden  and 
ribbon-borders,  all  styles  of  planting,  such  as 
scroll  serpentine  lines,  pannels,  angles  and 
straight  lines,  •and  a  variety  of  every  conceiva- 
ble description,  besides  a  series  of  Cerural  beds, 
planted  so  as  to  form  a  maltese  cross,  &c.  The 
pannels  and  ribbon  borders  were  simply  grand 
at  the  time  of  my  visit,  all  representing  a  splen- 
did piece  of  mossaic.  I  may  also  say  that  some- 
thing new  is  the  style  of  planting  -  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  the  old  way  of  planting  borders  and 
beds,  with  the  same  style  year  after  year. 

The  plants  used  for  bedding  out  for  the  above 
were  such  gay  subjects,  as  all  the  finest  Co- 
leus,  Achyranthus,  Alternantheras,  Cineraria 
maratima,  Gentaureas  of  sorts,  all  sorts  of  scarlet 
and  variegated  Zonal  Pelargonlu  ds.  Phlox  Dru- 
mondii  of  varieties,  Dracaenas  Verbenas,  Argera- 
tum  Amaranthus  of  sorts,  with  Raciners  for  the 
back  ground,  with  Salvias  and  Canuas  in<^er- 
spersed  to  fill  up.  There  is  also  a  fine  herba- 
ceous border  and  one  of  roses,  all  in  fine  bloom. 
The  roses  and  clumps  of  Gladiolus  made  splendid 
contrast.  I  may  say  that  nearly  all  the  Cerural 
beds  were  edged  or  margined  with  Lobelias 
(blue),  Sedems  of  sorts,  Golden  Feather,  varie- 
gated Sweet  Alyssum,  &c. 

In  the  graperies  I  have  found  some  excellent 
examples  of  vine  growing,  some  canes  measuring 
30  to  40  feet -2^  to  3  inches  in  circumference, 
and  only  planted  out  on  the  15th  of  May,  1873, 
and  bearing  some  nice  bunches  of  fruit,  especially 
the  Golden  Champion,  Mrs.  Pince,  Black  Mas- 
cat,  White  Tokay,  Royal  Ascot  and  Black 
Hamburg,  all  fine  examples  of  fruit  culture, 
considering  the  age  of  the  vines. 

In  all  the  plant-houses,  I  have  met  some  noble 
specimens  of  such  good  subjects  as  Camellias, 
loaded  down  with  buds ;  Azalias,  Gardenias, 
Daphnes,  Crotons,  Standard  Heliotrope,  Bego- 
nias, Dendrobiums,  Justicia,  Poinsettas,  by  the 
thousand  ;  Dracienes  of  sorts,  and  all  such  plants 
as  are  suitable  lor  winter  work,  as  Mr.  Campbell 
tells  me  there  is  great  demand  for  such.  I  have 
also  noticed  some  huge  plants  of  Marshal  Neil, 
Gloire  de  Dijon,  Safrano,  Bon  Seline,  (the  first 
1  ever  saio  trained  as  such)  Lamarque,  planted 
out  and  trained  along  the  rafters,  which  must 


yield  an  enormous  quantity  of  rose  buds  for  late 
flowers. 

I  have  also  noticed  a  large  quantify  of  vines, 
figs,  peaches  and  nectarines  in  pots.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell uses  pot-vines  to  advantage  for  table  decora 
tion.  I  may  add  that  the  whole  place  has  beon 
renewed  under  Mr.  C.'s  time,  and  well  might  any 
one  who  employs  a  first  rate  gardener,  be  satis- 
fied with  such  a  one,  for  everything  under  his 
fostering  care  bears  the  mark  of  the  practical  and 
careful  cultivator. 

[The  following  is  the  extract  referred  to  by 
our  correspondent :] 

'•  We  extract  the  following  from  a  contemporary  as  an 
evidence  of  the  prestige  which  Scotland  has  attained  in 
the  science  of  landscape  gardening.  We  may  state  that 
the  gardener  referred  to  is  a  Mr.  Campbell,  and  from  the 
early  training  wliich  he  received,  he  is  evidently  fit  to 
uphold  the  honor  ol  his  country.  He  served  his  appren- 
ticeship at  Red  Castle,  Rosshire,  and  since  then  lias  suc- 
cessively filled  situations  at  Bratin  Castle,  Longleat, 
Emilee,  Trentham  Hall,  and  Alton  Towers,  places  all 
famous  for  the  excellence  of  their  horticultural  arrange- 
ments. In  taking  a  ramble  through  Brooklyn  and  its 
suburbs,  I  was  pleasantly  surprised  to  note  the  great 
improvements  which,  within  the  last  two  years,  have 
taken  place  in  ornamental  and  landscape  gardening. 
I  have,  in  my  travels,  visited  the  most  noted  private 
grounds  in  the  Old  World,  and  well  pleased  am  I  to  find 
that  we  are  rapidly  approaching  the  perfection  of  foli- 
age and  plants  which  is  attained  there.  Among  the 
many  places  that  came  under  my  notice  I  must  men- 
tion that  of  Mrs.  Packer,  on  the  Heights.  There  the 
foliage  and  plants  are  massed  so  skilfully,  and  the 
colors  so  artistically  arranged,  that  it  Is  really  quite  a 
treat  to  see,  and  well  worth  a  visit  from  all  lovers  of 
horticulture.  I  may  observe  that  the  gardener  to  this 
establishment  is  from  Scotland,  the  home  of  the  most 
eminent  horticulturists,  and  he  has  shown,  by  his  rare 
taste  and  Judgment,  that  he  is  no  mean  representative 
of  his  country  or  his  profession." 


NOTES  ON  THE  SEASON  IN   WESTERN 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

BY  A.    H.,   MEADVILLE,   PENNA. 

Autumn  again  posts  the  books  of  Summer  & 
Co.,  and  shows  us  the  net  results  of  the  year. 

A  summary  of  the  weather  gives  a  backward 
spring,  preceded  by  a  very  severe  winter,  and 
followed  by  a  summer  with  nights  cool  enough 
to  produce  light  frosts  even  in  the  months  of 
July  and  August.  Pomologically  we  have  had 
strawberries  and  blackberries  usually  fine  and 
abundant. 

Peaches — Trees  injured  by  winter  — no  fruit. 

Apples— Sma\\  crop,  though  some  orchards 
have  yielded  well. 

Pears— Good  crop, — the  number  of  bearing 
trees  annually  increasing. 


Blight— This  has  been  more  or  less  prevalent 
in  all  our  orchards,  prolonging  the  mooted  ques- 
tion whether  freezing  or  fungus  is  the  cause  of 
the  injury,  and  whether  fungoid  development  is 
a  primary  or  secondary  agent  in  the  destruction 
of  the  trees.  Without  settled  conviction  on  the 
point,  I  may  add  that  I,  last  year,  noticed  fun- 
goid indications  in  some  trees  that  partially 
blighted  this  season,  and  also  in  others  which 
have  not  blighted.  The  fungus  probably  takes 
several  years  for  its  full  development. 

Tree  Wash. — I  have  been  using  a  mixture  of 
sulphur,  lime  and  soot,  as  a  wash,  with  good  re- 
sults on  both  peach  and  pear  trees,  making 
the  application  once  in  the  spring  and  again  in 
October. 

The  growth  of  the  trees  has  been  good  ;  the  ex- 
terior portions  are  healthy  and  smooth  ;  although 
from  my  limited  experience,  I  am  not  able  to 
assert  that  the  application  is  reliable  as  a  protec- 
tion from  attacts  of  fungus. 

A  Winter  Nelis  tree  that  has  heretofore  been 
very  profuse  in  its  flowers  and  limited  in  its  pro- 
duct, this  year  gave  us  four  bushels  of  fruit  of 
the  best  quality.  This  pear  under  right  condi- 
tions is  much  coated  with  russet,  and  the  more 
of  this  color  it  acquires  the  higher  flavored  it  is. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  F.  R.  Miller  of  Sugar- 
grove,  Pa. .  for  a  box  of  his  handsome  seedling 
apples,  raised  from  seeds  of  the  Talman  Sweet. 
The  specimens  show  nature's  law  of  vari- 
ety, some  being  sweet  and  some  sour  in  taste, 
and  some  yellow  and  some  red  in  point  of  color. 
The  kind  he  has  named  Menaan,  described  in 
Downing's,  is  oily  smooth  ;  has  the  light  tex- 
ture, and  clear  color  and  beauty  of  a  sweet 
Bough,  and  only  lacks  juicy  sprightliness  to  be 
a  first  class  fruit. 

NATIVE  GRAPES. 

Christine,  Tsraella  and  Delaware,  all  ripened 
this  year  ahead  of  Concord.  I  took  the  trouble 
to  thin  out  my  Delawares,  and  the  size  of  the 
fruit  was  perceptibly  improved  by  it.  Semi- 
transparent  when  the  sunlight  fell  upon  the 
clusters,  they  glowed  among  the  leaves  bright 
as  Cornell  berries,  objects  of  beauty  as  well  as  of 
luxury.  Maxatawny  did  a  little  better  than 
last  year,  yet  did  not  fully  mature  ;  nor  did  Au- 
tuchon. 

FOREIGN  GRAPES. 

Golden  Champion  fruited  with  me  this  season  ; 
it  has  been  somewhat  over-praised.  The  bunch 
and  berry  are  large,  and  the  fruit,  though  a  little 
Arm,  is  sweet,  and  ripens  in  good  season  ;   but 


S6^ 


s' 


TffE    GARDMJ^TER'S   MOJVTHLY.       December, 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJfER'S   MOJi''THLY. 


365 


the  color  is  cloudy,  and  it  does  not  retain  its 
l»lump  freshness  very  long  after  ripening. 

Due  de  MalakofF,  classed  in  the  catalogues  as 
an  early  variety  of  Sweetwater,  proved  with  rae 
later  than  it  or  the  Chasselas.  It  produces  a 
long  bunch,  well  shouldered,  and  sets  its  fruit 
well  and  evenly ;  the  berries  arranged  so  as  to 
require  little  or  no  thinning,  and  being  of  fair, 
not  large  size  It  is  an  amber  colored  fruit,  and 
improves  by  hanging  till  the  end  of  the  season. 

Fintindo,  which  I  imported  from  Paris  two 
years  ago,  is  so  much  like  Black  Hamburg  that 
I  take  it  to  be  some  variety  of  it. 

Chasselas  Vibert.  — A  vine  purchased  at  Ro- 
chester for  this  proved  a  Frontisruan. 

General  Delia  Marmora.— A  vine  I  obtained 
for  this,  though  protected,  was  somewhat  injured 
by  the  cold  of  last  winter.  Bunch  and  berry 
were  small,  but  the  fruit  (amber-colored)  was 
delicate,  and  of  fine  flavor. 

Seedlings. — A  seedling  of  the  Golden  Hamburg 
fruited  with  me  this  season  for  the  first  time. 
If  the  parent  is  a  Hybrid,  as  is  claimed,  the  re- 
sult shows  that  the  hvbr  ds  will  sometimes  have 
their  qualities  reproduced  in  seedlings,  for  the 
color  sizp,  quality  and  time  of  maturity  with 
this  seedling  are  tho  same  as  that  of  the  parent 
vine.  The  leaf  is  mon^  corrugated  or  wrinkled, 
and  time  may  show  other  differences. 

For  cold  graperies  we  want  early  ripening,  good 
grapes  that  will  mature  when  the  weather  is 
warm,  and  hang  well.  Foster's  Seedling  is  one 
of  these.  We  ought  to  have  a  Muscat  of  Alex- 
andria that  will  ripon  in  September.  Though 
beginning  late.  I  hope  to  experiment  a  little  in 
this  direction  in  the  future. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  HOT   AVATEU   OVER 

STEAM. 

BY   X.    Y.    Z 

Mr.  Allen,  in  the  Gardener^^  MonthJii  for  Octo- 
ber, asks  '*  Why  has  heating  by  steam  been 
ignored  by  florists?"  I  reply,  bocause  they 
have  found  in  hot  water  a  better  agent  for  con- 
veying heat  Steam  for  warming  plant  houses 
was  in  use  prior  to  the  discovery  in  1777,  of  the 
adaptability  of  hot  water  as  a  means  of  heating. 

Steam,  from  it-=  gasiform  nature,  parts  with 
its  heat  quickly,  and  unless  the  fires  are  kept  up 
the  water  in  the  boiler  ceases  to  boil,  the  steam 
falls  to  a  lower  pressure,  and  the  pipes  rapidly 
get  cold  ;   on  the  contrary,  hot  water  from  its 


density  parts  with  its  heat  more  slowly,  and 
continues  to  give  off  heat  long  after  the  with- 
drawal of  fire.  No  heat  can  be  received  from  a 
steam  apparatus  until  the  water  has  passed  the 
boiling  point,  and  made  steam  enough  to  cause 
a  pressure  necessary  to  drive  the  air  out  of  the 
pipes.  Hot  water  commences  to  circulate  imme- 
diately after  the  application  of  fire,  and  conse- 
quently gives  heat  quicker  than  steam.  lam 
aware  that  with  steam  the  temperature  of  a 
house  can  be  raised  from  a  low  to  a  high  degree 
in  less  time,  but  unless  great  care  is  used  in 
managing  the  fire,  it  will  as  rapidly  descend 
again  ;  on  the  contrary,  hot  water  will  retain 
the  heat  imparted,  and  keep  the  temperature  at 
a  more  even  degree.  The  highest  degree  of  heat 
that  can  be  obtained  in  the  boiler  of  a  steam 
apparatus  is  212,  which  can  be  maintained  at  a 
long  distance  from  the  same,  giving  thereby  an 
even  regular  temperature.  When  the  water  in 
the  boiler  of  a  hot  water  apparatus  has  reached 
the  boiling  point,  the  return  pipes  will  be 
found  nearly  as  warm  as  the  flow,  which  causes 
also  an  even,  regular  temperature. 

I  doubt  if  Mr.  Allen  can  fix  (with  as  much 
crrlamty  his  steam  boiler  as  a  hot  water  boiler) 
his  boiler  to  run  from  uiui3  or  ten  o'clock  till 
seven  or  eight  the  next  morning  without  atten- 
tion during  that  time,  as  the  boiler  must  be  fed 
in  order  to  replace  the  waste  cansed  by  the  pro- 
duction of  ^team,  which  cannot  be  returned  to 
the  boiler  because  of  the  '"back  pressure," 
which  would  prevent  the  circulation  necessary 
to  a  steam  apparatus.  The  expense  of  a  steam 
apparatus  at  the  outset  is  heavier  than  a  hot 
water  apparatus,  but  the  running  expenses  will 
be  no  heavier  probably.  Having  steam  heat 
had  nothing  to  do  with  Mr  Allen  losing:  no 
plants  by  frerzing;  hundreds  of  florists  lost 
none,  though  they  used  either  hot  water  or 
flues.  Hea^  given  by  vapor  or  smoke  differs  in 
nothing.  The  "burnt  heat''  given  by  flues  is 
caused  by  the  escape  of  noxious  gases,  which 
are  injurious  to  plant  life. 

Steam  and  hot  water  do  away  with  the  neces- 
sity of  smoke  passing  through  the  houses  ;  this, 
combined  with  til;  even,  regular  temperature 
secured, give  to  the  house  an  atmosphere  in  which 
plants,  other  things  being  equal,  cannot  fail  to 
thrive. 

If  Mr.  Allen  did  not  keep  his  houses  sprinkled, 
the  ''moist,  balmy  atmosphere"  which  he  as- 
cribed to  steam  heat  would  soon  be  changed  to 
an  atmosphere  exactly  contrar}'. 


EDITOR lAL. 


*'OUR  CHROMO." 

This  is  the  heading  very  prominent  in  news- 
papers just  now  ;  and  "just  look  at  our  premi- 
ums for  new  subscribers  "  is  nearly  as  common. 
We  do  not  know  but  if  ours  were  an  agricultural 
instead  of  a  horticultural  one  that  we  should 
object.  The  sole  end  of  agriculture  is  to  make 
money, — to  get  the  largest  results  from  the  laud 
at  the  lowest  possible  cost.  It  is  profit  all 
round. 

True,  Horticulture  occupies  different  ground. 
Cash,  though  of  some  consideration,  is  seconda- 
ry. The  most  pleasure  from  the  land,  stands 
before  mere  profit.  We  wish  to  meet  our  readers 
wholly  on  this  ground. 

It  is  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  editor 
that  the  great  success  of  the  Gardener'^s  Monthly 
has  been  by  its  merits  alone  on  the  one  hand, 
and  by  the  sincere  love  of  horticulture  on  the 
part  of  many  friends  on  the  other,  which  lias  led 
them  to  overlook  the  faults  of  the  editor  and  of 
the  publisher,  in  their  desire  to  uphold  a  horti- 
cultural magazine.  True  horticulturists  are  so 
scattered  here  and  there  over  the  land,  that  no 
system  of  advertising  will  reach  them.  Our 
large  subscription  list  has  been  mainly  the  re- 
sult of  one  friend  telling  his  neighbor,  and  of  all 
doing  what  they  can  for  us  Probably  no  maga- 
zine has  given  more  valuable  matter  ;  and  yet 
the  whole  of  this  has  been  the  voluntary  contri- 
bution of  good  friends  in  most  cases,  without  any 
begging  on  the  part  of  the  editor. 

The  editor  has  never  felt  that  he  desired  the 
position  as^a  matter  of  profit ;  the  salary  he 
receives  is  far  less  than  if  he  devoted  his  time  to 
other  pursuits.  His  main  idea  has  ever  been  to 
aid,  so  far  as  flis  humble  efforts  may,  in  sus- 
taining a  'pure  horticultural  representative  in 
American  literature ;  an  I  so  long  as  he  shall 
continue  to  be  supported  by  his  correspondents, 
and  the  publisher  aided  in  extending  his  sub- 
scription list  as  he  has  been  in  the  past,  he  hopes 
•to  be  spared  to  serve  horticulture  a  few  years 
longer,  as  he  has  already  done  for  fifteen  years 
at  the  head  of  the  Gardener^s  Monthly. 


endeavored  to  send  other  subscribers'  money 
with  their  own.  Our  index  will  be  a  capital  aid 
in  this  friendly  canvass.  It  shows  what  the 
Monthly  gives  for  the  money.  We  doubt  whether 
so  much  is  given  for  S2.00  by  any  paper  in  the 
world  ;  and  if  there  is  ever  to  be  a  world's  fair 
in  which  a  premium  is  to  be  awarded  for  the 
cheapest  magazine,  we  are  inclined  to  compete  for 
that  premium. 


«•■■» 


«•■•» 


OUR  INDEX. 

For  the  past  few  years  many  subscribers  while 
remitting  their  own  subscription  have  kindly 


TRAVELING  RECOLLECTIONS,  NO.  2. 

Where  the  Shenandoah  River  makes  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Potomac  is  situated  Harper's 
Ferry,  occupying  the  little  neck  between  the 
two. 

We  do  not  know  that  as  a  rule  editors  are  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  imitate  the  bird  who  was 
fond  of  the  early  worm,  but  the  knowledge  that 
we  were  to  start  on  our  journey  through  Virgin- 
ia at  half  past  eight  o'clock,  brought  out  some 
from  their  sleeping  berths  b3fore  the  advent  of 
the  sun.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  beauty  of 
this  site,  but  it  by  no  means  deserves  the  superla- 
tive terms  so  commonly  bestowed  on  it.  Beauti- 
ful it  certainly  is,  but  hundreds  of  places  in  the 
Union  — even  Virginia  itself  can  furnish  better 
specimens  of  beauty.  The  remains  of  the  Na- 
tional Armory,  destroyed  during  the  rebellion, 
interests  the  botanist  chiefly  by  the  splendid 
specimens  of  our  beautiful  American  fern,  Pel- 
Icea  atropurpurea,  which  are  gathered  from  the 
walls ;  and  the  low  green  sward  between  por- 
tions of  the  ruins  is  completely  filled  with  the 
soft  clover-like  stems  of  the  yellow  milfoil,  Me- 
dicagolupulina,  an  English  plant  which  has 
here  found  itself  a  pleasant  home. 

Several  gentlemen  of  the  town  very  kindly 
took  us  to  the  points  of  interest,  but  these  were 
chiefly  in  relation  to  the  military  history  of  the 
country,  and  furnished  little  of  value  for  our 
pages.  Fruit  trees  were  growing  well  and 
bearing  abundantly  ;  but  so  far  as  we  could 
guess  in  our  few  hours  ramble,  there  was  noth- 
ing of  special  interest  to  our  horticulturists. 
The  soil  and  climate,  however,  were  evidently 
favorable  to  gardening,  and,  except  of  course, 
the  steep  rocky  places,  as  good  for  a  center  of 
agricultural  excellence  as  many  places  which 
have  earned  far  better  names.     Still  a  place 


1 1' 


; 


366 


TEE   GARBEJVER'S  MOJfTHLY.      December 


li' 


It 


which  has  in  the  past  depended  for  so  much  of 
its  prosperity  on  government  help  for  its  prosperi- 
ty, can  hardily  be  expected  in  so  short  -a  time 
since  losing  it,  to  learn  to  depend  on  its  own  re- 
sources. The  colored  universities  are  now 
located  here,  and  some  of  the  old  time  govern- 
ment buildings  are  devoted  to  the  purpose. 
They  have  a  good  opportunity  here  to  display 
some  horticultural  taste,  but  we  do  not  know 
how  much  means  or  disposition  there  may  be  to 
take  advantage  of  it. 

A  short  ride  brought  us  to  Charleston,  the  capi- 
tol  of  the  same  county  (Jefferson)  in  which  is  situ- 
ated Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  visitor  is  sure  to  find 
added  to  the  information,  "  Charleston— the 
place  where  John  Brown  was  hung.''  The  peo- 
ple of  this  county  seem  very  proud,  and  we 
think  with  justice,  of  the  excellence  of  their  farm- 
ing productions.  In  this  respect  there  seems  quite 
a  rivalry  between  it  and  the  next  county,  Fred- 
erick, in  which  the  celebrated  Winchester  is 
situated.  The  farms,  however,  are  all  so  large 
that  under  the  new  resime,  it  is  diflacult  to  man- 
age them.  Now  when  personal  superintendence 
is  a  requisite  to  successful  farmtfog,  the  old  sys- 
tem, which  is  remarkably  similar  to  English 
gentleman  farming,  does  not  work  well.  It 
seemed  a  pity  to  see  so  much  soil  capable  of 
yielding  such  immense  crops  of  cereals,  devoted 
to  mere  stock  raising,  simply  because  under  the 
new  system  of  things,  the  farms  are  too  large 
to  b«  handled  for  any  other  purposes. 

Following  the  line  to  Cedar  Creek  we  came  to 
Harrisonburg,  which  we  found  in  a  very  thriving 
condition.  Tasteful  residences,  evidently  built 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  were  nu- 
merous, and  much  disposition  to  cultivate  a  hor- 
ticultural taste  was  evident.  There  was  not 
that  neat  and  cultivated  gardening,  which  since 
the  introduction  of  the  hand  lawn  mower,  so 
many  similar  towns  in  the  North  exhibit ;  but 
still  considering  all  things,  the  Harrisonburgers 
may  be  by  no  means  ashamed  for  strangers  to 
see  what  they  are  doing  in  the  gardening  line. 

The  railroad  connections  being  not  yet  com- 
plete, we  took  from  kere  stages  to  Staunton,  a 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  and  here  the  Eng- 
lish style  of  doing  up  things  was  again  appar- 
ent in  the  magnificent  turnpike  over  which  we 
were  driven.  The  tolls  are  said  to  be  six  cents 
a  mile,  but  this  is  cheap  when  we  consider  the 
less  wear  and  tear  of  horse-flesh,  gears,  and  vehi- 
cles in  general  over  our  ordinary  roads.  We 
felt  that  no  better  lesson  would  be  given  many 


of  our  northern  road  officers,  than  to  send  them 
down  to  look  at  a  piece  like  this.  At  Staunton, 
Major  Hodgekiss,  on  the  part  of  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Railroad,  took  charge  of  the  party ; 
and  as  there  was  no  hotel  capable  of  accommo- 
dating so  large  a  party  at  Staunton,  the  Compa- 
ny took  us  over  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains 
easterly  to  Charlottesburg,  the  seat  of  the  Vir- 
ginia University,  and  near  the  tomb  of  Jefferson, 
where,  amidst  the  beauties  of  crape  myrtle,  and 
sweet  scented  magnolias,  we  retired  for  the 
night.  Early  we  started  on  our  return  trip,  and 
breakfasted  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  where,  for  the 
first  time,  many  of  our  party  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  the  rare  Pinus  pungens  or  Table 
Mountain  Pine,  as  it  was  once  called,  growing 
in  its  native  state.  It  is  of  course  now  known 
that  it  is  found  all  along  the  Blue  Ridge  region, 
from  northern  Pennsylvania  down  to  North 
Carolina.  From  here  we  crossed  the  Shenan- 
doah  valley  at  right  angles  from  east  to  west, 
affording  us  an  excellent  opportunity  to  judge 
of  the  character  and  capabilities  of  the  country, 
especially  as  we  had  the  kind  company  of  Mr. 
Fisk  and  other  leading  officers  of  the  road,  who 
pointed  out  all  the  points  of  interest  along  the 
route. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  country 
better  adapted  to  horticultural  and  agricultural 
operations  than  this  well  wooded  and  well 
watered  one  ;  with  game  of  all  kinds  and  fish  in 
abundance;  with  exhaustless  supplies  of  coal 
and  other  minerals;  with— not  the  mere  degraded 
granite  of  other  sections,  but  a  favored  soil  made 
of  rich  limestone  and  clay,  and  yet  only  here 
and  there  any  signs  of  human  industry.  Now 
and  then  a  farm  house  with  shade  trees,  well 
cared  for  grounds,  thrifty  orchards,  and  good 
fences  ;  but  in  general  the  whole  make  up  had  a 
dilapidated  look  which  plainly  told  that  the  own- 
ers were  much  poorer  than  thetr  forefathers  who 
had  settled  there.  Our  party  were  all  overcome 
with  the  genuine  hospitality  and  good  feeling 
with  which  we  were  everywhere  received  in  this 
regard,  and  felt  that  they  would  aid  and  assist 
this  good  people  in  any  way  in  their  power  to 
develop  their  prosperity.  How  to  do  this  was  » 
free  subject  of  discussion  at  all  times.  They 
seemed  to  think  that  there  was  a  good  field  for 
northern  men  to  come  down  among  them  and 
bring  their  capital ;  while  our  parly  insisted  that 
capital  never  led,  but  aided  industry,  and  that 
these  southern  friends  already  had  if  they  did 
but  know  it,  as  good  material  in  good  heads  and 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJSTER'S   MOJSTTHLY. 


367 


arms,  to  turn  these  abundant  materials  into 
riches,  as  any  set  of  northern  men  ever  had. 
So  we  traveled,— now  discussing  what  might  be 
made  of  the  rich  country,  now  enjoying  its  rich 
beauty,  till  we  found  ourselves  over  the  line  of 
Old  Virginia  into  the  New,  and  in  the  celebrated 
Greenbriar  county,  along  the  river  of  which 
name  our  railroad  took  course.  This  river  is 
one  of  the  sources  of  the  Kanawha,  which  ex- 
tends wholly  across  the  State,  emptying  into  the 
Ohio  at  Point  Pleasant  opposite  Gallipolis  in 
Ohio.  On  the  boundary  between  the  two  States 
is  Willie,  Sulphur  Springs^  where  we  rested  for  the 
night. 

Here  the  grounds  are  beautifully  laid  oat,  and 
though  the  keeping  up  is  not  in  the  style  of  the 
ground  about  Saratoga  and  other  famous  places, 
still  it  is  better  than  many  places  of  greater  pre- 
tensions. The  accommodations  are  very  good, 
and  when  the  price  is  considered  in  comparison 
with  others— $3.50  per  day — if  one  wants  to  take 
a  quiet  draught  of  beauteous  nature,  and  at  the 
same  time  flutter  among  society's  butterflies 
and  drink  the  nauseous  stuff*  called  mineral 
waters,  we  don't  know  of  a  better  place  to  go  to 
than  the  White  Sulphur  Springs.  As  we  pass 
on  to  the  Bull-pasture,  Cow-pasture  and  Calf- 
pasture  rivers,  with  other  streams  of  like  pecu- 
liar titles,  we  gradually  come  to  scenery  which 
for  luxurious  beauty  excels  anything  to  be  seen 
in  railroad  traveling  in  any  pari  of  the  north. 
The  Greenbriar,  after  meeting  the  Bluestone, 
becomes  the  **  New  "  River,  which  is  simply  a 
deep  canon  cut  through  the  everlasting  hills, 
sometimes  twelve  hundred  feet  deep,  and  extend- 
ing for  near  seventy-five  miles.  The  waters 
rush  through  with  tremendous  rapidity,  often 
leaping  over  rocks  and  tumbling  over  precipices 
to  twenty  feet  below.  The  sides  of  the  rock, 
formed  by  the  gushing  waters,  are  clothed  with 
trumpet  flowers  and  Virginia  creepers  ;  Smilax 
and  grape  vines  in  tangled  masses  often  falling 
hundreds  of  feet  deep  ;  while  wherever  a  little 
earth  would  hold  together  on  a  small  table  rock. 
Tulip  Trees,  White  Oak,  and  other  forest  trees 
of  gigantic  dimensions,  grew  up  against  the  per- 
pendicular S'des  as  if  painted  on  immense  sheets 
of  canvas  by  supernatural  hands.  There  are 
plenty  of  places  in  America  where  the  water  flows 
as  rapidly  and  in  as  great  volume;  there  are  others 
where  the  attending  rocks  are  as  high,  and  as  ro- 
mantically arranged ;  as  rich  and  varied  a  vegeta- 
tion line  other  river  banks  ;  but  nowhere  are  all 
combined  in  the  same  glorious  proportions  as  here 


If  for  a  trip  of  mere  pleasure  alone  we  wanted 
a  railroad  ride,  it  should  always  be  along  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad  through  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  ;  and  if  on  a  matter  of  busi- 
ness we  had  to  leave  our  homes,  it  would  not  be 
at  all  lost  if  a  few  more  miles  in  a  round  about 
way  were  spent  to  go  over  this  line.  But  we 
have  some  seven  thousand  miles  to  take  our 
readers  yet,  and  must  not  tarry  among  these 
fairy  scenes. 

We  pass,  as  we  rush  along,  dense  forests  in 
which  we  detect  abundance  of  Magnolia  acumi- 
nata the  cucumber  tree,  M.  tripetela,  and  the  rare 
M.  Frazeri,  or  auriculata  of  some  botanists, 
which  we  think,  from  what  we  saw,  is  like  the 
Pinus  pungens  much  more  common  than  old 
botanists  supposed  it  to  be.  Along  the  river 
banks  Halesia  tetraptera,  the  snowdrop  tree, 
occurred  in  great  abundance  ;  and  on  the  forest 
trees,  especially  on  the  Yellow  Elm  ( Ulmusfulva) 
immense  quantities  of  the  Mistleto  (Phoraden- 
dron  flavescens)  was  seen.  Emerging  from  the 
canon  we  strike  the  Gauley  River,  when  com- 
mences the  Kanawha  River,  which  coursing 
through  a  rich  and  tolerably  well  cultivated 
agricultural  country,  brings  us  to  Charleston 
the  capital  of  West  Virginia,  and  a  remarkably 
prosperous  and  thriving  place.  Here  we  were 
invited  to  meet  the  leading  citizens  of  the  city  at 
the  princely  residence  of  Dr.  Henry  S.  Walker, 
where,  until  the  early  hours  of  the  morning, 
some  discussed  matters  of  science  and  art,  the 
progress  of  the  nation,  the  merits  of  the  creature 
comforts  brought  together  for  our  enjoyment ; 
and  some  of  the  younger  ones  joined  the  Charles- 
ton ladies  in  discussing  the  sweet  sounds  from 
the  orchestra  and  all  the  poetry  of  motion  which 
so  ofcen  results  therefrom. 

Bright  and  early,  however,  on  a  steamboat 
under  the  guideuce  of  Dr.  Hale,  one  of  the  most 
energetic  of  Charleston's  citizens,  we  were  steam- 
ing up  the  Kanawha  to  examine  the  celebrated 
salt  works,  and  there  saw  how  the  material  by 
steam  power  was  pumped  up  out  of  the  briny 
deep  over  a  thousand  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  earth  ;  how  all  which  was  done,  and  finally 
ended  in  the  salt  which  saves  us,  thousands  of 
persons  have  already  read  in  the  correspondence 
of  the  thirty  papers  to  which  our  traveling  party 
were  attached.  A  hundred  miles  ride  takes  us 
through  a  wonderful  coal  country  through  Bar- 
boursville  to  the  terminus  of  the  road  at  Hunt- 
ington, where  we  take  steamer  for  Cincinnati. 
At  Huntington  we  were  treated  to  a  daylight 


; 


368 


1i 


« 


THE   GARDE  JEER'S   MOJfTHLY.    December, 


reception— a  sort  of  matinee  by  the  ladies  of  the 
town  ;  and  after  a  splendid  collation,  were  taken 
in  carriages  to  gardens,  grounds,  and  places  of 
interest  in  the  vicinity.  Although  the  town  is 
but  a  couple  of  years  old,  it  already  comprises 
abou^  a  couple  of  thousand  of  inhabitants,  with 
streets  nicely  graded, — in  a  few  cases  shade  trees 
— with  flowers  and  shrubbery  sut  out  in  most  of 
them.  Our  dining-hall  was  profusely  decorated 
with  bouquets  and  designs  of  cut  flowers,  to  our 
utter  astonishment,  that  so  new  a  place  should 
raise  so  much,  until  a  good  lady  confided  to  us 


the  secret  that  they  were  brought  from  a  distant 
and  older  settled  town,  especially  to  do  honor  to 
us  on  our  arrival.  It  will  not,  however,  be  long 
before  Huntington  will  have  horticulture  of  its 
own  that  other  older  towns  will  envy,  or  we  are 
much  mistaken  in  the  culture  of  these  good  people. 
This  rapid  sketch  of  a  week  in  Virginia  of 
course  can  tell  of  but  a  grain  in  the  ocean  of 
great  experience  gathered  in  that  time.  We  can 
but  outline  the  course.  From  time  to  time,  as 
occasion  arises,  our  readers  shall  profit  by  what 
the  editor  gained. 


SCRATS  AKD    UUERIES. 


Effects  of  CLrMATE  on  the  Hardiness  of 
Trees.— J.  0.  Hockley,  Harris  County,  Texas, 
writes:  "Would  you  inform  me  through  the 
Monthly  whether  trees  nursery  grown  at  the 
north,  if  varieties  adapted  to  our  climate,  will 
succeed  equally  well  with  the  same  varieties 
raised  here  ?  To  put  the  question  more  definitely 
say  100  Bartlett  Pears,  and  100  Crawford's 
Early  Peach,  of  northern  nursery  growth,  and 
a  like  number  same  varieties  southern  raised, 
both  lots  being  about  equal  in  size  and  condition 
when  planted^  and  their  subsequent  treatment 
being  the  same,  will  the  southern-raised  lot  ulti- 
mately be  more  of  a  success  than  the  northern  ?'' 

[This  is  a  question  which  would  be  best  set- 
tled by  observation  on  the  eflect  of  climate  on 
northern  trees  in  the  South.  It  is  quite  likely 
there  is  some  difference  one  way  or  another, 
according  to  the  article  referred  to,  some  things 
doing  better  when  home  raised,  and  others  doing 
worse.  It  is  so  here  in  Pennsylvania  in  agricul- 
tural seed  raising.  Northern  raised  pears,  for 
instance,  do  better  when  sown  in  Pennsylvania 
than  pears  Pennsylvania  raised,  while  a  Penn- 
sylvania raised  bush  bean  is  considerably  better 
for  home  use,  than  one  brought  from  a  more 
northern  region. 

In  seedling  pears,  we,  in  southern  Pennsylva- 
nia, find  northern  raised  seedlings  much  better 
adapted  to  Pennsylvania  soil  and  climate  than 
our  own;  while  on  the  other  hand,  southern 


peach  stones  make  better  trees  in  Pennsylvania 
than  northern  ones.  Thus  we  see  that  there  is 
no  general  law  to  be  laid  down  to  be  applied  to 
every  description  of  plant. 

Of  the  two  kinds  named  in  our  correspondent's 
letter,  without  knowing  the  facts  from  general 
observation,  we  should  be  induced  to  "  guess  " 
that  a  northern  raised  pear  would  be  better  than 
a  southern  raised  one,  while  a  southern  peach 
would  be  at  least  as  good,  if  not  better.] 


Rapid  Potting.— Mr.  Chitty  sends  us  sam- 
ples of  what  he  regards  as  good  potting  against 
rapid  potting,  in  the  shape  of  a  dozen  Verbenas. 
They  are  good  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  fastidi- 
ous cultivator. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  we  have 
an  article  from  Mr.  Henderson  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Chitty's  last,  which  shall  appear  next  month. 


The  Concord  Going  Backwards.— A  cor- 
respondent calls  our  attention  to  an  item  in  the 
American  Agriculturist,  page  423,  in  which  a 
writer  spoke  of  the  Concord  *'  going  back."  Our 
correspondent  thinks  it  is  not  right  for  an  editor 
to  let  such  a  statement  go  without  suiz^estion  or 
comment,  as  in  view  of  the  universal  success  of 
the  Concord,  it  is  more  than  likely  some  local 
and  temporary  circumstance  influenced  the  ill 
success.  We  are  almost  inclined  to  ajrree  with 
our  correspondent,  only  when  we  remember  how 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


369 


often  we,  ourselves,  let  our  writers  have  their 
say  unchallenged,  we  might  be  centuring  our 
own  selves.  Still  we  agree  with  our  correspon- 
dent, that  whether  it  is  the  Agriculturist  or  the 
Gardener's  Monthly,  these  little  matters  ought 
to  have  more  attention  than  they  receive. 


Ferns.— Editor  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly. 
In  your  number  for  Kovember,  J.  D. ,  of  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  asks  who  can  furnish  native  ferns,  &c. 
As  I  have  been  some  time  engaged  in  making  a 
collection  of  native  ferns,  and  have  become  much 
interested  in  them,  I  shall  be  glad  to  render 
him  any  assistance  I  can,  if  he  will  send  me 
his  address.  I  will  furnish  him  a  very  complete 
list  of  American  ferns,  prepared  by  Mr.  William 
Edward,  and  will  mark  on  it  those  which  I  can 
furnish. 

I  have  been  able  to  find  no  nurseryman  who 
had  anything  like  a  complete  collection,  although 
I  have  made  diligent  search  in  several  large  cities. 
Mrs.  Richie,  corner  of  America  and  Oxford 
Streets,  Philadelphia,  has  by  far  the  best  collec- 
tion which  I  have  found.  I  have  made  collec- 
tions myself  at  Chestnut  Hill,  and  on  the  banks 
of  Wissahickon  ;  at  the  Delaware  Water  Gap  ;  in 
the  chasm  of  the  Ausable  River ;  at  Newport, 
Vt.  ;  in  Stanstead  Co.,  Canada;  Montreal  and 
Quebec,  and  at  many  places  in  Massachusetts. 
I  found  the  greatest  variety  in  one  spot  at  Derby 
line,  between  Vermont  and  Canada. 

There  are  four  ferns  for  which  I  have  made 
diligent  search  in  vain.  Can  any  of  your  readers 
put  me  in  the  way  of  getting  them,  viz  :  Aspleni- 
um  pinnatifidum,  Asplenium  ebenoides,  Aspi- 
dium  fragrans  and  Schizoea  pusilla.  The  first 
two  grow  in  Pennsylvania,  the  third  in  Canada 
and  White  Mountain  region,  and  the  last  in  the 
pine  barrens  of  New  Jersey.  Perhaps  *' J.  D." 
can  send  me  a  sample  of  the  last. 

There  have  been  received  at  the  Botanic  Gar- 
dens in  Cambridge,  some  very  fine  Pelloeas  or 
Platylomas  and  Gymnograras  from  California, 
and  Mr.  George  Such  of  South  Amboy  has  some  of 
them  for  sale.        Yours  respectfully, 

J.  Warren  Merrill, 

Cambridgeport,  Mass. 


A  Horticultural  LiBRARv.-There  is  so 
much  difficulty  in  knowing  what  Garden  books 
have  been  published,  that  those  who  are  forming 
a  Garden  Library  are  always  inquiring  what 
and  where  to  get  ?  We  have  before  us  a  light 
catalogue  published  by  Mr.  Robinson,  Editor 
of  the  London  Garden,  which  tells  us  more  than 
ever  we  knew.  The  prices  are  affixed.  It  can 
be  had  gratis  by  writing  to  the  office  of  the 
Garden, 


Luther  Tucker,  the  founder  cgT  the  Horti- 
culturid  and  Country  Gentleman^  lately  deceased. 

By  courtesy  of  the  present  publisher  of  the 
CoiLntry  Gentleman,  we  have  an  excellent  por- 
trait of  our  debased  friend. 


Live  Fence  Posts-J.  B.  G.,  Catasauqua, 
Pa.,  writes:— **  Your  opinion  is  desired  on  the 
subject  of  planting  Yellow  Locust  Trees  as  a 
substitute  of  posts  to  build  a  fence  along  a  pub- 
lic road  leading  through  a  farm -the  planting  to 
be  the  same  distance  that  the  fence  posts  wo'iild 
be  set  in  the  ground.  Would  Locust  do  ?  If 
you  may  know  of  some  other  kind  of  trees  that 
would  answer  that  purpose,  and  prove  more 
valuable  than  the  Locust,  I  would  be  much 
obliged  for  such  information. 

[We  are  opposed  to  trees  along  fence  rows. 
As  they  grow  the  roots  extend  an  enormous 
way.  We  have  seen  ground  for  seventy  feet 
away  from  the  trunks  of  the  trees  almost  impov- 
erished by  the  roots  taking  most  of  the  nutri- 
ment from  the  growing  crops.  For  this  reason 
alone  we  should  oppose  live  fence  posts. 

Then  for  "live "  fence  posts  we  have  to  wait 
a  long  time  for  the  tree  to  grow  before  it  is  capa- 
ble of  standing  as  a  post,  for  the  sway  of  a  weak 
tree  by  the  wind  racks  the  rails  out  of  place. 
Then  if  we  employ  fast  growing  trees  they  soon 
decay.     Lorabardy  Poplars  last  in  our  climate 
little  over  thirty  years.     We  wait  for  the  post 
to  grow  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and  in  another 
fifteen  years  it  is  rotten.     We  may  as  well  have 
"dead"  posts  of  good  lumber  at  once.     It  is 
an  old  idea.     We  saw  but  one,— it  was  twenty 
years  since.     It  is  gone  now,  and  a  post  and 
rail  fence  is  in  its  place.    We  fancy  the  experi- 
ment was  a  failure,  or  the  owner  would  not  have 
gone  back  to  the  old  style.     We  do  not  know  of 
any  one  who  recommended  it  that  has  tried  it 
himself.     The  idea  seems  a  good   one,  and  we 
suspect  it  is  recommended  on  the  merits  of  the 
idea  rather  than  the  merits  of  the  facts.] 


Relative  Age  of  Trees.— A  Philadelphia 
correspondent  says  :  Excuse  the  liberty  I  take  of 
troubling  you  with  a  question,  but  a'  friend  of 
mine  has  had  the  question  propouu  led  to  him. 
**  Why  do  the  Elm  and  other  trees  live  longer 


II 


H 


;^i 


,!. 


370 


THE    GARDEJVER'S   MOJ^THLY.      December, 


in  Europe  than  America  ?"  I  have  looked  in 
Michaux  and  Loudon's  Arboretum,  and  find  no 
comparative  statement  concerning  the  relative 
age  of  trees  in  the  two  countries,  and  I  thought 
I  would  take  the  liberty  of  asking  you  to  en- 
lighten us  in  the  matter.  His  impression,  as 
well  as  my  own,  is  that  if  the  same  care  was 
taken  to  preserve  trees  here  as  in  Europe  and  in 
England  especially,  there  would  be  little  differ- 
ence in  their  a^es  in  the  two  places,  but  if  it  will 
not  be  too  much  trouble  for  you  to  give  me  your 


will 


views  and  information  in  the  matter,   I 
esteem  it  a  great  favor. »» 

[We  believe  that  no  English  tree  will  live  in 
this  climate  much  over  two  hundred  years— one 
hundred  years  bringing  it  to  perfection,  and  an- 
other allowed  for  its  decline.  There  may  be 
exceptions.  The  oak  which  for  "a  thousand 
years  endured  the  battle  and  the  breeze,''  did 
not  endure  it  in  America.  The  English  oaks 
planted  by  John  Bartram  are  already  dead. 
Care  will  make  no  difference.     It  is  climate.] 


NEW  AND  RAEE  FRUITS. 


The  Lord  Palmerston  Peach.— A  speci- 
men, one  of  seven  grown  this  season  on  a  young 
orchard  house  tree  in  a  12-inch  pot,  at  Messrs. 
Kivers'  &  Sons'  Nursery  at  Sawbridgeworth, 
measured  twelve  and  a  quarter  inches  in  circum- 
ference, and  was  richly  flavored.  The  Lord 
Palmerston  Peach  was  raised  by  Mr.  Rivers, 
and  is  thus  described  by  Dr.  Hogg  in  the  third 
edition  of  the  Fruit  Manual:  ''Fruit  lareje ; 
skin  of  a  rather  pale  color,  having  only  a  little 
red  on  the  side  next  the  sun  ;  flesh  remarkably 
firm,  and  richly  flavored  ;  glands  very  small, 
kidney-shaped;  flowers  large. " 

Jt  is  a  seedling,  raised  from  another  seedling 
from  Pavie  de  Pompone.  Its  flesh  is  deeply 
stained  with  red  at  the  stone,  and  is  slightly 
adherent.  For  orchard  house  culture  it  appears 
to  be  remarkably  well  adapted,  and  it  has  proved 


to  be  one  of  the  best,  as  it  is  one  of  the  largest, 
late  Peaches  in  cultivation.— GarcZ's  Chronicle, 


The  Stark  Apple.— A  correspondent  from 
Louisiana,  Missouri,  submits  the  following  in- 
quiries :  ''I  would  be  much  obliged  to  you  for 
what  you  know  of  the  Stark  Apple.  How  well 
does  it  bear?  How  late  does  it  keep,  etc.? 
What  is  the  quality,  etc.  ?  Is  it  profitable  as  a 
market  shipping  sort  ?  How  will  it  compare 
with  Ben.  Davis  for  profit  ?  It  is  a  hardy  tree 
in  Nursery  and  a  splendid  grower,  which  is 
about  all  I  know  of  it  now.  The  Lawson  prom- 
ises well."  The  Stark  has  not  been  introduced 
to  Eastern  orchards,  and  we  have  not  met  with 
it  to  any  extent  in  our  western  travels.  If  any 
of  our  readers  can  give  the  desired  information, 
it  will  be  acceptable. 


NEW  AND  RAKE  PLANTS. 


El^agnus  parvifolius- Silver  Thorn. 
(See  Frontispiece).— ^Q  have  selected  for  an 
illustration  this  plant,  because  it  is  destined,  in 
all  probability,  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
rural  affairs  of  the  United  States.  No  one  but 
at  once  grants  the  gravity  of  the  fence  question. 
It  is  admitted,  that  if  the  whole  farm  land  of  the 
Union  were  to  be  called  on  at  once  to  renew  the 
timber  fences,  the  best  part  of  our  farmers 
would  become  bankrupt.    A  cheap  live  fence, 


and  one  easily  managed,  would  be  one  of  the 
greatest  of  blessings  to  the  people  of  this  nation. 
So  far  the  best  thing  has  been  the  Osage 
Orange.  This  is  the  best  chiefly  because  the 
seed  can  be  easily  procured,  and  because  the 
plants  are  very  easily  and  rapidly  raised  from 
seed.  These  are  great  advantages  ;  but  the  dis- 
advantages are  its  tree-like  character,  which  re- 
quires much  skilful  labor  to  keep  it  down  to  pro- 
per dimensions ;  and  also  that  it  only  produces 


1873. 


THE    GARDEJ^ER'S   MOJ^THLY. 


371 


thorns  on  its  young  growth.  Wood  once  formed 
never  gets  thornier ;  and  should  perchance 
naked  places  occur,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
fill  these  places  in.  As  a  sort  of  sop  to  this  dis- 
position, plashing  and  other  patching  schemes 
have  been  adopted,  all  of  which  are  tolerably 
successful  in  the  hands  of  intelligent  men  who 
are  not  afraid  of  work.  The  fact,  however,  is 
patent  as  we  travel  through  the  country,  that 
nine-tenths  of  the  Osage  Orange  hedges  planted 
in  this  country  have  become  nuisances  to  every- 
body that  has  any  relation  to  them. 

Heretofore  few  plants  which  are  but  naturally 
shrubs,  grow  fast  enough  to  make  a  protective 
hedge  within  a  reasonable  time,  or  if  they  do,  are 
deficient  in  some  other  element  of  a  good  hedge. 
This  Elseagnus  seems  to  be  nearer  our  idea  of  a 
good  hedge  plant  than  anything  we  have  seen. 
Some  years  ago  a  small  quantity  were  set  out  for 
trial  on  the  grounds  of  the  Experimental  Garden 
at  Washington  ;  and  when  the  writer  saw  it,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Wm.  Saunders,  he  was  in- 
formed that  it  had  proved  entirely  satisfactory  in 
every  respect. 

It  does  not  grow  more  than  a  few  inches  high 
the  first  year  from  seed  ;  but  these  small  seed- 
lings dibbled  out  in  the  hedge  row,  grow  as 
rapidly  as  Osage  Orange  transplanted  the  first 
season. 

We  saw,  recently,  a  line  half  a  mile  long  set 
out  last  spring,  mere  threads  then,  most  of 
which  are  two  feet  high,  and  thick  and  bushy 
now.  They  look  very  harmless  the  first  year, 
having  no  thorns  ;  but  there  are  large  numbers 
of  short  branches,  from  a  quarter  of  an  inch  to 
two  inches  in  length,  and  these  become  sharp 
spines,  the  next  year.  These  are  well  shown  in 
the  plate.  The  older  the  plants  the  spinier  they 
become,— an  excellent  feature  in  a  first-class 
hedge  plant.  The  second  and  third  years 
branches  are  produced  from  three  to  five  feet 
long,  thus  soon  reaching  a  good  hedge  height. 
But  the  plant  rarely  shows  any  disposition  to  go 
abore  six  or  eight  feet  high,  when  the  plants  are 
massed  together.  When  they  reach  this  height, 
they  grow  by  sending  strong  shoots  out  from  the 
stems  near  the  ground,  thus  perpetually  self- 
thickening, — another  excellent  feature.  If  pruned 
they  make  a  first- class  hedge  ;  if  totally  neglected 
they  are  still  protective,  and  not  the  useless 
eyesore  of  an  Osage  Orange.  Plants  three  or 
four  years  old  seed,  so  that  in  a  few  years  with 
any  moderate  encouragement,  plants  in  abun- 
dance could  be  obtained. 


Besides  its  protective  value,  it  has  a  very  beau- 
tiful appearance  ;  the  under  side  of  the  leaf,  as 
well  as  the  young  growing  branches,  are  silvery, 
whence  its  common  name.  South  of  the  Poto- 
mac it  would  probably  be  an  evergreen.  In 
Pennsylvania  it  holds  its  leaves  to  Christmas. 
The  flowers  are  greenish-white,  not  showy,  but 
resemble  in  fragrance  the  celebrated  English 
hawthorn.  The  berries  which  succeed  are 
of  a  mottled  red,  as  shown  in  the  plate.  How 
much  cold  it  will  stand  before  it  becomes  injured 
is  not  known  to  the  writer.  It  has  remained 
uninjured  in  the  highest  degree  in  one  situation, 
when  the  last  year's  shoots  of  the  Osage  Oranae 
and  Harney  Locust  have  been  destroyed,  and 
when  the  thermometer  has  been  14°  below  zero. 
It  will  probably  endure  much  more. 

It  is  called,  in  European  catalogues,  E.  rejkxus, 
and  some  other  names,  but  De  Candolle  adopts 
Wallich's  name,  E.  parvifolius.  It  is  a  native 
of  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 


Double  Cinerarias.— Among  the  moststrik- 
j  ing  novelties  of  the  past  year  are  Double  Cinerari- 
as. These  have  occasionally  appeared  in  the 
hands  of  English  florists  ;  but  they  have  never 
succeeded  in  fixing  them,  so  as  to  produce  a  dis- 
tinct race.  The  more  patient  Germans  have, 
however,  done  the  thing  at  last,  and  Haoge  & 
Schmidt,  the  seedsmen  of  Erfurt,  Prussia,  an- 
nounce that  they  will  distribute  the  seeds  this 
season.  They  are  represented  to  be  as  double  as 
the  common  pompone  Chrysanthemums,  and  to 
embrace  most  of  the  colors  already  known  in 
single  ones. 

We  can  imagine  nothing  more  beautiful  than 
such  a  set  of  improved  Cinerarias  will  be,  and 
we  cannot  but  regard  the  introduction  of  such 
novelties  as  these,  after  so  many  years  of  perse- 
vering attempts,  as  among  the  grandest  floral 
triumphs  of  the  age. 


New  Roses. — E.  Verdier,  the  celebrated  rose 
grower  of  Paris,  sends  us  the  following  list  and 
descriptions  of  the  best  new  roses  of  the  past 
year : — 

HYBRID  PERPETUALS  (Hybrids  remontants. ) 
Antoine  Castel. — Tree  vigorous  with  strong 
erect  shoots  of  a  reddish  tint,  numerous  dark 
spines,  foliage  with  3  to  5  leaflets  round  and 
leathery,  very  little  serrated,  and  of  a  pale  green 
color.  Flowers  of  medium  size,  very  double ; 
coler  bright  rose  or  light  cerise,  shaded  with  a 


li 


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379 


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rJTJ^    GARDEJ^EB'S   MOJVTMLY.    December, 


II 


dark  hue,  and  white  stripes.     Similar  in  growth 
as  Prince  Kotchoubey. 

Ernest  Herger. — Tree  very  vigorous  with  erect 
reddish  shoots  and  numerous  short  straight  pink 
spines.  Leaves  with  5  dark  green  leaflets  with 
purple  points.  Flowers  large,  full  of  a  deep 
bright  purple. 

Francis  Courtin.— Tree  very  vigorous  with 
strong  erect  dark  green  shoots  and  numerous 
straight  reddish  spines  ;  leaves  with  5  leaflets 
very  large  of  dark  green  color  and  but  little  ser- 
rated. Flowers  large,  full,  fine  cup  shape,  fre- 
quently 3  top  together,  rarely  solitary  ;  outer 
petals  large,  reflexed  and  imbricated,  color  pur- 
plish cerise,  outside  rose  with  white  stripes  — 
very  fragrant ;  a  free  and  abundant  bloomer  and 
•of  the  highest  merit. 

John  Harrison,— Tree  vigorous  with  erect  red- 
dish shoots,  long  and  pointed  spines ;  leaves 
with  h  leaflets  deeply  serrated.  Flowers  very 
large,  full,  of  fine  cup-shape  ;  color  dark  brilliant 
crimson  strongly  shaded  with  a  velvety  blackish 
hue— very  effective  variety  I 

Madame  Laison  Lierval. — Tree  vigorous  with 
very  strong  light  green  erect  shoots ;  very  few 
elongated  slightly  reflexed  brownish  spines. 
Leaves  light  green  with  5  to  7  leaflets  deeply  ser- 
rated. Flowers  very  large,  very  full  and  of  fine 
form ;  color  fine  carmine  with  brilliant  center. 
•Calyx  surrounded  with  very  long  sepals.  A 
very  free  and  continuous  bloomer,  seedlin^  of 
Victor  Verdier. 

Miller  Hayes.— Tree  vigorous  with  erect  red- 


dish shoots  and  few  short  brownish  spines ; 
leaves  with  3  to  5  light  green  leaflets  and  red 
leafstalks  ;  flowers  large,  full,  and  of  fine  cup- 
shape,  generally  solitary,  sometimes  2  or  3 
together  ;  thick  petals,  color  crimson  with  bright 
center  and  shaded  dazzling  velvety  red.  First- 
rate  variety ;  seedling  of  Charles  Lefevre. 

Paulin  TalahoU— Tree  vigorous  with  erect 
light  green  shoots  and  very  rare,  short,  straight 
reddish  spines ;  large  light  green  leaves  with  3 
to  5  leaflets  deeply  serrated  ;  flowers  large,  full 
and  of  fine  form  ;  color  dark  dazzling  rose  or 
reddish  carmine.  A  very  free  bloomer  and  alto- 
gether of  great  merit  1 

President  Hardy.— Tree  vigorous  with  erect 
reddish  shoots  and  irregular  rosy  spines  ;  leaves 
light  green  with  3  to  5  leaflets  deeply  serrated  ; 
flowers  large,  full  and  of  fine  globular  form,  and 
from  4  to  8  together  ;  color  purplish  carmine. 

Theodore  Bucheter.— Tree  vigorous  with  erect 
reddish  shoots,  numerous  brown  irregular  spines; 
leaves  with  5  leaflets,  deeply  serrated,  dark 
green ;  flowers  large,  full  and  of  fine  form,  pur- 
plish velvety  violet  with  fiery  center. 

Thomas  Mills.— Tree  very  vigorous  with  erect 
somewhat  reflexed  light  green  shoots  and  irregu- 
lar short,  nearly  straight  rosy  spines.  Leaves 
with  6  leaflets.  Urge,  accuminated,  of  a  dark 
green,  and  finely  serrated.  Flowers  extra  large, 
full  and  of  fine  cup-shape  ;  color  dazzling  bright 
rosy  carmine  with  whitish  stripes ;  ^ery  free 
bloomer,  and  altogether  of  the  greatest  merit. 


DOMESTIC    INTELLIGENCE. 


tflE  Osage  Orange.— The  Madura  auran- 
tiaca  has  become  a  familiar  shrub  in  most  parts  of 
the  United  States,  from  its  general  use  as  a 
hedg'*-plant ;  but  it  is  now  proposed  to  utilize 
the  O^age  Orange  for  other  purposes.  A  decoc- 
tion of  the  wood  is  said  to  yield  a  beautiful  and 
very  permanent  yellow  dye,  and  this  decoction, 
carefully  evaporated ,  forms  a  bright  yellow  extract 
called  aurantine,  which  may  be  used  in  impart- 
ing its  color  to  fabrics.  In  addition  to  this  color- 
ing-matter, the  wood  of  the  Osage  Orange  is 
rich  in  tannin.  Experiments  made  in  Texas 
represent  that  hides  are  tanned  quicker  with  the 
wood  of  this  tree  than   with  oak  bark.      The 


seeds  yield  a  bland,  limpid  oil,  resembling  olive- 
oil,  and  which  may,  in  general  use,  be  substi- 
tuted for  it  ^Report  of  Departmentof  Agriculture. 

Flowers  at  the  New  York  Stock  Ex- 
change.—"A  few  days  ago,'»  states  the  New 
York  Duily  Bulletin,  **  some  of  the  most  senti- 
mental brokers  doing  business  upon  the  Stock 
Exchange,  made  up  a  pool  of  a  small  amount, 
by  subscribing  25  cents  each,  for  the  purchase  of 
a  handsome  terra-cotta  vase,  which  was  placed 
upon  tiie  large  table  in  the  Exchange,  to  be  filled 
with  fresh-cut  flowers  every  morning  by  Mr. 
Alexander  Stewart.     The  entire  arrangement, 


187S. 


THE    GARDE  JEER'S   MOJVIHLY. 


37S 


in  fact,  was  made  at   the  instigation  of  Mr. 
Stewart,  who  has  adopted  this  method  of  hu- 
manizing the  board.      It    is  stated    that    the 
brokers  readily  handed  in  their  quarters,  partic- 
ularly the* young  ones,  many  of  whom  remarked 
that  the  flowers  would  remind  them  of  the  screen 
fields  of  their  youth,  and  of  the  days  when  they 
were  young  and  innocent.     If  the  flowers  upon 
the  table  are  the  means  of  giving  a  pleasing  sen- 
timent to  a  single  broker,  surely  their  mission  is 
not  in  vain.     Mr.  Stewart,  who  is  head  mission- 
ary in  this  matter,  has  already  been  the  recipi- 
ent of  many  congratulations,  and  well  he  should 
be,  for  now  that  he  has  driven  the  entering: 
wedge  and  opened  up  the  way,  it  may  be  readily 
anticipated  that  most  of  the  religious  bodies  in 
the    city    will    be  extending  their    missionary 
work  to  this  new  and  most  prolific  field  " 


has  required  seven  men  constantly  at  work  to 
pick  the  fruit  from  one  and  a  half  acres  during 
the  ripening  season. 


Smoke  and  Frost.— A  congress  of  vine 
growers  has  been  held  this  autumn  in  the  south 
of  France,  whose  members,  before  separating, 
tried  a  most  interesting  experiment.  This  is  a 
plan  to  counteract  the  destructive  effects  of  frost 
—which,  at  certain  critical  periods,  is  fatal  to 
their  crops— by  the  creation  of  clouds  of  warm 
smoke,  which  shall  hover  over  the  ground.  Iron 
vessels,  containing  a  preparation  principally  of 
tar,  having  been  disposed  at  intervals  over  the 
vineyards,  were  set  fire  to,  and  produced  thick 
clouds,  which  hovered  over  the  land  and  spread 
for  miles  around.  An  important  point  on  the 
plan  is  its  cheapness.— Country  Gentleman. 


Ornamental  Hedges.- Mr.  Edwin  Marsh, 
nearly  a  mile  west  of  Agawam  Center,  has  a 
very  handsome  hedge  of  white  pine.  This  tree 
was  placed  by  Downing  at  the  head  of  the  beau- 
tiful evergreens.  Planted  near  it  is  a  well-trim- 
med hemlock  hedge,  and  opposite,  on  the 
grounds  of  Mr.  Goddard,  very  beautiful  hedge 
of  the  American  arborvitse.  On  account  of  its 
brighter  and  never  changing  green,  we  had,  in 
this  case,  to  give  our  preference  to  the  white 
pine.  For  dry,  sandy  soil,  it  is  peculiarly 
adapted.— JVet/?  England  Homestead, 


Hale's  Early  Peach  in  Canada.— Com- 
menced to  ripen  in  St.  Catharines  about  the  20th 
of  August.  The  trees  were  well  loaded  with 
fruit,  but  it  rotted  very  badly  as  it  began  to  ripen, 
so  that  only  a  small  portion  of  the  fruit  came  to 
maturity  in  a  perfect  condition. -Canada  Farmer. 


Blackberries  in  California.— The  Cali- 
fornia Agriculturist  notices  an  acre  and  a  half 
blackberry  patch  near  St.  Jose,  from  which  were 
picked  sixteen  tons  of  fruit,  and  adds: 

This  is  the  second  crop  that  he  has  gathered, 
as  the  vines  are  but  three  years  old.  The  soil  is 
a  rich,  light  alluvial,  and  he  cultivates  thorough- 
ly and  cleanly.  The  plants  are  four  to  eight 
feet  apart.  He  irrigates  from  the  time  of  blos- 
soming while  the  fruiting  lasts,  as  often  as  once 
a  week,  and  says  that  it  pays  to  irrigate  copiously. 
The  variety  cultivated  is  the  Lawton.  One  man 
will  pick  from  100  to  112  pounds  per  day,  and  it 


A  Horticultural   Society  Wanted  in 
Baltimore,  M.  D. — The  American  Farmer  B&ya 
of  the  Philadelphia  Horticultural  Exhibition  : 
The  display  of  foreign  or  hothouse  grapes  was  not 
remarkable.    We  thought  those  shown  by  Philip 
Reilly,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Merrick,  were  the  flnest, 
but  the  judges  thought  otherwise,  and  awarded 
the  prize  to  Gebhard  Huster,  gardener  to  Mr.  J. 
B.  Heyl.     We  feel  very  confident  that  Mr.  Fow- 
ler, gardener  to  John    Hopkins,  Esq.,  of  this 
city,  and  who  formerly  competed  for  and  took 
off"  many  of  the  prizes  on  grapes  at  this  show, 
Mr.  Frazier,  at  W.  T.  Walters',  Esq  ,  and  Mr. 
Frazer,  at  John  W.  Garrett's,  Esq.,  had  each  of 
them,  this  season,  grapes  far  superior  to  any 
shown  at  this  exhibition ;   and  we  regret  very 
much  that  Baltimore  was  entirely  unrepresented 
there,  the  more  especially  that  our  skilful  gar- 
deners and   amateurs  have  no  opportunity  to 
display  their  production  at  the  show  of  any 
home  society— and  this  too  in  a  city  of  300,000 
population,  while  scarcely  a  town  of  20,000  in  the 
North  but  has  its  horticultural  society  I 

The  exhibition  was  very  largely  attended,  as  is 
usually  the  case.  Although  the  society  under 
whose  direction  the  shows  are  held  is  a  wealthy 
one,  it  doubtless,  notwithstanding  its  liberal 
schedule  of  premiums,  loses  no  money  by  them, 
and  we  see  in  this  fact  an  additional  argument 
why  Baltimore,  with  its  intelligent  and  cultiva- 
ted people,  should  not  much  longer  be  without  a 
Horticultural  Society,  with  at  least  spring  and 
fall  shows. 


ii, 


Hi 


!'! 


i 


Hi 


. 


37A 


THE    GARDEJfER'S   MOJ^THLY.       December, 


i 


FOREIGN      INTELLIGENCE 


Public  Dinner  Table  Decoration.— The  , 
most  striking  change  noticeable  in  London  for 
some  time  past  has  been  the  marked  increase  of 
the  button  hole  flower  and  bouquet  trade.  Half 
a  dozen  years  ago  such  bouquets  were  to  be  had 
only  in  a  few  places  ;  now  shops  full  of  them  are 
seen  in  all  our  leading  thoroughfares,  and  even 
hawkers  in  the  streets  sell  tastefully  arranged 
tiny  bouquets.  At  the  same  time  public  taste 
has  shown  much  improvement  as  regards  table 
decorations  and  other  indoor  floral  ornaments. 
Hitherto,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  the  floral 
decorations  of  public  dinner-tables  have  been 
poor  and  stiff*  in  the  extreme.  At  a  dinner  given 
at  the  Inns  of  Court  Hotel,  more  than  the  beauty 
of  a  dozen  flower-gardens  was  tastefully  arranged 
in  the  great  hall  of  the  hotel.  Thousands  of 
flowers  and  plants  weri3  employed,  and  these  all 
in  the  freshest  health.  In  additional  to  the  best 
flowers  and  plants  usually  employed  for  table 
decoration,  such  novelties  as  superb  pitchers  of 
various  kinds  of  Nepenthes  depended  from  some 
of  the  vases,  but  the  charm  of  the  whole  con- 
sisted in  the  tasteful  artistic  arrangement.  No 
stiff*,  poor,  flat  or  round-headed  compositions 
were  these ;  but  free  and  graceful  as  nature 
itself.  ^  All  the  principal  varieties  of  Nepenthes  ' 
were  used,  as  well  as  the  long  trumpet-shaped 
Sarracenias  judiciously  arranged  with  Adiantum 
Tarleyense,  and  here  and  there  glowing  spathes 
of  Anthurium  Scherzerianum,  long  and  graceful 
fronds  of  various  Ferns,  large  spikes  of  Diely  tra 
spectabilis,  and  the  pretty  curving  fronds  of 
Solomon's  Seal.  The  glass  vases  were  about  18 
inchefe  high,  and  the  size  of  each  group  of  flowers 
when  arranged  would  be  about  2  feet  6  inches 
across  the  widest  part ;  these  were  set  at  inter-  i 
vals  along  the  tables,  and  between  them  were  ! 
placed  "  Dobson  '»  dishes.  These  were  filled  in 
pairs  to  match  with  white,  pink  and  scarlet ; 
the  upper  portion  of  the  dish  was  scarlet  Geran- 
ium, with  crowning  masses  of  Geranium  Chris-  i 
tine  resting  on  Lycopodium  denticulatum.  The  I 
lower  part  or  base  of  each  stand  had  its  bed  of 
Lycopod,  with  here  and  there  magnificent  blooms 
of  Marechal  Niel  and  other  grand  Roses,  inter- 
spersed with  Lilies  of  the  Valley.  The  whole  of 
the  dessert  dishes  were  surround'^d  with  glass 
circles  filled  with  Lycopod  and  fine  trusses  of 
scarlet  Geranium  Leonidas,  one  of  the  finest ; 
the  old  favorite  Dr  Lindley    Madame  Yaucher 


white,  and  the  pretty  Christine,  pink.  Mr. 
Wills  considers  these  three  colors  the  most 
effective  for  dinner-table  decoration,  and  seldom 
uses  any  other  colors.  He  pays  upwards  of 
ie400  annually  for  the  cut  blooms  of  these  three 
varieties,  and  upwards  of  £700  a  year  for  Lyco- 
podium denticulatum.  His  weekly  consumption 
of  this  simple  plant  is  over  300  dozen  during  the 
London  season.  The  whole  of  the  floral  decora- 
tions were  supplied  by  Mr.  Wills.  — T/if  Garden. 


Mushrooms.— *' Anxious,''  fond  of  Mush- 
rooms, but  hitherto  unsuccessful,  with  a  low 
close  shed  18  feet  long  and  11  feet  wide,  and 
having  about  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  horse  drop- 
pings every  day,  with  about  as  much  littery 
straw,  wants  to  know  how  to  get  the  most  Mush- 
rooms most  easily.  In  such  a  case,  as  the  beds 
are  to  be  on  the  floor,  we  would  divide  our  space 
into  four  equal  parts,  with  a  walk  of  2  feet  or  30 
inches  down  the  centre.  This  would  give  room 
for  four  beds  9  feet  long  and  rather  more  than  4 
feet  in  width.  Our  shallowest  beds  we  would 
have  about  12  inches  deep  in  front,  and  from  15 
to  18  inches  deep  at  back.  For  winter  work  we 
would  have  them  a  little  deeper,  and  depend  on 
surface  covering  to  keep  up  the  necessary  heat. 
Now,  there  are  many  ways  of  making  such  beds. 
We  will  put  ourselves  just  in  the  position  of 
"Anxious,''  and  advise  him  to  do  as  we  have 
frequently  done.  Collect  the  droppings  with 
nearly  an  equal  portion  of  short  litter  for  a  week 
or  ten  days,  and  lay  them  in  any  place,  not  too 
thickly,  where  no  rain  will  fall  on  them.  Then 
add  a  barrow-load  or  two  of  dry  soil,  mix  all 
together,  and  make  this  the  base  of  the  9-feet 
bed.  Beat  it  firmly  together,  and  it  will  heat 
very  moderately.  Then  every  second  day  add 
the  droppings,  and  the  same  amount  of  short, 
dryish  litter  all  over,  tread  or  beat,  and  then 
put  a  little  dry  soil  over.  Continue  the  process 
until  the  necessary  height  is  secured,  as  referred 
to  above,  for  the  different  seasons.  By  this  plan, 
as  will  be  perceived,  the  bed  will  never  become 
very  hot,  and  the  bulk  of  the  manure  will  be 
fresh— full  of  nitrogenous  matter — and,  therefore, 
capable  of  carrying  a  heavy  crop  of  Mushrooms. 
We  have  tried  many  modes,  and  successfully 
too,  but  never  one  with  more  success  than  the 
above,  and  it  is  peculiarly  applicable  where  a 
bushel  or  so  of  droppings  can  be  obtained  every 


1873. 


THE    GABBEJVEB'S   MOJVTHLY. 


S7S 


day.  The  success  will  greatly  depend  on  prevent- 
ing overheating  by  the  frequent  beating  and  the 
adding  of  a  little  dry  earth.  Street  sweepings  or 
road  scrapings  when  dry  are  admirable  for  this 
purpose.  People  are  slow  to  learn  that  ferment- 
ing material,  such  as  dung,  will  heat  mildly  and 
keep  up  the  heat  long  in  proportion  as  it  is  so 
consolidated  to  keep  out  air,  or  rather  prevent  its 
free  entrance.  By  such  a  mode  the  manure  is 
not  exhausted  as  it  often  is  when  thrown  into  a 
heap  and  allowed  to  ferment  freely. 

If  we  had  the  droppings  of  a  single  horse,  and 
had  leisure,  the  above  is  the  mode  we  would 
adopt.  Why  do  you  not  adopt  it  now  ?  Just 
because  we  could  not  easily  get  the  droppings 
regularly,  and  amidst  the  multiplicity  of  matters 
demanding  attention  we  should  not  be  able  to 
attend  to  Mushroom  bed-making  every  day  or 
every  other  day.  Those  who  try  the  plan,  how- 
ever, will  soon  be  satisfied  that  manure  cannot 
be  put  in  the  beds  too  fresh,  provided  the  layers 
are  so  thin  and  compressed  that  violent  heating 
is  avoided.  Such  beds  generally  become  a  mass 
of  spawn,  and  continue  bearing  a  long  time. 
A  peculiar  treatment,  however,  has  something 
to  do  with  long  bearing.  When  the  beds  seem  a 
little  exhausted  it  is  well  to  sweep  them  clean, 
and  allow  the  surface  to  become  a  little  dry. 
Then,  in  eight  or  ten  days,  make  a  few  small 
holes  over  the  bed,  and  give  a  good  watering 
with  water  at  from  80^  to  90'',  so  that  the  water 
will  pass  down  into  the  manure,  pat  the  bed 
gently  over  with  the  back  of  a  clean  spade,  cover 
with  clean  litter  to  keep  in  the  moisture,  and 
often  in  such  cases  in  a  week  or  two  you  will 
have  a  white  carpet  of  Mushrooms. — Journal  of 
Horticulture. 


Hydrophobic  Insects.— At  the  meeting  of 
the  Entomological  Society,  Mr.  Muller  read  a 
paper  containing  some  remarks  concerning  the 
habits  of  certain  Gall-producing  Saw-flies  of  the 
of  the  Willow,  which  are  said  to  avoid  those 
portions  of  the  tree  that  overhang  water ;  and 
he  suggested  a  practical  application  of  the  theory, 
to  save  choice  fruit  trees  from  the  attacks  of  in- 
sects, by  surrounding  them  at  the  base  with 
glass,  which,  it  is  well  known,  is  often  mistaken 
for  water  by  aquatic  insects.— Gardener^ s  Chroni- 
cle. 


Causes  of  the  Rotting  of  Fruit.— Ac- 
cording to  Decaisne,  the  rotting  of  fruit  is  pro- 
duced by  two  microscopiic  fungi,  which  develop 


in  moist,  confined  air;  namely,  Mucor  mucedo 
and  Penicillium  glaucum,  infinitely  minute 
germs  of  which  are  continually  floating  in  the 
atmosphere,  and  which  attack  more  especially 
any  injured  or  abraded  portion  of  the  surface, 
[f  now,  the  fruit  be  wrapped  up  in  cotton,  or 
with  soft  tissue-paper,  or,  still  better,  with  waxed 
paper  or  tin  foil,  the  introduction  of  these  germs 
will  be  prevented,  and  the  fruit  can  be  kept  for 
a  long  time  without  any  appreciable  change. 


How  Professor  Fries  Became  a  Mycolo- 
gist.—By  the  time  I  had  completed  my  twelfth 
year  I  was  acquainted  with  all  the  principal 
plants  of  the  district,  and  even  now,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  more  than  fifty  years,  most  gratefully 
do  I  recall  how  I  was  walking  with  my  mother 
in  search  of  strawberries  through  a  wood  par- 
tially burned,  when  it  was  my  fortune  to  light 
upon  a  noble  specimen  of  Ilydnum  coralloides. 
This  discovery  first  incited  me  to  make  the  tribe 
of  funguses  my  study  ;  but  on  turning  over  Lil- 
jeblad's  Svensh  Flora,  my  only  scientific  book,  I 
was  annoyed  to  find  myself  ignorant  of  the  word 
*Mamella,"  there  so  frequently  recurring.  So, 
shortly  after,  walking  with  my  father,  I  said  to 
him:  "Die,  pater,  quid  est  lamella?"  for  my 
father  never  suffered  me  to  speak  to  him  except 
in  Latin,  so  that  I  picked  up  Latin  even  before  my 
native  Swedish.  "  A  lamella,"  he  replied,  "  is  a 
thin  plate."  With  this  explanation,  the  phrase 
seemed  to  me  to  describe  so  happily  the  fructifi- 
cation of  agarics,  that  by  the  next  day  I  knew 
all  the  genera  contained  in  that  excellent  work. — 
From  a  translation  of  an  auto-biographical  sketch 
in  the  current  volume  of  the  Woolhope  Club. 


Button-Hole  Bouquets.  —Few  seem  to  un- 
derstand the  difference  between  a  button-hole 
flower  and  a  button-hole  bouquet,  yet  it  is  very 
great.  The  button-hole  flower  should  be,  as  the 
word  signifies,  a  flower,  meaning  a  single  one ; 
whereas  a  bouquet  means  a  number  of  flowers 
arranged  together  according  to  taste.  Having, 
I  hope,  explained  the  difference  between  the  two, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  point  out  what  constitutes  a 
nice  arrangement  for  button-holes.  Flowers  se- 
lected for  mounting  singly  should  be  very  choice  ; 
in  fact,  whatever  flower  is  chosen  should  be  a 
specimen  in  itself  One  of  our  prettiest  coat 
flowers  is  a  white  or  pink  Moss  Rose ;  this  I 
like  to  see  with  merely  a  leaf  belonging  to  itself 
behind,  and  not  Ferns,  as  one  constantly  sees  in 
florists    shops     Ferns,  to  my  mind  are  betioi 


I 


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I 


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ii 


» 


h 


376 


THE   GARDE  JOUR'S  MOJVTHLY.      December 


1873. 


THE    GARDE J\rER'S  MOJVTHLY. 


377 


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<1 


suited  for  Orchids,  Gardenias,  &c.,  than  for 
Roses.  An  Orchid  nicely  arranged  in  the  centre 
of  a  frond  of  maidenhair  looks  well,  the  delicate 
Fern  setting  off  the  Orchid  to  perfection ;  in 
short,  Ferns  of  this  class  are  better  suited  to  go 
with  indoor  than  with  outdoor  flowers.  Bou- 
quets generally  consist  of  three  or  more  different 
kinds  of  whatever  flowers  may  be  in  season,  an^l 
a  little  Fern  mixed  through  them.  A  little  bou- 
quet before  me  is  composed  of  a  half  open  white 
Camellia-bud,  sprays  of  Lily  of  the  Valley,  and 
a  few  pips  of  a  white  Hyacinth,  with  a  little 
Fern  mixed  through  the  whole.  A  great  fault 
too  often  seen  in  button-hole  bouquets,  is  their 
large  size  and  the  way  in  which  the  flowers 
seemed  packed,  as  it  were,  together  ;  a  few  com- 
mon hardy  ones,  if  lightly  placed,  look  often  far 
better  than  tender  flowers  badly  arranged.— A. 
H.,  Upper  Norwood.— 77ie  Gardjen, 


corymb,  with  trichotomous  branches,  and  hav- 
ing a  very  showy  character.— Gfardener's  Chr(yM' 
cle. 


Adiantum   Formosum.— The  above  named 
Fern  is  certainly  an  exceedingly  useful  variety. 
It  is  very  easily  cultivated,  and  can  be  propa- 
gated freely  ;   the  mature  fronds  have  also  the 
good  quality  of  keeping  longer  after  being  cut 
than  any  other  of  the  species  ;  but  that  it  is  more 
beautiful  than  A.  cuneatum   I  cannot  admit. 
It  is  quite  as  easy  to  grow.     I  noticed  it  in  an 
article  on  Ferns  last  year.     The  method  alluded 
to  of  inverting  a  small  garden  saucer  inside  a 
larger  one,  so  that  the  bottom  of  the  pot  just 
touches  the  surface  of  the  water  is  good,  when 
the  plants  have  quite  filled  their  pots  with  roots. 
I  have  some  Ferns  which  are  grown  for  exhibi- 
tion, and  must  not  we  shifted  into  pots  larger 
than  12  inches  in  diameter ;  they  require  water- 
ing twice  or  thrice  a  day  in  summer,  and  often 
suffer  from  neglect  when  standing  on  the  stage 
with  other  plants,  but  when  the  pots  are  placed 
bodily  in  saucers  of  water,  they  are  not  a  tithe  of 
the  trouble,  and  seem  to  do  well  with  their  treat- 
ment.—Garc^cjicr's  Record. 


Choisya  ternata.— Amongst  the  supposed 
tender  plants  submitted  to  forced  exposure  last 
winter  in  Paris,  the  lievue  Horticole  mentions 
that  at  Sceaux  one  plant  in  particular,  the 
Choisya  ternata,  withstood  all  the  rigors  of  the 
situation,  and  may  therefore  be  regarded  as 
hardy— a  great  additional  merit.  This  Ruta- 
ceous  shrub  comes  from  the  temperate  parts  of 
Mexico,  and  has  evergreen  trifoliate  leaves 
with  elliptic-oblong  leaflets,  and  large  white  five- 
petaled  flowers,  disposed  on  a  sort  of  terminal 


Absorption  of  Moisture  by    Leaves.— 
Mr.  M.  Cailletet  has  lately  been  investigating  the 
question  as  to  whether  the  leaves  of  plants  are 
capable  of  absorbing  water  in  a  liquid  state  ; 
and  sums  up  the  result  of  his  experiments,  by 
stating  that  the  fact  seems  to  be  demonstrated 
that  a  plant  growing  in  a  humid  soil,  and  receiv- 
ing by  its  roots  the  quantity  of  water  necessary 
to  its  normal  condition,  does  not  absorb   the 
water  which  moistens  its  leaves,  but  that  such 
absorption  takes  place  as  soon  as  the  leaves 
begin  to  wither,  in  consequence  of  the  dissication 
of  the  soil.     In  this  way  he  explains  the  phe- 
nomenon of  certain  plants  maintaining  a  healthy 
condition  without  any  contact  with  the  soil,  and 
even    absolutely  isolated   from   all    assimilable 
substances.     Thus,  a  specimen  of  Pourretea,  a 
rootless     Bromeliaceous    plant,    maintained    a 
healthy  existence  and  exhibited  considerable  in- 
crease in  weight,  while  suspended  for  more  than 
six  years  in  the  air  by  a  wire.     No  moisture 
ever  reached  it  except  that  from  the  garden 
syringe,  and  yet  it  was  continually  putting  out 
j  new  leaves  and  flowering  abundantly. 

I      Gleichenia     RuPESTRis— Fully    agreeing 
with  '*  T.  B."  as  regards  the  great  beauty  of 
this,  to  ray  mind  the  queen  of  Ferns,  I  certainly 
come  to  a  different  conclusion  as  to  why  so  few 
I  amateurs  exhibit  it.     I  say,  and  I  think  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  it  is  simply  because  of 
its  great  rarity  we  so  seldom  see  it  exhibited  by 
either  nurserymen   or  amateurs.      In  not  one 
catalogue,  and  I  possess  all  the  principal  ones, 
can  I  find   it,  though  G.  speluncae,  flabellata, 
dichotoma,  dicarpa.  and  semivestita  are  quoted 
in  many  of  them.     I  only  know  of  three  speci- 
mens—Mr. Mendel's,  Mr.  Baines',  and  my  own. 
I  have  just  been  to  measure  mine.     It  is  2  feet  7 
inches  high,  and  not  quite  4  feet  in  diameter. 
I  grow  my  plant  in  the  cooler  Fern  stove,  and 
'*T.  B.»'  is  quite  right  that  too  much  heat  is  in- 
jurious to  all  the  members  of  this  lovely  tribe. 
My  specimen  has  fairly  started  its  new  growth, 
and  I  daresay  many  of  your  readers  will  see  it 
exhibited  during  the  coming  season. 

The  great  difficulty  with  Gleichenias  is  propo- 
gating  them.  Division  is  dangerous,  and  often 
fatal,  while  fructification  is,  with  me  at  any  rate, 
unknown.     I  am  aware  that  seedlings  have  been 


raised,  for  Mr.  Bull's  traveler  informed  me  that 
Mr.  Bull  has  been  successful  in  raising  some 
upon  one  occasion. 

Let  me  conclude  by  making  a  remark  about 
Adiantum  farleyense.  I  possess  four  plants  of 
it,  one  a  very  fine  specimen  is  4  feet  in  diameter, 
yet  I  have  never  seen  a  fertile  frond,  and  Mr. 
Williams,  of  Holloway,  when  calling  upon  me  a 
few  weeks  ago,  said  that  his  experience  was  the 
same. — Cottage  Oar  den. 


Epiphyllums.— These  beautiful  flowers  are 
much  grown  and  well  understood  by  all  practi- 
cal men,  but  there  are  many  young  gardeners 
and  amateurs  to  whom  a  few  words  of  advice 
may  be  of  service.  Epiphyllums  are  easily  pro- 
pagated by  cuttings  taken  off  at  a  joint  and 
planted  in  light  sandy  soil  in  well-drained  pots, 
and  placed  in  a  warm  house,  and  the  soil  kept 
rather  dry  until  they  have  roots.  They  should 
not  be  exposed  at  this  stage  to  brilliant  sunshine 
during  the  middle  of  the  day,  but  a  few  hours' 
exposure  to  the  sun  each  day  is  better  than 
keeping  them  constantly  shaded.  They  may  be 
wintered  in  a  warm  greenhouse  if  kept  moderate- 
ly dry  at  the  roots,  but  they  make  a  better  and 
an  earlier  growth  when  wintered  in  a  tempera- 
ture not  less  than  50'  at  night,  and  55°  to  60'  by 
day. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  they  are  at  all 
times  impatient  of  too  much  moisture  at  the 
root,  and  that  they  like  a  free  open  soil.  For 
established  plants  there  is  nothing  better  than 
turfy  loam  leaf-soil,  peat,  and  very  coarse  sand 
in  equal  parts.  They  do  not  require  overmuch 
pot-room  :  a  shift  into  a  pot  two  inches  larger 
once  in  two  years,  if  well  drained,  will  suffice  to 
keep  them  growing  and  in  good  health. 

Those  who  have  the  forcing  houses  at  work, 
or  the  convenience  of  a  stove,  should  shift  their 
stock  if  required,  and  then  give  them  the  aid  of 
more  heat  than  they  would  enjoy  in  a  common 
greenhouse.  Water  sparingly  until  there  are 
signs  of  their  commencing  to  make  new  growth. 
After  they  are  fairly  started  let  them  have  more 
water  and  air.  By  the  beginning  of  June  any 
house  will  suit  them,  provided  it  is  airy,  and  not 
shaded. 

They  will  well  repay  the  cultivator  for  a  little 
extra  care  in  the  spring,  as  they  make  an  earlier 
growth  with  the  assistance  of  a  little  extra 
warmth  at  that  season.  This  gives  them  more 
time  to  make  and  mature  their  growth,  and 
larger  and  more  blooms  is  the  result. 


There  are  different  methods  of  growing  them. 
Some  prefer  them  on  their  own  roots,  while 
others  like  to  have  them  on  stems  a  foot  or  more 
in  height.  They  are  easily  grafted  upon  any  of 
the  larger-growing  cacti,  so  that  the  stem  may 
be  had  of  any  height  desired.  For  my  own  part, 
I  like  to  have  them  on  their  own  roots  and 
grafted  on  tall  stocks,  as  a  greater  variety  of 
form  is  obtained.  Specimens  on  stems  about 
12  inches  in  height,  in  a  6-iiich  pot,  are  admira- 
ble subjects  for  dinner-table  and  indoor  decora- 
tion, as  also  are  dwarf  plants  on  their  own  roots 
for  filling  vases. 

I  have  not  named  any  variety  to  be  grown, 
for  the  reason  that  they  are  so  beautiful  that  I 
am  not  acquainted  with  any  one  variety  that  is 
not  worth  growing.  If  I  have  a  preference,  it  is 
for  E.  truncatum  albescens^  E.  truncatum  crueu' 
turriy  and  E.  truncatum  violaceum. — R.  P.  B,,  in 
Oardener^s  Magazine. 


The  Blue  African  Lily  (Agap.vnthus  um- 
bellatus). — This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
useful  of  the  Lily  tribe,  and  one  which,  though 
commonly  considered  to  be  a  greenhouse  plant, 
will  succeed  well  in  a  south  aspect  in  the  open 
air.    There  is  a  white  and  also  a  variegated 
variety  of  it  too,  both  of  which  are  well  worth 
attention.     I,  however,  find  the  blue  kind  the 
most  useful,  as  it  remains  so  long  in  bloom,  es- 
pecially when  set  in  a  partially  shaded  situation, 
or  just  screened  from  the  parching  rays  of  a 
bright  sun.     Like  the  Scarborough  Lily  (Vallota 
purpurea),  it  is  very  suitable  for  placing  in  a 
porch  or  balcony,  as  well  as  for  conservatory 
decoration.     All  the  varieties  of  this  Lily  flower 
when  well  grown  in  a  mixture  of  equal  parts 
leaf-mould  and  rich  fibrous  loam,  to  which  may 
be  added  one  part  lime-rubbish  mixed  equally 
with  sand.     They  are  easily  multiplied  by  divi- 
sion of  the  roots,  after  which  they  require  to  be 
set  in  a  shady  situation  until  they  make  fresh 
roots  and  growth.     When  established  they  will 
bear  more  exposure  to  light.     I  have  grown  the 
ordinary  blue  Agapanthus   for  fourteen  years, 
and  have  found  it  to  be  a  most  valuable  autum- 
nal flowering  plant  both  in  and  out  of  doors. — J. 
Graham,  Woodcliff  Gardens^  Rawdon,  near  Leeds. 


Pelargonium  Marie  Lemoine  as  a  Bed- 
ding Plant. — I  would  strongly  recommend  the 
above  to  the  notice  of  flower  gardeners  for  the 
coming  season.     I  had  two  large  beds  of  doubly 


1 


ll' 


S78 


TEE   GARDEJVER'S  MOJ^TELY.     December, 


pink  Pelargoniums  last  season  for  trial,  each 
containing  abdut  sixty  plants  of  Madame  and 
Marie  Leraoine  :  Madame  is  not  worth  growing 
in  comparison  with  Marie— the  growth  was 
irregular,  and  most  of  the  leaves  spotted,  and 
the  trusses  of  flowers  small,  while  in  Marie  the 
growth  was  regular,  and  the  foliage  handsome, 
and  splendid  trusses  of  bloom,  which  stood  the 
rain.  It  is  a  continuous  bloomer  (far  preferable 
to  Christine  as  a  pink,)  and  requires  liberal 
treatment.  I  have  been  told  it  is  a  shy  grower, 
but  have  not  experienced  it.  —A.  Hossack,  Ash- 
burnham  Place,  Battle,  in  Gardener^s  Chronicle. 


The  Moor  Park  Apricot.— The  Moor  Park 
Apricot  is  said  by  some  to  have  been  introduced 
by  Lord  Anson  and  planted  at  Moor  Park.  By 
others  its  introduction  is  ascribed  to  Sir  Thomas 
More,  who,  in  the  beginning  of  last  century,  is 
also  said  to  have  planted  it  at  Moor  Park.  A 
third  account  is  that  Sir  John  Temple  introduced 
it.  Which  of  these  is  correct  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine,  but  it  was  not  till  the  close  of 


the  last  century  that  this  Apricot  attained  a 
general  cultivation.  It  was  not  in  t4ie  Bromp- 
ton  Park  catalogue  before  1784,  when  it  is 
mentioned  under  the  name  of  *'Temple  Apricot/' 
In  1788  is  first  called  '«  Moor  Park. "  In  1784  it 
was  cultivated  in  that  nursery  to  the  extent  of 
three  rows,  or  about  300  plants  ;  but  in  1797  to 
the  extent  of  thirty-five  rows,  or  .3500  plants. 
The  Moor  Park  is  undoubtedly  of  French  origin ; 
it  is  either  a  seminal  variety  of  the  Apricot 
Peche— not  the  Apricot  Peche  of  Duhamel, 
which  is  our  White  Masculine— but  the  Apricot 
Peche  of  Bretonnerie  and  Roger  Scabol,  or  is 
identical  with  it.  Our  own  opinion  is  that  it  is 
identical  with  it.  It  is  said  to  have  originated 
in  Piedmont  as  a  seedling  from  the  Alberge. 
It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  '*  Jardinier  Francais  '» 
of  1653,  nor  in  any  of  the  editions  of  De  Quin- 
tinye.  Switzer  speaks  of  "  a  very  large  kind  of 
Apricock  that  was  cultivated  at  Woolhampton, 
Berkshire,  as  big  as  a  Peach,  and  it  is  there 
called  the  French  Apricock.''- JbwrnaZ  of  Horti- 
culture. 


\h 


HORTICULTURAL    NOTICES. 


THE    ILLINOIS    STATE    HORTICULTU- 
RAL SOCIETY, 

Will  hold  its  Eighteenth  Aanual  Meeting  in 
Champaign,  commencing  December  9th,  at  10 
o'clock  A.  M.,  and  continuing  four  days.  The 
reports  and  discussions  will  include  all  depart- 
ments in  the  theory  and  practice  of  Fruit  rais- 
ing and  Tree  growing.  Papers  upon  the  follow- 
ing subjects  will  be  read  by  eminent  Scientists 
and  Horticulturists,  viz:  Meterology,  Geology 
and  Soils,  Botany  and  Vegetable  Physiolo£?y, 
Entomology  and  Ornithology,  Ornamental  and 
Timber  Trees,  Ornamental  and  Landscape  Gar- 
dening, Vegetable  Gardening,  Orchard  Culture 
and  Vineyard  Culture.  The  citizens  of  Cham- 
paign will  extend  hospitalities  to  members  and 
strangers  attending  the  meeting.  The  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Co.  will  return  members  at 
one-fifth  fare.  The  Indianapolis  B.  and  N. 
Railroad,  will  return  free. 

O.  B.  Galusha, 

Sec^y  State  Horticultural  Society, 

Morris,  Ills. 


FRUIT  GROWERS'  SOCIETY  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

This  Society  will  hold  its  Annual  Meeting 
this  season  at  Mechanicsburg,  Cumberland 
County,  on  the  2l8t,  22nd,  23d  of  June,  1874. 
The  practical  details  of  fruit  culture  are  general- 
ly fully  discussed,  and  the  meetings  usually  very 
fully  attended. 

Mechanicsburg  is  on  the  railroad  leading  from 
Harrisburg  to  Chambersburg,  and  very  easy  of 
access.  In  one  of  the  most  successful  fruit 
regions  of  the  State,  there  is  no  doubt  much  use- 
ful information  will  be  elicited  by  the  meeting. 


WORCESTER  COUNTY  (MASS.)  AGRI- 
CULTURAL SOCIETY. 
In  a  newspaper  before  us  we  note  that  the 
horticultural  department  of  the  Annual  Exhibi- 
tion was  a  great  success.  We  note  with  pleas- 
ure among  the  most  successful  exhibitors,  Mr. 
Geo.  Cruikshanks,  one  of  our  best  gardeners, 
and  we  are  pleased  to  add,  one  of  the  earliest 
of  the  subscribers  to  the  Oarderier^s  Monthly. 


'  .  ^