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LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

NO.__42.Ll._- DATE. JJi-ASSS

SOU Rg,E-A-l'-ijy-m . . .^.arxi . . .

V- 14
CHAPEL

v,nf ••

ilft^ dSard^iur's fEontlTlg

AND

HORTIC ULTUR A L AD VP:RTISER.

DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE, BOTANY AND RURAL AFFAIRS.

Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN.

FoRMEPLY Head Gardenek to Caleb Cope, Esq., at Springbrook, and at the Bartkam Botanic Garden,
NEAR Philadelphia ; Graduate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (London,) England,
Member of the Academy' of Natural Sciences. Author of "American Hand-
book OF Ornamental Trees, &c.

VOLUrjS/LE XIV., 1873.

TERMS. — Two Dollars per Annum, Invariably in Advance.

PHILADELPHIA:

CHARLES H. MAROT, PUBLISHER,

No. 8 14 Chestnut Strf:;et.
1872.

V, 1^

lu (SariUit^^s M^ittWg

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs*

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Old Series, Vol. XIV. JAJVUARY, 1872. New Series, Vol. V. No. h

HINTS EOE JANUARY.

There is a certain satisfaction in walking
through a wood when the wind is roaring
through the naked boughs, and when the dead
branches fall crackling about our feet ; and as we
tread them down still lower as we pick our way
through the falling mass, we can think that the
time will come when all will be green again. But
the leaf and the branch which have done their
duty and fell before the storm, will never rise
again in that shape. The branch which we
have crushed, and the leaf which decays, will
crumble and mould. Their elements will re-
solve themselves into new combinations and
new shapes. The trees which bore them will
never know them more ; but yet, as they bend
beneath the storm of time, and lie every where
on the bed of dissolution, they all might feel
that they have not lived in vain.

And you, gentle readers, who have walked
with us the past year through flowery field and
verdant meadows, may feel some pleasure in
again going through this department of our
labors at this season, when the wind whistles
without, and the drifting snow seems more to
favor sleigh-bells than garden improvements.
The many thoughts which we have borne for
you, now lie on the leafless ground, and will
crackle under the feet of time. We shall again
strive to serve you as we have done in the many
years gone by, but the decaying thought we shall
never see again. But let us trust that we have
not written wastefully. A word, a thought, as
a leaf or branch may die ; but its elements may
reappear in some other shape. We often feel
that our labor is iu vain. We look around and
Bee no sign. But we trust that the good thought
which decayed, in some form lives ; and that

though we do not know how or where the child-
ren of our brain are now, working as we have
done before for human pleasure and human
good, so we shall continue to labor, trusting
and in trust, communicating what we know to
others, and asking them in turn to work with
us. Thus we welcome another year, and hope
that this, the fourteenth of our existence, may
be as successful as have been the past.

FLOWER GAEDEK AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

The chief enjoymcyat in this department at
this season, lies in planning out the necessary
improvements, arrangements, and work to be
done during the next active season. In garden-
ing there are two styles of flower-growing, — one
which looks to the enjoyment of beautiful flowers
individually ; the other for the eflects which
color gives to the beauty of one's ground. In
the first place, hardy Herbaceous plants, An-
nuals, Bulbs and such like plants, are to be em-
ployed, and the flower-beds for them must be ar-
ranged with this view, so as to afford opportuni-
ties for individual examination. There is noth-
ing better for this than long, narrow borders ;
such, for instance, as the narrow belts along the
walks of a vegetable garden.

For flowers for effect, the mass system, of
course, is to be preferred. The flowers are se-
lected and arranged with regard to their harmo-
nious tints of coloring one with another, and
the beds must be arranged to suit the ideas
sought to be accomplished. The shape of the
various beds is of no account in this system of
gardening. Hearts, pears, stars, crosses, and so
forth, are not recognized when filled with flow-

^

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TKLY. January,

ers ; but they have to be arranged one with re-
gard to the other, that the effect we design shall
be fully accomplished.

It is a very nice winter study for ladies, and
one which in England engages the attention of
every one, from Queen Victoria down, to ar-
range in winter the beds, and the flowers to fill
them, for the summer decorations of the garden.
In most cases, the ladies first ascertain what
plants can be procured, — geraniums, petunias,
cupheas, or various leaf-plants, — familiarize
themselves with their various shades of colors,
and then, with a rough sketch of the beds to be
filled before them, mark on each what is to go
in next spring. This is then handed to the gar-
dener time enough for him to get a supply ready.
This practice has been gradually growing in
England for the past thirty years, until now it is
the universal winter employment of all ladies of
taste ; and to this great interest in flower-gar-
dening by the English ladies, is the present high
state of the flower-gardening department there
to be mainly traced.

Pruning should be completed as soon as possi-
ble. Some judgment is required in pruning
flowering shrubs, roses, &c., although it is usual
to act as if it were one of the most common-place
operations. One of the most clumsy of the hands
is commonly set with a shears, and he ''goes
through " the whole place, clipping off" every
thing indiscriminatelj'. Distinction should be
made between those flowering shrubs that make
a vigorous growth, and those which grow weak-
ly ; and between those which flower on the old
wood of last year, and those which flower on the
new growth of next season, as the effect of prun-
ing is to force a strong and vigorous growth.
Those specimens that already grow too strong
to flower well, should be only lightly pruned ;
and, in the same individual, the weakest shoots
should bejiut-in more severely than the stronger
ones. Some things, like the Mock Oranges,
Lilacs and others, flower on the wood of last
year. To prune these much now, therefore,
destroys the flov/ering ; while such as Altheas,
which flower on the young wood, cannot be too
severely cut-in, looking to that operation alone.

In pruning Roses, the fall blooming kinds,
which flower on the new growth, may be prun-
ed as severely as we wish ; in fact, the 'harder''
they are cut-in the better. In this class are the
Koisette, Bourbon, Tea, China and Hybrid Per-
petual and Perpetual Moss. Without considera-
ble experience, it is difficult for the amateur to

distinguish these classes. The best way to get
over the difficulty is to obtain the catalogues of
the principal Rose-growers, in which each kind
is usually classified. Amateurs should pay more
attention to the scientific— if we may so term it
— study of the Rose, and its classification and
general management. No class of flowers ia
more easily understood, and no one affords so
rich a fund of perpetual interest.

Hyacinths, or other hardy bulbous roots that
may not have yet been planted, may still be put
in where the ground continues open. The beds
of all such bulbs should be slightly protected
with manure or litter, and be carefully watched
for mice and vermin, which are likely to avail
themselves of the shelter and feed on the roots.

Lawns that are impoverished by several sea-
sons' mowings, will be improved by a good top-
dressing. This may be applied any time after
the leaves are gathered up, and before the snow
falls. Soot, wood-ashes, guano, or any prepared
manure, is best for this purpose, Barnyard ma-
nure is objectionable, as generally containing
many seeds of weeds.

Evergreens set out last fall in windy or expos-
ed situations, will be benefited by a shelter of
cedar branches, corn stalks, or mats, set against
them. Whether hardy or tender, all will be
benefited thereby.

Hedges that have not had their winter dress-
ing, should be attended to. If the remarks wo
have before made on hedges have been attended
to through the summer, there will be very little
now to do. We have said that pruning in sum-
mer weakens a plant, while pruning in winter
strengthens it ; and so, as hedges naturally get
spoiled by growing vigorously at the top, and
weakly at the sides, they should be severely
summer-pruned at the apex, and winter-pruned
near the base. Now will be the time to see to
the latter, taking care not to make it too narrow.
A good hedge should be nearly four feet wide at
the base, and be cut into a point at the top.

Manure for flower-beds, borders, etc., may bo
hauled convenient to where it is likely to be
wanted in spring ; many spread it on at once ;
but if the soil is frozen ver}-^ thick, it prevents
the early thawing of the soil in the spring, and
so no time is gained.

Yery small plants in borders or on the lawn,
or larger plants that may have been set out the
past season, should be mulched with anything
that will prevent the ground thawing, and so,
the plant "drawing out." Most readers have

1872.

TllK GAliDEJYEU'S MOJ^THLJ.

'S

done this in the fall, but there is good to be done
by it yet by those who have neglected it till now.
Keep a sharp look-out for mice under the litter,
however, where it is wise from the value of the
specimen to run no risks ; brown paper, after-
wards tarred, may be wrapped around the stems
as far as the litter covers them.

A great deal of trenching and sub-soiling can
be done through the winter if manure be thrown
over the surface before it is frozen too deep ; a
little snow even, dug in, will not injure the ope-
ration, as we find in our own experience.

VEGETABLE GAEDEN.

Towards the latter end of the month, in the
Southern States, there will be little time for stu-
dy ; spring will be open, and hard work will be
the order of the day. Peas and potatoes must
be planted as early as the season will admit.
Even here in Pennsylvania we have planted peas
to advantage during a favorable " spell " in the
first week in February. In sowing peas, a com-
mon error is to sow them too thick : each pea
should be nearly two inches apart if the soil is
rich, in order to have a very satisfactory crop of
large pods. "We hate to see the best half of man-
kind, namely, womankind, imposed upon by
those gardeners who grow plenty of pods with
no peas in them for the dear creatures to "shell. "

Asparagus beds may have the soil raked off
them a little, if it was thrown up from the alley-
way in the fall. It allows the sun to get to the
roots earlier, and the crop is forwarded thereby.
If the beds are poor, they may have a dressing
of guano, or superphosphate, which has been
found very beneficial to this crop. It has be-
come almost a stereotyped recommendation to
have " salt applied," but there is a good deal of
the humbug about it. In dry, sandy soil it docs
a little good, and a little in whatever manure is
applied is acceptable to them, but more has been
made of the salt theory with asparagus than it
deserves. Asparagus beds may be got ready as
soon as the ground is sufficiently dry to admit of
working. A deep soil is all-important ; two feet,
at least, and a situation should be chosen that
is warm, and yet not too dry. The roots should
be set about four inches under the surface, tweu
ty inches or two feet from each other, and the
rows eighteen or twenty inches apart. Large,
fine asparagus cannot be obtained by crowding
the plants ; strong, two and three year old plants
are the best ; although in good, rich soil, one

year old plants will often bear a good crop the
year after planting. The length of time aspara-
gus requires to come into bearing depends much
on the soil. It is useless to attempt raising it in
poor ground.

Rhubarb also is one of the roots requiring early
attention, and requires a very rich and deep soil,
of a clayey nature, to bring it to perfection.
They need be set but a few inches under the
surface, and should have a clear space of about
two feet each way to develop themselves proper-
ly. There have been so many improvements
made in the varieties of rhubarb now, that there
can be a good selection of kinds for different cir-
cumstances ; but we have not found a very great
deal of difference between some kinds. Linnseua,
Prince Albert and Magnum Bonum, for instance,
when grown side by side, or cooked, exhibit little
difference worth appreciating, — although those
who peddle old rhubarb plants, under the new
name of "Wine Plants," assure us we must
have the " true Linnaeus," to be successful.

WINDOW PLANTS.

These suffer much at this season from the
high and dry temperatures at which it is neces-
sary for human comfort to keep our dwellings.
Air can seldom be admitted from the lowness of
the external temperature. Saucers of water un-
der the plants do much to remedy the drying
from which room plants suffer. In such cases,
however, so much water must not be given to
the plants as to those without saucers. The
watef is drawn up into the soil by attraction,
and though the surface will appear dry, they
will be wet enough just beneath. 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 fastest should be placed near,
est the light. The best aspect for room plants
is the southeast. They .seem like animals, in
their affection for the morning sun. The first
morning ray is worth a dozen in the eveniu"'.
Should any of our fair readers find her plants
by some unlucky miscalculation, frozen in the
morning, do not remove them at once to a warm
place, but dip them in cold water, and set them
in a dark spot, where they will barely escape
freezing ; sun-light will only help the frost's des-
tructive ^lowers.

But, besides the aridity of the atmosphere, a
more dangerous enemy to room plants is the

4

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJYTMLy. January,

fumes ofburnin;^ gas. Many a lady, who grew
plants well while the family was poor, and they
lived in cosy rooms by old wood-stoves, wonders
why, when rich enough to "get the gas intro-
duced,'' they have no more "luck" with plants.
Where plants are grown in gas-lighted rooms,
especial cabinets must be provided to enclose
them from the space in which gas burners ope-
rate.

» 4

GREENHOUSE.

"We note, with much interest, the increase of
these grateful winter pleasures ; but they are not
near as common as they might be, through a
fear that the expense is more than can readily
be borne. But this is generally through the
proprietor himself not giving the matter much
thought, but depending altogether on the car-
penter. It is best always, in this matter, to
have the advice of an intelligent and experienced
gardener. Every twenty-five dollars invested in
this way will save hundreds from the carpenter's
bill. We note many places rendered worthless
for a thousand dollars, which, with a proper un-
derstanding of the wants of plants, and proper
arrangements, might have been made pleasant
places for half that sum.

In the arrangement of plants in the green-
house, continual change is commendable. Every
few weeks the plants may be re-set, and the
houses made to appear quite different. In the
end where the lowest plants once were set, now
the taller ones may be placed ; here a convex
group, and there presenting a concave appear-
ance. Drooping plants on elevated shelves, and
hanging baskets from the roof, make little para-
dises of variety in what were once unbearable
monotony. Gardeners often wish to know the
secret of maintaining a continued interest, on
the part of their employers, in their handiwork,
and this is one of the most potent — continued
changed and variety in the appearance of every

thing. Beautiful flowers, graceful forms, elegant
combinations, all developing themselves with a
healthy luxuriousness and ever changing end-
lessness, will wake up an interest in the most
indifferent breast.

The temperature of the greenhouse at this
season should be maintained at about 50^, allow-
ing it to rise 10^ or 15^ under the full sun, and
sinking 10' or so in the night. Though many
of our practical brethren difier from us, men, for
some of whose opinions we entertain the highest
respect, we do not recommend a very great dif-
ference between night and day temperature, we
think 10^ ample allowance. It is following na-
ture, no doubt ; but we would rather strive to
beat nature. She cannot make the specimens we
do, nor flower them so beautifully and profusely,
and in many other respects we think the practi-
cal gardener can much improve on her red-tape
notions and old fashioned courses.

Many plants will seem to be full of roots, and
the temptation to repot will be very great ; but
if a plant is desired to flower freely, the fuller of
roots the pot is, the better. Continual -^oi-tering
is the bane of plant- culture. If the soil is so
very much exhausted that the flowers are likely
to be small and poor, a half-inch of the soil in
the pot, on the surface, may be replaced by a
top-dressing of rich compost. But watchfulness
must be afterwards exercised, or the plant will
get over-dry, as the loose soil on the top will
often appear wet, when in reality all below is as
dry as a powder-horn.

'J'his, by the way, is often the cause of the
flower buds of Camellias falling off. The little
dribblings of the water pot, they daily receive,
do not penetrate far beneath the surface ; the
roots at the bottom do not get enough, and the
buds drop. Camellias ought to be in such a
part of the house as not to be liable to become
often dry ; such a spot, for instance, as will ad-
mit of one good , thorough watering being enough
to last for a week.

COMMUNICATIONS.

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FEED. YON MUELLEE, MELBOURNE, AUS.

[We have been favored by Dr. Mueller with a
copy of a communication made by him to the
Victorian Acclimation Society. The informa-

tion he gives even about our own trees, is convey-
ed in such a concise form, that it would interest
most of our readers ; but in addition, it tells so
much about Australian trees wliich few of us
know, that we have no doubt it will be of yalu

1812.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOMTRLY.

to us ia every respect. The timber question is
one which particularly interests us just now, and
as any of the Australian trees will do well in
those parts of our country which may be called
above the frost line, the information about them
will be of particular value to that section. "We
give some notes of our own. — Ed.]

The trees marked with an asterisk * should receive
prominent attention in Victorian wood culture. The di-
mensions given are the greatest of which the writer could
trace reliab e records.

I. — Coniferous Trees.
Araucakia Bidwillt, Hook.*

Bunya Bunya. Southern Queensland. A
tree 150 feet in height, with a fine grained,
hard and durable wood ; the seeds are edible.
Abaucaria Braziliensis, a. Rich.

Brazilian Pine. A tree 100 feet high, pro-
ducing edible seeds. Ought to be tried in
our fern gullies.
Araucaria Cookii, E. Br.

In New Caledonia, where it forms large for-
ests. Height of tree 200 feet.
Abaucaria Cunningiiami, Ait-*

Moreton-Bay Pine. — East Australia, be-
tween 14' and 32" S. latitude. The tree
gets 130 feet high. The timber is used for or-
dinary furniture.
Abaucaria excelsa, R. Br.*

Norfolk-Island Pine. A magnificent tree,
sometimes 220 feet high, with a stem attain-
ing ten feet in diameter. The timber is
useful for ship building and many other
purposes.
Abaucaria imbrjcata, Pa v.

Chili and Patagonia. The male tree attains
only a height of 50 feet, but the female
reaches 150 feet. It furnishes a hard and
durable timber, as well as an abundance of
edible seeds, which constitute a main arti-
cle of food of the natives. Eighteen good
trees will yield enough for a man's suste-
nance all the year round. In our lowlands
of comparative slow growth, but likely of
far more rapid development if planted in
our ranges. (1)
Callitris quadrivalvis, Vent.

North Africa. A middling-sized tree, yield-
ing the true Sandarac resin.
.Cephalotaxus FoRTUNEi, Ilook.

China and Japan. This splendid yew at-
tains a height of 60 feet, and is very hardy.

[]] This has been found hardy near Philadelphia when-
ever well protected from wind in winter.

Cryptomeria Japonica, Don.

Japan and Northern China. A slender
evergreen tree, 100 feet high. It requires
forest valleys for successful growth. The
wood is compact, very white, soft and easy
to work. (2)

CuPRESsus Benthami, Endl.

Mexico, 5 to 7,000'. A beautiful tree, 60
feet high. The wood is fine grained and
exceedingly durable.

CuPRESSUS Lawsoniana, Murr.* {Ghamcecy-
Xjaris Lawsoniana, Pari. )

Northern California. This is a splendid
red-flowered cypress, growing 100 feet high,
with a stem of 2 feet in diameter, and fur-
nishes a valuable timber for building pur-
poses, being clear and easily worked.

CUPRESSUS LlNDLEYI, Klotzsch.

On the mountains of Mexico. A stately cy-
press, up to 120 feet high. It supplies an
excellent timber.

CuPRESSUs MACROUARPA, Hartw.* (C. Lam-
bertiana, Gord.)
Upper California. This beautiful and shady
tree attains the height of 150 feet, with a
stem of 9*feet in circumference, and is one
of the quickest growing of all conifers, even
in poor dry soil.

CuPRESSus NuTKAENSis, Lamb, {Ohamcecy-
imris Nutkaensis^ Spach. )

North-west America. Height of tree 100
feet. Wood used for boat-building and
other purposes ; the bast for mats and ropes.

CuPRESSUS OBTUSA, F. von Muell. [Rethios-
pora ohtusa, S. & Z.

Japan. Attains a height of 80 feet ; stem 6
feet in circumference. It forms a great
part of the forests at Nipon. The wood is
white veined and compact, assuming, when
planted, a silky lustre. It is used in Japan
for temples. There are varieties of this spe-
cies with foliage of a golden and of a silvery
hue.

Two other Japanese cypresses deserve in-
troduction, namel}' : Cupr. breviramea
{Chamcecyparis breviramea, Maxim.), and
Cupr. pei^dens, [Chamoecyparis pendula,
Maxim. )

CuPRESSus pisifera, F. von Muell. ( Cliama-
cyparis pisifera, S. & Z.)

[2] Young trees so far north as Philadelphia lose their
leaders for a few years if unprotected ; but after they have
reached six or eight feet high, they will resist a higher
temperature than zero without injury.

6

TEE GARVEJiEK'S MOJVTHL^i

January y

Japan It attains a height of 30 feet, pro-
ducing also a variety with golden foliage.

Ctjpressits semper virens, L.

Common Cypress of South Europe. Height
of tree up to 80 feet. It is famous for the
great age it reaches, and for the durability
of its timber, which is next to imperishable.
At present it is much sought for the manu-
facture of musical instruments.

Ctjpressus thurifera, Hurab, B. & K*

Mexico ; 3,000 to 4,500 feet above sea-level.
A handsome pyramidal tree, upwards of 40
feet high.

Ctjpressus thutoides, Linde. f ChamcEcyparis
sphoeroidea, Spach )

White Cedar of North America ; in moist
or raorassy ground. Height of tree 80 feet ;
diameter of stem 3 feet. The wood is light,
soft, and fragrant ; it ttirns red when ex-
posed to the air. (3)

CUPRESSUS TORULOSA, Don,*

Nepal Cypress Northern India; 4,500 to
8,000 feet above sea-level. Height of tree
150 feet; circumference of stem, as much as
16 feet. The reddish fragrant wood is as
durable as thnt of the Deodar Cedar, highly
valued for furniture. The tree seems to
prefer the limestone soil.
Dacry'dium cupressinum, Soland.

New Zealand. Native name, Itiimi; the
Red Pine of the colonists. This stately tree
acquires the height of 200 feet, and furnishes
a hard and valuable wood. With other
New Zealand conifers particularly eligible
for our forest valleys. A most suitable tree
for cemeteries, on account of its pendulous
branches.

I>ACRYDIUM FrANKLTXI, Hook. fil."

Iluon Pine of Tasmania ; only found in
moist forest recesses, and might be planted
in our dense fern-tree gullies. Height of
tree' 100 feet; stem circumference 20 feet.
The wood is highly esteemed for ship-build-
ing and various artizan's work.
Dammara ALBA,Rumph. (Z>. orientalis, Lamb.)
Agath Dammar. Indian xVrchipelagus and
mainland, A large tree, 100 feet high, with
a stem of 8 feet in diameter ; straight and
branchless for two-thirds its length. It is
of great importance on account of its yields

[3] This probably rarely exceeds 50 feet Iilgh. Many
extra American writers as well as some of our own incor-
rectly call the Arborvitae "White Cedar."

of the transparent Dammar resin, exten-
sively used for varnish.
Dammara Australis, Lamb.*

Kauri Pine. North island of New Zealand.
This magnificent tree measures, under fa-
vorable circumstances, 180 feet in height
and 17 feet in diameter of stem. The esti-
mated age of such a tree being 700 or 800
years. It furnishes an excellent timber for
furniture, masts of ships, or almost any
other purpose ; it yields besides the Kauri
resin of commerce, which is largely got from
under the stem of the tree. The greatest
part is gathered by the Maories in localities
formerly covered with Kauri forests ; pieces,
weighing 100 lbs., have been found in such
places.
Dammara macrophylla, Lindl.

Santa Cruz Archipelagus. A beautiful tree,
100 feet high, resembling D. alba.
Dammara Moorei, Lindl.

New Caledonia. Height of tree about 50
feet,
Dammara obtusa, Lindl.

New Hebrides. A fine tree, 200 feet high ;
with a long, clear trunk ; resembling D.
Australis.
Dammara ovata, Moore,

New Caledonia, This tree is rich in Dam-
mar resin.
Dammara robusta, Moore.

Queensland Kauri. A tall tree, known
from Rockingham's Bay and W^ide Bay. It
thrives well even in open, exposed, dry lo-
calities at Melbourne.
Dammara Vitensis, Seem.

In Fijii. Tree 100 feet high ; probably iden-
tical with Lindley's D. longifolia.
FiTZROYA Patagonica, Hooker fil.

Southern parts of Patagonia and Chili. A
stately tree, 100 feet high, up to 14 feet in
diameter of stem. The wood is red, almost
imperishable in the open air or under
ground; it does not warp, and is easy to
split. It comes into commerce in boards 7
feet long, 8 inches wide, ^ inch thick, and is
used for roofing, deals, doors, casks, &c.
The outer bark produces a strong fibre used
for caulking ships. Like many other trees
of colder regions, it would require here to
be planted in our mountain forests, (4,)

[-1] Our own experiments wiih this hare failed. The
plants have died during summer. We should be glad to
know wliethsr there arc nny living plants in America.

1872.

THE GABDEJ^ER'S MOJVTBLy.

Prenela Actinostrobus, Muell. [Actinos-
trobus pyramidalis, Miq.)
From S. W. Australia, though only a
shrub, is placed here oa record as desirable
for introduction, because it grows on saline
desert flats, where any other conifers will
not readily succeed. It may become important
for coast cultivation.

Pkknela Ma CLE ay an a, Pari,

New South Wales. A handsome tree of
regular pyramidal growth, attaining a
height of 70 feet ; the timber is valuable.

Pbenela verrucosa, a. Cunn.

Also several other species from Victoria
and other parts of Australia are among the
trees which may be utilized for binding the
coast and desert sand. They all exude San-
da rac.

Ginkgo biloba, L. {Salishuria adiantifolia,
Smith.)

Ginkgo tree. China and Japan. A de-
ciduous fan-leaved tree, 100 feet high, with
a straight stem 12 feet in diameter. The
wood is white, soft, easy to work, and takes
a beautiful polish. The seeds are edible,
and when pressed, yield a good oil. Ginkgo
trees are estimated to attain an age of 3000
years.

JUNIPERUS BeRMUDIANA, L.*

The Pencil Cedar of Bermuda and Barba-
does. This species grows sometimes 90 ft.
high, and furnishes a valuable I'ed durable
wood, used for boat building, furniture and
particularly for pencils, on account of its
pleasant odor and special fitness. Many of
the plants called Thuya or Biota Meldensis
in gardens, belong to this species. (5.)

JiTNiPERUS BREViFOLiA, Antoine.

In the Azores up to 4,800' ; a nice tree with
sometimes silver}' foliage.

JuNiPERUS CsDUUS, "Webb.

A tall tree of the higher mountains of the
Canary Islands.

JXJNIPERUS ChINENSIS, L. *

In temperate regions of the Himalaya, also
in China and Japan. This tree is known
to rise to 75 feet. Probably identical with
the Himalayan Pencil Cedar (Juniperus re-

[5] Biota Meldensis was shown liy the Editor in his pa-
psr on Adnation in Cohiferae lo he but a free-leaved
(weakened) form oi Biota orientals. Since that time it
has fruited in the United States, and it provea the eorree'-
neet of thie view.

ligiosa, Royle) ; it is remarkable for its red-
dish close-grained wood. (6.)

Jtjniperus communis, L.

One of the three native coniferse of Britain,
attaining under favorable circumstances a
height of nearly 50 feet ; of medicinal uses ;
the berries also used in the preparation of
gin.

Juniperus drupacea, Labill. Plum Juniper.
A very handsome long leaved Juniper, the
Habhel of Syria: It attains a height of 30
feet, and produces a sweet edible fruit,
highly esteemed throughout the Orient.

Juniperus excelsa, Bieberst.

In Asia Minor, 2 to COOO feet above the sea
level. A stately tree, GO feet high.

Juniperus flaccida, Schlecht,

In Mexico, 5 to 7000 feet high. A tree of
30 feet in height, rich in a resin, similar to
Sandarac.

Juniperus fcetidissima, Willd.

A tall beautiful tree in Armenia and Tau-
ria, 5000 to 6,500 feet.

Juniperus Mexicana, Schiede.

Mexico at an elevation 7000 to 11,000 feet.
A straight tree, 90 feet high, stem 3 feet di-
ameter, exuding copiously a resin similar to
Sandarac.

Juniperus occidentalis, Hook.

North California and Oregon, at 5000] feet.
A straight tree, 80 feet high, v/ith a stem
of 3 feet diameter.

Juniperus Phcenicea, L.

South Europe and Orient. A small tree 20
feet high, yielding an aromatic resin.

Juniperus procera, Hochst.

In Abyssinia. A stately tree, furnishing a
hard useful timber.

Juniperus recurva, Hamilton.

On the Himalayas, 10 to 12,000 feet high.
A tree attaining 30 feet in height.

Juniperus spniERicA, Lindl.

North China. A handsome tree, 40 feet
high.

Juniperus Virginiana, L.

North American Pencil Ct^Jar or Ksd- Ce-
d.ir. A handsome tree, 50 feet high, sup-
plying a fragrant limber, much esteemed
for its strength and durability ; the inner
part is of a beautiful red color, Ihti outer is
white ; it is much used for pencl's.

[6] This is a very hardy, and as b aiiiil\il :i tiee aa
seful

s

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTELy. January,

LiBOCEDRUs Chilensis, Elldl.

In cold valleys on the southern Andes of
Chili, 2000 to 5000 feet. A fine tree, 80 feet
high, furnishing a hard resinous wood of a
yellowish color.

LiBOCEonus DECUKEENs, Torr.

White Cedar of California, growing on high
mountains. Attains a height of fully 200
feet, with a stem 25 feet in circumference.

LiBOCEDRUS DONIANA, Endl.

North island of N'ew Zealand, up to 6000
feet elevation. A forest tree 100 feet high,
stem 3 feet and more in diameter. The
wood is hard and resinous, of a dark reddish
color, fine grained, excellent for planks and
spars.

LiBOCEDRUS TETRAGONA, Endl.

On the Andes of North Chili, 2000 to 5000
feet. This species has a very straight stem,
and grows 120 feet high. The wood is quite
white, and highly esteemed for various ar-
tisans' work, indeed very precious.

Nageia (Podocarpus) amara, Blume.

Java, on high volcanic mountains. A large
tree, sometimes 200 feet high.

Kageia (Podocarpus) cupressina, R. Br.
•Java and Phillipine Islands. Height of
tree 180 feet, furnishing a highly valuable
timber.

Kageia (Podocarpus) DACRYDioroES, A.
Rich.

In swampy ground of New Zealand ; the
"Kahikatea'' of the Maories, called White
Pine by the colonists. Height of tree 150
feet ; diameter of stem 4 feet. The white
sweet fruit is eaten by the natives ; the wood
is pale, close-grained, heavy, and among
other purposes used for building canoes.

Naqeia (Podocarpus) ferruginea, Don.
Northern parts of New Zealand. The Black
Pine of the colonists ; native name "Miro."
Height of tree 80 feet; it produces a dark
red resin of a bitter taste ; the wood is of a
reddish color, very hard.

Nageia (Podocarpus) Lamberti, Klotzsch.
Brazils. A stately tree, yielding valuable
timber.

Nageia (Podocarpus) Purdieana, Hook.
Jamaica, at 2500 to 3500 feet. This quick-
growing tree attains a height of 100 feet.

Nageia (Podocarpus) spicata, Br.

Black Rue of New Zealand. Tree 80 feet
high ; wood pale, soft, close and durable.

Nageia (Podocarpus) Thunbergii, Hook.

Cape of Good Hope. A large tree, known
to the colonists as "Geelhout;" it. furnishes
a splendid wood for building.

Nageia (Podocarpus) Totara, Don.*

New Zealand. A fine tree, 120 feet high,
with a stem of 20 feet in circumference, ; it
is called mahogany pine by the colonists.
The reddish, close-grained and durable
wood is valuable both for building and for
furniture, and is also extensively used for
telegraph posts ; it is considered the most
valuable timber of New Zealand. Many
other tall timber trees of the genus Podocar-
pus or Nageia occur in various parts of v,
Asia, Africa and America, doubtless all de-
sirable, but the quality of their timber is
not well known, tliough likely in many cases
excellent. Nageia Is by far the oldest pub-
lished name of the genus.

Phyllocladus rhomboidalis, Rich.

Celery Pine of Tasmania. A stately tree
up to 60 feet high, with a stem of 2 to 6 feet
in diameter. The timber is valuable for
ships' masts. It will only grow to advan-
tage in deep forest vallies.

Phili-ocladus trichomanoides, Don.

Celery Pine of New Zealand, northern
island ; it is also called Pitch Pine by the
colonists. This tree attains a height of 70
feet, with a straight stem of 3 feet in diame-
ter, and furnishes a pale close-grained tim-
ber, used particularly for spars and planks ;
the Maories employ the bark for dying red
and black.

PiNUS Abies, D>x Roi.* {Pinus Picca Linne.)
Silver Fir, Tanne. In middle Europe up to
50' N. Lat , forming dense forests. A fine
tree, already the charm of the ancients, at-
taining 200 feet in height, and 20 feet iu cir-
cumference of stem, reaching the age of 300
years. It furnishes a most valuable timber
for building, as well as furniture, and in re-
spect to lightness, toughness and elasticity
it is even more esteemed than the Norway
Spruce, but is not so good for fuel or for
charcoal. It also yields a fine white resin
and the Strasburg turpentine, similar to
the Venetian. (7)

[7] Dr. Mueller adopts the plan of classing Abies, Pioe«,
Larix and Cedrus all ns "Pinus." There is so mueli that
is practically inconvenient in this, tb^t we are sorry Bot-
anists find it necessary to jcicnco to combine them. Nur-
serymen will have to keep to the old way, as they have no
means of distinguishing Jjarches and Spruces and Firs, so
as to convey the papular idea, without keeping the sections
generically distinct.

187^.

TEE GARDE JEER'S MOXTELy .

9

PiNTJS Abies var. Cephalqnica, Parlatore.
{Pinus Cephalonica, Endl.)
Greece, 3 to 4000 feet above the sea. A
tree CO feet high, with a stem circumference
of 10 feet. The wood is very hard and
durable, and much esteemed for building.

FtNirs Abies var. I^ordmanniana, Parlatore.
(P. 2i'ordinanniana, Steven.)
Crimea and Circassia, 6000 feet above the
sea. This is one of the most imposing firs,
attaining a height of a 100 feet, with a per-
fectly straight stem. It furnishes a valua-
ble building timber.

The Silver Fir is desirable for our mountain
forests.

PlNTJS ALBA, Ait.

White Spruce. From Canada to Carolina,
up to the highest mountains. It resembles
P. Picea, but is smaller, at most 50 feet
high. Eligible for our alpine country. (8)

PiNus Alcocqitiana, Parlatore.

Japan, at an elevation of 6 to 7000 feet. A
fine tree, with very small blue-green leaves ;
the wood is used for light household furni-
ture. (9)

PlNTjs amabilis, Dougl.

C'alifornian Silver Fir. Korth California,
at an elevation of 4000 feet. A handsome
fir, 200 feet high, circumference of stem 24
feet ; the stem is naked up to 100 feet.

FiKus Atjstralis, Michx.*

Southern or Swamp Pine, also called Geor-
gia, Yellow Pitch or Broom Pine. In the
Southern States of K. America, the tree
attains a height of 70. feet. It furnishes a
good timber for furniture and building. It
is this tree which forms chiefly the exten-
sive pine barrens of the United States, and
yields largely the American turpentine. (10)

Fiprus Ayacahuite, Ehrenb. (P. Loudoniana,
Gord.)
In Mexico, at an elevation of 8000 to 12,000
feet. An excellent pine, 100 to 150 feet
high, with a stem diameter of 3 to 4 feet,
yielding a much esteemed white or some-
times reddish timber.

[8] Pifius picea is the name here adopted for Norway
Sprnce.

[9] We find this Japan species quite hardy in Philadel-
phia, and is in appearance between a Norway and White

Sprnce.
[lOJ This tree remains for years. in a dwarf condition,

in appearance like a tussock of sedge grass. In, we believe,

abont ten years it starts to make a strong leader, and will

then grow many feet in one year.

PiNITS BALSAMEA, L.

Balsam Fir, Balm of Gilead Fir. Canada,
Nova Scotia, New England. An elegant
tree, 40 feet high, which, with Pinus Fraseri,
yields the Canada Balsam, the well known
oleo -resin. The timber is light, soft and
useful for furniture It thrives best in cold
swampy places. Eligible for our Alps.

Pinus Canadensis, L.

Hemlock Spruce. In Canada and over a
great part of the United Slates, on high
mountains. A very ornamental tree, 100
feet high, with a white cross-grained and
inferior wood. The tree, however, is ex-
tremely valuable on account of its bark,
which is much esteemed as a tanning mate-
rial ; it is stripped ofi" during the summer
months. The young shoots are used for
making spruce beer.

PiNTJS Canariensis, C. Smith.*

Canary Pine. Canary Islands, forming
large forests at an elevation of 5 to 6000 feet.
A tree 70 feet high, with a resinous durable
very heavy wood, not readily attacked by in-
sects. It thrives well in Victoria, and
shows celerity of growth.

Pinus Cedrus, L.

Cedar of Lebanon Together with the At-
las variety on the mountains of Lebanon
and Taurus, also in N. Africa. The tree
grows to a height of 100 feet, and attains a
very great age ; the wood is of a light red-
dish color, soft, easy to work, and much os-
teeroed for its durability.

(To be Continued.)

ABOUT THOSE WHITE GRUBS.

by S. 8. RATHVON.

I have just been reading Mr. Riley's letter,
and the reply to it in the Gardener'' s Monthly for
Nov., 1871, pp. 341 and 342. I should not be
surprised if you brought him "down on you"
again "like a thousand of bricks." You don't
seem to have fully apprehended what I think is
the point of his criticism, in reference to the
nomenclature of the "white Grub." I think he
intended to twit you for coupling together two
generic names in referring to that insect, and
now you have made the matter worse, for, so
far as ray knowledge extends, neither Melolontha
nor Phyllophaga were ever applied specifically
to any of the Lamcllicoruia of North America.

10

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO^TTHLY. January,

I think this is his meaning, from the fact that
in attempting to quote a parallel case in Botany,
he couples a family and a generic name, which
is a little beyond a fair comparison, as you only
used two generic names, and under certain cir-
cumstances (very remote, however,) might have
had some ground for such an error.

Linnseus originally described eighty seven
species of Lamellicornia, under the generic name
of Scarabceus, and two of these he specifically
named /uZ/o and melolontha. Nearly all, if not
quite all, of these species have, since his time,
been referred to other genera established by
Fabricus, MacLeay, Latrielle, Leach, Kirby,
Illiger, Megerle, Hope, Serville, Laporte and
others. Fabricus established the genus vielo-
loniha, and made Linnaeus' Scarabceus fuUo the
type. As the Linnsean species melolontha was re-
tained in the genus of that name, Fabricus
therefore named it, specifically, vulgaris, and
there both those insects still remain, and Scara-
bceus melolontha has become obsolete. There-
fore, your "youthful" entomological knowledge
was faulty, unless you acquired it on Europeau
soil, and in reference to European subjects ;
but melolontha, as a specific name, must have
been suppressed long before our time.

The genus Phyllophaga (which includes our
May Beetle) was established by Dr. Harris, and
Haldeman, and Leconte in their revision of the
Melsheimer catalogue, published by the Smith-
sonian Institution, gave that name priority
to Lachnosterna of Hope, and Ancyhnycha of
Dejean and Blanchard. In the Harris cata-
logue, compiled prior to his erection of the ge-
nus Phyllophaga, he included the species querci-
na in Latrielle's genus Bhisotrogus.

Knoch is the author of the specific name quer-
cina, but this has its synonyms as well as the
generic name ; one of those is fervida, and is
credited to Olivier with a doubt, and the other
is fervens of Schonherr, also credited to Gyllenhal
with a doubt. And now going back to Lach-
ywstema again, and dropping Phyllophaga, shows
that "nothing's fix'd nohow"— as Fydgit Fyx-
ington said— any more in Entomology than it is
in botany or any other branch of ]Sratural Sci-
ence. Twenty-three species of Fhyllophaga are
recorded in the revised Melsheimer catalogue,
but the most common in this locality are quer-
cina and hirsuta of Knoch. So you see it is dif-
ficult to determine the species from the grub
alone, unless we made very minute and careful

observations, and bred the imago, for they are
all "white grubs in the larcae state.

As to the rolling process for the destruction
of the Colorado Potato Beetle, I must say I
have but little confidence in it, used either cross-
wise or lengthwise. It seems to me that a roller
heavy enough to crush the Beetles, would also
crush the vines beyond recovery ; but perhaps
this is a sacrifice that might well be made, pro-
vided we killed all the Beetles. As for Grass-
hoppers, if they are as nimble everywhere a»
they are in Lancaster county, you would get
precious few under a roller. Go out into a field
infested by them and try to make a collection,
and you will find that, although there may be
thousands of them, you will not be apt to tread
on any of them. It is just barely possible that
in a cool day, when they are partially benumbed,
or when they are very young, some of them
might be crushed with a roller ; but they are
great jumpers, from the moment they leave the
egg ; and as to prospective torpidity, I have
found them active jumpers and also flyers in
February, March and April, in places where
they can have the benefit of the sun. Still it
may be well to try any experiment for the de-
struction of both these and the Potato Beetles,
even if it should be under a mental reservation
or protest.

[It must be evident to the reader, that it will
be as much as our editorial life is worth to us
to search out very remote names of the past in
reference to modern entomology. Such an at-
mosphere isn't healthy. — Ed.]

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA— RECOLLEC-
TIONS OF A JOURNEY FROM
MELBOURNE TO GEELONG.

BY MR "W. T. HARDING, NOKANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGUTON, MASS.

The student and traveler, when contemplating
the wonderful and varied forms of nature, will
be struck with amazement when beholding, for
the first time, the singular, the beautiful and ec-
centric forms of the flora of Australia. So wide-
1}' do theydifler in habits of growth and appear-
ance from the trees, shrubs and plants of other
countries. The casual observer would scarcely
recognize them as belonging to the same fomily
or genera, in the vegetable kingdom, he is so fa-
miliar with in other hemispheres. The forests
present a stupenduous and magnificent arboreal
growth of such Inicr'i dinionsions, as to have no

Ib7^.

IHK GARDEJfER'S MO^THLy.

11

comparison in the universe of nature, excepting
the Sequoias or "mammoth trees" of Califor-
nia. Just fancy the enormous bulk of a Euca-
lyptus tree,whose lengthened shaft seems almost
lost in the cloudless sky, as its boughs and
branches wave nearly five hundred feet liigh in
the blue ether above, and like the writer, you
will exclaim, wonderful ! wonderful 1

" The king among the grasses, the imposing
Palm trees," as Humboldt says, the Seaforthia
elegans, may be seen growing with the crustace-
ous like Tramiaspenalis, the strangely formed
grass tree Xanthorrhsea, the graceful and ele-
gant tree ferns, Alsophilla Australis and Cibo-
tum Billardi, and their more humble congeners,
though not less beautiful, Gliechenia microphyl-
la, Davallia dubia, Lindsia media, Adiantum
hispidulum and Botrychium Australis. We
made notes of the above named trees and plants,
when about midway between Melbourne and
Geelong, as we journeyed thither.

The following were also noticed, namely,
Boronia paradoxa and B. serrulata, the latter a
sweet and pretty shrub, and apparently ever-
blooming, and emitting a fragi'ance so delicious
as to resemble a combination of Jasmines and
Violets. The settlers lovingly cultivate it as
"the native rose of Australia," although it
bears not the slightest resemblance to a rose
whatever, but dies with its sweet perfume.
Growing among the Boronias were bushes of
Croton rosmarinifolia, from eight to ten feet
high ; Dercsia corymbosa and D. funcea, with
Frankenia pauciflora, a handsome evergreen
shrub, bearing pretty pink flowers of pleasing
appearance, and in height about ten feet. Dill-
wynia tenuifolia, Hovia elliptica and H. Celsii,
one of the most beautiful of jSTcw Holland plants,
indigenous or cultivated. Mirbelia Baxterii,
and Zuria octandri,with its green colored flowers
Burtonia bruuioides, Hovia Australis and Dra-
cophyllum secundum, growing about seven feet
high and much resembling a Dracena. Some
splendid masses of Dendrobium terelifolium and
the Stag's horn Fern, Ptalycerium dicicorne al-
most covered the stems of Acacia angulata and
A. dealbata. Eutaxia myrtifolia and Pultenia
stricta grew side by side with Chorozema Her-
roanii, and Jacksonia horida, whose needle-
shaped spines reminded us that however thickly
strewn with roses the path of life may be, that
there arc thorns as well as flowers by the way.
These are but a few we mention of the hundreds
of species we found growing upon a space of less

than twelve acres in extent. Singular as it may
appear, that among a flora so rich and exten-
sive as abounds in Australia, that there is
neither an indigenous forest fruit or nut to be
found that would satisfy the hungry craving of
the weary wayfarer, whose lot it may be to wan-
der therein.

Australia may well be termed ''a land of pa-
radoxes,'' as every thing there, in both the ani-
mal and vegetable kingdom, is a paradox ; and
seems so oposite and contrary to everything else
of a kindred nature in other lands. " The fish
of the sea,'' and " the fowl of the air," "and
every thing that creepeth,'' and even man, in
his aboriginal state, seems to be more abject
and boast-like than either Indians or Hotten-
tots, and are a complete paradox to the Caucas-
siau " in the image of God's created.'' There is
no doubt of their being lower in the scale of hu-
manity than any other animated beings who
claim to belong to the human family. Physical-
ly, they resemble the monkey as much as the
man, minus the tail ; and their instincts or rea-
soning powers are about the same level, as they
roam in complete nudity through the solitudes
of their primeval forests. As civilization ad-
vances they are fost disappearing, said to be dy-
ing ofi*, as the Indians are on this continent ;
but not from the same cause, rum, as is alleged,
or " the pale face's fire water." To protect them
from its baneful influences, the Government im-
poses a heavy fine or penalty for either selling or
giving it to them. But perhaps the most cogent
reason why they are not allowed any grog is
this, that in consequence of the general scarcity
of water, and the want of some fluid to slake the
thirst of the enlightened colonists, little or none
can be spared for the poor ignorant blacks.

As we traveled onwards through a remarka-
bly beautiful country, so park-like in appearance,
with gentle undulations here and there, while
scattered at intervals were some noble sjieciraens
of Casuariua trees of rare beauty and peculiarly
interesting. Old and grim antediluvian Euca-
lyptus piperata, E. albicans and E. uudulata,
whose massive trunks looked like towers of
strength that had long withstood the assaults of
time, and yet seemed good for a thousand years
to come ; and like the sacred piles of ancient
masonry, seemed as though they were surrounded
with an air of grandeur and greatness, in the
sylvaiu solitudes of the wilderness. Beneath
their quiet umbrageous shades blooms many a
beautiful flower, and as sweet as " Afric's spic/
sale "

12

THE aABI)EJVER\S MOJV^lMLy. January,

Pretty little tufts of Tetratheca and Trache-
myne incica, about two feet high, with several
other unassuming little beauties, were blushing
unseen. Tucos flaccida, Chloranthe glandulosa,
Epacris grandiflora, E. nivalis and Gastrolobium
retusum, elegant little flowering vshrubs, were
happily blended together.

Spread around us were the picturesque wilds
of nature, with scenery seldom, if ever, surpass-
ed in rugged boldness of outline, and with the
unrestricted privilege "to roam through the
•wilds and deep glens that's so dreary,'' in a
country so 'deeply interesting, was a boon in-
deed. Such days and nichts of anxious happi-
ness we shall never see again.

After an hour or two's rest in a spot so delight-
ful, we journeyed on through groups of Poma-
derris "Wendlandiaua, Callistemon lanceolata,
Metrosideros glomulifera and Phebalium elata,
pretty bushes averaging from twenty to twenty-
five feet high. Some splendid specimens of Flin-
dersia Australisof a imiform growth, with hand-
some stems, about one hundred feet high, and
the beautiful evergreens Cryptocarya obovata
and C. glaucescens from forty to fifty feet high.
The curiously formed Minosopus tree, with its
monkey-faced flowers, were thinly scattered
around ; and there saw it in bloom for the first
time.

As the day was on the wane, and the sun
slowly descending from his realms above, and re-
signing his rule of the day in favor of the "Lunar
Queen," whose province it was to govern the
uight, and in her soft and mellowed light, whose
silvery sheen illumined the forest road with a
light little inferior from the mid-day sun, and
enjoying the vernal delights of a scene so arca-
dian, so serene and subdued was the voice of
nature, while "hearing the sound of a mountain
stream, and feeling the charm of a poet's dream,''
"we gently meandered along. On reaching a
watering-place adjacent we rested for the night.

We had not ijroceeded far in the morning,
when we were passed by a troupe of mounted
police,escorting two noted "bushrangers,'' chain-
ed to a bullock-dray, and whose acts of violence
had long been a terror to the settlers and trav-
elers in those parts. Two more villianous look-
ing scoundrels would be hard to find, and whose
scowling features seemed to indicate them capa-
ble of committing any and every crime known
to the law. As we looked upon the motley ac-
tors just met upon the sylvan stage, and review-
ed the characters represented, we thought how

strange are the parts we are all performing in
the great drama of life. The two " stars " of
the compan}' had none of the romantic dash or
swaggering gait of the highwaymen, freebooters
or bandits of the mimic stage," dressed to kill,"
in their tawdry clothes — but were scowling, sul-
len, morose looking miscreants of most forbidding
appearance ; and whose visages were marked
with the fratricidal brand of Cain. Again the
day was far spent as we neared a stream where
we intended to encamp for the night, when
"sounds of revelry" and boistrous mirth became
more audible as we descended a hill. The noise
and " rolicking-fun" soon after ceased, when the
vocal strains of a fine tenor voice sang loud and
clear, the charming air and pleasant song,

"The maids of merrie England, how beautiful are they,"

The sentiment so sweet and true, was harmoni-
ously joined in by the party, whose voices com-
mingled in the pleasing refrain.

As we listened to the once familiar words, we
felt certain that the voice of the singer was
equally so, but when and where heard could not
well remember. Our footsteps were quickened,
as anxious " to join the jovial crew,'' we pushed
onwards to the camp-fires, where a number of
happy looking mortals were enjoying themselves
in various ways, which seemed to prove that
there was such a state as rural felicity even in
the forest shades of New Holland.

With but little cei'emony, we introduced our-
selves as " travelers from Melbourne, on our
way to Geelong," and were cordially welcomed
to a share of their glowing fires and bivouac for
the night. In the person of a handsome and
gentlemanly fellow we fancied we recognized the
singer whose song awakened thoughts of home
and the loved ones there. Scarcely had we been
seated, before our new acquaintance enquired
what part of England did you come from, and
how long have you been awaj-^, and what are you
doing now? Similar questions were asked and
answered all around, when our interrogator
somewhat surprised us with the information
that his name was May, and was at one time in
the nursery business near Bedale, in Yorkshire,
"And my name is Harding, and well do I remem-
ber you when a young man, and in your father's
employ years ago.'' The recognition was mu-
tual,when we referred to the time we heard him
sing the same song he had just repeated, at a
village party long ago. He, too, had not forgot-
ten the time when bidding each other "good-
bye," at the nursery gate, one cold December's

187'^.

THE GARBEJ^EWB MOJ^TBLl.

IS

morning, Avhen, with " great expectations," wc ■
journeyed to the great metropolis, the centre in
circumference of horticulture, where all young !
and aspiring gardeners aim for.

It was then, and may be so now, considered
necessary to have a course of practice in and
around London to qualify a gardener for a first-
class position.

To sleep was out of the question ; it seemed
utterly impossible for any thing mortal to slum-
ber with the myriads of mosquitoes, fleas, ants
and other abominable insects, torturing us in
every way ; so we passed the night in the smoke
of the camp-fire, discussing "auld lang syne.''

It was our good fortune to have fallen in with
a party of "gum pickers,'' who were gathering
gum from the Acacias trees for exportation, and
little inferior to the Gum Arabic of commerce
procured in Senegal and the East Indies, from
Acacia fera and A. Arabica trees.

The varieties of Acacias are many, and num-
ber nearly two hundred species, indigenous to
Australia alone ; and are indispensable for green-
house and conservator)' decoration. Few, if
any flowering trees or shrubs are more beautiful
or interesting than some of them. Such, for in-
stance, as Acacia pubescens, A. conspicua, A.
undulata, A. grandis and A. Drummondii, grand
beyond comparison. A. cultriformis, very curi-
ous ; A. platyptera, A. Kielii, A. albicans, A.
urophylla, so fragrant and pretty ; A. amcBna, a
lovely gem ; A. suavolens, deliciously sweet ; A.
pulchella and A. spectabilis, beautiful indeed.
These are but a few named of the many varie-
ties, and all of easy culture. They will bear a
good deal of hard usage and thrive moderately
well, or perhaps better than most plants, in
dwelling house windows, and for setting ofi" a
choice bouquet we know of nothing more grace-
ful or pretty.

The groves and thickets of Acacia generally
found in all parts of Australia are extensive,
and in character and habit are very decided and
marked. They are conspicuous in their shades
of green and, in many respects, curiously formed
foliage and flowers. Some are of compact habit,
some erect, others gracefully weeping, some fern
like in appearance, with soft and feathery foli-
age ; while others are rather robust growing
trees, and are very beautiful.

Most of the following day was spent in the ad-
jacent groves until late in the afternoon, when
our journey was resumed and continued uncil

near midnight, when we again sought repose
beneath the star-spangled sky.

The very curious and singular bird's nest fern,
!Neotopteris stipitata, grew freely about the
roots of Banksia compar, B. latifolia and Pisonia
grandis, a comely shrub growing about sixteen
feet high. Covering the slope of a long hill side
was an immense growth of Charlwoodia con-
gesta, nearly uniform in height, from fourteen
to fifteen feet, and bore a strong resemblance to
Dracaenas in form and habit, as they gracefully
undulated and waved in the wind.

Signs of civilization, rising from cattle-runs,
up to cultivated fields and enclosed farms, with
the rather picturesque looking cottages of the
settlers, began to dot the surface of the land-
scape, and with their pleasant and romantic sur-
roundings, literally " made the desert smile.''

We soon discovered that "keeping hotel" was
not one of the lost arts, as we entered the "wat-
tle and daub" mansion, known as the "Free-
mason's Hotel," and kept by a "brother of the
mystic tie,'' one of the " favored and enlighten-
ed few,'' and whose hospitable acts and fraternal
kindness, will ever be cherished with a warm
regard.

Inviting us to a seat in his "trap," to which
were harnessed, in tandom fashion, two splendid
horses, which showed their colonial metal as
they gallantly cantered along ; and in little over
an hour's time alighted at the Square and Com]
pass Hotel, in the city of Geelong, and in view
of Hobson's Bay.

PUBLIC PAEKS.

BY "A LOOKER ON IN FAIRMOTTNT. "

It was a striking remark of a friend, when he
asked, "Why is it that the best people and the
handsomest trees are the scarcest?" Is it not
so ? Have not we Americans found the scarcity
of good Legislators; and why is it we neglect our
superb Gentians, or the White-wood Lily, Tril-
lium grandiflorum and our truly elegant native
Holly. The blue Gentian may be diflicult of
cultivation and the Holly is slow to grow and
hard to move ; thus they are rare and the more
striking when seen, at the same time that they
are the more valuable.

Of all things, our newly fledged park-makers
should look after these matters. The pleasure-
grounds of a hundred years hence will not con-
tain the GordorAa pubescens, the native Holly
or the Cedar of Lebanon, unless some good-na-

14

THE GAlWEA^'JSli'S MUJ\THLY. January,

tured soul plant them now and by stealth, for it
is not the fashion with us to plant for posterity,
— the raore's the pity. Our grandchildren will
wander among deciduous Chestnuts that have
lost their best features by age ; but where will
they find the noble Beech and its cut-leaved va-
riety, or the magnificent native Magnolias, ten
or twelve feet around the base, with their fra-
grant and beautiful blossoms ; rather will they
discover plantations of trees that worms attack,
or dilapidated specimens such as our hickories
are likely to present from the depredations of in-
8ects,''tr " Elm Avenues" loaded with small de-
predators.

We sadly want a Downing among our lawyer
planters and engineers, Avhose civility to posteri-
ty would best be disclosed by consulting the best
books and the knowing planters.

At present we see plenty of young fellows
squinting through the glasses of surveyor's in-
struments, but the collector of fine trees is want-
ing, while a host of lazy "Park Guards," in uni-
form, are lounging about with nothing to do,
and who are never to be found when wanted,
and who would scorn to be seen pulling up a
noxious weed, even if they knew a dock from a
Camellia.

The Park Commissioners surely have the ap-
pointing power of their guard : could not this body
be somewhat composed of men having a knowl-
edge of trees and gardens V Undoubtedly this
could be accomplished, and we should then hear
of fewer valuable plants being purloined. At
present the enormous area of the Philadelphia
grounds gives great opportunity for stealing,
and the poor shoemakers and the broken-down
politicians who are happy in a most idle em-
ployment, are incapable of distinguishing the
value of what is taken, thinking them weeds.

[The suggestion made by our correspondent,
that Park guards and police should be selected
from among those who have some knowledge of
gardening is an original and excellent one. There
are hundreds of men in Philadelphia who could
be selected from this class with credit to them-
eelves and profit to the communitj^ and we com-
mend the suggestion to the considerate attention
of the powers that be. — Ed.]

NOTES.

BY THE EDITOR.

DOMESTIC.

The use of Turpentine by Jieduvius novenarius.
-In the Proceedings of the Philadelphia

Academy of Natural Sciences for 1870, Mr.
Thos. Meehan made some observations on the
use of Turpentine by this insect. In the March
No. of the Vol. for 1871, Mr. Meehan has some
further observations, showing that the provision
of Turpentine is for the purpose of glueing the
eggs together on the branch. The glueing mat-
ter had previously been supposed to be a secre-
tion from the insect itself.

Sexual Variation without Seed, — At the March
meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia, Mr. Meehan exhibited specimens
of male and female Bouvardia leiantha from
separate plants. These had been raised from
root cuttings from one original plant, so that
the division with separate sexes must have taken
place independent of seminal agency.

Asjndumjilix mas as aVermifuge. — At a meet-
ing of the Academy of Natural Sciences, on
March 21st, Dr. Joseph Leidy referred to a case
of a tape worm thirty feet long which had been
ejected from the human system by the use of
the fern Aspiduvi filix vias.

SymmetricoA Figures inBird''s Feathers. — Miss
Grace Anna Lewis, in the American Naturalist,
details a discovery of beautiful forms under a mi-
croscope in bird's feathers. They are as varied
and as beautiful as snow crystals or the frost
forms on glass.

Variations in 13ird''s nests. — Contrary to the
general opinion, Mr Elliott Coues shows in
American Naturalist that no pair of birds of one
species build nests exactly alike. He details re-
markable variations in the nests of Bullock^s
Oriole.

The Chinese Wax Insect. — T. T. Cooper iu
Travels of a Pioneer, says that a beautiful white
wax is made by the agency of a species of Coc-
cus on a privet, which Prof Silliman in Aynerican
Naturalist thinks is Ligustrum lucidum. Wheth-
er the \\ ax comes directly from the privet, or is
a secretion of the Coccus scale does not seem to
be known. It wraps itself in these cerements be-
fore it dies, and the wax is boiled off of it after
death.

Fungi in the Human Ear. — Many diflferent
species have been described. Dr. Karsten says
the Ainerican Naturalist says the spores produce
different forms according to the matrix on which
they grow.

Vitality of the Cambium layer in Bark. — Un-
der this head a correspondent of the American
Naturalist notices the fr.ct that apple trees
stripped of their bark in June, will form new

1872.

THE GARDEJfEWS MOJNTRLY.

15

wood and bark from the cambium layer. This
subject was gone over in early numbers of the
6ardener''s Monthly, where it was shown that the
cambium did not produce the new wood and
bark. These were formed by lateral cell growth.
The cambium probably nourishing them.

Thury^s Theory of Sex. — It was always a mys-
tery how Prof. Thury's theory of sex ever found
acceptance with scientific men. A moment's
thought of animals in a state of nature is suffi-
cient to dissipate the notions founded on the ge-
nera cattle. Meehan's theory of sex in plants
disproved it ; and now, according to the Ameri-
can Naturalist, experiments have been made on
the Spinage, Sorrel and other Dioecious plants
by Prof. Hoffman of Giessen. Some of the flow-
ers were fertilized at an early stage, and others
after they had been some time expanded, and
the result disproved Prof Thury's hypothesis.

Plants Growing in Hot Water,— Dr. Blake re-
cently exhibited to the California Academy of
Sciences, Diatomaceous plants taken from a
spring in Nevada, the water of 100°.

Hhododendron CaZ?/ormcum.— Specimens of
this from Southern California were recently ex-
hibited at a meeting of the Californian Academy;
flowers are described as_very beautiful.

Dicentra uniflora. — This is a new species re-
cently found in California, and so named by Dr.
Kellogg. It is the smallest species yet known.
The leaves and the single flo^ver growing but
about a couple of inches high.

A Foe to the Cahhage Butterfly .—J . A. Lintner,
in the JV". T. State Museum of Natural History,
notices that the Pieris rapoeso destructive in the
caterpillar state to the [ cabbage crop, has met
with a parasitic fly— probably Pteromalus x>u-
parum, which will prove a very destructive ene-
my to it.

Distribution of Fungus Spores hy Flies. — At a
recent meeting of the Philadelphia Academy of
Natural Sciences, Prof. Leidy detailed some ex-
periments with flies. Gangrened wounds are
filled with fungus spores. A fly had been feed-
ing on a gangrene spot, and he found the gan-
grene spores germinated from the excrements of
the lly, and he had no doubt if a fly in this con-
dition, were to alight on a healthy wound, gan-
grene could be communicated to it in this way.
He would allow flies under no circumstances to
have access to patients suffering from contagious j
diseases, not doubting but they were ^sometimes |

agents in spreading them through the commu-
nity. At the same meeting. Dr. Parrish showed
that a protozoic matter constituted the infec-
tious material of the small-pox, aud he had
found that even great heat had failed to destroy
its vitality. He had known the infection com-
municated from the burning of clothing of pa-
tients in a hospital. Possibly the fungoid mat-
ter had been driven off" before subjected to the
highest combustive heat. Professor Leidy
stated that a heat of 140^ had been found sutfi-
cient to destroy Bacteria and other low forms of
life in water. Dr. Weir Mitchell and Dr. Par-
rish both thought the experiments referred to
by Dr. Leidy were not conclusive.

Vitality of Pith.~ln the Department of Agri-
culture's report, it is stated that a Mr. Gres has
discovered that pith will continue its vitality
for many years, often during the whole life of
the plant. He says it absorbs starch and tan-
nin during the first leafing period in spring,
which it subsequently gives out for the nourish-
ment of the plant. The details of this theory
would be very interesting. There is no doubt
the pith plays an important part in the vegeta-
ble economy, as when the currant borer feeds
on the pith the subsequent growth is much
weakened.

FOK*;iGN.

Polyspermoiis Cherries.— Dr. 3. De la Harpe,
in the Bulletin de la Societie Vaudoise of Lau-
sanne in Switzerland, notices the curious fact
that semi-double cherries, when they produce
fruit, have also a plurality of ovaries— two are
very common, and he has seen three or four in
one cherry. He has not seen, but says Profes-
sor Schrctzler has five in one fleshy pericarp.

Picea Parsonsiana— Mr. William Barron in
Gardener^s Chronicle, sends the Editor speci-
mens of authentic plants of P^cca grandis and
Picea lasiocarpa, to show that they are the
same, and of P. Parsonsiana, to show that
this is distinct from the others. The Editor, in
a note, attests to their distinctness. There has
never been any doubt in this country as to the P.
Parsonsiana being at least a very well marked

variety.

• — •

DESCRIBING FRUIT.

BY REV. J. H. CREIGHTON, DELAWARE, O.

Much that is written to describe fruit goes for
uothiug, or is only enough to tell what the fruit

16

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^''TELY. January;

is not, rather than what it is. In our standard
fruit booko, scores of fruits are described, aud
true enough as far as it goes, but they very often
apply to a large number of fruits of the same
general appearance. For instance, red, round,^
flat, conical, striped, yellow, &c., are properties
so common that they amount to nothiui?. True,
if enough of these common terms are given, it is
made out, but when a fruit has nothing peculiar

about it, like Rome Beauty apple, or Howel
pear, it takes a pretty minute description to dis-
tinguish it from many others. Each kind don't
need an equally minute description, for some,
such as Eoman Stem, has a mark which of itself
is almost enough.

We suggest, that the next writer of a fruit
boDk give us more minute descriptions of the
sorts that are not well marked.

EDITOEIAL.

THE CAUSE OF YELLOWS IX THE
PEACH.

A very few years ago those who studied Cryp-
togamic botany, were looked on as little else than
idlers. It might be fascinating to those who
cared to look iufo the wondrous workings of na-
ture in her very secret ways, — but what good to
humanity could possibly come from it ? What
bearing had it on the great object of botany, —
aiding of the pleasures, or the alleviating of the
wants or miseries of mankind ?

But the past 20 years has put a new face on
this matter — Crj'ptogamic botany has come to be
one of the most important of the sciences. It
has added much to the value of other arts and
branches of knowledge, while to it horticulture
has been made largely a debtor.

Few persons and few papers deserve a higher
credit for the eminent position of this branch of
botany than the Reverend J. M. Berkeley and
the London Gardener' s Chronicle. It was here
definitely settled that small minute fungi would
attack plants previously healthy ; and that a
diseased condition of vegetation could be, and
very often was, brought about by nothing else
than by the action of these minute and frequent-
ly invisible plants. Another great step was
gained when it was shown that these small
moulds were of polymorphic natures. That
plants of these orders, originally supposed to be
of different ones, were really the same, only
changing their external forms according as they
fed on different substances. Thus the Berberry
rust and the wheat rust were ouce thought to be
of different families ; now they are known to
be the same— changing the form only as they
feed on these different plants.

It was soon ascertained that a fungus which

usually grows only on dead matter, would
change its form and then attack living struc-
tures ; and again change according as it fed on
various parts of the plant. Thus dead branches
in the earth will foster thready fungi,— and these
striking through the earth will attack a living
tree, changing its form to fasten on these roots ;
and then the fungoid matter will so adapt itself
as to enter into the whole circulation of the tree.
All this is now true scientific gospel.

Some of these facts have been known to Mi-
croscopists for thirty or forty years, aud per-
haps the Danish Botanists deserve some of the
credit, especially in the matter of Berberry and
Wheat rusts, — but it has been chiefly through
the Gardener^s Chronicle and its writers that we
can apply the science so well practically as wc
can. Now intelligent gardeners have only to
look at a diseased tree to tell at once whether it
is sufiering from fungus at the roots or not.

And now in regard to the Yellows in thepeach
tree, we are almost prepared to abandon all that
we have said and written about its cause. We
do know that in severe weather the interior
or heart wood of trees will often be destroyed,
while the external layer of wood will escape in-
jury ; and that seasons following this, the sap
does not ascend freely into the damaged struc-
ture, and that weak sprouts appear on the lower
portions of the branches, and also that, the whole
circulation is so enervated that weaker branches
and yellow leaves are the consequence. A
branch which is ringed or iu any way injured in
the bark so as to obstruct the free circulation,
also produces branches with yellowish leaves.
Here are all the symptoms of the Yellows in the
Peach, and thus we felt safe in believing that
like efl'ects sprung from like causes. But wa

1812

TEE GARB EMEU'S MOM'THLY.

17

have siuce learned to attribute precisely the
same appearance in White Pines, Hemlocks,
Maple and some other trees entirely to the at-
tacks of root fungus ; and why might not it be
the same with the Peach tree Yellows ? On
this suggestion we have examined the only peach
tree witli the yellows that we have had the
chance to see the past year ; and though not en-
tirely satisfied with this one examination, have
little doubt that fungus at the root will be found
the cause of it.

And if so, this will render clear some practices
that have said to result in benefit, and yet seemed
enigmas to all of us who acted on other theories.
For instance, some have opened shallow trenches
about peach trees and poured boiling water in
about the roots, and the yellows have disap-
peared. We have seen this, and know it to be
true. We have seen trees which were yellow
for years, become green in this way. But we
thought about this as we thought about Farmer
Sharpe and his cow. He left his scythe out in the
meadow, and his cow fell over it and badly cut
her leg. Farmer Sharpe remembered that on
the day the cow cut herself he ate Blue fish for
his dinner, and he resolved that henceforth he
would have no more such accidents, for he never
would eat Blue fish again. So thought we. It
was no reason because hot water was poured
about the roots, that the frost should not hurt
the heart wood. Ko doubt the tree would
have got well without the hot water.
So, also, when Dr. Wood at the Philosophical So-
ciety had found Potash benefit the Yellows in
his peach trees, we thought little of it, because
we knew soils rich in Potash in which the Peach
Yellows existed.

But supposing the injury to result from a fun-
gus which fastens itself on the roots and then
works its morphologized form through the bark
into the structure of the tree, hot water or a
heavy dose of Potash, applied as Dr. Wood ap-
plied it, would destroy the parasite, and thus
produce the good results we refer to. I^'ow, as
we have said, we do not feel quite positive about
all this. But we see all the effects of fungus in
the yellow color and behaviour of the trees, — we
have seen an isolated case in which there was
fungus at the roots, — and we see in experiments
which have resulted successfully how well suited
they are to remedy a disease which might spring
from such a cause ; and we feel warranted in
suggesting it for the further examination of
those who are in the infected districts, where
specimens for study abound.

TRAVELING RECOLLECTIONS.

Leavenworth, Kansas, is situated in one of
the loveliest spots that it is possible to conceive of.
For a town, it is also especially favored. A
good site, a good soil ; live men, live newspa-
pers ; and a generous ambition to excel in all
things — what more does a thriving place want
in this world ? A princely banquet was pre-
pared for us, but we needed not that to tell us
of the hospitality of Kansas, for that knowledge
is world wide. Enormous vegetables and fruits
were spread out before us ; but a Philadelphiau
had received pretty good ideas of these before.
Even a rain was gotten up to let us know that
Kansas was not a drouthy place ; but no one
here believed it was. But for all, it was a plea-
sure to meet the hundreds of intelligent men
and women, so many of whom we had known
by reputation so long, and with whose labors in
the cause of horticulture we had been so fa-
miliar. We may be pardoned for suggesting
that if ever a centre of intellect is to be estab-
lished in the West, as Boston has laid claim to in
the East, Leavenworth is to be this western
"hub.''

The Government grounds about the fort are
beautifully kept, and the private residences of
the officers exhibited marks of high keeping and
floral taste. This was especially the case with
the grounds of General Miles and General
Pope, The Chaplain's garden was also particu-
larly beautiful.

In the vicinity of the Fort, the Hon. M. .J.
Parrott has a beautiful country place. Mr. Ca-
dogan, the gardener, takes great pride in the
success of every thing under his care. The fruit
trees were the admiration of every one. Some
apples, especially Cooper's Early White, were
almost breaking down with the weight of fruit.
Both grass and clean culture were tried here,
and success seemed to follow both. Dr. Stay-
man has an orchard which is a marvel. They
have never had a knife to them, and the Doctor
attributes much of his success to this treatment.
It certainly has not harmed tkem^to be without
pruning. Mr. Cushing has a beautiful place. The
front lawnembellished with gay flowers and flow-
er beds, — the windows and piazzas shaded with
beautiful flowering vines, — and ornamental trees
and shrubs judiciouslyarranged, made the critics
of our party believe they had not much missed the
civilization of the east. In the rear of the house
the fruit garden rivalled that of the floral in suc-
cess. Pears, peaches and apples were in sue-

18

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

cessful bearirifr, and thf sricnt vijror of the straw-
berry vines showed what liad been done with
them in the fruitins; time.

But time and trains for no man wait and we
had to take leave of our man}- jiood friends for
the more uncultivated portions of our great do-
main. The Union Pacific R. R. kindly placed
their line at our disposal, and accompanied by
Governor Harve}-, Mr. Elliott the Industrial
Agent, and Beverley A. Kiem, Esq.. one of the
officers of the road, we made across the State for
Denver. The true work of the jjarty seemed
now to commence. Every thing was new. The
Naturalists prepared their materials. Bottles
for insects, and portfolios for plants were getting
common. Enquiries by the hunrlrrd were put
to everybody on the tiains and in the rest of the
■world, and as the train kindly halted at various
interesting spots so as to aflbrd every fiicility for
teeing and knowing all things, the pencils of the
ladies and gentlemen were kept pretty busy with
their notes and correspondence. In the former
part of our journey, the "gentlemen of the Press''
were satisfied to write to their respective papers
from hotels and stopping places ; but now thenew
matter was tlowing in in such abundance, that
even the rocking of the trains could not lull to
sleep the busy reportorial pen. The riches of
the Kansas soil, the beauties of the Kansas
flowers, the sleeky stock, the abundance of
the Kansas crops, the success of Kansas planted
trees, the wonderful growth of Kansan towns,
the superior intelligence of the Kansan settlers,
these and many more substantial facts liave
been ere this elaborated by a score of pens, and
read by thousands of readers. We need only
now say that too much can scarcely be said of
the merits of this fertile spot.

But we may add a word more about the tree
prosiects of the Stale How ever the idea
originated that trees will not grow in Kansas,
is a mystery to us. Mr Elliott, the Industrial
Agent, has established plantations at various
stations along the line, and sown Reeds of many
kinds of trees. Now tree seeds have to be taken
great care of - young trees are ahnost as tender as
young chickens. Yet the prairie sod was sim-
ply turned up. and the seed sown as we would ^
grain. The young plants were left to take care
©''themselves, without shade or shelter of any
kind, and yet many of them had lived and had
made a consideraiile growth. In fact there is
no more difficulty in growing trees in Kansas
than ill Pennsylvania; anything that will do

well in Pennsylvania, will do here. The dry
belt seems to extend east of the Rocky moun-
tains, to a much less extent than formerly sup-
posed. Even so far west as Ellis, but a few hun-
dred miles east of Denver, no thought is given
to irrigation, and excellent vegetable crops of
all kinds are raised The following record we
obtained from the station agent, of the rains for
a few months before our visit, and it ought to
satisfy any rea.<onable rain loving man. The
grain crops and garden vegetables raised here
were of the most superior description.

1871 March --Joth, 29th, :50tb

April— 7th, 0th, 14th, loth, 24th, 25th,

26th.
May— 1st, 14th, 24th, 27th.
June— *lst, 3d, 14th, 15th, 22d, 23d, 25th.
July— 3d, 10th. 21st, 27th.
Heav}' dews during the first part of July.

♦ .Accompanied with hai',

Soon after leaving Ellis nicht came on us, and
we steamed across what is known as the Great
American Desert. But evi n here, as we laid in
our berths, by the Hashes of the lightning, we
could see water in the ditches across the rail-
road 1 rack, as if to tell us there was rain or mois-
ture even in the ureat Colorada desert.

When we get over the Kansas line into Colo-
rado, rain is very uncertain. The prevailing
winds are from the Pacific, and the clouds borne
by them are borne against the high peaks of the
Rocky mountains, and the moisture they con-
tain there condensed. Thus when we reached
Denver, the capital of Colorado, and a city of
about 4000 persons on the base of the eastern
slope of the Rocky mountains, it was found that
no attempt was made to grow anything without
irrigation The water for this purpose was
brought many miles away fram the Platte river
higher up in the mountain, by a joint stock
company, — the cost to the consumer of the water
varying from about a dollar and a-half to fivedol-
lars per acre. Most of us have understood how
gardens and small lots of garden crops could be
grown by irrigation ; but it was a novel sight to
see acres of grain and grass raised in this way.
The crops are much better than under our sys-
tem of culture, because the water is completely
under control. It was evident, however, that
this application of water was not properly un-
derstood, and s(vne things were injured by too
much of it. Some grapes in fruit, especially, in-
dicate.! this. Tlie proprietor was proud that he

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO,\THLy.

19

had raised any grapes at all here, but he will be
more proud when in the future he raises larger
bunches by a better knowledge of irrigating
treatment. Some one near here has grown
dwarf pears long enough to fruit them, but of these
we did not see the fruit. But some cherry trees
were doing remarkably well. All the wild plants
about here had roots growing very deep in the
soil.

Our collections of p'ants we have not had lime
to name, but we traced the roots of a small j
Evolvulus growing not more than six inches
high, down eight feet in some soil that had been
washed away. The beautiful Ipomca stenophyUa
growing as a jierennial herl)aceous bush, with
crimson flowers the size of wineglasses, also had
its roots of an immense depth ; and so of the Grin-
dellias, and many other aster like plants which
constitute the flora of this region.

The introduction of tap rooted vegetation will
be a great boon to this country. The shade
trees along the streets are waten;d for a year or
two. They are at present confined to the Caro-
lina and Willow-leaved Poplars, and the Ash
leaved Maple or Negundo. The Denver people
are a remarkably live and enterprising set, and
have planted out many thousands of tliese trees
the past season. The Editori il parly were
handsomely received by Governor McCook. gen-

tlemen of the Agricultural Society, and leading
citizens of Denver, and a vast amount of infor-
mation received from them in regard to the re-
sources of the territory, which could have been
acquired in no other way.

From Denver the immense hills, usually snow
capped, but this season nearly bare, reared their
summits to the clouds in every direction, west,
northwest and southwest of us, and we prepared
for a few v.-eeks departure from civilization by
laying in a stock of blankets, potatoes, bacon
and beans, and such other hard life kind of fare
as mountaineers are supposed to grow fat on.
Our teams, drivers and guide being secured, we
mounted our wagons one fine day in August,
and with a 100^ sun over head, and a carpet of
cactuses belovv, we toted ourselves off slowly be-
hind the animals which after a few hundred
years more may become developed into horses,
in the direction of the Golden Gate.

Still civilization went out with us to say good-
bye, for here and there would be a field fenced in
by pine posts and horizontal wires, which, whete
not given up too much to the Prairie Sunflower
showed good crops,— and above all we were as-
tonished when civilization made its last bow to
us in the shape of a mile race track which was
being graded 1 his night we took our first sleeg^
in these "rock ribbed" hills.

SCRAPS ATnD queries

Good Temper in IIoRTicuLTurtAT. ('kiti-
CISMS — It has been the aim of the Gardener^s
Monthly to infuse a more generous spirit into i
horticultural criticisms. Some years asjo JSIr. j
Elliott went to Detroit to see a strawberry, and
was roundly abused for the opinion he gave of
its merits. The Editor of this journal also went
to Detroit, and saw that all Mr. Elliott said was
true, and we defended the honesty of his opin-
ion with what al)ility we could command Yet
to this day Mr Elliott is classed by some writers
with those who seeing no mf)re money in it, say
nothing about it (see '-Judd's Horticultural An
nual"j. Whether the ability with which we
defended Mr. Elliotts statement of the facts ex-
hibited an intelligence of one-fourth, one eighth,
one-sixteenth, one-thirty-second, or one-sixty-
fourth of that which Mr Elliott po«se'-ses, does

not seem much to the purpose ; but when we
found Mr Elliott, as we thought transgressing
the bounds of good temper under similar cir-
cumstances, it seemed but ]u'oper to say so.
Ileiiee our remark at page 370, December No.,
that it was to be regretted his valuable experi-
ence and opinions were marred by reflections on
the honesty of others. We do not mean to say
that Mr. Elliott did not write in good temper,
but that we thought he did not. We may have
licen mistaken. Mr. E , however, chooses to
show conclusively, that he can write in the best
oftemier ard spirit on horticultural subjects;
and so especially in view of his terrrtde threat,
we give his communication below.
Thomas MEsnAN,
Sir : "Enclosed I send you an article in reply
to vour small criticism en me.

w

THE GARDENER'S MOJfTELY. January,

I also enclose one-half dollar to pre-pay post-
age should you decline to print.

I ask either that my response be printed or re-
turned. In the latter case, it will be wide spread
— in the former, unless your egotism comes in
again, this will end it. You have attacked me
unjustly, and without thought.''

Respectfully,

F. R. Elliott.

Cleveland, lli/i Dec, 1871.
Editor Gardener's Monthly,

SiK : "The copy of your journal for Decem-
ber is before me, and I note your remarks rela-
tive to my notes on the notices of grapes. I
have looked over my notes, and I fail to find a
single stigma or personality connected there-
with, against any one, — beyond the tradesman's
occupation ; and I fail to see wherein it is more
reprehensible to note a man for an injury done
to the public for his own pecuniary ends, than it
is to comment favorably on a variety just intro-
duced, and so give the public undue desire to
purchase and plant of that of which we know
really nothing, and that in due time will result
in injury to the planter rather than to his bene-
fit.

You, as well as myself know that we are year-
ly overwhelmed with new things (so called) of
extra value, and so long as conservative editors
minister without a word of comment, the pub-
lic buy and plant, pay money to meet the tra-
desman's wants, at a sacrifice to themselves in
the future results. But because I choose to
condemn this item, as connected with the tra-
desman, for in no other way have I touched it,
you editorially, egotistically, propose to direct
personal attention to me as antagonistic of the
end toward which, it seems to me, every true
pomologist or fiorist should exert himself, and
to call out and destroy all that tends to militate
against progress. Botanically, I have no oppo-
sition, nor do I lay claim to or with your pow-
ers ; but if you had ever had oue-fourth the ex-
perience that I have had in pomology, or the
sixteenth part of the love and devotion to the
subject for the public's good aside from personal
interest or pecuniary reward, you would never
have assumed items of knowledge belonging to
men who wrote long before you was known, nor
would you assume to direct in matters of which,
strictly, you know nothing.

F. R Elliott.

The Pexxsylvania Fruit Growers' So-
ciety.— The Horticulturist did no more than jus-
tice to this modest working [^State Society, when
it compared iis usefulness, in a recent number,
with the American Pomological Society. Pre>i-
dent Hoopes is not much for clap trap, but he
goes in for real useful work. "We need not say
to the hundreds who have attended the few past
meetings, that it is their loss if they do not at-
tend. But we can say, truly, that no fruit
grower ever attended who did not want to go
again. President Wilder will be there this time,
also Fuller, Downing, Barry and we believe a
very large number of leading and well known
pomologists. They meet on 17th and 18th of
January, in Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia.

An Agricultural Paper. — A Maryland
correspondent suggests that it would add to the
attractions of the Monthly if we would give some
attention to agriculture as well as horticulture ;
but we should have to double the price if we did,
and this is not necessary. A paper like the
Country Gentleman fills every want of this kind,
and tbe two together make this double price.
Moreover, we doubt whether any talent the pro-
prietors of the 3Ionthhj could in any way employ
would compete with the Country GtniUman in
value.

Transmutation of Corn.— Those who be-
lieve wheat will turn into chess, have had much
to aid them of late.

A wonderful instance of vegetable transmu-
tation is mentioned by a correspondent of the
Iowa Homestead. A farmer purchased of a tree
peddler fifty difierent varieties of apples for a
large orchard. In a few years these apples re-
solved themselves into only two kinds.

The Botanist of the Agricultural De-
partment.— A discussion is going on in the
New York papers in regard to the dismissal of
Dr. Parry from the charge of the the National
Herbarium. The Rural New Yorker remarks,
that judging from the recent report of the De-
partment, Dr. Parry has done nothing the past
year. It has probably overlooked the fiict tbat
this report, though appearing December, 1871,
is for the year ending December, 1870. Dr. Parry
has been held in the highest esteem by all our
leading Botanists, and there is not one that we
know of who does not regard the dismissal of
Dr. Parry as unfortunate tor the interests of the
National Herbarium.

187'^.

THE GARDENER'S MOJVTJSLY.

Good English Gardeners — It is often a
matter of regret, that some means by which first
class gardeners and those who want them can
be brought together is not devised. As it is
now, there are many gentlemen and ladies in
America who want these men, but they are un-
able to distinguish the man of merit from the
pretender, and thus the good gardener shrinks
from competing with quackery, and he gets into
some other business, to the great injury of Amer-
ican horticulture. Friends sometimes apply to
the Editor, but he has no time for it ; and yet it
is not without regret that he feels he cannot aid
men when they seem worthy of encouragement.
There are few men more to be esteemed than
the devoted gardeners of Great Britain and Ire-
land, who have given themselves entirely to
their profession. The nature of their employ-
ment leads them to cultivate forecast in such a
way that in practical judgment, to suit emergen-
cies, many of them excel any other class ; while
their very intimate and close relations with the
most refined and cultivated classes of their coun-
try, gives them a taste for learning, and a pol-
ished, gentlemanly bearing, which makes them
always welcome in any society. "VVe wish some-
thing could be done to give the worthy members
of this class a clue to their proper places here.

Below is a letter from one whom we do not
know, but which bears marks of character. Af-
ter speaking of a circumstance which he thought
would justify him in writing to us, he proceeds :

Stoneleigh Vlllas,

Erith, Kent.

"I am a gardener — more or less of a good one
— and went out to India some seven years ago,
where I was successful enough in my employer's
behalf, earning for myself what has proved to be
rather an empty reputation, as a Tea planter ;
perhaps I should not say empty^ however, as the
chief bar to my going out again has been my de-
termination to reject all but the most healthy
localities, and these are not plentiful in India. I
have had one or two very good offers in Assam,
but in the interest of my health and that of my
wife, I have not accepted them. The conse-
quence of being here almost unknown, has been
that I have had to supplement my scanty earn-
ings in the gardening line with my Indian sav-
ings,— which savings are quite exhausted, and
the time has now arrived for me to obtain some
more remunerative place, either here or abroad ;
I should prefer, if it could be, abroad. This

brings me to the immediate subject of my letter
to you. I feel a natural embarrassment in ask-
ing the question of a gentleman who is a stranger
to me, but I wish to know what prospects I
should have of being engaged here, for a garden
in the Kew England States say ; or if you could
put me in the way of one ? A short time ago
Dr. Hooker recommended me for a place adver-
tised in the Chronicle^ and I hoped to get it,
however I did not, so I suppose some one was
fortunate enough to be better known than my-
self. The salary, if I remember aright, was
£200 per annum with house ; is that a good
salary for the U. S. ? I mean does it represent
£100 here.

I am known to several parties here in the sci-
entific world, indeed I have been a gold medalist
in connection with Tea, three or four times, and
a prize essayist, &c. ; but I prefer to base my
claims upon practice, and I am, moreover, dis-
inclined to trouble these parties, for I know
they are seldom able, if even willing to help a
man who has lost his money."

New French Pears. — We noticed the
Beurre de L'Assomption and other French
pears recently, and are pleased to note that one
of our advertisers, Mr. P. H. Foster of New
York, is already able to offer some for sale. Mr.
F. has also some new apples and peaches to
offer. ,

Improved Churns — As a general thing, hor-
ticulturists are ahead of the mere agriculturist in
everything relating to progress, but once in a
while they get behind. In a visit recently made
to one of our leading horticulturists, he took ua
to his dairy establishments to see his imported
short horns. They were beauties; and yet in a cor-
ner were a couple sweating over an old wooden
churn of the past age. We should expect, with
so much money for improved stock, to see a
Blanchard or some other improved churn, — but
so it EToes sometimes.

Curious Sport in Grape Fruit.- -With
some excellent grapes, Mr. Blodgett sends us the
following note : "Though possibly too late to
accomplish my purpose of illustrating the point
properly, I venture to send you samples of the
Pioger's grapes, — those of No. 9, cut this morn-
ing, Nov. 28th, from a vine bearing very heavily,
and all the fall hanging with fine grapes almost
by the bushel. I think the capacity of this

2^

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJV'IML^. Jmiuary,

grape to hang well in this most destructive cli-
mate a val'-iat)li-. feature. Up to Xov loth, the
quantity of peifect grapes h-m^ing was grral,
and I then intended to send you some. They j
were ripe about the middle of September.

The Roger's No. 1 was also very prolific, the
feature of interest with them this year was the
variable form they took in ripening ; some large,
white, fleshy, and m:\rkedly after the European
parent, while others were sroall, round, bright
crimson and much like No 9, only more delicate
and tender. The crop also was very large, and
most beautiful grapes hung perfectly until Nov.
15th. Both these varieties are very productive
and valuable with me, with a very strong and
hardy growth of vine in both cases. I have not
cut them back much in either case, and the only
difference I observe is that I get a much a great-
er quantity of grai)es, and shoots of 20 to '25 feet
■in length on No. 9 which maintain themselves
perfectly and bear profusely.

I do not wish myself to be responsible for this
violation of all rule in growing grapes, I beg
that it will be chHrged to this strange excess of
strength in the Roger's stocks, which I simply
4et alone."

Increase of Pine Stumps in Girth after
BEING Cut Down. — This is an accepted fact by
many very intelligent men. That they will live
long is certain, — that the}'- increase in girth we
doubt. Has any one ever tried by actual meas-
urement how much these stumps increase in
girth from year to year ?

The AVestern Rural, has not long remained
in the funeral urn in which the Chicago fire
placed it. It has rose again as brilliant and
beautiful as ever. This is the more to be ad-
mired, as Mr. Lewis, the proprietor, lost every
material thing he had in this world. The spirit
only was left, — but the spirit conquered.

with flower buils. Can this be beat outside of
New York ; if so !fi the public hear of it.''

[Marechal Neil ought always to be grafted on
a strong growing root to do its best. The Ma-
netti throws up too many suckers. The Prairie
Ro^es makes th.e best roots for this purpose.]

The Codling Moth. — In describing Mr.
Wier's trap, in our report of the American Po-
mological Society's meeting at Richmond, we
inadvertently used the expression, that the insect
"deposited its eggs in the shingles.'' Of course
the Codling Moth would not deposit its eggs in a
shingle or anywhere else but in the apple fruit.
It is only after the egg hatches and leaves the
apple that the larvse goes to the shingle to pre-
pare for its next stage. As we compared the
shingle plan with that of wrapping hay bands
and woolen rags about the stems of trees for the
"worms" to cr.iwl into, we hoped our error
would readily be ^^een ; but as we see our friend
Dr. Hull, of the Prairie Farmer, does not, and is
sharply criticizing Mr. "Wier on account of our
slip of the pen, it is best that the error be for-
mally pointed out. It is not the Codling Moth
which deposits its eggs in the shingles, but the
larvre of the Moth which deposits themselves
there These errors are annoying, and calcu-
lated to mislead beginners in entomology, though
no one who knows could go wrong,and we are glad
Dr. Hull has offered us the opportunity to cor-
rect.

Marechal Neil Rose.— J. W. IT., Wash-
ington Heights, N. Y., writes: — "In passing
through Mr. Buchanan's greenhouses at Asto-
ria a few days ago, I noticed what I thought a
pretty fair specimen of the above rose,— out of
curiosity I measured it ; it was budded on a
French briar about 5 years ago, the vertical
branches are from eleven to twelve feet, the
horizontal or latiral measurement 50x11 50 feet.
The pLant is in giuul lie.ilth and well furnished

Mulching Fruit Trees. — ^- Fruit Grower, ^^
Plymouth, N. C, says:— "I understand you to
recommend the use of grass about apple trees, in
order that the soil may be kept cooler and the
roots nearer the surface, which you think
essential to healthy growth : but would it
not be better to mulch under the trees with
heavy vegetable material, of which I can get an
abundance about here."

[By all means. This is the perfection of good
culture.]

LiNARIA CYMBALARIA. — J5J. E. B., Dovcr, N.

J. .-—"Will you be so kind as to inform me in
the next number of the Gardcner''s Monthly, the
botanical name of the Kenilworth Ivy ? I en-
close a leaf and floM'er "

[This is allied to the Snap Dragon or Antir-
rhinum famil3\ The boianical name is Linaria
cymbalaria. It is called an Ivy because of the
resemblance of the leaf, though small, to the leaf

1S72.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TRLY.

'23

of an Ivy, and also because it grows in and over
old ruins iu Europe, as the true Ivy daes and in
company w^ith it. It is called Kenilwortli Ivy
because those who introduced it first to America
brought it from the ruins of the famous abbey of
this name in Yorkshire. But it grows iu old
mortar on all kinds of old walls and ruins all
over Europe.

Fruit Trees in Grass.— Dr. Tkornpson,
Warren., 3fd., writes : "When is the question of
grass or no grass for fruit trees to be settled? The
finest and most prolific of my pear trees are in
heavy grass sod. They get, every winter, a top
dressing of coal ashes, on which kitchen and
chamber refuse is thrown.''

[The question will be settled as soon as some
writers understand the difference between mulch
ing and top dressing, — and ''neglecting trees in
grass."

It is amusing to see our contemporaries con-
tinually quoting cases where some one has a
" neglected tree in grass," which did not grow
half as well as one in clean manured ground.
Any child in gardening would know that.]

KiPENING OF THE ViCAR OF WiNKFIELD

Pear.— J/., Salem, N. J., complains that "a
few 3'ears ago his Vicars were of better quality
than they have been the past five. Can any
reason be given for the change ?"'

[Probably the leaves fall before the fruit ma-
tures, in which ease the flavor of any fruit is ef-
fected ]

The IIowELi. AS A Dwarf Peak.— Jf., Sa-
lem, N. J. : — You must have been misinformed.
The Howell does well equally as a standard or
9, dwarf.

Sweet Rhode Island Greening Apples. —
*'OWoj(f,''£Zmira,Pa.:-"I send you with this, half
a dozen sweet apples They were takenfromatree
planted for Rhode Island Greening, It cannot
be this kind, as it is sweet. What kind is it ?"

[It is nothing but Rhode Island Greening. It
has been before noted in this magazine, that
this kind will often produce sweet fruit.]

Violet Maria Louisa.—/. C, of Carroll. \
Baltimore Co., Md., sends a beautiful bunch of
violets, and says : — "I send you by mail, to-day, j
a plant of Viola odorata, Maria Louisa, and a 1
bunch of flowers of the same. It is a good

bloomer and a very robust grower. Please let
us know in the Monthly what you think of it.''

[Think admirably of them. Large, very dou-
ble and very sweet, with nice long stems. The
beautiful violet petals have a large blotch of
white at the base, which adds to their interest.]

The American Entomologist. — We have
the following note from Mr. Riley : ''I regret co
inform you that, contrary to the announcement
a year ago, this magazine will not be continued
during the coming year. The cost of publishing
a paper so profusely illustrated with original
figures is great, and the publishers, Messrs, R.
P. Studley & Co., have lately concluded to dis-
continue it as they have not met with sufficient
financial encouragement 1 have, however,
since they so decided, purchased from them all
the illustrations and all interest in the maga-
zine, and hope at no very distant day to recom-
mence its publication myself. Meanwhile, I take
this means of thanking the many subscribers
who, during the year, have sent in expressions
of encouragement and appreciation, or who have
signified their intention of renewing subscrip-
tion. I shall ever be glad to hear from them on
entomological subjects, and to render them what
little service lies in my power."

Laxton's Peas. For some years past Mr.
Laxton, whois an English gentleman devoted
to horticulture, has occupied himself in improv-
ing the Pea by crossing and natural selection.
The English papers all testify to his great suc-
cess. One of his varieties has produced peas
seven indies in length. Our climate is not so fa-
vorable to the pea as that of England ; but if it
should, as it no doubt would, yield here pods
five or six inches, it would be an addition to our
varieties all would value.

A fujl account of these peas were given in our
last months magazine,— the English papers
speak of them in the highest terms of praise, and
they will no doubt be extensively tried in our
own country.

As a general rule peas are not sown early
enough with us. A little frost will not hurt
them ; and here in Penn.sylvania, if the ground
is open in February, they might be sown to ad-
vantage ; and in the South, November is as
good a time as an3\

An Orange and Lemon OKCiixUiD. — W. H.
IL, Los Aiiyeks, California, writis : — " I am al-

u

THE GARDENER'S MOJ\'THL\. January,

ways interested in any thing relative to orange
culture. I have here an orchard of 60 acres, j
planted now 18 years. There are 500 sweet
orange and Sicily lemon trees, and they hear
well every year. "

The publishers of the Garclener''s Monthly de-
sire to return thanks for the promptness with
which so many have renewed their subscriptions
for the new year •, and not onl}' for this, but for
the numerous expressions of good-will which so
often come with the subscriptions. Thus Dr.
"Wise of the "Methodist Book Concern, New
York, writes," I always take great pleasure in
the Garden er's 3Ionthly. I take it and also
Shirley Hibberd's Garden€r'>s Magazine from
London,''— and the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher
writes, "others may know of a better horticul-
tural magazine in America, I do not. I plant
Meehan for a full crop of reading every year."

RiBES SA?f GUINEA IN OREGON.— A member
of the fomily of Bishop Morris of Oregon, writes:
"Early in February our woods are gay with the
pink blossoms of this beautiful currant, — they
continue in blossom successively tilljune. The
shrub reaches sometimes 6 feet high, and the ef-
fect is as if it were covered with pink verbena
flowers, though of course differently arranged,
as they are in drooping racemes.

The growth of plants here is astonishing to

an eastern eye. A Cloth of Gold rose^ planted
last March— 8 months ago— has a shoot 8 feet
high, and as thick as my thumb, and is, as are
all our roses, literally an evergreen. A Wisteria,
planted a year ago, has now reached the top of
our two story chapel, and will soon mount the
tower."

A Dendeo-Pomological Garden, at Ber-
lin has been recently noticed in the London Gar-
dener'^s Chrcmide, as somewhat of a novel idea.

Mr. Wm. Saunders projected a similar ar-
rangement in Washington some years ago, and
we believe it is now being energetically carried
out.

Apple Seeds Sold tor Pear.— Mr. Raoux
assures us that it is becoming the practice with
some swindling concerns in Europe, to dye ap-
ple seed the color of pear, and then sell. This
season especially the temptation is great on ac-
count of the scarcity of pear seed. It is fortu-
nate perhaps that it is not worse than this, with
pear seed at §4 per lb., If it were Connecticut
folks instead of French, we might have the seeds
made out of harder stuff than apple, unless the
wooden nutmeg story is baseless.

The White Crape Myrtle.— This rare
novelty, so long supposed to be a myth, has
turned up at last. Mr. Buist is the fortunate
possessor of plants for distribution.

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, &C.

Thb Art of Beadtifting Stbokbah Houe Grounds or
Small Extent. By Frank J. Scott, New York. D.
Appleton & Co.

It is said of Americans, that they d^o not ap-
preciate art ; particularly are they supposed to
be indifferent to Landscape Gardening. But it
is not true. Few people enjoy art more ; and
the art of Landscape Gardening, when it is true
art, never fails to receive the devotions of sin-
cere worshippers. Our want is not a love of art,
but of artists. When the real genius is raised
up for us, and is able to breathe around us the
true spirit, the inspiration is rapidly communi-
cated, and tasteful gardens abound.

Xaturo does not select the repositories of her
g fls from any one class. Now and then she

singles out a man of commanding influence, en-
dows him with powers far above the average,
and she sends him forth, a beacon light in art,
to guide all men. But then she favors as fre-
quently the unlettered and unknown, as also
fairly educated men who have not the force of
character to make themselves known beyond a
very limited circle. The few know them, but
the great world does not. Around all our large
cities we find these men, and we see that in their
limited circle their works are known and appre-
ciated. The writer of this sketch has often en-
quired for the author of some exquisite little gem
in garden art, but it was found to be only "some
'. English gardener" who was employed there
some years ago, — or a "Scotchman of considera-

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'TELY,

25

ble intelligence ;" perhaps "a young Irishman
from Dublin," or a "German florist brought
over by Judge Brown,"— but their names were
"wrote in water," Still — and here is our point
— the good seed grew. Rarely, indeed, are such
instances of correct taste seen, but imitators in
comparative abundance abound. And then, when
the hero in art comes, see how many thou-
sands of American hearts he carries captive. No
Prophet in Israel commanded more regard than
Downing did from us. Hundreds of homes, and
hundreds of grounds which were to become
homes, were fanned up into a blaze of beauty
by the breath of his lips, or a little waving of his
magic pen. And when he left us, hundreds of
eyes that never beheld him in the flesh, were
moistened, and hundreds of hearts well knew how
great a loss was theirs I

All this is but the history of yesterday ; and it
proves, as nothing better can. how great is the
love of Americans for the beautiful in gardening
art when only the living teacher is found ; and
it offers the highest encouragement to those who
feel the afflatus prompting within them, to
speak out and not be afraid.

Only that we feel and know the truth of what
we write, we might doubt the success of such a
magnificent effort as this before ns. Six hun-
dred and twelve pages profusely illustrated by
the most beautiful engravings, and handsomely
bound in green and gold, — these in itself consti-
tute a worthy tribute to so commanding an art,
and a tribute, if we mistake not, such as never
before has been paid to Landscape Gardening
on this continent.

To give our readers some idea of the nature
and scope, we give the table of contents :

Introduction on Suburban Home-grounds ;
Art and Nature ; Decorative Gardening, what
Constitutes it ; What kind of Home grounds will
suit Business Men, and their Cost ; Suburban
Residences compared with Country Places ;
Building Sites and Ground Surfaces ; Dwellings,
Outbuildings and Fences ; Neighboring Im-
provements ; j\Iaterials used in Decorative Plant-
ing ; Faults to Avoid ; Plan before Planting ;
Walks and Roads ; Arransement in Planting ;
Relative Importance of Lawn Trees, Shrubs,
Flowers and Constructive Decorations in the
Development of Home Pictures ; The Lawn ;
Artificial Adaptation of Shrubs and Trees ;
Plans of Residences and Grounds ; The Renova-
tion of Old Places ; Flowers and Bedding
Plants and their Setting ; The Philosophy of

Deep Drainage and cultivation, and their rela-
tion to the growth of trees, and the successful
cultivation of those which are half hardy, to-
gether with suggestions for protecting young
trees in winter and summer. Part 2d, Trees,
Shrubs and "Vines. A comparison of the char-
acteristics of trees, description and order of ar-
rangement, deciduous trees, deciduous shrubs,
evergreen trees and shrubs, vines and creei>erji,
appendix and index.

This reference to the contents will give a bet-
ter idea of the book than extracts from the
pages which we are strongly tempted to give,
and to which temptation we might perhaps
yield for all, did we not feel that all interested
in Landscape Gardening will procure the book
itself. The price is eight dollars, but even with
this the purchaser will feel himself indebted to
author and publisher. Certainly we must speak
for American gardening, and return thanks in
its behalf It marks an era in our literature of
which we may well be proud.

In a work so honestly original,— so truly the
author's own as this one is, it would be marvel-
lous if there were not some inaccuracies on
which a fastidious critic might dwell. It is not
among the least of the merits of this work that
its typographical errors are few, and its errors
of fact or opinion so light that no one will be in-
jured greatly by their occurrence.

We have heard it suggested that such a great
work as this willnever reimburse those who issue
it for the great labor and expense of getting it
up. But we have testified to the wide spread
love of true aft in the American breast ; and we
shall be much disappointed if the publishers do
not find for it a very heavy sale.

Thb Subtropical Gardbk, or Bbautt of Form in thb
Flowkr Gardek. By Wm. Kobin?on, F. L. 8., with
Illustrations, London- John Murray, 1871, 2d notice.

Mr. Robinson is the apostle of a new move in
the British Garden, and we trust the influence
of his good taste will reach America. We have
been too long the imitators of the new fangled
rush for long arms of mere color ; ribbon garden-
ing, as it was called a few years ago, has usurped
nature ; the Englishman was persuaded that
unless his eye was blinded by long vistas of
scarlet he had no garden at all. The late visi-
tor to suburban places in Great Britain, which
were most likely to be in "Wellington Street"
or "Prinee's Terrace," was struck with a small
building half the size of the parlor of the proprie-

^6

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TBLl, January,

tor for the purpose of propasjating bedding plants.
**Ah 1 gardener'' you would sa3', "you seem to
Tie very successful in producing border plants,
with such a small house, too !" "Yes, I raised
in that little bit of greenhouse ten thousand Tom
Thumb Geraniums last winter ; you see the re-
sult, and such a blaze." "But how did you
manage to repot and preserve so many in such
limited quarters ?'' "Oh, I never potted them,
just stuck in all the cuttings I could get, by the
hundred, in smallish pots, and planted out from
them.'' Go into a dozen or two neighboring
gardens, and the same thing is found ; the rival-
ry being always who could produce the greatest
number of Tom Thumbs and his class, in the
smallest accommodation?. The result— a sreat
■show of the several approved colors streaming
•about like great muddy rivulets.

This fashion invaded our country, and Mr.
Robinson's better taste has just come to cure us
•of an error which we were rapidly falling into.
The system of garden decoration. Vie says in
•substance, popularly known as subtropical, sim-
ply means the use in gardens of plants having
large and handsome leaves, noble habit, or
graceful port. Their use has taught the value
•of grace and verdure amid masses of low, bril-
liant and unrelieved flowers. Nature teaches a
very different lesson from mtrt ribbon garden-
ing, in displaying the beauty of vegetation ; the
love of rude color has led to ignoring the exqui
site and inexhaustible way in which plants are
naturally arranged. In a wild state, brilliant
blossoms are usually relieved by a setting of
abundant green ; pointed grass and other leaves
tone down the blaze of color. "Nature has no
bedding system, wild vegetation mainly depends
far its attraction on flower and fern, trailer shrub
■and tree, sheltering, supporting and beautifying
each other, so that the whole array has an in-
•definite tone, and the mind is satisfied with the
refreshing mystery of the arrangement." This
is very happy language, and very true ; and he
adds, that nature's laws should not be violated,
as is done of late by so many of our flower gar-
deners, who do not study interest and variety.
"Who would not pi'efer to see the beautiful and
aspiring Cannas in their variety, intermixed,
than whole perches of single and double high
colored flowers. Selection of the most beautiful
and useful from the great mass of cultivated is
one of the most important duties of the horti-
-culturist, unfortunately. We cannot, in all our
•climates, make Itr. Ilobinsou our guide, though

his book is so valuable that a discriminating
writer, with American experiences, might do a
great favor by adaplin<; it to our wants.

The author gives areat credit to the Yuccas,
much neslected and highly ornamental evergreen
plants, which are hardy and have no competitor
for beauty when in bloom. The Pampas Grass,
the Arundos conspicua and donax. Rheum,
Emodi and the Ferns shouM be associated
with Thujas, &c., "to carry the eye from the
minute and pretty to the hicher and more dig-
nified forms of vegetation.'' "By associating
with hardy plants, house plants that may be
placed out in summer, vve may arrange and en-
joy charms in the flower garden to which we
are as yet stran<rprs, simply because we have not
sutflciently selected and utilized the vastamount
ofve2ctable beauty at our disposal." Perma-
nent leaved subjects, that stand out in summer,
are the best for those of limited means to vary
their walks and lawns with, of these there are
not a few that may be hoiised in barns or old
stabl"s, and a very good and very economical
greenhouse ma)' gejierally be improvised by
simply placing a glass frame inside a cellar door,
the latter serving for complete protection during
snow or extreme cold ; it will be best, however,
on the sunny side of the house ; here Dracpenas
and their congeners. Camellias and so forth,
flourish and bloom in perfection, and a box of
violets and the other favorites of the family may
be safely trusted. The flower garden or pleasure
ground will be vastly benefited, too, when these
can be safely removed to the open air, as we can
do much better in the American than in the En-
glish climate; as our author remarks, we do not
want purely "subtropical gardens," or "leaf
gardens" or "color gardens,'' but happy com-
binations of the materials at our disposal.
Everybody is delighted when they see traces of
natural beauty and variety. If one visits a cul-
tivated place, we should be able to take away in
memory some novelty in vegetation, or some re-
membrance of a happy combination.

If the fine leaved plants are associated with
the flowers, a Canna or Wigandia placed in the
centre of a bed and surrounded with gaily flow-
ering subjects, if combinations of the innumera-
ble variety which can be made were moi-e com-
mon, we should have any amount of graceful
bouquets simply made. We are glad to Snd
Mr. R. recommends the Hollyhock in a group
surrounded by a irraoetul ring of Cannas or
other tall and vigorous ohjoct.'?. A fcvv licads of

187^.

THE G.'^PDEJyER'S MOJ^THLy

'27

"the Tieer Lilv, (Fortune's, if to bo had) "rising; : "NVe have but indicated Mr. Kobinson's ideas,
like the candelabra above a croup of Cannas, j and would refer to the book itself for tlie plans
would form one of the most brilliant pictures j which are, we hope, to much change the aspect
ever seen in a garden, and any one with even a of the gardens on Victoria Place and Alfred ter-
slight knowledge of the Lily family, may imagine j races, as well as in our own.
many other combinations equally beautiful and ;
new.

NEW ANT) "RAKE FRUITS.

New Foreign: Pears. --Among the pears in
the magnificent collection shown at tlie gr^at
Fruit Show at South Kensington, by MM. Bal-
tet, of Ti'oyes, the following new pears areworthy
of special notice. For the particulars given we
are indebted to M. Ernest Baltet :

JBeurre Baltet pere. — A large fruit, of excellent
quality ; ripens in November. Raised and sent
out by Messrs. Baltet.

Comte Lelieur. — A delicious fruit, ripening
from September to the beginning of October.
Raised by Messrs. Baltet.

Beurre Lade. — A fine fruit, in form like Bon
-Chretien ; flesh juicy, finely flavored ; ripens
from October to December.

Auguste Mi'gnard. — A large and fine pear, ri-
pening in November. The two last mentioned
pears were raised by the eminent Belgian porao-
logist, M. Gregoire-Nelis, of Jodoigne.

Beurre Van Driessche. — 'Large and fine ; fruit
ripening in winter.

Calabasse Oberdieck. — A beautiful elongated
pear, with melting flesh of first-rate quality. It
is named in compliment to the celebrated Ger-
man pomologist.

Incom])arabIe de Beauraing. — Eaised by M.
Gregoire. A large pear, having the shape of
Beurre Diel

Souvenir de Leopold ler.— One of the most re-
markable pears raised by M. Gregoire. This
was the largest pear exhibited on this occasion,
and is of good quality.

Sucree de IfontluQon. — A large and fine pear,
very productive. A good variety for market
purposes.

Fondanie Thirriot. — A fine pear, of French
origin, of excellent quality, and produced on a
very free bearing tree. — Gardener^s Chronicle.

St. Crispin Pear.— This is a variety of pear
recently introduced, of Rize like unto the B:Trt-

lett, of better quality and ripening just after
Bartlett and continuing a month or more, thus
filling a want of the people for continuance of
Bartlett. He who plants of it, will win pecuni-
arily.— Elliott.

Peter Wytje Grape, No. 1.— Parentage:
Frmah— Halifax and Foreign, No. 1. ) j^^ ^
Male — Delarcare and Foreign, Ifo.S ]
The first is an oblong blue grape, the latter a
dark red grape.

This hybrid bore, when three years old, for
the first time in 1867. In the spring of 1868 it
was almost destroyed by cattle, so that I had to
reinstate it from cuttings. It was one of the
most rapid 'and vigorous growers of about fifty
of the same cross in the same nursery row. I
have now several fine vines just coming into
bearing, one (the oldest) of which bore a heavy
crop this season.

The vine is one of the clearest from mildew
and rot, entirely native, in appearance vigorous
and short-jointed ; holds its leaves late ; is per-
pertectly green now, (October 1st).

This summer was very unfavorable in this re-
gion for the grape ; the constant showers in June,
with hot days and cold nights, caused most of
the common kinds to rot ; the Herbemont and
Lenoir with me all rotted, not even leaving one
full bunch, while only a few bunches of this on
the most exposed parts of the vine rotted.

Fruit, (medium from four to six-eighths of an
inch in diameter ;) bunches, small or medium,
(between size of Catawba and Delaware ;) color,
when about ripe, greenish ; when perfectly ripe,
a rich, yellow, transparent color: sweet, juicy,
but few seeds, only a trace of pulp, and to my
taste of a decided Frontignac flavor ; I will ven-
ture to say, that in sweetness and rich Frontig-
nac flavor, it has no equal in America, in out-
door culture.

^8

TEE GARDE JEER'S M0JYTEL7. January,

It ripens among the very first, hence it was
impossible to save perfect specimens for the late
American Pomological meeting at Richmond,
but still the committee, composed of the first
pomologists of our country, spoke in the highest
terms of it. I have noticed that after hanging
ripe a long time on the vine, it loses almost all
its musk or Frontignac flavor, but none of its
sweetness. I think it would make a fine raisin.
— A. P. Wtlie, M. D. in Rural Carolinian.

Lanier Apple. — This new seedling apple
\vas exhibited at the Cotton States Fair in 1870,
and again in 1871, and attracted much atten-
tion. Its principal merits are large size, fine
appearance and good bearing qualities, as we
were assured by the originator, Mr. Thomas P.
Sliaw, of Edgefield, S. C. The tree is some 15
years old, very vigorous grower and of good
habit

Fruit large to very large, oblate and always
regular. Skin yellow, thickly streaked with car-
mine and with a purplish carmine cheek, a few
green blotches near the base. Calyx small, open,
in a shallow and regular basin. Stalk short,
slender, set in a deep cavity. Flesh crisp, brit-
tle, sugary, rather coarse grained. Quality
good. Maturity end of October to end of No-
vember.

Note. — In closing the quahty of fruits we
follow the rules adopted by the American Pomo-
logical Society, viz: "Good, very good and
best." — Farmer and Gardener.

SoDLARD Crab Apple. — The Soulard apple
is a variety originated at Galena by Mr. Jas. G.
Soulard, for forty- five years a nurseryman and
orchardist in the "West, and the first President
of the Jo Davies County Horticultural Society.
The Soulard apple has been grown and fruited
many years as far north as St. Paul, and its
hardihood is established beyond 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.

bearing carriage better than any of the favorite
market sorts. It belongs to the everbearing
family, producing fruit on the new canes which
come up in the spring, thus carrying the crop
along until the last of October, or until the frost
kills the foliage and green fruit. The canes are
large, growing on good, rich ground, which they
require, six or eight feet high. They are per-
fectly hardy, but it is better to mulch them in
the fall with long stable manure, and lay them
down, giving them some protection, such as will
save them from the cutting winds, and yet not
exclude the air. In the spring, after being taken
up and tied to stakes, the ground should be
thoroughly forked over, cleaned out, and kept
clean throughout the season. This treatment is
equally essential in the cultivation of any rasp-
berry if an abundant crop and rich flavor are
desired. This variety first appeared in tlie gar-
den of Mr. John F. Jolls, of Providence, who is
well known as one of our most constant and suc-
cessful exhibitors at the horticultural exhibi-
tions, and as a keen and active amateur garden-
er.— New England Homestead.

The Narragansett Raspberry. — The
Narragansett is a seedling from the Brinckle's
Orange, and is six j'ears old from the seed, hav-
ing been in bearing four years. It bears luxu-
riantly, the berries averaging much larger than
any other variety. The fruit is cone shaped, of
an excellent flavor, the color bright crimson,

The Lieb Cherry.— This cherry was brought
from Germany twenty years ago, and was plant-
ed on one of the highest points in Galena, where
this tree has withstood extreme cold winters
without injury, and has never failed to produce
an abundant crop of fruit, (except when the
blossoms are destroyed by the late spring frosts).
The fruit is very large, of a erimson color, near-
ly sweet, while the flavor is not surpassed by
that of any other cherry. It ripens within a
few days of the Early Richmond, and the fruit
has never failed to bring 25 cents per quart in
the Galena market. It has been named and re-
commended by the Jo Davies County Horticul-
tural Society, also by Robson, Soulard, Kittoe
and others. — H. G.

Smith's Favorite A pplb.— Mr. Alfred Smith
of Monmouth, sends us a specimen apple of a
variety known as "Smith's Favorite,'' which
originated in Winthrop. Concerning its history
he writes : " The seed was planted by the first
settlers of Winthrop, about one hundred years
ago. It grew on a farm formerly owned by my
father, Isaac Smith. The tree was vigorous and
a great bearer, and would probably have lived a
hundred years longer, had it been cared for and
properly mulched, as all fruit trees should be ,
but, like one half of the apple trees in the couu-

187'J.

THE GARDEJVER'S MO JV' TEL J.

29

try, starved and died for the want of suitable
vegetable matter placed within reach of its root-
lets. This apple, being a great favorite in our
family, was grafted into other trees in my or-
chard in Winthrop, which are now standing,
from which my son took scions four years ago,
and I engrafted them into an old tree in my or-
-chard in Monmouth, mulching it well. This

year it bore one barrel of splendid apples; of
which- the one forwarded is a specimen."

The apple is large, oblong, of a rich, warm
red, striped, sub-acid, juicy, and a fruit of de-
cided good character. As such it is worthy of
dissemination. Its season is late fall. Mr. Smith
justly placed great importance upon the value of
mulching, as contributing to the growth and
productiveness of all fruit trees.— 3faine Farmer

NEW AND MEE PLAINTS.

Zinnia Haageana flore-pleno, Messrs.
Haage & Schmidt, of Erfurt, regard as the best
novelty amongst annuals which the season has
produced. The typical form of the species, now
generally known as the Z. Haageana of Kegel,
called also Z. aurea by Dr. Lindley, in this jour-
nal (Gardener^s Chronicle, 1861, p. 1114), and
further known in gardens under the name of Z.
Mexicana and Z. Ghiesbrechtii, is pretty freely
cultivated as a neat, low-growing, tufted, yellow
flowered annual, and has long since become a
favorite from its usefulness for dried or winter
bouquets. This double- flowered variety differs
in the form and doubleness of the flower-heads,
which are perfectly rosette-shaped, and, more-
over, is reported to be constant from seeds. The
habit is the same as that of the single-flowered
sort, the plant forming densely-branched tufts of
about a foot in height, and somewhat more in
diameter, and being abundantly furnished with
the terminal flower-heads, which, as is usual,
are of much longer duration in the double than
the single form. The florets are as densely im-
bricated, and form heads of the same size and
outline, as those of the best double Zinnia elegans,
than which, however, they are naturally smaller
in size. Their color is a deep orange-yellow,
keeping its lustre when dried, and thus render-
ing this Zinnia an acquisition for bouquet-mak-
ing. It is likely to be a good bedding plant,
blooming continuously till frost sets in. Taking
all its points into consideration, this Zinnia ap-
pears to be one of the best and most useful of the
novelties for the coming season ; and to be worth
trial as a dwarf orange-yellow bedding plant,
especially for the late summer flowering. — T.
M. in Gardener'' s Chronicle.

growing on a garden wall at St. Boswells, hav-
ing a western exposure, and on which, at the
time of a recent visit from the writer, there were
1249 fully expanded flowers. It was one of the
grandest sights of its kind the writer had ever
witnessed. It must have been grand indeed.

Clematis lanuginosa.— The F^7?a Gardener
says, there is a plant of Clematis lanuginosa

New Double Geranium^.— Double flower-
ed Pelargoniums have increaised materially of
late, and amongst them are some very excellent
things, chiefly of Continental origin. At the
time of our visit, Messrs. Downie, Laird & Laing
hand a good sized span-roofed house devoted to
them, and a nice lot of well grown plants they
were. Out of the three dozen or more varieties
in cultivation, the following appeared to be the
best and most distinct, though in saying this we
do not condemn the others : E. G. Henderson,
carmine, dwarf in habit, and a free bloomer.
C. Glijm, bright scarlet, flowers of good form,
and in habit the dwarfest of the scarlet section ;
the best sent out last year. Sapeur Pompier,
brilliant orange -scarlet, trusses large and of
good shape, leaves of a bright green, with a dis-
tinct zone. Madame Kacouchot, light rose, in-
dividual flowers large in size, and produced in
very large trusses ; free flowering. Tom Pouce,
cerise ; flowers also very fine in size. Merveille
de Lorraine, rose, tipped with white ; first-rate.
Madame M. Buchner, bright salmon rose, shad-
ed with carmine, the trusses large, and the habit
dwarf and vigorous. The greatest obstacle to
the grower of these charming summer decorative
plants has heretofore been their extraordinary
vigor of growth, which we are j)leased to see is
gradually being overcome by the introduction
of varieties whose habit more resembles that of
our old favorite Tom Thumb, than which we
have yet no better model of what a bedding Pe-
largouiuni should be. — Gardenev''s Chronicle.

30

THE GARDEJSTER'S MO^'THLy , January,

F 0 11 E I G K 1 jV T E L L I G E iS C E .

LiBOCKDRUS DECURRENS. — Of this plant a
correspondent of the Gardmer s Chronicle says :

Thuja io&bu.— Next to the Wellingtonia 1
•would regard this as the most important addi-
tion made to our Finetums during the last quar-
ter of a century, as it promises to be something
more than a mere shrub ; in tact, it bids fair to
eclipse the mammoth tree ot tho far West in
rapidity of growth, upwards especially. It
forms a nice clean stem or bole, tapering like a
fishing-rod, and its slender gracelul growth is
Btill further enhanced by the bright green Fern-
like spray with which it is clothed, not standing
vertically, like so many of the Arborvitse class,
but horizontally, curving over towards the be-
holder in the loveliest manner possible, so that
I imagine the tree must be a general favorite.
It is also very hardy, as our severest winters do
not seem to have taken any effect on it, and as
before observed, it grows very last ; our largest
epecimen is 31 leet high, its yearly growth aver-
at^ing 3 feet, and on two consecutive years its
leader was lengthened 7 feet 8 inches ; it has
certainly a sheltered position, but other trees
fully exposed grow almost as fast. I would re-
commend it as one in a collection that was
limited to six species.

The American Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
is abundant in the region cast of the Cascade
Mountains and Sierra Nevada, forming a marked
feature of the vegetation of the slopes of these
mountains where the forests of the higher lands
border the Sage plains of the central desert.
Here it is seen in long lines of trees of small size,
marking the courses of the many mountain
streams which are in summer absorbed by the
arid surfaces of the plains soon after leaving the
mountain sides. Dr. Newberry says : — For a
time we were often deceived by the Poplars and
Willows, regarding ihem as indications of tlie
presence of water, but we soon learned that they
•vrere only a sign that water was to be found in
their vicinity at some time during the year Al-
ders we found to be much better guides to water, as
they will only follow the courses of the streams
just so far as Ihey are permanent, and no fur-
ther ; and we never failed, even near the clrse ol
the dry season, to find the roots of Alders
washed by living water. "'-GarfZeJu-r .«; (Jhronicle

The Wood of the Osage Orange, or Bois
d'Arc (Madura aurantiaca), is highl}' valued in
Texas for carriage and wagon building. Changes
of weather do not affect it, and wheels made of
it have been in use for 10 or 15 years without
needing repair, while other wheels in the same
locality require to have the tires shrunk once a
year. Vehicles built of this wood command high-
er prices by 30 per cent than those of ordinary
timber. The wood yields a beautiful orange
dye, and it is proposed to attempt obtaining this
from the sawdust, which is at jiresent valueless.
It is frequently kept dwarf, and used as a hedge
plant, for which purpose its strong spines rer.der
it very suitable.

Good Wine Nkeds no Bush —Is the usual,
interpretation of this proverb right ? An entry
in Mr. Keilly's 3Iemorials of London would lead
one to suppose that the bush was not the bush
on a pole outside the tavern, but a bush of a
tlavorsome herb inside the wine vessel. In 38
Edward III., A. D. 1307, Alice de Caustonecou-
fesses belore the Mayor and Aldermen, " that
she had sold ale in a measure called a ' quart ♦■
that was not sealed ; and also that in the same
measure there was inii ' jiicche," one inch and a
half in depth, and that roficiriaryn was laid upon
it, w as to look like a bush, in the sight of the
common people.''

Aged Trees —We are told that in 1810 a
noted tree, the Golynos oak, was felled near
Newport, Monmouthshire. It was 28^ feet in.
circumference, its bark sold for £200, its timber
for £070 ; the rings (400) encircling its trunk in-
dicated that it hud continued growing 400 years.
The lar-fniued red cak of JSIount Etna was of
precisely the biime age. Four hundred years
appe:irs a venerable age even for a tree. Still
there Avere many, the longevity of which was
greatly in excess of it, among the most celebra-
ted of which were the fo. lowing : Fig tree in Da-
mascus, 048 years ; the Poscian olive tree, 700 ;,
olive tree in Palesiiiie, 719 ; olive tree in Asia
Minor, 850; the Louisanean oak (still living),.
1,000; }ew trees of Fountain Abbey, 1,200;.
yew trees of Crowhurst, Yorkshire, ],400 ; syc-
amore of IIelio;>olis, 1,SU") •, cedar of Mount Leb-

1872,

THE GARI)EJ\'ER'S MO.\TliLY,

31

anon. 2,112; yew tree of Fotherinjay, Scotland. | Tiixodine, in Mexico, is said to be more than
2,500 ; yew tree of Braburn, Kent, .*},U00 ; syca- I 5 UUi) years old Its circumference was 117 feet
more of tlie Bosphorous, 4,020. The cypress of | 10 iucbes, — Gurdcner^s Magazine.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PE>;NSYLVANIA HORTICUJ.TURAL . Biiist as usual contributed the greatest number,

SOCIETY. I Peperomia Yerschaffeltii with beautiful satiny

Among tlie places in Philadelphia visited by leaves ; Bej^onia Miltoniensis a pretty thing of
the Grand Duke Alexis of Bu.^sia, was the Hor- '. tiie old incarnata style ; Cissus Lindeni, nob
ticultural Hall, and the papers report that he perhaps so pretty as C. discolor, but better than
stood in raptures of admiration before the trojii C. Amazonica ; Croton Veitchii, with very lone
cal scene which forms the background of the leaves; Sphasrogyne baiiolia. a fine companion
stage, and in which living plants are .so intricate- ])lant to the Cyanophyllum magnifica-^ Begonia^
ly woven with the painted ones, and real water "Inimitable,' pale above, and veined beneath
is 80 blended with that of the picture, that no one somewhat in the way of the ^\ell known B Mar-
can tell the one from the other. Tlie Grand Duke shalii ; Clerodendron speciosum, with a pinkish
is represented as saying that he had seen nothing calyx ; Acalypha tricolor, as pretty as a Coleua ;.
to equal it in beauty in any part of the world. Peristrophe anguslifolia aurea, a low dwasrf
If this distinguished individual could have ?eon bushy plant with the marking and appearance
it when the whole hall was tilled with tiowers ofsome o! llie popular Orolons; Alocasia Jen-
and fruits, as Philadelphians see it at the annual ningsii, wiili ieaves like the generality of Gala-
exhibitions, he would have been still more as- diums, but as if some one had daubed a black
tonished. The plants might }>erhaps be sur- jniint brush about the leaves',
passed by the exhibitions of Europe. Indeed Mr. Samuel Feast, of Baltimore, had a very
the English plant growers far excel ours. In select collection of rare evergreens in pots of
novelties also they are ahead of us— there is which Retinospora filicoides was^ a perfect <^citx.
more encouragement tor these there— but no ' Hoopes, Bro <fe Thomas of West Chester, had

such an exhibition of fruits was ever seen any-
where in this world, — and when the plants are
put together with these, and combined with the
unique adornments of the Hall, it is no wonder
that the visitors, though at 50 cents a ticket, to
the exhibition are counted by the ten thousands
Nothing short of a volume the size of our
whole number would do justice to the exhibi-
tion, and the Societ}' has indeed issued a small
pamphlet, free to nil, giving full details of ex-
hibtors and premiunis. We still think, however,
that it would do more good to the Society, and
be far more s itisfactory to the exhibitors, if the
Societj" were to advi^rtise in some public paper
early in the season its principal premiums ofier-
ed, and then again the {)remiums and exhibitors
who were successful. This would give a world

one of the most beautiful collections of Coniferse
in pots ever exhibited in the United States.. It
consisted of 160 species and varieties.

From Messrs. A. LaGierse & Bro., Philada.»
came some superb Coleus, and a very well grown
Sanchesia nobiiis

From the Graham Nurseries of Philadelphia,
a beautiful collection of rare stove and green-
house plants, amongst which the very rare Pan-
danus Vanderwerstii particularly attracted at-
tention,—all these screw-like growing palms al-
ways interest visitors Mr. Graham also had a
good plant of Alocasia m^crorhiza variegata,
one half of which is green the other half white.

Mr. Wm Joyce, gardener to Mrs. Baldwin,
had a magnificent collection of plants. This
was awarded the engraved watch which was of-

wide prominence to the details of the Society's | frred fur tin; best collection of plants grown by a
workings, and be far more encouraging to the j gentlemans gardener. Mr Newett, gardener
exhibitors, than merely alone to see tlie r names I loll. Pratt McKc.in. hadal.soa c llection in corn-
printed in a pamphlet sent to them by the So- j petiiion for ibis premium, but a tritU; inferior to
ciety. I the othe - probably not any inferior in growth,

In this place wc can only give a few <.'f the but the schedule called for "one half to be in
leading features of the exbibiuon. New i)l:ints bloom,'' and some plants a tri tie inferior had to
are always interesting,— of these Mr. Robert ; be selected to keep within the rales.

s^

THE GARDENER'S MOJVTHLJ, January,

Henry C. Gibson, Esq., a munificent patron
of rare plants, had an Agave filifera in flower.
This was introduced some 20 years ago by Roezl
from Mexico ; so that this species, though be-
longing the same genus, is not at least a "Century
plant. "

The apples in exhibition were chiefly in large
lets. Those which competed for the smaller
premiums were terribly poor things, and the
committee must have blushed as they felt the
necessity, "under the rules," of awarding pre-
miums to them, with so many superb fruits in
the room. H. Leonard, of Burlington, Iowa,
had a noble set of fruit which had a special pre-
mium awarded them. The English gardeners
particularly thronged around a fine dish of Rib-
ston Pippins~the great old apple of old England,
though seldom seen in American collections.
Iowa will find a large increase in immigrants of
the English gardener class next year.

The apples from the FrankUn Co. (Pa.) Hor-
ticultural Society were fully equal to anything
the West can produce. These were in competi-
tion for the great Wilder premium for the best
collection of fruits ; but the other departments,
grapes, peaches, &c., were so poor, it scarcely
came up to the standard expected. If all had
been equal to the apples, it would have been a
wonderful sight. They were awarded a premi-
um of high value.

The Kansas Immigration Society had a charm-
ing exhibition of fruits well displayed. The

usual, but in the opinion of many of the fruit
men, badly named. EUwanger «& Barry had
very fine pears, up to the full size that pears of
their respective varieties should be, but not as
many in number as Hovey. Both the Ilowells
and Beurre Clairgeau of EUwanger and Barry
were universally admired.

High colored pears came from Tobias Martin
of Mercersburg, Pa. The Clapp's Favorite of
J. H. Eickett's, were also much rosier than
usual, although beneath the average size. In
large pears, Dr. Leighton of Norfolk, Virginia,
had the heaviest dozen, but the Vineland, N.
J., dozen were but a trifle in the scale below
them. Mrs. Baxter had a dish of the old, but
excellent Petre pear. The Seckels of Wm. Parry
of New Jersey, were remarkably high colored ;
and a rich rosy color in a Seckel is always a
sign of excellence. A. S. Jenks of Philadelphia,
had also some pears, which, as a stranger re-
marked, "looked like pears,'' but they were not
so fortunately named. A certain Mr. Pierce
had some pears and other fruits which he said
had been produced by the aid of an "electric
fertilizer ;'' but it must have been negative elec-
tricity, for no one could see any positive benefits
in the results. Messrs. Cummings & Co., of
Pittsburg, the worthy successors of Rev. J.
Knox, did themselves and the Society honor by
61 varieties of grapes, all fine well grown
and well colored bunches. EUwanger &
Barry had two seedlings, No. 4, and No.

people had not forgotten the great display made i 19, which were deemed very promising vai'ieties.

by the Kansans last year ; and the first inquiry
of most on entering the room, was "had Kan-
sas anything?'' They were not disappointed.
Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas, of West Chester, made
a beautiful display. There were few novelties
among the apples. Susan Spice, in the Cham-

Engle & Bro. of Marietta, Pa., had amongst
their grapes excellent specimens of Rogers' 4
and 19 — and 33 were as large as Black Ham-
burgs. The Chambersburg Nursery Associa-
tion, amongst a nice collection, had many of
Arnold's Hybrids, amongst them theAutochou,

bersburg, lot is not common. It is a beautiful i a white. Othello is certainly better than Clinton.

fruit, something in the way of Wine Sap. The
Red Winter Pearmain, though not a novelty,
ought to be more grown for its beauty. It set
off the Chambersburg fruits admirably. When
it is remembered that President Wilder, Hovey
& Co., EUwanger & Barry, and Satterthwait
had pears on exhibition, it will be at once un-
derstood that this department was highly at'
tractive. The hundreds of varieties were bewil-
dering, and yet aflbrded excellent opportunities
of getting acquainted with many scarce and val-
uable kinds. Hovey's pears were, on the aver-
age, small of their kinds, but a very nice elean
looking set. Satterthwait's was better than

A. J. H. Rickett's seedlings were much ap-
proved, especially Putnam, which seemed to ri-
val in precocity many of the earliest already
well known and extensively planted. Then;
were some admirable Maxatawney's from Cam-
den, N. J.

In foreign grapes, the exhibitions of former
years' superior as they have alwaj^s been, never
exceUed this one. Those of Mr. R. Reilly, gar-
dener to Mrs. Merrick, were the centre of at-
traction to many a pair of longing eyes. The
Buckland Sweetwater was in several collections,
but did not maintain a very high character for
aught but a showy appearance.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany am] Bitral Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. FEBRUARY, 1872. New Series, Vol. V. No. 2.

HIKTS FOR FEBEUAEY.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

"We can do the reader of this department no
better service than to recommend at tin's season
of the year, the procural of some of the beautiful
seed catalogues which are now becoming nu-
merous. They are indeed so charming as to al-
most endanger gardening ; for one is tempted to
be satisfied with them in pictures, than to grow
them "for real." Here we have two splendidly
illustrated from Rochester, one by Briggs &
Bro., — the other by Vick ; two beauties from
Boston, Hovey & Co., and Washburn & Co,—
one from Springfield, Mass., by 01m, Bros.,— re-
markably pretty ones from Bliss & Son, and Pe-
ter Henderson & Co., New York,— and in Phila-
delphia. Dreer, Landreth and Buist Sr., issue
some quite equal in their line to the others. In
trees are two unusually good ones from Hoopes,
Bro. & Thomas, West Chester, and Frost & Co.,
Rochester. All these we praise, not merely for
the beauty of their illustrations, in themselves
highly commendable, but also for the immense
amount of useful and accurate information which
they give the reader. There may be others as
good catalogues as these we have named, but if
so they have not come to our table. Of less
pretentious catalogues the number is legion.
All seem to aim at giving useful information as
well as mere lists of things. No one can go wrong
in sending for the catalogue of the nearest nur-
sery or seed firm. As a general thing it will be
found the best policy to aid the floral, nursery
or seed establishments near home. They are
then encouraged by your sympathy to be enter-
prising, and thus you will in time be in the way

of learning an immense amount of good things
from your neighbor you never would know if
you had left him to struggle along while enrich-
ing some establishment far away.

With the aid of these garden catalogues, a se-
lection of seeds and plants suited to almost any
place may be readily made. In regard to trees
and shrubs a few suggestions may perhaps aid
the reader.

For small places, and for thickening up larger
ones, there is nothing like shrubs. Of those
which are beautiful anct can be readily and
cheaply obtained, we may name Dwarf Horse-
Chestnut, flowering in June ; the different Dog-
woods, Cornus Florida, C. sanguinea, C. mas-
cula, C. alba, and particularly the variegated
English ; the Hawthorns are very pretty when
in a cool soil and situation, partially shaded
from the sun in summer — there are many fine
double varieties of the English which do best
when grafted on American stocks ; the Double
White and Double Red and Pink are particular-
ly desirable ; the Laburnum is rather a strono--
growing shrub, also wanting a cool soil and sit-
uation. When the season happens favorably, it
is the most ornamental shrub we have. The Sea
Buckthorn is very desirable for its pretty silver
foliage ; but it should not be set upon a lawn, as
it suckers somewhat ; the shrubbery border is the
place for it. Of the silver-leaved class the Ole-
asters are very desirable. The yellow is not
hardy north of New York ; but the small leaved
{^leagmis parvifoKa) is perfectly so ; it has in
addition very sweet flowers and pretty berries to
recommend" it. The Silver Bell or Snow-drop
tree is also a large shrub ; but its early white

SJi.

THE GABBEJSTER'S MOKTRLY, February,

flowers give it a claim on most shrubberies, es-
pecially as it blooms quite young. The Magno-
lias purpurea and glauca are very desirable. The
latter, as it grows in swamps when wild, is not
often seen cultivated, as it is supposed it will not
do in dry soil. This is a mistake. In a deep
rich soil it thrives amazingly. It requires a free
use of the pruning knife on transplanting. The
European Bird Cherry is one of the handsomest
strong-growing shrubs of its season— June. Tor
a single specimen on a lawn it is not to be excel-
led. Its habit is good, and its flowering abun-
dant ; its berries are also very enticing to birds,
which form no mean addition to the pleasure of
a garden. The Pyrus Japonica every one knows ;
the white variety is desirable, though it is more
pink than white. The Mist tree is indispensable,
from its striking peculiarity of flowering. The
White Fringe, with leaves Uke the Lilac, and
large pendant clusters of white flowers, no less so.
There are several Willows which, as shrubs, we
would on no account be without, for their flow-
ers large and sweet, and so early that the first sun
that thaws the March snow,brings them out also.
The Goat Willow and the Yillars Willow— male
varieties of course— are especially to be mention-
ed. The Indian Cherry {AmdancUcr), follow-
ing the Willow in flowering, and very beautiful ;
and the Double Pink, and Double White Dwarf
Almond, are also early and pretty. The Yellow,
White and Crimson Azaleas, are magnificent,
but so scarce in nurseries, we are almost afraid
to have them in this list. The diflerent Ber-
berries can be scarcely spared for their pretty
red berries in fall. The sweet shrub or Virginia
Calycanthus, is one of the sweetest of all flower-
ing shrubs , though its color is dull. The Blad-
der Senna is very desirable for its love of our
summer heat, flowering profusely during July
and August. The Mezereon is particularly
sweet and attractive, blooming very early, but
like the, Azalea, rather scarce in Nurseries. The
Deutzias are well known,— scabra and gracilis
are the two best. The Burning bushes are
beautiful in the fall,— the Mississippi Purple
[aiwpur^urca]^ and the European, are two most
desirable. The Golden Bell and early Spiroeas,
(as prunifolia, Blumeana and Reevesii), every
one wants as well as the Weigelia rosea. The
|iublic taste is divided on the Althea, yet there
are few gardeners without some one variety or
other. The variegated leaved is scarce, but as
desirable as any shrub grown. The Oak-leaved
Hydrangea makes a very striking object in a

collection ; and the common garden Hydrangea
Indispensable for dense shade. For flowering in
August, and for dwarf compact habit, Hyperi-
cum Kalmianum, or the A. prolificum, is per-
haps unrivalled. A rather scarce, but particu-
larly pretty native shrub is Itea Yirginica,
which, like the Magnolia glauca, a swamp plant,
cultivates well in dry ground. The Jasminum
nudiflorum should be trained to a stiff" stake, and
get a pruning with the shears twice a year ; it
then grows very compact, and will support itself
after the stake rots away ; then it makes one of
the prettiest shrubbery bushes imaginable. As
an oriental looking plant, the common privet is
good ; indeed, its pure white flowers, fragrant as
they are, and jet black berries, always attract
attention. It is a plant that will thrive in the
most gravelly soils. The upright Honeysuckles
are perhaps the most common in gardens ; the
Tartarian deservedl}'^ so — few things are prettier.
The Fly Honeysuckle is also desirable, for
though the flowers are not quite as showy as the
Tartarian, the habit is most graceful. Then
the Mock Oranges or Philadelphus, though all
white-flowering, afford, by their diversity of
habit, many good shrubs. The sweet one (P.
coronarius), one of the oldest and best, is least
common. The Large flowered and Gordon's
Upright are the two next best. The Tree Pseo-
nies, though rather expensive, every one wants.
The Bed and White Snowberry make good show
in winter bj' their interesting fruit. As for the
Lilacs, we need scarcely recommend them ; com-
mon as they are, no garden is complete without
them. The Persian is a very distinct one from
the common kinds. There are many new va-
rieties, but they are but shades of old colors.
The Tamarix is not often seen, but a great fa-
vorite of ours. In the class of Viburnums the
Snowball is well known ; also the high bush or
false Cranberry, the Black Haw and the Way-
faring tree are the best.

Amongst large sized trees of the evergreen
class, that are almost indispensable in grounds
of any size, are the White or Weymouth Pine,
Austrian Pine, Scotch Pine, all well known ;but
there are a few others which are scarcer, but
which when common enough to be cheap, will
be quite as much appreciated as these. Amongst
these are the Bhotan or Himalaj-an Pine, Pinus
excelsa. This has been unpopular because of a
few fine specimens having been killed by some
insects or fungus, it is not clear which, — but we
know some specimens thirty feet high, and be-

187^.

TtiE GARDEJVER'S MOXTHL^ .

35

lieve they are no more subject to disease than
the White Pin^. Finns Austrah's, the long leaved
Pine of the South, is hardy in Philadelphia, but
it has to get strongly rooted before it grows fast,
and has to reach age before it branches much ;
we cannot speak of its value in ornamental gar-
dening. Pinus maritima, is somewhat like it in
its long leaves, but is the most rapid of all pines.
It is not pretty when young ; but makes a very
striking appearance with age on large lawns.
It is just hardy in Philadelphia, but we suppose
would be too much injured to be popular north
of this generally. Finns mitis and Finns rigida,
are two very pretty native Pines of large growth,
equal in beauty to any foreign kinds, but so
rarely grown in nurseries that we are afraid to
name them here, as we do not know where the
planter could obtain them. Finns pyrenaica, is
much like the Austrian, but has longer and finer
foliage, and the wood is reddish instead of a
grey brown, as in the common Black Austrian.
Amongst the spruces the best known and most
essential is the Norway. Then we may use the
AVhite Spruce, and, in northern regions, the
Black Spruce. We believe it does no good south
of this point. The Hemlock Spruce is very de-
sirable so far south as Korth Carolina, below
that it dwindles away. Amongst the rarer
ones are A, Ilenziesii and south of Philadelphia,
A. Donglasii. Of the fir tribe the Silver is ex-
tremely desirable, and the Balsam Fir in north-
ern regions, or^ in low rich soils, but not wet.
Amongst the rarer ones very desirable is the Si-
berian, the Kordmann, and the Cephalonian
Silvers, — the last the tenderest we believe, the
nobilis and grandis will also prove very hardy
and desirable, although we have seen no very
large specimens. We think we may class the
Gryptomeria japonica amongst the larger class
of Evergreens which is hardy and desirable, and
then close our list, no very extensive one. Of
Evergreens which make only a medium sized
tree, we also have Pines, Spruces and Firs, — of
the former, the Cembran Pine is indispensable ;
and if we could find them in our nurseries, we
would like to add Finns inops and Finns BanTc-
siana. Of Spruces we have no common ones of
medium height, but a rather rare one, Abies ori-
entalis ought to be in every small garden where
choice and good things are desirable. When we
get to the smaller size evergreens or dwarfs, we
have a great variety amongst Junipers, Arboj-
vitses and Yews. Of this class however are three
which de.serve especial mention, because we

think that any one who will make them common
enough to plant cheaply everywhere will be
public benefactors : we mean Lawson's Cypress,
Nutkse Sound Arborvitse, and the Libocedrus
decnrrens, all hardy and very beautiful ever-
greens of medium growth.

Though limited pretty much in evergreens,
there is a great variety in deciduous trees from
which to choose. We have, at least here in the
East, to drop three beautiful trees— the Elms,
through their foliage being so disfigured by the
leaf slug, — the Plane tree, which has its early
foliage destroyed in Spring by a fungus, — and
the European Linden, whose trunk soon becomes
the prey of borers. But we have left the Ameri-
can Linden, — the European Plane, — the Oak in
its many forms, — the Ash, of which we have
half a dozen kinds in the nurseries, — the Beech
with their many forms of foliage, especially the
blood leaved and the weeping. Poplars, Horse
Chestnuts, Birches, Maples, many varieties,—
Chestnuts, Sweet Gums, Kentucky Coffee, Wil-
lows, Magnolias, Tulip trees. Cypress, and Larch,
are among those easily to be obtained.

\ FRUIT GARDEN.

When fruit trees are grown with root or other
crops, it is well known that such root crops will
not do without manure. In this operation the
trees steal a little intended for the root crops.
Hence trees so grown are very likely to have a
green, nice color, in strong contrast with ne-
glected trees in grass. It must not be forgotten
that trees need as much food as any other crop,
and that there is no better way to feed them
than by applying at this season on the surface ;
give them something, if only ditch cleanings.
Pruning of fruit trees should be completed as
soon as possible, and as a general thing the least
pruning the better. In apple or pear trees,
strong stout sprouts are apt to come out along
the main branches of the tree. These are best
cut out, as in time they take to themselves the
food destined for the branches beyond, and in
this way injure those branches. At other times
a branch for some time bearing becomes weak-
ened by some cause, in which case it is often a
benefit to cut this off:' back to a vigorous sprout
This is particularly the case when bark gets
what the gardeners call hide-bound. In this
case the branches are bettered by slitting the
bark longitudinally, or by cutting back to a
young sprout as aforesaid.

S6

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJTTHLY. February,

The grape is very apt, when trained on trel-
lises, to get its bearing wood weakened. In this
case it is always wise, in pruning, to watch for
a chance to get a strongyoung branch from near
the b'lse as a renewal cane.

All fruit trees like a rather dry, rich soil. On
a cold clayey bottom, diseases are usually fre-
quent. As to whether underdraining. although a
benefit in the abstract, is sufliciently so as to be
a profitable operation in many cases, is a ques-
tion deserving some thought before embarking
largely on labor and materials, costing say a
dollar against an improvement not worth more
than one or two per cent per annum, is not the
most judicious expenditure. When one has a
very wet piece of ground, there can be no mistake
about the value of underdraining it, providing
one has no other ground fit for fruit trees that is
not wet ; but when the ground is naturally in
fair condition, it would be well to go by the ad-
vice of some practical man, or at least experi-
ment on a small scale first, before embarking
largely in the improvement.

Do not plant deep ; cut oft" tap roots, and do
all you can to encourage surface fibres. Surface
manuring is the best way of doing this after the
tree is planted. Do not allow anything to grow
vigorously around your trees the first year of
planting, nor allow the soil to become hard or
dry. Let trees branch low, and prune a little at
transplanting.

Manuring of grapes should be regulated by the
nature of the soil. If it be damp— in most cases
a bad condition for grape growing— stable ma-
nure in great quantities means diseased vines.
In dry ground, it has a beneficial effect. Many
persons of small places have grapes in damp
ground, or can have none. They mu.st take
care to keep the roots near the surfoce ; never
crop the ground about them to destroy the small
fibres, if it can be avoided ; and even good may
often follow, when the vines seem failing, to
carefully follow up the roots, lift near the sur-
fi\ce, and encourage, as much as possible, those
remaining there. Wood-ashes, bone-dust, and
such like fertiUzers are best for grape vines in
low ground.

The Strawberry, where it has been covered
during the winter, should be uncovered as early
as possible in spring, that the warm spring suns
may exert all their influence in producing an
early crop. As soon as growth commences, a
sowing of guano has been found to bo of great
benefit to the crop of fruit.

Raspberries and Blackberries may be planted
towards the end of the month ; they should be
cut down to within a foot of the ground at plant-
ing ; 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.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

In the Middle States, the work for February
will, for the most part, consist of preparations Vi
for future operations, and particularly fd: deal- V
ing with Iho' manure question. All \^mm^ kinds ^A
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,
Spinach, etc. ^Si& ^ther elac*e, which-4« grown jv-.
principally for its seeds or pods, (as Beans, Peas, ^"^
etc.,) do not require much manure of this char-
acter ; in fact they are injured by it. It causes
too great a growth of stem and leaf, and the ear-
liness — a great aim in vegetable growing— is in-
juriously affected. Mineral manures, as wood
ashes, bone-dust, etc., are much better for them.
For vegetables requiring rich stable manure, it
is better that they have it well rottcd^Jtnd do
tfiftj^. Nothing has yak been found so well fit-
ted for the purpose as old hot-bed dung : though
to the smell, no trace of "ammonia" remainj^ in
it.

One of the most interesting parts of a vegeta-
ble garden is a hot-bed for starting seeds early. *■
The end of the month will be time enough for
those who have not command of a large supply
of stable manure, as the very low temperature
we oft^''get at the end of the month soon ab-
sorbs all the heat the hot-bed possessed, vltisia.
amy CTiwat best to put up the beds in the warmest
and most sheltered spots w«=*f««.^ii»d, and to
keep cold winds from the manure, by covering it
with branches of trees or mats ; and the glass
should always be covered w ith mats at night.
Tomatoes, Egg-plants, Peppers and Cucumbers,
are the first seeds to be sown this wa)^ Cooler
frames can be got ready for Cauliflower, Lettuce,
Beets, Celery and Early York Cabbage, a little
of which maVbe sown «rbcTrt— fehe— end of t4ie
-Montbi for thereaiiicst crop, "fift^ Cauliflower is p ii
$1 particularly valued vogtitabki, and no expcnsQ<,~Up^
spared to get them in perfection will be regrettea
when one's efforts are successful^ .
In the open air, sb»*^ the weather provQJfa-

187^,

THE GARDEJTER'S MOJVTELY.

37

vorable, aa ifc-ofton is abowt the end of the
mrrnth^ Peas and Potatoes may be planted.
E«o&t-eeWorrr-^ts deep enough in new dug
gpe««4'ttrTTtJTrre thera after this date.
i»4iieuiaai:a.^d«thep« States, the gardener will
•Jose no time in getting in life Potatoes, Beets,
Carrots, Parsnips, Peas, Spinach, Radishes,
Lettuce, Onions and Salsafy. TJiese should be
the first crops put in after 'ifaei»^«4a breaks up»
»#w?-g<a©d. The earlier they arfeMn the better.
Asparagus, Rhubarb and Horse Radish beds
mayT*&«(l3e made. Asparagus roots are gener-
ally planted too thickly to produce fine shoots, —
they starve one another. Abed fijie feet widct
should have thtee rows, and the plants set about
eijfhjj^cn inches apart. A deep soil is very im-
p6rtant, as the succulent stems require every
chance they can get for obtaining moisture.
About fe^r inches beneath the soil is sufficient

to plant thera. Rhubarb also requires a deep,
rich and moist soil. Horse Radish beds are best
made by taking pieces of strong roots, about one
iuch long, and making a hole about a-faot-or fif-
«@Ba inches deep, with a dibble, and dropping
the piece to the bottom of the hole ; a clean,
straight root will then i4se. up.through the soil.
Crowns or eyes are better than pieces of roots,
— where they can be had,— and a rich clayey soil
better than a light, sandy one. /f ^' ■"< ,/;,

■"^^^ut the middle or end of the Diol)ith,-=(M?-«tiIl
4jri»ri-n the l^orth, — say the middle of March, —
Ceteiy and late Cabbage may be sown. Here,
-w^ usually sow the second week in March.

In the Northern Sbates, Broccoli, and Cauli-
flower when sown bi March as recommendied, do
not head early ©riough in Fall. Ht s^jrould be
sown about. the time^qf Early York
the hot-boG, during thi^ month.

COMMUNICATIONS

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FERD. VON MUBLIiER, MELBOURNE, A US.

{Contimied.)

PiNus Cedrus var. Deodara.

Deodar Cedar. On the Himalaya moun-
tains, 4 to 12,000 feet above sea level. A
majestic tree, 150 feet high, and sometimes
30 feet in circumference of stem. The wood
is of a whitish yellow color, very close
grained and resinous, and furnishes one of
the best building timbers known ; it must,
however, not be felled too young. The tree
also yields a good deal of resin and turpen-
tine.

FiNUS Cembra, L.

On the Europeans Alps, also in Siberia and
Tartary. The tree attains a height of 60
feet ; the wood is of a yellow color, very soft
and resinous, of an extremely fine texture
and is extensively used for carving and
cabinet work. The seeds are edible, and
when pressed yield a great quantity of oil.
A good turpentine is also obtained from this
pine.

PiNUS Cembroides, Zucc. (P. Llaoena, Schiede
and Deppe.)

Mexican Swamp Pine. A small tree, 30
feet high, growing at an elevation of 8000 to

10,000 feet. The timber is not of much use,
but the seeds are edible and have a very
agreeable taste.
P. CiLiciCA, Ant. and Kotsch.

Cilicican Silver Fir, Asia Minor. 4000 to
G500 above the sea level. A handsome tree
of pyramidal growth 160 feet high. The
wood is very soft and used extensively for
the roofs of houses, as it does not warp. (12)

PiNUS CONTORTA, Dougl.

On high damp ranges in Culifornia, attain-
ing 50 feet in height. It is valuable as a
shelter tree in stormy localities, (13)

PiNUS COULTERI, Don.

California, on the eastern slope of the coast
range at an elevation of 3000 to 4000 feet.
A pine of quick growth, attaining a height
of 75 feet ; it has the largest cones of all
pines.
PiNUS DouGLASii, Sabine.*

Oregon Pine. N. W. America forming very
extensive forests. A large conical shaped
tree, up to 300 feet in height, with a ftem of

[12] It will puzzle some to understand why this should
be regarded as a distinct species, more than P Nord
mMnniaiia. It has a looser hal)it than P. Nordrnanniana

[13] This is abundant in the Rocijy Mountains of Colo-
rado; clothing thickly rocky hill sides, and is by no means
confined to "damp ranges."

38

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TBLl^. Fehruarij,

2 to 10 feet diameter. Only in a moist for-
est climate of rapid growth. (14)
PiNUS DUMOSA, Don (P. Brunoniana.,Wall.)
Bhotan, Sikkim and Nepal, 10,000 feet pbove
sea level. A very ornamental fir, rising to
70 or 80 feet.

PiNUS EXCELSA, Wall.*

The lofty or Bhotan Pine, Himalaya, form-
ing large forests at from 6000 to 11,500 feet
elevation. A fine tree, 150 feet high, fur-
nishing a valuable, close-grained, resinous
wood, as well as a good quantity of turpen-
tine.

PiNus FoRTUNEi, Parlatore.

China, in the neighborhood of Foochowfoo.
A splendid tree, 70 feet high, somewhat
similar in habit to P. Cedrus.

PiNtrs Fraseri, Pursh.

Double Balsam Fir. On high mountains of
Carolina and Pennsylvania. This tree,
which gets about 20 feet high, yields with
P. balsamea, Canada Balsam.

PiNus Gerardiana, Wall.

Nepal Nut Pine. In the N. E. parts of the
Hiraala5^a at an elevation of 10,000 to 12,000
feet, forming extensive forests. The tree
gets 50 feet high, and produces very sweet
edible seeds, also turpentine.

Pin us grandis, Dougl.

Great Silver Fir of North California. A
splendid fir, 200 feet high and upwards,
growing best in moist valleys of high ranges;

the wood is white and soft.

PiNUs Haleppensis, Mill.*

Aleppo Pine. South Europe and North
Africa. This well known pine attains a
height of 80 feet with a stem of from 4 to 5
feet in diameter. The timber of young trees
is white, of older trees of a dark color ; it is
principally esteemed for ship building but
also used for furniture. The tree yields a
kind of Venetian turpentine, as well as a
valuable tar. It thrives well in waterless
rocky places, also on the sandy sea coast.
P. maritima is a variety of this species.
Content with the poorest and driest locali-
ties, and rapid of growth.

PiNUS Hartwegii, Lindl.

Mexico, 9000 to 13,000 feet above sea level.
A pine, 50 feet in height, with a very dura-
ble wood of a reddish color ; it yields a large
quantity of resin.

[14] Also tn Colorado, and does well only in deep rich
soil from the hill slopes ; though it grows tolerably on the
dry hill sides.

PiNTJS LARIX, L.

Common Larch ; deciduous. On the Euro-
pean Alps up to 7000 feet. It attains a
height of 100 feet, sometimes rising even up
to 160 feet, and produces a valuable timber
of great durability, which is used for land
and water buildings, and much prized for
ship building. The bark is used for tanning
and dyeing. The tree is of great impor-
tance for its yield of the Venetian turpen-
tine, which is obtained by boring holes into
it in spring ; these fill during the summer,
supplying from ^ to | pint of turpentine. In
Piedmont, where they tap the tree in dif-
ferent places and let the liquid continually
run, it is said that from 7 to 8 may be ob-
tained in a year, but the wood suffers
through this operation. P. L. var. Rossica,
Russian Larch, growing principally on the
Altai mountains from 2,500 to 5,500 feet
above sea level ; it attains a height of 80 ft.
The species would be important for our up-
land country.

PiNUs LEiOPiiYLLA, Scheide and Deppe.

7000 to 11.000 feet up on the mountains of
Mexico. A tree 90 feet high. The wood is
excessively hard.

FiNUS LEPTOLEPis, Sieb. and Zucc

Japan Larch. In Japan, between 25° and
48° N. lat , up to an elevation of 9000 feet.
The timber is highly valued by the Japanese.

PiNUS LONGirOLIA, Iloxb.*

Emodi Pine or Cheer Pine. On the Hima-
laya mountains, from 2000 to 7000 feet. A
handsome tree with a branchless stem of 50
feet ; the wood is resinous and the red va-
riety useful for building ; it yields a quantity
of tar and turpentine. The tree stands ex-
posure and heat well.

PiNUS Massoniana, Lamb. (P. Shimsis^
Lamb.)
China and Japan. This pine attains a
height of 60 feet, and supplies a resinous
tough and durable wood, used for building
and furniture. These roots, when burned
with the oil of Brassica Orientalis, furnish
the Chinese Lampblack.

PiNUS Menziesii, Dougl.

North West America. A very handsome
tree, which grows to a height of 70 feet and
furnishes a valuable timber ; it thrives best
in moist ground. (15)

[16]This wi ] grow to a height of K^ feet in rich val-
eys of the Rocky mountains of Colorado, — &b h gh as P.
grandis in the same region.

187'.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJSf'THLl

39

PiNUS IIuD?ONiCA, Poir. (7* Bankniana
Lamb.)

Grey Pine ; North America, up to 64"^ N.
lat. Height of tree 40 feet, in the cold north
only a shrub. The wood is light, tough and
easily worked.

PiNUS Jeffreti. Murr.

JTorth Carolina, on a sterile sandy soil. A
pine, 150 feet high ; stem 4 feet thiclc.

PiNUS KcE>iPFERT, Lamb.

Chinese Larch ; also called Golden Pine.
China. This is the handsomest of all the
larches. It is of quick growth, and attains
a height of 150 feet. The leaves, which are
of a vivid green during spring and summer,
turn to a golden yellow in autumn. The
wood is very hard and durable.

PiNUS KoRAiENsrs, Sieb. and Zucc.

China and Japan. A handsome tree, 30 to
40 feet high, producing edible seeds

Pmus Lambertiana, Dougl,

Giant or Sugar Pine. North-west coast of
America ; mostly in great altitudes. A
lofty tree, upwards of 300 feet high, with a
straight, naked stem of from 20 to 60 feet in
circumference. It thrives best in sandy soil,
and produces a soft, white, straight grained
wood, which for inside work is esteemed
above any other pine in California, and fur-
nished in large quantities. The cones are
18 inches long ; the seeds are edible, and
used as food by the natives. Would cpme
best to perfection in the humid regions of
our higher mountains.

PiNUS Laricio, Poir.*

Corsican Pine. South Europe. It attains
a height of 120 feet. The wood is white,
towards the centre dark, very resinous,
coarse-grained, elastic and durable, and
much esteemed for building, especially for
waterworks. There are three main varie-
ties of this pine, viz. : P. L. Poiretiana, in
Italy ; P. L. Austriaca, in Austria ; P. L-
Pallassiana, on the borders of the Black
Sea. The tree grows best in calcareous soil,
but also in poor, sandy soil, where, how-
ever, the timber is not so large nor so good.
It yields all the products of P. sylvestris,
but in greater quantities, being perhaps the
most resinous of all pines.

PiNus Mertensiana, Bong.

Californian Hemlock Spruce. Korth-west
America. The wood is white and very
soft, but is often used for building. The '

tree is from 100 to 150 feet high, by a stem
diameter of 4 to 6 feet.
PiNUS MiTis, Michx.

Yellow Pine of North America. In dry
sandy soil, attaining a height of 60 feet.
Wood durable, fine-grained, moderately re-
sinous, valuable for flooring.

HOW TO GROW THE CEDAR OF LE-
BANON.

BY JOHN HENRY JAWNDYCE.

Sometime ago a correspondent gave our rea-
ders a notice of the Cedar of Lebanon. It ap-
pears this brought a note from some one for fur-
ther information, to which his gardener thus re-
sponds : ,

Mr. being unfortunately absent, his

sub-tropical gardener, who answers his letters,
begs to say that the Cedar of Lebanon is rather
a delicate tree, but in the hands of experienced
cultivators, there is no great difficulty in having
a full supply. Get the seeds of any corner gro-
cer;'plant in half inch pots early in ^De-
cember, drain pots with tailor's cuttings, and
place in the saucer a mixture of one half molas-
ses and water and one half Raccoon droppings,
with a thimbleful or pinch of Ammonia sub-
prostrata ; set pot on counter, keep dry, and
shade with yard-stick. The plants will appear
in three days very vigorous. Plant out after
first cold storm in a snow drift, the deeper the
better ; when the snow entirely disappears, the
plants will be as high as the original drift ; re-
pot in two inch pots, and in a week or less the
cones will appear. As soon as large as a straw-
berry, snip them off, and replant in same man-
ner, and in a month they will throw up 15 or
perhaps 16 vigorous shoots. These must have
more Raccoon manure, and stopping the hole in
the pots to prevent the delicate root Irom get-
ting through ; place in a charcoal bath in a
shady place not too much exposed to northerly
winds, and leave out for five or six days, when
the leaves, now well grown, will be ready to
transplant wherever required. Pluck all young
cones as they appear for future slock ; and don't
let all your neighbors see them, for they are so
handsome that tailors and other neighbors will
be sure to steal them.

In one six months they will be twelve feet in
height, nicely furnished and full of vigor. In a
year they shade the largest houses, and be suit-
able to plant round houses such as Tweed and

LO

4

THE GARDEJYER'S MOKTELY. February,

Connelly, or the City Hall in New York, where
Scripture trees are badly wanted.

For further information, reference is made to
Loudon's »vorks, price $200 00, Downing, Smith,
Barry, Meehan and others.

[We hardly know how Mr. Jawndyce's em-
ployer will like this answer. It seems to us that
he will decidedly object to his occupying so
much time in all these elaborate and learned de-
tails, when he should be occupied in potting
palms, or in some other of the numerous jobs of j
the sub-tropical garden. On the other hand,
we do not know whether it is hardly right for a
stranger to bore our correspondent& with letters,
trespassing on their time and good nature mere-
ly because they were generous enough to con-
tribute a few notes to our pages. For some
time we have protected most of our correspon-
dents by not giving their full names, and hence
when we have had the distinguished honor to
receive contributions from sources similar to
C^ueen Victoria, or Kaiser Wilhelm, or Gover-
nor Seymour, or General Grant, we had to in-
sert them under anonymous names.

If, therefore, our readers fail to see among
our contributors the name of their excellencies,
csgovernor Smith of Virginia, or the Hon. Amo-
ri Mori, Ambassador of Japan, it must notbe at-
tributed to the fact that these distinguished hor-
ticulturists do not write for our magazine ; but
simply to a resolution which we mean to adhere
to, that our friends who write for us by day,
may not have to sit up till midnight to answer
letters, as we now see in a postcript to Mr.
Jawndyce's letter was the case with him, and
not in his employer's time as we at first sup-
posed.—Ed ]

ADDEESS OF PRESIDENT HOOPES.

Delivered bofpre the Pennsylvania Frait Growers' Society, in
Philadelphia, Janmry 17th, 1S72.

Ladies and Gentlemen : —

In rising to perform my annual duty, theques
tion which presents itself most forcibly to my
mind, is whether it would not be advisable to
deviate somewhat from our old beaten track —
that well-worn path, trodden for so many years
by far abler men than I. Is there not some-
thing to be learned in this old, yet ever new
studj' of ours, without having resource to those
topics, which have been so persistently discussed
almost from time iintnoinnri:il ? I cannot teach

one of you what varieties of fruit you should
plant, nor how best the operation can be per-
formed on your own grounds. Careful practice,
aided by judicious experiments, will help you
far better than words of mine. The time has
now arrived when horticulture should be eleva-
ted above the mere routine of chance varieties
and meaningless experiments. Let their places
be once filled by a knowledge of the laws that
govern vegetable life, and we shall then be more
competent to judge of the nature of the diseases
that afflict our trees and plants, and have a
better understanding of the proper remedies to
be applied in every case.

We often hear the remark, that our scientific
lectures should be made more popular, by avoid-
ing technicalities and what are termed dry and
uninteresting disquisitions ; but I would far
rather endeavor to educate the masses up to a
higher standard of knowledge than to lower the
scien'ist to meet the requirements of the igno-
rant. I hold that natural science is the basis of
all learning — the foundation, in fact, upon which
the after structure of a liberal education shall be
erected. This cannot be learned exclusively
from books; but in the child's earliest years, the
objects that meet its eye on every hand— that
appeal to its senses in so many varied forms —
are lessons fraught with the most beautiful
truths ; more fiiscinating in their character than
all the agreeable studies invented by a progres-
sive a*e. I know that my views on this point
are liable to be misconstrued and censured ; but
the longer I live, the more fully am I convinced
that this "object teaching" of lessons taken
fi'om nature's great storehouse, is the proper
and only true method by which the young may
be initiated into those principles, which will fit
them for the responsibilities of a sound practical
education in after life. Prof. Huxley, one of
the greatest scientists of modern times, says:
"That man, I think, has had a liberal educa-
tion who has been so trained irr youth that his
body is the ready servant of his will, and does
with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a
mechanism, it is capable of; whose intellect is a
clear, cold, logic engine, with all its parts of
'equal strength, and in smooth working order ;
ready, like a steam engine, to be turned to any
kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well as
forse the anchors of the mind ; whose mind is
stored with a knowledge of the great and funda-
mental truths of nature, and of the laws of her
operations ; one who, no stunted ascetic, is full

i^rs.

THE GARDENER'S MOJSTHL

41

of life and fire, but whose passions are trained
to come to heal by a vigorous will, the servant
of a tender conscience ; who has learned to love
all beauty, whether of nature or of art, to hate
all vileness, and to respect others as himself.
He will make the best of her, and she of him.
They will get on together rarely ; she as his ever
beneficent mother ; he as her mouth-piece, her
conscious self, her minister and interpreter.''

In the many divisions of natural science, I
will not, for a moment, undertake to say which
is the most pleasant, or which the most useful
to the majority of our people. But to the horti-
cultuiist, botany is of incalculable use. The
principles upon which it rests point to every
operation within his province, and show him
unerringly, as no other system can, the errors
and mistakes of his dail3' practice ; and as the
finger-board by the roadside assists the benighted
traveler, so do the rules of botanical science open
up new ideas and suggest new modes of culture,
based on truths that cannot be combatted. No
portion of the study is of more importance, and
at the same time of more real interest, than that
termed Vegetable Histology, or microscopic bota-
ny—the observation of those organs undiscerna-
ble to the unaided eye. As each portion of
the plant passes in review beneath the powerful
lens, it is really astonishing what new wonders
are continually being brought to notice, and how
little the great world at large actually knows
about the internal (yes, and external as well)
structure of vegetable life. How many of our
farmers and horticulturists can to-day explain
the various duties for roots, stems and leaves to
perform, or what action takes place during the
growth of these organs of vegetation ? I can
assure you the number is small indeed, and yet
aperfect knowledge of these principles will ren •
der more valuable assistance to the diligent in-
quirer after knowledge than all else besides

I do not propose to teach any new doctrine
this evening, for the whole ground has . been
gone over and over again by every botanical stu-
dent : but if I can manage to present these beau-
tiful pictures in an interesting manner, just as I
have seen them, and personally examined their
structure under various conditions — in health,
as well as distorted by disease — from the first
appearance of life to decay ; then I can assure
you that your approbation will be all the reward
that I desire.

STRUCTURK OF ROOTS.

Commencing our examination of a fruit tree

in its very earliest stage, in fact when the young
rootlet has just pushed downward into the earth
and the little radicle or stem ascended upward,
we find that it is really a combination of exceed-
ingly small cells, and that its after growth is
merely an increase of these cells until maturity ;
but so long as growth continues, these minute
cells accumulate, and as the wood hardens they
become intersected and divided by other inter-
nal organs. As the young and tender plant
gains strength, the natural green color pervades
its entire being, caused by small grains termed ,
chlorophyll, found floating in the superficial cells,
and especially in those of the leaf But to continue
our researches in the root. We find on the sur-
face of the original rootlet a number of fine hair-
like appendages or fibres ; these in themselves
are cells, or rather prolongations of external
cells, and are valuable auxiliaries in supplying
nourishment to plant life. At the extremity of
this simple root is what has been named a spoii-
giole, and here is a point that many persons sup-
pose all nutriment enters into the plant— absorb-
ing and drawing it in from the surrounding soil;
but the feet is well established, that although
the terminus does in reality extract considerable
sustenance, on account of its tender and imma-
ture character, yet the whole surface of the
young rootlet lends its aid in the operation.

The extreme point of the root, however, is not
of much importance, as it consists of a mass of
disconnected cells which have been displaced
and pushed forward as the root was prolonged,
consequently they do not possess the same prop-
erties of absorption as do the younger and newly
formed organs. As these spougelets gradually
decay, they are continually being replaced by
subsequent layers of the same character.

This absorbing feature is confined solely to
young roots; for when the surface becomes har-
dened and the bark tough, it then assumes a new
position, namely, that of supporting the tree
firmly, whilst it bequeaths to its successors the
task of furnishing food to the common stock.
Hence we are enabled to assign a cause for the
numerous failures that so frequently occur in
the removal of such trees as have been careless-
ly lifted ; for although at the end of the growing
season very many of these rootlets or fibres an-
nually perish from natural causes, yet when the
larger portion of them are destroyed with the
spade, there is not a sufficiency remaining to
carry on the requisite system of feeding, when
warm weather compels the functions of our new-

Ji,2

THE GARDE JfER'S MONTHLY. February,

ly planted tree to renew its action. The conse-
quence is necessarily disastrous in most cases,
for if its life be not sacrificed entirely, "its whole
appearance becomes sickly, the visible portion
remaining statiouai'y so far as outward growth
is concerned, and two or three years generally
elapse before a sufficient number of rootlets are
again formed to supply its natural food. If our
tree is taken up and examined at the end of the
first year, we will observe a quantity of little
hair like rootlets, mostly in bundles, emanating
from the extremities of these cut or bruised roots,
showing conclusively that the older portions do
not act as feeders, but in order to sustain life it
is requisite that other and younger organs should
be supplied for the purpose. The question of
absorption by the root appears to be somewhat
of a disputed point, — some writers contending
that moisture, and even fluids are conveyed into
the organism of the tree ; but I prefer to be
classed with those who believe that nourishment
enters only in a gaseous or vapory state. We
will all, however, agree on the fact, that nothing
in a solidified form can pass into the roots, and
that a transformation must ensue before fertiliz-
ing material of this nature can be used in pro-
moting the growth of the plant. Therefore, am-
monia and kindred fertilizers are useless except-
ing in a volatile state.

In the latter condition, the tender young root-
lets quickly absorb them into the cellular tissue,
and distribute their valuable properties through-
out the whole structure. Plants growing in re-
tentive soil, where an abundance of water accu-
mulates and becomes stagnant around the deli-
cate young fibres, quickly decay, and a powerful
lens discovers the fact, that the cellular tissue in
its immature conditions being incapable of exist-
ing in the vicinity of water, soon becomes a
mass of decomposed vegetable matter, and the
cells lose their shape and beauty.

But to continue the subject oi Histology, which
means literally the science of the tissues. In ad-
dition to the cellular tissue, there are other ele-
mentary organs, known as vascular tissue, or
vessels of an elongated shape. Whilst cells are
more or less rounded, vessels are always tubular
and somewhat pointed at the extremities. Our
fruit-bearing plants and trees consist of both cel-
lular and vascular tissue, hence they are termed
vascular plants ; but the lower orders of vegeta-
tion, embracing the funyi and kindred families,
consist solely of cells, and are known as celhdar
planifi. Although my desire this evening is to

be as elementary as possible, yet I trust you will
pardon me for occasionally using technical terms
when they cannot well be avoided, and as these
organs might be classed as the vital functions of
plant-life, the student of horticulture should be
conversant with their history and titles. I will
state in this connection, that all plants, from the
very lowest known types to the highest orders,
originate from simple cells, and what is regard-
ed as annual growth, is in reality a multiplica-
tion of cells ; but the more complicated struc-
tures belonging to the higher orders show, as
their organization progresses, a development of
other organs which never exist in the simpler
forms of vegetable life. The lowest and simplest
orders— those, in fact, which form a connecting
link with the animal creation— are nothing but
an accumulation of cells, each one of which has
the power of forming a separate and individual
existence, and again in its turn undergoing a
self-multiplication of primordial cells. Those of
you who have noticed the enlarged knobs or ex-
crescences on the roots of apple trees, need not
be told that they are caused by insects destroy-
ing the young cells, and consequently a distort-
ed condition of the parts adjacent is the result.
When magnified, we find the beautiful arrange-
ment of the cellular tissue is no longer seen, but
in its place a mass of irregular vessels, with
woody fibre ramifying throughout, in all con-
ceivable directions. The whole normal condi-
tion of these roots having been thus disturbed,
and perhaps in many cases poisoned by the in-
sects, the health of the tree is always more or
less affected, and its enfeebled constitution pre-
vents it from becoming useful in after years.

During my microscopic examinations of the
roots of fruit-bearing plants, to test the damage
caused by careless digging, I found, when such
had been lacerated |with the spade, the older
wood quickly changed color, and presented un-
deniable evidence of improper treatment. The
cell- walls or cellular tissue are broken and thor-
oughly disarranged, and in place of their clear,
almost transparent condition, when noticed in a
healthy section, they were now discolored, and
in a decaying state. This disease, for such it
undoubtedly became in a short time, spreads
quickly to the surrounding tissues, and a large
portion of the root ultimately dies.

In the case of frozen roots after digging, very
much the same effect wis noticed. The delicate
cellular tissue was rsfpidly affected and discolor-

d, so that the life of the tree had to be sacrific

1872.

THE GAB.DEJVER'S MOJSTTBLY.

JfS

ed. If our planters generally could only be con-
vinced of the importance of carefully protecting
the roots of their trees when out of the ground,
very many of the failures which now happen
would undoubtedly be prevented. If they could
be made to understand the delicate nature of
the inner structure of these important organs,
how like those of the human system they are
liable to be disarranged by ver}"- slight causes,
many of the mistakes of our daily practice would
certainly be remedied.

STRUCTURE OF STEMS AND BRANCHES.

Our observations on the interior of the stem
and branches are very similar to those of the
roots, with the exception of the parts whence
originate the buds — the nucleus of the succeed-
ing year's growth and flowers. Again com-
mencing with a tender young seedling, we find
the interior of its young stem is a beautifully
arranged system of cells, each filled with a fluid,
at first clear, but soon thereafter showing the
little grains of chlorophyll or green coloring mat-
ter floating therein. The immense number of
these infinitessimal cells in a single plant is al-
most beyond calculation, for Prof Gray records
that "an ordinary size is from 1-300 to 1-500 of
an inch ; so that there may generally be from 27
to 125 millions of cells in the compass of a cubic
inch." Inregardtothe very rapid growth of these
cells, the same good authority states: "After
waiting many years, or even for a century, to
gather strength and materials for the effort.
Century Plants in our conservatories send up a
flowering stalk, which grows day after day at the
rate of a foot in twenty-four hours, and becomes
about six inches in diameter. This, supposing
the cells to average 1-300 of an inch in diameter,
requires the formation of over twenty thousand
millions of cells in a day." Before proceeding fur-
ther with our investigations, it might be proper to
state that the first evidence we have of plant life
is a single cell ; this in the embryo increases to its
full size, then divides into two parts, each of
which in its turn grows to maturity, to be
again divided by a partition, and so on until the
embryo becomes perfect. As soon as the growth
of the seed commences, the cells again perform
the same ordeal of expanding and dividing; and
this continues to the end— the new growth al-
ways being an accumulation of cells. A trans-
verse section of a branch of the apple or pear, of
one season's growth, will give us a very clear in-
sight into the various cells and tissues whicii

constitute the majority of our higher order of
trees. Hitherto we have confined our researches
to the cells and cellular tissue only ; we will
now note all the parts, and then explain each
separately.

The outer portion, as you all know, is called the
bark, which at first is merely a mass of cells
similar to the interior of the wood, but in a short
time the microscope reveals several distinct lay-
ers. First we see the epidermis or outside cov-
ering— green in its younger stages, chang-
ing to various tints at the close of the growing
season, and frequently cast off" by the plant
as it increases with age. Under this we find
the outer bark, which may be divided into two
layers — the green envelope, a cellular tissue filled
with chlorophyll, and the corky envelope which
gives the true color to the tree in after years.
We next find the inner bark, commonly called
the Liber, composed of long spindle-shaped
tubes and bundles of woody fibre, with lactifer-
ous vessels. This, in the Linden tree, forms the
"bass string'' so useful to the nurseryman in his
budding operations. It is also the material from
which is manufactured our linen, ropes, &c.,
when taken from Flax and Hemp. The inner
bark is increased by growth from the inside, con-
trary to the exogenous wood, which is vice versa.
The division immediately beneath the bark is
termed the camhium layer, and is a collection of
cells concerned in the growth of new wood as
well as the inner bark, and during the early
spring months an abundance of mucilaginous
fluid, called sap, flows through this portion of the
plant, enriching and nourishing the new cells,
which, at this season, are forming immediately
under the bark. The cellular tissue can then,
in its young and tender state, be easily torn
apart, hence budders say the "sap runs."

Next we observe what is usually termed the
heart-wood, which presents a mass of woody
fibre in little bundles of a wedge shape, inter-
spersed wi th cells, aud what are known as ducts,—
the latter being cells of large size and of various
shapes, frequently several together not unlike
the links of a chain, either dotted on the surface
or with spiral thread-like marks winding around
them. In the centre of our picture we observe
the pith, which is nothing more than a beauti-
fully arranged system of cells, mostly of a hexago-
nal form, whilst its surface is encircled by the
medidary sheath, a delicate membrane composed
of curious spiral vessels, or rather ducts. "We
also notice on our transverse section, at regular

u

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJVTHLY. February,

intervals, a series of lines connecting the pith
with the bark, consisting of cellular tissue of the
same character as the pith, and known as the
Jfedularif Hays. We have thus hurriedly re-
viewed the inner structure of a yearling branch ;
but in the older portions we notice other changes
too important to pass over in silence.

The annual rings in a tree are the yearly de-
posits of vegetable growth, consisting for the
most part of woody fibre interspersed with ducts
and vessels, and evenly arranged in concentric
circles, so that generally we can accurately
detect the age of the tree. As our North-
ern fruit trees all belong to what are known as
exofjens or outside growers, the wood year after
year is formed on the outside of the previous
season's growth, whilst that of its predecessor
ceases to be of any importance to vitality, but
appears to act like the older root?, as a protec-
tion and support against high winds or other ex-
traneous causes. The flow of the sap does not
pass through this inner or heart-wood, for manj'^
specific reasons. After maturity the walls of
the wood-cells become hardened and unfitted for
the transmission of nourishment through their
parts, and at the same time they show a deposit
of coloring matter not observable in the younger
or outside portion. Thus in the wood of the apple
or pear the handsome orange color of the heart-
wood marks the period of rest, and so far as as-
sisting growth is concerned, it is a rest forever-
•more Not so with the sap-wood ; here the cells
and ducts are young and full of vigor in a healthy
tree, and every portion is constantly conveying
nutrition to the various departments of the
whole structure. All this may sound like bold
doctrine to some, but it is nevertheless substan-
tiated by careful examination and study of these
wonderful and interesting organs.

CONTENTS OF CELLS, &C.,

Before closing ray remarks on the elementary
tissues of the wood, I desire to explain the
•contents of cells and vessels, as this portion of
my subject is of more importance than would
appear at fir=;t glance. "When we consider that
this is the point where the diseases of plants first
make their appearance, and at the same time
where nutrition is stored and thence distributed
throughout the structure, we cannot doubt its
importance in solving the problems of vegetable
life and health. Of all the substances found in
the cells of plants, none are more frequently met
with than starch. In the form of line grains,

either singly or connected together, it is stored
away in considerable quantity to afford nutri-
tion to vegetable life, the grains them.selves va-
rying in size from the 4000Lh to the 240lh of an
inch in diameter have a striated appearance,
which, together with their general outline,
remind the observer of miniature oyster shells.
Whilst some plants, as the Potato, Arrow Root,
and our cultivated grains, yield this substance
in large quantities, other species are not so pro-
lific ; and again the young bark of some Pines
and Birches supply it quite abundantly. It
forms a distinguishing feature between the ani-
mal and vegetable tissues, as in the former it is
never found, although a substance analogous to
starch has been noticed by Gottleib. Its pres-
ence can always be detected b}'' the application of
Iodine to the cells, when the starch grains will
immediately assume a blue color, and weakly
diluted sulphuric acid with prolonged heat will
convert it into a gummy matter similar to that
which is produced during the germination of
seeds. The value of starch as nutriment to
the plant may be considered when we ascertain
that its constituent parts are composed of Car-
bon, Ilyilrogen, and Oxygen, the last two form-
ing the elements of water. As to the nature of
the cell walls or cellular tissue, you are probably
well avvare they are composed, in a great mea-
sure, of a substance termed cellulose, which is not
very unlike starch, and can be changed into the
latter by various chemical agents. By the appli-
cation of Iodine, it becomes yellow in color, al-
though if sulphuric acid beadded, it becomes blue
like the iodide of starch. Cellulose is found in
many of the integuments and woody fibres of
many of our fruit producing trees and plants, as,
for instance, the hard bony seed cover of the
Peach, Plum, Cherry, &c., as well as the tes
or tough outer covering of the Apple, Pear and
Quince seeds. In the cell walls it is found in their
outer membrane, and by its properties the cells
are fastened together ; differing in one respect
from starch, although the discovery is of compar-
atively recent date, cellulose has been discovered
in Molluslcs and other low forms of animal life.
{To be Continued.)

THE ENGLISH SPARROW.

BY MR. JAS. SCOTT, NEW HAVEN, CONN.

The English Sparrows get much credit for
the extermination of the Span Worm in New
York and Philadelphia. Is there proof that

1872.

TRE GARDEJSTER'S MOMTHLll.

45

they had anything to do with the matter ? Did
any careful observer see the birds eating these
worms freely enough to secure the result
claimed? The Span Worms have their periods,
and come and go without thanks to the Spar-
rows. New Haven is famous for trees, and
after laying them bare, the worms covered the
face of the earth and swarmed upon the houses.
But when they left New York, they also disap-
peared the very same season from New Haven,
although there were only twelve sparrows in
the city, sent as a present to the Mayor the
preceding winter. I often watched these birds,
and concluded the worms had nothing to fear
from them. After much inquiry, I found no
person who had seen these worms used as food
by the Sparrows or any other bird, except very
rarely by the native yellow bird.

When the regular period returns, you ma}'^,
perhaps, have plenty of worms and Sparrows
too.

HORTICULTURAL NOTES FROM AN
AMERICAN IN ENGLAND.

BY E. L., KENT.

Since writing to you last, I have left the
neighborhood of London, and am now engaged
here with a florist and fruit grower. We are
busily engaged getting ready stock for spring
sales, and also anticipate a good profit from our
graperies. We have two grape houses, one of
which we force early. Last year the crop sold
at Covent Garden Market for SI. So per lb. We
are putting in a large lot of cuttings of the
shrubby Calceolarias, which grow and sell so
well in this country ; we grow them through the
winter in cold frames protected from frost, and
find they do well that way. They prove to be a
cheap article to entice cuslom in the spring, and
we grow them in quantity on that account. We
were pricing stock the other day in one of our
chief nurseries, and 1 think the prices would
enable Americans to import at a good profit.
For instance, large handsome specimens ofLi-
bocedrus decurrens, 5 to 6 ftet high, are sold at
six shillings each. This evergreen is known
here as the Thuja gigantea, a fact worth recol-
lecting. A nice new thing we saw was the
Thuja erecta viridis, a splendid looking ever-
green. I wonder if the Golden Hollies would
do well with you? No doubt they would fur-
ther south. The Ilex aquifolium, "Golden
Queen," is a most beautiful thing if it would

only stand your winters ; any nurseryman could
make a fortune by getting it, Ampelopsis
Yeitchii is rather scarce here yet, it is adver-
tised but very little. The price, I found, was
twelve shillings per dozen, without pots. Many
of your systems of propagation, grafting of ever-
greens, &c., I do not find practiced much here,

I notice a firm near here advertises Liboce-
drus decurrens, at 3 to 4 inches, six shillings
per dozen. I suppose they are not grafted, or
they would be larger in one year than that, but
must be cuttings or seedlings. The nursery
we were through has an undulating surface,
with soil a gravelly peat. Rhododendrons here
were very fine, as also the Sweet Bays and
Laurustinus ; the latter sell for three shillings
per dozen. The Euonymus japonicus gets
killed to the ground here every winter, and yet it
stands the winter with you, does it not? I have
not heard that it gets killed so badly in other
parts of England. The Berberis Darwini re-
minds me much of your Dwarf Pyracantha, —
such neat, pretty leaves. Some fine Deodar
Cedars, 12 feet high, sell for twenty-one shillings
each.

What a gem is the new gem in the Geranium
line, "Payne's Perpetual !'' I had the pleasure
of meeting with it at the raiser's place. It is
impossible to conceive what a short jointed,
stocky little thing it is,— a whole greenhouse
was filled with little fellows iu 8-inch pots, and
although near mid -winter, they were a blaze of
scarlet flowers. I bought one plant at two shil-
lings and sixpence. I must close my note book
for this mail, but may give you a few more notes
another time.

NOTES FROM DUBUQUE.

BY F. A.

The Kilmarnock and American or Fountain
Weeping Willows are perfectly hardy here, but
the stock on which they are usually grafted is
not so. I have tried to graft or bud them upon
our native timber willows, but did not succeed ;
out of a dozen Kilmarnock buds, only one united,
which started to grow immediately, but was
broken off accidentally. The Fountain Willow
seemed to unite very well, but, towards 1^11,
turned black and died.

Is there anything peculiar about propagating
Weeping Willows V and which is the better way°
grafting or budding ? It is a pity if we must give
up these beautiful things. I am testing all the

46

THE GAEDEJ^ER'S MOJ\^TRLY. February,

varieties of trees I can get. I find that the Irish
Juniper won't do here when exposed to the win-
ter's sun ; it stands some severe winters un-
scathed, when an apparently mild winter injures
it seriously or kills it to the ground.

Do you think I would have any chance with
the " Libocedrus decurrens ?"

This has been a good fruit year In this section.
Out of over 30 varieties of grapes, the only one
that mildewed with us was Allen's Hybrid. We
had Northern Spy apples measuring 13|- inches
in circumference, and weighing 1 pound 6 ounces.
It is remarkable that the iSTorthern Spy, large
or small, does not teep this year, although they
were hand picked off the trees and carefully put
away in a cool, dry cellar.

[The Salix caprea is the parent of the Kilmar-
nock Weeping Willow, and is the stock on which
it is worked. The only difference is, that the
weeping form is of the female sex, and the stock
is the male. Unless it is really a fact that the
female form of these willows is hardier than the
male, it is strange that the one should live and
the other die. Sometimes the stock is liable to
be attacked by a thread like fungus, which goes
usually up and down the stem in a zig zag line
for several inches, killing all the living bark
near the line ; and often extending all round,
when the stem is practically girdled, as in the
fire-blight of the pear, and then the stock above
the injury dies, apparentl}^ before the graft, and
this may be how it is in our correspondent's
case. Another stock might be found by experi-
ment, but at present no other than the male of
Salix caprea is known. AVillows are very capri-
cious in grafting. Some succeed very well by
taking up the plants and keeping them in cel-
lars, grafting in winter and setting them out in
spring,— others graft the plants in the ground,
taking care that the stock is a little in advance
of the scions, and others bud in the summer
time. The exact time, however, has to be found
out by practical experiment in each location.
But even in places where they graft or bud
them regularly, they sometimes fail through the
exact conditions not being known.

The Irish Juniper ought to be hardy at Dm-
buque ; but really no evergreen likes either much
sun or wind in winter, and where rare evergreens
are to be tested, they should always have a shelter
from aun or wind by cheap, rapid-growing decid-
uous trees or shrubs. The Libocedrus decurrens
we have seen at Detroit perfectly hardy. This
is exactly in your latitude, although latitude is

not the great guide, for we believe from Detroit
the warm line extends southerly of west.

We shall be glad at any time to have further
notes of your experiments, failures and suc-
cesses.—Ed.]

HEATING BY HOT-WATER.

BY MR. WM. SAUNDERS, WASHENQTON, D. C.

The discussion on heating greenhouses appear-
ed to be somewhat epidemic during the past
summer. It seemed to break out simultaneous-
ly in the Gardener''s Monthly, of Philadelphia,
and in the Gardener^s Chronicle, of London. The
latter periodical has had a series of weekly arti-
cles on this subject. (My opinion of them would
be expressed in noting them as a series of weak-
ly articles, at least, so far as they tend to lead to
any improved application of the principles of
hot-water heating).

It is not my intention to review any of the ar-
ticles, but simply and briefly to state that one of
the greatest obstacles to a free and rapid circu-
lation of warm water in the pipes, arises from
the prevalent mode of laying them tvith a rise,
as it is termed, from the boiler. Water does
not naturally run up hill. Power must be ex-
pended in causing it to circulate through a long
line of pipes on the ascent ; and the rule that
governs compensation of forces cannot be anull-
ed. The highest part of the entire range of pip-
ing should be as near to the boiler as practicable;
and from that point the pipes should be laid on
a gradual descent until they again enter the
boiler, — that being the lowest point. I have in-
variably found it advantageous to alter pipes,
when necessary, to bring them into this posi-
tion ; and have made bad circulation perfect by
this simple and easily understood process.

The fewer turns or bends in pipes the better ;
and where several pipes are fed from one flow,
these diversions should be made as near to the
boiler as practicable.

These few rules are, in my judgment, the most
important in arranging pipes for hot-water heat-
ing.

[We quite agree with Mr. Saunders. We
understand he has some pipes fixed in this way;
the pipes and boiler forming a triangle, in
which the boiler constitutes the whole of one
side. — Ed.]

1872.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTBLJ

47

E D T T 0 11 I A L .

EECOLLECTIONS OF TRAVEL.

One of the peculiar features of the Rocky
Mountain region is the loss of all our general
ideas of distance, A place which seemed but a
few miles away, we find to take a dozen miles to
reach ; and when you hazard a guess that a cer-
tain little hillock may be a hundred feet high,
you get the wagoner's scornful bet that it is well
nigh to a thousand. So it was that, after suppos-
ing over and over again that we must surely be
at the foot of the pass that was to take us up
into the mountains, we found ourselves at last
really there. At once began the ascent, wind-
ing around the hills, by the little water- worn
water-courses, made in the spring by the melt-
ing of the gathered snow. The vegetation of ^the
Pacific, marching on to meet that of the East,
here first welcomed us. The first to offer us a
greeting was the Western Snowberry,which was
just ready with its white-waxen racemes to show
us how beautiful it was. The berries are not
round, as in our white garden snowberry, but
oval, and as densely set as the red one. The
habit of the plant is also better, and it will be a
favorite whenever it gets into cultivation. The
Acer glabrum, the Eocky Mountain Maple, was
also in fruit. Its leaves are smaller than the
Red Maple, and the plant seems to make little
more than a strong-growing shrub. With the
exception of a few alders, birches and cotton-
woods, along the watercourses, there are no
trees but pines ; and these are so scattered and
poor-looking,that after our first ideas of grandeur
wore away, we began to regard all that we had
read and heard about the luxuriance of the
Rocky Mountain vegetation as simply travelers'
tales. The most striking of shrubs, and these
are more numerous than the trees, is the Cerco-
carpus sericeus. This is allied to the Spirse
botanically, but its long, silky seed- tails give it
an appearance not unlike our common Mist
Tree, though, as the seeds are scattered, it is not
so effective. The various species of Bibes (goose-
berries and currants) are the most striking.
Is one of these have fruits larger than common
currants, but with their numerous berries, some
black and some red, they made our route orna-
mental, if the fruit was not really so good to eat
as some of our company and the native squirrels
and sage hens seemed to think they were. The

mountams seemed to be chary of horrics or any
thing in the shape of fruit. Besides these cur-
rants, our hungry fellow-travelers seemed to en-
joy the Choke cherries, — but this was all they
could get. There is not a blackberry bush in the
whole region; and the raspberry {Ruhus strigosus)
of which, here and there, we find a stock, seems
rather to mock the luscious berries which we
find in the lake region of the Northwest. With
the exception of a solitary specimen, near Pikes'
Peak, of the Mountain Ash, {Sorbus sambucifo-
lia), with pretty scarlet fruit larger than our
Eastern species, we do not remember any other
eatable berries through a course of several hun-
dred miles.

Even the pines, which alone compose the tim-
ber of this region, are not near the size of the same
species on the Pacific coast. The leading pine
here is the Finns po?icZerosa,'but sodegraded that
on a first acquaintance some of our botanists,
though very familiar with the Pacific trees, sup-
posed it to be "something between P. resinosa
and P. rigida,'" — and it was not until after
many days of daily examination, that it become
clear to be really the great ponderous pine of the
Korthwest. Our English friends, so fond of
making new species from a few specimens,
should walk a few hundred miles, as we did,
through these Western tree forests, and our
nomenclature would surely have fewer names.
Here |in this experience, the little spines at the
end of the scales were of all lengths to none at
all — the cones of all forms, from nearly as
round as any of Pinus rigida to three times the
length of thi width, — and in size were from two
to five inches long. The color and length of the
leaves also varied remarkably, but all showed
unmistakably one common origin. There was
another matter in connection with this species
of Pine which interested us particularly. Our
track was in the trail of a tribe of Ute Indians,
and these had, a month or so before — about mid-
summer, our informant said— stripped off the
bark of a large number from near the ground to
six feet in height, for the purpose of scraping the
inner face as food. Though completely girdled
in this manner, they appeared not to suffer, and
there were no d,ead trees to mark any fatal ef-
fects in the past years. It seemed, indeed, that a
new bark grew out to take the place of the old

Jf8

THE GARDE JEER'S MO J^' TEL J. February,

ones ; but of this no instance was seen to enable
one to speak positively about it. The Finns
ponderosa, when growing thickly together, is,
like all pines in such circumstances, somewhat
naked ; but when they stand out singly, they
make beautiful objects. Along the tedious route
through the South Park, it was our chief conso-
lation. Wherever there was any elevation, it was
more than likely to be crowned by scattering
specimens of this species, all the upper portion
forming a dense round head, while from the
middle down they had a recurved, somewhat
pendulous habit, which made a pretty contrast
with its general heavy appearance.

The only other Pines of all this region, are P.
flexilis and P. edv.lis. The former grows at about
the same rate asPinMsccm&ra of Europe, and is a
very beautiful species, of only a medium height.
The wood is very fragile, and the leaves being
densely set and heavy, collects the snow and
breaks. It was only here and there that speci-
mens were seen. It seems widely scattered, but
not abundant anywhere. One of the prettiest
Pines is P. contorta. This reminds one so much
of the Pinus Banhsiana, as seen by two of the
party in the Lake Superior region, that it was
accepted for the fact, and r.ot until all the speci-
mens had been past was the error discovered.
Other botanists have passed it in other times for
Pinus inops ; and yet, when examined, it seems
distinct from all. It makes only a medium-
sized tree, and grows as thickly together as the
sand Pines of New Jersey. From the few iso
lated specimens that we were able to see, it seems
to take on a columnar form as the Banksian
Pine does, and this, with its pretty sea green,
will make it valuable for ornamental planting.
The other, Pinus edulis, we did not see until,
after many days of journeying, we readied the
vicinity of Pike's Peak, in Southern Colorado.
Here it is little more than a stout shrub, hav-
ing at a distance the look of beautiful specimens
of Siberian Arborvitges. The highest seen did
not exceed 25 or 30 feet. The wood, however,
is popular as fuel. Pinon— Piiiyon as it is pro-
nounced,— commands a fair price at the settle-
ments for this purpose. Froji a young speci-
men in our own grounds, the Pinon or Piyius
edulis was not highly appreciated ; but as seen
here, we came to regard it as one of the most
promising to our ornamental grounds.

Of the Spruces, the Donglnss {Abies Douglasii)
and the Menzies (..'1. Menziesii) were more gre-

garious, and occupied at times rather dense
tracts as forests along the steep hillsides ; occa-
sionally a few specimens would be found by
themselves, and then they well rewarded our
admiration. The Menzies Spruce never
spreads widely. It was no uncommon thing
to see specimens perhaps 50 feet high, which
were not more than 10 feet wide, tapering up
gradually like a church spire. Few of these
pines exceeded 100 feet high, and 6 feet in cir-
cumference. By the aid of Mr. Robert Douglass,
of Waukegan— a most admirable traveling com-
panion, by the way — we measured the highest
Douglass Spruce we could find, which proved
136 feet high and 8 feet in diameter. A Men-
zies Spruce of about the same height, girthed
the same also. The other Spruce, Abies aristata,
we saw for the first time in a living state as we
entered the south park. This is one of the most
unpine-like of all the Pine family. All the
others more or less conical, this one wanders
away into long, wand-like branches, which often
make a tufted broom-like appearance. Only
for the unmistakable evergreen needles or leaves
one might readily take it for a deciduous tree.
The leading shoots seem to elongate without
much branching of the laterals. These con-
tinue short and slender during the whole life of
the tree. Abies grandis the writer came across
first in the vicinity of Pike's Peak. Wishing to
complete the preservation of his specimens by
the gray morning light, he had not dusted the
sand from his night's blanket, when word came
that the party were ready for the ascent of the
mountain. Being somewhat egotistically— as
friend Elliott would say— inclined, it seemed a
very easy thing for a fast man to catch a slow
team, so the work to be done was done IdsureJ}^
and the party was followed. But the trail was
soon lost, and in a tangled mass of scrub oak
and immense rocks on every side, there was no-
thing left but to go on alone or return ; of
course we chose the former, and we soon found
"ourselves," although now in the singular num-
ber, following the course of abeautilul mountain
stream, which, as it leaped from rock to rock,
made a sweet music which would not let us feel
all alone, notwithstanding the utter absence of
beast and bird and everything animate from this
region as fiir as any one could see. Sometimes
the stream would be entirely lost to view from the
immense rocks which, during the course of ages,
had rolled down the steep hillsides and covered

187'1~

THE GARBEKEB'S MO XT ELY,

M9

the water's face. On these rocks vegetation would
soon gather, and at times huge trees grow up,
as if the world had ever been as we saw it then,
— only for the roaring. of the falling waters un-
derneath this apparently solid ground, which
ever and anon came up like a wail from Tartarus,
as now and then a cleft through to the water
allowed the sound to ascend. It was on one of
these naturally artificial rock-bound gardens
that we first saw Abies grandis — a beautiful lit-
tle specimen of about fifteen feet high, clothed
with foliage to the ground, and which, though
in the midst of scenes suggesting anything but
money values, we could not help setting down
in our mind as worth SIOO. The region for the full
forest of them was soon reached, and our enthu-
siasm knew no bounds, when we saw the Par-
sonsiana, Lowii, lasiocarpa, and we knew not
how many others, altogether in one lot. At
first it seemed that a new species had been dis-
covered, and it was not long before the top of
one was reached for the cones. These were of
a pure white color, and nearly- round ; while the
cones of all seen up to this time were purple and
elongated cylindrical, more like our Balsam
Fir, but nearly as large as the Silver Fir. Our
variety, — or as our friend Elliott would perhaps
say, our egotism, — got the better of us, and we felt
how surely we could have a laugh with our
friends on the morrow, who, though first off for
the Peak, were not first in a new species of the
Pine family. But as we journeyed on further,
we found to our egotistical discomfiture, that
all these varying forms were undoubtedly but
one thing, and we reluctantly threw our chance
I'or a new species away. But here we may note,
for the benefit of our friends in England who we
-see to this day are puzzled about this matter,
that although the forms are distinct enough to
make it worth while to select the best, and name
and propagate them as we do the forms of arbor-
vitae we see in our seed-beds,— the elevating them
to the rank of species would surely fail by a day's
visit to' them in their native places of growth.
But the next day's report from the party who
did find the Peak, brought us news of a spruce
high up in the clouds, which we did not see— the
A. Engelmanni. This is a dwarfer mountain spe-
cies, allied to the White Spruce of Canada, and
we suppose will never be very valuable for gar-
den purposes ; and with the exception of the
eastern and western Cedars, here ends the whole
forest tree list of 300 miles of the Rocky Moun-
tains

The only other tree represented In the moun-
tain forests, is a small oak, Quercus Neo-llexi-
cana, but this seldom grows more than 15 feet
high, and barely ranks as a tree ; usually it
forms but thick sturdy bushes, very useful in
helping one down the steep, rugged hillsides, as
we well know, having made a mile of descent in
three hours by their aid.

Another interesting feature of this part of the
Rocky Mountains, is the several species of hardy
Cactuses, which, when they shall come into gen-
eral cultivation, will be unique ornaments in our
out-door gardening. The most common is Opun-
iia Ifissouriensis, a flat fronded form, with an
abundance of long, slender, white spines, almost
as pretty as the Pilo-cereus senilis or " Old Man
Cactus'' of our choice collections. In the Monu-
ment Park we found some covered with the real
Cochineal insect. It was new to us that this in-
sect would endure so much cold as must occur in
this latitude in winter; and it might be well worth
while for those who are interested in the earth
products of these dry plains, to introduce the
spineless forms of Opuntia for the purpose of rais-
ing them, we will send seeds of O. Bajinesqui, the
smooth form, to any one who may wish to ex-
periment in Cochineal culture in these districts.
Another cactaceous plant of great beauty is Cere-
us virescens ; this grows upright, about 8 inches
high and two to three inches thick ; and the red
and brown columns of short spines, running up
and down the short, thick, green stem, has a
very pretty effect. Then we have Mammillaria
vivipara, a very pretty thing of the "Pincushion"
class ; and far more beautiful than the tender
ones which we see at times in greenhouses. But
perhaps the prettiest of all is the Ediinocactus
Simpsonii, which makes a globe of white, slen-
der spines about four or six inches thick. The
appearance of the plant is that of a small Mam-
millaria ; but Dr. Engelman decides it to be a
true Echinocactus.

In these mountains we find ourselves in the
home of the Gentian, Pentstemon and other
well known plants, mere or less adapted to
garden culture ; but few things interested the
lovers of flowers in our party, more than
a beautiful clear white flower, very similar,
but superior to our Sweet Alyssum ; opinions
were freely given that the introduction of this
plant would be a great boon to cut-flower folks.
It proved to be the Lepidium montanum.

To a geographical botanist the most interest-
ing part of a tour through this portion of thq

50

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'THLy. February,

country, is to note how nearly the flora ap-
proaches to the flora of the old world. Indeed,
plants which years ago greeted us in the moun-
tains of Europe were here for our inspection over
again. The Pokmonium coeruleum is very abund-
ant, and the oak before referred to is much more
nearly related to the English than the White
oak of the Eastern States. Most of the grasses
are the same as the European,— and one of them
the "Bunch Grass" of the Graziers, is the Fes-
tuca duriuscula of England. Another Festuca,
F. ovina, also English, is very abundant. These
with an American, the "Gamma'' grass, Boute-
louia curtipendula, make up most of the grass
forage of this region, and give a remarkably pe-
culiar appearance to the "pasture'' lots. Those
who are familiar with what they call in Europe
"Fairy Kings'' in the grassy meadows, know
that a fungus grows up in the grass, and that
as it matures little white thread-like fibres radi-
ate in every direction, destroying the grass
for a considerable distance from the original
centre,, and leaving a dry dead spot. The Gam-
ma grass and the Festuca ovina. do pretty much
the same thing. A piece establishes itself, and
the stolos or off"sets push outwardly for a short
distance, perhaps a quarter of an inch or so,
and the centre part dies ; the next year the living
circle increases in diameter by the growth be-
fore and depth behind, until at times a dead
space of a foot or more will be enclosed by a rim
of short green grass of from half to one inch in
diameter. Why the seeds which one would sup-
pose to fall, do not drop into this little barren
basin and thus again fill it with living green, we
cannot tell ; but possibly here, as before noted
by the author in regard to the blackberries of
the East, not a millionth part perhaps of all the
seeds which fall ever grow. The other Festuca
always seems to be in a bunch, and never has a
hollow centre. It gives a peculiar gray color to
the herbage, and it is interesting to observe how
the mules and horses in grazing will carefully
feel their way through all other vegetation in
search of this dried up looking stuff". "But,''
says the driver, "there is nothing fattens them
up like this bunch grass."

Our route lay across the basin of the South
Park, for perhaps sixty or seventy miles, and did
not charm us as much as it seems to have done
other travelers. A perfectly level plain from
fifteen to fifty miles wide, with low rises of half
dead trees faintly outlined in the distance on
each side of one, — with no animated nature to

enliven the scene, — and few flowers but the
everlasting Asters^ Golden Rods, Grindeh'as^
Lijiosyris^ and Oxytropus, — with not a motion,
except what is made by the upward quiver-
ing of the sun-baked air, is all interesting
enough from its novelty, but hardly worth the
lavish language of some who had been over the
track before us. But day aft^r day of this kind
of experience was at times relieved by some few
snatches of extreme beauty. Once in a while
the scrubby vegetation of the hillier country
would wander down to the more level land and
grow in thick clumps, now forming circles and
ovals, and now lengthening out in lines of vary-
ing thickness, which would have furnished the
most fastidious critic in Landscape Gardening
material for the most unbounded enthusiasm.
Again the terraces, often bounding the shores
of the plain, up against the higher land, were
often bayed out for miles, and j'et so regularly
graded and sloped as to compete fairly with
some of the most famous specimens of the handi-
work of man ; and these especially when they
were "planted tastefully," as one might almost
say of some of these efforts of nature, — with the
often fantastic specimens oT Abies aristata, made
up a piece of real garden work which ca^iie near
redeeming the character of the one who first
dubbed this place a "park." As, however, we
approached the exit of this weary drive, mat-
ters of interest became more frequent. One of
these was the remains of a fossil forest, which
must have grown here when the Eocky raoua-
tain land was more nearly on a level with the
sea, and the climate would bear Pineapples and
Bananas without the aid of the protecting laws
of Congress. They had evidently been hove up
to their present height, about (5000 feet above
sea level, by volcanic action, for pumice stone
and lava surrounded the slumps and. formed
the strata beneath the mass of earth on top,
which had been for ages gathering from the
degradation of the red granite rocks on the
highlands near. One of these stumps, which
the writer measured, vras thirty-six feet in cir-
cumference, and then showed no sign that the
bai'k was there. A piece which we managed to
get, not perfectly petrified, seemed te indicate
that it was closely intimate with the present
mammoth Sequoias a,nd Taxodumis of California.
On leaving the South Park for the Jour-
ney to Pike's Peak, the scenery was grand be-
yond conception. In ascending to the heights
of the Rocky mountains, an impenetrable wall

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELl.

of hills ou each side prevented us from see-
ing much but toward the sky ; but now we could
get glimpses of hills and valleys often miles
away, some with the clouds rolling lazily over
the tops, and tumbling over the other side like
mammoth sheep in the folds of heaven, — and
then others with their piny wooded sides ex-
tending down thousands of feet to little narrow
Avater courses which glided round their bases
like a setting of silver to emerald gems. This is
the character of the country in the vicinity of
the score of houses known as Colorado city, all
in the vicinity of Pike's Peak ; and as the Nar-
row Gauge railroad has been completed to this
place since we left it, it will soon be in the full
line of travel, and thousands of eyes feast on the
beauties of the spot which has, till now, been
an unknown land to all but savages and the few
hardy pioneers who could not appreciate it.
There is one feature of this place apart from its
singular beauty, which will ever make it attrac-
tive, namely, its mineral springs. These boil up
in vast columns from the solid rock. Our camp
was pitched one night near them, and as sugar
and essence of lemon were not quite strangers
amongst us, we lay and watched the drinkers
round that spring as they drank and quaffed,
and talked, and laughed, with a grateful prayer
to Providence that though so exhilerating, the
cup was not of the intoxicating kind. The
sound of the carpenter's hammer and saw was

ard even here. General R. M. Cameron, one
of the original founders of Greeley, was making
a hotel to accommodate 250 guests; and General
R. M. Palmer, of the Denver and Rio Grande
Railroad, had already built a beautiful dwelling
in a highly romantic spot, named "Glen Eyrie.''
These and many others whom we met about
here were enthusiastic, — some over the healthful-
, ness of the place, and others that so many of the
fruits and vegetables of the East could be grown
to perfection here ; but to us, if we were on the
look-out for a new place to settle, the glorious
beauty of the landscape would be an inducement
which would over-ride all other considerations.

The route from Colorado Springs to Denver
was along that part of the country known as
the divide, — a rather flat and sandy ride of about
100 miles. In this we found occasional ranches
all with admirable crops, sleek cattle and pros-
perous families. Theyseemed to be chiefly from
Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, and al-
ways looked glad to see a face from near their
old homes.

WONDERFUL GROWTH OF PEAR

TREES.

Since the fizzle out of Professor Porter's
Pear orchard, which turned out not to have
been planted on the plan which we have alwaj^s
recommended, our respected contemporaries
have to fall back on neglected trees.

The Country Gentleman gives great promi-
nence to the following : "A correspondent in an
eastern county of New York lately met'with a
case where the experiment had been tried for
five continued years, for the purpose of seeing
the difference between allowing young trees to
stand in grass, and keeping the ground mellow
by cultivation, A dwarf pear-tree was planted
in a large flower-bed where the soil was con-
stantly mellow, and another a short distance off
in sod. The tree in cultivated soil, at the end
of five years, was four times as large as the one
in grass ; and a standard pear tree, under simi-
lar treatment, was eighteen times as large as
the other standard not cultivated." Eighteen
times as large in five years I We will suppose
the two trees to have been both an inch thick
when planted, and that the one stood entirely
still. The other one eighteen times larger would
be eighteen inches thick— four and a half feet in
circumference in five years ! It is, however
hardly to be supposed that the other tree grew
none ; we will modestly give it two inches for
its present size, and we have the remarkable
spectacle of the other tree, one inch when
planted, coming to be nine feet in circumference
in five years I

But suppose eighteen times as large refers to-
height and not thickness of trunk,— and giving
one foot of growth only per annum to the poor
tree— five feet in five years, and the original
height four feet only, nine feet in all, we have the
other "eighteen times larger," one hundred and
sixty-two feet high in five years ; or, to give this
wonderful tree still a more favorable chance, say
only the growth of the past five years increased
eighteen times, we have a growth over the fa-
vored tree of ninety feet in height I

We think this great blow at " Meehan's
theory " may go the way of Professor Porter's,.

It is proper to say that we overlooked the
paragraph in the Country Gentleman, but find
it credited in the Maryland Farmer, the editor
of which adds, "We have frequently met with
similar cases with results not greatly differing
from these ! !"

That there should be some difference be-

5f

THE GARDEJs^ER'S MONTHLY. February,

iween a tree and grass, and a tree alone
with all the food to itself, one would think it
needed no experiment to try ; nor would it be
necessary to send to an eastern county in New

York to find abundant proof; but we think
few of us were prepared for such astonishing
results as these, and they are worthy of the
most extended circulation.

SCRAPS AND QUERIES.

D0LI.AR AND Cent Horticulture.— A val-
ued correspondent in Ohio says :— I think there
is some progress in horticulture in our State,
but it is almost all of a commercial or dollar and
rent sort ; and on this account the readers of
such magazines as the Gardener''s Monthly are
too few.

[JTever mind, horticulture for pleasure is
growing faster than you believe. We know
where Ohio is in this regard. They have found
out there that when they die they cannot take a
dollar with them, and will enjoy some of it ra-
tionally while they are alive.]

Mr. EiiLiOTT's Letter.— Thos. Meehan,
Esq., Dear Sir : — I cannot refrain from giving
you some expression of my indignation at the
singular letter of F. R. Elliott in the January
number, just received. I know you neither
need defence, nor favor the saying of much on
any point of disagreement ; but there are, unfor-
lunatcly, some writers always ready to dis-
jiarage anything written or done elsewhere.

As a fruit grower in western Xew York, be-
fore any single one of the present New York
writers had existence as pomologists, — one who
took and faithfully read the old Genesee Farmer
from its first to its last number— and as connect-
ed at different times with almost all the agricul-
tural societies of the country, and closely ob-
serving the facts of fruit growing in many States,
it is simple truth to say that I have nowhere
seen such invariably candid, correct and faithful
i.reatment of the subject, as in the Gardener^s
Monthly ; and I felt and expressed this opinion
;i.s forcibly before I had the honor of your ac-
(juaintance as I do now.

I have always been struck by the very great
<liversity in actual experience with fruits in dif-
Ji.Tent localities ; even in different exposures in
tlio same general locality, and I would never

think of declaring any variety unworthy of cul-
tivation because of unsuitableness to the partic-
ular spot on which I tried it. And any notable
success attained by another cultivator with
what has failed in my case, interests me as much
as my own success does. Indeed, there is no
other way to succeed in fruit-growing in small
fruits and vines, as well as in orchard fruits, hut
for each cultivator to thoroughly try a large num-
ber of varieties. In spite of all assertions that
this or that will not succeed, let him faithfully
try a large number, and he will be rewarded ac-
cording to his exertions. My father tried this
plan years before I was born, and the conse
quence was that fine heart cherries, declared un-
suited to the climate by others, were, with him,
a great success. Peaches, nectarines, rare
plums and apples in great quantity followed the
same rule.

The most unpleasant thing of modern pomo-
logicaj criticism, is the short and summary way
with which one is snapped up with assertions of
inferiority of this or that variety which the critic
has failed to see favorably. Many persons are
repelled from attempts at cultivation solely by
this haste of rejection, when the true course, in
my judgment is to favor experiment and devel-
opment at the cost of being somewhere mistaken.

While diffusing fruits of every sort freely all
my life, without selling a dollar's worth, (of trees,
roots or grafts) I have never seen occasion to
condemn or to doubt the fairness of those who
do make it a business. The Adirondack grape
is worth nothing in my garden, yet I know it
deserves all its originator claims for it ia more
northern latitudes. So of the Hartford Prolific
and the Catawba ; still more worthless are Toka-
lon, Maxatawney and half a dozen others ; yet
Rogers' Hybrids are marvellously prolific, and
Concord, Christine, Diana, Delaware, and two
or three others are imfailingly good.

My own judgtiicnt ma}* possibly be influenced

187'^.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLl

5S

by your most generous, yet I hope just treat-
ment of my own suggestions at various times,
yet I have heard so many strong and earnest
tributes to your singular clearness of judgment,
your candor, justice and impartiality, as well as
to your scientific accuracy in strict botanical
distinctions, that I feel indignant at such a let-
ter as that appearing in the Monthlu. I hope
Mr. Elliott will render due apology ou seeing
how grossly he has oflenJed

Very truly and respectfully yours,

LoRiN Blodgett.
[We have received many letters of a similar
import to Mr. Blodgett' s, and do not know that
we should have inserted Mr. Elliott's if we had
thought it would make our friends feel so badly
about it. Still we trust it will do good. The
idea suggested by Mr. Elliott, and to which we
took exception, that almost the whole of the
new grapes sent out during the last 20 years,
were sent out for no other reason than because
they helped the tradesman's occupation, imply-
ing that the originators knew that they were
distributing a worthless article, was certainly
too sweeping, and we were quite willing to brave
Mr. Elliott's displeasure in our comments on it.]

To Correspondents.— We are obliged to
those of our readers who send us "scraps" for
this department, — they are often as useful as
long communications, though we value all.

We have some on hand which we should have
noticed this month, only for an unusual pres-
sure of matters requiring attention at this sea-
son, so that our friends will not deem their fa-
vors unwelcome if they are not at once noticed.

Mr. Harding's Letter.— In our publica-
tion of Mr. Harding's letter, the types made
him say Terama speraUs instead of Zamia spi-
ralis^ and a few other similar errors. Of course
these errors are annoying, but they unavoidable
where the author does not get a chance to cor-
rect his own proof. Even where they do, it is
no absolute security against errors. We have
before us now a work which seems to have been
through the hinds of Drs. Gra^, Engelman,
Eaton, Watson and others; and yet quite a for-
midable list of errata appears in the fly leaf. Our
friends must remember that "such things must
be."

Magazine on the Bee.— jBT. K. C, Neenah,

Winnebago Co , TFis.-Pleasegive, in your opinion,
the best work on the bee, and if there is any
magazine devoted to their culture. I am a sub-
scriber to the 6ardener'>s Monthly.
[The Bte Journal, Cleveland, O."]

Rocky Mountain Notes.— During a receat
flying trip to Illinois, the writer picked up a few
scraps of paper which seemed to have been torn
out of a pocket memorandum book. It would
perhaps have been immediately thrown away,
but for Gardener'>s Monthly catching our eyes,
which of course it naturally would do. It is,
no doubt, the production of some green-hand, if
not of one who will be ever green. Failing to
penetrate all its mysteries, we venture to give it
a place, that our younger and more acute
friends may try their hands at the puzzle :

" You ask me how I like my traveling compan-
ions, oh they are jolly fellows ; I like them well,
every one of them, indeed much better than I
supposed I should. I thought, coming from
New York, Philadelphia, New England and
Washington, they would have their Eastern no-
tions, and that they would bring their dignity
with them, and leave many other things that
would be needed here ; but I tell you they came
well rigged for the journey. I supposed they would
be bard to get acquainted with, but I found it
otherwise. There are finer opportunities to get
acquainted camping together on the mountains,
than traveling in a ladies car, so that I am well
acquainted with each and all of them, and never
had a pleasanter time.

A four weeks journey with the Oardener''s
Monthly is a month in a flower garden, and in it
the gardens, like all the down East gardens, we
have the Daisie and Sweet Williams, knowing
they were coming to a dry country, and as none
of them are in the habit of irrigating, they
brought their Wells with Ihem. A company
traveling over rugged mountains and camping
out, can hardly be expected to take a library
with them. Yet I saw Hoopes on Evergreens
(gathering cones). You have all read *'Warder
on evergreens and hedges," well we had Warder
on evergreens ; there are no hedges there, but I
saw him once sitting on a log fence eating din-
ner. I saw Professor Wells several times with
"Comb on Phrenology," before breakfast (when
at his toilet), and any one who saw Mr. Clift
pulling up those fine fish, cquld not deny that
we had "Tim Bunker on Trout raising."

54

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^'THLY. Fehruary ,

Speaking of them individually, I may say that
I have agreed vudl with Wdls^ been bound up in
Hoopes, as good as cOjIX he with Canby, I have
dodged around with the Dodges, I have been
blissful vf\th.the Blisses, I have eoien with Eaton,
kept ward with Warder, and bunked with Tim
Bunlter.

Our delightful trip will soon bft over, as we
start to-morrow for Omaha. Then Hall will
/ia«i q^ at Kansas City, Rural will go for the
rural districts, and Douglass will walk off for
Waukegan,"

Gardei^^ Prospects in Northern Michi-
gan.— A Plymouth correspondent says : "I
had the pleasure last October of a visit from
Mr. Chas. Downing and Thomas Hogg, who
spent a couple of weeks in looking about our
State. I ftvncy somewhat to their entertainment
and instruction so far as our local pomology is
concerned. The trip was three or four weeks
too late to see us at the best, and I regret to say
it occurred during the time when fires were so
prevalent, which prevented us from visiting sev-
eral of the most interesting points along our lake
shore fruit bill. Enough was still visible to
create a wish to see more, and Mr. Downing
promises another visit at a more opportune pe-
riod, and when our K, R. system, now rapidly
pushing northward and westward, shall suffice
to reach Traverse, which, in latitude 45°, is yet
promising to become peculiarly the home of the
peach, the grape, and the small fruits generally
— and where the Gladiolus, the Dahlia, and the
potato are left out, ungathercd, exposed to the
tender mercies of winter, with nothing but the
annual covering of snow for protection.

some plants here for sale. It was simply label-
ed "double fuchsia ;" the tube and sepals are of
bright crimson, the corolla a very dark blue,
sometimes with a spot or two of crimson on it.
Last summer it did not bloom, nor did but one
out of the four I have ; they suddenly ceased
growing and shed their leaves in spite of all the
care I gave them, repotting with fresh earth,
keeping them in the shade and supplying all the
water needed. But as soon as they were put into
the greenhouse, last fall, they commenced grow-
ing beautifully, and this one has recently bloom-
ed and ripened some seed.

Now, what I want to know is, shall I plant
these seed at once in the greenhouse, or wait
until spring ; and will they require bottom heat
to germinate ? Is it not very unusual for fuch-
sias to produce seed in this country ? As a
lover of dowers, I have been familiar with the
plant for many years, and never knew of one
bearing seed before."

[Fuchsias do not seed very often with us, as
our climate seems too hot. Berries with abor-
tive seeds are common. To raise them, wash
out from the pulp, and sow in very sandy soil,
not covering deep, but covering the pot with a
piece of window glass,— and put the pot where
it will be light, but yet cool, and if possible in a
temperature of about 55° or 60°. The seed will
sprout in about six weeks, when the glass should
be raised a little so as to admit a little air. The
glass is to prevent too rapid a drying of the soil.
Sow at once.]

Grammatical. — A Washington correspon-
dent says : "Will I be pardoned for expressing
regret at such blemishes as 'a full account of these
peas ice ?e given,' 'the Western Rural has rose,''
&c., found in the otherwise perfect and certainly
very able G. MP''

[The last error was noticed too late for correc-
tion, and the other not seen till pointed out by
our correspondent. There is no excuse for such
outrages on grammatical rules, and we are as
much ashamed of them as our correspondent is ]

Correspondent of the Rural Home. —
Our correspondent, Mr. Harding, has been en-
gaged, we see, to contribute a series of articles
to this excellent Rochester paper. Its readers
will find much to interest them in Mr. Harding's
genial pen.

Origin of Mrj^. Pollock Geranium —TT.
H., New Castle, Pa., writes : "Please give the
native country of Mrs. Pollock Geranium. There
has been a dilTerence of opinion between some
friends here about it. "

[It is an English seedling,]

Raising Fuchsias from Seed — C. H. S ,
Little Rock, Arkansas, writes :— "I have a very
beautiful Fuchsia,— name not known. I bought
it last spring from a Memphis tlori-st who had

Foreign Works on Gardening.— We often
receive letters inquiring of whom to get foreign
works on gardening. Almost any bookseller
or newsdealer can get them. When getting
their usual supplies from the wholesale houses'
thev order what is wanted, and these again

187'^.

THE GARBEJ^EB/S MOJ^TTHLY.

55

get or order from the book importers. It is
usual with these retail booksellers to take a
small deposit from casual customers, with the
order, — as several months sometuiies elapse be-
fore the books come to hand, and the buyer may
either from caprice or necessity not relieve the
bookseller of his expenses.

TiLTON's Journal of Horticulture. —
Clubbing— Publisher's aSTotice.— The pub-
lishers of the above journal have informed us
since the middle of January, that they "ceased
the publication of that work with the December
number.'' Club subscribers who have ordered
it through us, are, therefore, informed that the
difference between the subscription price of the
Monthly and the club price remitted for the two,
is at their disposal, either to be returned or
credited on additional subscription account ; or
it may Invested in Picrdy''s Small Fruit Recorder
for 1872, if preferred. Address Brinckloe &
Marot as soon as possible, and have the account
settled.

Wonderful Growth of Carica Papaya,
— T. G. E., University of New Orleans, La.,
says : — "On the 8th of April last, I transplant-
ed, from the greenhouse to the open garden, a
Carica papaya, a seedling about four months
old, and measuring about three inches in diam-
eter near the ground, and two feet high. On
the eighth of November, after the leaves had
been killed by a hard frost, I cut the tree down,
it then measured thirty-three inches in circum-
ference six inches from the ground, ten feet high,
and weighed, together with a considerable por-
tion of the principal root, one hundred and twen-
ty pounds. As in all the members of the order of
papayads the great bulk of the plant was due to
the water contained in its very sappy stem, but
nevertheless was this not a remarkable growth
for seven months ?"

2^0TES AND Communications.— Many sub-
scribers while remitting for the year send us
hints, which we highly value ; and help us for
many months to valuable matter for our pages.
For these, thanks. Such favors are appreciated
at any time of the year.

Fruitful Diana Grape.— An Oregon,
Missouri, correspondent writes about a Diana
grape vine owned by Mr. Frawley, a gardener
in this place. "Mr. Frawley had several vines of

this varietj^ and as iie, as well as all others in this
neighborhood, failed to raise any fruit on his
Diana grape vines, he took them up three years
ago. But there was one stock which stood
rather out of the way near a blue grass-sod, and
he thought it might remain and take care of
itself. During summer, the blue grass grew all
around the vine, and behold the Diana grape-
vine, which had formerly lost its leaves prema-
turely and never ripened any fruit, was now a
perfect picture of health, and ripened a large
crop of the most beautiful bunches I ever saw.
The vine has continued to grow splendidly in
this sod, and ripened its fruit faultless.''

Kb w Pink Bouvardia.— i?. E. C, Pater'
son, N. J., sends flower and says : "I send you
herewith a flower-head of a very beautiful flesh-
colored Bouvardia, which has made its appear-
ance here among a quantity of small plants of
Bouvardia elegans ; whether it is a sport from
that variety or a seedling plant, I cannot say,
but it is certainly Bouvardia elegans in every
particular, except color, and if permanent, will
be a charming companion for the brilliant scar-
let and white varieties.''

[A very good form of B. elegans. Sports from
this kind are not unusal. They are not seed-
lings, but sports.]

Binding the Monthly. —J. W. K., Den-
ton, Md., remitting for Monthly, says : "I find
that full volumes make a very interesting book
for reference as well as solid scientific instruc-
tion. If I were limited to but one journal treat-
ing upon my business, it would require no study
whatever to decide which I would take, for I
truly feel that two dollars spent for the Garden-
er^s Monthly is the best investment I make dur-
ing the year, aiding both my mind and purse,"

[We print this in order to impress on our
readers the importance of binding and preserv-
ing their copies. As we have never been ac-
tuated by any jealousies ; we try to give all the
information possible from any source, and thus
make our magazine a complete encyclopsedia of
the horticulture of the day.]

Destruction of Peach Buds.— P. //., near
Dover, Dei, says : 'I have a prospect of fruit-
ing the Mt. Vernon Pear this year. Peaches
are pretty much killed, - there are a few live
buds "

[Is it not too soon in .January to decide on the

56

THE GARJDEJSTER'S MO^'THL^. February,

destruction of peach buds ? The little scales
may be destroyed, but the central axis, we he-
lievt, seldom gets injured before about a month
or so in advance of the season of opening.]

A Large Tomato. — The Louisville Commer-
cial has the followiug about a large Tomato :
"We were shown, yesterday morning, by W.
W. Borden, Esq., of this place, a red tomato,
raised by himself, and called 'the Trophy,'
which measured 16 inches circumference, 6 by
4^ inches diameter, and weighed 30 ounces.
Beat that, and take the premium, who can."
And we have before ' us a letter of Mr. Waring
in reference to the same :

"I have just now received your letter enclos-
ing Mr. Borden's certificate. I send, herewith,
my circular, in which the terras of the SlOO pre-
mium are set forth.

The largest tomato sent in weighed 32 ounces,
but as this was not of perfect form, the premium
was paid to a tomato grown by Mr. T. Hand,
of Sing Sing, N. Y., that weighed only 21| ozs.
Good form was a very important condition.

I am sorry Mr. Borden did not comply with
the terms. I would have been glad to pay him

a good price for such a fruit as that must have
been."

Truly
Gko. E. WAKnsro.

Correction— The Walter Grape.

POUGHKEEPSIE, Jan. 23d, 1872',
Editor Gardener's Monthly.

Dear Sir :— In the December number of the
Monthly, in commenting on F. R. Elliott's notes
on grapes, you construe his article as pronoun-
cing a verdict of worthlessness on the Walter.
Eumelan, Senasqua and a number of others of
good, bad or indifferent quality. Mr. Elliott
writes us that this is entirely incorrect, — that
his notes referred to but one season ; and he fur-
ther writes in relation to the AV alter, "I shall
use what cuttings I have to grow vines for my-
self, looking forward to the Walter superseding
the Delaware, as I have always written and
spoken.'' This sufficiently shows that in the.
construction placed upon his notes you were
mistaken

Yours respectfully ,^

L. M. Ferris & Son.
[We did not say that his notes referred te
more than one season. — Ed ]

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, M\

VoRBBT Trees roRSHELXKR Ornament and Profit.^—
A Practical Manual for Tree Culture and Propntjation.
By Arthur BryaDt, Sr.— New York ; Henry T. Wil-
liam», Publioher. 1871.

The subject of tree culture as a source of profit
is only just awakening attention in the West.
There is no doubt this is as worthy'of the Western
mind, as fruit culture or any of the topics of the
farm or market garden. Of course there has
not yet been many experiments, but such as
haye been tried, have resulted in so much suc-
cess that many are encouraged to try further in
this direction.

Mr, Bryant's book is a contribution to this
good end. He is one of the pioneers in tree cul-
ture in Illinois, and is at least as well, and
probably better able for a work of this kind
than any other person. All that has been done
in tree planting in the West is given, and some
very good facts and figures placed before the
reader to encourage to further eflorts But this is
all told in forty pages, and we can understand by

this how much is yet before the tree planter; ho-5v
much is yet to be known about the matter. The
balance of the work is made up of descriptions
of the leading timber trees which will likely be
available; and with the descriptions are many
facts in regard to geography, soil, uses, and so
on, which will interest those who plant for orna-
ment as well as those who plant for profit.

The getting out of the work in so far as the
typography is concerned, is a credit to the pub-
lisher, and does no more than justice to the.
value of the work. It is to be regretted that so
much cannot be said of the illustrations, which
seem rather adapted to a cheap catalogue than
to a valuable book. However, we hope that the
book will meet with the rapid sale it deserves:
and in the next edition the publisher may be
encouraged to do better by the illustrations.

Rural New Yorker.— Thi.s is the twenty-
fifth year of this excellent periodical. We take

187:

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^THLY.

o7

occasion to say a favorable word for it, if it needs
it ; but ever since the time when an unfortunate
fellow took coals to New Castle, and another
sent blankets to the West Indies, it has seemed
a waste of words to tell what everybody knows.
But its recent change of form requires a notice
from us. It is certainly much handier, but it does
not seem so distinctive as it was. Perhaps this
is no matter, for any one who looks inside will
find distinction enough to command his affec-
tions. It is the milk in the cocoanut which
tells the story, and not the hard old shell.

Hearth and Home.— There is no mistake
about the improvement of this pretty family
paper since it has fallen into the hands of Orange
Judd. "While it is attractive to young folks, the
more intellectual articles are of a solid charac-
ter, which even those in the highest walks of
life value.

"Out West" is the title of a new serial to
be published at Colorado city, edited by J. E
Liller. Canon Kingsley, the celebrated English
author., will be one of its regular correspondents.

Landreth's Rural Register and Lan-
DRETH's Illustrated Catalogue for 1872.
— The Landreth's have been known in the seed
trade for several generations, chiefly, however,
in the department of Agricultural Seeds. The
"Illustrated" Catalogue shows that they now
have added flower seeds and other items to their
already extensive trade. The Catalogue is
beautiful, and we have no doubt their new
venture will be as widely popular as their former
business has been.

Catalogues. — Our table is full of excellent
catalogues. We can do no more than give the
following brief notice of them :

Asher riance &Son, wholesale bedding plants;
Geo. T. Fish, list of stocks, &c. ; J. W. Coburn
<fe Co., wholesale trade list; E. S. Lee, tree
pruner ; Harrison & Co., fruit trees ; Wm. Mor-
ton «& Son, trade list of evergreens ; Dr. H.
Schroeder, price list of fruits; Frederick A.
Haage, (Prussia) seeds ; Ammon Burr, general
retail catalogue ; Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas, trade
list ; Walter Hogg, new plants, &c. ; II. A.
Dreer, bulbs, plants, &c. ; C. L Vandusen,
wholesale genera! list ; Hovey& Co.. .bulbs ; An-

thony Waterer, list of conifers, evergreens,
roses, &c. ; C. N. Palmer & Sons, fruit trees^
evergreens ; J. W. Kerr, nursery stock ; J.
Monnier & Co., (France) seeds, «&c. ; Childs &j~
Co., price list ; John Waring, nursery stock ;
Wood & Hall, seeds, stocks, implements, &c. ;

A. Bryant, Jr., seeds, trees, &c. ; Peter Hen-
derson, surplus stock to the trade ; Kanz &
Neuner, circular of White Crape Myrtle ; Jacob-
Heyser, Conover's Asparagus, &c. ; Eugenie
Verdier, (France) roses ; Dr. John E. Ennis,..
wholesale special stock ; L. W. Morris, Euro-
pean agent ; Peter Henderson & Co , seeds,
tools; Daily & Co., price list ; A. Battles, forest
trees; Louis Leroy, (France) trees; Wood &
Hall, weeding hook ; Geo. W. Frazier, general
catalogue ; Bryce & Co., (Scotland) seed list ; II.
Halliday, evergreens ; E. H. Skinner & Co ^
trees, &c. ; John G. Wilson «fc Co., boilers ; J.
M. Jordan, wholesale price list ; R. B. Dunlop,
general wholesale list ; F. Trowbridge, cranber-
ry culture ; Robert Yeitch, bulbs; Wm. Ilill^
seedlings, seeds, &c. ; Vilroorin, Andrieux &-
Co., (France) seeds ; Congar&Co., trees, plants,
•fee. ; Eugenie A. Bauman's Sons, greenhouse
plants ; Mahlon Moon, wholesale trees, plants,
&c. ; C. C. Langdon, trees and fruits ; E. A.
Riehl, grapes ; Park & Goodyear, trees ; Tran-
son, Bros , (France) trade list ; B. M. Watson,
seeds, &c. ; Robt. Douglass & Son, tree seed-
lings ; Peter Smith & Co., (Germany) seeds;:
Geo. W. Campbell, fruits, plants, &c. ; F. Trow-
bridge, plants and fruits ; E. J. Evans & Co.,.
seeds and trees ; Lukens Peirce, wholesale trade ;

B. K. Bliss, bulbs, seeds, &c. ; EUwanger &
Barry, general retail list ; Wm. Parry, fruits ;
Maxwell & Bros., trade list ; Parsons & Co , or-
namental stock ; L. C. Lishey, trade list ; Wm,
Bull, (England) new plants ; Louis Vanlloutte,
(Belgium) plants; J. S. Downer, descriptive
fruit ; Allen & Co., bulbs; Graves, Selover, Wil-
lard & Co., trade list ; Thomas Morgan, green-
house plants ; Geo. Such, new and rare plants ;
James Draper, fruit and ornamental trees ; Mil-
ler & Hayes, Plants, &c. ; EUwanger & Barry,
fruits ; Thomas Meehan, tree seeds, &c. ; Frost
&Co., nursery trade list ; Booth & Son, (Ger-
many) trees ; James Vick, illustrated catalogue;
J. W. Adams, new fruits, plants, &c. ; H. A.
Dreer, garden calendar ; Storrs, Harrison & Co.,
chestnuts and plants ; Childs & Co., price list ;.
Peter Henderson, illustrated plant ; Ernst Ber-
nary, (Prussia) seeds ; Haage & Schmidt, (Prus-
sia) seeds ; B. K. Bliss, seeds.

58

THE GARBEJ^EU'S MO^TTELl. February,

NEW AM KAHE PRUITS.

BuiER's Sweet Crab.— It is said to be not
only a very ornamental tree in fruit, but the
fruit is luscious to eat from the hand, nearly
equaling the pear. Preserved it equals the
peach in richness and fine flavor, and wherever
the peach and cultivated plum cannot be grown
with success, it will prove a good substitute
and of very great value.

The President of the Wisconsin State Horti-
cultural Society says of it :— The samples of
Brier's Sweet Crab that I have at several differ-
ent times seen and tasted, also preserves from
the same, were certainly vtry excellevt. For a
delicate and delicious preserving apple nothing
nicer could be desired. Also what knowledge I
have of the habit of growth, and hardiness of
the tree is all in its favor.

"Walbridge Apple in" Wisconsin.— Trees
■of this variety of apple were brought by a
Mr. Pound, and sold more than twenty years
since. They have proved very hardy on every
variety of soil and location, and arc the most
profitable late keeping apple known here. Last
season the fruit brought three dollars per
bushel, they keeping better than any other vari-
ety. They are of excellent quality, and hold
their flavor to the last. As a bearer, the tree
has no superior, producing annually heavy
crops. I gathered from seven trees, in the
Walbridge orchard, this season, thirty-three
barrels of selected fruit. The same trees pro-
duced heavily the year previous, and have never
failed a good crop since they commenced bear-
ing, though they have been in sod, with no cul-
tivation for more than twelve years- As a tree
and fruit the Walbridge combines more that is
valuable to the orchardist than any apple with
which I am acquainted. — W. T , Barraboo,
Wisconsin.

The McAdow Cherry.— F. 11. McC, Chilli-
cothe,0., writes: "Iclipped from a paper months
ago a description of McAdow's seedling cherry,
which I enclose. This cherry has proved to be
the best sweet cherry we have ever grown in this
section. When other varieties were damaged by
mildew, it escapes. I dont think it has been dis-
seminated sufficiently to know if it would retain
its good character in other localities. The original

tree is still standing in the Dr.'s yard in Chilli-
cothe, and is over thirty years old, and very
healthy. The Dr. has the ground dug up
around the tree every year which induces it to
sucker ; these he finds ready sale for at from two
to five dollars each.

I sent you a few raspberry plants last Spring
by mail, of what we call Chapman's Seedling. I
hope you received them, and will give them a
fair trial, and report. If those did not do well
I can send you more.

"The raspberries did not corae to hand. The
following is the extract referred to .

"In the second series of the Ohio Agricultural
Keport for 1869, just issued, the following ap-
pears as part of the report of the State Horticul-
tural Society, thereto appended :

"Cherries. — There is little to say of new
cherries, because of the prevalence of the mil-
dew, which has so badly damaged the crops in
many places.

"Dr. McAdow, of Chillicothe, has again exhib-
ited a very fine variety, which he produced from
seed years ago, and continues to propagate
by suckers. These grow rapidly, and soon pro-
duce beautiful trees that bear abundantly in
four or five years from planting.

'■'■ 3£cAdow. — This is supposed to be a seedling
cross of the Black Tartarian and Elton varie-
ties, Tree vigorous, handsome, productive, and
an early bearer ; foliage large, oval, acuminate,
and finely serrated. Fruit large, obtuse, heart-
shaped, regular ; stem slender, deeply inserted ;
color, bright red or cornelian, shaded ; flesh
firm, yellow ; flavor pleasant, sub-acid or vinous:
stone medium to large, oval, corinated, and
projecting at upper end of the suture ; quality,
a good tender Bigarreau, resembles Elton. Elliott
says it looks like Ohio Beauty.''''

QuiNN Pear — At the recent meeting of the
Pennsylvania Pomolpgical Society, some fruit
of this were exhibited. They are something in
the way of Dana's Hovey, of a russetty brown,
larger than Seckeis, and though in January, not
quite ripe. Still, the sprightlj'^ flavor, unripe as
they were, gave a promise of high excellence.

Lawyer Apple. — From South Pass, Illinois,
two specimens were on exhibition at the Penn-
sylvania Pomological Society.

We have noticed this before in the MonMy.
They were not quite ripe, so as to judge of their
quality, but their great beauty attracted gene-
ral remark: they are large, and round, and

187^2

TEE GARl)EJ\rER'S MONTHLY

59

-solid, and of a beautiful red color. It is said it
is also an abundant bearer. Report says it is
not of the highest flavor, but it is hardly to be
expected any one apple should excel in all
things.

Masox Pippik Apple.— Origin, Brunswick
•county, Va. A beautiful yellow pippin, bearing
Sb close resemblance to the Albemarle Pippin, of
which it is probably a seedling, and on sandy soils
or in the middle regions of t^e State it is per-
haps superior. -Medium to large, bright yellow,
shaded on, one side with light russet dots ; flesh
white, crisp, and juicy ; rich, sweet flavor.
December to April —Petersburg 3Iess€nger.

Gully Apple. — Origin, Granville county,
iN". C Fruit, medium size ; form, oblong ;

color, pale yellow, nearly covered with lively
red, thinly sprinkled witli green dots; flesh,
rich, tender, juicy, sub-acid ; keeps till April;
tree vigorous, upright growth — much valued
where known. For the mountainous or red
lands, the splendid '•'' PiloV — origin, Nelson
county, Ya. — may be substituted. — Petersburg
Messenger.

"IlOYAL Anne'' CiiERPvY.— This was pro-
duced by Mr. Seth Luelling, near Portland.
The length of the branch was 22 inches ; size of
the cherries, 3 to 3|^ 'inches in circumference :
weight of branch, 5 pounds ; contained 180
cherries. We do not know this fruit (under the
above name, at least,), and shall be glad if some
of the Oregon pomologists will enlighten us.
Where did it originate ?—Bural New Yorker.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

The Gp.ape in Canada.— The collections of
grapes at the Fruit Growers' meeting of Ontario
were exceedingly fine, and some of the samples
laid upon the table for exhibition merely were
such as to call forth expressions of astonish-
ment from every one. Three bunches of the
Wilder grape (Rogers' No. 4) were of surpass-
ing size and beauty. They weighed respect-
ively sixteen, eighteen, and twenty ounces, and
were the growth of Mr. Matthew Bell, of Ham-
ilton. It was stated by gentlemen at the meet-
ing, who had seen the grapes growing on the
vines, that no ringing of the vines had been
practiced. The highest prize for the best col-
lection of ten varieties of grapes was given to
Mr.W. Ilaskins, of Hamilton; the second to Mr.
John Freed, of the same place ; and the third
to Mr. A. M. Ross, of Goderich. — Canada
Farmer.

Peauiies in Michigan. — Six peach or-
chards at Black Lake yield 10,000 bushels.
Muskegan yields 10,000. South Haven claims
to have shipped 3,000 baskets per day during
the height of the season.

Prof. Kirtland. — Our distinguished and
much esteemed fellow-citizen, Dr. J. P. Kirt-
land celebrated Friday in a quiet way, in his

pleasant home, his seventy eighth birth-day.
Few, very few, lives have been so useful to his
fellow-men, and none of higher integrity or more
spotless character. In his contributions to na-
tural history, in his labor to develop our agricul-
tural and horticultural interests, Dr. Kirtland
stands among the first of living men. What an
interesting volume would be the history of his
eventful life. What wonderful progress in sci-
ence, in art, in government has he witnessed !
At nearly fourscore years he is hale and hearty,
and moves among us with a firm and elastic
step. May God grant to our most excellent
friend yet many years of life and perfect health,
and may his evening be full of blessings and full
of peace.— (7/€t'e?and Herald.

The City Parks of St. Louis.— M. G. Kern
appointed Superintendent.

A meeting of the Park Commissioners was held
recently, when the subject of the appointment of
a Superintendent was taken up.

It was stated that Alayor Brown would send
in the nomination of Mr. M. G. Kern, a profes-
sional landscape gardener, provided he received
an assurance that the Board would confirm him.

A lengthy discussion ensued, and Mr. Kern
was called in. He stated that he was not seek-
ing the position, but would accept it if he was

60

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY. February,

allowed to manage the park improvements in ac-
cordance with his own ideas.

The nomination was unanimously confirmed.
The parks will now, it is believed, have a com-
petent Superintendent, and it is to be hoped that
he and the Commissioners will work harmoni-
ously together.

"ici us have peace'''' and good-will a.moivj men.
— Jiural World.

Pear Growing in Saratoga, New York.
— A correspondent of the World says of the
farm of Colonel Frank Curtis, at Charlton, Sara-
toga Co , N". Y. :

" The dwelling-house— a very attractive one
— stands in an open lawn, which is dotted with
pear and other fruit trees. These— the former
especially — were heavily ladened, showing
conclusively that pears will flourish well when
growing in sod. The secret of success here is
heavy surface manuring, together with ashes
and "chip dirt," applied closely to the stems
and well dug in. A marked neatness prevails
in the grounds, and, in fact, all over the farm,
ihe rule being to have but three piles on the

premises— one of lumber, one of wood, and a
compost heap, and everything in the shape of
accumulations or debris finds it way speedily
to one of these three places of deposit.

Fruit by Mail.— By the decision of the
postmaster at this city, acting, as we are in-
formed, under the instructions of the Post-
office Department at Washington, specimen
fruits of all kinds sent by mail must have post-
age paid at the letter rate— three cents for each
half ounce. Seeds, cutting.<3, roots, and tubers,
can be sent for two cents for each four ounces.
Our friends wishing to send us fruits for name,
will please bear in mind the distinction. —
Western Burah

Lima Beans ix California. -- Captain
.Jonathan Mayhew, of Santa Clara Valley,
raised a field of one hundred acres of Lipaa
Beans. The beans sell at about three and one-
half cents per pound, when the common white
l)eans bring two and a half cents, and are said
to be no more trouble to cultivate or to markets
— Rural Ciirolinia:%.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Dimorphanthus MANDCHimicus. — First in
our note-book stands Dimorphanthus mandchu-
ricus, a fine Araliaceous tree, which may be com-
pared to the Aralia canescens (so commonly
known in gardens by the erroneous name of
Aralia Japonica), but is even hardier and hand-
somer. Its erect palm like habit, and its noble
foliage mark it out as a tree exactly suited to
stand in some prominent position, where a dark
background would throw out in bold relief its
fine bipinnate leaves, which are fuller and bet-
ter furnished than those of the Aralia just refer-
red to, the leaflets being broadly ovate, and
more closely set. In this plant the petiole is fur-
nished with short spines, and the rachis with
longer ones, which are needle-shaped. From
the examples we have seen, it appears to grow
freely, and to pass through our winters entirely
unscathed, as indeed its native habitat might
suggest. — Gardener's Chronicle.

XiiLT of the Valley ( Convallaria majalis).

— I know no more beautiful and fragrant hardy
plant for blooming in-doors or for cut flowers
than this. The handsome leaves of tenderest
green, and the chaste sweet flowers arching ele-
gantly on their stalks, present a union of charms
rarely beheld in one plant— a fact which the
flower-loving public appear duly to appreciate.
For to say nothing of the estimation in wliich it
is held for button-hole and other bouquets, and
other purposes to which it is applied in the cut
state, the thousands of pots forced annually in
nursery and florist's gardens about towns, to
sweeten and enliven sitting-rooms, sufficiently
show the admiration bestowed upon it. A very
large proportion of this supply is imported an-
nually from Holland. The Dutch have sent us
in the few bygone years sufficient to have stock-
ed hundreds of acres to overflowing, but we are
no richer in Lily of the Valley for it ; imported
stock is not even equal to the demand the pre-
sent season, and the home-grown supply is not
plentiful ; nor is it so well favored as the foreign.

187^.

TEK GARDEJfER'S MOJ^'THLY.

GJ

And what becomes of it all, the thousands of
pots of home grown and imported together that
Und ready customers in winter and spring ? In
private gardens where much of it is forced, the
gardener knows well the value of the old plants,
and would as soon think of destroying anything
else that is deemed worth keeping as of throw-
ing them on the rubbish heap. A year's nurs-
ing and extra good cultivation will put forced
Lily of the Valley in condition for forcing again ;
and no doubt nurserymen and florist's would be
glad to get back their old plants from their old
customers in such a state as that there would be
ii reasonable chance of recovering their lost
stamina. As it is, however, they never return.
They become the property of the police, falling
into their hands by the way of the dust-bin
and the agency of Polly the housemaid. This is
a poor fate for a thing of beauty, that is yet
capable of being made beautiful as ever ; for the
same care and skill that developed its charms
before are able to revive them again in due time.
— London Journal of Horticulture.

Utility of Sparrows — It is related by
Bechstein, that the inhabitants of Thuringia ex-
orted themselves so successfully in ridding that
province of sparrows, that in the course of a
year or two they found thetoselves necessitated
to re introduce them upon a large scale, in con-
sequence of the terrible insect ravages which
their crops of various kinds sustained in the in-
terim. The people of New York also, have
derived considerable advantage from the intro-
duction of our common British sparrow, which
is now fast multiplying in all suitable places
about that metropolis. Previously to the na-
turalization of the sparrow, the Xew- Yorkers
used to be annually annoyed by the multitudes
of a certain loathsome caterpillar, which let
themselves down from the branches of their av-
enue and park trees, each one of them hanging
by a silken filament, in such myriads that
walking underneath those branches became un-
endurable. Accordingly the sparrow is regard-
ed by our Trans-atlantic cousins as a benefactor,
and is rigorously protected. In Australia, as
our readers know, sparrows have been largely
introduced from this country, although there
was no need of coming all this distance for them,
inasmuch as any amount of supply might have
been obtained either from India or China. It
seems that they have multiplied very fast in the
Australian colonies, and that already they are

there complained of as a nuisance, from the in.
jury which they are alleged to do to the produce
of the orchards and vineyards ; though we con-
fess to a suspicion that some other feathered
depredator is the real culprit in this instance.
" Sparrow clubs " have already been suggested
at the antipodes, if indeed, they have not been
accomplished. In our own country, there is
much difference of opinion regarding the utility
and the destructiveness of sparrows. That they
destroy an incalculable quantity of noxious in-
sects during their breeding season is as certain
as that they consume much grain during au-
tumn. But to what extent are we indebted to
our small birds for devouring the insects which
otherwise might not allow the plant to grow and
to produce its seeds, as the good folk of Thurin-
gia seem to have discovered to their cost ? Is
the balance of profit and loss in favor of the
birds or otherwise. Our own decided opinion is,
that in this country they do more benefit than
injury. Nevertheless, as the smaller birds of
prey and the other natural enemies of the spar-
rows are so ruthlessly shot down, their numbers
require to be thinned when the grain is ripening,
and when they congregate in the open fields.
At that time they are unquestionably injurious ;
and there is no fear that too many of them
could then be destroyed to interfere with the
multiplication of their species during spring and
summer— the seasons in which it is judicious to
protect them. Whoever doubts the latter should
try the simple experiment of putting a brood of
nestling sparrows into a cage, and hanging it
where the parent birds can convey food to them ;
they will continue to do so at intervals of about
a minute throughout the long summer day.
Now each pair of sparrows has two, if not three,
broods every season, and the quantity of de-
structive insects which those broods of nestlings
consume will utterly astonish the skeptic wlio
doubts the utility of the common house sparrow.
-^The Field.

Flowers of the Altar. — The Ceremoniale,
moreover, since the time of Clement VIII., tol-
erates tha use of flowers between the candle-
sticks upon the re-table or super-altar. The
usage, however, is neither ancient nor to be
commended ; and there is no evidence of flowers
having been placed during the first thirteen cen-
turies upon the actual mensa of the altar.
Accordingly, the practice has no currency, even
at the present day, in those cathedrals which

62

THE GARDEJ\i''ER\S MOJ^TJELY. Februo.fy,

observe the ancient traditions. Saint Walburge
forbade 'any such custom at the altars of the
church of her own convent It was pro-
bably the devotion of enthusiastic women, whose

piety accorded rather with the impulsiveness of! the Belgian " Beffroi,''''

their sex than with the gravity of the mysteries
of the Church, that brought in the custom of
placing upon the alter vases of natural and ar-
tificial flowers. — •' Church Work'>^ for May from

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNSYLVANIA FRUIT-GROWERS'

SOCIETY.
The meeting in Philadelphia, January 17th
and 18th, was not as well attended as many of
the previous years. The "city," of course, is
not a place for fruit-growers, and the "country*'
had a stupid scare about small- pox and staid away,
forgetful of the fact that in proportion to popula-
tion there was more of the disease at their own
doors. Still the meeting was a very interesting
one, and perhaps fully rewarded most of those
in attendance. From a distance were Messrs.
P. Quinn, A. S. Puller, Charles Downing, H.
T. Williams, of the Horticulturist, W. Brown
Smith, Willard of Geneva, Sands of Baltimore,
Saunders of Washington, and a pretty good
sprinkling of the good cultivators of Delaware,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Edwin
Satterthwait, for the fruit committee, read an
interesting report on the last year's fruit results
of the State. The drought intei'fered with the
strawberry crop. Blackberries, "from some
cause," were not as productive as usual.
Grapes near Philadelphia not very good ; but
in most parts of the State a great success.
Peaches were never better, so abundant indeed
as to afford a small margin for profit ; and Mr.
S. suggested that productive years were not
profitable ones to fruit-growers. The yellows
he thought the great obstacle to complete suc-
cess in their culture. The apple crop moderate,
and fairly profitable ; not o per cent, of the con-
sumption of Philadelphia was however raised in
the State. The codling moth and the curculio
were he believed the only enemies we need care
for. The soil was as good as ever. Mr. Jef-
feris had a very successful orchard. It was on
limestone and bears regularly, the surflice ma-
nured. Manuring was essential to success.
Old trees required little pruning. After the trees
had grown a little, :Mr JelTeris took no crop
from the land but the fruit. Long Island Rus-

sett and Smith's Cider were among the best va-
rieties in this orchard. Pears do well every-
where in Pennsdlvania. Insects do not trouble
them quite so much as other fruits. The early
fall of the leaf was the worst trouble. Many of
the best pears were Pennsylvania seedlings.
The Cherry bore better even than usual, but the
curculio got most of them, as also do they the
Plum. Their culture in consequence is not
popular in the State. The strawberry — had
found Jucunda when under high culture the
best : then the Agriculturist, next Green Pro-
lific, Lady Finger, and Charles Downing, In
raspberries, Philadelphia still maintained its
ground ; but the over-productiveness of the
variety had been in excess of the demand, and
raspberries had not 'been a very profitable crop
last year. He spoke in the highest terms of the
Ilerstine. In varieties of apples, Smith's Cider
and Fallawater, were named as doing very
well ; Pears, Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre d'Anjou, —
Tyson, and Flemish Beauty, had not done so
well. In grapes, the Concord was still the best.
Last year the Isabella and Catawba did better
than in past years.

A spirited discussion followed, most of the
speakers believing in manuring and the destruc-
tion of insects as all that was necessary to have
full and perfect crops of apples. Wier's trap,
it was thought, might be useful. Some mem-
bers gave their experience in destroying insects
by using wide mouth bottles with half molasses,
half vinegar. Mr. Schafler had caught them by
the thousand in an incredible short time. Some
thought the insects so caught had mostly done
the damage by depositing their eggs before being
caught, and hay bands, woolen rags, and Wier's
trap should therefore go together. Meehan said
the apple borer could readily be kept out by
tarred paper two inches beneath the ground,
and four inches above. Williams said it was
no use— a friend of his had the pai)er eight

1872.

THE GARDEJ^"ER'S MOJYTHLY.

6S

inches below the ground, and over a foot above ;
and it proved just the thing for the borer to
protect itself. Meehan said, in this region a
tree planted eight inches deep would most likely
die anyway, whether the borer touched it or
not. The excellent results of wood ashes on
fruit trees were testified to by Mr, Puller,

The committee on a State department of
Agriculture reported that they were nearly suc-
cessful in their efforts with the Legislature last
year. They had secured the printing of the
Society's Annual Report by the State. They
were continued for another year.

The best method of utilizing surlpus fruits in
time of great abundance was discussed. Ma-
king cider vinegar from surplus apples was
warmly commended, and the Alden process for
drying fruits generally commended by Alden
factories. It was said the machinery was ex-
pensive ; but in thickly settled districts one
could own and dry for the vicinity, as a grist mill
now ground flour. The Nyce system, and
others of that class had not met with the success
anticipated. Oranges and lemons did well, but
other fruits seemed to lose their flavor without
very nice adjustment of temperature.

The President, Josiah Hoopes, delivered an
address in his usual intelligent and able way,
which we shall give in full. A discussion then
occurred as to the value of any new idea in fruit
culture. A letter was read from Mr. Elliott,
regarding the intermixture of evergreens in
order to mollify the climatic conditions. Most
of the speakers contended that our trees were
hardy enough when healthy ; and though no
doubt evergreens gave out heat in winter, per-
haps heightening the temperature, it was an
open question how much it was heightened, and
whether that was really much benefit. Down-
ing, Fuller, Saunders, Parry, Satterthwait,
Quinn, and others, all thought improvement
must come in the direction of good feeding, and
battling with insects. Parry thought that in
old times in Pennsylvania local varieties which
had been found well, were locally propagated.
Railroad and nurserymen sent these thousands
of miles away, where they were not so well
adapted, and hence some of the trouble came.
A very interesting discussion took place on
mulching fruit trees. Ko one seemed to dispute
its benefits : but objections were made to its
cost. It was thought by most not to pay ex-
penses. Quinn said he could get material from the
marshes at low cost. Williams gave an account

of a blackberry patch, mulched at an annual
expense of only about $10 a year, which brought
about S180. Meehan inquired jokingly, what be-
came of the so often insisted on necessity for fre-
quent stirring, if such good results came from soil
not stirred at all, which brought out Quinn in a
delightful raid on the grass theorists. Fuller
thought it would pay t9grow sorghum or broom
corn for mulching purposes. 10 tons could be
grown to the acre.

In a discussion on strawberries, it was con-
tended they were more liable to the larva of the
Lachnostema in hills than in beds, but this
was not confirmed by other speakers. Mr. Ful-
ler gave an interesting sketch of the history of
these white grubs, which was, received with
much interest by the audience.

Mr. Quinn gave a highly interesting address
on pear culture. He seconded Parry's distribu-
tion theory, only a few varieties would do for
any one locality, so many planted large trees.
They wanted trees to bear early. This had
done much damage to true pear interests. He
preferred one year old trees. There were no
six varieties which would do equally well every-
where. A neighbor who has grown trees, is the
best guide as to varieties. Soil is irajDortant to
success ; stagnant water a great enemy. It
should be loose and mellow, 12 to 20 inches
deep. Too rich a soil was bad ; one fit to grow
the best onions not the best to grow pears. A
soil which is rich enough to produce fifty bush-
els of shelled corn to the acre will do for pears.
Rich soil prevents thorough maturing of the
wood. He commenced seventeen years ago,
and had found dwarfs a failure, except Duchesse
d'Angouleme. He advocated dwarfs for ten
years, but not since. Singular to say, the fruit
from standard Duchess was not as good as
those from a dwarf. He named Bartlett, Seckel.
Duchess, and a few others, as all that did well
with him as standards. Belle Lucrative did
well in Delaware, but its dull color was against
it as a market fruit. Pruning was needed when
young to send the sap in desired directions.
Some, like B. d'Anjou, B. Clairgau, and B.
Diel, did not need it, they grew regular without.
He liked to keep the surface continually dis-
turbed ; not 10 or 12 inches deep, but only two
or three. His experience with grass culture had
not been favorable. Over-bearing was a great
injury. Thin out when about as large as wal-
nuts. In marketing, never put the best pears
on top, but in the middle.

6Jf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJS'THL'i. Fefjruary,

As to making pears pay, it depended on the
•man. Pears paid as well as any crop, if only a
■man could be found to make it his business to
4ook after them. One who had business else-
where, and expected "neglect" to manage the
{"»ear business for him, would find it very un-
profitable.

At the conclusion of- Mr. Quinn's address,
Mr. Meehan said that no doubt many would be
glad to have more details as to Mr. Quinn's
experience in growing pears in grass. Mr. Q.
said he had about 6 rows, of about 40 trees in
each row, which were sowed down with timothy
and red top, after the trees had been about four
years on the clean system. The grass was cut
three times a year, and suffered to remain where
it fell. They were top dressed with the same
material given to the other trees. They did not
grow or bear as well as the others, so five years
ago he put them back into the old system of cul-
ture.

Several speakers insisted that the dwarf pear
ahust have very high culture. They had
alwaj's treated their dwarf pears this way.
Dwarf pear culture they believed a failure ; they
had faith in standards. Satterthwait preferred
•dwarfs for some reason, and as they would all
become standards in time, they were the best to
plant. Quinn said that the leaves of the pear
kept healthier under the mulching system than
ander any other.

Mr. A. S. Fuller gave an admirable address
on small fruits, and Mr. Meehan spoke on vege-
table physiology. The meeting adjourned to
meet at Reading, Pa., next year.

WESTERN XEW YORK HORTICULTU-
RAL SOCIETY.

The seventeenth annual meeting of our West-
<ern New York Horticultural Society has just
-closed, after a session of nearly two days. The
attendance was large, some fifteen counties
being represented by the leading Fruit-growers
and Horticulturists.

The Ohio State Horticultural Society was
represented by its Secretary, M. B. Bateham,
and the Ontario Pomological Society by its
IPresident, Rev. Dr. Burnet, and two of its most
distinguished members, D. W. Beadle, Esq.,
of St. Catharines, and William Saunders, Esq.,
of London.

Valuable communications were received from
.Marshall P. Wilder, Charles Downing, F. R.

Elliott, and others, who were unable to attend.

Reports of much value were received from
the various standing committees, and the dis-
cussions, although not more than one-fourth of
the questions prepared, were spirited, and as it
appeared to me, unusually instructive. A re-
port will soon be published. I enclose a list of
officers and committees for 1872.

A committee to nominate officers reported the
following, who were elected :

President — Patrick Barry, Rochester.

Vice-Presidents — T. C. Maxwell, Geneva ; J.
La Rue, Hammondsport ; George A. Moody,
Lockport.

Secretary and Treasurer — Wm. J. Fowler,
Rochester.

Executive Committee— H. E. Hooker, Roch-
ester ; John J. Thomas, Union Springs ; S. S.
Graves, Geneva ; E. Moody, Lockport ; Hugh
T. Brooks, Pearl Creek.

Native Fruits— J. J. Thomas, Union Springs ;
Chas. Downing, Newburg ; W. Braddle, Roch-
ester ; Geo. S. Conover, Geneva,

Nomenclature— Chas. Downing, Newburg ;
J. J. Thomas, Union Springs ; P. Barry, Roch-
ester ; D. AV. Beadle, St. Catherines ; S. D.
Willard, Geneva.

Entomology — II. T. Brooks, Pearl Creek;

Dr. Sylvester, Lyons ; J. J. Thomas, Union

Springs.
Ornamental Trees and Plants — G. Ellwanger,

Rochester ; E. Frost, Geneva ; T. C. Maxwell,

Geneva.

Garden Vegetables— E. S. Hayward, Roch-
ester ; John Crane, Lockport ; J. W. Gray,
Albion.

Foreign Fruits- George Ellwanger, Roches-
ter ; W. B. Smith, Syracuse ; E. A. Bronson,
Geneva ; E. W. Sylvester, Lyons ; C. L. Hoag,
Lockport.

Committee to report Quantity of Fruit
Shipped from Western New York— C. L. Hoag,
Lockport ; E. W. Herendeen, Geneva ; Dr. Syl-
vester, Lyons.

A change has been made in the matter of
meetings. Heretofore, we have held three, usu-
ally, in the year ; in future we shall have but
one, the annual winter meeting, intended to be
a grand re-union of Fruit-growers and Horti-
culturists, and lasting several days.

The standing committees however, will pros-
ecute their work during the whole season.

We found that our summer and autumn meet-
ings, coming at busy seasons, were attended with
much inconvenience to members.

Rochester, Januari/ Vkh, 1872. B.

■"""^ %

mxt (!^ixti\t\xtf% jtutttiutt,

Go
DEVOTED TO

HortiGitltiire, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. MARCH, 1872. ^ew Series, Vol. V. No. :\

HINTS FOU MARCH.

FLOWER GARDEN AXD PLEASURE
GROUND.

The cultivation of flowers as distinct from
mere massing for effect, is becoming far more
popular than it has been. It not only gives
more pleasure, but it costs less. We saw a
statement in an English paper recently, that the
mass of geraniums and other bedding plants for
masses, ribbons, and so on, raised by one of
ihe famous English gardeners for his own
grounds, would, if put into the market at the
a:^gular florists' rates, bring $10,000. The mass-
ing system has its merits — no place can be made
" up to the times" without a little of it. But
the cultivation of flowers as such, should not be
wholly sacrificed for them.

The seedsmen complain that tliere are not as
many novelties to ofl'er this, as in former years,
but there are, at any rate, many which have been
introduced in former years which are not yet
widely known, and which have had a little test-
ing with us ; so that we need not rely wholly on
their foreign behavior as we generally have to
do with wholly new introductions. Of those
which have proved pretty good as annuals are
Aphayxostephus ramosissimus^ which has blue
flowers something in the \^ay of our greenhouse
Cinerarias. Some of our North American Co-
lumbines and Delphiniums, although not quite
annuals, may be treated as such, and are very
beautiful ; and of this biennial class, Aryneria
splendens has been found a good thing to have ;
and we may add to this that beautiful native
plant which ought to have been introduced into
-culture long ago, the pretty orange-flowered
Asdejnas tuberosa. Rather coarse in growth,

but still handsome is the Bidens atrosanguine^ ,
or Crimson Star Marigold ; while for very hand-
some foliage, and flowers not quite equal to Pam-
pas grass in striking effect, is Bocconiajaponica.
All the Browallias do very well in our borders ;
and the peculiar color of the Callirhoes always
makes them welcome. Carinas all have striking
effects by their foliage, and as they are not
grown for their flowers so much, it is no objec-
tion that they do not generally flower the first
year from seed. Clianthus Dampieri is, perhap?,
the most striking of all the beautiful introduc-
tions of the past few years, although some of the
improved Chinese Pinks are not far behind.
Eucharidium grandiflorum, though much like an
old Clarkia, has a free habit of growth, and a
good, deep rosy color,— and the Godetia, or
(E)iothera Whitneyi of last year, came up pretty
well to the idea of a popular favorite. For a
pretty white and green variegated plant, the
Euphorbia varmjata, as we saw it last summer
on the Western plains, is well worth sowing ;
and this reminds us also to say a good word for
the improved Gaillardias, as the original G. picta
stood the burning sun of the southwestern plains
fully equal to anything we saw there. The
Gilias bloom well and look pretty for a time,
but they die out early in the season. Humea
elegans is a grand thing if it can be sown the
)'ear previous to flowering, and the plants kept
over. In Mignonette the Parsons' White has at-
tracted much attention from its not being white,
or much different in color from the old one ; but
it is certainly of a better habit, and a desirable
variet}'. The new Pentstemons sometimes flower
the first season ; but they do not seem to admirft.

66

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLY.

Marchy

the hottest places on oiir grounds. In the Drum-
mond Phloxes, always popular, there are now
nearly as many colors as in Verbenas ; and the
same is true of Portulaccas, which, from their
only doing well in hot, sunny places, fill a place
in our garden work, nothing else will do so well.
The Castor Oil Plant— i?ic;n»s— has given us so
many nice forms of leaves that we can scarcely
do without it, though a few years ago, when
there was but the one, it was considered too
common to grow. There are other things which
have done pretty well ; but these have proved of
almost universal adaptation to our ground.

Having by the aid of these suggestions, our
back numbers and the seedsmen's catalogues,
got together our set of seeds, suppose we take
our friends to the garden and give them a prac-
tical lesson in sowing. «»
The day is warm, and the surface soil just dry
enough to powder when struck with the back of
the trowel. We should not ask their company
otherwise, for when the soil is sticky it won't do
to sow seed. The ground has been dry several
days before. The surface is now powdered and
about the thickness of the trowel blade scraped
off. The seed is then sown, the soil drawn back
and beat firmly down on the seed. You see how
near the top we sowed the seed, and how firmly
we beat the soil over it, and we spoke about a
" first principle." This principle is this:— Seeds
want moisture to make them grow, but they
must also have air— one is an evil without the
other. If deep they get only water, in which
case they*ot. If entirely on the surface they
get only air, and then they dry up. '' But, Mr.
Hintsman, why beat the soil so firm ?' Another
principle, dear lady, lies there. Large ppaces in
soil enable the earth to dry out rapidly ; small
spaces, on the other hand, hold water. Crush-
ing earth, when dry, gives it these small spaces,
or as gardeners call it, makes it porous, and thus
you see we have set our seeds where they will be
near the air, and fixed them so that they shall
he regularly moist.

If fiowers have been growing in the grounti
many years, new soil does wonders. Rich ma-
nure makes flowers grow, but they do not always
flower well with vigorous growth. If new soil
cannot be had, a wheel-barrow 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 flowers,
do not dig it, but use a fork, and that not deeply.
Dig garden soil only when the ground is warm
and dry. Do not be in a hurry, or you may get
behind. When a clot of earth will crush to
powder when you tread on it, is time to dig —
not before.

If perennial plants have stood three years in
one place, separate the stools, replacing one-
third, and give the balance to your neighbor
who has none.

While caring for the flowers, forget not the
lawn— that great charm — without which a gar-
den is not worthy of the name.

Our readers all know that the soil should be
made as deep as possible, because a deep soil is
generally a reservoir of moisture, from which is
replaced the waste from the drying surface, un-
der the summer heats, and thus the grass is kept
from burning out. But this is not all. Lawns
soon become impoverished by exhaustion of the
soil, and by continual mowing,— and this has
to be provided for. Mowing machines particu-
larly injure lawns, by their very close and con-
tinuous cutting. But this must not be an argu-
ment against the machines. We cannot do with-
out them. One should be on every lawn of any
extent. But we must in some way provide a
counter advantage to check the weakening in-
fluence which they undoubtedly exert. One of
the troubles of close mowing is that the grass is
so weakened in vitality that little, low, vile
weeds soon advance their forces, and choke out
the grass. Allowing the grass to grow up>
without mowing for a year will give renewed
vigor to the grass, and be death to the little
pests ; but in a year or two the old sod will be
as bad as evrr, and it is doubtful whether the
advantages of the plan compensates for the un-
tidiness. It is, perhaps, better to follow the sug-
gestions of Mr. Sargent and others in our last
and previous volumes, to stt the machine so as
not to cut so low as we did on the first introduc-
tion of mowing machines, where it has not been
done.

Prune shrubs, ro?es and vines. Those which
flower from young wood, cut in severely to make
new growth vigorous. Tea, China, Bourbon
and Noisette roses are of this class. What are
called annual flowering roses, as Prairie Queen,.
and so on, require mucli of last year's wood to
make a good show ot flowers. IKnce, with

187^.

THE GARDE JfEWS MOJVTHLl,

67

these, thia out weak wood, and leave all the
stronger.

To make handsome, shapely specimens of
shnibs, cut them now into the forms you want,
and keep them, so, by pulling out all shoots that
grow stronger than the other during the sum-
mer season.

The rule for pruning at transplanting is to cut
in proportion to apparent injury to roots. If not
much worse for removal, cut but little of the top
away. Properly pruned, a good gai'dener will
not have the worst case of a badly dug' tree to
die under his hands. In nursery, where these
matters arc 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.

Roll the grass well before the softness of a
thaw goes away. It makes all smooth and level.

Graft trees or shrubs where changed sorts are
desirable. Any lady can graft. Cleft grafting
is the easiest. Split the stock, cut the scion like
a wedge, insert in the split, so that the bark of
the stock and scion meets ; tie a little bast bark
around it, and cover with Trowbridge's Graft-
ing Wax, and all is done ; very simple when it is
understood, and not hard to understand.

Hyacinths, Tulips, Liliums, and other hardy
bulbs set out in the fall, and covered through
the winter, should be occasionally examined,
and when they show signs of active growth,
must be uncovered ; in this latitude this is not
safe until towards the end of the month.

The improvements that the last few years
have made in the Hollyhocks have rendered
them very popular for ornamenting shrubbery
borders, to which they add very great interest,
and are peculiarly appropriate. They may be
transplanted quite early in the season, and
flower the more freely for it. They are propa-
gated by dividing the roots in the spring, or by
seeds sown as soon as ripe in the summer.
The choice kinds are increased by eyes made
by cutting up the flower stems. These are
struck in a gentle bottom heat.
^And now, having taken a look at our flower-
beds, and lawns, and trees, and shrubs, do not
forget the walks and roads, which, however
well kept the other parts of a garden may be,
are often neglected. Nothing is so disgusting
to a tasteful mind as a slovenly path.

Walks and roads are not used as much to add
mere embellishment as in Europe. They are
costly to make a<id keep in order. In Anieii-

can gardening they are only employed where
absolutely necessary, and then turned and
twisted as little as may beautify, without losing
sight of their necessary duties. Old tan bark
makes a cool and delightful walk under the
shade of trees. It must be laid on a dry bot-
tom, or it becomes very unpleasant in wet
weather. Slag from furnaces, ground up with
ashes, is the very best material for garden
walks, and the color is far more agreeable in
hot weather than gravel. Notwithstanding its
dark color, it is not so hot, and it does not pack
quite so hard as the regular road material.
Sand, on the other hand, though it does not
pack at all, is very hot, on account of the very
hard nature of its particles.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Whatever may be said of birds and their evils
when the fruit 1? ripe, there can be but one
opinion about their value now. They have
nothing but insects to live on, and they eat
them by the millions. Insects are a far greater
scourge to the fruit grower than birds, — it will
be wise to encourage them. We see the English
sparrow is getting naturalized in various parts
of the country. We expect to hear in time
great complaints from its graminivorous propen-
sities ; but this can be better guarded agaiust
than the attacks of insects.

It seems as if we are again to have plums
and cherries, for the plum knot is readily kept
down now that its true nature is understood.
The curculio is now the only formidable enemy
left, and he falls back before "eternal vigi-
lance.'' Our markets were loaded with plums
last year, Somebod}' grows them.

In planting fruit trees, aim to have them so
that the hot, dry sun will not have fullefl'tct 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 rasp-
berries, 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.

It has been noted that the grape vine thrives
amazingly when it gets into an asparagus bed.
These are generally elevated, and are thus dry,
—while the rich soil necessary for asparagus is
also good for grapes.

The gooseberry and currant also do \v( U la

68

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLY.

March,

partial shade. In fact, if you would have the
gooseberry and currant ia great perfectiou, get
a lot of old brush-wood andcovcrthe rows_dose_-
l37so tbat'the'plants will bave,to push through,
and you will be astonished at the growth and
healthfulness of the bushes. The decaying
wood also furnishes an excellent manure for
them. The finest currants ever grown can be
had by mulching with old chestnut burrs, or
even sawdust.

In 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 efiect.
Indeed, we do not know but that for the pear
tree a thin layer of road sand is one of the best
manures. We have seen apples thrive amaz-
ingly with a coating of coal-ashes.

Whitewashing the stems of orchard trees has
a very beneficial efiect in clearing away old
bark and destroying the eggs of innumerable
insects. The white color is bad ; throw in a
little soot or some other matter to make it
brown. In greenhouses, t'ulphur has been
found of benefit in keeping down mildew. Pos-
sibly, if mixed with the whitewash in tree-
dressing, it might do good against fire-blight,
and such like fungoid troubles.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

This is a busy season south of Pennsylvania
in this department ; here we must wait till the
end of the month, and northward still later.
The crops noted will, of course, be dependent
ou the arrival of the season, which is rather in-
dicated by the ground becoming warm and dry,
than by the almanac. It is very important to
have crops early ; as soon as the ground is,
therefore, in good condition put in the seed.
Possibly a cold rain might come and injure
them, and you may lose, and have to make a
new sowing. Even so, it is but the loss of the
seed and labor, while, if the seed do not die,
the early crop will more than repay that risk.

It is best not to sow tender vegetables too
soon* tliey get checked, and the last will be first.
Asparagus is one of the earliest crops to set
out. It was at one time believed that the va-

rieties of this would not come true from seed,
and that there was but one best kind. We arc
not so sure of this now. Many plant them too
deep and fail ; four inches is enough, rows 20
inches, and plants one foot apart will do. Make
the soil particularly rich.

Where new Asparagus beds are to be made,
now is the time ; the ground should be rather
moist than dry, and be trenched about two feet
deep, mixing in with it a good quantity of sta-
ble dung, 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 permanently, they will assist opera-
tions in future years. Having marked the po-
sitions 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 good in spring they must be
sown very early ; they are hard}', and must bo
put in as soon as the ground can be caught
right.

Salsify, too, must be in as soon as possible-
it prefers a strong, rich loam.

Those who have no Spinach sown in the fall,
should do that right away ; no amount of stable
manure but will be a benefit to it, though
guano, in even small doses, will kill it ;
guano produces excellent Cabbage, mixed with
the ground while it is being dug for that crop.
Cabbage, by the way, may be put in as soon as
the ground is ready ; and Potatoes are better in
before the beginning of next month, if the
ground is not too wet ; many plant Cabbage
between the Potato rows.

Deep, rich soil, now so generally condemned
for fruit gardens, is of the first importance
here. Soil cannot be too rich or too dtep, if wc
would have good vegetables. It is, inded, re-
markable, that in many respects we have to go
very differently to work to get good fruits than
we have to perfect vegetables. While, for in-
stance, we have to get sunlight to give the best
richness to our fruits, our vegetables are usually
best when blanched or kept from the light. So,
also, as we keep the roots as near the surface as
we can in order to favor the woody tissue in
trees, we like to let them go deep in vegetables,
because this favors succulence.

To have Broccoli it hfis to be 9o\Yn very early,

1872.

THE GARDENER'S MOMTHLl.

69

or it will not head. The purple Cape and white
Walcheren are the most popular varieties. In
Cabbages there have been many new varieties
the few past years. It is hard to decide on the
best. The Early Dwarf York is still largely
planted for a first crop, and the large Eai-ly
York planted for a second coming in. The
Early Wakefield is, however, very popular in
some districts. The Winningstadt is approved
as a summer .sort, and its tender quality is ap-
preciated. For late crops the Marblehead varie-
ties have justly earned a good reputation, al-
though the Large Late Drumhead, and Flat
Dutch are still largely planted. The Savoys
and Eed Dutch are also sown now. For pro-
tection against the Cabbage-fiy we find nothing
po good as water slightly impregnated with coal
oil, and syringed over the seed beds.

Celery for the main crop will do about the
end of the month, but a little may be sown
now. We have never been able to make up our
mind whether there is such a thing as an abso-
lute solid variety of Celery ; and whether pithi-
ness in any degree depends on soil or culture.
Certainly we buy all the most improved
''solids" every year, and never yet found one
satisfactory throughout. We cannot say which
is the best of the many candidates.

In the hotbed, pepper, egg-plant, tomato and
cucumbers may be sown. — and in a cooler hot-
bed frame. Early York cabbage, cauliflowers
and celery. Those who have not got a hotbed,
can sow a few pots or boxes, and keep them
near the light in a warm room.

In addition to sowing of the above, onions,
leeks, parsnips and parsley must be sown at this
Foason — not for the main crop, but to have a
few in advance of the rest. To keep over the
winter, almost all kinds of root crops become
fough or coarse if sown too soon.

Tn the open ground, peas and potatoes re-
ceive the first attention. Then beets and car-
rots. Then lettuce, radish, spinach, onions,
leeks and parsley. Beyond this, unless in more
favored latitudes than Pennsylvania, little can
be done until the first week in April. There is
nothing gained in working soil until it has be-
come warm and dry.

GREEXHOUSE PLANTS, &c.

Dahlias should now be brought forward. A
good plan is to shorten the extremity of the
^oots. put them in six-inch pots and place in a

warm greenhoi^se. In a few weeks they will
sprout, when they should be shaken out, di-
vided with a piece of root to each sprout, and
separately potted in four-inch pots.

Camellias will require rather more water
while growing than at other times. Just be-
fore they grow is a good season to graft. Cut
down the stock, cleft graft in the crown, wax
and plunge in a bottom heat of 70''. A great
many kinds may be had on one plant by the
bottle system, practiced by the writer's father,
thirty years ago. A shoot about to grow is ob-
tained and attached to the stock as an inarch-
ing, the end of the shoot being put in a small
phial of water suspended beneath it. This
plan does best, however, with the young wood
in Jul}-.

Azaleas succeed well by grafting with the
half ripe shoots of the present season's growth
on plants raised either by seeds or cuttings.
Old wood does not take readily.

Chrysanthemums should now be raised from
cuttings for fall flowering. They make better
blooming plants than oflf-sets.

Fuchsias may now be readily struck from the
young growth from the old plants, which will
make excclU^it blooming plants for the next
summer sea -^ on.

Geraniums, Pelargoniums, Cinerarias, and
Chinese Primroses must be kept as near the
glass and light as possible ; they do little good
in shady places. Keep off" the green Aphis —
for, this on a small scale, there is nothing like hot
water ; on a large scale, tobacco-smoke in sev-
eral successive light doses is still the best
remedy.

Auriculas, Carnations, Pinks and Polyanthus
— the prettiest of florists' flowers — must be
kept cool, just free from frost, with plenty of
air, if the best results are desired.

New Holland and Cape plants, such as Apa-
cris. Acacia, Heaths, etc., are now the glory of
the greenhouse ; hot bursts of sun on them
should be avoided, as it lays in them the seeds
of "consumption," which frequently carries
them oft" the following summer.

Look out for a good stock of bedding plants
in time, by striking cuttings of such things as
grow rapidly and speedily, and sowing seeds of
such annuals as may be advanced to advantage.

Pansies are coming now into flower. They
like an airy frame, where they will not be
roasted at midday nor exposed to drying winds,
and yet have a free circulUion of air and plenty

70

THE GARDEJVEK'S MOJVTHLl.

March,

of light. Planted out in such a frame, and the
old slioots cut away as soon as the plant has
done flowering, the plants will keep healthy
over till the next season.

Superior varieties can be raised from seed.
Choose those with the roundest petals, best
colors, and the first flowers that open, to raise
seed from.

C 0 M M U IV I C A T I 0 iV S .

VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE.

BY MR. JACOB STAUTFER, LANCASTER, PA.

"What though we. may be unable to explain
what life is, it may still be proper to examine
into what is termed the physical basis of life. It
is well to bear in mind, however, that notwith-
standing much has been written on these sub-
jects, the knowledge of hidden forces, motion or
life, soul and spirit, is no better elucidated now
than it was centuries ago So that we can with
propriety, adopt the scripture language, found
in Hebrew xi. 3.— "Through faith we under-
stand that the worlds were framed by the word
of God, so that things which are .seen were not
marfe of t/wngs which do appear.'''' This is the
positive fact, and science can not in truth gain-
say it.

Interested as we all are in the properties of
matter, the more we investigate the more is the
goodness and wisdom of God displayed in the
wonders of creation. We may consider a plant
as an organized being, which takes up its food
by roots from the soil, and by leaves from the
air, in a general sense ; while animals are or-
ganized beings, which select their food from
vegetables growing on the surface of the soil,
either directly or indirectly ; that is, the carniv-
erous feed upon each other or the graminiver-
ous. Huxley says the same thing, — "that the
vegetable world builds up all the protoplasm
which keeps the animal world agoing. Plants
are the accumulators of the power which ani-
mals distribute and disperse." But I do not
believe that what he terms the "matter of life,''
as life depends upon "carbonic acid, water and
ammonia." It may be true that we may not
be able to see its manifestations by our physical
senses, separate and apart or disjointed from
those elementary principles. We can conceive
that mind and consciousness can exist, and
yet the physical organism be so paralyzed that,
to our senses, a person may be consigned to the
grave as a dead man, who, nevertheless, may
be conscious of what is going on, and vet unable

I to give any sign of life. The vitality of a seed
may be dormant for j-ears. The truth is, "life,
as life," to my mind, is an emission from God,
as a power, whether we associate it with light
or surroundings upon which it can act, and pro-
ject itself into the material organization of mat-
ter by fixed or fundamental laws ; also as much
the work of the Creator, for in wisdom are they
founded ; and our sciences relate only to so
much of the operation of these laws as arc
brought to the surface or made tangible, the un-
derlying, imponderable, operating element is
still remote from our knowledge and hidden
from our view.

Let us briefly consider what science knows of
the so-called essential elements of life. Carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen ?

Car6o?i— a pure combustible base of the varie-
ties of charcoal and other carbonaceous matter,
— charcoal is burned wood or burned bone or
leather, both previously organized, whether
from the vegetable or animal creation. What
is very remarkable, however, is that the dia-
mond, being a mineral, is pure carbon in crys-
talized form. As an elementarj' substance, car-
bon combines with oxygen in two proportions,
forming carbonic acid, and carbonic oxide.
Carbonic acid consists of 6 carbon x 16 oxygen
=22. This extinguishes flame and suffocates
animals : as found in wells and mines, it is called
choke clamp ; limestone, marble and chalk con-
tain it. Carbonic oxide is composed of 6 carbon
X 8 oxygen=14. It is fatal to animals, and
extinguishes flame ; but it burns in contact with
air, and forms carbonic acid.

We will now briefly consider Oxygen, so effi-
cient in forming acid covi^Mimcls, as well as
eight-ninths of the weight of water, one-fifth of
the weight of the atmosphere, and is present
(often to the amount of from forty to fifty per
cent.) in nearly all the mineral bodies of which
the crust of the globe is composed, including the
soil.

The magnetic properties of the atmosphere

187'^.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJSl'THLY.

71

are said to be almost exclusively due to the oxy-
gen contained in it, modified by its action by so-
lar heat, it occupies a high position among elec-
tro negative bodies. It is just as likely that
electricity is associated with the oxygen in the
air, which, for instance, when brought under
the rubber of an electric machine, separates it
by the oxygen acting upon the amalgam, and
liberates the electricity, which, having a greater
affinity for the metalic conductors tiian for the
air, is conveyed to the "Leyden Jar" and con-
fined until discharged. Electricity is only a
modification of creative force, and is more near-
ly related to life than the ponderable elements
upon which it acts through the influence of. so-
lar light, or otherwise. Though the sun's rays
are not fire, yet bring them to a focus, by a lens,
and fire is a result in contact with combustible
bodies.

Hydrogen is only known in its gaseous form,
formerly called inflammable air, and considered
identical with the matter of heat. Pure hydro-
gen is sixteen times lighter than oxygen ; it
burns in contact with air with a pale flame, and
when mixed with three or four times its volume
of air (or half its volume in pure oxygen) and
inflamed, it burns rapidly, and in the latter
case with violent explosion. The only product
of this combustion is water. How marvelous;
and yet hydrogen is not absorbed by water, and
animals soon die when confined in it So we
come to consider water, which was itself consid-
ered an element by the older chemists, but we
have just seen that it is a compound of hydro-
gen and oxygen, as supposed by Watt and Cav-
endish, as far back as A. D. 1786 and 1787, and
since satisfactorily demonstrated. Thus water
is in fact an oxide of hydrogen, scientifically
considered. But water is seldom purely such ;
there are mechanical, gaseous, mineral and or-
ganic impurities in it, even changing in its de-
scent as pure rain-water, becoming charged
with the gases of the atmosphere, such as oxy-
gen, nitrogen and carbonic acid, and during a
thunder storm an appreciable quantity of ni-
trate of ammonia produced by electric dis-
charges through moist air, and is a source of
fertility to vegetation, further augmented by its
holding in solution small quantities of mineral
salts, and generally of organic matter

We will not stop to consider the several kinds
of impurities, nor their special agencies in the
grand natural laboratory, and its vast impor-
tance to vegetable and animal life, as a "physi-

cal basis,'' — but we may glance at a few of its
characteristics At the temperature of 32^ it
ordinarily crystalizes into ice, which is slowly
produced in geometrical prisms crossing each
other at angles of 60'' aud 120^ ; perhaps primi
tively in a rhomboidal figure, the acicular prisms
in flakes of snow remarkably variable are beauti-
fully arranged. Ice, though a non conductor of
electricity,becoraes electric by friction. Water ex-
pands in freezing with irresistible force, so as to
burst iron or leaden pipes. If two pieces of
melting ice be placed together in a warm room,
the film of water between them soon freezes and
cements the two masses together ; and this ef-
fect also takes place between the surface in warm
water. Hence broken masses of ice become
again a solid mass, as seen in ice cascades of a
glacier, after the watery cascade is past. By
the application of heat to ice or water, it is con-
verted into an elastic fluid or gaseous form
called steam, in which the particles have? a mu-
tual repulsion and causes the force it exerts by
the pressure uniformly diflfused over the surface
of the vessel in which it is confined ; it is this to
which the mechanical power of steam is due.
As I am not writing on steam, but rather the
properties of heat and water, I may be excused
for not following it up further.

The remaining element to be considered is ni-
trogen, also a simple gaseous body forming a
constituent of the atmosphere and of nitric acid,
this being also antagonistic to life, is hence also
called azote. It is, nevertheless, an important
component of many organic substances, and is
remarkable as one of the fulminating compounds
of gold, silver and mercury, to say nothing of
gun powder, (a compound of sulphur, nitre and
carbon.) Thus we learn that these elements
are mostly deleterious to life, and yet essential
to support it.

Having now taken a review of Mr Huxley's
physical basis of life, whether vegetable or ani-
mal, let us see what physiology teaches, which
is, that products that do not contain nitrogen.,
and consist of carbon, h3'drogen and oxygen are
chiefly concerned in maintaining animal heat,
by a species of slow combustion terminating in
the production of carbonic acid and ivatcr, which
are thrown off by the lungs, and are, therefore,
called elements of respiration; and those which
do contain nitrogen, and which consist also of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, with sulphur and
phosphorous, are employed in the formation of
the pj-iucipal organs of the body, and therefore

7^

THE GARDEjYER'S MOJVTELl.

March,

termed x>lasiic elements of nutrition. The former
include starch, gum, sugar and fat ; the latter
are the nitrogenlferous products of vegetation,
such as gluten, legumine aud albumen, and the
flesh and blood of animals.

Thus we learn that vegetables ^JrofZuce azotized
substances, the fatty matter, starch, gum and
sugar, which are consumed and form the food of
animals, and from this consumption is produced
carbonic acid, water and ammonia, which latter
product is, in turn, decomposed by vegetation,
and in that decomposition oxygen is evolved, so
essential to the animal, in return for the carbonic
aci(2 product given out by the animal, and so
essential to vegetation. Oh, the wisdom and
goodness of God I Who is so blind that he can-
not see the perfection of design and wonderful
knowledge displayed in the works of creation ?

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FERD. VON MUELLER, MELBOURNE AUS.

{Continued.)

Prsrus MONOPnTLLA, Torr. and Freni.

Stone or Nut Pine of California, on the
Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains,
6,500 feet. The seeds are edible, of an al-
raond-like taste, and consumed in quanti-
ty by the natives. Height of tree only 35
feet ; thickness of stem 8 to 10 inches. (16)

PiNUS MONTANA, Du Roi. P. piimiUo Hotnke.)
On the Alps and Carpathians up to the
highest points, covering large trActs, and
thriving on the poorest soil. The tree,
which grows about 25 feet high, in favora-
ble localities 50, yields much oil of turpen-
tine. The wood is used for carving and for
firewood. Only available to advantage for
our highlands.

PlNUS MoNTEZUMAE, Lamb. (P. Devcniana,
Lindl.) P. GremyiUem, Gord.)
Mexico. A handsome Pine, 80 feet high ;
wood white, soft and resinous.

PlNUS MONTICOLA, Dougl.

California, at an elevation of 7,000 fe^-t. It
thrives best in poor soil of granite forma
tion, and attains the height of 200 feet, with
a stem of 1^ to 4 feet thick. The wood is
white, close-grained.

[Tfi] This, in the form of P eduhs h foanJ in theviei-
ni!y of Pike's Peak, and i? Kighly priE^d as fire wood The
h.<rp-',--< of thiij pine fr.)iri .i di.«!Rncp. in liks a wtOl growr
Siberiftn ArbirvitJC.

PiNUS MURTCATA, Don.

Bishop's Pine. California. Found up 7,~
500 feet. This pine grows to about 40 feet.

PiNUS NIGRA, Ait.

Black Spruce. North East America. Oc-
curring extensively between 44" and 53'' N.
latitude. This ti-ee, which is termed Dou-
ble Spruce by the Canadians, attains a
height 70 feet, and furnishcia a light elastic
timber of white color, excellent for j-ards of
ships. The young shoots are used for mak-
ing spruce-beer, and the small roots serve
as cords. It likes swampy forest land.
PiNUS NOBiLis, Dougl.

Noble AVhite Fir. Northwest coast Ameri-
ca, on the Columbia River and the moun-
tains of North California, where it forms
extensive forests at 6 to 8,000 feet. A ma-
jestic tree, 150 to 200 feet high, with regu-
lar horizontal branches. It furnishes a val-
uable timber for building.

PiNUS ORTENTALTS, L.

Sapindus Fir. In Asia Minor, at 4,000 ft.
The tree rises to about 80 feet, and resem-
bles somewhat the Norway Spruce. The
wood is exceedingly tough and durable.

PiNUS PARVIFLORA, Sieb.

In Japan. It only gets about 25 feet high ■;
but is much used as an avenue tree : wood
for fine furniture and boat-building.

PiNus Pattoniana, Pari.

California ; 5 to 6,000 feet above sea-level.
A ver3' fine fir, .300 feet high, \vith a per-
fectly straight stem The wood is hard, of
a reddish color, \vith handsome veins ; but
poor in resin.

PiNus patula, Schcide and Deppe.

In Mexico; it an elevation qf 8 to 9,000 ft.
A graceful pine, 80 feet high.'

PiNUS PENDULA, Solaud. {P. microcarpn.
Lamb )
Small-coned American Larch ; Black Larch
or Tamarack. Frequent in Vermont and
New Hampshire. A pine of pyramidal
growth, 100 feet high. The timber is white,
beav\% resinous, and as highly valued a?
that of the Common Larch.

Pin us pice a, Du Roi.* (P. Abies, L.)

Norway Spruce, Fichtc. ISIiddle and North-
ern Europe and Northern Asia ; rising from
the plains to an elevation of 4,500 feet, and
forming extensive forests. The tree attains
a height of 150 feet, or even more, and fur-
niphrs an oxecllent limbfr for buiklinrj and

lt>7'2.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJsTTBLY.

i o

furniture ; commonly known under the
name of White Deal. It also produces the
Burgundy Pitch in quantity, while the bark
is used for tanning. Though enduring our
dry summers, this spruce would have to be
restricted for timber purposes to the damp
mountains.
PrNUS PiXASTER, Soland.*

Cluster Pine. On the shores of the Medi-
terranean. The tree is of quick growth
and rises to 60 feet in height ; the wood is
soft and resinous ; it yields largely the
French turpentine. Among the best pines
for consolidation of sandy coast land, and
converting rolling sands into pasture and
agricultural land. For ease of rearing and
rapidity of growth, one of the most impor-
tant of all pines.

PiMlJS PINCEANA, Gord

Mexico, up to 8000 feet above sea level. A
A'ery remarkable pine, having drooping
branches like the Weeping Willow ; 60 feet
high. Most desirable for cemeteries.
FiNTjs prsTDROW, Eoyle.

In great abundance on the spurs of the
Himalaya mountains, 8 to 12,000 feet above
the sea level. A fine straight stemmed tree,
100 feet high. [11)

PiNUS PiNEA, L.*

Stone Pine. Frequent in the countries bor-
dering on the Mediterranean ; height of tree
60 feet ; the Avood is whitish, light, but full
of resin, much used for buildings, furniture
and ships. The seeds are edible, somewhat
resembling almonds, but of a taste resinous
though not disagreeable ; they only ripen in
their third year. This pine grows as easily
and almost as quickly as the Cluster Pine.

PiNUS PINSAPO, Boiss.

Spanish Fir. In Spain, on the Sierra Ne-
vada, 4 to 6000 feet. A tree of 60 feet high,
with branches from the ground.

Pixus PONDEROSA, Dougl.* (P. Benthamicma,
iTartw.)
Yellow or Pitch Pine of the mountains of
K. W. America. Height of tree up to 225
feet, with a stem of 24 feet in circumference,
of comparatively quick growth ; the wood is
heavy, and for general purposes preferred
to that of any other pine. Has proved well
adapted even for dry localities in Victoria.

[IT] This beautiful fir is quite hardy in Philadelphia,
provided it is well sheltered til! it form? it.? tnp root.

Pin US pseudo-strobtjs, Lindl.*

In Mexico. This tree is superior in appear-
ance to any other Mexican pine ; height 80
feet

PiNUS Pyrenaica, Lapeyr.

In the South of Spain and on the Pyrennees,
A fine ornamental tree of quick growth, 80
feet high ; the wood is white and dry, poor
in resin.

PiNcs radiata, Don.* (P. insignis, Dougl.)
California. A splendid pine, fully 100 feet
high, with a straight stem 2 to 4 feet in di-
ameter. It is of remarkably rapid growth,
a seedling, one year old, being strong
enough for final transplantation ; the wood
is tough, and much sought for boat-build-
■ ing and various utensils

PiNus religiosa, Humb.

Oyamel Fir. Mexico, 4 to 9000 feet above
the sea level. A magnificent tree with sil-
very leaves, growing 100 feet high ; stem 0
feet in diameter ; the wood is particularly
well fit for shingles.

PiNus RESTNOSA, Soland.

Red Pine K. America, principally in Cana-
da and Kova Scotia. It gets 80 feet high
and 2 feet in diameter ; the wood is red,
fine-grained, heavy and durable, not very
resinous, and is used for ship-building.

PiNUS RIGIDA, Mill.*

American Pitch Pine. From New England
to Virginia. It grows to a height of 80 ft. ;
the timber, when from good soil, is hard
and resinous and used for building ; but the
tree is principally important for its yield of
turpentine, resin, pitch and tar.

PiNUS RUBRA. Lamb.

Hudson's Pine, Red Spruce. Nova Scotia,
Newfoundland and other northern parts of
the American Continent. A straight slen-
der tree, 70 feet high ; the wood is of a red-
dish color and highly esteemed.

PiNUS Sabiniana, Dougl.*

Californian Nut Pine or White Pine, Most
frequent on the western slopes of the Rocky
Mountains, intermixed with other trees ;
150 feet high ; stem 3 to 5 feet in diameter ;
the wood is white and soft ; the clustered
heavy cones attain a length of 1 foot ; the
seeds are edible Proves in dry localities of
Victoria to be of quick growth.

PiNUS SEROTINA, Michx.

Pond Pine. Southern States of North
America, in black morassy soil, principally

7Jf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLl.

March,

near the sea coast ; it is 50 feet high, fetem
18 inches in diameter ; the wood is soft.

PiNUs Sylvestris, L.*

Scotch Fir, Foehre. Middle and Northern
Europe, up to 70^ N Lat , and North Asia,
thriving best in sandy soil. A very valua-
ble tree, fully 100 feet high, growing to the
age of about 120 years. The Red Baltic,
Norway, or Riga deals are obtained from
this pine, as well as a large portion of the
European pine tar. Proves well adapted
even for the dryer parts of Victoria.

PiNUS SiBiRiCA, Turcz. (P. pichta, Fisch.)
Siberian Pitch Fir. On the Altai Moun-
tains ; it reaches a height of 50 feet.

PiNITS STROBUS, L *

Weymouth Pine or American "White Pine.
N. E America, growing on any soil, but
preferring swampy ground ; it is found 160
feet high, with a stem of 4 to 6 feet in di-
ameter ; the wood is soft, white, light, free
of knots, almost without resin, easy to work,
nnd much esteemed for masts ; it yields
American turpentine and gallipot. (18)
Pin us T.t^da, L.

Frnnkincense or Loblolly Pine. Florida
and Virginia, in sandy soil, attaining a
height of 80 feet ; the timber is esteemed for
ship-building. It also yields turpentine in
good quantitj', though of inferior quality.

PiNUS TENTJIFOLIA, Bcnth.

Mexico, at an elevation of 5000 feet, form-
ing dense forests ; height of tree 100 feet,
stem up to 5 feet in diameter.

PlNUS Tkocote. Cham, and Schlecht.

Okote or Torch Pine. Mexico, 5 to 8000
feet above the sea level. Tree 100 feet high,
stem 3 to 4 feet in diameter ; the wood is
resinous and durable.

PiNus TsuGA, Ant

In the northern provinces of Japan, (5 to
0000 feet above the sea. The tree gets only
25 feet high ; its timber is highly esteemed
for superior furniture, especially by turners.

Pjnus Webbiaka, Wallich.*

King Pine, Dye Pine. On the Himalaya
Mountains, at an elevation of 12 to 1.3,000
feet. A splendid fir 70 to 80 feet high, with
a stem diameter of generally 3 to 4 feet, but
sometimes even 10 feet. The wood is of a
white color, soft, cross grained and very re-

[18] It is a mistake that this tree prefers swamps. It
{should read the reverse, say ''it prefers deep rich soil in
■mountain valleys, but will grow on swarapy ground."

sinous ; the natives extract a splendid violet
dye from the cones.

SCIADOPITYS VERTICILIiATA, Sieb.

The lofty and curious Umbrella Fir of Ja-
pan, 140 feet high ; resists severe frosts ;
wood is white and compact. (19)

Sequoia sempervirens, Endl.* [Taxodium
semj^ervirens, Lamb )
Red Wood or Bastard Cedar of N. W.
America, chiefly California. A splendid
tree, 300 feet high, occasionally with a di-
ameter of the stem of 55 feet The wood is
reddish, close-veined, but light and brittle.
One of the most colossal trees of the globe.

Sequoia Wellingtokia. {WellingUynia gi-
gayitea, Lindl. )
Mammoth Tree. California, up to 5000 ft.
above the sea. This, the biggest of all trees,
attains a stem of 320 feet in length and 112
feet in circumference, the oldest trees being
estimated at 1100 years ; the total height of
a tree will occasionally be 450 feet ; a stem
broken at 300 feet had yet a diameter of 18
feet. The wood is soft and white when
felled, afterward it turns red.

Taxodium disticiium. Rich.*

Virginian Swamp or Bald Cypress. In
swampy places of North America. A large
and valuable tree, 100 feet high, with a stem
circumference of sometimes 40 feet, of rapid
growth, with deciduous foliage like that of
the Larch and Ginkgo ; it is found fossil in
miocene formation of manj- parts of Europe.
The wood is fine-grained, hard and durable ;
it yields an essential oil and a superior kind
of turpentine. Useful for avenues on
swampy margins of lakes or river banks.

Taxodium mucroxatum. Ten.

The famed Montezuma Cypress of Mexico,
120 feet high, with a trunk 44 feet in cir-'
oumfercnce ; it forms extensive forests be-
tween Chapullepec and Tescuco,

Taxus baccata, L.

Yew. Middle and South Europe and Asia,
at 1000 to 4000 feet elevation. Generally a
shrub, sometimes a tree 40 feet high, which
furnishes a j-ellow or brown wood, exceed-
ingly tough, elastic and durable, and much
esteemed by turners. The tree is of very
slow growth, and reaches a great age, per-
haps several thousand years ; some ancient

[19] Found to be very hardy in Philadelphia. Even
young plants, rxpos -d, do well.

181^2.

TEE GARDE JVER'S MOJfTELY.

75

one.s arc known with a stem of fifty feet in
girth.

Taxfs liREviFOLiA, Kuttall. (T. Lindteyana,
Laxox. )
N. AV. America. AVestern Yew. A state-
\y tree, 75 feet high, with a stem of 5 feet in
circumference. The Indians use the wood
for their bows.

Thuta gigantea, Xutt.

N. W. America on the banks of the Colum-
bia River. The Yellow Cypress of the colo-
nists. A straight, graceful tree, 200 feet
high, furnishing a valuable building timber
of a pale or light yellow color. (20)

Thuya occidentalts, L.

X America, particularly frequent in Cana-
da A fine tree, 70 feet high ; the wood is
reddish or 3'ellowish, fine grained, very
lough and resinous, and well fit for build-
ing, dsptcially for water work. The shoots
and also an essential oil of this tree are used
ill medicine ; the bast can be converted into
ropes

Thuyopsis dolabrata, Sieb and Zucc.

Japan. A majestic tree, furnishing an ex-
cellent hard timber of a red color.

TORREYA Ca LiFORNiCA, Torr. ( T. myristica]
Hooker )
In California. Tree 80 feet high.

TORREYA GRANDis, Fortune

China. A tree 60 feet high, with an um-
brella-shaped crown ; it produces good tim-
ber.

ToRREYA NUCiFERA, S. and Z {Caryotaxcus
nucifera, Zucc. )

Japan. Height of tree about 30 feet. From
the nuts the Japanese press an oil, used as
an article of food.

TORREYA TAXIFOLIA, Arott.

Florida. A tree 50 feet in height, with a
firm, close-grained, durable wood of a red
dish color.

WlDDRIKGTONIA JUNirEROIDES, Endl.

South Africa, 3000 to 4000 feet above sea
ievel. A middling sized tree, rich in resin.

ORCHIDS -NO. 2.

BY MR JAMES TAPLIN, MANAGER TO MR. GEO
SUCH, SOUTH AMBOY, N. J.

Cypripedium insigne. This is one of the

[20] The Yellow C vpieg.s or Cedar of the Northwest, in
Cupressits Nutlcaensis; or as it i.s mostly called in gardens
'Th.iijopsis boreolis.

people's orchids ; it is cheap, very easy to grow,
and very free blooming ; it will grow and flower
well either in a hot or cold house, and may be
placed in the open air from June to September.
If grown in a hot-house, it will flower in Octo-
ber, and if kept cool and shaded, the flower will
last in perfection for two months ; if grown in a
coo) house, it will flower about Christmas, so
that it may be had flowering in succession for
four or five months. The Cypripedium having
no pseudo bulbs, must never be allowed to get very
dry at any time, but when their growth is fin-
ished do not give quite so much water as in the
growing season, which, with this variety, is
from March until September.

The best soil to grow this variety, is half
rough peat and half rough loam, with a little
thorough dry decayed manure, and a good addi-
tion of sand ; fill the pots one third full of broken
pots, make the soil firm round the plants, and
fill pots level full of soil. The best time to re-
pot, if necessary, is just before plants commence
to grow, but the plants will do well for several
years without potting, by top-dressing the
plants in the spring with the same sort of soil.
Nice plants with four or five flowers, may be
grown in six inch pots, or larger specimens with
from twenty to thirty blooms each in large
deep frames.

We have over two hundred flowers on a batch
of plants occupying less than twenty-foursquare
feet, the flowers being five and a half inches
across.

There are two varieties of this Lady's Slipper
plant, the one known in England as Maule's va-
riety, has more white in the top or dorsal sepal ;
the flower is larger and the marking is brighter
than in the more common variety. This is the
variety we grow.

I may add, the plant will do very well, and
last a long time in flower in a moderate warm
sitting room, and the cut flowers will also keep
fresh a long time in water.

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT HOOPES.

Delivered before the Peansylvauia Fruit Growers' Society, iu
Philadelphia, Januiry 17th, 1872.

( Concluded. )
Another valuable ingredient found in the cells
of plants is gum, a translucent substance bear-
ing an important part in the substance of vege-
tation, and may, with entire propriety, be
termed plant food. Although not soluble in
Alcohol or Ethor, ic becomes readily so in water

G

TEE GARDENER'S MONTHLY.

March,

na well as in diluted acids, hence its value in the
economy of plant life. In our fruit-bearing
tn^es it exudes as a fiummy secretion from the
surface of the bark, as, for instance, in the Cher-
ry. Peach and Plum, and this particular form is
termed Cerasine, whilst a similar substance
taken from the Acacia is termed Arahine or
Onm Arabic. Similar substances, although
somewhat chemically distinct, are found in very
many of our well-known plants.

Saccharine matter in the form of crystals of
sugar, or else in an uncrystalized form is also
found in many plants. In the juice of fruits we
notice its presence, when it is called Grape sugar,
with a formula consisting of equal parts of Car*
bon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Sugar procured
from the sugar cane, the Sugar Beet and the
Sugar Maple is also an example of this valuable
constituent. Starch, as I stated in ray remarks
upon that subject, is found in the seeds of many
fruits, but during the process of germmation
it undergoes a chemical transformation, and is
(Converted into sugar, whicli supplies abundant
nourishment to the young plantlet. In the skin
of some fruits there are organs of secretion in
v.'hich oils are found ; the rind of the Orange,
T^mon and Olive is an examples of this charac-
ter, in which the volatile oil is contained in
f-avities surrounded by cellular tissue. In other
plants we notice the secretions of turpentine, &c.,
as in the bark of the Coniferfe ; and oily vessels
in the seeds of various plants, especially those
belonging to the natural order Umbeliferm. In
addition to the various substances found in the
rolls of plants, there are acids and inoi'ganic
matter of a mineral form. Beautiful crystals of
the phosphate, as well as the sulphate and car-
bonate of lime, may be observed in many plants
after a careful dissection and under the lens of
a high power of the microscope.

STRUCTURE OF THE LEAF.

We now arrive with our investigations at the
leaf, which may be considered as one of the vi-
tal organs of vegetation. A superficial observa-
tion of the foliage of our trees and plants does
not lead one to suppose that they occupy such
an important position as they in reality do ; but
the microscopist soon determines their relative
value as organs of nutrition, and as indispensa-
ble members of the vegetable system. The two
tiurfaces of a leaf are in many respects quite dif-
ferent from each other, and yet both are well
adapted for the duties which they are called

upon to perform The upper surface is general-
ly of a deeper shade of green than the lower,
and seldom has any openings, whilst the lat-
ter is supplied with minute breathing pores,
called stomata The inner structure is formed
of a collection of cells similar to the green bark
on young wood, ramified by numerous veins of
woody fibre. The cells appear to be arranged in
two series, those adjoining the upper surface
compacted, oblong and erect, whilst the others
are parallel to the under surface, and frequently
loosely arranged, with apertures between. Thus
we see that the air, vapor, &c., which may enter
through the previously mentioned breathing
pores, can readily be transmitted through these
interstices in the lower cells, and then passed
onward to the branches.

A wise precaution in nature is that many
plants, natives of tropical countries, have several
layers of these closely connected upper cells,
which prove a valuable safeguard against the
scorching heat so common in these climates.
We ascertain, upon examination, that iu the
case of water plants, where the leaves float, the
above rule becomes reversed, and that the stoma-
ta is in them on the upiier surface, whilst the
under side is destitute of them ; and there are
instances where leaves standing in a vertical po-
sition have bi-eathing pores on each side alike.
Again, the foliage of plants which are entirely
submerged, baa no stomata at all, and, as a ne-
cessary consequence, is entirely destitute of the
long, closel}' connected cells usually found near
the upper surface. We thus have a beautiful il-
lustration of the manner in which nature pro-
vides for all her works, adapting the means to-
the end, with such a perfect system, that the
Atheistic belief in chance has no foothold with
such proofs as are here presented. The stoma-
ta are plainb' discernable with a good nncro-
scope, and are each surrounded by two cells, dif-
fering in form from the remainder of those in
the leaf. In succulent plants these orcrans are
almost or altogether wanting — a wise provision
of nature, for in the fleshy, watery leaf growing
in a country where rain seldom f^xUs, the plants
retain within their system a constant supply
during the prolonged scorching droughts. In
regard to the number of these apertures in some
plants, I make the following extract from Car-
penter : "It has been estimated that no fewer
than 160,000 are contained in every square inch
of the under surface of the leaves of JFydrangea
and of several other plants, the greatest num

1872.

THE GARDEAfER'S MOJ^'TMLY.

77

ber seeming always to present itself in species
the upper surface of whose leaves is entirely des-
titute of these organs." The skin or cuticle of
-the leaf, frequently termed the epidermis^ is a
membrane composed of small cells of different
shapes, approaching in arrangement the pecu-
liar venation of the leaf These cells are clear,
and the contents of the lower cells are shown di-
rectly through their translucent structure.

We often notice the accumulation of water in
globules on the upper surface of a leaf, which
suggests the presence of an oily coating; but
this phenomenon is due to the presence of a waxy
substance contained in the cuticle, rendering its
walls impervious to the outside atmosphere, and
preventing its contents from being quickly evap-
orated. The woody fibre of the leaf, called the
vascular system, embracing the leaf stem or petiole
as well as the veins, is very prettily shown in
the skeleton leaves now so frequently used as
ornaments. We thus have an opportunity, after
the process of maceration, to examine the vas-
cular tissue of leaves in the best possible
manner, for all the cellular tissue, as well as
the spiral and dotted vessels, has been eradi-
cated. These bundles of woody fibre originate
from the corresponding tissues in the young
branch, and then passing along the leaf stem in
our fruit-bearing trees, extend in a straight line to
the apex or point of the leaf. The ribs and
veins are of the same nature, and branch oft' in
every direction from the mid-rib, thus forming
a perfect net-work, but are only for the purpose
of rendering support to the leaf.

STERILITY.

I have thus given you a crude outline of the
internal structure of our fruit-bearing trees and
plants, and, had I the time, it would afford me
great pleasure to describe the appearance of the
diseased tissues as they appear under ihe micro-
scope ; but I Avill merely ask your attention for
4:1 few minutes to a single disease and its bearing
upon the operations of the horticulturist.

Perhaps no subject embraced within the scope
of pomology is exciting more attention at the
present time than that of sterility in our fruits,
and you may perhaps remember my remarks on
this subject two years since, wherein I took the
ground that it was caused almost exclusively
by an arrest of vigor in the tree. Since that
time my views upon this important point have
undergone some change ; that is, I consider this
peculiar state of the blossom may be attributa-

ble to other influences, or, in other words, an
excess of vigor frequently proves as unfortunate
as a lack of vitality. For instance, if we exa-
mine a very luxuriant healthy young tree, we
find it rarely seems inclined to form blossom-
buds, and consequently flowers and fruits ; but as
soon as this excess of action becomes disturbed
or arrested, the tree at once forms blossom-buds
and fruits.

Now, we know that the formation of blossom -
buds and flowers is generally one of the last
efforts of a branch to perfect its growth, and
in proportion to the amount of vitality in the
tree, is inflorescence produced. VitaUty may
be checked in other ways than by an absence
of vigor, and my experience and observa-
tion assure me that Dr. Masters, the English
botanist, is correct when he asserts that an over-
fed plant, equally with one that is starved, may
be thrown into fruitfulness. But here comes in
the query, which of the two is the more prefera-
ble ? For myself, I should not hesitate to say
that I certainly prefer enfeebled to excessive
vigor in promoting our object.

In the end, the latter course must produce
plethora, which is the sure forerunner of some
disastrous disease. These remarks do not in
any way influence the views that I expressed at
a previous meeting, in regard to the application
of highly nutricious fertihzers to an enfeebled,
sterile tree, for in such cases I know it to be a
judicious course ; but hundreds of trees are an-
nually destroyed by excessive kindness, in place
of a uniform gentle treatment, that would sure-
ly produce a sound, healthy growth and a mode-
rately productive crop of fruit. In a botanical
explanation, flowers are nothing more than
branches in another form, having been checked
in their growth ; and the different parts of the
flowers are in reality leaves, also in a changed
condition. This is exemplified every day of our
lives by the commonest forms of vegetable life
and this change must occur from some inward
causes, which I have termed excess and lack of
vigor, either being capable of causing the arrest
of vegetation, and producing the change which
always ends in flowers and fruits. The question
of double flowers and variegated leaves has also a
bearing upon this subject, but I have not time
to explain their cause at this time.

SUGGESTIONS.

According to time-honored usage, I now take
the liberty of offering a few suggestions relative

78

THE GARDEjYER'S MOJ^TELY.

March,

to the rules and order of our Society and its
meetings. The first question for our serious
consideration, is how can these meetings be im-
proved so that tliey shall increase in usefulness
and interest ? Our aim undoubtedly is to bene-
fit the whole fruit-growing community, and with
this idea, th3 query of how best can it be per-
formed, is one that I find somewhat difficult to
solve. Such a dissimilarity of views appears to
prevail among our members, that I would sug-
gest the question should be freely discussed, and
all proper plans for improvement receive due de-
liberation. We may thus be enabled to ac-
complish more good, and so popularize our
annual conventions, that every person who
feels an interest in the advancement of pomology
may be induced to meet with us and assist us in
our labors. Since I have had the honor of pre-
siding over this association, no portion of my
duties has been so difficult to perform as this ap-
parently unimportant task ; and yet in reality
none are of such great consequence, or, as it
were, affect the prosperity of our Society to such
an extent. I would, therefore, again ask for your
consideration of this subject, as well as for a free
and unreserved comparison of views in relation
to its improvement in evey form.

The finances of our Society are not in as flour-
ishing a condition as I could wish, for although
we have had sufficient funds during the past year
not only to meet all current expenses, but also to
liquidate a portion of our previous debt, there
still remains the sum of ;^1S8 38 unpaid. I would,
tliereforc, recommend that our members should
replenish our treasury by an assessment of $1
each, additional to their annual foe, and by
this means we shall have a surplus for
meeting every unforeseen contingency that may
arise. Owing to the liberality of our late Legis-
lature in printing gratuitously the "Proceed-
ings'' of our Society for the pastyear, and in the
belief that we miy again be favored by that
body in the same manner, this annual outlay
has ceased to be a source of expense to oiir
members for the present ; but there are other
necessary improvem«nt^^, which can only be ac-
complished by an additional amount of funds in
our treasury. I am of the opinion that one
year's extra assessment will be sufficient for the
above purpose ; but this also I leave for your
judgment to decide. Should you deem it most
prudent to leave the whole matter to private and
individual subscription, I will cheertuily join

you in this, but I should prefer a specific equal
sum to be paid by each member.

I take great pleasure in calling your attention
to the printed report of our Proceedings for the
past year, and, notwithstanding the omissions
and errors contained therein, I believe it to be
creditable to our association, and an honor to
the State. I have in contemplation several ad-
ditional features to be added in our next issue,
which I hope may make it still more worthy of
your regard ; and in carrying this out, I shall
cheerfully assist my successor in office to the
best of my ability. The insertion of lithographs
illustrating our native seedling fruits of merit,
can be increased if our members will kindly for-
ward to the proper authorities neatly executed
sketches, together with a carefully prepared his-
tory of the same.

The exhaustive treatise on insects injurious
to the Apple, together with the excellent illus-
trations accompanying the same in our recent
Eeport, should be followed by similar papers on
other classes of depredatory insects, all of which
will no doubt be performed.

I again refer you to Article VI of our Con-
stitution, in relation to the appointment of Pro-
fessors on Entomology, Botany, Horticultural
Chemistry and Geology, and if in your judg-
ment it should not be advisable at this time to
Gllall of the above, a portion, at least, would, in
my opinion, greatly increase our usefulness. In
the matter of valuable papers for reference tc
be incorporated in our annual reports, these ap-
pointments would prove highly advantageous in
many ways. We do not always desire our So-
ciety to be in its infancy, and confined to the
rudimental principles and elementary studies,
so that we really need a scientific basis, bj- aid
of which we may progress to a higher develop-
ment of our cause. Not only will suitable
teachers assist us individually in this matter,
but they will assuredly bestow upon us, collec-
tively, a certain degree of influence for good, es-
tablished and permanent, which shall make us-
in future years more useful and popular with
kindred organizations.

Frequent and social intercourse with each
other, as well as with pomologists of other
States, exerts a tendency towards emulation,
and induces a spirit of intjuiry in us all. To en-
courage this commendable desin', and likewise
to impart unto our fruit-grovviug community a
knowledge of what is trauirspiring around us, I
feel the need of an active, interested, ad-interim

1872.

THE GARDENER'S MCA'TMLy

79

Committee. Although our By-Laws provide
for such an appointment, the area of labor is too
extensive, and should not be left to members of
the General Fruit Committee. In my opinion,
a few of our members who feel willing to act in
this capacity should be selected, whose business
it should be to meet at least once or twice dur-
ing the summer and autumn months, and visit
the most interesting localities where fruit-cul-
ture is practiced successfully. They will thus
be prepared to present a valuable report, giving
such important data as may in their judgment
best assist our cause. Such a committee would
also constitute the proper department to whom
might be sent specimens of new or unknown
fruits for description, with any other matter in
connection with the subject.

For the purpose of inci'easing our sphere of
usefulness, I would ask our Corresponding Sec-
retary to ascertain the name and residence of
one or more reliable fruit man in each county of
our State, as well as in neighboring localities,
who would be willing to co-operate and corres-
pond with our General Fruit Committee, so
that we may annually prepare an accurate re-
port of our fruit crop, together with all useful
and important information relative to diseases
and insects, the introduction of new fruits, pe-
culiarities of soil, locations, &c., &c. In this
respect I fear we are behind some of our sister
associations, and in my opinion the matter
should not longer be delayed, combining, as it
does, the elements of success more fully than any
feasible plan with which I am acquainted.

The resolution offered by Dr. Taylor, of Ches-
ter Co., at our last meeting, to petition the Leg-
islature for a State Department of Agriculture,
Mining and Geolosry, has received due attention
at the hands of the committee appointed for
that purpose, and in view of the manner in
which our delegation was received, as well as
the interest that has so evidently been aroused
in regard to such a great public improvement, I
should feel pleased if our Society would renew
their application to the Legislature for the same
purpose. Those who feel inclined to doubt the
feasibility of further work in this direction,
should consider that it is not the work of a mo-
ment, but rather the labor of years, and if we
should be instrumental in having such a depart-
ment as is proposed once in operation, we shall
enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that we have
performed one good deed at ka-^.t in a public ca-

pacity. I ail exceedingly sorry that Dr. Tay-
lor has been prevented from attending here at
this time, but he wished me to say to this conven-
tion that he feels very sanguine as to its suc-
cess, and that he cordially unites in again pre-
senting the facts to our Legislature during the
present winter.

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, I am with you heartily in any and
every project tending towards the advancement
of our Society, and not this Society alone, but
the more comprehensive and broader plat-
form of universal education. By this I mean,
that we may so improve and elevate the systems
of education that our cultivators of the soil may
be induced to look with kindness and leniency
upon the spirit of inquiry that is already being^
felt as a power in the land. The sooner we dis-
abuse ourselves of the idea that we are perfect
adepts in horticulture, the more readily will we
be enabled to learn those mysterious truths which
can only be free to the diligent student who ex-
amines for himself, and personally proves the
correctness of the theories he may have learned
from books. We are all of us students, and I
am afraid too many of us have not mastered the
alphabet, as it were, in this great study of nature;
and until we do possess a better acquaintance
with the primary principles of this lesson, it is
absolutely folly to undertake the higher branches, .
Again quoting from a lecture delivered by Prof
Huxley to the VVorkingmen's College of London,
I may be allowed to say that I endorse it all,
word for word:

" To every one of us the world was once as
fresh and new as to Adam. And then, long be-
fore we were susceptable of any other mode of
instruction, nature took us in hand, and every
minute of working life brought its educational
influence, shaping our actions into rough accor-
dance with nature's laws, so that we might not
be ended entirely by too gross disobedience.
Nor should I speak of this process of education
as past, for any one, be he as old as he may.
For every man the world is as fresh as it was at
the first day, and as full of untold novelties for
him who has the eyes to see them. And nature
is still continuing her patient education of us in
that great university, the universe, of which we
are all members— nature having no Test Acts.''

And sol leave this subject with you my friends,
for your serious consideration, believing that it
will make us all wiser, as it will make us all

80

THE GARDEJfEFCS MOJ^i'TRLlL,

Marchf

better. I thank you sincerely for your kindness
in leaving your homes to meet with us at this
time, and you especially who have come from
distant States to assist us with your knowledge
and experience. Each individual member, I be-
lieve, has performed bis part faithfully and well,

and therefore the Pennsylvania Fruit Growers'
Society to-day occupies a more useful and alto-
gether higher position in the rank of real live
working associations than ever before.

I will not detain you longer, but simply thank
you for your kind attention to my remarks.

EDITOR lAL.

CORRUPTION IN HIGH PLACES.

This is the heading which meets us every-
where in the daily papers, and every class in
the community pauses in astonishmenl , and to
ask what is to be done. We, as horticultur-
ists, are as much interested in this matter as
any other class can be, and we boldly say that
horticulture is in no way responsible for the pre-
vailing disease.

Indeed, we will go further, and charge that it
is the inordinate love of money for its own sake,
which is the sole cause of the trouble, — and we
hold that it is the duty of every one who de-
plores the sad state of affairs, to set his face
strongly against this tendency, — and that in no
way can this tendency be better fought than in
diffusing a taste for gardening.

Now, the gardening that wc mean is not the
gardening that many will understand. Dollar
and cent horticulture will have little more effect
on the regeneration of the world, than dollar
and cent politics ; but that gardening which
does not look so much at the money which it
makes as the pleasure which it brings, always
has and always will be a power for good in this
world.

We by no means despise dollars and cents
in horticulture or elsewhere. On the contrary,
we look on thrift and industry as among the
godliest of virtues; and honor and esteem him
who lays up treasures on earth, as next to the
one who lays them up in heaven. Indeed, we
should have no objection whatever to every one
of our readers becoming millionaires, the editors
included, — and hope they will bo, especially the
latter. But we do most sincerely believe that
the mere laying up of money is a grand curse,—
and that he whose whole career maybe summed
up in this, that he "died worth a million, but he
left all, and didn't take a dollar with him," has
not only lived in vain, but Ins set an example

of immorality that every one should shun and
despise. Our fervent hope and desire is, that
only be shall have riches who, before he starts
on the race for them, shall resolve that he will
leave the world better than he found it, and
that the people of the world shall be the hap-
pier for his having lived therein.

The desire to use money wisely and well as
we go along, is one of the best correctives of the
temptation to come by it dishonestly. The gen-
erous impulse. — the sacriflce of self,— the love of
humanity, — none of these ever exist in a re-
markable degree in the mere fortune-hunter.
They are only found in those who, with a due
regard to the chances of future wants, spend
their money rationally as they go along.

And we present gardening, in its purest sense,
as one of the most rational of all these pleasura-
ble things. Let any one cast his eyes around
him on those amateur horticulturists he may
chance to know, and we feel positive he will find
them among the best men in the community.
Look at the habitations of the poor,— and so
sure as y^ou see a neat piece of garden about the
house, a few well- tended flowers in the windows,
or even a few well grown vegetables in the
yard, you will find a happier and better man
than the one next door, about whose windows
the stench of manure takes the place of the odor
of roses, and whose parlor companions are of
the Swinish breed.

Many years ago, when Springbrook, then in
possession of Caleb Cope, Esq , was in its prime,
thousands flocked there to see the superb Victo-
ria Lily flourishing as happily as in its native
Amazonian home. The odoriferous and im-
mensely large flowers and gigantic leaves
scarcely struck the beholders more than did the
fiict that it cost several thousands of dollars to
build a house to grow one plant. Of the throng
which came and saw and admired, there were

187'^.

THE GARBE^'ER'S MOXTEL^ .

81

some, who, far wealthier than the honored man
Avhose name we have mentioned, would yet com-
ment on the extravagance of the display ; but
we found, as time wore on, that it was just these j
men, ever ready to comment on waste, who
would "sell these valuables and give the money
to the poor," who were ever foremost to sacri-
fice the best and dearest treasures of their hearts
for thirty pieces of silver.

But after all, most of the horticulture of
Springbrook was really for the poor— not, per-
liaps, in the worldly sense of the term, but for
those who were debarred in some way from
growing for themselves what the generosity of
Mr. Cope could supply. The thousands of
bunches of hot house grapes and the large
amount of luscious fruits and forced vegetables
could, perhaps, have been bought in the markets
at a lower price than it cost to raise them ; but
they would not have been given away, as nearly
all these were, with the pleasure, or received
with half the enjoyment that these home-grown
things conveyed. The grapes by the sick bed,
and the Victoria flower at the marriage feast,
were doubly valued as the gift and the produc-
tion of Caleb Cope.

All over the world it has been found that gar-
dening is one of the best aids to virtue. This is no
mere sentiment, — such as we know many writ-
ers on morals like to indulge in, — a wish which
is father to the thought; but a practical fact,
which is being acted on by humanitarians who
believe in carrying science into society, as well
as into the workshop and into the field. Those
schools are found to be the best which have
trees and flowers about them ; reformatories and
houses of correction which have gardens are
the most efl'ective ; and it has been found that
soldiers usually, from the unnatural position
they occupy in a peaceful world, not by any
means famous for virtue, are wonderfully im-
proved by having gardens about their English
camping-grounds. Miss Burdett Coutts, one
of the wisest of English philanthropists, does
her best to encourage the growth of tlowers
amongst the lower and vicious orders of English
society, solely from the good she has observed
to result from it.

We hope we shall not be misunderstood about
the money question. We Ivnow we have hun-
dreds of readers to whom "will it pay ?" must
of necessity be the first question with them. We
intend to aid and encourage them. It is an
honorable and useful position to fill ; but though

we approve of this as a first question, we mean
only to hope that it will not be their last, but
that they will steadily keep in view the higher
aims and hopes of horticulture.

It was a pleasant thought which placed the
primseval man in a beautiful garden. It was
the childhood of the human race, and just as
human children at the present day delight in
nothing so much as to have a little garden of
their own, it was no doubt suggestive of the
most ancient and most innocent pleasure. All
of us as we grow old wish we could be but chil-
dren again, and what can make us feel so young
as to keep ever fresh and green those pleasures
of child hood which are adapted to all ages and con-
ditions of life ? Indeed, almost all men resolve
when young, to have a nice garden some time
"after they have got some money." They go
into the pursuit, and only too often to find that
this is all they get, — the taste is gone !

We offer these thoughts at this time as oppor-
tune to the great question of the day, how shall
we stem the tide of corruption now raging in the
land ? We should teach that money is not the
sole end of man in this world, — that unless some
rational use is made of it, it is a great evil, —
that the great end of man here is to enjoy him-
self rationally as he goes along, and to aid others
in this rational enjoyment ; and that one of the
most rational of all pleasures, — rational in this,,
that while it confers a host of pleasures in itself,,
it is a useful aid to other virtues, — is the pur-
suit of gardening.

TRAVELING RECOLLECTIONS.

The eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains,
deprived of much rain by the condensatioa of
the cloud moisture chiefly on the western side,
yet seems to have attractions for settlers on ac-
count of the enormous richness of the soil under
irrigating systems of agriculture. At first
thought, it seemed strange that mere rotten
granite rock, and the little clay mixed with it.
should possess such advantage. A few3^ears ago
this would have been deemed impossible in the
light of the science of the da}' , Init now we have
learned that dry earth is a powerful absorl)ent of
the noxious gases of the atmosphere, which gases
are just the thing which makes a soil fertile for
the growth of plants. A very dry climate,
therefore, is well calculated to enrich the earth;
and when water is at command, so that just as
much and no more can be given as the plants
require, the perfection of culture is reached.

82

THE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJ^^THLl

March,

There are many flourishing towns and settle-
ments along this region which depend chiefly
on irrigation for their agricultural results, al-
•though the bunch grass and other vegetation of
^vhich we have before spoken, yield good food
for stock, which they graze on in the open coiin-
try, even in winters when the ground is not
nvholly covered with snow, as is often the case.
At Greeley there were remarkably fine crops, both
of farm and garden produce, some of them ex-
celling anything we can grow in the East in the
ordinary way. The Cache le Poudre, a small
(river,so called on account of quantities of powder
'having been buried here to save from falling
into the hands of the Indians in the ancient
bloody times, is not a very heavy stream ; and
we fancy that when the colony shall go beyond
a population of twenty thousand, it will hardly
afford to have another settlement tap its water-
, course some distance nearer the source. For
these reasons we should judge the population of
a territory like this must always be limited.
Still it has attractions, and the excellent crops
which they can raise under the irrigating sys-
tems will always be amongst them.

Greeley, under the head of men like Meeker
and Cameron, has been a great success in so
short a time. Though not two years old, there
were between four and five hundred houses, and
'.the signs of continued prosperity in the increas-
ing prices and demand for real estate were
•..nbuiidant.

The great Union Pacific Railroad afforded us an
.excellent opportunity of seeing the great State of
Nebraska across its whole width— some 800
miles. The dry region docs not extend cast
from Laramie much further than Sydney or
Julesburg, — say for about 250 or 300 miles. Cer-
tainly after the south and north fork of the
riatle River unite, which they do at the town
of Xorth Platte, a most magnificent country is
reached, which is not to be surpassed by any in
the States for fertility and productiveness b}^
natural causes alone. This gives the best half
of the State to our eastern systems of agricul-
ture, beyond all doubt ; and population, as ex-
hibited by the increasing number of farm houses
along the line, are evidently finding it out. At dif-
ferent stations along the road people w'ould bring
us mammoth potatoes, corn, beets, watermelons,
to show what the soil would produce ; and one
gave us some account of his great success with
a large plantation of Black Walnuts. But of
these things we have never needed anj- evidence.

Indeed, it has been a source of astonishment to
us that any idea that these things cannot be
grown here should ever have prevailed. The
magnificent grass of the great prairie of Nebras-
ka is sufficient to disprove this where proof is
needed. In some places, where we could sec
groups of Pawnee Indians gazing at the train as
it passed through their country, it was hard to
see much of the legs of men or of the horses,
through the luxuriance of the vegetation in
which they were standing. A country which
can grow grass to perfection neeAs little other
praise, for with this all other good things in
farming or gardening follow. The whole re-
gion watered by the Platte and its tributaries
will no doubt be the final great cattle region of
the United States ; and this, after all, is the foun-
dation of our best agricultural disti'icts.

Every one knows that when one's face is turn-
ed towards home after along and fatiguing jour-
ney, time is not taken to see as much of a coun-
try as Avhen on the outward-bound track ; hence
we had not the chance to see as much of Omaha,
Council Bluffs, and other thriving places, as wo
might have done had we went out on that route.
However, we were much indebted to Dr. Miller,
of the Omaha Herald, Mr, O. F. Davis, the In-
dustrial Agent of the road, and other gentlemen
for much valuable information.

The country along the western line of Iowa,
bordering the Missouri River, is evidently of the
richest character, and if one is enraptured with
the deep ploughing theory of culture, he might
turn up here one hundred feet to advantage.
The contour of the surface is usually an im-
mense mass of small hills from one to two hun-
dred feet; though, of course, this often gives way
to wide extent of prairie and old river bottoms.

We had an opportunity of spending a few
hours at Kansas City, which we highly enjoyed,
as giving us a glimpse of one of the most flour-
ishing towns on the American continent. What
gratified us particularly was the evident taste
of the inhabitants. With an immense amount of
wealth the architecture was of the chastest char-
acter, and the garden art of an excellent cast.
The love of flowers appeared wide-spread.
Scarcely a house but in some degree or another
had its floral adornments.

We shall have to close these far AVestern
sketches here. A monthly magazine can but
give a very ira^ierfect outline of a six weeks'
journey through a region where so much was
new. But we trust from time t> tinie, as the
subjects permit, our readers will yet reap the
benefit of our observations.

187^,

THE GARBEJTER'S MOA'TMLy,

8S

SCRAPS AND aUERIES.

AViNDOw Plants, — C. Ji., Milioaukee, TTis.,
writes: — "I would like to trouble you for an-
swers to the following :

" Some time ago I took my plants out doors,
and gave them all a good wetting with a syringe
and water that had the chill taken out of it ;
none of the plants seemed to suffer, excepting
one Tea rose that had just come out with young
foliage ; soon after the operation the leaves of
this plant blackened and withered, and now it is
evidently dying. Can you surmise why ?

"Secondly, how would you advise me to keep
my window plants clear of lice ? I have very
seldom time to syringe them, and consequently
they are being overrun. What effect would
<!hloride or the fumes of iodine have on the plant
if applied to this purpose ?

" Thirdly, I had some rose cuttings in a pot ;
they all started finely, but then dried ; did they
have too much water or light, or does this some-
times happen, even if the above named condi-
tions are attended to properly V"

[The syringing itself would not hurt the rose.
What is the matter with it could scarcely be
told without personal inspection. Hoses some-
times are liable to the attack of a fungus similar
in its effects to that which produces the fire
blight in the pear. The fungus will eat its way
round the stem for half an inch wide, complete-
ly or nearly girdling it, when all above is injured
or entirely dies. See if anything has happened.
At other times roses in winter suffer from defec-
tive drainage. The water does not pass rapidly
away, the young fibres rot, and the leaves soon
after fall. A little Scotch snuff, powdered to-
Ijacco leaves, or tobacco water would probably
kill the green fly. Rose cuttings very often die
after they have pushed out leaves a little, and
before roots have come. This is, in fact, just the
time that professional rose raisers lose so many.
There has been a great strain on the vital ener-
gies to produce leaves in advance of roots, and, to
make matters worse, these leaves, as fast as they
expand, evaporate the juices; excellent results
follow often when these buds are cut back to
near where they start from, so as to leave no
surface of this kind until alter the leaves have
jjushed. Stiil tha cuttings may have been in-
jured b^' other causes]

Raising EvERoiniEN Cuttings.— "^oince,"
Kokoma, Indiana: — '*'Will you be so kind as to
answer the following queries in the Monthly :

"1. Which of the common hardy evergreens
can be propagated from cuttings in the open
air?

"2. What is the proper time to make them V

"3, What kind of soil is best, and how should
it be prepared ?

" 4. What should be the conditions in regard
to shade and watering ?

" 5. What length should the cuttings be
made, and how deeply inserted in the soil V"

[1. All of our hardy evergreens can be raised
from cuttings with a little experience ; but in
the nursery trade this is chiefly confined to Box,
Yew, Juniper and Arborvitre.

2. They are usually put in any time in the
fall and early winter before the severe frost has
injured them. Sometimes shallow shelves or
benches are made in a greenhouse ; at other
times shallow boxes are employed, two or three
inches deep, and filled with sandy soil, or pure
sand, A temperature of about 60^ is maintain-
ed, and the cuttings not suffered ever to have
the full sun. The soil or sand is kept regularly
damp. Pieces are used from two to four inches,
and inserted about one-third their depth.]

Kew Nashville (Tenn.) Fir3i.— Truett,
Sous & Morgan is a new combination for the
general nursery, and florist business, in this
pretty town and excellent nursery centre. The
names of the gentlemen composing it have
often appeared in the reports of the Tennessee
Horticultural Society, and we doubt not repre-
sent gentlemen who will do credit to the nur-
sery trade.

Culture of Gloxinias, Gesneria, and
Cyclamen. — 31rs. J. J. B. If. wishes that some
of the obliging correspondents of the MontJihj
who have had good success in the culture of
these plants, would give the readens details of
their experience. AVill they favor us as re-
quested y

Rhododendron Culture.— 7?. S. iFT.,
Mv:Yiifi)i-ihvUh. K>j., asks : "Please give me

8J^

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^^THLY.

March;

some instructions as to the culture of the Rho-
dodendron. I purchased a dozen in the East a
couple of }■ ears ago, and planted them in good,
rich earth in my garden ; but the leaves have a
yellow tint, and they are not the evergreen
things I took them for. The first year they
were green'enough and bloomed beautifully. I
was proud of them then ; but now I am
ashamed."

[These are, no doubt, planted deep— the usual
bane of Rhododendron planting. Plant Rhodo-
dendrons on the surfjice of the ground, and
draw the earth up around them, afterwards
tramping or beating it hard and firm about the
roots.

In very loose, fine, spongy soil, there is not so
much injurj' from deep planting ; but wherever
the soil is inclined to clay, surface planting
should always be adopted, — not only with the
Rhododendron, but with the Kalmia and all
hair-like rooting plants.]

Serious Error. — Knowing how widely our
papers are copied, both in this country and in
Europe, we very much regret that in our last
"Recollections of Travel," speaking oi Abies
Doitglassii, we did not notice in the proof that
eight feet in diameter was used instead of
eight feet in circumference. It was not eight
feet in diameter. We shall be greatly indebted
to those of our exchanges which may use the
article, if they will add this correction.

Of minor matters, we may add that Pinus
aristata is a true Pine, and not of the Spruce
section.

PlCACHES FOR AN ORCHARD IIOUSE.— J/rS.

T. G'., New Haven, Conn,, inquires for the
best half dozen varieties— flavor to rule the
choice. As a general thing, cling-stones have

he best flavor, though they are not preferred
for table fruit.

If clings are desirable, try the old Mixon
Cling, Chinese Cling, and the Newington. But
for six good free-stones, say Crawford's Early,
Columbia, Stump the World, Grosse Mignonne,
George IV., Royal George.

Raising Rhododendrons from Seed.— D.,
Chicago, Ills. The seeds are like dust. Sow
on the surface, and cover with some very thin
material which will keep them continually shady
and cool. They are easily raised if a soil and
situation is chosen where they will keep regu-

larly moist without artificial watering. They
usually sprout within six weeks.

Pomegranates, Oleanders, &c —A Lady
of Harrodsburg, Ky. : "I am an old subscriber
to the Country Gentleman, and we are delighted
with it and the Monthly, as there is a perfect
mania in our vicinity, as well as in Central Ken-
tucky, generally on the culture of flowers.

"Should my health improve this winter, I
should like to contribute some pieces to your pa-
per, as; I have something interestine to tell of
flowers and shrubs that I saw in the Cumber-
land ^[ountains of Kentucky during a trip to
the Cumberland Palls this summer. Then, again,
I would like to tell your readers of some of my
own sjdendid plants, Pomegranates and Olean-
ders, tliat are fifteen feet high, &c."

[The notes referred to are just the kind of
correspondence we like to get. Where any one
has success in culture, there are surely some
facts which will interest others to know.

These favors are always thankfully received.]

Daphne Cneorum. — iV. J. H., Sandusky,
O. : This plant is of easy growth if planted iu
any good garden soil that will not bake or be-
come hard in summer time, or that is not too
much exposed to the hot sun. Knowing how
hot sun injures it, many plant it near trees ; but
the roots of these large trees dry the ground so
much that this drought is worse than the sun.
Light soil, partial shade, with just enough of
dampness not to be wet, are all it requires.

Clerodendron Bungei. — A correspondent
sends us this for a name. It has a large rosy
head, nearly as large as a Hydrangea. The
roots are hardy in Pennsylvania, but the stem
gets killed down in winter. The new wood,
hovvever, always flowers in fall. It is a native
of Japan, and would probably remain out unin-
jured south of the Potomac.

Errors of the Press, &c.— Messrs. Scrib-
nerofXewYork are issuing an illustrative li-
brary of wonders, very well in its way ; but the
last volume, "The Wonders of Vegetation,"
from the French of Marvin, and edited with ad-
ditions by Schell De Vere, D. D., L. L. D., ot
the University of Virginia, sadly wants a proof-
reader with some knowledge, and the editor
wants English instruction. Take the two fol-
lowing as illustrations At page 242 occurs the

187^.

TEE GARDE^^ER'S MOJYTELy.

S5

following paragraph, which we submit, is a cu-
rious specimen :

"In other plants the leaves seems to have a
special attraction for insects, which, leaving
blossom and fruit alike unharmed, are irresist-
ably attracted by a mysterious charm in the
leaves."

This is careless composition, but what shall
be said of most vexatious errors in botanical
names for want of good proof-reading ? This
may occur in hasty periodical printing, but in a
volume of so much pretensions as the one under
consideration, it is utterly unpardonable.

At page 254 we have a description of a moving
plant known as the Desmodium gyra7is ; it is
printed twice at least Gyraus. When we see
«rrors like this in houses where proofs go
through two or three corrections by persons ap-
pointed specially for their professional excellence
in proof-reading, we have great charity for those
who send us bitter letters when anything goes
wrong in our own publication of their work.

BoYER & Co AND C. T. Crolie.— It seems
very funny to a looker-on when the Carolina
Farmer takes the doings of Boyer & Co. in one
hand, and with the other holds up to admira-
tion "our correspondent C. T. Crolie of Plain-
field, N". J."

Laxtost's Peas.— We are indebted to Mr,
Laxton, through Messrs. Thorburn, for a pack-
age of the "Superlative'' Pea for trial in this
country. On the seal is the motto spero meliora ;
but this can hardly be in reference to the Peas,
for if the praises given to them in the English
papers are well merited, there ought to be little
hope for any further improvement.

Caladium esculentum in the Ground. —
A Toledo correspondent says : "By the gener-
ous use of liquid cow- manure and copious daily
waterings on the roots of this plant set in de-
pressed basins on the lawn, I have attained, the
past season, leaves measuring between nine and
ten feet in circumference."

Gardeners and their Employers.— In
England, as we notice in foreign papers recent-
ly, there has been some discussion as to the
right of nurserymen to "entice" gardeners away
from one place to better ones. It is said that a
first-cia&s man can always be had if only the
nurseryman is given time to operate. In our

own country we have some of this trouble. A
distinguished firm writes :

"It is quite a common thing for parties to
come here and offer our men inducements to
leave us and go to them ; ladies do the same
with female servants. So, with rare exceptions,
it is every man and every woman for themselves,
and the d 1 take the hindmost.''

As a general principle, it is one's dutj' to take
care of himself A man's labor is often all his
capital, and it is very hard for him to stand still
and see belter places where he might get much
higher wages and better circumstances, pass
away ; on the other hand, it is excessively annoy-
ing for an employer to have a man whom he
supposed well satisfied give notice to quit at the
most inopportune time, olten to his serious loss.
We have known gardeners of high-toned princi-
ples say to their employers that they engaged
only on the condition that they should be free
to take a better chance if it offered, and whose
only return for this candor was a sudden notice
to quit as soon as another gardener came along.
Such honorable conduct on the part of garden-
ers is not likely to be repeated, and others who
hear of it act also on the sly and secret course
as the only protection to themselves.

As a general rule, however, we think those
gardeners will fare best who, when a chance to
much better themselves comes up, talk quietly
with their employers about it, before taking any
steps in the matter. Even a gentleman who en-
gages a man "onthe sly" will always suspect
that the gardener will serve him in the same
way at some time.

Death of Mr. Lyman. — Though the small-
pox has been widely prevalent through the
United States this past winter, we have heard
of no loss of any of our representative men by it
except of Mr. Lyman, the Agricultural Editor
of the JV". Y. Tribune. The writer's first per-
sonal acquaintance with Mr, Lymin was on
the Agricultural Editorial Excursion (as far as
Kansas, where he left) last year, drring which
he irai)ressed all with the earnestness of his pur-
suit of knowledge. Asa member of the great
editorial circle, his character and ability have
been long known to us and admired.

Plants for Blooming in Winter —We
are so often asked for lists of winter-blooming
plants, that the following will be useful. They
were taken from plants in bloom in the green-

so

THE GARDEJ\'ER'S MOJ\'TELY.

March,

house at Rhos^uniynydd, the suburban residence
ofj. P. Jones, Esq., Blockley, West Philadel-
phia.

Abutilon striatum vexilarium.
Ageratum coelestinum variegatum.
Allium Xeapolitanum.
Aspidistra lurida variegata.
Azalea Fortuuli striata narcissiflora.
Bulbocodium vernum.
Coronilla glauca variegata.
Cobea scandens.
Cuphea platycentra.
Cyclamen Persicum.
Cypripedium insigne.
Daphne veuusta indica odorata.
Erica Mediterranea.
Gesnera splendens.
Habrothamuus elegans.
Jasminum grandiflorum.
Justicia purpurea.
Libonia floribunda.
Linum trigynum.
Lantana Sellowii.
Lopesia rosea.
Mannettia bicolor.
Narcissus tazzetta.
Oxalis grandiflora versicolor.
Primula sinensis fl, pi. alba.
Rhododendron arborea rosea.
Rosa Banksia alba.

Rubus fruticosus pomponius tl. pi, Japonicus.
Salvia coccinea.

gesneri flora.

involucrata.

splendens.
Sparmannia Africana.
Tropreolium fl pi.

Lobbianum.
Ulex Europsea fl pi.
Viburnum suspensum.

white, and the other a large yellow peach ; each
distinct from the other in its habit of growth,
appearance and flavor of fruit."

[Certainly possible. A single grain of pollen
only, fertilizes each single germ, and every pollen
grain has a distinctive character of its own.
The two kernels, though under one seed-coat,
were each fertilized by its own pollen grain ;.
hence must follow a distinct form.

Two KiND.S FROM OXK SeED. — "Jfo)lO?l,'

Cincinnati, Ohio, says : "Enclosed, I hand you
an extract from our local paper. As I note you
have paid some attention to these matters, will
3'ou please give an opinion on the possibility of
the result as stated ?"

"An Indiana correspondent of the Bural ytu:
Yorker writes : 'A friend of mine, a lady of un-
doubted veracity, recently informed me that
several years since she cracked a peach pit
which contained two kernels; desirous of noting
the result, she planted the kernels, which in due
time germinated, grew and bore, the one a large

Business Xotices.— It is becoming very
common with friends sending advertisements to
the publishers to add "ask the editor to notice
our business," — and in some cases to make ac
advertisement conditional on such notice.

We never admit anything into our reading
columns as advertisements or to aid them \ not
one dollar has ever been received for anything
that has appeared here. If we note any novelty
in one's business, or anything sjyeciaUy deserv-
ing of praise, we hold ourselves free to do it;
and are glad if it benefits the persons interested.
It is part of the reward which " originators of
new and good ideas" are entitled to from the
public. Beyond this we cannot go. The ad-
vertising rates of the Monthly are low enough
"in all conscience.'' All advertisers must stand
on an equal footing there.

O. S. 11. — Plant for name grows on margins
of salt marshes by the sea shore.

This was ground to dust when it came to
hand, but appears to be Ivafrutescens.

Lecture ox Hybridization of Plants
was announced to take place at Horticultural
Hall at Boston, on the 7th of Feb , by Hon. M.
P. Wilder.

Fruit Prospects in Kentucky.— »7. A.
3/cA'., Cynthiana Ky., says: "Peach buds arc
nearly all killed in Central Kentucky. The
thermometer sunk to about 10^ below one morn-
ing, about 23d of Dec. last, and I suppose it is a
fact that 10^ below kills all expo.sed peach buds,
and 20'' cr thereabouts is death to the trees. We
had no fruit last year ; all killed in April by au
unseasonable freeze. Pears now as large as
cherries ; and strawberries and early cherries
now beginning to color."

Fire Blight.— The corresponding editor of
the Fomologist and Oardener makes the follow-
ing objections to Mr Meehan's theory, that
fungi are the cause of fire blight in pear trees :

1872.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^THLY.

87

If fungi are the cause of blight, it is hard to
account for the following facts : First, they al-
most universally attack wood of the most vigor-
ous growth, made during the preceding season.
Secondly, they are said not to attack trees dur-
ing a very dry summer. Thirdly, the}', it is
said, have never been known to attack trees
either in California or Italy. Fourthly, they
will attack trees in a most destructive form on
one piece of ground, and on another piece of
ground not one hundred yards distant, contain-
ing trees of the same kind and same age, and
even of the same variety, they make no attack
whatever, notwithstanding all the trees are sur-
rounded by the same circumstances, in regard
to heat and cold, wet and dry, sunsh'ne and
ehower.

Xow, from the foregoing facts and statements,
it is difficult to conceive how these fungi attack
strong, healthy trees, rather than feeble and un-
healthy ones, which would seem to be more
easily overcome. It is also difficult to conceive
why it is they do not attack in a very dry sum-
mer. If they are indeed the cause of blight, it
would seem from the analogy of disease, that
the most feeble growth would be the most liable.
If the pear tree is their favorite tree for attack,
why is it that they are never attacked either in
Italy or in California? It is surely not to be
presumed that fungi are not to be found in those
countries. Their attacking trees of the same
kind and not attacking others side by side with
those that are, is hard to reconcile with their
universal presence, and their uniform preference
for the pear tree.

[In the East ''•Fire BUghV attacks wood of
any age, sometimes as much as ten years old.
It does attack trees in a dry summer, but
whether more or less than in other seasons, we
have no evidence. California or Italy may not
have the little parasite there, or the climafe
may be unfavorable to its development ; and is
to the fourth objection, that is precisely wh}' it

ought to be fungus. If the seed of the parasite
is not there, all the circumstances, no matter
how favorable to development, would not make
it sprout. But no "theor)-'' is needed about
this matter now. Any one who cares to take
the trouble ma)'- see the fungus operating by the
aid of a good glass. That which certainly exists
must surely be possible.

Wages of Gardeners.— A Vermont cor-
respondent, a year or so from Europe, wishes to
know the average rate of wages in the United
States. He and his wife together get S900 per
annum, slip filling the position of housekeeper
in the family in which he is employed. It is
difficult to give an answer to this question, as
rates vary so much with location, and with the
duties expected of the gardener Married gar-
deners usually have a house furnished them,
with fuel, and vegetables after the family has
been supplied with its wants, and money va-
rying from $400 to SIOOO per annum. Usually
a gardener with house, thinks he has a pretty
good place with $600 per annum. The highest
figured places named are not numerous, and
only filled by gardeners of a high order of intel-
ligence.

BuRXED Out, but not Burnt Ur.— The
following letter to the publishers will be read
with interest :

"Hyde Park,
Chicago, Jan. 31, 1872.
Gentlemen:

All that is left of the establishment of Petti
grew & Reid, are the flues, chimneys and water
pipes. They do not own a square of glass or a
plant, and no insurance. Love for the business
and the determination to commence again is not
burnt out. So to help cheer in these dark time?,
I want the Gardener''s Ilunlhly sent for 1872.

Address John Pettigrew^

JonN GOODE.

BOOKS, CATALOGUEt^ &C.

Treatise on Pu.nctcath.n. I'y.Iohn Wilson.
Tbachbr's Gitidk to Baktiiolomew's Dkawing B)0K.
By W. W. Bartholomew.

Grammar op the Grekk Lasc.uaqe. By Alpheus
Crosby. From Woolworih, Ainsworih it Co., New
York. Through J. B. Lippincott k Co., Philadelphia.

This series of educational works we are clad

of the opportunity to coirimend to our readers,
and particularly the first named. There is
nothing of which most writers are so ignorant
as a knovvledge of punctuation. Usually, the
author lea,ves this important matter to the
printer, who, as every editor often finds out to

S8

THE GARDEJVER'S MO.N'TFfLy,

March,

his sorrow and vexation, knows less about it
than the author. So lax, indeed, has been all
regard to punctuation, that when an author
does attend to the pointing of his own manu-
script, the compositor pajs but little attention
to it. Correcting punctuation in proof has
been one of the most disagreeable of our experi-
ences. First, there is the author's meaning to
be remembered ; and this can scarcely be done
in the absence of the original "copy," which,
when the editor is miles from the office, as in
most magazines, be seldom has at hand. In
the next place, the author himself, perhaps, has
not attended to this duty, and hei^ce there is
always an uncertainty.

It is to be regretted that works of this educa-
tional class do not receive more attention from
horticultural writers than they do. Not only
in punctuation, but in grammar and style also,
are horticultural writings sadly defective ! "We
feel ashamed to confess that in these respects it
is worse than the literature of any other portion
of the community. In magazine writing, com-
posed in haste, and often for temporary pur-
poses, it may be slightly excused, if not to be
defended ; but in our book-writers there should
be no acceptable plea. There are a few writers
like Hoopes and Downing, whom it is a pleasure
to follow, both in the matter and manner of
their books ; but how rare are garden works
like these !

So far as punctuation is concerned this book
of AVilsou's is to be much commended, though
we should not like it as a model for style. He
seems to be so enamored of his art, as to adopt
the ruggedest road in language, as if he would
especially show his ingenuity in pointing his
way over it. For instance, the author says in
the introductory chapter: ''No one will hesitate
to admit, that next in value to the capacity of
discerning or discovering truth, and of feeling
the blessed relations which we sustain to the
Being who made us, and to our fellow creatures,
particularly those with whom we are more
immediately connected, is the power by which

intelligence and emotion are communicated
from one mind to another."

The style is always the clearest which calls for
the fewest stops in a sentence. "No one will
hesitate to admit that the power by which in-
telligence and emotion are conveyed to one
another, is next in value to the capacity of dis-
cerning or discovering truth, or of feeling the
relations which we sustain to God and man,
particularly to those of our fellow creatures
with whom we are more intimate!}' connected,"
is better with fewer stops, although the sen-
tence is still imperfect in consequence of its
complex ideas. These books, however, will afford
good lessons to the student of language, to
whom we heartily commend the book.

Report of the Geological Exploration of thb 45th

Parallel. By Clarence King, U. S, Geologist. Vol. V.
Botany. By Sereno Watson, Government Printing
Office.

The exploration of this part of our compara-
tively unknown dominion was ordered by Con-
gress in 1867. The country explored lies wholl}'
within the limits of Northern Nevada and
Utah, between 111" and 120" longitude, and
between 39' and 42' latitude, being the northern
portion of what once was called the Great
Basin.

The botanical portion of the expedition com-
menced in July, 1867, by Mr. W. W. Bailey.
Mr. Bailey took sick, and in 1868, Mr. "Watson,
a new name in Botany, took charge in his
place. It appears to have closed in the autumn
of 1869. The species collected number 1549,
and many of them are entirely new. Beautiful
plates of these accompany the text. Besides the
new ones, descriptions are given of those not
new, where they have been before described in
various papers and periodicals not of general
access to the public, which add largely to the
value of the work. "With the progress of these
discoveries we may look forward to a complete
Flora of the United States at no very distant
day.

NEW AND EAKE PRUITS.

The Brandy wixe Raspbekky. — R. H.
of Dover, Delaware, saj's : "Can \ou tell me
anything of the Brandywino Raspl erry ? It \s

being planted here by the acre, and it appears
it needs but very little advertising and no puff"-
ing, but sells right along. I don't recollect of

187^.

VHE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTRLY.

89

seeing any account of it in the Monthly or
other horticultural papers. M}' neighbors have
got ahead of me for once "

[When in Delaware last spring we heard this
variety well spoken of by fruit-growers, in
whose conservative judgment we should have
faith, but have not seen it personally.

We do not know where or from what it origi-
nated. Should be glad ot the information by
those who know.]

The Soulard Apple and Soulard Crab.
— Mr. D. W. AfJams, of Wmilon, Iowa writes:

" A note in the January number of the Monthly
indicates confusion between the Soulard Apple
and Soulard Crab. The former is an apple ot
good size, appearance and quality, but the tree
is not considered remarkable for hardiness, and
would not be likely to generally endure the win-
ters of St. Paul and vicinity. The latter is cer-
tainly a cra&, belonging decidedly to the Pvr?t.s-
coronaria, and a very astringent, hard fruit,
wholly un6t for dessert, but may be of use for
cooking in extreme northern latitudes, where
no better fruit can be grown. Its culture here
is wholly abandoned "

NEW AjN^D rake plaints.

Adiantum Farleyense. — This perhaps
most beautiful of all the maiden Hair ferns, at-
tracted much attention at the Horticultural

We are glad to find it offered for sale by him in
his new catalogue now before us. The follow-
ing outline sketch will give an idea of it to those

Society when exhibited by Mr. Buist last fall, who have not seen the plant itself ;

New Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.—
At the recent meeting of the Western New
York Horticultural Society, G. Ellwanger pre-
sented a report on newly-introduced ornamental
trees, among which he mentioned the follow-
ing ; Young''s Weepinr/ Birch, which has no
superior for small lawns and cenietery lots — tlie

branches very slender and drooping, and form-
ing one of the finest weeping trees. Another
weeping birch, known as the Betula elegans pen-
dula, has long flexible and slender branches,
which hang perpendicularly downwards, in
lines parallel with the stem, which give the tree
a peculiar and distinct habit. The weeping

90

IRE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJS^'THLy

March,

poplar, Populus grandideniuta pendula, is vigor-
ous in growth, the branches slender and grace-
fnlly drooping, the foliage dark and large, and
the whole tree much superior to the old weep-
ing poplar. It will succeed well in all situations
and soils. Betula albafastigiata forms a beauti-
ful pyramid like the Lombardy poplar, admira-
bly adapted to a small lawn. The Crisp-leaved
Maple, originated on the grounds of EUwanger
& Barry, is a variety of the silver maple, and
has delicately cut and curled foliage. LeopokVs
Maple has leaves mantled with purplish red,
changing to rosy pink, and has a striking eflect
early in summer. The Kakir Elm has upright
and large glossy foliage, giving it a distinct
character. The Golden Larch, from Japan, is
of compact and rather slow growth — light
green, changing to yellow in autumn. Magno-
lia Lenni is a magnificent hybrid of the Chinese
varieties, with dark purple flowers ; and M
Norhertiana, similar to the preceding, and fra-

grant. Botlr liower at the same time as the
Soulangiana and conspicua. FauVs New
Double Scarlet Tliorn is regarded as the finest of
all the thorns, being very double and bright
crimson. Grouped with the double pink and
double white, it has an exquisite eflfect on the
lawn. Siebold^s Double Dwarf Cherry has
double purple flowers resembling miniature
roses.

Of nexclij introduced shrubs, the large flowered
Hydrangea panicidata is particularly worthy of
notice, and is the finest flowering shrub of re-
cent introduction, growing from 8 to 10 feet
high, and bearing large pyramidal panicles
from 12 to 18 inches long. Its flowers are
white, and it continues a long lime in bloom.
It is still scarce and very little known. IViun-
berg''s Spircea is pink white, a free bloomer and
a desirable shrub. A new Weigela has pure
white flowers, a profuse bloomer and vigorous
"rower.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

The Colorado Potato-Beetle. — As'mui h
anxiety has lately been manifested in the East-
ern States, in consequence of the rapid approach
of the much-dreaded western Colorado potato-
bug, or ten lined spearman of Walsh {Dori/pho-
ra decern lineata, Say), and as several reports
have lately been published as to its appearance
in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and other
States, and as, in many of the cases, totally dif-
ferent insects have been mistaken for it, it may
be well to give a short account of the general
appearance and habits of this insect, for the
benefit of those farmers who have as yet, for-
tunately, had no opportunity of seeing it, or of
learning anything about its natural history. The
Doryphora decem-lineata, Colorado, or western
ten-lined potato-bug, was described by Say in the
journal of the Academy of ^Natural Sciences, in
1823, as occurring in Missouri and Arkansas,
and was so named from the ten black lines on
its wing covers, five on each side. One of the
first notices of its appearance, as a destructive
insect, was in 1801, when Judge Edgerton de-
scribed it as being very destructive to the ])ota-
toes in Iowa ; and, in 1802, it was reported by
Thomas Murphy, of Atchison, Kausas, as doirg

much damage to the crops and being very numer-
■ ous. The insect is said to have first fed on a spe-
cies of wild potato, growing out in the far West,
and is stated to have traveled east about three
hundred and sixty miles in six years, or at a
rate of about sixty miles a year. They arc
now said to be found as far north as Canada,
as far east as Ohio, and, according to some pa-
pers (but doubtful , even in New York and
Pennsylvania. — U. S. Agricultural ReporTo

Some Good but not Well-known Peaks.
— At the recent meeting of the Ontario Fruit
Growers' Society, President Burnet called the
attention of the members to some varieties of
pear not generally known. He had found the
Fondanle de Malines to be supei'ior to the
Belle Lucrative. The Graslin was a variety
which does not spot ; is large and profitable.
Ananas d'Ete is hardy, and better than the
Bartlett. Duchess d'Orleans is a very hand-
some and desirable fruit. Madame Eliza is also
verj' handsome. AVillermez is very hard to
ripen well. Yicount de .Spailberg is a very fino
winter sort, ripening about Christmas. Of tho
older varieties, he remarked that the Winter

1872.

THE GARDEMEK'S MOJfTELY.

01

Nelis requires to be well fed, and it is then one
of the very best of the winter sorta. The
Vicar of Winkfield should be kept in barrels in
the cellar until near the time of I'ipening ; then
should be placed in paper bags, and kept in a
warm room for about a fortnight, when they
will be found to be good. The Lawrence is a
very fine pear, always fair. The Sheldon bears
great crops about Hamilton, and is much
sought for in the mai-ket. The Louise Bonne
grows well, bears abundantly, and sells well.
The Flemish Beauiy is one of our most hardy
varieties, thriving well even in the vicinity of
Ottawa.

KoLREUTERiA Panictjlata. — This is a
highly ornamental tree, of medium size, from
Japan. Under good cultivation at the West, it
grows with great vigor, is very hardy, and,
taking the whole season through, is perhaps the
most beautiful deciduous ornamental tree yet
introduced. Its fine, very dark green leaves
and panicles of yellow flowers, a foot to fifteen
inches in length, coming out at the ends of the
shoots after the trees are in full leaf, succeeded
by ornamental capsules, and the bright yellow
tint of its foliage in autumn, all serve to make
it most attractive and deserving a place in every
yard however small. — Prairie Farmer.

A Large Peach Orchard. — Col. Edward
Wilkins, now has thirteen hundred and fifty
acres, with one hundred and thirty-six thousand
trees. The peaches from his orchard, which is
located near Chestertown, Md , are packed in
crates and sent to Baltimore by the Colonel's
own steamboat, to one canning factory which
contracts for the whole crop. In 1869 they
X netted him $1.10 per crate ; this year only
thirty-five cents, or Yl^ cents per basket. Yet
at this price he esteems it more profitable to
grow peaches than to grow corn at the rate of
sixty cents per bushel for a crop of sixty bushels
per acre. Some of his trees, three years old,
yielded him two crates to the tree. This is
unusual, for a basket per tree is a fair average.
Each crate holds two baskets.

Dryixg Fruit — In the letter from Charles
Alden (owner of the new fruit-drying ma-
chinery), which was read before the late horti-
cultural meeting at Rochester, he states that a
bushel of apples weighs fifty pounds ; that the
cost of cutting and preparing a bushel for dry-

ing is about thirty' cents ; and that a bushel
will yield nine dried pounds, two pounds of
which are cores and skins, which, wiien dried,
find a ready market at six cents per pound for
making jelly without sugar or boiling — a new
product. One bushel gives seven pounds of
good dried apples, which sell readily at twenty
cents per pound— making, after drying, $1.5:^
per bushel of apples, with cores and parings.
It will be understood that these dried apples arc
greatly superior to common dried apples, made
by exposure to weather, flies, &c. Tomatoes,
being very watery, yield only three pounds
dried per bushel ; but two dried ounces are
found to be equal in substance to a one-qnart
can, and will make as much by adding one
quart of cold water and stewing properly. The
evaporated tomato sells for seventy five cent&
per pound. Peaches yield seven pounds from a
bushel, one pound of which is skins. — Country-
Gentleman.

The Fuchsia.— The Fuchsia derives its
name from the German botanist, "Fuchs.'' The
first plant [Fuchsia iriphylla) was introduced
into Europe by Plumier, who took it there from
America in the seventeenth century. It is usu-
ally found growing on hills throughout the
forests of Mexico, Peru and Chili.

Along the Coast Range of California the Fuch-
sia can be cultivated to perfection ; it thrives
best in moist and partly shaded localities.

In San Francisco and its vicinity, the Fuch-
sia seems to be at home, and no plant is culti-
vated here with greater success both out of
doors as well as under glass. In summer and
in winter it continues to develop its bright little
"ear-drops" (as some people call them) and it is
remarkable that the same degree of cold which
we had here last winter, would have killed those
plants if exposed to the open air in New York
or Boston, but had not the slightest eflect on,
our plants ; in fact, in many localities they con-
tinued to bloom as freely as in May. Under
such circumstances, should not the Fuchsia be
one of our greatest favorites ?

Very often we are asked, can I raise Fuchsias
from slips in the open ground V Our answer is,
we have met parties who have, frequently, whO'
have stuck slips of year-old wood of the Fuchsia
into the ground ; they have grown and within a
few months have made flourishing plants ; and
this has been done both in sumuier and in win-
ter with equal succefcs.

92

THE GARBEJ^'-EWS MOJ\''THLi

March,

This fact goes far to prove how well our cli-
mate is adpted to the cultivation of the Fuchsia.

However, no florist or nurseryman would at-
tempt to raise Fuchsias in that way. The
florist takes the young shoots of the present
year's growth, plants them close together in
pots or shallow boxes filled with sand, waters
them well after planting so as to settle the sand
close around the stem, and places the box close
under the glass, shading them for a few days,
and in a month or six weeks roots are formed ;
the young plants are then transplanted singly
into two or three-inch pots, placed again under
glass, and shaded for a few days. As soon as
the ball of earth is covered with the young
roots, the plants must be shifted into four-inch
pots ; afterwards from four-inch to five-inch, and
so on. The grand secret to ensure perfect suc-
cess is to keep the plants in a constantly grow-
ing condition ; as long as you keep the plant
growing, you will have a profusion of flowers.
It is true that Fuchsias will flower more freely
with us in the open air than in pots under glass,
bnt this is only the case when the soil in the pot
is not sufficient to keep the plant in a growing
condition. Taking into consideration how
•easily young plants are raised, we do not see
why every one who is fond of Fuchsias should
not raise every year young plants from the old
ones, and in this way keep a certain number of
plants always in readiness to replace the old
ones, which should be turned into the flower
garden or thrown away.

Some Fuchsias are well adapted for training,
while others make handsomely-shaped bushes
and trees. "We have seen them covering the
side of a house twenty feet feet high, and cer-
tainly the effect was charming.

The varieties are loo numerous to mention,
and all of them are good. Every year adds a
large number to the already copious list ; these
are sold in Europe and in the East at extrava-
gant prices. Latterly the florists have succeed-
ed in producing double flowering Fuchsias, and
these are in more demand and at much bettor
prices; one of the best and most popular with
us is the double white.

At an early day we shall endeavor to give the
names and descriptions of the best varieties now
in cultivation here. — California HorticiiUur/st.

apple. There is very little certainty of any va-
riety proving to be of the same quality in all lo-
calities. We have tested many kinds which
have proved to be worthless in our own orchard,
and we have had many varieties of superior
qualities here which in like manner have turned
out to be worthless in other sections of country.
There is no way of determining the best varie-
ties for any locality, but by actual experiment.
Not so, however, with pears, all of which prove
to be identical in quality in all places in the
Southern States, so far as we have observed and
heard from correspondence. This fruit has been
of extra size and quality the past season.
Amongst the best early varieties, were the Made-
leine, Doyenne d'Ete, Osband's Summer and
Old Ananas, and Bartlett. iNext came Belle
Lucrative, Sterling, Julien, White Doyenne,
Beurre d'Anjou, Doyenne Bous^ock, St. Michael
Archange, Flemish" Beauty, the last ripening
from August to October, and proving to be one
of the most desirable and profitable varieties we
have ever seen or cultivated.

Seckel, Dix, Gen. Lamoriciere, Clairgeau,
Bosc, Grand Soliel, Duchess d'Angouleme,
Delice Jodoigne, Winter Nelis, Easter Beurre,
Glout Morceau, and many others, grew to enor-
mous size, and were of better quality than we
ever before saw them. Were it not for the
blight which occasionally attacks the trees, and
for which their appears to be no remedy or pre-
ventive, there would be no fruit so peculiarly
adapted to the soil and climate of Georgia as
the pear.

Stability of the Peaii ix the South. —
The Southern Cultivator says : Of all varieties
of fruits cultivated, none is so cnpriciousas the

Winter Pears. — A friend inquires, "What
is the best winter pear, to follow the Lawrence
and Winter Nelis ?'' We answer, unhesitating-
ly, Josephine de Malines. It is one of those sorts
which wear well on acquaintance Although
not quite so sweet as the Lawrence nor so high-
flavored as the Winter Nelis, we find it more
agreeable than either. It is very juicy and
melting— the most melting of any winter pear
we are familiar with ; it is never hard nor gritty,
but fine grained, and when the teeth go in the
juice pours out. A reason that it is not more
popular is the want of attractiveness in appear-
ance. We should add that it scarcely ever rots
— at least not until it has been fully ripe a long
time. We have now in our fruit-room (end of
January) in covered l)oxessido by side, the Win-
ter Nelis, Lawrence and Josephine de ^lalines —
the temperature and moisture being the same.

187'^,

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJS'TRLY.

98

The Winter Xelis is more or less dried or shriv-
elled ; the Lawrence, although fresh, has many
specimens more or less rotted, or with small de-
cayed spots on them ; but the Josephine de Ma-
lines remains in good eating condition without
any drawback. The fruit-room alluded to, is an
apartment in a cellar, with hydraulic cement
bottom and sides, separated from the rest of the

cellar by a brick wall, and capable of being kept-
at a low temperature, above freezing, by good
ventilation. The pears are in long, flat, cover-
boxes. Kept without any care, as too many do,
the owner would fail of success, and would
probably pronounce the three sorts we have-
mentioned as worthless fruits and "humbugs. "^
— Country Gentlemaa.

FOUEIGIN" INTELLIGENCE

GONIOPHLEBIUM APPENDICULATUM.— It is

well known that many Fern leaves, even when
they are matured, will not stand long in water
after being cut — one or two days at the most
will suffice to finish their beauty. Even the Maid-
enhair, though quite matured, will not stand
more than three days. I may mention one kind
which is a very beautiful Fern in any way we
choose to look at it, whether in pot, basket,
or Fern-case— Goniopblebium appendiculatum,
fronds of which will stand three weeks in water
in a perfect state. I look on this Fern as a
most valuable one at this season of the year. It
is a warm greenhouse kind, and like most
of the valuable winter decorative Ferns, is most
impatient of heat. It should never be allowed
to get dry; and a saucer of water at the roots in
summer will assist it very much to mature its
numerous fronds for the winter months, when
they are found really valuable. — H. K. in Gar-
dener\s Chronicle.

A New L.1SBEL. — We extract the following
particulars relating to a new Garden Label from
the Journal of Botany. The introducer of this
new label is Prof A. Church, Royal Agricultur-
al College, Cirencester: "The indestructibility of
solid paraffin suggested to me its use for the
preservation of printed plant labels. The plan
having proved successful, and the 'paraffined'
labels having resisted the adverse atmospheric
influences of two seasons. I cannot but hope
that more extended trials will confirm my con-
viction that a permanent garden label, legible
and inexpensive has been attained. The follow-
ing is a brief description of the mode of prepar-
ing the labels: — Prmt the names, &c., of the
plants on stout, smooth white paper of suit-

able dimensions and form. Prepare cast-iront
label holders with a flattened spike to keep them
straight in the ground, and with the upper ex-
panded portion so contrived as to have a sunk
flat space about a quarter of an inch deep, and
the right size for the reception of the printed
label and its protective glass cover. Paint this
sunk space with several coats of good white
paint, and allow it to dry thoroughly. The
next step is to unite the label to the glass plate
with paraffin. The paper label and the glass
being cut to the same size, the latter is cleaned
and kept hot, — about as hot as boiling water, —
while the label is being dipped into a bath of
melted paraffin. The label is then quickly
pressed on to the hot glass, a board and a weight
being put upon both. When cold, the glass
with its adherent label is placed in the sunk
space of the label-holder, and secured with good
putty. Subsequently, a coat or two of paint on
this putty will keep all secure. The above di-
rections are much easier to carry out than they
appear to be at first sight, while several contri-
vances and precautions will suggest themselves
to any one who carries them out on a large
scale. For instance, the glass plates may be
kept hot in an oven, and removed with a pair of
crucible tongs as wanted, while another pair of
tongs or pincers will be useful to hold the labels
during their immersion in the melted paraffin.
Here it should be stated that the best paraffin is
that which is freest from any kind of fat or
grease, and melts at a temperature at least above
56^ Centigrade. It might be found advisable to
imbed the label and glass in paraffin, or to
modify the plan of fixing the label to the glass
by putting it, soaked in paraffin, between two
sheets, but the principle of all these modifica-

9Jf

TEE GARDEJTER'S MOJ^TBLY.

March,

tions is identical. ;The air and rain are ex-
cluded, and cannot give rise to the discoloration
of the label. — GarcZener's Chronicle.

Abies Firma— A very distinct species, in-
troduced a few years ago from Japan, and gen-
erally reported to be hardy, which I believe will
prove to be the case, in so far as the severity of
our winter frosts are concerned ; but like the
Abies Morinda, Webbiana, and others, it will j
always, in its young state at least, be liable to '
be injured by late si)ring frosts. At Castle ;
Kennedy there are two plants growing, now up-
wards of three feet'in height, which had previ- j
ously been slightly protected during spring and j
«arly summer months. The last spring, which
was an unusually severe one, they were purposely
left unprotected. They are both growing in
•moderately sheltered situations— the one open
to the south, the other planted amongst larger
trees in an open position, but shaded from the
south and east. The plant open to the south
had the yonng side-growths blackened, the
leaders escaped ; the plant in the shaded situa-
tion had not a leaf or bud injured in the slight-
est degree. It will be well, till we have had
more experience of this interesting Japanese
tree, to plant it on hanging ground, with a west
or north aspect, avoiding the bottoms of glens
or other low-lying>ituations, on the one hand,
and very high or cxpf^ed ones on the other.
AVhere positions such as I have indicated can-
not be conveniently had, planting in the shade
of larger trees, selecting or making open spaces,
and trenching the ground before planting, will
be found to answer well for this and most of the
spring-tender spacies. —A. Foavler, in Gar-
dener'>s Chronicle.

dressed grounds or a lawn, by the sides of
drives or wood walks, where it is always pleasing.
It is quite hardy, and thrives in most soils and
ordinary situations, stands high winds better
than most of its congeners. Plants, from
twenty to thirty feet in height, are frequently to
be seen at Castle Kennedy ; a plant, twenty-
five feet in height, has coned. When to be had
cheap enough it will be well worth experiment-
ing with as a forest tree, the more so as its
wood is said to be of excellent quahty, and very
tough. — A. Fowler, in Garclener''s Chronicle.

Abies orientalis.— Indigenous to the coast
of the Black Sea, and also found on the loftiest
mountains of Imeritia, in Upper Mingrelia and
the neighborhood of Tiflis, forming whole for-
ests between Guriel and the Adchar Mountains.
When seen in a good.statc this is a charming tree.
It has a gentle refined>ppearance, its foliage, as
seen during the winter months, Avhen matured,
being shorter, finer, and more densely set than
the common Spruce. Its habit, when young, is
compact, but the tree becomes less so as it in-
creases in size ; its branches arc peculiarly
straight and sleuder- a line of yellowish brown
bark, bare of foliage, is eeen on the underside
^.f the bviUichlots. Vseiul for planting in

The Odors of Plants. — The subject of
the phenomena of odor and color in plants, and
of the causes which induce or govern them, is
one of considerable interest ; and the relations
which exist between the two are sufficiently
striking. Thus, it has been statistically ascer-
tained, and a very little reflection will confirm
the conclusion, that white flowers stand highest
in number among fragrant species, next yellow,
then red, and lastly blue. And it is among
white flowers that disagreeable odors are most
seldom found, while orange and brown are fre-
quently unpleasant in scent. In such calcula-
tions, however, it must be remembered that the
appreciation of odors is by no means the same
to different people : scents which are agreeable
to one, are often the reverse to another. The
strong odor of Tagetes patula and T. erecta is
not objectionable to some ; while others, be-
sides the well-known fox-hunter, are of opinion
that the Sweet Violet is a "stinking flower."
There are even some unhappy beings — we trust
they are but few — who cannot endure the scent
of a Pose. The sense of smell, too, is much
more acute iu some persons than in others ;
and we have frequently remarked an analogy to
color-blindness in the want of perception of
odors manifested by some among our friends.

A good summary and comparison of scents
will be found in M. Lccoq's "Etudes sur la
Geographic Botauiquc de I'Europe," from
which some of the following details are bor-
rowed. In almost every case, however, addi-
tional instances of similarity will suggest them-
selves to the reader, especially if he be gifted
with a keen nose, and a good memory for
smells. In the first place, it may be laid down
as a general principle, that a larger proportion
of white flowers arc fragrant than those of any
other color; vellow cour' next, llien red, and
lastly blue ; afar which, uud in liie saino order,

1872.

TRE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

96

maybe reckoned violet, green, orange, brown,
and black.

Among white flowers, certain types of scent
are very prevalent. Thus many Umbelliferous
plants have a strong odor of honey, which is
very marked in Anthriscus sylvestris, and is
found also in the aquatic Ranunculi ; Eucalyp-
tus glandulosa recalls the same scent ; and in
Ihe Almond and Apricot we encounter it, quali
fied by that flavor of prussic acid which is so
perceptible in the Hawthorn when one does not
inhale too closely the fragrance of its flowers.
This scent is intensified in Spirasa Ulmaria ; in
S. filipendula it is modified by a soupcon of the
odor which is found also in the Privet and in
Actpea spicata, and attains distinctness in the
Elder. Many Eubiaceous shrubs have similar
odors, and resemble certain Apocynew ; and
the Philadelphus coronarius has so much
affinity in scent with the Orange, that it is often
called the " mock Orange bloom.'' Other types
of scent among white flowers are presented by
the white Lily, the Jasmine, the Tuberose, and
the Lily of the Valley. It is curious to observe,
that among cultivated plants, white-flowered
varieties are very often the most — if not the
only — fragrant ones ; this is the case with the
white Petunia (?) and a commonly cultivated
white-flowered Verbena (?). It is also worthy
of notice that many of the scents among white
flowers are only pleasant when in very small
quantit}', and become absolutely disagreeable
when intensified ; this is the case especially
with the Hawthorn and white Lily.

Among yellow flowers, the scent of the
Orange is often found, we may note, in the
common Broom, and in Biscutella saxatilis
and other yellow Crucifers. The curious alco-
holic odor which has earned for Nuphar lutea
its English name of " Brandy-bottle " is found
also in the yellow Brugmansia floribunda, as
well as in the yellow catkins of Salix caprea.
Hippocrepis comosa recalls the smell of cheese,
and this odor attains its maximum in the blos-
soms of Genista scorpius. The honey scent is
found in several yellow-blossomed plants, nota-
bly in Galium verum and Mahonia intermedia.

Roses and Pinks occur to one at onoe ■«?hen
sweet-scented red-flowered plants are referred to;
but with these exceptions it is difficult to charac-
terize the odors of plants belonging to this series.
But among lilac flowers a great resemblance in j
scent may be traced ; thus the sweet odor of i
Vanilla, which is so powerful in the Garden

Heliotrope, is found again in different degrees
of intensity in Petasites fragrans, Valeriana
officinalis, and the common Lilac ; we meet
with it also in Plantago media, which is excep-
tional among Plantains in its fragrance and in
its colored corolla.

Blue flowers are very rarely fragrant, and
when so, only in a slight degree. The blue va-
riety of Phyteuma spicata exhales a faint per-
fume, and one or two Campanulas are slightly
scented. Franciscea Hopeana has, however,
deliciously fragrant blossoms, which recall at
once the scent of the Orange and the Tuberose;
but although at first blue, they soon lose their
color and become white.

Certain species, the flowers of which are of
sombre hues, are very fragrant. Thus in the
early flowering Calycanthus prsecox, one finds
a multitude of odors, such as Rose, Jasmine,
and Tuberose, harmoniously blended. The
night-flowering Stock (Matthiola tristis), Hes-
peris tristis, and one or two more, compensate
by their fragrance for the absence of beauty of
color ; while other dark- flowered plants, such
as the Henbane, have an intensely disagreeable
odor.

Thus we see that it is not the most brilliant
flowers which are the most fragrant ; indeed,
many of the most brilliant in color have no
scent whatever. The beautiful Malvaceae of
equinoctial America, the Pelargoniums of the
Cape, the Passion-flowers (?), the Gladioli, and
some of the most striking Luguminosaj are des-
titute of perfume.

One or two conclusions as to the geographical
distribution of sweet-scented plants may be ar-
rived at from the preceding facts, united with
many more which space will not permit us to
cite. AVe have seen that a large proportion of
pale and white blossoms are fragrant ; and it is
ascertained that these predominate in northern
regions. "We may therefore conclude that the
relative number of odorous flowers is greater
towards the poles than towards the equator. It
would seem that the too powerful action of
light and he?t is opposed to the emanation of
the odors of flowers ; and we see many species
which are scarcely fragrant during the day, be-
come so in the evening or at night. But if the
odors emitted by the blossoms are more frequent
in the North, the reverse is the case with the
essences enclosed in the glands. Plants with
fragrant leaves, aromatic fruits, and wood pen-
etrated with essential oil, are scarcely found ex-
cept in warm or tropical countries. — Gardener s
Chronide.

96

THE GARBEJVER'S MOMTRLY.

March,

HOETICULTURAL NOTICES.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF
PHILADELPHIA.

At the meeting of January 21st, Mr. Thomas
Meehan said, that among the ranchmen and
miners of California a belief existed that the
matmnoth Sequoias would live eight or ten
years after being girdled. 'I'hese trees often
had strips of bark taken off for some distance
up, and completely round, for the purpose of
exhibition in other countries. This belief had
been generally discredited by those of us accus-
tomed to the prevalent ideas of the effects of
girdling. But experience having taught him
how often popular observation was nearly at
least correct, notwithstanding our predisposi-
tion to believe implicitly accepted conclusions,
he had watched for some opportunity to test by
some observation of his own the Califorftian
idea.

A few years ago an Austrian Pine on his
ground had the main stem partially girdled by
an insect. The opportunity before referred to
suggested itself, and he completed the injury,
entirely girdling the stem. It was then staked
securely, to prevent the wind from breaking it
off at the injured place. The part above the
injury was about four years old, and the whole
tree perhaps ten years. It continued to grow
both above and below the wound until the last
season, when the upper portion died. The
whole of the section between the horizontal tier
of branches above the girdling and the tier be-
low— a space of about eighteen inches — died the
same season with the girdling. He now exhibi
ted a portion of the trunk, with part of the
stem which died the year of girdling, and part
of the piece which had grown above and died
last year. There were four concentric rings of
wood in the former and eight in the latter,
showing that it had made four annual circles of
wood after the complete girdling. He then ob-
served that we might assume that the vital
functions could scarcely be carried on between
the upper portions of the tree and the lower if
the intervening cells were dead. He supposed
the cells forming the annual concentric masses
of wood had a longer period of vitality in some
species of trees than in others. In many trees
it was well known that such a girdling as that
performed on the Pine would destroy them in
one season. A recent examination of a trunk

of Pawlowm'a led him to believe that in that
tree the cells of the annual circles lived but two
years. It was probable that even in the Pine
family the period of vitality might vary with
different species. In the Eocky Mountains of
Colorado he had seen many hundreds of trees
of Pinus ponderosa which had the whole of the
bark, for about six feet from the ground, stripped
fi'om the trees for the purpose of getting at the
inner bark, which was used as food by the Indi-
ans ; 3'et he saw no trees which indicated that
they had been destroyed by this heavy girdling
process.

In the case of the Austrian Pine, however,
though the formation of wood went on above
the girdled portion, growth was not as vigorous
as before. The first season after, the young
shoots were about one foot in length ; but these
annually decreased, until last year they were
but two inches.

MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of this association fur-
nishes the following interesting facts : Balance of
S190.27from last year ; received from admissions
and assessments, ^2186 ; rent of stores, $11,-
049.92; rent of halls, S7342; gross receipts of rose-
show, S262 76 ; of annual exhibition, Si054.50 ;
Mount Auburn Cemetery, 81587.14; sundries,
S25 ; total receipts, §24,o97.58. The expendi-
tures for the year, including $2861 52 for altera-
tions and repairs of building, $4000 paid upon
the mortgage debt of societ}', and §990 49 ex-
pended lor the library, besides ordinary ex-
penses, amount in the total to $24,335 95 —
leaving a balance in the treasury of §261 63.
The number of lite members added during
the year was 29, and five subscription members
have been commuted to life ; eleven life mem-
bers have died, leaving the present life member-
sliip 534. Thirty-three new annual members
have been added,' 5 have been commuted to life,
8 died, and 21 have been discontinued, leav-
ing at present 502. The valuation of the real
estate and personal property of the societ}'
amounts to $268,285 03, besides the statuary
and portraits, which are above price. The so-
ciety now owes $82,500, payable in twelve
years, at 5i per cent , and a loan payable to
Harvard College in 1899, without interest, of
$12,000. In alluding to the fact that the society
has one-fourth interest in theprotits ofMt. Au-
burn Cemeter}', the treasurer recommends that
measures be taken to secure a voice in the af-
fairs of that association. The corresponding
secretary said his duties had been light, and as
librarian he had nothing to add to the report of
the Library Committee, except that there had
been a great increase in the interest in their val-
uable works.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. APRIL, 1872.

New Series, Vol. V. No. 4.

HINTS POU APEIL.

FLOAVER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

Last month we gave our good friends, the
ladies, some few hints about seed planting. Now
some care will be necessary in the rearing of the
young progeny ; and they must take care not to
do as nature does, for in truth they will find that
the usual advice of writers to follow nature in
their gardening operations is nothing but a
phantom, which vanishes with the daybreak of
a little experience. Nature sows millions of seeds
for every one she is able to raise. Our lady
readers ought to raise every seed, and if our help
can avail, they shall. In the first place, thin-
ning is very important. In a patch of seeds
perhaps fifty may come up ; as soon as the seed
leaf is well formed thin out to one half ; as soon
as the plants have several leaves, thin out one-
half of these. In the case of very strong grow-
ing plants like Zinnias or Amaranthus, half-a-
dozen plants is enough to leave. A thick mass
seems to give much bloom. It does produce
earlier flowers ; but the plants soon die. When
they have room to grow with vigor, most an-
nuals will keep in bloom many months. Some-
times it helps very strong annuals to pinch out
their tops. It makes them bushy.

April is a good planting month. There is
not much art in planting trees, though it is
often much of a mystery. Not to let the roots
dry for an instant between taking up and plant-
ing, everybody knows, but everybody don't do
it ; in fact, every body deceives himself. We have
seen this distinguished individual leave the
tops of trees exposed to the sun, with a mat or
straw thrown over the roots ; and think all was

right, — or heel in for a day or two, by just
throwing a little dirt over the roots. This is a
little good ; but everybody's fault is, that al-
though this may be ten minutes of good, he ex-
pects to get ten hours, or even ten days' value
out of it, and thus he suffers more than if he
had done nothing, because he forgets that the
branches evaporate moisture from the roots in a
dry wind, and the juices go from the roots
through the branches, very nearly as well as
directly to the air from the roots themselves.
So with heeling in. The soil is thrown in
lightlj', or at most just " kicked " down. " It
is only temporar}^'' very few of the roots come
in contact with the soil. They can draw in no
moisture to supply the waste of evaporation,
and thus they stay day after day,— everybody
satisfied because he sees the roots covered,
really worse than if they had been exposed.
We have no doubt that 7nore trees are lost from
imperfect heeling in than from an}' other cause
whatever. Of course, if the tops be covered as
well as the roots, there is less waste of moisture
and more chance of success.

This hint will help us in planting. That is,
pound the soil in well about the fibres, so that
they may be in close contact with it ; or they
cannot draw in the necessary moisture. Should
the trees appear a little dry, or the roots badly
mutilated in digging, or have few fibres, cut
away the plant according to the severit}' of the
injury. It is scarcely necessary to repeat that
for this evaporation reason, it is best to plant
trees when the ground is rather dry, because it
then powders best in pounding, and gels well
in about the roots. Wet ground pAasters., and

98

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THL)

April,

leaves large hollows in which roots cannot
work.

Arrangins flower-beds affords room for a dis-
play of taste Xarrow, thin beds, as a rule,
have better effects than thick or heavy ones.
Edgings to beds are common. The evergreen
Ivy is good - so is Periwinkle. The variegated,
large-leaved Periwinkle is a treasure. Daphne
eneorum is also good — for large beds, Shrub-
land Pet Kose Geranium is very effective. The
new Iresine Herbstii will, no doubt, prove a
very popular bedding plant, — better even than
Coleus Verschaffeltii. The old tribe Scarlet Ge-
raniums make splendid American bedders.
Lord Palmerston and Stella are two of the best,
but yet scarce and high-priced. Lanata. Rosa-
mond, Christine, "Really Good," Chance and
Lallah are six of the best bedders. The old
Harkaway is an enormous bloomer, though for
the single flower poor enough ; it is one of the
best bedders.

Of course planting trees and shrubs is the
great April work. The great art of successful
planting is not to let the roots dry. More trees
die from this cause than most people think.
Sometimes a tree is dug up with its roots badly
injured; but if the few it has left are carefully
kept from drying, it should not die from that
cause. It may make but a feeble growth, but it
should not die outright. A willow branch stuck
in will grow without any roots at all ; but if it
once gets a little dry, there is no skill in the art
to save it.

Place broad-leaved evergreens where they
will get no sun in winter, yet away from where
the roots of trees will make the ground dry in
summer. Deep soil, but shallow planting, is
all-important for them. In transp'anting, take
care of the roots. Good roots are of more im-
portance than good 'balls." Balls of earth
are useful in keeping fibres moist ; but don't
sacrifice the best fibres five or six feet from the
tree for the few fibres iu the ball at the base.
When roots are rather dry, after filling a por-
tion of soil, pour in water freely. After all has
settled away, fill in lightly the balance of the
soil, and let it i-est for a few days. This is as a
remedy, not as a rule ; for watering this way
cools the soil, ultimately hardens it, and in
other respects w^orks to the injury of the trans-
planted tree.

Evergreen trees are best moved just as the
buds begin to burst in .spring. Here, that is the
end of this mouth. The best of alf the ever-

green trees is the Norway S/yruce Then per-
haps the following iu order as named : Hemlock
Spruce, American Arborvitse, White Pine, Sil-
ver Fir, Balsam Fir (for deep rich soils), Aus-
trian Pine, Scotch Pine. Amongst the less
known evergreens, the following are very hardy
and beautiful : Bhoton Pine, Oriental Spruce,
Cephalonian Fir, Nordraan Fir, Siberian Fir,
Grand Fir [Picea grandis), Lawson Cypress,
Yellow Cedar (T/nyopsJS horealis) and Liboced-
rus decurrens. Of the very new introductions
in the way of evergreens, we have seen nothing
that we feel sure will be very popular.

We approve of thick planting. Trees grow
faster for one another's companj-, and a place
well filled at once, save man}' j^ears of time to
see them grow. Those not wanted after the
place has grown some, can be transplanted to
other parts of the ground. How to remove large
trees successfully we explained last month.
Where thick planting is to be adopted, of course
care must be taken in locating those permanent-
ly to remain.

♦ — ♦

FRUIT GARDEN.

The apple is our standard fruit, and may al-
ways be relied on with reasonable care. The
first care is good food. Some talk about too
rich soil. We never saw the soil too rich for the
apple. Where any trouble arises in apple cul-
ture, it will be safe to attribute it to other causes
than rich soil. Kitchen ashes, in which table
refuse is thrown, is an excellent top-dressing for
apples. We like top dressing better than any
other system of manuring apple trees. Even
nice ditch scrapings are good to top-dress with
where nothing else offers. Apple trees are often
starved in other ways than by neglect to ma-
nure. The apple borer leads to starvation of-
tener than poor soil. The supply of food is cut
off by every move the borer makes They work
at the surface of the ground. Look for them
now. If you have no time, set the boys and
girls to work. Say they shall have no apples
for Christmas or birthday presents if they do
not. However, get the borers out somehow, if
even by wire and jack-knife. If not soon done
they will soon get out themselves, and give you
more trouble in the future. After they have
left, whether by j'our invitation or otherwise,
keep them out ; even though you have to lock
the door after the horse is stolen. Paper put on
in May, and then gas-taui'ed, will keep them
out; some say it will not, but it will. There is

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJSTTELY.

99

no doubt about it. One papering will last three
years. The weakening of the tree by the borer
is why the fruit drops oft' in so many cases, and
is small and scrubby in others. "With these
cases attended to there will be little left to worry
one but the codling moth. This little rascal
steals in while you are asleep. Like most of
the nefarious tribe, it is fond of the bottle. Fill
some with vinegar and molasses, and they will
drink— drink drowning sorrow and life at the
same time. Wide-mouth bottles, recollect, so as
to give them every chance. " But," says Cash-
bags, " this takes time which I cannot spare
from my counting-house." We were supposing
the pleasure of raising fruits by one's own hand
would be a recompense. But if the sight of a
luxuriant blooming and bearing orchard will
recompense, then have some one to do it. If
still this gives no pleasure, cut the trees down,
for you will buy a barrel cheaper in the market
than you can raise them, for without a doubt
the man who has his hundreds of acres of apple
orchard, and gives his whole personal time
and attention to it, will beat you in the dollar
and cent race in fruit growing.

In grape raising people seem to go to extremes
in management. A few years ago the poor
plant was in leading strings. It dared not make
one free growth, but it was pinched and twisted
into all sorts of ways. Kow the " prune not at
all" maxims are getting headway, and this is as
bad, if not worse. First grape growing was
such a mystery it took a life time to study it,
and the " old vigneron" was an awfully sublime
sort of a personage. He is now among the un-
frocked and unreverenced. But there is great
art in good grape treatment ; and yet this art is
founded on a very few simple principles. For
instance, leaves are necessary to healthy growth;
but two leaves three inches wide are not of
equal value to one leaf of six inches. To get
these strong leaves, see that the number of
sprouts be limited. If two buds push from one
eye, pinch out the weakest whenever it appears.
The other will be strengthened by this protec
tive policy, and the laws of trade result in favor
of larger and better leaves on the leaf that fol-
lows. Allow no one shoot to grow stronger than
another. Jf there are indications of this, pinch
off its top. While it stops to wonder what you
mean by this summary conduct, the weaker
fellows will profit to take what properly belongs
to them. There is little more science in summer
pruning than this ; but it takes some experience,

This,

joined with common sense, to apply it.
indeed, is where true art comes in.

From time to time new modes of grafting
spring into existence, and are made much of
by those who delight in the curious. But they
are of little practical value. Cleft-grafting and
whip-grafting— either of these are, after all, as
good as any new notion. It may serve a useful
purpose to note, that grafting may be continued
up to midsummer, if only the scions are kept
from pushing their buds by being nearly buried
in the ground.

VEGETABLE GABDEN".

Few things mark a well-kept garden better
than an abundance of all kinds of herbs. Now
is 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 easilv.
Basil and Sweet Marjoram must be sown in a
rich warm border.

South of Philadelphia, the more tender kinds
of garden vegetables may now be sown— beans,
corn, cucumbers, squashes, etc.— that it is not
prudent to plant in this latitude before the firs-t
of May ; and tomato, egg plants, etc., may also
be set out in those favored places. Cucumljers,
squashes, and such vegetables can be got fur-
ward as well as tomatoes, egg-plants, etc., by
being sown in a frame or hotbed, and potted off
into three-inch pots. They will be nice plants
by the first week in May. Eotton wood suits
cucumbers and the squash tribe exceedingly
well as a manure. Tomatoes and egg plants
that are desired very early are best
potted, soon after they 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 suddenly transferred from a warm and.
moist air to a very dry one.

Early York Cabbage for early use should be-
set out early in 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 laborious than the old way, but the cab-
bage grows so fast afterwards that it pays
pretty well.

It is not a good plan to cut all the asparagus
as soon as they appear. A few sprouts should

100

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^TELY,

April,

always be left to grow from each, to strengthen
the plants.

Celery, with most families, is an important
crop, and should be sown about this period. A
very rich moist spot, that will be shaded from
the mid-day April sun, should be chosen ; or a
box in a frame by those who have the conve-
nience.

Salsafy and Scorzonera like a damp rich soil.

Bean-poles may be planted preparatory to
sowing the Lima bean in May. "Where bean-
poles are scarce, two or three hoop-poles, set
into the ground one 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 salid, should be
sown about the end of the month. The 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.

COMMUNICATIONS.

CIRCULATION OF HOT WATER.

BY MR. THOS. AVADDINGTOX, STAPLETON, X. Y.

I have been much interested with the articles
in your Monthly concerning boilers and the cir-
culation of hot water. With your permission,
Mr. Editor, I will give you my views of the
theory of the circulation of water.

In the first place, I will say that my views
differ from those who maintain that caloric or
cold is the motive power. I maintain that a
difference of specific gravity, and that difference
of specific gravity alone, is the motive power in
the circulation of water. Certainly heat and
cold are the agents which produce this difler-
cnce of specific gravity, but I cannot consider
either of them to be a motive power.

jSTow for arguments in support of the theory
that specific gravity is the motive power. First-
ly, we will take an ordinary hot water boiler
and pipes supplied with water, say at a tempera-
ture of SO-' ; we will now take a quantity of ice
and place on the top of the boiler ; here we shall
soon have a circulation of water, but in a differ-
ent direction to that which we should have had
we placed caloric at the bottom of the boiler.
Surely those who maintain that caloric is a
motive power cannot maintain that caloric is
the motive power in this instance.

Now I will relate another experiment. This
morning I took a common half-pint flower pot
and half filled it with water, at a temperature
of 150° ; I now took and filled it up with linseed
oil, at a temperature of 28° or 4° below the freez-
ing point ; here Mr. Caloric would not move

the cold oil, neither would Mr. Cold in the oil
move the water. On taking my finger away
from the hole in the bottom of the flower-pot,
every particle of water passed through before
the oil, as pure as when it was put in. We will
now get a fresh supply of water and oil at the
same temperature as before, but instead of put-
ting water into the flower-pot first, we will put
the oil in first. We will now place a piece of pa-
per on the top of the oil, so that the water can-
not displace the oil by its fall. We now pour
the water in gently and remove the paper, and
what is the result ? The oil is immediately dis-
placed. Now, in the former experiment neither
heat nor cold would produce motion ; but give
specific gravity a chance, and how quickly it
will prove its motive power. This expei*iment
was suflicient to convince me that specific gravi-
ty was alone the motive power. If, Mr. Editor,
you think this article worth your notice, you are
at liberty to make what use of it you think

proper.

» •

SCENES AROUND BURRA BURRA,
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, OCEANICA.

BY MR. W. T. HARDING, NONANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGHTON, MASS.

Perhaps no more pleasant recollections can
possibly recur to the mind of the traveler, when
his journeys are ended, than to dwell upon the
past and call back to memory the eventful scenes
he has passed through. Feeling it to be so, I
am tempted to appear again before the readers
of the Monthly^ presuming that there are many

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOXTELl,

101

who peruse its pages with pleasure and profit
too, and among them a few who may possibly
be interested in reading the epistles of your corres-
pondent, whose zig-zag wanderings in Oceanica
he endeavors to describe

Having held a responsible government posi-
tion in Australia for several years, it gave me
an opportunity of seeing much of that wonder-
ful and interesting country, which is destined,
like the United States, to become a dwelling
place for millions of the human family yet un-
born. Resuming my erratic course again, imag-
ine you see me at the Burra Burra copper mines
m South Australia, measuring an immense Eu-
calyptus tree, one of the wonders of that really
wonderful region, a:s 3'ou will admit when I
mention the astounding figures which counted
four hundred and forty-eight feet in length, and
in circunaference fifty-seven without the bark, as
it lay near one of the openings of the subterra-
nean caverns. If the "two solitary travelers"
who recently explored the "Mammoth Cave"
in Kentucky should ever explore the "Copper
Caverns'' I allude to, they would be well re-
warded for their toil and trouble, I feel as-
sured. There is nothing to compare with said
mines (I was informed) elsewhere, in any part
of the world.

I shall ever remember the astonishing scene
when standing in one of the immense caverns
glittering with bright copper, as the lights of the
miners flashed among the glistening stalactities
that hung in every fantastic form imaginable
from the vaulted roof, like fretted and burnished
gold, mingled with splendid specimens of mala-
chite. Emerging from the bowels of the earthagain
to the upper crust of the globe, I beheld nature
clothed in rich garments of grandeur, unequalled
by any similar scene, whose lasting beauties
were enhanced by the most fragrant, delicate
and lovely floral gems in the botanical kingdom.
Hedera macrophj'lla, with its large, glossy green
leaves, reminded me of the rare old plant, the
Ivy green, as it grew finely up the sides of the
miner's cottages with Disemma aurantiaca, a
most remarkable climbing plant, mostly resem-
bling a Passiflora. I first saw it in my young
days at Chatsworth, when practicing under the
celebrated horticulturist, the late Sir Joseph Pax-
ton, and there became acquainted with its very pe-
culiar character. It certainly merits the term
of a "floral curiosity,'' from the fact of its flowers
when budding being white, and as they continue
to expand become buff colored, and when fully

opened are a dark red. Here they were grow-
ing luxuriantly over the cottage roofs, and made
excellent climbers, affording shade and shelter,
both ornamental and useful.

The singularly beautiful and interesting Won-
ga Wonga Pigeons had found friends among the
strangers who had settled there, and had become
so tame and domesticated as to become household
pets, and were fed and caressed by the miners and
their families. I scarcely saw a cottage with-
out a number of those innocent-looking creatures
billing and cooing among the climbers on the
roof.

In the neighborhood of the mines, and among
huge and unshapely masses of copper, protrud-
ing through the surface of the earth, I found
growing, and with scarcely any soil to root in,
numbers of the bird's nest fern, Neottopteris
vulgaris and N". stipulata ; in fact, some of the
finest specimens I ever saw of that curious
fern were around here. I also observed them
growing freely and flourishing in the auriferous
deposits of gold dust and nuggets at Mount
Alexander, Victoria. Here also seemed a fa-
vorable spot for the growth of Gompholobium,
especially where several varieties grew and
formed beautiful specimens. The genus is ex-
ceedingly pretty, and numbers some thirty va-
rieties, and needs only to be seen to be admired.
When under cultivation in the greenhouse, there
are but few persons indeed, when examining
them, either in or out of flower, but will exclaim,
"How beautiful!" Whenever I met with
them, they always engaged my attention, and
were looked upon as objects of rare beaut}', and
as with the Ericas, when at the Cape of Good
Hope, I felt as though I loved them. Even
now, at this day, I doubt whether that quaint
old English gentleman, Isaac Walton, could
have felt more affectionately for his vermiculous
pets, while impaling them for piscatorial jilea-
sure, than I do for my floral ones.

Styphelia epacrioides, well-named, so like a
crimson flowering Epacris and a very orna-
mental evergreen shrub, and generally growing
to about eight feet high ; S. lutiflora, equally
handsome, with S. viridiflora of lower growth,
and well covered with green colored flowers,
formed pretty and well shaped bushes growing
among the fragments of quartz rock, jagged lava
and copper ore ; with them Logania floribunda
and L. ligustrina,two prim looking shrubs, bear-
ing largeclustersof white privct-li'Ke flowers Gre-
villea Baureiiared flowering kind ; G sulphurea

102

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^TRLY.

April,

a yellow variety, and G. coccinea a purple one, '
seemed to have taken possession of every crevice
in the metallic rocks wherever there was a par-
ticle of earth to vegetate in.

Descending from the higher grounds to a
"bosky dell" deep in the valley where multi-
tudes of climbing plants festooned the Tristania
and Acacia trees in endless varieties of foliage
and flowers. Quietly meandering to a "bab-
bling brook" which flowed through the bottom
of the dingle, and following its serpentine course
for some distance and admiring the diversified
charms of nature, whose God has so clothed the
silent glens in the richest garments of living
green, gorgeously bespangled with flowers of
every color and form ; rambling on through such
pleasant scenes of forest and field, and grottoes
and cascades of sparkling water, so paradisaical
eeenied the spot, and just such a heaven as all
good gardeners might wish to live in and enjoy
forever the divine presence of Him who caused
to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight
and good for food. Like the ancient Druids who
worshipped beneath the umbrageous shades of
"the brave old oak," I felt to be within na-
ture's sanctuaries, where undisturbed the heart
and soul may commune with the "Author of
all good'' within "the sacred groves.'' As
I sit upon a bed of creeping plants, Fieldia
Au- tralis, much like a Begonia, and admiring
the masses of Hardenbergias, Chorozemas,
Zichias and Kennedyas, so beautifully mingled
together and overhanging the stream, I was
greatly surprised and delighted with a sight of
one of the most extraordinary creatures in the
animal kingdom, and is known to the naturalist
as Ornithorhyncus paradoxa ; as a paradox, no-
thing could be more absolutely so, real or imagi-
nary, than this oddest of all oddities, which was
but a few feet from me wading and swimming
about the shallow stream, unconscious of pow-
der and shot, and the danger that was lurking
in a Purdie's double barreled piece near by. It
would have been wanton cruelty to have harmed
the poor thing. I let it go, and as I watched
it pass by, thought of the fly "Uncle Toby"
helped out of his wine, saying, "Go, poor devil,
there is room enough for thee and me." Among
the splendid specimens of Taxidermy preserved
in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Phila-
delphia, may be seen a stuffed specimen of one,
where any who are curious in such matters may
examine. I need not refer your intelligent read-
ers to works on natural history for more infor-

mation, as many, no doubt, are better inform-
ed in such matters than your correspondent,
but will simply describe it verbatim, in the lan-
guage of one of the colonists, who called it a
strange mongrel and a comical creature of the
queerest kind, having three natures in one,
namely, fish, flesh and fowl. It has the bill of a
duck, lays eggs and hatches them in duck fash-
ion, and suckles its young like a rabbit, and
joined to the duck's head is an animal's body
covered with fur, and for locomotion, in or out
of the water, it has flippers or fins like a fish.''
His description was true to nature.

Adjacent to where I had been watching the
Ornithorhyncus, grew some glorious specimens
of the great Australian Lily, Doryanthus excel-
sa, whose beautiful creamy white flowers were
blooming upon stems elevated upwards of twen-
ty feet above the heads of their admiring behold-
ers. Their appearance was regal, and as strik-
ingly magnificent as any herbaceous plant I
ever saw. Just think what an effect they would
give to a flower garden or lawn planted as au
objective group, with a bed of Cannas, one of
Palms, another of Ricinus, one of the stately
Musa ensete, and a number of other such like
plants, having a subtropical appearance. It oc-
curs to me that in "the greatest Park in the
world," I mean Fairmount Park, Philadelphia,
it would be an excellent place for a display of
such beautiful plants, where the public could
see some of the magnificent growths of the tro-
pics during the summer season. I have no
doubt they would flourish if properly attended
to by some intelligent man in that wonderful
establishment. Explanation: I mean if there
were some intelligent sentlemen who understood
these matters, instead of mere designers of rustic
" gimcracks,'' &c., and whose combined experi-
ence in landscape gardening, arboriculture, flori-
culture and horticulture in general are of some-
what higher order than now.

Chiloglottis diphylla, an ornamental terres-
trial orchid, singularly furnished with only two
leaves, from between which peeps a spike of cu-
riously formed red flowers, very pretty, with
Thomasia purpurea and T. foliosa, two hand-
some evergreen shrubs, very useful in collec-
tions where good things are appreciated, grow-
ing near by, were perfect mats of the beautiful
and sweet-scented little Brunonia australis,
whose refreshing aroma was pleasantly blended
with another little evergreen, Agastachys odo-
rata, whose fraarance filled the vale.

187^.

THE GABDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELy.

JOS

If the reader can only imagine a scene "where
every prospect pleases," his ideas will carry
him to the spot I am attempting to describe,
for 1 admit my inability to portray as a mas-
ter limner should, and at best am unskilled as
an artist on canvas, or as a word-painter in the
columns of the Monthly. So let fancy take flight
and feast upon the beauties of a landscape,
which, for romantic surroundings, would com-
pare with any elysium the soul could long for or
the body enjoy. It seemed to me more celestial
than terrestrial— more heavenly than earthly.
Grand old trees, mighty monarchs of the forest,
massive and majestic, around whose ancient
trunks has twined the tender and graceful Po-
dolobium humifusum and P. scandens, and were
modestly exhibiting their pretty yellow pea-
shaped flowers, wreathed with the soft blue Sol-
lyas above, like "streamers waving in the wind.''
Interspersed with numbers of handsome flower-
ing trees and shrubs, were the Elichrysum brac-
. teatum and E. incanum, two brilliant composite
flowers, whose favorite habitats seemed to be
among the craggy rocks and perpendicular cliffs
so often met with in Australia. Frequently,
and in similar positions, I noticed Calotham-
nus villosa, a splendid and showy scarlet flower-
ing evergreen shrub,

Westringia Dampierii and W. rubiflora, two
charming shrubs, profusely covered with pretty
white and blue flowers, I saw, for the first time,
in South Australia, but had seen it frequently
in New South AVales, more especially around
Moreton Bay and Wellington, New Zealand.

Conspicuously perched upon the ledges of a
precipice, and standing out in bold relief, were
some huge specimens of the Agave like Four-
croyoea, a very remarkable plant among the
many curious and interesting kinds peculiar to
New Holland. Less ostentatious, though not
less beautiful than many of its congeners, was
the lonely little Leschenaultia formosa, which
brought back to memoiy some of those handsome
specimens I remembered seeing at the famous
Chiswick and Kegent's Park exhibitions in Lon-
don, in days gone by. It is several years since I
had the pleasure of seeing the above named little
gem, with L. biloba major, until I saw them at
Mr. Robert Buist's, of Philadelphia, last spring.
While engaged noting what I am now relating,
I observed unusual numbers of Aborigines mak-
ing their way through the valley in an easterly
direction ; singly and in groups, men and women
were hastening through the ''bush,'' like a gath-

ering of clans to some appointed rendezvous.
Returning to the rural hamlet of Burra Burra,
and mentioning the fact to the superintendtnt
of the mines,(whose guest I was during my stay
in that vicinity, ) who informed me that the na-
tives were going to a " Corrobbery," about two
miles above the valley's cascade, and kindly re-
marked if I should like to see it, he would ac-
company me there. Gladly I accepted his ofter,
pleased with the thought of witnessing a sight
I had often desired. After supper, and a plea-
sant tete-a-tete with his family, we started with
a party of friends to Wa Wa Wa, where the
"Corrobbery" was usually held. The night
was pleasant, with the temperature exceedingly
agreeable and refreshing, after a rather hot day.
We reached the meeting place of the blacks, at
" the bewitching hour " when the moon was at
her zenith, radiantly beaming in the centre of
the celestial arch, and in the fullness of her hea-
venly glare, seemed to look placidly down upon
the heathenish orgies taking place below. On
an open and level space in the forest, the be-
nighted savages had assembled to worship, per-
haps, "the unknown God,'' but ostensibly the
moon, as was their custom when the luminary
was at the full. Whether it was homage, ado-
ration or oflferings of the heart, I know not, but
it appeared to me more muscular or physical
than devotional. Formed in a line of three
deep, and with faces turned upwards, their fe-
tich ceremonies began by making an upward
movement with the right leg, and with a mili-
tary procession, simultaneously raising the right
arm, with the forefinger pointing out, gazed
steadfastly at the moon ; reversing the attitude
from the right leg and arm, and rapidly chang-
ing from one to the other, they so continued the
exercise like a dance of demons, until, bathed in
prespiration and exhausted, they sprawled on
the grass to rest, and when sufficiently recovered
from the violent exertions, got up and took part
in the diabolical performances asain. While the
males were thus engaged, the "lubras'' or wo-
men sat beating time with sticks upon pieces of
hollow wood, and so accompanying the music
with a low monotonous chant "joined in the
worship.''

Applying the words of the wandering minstrel
to myself, I can say,

"We have been up and down, both in country and town,
And many t-trange things we have seen,"

But nothing previous to compare with this, for
in all complex phases of life, I never saw the

10 Jf

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^^THLY.

April,

like before, and doubt if I ever shall again.
Just think of the horde of grinning . cannibals
dancing and yelling at the moon, and whose
savage-looking features were made more hideous
still with streaks of pipe clay, which ornamen-
tation was continued down to their knees, and
had the effect of making them horribly ghastly.
How they were dressed for such an important
occasion your readers will naturally desire
to know, and may feel astonished when inform-
ed that it was undoubtedly in "the first style of
fashion," for nothing could be more primitive
than the skin that covered them. In the lan-
guage of the inspired writer, "they were naked,
and were not ashamed." Deplorably disgust-
ing as was the scene, I pitied the poor wretches,
and thought of the Psalmist's question, "why
do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a
vain thing ?" Looking at the unwomanly
'■'■ fair sex,'''' who^Q uncomely features, if possi-
ble, were more ugly than the baboon-like
'Hords of creation,'''* it seemed hard to believe
(with all due reserve for the sacred truths of
Holy Writ,) they were "Mother Eve's fair
(laughters,''^ or the males "men and brethren "
I was recognized by two of the " moon-struck
blacks," a man and woman, two proteges of the
Government, but were incognito to me in their
frightful disguises, until addressed as Mis-te
Har-dee, I identified them as two noted con-
sumers ot Government rations, and who rejoiced
in the cognomen of "Venus and Adonis."

Leaving the jabbering crowd furiously dis-
puting about something we could not under-
stand, and as we retraced our steps towards the
mines, our guide pointed to the little church,
half hidden among the trees, and asked us to
enter the "God's acre,'' where, "sleeping the
sleep that knows no waking," lay the weary
travelers whom death had overtaken in the wil-
derness Pointing to a flowery little mound
beneath two Stcrculia diversifolia trees, and in-
scribed upon the outside of the stringy bark
tree, I read— "Mary, the wife of William Chaun-
er, Superintendent of the Burra Burfa Copper
Mines, sleeps here.'' Although unknown to
me, I felt a sad regret for Mary, who had jour-
neyed so many thousands of miles to find a
grave in the distant wilds of Australia. Near
by were the resting plpces of others " who had
ceased from their labors." I noticed at the head
of one, a miner s pick and shovel fastened to a
Casuarina tree. They were "the implements
used by John Chapman, the first miner who died

and was buried here," as a rude carving indi-
cated. At another grave I read a more singular
epitaph still, as follows: "Down at last, and
thrown fairly, is Thomas Ilchester the champion
wrestler in these parts, and one of the best men
that ever left Old England ; Death threw him ;
poor Tom was no match for him." The poor,
honest and simple hearted Cornishmen, proud of
the prowess of poor Tom, had recorded him as
a hero, and in paying a tribute to his memory,
had "emblazoned his name on the scroll of fame.''
Often have I read the out-pourings of grief for
the beloved ones departed, carved upon splendid
and elaborately-chased monuments of marble
and granite ; but for simple eloquence, I never
read anything to surpass this, for it made such
an impression at the time, especially the last
line :

"Death threw him ; poor Tom vra^ no match for him."

FAIRMOUNT PARK.

BY A "LOOKER WHO SEES.'

The sprightly remarks of a correspondent in
the Gardenerls Monthly for January have in-
duced others to look into Falrmount Park, whO'
have the satisfaction to discover several hun-
dred plants of the Gordonia pubescens, some of
which have evidently bloomed, and many more
are growing for the delectation of our grand-
children. Some thousands of young Beech trees
also appear to be doing their best to make pro-
tecting shade for the poets who may recite their
odes at many future centennials of our national
existence. Native Hollies and Cedars of Leb-
anon, not native, and the giant of Yo-Semite in
miniature, were observed among the evergreens
under cultivation. The Magnolia glauca is also
to be seen, a few specimens that have borne
their fragrant blossoms for many years, and
large numbers, said to have been planted by the
Park authorities, not yet in bloom, nor quite
"twelve feet around the base." There was no
opportunity of discovering whether the "lazy
Park Guard" know a Dock from a Camellia, as
none were seen 'growing near together. It is
undoubtedly to be desired that not only the pro-
fessional gardeners, but also the Engineers and
the Guards, and all who are connected with the
Park, should take an interest in plants. Pos-
sibly this may happen at a future day, as the
Park Commission endeavor to aid all students

1872.

TEE GARDENER'S MO^fTHLy.

105

by granting permits for collecting scientific
specimens to those who wish to engage in such
laudable pursuits.

THE 0RIGI:N^ of the ISABELLA grape
—EARLY GRAPE CULTURISTS.

BY DR WM. F. CHANNING, PROVIDENCE, R. I.

I wish to offer you for publication the follow-
ing extracts from a letter written at my solicita-
tion by George Gibbs, Esq., of New Haven, son
©f Col. George Gibbs, who was noted as a min-
eralogist and horticulturist fifty years ago :
" To Dr. Wm. F. Channing, President of the

Hhode Island Horticultural Society :

" During the early years of my father's resi-
dence at Sunswick, Long Island, now called
Ravenswood (there never having been a raven
there, and the woods having been mostly cut
down), a Mr. George Gibbs, of North Carolina,
— no relation of his that we could ever find out,
though the two became intimate personal
friends, — came to the North and lived for some
time at what was known as Parmentier's
Garden, at Brooklyn. His wife, Mrs. Isabella
Gibbs, brought with her cuttings from whicli
the original vines in that nursery were grown,
and whence the grape was disseminated over
the country. It was, I imagine, a sporadic
seedling. As you know, it has been, in the
way of seedlings, the parent of a number of
new forms, better or worse, as may be. The
grape was known in my boyhood indifferently
as the "Isabella" and the "Gibbs" grape.
To that lady, the wife of George Gibbs, of
North Carolina, and not to ray mother, Mrs.
Laura Wolcott Gibbs, of Sunswick, the intro-
duction of that grape is due. The identity of
their husbands' names has led to the mistake
sometimes made, the more natural as my father
was one of the first largely to experiment on
grape cultivation in this country at the very
same time.

" At his place at Sunswick he had about six
acres devoted to the cultivation of fruit, vegeta-
bles, flowering-plants and shrubs. Having
traveled extensively in Europe, he was enabled
to import from different parts a great variety of
vines, of which, among others, 1 remember the
Tokay and other Hungarian and Italian
grapes ; and he was in the habit of sending at
the pruning season quantities of cuttings to his
correspondents in various parts of the United

States. Owing to the fertility of the ground
and its favorable exposure, most of these
throve for some years, but the tenderer sorts
were, during the winter, either buried or cov-
ered with straw. The European grapes, how-
ever, gradually died out or ceased to bear, wltli
some exceptions ; but I have since heard that
certain varieties thus introduced have contin-
ued to exist, and have become wild in the
Southern or Southwestern States.

" The Isabella and Catawba remained as
staples. The others, both, I think, American
— the Bland grape and the Blue Cartaga— I
have not heard of for many years. The Bland,
if I recollect right, was somewhat similar to
the Catawba, possibly a variety.

I suppose you know all about the Scupper-
nong. We did not find it a profitable one, as it
is very straggly, and occupies an enormous
space.

" One thing we noticed with our own grapes,
especially the American, and that Avas, that
the Italian mode of culture on trellises or in
trees, giving them all the shelter of their own
foliage, was the best. Where the leaves were
thinned out or they were cut down into caues,
they did not thrive so well. The finest Isabella
vine we had run up a horse-chestnut tree.
" Truly yours,

"George Gibbs.''

I will, with your permission, add a few re-
marks suggested by the above letter.

The grape crop of the United States is
already hardly exceeded in value by any other
fruit crop. The commencement of American
Viticulture dates from the introduction of the
Isabella grape, and the attention thus drawn to
our native species. It is to the wit and enter-
prise of a woman that we owe this first step in
a great national industry.

It is very interesting to note that the obser-
vation was made more than forty years ago, as
recorded above, that the Isabella and other
American varieties throve best when allowed to
climb the natural trellis of a tree. A striking
illustration of this now familiar observation
has recently come to my notice in the city of
Providence, where an Isabella vine is supported
partly on the south side of a house, and partly
on a tree, the part on the tree always ripening
first, and ripening also every year,' which is re-
markable in New England.

In the south of Europe olive orchards are
planted for the special purpose of supporting

106

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTELY

April,

and shelterintr the vines. The centre of each
tree is trimmed out from above in the shape of
a cup, open to the sun, but protected from the
wind. The vine planted at the foot of every
tree soon lakes possession of this nook, and
lines the cup with its foliage and fruit. Among
the multitude of our shade, nut and fruit
trees, there must be several which would sub-
stitute the olive in making orchard vineyards.
A tree for this purpose should be a rapid-grow-
ing dwarf which will bear trimming into every
shape. As an illustration, a peach-stone and
long cutting after the French method, set to-
gether, would give a vine and a support, which
last would be probably adequate to sustain the
vine in all of its stages for a series of years,
while a portion of other fruit might be obtained
in addition to that of the vine. The dwarf
chestnut fulfils many of the requisite conditions
for a tree support.

Of the American species, the Vitis Labrusca,
at least, appears to require the protection of
other foliage besides its own. I have informa-
tion of a single instance of an allied method of
grape culture in Rhode Island. The vines are
set on terraces or a hill-side, and the branches
are trailed along the banks, the tall grass giv-
ing the required shelter. I have accidentally
tested this method, and found branches which
had strayed down a grass bank free from mil-
dew and ripening their fruit well, while the
vine supported on trellises above was exten-
sively mildewed.

The extreme contrast to the training on
trees is the low souche system of Russia, Ger-
many, France and California, in which the
vine is reduced in winter to a stump with half
a dozen short arms, and in summer takes the
form of a bush. This system reduces the labor
of training to a minimum, and the stump in
winter is easily covered, if necessary, with a few
spadefulls of earth. The vine is protected in
art by its low situation ; it is easily sulphured,
if diseased, and the fruit is easly picked. This
system meets, therefore, some of our American
wants, and deserves to be mentioned in connec-
tion with the orchard training.

It will be seen from the preceding letter that
the European custom of thinning out the leaves
of the vine in summer was early found to be
unsuited to our climate and to the American
grape. Much injury, however, is still done in
this country by excessive summer pruning of

the bearing canes and laterals, while the winter
pruning is insufficiently performed.

Wm. F. Chaxxing.
Providence, JR. J., Dec, 1871.

NOTES FROM IOWA.

BY MR. H. C. HOYT, MCGREGOR, IOWA.

Peas — Yorkshire Hero. — This pea has
proved to be the best I have ever tried for late ;
exceedingly productive, large size, sweet and
delicious ; I should say first class.

Egg-plant. — This vegetable with me often
proves a failure. The last season, I tried the
I^ew Early Long Purple. They proved quite
early, and very productive, maturing ten or
fifteen fruit to the plant. Sowed seed April
5th ; fit for table August. 1st. AVhenever the
Colorado potato-bug puts in an appearance,
look out for your egg-plants. If neglected,
they will devour the young plants in a day. I
protected mine with boxes having mosquito-
netting over the top, until they were in bloom,
and after that by picking off and killing the
bugs daily until quite late in the season.

The Trophy Tomato.— Raised this variety
for the first time last season. Think it the To-
mato of all others ; very large, smooth, solid,
productive, and of fine flavor. With me it
proved as early as any. Sowed seeds of it and
Hubbard's Curled Leaf (described by some as
the earliest) in hot bed, April 5th. First mess of
the Trophies ripe for the table, July 16th, while
but one tomato of the other variety had ripened.
Had plenty of ripe tomatoes for use of family
right along after that date ; while half-riiie ones,
shipped from more southern locations, were sell-
ing in our market at from fifteen to twenty-five
cents per pound. Trained one-half the plants
of each kind to stakes ; the rest lay on the
ground. The only difference perceivable in the
two modes was that the vines that lay on the
ground continued longest in bearing.

I know that poultry is not in j'^our line, but
I will mention that last spring I had a black
Spanish cock. In moulting he has changed to
a pure white, even to his legs and feet. I don't
think there is a black feather on him. Is it not
an unusual occurrence ?

HYBRID GRAPES.

BY MR. GEORGE HASKELL, IPSWICH, MASS.

A year ago last summer I sent you an article
on my hybrid grapts, and inquiring what I had

187^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO.YTHLY.

107

better do with them. In reply to that commu-
nication, I received offers from many horticul-
turists in different parts of the country— several
of them men of eminence and national reputa-
tion— proposing to take care of all the vines I
chose to commit to their hands for trial, and
promising to report upon the progress of the
vines annually, and to protect them from dis-
semination, so far as they could. I gave en-
courasemeut to most of these correspondents,
that I would supply them with vines for trial
another season. But on the representation and
•advice of gentlemen familiar with the arts of
the nursery business, I was induced to retain
them in my own hands until I ascertained their
-quality, and which were best, and which, if
•any, were worth propagating.

I think it is well that I did not send out
"vines at that time, for two crops have ripened
since then, and a careful and critical examina-
tion has led me to revise mj' list of the best
twenty, to reject some that were then consid-
ered among the best, and to include others that
have since come into fruit, or that have im-
proved much with their advancing age.

Distrustful of myself in this proceeding— of
•sitting in judgment upon my own 'progeny —
I called in a number of my townsmen — ama-
teurs— who have in their gardens all the best
•and new out-door grapes, and who are very
■competent judges, to tasce my grapes and ex-
fimine them on the vines. I called their atten-
tion to twenty that I considered the best,
but they found others on the trellises that
they considered better than some I had included
in the twent3\ They were all agreed upon
those which they considered the best jive of the
lot ; and that three or four of them, having the
Frontignan flavor, were decidedly superior to
any out-door grape they knew of or had ever
tasted. But they did not agree as to which was
the best one. Three of them agreed upon one
•grape as the best, and the others selected
others, each a different grape, as his individual
•first choice.

Perhaps the readers of the Monthly will be-
lieve that I have obtained some good grapes ;
but I have not determined what I shall do with
them, if I do anything at all about introducing
them. I am not a nurseryman, and do not
desire to engage in that business. I thought it
might be better for the originator, for the nur-
serymen and the public to give the originator
of new plants the same kind of protection that is i

given to authors and inventors, and therefore
prepared and sent out a circular asking the co-
operation of those who were supposed to be
most interested in the measure in obtaining
such a law. So little encouragement was given
by them to the project, and so much suspicion
was cast upon the scheme and its author by
the Agriculturist and other horticultural publi-
cations, that I almost regretted that I had done
anything about it, or said anything about my
experiments in obtaining good grapes. I re-
solved at once to abandon the scheme, though
no objection was urged against it that did not
apply with equal force to the patent and copy-
right laws.

I am still multiplying and diversifying my
crosses, having now fifty seven crosses in al!,
and about a thousand hybrids, including two
hundred and seventy-nine seedlings of this
year's growth, which are all the progeny of
nine second crosses with the foreign. A
docket has been kept from the beginning —
eleven years ago — in which is entered the char-
acteristics, progress, health, &c., of every crosj
and every individual vine.

My interest and labor in these experiments do
not depend upon any pecuniary reward ; nor
does the expenditure of time and money upon
them give me any anxiety Qr discomfort. I shall
pursue them further, though it may be only for
my enjoyment and instruction in the laws of
nature which govern this process, and shall ob-
tain, eat and enjoy the " fruit of my labors."

[We never could understand the opposition
some of our friends exhibit towards horticultu-
ral patents. The discoverer of a new fruit or
of a new and valuable idea has the same right
in horticulture to its benefit as in any other
class of the community. There have been
during the few past years claims for the sole use
of ideas which were not new, and which inter-
fered with rights which we have all enjoyed.
Amongst these we now remember a claim for
rooting grape-cuttings, and one for growing
fruits in baskets. In these cases, we opposed
them for other reasons than for any idea that
real horticultural discoveries should not be well
rewarded. Again, we have given no encourage-
ment to patent laws for fruits, not because we
think a fruit raiser should give his products to
the public for nothing, but because no sugges-
tion so far made seemed practical. But then
comes the question, how is the zealous experi-
raentor to get his due reward ? When Mr. H.

108

TEE GARDEJ^'-ER'S MOJ\''TBL^,

April,

wrote last year, his letter was given without
any suErgestion of our own, because we hoped
that others would take up the subject. The
article was widely reprinted from the Garden-
fr's Monthly, but no practical suggestions, we
believe, were made. We will venture an
opinion here.

In reference to the subject, the only idea we
rver heard broached was to send a few for trial
to different parts of the Union to "honorable
men.'' We have an illustration in our mind.
A raiser of a new and very good thing asked
advice what to do with it. It was represented
to him that it had not been tried elsewhere, and
the public would not value it much until more
widely known. A party was named who proba-
bly would give a thousand dollars for the whole
stock. If known, it might be worth more.
He has spent many years, and been to much
expense in the matter, and $1000 seemed low.
He preferred to try the "honorable plan."
One gentleman, instead of merely testing the
plants, went heavily into the propagation, and
before the originator had fairly got his new
plant before the public, and before he had re-
ceived back a tithe of the enormous expense he
had been to in bringing it before the public,
the friend was in the market at half price. He
had been to no expe'nse originating or adver-
tising, and of course made a big thing out of
his patron's conSdence. He will not try thi.s
plan again. But Mr. Haskell himself shows
how this plan will not work. The tastes dif-
fered even on his own grounds. They were as
likely to do so if a thousand miles apart ; and
hence a dozen men's views would not amount
to much. Indeed, we should much prefer to
have only one judge ; and if this one knew all
about pomology before we were born, as Mr.
Elliott would say, perhaps all the better.

But we should not advise any amateur to do
even this. Our recommendation would be,
when you think you have something g«od, sub-
mit it to enterprising men well known in the
trade in the particular line of your discovery,
and take for the whole stock the highest price
offered you. This will be lound fiar better than
" running " it yourself even with the aid of the
best patent laws ever devised. If any of our
readers have better advice to offer, our columns
are cheerfully open to them Ed.—]

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FERD. VON MTJELT.ER, MELBOURNE, ATJS.

{Continued.)
II. — Miscellaneous Trees, H'ot Coniferoxis.

Acacia acijminata, Benth.

A kind of Myall from Western Australia,
attaining a height of 40 feet

Acacia decurrens, Willd {A. molUssimay
Willd. A. dealbata, Link.)
The Black Wattle or Silver Wattle. From
the eastern part of S. Australia, through
Victoria and N. S. Wales, to the southern
part of Queensland, in open plains a small
or middle sized tree, in deep forest recesses
a lofty tree of singularly rapid growth. Its
wood can be used for staves and manj' other
purposes, but its chief use would be to af-
ford the first shelter, in treeless localities,
for raising forests. Its bark, rich in tannin,
and its gum, not dissimilar to Gum Arabic,
render this tree also important. Other
quick-growing trees, useful in various ways,
growing in any soil and enduring drought,
can be used simultaneously, by mere dis-
semination, in ploughed ground, for dense
temporary belts of shelter, or for quick
yielding fuel plantations, such as Acacia
yycnantha, A. lophantha, Casuarina quadri-
valvis, Casuarina suberosa. Eucalyptus mel-
liodora, Eucalyptus viminalis, and many
other Eucal3'pts, all easily growing from
seed.

Acacia homalophylla, Cunn.

The Victorian Myall, extending into the
deserts of N. S. Wales. The dark brown
wood is much sought for turners' work o»
account of its solidity and fragrance ; per-
haps its most extensive use is in the manu-
facture of tobacco pipes. Never a tall tree.

Acacia Melanoxylon, R. Br.

The well-known Blackwood of our river
flats and moist forest valleys, passing also
under the inappropriate name of Lightwood.
In irrigated valleys of deep soil the tree
will attain a height of 80 feet, with a stem
several feet in diameter. The wood is most
valuable for furniture, railway carriages,
boat-building, casks, billiard tables, piano-
fortes (for sound-boards and actions), and
numerous other purposes The fine-grained
wood is cut into veneers. It takes a fine
polish, and is considered equal to the best
Walnut. Our best wood for bending under

187^.

TEE GARDEJ^EWS MONTHLY.

109

steam. For further details refer to the vol-
umes of the Exhibitions of 1862 and 1867.
Acer campestre, L.

Extends from Middle Europe to North
Asia. Height 40 feet, in shelter and deep
soil ; the yellow and purple tint of its foliage
in autumn render the tree then particularly
beautiful. The wood is compact and fine-
grained, and sought for choice furniture.
The tree can be trimmed for hedge growth.
Comparatively quick of growth, and easily
raised from seed. These remarks apply to
almost all kinds of Maples.
Acer dasycarpum, Ehrhart.

The Silver Maple of ISTorth America. Likes
rather a warmer climate than the other
American Maples, and therefore particular-
ly desirable for us here. Height 50 feet ;
wood pale and soft, stem sometimes 9 feet
in diameter.
Acer macrophyllum, Pursh.

Large Oregon Maple. Tree 90 feet high, of
quick growth ; stem 16 feet in circumfer-
ence ; wood whitish, beautifully veined.
Acer Negundo, L.

The Bos Elder of North America. A tree,
deciduous like the rest of the Maples ; at-
tains a height of about 50 feet, and is rich
in saccharine sap. Proved well adapted for
our countrj'.
Acer palmatijm, Thunb.

This beautiful tree with deeply cleft leaves
is indigenous to Japan where various varie-
ties with red and yellow tinged leaves occur.
Should it be an aim to bring together all the
kinds of Maples, which could be easily
grown in appropriate spots of Victoria, then
Japan alone would furnish 25 species.
Acer platanoides, L.

The Norway Maple, extending south to
Switzerland, 70 feet high. The pale wood
much used by cabinetmakers.
Acer Pseudo-platanus, L.

The Sycamore Maple or British Plane. At-
tains a height of over 100 feet. The wood
is compact and firm, valuable for various
implements, instruments and cabinet work.
It furnishes, like some other Maples, a sujie-
rior charcoal.
Acer rubrum, L.

The Bed Maple, North America. A tree
attaining 80 feet, fond of swampy places ;
wood close grained. The trunk when twist-
ed furnishes also curled maple wood. Grows

well with several other maples, eveu in dry
open localities of this part of Australia, al-
though the foUaae may somewhat suffer
from our hot winds.
Acer saccharinum, Wans.*

One of the largest of the maples. In the
colder latitudes of North America, 80 feet
high. Wood of rosy tinge, when knotty or
curly furnishes the Birdseye and curly Ma-
plewood. In the depth of winter the trees,
when tapped, will yield the saccharine flaid,
which is so extensively converted into ma-
ple sugar, each tree yielding 2 to 4 lbs, a
year. The trees can be tapped for very
many years in succession, without injury.
The Sugar Maple is rich in potash. Nu-
merous other maples exist, among which as
the tallest may be mentioned, Acer Creticum,
L. of South Europe, 40 feet ; A. loevigatum,
A. sterculiaceum and A. viUosam, Wallich,
of Nepal, 50 feet ; A. inctum, Thunb., of Ja-
pan, 30 feet.

^SCULUS HiPPOCASTANUM, L.

Indigenous to Central Asia. One of the
most showy of deciduous trees, more partic-
ularly when during spring "it has reached
the meridian of its glory, and stands forth
in all the gorgeousness of leaves and blos-
soms." Height 60 feet. It will succeed in
sandy soil on sheltered spots ; the wood
adapted for furniture ; the seeds a food for
various domestic auimals ; the bark a good
tanning material. Three species occur in
Japan, and several, but none of great height,
in North America and South Asia,

AlLANTUS GLANDULOSA, L.

S. E. Asia. A hardy deciduous tree, 60
feet high, of rather rapid growth, and of
very imposing aspect in any landscape.
Particularly valuable on account of its
leaves, which afibrd food to a silkworm
[Bombyx Cynthia], peculiar to this tree ;
vvood pale yellow, of silky lustre when
planed, and therefore valued for joiners'
work. In South Europe planted for ave-
nues.
Alnus glutinosa, Gaertn.

The ordinary Alder. Throughout Europe
and extra tropical Asia, 70 feet high ; well
adapted for river banks ; wood soft and
light, turning red, furnishing one of the
best charcoals for gunpowder ; it is also
durable under water, and adapted for turn-
ers and joiners' work. A. incana Willd. is
an equally high and allied species,

no

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^TELY.

April,.

Amyrts terebinthifolia, Tenore.

Brazil. Is here perfectly hardy, and is con-
tent in dry ground without any irrigation.
It proved one of the best among the smaller
. avenue trees, is beautifully spreading and
umbrageous, and p'-obably of medicinal
vaiue.

Angophora intermedia, Cand.

South East Australia. This is the best of
the Angophoras, attaining a height of 50
feet, and growing with the rapidity of an
Eucalyptus, but being more close and shady
in its foliage. It would be one of our best
trees to line public roads, and to effect shel-
ter plantations.

Baloghia LUCiDA, Endl. [Codiceum lucidum,
J. M.)
East Australia. A middle sized tree. The
sap from the vulnerated trunk forms, with-
out any admixture, a beautiful red indelible
pigment

Betula alba, L *

The ordinary Birch of Europe and extra-
tropical Asia. It attains a height of 80 ft ,
and would here thrive best in moist glens of
the ranges, or in the higher regions of our
mountains, where it would form up at the
Alpine Zone excellent shelter plantations.
The durable bark serves for roofing. AVood
white, turning red The oil of the bark is
used in preparing the Russian leather.

Betula nigra, L.

The Black or River Birch of North Ameri-
ca. One of the tallest of Birches. If grown
on the banks of a limpid stream, it will bear
intense heat. The wood is compact, of a
light color.

Betula papyracea. Ait.

The Paper Birch of North America. A
larger tree than B. alba., with a fiue-grained
wood and a tough bark ; much used for
portable canoes. It likes a cold situation.

Betula lenta, Willd.

The Cherry Birch of North America. A
tree of middle size, liking moist ground.
Bark aromatic. Wood rose-colored or dark,
fine-grained, excellent for furniture. Sev
era! Birches occur in Japan, which might
well be tried here.

Carpinus Betulus, L

The Hornbeam. A tree of 80 feet high
Middle and South Europe. Wood pale, of
a horny toughness and hardness, close
grained, but not elastic- This tree would

serve to arrest the progress of bushfires, it
planted in copses or hedges like willows and
poplars around forest plantations. A small-
er species, Carpinus Americana, Mich.^
yields the Ironwood of North America.
Four species occur in Japan ( C cordata, C.
erosa, D. laxiflora., C. japonica (Blume).
Carpinus viminea (Wallich) is a species with-
durable wood from the middle regions of
Nepal. (20)

Carya alba, Nuttall.*

The Shellbark Hickory. A deciduous tree,
90 feet high, which delights in rich forest
soil ; a native of North America. WoodJ
strong, elastic, and tenacious, but not very
durable. Yields the main supply of Hickory
nuts. All the hickories are extensively
used in North America for hoops. (21)

Carya amara, Nuttall.

Tho Bitternut Tree or Swamp Hickory. A
tree 80 feet high, in swampy grounds of
North America Wood less valuable than
that of other Hickories.

Carya glabra, Torrey.* {Carya j)orcina,
Nuttall.)
The Hognut Tree. A tree 80 feet high in
forest land of North America. Wood very
tough ; the heart-wood reddish or dark-col-
ored ; much used for axletrees and axle-
handles

Carya oliviformis, Nuttall.*

The Pecan Nut Tree. A lofty tree, fond ofc
river banks in North America.

Carya sulcata, Nuttall.*

The Furrowed Hickory and Shellbark Hick-
ory of some districts ; also Shagbark Hick-
ory. A tree, 80 feet high, in damp woods-
of North America. Heart-wood pale color-
ed. Seed of sweet pleasant taste.

Carya tomentosa, Nuttall *

The Mocker Nut tree or White Heart Hick-
ory. A big tree of North America. Likes-
forest soil, not moist. Heart-wood pale-col-
ored, remarkable for strength and durabili-
ty. Seeds very oily. Nut small, but sweet.
A variety produces nuts as large as an ap-
ple. (22)

[20] This is a verj' interesting fire hint. C. Americana
we believe grows quite as large as C. betulus.

[21] For hoops a'.so are maples and oaks e.Tlerslvcly
used.

[22] What kind of Apple? The Carya alba and C.
sulcata, sometimes produce fruit — not nuts — as large as-
small apples, and nut? as large as w Inuts.

1872,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THL^

111

Castanea sativa, Miller.* (G. msm Goerlner.)
The Sweet Chestnut Tree. South Europe
and temperate Asia, as far as Japan, and a
variety with smaller fruits extending to
Xorth America. It attains an enormous
age ; at Mount Etna an individual tree oc-
curs with a stem 204 feet in circumference.
The wood is light and coarse grained ; the
importance of the tree rests on its adapta-
bility for shade plantations, its nutritious
nuts and timber value.
Castanopsis argentea, a. Candolle,

A lofty tree in the mountains of India, pro-
duces also edible chestnuts. Other species
of the genus Castanopsis are valuable.
Casuarina glauca, Sieber.

The Desert Sheoak, widely distributed
through Australia, but nowhere in forest-like
masses. This species attains, in favorable
places, a height of 80 feet. Its hard durable
wood is valuable. Important for its rapid
growth, resistance to exposure for shelter
plantation, and a speedy supply of fuel, a re-
mark which applies also to the following
species.
Casuarina quadrivalvis, Labillard.

The Coast Sheoak of South-east Australia,
but not merely living in coast sand, but also
on barren places up to the hills inland.
Height to 60 feet. The male tree is very
eligible for avenues, the foliage of the spe-
cies being drooping. Cattle are fond of the
foliage. For arresting the ingress of the
coast sands by belts of timber, this is one of
the most important trees. It produces,
like other Casuarinas, seeds early and copi-
ously, and is easily raised.
Casurina suberosa, Willd.

The Erect Sheoak of South East Australia.
Height to 40 feet. A beautiful shady spe-
cies, Casuarina trichodon (Miq ), C. Fra-
seriana, (Miq. ), and C. Huegeliana (Mlq ),
are arboreous species of South-west Austra-
lia, all valuable for their wood.
Cedrela Taona, Roxburgh.*

The Singapore Cedar. A mere variety of
this is the Red Cedar of East Australia
{fkdrela Australis, Cunn.) The light beau-
tiful wood, easily worked and susceptible of
high polish, is much in request for furniture,
for the manufacture of pianofortes, for boat-
building and a variety of other work. As
this important tree is largely extirpated in
the cedar brushes, it is highly desirable to

form of it in our rich forest guUies indepen-
dent plantations for future local supply.
The Red Cedar is hardy at Melbourne, but
in our open exposed gardens and poor soil
of slow growth.

Celtis Aijstralis, L.

The Lotus tree of South Europe and North
Africa. Of longevity, 50 feet high, availa-
ble for avenues. Berries edible. Wood
hard and dense, eligible particularly for
turners' and carvers' work.

Celtis Occidentalis, L.

The Huckberry Tree. A fine forest tree in
Ohio, and other parts of North America.
Height 80 feet. The variety called C. cras-
sifolia is the best. The sweet fruits edible.
Wood elastic and fissile. (28)

Ceratonia Siliqua, L.

The Carob tree of the Mediterranean re-
gion. It attains a height of 30 feet and re-
sists drought well. Wood pale red. The
saccharine pods, Algaroba or St. John's
Bread, of value for domestic animals. The
seeds germinate readily.

CiNNAMOMUM Camphora, Nees.*

The Camphor tree of China and Japan, at-
taining a height of about 40 feet. It en-
dures the occasional frosts of Port Phillip,
though the foliage will suffer. The wood,
like all other parts of the tree, is pervaded
by Camphor, hence resists the attack of in-
sects.

CORYLUS CoLURNA, L.

The Constantinople Kut tree, the tallest of
Hazels, attaining 00 feet in height, of rather
quick growth. This, as well as the Euro-
pean Hazel [Corylus Avellana L.) and the
Japan Hazel {C. heterophylla, Fischer) might
be grown for copses in our forest gullies.
Corynocarpus laevigata, Forst.

The Karaka of New Zealand and the prin-
cipal forest tree of the Chatham Islands, at-
taining the height of 60 feet. The wood is
light, and used by the natives for canoes.
The pulp of the fruit is edible. Cattle
browse on the foliage. In rich humid soil
the tree can be adopted for avenues.

DiOSPTROS ViRGIKIAKA, L.

The N. American Ebony or Parsimon. A
tree 60 feet high. Wood very hard and
blackish. The sweet variety yields a good
table fruit.

[2.3] The sw-.-ei fruit, hence called sugar berry.

112

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELy.

April,

EisrGELHARDTiA SPiCATA, Blume.

The spurious AValnut tree of the mouutains
of Java and the Himalayas. It reaches a
height of 200 feet.

Eucalyptus amygdalina, Labill.

In our sheltered springy forest glens attain-
ing not rarely a height of over 400 feet,
there forming a smooth stem and broad
leaves, producing also seedlings of a foliage
different to the ordinary state of Euc. amyg-
dalina, as occurs in more open country.
This species or variety, which might be
called Eucalyptus regiuins^ represents the
loftiest tree in British territory, and ranks
Bext to the Sequoia Wellingtonia in s'lZd any-
where on the globe. The wood is fissile,
well adapted for shingles, rails, for house-
building, for the keelson and planking of
ships and other purposes. Labillardiere's
name applies ill to any of the forms of this
species. Seedlings raised on rather barren
ground near Melbourne have shown the same
amazing rapidity of growth as those of Euc.
globulus ; yet like those of Euc. obliqua^ they
are not so easily satisfied with any soil.
{To be Continued.)

ORCHIDS -NO. 3.

BY MR JAMES TAPLIN, MANAGER TO MR. GEO.
SUCH, SOUTH AMBOY, N. J.

ZygopetaluM crinitum. — This is one of
the very old-fashioned plants frequently met
with, growing with little care and attention
among a general collection of stove-plants ; and,
without any care, it is seen to flower more or
less each year. The flower being large, and
also sweet-scented, it is a very desirable plant.
The season for flowering is from October until
Christmas, according as the plant is grown in a

hot or cool house. The above plant is one of the
best for growing in a cool house, that in a tem-
perature of from 50' to 55' in winter, and it will
take no harm a few degrees lower on very cold
nights. I will here mention that none of the Or-
chid family should be placed in cold draughts,
although many will do well in a cool, not cold,
house, but when grown in a low tempera-
ture they require less water and more care in
giving it. The water should also be at least 10'
warmer than the average night temperature of
the house plants are grown in. This is a safe
rule in watering all Orchids.

The Zygopetalum, being evergreen, of large
growth, and also, when in good health, making
a large quantity of roots, requires liberal watch-
ing at all times. The proper soil is one-third
rough peat, one-third rough fibrous loam, and
one-third dry, rotten dung, with some coke,
or charcoal and sand, mixed with it. Fill the
pots or pans one-third full of coke, and then
place some of the rough soil with the plant
bulb just above the pot. Make soil firm. It
need not be carried above the level of the pot.
The proper time to re-pot is soon after flower-
ing, but if treated well, large plants will not
require fresh pots for several years ; but top-
dress instead with the same mixture of soil.
AVe grow one large plant in pans twenty inches
wide by ten deep, and they grow and flower
well. Had fourteen spikes on one plant this
season, a total of ninety-six flowers. This, of
course, is nothing extraordinary for this free-
blooming plant, but one plant was quite small
three years ago.

In conclusion, I can safely recommend this
plant to beginners iu Orchid-growing, and
also to lovers of winter-bloomiug plants gen-
erally.

EDITOE lAL.

TRAVELING RECOLLECTIONS.

A few Lours at Washington, recently, afforded !
us an opportunity of examining the Govern-
ment grounds and gardens— a portion of our
parish which has long been waiting for our in-
spection. These establishments are pretty
widely known, as Washington is a sort of cen
tral place for travelers, and correspondents write

from there to all sortsof papers in all parts of the
world. Every one has heard of the Government
grounds. Sometimes the}- are spoken of in terms of
lavish praise, at other times they meet with un-
merited criticism The last statement is particu-
larly true of the Botanic Garden. It is not at all
uncommon to hear the remark that its only use is
to furnish cut flowers for Congressmen, — fifteen

1S72.

THE GARDEJ^EU'S MOJ^TRLY.

113

questions which others besides captious newii-
pa per correspondents can as readJly decide.

With the thermometer at 8' above zero, ami
a keen cutting wind, out-door observations we?;e
not favorable ; but it was quite apparcn.t that
the grounds were kept up with much neatness
and care, and our brief visit gave us a very
much more favorable impression of the value of"
the work done here than on the strength. ©I"
newspaper correspondents we had carrledi to
Washington with us. We have recently noted
some f]ne specimens of Libocedrus decurreris audi
other rare evergreens in some parts of the coun-. -
try, but of some of these there are fineu one©*,
here. We should be very much indebte^lito ?t[-ro..
Smith if he can give us the heights ofi s-ame. o&
them for publication.

The Smithsonian Institution aS'd'igroTJnds-pr.e-
sent some salient points, both foy praise and? ;
criticism. As t'ov jioints, the building itstlf is aa ^
embodied illustration. There are probably few
buildings in the world whrch can furnish mor^
outline in proportion to the &paoe encloses], \'?
this be consistent with tha elements of beauty,. .
then the building is an immense success ; but oui>
this question the witness- sayeth not. To ouir
mind, a more massive structure would have k?t* -
ter consisted with the idea of learning. The
rusty color of the walls seemed also to us an un-
fortunate choice— an unfortunate fossil dug:
out of the depths of the earth, and not the vi-
resceut growth of the living age. Fortunately
nature is making haste to cover the dingy brown. .
Information about matters which one ! Ivy l^as attached itself to many parts of the

building, — some variegated and some green, .
May it soon succeed in laying with its loving
hands the dirty looking wall low in the grave of; /
oblivion !

The grounds at the Smithsonian vv-e^s irvtche ;
hands of Mr. Downing at the time of his.-'J(".j}J.7.
The main plan was no doubt his, fos the walks
and drives are ver}' well, designed. The genius
of a landscape gardener is nowhere so manifest
as in his treatment »f roads. The pretender i*
sure to make too many. Only the true mind
sends them in the directions where they are;
exactly wanted,— beauty and utility perfectly
combined,— neither more nor less.

The planting was a failure. It is more thaa
likely that Downing' s original plan was not
fully or fairly executed. Little else thjvn large^
growing trees are employed. It is alLthe: samo-'
whether the space to be occupied wasibxoad .and.
' espansi-v-e-or of limited extent, the- ouuly vasaair-

thousand a year for bouquets to officials ! nothing
more. There is little doubt but this garden will
not compare with similar establishments in Eu-
rope. It is not a credit to the nation. It ought
to be at least four times its present size, with a
worthy appropriation to sustain it. But we
mistake the signs of the times if this proper po-
sition among the botanic gardens of the world
will not be acconled to it before many years*
Art and science is mrire appreciated in Washing-
ton tlian it has been. 'I'he praises whi"h have
been accorded to our beautiful Capitol buildings,
are beginning to tell on the national pride
Americans feel that in this grai.d specimen of na-
tional architecture, they have something Avhich
commands universal admiration ; and they will
not fail to see that these jjublic grounds are ren-
dered still more unworthy by the very magnifi-
cence of the architecture about them. They
may as well have credit lor good, grounds as
good buildings, and they are too practical a peo-
ple not to see the point.

But even with the present meagre appropria-
tions and cramped facilities for doing a good bo-
tanical work, the intelligent looker-on will see
much in the botanic garden and its manage-
ment to admire and to approve. All has been
done by its chief, Mr. W. li. Smith, that can be
done with his means, and that little all has been
done intelligently and well. A very large and
excellent collection of rare trees and plants has
been gathered together, and as large specimens
grown of them as the accommodations will af-
ford

would have to take a voyage around the world
to find out, can here be gathered together in a
day ; and not in the dead language of a library,
but in the living eloquence of the plants them-
selves. It is pleasant to note that appreciation
seems already being bestowed on the work which
has been done here. Some better houses have
already been erected, — and we are quite sure
that when the public at large vtnderstands the
value of works of this character, more legisla-
tive encouragement will follow.

As to the bouquet idea, it is a very childish
objection. Plants, however valuable they may
be, will have beautiful flowers and fragrant
odors. But beauty and sweetness alike must
fade, — and whether they shall pay their last re-
spects to the earth which bore them on the spot
where they gre"*', or shall be permitted to give a
part of their joyous lives to the pleasures of
other- elsewhere before they finally depart, are

lU

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY.

April,

tions made were in the quantities of similar
classes of trees. Yery few slow-growing trees
or flowering shrubs were employed. The result
is, that now, though less than twenty years have
elapsed, the planting is found to be wrong, and
workmen are engaged in transplanting trees
hither and thither ; so that in many a place
whereion the beautiful plan a neat thick clump
was delineated in order to make the whole pic-
ture one great success, a single pine or other
tree is left, which, as it grows up, and perhaps
loses its lower branches, will totally change
the character of the original design. It is
the boast of the true landscape gardener that
his art is a more difficult one Ihau that of the
picture-maker. It is. said that he has to see far
into the future what his work must be. When he
grades and plants and gives it up to you com-
pleted, you are to take it on faith. It is to be
something in the future, and he does not merely
claim credit for what it is now. If this is land-
scape gardening, and the Smithsonian planting
is to be measured by this rule,"it is a failure, and
we are sorry for it. Still the grounds have
beauty, — much beauty. — far above the average
of public grounds in this country, and we have
little doubt in the summer season they must af-
ford one of the most enjoyable places to the lover
of taste.

The experimental garden and grounds of the
Agricultural Department are under the charge of
!Mr. Wm. Saunders, as is well known. The for-
mer division is down in a hole, and in a position
badly calculated to be of much profit in the way
of experiments, except as advisory to the people
of what not to do. As the gallows is sometimes
defended on the ground of its awful warning, so,
no doubt, was the reasoning in the mind of the
brilliant genius who selected this spot for "ex-
periments." Saunders must have had an awful
time in ditching and draining, in backing and
filling, before he was able to put much through
this soil ; yet some things are wonderful success-
es. The dwarf pears in grass are amongst these,
though they are not wonderful perhaps to
those who practice just such treatment as Mr.
Saunders does, and these are not by any means
uncommon now. They have been in grass for
many years, and regularly top-dressed ; the
growth is remarkable, not only for vigor, but for
evident healthiness. Perhaps somewhat of this
beautiful appearance is due to the washes of the
bark which the trees receive. lie is a true be-
liever in bark-washing, and so are we ; he has

no dread of "filling up the pores,' and he is
right. We never saw a tree in which the bark
was washed — whitewashed if one pleases — that
was not healthier than one which was not. Mr.
Saunders' trees are not, however, white. There
is a sooty and sulphur)'^ smell which betrays the
ingredients mixed with the lime ; all the
branches except the weakest are washed. They
not only grow, but bear handsomely.

In the houses are many plants of economic
value, which are raised for public distribution.
There were a large number of Quinine plants
thriving very well. Grapes were being propa-
gated in immense quantities for distribution to
correspondents, — and here we may observe that
the distribution of seeds and plants which ex-
cites the ire of so many, has at least two sides
to it. We hear it said that this distribution in-
jures nurserymen and seedsmen. Let people
buy seeds and plant. Why not distribute hogs
and sheep, putty and glass, silk and broad cloth ?
And the reply is, there is no proof that any nur-
sery or seed business has been injured. Com-
plaints, when they are made, usually come from
those who are wealthy in these pursuits. The
f«ict that they increase in wealth is decisive
that they are not injured. The plantsand seeds
are mostly of new varieties and usually distrib-
uted in far-away places, and amongst persons
who would never buy ; but the gift is a founda-
tion of a taste which culminates in producing a
regular purchaser of these things. In the case
of seeds, the Government does not raise them,
but purchases from seedsmen ; hence the money
is really in the seed trade. Moreover, the seeds
or plants are rarely gifts, but recompenses to a
large number of persons vvho work for the Gov-
ernment without pay, and can in no other way
so well have their services rewarded. They
take metereological observations, make reports,
and in various ways render service for all they
get. That there may be some abuses is likely,
— that the principle is good, is truly believed.
This is the reasoning, whether of full weight or
not it is not now our purpose to decide ; but it
is in accordance with our idea of fair play that
both sides shall, in these columns, be fully
heard.

The grounds of the Department of Agriculture
are pretty extensive, and lay well for good ef-
fect. We cannot say that the idea of combining
a botanical scientific arrangement with the
popular effects of landscape gardening is a suc-
cess. Mr. S. has, with much energy and enthu-

1872.

THE GAEDEJVER'S MO^TELl .

riB

«iasm, gathered together an excellent collection
of trees and shrubs ; but many are soraev/hat
small, and exposed as these little things neces-
sarily are to cold, cutting winds, the final land-
scape effects will not be apparent before the next
<;entur3'. Ivlany will dift, and will have to be re-
placed continual)}'. We imagine it would have
been better to have well protected the whole
grounds with rapid-growing shelter trees, and
•then placed the trees and shrubs severally just
wherever they would be best suited in soil, situ-
ation or aspect, — keeping, of course, those things
whicli are similar as near together as possible.
There have been some very handsome plant
houses erected recently on these grounds, in one
of which Mr. Saunders has put up the hot water
pipes on the gravitating principle of hot water
-circulation, the advocacy of which brought out
such a heavy conflict of opinion both in this coun-
try and in Europe. Here is the practical demon-
stration of the truth that hot water circulates
fiimply because cold water is the heaviest. As
here constructccl, the hot water in the flow pipes
and the colder water in the return pipes both
run down hill, and there is no reason that we
fcee why a house a mih in lewjlh may not be
heated by one boiler and one .S(;t of pipes as

readily on this principle, as one a few hundred
feet on the present ascending plan. As we stood
and looked at these pipes so beautifully and so
effectively doing their work, the mystery seemed
the more profound that so mauy of us should be
so long befogged and befooled by an abstract
theory, which tlae most common sense reflection
ought to have taught better "Did you not
know before that warm water would run down
hill as well as cold water ?" said the writer to a
wondering looker on, wedded to the popular
theories of hot-water circulation, "Y-e-s,'' was
the reply, " but yet it seems to me that the prin-
ple must be true, that heat ascends." He will,
no doubt, go on in the old way ; and we must
content ourselves with the simple observation
that if the Department of Agriculture had never
done any thing else than to partially demon-
strate the value of this principle in hot-water
circulation, it would still "deserve well of the
Kepublic." It is destined to stand side by side
with Mr. Strong's excellent demonstration of
the value of ascending air in hill-side houses.
The one revolutionized hot-air houses as the
other will hot water. Hereafter there will be
two Meccas for greenhouse pilgrims, — for Wash-
ington will take rank in this respect with Boston.

SCIIAPS AND UUEUIES

CuKDURANGO, the so-called cancer cure, has
been thoroughly tried in the English hospitals,
and been found of not the slighest value.

Lists of Shrubs. — Mrs. F. G , New Haven,
0>«n., inquires whether Scott's Suburban Home
Grounds treats of shrubs. These are fully dis-
cussed. Besides the descriptions and uses in the
body of the work, there are full lists of them at
the end of the book, according as each kind or
liaRS may be adapted to special purposes.

Apple Stocks for Cordon Training— i?,

E. T., 90 Wall St., N. Y., writes :— " Will you
have the goodness to inform me where the Para-
dise stock can be obtained for growing apple
trees on the Cordon system V Mr. Ivobinsoa

says the French Paradise is the only suitable
stock ; jNTr. Thomas Rivers says the English
Paradise. Here are two paths. Which one shall
we follow ? For it becomes ipe to pause at the
opening of the two paths, (when sucli savans dis-
agree) and ask you to point the way. Is there
any other stock used for growing pears for Cor-
don, other than the quince, on which are grown
our dwarf pears ?"

[Mr. Robinson is probably speaking of France,
Mr. Rivers in England. Even in that case we
should judge these gentlemen would hardly be
justiiied in speaking for a whole nation. In this
country we often lind that the soil of one loca-
tion favors a stock which, fifty miles away in
another soil, will not do so well.

The Paradise stocks of this country are chiefly
if not wholly French, as the bulk of American
ti-iule is done witli the Continent, and compara-

1

lu

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLi.

April,

tivelj' little with Great Britain. Tiie few Eng-
lish Paradise which we have seen indicate a
growth of about the same in our soils. The
English is easily distinguished by a greater ten-
dency to grow upright.

The Doucain is very largely sold for Para-
dise stock in many American nurseries, the
term Doucain and "Dwarf" having become
sj'nonymous. The Doucain is a stronger grower
than the Paradise, and is better calculated for
American use than the Paradise. When worked
they make specimens 10 or 15 feet high. The
Paradise making but toj's, three or four feet
onlj'. The "Dwarf" apple of most American
nurseries are on Doucain stocks.

The Jlouutain Ash might do to "Cordonize''
peirs, but we have had no experience in this
for this kind of pear training.]

Names or Pla>;ts— K E. B , Dover, JV. J ,
writes :— Please inform me, in the Monthly, of
the proper name of the German Ivy, which has
a yellow composite flower, and in some respects
resembles the Mikauia scandens (1). AVill you
also give me the proper name and family, of
what is commonly called " Artillery" plant (or
Chinese Lycopodium), doited with minute red
flowers, about the size of a pin's head (2).

[1. Senecio scandens. 2. Pilea muscosa.]

A Machine to Kill Grasshoppers. —

While some of our friends were making merry
at our suggestion to have light canvas win^s
spread out in advance of hox'ses drawing a roller,
ia order to crush grasshoppers, the Utah people,
to whom the grasshopper is no joke, took up
t'ae idea, and have make a success of it. A
piper, now before us, describes the invention,
and says :

" It is drawn by horses; and consists of a
large apron, which picks up the insects as it is
drawn forward. Behind the ajH'on is a pair of
rollers, driven by the carrying wheels, and
whatever finds its way into tlie front of the ma-
chine is obliged to pass between these rollers."

So in regard to the potato bug. Mr. Le Ba-
rjn told the writer, when in Illinois recently,
that some one had invented a machine to catch
these. A long nose, gradually widening, went
under the vines. The bugs fell off with the dis-
turbance, and are gathered into a pocket. This
is not our idea any further than that some ma-
chine wouhl undoubtedly do it. But the grass-
hopper trap is exactly as we suggested. It is
better to trv than to laugh at ideas.

Protective Duties on Trees and Plants,
— Every year, about this time, there is much
agitation about this subject. It is one which
concerns every person who has any interest in
gardening, but one which agricultural and hor-
ticultural papers almost ignore. It is a question
so much mixed up with politics, and politics the
G((rdcner''s Monthly at least tries to avoid. Peo-
ple will reason on almost any subject ; but on a
political question they simply dispute, each
party striving for a party victory.

But there are some facts in this matter which
seem clear without risk of offending those who
listen. A Massachusetts correspondent sends
us a communication, in which he states that
manufiictui'ers there who are active in demand-
ing a duty of 50 or more per cent, on their own
goods, are yet working for a repeal of the plant
duty. But if we understand the law right,
plants are duty free now to all except nursery-
men. Xuri5erymen and seedsmen pay duties,
but not amateurs. The foreign nurseryman or
seedsman can sell direct to the American gen-
tleman, but the American nurseryman or seeds-
man must pay 30 per cent, in gold for the privi-
lege of doing so. Why this spite against the
American trader we never knew. We protested
with all our ability to the Congressional Com-
mittee against this when proposed a year ago,
but it was of no avail.

Suppose the duties are repealed all together,
and the connnercial man and what ought to be
his customer be then put on an equal footing,
will the American nurseryman or seed-grower
be able to pay the same high wages he now does
and yet compete with the cheap labor of the
seed farms of Europe? It was not easy for him
to do so before the war, when labor was lower.
The expense of working a nursery establishment
ij; now just double what it was before that time,
while the actual prices are just about the same.
It is not to be expected that he can compete
with them. He cannot do it. The question is
then narrowed down to this, is it for the interest
of the nation to break up these nursery estab-
lishments in order that the principle of buying
in the cheapest market is to be carried out?
Here we suppose we encroach on the domain of
politics, and we shall leave to ])olitics the an-
swering of this question.

One thing, however, remains, Though the
interior nurseries may be crushed and broken by
the free European competition, those of us who
live near the seaboard will be benefited pecuuiari-

187^,

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJSI'THLY.

117

ly. If we canuot grow things ourselves, we can
become agents and importers for European
lioupes, in which the profits are as great as in
home raising, as the business of the whole coun-
try thus passt* through the hands of a few. It
is a matter which concerns our large Eastern
firms very little. They are safe either way. It is
rather a question for the interior and the smaller
firms, scattered all over the country, to decide.

There will always be some annoyance from
tree duties, on account of the delay at the Cus
torn House with these perishable goods. Gene-
rally, however, plants if well packed get through
even with this delay. But even with this, it is
still a question whether for this a principle which
in some measure prevents the great pressure of
cheap foreign labor on our tree-raisers and seed-
growers should be abandoned. We do not pre-
tend to decide this question, but merely to pre-
sent tlic case as it appears to us.

feed, and which is 3uppo.•^ed to <.'ive Lhti-ir flesh
the peculiar tlavor so popular with epicures.

To Inquirers.— We frequently hold over in-
quiries, as well as communications, for various
reason.*. If there be no immediate notice or re-
ply, correspondents will not, therefore, think
favors unacceptable. We rarely receive a line
from any one that is not suggestive of some good
Idea, and the letters of our friends are always
welcome, provided it is anything we can reply
to or use in these columns for the benefit of
others as well as one. We have no time to an-
swer private letters, or we would gladly do so in
manv instances.

DORYAXTiiES KXCELSA — We noticed recent-
ly another specimen of this rare and beautiful
plant coming into bloom in Mr. Sherwood's
greenhouse. The second plant in two years.

The Profit of a Pear Tree. —A corres-
pondent from Springfield, Mass., says lie has a
pear tree 15 years planted, which produced .^165
Avorth of pears in 1870, and nearly the same in

1871

Hardiness of Swedish .Junipei}.— A cor-
respondent says that near Boston the Swedish
Juniper is found much more hardy than the
Irish. We were not aware before that there was
any difference.

Pyracantha IlEDaES. — 7. 2?., Elizabeth-
town, Kij., says : " Will you give a description
of the cultivation of the Pyracantha in the
Monthhjf It is desirable that our people should
know more about this new hedge plant. ''

[The Pyracantha is not a new hedge plant.
It has been known and in use in the South for
many years, and proves to be one of the best, if
not the best, for them. It is raised by cuttings
taken off in the fall, and made into lengths of
about nine inches. The next fall they are well
rooted and fit to set out. This variety has scar-
let berries, and a somewhat ragged growth,
which requires shearing to make it formal
enough to be consistent with neatness. It is
not hardy in the North, and attempts to make
hedges of it have failed in these high latitudes.

But a few years ago another variety was in-
troduced from Germany by Parsons & Co.,
which is hardy — at least here in the Middle
States, and how far North we do not know.
This grows much denser and is far better adapt-
ed to hedge purposes than the Southern form.
It needs no cutting back to make it thick, and
hence, though it does not make as great an an-
nual growth as the Osage Orange, it will make
a protective hedge quite as soon. The berries
are lighter in color than the other Pyracantha,
and the plant is known as the Wliite-herried Py-
j racantha, though the berries are not exactly
i white. A little trimming is useful to make a
more perfect form, but it is not necessary in
order to make a perfectly protective fence. It is
easily raised from cuttings, and will, no doubt,
soon become popular. We regard the introduc-
tion of it as an hedge plant by our New York
friends as one of the eras in horticultural his-
tory.]

Wild Celery. —Can any of our readers tell
us what plant is the " Wild Celery" on which
ibe canvasback ducks of DelawRre are said to

Where can Things be had? — We are over-
run with letters inquiring where the trcts,
plants and flowers, noticed in our paper, are to
be obtained We very seldom know more than
we tell. We tell all we know. Sometimes we
suspect these inquiries come from persons asso-
ciated some wa)"^ with the plant noticed, and
that the inquiry is to bring out a free advertise-
ment for the party in question. We cannot do
this. There are many honotable firms who pay
for their advertising, and it is not fair to them
to 2five other.'* advertising for nothing. Those

lis

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ\'THLy.

Afyril^

who have thincrs to poll nmst advertise for them- i agement of the old business. But he is an ener-
selves We shall in future insert inquiries where ; getic and respected citizen of the city, and, we
things ma}^ be had if such come to us ; thos'> who understand, still hopes to make the nursery one
have them must rej>l\' throu<:h our advertising of the most tlourishing '"institutions" of that
columns. flourishing place.

Persian Walnut — B. Lawrenre, Knnsns. — i
" Some of our nurserymen are distributing what 1
they call the Persian AV^alnut. Is this difl^rent }
from the English?" j

[There is no difTerence in the main between |
the English, Persian and Madeira nuts. They |
are all from JiigJans rtgia. It is seldom that j
vaVieties are selected and perpetuated by graft- '
ing, as any of these nuts are "good enough ;"
but as they vary as other things do, possibly i
some have been selected and grafted, and sold i
as " Persia.n."] j

Yellows in the Peach. L. F., PortJuwl,
N. Y., writes : " Can you direct me where I
may find tx'ces of the Beatrice and Plowden
peach ? also the Early Miners, three varicticK ?
I saw your statement of the Plowden; I mu(,h
want it. I am engaged here and at St. .loe and
Muskegon, Alich., in peach-growing.

•' What do you think of the sick, contagious
yellows ? Can we ever get rid of the disease
when once established in a section ? Have had
it here some fifteen years ; have lost 30 or 40
acres of peach orchards, and now have 20 acres
at St. Joe. Mich., where the yellows has com-
menced its ravages. Will we ever get rid of it
here at the Xorth, or must we go South to raise
I>eaches ?"

[In regard to the yellows in the peach we
have little more to offer than we stated in the
article in our January number. We there sug
gested it Avas owing to fungus at the roots, the
effects of which pervaded the whole tree. Since
then Dr. Taylor, the microscopist of the Agri-
cultural Department at Washington, acting on
our suggestion, has taken the inner bark of a stem
of a yellowed peach tree, taken just above the
ground and found it infested by a moniliform
thread like fungus, as we supposed. When the
season arrives for getting in tbe ground, he will
go to the root of the thing.]

Fay s Eakly Peach — 3/j-. Fay says : -'-We
do not yet understand how so good a peach can
be a month earlier than Early York, and fancy
there is yet something unexplained about this.
So you say of the Plowden. Possibly the peach
may have originated from the pits of Fay's
Early, as you ver}' nearly described ray pf*ach,
except in time of ripening, but I produced 2 or
3 trees as earl}' as you .say the Plowden fruits
on which I would ere this have made a fortune
had it not been for the yellows destroying the
trees, so as to prevent the dissemination of the
varieties, having only let out of my possession
the Fay's Early, which was wrongly named
Fay's Early Anne, by Col Hodge of Buffalo. The
Colonel said to me that it was a great mistake
in putting the name Early Anne, on so good a
peach that in no sense resembled the Eaj-ly Anne.

■' I have been aware that just such a peach as
you mention would be produced but for the ?/ci-
/ojc.s". Such a peach as early and as good a.s you
say the Plowden to be would have been in tuar-
ketere this. For the last ten years, could I have
known where the man was to which I could
confide a secret by which to have bnnight out
such a peach somewhere in the South where
trees I>ear young and grow (juick, and no yellows,.
I would have gladly made the ellbrt "

[Mr. Fay's, note unconsciously suggests to u&
that possibly the extra earliness of some trees
may be owing to disease. We should be very
glad to know from any correspondent who has
had certain knowledge of the fact, whether a
tree onca healthy and afterwards suffering from
the yellows will have the fruit ripen earlier on
this account. We believe it would ; but we
want the direct evidence of some one who has
had several years of close experience in this.]

Change of Firm at Dktiioit — It will be j
seen by our advertising colums that the firm of |
Ferrand & Osborne, of Detroit, has dissolved. \
Mr. Osborne has hitherto been the capitalist of
jhe concern, williout knowing much of tlie man-

Tr.EES OF the Rocky Mountains.— Dr.
Warder, of the Editorial Excursion of last year,
contributes a very interesting paper to the Hor-
ticuUurist, but errs in classing Phxus Banksi-
ann among them. This does not grow so far
south. It should have been P/jh<.s contorta.
AVe had no time to examine specimens criti-
cally on the way, and we did not discover this
error till our return.

1872.

THE GARDEJTER'S MOKTHL^.

119

Katsing Palms from Seed.— J. .S. McC.^
Gatesburg, III., writes : " Will you please give
directions in your next number, how best to
I'aise palms (O/iamerop.s) from seed, and oblige
many of your readers?"

[They are very easily raised ; indeed, re-
quire nothing more than to be put into a pot of
any common garden earth, and kept in a tem-
perature not helovj 70\ This last is the only es-
sential point.]

well supported by a score of other beautiful
things.

Summer Bud-graftixg Pears— .4 Central
New Yorlc correspondent says : " Having a
block of Pear seedlings that bid fair to leaf-
blight very early, and before buds are ripe, we
thought of trying a plan proposed by some one,
of cutting scions now and keeping them in ice
till June, and then using them for buds. Is it
practicable ? Have you ever tried it, or heard
of its being tried ?"

[In an early number of the Gnrdener''!>
Monthly, this plan was described as having been
practiced with great success with pears on
quinces and cherries on Maheleb. The scions
taken off in winter are buried in open ground till
.rune, when they keep green and fresh without
bursting their buds. Then the buds are taken
out and used as if in the way of ordinary bud-
ding The success is complete, but the buds
almost immediately pushed, and a late growth
resulted. Possibly, if the stock were at once
headed back, a growth almost equal to a spring
graft might result, but on this we have no evi-
dence. In the case of the pear, possibly this
late growth might leaf-blight also ]

Double Peach-stones. — T. M. Somerville,
Ky., sends us a drawing of a twin peach— the
fruit from one flower joined together by the
two edges opposite to the suture. It strikes us
that these are occasionally seen, but we did not
know that the stones in these cores were twin
as the peaches are. The drawing represents
them united in just about the same proportion
as the flesh which covered them.

ViCK's Chromo — We have hanging on our
wall the new chromo issued by Mr. Vick,
beautifully framed in walnut, which lells a
pretty story of nice flowers for 1872. Last year
Mr. Vick had Lilium auratum for the striking
feature of the group. There is a Lilium of
another variety this year, with the addition of
Tritoma uvaria, now so popular. These are

Grafting Elms.— D. T. K., Bocl: Mand, in-
quires for the stock best suited to graft the Scamp-
son and other weeping varieties. In the trade
they are usually imported, and are on the Eng-
lish Ulmns campestre, but in the absence of di-
rect knowledge, maj' say we believe they would
do as well on any American species

About Rye Grass. — A Eichmond, Va., cor-
respondent writes: "Flint's book tells about
Italian rye and Perennial rye grasses Thor-
burn sends us English rye. AVhat is that ?
Then we find in some of the catalogues 'French
Ray Grass.' And we have growing in some
sections of this State a grass called Peruvian
grass, which we think must be one or the other
of these. Do you know anything of these lat-
ter, which are not mentioned in Flint? How
much of the rye grasses is u^sually sown to the
acre ? And is spring or fall sowing preferable ?
There are quite a number of well to-do English
settlers recently located in our section, and we
have frequent inquiries from them about these
grasses, and also about tares and vi-iches.''

[Rye grass, from its rye-like hoa<h, is Lolixira
perenne. Italian rye grass is Lolimn Ilalician,
The former is also English ryegrass "Ray''
grass is an unmeaning corruption. English or
perennial rye grass is used for hay, or perma-
nent pastures. Italian is not durable, and is
popular in Europe for mowing for fodder in the
same way that tares or vetches are. Our
country is too hot for these, however, as also for
Italian rye grass. They do not bear half the
weight per acre as they do there. For hay,
also, rye grass will not bear near as much
per acre as Timothy, and your English
friends will come over to the American choice.
Rye grass, however, makes an earlier pasture
than Timothy. It is one of the first to " green
up " after winter — equal in this respect to or-
chard grass, and probably more nutritious. It
is valued as an ingredient in lawn grasses an
account of its early shining green.

What is called the Peruvian grass in Virginia
we do not know. Do any of our readers ?j

Losses by Fire have been rather numerous
this winter. AVillson's "Cottage Garden," at
Xenia, Ohio, is one of the latest to go — dwell-
ing-house and greenhouses. We have no doubt

no

THE GARDEjYEK'S MOA^THLl

IpriJ.

inatsy of these accidents occur through not
Sieedlng the lessons taught in the G'i.rdener\^
Monthly, that hent as well as Jlame burns. No
-wood, especially enclosed wood, should be in a
hot place. We have seen wood in greenhouses
;firc up when ffty feet from flame.

'Grammatical.— ^1. G., Cambritljc, Mass.,
.«says: '■'Shall I be pardoned if I suggest to
Wasliiagton correspondent (see p. 54) that
•*WiU I be pardoned' is not good English,

though this use of will for shall is brcoming
common."

The Saxdrixgham Wiutk Celkkt i< a
variety raised by the gardener to the Prince of
Wales, and is said to be the peculiar delight of
his Koyal Highness.

Canadian Wonder is the name of a new
dwarf bean, which is said to be wonderfully
productive. The pods in England grow
straight, and over a foot lon<r.

NEW AND RARE ERUITS.

"Brandywin-e Raspberry -W. T. B., Hatn-
smntoii, ]Sr. jr., says : "One of your correspon-
•aemts inquires about Brandywine Rasiiberry ;
the=Susqueco,' which was advertised in the Gar-
deneVs Monthly two or three years since, I
think, by a Delaware nurseryman (I cannot re-
•call !iis name), is the same, Susqueco' being the
Indian name for the Brandywine. Mr Hoopes
told mc at Herstinc's last summer, that he con
«idered it same as Pearl, and that the Delaware
man who sent it out did not consider it a new
variety, but that it did. well with him, and not
iknowing what it was, concluded to call it Sus-
-queco until he could ascertain what it was. Mr.
'Hoopes can doubtless give you full information
;about it."

' Royal Anne Cherry. — In the Jiaral New
I Yorker of this week you ask if this cherry is
i known b}- any other name. I can say we saw it
{ in great perfection at the large fruit farm of E.
! D. Lewclling, San Lorenzo, Cal. It is the same
! as our Napoleon Bigarreau. They had sent
! fruit of it to market the day of our visit there —

June 2S, 1870— that measured three and threc-
I quarters of an inch in circumference, andthirty-
! six weighed a pound. Black Tartarian and
j other varieties were equally fine. We found the
I names of fruits at all the orchards we visited

correctly stated, and this cherry is the only iu-
' stance I recollect of where it was not — Chas.

Downing, in Rural New Yorker.

TvfADRESFiELD Court Guape.— I have with
■.u friend of mine today (January 23d) cut the
last bunch of this variety, and from what I now
see it has fully borne out the character given to
it by the Royal Horticultural Socicly. S. Simp-
son, Esq , of Manchester, a very good judge of
Grapes, assured me a few days ago that a bunch
I gave him, after hanging in a dry place, but
still moderate in temperature, was kept five or
'6ix weeks amongst other thin-skinned varieties,
:ftnd at the end could not be surpassed in flavor.
,-I have it very fine in color, with large berries. I j
:am very sorry that I have not more of it on ac- ;
count of its excellent quality. I am devoting a
, house, about 40 feet by 18 feet, to its cultivation.
The constitution is good, and I have no hesita-
ti9u in saying it is a very desirable variety to
f:;row.— Joseph Meredith in Journal of Hortirul.

Caldwaldkr's Golden Apple. — Fruit
average ; weight 8 to 10 ounces ; form round,
compressed, oblique, truncated ; skin bright
golden yellow, with a faint blush ; dots elevated,
scattered, conspicuous, medium, irregular, dark
brown ; stem medium to long, slender ; cavity
wide, abrupt, deep, russeted eye, medium open ;
basin wide, abrupt, deep, slight'v furrowed ;
core medium, slightly open ; carpels rather
large ; seeds small, ovate, dark brown ; flesh yel-
lowish white, tender, juicy, mild pleasant acid ;
quality quite good ; use market, kitchen ; season
November to INIarch.

This apple originated on the farm of JamcvS
Simmons, near (ireenbush, Warren, Illinois, a
few years ago Wc arc well acquainted with
the locality of this place, having lived in the
neighborhood many years, Any apple which
will succeed well in th^t locality may be consid-
ered hardy. It is a very liands-ome, altractivo

IS72.

TEE GARBEjYER'S MOMTHLl.

131

apple, strong open grower, a very early and
abundant bearer, and said to be free from blight.
It strikes root as freely from the scions as the
graft.

Mr. James Simmons has i)lanted out from
sprouts coming up around the seedling tree,
until he has now about four hundred trees of
this variety in bearing. He says of it: "I
have apples when my neighbors have any, and
sometimes I have when they have none. They
come to my orchard to get apples to dry when
they have apples in their own orchard. I use
this fruit for sauce and pies for harvest. I have
them for my f\dl fruit and I put them away for
winter "

We find since writing tin; above description,
that the apples improve much in quality later in
the season, by samples just received, and also
become richer in color, and more attractive. —
Western Pomolorfist and Gardener.

Cooper's Red Apple. — A very handsome
variety, originated by Mark A. Cooper, Esq., of

Cass County. Ga.

Fruit medium, conical, very regularly shaped,
skin deep carmine red with numerous small
white dots, calyx closed in a shallow corrugated
basin, stalk slender, set in a deep but narrow
cavitj-, flesh crisped, brittle, sweet, quality good,
maturity eTanuary, and from all appearance will
prove a good keeper. Doubtless an offspring of
Shockley, with which it has several points of
analogy — Farmer and. Gardener.

The Mercbp^ Apple. — The history of tlie
apple as far as known is this : .Jeremiah Smith,
one of the flrst and most successful fruit-raisers
in Pike Co., Miss., obtained grafts of it from a
Baptist minister, by the name of Mercer, about
fifty years ago, hence the name. Proving to be
a v.alnable apple, it has been cultivated on all

kinds of soil with uniform success where any
other variety would succeed

The tree is a very thrifty, strong grower,
neither too dense nor too open, inclining to pyr-
amidal in shape, and bears young, abundant,
and regular crops

The apple is above medium size, varying from
flat to conical ; skin thin, yellow, with pale red
streaks in the shade, in the sun. almost red;
flesh fine-grained, white, and a peculiarly rich
sub-acid flavor.

Time of ripening, all the month of July. In-
dispensable in any collection of apples. — IT. W,
L. Lewis, in Southern Gardener

The Gkos Col;maxGrape.— M Vibert, then
residing at Angers, sent mo this grape some
twenty years since. It bore abundantly with
me, but did not ripen its fruit, being in a cold
house. I have since seen it in fine perfection
with Mr. Miller, of Bishop, Stortford. Its ber-
ries were so fine in size and color as to command
a high price, making 9s a pound, while Black
Hamburgh and Muscat of Alexandria made 7s
a pound. Fully ripe its flavor is very rich, but
when not so its flavor is not good ; it keeps well,
and requires to be " dead ripe. " T send three
or four berries ; they were ripe in July. It
seems as if it would be valuable as a market
grape from its large size, fine color and keeping
quality.— Tiios. Rivers.

[The Gros Colman has now been grown for
some years in manj* gardens with varied suc-
cess. In some places it colors badly, its sub-
stance is hard and fleshy, and its flavor is that
of a grape, and nothing more The fr\iit Mr.
Rivers has sent is jet black, the substance ten-
der and melting as a Black II amburgh, and the
flavor richer than that of any late black grape
we know.] — Joiirno.l of Hort'Cidture,

^'EW AND RARE PLANTS.

Ga}[.uya elliptica. — A correspondent from
San Francisco suggests that this would no doubt
])rove a popular plant in Eastern gardens if
found quite hardy. At San Francisco "it is
the first herald of the new year. Its silken tas-
sels come out in July or February, contrasting
well with its dark evergreen foliase."

Leptosyne gigantea, Kellogg. — In a re-
cent number of the Proceedings of the Califor-
nia Academy of Sciences we note this new plaat
described, and we judge it is one well worthy of
culture as an ornamental leaf plant for the open
ground. It is a plant of the aster or compowte
family. It is a perennial with a woody stem

W2

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^TMLY,

April y

rising about ten feet high. The growth is so
rapid, Dr. K. says, that the concentric annual
growth is often half an inch thick. Tlie branches
thicken at the ends like clubs. The plant seems
lull grown at 10 feet high. In blossom it is said
to be surmounted with a broad canopy of golden
flowers of great magnificence and beauty, giving
off a honeycomb fragrance perfectly delightful.
It was discovered at Santa Barbara, about 40
miles from the coast, by Mr. G. W. Harford,
under Captain Forney, of the U. S. Coast
Survey.

New CEnothera from Utah.— As is their
custom at the opening of the new year, our con-
temporaries of the horticultural press have in
recent issues placed before their readers elabo-
rate notices of our gains in the way of new
plants, fruit and vegetables during the past
year — all very exhaustive, no doubt ; but yet we
looked in vain among their notes for any allu-
sion to a charming novelty whose acquaintance
we made last year, and which, we submit, has
strong claims to be regarded as Al among the
cream of hardy flowering plants "We allude to
a new dwarf (Enothera, from Utah, which we
saw in flower at Glasnevin last year, and for the
introduction of which, as of so many other
choice plants, we are indebted to Dr. Moore.
Calling at the gardens one evening last summer,
while walking around with Dr. Moore, he asked
"had we seen the new Oenothera?'' Being
answered in the negative, he led the way to the
lock-up garden or sanctum, where one is sure at
all times to meet something new, very rare, or
of much botanical interest. On this occasion,
however, all else was forgotten in admiration of
the lovely little transatlantic gem to which Dr.
Moore introduced us IjOoked at in the quiet
stillness and shadows of a siitamer evening's
close, with its circlet of large pure white flowers,
raised vertically above the foliage, on long, slen-
der tubes, and expanding their broad, fair bosom
to the cooling moonbeams, this lovely plant
presented an appearance altogether unique and
striking.

This plant is altogether unique amongst its
congeners as regards habit and appearance.
The best of the latter, as for instance, QC. mis-
ftourensis, <JE.. Lamarckiana, &c., though showy
as regards tloivers, are of a gawky, straggling
habit, wliich detracts much from their value.
The plant to which we now direct attention is
just the opposite, being single-stemmed, compact

and dwarf, flowering when not more than sis
inches high, and at the end of the season rarely
doubling that height. But to come to particu-
lars. The stem is short, stout, some eight or
ten inches high ; the leaves runcinate, having
long foot-stalks, which, together with the mid-
rib, in the lower leaves are white, in the upper
red or pinkish. Commencing at the base, the
flowers issue in Ions succession from the axle of
j the leaves, and are elevated vertically over re-
1 markably slender tubes, fully a span in len^jth,
in a wny to produce a beautiful eflect The
flowers, as compared with the plant, are of
I great size, pure white, the limb of the corolla
I consisting of four very large obcordate petals,
I at the base of which the anthers are placed,.
I rourd the mouth of the tube, which here ex-
pands considerably, and is of a greenish yellow
color. The stigma is cruciform and consider-
ably exerted. The above description, we are
! quits aware, is very imperfect, and convoys a
still more imperfect idea of this fine flower. As
yet, as far as we are aware, this (Enothera is
without a specific name. It comes from the
State of Utah, Norlh America, and was commu-
nicated to Dr. Moore by his friend M. Roozl, of
Zurich. "When we saw the plant at Glasnevin
it promised to seed freely, and we hope ore long
to see it widely distributed, and taking a i)romi-
nent position in the choice herbaceous border,
or cutting a figure in some phase of subtropical
gardening, for which its dwarf habit and exotic
appearance seem to render it eminently suitable.
— Irish Farmers' Gazette.

Primula japonica (New Crimsox Prim-
ro.se).— The Florist says of it : " Hail ! 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 ton years since Mr. Fortune met with it in
.lapan ; some plants were secured, but the jour-
ney home was too much for them, and despite
everjf care none reached England alive. Ever
since that time endeavors have been made to in-
troduce this lovely plant. At last, perseverance
has been rewarded, and plants have been raised
in the establishment of Mr. AV. Bull, of Chelsea.
Our gardens have thus secured a perfectly new,
thoroughly hardy and exquisitely lovely Prim-
rose, one which i^ really valuable. Of the har-
diness of the Primula japonica there can be no
doubt, for plants have stood all the winter, fully
exposed, in the trying atmosphere of London.'^

1872,

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^THLJ.

The Floral Magazine remarks : " Since the ,
day when Lilium auratum was displayed to the
horticultural public, we cannot recollect so great i
a sensation to have been occasioned by any \
plant as by that which we novv figure, when j
Mr. William Bull exhibited it, and he may well
congratulate himself on being the first to intro-
duce it into Europe. A Primula a foot and a j
half high, bearing four or five separate whorls of I
flowers, each flower an inch in diameter, and of |
a splendid magenta color, and the plant perfect {
ly hardy— can anything be added to this to in-
dicate its value ?"

Primula .taponica. — Thinking that it will
interest your readers to learn something of the
habit and growth of this magnificent Primula,
we forward you a few extracts from letters re-
ceived from Mr. Kramer, of Yokohama, Japan,
who has at various times forwarded to us seeds
and plants of this species.

He writes as follows : " If the drawings in
the European periodicals are true, Primula ja-
ponica must be very much finer at home than it
ever is seen here. A cold climate and good cul-
tivation have no doubt great influence, for its
native country is said to be the island of Yeza.
It is generally found growing on the banks of
streams and watercourses in j'ellow loam. I
have seen it growing from 2^ to 3 feet high with
six or seven tiers of flowers— a magnificent
sight.

"In sowing the seed it is very important to
know, that as this Primula is not a native of a
warm country, it requires no artificial heat for
germinating, and that frequently the seed does
not germinate until next spring, in fact the lat-
ter is the rule I would, therefore, advise that
the seed should be sown immediately, and left
for at least six months undisturbed." (June,
1870). — "I have now some boxes which have
stood for two years, and this year there are
more plants coming up than even the first year"
(May, 1871). •

From this it appears that the seed takes a
long time to germinate.

A moist yellow loam is best suited to the
plant, and it is likely to improve much under
cultivation. It will also prove especially valua-
ble for hybridization on account of its tendency
to vary — Teutschell & Co., Colchesttr^ in Jour-
nal of Horticuhure.

Qtjerits Durandii, Durand's Oak. —This

is a rare species of oak, confined to the Southern
States, having as yet only been found in Alabama,.
Louisiana and Texas. The bark of the trunk,
and also of its limbs, resembles that of white oak
somewhat, but is more scaly. The leaves of Du-
rand's oak are broadly lanceolate, some of them
slightly lobed and others entire, and widened
out towards their top ends, or, in the languag'^
of the botanists, repand. Its leaves are decidu-
ous. Its acorns are small, ovate, obtuse, the
upper portion beingoften largest, cup very shaJ-
low, about one eighth as long as the acorn.

We first saw this oak growing in WilcoK
county, Alabama, in low, rich soil, near stream*
and in swamps, rarely being more than three
feet in diameter and sixty feet high. Its wood
is close-grained and very tough, making excel-
lent screws for cotton gins, for which it is used
whenever it can be found large enough in Ala-
bama. In Texas it is used for wagon hubs an-i
also for basket splints. In this State, it is some-
times called the basket oak, and also called the
bastard oak.

In the autumn of 1859, we saw large trees of
this oak at Shreveport, in Louisiana, in the
upper part of the town, on the bluffs of the bankfr
of the Red river. These trees were about thirty
feet high, with large, non spreading tops, com-
posed of numerous rather slender branches. Itw
branches and twigs are smaller and more slen-
der than those of the post oak. The color of iU
bark is light gray, similar to that of the post and
also the white oak, but the above characteris-
tics are sufficient to distinguish it from either of
the oaks, nor is it ever confounded with these b^*
the people living in the regions where it grows.

We have been thus particular in describing
Durand's oak, because it has not yet been de-
scribed in our botanical school l)ooks, and was
only first described by us in the proceedings of
the Academy of iSTatural Sciences of Philadel-
phia, in 1860

The oaks of the United States are too little
known, and too little cultivated either for uae
or ornament. England has but two or three
species of native oaks, neither of which are equal
in beauty nor majesty to several of our species,
yet the English oaks form part of the history of
that country, and also have a prominent place
in its literature, and are even cultivated in that
country, while nur superior native species are
comparatively neglected.— S. B. Buckley, tot
Soutkern Gardfnrr.

124

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

April,

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Forest and Timber-tree Culture. —
We have devoted a great deal of space in the
Horticulturist of late to the subject of Forest
and Timber-tree Culture, with the hope of hav-
ing tbe matter thoroughly discussed, thereby
enabling the members of our present Legisla-
ture to take the matter in hand properly, by
/joilectiug and condensing data and arguments
•on this most important subject, so that the3'
may frame some law which will meet all the
requirements.

The merits of forest and timber-trees have
been discussed fairly and sensibly by our agri-
cultural papers. The California Farmer of the
18th of January has argued the matter
ably ; and the Eural Press has made many
valuable suggestions in one of its late numbers,
which we to a great extent endorse.

We do not propose to say anything now in
relation to the evils attendant on forest destruc
tion, nor upon the favorable influences of trees ;
these facts are pretty well impressed on the
minds of our intelligent farmers. But we wish
to devote some little space to the practicability
■of the proposed or a similar measure to that
which now lies before our Legislature for cou-
-sideration.

As we hoped and expected, there is every
prospect that the bill proposed by Senator
Betge will undergo some very important
• : hanges, and we understand that it is proposed
to form a Forest Board, similar to the plan
•suggested by the Eural Press and the delega-
tion of the Horticultural Society. As suitable
^Commissioners for such a Board, the Rural
Press suggests the Governor of the State, the
President of the State Agricultural Society,
John Bidwell, of Butte county, and E.
D. Lewelling, of Alameda county — all
capital men ; but if permitted, we would pro-
pose one or two more : Professor Bolander,
President of the Horticultural Society, who is
thorough!}' po.stod on the nature and usefulness
of our California tret s. and who would do all in
his power to promote the object, being much in
favor of tree culture ; and we would also add
j-.eland Sanford, who, as we understand, is very
xnuch in favor of tree-culturo, and may do
'much good in facilitatini; the transportation of

trees from one place to another, understanding
and fully appreciating the desirability and the
benefits to be derived from forest and timber-
! tree culture.

Xow, if the Legislature will "ive us a Forest
j Commission composed of these men, or any de-
i sirable number of them, we entertain no doubt
I that the people will feel assured, as far aa the
i expenditure of money is concerned in connec-
tion with this measure.

We understand that the amount of money
proposed to be appropriated in the original bill
will be considerably reduced ; and we are in fa-
vor of this action, as the enterprise will have to
be considered as an experiment until we have
seen some of its j^ractical results. But we think
tbe State can well aflbrd to devote the sum of
S7000 or §8000 per annum to this experiment,
as it must necessarily result in some good.

Should the pro[)nsed bill become law, much of
the success of tree-culture will depend upon the
judicious appointment of the man who will be
entrusted with the carrying out of the provi-
sions of it Our i>ersonal acquaintance with
many horticultural men enables us to state
that there arc men among us who are well quali-
tled for the position, and we have the utmost
confidence that such men as we have named
above will select the very best man for the
office.

The aforesaid bill proposes that the seeds of
difl'erent trees should be distributed, accompa-
nied bj' circulars instructing in the proper mode
of treatment, etc. If, however, this was left to
the discretion of the Forest Board, a large
number of young seedlings, of from chree to six
inches, could be obtained within one year for
general distribution ; but we would urge the
raising of the.so seedlings from seeds collected
or otherwise obtained, and we object very much
to the gathering young treis from the forests,
which would require much more care, and espe-
cially as we know from experience, that from
one-half to three-fourths of them would perish.
There are some which maj- be readily trans-
planted from the forests, such as the Libocedrus
deotrrevs^ but most of the Coniforte tribes do
lu tU'r if transplanted in nursery rows, for

1872.

TEE GARDE JVER'S MOM T ELY.

225

reasons which we cannot explain here. As to
the cost of furnishing such young seedlings,
we heg to difter from the statements of Mr.
Williamson and Mr. Aiken, as reported hy the
Hural Press. According to these statements,
Mr. Williamson will contract to furnish young
Sugar pines and Redwoods at $2 per 1000, and
Mr. Aiken says that the evergreens of the dif-
ferent valuable kinds grown in the East may be
had at the same price of nurserymen there, by
mail and postage paid.

Now, as for the Sugar Pmes, there are no
trees one year old, because the old trees did not
produce any seed last year, and very few the
year before, it is a very difficult matter to ob-
tain Sugar Pine seedlings now. We have a
customer for Mr. Williamson who will take all
the Sugar Pines of one, two and three years old
he can furnish, at the price named b)'^ him, and
we will guarantee him one hundred per cent,
in addition. As for the statement of Mr.
Aiken, we will say that we are in receipt of the
wholesale price ists of the most, if not of all, re-
sponsible nurserymen in the East, and we have
never met with anything in the shape of ever-
green seedlings which could be bought for less
than the following :

Norway Spruce, . . S 6 per 1000

Scotch Pine, . . . 10 "

Austrian Pine, . . 10 "

However, we venture to say, that a compe-
tent man may, with an appropriation of $8000
from the State, be able to furnisfl one million of
seedlings within one 3'ear for general distribu-
tion, and the collection would probably contain
fifteen to twenty varieties of trees.

We advocate distributing seedling trees, as
well as the seed itself, and we like the idea of
establishing an experimental ground for that
purjwse ; but it must be left to the discretion of
the Forest Board. The objection raised to dis-
tributing seeds, upon the ground that very few
understand the management of them, is not s
valid one. The process is easy, and the proper
instructions may be given without difficulty.
Many varieties of trees do much better if they
are allowed to lemain M'here the seeds were
planted, and, with the aid of a little mulching,
they will soon establish themselves.

We are of opinion, that if the work of forest
and timber tree culture is encouraged by the
State, through some such act as the one pro-
posed, we may, in the course of a few years,
have on this coast an cstiiljlishmont similar to
that of the Botanical Gardens of Melbourne,
which furnish annually fh()u.><ands of trees of all
descriptions, and tliousands of pounds of seeds
--an institution of which we might well be
proud. All that we require is proper and good
managejnent - (Jalifornia Horticulturist.

HOETICULTURAL NOTICES.

OHIO IIOllTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

WINTER MEETING AT URBAN A.

Grapes. — Of^ this, our most valuable fruit, we
had the largest crop ever grown in this section,
and of the finest quality. Not much leaf mil-
dew was seen on the vines, and but little I'ot-
ting of the fruit— none at all in many localities.
Prices of the fruit ruled low, owing to the large
crop, throughout the country — )-anging from
three to six cents per pound at home. A very
large amount of wine has been pressed, the
"musf ranging from eigthty to ninety; the
wine of the season will be the best ever made in
this region. About one and a quarter millions
(1,250,000) of gallons of wines, most of it Ca-
tawba, have l>een pressed this season from
grapes grown in the district, e!n''ra'_ing Lhe

several island?, the peninsula auil the aiaia
shore, anil about sixtten hundred tuns of table
grapes have been shipped to distant markets.
We had no frosts to injure the fruit until quite
late in the fall, and on the islands some of the
grapes were not picked until after the 20th of
November. Large amounts of grapes were
shipped to Chicago, from Berlin, in this county,
by the car-load, the growers clubbing together
and sending a full car-load regularly every other
day. These grapes invariably went through
with desi)atch, in good order, and gave satisfac-
tion to all parties. The cost of freight was
only three-quarters of a cent per pound, oc one-
third the express rate. This is the first experi-
menc in sending perishable fruit from this region
to a disruut market as regular freight.

1^6

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^THLY.

Aprilf

In regard to soils for grapes, I do not think
our sandy ridge lands along the lake shore are
the best, or sc^ good as solid claj'S — especially
€kiy hills or slopes where the surface-water
runs oflf quickly. It is true there are some
good vineyards on flat clay lands where well
drained ; but I do not think they will succeed as
well in the long run as the hills and slopes ; at
all events, the drier the better.

At the meeting in Vermilion we saw and
heard much about the use of clover and other
crops, even weeds among grapes, as a means of
preventing disease ; and we found some cultiva-
tors excusing their slovenly practice by adopt-
ing this theory. It was clearly shown that sow-
ing clover had been of use in some vineyards
on flat soils ; and my belief is, that the roots of
clover were of use in drawing the surplus moist-
are from the soil about the grape roots.

On the boundary between my vineyard and
lawn I have a very large tree of the native
magnolia nccuminata — the trunk fifteen feet in
■circumference at the base, and full eighty feet
high with spreading top, and the roots drawing
the moisture from at least an eighth of an acre
of land in summer time. Within this radius
are a dozen bearing grape vines of several va-
rieties, and the fruit of these invariably ripens
sooner and belter than any other in the vine-
yard. The soil is a sandy ridge, but seldom
really dry for a foot in depth, excepting where
the moisture is sucked up by this big tree ; and
wherever there is a depression and the soil is at
all moist and rich, there is a liability to rot and
mildew. I am half inclined to try cropping
with clover.

HaWs Earhj Peach. — The peach crop, in my
section, was very abundant— the best, I think,
in the State— and the fruit brought good prices.
Hale's Early variety was particularly plenty and
Jine, though much complaint was made of the
fruit rotting just at ripening time, and after
being picked, before it could be marketed and
sold. In one of my orchards, on high, dry
sandy soil, where the trees had made but mod-
erate growth, this fruit was very fine, and
showed no tendency to rot. But in another or-
chard, within sight of the first, and the trees of
the same age, but on lower and richer soil,
where the growth of trees was larger, the fruit
<jf HaWs rotted so badly that much of it which
iooked fair at picking was unsalable the next
<lay.

Much I0&.S was sustained by the owners of

peach trees neglecting to thin the fruit at the
proper time, so as to improve its size and quali-
ty. Neglect of pruning is also a common cause of
defective crops, especially where the trees are
old, or from any cause unthrifty — as there must
be young wood and healthy foliage for good
peaches to be produced.

The Business Committee reported the follow-
ing resolution :

SIZE OF FRUIT BARRELS.

Beaohed, That the regular flour barrel, hold-
ing under moderate pressure two bushels and
three pecks, be recommended and adopted by
this society as the standard size of barrel for
packing fruits and vegetables to be sold by the
barrel.

FUTURE WORK OF THE SOCIETY.

In accordance with the suggestions made by
the President, in his address, and also by the
Secretary in his report, the Business Committee
recommended the adoption of the following
resolution :

Resolved, That the Executive Committee be
requested to appoint one or more of their num-
ber to visit diff'erent sections of the State,
during the season of fruits, to attend meetings
and exhibitions of local horticultural societies
and encourage formation of such societies
where none exist, to take notes of new or rare
fruits and vegetables, investigate diseases and
insects affecting fruits, and collect items of in-
terest to this society and report the same at its
next meeting.

Mr. F. R. Elliott, of Cleveland, read an essay
on "^^sthetic Horticulture : Its Advancement
and Influence on Rural Life,'' which was full of
good thoughts and suggestions.

ON PLANTING FOREST TREES.

President Warder said it is high time that we
of Ohio had begun to consider the subject of
forest tree planting. Oar business during the
past century has been to destroy the native
forests. Those who have observed most claim
that if one-fourth of our farms were planted
with timber, the increased product of the other
three-fourths, in consequence of the shelter
alone, would fully make up for the loss of the
one-fourth, besides the value of the timber or
wood produced.

We have had some difficulty in finding dura-
ble timber for pavements in Cincinnati — the
famous Nicholson pavements soon wear out
under the heavy teams ; and they have been
experimenting with black locust, and came and
paid me a thousand dollars an acre for a grove
of this timber, scarcely a tree of which was
over fifteen years old.

1^7'^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

127

THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE.

The J^orainatinj^ Committee reported the
names of the former officers for re-election, ex-
cepting two of the ad interim committee, who
desired a change. Other nominations were
called for, and several made for the ad interim
committoe, when the balloting resulted as fol-
lows : President— Dr. J. A. Warder, Ciucin-
aati ; Vice-President, G. W. Campbell, Dela-
ware ; Secretary — M. B. Bateham, Painesville ;
Treasurer— Dr. J. W. Dunham, Collamer.

Ad Interim Committee — D. C. Richmond,
Sandusky ; Leo Weltz, Wilmington ; N". L.
Wood, Smithfield ; W. F. Ileikes, Dayton.

WINTER PEARS.

L. Welts— I want to plant two or three
thousand winter pear trees for market, and I
wish this society would tell me which are the
best varieties.

2sr. Ohmer — The most profitable winter pear
with me is the Vicar of Winl'field, but the tree
as subject to blight. I planted fifteen hundred
trees last spring, of the Beurre d^Anjou and
Doyenne Boussock.

Dr. Warder — I would plant freely of the
Jaminette. The Passe Colmar is a high-flavored
and desirable pear, and so is the Beurre d'Arem-
berg; but it is slow in coming on. The Glout
Morceau blights worse than the Vicar. The
Winter Ifelis is not a winter fruit in Southern
Ohio ; Duchesse may be kept till Christmas ;
Beurre Easter is difficult to ripen.

The Laiorence was recommended by several
members as one of the best early winter varie-
ties.

MANURING FOR STRAWBERRIES.

Mr. Moore said he had a strawberry-patch
of one-fourth of an acre, on which he applied
forty loads of rotted manure— about thirty-five
bushels to the load ; also, eighteen loads of coal
ashes, mixed with coal slack. On this he set
his plants ; and he now inquires whether he has
not overdone the the thing.

Mr. Kirkpatrick— I planted strawberries
where an old slaughterhouse had stood, and
they all run to tops.

Dr. Warner — There is some danger of making
the ground too rich. One of my neighbors took
great pains to prepare a strawberry-bed, and af-
terwards said he had succeeded in raising two
tons of strawberry-leaves and a pint of fruit.
[Laughter.]

Mr. Mumma said on twenty five square roods
of newly-set strawberrv-ground he applied to

the plants a liberal top-dressing of cow-matiure,
and the growth during the summer was fine.
In the fall he dressed the bed with refuse from a
charcoal-pit, mixed with ashes. The result
was, he gathered from this patch the past
season ten bushels of strawberries, while on
lands adjoining, not thus treated, there was
hardly any fruit at all.

THE ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY,

Of Cheever township, Dickinson county, Kan-
sas, held its firet monthly meeting near the cen-
tre of the township, on Saturday afternoon,
January 6th, 1872.

The first business of the meeting was the
the election of officers for 1872 :

President— G. A. Rutledge.

Vice-Presidents — James F. Kennedy, I,
Alden, Thomas Manro.

Corresponding Secretary— D. G. Rudy.

Recording Secretary — J. W. Robson.

Treasurer— Daniel Teare.

Executive Board— James F. Kennedy, Joseph
Moore, James Miller, Samuel Marshal.

The following are the chairmen of the stand-
ing committees :

On Agriculture — James F. Kennedy, D.
Teare, Mr. Phillips.

On Orchards— Jared Sanford, W. A. Cleve-
land, A. D. Colman.

On Vineyards — J. W. Robson, A. B. Gris-
wold.

On Dairy and Poultry — Mrs. Rutledge, Mrs.
Robson, Mrs. Kennedy.

On Culinary Vegetables— Samuel Marshall,
0. C. Persing.

On Flowers — Mrs. Persing, Mrs. Munro,
Jeannie Robson.

On Ornamental and Useful Trees — W. B.
Christopher, J. W. Robson.

On Botany — Mrs. Christopher, Mrs. Gris-
wold, Louisa Robson.

On Ornithology — Joseph Munro, Albert
Munro.

On Entomology— A. D. Colman, Roger Rob-
son, Charles Dunn.

On Geology— W. B. Christopher, A. D. Col-
man, Lew Marshall.

On Zoology— R. O. Southworth, A. D. Col-
man.

On Meteorology— D. S. Rudy, R. O. South-
worth, Martin Price.

On Rural Architecture— I. Alden, C. C. Per-
sing, W. B. Christopher.

128

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTELY.

. ipril.

CONSTITUTION.

Article 1. This orgaiiizatiou shall be known
as the Arboricultural Society of Cheever town-
ship, Dickinson county. Kansas.

Art. 2. Its object shall be the advancement of.
Timber Culture.

Art. 3. Its members shall consist of persons
who pledc^e themselves to plant forest trees,
fruit trees and hedges.

Art. 4. Its officers shall consist of a President. \
five Vice-Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, |
a Recording Secretar}', a Treasurer, .•uul an Ex- j
ecutive Board, which shall consist of the Presi- j
dent and four members ; all of which shall be !
elected at the first regular meeting in the year, |
and shall hold their office one year, or until i
their succesors in office arc chosen.

Art. 5. The officers of this Society and the j
chairmen of the standing committees shall be j
chosen by ballot at the regular meeting in Janu-
ary of each year, and a majority of all the votes
cast shall be necessary to a choice.

Art. G. The Society shall hold monthly and
other meetings and exhibitions as it may direct.
Art. 7 This Constitution may be amended at
any regular meeting by two-thirds of tlie whole
number of votes cast, one month's notice
having previously been given.
■]|Being next in order, the subject tor discussion
was taken up.

Subject for discussion— Ploughing.
James F. Kennedy thought the months of
May and June the best time for breaking ; a
broad furrow is the best, the wider the better ;
believed the Clipper plow to be the best imple-
ment : rather objects to the Moline plow ; be-
lieves in deep plowing, and deprecates the prac
tice of taking off the sod before planting a crop.
James Moore approved of what the former
speaker had said. One and a half or two inches
is deep enough for first breaking ; believes that
May breaking is better than June ; recommended
planting sod corn as early as possible, and in
planting potatoes to use both early and late va-
rieties.

Mr. Southworth believed in sub-soiling new
prairie soil before planting corn ; has heard (he
Skinner plow recommended.

Mr. Rudy made some humorous remarks ;
very early ploughing produced an abundance of
weeds ; believed in deep ploughing. In 1860,
the year of the gnat drouth, those who
ploughed deep and stirred the surface most fre-
quently bad a fair crop. Further, be believed

that if sod corn was planted in April a l»etter
crop would be the result.

Joseph Moore spoke in favor of ploughing
two furrows deep, the first two inches, the next
as deep as possible ; it will take longer, no
doubt, but he believes it would payi

Mr. Christopher noticed that what was
broken in April rotted equally as well as that
broken in Ma}- ; did not believe in deep plow-
ing at first breaking ; corn planted in the mid-
dle of May did the best with him, and thought
early planting necessar}- to escape the ravages
of the corn worm, which afl'ected sod corn so
much.

Mr. Munro gave the experience of an old
prairie fariier, who said that very early break-
ing always producid an abundance of weeds.

A. D. Coleman recommended the Clipper
plow as being the best plow for breaking prairie;
endorsed shallow breaking.

Daniel Tcare believed that a ten inch plow
will do good work, with a good team of horses,
during the earlier part of the season, but is
rather tough work when the ground is dry. A
sixteen-inch plow needs a bigger team. He
has found that ground broken in Jane was in
better shape for cross-plowing in the fall before
sowing wheat than ground broken at other pe-
riods.

J. W. Robson read a report from the Com-
mittee on Ornamental and Useful Trees, in which
the Honey maple was recommended for decora-
tion, protection, profit and fence-making.

Ou motion, adjourned to meet again at the
same place on the first Saturday of February.

NEW YORK STATE GRAPE GROWEHS'
ASSOCIATION.

At the annual meeting of the New York
State Growers' Association, held at Rodu-st^r,
N. Y., on the loth of February, 1872, thtt fol-
lowing were unanimously chosen officers for the
ensuing year :

President— J. H. Babcock, Lockport.

Vice Presidents— C. S. Hoag, Lockport ; Dr.
F. B. Seeley, Vine Valley ; G. AV. Nit^hols,
Ilammondsport ; D. W. Burge, Peach Orchard ;
Dr. II. H. Farly, Union Springs.

Corres2}oniUn(j Sccretari/ — T. S. Ilubbanl. Fre-
donia.

Pccordimj Secrete ri/ — G. F. Wilcox, Roches-
ter.

Titasurer — M. D. Muiiijer, CiUiaudaigui

lu (Sard^it^f s M0ntM8,

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. MAY, 1872.

New Series, Vol. V. No. 5.

HINTS POU MAY.

FLOWER GARDEN AIN^D PLEASURE

GROUND.
Taste has been variously defined. Perhaps
it may be expressed as putting the proper thing
in the proper place. In this view how tasteless
are often the garden ornaments we see. Rustic
baskets, vases, fountains, rock-work, statues,
all or any of which show to so much advantage
in the hands of tasteful persons, are too often
employed to great disadvantage. It requires
much judgment to select the appropriate places
for trees, shrubs, or flowers in the garden ; but
much more to place properly these more artifi-
cial adjuncts. It is not uncommon to see rock-
work in the midst of the most artificially formed
part of the garden, and vases in the wildest
places. Good taste would reverse this rule. It
is still more frequent to find a piece of rock-
work of the most rugged character acting as a
base for a large urn or vase. Last summer we
noted in one garden, which on the whole, ex-
hibited pretty good taste, an arbor of rustic
branches leading out from the parlor-door to
the grounds ; while down in one of the most re-
tired portions, with everything natural about it,
another arbor built by rule and plumb-line and
neatly painted, and otherwise adorned, sur-
prised us. Rules for these things can scarcely
be laid down. Fitness must be born in one. It
is hard to teach it. But hints of this kind often
put one on guard, and thus serve a useful pur-
pose.

The bedding geraniums have become so popu-
lar of late years that every one now has some of
the varied kinds. Few persons in the far away
regions have any idea of the vast number of

kinds used near the large cities. Every one has a
" seedling '' to show the visitor. It is very rare
to find a variety much different from others
grown. Buist's General Lee, noticed a year ago
in this magazine, is perhaps the best raised in
this section. It has much of the tint of the old
Lord Palraerston ; but is a regular petaled flewer
and an excellent grower. How it will behave
as a bedder, we suppose the present season will
decide. The double varieties have not produced
very good bedders, nor have the tricolored-
leaved varieties. These, however, are excellent
for vases, or choice spots where the full sun will
not get at them, and make pleasing contrasts
with the deep shade of trees in a summer after-
noon. For open sunny spots the Coleus is still
one of the best to employ, and here the golden
forms do not do as well as the green or purple
kinds. The oldest, C.Verschafeltii, is yet one of
the best for sunny spots ; but the color of this is
much mellowed by being grown a little in the
shade. Pretty combinations in partial shade
can be made with this and the greenhouse bego-
nias. The spotted caladiums may also enter into
the picture, if moisture enough can be supplied.
As a bordering for this colored-leaf gardening
there are few things more effective than the va-
riegated variety of Yinca major, the great Peri-
winkle. Some people complain that they have
too much shade for a flower garden ; but it is some
satisfaction to know that these shady nooks are
just the things for many leaf plants, provided
the place is not too dry.

Very hot out-door places have been favored of
late years by numerous succulent plants which do
best in exposed situations. The Echeverias come

130

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLl.

May,

iu admirably for this. Two kinds, E. raetallica ;
and E. secunda are now well known, and are i
becoming cheap enough to be used in quantities
with good effect. Some variegated plants stand
the sun pretty well, and the variegated Abuti-
lons particularly have been found of this class ;
and the blotched and striped Alternantheras \
and Irisenes do well also exposed. j

In the way of silver-leaved plants much has j
been done within the few past years. As a I
dwarf, the C. ragusina or C. Candida, as some
catalogues persist in calling it, is yet one of the
best; but it does not propagate as rapidly as
some other things, and is still rare. There
are some new ones very distinct from this, of
which C. clementii and C. plumosa are now get-
ting known. Of pretty things not grown for
either flowers or gay leaves, the Myrsiphyllum
asparagoides is becoming very popular. It is
singular that this pretty little plant should have
remained many years in old greenhouse collec-
tions, until a few years ago the Boston florists
-found out its merits in basket and bouquet
-making. The little leaves are like box green
and shining, but are on twining stems which
five the twigs great delicacy. It is a very nice
thing to mix with vase plants. Most of. our
readers are, however, acquainted with this
pretty plant by this time.

All our readers also know pretty well now
that our very hot suns are not favorable to
the Fuchsia. But besides this the red spider is
very troublesome to them, and the heat often
gets blamed for the insect's work. Wherever there
is any yellowing apparent in a Fuchsia's leaf,
see if the spiders are not at work, and if so, ap-
ply some of the remedies we have frequently re-
commended. The insects are small as dust, and
require a pocket-lens to see them with. A few
years ago a golden-leaved variety called Meteor,
attracted some attention. It has now a com-
panion in Golden Treasure.
Tree Carnations of late years have added much
interest to the flower garden. They are some-
what straggling growers, but all can forgive that
for the sake of their sweet flowers, which are pro-
duced one after another during the year. They
'do not like a very hot and exposed place, but yet
are very impatient of shade.

As a rule, people do not think enough in spring
of their summer and fall gardening, though all
must be provided for at this season. The Glad-
iolus, Tuberose and Tigridia come in well for
ihis purpose, and the bulb can be set in between

the spring blooming plants without interfering
with them. Then there is the Pampas Grass,
the Erianthus, Scarlet Sage and Tritoraa, which
will make the garden gay enough. The Dahlia
and Chrysanthemum are well-known for this
purpose ; but generally the Dahlia is put in too
warm a place and it blooms too soon to be very
effective. On the other hand the Chrysanthe-
mum is placed in a bleak, cold place, where the
plants get injured by early white frosts. A warm
and sheltered place is the one for them. The
new style of Japanese Chrj-sauthemums is gain-
ing popular ground.

In preparing flower beds, we often notice a
mistake made in copying from European garden-
ing. There is to much earth in them.

In planting out flowers don't take them at
once from the hot house to the open ground. Set
the pots out for a few days in a cold frame with
plenty of air, or under a tree in a sheltered place.
Before turning them out of pots, water ; and
when set in the earth, press the soil very hard
about the flower roots. If the ground be dry, the
earth cannot be pressed too hard.

In this climate, Hothouse plants often make
noble bedders. The Chinese Kose Hibiscus, is
a flrst class thing, making a gorgeous show all
summer. The Geraniumjalso isgetting immense
ly popular. The tree Carnation is also in much
request.

Deciduous trees can be safely transplanted
after the leaves have pushed, and up to the first
of June ; but the new leaves must' be taken o^
and the young shoots shortened. In a few weeks
they will push out a new crop of leaves. Accor-
ding to "natural laws" as laid down in the
books, it would injure the trees very much ; but
after a ten j^ears' observation of the facts, we flo
not find it hurts the vitality of the trees vety
much, while few ever die so treated. Evergreens
seem to do better in May than in any other spring
month. Of the new evergreens, Thujopsis bo-
realis , Cupressus Lawsoniana, Libocedrus decur-
rens. Thuja ericoides, are really good additions

to our list.
TreUisses and stakes for climbing plants and

vines should be put in at or before setting out the
plants. These plants always seem to grow with
more freedom and vigor when they can find some-
thing at once to cling to. Climbing vines add
greatly to the interest of a garden. They can
be trained into all sorts of forms and shapes ; and
many of them, for gracefulness of form or beauty
of their flowers, cannot be excelled by any other
tribe of plants.

1872,

/ TRE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTRLY.

ISl

FRUIT GARDEN. I

If large fruit is wanted thinning assists. Straw-
berries are increased in size by watering in a dry
time. Fruit should be allowed to bear only j
according to their strength. If a transplanted
tree grows freely it may bear a few fruits, — but
bear in mind growth and great fruitfulness are
antagonistic processes.

Handsome forms are as desirable in fruit as in
ornamental trees. No winter pruning will do
this exclusively. It may furnish the skeleton,
— but it is Summer pinching which clothes the
bones with beauty. A strong shoot soon draws
all its nutriment to itself. Never allow one shoot
to grow that wants to be bigger than others.
Equality must be insisted on. Pinch out always
as soon as they appear, such as would push too
strongly ahead, — and keep doing so till the new
buds seem no stronger than the others. Thus
the food gets equally distributed.

When the strawberry crop is about to ripen,
mulch with clean straw, to prevent rain soiling
the fruit. Short grass from the lawn is often
used ; but it mildews as it decays, and detracts
from the flavor of the fruit. Hot suns increase
flavor, and strawberry tiles were once in fashion
to put around the hills, which, by absorbing
heat, added greatly to the fruit's rich quality.
All that we have said of Strawberries supposes
them to be fruited on the hill system, with the
runners kept off. Those who desire the best re-
sults, will grow them no other way ; but many
grow them very successfully in beds, believing
that though they may not have as many large
fruits, they have a greater weight in proportion
to the labor bestowed.

Where water can be commanded, there is no-
thing 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 this opera-
tion, however, will depend on the nature of the
soil. The advantages are least in a tenacious,
and greatest in porous soil. It is said that an
animal derives most benefit from food when it is
hungry before it begins to eat ; it is certainly so
with plants. Water applied to soil already wet
is an injury ; and water never has so telling an
advantage on vegetation as when every leaf is
about to wither up for the want of it. A plant
that never seems to want water is in a very
doubtful condition in regard to its health.

Blackberries and raspberries, set out in spring,
may kill themselves by overbearing. It is pai-
donable to wish for some fruit the first year. If

a tree seems to be growing freely, some fruit
maybe left. Cut out black-knot, or any symp-
toms of disease that may appear, and as they ap-
pear.

VEC4ETABLE GARDEN.

In the cultivation of garden crops, the hoe and
rake should be continually at work. ' Weeds
should be taken in hand before they are barely
out of the seed-leaf, and one-half the usual labor
of vegetable gardening will be avoided. Hoeing
or earthing up of most garden crops is of im-
mense advantage in nearly every case. One
would suppose that in our hot climate flat culture
would be much more beneficial ; but a fair trial,
say on every other row of a bed of cabbages, will
show a great difference in favor of the earthed-
up plants. It would be easy to explain the rea-
son 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 awtrfor fall crops, and Endive sown for winter
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 j^
to seed. Peas, Beans, ara4-oth«-wf©pB, 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 aa at one time^fc^r'vfaste.

Melons, cucumbers, corn, okra, squash, beans,
sweet potatoes, lima beans, pepper, egg-plants,
tomatoes, and other tender vegetables that do
not do well till the sun gets high, and the ground
warm, should go into the soil without delay.
Matjy find them last as long when gas tarredv-"^
Mr. Perriam, of Michigan, uses no poles, but
cuts oft' the runners as they appear, and the plant
bears abundantly as a bush. Tomatoes do well
tied to poles.

Bean poles should be set before the beans are
planted ; and near cities where they are compara-
tively high priced, their ends should be charred.
This will make them last some years.

In sowing seeds it is well to remember that
though the soil should be deep and finely pulver-
ized, a loose condition is unfavorable to good
growth. After the seeds are sown, a heavy
rolling would be a great advantage. The farmer
knows this, and we have often wondered that
the practice never extended to garden work./*

A

132

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THL^.

Maif,

C 0 M M U jN' I C A T I 0 jY S .

ARRANGEMENT OF BOILER AND HEAT-
ING PIPES FOR GREENHOUSES.

BY MR. CHARLES F. HITCHINGS, NEW YORK.

It is not my intention to discuss the theories
of circulation, or to detail the advantages of this
system of heating, but merely to offer a few
practical suggestions, which may be of service
to those of your readers who are not familiar with
the subject.

In making provision for the Heating Appara-
tus, the most important points to be considered
are : first, that the number of pipes and the
heating capacity of the boiler is sufficient to main-
tain the desired temperature in the house during
severe cold nights without forcing the fire ; next,
that the boiler and pipes are so placed as to
secure a free and rapid circulation of hot-water
through the entire line of pipes ; this is essential
to the even distribution of heat to the pipes, for
if the circulation is sluggish, the hot-water is
held back in the boiler until it attains a high
temperature, and the flow is so slow as to leave
a portion of the return pipe only partially warm-
ed ; and last, that we so distribute the pipes
within the houses as to furnish a uniform tem-
perature at every part.

As to the number of feet of pipe necessary to
maintain the required temperature in a house of
given size, the rule generally found in works on
the subject, is based on the number of cubic feet
of air contained within the house. This rule is
obviously of exceptional application, as it makes
no allowance for the protection and warmth of
the walls over that afforded by the glass, and
overlooks the fact that as a house decreases in
height and width, the cubic contents are less in
proportion to tlie surface exposed to the cooling
influence of the outside atmosphere. The heat-
ing of so many cubic feet of air, is but a trifling
matter compared with the great loss and waste
of heat, occasioned by condensation against the
surface of cold glass, and the constant inter-
change of warm air for cold through the laps in
the glass and imperfect closing of the sash or
ventilators. To supply these losses is practical-
ly the work of the boiler and pipes, for if the
walls are warmly built of brick, with an air-
chamber between the inner and outer brick to
break the communication, or if boarded tightly
and filled in with brick with an air space l.e-

tween, the percentage of loss through that source
is very small ; hence as a general rule, to ascer-
tain the number of feet of pipe required, it will
be found sufficient to compute the number of
square feet of glass exposed to the cold air at the
roof, sides and ends of the house, and provide a
proportional number of feet of pipe. For a tem-
perature of 40 to 45 degrees in the house, with
the temperature outside at 10 to 15 degrees below
zero, one foot of heated surface, or one foot of
4 inch diameter pipe to every four feet of glass
exposure, will be found sufficient for houses ot
ordinary height and exposure; and for a tem-
perature of 65 to 70 degrees, one foot of 4 inch
diameter pipe to every three feet of glass ex-
posed ; this simple rule we adopted and have
followed for over twenty years, modifying the
proportions somewhat, according to the height
and shape of the roof and exposure of the loca-
tion to cold winds.

The boiler, to work satisfactorily, should be
capable of maintaining the heat required while
burning a slow fire that will last during the
night without attention. This requires a boiler
of nearly three times the heating power that
would be necessary, if used with a sharp draft
and replenished with fuel at intervals of two or
three hours. It would be difficult to specify the
number of feet of heating surface in a boiler, or
the area of grate that is required to accomplish
the purpose, so much depends on the plan and
construction and effective heating power of the
boiler. It is possible to obtain a large amount
of heat from a boiler with a comparatively small
heating surface, by increasing the force of the
fire and'by excessive consumption of fuel ; or the
amount of surface in a boiler may be Unusually
large and still prove deficient in power, and
wasteful in fuel on account of the defective plan
and construction.

To secure a quick circulation of the v^ater, and
an efficient heat on all the pipes, the conditions
to be observed in the arrangement of the boiler
and pipes, are few and simple The boiler should
be placed in a pit or cellar excavated to the depth
of 4 to 8 feet below the level of the floor of the
house, with a short direct connection between
the boiler and a brick chimney ; the pit should
be separated from the house, to exclude any gas
or dust rising from the fire. Connected with the

1872.

THE GARBE:N'ER'S MOJ^rHLl.

1 m 0

loo

"boiler and leading into the house, with an ascent
from the boiler, are two pipes to conduct the
water to and from the boiler, the one termed the
flow-pipe is connected to the upper part of the
boiler and conducts the flow of hot water from
it ; the other, termed the return pipe, is connect-
ed to the lower part and conducts the colder
water to the boiler. Within the house, the heat».
ing pipes are usually plaoed in two tiers, (al-
though not necessarily so ), with one or more
pipes in each tier ; the upper tier being a contin-
uation of the flow-pipe, and the lower tier a con-
tinuation of the return. The lower tier of pipes
rest on iron chairs, supported on brick piers
carried up a few inches above the floor and level
■one with the other ; in long lines of pipes there is a
decided advantage in laying them with an ascent
from the boiler, this requires a proportional in-
crease in the height of each pier, as the distance
from the boiler increases. The upper tier of
pipes is supported on small iron chairs resting
on the lower tier. At the end most distant from
the boiler, the two tiers of pipe connect with an
■expansion tank, which serves to hold the increase
in the volume of water when heated, makes an
•outlet for air or steam, and a receiver for filling
the pipes, also it forms the communication be-
tween the two tier of pipes, and completes the
circuit for the circulation. The arrangement for
heating several lines of pipe, or several houses
from the same boiler are substantially the same,
but to avoid obstructions to the doorways or
paths, it requires some change in the details con-
nected with the main pipes leading from the
boiler, and which the occasion will readily sug-
gest. As the water in the boiler is heated, it
passes out through the flow-pipe in a constant
current, flows through the whole line of pipes,
giving ofi'its heat as it passes, and again enters
the boiler through the return-pipe, at a temper-
ature reduced in proportion to the heat imparted
to the atmosphere in the house.

If the house is situated on low, wet ground,
■and it is not practicable to excavate a deep pit,
it may be arranged to warm a house of moder-
ate dimensions, by turning the flow-pipe down
from the boiler, and with only a slight descent in
the return-pipe ; but in doing so, we depart from
the principle which governs the circulation of
water and the result is not as satisfactory. To
secure a quick circulation and the best results in
heating, the boiler must be placed below the line
of heating pipes, with a quick ascent to the pipes,
both flow and return, and also an ascent in the

line of heating pipes within the house ; if these
conditions be properly observed, there can be no
failure in the circulation. While writing this, I
have before me an article recently published, in
which the opposite principle is strongly advoca-
ted, and therefore feel the necessity of referring
more particularly to this point : i/iaf as we in-
crease the depth of the holler helow the line of heat-
ing jyipes, and increase the ascent of those pipes
within the house, so we increase the force and speed
of the circulation, — this fact may he easily demon-
strated.

A few words as to the location of the pipes.
It has already been stated, that the principal
loss or waste of heat, arises from the condensation
on the surface of the glass, and the interchange
of air through the laps in the glass and other
crevices ; the circulation of air is similiar to
water, the warm air rises and seeks an outlet
through the laps and crevices at the high part of
the house, while the cold air from the outside
presses into the house through similiar crevices
nearer the floor ; the effect of this interchange
is more apparent when it is required to maintain
a high temperature in a lofty house. To meet
this loss or waste of heat, the greater proportion
of pipes should be placed near the outer walls,
at the sides and ends of the house, and at least
4 to 5 inches from the floor, and about the same
distance from the walls. If the pipes are cover-
ed by benches, these should be at least 8 to 10
inches above the pipes, the space between the
bench and the floor should be open, also a space
of 3 inches or more between the bench and the
wall, to allow the air to circulate freely round
the pipes and carry off the heat, and to protect
the plants resting on the bench near the glass.
In order to distribute the heat evenly in wide
houses, a portion of the pipes should be placed
midway between the wall and a point under the
ridge ; a similiar distribution of pipes will serve
for a house with a lean-to roof against a warm
back wall, except that it is not necessary to place
any pipes near the back wall.

Much might be said on the location of the
pipes, to suit the various purposes of Forcing
Graperies, Pine Pits, Propagating Houses, &c.,
but I fear it would occupy too much valuable
space in your journal. [Ko. — Ed.]

POLYGONUM CUSPIDATUM.

BY J. C, PHILADELPHIA.

As this gigantic, hardy perennial has grown
for many years in our garden, attaining somewhat

134

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTHL^,

May,

extraordinary proportions, the following descrip-
tion may be prove of interest. It grows in a six
feet circular bed on the lawn, and early in April
sends up a hundred smooth, round, hollow joint-
ed canes of a bright green color, thickly mottled
with purple.

These canes are from three quarters of an inch
to an inch and a quarter in diameter, set very
closely together, and grow up perfectly straight,
and with the most surprising rapidity, and from
their bright green color and purple spots are
very beautiful.

From each node, and these are from 5 to 7
inches apart, springs a single leaf, ovate, abrupt-
ly acuminate and truncate at the base, about 3
inches long, and on a petiole, so that at first it is
sparsely clothed with leaves. At the height of
three feet these shoots or canes put forth a few
side branches, which increase in number and
length with the increased height of the plant,
until finally, at an elevation of over ten feet, it
forms a large spreading and arching head, dense-
ly clothed with graceful foliage, and late in Au-
gust crowned with abundant panicles of small
white flowers. These in England are succeeded
by rosy white seed vessels, but our plant has
never born seed. When it has completed its
growth, its spreading branches cover a space of
over thirty feet in circumference, and its whole
appearance is striking and beautiful. To show
the great rapidity of its growth, it was found
that from the first of April to the beginning of
May, it reached the height of nine feet, and on
the warmest days in April, its strongest shoots
grew from six and a half to seven and a half
inches in 24 hours.

As on these warm days the growth of its hun-
dred shoots in the aggregate would average not
less than four inches daily, it follows that it then
makes the enormous growth in 24 hours, of over
thirty-three feet !

At the approach of winter it dies to the ground.
One fault it has, and that is, that it sends up a
forest of suckers to the distance of twelve feet
from the plant, and they are difficult to eradi-
cate. This property of running at the root in all
directions just below the soil, has been taken
advantage of in Japan, according to Von Siebold,
for fixinsr loose sand..

THE PROFIT OF GRAPE GROWING.

BY AV., PEN YAN, NEAV YORK.

Will the grape interest in our country pay ?

This is a question that thousands of oar Ameri-
can people are desirous to see elucidated.

For my part, I have been compelled from the
results obtained from the last six vintages, to
almost doubt the propriety of investing capital
in the grape interest as a means of support ; the
vintage of 1S70 seemed to correct, in a measure,
what had been previously lost. The result was,
faith increased. Last fall we had a very heavy
crop, and in many sections the frost destroyed
whole crops of grapes, especially of the later
kinds ; some of the most favored sections along
the Lakes matured to a good degree of ripeness.
The early market opened quite satisfactory, but
dropped until Isabella, Concord and many other
varieties scarcely paid for boxes, expressage and
commissions. Those who sold early feel well,
those who sold late, scarcely got pay for sending.
The year before, the late market was the best.

In view of this state of grape growing, what
can be said ? Can light be thrown on the al-
most dark picture ? Some say if you will plant
the Rogers you will come out right. The question
with me is, is the quality of the fruit good
enough ? Another says, plant the lona. The
ready reply is that it won't grow, so it is of no
use. Others say, Walter is the best. Most
vineyard men will say that we have paid for high
priced vines enough already. The Croton is a
splended grape. It is a high priced grape too, and
we don't know that it will bear transportation.
The Rebecca is a good grape, but it is deficient
in roots, and don't make a good growth once in
fifty times without extra care and management,
which is seldom ever given ; in this section the
Catawba is the principal grape about the Lakes.
It seems to sell as a market grape equal to any
red grape, and as a wine grape it is counted good
by those who like a sour wine. The Catawba
appears to be unreliable as a dependence, some-
times it proves too late, and is also subject to
rot. The Delaware seems to stand the test so
far remarkably well ; it is set down as a first-
class fruit grape and a good wine grape. All
are willing to say that the Delaware pays, and
pays handsomely. The lona has been known to
pay well ; it will sell for a high price for its su-
perior wine qualities. The Walter is thought to
be one of the best, if not the very best wine
grape. Good judges of wine and wine grapes,
say that the lona and Walter grapes are marvel-
ous wine grapes, making wine equal, if not su-
perior to the best foreign kinds. If we should
give full credit to this statement, which I do not

1872,

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

135

/r

doubt, then we may fairly conclude that grape
growing would be a business of large consequence.

In Europe, the most of grapes ranges from lU
cents to $10 per gallon. You see that at such
prices, grapes should range from three-quarters
of a cent to seventy-five cents per pound, which
is a great range in price. I am aware that
grapes of a very h^h quality are apt to be very
feeble growers, producing light crops. If we
admit this, then there will be room for a good
and profitable business. I am informed that a
gentleman at Canandaigua had thirty Rebecca
vines set eight by eight feet, from which he pick-
ed, packed and sent to market last fall. After j
paying all expenses he received net, S103.35 or |
$3.44^ per vine. At that rate, say G50 vines per I
acre, the net receipts would be .S2, 239.25 per acre. I
His Isabella grapes only paid for sending. !

I noticed that California White grapes were
quoted in New York market from thirty to forty
cents per pound, during which time we were
selling our best Catawbas for eight cents per
pound in the same market. Can any of your
many grape growers tell us grape growers who
have Isabellas and Catawba vineyards, how to
manage to obtain such prices ? If we can make
such wine, why should we be importing millions
of dollars Avorth yearly ? AVhy don't some of
our capitalists look the question of wine making
up ? I am confident that wines of great excel-
lence can be made from some of our best wine
grapes, and it looks to me as if some wa}' might
be found to produce them in qualities equal to
the market demand. If this can be brought
about, it seems to me that it will be safe to con-
clude that grape growing in this country will
take the first rank in importance and value.
More capital is needed, good and judicious selec-
tions of varieties are important. "We have
already flourishing Wine Cellars, but not half
enough of them. It is plain to be seen that they
are doing a very prosperous business.

[ A correspondent sends us the above copy of
a letter, addressed to the Penn Yan Chronicle,
with a request that if found of interest, it may
also be published in the Gardener'' sMonthly. -'En.]

Pinus Cembra, the Tannerbaum of Lord Byron
(Childe Harold, canto 4, stanza xx), and the
Aphernousli Pine of Harte grows higher up the
Alps than any other Pine, and it is even found,
at elevations where the Larch will not grow..
This agrees with Byron's account of it, who says,
in his poem :

But from their nature will the Tanneu grow,
Loftiest on loftiest and least sheltered rocks.

and in his notes to canto fourth :

Tannen is the plural of Tanne, a species of fir
peculiar to the Alps, which only thrives in very
rocky parts, where scarcely soil sufficient for its-
nourishment can be found. On these spots it
grows to a greater height than any other tree.

This agrees with Loudon's description, and is-
pretty good proof that his statement is correct.,

It is true that Tanne is usually translated fir,,
and that Pine is rendered in German by Fichte,
but then the attempt of Botanists to restrict the
name of Pine to the genus Pinus, and Fir to that
of Abies, has not been successful. The Scotch
Fir is an undoubted Pinus { Sylvestris), and
Byron would not be likely to be versed in such
minute shades of meaning.

Loudon says : The wood is very soft, and hav-
ing scarcely any grain, is very fit for the carver,
and is used extensively for this purpose by the
peasantry of the Tyrol.

It gives additional meaning to Byron's splen-
did imagery, if the soft and delicate substance of
these Swiss toys is really the product of the tree,
which beyond all others, braves the storms and
tempests of the Alpine summits. Who can with
certainty decide the question ?

THE GERMA:N' XAME of ABIES PICEA.

BY S. W. M., COLUMBIA, PA.

I read an article in a recent number of the
Gardener''s Monthly, in which Tanne is spoken
of as the German name of the Abies Picea. This
does not agree with the statement of Loudon, in
his Encyclopedia, page 802. He says :

A WARNING TO HUSBANDMEN.

BY CHRONICLER, PIIILA.

The great fires that destroyed the trees upon
thousands of acres of forest lands in the state of
Michigan last year, and the vast quantities of
timber used for railways and building purposes,
the large amounts aimually transferred into char-
coal, and that which new settlers burn in clear-
ing their lands to sell the ashes for soap and
potash making, all admonish us to warn our fel
husbandmen in the states east of the Mississippi
River, that timbers for fencing will, ere long, be
scarce and costly. It is now high time for us to
use other materials for fencing. Iron wires have
been tried and failed ; the stretch is destructive,,
and the expansion and contraction by heat and
cold upon the wires, make them unsuited for our

136

THE GARDE JEER'S MONTHLY.

May,

variable climate. Live Hedges are our only relief,
and by special care will last for ages. Osage Or-
ange and Honey Locust are suitable, and thrive
upon various soils and in different latitudes. In
three years after planting they are effectual bar-
riers against the trespass of our herds and flocks.
Millions of plants are for sale in our nurseries
for .S12 per thousand, which make 333 yards of
hedge. Set a foot apart, plow a strip three
feet broad, barrow it well, then throw out a deep
furrow with the plow both ways in the middle,
shovel and flatten the bottom; then set the plants
a foot apart, and fill in the soil over their roots and
tramp it firmly down. The first two years after
planting, keep the strip free from weeds, and
prune in winter. After gaining two years
growth they will fight their own battle with
weeds. Prune in winter ; the prunings may be
piled as fences upon wet spots where the plants
might not thrive, or burn them, and the ash
will be a fertilizer. We are aware that old hus-
bandmen will smile in derision at our announce-
ment, but time will convince young cultivators
of its truth. Those who have not their " Lamps
trimmed ready " when the fact is made manifest,
will find themselves in the place of the " Foolish
Virgins."

Look back upon Europe, from whence all we
white citizens have sprung. Upon the Islands
nearest to us, improved lands were fenced with
timbers, mostly got in Scotland, which was then
a vast forest, and called "Caledonia," meaning
the *' land of the forest.'' The different Clans
claimed certain parts as their rightful inheri-
tance, and the head or Chief of each Clan was
called "Walter," the original name for " Forest-
er and AVood Merchant." For several ages no
one imagined that the timbers of " Caledonia "
would dinfinish in quantity, until time brought
the truth to light. Husbandmen then tried their
native Hawthorn for live hedges, and it proved
to be the cheapest and best material for fences ;
it is now universal in England, Ireland and Scot-
land, Wales, &c. Our native Osage Orange and
Honey Locust are as suitable for our fencing by
live hedges, and the time may come -when they
will become universal with us.

Evergreen Hedges are most appropriate for
garnishing and beautifying ornamental grounds.
The Norway Spruce makes a strong, thick hedge,
suitable for an outside enclosure ; and for small
grounds and gardens, the A7nerican and Siberian
Arborvitce and Hemlock Spruce are admirable.
Where diversity is wanted, the Chinese, Golden

and Variegated Biota, tree Boxwoods, Junipers
and Evergreen Privet are suitable. Specimens of
such hedges are seen in our leading nurseries.
The twenty acres of ornamental grounds of
" Bloomsdale," of David Landreth & Sons, are
wholly enclosed with evergreen hedges.

SMALL BU4BS.

BT A. G., READIXG, PA.

There are many small bulbs with pretty flow-
ers, which seem to be little known among the
" flower sisters " who do not possess regular
greenhouses. To call attention to these, and
thus afford a new pleasure to some, I give a de-
scription of those I have cultivated, and my
experience therewith.

First, as most easy to cultivate, is the Fairy
Lily, which in Rand's Book of Bulbs, is placed
under the heading of Zephyranthus. This bears
a lily-shaped, rosy pink blossom, something more
than 2 inches in diameter, on a steam 5 or 6
inches high. The leaves are narrow, and from
4 to 8 inches long, according to cultivation, and
resemble the leaves of some kinds of grass,
having a keel to the leaves. A pot full, ( 6 inches
in diameter), will throw up over 50 flowers in
succession. They bloom in summer. They are
often dried off and kept in bags in winter, then
planted out in early spring. Some ladies border
their garden beds with them. All " flower sis-
ters '' are charmed with the Fairy Lilies. Any
good mellow soil will do for these.

There is a white flowered kind, resembling the
above in the flower, which, however,are more cro-
cus-shaped. It was bought of John Feast, of
Baltimore, under the name of Zephyranthus.
The flowers are of a pure white, with a yellow
tip to the centre of each petal. The leaves re.
semble those of a fleshy red, being narrow, thick
and of a dark green. These do not bear drying
off" as well as the pink, and sometimes die. If
kept in cultivation, the leaves remain of a live-
ly green all winter. I have seen it stated that
both the above were hardy.

The Anematheca cruenta bears a sprightly,
prett}- scarlet flower, which blooms as early as
February if properly cared for,though I have seen
it also in summer. The flower is almost oval in
shape. They grow in branching stems from a
main one, and succeed each other for several
weeks. The flowers are numerous ; the leaves
somewhat resembling a miniature gladiolus. The
soil should be three parts loam, two of leaf, one
of sand, and one of manure. They are dried oft'

187^.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^THLIl

1S\

when spring comes, and in August separated and
repotted. Mine were bought of E. Buist, of
Philadelphia. H. Dreer of the same city also has
them.

Ixias are next in regard to ease of cultivation,
and are very pretty too. The)' somewhat resemble
a gladiolus in minature, though the flowers are
more delicate and farther apart on the stem, and
nearer a crocus-shape. They are not often an inch
length. The leaves are narrow ; their height
from 6 to 12 inches. The colors are various, I
have had lilac and white, (Ixiasqualida), orange
color, and scarlet. There are many others which
I have not seen. They bear seed, and are easily
raised from that, though they send off offsets
every year. With a little protection, they are
said to bear the winter in England. James Vick,
of Kochester, N. Y., E. Buist, Sr., of Philadel-
phia, Pa., John Feast, of Baltimore, and H.
Dreer, of Philadelphia, Pa., have these bulbs for
sale. They require the same soil as the Anema-
theca Sparaxis ; these are the most brilliant of
all. The colors in some are dazzling. They are
larger than the Ixias, and have deeper tints.
The flower is more open, and the leaves thicker
and firmer. They require the same soil and
treatment as the Ixias and Anemathecas. The
Sparaxis tricolor is splendid, with its contrast of
yellow, black and scarlet. I have seen this and
other brilliant ones at John Feast's of Balti-
more.

The Tritoma resembles the Ixia, but it is
larger in growth, — it requires the same soil and
treatment. H. A. Dreer has these for sale, as well
as the Sparaxis.

The Babirana bear pretty flowers. Their leaves
are fluted, and stand up like the Ixia. I found
mine diflScult to cultivate, being incessantly at-
tacked by the red spider. It bloomed but once
in several years. H. A. Dreer and E. Buist, Sr.,
of Philadelphia, keep these.

The Peacock Iris, or Yiesseuxia, is a diminu-
tive bulb, bearing a flag or iris-shaped flowej",
with somewhat of the color of the eye-feathers of
the peacock. It is as curious as pretty, rather
more so, perhaps. The leaves resemble common
grass. The flower stem is but a few inches high.
Comparativly few of the '' flower sisters '' have
seen these in bloom. Mine were obtained of H.
A. Dreer, of Philadelphia, Pa.

The Trietelia I shall have to give on the au-
thority of an experienced " flower sister '' of our
city. I have it, but it has not bloomed. Mine
was bought of John Feast, of Baltimore. It

bears a white, sweet scented star-shaped flower.
The leaves somewhat resemble those of a hya-
cinth, but are thinner and longer. It is hardy,
and can be treated as a hyacinth, in the garden
or in cultivating it as a pot plant. It is a native of
South America.

Last spring I met with a lovely star-shaped
blossom, of a blue color, which I at first thought
was a blue Trietelia, but on comparing the leaves
find them entirely different. The color was near-
ly that of the blue variety of our wild viola peda-
ta. I do not know its proper name.

The white Scillamay be mentioned as a pretty
little flower, reminding one of the lily of the val-
ley. It is hardy. The blue is said to be pretty
also. H. A. Dreer, of Philadfelphia, has these.

The Oxalis is so well known it needs but a
mention of it. The O Bowii is the large pink,full-
blooming one. The flowers are 1 inch in diame-
ter under good cultivation, and the leaves, two or
more inches in breadth ; the latter are so fine as
to make it almost a Uaj jAant in beauty. This
variety must have light and /leaf to bloom it in
perfection. The primrose colored is next in beau-
ty. This blooms in the spring, dies down and is
repotted in August or September. There is a
neat, small, white one, which blooms nearly all
summer. There is also a small pretty pink trail-
ing one, a profuse bloomer. One lady told me
she had had 400 flowers at a time on one of hers.
The O. versicolor is curious and pretty too. The
leaf is quite narrow, — the flower shaped more like
a miniature morning glory. All Oxalis should
have the leaves well grown after blooming, to in-
sure good bloom for the next year. The soil re-
quired is the same as for the Ixia.

I forgot to say that the Fairy Lilies were
given to me, but I see that Eichardson & Gould,
of New York, advertise them.

LIQUID MANUEES.

BY MR. W. B. WICKEN.

Of all forms of manuring, from which a speedy
and effective result is desired, there is none more
easily obtained, and convenient, than manuring
by liquids.

The use of liquid manures is not so popular as
it deserves to be, owing partly, I believe, to in-
judicious use. In the course of this paper, I in-
tend briefly to call attention to the advantages
derived from its use, and the mode in which it
acts.

Liquid manures can never be conveniently
made to supersede the use of solid matters as

138

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTSLY,

May,

fertilizers, but at certain stages and conditions {
of the growth of plants,thev will prove a powerful |
and effective aid. \

The immediate and powerful influence of liquid i
manure upon vegetation can readily be account- I
od for, as follows : plants are incapable of re-
ceiving into their circulation, any substance j
which is not in a fluid state. Solid manures con- 1
tain most of these substances, which form the
food of plants in a solid state, which decay slow-
ly in the ground, and become useful only after a
time. Liquid manures contain these substances
in a ready state of solution, which on applica-
tion, are at once obsorbed by the roots, and are
passed into circulation of the plant. The action
of liquids will be more evident, but will not con-
tinue for such a long period as solid manures.

The immediate effect of liquid manures consti-
tute their most important characteristic, the
advantage of which will be more especially ap-
preciated at a time when plants are required to
produce an extra development of growth, fruit
or flowers. The next point to be considered, is
the most convenient form of obtaining an effec-
tive manure. The urine of animals is readily
obtained, and if properly prepared, is a very
powerful fertilizer. The drainage of cowyards,
stables, and similar places, should be conveyed
to a covered receptacle, and there water should be
added to the proportion of one of urine and two
of water. The liquid will then undergo fermen-
tation, after which process it will be " ripe " and
fit for use. If the urine is allowed to ferment in
an uncovered tank, it will lose a great portion of
one of its most powerful fertilizers, viz: " Ammo-
nia," which will be given oft' to the air and lost.
Another fact worthy of consideration is that
water should be added before fermentation has
taken place, for it has been proved by actual ex-
periment that cows urine, six weeks old, unmix-
ed with water, contains only one sixth part of the
ammonia contained in similar urine mixed with
over one half its bulk of water previous to fer-
mentation. Animal urine shouldonnoaccount.be
used in an unfermented condition. I may here
state my impression, that the bad name given
this manure by some, is owing partly because it
is sometimes used before fermentation has taken
place, and sometimes because it has fermented in
the open air, and has been over diluted by rain
<fcc., and is of no more worth as a fertilizer than
dirty water. Manure of this description should
be perfectly clear, ( not colorless ), but free from
all muddy matter, or portions of organic matter

floating in it, which if used for plants in pots,
causes a nasty scum en the surface of the soil,
besides filling up the interstices of the soil,
( which should be occupied by air ), and making
it sour and sodden ; for be it remembered that
the nutritious properties are saline and other
mineral substances held in a state of solution by
the water. There are several other liquid fertili-
zers, equally as powerful, or more so than the
above, others of a milder nature. Guano dissol-
ved in water to the proportion of a piece of the
size of a hen's egg to about a gallon and a half
of water, gives a powerful manure. This is less
odious than urine, which in some cases makes it
more preferable, as it can be used in the con-
servatory &c., where the other would be ex-
cluded from its objectionable smell. In my
opinion, this is the test of all liquid manures, as
it contains a greater number of the substances
that form the food of plants, than any other ma-
nure. The solid excrements of sheep and cows,
steeped in water, make a mild and useful ma-
nure. The dung of fowls, soot, and the liquid
refuse from bone-boiling works, may be used
with good effect.

There are several highly concentrated manures
sold, such as " Standen's Gardener's and Ama-
teurs friend," solutions of which possess one
advantage for application in the greenhouse, «&c.,
— that they are more cleanly. Another point
worth noting is, that plants arc benefited by a
change, as some manures contain substances
which others are totally deficient.

ON THE RELATION OF ODORS TO
PLANT LIFE.

BY C. PHILADELPHIA.

In the course of your intelligent researches
into the economy of vegetative life, has there been
occasion to observe any indication that the aro-
ma of a blossom may be designed to subserve a
useful purpose in aid of its vital functions. Or
can it be true, " That many a flower wastes its
fragrance on the desert airV"

The investigations of Prof. Tyndale, in the
London Royal Institution, have revealed some
facts relative to the radiation of non-lumnious
heat, that may have a bearing on this physiologi-
cal question, and lead to more correct ideas with
regard to it than are inculcated by the rythmic
lines of the poet. His beautiful experiment shows
a remarkable hindrance to the transmission of
non-luminous heat rays through the vapors of

187^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTELJ.

189

volatile bodies, both solid and liquid. These im-
permeable vapors beins; invisible and transparent,
and therefore quite inappreciable by our natural
senses, except when cognizable by smell. In the
animal odors of Musk, &c., and the aroma of
flowers, he found no exception to the general
rule. To use the Professor's expressive words,
" We can weigh the odor of a rose.'' This law
of impermeability serves to explain many curious
natural phenomena, and may also give us an in-
sight into some of the wdse provisions of a benefi-
cent Creator. The luminous heat rays of the
sun penetrate these invisible vapors with much
freedom, but when portions of these heat rays
unaccompanied by light, come to be radiated out
toward the sky, they are held back by vapors
that are invisible to us, and the tops of plants
which are most exposed, are measurably protect-
ed from the excessive cooling they would have^ to
endure if no atmospheric vapors existed.

In some parts of India, where the air is re-
markably free from vapors, water is frozen on
summer nights by exposure to the clear sky in
shallow pans carefully screened from the heat
emanating from the soil.

May we not therefore, suppose that a tender
flower when exhaling its aroma most copiously
after sundown, is thus spreading a canopy over
its own bosom, that is designed to protect it
from too great loss of warmth ?

PINUS EXCELSA AND OTHER EVER-
GREENS.

BY MR. B. LANDRETH, BLOOMSDALE, PA.

In recent numbers of the "Gardener's Chroni-
cle and Agricultural Gazette," notices have been
made of the Himalayan Pine ( Pinus excelsa )
bearing cones, some of them fruitful, from which
it may be inferred that such cases are rare.

It may interest you to receive a cluster of cones
from a tree at Bloomsdale, which has been in
bearing for several years. Originally imported
from a London nursery about 1850, it has grown
with even more luxuriance than might have been
expected from one of the "Weymouth" class,
and now as its branches trail upon the sward,
covers a circumference of one hundred and twen-
ty feet, — its height forty feet. Other specimens
of later importations have advanced finely, and
bear cones also.

There has been some doubt expressed as to,
the durability of the P. excelsa in our climate ;
of course it is yet too soon, with our short ex-

perience, to speak positively, but so far as the
specimens referred to are an index, the promise
is equally good with our native White Pine.

Many of the earlier plantings of other conifers
at Bloomsdale are now producing cones.

Abies Douglassii, most curiously bracteated,
A Menziesii^ A morinda, Picea Cephalonica,, of
which there are trees bearing cones by the score.
P Nordmanniana, with its grand imposing seed
vessels, P pichta, Larix leptolepsis, P Cemhro.y
and others.

By the way, speaking of Piceas, have you seen
evidences of decay in the P pectinata. Several
finely developed specimens with us have sudden-
ly sickened and died, and without visible cause.
So many within a few years, we should hesitate
to plant that tree in situations where single speci-
mens or clumps might not be spared. The Silver
Fir is in high favor with many admirers of ever-
greens, and to have it under the ban of planters
and men of taste, would be a serious misfortune.
It is true the ordinary Balsam Fir when well
grown, cannot be readily eclipsed, but so many
disgusting abortions are to be seen on every
hand, that few persons are willing to plant it,
besides its period of prosperity is bounded by less
than half a century, when its lower branches give
way, even with care, and it must then be made
to yield to newer favorites.

There are but few subjects, Mr. Meehan, which
the Monthly can discuss with greater advantage
than the style of trees to plant, and where to
plant them. So many are unsuited to the pur-
pose designed, so many misplaced with reference
to space and distance from the drives and walks ;
tall growing evergreens planted in shallow front
yards, where an Irish Juniper or Yew would be
appropriate, and resinous trees within the influ-
ence of the city atmosphere. The remote portions
of our Park may afford protection to such trees,
but it will be use useless to plant them near the
city lines.

[ We feel greatly indebted to Mr. Landreth for
these notes. Some few years ago, a few of the
earliest specimens of the Pinus excelsa intro-
duced, suffered from some cause still unex-
plained. About two or three feet from the
ground the bark died, and after two or three
years, the whole tree above this injury gave
out. We saw them this way at Long Island,
Rochester, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Since
that time we have seen none like those were ; but
luxurious specimens everywhere abound, and
we have faith that this noble tree, every way su-

IJfO

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ\^THLY.

May,

perior to our own Weymouth or "White Pine, will
Ijecome an universal favorite.

The Tkea pectinata, or common Silver Fir,
<loes well everywhere. The injury noticed by
Mr. Landreth, must be local or temporary, as
that referred to in Pinus excelsa no doubt was.

There is no subject more valued just now than
tree knowledge, and we shall be glad to receive
any notes of this character from any of our cor-
respondents.]

PAKASITE OX THE APPLE WORM.

BY MB. P. H. FOSTER, BABYLON, N. Y.

The subject of the destruction of the appls-
moth {Carpocapsa Pomonella) occupies my
mind to a considerable extent. I have tried every
known means, and within a few days have ex-
pended ten dollars for English sparrows, which
are now all dead. I discovered a parasite
on the above moth or worm in the year 1869.
Sent a specimen to B. D. Walsh, Illinois, which
he calls a species of hair-snake (Gordius).
Also found one last summer embedded in the
apple-worm, in the centre of a large pear. This
Oordius is white, and how it comes in the
apple-worm is strange to me. We have a good
article in the American Entomologist, vol. 2, pp.
193, from or by Professor Joseph Leidy, Phila-
delphia, on the Gordius. He there describes
several, and mentions one which he calls white
hair-worm {Mermis), which is the only one that
corresponds with the specimen I have reference
to. There is no doubt I may secure some
specimens another year, as I kill thousands of
the apple -worm. I would like to have you call
the attention of the readers of the Monthly to
the subject of their destruction; also inventors.
We should have a fund provided for him who
will teach us how to make a clean sweep of the

rascally foe.

«••««

NOTES FROM WESTERN PENNSYL-
VANIA.

BY MR. A. HTJIDEKOPER, MEADVILLE, PA.

We are having in Western Pennsylvania a
good old-fashioned sort of a winter, having
now had three weeks of consecutive sleighing,
with about as much more earlier in the season.
We have had the mercury standing 15° below
zero on the low grounds, and at 8° or 10° below
it on the hills, while a temperature of from 2°
to G° below zero has occurred frequently. We
€hall look forward with interest to the effects of

this in the spring. Yet I have known quite as
cold wintry weather followed by a good fruit
season. The danger lies often as much in sud-
den reaction as in the low temperature.

It strikes us oddly amid our Siberian snows,
to see the Gardener''s Monthly suggesting plant-
ing peas and potatoes the latter end of Feb-
ruary in the Middle States, being the paradise
where I suppose you locate your editorial self.
It shows we will have to use some more con-
tracted limitation than States, when we are
speaking of climate. Peas we know are very
hardy, but when the Monthly, referring to po-
tatoes planted in February, says that the frost
will seldom get into the newly-dug ground deep
enough to injure them, I feel almost inclined to
ask, how is it about the tops ? At this end of
the Keystone, it trenches on audacity in gar-
dening to get potatoes into the ground until
after the middle of April.

I am glad to add my testimony to that of Mr.
Blodgett as to the candor and fairness of the
Gardener''s Monthly, and its good sense in ruling
out asperity of criticism. A pomologist, with a
hoe or pruning knife in hand, is generally rather
a genial sort of a person ; but let him be
around with a quill, and it is strange how his
combativeness returns to him. I have no
doubt about our community having been
humbugged by over-praised novelties in the
way of seeds and fruits, but it is difficult to
know when failure results from deception or
when from adverse circumstances. For in-
stance, Mr. Satterthwait pronounces with him
the Tyson pear as a poor bearer. Such an ob-
jection does not seeru to lie to it here. With
me the Clinton grape proved so worthless that I
would not grow it ; but through the kindness of
Mr. Saunders I tasted it last fall in Washing-
ton, and was surprised at its comparative ex-
cellence. Travel, experience, observation,
seem necessary to make men charitable in more
departments than one. Mr. Blodgett's plan of
"trying all things" is good, if one possesses
himself with patience, biding his time, and let-
ting the five-dollar monopolist find in the in-
terim other victims of enthusiasm.

Since I wrote to you last, I have imported
the Fintindo grape from France. It is rather
to the discredit of our present custom-house
system in New York, that a box containing
four grape vines should cost seven dollars (ex-
clusive of duty) to get throush the hands of the
Collector, but a bill on my table shows it to be
a fact.

1872.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJfTRL 1 .

141

The vines were sent in crocks, which were
broken in transmission, but the wood looks
fresh, and if the roots have not got too dry, I
hope I may be able to test it partially this
season. I shall plant some cuttings with a
view to its introduction by exchanges with cul-
tivators in different parts of the country next
autumn. If, as the books say, it is considera-
bly earlier than the Black Hamburg, it ought
to be a valuable acquisition to our vineries.

Hoping when the season advances to see
some report from you as to the results upon fo-
liage, &c., from your successful experiment in
getting one shoot from the union of bisected
buds of different varieties of apples, in anticipa-
tion of the further interesting product when the
shoot shall become large enough to fruit,

FIRE HOT-BEDS— FORCING-PITS.

BY ME. JAMES WEED, MUSCATINE, IOWA.

The annual consumption in the United
States of thousands of tons ©f manure for heat-
ing hot-beds involves a waste of fertilizing ma-
terials of great magnitude. "We import guano
from the ends of the earth, at great cost, to en-
rich our soil, and burn stable manure for fuel.

Dr. Hull, in the Prairie Farmer, and Mr.
Reihl, in the Journal of Agriculture, described
methods of heating earth enclosed under sash
by earth and stone, or drain-tile flues, Peter
Henderson, in the Agriculturist, June, 1870, criti-
cises these "fire hot-beds;" says they have been
tried and abandoned about New York ; are in-
aecessible as greenhouses, and waste too much
heat as hot-beds. He appears to have arrived
at the practical conclusion that no satisfactory
substitute can be found for the manure hot-
bed, except the low and econominal houses in
use about New York, heated by a first-class
hot-water apparatus.

Two years ago we constructed three ranges
of frames, each sixty feet long by six wide, for
sprouting sweet potatoes. They were sunk
nearly even with the surface of the ground,
which inclined to the southwest, about fifteen
inches in twenty feet. Each bed was cham-
bered its whole length, five feet wide by eight
inches deep, by waste sheet-iron, from a burnt
elevator, placed on bricks, supporting six
inches of earth. Each bed had a furnace at
the west end placed below the eight-inch cham-
ber, and an earth-flue, covered with sheet iron,
was carried underneath some twenty feet before

opening into it. A six-inch stove-pipe, with
damper at the upper end of the chamber, com-
pleted the arrangement for fire heating. These
frames were provided with our improved hot-
bed shutters, each twenty feet long, and were
used, without sash, answering most admirably
the purpose for which they were designed.
The quantity of fuel required for heating these
beds was much less than we expected.

For forwarding plants in spring, to be
planted in the open ground in May, and for
early radishes, lettuce, «&c., these "fire hot-
beds" have advantages over manure-beds, in
not requiring to be made up every year, the
soil having only to be forked up and raked
when the time for sowing arrives, and in af-
fording perfect control of the amount of heat
required. If the weather is cold, the fires are
increased, and if it changes suddenly warm
they are diminished or suspended altogether.
We had little more than got our beds fairly in
operation the past season, when a warm spell
gave us for two weeks the usual high tempera-
ture of June.

It is often a matter of much importance to
be able to accelerate or retard the growth of
plants at will, and it is a great desideratum to
be able to use just as much and no more artifi-
cial heat, whether at a maximum or minimum
cast, as is necessary for our purpose. Manure-
beds afibrd a constant and regular supply of
heat which is favorable to keeping jilants safely
through cold nights, but fire hotbeds should
have a compensating provision in efficient
means of protection, by which heat, when gen-
erated, will be retained instead of being radi-
ated as fi^st as it is produced.

The only opportunity for material improve-
ment in the best forms of forcing-pits in use at
the present time, is iu protection to plant
structures whereby less artificial heat will be
required, and greater safety to plants secured.

In a future article we may submit a plan of a
forcing-pit arranged with a view to economizing
fuel and greater immunity from sudden and
extreme changes of temperature.

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FEED. VON MUELLER, MELBOURNE, AUS.

{Continued.)
Eucalyptus citriodora. Hooker.

Queensland. It combines the ordinary quali-
ties of many Eucalypts the advantage of
yielding from its leaves a rather large supply

u

^

TRE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTHLJ,

Mai/,

of volatile oil of excellent lemon-like fra
grance.

Eucalyptus diversicolor, F. v. Mueller.
The Karri of S. W. Australia. A colossal
tree, exceptionally reaching to the height of
400 feet, with a proportionate girth of the
stem. The timber is excellent. Fair pro-
gress of growth is shown by the young trees,
planted even in dry exposed localities in Mel-
bourne. The shady foliage and dense growth
of the tree promise to render it one of our
best for avenues. In its native localities it
occupies fertile, rather humid valleys.

Eucalyptus globulus, Labill.

Blue Gumtree of Victoria and Tasmania.
This tree is of extremely rapid growth and
attains a height of 400 feet, furnishing a
first-class wood ; shipbuilders get keels of
this timber 120 feet long ; besides this they
use it extensively for planking and many
other parts of the ship, and it is considered
to be generally superior to American Kock
Elm. A test of strength has been made be-
tween some Blue Gum, English Oak, and
Indian Teak. The Blue Gum, carried 14 lbs.
weigh more than the Oak 17 lbs. 4ozs. more
than Teak upon the square inch. Blue Gum
wood, besides for shipbuilding, is very ex-
tensively used by carpenters for all kinds of
out-door work, also ,for fence rails, railway
sleepers, — lasting about 9 years, — for shafts
and spokes of drays, and a variety of other
purposes.

Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Candolle.

The Tooart of S. W. Australia ; attains a
height of 50 feet. The wood is close-grained,
hard and not rending. It is used for ship-
building, wheelwright's work and other pur-
poses of artisans.

Eucalyptus marginata, Smith. *

The Jarrah or Mahogany tree of S. W. Aus-
tralia, famed for its indestructible wood,
which is attacked neither by Chelura nor Te-
redo nor Termites, and therefore so much
sought for jetties and other structures ex-
posed to sea-water, also for any underground
work, and largely exported for railway sleep-
ers. Vessels built of this timber have been
enabled to do away with all copperplating.
It is very strong, of a close grain and slightly
oily and resinous nature ; it works well,
makes a fine finish, and is by shipbuilders
here considered superior to either Oak, Teak,
or indeed any other wood. The tree grows

chiefly on iron-stone ranges. At Melbourne
it is not quick of growth, if compared to our
Blue Gum {Euc. gJohuhis, Lab.) or to our
Stringybark {E. oblique, I'Her.), but it is
likely to grow with celerity in our ranges.
Eucalyptus rostrata, Schlechtendal.

The Red Gum of Victoria, South Australia
and many river flats in the interior of the
Australian continent. Although a native
tree of this colony, it has been introduced
into this list on account of its wood being of
extraordinary endurance under ground, and
for this reason so highly valued for fence-
posts, piles and railway sleepers ; for the
latter purpose it will last at least a dozen
years, and, if well selected, much longer.
It is also extensively used by shipbuilders —
for main stem, stern post, inner post, dead
wood, floor timbers, futtocks, transomes,
knight head, hawsepieces, cant, stern, quar-
ter and fashion timber, bottom planks, breast-
hooks and riders, windlass, bowrails, &c.
It should be steamed before it is worked for
planking. Kext to the Jarrah fromWest Aus-
tralia this is the best wood for resisting the
attacks of sea-worms and white ants. For
other details of the uses of this and other na-
tive trees refer to the Eeports of the Vic-
torian Exhibitions of 1862 and 1867. The
tree attains a height of fully 100 feet. The
supply for our local wants falls already short,
and cannot be obtained from Tasmania,
where the tree does not naturally exist.

Eucalyptus sideroxylon, Cunn.

Iron Bark tree. It attains a height of 100
feet, and supplies a valuable timber, possess-
ing great strength and hardness ; it is much
prized for its durability by carpenters, ship-
builders, &c. It is largely employed by
wagon-builders for wheels, poles, «!fcc. ; by
ship-builders for top sides, tree, nails, the
rudder (stock), belaying pins and other pur-
poses ; it is also used by turners for rough
work. This is considered the strongest wood
in our colony. It is much recommended for
railvfay sleepers, and extensively used in
underground mining work.

Exc^CARiA SEBiFERA, J. M.{Stillingia sebifera,
Mich.)
The tallow tree of China and Japan. The
fatty coating of the seeds yield the vegetable
tallow. The wood is so hard and dense as
to be used for printing blocks ; the leaves
furnish a black dye. The tree endures the

187^.

THE GARDEJTER'S MOJ^'THLY.

IJfS

night frosts of our open lowlands, though its
foliage suffers.

Fagus Cunninghami, Hooker.

The Victorian and Tasmanian Beech. A
magnificent evergreen tree, attaining coUos-
sal dimensions, and only living in cool damp
rich forest valleys, not rarely 200 feet high.
The wood much used by carpenters and oth-
er artisans, the myrtle-wood of the trade.
It requires to^be ascertained by actual tests
in the forests, whether the allied tall ever-
green New Zealand Beeches possess any ad-
vantage over ours for forest culture; they are:
Fagus Menziesii, Hooker, the Ked Birch of
the colonists ; Fagus fusca. Hook., the Black
Birch ; Fagus Solandri, Hook., the White
Birch. A magnificent beech, Fagus 3Ioorei,
F. von Muell. occurs in New England.

Fagus silyatica, L.

The deciduous beech Britain, of most parts
of Europe and extra tropical Asia, and as
Fagus ferruginea, Ait. in fa particular va-
riety, extending through North America.
The trunk has been measured in height 118
feet, the head 350 feet in diameter ; the wood
is hard extensively used by joiners and ship-
builders. An allied beech, Fagus Sieboldii,
Endl., occurs'in Japan. All these could here
be grown to advantage only in our springy
mountain forests.

Ficus Sycamokus, L.

The Sycamore Fig tree of the Orient, copious-
ly planted along the road sides of Egypt.
The shady crown extends to a width of 120
feet. Though introduced, we have as yet no
local means of raising this tree in quantity,
and must therefore rely on fresh importa-
tions of cuttings or more particularly seeds.

FiCUS MACROPHYLLA, Desfont.

The Moretou Bay Fig-tree, which is indige-
nous thorugh a great part of East Australia.
Perhaps the grandest of our avenue trees,
and among the very best to be planted, al-
though in poor dry soil its growth is slow.
In our latitudes it is quite hardy in the low-
lands. The foliage may occasionally be in-
jured by grasshoppers. Easily raised from
seed.
Fraxinus Americana, L .*

The White Ash of North America. A large
tree 80 feet high, which delights in humid
forests. Timber valuable, better resisting
extreme heat than the common Ash. The
Red Ash [Fraxinus puhescens, Lam.), the

Green Ash (F. viridis, Michx.), the Black
Ash (F. snmbucifoUa, Lara.), and the Caro-
lina Ash [F. platycarim, Michx.), are of
smaller size.

Fraxinus excelsior, L.*

The ordinary Ash of Europe and West Asia.
Height 80 feet, of comparatively quick
growth, known to attain an age of nearly
200 years. Rich soil on forest rivulets or
riverbanks suit it best ; wood remarkably
tough and elastic, used for agricultural and
other im])lements, for oars^ axletrees and
many other purposes. Six peculiar kinds of
ash trees occur in Japan, some also in the In-
dian Highlands; all might be tried here. (24. )

Fraxinus floribunda, Don.
Nepal Ash 40 feet high.

Fraxinus Ornus, L.*

The Manna Ash of the Mediterranean
regions. Height about 30 feet. It yields
the medicinal manna.

Fraxinus quadrangulata, Michx.

The Blue Ash of North America. One of
the tallest of the Ashes, 70 feet high, with an
excellent timber.

Fraxinus viridis, Mich.

The Green Ash of North America. Height
70 feet ; wood excellent.

Gleditsciiia triacanthos, L.

The deciduous Honey Locust tree of North
America. Height up to 80 feet. Wood hard ,
coarse-grained, fissile. Sown closely, this
plant forms impenetrable, thorny, not read-
ily combustible hedges. An allied species
the 6r. horida, Wild, in East Asia. The
Water Locust Tree of North America [Gled-
itsciiia monosperma, Walt.), will grow in
swamps to 80 feet.

Greyillea robusta, Cunningh.*

Our beautiful Lawntree, indigenous to the
subtropical part of East Australia, 100 feet
high, of rather rapid growth, and resisting
drought in a remarkable degree ; hence one
of the most eligible trees for desert-culture.
Our cultivated trees yield now already an
ample supply of seeds. The wood is valued
particularly for staves of casks.

GuEYiNA Ayellana, MoUna [Quadria hetera-
phylla, R. & P.)

The evergreen Hazel tree of Chili, growing

[24] In dry, rich soil this tree makes a very rapid
growth in Pennsylvania. We have frequently seen it
make five feet a year. In poor soils it will remain for
years with scarcely any growth.

lU

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELlt,

Jlai/,

as far as 30" S. It attains a height of 30 feet,
and yields the Hazel nuts of S. America.
Gymnocladus Canadensis, Laraark.

The Chirot. A Xorth American timber and
avenue tree, attaining a height of 80 feet ;
allied to Gleditschia, but, as the name im-
plies, thornless. The wood is strong, tough,
compact, fine-grained, and assumes a rosy
color. (25).

JUGLANS CINEREA, L.*

The Butternut tree of N. America. About
50 feet high ; stem-diameter 4 feet. Likes
rocky places in rich forests. Wood lighter

[25] Dr. Mueller probably misapprehends the deriva-
tion of the name. The "naked branches" implied by
the Greek botanical nameOyninocladiis refers doubtless
to the want of branchleis in this tree. The terminal
growth barely matures here in the fall, and hence the
point dies, and cannot continue the growth next season.
Thefirstand second bud below the apex only pushes,
and thus a fork of two branches only is made at the end
of each annual growth. Thus the tree has a very naked
appearance for many years ; and we suppose the name
refers to this. If it were not for the failure of the termi-
nal bud in Gymnocladus to mature, and it was able to
continue growth in the future from the apex, say like an
Ash or a Horse Chestnut, we believe we should have
the singular appearance among dicotyledenous trees
of one long upright pole, without any side branches.

than that of the Black Walnut, durable and
free from attacks of insects.

JUGLANS NIGRA, L.*

Black Walnut tree. Attains height of 70
feet ; trunk 4 feet in diameter ; found in rich
forest land in N. America. Wood purplish
brown, turning dark with age, strong, tough^
not liable to warp or to split ; not attacked
by insects. Seed more oily than the Euro-
pean Walnut.

JUGLANS REGIA, L.*

The ordinary Walnut tree of Europe, but of
Central Asiatic origin; it attains a height
of fully 80 feet, and lives many centuries.
Wood light and tough, much sought for gun-
stocks, furniture and other things. The
shells of the nut yield black pignut. Trees
of choice quality of wood have been sold for
£'600, the wood being the most valuable of
middle Europe. Can be grown in cold lo-
calities, as it lives at 2000 feet elevation in
middle Europe. The Califoruian Walnut
tree {Juylans rupestris, Engelman) and the
Chinese Walnut tree {Jiujlans Mandchuricay
Maxim.) ou<iht to be introduced here.

EDITOR lAL.

ABOUT COLD GRAPERIES.

The culture of the foreign grape under glass,
although requiring much skill and experience if
the highest success be desired, is yet compara-
tively easy when in the hands of intelligent men
who have not had the best of horticultural edu-
cation. If one wish for the highest success, and
will be satisfied with grapes which will always
take the first premium, he will most likely en-
gage the best of skill to design the house, make
the borders, plant the vines, and take care of its
subsequent history. But there are many per-
sons in moderate circumstances who cannot
afford heavy outlays for first-class advice, who
may j'et have pretty fair grapes under their own
management, or by the help of a handy man.

For such we offer a few words, and in the first
place, as to location. Aspect is of very little
consequence, but east or west we should prefer.
The chief thing is to have a thoroughly dry soil.
We mean by this, one in which the water will

pass rapidly away after every heavy rain. In
first class gardens this is accomplished by under-
draining, but a cheaper way for poor folks is, to
select a piece of ground naturally rolling, or if
this cannot be, than to elevate the bed a little
above the surface of the ground, then there will
be no necessity to go below it. This is often in-
deed found to be the best plan, even for the best
Gardeners, as even with the best of care in un-
derdraining it is found that the soil is cold and
damp, and then the grape does not do well. In
some of the best grape growing gardens of Eng-
land, after much expense has been gone to in
underdraning, it has still been found of advan-
tage to make a bottom of concrete, about IS
inches from the surface, so as to prevent the
roots from going to a greater depth than this.

Having selected the location, soil for the bor-
der is the next thing. It used to be a fashion to
look after carcasses or other very rich matters to
bury in the grape borders, and even yet one who

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TTRL^ .

u^

starts a vinery for the first time, is very apt to
inquire if bones or bone dust are not good articles
to put in the grape border. Thiis has met with
much ridicule from many of the modern prac-
titioners. In truth the grape likes rich soil and
good feeding, and provided the roots are kept
healthy, the grape border may be highly ma-
nured. We say provided the roots can be kept
healthy, for as soon as a vine becomes sickly,
the richer the soil the worse the plant will get.
If for instance by too much stagnant water in the
soil, young fibres rot, the injury will be greater
in rich soil than in a poorer one. Our choice for
a grape border would be the top soil, about three
or four inches thick, of any old grassy piece of
ground, which should have about one-fifth part
of stable manure mixed with it, and thus suffer-
ed to remain a year in a heap to rot before using.
In regard to the house itself, piers may be
built up at the four corners, and at certain dis-
tances between to support a stout and heavy
wall plate ; or substantial posts, well seasoned
with tar may be planted; or still more desirable
if it can be afforded, a stout wall of stone or brick
as a foundation for the plate. Some go to the
expense of making arches in the wall for the roots
to go in under the house, but this is not necessa-
ry. The roots do well enough when wholly in
the border outside. The plates thus laid, the
house can be built on them, that is the house is
not built with movable sashes, but sash bars are
built on the wall plates to the roof The house
is in fact but one sash. This is what is now
known as the fixed roof principle, as opposed to
movable sashes. The strength of these sash
bars will depend in a great measure on the pitch.
The steeper this is the lighter the bars may be.
An angle of 45° is the steepest pitch employed,
but it makes a very strong and substantial house.
There are many advantages in favor of flat roofs,
but in the long run a tolerably steep pitch will
be found the best. About every five or six feet
one of the sash bars should be of rafter size, three
by four at least, so as to give strength to the
house, and also in order to have places into
which to fasten the wires on which the vines are
to be trained. The vines are to be subsequent-
ly planted beneath each of these rafters.

In such a house as we have in our mind, it
would be a span roofed house, that is one like a
Y inverted with the two ends resting just above
the vine borders, which borders are toextend about
fifteen or twenty feet from the outside of the
house. Some little arrangements will have to be

made for ventilation in the iiighest points of the
roof, but none need be made at the sides near the
ground.

Of course there are some matters of detail,
which would have to be thought out before one
could go on with a vinery; but our object is chiefly
to suggest that these houses might be much more
frequent than they are, and at a much less cost
than is usually imagined; and we suppose that
the general outlines we have given, will enable
those who may feel inclined to try them, to
study out pretty nearly what they would cost in
their various localities. For a few hundred dol-
lars it will be found that these very enjoyable
adjuncts to a garden may be had in the place of
as many thousands, as is generally supposed.

RAISING NEW SEEDLING FRUITS.

Most of the reflecting minds of the day admit
that there is much in the views propounded by
Mr. Darwin, which commands respect. Indeed
those men of science, who in some form or other,
hold the doctrines of evolution, are the most suc-
cessful in advancing a real knowledge of nature.
Yet there are some things in Horticulture which
do not accord with the doctrines of these eminent
men.

If we take our florists' flowers, say the Carna-
tion, Auricula, or a Polyanthus for instance, we
find progress go only in certain directions, and
then stop. Size is gained over the wild flower,
but the limit of size is soon reached ; so also of
peculiar form of petals, or any one character
which commends itself to the florist. After a
few years, we find we go with improvements as
far as we can ; if we would do more, we must go
back and begin again. We could not get larger,
sweeter, rarer colored carnations ; but by going
back to the original and working in a new direc-
tion, we have obtained some that will grow long
and leggy, and which will produce flowers all the
year through . These are the perpetual bloomers
or tree carnations. But from these we could not
produce a race which would run on the ground
and root at the joints. If such a thing could be
done, or would be desirable, the florist would
have to go back to some original form and work
from that. Improvement seems like a wheel.
We cannot do much by lengthening the spokes;
if we would make the wheel different, it would
rather be by making new spokes radiate from the
hub. There is a line beyond which our improve-
ment spoke does not seem inclined to go.

U6

TEE GARBEJ^EWS M0JVTHL7.

May,

Fruits are in the" same way. We think we
have strawberries larger and finer than we had
a hundred years ago. The ancients surely had
no pear as good as the Seckel, or apples as gene-
xally fine as the Baldwin, or as handsome as the
Lawver; but we do not know but that they might
if they had tried. A people just emerging from
the life of the forest and the chase, with no know-
ledge or disposition to care for Horticultural pur-
suits, could not see any chance variety of fruit if
it occurred ; or if it were found, not one in
a thousand knew anything about grafting or
budding; and when that one was found, he could
not write to place his discovery on record; or if he
could do any of these, there was little intercourse
between one part of the country and another to
make his discovery known beyond where it grew.
There is in fact, every reason for believing that if
the same class of observers with the same analy-
zing influences as now prevail, had existed two
thousand years ago, the same good fruit we have
they would have had ; while we should have no
better than we now have for all this long period of
improvement which preceded us. Two thousand
years may yet come after us, and, as we believe,
there will still be no larger Strawberries, no rich-
er Pears, no handsomer Apples than any we have
at the present time. How it is when observers
•drop away, we see in our own times. While that
moble minded pomologist, Dr. W. D.* Brinckle
<lived, and his enthusiasm in the cause was al-
most boundless, scarcely a month passed that he
did not add some new and excellent fruit to our
lists. He did not raise them. No new or ob-
scure natural law was brightened up for him ; but
woods, fences, old graveyards and forsaken old
nooks were ransacked, and their hidden trea-
sures brought to light. Our public spirited
friend passed away, and the sun of novel fruits
set with his life. Now and then one makes its
appearance, but the novelties do not betoken a
very productive age.

We make these remarks in the interest of Po-
TOology. An idea prevails that a great amount
of knowledge and skill is required to produce a
new fruit. But in truth no one need spend many
sleepless nights, or write odes to the " midnight
oil'' lost in the cause. A beautiful science, built
up as Mr, Darwin has built it, we fear will not
give us many new and good fruits. But we like
variety, if even no great improvement. More-
over, at times varieties do not last long, — they go
back if they do not improve, and we want others
fco take their places. Let people watch their

wildlings, something good will come from them.
Nay let them try and raise new ones ; but not by
selecting from the best, but by taking some half
wild thing, but with robust healthy habit, and
improve from that.

EFFECTS OF THE WINTER ON HARDY
EVERGREENS.

The past winter has been very trying to vege-
tation here in the Eastern States. The absolute
degree of cold has not been remarkable. There
have been winters when the thermometer was
much lower, and vegetation less injured than it
is now. The hardiest Evergreens like Hemlock,
Spruce and Balsam Fir, have sufiered severely.
Scarcely anything in the way of evergreens in-
deed but what has been injured wherever ex-
posed to wind. There have however, been no
winds of extra severity this winter, but there has
been an unusual absence of moisture in the at-
mosphere, and it is this dry wind which has done
the damage. We suppose it is pretty well known
by this time that death in the winter time op-
erates in two distinct ways. In one case the
water in the plant expands by the frost. The
cells then burst, as water frozen in a bottle
bursts the vessel. In other cases the plant has
the power to retain heat enough to prevent its
liquids from freezing, but these are evaporated
faster than the partially inactive roots can supply
the waste. In this last case the plant dries up
just as it would do under a hot summer's sun.
This is the kind of death which overtakes these
usually hardy things. The dry cold winds draw
out the moisture, and the most twiggy branches
perish.

Our eastern friends tell those of the west that
they should plant shelter belts in their treeless
regions ; but experience in the east this winter
teaches that here also, shelter belts are necessa-

It will soon be a recognized principle in the
planting of all places in the northern and middle
states, that a belt of trees on the windy side id
one of the essentials.

THE GRAPE ROOT INSECT.
A couple of years ago we noticed in the foreign
notices of the Gardener's Monthly, that M. Plan-
chon, of Montpelier in France, had discovered a
new trouble with the vines in France, compared
to which the old Oidium Tuckeri was, as the

187'^.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTHLY,

147

family physician would say, a mere " flee bite.''
It was that a minute insect, tlie Phylloxera vas-
tatrix, existed in immense numbers on the roots
of vines, and that the greater part of vine fail-
ures was to be attributed to their ravages. It
was found that these insects had epicurean tastes,
and that they did not feed on the roots of the
American species. It was hoped that by graft-
ing the European vines on this stock, they would
be thus able to outgeneral this new enemy.

Our own distinguished entomologist, C. V.
Riley, after a visit to Europe last year, became
satisfied that the fright amongst grape growers
which the discovery of this insect instigated, was
well founded; and on his return to this country,
examined American vines, and found the insects
here as well as in Europe. He has no doubt that
disease follows their attacks here as well as in
other countries. They do prefer some kinds to
others however, and the Concord does not seem
80 much a favorite as some others. They will
live on the roots, and undergo all their transfor-
mations under the surface of the ground ; though
they sometimes attack the leaves underneath
and thus form small tent-like eruptions on the
upper surface.

Mr. Riley gave, some time ago, a very detailed
account of this insect and its doings, in the Bu-
ral New Yorker, but it does not seem to have in-
duced our people to believe it the terrible foe to
the grape grower we imagine it is to become.
We can see the Colorado potato beetle at work.

and thus better understand the terrible havoc it
makes ; but this little mite, and below the ground
also, we have to take pretty much on faith in our
operations against it. There is little doubt but
it will take all our ingenuity and "Yankee shrewd-
ness" to overcome it.

In France an experimenter has found that if
the roots be immersed in water for some few
days, the insect can be drowned. Even this is
a valuable beginning in the campaign against it.
One cannot of course immerse a grape vine root
when growing, as even a few hours of water at
that time is destructive to the grape as well as to
most terrestrial trees ; but some localities could
be flooded in the winter time, when the plant is
comparatively at rest, for many weeks without
the slightest injury. Besides this we can pre-
vent the introduction of the insect into new
neighborhoods by soaking the young plants in
water before they are planted for a few days.

As we have said, this insect is so insignificant
and so hidden, that few but the most intelligent
of our cultivators will be able to appreciate the
vastness of its operations. It will be like the
fungoid diseases of plants, which has taken near-
ly half a century of waiting for people of whom
scarcely a tithe believe in or care about it yet.
It would be a good point if those who can will
get specimens and exhibit magnified illustra-
tions of the insect and its doings, for lectures
and addresses at our Pomological meetings and
Farmers Clubs.

SCEAPS AND QUERIES

The last of the Loudons. — The Horticul-
tural world owes much to the labors of Loudon.
To this day his works furnish us with the best
histories of the trees and plants of this time. In
connection with this great author, the death of
his only brother recently, has an interest. The
family in so far as the name is concerned, is now
extinct. His only daughter we believe is still
living.

Sugar from the Ash Leaved Maple. —
"We have noticed that sugar is made from this
tree. This season we believe a good deal has
been made of it in the west. Do any of our read-
ers know of the comparative product of this with
the common sugar maple ?

Jerusalem Artichoke. — K. M. T., Utica
If. F.— "I have been asked by a neighbor to
join with him in purchasing a stock of these to
plant as a cheap and excellent crop for cattle feed
through the winter. It is represented as hardy,
and yielding 200 bushels to the acre. But I am
afraid that anything from so warm a latitude as
Jerusalem will not prove hardy in our climate. "

[ The " Jerusalem " Artichoke is not a native
of Jerusalem, but of the American Continent.
It is a sort of sun flower, with roots in appear-
ance between a Dahlia and the common Potato.
Its name is supposed to be a corruption of a
French word which sounded to English ears like
"Jerusalem."

It is quite hardy, and it may make good hog

IJfS

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTBLY,

May,

feed. It may even produce 200 bushels to the j
acre of roots ; but we do not know whether 70 |
bushels of corn and the fodder would not be more
profitable,— the corn for the hogs and the fodder
for the cows, — than the 200 bushels of these roots.
The tops of the Artichokes are of no use for fodder
or anything else. However on this we are not
asked for an opinion.]

Beet Sugar in Colorado.— The yield of
sugar by the beet at Denver, is very large. It
has been noted that there is more grape sugar
in that root in dry seasons than in wet ones, and
the dry climate of the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains, is favorable to beet sugar. By irriga-
tion at the proper growing time, immense crops
can be raised.

Preserving Grapes in Bottles.— Some
time ago we noted that an English gardener cut
his grapes with long stalks and kept the bunch
with this stem in a bottle of water, in a cool place
long into the winter months. We note that this
plan is meeting with continued praise.

ful crops of grapes in Mr. Yarnall's graperies,
when Mr. Mathison was gardener there. This
is not very for from Gen. Pleasanton's. There
was no blue glass here.

Gen. PJeasanton deserves much praise for his
experiments, and much can be learned from them.
Indeed the Gar(lener''s Monthly was amongst the
first to give a full account of the paper on the
subject ; but Gen. Pleasantou is an earnest seek-
er of truth, as well an enthusiastic grape grower,
and we are quite sure is as glad to have any weak
points in his theory as fully set forth, as he would
be to have credit for any real discovery that may
result from his labors.

Although we do not believe the good results
came from blue glass, we hope those who have
the means and the time, will continue their ex-
periments in this direction.]

Blue Glass.— C W.B. Baltimore,Md. ,s?iys :
— I think the editor ought to come out and say
(jlen. Pleasanton's colored glass article is sound
and true, or something else. I was on the point
of putting SoO or SlOO in it, but I happened to
notico that Mr. M. admitted a scathing notice of
the article, but did not say one commendatoiy
word, and I began to hold up in my admiration.

How many have been misled by that article,
if fallacious, how many would gladly adopt the
plan if safe and certain, no one can tell?

[It never seemed necessary to say anything
about the blue glass theory. Our correspondent
so fully exposed the fallacy of the figui-es on which
Gen. Pleasanton relied, that no attempt in reply
has since been made to sustain the theory ; for of
course if the results supposed to be produced by
the blue glass were not produced, it is of no
avail to discuss the theory. There is no doubt
but that excellent grapes were produced in the
grapery ; but no more excellent than others
which have been raised without blue glass. In
our opinion, much more credit was due to Mr.
Waters, the General's gardener, than to his glass.
Jjast year's gardener has not done so well, and
even blue glass has not made up for the new gar-
dener's lack of skill. Our readers will remember
in past years' volumes of the Gardener's Monthly,
that repeated accounts appeared of the wonder-

Small Conservatories. — P. R., Cincinnati,
writes : — "As one of your readers of the Garden-
er^s Monthly, please allow me to ask you a favor
through your valuable Monthly, which may at
the same time be very acceptable to others, who8e_
means like mine are but small ; yet would like
to have the pleasure of a small greenhouse, so as
to have tlowers during the long winter months.
I would like to build a small lean-to greenhouse
attached to my kitchen, for convenience during
winter, as I could enter the greenhouse by a door
from the kitchen, and likewise heat it from the
kitchen, provided, that it could be done. The
house can be about ten or eleven feet wide, the
north end joining to the kitchen, which is a frame,
with no cellar under it. The length can be six-
teen or eighteen feet, running north and south.
It must be built in the most economical way.
[N^ow how am I to go about it ? Hare I to build
of brick or wood ? If of wood, how must it be
done ? Can I heat the house from the kitchen
stove, or must I have a flue or extra furnace ?
How is this to be done ? And what will be the
best interior arrangement ? Could it also be so
arranged that I could have a few grape vines
growing in the house during summer ? And if
so, what kinds will suit best and require the least
attention, as my knowledge of grape growing is
but limited. For the practical information as
to such a house through your valuable Monthly,
I think not only I, but many others, to whom
perhaps like myself, " flowers and vines '" have
been inseparable companions during many years
of poor health will be much obliged. But thank
God my health is at present as good ns ever it

187B.

THE GARDEJ^ER^S MO XT ELY.

149

has been, and therefore I would like, if the ex-
pense and care of such a small house will allow,
to still more cultivate the acquaintance of my
dear and innocent little friends for the future."

[ For a plant house of this nature, a lean-to
structure is the best, that is, one with a single
slope from your house down. The exact form
best suited to your case could scarcely be given
without seeing the place, but we should suppose
the best thing to do would be to make the foun-
dation of stone, then about 18 inches of brick
work, and on this have upright sash of about
two feet for your small house. The glass roof
would then extend from the dwelling house down
to the top of this upright side sash. Any car-
j)enter would understand this by looking at an-
other house, of which Cincinnati will afford
examples. The inside arrangement will also de-
pend on the character of the location. The heat-
ing of these small plant houses is generally the
most difficult part of the business. It is not
often that a connection with kitchen furnaces
is satisfactory. It is best to put the plant
house in the warmest and most sheltered side of
the house ; have shutters made to put on in cold
weather, and thus made warm by coverings, the
opening of the door of the dwelling room will be
sufficient to keep the frost out. But where the
plant house is to be more than ten feet long, it is
far preferable to have a small fire grate made
purposely for it.]

Growth of Plakts in Frosty Weather.
— R. 6., Alleghany Cit'/, writes :—" Near my
stable is quite a large patch of Docks, which
have come up where an armful of stalks collected
from a meadow were thrown down a year or so
ago. The s\m shines on the ground all the fore
part of the morning. I had occasion to dig near
there recently, and found the ground frozen two
feet thick at least. During our recent warmish
weather these Docks have pushed up leaves, and
are now perhaps three inches above the ground.
Yet the ground is frozen solid. It has not thaw-
ed half an inch where these Docks are through
the grass shading the ground. How can these
tops grow as they do while the roots are thus
frozen solid ? My gardener was preparing a hot
bed near where these Docks were growing, in
order, as he says, to have '' bottom heat." But
he does not answer my question, "how do these
Docks grow without bottom heat ?" Will you
please tell us ?''

[ It is a popular fallacy that roots freeze. The

sap in plants, like the blood in animals, cannot
freeze, and the plant or animal at the same
time retain life. The Dock roots are not frozen,
though the earth all about them may be. The
internal heat of the roots thaw enough moisture
from the frozen earth to carry on growth, when
the warmth of the atmosphere excites the plant
to vigorous action. We have seen excellent
grapes forced in hot-houses when the borders out-
side in which the roots were, were frozen solid, —
just as good grapes indeed as if the borders
were not frozen.

The Gardener's Monthly has stood almost alone
in exposing this common error about roots freez-
ing and not acting in winter. You have proba
bly not been a reader "from the first," as most
of our old readers must be acquainted with this
fact by this time.

In regard to bottom heat in hot-beds, we need
not discuss that here. It has been found of bene-
fit in many instances ; but not for the reasons
usually given. It is not so much the heat as
other things.]

Swindling in New York,— The New York
papers are full of the doings of "Lafayette &
Co.," who will sell you anything the most poet-
ic fancy can desire. Our readers need no warn-
ing, as we are sure no one of them will invest in
a " blue moss rose," or any such ridiculous thing.
If they do, we have no sympathy for them. It
is however strange that a swindle so open and so
bold should be allowed to exist in New York.
Is there no room at Sing Sing ? Or what is the
matter ?

It is rather hard on our brother of the Horti-
culturist that his immediate constituents should
not be better taught than to go after these strange
srods.

Principle in Fruit Culture.— A corres-
pondent of the Fmit Jiecorder thinks the teach-
ings of the Gardencr^s Monthly contradictory,
and instances that sometimes we have recom-
mended fruit trees to be in grass, sometimes to
have them mulched, and sometimes the ground
kept surface cleaned. This is true. We have
endeavored to lead our readers to believe that
circumstances alter cases, and that there is no
rule in gardening that will always apply. But
we have been ever consistent in this, that food is
best applied near the surface ; that feeding roots
should be encouraged near the surface, and that
the surface should be cool. This is our one great
object. Consistent in this, we claim no consist-

150

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJfTHLY,

May,

eacy in the means to obtain it. "Where it is done
better by clean surface than grass, then we fayor
clean culture.

How Dew is Formed— 3/. /., TTesi Phila-
delphia, writes : — " If not troubling you with too
many questions, will you give me your opinion
of the theory advanced by Prof. Wells, that dew
IS the result of air of two temperatures meeting?
lie regards that a plant during the day becomes
heated to the same temperature as the air, and
thus the cold night air, striking against the heat-
ed leaf blade causes a dew deposit."

[ We do not know who Prof. Wells is or the
nature of the theory, but if as you say, his "the-
ory" is an absurdity. The specific heat of a
plant never changes any more than the specific
heat of an animal, unless it is diseased. Dew is
caused by the cold temperature of the night air
meeting a warmer current or strata from the
earth, which makes a small species of fog cloud,
and which deposits its condensed vapor in living
and dead things ; things of one temperature and
things of another, just as a shower of rain would
do. Dew is in fact but a minor variety of rain.
The same law operates in the one case as in the
other, only more intensely in the rain case.]

The Best Strawberry.— Jf. J5., Rodenton,
N. J., says : — " I am at a loss to know what is
the best variety of strawberry for this part of
New Jersey. The soil is a sandy clay, though
rather inclining to the latter than the former."

[ There is no more difficult question to answer
than this. The vote of the whole United States
would be in favor of the Albany Seedling. Some
becau.se it bears abundantly ; some because it
bears anywhere in sand or in clay ; and some
because the peculiar tartness when plenty of su-
gar is used with it, is agreeable to them. But
there are others who are willing to sacrifice
some of these peculiar advantages for the sake of
a large handsome berry, with a pleasing aroma
and sweeter taste. These people prefer Jucunda
or Triomphe de Gand, Napoleon III. Charles
Downing and Agriculturist also have merits
which commend them highly to various growers.
From your letter we judge you want them for
your own use and not for marketing, and some
of the last named will probably please you best.]

Double Lilac Primrose.— 3/. J., West Phi-
ladelphia, says : — " I have heard that there is a
double blue or lilac English Primroso, eimilar to

the double white, now so common in use for win-
ter flowering. Is it so, and are they for sale?"
[ It is a very old but scarce variety. We no-
tice them in Mr. Saul's Catalogue, but in no other,
though no doubt other firms have them.]

Wild Celery.— We have the following obli-
ging note from Mr. Charles E. Smith, in re-
spouse to the inquiry, what plant is it on which
the Canvass Back Duck feeds, and which im-
parts so agreeable a flavor to its flesh?

" In reply to your query in the April number
of the Gardener''s Monthly as to the name of the
plant which is called Wild Celery, and furnishes
the chief food of the Canvass Back Duck in the
waters of the Chesapeake, I have frequently
heard it said that it is Vallisneria spiralis.

It also grows in the river Delaware, where it
is generally called eel grass."

The Season in Louisiana.—/, if. iS., of
Alexandria, La., under date of April 9th, sends
us the following encouraging account of things :

Spring work very backward, from rains. No
frosts to hurt anything. Compared with last
year, there has been but a small crop of fruit set,
except the Blackberry. I refer particularly to the
Peach, Pear and Apple. These fruits are most
troubled with respectively, the worm, the blight,
and the white aphis or woolly aphis. I trim the
diseased trees severely and use wood ashes around
the collar. I have some success, for I manage
to grow some fruit, and a little is vastly better
than none.

I wish you continued, and even greater pros-
perit}'. Would be glad to receive the Monthly
every weel\

Non-Flowering of an Oleander.— 3frs.

31. T. W., Mansjield, Tioga, Oo., Pa., writes:
" Please inform me through the Monthly, how
my Oleander can be made to bloom, usually it
has a profusion of clusters of fresh young buds,
giving promise of future beauty, but there it
ends, the flowers do not appear."

[ The Oleander requires a rich soil, and a light
sunny place, with plenty of water ; but yet the
soil must allow of the water passing rapidly
away, through to the bottom of the tub or pot.
Most likely your tub is very full of roots, and the
water does not soak through ; the buds are very
likely to drop before oiiening under such circum-
stances ]

1872.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MONTHLY .

151

Plants in bloom in the Greenhouse at Rhos-
ynmynydd, the suburban residence of J. P.
Jones, Esq., Blockley, "West Philadelphia.

FEBRUARY.
Abutilon striatum, mallow (Indian),

vexillarium

Thomphsonianum
Acacia undulata

pubescens

pulchella
Ageratum coelestinum, Blue Mist

variegatum
Allium Neapolitanum, Garlic (Italian)

Azalea Chinensis 7 var.
Camellia Japonica 3 var.
Cineraria Kingii, Ragwort

Coronilla glauca varieagata, Scorpion Senna
Cuphea platycentra, Cigar Flower

Cypripedium venusta, Ladies Slipper

Erica mediterraneana, Heath

Gesnera splendens

Hyacinthus orientalis. Hyacinth

Justicia purpurea, Malabar nut

Lantana Sellowii
Lachenalia tricolor
Libonia floribunda
Lopezia rosea
Mannettia bicolor

Oxalis floribunda, Wood sorrell

Poinsetta pulcherrima
Primula sinensis, Primrose (Chinese)

alba pleno
Rosa Banksii alba, Rose

Rubus fruticosus pomponiue, Bramble

Japonica fl. pi.
Salvia coccinea, Sage (Scarlet)

splendens
gesner£eflora
Sparmannia africana
Siphocampylos bicolor

Tropseolum Lobbianum, Indian Cress

Ulex Europaeafl.pl., Furze

COLD FRAME.

Bellis perrennis, Daisy (double)

Helleborus niger, Hellebore

Viola odorata, violet (double)

purpurea pi.

Neapolitan
MARCH.
Abutilon striatum, mallow (Indian)

Thompsonianum

vexiliarium
Acacia pubescens, Wattle Tree

pulchella

undulata
Allium Neapolitanum, Garlic (Italian)

Albuca viridiflora, Star of Bethlehem (Bastar)
Alyssum maritimum, Madwort

Ageratum Coeruleura, Blue Mist

varieagata
Azalea Indica alba

ardens

Beauty of Europe

Bride

Double red

obtusa

phoenicea

Van Geertiana

Williamsii
Camellia Japonica, imbricata alba

Sarah Frost
Cineraria Kingii, Ragwort

Cuphea platycentra, Cigar flower

Cypripedium venusta. Ladies Slipper

Erica mediterraneana. Heath

Eriostemon neriifolium
Gesneria splendens

Goldfussia isophylla
Habrothamnus elegans
Hyacinthus orientalis. Hyacinth

Justicia purpurea, Malabar nut

Lachenalia tricolor

Lantana Sellowii

Libonia florabunda

Lopezia rosea

Mahernia odorata

Pelargonium quercifolium, Stork's bill
Pittosporum tobira variagata
Poinsetta pulcherrima

Primula sinensis. Primrose (Chinese)

fl. alba pi.
Reseda odorata. Mignonette

Richardia ethiopica, Lily of the Nile

major
minor
Rosa Banksii alba. Rose, Lady Banks

Rubus fruticosus pomponius. Bramble

Japonicu fl. pi.
Salvia coccinea. Sage (scarlet)

gesnersefolia
rosea
splendens
Siphocampylos bicolor
Sparmannia Africana

Tropseolum Lobbiana, (Indian Cress)

Ulex Europaeafl.pl., Furze

Crow Black Birds, (Quiscalus versicolor), ap-
peared on the 17th inst., accompanied by the

15^2

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

May,

Marsh Blackbird, (Agelaius phoeniceus), also
Robins, (Tardus migratorius), Bluebirds, (Tialis
Wilsonii), appeared in the same week about
their old breeding places.

The Snowbirds, (Niphaea hyemalis), still re-
main with us to enliven the cold winter weather
we are having, by their chuckling music as they
gather together in the evenings to roost in the
Ivy (Hedra helix) around the porch or in the
shrubbery.

Carbolic Acid Soap.— J2., Springfield, Ills.
" You will oblige an original subscriber if you
will state what you know of the efficacy of this
new article as a destroyer of insects."

[ Carbolic Acid Soap has been found a very
useful aid in destroying insects ]

Latik Names for Varieties.— yl. D. J5.,
Princeton, JV. J., says : "I wish you would
"pitch into" the florists, seedsmen, &c., in the
Monthlii. They have really mixed up names so
that it is often hard to find out whether a plant
is a species, in the ordinary acceptation of the
term, or an artificial variety. Somebody finds a
distinct form of Bouvardia among a lot of root-
cuttings, and straight way, out it comes as B.
Vfeelandii, or something else equally absurd.
There are plenty of names without touching on
Botany, but some people seem to think a thing is
nothing if not latin. Suppose the Pear " Man-
ning's Elizaljeth '' should be sent out as '■'■Pyrm
Elizahethae,'''' it would be considered as a ridicu-
lous affectation, and yet it is no more absurd than
dozens of names already in use. Add to this the
fact that in so many cases the names are misap-
plied through ignorance of latin, and the case is
still worse. I recall an instance just now.
Peter Henderson has called a Verbena, ( a very
handsome one by the by), V. monsfrosa superba,
now "monstrosus,'' does not mean "monstrous"
in one English sense of the word, but literally,
"like a monster," "unnatural," and our friend
Mr. H, certainly did not mean to call his plant
a " superb monster ;" he only wished to convey
an idea of large size. As to the binomial system,
they (florists) seem to hold it in utter contempt.
A short time since I received a package of seed,
with the following name, from England, at least
it came from there, as also the name, viz : " J}x)-
mea hederacea, alba, atrocarminea, luiea, alba.''^
His brother came with him, but he has only five
names, and so is not of much account. I planted
them in the greenhouse and they have come up,

but whether they will ever be able to climb with
such a weight is questionable."

HoRTicuLTijRE IN St. Louis.— A Corres-
pondent gives us a cheering account of the im-
proving Horticultural taste of St. Louis.

Pettigrew & Reid.— A Geneva, IIU., cor-
respondent says of these burned out Chicagoans:
"I was pleased you noticed the firm of Petti-
grew & Reid, in the last number. Now from
what I know of these men, I can safely say that
they are intelligent, sober and industrious young
men, and had a fine stock of plants before the
great fire, but everything was consumed. Now
what I want to suggest to you is this ; give a call
for aid through the Monthly to the Florists of the
country, to help to set these young men on their
feet again. A few dollars in money or plants
will not be missed out of our abundance, but will
be of great service to them."

Varieties of ScoTcn Pine— P. H. F.,
writes: " .John Gregor says, there are many va-
rieties of the Scotch Fir not to be found in the
best native woods of Scotland, as that alone is
the genuine red wood Scotch Fir. I suppose you
have Gregor's Arboriculture, and remember
what he says about it.''

[ In every location after a series of years, the
qualities of timber seems to vary, just as butter
will be better in some districts, or the flesh, of
birds and animals vary in eating qualities accord-
ing to what they feed on in the districts where
found. There is no certainty that these quali-
ties will remain long when the trees or the ani-
mal are removed to other districts. Still the
"habit '' often long continues, both in trees and
animals, and we should always prefer seed from
the best locations.!

Seedling Camellias.— 3/)-. J. Feast, BaUi-
more, writes : "I enclose a few of seedling Ca-
mellias,which perhaps may be interesting to you,
Mr. Meehan, which I would like you to see, or
any interested in plants. Having devoted much
time of over forty years to hybridizing, and per-
haps have raised more good things than any one
in this country, of difierent kinds of plants.

The cultivation of the Camellia is not general-
ly understood by any gardener in this country ;
of bestowing too much care on them. They are
the hardiest plants in cultivation, and should be
treated as such as Greenhouse plants, by keep-

1872.

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^THLY.

15S

ing at the lowest temperature ; having had my
collection frozen several times every winter, and
never loose any buds. I enclose a few leaves to
show you the healtli they are in, which same
made growth of over three feet last year in pots. "
[ These were remarkably beautiful, and excel-
lent additions to an already large list of .varieties.
In the past generation of Florists, much care was
given to raising new Camellias. It is gratifying
to note that the fire still burns.]

Large Southern Peaches.— The Baral
Carolinian has an engraving of Troth's Early
Red Peach, which is three and a half inches in
diameter This is remarkably fine, and we sup-
pose larger than the same variety can be grown
further north.

Portrait of Col. M. P. Wilder.— The Lon-
don Oardener''s Clironicle of April 6th, has an ex-
cellent portrait of President Wilder and a very
full account of his Ufe and public services. The
Chronicle could not have selected a representa-
tive Horticulturist whom Americans more de-
light to honor.

Native Plants. — 3£r, Fish, of Korth Vine-
land, says in his Catalogue : " I introduce with
pleasure the list of native plants of South Jersey,
found in the latter part of this Catalogue. Some
are rare and local ones. Many of them are Real
Gems, worthy the attention alike of the Ama-
teur Florist, and the Scientific Botanist. That
narrow prejudice which once pervaded the rural
people, and caused them to regard any tree or
plant, however beautiful, if found growing wild
as unworthy of notice for that reason alone, is
now happily nearly obsolete. And hence it is a
more favorable time than heretofore for introdu-
cing our beautifully modest and graceful, but
neglected friends. Native plants, either for use
or ornament, being adapted to our soil and cli-
mate, other things being equal, will flourish best
and give great satisfaction. It would seem that
it ought to be too late in our career as a nation
in attainments of science, art and taste, for us to
import our American plants from Europe, and
allow Eastern Florists to send us the main mass
of improved varieties in our own native Flora."

Keeping Cuttings in Ice-Houses. — A cor-
respondent says : "Is burying last year's cut-
ings for summer grafting, better than keeping
them in boxes or an ice-house ?''

[ Those referred to in our former article, kept
as well as desirable in the open ground. We
have had no experience with cuttings in ice.]

Burying Cuttings for Summer Graft-
ing.— In reference to a recent note, a corres-
pondent asks : "IIow deep must they be kept
to keep them from germinating ?"

[Those we had reference to were Pears aad
Cherries. They were buried the whole length of
the pieces, an inch or so of the tops being left
above the ground, much as a lot of grape cut-
tings would be.]

Quantity of Beets to the Acre.— A cor-
respondent of Gardener''s Chronicle says that he
grew 50 tons of Sutton's Long Red Mangel to the
acre, and that some of the roots weighed 30 lbs.
each.

Botanical Classification.— D., Philadel-
phia, says: "Will you oblige a botanical stu-
dent by recommending some recent comprehen-
sive botanical work, ( English ), which embraces
the entire vegetable kingdom, with all the latest
changes, improvements, &c., in classification and
nomenclature ?

I have both Gray & Wood's botanical works,
but they are not sufficiently comprehensive. I
have also, Paxton's Botanical Dictionary, an ex-
cellent and fiivorite work.

I have in my possession the plant Lechenaal-
tia. According to Paxton, it belongs to the or-
der Goodeniaceee ; yet neither Gray nor Wood
name the plant or even the order. The plant
Martynia, Gray and Wood call a Bignoniad, but
Paxton calls it a Pedaliad, — another order not
named by our American authors, and so in nu-
merous cases. As this leads to confusion and
uncertainty, I would like a work, which in its
classification and nomenclature, corresponds
with that adopted by Paxton in his recent dic-
tionary."

[ Baillo's History of Plants seems to be the
best accepted work on classification at present.
It is French, but a translation is now going
through the English press. Lindley's Vegetable
Kingdom is a good work of the past, still useful
in the present ; but there are so many continual
discoveries in Botany, that changes necessarily
occur, such as our correspondent speaks of, as
new facts are evolved.]

Hardiness of American Raised SEEDLoro
Arborvit.es -!/»•. P. H. Foster, Babylon^

l5Jf

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTHLy.

May,

L. /., says : " I wish to inform you, and would
like to have you publish the fact in the Garden-
er's Monthly, for the benefit of American readers,
that the Chinese Arborvitce, or Biota orienta-
lis, raised from seed grown at ray Nursery,
proves this severe winter entirely hardy, while
that from European seed is killed outright,
growing side by side in the open field. This
proves to my mind, that raising seeds of some
half hardy plants, and planting them on the same
soil, they become more hardy. The above hardy
B, O. were raised from seed of trees, of which I
planted the seed on these grounds."

Insects on Cherry Trees, — W. HE. ^Ham-
burgh, 2f. J., writes : "I am a subscriber and
constant reader of the Gardener\s Monthly. I
have a lot of various kinds of budded and graft-
ed Cherries, which are just beginning to bear,
but I fear will be killed by an insect, which com-
mences its ravages on the under sides of the
leaves, causing them first to curl, then there will
be thousands of little creeping insects, ( I call
them lice ). I notice the ant on the leaf and

around these insects. Are they the cause, and
is there any way to prevent the ant from climb-
ing the tree, or if it is not the ant that does the
harm, what is it, and is there any remedy ? Is
there any way to save the Plumb from being de-
stroyed ? In our section they get nearly full size,
then they are all stung. A gummy substance
oozes out ; they soon all drop prematurely from
the tree."

[ The insect is the Black Aphis, which has
long been a plague to many Cherry orchards in
northern New Jersey. If the trees are not very
large, they can be washed off by a strong garden
engine, and if tobacco stems have been soaked
in the water before using, all the better.

The Plums have been punctured by the Cur-
culio insect. Many remedies have been tried,
but the most successful practice seems to be the
shaking plan. Bather low trees are employed,
and one branch sawed oft' within a few inches of
the main stem, to drive a sudden blow of the
hammer on. A sheet being placed under, the in-
sects are collected after the sudden jar has been
given.]

NEW AND MRE PLANTS.

New Leaf Plants for 1871.— The Garden-
ers'' Chronicle says : In the ornamental-leaved
section of Stove plants are numerous candi-
dates for popular favor, and the following,
amongst others, seem fairly to deserve it : —
Sphaerogyne imperialis, a Peruvian plant,
which is said to be much superior to S. latifolia,
and is at any rate a noble plant, with ample fo-
liage. Paulinia thalictrifolia, a woody stove
climber, from Brazil, of quite an opposite style
of beauty, being slender in growth, with beauti-
fully cut leaves, resembling the fronds of a high-
ly-divided Maidenhair. Maranta Mazellii,
which was produced at one of our summer
shows, is a fine acquisition, in the way of M. il-
laetrus, but superior to it ; its ample rotundate,
shining leaves have two broad silvery longi-
tudinal bands. Of Dracaenas, from the South
Sea Islands we have four of great merit — D. am-
abilis, with green leaves, and pink and white
variegation, much superior to D. Guilfoylei ; D.
Wisemanni, with bronzy leaves, red at the mar-
gin, and breaking out into white variegation ;

D. magnifica, remarkably free-growing, with
erect, bronzy leaves, having a delicate pinkish
bloom on the surface ; and D. splendens, a
dense, dwarf plant, with recurved leaves, dis-
tinct in habit, the bronzy leaves breaking out
into a rich carmine-rose. Dracaena lutescens
striata, is also a distinct and elegant plant, with
bold recurved yellowish green leaves, marked by
dark green lines down the centre. Nepenthes
Sedeni, is a pretty dwarf form of Pitcher-plant
of hybrid origin, N. distillatoria being one of its
parents. Dioscorea prismatica and D. eldorado
are handsome climing stove herbs, with satiny
richly-colored foliage, the former especially
beautiful, its leaves being cordiforra, of a rich
green shaded with purple, with ivory-white ribs,
a central silvery bar, and transverse purplish
veins. Cissus albo-nitens is another graceful
stove climber. In Alocasia Marshallil we have
an improved form of jenningsii, on which the
leaves have, besides the dark blotches, a cen-
tral band of white. Xanthosoma Lindeni, a
bold plant of the same family, has large, erect.

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTHLy,

155

deep green leaves of a sagittatehastate figure
with the principal ribs and veins ivory-white.
Finally, we have to record three fine Dieffen-
bachias — D. imperialis, with very large dark
green leaves, spotted with yellow, and a pallid
midrib ; D. Bowmanni, a handsome Brazilian
species, with pale green leaves freely blotched
with deep green in a most effective way ; and D-
Bausei, of nearly the same colors, but also
spotted with white. These two are particularly
stocky, and are perhaps the best Dieflenbachias
in cultivation, D. Bausei being, moreover, an
English hybrid raised at Chiswick.

New Ferns. — Ferns have yielded little of
importance during the past year, if we except
the interminable and hard-named varieties of
British species, which we owe to the enthusiasm
of cultivators. The Dicksonia Sellowiana, how-
ever a Tree Fern of Brazil, which has found its
way to the Belgian gardens, will be a nice addi-
tion to our collections. Davallia (or Humata)
Tyermanii is a charming basket Fern, from
West Tropical Africa, its small deltoid tripin-
nate fronds and silvery-scaled rhizomes being
singularly ornamental. Elaphoglossum Herm-
inieri, christened the Eel Fern by Dr. Seemann,
from the resemblance of its clustered glossy ir-
idescent sterile fronds to clusters of silvery eels,
is a good stove basket Fern ; and Trichomanes
auriculatum is a lovely creeping stemmed hot-
house Film-fern, with transparent green narrow
bipinnatifid fronds. Asplenium marinum Thomp-
sonise and Polypodium vulgare cornubiense (or
Whytei, as it is sometimes called) may be men-
tioned as most distinct-looking bipinnatifid va-
rieties of the Sea Spleenwort and common Poly-
pody respectively, which, as is well known, are
normally pinnatifid only. — Gardeners'' Chronicle.

lanceolate leaves, and rosy-crimson flowers of
great beauty. The ranks of the Gladioli, aug-
mented a year or two since by the importation
of G. cruentus, which is now yielding the fruits
of hybridisation, have been still further strength-
ened by the acquisition of a showy yellow-
flowered species, and also of G. Saundersii, which
is very distinct and remarkably handsome, with
scarlet flowers marked with white on the lower
segments, the blossoms themselves being de-
curved. Finally, Xiphion — the genus of the
bulbous Irises, gives us two very ornamental
additions, X. filifolium, with rich violet-purple,
flowers, and X. junceum, the blossoms of which
are of a golden yellow.

New Bulbs.— Amongst Bulbs of 1871, the
Liliums take the first place— and deservedly so,
for few of our garden flowers are more beauti-
ful than they. L. Washingtonianum we have
already figured, and we shall hope to see bloom-
ing plants exibited in the ensuing summer. L.
Maximowiczii tigrinum, and L. Roezlii, two
very charming sorts— the first from Eastern
Asia, the second from the Rocky Mountains, —
we shall leave Mr. Baker to locate, being con-
tents to record the fact of their having found
their way to European collections. The South
African Gastronema sanguineum flammeum is
a charming dwarf greenhouse bulb, with linear-

New Hardy Trees.— The most distincfc
would appear to be the the Maackia amurensis*
from the valley of the A moor, which is said to
be perfectly hardy, and which forms a tree with
flexuous branches, pinnate leaves formed of 3 — 4
pairs of ovate-oblong leaflets, and small green-
ish-white flowers, in long dense, spike-like ra-
cemes. The Robinia P&eud-Acacia semperflo-
rens, if perpetual-flowering, that is, blooming on
from April till autumn, as it is stated to be, will
be a real acquisition in its class, the general
aspect of the tree resembling that of the common
Locust. The Albizzia rosea of North America
is described as a handsome and floriferous small
tree, the heads of long crimson stamens being
very conspicuous. There is also a drooping va-
riety of Purple Laburnum, Cytisus Adami pen-
dulus, which is said to resemble in habit the
weeping forms of Sophora japonica. Two very
pretty deciduous shrubs have been secured in
Cerasus Sieboldii roseo-plena and C. pendula
rosea, both Japanese, the first having long pen-
dent branches, furnished with masses of rose-
colored double flowers, the second having its
slender drooping branches clothed with a profu-
sion of delicate pink blossoms. Rhus Osbeckii,
another Japanese introduction, bears handsome
pinnate leaves, with winged rachides ; while
from China has been introduced to the French
gardens Philadelphus rubricaulis, a species re-
markable for its violet-red bark, and its yellow-
ish-white odoriferous flowers. The Japanese
Azalea (or Rhododendron) mollis promises to
yield a race of hardy Azaleas, eclipsing in beau-
ty those obtained from A. sinensis and the
North American species. It has already yield-
ed many different tints and shapes, but the ty-
pical form bears a grand broad-lobe<l flower of a

156

THE GARBE JEER'S MOJ^TRLY.

May,

golden yellow. Rosa rugosa (Regeliana), another
Japanese plant, bears corymbs of large cup-
shaped deep crimson flowers, looking like single
Paeonies. In evergreens, one of finest acquisi-
tions is Mr. Young's Juniperus chinensis aurea,
a garden sport of one of the most useful of hardy
evergreen Conifers, and diflfering in having the
branches marked with a thoroughly fixed bright
golden varegation. As a half-hardy evergreen
tree of much promise we may finally mention
Qnercus stricta, from Japan, — a tree of pyra-
midal habit, with ovate-lanceolate leaves, ob-
liquely marked with alternate bars of green and
gold. — Gardener'' s Chronicle.

According to M. Carriere Tamarix plumosa
is one of the prettiest of shrubs, the multiplicity
and the fineness of its branches giving it a most
graceful appearance, and gaining for it the com-
mon name of Marabout, in allusion to its
feathery character. The plant, he states, is
more generally called Tamerix japonica by hor-
ticulturists, but he doubts its being of Japanese
origin, and thinks it more probably originated
from a sport of T. indica, which assumed a pe-
culiar manner of growth, and has since retained
it. It is as hardy as T. indica, and its culture
and multiplication are identical ; moreover,
years before T. japonica was heard of, this T.
plumosa was well known, branches of it having

been cut from a stock found under some large
trees, in the ancient nursery of Luxemburg, at
Paris. After all, this question is secondary from
a garden point of view, the important fact, being
that the plant is specially meritorious.

Madia radiata is a pretty annual recently
described by Dr. Kellogg, in Proceedings Cali-
fornia Academy. The plant grows about three
feet high, with succulent leaves about three to
*six inches long. The flowers (aster-like) are in
loose corymbs, each flower 1:^ to 2 inches wide.
The color is not stated.

Arisema Ringens. — A correspondent of the
Gardener'' sChronide writes : How rarely we meet
with that beautiful and extremely curious foli-
age plant — Arisema ringens. Its trifoliolate
foliage is born ou stout fleshy stalks, and the
shining green leaflets are ovate cordate, and very
much acuminate, with a marginal vein as in
most other Arads. As a stove foliage plant it is
admissible into the most select collection. It«
spathes are curiously bent over the spadix,
something like a pastoral crook, and are in-
teresting, though one has to stoop and peep
under the foliage in order to see them ; and then
in general appearance they somewhat resemble
the Californian Pitcher plant, being rounded
and semi-translucent.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Lima Beaxs Without Poles.— Poles or
stakes in many places are hard to get, and thus
many arc deprived of this delicious vegetable for
want of means to roi.se them. Some years ago it
was proposed, in order to do away with the ne-
cessity for poles, to lay brush wood ou the ground,
and let the vines run over it. This plan, though
reported favorably on at the time, has never be-
come popular. Now we see that a Michigan
gentleman has discovered that by cutting off" all
the vines, or slender twining branches, the plant
soon loses the disposition to climb up poles, and
remains a thick-set bush, bearing as abundant-
ly as if thej"^ were trained in the usual way.

It seems scarcely probable that they would
bear quite so freely Perhaps this is tinged a
little with the enthusiasm of success ; for it is in-
deed a great success if this great trouble of vege-

table growers, the bean pole, can be dispensed
with. One can spare a few beans willingly, if
the facts are even nearly as represented. — Week-
ly Press.

Influence of Ammonia on the Color of
Flowers. — An experiment was lately made by
Vogel upon the influence of ammonia upon the
colors of flowers, in which eighty-six species and
varieties were exposed, under a glass bell, to a
mixture of sal-ammoniac and lime-water, the
fresh flowers being placed at the same height in
all the experiments. As a general result a differ-
ence was appreciable between the action of the
gas upon the colored matter deposited in gran-
ules, and that forming a solution, the eff'ect being
much less in the former than in the latter. In
most cases the changes produced agreed dosely

1872.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^THLl,

157

with those which the coloring matter of the flow-
ers passed through in the course of withering ;
and even in natural withering and fading there
is the same difference to be observed between the
soluble colors and the granules. — Beport of De-
partment of Agriculture.

A Bug-Proof Potato.— A seedsman is ad-
vertising that he has a potato ' ' which is as near-
ly bug-proof as a potato can be. " This has allu-
sion to the celebrated Colorado potato bug, which
has wrought such terrible havoc on the potato
fields of the west, and will no doubt be here be-
fore a couple of years or so pass over us. It
seems strange at first thought that a potato bug
will not eat any kind of potato as well as another;
but it is really so, that they have a preference
for some varieties. In Illinois, the writer once
saw a quantity of potatoes set out for experi-
ment, one row each of many kinds. Some of
these rows had the bugs as thick as blackberries
along their whole length, while neighboring rows
had none. It is astonishing how soon these vo-
racious beetles will strip a row of foliage. But
though they have a choice they are by no means
particular. They act on the principle usual with
human mortals, that a crust of bread is better
than none, and as soon as their first choice is
gone, readily take to the second and devour that
too. Starvation is not in their creed. A bug-
proof potato is therefore not in the bills. If one
has but a single kind, and no choice, it will go
the way of all the rest. — Weekly Press.

Speedy Growth of Radishes.— In the pub-
lications of the Acclimatization Society of Paler-
mo, we are informed that radishes may be ob-
tained at any season, and very quickly, in the
following manner : The seeds are to be first
soaked for twenty-four hours and then placed in
bags and exposed to the sun. They will begin
to germinate in about twenty-four hours, and
are then to be set in a box filled with well-manu-
red earth, and moistened from time to time with
lukewarm water. In five or six days the radish-
es will attain the size of a small onion. To grow
radishes in winter the box is to be placed in a
warm cellar, covered with a top, and the earth
moistened from day to day with lukewarm water.
— Report of Department of Agriculture.

omy and social science, gave a valuable hint
during a recent discussion of the British Asso-
ciation upon the "Germ Theory," in which she
showed its bearing upon the making of preserves?
and keeping mold from settling on the jam. Ac-
cording to the old practice of leaving the pots
uncovered for several days' time was allowed for
the germs in the atmosphere to descend and set-
tle on the jam, which was a capital soil, and the
result was a plentiful crop of mold. She there-
fore advised the ladies in the section, when ma-
king preserves, to cover up the pots while the
sweetmeats were in a heated condition.— De-
partment of Agriculture Beporls.

The Jujube (Zizyphus Sativa).— The Ju-
jube is a native of the East Indies, and was ori-
ginally called by the botanist Malus Indica or
India apple.

The trees are of medium size, seldom growing
more than twenty-five or thirty feet high. They
have very crooked branches, covered with long
recurved thorns, and a foliage of dark, shining
green. In their native country the trees bloom
in January or February, and the fruit ripens in.
June and July.

Fruit oblong, of a brownish color, and about
one inch in length, containing one seed, some-
what resembling that of the date. It is esteem-
ed delicious, being of a most pleasant sub-acid^
It dries readily, and can thus be preserved with
but very little trouble.

The Jujube has been cultivated to a limited
extent in the Southern Atlantic and Gulf States.
It will prove hardy wherever the orange can be
grown, and should be more extensively cultiva-
ted.— Rural Carolinian.

Application of the Germ Theory to ma-
king Preserves. — Miss Lydia Becker, al-
though best known as a writer on political eeon-

JUGLANS RUPESTRIS, — THE SmALL FrUITED

Black Walnut.— Near Austin, and north-
ward from here throughout a large portion of
Western Texas, this tree grows along the gravel-
ly borders of streams. It is of low, spreading
habit, rarely more than two feet in diameter,
with a height of from forty to fifty feet. Bark of
the trunk and larger limbs dark gray and slight-
ly furrowed, the smaller branches smooth and
rather slender. The wood is very similar in ap-
pearance to that of the common Black Walnut
but is hai'der and finer grained ; whenever large
enough, being excellent for furniture, and sus-
ceptible of a high polish, being more beautiful
than the common Black Walnut. Leaves from
nine to thirteen-paired, generally opposite, but

lo8

THE GARDE J^ER'i^ MOJ^TRLY.

May,

fiometimes alternate'^towards the terminal one ;
the mid-rib and leaf-stems somewhat pubescent ;
rachis not channeled above. Its fruit is globu-
lar and has a long style ; the entire fruit, with
the husk, being only about one inch and a half
Jn diameter. The shell is very thick and hard,
kernel small and edible, but of very little value
in a country abounding in Pecans, which are su-
perior to it in every respect.

This species of Walnut was first discovered, a
few years ago, by Dr. Englemann, of St. Louis.
It is thought by some to be a mere variety of the

-common Black "Walnut [Juglaixs nigra), to which
jt has a striking resemblance. It is hardly
worthy of cultivation, because its fruit is of little
value. In general appearance it is similar to

■ both the Pecan and Black Walnut, both of which
are more profitable for cultivation, because they
grow larger and have more valuable nuts, and
also they are fully equal to it for ornamental
purposes, hence the Juglans ri/j)esir2S will be
rarely grown except in arboretums. The largest
trees we have found of it were only two feet in
diameter, and such specimens are very rare. — S.
B. Buckley, in Our Home Journal.

COTiNirs Americanus.— This rare tree was
first discovered by the" English botanist, Nuttall,
in the Autumn of 1819, in Arkansas, on the high,
broken, calcanous, rocky banks of the Grand
river, a large tributary of the Arkansas, at a
place then known to the voyagers by the name of
" Eagle's Nest.'' In this rocky situation, it did
not rise beyond the height of a shrub, and had a
yellow, close grained, fragrant wood.

Nuttall afterwards described it, and he also
has given a figure of a fruiting specimen in the
fifth volume of the North American Sylvan, page
70.

In the month'of March of 1841, when on a bo-
tanical tour, we found this Cotinus on the hills
south of Huntsvllle, in Alabama, just before ar-
riving at the ferry across the Tennessee Eiver.

It was there, a large shrub in flower and fruits
the long hairs of its infertile panicles giving it a
gay and beautiful appearance, resembling mucli
the Venetian sumac or smoke tree, ( Bhus coti-
nus ), common in cultivation. It was very com-
mon among the rocks near the summit of the
hill just before we descended into the river valley.
Northeast of Huntsville, on our way to Salem,
in Tennessee, soon after crossing the State line,
we stopped at a farm house and spent part of a
day in the woods, where we again saw the Large
Leafed Cotinus as a small tree, some of the
largest about a foot in diameter, and from
twent-five to thirty feet high, the bark of the
trunk and larger limbs of a light grey, rough and
furrowed. We ascended one of the trees after
specimens, and found the branches very brittle
and easily broken, the broken stems exuding a
yellow sap and a strong odor, which to us was
not pleasant, although described as fragrant by
Nuttall, but the difference may have been caused
by the season— he found it in the Fall and we in
the early Spring, when the sap flowed freely.
On the trees in Tennessee, its leaves were large,
some being six inches in length by three and
four in width, smooth, and of a light green above,
paler beneath, and pubescent along the veins.
We think this tree has not been noticed by any
botanist except as we have stated— hence it must
be very rare and local in its habitat.

We prefer the old generic name, Cotinus, of
Tourneport, instead of Rhus, from which genus
it is easily recognized by all observers. In many
instances, we have genera established on less
marked distinctions. We hope, ere long, that
this tree will be introduced into cultivation. A
"smoke tree" twenty-five or thirty feet high,
would be a great acquisition, and present a sin-
gularly beautiful appearance, covered with its
delicate, hairy panicles. It would be hardy
throughout a large portion of the United States.
— S. B. Buckley, in Bura.l Alabamian.

POJIEIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Catalogue of Lilies.— The following list of j albanicum,
the varieties cultivated in Europe, we give from andinum,
the Gardener's Chronicle. It will be very useful | angustifolium,
to those now numerous, who are making collec- ! atromaculatura,
lions of this beautiful family : 1 atrosanguiueum,

medeoloides,

Metzii,

Michauxii,

Miller!,

minus,

1872.

TUJ£ GARDEjYEWiS MOJS'TRLY .

159

aurantiacum,

auratum,

autumnale,

avenaceum,

Batisua,

Broussartii,

Brownii,

hulbiferum,

Buschianum,

byzantinum,

calhsum,

canadense,

candidum^

carniolicum,

carolinianum, Cat.^

caroUnianum, Mich.,

Gatanii,

Catesbm,

chalcedonicum,

chalcedonicum,

citrinum,

colchicum,

columbianum,

concoZor,

cordifolium,

Coridion,

croceura,

dalmaticum,

davuricura,

Dexteri,

excelsum,

eximium,

flavum,

formosissimum,

formosum,

Fortunei,

giganteum,

glabrum,

hsematochroum,

Hartwegii,

hirsututn,

Hookeri,

Humboldtii,

isabellinum,

Jamajuri,

japonicuvi,

lancifolium,

lancifolium, Ilort.,

latifolium,

Leichtlinii,

linifoliutn,

Loddigesianutn,

longiflorum^

maculatum,

monadelphum,

nanum,

neilgherrense,

neilgherricum,

nepalense,

odorum,

pardaliaum,

Partheneion,

parviflorum,

parvum,

penduliflorum,

pendulum,

pennsylvanicum,

peregrinum,

philadelphicum,

polyphyllum,

pomponium,

pomponium, Thunh.

ponticum,

pseudo-tigrinum ,

puberulum,

pubescens,

puldiellum,

pumilum,

punctatum,

pyrenaicum,

roseum,

rubrum,

sanguineum,

Sayii,

Schrymakersii,

sinicum,

speciosum,

speciosum, Andr.,

spectabile, Link.,

spectabile, Salish.,

staininosum,

superbum, L.

supbei'bum, Thunb.,

Szovitsianum,

Takesima,

Tametano,

tenuifolium,

tesiaceum,

Thomsonianuiu,

Thunbergianum,

tigriniim,

triceps,

tubiflorum,

umbellatuiu,

venustum,

vestalis,

vitellinum,

Walkeri,

maculatum, Hort.,
marmoratum.
Martagon,
Maximowiczii.

Wallicbiauum.
Waskingtonian urn
Wilsoni,
Wittei,

Florists' Floweks.— The group of flowering
plants staged by Messrs. Standish & Co., of
Ascot, at the meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural
Society ou March 6, deserved something more
than a mere passing notice, because of the Cine-
rarias contained in it. While I was standing
by this group of plants I noticed that of the na-
merons visitors who crowded the room on that
day, by far the greater portion who passed by
this group of plants were at once attracted by the
rich coloring of these attractive Cinerarias.
They were certainly very striking, and had
finely-formed and very stout florets, though these
were somewhat too much reflexed to pass muster
under the rigid rules of the Properties of Flowers.
They were full of interest for lovers of a very
useful spring-flowering plant, which has been
well described by Glenny as a "singularly beau-
tiful subject."

Out of some 10 or 12 named varieties exhibited
on this occasion, there were a few deserving a
record. The flowers were all of dark colors,
and in most cases there was the presence of a
circle of bright color next the marginal hue,
which has induced Messrs. Standish &Co., to
designate their strain " tricolored " Cinerarias.
The best flowers were Kev. B. K. W. Pearse, the
margin of bright purple shaded with narrow
white ring round the disc, the florets very stout
but much reflexed ; Kev. E. Everest, margin of
dark purple, with a bright magenta ring next
it, and a just perceptible white ring round a pale
disc ; Incomparable, margin of very bright pur-
ple, with narrow white circle and pale disc, a
large and bold flower, but much reflexed ; En-
terprise, rich fiery magenta margin, a very
handsome glow of color, pale disc, with a nar-
row white ring round it, a large and well-formed
flower ; Clipper, dark purple margin, pale disc,
and narrow white ring, a stout and handsome
flower ; and Charmer, broad margin of bright
purple shaded, and fier}^ red ring round a dark
disc, a showy flower.

Some years ago a writer on the Cineraria
stated :— " It will be recollected that this very
beautiful plant has a small starry flower, with
narrow petals, projecting outwards, all around a
yellow disc, such petals being pointed or notched.
Hitherto, if a new color or an unusual size has

leo

THE GARBEJSTER'S MOJVTHLY.

May,

been attained, it has been considered a justifica-
tion to name the plant, and send it out as a new
one. All this maj be very well for a time, but
the period has arrived when some regard should
be paid to the form and habit of a new variety,
and the properties may be summed up in a few
words.'' Subsequently the Cineraria became
greatly improved both in the form and habit of
the new varieties, and for a time this flower oc-
cupied a no inconsiderable position in the esti-
mation of florists. Then came a time when the
Cineraria declined in popularity, and now
named varieties are rarely met with. It is one
of the characteristics of the present time that
neglected plants should again be brought promi-
nently forward, and be more gladly welcomed than
many newer plants of greater pretentions ; and
who knows but the same good fortune may be in
store for the now somewhat neglected Cineraria.
jR. D., (Jardener'.s Chronicle.

Zonal Pelargoniums as Standauds.—
With all due deference to Mr. Grieve, I think
these are great mistakes. The plants themselves
rebel against this form. The majority of those
I have seen show much iron and wood, and but
poorly formed heads. They look most unhappy
objects, and seem to beseech every pas ser-by to
serve them as Mr. Croucher does his prickly
Aloes when they need potting — run a knife
through their neck, and set the head on the
ground. I difler in toto from your correspondent
in this matter. Better, a thousand times better,
flat beds of even forced beauty, than cold or
ragged-headed Pelargoniums set up on or in iron
cages. Even if the heads are good, as they are
now and then, they seem incongruous. Pyramid-
al Pelargoniums are passible and very effective
when done, but standards of the commoner stifi"-
growing kinds are not to be recommended. The
Ivy-leaved kinds, grafted high on strong-
stemmed seedlings, would form elegant objects.
But even these are seldom done well. The other
varieties, unless cradled in iron, are almost sure
to be smashed by the wind. There are abun-
dance of other plants for breaking the monotony
of flat floral surface to be preferred to standard
Pelargoniums ; such for instance, as Ilumeas,
Fuchsias, Palms, Yuccas, Aloes, Cannas, 'Pam-
pas-Grass, &c. These and many other plants
bring grace and variet}', but standard Pelargo-
niums, if ever so well done, only make formality
more formal. — Oh^(rver.

Ar AUG ARIA IJIBRICATA AT BiCTON.— It may

be interesting to your readers to hear something
about the Araucarias at Bicton in the present
year. From two trees in the Araucaria avenue
we have already gathered upwards of five hun-
dred perfect seeds, a specimen of which is en-
closed, and from several other trees, on which
the cones are not yet ripe, we may safely calcu-
late on securing at least five hundred more.
The cones from which the produce here stated
was taken averaged fifty perfect seeds to each ;
it may therefore be inferred that the Araucaria,
when it arrives at maturity, will be a most pro-
ductive tree.

There are in the nursery here only thirty
plants averaging 1 foot in height which have
been raised from seeds ripened at Bicton ; and
three others that were some years since planted
in the pinetum average 1 foot 6 inches high.
From the above data it is presumed that the
Araucarias at Bicton have produced ver^' few
seeds in former 3'ears.

When writing on this subject it may be worth
recording that the last year's seeds of PiceaNord-
manniaua, P. Pinsapo, P. amabilis, and many
other good species have germinated very freely
here this season ; it is therefore hoped that
those to whom my noble employer requested
me to send a supply have been equally success-
ful.— R. Begbie, in London Journal of Horticul-
ture.

MoviNo AND Replanting Trees, though
the leather was anything than suitable for the
work. The trees had received no previous prep-
aration, and therefore required much root-
tracing. I would tell those contemplating such
work, unless provided with very eflicient machi-
nery, the moving of fine trees with boles ranging
from 12 to 15 and 18 inches in diameter will but
rarely be very satisfactory, as for several years
they merely exist before beginning to grow freely
again. AV'ith younger trees, the diameter of
whose bole ranges from 4 to 8 inches, the work
is comparatively light, and after the first year
the trees will soon get over the check and grow
away freely. Without previous preparation
much of the success will depend on the careful
tracing of the roots and the packing of them
well. The soil is just rather wot for packing,
and it is as well in such changeable weather not
to have the holes made long before they are
wanted. -£2x/mZ<)»i Journal of UorticuHure.

.>?Kf5i>?"

m^^i^ab^maa^^ta j.*^.^'>w>i.*''a^>:

^

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. JUYEJ; 1872.

New Series, Vol. V. No. fi.

HINTS fO^ JUNE.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUXD.

Towards the end of June propagation by bud-
ding commences. This is very commonly em-
ployed with the rose ; but ornamental trees and
shrubs may be increased in the same way.
Closely allied species must be chosen to work
together.

The Mannetti stock suckers so much that it
has been found a pest rather than an advanta-
geous stock on which to bud the rose ; but
yet budding is so useful, giving us a chance
to disseminate rare kinds freely and cheaply,
that some stock has to be employed. The favor-
ite of the English, the Dog Rose, is wholly un-
suited to our climate. The Prairie Roses have
Tjeen found excellent stocks. Other roses take
well on them, and they do not sucker much. It is
old, very hardy, and it promises to be a very pop-
ular stock for rare roses.

The Rose bugs are apt to be very annoying at
some seasons. The best remedy is to shake them
off into a pail of water. The Rose slug is often
very injurious to the leaves — completely skeleton-
izing them. All kinds of rapid remedies have
been proposed— whale oil, soap, petroleum, &c.,
but the best thing of all is to set a boy to crush
them by finger and thumb. It is astonishing
how rapidly they are destroyed by this process.
This is true of most of the larger insects. Hand
picking or crushing is by far the best remedy.

Peg down Roses where a heavy mass of flow-
ers is desired. The side shoots push more freely
for this treatment.

Cut oft' the flowers of roses as they fade, — the
second crop will be much better for the atten-

tion. Seeds of all flowering plants should b3 al-
so taken off"; 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 layers.
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
ihe ends before using, when they will last for
years.

Elower-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 llower-beds often ; but do it throughly
when it is done. See that the water does not
run off, but into and through the soil.

Mow lawns often, if you would have them
green and velvety. Keep the scythe sharp ;
usually mowers do not use the grindstone often
euough. Common farm scythes are not fit for
lawn use ; rivetted, and short scythes are the
kind to get. If a lawn is mowed often, the
grass need not be clean, — the sappy blades soon
wither, and make a manure for the roots. The
longest should be raked off, or the lawn will have
a littery appearance. Where lawn mowers are
used, take care not to cut too close, or weeds will
jjrow and the grass will be killed out.

162

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLlL.

Jiinef

FRUIT GARDEN.

Watch newly planted fruit trees. If they have
but a few weak leaves ouly, it shows the roots
have been injured ; then prune them severely,
which will make them grow freely. It should be
a main object to make all transplanted trees not
merely have leaves, but have new shoots at the
earliest possible moment. If they are i^rowing
very well, they may be allowed to perfect a few
fruits. Overbearing on a newly planted tree is,
however, one of the best ways of making it stunt-
ed for years.

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 surface 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, we think, the ])e3t thing to catch
them.

Gooseberries should have the soil, and even
the plants, if it were practicable, shaded a little.

Thin out fruit buds ; overbearing is one of the
great causes of fruit failures. Under glass the
gardener knows this. He cuts away half his
bunches, and thins out half his berries ; but few
carry this excellent practice to the trees in the
open air.

We again i-eport the advice to trap insects
with wide mouthed bottles filled with sweet
liquid.

■ ^*w*

VEGETABLE GARDENS
Peas for a Fall crop may be sown. It is, how-
ever, useless to try them unless in a deeply trench-
ed soil, and one that is comparatively cool in the
hottest weather overhead, or they will certainly
mildew and prove worthless. In England where
the atmosphere is so much more humid than
ourp, they neverthelc-s have great difficulty in

getting fall Peas to go through free from mildew;
and to obviate these drying and mildew-produ-
cing influences, they often 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, alse requiring an abundance of ma-
nure to insure much success. Lettuce, where
salads are much in request, may yet be sown,
Tbe 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
weather.

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 wa»
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 the 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 have
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 trellisses
recommended, will be found to do best on stakes
tied up singly. It is best to plant a strong pole
as for Lima Beans, with the plants when first
set out, and tie up as they grow. Marketmen
generally let them grow as they will, on tbe
ground, which, perhaps, although not yielding
as much, costs less labor, 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 <: rowing

187'^.

THE GARDEA''ER'S MOM'TRLy.

16S

fast they get ahead of the ravages of the fly. Ma-
nures 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 tliey run,
which will weaken the main crop of roots. They
should 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 pa-
per, and stow away in cupboards or drawers, —
the last mode is by far the cleanest and most ap-
proved plan with the best housekeepers. Some,
indeed, powder the leaves at once after drying,
and put them away in bags, ready for use.

COMMUNICATIONS.

ABOUT TUBEROSES.

BY MR. ClIAS. T. STARR, AVONDALT5, PA.

Now I have a little practical experience to com-
municate to my fellow readers of the Gardener''s
Montfily, in relation to the " Tuberose." I have
been growing them to some extent for the past
three seasons, having grown some 25,000. Well,
my experience thus far gives me most satisfac-
tory results from three year old bulbs, they having
produced two, three and four spikes from the one
large bulb, the past season, and also the flowerets
were unusually large and flue. Be it understood
that these bulbs were grown in the open truck
field, in beds of four rows each, one foot apart
each way, with a two foot walk between the beds.
Now it seems that the Tuberos?, when flowered
among other plants, in the flower-bed, border or
in pots, is rendered worthless for future flower-
ing, by its not getting leaf growth enough to
build up the new side bulb that will form along-
side the flower stalk, if it is planted in the pro-
per place and condition that field culture gives.
Now where the bulbs are kept in quantity in a
greenhouse, in the spring there will always be
some with black instead of green germs, these
black ones will not flower that season ; but plant
them out 10 by 12 inches in beds the same as on-
ions or beets are grown in this latitude, about
the middle of May, and they will make bulbs that
will produce from two to five splendid spikes the
next season, at least such has been my experi-
ence. The tuberose bulb will flower indefinite-
ly if kept in its proper growing state ; the bulbs
that are planted out May loth, will make its
first flower spike about September 1st, and in one
month another spike will follow, and these may

be taken up just before frost, potted in 7 or 8
inch pots and put in greenhouse, where they will
flower about Christmas, if the necessary heat
and moisture is oriven them.

CIRCULATION OF HOT WATER.

BY X. F. F., WAVERLY", MD.

I notice in the February number of the Month-
ly,a short article by Mr. Wm. Saunders, on"Heat-
ing by Hot Water.'' I have not the most remote
idea of criticising said article, nor of pitting my
limited knowledge against the practical skill of
Mr. Saunders ; I am, nevertheless, free to say
that I do not see the matter in exactly the same
light in which Mr. S. sees it. Heating by Hot Wa-
ter is certainly one of the most simple methods of
heating known to science; so simple, in fact, that
many will not understand it. I am, however,
unable to discover what, if any, advantage exists
in the system proposed by Mr. S. Having the
past autumn fitted up a small apparatus, consist-
ing of a little less than 200 feet of 4 inch piping,
the highest point in the flow is 20 feet from the"
boiler, but do not think it is any way preferable
to the old system. Having carefully wrought
the apparatus myself during the winter ; also
changed the level of the pipes several times du-
ring that period, and if it were convenient, would
now fix them with the highest point at the ex-
treme end of the flow and keep them so.

" Water does not naturally flow up hill,'' true,
but when inclosed in air tight tubes, and heat
applied at the lowest point, perhaps it is not ex-
actly in a natural condition. Of course the na-
tural condition of water, like all other inert mat-
ter, is rest, and to overcome this, inertia force

16J^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

June J

must be used, which in the case in question is
heat, and the motion of the water is by expan-
sion ; is it of any consequence whether the ex-
pansion be vertical or horizontal ?

I have never had a case of bad circulation even
in the most complicated arrangement, and could
never detect any difference in the circulation,
whether the water has had to flow from the base-
ment to the attic of a lofty building, or in heat-
ing a range of glasshouses, where the highest
point of several hundred feet of piping has been
but a short height above the boiler. So well sat-
isfied had I become of this fact, that I had re-
solved in my mind to carry the flow pipe as
direct as possible from the boiler to the highest
point to be heated, should I again have to put up
a hot water apparatus for a lofly building. But
so much has been written of late to simplify (?)
the matter, that I would be in somewhat of a
quandary as to where to fix the boiler, — whether
midway from the bottom to the top, or as hither-
to in the lowest point. I have one other ques-
tion to ask.

Suppose that in fitting up hot water apparatus,
say a thousand feet to one boilei-, and that it is
not necessary to sink the flow below the level of
the boiler in auy part for any purpose, as in pass-
ing a doorway, &c., a rise of 1 inch in 25 feet
would be sufficient, or 20 inches rise in 500 feet,
would it require less fuel to rai.«e the water in
this thousand feet of pipe to the boiling point
than it would if the rise were confined to the 20
feet of flow next the boiler, and the fall equall}^
distributed throughout the remaining 9S0 feet of
piping ? I think it would not, but am anxious
to obtain information.

[ Are not our correspondents confounding two
distinct things ? Expansion and circulation are
surely not the same.— Ed.]

«•••*

HORTICULTURE ABOUT TROY, N. Y.

BY PILOT.

I have been reading over the back volumes of
the MontMy, and found a mark put in at page
338, 1870, where you sa}' " it may have been our
misfortune in not finding the right places, or in
not inquiring of the right parties.'' Just so, if
you had inquired of the right parties ; but how
would you know who the right parties were ? I
am somewhat acquainted with the gardening
fraternity in and around Troy, and can name
some of the persons at least, who would have
piloted you willingly to have seen the gardens.

I will do what I can to erase from your memory
that there are no flower sales, for there is Pfordfc,
a German, from Albany Co., comes twice a week
in pleasant weather in summer, sometimes with
two wagons, and stands on the corner in front of
the Fulton Market ; and Aukam, also a German,
lives a little north-east of the city, in Rensselaer
Co., has a city store on Federal street ; and Da-
vidson, at South Troy, has a place of sale at
Knowlson's Drug Store, on Second street, near
the Troy House; and Menand, of Albany, Co.,
has a stand in the summer at Shelden's Drug
Store, on River street, where orders are taken,
and flowers and plants are kept for sale. It is
well worth a jaunt from Philadelphia to Troy for
any one having leisure and money to spend, in
traveling, to take the street cars on River street
going south, and go on and on, over bridges and
turns across the railroad tracks to what is called
the Nail Factory, or South Troy, until you come
to the end of the horse railway, and tlie begin-
ing of the iron works, here you will have to as-
cend a long gradual rising hill, to the right of
which is nothing but a mass of iron works, belch-
ing forth their flames and smoke, the like you might
imagine by looking down from Fairmount Park
at one point, into the valley below, and imagine
a sea of fire, smoke and smut ; but I have di-
gressed, it was not the iron works you tried to
see, but go on up the hill, over bridges, &c., and
inquire for Mr. Davidson, the florist, you will
find him in the most romantic spot 5'ou can wish
for, but the last place you would expect to find a
professional florist. I suppose he settled here,
most likely, to be near his old emplo3-er, the el-
der Mr. Burden, who being attracted by the su-
perior water-power, settled here, and Mr. David-
son coming from Scotland with him as gardener,
looks upon his place as one of his own creation ;
here you will find some one to pilot you to see
other places as well, for they are plenty about
here. There are two more gardens on Congress
street.

I will mention a few names of gentlemen liviug
in and around Troy, that you can apply ta in
case you should pass this way ; Henry Warren,
seed and agricultural store, foot of Grand Divi-
sion street; Wrn. Bull, of Green Island; R. S.
Munn, North Troy; or come to this place, and I
will see that you have a pilot. How is it I never
knew about such a meeting at that time in Troy?
I certainly must have overlooked it if it was ever
published in the Monthhj; but I suppose the ladies

187B.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^THLY.

165

were not admitted, if so, I should have been there,
had I have known it.

[ A large number of ladies were elected mem-
bers of the American Association at the Troy
meeting. This is not the first scolding we re-
ceived because we said the editor found no Hor-
ticulturists about Troy. The publishers retorted
that it was his own fault,— if he had taken the
trouble to look over the subscription books be-
fore he started, he would have found many of
them. We hope to profit by these lectures.-ED.]

THE CEPHALOTAXUS.

BY MR. JOSIAH HOOPES, WEST CHESTER, PA,

In the Oardener's Monthly for November, the
editorial remarks on the " Fields Collection " of
Conifers, is exceedingly interesting, and should
prove an incentive to others who have the means,
to go and do likewise. In the allusion to C. dru-
pacea, it is stated that the plants are now in fruit,
which was to be expected, as plants of an}' size
for years have shown female flowers ; but an
agreeable surprise and confirmation of previous
surmise, has lately been afforded me, by a large
plant of C. Fortunii producing a fine crop of fruit
also. This plant in the fine collection of Jacob
P. Jones, Esq., near Philadelphia, has dissipated
the doubts as to this species being specifically dis-
tinct from C drupacea, by its splendid, large pur-
ple drupes. Most foreign writers and nursery-
men still classify C drupjacea as the female form,
and C. Fortunii as the male, of one and the same
plant ; but years ago I detected female flowers
on the latter plant, and hence described it as a
species in the "Book of Evergreens." In this
view I was preceded by other writers, who held
the same opinion, but as the proof is now^ entire-
ly full, each must take its proper position in a
scientific classification. Whilst on this subject,
allow me to correct a mistake in the name of the
genus, as recorded by myself in my published
work. I there state that the name of the genus
is derived from "ITep/iaZe,'' a head, and "iax/s,"
arrangement. The latter should read "taxus,"
the Yew ; literally, a Yew with the flowers in
clusters

PEAR CULTURE-THE LARCH.

BY EDWARD H. SMITH, SUSPENSION BRIDGE,
NEW YORK.

I have a great number and a great variety of
Pears under my charge. The majority of them
look thrifty and well and most of them well load-

ed with fruit ; but as recently mentioned in the
Monthly, many did not blossom, and they are
among the healthiest looking. In my case they
are the most thrifty growers in the garden. They
are on quince, — a grand mistake, all thrifty and
fast grovvers should have a chance to extend
thejiselves. Put them on standards and graft
above ground ; thin out the tree and admit the
sun and air from the first start, but do not cut
back,— cut out all together. Do not let more
limbs grow than wanted, and thus, as Mr. Cap-
ron says, by the renewal system, we may over-
come much that is wrong about the Pear.

Really it is a pity to see fine pear trees that
ought to bear, fruitless ; and by mutilation and
striving to dwarf that which will not be dwarf-
ed, they will grow in spite of all but three or four
long, soft limbs only, in place of the one fine
healthy one. The trees are so thick in head and
crowded by this cutting back, that there is not
sap sufficient for fruit. These are the trees that
suffer much from lightning I cut out all dead
limbs among the first thing after I took these
trees in charge, and gave them a good thinning.
The first storm in spring was a thunderstorm.
The next day I cut out many limbs to all appear-
ance quite dead, in leaves and wood. We have
had many storms since, after which limbs and
fruit would be withered and black. I have cut
all out, but I never noticed this before. Another
thing, it is not good to graft the pear on the
quince below ground. I find at the union of both
that insects of all kinds make their nest there,
and seriously damage the trees.

One word to H. A. J., Chicago, 111., about the
English Larch. I planted many larch trees in
England, and cut the same for ladders and fence
rails inside of 20 years. The best situation is
hill, mountain rocks and stony uplands. I have
seen thousands planted in stones, with no soil to
speak of

CLIMBERS GROWK AS TREES AND
SHRUBS.

BY WALTER ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER,
PHILADELPHIA.

Wisteria sinensis can be so trained as a small
tree supporting itself. One of the best specimens
we have ever seen, is growing upon the pleasure
grounds of " Bloomsdale,'" where David Lan-'
dreth & Sons grow their field and garden seeds.
It is a straight, erect tree, thirty-five feet high ;
as well branched and symmetrical in form as a
well grown Cronus florida, and when clothed

166

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^TBL^

June,

with its gorgeous ttorescence of pale blue, is sur-
passingly oinamental and highly odoriferous.
The stem is 8 inches in diameter.

Wisteria frutescence is often grown as a dwarf
weeping tree, with a bare stem four to six feet,
and branches on top hanging down very grace
fully ; the stem grows four inches in diameter.
When the tree is covered with its blossoms of
deep purple, it is a real beauty.

There are four other i^pecies of Wisteria, sinen-
sis alba, white blooms ; frutescence alba, white
blooms ; Brachyb6tria, blooms redish purple ;
and Ifagnifica, blooms clear lilac,— all may be
trained as trees.

Japan Honeysuclle, trained upon a post six feet
high, will form an evergreen bush seven feet
high, with broad shining foliage, and when cloth-
ed with its florets of white, is as beautiful as it
is fragrant. A real ornamental weeping shrub.

Chinese Honeysuckle, needs a post four feet
high, and forms a very beautiful and fragrant
evergreen weeping shrub, five feet high.

Golden-leaved Honeysuckle, needs a post three
feet high, and forms a broad bush four feet high,
whose gold speckled leaves contrasts beautifully
with the dark green foliage of the Chinese and
Japan. It is evergreen ; the foliage being its
peculiar beauty.

The Coral, the Yellov and the Monthly Honey-
mckles need posts four feet high, and make de-
ciduous shrubs five feet high. They are very or-
namental when in bloom, and if their blooms are
cut off when they fade, they will bear flowers
from May to November. So will the Chinese and
Japan species.

All the Honeysuckles form weeping shrubs,
and give diversity, fragrance and cheerfulness to
the shrubbery in general.

Jasmiiium nudifloru7n may be trained upon a
post five high, and will form a broad evergreen
bush six feet high. As it blooms very early, it
is needed to open the season of blossom.

Jd^sminum officinale may get a post five feet
high, and makes a thick massy bush six feet high.
No odors can surpass the sweet perfumes of its
iovely florets of white.

Clemat'S flamula, trained upon a post four feet
high, will form a massy bush five feet high. Its
star formed florets are produced in great profu-
sion, and in sweet scent excel the fiimous Haw-
thorn .

The Honej'suckle, Jasmines and Clematis,
when trained high, get bare at the bottom, there-
fore, when trained as shrubs, they should not be
grown higher than we have noticed them to be.

YELLOWS IN THE PEACH.

BY MR. J. W. KERR, DENTON, MD.

I observe in the April number of the Monthly.
in your remarks relating to the Yellows in Peach
Trees, that you leave yourself uncommitted to a
belief, that the disease causes the fruit to ripen
in advance of its natural season. You invite
communication of "positive experience" respect-
ing the case, hence I send you the following :

In 1862—63, in Dauphin Co., your State, I
gathered fruit of Crawford's Early from trees af-
fected by the yellows, ten days before Troth's
Early ripened on healthy trees. The peaches
thus gathered were highly colored, nearly or al-
together full size the first year, but somewhat
smaller the second ; marketed in Ilarrisburg as
early as the first run of peaches from Norfolk,
Ya , and this Peninsula, and brought better
prices too. Upon further investigation I found
the shell which incases the kernel to be perfect,
so far as I was able to discover, though the ker-
nels were not properly matured.

Another instance previous to the above, while
in northern part of York Co., Pa , there came
under ray notice a fine natural peach, ripening
with Old Mixon Free ; the tree however began
to show symptoms of the yellows, and the first
season thereafter ripened its fruit with E;^rly
York ; the next season the fruit was smaller and
still earlier, the third year the same tree bloomed,
— set fruit, but died about the time of its natural
season of ripening ; the fruit however colored up
and attained the size of a shellbark, or ( hickory
nut), and tasted somewhat peachy. Since, in
Carolina Co., Md., I have seen Early York and
Serrated Early York ripen before Hale's. The
former aroused considerable interest amongst
some fruit growers here, who thought it to be a
"New Variety, larger and earlier than Hale's"
I went to see it, with a view of procuring the
buds, if satisfied of its being a distinct kind, but
upon examination, I found the trees to be entire-
ly girdled b}' the " Grub." I then noticed at a
short distance from the trees, a sickly cast in the
color of the foliage, when compared with the rich
green leaves on the trees around them. In this
county, I have the first case of "yellows'' yet to
see, which leads me to believe that there are
causes exclusive of the yellows that advance the
season of ripening of peaches, and though the
fruit may color up, look well and sell readily, I
regard it extremely hazardous to the interests of
Peach Growers, to attempt the establishment of
early varieties upon such basis. " Plowden's

187^.

THE GARBEMEWS MOJ^THLY .

167

Seedling " may be a distinct variety, yet at one
place we hear of it having a serrated leaf with-
out glands ; at another, serrated with glands.
This truly is a variation that I have never seen
in any other variety; be that as it may, I am not
yet ready to accept the belief that we have a good
market variety, free from rot as Troth's Early,
and ripening " two to three weeks earlier than
Hale's."

PRECOCITY OF DISEASED FRUIT.

BY MB. GEO. P. LUCKHARDT, OREGON, MO.

In the last Qardener''s 31onthly, page 118, you
request any correspondent who has had certain
knowledge of the fact, whether a tree once
healthy and afterwards suffering from the yel-
lows, will have the fruit ripen earlier on this ac-
count, and having noticed one very striking
case last summer, I take pleasure in stating it.

Last third of July, Mr. Manifee brought some
very nice and perfectly ripe Hale's Early peaches
to town, and it being more than two weeks ear-
lier than all the others ripened, I inquired of Mr.
Manifee, if his tree was not diseased, and on ex-
amining the tree, he thought the leaves looked
rather more "yellow " than the others.

I saw Mr Manifee to day, and he says the
tree is about " dead.''

ORIGIN OF THE ISABELLA GRAPE.

BY MR. H. Vr. RAVENEL.

In your April number is an article on the Ori-
gin of the Isabella Grape, by Dr Wm F. Chan-
ning, in which he introduces a letter from Geo.
Gibbs, Esq , of New Haven, on the subject.

This account given by Mr. Gibbs, coincides
essentially with our traditions here- Dr. Curtis,
in bis " Woody Plants of North Carolina," page
112, makes the following statement, which, be-
sides corroborating Mr. Gibbs' account, extends
the history one step further back.

**Dr. C. L Hunter, of Lincoln Co., who has
given much attention to the history of our grapes,
has communicated most of the following items
in regard to the Isabella. D. Laspeyee was pro-
bably its first cultivator in the United States,
probably as early as 1805, as he sold it in the
"Wilmington market in 1810. Judge Ruffiu cul-
tivated it in Orange Co. in 1811, under the name
of Laspeyee Grape. It is a tradition that Gov.
Smith brought it to Smithville, in 1809. About
the year 1810, Mrs. Isabella Gibbs took a rooted
cutting from Gov. Smith's garden to Brooklyn,

New York, according to a current account. Ac-
cording to Dr. Laspeyee, she got the cutting from
him. These statements may, in a sort, be recon-
ciled, if Gov. Smith obtained his stock from Dr.
Laspeyee. In 1819, General Swift bought the
Gibbs place, and it was there the elder Prince
first saw and obtained this grape, which he
named the Isabella, in compliment to Mrs. Gibbs.
Dr. Hunter has some of these statements from
Gen. Swift. Dr. Laspeyee was under the im-
pression that this which he called the Black
Gape, was one of the vines which he brought
from St Domingo, but it was probably the acci-
dental introduction of an American among his
foreign stocks. Dr. Hunter seems to be of opin-
ion that it came to the Cape Fear regions from
South Carolina, according with the tradition
mentioned in Dr. Hawk's History."

There is a tradition that this grape was an
accidental seedling, originally found on the Goose
Greek, a tributary of the Cooper River, not far
from Charleston, but I have never been able to
trace it to any authentic source. The wild La-
brusca is found through the middle region of
South Caroliaa,and there is thus no insuperable
objection to this tradition if it were properly au-
thenticated.

That the Isabella is an American grape, and
belonging to the Labrusca type, there ean be no
reasonable doubt, as to the seedling, ( under our
own personal observations here ) sometimes re-
vert to the wild type, and possess that peculiari-
tyof all the native Americangrapes,viz: thatsome
of the seedlings bear perfect flowers, andon the fer-
tile vines, whilst others have staminate flowers
only, and are barren, a character known in bo-
tanical terms as Diocio-polygamous. The seed-
lings of the foreign grape, vitis vinifera, and all
of its varieties, bear always perfect flowers, and
all the vines are fruiifiil. Whenever, therefore,
there is any doubt of the native or foreign chang-
ing of a grape, this test may be relied on as con-
clusive.

With respect to the Catawba grape, we have
more trustworthy data. The place of its origin
has always been ascribed to the Frenclj Broad
River, in Buncombe Co., North Carolina, not
far from Asheville, and on the farm of Wm.
Murry. In 1853, I had from the late Wm. Hur-
ry, the son of the Murry on whose farm it was
first found, an account of this grape. He remem-
bered when a boy, seeing the original vine at his
father's place, and had often eaten grapes from
it. He said that Gen. Davy, in 1807, then

168

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

June,

Senator from South Carolina, living: at Rocky
Mt,, on the Catawha River, in South Carolina,
transplanted some of these vines to his residence,
and from thence took them to Washington,
where they were distributed. From this source
they came into possession of Major Adlum and
also of Mr. Lonscworth of Cincinnati.

I had this statement from Mr. Murry himself
who was then living at Catoosa Springs in Geor-
gia, and he spoke confidently and earnestly of
its undoubted origin there. This grape also,
there can be no doubt, is a chance seedling of V.
Labrusca, having all the characters of that
species, except in the superior quality of the fruit,
and in rather less hoariness of the underside of
the leaf, which are not essential characters.

ORCHIDE^ No 4.

by mr. james tapltn, manager to george

8ucii, esq., south amboy, n, j.

Dendrobium Nobile.

If I were confined to growing one variety of
Orchid, I think I should have most satisfaction
from this variety ; others may be more rare and
expensive, but this may be always depended on
to flower well under the simplest treatment, and
certainly few plants are more lovely when in
flower, and a well established plant in a six inch
pot, will give comparatively as many flowers as
ever so large a specimen. Many growers culti-
vate their plants in a basket, but I consider that
a mistake, for it is naturally of upright growth,
and I do not recollect seeing plants so vigorous
as when grown in pots or frame. Another mis-
take I consider is frequently made with this and
other Orchids, in keeping the plants so dry that
all the leaves drop oft' and the shoots shrivel. I
am aware this is done with the idea to make the
plants flower freely, but if there are more flow-
ers they are all smaller, do not last so long, and
the young growth is weakened ; but the extra
drying is not necessary at any rate for this varie
ty, and a moderate quantity of foliage is an ad-
vantage to the beauty of the plant when in
flower..

The above variety being so common, there are
probably many large and handsomer specimens
in the country, but it being a free grower, any
one may get up a nice plant in a short time. I
began with our best plants three years ago, when
it was quite small, after it had been growing in
an amateur greenhouse for several 3^ears, and was
getting smaller instead of increasing in size. It

is now four feet in diameter, with shoots three
feet long and thick in proportion ; many of the
shoots are covered with flowers for two feet of
the length ; it has been in flower now, April 8th,
for six weeks, and will last for some time longer.
I gathered 150 flowers from it at Easter, and
they are not missed.

If the plants require repotting, do it after
blooming, but large plants properly treated will
not require fresh pots for several years. The
soil I use is the fibrous part of peat and spag-
num moss in about equal parts, fill the pots near-
ly full of broken pots, ^ not "coke," as I was
made to say in my last), shake away all the old
soil, if decayed, and fill in with fresh without
breaking the roots, raise well above the pot, it
will then take abundance of water, both at root
and overhead during the growing season ; shade
from bright sun until growth is finished, then
gradually expose to full sun. I have placed the
plants out of doors in full sun with good results.
The plants will winter in any house not below
40'', with only water enough to prevent shrivel-
ling, and shaded when flowers commence to open,
they will last a long time. This is a plant little
subject to insects if in good health.

••••*

ELIGIBLE TIMBER TREES.

BY FERD. VON MUELLER, MELBOURNE, AU8.

( Concluded. )
Leucadendron argenteum. Brown.

The Silver tree of South Africa is included
on this occasion among forest trees, because
it would add to the splendor of our woods,
and thrive far better there than in our gar-
dens. Moreover, with this tree many others
equally glorious might be established in our
mild forest glens as a source of horticultural
wealth, were it only to obtain in future years
a copious supply of seeds. Mention may be
made of the tall Magnolia trees of N. Amer-
ica [Magnolia grandifora^ L., 100 feet high;
M. umbrella, J jfim. . 40 feet ; M. acuminata,
L., 80 feet ; 3f. cordata, Michx. 50 feet ; M.
Fraseri, Walt., 40 feet ; J/, viacophylla,
Michx., 40 feet); M. Yulan, Desf. of China,
50 feet ; Magnolia Campbelli, Hook., of the
llyraalayas, 150 feet high and flowers nearly
a foot across ; M. spareroca,r2M, Roxb., also
of the Indian Highlands, 40 feet ; the North
America Tulip tree [Liriodendron tnlipifera,
L. \ 140 feet high, stem 9 feet in diameter ;
the Mediterranean Styrax tree [Styrax offi-

1872.

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOMTRLlC,

169'

einalis, L.) ; Stenocarpus sinuosus, Endl., of
of East Australia (the most brilliant of the
Proteacece) the crimson and scarlet Ratas of
New Zealand (Melrosideros florida, Sm. ; M.
lucida, Menz. ; M. robusta, Cunn., 80 feet
high ; M. tomentosa, Cunn., 40 feet) ; Fuch-
sia excorticata, L., also from New Zealand,
Btera 2 feet in diameter ; the crimson flower-
ed Eucalyptus ficifolia of West Australia ;
Bhododendon Falwneri, Hooker, from Up-
per India, 50 feet high, leaves 18 inches long.
In Sassafras gullies, here alluded to, also
may be planted the great Melaleuca Leuca-
dendron, L., tiie true Asiatic Cajuput tree,
which grows to a height of 100 feet ; even
the North European UoWy, [Ilex aquifolium),
which occasionally rises to 60 feet, though
both from regions so distant.
LiQuiDAMBAK Altingia, Blume.

At the Ked Sea and in the mountains of In-
dia and New Guinea, at 3000 feet probably
hardy in the warmer parts of our colony.
The tree attains a height of 200 feet. It
yields the fragrant balsam known as liquid
Slorax.

LiQTJIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA, L.

The Sweet Gum tree. In morasses and on
the springs of the forest of N. America,
with a wide geographic range. The tree
attains vast dimensions of its crown ; the
Btem 10 feet in diameter. The terebinthine
juice hardens, on exposure, to a resin of
benzoin odor. Wood fine-grained.
Macadamia ternifolia, F. von Muell. [Heli-
da ternifolia, F. M.)
The Nut tree of subtropic East Australia,
attaining a height of CO feet; hardy, as far
south as Melbourne ; in our forest valleys
Ukely of fair celerity of growth. The nuts
have the taste of hazels.

MORUS RUBRA, L.

The Red Mulberry tree of North America is
the largest of the genus, attaining a height
of 70 feet ; it produces a strong and compact
timber. The White Mulberry tree ( Morus
alba, L.), with others, offering food to the
Bilkworms, should be planted copiously
everywhere for hedges or copses.
Maclura atjrantiaca, Nuttal.

The Osage Orange of North America. Great-
est height 60 feet ; wood bright yellow, very
elastic, fine-grained. For deciduous thorn-
hedges the plant is important ; its value for
Bilkworms needs further to be tested.

OSTRYA CARPINIFOLIA, Scopoli.

South Europe and Orient. The Hop Horn -
bean. A deciduous tree, 60 feet high..
OsTRYA ViRGiNiCA, WiUdenow.

Leverwood tree of North America, 40 feet
high, in rich woodlands. Wood singularly
hard, close-grained and heavy, in use for le-
vers and other implements. (29. )

PiSTACIA VERA, L.

Indigenous in the Orient, as far as Persia,.
A deciduous tree, 30 feet high, yielding the
Pistacia Nuts of commerce, remarkable for
their green almond-like kernels. The like-
wise deciduous Mediterranean Pistacia Tere-
binthus, L., yielding the Ohio Turpentine,
the P. Atlantica, Desf., and the evergreen
South European Pistacia Lentiscus, L., fur-
nishing the mastix, grow rarely to the sise-
of large trees.

Planera Japonica, Miquel.

Considered one of the best timber trees of
.Japan.

Platanus occidentalis, L.

The true Plane tree of the East part of
North America. More eligible as an avenue
tree, than as a timber tree; diameter of stem,
at times 14 feet; wood dull red.

Platanus orientalis, L.

The Plane tree of South Europe and Middle
Asia. One of the grandest trees for lining
roads and for street planting, deciduous like
the other planes, rather quick of growth, and
not requiring much water ; attains a height
of 90 feet. The wood is well adapted for
furniture and other kinds of cabinet work.

Platanus racemosa, Nuttall.

The Californian Plane tree. Wood harder
and thus more durable than that of P. occi-
dentalis, also less liable to warp.

POPULUS alba, L.

The Abele or White Poplar of Europe and
Middle Asia. Height 90 feet. It proved here
an excellent avenue tree, even in compara-
tively waterless situations, and gives by the
partial whiteness of its foliage a pleasing ef-
fect in any plantation. Populus canescens,
Sm., the grey Poplar, is either a variety of
the Abele or its hybrid with the Aspen, and
yields a better timber for carpenters and
millwrights.

Populus balsamifera, L.

The Tacaraahac or Balsam Poplar, of the-

(29.) More generally CiiUi'd Iron wood in the Unitod

Sliites.

170

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJiTHLY.

June,

colder, but not of the coldest parts of North
America, 80 feet high. Its variety is P.
candicans, Aiton.

POPULUS GRANDIDENTATA, Michaux.

North America, 60 feet high. A kind of
Aspen.

FOPULUS HETEROPHYLLA, L.

The downy Poplar of North America.
Height 60 feet.
POPULUS MONILIFERA, Aiton. (P. Canadensis,
Desf.)
The Cottonwood tree of North America,
Height 100 feet. One of the best poplars for
the production of timber.

TOPULUS NIGRA, L.

The European Black Poplar, extending
spontaneous!}' to China It includes Pojni-
lus dilataf a, Alton, or as a contracted variety.
P. fastigiata, Desf., the Lombardy Poplar.
Greatest height 150 feet. Growth rapid, like
that of all poplars. "Wood soft, light and
of loose texture, used by joiners, coopers
and turners, furnishing also superior char-
coal. Bark employed in tanning. The tree
requires damp soil.

POPULUS TREMULA, L.

The European Aspen. Height 80 feet. It
extends to Japan, where also a peculiar
species, Populus Sieholdii (Miq.) exists. The
aspenwood is white and tender, and in use
by coopers and joiners.

Populus tremuloides, Michaux.

The North American Aspen. Height 50
feet. It extends west to California, where a
particular species. Pop. trichocarpa, Torrey,
occurs. All Poplars might be planted like
all "Willows, in our gullies, to intercept
forost-fires, also aencrally on river-banks.

'<^UERC][JS iEoiLOPS, L*

South Europe. A tree of the size of the
British Oak. The cups, known as Valonia,
used for tanning and dyeing ; the unripe
acorns as Camata or Camatena, for the same
purpose. The wood is capital for furniture.

QUERCUS ALBA, L*

The "White or Quebec Oak. A most valu-
able timber tree, 100 feet high ; diameter of
stem, 7 feet. "Wood in use by ship-builders,
wheelwrights, coopers and other artisans.

'<^UERCUS ANNULATA, Smith

A Inrge Oak of Nepal, which provides a
very good timber.
<iUERCUS AQUATiCA, "Walter.

North America. Height of tree GO feet; it

furnishes a superior bark for tanning, also
wood for ship-building.

QUERCUS CERRIS, L.

South Europe, of the height of the English
Oak, in suitable localities of quick growth.
The foliage deciduous, or also evergreen.
The wood available for wheelwrights, cabi-
netmakers, turners, coopers ; also for build-
ing purposes.

QUERCUS COCCIFERA, L.

Thedeciduous Kerraes Oak of South Europe;
so called from the red dye, furnished by the
Coccus ilicis, from this Oak. It also supplies
tanner's bark. The huge and ancient Abra-
ham's Oak belongs to this species.

QuERCUS cocciNEA, "Wangenheim.

The Black Oak of North America. Height
100 feet ; stem-diameter, 5 feet. Foliage de-
ciduous. The yellow dye, known as Quer-
citron, comes from this tree. Bark rich in
tannic acid. (30.)

QuERCUS CORNEA, Lourciro. .

China. An evergreen tree, 40 feet high.
Acorns used for food.

QuERCUS FALCATA, Miohaux.

North America Foliage deciduous. Lives
in dry sandy ground. A good sized tree
with excellent tanner's bark.

QuERCUs Ilex, L.

The Holly Oak of South Europe. Height
of tree 50 feet. Wood in u'^e for ship-build-
ing, bark for tanning. From varieties of
this tree are obtained the sweet and nourish-
ing Ballota and Chestnut acorns.

QUERCUS INCANA, Roxb.

A Himalayan timber tree of great dimen-
sions, beautiful, evergreen.

QUERCUS INFECTORIA, Oliv.

Only a small tree, with deciduous foliage.
Chiefly from this tree the galls of commerce
are obtained.

QOERCUS LANCIFOLIA, Roxb.

A tall timber tree of the Himalayas. Wood
valued for its durability.

(30.) Botanists in writing tlie Black and the Scarlet
Oak asoiiespecificaliy.must not confound tlie qualities.
Practically the bark of the Scarlet Oak is not near of as
much value as that of the Black. In this part of the
country the leaves remain on long after the Black have
fallen; the acorn cup has the scales more united with
the cup than the Black has, and the acorn has a white
or whitish flesh, instead of a yellow as in the Black.
Quercus tinctm-ia, though certainly variable, Boema
to have as good characters of its own as other recognlaed
species.

187^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TRLY,

171

QUEBCUS MACROCARPA, MicllX *

The Burr Oak of North America. Tree 70
feet high. The timber nearly as good as that
of the White Oak.

■QUERCUS TALUSTRIS, Du Roi.

The Marsh Oak of North America. Height
80 feet; of quick growth. Tlie wood, though
not fined-grained, is strong and tough.

^UERCUS PRINUS, L.

The North American Swamp Oak. A tree
90 feet high, available for wet localities.
Foliage deciduous. Wood strong and elas-
tic, of fine grain. A red dye is produced
from the bark.

QUERCUS ROBUR, L."^

The British Oak, extending through a great
part of Europe and Western Asia, attain-
ing a great age and an enormous size. Ex-
treme height 120 feet. Two varieties are
<iistinguished :— 1. Quercus sfssih'jlora, Sal-
isbury. The Durmast Oak, with a darker,
heavier timber, more elastic, less fissile.
This tree is also the quickest of the two in
growth, and lives on poorer soil. Its bark
is also richer in medicinal, dyeing and tan-
ning principles. 2. Quercus pedunculata,
Willd. This variety supplies most of the
oak-timber in Britian for ship-building, and
is the best for bending under steam. It is
also preferred for joiner's work.
Quercus rubra, L.

The Red Oak of North America. Height
100 feet; diameter of stem 4 feet. The wood
is not of value ; but the bark is rich in tan-
nin. Autumnal tint of foliage beautifully
red.
Quercus semecarpifolia. Smith.

In the Himalayas. Height of tree often 100
feet ; girth of stem 18 feet. It furnishes a
first-class timber.
Quercus serrata, Thunberg.

One of the 23 known Japan Oaks. It yields
the best food for the oak silkworm ( Bombyx
Yaniamaia. )
Quercus Sideroxylo?^, Humboldt.

Mountains of Mexico, at 8,000 feet elevation.
An Oak of great size, of compact timber, al-
most imperishable in water. Q. lanceolatn,
Q chrysophylla, Q. recticulata, Q. laurina, Q.
oUusata, Q. glaucescens, Q. Xalapensis
(Humb.) and Q. acutifolia (Nee), are among
the many other highly important timber
Oaks of the cooler regions of Mexico.

Quercus squamata, Roxburg.

One of the tallest of the Himalayan Oaks.
Wood lasting.
Quercus Suber, L.*

The Cork Oak of South Europe and North
Africa; evergreen. It attains an age of fully
200 years. After about 20 years it can be
stripped of its bark every 6 or 7 years ; but
the best cork is obtained from trees over 40
years old. Height of tree about 40 feet.
Acorns of a sweetish taste.
Quercus Sundaica, Blume. '•

One of the oaks from the mountains of Java,
where several other valuable timber oaks
exist.
Quercus Toza, Bosc.

South Europe. One of the handsomest oaka,
and one of the quickest of growth. Foliage
evergreen.
Quercus a^rens, L.*

The Live Oak of North America; evergreen,
50 feet high. Supplies a most valuable tim-
ber for ship-building ; it is heavy, compact,
fine-grained ; it is moreover the strongest
and most durable of all American Oaks.
Like Q. obtusiloha, Michaux., it lives also on
seashores, helping to bind the sand, but it
is then not of tall stature. Of many of the
300 Oaks of both the Western and Eastern
portion of the Northern hemisphere, the
properties remained unrecorded and perhajx*
unexamined ; but it would be important to
introduce as many kinds as possible for local
test-growth. The acorns, when packed iu
dry moss, retain their vitality for some
months. The species with deciduous foliage
are not desirable for massive ornamental
planting, because in this clime they shed
their dead leaves tardily during the very
time of our greatest verdure.
Rhus vernicifera, Cand.

Extends from Nepal to Japan. It forms a
tree of fair size, and yields the Japan var-
nish.
Rhus succedanea, L.

The Japan Wax tree, the produce of which
has found its way into the English market.
The Sumach {Rhus coriaria, I>.), and the
Scotino ilihus cotinus, L ), both important
for superior tanning and for dyeing, thrive
here quite as well as in South Europe. They
are more of shrubby growth.
RoBiNiA Pseud acacia, L.

The North American Locu.>*t Acacia. Height

172

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ\THLy

June,

to 90 feet. The strong, hard and durable
wood is for a variety of purposes in use, and
particularly eligible for tree nails. The roots
are poisonous. The allied Kobinia viscosa
attains a height of 40 feet.

Sassafras officinale, Ilayne.

The deciduous Sassafras tree, indigenous
from Canada to Florida, in dr}' open woods.
Height 50 feet ; leaves lobed ; wood and bark
medicinal, and used for the distillation of
Sassafras oil.

SopnoRA Japonica, L.

A tree of China and Japan, roaerabling the
Laburnum, up to 60 feet high ; wood hard
and compact, valued for turner's work. All
parts of the plant purgative; the flowers rich
in a yellow dye.

Salix alba, L*

The Huntingdon or Silky Willow of Europe
and Middle Asia. Height SO feet, circum-
ference of stem 20 feet ; wood light and elas-
tic, available for carpenters work and imple-
ments, bark for tanning. The golden Osier
{Salix vitellina, L ), is a variety. The shoots
are used for hoops and wickerwork.

Salix Babylonica, Tournefort.

The Weeping Willow, indigenous from West
Asia as far as Japan, Important for con-
solidating river banks.

Salix caprea, L.

The British Sallow or Hedge Willow ; grows
also to a tree ; wood useful for handles and
other implements, bark for tanning. It is
the earliest flowering willow.

Salix cordata, Muhlenb.

One of the Osiers of iSTorth America.

Salix daphnoides, Villars.

Middle Europe and Northern Asia, as far as
the A moor, A tree of remarkable rapidity
of growth, 12 feet in four years.

Salix fragilis, L.

The Crack Willow. Height 90 feet, stem to
20 feet in girth. A variety of this species is
the Bedford Willow, Salix Russelliana,
Smith, which yields a light elastic tough
timber, more tannin in its bark than oak,
and more salicine (a substitute for quinine)
than most congeners.

Slalix lanceolata, Smith.

One of the Basket Willows, cultivated in
Britain.

Salix lucida, Muhlenb.

One of Ihe Osiers of North America.

Salix purpurea, L.

Of wide range in Europe and AVest Asia.
One of the Osiers.

Salix rubra, Hudson,

Throughout Europe, also in West Asia and
Norm Africa; is much chosen for Osier beds.
When cut down, it will make shoots 8 feet
long in a season.

Salix trtandria, L.* {S. amygdtdina, L.)
The Almond Willow, through nearly all
Europe and extratropical Asia. Height of
tree 30 feet. Shoots 9 feet long, for hoops
and white basket work, being pliant and du-
rable.

Salix viminalls, L.*

The common Osier of Europe and North
Asia, attains the height of 30 feet. One of
the best for wicker-work and hoops ; when
cut it shoots up to a length of 12 feet. It
would lead too far to enumerate even the
more important willows all on this occasion.
Prof. Andersson, of Stockholm, admits 15S
species. Besides these, numerous hybrids
exist. Many of the taller of these willows
could here be grown lo advantage.

TiLIA Americaxa, L.

The Basswood tree or North American Lin-
den tree, growing to 52^ North Latitude.
Height of tree 80 feet, diameter of stem 4
feet ; wood pale and soft. Tilia hetewphylla,
Vent., the Silver Lime of North America,
and Tilia Manchurica, Rupr., of South Si-
beria might be tested.

Tilia Europ.ea, L.

The common Lime of Europe, extending
naturally to Japan, the large leaved variety
of South European origin. Height up to 120
feet, exceptionally 50 feet in girth. The
wood pale, soft end close-grained, sought
for turnery and carving; the bast excellent
for mats.

Ulmus alata, i^Iichx.

The Whahoo Elm of North America. Height
of tree 30 feet ; wood fine-grained.

ULMua Americana, L.

The White Elm of North America, a tree
fond of moist river banks, 100 feet high ;
trunk GO feet, 5 feet in diameter.

Ulmus campestris, L.*

The ordinary Elm, indigenous to South Eu-
rope and temperate Asia, as far East as
Japan. Several marked varieties, such as
the Cork Elm and Wych Elm exist. The
Elm in attaining an age of several centuries

187'^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTRL^.

]73

becomes finally of enormous size. The wood
is tough, hard, fine-grained and remarkably
durable, if constantly under water; next to
the Yew, it is the best of European woods,
where great elasticity is required, as for
archery bows. It is also used for keels,
blocks and wheels. Bast tough.
Ulmus Floridana, Chapman.

The West Florida Elm, 40 feet high.

UliMUS FULYA, Michx.

The Slippery or Red Elm of N"orth America,
60 feet high ; wood red, tenacious.
Ulmus racemosa, Thomas.

The Cork Elm of N'orth America.
[Tlie EmJ.]

ON THE FHASEOLUS CAR AC ALL A.

BY WJH. SELTER, BARDSTOWN, KY.

In your monthly hints for October, in the Gar-
de7ier''s Monthli/, you draw the attention of your
readers to two climbing plants, which have done
well in the open air last summer. There is ano-
ther very interesting one which deserves to be
more generally cultivated ; it is the Snail Flow-
er or Cork Screw Bean as it is called here, Pha-
eeolus caracalla. The flowers are very peculiar-
ly shaped, from which it has its common names;
the color is white and purple, besides it is very
fragrant. It will cover a good space of trellis
work in one season, and the flowers appear in
great numbers from the latter part of August
until frost, when it should be cut down, the
roots taken up and preserved during winter free
from frost.

Last fall I lifted a half a dozen Tuberoses, and
potted them in six inch pots, with the intention
of getting them in bloom during winter. On ac-
count of the modei'ate heat in the greenhouse,
they did not draw up their flower stalks in time,
so I emptied all out except one. In early spring
this one started to grow very vigorously, and du-
ring summer attained the height of eight feet, and
had 164 flowers on it, all very perfect and double.
In the open ground I had several with two and
three flower stalks to one root, a fact which I
never noticed on Tuberoses before. During win-
ter I kept the roots all near the flue in the green-
house; the temperature was never below fifty de-
grees.

RHODODENDRONS AND OTHER NOTES.

BY D.

In your March number I see one of your Ken-

tucky subscribers desires some instructions
about the growing of that most beautiful of
shrubs, the Rhododendron, stating that he haa
been most unfortunate in losing his plants, though
they bloomed finely in the first year. You ex-
plain in your answer to him, where he likely fail-
ed ; you speak of fine soil, of planting on the sur-
face of the ground, but you omit to tell him that
all such plants as Rhododendrons, Azalias, Kal-
mias. Ericas, will not grow West of the Alle-
ghany Mountains, on account of the soil being so
much impregnated with lime, the poison to all
plants, which require peaty soil. I can speak
from experience. Importing or purchasing east
the finest specimens I could find, I planted them
on the surface of the ground in the best prepared
soil I knew of, shaded the plants or exposed them
to the sun, was careful in the watering, yet after
two or three years, they would die. I then got
the peat from New Jersej', and again prepared
my bed carefully in the garden, planted some
Rhododendrons in large pots, and had the plea-
sure of seeing my fine plants bloom a year or two
longer than before, but at last the lime poison
reached them, they became sickly, and as of
necessity, not receiving the food which nature had
provided, they also died.

Though I have often been gladdened with a
charming display of Camelias and Azalias, I am
yet of the opinion that our hot southwestern cli-
mate, our dry atmosphere in summer, but more
so the lime water, will not permit us in the
west to raise as fine Azalias and Japonicas as I
have so often admired in your eastern cities. But
when we cannot rival you in some of these fine
plants of the floral kingdom, our hot suramera
permit us to excel in what is called '' subtropical
planting.'' It would have gladdened your heart
to have seen my spendid Wigandia, 14 feet high,
with its symmetrical mammoth leaves ; Calladi-
um esculentum, planted in soil heavily manured
and daily watered, and planted singly, make a
fine display ; so Yuccas, Cannas, the dilferent
Coleus, especially the old and yet best, " Yer-
schaft'eltii," Achyranthus, Pampas Grass, &c.,
&c. Of Roses, I have partially succeeded in
grafting some of the best of the "Remontants"
and " Bourbons,'' on Rosa cauina, thevery cold
winter of this year however, has killed some of
my best plants, such as Gen. Jacqurainot. Sena-
tor Vaise. The Bourbons I had buried quite
deep in soil, and cannot say whether they have
been touched by king frost ; they are of the Sou-
venir de Malraaison sort, and have bloomed un-

17J^

THE aARl)EJ\'ER'S MOJs'TELY.

JunCt

surpassingly beautiful for the last few years; they
come from the nursery of one of the best rose
cultivators of Germany, Fr. Harms, Eirasbulul,
near Hamburg.

But I have said too much about my little ex-
perience, and in concludicg these hasty lines, I
must thank j^ou for the most valuable informa-
tion which the excellent Monthly has given to me
for 80 many years, and for the pleasant hours I
have enJo3'ed in reading its pages.

EDITORIAL XOTES.

BY THE EDITOR.

Sarracenia purpurea for the Small Pox. As
this disease is now traveling about, the old no-
tion that the common pitcher plant is a good re-
medy for it, is traveling after it in many leading
newspapers. There appears to be no ground
whatever for the prevalent newspaper run in this
case. It is likely that some wiseacre wondering
why our Southern Sarracenia variolaris received
its specific name, concluded that it was because
it was good for Variola, and hence started the
paragraph on its rounds. The leaves of this
plant are simply pitted like small pox. It has
been, however, tried and failed, and perhaps in-
directly caused deaths, as, if better remedies had
been used instead, the patients might have lived.

The Color ff the Gold Fish. The Schuylkill
River in Pennsylvania, is becoming filled with
Gold Fish. Many years ago there was a fine
Garden, at what is now Fairmount Park, Phila-
delphia, belonging to Mr. Henry Pratt. During
a heavy rain, a pond overflowed, and the fish in
it got into the river. They are now very nume-
rous in a wild condition.

Mr. Darwin has a theory that color is a means
provided by nature to either prevent enemies see-
ing, or if noxious toothers, to aid these others
in seeing and avoiding them ; in other words, for
their protection.

The Carp of China, is a dark fish, and this
gold color is a departure from the original dark
color. One would have supposed that the gold
color would be a good guide for other " fish eat-
ers," to see this fish and thus keep it down, but
" Pyrrhonism " has not hurt it in the least. The
Albinos, or Silver fish, do not increase so fast as
the Gold ones ; but this dees not appear to be so
much on account of their destruction by other
tribes offish, as by their inherent inability to in-
crease rapidly. The reversion to the dark ori-

ginal sometimes occurs, but even these do aot
seem to increase much.

Sequoia gigantea. A correspondent of the
London Gardener''ii Chronicle notices that plants
frequentl}' die there in summer time as they do
here.

DouVx Blue Polya)tt\us. X. Y. Z., Brookline,
Mass. There is a double English Primrose, not
Chinese; but we have not seen it for many years.
The double white is in common use for cut win-
ter flowers.

The Garden. Mr. W. Robinson, who, it will
be remembered, made a tour of the United
States in 1870, has established The Garden, an
excellent serial in London.

The Nurseries of Ghent, in Belgium. It is
said there are two hundred Horticultural estab-
lishments in this city. The Camellia is said to
be one of the leading trade features.

A NEW DOG STORY.

BY J. J. S , PlIILADA.

The writer possesses a superb carriage Dog,
who has been the mother of many litters, more
or less like herself in instinct and markings.
One little fellow was sent to New Jersey for the
grandchildren to play with, when only a few
weeks old. He passed through Philadelphia in
a covered basket, but soon assumed his due pro-
portions of older doghood, and began to follow
the family coach. On one occasion he accom-
panied the children and nurse to the steam ferry,
on the Delaware, at Camden, here a mile or more
wide, and followed to the city house near Broad
street, the centre of the great city. The basket
tour and this visit, were his sole acquaintance
with town life, for which he seemed to have ac-
quired a taste, as on the next occasion he was
seen by the family on the Jersey wharf, just too
late to jump on board, and was thus left behind.
What was the surprise of the family on arriving
at the door, so far up town, to see him quietly
reposing on the steps, where he had been but
once, and starting with delight when he recog-
nized the part}'. He must either have waited for
the next boat, or gone to another ferry a square
off, and taken passage, have traversed thirteen
squares by some instinct unknown to us.

His last feat was equally interesting. .This
breed of dogs attach themselves to the horses of
their master's, in whose stable they prefer to
sleep. A few days ago, I drove his former night
companion to a farm, to endeavor to exchange

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLy.

175

an old horse for a better. Sporty as always, fol-
lowed ; the bargain was made, the old horse
taken out of the gears, and the new substituted.
Sport watched the process with extraordinary
attention, and when the lines were taken to drive
away with the naw purchase, was most sadly
puzzled whether to follow the old horse, who was
making for the farmer's stable, or to resume his
usual place under th'i carriage. His anxiety was
so great that he stood upon his hind leg^, and
gave a most peircing look at his master and the
well-known wheels, and took his old position,
perfectly convinced where his duty lay.

ORNAMENTAL HORTICUJ.TURE.

BY CHROXICLER.

The ornamental department of our Horticul-
ture has made such rapid progession the past ten
years, as to awaken the ingenuity of inventors
and skill of artists, who have furnished us with
many charming devices, which give additional
lustre to our good works ; that with increasing
introductions of new species of merit, and varie-
ties of excellence, have raised the profession to a
higher standard in the estimation of an admiring
public.

Galvanized Wireworlcs may be placed in the
foremost rank, as they serve for so many purpo-
ses. Fancy frames of various forms and dimen-
sions to train up flowers upon. They are used
instead of willow-work in edging " basket flower
beds,'' and give them greater elegance ; Arbors
and Seats of great beauty are made of them. We
also line walls and ornamental verandahs with
them, to clothe with flowering vines. Gay fences
are made of them to enclose the more tasteful
compartments of pleasure grounds. They look
sleek when naked, and charming when clothed
with the foliage and florescence of flowering
climbers.

Bustic Slands and Hanging Baskets of ingeni-
ous make and glossy finish, when filled with liv-
ing ornamental plants, add a new link of en-
chantment,— and so with Rustic Seats.

Vases are older than our memory ; but they
were never before so numerous and diversified,
and never before now had we so many lovely
species and varieties of plants to grow in them.
They give elegance to the grounds.

Statuary is also of ancient origin. Where well
executed and judiciously arranged among the
living ornamental plants, imparts a graceful live-
liness to the grounds.

Bockworks: artificial Rockworks are also of
ancient origin ; but Mineralogists never before
could furnish us with fuch a great diversity of
beautiful rocks as they can do now ; and never
before this time could Conchologists give us so
many different kinds of glossy shells of splendor
to mix with the stones in ornamenting our arti-
ficial rockworks, and never before had we so
many beautiful species of creepers and succulent
plants of upright growth as we have now to
clothe and decorate our beautiful rockworks.

Aquatics : Hydraulics and the art of Plumb-
ing have attained such a degree of perfection,
that we can have artificial lakes, ponds and
fountains anywhere ; and we have very many
beautiful species of water plants to grow in or
about them. Our water tanks in glasshouses,
with the great Victoria liegia^ &c., are in ad-
vance of all ancient time. But we are far behind
the nations of Europe in ornamental gardening,
aquatics out-doors. Many of those who have
had the improving of ornamental grounds here-
tofore, seem to lack the knowledge how to con-
vert springy spots into beautiful ponds, and to
decorate them with beautiful growing plants.
Instead of that they have gone to heavy expense
to drain springy spots to carry off" the waters
from them. It is skortsightedness to imagine that
where broad rivers and creeks run through the
grounds, that artificial lakes, fountains and
ponds are uuneccessary in Ornamental Horticul-
ture.

Mowing Machines are the finishing inventions
to keep finished ornamental grounds in good con-
dition. Many different kinds have been inven-
ted; the one named Philadelphia is superior to
them all, and is perfection. There are various
sizes for one man to work, and as many sizes for
horses to work. So by them, the grass edgings
of flower beds and grass plats in small yards can
be conveniently mown with the small size, and
the broad acres of rural domains and extensive
parks, can all be mown with the larger sizes
drawn by horses.

" Our lines are fallen in pleasant places," our
motto is, onward, we know of no such word as
fail.

[Our correspondent, "Chronicler," has our
best thanks for his frequent contributions to our
pages. His hints are always to the point, are
generally seasonable, and are always read with
interest by our readers. — Ed.]

176

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^THLl .

June,

EDTTOH lAL.

TOO MUCH WATER.
There is nothin<T which at first thought seems
more startling than the proposition that water
is not the food of plants, and that in a general
•sense it is rather an enemy than an aid to vege-
tation. True, some plants grow in water ; but
these plants seem to require little. If we cut a
water plant across, much less juice is found in it
than in those which grow on arid plains. Indeed
we see at once that this must be so in the nature
of things. A plant exposed on every side to arid
atmospheres, must evaporate largel}-, and need
a great supply. A plant under water cannot
evaporate, and hence water in its structure is
useless to it.

Plants take up the matter which form their
juices in the form of vapor, not as water. The
soil in vvhich plants grow during summer is damp,
not wet. We may take this soil and subject it to
severe pressure, but not a drop of water can
we squeeze out ; yet the plant takes the ele-
ments of water from it, and as water, we fiud
* these elements in the stem struclure.

The rapid carrying away of water from the
soil, is the foundation of the modern practice of
underdraining ; and the removing of the roots
from all contact with water, and the preserving
them from its deleterious influence is always an
aim with the good cultivator.

While life is dormant, water docs not seem to
injure it. The seed of the water plant will lie for
a long time in the cool mud at the bottom of the
pond. But as soon as the breath of spring
warms it into life, it sends up its leafstalk rapid-
ly to the surface, there unfolding its blaJe above
the watery element. The seeds of land plnits
have not tliis rapidity of upward growth. The 11 1-
tlegerra meeting water as it unfolds, is sure to rot
at once, unless the water pisses away as rapidly
as it falls Myriads of seeds sown in the earth, nev- i
^er come to the surface. A little water standing
about the germ for an hour or so as it pushes,
rots it. This is one of the secrets of light sandy
soil in which to sovv seeds. The water rapidly
passes away. Also is it the secret of success i
with those who sow seeds on the surface, rather
than below the level of the ground. The earth :
between the rows or in the alley ways employed
« cover the surface sown seeds, always leaves ;

them above the water line. They are damp bat
never wet, and they usually grow.

So also with those who plant trees. It is well
known that trees must not be set deep. If the
roots are deep, they are in water longer than
when they are near the surface. The heavier the
soil, the worse it is for the deep planted tree ; and
the finer and more delicate the roots, the worse
they are when deep planted. Trees with forky
roots, such as the Oak and the Standard Pear,
suffer very little by deep planting, unless the soil
be very wet. They may be at the bottom of a
hill, where the washings of the hill will make an
annual deposit, covering the surface roots sever-
al inches a year without any injury, while finer
rooted plants, like an Arborvitoj or Hemlock
Spruce, would soon die under these annual in-
flictions.

In fiict, the finer the roots, the nearer the sur-
face should all things be planted, and some of
them indeed should be- like some seeds, placed
entirely on the surface, and the earth drawn up
over the roots, instead of the roots being placed
beneath the surface of the level soil, or in ordi-
nary planting. People often say that the beauti-
ful spring flower, the trailing Arbutu«, cannot
be made to sirow wh°u cultivated ; but ihia is
simply because in replanting we set the roots be-
neath the level instead of above the natural sur-
face. The Kalraia and Rhododendron also of
this fine rooted character, require to be planted
above the natural level, in order to guard against
too much water.

Let every planter of trees or fruits, beware of
too much water.

NOVELTY IN" KORWAY SPRUCES.

A magazine like the GarJener''s Monthly, de-
signed to be progressive rather than to teach the
merest alphabet of gardening, cannot often stop
to dwell on matters which every one knows. A
Norway Spruce is surely a common thing. There
is no one amongst our readers who do not know
it. Yet it may be worth while to take a look at
an old thing once in a while. Th i plant may
not be nevv, but there inay be novelty about it.

Much as any one may have admired the Nor-
way Spruce for its beauty of growth and graceful

Ib7^.

THE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJfTRLY.

lyry

171

habit when at middle age ; it may he questioned
whether many have seea it wlien in May it is co-
vered with its beautiful crimson buds, which after-
wards develop into tlie seed cones. If there is
anything more beautiful in nature at this season
we have not seen it ; and no one once seeing but
would give a good deal to possess. All Norway
Spruces, however, are not thus beautiful. Of
some two dozen specimens about 25 years old,
in full view of where we write, there are but four
which have this additional attraction; for though
the plant is monoecious, that is, has the male and
female flowers on separate plants, some of the
plants have a disposition to have more or less of
one than another. Those mostly male have at
this season a very rusty look. The little yellow-
ish brown male flowers cover the weak branches,
and the whole thing looks covered by powdered
rosin. Here and there there may be a crimson
female flower, but they are so rare as to make no
show. But here is the robust tree, with very
heavy foliage, and thick stout branchlets, — the
heavy massive growth bearing the thick main
branches to the ground ; and this is the living
bouquet of rich flowers already referred to.

We hear many say how much they would give
if they could only select such trees when young^
instead of waiting twenty years or so, in order
to see what sort of a prize they had drawn in the
lottery of nature. But such have not been read-
ers of the Gardener''s Monthly^ or if so, careless
ones, because the whole secret of selection in
these cases was fully explained in a paper on sex
in plants, read before the American Association
for the advancement of Science, by the Editor,
and published about that time in this magazine.
There it was shown that in trees, those with the
highest degree of vitality had a greater feminine
character, and in the Korway Spruce those with
the highest conditions of vitality pushed into leaf
first. By this rule any one may select from a
block of Norway Spruces, those which will in
time have this beautiful blooming character. The
early leafing plants are the trees to take.

Thus we find that even in so old a topic as the
Norway Spruce, we can yet find matters of novel
interest. But even this is not all. There is much
in habit and other characters on which much
more might be written, and which few have ob-
served ; and we would suggest to our lovers of
trees, that while it is all right, and proper to
seek to add every new variety to their lists, it
may not be amiss to watch for the rarer beauties
which may be dcvclopid from eomnv-.n U.ini:.'*.

HOW HARDY TREES ARE KILLED BY
FROST.
It is hardly to be expected that reasoning
which flies in the face of generally accepted opin-
ion, will at once replace old ideas. But one who
values nature for her own sake, and not for any
profit or honor she may have to bestow on him,
can well afford to wait till the world is ready to
hear. Yet when a principle is clearly perceived
on which so much of practical good might result,
the discoverer may be pardoned if too enthusias-
tic in seeking the world's acceptance.

It seemed clear to the writer, many years ago
that there must be two ways in which plants were
destroyed by frost •, one in which as in a Gerani-
um, or other tropical succulent plant, the sap
freezes, and expanding as it froze, left a disrupt-
ed tissue, a rotten disorganized mass ; the other
a simple loss of heat, wh'ch can only exist in a
vital state in plants in connection with moisture,
and which moisture when dried out by frost, left
the plant cold in death. Hovey's Magazine was
the great battle-field in which the conflict of
ideas with established opinions first took place.
The editor o( Hovey's and several highly esteem-
ed correspondents entered tlie lists against the
writer of this. It was held to be heretical that
moisture in the atmosphere, or moisture in any
way, had aught to do with our winter losses.
Subsequently, Dr. Lindley, in Gard€ner''s Chrom-
de, took up the subject of the disruption of cells
by frost, and the writer felt that his time had
not yet come.

A few years ago, the Garclener''s Monthly again
ventured to show that it was evaporation, and
not the mere degree of frost which destroyed
usually hardy things ; and as before came the at-
tacks of those who choose rather to borrow lights
from the tapers burning in the vaults of dead but
honored names, rather than open their eyes in
the daylight of facts which surround them.
Even men, or at least, one man bearing the usu-
ally respected title of "Professor,'' descended to
low scurility and abuse of the editor personally,
for the views advanced in this magazine. But
the day of justice has come. The immense losses
of the past winter, and their connection with the
drought, both in the ground and in the atmos-
phere, is now so manifest, that every daily and
weekly paper in the land is showing the influence
of drought on the winter losses We suppose
even " Professor" Featherman himself will now
understand that it does not require a man to be
"convincod against his will" in order to belipve it

17S

TRE GAJiDMJ^EK'iS MaJYTBLy.

June,

Those who have observed the details of the
"freeze," can trace the drying out step by step
to the death of the trees. Up to March, no injury
was done. Grafts from tender trees in the open
air were taken for greenhouse propagation. '
These have all grown and done well ; but the
trees from which they came are dead. Here is |
the clear proof of the exact time when the injury I
occurred. x\bout that time we know how the ]
thermometer went down for two days and two !
nights, to from zero to five degrees below, — how i
there was no thaw on the surface ; how the frost i
went down from 18 inches to two feet deep and
how a dry cold north wind prevailed all the time.
Millions of plants were killed, plants which :
time and time again had endured 10, 20, and '
even 30 degrees below zero unharmed. The ;
temperature then can have had no influence; our j
position on this point is impregnable. That it .
is a question of moisture rather than of temper- :
ature, is capable of demonstration. Here is a lot |
of Tulip trees about one foot high, and the roots
a foot deep, ever}' one of these thousands in rows, ;
are killed. Here adjoining are some thousands \

three to four feet high, with roots twelve to fif-
teen inches deep ; these also are dead. Adjoin-
ing are many hundreds six to eight feet high,
with roots near two feet below the frost line ;
they are entirely uninjured. So it has been in (dl
instances wherever a tree has had any consider-
able part of its roots below the frost line, there has
been no injury ; and those trees with an immense
mass of small roots near the surface,such as Hem-
locks, Spruces, Arborvitses and similar things,
have sutfered most, and these to the greatest ex-
tent where the frost had a chance to penetrate the
deepest. Almost all tap rooted plants, no mat-
ter whether with a tender reputation or not, went
through the ordeal unscathed.

J)ut we shall not pursue these details further,
for we have for our next number communica-
tions from Mr. Josiah Hoopes and Mr. Sargent,
which will furnish more than we can say here.
Our leading point is to show once more, and for
all we hope, that one of the surest means of keep-
ing plants hardy, is to preserve them from ex-
cessive evaporation.

SCHAPS AND QUERIES.

Skill in Cultivating Fruit Treks.— Jfr.
Gonrad Ruber ^ of Philadelphia^ who gives con-
siderable attention to training trees in Espalier
and other forms, wriies : " The principle of cul-
tivating trees has not been properly studied in
this and many other States of America, and the
attention which they require has been to a great
extent neglected, simply because not throughly
understood ; hence it has found but few admi-
rers, and little favor with the public, and pro-
duced a prejudice that a good result could not be
obtamed. Less than twenty years ago the same
idea prevailed in most parts of Europe, but the
problem has been happily solved, and there ex-
ists now in Germany and France, a universal
sentiment that there is a principle— a proper law
— governing the transplanting and cultivating of
trees, grapevines, flowers, shrubs, etc. In most
of the large cities of Europe, there are Institu-
tions where this principle or law, is made a
special study, where gardeners^ botanists and
nurserymen are educated in this noble and beau-
tiful science and art. Scarcely any family o^notr
or vjtiilth will emplo} a gardener who bus ni.>t a

through education, botli practical and theoreti-
cal, and has not made himself master of his pro-
fession. There is not a fence, a hedge or wall,
whose top is not adorned^with the choicest fruit-
trees of every species. The tree ])ecomes healthy,
the fruit larger and of a better quality by proper
cultivation, and where the flow of sap is not
hemmed. The spring cutting is not sufficient.
Trees must be attended to during the summer
and fall, which if the tree has been properly
planted, requires but little time. Of grape cul-
ture the same may be said. The cutting of grape
vines and tieiug to the arbor is not enough.
They require more care to perfect the fruit. The
climate has not so much to do with the produc-
tion of good grapes, as the care in cultivating the
vine. For transplanting of trees, grapevines,
etc., the fall season is the best, because the earth
coutracts and adheres closer to the fibres of the
roots, and keeps them in a better condition.
They grow faster, and are healthier than those
planted in the spring."

ACKit CoLCJinnr.M RuiiuuM. — A St. Ivouiscor-

1872.

THE GARJJEJ^ER'S MOjYTHLJ.

17V

respondent remarks that this beautiful maple is
not of rapid growth in that section of the coun-
try. X,

Sap Pxne— Jf. L. S., Frank/ord, Pa., writes:
" In the Philadelphia lumber market, is a kind
of lumber used for boxes and similar rough work,
which in the yards is called " Sap Pine," and I
am told that this is the exterior wood of the same
tree as furnishes the floor board, or Yellow Pine,
this being the interior wood. Is this information
correct ?"

[The ''Sap Pine" we believe to be from Fi-
nns serotina, which after all may probably be but
a form of P. rigida, or as it is called in the north,
Pitch Pine, The floor board, or Yellow Pine, is
Finus australis, a very different species.]

let me ask whether the Colossal Asparagus is a
very superior variety ?

[ We have grown the Conover's Colossal, and
are inclined to side with those who regard it as
a distinct variety, and capable of reproducing
itself distinct from seed. At the same time, we
must say that we have seen as good Asparagus
raised from the old kinds, as we have from these
later new varieties ; and we do not yet feel able
to say that any larger or better can be raised
from the new than from the old kinds.]

Botany in New York.— Philadelphia has
hitherto enjoyed a pre-eminence in botanical
studies through the large herbariums of the
Academy of Natural Sciences; but of late, New
York city has shown a commendable activity in
the pursuit of this interesting science. A mo-
dest but highly valuable periodical of but SI per
year. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, is
very well supported, and the working botanists
of the club have proved to be an active set of
gentlemen. Recently, Columbia College has se-
cured the herbarium of Meisner,— some 00,000
species, which with the already fine collection,
will excel the Philadelphia one considerably.
We congratulate our sister city on her good for-
tune in securing this prize.

Salt FOR Asparagus.— JJ. S.,Pottstowa, Pa.
"Admiring some wonderful Asparagus at a
friend's in Philadelphia, recently, I was told that
it was obtained through the use of salt on a piece
of land, somewhere in New Jersey. In what
way can I employ salt to get similar results ?

[Salt has the power of rendering soil moister
than it otherwise would be. In dry sandy soils,
a moisture loving plant like Asparagus, is bene-
fitted by its use. In a wet soil, or in a wet sea-
son, there is little good from it. No great
quantity is used, say about a pound to a square
rod. It is surprising that those who have gar-
den ground in rather dry places, or 'exposed to
dry seasons, do not make use of salt as a manure
oftener than they do.]

Indelible Ink for Zinc Labels.—.! JVtt'^
York Corresjwndent, says : " I beg pardon for
trespassing, but would like to ask you for anv
recipes you may have for making an ink that will
write indelibly on zinc tallies. If you cannot
find or recall any recipes, please let me know
where I would be likely to find some."

[The best thing we know of is first to let the
label oxidize a little by dipping it in water for a
day or two before using, and then write with a
common lead pencil. We have seen labels iu
use for twelve years so written, as "black as
ink,'' and with all the appearance of lasting for
half a century. This plan was discovered, we
believe, by Col. Wilder, and was first communi-
cated to the Gardener's Monthlyhy a Cincinnati
correspondent, now deceased, Mr. E. Y. Pettico-
las.j

American Seed of the European Larch.
— We stated some time since that we had never
known any trees of the European Larch to pro-
duce perfect seed in America. An Ohio corres-
pondent sends us a package, in order to show us
" that we have not seen everything." Truly we
have not, nor do v^e expect to,— moreover, we
have not seen these perfect seeds j-et ; for every
one of these were empty. Is it possible that
those whom we suppose "have seen everything.''
do not know that a seed to be perfect ought to
have a kernel in it ! We have never said these
Larches do not seed, but that we have not seeu
any.

Large Asparagus.— iJ. 8 , Fottstown, Pa.,
write.? : " While on the subject of Asparagus,

Botanist to tue Department of Agri-
culture.-Dr. C. C. Parry, whose abrupt dis-
missal from the charge of the Herbarium at
Washington caused such universal regret among
j the best botanists of this country, has been suc-
j ceeded by Dr. Geo. Vasey, of Illinois.

J. T. NoRuis, of Springfield. Ohio, is an-

180

THE GARDEJTER'S MONTHLY.

June,

nouQced in a contemporary as "a contributor."
Pollowlng so dlosely after the announcement in
another of Mr. C. T. Crolie, of Plainfield, N. J.
It must be highly encouraging to otlier " emi-
nent'' men. Mr. J. T. Norris, the editor tells
us is '"' to receive and test articles sent to him."
"We supposed a considerable number of American
nurserymen are already anxiously awaiting some

which you have to consign to the waste basket
for want of space &c I have not the shadow of a
doubt there is however some difference in the.
motives which prompt people to write I need
hardly tell you that I have not the slightest de-
sire 10 appear in print and would not have writ-
ten the paper in question had it not have been
represented to me that I " ought to support the

report about the numerous articles lie has already I Gardener's montldy " that it would doubtless

"tested " from them. What he has to say will
no doubt be read with interest by them at least.

Tea Rose, Mlle. Kacuel.— £". 1'. T.,
Jlichmond, Indiana, says : '• We sent you some
days ago a few buds of our ''Mile. Racliel,"
■which we think the tiuest Tea Rose in our collec-
tion. I hope you received them in such condi-
tion as to enable you to ju !ge of the quality of
the flower. We have Mr. Henderson's new Rose
Bella in bloom, and think it does not at all com-
pare with this."

[And truly a beautiful Rose, of a soft delicate
lemon while color. 1

Show "a fair field and no favor" an opinion
which under the circumstances I am unable to
indorse I Promise however not to otiend again
So far as the pages of Gardener's monthly are
concerned

I Am Dr Sir

Yours Respectfully

N. r. F.

two months since a
to the Paper of Mr

About a CoiiMUNicAxiox.— In order to ac-
commodate our advertisers, and yet have the Ma-
gazine appear about the first of the month, we
have to send the department of communications
to press often a month in advance, hence a com-
munication if late in the month, has a good
chance of lying near two mouths before it can
possibly appear. In consequence, we have re-
ceived the following elegant epistle, which is
another contribution to the Elliott style of liter-
ature, and as such instructive. The communica-
tion referred to was struck off" before this letter
was received, or wo might have attached this
letter as a foot note to the other :

15th May 1872
Waverly P O
Ba.timore Co Md
Mr Thos Meehan
Dear Sir
I wrote You more than
short letter in reference
Saunders, on the Subject of Hot water heatiuij,
which appeared in the Gardene: 's monthly, the
month previous and as you 1 ave not noticed it
in the monthly I am not certain wueiheryou re-
ceived it, but as it contained my address in full
presume that you did Our opinions not coinci-
ding I took to be the reason of the letter not be-
ing noticed. That you receive every month
many article* sujierior to the one in question

Locust Trees. — A Virginia correspondent
inquires what is the best kind of Locust for tim-
ber, and how best to sow the seed to make a Lo-
cust grove ? '

[The Yellow Locust, Robinia Pseudo acaciais
the best. It is also called Black Locust. The
other kind, Gleditschia triacanthos, or Honey
Locust, is in no estimation for timber. We
should recommend to raise Locust that it be sown
in rows in a garden or farm for one year, and
then transplanted where it is to go. But some
sow the seed at once, thinly, scattering it, and
suffer the plants to come up as they may ]

Flowering of the Darlixotonia Cali-
roRNiCA. — AVe are very much iudebted to Mr.
Taplin for the first sight of the living flowers of
this interesting pitcher plant. Many have had
the living plants from California, but as far as we
know, Mr. Taplin's skill is the first to bloom
them succcssfuU}'. It is scarcely so handsome as
the Eastern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea,
but as a memento of one of America's most use-
ful and most venerated Botanists, Darlington,
its possession by horticulturists will always be
prized.

Mexicax Beans. — Til if., says: "Having
recently met with a very extraordinary natural
production called the Mexican Bean, I apply to
you for iuformation. I was told that it is so
named, but it resembles a nut. It is of a hazel
color, and has two flat sides and one round. It
appears to grow three in a pod. I do not know
how long — tl'e few specimens I saw had been
gathered. Their extraordinary peculiarity is,

1872.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^TELY,

181

that when they are laid on a table, they very
vsoon begin to move spasmodically, as if there
were some animal life confined within. I have
met with no person who could tell me anything
about them. One gentleman styled them llygro-
metric Beans, Can any of your correspondents
throw light upon this singular fact in Natural
History V"

Wild Celery, —J/r. D. JI Jacques, Charles-
ton, S. C, furnishes the following interesting
note in regard to the naturalization of the Celery:
" I do not know what plant may be called Wild
Celery in the waters of the Chesapeake ; but true
Celery {cqnum), grows wild in great abundance
in our Southern marshes. Whether native or
introduced I cannot say, but think it likely it has
strayed from our gardens along the water courses.
Plants from the marsh arc sometimes transferred
to the garden and cultivated.''

Close Glazing of Greenhouses.— A cor-
respondent says: "Have you had any experi-
ence in bedding glass in greenhouses in white
lead ? I do not mean in the sash ; of course
there it works well enough, but how will it do to
white lead the joints where the glass laps ? In
talking with Ilkchings some time siuce, he said
it would not do, but seemed to be unable to tell
why. Can you throw any light on the subject ?
If it is practicable, it would certainly save a great
deal of heat, more being lost through the laps
than anywhere else, I believe.

[Mr. Hitchings is right. Close glazing saves

heat ; but the saving of heat is not the only re-
quisite in good plant growth. A Wardian case
is close glazed —it saves heat— plants keep alive
in them, but do not grow much. To get growth
thei'e must be evaporation of moisture from the
plant ; but a tight glazed house keeps in the
moisture, checks evaporation, and prevents
growth. There are times in the winter when
the preservation of heat is our one great aim. We
do not care so much at those severe moments
whether plants grow or not. It is a victory if
we keep plants alive. Then we should be glad
to have an air tight house, but at no other time.]

Halesia tetrapter a — A correspondent en-
closes flowers of this and says : " A letter came
to me to-day from my little daughter in J^ew
York, enclosing me the specimen which I here-
with send, which she says came off one of the
handsomest trees or shrubs that she saw in "■ Cen-
tral Park,' now in full blossom.''

vStaphylea Bumalda — This is the name of
the plant referred to by a Doylcstown, Pa., cor-
respondent, in the following note :

"I send you a specimen flower of a Japanese
plant I have now in full bloom ; about seven feet
high, perfectly hardy, and one of the loveliest
plants in my collection. Will you please name
it V I have an idea it is a Staphylea of some
kind. I have a fine specimen of Sciadopytis Yer-
ticillata, about 2 feet high, that has stood splen-
didly this winter, apparently quite as hard as
Retinospora obtusa."'

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC

Farm Oardexjkg and Sked Bowing. By Francis
Brill. Orange Judd & Co., New York.

SeeJ-growing has become an immense interest
in America, and especially during the last ten
years. Seed-importing was at one time the one
thing needful to our horticulture ; but the foster-
ing policy of the Government, brought about,
perhaps, not so much by choice as by necessity,
as led to experiment and to success so great,
that in the six hundred acres of the Landreths'
down to the humble patches of thousands near
all large cities, many hundreds of hands are an-
nually engaged in the production of agricultural
and garden seeds for the American home market.

It is, therefore, a happy thought of Messrs. Judd
to take in hand the publication of a work like
this. It was found that there was "money in
the garden " by one publisher, and they have
justly concluded that there is also in the seeds
which supply it. This little book will be widely
read.

Xo better person, perhaps, could be ibuiiu. lo
get up a work of this character than Mr. Brill.
He belongs to the second generation of a family
that has made the business largely a specialty.
The very errors of a book like this rather com-
mend it. Thev show us that the writer has

182

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

Jwne,

confined himself to what he knows, and is really
telling us of his own experience. For instance,
when he tells us that the hast dibble is a round
pointed stick, with the handle across just as it
^rew naturally on the tree, and not an old spade-
handle, we think we can see the bent back and
chat old dibble at work in the cabbage-patch,
both prettj' well satisfied with each other in the
day's work. It is a better tool than the spade-
handle, that is true enough ; but that it is the
?)cst dibble, ever}' reader of the Gardener''s
Monthly knows it is not. But, as we said,
these errors give us faith in the book. The mere
book-maker goes over all the serials, and copies
all the good ideas. Of such is not Mr. Brill.
He states the best that he knows, and of such
alwavs is a eood book made.

The Fkuit Gaepen. By P. Barry. New Kdition. Xew
York: Orange Judd & Co. Through J. B. Lippincott
& Co., Philadelphia.

it gives us great pleasure, in connection with
;i work of this kind, to say a word about the
author. It is often supposed that because a
person is extensively known, no further need be
«aid of him. As a rule of business, the firm to
which Mr. Barry belongs must necessarily ad-
vertise themselves. The}' pay for their adver-
tising. Any benefit they get from this is legiti-
mately their own. The public has no right to
any part of it. But in the case of Mr. Barr}',
we owe him a debt of recollection, of gratitude,
and of esteem, separate and apart from his fame
as a nurseryman. He entered into business with
his excellent partner, as poor in wealth as any
of us, but with a rich fund of intelligence and a
thorough love of his profession. Energetic and
full of business tact, he knew how to make
raoney ; but at the same time the love of wealth
never overclouded the love of taste in nature
and in art, and that proper public spirit which
endeavors to cultivate to the widest extent a
similar love in the community. But for Mr.
Barry's having lived in America, the uurser}--
men of the countr}'^ would not occupy the proud
position they do to-day ; and but for Mr. Barry's
love of horticulture, his writings, and his public
addresses, thousands who to-day taste of the
pleasures of gardening would have found their
life a drear}' waste, with little of enjoyment
worth living for. We well know that when Mr.

Barry shall be taken from us, American Horti-
culture will mourn for him, as she did for the
great Downing, and that their names will live
long together in the history of American gar-
dening. That day, we hope, may be far distant,
but we have thought it but justice to Mr. Barry
that we should, during his life-time, as the ex-
ponent of the feelings of American horticultur-
ists, thus give expression to the thought which
we know exists in thousands of friendly breasts.

In this now edition of ''The Fruit Garden"
Mr. Barry places us under a new obligation, for
we suppose our reidcrs know that, in these days
of cheap publications, there is no money to be
made by writing horticultural books. Young
men, who hope to get fame ; aud others
Avho trust, by the aid of the book publisher, to
make it a useful adjunct to a sharp business
operation, in a great measure occupy this field.
There are, perhaps, a dozen honored names in
this class of literature, but no more. These men
do not write books for either fame or money.
They have both, and the time spent in other
avocations would bring them vastly more, even
did they still need it ; but they come forward, at
some sacrifice of both, to serve the public; and
it is iu this position we find Mr. Barry with this
new book to-day.

Aud now a few words about ''The Fruit Gar-
den " itself. Its chief characteristic is its clear-
ness and its minuteness in the details of culture.
In no work that we know of is so much told
which the learner may want to know. No one,
perhaps, can so well appreciate this public want
as a nurseryman. He is the focus for all sorts
of questions from those whom he deals with.
To many, so much attention, to detail would
seem needless ; but the nurseryman knows better,
and Mr. Barry has taken advantage of his com-
mercial position to give to the public just the
matter the novice will most want to know, as
well as that which will interest those well ad-
vanced in the fruit-grower's art. He has re-
signed to other pens the more descriptive parts.
His lists embrace only the most popular kinds,
and such that are pretty sure to be in general
request. In this way his work comes into no
competition with those of our best authors, but
rather makes one of a complete series of Ameri-
can fruit workF.

187^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTRLl,

J83

NEW AND HARE EllUlTS.

Grimes' Golden Apple.— (6'fe Plate.)^
We have on several occasions referred to this
variety as one of great merit. It is hardy, pro-
duces abundantly, and bears regular annual
crops. In one of our early plates, we selected
Cornell's Fancy as one which would always do
credit to the Eastern States ; and looking about
us for one to serve the West in the same way,
we could think of no variety which had already
been pretty well tested, and found to be so gen-
erally likely to hold its own as this one. We do
not regard it as of the highest flavor, but in all
other good qualities, think it is the equal of the
jest, and as near the average of perfection as
)eople are likelv to get in one single fruit.

The Matilda Strawbekky.— We are in-
debted to O. J. Tillson, of Highland, Ulster Co.,
originator of this strawberry, for a package of
very fine plants received b}' mail in excellent or-
der. We have heretofore given a favorable no-
tice of this promising new variety, and have ex-
amined large plantations on the grounds of the
owner. It has two very valuable qualities — the
remarkable strength and vigor of the plants, and
the large and attractive appearance of the berry;
while its productiveness and good flavor are ad-
ditional points of merit. — Courdry Gentleman,

New California Pear, Fox Seedling.—
On the first of May we received from Mr. Fox,
a specimen of this fruit. It arrived in perfect
condition, and proved of excellent quality. It is
brown and obtuse pyriform, of medium size ; the
desh rather course, but with a very rich sugary
llavor. We take it to be a strong rival to the
Duchess of Bordeaux, which has hitherto seemed
to claim the palm as a very late Pear. We con-
gratulate California on this first great step to se-
cure fame as a good state for seedling fruits.

The Herstike Raspberry.— In relation to
the hardiness of the Herstine raspberry, the ag-
ricultural editor of the New York Tribune says :

''The Herstine raspberry was raised in Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania, and is said to be a cross
between the Philadelphia and Allen. We first
saw this new berry in bearing in the summer of
1870, and were pleased by its appearance, growth
of wood, siz'-, OrmnrsS; and qunliiy of thf tVuil.

The berries were larger, and of better quality
than the Philadelphia. In the fall of the same
year we received from the proprietor, a plant
each of the Herstine, Elizabeth, Ruby, and
Saunders. These plants were well rooted, and
had each from twenty inches to two feet of wood
in length. These plants were carefully " heeled
in " in a sheltered spot, and in the spring, when
it was time to plant, we found the wood of the
Herstine killed to the point where it was cover-
ed. At this we were not surprised, because,
very often, hardy plants will be injured during
cold weather, when "heeled in," even in pro-
tected placef'.

Early in April of 1871, this plant was trans-
planted to a weil-chosen spot, where the ground
was mellow, deep, and in good heart, and every
possible care taken to encourage a growth of
wood. The plant sent up a single shoot, and
this made a growth of three feet, eight inches
during the season ; at the close of which, and be-
fore cold weather set in, we carefully examined
this young growth of wood, and as far as we could
judge, it was matured to the extreme end of the
shoot. The winter in the vicinity of New York
has been a long one, but not unusually cold, with
the exception of a few days. The cold weather
set in a month (arlier than usual. The ground
became frozen deep enough to stop work about
the 20th of November, and has kept frozen up to
this date of writing (March 26th), at an average
depth of twenty inches to two feet. We mention
these facts to show what kind of weather the
raspberries have to stand. In field culture of
raspberries or blackberries, we have always no-
ticed more plants injured from what is known as
an open winter, than when the ground has kept
frozen from December until April, which has
been the case the past winter. Relating one's
experience with new and valuable horticultural
articles, is not always a pleasant task, for some-
body's toes are sure to be trodden upon.

But the only way to arrive at the true merits
of new plants or seeds, is for each one who can,
to give to the public the results of personal expe-
rience. In our own case, we are sorry to say
that the Herstine so far has not proved hardy.
The three feet and eight inches of young growth
which our plant made last year, wo find now is
\vii'.rL'r-kil''-.i l'» tht> ■^nrfHcc The ".ood is as dead

18Jf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

June,

as raspberry wood can possibly be, althougb as
stated above, tbe winter lias not been an unusu-
ally cold one, nor unfavorable for raspberries or
blacklxirries. This is the sum and substance of
our experience, so far, with the Herstine. If, at
the enrl of another year, the young wood proves
hardy, it will afibrd us pleasure to give the facts
to the public."

[In very exposed pkces near Gerniantown, the
Herstine has but a few inches of its tops destroy-
ed, while Red maples, Tulip trees, Red cedars,
and other things growing near were killed to the
ground. The Catawissa raspberry also within a
few hundred feet of those we refer to, were killed
to the ground.]

The Lycoming Urape. — A correspondent of

Country Gentlemnyxaays : " A grape is much ad-
mired in Williamspo.t, (Pa.) and the vicinit}-,
which seems not to have been distributed else-

where. From what I hear of it, and have seen,
it appears to be worthy of attention and trial in
other localities, where, among the many new
sorts, so few prove really advantageous.

1 have not had the opportunity of seeing the
vines in fruit, but an oil painting of it represents
a large bunch, broad shouldered ; berries oval,
like Isabellas and nearly as large, but light pink
in color. A pale wine made from them is very
agreeable in flavor, and it is the favorite sort for
wine with the originator, Mr. Evenden, a nur-
seryman of Williarasport. The canes are dio-
tinct in their manner of growth ; grayer in color
than is common ; they are close jointed, and the
buds are round and prominent, lookins; as if of
foreign origin, but the vines have proved quite
hardy ; they are not protected anywhere as far
as I have seen ; and it is said, have never failed
of a crop, nor shown any tendency to suffer from
mildew. This sort is called the Lycoming, from
the name of the county in Pennsylvania in which
it originated about twelve years ago.

DOMESTIC I^TELLIGENCE.

Varieties of the Peanut, — There are four
great varieties of the peanut known to the deal-
ers. The African, which is small and black ;
the Georgian, which is a little better ; the Xorth
Carolinian belter still; and the largo Virginia
peanut, wl-.ich is best of all. The Tennessee
peanut has throe meats, but is ill-flavored.
About 800,000 bushels were raised in the United
States last j-car. — Farmers'' Gozctte.

Pears for the great Plains.— Dr. William
M. Ilowsley, of Kansas, names the f(>llowing as
varieties of pears best suited to the region from
the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, and be-
tween the latitudes of 36 and 41 north : Of stan-
dards, first in every respect, the Bartlott; second,
the Ficmish Beauty ; third, the Belle Lucrative ;
fourth, Buftum ; fifth, Lawrence ; sixth, AV' inter
Nelis. On quince roots or dwarfs: First, Beurre
d' Anjou ; Second. Bcurro Biel ; third, Du-
chess de Augouleme ; fourth, Easter Beurre ;
fifth, Louise Bon de Jersey; sixth, Vicar of
Winkfield ; seventh, White Doyenne. — lFesfe?'n
Rural.

it stand a great amount of wear and tear without
needing repair, while other wheels require to
have the tires shrunk once a year. Vehicles built
of this wood command higher prices by thirty
])er cent., than those of ordinary timber. The
wood yields a beautiful orange dye, and it is pro-
posed to attempt to obtain this from the sawdust,
which is at present valueless.

We regard the Osage Orange as destined even-
tually lo become of great value as a timber tree,
both North and South. It ought to receive more
attention for timber purposes than has heretofore
been accorded it. — (Jolman''s Bnral World.

Osage Orange Timber.— The wood of the
Osage Orange is highly valued in the South for
carriage and wagon building. Chan!res of wea-
ther are said not to afiect it. and wheels made of

The Yellows. — The St. Joseph Herald gives
the re.'ult of the application of hot water and
ashes to peach trees to eradicate the yellows:

The yellows which have been such a bane to
peach orchards, promises so to continue no lon-
ger. Simultaneously from the East, South and
West, comes word that the tree revives, puts
forth new foliage, and ripens its fruit under the
influence of hot water and ashes. John Wiiittle-
sey, Esq., was the first in this vicinity to an-
nounce the discovery of fungoidal disease at the
root of the tree. Mr. Thos. Meehan, of the Oar-
den€r''s Monthly, shortly after announced his in-
vestigation in the same direction. The investi-
gation of Prof. Kediz, of I^ansing State Agricul-

187S,

THE GARDENER'S MOJSTTHLY.

185

tural College, on the yellows, led him to the same
conclusion.

We are safe in saying that the right direction
has at last been reached in the investigation of
this disease and its remedy. As yet the subject
has not been exhausted, nor has certainly been
reached in the eradication or cure of the evil.
This, however, is certain, that the application of
hot water and ashes has saved many trees.
Query — Is this due to the action of heat alone ;
and if so, would not a peck of unslacked lime
about the collar of the tree, well covered up, by
slacking, produce heat enough to accomplish the
same result ?

Every tree in every orchard ought to have a
pail of hot water poured around the collar of the
tree every spring. This would accomplish two
results, namely : It would kill the peach borer or
grub, and arrest the yellows in its incipient
stages. Either one of these results would amply
compensate the labor involved.

Peak Trees near Washington.— Among
several fine orchards of large, thrifty dwarf pear
trees to be seen in this region, such as those of
Mr. Saunders, Mr Clagett, Dr. Buck, Chalkley
Gillingham, and others, I have seen none that
were breaking down or becoming defective at the
grafting point ; yet there may be such not seen
Dy me, but they are almost universally growing
so that the joint of grafting is below ground.

From no spirit of controversy, but as simple
justice to the soils of Virginia and Maryland, I
want to say, that during considerable travel and
observation in the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Michigan, and other States further west, as well
as in New York and New Jersey, I nowhere saw
finer, belter pear trees and fruit, whether for
yield, fairness or flavor, than I have found in dif-
ferent counties of Virginia, and several counties
of Maryland, and am satisfied that careful exam-
ination, for one or two years, ■will so convince
any uprejudiced mind. I am interested in the
discussion as to the effect of climate or seasons
on fruit and trees, going on between your able
" Valley Editor " and his neighbors. Good will
come of it, as from all true discussions. —Corres-
pondence of Virginia Farmers'' Gazetfe

result was 33,550 forest trees. To Mr. Smith
must be awarded the medal. It cant be possible
that another mail in Nebraska outnumbered the
immense forest of Mr. Smith. If there is let him
advise us of the fact, and we will gladly publisli
it to the world, giving proper credit and applause.
Thus far Mr. J. D. Smith is the champion tree
planter of Nebraska'.* " Arbor Bay." — NfJiroA-
ka Herald.

The Champion Tree-Planter of Nebras-
ka.—J. D. Smith, who lives four miks west of
Lincoln, has the championship for tree planting
on "Arbor Day." He planted at the rate of
one tree jier second, for nearly ten hours. The

Encouragment to Tree-Planting iN
Maine. — The following act was passed by the
recent legislature, and has become a law :

That any land-holder in this State who shall
plant or set apart any cleared lands, or lands
from which the primitive forest shall have been
removed, for the growth and production of for-
est-trees, within ten years after the passage of
this act and shall successfully grow and culti-
vate the same for three years, the trees being not
less in number than two thousand on each acre,
and well distributed over the same, then on ap-
plication of the owner or occupant of such lands
to the assessors of the town in which the same is
situated, and is so successfully cultivated or set
apart to forest-trees, and at the time of such ap-
plication shall file with said assessors a correct
plat of such lands, with description of their loca-
tion, and setting forth all the facts in relation f,o
the growth and cultivation of said grove of trees,
or incipient forest, the same shall be exempt from,
taxation for twenty years thereafter; provided
such grove or plantation of trees shall during
that period l)e kept alive and in a thriving condi-
tion.

Germination— ITS relation to light —
The theory of the germination of plants, which
has been heretofore admitted, requires that tbf,
germinating seed be excluded from direct sun-
light. Late experiments appear to establish tho
fact thai, while exclusion from the luminous rays
of the solar spectrum is necessary to the hjalthy
germination of seeds, j'et the chemical or actinic
rays are indispensable to that process. These
penetrate much deeper into the soil than do the
luminous rays. The exclusion of the chemical
rays, and not the absence of oxygen alone, Is as-
sumed to be the cause of seeds failing to grov^
when buried too deeply in the earth. — Eeport nf
DepartmcTnt of Agriculture

Forests vs. Drouths.— I have read witji
some interest your several correspondents on the
subjects of drouths, their causes, stock ponds,

186

THE GARDE JiTER'S MOJ^THLl,

June,

&e. In looking over ray few j^ears' experience,
«ioee I have been old enough to observe such
things, I am led to agree with your Illinois cor-
respondent, Mr. Richmond, that our drouths are
not caused by the cutting away of forests. My
iiome was on the Grand prairie of Illinois for se-
veral yeare. I, too, am confident that more
acres of that prairie region are now shaded with
growing trees than there were many years since.
My observations in regard to draining, reclaim-
ing swamp lands, and tree planting, agree very
favorably with those of Mr. Richmond. The
past two years I have been farming here, in a
tteavily timbered country. My first season here
was a very dry one, my next, dryer. On the 1st
of April, 1871, I commenced a weather register.
By the help of the good woman when I was ne-
cessarily away, a very accurate register for one
year of the temperature at four different hours of
the day, remarks on the weather, as to cloudy,
clear, &c , and the direction of the prevailing
wind, as well as the depths of each rainfall, has

been kept.

As this rainfall register may be interesting to
those who hold to the theory that large native
growths of timber will generate and attract
heavy water-falls, I give it here, as showing
what may happen in countries favored with such
jiirowth of timber.

Water-falls for twelve viontka, hegining April
1st, 1871 :
April, - - - 1 1 inches

May, - - - 4 ''

Juno, - - - 1/ "

July, - - - H ''

August, - - - U "

September, - - - 0 "

October, - - - 3^ "

November. - - - 2 '•

December, - - - 1? "

January, - - - 0 "

February, - - - A "

March, - - - 4^ "

Total, - 25| inche?.

1 feel sure I have known as much water to fall
upon the Grand prairie— almost out of sight of
timber — in one week's time, as has fallen here
during the past twelve months. Our fall of snow
during the past winter has been about as lavish-
ing as that of water during the year. — H. Cal-
kins, in Country Gentleman.

The CiTKUS Japonica— A Hardy Dwarf Or-
.inM for Cool Climates. — Many years ago, Mr.

Fortune, the Collector of the London Horticul-
tural Society, to whom the world is indebted for
the introduction of many valuable plants, brought
from Japan a dwarf tree of the orange family,
( Citrus Japonica), called there Kum-quat. It is
extensively grown in the colder parts of Japan
and China, and would probably prove hardy at
least as far North as Virginia. Mr. Fortune
speaks of it as follows :

This species, long known to botanists, and to
those who have visited Canton, was one of the
plants which Mr. Reeves recommended me to
send home to the Horticultural Society. In the
south of China great quantities of it are grown
in pots; and hence it is met as a common plant
in the well-known nursery gardens at Fa-tee. It
is, however, evidently of a more northern origin ;
for I met with numerous groves of it on the la-
land of Chusan, and elsewhere in that part of
China, where it grew in far greater perfection
than it does about Canton. It seems also to be
largely cultivated in Japan, where it has been
seen and described by Japanese travelers, such
as Thomberg and Sieboldt.

The Kuin-quat groves of Chusan are formed
on the sides of the lower hills, in those situations
where the tea shrub {Tliea viridis) flourishes.
The plants are arranged in rows, about four feet
apart, aud do not attain a much larger size than
about six feet in height ; from three to six feet is
the size they are usually seen. A small kind of
orange is also found iu these groves ; but good
oranges, such as those known in the south, a.*
Mandarins, and Coolies, are entirely unknown ;
indeed, the Chusan winters would be far too cold
for them. This shows, therefore, that the Kum-
quat is of a much hardier nature than any of the
plants belonging to the orange tribe with which
we are acquainted in gardens.

Ihe fruit ripens late in autumn, being then
about the size of a large oval gooseberry, having
a sweet rind, and a sharp acid pulp. It is large-
ly used by the Chinese as a preserve, and very
frequently finds its way to England as presents
to those who have friends in China. Preserved
in sugar, according to the Chinese method, it is
excellent.

In China, the Kum-quat is propagated by
grafting on a prickly wild species of Citrus, which
seems of a more hardy nature than the Kurn-
quat itself. This fact should be borne in mind
when the plant is increased in this country ;
otherwise we shall have a comparatively hardly
plant grov,-ing on a tender one.

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ\/'THLY.

187

Mr. Fortune adds that the Kura-quat groves
on the Islaad of Chusan, (a cold part of China),
Tvere among the prettiest siglits that came under
his notice ; particularly when the fruit was ripe,
hanging in profusion over the bushes, and con-
trasting so well with the clear green foliage.

It would be best, no doubt, to propagate it by
means of cuttings. Some Kum-quat trees were
brought into this country soon after the intro-
duction of the species into England b}' Mr. For-
tune, but we are xiot aware that any nurseryman
cau now supply it. Will some one who has tried
it, tell us something moreaboutit?— J?«rrt?C'rtro-
Unian.

The Pyracantha. — I notice in your issue of
the llth that the Pyracantha has not proved
hardy in your experience, and that your variety

is red-berried. Our experience coincides with
yours. The old Pyracantha, which has a round-
ish ovate leaf and red berries, is so tender here
as to be worthless. The new variety called alba,
has white flowers and light orange berries. Its
leaves are small and narrow and it is very dis-
tinct in appearance from the old variety. Our
climate is colder than that of Philadelphia, but
during the past fifteen j'ears, in one of which the
thermometer was fourteen degrees below zert>,
the alba has not been touched by frost in the
slightest degree. Our oldest specimens, some
nine feet high, would have been fifteen except for
trimming. Our newest hedge, three feet, ia a
picture of beauty, and we should like the plea-
sure of showing it to you. — S. B. Pak30N3, iu
Germantown Telegraph.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

BoTi'LiNG Grapes.— I have been anxiously
waiting to hear about the Grapes at Heckfield
Place, since your correspondent gave us the inti-
mation of what Mr. Wildman had done ; and I
congratulate him (Mr. W.) on his success, and
beg to thank A. D. B. for the information as to
the results. It may never fall to my lot to have
an opportunitj' of imitating what he has done ;
but it may interest some of your readers if I re-
late my experience in bottling Grapes. At the
beginning of December last it was decided that
the vines of a late house must soon be pruned.
The wood was ripe, the leaf had fallen, and stern
necessity demands the vacant space for plants ;
but there were seventy bunches of Grapes hang-
ing overhead— by far too many to be cut at once
without some means of preservation. Having a
"large cupboard or press at my disposal, I pro-
cured the necessarj' number of bottles, and a
supply of charcoal. Having cleaned and filled
the bottles, we cut the Grapes, and inserted the
fresh cut end in the water, then placed them in
the cupboard. From day to day they were used
as required, up to the middle of January, when,
having but six bunches left of Lady Downes'
Seedling, and each one looking so fresh and good,
we determined on leaving them, to know how
long they would remain fit for use. To-day,
March 3 1st, the berries are quite plump, and

quite passable in flavor, but the stalk is becom-
ing dry.

But what an immense advantage to be able to
keep ripe Grapes for even eight weeks fit for table
purposes ; and at the end of sixteen weeks we
find the berry still firm and good ; and with pro-
per conveniences, no doubt they would hold good
much longer. As stated by your correspondent,
A. D. B., the method is not new, but "age de-
mands respect."

And now that it is an established fact that
Grapes cau be kept a long time after being cut,
I trust employers will observe the necessitj' of
finding suitable accommodation for the purpose.
How many a gardener has been put to his wits'
end for some hole-in-the-wall, or some suitable
place to store his choice fruits for a few days or
weeks, as the case may be, after months of toil
and anxiety to produce them, and to bear the
bitter taunts of not having things when wanted,
when a well constructed fruit-room would have
made all satisfactory, and is as necessary in a
garden as a well constructed vinerj'. — Amicus,
in Gardener s Becord.

Variations of Flowering Seasons, —
Fritsch has lately published the result of an in-
vestigation into the variations of the seasons of
flowering of plants in difierent countries, in the

188

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJS'TRLY.

June,

same year, and in different 3'ears ; and basing
his conclusions upon fifty-two plants and twenty-
three stations, he remarks, that the variations
of the seasons of flowering are greater, as this
time naturally falls in the earlier part of the
year. Thus, of plants flowering in March, the
variation will amount to thirty-seven days;
while of those flowering in June, it amounts
only to twenty-four days. These variations,
again, are, on an average, as great in positive
seasons as in uecative ; that is to say, the accel-
eration of the flowering season, on an average,
of each plant investigated, is as great as the re-
tardation.

Brakdy from Sawdust.— The fact has long
since been known, that if cellulose is boiled with
dilute acids, grape-sugar is produced, and a
similar treatment of lichens, according to a pro-
cess devised by Professor Stenberg is the initial
step to the preparation of a verj- fair brandy.
We now learn that quite a good brandy can be
made from sawdust, generally from a mixture of
the sawdust of pine and of fir timber. For this
purpose, 9 parts of very moist sawdust, .7 of a
part of hydro-chloric acid, and 33.7 parts of
water, making 43.4 parts in all, are to be boikd
together, under steam pressure, for eight hours
and a half, after which the mass is found to
contain 3.83 parts of grape-sugar, and after
eleven hours 4.38 parts ; in all, over 19 per cent,
of the entire mass. The acid is now to be neu-
tralized with lime, so that the mash, cooled and
ready for fermentation, is to contain one-half a
degree of acid, (according to the acetometer,)
and a suitable amount of yeast is to be added.
After ninety-six hours of fermentation, the mash
is distilled, and sixty-one quarts of brandy of oO
per cent, of strength will be obtained, perfectly
free from any smell of turpentine, and of extreme
excellence of flavor.

TnE CoLUMNEA.— As pot-plants Columneas
are not showy, and, moreover, under such treat-
inpnt are apt to become infested with a rusty
cankerous disease, w^hich disfigures them very
mBch. The usual method adopted for their cul-
ture is keeping them in pots, but it fails to afford
any pleasurable return. To remedy this, and to
induce these plants to display their beauties to
the greatest advantage, I sa}' grow them in bas-
kets, potting, or basketing them rather, in a
lumilar mixture of soil to that previously i-ecom-
mendcd for lloyas •and banging thcra up in tb";

company of the iEschynanthus ; they will soon
produce good shoots and blooms. The treatment
may be the same as for the last-named genus,
but with one exception, and that is the syring-
ing; for as these plants have woolly stems and
leaves, I have found, from experience, they are
better without it, or, at any rate, they should be
only occasionally sprinkled overhead, and that
very lightly.

Columnea is a genus of Gesneraccse, but the
species belonging to it are not furnished with
tubers of any kind. As far as I am aware, they
are confined to South America. The flowers,
which are produced on slender axillar}' pedun-
cles, have a five-parted calyx, with a long tubu-
lar corolla and a two-lipped limb. These are
freely produced, and not only are the individual
blooms long-lived, but the plants flower in long
succession.

AVhen Columnras are grown as above recom-
mended, the following kinds will be found to
possess great beauty, and will well re])ay a little
extra attention.

(J. aurantiaca. — A somewhat strong-growing
species, ])roducing large flowers of a rich deep
orange red. Native of I'^Tew Grenada.

C. eryilwplKjea. — This plant is magnificent
when grown so as to form a good specimen. The
leaves are lanceolate, oblique at the base, but
with an acuminate apex. The flowers are large,
with a broad spreading limb, and rich brilliant
red in color. In addition to the corolla, the-
calyx, which is very large, is also blotched with
deep red within. It is a native of Mexico.

C. scaudens. — A smaller-growing plant than
the last-named. The foliage is somewhat ovate,
but inclinir.g to taper to a point, clothed with
soft hairs, and of a uniform deep green. The
flowers are of a rich red and slightly hairy. It
requires rather more shade than the other kinds.

C. Schkdiana.—Th\H is at once singular, dis-
tinct and extremely beautiful. Leaves oblong-
lanceolate, and furnished witli close soft hairs.
Flowers upwards of two inches long ; the ground
color is yellow, over -vvhich are an immense
quantity of streaks and spots of chocolate-brown.
Native of IVlexico.— Expkktj Ckede, in Joyxr-
nal of Horticulture.

Japanese Chrysanthemums. — In your
notice of the Chrysanthemum Show at Strat-
ford, ill alluding to the Japanese varieties, you
say, " The specimens sta£ed were fiir from flrst-
rate," and it is just possible that your reporter

187^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY,

189

was not awa''e of the wording of the schedule,
which restricted the number of blooms on a plant
to three, quality of bloom being the test of merit.
Of course, th's does not show the plants off to
the best advantage. It is a move in the right
direction to admit the Japanese varieties on the
exhibition stage, but those who have been long
accustomed to the perfect outline and form of
the larce-flowercd varieties do not, at first, ad-
mire the weird and tasselled forms that are to
be found in the Japanese class. There are now
some very beautiful and showy flowers amongst
them, and every year there is a marked im
provement ; new forms and new colors are con-
stantly springing up ; while in the large-flow-
ered varieties and pompones there i& very little
or no improvement amongst new sorts. Your
correspondent ■' G. G ," in the same number of
the magazine, gives it as his opinion that they
ought to be exhibited "grown without stopping
or training, with the exception of one stake to
the main stem." I do not quite agree with
him. I saw Mr. Little's plants at Stoke New-
ington, which, I presume, were treated in that
way, excepting that the side-shoots also had
stakes provided for them, which is necessary if
the plants have to be conveyed a distance to
the exhibition. Mr. Little's plants, I have no
deubt, are well adapted for conservatory deco-
ration, where smaller and dwarfer plants could
be placed in front of them. As exhibited, the
stakes and naked stems were very conspicuous
Japanese chrysanthemums may be exhibited in
two ways— first, as at Stratford, for quality of
flowers, in which case it is best to restrict to a
specified number, in order that the exhibits
may be fairly ju'lged ; or, secondly, shown as
individual specimens to statid on their own
merit, when they ought to be left to the judg-
ment of the exhibitors, with no restriction
whatever except size of pot. Some exhibitors
seem to think that "dwarfing" is the main
point, and the shoots are tortured and tied
down to accomplish this ; whereas exhibitors
ought to aim at obtaining quality of flower, as
one full-sized properly-developed bloom is worth a
dozen such as are sometimes seen on specimen
plants. I think the plants ought to be dwarf,
and grown so that the training and stakes are
kept out of sight as much as possible. There
seems to be a want of finish and variety in all
the exhibitions held round London, and, in ad
dition to the chrysanthemum classes, it would
be well to offer prizes for ferns anrl foliage

plants. Such plants as Yucca aloifolia va-
riegata, or some of the hardier palms on
the centre table, or a few ferns to hide
the pots and naked stems of the standard pom-
pones and others, would be an improvement.—
J. Douglas, in London Journal of Horticulture.

Cyclamen persicum— The genus Cyclamen
consists of several species and many varieties of
dwarf, neat-growing, tubrous-rooted plants, very
useful for greenhouse or conservatory decoration.
As furnishing cut flowers, also for table decora-
tion, there are few plants which can vie with
well-grown and well-flowered specimens of Cy-
clamen persicum. Two or three flowers set on
the planfs own leaves, which are remarkable
for beautiful variegation, are extremely useful
for bouquets, and when placed with their stalks
in water, retain their beauty and freshness for
many days. They are now extensively culti-
vated, and they will thrive in any light, airy
greenhouse.

Any one desirous of cultivating them should
purchase a package of seed of a choice strain.
From a large packet a hundred or more plants
may be raised for the price that one good named
variety would cost. Under ordinary treatment,
the seedlings will flower within twelve months
of the time of sowing. Last April I sowed a
half-crown packet of seed, and succeeded in
flowering upwards of fifty planls, consisting of
nine very distinct varieties, with finely marbled
foliage. Some are in flower now, and will con-
tinue so for some lime. I have been supplied
with plants not nearly so good the first year as
any of those raised from seed, and I therefore
advise raising from seed in preference to pur-
chasing plants. If named varieties are wanted,
then, of course, we must purchase them ; but
some nine varieties in separate packets of seed
can be obtained, and the varieties reproduce
themselves truly from seed.

It is now late to sow the seed, but those who
have not yet sown may still do so, and the plants
will flower within the year. From the middle
of March to the middle of April is the time I
would advise for sowing the seed, always except-
ing when it .is home-saved, and then I would
sow it as soon as ripe.

The plants are kept during the winter in a
temperature of 55' at night, with air on all fa-
vorable occasions. The mnst ioaportant point
in their winter management is to keep them near
the glass, not to water at the roots before the

100

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJSTTHLy.

Juiie^

soil becomes dry, and then to aflford a thorough
supply. Water should be given before the soil
parts from the sides of the pots. The plants
are benefited by a gentle sprinkling overhead
morning and evening, except in very severe
weather. A moist atmosphere is aLso good, but
drip will soon ruin them.

By the middle of February the plants will be
coming into flower. Any that are in pots less
than six or seven inches in diameter, and not
showing flower-buds, but with good foliage,
should be placed in pots of those sizes ; all throw-
ing up for bloom should be removed when the
flowers are expanding to a house with a temper-
ature of 45' to 50^ at night, or from fire-heat,
and they will continue in beauty for weeks.
They should have a light, airy position, and
must be duly supplied with water. The plants
not flowering, if continued in the warmer house,
will flower later.

The flowering will be over in May. liemove
the plants to a pit or cold frame, and give them
water as required until the leaves turn yellow.
I place mine in June in a cold frame, plunging
the pots to the rim in coal-ashes. After the
middle of .Tune I withdraw the lights ; conse-
quently, it would answer Just as well to plunge
them in ashes out of doors after the middle of
June. If I had cocoa-nut fibre refuse, I would
use it in preference to coal-ashes, and cover the
pots to the depth of from one-half to three-
quarters of an inch. They arc not watered after
plunging.

The varieties of Cyclamen i)ersicum can be
grown without being placed in a warm house in
autumn, and continued there until in the flower-
ing state. Many cannot aflbrd more heat than
that of a greenhouse from which frost is ex-
cluded. In such C3'clamen persicum can be
grown well, the treatment up to October not be-
ing diflercnt from that of plants placed in heat ;
afterwards the plants should be set on shelves
near the glass, and kept only moderately sup-
plied with water, giving none as long as the soil
is moist, and when dry a thorough supply. The
plants may, if necessary, be shifted into larger
pots in October and February, for under cool
treatment they will not flower until March or
A-prU. — Journal of Horticulture.

Irrigation Facts. — In relation to irrigation
in Italy it is said : In Lombardy water is sold at
the rate of 500,000 gallons per season per acre,
(equal to a single overflow of 22 inches deep,) as

follows: Absolute purchase, about seven dollar?
per acre ; annual rent in perpetuity, about $2..50
per acre. Water is also rented by the season
when there is a surplus, at somewhat lower
rates ; but in such cases the land-owner is liable
to be deprived entirely in times of drouth, when
it is most wanted. The perpetual owner or
lease-holder must be first supplied.

Land under irrigation in Spain sells for S5(.M)
per acre, while land b'iug alonside of it will
scarcely bring $50 per acre. An organized com-
pany at Madrid, with a capital of SI, 500,000, has
reclaimed 200,000 acres, and the investments ot
the company pny dividends equal to 18 per
cent.

SouiiCK OF Nitrogen ix Plants.— It is
well known that the quantity of nitrogen con-
tained in the crops exceeds in enormous propor-
tion that existing in the manui'es, the excess
undoubtedly being derived from the air. It is
now a question, whether this is extracted di-
rectly from the air by plants, which would thus
have the power of assimilating directly, or if it
is first taken from the air by the soil, so as lo
combine with organic matter and form an as-
similable compound. According to Deheraiu.
oxygen, in the presence of organic matter, com-
bines directly with nitrogen to form a compound
analogous to the humus of the earth, or to ulmic
acid. To illustrate this, he placed in a tube
oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and ammonia. On
drying the tube and heating it, a black nitrogen-
ized matter was left, and a portion of the nitro-
gen in the tube was found to have disappeared.

Preferences ok Climbing Plants. — Ac-
cording to Mr. Henry, certain climbers evince a
partiality for some particular species of plants,
stretching out their tendrils and branches so as
to come in contact with them, while to other
species they have as decided an aversion, avoid-
ing them, and never becoming attached to them,
though the\- run up the tjurface of the wall side
b}' side.

Increasing the Vigor of Growtu in
Plants.— A very important announcement has
lately been made in France as to the eftect pro-
duced upon the luxuriance of vegetation by the
disturbance of the natural position of the
branches. It has been known for some time
that if two branches of a fruit-tree be selected
of about the same size, and the same upward in-

1872.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJV'TMLJ.

191

clinatiou to the horizontal plane, and one of
these be bent downward toward this plane, it
appears to lose its vigor, while the other gains
in a like ratio. It is now announced as the dis-
covery of an iguorant peasant on the Danube,
named Hooibreuk, that this law holds good only
up to the horizontal position, and that if the
branch is depressed still further, and below the
horizontal, it becomes characterized by much
greater vigor than before, and, in fact, will put
out leaves and branches to an astonishing and
unheard-of degree. But this depends upon
keeping the branches as nearly as possible in a
straight line, the effect being measurably lost
with a considerable curvature. In this case,
only the buds which occupy the top of the arc
are developed completely at the expense of the
rest, which remain in their original condition,
contributing neither to the extension of foliage
nor of fruil.

Duchesne-Toureace, in communicating the«e

facts to Xes Mondes, attempts to show the cau86»
which seem to determine so great a flow of sap
to the branches inclined below the horizonta)
Ime, and thinks that the explanation ia to be
found in the establishment of a siphon arrange-
ment, by means of which the juice is carried
over the bend from the main stem in excesaive
flow. Be that as it may, the fact remains, a»
illustrated by an experiment prosecuted by thin
gentleman. In early spring, when the sap was
running in the vines, he took four plants of about
the same size, and trimmed them so as to IeaV'3
one stem to each, these being arranged vertical-
ly, obliquely upward ; horizontally and obliquely
downward. He then cut off the stems, and col-
lected and measured what exuded, and found
the amount from the branch inclined downward
was more than three times greater than tha^-
from the others.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

At a meeting of the Committee of Arrange-
ments of the Horticultural Society, held May
9th, 1872, it was

Voted, That, m consiqiieiicc of the projected
alterations in the hall, it is deemed inexpedient
to hold a Floral Exhibition, as has been an-
nounced, in the month of .June ; and that the
committee will recommend to the Society that
the proposed public exhibition be omitted. Also,
that the florists and gardeners be notified of
this action of the committee.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURA L

SOCIETY.

April Meeting.

This Society has shown exemplary endeavon,
from time to time, to adapt itself to the contin-
ually changing conditions of horticulture and
horticulturists. In times past, the ircnthly
meetings were always well attended, Fhiladel-
phia was then but a country village, with all the
best gardens and gardeners v, ithin a mile or so
of the exhibition rooms. Fruits and flowers
could soon be brought in and ?bown, and, after
exhibiting, be taken home agaiu the same night.

But as the village grew to be the sn-at inaau-
facturing metropolis of the Union, with one of
its streets alone having a direct paved line of
sidewalks //Veen miles lm\g, it is a day's journey
to the centre of the city, and gardening being
banished to the outskirts, the evening meetings
cannot be maintained.

This season the endeavor has been made to
have, instead, a few grand exhibitions, lasting a
day or two. This makes it worth while for
lovers of garden art and garden produce to
bring in their articles. The trouble is the same
as for a couple of hours, and the whole city sees
them ; for, to the credit of Philadelphia taste, »
real exhibition by the Horticultural Society tj*
sure to attract thousands of the citizens.

It was somewhat unfortunate for this inaugu-
ral move of the Society for a grand Spring Ex-
hibition that it should have occurred during oao
of the most unfavorable seasons imaginable. It
was nearly April before garden operations began.
Nurserymen and florists were "driven to death"
with deferred March business, and private gar-
deners and amateurs naturally begrudged every
hour drawn from their gardens and greenhouses.
But the true old spirit prevailed, and, in ppito of

192

THE GARDEJSTER'S MO^'THL^,

June,

till these disadvantage?, the exhibition was one
to be classed with the many of which Philadel-
phia has been and is proud.

Amongst others who contributed on this oc-
casion were : Mr.Gebhard Huster, gardener to J.
B, Heyl, Esq.; Charles Snied, gardener to M.
Bouvier, Esq.; James Rotter, gardener to M.
Baird ; Charles Nopple, gardener to Henry C.
Gibson, Esq.; Eobert Buist: David Fergusson ; I
Hess & Warner ; John Dick ; Bobert Scott ;
Miller <fe Hayes; W. K. Harris; Jacob Armi- j
tage ; T. T. Jlather ; "William Joyce, gardener !
to M. W. Baldwin ; L. J. Eagle ; John Magee ; j
James Ritchie ; John Bell, gardener to Paul \
Jones, Esq.; George Williams; Thos. Meghran, j
gardener to Howard Furness, Esq ; Pennock j
Bros.; Alex. Newett gardener to H. P. McKean, j
Esq. ; Mrs. Bissett ; John Sherwood ; Hugh Gra- ,
ham ; H. A. Dreer; J. Beavis, gardener to Dr. I
Oamac ; M. Bayersdorfer & Co.; S. A. Harrison ; j
J. W. Sherwood.

The chief contribution of Mr. John Sherwood \
was the glorious Doryanthes excelsa^ the gigantic ]
Australian Lily recently described in Mr. Har- j
king's Australian sketches.

Among Mr. John Dick's plants was another ;
mteresting plant of Australia— the rhormium !
tenax—a, New Zealand Flax ; an excellent plant, j
by the way, for our present popular style of sub- j
tropical gardening. He also had a crisped form j
of the pretty Fern Lomaria gibba. j

Mr. Buist exhibited a splendid collection of ;
Geraniums, double and single. The Rose Tom j
Thumb was a general favorite. Also bouquet of
Roses, Herzog, Coquette of Ghent, and others
from his splendid collection of Azaleas. ^

Meghran '8 Cucumbers were wonderful to all ]
who were not aware of that gardener's great
skill as a vegetable-grower. The tables of
the Horticultural Society for the past twenty
years have continually borne heavy testimony to
his success in this line.

Fergusson's display from the Laurel Hill Nur-
series was particularly rich in Azaleas. The
whole collection was one of the most attractive
in the hail.

Bayersdorfer's display showed what great im-
provements have been made in the artificial ad-
juncts to a popular bouquet ; anil in the matter
of art, mention must be made of the silver foun-
tain of Mr. Hugh Graham, which was, by all
odds, one of the most tasteful and attractive ar-
ticles ever exhibited in the hall.
' The collection of Mr, Henry C. Gib.anu con-

tains probably more valuable plants, in propor-
tion to its extent, than any in the Union. It
was a great favor to the Society and to the public
to get some of these on exhibition. Hundreds
saw here, for the first time, magnificent speci-
mens of such plants as Bunnapartea gracilis.
Yucca quadricolor. Areca Verschafeltii, Pin-
cenectelia tubercdata, and particularly the very
rare Agave xylinacantha in flower,

Mrs. Bissett is a rare lover of Ferns, and her
collection contained numerous handsome speci-
mens.

Pennock Bros are famous in the department
of Cut Flowers, and they had numerous tasteful
examples of general and bridal bouquets, table
designs, wreaths, crosses, and so on.

The old, but always welcome, Strelitziaregina
reigned in Mr. Scott's collection, surrounded by
the no less regal Fuchsia, of which he had many
choice varieties.

Mr. Dreer had a charming collection of Roses,
some of them new. Nor, indeed, is novelty
much to be desired when such perfect old kinds
as Hornet, Celine Forestier, Glory of Waltham,
Jules Margottin and others of this ilk can be
brought out in his lot, as these were. He also
had Verbenas, Coleus and many other things.

Mr. Jo3'ce and Mr. Nowelt had nothing par-
ticularly striking in new plants, but excelled
even themselves in well-grown ones. The Spring
Exhibition gave them a good chance to bring in
more of the flowering and less of the mere leaf
plants, of which the Fall Exhibitions are so pro-
lific, and thus their collections were on this oc-
j casion particularly attractive,
i Miller & Hayes is a rather new and very en-
} terprising firm of Germantown, and destined to
make their mark in the floral world. Their va-
riegated and tricolored Geraniums were very
well grown and beautiful.
Harris, who made his first exhibition of flow-
j crs a couple of years ago, still well maintained
1 the reputation he gained the past two years.
' Charlwocdia congosta, an interesting plant
I seldom seen, was, among other valuable planta,
in Mr. Bairds collection, and Mr. Newett's waa,
i as usual, very rich in Orchids.
j Another such meeting is to be held in June,
I and, from all we learn, promises to be more suc-
cessful than even this very successful one.

Too much credit can scarcely be given to Dr.
J. S. Houghton, and other members who worked
with him, for their great labors in getting up so
great a show.

^

It ^miUMx's Mmxtlxl^,

DEVOTED TO

horticulture, Ai^oriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. JULY, 187^.

New Series, Vol. V. No. 7.

HINTS FOR JULY.

FLOWER GARDEIN" AND PLEASUEE
GROUND.

Every one of taste must have noticed how lim-
ited is the variety employed in garden decora-
tion. In the majority of places, the Evergreens
used are the Norway Spruce, White or Austrian
Pine, the Arborvitse and the Irish Juniper ;
among trees, common Poplars or White Maples,
with now and then a Horse Chestnut, Linden,
or a Sugar Maple ; and in the way of shrubs,
seldom more than a half-dozen, and these chiefly
from Pyrus japonica, Spirsea Reevesii or pruni-
folia, Weigelia rosea, Deutzia gracilis, a Lilac
or a Mock Orange. Seldom more than these.
Yet a friend who is about starting an arboretum
of hardy things in Michigan, recently told us
that he expected to get about fifteen hundred
species and well marked varieties for his collec-
tion. It would not matter so much if these
popular things were the best, but they are by no
means so. The popularity of a plant depends
on factitious circumstances.
Large dealers who have an extensive assortment
seldom single out any one thing for concentrated
praise; but a small dealer — one with limited
capital— takes one thing, and with all his force
advertises and talks it up. A recent instance is
that of Paulownia imperialis, which has been in
the American trade for twenty years. It has
never been very highly esteemed, though the
tree does grow fast, the leaves large, and the
flowers highly fragrant. But last year a West-
ern man took hold of it, and nothing else, and,
by a skilful display of these genuine facts, pushed
off thousands for dollars, which before were a
drug in most nurseries at as many cents. This

is the way things get popular ; and there are an
immense number of old but beautiful things only
waiting for some one to take hold of them and
enhance their value by this kind of pushing
treatment. One of these is the dwarf Horse
Chestnut, of which we presented to our readers
last year a handsome colored plate. Another is
the Josikea3 Lilac, which we have also illus-
trated. The great beauty of this, unfortunate-
ly, only becomes apparent with age. At four or
five years old, it produces only a few spikes ; but
these accumulate with age, until at ten or twelve
it produces hundreds of its large violet-purple
panicles. The leaves of this species are more
like the White Fringe than the common species.
A large bush in an isolated spot always com-
mands attention. The Tamarix, White Wiege-
lia, Persian Lilac, Sweet Mock Orange and
White Pyrus japonica are also among the class
of plants not so well known as they deserve to
be.

On account of the very dry spring which has
prevailed through so wide an extent of territory,
the time is coming when transplanted trees of
the past fall and spring will sufler more than du-
ring any other part of the season. If they show
a vigorous growth of young wood, no danger
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 gen-
erally first shown by the peeling oiF of the bark
on the south-western side of the tree,— the most

194

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTKLY.

■July,

drying aspect ; and where such exhaustion ap-
pears 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 south-west with boughs or boards.

Plants set against walls and piazzas frequently
suffer from want of water at this season, when
even the 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
over 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 more
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.
The pruning-knife will often save a tree when
even the water-pot would fail.

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. It must, however, be
borne in mind that loosening the surface soil is
not always pulverizing. After loosening the
soil, some way should be found to press it firm
again. It is the pressure which pulverizes, not
the loosening.

Friends, writing from the West, often say,
"We wish you would find something like your
box edging of the East, wliich is not hardy
here ;" but hardiness does not depend on tem-
perature, as we have often shown. If the proper
conditions arc complied with, we believe the Box
will withstand any temperature, even to that of
the Xorth Pole. These conditions are rich soil,
and shade from the sun in winter. The tree va-
rieties of box are beautiful things for garden
adornment. The Red Spider is a great enemy
to them. We are not sure that the insect which

goes by this name on our out-door plants is the
same as our in-door one ; but it is so near and
so alike in its destructive powers, that it
makes no difference in a practical way. A Box
tree throughly infested is hard to clear of them.
The best way is to cut off all green leaves early
in the spring, then wash the plant with oily
water in which sulphur has been mixed, and let
it throw out a new set of leaves. Even then the
plant will have to be watched for a year or two,
and any straggling colonies destroyed before
they increase much. These hints will apply to
all evergreens which are liable to Red Spider.
Its presence is easily known by the small yellow
specks on the green leaves.

But these small insects may be kept down
often by a garden engine. An occasional forcing
of water over valuable specimens will generally
clear out insects of every kind. A good portable
engine should be an essential in every well-
ordered garden tool-house.

We should like to call attention to a note
we gave last year, that some beautiful ob-
jects for lawn decoration can be made of
Wistarias, In' 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 gravitation and sustain itself
erect. A beautiful umbrella-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 pow-
ers are called into play, and the plants then
usually produce seed abundantly. There is hope
for numerous improved 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
seeding 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 longer for this care. In getting seed of
Double Hollyhocks, much difficulty is often ex-
perienced. The petals prevent the pollen from
faUing on the pistel. It is best, therefore, to
fertilize them by hand. They then produce as
much seed as the single ones. Another advan-
tage of this artificial hybridization is, that we

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOKTKLl .

195

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 flowe)-, and cuttings of the double kinds
should be struck at once. Cuttings of Gera-
niums and other things for this coming winter's
blooming may still be put in.

FRUIT GAEDEN.
In the fruit garden, if trees set out last fall or
spring do not show signs of growing freely, cut-
ting back a portion of the branches will make a
great difference in their favor. It is a great
point with good fruit-growers to have 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 likel}' to be too thick, some may
be taken out while green, instead of waiting till
winter to do it ; not forgetting, however, that a
loss of foliage is, in sorne 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 haal better, but the loss of so much
foliage 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. N'ur-
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 sufifered to grow
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 oflT, something is necessary to place be-
tween 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
served the same wa5\ All the suckers not
wanted to bear next year, should be taken out
as they appear. If the kind be valuable, the
young ofFsetts 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-
necessar}'.

As to varieties, the Gardener^s Monthly
is occasionally regarded as slow, because it
does not get ofi' a sort of 4th of July oration with
every new fruit that appears. The last meet-
ing of the American Pomological Society was
a very good endorsement of our course. In
Strawberries, for instance, notwithstanding the
immense number of new kinds, the old Albany
Seedling was universally starred, and only the
very new ones, not much known, received high
praise. Pyrotechnic displays are very well, but
when it is in regard to new fruits, we prefer for
our readers rather to admire than to pay dearly
for them. The very few new things that are
likely to be of permanent value we try to keep
our readers well informed about in the body of
the work.

The time when Currants and Gooseberries
mildew and drop their foliage is at hand. Some
have found a mulch of salt hay to be good
against these troubles, but, in fact, anything that
cools the surface, and thus helps to keep the at-
mosphere about the plants, is good. A heavy
mulch of old corn-stalks we have found to be
excellent help to success in growing these fruits.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

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

196

THE GARDEJVER'S MOXTHLY.

Ju ly;

need support. All Peas grow better and pro-
duce more -when grown to stakes. Bush Beans
may be also 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 to the poles as they
trrow. The poles should not be too high— about
ei»ht feet is enough. They commence to bear
freely only when the top of the pole is reached.

The Lettuce is another cool country plant. It
can only be grown well in hot weather when in
very rich and cool soil. For winter use, Beets
are occasionally sown now, and also Cucumbers
for pickling purposes; but not often; and, at
any rate, it must be attended to early in the
month. Tomatoes trained to stakes give the
sweetest fruit, and remain in bearing the longest ;
but many cultivators, who grow for size and
quantity only, believe they have the best results
when growing them on the level ground. Celery
is the chief crop requiring attention. The great
point is to get short thick-growing varieties, as
the long kinds require so much more labor to
blanch. The Boston market variety is, there-

fore, popular, and is really a very crisp and
nutty-flavored variety. After so many trials
with different 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. Soap-suds, as well as salt in mode-
rate doses, is usually a wonderful special fer-
tilizer 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
Cabbage does quite as well as when it has the
whole ground to itself; but of course a double
crop could not be expected to be quite so fine.

C 0 M M U N I C A T I 0 Ts' S .

EFFECTS OF THE SEVERE FROSTS OF
MARCH

ON THE TBEES AND SHRUBS AT WODENETHE,
FISHKILL-ON-THE-HUDSON, N. Y., THE RESI-
DENCE OF H. "W. SARGENT.

It would be very diflScult to give with any cer-
tainty the cause of the severe damage done at
this place upon almost every sort of vegetation
without first recapitulating the beginning of the
evil two years ago, in a very severe drought, so
severe as to denude many trees of their foliage,
in August and September ; a mild and wet and
somewhat protracted Autumn followed, during
which many trees made a late growth and had
not sufficiently ripened their wood at the com-
mencement of cold weather. This was especial-
ly true of the late growing Conifers, such asWell-
ingtonias, Cryptonierias, Cupressus of various
sorts, as well as Pears, which in many instances
were in blossom in October. Fortunately the
winter, with one or two early exceptions, was a
mild one, and the injury done to the immaturely

ripened wood was comparatively unimportant.
Another dry summer, that of 1871, followed,
causing irregular and imperfect growth, in many
cases late into the Autumn. On the 20th of Sep-
tember there came a sudden and severe frost, late
in the evening, cutting everything in the least
tender to the ground, and even browning some
tender tips of the late growing Evergreens. This
was followed by mild weather for several weeks.
But no doubt a demoralization took place in the
circulation of many trees at this time, so that
they went into their winter quarters not well
prepared to resist any unusual condition of wea-
ther. Unfortunately a very unusual condition of
weather came on the 4th and 5th of March in
shape of hard dry cutting winds, with the mer-
cury only four degrees above zero— at tkis time
the ground, entirely unprotected by snow, was
frozen to the depth of three, to Jive feet, arid of
course perfectly di'y, thus entirely preventing all
plants, during this fearful evajjoration from the
excessive cold winds, from obtainiug the slight-

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

197

est assistance in the way of moisture from the
roots. For the next two days there came a sur-
face thaw and some snow which melted soon after
it fell, but the ground was so hard and the frost
so deep that the water remained on the surface
as on a floor, freezing at night and melting by
day for a week, but totally unable to penetrate
the ground. The roots of trees being held all this
time as in a dry iron vice. This condition of
weather coming upon plants so enfeebled by the
condition of the preceding two years, caused, in
my opinion, the severe damage which seems to
have extended over all the Middle and Eastern
States. About Easter the wind was so severe in
force that no lantern could be kept lighted, and
it was with great difficulty my gardener could get
from one house to another, and all this time and
with this excessive evaporation in the Ever-
greens, especially the broad leaved ones, the
roots were encased in hard, dry frozen ground,
where no moisture could get either in or out.
Perhaps the most perplexing thing in the great
damage done everywhere, is the extraordinary
irregularity of the injury. Plants and trees here-
tofore considered tender even in the mildest win-
ters, like Cryptomerias, Ilex latifolia, the newer
Retinosporas, «&c., are perfectly uninjured, and
as fresh as they usually are in June, while others
perfectly hardy (at least so considered) are killed.
An old Beech hedge here is completely riddled ;
so likewise with a Hemlock and Korway hedge ;
a large Acer Carapestre, (the common field Ma-
ple) 25 years old, killed ; so is a large deciduous
Cypress, 25 feet high ; another by its side is un-
injured ; three large Abies Menziesii, 12 to 18
feet high, killed, though heretofore hardy in the
worst season ; beds of English Ivy on the ground,
having the protection (heretofore considered val-
uable) of the warmth of the soil, killed ; immedi-
ately adjacent, on a wall, hardly touched ; Rho-
dodendrons generally killed back though with
some green wood — those protected by wooden
houses have suffered quite as much. Evergreens
as well as deciduous trees, standing side by side,
of equal size, age, and apparent health, one taken
and the other left, and yet Peach trees are not
only an exception, but the amount of bloom upon
them is greater this year than I have ever known
for twenty-five years. To add to our perplexity
we have not only lost our trees, but we have not
learned any lesson from our misfortunes. We
can only regard it as an exceptional year which,
like an earthquake or deluge, may never occur
again, but if it should, I do not see how we can

prevent the devastation, even if we knew it was
coming.

RRODODENDRONS.

Caractacus,
Charles Bagley,
Charles Dickens,
Ouido,

H. H. Hunnewell,
H. W. Sargent,
James Bateman,
Lady Armstrong,
Lady Clermont,

Injured

Slightly injured

Slightly injured

Killed

Killed

Badly browned

Killed

Injured

Injured

Mrs. G. H. W. Heneage, Badly injured

Mrs. John Clutton, Good

Mrs. B. S. Holford, Leaves gone.

Old Port, Killed

Othello, Part gone

Purity, Killed Z^

B. S. Field, Killed

Atrosanguineum, Injured ^

Barclayanum, Injured

Blandyanum, Killed

Candidissimum, Injured

Caractacus, Injured

Concessum, Good

Delicatissimum, Killed

Fverestianum, Pretty good

Fastuosum flora pleno. Pretty good

Oiganteum, Good

John Waterer, Injured

Mro, Injured

Onslowianum, Injured

Purpureum, elegans, Partly killed
Pwyureum grandtflorum. Partly killed

Boseum elegans, Browned

Boseum grandiflorum. Browned

Boseum pidum. Browned

Sherwoodianum, Killed

Sir Thomas Sebright, Injured

Titian, Killed

Towardii, Injured

Vandyck, Injured

All seedling CatawUensis generally very bad,
though the wood looking green.

HARDY AZALEAS.

Half the wood and all flower-buds killed.

KALMIAS.

Generally untouched.

ANDROMEDAS.

Badly browned, but alive.

LEDUMS.

Killed.

RHODORAS.

Killed.

198

THE GARDE^'ER'S MOJ^TELY

July,

GAULTHERIAS.

Cu2^ressns,-

Almost destroyed.

Lawsoniana,

Generally good

ERICAS— HARDY HEATHS.

" erecta,

Generally good

Generally killed.

" gracilis,

Generally good

MENZIESIAS.

Juniperus,

Generally killed.

chinensis,

Good

Daphne cneorum majus, Killed

hispanica or thurifera.

Good

EPiG^A repens,

Killed

recurva,

Good

CONIFERS. 1

virginiana.

Good

Abies

" humilis,

Good

exeelsa clanbrasiliana,

Killed

" pendula,

Good

" compacta,

Killed

Sabina tamariscifolia

Good

" Gregorii,

Killed

" prostrata,

Good

" pygmsea,

Killed

squamata,

Good

" pumila,

Killed

Swedish,

Good

" pyramidalis,

Killed

Larix

inverta,

Uninjured

pendula,

Untouched

canadensis,

Ucinjured

Kcempferi,

Untouched

Douglassii,

Badly cut

RetinosjMra

lirma,

Good

ericoides,

Fair

Ksempferii,

Good

leptoclada,

Excellent

Menziesii,

Killed

obtusa,

Excellent

Hookeriana,

Good

pisifera,

Excellent

orientalis,

Uninjured

" argentca,

Excellent

monstrosa,

Uninjured

" aurea.

Excellent

Picea,

" plumosa,

Excellent

cephalonica,

Browned

filicoides,

Excellent

grandis,

Good

filifera,

Excellent

lasiocarpa,

Good

Sciadopytis

nobilis,

Badly cut

verticillata,

Untouched

Nordmanniana,

Good

Taxodium

magnifica or nobilis

distichum,

Untouched

robusta,

Good

" pendulum.

Untouched

pinsapo,
Finus

Slightly injured

Tax MS

the common English,

Browned slightlj-

austriaca,
Benthamiana,

Good
Good

Dova«toni orWeepingY
erecta.

ew,Brown'd slightly
Good

cembra,

Good

monstrosa,

Good

macrocarpa,
Lambertiana,

Good
Good

aurea,

Gen'lly uninjured

monticola,

Good

elegantissima,

Gen'lly uninjured

pyrenaica,

Good

japonica,

Gen'lly uninjured

Mugho,

Good

Tlinjo2)sis

sylvestris pumila,
Strobus pumila,
CccZrus

Good
Good

boreal is,
dolobrata,

" variegata,

Perfectly green
Badly cut
Badly cut

Deodara,

Killed

Ifetcvirens,

Good

5

Libani,

Uninjured

Staudishii,
Tliuja

Good

(Je.'phaloiaxus

Fortuuii,

Uninjured

aurea.

Untouched

C/mnjcecj/pam

gigantea,

Badly injured

sphffiroidea variegata,

Slightly cut

Lobbii,

Severely injured

Cryptomeria

orientalis,

Good

japonica.

Hardly touched

Tatarica,

Good

Lobbii,

Injured

falcata.

Good

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY

199

Thuja

elegantissima,

American Arborvitee

Yervaueana,

pendula,

Warreana,

plicata,
Wellingtonia

sisantea.

Good

Somewhat damag'ii
Unhurt
Unhurt
Unhurt
Unhurt

Untouched, every
bud good

HARDY ORNAMENTAL AND FLOAYERING TREES.

Acer, negundo variegata, Killed
Beech, common Badly injured

" cut-leaved, Injured

Castanea vesca, Killed

" aurea variegata, Killed

HARDY EVERGREENS AND DECIDUOUS FLOW-
ERING SHRUBS, &C.

Aralia japonica, Good

ArborvUce, American, Very much injur 'd

Aucuba japonica, (old

kind). Safe, protected
japonica, with berries, Safe, protected

Berberis, aquifolium, Badly cut up

Bealii, Good

japonica, Good

Tortunii, Good

Broom, Yellow, Destroyed

Cedars, Ked Virginian, All browned

Clematis, Injured

Coioneaster afRnis, Killed

Crataegus, Injured

Daphne cneorum, Killed
^Honi/mws japonica lati-

folia alba variegata, Good

FoTsythia Fortuni, Good

Gynerium argenteum. Killed

Hollies, — all American Hollies have lost their
leaves, the wood is green.

HoneysucTdes Injured

evergi-een, Injured

late Dutch, Injured

late Trumpet, Injured

Magnolia conspicua. Uninjured

Soulangeana, Uninjured

cordata. Uninjured

glauca, Unmjured

gracilis, Uninjured

grandiflora, Uninjured

Lennee Uninjured

purpurea. Uninjured

Thompsoniana, Uninjured

tripetala. Uninjured

Mahonia aquifolium. Badly cut

Paulonia imperialis, Good

Pavia californica. Good

Peach, Good

Privet, Box-leaved, Good

Pyrus japonica, Good

Quercus, variegated Turkey *

Oak, Good

nigra or Purple Oak, Good

Fern-leaf Oak, Good

Weeping Oak, Good

Concordia, Yellow-leaf

Oak, Good

Salisburia, adlantifolia Good
Sambucus argentea variegata. Good

aurea variegata, Good

Syringa, common. Good

Emodi, • Good

Josiktea, Good

Virginian Creeper, Good

Veitch's Good

Yews, Enghsh, Generally brown'd

TREES. •

Acer rubrum. Good

colchicum rubrum. Good

Liquidambar, Good

Cypress, Weeping, Badly Injured

Oak, scai'let American, Good

Beech, purple, Good

Oaks, purple, . Good

Elm, purple. Good

Sycamore, purple, Good

Maple, Norway, Good

Talip Trees, Good

Virgilia lutea, Good

Sycamore, variegated, Good

Maple, variegated Ash-leaf, Injured
Ash, variegated. Good

Elm, variegated. Good

Chestnut, variegated Spanish, Injured
Gleditschias, Injured

Birch, cut-leaved Weeping, Good
Beech, curled-leaved, Injured badly

CV(estm(<,Fern-leavedSpanish, Injured badly
Dwarf, Injured badly

In the Vegetable Gardens — Artichokes are ap-
parently killed, Aspargus, Stawberries and Rasp-
berries injured, though all were carefully pro-
tected during the winter.

Even since the above was written many things
have gone back ; no rain for over two weeks, and
thermometer 82^—85''. Unless we shortly have
rain we shall have nothing left— such hot drying
winds.

WODENETiiE. jljTa?/ 15^/). 1872.

200

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY.

July,

NOTES OX THE WINTER AT DANS-
VILLE, N. Y.

BY T. T. S.

The winter, with about one hundred and thirty
or forty hard freezing days and nights, and no
snow, was a test winter on many things. Trees
and plants in moist soil have suffered less than on
very dry soil. The last cold snowless winter I
saw a fine proof of this. A neighbor had a quan-
tity of Anger's Quince budded to Pear. They
stood on a piece of good dry loam, a sort of yel-
low clay and sand, and very dry soil. On the
same flat and near by, I had a block planted the
same time, but on a more moist soil : the soil
being a mixture of clay and vegetable mould, and
while not voeX yet a moist soil. The winter was
long, dry and cold, and no snow, and no rain in
the fall. Spring found full ninety per cent, of
my neighbor's block dead— froze dry, and not a
dead plant in my block.

I find this spring the tops of Yearling Apples
some varieties killed back. I have not found a
dead or hurt top in all my large blocks of Pear.
Is the wood of the Pear more hardy than the
Apple, or does the root of the Pear go deeper and
find moisture to supply the top ?

A word about Cherries. Last spring I planted
5000 "Black Morello Cherry" seedUngs. \
planted them because some of my western pa-
trons wish Early Richmond grown on B. Mor-
rello stocks, " no other stock being hardy enough
for the west." I planted at the same time Maz-
zard and Mahaleb stock to amount of 30,000.
The rows of Morello being between the rows of
Mazzard, the Mahaleb being near by. At the
proper time the Morrello were budded, the work
being done by two men of fifteen years experi-
ence in budding, and my best men. Full eighty
^80) per cent, failed to take, while only three (3)
per cent, failed on the Mazzard or Mahaleb. Re-
budding produced no better results. The plants
made a good healthy growth. Imagine my sur-
prise on finding this much vaunted "hardy''
stock badly winter killed. At the time of spur-
ing back this spring, I found full three-fourths
(75 per cent. ) dead, root and branch, the balance
more or less hurt. In planting a bundle of Maz-
zard cherry became mixed through the rows.
They were sound and alive to the top bud. The
rows of Mazzard along each side went through
the winter all right, the most sound to the top,
and no dead stock. On the Mahaleb the new
growth was all dead, and a small portion of the
stock was dead throughout. The moral I draw

is that the best and most hardy stock that a
cherry can be grown on is true Mazzard, (I think
the Bed Mazzard the hardiest), next Mahaleb,
and that the wonderfully "hardy Black Mor-
rello " is about as hardy as a fig.

Speaking of cherry reminds me of a fight I had
last summer with that miserable pest, tlie Cherry
Plant Louse, [Aphis Cerasi.) I found one day
early in June that here and there over a block of
Yearling Cherry they had established colonies.
As soon as I could prepare the old standard re-
medy, Tobacco and Soap, I had it applied. It
used up the young fry, but the older and harder
shelled ones did not seem to mind it much. The
weather being very favorable, they increased
faster than we could kill them, do the best we
could. I then put a quantity of Carbolic Acid
in with the soap and tobacco. I used the "Crys-
tal " or refined, (the pure acid), but without the
expected results. I then found at a drug store
some "crude" Carbolic Acid, being a dark col-
ored, rank smelling article. This I mixed at the
rate of about four (4) ounces of acid to two or
three quarts of soft-soap, and about ten or twelve
gallons of water, put in a little rye flour to make
the compound adhere to the leaves some, and
then with a couple of coarse sponges throughly
wet the leaves. It proved a harvest of death to
the enemy. One application cleaned the block.
Other nurserymen who used the usual remedies
lost their trees ; mine came through unhurt.
This " crude " acid is very cheap, — only three or
four cents per ounce at retail. Made too strong
it will kill the leaf. One should try and note re-
sult before using much.

Apple trees are loaded with bloom. Pears
over-bore last season, yet the trees are well filled
with flowers again this season, and promise
nearly a full crop. No Peaches. Cherries full
crop. Very dry, pasture and meadows suffering.

RAMBLES IN QUEENSLAND,
AUSTRALIA.

BY MR. W. T. HARDING, NONANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGHTON, MASS.

If the editor of the Monthly and his numerous
readers will accompany me to the Antipodes, (in ,
imagination only,) I will return again to that
wonderful island which the Dutch discoverer
previously named New Holland, but is now bet-
ter known as Australia. Its area is so vastly
extensive, stretching about two thousand miles
from north to south, and some two thousand five

1872.

THE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJfTHLY.

201

hundred from east to west, that it is very pro-
perly termed a continent. In size it is more than
two-thirds that of Europe. The Tropic of Capri-
corn runs through the centre, which places its
northern coast within eleven degrees of the
equator, which is near enough to old Sol for an
Anglo-Saxon to swelter in.

Recent accounts from that country inform us
that the solar heat for several successive days
reached 108° in the shade— hot enough, you may
suppose, to make the colonists feel ?«ai'TO-hearted.
Your correspondent has a vivid recollection of
the hot winds with which the country is so un-
pleasantly visited, and of one, more especially,
which lacked but 97 of " the boiling point," 212°.
The "red-hot wind," as it rushes in fiery gales
like furnace-blasts through the land, has been
graphically described by many a fervid pen.
Still later accounts inform us of a fearful cyclone
passing over a portion of the country, and
leaving wreck and ruin to mark its course.

Australia is a peculiar country in many re-
spects, and philosophically difters from all other
lands in the characteristic features of both the
animal and vegetable kingdom. It has nume-
rous and beautiful-plumaged birds, whose
strangely uncouth and discordant notes sound
like a gross parody of such musical songsters as
"the black-birds and thrushes, who sing in
every green tree" in Europe, or " the sweet little
oriole" or plaintive mocking-bird of this hemi-
sphere. There are thousands and thousands of
cockatoos, parrots and parroquets, yelling,
screeching and screaming in the lofty tree-tops
in a fearful manner.

The traveler is frequently startled with the
note of the bell-bird, whose monotonous tone
fctrikes the ear like " the sound of the church-
going bell." The song (so called) of the Dacelo
gigantea, or "laughing jackass," as the settlers
call them, seems an odd counterpart to the funny
chorus, as he bursts out into hearty peals of loud
and jolly-like laughter, from beneath some adja-
cent bush. It is a large and powerful king-fisher,
who lives in the dry scrub and forests, and
preys upon the smaller mammals, insects and
reptiles, instead of fish. It is an expert mouser,
and, with the untiring patience of a cat, will
wait at a hole for the "wee, sleekit, cow'rin,
tim'rous beastie," which, to use the words of
Burns, goes to prove that even there, as well as
in "bonnie Scotland," " the best laid scheems o'
mice an' men gang aft aglee."

The bower-bird and lyre-bird surpass all and

every other ornithological beauty I ever saw.
Another interesting bird is the emeu, a long-
legged creature, not unlike an ostrich, and is
generally called "the native companion." Its
habits are sociable and friendly, and may be
seen following the aborigines like their canine
companions wherever they go. They seem to
aflSliate with the white settlers also in the same
manner.

Black swans are numerous in several parts,
Western Australia especially. Of ducks and
geese there are several curious species. The
shieldrake is the most beautiful of all water
fowl. When in Queensland, some two hundred
miles from Brisbane, where the Mary River
winds its way through immense groves of wattle
and blue gum trees, 1 was much amused with
the adroit manner the blacks had of capturing
water-fowl in the reedy lagoons, which seemed
literally alive with them. One summer after-
noon—January 25th, 1852, (in Australia the
summer season comprises the time between Da^
cember 22d and March 20th,) — while resting
near the river, where we had passed most of the
morning, I noticed some black sportsmen bag-
ging their game in a somewhat novel way.
Among the iN'ymphea gigantea, whose numerous
and beautiful blue flowers, averaging from twelve
to fifteen inches in diameter, sweetly reclining
on these green, salver-shaped couches, like lovely
"water nymphs," as they undoubtedly are, three
or four blacks were quietly moving. Their heads
were artfully concealed with tufts of rushes just
above the water, that completely hid them from
the unsuspecting ducks, and, when near enough
to take hold of them from beneath, they gene-
rally succeeded in catching three or four each
before they took the alarm and fled.

The gigantic rush-like Xyrisaltissima waved
gracefully above X. bracteata, Blandfordia no-
bilis (noble indeed), B. intermedia, Isolepis no-
dosa, Schoenus melanostachys (a singular black-
topped variety), Killyngia intermedia, Renealmia
pulchella, Hcemodorum teretifolium, Mariscus
Isevis, Juncus planifolius (a very curious flat-
stemmed rush), Crinum flaccidum, Callostemma
alba, C. purpureum (two pretty Amaryllis-like
plants), mingled with Dracfena nutans and Cor-
dyline cannsefolia, almost hid the stream, so
rank and dense were they.

On the higher grounds grew some fine Palms,
Livistonia inermis, while beneath were mats of
the singular green-flowered, tuberous-rooted
orchid Microtis media and the Omalanthus

202

THE GARBE^rER'S MOJYTHLl,

July,

populifolia, a pretty Eupborbiaceous plant, from
seven to eight feet high.

Among the many singular and beautiful Cr3'p-
togamic gems were tufts of Ophioglossum costa-
tum, and in the wildest profusion grew masses
of the most beautiful of all the Pteris tribe —
Pteris scaberula, also Lomaria lancifolia and L.
Patersonii, two handsome and attractive Perns.
Pine specimens of Melia australis, a tall and
handsome tree, attaining to one hundred and
eighty feet, were conspicuously towering above
the many beautiful shrubs and flowers beneath.
It much resembles the Melia azederach, a native
of Syria, and is used in Georgia and South Caro-
lina as a shade tree. Trjchilia glandulosa,
another ornamental tree, in every stage of
growth, from a sapling up to one hundred and
fifty feet high, were richly dx'aped and festooned
with the splendid blue-flowering Glycina elan-
destina, whose beautiful racemes hung, like glossy
silk streamers, on all sides. I saw several spe-
cimens of Gl5-cinas, of immense size, where the
trees over which they had climbed had perished
and decayed, and when in full bloom, looked
like a blue mountain. On Kangaroo Island
there is a very remarkable mountain of Glycinas,
and can be discerned at a considerable distance.

Some of the richest soil for agricultural pur-
poses to be found in Australia is along the banks
of the Darling, Warrengo, Mackenzie and Mary
Eivers, and is w€ll adapted for the cultivation of
tobacco, cotton, coffee and sugar. Here may be
seen groves of plantains and bananas, in full
bearing, with broad acres of pine-apples of good
size and well flavored, with fields of arrow-root,
ginger, sugar-cane and yams, besides gi'oves of
oranges and lemons, guavas, mangos, figs,
peaches and tamarinds. In fact, all the sub-
tropical fruits seem to flourish here. The grape-
vine is remarkable for its luxuriant growth, and
is everywhere cultivated where the white man
settles. An excellent light wine is made from
its fruit, and is justly becoming popular as a
beverage throughout the country.

The greatest disadvantage the country labors
under is a lack of water. Good drinking water
is to be met with sometimes ; but more frequent-
ly it has a brackish and unpleasant taste, and is
decidedly nasty. The water-holes, where man
and beast are . often compelled to slake their
thirst, are generally alive with animalculoe, dis-
gusting reptiles, and every abominable kind of
amphibious monsters imaginable. I have often
shut my eyes while trying to swallow a little

when almost frenzied with thirst. If it is boiled
before using, it is all the bettei", as it can then
be got down with more confldence. It is a com-
mon sight. to see men going to their labor with
tea-kettles slung over their shoulders, which are
filled and emptied many times during the day.
Boiled water, when flavored with tea and sugar,
is certainly more palatable, and healthy, too,
than the semi-fluid is when in a roM state.

As a people, the colonists are becoming the
greatest tea and coffee-drinkers in the world.
The lonely shepherds and stockmen, whom we
frequently met "far in the wood from noise and
smoke," are often men of education and refine-
ment, " who have seen better days," and, fail-
ing to realize what they had been led to expect,
have, as a dernier resource, been glad to accept
such menial positions to eke out their existence.
To them "Hope told a flattering tale." The
pastoral life of "a gentle shepherd" is there
shorn of all the poetry and romance with which
it was surrounded in "the light of other days."

As we steered our course towards Brisbane
through a beautifully diversified country, I ob-
served numerous clumps of Banksias, Dran-
dras, and Cycas angustata, a remarkable herba-
ceous palm-like plant, with quantities of Dam-
piera stricta, a very ornamental blue-flowering
plant, named in honor of the celebrated naviga-
tor. Captain Dampier.

Eranthemum variabile, a pretty evergreen
shrub, bearing purple flowers, and Dracophyl-
lum secundum, a white-flowering variety, were
exceedingly beautiful. Grevillea Baurei (red),
G. concinna (purple) and G. sulphurea (yellow),
with some thirty more varieties, were interest-
ing and beautiful.

Ilakea, of which there are numerous kinds,
is a very singular and curious genus, and is
found generally throughout New Holland. Here
they grow into impenetrable thickets, woven to-
gether with Hibbertia volubilis, Iloya australis,
Jasniinum accumihatum (a rambling evergreen
climber), Eustrephuslatifolia, Cissus antarctica,
Zichyas and such like climbers.

Gunnea picta, a curious little orchid, literally
covered some large specimens of Melaleucas, or
"Black and White Trees," as the settlers call
them. Very old trees have an odd appearance,
and seem as " old-fashioned " as anything an-
cient can well be. Although of no great height
or bulk, their wierd-looking trunks seemed coeval
with the third day of creation, and might have
been hale green trees when x\dara took charge

1872.

THE GARDEMEWS MONTHLY.

203

of the garden and made love to his beautiful
Eve among fruit and flowers. They in reality
looked like arboreal antidiluvians, who had con-
tinued from that age until now. Melaleuca lina-
rifolia, M. grandis, M. pulchella and M. diosmse-
folia are tolerably well known in this hemisphere,
and are useful in forming choice bouquets.
There are some fifty species, and are all indige-
nous to Australia.

Several fine specimens of tree ferns, Dicksonia
Antarctica, delighted us with their stately and
magnificent forms. As we lingered beneath the
shade of their beautiful fronds, I wondered how
many thousands of years had passed and gone
since the Creative .power had quickened them
with vegetable life ere our first parents were.

In a work written by Mr. B. A. Williams, F.
R.H.S., London, on "Select Ferns and Lyco-
pods," appears an excellent wood engraving of
a group of Australian tree ferns, and the centre
one is a fair specimen of many I have had the
good fortune to see and admire. I could not re-
sist the temptation to climb up the trunks of
some of the tallest and most handsome grown
ones, being careful not to injure the young
fronds rising from the centre of the crowns of
these cryptogamic kings, who reigned over the
Ferny Kingdom before the carboniferous era,
and were then, as now, "pleasant to the sight"
"in the days when the earth was young."

In the deep black alluvial soil on each side of
the Darling, to the Culgoa and Condamine
Rivers, grow numbers of Pandanus peduncula-
tus and P. spiralis, some of which are beauti-
fully grand, and which average from twenty-five
to thirty feet high.

The valleys seemed well adapted for pastoral
pursuits, and were well covered with grass.
The trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants seemed
peculiar to the region we were passing through.
Of terrestrial Orchidea I saw acres of Glossoides
minor, a pretty blue-flowering kind, of peculiar
form, with Dipodium punctatum, a curious leaf-
less kind, bearing purple flowers, besides Cala-
denia cerulea and C. alba, two lovely blue and
white kinds.

Lyperanthus suaveolens (very odoriferous) and
L. ellipticus (the latter is a most singular orchid,
the club-like tubers of which are natural curiosi-
ties) ought to be grown in every collection.

Gastrolobium retusum, a pretty leguminous
shrub, and remarkable tor its inflated seed-pods
(like fishes' bladders;, with which it is covered;
Hibiscus multifidei, a handsome blue-flowering

shrub, and Hypocalyrana robustum, a pretty
graceful shrub, with a myrtle-like habit and fo-
liage and peach-like blossom, were charming in-
deed. I saw it for the first time at the Botanic
Gardens at Sydney, Kew South Wales, and sub-
sequently at Flinder's Island.

Tristania arborescens is a rather robust-grow-
ing tree, and may be classed among the curious.
It was occasionally seen. At the famous Nor-
folk Island, growing among the magnificent
Pines, was Araucaria excelsa ; it is numerous,
and contrasts well with the noble and beautiful
trees which flourish there.

As I have led you thus far, we shall soon
reach the coast, and as we are passing through
a picturesque country, we will admire its beauty
as we journey on through a part more intersect-
ed by numerous streams than any previously
met with. Innumerable flocks of sheep, herds
and horses are fattening upon the well-grassed
plains. Considerably of the country is heavily
timbered, with now and then an open glade, from
which an isolated hill abruptly rises, which
gives a pleasant undulation to the landscape,
which lacks not a feature to make it exceedingly
romantic. Groups of Isopogon formosa, an ever-
green shrub, profusely covered with pretty rose-
colored flowers, becomes numerous, and is, per-
haps, as interesting as most of the Australian
flora, so beautiful on every side. Isolated clumps
of Epacridaceous shrubs were as beautiful and
fair as they always are.

Melichrus rotatus deserves mentioning, so
lovely, I thought then, and do so now, as to be
hardly excelled by any of its pretty congeners,
as it seemed to sparkle with myriads of Sery-red
flowers, and which seemed to flash in the moon-
light with a dazzling glare.

Some fine Podocarpus asplenifolius, much like
a Taxus, were here and there growing, and re-
minded me of some of the famous specimens of
the ancient " churchyard Yews," whosebranches
overshadow the weary travelers, whose slumbers
have been unbroken for centuries, in the quiet
country churchyards of Old England.

But a little further, and I will conduct you
from an Eden of flowers to a Paradise of fruits
in the orchards and gardens in the suburbs of
Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Smack
your lips, then, good readers, and fanc}'^ you are
guests of Pomona, enjoying her luscious ofier-
ings, while listening to the sound of "the sad
sea waves" as they roll in from Moreton Bay.

And now, Mr. Editor, I must leave you for

^OJf

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TBLl.

July J

the present, and if you and your readers are not
tired of me and the journey, I will gladly meet
you at some future time, when I trust we may
all journey on pleasantly together again.

THE MEMORABLE WINTER.

BY MR. JOSIAH HOOPES, "WEST CHESTER, PA.

In taking a retrospect of the eflFects produced
by the late disastrous winter, thert are several
new features to be taken into our calculations.
Some planters are foolish enough to reason in this
style: "That we can now ascertain what are
really hardy, and which too tender for reliabili-
ty.'' Such is not the case.

The long continued cold weather during an
exceedingly dry term^ is what did the mischief,
and therefore species that have heretofore stood
with perfect impunity, may still be reckoned
among our really hardy plants, although killed
outright at present. Supposing for instance the
above hypothesis to be correct ; why then should
American Arborvitse, Hemlock Spruce, Silver
Fir, and Common Junipers be killed, whilst Close
alongside of the above we find Abies Smithiana,
(morinda), Chinese Arborvitse and other partial-
ly tender plants entirely uninjured this spring ?
This has been my experience, curious as it may
appear. Again in a collection of Conifers stand
specimens of Abies Pindrow and A . Webbiana,
that have every winter for many years been in-
jured, either in the terminal bud or leading shoot,
and are now entirely healthy and vigorous in leaf
and bud. Yet close beside them hardy ever-
greens are now candidates for a first-class bon-
fire.

Many species of the Conifers are enabled to
withstand excessive drouth much better than
others. The Taxus genus have suffered fearful-
ly here, with one exception, and that the T. cus-
pidoM, one of the newer introductions from
Japan, is not even browned, — a perfect little
green gem, amongst a mass of brown and dead
companions. Is this hardier than the others ?
I think not, for our native species, the Canadian
Yew, found very far north, has failed entirely.
The T. ad2)ressa an undeniably hardy species has
also terribly suffered. Another curious fact is,
that some kinds are even yet ''going back." But
one week since, May 1st, a large Cryptoyneria Ja-
ponica, (some twenty years planted), was appar-
ently alive to the very tips, but to-day it is as
brown as an old brush heap ; and even as I write,
a large Abies Pinsapo that I had thought all

right, has suddenly turned yellow all over. Some-
curious freaks have occurred in extensive plan-
tations of hardy trees. For instance in seeming-
ly protected situations, we lose severely, and in
others more exposed, we have lost but few speci-
mens. Again in large blocks will be found one
or two plants alive and beautiful, whilst the re-
mainder are totally dead. In long rows of the
Hemlock Spruce^ individual plants on dry hill-
sides are alive, but in the low and moister places
they are dead root and branch. This is difficult
to explain. In a recent letter from A. D. Brown,
Esq., present owner of the celebrated "Field
Collection," at Princeton, N. J., he thus reports
some interesting facts : " Pintts australis very
slightly touched,'' and yet a form of the Scotch
Pine is "killed completely." '■'■ Juniperus all
more or less browned except rigida; this al-
though not sheltered is entirely untouched."
" Golden Arborvitfe {Biota onintalis aurea),Jlag-
elliformis, &c., uninjured; B. Tartarica, every
one (some 20 or more) killed, exposed or shelter-
ed, it wasall the same." The foregoing although
giving no facts as to the real availability of our
evergreens, is still of use in showing how differ-
ent plants are enabled to withstand extremes of
moisture and drouth. I could give you a detail-
ed list of Conifers with their record during the
past winter, but I believe such a statement
would be of no use. Our collection appears as if
a fire had swept over it, and indeed it will after
the lifeless remains are dug up and placed on a
heap. Such in brief is my lamentation over my
favorites, and I sincerely trust I may never again
have cause to make such a disheartening report.

LAFAYETTE & CO. IN NEW YORK AND
IN PHILADELPHIA.

BY DANIEL PHOOLE.

About the middle of February last the atten-
tion of the writer was attracted by a number of
fine looking bulbs, &c., displayed in the base-
ment window of 745 Broadway, New York. On
going in I found the party in charge all French
— roots, bulbs, tubers, &c. they had in profusion,
and of a kind and character entirely new to my
horticultural and floral experience. On inquir-
ing the kind of flower they bore they displayed
several engravings of the most gorgeous charac-
ter ; in fact the walls of the cellar were literally
papered with them.

Now it is somewhat unfortunately the case
with your correspondent that a new bulb, plant,
or flower is a sight as fascinating to him as the

187'^,

THE GARBEJ^EWS MONTHLY.

205

•glimpse of a big nugget would be to the eyes of
a California gold-buuter. The consequence was
I went in and bought and "was sold" at the
same time. I purchased 1 Arc de Trioraphe, 1
Incomparabilis Reine des Fleurs, 1 Calypso Bor-
ealis, and I am sorry to add that although an old
subscriber to the Gardener'>s Monthly, I actually
bought, (this is confidential, sub rosa you know.
Tell it not in Gath. Whisper it not in the
streets of Askalon), — I invested in a Blue Bose.
However, the blue rose is dead, having departed
this life about the time I recieved it, and in truth
had I not the utmost confidence in the honor and
integrity of Lafayette & Co., I would believe my
Blue Rose had left for another and a better
world, just a little before it left the hands of that
enterprising firm in New York. Requiescat in
pace, — peace to its ashes. I have no doubt my
rose is now shedding its fragrance and display-
ing its mazurine blue, petals tipped with gold in
that spirit-land where all good roses go, especial-
ly if their color happens to be blue.

The other plants I have grown carefully in pots
for three months ; none of them have as yet
flowered, though doing well otherwise. I would
Tcry much like to know their botanical names
and orders, as I find nothing in Gray or AVood or
Lindley, either, that exactly tallies with them as
far as developed. I will therefore describe them
to you in the very best botanical lingo I can
muster :

Arc de Triomplie. — This is a large fleshy root
about 12 inches in length, and the thickness of
my wrist, branching out palmately at the top into
six forks, about the length and thickness of a fin-
ger, each fork having an imbricated leaf-bud,
which have expanded into as many herbaceous
stems which are now variously from one to eight
inches high ; leaves three to four inches long by
one and a-half, entire simple ovoid acuminate
decussate rugose strongly three to eight nerved
with winged partly clasping petioles ; structure
exogenous ; the root has the bitterness of genti-
an, and may possibly be a variety of Columbo,
of the gentian order.

Incomparabilis Beine des Fleurs. — This root is
a fascicle of twelve or fifteen tubers, from three
to five inches long, springing from a common
axis, and not unlike the young tubers of the
Sweet potato. On top was a large leaf-bud on a
short axis, surrounded with a tuft of coarse
fibres. This bud has expanded into,twelve or fif-
teen lance linear sub-ereet keeled or three-angled

leaves, ten to fourteen inches long. Acaules-
cent structure endogenous.

Ccdypso Borealis. — This also was a bundle of
tubers (10 or 15), two inches long, the thickness
of a quill, with a stout leaf bud surrounded with
a tuft of fibres. Caulescent ; stem eight inches
high ; leaves four inches long, one and ahalf
wide, sessile, long, oval, rugose, almost plicate,
sub-acuminate, alternate, amplexicaul ; endoge-
nous structure.

On Tuesday, May 7th, I attended a closing out
sale of French plants, at Birch's Auction rooms
on Chestnut street. Among great quantities of
roses, fruit trees, &c., were literally cart-loads of
Arc de Triomphes, Reine des Fleurs and Calyp-
sos, and though no blue roses were ofiered, and
no prints displayed, I did not doubt that Lafay-
ette & Co., of New York, were transfering their
novelties to Philadelphia. Here plants were sold
at figures ruinously low — three to five and ten
cents, prices that certainly never paid the cost of
importation — if imported they were, and they
could not be grown here at those figures with at-
tendant expenses.

I here from curiosity, invested a couple of ,
shillings in some novelties that interested me at
the moment, though believing at the same time
I was buying from Lafayette & Co., and should
they result in nothing, there will be neither loss
nor disappointment :

Alstromeria Begia. — This is a fleshy root about
the size and shape of an ordinary horse radish-
root, with the color and texture of flesh of the
Sweet potato. From the top is growing a few
small dark green ovate cordate leaves on long red
petioles and stem,

Pelpediimi Elephantissimum. — This is a dark
fleshy root, having somewhat the appearance of
a large horse radish, crowned on top with a tuft
of thick coarse fibres, the dead vegetation of last
year. No growth as yet.

Genet Broom. — This is a grafted plant, the
stock resembling a willow twig, the thickness of
a finger, three feet long ; the scion on top branch-
ing out into a number of slender twigs, gives the
plant the appearance or rather shape of a com-
mon house broom. This is just beginning to bud.
The following day. May 8 th, accidently in the
neighborhood of Lonabaugh & Pabst's Auction
rooms, Fifth and Chestnut, I witnessed another
plant sale, though I bought nothing. Here the
hand or hands of Lafayette & Co. were unmis-
takably displayed. The bidding bung fire at first
till a gentleman with a Jewish cast displayed a

W6

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TRLY,

July,

large colored engraving of the Arc de Triomphe
in full bloom, with umbels of elegant flowers
springing from each axil. This had the same ef-
fect on the crowd that the tauridor's red flag
would have at a bull fight, or the Irish sunburst
on the warriors of Brian Boru. The crowd be-
came intensely eager and excited ; bids poured
in thick and fast. One lady, " fair, fat and for-
ty,'* brandishing a parasol at the auctioneer with
the prespiration streaming down her face, bid
over everbody, — over herself very often, she cer-
tainly must have bought the full of a cart.
Plants that the day before at Birch's brought
with difficulty five, eight and ten cents, here
brought two and three dollars. Xext came a lot
of flowering ferns, the engraving representing an
ordinary polypod, with lilies growing all over
the fronds. X«xt came a bundle of dr}' looking
thorny sticks, announced as the Arallia Grandi-
flora. There was no bidding for a few moments
till our Jewish friend threw out another red flag,
in the shape of a taudry colored print, represent-
ing an Aralia with a larye red tulip at each axil
or node. The bidding on this was most spirited,
the lot being knocked down at four dollars a
piece, yet the same plants were knocked down at
Birch's the day before at eight and ten cents. I
believe the plant to be nothing but the common
Aralia Spinosa of our thickets.

I saw no more ; I left the Auction room a
wiser and a sadder man, — wiser because I had
learned a new fact in botany, that the Aralias
do not always bear umbels, they sometimes bear
red tulips, — for evidence of that see Lafoyette &
Co. prints. A sadder man because it pains me
to see people so easily duped^ throwing away their
valuable greenbacks as if they cost nothing. It
also pains me to see descendants of the honored
race of Isaac and Abraham, Moses and Aaron,
decoying their fellow-man as ruthlessly as the
descendants of other races, — stooping to so much
baseness for filthy lucre.

STATELY ROW OF PEAR TREES.

BY L. B. , PHILADELPHIA.

For some years past I have observed in the dis-
tance out AVharton street west of Broad, a state-
ly roAV of Pear trees hanging like a low cloud on
the horizon, and have often intended to visit
them for the purpose of seeing why they grew so
well and so long, while modern plantings all per-
ish so soon. I never heard their history ever
outlined, and thought it possible that they repre-

sented the shadow of Mr. Landreth's former
power, as they were near the spot where his au-
thority was supreme for many years. During
1871 the western extension of Wharton street and
the opening of Eighteenth street, brought the
group into peril of their lives, and a few days
since I visited them, and finding the street filling
in around them, I got all the facts possible as to
their history, and took their ante-mortem state-
ment on the question of grass.

There were thirteen trees in all planted about
twent3'-five feet apart, in a right line north and
south ; all but one being in perfect health and
vigor, and in splendid bloom at the time I saw
them. In height they were not less than thirty-
five feet, with shapely crowns at least thirty feet
in diameter across the row ; lengthwise of the
row they touched, but were less expanded for
want of room. I measured the trunks carefully
with a measuring tape ; they were very uniform
in size from the ground to the spread of the
branches, which was about seven feet, and they
varied in circumference from a little less than
seven to fully nine feet, being from two and a
half to three feet in diameter. All the trunks
were sound, and all showed a swell where grafted
about a foot from the ground. Most of them
were Catherine pears, but the Bergamot, Butter,
and quite a number of other varieties had at dif-
ferent times been grafted on the upper branches.
If the exact measurements are worth citing, I
offer them here, as carefully recorded at the time,
the circumference only being given:

A' 3 ft. from the groaad. At 6 ft. from the gronnd.

Xo. 1, 7 feet 10 inches. 7 feet 11 inches,
" 2, 7 " U " 7 " 0 "

" 3, 6 " 10 " 7 " 0 "

u 4^ g u ^ .1 g u (. u

" 5, (buried) 8 '' 0 "

" 6, 7 '^ 4 " 7 " 0 "

" 7, G " 9 '• (3 " 7 "

u 8, 6 " 11 " 6 " 11 "

" 9, 7 '• 1 " 7 " 0 '■'

" 10, 7 " 1^ " 7 " 0 "

" 11, 8 '■ 0 " 9 " 0 "

One is now cut down and another buried below
the crown, so that it cannot be measured.

As for the history of these trees, I was fortu-
nate in finding Joseph Rementer living near the
spot, who informed me that they were planted
by Peter Rementer, his grandfather, and as he
thinks, not less than a hundred years ago. They
were large trees when his father was young, and
he when a boy, had always assisted in gathering

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TEL'Y.

207

the large quantities of pears which they annual-
ly bore. The trees were at Srst trained low, yet
they were so large that the crop was allowed to
fall as it ripened. They were picked up in bar-
rels and sold, bringing twenty-five cents a half
peck fifty years ago. The farm or lot was a small
one, of four or five acres only, fronting on " Irish
Track Lane," and was an original purchase by
Peter Rementer.

As to the care of the g«"ound, Mr. Joseph Ke-
raenter says that the spot around the trees was
always in grass ; never ploughed or cultivated.
Other fine fruit trees grew near them, but none
now remain except these pears. The fruit fell
in the grass, and for the full half century of my
informant's personal knowledge, the condition of
these trees has been the same. He is over sixty
years of age, and lives in a house much more
than one hundred years old, he is therefore, good
authority on this point. The trees have also al-
ways been healthy and prolific ; so prolific that
in some seasons quantities of pear seeds were
gathered and sold.

If the builders do not destroy them there will
be a fine crop of pears this summer. The trees
are so large that the boys are baffled in the mat-
ter of destroying either fruit or branches. By
what chance are these no Die trunks preserved if
the art of pear growing is lost ? The soil is not
peculiar, it is the general level of the plain, tena-
cious clay and loam, ten or twelve feet thick,
with fifteen feet of clean sand and gravel below,
as is all the surface of this southwestern part of
the city. Nor could grass have done them harm,
though present to the personal knowledge of my
informant for fifty years, and believed by him to
have been always around them. The street
grade being some six feet above the original sur-
face at this point, the filling in of Eighteenth
and Wharton streets may possibly kill them be-
fore the summer ends, yet only one has so far
been hurt by the water or the soil. These are
grafted trees, be it observed, on seedling stocks,
and therefore not unlike all the pear tree plant-
ing of the present time, as to the chances for long
and healthy life.

I regret that a more definite history of their
early years cannot be got, but my informant
thinks no one can know more than himself, and
no personal memory can go farther back. Mr.
Peter Rementer, who planted them, was one of
the earliest of German emigrants to this city, and
being a lover of fruit, at once planted out pears,
plums, «&c., freely. Could the situation and sur-

face remain the same, these trees would now, sa
far as one can see, be good for another full cen-
tury of sound growth and prolific bearing.
May 20th, 1872.

NOTES FROM WESTERN PENNSYL-
VANIA.

BY MR. A. HUIDEKOPER, MEADVILLE, PA.

Blue Grape Bud Beetle. — I inclose you some
specimens of the small green Beetle which is so
destructive to the buds of the grape-vine, perfor-
ating them before they expand. I found them
in the garden of a friend, who supposes he im-
ported them with some native vines which he
purchased. They can be easily found and picked
from the vines by those who will take the trouble
to do so. When touched they leap a few inches
and drop to the ground. I suppose this to be
the same beetle which troubles cultivators of the
vine along the lake shore, west of us.

[This is the common steel blue grape bud Bee-
tle of the east, — a native " to the manor born"
if not to the manner, (as some Shakesperians read
it) as well.]

Winter. — The dry cold winter has operated
singularly here. A few Balsam Firs (a tree in-
digenous here) are turning brown, and will no
doubt die ; on the other hand, shrubs not quite
hanly generally, such as the Japan Quince and
Forsythia Yiridissima, are full of flowers to the
extreme ends of the branches, a thing I have
never known occur here before where the plants
were left ilnprotected.

Fruit Prospects. — Fruit trees have blossomed
well, and we have a great excess of Apples and
Pears beyond what can properly mature, and also
a fair crop of Peaches. Some of the early Grape
shoots got frost bitten, but where the vines were
shielded from the morning sun, the prospect is a
■good one. Although it is the latter part of May,
we do not feel quite sure yet of exemption from
further frosts. If we do escape, the season will
be an uncommonly productive one.

[We have a similar experience here.]

Pear Blight. — Accepting the modern explana-
tion of this disease, viz.: that it is caused by a
fungus penetrating the bark and destroying the
circulation ; it seems to me the basis of hope for
a case must be in an alkali applied so that it shall
reach the cause of the trouble. I am making an
experiment to determine the matter and will re-
port the success or failure which may finally re- ■
suit from the treatment. The case in hand is a.

W8

TRE GAEBEJ^ER'S MO^'THLY.

July,

very decided and far advanced one, and anything
that shall cure it, I think can be relied on under
ordinary circumstances.

[Mr. Saunders believes he has a complete pre-
ventative by a wash of sulphur and lime.]

The Hay Crop. —T\\& late rains we have had bid
fair to give us a full crop of hay, and have helped
the strawberries. The fruit of the latter will be
late in maturing this year, ripening somewheres
from the 10th to the 15th of June.

[The rain did not reach us eastern folks time
enough to give us a good hay crop.]

WINTER GARDENING.

BY DR. J. WEED, MUSCATI"NE, IOWA.

The demand for winter grown vegetables,
fruits and flowers has already become very great
in our large cities, and undoubtedly it is destined
to increase immensely throughout our vast coun-
try with the progress of civilization and the in-
crease of wealth. Any question of economy in
their production, is of great importance to pro-
ducers, and also to the public, who often pay
dearly for these luxuries, — supporting an im-
iOiense trade.

The rapid extension of railways towards trop-
ical countries is a feature of this age, calculated
to cause northern cultivators to look to the fu-
ture, and they may well consider whether naked
glass and Pennsylvania coal can successfully
compete with the more genial climes of the
south with these facilities of transportation.

Formerly most forcing houses were lean-to
structures, which were considered incomplete
without board shutters, but the labor and diffi-
culties involved in their use, with an increasing
taste for the more artistic span-roofed houses,
have caused these clumsy appurtenances to be
laid aside, for which the modern steam engine,
or its equivalent, a hot-water apparatus, has
been substituted. In "Gardening for Profit,"
Mr. Henderson estimates the cost of one hun-
dred lineal feet of his most economical glass
structures, heated by a first-class hot-water ap-
paratus, at $1000, and the same heated with flues
at about one-half the cost, without giving the
reader one word in regard to the comparative
advantages or disadvantages of the two methods
of heating.

A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer^ de-
scribing a visit to Mr. Henderson's place in the
autumn of 1870, says : " he had just built a new
house, heated complete with two of Ilitchings'

most powerful boilers, so arranged, however,
that one is only in use, in case of extreme cold,
or in the case of breakage fo the other." This
duplicate boiler to stand idle, except when the
other might happen to get out of order, must add
materially to the first cost ; besides, the fact of
its employment by this veteran cultivator, sug-
gests that with exposed glass, great values are
sometimes in jeopardy jn emergencies. He says
Mr. Henderson uses 150 tons of coal, which at
S6.00 per ton, is equivalent to the interest on
$15,000 at 6 per cent. These items of expendi-
ture indicate the magnitude of the flower trade
in New York, which no doubt, could be still in-
creased if the cost of production could be reduced.

Luchars estimates the loss of heat by "laps
and fissures in badly glazed structures " at one-
fourth, and at least one-fourth more by radia-
tion from uncovered glass. This estimate is for
a still external atmosphere, the loss being great-
ly increased by high winds. He calculates that
each square foot of glass, by these combined ef-
fects, will reduce the temperature of one and one-
fourth cubic feet of air as many degrees per min-
ute as the internal temperature exceeds that of
the external. That there is great loss of heat in
the use of uncovered glass is evident to the most
casual observation, and proved by the large ex-
penditures justified in the costly apparatus used
to aiford the amount required in very cold wea-
ther.

Our ideal of economy in a plant structure al-
lows for each square foot of plant border one
square foot of glass, and no more ; and this is
only depended upon to protect the plants during
the time when it is indispensable for the admis-
sion of light, which in this latitude in the short
days in winter, is only during eight hours of the
twenty-four; the opaque structure being relied
upon to protect the plants against cold sixteen
hours every day, and in very cold and cloudy
days ; and it should be nearly, if not absolutely,
proof against night ventilation and radiation.

We have instituted some experiments hitherto,
which indite us to believe that more can be ac-
complished in this direction than well informed
practicals would be likely to accept on the au-
thority of paper statements.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

California jFruit.—The Orange, Lemon, Fig,
and other sub-tropical fruits seem a great sue-

1'72.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELl,

209

cess in southern California. The newspapers of
that region talk of bearing trees by the hundreds
of thousands.

Chinese Quince.- Th\% is the Cydonia sinensis.
A cori'espondent of Southern Farmer says :

"Although this fruit has been cultivated in
this country for a number of years, it is still very
little known outside a few localities. It grows
to an enormous size when cultivated in suitable
801,1. The largest specimens we have ever no-
ticed came from Columbus, Ga., where the soil
seems to be best adapted to this variety.

Fruit very large, oval, oblong, broadest in
middle and tapering at both ends. Skin, lemon
yellow, smooth ; flesh, coarse grained and
woody ; of inferior quality when compared with
either the Apple or Angers quince. The fruit

of the name. As the board was being fastened,
it was read by a passing rancheinan, who ex-
claimed, "that may b& all right. General, but
don't be crowding civilization on us too rapidly."
We thought at that time he need not be in any
fear ; but now this pretty spot, only at that time
for the first hearing the carpenter's hammer, is
already the "Saratoga of the West." But the
extract :

"Kow for the society. When arranging to
spend a month or so here I confess I expected to
spend it in comparative solitude— a few scatter-
ing visitors, perhaps, but nothing of the rush and
bustle and choice of society or association which
I Long Branch or Cape May or Saratoga oflFers.
j I found a house full of guest, and rooms almost
I at a premium. Last year, I am informed, over

keeps remarkably well through the winter, and 1 1,200 visitors enjoyed the water, camping out in
emits a peculiarly pleasant fragrance. It is not j tents over the beautiful mesas or table lands,
unusual to find specimens weighing upwards of | which are the outlying charms of the springs.

three popnds.

Tree a compact, ready grower ; flowers, large
deep pink ; foliage, broad and glossy. The main
objection is that the flowers open very early and
are liable to be killed by spring frosts.

A remarkably showy fruit, and although an
uncertain bearer, is worthy of a place in an am-
ateur's collection."

Near Philadelphia the trees do not seem to
flower freely, or to bear fruit. We have seen
trees fifteen years old without blossoming, but
the leaves turn to as bright a crimson in fall as
the Tupelo or Sour Gum. The flowers are pale
pink, half the size of an apple blossom.

Tlie Bocky Mountain Bange. — Nothing is more
remarkable than the rapid manner in which the
beautiful spots of the American Continent are
seized on and made to render tribute to human
pleasures and human wants. The charming
scenery of Pike's Peak, of which our space com-
pelled us to give but a brief sketch in "Travel-
ing Recollections " last year, seems fast becom-
ing an intimate part of the white mau. The fol-
lowing extract, of a recent letter to a Philadel-
phia paper, brings vividly to mind a couple ot
days of pleasure about there. Yet who would
believe that so much of civilized life could be

This it is perfectly easy to do, as there is no dew,
and in summer the cool, cloudless nights, almost
of themselves, are enough to tempt one out of
house and bed. This year the visitors will be
counted by thousands, and find good hotel ac-
commodations.

But what is it that we all have come out to see ?
The summer-bound Philadelphian, under the
sultry suns of July and August leaving his swel-
tering place of business to reach his sweltering
place of residence, drops en route exhausted and
prostrated into some friendly drug store, and for
a glass of medicated soda water fizzing from a
patent case pays five cents, unless he takes it
with syrups or tinctures, and then he pays ten.
Here bubbling up out of the ground, the esca-
ping carbonic acid foaming and breaking like
champagne, we drink the natural soda waters,
pure, fresh, and strong, and without price. More
than this, there are a number of springs within
a small diameter, and in them you have a choice
of prescription. These are all soda or Seltzer
waters. Go about a half a mile up a charming
canon and you find a strongly impregnated foun-
tain of iron. I may say that both the iron and
soda waters are stronger to my taste than those
of the leading Eastern springs, although, this, of

said about a tract of country in which much of course, is not a scientific test."

the road is but the trails of Utes, Cheyennes
and Arrapahoes.

About a year ago the purchaser of the tract
raised a board up near these springs, warnmg
travelers not to "cut brush" — scrub oak and
alders being about the only thing here worthy

A Neglected Fruit Orchard. — Whenever we
have recommended orchards in grass, with top-
dressings to maintain fertility, as being a better
system than the clean surface culture, we have
been met by some of our cotemporaries, and es-
pecially by the Country Gentleman^ with the in-

210

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELy .

July,

sinuation that we were friendly to "neglected
culture." Indeed it has rarely been the case that
any reference to the system recommended by the
Oardener^s Monthly^ has not been followed by
holding up the awful results of " neglecting" the
fruit orchard. The Monthly has persistently re-
pudiated "neglected" culture; but yet, chiefly
through the influence of the Country Gentleman,
an idea is widely prevalent that the recom-
mendation of our magazine is synonomous with
neglect. The writer of this recently took Mr.
Ellwanger to an orchard of a thousand trees in
grass, on the plan we recommended, and he at
once remarked: "why this is not as the public
understand it." ^nd now comes the Country
Gentleman itself, and gives an account of an edi-
torial visit to the orchard of Joshua JefFeris, in
Chester County, Pa. , and says :

" He has now two distinct portions of his or-
chard, a part without cultivation, but regularly
and highly manured on the surface ; and another
part with the same varieties, which was cultiva-
ted for eight years. The former are the larger,
thriftier and more productive of the two. The
degree of fertility given by the top-dressing may
be understood when it is stated that although
covered with grass, the soil is so loose that it
may be kicked up with the boot.''

We regard this as a fair offset to that wonder-
ful story, not so many months ago, in which one
Pear tree in the middle of a bed, grew like' the
gourd over Jonah, while a poor thing " in grass "
of course, stood still. All we ask of the fair-
minded reader is to compare that story with this,
and then choose his system for himself. For our
own part, we have said much more on this or-
chard question than we should have done, if we
had not felt that we were persistently misunder-
stood. We are well aware that this has not been
intentional on the part of the Country Gentleman,
which is one of the fairest of papers, or other of
our worthy contemporaries ; but it has been no
less an injury to the best interests of fruit cul-
ture, as we understood them ; and we have thus
labored on, without any personal motive, but
confident that time would prove the soundness
of the position we assumed.

Personal Items. — Mr. John Ellis, the well-
known grape-grower of Xew York, is now at
Davisville, California, engaged in silk culture.

Thomas Appleby, formerly of Pine Apple
Place, London, and son of the well-known nur-
seryman there, is in the opium business at San
Jose, California.

Mr. Lukens Pierce, of Coatesville, Pa , and
one of Pennsylvania's enterprizing nurserymen,
died recently of pneumonia.

Mr. David D. Buchanan, of the Elizabethtown
nursery, and son-in-law of the late W. Reid, died
in the early part of June. He leaves a widow
and two children.

FOREIGN".

The Strawberry in Europe. — It has been sup-
posed that no one in Europe but the wealthiest
are able to buy strawberries, — that in America
alone is it the poor man's fruit. But the follow-
ing from an English paper shows that the trade
is looking up. 850,000 for one town, and at the
English value of money, is pretty good business :

"Aberdeen has been long and justly famed for
producing strawberries of the finest quality, and
the last season appears to have been one of the
most successful on record for the market garden-
ers there. Besides the large quantities of straw-
berries which were used by private families in
the town and district, and the still greater quan-
tities which were manufactured in the local pre-
serving establishments, the exports of this fruit
alone last summer amounted to about forty tons,
and realized something like £1,200. The value
of the entire crop of strawberries at Aberdeen
this year has been estimated at £2,000."

Canada Horticulture. — The Canada Farmer,
one or two copies a year of which find a way to
our exchange table, says :

"As evidence of this it is only necessary to call
to mind the mngnificent displays of fruit that
have now for several years formed so conspicuous
and attractive a feature in our provincial exhibi-
tions, and which have elicited the admiration of
all beholders. If such a collection of fruit could
be shown in England, as a fair representative of
the capabilities of our soil and climate, it would
do more to make the country known and to at-
tract hither a desirable class of immigrants than
all the placards, pamphlets, or other agencies
that have hitherto been tried. The change is
also shown by the fact that whereas we used to
be dependent upon our neighbors across the lines
for our supply of nearly all kinds of fruit, we now
not only raise suflicient of the hardier sorts to
meet the demands of home consumption, but we
annually ship large quantities of Apples for the
English market. The culture of the Grape has
also been prosecuted with most encouraging suc-
cess, and is spreading rapidly. Still further
proof of our progress in the same direction is fur-

1872.

THE GARDE.N'ER'S MOJ^THLY.

211

nishecl by the growth of the nursery business in
this country. There is not a nurseryman iu the
Dominion, thougli their number and the extent
of their transactions hiive greatly increased, who
is not taxed to the very utmost to supply the de-

mand for ornamental, shade, and fruit trees;
and the results are visible in the neat aspect of
city garden plots, the charming grounds of su-
burban residences, and the improved appearance
of farm homesteads. "

EDTTOE lAL.

THE EYE GRASS.

"We find in our country much confusion exists
in regard to the Rye Grass. There are two
forms used in agriculture and horticulture,— one
Lolium perenne^ the common or perennial Rye
grass, the other Lolium multiflorum, the Italian
Rye Grass. In England very great attention is
given to distinguishing the two kinds ; but with
us there is a prevailing impression that there is
no great difference, and if we order one kind it is
very likely that the seedsman will send which-
ever he ma}'- have on hand to the order, sup-
posing that as long as it is Rye Grass it is all
right with his customer.

Books and dried specimens point out the dif-
ferences, but we tho«ght we could serve our
readers by giving some account of them from
fresh specimens. By the kindness of Messrs.
Landreth & Son, of Philadelphia, we obtained a
package of the true Italian, and sowed a few
rows in the garden side by side with the com-
mon Rye Grass, which is abundantly naturalized
in our vicinity. The seeds were sown in April,
1871. They grew very much alike except that
the Italian has rather narrower and paler leaves.
Now, June, 1872, they are both in flower at the
same time. The differences now are very strik-
ing. Every one familiar with but the elements
of botany, knows that on a branch a bud is gen-
erally situated on the stem at the base of the leaf,
called the axillary bud. In most trees the leaf i
dies, and the bud pushes into a new branch next
year. But when a p>ant flowers the axillary bud
pushes the same year, in which case the leaf at
the base seldom becomes a perfect leaf It is
usually called a bract ; but in grasses it is termed
the glume. In these grasses we see a great dif-
ference in the length of this glume, or abortive
leaf. In the common Rye Grass it is as long as
the spike of flowers into which the axillary bud
has developed, but in the Italian it is not more

than one-third the length. Then there are near-
ly one-third more flowers in each spike of the
Italian, and these flowers have long arons as in
our common bearded wheat. The spike of flow-
ers is linear, or almost parallel in outline in the
Italian, — ovate in the common species, and these
spikes are set much closer together on the com-
mon or main stem. The stems in the common
form droop over with a curve at flowering time,
while the Italian is stiff" and nearly as erect as a
spike of wheat.

But there is one difference which is very strik-
ing, but not generally known, though pointed
out so long ago as 1845, by Mr. Woods in the
Phytologist. If we cut across a young shoot
early in the season, before the flower has pushed
out, we find that the young undeveloped leaves
of the common Rye Grass have the two edges of
the youngest leaves folded so as to be both with-
in the two edges of the older and larger ones, just
as two letter u's lying opposite to one another,
the two legs of the larger U would clasp the legs
of the smaller u. But in the Italian species the
young leaves one edge of each is outside of the
other leaf, just as if, carrying out our illustration,
one leg of a u had caught in one leg of the other
w, giving a section a curved or S like appearance.
This character will please those of our readers
fond of examining plants with a lens.

Id regard to the value of the two kinds, the
heaviest crops seem to be derived in England
from the Italian. It is the favorite grass
for sewage treatment It does not seem to
be durable, and is continually being sown as
Red clover is. The common is used for more
permanent pastures. Yet it is possible that cli-
mate may have something to do with these ques-
tions. So far as we can judge from our own lim-
ited comparison of plants, there is little advan-
tage in weight of herbage in one over the other ;
and the plants of the Italian appear as perma-
nently disposed as the others.

212

THE GARDEJ^ER'S M0:N'TELY.

July;

ABOUT CAULIFLOWER.

People often say about gardening that it is ex-
pensive. It is admitted to be a pleasure, but
supposed to be a dear one. There are, to be sure,
some phases of the art which bring heavy de-
mands on one's purse, but it is by no means so
in all.

There is, perhaps, nothing which costs so lit-
tle and yet yields so much as a good Cauliflower
frame, — of all vegetables there is nothing which
to most tastes is so delicately agreeable. It is
tolerably hardy ; indeed so far as mere tempera-
ture is concerned, there is no temperature it will
not stand. But it will not endure dry frost.
Hence to have Cauliflower in our climate a frame
acd glass is necessary to man tain the sub-humid
atmosphere necessary to insure against the win-
ter loss. And this is all,— a good substantial
glass frame, nothing more.

In most private places where vegetables are
raised as a first rate luxury, a pit of stone or
brick is provided. It may perhaps be six feet or
more deep, and extend several feet above the level
of the surrounding ground. Into this pit at the
fall of the year, the dry leaves from the woods
and the litter from the lawns and grounds is put,
and on the whole some six inches of earth. On
this the Cauliflower plants are set out in October.
The heat from the decaying leaves keeps the
■plants growing through the winter, and thus
beautiful Cauliflower can be had in March. But
many suppose this nest of leaves is essential ;
that Cauliflower cannot be had without this
slight bottom heat. But this is not so. The
leaves simply give earliness. Good Cauliflower
can be had without the leaves ; only not so early
by several weeks.

There is another excellent feature about a
Cauliflower pit or frame. Asparagus can be
grown with it, without any injury to the Cauli-
flower crop. The Cauliflower plants can be set
about twenty inches apart, and as very little
warmth is required to get Asparagus to grow,
they are up, and cut for kitchen use before the
Cauliflower have grown together close enough
to crowd. A combined Asparagus and Cauli-
flower frame is an excellent thing to have. It
costs little, is easily managed, and is productive
of excellent results. As to the management it
is very simple. The Asparagus roots may be
planted six inches beneath the surface. But this
surface soil must be very rich in order for the
Cauliflower to do well.

Many make their frames too flat. The glass

should slope so as to catch the early morning
sun. Again the plants are often set too far
away from the glass. When the light is thus im-
paired the head is likely to "bottom,'' as the
gardeners call it,— that is to say come premature-
ly, and but an inch or two in diameter, instead
of in the proper season, and a foot or more
across. Too much confinement when growing
also produces the same result. Air should be
given whenever it is not freezing ; at that time
of course the sashes should be kept closed down.
In this way or others similar, any one may
have this delicious vegetable. It costs little in
cash, and less in labor, while the results are sure
to make one feel a pride in his industry and in

his garden.

«»■»»

DESTROYING THE CUT WORM.

The following from the Si. Joseph (Michigan)
Herald, we regard as so valuable a discovery
that we give it prominent editorial notice :

"The Herald takes great pleasure in being
able to inform the agricultural world of the dis-
covery of a simple method of exterminating the
cut worm. The following communication is
from Darius Boynton, of Benton, and is perfectly
reliable :

" Mr. Chamberlain, Editor of St. Joseph Her-
ald,— Dear Sir : — Permit me through your col-
umns to relate a little experience and offer a few
suggestions that may be of practical interest to
our brother tillers of the soil.

"I have been wanting to set an acre or two
of land to tomato plants, but have feared to do
so yet, on account of the almost unprecedented
])revalence of the Cut Worms. Some two days
ago the thought occurred to me that the worm
might be baited and taken so as to clear the
land of worms before the plants were set. Ac-
cordingly I mowed some clover and applied it
fresh in little compact wads about the size of a
large apple ; the result was, that on the next
morning I found the worms had collected about
the clover in great numbers, and after eating had
secreted themselves in the soil within a distance
of eighteen inches each away from the clover.
Under and about one wad of clover, I took thirty
seven worms.

" What the powers of locomotion of these noc-
turnal insects are I am not entomologist enough
to tell ; but as I was unable to find any worms six
feet either way from the clover, I would suggest
that if these wads of clover were placed say in
every second or third row, and second or third

1H72.

THE GJiRDEJ^ER'S MOJfTRLY,

213

hill in the row, the worms would be attracted
there and might mostly be taken. There may
be other herbage of which the worms are equally
fond. I am sure in point of economy it is much
cheaper to feed these worms on some such her-
bage than to feed them on any tender garden
plant.

" Hoping these suggestions may be of practical
utility, I remain respectfully yours. D. Boyn-

TON.

"P. S. — Since writing the above my man re-
ports finding sixty-eight worms about one wad
of clover. D. B.

'•• P. S. No. 2. —I have just beat the man, as I
have found seventy worms in and around one
wad of clover. D. B.

''P. S. No. 3. — I have to give up beat. My
man reports finding eighty-two worms in one
hill. Query. May not these worms be profita-
ble hermetrically sealed up for our fowls at the
inclement season of the year when worms are
scarce ? D. B.

''P. S. No. 4, May 31st. — I have sown some
salt about a few wads of clover but find it a fail-
ure. I now sift some Paris green and flour some
about clover to see if I cannot poison these
worms.

" P. S. No. 5, June 3d. — I find the Paris green
a failure. Ye bug philosophers can you tell me of
any poison with which to exterminate the worms ?

" P. S. No. 6, June 4th.— I have it at last. I
have this day destroyed with ray own hands over

15,000 cut worms. I did it by pouring br)iling
water over and about these wads of clover.

Yours truly, D Boynton.

" Mr. Boynton informs us that the hot water
is only efiective by being boiling, for where the
worms are protected in any way from its full
heat they are net destroyed. We hope to hear
soon of many who have tried the experiment.
"We know of orchards of young tree snearly ruined
by the cut worm. As many as 120 have been
taken at the root of one tree. "

[The value of Mr. Boynton's discovery, so en-
thusiastically stated, does not rest with the cut
worm, but may be applied to many other root-
predating insects. In many districts where the
cut worm does not exist to any great extent,
there is as bad an enemy in the larva of the Lach-
nosterna, May bug or cockchefer, which, as the
" white grub," destroys hundreds of thousands
of nursery trees annually, besides injuring many
trees, the owners of which little suspect the
cause. That these grubs prefer some roots to
others, we have good evidence in the fact that
they have been known to travel through a large
block of tulip trees without materially injuring
them, in order to get at the Cornus florida, or
large flowered dogwood, of which they seem pas-
sionately fond. Some cheap and easily procured
herbage could, no doubt, be found, by experi-
ment, which would be eagerly preyed on by these
root eaters, and then collected as Mr. Boyntoa
has done the cut worm.]

SCRAPS AND QUERIES.

Losses by the Winter. — A Springfield,
Mass., Correspondent says: "Your article on
' The Causes of the Loss by the Winter' is not
quite correct for this latitude "

[Let us have your views. It is only by a com-
parison of varied experiences that positive truth
can be evolved.]

H.ffiMANTHUS TAXiCAKius, — An Evansvillc,
Ind., correspondent sends us the following which
we suspect refers to the plant above named : "I
purchased, last summer, at an auction sale of
plants, a dormant bulb without a label, and I
have endeavored in vain to learn its name. The

bulb is about 3 inches in diameter and is in a 6-
inch pot ; it remained dormant till last October,
when it commenced to exhibit signs of growth,
which finely resulted in the production of a sin-
gle pair of broad, flat leaves of pliable texture,
18 inches long by 7 inches wide, gracefuliy re-
flexing over the sides of the pot like opposite jets
of a fountain. After remaining awhile, they
gradually decayed, commencing at the extremi-
ties and terminating at the base, leaving, when
the next pair of leaves comes out, a distinct
notch on either side of the bulb to mark its age ;
the one I have is evidently 7 years old.

"If from this description you recognize the

njf

THE GARDEJyER'S MOJVTELY.

July,

plant, please name it in your next, also state
what the flower is like, and the treatment it re-
quires when dormant."

[The flower is like a bouquet of small scarlet
cups if it be the plant we suppose. It will only
flower freely when the plant is grown in the full
sun-light.]

Layering — S. C. B., Detroit, 3ijc/i. , writes :
*'I do not clearly understand about the 'cut' in
layering of roses, page 161, June number of the
Monthly. I enclose drawing of bush with layer.
Cut No. 1 is in the upright part, leaning to the
right or from the under side. Cut No. 2 is in the
angle and from the ujjper side, or inclining to
the left. Which is the proper position for the cut,
and what is upper or under cut please designate
in my drawing, or one of your own, and by so
doing, very much oblige a subscriber to your
valuable Monthly.'''

[The best reply to our correspondent will be
the accompanying illustration, which shows how
at B the slit is made in the upper side.]

Name of Plant.— P. B., Burlington, Vt.
The leaf appears to be Pleroma Benthamiana.

Death by Drouth in Winter.—/. J. S.,
writes: "I have pondered your theory about
the cause of the destruction of our evergreens,
and wait impatiently to hear from experts—
Hoopcs and Sargent. In the interval let me ask
what theory will account for the fact, that in
two instances cedar trees with double stems have
shown one prong or stem killed and the other
left. The depth of the root, it being the same,
must have been under the same influences. Is
not the damage, here at least, to be traced above
ground ?

"Again, in hedges ninety native arborvitses
are gone and ten left ; circumstances, as expo-
sure, depth of root similar exactly. The small
pox takes one or so of a family, but our diseased
trees include ninety and leave ten or so. There
is no theory, that I can conceive, fully account-
ing for the awful phenomenon of last winter's
exploit.

" Then again, parts of trees, sometimes the
tops and sometimes the lower limbs are gone,
and the remainder as green as ever.

" We expect the experts to tell us, but
whether they can say how the evil is to be
avoided in future is another matter.''

[We do not find the same difiiculty in accept-
ing the drought theory that our correspondent
does. The small pox illustration is unnecessary
when we can get better ones of the same class as
the case in question. For instance, one hun-
dred men may be shipwrecked or by other acci-
dents be cut off from water for some time, all at
once. They do not die from thirst all at the same
moment, — but at the last "tenor so" will be
found alive. And so in summer droughts, a
hundred trees would be in a hedge suffering for
water, and after the rain comes "ten or so"
will be found only alive, and of these ten, per-
haps one of a double stem will be killed, some-
times the tops, sometimes the lower limbs, will
be alive or dead as the case may be.

Our explanation of this phenomenon would be
that some trees and some parts of trees at the
time of the attack, were either endowed with a
greater vitality at that moment, or else that they
had deeper roots, or a greater number of them,
or had some better shelter, or in some way wei:e
better able to resist the drying influences than
those which died,]

Fraxinus heterophylla. — A Columbia,
Pa., correspondent refers to this beautiful ash in
the following note. It is a variety of the Eng-
lish F. excelsior: "Enclosed are a few seeds of
a tree which I found growing by the sidewalk in
Newark, Delaware. They call it there an ash
tree which it strikingly resembles in all respects
save one. It has large, simple leaves, coarsely
serrate, unequal, with long jointed petioles. If
you know its name please wi'ite to me."

Wild Celery.— 6\ ^. M. says: "The wild
celery on which the ducks feed in the Chesa-
peake, is said to be the Vallisneria sijiralis, a
very curious disecious plant which is found in
great abundance in that estuary."

Flowering Plants for April. — Plants in
bloom in the greenhouse at Rhosynmyuydd, the
suburban residence of T. P. Jones, Esq , Block-
ley, West Philadelphia :
Abutilon striatum, Chinese bell

vexilarium

187^.

TEE GARBEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

215

Acacia

linearis, Wattle tree

fistulosa rubra, Daisy, (Quilled)

Ageratum

coeruleum, Blue mist [lehem

alba

Albuca

viridiflora, Bastard Star of Beth-

monstrosa and others

Alyssum

maritimum, Madwort

Scilla

Siberica

variegata

hyacinthoides

Alstroemaria

pelegrina

Primula

vulgaris, fl. pi.. Primrose

Amaryllis

Jobnsonii, Daffodil lily

alba, double White

Azalia

Indica ardens

crimson, " Bed

Beauty of Europe

lilacina, " Lilac

Bride

lutea, " Yellow

Coronata

sulphurea, " Sulphur

Double red

Viola

Odorata, fl. pi, Violet

Perryana

alba

Van Gertiana

pallida

Babiana

disticha

purpurea

Calla

-^thiopica, Lily of the Nile

Hardy Herbacious Plants and Bulbs in the

major

open air :

minor

Arabis

alpinus, Wall cress

Camellia

japonica, Japan rose

Aubretia

purpurea

Sarah Frost

Bulbocodium

vernum

Centradenia

floribunda

Crocus

vernus purpurea, Crocus

Cineraria

Kingii, Eagwort

lutea

Cistus

Lusitanica, Koek rose

Eranthus

hyemalis, Winter aconite

Cobese

scandens

Ficaria

ranunculoides, fl. pi., Pilewort

Cuphea

platycentra, Cigar flower

Galanthus

nivalis, Snowdrop

Danielsiana

Helleborus

Olympicus, Hellebore

strigulosa

Hyacinthus

Orientalis, Hyacinth

Serrissa

foetida, fl. pi.

varieties

variegata

Karcissus

jonquilla, Narciss

Eupatorium

elegans, White mist

incomparabilis

Eranthemum

pulchellum

poeticus

Geranium

Zonale, Heron's bill

varieties

varieties

Phlox

subulata, moss pink

Heliotropium

Peruvianum, Heliotrope

Prinmla

veris, Cowslip

Lantana

Sellowii

varieties

Lopezia

miniata

Scilla

siberica. Squill

Mahernia

odorata

hyacinthoides

Nierenbergia

gracilis

Viola

Odorata alba, Violet

Oxalis

Japonica, Wood sorrel

TREES AND SHRUBS IN FLOWER.

floribunda, red and white

Acer

rubrum, maple, (red)

Pelargonium'

piperita. Stork's bill

Betula

pendula, Birch

quercifolium

Cornus

mascula, Dogwood

Kogiera

thyrsiflora

Cydonia

Japonica, Japan Quince

Schizanthus

retusus

rosea

Salvia

coccinea, Sage, (scarlet)

Daphne

mezereum, Spurge laurel

rosea

Dirca

palustrus, Leatherwood

splendens

Erica

carea. Heath

Siphocampylos

bicolor

Forsythia

viridissiraa. Golden Boll

Tritonia

lineata

Fraxinus

excelsior. Ash, (weeping)

Tropseolum

Lobbianum, Indian Cress

pendula

COLD FRAME.

aurea

Anemone

coronaria. Wind flower

Jasminum

nudiflorum, Jasmine

varieties

Juniperus

virginiana. Cedar, (red)

Bellis

perrenis, fl. pi., Daisy

Magnolia

Conspicua

216

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLl ,

July,

Mahonia

purpurea

<rrac'ilis

Soulangeana

Japonica, Barberry

Bealii [thorn

Prunus Spinosa, fl. pi., Sloe or Black-

Shepherdia argentea, BuflFalo Berry
Ulmus fulva, Elm

pendula

BIRDS.

The sweet piping note of the Meadow Lark,
(Sturnella ludoviciana), was heard from the first
of the month ; the first Swallow's, (Hirundo rus-
tica), appeared on the 11th inst. ; the House
Wren, (Troglodytes redon), and the Pewee,
(Muscicapa fusca), appeared in the same weel?.
The cooing of the Turtle Dove, (Columba Caro-
linensis), was heard in the last week ; also the
first Cat-birds, (Orpheus Carolinensis), arrived
in the last week of the month to their old breed-
ing places, and to cheer us with their melodious
notes and their familiar alarmed scream.

\^o doubt the pruning has effected it. We do
not recognize the variety,]

The Waste Basket. — We find many corres-
pondents have a dread of the waste basket. It
may be as well to say that it is rare that we re-
ceive a communication but we feel indebted to
the contributor. We may not deem the article
fitting as a whole, but we always appreciate the
kind motives of the sender, and if inappropriate
as a whole, we generally give the pith of the idea.

Keserving therefore, the right to put into shape
to suit our own ideas of propriety, we rarely re-
ceive anything that we cannot use. There are
at times reasons for delay, but no one need fear
but his favors will be ultimately accepted in some
form or another, with the editor's best thanks.
Especially are we glad of notes for this column.
There is nothing we so much enjoy as these
pleasant little chats with our readers.

Dwarf Orange. — 31rs. N. says: "I have a
Dwarf Orange tree, a little over one foot in
height, with just a dozen oranges. They have
been ripe now fourteen months ; the tree has
bloomed twice since, and is now full of buds.
The oranges measure from four to six inches in
circumference, and are shaped like a lemon,
though orange in taste and color. This little
orange plant has passed through all sorts of
vicissitudes, still they cling. May not its un-
common fruitfulness be owing to the very close
pruning which I have continually given it ? Can
you tell the variety ?"

Names of Plants.— Jlfrs. A. B. C. N.,
Phelps, If. Y., writes: "I send several flowers
for name, marked Nos. 1, 2 and 3. I have some
Lilies also, which were sent by a friend from
South Africa, called Natal Lilies. They are
quite large, and pear shaped ; they have never
bloomed, and show no disposition to do so ; have
been kept five or six years under glass. We pro-
pose this summer to set them in the ground, and
treat them as other cape bulbs. Could you from
this description give us any information ?

[No. 1, Hepatica triloba — the double pink va-
riety ; No. 2, Arabis alpina ; No. 3, Leucoium
oestiovm. The lilies are some amaryllis.]

Begonia hybrida multiflora.— J/rs. S. E.
N. says : "I would speak to the ' flower sisters,*
of my beautiful Begonia hyhricla midtifloray
which was a tiny thing when purchased two
years since, but soon commenced growing rapid-
ly and blooming profusely. It is now over five
feet in height, trained on an oval frame, and in
winter and summer — indeed all the year around,
has been thus far a thing of beauty, and pays
probably as well as anything a lady can cultivate
in the parlor ; but will you please tell us of any
that are better than this one, and oblige many
readers ? One as good as this, but of a scarlet
color."

[We do not recognize this under the name, but
suppose it is Begonia Saundersii, which is a hy-
brid between, we believe, B. incarnata and B.
Fuchsoides. If this be the one, it is the best for
the purpose stated. The old B. incarnata is a
very good winter and summer flowerer, of a pink
color ; but the newer B. Weltoni, promises to be
much superior.]

Card of Thanks. — "Permit us through the
columns of your paper to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of a lot of Carnations, Roses. Tuberoses,
&c , in all about six hundred and fifty plants,
from Mr. Peter Henderson, of Jersey City, and
a lot of Roses from the Dingee Conard Co , to
aid us in again commencing our business, de-
stroyed by the late fire in our city. Also we
thank our unknown Geneva friend for his kind
suggestions in the last issue of your Monthly.'*''
Yours Respectfully,

Pettigrew & Reid,
1 May 22(Z, 1872. Chicago, Ills.

1872.

THE GARDENER'S MOJVTHLy

217

PlNUS Cembra. — A. H., Sank City, Wis.,
says : "This is called Arve, (prounounced Ar-
fey), in Switzerland. The nuts are of delicate
flavor, and are said to be a certain remedy in
consumption."

Khtjs Aromatica.— TF. T., Kansas City:
" I send you two sprigs of a bush, with the near-
est to bloom I could get. The bush grows on
rocky ground, about six feet in height ; rather
uncouth in appearance. Please give us the name
through the Monthly, if you can ?"

[Rhus aromaiica, a plant of the poison vine
family, but without, we believe, any poisonous
quality. In the rocky mountains of Colorado,
stock browse on this plant ; but we have not ob-
served that they touch it in southern Illinois,
where it is also common. It is worth growing
as an ornamental bush, as it will bear trimming,
and the clusters of red berry like seeds are pret-
ty in fall.]

CORNTJS PANiCTJLATA — Is the name of the
beautiful shrub referred to by a Doylestown cor-
respondent, in the following note. We have
often been surprised that it is not more grown.
It is found wild in cool mountain districts :

" I send you the flower of another shrub to
name, which has puzzled several experienced
florists. I have several plants in my grounds,
about six feet, which are very handsome when
in bloom. I think the shrub originated in Mr.
Joshua Fisher's grounds, near Philadelphia, but
am not quite certain.''

The Bed Maple.— TF. E. W., Bock Island,
Ills., says: "In your Gardener" s Monthly, for
1870. I recollect seeing a recommendation of the
Ked Maple. Now in EUwanger & Barry's Cata-
logue, there are two red maples, Acer Colchi-
cum rubrum, and Acer rubrum. Now I wish
to know which is the one you recommend."

[The reference in the article was to the Amer-
ican Red maple, Acer rubrum. But the Gre-
cian Red maple, Acer Colchicum rubrum, is
also a beautiful tree. The habit of the latter is,
however, more like that of the Norway Maple,
It is not yet common enough for street trees.
The Red American Maple can be had rather
abundantly. It does not grow quite so rapidly
as the Silver Maple, but requires little " trim-
ming " to keep it within bound.]

Repeated Cutting Back of Asparagus.

— Mr. Sargent writes: "The earliest, best, and
largest, Asparagus in this neighborhood, is in the
garden of a slovenly cultivator, who cuts all his
spears or seed stems down immediately after the
asparagus season is over— repeats this process
once or twice during the summer, thus never
having any seeds ; in fact, at this moment, his
beds are as smooth as the back of your hands.
And this is not only their usual appearance, but
this has been his habit for five or ten years. Now
if my neighbor's course is correct, all other cul-
tivators of asparagus are entirely wrong.

I should like to hear what yon have got to say
about this. I am aware the ripening of seed
somewhat diminishes the vitality of the plant.
All growers of plants are told not to let them
seed ; but on the other hand, your theory about
strengthening lawns by occasionally letting the
grass grow to kill out the weeds, on the principle
that the longer and stronger the tops of grass,
the longer and stronger the roots, would be en-
tirely opposed to my neighbor's theory of prac-
tice with his asparagus.''

[This very suggestive note of Mr. Sargent's
may be of great value to cultivators, if they will
givr it careful study, in connection with known
laws of plant life.

First, there is no doubt, for this has been
proved over and over again, that if we cut away
every spear of asparagus as soon as it appears
above the ground, never allowing one to appear
above the ground, the plant would be weakened ;
and if the same course be pursued the second
year, it would be entirely destroyed. This plan
is successfully pursued in the destruction of Can-
ada Thistle, Horse Nettle, and other terrible
pests.

Secondly, it is also well-known that after the
time of flowering, there is a terrible strain on the
vital functions of the whole plant, root and
branch. After flowering the Mignonette pro-
duces seeds and dies, but if every flower be picked
off as it appears, the Mignonette becomes a per-
rennial, and there appears no limit to its dura-
tion. The strength of the root is, therefore,
assisted by non flowering or fruiting. This ac-
cords with Mr. Sargent's observations on the
asparagus.

But we must not forget our first point. Re-
membering the first and second position together,
it would seem to be a good thing to let asparagus
grow up to the time of flowering, and then to cut
the stems entirely away. Mr. Sargent also sug-
gests a danger which may occur in lawn man-

218

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TKLY,

July,

agement. In order to strengthen the roots, and
to smother out fine growing weeds, one might let
their lawns go uncut for one season ; but the
grass should be cut before flowering^ or the ex-
haustion will be greater than the gain. Agricul-
turists also may reap a lesson. If they wish to
take hay a second year from the same roots, the
grass should be cut as early as possible the first
season.

We are much indebted to Mr. Sargent for this
note, and should be glad to have our correspond-
ents send such observations oftener.]

Immediate Effect oisr Hybridized Corn.

— Mr. Jacob Moore^ Brighton, Monroe Co..N. T".,
writes; "I send you this day by mail, half an
ear of yellow corn, fertilized principally, with
evergreen sweet corn pollen The yellow corn
from which this specimen came, was perfectly
pure when planted, and you will observe that not
a single kernel of sweet corn, or anything like it,
is to be seen on this ear, although it has grown
alongside of sweet corn mentioned, planted on
both sides of it at different times, so that it could
not fail to be partly or mainly fertilized by it.

Some of the ears of yellow corn I fertilized by
hand with the sweet corn pollen, before it could
have been impregnated by it own pollen, (this is
a point I understand, I believe, if any one does),
and not a single kernel of sweet corn, nor a ker-
nel appearing to be a cross or mixture of the two
varieties, could be found among the yellow corn.
The half ear I send you did not mature as fully
as some of the others, and therefore is not quite
as yellow as it would have been otherwise ; but
it is mature enough to grow and that will answer
my purpose. Now for the purpose of proving
that the mixture is shown the second year, and
not the first, I wish you to plant this om alone^
at least fifty rods or more from any sveet corn.
It is my opinion that it will come up nrxed with.
sweet corn ; or if it was fertilized enti'-ely with
the sweet corn pollen, it may have tb - uniform
appearance of a cross between the i ^vo sorts.
You had better make a square plat of ihe plant-
ing, that the corn may be better fertilized than it
would be if planted in one or two rows. I hope
you will not fail to make this trial, aiul publish
the result."

[The writer has not room for all th'^ v irn sent,
but will sow a few of them with plens'i:o.]

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC

Windo^o Gardening. Edited and Published by
Henry T. Williams, New York.

Mr. Williams is doing excellent work by en-
deavoring to diffuse a knowledge of gardening,
and a taste for floriculture, by means of very
good works, at a low figure. With this season
he commences the Floral Cabinet, a monthly at
a merely nominal price, per annum. This book
is one of the same class. We must award to it
the merit of being, perhaps, the cheapest book
on flowers ever published in this country. Three
hundred pages, profusely illustrated, beautifully
printed, and elegantly bound, for $1.50, is not
an every day offer.

It is hardly to be expected that a work so
cheap should excel in all things. The reader
who expects to find it an infallible authority in
the spelling of plants' names, will be disappoint-
ed ; but beyond this there is the fact that an im-
mense amount of useful matter has been brought

together that will well serve the purpose of the
very large class of plant lovers for whom it is
written.

There is a matter of public importance sug-
gested by Mr. Williams' book, which, is worthy
of note. Mr. W. does not profess to be the au-
thor of it, but its " Editor. ' ' Much of the mat-
ter has been contributed by friends ; other has
been selected from various sources. Mr. Wil-
liams, had he been less honest and conscientious
than he is, would have done as some other horti-
cultural writers have done, appropriated other
people's works,, and left the reader to infer that
it was his own. But we find in the end of the
book, a list of periodicals and books to which the
editor was indebted. But it seems to us that this
is scarcely suflicient acknowledgment. It would
save editors a world of trouble to be sure, if we
could say at the end of each year of our labors :
" we have been indebted during the past season

1872,

THE GARBEJ\''ER'S MOMTELY,

219

for many articles and ideas to the Chronicle,
the Gazette, the Mler,''^ and so on ; but etiquette,
and we think properly, calls for a credit with
each transcript, aud we think the same comity
should prevail in books as in magazines. But
Mr. W. in this has done no more than to fall in
with a growing fashion, without perhaps much
reflection, and we are sure he will agree with us
when the point is again under consideration.

Philadelphia and its Environs. Published by
J. B. Lippmcott & Co., Philadelphia. Price 50
cents.

Philadelphia is a somewhat modest place, so
far as any boasting of its attractions is concern-
ed. It is so full of revolutionary relics that the
people seem to have fallen back on them as quite
suflBcient to satisly the curiosity of strangers for
all time to come. Independence Hall, Carpen-
ter's Court, the place where Penn signed the

treaty, with perhaps a little of the modern, as
late as the last generation, in the shape of Gir-
ard College, is about all they dare speak about,
unless perchance a few may whisper a word or
two about Fairmount Park. This little book of
some eighty pages, gives illustrations of a very
large number of interesting spots, with some ac-
count of them, which cannot fail to be of great
value to any one who may expect to visit the
city.

We give below one of the illustrations, — the
proposed new building of the Acadeni}'' of Natu-
ral Sciences; the immense collections of which al-
ways attract visitors to Philadelphia. The build-
ings are at present too small for the collections.
Some few years ago the city voted one of the
public squares to the institution for a building,
and the citizens subscribed $100,000 in cash ;
but the legislature overruled the city's desire,
and refused to sanction the gift of the land. As

^S' :- i„^Kv

''ri'iT^ffe'^''^" liAl"-

[Proposed New Building of the American Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. J

there is no longer any hope of getting this refu-
sal of the legislature reversed, the Academy is
raising another .^100,000 to erect the building of
which we give the present engraving, aud the
work on it is now being commenced. It will
probably be the finest building devoted to science
in America.

Fourth Annual Report of the Insects of Missou-
ri, by C. V. Riley, State Entomologist.

These States which have as yet, no State ento-
mologist, would assuredly follow in the wake of
Missouri, if reports such as these of Mr. Riley

could fall into the hands of the leading statesmen.
This issue is chiefly devoted to the Coloi'ado Po-
tato Beetle, the Grape Phylloxera, and the Silk-
worm family. Besides full histories of these,
there are numerous shorter notes of other insects,
both noxious and beneficial.

Transactions of the Hampshire, Franklin and
Hampden Agricultural Society, of Mass., for 1871.

This we have received through the courtesy of
A. P. Peck, Esq., the Secretary. It gives an
encouraging account of agricultural prosperity
in that region.

^20

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLl

July,

Ninth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Mas-
sachusetts Agricultural College.

This institution seems in a highly prosperous
condition. During the past year extended ex-
periments were made in Beet culture, the de-
tailed account of which makes this report a par-
ticularly valuable one.

Worcester Co (Mass.) Horticultural Society
Transactions, from Edward W. Lincoln, Secreta-
ry. Yery pleasant reading is the report of the
festival of commemoration held April. 1871.
The speeches on the occasion were appropriately
beautiful.

Annual Ueport of the Park Commissioners to
the city of Baltimore.

Druid Hill Park was commenced twelve years
ago. The park improvements are carried on by
a tax on the passenger railroads The plan
seems to have worked very well. The improve-
ments projected are still incomplete, but much
has been done the past year towards the end
proposed. Most of the work of the past season
seems to have been in making new roads and
drives. There are some valuable figures in this
report, especially in regard to road making. A
favorite argument w th many is that a good road
is cheapest in the end, which may be true if the
road in question be really a good one ; but this
report shows that in the New York park, roads
where large sums were spent on making good
roads, over S92,000 were spent in one year on re-
pairs. There are two sides to the road story.

On the Influence of the Blue Color of the Sky in
developing animal and vegetable life. By General
A. J. Pleasanton.

This, in pamphlet form, is a full statement of
General Pleasanton's experiments, a very full ac-
count of which we gave at the time of the read-
ing before the Philadelphia Society for Promo-
ting Agriculture. Since then the subject has at-
tracted woi-ld-wide attention. We note however,
that many who profess to repeat the General's
experiments, do not understand his point. He
does not employ all blue glass, but simply strips
of blue, alternating with much wider strips of
common glass. All should read this pamphlet
before experimenting.

Onthe natural mode of the distrihution of plants
over the surface <f the earth. By Prof. Albert U.
Prentiss, of Cornell University.

This is the essay which gained the Walker
prize, offered by the Boston Society of Natural
History, in 1871.

Prof. Prentiss believes that only one plant of a
species was originally created, and that these
creations took place, not in one spot, as was be-
lieved of old, but in numerous '• centres " in va-
rious parts of the earth's surflxce. From these
centres plants have been distributed by various
means, and the essay shows what they are. It
is a complete chapter on this interesting part of
botany.

Algm Rhodiacece. A list of Rhode Island Al-
gte, collected and prepared by Stephen T. Olney.
The list comprises 189 species.

History of the Fruit Destroyers. By Thomas
and D. B. Wier. Lacon. Ills.

A pamphlet of fourteen pages, chiefly intended
to aid the introduction of Wier's Codling Moth
trap.

Ornamental Catalogue of Hoopes Brother &
Thomas, West Chester, Pa.

We noticed this among general catalogues
when received ; but it is worthy of a place
amongst books. It is more than a catalogue.
It is better worth a cover of green and gold and
a high price, than half the so called books issued.
The descriptions are brief but complete.

American Pomologtcal Society. Report of the
proceedings of the Richmond session, 1871.

It is nearly a quarter of a century since this
society was first organized, and there is no ques-
tion but it has been the means of awakening an
intelligent interest in the knowledge of fruits,
which could have been fostered in no other way.
Pomology, so named, is really not a science.
There are no rules by which any one may know
one fruit from another. A knowledge of fruits
depends rather on a good memory, and frequent
opportunity for a comparison of notes, than on
scientific rules. What we should have experi-
enced in this country without the guidance of a
society like this, it is hard to tell. With our im-
mense extent of territory, and the resultant
changes in the form and character of fruits, the
whole subject of fruit nomenclature would be in
utter confusion. Even countries smaller than
ours have found wisdom in following our exam-
ple. Little England, no larger than the hand is
to the whole body as compared to our country,

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOXTELl.

f^i

has still a society modelled on ours, and the
countries on the main continent of Europe have
their Pomological Societies also. Much of the
success of societies of this cliaracter, depends on
the presiding officer ; and Col. Wilder's name
will ever be associated with this first great, and
very successful one. Most of us are familiar
with his portrait ; but it is meet and proper that
wherever else it may deserve a place, it should,
at least, be preserved in connection with this as-
sociation, and we are, therefore, very glad to find
it in this volume.

In regard to the matter of this volume, we
must say that it equals in this respect, any of
the former ones, and does credit to the industry
and good judgment of the society's secretary,
Mr. F. R. Elliott. In one or two instances we
notice that he oversteps his duty, and appends
in foot notes his personal opinions. This is dan-
gerous ground, and we would suggest to him to
abandon this practice, or it may get the society
into trouble. If he has anything to say, the floor
of the society's meeting is the place to say it.
Then if he make an error, there is a chance for
the correction to go with the remark. Here for
instance he tells the reader that "the secretary
would here remark that the conductors of jour-
nals and the publishers of books are utterly igno-
rant of varieties of fruit or plants. " Our experi-
ence is that those who have a knowledge of fruits
and plants are found among all classes of society,
lawyers, merchants, doctors, poets, painters, sol-
diers, sailors, and what not ; and what there
should be in the profession of an editor of a jour-
nal or the publisher of a book, to make it impos-
sible for them to know anything about fruits or
plants, is more than we can tell. To us it seems
that a foot note like this in a report of this char-
acter, is unjustifiable, and mars the unqualified
praise which we should otherwise be glad to give
to Mr. Elliott's share of the work.

The next meeting of the society will be held in
Boston, in 1875, and we note in this report that
there are many committees appointed to report
on matters of interest to the next meeting. We

give the following, so that all interested may
send any observations that may help these gen-
tlemen in their labors, to any of the names
given :

To examine into the cause of the early faihire
of apple trees on the limestone soils, south of 38°
north latitude : "W. C. Flaag, of Illinois, chair-
man ; Thomas Meehau, Pennsylvania ; Robert
Manning, of Massachusetts.

To inquire whether trees ever require pruning :
Wm. Saunders, of District of Columbia, chair-
man ; Dr. Stayman, of Kansas ; D. B. Wier and
W. C. riagg, of Ills. ; Thomas Meehan, of Pa.

Committee on codling moth : Charles Down-
ing, of Newburg, chairman ; Mark Miller, of
Iowa ; Parker Earle, of Illinois.

Committee on the cause and remedy of pear
blight : P. J. Berckmans, chairman , Thomas
Meehan, Wm. Saunders, Robert Manning,
Josiah Hoopes.

In connection with this part of the report, the
secretary inserts a letter from Mr. Tallant, who
says : " tree blight is entirely beyond the know-
ledge of the most careful and observing fruit
growers." It is rather hard on the members of
the committee appointed, to predict their failure
before hand, unless we suppose that super-
ficial students may, perchance, stumble on some
facts which "careful and observing ones " find
entirely beyond their reach. But let us hope for
better things.

The, Hoosier Schoolmaster. By Edward Eggles-
ton, New York. Orange Judd & Co., through
Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, Philadelphia.

We handed this to our junior, who from his
age and peculiar studies, is well fitted to give an
opinion of its merits — and thus he reports :

This is a story of western life twenty or thirty
years ago. It is well written. Mr. Eggleston,
to my mind, delineates character with the skill
of Dickens. If the young readers of the Monthly
read it with the same pleasure that I have, they
will be very happy. Moreover, the publishers
have made a very pretty book.

NEW AND EAM FRUITS.

The " DoMMESTA Bessarabia,"— A New | and shallow ; stem very short ; basin medium in
Russian Apple.— Fruit round, conic, pale yel- I depth and breadtk ; calyx closed ; flesh yellow-
low, with faint blush on one side ; cavity narrow ish white, coarse, porous, breaking, acid,— to our

222

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^THLl.

July,

taste a third rate apple — not so good as either of
its "illustrious predecessors," Duchess of Old-
denburg or Ked Astrachan,

We should consider it of little or no account in
the line of acquisition to an old orchard, but val-
uable to those commencing new orchards, on ac-
count of its promising so very early and abun-
dant fruitfulness. No doubt it will be found a
fair cooking apple, and will do to eat from the
hand rather than none, or to pay western prices
for better by those who may raise it. However,
we do not know as the specimen tried should be
taken as a fair test, for though the apple had
began to decay before cut, it appeared immature,
as the seeds were but slightly colored. Mr.
Adams, in a note accompanying the fruit, says :

" I send you by mail to-day a specimen of
' Dommesta of Bessarabia. ' The cions were re-

ceived from the Department of Agriculture two
years ago and top-grafted. They made a slow
growth but I never saw such bearers. Some of
the cions not more than six inches long would
have a half dozen apples, and those of twelve to
twenty inches had frequently a dozen or more
specimens, all very nearly of uniform size, vary-
ing a tritie larger or smaller than the one I send
you." — D. W. Adams, in Western Pomologist.

CoTviNG-s Seedling Strawberry. — Last
year we noticed the large leaves of this variety ;
now Mr. C. sends us fruit. It was in no condi-
tion when received ; but the stems were flatten-
ed as we sometimes see in asparagus, and the
result is that the fruit are set in dense bunches,
like a fashionable bouquet of flowers. If it al-
ways come like this it will be a decided novelty.
As to its garden value, we cannot of course say.

NEW AND EAliE PLANTS.

Improved "Wall-Flowers. — "VVe note by
the Oardener''s Record that improvements are yet
being made in these old-fashioned flowers.

Payne's Perpetual Geranium. — Mr. Can-
nell, Station Road, Woolwich, exhibited two fine
groups of succulent plants, and Mr. Payne, flor-
ist, Belvedere, a group of zonal pelargonium,
Payne''s Perjietual^ a dwarf-growing and free-
flowering variety, which is said to bloom contin-
uously throughout the winter. The flowers are
of a moderate form and of a soft scarlet hue, and
the plants exhibited were exceedingly well flow-
ered. The habit is dwarf and compact. As ex-
hibited, it had the appearance of being a most
useful variety for winter decoration. Thanks to
the exertions of the honorary secretary and the
committee, the exhibition was a decided success.
The judges were Mr. Hull, of Leyton, Mr. Can-
nell, of Woolwich, and Mr. George, of Putney
Heath. — Journal of Horticulture.

I pearance of a gigantic quilled aster than of a
sunflower. The average height is four feet, and
the flower-heads stand boldly above the foliage.
I Altogether it is a decided acquisition in its way,
j and very valuable for half-wild parts of the plea-
sure grounds, where the ordinary coarse-grow-
ing varieties would be entirely out of place. 1 he
botanical name is Helianthus glohosus fistuhsus.

New Sunflower.— When in the trial ground
of Messrs. Sutton and Sous the other day, I was
struck with a large group of a new double Sun-
flower, which certainly merits attention. The
flowers average ten inches in diameter, and are
so full and globular that they bear more the ap-

^chmea MARi.ffl Begins. — This is undoubt-
edly one of the most superb Bromeliaceous plants
ever introduced to the gardens of Europe, and
during the past season was awarded a first-class
certificate at the Regent's Park Botanic Society's
exhibition, a first-class certificate at the Royal
Horticultural Society's exhibition, and also a
special silver medal for its great beauty and su-
perior excellence. It is a beautiful stove peren-
nial, of robust habit, the leaves are arranged in
a vase-like manner, recurved towards the end,
from 12 to 18 inches long, and dark green. The
flower-spike is erect, and rises from the centre,
the lower portion clothed with large oblong boat-
shaped bracts of a rich magenta shaded with
rose, and which remain for two months in full
perfection ; the upper portion is thickly studded
with flowers, which are tipped with dark blue,
changing with age to rose. — B. F. Williams.

187'2.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

ms

DOMESTIC IXTELLTGENCE.

Market Value of Kose Leaves.— A lady
having asked the Farmers' Club of JS". Y. city if
rose leaves, used so extensively in the manufac-
ture of perfumes, might not be gathered and
dried with profit, and whether there is not a
market for them, A. S. ruller,responded: "Eose
leaves are imported by our druggists, and cost
about $1.50 a pound. It is not, however, our
common garden varieties that furnish the rose
leaves of commerce, but the red damask rose, so
largely cultivated in some portions of Europe,
from which the oil of roses is made. If the wri-
ter of the above communication wishes to go into
the rose leaf business she would first have to es-
tablish a reputation for producing a good article
before it would be in any great demand. I think
the price of labor in this country would greatly
interfere with the profits."

If the dried leaves bring but SI. 50 per pound,
what wages could a woman make per day gather
ing them ?

and justice alike demand that the usufructuary
deliver the object of the use to his successor in at
least as good condition as when he received it.
Are our people acting justly to posterity in this
re2;ard ? — Southland.

Large Pecans.— Mr. T. E. "Williams has
presented us with some specimens of Louisiana
Pecans, grown upon his place, which for size, we
have never seen surpassed. The largest of them
measure two inches in length by 13|^-16ths of an
inch in diameter, and the smallest, in a lot of
some two dozen, are but a fraction below. They
are of the paper-shell variety, and Mr. W. in-
forms us that the trees are annual and profuse
bearers of a fruit that is uniformly large. We
have no doubt that the culture of this native fruit
can be made a source of great profit in a large
portion of our State. The fact that the trees do
not come into bearing under twelve or fifteen
years will deter most men from planting them ;
but when we remember that they grow as any
other native forest tree, with very little care or
attention after planting, we should not fail to
have them occupy such grounds as are not other-
wise more profitably appropriated, and we are
sure that a little attention to this matter will
provide many a rich heritage to those who come
after us, even if we fail to reap any of the rewards
ourselves. No land owner should allow a year
to pass without planting some tree that will
compensate to posterity for the waste that he is
annually committing upon the forests. "We have
only a usufructury interest in the soil, and law

"Woodward's Gardens.— We recently visit-
ed these gardens, and were much gratified by the
many improvements in progress. Among these
the public will doubtless find the great assembly-
room, amphitheatre, hall of recreation, or by
whatever other name it may be designated, which
is now in the course of erection, and which will
soon be finished, a means of amusement suited
to the taste of a large majority of the visitors.
For ourselves, the magnificent appearance of the
really superb collection of Acacias, now in full
bloom, together with the luxuriant growth of the
various evergreens and depiduous trees and
shrubs, were a source of extreme pleasure.
Other plants also attracted our attention — a fine
specimen of Dracoena fragrans coming into
bloom, the Plwrmium tenax (Kew Zealand flax),
pushing forth its flower stems, the Ramie plant,
with others too numerous to mention here ; while
within the conservatory, tropical-house, etc., etc.,
we found a splendid collection of Azalias in full
bloom ; various varieties of the Coleus and other
foliage plants in full leaf, and presenting a gor-
geous appearance. This collection is very rich
in foliage plants, having a fine relay of speci-
mens in readiness to be brought forward. We
were, in fact, much more pleased with the re-
serve than with those on exhibition. The Orchi-
daceous plants are also well represented. A Ba-
nana in flower, and forming its young fruit,
attracted our attention, as did also four luxuri-
ant specimens of Anana, (Pine-apple) now fruit-
ing ; by the way, we saw from 20 to 30 others
equally promising in reserve. In fact these very
interesting gardens are evidently increasing in
public value, and we do not believe that they,
although very popular, are appreciated as they
deserve, aflfording as they do, not only recreation
and amusement, but the means of study in botan-
ical science, as well as intellectual improvement,
and we hope that the enterprising proprietor will
meet with ever increasing encouragement dur-
ing the ensuing season — California Horticul-
turist.

2f '^A

TEE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTELY.

July,

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

ACADEMY NATURAL SCIENCES OF
PHILADELPHIA.

At the meeting of June 3d, the following of
Horticultural interest occurred :

Mr. Thomas Meehan presented some speci-
mens of the common Asparagus, and remarked
that in consequence of observing last year so \
many plants that had evidently flowered, produ-
cing no seeds, he had this year examined them
in a flowering condition, and found them perfect-
ly dioicious. Imperfect stamens existed in the
female flowers, but they were never polleniferous.
An occasional gyncecium in the male flower
would make a weak attempt to produce a pistil,
but no polleniferous flower ever produces a fruit.
There was a great difierence in the form of the
male and female flowers The former were dou
ble the length of the latter, and nearly cylindri-
cal, while the female flower was rather companu-
late. Other observers had nearly made the
discovery of di<ECism in this plant. The old
*' English Botany " of Smith, gave it the charac-
ter of being occasionally imperfect, and the au-
thors of "Deutchland Flora" considered it as
occasionally polygamous ; but Mr. M. was satis-
fied from a half day's investigation among many
plants that in this region at least the Asparagus
is never perfect, but truly dioicious.

He had observed another matter, small, but
which might be of importance to systematic bo-
tanists, as well as to those engaged in evolution-
ary studies. One flower had a quadrifid stigma
and a four-celled ovary. The trinate type, or its
multiple, is so closely associated with the endo-
genous structure that he considered this circum-
stance particularly worthy of note.

The male flowers seem very attractive to in-
sects, various kinds of which seem to feed on the
pollen. The Honey Bee was a frequent visitor.
None seemed to be attracted to the female flow-
ers. In the division into separate sexes, the
plant had gained nothing in the way of aid by
insect fertilization. Fertilization seemed wholly
accomplished by the wind. The male flowers
are produced in much greater abundance than
the female ones.

Mr. M. added that this discovery had a more
than usual practical importance. Many attempts
had been made to improve the Asparagus as
garden vegetables, and the farm cereals had been
improved ; but it had often been questioned

whether these improved forms would reproduce
themselves from seed as other garden varieties
did. The tendency of thought the few past
years had been in the direction of the belief that
permanent varieties could be raised, and several
improved kinds had been sent out by seedsmen,
and were popular to a considerable extent. He
said he had himself inclined to this opinion ; but
this discovery of complete dicecism in Asparagus
whereby two distinct individual forms were re-
quired to produce seed, rendered a true repro-
duction of one original parent impossible, as the
progeny must necessarily partake of both forms.
Mr. Meehan further said he had been request-
ed by one of the members, Professor Frazer, to
call the attention of the Academy to an orange
on the table, which had produced a second small-
er fruit under the rind of the larger one. The
orange externally presented nothing unusual,
but on being peeled the second one was found of
about one-fifth the size of the principal one, of a
turbinate shape, and fitting into the lower larger
one as into a cup. This upper secondary orange
had the regular colored skin, with its endopleura,
and the whole enclosed by the regular epidermis
of the primary fruit. He explained that a fruit
is formed by the sudden arrestation of growth
in a branch, and what would be under ordinary
circumstances an elongated branch with its sev-
eral nodes, and axillary leaves and buds, is, to form
a fruit, compressed and condensed, so to speak,
into the organized mass we call a fruit. In the
orange before us the central axis after having
had its elongating direction arrested, made an-
other feeble departure onward, and the small
orange was the result. These sujden accelera-
tions of a nearly arrested growth, are, though not
common, sometimes seen in fruits. They have
been most frequently seen in the Pear. Here the
renewed growth of the central axis bursts
through the primary cuticle, as seen by the man-
ner in which it is drawn up with the secondary
growth. He believed he had seen an instance of
a pear making three series of growths in one
fruit. In the Larch it ts quite common to find
a branch arrested in its developement to form a
cone, push out again into vigorous growth at the
apex, after resting as it were for nearly a month
while the cone was forming. These Larch cones
with branches growing as it were completely
through them, are very often seen. j

®lu #ar(U Iter's p;0tttltlg,

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Ohl faeries, Vol. XIV. AUGUST, 1872. New Series, Vol. V. No. 8.

HINTS EOH AUGUST.

FLOWER GAKDE?^ AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

It has been for many ages customary with
many minds to associate excessive heat with the
eternal sum of all evils, and to judge by the
chosen few who fly from the wrath to come, in
every closely built city, from the sweltering heats
of August to the cool sea side breezes, or to shady
retreats in country places, there is no doubt this
terrible city heat is a great trial, and may fairly
be considered as one of the great recruiting
agents in the constantly increasing army of
lovers of country life.

But this heat which gives so powerful an im-
pulse to country preferences, should teach the
professional Horticulturist also its lesson ; and
that is, in laying out and designing country
places, one of the chief studies should be how to
make a place agreeable even in the hottest
weather.

Not near enough attention is given to this
matter even by many experienced men. Large
plats of hard dry gravel, shadeless walks, and
struggling flower beds, make up the gardening of
by far too many places, the continued effort to
keep which in order without much compensating
advantage, makes many soon tire of what is thus
miscalled " Pleasure " Gardening.

Gardeners often express wonder that so and so
with "plenty of money" takes no interest in
keeping his grounds nice. Only a deep-seated love
of country life, battling against discouragements,
can keep so many in the good path that we find
in it ; and this, not because there is no enjoy-
ment in country life, but because few study out
properly the means to efliect the good ends. We

imitate too much the European styles of garden-
ing, forgetting that our peculiar circumstances
require peculiar treatment.

In all suggestions for the improvement of
grounds, the subsequent cost of keeping in order
should be studied well. This is the rock whereon
so many strike. Walks and roads are particularly
expensive to maintain, and should never be made
without there is an evident necessity for them.
Shady grass walks, • with masses of flowering
shrubs on each side, and kept mown a few times
a year, are as pleasurable parts of a pleasure
ground as can well be provided, yet we very sel-
dom see them employed.

Rustic arbors, as they are usually made, are
very mean things for summer comfort. They are
too close and hot. They suit European climates
bettei*. They should be open all round.

The best arbors however, are made by the weep-
ing ash, grafted high, and spread out well, but
not allowed to have their branches hang too low
down. A circulation of air all round is essent'al
to the comfort of an arbor.

So many fall in love with the country and
about this time make up their minds to perma-
nently reside, that these general suggestions may
have some value. We will now give some more
particular directions for garden work, which may
help those who have already commenced.

In preparing the grounds, it should be remem-
bered that grass and trees are not only required
to grow therein, but that they must groio well.
The top soil of the lot is often covered by the soil
from the excavations, trusting to heavy manuring
to promote fertility. But this is a too slow and ex-
pensive process. The top surface soil should, in

2^6

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOJsfTELY.

August,

all cases, be saved, and replaced over the baser
soil. Also, where it is necessary to lowe>a piece of
ground, the top soil should be saved to place over
again. The depth of the soil is an important
matter, both for the trees and the lawn. It should
be at least eighteen inches deep. In shallow soils
grass will burn out under a few days of hot sun.
In a soil eighteen inches deep a lawn will be green
in the driest weather. For the sake of the trees,
also, the ground should be not only deep, but rich.
If from thirty to forty loads of stable manure to
the acre could be appropriated, it would be money
•well spent. Life is too short for it to be an object to
wait too long for trees to grow, and planting large
ones is an expensive, as well as unsatisfactory
business. A tree in a rich and deep soil will
grow as much in one year as in five in a poor one.
So in preparing a lawn, it is fortunate that, while
aiming at the best effects, we are helping our trees
also. It is generally better to sow for a lawn than
to sod, where much of it has to be done. The
edges of the road must, of course, be sodded, the
balance neatly raked over and sown. The best
kind of grass to oe employed in seeding is a dis-
puted point, and it will, no doubt, depeud in a
great measure on the locality. Philadelphia and
northward, the perennial rye grass is excellent.
It commences to grow very early, and has a pe-
culiar lively, shining green. South of Philadel-
phia it is very liable to get burned out in summer,
and the Kentucky blue grass would be much bet-
ter. It is much the..best to have but one kind of
grass for a lawn, provided it is suited to the local-
ity. A mixture of kinds is apt to give a spotted
and variegated character, not at all jjleasing.
Some people like to see whiteclovergrovvingthick-
ly in a lawn and others object to any thing but
green. However, if a good grass rake is employ-
ed freely in summer time, the heads of these
flowers may be kept from "expanding. Where
there is a prospect of a month of growing wea-
ther, lawns may still be sown with grass seed, —
the clover, where used, to be kept for sowing in
April or March next. A small quantity of rye
should be thinly sown with the grass, which, by
tlie shade it affords will.'prevent the grass from
being thrown out by the frost. The rye must of
course, be closely^cut in the spring, to allow the
grass to get ahead of it.

It is somewhat remarkable, that with the
great love of cool shady spots, which our climate
excites in all of us, more attention is not given
to making bowers of living trees than is custo-
mary for us to do. "We have " summer houses"

in abundance, but these are seldom cool. If
they are roofed, the heat radiated from the un-
der surface makes it very hot, unless the sides
are open all around ; and if the sides are thus
open, the sun at all hours except mid-day, tres-
passes on our enjoyment. Besides this, as a
matter of taste, summer houses, as we generally
see them, are sadly out of character in relation
to their surrounding. In some of our best parks,
where there is indeed a great deal more than
mere pretension to landscape gardening, the
"summer houses," as they are called, too often
mar the eflect of the whole thing.

The green mass is in keeping with other trees,
and the crowding necessary to accomplish the
desired shade, can often be turned to the very
best account. This is especially the case when
weeping trees are employed. The peculiar droop-
ing habit comes into play in numerous ways in
the hands of a good landscape gardener. Of the
fast growing things of this kind, and where the
position is not particularly choice, there are few
things more useful than the TTeepingr Willow.
For more select places we suppose there is
nothing better than the TFefpuiy Ash. Indeed,
taken all in all, it is one of the best trees of this
kind we have. The branches can be trained over
wires, and thus we can make the room beneath
the tree as extensive as one could wish. For
very large spots, a half dozen or so can be used.
Set in one circle, and the trees about twenty feet
apart. Such an arrangement would make a de-
lightful croquet ground,— or a place for parties
or picnics- -entirely in the shade, yet with an
abundance of room and air all round. The Kil-
marnock Weeping Willow^ if grafted high enough,
would make a very pietty shade for one or two
persons ; but as they generally are, they are not
worked over five or six feet high ; and thus we
have to be satisfied with them as the lovely little
ornaments we see on our lawns.

Recently we saw a very pretty thing formed
out of half a dozen Japan Catalpa — Catalpa
Kffimpferi. These seem to grow only from fif-
teen to twenty feet high, and the branches form
a dense mass overhead, appearing in leaf as if
the whole surface had been closely sheared.
When not too closely confined, the whole stem
pushes out leafy branches. A half dozen of
these set out by themselves, and trained up to
single steins, will make one uniform mass of fo-
liage if left to itself; and gothic arches, or
arches of any other form, can be cut between
each pair of trees. The leaves around each

1872,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTHLY.

2'/7

tree stem can be left two or three feet wide if ered bulbous plants have done flowering, and

desired, — and the whole can be made to have a
remarkably unique effect.

The planting 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.

It may be well to repeat what we have said in
substance before, that the latter end of August
is one of the best seasons of the year to trans-
plant 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 autumu winds begin.
The chief difficulty is that the soil is usually very
dry, which prevents much speed with the opera-
tion ; 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 watered soil, which
will then aid in preventing 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 finer 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
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^

When White Lilies, or any other spring-flow-

the stems died away, they should be taken up
and re-set ; the disease in Lilies often met with,
is probably caused by their being too long in one
place.

Most of what is to be done now in this depart-
ment consists of the routine duties of neatness,
— tying up, pegging down, removing faded blos-
soms, collecting and destroying insects, etc.

Many suff'er their flowers to produce seed, but
this injures the flowering. If it be particularly
desirable to save seed of some things, allow only
just as much to ripen as will be needed. In some
cases, cutting off the flowers as fast as they fade
doubles the season of flowering.

Auriculas, Polyanthus, Pansies, Daisies, and
other of these early flowering, half hardy plants,
commence their root growth about the end of
this month, when the time has arrived for re-
planting. Good fresh, and yet half decayed sod
from a pasture field, is the best to grow them in.
Those who have the advantage of j)ots and
frames, can re-pot also at this season.

PRUIT GARDEI^.
Another and most bountiful year is highly en-
couraging to the fruit grower. Pie must now
take care that exhaustion does not follow. The
Avise orchadist has thinned his fruit at an early
stage of growth, and will now be looking round
for material to fertilize them with. It is not too
late to do it yet to advantage. AVe should sur-
face dress with manure, compost, or rich mate-
rials, any time between now and frost ; but the
earlier the better. There is not much use in put-
ting it on after the soil is frozen. Eains wash
its best portions away. As to kind of manure,
it makes little difference. If the surface is not
disturbed much, the richer the surface soil the
better. We have noticed but little difference be-
tween animal manure and mineral. Some of the
best and healthiest trees we know, stand near
the manure heaps in farm yards.

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 earlier in the sea-
son ; 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 benefited 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 rasp-

ns

THE GARDEJVER'S MO^''THL^

August,

berry ami blackberry after they have done bear-
ing, and we have in times past recommended it
ourselves ; but on further observation, we see
very little good, if not positive injury. The par-
tial shade the old stems make, seems rather bene-
ficial than otherwise under our hot suns.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

As soon as your vegetable crops are past
kitchen use, clear them out. Xever suffer them
to seed. In the first place, a seed crop exhausts
the soil more than two crops taken off in an edi-
ble condition ; in the next place, the refuse of
the kitchen is likely to produce degenerate
stocks. Good seed saving is a special art by
itself, always claiming the earliest and best to
ensure a perfect stock.

Celery will require earthing up as it grows, to
get it to blanch well. It is not well, however,
to commence too 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 inearthing, or the crown is apt to
rot.

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
hastened in the ripening process, and improved
in flavor, by a piece of tile being placed under
the fruit.

Keep weeds from your compost heaps, as they
exhaust the soil, and bear seeds for future brow-
sweatings.

Sow Lettuce for Fall crop, thinly, and in deep
and very rich ground.

Earlv Yalentine Beans may still be sown early
in the month. The soil for a late crop should be
well trenched, or if the fall be dry, they will be
stringy and tough.

Cucumbers, Squash, and other similar plants,
often suffer from drought at this seaaon. Cold
water does not help them much, but a mulching
of half-rotten leaves strengthens them consider-
ably.

Cut down straggling herbs, and they will
make new heads for next season.

Towards the end of the month, a sowing of
Spinach may be made in rich soil, which will
come in for use before winter. That desired for
winter and early spring use, is usually sown in
September in this region. A few Turnips may
also be sown for an earl}' crop, but will be hot
and stringy unless the soil is very rich.

Corn Salad is often sowed at the end of this
month. It does not do so well in damp soil or
low situation.

COMMUNICATIONS.

THE PRINCIPLE OF IRRIGATION.

REMARKS OF MR. THOMAS MEEHAN BEFORE

THE COLORADO FARMERS CLUB, AT GREELEY,

AUG VST, 1871.

At the request of a "Western friend, who
" thinks it a lucid exposition of the principles of
irrigation," we reprint from the Greeley Tribune
the following report of some crude remarks by
the editor of this magazine, at the reception of
the agricultural excursionists last year, though
we think there is little new which has not been
more deliberately told in our pages before :

" In the East some people say that your system
of irrigation is a humbug, but it has often been
my privilege to defend this system, and to say,
as I do to-night, that so far as the very best rc-

I suits are considered, agriculture by irrigation is
j capable of producing better results than any
other. I came here, therefore, rather prejudiced
j in its favor, and instead of expressing surprise,
I as some do at your great results, will say you
I have not yet come up to what the system is ca-
pable of, for this system is so excellent that you
I hold in perfect control all the elements of plant
nutrition and growth, these are, namely, heat,
air, light and water. In the East we have all
these it is true, but unfortunately in our seeding
time there is often too much water ; corn plant-
ing is delayed for weeks by cold rains, and oats,
instead of being sown in March, frequently re-
main out of ground until May, when, if.a hot
season follow we have but half a crop. In short.

1872.

THE GAfiDE.YER'S MOA'TBLy.

we are famous in the East for mildews, moulds
and rusts, and various diseases, most of which is
due to too much water in the soil at one time or
another during the growth of plants. Here you
have light, air and heat as we have, and you
have water with the valuable addition of having
the water under complete control. You can give
the crops the water just as they need it, and cut
it oflf the moment they have had enough ; and
gentlemen, 1 am not surprised that you equal us
in your agricultural productions. It would be to
your shame if you did not, and I shall expect you
to excel in what you now show us. Few per-
sons have an idea of the great value of holding
well in hand the great powers of nature, and es-
pecially this one of water. It has been my for-
tune to be interested during my life in horticul-
ture as well as agriculture, to work in the garden
as well as on the farm, and it is well-known that
the garden will, at any time, excel the farm in
the value of its productions. In fruit culture for
instance, we will build a vinery, and produce
grapes under glass far superior to any which the
most noted vignerons of this country or Europe
can raise in the open air— so of other fruits and
vegetables. The peach, pine-apple, cucumbers,
or salad— all attest the superiority of this kind
of culture over the productions of the field— and
why V Chiefly because we have all the conditions
of success under complete control, and especially
this one of water.

But I would say to you that the common as-
sertion that water is the food of plants, is to be
received with some qualification. Water is
rather an enemy than a friend, when given as
water. We find water in plants, but it is drawn
into their system rather in the state of vapor than
as water. Indeed it is watery vapor which the
roots of plants feed on, and not water. I make
bold to say that very few crops, except such as
rice, live in water, would stand to have all their
roots entirely submerged for twj;elve hours in
water and not suffer. In fact, and it is a curious
subject for those interested in philosophy to
study, only those plants which need little water
in their structure, grow in water. If you cut
across a bull-rush, or any other plant, you will
find its structure made up of dry pith, or other-
wise dry and hollow, while if you take a milk-
weed, cactus, or other of the weeds which grow
about you on these dry hills, and cut them across,
you will find the moisture flowing freely. So we
come to the conclusion that it is in open, porous
soil, aided by the gasses of the atmosphere, that

the roots of plants are able to take up, in the
state of vapor, the moisture they contain.

You will thus see in your system of irrigation
your danger will be that the roots will get too
much water. Instead of planting, and then pour-
ing the water on, it will be a wiser policy to pre-
pare the soil deeply to hold moisture in the shape
of vapor ; introduce the water before planting,
then plant after this well prepared soil has be-
come moderately dry.

I have said that the roots of plants suffer if for
twelve hours they are entirely submerged in
water. This is even more true of trees than of
other plants, and perhaps more so of grape vines
than of any other woody thing. We find by
practical observation that this fruit does best on
the driest hills, where the soil is so arid that corn
stalks will dry to shavings, here the vine
flourishes ; and the driest seasons have always
proved the best grape years.

But, ladies and gentlemen, I am reminded by
this matter of water in the soil, that I have been
asked to say a few words to you about evapora-
tion. Of course, you know that all the water
taken into a plant's system by the roots does not
stay there, but is as rapidly given off into the at-
mosphere, and that the dryer the atmosphere the
more is given off". This evaporation takes place
from every portion of the plant, from the branches
and the twigs, as well as from the green leaves,
and in winter as well as summer. Indeed, it is
in proportion to the extent of surface exposed.
There is more moisture lost by a tree in winter
than in summer. You know how it is, gentle-
men, or if not these ladies accustomed to the
laundry can tell you that washed linen will dry
much faster by a cold dry wind in winter, than
under an average summer sun, and you will thus
see the great advantage of sheltering your farms
and gardens from the scorching eflTects of wiutery
winds. But the lateness of the hour admonishes
me that I must not continue longer, and with
your permission I will now close. [Cries of " Go
on ; let us hear more."]

The Chair. — We are always patient under in-
struction.

Mr. Meehan continued : You can, by looking
at nature around you see the great value of
shelter from winds. While exploring these
mountains to the back of you, I find a large va-
riety of rare conifereous trees which we in the
East give high prices to possess. I found that
wherever these were growing in sheltered valleys,
or warm cosy canyons, these noble specimens,

230

THE GARVEJVMR';S MOJVTHLy. August,

were clothed with foliage from summit to the
ground ; but on the hills, exposed to the bleak
winds of winter, rich as they were, they seldom
reached half the size of those in the other places.
But you may sa}', how can there be evaporation
in winter, when the trees are at rest ? If the
moisture escapes from the branches how is it re-
stored by the roots ? Kow the roots are collect-
ing moisture all through the winter season. It
makes no diflerence how frozen the soil may be,
the little rootlets thaw the hard clod just about
them and take up the watery vapor, by their own
intei'nal heat, and thus supply the needed mate-
rial for waste through the branches.

I may. perhaps, offer a few suggestions as to
the kind of trees to plant. Everything depends
on getting them rapidly down into the sub-soil,
where the roots can be away from the drying in-
fluences of the atmosphere. Nature offers some
hints. Only those plants grow here now which
have the power of throwing their roots deeply
down. I notice that in the mountains the pre-
vailing deciduous tree is the oak, and the whole
oak family are proverbial for the depth of their
roots. Your oak is not a large growing tree, but
botanically, it is nearly allied to the English oak
of Europe, and I am quite sure that this English
oak would do remarkably well in this country.
It is, moreover, a rapid grower, and I have seen
it make five feet in one year. In all you choose
I would take, therefore, the deep tap rooted
sorts— even in the matter of hedging plants, I
would do this. I noticed to-day that you are
growing the osage orange, but I should think the
honey locust has a much deeper rooting tenden-
cy, and would be a better plant for this purpose.

Again, ladies and gentlemen, I would say, you
need not stop to defend your irrigating system of
agriculture. It is the system which best holds
iu control the elements of success. Have a care
to keep your soil filled, not with water, but with
watery vapor, and guard your crops from evapo-
ration by planting shelter belts, and not even
these beautiful specimens of cereals and vegeta-
bles, which you have on this platform to show us
will satisfy you, for you will excel your best ex-
pectations."

Judge Hanna moved a vote of thanks to the
distinguished excursionists, and he expressed his
opinion that their visits, and the favorable opin-
ion they had expressed, would be worth much to
the colony. The vote passed unanimously.

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT TURNIPS.

BY DATED LAXDRETH, PHILA.

The value of succulent food, in a hygienic or
sanatory view, to man, and also to the animals
which minister to his wants, need not be com-
mented on. All who have paid attention to the
subject agree in opinion as to its advantage, in-
deed, absolute necessity, if the preservation of
health be properly studied. The long winters
of our country which arrest vegetation, and
oblige us to provide green food to be stored up
in anticipation of the severer season, has necessa-
rily induced inquiry and examination as to the
class of vegetables which can be produced in
greatest abundance, at least cost, with least ex-
ertion, in the shortest space of time, and least
liability to failure under unfavorable atmospheric
conditions, and also as of primary importance,
with a capacity for perservation for months
with slight danger of decay.

These qualities appear to be united in a remark-
able degree in the Turnip— hence its very general
culture; and, as naturally follows, the importance
of selecting the varieties which experience has
pointed out as better adapted to geographical di-
visions, and special purposes

In Great Britain the culture of bulbs, more
especially the Turnip (in which we here include
the Ruta Baga or "Swede," though not so class-
ed in England), has assumed really gigantic
importance ; and it has been estimated by wri-
ters on political economy, years ago, when the
Turnip product was much below the present,
that its annual value was equivalent to the sum
represented by the interest on the national debt,
— no inconsiderable amount as everybody knows.
Until the culture of roots, as they are termed,
was extended and enlarged in England, animal
food was a luxury seldom within the reach of the
operative classes, with whom vegetables and fari-
naceous compounds, not always of the best quali-
ty, were the reliable sources for sustenance.
Now, meats in some shape are within reach of all,
—the poor factory operative, the industrious me-
chanic, and the wealthy land-holder, alike par-
ticipate ; and this change has grown out of, not
national prosperity or increased wages, — though
both are indirectly affected, — but the greater
breadth of land in root-culture, which has so
largely, immensely, it may be said, augmented
die productive capacity of the acreage under
plough,— thus practically bringing food to every
working-man's door.

Indian Corn— with us the great meat-iDroducer

187'^.

THE GARDENER'S MOA'THLY.

231

which has played so important a part in the
civilization of our country, enablino[ the hardy
emigrant from the oldest settlements to wrest
the wilderness from the savage, and overcome
the forest — is not a product of Great Britain or
any portion of the north of Europe ; there only
being known as an import from our country. In
this particular, we have an advantage impossi-
ble to estimate ; but, great as it is. it should not
lessen our exertion to produce succulent food,
which augments the value of the farinaceous
For many years we have, in our various publica-
tions, especially " The Rural Register and Al
manac." given expression to our conception of
the value of roots as stock food. Our own
working stock, at present numbering fifty-six
head, and a small herd of Alderneys kept for the
family dairy, we aim as regularly to supply with
food of that character, whether it be turnips,
mangolds, carrots, or beets, as with hay ; and
we should consider it most unfortunate if unto-
ward events should deprive us of the ability thus
to contribute to the health and vigor of our
working force, or the secretion of rich milk, and
correspondingly rich butter, as high colored in
winter as that from grass, and almost as well
flavored.

That Turnips, singly and alone, will secure
health, and strength, and rich milk we are far
from maintaining ; but we do contend that, in
proper proportion, in suitable condition, at prop-
er times, mixed with corn meal, shorts, oil cake,
or other farinaceous food, they will produce in-
valuable results. To feed roots of any kind in
improperly cold stables, or, what may sometimes
be seen, in the open air in inclement weather, —
the roots, perhaps, partially frozen, — and expect
favorable results, argues, to say the least, want
of reflection ; and where we find people say, as
we sometimes do, they "can see no good in
roots,'' we are sure to find, on inquiry, that some
of the obviously rational and necessary rules of
procedure in feeding had been neglected or dis-
regarded. The experience of such people should
never be taken as safe guides ; but rather let us
piu our faith on the systematic and successful,
who use the right means to the right end. One
such practical, observing, methodic man in a
neighborhood is worth a dozen who make no prog-
ress, who pooh-pooh every effort which does not
square with their previously conceived opinions,
— if, indeed, they have any fixed opinions except
of their own wisdom. ^Xe have been told that
the ocean could not be navigated by steam, that

it was certain death to illuminate our cities by
gas, and that a transatlantic cable was a chimera
of an over-taxed brain. But where do we stand
now ? So has been the prediction of croakers
with respect to steam, as applied to tillage.
"With what scorn has it been said the thing was
wholly impracticable ! What is the position of
agi'iculture in that particular to-day ? Hundreds
upon hundreds of ploughs in gangs of six, run-
ning a foot or more in depth, are drawn by steam-
power in England, with a celerity most advanta-
geous at a hurried season. — running night as well
as day, when necessary to accomplish seeding in
due season ; and at a cost far below the work of
horses. We trust that in another year the lands
of Bloomsdale will be ploughed, and harrowed,
and rolled, and perhaps further^tilled by steam,
thus adding to their productiveness, and increas-
ing the requirement for manual labor ; for steam
does not destroy, but builds up.

Method of preparing the Land for Turnips.

The preparation of the soil is an important
pre-requisite to success, both asrespects the pro-
ductiveness of the crop, and its cost, for it is
manifest that, however valuable and desirable
may be any object we seek, the cost of obtaining
may be disproportionate ; such is especially the
case with the products of the soil. The Agri-
cultural Department of a previous day (we are
sure its present head will commit no such blun-
der) took great credit for the introduction, as it
was termed, of the tea-plant from China, though
it was in our country fifty years before,'and had
produced perfect seed. A little reflection might
have convinced the Department that, unless we
could import the Asiatics also, and they could
be content to live on rice, and work for a few
" cash " a day, as at home, we had better con-
tinue our tea plantations abroad. The fruits of
the tropics and Southern Europe we shall suc-
cessfully cultivate, for we have every climate ;
but the tea, never.

Some farmers with us of Pennsylvania, when
laying out their Corn-ground, attach to it so
much land in addition as they propose to crop in
Ruta Bagas and Turnips ; plough it at the same
time as the corn-land, and whenever the crop is
harrowed or cultivated, the root-land receives
like attention. At first this may seem a waste
of labor, but it can be readily perceived the finer
tilth such practice is calculated to effect, but es-
pecially the economy of labor when the seed is
sown. "With each previous movement of the
soil a new surface was exposed, and with each

282

TEE GARDEXEB'S M0JVTHL1.

August,

the latent seeds of weeds had opportunity to ger-
minate, and were destroyed, thus slaying thou-
sands of formidable enemies of the turnip crop.
Xow, all this may seem a small matter to some
farmers, but we take leave to tell them that,
system and method in farming, as in manufac-
tures and other industrial pursuits, will hereafter
alone pa}' ; the increasing cost of labor, and all
else incidental to the culture of the soil, must
make intelligent, methodic Seld-labor indispensa-
ble. Slip-shod tillage will certainly bring men
into debt. It is true the process described above
cannot be observed under all circumstances, as
in the South, where turnips are frequently grown
with most sure success within the boundary of
the cow-pen, but even there, several ploughings
might be given preparatory to the seeding.

In the latitude of Philadelphia, we begin to
think of sowing Kuta Bagas about the 10th of
Jul}', and if every thing is in readiness, make
our first sowing b}' the middle of the month.
The process is thus : Plough the land level, har-
row lengthwise and cross-wise, getting it into
fine tilth, then draw shallow furrows 2i feet
apart (3 feet is better where there is plenty of
room to spare) ; in these furrows the manure is
spread ; it may consist of any fertilizing material
within reach. Of course decomposed matter is
the best, whether it be vegetable or animal ; and
here, we remark, it is a good plan to prepare in
advance a compost, which will readily disinte-
grate when spread. Where such is not at hand,
any of the approved commercial fertilizers may
be resorted to, but be sure and buy only from
parties of good repute, of which, doubtless, there
are maay. "We take this opportunit}^ however,
to say, without disparagement to others, that,
after a number of years' trial of the product of
Baugh & Son, of Philadelphia, and the North-
western Fertilizing Company of Chicago, that,
wa feel no disposition to order elsewhere. "When
the fertilizer (if a sujier phosphate or other com-
mercial manure, at about equal cost, at the rate
of 500 lbs. per acre) has been spread, it is a good
practice to remove the hind teeth from an ordi-
nary cultivator so as to adapt it to the width of
the furrow, and pass it once over the fertilizer,
thus incorporating it with the soil. That done,
t'.ie soil removed in forming the furrows, and a
little more obtained on the opposite side is re-
turned. This process will be found to form a
ridge some inches higher than the level of the
adjacent land. As it is not desirable in our cli-
piate, where heat and drought (rather than ex-

cess of moisture, as in England, from whence the
practice of ridging is derived) pi'evails. we back
down the ridges until they are nearly level, and
which brings the seed about to be sown near the
manure, so important to stimulate the young
plants. Everything being now ready for sowings
with an Allen's "Planet,'' or "Holbrook " Drill
both of which are made to open the furrow, de-
posite the seed, close the furrows, and roll in the
seed if necessary, we proceed to sow. The drill
should be adjusted to sow not less than two
pounds of seed per arce, if in drills or rows, 2^
feet apart,— not that so much is necessary, if
an}' considerable per-centage vegetates, and es-
capes the fly, the scorching sun, and other unfa-
vorable influences. It is probable that if two
ounces of seed could be evenly distributed, each
grain germinate, and finally succeed, there would
be a sufficient number of plants to the acre ; but
it would be a very unwise procedure to stint the
seed to save (for the present moment only) the
pocket. The English, to whom we look for in-
struction in root culture, use much more than
two pounds per acre, but the turnip has been so
generally grown in their country for generations,
that the "fly," fed and pampered, has become
a most formidable pest ; so much so that great
difficulty is sometimes found in securing a
"stand."

If the sowing, which we have just described,
should by any accident have failed, pass along
the ridges a spike-tooth harrow to destroy any
weed seed which may have spouted, and re-sow,
as before. If, from the time lost, it may be
deemed too late to perfect a crop of Ruta Bagas
with certainty, it may be better to make the re-
sowing with flat turnips, which mature in a
shorter season. Supposing the first sowing a
success, allow the plants to reach the rough or
second leaf, then proceed thus: Taking a light
two-inch steel hoe in hand, and standing so as
to bring a corner of the hoe in an oblique direc-
tion with I'espect to the line of plants, and near
to them, the operator walks backwards, drawing
the hoe gentl}-, and lightly skimming the surface
of the soil, and with it all young weeds which
may have sprung up cotemporary with the
crop ; returning, the opposite side of the row or
drill is taken, thus leaving only a narrow line of
turnip plants, nearly free from weeds. After a
few days, when they have grown somewhat
stronger, and are too rank for the fly to injure
seriously, they may be " clilmped," which is per-
formed by taking a sharp, light, steel hoe of suit-

187'2.

TEE GARDEMER'S MOJS'TRLy.

233

able size, say two inches wide, and standing
facing the row, cut crosswise, so as to leave
clumps of plants at intervals of four or five
inches. At first the operator will cut timidly,
fearino; to destroy too many ; but in a little while
he will have gained courage, and proceed with
increasing speed. It is surprising with what ce-
lerity such work may be performed by an expert^
which any one may become with an hour's prac-
tice. We have boys who can pass along a row,
cutting as they -go, at half the usual walking
speed. "When the plants left in clumps have
fully recovered from the disturbance, which is
unavoidable, and again stand erect, the process
of " singling " commences ; this is simply pulling
out with the finger and tliumb and casting aside
all but the most promising plant in each group
or clump.

After the lapse of a few days, when the selected
plants have become upright and self-sustaining,
a very shallow furrow may be cast from each
side,— the earth thus removed meeting in a ridge
between the rows If the weather is damp they
may stand thus a few days, each day adding
greatly to their strength ; but if the weather be
hot and dry, it is better to proceed at once with
the hoeing, which done, the ridge of earth is to
be leveled down by a spike-tooth harrow, or, in
its absence, a cultivator with well-worn teeth,
taking care not to cast the earth upon the young
plants. This process of ploughing from the
plants, and cultivating immediately after to re-
turn the soil, will need to be repeated several
times during the season of growth ; indeed it
may be practiced with great advantage so long
as the space between the rows is not obstructed
by foliage, on each repetition inserting the plough
deeper than before. Thus the crop will at length
stand daily increasing in vigor and bulk, until
( in the latitude of Philadelphia ) 20th November,
when it should be placed in winter quarters.
( To he Continued.)

HEATING GLASS-HOUSES.

BY LORING W. PUFFER, JifORTH BRIDGEWATER,
MASS.

I do not propose in this paper to advance any
particular theory as to the circulation of hot-
water, but to confine myself to a few facts in my
own experience. Many persons are deterred
from building greenhouses, because the heating
apparatus must be either cumberous or expen-
sive, for it has almost passed into a proverb, that

houses less than fifty feet in length, cannot be
economically heated by hot-water. Having
solved that problem to may satisfaction during
the past ten 3'ears, I herewith give you the re-
sult: The office or parlor stove for anthracite
coal of to-day, is an improvement over the old
cylinder cast-iron stove, inasmuch as its peculiar
construction allows a continuous fire to be kept
for months, and when properly adjusted there is
a perfect combustion of the coal; consequently no
waste, no fires to rebuild, while ten minutes time
daily will keep them in satisfactory running coudi
tion. This improvement, so far as I know, was in-
troduced by one McGreggor, some 20 years ago,
and while very few of these stoves are now in
use, the principle involved can be found in near-
ly all the modern stoves known by the name of
McGee, Orient, Base burner, gas burner, and
other fanciful names. It consists essentially in
a cast-iron cylinder, lined with fire-brick, and
surrounded at a distance of two or three inches,
v.-ith a sheet-iron shell. The heat rising from the
cast-iron cylinder to the top is deflected back and
down between this and the sheet-iron shell and
then finds access to the pipe, what is not radia-
ted by the stove, through the base of the stove,
and under and back of the fire to the chimney.
The amount of heat lost in the chimney is not
probably five per cent. A fire can be kept for
forty-eight hours without touching. That 1 have
tested Of course not much heat could be gen-
erated, as combustion goes on very slowly. But
a c/ood degree of heat can be maintained for twelve
hours. Now having used these stoves for six-
teen years, and withal, being a yankee, I could
never build a fire in my flue without contrasting
the difference. The stove so simple, effectual,
and neat in its working. The flue at its best,
being unsightly, dirty, and ineffectual to a cer-
tain extent, and using more time than I could
well aftbrd to spare. Abouc ten or eleven years
ago, having a small propagating house to heat,
I found a stove that would answer my purpose,
and cutting some holes through the shell, insert-
ed a bend of two inch gas-pipe, communicating
with a wooden tank. This worked some time
quite eftectually, but the pipe clogged the fire,
and after some thinking, I had patterns made,
and a boiler cast, which should take the place of
the fire-brick, the size being adapted to the
amount of heat required for tank heating. This
worked effectually, and to my satisfaction until
I sold the house. This was I think, in the
spring of 1863. Last fall I concluded that I

^^SJi.

TEE GARDE jYER'S M0J\'THLY

August,

would apply the principle in heating my green-
house, which is eleven feet wide, and thirty -two
long. I secured the base and top of a McGee
stove, and ordered a cylinder boiler of No. 16
guage, sheet copper, made by a tinman. The
boiler is two feet high, sixteen inches outside,
and fourteen inches inside diameter. The cop-
per is first riveted, and then soldered. The
space between the two shells filled with water is
one inch. The boiler is lined with fire-brick one
foot high, leaving one foot exposed to the direct
action of the fire. Fifty pounds of coal will fill
the space to the top of the fire-brick. If filled to
the top of the boiler, something over 100 pounds.

The temperature of the house during the night
is from 40^ to 50', commonly about 45", and it
never fall during the night. On March 5th with
the temperature outside at 10" below 0, and a
driving wind, with an expenditure of 75 lbs. of
coal in the 24 hours, the heat was steady at 45°,
not varying one degree, and using but 95 feet of
four inch pipe. The house contains 2700 cubic
feet, fronts south, and is not protected by other
buildings. The boiler cost forty-two dollars.
The amount of coal used is from fifty to sixty-
five pounds daily. The fire does not go out for
weeks, and but for the fact that there is more or
less slate with the coal, it could be kept up from

would be required. External and at about an
inch distant is a sheet iron shell, with smoke-pipe
at its base. The fire is entirely surrounded \>y
water, and the heat, after rising to the top, de-
scends to the base of the boiler, and thence to
the smoke-pipe— what has not been radiated.
When the boiler is working well, the smoke-pipe
will be about blood wai'm. Some heat is radia-
ted by the sheet iron shell, but by using a cov-
ering of felt, that would be mostly retained.

fall until spring. An average often minutes per
day will keep it working. There is one flow and
two return pipes. The end of the flow pipe ii? six
inches higher than the top of the boiler. It has
always worked to my perfect satisfaction, and al-
though onl}' about one hundred feet of pipe is
attached, have no doubt that it would work three
hundred feet, but of course, using more coal. I
send a rough draught of it ; should be pleased to
show it to any one. One of Hitchiugs' boilers

1872.

THE GARDEJ\'ER'S MOXTBLl

2

35

that would do the same work, would cost about
one hundred and fifty dollars.
P. S. — I am not a manufacturer of boilers.

1. Damper to admit cold air and ohpck draft.

2. Ash pit.

3. Revolving grate, twelve inches in diameter.

4. Door to ash pit. with slide damper.

5. Damper for direct draft.

6. Fire brick.

7. Boiler.

8. Smoke pipe.

9. Wrought-iron collar on end of copper pipe— ends
turned over.

10. Four inch iron pipe.

Top and base cast iron— sheet iron outside.

11. Cover.

The water pipes are to he understood as radiating from
the side instead of the front, as shown by this section.

NOTES.

BY MISS A. G., READING, PA.
THE WHITE WATER LILY.

Thinking some flower lovers might like to cul-
tivate this lily if they knew how easily it can be
done, I will describe the method I saw practised
for several years, by a lady friend. The roots
were procured in the lower part of JTew Jersey.
They were kept damp, dtiring the ensuing win-
ter in flower pots. A half barrel was obtained in
the spring, and the hoops well secured. It was
left in ''the rough," except one year, when it
was much improved by a coat of green paint.
The tub was set on bricks, in the garden, and
one-third filled with a mixture of garden earth,
sand, and well rotted manure The roots were
set in this, and covered. Water was added,
gently, and a little at a time, every day or two,
(so as not to disturb the earth), till the tub was
filled. The handsome round leaves, four or five
inches in diameter, soon appeared, and filled the
tub. Water was put in to supply that lost by
evaporation, and during the summer several blos-
soms delighted us with their beauty. When cold
weather approached, the water was allowed to
dry off, and when nearly gone, the tub with the
roots and earth still in it, was placed in the cel-
lar, and watered at long intervals during the
winter.

In the spring the roots were separated, and
about half of the increase put back into the tub
in a fresh mixture of earth. As they were
brought out earlier, (about 1st of April), the blos-
soms were more numerous. These pure white
flowers were as perfect as the Camelia, and de-
lightfully fragrant. They close at night, and re-
open in the morning. Those blooming in the
tub were about two inches in diameter : but

tliose of the ponds are larger. Near Moorestown,
New Jersey, there is a very large kind, differing
somewhat from tliese, and said to be the real
Egyptiiiu Lotus, brought from the East by a
travuier.

THE CALLA.

Having seen a very large Calla, or Egyptain
Lily, which bloomed well during the winter, we
a?kod an account of the treatment which made
it so flourishing. We learned that the lady who
owned it, was in the practice of transplanting all
her Callas from the pots to the garden, where
they increased rapidly in size. We then tried
the experiment of putting out the quite young
Callas when the geraniums were bedded They
soon showed growth, and by fall were thrifty,
good-sized plants. One of these sent up a bud
before Christmas. The ground in which they
were placed was somewhat damp, and received
only the morning sun.

It is not generally known among amateurs that
the Calla sends up two blossoms through the
same leaf-stalk ; by cutting this too soon the
second bloom is lost. They should, under favor-
able circumstances, throw up six flowers during
the winter. Ground from a swamp is specially
good for them ; also manure that has been scalded
often for watering flowers. Stale cofiee is said to
improve them.

AMARYLLIS

A lady friend writes, lately, that having the
misfortune to break the stem off of one of these
before the buds were out of their sheath, she tried
the experiment of setting them in a pot of sand.
The flowers soon burst the sheath and expanded.
This fact might prove valuable where it is desi-
rable to transmit the flowers without the bulb.
They would carry thus, in damp cotton, without
injury.

One Amarayllis in my possession, which was
two years ago put into a twelve inch pot, and
not disturbed except to top-dress it, this winter
sent up two stems ; one of them measured a yard
and more to the top of the bud sheath Each
stem bore six flowers, of a rosy salmon pink, with
a white stripe down each petal ; shaded on the
sides with carmine pencilings. It was very fine.
IPOM^AS.

These beautiful morning glories of the Tropics
seem little known. Last summer's unusual heat
being favorable to their growth, they made a fine
display in the yard and garden. The Ipomsea
Grandiflora Superba, a large blue one, with a
white border, was lovely. Ipomsea limbata, and

236

THE GARBEJYER'S MOJ^THLY.

August,

Ipomsea elegantissima, which I think are near-
ly the same, are very elegant, bearing purple
blossoms, with a white star in the centre, and a
bluish white boi-der. These, it is said, should be
four or five inches in diameter, if in a favorable
situation. They are very handsome ; but I pre-
fer the I. grandiflora suberba, because it is a
luxuriant grower, bearing a profusion of large
flowers, and seems less delicate than I. limbata.
I had a large pure blue one, a pure blue with a
very narrow edge, a white one, (but this was not
larger than a common morning glory), and a
neighbor, a crimson one with a white edge.

My Ipompeas were much more luxuriant than
those of my neighbors, which I attributed to their
having been forwarded in boxes or pots, and to
growing in rather a damp place, in rich ground.
Some of the main stems were nearly an inch
thick a foot or two from the ground. After being
freely watered, the blossoms increased in size.
Manure water was used occasionally, which
helped to keep them vigorous. One kind I did
not succeed in blooming, but a seed of the same
was sent to a friend at Baltimore, which grew
luxuriantly and produced white, sweet-scented
flowers, five or six inches long, and trumpet or
petunia shaped. They, however, bloomed in the
evening, remaining open till six o'clock next
morning. My friend called it "a beautiful vex-
atious thing," to hide its beaut}- in the night.

WINTER PROTECTION.

BY JAMES WEED, MUSCATINE, IOWA.

The cultivator of tender trees, of hardy, or
rather half-hardy plants and vegetables, has a
vast interest in the extreme vicissitudes of au-
tumn, winter and spring. Artificial means of
obviating the disastrous effects of extreme cold,
sudden changes, &c., under the general term
protection, have been extensively discussed for
many years, and " shelter belts," "wind breaks,"
evergreen hedges, &c , have been the theoretical
results.

At a meeting at Rochester some years ago. when
the discussion enlisted the best horticultural talent
of that far famed emporium of trees, one member
preferred board-fences to evergreen hedges ; but
he did not recognize the fact that a board fence
is no protection against extreme cold on a still
night, or that it increases the evils resulting from
the unseasonable and excessive sun-heat that is
liable to occur during the hybernating period ot
trees and plant s "Northern slopes" to pre-

vent trees being started into unseasonable activi-
ty, and "shelter belts," with southern exposure,
to protect against cold north winds, involve two
opposite theories, either of which may be right
one time and wrong another.

In the Rural Neio Yorker of March 23d, is the
following : " Uncovering Plants. — March 4. — The
severe cold of the past few days being rather un-
usual at this season, should be a warning to those
who are always in haste to remove the winter
protection from plants. Of course it is not ad-
visable to allow the covering of strawberries and
other plants to remain until growth has proceed-
ed to any considerable extent, still it should not
be removed too early, because we often have a
cold snap even after spring weather has actually
come. Plants that have been protected during
winter, are more sensitive to cold than those un-
protected, and it is far better to allow them to
remain in their winter dress until the buds are
swelled considerably, than to take it off, and
then growth checked by cold. After the long,
dreary winter, we are inclined to be in haste for
summer ; but the old adage of ' haste is not al-
ways speed,' sho'jld be remembered."

How to cover strawberries has been often and
fully described ; l6t us see if we properly under-
stand it. Sawdust, though an excellent non-
conducting material, is thought by some to har-
bor troublesome insects. If leaves or corn-stalks
are used, they must not be put on so thick as to
smother the plants, and they must be thick
enough for protection. If put on before au}'^ frost
is in the ground, there is the greater danger of
suffocation ; and if the autumn is warm and late
there may be no suitable condition of frost before
the accession of severe winter weather, when it
is difficult to apply the covering ; or perchance,
the occurrence of frost may be preceded by a
heavy fall of snow, when the artificial covering
would not only be unneccessary, but positively
injurious.

In regard to the proper time to uncover them,
the writer of the paragraph above quoted, shows
plainly that success or foilure may depend on our
judgment or prescience, — one man being able to
■' look about as far into a millstone as another in
fortelling climatic changes."

A. uncovers with the first warm days in
spring, while B. retains the covering and the
frost as long as practicable, in anticipation of
cold spells; but none occurring. A. sells his
berries in market perhaps for double what B. gets
a week later. The next year B. uncovers with

187^.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^TELY.

237

A., and severe frost supervening, both loose their
-crops, and the labor of covering and uncovering.
Again, A. covers, and B. will not incur the ex-
pense. Snow falling early and remaining on du-
ring the winter, and the spring being favorable,
B. gets a splendid crop without labor, while A.
with all his extra care and trouble, has his much
damaged or destroyed by too much covering.
"What have these cultivators learned by their
experience ?

Many years ago zeal and enthusaism placed us
in defiance of the elements. We loould grow
strawberries regardless of climatic changes or con-
ditions. We covered with leaves for winter and
uncovered with the first warm days in spring,
with the resolution to replace them if necessary.
A cold afternoon,— thermometer at .50", when the
plants were in full bloom, indicated frost, and we
had the leaves placed as carefully as practicable
on the beds. The next morning we were disap-
pointed to find the mercury just a little above,
instead of below freezing. The following two
days and nights threatened frost, but none oc-
curred, and of course, we lost the labor of cover-
ing and uncovering ; and our plants presented
a sorry appearance after having been three days
pressed down with the weight of the leaves. If
it had frozen and killed the general crop in this
vicinity we should undoubtedly have made a
good thing of it, and our "good luck" would
have passed for downright shrewdness ; as it was
we concluded that leaves were not just the thing
with which to cover strawberries.

Experience and mature deliberation on this
subject have convinced us that hoard covers are
the only economical, reliable an invariably suc-
cessful means of protection in all emergencies ;
inasmuch as they can be applied and removed at
pleasure, and atford eflicieut protection against
the extreme cold and changes of winter as well
as spring frosts, and also admit of light and ven-
tilation being given whenever required.

SEARCH FOR THE YICTORIA REGIA.

Obidos, Jan. 16.
Dear Minnie,— Since my arrival on the
Amazon I have inquired in each place and on
"board of all the steamers, of every one I met,
where the Victoria Regia could be found. But
the answers I received were any thing but satis-
factory. Everybody said there was great quan-
tities of them. Some said 'twas not the sea-
son, and no one could say with any certainty

where they were to be found ; only day bef'^re
yesterday, talking with an old Englishman wlio
has spent forty-three years on the river, I ascer-
tained that in some lakes near here the plant has
been seen, and I resolved to find it or get ray
feet wet in the attempt. So, after much pre-
liminary conversation, I embarked yesterday
morning at ten, A. M., in a montaria {vide Fletch-
er,) in company with the Lieutenant of Police
and the Notary Public of this town, two Indians
to paddle, sardines, bread, cheese, and wine for
the inner man, my Spencer rifie for unknown
Amazonian monsters, and myself as chief of the
party, and started on my search for the Victoria
Begia, a fine specimen of which now stands hetore
me in an immense china vase. I mention this fact
at once, that you may not remain in any cruel
suspense as to the result of our expedition.

The day was fine, and the clouds dense (cloudy
days are considered fine on the Amazon ; ) and
our Indians sent our canoe swiftly along under
the banks of the great river, stopping only once
every five mmutes to make an immense cigar out
of native tobacco and tascui ( the inner bark of
a tree ) which they gravely smoked while they
paddled our light canoe.

The land here at Obidos is the highest on the
lower Amazon, say thirty to forty feet high, and
is composed of Tabatinga clay ( which varies in
color from a light pink to a deep purple,) and a
vermilion sand or earth. The banks, being cut
away by the current, expose all their strata to
tlie view, while above our heads they are clad in
foliage of the most vivid and tropical green.
Parrots and other birds chattered among the
trees, seldom showing themselves through the
rlensity of the foliage. In the water near the
shore grew a bush with leaves much like the
acacia, only smaller, and bearing a flower like
one of those little worsted balls that ladies make
to adorn their hoods, of a deep pink. This plant
was so extremly sensitive, that if in passing we
touched just the extremity of a bough, evi ry
leaf on that limb closed immediately and seemed
entirely bare.

We had been told that the lake where the de-
sired fliower was to be obtained lay on the land
of a certain Sr. Silva ; so after a pull of an hour
or so we arrived at this house, and landed to in-
quire ; ascended the bark slimy with the rich
Amazonian mud ; passed under tree like um-
brellas, so dense was the foliage, and full of the
nests of the Brazilian mocking bird, who chatter-
ed, screamed, and whistled at us in all the feath-

238

THE GARDE JV'ER'S MOJ^'TELl. August,

ered tongues. As we approached we saw a
dozen or so of half-nude Indian and Kegro worn •
en leaving their occupations, and taking refuge
behind the houses. We clapped our hands, in-
voked a blessing in Brazilian fashion upon the
house and its inhabitants ; and an old woman,
the wife of said Silva, invited us into a room with
floor and walls of earth, thatch of palm-leaves,
and elegantly furnished with four hammocks, a
bow and arrows, and a tin dipper. We accepted
her hospitality ; and after the customary com-
pliments made the necessary inquiries, and were
informed that in their lake the only specimens
to be found were of a diminutive kind, much like
our own pond-lily. As this was not what we
were in search of, we took a drink of muddy
water, returned to our canoe, woke up our Indi-
ans, and proceeded. 'Twould be a very long
story to recount the numerous houses at which
we stopped to inquire, and always with the same
luck. No one knew ; but each one thought that
in the next lake, a mile or so further on, we
should find some.

We stopped, and examined the Colonia de
Obidos, a settlement intended by the Brazilian
Government to be a home for retired soldiers,
and which has cost some hundred thousand dol-
lars, now falling into ruin and decay, with trees
growing in the church, and only a few Indians
inhabiting the unroofed houses.

When we were about nine miles from the town
the sun suddenly broke out in all its glory and
heat, and we were glad to retire under the tolda
or canopy of our canoe. Soon after we came to
an igarapuy ( vide Mayne Reid,) into which we
entered, and, after proceeding a short distance,
encountered some men cutting wood, of whom
we again made our customary inquiries ; and
this time we were told that in a lake only a short
distance off the great Mogul had been seen only
a few days previously, but, as the creek leading
into the lake was very much filled up with grass
and weeds, we had better take their boy as a
guide and go through the woods, which we ac-
cordingly did ; and jumping from the canoe the
little naked Indian with his bow ;;nd arrows took
the lead, I with my rifle followed hard after, and
the others brought up the rear.

Once in the woods the scene changed ; and, in-
stead of the broiling rays of the sun, it was dark,
damp, and with a musty smell, resembling the
descent from noonday into a cellar. 'Twas the
first time I penetrated the woods on the low
islands formed of river mud, and the scene was

strange indeed. Gigantic trees of fantastic
shapes, knotted, gnarled, and twisted ; ferns and
undergrowth of enormous size, and so dense that
with great difficulty we could force our way
through them. In the occasional opening, where
a tree had been felled and the sun had penetrated,
grass with stalks thicker than one's thumb and
higher than one's head, and among, around, and
over all the lianas twined and twisted, binding
all the vegetation together in one mass of cor-
dage ; and the whole scene impressed one forcibly
and not particularly pleasantly with a sense of
alligators, boa-constrictors, and all kinds of
creeping and crawling things.

The heat was intense, the air stagnant ; clothes
seemed insufferable, and my rifle increased in
weight with every step ; and still the Indian boy
pushed on, turning and avoiding the impassable
parts as though every inch of the primeval forest
was familiar to him.

Once we had to pass a muddy creek, over
which extended the half-burnt trunk of a mam-
moth tree ; the boy leaped lightly over, clinging
to the trunk with his bare feet like a bird. I
paused, looked around, across, below, where I
saw the heads and vile little eyes of three alliga-
tors gazmg hungrily at me out of mud and water
in which tliey were lying, took my rifle in both
hands like a balance-pole, and pushed over, ex-
pecting every step that my muddy boots would
slip, and I should be precipitated into the slime
below. I should think we had gone on this way
for a mile and a half when the boy said, " There
they are;" and, looking ahead, I saw a large
open space in the tbrest, covered with high
grass. More eagerly I pu??hed on, gained the
open, forced my way through the high grass to
the shore of a small pond, and— Eureka ! The
Victor ia Regia lay before me.

In spite of heat, dirt, and fatigue, I did feel
ethusiastic, and gave utterance to some excla-
mations, which, as nobody present understood,
have not been correctly reported, and I spare
you the infliction. What I did do, however, was
to give the boy a knife, in case of alligators, and
send him at once into the pond to cut with care
a leaf, and bring it ashore, and then a bud.
Flowers there were none open.

Do you remember the Blockade Umbrella I
bought just before leaving home ? That and
my rifle wei'e the only things I had to measure
with. I gave the preference to the more peace-
ful implement ; and if you will go to Shute's on
Washington Street, and get the length of one of

1872,

THE GARDEJSTER'S MCN'THL^,

239

his Blockade Umbrellas, price five dollars, and
then multiply that by three and a half (the length
I mean, not the, price,) you will have almost the
exact diameter of the leaf that lay before me.

I will not attempt to describe it. 'Twould be
in vain, and it has already been done ; but, in ex-
amining the under side of the leaf, I saw at a
glance how Paxton took his idea of the Crj^stal
Palace from the structure of this leaf. After ad-
miring sufficiently while the boy scraped the
thorns from the stem of the bud (for both flower
and leaf are abundantly provided with sharp
thorns resembling the thistle,) I took my prize ;
and we retraced our steps, found our canoe,
woke up our Indians, and paddled down stream
towards home, which I reached about five, P. M.,
hot, sunburnt, weary my clothes soaked with
perspiration, and hungry as a bear. I gave my
bud to one of the girls, who put it in water, and
after a refreshing bath sat down to dinner ; and,
while enjoying it, I heard a report behind me
(where the bud was) like that of a gun, — I mean
a very small potato pop-gun,— and, lo ! the bud
had burst and was rapidly opening. In the
course of half an hour it was a perfect flower of
a pure white like our pond lily, with the centre
leaves of a rose color gradually growing deeper
till the centre was of a brilliant carmine ; and,
contrary to expectations, it had a most delicious
fragrance, as nearly I'esembling that of a ripe
pine-apple as anything I can compare it to.

In the evening we had a great many visitors,
who knew where I had gone, and came round to
see what success I had met with. It does not
take much to get up an excitement in these small
places. I exhibited my flower with some pride
and was told that it was of a very rare kind, but
smaller than the others. There are, as near as
I can ascertain, three kinds. 1, yellow with
black centre, common and very large. 2, rose
colored, common aud but little smaller ; and 3,
the white with red centre, which is like mine,
I find they do not keep long. Mine this morning
had lost the purity of its white leaves, and now
exhibits quite a withered and dilapidated appear-
ance ; but, as it dries, red veins are making
their appearance in the white leaves so that it
looks like a Spitzenburg apple.

The size of mine when fully open was just
about as large round as a large dinner-plate, and
the stem the thickness of my ihnmb.— Correspon-
dence of Old and New.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

FOREIGN.

Centaurea ragusma. Notwithstanding the in-
troduction of so many silvery Centaurias, and
other plants of similar character, this species is
perhaps the most popular for use in ribbon gar-
dening, and for the contrast of color in massing
flowers. It is rather difficult of propagation, and
hence keeps always within the demand. We no-
tice that advertisements for it often appears in
the English papers.

It is worthy of note that our cousins, when
they get wrong in a plant's name, generally stick
to their error. This plant they still call G. can-
didissima, although it is a very different plant,
coming from a different country. C. ragusinai&
a native of Austria.

Celine Forestier Rose. We never knew why
this beautiful Noisette Rose is not more popular
in America. In Europe they advertise it in im-
mense quantities, as one of the specialties of the
rose trade.

Adiantum Farleyense. This beautiful fern tes-
tifies to its popularity by the high price it main-
tains. In England they are considered cheap at
three dollars each. Here we believe they bring
about five dollars.

Prices of Grape Vines in Europe. By an ad-
vertisement of a nurseryman of Oldenburg, in
Hungary, we note that grape vines two years
old, are advertised at fifty dollars per thousand.

Monstrous Vegetables. We could^never see the
propriety of awarding premiums to vegetables
merely because they were of monstrous size. We
note that the practice is already being " honor-
ed in the breach.'' At a recent meeting of the
Royal Horticultural Society, of England, some
one "sent stalks of a seedling Rhubarb of im-
mense size," but the committee reported that
they were " too large to receive any award."

THE ROSE SLUG.

BY EDWARD H BEEBE. GALENA, ILLS.

In Gardener s Monthly " Hints for June," you
say : " The rose slug is often very injurious to
the leaves, completely skeletoning them. All kinds
of rapid remedies have been prepared — whale-oil,
soap, petroleum, &c., but the best thing of all is
to set a boy to crush them by finger and thumb. "

To-day, June 8th, we find a few very small rose
slugs upon the leaves of our rose bushes, and
shall, this evening, proceed to apply a rapid re-
medy, which we have, after four years trial,
found to be effectual in their destruction. The

'240

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLl,

August,

rose slug is a night feeder, frequenting tbeuj'per
side of the leaf late in the evening, all night and
early in the morning to feed It does not skele-
tonize the leaf, eating onlj^ the epidermis of the
upper side, leaving the under side untouched,
where it can be found during the day. On cloudy
days, manj- may be seen on the upper side, but
on examination, by far the largest number will
be seen on the under side of the leaf.

2^ow for our remedy. Late in the evening we
take a watering pot and sprinkle the rose bush
throughly with clean water ; then dust the hush
with lowers of sulphur, throwing the largest
quantity on the leaves nearest the lower limbs.
Two or three days after the first application of
the sulphur, we examine the bushes, and if any
slugs are found, aj^ply the sulphur to the part of
the bush where they are Should the sun be
shining brightly for a few days after the applica-
tion of the sulphur, there will he quite a percept-
ible odor of it. But odor and slug will pass oflF
and the foliage be uninjured. This is somebody's

remedy, suggested to us. we have forgotten by
whom, but we have found it effectual, and ask
space in your columns to pass it .round. TTe are.
and have been a reader of the Gardener's Month-
ly, (from No. 1, Vol. !>, sometimes, but not
alwa.vs a '* careless one.'" The editorials we gen-
erally scan closely, and have found information
and pleasure in doing so. An old-fashioned man,
we like old things, and heartily agree to all you
say on page 117. iu relation to the novelty in
NorvKty Spruces. Our only one, twenty feet in
height, is full of " beautiful crimson buds." and
although we have a few flowers in bloom scatter-
ed around, the Xorway Spruce is "fairest of
them all." Being, as we said before, old readers

of the Monthly, we see that the d 1, (printers)

or some of his imps are after you. You are made
to say, it " has male and female flowers on sep-
arate plants." (instead of seperate on the same
ploMt ) H. G might have written the quota-
tion, but T. M never. [We must give the

his due. 'Twas our blunder, not his. — Ed.]

E D T T 0 E I A L .

THE COXXECTIOX OF FOOD WITH
VITALITY.

The past remarkable winter ought not to pass
into mere history without our learning more from
it than most of us have done. In other sciences,
the rare incidents are eagerly looked forward to,
as furnishing the best materials for the advance-
ment of knowledge. Thus eclipses, and the va-
rious conjunctions of the stars, never occur but
humanity is the gainer ; and even terrible erup-
tion of volcanoes or earthquakes, with all the
evils that follow in their train, also serve to fur-
nish man with new facts which make him more
secure against these and other dangers. There
is no better evidence that horticulture is not the
science it should be, than its failure to profit by
remarkable events as a true science should do.

However, if we have not the scientific students
we might have, there are some facts in the past
winter's experience so clear, that we may not
ignore them. We have in former articles shown
how it was drouth*and not the absolute degree
of frost which injured plants. That it was not
frost, was indeed plain ; for ever}- oi e knows that

we have had much more severe frosts without
anything near the same bad results following.
But there are some cases which do not seem to
accord with a drouth theory. Two trees, for in-
stance stand together in the same soil ; they are
of the same age, and one would suppose drouth
should bear equally on them. But one is taken
and yje other left.

After all it is not altogether a question of
moisture in everv case. Thirst kills animals,
but hunger has also a fatal effect ; and while
there is no doubt that the immediate cause of
death in trees last winter was a loss of moisture
more rapidly than the roots were able to supply,
yet it is clear that the ability to furnish moisture
under these unfavorable circumstances, in a
great measure depended on the richness of the
soil in which the plants are growing, or the vital
condition of the plant, as regards its power to
make use of its advantages.

There have been some interesting cases prov-
ing this point, in regard to mere moisture. The
writer saw in the spring, a small hedge of the
new Pyracantha. The demand for cuttings was

187^.

TEE GARDEJfER'S MONTHLY,

2JfL

pretty heavy last fall, and the most of the hedge
was severely pruned, a small portion of the
hedge only remaining untouched. This small
portion, in common with many other wholly 1
hardy things, was severely injured, but the
trimmed portion did not lose a bud, but pushed
out new shoots from every one. There can not
possibly be any other explanation here than that
in the last case there were not near as many
evaporating points through which to carry off
the moisture.

In regard to vitality also, there was met with
a very interesting incident. Early in the season
of 1872, it was decided to transplant every other
one of some twenty inch Norway Spruces ; but
through pressure of other work, this could not
be done until the middle of June. These trans-
planted plants grew well and apparently remain-
ed in perfect health ; as much so as the untrans-
planted ones alongside of them. But in spring
all of these were terribly injured, the others not
in the least. The plants were in every respect
the same, except the shock to vitality, which al-
ways takes place at transplanting.

In regard to the matter of food. There is
scarcely an instance in this vicinity where
American arborvitses, hemlocks, Norway spruces,
or firs of any kind, standing where the concen-
trated wind could whistle round a north-east cor-
ner, that the plants were not utterly destroyed.
But we have seen several instances where arbor-
vitees have been used as screens for dung yards,
or other places where the soil was extra rich, and
these in the direct way of the keenest of cold cur-
rents, without any injury whatever ; and alwaj^s
it has been the trees in the poorest soils, which
all other things being equal, have suffered most,

VYe will not here multiply instances, but give
at once the conclusions arrived at after a very
careful study of many apparently contradictory
facts furnished by the past winter :

Trees are killed by evaporation in winter time
in precisely the same way as they dry out in
summer.

Trees, or parts of trees, lose their moisture in
the winter time in proportion as their vitality
may have been injured by previous circum-
stances.

Trees which have the best opportunities to get
all the food they require, are hardier than those
which have but a limited supply.

BERNARD McMAHON.
A friend regretfully observes that "our coun-

trymen have no heart. Nothing is sacred.
While the English venerate ancient landmarks,
Americans destroy everything that does not
pay." We are not sure that this is altogether
true. The writer has a dim recollection of a cu-
rious boy, whose investigations in old cellars
near an English graveyard, discovered heaps of
human bones, which occasionally went to the
mill to make "dust " to fertilize the English tur-
nip crop. Triie, as a rule, old ruins or other
relics of the past, remain longer there than with
us ; but perhaps this is because they are not
worth so much. It is a cheap species of venera-
tion. The land on which a ruin stands is worth
little more now than when the builder first em-
bodied the architect's designs; while with us land
increases in value faster than the houses on them
depreciate by age. It is a great sacrifice in us
to preserve the relics of the past. Our cousins
can take care of theirs and still have enough and
to spare.

Again circumstances will excuse a lack of feel-
ing. The man who has distiuguished ancestors,
or who is connected with distinguished events,
is naturally proud, while those who have nothing
to boast of, as naturally despise or disregard
them. In Europe, most people are more or less
connected with the past, and thus a public senti-
ment for the past prevails. Few of us here have
anything behind to speak of. While as a people
they are feeding on the past, we are laying up
for the future. It is not that we have less heart
than they ; but that we devote that heart to-
building up, rather than in glorying in what we
have already done.

Yet it will not harm us to look back on those
who have gone before us, and to whose labors we
owe much of the pleasures we now enjoy. We
cannot see the direct evidences of their hands
pass away without regret ; and though we have
no fault to find with the heartlessness of our
people as the friend at our elbow does, we would
oftentimes stay the " hand of progress '" if it
were in our power.

Here we are now on the cars of the Philadel-
phia and Reading R. R., for Germantown, at the
Broad street crossing ; and here on the right is
the quaint old residence of Bernard McMahon,
who, if John Bartram, his cotemporary, is
America's first great botanist, is our first grand
horticulturist— the earliest Adam of us all His
bones rested in one corner of the garden spot he
loved so well. And he bequethed a whole acre
of land to his heirs to hold forever, as a burial

2Jf^

TEE GABDEJ^'-ER'S MOJ^TRL^.

August,

place for them, and the stranger who as a
stranger, might die in a strange land. That it
should not be neglected, \w enjoined ti.at for any
such disregard of his will, a penalty should be
paid to a leading charity of Philadelphia out of
his estate. But misfortunes fell on the family.
The land bequeathed to them had to be sold ;
and in order to sell it, the law allowed a sum of
money to be paid to condone once and for all for
the neglect of the graveyard. Recently even the
bones of our friend have been taken from their
resting place, and sent elsewhere ; little of the
garden remains but an occasional western oak,
a few cypress trees, and some of the original os-
age oranges of Lewis and Clarke's expedition ;
while here and there on the new streets cut
through, are modern dwellings, which seem only
to make the old house look more lonely, and al-
most ask to be allowed to follow the bones of its
former owner to distant lands. And yet we can-
not suffer the cars to waft us by before we
strain our eyes to aid our imagination, as we
see the many di.?tiuguished men, to whom
this building was in a measure, an open house.
McMahon himself, was an Irish gentleman of
means, but Lord Charlemont's rebellion against
the English government made him an exile.
Horticulture, in his old home a taste, furnished
him a living here; and his garden and seed store not !
only became among the first of great horticultu- !
ral centres on this continent,but the headquarters, I
in a certain sense, of some of the leading char-
acters of the day. Nultall, a sort of homeless
naturalist, when not sleeping under the bones of
the mastodon at the Academy of Natural
Sciences, or exploring among the then really
wild Indians of he far West, seems to have been '
either at Bartram's, Morris's, Wister's, or Mc- '
Mahon's. He named the Mahonia in honor of
his friend. An exile from the vengeance of an
outraged monarchy, McMahon naturally drew to
his hospitable mansion, the leading republicans
of our own land. Jefferson, and the eminent men
of his period, were the regular visitors of Mr.
McMahon, and no doubt many of the thoughts
which animated our ancestors to their noble
deeds, were conceived in these now forsaken
walls. The house will soon pass away, but Mc-
Mahon's Gard€ner'>s Calendar will long remain
a monument to his memory. The circumstances
attendant on his taking up with horticulture, of
course prevented an early and practical acquaint-
ance with the art; and one might wonder how so
complete a work could have originated with him.

But it is easy to see that the plan of the work is
that of Abercrombie's English " Gardener," and
that the real ra.';rit of McMahon is the adapta-
tion of this great book to American readers.

It is remarkable that of so manj- leading men
in the various departments of American his-
tory, not only their houses and lands, but also
their descendants should soon disappear. A
grand-daughter of Mr. McMahon"s — Mrs. Duke,
yet remains, now in the employ of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, at Washington, a lady
who inherits the floral tastes of her great ances-
tor, and whose engagement by the department,
does justice to their discrimination in putting the
right people in the right places— a matter they
do not alvvays get credit for, especially as it is
too often the case that outside pressure compels
them to do just the reverse.

There is yet a matter of public interest con-
nected with McMahon, worthy of note. In an
out of the wa}' loft in Philadelphia, are four
busts— Muhlenberg, Linnteus, John Bartram,
and McMahon, made by Rush, from life we be-
lieve, and the last two, the only likenesses ex-
tant, so far as known. They could probably be
purchased ; and surely among our Horticultural,
Historical, Philosophical, or Scientific societies,
there is interest enough attached to these great
names to make these busts worth securing.

CUCUMBERS.

If to be cool as a cucumber is not a poetical
fiction, it must have been a pleasant thing to be
a cucumber during the late " hot spell." At any
rate it was a pleasant thing to eat them— at least
so thought that very numerous class which does
not follow the recipe given by Mr. Buist in his
work on gardening, to oil, pej^per, and so forth,
and then throw out of the window. There are^
no doubt, a few who fail to appreciate the regret
with which the Israelites, during their weary
wanderings over the hot plains, looked back on
the cool cucumbers of Egypt — and there are
plenty of Americans who at this season, would
prefer them to any of the "flesh pots" with
which the aforesaid broken-hearted Jews coupled
them. To these at least, any new fact in cucum-
ber culture will be acceptable.

Wherever we go we see the cucumber in the
open air suflered to run on the ground. This is,
no doubt, a relic of European culture. There it
is necessary. The climate is not hot enough, and
the plants have to be started, if not grown al-
together in low, flat glass frames. But where the

1872.

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOKTBLl^.

^21^8

cucumber ocrows wild, it spreads over bushes and
trees, and the growth and product is enormous.
All plants with tendrils prefe.r to ramble in this
way. The grape vine, it is well known, seems
fairly to rejoice when it can find a large mass of
twiggy brush to ramble over as it wills ; and so
does the cucumber, ^o one who has not tried,
can have any idea of the luxurious growth of a
cucumber when trained to a stake which has a
set of stubby side branches left along its length.
Some which the writer saw, might be taken at a
distance for some vigorous kind of ornamental
gourd —and the crop was enormous.

A great advantage in this style of culture is,
that the plants occupy far less ground than when
permitted to spread over the surface in the usual
way. This is a great gain to small gardens —
and to large ones for that matter, for if we have
land enough and to spare, few of us have time to
waste in preparing more of it than is necessary
to the perfection of a crop.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Grass growing through a Potato. A year or so
ago, Mr. Meehan exhibited to the Academy of
Natural Sciences, in Philadelphia, potatoes and
other plants, through which roots had penetra-
ted, and illustrated by them the great power of
the direct growth of plants. The following from
the Chester. South Carolina Be2)orter, illustrates
the same point :

"Mr. John Albright, Sr., handed us on Mon-
day, an Irish potato, through which a blade of
grass had made its way. Qaery : Did the grass
grow through the potato, or did the potato grow
around the grass ? So far the doctors have dif-
fered in solving this matter."

Personal Journalism. The Western papers
do up the business finely by having hosts of Edi-
tors for various departments. One of them at
the present time exhibits the peculiar spectacle
of a fierce controversy between the Agricultural
and Horticultural Editors. It seems to us that
where each departmen:; is so individually con-
ducted, the editorial " we " ought to be dropped,
and "I" take its proper place in this class of
journalism.

Darlingtonia (lalifornica. We are indebted to
the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, for a
correction of our statement that Mr. Taplin is
the first to flower this plant. Prof Thurber
flowered it in 1870 ; Mr. Bower and a lady friend
of Dr. Torrey, flowered it a year or more ago'

We remember that Dr. Torrey wrote in regard
to the confirmation of his characters as doubted
by DeCandolle, but were under the impression
that it was from fresh specimens received from
California.

Another Rail Road to the Pacific. The Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Ee R. R. has been com-
pleted to the State line, and, says the Hutchinson
JSfews^ will soon make a complete route to the
Pacific.

Packing Fruit for Examination. A box of
Pears reached us for examination recently, a
mere rotten mass. We have often had such
things before, which in consequence of their not
being paid at all, or merely marked paM, (when
the express usually declares it was only part
paid), we have had the doubly disagreeable duty
of paying for as well as throwing away ; but
here was evidently a lot of nice fruit, marked
" paid through six shillings," also to go the way
of so many others— and we felt very sorry.
They were simply wrapped in paper. One had
decayed, and the moisture communicating to the
paper, soon saturated the whole.

A pear should be put in clean paper and then
laid in dry moss. An inch at least of thickness
of moss should be between each pear, and after
the pears are all in, then the box filled tightly
with moss. If one decay, then the moisture is
quietly absorbed by the dry moss, and the others
are not affected. Besides the moss gives an elas-
ticity— breaks the shock of the blows of the bag-
gage smashers, who seldom deliver a box with-
out first "knocking spots'' out of it.

The Western Pomologist and Gardener has
been discontinued. Its Editor, Mr. Miller, joins
Mr. Williams in editing the Horticulturist.

A ];)roposed Botanic Garden in New York.
The Horticulturist tells us $55,000 and four lots
on Madison avenue, in New York city, have
been secured towards the establishment of a
Botanic Garden.

Premiums at Exhibitions. Generally premi-
ums are mere burlesques " for the best " and so
— "one dollar." About on a par with the age
where a fat goose was sold for " two-penceT"
Kansas seems to be setting a better example.
An exchange says :

We call the special attention of our readers to
the following item in the list of premiums of the
Kansas State Board of Agriculture for the
eighth annual exhibition, to be held at Topeka,
September lu-20. 1872 : Horticultural and Floral
Department— S. T. Kelsey and J. K. Hudson,
superintendents. Fruit —for the greatest and
best display of fruit by any State, county, town-
ship, society, or individual, 8100.

U4

THE GARDEJVER'S M0JVTEL1\

August,

SCRAPS AND QUERIES

Flowering

Plants for May.— Plants in

Clematis

bloom at Khosyumyu3'dcl, the suburban resi-

Convallaria

dence of J. P. Jones, Esq , Blocbley, West Phi-

Corydalis

ladelphia, Penna.

"

GREENHOUSE.

Dianthus

Abutilon

vexillarium, Chinese bell

Aloe

pseudo Africana

1

1

Alstroemaeria

peregrina

Dictamnus

Amaryllis

striata, Daifodil Lily

Dicentra

toxicaria

Dielytra

Asclepias

currassavica, Swallow-wort

Dodecatheon

Bignonia

jasrainioides, Trumpet-flower

Ficaria,

Calceolaria

Youngii, Ladies' Pocket

Fritillaria

Cerrissa

foetida, fl. pi.

Helleborus

Cineraria

Kingii, Ragwort

Cobea

scandens

Hemerocallis

Eupatorium

elegans, White Mist

Ipomce

Learii. Morning-glory

Hesperis

Linaria

cyrabalaria, Kenilworth Ivy

Hepatica

Oxalis

floribunda rosea, Wood sorrel

1 Houstonia

alba

Hydrastis

Passiflora

Decaisueana, Passion-flower

Hydrophyllum

intermedia

Iris

Pelargonium

Hederfefblium, Ivy-leaved
variesata

Pentas

carnea

Kuellia

formosa

Rhyncospermum

jasminoides

Saxifraga

sarraentosa, Saxifrage

Salvia

rosea. Sage

Tropseolura

majus, fl. pi., Indian cress

HARDY HERBACEOUS AND ALPINE PLANTS

IN THE BORDERS.

Anemone

coronaria, Wiud-flower

Aquilegia

Canadensis, Wild Columbine

coerulea

vulgaris, fl. pi., Double flower'd

Arabis

alpina, Wall cress

variegata

Lamium

Aubretia

purpurea

Lilium

Bellis

perreunis, Daisy

Lunaria

flore pleno

Lychnis

Centaurea

montana, Centaury

Myosotis

Cyan us. Blue Bottle

Narcissus

Cineraria

argusiua [weed

Cerastium

Biebersteiui, Mouse-ear Chick-

Pseonia

Cheiranthus

Cheiri, Wall-flower
flora pleno
lilacina simplex

Olaytonia

Virginica, Spring Beauty

erecta, Virgins' Bower

majalis, Lily of the Valley

aurea, Corydalis

glauca

caesius. Mountain Pink

barbatus. Sweet William

pluraarius. Pink, (garden)

albus, Fraxinella

eximia, Dutchman's breeches

spcctabilis. Bleeding Heart

Meadia, Cowslip, (American)

ranunculoides, fl. pi., Pilewort

Imperialis, Crown Imperial

niger. Hellebore

Ol3'mpicus

disticha. Day Lily

flava

matronalis, fl. pi., Rocket

triloba, Liverwort

coerulea. Bluets

Canadensis, Orange x'oot

Virginicum, Water leaf

dichotoma, Flower de luce

flava

mathioli

pallida coerulea

plicata azurea

sambuciua

Siberica

Smithii

superba

versicolor

Virginica

Germanica candidi
indigo

La Seduisank
Sappho
variegata major

maculatum, Dead Nettle

pyrenaicuin, Turk's Cap Lily

biennis. Honesty

diurna, fl. pi.. Lychnis

arvensis. Forget-me-not

alba fl. pi., Xarciss, (Roman)

incomparabilis

poeticus

moutau, fl. pi., Pteony
papaveracea
Officinalis

carnescens
rubra
ten ui folia

1872.

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^'TRL:^.

245

Phlox

Polemonium

Potentilla

Primula

Drummondii
subulata, Moss, Pink
coeruleum, Greek Valerian
aurea, Cinquefoil
vulgaris, alba pleno. Primrose
lilicina pleno, lilac, (double)
rubra pleno, red, "

Sulppurea pleno. yellow "
cortusoides
Japonica
stricla

verls, Cowslip [of France
aconitifolius, fl. pi., Fair maid
Asiaticus, "

acris, '' Buttercups

repens, " Crow foot

Canadensis, Blood root
Virginiensis, Saxifrage, early
umbrosa, London Pride
viscosa, fl. pi., Catchfly
anemoneoides. Rue-leaved

Anemone
cordifolia, Mitre- wort, (false)
cernuum, Nightshade, (three-
leaved
Yirginica alba, Spider lily

coerulea
gesneriana, Tulip
perfoliata, Bell-wort
Phu, valerian or summer He-
liotrope
Vinca herbacea. Periwinkle

Viola Canadensis alba, Violet

EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRFBS.

Akebia quinata

Andromeda pulverulenta

Aucuba Japonica variegata

Cephal^taxus Fortunii, mascula
Daphne pontica, Spurge laurel

Eleagnus hortensis, Oleaster, (silvery)

Ilex Aquifolium, Holly, (English)

opaca, " (American)
Kalmia latifolia. Sheep laurel

Mahonia Aquifolium, Berberry

Ehododendron Catawbiense, Rose-bay

Cunninghamii

pontlcum

punctatum

DECIDUOUS TREES AND SHRUBS

Aristolochia Sipho, Dutchman's Pipe

Azalea pontica

nudiflora alba. Honeysuckle
rosea
Calycanthus Floridus, Sweet Shrub

Ranunculus

Sanguinaria
Saxifraga

Sileue
Thalictrum

Tiarella
Trillium

Tradescantia

Tulipa

Uvularia

Valeriana

Cornus
Craetagus

Cjdonia

Deutzia
Glycine
Halesia
Magnolia

Caragana grandiflora, Siberian Pea tree

Celastrus scandens, Staff tree

Cercis Canadensis, Red-bud

Chionanthus Virginiana, Fringe tree

Clematis grandiflora azurea. Virgin's

Helena [Bower
Sophia
Florida, Dogwood
oxyacantha, Hawthorn
rubra pleno
albus
Japonica, Japan Quince

rosea
gracilis

sinensis, Kidney bean tree
diptera. Snowdrop tree
glauca. Swamp laurel
Thompsoniana
macrophylla
purpurea

gracilis
umbrella

baccata, Siberian Crab
imperialis, Foxglove tree
coronarius, Mock Orange
Japonica, alba pleno, Flower-
ing Almond
rosea pleno
coronaria, American crabapple
ilex. Holly Oak
lanceolatus, Buckthorn
Pseudacacia, Black locust tree
scoparium broom, (common)
crenata

prunifolia, fl. pi., bridal wreath
Reevesii, "
Staphylea trifolia, Bladder Nut

Symphoricarpus, racemosus. Snow-berry

vulgaris, St. Peter's wort
Syriaga vulgaris, lilac

alba
Persica, lilac, (Persian)

alba [Elm

Ulmus campestris pendula, weeping

Viburnum Opulus, Snowball tree

prunifoliura, Black Haw
Vinca minor, aurea variegata, Peri-

"Weigelia araabilis alba (winkle

variegata
rosea

BIRDS.

The brown Thrush, (Orpheus rufus), Balti-
timore Oriole, (Icterus Baltimorus\ and white
throated Finch, (Fringilla Pennsylvanica), ap-

Malus
Paulownia
Philadelphus
Prunus

Pyrus

Quercus

Rhamnus

Robinia

Spartium

Spiraese

^Jf6

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY, August,

peared in the first week of this month. The
Humming bird, (Trochilus Colubus). Chipping
Sparrow, ( Emberiza socialis ). and Tawny
Thrush, (Turdus Wilsonii\ in the second week.
The Cow bird, (Malothrus pecoris), or American
Cuckoo's hoarse note was heard at intervals in
the last week.

Price-Lists of Horticultural Build-
ings. Xot knowing any one who makes a busi-
ness of keepini: on hand plans and estimates, we
give the following letter entire :

Toronto, July 7th, 1872,
Mr. Meehan,

Sir :— Could you inform me to what Horticul-
tural Builder I could apply for a drawing of va-
rious ranges of glass for gardens, and both a
descriptive and price-list, including heating ap-
paratus, and you will much oblige

Yours respectfully, T. McPherson,

for John Shedden, Esq.,
Scot Street, Toronto, Canada.

Clematis Viorna.— J\^. 0., Daytoyx, Ohio,
says of this plant : "Last year I found on my
place in a strawberry bed, a Clematis, and in-
tended, but forgot to take it up. About a month
since in going over the same patch, found my
vine full of buds ; took it up at once, and
brought it to the house. It grew nicely, as if it
had not been disturbed. Every one admires it
as it hangs full of buds of all stages of maturity.
It is a beautiful strong growing vine, and blooms
long— two months at least. I have shown it to
a number of our florists ; no one has ever seen
it. Mr. Beck, whom you no doubt know, ad-
vised me to send you what you fiud within this
box, and ask you to please write what you know
about it, and if new, what you think of it.

Strawberries about over— not a full crop. Will
have plenty of Kaspberries, and Blackberries
Grapes promise well ; so do Pears and Peaches.
Apples and Quinces a half crop."

The Classes of Roses. —

Nexo York, April ISth, 1872,
Dear Mr. Monthly :

In looking over a catalogue, I find that I don't
know anything about roses. Please explain the
following : Standard, Dwarf, Hybrid, Tea, Noi-
sette, Bourbon, Monthly, Hybrid Perpetual,
Moss ; also, which do you recommend for pots
in the window, and oblige your constant reader,

E. M.

[Standard and Dwarf roses are made so by
budding or grafting on a common kind. In
England the Eglantine or Dog rose of the woods
is used for this purpose. The Standards
are budded about five feet from the ground,
on the straight wild rose stems, and they
then make heads about that high from the
ground. In this part of the country they have
not generally been found to thrive very well,
though we have seen isolated cases of their
having done so. If they do well for two or three
years, they usually do always after. This fact
has led some to grow them a year in large pots
before planting out, and good results have fol-
lowed. Of course only the very hardy classes
can be grown this way. Dwarfs are grafted
about a foot from the ground ; but they require
continual looking after, or the sprouts from the
wild stock will come up thick, and rob the grafted
plant of its support. They must be taken off as
they appear.

These " classes " are simply made so by graft-
ing. The others represent distinct races of roses.
Hybrids, that is Hybrid China, comprise the
class of what is known as "June roses." They
are of the large cabbage class, and flower "only
once a year." Hybrid perpetuals, or as the
French call them, Remontantes, are just like
these, only that thej' are supposed to flower con-
tinuously. They remain rather longer in blos-
som than the mere June roses, and if the flowers
are cut oft' as soon as the petals fade, a new
growth will come out, which will produce flow-
ers again in the fall. It is the most popular
class of roses, being entirely hardy, though they
sorely try the patience of the unsophisticated,
who purchase them from the florists as hardy
ever-blooming Toscs, of which, in fact, north of the
Potomac, there is none. Hybrid perpetuals may
almost always be easily distinguished from Hy-
brid China by their having a pear shaped, in-
stead of a globose receptacle, as the swollen part
of the stem next underneath the flower, and
which ultimately becomes the seed pod, is called.
The Moss roses are just the same as the others
in every respect, except that glandular hairs, or
rather enlarged bristles, looking like moss are
produced from the sepals or outer envelopes of
the flower.

The Bourbon rose is an ever-blooming class,
tolerably hardy, with small round receptacles to
the flowers, and usually short calyx divisions or
sepals. They are usually high colored. The
Hermosa is a type of what a Bourbon ought to

1812.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTELY,

247

be. Usually the foliage is broad, glossy, and deep-
ly and sharply saw-edged, (serrated). They are
among the showiest of roses, but are nearly des-
titute of fragrance. But the Bourbon is a rose
as well as those by any other name, though it
does not smell as sweet.

The Noisette is much like the Bourbon in some
respects ; but it seldom blooms well out of last
year's wood, but delights in sending out strong
growths which are crowned by clusters of flow-
ers. The consequence is that a^ true Noisette
is never in its best period of beauty until towards
the end of summer. The flowers, like the Bour-
bons, are not particularly famous for their fra-
grance, but on the other hand, they generally
favor light colors. Tea roses are also generally
of light colors, and delightfully fragrant. The
calyx sepals are usually long and tapering, and
the receptacle large and of a waxy texture.
They usually bear their flowers singly, or at best
in but small clusters. They are usually the most
continuous flowers, but are the most impatient
of cold and damp of any.

Besides those named by our correspondent are
China roses, which are something between a
Noisette and a Bourbon, and of which the com-
mon Pink Daily, the rose which gives such a
charm to English cottage life, is an illustration.

For window culture the China is the best, then
the Bourbon, and with care, the Teas do pretty
well.

Philadelphus Gokdonianus.— JI. M. C,

Waterloo, loioa, June 29th, writes about this :
''Please name this shrub, and greatly oblige.
It is in dispute. Its flowering season is just
over. Was in full bloom ten days ago."

Apple Borer. — Some Western correspond-
ent, whose name and letter we have mislaid,
sends us a beetle, a curculionidse. Its name is
Ithycerus curculionides, or by some, Itbycerus
noveboracensis. A very full and very good ac-
count may be found on page 57 of the Third An-
nual Report of Noxious^ Beneficial aiid other in-
sects of Missouri,, by Chas, V, Riley,"

Truit Prospects near Cleveland, Ohio.
— J. J. H., Painesville, O., June 28f/i, writes :
" Fruit prospects for this section were never
better. Cherries are abundant, and better in
quality than they have been for many years.
Peach trees are already bending with the weight
of their fruit. This is the fifth consecutive vear

I that we have had peaches. The prospect is equal-
ly good for Pears and Apples. There will be
also an abundance of small fruits. The currant
worm made its appearance in this section last
year, and holds his ground with a great deal of
tenacity. The Colorado potato bug has also
made us a visit this season for the first time,
without any special invitation. We shall treat
him as an intruder."

Names of Caladiums. — E. T., Wilmington,,
Bel.,, says: "What is the best authority on
'Caladiums?' There is so much confusion
with their names that I have undertaken the al
most hopeless task of straightening them up. 1
have three (distinct) 'Mirabile,' and three
others (identical) under diflerent names. Can
you help me ?''

[Caladiums have been so hybridized and cross
hybridized, that it is almost impossible to de-
scribe the numerous varieties in words, so as to
enable any one to fix the name of any one la his
collection positively. They are now like Roses,
Dahlias, and other plants. By getting the de-
scriptive catalogues of the original senders out of
the kinds, and comparing the kinds on hand Avith
their descriptions, we can generally tell whether
we have the wrong kind if we are not sure about
the right, and this much is a gain,]

pomological society's proceedings. —
Pear Blight. — Cutting Back Asparagus.
—Mr. F. B. Elliott, writes : "I have just re-
ceived the ' Monthly ' for July, and note your
remarks on American Pomological Society'' s Re-
port of Transactions, 1871. Permit me to say that
in your remarks on my foot notes, so far as
they are out of place, and belong not to any
power of mine as Secretary, you are perfectly
correct, and I hesitate not to acknowledge the
correction in regard to my error in such ap-
pending, but I do not acknowledge any error as
regards the truth of the remark. Your own
good sense and intelligence has told you and you
acknowledge the item, that 'pomology is no
science,' but that the knowledge of varieties and
their comparative excellence comes from a long
life study and familiar acquaintance therewith,
and that while we concede a doctor, lawyer, or
other professional men, as well as editors of our
journal.';, of fine taste and capable of appreciation
of tne beauty of fruits, do we not know that the
knowledge of most such men is limited ? Can
we possibly compare their opinion as to fruits.

^JfS

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJVTELl. August,

with the long life acquaintance and continuous
observation and study of such men as Downing,
Wilder, Barry, Thomas, "Warder, or Ellwanger,
etc.? /think not ; and if you will allow me the
excuse, it was from such idea that my foot-note
came, egotistically if you will, for the purpose of
counteracting what every fruit grower must feel
is a prevailing fault, and lumbering up our cata-
logues of varieties, which are by the A. P. S.
Transactions again to be reduced.

In my services of Secretary, I have had to as-
sume responsibility, as 3'ou must know, and while
with a due wish to check back errors, I may
have overstepped in foot-notes, I think no one
can say I ever assumed character as Secretary
by signatures, nor do I think I have made near
as voluminous remarks as are done by the ma-
jority of secretaries of Horticultural and Asri-
cullural associations. I confess to speak dis-
agreeable truths, and boldly at times, for I think
it better than to nibble in a low voice ; but while
I speak, it is not for myself, but according to my
views, for the benefit of those to whom my words
may be applicable in their pursuits.

And now with the single remark that the
labor on this volume of the transactions, occu-
pied me over two months steady time, and that
while its members contribute toward its publica-
tion, the great benefit is gained by the free dis-
semination of its contents throughout the public
press, and like all of progress in horticulture, it
has no patent right or security by act of congress
from free exposition, I will leave it, and touch
an item on Pear BliyUt in your July number,
and ask when and how often are we to apply Mr.
Saunders' wash of sulphur and lime ? I have a
large number of pear trees, and I have apple,
also. I go through my trees to-day, and with
what I suppose careful observation, I see no in-
dication of blight. Three days hence I find a
hundred or more limbs blighted, not only at
ends, but down on the main branch- both od
apple and pear. Enclosed I append a little
paragraph of mine from the Cleveland Herald :
Pear Blight. — This destructive agent is again
among us, and within a week we have seen thou-
sands of limbs and many whole trees blackened
and dead with the disease called bli^ill, a dis-
ease of which at this day no man knowetR the
cause or remedy. There are various theorists —
none, however, who have approached the ground
that blight can occur when the tree is making
only an apparent healthy growth. It is excess
or starvation that form the basis of all the theo-

rists on this subject. But, now, here we are in
northern Ohio, with pear trees making an ap-
parent moderately vigorous healthy growth, and
yet daily blighting, branch after branch. Can
the past year, which in its drouth, so atfected the
evergreens, grapes, etc., have penetrated the
pear, and given it seeds of disease only to de-
velop with the heat, as we now have it at 110 to
120' in the sun, and entirely free of moisture ?
Sincerely we wish some wise men would arise
and tell us this cause of effect and a preventive
remedy."

As2Xiragus. — I have for some years practiced
cutting my asparagus stems from time to time
during the season, just before they reach a bloom-
ing— seeding point. I leave the old stalks on
the bed until late in the autumn, and then rake
off and dress with manure and salt."

[Mr. Elliott has our best thanks for the facts
and suggestions contained in the above note. In
regard to the ignorance of certain classes, we
still think that editors of journals or publish-
ers of books can beconie as proficient as any
other class of people, if their taste lead them
that way. Messrs. Warder, Thomas and Bariy,
names mentioned by Mr. Elliott, all are, or have
been editors, and so far as known, their pomo-
logical standing was not injured thereby.]

The Climate of Xorth-East Massachu-
setts.— A correspondent of the publisher's says:
"At the end of the season please discontinue the
Monthly. Its suggestions are good for some lo-
calities, but hardly safe to follow in this cold
region suited only to the grass crop and cucum-
bers."

[It is so rare for a subscriber who once takes
the Monthly to discontinue it, that the publisher
regretting that even one of his companions
should stray from the fold, has handed us the
letter. And we think truly that if after our as-
sertion that the mission of the magazine was to
make even the "Desert blossom as the rose,"
any of our readers should fail in raising an}'-
thing more than a grass crop and cucumbers, we
deserve to be cut off from their monthly esteem
and regard. But still we hope that even only
those interested in grass and cucumbers may
sometimes find a hint or two of value. It so
happens that while our correspondent was
writing, an editorial on E3'e Grass was going
through the press ; and we believe in the present
month there is even an article on cucumbers.
At an}' rate, if our correspondents do not find in

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTELY.

249

the magazine the matters about which thc}'^
desire to know, it is their own fault, as the de-
partment of queries and answers is established
especially for thenj, in which tlie editor endea-
vors to give information in all special cases to
the best of his abilit}-.

Begoxia hybeida multifloea. — G'. a. H.,
Fordham^ N. Y. : "I notice by the Gardener^ s
Monthly for July, in your reply to Mrs. S. E N.,
that you ' do not recognize Begonia Hybrida
Multiflora.' If ynu look at John Saul's cata-
logue you will find it advertised, and in the cata-
logue of Innisfallen greenhouses, and thatof Chas.
A. Reese. It is also advertised and said to be
a hybrid of Begonia Fuchsoides and B. parviflora.
Probably Mrs. S. E. N. received hers from one
of those parties.''

MoNSTEEA DELiciosA.— G?. A. H , says : "I
have looked through all the catalogues for ' Mon-
stera deliciosa,' described by Robinson in his
'sub-tropical gardening,' without succeeding in
finding it."

[In American catalogues it is known as Philo-
dendron 2iertuosiim.]

"WiNTEE Losses.— G. A. H , Fordham, If. Y..
says : " Like many of your correspondents, I
have been an astonished sufferer from the loss of
evergreens, having a once beautiful Xorway
spruce hedge about one-third killed. Still my
large evergreens have mostly passed through
safely ; but those that were seemingly best pro-
tected by buildings, etc., have been the worst af-
fected.

It was truly painful for a lover of trees to ride
through Central Park (on the westerly side) in
May and early June, and see the immense de-
struction of choice evergreens there. Hundreds
have been entirely 'destroyed and cut down as
worthless, that had stood the winters for years
unscathed. In Westchester county the native
growth of cedars have been wonderfully affected.
One place where for years there has been acres
of cedars, I noticed a day or two ago nearly three
quarters are browned.

I set out feuiiifc iurge Arbur\ iLiu.-i Lhree or four
years ago, that did not do very well, but began
to get well clad in foliage last year after cutting
them partially down. They are exposed to all
the sun and winds, yet strange to say, they are
all right.''''

[See an article in another column. Trees

"protected by buildings'' sometimes have too
much protection— that is to say will suffer from
Bhade in summer, or from the roots'getting very
di-y by cellars or the roots of other trees in sum-
mer. After this summer struggle, their vitality
will be low, and they easily succumb. The Cen-
tral Park, we should judge by what the writer
saw of it during its formation, would be particu-
larly liable to suffer in summer time, as the
whole of the under bed is solid rock. The Ar-
borvitees which grew so well last year after
having been cut back, were evidently in a high
stage of vitality, and escaped.]

CUECTTLIO-PEOOF PlU3IS. — /. A., Old Ifis-
sion, Mich., asks : '' Are there some varieties
of the plum that we might term curculio-jyroof,
we all know that no plums are free from being
punctured by the same ; but some varieties will
throw out water after being stung, which destroys
the egg. Am I right ?

[There are several varieties which " it is said "
are pronounced " curculio-proof," but which
when tried in the balance are found wanting.]

Medical Peopeeties of XiGHT-BLOO^nNG
Ceeeijs.— A correspondent says: "Did you
know the American doctors have found a use in
treatment of heart disease for the night-blooming
Cereus grandiflorus. The most active part is
said to be the flower, but the same principle ex-
ists in the plant, but to a less extent. I don't
know if it is imagination, but it savors of
quackery."

[The perfumers have essences of" night-bloom-
ing cereus," and other extracts of rare flowers,
which would require acres of them to be grown
to yield what they sell of it. It is well known
that these things are made up of various little
articles iu the chemist's laboratory, and which
never were near the flowers, the names of which
they bear. We should be rather suspicious of
much "doctor's stuff" coming ostensiblj- from
Cereus grandiflorus, the night-blooming cereus.]

Haediness of Cuxninghamia sinensis. —
B. i?., Allegheny City, Pa., asks: "Is the
Cunninghamia hardy in this climate ? Some of
the most beautiful evergreens I saw in England
were of this species, and if hardy I should like
to have it on my ground. [It is as hardy as
most of what are known as the rarer evergreen.
About Philadelphia last winter it suffered little
more than some hemlocks, cedar, or arbor-
viljes, but it must have partial shade in the
winter to do well. In the sun it is hurt consid-
erably in winter while young.]

^50

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY.

Ai/^7(sf.

NEW AND RARE FRUITS.

Xew Pears,— The Poire du Congres Pomo-
logique, or Souvenir du Congres, was raised at
Rouen by M. Boisbunel, nurseryman there, in
1856, and dedicated to the Congres Pomolosrique
of Lyons. So says M. Andre Leroy in h'.s ad-
mirable pomological dictionaiy. The name of
the raiser of such an excellent Pear deserves to
be publicly known, hence my troubling yon
with this ; and seeing, moreover, that Mr.
Rivers has forgotten by whom it was raised. —
H. K., in Gardener'' s Chronicle.

Robbin's Arena Strawberry — The berries
we had of this variety were not quite ripe, and
we may not have spoken hiirly enough in praise
of its flavor. Mr. A. G. Tuttle, than whom
there is no better posted nor trustworthy judge
of fruits in Wisconsin, speaks of this variety as
a very promising beri-y. Tie thinks the flavor
much superior to that of Wilson's Albany, and
in other desirable qualities the Arena promises
to equal the Wilson. — Iowa HomesteacJ.

Col. Cheeney Strawberry.— Our readers
will have noticed from time to time, what we
have said as to this very valuable sort. Be sure
that you plant a few this F'dl, so that you may
see their fruit next season. A more valuable
variety we have never yet grown, judging from
two years' experience. — Small Fruit Recorder.

Frogmore Early Bigareau Cherry.—

This cherry is of large size, and is said to come
into bearing as early as the May Duke. Tn a
notice of this in the Gardener's Chronicle, a
compliment is paid to Prof. Kirtland, of Cleve-
land, for his eflTorts in the production of new
t^arieties of this delicious fruit.

Plowden's Seedling Peach.— F. R. McC ,
Chillicothe, Ohio, says : — ' I am looking to the

August number with a great deal of interest. I
hope you will be able to settle the question about
the Plowden's Seedling Peach ; if you can, the
Peach grower will be under great obligations to
you. The trees I got from J. B. Clagrgett, I
am satisfied, are not Hale's Early, although I
have not fruited them. Let us hear from you."
[The Editor endeavored to get a plant of this,
so that he could have it under his eye, but with-
out success ; he has, therefore, to depend on the
judgment of others. He has already given his
opinion that the fruit sent to him last year was
not Hale's Early. Since then, letters received
from various parties who have grown it, or seen
it growing, and the correspondents of several
exchanges, all seem to unite in the opinion that
the Plowden is not the same, but a distinct
variety.]

The Chamber's Pear.— Mr. W. H. Cox,
Anchorage, Kentucky, under date of July loth,
writes: — "We send you by Adams Express
this afternoon, one (1) small box, containing six
(6) Chamber's Pears, for your examination and
opinion. This fruit has been selling in our
market this season for six (6) dollars per bushel,
which is more than we can get in our (Louis-
ville) market for any pears during the whole
season. Our first ripened about the lOth inst.,
and we will ship our last the middle of this
week. Their beauty makes them eagerly sought
for, and they are of much larger size than any-
other pear of its season ; the tree is a slow
grower, long coming into bearing ; when it does
it is generally sure and abundant. We trust
they will reach you safe and sound."' [They
did not arrive in good condition, but we could
see that they were large, handsome fruit, much
superior in appearance to any popular pear of
its season.]

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

The Cabbage-moth. — Complaints have been
made by correspondents in New York and Xew
Jersey of injuries done to cabbages in the au-
tumn by the attacks of a small, green caterpillar,
that eats holes in the outer leaves, sometimes

riddling them like a sieve. The caterpillar is
about 0.35 of an inch in length, cylindrical in
form, thickest in the middle, and of a green
color. The moth produced from it was named
Plutella limhipenella, by Clemens, and is de-

187'^.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTHLY.

251

scribed by Dr. Fitch in the New York State Ag-
ricultural Report for 1853, page 874, as the cab-
bage-moth, Ctrostoma brassicella, and is closely
allied to, if not synonymous with, Plutella zylos-
tella, Linn., in Europe; and if so, is another im-
ported insect. When disturbed, this caterpillar
drops from the plant, but suspends itself by
means of a silken thread. There are at least two
broods in one season in the more southern States.
In the fall of 1870 it was very plentiful in parts
of Maryland, riddling the cabbages very serious-
ly. The pupa is formed in a beautifully con-
structed cocoon, woven of silk-like delicate o^Dcn
net-work on the leaves, and remains a pupa in
the cocoon only a few days. The perfect insect
is a small moth, with the upper wings of an ash-
gray color, freckled on the disk and apex with
black dots, and having a white stripe on the in-
ner margin ; the under-wings are ash-gray.

Washing or syringing the plants with whale-
oil, soap-suds or strong solutions of tobacco water
would no doubt be of use, if they did not give the
heads a disagreeable flavor, or if the cabbages
were subjected to a thorough washing before
using. The insect is subject to the attacks of a
minute ichneumon fly ; and the two spiders,
Theridion hrassicce and hyxjophyllum^ mentioned
by Dr. Fitch in his last report in connection with
the white cabbage butterfly, will also, no doubt,
be of service in destroying the small caterpillar.
— TowNSEND Grover, in Department of Agri-
culture.

medy we know nothing, having never tried it,
but another remedy suggested by the same wri-
ter, viz.: planting plums in the hen yard, we
know to be effectual if rightly followed up after-
wards.

Use the spade around your trees early in the
season, say from the first to the tenth of May,^
and some seasons earlier than May, and let the
chickens follow the spade, working the crround
over and over, and but few of these pests will es-
cape their vigilance. These must be jarred from
the trees early in the morning as the season ad-
vances, and the chickens will follow and pick up
all the insects that fall. By carefully following
these directions you may raise good crops of the
finest varieties of plums, with very trifling out-
lay of money or labor.— D. AViLiiOT Scott.

The Plum Curculio.— With the approach
of warm weather, this little pest of the garden
demands our notice. Its habits are now quite
well known and it would seem that some certain
remedy for the evil caused by it should be dis-
covered. So long as frost continues, the insect
remains in the ground or under some shelter
which affords it a sufficient protection against
cold ; but with the heat of late spring and early
summer days, it comes out from its burrow and
flies abroad. The cool nights however compel
them to seek temporary shelter ; and by placing
chips and bark under the trees and removing
them early in the morning, numbers of this in-
sect may be caught and destroyed. But this is
a slow and uncertain remedy ; many may be thus
killed, yet enough escape to destroy the crop of
fruit if other means are not used to capture and
destroy them. A Michigan correspondent of the
>Su7i thinks the odor of sulphur so offensive to the
insect as to prevent its depredations, of this re-

The Ives' Grape in the South.— We have
had the Ives in full bearing only two years, but
from that short experience, we consider it a grape
of very great promise. The vine is remarkably
healthy and vigorous ; bunch large and very
compact ; fruit large, black, sweet and vinous,
with a peculiarly tough skin. This latter quali-
ty makes it valuablefor transportation to distant
markets. It commences ripening with the Con-
cord, but does not attain perfection until the
Concord is gone, and should be permitted to
hang many days on the vine after appearing ripe.
It is not equal to the Concord in size and beauty
of appearance, nor is it so good for the table ;
but it is superior in keeping qualities, and for dis-
tant transportation, and probably for wine.—
Editor of Bural Alabamian

Mildew in Grapes.— I wish to call the
attention of the public to a remedy which
although not at all fully tested, promises to be
of immense importance to the public. In the
year 1871 I desired to impregnate the Herber-
mont Grape, also the Bland, Madeira and
Foreign Xo. 1, a very large October grape,
with the Pollen from Peter Wylie, Xo. 1, so as
to produce a hybrid or cross progeny. Knowing
that both the Herberraont, Bland, and Madeira
hybrid No. 1, would surely about all rot as they
had been invariably doing in that locality, I
concluded to keep the hybridized bunches cov-
ered with paper bags, putting a small pinch of
sulphur in each bag, and keeping the bags oq
from the time they bloomed until they ripened ;
to my surprise not a berry rotted, when every
other bunch on ihose vines rotted, leaving

252

THE GARDEJVER'^ MOJVTHLY.

August f

scarcel}' a berry. When Mr. Eaveael, of Aiken,
visited me in the fall of 1871, I called his atten-
tion to the remarkable fact. Although the ex-
periment had been tried only on a very small
scale, still I determined to give it a further trial
this summer. Unfortunately, I was absent
from home until the latter part of June, so that
I did not get but a few put on before the 1st of
July. I am satisfied that it will more certainly
succeed when put on at the earliest period. I
ordered from Howlet Brothers, 204 Fulton
street, Xew York— 2000 bags from eight to ten
inches long and about six wide ; a few blue ones
but mostly white. I have put on over a thou-
sand bags after either blowing the bunch over
with a sulphur bellows or dropping a small
quantity of sulphur into each bag, then drawing
the bags over the bunches and pinning then
with one or two small pins around the stem so
as to keep out rain, birds and insects. So far
the experiment is entirely successful, not a rotten
berry to be seen except on one vine which was

rotting badly at the time they were put on.
The plan is simple and cheap ; half-grown chil-
dren can easily do it, and one person could put
on 1000 easily a day. It is getting too late for
the experiment for the South, but it could still
readily be done at the Xorth. Pins are much
more convenient than paste. By cultivating
grapes on elevated beds or ridges twenty feet
apart, with deep water furrows between the
rows to secure drainage, using the sulphur
bellows when they first start in leaf, and apply-
ing bags at the time of blooming in conjunction
with the soil and modes adopted by good culti-
vators, I believe that there is a hope for the
foreign grape to succeed without grass. There
is no danger of rain wetting off the bags which
Howlet can supply.

I expect to keep the public posted in regard to
the progress of my various experiments in grape
culture and hybridizing through the Beporter
and Rural Carolinian.

FOREIGIS^ INTELLIGENCE

Gkape Growing. — Speaking of a grower's
skill, the G(ird€ner'>s Record says : Among speci-
alties in Vine-growing may be mentioned Mr.
Stevens' mode of grafting, with eyes, in the au-
tumn. Buds, with a modicum of wood, are
nicely scooped out or sliced off and put in, in the
usual manner, and being kept damp with a little
moss, are speedily fixed into position by the de-
scending cambium. Such buds are, of course,
ready to start in the spring, and grow and fruit
as if nothing had happened. There is thus a
gain of several months, it may be also a season's
crop ; and besides, the eyes take with more cer-
tainty.

A singular change was effected by grafting a
Muscat on the Trebbiano, the result being larger
berries, ripening three weeks earlier, and with-
out any perceptible loss of quality. One more
cultural illustration, that of Vine-growing by
express, and I have done. An early house of
Grapes was cleared in May, the Vines torn up,
new borders made, and fresh Vines planted. On
each there was a noble bunch of grapes just color-

ing, and the Vines are such stuff as our prize-
takers would like to handle. Two sets of vines were
planted, permanent and supernumeraries, and it
need hardly be added that it is the latter that
are fruiting, though for that matter the huge
bunch does not seem to have weakened the
plants, and they are so vigorous that they will
yield full half a houseful of Grapes next season.
Sharp practice, is it not ? but likewise skilful
and most successful.

Heating by Gas. — Heating by means of gas
is understood at present by comparatively few
among the many amateurs who might be advan-
taged by it. Only in the neighborhood of towns
is this mode of obtaining heat available, and it
is in the urban garden for the most part where
gas-heating is most required. The subject may
be disposed of in a general way, for the comfort
of such as prefer a summary to an argument, by
the remark that a plant-house may be heated
with gas in a most efficient and cleanly manner,
and the heating apparatus will occasion less

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLy.

253

trouble in management than any kind of appa-
ratus requiring any other kind of fuel. But the
conditions of success in this business are some-
what narrowly defined, and a mistake at any
point may result in disasters, or, at all events,
in a failure so complete that it will be needful to
undo all that has been done and begin again.
One of the most important conditions of success
is to apply the system to plant-houses of com-
paratively small size. 'As a matter of fact, the
greatest conservatory ever constructed could be
heated by means of gas to perfection, but the
cost of gas is necessarily high, and when we
have to deal with a large house it becomes a
sheer waste of money, and a most extravagant
waste, too, when gas is employed. It is a ques-
tion, of course, what is meant by the term " com-
paratively small size," and we should be dis-
posed to draw the line for practical purposes be-
tween houses larger and lesser than about forty
feet in length by ten or twelve in breadth. The
kind of structure for which gas is best of all
adapted is the so-called '• conservatory " which
is usually attached to the town residence, the
length and breadth and height of which rarely
gives so large a cubical area as the ordinary low-
roofed plant-house forty feet long by ten or twelve
wide, which we have instanced as the largest
structure to which gas-heating may be applied
conveniently.

The principal advantage of gas-heating is that
stoking it dispensed with, and, if the pressure in
the pipes is pretty constant, the apparatus may
be left for many hours without attention, as the
heat given off will be constant, and to a great
extent determinable beforehand. It must not be
concealed, however, that to manage a gas-heating
apparatus requires some experience, and those
who would succeed must habituate themselves to
observation, not only of the action of the appa-
ratus, but of its iuduence on the temperature of
the house at different hours and in difTerent states
of the weather. A body of flame sufficing only
to keep out frost on a frosty night with a clear
sky might suffice to raise the temperature of the
house to 70^ or 80^ on a mild night with a cloudy
sk}^, and, as a matter of course, alternations so
great and sudden would seriously injure the
plants the apparatus was intended to preserve.
Granting, then, that the adoption of a system of
gas-heating will not absolve the amateur from
responsibility to attend to its management, the
next question is, what form of apparatus is the
most to be desired.

The simplest form of gas-heating apparatus
consists of a rincr of jets burning blue, through
wire gauze, under a small vessel filled with
water, over which is placed a vertical pipe, the
mouth of which expands like a hood over the
whole affair, to catch and carry into the air with-
out all the products of combustion. This has
the advantage of extreme simplicity, and the
disadvantage that it is slightlyinjurous to nearly
all kinds of plants, but especially so to camellias,
oranges, and other winter-flowering subjects.
But for preserving bedding plants and ferns, and
other quick-growing subjects, it answers very
M'ell ; for, being in use only when severe frost
compels the temporary employment of heat, the
injury done is trifling, and the plants soon re-
cover from it when the growing days of spring
return. A merely common gas-flame is, how-
ever, not to be tolerated in a plant-house, except
in the way of a few small jets to afford light, and
these are always allowable, the minuteness of
the combvistion exercising so minute an influence
as to be practically of no consequence whatever.

The best form of apparatus is that which con-
sists of boiler and circulating pipes, and it is al-
ways advisable to place the boiler in a separate
apartment, even if a portion of the plant-house
has to be screened off" by means of glass for the
purpose. However careful we may be to pro-
vide ready exit for the products of combustion,
a gas flame of sufficient power to afford the
amount of heat required must prove prejudicial
to plants when in close proximity to them. It
commonly happens, however, that the house
best adapted for gas-heating occupies a position
adjacent to an entrance-hall or some other apart-
ment, in which the boiler can be placed for both
use and ornament. It must not be forgotten ei-
ther that a boiler adapted for the purpose can be
placed as well beneath as beside the conservatory
to be heated, for the pipes in which the water
circulates may range vertically or horizontally
at discretion, provided the work is well done.
Messrs. Wright and Co., of Broad Street, Bir-
mingham, presented to the notice of our readers,
in the advertisement pages of our issue for Oct.
7, a form of apparatus admirably adapted for
heating simultaneously a portion of the dwelling-
house and a plant-house adjoining. In many
cases, Messrs. Wright's apparatus might be
adapted to heat a bath-room and a plant house,
and afford the additional convenience of manage-
ment within doors, without any occasion for ex-
posure to the night air in the winter season. A

264

THE GARDENER'S MOKTHLY.

August,

similar apparatus, better adapted, perhaps, for
being wholly contained within the house, is
made by Mr. Trotman, of Isleworth ; but this is
less powerful than Messrs Wright's, and there-
fore only adapted to the smallest conservatories.
When it becomes generally known that plant-
houses may be heated in the most perfect man-
ner by means of gas, many who now deny them-
selves the pleasure of a greenhouse, because of
the difficulties attending the modes of heating
most commonly employed, will become plant-
growers, and thus enlarge their round of home
enjoyments. In common with many other things
of the like nature, gas-heating must be well done,
or it had better be left undone, for an ill-con-
trived or insufficient apparatus will be sure to
work mischief and to make a mockery of its cost.
"We advise all who are considering the subject in
view of the approaching winter to read the letter
of ''J D.," which appeared in the Gardener's
Magazine of the 30th of September last, for there-
in will be found suggestions and advices of a
practical nature, the results of observation and
experience. —6rarcZe/ie7-'s Magazine.

To Cure Thrip ojf Grape Vines —The
Editor of the Gardener's Chronicle^ in answer to
a correspondent, says : — Your Grapes and Vines
are literally eaten up with thrip. The leaves
you sent were swarming with the insects ; we
scarcely ever saw a worse case. It is all pro-
duced by mismanagement and neglect, and it
will be years before your vines recover. As
your Grapes of this season are worthless, cut
them off and throw them awaj' at once, as well
as all the worst of the leaves, then fumigate
with strong tobacco and syringe copiously and
repeatedly every leaf and stem, and, indeed,
every part of the house ; at the same time you
will have to give abundance oTair, so as to ripen
the wood thoroughly When the vines are at
rest, paint the stems with a good coating of soft
soap, soot, and sulphur, and clean the house
thoroughly. If even only air and more water
had been given — i. e., had a more genial atmos-
phere been maintained— your vines would noL
have been as the}' are now.

weeks, and the latter eighteen weeks. Both
were as plump and firm as if they had been
recently cut from the vine, and were equally
succulent ; but there was an evident loss of
flavor. The perfume had quite or all but left
the Muscat of Alexandria, which, so far as
flavor went, might have been white Tokay ;
and Lady Downes were sweet without bouquet.
Notwithstanding these evident deficiencies,
both sorts were in the most perfect state of
preservation, and served as a sufficient proof
that the method of keeping Grapes in witer-
bottles during winter, though at the expense of
flavor in the fruit, affords the advantage of
enabling the fruit to be gathered and stored
early, while it is preserved in a condition to be
served at table as fresh in appearance as when
taken from the vine.

We shall be very glad to receive any informa-
tion on this subject from those who have prac-
ticed this plan. A week or two ago we gave a
description of the arrangements for this purpose
in the gardens of Earl Brownlow, at Belton,
where the quantity of water taken up i>y the
grapes was so great as to burst the berries. —
Journal of Horticulture.

Keeping Grapes in Bottles of Water.
— "We have received from Mr, Kesbit, gardener
to Sir T. Whichcote, Bart., Aswarby Hall,
Lincolnshire, specimens of Lady Downes and
Muscat of Alexandria Grapes, the former of
which has been cut and kept in water for sixteen

Peristrophe salicifolia attreo-yarie-
G ATA.— This has been flo tiering freely in the
stove here all winter. I had a few small plants
last autumn which were placed in the stove to
get up a stock of it by spring for trial in
bedding-out, when, to my surprise, it com-
menced flowering. The flowers are of a bright
rose color, but rather insignificant, yet looking
extr>?raely pretty mixed with more gaudy flowers
in winter. It is worthy of a place among choice
plants, owing to its lovely foUage ; the leaves
are deep green with a gold band in the centre.
The plants here are growing in peat and sand.
It is a Javanese plant.— J. Smith, in Gardener''s
Magazine.

Begonias. — It may be remembered what a
rage there was about a dozen years ago for those
grand foliaged plants, of which B. Rex was the
type. The reign of Rex, however, and its allied
varieties, was soon over, and few gardeners now
possess or grow these great lop-leaved kinds, as
the numerous kinds of Begonias with small
plain leaves furnish more desirable plants for
pot culture. When arranging the planting of a
warm conservatory here, I had deep borders
made round the sides for growing climbers on.

1872.

THE GARBEJfER'S MOJVTELy .

255

These borders were about 2 feet wide and 3 feet
deep, with 1 foot of broken bricks in the bottom
for drainage After the climbers were planted.
Begonia Rex, Marshallii, and other varieties
with large variegated leaves, were planted in
the centre of the borders, with an edging of
different kinds of Selagiuellas. These borders
at the present time are very grand, for the
Begonias show their fine variegated leaves to
perfection when planted out, and many of them
are covered with their sweet-scented flowers. A
few plants of Begonia fuchsioides are dotted
round in the borders, and this variety when
grown 8 or 10 feet high, as a bush, is one of the
showiest of the whole family, or I may almost
say of any conservatory plant in cultivation.
In these borders, plants of Bougainvillea speciosa
and spectabilis were planted out, and flower
well every year. This is effected by the borders
being well drained, and the water supjily at the
roots being diminished so much in the winter
time, that the plants nearly lose all their foliage.
In March or April they are well watered with
liquid manure, and soon begin to grow and
show their leaves, the glorious masses of mauve-
colored bracts following in May and June. —
William Tillery. [These variegated-leaved
Begonias form some of the finest of the grand
objects in Mr. Mendel's unique tropical fernery.
Eds.I — GarfZener's Chronicle.

EosES.— X' thing could be finer than the first
bloom here l.-t year, but orange fungus pre-
vailed, and greai :v"?chief was done to the health
of the trees by tL'^ destruction of the functions
of the leaves. I regret to say, that though I
put more than six hundred bushels of lime on
my Rose ground and other plots with a view to
destroy its spores, I still see a great amount of
orange fungus on the new foliage.

I have cut back ray Roses — my first cutting
was just after Christmas — and I have removed
all foliage where I can see fungus, heading-back
the twig to a dormant eye. I advise this to be
done, for orange fungus is a quick spreader,
affecting the under side of the foliage, and
greatly hindering a fine autumn bloom. The
wood of Roses, from this cause and long-con-
tinued rain chilling the roots, has suffered
much. The bark looks yellow (chlorosis— it
would be better termed jaunosis, as chlorosis
means, properly, green), and the pith, which
should be white, looks salmonish. The more of
such wood removed the better for the plant. I

have cut down many of my bush plants to the
stump. I cut down some last year to the
stump, and they are now among my healthiest
and best plants.

Judge of the health of your Rose trees by the
color of the bark and pith ; the former should
be a healthy green, and the latter a clear white.
As regards buds that have been frosted, if they
feel soft pull them off ; and if the two side buds
look fresh let them remain, and when you see
which is the better pull off the other.

It is so cold and exposed here, that I have
rarely any white fungus. Orange fungus affects
the stalks and under sides of the leaves, and
white fungus the stalks and the upper sides ot
the leaves. I am determined to give no quarter
to orani;e fungus. If necessary, I will cut down
to the ground every plant.

I advise persons who have freshly planted
Briar Roses to cut them very hard indeed the
first year ; for lack of this, and not mulching
them, they are often ruined for ever.

With regard to Roses of late date, I consider
that it takes two or three seasons before one
can speak with certainty about them. I can
give a high " testamur " to the following Roses
oh the ;N[anetti stock : — Elie Morel, Felix Genero,
Marie Rady, Alice Bureau, Perfection de Lyon,
Madame Chirard, Edward Morren, Baronness
Rothschild, presque pleine^ its only fault. Count-
ess of Oxford, and Marquis de Castellane.
Under glass in my vinery on ;he brick flue,
planted out in earth with a bo id to keep the
earth up. I have three beauuful plants of
Princess Christian. Its buds, i- nderful sepals,
foliage, and erect habit are firsi /ate; I do not
know it out of doors, but I never saw a more
perfect type of a pot plant. There is no need of
triggers. The curt twigs are stiff" as iron. In a
few days all three plants will bloom ; from the
look of the buds I think it must be a good Rose.
I dressed two of the plants with some stuff sent
by Mr. W. Paul, and the plants soon went
ahead of the other plant, which is a very
good one. The stuff looked worthless, but it is
evidently very powerful. I have two nice wall
plants of Reve d'Or, which is distinct in color
and form. The blooms, golden with a coppery
center, were sent to me, and I thought them
choice. After I have bloomed the plants I will
report. I am more and more in love with
Pradel's "darling." The Merechal is good on
the Manetti, or Gloire de Dijou, and the Briar.
W. F. Radcliffe, in Journal of Horticulture.

256

TEE GARDENER'S MOJ^^TBLI

Alt gusty

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

AGRICULTURAL AXD MECHANICAL
ASSOCIATION OF WEST ALABAMA.
Great efforts are being made to have this one

of the finest meetings of the South this season.

It will beheld at Eutaw, October 22-20 On

the 23, Col. Langdon, of Mobile, will deliver the

annual address.

NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.
The fourth semi-annual meeting will be held
at Nebraska city, Nebraska, on Tuesday, August
(3th. The merits of early fruits will be dis-
cussed. Col. Robert "W. Furnas is Secretary.

MICHIGAN STATE POMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.

Executive Officers— President, J. P. Thomp-
son, Gi*and Rapids ; Secretary, C. J Dietrich,
Grand Rapids ; Treasurer, S. L. Fuller, Grand
Rapids.

Yice-Presidents— Henry Holt, Cascade ; Hun-
ter Savidge, Spring Lake ; G. Parmalee, Old
Mission ; T. T. Lyon , Plymouth ; E. P. Kelsey,
Ionia ; Joseph Bray, Middleville : S. B. Peck,
Muskegon ; Benjamin Hathaway, Little Prairie
Ronde.

Executive Committee— N P. Husted, Lowell ;
H. E. Light, Greenville ; G. W. Dickinson,
Grand Rapids; E Bradfield, Ada; Charles
Fasset, Spring Lake ; TV. I. Blakeley, Grand
Rapids..

The meeting will be held at Grand Rapids on
September 16th -21, 1872.

THE EIGHTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION
of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture will
be held at Topeka, Kansas, September 16 — 20th.
Alfred Gray, of Topeka, is Secretary.

FAIR OF THE NEW YORK CITY
AMERICAN INSTITUTE.

Under more favorable auspices than heretofore,
the American Institute, of the City of New
Yoi'k, will open to the public its forty-first exhi-
bition, in the large Exhibition Hall occupied for
the same purpose in 1869, 1870 and 1871, and
now owned by the Institute ; extending from
Second to Third avenues, and from Sixty-third
to Sixty-fourth streets, near Central Park, on
the 4th day of September, 1872.

THE GREAT UNION FAIR OF
MICHIGAN,
will be held at the city of Grand Rapids, Sep-
tember 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, 1872.

The Second Annual Fair of the Northern
Michigan Agricultural and Mechanical Society.
>f22,000 in Premiums besides Diplomas.

The Third Annual Fair of the Michigan State
Pomological Society. $1,000 in Premiums on
Fruits and Flowers

Aiirartions of the Fair.
810,000 will be given as Speed Prizes which
will bring together some of the best horses of
the country.

The Premiums on Cattle are the largest ever
offered in the West. $500,000 will be given as
Herd Prizes. Every department of live stock is
encouraged by like premiums.

The Products of the Soil, Machinery, Manu-
factures, and Fine Arts, will each receive due
attention, and liberal Premiums are offered.

The show of Fruit and Flowers will excel
anything of the kind ever seen in the country.
The Grounds, already large, arc being enlarged
and greatly improved. A favoi'able addition
has been made, which will enable us to have the
best Track in the State in readiness for the
coming Exposition.

A new, large Art Hall, convenient in its
appoint nents and proportions, and beautiful in
style of architecture, will be erected at the cost
of S5000. The Manufticturers' Hall, the Pomo-
logical Hall, and the Agricultural and Mechan-
ical Halls, will be enlarged and improved, ready
for the products of skill and handi-work.

Discussions upon Agriculture, Stock, Breed-
ing, Pomology, etc., will be held each evening
of the Fair week, under the direction of a joint
committee. Noted and experienced represen-
tatives of these departments of industry, will be
present and lead in these discussions.

The facilities for reaching the Fair will be all
that could be asked. Reduction of fare for
persons and their stock and goods, will be
given on all thoroughfares. Ample accommo-
dations are oft'ered by the city for the enterfain-
ment of all visitors. The means of reaching the
grounds will be increased by a hox'se railroad to
the entrance gates.

Premium Lists and Rules and Regulations
may be had by addressing any of the officers.

EiuUiur's

DEVOTED TO

Eorti'cuUiire, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol XIV. SEPTEMBER, 1872. New Series, Vol V. No. 9.

HINTS FOE SEPTEMBER.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

So soon as the leaves begin to fall, and the hot
dry summer weather passes away, people begin
to think of planting dutch bulbous roots.

Of all fertilizers, well rotted cow manure has
been found best for them, and especially if mixed
with a portion of fine sand. They should be set
about four inches beneath the surface of the
ground, and a little sand put about the roots
when being planted. A very wet soil usually
rots the roots, and a di-y one detracts from the
size of the bloom. A soil in which garden ve-
getables do well, is one of the best for these
plants.

In selecting kinds to plant, the Hyacinth has
of course the first place. Thjy are usually set
in beds where the summer flowers have bloomed ;
and are best set wide enough to allow of the
summer bedding plants being put between them.
They die soon after the spring flowers are set
out, and can easily be taken out before the sum-
mer flowers grow strong enough to crowd them.

In selecting, a very good show of bloom can be
had from the moderate priced mixed kinds.
These, where one has not much aquaintance
with them, will look nearly as well as the choice
named kinds. The last, however, are indispen-
sable to those whose taste has been somewhat
cultivated by years of Hyacinth growing. Eor
window blooming, the bulbs are usually set in
four inch pots, about level with the surface of
the soil, and the pots buried under ashes or sand
until they begin to push. It is also as well before
hard frost sets in, to cover the bulbs in the open
ground with a little light litter. They are hardy

enough ; but the litter keeps the ground from
thawing, which, oft repeated, draws the bulbs
out of the ground. When the bulbs are to be
grown in glasses of water, it is best to set the
whole concern in dark places for some weeks ; as
darkness always favors the production of roots.
When the tops are to grow, then all the light
possible is necessary. But we want roots before
we can have tops. Besides Hyacinths, other
bulbs which are hardy, and can be set out in the
fall are Tulips, Narcissus, Squills, Jonquills,
Crown Imperials, Crocus, Snowdrops, and Japan
Lilies. The Gladiolus is sometimes seen in
these Catalogues, but these summer flowering
things are all planted in Spring.

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 soulh, where
the season will still remain "summer" awhile
longer, the soil may at any rate be prepared,
that all may be in readiness when the right sea-
son does come. When there is likely to be a great
deal of planting done, and only a limited num-
ber of hands employed, planting may commence
early in the month. What leaves rem dn on
should be stripped ofl", and the main shoots
shortened. They will then do better than if
planted very late. In fact, if planting cannot be
finished before the middle of November in the
Northern 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

258

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^THL^, September,

set out in the fall has this advantage over spring
set trees, that its roots in spring are in a posi-
tion to supply 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. The larger things, and which
we recommend planting in the fall, should be
pruned in somewhat at planting. The larger
the tree, the greater in proportion should it be
cut away.

Before the summer flowers are gone make
notes for the best things to be had for next year,
and arrange now what are to go in the beds
then. There will then be time to get all togeth-
er. A friend has a bed of the early flowering
Cannas which have made a pretty show on his
grounds ; but last year he thought there was
hardly gaiety enough with the curious leaves.
He planted a few scarlet Gladiolus amongst them,
and found they grew very well together. The
leaves of Gladiolus hardly showed amongst the
Cannas, so there was no incongruity. The ef-
fect was as if the Canna's bore the scarlet flow-
ers. It is such ideas as these which give inter-
est to a flower garden. So with leaf plants.
The Coleus, Achryanthus, Belgonias, aud such
like, have much the best effect iu partially shady
places. There are other things which do best
in the sun, — such as the Cannas, and Gladiolus
aforesaid.

The best way to propagate 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 tine and sharp, and there is, per-
haps, nothing better than river sand for this
purpose. The glass may be whitewashed 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 for the desira-
ble 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 under
a bud, — they root better, and are not so likel}' to
rot off' and decay. A cutting of about three
eyes is long enough for most strong growing
things, such as Geraniums, Fuchsias, &e.

Small growing things, of course, will take more

buds to the one cutting. From one to three
inches is, however, long enough for most cut-
tings. They should be inserted about one-third of
their way under the sand, which latter should
be pressed firm]}' against the row of cuttings with
a flat piece of board, — not, however, hard
enough to force the particles of sand into the
young and tender bark, which is often the first
step to decay. For a few cuttings, they may be
inserted with a dibble ; but where many are to
be put in, it saves time to mark a line on the
sand with rule or straight edge, aud then cut
down a face into the sand, say one or two inches
deep, when the cuttings can be set against the
face like box edging. All amateurs should
practice the art of propagating plants. There
is nothing connected with gardening more inter-
esting.

— <•»•»

FRUIT GARDEN.

Another year of bountiful crops has awarded
the eff'orts of the fruit grower, and hundreds will
plant who have never thought of it before. On
the other hand many who have grown for mar-
ket are discouraged by the very abundance.
The enormous quantities produced have so
cheapened them, that hundreds have been al-
most ruined.

The public was not prepared for such great
abundance. i!^ow just as people are getting to
use fruit freely, and makmg it by habit a neces-
sary article of food, growers Avill go out of the
field, and in consequence, even with good crops
another year, the demand will probably exceed
the supply. Thus these little waves of success
ebb and flow ; all we can do is to go on with our
hints for the success of fruit growing, knowing
that these little incidentals will regulate them-
selves.

Ihe 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 beiug for the most part left till spring.
Choose a dry piece of grouod. If not naturally
dry, it is best to throw the earth up into banks
or ridges and plant on them. This is cheaper
and better than underdraining. 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 rath-
er 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

1872.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY.

259

top correspondingly. Most of the failures with
dwarf Pears come from bad Qaince roots, so deep
in the ground the lower parts decay, and this de-
cay gradually communicates upwards until the
whole system becomes diseased. Tlie more te-
nacious the subsoil the more necessary is it to at-
tend 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 transplant-
ing.

In preparing for planting trees, the soil should
be stirred up at least two feet in depth. Of
course, the trees should be planted in the holes
onl}^ so deep as they stood in the ground before,
rather higher, if anything, as the soil will settle.
Good common soil may be filled in the holes if
the natural soil is very bad ; but anything ap-
plied as manure may be stirred in the surface-
soil after the trees are planted.

Some talk, in preparing an orchard, about
making "one large hole" for all the trees.
This seems witty, but it is an expense which
very few orchards will ever repay. Water is
likely to stand in the deep holes we recommend ;
but in such cases we would, rather than go to
the expense of subsoiling the whole orchard or
underdraioing, plant higher than they grew
before— higher than the surrounding soil, mound-
ing the earth, as it were, above the level. No
water will ever stand here. And the money
usually spent on making '■ one big hole " of the
"whole" orchard, or in underdraining, we would
spend in annually surface dressing the ground.

Trees that have long stems exposed to hot
suns, or drying winds, become what gardeners
call "hidebound.'' That is, the old bark becomes
indurated,— cannot expand, and the tree suffers
much in conseqaeuce. Such an evil is usually
indicated by grey lichens which feed on the de-
caying 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.

The old practice of slitting hidebound Cherry
and other trees with a knife, had much more
sense in it, than some of our leading minds are
ready to admit

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

The main crop of Spinage should now be sown.
Properly cooked, there are few vegetables more

agreeable to the general taste, and few families
who have gardens will wish to be without 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 weather becomes se-
vere, a light covering of straw should be thrown
over it. A few Radishes may be sown with the
Spinage for fall use.

Turnips 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.

Cabbage and Cauliflower are sown this month
for spring use. The former requires some care,
as, if it grow too 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 in-
stead 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 leaves,
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 Cauliflowers.
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 em-
ployed.

Tomatoes will still repay care bestowed in
keeping them in shape. Those grown on stakes
should be tied up, and will continue bearing for
some time yet. Where the ground is very dry,
waste water from the kitchen will benefit them.

Potatoes, as soon as the tops are well decayed,
are best taken up at once, as they appear less
liable to rot afterwards, than if left long in the
ground.

JEgg plants like plenty of moisture, with sua
and air. If the ground be dry, give them abun-
dant manure water, they will bear until frost.

^60

TEE GARDE^'ER'S MOJ^TELY. September

C 0 M M U IN' I C A T I 0 N S .

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT TURNIPS.

BY DAYID LAISTDRETH, PHILA.

[Continued.)
Method of Saving for Winter Feeding.

The English, who are our instructors in this
branch of husbandry, and have taught us most
of what we know on the subject, have some ad-
vantage in climate over us of Pennsylvania,
though not of the South, which admits of feed-
ing the bulbs as they stand in the ground, as
well as under cover,— the stock, especially sheep,
being grazed upon them, using hurdles to confine
the flock to a limited space. A flock destined
for the butcher being first turned in, where they
may feed upon the better portion, then moved
into a fresh enclosure, thus enticing the appetite.
These are succeeded by a store-flock, which
picks up the fragments so that nothing is lost.
This process corresponds with that of our prairie
farmers, who turn their beef cattle into the
standing corn ( to us of the East, a bad practice, )
and follow by hogs, which we are told, find every
stray grain ; and aid in preparing the land for
the succeeding crop.

In our country where a five-acre patch of Ruta
Bagas cannot be found within some of the States,
to say nothing of counties, the statement may
•excite suprise, that a hundred acres in that root
in the hands of a single farmer of Great Britain
is by no means unusual ; and it is within a few
•days the writer entertained an English farmer
■whohimeslf had 250 acres in roots annually ! Of
•course such large breadths demand every me-
chanical device and appliance for saving the
crop, and instead of, as with us, each bulb des-
tined to be stored being pulled up singly by the
hand, and cast into a heap ; then again taken in
band and topped, again cast into a heap prepa-
ratory to being hauled away, they, on the contra-
ry, top with a hoe. A light sharp, steel hoe is
held perpendicularly in hand, and with a quick
action drawn horizontally, thus decapitating
each bulb in succession as it stands in the
ground. This done, they are drawn out into wind-
rows by a chain-harrow, an English implement
which we have in use at Bloomdale. It can
be readily seen with what celerity this labor
may be performed, and the great saving in cost.
With our small patches we can get along, how-
ever, by the old time-honored practice ; with in-

creasing breadths of land in roots will come im-
proved methods. We have adopted some already:
instead of topping all the bulbs of the crop, we
haul a portion just as pulled up, top and bulb,
to a convenient position near the stables, place
them in a narrow ridge-like form, and cover with
straw, corn-fodder, or any light, trashy material
which may be at hand. Thus they are preserved
until New Year or longer, using from one end,
and covering up after each removal. We have
pursued this plan for many years. It is true, in
warm, damp weather the tops partially decay,
and become somewhat slimy, but the bulbs do
not take harm, and cattle feed on them, and the
tops, also, with much avidity. Perhaps a little
salt sprinkled on each mess would be an advant-
age. For milch cows that is recommended to
be given with roots immediately after milking.

The main winter and spring stock of bulbs we
preserve in pits— not mounds, as made in some
localities— narrow pits, after this fashion : Select
a suitable spot, near the stables if practicable,
but surel}' where the drainage is good, an indis-
pensible pre-requisite ; dig a trench sixteen
inches wide, and as many or more inches in
depth, the length as convenient or n ?cessary.
In this place the topped bulbs, and cover with
the earth dug out of the trench, using a little
more in addition as winter approaches. If cold
may be expected in severity, place over all long
stable manure, or anything which will impede
the entry of frost, without creating warmth.
Thus we have found roots of any and all descrip-
tions— Ruta Bagas, Common Turnips, Carrots,
Beets, Parsnips, — to keep well. They are acces-
sible at all times, and when needed may be re-
moved in larger or smaller quantity as desired.
Altogether, it is better than mounds, which
being elevated are exposed to frost, and require
care in construction. lu the pits described we
annually keep beets and carrots far into the
spring, indeed have fed our working oxen with
beets, to their great delight, up to July 1st.

From what has been said, it may be seen with
us theory and practice go hand in hand : we are
simply describing our own operations at Blooms-
dale, not telling what may possibly be done ;
and satisfied with the utility of our practice,
confidently recommend it to others. Our ex-
perience with roots has been gained through
many years, and stated in various publicatious,

1872,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

261

especially the Bural Register and Almanac, pub-
lished by us since 1847, and of which upwards
of a half-a-million copies were called for the
present year.

The culture of the turnip in this country now,
as compared with half a century ago, to which the
memory of the writer as applied to agriculture
extends, has greatly widened and enlarged.
Then, it was unusual to find more than a garden-
patch, except where grown for city supplies, by
market gardeners ; and a few hundred pounds of
seed filled the measure of demand. ITow we have,
while these lines are being written (June, 1872, ) on
Bloorasdale and its dependencies and tributaries,
which embrace lands wholly owned, occupied
and operated by ourselves, one hundred and
eighty acres planted in turnips of various kinds,
destined to produce seed, and fast ripening for
the sickle ; and in addition thereto, other acres
under delegated superintendence, within a half-
hour's ride, and to which daily access can of
course be had. It is true this breadth probably
embraces, no inconsiderable per-centage of all the
land in similar culture within the Union ; for the
fact may not be generally known that the seeds
of Ruta Baga and turnip sold by metropolitan
seed-merchants are, to a great extent, imported
from England, where the low price of labor and
the much greater yield of seed per acre, (on the
average double that in this country,) admits of
production at less cost than here. That the
quality is not so good does not always, as it
should, enter into the calculation. It is a mer-
cantile transaction ! And why, it may be asked,
is the quality inferior to the American ? Simply
by reason of climate. The humid atmosphere of
England induces vigorous growth of foliage, and
the longer season for the crop the seed there
being sown latter end of May, and early in June,
enables the plants to attain a higher development
than known with us. If a Pennsylvania farmer,
who never saw a Ruta Baga over five or six
pounds in weight, were told that 100 bulbs
weighing a net ton of 2000 pounds is not unusu-
al at a county show in England, he would prob-
ably doubt, but it would nevertheless be true !
This tendency to foliage preparatory to bulbing,
is exhibited here by English seed, and if the sea-
son was long enough, would doubtless be an ad-
vantage ; but our climate does not admit of
spring sowing, and when made frequently late in
July, (other turnips than Ruta Baga in August,)
there is not time to profit by the habit— i/iej-e is
plenty of foliage, bat imperfect hulbs. "With home- i

j grown seed, on the contrary, nature kindly steps
in and adapts the plant to our season and climate
— the foh'age and bulbs being in proper relative
proportion. Some years ago, owing to a failure
in our crop of strap-leaved, flat Dutch turnip
seed, we obtained from England one hundred
bushels of the " snow-ball "—there an improved
garden-turnip. On trial, it proved to produce
tops only — not a bulb; and the importation had
to be cast away as worthless. We had previous-
ly seen similar results with what are known as
cattle turnips. These criticisms do not, however,
apply to the English Ruta Baga, which, many
times, succeed quite well ; though it must be
admitted there is great tendency to elongated
crown—" neck " as technically called ; hence
we never sell imported seeds except on compulsion.
( To be Continued.)

ON" THE TREATMENT OF PEAR SEED.

BY MONS. LEVAVASSKUR, USSY, FRANCE.

It happens sometimes, in France, as well as
in the United States, that part of a lot of pear,
or other seeds, will grow very well and part, of
the same lot, will not grow at all. It must, evi-
dently, be owing to a different treatment of the
respective parts of the lot. I will tell you, how,
to the best of my knowledge, based upon practi-
cal experience, pear-seed should be treated.

The main point is to stratify the seed. That
is, to lay it on or in the ground and leave it there,
until it has acquired a certain degree of develop-
ment, before sowing it. Of sundry modes of
stratification, the most successful, with us, is as
follows :

"W"e select a sheltered place, exposed to the
east, say the foot of a wall, or a hedge, for in-
stance. If the ground is sound, we simply lay
the seed over it, 7 or at the utmost, 8 inches
thick. Rains keep it constantly moist, which is
necessary for the preservation of its germina*.ive
quality. If laid on thicker, it might dry up, oi"
mould and become worthless. "W"e cover the
layer with moss and the whole with turf, in
order to protect the seed against air and other
exterior agents, and keep it at an even tempera-
ture. Thus it gets all the moisture and heat it
requires for germination.

If the land is wet, let the layer of seed be
smaller and thinner, and dig a drain around it.
If the land is very dry, dig a hole, 6 or 7 inches
deep, and lay the seed in it.

Before being stratified, the seed should be
soaked in water during 4 or 5 days, mayb

^62

THE GARDEJTER'S MOJfTELY. Septeinher,

longer ; in fact, until the nieat has swelled out
and fills the shell completely.

The earlier the stratification is done, the
better it is. Oftentimes, a delay of a couple of
weeks will put the germination back for one year.

Even this method does not absolutely insure
success. The phenomena of germination are
most complex and insolvable. We see effects,
but many of the causes escape observation.
Electricity, I presume, has, somehow, a great
influence over germination.

Monsieur Carriere, chief manager of the
nurseries of the Museum of Natural History, of
Paris, wrote in one of his works that pear-seed.
sown without preparation, will grow only the
secancZyear, but, if well washed, and thus ridden
of a sort of mucilage, which sorrounds it, like a
water-tight coat, and prevents the action of air,
as well as that of water, it will grow very well
the first year.

I cannot, as yet, bring myself to place implicit
confidence in that statement. But I shall try
the experiment next season, and before the
stratification, while the seeds are soaking in
water, I will rub them gently together, so as to
remove the gelatinous coat which covers them.
I will let you know with what result. Please
try also, and have the goodness to report the
result to me.

There are other ways to stratify pear-seed, one
of which is to mix it with sand, as you say.
But on serious consideration, I think the one we
use is the simplest, the most natural, and thence
the best.

Pear-stock growers who find, in February,
that their seed has not started to grow, place it,
then, on a hot-bed, and generally with good suc-
cess. [We are indebted to Mr. Itaoux for the
privilege of using this excellent letter. ]

HOT-WATER HEATING.

BY W. SAUNDERS, "WASHINGTON, D. C.

In laying iron pipe for the purpose of heating
green-houses by the circulation of hot water the
idea has somehow become quite prevalent that,
in order to secure a proper flow of water, it is
necessary to incline the pipes for some distance
from the boiler. In other words, the flow-pipes
are laid on an ascending grade and the return-
pipes on a descending grade. There is no rule
or uniformity as to either the extent of the ascent
or the distance to which the ascending pipes are
carried. These conditions are generally regu-
ated by the length of the house ; it may be 20

or 200 feet in length ; in either case it is consid-
ered necessary that the flow-pipes should rise
until the length of the house is reached ; then the
water is conducted in a descending grade to the
boiler.

The fact that the point at which the down-
ward flow commences is not fixed by any rule,
shows very conclusively that neither the length
of the ascending pipe nor the height to which it
reaches is essential in the abstract question of
the circulation of the water, but is merely a
matter of fancy or convenience in the mechani-
cal arrangement of the pipes.

Pipes arranged in the above manner usually
work very well if laid in straight lines having
but few bends or turns, and even with these the
heated water will gradually circulate throughout
the whole ; but it is very doubtful if there is a
single advantage gained in having the water
circulated in ascending pipes, which requires
more force and involves a waste of time on ac-
count of friction on the sides of the pipes ; and
experiments prove that there are disadvan-
tages connected with it, which, although but
slight in many cases, yet in others have been
found suflScient to cause an imperfect circulation,
which has been remedied by altering the pipes
so as to take advantage of gravitation.

But it appears that many persons are of the
opinion that it is an absolute necessity to lay the
flow-pipes on an ascending grade, and in conse-
quence it frequently happens, in order to meet
this supposed necessity, that heavy expenses are
incurred in sinking and draining deep stock-
holes for the reception of the boiler. It is,
therefore, important to know that the efilcient
working of the apparatus does not depend upon
having the pipes laid on an ascent ; but that,
other things being equal, the most rapid circula-
tion is secured when the top of the boiler is the
highest point in the whole arrangement, and all
the pipes are descending from that point until
they reach the bottom of the boiler.

Theoretically it seems plausible that this mode
of laying the piping should act in the most per-
fect manner, as the water has the advantage of
gravitation to assist its movement through the
pipes, and thus overcome, in the best possible
way, the retarding effect of friction on the sides
of the pipes The fact that the heat is conveyed
by the circulation of the water affords a good
reason for the slower movement in an ascending
pipe, as compared with the more rapid flow when
the course of the water is on a downward slope,

'872.

TEE GARDEJfER'S MOJYTELY,

263

and the movement assisted by gravitation, in
addition to the force procured by the difference
in density between the highest and the lowest
points of communication with the boiler.

If the water absorbed and transmitted heat by
conduction only, then the position of the pipes
would be but of little importance ; but as it is by
convection, circulation, or actual movement of
the water, then gravitation and diminished fric-
tion are notably influential in the efficient work-
ing of the apparatus.

The following sketch indicates the arrange-
ment of a boiler and piping that will operate to
the best advantage :

THE YSTLE AND MAGUEY.

Bl PROFESSOR S. B. BUCKLEY.

The enclosed communication on the Ystle and
Maguey was written by Mr. Hastings, an intel-
ligent American gentleman of Tamaulipas, Mex-
ico, for the Brownsville Sentinel, of Texas.
Last summer I saw Col. Ford, of the Sentinel,
and requested him to send me some of the Ystle,
and all the information he could about the plant,
and here you have the result : The large Ma-
guey {Agave Americana) is hardy in the open air
at Austin, and 1 think it would thrive in all of
the warmer portions of the Atlantic and Gulf
cotton States.

Austin, Texas, October 15, 1871.

I see by some of the Northern periodicals that
the Ystle plant is attracting some attention, or
it may be but curiosity as regards the source
from whence is derived the fibre called Ystle,
that is being shipped, to some extent, to the
United States from Northern Mexico. The
plant from which this fibre is extracted is of the
Agave Americana family, and is called here
where it grows, lechuguia. It is an evergreen,
the leaves are broad at the base, gradually nar-
rowing to the point, which is armed with a
strong or sharp thorn or spike ; they are slightly
concave on the upper sides, and armed among
the edges with cat's claw thorns. It grows in
bunches without trunk or stem, but while it
flowers it sends up from the centre of the spread-
ing leaves a stalk of some ten or twelve feet in

height, on the top of which comes forth the
flower. It flowers but once and then dies. New
plants spring forth from the roots of the old one,
and thus the supply is continuous.

The above description would answer in every
respect for the " Maguey " ( Agave Americana )
])lant. The only difference perceptible are, that
the latter plant has leaves four or five times as
long as the former, are much thicker, of a darker
green, and is a larger plant. Ystle is extracted
from both of these species, although the " lechu-
guia " is the legitimate Ystle plant. The fibre
of the Maguey is superior to the other, being
longer, finer and whiter, and of course commands
a higher price.

The manner of extracting the fibre of these
plants here is quite primitive, no machine hav-
ing as yet been found that will give satisfactory
results. The work is most all done by hand, the
only instrument used being a wooden knife,
which serves to scrape off" the fleshy parts from
the leaf, the fibre is then separated by whipping
it around a post, then dried in the sun, and the
process is complete.

There are thousands of acres of lechuguia in
the State of Tamaulipas. It literally covers the
ground where it abounds, rendering it entirely
useless for anything, except a secure refuge for
snakes and armadillos.

The Maguey is a much more useful plant, and
is also a beautiful one. At present the chief use
of it is to distil an alcoholic liquor from it called
"Vina Mescal,'' by the natives. The leaves
(pencas) are trimmed off" from the lower part and
thrown away, being most undoubtedly the
most valuable part of the plant. The head,
or as it is called the pina, is then roasted, pressed,
and the juice thus obtained is allowed to ferment;
it is then distilled and mescal is the result. A
small portion of the leaves are utilized by the
mescaleros in thatching their houses, but nine-
tenths of them are left in the woods to rot.
This plant also yields a sap or juice while stand-
ing, from which is made the great Mexican
drink known as pulque. To obtain this the cen-
tre of the plant is cut away, and a saucer shaped
cavity is made in the solid part that remains
below, into which there filters a whitish sap of
rather a disagreeable taste to one who is unac-
customed to its use. This sap is called agua
miel (honey water), and is highly medicinal in
its crude state. When allowed to ferment it be-
comes pulque. It is also subjected to another
process, that of slow evaporation over fire, until

^6Jf

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY. Septemher,

it becomes of a syrupy consistence. This syrup
is very sweet, and is an excellent substitute for
molassies.

A good-sized Maguey is very productive. The
agxia mid is drawn off from the cavity above
mentioned twice a day, and it continues to yield
for several months. From the fibre ropes, bag-
ging, matting, and a variety of useful articles
are made ; the imxa after being roasted is eaten
with relish by the workmen at the distilleries,
and is very nutritious, sweet, and has not an un-
pleasant flavor. The flower stalk is used for raf-
ters for the houses, being from twenty to twenty-
five feet in length, and of great strength and
durability.

Thus it will be seen that the Maguey is a use-
ful plant, as it gives food and drink of diflerent
kinds, and houses to live in, besides other useful
articles.

The time may come when these plants will be
more protected than they are at present, and,
perhaps, cultivated for the fibre which they
yield.

I have heard that most of the Ystle shipped to
the United States is converted into an imitation
of horse hay, and mattresses, sofas, chairs, etc.,
stuffed with it, and sold as the genuine article.—
[ For the above excellent article we are indebted
to the Rural Carolinian.— Ed. G. M.]

its escape from within. He therefore com-
menced his structure with a heavy non-conduct-
ing covering of the ground on which he built,
and upon this he erected walls so perfectly non-
conducting that, with the aid of ice on the metalic
floor above, he was able to maintain a uniform
temperature of 34° without danger of frost in the
coldest weather in winter.

With walls of this character without the non-
conducting floor to exclude the internal heat of
the earth, and with close fitting, eflicient shutters
over the sash, we have a first rate place to grow
plants, — if it won't keep apples — a plant struc-
ture that may defy the elements. "Make hay
while the sun shines " is a proverbial lesson
wisely taught to all young men, but with a way-
wardness and pertinacity of our own, we have
been trying for years to devise means to make
hay while it rains, and now at last, have a toler-
able prospect of success.

Grow plants when the weather is warm, might
also be golden advice for " the millions," but all
mankind are not wedded to the " lazy system,"
and success under difficulties is always more
highly appreciated and sometimes profitable.

ELEVATED HOT-BEDS.

BY JAMES WEED, MUSCATINE, IOWA.

In a former communication I ventured the
opinion that the use of stable manure for heating
hot-beds is a wasteful practice, and that fire heat
can be substituted to great advantage, especially
for forwarding plants in spring, when the sea-
son may require only a low degree of artificial
heat, or a full amount.

The objection to "fire hot-beds," for forcing
in win ttr, thatthey are inaccessible, I propose
to obviate by elevating hot-bed frames on posts
seven or eight feet high, with walks between
them ; each frame being provided with eflicient
shutters ; the walls of the enclosure to be made
as perfectly non-conducting and tight as possible,
also the floors constituting the walks between
the frames above, so that when the shutters are
closed over the sash, frost will be excluded in the
coldest weather, without the aid of artificial
heat.

Prof. Nyce, in the construction of his fruit
house, had two objects to accomplish, the exclu-
sion of heat from without and the prevention of

BEGOXIA HYBRIDAMULTIFLORA.

BY H. E. CHITTY, BELLEYUE NURSERY, PATER-
SON, N. J.

Mrs. S. E. X., in Gardenerl't Monthly for Jul j,
page 216, writing of her beautiful Begonia, de-
scribes the B. Hyhrida florihunda, (in some
catalogues B. Hybrida multiflora) a hybrid from
B. fuchsioides and B. multiflora.^ though some
catalogues name B. parviflora as one of its
parents. It is a very neat growing, free flower-
ing variety, having much the general appearance
of B. fuchsioides ; the leaves however are more
obtuse in shape, and the flowers, instead of scar-
let, are a delicate pink, freely produced at most
seasons, which makes it a most valuable window
plant, quite worthy of a lady's care.

Mrs. S. E. X. should now add as companions
to the above, B. Saundersii, bright scarlet, flow-
ering continuously. B. alba perfecta, pure
white, a very dwarf growing kind, and always
covered with bloom. And as a very superb pink
flowering kind. B. "Weltoniensis flowering
throughout the summer, fall and winter. These
four Begonias will furnish a display of bloom
nearly the whole year, and if nicely grown will
always be beautiful whether in flower or not.

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY,

265

NOTES FROM MISSISSIPPI.

BY MR. J. E. BUCK, MUSHULAVILLE, MISS.

During my stay in this section of the country,
I have been so much impressed with the benefits
a knowledge of its advantages might confer upon
many who are seeking for a new home, that
through the columns of your paper I would pre-
sent to the public, certain facts regarding it,
which have come under my personal observation,
and which probably are unknown to the people
at large.

The country around this locality is beautiful,
undulating upland, sandy loam, with red clay
sub-strata, and many small streams, which fur-
nish what are called " creek bottom " lands, not
swampy, but alluvial tracts, varying from a half
to a mile in width along the creek or stream, and
readily draining themselves ; while the higher
lands are peculiarly adapted to improved farm-
ing, clover, &c., growing finely wherever it has
been tested. The people in present possession do
not begin to appreciate improved culture, and
consequently do not know the real value of their
lands. Could some one whose knowledge of
farming would give him a correct appreciation
of land so well adapted to that purpose, ride
with me over this picturesque region, with its
equable temperature of climate, and see for him-
self its varied capabilities, I am sure his enthu-
siasm would equal mine, as also his surprise that
any farm should be left untenanted. Near at
hand too, are the cotton planters, who form the
market as it were for this produce, for now,
strange as it may seem, with lands in possession
so favorable for such produce, the farmers here
yet allow these planters to send to the north-west
for food, provender and team, all of which might
so profitably be raised on the spot, with these
many running streams of pure water, and exten-
sive natural range for cattle. The peculiar
adaptedness of these lands for clover, grain, fruit
and other crops, to which 1 before alluded, ren-
ders the possessor more than able to compete
with the old cultivators of col ton, which cultiva-
tion indeed does not yield nearly the same profit
, in proportion, especially when we consider the
necessary outlay of money to provide the needed
food, cattle and forage for the exclusive cultiva-
tion of the "old staple." The result of the
shortsightedness which fails to perceive this, to-
gether with the scarcity of labor, is that their
lands are held now at prices far below the real
value ; the lack of knowledge in the way of
management under the new regime discouraging

many, inducing them to sell at great sacrifices,
and move to some other field, to which distance^
novelty and imagination give attractiveness.

I am satisfied that if the advantage of invest-
ment in these lands were only known, they would
be eagerly sought after and bought up, the buy-
ers realizing a splendid profit, when the capa-
bilities of the country as farming land should be
more fully demonstrated, and a colony built up
of enterprising, thrifty men, who would be wel-
comed by the community here, which commu-
nity would feel themselves benefltted,encouraged
and strenghtened by such accession. To give
you some idea of the cheapness of these lands,,
they now can be purchased at from three to five
dollars an acre, at much cheaper rates than im-
mediately after the surrender, when cotton com-
manding an enormous price, a few western men
came in with mistaken notions as to the worth
of free-negro labor, paying large prices for cot-
ton lands, and not understanding either negroes
or cotton culture, lost money in many instances,
partly through their extravagant supplies to the
freedmen, who failed to compensate them by
equivalent labor. Some few persevered and are
now making money, notwithstanding the high
prices they then paid for the land. One of these
is the present Governor, (Governor Powers) who
has his home and plantation near this place.
Then, too, many of the people have not the means
for developing fairly what these lands are capa-
ble of, which lack helps to reduce their price to
such a low figure— many acres lying idle since
emancipation, from this cause. The place is
very healthful, and attractive from many stand-
points, and these neglected waste places must be
made to bloom again, to a greater extent than,
even before the war. Let those who want
homes give attention to this region — they will be
well repaid. The latitude is about 33- ; more
desirable than farther south, as the productions
of Pennsylvania can be combined with those of
Louisiana, as sugar cane is being successfully
cultivated in the adjoining county, (Winston
county^ while judicious rotation of clover, peas,
wheat, corn, &c., would yield profit, and at the
same time fertilize the ground. The people here
do not appreciate the advantages of this diversi-
ty of produce, and would still make cotton
' ' king, " as if that alone were cash. Yet, as I said
before, they forget that this cotton-cash goes
from them to buy mules, corn, meat and flour,
which they might as well raise themselves. The
winters here are so short, that but little forage

266

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^THLY, September,

is needed. Early fruit would pay well sent to
Chicago, St. Louis, Louisville, &c., which fruit,
with any sort of proper attention and culture,
does magnificently here. The summing up of the
whole matter is to proclaim that this particular
district, beginning at a point about four miles
west of Macon, extending in that direction to
Louisville, in Winston county, along the main
road between these points, and again fifteen
miles from the road line on either side, this lo-
cality, I repeat, holds within itself a future of no
small consequence, and should be dotted with
many happy and prosperous homes. There are
here some churches and schools, and a kind,
hospitable class of people, fine fishing and hunt-
ing. While the emigrant to the north-west has
uncleared land involving much labor before him,
here we have at but little, if any extra cost,
cleared tillable fields, and partially improved
farms, with oftentimes excellent buildings upon
them. Then again the market, t\\Q final market,
is but next door to the farm, and the prices to
be obtained for produce are higher than in the
north-west. Corn brings $1.00 a bushel, espe-
cially in spring, and often from SI. 50 to S2.00
when made scarce by its cultivation being ne-
glected in the pursuit of cotton. So with many
other articles, the added sum could be received
here, which is now paid for transportation.
There are now projected on the west side of this
district, two important rail roads, which will
cross each other at or near Louisville, Miss., just
thirty miles west of Macon, and eighteen miles
west of this place, Mushulaville. One of these
rail roads runs from Memphis, Tenn.,to Meridan,
Miss., south-east, and the other from Columbus,
Miss., to Vicksburg, south-west, both of them
striking the Mississippi river most favorably to
the people here. The Vicksburg rail road is now
being constructed. Also on the east runs the
Mobile and Ohio rail road, so that this area lies
conveniently between two important systems of
rail roads, all of it within fifteen miles of one or
the other of these three roads. The Mobile and
Ohio road offers excellent facilities for sending
early vegetables and fruit to the more northern
markets, where they bring fabulous prices. To
return again and give you a little better idea of
the prices of land, there is one place near the
Noxubee river, said to have on it a pretty good
frame house with about six rooms, not quite fin-
ished, which place contains twelve hundred
acres, and which can be bought for S2.000. An-
other more pleasantly situated, comfortable

frame dwelling, four rooms and outhouses, with
a nice orchard, &c., three hundred and twenty
acres, for .$1,200. Another place, where I have
spent many pleasant hours, very desirably loca-
ted, one hundred and fortj'-flve acres, cleared
and fenced, with a comfortable frame dwelling of
six rooms, can be bought for 82,500. The land
is excellent, except about one hundred acres of
heavily covered pine forest, which of itself I con-
sider valuable. Then there is poorer land oflFer-
ed for SI. 00 to S2.00 an acre ; well located farms,
but would require more fertilizing, and yet
would pay handsomely.

Vineyards might also be made productive, for
wild varieties of the grape grow abundantly,
and bear in profusion. A resident of Columbus
was in the full tide of success as a wine produ-
cer at the breaking out of the war, and has
grown rich from that source, aided somewhat by
general horticulture. His " scuppernong " wine
is attaining quite a reputation. There are also
here some areas or strips of land from one and a
half to two miles wide, by three or four long,
where the growth is almost exclusively magnifi-
cent mammoth pines. Both the rail roads which
will cross at Louisville, Miss., will extend into
regions where there are no pines, and where
there are thriving towns, to say nothing of Mem-
phis and Vicksburg. The saw-mills which
might be established on the west side of the ter-
ritory outlined, would find ample demand for
their lumber at Louisville, a rapidly growing
town ; indeed all around us will come the de-
mand for lumber. There are two cotton facto-
ries within a short distance— one five west, the
other eight miles south of this point. The fac-
tory localities are right among the hills, upon
bold running, small streams of the purest moun-
tain origin. I have already alluded to the
picturesque scenery ; some of the views are truly
inspiring, one can see for miles and miles over
the extensive semi-circular expanse, enjoying
that sense of pure pleasure — that enlargement of
soul, which comes whilst gazing from these hills
over the almost limitless outlook. Let those
who can, come, see, and judge for themselves.

THE MARCHEL NIEL ROSE.

BY MR. ANTOINE WINTZER, WEST GROVE, PA.

This is one of the best yellow tea roses in cul-
tivation. Having tested it the past three years,
I find that it has no equal as a rose in the beauty
and perfection of its flowers. '^

The plant is a vigorous grower, and is not sub-

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

267

ject to mildew when it receives good care. In its
habit of growing: it resembles the well known
Noisette varieties of Solfaterre and Lamarque,
only its flowers and leaves are larger and richer
in color. It is also more double.

When planted in the greenhouse and well
trained, the plant makes a beautiful appearance
in full bloom. It is a rose that every cultivator
and lover of plants should grow. As soon as it
becomes more plentiful, it will, no doubt, become
a general favorite. Like all of our good roses,
its high price has prevented it from becoming
more popular. But it is as readily grown as any
other rose of its kind, from cuttings of the hard
and the green wood. Among the thousands of
roses that I have grown this season, I consider
it the best for the size and richness of its flowers.
Every one should give it a trial ; any care be-
stowed on it will be well repaid. It will succeed
best in a rich, well drained soil.

LAYERING.

BY MR. H. E. CHITTY, BELLEVEN NURSERY,
PATERSON, N. J.

Your illustration, page 214, G'arcZeMer's Month-
ly for July, explaining to S. C. B. the way to cut
for a layer, reminds me that there are more ways
than one of performing this simple operation.

With this I take the liberty of sending a rough
pencil sketch, which will show my method of
layering, and which I think upon trial will be
found to possess many advantages over both the
upper and under cut, among which may be men-
tioned the greater rapidity with which the work
is performed, and the less liability to damage by
breaking or cutting too deep, as is often the case,
especially in layering wood of a brittle nature.
And again with this method you can with safety
cut much deeper, thereby hastening the rooting
process. But in my opinion the chief advantage
of this method consists in the ease with which it
is done. The operator takes the shoot to be lay-
ered in his left hand (at a), and places himself
exactly in front of it, he then with a keen edged
knife in his right hand makes a tapering cut to-
wards himself, the knife advancing directly be-
tween the operator's eyes, so that he may see to
the huudreth part of an inch when to stop. The
cut should gradually taper from where the knife
enters to two-thirds through the wood, making
a tongue from one to two inches in length, ac-
cording to the thickness of the shoot. The knife
should slope at an angle of about forty-five de-
grees, the point being farthest from the operator.

When the cut is complete, the operator still
retaining his hold at (a) with his left hand,
places the thumb of his right hand at (&) and the
two first fingers at (c), and gently presses the
whole down into the soft well prepared earth,
until all the cut parts are at least one inch be-
low the surface. It should then be well covered
with fine earth, and a stone of sufficient weight
put on to keep it in place, which completes the
operation.

Another advantage which I had almost forgot-
ten to mention in connection with this method
of layering is, that the painful stooping position
of the body necessary to make a horizontal cut,
whether in the upper or under side of a shoot, is
altogether avoided.

Explanation of the Sketch.— I is the cut face; 2 the
tongue; 3 connection with plant, the whole ready for
pressing into the earth.

THE WINTER ON EVERGREENS AT
HARRISBURG, OHIO.

BY MR. E. MANNING.

I see by the Monthly that great injury has been
done the past winter about Philadelphia, and in

268

THE GABDEJ^ER'S M0JVTEL7. September,

your State generally, to hardy evergreens trees,
such as Hemlock and others. We have had a
very hard winter here ; hard enough to kill near-
ly all the peach blossom buds, See. We have,
however, escaped better than you.

All the hardier varieties of Firs have escaped.
Of the rarer varieties here uninjured, are Nord-
maniana, Parsonsiana, Pichta, Pinsapo, gran-
dis, nobilis and lasiocarpa. The commoner va- i
rieties of spruce were uninjured. Of the newer j
varieties, Morinda, Orientaiis, Whitmanniana, !
Archangelica, Menziesi, all are doing well. Of
the newer varieties of Pine uninjured are excel-
sa, Benthamiana, Cembra. Of the newer varie-
ties of Junipers here unhurt, are excelsa, Glauca,
Glauca Yirginiana, Yariegata oblonga pendula.
Of the Yews, A urea is badly injured ; Dovas-
toni, adpressa, uninjured. Of the newer varieties
Arborvitse uninjured are Golden and Buist's
seedling (Rosedale), Retinosporas, newer Aurea
slightly injured, Plumosa badly. Of the Box
family, newer varieties uninjured are latifolia,
longifolia, Aurea variegata, Fortunii, Silver tip-
ped, Mahonia Japonica, very slightly injured,
intermedia badly ; Thujopsis, dolabrata and
Yariegata killed ; borealis uninjured. Also un-
injured Cepalotaxus Fortuni, Cuprcssus Law-
sonianaand Torreya nucifera. Of tlu- Magnolia
family, the blossom buds of which were unin-
jured, are acuminata, auriculata, glauca, longi-
folia, tripetela, rubra, purpurea. Of the varie-
ties having their blossom buds about half killed,
are Lenne, triumphans, albo spectabilis, conspi-
cua, Soulangiana, Alexandrina, surperba. Japan
Larch or Abies leptoplepis uninjured and full of
cones, finer than European larch. The lentiscus
leaved weeping ash is uninjured here, and very
splendid. It appears to be but little known.
Of other uninjured trees are Salisburia, Yirgilia,
Liquidambar, Blood royal oak, Taxodium dis-
tichura, Glyptostrobus Sinensis pendula, Catal-
pa Kampferi, Rhus laciniata. There are many
other varieties omitted which have generally es-
caped well.

Now Mr. Editor, you stated last fall in the
Monthly, that Picea Xordmaniana was the finest
of all the Fir tribe. I think if you were here
and could see my Parsonsiana of seven feet grow-
ing hard by, you would have to partly -'lower
sail.'' Although I am willing to accord the
Nordmaniana a very high position, the Parsons-
iana is surely its full rival ; and when I look ;
at the Pinsapo, I see a peculiar beauty of its own, i
the most distinct of all. Of the grandis and

nobilis not as yet of sufficient size to judge fully,
I think they will yet both contend for the laurels.
Of the lasiocarpa, it appears in this country the
least known of all. I predict for it a high
place. It is distinct, with Icng beautiful foliage.
Some three years ago one of our American gen-
tlemen on visiting England, pronounced it the
finest of all evergreens in England, which is cer-
tainly saying much in its praise.

TREE PLA:N^TIXG ALONG THE LINE OF
THE KANSAS PACIFIC.

BY 3IK. B. S. ELLIOTT.

I wish you could see my little patch here— it
looks charming. The rabbits did much damage,
but looking at the field you would hardly suspect
it. Trees that I thought were barked beyond
redemption, are growing healthily clear to the
tops, and some that were killed above ground by
the " varmints " have remarkably vigorous
shoots from the roots. Ash, Box Elder, Silver
Maple, White and Lombardy Poplars, Willows,
Walnuts and Cottonwood were not disturbed.
The Ash, Box Elder, Cottonwood and the " Lo-
custs " (Robinia and Gleditschia) are prime
trees for this region. Lombardy and White
Poplar (abele) will also prove of much value as
rapid growers. But it is too soon to make up a
list of best trees. Oaks from seed are an entire
success ; chestnut and pecan (from seed) have
winter killed somewhat, and the former is also
eaten oflf about four inches below the surface,
apparentlj' by a grub. All the seedling oaks are
alive and arc coming on finely. The Larch (Eu-
ropean) also does well here, and one tree of last
year's planting is alive and vigorous at Pond
Creek. I have planted others at Ellis and Pond
Creek this spring.

Experience here with evergreens is curious,
to me at least. The rabbits or some other " var-
mints " ate oflf all the foliage and even the ter-
minal buds from many of the little trees, and I
thought when I saw them in March that they
were gone past recovery. But the naked, leaf-
less, budless stems have reorganized and sent out
shoots, some of which are already from three to
six inches in length. It looks queer to me. It
may be all right, but I do not understand it.
While I see lamentations in the papers of de-
struction of evergreens east by the winter, I feel
delighted with my little rabbit eaten trees, now
coming out so vigorously. Austrian, Scotch and
White Pines do not seem to have been damaged
by the winter. Of Corsican Pine the growth of

187^.

THE GARBEJ^EWS MOXTHLY.

269

last year has in many cases been killed, and
nearly all the foliage ; but the trees are growing
from the parts nearer the earth. Norway spruce
will not prove of value here or westwards, al-
though some of mine are doing tolerably well.
Ailantas, Box Elder, Bobinia, Gleditschia, Coffee
Bean and Black Walnut are up from seed. The
walnuts were planted in spring of '71 ; some
failed to come last year and are coming this.

Douglas says rabbits that would eat ever-
greens, must be of the rare species known as
Jackass Rabbits.

THE FLORAL SABBATH.

BY THE REV. E. P. POWELL, ST. LOUIS, MO.

Let me tell you what essential service I think
the flowers render to man. Say first to our
bodies. One of the latest words of science is,
plant as many odorous flowers near and about
your dwelling as possible, for with the perfume
is generated more of ozone than from any other
source. Ogene is the element in nature antag-
onistic to putrefaction and miasma and conse-
quent fevers. It is an old and generally known
fact that plants and flowers are marvellously
constructed to generate oxygen and absorb car-
bon, thus giving constantly to the air a life prin-
ciple, and taking away a death principle. Con-
trary to a common superstition there can be
nothing more healthy for a close room than a few
healthy plants. We poison the air. Our lungs
pour out a fearful volume of the smoke of the
burning body— the carbon drawn by the blood
from every nook and chamber of the system.
The plants quietly take the poison, manufacture
it into leaves, stalks and charming blooms, and
give us instead the purest rectified air. So the
little pot of the house-wife is something more
than a mere minister of beauty, it is a servant of
the household, working for meagre wages, inces-
santly to care for the health of the inmates. It
is the resident family doctor, constantly and ten-
derly guarding from ills and dangers. Of course
a diseased decaying plant gives out as much
poison as it does life, and is a nuisance for the
lungs as it is for the eye. It is a decrepid dotard
of a doctor, prescribing mercury and opium and
alcohol. But healthy plants are the most vigor-
ous, untiring preservators of human life, health
and beauty. Indeed, one might know this from
the fact the world is but one vast garden, and if
flowers were unhealthy, one summer would suf-
fice to kill us all ofi". At least in some conditions
of body there is nothing more conducive to

health than the subtle aroma of certain blossoms.
I can at times lay my head down with an inex-
pressible relief beside some of the pets of my
garden, and feel a power most grateful and un-
mistakable while smelling some of the tiniest
blooms of all. The same healing power lies in
the odor of some of the shrubs. Of course very
much cannot be expected from the so called
house plants, that we often see lean dyspeptics,
nearly bald, and not much more covering to .their
nakedness than Eve with a fig leaf Generally
two or three crooked sticks tied up to one straight
one, the straight pine prop being the most inter-
esting of the bundle. I should as soon expect to
derive health from such a plant as from shaking
hands with a hypochondriac.

Diseased plants like diseased souls, generate a
poisonous mould, a curious microscopic fungus,
a blight, an incarnated death makes its appear-
ance, and that not merely to the danger of the
plant life, but of our lives who tend them. Only
the other day I placed in my microscope a fly,
whose whole body was a garden of infinitesimal
plants. A deadly vegetable life had invaded and
driven out the animal life. The most fearful
disease sometimes accrues to human beings from
the same cause. The spous of dampness, the
children of night, the germs of death, which we
call fungus, attack the skin or the lungs, or the
brain even ; they settle their minute rootlets or
fangs into the pores of the flesh and live upon us
as parasites. But like cures like. The best re-
medy for the efiect of diseased plants lies in the
healthy plant, in the sweet odors of the tea rose,
the delicious intoxication of the Mignonette, or
the delicate refinement of the sweet pea. But
the influence of flowers goes still farther, it is a
refiner of our spiritual faculties. They suggest
purity, love, hope, sweetness, patience. Christ
takes one for a text of faith, and another of in-
dustry. Who ever got a corrupt thought from
his garden ? We are astonished when we find a
base woman loving flowers, and yet it may be.
It would be going quite too far to trust the
sweetest of nature''s influences to lead us to the
high life of obedience. But they all tend in that
direction. If I can get my young folk deeply in-
terested in floriculture, I am sure of a healthy
tendency in their minds. I am sure that it will
be easier to induce them to love God. You
know that earthiness of soul kills out generally
all that is sweet and beautiful and instead you
get the ugly and tasteless.
Flowers are full of language, as they are some-

270

TRE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLJ. September,

times full of dew-drops and honey. Souls go
fluttering to them as the bees go ; and they ex-
press the care and love of God for us. Leave all
the rest and take these, and I think we should
know very much less of God than we now do.
They constitute one of the features of God. We
see a man in the flesh, that he uses for a body ;
in the books he reads, in the trees he plants, we
read him in his features. So we find in flowers
an expression of the nature of God, the delicate
flush of his love ; the tenderest fragrance of his
thoughts. Some matter is very material, very
gross heavy, as far as possible from spirit. A
log is not far removed from the disoi-ganized ;
but when you catch nature reaching up into a
lily cup or the bosom of a rose, or blushing in an
apple blossom, you feel that matter is almost es-
caping you— it is the exquisite reflnement of
matter, the most etherial touch of clay.

Flowers stimulate industry as well as lighten
toil. For we must have tliem. We are cold
without them, but to have them requires patient
stud}', patient culture, and untiring determina-
tion. Every one must be studied alone. In
perfection they can be had onl}- in connection
with art and a kind of horticultural genius.
Their culture is an art. How they breath, and
eat, and drink ! How they vary their species —
under what laws I

Flowers are also servitors of our imagination ;
they bring food to the poet. They produce an
atmosphere that is peculiarly conducive to
rythm. I do not know why it is that color and
grace of motion and delicacy of form and per-
fume have such a tendency to make every eighth
or tenth syllable rhyme, and every line begin
with a capital, but so it is. What a constant
tribute poetry pays to flowers. Can you find
one of the great singers who has not at least a
line, and mostly a poem in honor of floral
charms ? Take away noble landscapes, level
down the hills, make the sun rise and set in drab,
kill out the flowers, and the poet's corner would
become very speedily a bean patch JTow the
flowers come to the brain with a delicate touch,
like the finger of a mother in sleep that takes the
wrinkles out of dreams — they come with so fer-
tile a resource for pleasing— tiny children with
their arras full of every imaginable grace. You
can see purity, modesty, benevolence, ambition,
watchfulness, patience, truth, all somewhere
about your feet. But not only do they inspire
much of the rhyme of books, they beget much of
the rythm of life. What do you suppose must

be the power of a single fuchsia in a family ? It
never catches the eye of the mother without put-
ting in a song ; it calls the attention of the
children, and displaces the rudeness of coarse
work or vulgar contact. It doubtless has a
powerful influence in making the whole family
more neat, more tasteful, more courteous, more
refined. I like to take out the animal, the feed-
ing plague of eating, by putting a bouquet among
the dishes.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Pear Blight. — The June number of the Pomo-
logist and Gardener has some further remarks on
Pear Blight — referring to our remarks in the
March number. It says, "We were not aware
that Mr. Meehan claimed to be the originator of
the fungus theory." So far as we know there
were no proofs offered that fungoid plants caused
Pear blight, until Mr. Meehan's address before
the American Pomological Society at St. Louis,
in 1867. Certainly the intelligent gentlemen
present had not heard of such a suggestion be-
fore, and some expressed au intention to debate
against it ; but after the address was delivered,
and the proofs olfered, no debate of any conse-
quence took place ; and it was the impression
that the matter was set at rest by the facts ad-
duced.

In the March number referred to, we said,
" but no theory is needed Anyone who cares
to take the trouble may see by the aid of a good
glass the fungi operating. That which certainly
exists must surely be possible."

But the Pomologist prefers to ask questions.
"Wh}','' it says, "should fungi attach to one
tree and not to another of the same kind V" We
reply, that we do not know ; but we see that
they do so attach themselves. Again, "the
disease inducing cause whatever it may be, sin-
gles out certain varieties of the same species for
its work of destruction. Kow, why this should
be the case if the fungi, and not atmospheric
changes are the cause, is to our mind passing
strange " It may be passing strange, but of what
avail is this feeling of strangeness against the
positive lacts which the microscope reveals ?

We suspect that our contemporary has not
read the paper in the proceedings referred to,
for it further says, " now so far as fungi are
found in portions of the trees affected with blight,
and therefore assumed to be the cause [the italics

1872.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MONTHLY.

271

are ours,] we would say that this is a position
assumed, not proven.'' The "cause" was not
" assumed " for any such reason. The part af-
fected by blight has no fungus on it ; or if so,
only of those species which grow on decaying
matter, and which only appear after life has
gone. But the fungus which causes the injury
operates helow the injured part. It eats the
healthy bark and wood, and when it has pro-
gressed far enough around to destroy aU the
vessels — the branch is practically girdled, and
all above it dies. Meehan's observations have
since been confirmed by the microscopical ex-
aminations of Hoopes. (See address before the
Lancaster meeting of the Pennsylvania Fruit
Growers' Society.) We repeat that," that which
certainly exists must surely be possible," and
we think that no one, except those who prefer to
be guided by "feelings passing strange,'' need
be long in doubt with some confirmed specimens
of recent disease before them, as to the true
cause of^re blight.

Lilium Washingtoiiianum. — Mr. George Such
finds this beautiful Californian Lily hardy at
South Amboy.

ToMnum patensvariegata. — This plant sent out
by some ignoramus as "Boussingaultia Lach-
aumi," proves to be an excellent variegated
plant for standing the sun in masses for summer
bedding.

Lilies of the Valley nve now in much demand
for winter flowers. Bouquet dealex'S find a lai'ge
and growing demand for these sweet blossoms.

Variations in the Character of Fruits. — While
Suel Foster, of Iowa, finds Hathaway 's Michi-
gan Seedling a competitor with the Wilson in
productiveness and profit, Purdy, of Palmyra,
N.Y., says with him it is so soft and insipid that
it bears no comparison with Wilson for market
purposes.

Western Landscape Gardening. — There is no-
thing more needed in our newer regions than an
appreciation of the landscape gardener's art.
Architecture, music, painting and sculpture, all
have some homage paid them ; but the pleasure
which the garden and grounds can give by
landscape gardening, though equally great with
any of the arts named, is not so well understood.
It is a ple.isure to note that one of Mr. Bryant's
sons has made this branch a special study, and
has opened an office with his brother, the young
nurserymen, at Princeton, Illinois

Popular Names of Plants. — Many persons ridi-
cule Latin names for plants. They are hard to

learn to be sure, but in this difficulty consists
their value. It is so easy to give a plant a com-
mon name, that it soon gets a score of them,
and no one knows what another is talking about.
White Cedar for instance in New Jersey is Cu-
pressus thuyoides ; but when a Western New
Yorker says White Cedar he means the common
American ArborviLse. Up in Alaska they call
the Cupressus nutkaensis. or as some botanists in-
sist Thujopsis fcoreaZis, Yellow Cypress or Yellow
Cedar ; but now comes the California Horticul-
turist and writes of the " Yellow Cypress " as
the Thuja gigantea.

We know how hard Latin names are, and
sympathize with the young ladies and gentle-
men who have to learn them ; but as they grow
in knowledge they will find it is not pedantry
but necessity which gives the Latin names.

FOREIGN

Hetinospora JElwangeriana. It is said, as we
often hear it repeated, that when some French
philosopher was told that the facts were against
his theory, replied, " so much the worse for the
facts." It is hard to believe that this is any-
thing more than a joke, yet it has a practical ex-
emplification in Europe just now. EUwacger &
Barry raised a seedling from Thuja accidentalis,
and called it " Tom Thumb. " Scores of Ameri-
can Arborvitses have been raised by as many
others, with much of the same character as this
possesses. These facts were made known to M.
Carriere, but " so much the worse for the facts "
" c'esi non possible,'^ so they regard it as a new
species of Retinospora, R. Elwangeriana. If
any of our readers desire to import this new Re-
tinospora, they may find it in the leading French
and German catalogues for twenty francs the
hundred.

The Blue Glass Theory. M. Duchartre has
an article in the bulletin of the French Central
Horticultural Society on General Pleasanton's
paper, in which he says only that the genuine-
ness of the paper is vouched for on respectable
testimony, he should regard it as a hoax.

Raising Seedling Trees in Europe. We im-
agine it is the climate which gives so much suc-
cess to Europeans in their seed raising operation;,
but they have to learn the business as well as we.
A writer describing the government forest tree
gardens in Austria, says all the seed beds in long
lines, are carefully protected by belts of shrubs.

Universality of Horticultural Pleasures. The
Gardener''s Chronicle has the following apt re-

n2

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TBLY. September,

marks in regard to the mission of Horticulture
and Horticultural Societies :

" We have often had occasion to remark in
these columns upon the great advantage that
gardening, as a pursuit, presents to its votaries,
from the immense variety it offers, and the am-
ple choice it affords to men of all tastes, all de-
grees of intelligence, and pecuniary means.
From the vast establishment of the wealthy, to
the Tulip bed of the florist, or the Potato patch
of the cottager, there is in gardening a perpetual
source of recreation, instruction and practical
benefit. Too many look on gardening in the
light of a sensuous luxury only, the}' dwell too
much on the mere gratification they derive from
it in the shape of flowers and fruit. Our horti-
cultural societies, and far too numerous exhibi-
tions, unfortunately foster this tendency, and do
not bring sufficiently to the fore the many higher
delights a garden is capable of yielding."

Preserving Grapes in Winter. Mr. W. Robin-
son says that thousands of pounds of grapes are
preserved during the winter season in the village
of Thomery, in France, by merely putting the
stems in bottles of water, and preserving the
fruit from frost.

Vanilla Pods. The great beauty of orchideous
plants has been sufficient to commend them to
the cultivator ; but they are furnishing profit as
well to some English cultivators. One describes
in the Gardener's C/ironicZe how he preserves the
pods of the vanilla :

" Vanilla pods should not be cut until they
turn a dark brown color; it is not absolutely
necessary they should remain on the plant until
the whole of the pod is covered, which first turns
from a green to a yellow and then to a brown,
but the greater portion of the pod must be color-

ed before it is cut if required to keep any length
of time. When cut it should be placed into a
bottle tightly corked ; in this way I have kept
pods good for nine years. It frequently happens
when the pods begin to color they open into two
equal parts ; should they begin to show symp-
toms of so doing, tie a small piece of matting at
the extremity of the pod to prevent it^"

Protogynous Flowers are those which protrude
the pistils and are ready for fertilization, before
the anthers of the same flower have matured
their pollen. These are of that class as Mr.
Darwin points out, which abhor self fertilization.
This class offers great facihties for cross impreg-
nation with the view of raising new varieties by
hybridization. A correspondent of an English
magazine points out that the potato is a very
easy plant to cross for new variety, as it is pro-
togynous.

Tree Lemon Verbena. In these days when
effective plants are sought after, we should not
lose sight of things at hand with which to pro-
duce as good results as any new introduction
can afford. The London Gardener^s Chronicle
calls attention to the pretty effects which can be
had from the common Lemon Verbena when
trained as a standard. The wavy spikes of flow-
ers are very graceful ; and the odoriferous char-
acter of the plant will always make it a favorite
in any form.

Tlie Potato Disease. Dr. Kuhn has shown that
the fungus which causes the potato disease, {Bo-
trytis or Perenospora infestans), only propagates
itself while the potato plant is living. There-
fore the potato tuber receives its infection from
the haulm or stems, and one potato cannot com-
municate disease to another.

EDITOE lAL.

HARDINESS OF THE HERSTINE RASP-
BERRY.

Wherever we have seen this variety this year,
the canes have been bearing in the greatest pro-
fusion, though in most instances, they were left
to take care of themselves unprotected during
the late trying winter. Its great beauty and
excellent quality make every one wish that it
would keep this way for ev .r.

It has been thought a settled question that no
Raspberry of the foreign race is adapted to our
climate. Certain it is that so far no Raspberry
of that class has proved permanently reliable.
Fastolf, Antwerps, Brinckle's Orange, Hornet,
— all, in most quarters, suffer if unprotected,
and the market grower has found that protect-
ing does not pay in competition with kinds which
do not need it, even though the kinds be of in-

1872.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ\''ThLY.

273

ferior quality. The natives have been found
hardier as a rule ; but there are not wanting nu-
merous instances of the Philadelphia, an un-
doubted native, being killed as badly as any
foreign kind.

We think it will serve a useful purpose to re-
open this question and inquire whether there is
really any reason why the foreign kinds should
be destroyed in winter, — whether it is not rather
some defect in our treatment of these plants,—
and whether it is not possible to preserve, gene-
rallj', for many' years such excellent varieties as
Herstine for many years as healthy and every
way as satisfactory as they are to day.

We have stated before in these pages that it is
in no instance frost which is the primary source
of injury to a raspberry, cane. They are killed
in the winter or by frost to be sure ; but there
are always enfeebling causes at work, prior to
the action of frost, which enables frost to work
the injury. Iw this connection we refer again
to our remarks on the ' Influence of Food on Vi-
tality," given in our last issue ; and it will be
found that it is only when some thing of this
occurs with the raspberry that the canes die.
One particular plot of Herstines that we have
in our mind's eye had the plants set in a single
row across a field, and each plant some four feet
apart. The soil was naturaily good ; but in or-
der to make the plants root and grow well so that
stock might be rapidly produced, rich compost
was put around each cane. The leaves were of
the most rich and luxurious green all last sum-
mer ; and, being healthy, remained on as long as
the plant had any need of them. Such canes, of
course, were healthy, and these healthy canes
remained entirely unprotected, and uninjured
through so hard a winter as the past was. If
these canes had been enfeebled, — if from any
cause the leaves had fallen before the canes were
ripe, we should have had the PTerstine added to
the long list of varieties that will not stand our
winter.

And the time will no doubt come when there
will not be so great a deuiand for plants as now;
when the suckers will be allowed to grow up thick-
ly, crowding one another so that there will be a
struggle among the leaves for light and air, and
among the roots for a share of food ; and the
canes depending on the action of root and leaves
will have their structure weakened, — and then
the first little frost will kill them, and they will
be hardy no more,— or if hardy, so weak and
sickly that the cry will be for a new hardy kind,

which the Herstine is not. For a plant once
made sick, carries disease with it. We can re-
produce health from a healthy stock; but to breed
health from disease is about on a par with
gathering figs from thistles, about the philoso-
phy of which we all know.

Our opinion is most decided that the Herstine
can be kept in our good graces for many years ;
but in order that it do so, we must make our-
selves better acquainted with the laws of vitali-
ty than past raspberry history shows we pos-
sessed.

PUBLIC GARDENING.

It was a favorite idea with the leading horti-
cultural minds of the past generation, that under
our form of government there never would be the
same encouragement to horticulture that it re-
ceived in other countries. Wherever land de-
scended from father to son, gardening taste was
in a measure inherited. Here where our pro-
perties are sold when we die, or where with our
desire to be doing something, we sell even the
best things we love when the chance offers— in
the country to-day, in the city to-morrow— those
almost imperial horticultural establishments we
find in other countries, rarely comport with the
wisdom of things. An American can seldom
afford to do that which may prove unsaleable ;
and a princely garden of all things is the last to
sell.

Our fathers saw all this ; but they believed
that what the people individually could not do,
collectively they would accomplish. They were
quite sure the time would come when every city
would have its park, garden, or public grounds,
which in all the details of pui'e horticulture,
would rival the famous possessions of European
noblemen. Kew gardens, England, was their
great ideal. As a crown garden under Alton, it
was a mere botanical collection, beyond the reach
of popular enjoyment ; as a real people's park,
combining sound scientific instruction with
floral pleasures which even a child can enjoy,
under the Hooker's, father and son, it has been
the great model of the world.

We started to imitate it. Under the wise
counsels of Downing and Kingsland, the then
mayor of N.Y., a good beginning was made. A
fortunate selection of agents in Vaux and Olm-
sted, gave credit to the design ; but we have all
lived to see that even so noble a conception and
execution as the Central Park can be blighted by
the partizan hand of corrupt men. But we have

^14

TEE GAB.D I JEER'S MOJ^TELY. Septejriber,

still held to the great Kew model, unwilling to
lose our faith in the successful working of the
principle so long as this world renowned estab-
lishment worked well.

But now comes the story of trouble even here.
Men utterly unfit for office, by virtue of political
favor, rule, and Dr. Hooker, unable to hear the
insults put on him. resigns. The mass of the
people favor Dr. Hooker, and it is not thought
proper to accept his resignation ; but these
things once started, always grow, and though
for the present the trouble may be hushed over,
American experience goes for nothing if Kew
has not seen her best days.

It seems to us that we who labor for the ad-
vancement of horticultural taste, may learn a
valuable lesson from all these things. The
science of government is ill understood. It is

clear the American people are no more satisfied
! than are the Europeans We expect very little
from any form of government in the way of lead-
ing in horticulture or the kindred sciences Pub-
j lie gardens and Parks have arisen or been pro-
jected in most of our populous places; but except
in a few instances the expenditures have been
: made as rewards to ignorant men for political
party services, without the remotest idea of pro-
ducing anything worthy of science or art in hor-
ticulture. American experience has been almost
as unfavorable to the idea of tasteful public
grounds, as to grand private gardens We may
have good breathing places for the masses, under
the name of public parks, sometimes rising above
mediocrity as examples of taste ; but we look
yet to individual effort for our most creditable
results.

SCRAPS AND QUERIES.

PiLEA MuscosA. — Mrs. M. B. M., Burling-
ton, Vermont, sends us a sprig of this plant for
name. It is also called artillery or pistol plant
because the pollen is thrown away like a light
flash of smoke, as the minute flowers open.

Post-Office Laws. — In sending fruits, flow-
ers, or anything of this character l)y mail, the
wrappers must not be sealed or gummed down
at the ends ; but lapped over and tied so that the
oflBcials can examine the contents if they desire,
without destroying the wrapper. For the same
reason the inside box must not be nailed nor
must there be any written communication
within.

We note this here because a box neatly packed
and sealed, on which the sender had alread}'
paid twenty cents, was presented to us recently
with ^2,20 additional postage to pay. As so
many things like this come to us in a rotten con-
dition, we feared it would prove a poor invest-
ment, and instead of receiving the parcel,
thought it preferable to write this paragraph.

Primate Apple. — L., Annville, Fa , writes:
" I send you an apple, the grafts ot which were
put on for me by a traveling grafter, and which
when it come into bearing last year, a good fruit
man told me was Primate, but which another

now says it is not. I should like to know 11 pos-
itively as it is really a good early fruit."

[The flesh of this is yellow, while the Primate
is white. We have little doubt so far as we can
judge of a single specimen that it is the Carver,
figured in the third volume of the Gardener's
Monthly. It is a little earlier than Primate, and
quite as good as that excellent fruit.]

Planting Bulbs.— Our friend Walter Elder
has been examining a large collection of cata-
logues of leading dealers in bulbs, of this country
and of Europe, and reports that there are an un-
usual number of rare kinds offered this year. He
adds :

October is the best month to plant all the har-
dy species in open ground, and the more tender
species for parlor and glasshouse culture. They
all thrive in rich and fertile soil. They are not
only all beautiful of blos-oms, but many are de-
lightfully fragrant. No flower garden is com-
plete without a choice collection of loveiy bloom-
in u bulbs.

DicEciSM IN Asparagus.— Jfr. Ravenal says :
"Your remarks in last number of GrtrcZener's
Monthly on the bi-sexuality of asparagus, I had
noticed ten years ago, but said nothing of it,
Bupposing it had been observed before. The

187^.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOjYTHLY.

275

note from Mr. Sargent on ' the cutting back of
asparagus,' and your comments, are interesting
and suggestive. I was so impressed with the
idea, that I at once turned in and cut down all
X\iQ fertile "planU, leaving the stems to grow and
strengthen the roots. This ' slovenly cultivator,'
according to Mr. Sargent, cuts down all 'his
beds at this moment as smooth as the back of
your hand.' But what is the necessity of cut-
ting them all, when it is only the heavy drain
upon the vitality of the plant in maturing seed
which is injurious.

"I notice on my asparagus bed that not more
than about one-third the plants bloom at all ;
and of these about half are staminate and bar-
ren, leaving, say about one-sixth of the plants
only which mature seeds. Is this so in your
latitude ? Another observation I made is that
the plants differ very much in their productive-
ness and their habits. As each plant is from
seed, and therefore a new individual, (or in hor-
ticultural parlance, a variety), this may be ex-
pected. Some start up annually numerous small
•tocks -others fewer and longer. Of course the
latter are much to be preferred ; and if it were
practicable to propagate by cuttings, buds, graft-
ing, &c., as in fruit culture, we could at once
improve vastly our asparagus culture. But as
they must be propagated by seeds, and the dioeci-
ous habit (as you well observe) requires two in-
dividual plants, the only feasible plan is to
destroy all the inferior plants, and only suffer
the best stocks to remain for seed. This is for
those who wish to improve the plant. The gen-
eral cultivator cannot well afford to thin out his
plants to such an extent

[The asparagus is here as with Mr. Ravenal,
in South Carolina, more than half produce no
seeds ; and only a very few of the plants are very
productive.]

Semper VI VUM tectorum.— Jfr. Joseph Lig-
gett of Loioelville, 0., sends us a specimen of
this for name. It is commonly known as the
House Leek.

Complimentary Tickets. — We are in re-
ceipt of a large number of complimentary tickets
to exhibitions, some of them accompanied by
kind letters frcm the oflScers of the societies.
We cannot attend them all of course, but we
hold these courtesies in grateful remembrance.

" Paying Through."— Notwithstanding our

repeated advice to correspondents to mark pack-
ages " pai.l through '' instead of merely paid, a
very large number have been presented to us the
past month which we have refused to receive.
No matter how much be paid on a box, if it is
not marked " paid " on the box, the full rate is
to be paid over as;ain ; and if marked merely
pai^, it is insisted that that is only "in part"
and generally one-half the whole is demanded.
To mark ^'paid through''^ is the only security.
If objection is made, we are told to " write for
the receipt,'" but few people like to take this
trouble, or to "appear small," and pay rather
than have any delay. Even when they get the
receipt, "paid through " may not be on it, and
there is no remedy.

We are perfectly willing to give our time to
naming and examining specimens for our friends;
but if they are too careless to so mark the direc-
tions as to save us from the extortions of express
companies, they will understand why their ar-
ticles receive no notice in the magazine.

Propagation of Shrubs.— S. a. D. Wil-
liamsville, N. T. " Will you please state to a
young florist the time and proper method of pro-
pagating shrubs, hardy, &c., from cuttings, as
practiced in the nurseries. Also the best me-
thod for propagating box for edging. Will this
propagate from cuttings in a cutting bed ? I
find 1 can root green cuttings of many shrubs
but question whether it be a good or the best
way."

[There are scarcely any two kinds of shrubs
that can be propagated in exactly the same man-
ner. Some will grow easily from green wood
under glass in summer, others grow when taken
off in the fall at the time the leaf ripens, and the
cuttings at once put in the ground, and protected
from upheaval by frost ; or else put under cover
to be set out iu spring. Again some will grow
only by being taken off in spring, and set out at
once. We can help our correspondent only by
his specifying the particular kind of shrubs he
desires to propagate.

In regard to box edging it is easily raised by
cuttings of the old wood taken in spring. Old
plants are usually dug up, and the branches all
split apart, without any care in regard to cut-
ting smooth or trimming the leaves off; and
these pieces are set down in the ground so
that only about two or three inches are left above
the ground. The pieces must be beat or trodden
firmly in, in fact the earth can scarcely be made

276

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY. Septe-niher,

too firm along the line of a row of newly set box
edging.]

Double Gladioltj!?. — -ff. B. N., Oswego, N.
T., says : "I have on a stem of the Gladiolus,
Duke Malakoflf, two flowers, which seem to in-
dicate an attempt at being double. One con-
tains twelve and the second contains sixteen
finely formed petals. The latter is really quite
a double flower. Will you tell me through your
journal whether or not this tendency to form
doubles is common or not ? I am interested in
the growing of Gladiolus, and have some two
hundred and fifty sorts, but this is the only one
so far that has taken this (to me) new depart-
ure. ''

[We have never known of a very double Gladi-
olus, and one would be highly prized by florists.
It is worth while to sow seed from this, and try
to fix the semi-double character more fully.
There are double Lilies, double Tuberoses, and
other things allied to the Gladiolus, and there is
no reason why this may not take rank with
them.]

Fruit Culture in the South.— <S. T. G.,
Memphis, Tenn., writes: "The finest and
thriftiest by far of all the two thousand fruit
trees on my place, peaches, figs, nectarines,
apricots and pears, are those which are growing
uncultivated and unattended to, in my back
yard, where they flourish inundated with grass,
and also at times with weeds.

I am inclined to think that in the South at
least, the roots of trees musi be kept cool. My idea
of the best way of doing this in this land of luxu-
riant crab-grass and parched earth, is to let the
grass grow up a foot high, sprinkle a lot of a
mixture of old gas-lime, livery stable manure,
and cotton seed hull ashes over the sod, and
then turn it over, hilling up in a circle of say six
feet, letting the grass grow again and repeating
the process, and then afterwards cnly mowing
it down whenever two feet high and letting it lie.

Korthern people not familiar with the South,
have but a faint conception of the rapidity of the
growth of grasses and weeds, the duration of their
season and the positive necessity of repeated
hand hoeings in order to cultivate certain crops
in this country. Save green marketing, the
onion raisers in Iowa need never fear competi-
tion at our hands. I had left over, this summer,
some twenty odd barrels of onions, which I was
compelled to ship Norlh. They cost me in hand

labor alone, in spite of all the horse labor with
improved implements I could bring to bear in
their culture, more than I got for them.

Compelled as we are, to use livery stable ma-
nure which is one half sawdust and foul seeds,
the idea of even materially decreasing the num-
ber of weeds, etc. , is an absurdity in this climate.
Kow as our lands are a shallow mould on a stiff
yellowish, red excellent brick clay, badly in
need of deeper culture and mellowing ; and as
this subsoil is surcharged with an astonishing
amount of (now) inert plant food, and as it takes
with us two years to get a good stand of clover,
and as crab grass springs up like magic every
where it gets a cliance. What do you think of
the plan I propose to adopt next year, as fol-
lows ? : Abandoning clean culture, save just
around such growths as demand it, letting the
grass grow at will until ready to flower, by
which time the roots have pierced the subsoil,
digested much that would not have been avail-
able to less hardy things, and then turn the sod
under as deeply as a Collins' plow and the ele-
phantine horse I have can get it, to be repeated
as often as possible. By this means I think I
can ameliorate the subsoil faster, surcharge it
more completely with vegetable mould, and get
a better basis tor permanent fertility than by de-
pending wholly on manure. Besides the great
per centage of labor and money saved, I believe
firmly that such a mould is far more congenial to
garden truck than that made by vast layers of
manure ; not so subject to drought, to worms,
rotten seed and decaying or unhealthy vegeta-
bles.

Constant exposure to the fierce rays of the sun,
caused by the clean culture of cotton, and the
deprivation of vegetable matter, is, I contend,
the main cause of the harm done our once fertile
plantations. Imagine its eflects in Pennsylvania
and multiply this by three, then you'll have
some idea of its force in Tenn., Miss., &c. Gu-
ano put on these fields utterly ruins them in three
years— burns them up, as the planters say. Peas,
grass, weeds, etc., gradually counteract the
bane of the guano.

Notwithstanding the loose and rambling na-
ture of this communication, you'll catch the
ideas I mean to convey, and as they are quite
important to me, at least, I hope you'll not fail
to impart the necessary instruction through your
journal, within the next month or so. I have
been a subscriber to it for only about five
months. I perceived at once that, unlike most

187^.

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOJVTHLY.

27'.

pen, scissors and paste editors, you are at once
a gentleman, a scholar, an agriculturist in the
highest sense of the terra, and are possessed of
not only originality of thought, but also of down-
right talent, two articles as honorable as they are
unusual in the agricultural press ; hence I ap-
peal to you for instruction.'"

[We are obliged by our correspondent's good
opinion. The editor makes no pretension to
knowledge beyond his fellow laborers in horticul-
tural literature. - They have their special points
of excellence. We have chosen for our task the
advancement of horticulture in the line of taste
and thought — as a means of mental enjoyment,
as well as a minister to our mere animal wants ;
and if we have succeeded in this course, it is
alone our reward.

In regard to the culture of fruit trees there is
no doubt that a practice applicable to one part
of the country is of no use, or even an injury in
another. In regard to the " grass '' theory, as
people often call it, this is particularly true. Our
correspondent has hit on the germ of the whole
thing when he speaks of the necessity of a cool
surface. Many people regard a moist surface as
the one great thing to aim at : and when a clean

surface is referred to, it is usually urged, as by
pulverizing the soil, it keeps the earth " so
moist. " There is no doubt sometimes a surface
covered by vegetation may be a little drier than
one kept bare, but it is cooler, and in hot cli-
mates this is the gain. In regard to leaving
coarse vegetation to grow at random over the
surface, we do not think it pays. We should
prefer to have grass of a kind that we could turn
into hay, and make up for the loss to the soil by
top dressings. This we think is preferable to
turning rank vegetation down into the soil. We
have nearly the same labor as if we mowed and
top dressed with nothing to show for it.

There are some climates, California for in-
stance, where the surface does not get so hot as
with us, and some, as in many light soils where
the surface roots grow deeper than in others.
In these cases, there is little injury, and in some
cases a positive gain in having a clean surface
instead of one clothed with vegetation. If how-
ever, people keep their eye on the principal
points to be accomplished, as our correspondent
does, there would be much fewer errors in fruit
culture than we every day see.]

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC

Transactions of the Rhode Island So-
ciety FOR encouragement OF DOMESTIC IN-
DUSTRY. Secretary, Joseph T. Pitman, Provi-
dence, 1871.

An interesting feature of this report, distin-
guishing it from others that come to our table,
is a series of obituary notices of those members
who have departed each season. Among the
essays is an interesting one by J. H. Bourn,
Vice-President, on Pear Blight. It contains
much excellent reasoning, though few new facts.
It strikes us that "frozen sap blight" is con-
founded with " fire blight,'' two distinct dis-
eases.

The Department of Agriculture ; its
history and objects. By James M. Swank,
Chief Clerk of the Department.

This is a very interesting epitome of the begin-
ning, progress, and present condition of the De-

partment of Agriculture. It has grown to be
what it is, as the author says, and is in a better
condition now to adapt itself to any national
want that may arise than ever before. The au-
thor while giving a history of the department is
very liberal in his suggestions as to what ought
or ought not to be done, and in his reflections
on the deeds of those who have gone, he says :

"The botanist to whose care the collection
was committed, retained his connection with the
department for upwards of two years and a half,
and during that time labored with zeal to create,
out of the material thus furnished him, and
from contributions from other sources, " a great
national herbarium," or collection of dried
plants. This herbarium now occupies several
large and tasteful walnut cases in one of the lar-
gest rooms in the department. Whether it has
ever been a benefit to the fai'mer, or is likely to
be, are questions which have been asked fre-

ns

THE GARDEJ^EWS MOJ^TELY. Septer)iber,

queutly, and concerning which the present Com-
missioner of Agriculture holds very decided opin-
ions. He does not believe that the exclusive
care of a collection of dried plants is the work
which is appropriate to the mission of the botan-
ist of a department organized to minister to the
practical work of farmers, although such care
may be proper enough in regard to a university
or college herbarium. He believes that the bo-
tanist of the Department of Agriculture should
be fitted to convey instruction to farmers con-
cerning the functions of plants, their methods of
growth, their habitats, qualities, uses, and dis-
eases ; in other vvords, that he should be a vege-
table physiologist. He believes that a knowledge
of the main principles of vegetable physiology,
and of their specific relations to climates, soils,
and the food of plants, especially when these re-
lations are modified by the influences of culture,
is of the liighest importance to the farmer. A
suViject of intense interest to all fruit-srowers
and to all grain-growers is the diseases of plants.
Immense yearl}' losses occur from these diseases.
It is clcarl3' within the dut'es of a botanist of the
Department of Agriculture to investigate them
—to throw some light upon their origin, modes
of extension, condition of growth, &c. In devel-
oping new agricultural interests and sources of
wealth, the botanist has another wide field for
action. The Commissioner believes that it is his
duty to point out, so far as botanical science can
indicate, the natural families possessing princi-
ples or qualities useful in the arts, medicine,
manufactures, &c. ; that the hitherto unknown
or undeveloped products of our fields and forests
may be made to supply, so far as possible, the
place of those gums, sugars, dyes, drugs, fibers,
starches, oils, and beverages for which our peo-
ple now pay enormous sums to foreign countries.
Even if he goes no further than to aid in indica-
ting what species of forest trees are adapted to
rapid growth upon our western plains, and what
grasses will best endure the hot suns of the
South, he will accomplish far greater practical
results for American farmers than he could ever
achieve by the most careful nursing of a collec-
tion of dried plants. The present botanist of the
department has taken charge of its botanical
work with full knowledge of the Commissioner's
views, and the hope is entertained that, while
not neglecting the arrangement of such speci-
mens of plants as may be contributed to the de-
partment, he will not disappoint the Just expec-
tations of the farmers of the country, whose in-

terests are a thousand times more important
than the gratification of the wish of any eminent
scientists that the botanical division shall em-
brace nothing else but a collection of dried plants,
and that the botanist shall spend his time in
caring for it."

This is a pretty full bill of requirements, and
we take it there is no one capable of filling it.
Dr. C. C. Parry, in addition to being one of the
best systematists, was perhaps equal to any bo-
tanist living in the department of vegetable phy-
siology, and very few men are able to master
more than two such divisions of the science. It
was clearly a mistake to dispense with his ser-
vices; as it is certainly a mistake in Mr. Swank to
suppose that it is the wish of any eminent scien-
tists that the botanical division should embrace
nothing but a collection of dried plants, and that
the botanist should spend his time in nothing
else but caring for it. We happen to know that
nothing would gratify "any" and all these
scientists so much as to know that the depart-
ment had one man capable of doing all the com-
missioner asks.

As to a collection of dried plants being of no
use to a ' ' farmer," of course they are of as much
use as the " dried '' insects in the Entomological
Collection,— the "dried" plaster fruits in the
museum, or even the living plants in the conser-
vatory of the gardens. From his practical ac-
quaintance with the working of the department,
these suggestions possess value, and will no doubt
have weight in influential quarters. But we
think the remarks about the position of scientists
in regard to the botanical division, must have
been made under a misapprehension of the facts,
and whatever strength there may be in the other
sugg<'Stions of the pamphlet, there is surely little
force in these.

A Colored Edition of Downing's fruits is
advertised by Dewey, of Rochester.

Transactions of the Agricultural So-
ciety IN THE County of Plymouth, Mass.,
during the year 1871. Secretary, Lafayette
Keith, Bridgewater. Mass.

A good feature of this is the common sense re-
])ort of the committees Premiums are given
for the best crops ; and the committees report
on the details of culture and soil which pro-
duced the crops. Prize essays are usually below
the average information of the day, as book
worms generally only compete for them ; but an

i8r2.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

279

essay on drought oflfers some original and appar-
ently sound observations. A premium was of-
ferred for the best new grape ; the committee
voted the premium, but added in the report that
the society did not wish to be responsible for its
fitness for distribution This is a generous deci-
sion for the exhibitor ; but offers of such premi-
ums should be conditional on the seedling being
probably worthy of dissemination. A report on
encouraging fast horses at exhibitions comes to
the sensible conclusion that the committee will
discourage all kinds of gambling in horseflesh ;
but that a fast horse is more desirable than a
slow one, and they mean to encourage speed in
horses, as well as all other good qualties.

Descriptive Catalogue of Plants in
the exotic collection of the Department of Agri-
culture, Washington, D. C. By Wra. Saunders,
Superintendent of gardens and grounds, 1872

The title is eminently descriptive of the work.
It gives an account of the uses of the plants in
the arts and sciences. Though but a small
pamphlet, it is among the most useful of the pub-
lications issued by the department.

Ohio State Horticultural Society.—
Proceedings for 1871. This society seems to
have quite a flourishing list of members who pay
up, besides having an appropriation of $500 from
the State. In addition, the State prints the
transactions. With all this aid the Society
ought to get up a report creditable to the State.
There is a large amount of useful matter in the
issue before us.

The School of Chemical Manures or
elementary principles of the fertilization agents.
From the French of M. George Ville. By A. S.
Fesquet. Philadelphia : published by Henry
Carey Baird.

There is of course no dispute in these days that
plants need nitrogen, as well as manures of a
mineral nature. How or in what way best to
apply them is the battle ground. M. Yille, a
distinguished French ohemist and physiologist,
professes to have experimented on the subject
for thirty years, and to have embodied in this
work the results of his observations. It is es-
sential that soil should contain phosphorus, lime
and potash, then with nitrogen crops will grow.
Some assert that plants will take all the nitrogen
they need from the atmosphere ; but M. Ville
shows that some will and some will not, at any

rate every tiller of the soil knows that when he
fertilizes with stable manure which abounds in
nitrogen, there is no mistake about everything
doing well, and in these instances they of course
derive their nitrogen from the soil.

M. Ville recognizes the fact that analysis will
not always tell what is a "complete" manure ;
and yet feeling sure that he has found the exact
elements of fertility in a general way, he re-
commends on each farm a set of experiments on
a small scale, with various combinations, before
entering largely on any of the manures recom-
mended. The book is cheap— SI. 50 free by mail,
and in the present state of the literature of the
subject, will of needs have to be in every good
library.

The Farmer and Gardener. The Hor-
ticultural department, under the management of
Mr. Berckmans, has made this magazine very
popular. The proprietor, Col. Gray, dying re-
cently, it was feared would cause a suspension,
but we are gratified to learn that it is to be con-
tinued, with Mr. Berckmans as heretofore.

How Plants Behave. -Botany for Young
People. By Asa Gray.

No one has done so much to cultivate a taste
for botany in America than Professor Gray ; and
no worker to this end has so much cause to be
proud of the success of his labor than he. There
is in every successful teacher some peculiar pow-
er by which he is enabled to touch the popular
heart. In Dr. Gray one of these elements is a
popular style. No one can write more learned-
ly, to use a familiar expression, when such high-
er class literature is to serve a useful purpose ;
but when the principles of science are to be
taught from the beginning, his ability to reach
the mo«t common place minds is equal to his
highest efforts in the accomplishments of the
must intellectual life. These thoughts occur to
us as we read the title page. Botany for young
people. Too many who would teach us the arts
and sciences, forget that the mind does not al-
ways grow as the body does. Though we have
advancedin years, the various branches of knowl-
edge have often been but recently born within
us. Our minds are as infantile as though we
were but just emerging from the dawn tide of
life. Our actual years are of no account. In
botany we are all "young people," and he who
thus addresses us has at once the key to our at-
tention and regard.

280

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^TRLY. Septeuiher,

Dr. Gray has already told us " how plants
grow," in this little book we are to learn how
they behave This branch of botany, thanks to
Darwin, introduces us to an almost new world.
"We have known for some time to be sure, that
some flowers open or close at some peculiar times
of the day — that some plants as in the "sensitive"
have peculiar motions simulating nerve action
in animals ; that others as in the fly trap close
their leaves over, and entomb insects ; but since
Mr. Darwin's observations on the movements of
tendrils, and the agency of insects in cross fer-
tilization, a species of intelligence has been
discovered in vegetation that no one supposed
possible a few years ago. Flowers, always dear
to the human heart, have been brought nearer
to us, and they feel more a part of us than ever
before. Many have been amused at the fancies

of the author of the "^oianic Garden.''^ There
wasof course more poetry than truth in the "how
plants behave" ofthat old work. But the "loves"
and "hates " of the flowers, as depicted by old
Dr. Darwin, are not more wonderful than real un-
dertakings which they actually engage in.

We have only one regret as we lay the little
book down. There is not enough of it to satisfy
the taste created. How plants behave might
fill a book as large as an encyclopaedia. We sup-
pose it would be a labor of years to accomplish
such a work as that. Indeed the half of what
they do is not yet known. The wisest are only
beginning to learn. It may be many years be-
fore we get their full history. In the mean time
we take the interesting glimpse Dr. Gray here
gives us of the promised land, and thank him
highly for the favor.

NEW AlVD RARE FRUITS.

Black's Early Peach. — Dr. Stayman of
Kansas describes as : Fruit large ; form round,
with a slight point ; suture distinct, shallow all
around ; color, clear rose pink, shaded maroon
and slightly mottled with light yellow, very
handsome ; flesh stained red to the seed, to
which it slightly adheres ; juicy, tender, with
rich sub-acid ; excellent. Stone small, short,
light red ; quality the very best ; season, July
the 4th to the 15th. Tree good grower, hardy
and productive. An accidental seedling found
amongst a lot of trees set out on our farm, 18(57.

This is the earliest peach we are acquainted
with, ripening this season before the 4lh of July,
being from ten to twelve days before Hale''s
Early, and it is of larger size and better quality.

Its extreme earliness, great beauty and fine
qualit}' will always make it command the very
highest price in the market.

We have sold four times as many of it as
Early York, and at double the price at the same
time, 14th of July, this season. — Rural Nexo
Yorl'er.

Petkr Wylie, iSTo. 1 Grape —We have
from Dr. Wylie, July 31st, a bunch of this new
grape, which reached us in excellent condition.
It weighed half a pound. It is a white grape ;

or as some of our modern critics would say, a
green grape. The berries are about the size of
the Royal Muscadine, and the flavor so delicious,
that if we could always depend on its doing as
well as this in the open air, we might shut up
our cold graperies at once. Though the skin is
as thin, and the appearance much as a foreign
grape, it still retains somewhat the firm flesh of
the American parent ; and it also has, but in a
less degree, the peculiarity of dropping some of
its berries easily from the stems, after a long
voyage.

When we remember that much of the ridicule
with which the position of the Monthly that
grapes could be hybridized, « as assailed, occurred
but twelve short years ago, and that some of the
strongest papers showing how " impossible " it
was that any hybridization could be accomplish-
ed in the grape family, came from southern
sources ; it is a pleasure to note that success, the
best tribute to possibility, has been so generous
to a southern gentleman.

Fox Seedling Pears.— 3fr. B. S. Fox, San
Jose, Cal , writes: "Thankful for the kindly
notice— sorry you did not put the number with
it, as by the enclosed diagrams you will notice

1872.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MONTHLY.

281

that there are a great many of them, which I
consider really good, far better than many of the
European new varieties. Nos. 11, 17, 62, 65,
111 are pears, which will fill up gaps in the ri-
pening season, and to the orchadist will be valu-
able. In the first place they are good, and next
they are of, or nearly so, a yellow color, which
is everything in the pear market. A green pear
like Couseiller Eanuez, or Beurre d' Amanlis,
or Dunmore, are not good for market — no money
in that class of pear No. one hundred and eleven.

after you pull it from the tree, becomes yellow,
remains so until ripening, and turns brown. F.
D. Athertou, Esq., one of our Col. Wilder's in
the pear line, says it is delicious."

[We did not put the number 111 after Mr.
Fox's delightful pear, supposing that was only
a temporary designation. Mr. Rogers sent out
his hybrid grapes under numbers, and was
always sorry for it. We recommend new seed-
ling fruits vvhen likely to be distributed, to be
named not numbered.]

BROWN'S WOXDER STRAWBERRY.

New Strawberry— Brown's Wonder.
— Under the name of Merveille de Brown, M.
Verschafllelt, of Brussells, gives a plate of a new
strawberry which we reproduce here, in order to
show our readers that if America can produce
wonders in this line, Europe has her marvels
also. M. V. says that tbis variety leaves far in
the rear all other varieties in the abundance of
its fruit. He declares that the picture is an ex-
act copy of a photograph., emphasising the state-
ment by italics, and further, that this was a

plant cultivated in a market garden under ordi-
nary circumstances, and that many other plants
were as abundantly "charged'' with fruit as
this one chosen as an illustration. People will
want it of course. " EUe demande seulement a
etre connue pour etre appr'5ci<5e. "

The plant is probably not in this country yet,
and perhaps may never be ; and even though it
may, will probably not yield as represented here ;
but we give the plate in order to illustrate what
our French brethren know about strawberries.

^s.

THE GARDEJ\^ER'S MOJfTHLY. September,

PoBDS HoosAC Thornless BLACKBERR'S

is highly spoken of by a Western paper : " For
prolific production, and sweetness of taste, it
rivals all varieties of which we have knowledge."

Seedling Apple. — ,S. T. jB., Doylestown,

Pa. : The apple is of fair size and good quality ;
but not in our opinion superior to Early Harvest,
which it much resembles. We would not recom-
mend naming and distributing it, unless it can
be shown to be superior in some resijects to
those we have.

NEW AND RARE PLAINTS.

New Mignonette. — Parson's white is not
white, but still it is a well marked and valuable
variety. They pay more attention to cultivating
Mignonette in Europe than we do— a single
plant is taken and grown. This gives an oppor-
tunity to mark the different habits of the variety,
as well as any peculiarity of flower, and there is
often as much to interest one in the form of the
plant as in the color of its blossoms. There are
now several new ones with distinct habits.
There is the "tall" pyramidal which is of a
lance ovate outline when fully grown. The
" Pyramidal Bouquet " is broadly ovate, nearthe
form of a fashionable bouquet. The new dwarf
compact has the spikes of flowers with a blunt
termination, instead of the narrow tapering form
of most mignonettes. This gives the plant a
massive habit. It appears rather a bunch of
mignonette than one growing plant,

Double Epige^ —Prof. Asa Gray, in the
American Waturalist, notices a double-flowered
Spigeoe repens^ received from Arba Pierce, of
Worcester, who has gathered similar flowers
from the same plant for several years. The
doubhng comes from partial conversion of sta-
mens into petals of the outer and most transform-
ed series, more or less coalescent into a tube.

Cereus giganteus. — The following extract
from an officer of the United States army gives
some interesting facts in regard to the giant cac-
tus of Arizona : "I enclose a paper of seeds of
the Sujaro, pronounced 'Suwarro.' This is the
giant or candelabrum cactus of the Gila river,
Arizona. It grows to thirty or forty feet in
height, sometimes as a single, nearly cylindrical
column with a diameter of twelve to twenty
inches, sometimes as a candelabrum with

branches. It is stated in the report of explora-
tions of the Mexican boundary, that the seeds
grow readily, and that they have been extensive-
ly distributed in America and Europe. I never
saw a plant except in Arizona, and on a visit to
that desert countr}' last winter, I left orders to
collect and send me seed at the time of ripening.
The fruit is valued by the Apache Indians.

It is one of the most remarkable productions
of the vegetable kingdom, and I send you these
seeds, believing that you will find pleasure and
profit in propagating it. It is an ornament for
the greenhouse, though in our hot summers it
will bear being put in the lawn.

The temperature in its native habitat is often
above 100'', and seldom below GO''. It orows in
sandy and stony soils, and also on table lands
and foot-hills of the Arizona mountains, where
the winter temperature must be occasionally
below 32-. These seeds were gathered at Camp
Date Creek, this season.

New Clematises.— New hardy free-flower-
ing Clematises, well adapted for covering veran-
dahs, trellis-work, walls, porticoes, pillars, fes-
toons, &c Several varieties were awarded a first
class certificate by the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety. C. Thomas Moore, pucy-violet, white
stamens, passiflora-like. C. Mrs. James Bate-
man, pale lavender, fine. C. Viticella Rubra
Grandirtora, bright claret-crimson. C. Alexan-
dra, pale reddish violet. C. Velutina Purpurea,
rich blackish-mulbei r3'.

Freemontia Californica.— This beautiful
American shrub, not yet even introduced into
our collections, is reported as flowering in English
nurseries. It is allied to the Althese of our
gardens.

167^.

THE GARBEJSTER'S MOJfTRLY,

283

DOMESTTO INTELLIGENCE.

New Earth Worm. — In connection with the
subject of introducing new enemies to plants
from abroad, it may be advisable to mention
that at the present time a very larc;e and appar-
ently new species of earth worm, thought to have
been first introduced in the earth in which some
Japanese plants were imported in the expedition
under Commodore Perry, has increased and
multiplied in the hot-houses so much as to have
become a veritable nuisance. This worm is
probably the same mentioned in the English
Gardener's ChronHe of April 24, 1869. by D T.
Fish, F. R. H. S., under the name of the eel
worm, its habits and appearance being almost
identical with that in the hot-houses of the De-
partment of Agriculture. Mr. Fish, after sta- '
ting that it is very injurious to plants in pots,
and had been known for twenty years, says that j
it is "probably a tropical relation of the common
earth worm, as it cannot live out of doors in the
climate of England and scarcely subsists in a
green-house, but revels in the temperature of a
plant-stove or orchideous house. It differs from
the common worm in its mode of locomotion and
in several of its habits. It comes out at night
on walls, stone floors, «&c., and is as quick as an
adder in its movements when disturbed. It
seems impossible to eradicate it ; it appears to
breed with extraordinary rapidity, and is en-
dowed wii.h great muscular power, so much so
that it is somewhat difficult to hold a large spe-
cimen between the thumb and finger. Lime-
water, which is a sovereign remedy against the
common earth worm, appears to have little in-
fluence on it, and the only effective mode of de-
struction is to turn out the soil from the pot and
catch and kill the intruder, taking care, however,
not to knock or jar the plant, as this worm, in-
stead of coming to the surface on being dis-
turbed, like the common worm, will instantly
recede to the centre of the ball of earth and re-
main there undisturbed." In a later number of
the Gardemr''s Chronicle for 18/1, page 468, Mr.
W. Baird speaks of a worm under the name of
Megascolex [Perichoeta) diffringens, found in three
difierent gardens in England, in hot-stove houses,
which is probably the same worm as the eel worm
referred to by Mr. Fish. — Report of Department
of Agriculture.

LiATRis ODORATissiMA, Willd.—Thh plant,
which is a native of the Southern States, has
been the subject of some recent inquiries. It
grows in low. sandy woods, from Southern Vir-
ginia to Florida. It is known by several local
names, as wild vanilla, deer's tongue, and sea
lavender The leaves have a strong vanilla
odor. The plant grows three to four feet high,
with a simple, straight stalk, terminated by a
corymb of bright purple flowers. It belongs to
a genus which is represented by eighteen or
twenty species in the Southern States, none of
which are specially odorous except this one.
Several species are found in the Northern, and
several in the Western States. They all have
showy purple flowers, some of them in long
spikes, and are knawn by several local names,
as button snake root, blazing star, etc. The
leaves of the first-mentionedspecies (L. odoratis-
sima) have been employed to give a pleasant
fragrance to tobacco and cigars. They are
brought to market in small bales. The lower
leaves of the plant are about six inches long by
three inches broad. It is said to be very abun-
dant in Flor'da. We are not informed as to the
market price of the leaves, but do not doubt
that it depends much upon their mode of cure
and their soundness. For wrappers of cigars
the leaves would need to be sound and unbroken.

Probably, if the plant were submitted to culti-
vation, and the stalk cut back so as to favor the
development of large leaves, it might be im-
proved in quantity and value. We would be
glad to see its use extended, for it has no hurt-
ful properties, and since it improves the flavor
of toliacco, the more of it employed in the man-
ufacture of that article the better.

Strawberries with Potatoes. — A disad-
vantage connected with the common mode of
planting strawberries, is that the ground re-
mains idle the first year, while the plants, which
have been set in the spring, are becoming strong
and well established, preparatory to bearing the
principal crop the second year. If some other
crop could be grown early in the season, so as to
receive a return from the land while the young
strawberry plants are coming on, and moreover

28Jf

TEE GABDEMEK'S MOJVTELY. Septernher

pay for cultivating and keeping the ground clean,
an important point would be gained. N. P
Hedges describes his method for accomplishing
this end, in the Germantown Telegraph, by plant-
ing early potatoes. He first tried peas and other
crops, but generally a poor stand of plants was
obtained, so that a good crop could not be had
till the second year, when weeds, which the cul-
tivator abhors, had obtained large ascendency
But no difficulty exists with early potatoes, and
the best plantation he has seen was raised in
this way — doubtless because he was compelled
to set them out early and the plants thus ob-
tained a good start. The ground was first hand-
somely prepared by plowing and harrowing, the

Early Rose potato planted in hills 30 inches
apart each way, and the strawberry plants also
the sain? distance, alternating in the rows with
the potatoes, that is, 15 inches from each potato
hill. A one-horse cultivator and hand hoe kept
them perfectly clean. The potatoes were dug
in July, leaving the strawberry plants in full
possession just as they were beginning to throw
out runners. The additional care of the straw-
berries was estimated at S20 per acre. One fuU
crop of berries free from weeds is enough ; more
might be had, but the labor of keeping clean by
hand is much more than preparing the ground
by horse labor and re-planting. — Country Otn-
tleman.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Forest Renovation in Dalmatia. — Al-
low me to offer some remarks concerning the un-
dertaking of our Ministry of Agriculture in
laying out woodland on the Karst in Dalmatia,
of which I beg leave to subjoin some ground
plans.

At the exhibition of agricultural and forest
seeds, held on December 12, 1871, at Vienna,
much attention was excited by a collection of
seeds of 60 varieties of forest trees, exhibited by
the director of the Central Nurseries. These
nurseries are devoted to the raising of trees and
shrubs to restore the Karst as a forest. I suc-
ceeded in obtaining full information concerning
these establishments from the Minister of Agri-
culture, who gave me on that occasion five plans
of the Central Seed Schools established for this
purpose.

The Karst is now almost devoid of any vega-
tation, and is covered, for the most part, with
larger or smaller pieces of chalk-stones, of a cold
greyish color, remarkably perforated, and often
in a decaj^ed state, from the rough climate and
the dreadful '• bora. " Only in the funnel-shaped
valleys (called Doliucn) is any vegetation to be
found. This is partly natural, partly raised by
the hand of man, who turns to use every avail-
■ able spot of ground in the vicinity of his wretch-
ed domicile.

A beginning with this plantation has now been
made, and I do not doubt bat that success will
crown the effort if only continued with persever-
ance. As a proof that on the rocky surface of
the Karst woodland can exist, I may mention

the deer garden of the Princess of Hohenlohe, at
Duino, the ancient and charming castle of which
crowns a picturesque rock rising up out of the
blue sea, and which may be observed even at a
distance from Trieste or Miramar. Not a blade
of grass is to be found in the whole park, but Da-
tura Stramonium appears in places where the
Quercus Ilex, and the Carpinus Betulus var.
duinensis (Tomasini) fail to spread their sparing
shade. The deer kept in the park are fed in an
artificial manner. The appearance of the whole
park is very peculiar, somewhat sad, and I never
before saw a similar one.

The five nurseries, laid out for the purpose of
producing plants for the Karst, are placed in
difierent places and at different elevations on the
mountain, to adapt them the better for their fu-
ture locality.

The three first are situated on Monte Sermin,
near Capodistria, on the sea-shore. Here are
produced seedlings fit for the lower countries,
to about an elevation of 500 feet above the level
of the sea. The ground in this region consists
chiefly of chalk sparingl}' mixed with a reddish
ochrey clay. More than 2,000,000 of seedlings
are here in readiness, amongst them 678,283
Fraxinus Ornus, 83,854 Pyrus communis, 712,-
529 Robinia Pseudo Acacia, 153,689 Pinus aus-
triaca, 75,928 Hibiscus sjriacus, &c.

The richest of these nurseries is that at Gorz,
where more than 5,000,000 of young plants are
in cultivation. The tree most cultivated there is
Fraxinus Ornus, with 3,616,345 specimens ; Ti-
lia, 149,530 ; Ulmus campestris, 397,348 ; A[oru»

187^.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

285

alba, 9675 ; Castanea vesca, 4415 ; Prunus Avi-
um, 7876, &c. The nursery ground lies on a
level, and its soil is of a clayey, gravelly nature.
The plants here grown are used for planting out
the rising ground of the Karst which surrounds
Gorz.

The nursery of Rodik is situated on a plateau
of the Karst, where the ground as well as the
climate is of a very rough kind. Only conifer-
ous plants, such as Abies excelsa, Larix euro-
paea, Plnus sylvestris and austriaca, are here
cultivated to the number of 3,064 941. They are
selected for the region from 800 to 2000 feet
above the sea.

The pecuniary value of the seedlings, number-
ing about 10 millions, is estimated at 18,060 flo-
rins. One hundred Ailantus are reckoned as
equal to 5 kreuzer (about one penny), 100 Pinus
austriaca (two years oldl at 40 kreuzer, &c. One
of the curiosities on the Karst consists in the
imperial stu J at Lipizza, where a beautiful race
of horses is reared for the use of the imperial
court. It is an oasis in the desert, and occupies
a apace of ground of 530 acres of beautiful mea-
dows and woods. The principal sort of trees of
which the wood consists are Fraxinus Ornus and
Quercas Cerris, mixed with Acer monspessula-
num. — Cor. of Gardener'^s Chronicle.

Evaporation ox the Farm. — It has been
calculated, that from an acre of ground, during
twelve hours of a summer day, more than six-
teen hundred gallons of water have been drawn
up into the air in the form of vapor. — Dr. Dick.

New Use for Cats. — A correspondent of
Land and Water writes : " It often appears to
me that people for the most iiart are not aware
of the great usu cats are to us. Of course, we
know of their use with respect to mice and rats,
but do we generarliy know of the invaluable help
they can give us in protecting from birds our
garden fruit and flowers ? The lale heavy rains
this spring have given us the promise of abun-
dance of Strawberries, and in the south, at least,
the bloom is magnificent. To keep off the birds
how simple, how certain, how small is the cost
of a cat on a small chain sliding on a wire, and
giving the animal the walk up and down the
whole length of the Strawberry beds. A knot
at each end of the wire readily prevents the cat
from twisting round the post which supports the
wire, and a small kennel placed in the middle of
the walk aflbrds her a shelter and a home for her

kittens. In large gardens a second cat is requi-
red ; and the young ones in their frequent visits
to each other greatly assist in scaring away the
birds. I have for more than thirty years used,
and seen used with perfect success", this easy
method of protecting fruit, and the very same
plan is equally good in keeping hares and rabbits
off flower beds. After the first few days cats in
no way dislike this partial restraint, and when
set quite free, after a few weeks' watching, they
will of their own accord continue on guard. The
kittens, more especially, attach themselves to
this garden occupation, and of their own ac-
cord become the gardener's best allies."

The Best Roses at the Loxdon Horti-
cultural Society Show.— In class 43, Mr. B.
R. Cant is first with 48 superb cut Roses, of large
size and full substance. The following were
extra fine : Mdlle. E. Yerdier, Marquis de
Mortemart, a beautiful white Rose ; Horace
Vernet, Barronne de Frailly, salmon pink, very
fine ; Marie Baumann, Duke of Wellington,
Black Prince, Elie Morel, Marguerite de St.
Amand, Ferdinand de Lesseps, Antoine Ducher,
Abel Grand, Prince Camille de Rohan, Fisher
Holmes, Mons. ISToman, Beauty of Waltham,
and Mdlle. Therese Levet, all hybrid perpetuals.
The following Tea Roses were also good : Murc-
chal Xiel, Souvenir d' Elise, La Boule d"Or, i
Souvenir d'un Ami, and Rubens. Messrs. Paul
& Son, Cheshuut, were second, with Oliver Del-
homme, Madame Laurent, Marie Baumann,
Paul Yerdier, Xavier Olibo, August Newman,
Francois Louvat, Alfred Colomb, Beauty of
Waltham, General Jacqueminot, Duo de Rohan,
Dupuy Jamain, Marie Rady, Souvenir d' Elise
Yardon, and Marie Yan Houtte, very fine, the
two la^t named being Tea-scented varieties.

About Glass.— A correspondent of Garden-
er''s Chronicle says : On wading through the sea
of mud and water that has flooded the imple-
ment department of the great show of the Royal
Horticultural Society at Birmingham during the
early part of the past week, one could not but
note how busy and active the spirit of change
was among our horticultural buildings ; year
after year— one might write generation after
generation— hothouses continued as they were.
The price of glass arrested the spirit of change,
it was pre-eminently a thing to be touched as
lightly and handled as carefully as possible ;
give it a rafter like a roof-beam or sash-bar like

^86

THE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJ^TELY. September,

the girders of a ship, putty enough to bed a brick
securely, lest by any means the glass should slip
or be taken to pieces. The primary object was
to save your glass. Use it you may, said the
whole structure arrangements of glasshouses,
but preserve it you musf. That was the old
saw^ now superseded by the new thought of how
to turn glass to best account ; hence all sorts of
contrivances, good, bad, and indifferent, but
mostly good, to turn glass to better purpose and
apply it to new uses The Crystal Palace gave
a wonderful enlargement to our ideas concerning
the capacity of glass. Notliing could be too
great for it to accomplish. The roofing in of
large areas was the one thing thought of. Now
the current has fairly set in the opposite direc-
tion. True, we build more and larger houses
than ever, but every builder has likewise his
handy contrivances for everybody and every-
thing. This is well illustrated at this exhibition.
Each end of the show of houses is flanked with
gmal! sections or houses of small size, distin-
guished by more or less novelty. Invention is
busiest on this tack. But then these small
houses grow. We have also a capital illustra-
tion of this truth here. When they first appear-
ed at these provincial shows, the houses of Mr.
Thomas Bickly, of Moseley, Birmingham, were
gmall and far from perfect ; but now they have
grown into fine houses of all forms and sizes.
Possibly a similar career of usefulness awaits the
new sash-bar for house btdlding or skylights ex
hibited by Mr. Warren Sharman, of Melton
Mowbray. It is an ingenious application of zinc
and glass to cover as much of the wood as possi-
ble. At the other end of the exhibition, Mr.
Parker, of Bath, shows his patent channeled
rafter applied to the glazing of glass walls, small
houses, frames, »fec. All drip and rain finds its
way into these channels, and from thence into
the water-trough. The glass is laid on the raised
side of the rafter, and kept in position by cover-
ing bars of the same length, and the latter are
kept firm by the use of elastic steel springs,
fastened down with brass nuts. These springs
are said to be sufficiently elastic to prevent the
two iron surfaces from breaking the glass. This
differs from Beard's patent only in the channeled
rafter, the dispensing with I'elt or other elastic
buffer between the iron and glass, and the em-
ployment of the steel spring fastenings.

lately obtained by a nurseryman at Toulouse,
who has disposed of his stock to M. Boucharlat,
of Lyons. The plant in question is a sport from
Beauty — a single flowered white variety with a
pale flesh colored centre.

The J?ei'ue Hm-ticle announces the appear-
ance of a Double White Zonal Pelargonium,

The Fall of the Leaf.— Is explained by
De Candolle thus : The increase of the leaves
both in width and length, that is, their full ex-
pansion, is generally a rapid process ; for a time
the leaves exercise their varied functions, but all
this while the process of denudation is silently
going on. They exhale perfectly pure water,
and retain in there tissues the earthy matter
carried up by the sap ; and in consequence of
this the vessels harden and the pores become ob-
structed ; this goes on during the season of their
growth, and, according as evaporation is more
or less active, so are the leaves approaching the
limit of their existence ; they gradually dry up
and die. But this death of the leaves must not
be confounded with their falling, for the two
processes are distinct ; the death of the leaves
results from the choking up of their vessels ;
they then change color, cease to decompose car-
bonic acid and absorb oxygen, become unhealthy,
and die ; but the living tissue at their base still
continues to increase in size, and thus the dead
or dying leaves are, as it were, forced outwards
and thrown off. Du Petit Thouars gives another
explanation : " If," he says, " we watch the pro-
gress of a tree, we shall perceive that the lowest
leaves fall first ;" and this he explains thus :
"The base of every leaf reposes on the pith of
the branch, to the sheath of which it is attached ;
but as the branch increases in diameter by ac-
quiring new wood, the space between the base
of each leaf and the pith becomes sensibly aug-
mented ; and, in consequence, the fibres, by
which the leaves were connected with the pith,
must have necessarily lengthened, iu order to
admit the deposition of wood between the bark
and the pith ; the bundle of fibres being at first
composed of spiral vessels only, it is easy to con-
ceive that they will be susceptible of elongation
by unrolling. The time will, however, arrive
when these vessels, being entirely unrolled, are
incapable of further elongation, and they will
therefore, by the force of vegetation, be stretched
until they snap ; when this takes place, the com-
munication between the branch and the leaves
will be destroyed, and they will necessarily fall
off."

1872.

THE GARDE JfER'S MOJ^THLY.

287

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

Liverpool, July 25th.
Strangers arriving here should not forget to
cross the Mersey to Birkenhead, see the town
and the Park. They must not expect to see
New York Central Park with its floral treasures
and architectural adornments, but a plain, com- |
mon-sense park, just adapted to the wants of the j
people. There is an air of rural and pastoral |
quietude about it, with its sheep and kine re-
posing or quietly grazing and fattening on its
rich herbage. I called on Mr. Kemp, who still
has the supervision, but unfortunately he was
out, but I was amply repaid by a peep at his
house and garden. Out of the drawing-room
window you look on a little lawn, not more than
the eighth of an acre, with five or six small cir-
cular beds cut in the turf; but in that confined
space what a blaze of beauty ! The calceolarias,
lobelias, tropoeolums, scarlet geraniums, &c.,
sparkled and seemed almost to dance with de-
light as they basked in the sunshine on that rich
green velvety turf. Very little alteration has
been made in the park since I saw it last in 1851,
but the trees and shrubs which then you counted
by inches you must now count by feet and yai'ds.
Called on Mr. Skirving, had quite a chat with
him. He is a fine hale hearty old gentleman.
He was in trouble about his turnip seed crop.
They are in the midst of the harvest now, and it
is rain, rain, rain — he expects to lose half the
crop. I inquired what quantity he raised, he
said they had grown as much as four or five
thousand bushels, but not so much this year. I
told him the losses we had sustained in the nor-
thern States the past winter. He said he could
sympathize with us, as in 1860 he lost in one
night about £3,000 (^lo.OOOj, chiefiy in ever-
greens. It discouraged him, though it may oc-
cur again ; and in a good many of the quarters
where they grew those fine deodars, auracarias,
&c., you will now see cabbage, turnips, &c.,
planted for seed. The best collection of hollies
in the country, I presume, is here. They have
about fifty varieties, at least half are quite dis-
tinct ; they range from one foot to fifteen or
eighteen, perfect specimens. Cryptomeria ele-
gans I saw here for the first time ; but the finest
tree in the whole nursery is a large specimen of
the variegated turkey oak. Is this hardy with
you ? If it is you cannot propagate too much of

it. In another decade this nursery will be a
thing of the past, as the town is built close up to
it. There is one thing American nurserymen
would profit by if you would adopt it, i e. plant
more evergreen hedges for shelter round the
tender things in nursery quarters.

Merediths Nursery, the 'Vineyards," Gars-
ton forty minutes by " bus," is well worthy avis-
it from grape growers. About ten span roof
houses, from forty to one hundred feet. Bulk of
varieties grown : Black Hamburg, Muscat of
Alexandria, Lady Downes and Barbarrosa price
per lb. just now, 5s. {%\ 25.) The finest house
of Muscats I ever saw is here. Mr. M. intends
sending over to your Pomological or some other
exhibition, a few bunches for competition ; if he
does you will have to look out for your laurels,
as he will have bunches of Hamburghs and Mus-
cats by the 1st of September, that will go over
four pounds. My opinion is the same now as it
was when here (in England) last, twenty-one
years ago, that the way to grow grapes to per-
fection is to grow them in separate houses. They
have some splendid young plants in three gallon
pots, $5.00 each for fruiting, next year intend
them to carry from eight to twelve bunches.
Nothing striking in the plant line except Dracae-
na regince and Maranta Veitchii, both fine.
Price of Draccena, about $15. 00. Saw some good
Pansies here for this season — Viola cornuta,
Clevedon yellow Magpie, probably Mr. Dreer
has them, if not tell him to get them, as they
stand the heat well.

Liverpool botanic gardens must not pass un-
noticed, if it is only to see and admire the per-
fect order in which they are kept. I have never
seen public or private gardens in better keeping
Twenty minutes from the centre of the town.
Steam-car two cents, walk after, ten minutes ;
entrance on foot through Wavertree Park. In
entering, (being very level ground), there are low
mounds raised up like Birkenhead Park, the
first thing that arrests the attention is several
small circular beds about four feet iu diameter,
filled with Echeverias, four or five varieties in a
bed ; and these beds are perfect gems. Take a
centre plant one foot high, and grade them down
to the outer edge to a row of the tiny ones not
an inch high ; then they are arranged in pat-
terns (tlic plants), some stars, some circles,

^88

THE GARBEJ^ER'!S MOJYTMLY. September,

others segments of circles, they thus form a very
striking and unique feature ; and in your climate
you can adapt them to the same purpose for rock
work, &c. Pass on and here are some fine
masses of the Furze, \Ules Europoea), beds of
Gaultheria shallon, hardy Ericas, Epimediums,
&c. On the left a fine mass of Hollies, plain and
variegated, twenty-five feet high, faced with a
thick belt of the Scotch broom The botanical
arrangement of the hardy plants is very conve-
nient ; they are planted in groups under the
outer wall in classes and orders, with a belt of
grass between the walk and the beds and bor-
ders.

Among many other hardy herbaceous plants,
I noticed Digitahs macrantha, (a very distinct
sport), Viola lutea grandifiora, Saxifraga incrus-
trata, Saxifraga aizoon compacts, Astrantia car-
niola, Pulraonaria macrantha. Convolvulus
pubescens, Plantago major rosea, (fine), ditto
P. serpentinus ; also a most remarkable looking
plant, Hablitzia tamnoides, with flower spikes
of greenish white flowers, five or six feet long.

Passing through the houses, saw one or two j
plants of Caladium Lowii, (beautiful). Begonia j
Pearceii, (yellow), ditto Chelsonii, (good), Hy-
menoides crinitura, (curious). Among the Cacti,
Mammillaria rhodantha sulphurea : Haworthia
tessellata. Aloe planifolia, Gasteria angulosa,
Opuntia carasavica. Ferns : Nipholobus lingua.

Polystichium Veitchi venustum, Scolopendrium,
several distinct varieties of officinarum Lepi-
cystus sepulata. Hopolepsis vaccinifolia and
Anapetes Lycopodioides, two good trailing
plants for rustic stands and baskets. Eranthe-
mum tuberculatum, white, (good florist's plant),
also some fine plants of Pancratium grandiflo-
rum.

What surprised me most there was the extent
and beauty of the flower garden. There are two
or three strips, three or four hundred feet long,
and fifty wide, with scores of different shaped
beds blazing with bloom. These beds are in
sunken panels, or rather the beds are raised up
a foot high, with belts of turf fifteen inches wide
at the top ; the pathways, all in grass, from two
to three feet wide, with a broad gravel walk pas-
sing round the whole— the effect is charming.
There is a museum and small library. The cu-
rator was out, so I did not see the herbarium.
Among the books, I noticed the Botanical Ma-
gazine, (92 Vols ), BotanicalCabinet, (19 Vols.),
English Botany, (36 Vols.), with four large sup-
plements, De CondoUe's Prodromus Systematis
Natuluris, (U Vols.)

This garden contains about eleven acres ; they
are the property of, and are maintained by the
Liverpool Corporation,which deserves the highest
credit for the liberal manner in which they are
endowed and maintained. J. W. W.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNA. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The annual exhibition of the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society is to be held at Horticul-
tural Hall, Philadelphia, from September 17th
to 20th. This is always a sort of gala time with
horticulturists all through the Union who meet
here and exchange gratulations. The premiums
are larger in amount than heretofore, while the
"glory'' of exhibiting before ten thousand Phila-
delphians who are interested in fruits and flowers,
always attracts even those who look on exhibi-
tions from a mere advertising point of view. We
tinderstand that Kansas intends to stir up the hor-
ticultural lion again with her majestic fruits ;
but she is not to try it alone this time. The
" Northern Pacific" promises to contest with
her. Nebraska might do it, but is probably too
sleepy to wake up to the importance of the task.

She somewhat astonished herself by her success
at Richmond, and will probably rest satisfied
with this single laurel leaf.

Since the above was in type, we learn that
there will probably be no annual exhibition this
year. Large as the great hall is the contributions
pour in from all parts of the country, and the'
concourse of visitors is so large, — on some occa-
sions nearly ten thousand a day, that the mana-
gers have determined to double the capacity of
the building.

Latest. — As we go to press, we learn that the
Society has just decided to hold the Exhibition
on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th of October.

WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULL SOCIETY
Is to hold iis annual meeting at Milwaukee on
23-27 Septtinber. Many liberal premiums are
offered for fruits autl flowers.

rSlttClAlflSSOh urH.fHiir

BXOOD-LEAYED PEACH.

El ojfivco sxPKtSSLf fanrst a*i>ofS£KS monthly

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

r

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. OCTOBER, 1872. New Series, Vol. V. No. 10.

HINTS EOH OCTOBER.

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

A friend, recently returnecl from Europe,
which, for the first time in his life he has visit-
ed, says he is almost ashamed to use the word
flowers again after what he has seen in the
whole world the past season. But our friend
should not lose heart. The love of flowers is as-
suredly growing with us, and will continue to
grow as we learn how great is the pleasure which
their culture affords.

There is probably no branch of gardening
more pleasing than that which embraces hardy
bulbs. They come into flower so early, and
grow with so little care, that every one may
grow them at a small cost. Of those which
maybe planted this month are Hyacinths, Tulips,
Crocus, Narcissus, Japan Lilies, Anemones,
Banunculus, Crown Imperials, Snowdrops —
among the better known varieties. All of these
prefer a soil that is rich and not dry, but by no
means a wet soil. The Tulip, Anemone and Ra-
nunculus will do better in a dryer soil than the
others ; but the two last do not do well where
the sun will shine directly on them' when in
flower. In planting these in the flower beds, it
is well to set them so that spring-planted flowers
for summer bedding can go between them.
Where some loose litter can be had, it may be
used to cover the bulb ground with. It prevents
thawing of the soil till the warm spring rain
comes ; and we presume our readers know that
it is the repeated thawing which "draw" the
roots of things out in the late winter months,
and leave them bare to the sun, and to their
great injury.

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
position in the flowerbed.

Many persons complain that they cannot get
the Pansy to produce flowers as handsome as
they see them represented in seedsmen's plates ;
but it is because they are not sown early enough.
If not already done, sow them at once,— if they
can have the protection of a cold frame all the
better. These cold frames are very useful in
small flower gardens. There are many little
things pretty hardy, but which are much better
with this protection Many people have much
difficulty in keeping over choice kinds of roses,
such as Teas, Chinas and Bourbons. But if
these are lifted from the ground early in Octo-
ber and set thickly in a cold frame, they can
generally be kept very well. It is not so much
the degree of frost which injures them, as it is
the drying influence of the frost ; and the frame
aids in the prevention of evaporation. We know
of a rose grower who keeps the tenderest of roses
in pots in a house without any fire, though the
temperature outside goes below zero, and the
roses are frozen solid most of the winter. But
he waters as reiiularly as through the summer,
as the frost dries so. lie finds even the tender-
est to get through the winter in this house as
well as if there were no frost.

Summer flower bulbs must be taken up at
once for winter protection. A cellar, secur*
from frost, is the best place. Here Caladiums,
Tuberoses, Gladiolus, Tritomas, Dahlias, Tigri-

wo

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TRL^,

October^

dias and similar things, which do not like frost,
may be preserved. The Pampas grass may also
be kept in a cellar, if fitted into a tub or large
pot, and not kept too warm or wet. Usually
they will keep out of doors if dry leaves be put
thickly over them, and a box put over to keep
the leaves dry ; but many were lost in this way
last winter. ^

Tree seeds should be either sown or prepared
for sowing in the fall. Hard shell seeds require
time to soften their coats, or they will lie over a
year in the ground. It used to be popular to
mix with boxes of sand ; but unless there be
Tery few seeds to a very large quantity of sand,
the heat given out, though perhaps imperceptible
to us, is sufficient to generate fungus which will
destroy the seed. It is much better to soak the
seeds in water, and then dry just enough to keep
from moulding, and as cool as possible all win-
ter. This is a much safer plan than sand. In

is American autumn scenery. It is a good ex-
ercise to observe the various tints of the fading
leaves at this season with the view of reproduc-
ing unique effects on our grounds. Little of this
has been attempted by our garden artists on any
very tasteful scale. Our friends visit Europe
and are astonished at the extent of floral art as
developed in summer gai'dening ; but our sum-
mers are too hot to enjoy this kind of gardening
very much if we had it. But we might make a
glorious thing of American Autumn Gardening
if we were to turn our attention specially to that,
and it would come at a season when we could
heartily enjoy it.

In planting trees or shrubs, be sure to press
firmly in the ground. The heel is not force
enough. We urge a good pounding. People
often fear to bruise roots by this hammering
process ; but there is much more danger from a
too loose soil. In a recent issue we advised to

States where the frosts are severe, seedlings of plant deeper or shallower according as a root

all kinds that have not attained a greater height
than six inches, should be taken up, "laid in'' in
a sheltered place thickly, and covered with any
thing that will keep frozen through the winter.
If left out, they are liable to be drawn out and
destroyed. Young seedling stock received from
a distance, should be also so treated. In the
more Southern States they may be set out at
once, — and as much planting as possible be ac-
complished that will save spring work. Many
cuttings will not do well unless taken off at this
season and laid in the ground under protection,
like seedlings, — the quince, syringas or lilacs,
spirffia prunitolia, and some others. In the
" mild winter States,'' evergreen cuttings should
be made now, and set out thickly in rows. The
leaves need not be taken off, but short, thick-set
branches laid in under the soil. When rooted
next fall they may be taken up and divided into
separate plants. In more Northern States, ever-
greens may not be so struck at this season, un-
less protected by greenhouses and frames. Where ' for this purpose : Bouvardia leiantha, Calla
these are at hand, evergreens may be put in, in I Ethiopica, Cestrumaurantiacum, Ilabrothamnus
boxes or pans all through the winter. ! elegans, Chorozema varium, Chinese Primroses,

All trees transplanted in the fall should be I especially the double white. Daphne Indica,

might be woody or fibrous, and especially re-
ferred to those things with hair like roots, such
as rhododendr'ins or azaleas, which should be
rather set a little above than a little below the
roots. The Country Oenthman, quoting this,
remarks that the depth should also be varied
with the nature of the toil. The correction i3
well timed. The heavier, and the wetter the
soil, the more near the surface should all things
be planted.

4*«*»

GREENHOUSE.
The taste for cut flowers is considerably in-
creasing, and one of the greatest demands on a
greenhouse in winter, is from the best I alf of
the head of the household for room and table
decorations. Beautiful specimen plants .are not
so highly valued as those which will aflbrd plenty
of bloom for cutting. The various kinds of zo-
nale geraniums are very good for this purpose.
The following also comprises very useful plants

pruned considerably. The experience of the
past winter taught that in all cases such trees
wintered better than those n<)t shortened in.
There may be some cases where so much of the

Poinsetta puleherrima. Euphorbia splendens,
Heliotrope, Mignonette, Sweet alyssium, Catalo-
nian jasmine. Yellow Jasmine, Mahernia odora-
ta, Stevia serrata, Violets, Roses, Cinerariap,

root-mass has been saved that a shortening is ' and Brompton stocks. Tuberoses that flower

not absolutely necessary ; but still there will be j late may be carefully taken up and potted, and

found a benefit to result from it. will last till over Christmas ; and many things

One of the most charming things in the W( rW may be taken out of the ground and slightly

187'^.

THE QARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

291

forced. The common white Lily is good for this
purpose ; also Deutzias, Pliiladelphuses, and
Tamarix. The common green Euonymus japon-
icus, is also worth potting to make a lively green
for mixing with other things.

In taking up things from the ground for pot-
ting, care should be taken to have the pots well
drained, with pieces of potsherds over the hole.
The more rapidly water passes through the soil
the better plants will grow. Pots could be made
without holes, and the water would all go
through the porous sides in time ; but that is too
slow a way, so we make a hole to admit of its
more rapid escape, and we place the broken pots
over the hole to make a vacuum, which assists
the objects of the hole. In very small pots, or
with plants which have strong enough roots to
rapidly absorb all the moisture they get, and
speedily ask for more, " crocking " is not neces-
sary.

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 placed at
once. Four or five inch pots are suitable. One
Hyacinth and about three Tulips are suflBcient
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 bringing
tbem on to the shelves to force.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Lettuces sown last month will now be large
enough to set out for permanent growth. A
common hot-bed frame, set on a bed of leaves or
spent stable manure, will enable one to enjoy
delicious salad all through the latter part of
winter, where sufficient protection against se-
vere frosts can be secured. In this division of
our Hints, it is more of an object to preserve
them through the winter for the purpose of set-
ting out in the open air in spring. In the
States this can be readily effected by their being
set out in the open air in a sheltered place. Here
in Pennsylvania they often do very well by hav-
ing the ground thrown into ridges about six
inches deep, running east and west, and the
plants set out on the northern sides. They have

a little straw thrown over them in severe
weather, and get through the winter admirably,
heading early in spring. The Early York Cab-
bage is extensively grown the same way. Where
the climate is too severe to allow of this, they
must be put under cover of shutters, as before
described in our Hints.

Cabbages can be preserved in such a cellar,
though most prefer them in the open air. One
way is to pack them closely together with their
roots uppermost, and then cover them with soil,
on which straw or litter is thrown to keep them
from freezing. By being packed this way, the
water cannot get into the hearts, which is one of
the chief causes of their rotting. Where plenty
of boards can be had, they may be packed with
their heads uppermost, and the rain kept off by
the material.

Brocoli and Endive may be taken up with
balls of earth, and set in cool cellars closely to
gether, and they will grow sufficiently — the
fcrmor to produce good head, and the latter to
blanch beautifully all through the winter.

Asparagus beds should be cleaned, by having
the old stems cut oflT and the soils from the alley
ways dug out and thrown over beds. It keeps
the frost from the roots, and thus permits
them to grow and lay up matter all winter for
next spring's growth. Very early in spi'ing the
soil should be raked back into the alleys, so as
to leave the roots but a few inches under the
soil, as the nearer they are then to the sun's
rays the earlier will the crop be.

Celery must have continued attention to
blanching as it grows, care being exercised to
prevent the soil from entering the heart. Where
very fine results are desired, the plants should
be protected from early severe frosts, so as ta
enable the plants to grow without injury as long
as possible.

Roots of most kinds, such as Carrots, Beets,
etc., should be taken up before the frost is severe.
They all keep best packed in sand in the open
air, but it is too inconvenient to get at them in
winter ; hence cellars are employed to preserve
them in. Cellars for this purpose should be cool,
say with temperature of about 45^, nnd not all
dry. It is not meant that it should be damp, as
the roots will become rotten, but it must be
moist enough to prevent shriveling.

However, if any protection can be given so as
to enable one to get at the pit in frosty weather,
most things keep better so than in any way.
Celery keeps very well packed in earth, so that

29.

THE GARDEJ^'ER'S MOJ^TELY.

October,

the frost does not get at it ; but it must be laid
with the tops sloping, so that the water may be
kept out of the heart.

FRUIT GARDEN.

"We may, perhaps, repeat the advice to plant
considerably more fruit trees together on the
game 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
prefer to keep the surface soil clear ; as the in-
tense heat reflected from bare soil is one of the
great sources of disease in young trees. It
might be well to introduce nurse trees into
orchards, to obviate this somewhat Alders,
Poplars or "Willows, might, we think, be used to
advantage ; of course, cutting them away before
they grew large enough to interfere with the
roots of the fruit trees. A dry, warm bottom,
Tiut cool srurface 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
unless the food has been kept up by a liberal
supply of manure, there will be many weak and
exhausted trees, and short crops next season.
We prefer to manure in such cases as these in
midsummer. 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
growing. Whenever this has not been done,
matter for a surface dressing should be got
ready during autumn and winter. ]^[uch injury
has been done to fruit culture by the expressed
dread some cultivators have of a "too rank
growth,'' and a consequent ajjvice not to
manure. A fruit tree never suffers from too

1 much manure, if the roots are healthy. If a
tree seems to suffer after a heavy manuring, it
I 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
I mass of food under a tree, it would suffer ; but
, our meaning is that no amount of manure that
, would be found of benefit to any regular garden,
I will be otherwise than beneficial to a fruit tree,
I if the roots he healthy.

j Many trees suffer from the scale insects, as
j well as from many other minute animal forms,
j some of which take up their winter quarters in
I some form or another in crevices of the bark, or
j in the crotches of the trees There is nothing
i which "pays " better than to have these trees
washed in the winter with a compound of sul-
phur and whitewash, colored with anything
which may be desirable, so as to make a shade
agreeable to the eye. Many ot the small twigs
in a badly infested tree may be cut away, so as
the better to cover with the mixture the parts
which are left.

In regard to pruning, many recommend to
defer it till spring, in order to see what may be
killed in the winter before cutting away much.
Many trees are pruned which do not need any
cutting, but where it is necessary we should
operate as soon as possible after the fall of the
leaf There is less danger of any part of the
tree dying in the winter, when it is autumn or
early winter pruned. This is particularly the
case with the grape vine, unless the plant has
been badly mildewed during the growing season,
in which case the wood does not mature
There is no better way to save from winter
killing than vigorous fall pruning.

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

"DODD'S MARY."

BY MR. T. HARDING, KONANTUM HH-L,
BRIGHTON, MASS.

"Have you seen Dodd's Mary?" was a per-
tinent query among " the ancient gentlemen who
hold up Adam's profession " in England, some
forty years ago. I have no doubt, Mr. Editor,
but what you have ; and remember " her endear-
ing young charms," as well as your correspond-
ent does." However that may be, I nevertheless

have seen the vertiable Dodd's Mary, then "in the
pride of youth and beauty ;'' note " all faded and
gone." I was then a youthful aspirant for Flo-
ricultural fame ; a hopeful tyro in the art of
Horticulture, when my preceptor started me off
one bright May morning, with half a guinea in
my pocket, in quest of the subject of this letter.
The distance I had to walk was some eighteen
or twenty miles, to a nursery near Leeds, in
Yorkshire. I well remember the kind hearted

1672.

THE GARDEJSTEIt'S MOJ^TRLY.

99S

proprietor enquiring how far I had come, and
asked if I was not hungry and fatigued, I be-
lieve I confessed to feeling a Utile so. At any
rate I breakfasted with Mr. Major, his family,
and Miss Mary Dodd, who was then on a visit
there.

With a face beaming with good nature, Mr.
Major addressed the young lady, saying "the
young lad who was seated with them had come
to buy Mary Dodd, or Dodd's Marj, one or the
other, and for which half a guinea was offered.''
With a ready appropos she replied that " the sum
named was a fair equivalent for Dodd's Mary,
but would not buy Mary Dodd, who was a jewel
beyond price." So it was decided that the other
Mary was the one on sale ; which was duly
bought and paid for. After carefully packing
up, we started off towards home. "All's well
that ends well," is a trite aphorism. And so
far all seemed to have gone well, as we journey-
ed onwards, Dodd's Mary and I.

It was my misfortune to overtake a (so called)
" Mammoth Circus company,'' which had halted
at a roadside tavern "to dress," and refresh
themselves with copious libations of gin and ale,
so as to make a "grand and imposing display"
on entering the little town in the distance. I, of
course, boy like, waited until the 'brilliant and
gorgeous spectacle " was ready to advance, and
keeping pace with the " immense cavalcade,"
witnessed the " triumphal entry" of the " talent-
ed troupe of world renowned artists," on their
"richly caparisoned and highly trained steeds."
I kept pretty close to " Mr. Merryman, the fun-
poking clown,'' who with a face as funny as
Grimaldi's, was mouthing and mimicking, with
all the strange facial grimaces, "from grave to
gay" that the most accomplished of "merry An-
drew's " was capable of.

'' From windows lassies loolsed a score.
And neighbors met at every doore "

to enjoy the passing fun, as now and again " the
great buffoon " gratuitously treated the gather-
ing crowd to several " feats of agility," such as
"throwing lofty somersaults and flip-flaps on
his bare-backed horse.''

Mounted on a milk white steed was " a maid
in all her charms,'' in the assumed character of
"Lady Godiva,'' and who seemed so beautiful and
fair, that I innocently wondered whether 8h«
was really a woman or an angel. Al.is ! poor
mortal, as she proved to be, she fell from her
horse; "drunk as a lord," somebod}' said.
Poor Lady Godiva," how I pitied her, as the

"gay Cavaliers " dismounted frem their pranc-
ing steeds, and " rushed to the rescue." As " the
gallant knights " charged through the ranks of
gaping rustics, we, Dodd's Mary and I, were
jostled and tumbled together with the prostrate
"Lady Godira."

During the "rough and tumble "time which
followed, I had tenaciously held on to my charge,
until a clod-hopper's hob nailed boots crushed
the hand that vainly strove to save from danger,
the much prized Dodd's Mary, who was liter-
ally severed in two. In less time than I have
occupied in telling the troubles that befel us,
I was outside the crowd, shedding tears either
from the pain of my lacerated hand, or sorrow
at the sight of the poor mutilated Dodd's Mary.
In the meantime the fallen, though fair daugh-
ter of Eve, alias Lady Godiva ; or my " angel in
muslin," had changed her role ; was transformed
to " the queen of beauty,'' and seated on the top
of "the golden chariot," among the musicians ;
looked none the worse for the fall, but if possible,
seemed more imperiously beautiful still. In a
short time the cavalcade moved on to the sound
of "music's soothing strains," while I was left
lamenting. With a heavy heart, I made the
best of my way home, and there " poured forth
a sorrowful tale." On examining the condition
of the tender one, whose existence was in
jeopardy, I was pleased to hear them pronounce
the case not so bad after all, it might have been
worse; for "while there was life, there was
hope," and that with care and good nursing all
would be well again. Such a favorable report
seemed to act upon my saddened feeliugs like
mercury in the sun, which rapidly rose up from
the zero line to the one hundreth degree of hap-
piness again.

Such, good readers, was my rather strange
and ludicrous adventure with the subject of this
letter, "when we were first acquaint." My
protege was soon convalescent again, and in-
creased in comeliness of form and stature every
day. We watched our tender charge with every
promise of soon realizing in the budding beauty,
all the charms of matured loveliness which were
about to unfold. In due time, like a peerless
flower, as she undoubtedly was, her unrivalled
charms seemed to fascinate all who beheld her
matchless beauty. I well remember how delight-
ed I was with the sight of the first open flower,
which was a marvel in those days. Floriculture
has made rapid strides in the march of improve-
ment since then, with Dahlias especially.

^9J^.

TEE GARDEN EU'S MOJ^TEL^,

October

Horticultural Exhibitions, or Flower Shows,
as tliey were generally called, were not so grand
as now. The Dahlia at the time of which I
write, was one of the chief obji cts which engaged
the attention of both professional and amateur
growers, and contributed most to the floral dis-
play's of the country shows of that period. Re-
collection goes back to the time when single and
Bemi-double Dahlia flowers were exhibited and
obtained premiums. A single variety, the Para-
gou by name, was to be seen in every goodi. col-
lection.

Perhaps the readers will smile at the simple
tastes of our fore fathers in gardening in those
days but let me add one word in testimony of
the merits of the Paragon. Of all the single
flowers of its kiud, it was true to name. It was
a paragon in every sense of the word, and I
think should not be despised at this day. The
color of its evenly formed long pointed petals,
vliich radiated from a golden centre, {bulinn-
eyed they were afterwards called, from the sup-
posed resemblance they bore to a brass button)
were dark purple, margined with a lighter shade,
and was really a pretty flower. Sulphurea Ele-
gans, a large shairgy kind, was the best of the
yellows, (would be considered the worst now.)
Mary, Queen of Scotts, a small lilac colored
kind, and like her namesake, had some preten-
tions to beauty. Jone's Diogenes was a scarlet
wonder, while Anemonseflora was a small, passa-
ble purple flower, and somewhat resembled an
Anemone Queen of the Whites was by no
means so queenly a flower as her name would in-
fer ; semi-double, with long compressed petals.
Beauty of Ackworth, was a flaming scarlet,
with a full centre, was showy and pretty good.
The Queen of Sheba, in royal purple, was a
regal flower, while William a,nd Adelaide, a kind
of floral sport, was the wonder of the day, " ha v
iug flowers of two colors on one stem," as the
catalogues informed the public. The Florist's
Delight was curious, if not delightful with its
fawn, straw, buff", and yellow shaded flowers,
vide catalogue of 1831-2. Wells's Ecllpe was
a much better flower, and certainly eclipsed all
the foregoing kinds, until Springfield Rival, a
handsomely formed dark purple, well cupped
flower, outrivalled all its competitors. But the
great marvel of the day was the floral phenome-
non, Dodd's Mary, whose exquisite beauty over-
shadowed all her predecessors.

A deep cicatrice on my right hand from "the
honorable wound " I received, when 1 shed my

blood in defending Dodd's Mary, remains to re-
mind me of the time when Dahlias were "all
the go" in times gone by. Turning back the
leaves of memory, the mind's eye plainly sees a
Dahlia show, held in a country town in England,
in the year of grace, 1831, where the above
named varieties were exhibited, and the first
premium was awarded for the twelve best flow-
ers to my instructor in horticulture ; and the
first also, for a single specimen of Dodd's Mary.
If the readers will look back to page 37 of the
Gardener's Moyithly, for the year 1872, they will
see a description I gave of a flower show in 1830,
and the day's doings therein recorded, were in
a measure somewhat similar (omitting the sing-
ing match between Larks and Canaries) to the
one when Dodd's Mary made her successful
debut in that section. Somehow it seems as if
the glory of the Dahlia had departed since then,
from some cause or other, and the old style
gardeners also, venerable and honored as they
were, have nearly all crossed the boundary line
of life, and passed onwards through the open
gates of Eden, where the ever-blooming Ama-
ranths neither wither nor fade.

MONSTER A DELICI03A.

BY MR. W. BURNETT, NEWPORT, B. I.

I see G. A. H. has searched in all the Ameri-
can catalogues without finding the name. I very
much question if he can find it under that name
in the English catalogues. Philodendron per-
tusum* undoubtedly is the correct name of the
plant. From Phileo to love, and dendrun a tree,
referring to habits of plants growing on trees.
Monstera dcliciosa, a name it received some
years after its introduction into the Royal Bo-
tanic Gardens, Kew, I believe, on account of its
large delicious fruit, which is nearl}' two feet
long, with perfume and flavor much resembling
the pine-apple. It requires some skill to fruit it.
I fruited a plant of it previous to coming to this
country ; I believe that was the third plant
fruited in England It is a large rambling plant,
requiring plenty of room.

RAMBLING NOTES.

BY ISAAC HICKS, L. I.
AVniTE SPRUCE.

As it is well known that nurserymen mast
conform the trees they cultivate to the demand
for sale, perhaps we had better invite the atten-

* Excuse me, TSIr. Editor, pertusum, not }}erfuomim^

1H72.

THE GARDENER'S MOJfTELY.

295

tion of tree planters to the value of the White
Spruce. Most of the Norway's that I have seen
when they arrive at the age of thirty years, and
often less, become much deformed by the con-
tinued breaking off of the small twigs by ice and
snow from the larger branches, leaving their
arms naked and unsightly. But in my observa-
tion 1 have not found this to be the case with the
White Spruce. I consider a perfectly formed
White Spruce from twenty to thirty feet high as
among the most beautiful evergreen trees we
have. Their compact growth and dark green
foliage as we often see them on rising ground, in-
terspersed wi'h those of a lighter shade, make a
truly pleasing effect ; and they can be kept
trimmed by annual shearing into any desirable
shape, and scarcely anything is more picturesque
than to see the young growth in graceful pen-
dant outline around it.

HARDY TREES FOR THE SEASIDE.

I believe there is no evergreen equal to the
Austrian Pine to withstand the force of high
winds and the sea air. They laugh at the win-
ter's cold, the salt air effects them but little, and
the summer's heat they regard not when they
are once comfortably settled in their homes. The
Balsam Poplar, or Balm of Gilead, will grow
near the ocean's brink, and so does the Cork
bark Dutch Elm with us on Long Island.

FLOWERING SHRUBS.

We may look the largest catalogue over of the
nurserymen and we will scarce find any bush
prettier than the Azalia nudiflora, or Wild
Honeysuckle, and they are so plenty and widely
diffused it is a wonder they are not more cultiva-
ted. If we will take them up, and the same re-
mark applies to the common broad-leaf Laurel,
and cut them to the ground, we have found no
difficulty in making them live ; young plants are
preferable, and can if we wish, be dug up in fall
or winter, cut them down and cover with earth,
and then plant in spring when it suits. While
all the Weigelias are pretty the Desboisii is the
most attractive, and the greatest bloomer we
have.

The killing of the evergreens this spring in the
various phases presented, has been to me a puz-
ele. Why one should be taken in a row where
all fared alike, and all the others left of Arbor-
vitses ? Why some in the same row should be
only a small part killed, others half killed, and
still others killed outright, I can find no rea-
son. I know belts of trees do protect, and many
80 protected only by small deciduous trees, es-

caped entirely. It will probably be among the
unknowable things. I have observed before
that when our evergreens were killed in spring it
I was after an unusual hot day or days were suc-
ceeded by severe cold drying winds. That was
the case in March, several severely cold bluster-
I ing days followed a time of heat when the ther-
I mometer stood above 80^. Evergreens that grew
I in a porous, sandy soil we find were not as badly
injured as those which grew on heavy ground,
and we account for it because such sandy soil
does not freeze as deeply, and the roots pene-
trate deeper and thus draw up moisture to sup-
ply the great drain the drying winds make on
the branches and leaves. But the cold of March
was not as severe as in winter ; I think the hot
days prepared the way. I do not consider the
Silver Fir, Picea pectinata is as hardy as the
Balsam Fir with us — 'tis a pity.

All of our Red Raspberries except the Elm
City were killed down, and I think in this lati-
tude the hardiness of the Herstine is not tested
by this winter's experience. The Missouri
Blackberry passed with but little hurt ; Kitta-
tinny more than half killed ; Wilson's nearly all.

CLEMATIS.

Few of the novelties I have seen please me
better than the new varieties of Clematis, and as
they grow older and develope their beauty, my
admiration still increases. They are of such
easy cultivation, require a top-dressing of ma-
nure occasionally, a stake to climb on, which I
pull up every fall, lay the vines down and give
them a slight protection, and in the spring they
will reward us with a profusion of blooms of va-
rious shades of color and interest. As the Ake-
bia quinata acquires age it increases in attrac-
tion, coming so early and so hardy, it ought to
be a favorite with every lover of flowers.

ACER COLCniCUM RUBRUM.

Who can look on a perfect specimen of this
new maple and not fall in love with it ? I con-
fess I cannot. Attracted by its long and singu-
lar name as it appeared to me, I procured a
specimen several years ago, and now as it is
covered with its dark green g'ossy foliage, and
the young growth tipped with pretty red tints,
't grows on my love, and I hope soon they will
oe so plentiful that many others will look on its
ijeauty and admire as I often do. It is thrifty
here, and although 3'oung trees were partially
tilled, who can blame them when the Sycamore
naple so freely departed this life, and the sturdy
N'orway scarcely withstood the frost king's severe

sye

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELY.

October,

approaches. I am disappointed with ray But- \
ternuts, for they are not destined as I find to '
fight their way as roadside trees, or even strug-
gle with the grass on the lawn ; the moist cool
soil of the woods is their home, or the leaty
mould of the hedge row. Now friend Meehan, I
will close these rambling notes, for the lovely
flowers, the singing birds, and all nature's har- '
monies invite us to lay aside the pen and mingle
with them.

* — • ;

ORIGIN OF THE ISABELLA GRAPE.

BY MR. CHAS. CARPENTER, KELLEY'S ISLAND,
OHIO.

Having read several accounts of the first intro-
duction of the Isabella grape into the Northern
States, I will give you another :

From 1799 to 1801 inclusive, my father, Gard-
ner Carpenter, his half-brother, Bela Peck, .Jesse
Brown, and Capt. John Vernett, all of Norwich,
Conn., were partners in a commercial enterprise
in which Capt. Vernett sailed a vessel on tra-
ding voyages down and up the Atlantic coast,
and occasionally extending a trip to the West
Indies. On one occasion he brought home some
grape cuttings, which were planted in the gar-
dens of the several partners. Only one grew,
and that in the garden of my uncle Peck, and
bore plentifully of Vernett grapes, as they were
called, and a few vines were propagated from it
in the neighborhood. Many years after when
Mr. Wm. R. Prince brought the Isabella grape
to notice, vines were bought of him and planted
in the vicinity, and the fruit proved identical
with the Vernett grape. Some interest being
excited by the fact, a cousin of mine having the
books and papers of the partnership in his pos-
session, examined them and found it was in the
above years the partnership existed, in one of
which, probably 1800, Mr. V. brought home the
cuttings. The original vine was still standing
in 186(5, and probably is still.

NOTES ON THE SEASON AND CROPS
AT MEMPHIS, TENN.

BY S. T. G.

Presuming that it might be a matter of inter-
est to you to have a report of the fruits and
vegetables grown here this season, I will state
that in the spring the whole earth was fairly
deluged with caterpillars. As it was duly pub-
lished in all the newspapers of that date, I may,
as otherwise I would not, confirm the fact that
several trains of cars coming into the city were

stopped on each of the two roads by these worms
covering the iron rails for hundreds of yards in
a body, compelling the brakemen, etc., to get
down and sweep them off before the driving-
wheels could obtain a sufficiency of friction to
glide over the slippery, writhing mass. Great
lanes through the forests were denuded of leaves,
and whole apple and plum orchards swept of
every vestige of foliage. Fortunately the youth
of the leaves and geniality of temperature en-
abled the trees to speedily recover their clothing.
Of course this misforune had a baneful eftect on
the crop of fruit. Nothing short of hand picking
twice or thrice a day could enable me to save
from a like fate my rose bushes. Peach trees
escaped almost entirely, yet thousands of these
horrible worms were bred on them, and grew to
the length of about two inches. The few leaves
they ate of this tree seemed impossible to furnish
a sufficiency of food for such an amount of ani-
mal substance. Hatched inside a web stuck in
the fork, they came out, ate a few leaves and de-
scended, as room was required, to the larger
branches and the trunk. Here they might be
seen perfectly still for days at a time, but alwaj's
growing rapidly. A singular characteristic of
them is that, unless prowling through thick
grass, or when young or half-grown, descending
by the long web which each spins, from a tall
rough forest tree ; they are always arranged in
military style. They travel too in long straight
lines, usually several abreast. What becomes of
them no one appears to know. The two last
springs are the only seasons in which these crea-
tures have ever been known to give us here one
ten-thousandth part of such trouble. Heaven
forbid we should ever see such a sight again.
The oaks, quince, apple and plum seem to be
their favorite leaves for food. Whenever they
attack one of these trees it is useless to attempt
! to prevent the consumption of every leaf on it,
[ for if the original colonies within the web are
I shot away with a charge of powder, or the es-
' caped worms are burned with wisps of greasy
paper or bundles of fodder, others having finish-
ed their native trees, will cover the cleared one
before morning, and this will be repeated for fif-
teen or twenty limes before they finally disap-
' pear. Better by far to let them strip it as soon
! as possible, so as to guarantee a new set of leaves
I at once. They appear to never very seriously
I hurt any tree.

i For the two last years we have been inunda-
ted with almost every conceivable sort of insect

1872.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJSTTHLY,

wr

save codling moth. Indeed the whole Union ap-
pears alarmed at the rapid increase of hurtful
insects in the fields. What will become of the
people when, like the Spaniards, they have cut
down nearly all the forest trees, and thereby de-
prived the bugs of their natural food ? It seems
impossible to kill them.

Our peach crop is almost an entire failure ;
small amount of fruit, and almost universally
stung with the curculio, and then consumed by
the resulting maggot, aided when partly mellow
by the green beetle, followed where it has eaten
a hole, by the wasp and the flies.

Crops of strawberries, raspberries and black-
berries, large and fine and disposed of at fine
prices. The Concord and Hartford grapes flour-
ish finely here, and bore this year an enormous
crop. The Catawba's are loaded with luscious
looking bunches, but for the last several days,
since they began to ripen, the black dry rot and
the mildew is in a fair way to cut oflf half the
fruit. Last year none rotted. I am, in a small
way, trying the paper bag and sulphur, singly
and combined ; plan gotten up in South Carolina.
I shall know more of its efiectiveness within a
few a days.

Gooseberries and currants a total failure, and
even the bushes are perishing under this most
extraordinarily hot and dry summer— the worst
we ever knew. Even mules have fallen and died
from sunstroke.

I saw some ripe looking Scuppernongs in town
to-day, just from Amite, La. What a pity the
most useful of all grapes should present such a
poor appearance— rough, single, tawny, dirty
looking Muscadines. Dr. Van Buren, of Georgia,
and others are striving with a certainty of ulti-
mate success, by sowing millions of seeds, to get
a thin skinned, clear colored, full bunched varie-
ty. Look out for as startling departures from
the parent as is presented in the Martha's supe-
riority over the Concord. As the color of the
tendrils proves the color of the coming fruit,
there's is no need to preserve until old enough
to fruit. As you have the advantage of a great
change in climate, can sow in a border late in
the spring, and cut up as soon as the first tendril
appears. Why don't you try for the fortune
which awaits success in the production of the
improvement ? Vegetables of all sorts have
done quite well until the last few weeks of
drouth.
June 15f/j, 1872.

HOW TO EXPEL THE BORER.

BY J. STAUFFER, LANCASTER, PA.

Believing it a duty we owe to the public to
make known anything that may be of value, I
may be excused for stating a fact that came un-
der my own observation. Henry E. Muhlen-
berg, M. D., a grandson of the celebrated botan-
ist of Lancaster, Pa., called my attention this
morning to an experiment made by him three
years ago, on a fine European Linden, (Tilia
Europsea, the small leaved variety.) This with
two others planted before his dwelling were at-
tacked by the borer. (Saperda vestita) like nu-
merous others planted along the curb line of the
city, both fcr shade and ornament. Into one of
the trees so infested he drove copper, zinc and
iron nails, in the spring of 1869, at various points
in the trunk. That a galvanic action was in-
duced which changed the sap or vegetable juices
so as to '^disgust" the borers, may be inferred
from the fact that they "backed out," and their
depredations put an end to ; the result is the tree
so treated is now healthy and vigorous, a splen-
did shade tree, while the other two have perish-
ed and been removed as cumberers of the ground
to make way for a fresh growth. The old
wounds and scars are visible in the tree now
standing, but all healed up and the damage re-
paired. He has since tried the same experi-
ment on apple and other fruit trees, with similar
success. The remedy is simple and may have
been tried by others ; it was a new and interest-
in£^ fact to me, and may be so to others, hence I
simply state the case, perchance some one may
profit by it. Indeed it is a pity to see those beau-
tiful Elms perish, when they may be saved by so
simple a remedy so well attested and demonstra-
ted in the instance given.

[Some years ago the idea was started of put-
ting a band of copper and zinc round trees to
prevent the ascent of stem climbing insect?.
The galvanic action of the two metals was per-
fectly shocking to the insects, and they general-
ly went down in disgust. Why the fact has been
lost sight of we do not know, there certainly ap-
peared to be something in it.]

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT TURNIPS.

BY DAVID LANDRETH, PHILA.

( Concluded. )
On the Varieties of Turnips.
In England turnips are divided into two dis-
tinct classes - those designed for stock feeding,
and those for table use. They are also divided

^98

THE GARDEJVER'8 MOJ^THLY. October,

into rough leaved and smooth-leaved. The
smooth-leaved embrace those of which the Huta
Baga or " Swede "' is the type, and of which the
purple topped, yellow fleshed variety may be
taken as the best representative. The rough-
leaved sorts are generally white-skinned, and
white-fleshed ; some purely white, others with
green or purple crowns ; though there are sever-
al rough-leaved varieties with yellow flesh.
These rough-leaved sorts are again sub-divided
into cattle and table turnips ; though in the usu-
ally limited culture in this country such distinc-
tion is of little consequence.

The purple top yellow Buta Baga, or " Swede,''
is perhaps the most important root cultivated
for stock food \ its rapid maturity, large bulk to
a given area, nutritious quality, sanitary pro-
pertj"^ commend it as eminently worthy of
culture.

It has become a practice in the sale of Ruta
Baga seed to create varieties ; and in an English
catalogue before us there are no less than twen-
ty-one sorts enumerated ; the distinctions in a
majority of cases are ideal. Last year I tested,
side by side, twenty-two sorts, so called, import-
ed for the purpose. In some of them the purple
tint of the crown was more marked than in
others ; some were green topped, some of deeper
yellow flesh, but the general aspect was similar,
as? they stood in the ground. Uufortuuately, the
premature severity of the autumn caught them
unripe, and the test was not wholly complete.
I propose to renew the experiment the present
season.

White jieshed Buta Baga. This mainly differs
from the " Swede " in color — for table use some
families prefer it to the yellow. A sub-variety,
known as Hanover, sweet German, and Long
French, has been much talked of, but we have
not discovered its special value for the table. As
a stock variet}' it is worthless, aboundiag in fibre.

Pomeranean White Globe. This is a free-
growing rough-leaved sort, useful for both table
and stock, and may be highly commended for
both purposes. We have succeeded in establish-
ing a strap-leaved variation, and now offer it to
the public as an acquisition of value. Turnip
cultivators need not hesitate to sow it, whether
the purpose be for stock, market, or family use ;
it is not quite so rapid in growth as the flat
varieties, may be expe«ted to come in as a suc-
cession in autumn, and is admirable for table use
in early winter. In short, the " Pomeranean
Globe " is eminently valuable, and supplies every

want ©f a white skinned turnip, more robust in
habit than the early Dutch. It eclipses the
"1^'orfolk " and the " Stone."

Amber Globe^ of which we also offer of our
own introduction a strap-leaved variety, is an
Americanized foreign turnip, almost indispensa-
ble, we think, in every rural homestead. The
flesh, when the turnip is in growth is very slight-
ly tinged with yellow, which grows darker as the
root matures ; it is as solid as a ruta baga, and
if topped very closely, so as to effectually arrest
sprouting, they may be kept until late in spring,
as good as when first pulled. The flavor is mild-
er than that of the ruta baga, therefore by some
more esteemed. On the whole, this is the best
type of the yellow, rough-leaved sorts, and sup-
plies every want in that direction. " Scotch
yellow," "yellow Aberdeen,'' ''yellow bullock-
heart," and a long list of such, occasionally
found in the catalogues of seedsmen, are all
secondary to the Amber Globe.

Early Flat Dutch (strap-leaved). This with
the Purple-top Flat, is the popular early turnip
for table use. It might be diflBcult to sum up
the volume of seed of this variety (which also
originated on my own grounds) that I have
distributed in a scries of years. It has made its
way over the entire continent ; has been export-
ed to India and Australia, and some years back,
strange to say, was returned to us from Europe,
under the auspices of the Patent office, as an
English variety ! For autumn and early winter
use this, and the purple-top variety is highly
popular, but as they become over ripe with age
and keeping, lose somewhat of their succulence,
and need to be succeeded by the Pomeranean
Globe or the Amber Globe.

The Flat Purple-Top (strap-leaved) is so near-
ly akin to the Early Dutch, differing only in the
color of the crown, that, its appearance, with
that exception, quality and habit, may be said
to be identical ; both are of remarkable quick
growth, the bulb sets flat upon the surface of the
earth, the foliage sparse in comparison with size
of bulb.

The Seven-Top Turnip of the South. This the
hardiest of all sorts, may be left standing in the
open ground during winter in any climate. It
yields in the spring abundant foliage for boiling
with cured meats, which must necessarily be
relied upon in warm climates, and the antiscor-
butic character of the turnip top is well recog-
nzed. The bulb of this variety is of but little

1872.

TEE GARDEJSCER'S MO NT ELY,

299

value, indeed not any in comparison with others
herein defecribed.

To enumerate only the sorts, nominal and
otherwise, printed in some catalogues would oc-
cupy a page. I see no advantage iu such ex-
tension, and shall here close our list. He who
geeks only the better sorts need look no farther.
In Conclusion.

I started to tell what 1 knew about turnips,
and references to individual acts and opinions
are unavoidable, otherwise we might fear the
tale told might have too personal ;i character ;
but I have only followed precedents in such
cases.

This communication is given in the hope of
diffusing useful information, to induce greater
attention to a most valuable adjunct in husband-
ry, and if more widely regarded calculated to
increase not only the quantity but the quality of
our food ; the tender, luscious mutton of the
English is not attributable to their cooler climate
alone, but to the turnip on which the sheep are
fed and fattened for the butcher. But aside from
that, there are many ways in which they may be
turned to profitable account, and all these little
incidental profits should be regarded if, in the
inevitable increase in cost of farming, advance
in wages, shortening of the hours of labor, and
other progressive measures of the day, prices are
not made to rise so high as to lessen consump-
tion, and disarrange industrial and social order.

ORCHIDE^ No. 5.

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

Phaloexopsis grandiflor a.— Although this
article refers specially to the grandiflora variety,
I shall include Phaloenopsis, generally the same
treatment being required for all the genus.
These raaguifioeni ofchidope avc araouj^ orchids
what the diamond is in a collection of precious
stones, and no collection is complete without at
least a specimen ; but as they are all natives of
the hot, moist, shady woods of Java, Borneo,
and adjacent islands, they require a high tem-
perature at all seasons of the year, and being
created without any puedeo buU)s to store up
moisture, require to be kept moist at all seasons
of the year.

These plants have always been scarce and
comparatively high priced, from the difficulty of
importing them alive and the slowness with
which they increase, for they do not throw off
extra shoots like most Orchide8e,but occasionally

form a young plant on the old flower stem, for
which reason, and also that some of the varieties
flower several times from the same stem, it
should not be cut away when the flowers fade ;
but the flowers are the most lasting of any Or-
chid grown. Ou strong healthy plants they fre-
quently last from three to six months iu perfec-
tion The fl6vvers are large, pure white, and
from the light airy look the plant is frequentlj
called the moth plant. These plants have been
scarce and dear, in fact increasing in price until
recently there have been some successful impor-
tations, previous to this there had been but few
imported alive for about twenty-five years. As
an example of the price, the late Duke of Devon-
shire paid one hundred guineas for the first small
plant sent to Chatsworth. P. amabilis is much
like the above, but smaller in all its parts, and
is pink instead of yellow in centre of lip.

P. Schilleriana in a magnificenl variety with
beautiful variegated foliage and splendid mauv©
colored flowers, edged with white. Oar plant
had a spike with three dozen flowers this year,
but it has been exhibited in Europe with over
one hundred flowers. This is a very scarce and
expensive plant. I saw a small specimen sold
at auction in New York for eighty-five dollars,
and the few who possess specimens in this coun-
try do not care to part with them at any price.
There are several other species, but more are
smaller flowered than the above named species,
and their b^reat rarity makes them difficult to ob-
tain

As regards culture, these plants are very easi-
ly grown. If fastened on a bare block of wood
the roots will cling to it and exist on the moist-
ure in the air ; in this case it will require damp-
ing several times a day in summer, and at least
once a day in winter. This is the safest plan for
amateurs to grow it, for after once established it
will not suffer so readily from bad watering, but
in no case should it get very dry, or the leaves
shrivel and drop off. I grow some in baskets,
some on blocks and shallow frames, or pots with
drainage filled above the top of pot, and a little
live spagnum moss and a surfacing grow these
plants well. The temperature of the house
should never be below 65^ on coldest nights of
winter, and then it is best to suspend the plant
in warmest part free from draughts. In this
country we generally have bright sun in the cold-
est weather, so that 75° or 80' in winter does ao
harm by day, with 80' by night and 90 lo lOO*

300

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

October,

by day with air saturated with moisture is re-
quired in summer with direct rays of sun.

In conclusion, Phalsenopsis flowers are excel-
lent for bouquets, and decorating ladies hair they
are unequalled, and with care will last more
than one evenincr.

RAILROAD ESTHETICS.

BY J. W. L., PHIL A.

The traveler by the Philadelphia and Balti-
more railroad will have noticed when the train
stops at Perryville, two neatly fenced, oval gar-
den spots, in the angle formed by the main road
and the branch road to Port Deposit, At this
station there is usually a five minutes halt, and
very restful and refreshing have 1 found it, after
many miles of dust and cinder travel, to behold
these little oases, all filled as they are with
greenery and a profusion of flowers. The sight
of these, together with the grateful feeling upon
the "'heated brow " of the cool breezes that as-
cend from the broad Susquehanna, where it
sweeps towards the arches of the long bridge,
will leave a far more pleasant picture in the
memory than if that angle was; filled, as is so
often the case, with all kinds of railroad debris —
old rails, old trucks, old sleepers and ties, the old,
old weeds, Ambrosia, Lactuca, Amaranthus,
and other sweetly-named, but noxious importa-
tions. Whether this neat angle space and its
ornate oval plats is the property and work of the
company, or whether of the town corporation I
have never ascertained, but it certainly merits
commendatory notice, inasmuch as the opposite,
careless treatment, is so generally the rule. As
an example of the latter there is a station village
within twenty miles north of the city, the main
street of which makes an acute angle with the
track where it approaches said station, the con-
tained space being occupied as a board-yard.
Piles of lumber confronting at a yard's distance
the face of the traveler, are not merely unplea-
sant objects for the eyes to rest upon, but by their
obtrusiveness- which prevents your obtaining
any intelligent idea of the place — a sort of semi-
combativeuess arises, so that the impression ob-
tained is unpleasant and disappointing. It is, in
brief, an exceedingly bad advertisement ; espe
cially is it so for any settlement so close to a
metropolis, and which might be expected to de-
rive benefit from the influx of those of that large
class of citizens who are 'casting their eyes
about " for a pleasant rural homestead. In
many places in Switzerland, likewise in England,

I am told that the station surroundings are mo-
dels of neatness and floral adornment.

Where the rear of suburban or town lots ex-
tend back to a railroad, they may be made very
attractive, as is the case with our Jersey suburb
of Merchantville, or they may be left in various
unpleasing conditions, from merely careless to
notably repulsive. The fact that the railroad
approach to towns is so often at the riverside, or
at least in the lower parts of a settlement, where
at mills and manufactories, and the habitations
of the workers in them cluster, is a main reason
why their appearance is usually so unattractive.

But this reason for the general untidiness in
such places, is not the necessary sequence. Mill-
workers are apt to be tipplers ; the average tip-
pler is a sloven, and his house and lot will mani-
fest it. Now a right concern for the improve-
ment and general happiness of those, and the
families of those who have hard physical labor
to perform, involving (in part) the curtailment
or virtual abolishment of dram-drinking, the ex-
tension of education, with the educating and
meliorating influences of our Parks, will all have
a good influence in this direction,

THE SHORTCOMINGS OF EVERGREENS,

BY J, W. ADAMS, SPRIXGFIELD, MASS,

Old hedges have suffered more than younger,
excepting of course, those just planted.

The greatest damage svas caused in March, by
extreme cold and high winds.

Evergreens in a dry position were the most
injured.

Evergreens grown under or very near to larger
trees, were frequently killed, treatment they are
quite apt to receive in mild winters.

Evergreens on the north side of fences, especi-
ally tight fences, generally wintered well, and
were killed badly on the south side.

Evergreens subjected to unnatural winds were
badly killed. Especially destructive were winds
which came over high and tight fences and
pitched down on the tops of evergi*eens.

American Arborvitse in nursery rows that in
May and June, 1871, were cut in to a single
leader, also somewhat shortened, oHlived. Ad-
joining rows not pruned were generally scorched.
These were in strong, heavy, and moist soil.
Never too dry.

About the fii'st week of March with a number
of visitors, a general look about the premises re-
sulted in the sale of numerous evergreens. I
mention this because the parties had been life-

1872.

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJVTMLY.

301

long horticulturists and judges of trees. Many
of these selected specimens could not be sent,
showing that most of the injury was caused sub-
sequently.

On the tenth of March a correspondent wrote
me "we have had ninety days north-west wind.''
No doubt this excessive evaporation enfeebled
all evergreens, while it did not so effect decidu-
ous trees, for we have never had so abundant
crops of cherries, and such promising crops of
peaches, two fruits that excessive cold is sui>
posed to destroy.

From the tenth of March we experienced the
coldest north-west wind that was ever known by
the "oldest inhabitant, "a reliable personage who
resides in this neighborhood. I must confirm all
that he has affirmed, and add that for one full
day the wind was blowing a gale (sixty to one
hundred miles per hour by the United States
Armory observer), and much of the same time
the thermometer was below zero. And to this
exceedingly cold and windy, with no snow, and
late in the season, I attribute the great amount
of damagr to evergreens, both in forest and in
cultivated grounds.

The lesson to be learned b}' experience so ex-
pensive, is unfortunately, not clearly defined.
It is made apparent that drouth and large trees
enfeeble evergreens and these can sometimes be
avoided, as well as positions exposed to unnatu-
ral drafts.

Then there are certain evergreens proved to be
hardy in all situations and seasons, as the Ar-
borvitse Pyramadalis, and several others not
generally grown My left-handed neighbor
chronicles as one of the happy results of no snow
and three feet of frost, the complete destruction
of the whole woodchuck tribe. Should not the
entire exemption from insects of the handsomest
apple crop we have ever raised — so large and so
fair as to attract the admiration of a Kansas
horticulturist, warrant with equal credulity the
annihilation of the ai^ple worm ? Were this one
of the results of the late severe winter and spring,
we would vote that the cost had not exceeded
the compensation.

STATICE HALFORDII.

BY MR MANSFIELD MILTON, NORTH EASTON,

MASS.

Among the many flowering greenhouse plants
in cultivation, few deserve greater commenda-
tion than S Halfordii. Its large, glossy, green
foliage, with its large spikes of blue and white

flowers, remaining for months in perfectioa,
give it pre-eminence over most easily cultivated
plants.

I hope a few remarks upon the mode of cul-
tivation I have successfully practiced, shall not
be out of place. What we most require is plain
practical remarks upon individual plants by
practical men. Old plants of S. Halfordii are
very little use for flowering ; it is therefore indis-
pensable to obtain large, young plants before
well flowering specimens can be had. In secu-
ring cuttings for propagation, those taken from
the parent plant with part of the ripened wood
attached are easiest propagated, and make the
best plants. For the purpose of repotting the
cuttings without destroying their tender thread-
like roots; they are best rooted in three inch
pots, then shifted into five inch with equal parts
of loam, leaf-mould and well rotted horse ma-
nure, with sufficient sand for porosity, giving
plenty of water, as abundance of moisture is re-
quisite for the health and growth of the plant.
Regular shifting ought to be attended, not allow-
ing the roots getting matted in the pots, as also
pinching of all flower spikes until eight or ten
crowns have been formed on tlio plant, and it
shifted into a twelve inch pot, then allow all the
spikes to grow, which will be one or more from
every crown ; after they have grown six or eight
inches long, finally shift into a fifteen inch pot,
as it gives additional strength to the spikes and
substance to the foliage. Always bear in miod
that they require plenty of moisture, for if once
allowed to get dry, the foliage is apt to decay
and the plant lose its vitality.

After the first flowering of the plants I deem,
instead of growing them any more, it best to cut
them down and propagate the cuttings, as 3'oung
plants if properly treated will give more satis-
faction and flower sooner than the old ones. If
any one be anxious however for growing the old
plants, shake the soil well from their roots, put-
ting them into pots several sizes less than what
they vvere flowered in, then shift into larger ones
when well rooted. For insuring plenty of flow-
er, the plants require a winter temperature of
50^ ; they will grow in a less, but cannot rely
upon them flowering so well.

NOTE OX AMARYLLIS AND OTHER
MATTERS.

BY MR. CHAS. MANN, MILWAUKEE, WIS.

I have just received the August number of the
'■'' Monthly,''' and find in it an article on the Ama-

302

THE GARDEJTER'S MOMTBLY.

October^

ryllis, which attracted my attention, as I had
similar experience with a lily. Early in spring
I bought in a greenhouse a white Japan Lily,
which had just begun to show its buds. Unfor-
tunately the children got at it, and broke the
etalk off just above the soil. I pinched out the
tip, leaving only two buds on the stalk, and
planted it in a moist shady place in the garden,
where, against my expectation, I had the satis-
faction of seeing it perfect its flowers after about
five weeks. If this fact were generally known to
amateurs, it might save a great many flowers
that would otherwise be lost, besides proving
valuable, as your correspondent says, for the
transportation of flowers without the bulbs.

In our section fruit prospects are not quite
satisfactory. Small fruits and cherries were ex-
cellent. Grapes hang thickly on the vines, but
the season is so late that with the exception of
Concord and earlier varieties, they are not ex-
pected to ripen. Apples about half a crop, and
plums, none to speak of, the little Turk and un-
favorable spring have got them all. Pears pro-
mise well.

«•••«

EXPERIMENTS IN HYBRIDIZATION.

BY DU. A. P.WYLIE, CHESTER, S. C.

Do you know if hjbiids have ever been made
between Magnolia, Grandiflora, and fussata,
macrophylla, glauca, etc.? I intended years
ago to attempt it, but the war prevented me.
M. grandiflora ripens seed well in my yard ; it
grows and flourishes on all rich soils.

I notice in your letter to Wisconsin State
Agricultural Society, you speak of grafting
the Magnolia. I did this many years ago, and
Bocceeded with the deciduous, and they grew
finely but died in the winter ; they may succeed
by leaving a bud to take root. I have kept the
scions of M. glauca, tripetala and the Chinese
purpurea, conspicua and soulangiana until late
in spring, then budded and saddle-grafted them
on M. acuminata with perfect success. Might
not the Magnolias be hybridized witli the Tulip
(Lirisdendron Tulip) ? for I tried this in 1862,
but operating on a blooai low down on the tree,
it was destroyed by the children pulling it off
before it ripened.

I have been hybridizing various things occa-
sionally ever since 1847, both with annual and
perennial plants. I had in 1860 about three
acres in Peach trees, nearly every one hybrids
•f my own production. My object was chiefly
to fill up the gap between middle of August and

November, with good peaches, ripening at that
season when we have, or rather had, very few
first rate kinds ; but my locality, except a small
portion of it, is always spring-killed. This with
the war and destruction of fences disheartened
me so much, that I had all those fine varieties
cut down, and nearly all are lost. My daughter
painted many of them which were of the greatest
beauty and excellence, particularly those pro-
duced by crossing the peach and nectarine.
Out of many specimens produced by crossing
peach and nectarine, I never produced one
smooth-skinned nectarine — they would have the
flavor and color of the nectarine, but still a liitle
roughness of skin. I did produce two necta-
rines by re-hybridizing the nectarine with the
specimens produced by the first crop. In cros-
sing a cling and freestone peach, the free
always rules.

MULCHING EVERGREENS.

BY H. E. CHITTY, BET..LEVUE NURSERY, PATER-
SON, N. J.

Our evergreens suflered so very little from the
effects of last winter, that I cannot help thinking
the heavy mulching of spent hops which they
received early last summer, had sometliing to do
with it. Our place is very much exposed — in
fact, fairly open to the north, yet the evergreens
seemed to retain their color until the fifth of
March, when 12^ below zero and the ten-inc
wind changed them to a dingy brown, and we
thought matters were settled with them. As
the season advanced, however, and the weather
improved, they gradually assumed their natural
color, and finally completed a good growth. I
think one per cent, loss from effects of winter
would cover all.

With a row of arborvities running east and
west, planted for a hedge, the case was some-
what diflcrent ; here and there a plant was
taken, and those taken never recovered. This
hedge was not mulched, which the gaps have
caused me to regret very much. On the whole,
I am rather in favor of mulching.

COST OF HITCHINGS' BOILERS.

BY MESSRS. HITCHINGS & CO., NEW YORK.

In your valuable journal for August we notice
Mr. Puffer's description of a boiler which he had
made to heat a small greenhouse 32 feet long
and 11 feet wide, requiring 95 feet of 4-inch pipe.
He describes the copper boiler which was made

1872,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY,

SOS

to suit the base and top of a McGce stove, and
states the cost of boiler at fort3'-two dollars, add-
ing that " one of Hitchings' boilers, that would
do the same work, would cost about one hundred
and fifty dollars." In this he errs, unintention-
ally no doubt, but still an error that if not cor-
rected, may deter others from building small
houses, when they have not the time or inclina-
tion to attend to the details of boiler making.

At the time he speaks of, at current rates, we
could furnish a boiler, with ash-pit, etc , com-
plete that would easily heat a much larger house
with economy, and, in addition to the boiler,
could furnish the 95 feet of pipe, with expansion
tank and the necessary fittings for such a house,
and include the labor for setting the same up,
for the sum he names, one hundred and fifty
dollars. At this time prices are somewhat
higher, owing to the increase in the value of
metals, but still the comparison will hold good.

IS THE PROFESSION OF GAEDENING

WORSE THAN THE AVERAGE OF

TRADES?

(Esuay read before the Gardener's Imjyrovement Society,
Germantoun, by J. M.)

The remark is often made by gardeners, that
their sons shall receive no encouragement from
them to be of their profession. The frequency of
the remark being made to me, has led me to re-
flect somewhat on the subject, and to see if pos-
sible, if they are right in their views. Were it
not that the same is said by those of other trades
and professions, it would seem that the com-
plaint was justified, but when we know it to be
a common case for very many to think their
neighbor's trade better than theirs, it is as well
to see if gardening is a mistake. The first thing
to strike one is, how greatly the sons differ from
those fathers who think it a mistake. As a gen-
eral rule they adopt their parent's business, and
rarely regret it. In older countries, and espe-
cially those where horticulture has been most
•ncouraged, we naturally look for information
on this subject. We find the gardener not only
financially as well to do, but occupying a higher
and more esteemed standing in society than he
could have reached by the average of other
trades. Those who have traveled through Eu-
rope will bear me out, that gardeners are surely,
better off as gardeners than otherwise. In our
ewn country we will now investigate their stand-
ing. We have not perhaps the few noble estab-

lishments to encourage the aspirations of the
gardener to be superintendent of as in Europe,
but we have very many first-class establishments,
and numerous places requiring intelligent gar-
deners, that no objection can be made of want
of employment. There is plenty of room for in-
telligent labor.

The question of remuneration may next be
taken up, and it will be found to be not behind
that of others. As in other countries the wages
vary with the qualifications required, and here
range perhaps from five hundred to one thousand
dollars per year. The carpenter and the mason
will average perhaps from six hundred to one
thousand dollars per year, subject somewhat to
the cost of tools which they have to buy, a heavy
expense, and to the number of rainy days which
they often have to lose. It must not be overlooked
how comparatively easy it is for a gardener to
enter business for himself, an advantage pos-
sessed by few of other trades. The very nature
of his business leads him to continual thought
and habits of reasoning, and this when he enters
business for himself, he finds a material help to
him. Our country is new, and its wants in the
products of the garden, greenhouse, and nursery,
will be growing, affording numerous chances to
gardeners to become their own masters and in-
dependent, engaging in the various branches of
the business. If there be any one who thinks
the English, French, or German gardener better
off than he, he may console himself that his pos-
terity will probably see our country as those
mentioned are. As the country becomes older
wealth will consolidate, and enable those desi-
rous to raise cobtly horticultural establishments,
and own gardens replete with rare treasures of
the floral world. For ray part I have no desire
to see the time arrive, believing the interest of
(gardeners and of the country better served under
the present system. The occupation of garden-
ing is truly refining, it leads to thought, so con-
ducive to longevity and the best interests of man-
kind, and tends constantly to recall our straying
thoughts to admire the wonderful works of the
ruling Power of the universe. We thus not only
have as much pecuniary benefit as other trailes,
but have a business more interesting, and with
this it is a business calculated to produce a bet-
ter citizen and man. Thus I consider the pro-
fession of gardening is better than the average
of trades or professions.

SOJf.

IKE GARUIlJ^EE'S MOJiTHLY.

October,

EDITORIAL.

CUT FLOWERS.
It is a trite observation that this would be a
very dull world without flowers, and yet when
■we see how little people in general estimate the
great boon, we may be pardoned for again citing
it. There are thousands of houses about which
no plant ever blooms, and thousands of homes
in which a flower never enters, which might be
made as cheerful as the world without, and at
no great cost either. "We who love flowers know
the pleasure they bring, and we feel that they
who have no regard for them miss some of the
best delights of life. They do not know their
loss it is true. Tlie children in the blind asy-
lums express great pity for those who are dumb,
with but little reflection on their own loss ; while
the dumb cannot understand how the poor blind
children live. But we who are whole, know the
depth of the great privation they both endure,
and ever desire that they would be even as we
are. And so in the love of flowers and of flower
culture ; there are none of us but desire that all
should be pa,rtakers of what we ourselves enjoy.
There are, it is true, both men and women
■who think flowers afford them no particular
pleasure, but we find that iu their daily avoca-
tions an original stratum of floral love crops out
above the surface. Mr. Cash, when fixing up
his office is very likely to select a carpet which
has some leafy or floral design, in preference to
one of bars or crosses ; and in the choice of an
inkstand or paper holder, a bronze rose or pol-
ished acorn will generally carry the day against
the dull square article. He may be satisfied on
the score of economy, for business is business
you know, with a plainly printed heading to his
note paper ; but if he is thriving, it is a raro ,
chance if his name and special products are not
engraved within a delicately outlined foliaceous
scroll. As for the ladies— let artificial flowers
and Dolly Varden styles tell the tale for them.
Even those excellent people who feel it a duty to
bear testimony against the frivolities of fashion,
and thus curb their disposition to indulge in
■weaknesses of more worldly inclined people, yet
have their innate love for flowers developed in
paoss covered baskets, paintings of flowers, or
beautiful designs formed of gorgeously tinted au-
tumn leaves. Yes, the whole world is fond of
flowers. No one need be ashamed to avow his

taste. Every lover of his race must be pleased
with any advance in public sympathy for them.
As society is constituted now, it is an expen-
sive business to grow flowers on an extensive
scale. The price of labor is so high, and con-
stantly increasing, that gardening is much more
of a luxury than it has been. But as the labor
and care increases, society adapts itself to the
change, and instead of growing ttie flowers buys
them cut from the florists, or hires the plants for
decorative purposes.

Those of our readers who live, what in a so-
cial sense we may call the country, have little
idea of the growing immensity of the cut flower
trade in the large cities. While it is believed
that gardening as a fine art, or even the mere
cultivation of flowers as a luxury, has not kept
up in ratio with the increase of population, the
mere florists trade, that is that which furnishes
plants and flowers for temporary ornament and
decoration, has probably doubled within the last
ten years. Not only do florists grow flowers of
their own in great quantities for baskets and
bouquets, but many awa}' from the immediate
circle of the cities find it p:ofitalile to grow flow-
ers to sell again to those who put them up ; and
even private gardens frequentlj' contribute to
supply the demand. Indeed the tendency of this
division between the one who grows the flowers
and the one who sells, is continually growing
greater. Land in the city is high and taxes
heavy. Flowers are light and travel easily by
rail or wagon, and thus can be raised to better
advantage away from the expenses of a large
town. The principal flowers grown for this pur-
pose are Roses and Camellias, but Heliotropes,
Violets, and many other popular flowers come
into iiood use. These leading flowers are sold
at a price per hundred flowers — Camellias in
their best time wholesaling at about S20.00 per
hundred, and Roses at about half this rale. As
a general thing Camellias are raised in pots or
tubs, but Roses are most generally grown in the
natural ground under a glass-house erected for
he purpose. A Rese house on this principle is
t very pretty sight in the winter season— not
quite as gay perhaps as its rival the Camellia,
but with a fragrance which if plants have sensa-
tion as some wise folk tell us, the Camellia
doubtless envies. Many Roses do not flower

187^.

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^'TELY.

305

freely under glass in winter unless the houses are
very tight, nor unless they have some age. For
general purposes, Saffrano, Bon Silene, Luxem-
bourg, Isabella Sprunt, Arch Duke Charles,
and Hermosa are popular, flowering young and
freely where there is room, good light, and a
year or two of age. Lamarque and Marshal
Niel are great Rose house favorites.

As we have said we are glad to see the in-
creasing taste for cut flowers. In this part of
the world no dinner table is complete without a
bouquet ; no parlor well furnished without
its little plate or basket of cut flowers. The
churches of almost all denominations are dec-
orated every Sunday with flowers or living
plants ; and without flora in some shape, no
companj'^ is regarded as complete. We are glad
of these signs of the times. As the world could
not be made without flowers, we who are of the
world should make the best use we can of them.
No one was ever the worse for them. While in
sickness and in bealth they have delighted thous-
ands ; and in death likewise, they have affbrded
friends and relatives many a consoling thought.

ing vegetation, where so much of packing mate-
rial has to be employed to preserve them fresh
and from injury by the pressure of other mail
matter, the postal limit will be reached before
the plant is enclosed.

The great topic of conversation in rural circles
just now is what interest, public or private, is to
be served by this unasked and unexpected change.
But it is probably no more than a piece of hasty
legislation, adopted without reflecting much on
the consequences, and which if brought to the no-
tice of their representatives by those interested,
will no doubt be remedied next session.

POSTAGE ON SEEDS AND PLANTS.

One of the greatest post-office boons was the
permission to send seeds, grafts, plants and cut-
tings by mail at the rate of two cents for every
four ounces, in quantities of not less than four
pounds. It was thankfully accepted, and by this
means innumerable varieties of valuable veget-
able articles have been introduced into parts of
the country where railroads and express compa-
nies failed to reach. No one ever complained of
the law that we have heard of. It was thought it
might operate to the disadvantage of the express
companies, but in the main the parties who have
availed themselves of this accommodation would
not have used the express ; and besides, the
matter is so small an item in the express busi-
ness that it is unlikely it would seriously inter-
fere with them. At any rate, this good step in
progress is virtually repealed by the new postal
code, and the horticultural and agricultural com-
munity feel very indignant thereat, the more so
as no one can see any particular reason why this
retrograde step should have been taken.

By the present law packages of only twelve
ounces can be mailed. Some of the smaller kind
of seeds and roots can yet go in this way, but of
larger varieties not enough can be sent to be of
any service to any except to raise a half dozen
specimens for a botanic garden ; and as for liv-

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC

Large Nurseries in Missouri. Messrs. Blair
Brothers, at Lee's Summit, have three hundred
acres ; Mr. J. A. Bayles, eight}' acres ; and Mr.
Robert Watson, near these two has very exten-
sive grounds devoted to hedge plants. We no-
tice that the Missouri papers speak in high praise
of these sevei*al gentlemen, and especially of the
enterprise and character of the Blair Brothers.
Silicic Add. At a recent meeting of the
New York Lyceum, Prof. Henry Wurtz made
the interesting announcement that his investiga-
tions led him to believe that Silicic Acid was of
vegetable origin. Wherever, therefore, this was
found in nature, it was as much a sign of prior
vegetable existence as if the fossil remains of
plants were found.

Parasitic Fungus on the Wild Anemone. The
question whether fungi can depredate on living
, vegetation, or vegetation not previously diseased,
is still discussed in agricultural or horticultural
journals, though now well enough understood in
the affirmative by practical mycologists. In the
common wild Anemone (a. nemorosa^, there is a
small thread like fungus, which grows among
the healthy cells, and when it wishes to mature
its seeds or spores, it pushes through the tissue
in such a regular manner under the leaf, that
botfinists have mistaken the leaves for ferns.
This minute fungus is called Puccinia anemones.
The Berberry Rust. Dr. Edward, in Proceed-
ings of New York-Lyceum, says that De Bary is
sure the wheat rust, Puccinia graminis, and the
Berberry rust, ^cidium Berberidis, are one and
the same. This fact we have recorded before in
the Monthly; but he goes further, and insists
that the wheat rust can only germinate on the
Berberry, and the Berberry rust only on the

S06

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJSTTHLY,

October,

wheat. As rust in wheat is a very common
circumstance, and the Berberry often thousands
of miles away, we should doubt this.

Wakefield Earth Closet. Noticing an adver-
tisement in our last of this excellent article,
moves us to say a good word of the principle on
which these closets are founded. The noxious
gases which make all excrementition and waste
material so noxious to animal life, are all absorb-
ed by dry clay. Thus the atmosphere is purified,
while the disagreeable matter;? thoroughly incor-
porated with earth before removal, render their
translation to the compost heap anything but
the unpleasant job it has always been regarded.

Flanfs as Fly-eaters. Some years ago, Mr. W.
Canby, of Wilmington, Del., contributed a paper
to the Gardener s Monthly, showing that the ve-
nus fly trap caught flies for the purpose of feeding
on them. The insect was actually digested by
the leaf which enclosed it. As the plant " di-
gests'' carbonic acid by the leaves, there is
nothing wonderful in the discovery. But it was
a very interesting new fact for all. Mrs. Mary
Treat, of Vineland, N. J., has now discovered
that the long-leaved Droseras have the same fly-
catching powers. The leaf however, does not
close on the fly from the edges, as it does in the
Dioncea or fly-trap, but turns over on to the fly
from the tip, as if the leaf were the tongue of an
animal. As these Droseras are much more easi-
ly obtained than the Dionceas, these interesting
observations of Mrs. Treat's can be more readily
repeated by others.

New Detroit Firm. Davis, Taplin & Co , is
the name of the new firm made necessary by the
death of Mr. Hubbard, formerly Hubbard &

I

I Davis. Mr. Taplin has been foreman for some

time, and has a practical knowledge of the busi-
ness excelled by few. The firm has always been
popular West, but the new style has exhibited

j additional energv by absorbing the business and

j grounds of Ferrand & Osborne.

' Red Astrachan Apple. — There seems to be

I a great difference of opinion in the West in re-
gard to this variety. Here it is one of our best
kinds— always handsome and of good quality.
It never overbears, but produces regular annual

\ crops.

liew Zealand Spinach. This vegetable, the
tetragonia expansa, we note is highly extolled in
the Southern Cultivator. A correspondent says :

" I think among your notions, the introduction
of this plant was one of the best. It is prepared
as the common spinach — has perhaps a little
milder or more mucilaginous flavor when plainly
served ; but with vinegar, eggs and a little but-
ter, it is delicious. It is made even more so by
the addition of the broad leaved French Sorrel.
If, as our ' authority ' says, it can be had all
summer, we housekeepers have reason to rejoice
in it."

Horticulture in Politics. Of course, as good
citizens, horticulturists take an active interest in
whatever may be of service to their country,
many of the fraternity are very prominent at
this time. One of the most worthy of Southern
horticulturists, Col. Langdon, of Mobile, is spo-
ken of as a candidate for Governor of Alabama.
Another equally distinguished. Col. Colman, of
St. Louis, we see named in connection with the
Govex-norship of Missouri.

SC]IAPS AND QUERIES.

Flowering Plants fok June.— Plants in
bloom at Rhosyumynydd, the suburban resi-
dence of J. P. Jones, Esq., Blockley, West Phi-
ladelphia, Penna.

[By an oversight these valuable lists of plants
flowering in each month, have been inverted.
These should have been in our last issue. — Ed.]
JUNE.

HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

Achillea millefolium alba, Yarrow

roseum
tomentosa

Acorus gramineus variegata, sweet rush

Agrostemima coronaria, mullein pink

githago, Cockle
Ajuga reptans variegata. Bugle

Alyssum Saxatile, Madwort

Amaryllis longifolium. Daffodil Lily

xVntirrhinum majus. Snapdragon
Aquilegia vulgaris, var.. Columbine

Siberica
Astilbe Japonica, Spirse

Calystegia pubescens, fl. pi., morning glory

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY,

307

Stachys
Tradescantia

Louicera

Li^ustrum

Mitchella

Crsetasrus

Campanula aggregata, bell-flower Spirefe

medium alba, Canterbury Belle

coerulea
perslcifolia alba

coerulea
Centaurea Cyanus, Centaury

montaua
Coreopsis bicolor, Tickseed sunflower

lanceolatus
Corydalis glauca, Corydalis

Delphinium consolida, Larkspur
flora pleno
formosum

hybrida
Dianthus barbatu?, var., sweet William

csesius

plumarius, fl. pL, Pinks
Dictamnus albus, Fraxinella
Dielytra eximia, Dutchman's Breeches

spectabilis, bleeding heart
Digitalis lutea, Foxglove

purpurea alba
Erysimum Peroffskianum, wall flower
Geum coccineum, Avens

Gypsophila paniculata
Hemerocallis flava, day Lily

fulva
Hieracum aurantiacum, Hawkweed

Lamium maculatum alba, Dead Nettle

roseum
Lilium bulbiferum

umbellatum
aurantiacum
candidum
excelsum

martagon, purpurea
l^yrenaicum
Lychnis Chalcedonica

dioica alba, fl. pi.

rubra pi.
Haageana, var.
CEnothera macrocarpa, Evening Primrose

Pwonia alba flora, Peony

frag ran 3
Pentstemou digitalis
Torreyii
Phlox glaberima

Pyrethrum alba pleno

roseum [Buttons

Ranunculus aconitifolius, fl. pi., Bachelor's

acris, fl. pi.
Saxifraga umbrosa, London Pride

sarmentosa
Silene atocion, catch fly

aruncus, goat's beard
filipendula, dropwort
lobata, ladies' feather
ulmaria variegata, meadow sweet

flora pleno
lanata, lamb's ear
virginica alba, spiderwort
coerulea

EVERGREEN SHRUBS.

flexuosa, honeysuckle
brachypoda

reticulata
sempervirens. Privet
repens, partridge berry
pyracantha, hawthorn

Rhododendron maximum, mountain Laurel [ton
Santolina chamaecyparissus, lavender cot-

DECIDUOUS SHRUBS.

Clematis flamula, virgin's bower

Hendersonii
Standishii
Viticella

venosa
crenata

flora pleno
scabra

Americana, burning bush
Otaksa

officinale, Jasmine
paniculata
sempervirens, honeysuckle

lutea
verticillata, winter berry
lanceolatus, buckthorn
cotinus, mist tree
Fortunii alba
Reevesii, fl. pT.
amabilis alba

variegata.
JULY.

HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

millefolium roseum, Yarrow

Ptarmica

flora pleno

napellus, monk's^hood

variegatum

coronaria, mullein pink

saxatile, madwort

majus, snapdragon

incarnata, swallow-wort

Japonica

grandiflora, bell-flowei:

persicifolia

alba

Deutzia

Evonymus

Hydrangea

Jasminum

Koelreuteria

Lonicera

Prinos
Rharanus
Rhus
Spire se

Wiesrelia

Achillea

Aconitum

Agrostemma

Alyssum

Antirrhinum

Asclepias

Bocconia

Campanula

808

THE GARDENER'S MOJSTTHLY

October,

Centaurea

Cyan us, blue bottle

montana

Chelone

barbata

Coreopsis

bicolor, Tickseed Sunflower

lanceolata

Corjdalis

glauca, Corydalis

Delphinium

consolida, fl. pi., Larkspur

formosa

Digitalis

purpurea alba, Foxglove

Epilobium

hirsutum, willow herb

Funkia

ovata

Gypsophilla

paniculata

Lilium

auratuui, Lily

bulbiferum

Canadense

longiflora

Philadelphicum

Thunbergianum atrosanguineum

Tigrinum

Lobelia

cardinalis, Cardinal's flower

Lychnis

dioica, fl. albo pi., Bachelor's

[Buttons

Oenothera

macrocarjm, evening primrose

Drummondii

Pardanthus

sinensis, Blackberry Lily

Pentstemon

atropurpurea

Phlox

paniculata, var , Lychnidea

pyramidalis

Plumbago

Larpentae, Lead wort

Potentilla

garneriana, cinquefoil

Obriana

Rudbeckia

laciniata

Silene

stellata, catchfly

Spircse

ulmaria, meadow sweet

flora pleno

Stachys

lanata, lamb's ear

Uniola

paniculata

Yucca

filamentosa, Adam's needle

BEDDING PLANTS.

Achyranthes

Vcischaffeltii

Amaranthus

tricolor, Joseph's coat

Amaryllis

Atamasco, Atamasco Lily

Asclepias

curassavica. Swallow-wort

Caladium

esculentura, elepbant's ear

Coleus

Verschaffiiltii

Cupliea

platycentra, cigar flower

strigulosa

Fuchsia

coccinea var , ladies' eardrop

Geranium

Zonale var.

Gladiolus

hybrida, Swoid Lily

Gnaphaliutn

lanatum, everlasting

Heliotropium

Peruvianum, Heliotrope

Lantana

alba nana

Mathiola

annua, tenweek stock

Petunia

alba pleno var.

Portulacca

grandiflora, Purslane

flora pleno

Sencio

maritima, dusty miller

Verbena

hybrida, vervain

Viola

tricolor, Pansy

TREES AND SHRUBS.

Ampelopsis

hederacea, Virginia creeper

Bignonia

grandiflora, trumpet flower

radicans

Ceanothue

Americanus, New Jersey tea

Celastrus

scandens, staff" tree

Clematis

flamula, virgin's bower

Hendersonii

vitalba, traveler's joy

Clethera

alnifolia

Daphne

cneorum

Erica

cinerea, heath

vulgaris. Ling

Glycine

frutescens, kidney-bean tree

Hydrangea

hortensis

Japonica

Olaksa

Jasminum

officinale, jasmine

Lonicera

sempervirens. Honeysuckle

Magnolia

purpurea gracilis

Potentilla

fruticosa, cinquefoil

Sophora

Japonica pendula

Spirete

callosa

alba

Donglassi

Tamarix

gallica. Tamarisk

AUGUST.

HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

Achillea

ptarmica, Yarrow

Aconitum

napellus, Monk's hood

Begonia

Evansiana

Centaurea

Cyanus, Blue bottle

Coreopsis

bicolor, Tickseed Sunflower

lanceolata

Corydalis

glauca, Corydalis

Delphinium

elatum, Larkspur

Dianthus

caryophyllus, Carnation

pluraarlus, Pink

Evvysimum

Peroff"skiauum, Hedge mustard

Funkia

Japonica alba, Day Lily

Gentiana

septemfida. Gentian

Hieracium

auranLiacuin, Hawksweed

Lilium

lancifolium, Album Lily, (Japan)

rubruin

Lychnis

diocea

fulgens

Pardanthus

sinensis, Blackberry Lily

1872.

TRE GARDENER'S MOJy'TRLY.

309

Passiflora incarnata, Passion flower

Polygonum Japonicum, Persicaria

Phlox glaberrima, Lychnis, (bastard)

paniculata

pyramidalis
Plumbago Larpentae, Leadwort

Rudbeckia laciniata

Uniola paniculata, Seaside Oat

SUMMER BEDDING PLANTS.

Abutilon album, Chinese beil

striatum

vexilarium
Aga pan thus umbellatus, Lily, (African)
Aloysia citriodora, Lemon Verbena

Amaryllis Atamasco, Lily, (Atamasco)

Belladona, " Belladona
Asclepias curassavica, Swallow wort

Bouvardia tryphylla

Cuphea platycentra, cigar flower

Erythrina cristagalli, Coral tree

Fuchsia coccinea, ladies' eardrop

Geranium Zonale

Gladiolus gandavensis, sword Lily

natalensis
Habrothamnus elegans
Heliotropum Peruvianum, Heliotrope
Lantana alba nana

Maurandia Barclayana

Pentas carnea

Plumbago Capensis, Leadwort

Ruellia formosa

Salvia coccinea, Sage

rosea

splendens
Verbena chsemedraetblia, Vervain

TREE AND SHRUBS.

Bignonia grandiflora, Trumpet creeper

Ceanothus Americanus, New Jersey Tea

Clematis crispa. Virgin's Bower

vitalba, Traveler's joy
Hedera Helis' Ivy [Sharon

Hibiscus Syriacus, rosea pleuu, Rose of

variegata, purpurea pleno
Humulus lupulus, Hop

Hydrangea hortensia

Otaksa

paniculata
Lonicera Sempervirens, Honeysuckle

lutea

Belgica
Saphora Japonica pendula

Spirese Douglassii

Fortuneii rosea
alba

It would be very desirable information from
any of your correspondents through the Monthly,
to know if they have ever seen Lilium bulbife-
rum true to name. As I have what appears to
me one species under three names, L. bulbiferum,
L. aurantiacum, L. umbellatum. If it derives
its name from bulblets growing from the axils of
the leaves, I have never observed any on them,
and I have known them for twenty years, nor do
I know any of the species bearing them except
L. tigrinum.

The Lilium being such a magnificent genus of
plants, nearly all hardy, it would be very desira-
ble if some of our enterprising nurserymen or
seed and bulb growers would publish in the
Ifonthly a correct list of all the species in culti-
vation, with their varieties.

Propagating Marantas and Dracosnas.
— J. E. IF., Madison, Wisconsin, says : "Will you
be so kind as to answer through your ' Notes and
Queries,' the manner of propagating the Maran-
tas, Dracosnas, and Cissus Discolor."

[Marantas are propagated by dividing the
stools or creeping Rhizomas int« small pieces.
Draccenas have their upright stems cut into
small pieces of about half an inch long. Both
of these pieces put just beneath the surface of
sandy soil, and set in a temperature of about 70'^,
will make plants. Cissus discolm' is best propa-
gated by the half ripe wood in summer timo, or
by the young sprouts which push out at starting
towards spring.]

Names of Apples.— D. F., Delaviare Co.,
Pa. : The apples are 1, Cornell's Fancy ; 2,
White Doctor ; 3, Summer Pear main ; 4, not
known ; 5, Smith's Cider ; 6, Ridge Pippin ; 7,
unknown ; 8, Porter ; 9, Fallawater ; 10, Bald-
win.

Trees and Shrubs Killed in the past
winter of 1871-72, at J. P. Jones'', West Phi-
ladelphia: A "Silver Fir,' (Picea pectinata),
about thirty feet high, killed half-way down from
the top, and badly injured on the north side.
Retinospora ericoides and obtusa all killed where
exposed to the sun. Cupressus Lawsoniana,
nine feet high, entirely killed ; Evergreen Oak,
(Quercus virens) all last year's growth with the
leaves also, killed, but now putting out new
growth. A Japan Holly, (Ilex Fortunii), two
years planted, killed ; Prinos glaber, killed to the
ground ; Daphne cneorum and D. pontica, dead

SIO

THE GARDEJ^ER^S MOKTRLY,

October^

almost to the ground ; Erica vulgaris and Olea
ilicifolia, killed to the ground, that had been
planted out since 1869 ; Cedar of Lebanon, Deo-
dar Cedar, both killed to the lowest branches,
the former four feet, the latter about sixteen feet
high. Cunningham's Auracaria, twelve feet
high, covering a circle of twelve feet in diameter
killed to the lowest tier of branches, which are
still growing ; Rhododendron Cunninghamiiand
R. splendens, foliage nearly all dead. Common
Broom, (Genista scoparus^ Ulex Europea, whin
both killed to the ground, but the whin all start-
ing to grow again. The common Juniper,
(Juniperus communis), also the Irish varie-
ty, wherever exposed to the north and
south, entirely killed, and wherever sheltered on
the north and south sides, exposed to the east
and west, are all safe. Auracaria imbricata
planted three years, entirely killed. A variega-
ted White Cedar, (Cupressus thyoides), eight feet
high, all the last year's growth, killed. The
grounds where all the above are or have been
growing, slopes to the east, south, and south-
west.

Autumn Flowering of the Horse Chest-
nut.—2', D. i?., writes : "Knowing your inter-
est in such matters, I beg leave to tell you of a
second blossoming of a Horse Chestnut, opposite
the Mint, on Chestnut below Broad. I do not
know whether it is to you as to me, a novelty.''

[We have never seen this tree flowering
" natu rally " at this season before. On one oc-
casion we noted a tree, the leaves of which were
destroyed by a contiguous fire, and another
which had the foliage stripped by caterpillars,
both flower again profusely in fall.

We take it that trees do not like " rest " lon-
ger than necessary for some special purpose,
when this is accomplished they grow again. The
Horse Chestnut usually loses its leaves here by
the end of August, and it pushes out again in
spring ; but this season, which was so very hot,
the maturity was at least two week's earlier, and
thus, on account of the long rest, the trees are
in blossom again.]

To Correspondents. — The readers of the
Gardener's Monthly must have noticed how lib-
eral its contributors have been the present year
in furnishing interesting correspondence. We
believe that never in the existence of the maga-
zine has this department been so well sustained ;
and we beg to return our friends our best thanks
for their favors.

The publisher believes that for the price he
furnishes more matter in closel}^ printed type for
S2.00 than any magazine in the world, while the
rates of advertising are lower in proportion to its
bona fide and appreciative subscription list than
under some circumstances could well be afibrded,
while the editor's labors are greater than any-
thing but the love of horticulture would warrant.
But the magazine was not established so much
as a monetary speculation as for a means of vol-
untary communication between the best minds
in horticulture, and both editor and publisher
are gratified by the handsome and generous
manner in which their efforts are seconded.

In regard to communications, we may repeat
that no one need be afraid of the " waste '' has
ket. We may be an exception to the generality
of magazines, but we can truthfully say that we
have rarely received a letter from a horticultu-
rist, or an inquirer, but we found some interest
in it.

The Editor's Department,— A correspond-
ent who sends us a very interesting article for
the magazine, in a note, remarks : *' I believe I
violate the rules in sending to you instead of the
publisher." But here he was right. Advertise-
ments, subscriptions, and all matters of business
should be sent to the publisher in Philadelphia —
communications for the body of the magazine to
the editor in Germantown.

Seedling Peach. — G. W. T., New Bruns-
ivlck, writes : "I send you to-day, by express,
samples of a late peach, which I believe to be
new. Fruited three years on my place ; though
I did not actually plant the pit, I am almost sure
it is a seedling. It was quite a small bush in a
fence row when first I saw it. I wish your opin-
ion of it. I send it with leaves, in nearly all
stages of maturity."

[In the first place we must commend the man-
ner in which these were packed. With several
courses of clean paper around each peach, and
the whole with a layer of dry moss between each,
gave an elasticity to the whole which defied the
efforts at " smashing," so common with express
employes, and resulted in getting them to us in
as perfect condition as if freshly gathered from
the tree.

The tree is evidently a seedling of Crawford's
Late, from which it is difficult to distinguish it
in descriptive language. The foliage is exactly
the same. These seem to be more teton like than

isn.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTMLY.

311

Crawford, and possibly (September 2d) a trifle
earlier. All we can say is that it is an excellent
fruit in every respect, but its value will depend
on a careful trial together witli Crawford's Late.
If it have any point of advantage over this it will
be well worth naming and distributing.]

The Best Cherry Stock for the West.
— An Iowa correspondent says he has found the
Mahaleb and Morello much less hardy the past
winter than the Mazzard, which escaped entire-
ly unhurt last winter, and he therefore proposes
to fall back entirely on this in future. This is
just the opposite of what so many Western men
believe, but it conGrms what we have always
suspected, that "hardiness" is a very relative
term. Hardiness depends on many things, and
is independent of temperature alone.

FouRCRCEA GiGANTEA. — A correspondent
says : "A noble specimen of this may be seen in
bloom in the course of a few days, on 'the estate
of the late Hon. W. Kelly's, Rhinebeck. It is
eighteen years old, standing twenty-four to
twenty-five feet high, with twenty-five spikes,
each spike averaging one hundred and fifty
blooms, in all about three thousand. It is a
n itive of South America, and was introduced
in the year 1690, and named after Pourcroy, a
French chemist, (Linn 6, or 1, Nat. Or. Brorae-
liacese). It is very much allied to the Agave,
and requires the same treatment.

The gardens and pleasure grounds under the
able management of Mr. J. Peattie, Mr. Kelly's
gardener, an equal to, if not surpassing any in
the State, will amply repay a visit.

Azaleas and Rhododendrons at Blooms-
dale.— Our corres'.pondent. Chronicler^ visited
the grounds of Messrs. Landreths while these
were in blossom, and reports them comparative-
ly uninjured by the winter. This he attributes
to the great health of the plants. Mr. Landreth
spreads sawdust between the plants, and tlie sur-
face roots take care of themselves near the cool
surface which this mulch ensures. This is no
doubt the reason they are so hardy and vigorous,
and thus more able to endure the trials of the
late extraordinary sea&on. Chromder''s hint is
a very valuable one.

Trees Injured last Winter at Baby-
lon, L. I —Mr P. H. Foster, writes : "I teel
much interest in the list you publish of trees

stood the last winter, taking the list of Mr. Sar-
gent's as guide, will name some of the variations.
Cryptomeria Japonica, killed •, Cupressus Law-
soniana, do.; Juniper Yirginiana, do.; .T Hiber-
nia, do. ; J. Swedish, good ; J. communis, good ;
Retinospora ericoides, killed. Of the Thuja,
Hoveyii, Hoopes, globosa, all sound, while T.
Occidentalis, Parsons, Reidii, and B. orientalis
all suffer alike. Acer Negundo, killed ; Beech,
common, uninjured ; Purple, do ; Castanea ves-
ca, killed ; Berberis aquifolium, killed ; Crata-
gus Pyracantha, killed ; Lonicera, injured ;
Acer colchicum rubrum, killed ; Tulip, many
killed to the ground ; Sj'camore maple, tops
killed ; N'orway, do.; English and Scotch Elm,
badly hurt ; Acer Tartaricum is uninjured."

Sparto Grass.— Of the efforts to introduce
this superior paper making material into our
counti-y, Mr. W. Saunders says : " It will be no
easy matter to introduce the plant here. After
many years trial (it was first ordered in Mr.
Kewton's time) to get seeds, we at last succeed-
ed in receiving about one quart, which cost over
S60.00. The plant does not seed freely, and the
cost of collecting is heavy. I made several sow-
ings, and found about twenty per cent, of the
seed to vegetate. Some of the seed was dis-
tributed, but failed to grow anywhere but with
us. I grew the plants for two or three seasons,
but they have completelj- vanished during this
hot, dry spell. They were rather injured too
during last winter Some years ago, when we
were collecting facts and figures concerning this
grass, we learned that an establishment in the
West was using the Spartina cynosuroides for
paper, and that some English papermakers who
were using it, and who had formerly worked the
Esparto of the Mediterranean, gave it as their
opinion that the Spartina made as good, if not
better paper than the Esparto. I have not
heard anything about it for some time, but it is
worthy of further attention. I have frequently
suggested the importance of the Department
being in full possession of all facts bearing on
this question. I have heard that this Spartina
grows in immense quantities on the Mississippi
bottoms."

Disease in Peach Trees.— A correspond-
ent encloses us the following from the St. JoseplVs
Herald., and asks our opinion :

" W. H. Judson, of St. Josepti, near the Na-
pier liridge, claims that he has saved, in a word

S12

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY,

October,

redeemed his orchard from destruction. This
orchard was pronounced worthless last year by
persons who regarded themselves competent
judges ; yet Mr. Judson has taken better peaches
and realized better returns than last year, and
the foliage is improved in quality, color, &c.,
while the general appearance of the whole or-
chard has materially changed to what seems to
be permanent health.

'' Mr. Judson claims that his orchard has been
injured by the excessive drouths of the past three
summers, and by the severity of the succeeding
winters ; that it has suflered from want of care,
and in some instances from being bark bound.
He has found peach gum oozing from the bark
and limbs of his trees, and discovered large sec-
tions of the tree beneath this apparently Uve
bark, absolutely dead. In some trees nearly the
whole tree was girded ; his surprise is not that
the tree yellowed and pined away, but that it did
not die absolutely and immediately. Mr. Jud-
son claims that this destruction is due to an in-
sect, a borer, which works between the green
bark and wood. He has taken as many as nine
and twelve from a single tree. Observation
teaches him that the insect is poisonous to the
wood, and the effect of its work is to kill the
heart of the limb, or trunk, wherever it is at
work. When the heart has so been poisoned,
the fruit on that limb ripens prematurely, and it
would seem as if the poison from a single limb
and it may be a single insect, may pervade a
whole tree. Wiry vegetation comes after the
vitality of the tree has been so diminished, that
it may almost be called the death rattle of the
tree. Mr. Judson 's remedies are careful cultiva-
tion ; removing all dead bark and poisonous
gum, heading back the tree, relieving bark-
bound trees by splitting with a knife, and the
application of ashes and manure. He regards
hot water and ashes simply as stimulants and
nothing more."

[The facts recorded by Mr. Judson have often
been noted and referred to in the Gardener''s
Monthly, and for a long time many of our best
minds believed here to be the sole cause of the
yellows. It is not, however, caused by an insect,
but by frost. There is no doubt about this, as
the phenomenon has been closely studied. The
older the circle of wood, the less vitality it
possesses, and often in severe winters the whole
wood will be destroyed except a thin layer of
cells next the liber or inner bark. The conse-
quence of this is that this thin layer of wood can-

not transmit sap enough to meet the demands of
the leaves, and they are thus starved ; and the
yellow cast, which gives the name to this peach
disease, is always the attendant of starved foli-
age, as every gardener knows. The higher up
the tree the greater the injury, and the sap, im-
peded in its upward flow, takes its only open
course in side sprouts. In such cases no amount
of hot-water, potash, or any similar applications
can possibly do any good ; and it was this know-
ledge which kept so many from investigating the
reported cures by hot- water and potash.

But it was found that a large number of trees
with the yellows had not this dead wood in the
centre, although the attendant phenomena, even
to the numerous side spruuts, were exactly the
same, and these were found to be infested with
root fungus, and these potash and hot-water
might cure. Xow though these two remote
causes of yellows are so very different, the imme-
diate cause is just the same. The fungus, by
destroying so many of the sap vessels, obstructed
the ascent of the sap just as thoroughly as if these
vessels had been destroyed by frost ; and of
course the yellow appearance was precisely alike.
It is starvation of the leaf cells in both instances.

We have gone into this matter here closely,
because it affords a useful lesson against taking
remote for immediate causes, which is the great
bane of all our horticultural reasoning. It is
rarely indeed tluit any of our operations depend
on a single cause, but usually on a long train of
them,

Mr. Judson's treatment is excellent. We have
known many to renovate their ''3'ellow" trees
entirely by severe pruning.]

Name of Plant.— D?-. L. F., Evansville,
lad., writes: 'Within you will find the end
leaf of a fern, which I have raised from seed.
The middle rib of all the leaves is white, and the
ribs themselves, green. The green is of a very
succulent, fresh color, and contrasts well. It is,
as much as I know about it, a hybrid fern, and
in its variegati d leaf originated by accidental
seeding in my greenhouse, and one of my showi-
est ferns. Is this new or old ?

1 send you at same time some leaves of a plant
which has as great medical virtues as Peruvian
bark. Could you not tell me what is the name,
and if already known longer. They call it here
Indian medicine. It is a perennial, as you see
by the root. I shall be very much obliged for
your information of this medical plant. I have

187'^.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

313

not seen any flower, only the plant, which is from
a foot to one and a half high."
[The Fern is Pteris argyrsea.

The other root appears to be the Indian "Pip-
sissiva " — Cliimaphila maculata.]

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC

Catalogues — As the planting season ap-
proaches, we receive numerous nursery cata-
logues and we are pleased to see by those thus
far received that a varied and fine assortment is
offered throughout the country this year. There
is a deal of information useful to horticulturists
in a catalogue, and whether intending to plant
or not it is as well to send for some of them.
The following have been received this season so
far:

Samuel M. Bayles, illustrated retail general
list ; Thomas Morgan, flowers and plants ; T. S.
Hubbard, grapes ; George Balderston, general
catalogue ; Jabez Capps & Sons, general list ;
C. H. Allen & Co., illustrated, trees, roses, &c. ;
J. Monnier & Co., seeds ; Nicholas & Newson,
wholesale nursery stock ; Isidor Bush & Son,
wholesale, grape vines and fruits ; J. B. Jones,
wholesale list ; E. A. Riehl, grape vines ; Rob't
Douglas & Son, wholesale, seedlings ; Louis Van
Houtte, bulbs ; R. Cummings & Co., bulbs^ &c.;
Grube & Newland, bulbs ; R. Halliday, flower
seeds ; W. F. Heikes, wholesale, stocks and
trees ; Barnes & Co., wholesale, nursery stock ;
Randolph Peters, nursery list ; Chambersburg
Nursery Association, retail list of stock ; At-
wood. Root & Co., wholesale, fall list of stock ;
J. Jenkins, tree and evergreen seedlings ; Rich-
ardson & Vail, wholesale, fruits ; A. Hance &
Son, wholesale general list ; Diugee & Conard
Co., wholesale trade list ; W. Bryce & Co., seeds;
Bronson, Hopkins & Co., wholesale list, fruits,
&c. ; J. C. Schmidt, wholesale list ; Lukens
Peirce adm'rs, wholesale, fruits, &c, Hasbrook
& Bushnell, grape circular ; Ellwanger & Barry,
set of catalogues, wholesale and retail ; Henry
Michel, bulbs ; J. H. Simpson & Bro , wholesale
general list ; Merrell & Coleman, wholesale list ;
Calkins & Brooks, abridged wholesale list ; R.
J. Halliday, wholesale, plants ; Burkholder &
Meals, wholesale, fruits, &c.; P. J. Berckmans,
wholesale trade list and descriptive retail list ;
Causey & Pullen, frui s, &c.; Richard Lauer,

bulbs ; Geo. T. Fish, grapes and stock ; R.
Gumming & Co-, set of catalogues; A. & J.
Hammond, fruits, stocks, &c., wholesale; S. B.
Parsons & Sons, descriptive list, retail ; T. T.
Southwick & Co., wholesale, fruit trees ; Heren-
deen & Van Dusen, Siberian apples ; Thomas
Meehan, wholesale general Ust ; S. Boardman &
Co., wholesale trade list; F. P. Vergon, Dela-
ware grape; Gould Bros., wholesale list; Hoopes
Bro. & Thomas, semi-annual trade list ; E. H,
Skinner & Co., wholesale list; Otto & Achelis,
wholesale trade list ; Dr. Jno. E. Ennis, semi-
annual trade list ; F. L. Perry, wholesale trade
list ; Massey & Hudson, price list flowers, &c.;
Graves, Selover, Willard & Co., trade list; A.
Bryant, Jr., wholesale list; McMillan Bros.,
wholesale list ; L. M. Ferris & Son, wholesale
list , Sweet & Morey, wholesale fruits ; Sinnock
& Co., wholesale general list; Sears, Henry &
Co., wholesale trade list ; H. M. Thompson,
select list trade stock ; Richardson & Vail, retail
list ; D. F. Holman & Co., lycopodiura circular ;
Geo. Such, catalogue of rare plants ; T. C. Max-
well & Co., wholesale trade list ; Bronson, Hop-
kins & Co., retail list ; A. P. Jones, retail flow-
ers ; Mattison Bros., wholesale, seedlings ; Mah-
lon Moon, wholesale list ; D. Scroder, wholesale,
fruits ; W. S. IJttle, semi-annual list ; Bird &
Gray, wholesale fall list ; J. W. Kerr, fall price
list; Blair Bros., wholesale price list; Briggs
Bros., fall bulbs; Thomas Meehan, tree and fruit
seed catalogue.

The End of the World. Orange Judd &
Co., announce for early publication, in book
form, '• The End of the World; a Love Story,"
by Edvpard Egglestou, author of " The Hoosier
School-Master.'" ect. Its earlier chapters read
like a Western Id^ 1 ; but Mr. Eggleston soon gets
us into the grotesque scenes which he draws so
strongly, and Gottlieb Wehle, the Backwoods
Philosopher, the Steam-Doctor, Cynthy Ann,
the "Hawk," the '• Mud-Clerk," and, above

su

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY,

October

all, Jonas Harrison, one of the most effective
Western character ever drawn, make a rare gal-
lery of original portraits. The speeches of Gottlieb
■\Vehle, Jonas. Cynthy Ann, and the Philosopher
are full of a delightful humor, while the Night
Adventure of August, the Mob Scene, the life-
like description of gambling in the saloon of a
Mississippi steamboat, are drawn most vividly.
The interview at the Castle can hardly be read
without tears, and the chapters entitled "The
Last Day" and "The Midnight Alarm"' con-
tain pictures of religious excitement such as can
not be found elsewhere in English literature,
while the mob and " shiveree " scenes are perva-
ded by a irresistible spirit of fun, and the reader
will fully appreciate Bill Day's longing for
"somethin' ludikerous." The moral influence
of the book is of the healthiest kind.

Elwanger & Barry's Catalogues —We
have often had to remark how creditable to ac-
curacy, and how fully instructive are American
Nursery Catalogues. Elwanger & Barry's now
before us, well illustrate these excellent points.

Popular Science Monthly is the title of a
new candidate for popular favor, published by
the well-known firm of Appleton & Co., and
edited by Prof. Yeoman 's. We have the four
first numbers before us, the last with a very
good portrait of Professor Asa Gray, and a suc-
cinct account of his life and services. There is
a wide field for a magazine of this character in
our country ; and the numbers before us show
that the editor understands his advantages, and
is making good use of them.

prises rare orchids, balsams, ferns, many of
which have required much energy and money
to possess ; but Mr. S. deserves the support of all
enthusiastic horticulturists in his public spirited
endeavors to bring so many rich things into
public notice.

Catalogue of Geo. Such, South Amboy,
N. J.— This deserves more than the passing no-
tice usually accorded to catalogues. It com-

Flore des Serres. By L. Van Houtte. —
Those of us who are going down into the sere
and yellow leaf of age will remember how very
few were the representatives of the Gesnerace-
ous class, in the spring time of our gardening
days — Trevirania caccinea, and gesnerm of a few
species, were among the chiefly known kinds.
Xow, the summer decoration of European green-
houses, are chiefly dependent on the numerous
genera of this immense tribe. We are reminded
again of the many new and beautiful introduc-
tions amongst these, by receiving from our good
friend, Mr. Louis Van Houtte, of Ghent, Bel-
gium, some files of his Flores des Serres, in
which these plants show to great advantage.
Two Genera of this order, Nmjelia and Plecto-
pomn are particularly beautiful. The former
gives us much the style of the old Oesneria zehri-
Hff, which we believe is now included in this, —
the latter looks intermediate between a gloxinia
and Achimenes — the bushy, branching habit of
Achimenes, with the flowers of Gloxinia. There
are also as many shades of color among them, as
among the old families which they resemble.

M. Van Houtte's Flores des Serres, is one of
the most beautiful works on new flowers pub-
lished in the world. Many who care nothing
about cultivating flowers themselves, subscribe
for the magazine for the mere beauty of the
work as an ornament to their drawing room ta-
bles It can be obtained through Chas. H. Marot,
Qardener'>s Monthh/ office, 814 Chestnut street,
Philadelphia, or directly from L. Van Houtte,
Ghent, Belgium.

NEW AND HARE ERUITS.

Pear from York.— *S. B. JET., York, Pa.,
hands us a branch of a pear supposed to be a
seedling, on which the fruit are borne in im-
mense quantities. Mr, H. says this is the char-
acter of the whole tree, and is its condition every
year. The fruit is medium sized, but the quali-
ty not of the highest. Pears ripening about end

of August and beginning of September are ra-
ther numerous, and unless there are some very
distinctive features we do not approve of naming
and distributing more. In this case we should
compare this one with Bleeker's Meadow,
which is a free bearing kind of similar appear-
ance and character, and also a tolerably free

1872.

TEE GAEBEMER'S MOJS'TRLY,

315

bearer, and if it is better than that one in any
respect, should decide to name and distribute it.

Lincoln Sweet Apple.— P. H. F., Babylon,
N. Y., sends a specimen and remarks : "I send
you a specimen of Lincoln Apple, sweet, the
best which I have been able to procure. You
will do me a favor if you will test it thoroughly,
and report your opinion in the Garclener''s
Monthly You must make some allowances for
an imperfect specimen. The tree is a vigorous
grower, on the standard, and so far as I have
been able to test its flavor, together with its
vigor, consider it a great acquisition.

The other, i^o. 2, is an apple unknown to me,
sour. Please name it.''

[ The apple was large, and of excellent quality.
We regard it as among the best of the early ap-
ples. The other was not in good con lition when
received, and we kept it a few weeks. It did
not, however, "come up" to a very high stand-
ard of quality. It resembles somewhat the
" sheepnose " of Pennsylvania, but is more ob-
tuse than any we ever saw. This variety is,
however, very variable in form and character,
on the same tree. It may be this variety, — if
not, we do not know. |

Richardson Pear.— The Prairie Farmer
has received this pear from Jonathan Huggins,
Woodburn, Macoupin county. 111., and says of
it : — " It is a variety highly prized by him as a
market sort, being a vigorous, healthy and pro-
ductive tree, and an early and very handsome
fruit. Origin, New England. If we remember
rightly, this pear was traced back to an old Con-
necticut tree. Shape, pyriform. Calyx rather
large, open. Stem long (1.10 inches) and tolera-
bly strong. Skin smooth, green, covered with
numerous darker green dots, and from one-third
to one-half covered with a bright brownish-red,
something like that of the Louise Bonne de
Jersey. Flesh coarse, granulated, dry, sweet.
Capsule rather open ; seeds, numerous, small.
Eipens iri July, this year, about the 15th. Must
be picked early and house ripened, we presume,
inasmuch as our specimens late-gathered, are
rotten at the core ; third rate in quality. This
pear is very handsome and healthy, and will be
profitable until public taste improves and asks
something else than fine color and bigness."

HoCKETT's Sweet Apple —JJr tiwazey, in
reply to a correspondent, says in Southern Gar-
dener :

'In the fell of 1859, we received from West-
brook & Co., of North Carolina, about fifty va-
rieties of their best apples and peaches The
Hockett's Sweet, which claimed to be a native
of that State, was one of them. It proved to be
all that our correspondent claims for it, one of
the best, if not the very best sweet apple of its
season. The flesh is crisp, for a sweet apple,
and a little coarse grained ; but the flavor is
excellent, and the fruit is always fair and sound.
Tested side by side with Camack's Sweet and
Maverick Sweet, we preferred it to either. Sea-
son all September.

The Western Triumph Blackberry. —
Three years ago we saw advertised in a Western
paper a new blackberry under the above name,
and we ordered a dozen plants which came duly
to hand, with a modest bill for the same, amount-
ing to $5, which we promptly paid. The plants
were set out and made a vigorous growth, pro-
ducing a fair quantity of fruit last year, which
we thought was of very good flavor, but were
not up to the standard for size. The past win-
ter was quite a severe one on all the small fruits,
the blackberry not excepted ; but our Western
Triumph plants passed through uninjured, and
are at this time more heavily loaded with truit
than any other sort in our collection. The
berries are also large, and so deliciously rich and
sweet that to add sugar would be superfluous.
The ladies of our household pronounce this new
blackberry a "Triumph," especially the dyspep-
tic portion, who have to deny themselves of the
privilege of eating sugar upon fruits of all kinds.
If our Western people can succeed as well with
this variety as we have, there is no need of send-
ing East for Kittatinny, Wilson and Lawton
Blackberry plants. —iJitrrt? New YorTcer.

The Walter Grape.— A correspondent of
the Country Gentleman, at Hudson, N. Y., says
that while all other varieties of American grapes
have been much injured or killed on his grounds,
the Walter has entirely escaped injury, even to
the very tips of the vines— doubtless in conse-
quence of its perfect ripening of the wood.

The Dr. Warder Strawberry. — This
berry was raised from seed in 1866, and is a
cross of the Fillmore and the Victoria Ovata

The plant is of vigorous habits, foliage large
and healthy, not suffering from the extremes of
winter and summer ; the fruit stem is very

S16

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY.

October,

strong, standing erect, high above the foliage,
the blossom is staminate, the berry is very large,
conical, regular and uniform in size, except the
size be enormous, when it will cockscomb ;
bright red ; flesh red, very firm, a good ship-
ping berry, flavor good. Every blossom will
perfect a berry, and the last berries are large
enough to be sent to market There is no variety
that combines so many good qualities, or yields

such a great proportion of large berries.

The Dr. "Warder commences to ripen about
the time the Wilson Albany is in its prime, and
continue for nearly two weeks. So that it may
be set down as a very late variety, being much
later than the Kentucky.

'So. 315 or the '• Dr. Warder" has been on
the fruit tables of the Cincinnati Horticultural
Society for the last six years Louis RiTZ.

^^EW AND RARE PLAINTS.

Blood LEAVED Peach.— (.See illustration.)—
We place this under the head of new plants, be-
cause its chief position in gardening will be one
of ornament, though its fruit, which matures in
Philadelphia the end of September, is of excel-
lent quality, though not of large size.

The variety was found on the battle field of
Fort Donelson, in Kentucky, and the Southern
papers tell that a Southern general, wounded to
death, sucked the juice of a peach, and threw
the stone into the little pool of his blood by the
side of him, from which sprang this tree with
blood like leaves. So many of our Northern
fruits found by accident in some old fence row,
have yet some wonderful history— truly vera-
cious of course— connected with them, that there
is quite as good reason to believe this account of
the blood-leaved peach, as of most of the rest.
Most blood leaved trees lose their fine rich tint
in summer. This also does, but less so than
many others. During August and September,
when the plant is making its second growth, the
growing leaves are nearly as brilliant as in the
spring.

We give the following account of its behavior
South, from the pen of Mr. Berkmans, in Rural
Carolinian :

This variety originated in Mississippi, in 1870,
and was sent out in the trade, in 1871. In the
early portion of the year its foliage is of a deep
blood-red color, but gradually fades as the wea-
ther becomes warmer, when it assumes a dull
green appearance. Young nursery trees, how-
ever, retain the peculiar red color upon the ends
of their branches until fall. As an ornamental
variety it is only desirable during the sprin/,
but, further North, it will doubtless retain its
color through the summer.

This year our trees produced fruit, and, to our
sirprise, the latter is almost colorless in skin
and flesh. Fruit, medium, slightly oblong,
somewhat flattened ; skin white, with a pale
red wart and a few pale red spots or stripes ;
flesh white juicy, well-flavored ; clingstone ;
ripens beginning to middle of August. Un-
doubtedly a sport from the well-known Heath
Cling or White English, of which it is an early
ripening variety.

We would class it as very good in flavor but
deficient us to size.

Calochortus Leichtlinii. — ( Hook'. )— In
bulbous plants California is particularly rich,
and one of the finest is the Calochortus Leicht-
linii. This plant is to be found in most parts of
the State, from the Coast Range to the Sierra
Nevadas. It seems to seek dry hill sides and
flourishes well on the high stony ridges of our
mountain ranges. It commences to bloom about
the first of May, and continues until the middle
of July. It is, as we have said, a bulbous plant,
with glaucous grass-like leaves, the flower stalks
bearing from two to three flowers. The calyx is
formed of three lanceolate sepals, of a somewhat
greenish color, streaked with red. The petals
are of a pure white, with a purple spot at the
base. The flowers generally open in pairs.
There are two other varieties of Calochortus in
California, one a light-j'ellow, the other a pink-
ish white. — California Horticulturist.

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris Daphnites.
— This Fern difters in a remarkable degree from
all other varieties of the " English Maidenhair,"
the pinnules of each of the branches being con-
fluent (united,) and the apex of the rachis

1872,

THE GARDENER'S MOJVTHLY.

317

dilated, spreading out the ultimate confluent pin-
nules into a crest-like crispy mass, often to the
width of 1^ to 2 inches. Erect in habit, the
pinnfe ascending, and the front attaining a
height of 14 inches. The stipes is ebony colored,
and stouter than in any other form, and the
pinnse are of a blue-green This is the most dis-
tinct and remarkable variety ever yet sent out.
It received a First-class Certiticate from the
Royal Horticultural Society on June 27, 1871.

Alocasia Marshallh. — A remarkably fine
new Aroid, related to and much in the way of
A. Jenningsii, but differing in having a broad
grey band down the centre of the leaf. The
leaves are ovate, peltate, attached to erect green
stalks, the blades standing almost vertical ;
while the color is a bright green, marked between
the principal veins with broad wedge-shaped
blotches of blackish purple. The addition of the
silvery band adds very greatly to their beauty.
It was imported from India.

the plants gain maturity they become more dis-
tinctly veined and spotted with yellow. The
present is remarkable amongst the Crotons or
Codijeums for its vigorous and bold character,
having in fact very much the aspect of a Ficus.
It is one of the many forms of Codifeum variga-
tum which have come from the South Sea
Islands.

Barleria dichotoma.— a stove herbaceous
plant, with brachiate stems, elliptic-oblong
leaves, attenuated at both ends, and roundish
terminal and axillary spikes of blue funnel-shaped
soemwhat two-lipped flowers, an inch long. It
is an Indian species, and has been raised from
seed sent from that country.

Barleria Mackenii.— This novelty, which
was discovered in the colony of Natal, is described
by Dr. Hooker as being a near ally of Barleria
Gibsoni, which it resembles in the purple cor-
olla, but from which it differs remarkably in the
form of the bracts and sepals. The flowers have
a funnel-shaped corolla-tube, shorter than the
outer sepals, a flat limb of a rich purple color,
about 2 inches in diameter ; all the lobes marked
with a dark purble blotch above the claw, and
that on the lower segment edged with a white line.
A figure of it has been given in the Botanical
Magazine^ t. 5866.

Croton GRANDE. — A fine bold-habited and
free-growing stove plant, having oblong-obo-
vate leaves 8 inches long, and nearly half as
much in width, and with a stout footstalk vary-
ing from 1 inch to 2^ inches in length. These
leaves are, in the young state, of a rich deep
green with a yellowish rib, and scattered yellow
spots, the stalks being pale colored at the base
and apex, where they are also thickened. As

Cyrtanthera Chrysostephana.— a new
and very distinct species of the Tropical Ameri-
can genus Cyrtanthera, of elegant habit, and
conspicuous for the vivid red color of the midrib
and nerves of the leaf beneath. The flowers, in-
stead of being disposed in a dense thryse, or in
axillary cymes, as in most species of the genus,
are collected into a crown-like corymb at the tips
of the branches and are of a bright golden color.
It is a jilant of easy culture, and a most desira-
ble acquisition, for it produces its showy flowers
in mid-winter. Figured in the Botanical Maga-
zine, t. 5887.

Dracaena splendens.— A remarkably dis-
tinct ornamental stove plant, of dwarf and com-
pact but free-growing habit, densely furnished
wilh short oblong acute recurved leaves, about 9
inches long and 4 inches broad, arranged in a
spiral manner, and having winged footstalks.
The color is a deep bronzy green, breaking out
in the young growth into bright rosy carmine,
the petiole and base of the leaves margined with
the same color. The brighter coloring appears
sometimes in stripes, and sometimes occupies the
whole surface, while the recurved character of
lihe densely-set foliage gives the plant a flat,
almost table-like head. It has been imported
from the South Sea Islands, It was awarded a
a First-class Certificate by the Floral Committee
of the Royal Horticultural Society.

ECHEYERiA ABYSSiNiCA.— This fine green-
house succulent, of branching shrubby habit,
was brought from Abyssinia by Major Leveson
at the time of the Abyssinian war. The plant
has much the habit of some of the large-leaved
shrubby Sempervivums, but being described by
my correspondent as bearing red flowers, it has
been doubtfully referred to Echeveria, with
which it sufficiently accords in habit. The
stems are as thick as one's finger, and terminate
in flattened rosulate heads of spathulate acute
leaves, 3 to 4 inches long, of a pale glossy green
color, and finely ciliated at the margin. The

S18

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTBLY. October,

plants form a branched conical mass a foot and
a half high, and as much through, and will be a
welcome addition amongst succulents.

Begonia Carminata.— An elegant tube-
rous-rooted Hybrid of the " boliviensis '' group.
The leaves are stained with a coppery brown
tint between the veins, while the flowers are
large, of a pretty delicate salmony hue tinged
with rose, the males having four oblong seg-
ments upwards of an inch long, and the females
five petals of smaller size. The Plants come
into Flower while quite dwarf, and continue
blooming in the most profuse manner.

New Clematis.— J. ?6e7t Victor. — Extra fine
shape, each flower having eight petals, deep

lavender color, with brown ribs down the centre
of each petal, the ribs changing to white, or
nearly so, as the flower expands. Very free-
flowering, and of a superb, thick, velvety tex-
ture.

Lady Lowlesborough. — Very fine shape, each
flower having eight petals, color a delicate sil-
ver-grey, with white stripe down the centre of
each petal ; a pink stain at the base of the sta-
mens gives it a pretty appearance. Good sub-
stance, and very free-flowering ; constitution
very robust.

Miss Batevian.— Good shape, each flower com-
posed of eight petals, color pure white, with dis-
tinct band of glaucous cream-color down the
centre of each petal. Very free, and altogether
a magnificent plant.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

The markets in Liverpool are well supplied ,
with vegetables, fruits and flowers, and espe- |
cially Ssh. Salmon by the cwt., if you want
it. The pot plants in the markets, either in
Liverpool, Birmingham or Bristol, are about the
same price for the same class of plants, as in
New York, except in the Spring, when, for bed-
ding out purposes, they are cheaper. Still, if
the demand was as brisk on this side as it is on
yours, more money could be made here in the
business by an active go ahead man, when you
consider rent, wages, climate, fuel, &c. The
demand is good, and the gardens far better
adorned than they are with you (excepting
vases ; because, if you buy one dozen Fuchsias,
one dozen Scarlet Geraniums, one dozen Varie-
gated Geraniums, two dozen Calceolarias, two
dozen Lobelias, and plant them out the first
of May, then they are in constant bloom till
December. Consequently there are no blanks to
fill. Then on the side borders, plenty of Asters,
Stocks, Balsams, Mignonette, with a plant of.
Passiflora coerulea, and two or three Tropoeolum j
peregrinum, (Canarybird flower) for the piazza ;
and you have nothing to do but pull the weeds j
out, and give them a watering once a month,
if it donH rain for that time^ which is a very

unusual occurrence, I assure you, although it
has not rained in this locality for the past seven-
teen days, and there is not the least indication
of it, yet it has afforded the farmers a fine oppor-
tunity of securing their grain crops. More than
two-thirds is already stacked or housed, and the
crop is very heavy and of fine quality. This
will make up, in a measure, for the short crop of
potatoes, which, decidedly short it will be, ac-
cording to report and observation. The "rot"
is almost as serious as it was in 1854-5 ; still at
present they are cheap, two cents per pound.
In spite of different names some of the market
gardeners give them here, t must inform your
potato growers, that the very best eating potato
they have in the market now, is our " Early
Rose. ' '

I eat them for dinner every day ; can afford
to at two cents per peund, when the first one I
tasted was one dollar.

I saw a new cucumber here for the first time,
on Mr. Meredith's stand in the market, four
feet six inches ; from China, called the " Sooly
qua.'''' They boil it there, and use it with rice.
I know nothing of its edible qualities, but think
it would be an ornament in a vinery or conser-
vatory, and could be grown in a moderately cool

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLT.

S19

temperature. As regards Cucumbers in general
for forcing, the best that I have seen are the
three following, viz : Marquis of Lome, British
Challenge, and Blue Gown ; the last a new one
which promises well, but would prefer the first ;
a fine fruit, straight as an arrow, two feet long,
green and crisp.

Passed on rapidly through green fields, and
fields of waving corn and barley, to Dudley, on
the confines of Worcestershire and Staffordshire,
part in one county, part in the other. The most
interesting feature here are the ruins of the
castle. As far as reliable history goes, the foun-
dation is traced back about nine hundred years,
but the ultimate dismantling occurred during
the war between Charles and Cromwell. It was
the last stronghold that heM out for the unfor-
tunate monarch.

As you have an " Acaderaj of N'atural Sci-
ence" in Philadelphia, it may interest some of
its members to mention that there is a rich de-
posit here under the castle and castle hill, in
the "Wenlock lime stone, of fossils belonging to
the Silurian system. There is in the town a
museum, and Mechanics' Institute ; among
other objects of interest is a glass case or cases,
if you please, six feet wide and fifty feet long, con-

taining these fossils. They are represented by
seven species of the order of Zoophyta ; five
species of Radiaria, (one only of the order found
now) ; four species of the order of Conchifera ;
two species of the order of Mollusca ; five species
of Crustacea ; and one of Pisces.

ISTothiug much of interest here in the horti-
cultural department. Earl Dudley's seat is four
miles from here ; passed by it ; saw some fine
oaks and elms in it, and near by, close on the
public highway, saw what I thought were hen-
coops, thirty-eight of them— counted them; asked
the driver what they were ; said they were
young pheasants being hatched out by hens.
This was in a grass field. Adjoining, divided
by a wire fence, was a field of buckwheat of
about three acres, fully ripe. On the other side
was a dense wood, and it seems after they are
out of the shell, they go into the buckwheat
patch and feed, and when they get strong enough
to feel their oats, or rather their buckwheat, they
go into the woods and join their brethren.

I find I am digressing from horticultural sub-
jects, as I promised you, but will try to atone
for it when I get into a more congenial region,
which I hope will be before you receive my next
letter. J. W. W.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTUAL
SOCIETY.

In our last we noted that on account of re-
pairs to the Hall— doubling its capacity for ex-
hibition purposes — the annual meeting would
not take place till October. It is now announced
that there is a postponement for one week more.
The time now— October 22 to 25.

KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

At a late meeting it was
Resolved, That this society appoint three dele-
gates to collect and exhibit Kansas fruit next

Fall at the meeting of the Pennsylvania Horti-
cultural Society at Philadelphia. The committee
appointed being Dr. W. M. Housley, Dr. J. Stay-
man and .1. C. Vincent.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY EXHIBI-
TION AT LOUISVILLE.

Louisville, like Nashville and Cincinnati, is a
first class horticultural centre. A correspondent
kindly furnishes us with the following account
of the recent exhibition there :

THE KENTUCKY HORTICULTURAL SOCrETY.

One of the most interesting and admirable
features of the Exposition is the display of fruit

320 THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY.

October,

made by the Kentucky Horticultural Society.
The tables, sixty-five feet in length, have been
filled to overflowing with specimens of fruit
which were deserving the highest praise. These
tables are under the direct charge of the most
prominent horticulturists in this and adjoining
counties, viz. : Messrs W. H. Cox, Chairman ;
J. S. Bcatty, C. C. Cary, H. S. Duncan and W.
J. Lee. Each of these gentlemen have faithfully
represented the interests of the Society and
others.

At the head of the tables is the display of that
well-known nursery firm, Messrs. S. L. Gaar &
Cox, Anchorage, Ky., composed of seventy-five
varieties of apples and thirty-five varieties of
pears. This display is splendid, and should be
seen by every lover of fruit. It is highly com-
mendable to the firm, and their efforts to have
the choicest and most approved varieties for our
Southern country should be appreciated by all.

Next to this display are twenty-five varieties
of the most tempting and delicious-looking
grapes fromThos. S. Kennedy, Esq., Fairview,
near Louisville. Mr. K. is a thorough horticult-
urist. He makes a specialty of native grapes,
and may well be considered as having the best
collection in our State.

Mr. J. S. Beatty of Shelby and Bullitt coun-
ties, exhibits twenty-seven varieties of apples,
eight of pears and five of peaches. They are
most excellent, and compare fully with any
grown.

Mr. H. S. Duncan's collection is a varied as-
sortment of the best sorts, and attracts consider-
able attention.

W. A. Richardson, Esq., of this city, has the
largest specimen bunches of black Hamburg
grapes, grown under glass, we have seen ihis
season.

Mr. J. Satksteder has a most creditable dis-
play of native grapes, grown on his farm, at
Pewee Valley. He also has his specialties, the
Ives' Seedling wine and brandy, which the
chairman is very liberal in testing with his
friends.

Mr. W. J. Lee, of Bullitt county, exhibits very
large specimens of the most approved varieties
of apples, pears and peaches.

Mr. Jacob Johnson, a well known and vener-
able horticulturist, has a very choice assortment
of apples, peaches, pears and grapes.

Mr. George Schwartz, of Louisville, has two

baskets of grapes which would have tempted
Eve if they had been in Eden, instead of apples.

A double or twin watermelon was exhibited
from Jeffersonville, Ind., which was a real nat-
ural curiosity.

Several fruit-growers in Indiana have exhibi-
ted very nice specimens.

CHAMPAIGN" HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

At the last July meeting of this Society, the
subject for consideration being "Money in the
Orchards," the regular essayist not being pres-
ent, the Hon. M. L. Dunlap ("Rural'') was
called on to state his views on the subject. He
said one of the greatest mistakes made by most
persons in planting an orchard was, too many
varieties were planted. Summer apples should
be planted in limited numbers, as also should
sweet apples ; and "Winter apples should make
up the bulk of the orchard. He finds that red
apples sell better than those of other colors, but
the yellow ones are the richer. He also finds
hand-picking and careful handling to be the
most profitable way of marketing his fruit.
Summer apples should be put up in one-half
bushel boxes ; but barrels are better for Fall and
Winter varieties, which should be pressed in by
screw or hand, to prevent bruising in handling
and shipping. "Winter apples should be picked
early, or as soon as they are ripe and begin to
fall, and put away in a cool, dry cellar or cool
room, and they will keep better than when left
on the tree or ground until late in the Fall. He
would name Sops of Wine and Red Astrachan
for Summer, Golden Sweet and Snow for early
Fall, Sevel and Stannard for late Fall, and Jo-
nathan, Benderis and Smith's Cider for Winter,
with "Willow Twig for late keeping. He does
not think these the only good varieties, but that
they will pay for growing. It adds to the profits
of orcharding by working the unmarketable
apples into cider.

The show of fruits was fine, consisting of
apples, cherries, and apricots. The Society ad-
[ journed to meet at " Rural Home " on the last
Saturday in August. After the adjournment
the Society did ample justice to a bountiful re-
past, spread by the committee, Messrs. Adams,
Howell, and Earned. This Society continue to
think themselves a live institution and undoubt-
edly with truth. It is operated by live men.
— Western Eural.

ilb (Sard^E^r's IE0iitIil2.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIV. J^OVEMBER, 1872. ^«^ Series, Vol. V. No. 11.

HINTS FOR NOVEMBER.

FLOWER GARDEN" AND PLEASTJRE
GROUND.

Friends who have made the tour of Europe
this year tell us that the taste for hardy herba-
ceous plants seems, to pervade all classes of the
community. This is an illustration of history
repeating itself. Fifty years ago there was little
of any other kind of out-door flower gardening.
The "knots'* and beds, and borders, were for
the especial accommodation of hardy herbaceous
plants and nothing else. Then came the fashion
of having only one kind of plant in a bed, so as
to make a mass of bloom during the summer
season, and these were arranged in a system of
small beds so as to afford the cultivated taste
an opportunity to display the various harmo-
nies of color. This was the massing period.
The ribbon age came next, in which not merely
flowers but colored leaves were brought into
use, and the harmonies were effected by various
kinds of plants arranged in the same bed. All
of these fashions have their merits. Flower
gardening rarely has ever in history afforded
more gratification than during the few past
years when these methods of culture have been
pursued. The evil which accompanied them was
in nearly banishing from cultivation the beautiful
and interesting tribe known as hardy herbaceous
plants. From early spring till late in the fall
some of them were in blossom, — and then there
was always something in or about them to at-
tract attention or excite curiosity or deeper
thought, which no system of "bedding" plants
ever did, and their return to favor is an event to
be rejoiced over. We shall be glad to do all we
can to encourage the taste for them.

In Europe many of the most popular of hardy
plants are from American woods and prairies,
and as we must of necessity it seems copy after
Europeans in what they first see fit to do, it will
be quite in the fashion to go out into our fields
and fence rows and collect the beautiful things
we find growing there. One need hardly fear to
hear the remark from some over fastidious lips
that we are growing only "wild things,'' for
there is a lamentable ignorance of everything
but the fashionable in our community. The re-
gion of the Wissahickon near Philadelphia teems
in beautiful wild plants amongst its magnificent
scenery, and hundreds of thousands are annual-
ly attracted by the reputation of the tract to
visit its charming lanes and drives every year; and
yet we could take of the interesting plants which
grow so profusely here and transplant them into
our gardens, and feel quite sure that of the
mighty hosts which visit the Wissahickon re-
gion annually, barely one would recognize any
plant as a former companion of travel, or believe
that they were anything else than rare exotics
from a foreign land.

Another matter of interest in regard to col-
lecting hardy herbaceous plants is, that there
are a large number of rare native plants not yet
in cultivation, which many an owner of a first-
class collection would give a good deal to pos-
sess. A collection from one's own neighborhood
would therefore often be really one of the most
valuable one could possess, and be the founda-
tion of a series of exchanges with others, which
would soon swell a little collection to one of the
best.

In the culture of herbaceous plaats it is well

sn

TBE GARDEJfER'S MOJVTELl. J^ovemher,

to remember that geiierall}^ a part dies every
year. They seldom corae up in exactly the same
place every year, but a bud or runner pushes out
and the old part dies. Though all herbaceous
plants move in some such manner, they do not all
go directly underground, but make bunchy stocks
just above ground. In their native places of
growth they manage to get covered with decay-
ing 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 awa3\
An Auricula, a Primrose, or a Carnation is a
good illustration of this. In the two former a
new crown 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 spring
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,
noll3hocks and so forth, safe till spring. The
principles here laid down will explain the prac-
tice.

Pampas Grass, Tritoraa uvarias and other
half hardy things do much better when left out
all w^inter and protected. The best protection
is a dry-goods box filled with leaves. Many
plants might be saved in this way, and the in-
crease beauty of the plants would pay well for
the trouble These ugly boxes may be objec-
tionable, but probably the time may corae when
it will be thought worth while to have neat cases
made expressly for them.

One of the most anxious of questions with
many just now, is, will our trees suffer again as
so many did last winter ? We hardly expect to
see again as we saw last year, Picea Pindrow,
Picea Pinsapo, Abies Smithiana and similar
plants usually deemed at the best but half
hardy, entirely uninjured, while Hemlocks, Ar-
borvita?s and Norway Spruces along side of them
were entirely destroyed. We suppose, however,
after what has been said in our magazine, that
our readers generally understand the cause. It

is hardly likely that the same set of injurious
causes will, for many years, if ever, occur again.

At any rate, we know that the best safeguard
against this terrible set-to of the agents of death,
is to give to all our trees the highest vitality
possible In all cases where treas are growing
in very dry ground, or under the shade of trees,
or in any condition where some of the best ele-
ments of healthy growth are wanting, a top dres-
sing of manure is invaluable. As a rule, all
trees like manure as well as corn or potatoes do,
and if one has it to spare, there is scarcel}' any-
thing which may not be benefitted by an appli-
cation on the surface at this season.

The planting of trees will still continue to en-
gage our attention at every fiivorable opportu-
nity. Many prefer at this season to remove
trees in the winter b}' the 'frozen ball" system.
There is nothing gained by this practice. To
those unacquainted with this mode of planting,
we may as well describe it. Just before frost is
expected, a trench is dug around a tree a few
feet from its base, leaving the tree, so that with
a rope at the top, it can be easily drawn over.
A hole is then dug for it in the situation desired.
When the "ball" has become frozen through
around the tree, it is removed to the prepared
hole \ and, when a thaw conies, the soil is filled
in around it. We have said there is nothing
gained by it, and there are many disadvantages.
If the tree has been removed a "■time or two"
before, as most nursery trees have, it will have
an abundance of fibres near the stem, and can
be successfully removed without much regard to
the ''-ball of earth," either in fall or spring. If
it has never been removed before, that is a tree
growing naturally, it will have no fibres at its
base, and so no 'ball of earth" can preserve
them ; so that a tree which can be moved suc-
cessfully on this freezing system, can be as suc-
cessfully done without it. The disadvantages of
it are that it exposes the injured roots for a long
time to the injurious action of the frost and the
elements, besides the frequency of the operation
being improperly done by several attempts being
made at its completion. We have given the
system a fair trial, and have done with it. The
main object should be to preserve all the roots
possible with the tree, keep them moist and pre-
serve from injury, then go ahead and don't wait

for frost.

— — ♦ — ♦-

FRUIT GARDEN.

No wonder those who watch the proceed-
ings of Pomological conventions, are often puz-

1872.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJSrTHLr.

S2S

zled by the apparently contradictory opinions
offered as to the merits of various kinds of fruits.
The facts are no doubt accurately reported. One |
for instance asserts that his Vicars are worth-
less,—his next door neighbor, perhaps, declares
it one of the finest varieties he ever tasted. We
have often noticed that both of these classes
are right. The only thing which astonishes us
is, that the one who has the inferior fruit, and
knows his neighbor has it of the highest excel-
lence, should condemn f/ie variety. But this is
the way of the fruit growing world. Each one
thinks his knowledge of culture perfect, and if
the fruit does not come up to the first-class qual-
ity in his hands, all other people's experience is
ignored,— the variety must be worthless. We
have a friend of this class. Some first-class va-
rieties on his grounds he calls worthless. The
fruit is never of the size represented in the books;
and when it becomes soft, is insipid. We told
him that his trees lost their leaves too early.
They were suffering from leaf blight ; but he
thmks the leaves fall early because they "ripen-
ed early. " We have never been able to convince
hijn that this early falling of leaves is of the
slightest injury. On his grounds is a Vicar
of Winkfield, which being out of the way of his
careful culture, bears fine fruit every year ; but
this )'ear about the usual time of the leaf blight's
appearance, some caterpillars, carelessly treated,
eat off the leaves of one side of the tree. On this
side he has half-sized worthless pears, on the
other half, fruit of the usual excellence. Now
he is satisfied that the leaves cannot remain on
too long healthy for the tree's good. How we
wish we could impress this lesson on all fruit
growers ! We have often given our opinion that
this blight, which causes the fall of the leaf be-
fore the maturity of the fruit, is a greater foe to
pear culture than the fire blight, which destroys
a whole tree in a night, ever has been. Those
who have pears in this condition should have
them grafted over again with sorts which have
a better habit of holding their foliage. This is
the most certain remedy we know.

Pear trees that have not been judiciously
summer pruned will require some little in the
early winter months. By far too many branches
are left on most trees.

When the tree is in leaf, the one branch smoth-
ers out the other, and, remembering what we
have already said about the value of healthy
leaves, few leaves arrive at that perfectioti ne-
cessary to perfect the best fruit. Therefore,

prune out enough of the weaker ones to give the
rest every chance to develop their leaves to the
fullest extent. Also prune so as to assist the
plant to a conical form, as this enables the light
to act better on all parts of the tree leaves. If
trees have been neglected, in pruning too se-
verely to get them to this shape, the result will
be to make them throw out shoots still more
vigorously from near the parts cut away. When
these shoots appear in spring, pull them out
while young with the finger and thumb. The.
current of sap will then flow strongly into the
shoots left, and the ratio of growth will in the
end be nearly equal through all the branches.
The flow of sap through a tree is nearly like that
of water through an uneven country. A very
little obstruction will turn the course ; but that
once started soon becomes as great a stream in
the new as in the old channel.

Apple trees have a habit, when old, of push-
ing out sappy shoots along the main branches.
These should be cut away in addition to a simi-
lar thinning as recommended for the pear.

Dwarf apples and dwarf pears should be ex-
amined now to see what the borer is doing for
them. This is the time when they do the most
destruction, as they are boring down into the
stems for winter protection. A cut with a jack
knife up and down the stems so as to avoid gird-
ling as much as possible is the most certain de-
struction. Then, if in spring, before the parent
insects begin to work, oiled paper, or rather tar-
red paper, be put about the stem near the ground,
they can be kept out. It is strange that with so^
little time as borer hunting takes, so many thou-
sand trees should be allowed to die from their
attacks every year.

Above all, for both apple and pear orchards, we
bespeak a liberal dressing — a top dressing of
something or another. If no manure is to be
had, even common road sand will be found to
have a beneficial influence.

Poverty of the surface soil is oftener a cause of
fruit failure than "grass,'' "change of climate,"
or many imaginable ills brought up from some
ghostly cavern of thought to cover up the pover-
ty of pocket or of industrial inclinations.

Strawberries are much better when protected
through the winter, no matter how "harey"
they may be. Very coarse strawy manure is
the best material which can be raked off in ear-
ly spring. A few inches is sufiicient, just enough
to keep the sun off when frozen, which all our

SZJf

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^THLY. ^^ovemher,

readers know, by this time, is the chief cause of
I088 by frost.

VEGETABLE GARDEN,

It is little use to attempt to <;row vegetables !
well, unless the soil is well treated. They maybe
and are grown on thin soils, not only at a great :
expense for manure, and at a great risk of dying '
out in a dry season, and of having the roots rot- i
ted out in a wet one. In these parts where the
frost has not yet been severe enough to injure
the celery crop, it may have another earthing 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 through
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. It always keeps
best 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,
will also require protection. Thoy 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
in the soil, 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
wiih corn stalks, litter, or any protecting mate-
rial. The main object in protecting all these
kind of vegetables is to prevent their growth by
keeping them as cool as possible, and to prevent
shrivelling by keeping them moist. Cabbage
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 too great a run of water in heavy
rains. The plots for the crops should be laid oflF
in squares or parallelograms, for convenience in
digging, and the edges of the walks set with box
edging. Tf water can be introduced, it is a great
convenience.

Somt times broccoli does not head before there
is danger of frosts, especially if growing vigor-
ously. 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 belter 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-
monest material will be rendered nearly equal
to the bebt cedar.

COMMUNICATIONS.

TREES MOST SUITABLE FOR STREET
PLANTING.

BY MR. J. RICHARDSON, LOUISVILLE, KY.

After a series of observations, extending
through some years, we can recommend the fol-
lowing trees as most likely to give satisftvction
when'planted for shade in cities and towns.

The Elm, which has proven peculiarly hardy,
and able to stand the smut and smoke of cities, is
a slow grower, but a very healthy tree, and will,
\ with care and a little cultivation, arrive at a
sutRcieut size in a few years to aflTord good shade,
and when well developed presents a fine appear-
ance. Some specimens of Elms which grew in

1872.

THE GARI)EJ\''ER'S MOJVTELY.

325

the original forests are still left intact on the
streets, and seem to flourish as vigorously as
they did with their original surroundings.

The European Linden, a stiff" formal tree, hut
easilj' cultivated, has proven a good tree for or-
namental purposes, and since the introduction
of water into our Western cities, kept clear of
worms b}'^ daily sprinklings. We should recom-
mend the Linden for more extensive cultivation,
as it never grows to an inordinate size, and has
proven a success where planted.

The Sycamore and Cotton-wood are rapid
growers, and have been planted quite extensive-
ly throughout the West. These trees are ohjec
tionable on some accounts, hut their rapid
growth affording an early shade will always re-
commend them to persons desiring shade at the
earliest time. In alluvial soils the Cotton-wood
grows lu.Kuriantly, and although no great favor-
ite, we think it not only meritorious for rapidity
of development, hut also for the beauty of its
bloom and foliage.

The soft Maples are quite slow growers when
planted among bricks, but they seem to flourish,
and as the li^t of trees that have any adaptahili-
ty to city life isi'ather limited, we cannot exclude
the Maple. The Sugar Maple does not succeed
in the city, but in our villaLres does well. This
tree in proper soil and location is certainly the
most beautiful of all the trees planted for orna-
mental purposes.

The Silver-leaved Poplar, when healthy and
uninfested by the borer, makes a handsome
shade tree ; planted among brick pavements, it
does not sucker, and when the soil is rich, the
foliage presents a rich, dense appearance.

The Honey Locust is a very hardy, npidly
growing tree, but with the exception of some
fine specimens left standing from the original
forest growth, we have never seen it planted for
shade. This tree we have no doubt would an-
swer an excellent purpose, as we find it springing
up along highways and railways, seemingly in-
different to its surroundings. One objection,
however, could he urged against the Honey Lo-
cust, and that is on account of the fruit which
offers a strong temptation to boys to batter the
tree up with sticks. We all know the common
Locust as an ornamental tree and a hardy one,
but its brittle scraggy aspect certainly does not
recommend it.

Some kinds of trees can be planted in yards
and so located as to overshadow the side-walk.
Some species would hardly flourish among

bricks, and yet when set out in yards and some
attention bestowed on keeping them mulched
and fertilized, occasionally do well. The Ca
talpa, Paulownia and some of the hardier Oaks
and Ash-leaved Maple, when planted in yards,
grow well, and will in a few j'ears give good
shade.

Some hints about planting tree-^. Spade the
ground up thoroughly for some distance around
the spot where you are about to plant. Plant
your trees only deep enough to give them sup-
port until the roots get well started. If planted
on a sidewalk bounded by the Nicholson or other
pavements containing gas tar, set them as far as
the law allows away from the pavement. Mulch
the trees for some 3^ears, and replace the bricks
loosely so as to allow moisture to penetrate.
Procure trees from the nursery and not from the
woods. 1 f you can dispense with boxing around
trees it would be better ; at any rate, use light,
airj' protection when necessary.

LILIUM AURATUM.

BY J. B.

A Sight worth seeing. To any one fond of rare
and beautiful flowers, it would have been worth
a trip of ten miles to have visited J. B Town-
send's beautiful residence on City avenue and
Pennsylvania R, R., AVest Philada., to have seen
a gorgeous clump of Lilium auratum, 3 to 4 feet
high, with over a dozen flowers on a stem, and
not less than a dozen stems in the clump. Soil,
a shelly, sandy, brown soil, dug out about 2 feet
deep, and mixed wi h rotten manure. Site, high
and dry. Also a beautiful lawn tree, Aralia ja-
ponica, seldom seen ; will be in full flower in
September, making a fine contrast among clumps
of tropical leaved plants, with its enormous
leaves and large panicles of white flowers. No
suckers have ever come up in the sod where it is
growing, but bears seed abundantly when it
flowers.

ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

Effects of the great drought in Southwest Te)in.

BY DR, SILAS T. GILBERT, OF MEMPHIS.

An experiment which I performed on one of
my Asparagus beds this year bears out the truth
of the statements made by you and Mr. Sargent
and Mr, Ravanel, in regard to the beneficial ef
fects derived by the prevention of seeding of this
vegetable.

S26

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLY. .Yovemher,

One of the beds, forty by three hundred feet, i
had, this sprhig, a heavy dressing of fresh livery ,
stable manure and grocer's i^efuse salt. The
weeds commenced springing up rapidly before j
the cessation of cutting for market, and had to j
be freely hoed. "When left to itself corapara- '•.
lively the bed became very foul. Just as the '
most forward plants commenced seeding, I
mowed the whole plat off clean ; again growing
to this stage and so filled with great careless ,
weeds, I became disheartened at the hand pull- \
ipg process, and mowed off cleanly the second
time. The weeds and grass have been in a
measure checked, but the Asparagus is growing |
rapidly, and some stalks are blooming ; each i
growth is more luxuriant than the preceding j
one ; and this bed appears to a much better ad- j
vantage than another mowed over later and only j
once. Indeed the second growth was as high as
my shoulder, and the third is in many places al-
ready as high as my head. Before reading Mr.
Ravanel's remarks I supposed that the same roots \
had sent up three seed stalks. May this not be
really the case ? Independent of the gain to the
plant, the labor saving of this mowing process
is a great saving of time and trouble. Is it not
possible to propagate from the offshoots of a
clump of roots? Is Mr. R. quite right when he
says that seeding is the only way possible ? I
do not deny it, but suspect he is wrong.

We have at least arrived at the end of the
most oppressive lieat and most prolonged and
disastrous drought ever known in this section of
the country. You can scarce credit the fact
tuat not only nine men died of sunstroke in our
little city of only sixty thousand inhabitants, (if
that many) but mulrs actually dropped and final-
ly died. Upon a hill where I have a vineyard
of eighteen hundred vines, the earth became so
dry it would not pack in a post-hole digger ; the
implement would only loosen the soil in the hole.
As we hope to never again experience the
phenomenon of only one rain in nearly three
months, it behooves us to put on record so
thorough a trial of the ability of certain things
to withstand the effects of drought and heat
The upland soil all about the immediate vicinity
of Memphis is a thin mould lying on a stiff red-
dish yellow clay, which is noted for the excel-
lent brick made of it, but yet is charged with an
astonishing amount of mineral plant food, and
is rendered quite fertile by subsoiling and other
judicious management.

Strawberries.
Plat No. 1 is a worn, steep liillside of about
two acres ext>int. The following are the propor-
tions of each variety killed by the drought :
Triompe de Gand, four-fifths ; Wilson's, two-
thirds ; Boyden's Xo. XXX, Ida and Downer's
Prolific, one-half; Lennig's White, two-thirds.

Strawberries ; proportion killed by drought,
set last fall and this spring :
250 plants of Golden Queen, all lower leaves

sunburned, but not a plant lost.
240 Xapoleon III, 24 killed.
240 Dr. Nicaise, (apparently identical with the

above sort) 22 killed.
45 Burr's New Pine, 13 killed, all badly sun-
burned.
30 Lennig's White, 30 killed, all badly sun-
burned.
80 Xew Jersey Scarlet, 29 killed, all badly sun-
burned.
45 Colfax, 34 killed, all badly sunburned.
35 Kramer, 26 killed, all badly sunburned.
67 Triomphe de Gand, 68 killed, all badly sun-
burned.
800 Jucunda, 733 killed, all badly sunburned.
In another plat of steep hillside, two acres.
Downer's Prolific, lo5it one-fifth.
Wilson, lost :j
Ida, lost §.
Green Prolific, lost i.
Agriculturist, 16 stools, lost 7.
Kentucky, 141 stools, lost 19.
Boyden's Xo. XXX, 60 stools, lost 26.
Philadelphia, 68 stools, lost .19.
Longworth's Prolific, lost h

On an old bed of Wilson's, a rich bottom, one-
eighth was killed.

Baspherries.

Those Blackcaps in the orchard were but
slightly injured ; those out in the sunshine fared
badly, especially Davidson's Thornless, but I
think I shall not lose a stool. The Philadelphia
dropped every leaf, but I can find no canes thor-
oughly dried up ; it is to be hoped none are
kiiled.

Currants and Gooseberries, which never do
much good here, have shut up shop above ground.

The Wild Goose Plum trees never winced a
moment, but other sorts, and cherry trees, espe-
cially the latter, have «eased growing, and have
already shed half their leaves. Wild Goose on
peach roots have outgrown and done better than
those on plum roots.

Winter before this last I planted out two and

ISJ'B.

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOJYTHLY.

St7

a half acres of peach trees on a plat of ground
rich and deep, except in one corner, which was
stiff, shallow and poor. Having three dozen
surplus trees, I set them in a patch of young
clover, and left them to take care of themselves
on the poor stitf clay. Where the trees sent
their roots deep down and obtained plenty of nour-
ishment and AepCcoo?, they have been throughout
quite thrifty ; those which sent out roots only
nearly the surface made only a half growth, and
when the drought set in they wilted, and long
since their lea-yes look red with the appearance
of the trees dying. Trees in the clover came
near dying the first year and did not grow at all.
This spring they commenced to grow slowly,
and all through the drought ilxty held on to their
deep greev, healthy leaves, never minding the
drought at all. It is so difficult for them to force
their roots into the uncultivated soil, they can-
not gather much food ; but I cannot assign any
other reason for the extreme healthful color of
the leaves unless it be that the clover sod kept
the roots cool and 7noist.

In my opinion the Napoleon III is the best
strawberry for us here. I know that with us
the raspberry should always be planted in an or-
chard, and I think that the strawberry in the
South would also do much better if partially
shaded. I attribute the late disasters to my crops
partly to hill culture ; let others say whatjthey
please, but lam satisfied from careful observation
that the alternate row system with hand clean-
ing amongst the Vines, letting the runners root,
is by far the best system for the South. It will
not do to put negroes in a strawberry patch with
hoes in their hands, for they will cut up one-
third of the hills before the season is over, be-
sides the injury done by thrusting the hoe too
deeply under and about the plants everywhere,
and dragging away the dirt. A neighbor of
mine clears his alleys with horse power, and fin-
ger picks the plants in the matted rows ; I shall
hereafter certainly follow suit. We do not
raise small grain here, hence cannot get any
cheap straw. Ordinary forest leaves lie too
close and blow away so freely that they are
worthless, whilst pine leaves are not to be had.
Can you suggest any mulch where strawberries
are raised /or prq^i.

TEA CULTIVATION IX THE U. S.

BY MR. JAMES M'PIIERSON.

The various public journals every now and

then are hinting at the experiments which are
being conducted in the States of California, Ore-
gon, Georgia, &c., in the cultivation of tea, and
I am pleased to see that many of these reports
wear a very hopeful character.

The 'abor question is without doubt the chief
difficulty, and it will be well for those who are
interested in experiments to consider how they
may best meet it.

So far as the manufacture is concerned, there
cannot be a doubt but the U. S. possesses very
great advantages, for the machinery already in
use may be more readily worked here than in
either India, China or Japan. Neither in the
manufacture nor in the drying of the tea need
any difficulty arise, if a good manager be ob-
tained.

The 2)icking of the crop must be performed by
manual labor, and for this about fifteen hands
would be required to work eight days per annum
upon every 1500 plants, giving an average return
of 1200 pounds of green leaf, or 300 pounds of
made tea. The cost of picking the crop alone
may in this way easily be calculated.

As to the cultivation, tea ordinarily takes
three years to yield its first crop after being per-
manently planted out, and it may be advisable
to consider whether those in charge of experi-
ments would not act wisely to grow in some low
growing crop, — say melons or turnips, tomatoes
or beets for example, and so secure a quick re-
turn from the land. If this were done the tea
would necessarily have to be set out in wide
lines to admit of the plow being used between
the rows. Manual labor would thus be materi-
ally lessened, and the green tops of the interme-
diate crop could be worked in as manure for
tea plant,— a description of manure, by-the-by,
which experience has shown to be as beneficial
as any. We would be disposed to recommend
then that experimentalists should plant their tea
in rows 10 or 12 feet apart, and- 2^ feet in the
rows, and when the shrubs were 4 or 5 years
old, every other one in the row might be thinned
out, leaving them ultimately at distances of 10 ft,
x5ft.

We suspect that no one cares what his land
produces, so long as he receives a good balance
per acre, and if it be possible to grow in two
crops better than one, certainly we think our
farmers will not be slow to perceive it.

On very many of the Indian plantations two
crops are pretty regularly grown, one of tea and
the other of very rank weeds ; we do not reoom-

S^8

THE GAK}iEJ\''ElCi> MOJ^'TELl. J^ovemher

mend any one to follow that plan, but if their ex-
perience show that their climate will produce
any crop of not more than one foot in height
and which will necessitate the use of the plow,
between the wide rows of tea, by all means let
them try it.

Scarcely any animal will eat the raw leaves of
tea. and sheep have been grazL^l among the
shrubs without iniury.

DENDROBIUM NOBILE.

BY J. M.

I would recommend bouquet makers to try
and grow this beautiful orchid iu beds formed
w'.thin their houses. The beds should be formed
by placing a good layer of brickbats or pot-crocks
on a dry bottom, and then about equal portions
of fibrous peat and sphagnum moss. In this the
plants may be set out at any distance, according
to size. The advantages are, saving of pots and
greater evenness of moisture and temperature of
soil, &c. The lights may be drawn off in the
climate of Philadelphia when the growth is being
ripened. The crop of dowers will depend upon
this being well done.

HOT WATER HEATING.

BY DR. J. FISHKR, FITCUBURQ, MASS.

I have read with much interest the various
articles that have appeared in the Monthly from
time to time upon the above subject, and, while
not proposing to enter into any criticism of the
reasoning to which, at least, a part of them
are open, inasmuch as they are more or less con-
tradictory of each other, I desire to offer my
mite in elucidation of the matter, only hoping
that the darkness will not grow any more dense
in consequence.

I think it may be laid down as an axiom that,
the more rapid the circulation in a hot ivater appa-
ratus, other things being equal, the nearer perfec-
tion will be its working Complaints are often
heard as to the sluggishness of this mode in heat-
ing, and, as a consequence, the variation in tem-
perature by reason of the parts ftirthest from the
boiler being but imperfectly heated. A house
properly built and furnished with a well con-
structed heating apparatus should have neither
hot nor cold corners, but should be very nearly
unilormly heated throughout during the coldest
and most blustering nights of winter. This I
am sure, from my own experience, is possible.

In this communication I propose to speak only
of the sul)ject of the circulation of water, and
deduce therefrooi the best mode of arranging
the pipes.

The first requisite to a full understanding of
the subject is to know the cause of the move-
ment or circulation of the water. If I say it is
heat, it is true. If I say it is gravitation, it is
also true ; and i' I say it is expansion, it is again
true ; but, if I stop here, does any one get an
intelligent idea of the way in which the cause
produces the effect ? With the aid of Fig. 1, I
hope to make the matter clear.

{Fig. 1.)
Suppose the figure to represent a perpendicu-
lar section of a piece of pipe bent into the form
of a paralellogram, as shown, and filled with
water, except that portion lying immediately
below the disc A, and extending down to the
dotted line. This space contains air. Suppose
the disc to be movable like a piston. Now
what will be the result of this arrangement ? It
will be readily seen th it the air being specifically
lighter than the wat>'r, would tend to rise, but
being prevented by tlie disc from rising through
the water it would, nevertheless, rise and carry
the disc and water before it and, necessarily,
move simultaneously all the water contained in
the pipe, in the direction indicated by the arrows.
When the air reaches the top of the pipe, equi-
librium will be established, and no further move-
ment take place. Suppose that in the place of
air the space below the disc contains oil. The
result would be the same, only that oil having
nearer the specific gravit}" of water than air has,
the movement would have less force, and would,
therefore, be slower. Now suppose that instead
of either air or oil, the whole apparatus was
filled with water, and that heat should be ap-
plied to that portion just below the disc A. The
result would be that the heat would expand the
water at that point, thus rendering it specifi
cally lighter than the rest of the water, and the
same movement would take place as in the case
where the air or the pil was used, onl}' with this

187^^

THE GARDEJ^TER'S MOJ^THLY.

3^9

difference, that the specific gravity of hot water
being nearer that of cold water than that of
either air or oil, the movement would have less
force and be slower in consequence. If the heat
be continuousl}' applied, the movement will be
continuous just so long as the water in the riirht
side of the figure has a higher average tempera-
ture than that in the left side.

The figure represents essentially a hot water
apparatus, the only modification being that in
the place of the disc A, that portion to which
the heiit is applied is either contracted so as to
present only a thin sheet of water to the action
of the fire, or else is surrounded by fire on all
sides as in the various forms of tubular boilers.
If now I say that heat causes the circulation of
the water, and that gravity and expansion also
cause it I think any one will be able to understand
how the heat, by expanding the water in the
boiler, makes it specificallj^ lighter than the
colder water in the dip of the return pipe, and
the circulation comes from an attempt of these
two to find the point of equilibrium. This at-
tempt is rendered continually abortive by the
continued application of heat at one point and
the constant radiation and conduction of heat
from the pipes elsewhere, and thus the circula-
tion is continuous.

If I have succeeded in making myself under-
stood thus far, it will, I think, be evident that
the rapidity of the circulation depends directly
upon the difference of temperature between the
water in the right and left perpendicular columns
in Fig. 1. The difference in the temperature of
the water in the upper and lower level pipes in
a properly arranged apparatus have no influence
upon the circulation, but, as represented in the
figure, would act to retard it, inasmuch as the
heavier water in the lower pipe would have a
tendency to remain at the lowest point.

The point to be aimed at is to so arrange the
pipes as to produce this difference of temperature
and to render it as great as possible. This is
brought about by taking off the flow pipe from
the highest part of the boiler and carrying it
perfectly level through the entire course of the
flow and return, until just as it is about to enter
the boiler, when the whole fall or dip is made at
once. This is the essential point. Slight modi-
fication may be made as raatters* of convenience.
The fire should be placed low down within or
underneath the boiler, according to its form, so
as to commence heating the water at once
upon its entrance. In this way the greatest ave-

rage heat in the boiler column of water is secured,
while the opposing column of the return is all
filled with the coldest water, both circumstances
being essential to the most rapid circulation.

Directions are often given to lay the flow pipe
upon a more or less ascending grade and the
return upon a correspon ling decent. The slight
increase of the circulation thus secured, how-
ever, is in practice more than counterbalanced
by its awkwardness, and by carrying the pipes
away from the floor, whereby the heating is less
satisfactory. A friend of mine, wishing to heat
a house, but preferring not to excavate a pit for
his boiler, so arranged the pipes that the flow
pipe made a dip just after leaving the boiler, and
the entire remaining pipe was laid upon a level
with the entrance of the return into the boiler.
As mii^ht have been anticipated, there was no
column of cold water to oppose to the hot water
in the boiler and the water refused to move, and
he was obliged to drop the boiler in order to pro-
duce a circulation.-

Looking at this matter the way I do, I was very
much surprised to see a sketch of an apparatus,
on page 263 of the September number of the
Monthly, given as a model, in which the descent
of the pipe was gradual from the commencement
of the flow to the end of the return. It is true
that in such an arrangement there would be a
circulation, but a little consideration will show
its weak point. Suppose the water, as it leaves
the boiler, to be at the temperature of 200\ and
that upon its arrival at the bottom of the boiler
it has cooled down to 100'' The average tempe-
rature of the boiler column will not be 150°, the
mean between the two extremes, but probably
160^ or 170'', according to the arrangement of
the fire. The average temperature of the oppos-
ing column, which includes the entire length of
the pipe, will not be 150% because the hotter
end of the pipe will radiate heat faster than the
rest of it, and thus the average will be some-
thing less than 150", say 140" Then we have,
as a basis of circulation, one column of water

C

^

(Fig 2.

SSO THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ\"TBLY. JYovemher,

in the boiler of the temperature of, say 165", and
another one in the pipes of 140\ Now if the
pipes were laid level as I have described, and as
I have attempted to show in Fig. 2, the basis
would be a temperature of lOo" for the boiler
column, and a temperature of 100^ only for the
return column. This would ajive a more rapid
circulation than the other by just the difference
due to the specific weights of the water at those
different temperatures, and which could not be
less than one hundred per cent.

viz.,

seed
also

THE SEEDING OF THE EUROPEAN
LARCH IN AMERICA.

BY C. S. HARRISON, YORK, NEBRASKA.

I wish to correct an impression given in, I
think, the August number of the Monthly,
that American grown European Larch
would not germinate. The same idea is
conveyed in Bryant's new work. The}' do ger-
minate and grow finely, and seem to make better
plants than those grown from imported seed.

Wra. Hill, a nurseryman of Dundee, 111., is a
Scotchman of large experience. He got quite a
quantity of Larch seed from the famous planta-
tion of ray friend Scofield, of Elgin. The seed
did remarkably well ; and Mr. Hill is of the
opinion that American grown is the best, if it
were not for the trouble of gathering it.

Mr. Spur, nurseryman of Seward, Nebraska,
thirty miles east of this place, had excellent suc-
cess in growing Larch from American seed. His
plants have done remarkably vvell.

Take a Larch cone and cut it through in the
centre from the apex to the base, and your knife
will cut through six or eight seed, probably.
The number of seeds thus laid bare determi .rs
the value of the cones.

COLD GRAPERY, WITH NOTES ON
FRUITS.

BY A. HUIDEKOPER.

Last year I had a new vinery inclosed in June,
and with the old planted in it some of the newer
varieties of grapes. Owing to the late setting,
few of the vines made over half an inch in
diameter in growth. This year I gave them per-
sonal attention, watering them freely and shad-
ing the glass with a coating of whiting inside,
with the exception of every fourth row left
clear. I think now some watering would have
been saved and the result been equally good if
the whole roof had been white washed. The
\i les broke their buds about the middle of April,

and grew twelve feet in the first ten weeks, in
addition to the upward growth, which has gone
on, the canes have more than doubled in diame-
ter. A few have been permitted to fruit spar-
ingly to test their correctness, and with the fol-
lowing result :

FosteV!!. White Seedling. Ripens with Gros
Coulard, about middle of August ; sets better
than the Coulard, and is. therefore, more valu-
able. Berry larvae, amber colored, and transpa-
rent. Catalogues rate it higher than Royal
Muscadine. It is earlier than Golden Chasselas,
and about as good

Lady Downs. Black. This, though remarka-
ble for its long keeping, colors in July, and is
fully black by middle of August. Bunch and
berry moderate in size ; fruit, from present indi-
cation, about like Black Hamburg in quality,
possibly not quite as good.

Clapier. This, according to the catalogue,
ought to be very early, sweet and good. What
anybody grows it for I don't know. I never
knew of but one grape more lacking in good quali-
ties than it seems to be.

Gros Maroc A very large, not bright looking
fruit, fully colored about last of August— not
ripe enough yet to test.

(jeneral Delhi Marmora. Bunch and berry
medium ; amber colored ; will be ripe about the
tenth of September. This grape and the Due de
Malakoff are spoken of by some one in the Gard-
eners'' Monthly for ISGl, as being about the largest
white grape grown. The Malakoff is one of the
most rampart growers I have, but has not as yet
fruited. If the vine of Delia Marmora I have is
correct, I am disappointed in the size of its 'Vuii.

Syrian. A vine sold to me for t'li-' proves
identical with one I got years ago under the
name of the White Nice, and which I rejected
last season, notwithstanding its large clusters,
because it wa.s not adapted to a cold vinery.

In unsion with the observation of a German
peasant, lately promulgated, viz., 'that the
branch of a vine grows fastest when bent below
a horizontal position," you have noticed, I
suppose, that vines in graperies always seem to
work up their leaders in this way, that is, the
top of the principal shoot keeps itself in a curved
form, or what might be described as a goose-
neck.

Thrips. I do not believe the Gardeners''
Chronicle can keep these down with a " genial
atmosphere." And as for that old story of to-
bacco smoke, it cannot be used when vines are

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

331

in fruit. I preserved the foliage last year by
frequent sprinklings of quassia water, but using
it too long some of the grapes tasted of the ap-
plication. This year I used it until the vines were
in blossom, and the foliage was all I could wish '■>
but after the fruit began to ripen tlie insect re-
turned, I think from out of doors. Quassia
water can, at this time, only be used on the
leaves above the fruit, or where it can be applied
without touching it. It seems, in time, to dis-
gust the thrips, and they leave.

THE OYSTER SHELL BARK LOUSE.

ASPIDIOTUS CONCHIFORMIS.
BY E. II. BEEBE.

[Read brfore tM Jo D<ivi( sx County IlordcuUurd) Society.']

Horticulturists in this county have noted the
fact that this insect is not rear so abundant on
apple trees as it was two or three years ago. At
one time it was thought that our apple trees
would be entirely destroyed by this pest. Vari-
ous means was resorted to for its destruction
with indifferent success. Yet certain it was that
some foe to the Bark Louse was at work, as an
examination of scales divested of their eggs
proved. It was known that the Lady Bird (bee-
tle) would devour the young when hatched out
and moving, but this was for a few days only.
Destruction by Cochinelle is limited, they prey
only upon the matured insect and eggs. At a
meeting of the Horticultural Society, Northern
Illinois, held at Mt. Carroll, in December, 1867,
Professors Walsh and Shinier both announced
the discovery of a mite, Acarus Mali, that '
preyed extensively upon the eggs of the Oyster
Shell Bark Louse. Walsh says, Report, page 44 :
" I have found on lifting and carefully examining
six hundred scales, about the last of October,
that at least two-thirds of the whole number
were either gutted or were undergoing that pro-
cess by the minute larva of a mite." So far as
known to these two friends are we indebted for the
perceptible decrease of the Bark Louse in this
vicinity. Eighty miles below us, in the counties
of De Kalb, Kane and Da Page, there has lately
been a co-worker that is outstripping all others
in the destruction of the eggs of the Bark Louse.
A very minute insect, with a very big name,
" Chalcis Aspidiotus Conchiformis." The first
mature insect was discovered by our State ento-
mologist, Dr. W. LeBarron, at Geneva, Kane
county, on the 13th of last August. As he has
written a full dyscripton for his report to the

State, also for the American Entomologist, I
will refer you to them for a detailed description,
and submit to you a drawing made by a daughter
of the doctor's last summer. I have examined
the insect under a microscope, and know the
drawing to be correct. Dr. Le Barron subse-
quentl}' discovered the larva, and I have the
pleasure of presenting you with an object, of
which our lamented friend, Walsh, said, "I
have never met with any such." Dr. Fitch,
entomologist of New York, observed and ac-
curately described the larva in his report made
in 1354. He says that he supposes it to be the
larva of some hymenoptrous insect, probably
belonging to the Chalcis family. Sixteen years
afterward, Dr. Le Barron's discovery of the
mature insect cimfirms Fitch's surmises. Dr.
Le Barron has kindly permitted me to copy from
his manuscript report some of the results of his
investigations of the work of this larva. From
twigs taken from apple trees in Kane and Du
Page counties, 844 scales were examined. Of
these in 533 the eggs were entirely destroyed by
the Chalcis larva ; 234 were destroyed by all
other causes, and but 57 had more or less eggs
under them. There being on an average at
least 50 eggs under each Bark Louse scale, it
shows that 96,650 Bark Louse eggs were de-
voured by 523 Chalcis larva. Our friend, J, W.
Robson, furnished me with samples from his
trees. I forwarded them to Dr. Le Barron. He
states : " The apple twigs came safely to hand.
An examination shows that the friendly Chalcis
has not found its way to your section, at least
not in friend Robson's locality. It is gratify-
ing, however, to find that about two-thirds of
the scales were abortive from some other cause.
I looked carefully for Acari and found a few. I
raised and examined 200 scales on the six twigs,
and found in 60 of them good sound eggs, and
140 more or less abortive." I have since handed
the doctor twigs from other localities in this
neighborhood and from La Fayette county, Wis.
He could not discover the Chalcis sign. If you
will examine these twigs taken from trees in
Kane county, you will find a small circular hole
on the top of the scale — not ragged or broken
(these are made by the Lady Bug) but smooth
and perfect, as if drilled. It is from this orifice
that the Chalcis fly comes forth to commence
its work of destruction by depositing its eggs
under the scales of the Bark Louse. We would
like if our friends, who have orchards infested
with Bark Lice, would send or hand to our Sec-

33^

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^TBLY. A'ovemher.

retar}' twigs, including this and last year's
growth, for examination. We want to ascertain
if the Chalcis fly has made its appearance in
this county or sec ion. Should they not be found
here, an effort will be made to introduce them
next spring. We believe it can he done, and are
confident, in view of the work we have seen it
perform elsewhere, that theClialcis can eradicate
the Bark Louse

DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS

BY PROF. ASA GRAY.*

The session being now happily inaugurated,
your presiding officer of the last year has only
one duty to perform before he surrenders the
chair to his sucessors. If allowed to borrow a
simile from the language of my own profession,
I might liken the President of this Association
to a biennial plant. He flourishes for the year
in which he comes into existence, and performs
his appropriate functions as presiding officer.
When the second year comes round he is expect-
ed to blossom out in an adch'ess and disappear.
Each president, as he retires, is naturally ex-
pected to contribute something from his own in-
vestigations, or his own line of study ; usually to
discuss some particular scientific topic. Now,
although I have cultivated the field of North
American botany with some assiduity for more
than fifty years, have reviewed our vegetable
hosts, and assigned to no small number of them
their name and their place in the ranks yet, so
far as our own wide country is concerned, I have
been, to a gre.it extent, a close botanist. Until
this summer I had not seen the Mississippi, nor
set foot upon a prairie. To giatify a natural in-
terest, and to gain some title for addressing a
body of practical explorers, I have made a pil-
grimage across the continent ; I have sought and
viewed in their native haunts many a plant and
flower which, for me, had long bloomed unseen,
or only in the IJurtus siccus. I have been able
to see for myself what species and what form
constitute the main features of the vegetation of
each successive region, anrl record — as the vege-
tation unerringly does— the permanent charac-
teristics of its climate. Passing ou from the
eafctern district, marked by its equally-distrib-
uted rainfall, and therefore naturally forest clad,
I have seen the trees diminish in numbers, give

*Reti ring Address of Prof. Orny b(>foro the American
AsBoeiation for the Advancement of Science, upon re-
signing tlie presidency, jvt the l;ile mectiny; in Dubuque,
I >wa, August 21, 1S72.

place to wide prairies, restrict their growth to
the borders of sfreatns, and then disappear from
the boundless drier plains ; have seen grassy
plains change into brown and sere desert— des-
ert in the common sense, but hardly anywhere
botanically so— have seen a fair growth of coni-
ferous trees adorning th6 more favored slopes of
a mountain range, high enough to compel sum-
mer showers ; have traversed that broad and
bare elevated region shut off on both sides by
high mountains from the moisture supplied by
either ocean, and longitudinally intersected by
sierras which seemingly remain as naked as
they were born ; and have re.^ched at length the
westward slopes of the high mountain barrier,
which, refreshed by the Pacific, bear the noble
forests of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast
Range, and among them trees which are the
wonder of the world. As I stood in their shade,
in the groves of Mariposa and Calaveras, and
again, under the canopy of the commoner red-
wood, raised on coluinns of such majestic height
and ample girth, it occurred to me that I could
not do better than to share with you, upon
this occasion, some of the thoughts which pos-
sessed my mind. In their development they
may perhaps lead us up to questions of consid-
erable scientific interest.

I shall not detain you with my remarks
(which would now be trite) upon the rise or lon-
gevity of these far-famed Sequoio, trees, or of the
sugar-pines, incense-cedars, and firs, associated
with them, of which even the prodigious bulk of
the dominating Sequoia does not sensibly dimin-
ish the grandeur. Although no account and no
photographic representation of either species of
the far-famed Sequoia trees can give an adequate
idea of their singular majesty — still less of their
beauty— yet my interest in them did not culmi-
nate merely nor mainly in consideration of their
size and age. Other trees in other parts of the
world may claim to be older. Certain Austra-
lian gum trees {eucalypti) are said to be taller.
Some, we are told, rise so high that they might
even cast a flicker of shadow upon the summit
of the Pyramid of Cheops. Yet the oldest of
them doubtless grew from seed which was shed
long after the names of the pyramid builders
had been forgotten. So far as we can Judge
from the actual counting of the layers of several
trees, no Sequoia now alive can much overdate
the Christian era. Nor was I much impressed
with an attraction of man's adding. That the
more remarkable of these trees ;ihould bear dis-

1872.

THE GARDEJTER'S MOJTTELY.

33.

tinguishing appellations seems proper enough.
But the tablets of personal names which are af-
fixed to many of them in the most visited groves
— as if the memory of more or less notable peo-
ple of our day might be made more enduring by
the juxtaposition— does suggest some incongru-
ity. When we consider that a hand's breadth
at the circumference of any one of the venerable
trunks so placarded has recorded in annual lines
the lifetime of the individual thus associated
with it, one may question whether the next
hand's breadth may not measure the fame of
some of the names thus ticketed for adventitious
immortality. Whether it be the man or the tree
that is honored in the connection, probably
either would live as long in fact and in memory
without it.

One notable thing about these Sequoia trees is
their isolation. Most of the trees associated
with them are of peculiar species, and some of
them are nearly as local. Yet every pine, fir,
and cypress in California is in some sort famil-
iar, because it has near relations in other parts
of the world. But the redwoods have none.
The redwood— including in that name the two
species of "big trees' — belongs to the general
cypress family, but is sui generis. Thusisolated
systematically, and extremely isolated geograph-
ically, and so wonderful in size and port, they,
more than other trees, suggest questions. Were
they created, thus local and lonely, denizens of
California only ; one in limited numbers in a few
choice spots on the Sierra Nevada, the other
only along the Coast Kange from the bay of
Monterej to the frontiers of Oregon ? Are they
veritable Melchisedeks, without pedigree or early
relationship, and possibly fated to be without
descent ? Or are they now coming upon the
stage i,or rather were they coming but for man\^
interference) to play a part in the future ? Or
are they remnants, sole and scanty survivors of
a race that has played a grander part in the
past, but is now verging to extinction ? Have
they had a career, and can that career be ascer-
tained or surmised, so that we may at least
guess whence they came and how and when ?
Time was, and not long ago, when such ques-
tions as these were regarded as useless and vain
— when students of natural history, unmindful
of what the name denotes, were contented with
a knowledge of things as they now are, but gave
little heed as to how they came to be so. Now
such questions are held to be legitimate, and
perhaps not wholly unanswerable. It caimot

now be said that these trees inhabit their present
restricted areas simply because they are placed
in the climate and soil of all the world most con-
genial to them. These must indeed be conge-
nial, or they would not survive. But when we
see how Australian eucalyptus trees thrive upon
th« California coast, and how these very red-«
woods flourish upon another continent ; how the
so-called wild oat {Avena sterilis of the Old
World) has taken full possession of California ;
how that cattle and horses, introduced by the
Spaniard, have spread as widely and made them-
selves as much at home on the plains of the La
Plata as on those of Tartary, and that the car-
doon thistle seeds, and others they brought with
them, have multiplied there into numbers prob-
ably much exceeding those extant in their native
land ; indeed, when we contemplate our own
race, and our own particular stock, taking such
recent but dominating possession of this New
World ; when we consider how the indigenous
: flora of islands generally succumbs to the foreign-
' ers which come in the train of man : and that
most weeds (i. e., the prepotent plants in open
j soil) of all temperate climates are not " to the
j manor born," but are self-invited intruders, we
I must needs abandon the notion of any primor-
dial and absolute adaption of plants and animals
to their habitat which may stand in lieu of ex-
planation, and preclude our inquiring any fur-
ther. The harmony of Nature and its admira-
ble perfection need not be regarded as inflexible
and changeless. Nor need Nature be likened to
a statue, or a cast in rigid bronze, but rather to
an organism, with play and adaptability of parts,
and life and even soul informing the whole.
Under the former view, Nature would be " the
faultless monster which the world ne'er saw,"
but inscrutable as the Sphinx, whom it was
vain, or worse, to question of the whence and
whither. Under the other, the perfection of
Nature, if relative, is multifarious and ever re-
newed ; and much that is enigmatical now may
find explanation in some record of the past.

The larger part of the genera of our own re-
gion which I have enumerated as wanting in
California are present in Japan or Mantchooria,
along with many other peculiar plants divided
between the two. There are plants enough of
the one region which have no representatives in
the other. There are types which appear to
have reached the Atlantic States from the South,
and there is a larger infusion of sub-tropical
Asiatic types into temperate China and .Japan ;

334

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ\'THLY, Js'ovemher,

among these there is no relationship between
the two countries to speak of. There are also, as
I have already said, no small number of genera
and some species, which, being common all
round or partially round the northern temperate
zone, have no special significance because of
their occurrence in these two antipodal floras,
atthough they have testimony to bear upon the
general ques ion of geographical distribution.
The point to be remarked is that a very large
proportion of the genera and species which
are peculiar to North America as compared
with Europe, and largely peculiar to Atlantic
North America as compared with the California
region are also represented in Japan and Man-
tchooria, either by identical or by closely-similar
forms The same rule holds on a more north-
ward line, although not so strikingly. If we
compare the plants, say of New England and
Pennsylvania (latitude 45"^ 47), with those of
Oregon, and then with those of Northeast Asia,
we shall find many of our own curiously repre-
sented in the latter, while only a small number
of them can be traced along the route even so
far as the western slope of the Rocky Moun-
tains. And these repositories of Ea«>tern-Ameri-
can types in Japan and neighboring districts are
in all degrees if likewise. Sometimes the one is
undistinguishable from the other ; sometimes
there is a difference of as great but hardly of as
tangible character ; sometimes the two would be
termed marked varieties if they grew naturally
in the same forest, or in the same region ; some-
times they are what the botanists call representa-
tive species, the one answering closely to the
other, but with some differences regarded as spe-
cific ; sometimes the two are nearl}' of the same
genus or not quite that, but of a single or very
few species in each country, when the point
which interests us is that this peculiar limited
type should occur in two antipodal places and
nowhere else. It would be tedious, and, except
to botanists, abstruse, to enumerate instances,
yet the whole strength of the case depends upon
the number of such instances. I propose, there-
fore, if the Association does me the honer to
print this discourse, to append in a note a list
of the more remarkable ones. But I would
mention two or three cases as specimens. Our
Rhua toxico(Iendro7i, or poison-ivy, is exactly re-
peated in Japan, but is found in no other part of
the world, although a species like it abounds in
California. Our other species of Rhus [R. vene-
lata), commonly called poison-dogwood, is in no

way represented in Western America, but bas-
so close an alliance in Japan that the two were
taken for the same by Thunberg and Linnaeus;
who called them both R. vernix. Our Northern
fox-grape, Vitis lahruscn.i is who ly confined to the
Atlantic States, except that it reappears in Japan
and that region. Wistaria was n im3d for a woody
leguminous climber, with showy blossoms ; na-
tive of the Middle Atlantic States. The other
species which we prize so highly in cultivation,
W. sinensis, is from China, as its name indicates,
or perhaps only from Japan, where it is certain-
ly indigenous. Our yellow-wood ( Cladrastis) in-
habits a very limited district on the western
slope of the Alleghanies. Its onl}' and very
near relative {Maacl'ia) is in Mautchooria. The
Hydrangeas have some species in our Alleghany
region. All the rest belong to the Chino-.Jap-
anese region and its continuation westward.
The same may be said of the Syringas [Phila-
deljihus), except that there are one or two near-
ly the same in California and Oregon. Our
blue choste [Caulojiltyllum) is confined to the
woods of the Atlantic States, but has lately been
discovered in Japan A peculiar relative of it,
BiphyUm, confined to the higher Alleghanies, is
also repeated in Japan, with a slight difference,
so that it may largely be distinguished as another
species. Another relative is our twin-leaf (Jf/-
fersonia) of the Alleghany region alone. A sec-
ond species has lately turned up in Mautchooria.
A relative of this is Podophyllum, our mandrake,
a common inhabitant of the Atlantic United
States, but found nowhere else. There is one
other species of it, and that is in the Himalayas.
Here are four most peculiar genera of one fami-
ly, each of a single species in the Atlantic Uni-
ted States, which are duplicated oh the other
side of the world, either in identical or almost
identical species, or in an analogous species,
while nothing else of the kind is known in any
other part of the world. I ought not to omit
ginseng, the root so prized by the Chinese, and
which they obtained from their northern prov-
inces and ]S[antchooria. We have it also from
Corea aod northern .Japan. The Jesuit fathers
identified the plant in Canada and the Atlantic
States, brought it in the Chinese name by which
we know it, and established the trade in it,
which was for many years most profitable. The
exportation of ginseng to China probably has
not yet entirely ceased. Whether the North-
ea-tern Asiatic and the Atlaatic American gin-
sengs are exactly of the same species or not is

1872.

THE GARBEJfER'S MOXTELY.

335

somewhat uncertain, but they are hardl}' if at
all distinguishable. There is a shrub —EUiottia —
which is so rare and local that it is known only
at two stations on the Savannah River, in
Georgia. It is of peculiar structure, and was
without near relative until one was lately dis-
covered in Japan (in Triwitalavia) so like it as
hardly to be distinguishable, except by having
the parts of the blossom in threes instead of
fours. We suppose ElUottia had happened to be
collected only once, a good while ago, and all
knowledge of the limited and secluded locality
was lost ; and meanwhile the Japanese form
came to be known. Such a case would be paral-
lel with an actual one. A specimen of a pecu-
liar plant was detected in the herbarium of the
elder Michaux, who collected it (as his auto-
graph ticket shows) somewhere in the high Alle-
ghany Mountains more than eighty years ago.
No one has seen the living plant since or knows
where to find it, if haply it still flourishes in
some secluded spot. At length it is found in Ja-
pan ; and 1 had the satisfaction of making the
identification. One other relative is also shown
in .Japan ; and another has just been detected in
Thibet. Whether the Japanese and the Alle-
ghanian plants are exactly the same or not, it
needs complete specimens of the two to settle.
So far as we know, they are just alike. And
even if some difference came to be known be-
tween them, it would not appreciably alter the
question as to how such a result came to pass.

To be Continued.

FLOWER DECORATIONS IN AVINTER.

BY WALTER ELDER, PHILADELPHIA.

The laudable fashion of our wealthy citizens
in illumining their festive and joyous entertain-
ments with cut-flowers and ornamental pot
plants has become general. Many of our lead-
ing individual florists in Philadelphia, New York
and Boston, employ each twenty thousand
square feet of glass houses for their production
during winter, and other cities produce their
due shares.

They have attained a high degree of perfec-
tion in their culture and in arranging the cut-
flowers in various beautiful designs of different
sizes to suit circumstances. Frequently they
are enclosed in vases and transported seven
hundred miles in twenty-four hours by our ex-
press companies upon our railroads, and arrive
as fresh as if just cut from the plants. Hand

bouquets are made more lovely by the V^ery in-
geniously cut paper covering their handles.
There are also made floral temples and table de-
signs and baskets ; anchors, crosses, crowns,
hearts, harps, lyres, pyramids, stars, shields,
wreaths, &c. Artificial groves are composed of
pot plants, some with pretty and others with
sweet flowers ; s®me with ornamental foliage of
wonderful variegations, and others of singular
habits. There may be Euphorbias, Ephiphyl-
lums and Poinsettia, &c., in bloom in midwinter;
Acacias, Azaleas, Camellias, and orange and
lemon trees in bloom in early spring. Then
Olea fragrans, Daphne odora, and Heliotropi-
ums, of the sweet smelling class. The stately
Metrosideros with its scarlet, bottle brush formed
flowers; the epiphytal Orchids, of curious hab-
its ; the ingeniously wrought rustic stands and
hanging baskets full of singular plants growing
in them. The combinations are delightful in
the extreme, and impart a variety to the assem-
blage which makes all feel as if " it were good
to be there." At private home parties, tables
and sideboards look elegant with their floral or-
naments ; on all festal occasions rooms are made
gay with decorations of foliage and blossoms ;
and what would wedding days be without flow-
ers ? Churches, on all occasions, look more
sacred for their floral and leafy embellishments;
the melanchoUy glo jm of death, and the solemn-
ity of the funeral, are lightened by the tributes
of flora.

Grand public banquets and balls are made
magnificently lustrous by floral designs, and
living groves of pot plants, making gardens of
fragrance and splendor in the dark nights of
winter ; hosts and guests all feel inspired with
fresh animation. What we should be in this
year of the nineteenth century without flowers,
who could tell ?

EUCHARIS AMAZONICA.

BY MR. DAVID M. BALCH, SALEM, MASS.

Eucharis Amazonica with me has a flower
spike tweaty-five and one-half inches high, with
nine flowers. Plant is in a sixteen inch tub,
bears eleven flower spikes with six and seven
flowers each, except strongest, which has nine,
as stated above, about 73 flowers in all.

Has been pushed along rapidly all summer,
and DOW in vigorous leaf growth. Required no
check whatever to induce flowering, but bulbs
got so strong they were obliged to flower.

S36

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJSTTHLY. Js^overtvher,

Flowers are very large and fine and spikes un-
asually tall.

These results seem so excellent that I hasten
to inform one of my {.rincipal horticultural in-
structors thereof, and would send him the re-
markable flower spike for inspection if I thought
there was a possibility of anything but the deb-
ris reaching him.

I may be in error (if so, your superior infor-
mation in such matters must set me right), but
I think it is extremely rare for Eucharis to pro-
duce more than seven flowers to a spike, it usu-

ally has six, often five. When the plant was first
introduced to cultivation it was stated to pro-
duce three or four flowers on a spike about a
foot high. I have read accounts of wonderfully
large specimens grown in England, but the
number of flowers to a spike has not been stated.
If in the exchanges or publications at your dis-
posal you happen to have come across any re-
markable results in the cultivation of this fine
plant, please note a few in the Gardeners''
Monthly, as standards of excellence for us to
emulate.

EDITOR lAL.

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVAN-
TAGES OF HOT WATER HEATING.

A correspondent asks our advice in the follow-
ing note, and, as we think it is a questiun of
more than ordinary interest, we give it a promi-
nent place. He says :

"I have two plant houses, each 50 feet long by sixteen
feet wide, which, when I took charge of the place, were
heated by brick flues, with two furnaces— one to each
house. Knowing from experience ia England how
much better hot water is for heating purposes then hot
air, in the moist atmosphere it seems to give out, and
the better way plants grow in it, I persuaded my em-
ployer to have hot water put in the place of the other.
It was rather expensive, to be sure, but I hoped by hav-
ing only one Are to save in this way, instead of the two
fires as before. I left the old flues standing. The fire-
place had to be altered a little to suit the boiler, but in
every thing else the circumstances were the same. But
when we tried to put the apparatus in operation the
flues did not seem to draw well. Before we put the
boiler in the flues were warm to the end of the house,
tout now there was hardly any warmth twenty feet from
the boiler. The boiler maker was sent for, and he said
the flues were too long. We cut them off" entirely and
made another upright from the furnace, and indepen-
dent of any attempt to warm the house with them. It
then drew splendid, and the boiler worked well; but
there is an immense amount of heat lost out of the top
of the chimney, and I cannot understand why this can-
not be made in some way to go into the house, but the
boiler man insists this lieat must be lost or his machine
wont work.

" But the great trouble with me is to keep up the heat
The house gets warm very soon after the Are is lighted
sooner than when we had the flues, but we have to keep
the fire always clear and bright, or the temperature soon
goes down. When we had the flues, I used to start on a
-cold day, the fires about noon, and then about seven or
.eight o'clock bank up the flres with wft ashes, and the
houses would keep comfortably warm till morning, but
when we atop the draught under the hot water, it seems

to cool and the circulation stops ; hence we have to keep
a bright fire burning all the time, or the houses have
the frost in before morning. The last winter was a very
cold one, and for fear of some misfortune, we engaged
one of the men, at the regular day ^wages, to sit up and
tend the fires all night. The coal bill, too, was for forty
tons of coal, while I believe about ten was the quantity
under the furnace plan. Instead of saving in the cost
of two flres, as I supposed, it has certainly cost more,
while the extra hand employed at night annoys me
very much. It was not so with my hot water boilers in
England. Can you tell me where I am wrong,iOr what
I had best do ?"

Our correspondent has not taken into consid-
eration the great atlinity, so to speak, of water
for heat. A cubic foot of water will absorb
enough heat to warm a small greenhouse. In
the case of his first experience with the boiler,
after the water had taken from the coals a large
portion of the heat, there was none left to heat
the flue with. Heat, by rarifying the atmos-
phere, creates draught, and if there was no heat
in the flue there could be no draught. It was,
therefore, essential at the very outset that much
more fuel should be used to heat the water and
the flue, than the flue alone.

How this principle works, any one may see in
a room heated by a common cooking range. Let
the fire carry the temperature up to say 60', and
then place on a common wash boiler of water,
the temperature of the room falls 10°, and it
continues thus until the water boils, when, per-
adventure, the steam wandering throughout the
room, will raise it to the original degree.

And then, in regard to circulation, our corres-
pondent's own 'experience shows how necessary
it is to have a bright fire to keep u;) the circula

187^.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOA'^IELY.

3S7

tion. The keeping up of a temperature by hot
water depends on an active circulation, and this
requires an active fire We do not see what our
correspondent can do to help himself but to re-
turn to his flues, which, by his own showing,
appear to have worked pretty well.

The Gardeners' Monthly has never advocated
hot water for small greenhouses. After they
reach 50 feet in length then hot water becomes
valuable; and where a large range of glass exists,
hot water is in most cases the perfection of
heating. Then, instead of a dozen fires, requir-
ing a dozen divisions of the fireman's attention,
the whole thing is done in one fire-hole at one
time. It is quite possible that in these cases
there may be a saving of coal as well as a saving
of labor and expensive stoke-holes and furnaces;
but of this we have never had any positive evi-
dences. But wherever but one or two small
greenhouses comprise all one's glass department,
there is no economy whatever in hot water. It
is heavier in its first cost, and costlier in its
maintenance. Hot water is tlie rule for large
houses or large establishments ; hot air for small
ones.

4<»»»

CO-OPERATIVE PARKS.

In connection with recent experience in Europe
and America, we expressed our opinion a few
months ago that neither at private hands nor
from public bodies, did we expect more than ex-
ceptional specimens of high art in landscape
gardening. The American man —the average
man— will regard his pleasures as well as his
business, from a monetary point of view. And
the American people, adopting the vicious prin-
ciple that politics is a battle for power, and that
" to the victor belongs the spoils,'' — must have
" rotation in office,"— and landscape gardening,
being essentially a thing of years, and not of
days, cannot exist to any great extent under
these accidental or quadrennial terms.

But there are thousands of persons in our
community who perceive these things as clearly
as we do, and who delight in high art in gar-
dening none the less for our social difiiculties in
the prosecution of the taste. All our public libra-
rians tell us that the number of landless dwellers
in cities and large towns who take out works on
gardening and landscape arts, is truly astonish,
ing ; and the publishers of horticultural maga-
zines can tell a similar strange story as to the
large list of people who, without either garden
or farm, are yet to be counted among the most

zealous of their subscribers. These people
would be the most enthusiastic in behalf of our
beautiful art, if they could practice the taste
without endangering their little real estate spec-
ulations, or spending more money on it than
their means will permit. For this large class,
the plan of co-operative parks and gardens af-
fords golden opportunities ; and we presume
nothing has prevented an extensive application
of the principle but the lack of moneyed men of
sufficient perception to understand this innate
love of citizens for garden art ; or, if perceived
with sufficient judgment, to employ the proper
person to design and oversee the work.

Philadelphia has been fortunate, of late years,
in having, on the management of her three lead
ing railroad lines— the Pennsylvania, the Read-
ing, and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Bal-
timore—men of high scientific and refined artistic
tastes, conjoined with eminent business capa"
city. These men understand as it seems never
to have been understood before, how much can be
done in landscape gardening for this large and in-
creasing class in the community; and are laying
out, in various dh-ections about the city, beauti-
ful tracts in the highest style of art, and selling
the lots in connection with these beauty spots in
such a discriminating way that even the man
with an income of but a thousand dollars a year,
may have not only a home in the country, but
such a home surrounded by the treasures of na-
ture and art, Avhich, but a very few years ago, it
would have been presumptuous for any one but
who might be on the millionaire's path, to aspire
to.

Among the movers in these enterprizes, the
Philadelphia, Wilmington and B iltiraore Co'm-
pany is occupying a front rank. The original
idea of a railroad was to connect two separate
communities, and this line especially acted so
strictly under this construction, that the road
led through the cheapest ground, without regard
to any other consideration. Beautiful sites were,
of course, ignored; and the road was run through
a level, marshy tract, which, if it were not for
an occasional glimpse of the beautiful Delaware,
might serve to discipline a sinner who rode over
it, as thoroughly as a hair shirt would have done
an ancient anchorite.

To remedy this the present board have changed
the whole track, taking it through the high
ridge which runs parallel with the Delaware a
mile or two from its bank from Philadelphia to
Chester ; and laid ofi", at convenient distances.

338

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTHLY. Jfovember,

park towns along its line. The road being just
finished, an opening trip was recently afforded
to the editors of the leading Philadelphia papers,
and a stoppage of some time at the chief park,
Ridley, gave us an opportunity of noting some of
its leading features. The plot occupies six hundred
acres, and is diversified by a continuous succession
of hill and dale, through which numerous creeks
and water courses meandered to the Delaware,
which was, at this point, about three miles away,
and at this time bore on its bosom numerous
vessels, bound for the city, six miles above. The
company has been extremely fortunate in secur-
ing the services of Robert Morris Copeland as
landscape gardener and chief engineer ; who, as
the author of " Country Homes," is well-known
and esteemed by most of our readers. Mr.
Copeland has taken advantage of these valley
streams to make large and beautiful lakes at
points where their margins form outlines of great
beauty, without any other labor than throwing
a dam across the foot of the projected lake.
These dams are arranged as waterfalls — not as
we often see mere mockeries of natural ones —
but waterfalls as natural and beautiful as any
wild nature boasts of. These lakes and falls
are to serve other purposes besides boating, fish-
ing and attractive beauty. They will be the
water reservoirs of the projected town.

It is but one year since the undertaking was
commenced, and the chief work has, of course,
been road making. These roads are some of
them straight, some curved, just as the peculi-
arities of the surface or landscape effect required.
In various parts of the tract small portions of
from one to several acres are set apart for the
pujjlic parks or gardens ; and these, with the
roads, belong to the whole people of the settle-
ment, in common. In order to maintain these
public portions in the highest conditions of land-
scape gardening art, one-fifth of all the purchase
money is set apart as a fund to be held in trust
by the railroad company perpetually, the in-
terest of which is to be used for the purpose.
The lots are of all sizes and prices, from
^200 to S2,000, while the railroad company con-
veys to and fro passengers and material for a
considerable period to all who build. It is easy
to see how such projects as these must succeed.
They are born of the necessities of the times.
To all intelligent people it is no mere poetic fic-
tion, that God made the country and man made
the town. The only wonder is that it has not
been reduced to practical prose long before this.

The company prepared an elegant entertain-
ment for their guests, at the conclusion of which
Mr. Copeland addressed the gentlemen present,
giving a full history of the projection of the en"
terprize, and its bearings on the wants of mod-
ern societ}'. In addition to his abilities as a
landscape artist, Mr. Copeland is an accom-
plished orator, and his address was attentively
listened to and frequently applauded.

Messrs. Wells, of the Evening Bulletin, Mcll-
henny, of the Age, McKean, of the Public Ledger,
and Meehan, of the Gardeners^ Monihly, were
called on by Vice-President Felton ; and after
brief addresses from these and several other
gentlemen, the party returned to Philadelphia,
all, we believe, well satisfied that the idea of co-
operative parks was destined to solve the great
problem of how the American people may live
near to business and yet in the midst of the
highest efforts of garden art, without being
borne down by the weight of private expenses
or public taxation

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Mapes'' Theory of Progression in Mineral Ma-
nures.— The late Prof Mapes had an idea that
plants used the mineral elements of the soil
more freely and to better advantage after they
had already been a part of an organic body then
when taken directly from the soil. This gene-
ralization was never the result of such careful
experiment with him as to be put in the shape
desired by men of science ; but yet there were
many presumptions in its fiivor. We are led to
these remarks by an article in the Rural Ala-
hamian, in which the writer recommends the
Canada thistle as being a much better plant for
ploughing under in green manuring than the
clover. The clover takes up mineral elements
which other plants cannot, but which they can
feed on after the clover has done with them.
Xow, in regard to the Canada thistle, there is
little doubt that the correspondent's opinion of
it is correct. It is better than clover, but the
prejudice against it is so great that no one would
want to introduce it, no matter how valuable a
" progressive" so ever it might be ; but the idea
suggests itself that there may be many much
more valuable plants than clover which could
be introduced for green manuring purposes, and
there is here an open field for profitable experi-
ment.

1872,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY,

S39

In regard to mineral potash, which so many
feldspathic soils contain, it is well known that
very few plants will grow and take it up well.
They are amongst the poorest of soils. Yet sta-
ble manure added to them tell better on the
crops than the same amount of vegetable mat-
ter would on soil which had not this native pot-
ash in it. This point is rather an argument
against the scientijic value of Prof. Mapes' idea,
because the dead vegetable seems to act on the
preparation of-the element for other plant food
as living matter would ; but still the necessity of
an intermediate, which is the point of practical
value in Mr. Mapes' idea, remains.

There are, however, many plants which ean
make admirable use of the elements in these
rocks, and thus prepare them for other crops.
On these barren felspar soils the common mul-
lein grows to an enormous size. Even on the
refuse of rock from an old quarry, we have seen
it with leaves two and a half feet long and eight
inches wide, with flower stems three inches
thick and four to five feet in height. In such
soils as this there could be no better plant for
green manuring ; on this, indeed, clover would
not do at all. It is thus seen that the whole
subject of the best plant for this purpose is open
to an interesting investigation.

Kew Varieties of Plants. — Mr. Buckley says,
in the Rural Alabamian, that in the South a
new form of the Bride of China, the Melia aze-
derack, has appeared, which has all the "charac-
teristics of a distinct species," and he proposes
to name it as such Melia umbrella. He does
not say what these specific characters are, but
that any one can "distinguish it even in winter;''
but this is no more than one can do with the
weeping ash, the upright English oak and many
other things. We suspect these "species" will
not be accepted by naturalists ; if they be, men
born with six fingers or six toes will be as worthy
of the honor of specific names as distinct from the
great human species, as these plants are. We
like Darwinism a little, but think here even
Mr. Darwin himself would cry for moderation.

The Laws which Govern the Production of the
Sexes. — The Popular Science Monthly has the
following notice from a correspondent at the
Dubuque meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science :

THE FEMALE! THE BETTER HALF.

If there were able debaters among the mem-
bers of the Association present, opportunity has

certainly not been wanting in which to develop
their ability. Think, for instance, of what a mag-
nificent subject for discussion was offered by Prof.
Hartshorne, of Pennsylvania, in a paper on the
relation between organic vigor and sex, in which
he espoused the theory that the births of females
were an indication of excess of formative force,
and of males of a deficiency, on the part of the
parents ; and that female offspring was an index
of the highest vigor. He began by alluding to
certain papers which Prof. Meehan, a botanist
of celebrity, had submitted to the Association,
wherein it was set forth that the highest t3'pes
of vegetation among the larch and coniferous
trees were of female kind. He specifies that the
larch, while in its highest luxuriance, and du-
ring many years, produces only female flowers ;
but in its decline it at length produces male flow-
ers, and it shortly afterward dies. Prof. Harts-
horne extended this theory to animal life, and
undertook to show that, whenever or wherever
there was excess of formative power, its tendency
was to the production of female offspring. He
illustrated his belief by the development of bees,
the birth of the queen-bee being the highest, of
the drone the lowest result, and preceded by re-
spectively high and low circumstances of nutri-
tion.

Sometimes a working bee — which, being
an imperfect female, is of course incapable of
impregnation— will give birth to parthenogenetic
offspring. Such offspring is always male. The
eggs of the queen-bee that hatch males have not
been fertilized ; and, should she never have been
impregnated and lay eggs, they will hatch only
drones. In respect to the aphides (plant-lice), it
is noticeable that, while their food is sufficient
and of nutritious quality, their offspring is ex-
clusively females, propagated parthenogeneti-
cally ; but soon after the supply of food, owing
to a change of season or circumstances, is dimin-
ished, young male aphides appear. Among the
higher order of animals Prof. Hartshorne found
an argument in the sex of double monsters.
Stating that the birth of double monsters was
due to fissure of the ovum and excess of forma-
tive power.^ he asserted that it is well-known
that in the majority of instances these monsters
were of the female sex. He brought forward
the vital statistics of difterent nations and their
varying proportion of male and female births in
support of his position attributing the differen-
ces to increasing or diminishing vitality ; and
even the continually lesseniug reproductive pow-
ers of American women formed one of the illus-
trations of this theory.

Now tliat this new law of nature bids fair to
be accepted by most scientific men, it is but jus-
tice that history sliould record the names of
others besides the editor of tliis magazine, who
have had a share in developing it.

Mr. Meehan, who, by the way, has not the
honor of owning any title as given in the quo-

SJfO

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY. Kovemher,

tation above, after the derivation of the Heath-
leaved and " Tom Thumb" arbor vitees from the
Thuja occidentalism and the Heath-leaved Eetin-
isporas from the flat " frondose" forms had
been proved beyond a doubt, was led to see how
much the power or intensity of vitality had to
do in modifying the form and nature of the
foliar organs. These observations were em-
bodied in a paper read before the American As-
soci;^tion at Chicago in 1868. From this it was
easy to flow into the channel of the sexual laws
of plants, as the parts of the flowers which
characterize the sexes are but modified leaves,
and a similar law might be anticipated.

In July of the following year the position that
the varying conditions of vitality governed the
production of the sexes, was illustrated in a
short address before the Philadelphia Academy
of Natural Sciences by numerous specimens of
plants, and further eleborated in a paper read
before the American Association at Salem, in
August following. But in June of this year Dr.
David Moore, of Glasnevin, read a paper before
the Royal Irish Association on Nepenthus, in
which he pointed out that the same law existed
in these plants, as Mr. Meehan had in so many
others. It is remarkable that the same conclu-
sion shauld be reached by two observers so for
away at the same time and without any corres-
pondence with the other in any way. At Troy in
1870 another paper was presented, showing that
this varying vitality, which resulted in separate
sexes, was owing to varying phases of nutrition
while the parts were in their embryonic state.
Professor Gill, at this meeting, as did Prof.
Agassiz at the previous one, insisted that how-
ever true it might be in the vegetable world,
embryology showed the impossibility of its
soundness when applied to the animal. But Dr.
Butler,in the Medical and Surgical Beporter of the
following November, showed from the anatomy
of the human system that the law must be as
operative in the animal as in the vegetable or-
ganism. The following year Mr. Meehan being
asked by the editor of L'piyincotVs Magazine to |
prepare a paper for that serial, one was written
on this subject, taking in its application to the 1
animal as well as to the vegetable division of the j
subject ; but after it was written, a note from '
Mr. Lippincott informed the writer that " when '
he asked for an article," he supposed a subject
would be selected that the writer knew some- |
thing about ; and it was, therefore, offered to |
and accepted by the editor of " Old and New,"

in which magazine it appeared in February of

1871.

We have given, at some length, this little bit
, of history, as we are anxious that Dr. Butler, of

Piiiladelphia, and Dr. Moore, of Glasnevin,

should receive, as well as Mr. Meehan, their de-
I served share in the discovery of this law, should
I it prove to be, as it promises now, generally ac-
j cepted as sound.

The Postal Law Outrage. — We note that the
correspondents of some of our Western exchanges
are not disposed to be as charitable as we were
in offering the suggestion that the law was not
changed in the interest of the express com-
panies. They insist that it must be this and
nothing else. It is scarcely credible that Post-
master General Cresswell and Congress would
lend themselves to a direct bargain with express
companies against the whole public interests, —
especially in favor of a class which is in such
bad odor with agriculturists and horticulturists
as the express companies generally are. We
prefer to believe it was one of those stupidities
of legislation, which is sometimes enacted with-
out due consideration.

Longevity of Ivy.— The English are fond of re-
ferring to the great longevity of the oak, but we
question whether their Ivy will not equal it. In
this country the English oak, judging by the
si^ecimens in the old Bartram garden, will not
last much beyond a hundred years, but the Ivy
shows no sign of any decf=,y. One of our most
beautiful gardens, "The Grange," the country
seat of Jno. Ashurst, Esq., is famous for its
beautiful specimens of Ivy. The first plants
were brought in a carriage from Judge Peter's
celebrated place at Belmont, by Mrs. Eyre, 50
3'^ears ago, and look now as if they would flourish
for centuries yet.

Vicinity of Pi]£e''s PeaA-.— Civilization is wend-
ing its way West with astonishing rapidity. A
year or two ago scarcely a sound could be heard
but the babbling of the mountain torrents and
their echoes from the majestic rocks, in all the
wide region about this wonderful place. Now,
as we learn from a recent letter of Mr. Wil-
liams to the New York Independent, there are
hotels, dwellings and people by the thousand,
with all the additions which humanity brings
with them. 7000 trees planted and 11,000 letters
a month, is not bad for so young a child. What
will the adult do ?

1872.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTELY,

341

SCRAPS AND aUERIES.

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

SEPTEMBER.

HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

Achillea ptarmica, fl. pi , Yarrow

simplex
Anemone Japonica, Wind-flower

alba (Honorine Jobert)
Aster Novae Anglloe, Star-wort

Centaurea cyanus, Blue Bottle

Americana
Colchicum alba, Autumn Crocus

variegatum
Coreopsis lanceolata, Tickseed sunflower

Corydalis glauca

Dianthus plumarius, pink

caryophyllus, carnation
Eupatorium album, White Mist

serotinura, Blue Mist
Erysimum Peroflskianum

Funkia japonica alba. Day Lily

Gentiana Andrewsii, Closed Gentian

crinita, Fringed Gentian
Hieracium aurantiacum, Hawkweed

Lilium lancifolium album, Lily (Japan)

roseum
Lychnis dioica fl. albo pi.

Passiflora incarnata. Passion flower

Polygonum japonicum album, Periscaria
Phlox glaberrima, Lychnidea

paniculata alba

pyramidalis
Plumbago Larpentse, Lead wort

Sedum japonicum, Stonecrop

variegatum
Solidago altissima, Golden Rod

Uniola ])aniculata. Seaside Oat

BEDDING PLANTS.

Abutilon album, Chinese Bell

striatum

vexilarium
Agapanthus umbellatus, African Lily
Aloysia citriodora, Lemon trifolium

Amaryllis Belladona, Belladona Lily

purpurea
Asclepias curassavica, Swallow-wort

Bouvardia triphylla

Celosia cristata, Cockscomb

Cuphea Danielsiaua, Cigar flower

platy centra

Erythrina crista galli, Coral tree

Fuchsia coccinea. Ladies eardrop

Geranium Zonale, Crane's bill

Gladiolus gandavensis. Sword Lily

Habrothamnus elegans
Heliotropium Peruvianura, Heliotrope
Lantuna alba nana

Maurandia alba

Barclayana
Pentas carnea

Plumbago Capensis, Lead-wnrt

Kuellia formosa

Salvia coccinea, Sage

involucrala

rosea

splendens
Verbena chsemadrifolia

Viola tricolor, Pansy

DECIDUOUS SHRUBS.

Bignonia grandiflora. Trumpet flower

Ceanothus Americanus, New Jersey Tea

Clematis crispa. Virgin's Bower

vitalba, Traveler's Joy
Hibiscus Syriacus rosea pleno, Rose of

purpurea pleno, [Sharon]

Humulus lupulus, Hop

Hydrangea hortensis

Japonica variegata

Otaksa

paniculata grandiflora
Lonicera Belgica, Honeysuckle

Halleana

flexuosa

sempervirens
Sophora Japonica pendula

Spiraea Douglassii

Fortuneii rosea
alba

EVERGREEN SHRUBS.

Elegans hortensis. Oleaster

Hedera Helix, Ivy

Eleagnus hortensis, a broad-leaved evergreen,
as hardy as the English Holly in this locality ;
it with the variegated variety stood unhurt last
winter.

OuK Postage laws.— The wisacre who "got
up our recent postage laws in place of the old
ones, deserves to have a place in immortality
beside the youth "who fired the Ephesian dome"
in order to make himself more famous than the

SJf^

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTRLY. November,

"pious fool," as Shakespear's friend says, "who
raised it." In our last we called the attention
to the practical abolition of the privilege of send-
ing trees and seeds by mail, through the limita-
tion of a single parcel to twelve ounces. Now
we would call attention to another absurdity in
the charge of double rates for any fraction of
half an ounce over that paid by the sender.
Thus if a person sends a letter which he supposes
weighs half an ounce, but which happens to be a
trifle over, the person who receives the letter is
fined six cents. The object is said to be to pre-
vent people sending over weight letters, but gen-
erally the receivers do not like to appear
"small," and pay the little bills themselves,
amounting in the case of many people of heavy
correspondence to from twenty-five to fifty cents
a day. It is diflScult to see the justice of making
the receiver of a letter pay double for his corres-
pondent's oversight ; and as to operating as a
preventative of sending over-weight letters, it
takes considerable of a postal reform prophet to
forsee how this is to accomplish it. If they were
"returned to the writer" for more postage, there
would be some common sense about it

Hothouse Building.— A correspondent re-
cently inquired for some one to furnish plans
and esti nates for horticultural buildings. In
our last number will be found an advertisement
from Mr Ottaway, who has had much experi-
ence in these thinsrs.

Thanks.— Our best thanks are due to our
good friends of the American Agriculturist and
the Horticulturist for notices complimentary both
to the Gardener\s MonthUi and its editor person-
ally. Though endeavoring not to be swerved in
our duty to horticulture as we understand it by
either praise or blame, it is always gratifying to
feel that we have the good will of our inteUigent
cotemporaries.

Early Peaches.— A central Alabama cor-
respondent writes : "Have you any further in-
formation about the Plowden ? If it is not Hale's
is it earlier or superior ? The Elvers' Teaches
that were fruited here do not promise to equal
the anticipations excited by Mr. Kivers' very
flattering descriptions. Is Early Beatrice ear-
lier than Hale's ? Have we any peaches earlier
than Early Tillottson ? Hale's Early is as of-
ten two or three days after, as two or three days
before the Early Tillottson."

We were promised last year, by those who
have fruiting trees of Plowden, specimens and
other facts bearing on the matter. We have re-
ceived none, and we infer from this that it is not
up to expectations.

We were not especially promised any further
facts in regard to the two Rivers' peaches, but
some of the parties who have these visited our
office last year, and know that we should be glad
to receive any facts about them, but from these
neither have we heard this year. We have had
to gather our facts from outside sources, and the
result is that we believe the Plowden is a distinct
variety, and that it sometivies matures a trifle
earlier than the others.

There is, however, a matter connected with
early peaches, which we think the correspon-
dents of the Gardener -s Monthly have been little
by little demonstrating the few past years, name-
ly, that precocit}' is in many cases but an attrib-
ute of impaired vitality. This weakened vitality
is often not apparent to cultivators. That excel-
lent observer, W. C. Elagg, of Ills., showed some
years ago, thai the glandless peaches were more
liable to rot than others,— yet there is nothing
in the appearance of a glandless peach to indi-
cate that its vitality is not as great as the gland-
ular varieties. Confirming these observations of
Mr. Flagg's, the editor of this journal showed
by a different series of observations, that the ab-
sence of glands was a type of weakness.

The rotting of Hale's Early the past few years
is another strong proof of the correctness of all
these deductions. Here is the earliest of all this
class of peaches, more subject to the rot than
any other,— its low stage of vitality thus appa-
rent, though there is nothing like disease to be
seen in the tree itself. We see also that the de-
gree of earliness varies — and this no doubt owing
to impaired vitality, — for any variety though
generally feeble, will have individual trees, in
local places, varying in the degrees of vitality.

The lesson of all this is that we should be ex-
tremely cautious of lending much faith to extra
early peaches, or extra early anything else.
They will not likely prove reliable, even as to
their earliness, while if they do come any where
near to anticipation in this respect, it is quite
likely to be at the expense of vitality, and thus
bring with their earliness some trouble we had
rather be free from.

Paper Fibre, Sporobalus cryptandrus.
-H. 0. B., Painesville^ O., writes: "In Gar-

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

34s

dener^s Monthly for October, page 311, you quote
rom Mr. Saunders an article on the ' Esparto
grass' as a material for paper making, in which
he also speaks of Spartina cynosuroides Wild,
as available for the same purpose. This species
of Spartina grows here in our lake and river
marshes. It has at its base a profusion of long
hard fibrous leaves.

There is here another native American grass,
Sporobolus cryptandrus Gray, which seems to
me not unlikely to prove a valuable material for
paper. I enclose a sample of the fibre of the
leaves, separated from the pulp by the action of
the rains, winds and frosts. I have the nest of
a red-winged blackbird made of this fibre, and
lined with the down of thistles, which is an ex-
quisite thing. The fibre, you will see, is strong.
I think it is confined to the sheaths and leaves.
It (the grass) grows here in sand, and I am not
sure it would succeed in cultivation. If you
have a herbarium, and have no specimens of
Sporobolus, I will send you one, and will try to
secure some seed.

As this grass grows spontaneously in dry sand,
it will probably resist any moderate degree of
heat and drought.

[The fibre was equal in strength to hemp. We
have submitted it to a paper maker for his opin-
ion 1

A Pear Fruit from an Apple Tree.— TT.

N. B., Nashville, Tenn., send us the following
extract with remarks appended :

It is a very easy thing to make an apple grow on a
pear branch, or to produce pears on a branch of an ap-
ple tree. The Journal of Commerce states as a "freak of
nature" that Mr. Ellwood Walter, President of the Mer-
cantile Mutual Marine Insurance Company, of this
City, has in his possession a section of the branch of an
apple tree, having on it an apple and two pears. The
fruit is fully developed, of natural growth, and grew on
Mr. "Walter's farm, near Englewood, N. J., who states
that many j^ears ago, when the apple tree was planted,
a pear tree was planted In close proximity to it, and
both have grown up. Yet the branches are not inter-
locked, and no grafting has been done. The trees are so
close that their branches touch each other when swayed
by the wind. The fruit grew on the extreme end of the
branch and the apple is on the stem between the sepa-
rate stems of the two pears. These are not apples re-
sembling pears, but are unmistakable pears. There
was another pear in the group, which was plucked and
tasted. The specimen, with the apple leaves attached,
has been preserved in a solution of glycerine and al-
cohol.

What do you think of this apple and pear, is
it an accidental hybrid or what ? What a pity
the gentleman had not have planted the seed in-

stead of thus preserving or rather destroying
them. Please notice in Gardener'' s Monthly.

I desire to thank you for giving us such a no-
ble Monthly, and was greatly pleased at the com-
pliments to the Monthly in October Agriculturist.

[The newspaper extracting from the Journal
of Covimercey hints that the commingling of
fruit on one branch resulted from grafting, but
not necessarily so. When the apple or pear tree is
entirely separate it is too easily afiected by its
own pollen to be influenced by the pollen of
another tree ; but when they are intermingled so
closely as these were, it is very easy for pear pol-
len to reach the apple blossom before its own
pollen ; and that in such cases the nature of the
apple fruit will be commingled with that of a
pear has been proved by the case of Dr. Law-
rence's Canadian pear, before noticed in this
magazine,]

The Winter at Princeton, N. J. — A cor-
respondent says : Last was a terrible winter
here for evergreens, though I have come out
much better than any one else in the neighbor-
hood. Thanks to my AVhite Pine belts on the
north and west ; for instance, in all directions
Picea pectinata is either entirely killed or badly
injured, while not a leaf of mine is hurt. Singu-
larly, all my Junipers, creeping, Irish, Swedish,
&c., are browned, with the exception of I. ob-
longa pendula, which, though equally exposed,
is entirely untouched. Picaa pichta, Nordraan-
iana, Apollinis, Cephalonica, nobilis, amabilis
and pectinata, entirely uninjured. Pinus syl-
vestris, all right, of course, but its var. nana,
though in a sheltered place, completely killed.
Pinus excelsa, uninjured ; Abies Smithiana, all
right ; Tsuga Williamsoni, safe, butT. Douglasii
badly hurt, 3 feet of the top cut down. Eetinos-
pora obtusa and pisifera untouched ; plumosa
var. aurea, badly hurt ; R. filifera, hardy. Thu-
ja Occident, var. Sibirica, completely killed
where axposed to the north wind. Biota orien-
tali?,t'er?/slightly injured; var. aurea do., Cephalo-
taxus Fortunei, completely killed ; C. drupacea,
entirely uninjured. All small trees of Liboce-
drus decurrens killed by the ground ; large ones,
not a leaflet hurt. The same remark applies to
Cupressus Nutkaensis. C. Lawsoniana unhurt,
but its vars., argentea, gracilis and stricta, en-
tirely killed. Thujop dolabrata, some specimens
killed ; others by the side of them unharmed, al-
so with regard to var. variegata. Cryptomeria
Japonica, the largest tree in a rather sheltered

344-

THE GARDEJ^'ER'S MOJ^TELY. November,

situation, killed ; a smaller one not so well pro-
tected, uninjured. Cedrus Libani, uninjured.
Singularly, Magnolia glauca and tripetala are
uninjured, while the hybrid Thompsoniana is
killed ; M. purpurea is killed to the roots in
nearly every specimen ; M. conspicua and
'Lenne' both all right, as is also M. macrophyl-
la, Cercis Japonica, badly injured. Kilmarnock
Willow killed.

On the whole I came out pretty well."

Male Asparagus.— i. S. A, Louisville,
Ky., writes : "I have been especially interested
in the discovery announced by your magazine
in regard to the distinction of the two sexes in
separate plants of asparagus. Of course it com-
pletely knocks the breath out of Conover's Co-
lossal, Lesher's Mammoth and other supposed
true varieties. It seems to aie that I never
knew a mere scientific fact to be discovered
which so aptly eame in to set at rest a disputed
question. Still it would be a good thing if we
could find some way to preserve a good variety
pure. You show thai it cannot be done by seed.
Mr. Ravenel, in a recent number, shows that di-
viding the crowns would be too slow and too ex-
pensive a plan. AVhat I desire to know is
whether the male plants could not be selected
from the female plants, and whether ©n your
theory of sex the female plants would not give a
stronger and better growth than the male ones."
[The theory which the editor of this magazine
advanced, was that it was a weakened vitality
in tho!ie parts of plants immediately bearing the
flowers, which governed the production uf male
ones. The whole plant is not always weakened
when some of its parts are. Again, some plants
receive a check to vitality at some periods of
their existence and not from the beginning. The
male hemp and the male spinach for instance
die long before the female plant does, and by so
much, shows that its hold on life, by which we
mean its vitality, is not as great at that period.
But in all the earlier stages of life, so far as one
can judge by the appearance of things, the male
hemp or spinage is as vigorous (vital ?) as the
others. AVhether, therefore, male asparagus
plants would be less vigorous than female plants,
is a matter for experiment. It is a question
which no discoveiies of the editor or any one
else, so far as we know, will apply, so as to af-
ford any guide in advance.

ville, Ky., writes as follows : " You would con-
fer a great favor on me by letting me know
how to preserve pine trees and other kinds
from the borer. I have some beautiful Aus-
trian and other pines in my yard, about twenty
in number which are threatened to die out.
I think from the borer already one or two are
dead, and the balance more or less thickly
bored, the turpentine running out from the holes.
Small pieces of the wood like sawdust are thrown
out by these insects in large quantities from the
trees decayed, and unless I can apply some
remedy,! am conscious all my pines will die out."
[We do not know of any insect which bores
living evergreens. We have seen the borings
which our correspondent seems to refer to occur
in dead or dying trees. If there be any which
attack healthy trees, will some of our corres-
pondents who have had experience kindly re-
spond ?]

Borers on Evergreens.— W. H., Louis-

Our New Laws. — Asthestupidity of some of
our new laws becomes evident by their operation,
correspondence flows in on us in relation there-
to. Here is one who writes that though his
postmaster refuses to allow any package to go
over twelve ounces, ' four pound packages come
in from Roche!5ter, evidencing that either there
is a disposition to favor some seed men, or else
the Rochester man is ignorant of the law.
Which is it ?"

We do not know, but if after a study of the
three hundred and twenty-seven sections of the
"law," many of them of the most contradictory
character, any postmaster should plead igno-
rance of the law, we should heartily forgive
him. Another says, "I note that you refer to
new postal laws. I received from New York
this week four packages of seeds, on which one
cent for each two ounces had been paid ; at my
post-otfice I was told this was only half the pro-
per rate, and I had to pay double the amount
unpaid, eighty cents. Will you please tell us
what is the law ?" As in the above case no one
can tell what is tlie law. In one section it ap-
pears as if two cents for two ounces might apply
to seeds, but section 1(53 says that "on maila-
ble matter of the third class * * postage shall be
charged at the rate of one cent for each two
ounces." We find further by looking through
the huge pamphlet that in section 133 "seeds,
cuttings, roots, scions, bulbs" (if they do not
dare to grow over twelve ounces) are decided to
belong to the third class. This would seem di-

1872,

TEE GARDENER'S MOJSTTHLY,

345

rect enough ; but still postmasters may elect to
act on the two cent section — we cannot answer our
correspondent decisively.

And here is another queer inquiry. "At the
last session of Congress the duty was taken off
tree seeds, but kept on garden seeds. The col-
lector of New York makes me pay duty on an
importation of Mahaleb cherry, insisting they
are garden seeds. What are garden seeds ? As
you are ventilating the post-office laws, please
enlighten us on this one also." We know of a
case also like this. If we were to appeal to
Webster, or even horticultural or conventional
language, we cou'd soon tell our correspondent
what garden seeds were, but this will do no
good. Our correspondent will have to discover
the author of these laws, and get him to tell
what he means ; no one else can.

Change in the Post-office Laws.— Just
as we go to press, we learn that the member of
Congress in the district in which Rochester,
New York, is situated, has undertaken to urge a
reform in the late retrogade movement. The
following is a paper drawn up by Mr. Vick for
this purpose, — any one interested in the matter,
can forward their names to Mr. Yick with au-
thority to append them to the document :

" For more than twenty years, in accordance
with the laws of Congress and the rules of the
Post-office Department, Seeds have been carried
in the mails in packages of four pounds or less,
at a cost of eight cents per pound, or rather two
cents for every four ounces or fraction thereof.
Under this system of cheap postage for Seeds,
an immense trade has grown up, many persons
of means and commercial ability having been in-
duced to embark in the enterprise, and now sev-
eral of our Seed Houses are acknowledged to be
greater in extent, and conducted with more skill
and system than any similar establishments of
Europe.

So important has the transmission of seeds by
mail become, that the postage stamps used by
several of our leading houses I'ange from ten
thousand to fifty thousand dollars each, annual-
ly. Every hamlet in the country has been
reached and blessed by cheap postage for seeds,
and the people have learned to rely upon the
mails for the transmission of seeds from distant
growers to their homes.

The facilities afforded by the wisdom of Con-
gress for the dissemination of seeds at a low rate
of postage, and in packages of a convenient size,

has also encouraged the growth of seeds in our
country, and we are becoming every year more
independent of foreign growers ; indeed, we are
beginning to send such things to Europe, as ex-
perience has proved peculiarly adapted to growth
in our climate.

We had supposed that such a state of things
was not only satisfactory, but highly gratifying.
We knew that the Government was anxious to
send seeds all over the country, and imported
large quantities annually from Europe through
the Agricultural Department, at a great cost,
sending them free of postage through the mails,
for the purpose of advancing the Agricultural
and Horticultural interests of the land. The
seedsmen of the country were doing the same
work, not only without co'^t to the Government,
but actually paying millions of dollars to the treas-
ury for the privilege, in the way of custom house
duties and postage.

We had not the least idea that any change in
the law was contemplated We had not learned
that it was unsatisfactory to any class or any
person, and it was not only with regret, but
with great surprise, we learned through the
Post-office Department that Congress in amend-
ing the Post-office law, at its last session, and
ostensibly for the purpose of increasing mail fa-
cilities, had really made a retrograde movement.
Henceforth no package of seeds could be sent by
maij except at letter rates if weighing more than
twelve ounces, and that the rates on these small
packages were doubled, being increased to one
cent an ounce.

The effect of this law is not only to greatly
embarrass, but almost to destroy our business.
Its effect on the Post-offices is also injurious, be-
cause compelled to divide the usual four pound
package into six small packages, thus greatly
increasing the labor of packing and distribution,
and compelling us to send by express whenever
possible to do so.

We did not think Congress designed to repeal
the old law regarding seeds, but that the new
law was merely supplementary to the old one,
and we observe that this is the unanimous opin-
ion of the Agricultural ami Horticultural press
of the country, as well as of the press generall3\

We ask you most respectfully, yet earnestly
and with entire confidence, to take such action
as early as possible at. the next session of Con-
gress, as will enable us to serid seeds at the rates
existing previous to the last acts of Congress on
the subject, namely, four pound packages at two
cents per four ounces, and thus save us from se-
vere and imexpected embarrassment and loss,
and secure to the people the privileges they have
long enjoyed and appreciated, without injury to
any and with benefit to both Government and
people."

SJf6

THE GARDE JfER'S MOJfTHLY. J^ovemher,

NEW AND RARE FRUITS.

The Hailby Apple. — As such a society has
not yet been organized or committee chosen, I
will appoint the editor of the Farmer committee
pro tern and forward you with this, a small box
of apples called the Hailey apple, which origi-
nated in the orchard of the late Mr. Peletiah
Hailey of Topsham. The tree is very thrifty
and hardy, and an abundant yielder of fruit an-
nually. The scions will yield fruit one year af-
ter insertion in the limbs of fruit bearing trees
and flourish well in old or young trees. I gath-
ered more than half a bushel of this fruit a few
days since, from a dozen scions inserted one
year ago last spring. I have raised this variety
for fifteen years, and spealc of the qualities of
the tree from experience. There is an apple in
our market brought from Massachusetts resem-
bling the Hailey apple in form and size, but the
flavor is more tart, and the stem different. I
have every variety of choice apples which I could
conveniently procure for the past twenty years,
and find the Hailey yields the most abundantly
of any variety in my orchard. It is a fall apple,
and its flavor is the best about the first of Octo-
ber. The quality of the fruit you can judge af-
ter testing it. Should you or your friends wish
to propagate the variety of the apple, I can fur-
nish you with a hundred scions without expense.
There are also several varieties of winter apples,
which originated in this vicinity that are wor-
thy of propagation.— M., in Maine Farmer.

Park's Late Cling.

"Alton, 111,, Oct. 7, 1872.
Mr. Thos. Meehan, Ed. Gardener's Monthly,
Germantown, Pa.

Dear Sir : I send you to-day, by express, a
small box of 'Parks' Late Peach.' They are not
full size ; the tree overbore last year and this,
and stands in sod in a door-yard ; nor have the
peaches been thinned. Under the circumstances
I think they are fair peaches, being so late,
large, fine color and good bearer. It is believed
to be valuable, and will be planted in this vicin-
ity for market. The original tree has never fail-
ed to bear in the last six years.
Respectfully,

E. A. RlEHL.

[They came in excellent condition, 15th of
October, and fully sustain the high character
we formed and expressed of them last year ]

Peach from J. Heyser, Chambbrsbtjrg,

Pa. — This is a beautiful yellow cling, in general
character between Smith's Newington and
Lemon Cling. The fruit is large, though not of
the largest size, of a very deep yellow, almost
covered with red ; rather ovate, with a very
small point, and only lines in the place of su-
tures. The flesh is clear yellow to the deep red
stone. The flavor of the specimens before us
was not equal to either of the two we have com-
pared with. But as the three varied, it is like-
ly they do not fairly represent the general char-
acter, which we have heard from others is first-
rate. It is a very beautiful fruit ; tested here last
of August.

Matilda Strawberry — In the June number
of your paper you speak unfavorably of the Ma-
tilda Strawberr}', which originated with 0. J.
Tillson, of Highland, N. Y. You also quote A.
S. Fuller as saying that " it is splendid in every
respect except quality." Having visited Mr.
Tillson 's grounds when the fruit was in perfec-
tion, I had a good opportunity to examine them,
and dift'er with Mr. Fuller and yourself as to
qualit}'. To my taste they are of the class very
<i;ood or the best, and compare very f;iv)rably
with the newer varieties, such as Seth lioyden,
President Wilder, Chas Downing, etc., and
being large, productive, good color and quite
firm, they promise well at least. At my request
Mr. Tillson has furnished me with a statement
I of prices as compared with the Wilson, and
taken from the commission merchants' bill in
New York, which please insert ;

Matilda. Wilson,

per qt. per qt.

June 8, . . . 45 cts 24 cts.

" 10, ... 36 " 22 "

" 14, . . . 21 " 16 "

" 15, ... 15 " 10 "

" 17, . . . 27 " 20 "

" 20, ... 27 " 18 "

" 21, . . . 24 " 18 "

" 22, . . .24 " 16 "

" 23, . . . 24 " 15 "

" 24, ... 24 " 18 «'

" 27, . . . 30 " 18 "

You will see by this statement they average a
little more than one-third more per quart than
Wilson.— Chas. Downing, in Horticulturist.

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELY.

347

Stanley's Late Peach.— A. L. Dyckman,
of South Haven, has sent to Grand Rapids some
specimens of the Stanley late peach, and speaks
of it in the Times as being known under the
names of Hall's Chili, Jenny Lind, Sugar, and
other names. It is described as the best and
most profitable late peach now grown on the
Lake Shore. It is a prodigious bearer, yielding
annual crops, hardy, vigorous, and is recom-
mended for cultivation in Michigan where il will
ripen. This peach, like the Barnard, reprodu-
ces itself \Qxy closely from the pit, and hence the
number of synonyms.

Alexander Peach. — We note in several
Western papers that a peach, introduced by
Messrs. Jabez Capps & Sons, is attracting at-
tention. Some were sent to Mr. Purdy, of the
Fruit Recorder, who thus writes of them :

" These peaches were received in good condi-
tion—the Hale's Early but little more than half
matured, the Alexander's Early in the perfec-
tion of ripeness. It was of good size, agreeable
flavor, and of very dark color. The earliness of
this peach is no more a marvel than its color
which is dissimilar from that of any peach we
ever saw before."

Blodgetts' Late Peaches. — We have
again some specimens of these admirable fruits,
through Mr. Dreer. The late freestone (Octo-
ber llth,) is particularly well flavored.

The Atlantic and Richmond Peaches.
—Two varieties, originated, or at least being dis-
tributed by E. W. Sylvester, are very well spo-
ken of in many quarters entitled to the highest
consideration.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Amount and Origin of Mineral Matter
IN Plants.— Baudriraont, in the course of an
examination into the amount of mineral matter
in plants, determined the composition of quite a
number of species, and arrived at the following
conclusions : First, that mineral matter is found
in all plants, even in those of aerial growth,
which would scarcely seem likely to have the
power of acquiring it; second, that the mineral
matter contained in plants occurs in at least two
distinct conditions, namely, as a simple solution
in the vegetable juices, either not having been
yet utilized or unassimilable as the product of de-
jection, or else as finally united to or fixed with
organic matter ; third, this latter mode of union
may occur in variable proportions, from the
smallest quantity indispensable to the production
of organic matter to a maximum, where the re-
ciprocal action becomes zero.

The variability of the relative proportion of
the organic mineral matter shows that these are
not united to each other, as the fundamental
chemical elements are united. In place of an
intimate combination in definite proportions be-
tween the elements of molecules, there is only a
simple adhesive union, with the preservation of
the fundamental structure of organic products.

Baudrimont was much struck by finding that

Cactus peruvianus contained 94 per cent, of water
and volatile matter, and .04 per cent, of organic
matter ; and, therefore, that .05 per cent, of or-
ganic mineral matter was suflicient to give this
plant a definite form, and a texture which ena-
bles it to resist atmospheric agencies.— -Report
of Department of Agriculture.

New Zealand Flax.— Mr. A. Carr, of Car-
bondale, Pennsylvania, who for some years re-
sided in New Zealand and gave special attention
to the variety of flax cultivated in that island,
thinks it could be profitably produced in this
country. The dressed fibre commands the pres-
ent year in the English market £25 per ton,
and in New York 9 cents per pound in gold. It
can be used as a substitute in all products man-
ufactured from the common variety, as linen,
cordage, paper, &c., and is extensively used for
stufiing chairs, mattresses, &c., being as suitable
and durable for that purpose as horse-hair, — Ihid.

Effect of Snow on the Temperature
OF the Soil Beneath it. — Mr. C. G. Prindle,
of Chittenden County, Vermont, has made an
experiment designed to ascertain how far soil is
protected from cold by snow. For four suc-
cessive winter days, there being four inches of

3Jf8

THE GARDEJ^EBfS MOJVTHLy. J^ovemUr

snow on a level, he found the average tempera-
ture immediately above the snow 13° below zero;
immediately beneath, 19° above zero ; under a
drift two feet deep, 27° above zero. —Ibid.

A Profitable Pear. — The statement of Dr.
Sylrester of Lyons, N. Y., is furnished of the

product of an orchard of 40 trees of the Louise
Bonne of Jersey on one-eighth of an acre, the
actual sales from which amounted to §517.90 in
four successive years — which he admits is not
large, but would give an annual average product
of $1035 per acre, or .^690 per acre after deduct-
ing all expenses. — Country QeniUman.

FOREIGiN INTELLIGENCE.

Why do Grapes Fail?— We agree with the
epigrammatic remark of Mr. Pearson (page 17)
that " a man may miss his way in the cultivation
of a new kind of fruit without being exactly a
fool." These are circumstances connected with
the cultivation of the Vine which even the gar-
deners do not think of or cannot control, and
therefore it becomes every one to speak with some
degree of diffidence and modesty in condemning
new kinds of Grapes till they have had a fair
trial and the greatest skill has been exhausted
upon them unsuccessfully.

To the uninitiated it seems very bewildering
that at one place Mrs. Pince's Muscat, for in-
stance, is grown in the greatest perfection, while
at another place, only a few miles distance, it
proves a complete failure, after having tested
the best exertions of its owner in its favor ; and
such is the case. Instances of this, not only in
regard to this grape but to many others, may be
furnished ; but it is rash in those who fail, to
condemn in unmeasured terms, as has been too
frequently the case lately, those varieties which,
from whatever cause, they cannot grow.

It would be well worth while, and much ad-
vantage might result from the inquiry, to ascer-
tain where certain kinds of grapes succeed and
where they fail ; then to set an investigation on
foot as to the soils of the districts wiiere they
are grown. A great deal has been said about
the formation of vine borders ; much has been
written about them, and some sharp controver-
sies have taken place on the subject. In almost
all, if not all, the instructions as to how a vine
border is to be made, we are told to " take the
top spit of an old pasture." Now, in this top
spit of an old pasture I'esides many a success and
many a failure. Have those who so unreserved-
ly advised taking the top spit of an old pasture,

ever reflected what that really means, and to
what results their advise must unfailingly lead ?
Let us take a few spits from the surface of old
pastures — one from Hampstead Heath and an-
other from Bagshot ; one at Oxford another at
Cambridge ; from the Weald of Sussex, and from
the Forest of Esmoor ; from a valley in the Che-
viots, and from the banks of the Tyne ; from Ips-
wich, from Matlock, and from Aberystwith.
Analyse these separately, and we shall find in
them substances as various in their mechanical
and chemical composition as it is possible for
them to be.

Now, while there are varieties of the Vine
that will grow more or less successfully in all
these kinds of soil, there are others much more
capricious, and which require to be studied in
this particular if their greatest merits are to be
brought out. The vignerons of Europe have long
ago discovered that to get the greatest good from
certain varieties they must be grown on certain
soils. The plants that produce the finest
growths of Champagne are not grown on the
rocky steeps and valley slopes of the Rhine ; and
those which supplythe vaunted Johannisbergs
and Rudesheimers are very different from those
yielding the Montrachet of Burgundy and the
Yquene of the Gironde ; while the Carmenet,
the Malbec, and the Verdot, to which we are
indebted for the famed Margaux, La Rose, and
Lafitte, are entirely ignored in Burgundy,
where they would f\iil to yield the equally famed
Romanee Couti, Chambertin, and Clos Vaugeot
furni.shed by the little Noirien and Pineau. It
is, therefore, evident that to insure success in the
cultivation of the Vine, our growers must give
more heed to the composition of the soils of
which their borders are made ; and also to learn
the kind of soil in which the different varieties

187'^.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^'TELl.

3Jl9

are found to succeed best. One of the Grapes,
respecting which regrets are frequent becaxise
it is so difficult to grow, is the Muscat Ham-
burg, one of the most excellent varieties known
in regard of flavor. This has the reputation of
])eing in some places a bad grower, in others a
bad setter, and not unfrequently bad to color. A
few years ago we sent it with others, then new
here, to the south of France, where it is now
being largely grown in the vineyards on the
schistozo spurs of the Pyrenees, and where nei-
ther in point of growth, fertility, color, nor fla-
vor does it leave anything to be desired. There,
then, is a proof that the Muscat Hamburgh de-
lights in a soil formed of the rocks of the primary
formation No doubt many other Grapes re-
quire special soil and treatment, and it is to at-
tain a knowledge of these that gardeners ought
to direct their attention. — Journal of Horticult-
ure.

Berberis aquifolium leaves for Bou-
quets.— These leaves make the best guard petal
for bouquets of any that I know, taking into
consideration their appearance and lasting capa-
bilities. Many plants, no doubt, look better at
the time, but they soon fade. Rose leaves, when
aged or matured, look very well for an edging
for bouquets, but I do not think that they equal
the Berberis. Various shades of this plant's
leaves can often be got, some of them a rich
brown hue, when they have been much exposed,
and some of a bold green ; and others can be
had when they are shaded of a finer appearance
and texture. Each of tliese kinds may be used
according to the kinds and colors of flowers thej-
are to edge. Besides Camellias the Berberis
leaves look well ; they are of such a fine glossy
color, and their prickly edges furnish an addi-
tional feature to the group. The leaves of this
plant, which may be had in all seasons, are bold
and stiff", and they keep the flowers well together,
without being too clumsy. — B. M., in Garden-
er^s Chronicle.

Fungus AT THE Roots.— On the subject of
Fungi, I could furnish you with some curious
facts that have come under my notice in this
country. As an instance of their destructive
powers, I may mention their having destroyed a
fine wood of youug pine trees some 20 years ®ld.
They appear to work with wonderful rapidity,
as the trees I allude to make in the month of
May fine healthy growths, fully two feet in
length, and by the middle of Jane they were

brown and withered, as though they had been
fire scorched. I indeed at first imagined that
they had been burned, till on examination it
was found that roots and stems were masses o
Fungus. The threads appeared to have run up
betwixt the bark and the stem, as the bark came
away from the trees in large flakes. Now, had
the Fungus been active in spring, when the
trees were making their growth, it seems hardly
possible they could have grown so freely, and
been to all outward appearance in robust health,
as indicated by their fine growth ; so that the
Fungus would appear to be both deadly and
rapid in its effects. These Pine trees were sown
where they grew, and not transplanted ; so that
the theory of Mr. Miller, about transplanted
trees, in basins of hard, dry earth, would not
apply in this instance. It was a case of true
Fungus poisoning, brought about, as I think,
by squirrels, for at the roots of some trees, near
the centre of the wood, we found several hoards
of Pine cones and nuts, collected by these ani-
mals ; and these cones were as fine masses of
Fungus spawn as it is possible to imagine, and
from these centres of contagion the pest appear-
ed to have spread on all sides.

Another case of Fungus poisoning that caused
me a deal of trouble, occurred with some fine old
Orange trees in tubs. Some 12 years ago, when
these trees came under my notice, they were in
a most deplorable condition, all, with one excep-
tion, seemed dead or dying, many of them were
destitute of foUage, and what few leaves hung
on the remainder were yellow and covered with
black spots. I at first thought they had been
exposed to the frost ; but on turning one of them
out of the tub, the whole secret of their sickly
condition was at once brought to light— it was
simply Fungus, the whole ball being a mass of
white thread, the young roots all black and
dead, and the older roots swollen and turgid. I
had not far to look for the cause of the spread of
Fungus in this case, as over the drainage at the
bottom of the tub I found a layer of Pine tree
bark, put there evidently with the intention of
preventing the earth being washed down
amongst the drainage. As every gardener knows
the bark of old pine trees is seldom free from
Fungus, and in this instance there cannot be a
doubt that the Fungus had spread from the
bark into the soil, and on to the roots of the
Orange trees, and so caused them injury. As
soon as possible I had all the trees replanted in
new tubs, removing as much as possible of tho

S60

THE GARDEJ\rEB'S MOJ^TRLY. November,

infected soil from the balls, cleaning and wash-
ing the roots, and dressing them with quickUme
and wood-ashes ; it was several years before
they recovered from the Fungus fever, but in
time they got over it, and are now in good
health. At the time of retubbing the trees,
we examined amongst the rest the one tree that
I previously mentioned as being in better condi-
tion than the others. This one tree had been
planted without the layer of bark over the drain-
age, and was free from Fungus. A more con-
vincing proof of Fungus poisoning and its ill ef-
fects it would be difficult to lind. After this I
think even the boldest denier of the noxious in-
fluence of Fungus would hesitate ere placiug
Pine bark under valuable plants. I could bring

forward many more instances of these baneful
effects, but enough for the present.

The sort of Fungus I have been writing about
are called in the expressive Russian vernacular
unclean, but here we have many Fungi of a more
useful description ; indeed, one of the great sta-
ples of food in Russia is Mushrooms : they are
generally produced in countless numbers, but
this season, owing to the dry summer, they have
been scarce, and are just now seUing at 3s. per
lb. I had intended to have said something
about their qualities, and the way in which the
various sorts are prepared for use, but I fear my
gossiping letter has already encroached too
much on your space. — Moscow correspondent of
the Oardener's Chronicle.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNA. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Much as it was feared the contractors of the im-
provements on Horticultural Hall would not have
the work finished within their promised time, it
was gratifying to note, in these days of indiffer-
ence to promises, that every thing was up to
time. The improvements have doubled the ca-
pacity of the building, and the adornments are
all of the most chaste and beautiful character.

The exhibition opened on the 22d of October.
It was too late and in too busy a time to permit
of many distant exhibitors, and many near home
were also unable to attend.

But with all these drawbacks the meeting was
a very successful one, both in the character of
the articles exhibited and in the number of visi-
tors in attendance.

This has been pre-eminently a Dahlia year.
By this time in most seasons they have suc-
cumbed to the frost king. There were many
beautiful collections, but chiefly unnamed. The
named ones were from Messrs. Robert Buist
and Henry A. Dreer. In the collection of the
last named, we noted as being among the most
distinct and beautiful, Miss Turner, Gladiator,
Marquis de Beaumont, Frank Smith, Oillet
Parfait, Rover (a free bloomer) and one of the
best Gerhard Schmidt's America.

Among the most distinct in Mr. Buist's, were
Leah, Rosetta, Bird of Passage, Miss Maison,
Midnight, Arrah na Pogue. Mr. Dreer had al-

so a pretty collection of named roses, few, how-
ever, being prettier than the old rosy tinted
Souvenir d'un Ami. Mellanie de Villernoz, a
first-rate forcing rojie, was also in this collection.
There were numerous yellows in the collection,
particularly Belle Lyonaise, Isabella Sprunt, M.
Neil, Canari, Jean Pennott, Celine Forestier,
La Pactol, Olympic Fraciuay. Mr. Dreer also
exhibited a set of a dozen varieties of hybrid
Bouvardias, beautiful Petunias, a pretty heath-
leaved aster flowei-ed plant called Diplopappus
Chrysophyllus, and the Musa ensete, the nar-
row leaved and rapid growing Banana. Among
the cut flowers was the new Zinnia Haageana, a
double yellowish kind, not as pretty as a com-
mon yellow pompoue Chrysanthemum. Mr. Bu-
ist's collection contained many new and valuable
plants. There was an ex«ellent specimen of
Agave Verschaffeltii, which we figured in a past
volume of the Monthly. This has a long ebony
spine at the termination of the leaves, and a
row of ebonies on each margin. A. Ghiesbrech-
tii is very distinct by its grey margin. Mr.
Buist is always strong in new Ferns. He had
the first Lomaria gibba, — now he had an im-
proved variety of this beautiful fern in L. g.
crispa, Todoea superba, and Asplenium vivipa-
rum, were also among his beautiful ferns. The
Phlomis linearis with its handsome red flowers,
was as good as new. for we have not .seen it be-
fore for a quarter of a century, — that good old

187^.

THE GARDEJVER'S MONTHLY,

351

orchid Cattleya Mosste, also attracted much at-
tention by its large and showy flower. A single
red waxy blossom on the Anthurium Schurzi-
anum makes one wish for the time when one
can afford to grow a good specimen of this love-
ly thing.

While on novelties we must notice a white
flowered form of the old scarlet sage, exhibited
by Mr. Henry Chitty of the Bellevue Gardens,
of Paterson, New Jersey. It will, no doubt, be-
come a popular novelty. But the name is too
long for the mass of the people. Salvia splendens
compacta alba will never do. White Scarlet
Sage it will probably revert to.

Miller & Hayes, of Mt. Airy, had a fair collec-
tion of evergreens in pots. There was among
them a fine Thuja ericoides, wrongly named
Ketinospora ericoides, which is another thing, —
Retinospora plumosa aurea which proves to be
one of the most desirable of hardy evergreens,
and a variety of Eleagnus not yet well known,
named E. marginata, with the spangled green
leaves edged with gold. In their collection of
plants also was a Yucca recurva, which is much
in demand as an ornamental plant. It belongs
to the gloriosa section.

Mr. David Fergusson's collection contained
many rare plants. The Yucca gloriosa, with a
considerable trunk, was conspicuous, as also
was a very large plant of the "Turk's-cap"
Cactus— Melocactus communis.

In the collection of Mr. J^'ewett, gardener to
Pratt McKean, Esq., was perhaps the best Lo-
maria gibba in the country. This is a pretty
fern at the best of times, but with a trunk near-
ly a foot high it is very conspicuous in its
unique appearance. Here was also a pretty
plant of Tillandsia thyrsoidea, with three large
bunches of scarlet flowers rolled up in a bouquet
holder made of Pineapple leaves— so at least
"one of the people" said.

Mr. McKenzie had one of the largest plant
collections, in which a Tea plant laden with
numberless white flowers was very conspicuous.
Mr. John Dick had also a large and very choice
collection.

A new exhibitor was Mr. W. T. Faust, and
he had a new idea in a Cuphea platycentra
trained to a single stem about two feet high, and
then suffered to make a round head. There are
many situations in gardening when this idea
can be beautifully worked out.

Mrs. Bisset's collection was made up in a great
measure of ferns, of which she is a zealous collec-

tor. Mr. Gebhard Huster, Gardener to J. B.
Heyl, had a choice collection, the huge flowers
of Brugmansia Knightii thrusting themselves on
one's attention, but yet delighting by their deli-
cious fragrance.

The fruit department was very good. Dr.
Strentzel of Martinez, California, had a splendid
collection, which came through in admirable
condition. They are not as large as have here-
tofore been exhibited from California. Indeed
a Mr. W. Patton, of Philadelphia, had Duchess
Pears which beat the Californian, still they
were raav^nificent, the Vicar Pears being par-
ticularly fine.

The handsomest set of pears in the room were
contributed by the Horticultural Society of
Cambridgeport, Mass. It is probable such fine
Beurre Clairgeaus were never seen in the
room before. Its next neighbor, Doyenne du
Cornice, distinguished chiefly by being more
"chunky" at the "tail'' end, also attracted
much attention. There was afforded m this
collection a chance to examine fine specimens of
popular eastern varieties seldom seen on the ta-
bles of the Horticultural Society. Here was
Goodale, a pear looking like a Bartlett well fat-
tened up, — the Mt. Vernon, one of the best of
the newer candidates for favor, and magnificent
specimens of Marie Louise, so fine as to make a
worthy old gardener at our elbow declare he
"most thought he was in the ould counthry."

Satterthwaite's pears were better than last
year, and were very neatly and creditably dis-
played, a matter not much thought of in these
exhibitions. EUwanger & Barry and Hovey &
Co., also had very fine collections. If Satter-
thwaite was left to bear the whole credit of
Philadelphia in pear culture against the heroes
in the East, it was not so in apples. Shaffer,
Mather and Noble, of Philadelphia, Perkins, of
Moorestown, and the Franklin Co. Ilort. Socie-
ty of Chambersburg, had all magnificent fruit
in their several displays. Last year there were
some fair fruits from Viueland, and several in-
quiries were made for them this season, but in
this good fruit year in Pennsylvania it was per-
haps the part of discretion to stay at home.

The native grapes were by no means good, —
we must, however, except a very handsome col-
lection from Mr. Ricketts, of Newburgh, which
seemed all the more worthy by the inferiority of
the others. In hothouse grapes there were good
collections by Mr. Newett, gardener to H. Pratt
McKeau, Esq., and Mr. Huster. These were

35^

THE GARDEJ^^ER'S MOJSTTMLY, JVovember,

the chief things in the hall Oo the stage the]
splendid collection of plants contribated by Mr
W. Joyce, gardener to Mrs. Baldwin, drew
many eyes. These were the more appreciated,
as they could be looked down on by the specta-
tors, whereas the plants in the main hall were
perched high up on a stage, which made every
visitor wish he or she was at least six feet two
in the " stocking feet.''

The Foyer was devoted to vegetables, in which
the two Brother's Felton made the usual dis-
plays for which they are famous.

There were numerous other exhibitors of meri-
torious articles ; but the late date at which it
was held, and the "dunning" of the printer
who wishes to "close up or we shall be late,"
comiDcls us to ask for a leniency on so brief a no-
tice of what was really a very handsome affair,
and one creditable to all concerned.

ACADEMY OF STATURAL SCIENCES OF
PHILADELPHIA.

At the meeting on October 7th, Mr. Thomas
Meehan remarked, that as botanists well knew,
Qaercus prinoides seldom grew more than two
feet in height. It was one of the smallest of
shrubs. In his collections in Kansas he found
oaks in the vicinity of Leavenworth which made
small trees from ttn to Qfteen feet high, and
with stems from one to two feet in circumference.
He was entirely satisfied that it is identical in
every respect, but size, with the Q. prinoides of
the Eastern states. Among trees there are few
which produce forms as low shrubs; but the Finns
Banlcsiania in the East, but a bush of five or ten
feet, grew often forty feet along the shores of Lake
Superior; Castanea jmrnila, chinquapin chestnut,
when it got out of the sands of New Jersey into
the clayey soils west of the Delaware, often
grew as large as many full grown apple trees ;
and the CelHs occidentalis which, in the East,
is generally but a straggling bush along fence
corners, is in Ohio a large spreading tree with
enormous trunk, and in Indiana is as lofty and
as graceful as an Elm.

He also exibited a section of a stem of Wista-
ria Sinenis, and called the attention of members
to a curious arrangement of the wood and bark.
The vertical section showed, by the annual rings
of wood, that it was about twelve years old.
After the eighth year's circle there was a layer
of bark, and over this layer two more circles of

wood. On a portion of the sections another
layer of bark had formed between the tenth and
eleventh year's circles of wood. The bark
seemed to be wholly of liber,— the cellular matter
and external cortical-layer of the regular bark ap-
peared to be wanting. A longitudinal section
showed where these internal layers of bark ex-
tended no farther upwards, and at this point
there was an evident flow of wood from the in-
terior over and down this layer of enclosed
bark. lie remarked that this section of wood was
taken from a stem which had been led to sup-
port itself in an upright position. "Where the
Wistaria is permitted to trail along the ground,
numerous rootlets are formed along its length.
He thought from the appearance of the wood in
the specimen presented, that rootlets had par-
tially formed in these erect stems, pushing
through the liber, and then instead of penetrat-
ing entirely through the bark, and forming per-
fect rootlets, they remained within the cellular
matter, and, descending, joined each other later-
ally, thus forming a woody layer as in the regu-
lar annular course of wood. This explanation
was the more plausible he thought from the fact
that in woody stems formed on the ground,
where the rootlets went quite through into the
earth, the stems were nearly regularly cylindri-
cal ; but these upright stems on which rootlets
were never seen, had an irregular fluted appear-
ance Of course this explanation does not accord
with the formation of wood in ligneous struc-
tures as generally understood, but he could not
understand how the appearance presented could
have occurred in any other way than as he had
supposed.

Attention was called to a twin apple on the
table with two stems and stem cavities, and two
calyx basins a little below which, however, an
I union had taken place. Mr. Meehan said these
phenomena were rather common with various
fruits, and the mode of production well under-
stood. It was simply the inarching of two fruits
at a very early stage of their existence, through
two embryonic blossoms having perhaps been
produced in juxta-position from one bud. Dr.
Joseph Carson said that he thought the variety
exhibited, tlie Winesap, had a tendency to
pair young buds and thus bring forth these
united twin fruit. He had once known a tree
of them which produced a large proportion of
the fruit of this character. He had seen perhaps
a peck of them which had been gathered at one
time from the tree.

MR. LAXTON'S NEW PEAS.

If

SUPERLATIVE

Since Mr. Laxton's New Peas were sent out last season, a careful
and impartial trial of upwards of 200 varieties of Garden Peas has
been conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society at their Chiswick
Gardens, wlien out of 12 First-CIass Certificates awarded by the Fruit
Committee, 9 were allotted to Mr. Laxton for new sorts raised by him,
including the earliest, the latest, and the finest podded varieties known;
and at the Society's Great Annual Show at Birmingham in July last,
nearly all the Prize Collections of Peas and Vegetables either consisted
of or contained Mr. Laxton's New Peas. Last year the sorts distribut-
ed were only let out in trial packets, Mr. Laxton has therefore deter-
mined to send out for the ensuing season the following selections there-
from of 4 thoroughly distinct and approved varieties only.

William the 1st.

The finest first early Pea known, combining flavor, earli-
ness and productiveness witli appearance. It lias long, liand-
some and well filled deep greenish pods — ripe seed parti-color-
ed, like " Ne Plus Ultra." Height 3 feet. FIRST-CLASS
CERTIFICATE of the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SO-
CIETY.

PBXCS, in sealed half-pint packets, $1.25.

Superlative.

The largest and finest podded variety yet raised ; indis-
pensable as an exhibition Pea. The pods, which have been ex-
hibited 7 inches in length, are more than twice the size of those
of the parent Pea, "Laxton's Supreme," which for several
seasons, up to the coming of " Superlative," took nearly every
First Prize when shown in competition. Color and flavor ex
cellent. 2d early. Height about 7 feet. FIRST-CLASS CER-
TIFICATE of the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Price, in sealed half-pint packets, $2.

Popular.

For general crop this blue-wrinkled mai-row will be found |
earlier, more prolific, and to have better filled pods than those _
of '' Champion of England," to which variety it is quite equal ',
in flavor, and with which it will bear favorable comparison. ;
Mr. Laxton can confidently recommend this Pea for general
crop and market puiposes. Height about 4 feet.

Price, in scaled half-pint packets. 60 cents. i

Omega. |;f

This, the latest of all knov/n Peas, was raised by fertiliz-'
ing '■ Ne Plus Ultra" with " Veitch's Perfection," and has all
the valuable characteristics of the former variety, combined ■'
with the dwarf-branching habit of the latter. It is remarka- '
bly prolific, the pods are very fine and closely filled, and the \
flavor and color of the Peas unequalled. Ripe seed like " Ne *
Plus Ultra." At the Chiswick trials it received a FIRST-
CLASS CERTIFICATE, and has been described by the au-
thorities there as unsurpassed as dwarf late Pea. Height 3
feet G Inches.

Price, in sealed half-pint packsts, $1-25.

^'I'liii

%..

OMEGA.

To be had retail of all tlie principal Seedsmen in the United States and Canada. The
Trade must apply to Mr. TIIOMA S LAXTON. Stamford England; or to Messrs. J. M.
Thorburn & Co., 15 John Street, New York, Wholesale Agents for America.

•s-'?"^-

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t^^r^SEE FIRST PAGE FACIMG COVER.-^ifr

Hr (Unit's MoEtlila,

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Old Series, Vol. XIV. DECEMBER, 1872. New Series, Vol. V. No. 12

HIIN^TS rOH DECEMBER.

FLOWER GARDE:N' AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

We are again at the end of another year of
our labor, glad to feel that the}' have been of
some use in the spread of horticultural taste and
knowledge. We are particularly glad to feel
that our " hints'' have not been thrown away.
We endeavor to make tl is an especial feature of
our magazine. Here we admit nothing but
what has been submitted to the severe test of
practice and experience. In other departments
we strive to encourage thought, and allow lati-
tude to speculations ; but in this only those
things are suggested that have been tried in the
balance and not found wanting.

It is often said that what is science to-day is
not science to-morrow. This is equally true of
practice. If we take up the hand books of cul-
ture of the past generation and compare them
with the present, how wonderful is the change !
So even with us ; conscious as we have already
been that what we taught was really the best
way; yet we find, year by year,'our practice
changes, and we have to feel that perfect culture
has not been reached.

Thus our monthly hints, though season by sea-
son in some respects, necessarily similar, are al-
ways progressing ; and those who follow us regu-
larly, can but note that no course of practical
conduct in the garden is so perfect that some-
thing better cannot be taught.

So it is that we have never dared to lay down
any absolute rule for gardening operations. We
are content to give what we write the modest
name of "hints," hoping the reader will receive

them as such, and give to thim some thought o
his own before putting them in practice.

We usually commence with the Flower Gar-
den., because it is the first gardening any of us
do. As children, we have our little gardens of
"Johnny -jump-up's." "Forget-me-nofs" "Sweet
Williams" or "Roses ;" and it is only as we get
to fight the stern battles of life, that what we
shall eat, or wherewith shall we be clothed, trou-
bles us. Even when we become children of
larger growth, a geranium or a mignonette in a
window sill, is often the extent of our gardens
long before the cabbage plot or the strawberry
beds come into existence.

Well, these same geraniums and window flow-
ers will want all the sun light they can get at
this season. Many suppose that if plants in
windows get light, that is enough ; but there is
nothing so good as sunlight. This is even of
more consequence than heat. Flowers will gen-
erally be in greater proportion in a window at
55'' than in a much higher temperature without
the sunlight. Most of the old fashioned window
plants are still among the best. For instance
Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, Zonale Geraniums,
Cupheas, Fuchsias, Violets, Roses, Plectranthus,
Chinese Primroses, Lobelias, Oxalis, Solanum
semi-haccatwin or "Jerulem cherry," (of which
the dwarfer kind S. capsicastrum., is an improve-
ment,] Catalonian Jasmines, Daphnes, Sweet
Olive, Laurustinus, and where there is a little
knowledge. Camellia and Azalea are still among
the best.

'I he more out-door operations, however, come
under our present head. One of the best hints
in season, is to see what can be thinned out

354

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLl. December,

There is no place that we know of where the axe
and saw may not be used to advantage in even a
some sort of merciless manner. Places must be
planted thick in order to get an immediate ef-
fect,— and they must be thinned as they grow,
if a continuously pretty place is desired. It is
here that true artistic skill comes in It takes
genius to plant a place properly ; but a higher
cast of it to judiciously thin out. It is said tnat
the ridiculous practice with many people of
heading back their ornamental trees — especially
those on the streets in winter time, originated
through the advice of frozen out jobbers who
wanted something to do. It is murder to the
trees. They soon die outright after a few years
of this treatment. If men want work, and will
advise to thin out, they will do good to those
who employ them, and save the wear of con-
science— that is, those who have any.

Our readers will not forget the experiences of
the past memorable winter, and how plants had
the moislure dried out of them by the extraor-
dinary combination of three agents all in one
day, namely, a dry air with high wind, a low
temperature, and roots so deeply frozen that
their ability to absorb moisture was seriously
impaired. It is hardly likely that these three
agencies, all so favorable to a destructive loss of
sap, will occur together so soon again ; but we can
learn from this the importance of preserving
plants from losing their juices too rapidly. This
can be done in some degree by laying a mulch
over the roots on the surface of the ground,
which will prevent the ground from getting fro-
zen to the full depth of the roots. Besides this
we have often pointed out the advantage to
places of being sheltered from cold winds in win-
ter by belts of evergreens. This advice will be
appreciated at this season. Many plants like
the Deodar Cedar, Cedar of Lebanon, and En-
glish Holly, can only be grown in this region,
when the plants are protected by these belts.
The best kinds of Evergreens for making belts,
on account of their rapid growth and warmth
imparting character, are the White Pine, Scotch
Pine, and Norway Spruce ; among deciduous
trees the Larch, Silver Maple, Birch, Scotch or
Sycamore Maple, and the Cottonwood Poplar,
which can be cut away as the others grow.

Besides trees for shelter, good hedges serve
the triple service of shelter, protection from tres-
pass, and beauty, — setting aside their cheapness
as compared with lumber fences, now that their
proper management is understood, their superi-

ority in the points we have designated gives
them commanding claim on every one's atten-
tion. They need not be always of evergreens.
Beech and Hornbeams are excellent deciduous
things.

Thinning is not near enough practised. We
often hear people complain that their trees were
originally planted too thick. This is rarely the
case. The warmth of thick planting makes all
grow faster ; and besides who wants to look at a
skeleton of a place for a dozen years, while the
fleshy branches are growing over it. The true
philosophy is to plant thick and thin annually.

Xo man can be a good gardener, without the
power of foresight and forethought. This is par-
ticularly a great advantage of the winter season,
that we are induced to look ahead and prepare
for spring, — manures, stakes, labels, tools, gravel,
soils, seeds, trellise?, grafts, - no one need be
without a plent}' to do, if proper judgment has
been exercised in the matter before hand.

In the Southern States, more active operations
will be going on. preparing for spring work.

Many kirds 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. Evergreen? 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
coniferre growers, however, have long practiced
manuring them, and with the best results.
Guano has been found particularly beneficial to
the Spruce family, and it will probably be found
as good for the whole family of evergreens.

GREENHOUSE.

Year by year the demand for cut flowers in-
creases, and it is far more important in these
days that a gardener keep his employer's table
and family in these, than to have the nice speci-
men plants so much in fashion some years ago.

To have plants bloom freely at this season,
heat, moisture and fresh air are essential. It is
even good economy to lose some heat in order to
gain the advantage of opening ventilators or
windows, if the weather outside be not fVxvora-
ble enough without it. The Camellia, Azalea,
Daphne, Stevia, Poinsettia, Euphorbia, Violets,
Tree Carnation, Lopezia, Eupatoriura, Cinera-
ria, Perennial Candytuft, Deutzia gracilis. Tea
and Noisette Roses, Epiphyllum truncatum,

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTHLY.

355

Hermannia odorata, Acacia, Bletia, Scarlet Ge-
raniums, Strelitzia, Chorizema, and most kinds
Australian plants, Verbenas, Bouvardia, Helio-
trope, are a few of the best things to grow for
cutting, that occur to us as we write. The tem-
perature should not often be below 55° to be se-
cure of a good bloom.

We ought perhaps to add the Rose to this list.
It is however not a very free plant to flower in
the winter, unless an abundance of light can be
afforded. Even then some classes of Roses are
unfit for it. Only the Tea class and some of the
Noisettes will do ; there are not many of this
last., - Lamarque being one of the few to do
well. Cels, Saffrano, Triomphe de Luxemburg,
Horner and Madame Russel are about the best.
The Camellia and Azalea are particularly valu-
ble for cutting. The Whites are the most popu-
lar for this purpose, principally the old Double
White and Candidissima ; the last comes into
flower a little later than the other kind. In cut-
ting these, only the flowers are taken off, and ar-
tificial stems in the shape of small wires are
given to them. The common white azalea,
Azalea indica alba is also very popular among
white flowers.

The Camellia is very apt to drop its buds if the
atmosphere is too dry ; but generall}' dropping
follows any check to the roots by which the regu-
lar flow of moisture to the bud is stopped. This
may be either too little or too much water ; if
too little, of course there is not enough moisture •,
if too much, the fibres are liable to have their
points injured, and thus are unable to draw
moisture to the bud. Usually the last bad re-
sults follow from over potting. With a large
mass of soil, water is apt to not pass readily
away, when Uie soil "sours," as it is termed. A
pot full of roots will seldom drop the Camellia
buds for any other cause than too little water.

A great enemy of the Camellia is the Red Spi-
der. The leaves indicate its presence generally
by a brown tinge, when the pocket lens, which
every gardener of course carries, readily detects.
All plants are more or less liable to these insects,
as well as the green fly, mealy bug and scale.
The best way to keep them down is by a free use
of the syringe in fine days, using water in which
some sulphur has been strewn. Tobacco smoke
is still the best cure for aphis. Scale is a very
troublesome pest ; water heated to 130° is still
the best. This injures very tender leaves ; but
the scale is rarely on such, it usually keeps to
he branches or on thick leathery leaves.

Tree Carnations, — these also now indispensa-
ble winter flowering plants, want a very light
place to do well. They do not generally care
about very large pots — about five or six inches —
but they are very much benefited by rich ma-
nure water.

The Calla Lily is now extremely popular.
This also loves light. It must have a good sup-
ply of water, and good soil to flower well.

Towards spring the Cineraria comes in re-
markably well for cutting. This is a "queer''
plant. It is one of the easiest to suffer from
frost, and yet will not do well in a high tempera-
ture. It also requires much light, and to be
very near the glass. So also of the Pay^sy and
Violet, although some frost will not hurt these.

1^ Pelargoniums are wanted to flower well next
May and June, they should be attended to, and
grow well through the winter. They want a
rather warm house to keep them growing, and
should be pinched back as they grow, to keep
them bushy.

A good supply of young Fuchsias should be
coming on now — repot as their roots fill each
pot, let them not want for moisture or light ; do
not pinch off their tops, but let them grow rap-
idly. The temperature in which they are grown
should not exceed 55°. A turfy loam, moder-
ately enriched with well decayed .manure, and
well drained with charcoal, suits them admir-
ably.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Very little can be done now in this depart-
ment, except by way of preparation for another
year.

Manure can be placed on the ground wherever
required, and Asparagus ,beds, if not already
done, should have a slight covering of it. Bean
poles. Pea-brush, and stakes of all kind should
be got now, the tool house gone over and put in
order, and everything kept in good order and
studiously in its place. When the season of
operations commences, there will then be no-
thing to hold back the attention.

Where there can be heat of 60° commanded,
Bush Beans can be usually grown in pots, and
can be gathered in two months from time of
sowing.

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 Lettuces are, however, very im-

366

THE GARDE JEER'S MOMTRLY. Decanber,

patient of too much heat ; the}^ will come on well i the Early Horn Carrot.

if the temperature be kept at 45\ When it goes ; Cauliflowers in frames require all the air pos-
above that, the sashes should h^ lifted entirely ' sible. Never allow them to become dry ; this is
off. i the cause of many failures by way of ''button-

The same remarks appl}' to the Ptjtato and ingoff"

C 0 M M U IS' I C A T I 0 N S.

RECOLLECTIONS OF A JOURNEY FROM
BRLSBANE, QUEENSLAND, TO ARMA-
DALE, NEW SOUTH WALES.

BY WM. T. HARDING, NONANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGHTON, MASS.

In a previous communication, headed " Ram-
bles in Queensland," I endeavored to describe
how pleasantly we meandered among the flowers
and arboreal marvels of the antipodes, through
some of the most picturesque scenes ' the great
Architect of the universe" presents to the ad-
miring travelers. Well may the heart pulsate
with gratitude to "the giver of all good," who
so beautifies His earthly kingdom, and gives to
simple nature such terrestial charms, with all
the bright tints and colors of the soul-visiontd
celestial panorama of "the better land."
Such happy and delightful scenes as these were
undoubtedly formed " to make glad the heart of
man," and brighten up the smouldering embers
of his heart to a gl rawing heat, and with love
warm the bosom of every child of nature.

" It was in t)io summer time, when loaves grow gi'een,
And flowers are fresh and fair,"

As the soft sea breezes waved the Acacia groves
in the fading sunlight, which seemed to linger in
the highest branphes of the lofty Eucalyptuses,
which overlook the mangrove thickets, and belt,
as it were, the shores of Moreton Bay, on the
coast of New Holland.

It was there I left in the genial company of
the editor, his friends, the good readers of the
Monthly, so happily blessed with strong imagina-
tions, ideally feasting with a delicious gusto
on all the choice fruits their appreciative pal-
ates could indulge and delight in.

I sincerely hope that both he and his intellec-
tual epicur s, while guests of " Pomona,'' fared
sumptuously at her banquet and duly enip3'ed
the fancied good.

I refer the kind render to page 335 of the No-
vember number o' the Month'y for 1870, in which

appeared a brief account of a journey to the
Araucaria excelsa groves on Norfolk Island,
Oceanica ; and which, in the course of consecu-
tive events, should have properly preceded this.
From here I embarked for that famous island,
whose earl}' associations were not of a very
pleasant nature. In past times it was occupied
as a penal settlement, and peopled with the in-
corrigible rogues and scoundrels of Great Brit-
' ain, "grand scamps,'' " who left their country,
for their country's good.'' It is now a very
proniising colony, and contains the off"spring of
the n)utineers of H. M. S. "JSounty," who, after
sisizing the ship, sailed to Otaheita, and there
procured a number of women for "better-halves,"
conveyed them to Pitcairns Island, and there
broke up the vessel and formed a settlement.
Quarrels, arrising on account of the women, led
to bloodshed and death among the sailors, until
only one was left, John Adams, the chief muti-
neer, who seems to have " repented him of the
evil of his ways" and in the character of a
patriarchal father, governed the numerous pro-
gency of Anglo-Otaheltians which surrounded
him. So prolific were the offspring, who in time
were so "fruitful and multiplied" so rapidly,
that it seemed but a question of time as to how
long they could find subsistance and room on so
small a spot to exist on. Fortunately the mat-
ter was humanely settled by the Eu'j;lish govern-
ment, who generously forgave the old man
Adams, and removed him and his people to
Norfolk Island, where now, strange to say, vice
is said to be unknown.

Queensland, at the time I allude to, was a por-
tion of New South Wales, and was known as
Moreton Bay Settlement, with Brisbane the
chief cit}-^, now the capitol of that flourshing
colony.

On returning from Norfolk Island, I attended
the Horticultural and Agricultural Society's
Show, where the col mists exhibited fruits, tl:)vv-

187^.

THE GABDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

367

ers and vegetables, with cereals and general farm
produce. Live stock, such as horses, cattle
sheep and shepherds' dogs, swine, poultry, &c.,
of all ofwhich very fair specimens were presented.
Articles of colonial growth and manufacture,
such as properly prepared hemp, cotton, olive
oil, tobacco, tlax, linseed oil, silk, leather, hops,
woolen goods, paper, &c., occupied considerable
space, and especially engaged the attention of
the manufacturing and agricultural portion of
visitors who were interested in such matters.

Of such fruits as were previously mentioned,
there was an abundance ; and of flowers the
same. But what seemed to be the centre of at-
traction among the many, and claimed the most
attention in the floral department, were three
flower-pots, each containing a specimen of Bellis
perennis, B hortensis and B. prolifera, orlher-
wise known as English Dog daisies. Simple lit-
tle flowers as they were, happy reminiscences
attached to them, and brought back to memory
the time

'• When tlie odor came dowu from the chestnut trees,
la the meadows where daisies gro^\\"

in the far away, though not forgotten, old Eng-
land.

Of the daisy, *' Scotia's Bard" speaks of it as
a "Wee modest, crimson tipped flower," and
the quaint old poet Chaucer, calls it "La belle
Marguerite, a commendable flower and most in
mind," of no doubt pleasant recollections of the
days of yore.

Well might Montgomery say " The daisey
never dies."

Of all the gorgeous, beautiful, sweet, or grand
flowers, I ever beheld in a life time spent among
them ; the three little daisies, endeared by a
thousand associations as they were, seemed then
to be " the fariest of the fair.''

From Brisbane to Paramatta, through the
"bush," is a long and fatiguing, though inter-
esting, journey, as we push onwards "through
brake and glen," over hills and mountain ranges,
which constitute the Australian Alps. On the
summits of the rocks perched handsome bushes
of Lalage ornata, which I saw for thp first time,
and probably the last also, as I hav" never met
with it since then. It is a beautiful leguminous
plant, well covered with purple flowers, dashed
with orange ; and, as a greenhouse plant, would
be a decided acquisition. In the same elevated
position were clumps of Lambertia formosa,
with some fair specimens of Australian oaks,

Stenocarpus Cunninghamii, Araucaria excelsa,
rather stunted and lower down, the remarkable
Kauri pine, Dammara Australis, whose smooth
and polished blue shafts had more the resemb-
lance of enormous slate columns than stems of
living trees.

On the shady sides of the rocky slopes were
some very pretty ferns, whose handsome fronds
were closely enveloped in a dense wool-like cov-
ering. Eriochasma sulcata and E. tomentosa ;
the latter a veiy striking and distinct variety.

In the same region I observed some fine bushes
of Drynaria Billardeirii and D. diversifolia,
with an occasional specimen of Edwardsia Mac-
nabiana, a plant much admired, and deservedly
so, in all first-class collections.

As we passed along over flowery hills and
verdant dales, where every footstep pressed a
flower, you may readily imagine how interested
and delighted we were with the vrildly roman-
tic scenes on every side. Gracefully drooped
the tall ferns, Alsophila Australis, side by side
with the peculiar Casuarina glauca, always a
conspicuous and remarkable tree where ever
seen, with some splendid specimens of stately
palms, Corypha Australis, with rich masses of
Acacia pubescens, and A. grandis overhung the
fern covered gullies.

Microlepea rhomboides, a small though beau-
tiful fern, spread out its pretty little fronds over
mountain and moreland like Caledonia's "lowly
green brecken." One of the most perfect
specimens of the grotesque looking grass
trees, Xanthorrhoe Australis, stood alone "in
silent solitude," and a more peculiar or remark-
able arboreal object would be difficult to imagine
or describe. Baurea rubifolia, a neat evergreen
shrub of dwarf habit, Calythryx glabra, another
beautiful evergreen well furnished with clusters
©f white flowers ; Leptospermum grandi flora, a
nice looking shrub, like a myrtle in appearance,
Eutaxia pungens. a comely shaped bush, pro-
fusely covered with handsome leguminous orange
colored flowers, mingled with clumps of Paterso-
nia longifolia, a very pretty blue flowering her-
baceous plant, Elichrosumscorpioides,Persoynia
spathulala, several Callistachys, and Epacrises.
Pimelias in several varieties were literally cov-
ered with bloom. They are decidedly handsome
evergreen shrubs, and well deserve cultivating
in every greenhouse ; in fact, wherever there is
room for half a dozen plants, one at least should
be one of them. Probably some of the readers
will remember, as 1 know you, Mr, Editor, do

S58

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY. December,

seeing the famous collection of New Holland
plants growing at Ealing Park, in the suburbs
of London, and owned by the celebrated Mrs.
Lawrence, of horticultural fame. If so, imagine
you see better grown specimens flourishing and
flowering abundantly, where nature, unaided by
the art of man, has caused them " to blossom
as the rose in the wilderness."

Araucaria Cunninghamii grew in dense and
formal clumps among the various species of Aca-
cias, which generally grouped together on the
hill sides and grassy lowlands we were approach-
ing.

Immense flocks of sheep were quietly grazing
among the many beautiful shrubs and stately
forest trees, which give such a peculiar charm
to the Australian landscape.

The loud barking of dogs also gave indications
that we were nearing some sheep firm, or bush
station, when, to our surprise, we suddenly came
in sight of some elaborate carving upon the
trunk of a colossal Eucalyptus, whose immense
girth of forty nine feet, afforded ample space for
the artist to operate upon. It was certainly "a
strango device,'' to wit, the English coat of arms
with the proper quarterings and armorial bear-
ings. The rampant lion and unicorn, life size,
supported a shield with the usual heraldric de-
vices and well-known scroll and motto of the
stereotype pattern. Upon the reverse side was
a well executed figure of "George and the Dra-
gon." The doughty champion was mounted on
his prancing steed, engaged in a fearful combat
with a terrible monster. Above the combatants,
cut in bold and deeply carved letters, were in-
scribed "Saint George and merrie England.''
The inscription on " the rosetta stone,'" although
more diflBcult to decipher, could not possibly
have afforded more interesting speculations to
the discoverer, than did the mystical or histori-
cal carving upon the ancient gum tree.

Before my curiosity had been satisfied with an
examination of the novel sight before us, wc
were assailed by a pack of " mongrel curs," and
were glad to find safety in the branches of a large
Citrobatus multiflorus bush near by.

"While perching among the prickly branches,
which were covered with sharp spines like ' the
quills of the fretful porcupine." among which
grew a small yellow insipid fruit resembling an
orange, and is known to the settler as the orange
thorn, the canine furies gathered beneath, when
^such a noisy, raving, yelling demonstration be-
jan, with snarling, barking, howling and

" gnashing of teeth," as only bushmens' brutes
are capable of. While so situated, I wondered if
Watts was ever in such a dilemma when he said,
" Dogs delight to bark and bite."

I must confess I had then, and have now, a
very poor opinion of "dogs delight,'' and felt
thankful they could net climb up to us and en-
joy such dental pleasures as the carnivorous
animals seemed so anxious for. After firing
several shots and a good deal of c-o-o-e-e-ing, two
men, armed with double barreled guns, made
their appearance, and hailed us. Never did I
think " Queen's English" sounded more pleas-
antly. The dogs were called off", and dispersed,
and we were soon on terra firma shaking hands
with our new acquaintances, who congratulated
us on so narrowly escaping the javvs of dogs, if
not ' the javvs of death."

We gladly followed our deliverers, who led the
way for about a quarter of a mile through a
grove of Ficus macrophylla, Cargilea laxa, and
Melostomas of various kinds, with foliage and
flowers as beautiful as most of their congeners
are,. and soon entered " York," a sheep station.
Yes, good readers, we were in the city of York,
(so-called,) and were welcomed by all the people
who occupied the one house or hut in that silvan
city. We were generously tendered and accepted
the hospitalities of the citizens, whose honored
guests we were some twenty-four hours or more.
I doubt if ever any State or civic entertainment
in the ancient city of York, and presided over
by the Lord Mayor, was of a more sociable or
enjoyable nature than was ours, feted and
feasted as we were.

It seldoms falls to the lot of a traveler to meet
with all the inhabitants of a city so good-natured,
intelligent, and kindly disposed as were the deni-
zens of "York."

The people's pursuits or occupations were,
viz : one hut-keeper and three shepherds. One
of them had formerly been a flax merchant in
Beltlist, Ireland. Another had practised law in
Edinburgh, Scotland. Of the other two, one
had been a silversmith in London, and the other
was once a skilful carver and guilder in the city
of York, and who.se handy works were visible
on every part of the hut and adjacent tree trunks.

He, Mr. Carver, when at Sidney, N. S. W.,
in 1838, remembered meeting with Mr. James
Backhouse, the well-known nurseryman of York,
England, who spent some five or six years travel-
ing through Australasia. From Sidney they
made the voyage to V'an Diemen's Land to-

1872.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

359

gether, where they separated for the last time.

After passing a sleepless nis/ht, engaged in
pleasant conversation with our kind entertainers,
giving them all the news we were stored with of
Australia, England and other parts of the world,
we reluctantly left the forest city and its kind
and hospitable people, who turned out en mass
and escorted us down^Parliament street, "where,
shaking hands with the entire population, and
bidding each and all adieu, we journeyed on,
thinking of the solitary and monotonous life
these '' gentlemen of fallen fortunes" were doom-
ed to follow. Fate seemed to have brought them
together to share life's vicissitudes in the bush,
and enjoy in common the few comforts which
fell to their lot. No doubt but what they had
practically tested the truth of Goldsmith's re-
marks :

"Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long "

It was "high noon,'' and hot enough to scorch
a "Shadrach," when we halted from sheer ina-
bility to proceed further. We sought the shade
as best we could beneath some large Pittospo-
rum ligustifolia bushes -an evergreen shrub,
well-known to most people as a good old-fashioned
greenhouse plant. Feverish with the excessive
heat and as thirsty " as the heart that pauteth
for the water brooks," we rested, or rather
waited for some time. How distressingly
enervating is the intense summer heat which
quivers on the earth like moulten metal when at
a white heat, and with a blinding glare painfully
scorches and sorely inflames the travelers' eyes.
Opthalmia, in consequence, is common to all
parts of Australia, and causes much suSering

We had exhausted our supply of water and
were unable to replenish again. The refreshing
showers are few and far between which fall in
that country during the summer months. Win-
ter, or the rainy season, is the time when the
deluging rain soaks the parched soil and fits it
for the husbandman. I tried to moisten my
tongue with the juice of some Mesembryanthe-
mum leaves, or midday flowers, as the settlers
call them, from the fact of their blossoms only
opening during the middle of the day. While
lying beneath the bushes I observed Mesembry-
anthemum aboeviatum in full bloom, and while
admiring its simple beauty, which I watched
until it closed, thought of poor Park when "on
Afric's burning sands,'' as how probable it was
one of the genera he alluded to, and called to
mind his well remembered words. Of Mesem-

bryanthemums indigenous to Africa, there are
known to botanists nearly six hundred species,
while five or six represent the total of New Hoi"
land. They are not found as native plants in
any other part of the world, I believe. In the
neighborhood of Port Adelaide, South Australia»
and stretching for miles along the sea beach'
may be seen M. stipioides and M. alcinifolia, the
latter often flourishing in thick masses on the
salt encrusted plains.

After waiting until the flery red sun was sink-
ing behind the forest covered hills, we again re-
sumed our journey ; the heat being considerably
reduced, was less oppressive, so we continued
on until midnight.

The refulgent moon, radiant among the pale
stars which surrounded her azure throne, looked
serenely down from above, and shed her soften-
ed light upon all things below, and bathed in
liquid silver every flower and tree. The voice
of nature was hushed, as in quiet and peaceful
slumber we reposed at the foot of her star-lit
throne. How often on such occasions, in the
stillness of night, when musing in silence alone,
in the deep recesses of the forest, we are forcibly
reminded of " the place which passeth all un-
derstanding." There is something so impres-
sive in the situation which seems to arouse the
soul slumbers and wake up drowsy memory to
live over the past, in fancy, again.

The rosy fingers of " Aurora" had opened the
gates of day " and tipped the hills with gold" ae
" Sol " arose from his cloud bed to rule the day
and give light and life to the world.

The dew spangled flowers, fresh and fair as
they were, with the sweetest of odors, perfumed
the breath of early morn. Boronia serrulata,
sweet and modest little flower, whose exquisite
fragrance miogled with Tasmannia aromatica its
delightful aroma. The latter is a beautiful ever-
green shrub, and in Van Diemen's Land, where
I Srst saw it, is used as a substitute for pepper,
and named in honor of Tasmann, who first dis-
covered the island.

Groups of Elaeocarpus cyanus, Podocarpus as-
pleniifolia, Cassinea spectabilis, a beautiful foli-
aged plant, with pretty yellow flowers, Chelodia
scutellariodes, a very ornamental plant which
blooms in rich masses of violet-colored labiate
flowers, blended with Zamias, Pandanus, Leois-
tonea, Dracoenas,CordyUnes, Xanthorroes, Driy-
andrias, Banksias, Phebaliam, Laurus, Seafor-
thias. Acacias, Furcroes, &c., with other singu-
lar and curious growing trees, shrubs and her-

S60

THE GARDE J^^ER' IS MOJ^TMLY. December,

baceous plants, formed a raotly picture ; while
5ome were grouped and massed in the orthodox
style of landscape gardening.

Such a sight would have delighted the profes-
sors of the gentle art, from the time Evelyn
practised, and such worthy followers as Walpole,
Shenstone, Thouin, Loudon, Kemp, Downing,
Sargent, Gilpin and Strutt. You, Mr. Editor,
well know, and probably many of 3'our intelli-
gent readers are acquainted with the subjects
here named, and will recognize them as some of
the most remarkable, curious and extraordinary
representations of the vegetable kingdom.

How peculiarly formed and strangely abnor-
mal appear most of the trees, shrubs and herba
ceous plants of the antipodes, in contradistinc-
tion to those of other lands— and all are ever-
green.

Following the course of a shallow stream for
several miles through a very romantic valley,
which deepened as we proceeded to one of the
wildest ravines I ever wandered through, until
we struck the Dumresque river about noon,
when a slight accident delayed us for several
hours, and while so detained witnessed the sin-
gular solar phenomenon of three apparent suns
shining simultaneously. That it was an optical
illusion I was well aware, notwithstanding, it
was a novel and singular sight to me.

We passed several bush stations, where we
were kindly received by the settlers, who seemed
bent upon making us ''eat, drink and be merry."
I cheerfully accepted their invitations and par-
took of a sufficiency of "damper," kangaroo
and tea, as made me feel so. The bill of fare
was excellent, omitting the "damper." it is
pleasant to remark that, while engaged in Aus-
tralia, "the sympathy which makes the world
akin," I invariably met with, among the isolated
squatters in the "bush." Good nature, like
their " flora," seemed to be everywhere perren-
nial and evergreen.

Once again on the beaten track, we made good
our way through a gap in the mountain ridge,
and soon after entered the picturesque little
town of Armadale, so quietly nestling beneath
the shade of its venerable old gum trees, whose
enormous trunks were indeed veritable "towers
of strength," and like the "ancestral oaks" of
England, seemed likely to remain '' hale, green
trees for a thousand years to come.''

ORCHIDEtE No. 7.

by mr. james taplt^r, manager to george

such, »esq., south amboy, n. j.

Vaistda Ccerulea.

The Yandas generally may be reckoned among
the aristocrac}' of flowers, if aristocrats in flow-
ers are allowed in this free and enlightened
country ; but joking aside, these plants generally
require a very high temperature and careful
treatment to obtain satisfatory results. This
species is generally considered rather difi'cult to
manage, being frequently infested with the spot,
a disease never yet satisfactorily explained, but
supposed by many to be of fungoid origin, in
fact a species of mildew. This disease very much
disfigures the foliage, killing it in patches, and
finally the plant, if not prevented. The only
preventive I consider is to grow this species in
a comparatively cool house ; we grow it with the
Cattlea, instead of the East Indian house in
which most of such plants as Yanda ccerulea,
Phalcenopsis, &c., are grown.

I consider the above plant the most handsome
of the Yandas, the lovely blue being unique
among Orchide®, and the flowers last for six
weeks. We have had it in flower now, October
2Sth, more than five weeks ; of course the flow-
ers must be kept dry, or they spot and the beau-
ty is spoiled.

The best plan to grow this plant is in a wood-
en basket wi;Ii a few broken pieces of pots, or
charcoal and a small quantity of live spagnum
moss, and to keep the roots moist at all times,
for the Yandas have no bulbs to store up moist-
ure, and if allewed to get very dry or be kept in
a dry aired bouse the leaves shrivel, turn yellow
and eventually fall ofi", which soon results in a
leggy plant wiih a few leaves on the top. This
will alwaj'S be a scarce and expensive plant, for
it increases very slowly, and the few who pos-
sess plants seldom like to part with them, as
they are difficult to import, as well as scarce and
dear, a small plant being worth fifty dollars. I
have used Yanda cuerulea flowers in choice bou-
quets, and when combined with a good selection
of other choice flowers the effect was very fine.

NIGHT BLOOMING CACTUS.

BY MISS A G., READING, PA.

Epipliyllum grand iflorum.— This Cactus has
broad, flat leaves, and if not trimmed, will grow
to a great size ; we have one over five feet in
height, and still growing. I have seen two
others as large During the winter the plant

1872.

TEE GARDEjyER'S MOKTELY,

361

sends up tall round stems which, ia summer,
throw out long flat leaves. The carious bud is
produced in a notch of the leaf, aud after attain-
ing 2 or 3 inches in length grows rapidly. It
requires from 3 to 4 weeks to jierfcct. When
the long stem of the flower curves and turns up,
the opening of the blossom may be expected in
3 or 4 days, if the weather is warm ; it is 4 or 5
inches in diameter, and cup-shaped, appearing
as if formed of white feathers, the «olored petals
standing out like a halo around it ; the stamens
and pistils are exquisitely beautiful ; the flowers
are so large, and their appearance so elegant,
that those who beliold it for the first time stand
in wonder and admiration. It is also heavily
freighted with an unusual and delicate fragrance.
This plant blooms once a month during the
warm months, some buds coming out as late as
October, if protected by a greenhouse. Large
plants produce from 10 to 15 buds at a timer,
they open about twilight and continue to expand
till after 9 o'clock P. M. They close about 12
M., and by morning, they are in a wilted condi-
tion. The .buds should be well watched as they
increase in size, being well and curiously wrapped
with the long maroon red petals ; their unfold-
ing is sign of the near opening of the flower, and
the least show of the white petals is an indica-
tion that thoy will flower that night.

These plants bloom well in a mixture of one
part garden mould, one of woods earth, one
part silver sand, and one part manure— chicken
manure being the best. They should be moder-
ately watered (never dried) till they show signs
of growth, then very freely. In summer-time
they must not be exposed to the mid-daj'sun, or
the leaves will scorch to an ugly yellow, and the
young buds dry and fall off. They are very
sensitive to frost, and should be taken in the
house before there is the least danger of it. We
have seen the leaves of a fine plant turned quite
black on their edges by neglect of care in this
respect. It is a handsome plant exclusive of the
flowers, therefore the broad flat glossy leaves
should receive their meed of attention too. This
Cactus requires repotting every two or three
years to keep up a good show of bloom ; April is
a good time for this, or even earlier. If merely
transferred from a small to a large pot, a later
time will do. The Epiphyllum grandiflorum is
a native of Brazil.

[Our correspondent probably refers to Epi'
phyllum latifrons. — Ed.]

DISTRIBUTION OE PLANTS.

BY PROF. ASA GRAY.

Concluded.

Each aud every one of the analogous cases I
have been detailing — and of which I could ad-
duce very many more — raises the same question,
and would be satisfied with the same answer.
These singular relations attracted m}-- curiosity
early in the course of my botanical studies,
when comparatively few of them were known,
and my serious attention in later years, when I
had numerous aud new Japanese plants to study
in the collections made (by Morris, Williams
and Morrow) during Commodore Perry's visit in
1853, and especially, by Mr. Charles Wright, in
Commodore Rodger's expedition in 1855. I
then discussed this subject somewhat fully, and
translated the facts within my reach. This was
before I ever had developed the rich fossil bota-
ny of the arctic zone before the immense anti-
quity of existing species of plants was recognized,
and before the publication of Darwin's now fa-
mous volume on the "Origin of Species'" had in-
troduced and familiarized the scientific world
with those now current ideas respecting the his-
tory of species, with which I attempted to deal
in a moderate and feeble way. My speculation
was based upon the former glaciation of the
northern temperate zone, and the inference of a
warmer period preceding (and, perhaps, follow-
ing). I considered that our own vegetation, or
its proximate ancestry, must have occupied the
arctic and sub-arctic regions in Pliocene times,
and that it had been gradua,lly pushed south-
ward as the temperature lowered and the glacia-
tion advanced even beyond its present habita-
tion ; that plants of the same stock and kindred,
probably ranging round the arctic zone as the
present arctic species do, made their forced mi-
gration southward upon widely-diflerent longi-
I tudes, and receded more or less as the climate
! grew warmer ; that the general difference of cli
I mate which marks the eastern and western sides
of the continents— the one extreme, the other
mean — was doubtless even then established, so
that the same species and the same sort of spe-
cies would be likely to secure and retain foot-
hold in the 'similar climates of Japan and the
Atlantic United States, but not in intermediate
regions of different distribution of heat and
moisture ; so that difterent species of the same
genus as in torreya. or different genera of the
same group, as Redwood, taxodium and glyptos-

362

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^TELY. December.

tribus, or different associations of forest-trees
might establish themselves each in the region
best suited to their particular requirements,
while Ihey would fail to do so in any other.
These views implied that the sources of our ac-
tual vegetation and the explanation of these pe-
culiarities word to be sought in and presupposed
an ancestry in Pliocene or still earlier times, oc-
cupying the high northern regions. And it was
thought that the occurrence of peculiarly North
American genera in Europe, in the Tertiary pe-
riod (such as taxoclium, carya, liquidamher, sas-
safras, negundo, etc.,) might best be explained
on the assumption of early interchange aud dif-
fusion through Northern Asia, rather than by
that of the fabled Atlantis. Tlie hypothesis
supposed a gradual modification of species in
different directions under altering conditions, at
least to the extent of producing varieties, sub-
species, and representative species, as they may
be variously regarded ; likewise the single and
local origination of each type, which is now al-
most universally taken for granted.

The remarkable facts in regard to the North-
east American and Northeast Asiatic floras,
which these speculations were to explain, have
since increased in number, more especially
through the admirable collections of Dr. Max-
imowics in Japan and adjacent countries, and
the critical comparisons he has made and is still
engaged upon. I am bound to state that in a
recent general work by a distinguished botanist,
Prof Guisebach of Gottingen, these facts have
been emptied of all special significance, and the
relations between the Japanese and the Atlantic
United States floras may be said to be more in-
timate than might be expected for the situitiou.
climate, and present opportunity of interchange.
This extraordinary conclusion is reached by re-
garding as distinct species all the plants common
to both countries between which any differences
have been discerned, although such differences
would probably count for little if the two grew
in the same country, thus transferring many of my
list of identical to that of representative species,
and b}' simply eliminating from consideration
the whole array of representative species— i. e.,
all cases in which the Japanese and the Ameri-
can plant are not exactly alike. As if, by pro-
nouncing the cabalistic word species the question
was settled, or rather the greater part of it re-
manded out of the domain of science, as if, while
complete identity of forms implied community
of region, any thing short of it carried no pre-

sumption of the kind— so leaving all these sin-
gular duplicates to be wondered at, indeed, but
wholly beyond the reach of inquiry. Now, the
only known cause of such likeness is inheritance,
and as all transmission of likeness is with some
difference in individuals, and as changed condi-
tions have resulted, as is well known, in very
considerable differences, it seems to me that if
the high antiquity of our actual vegetation could
be rendered probable, not to say certain, and
the former habitation of any of our species, or if
very near relatives of them in high northern re-
gions could be ascertained, my whole case would
be made out.

The needful facts, of which I was ignorant
when my essay was published, have now been
for some years made known, thanks mainly to
the researches of Heer upon ample collections of
arctic fossil plants. These are confirmed and
extended by new investigations, the results of
which have been indicated to me by the latter.
The tazodium, which everywhere abounds in
the Miocene formations in Europe, has been spe-
cifically identified, first by Goeppert, then by
Heer, with our common cypress of the Southern
States. It has been found, fossil in Spitzberir'n,
I i:!cnland and Alaska, in the latter ci',,iiLiy
along with the remains of another form, distin-
guishable, but very like the common species ;
and this has been identified bj' Lesquereux in
tlic Miocene of the Rocky Mountains. So there
is one species of tree which has come down es-
sentially unchanged from the Tertiary period,
which for a long while inhabited both Europe
and North America, and also at some part of
the period the region which geographically con-
nects the two (once doubtless much more closely
than now), but survives only in the Atlantic
United States and Mexico. The same Sequoia
which abound in the same Miocene formations
in North Europe has been now abundantly
found in those of Iceland, Spitzbergen, Green-
land, Mackenzie River and Alaska. It is
named Sequoia lanysdorfii, but is pronounced to
be very much like Sequoia semptrvirens, our liv-
ing redwood of the Californian coast— to be the
ancient representative of it. Fossil specimens
of a similar, if not the same, species have been
recently detected in the Rocky Mountaius by
Hayden, and determined by our eminent paleon-
tological botanist, Lesquereux, and he assures
me that he has the common redwood itself from
Oregon, in a Tertiary age. Another Sequoia
(Sequoia sternberqii.) discovered in Miocene de-

187^.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

36S

posits in Greenland, is pronounced to be the
representative of Sequoia gigantea^ the big tree
of Californian sierra. If the taxodium of the
Tertiarj' time in Europe and throughout the
arctic regions is the ancestor of our present bald
cypress, which is assumed in regarding them as
specifically identical, then I think we may with
our present light fairly assume that the two red-
woods of California are the probable descendants
of the two ancient species which so closely re-
semble them. The forests of the arctic zone in
Tertiary times contained at least three other
species of Sequoia, as determined by their re-
mains, one of which, from Spitzbergen, also
much resembles the common redwood of Cali-
fornia. Another, "•which appears to have been
the commonest coniferous tree on Disco,'" was
common in England and some other parts of
Europe. So the Sequoias, now remarkable for
their restricted station and number3, as well as
for their extraordinary size, are of ancient stock ;
their ancestors and kindred formed a large part
of the forests which flourished throughout the
polar regions, now desolated and ice-clad, and
which extended into low latitudes in Europe.
On this continent one species at least had reach-
ed to the vicinity of its present habitat before
the glaciation of the region. Among the fossil
specimens already found in California, and
which our trustworthy paleontological botanist
has not yet had time to examine, we may expect
to find evidence of the early arrival of these two
redwoods upon the ground which they now, af-
ter much vicissitdue, scantily occupy. Differ-
ences of climate, or circumstances of migration,
or both, must have determined the survival of
Sequoia upon the Pacific ; very similar would
seem to have been the fate of a more fiimiliar
gymnospermous tree, the ginko,or salisburia. It
is now indigenous to Japan onl3^ Its ancestor,
as we may fairly call it, since, according to
Heer, "it corresponds so entirely with ihe living
species that it can scarcely be separated from it,"
once inhabited NorLhcru Euro^iu and the? whole
arctic region round to Alaska, and had even a
representative farther south in our Rocky
Mountain district. For some reason, this and
glystrobus survived only on the shores of
Eastern Asia. Libocedrus, on the other hand,
appears to have cast in its lot with the Sequoias.
Two species, according to Heer, were with the
ancient ones in Spitzbergen. Of the two now
living, one L. decurrens — the incense cedar — is
one of the noblest associations of both the pres-

ent redwoods ; the other is far south in the An-
des of Chili. The genealogy of the Torreyas is
more obscure ; yet it is not unlikely that the
yew-like trees, named taxides, which flourished
with the Sequoias in the Tertiary arctic forests,
are the remote ancestors of the three species of
the torreya, now severally in Florida, in Cali-
fornia, and in Japan. As to the pines and firs,
these were more numerously associated with the
ancient Sequoias of the polar forests than with
their present representatives, but in different
species, apparently more like those of Eastern
than of Western North America. They must
have encircled the whole polar zone then as they
encircle the present temperate zone now.

I must refrain from the numeration of the an-
giospermous or ordinary deciduous trees and
shrubs, which ai"e now known by their fossil re-
mains to have flourished throughout the polar
regions when Greenland better deserved its
name, and enjoyed the present climate of New
England and New Jersey. Then Greenland
and the rest of the north abounded wiili oaks,
representing the several groups of species which
now inhabit both our eastern uud western for-
est districts ; several poplars are very like our
balsam-poplar or our balsam-of-Gilead-tree ;
more beeches than there are now, a hornbeam,
and a hop-hornbeam, some birches, a persim-
mon and a plane-tree, near representatives of
those of the Old World, at least of Asia, as well
as of Atlantic North America, but all wanting
in California ; one juglans, like the walnut of the
Old World ; two or three grape vines are near
our Southern fox-grape or muscadine, the other
near our Northern frost-grape ; a tilia, very like
our basswood of the Atlantic States, only a U-
quidamber; a magnolia, which recalls our Mag-
nolia grandiflora ; a liriodendron, sole represen-
tative of our tulip-tree ; and a sassafras very like
the living tree. Most of these, it will be noticed,
have their nearest or their only living represen-
tatives in the Atlantic States, and, when else-
where, mainly in Eastern Asia Several of them,
or of species like them, have been detected in
our Tertiary deposits west of the Mississippi by
Newberry and Lesquereux. Herbaceous plants,
as it happens, are rarely preserved in a fossil
state, else they would probably sujiply addition-
al testimony to the antiquity of our existing
vegetation, its wide diffusion over the northern
and more frigid zone, and its enforced migra-
tions under changes of climate. Supposing,
then, that our existing vegetation, as a whole,

S64

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTELY. December,

is a continuation of that of the Tertiary period,
may we conclude that it absolutely originated
then ? Evidentij' not. The preceding Cretace-
ous period has furnished to Carruthers in Europe
a fossil print like that of the Sequoia gujcuitea of
the famous groves, associated with pines of the
same character as those that accompany the
present tree ; has furnished to Heer, from Green-
land, two more Sequoias, one of them identical
with a Tertiary species, and one nearly allied to
Sequoia langsdorfii, which in turn is a proba-
ble ancestor of the Californian redwood ; has fur-
nished to Lesquereux, in North America, the
remains of another ancient Sequoia, a glyptostro-
hus ; a liquidamber, which well represents our
sweet-gum-tree; oaks, analogous to living ones,
leaves of a plane-tree, which are also in the Ter-
tiary, and are scarcely distinguishable from our
own Platanus Occident alis ; of a magnolia and
tulip-tree ; and "of a sassafras undistinguisha-
ble from our living species.''

I need not continue the enumeration. The
facts will justify the conclusion which Lesque-
reux—a very scrupulous investigator— has al-
ready announced, that "the essential types of
our flora are marked in the Cretaceous period,
and have come to us after passing, without nota-
ble changes, through the Tertiary formations of
our continent." According to these views, as
regards the plant, at least, the adaptation to
successive times and changed conditions has
been maintained, not by absolute reversals, but
by gradual modifications. I, for one, cannot
doubt that the present existing species are the
lineal successors of those which flourish and
bloom around us are to their conditions now.
Order and exquisite adaptation did not wait for
man's coming, nor were they ever stereotyped.
Organic Nature, by which T mean the system
and vitality of living things, their adaptation to
each other and to the world, with all its appar-
ent and indeed real stability, should be likened,
not to the ocean, which varies only by tidal os-
cillations from a fixed level to which it is always
returning, but rather to a river so vast that we
can neither discern its Shores nor reach its
sources, whose onward flow is no less actual be-
cause too slow to be observed by the ephemera
which hover near its surface or are borne upon
its bosom. Such ideas as these, though still re-
pugnant to some, and not long since to many,
have .■^o pospossed the minds of the naturalists of
the present day that hardly a discourse can be
pronounced or an investigation prosecuted with-

out reference to them. I suppose that the views
here taken are little, if at all, in advance of the
average scientific mind of the day. I cannot
regard them as less noble than those which they
are succeeding. An able philosophical writer,
^[iss Frances Power Cobbe, has recently and
truthfully said :

"It is a singular fact that when we can find
out how any thing is done, our first conclusion
seems to be that God did not do it. No matter
how wonderful, how beautitul, how intimately
complex and delicate has been the machinery
which has worked, perhaps for centuries, per-
haps for millions of ages, to bring about some
beneficent result, if we can but catch a glimpse
of the wheels, its divine character disappears. —
('Darwinism in Morals,' in Theological Revieiv^
April, 1871."'

I agree with the writer that the first conclu-
sion is premature and unworthy ; I will add de-
plorable. Through what faults or infirmities of
dogmatism on the one hand, and skepticism on
the other, it came to be so thought, we need not
here consider. Let us hope, and confidently ex-
pect, that it is not to last ; that the religious
faith which survived, without a shock, the no-
tion of the fixity of the earth itself, may equally
outlast the notion of the absolute fixity of the
species which inhabit it ; that, in the future,
even more than in the past, faith in an order
which is the basis of science will not (as it can-
not reasonably) be dissevered from faith in an
Ordainer, which is the basis of religion.

MONSTERA DELICIOSA.

BY W. T, HARDING, KONANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGHTON, MASS.

Monstera deliciosa, or rather as Mr. W, Bur-
nett states more correctly, Philodendron pertu-
sum, is indeed a very peculiar plant, and is to
be found generally in all good hothouse collec-
tions in this country. Mr. R. Buist, nurseryman
of Philadelphia, has probably sent out hundreds
of them to various parts of the States and Cana-
da. I fruited it in Cleveland, Ohio, March 20,
1857, when the " Plain Dealer'' in a notice of
that date said of it, " it has a leaf as large as a
lady's apron, and resembles one worn uu-til it
has many rips, slits, cuts and long tears in it.
For short it is called the skeleton horse," from its
supposed resemblance tp equine anatomy. At
Mr. Barnes' I saw some immense specimens
fruiting in a Victoria Regia house, and at Mr.
Aspinwall's country seat near Tarry town, X.Y .

187^.

TEE GARBEMER'S MOMTRLY.

365

and I think at Mr. Van Voorst's, of Jersey City. 1
But a few years ago, at the princely residence
of the late Mr. Dundass, of Philadelphia, whose
unrivalled collections of stove and greenhouse
plants attracted admirers from all parts of the
country, were a number of large Philodendrons
in fruit, aud which his courteous and accom-
plished gardener, Mr. .J. Pollock, look pleasure
in giving a tase of to the many visitors who en-
joyed the rare treat of an inspection of the ex-
tensive ranges of glass structures, which were
then in all their glory, but are sadly neglected
now. How sad it is to think that a just appre-
ciation of the wonders aud beauties of the vege-
table kingdom cannot be transmitted to posteri-
ty with the money bags, in "the last will and
testament" of the departed benefactor who be-
queaths his floral treasures, fondly hoping his
survivor may live to take as much pleasure in
their culture, and feel as happy as he did when
in the sunshine of life. There is a feeling of re-
gret comes over us whenever we see that lack of
taste for the beauties of nature among those
who have "great possessions," and ought to
know and do better I openly confess, it often
makes me sin by coveting some of the surplus
lucre for the sake of the good I think I should
do with it.

The love of money is said to be the root of
all evil, and no doubt it is so, but the evil root
never did nor would grow with me, cultivate it
as I would, it would not flourish as other roots
do under my care. Should the aforesaid root
ever begin to show signs of life, to bud and blos-
som into fructiflcation, and who knows but it
may, as did Jonah"sgourd; then neither "Ceres,"
'Flora" nor "Pomona" will be left to languish
neglected or forgotten, I ween.

SPLENDID JnGHT BLOOMING CEREUS.

FLOWER NOTES BY A. G., READING, PA.

On the night of the 2d of July, 1872, a very
fine plant owned by Miss Kitty Gehr, of this
city, attracted many visitors by its magnificent
display of 24 open flowers. This cactus is ti-ained
on a wide frame 7 or 8 feet high, winding in and
about it like some great green snake. The plant
is 10 years old and in full vigor. During the
summer of 1870 its flowers numbered as high as
40. The buds do not always perfect, some drop-
ping off" when half grown.

This plant was not kept nearly or quite dry, as
is often done in winter, but moist, and when
growing and budding was watered freely. The
owner said she had tried the drying off" process,
but her plant did not bloom. In winter it is
kept quite warm in a sort of pit greenhouse
The earth is made very rich and somewhat
sandy.

As the plants of Miss Gehr are allowed luxu-
riant growth, on entering her greenhouse in
winter time one seems transported to some
troi)ical spot ; her Poinsettia pulcherrima was 8
or 10 feet high, and covered with its gorgeous
scarlet bracts. Huge Cactuses sent up their
slender columns to ihe height of 12 aud 14 feet.
Geraniums, Fuchsias, &c., of like proportions
made up the floral show. Miss Gehr says she
has kept the Poinsettia in the cellar dui-ing the
winter, and bloomed them in sumraei-. If grown
to a large size and treated thus, they would
make splendid ornaments for a yard or lawn ;
the bracts even in smaller plants have reached
the width of 18 inches. In greenhouses they
are seldom seen in all their splendor, as the
bracts are more usel'ul for floral oruameuts when
smaller.

E D T T 0 HI A L .

OUR FOURTEENTH VOLUME.
Our work in issuing the Gardener'' s Monthly is
chiefly one of love. Now love is a very pretty
element of poetry, and it often accomplishes
great things, but it does not always win. There
is a certain historical character who was in love
with the fair daughter of Isaac, and he worked
for her seven long years, but neither love nor
work gained its object then. Another came be-

tween him and his love. But he was not dis-
mayed. He kept warm his affections and went to
work again with a will, and by another seven
years his task was done. Rachel was his own.

We set ourselves something of such a task
fourteen years ago. We sought to gain the hand
of a fairer than Rachel— Nature's sweet daugh-
ter Flora ; and we went to work in the broad
fields of her great protector, Horticulture, not

366

THE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY. December,

doubting that in seven years she would accord
to us all the favor our best hopes desired. But
the great war came between us. We did not
reach the point in our suit we anticipated. AYe
had to rest satisfied with our Leah ; but we
worked on, determined that at the end of another
seven years Rachel — our Flora — should be ours.

And now the fourteen years has expired. This
number closes that volume, and we cannot but
feel gratified at the success which has attended
our eflbrts. We found American gardening but
little advanced beyond the strict lines of agri-
culture, so far as its periodical literature was
concerned. The great Downing, it is true, had
just struck a spark which was lighting up a
wild desire for country life ; but with his death
the fire lost its glow, aud it was felt that it would
never burn as it might have done had he been
spared to superintend his own work. No man
can take up a thread another drops ; and when
he takes up the pen, he must be himself no mat-
ter how impersonal he tries to be. The great
•' We ' of the editor may represent several per-
sons in the making up of a paper, but individu-
ality crops out for all. Thus we find in review-
ing the past of our periodical literature that
Hovey, J. Jay Smith, Barry, Mead, the Wood-
wards, Rand, Manning and Williams, have
made their editoral impressions each, severally
in his own sphere. We found a place unoccu-
pied which we thought we might fill. We made
no pretension to classic horticulture, but took
up the task of working for simple gardening.
We are conscious that we have not developed
horticulture in the direction Downing would
have done, nor perhaps much in the lines the
other good names we have mentioned would have
marked out for themselves ; but we have done
the best we could in our humble waj-, and we
feel that our work has brought its full reward.

Fourteen years is a long time for one leading
editor to direct a work like this. Many of
our best correspondents, who were with us
when we started, are either dead or have lost
their interest in horticultural progress ; and we
sometimes wonder whether at the end of another
seveu years our own hand will be stayed. But
we shall push on at any rate. We feel that now
at least we have the confidence of the great gar-
dening public of the new world. We propose to
turn into no new path, but to continue on in
the old one. If any of our readers have ever so
small a garden, we advise with him how to dress
and to keep it. If they have but one vine or

one fig tree, we take our seat with him under the
shade, as if he were the possessor of the lord-
liest orchard. If he have but one solitary pot
in a third story garret, we listen to his story of
it as cheerily as if another talk to us about his
priceless collection of tropical plants. How we
may well serve the body ; how we may best aid
the mind ; how we may make every clot of earth
and every l6af and every flower tell to us secrets
of its inmost life, — this is our mission.

Thus the Garde7itr''s Monthly enters on its
new septennial, as it has passed its two last. It
invites every one who believes he has learned
aught of nature to contribute to its pages freely.
There is no new fact too small to be worth re-
cording. The best discoveries in science have
often originated in very simple observations.
But for a boy's kite we miijht not now have an
Atlantic cable ; and many of our best horticul-
tural discoveries date from very small beginnings.
The Gar f/ener 's 3/ont/i/y has accomplished much,
but thousands of things remain yet to be learned
both in matter of practical culture as in garden
art and pure horticultural science. With the
continued aid of our kind correspondents we
hope to develop some of them, and we look for-
ward to our new start with the confidence that
if we get through with the next seven years,
they will be of as much aid to gardening as have
been our two last.

OUR INDEX.

It has been our aim to make the Gardener''s
Monthly not only a vehicle of passing interest,
but really as well as literally a magazine filled
with matter which shall be of value for all time
to come. For this purpose our items are well
condensed, and are generally of a character
which will always bear a reperusal. There is,
of course, a great deal of mere opinion of but a
temporary bearing, — but on the^other hand are
thousands of facts relating to hosts of subjects,
which will always remain profitable to the student
of gardening.

When we look at the immense index which
we give in this number, we are surprised at the
extent of our own work. We doubt whether
our readers ever dreamed that we have referred
to so many matters in twelve monthly numbers,
yet so it is, and we hope to continue on in the
same track. Good reader, when you are trying
to get an additional subscription for the publish-
er to send with your own, show your friend the

1S72.

THE GARBEJ^EICS MOJVTRLY,

367

index of the past volume. If he see nothing in all
that long list of items that he thinks it would be
worth two dollars a year to know, pass on to
your next friend.

EDITORIAL NOTES

DOMESTIC.

Immediate Influence of Hybridization. — There
has been much difference of opinion as to
whether there is an influence on the fruit and
seed, as well as the plant produced from the seed
by cross fertilization of varieties. Some years
ago people were pretty much of one mind, — the
only influence was on the progeny. But the de-
preciation in the flavor of melons by having
pumpkins growing near them is believed in by
many, although no perceptible evidence of hy-
bridization occurs in the progeny, and we have
never felt that " flavor" could thus be mixed
without some variation in other particulars,
which ought to be seen if there were any real
hybridization. Corn, however, seems good evi-
dence. Here sweet corn will be found mixed
with common, and gourd seed with yellow ; all
plainly evidencing an immediate result of cross
fertilization on the grain of corn. Still there
may be reasons why this is not good evidence.
But a couple of years ago we received from
Canada an apple in appearance with the seeds
and granular pulp of the pear— direct evidence
of the immediate effect of pollen, which cannot
be overcome.

There may be, however, reasons why the corn
appearances mislead. There are numerous varia-
tions in nature entirely independent of impregna-
tion by pollen. No one believes that there was
more than one form of Zea mays " in the begin-
ning." The second variety, therefore, must of
necessity have originated wholly independent of
cross fertilization, as there was no other variety
to cross with. ''As it was in the beginning,"
it may be still, and the varying forms and colors
of grains in the same ear, may be the result of
a natural law of change independent of any cross
mixture from another variety.

Of those who do not believe in the immediate
effects of change is Mr. Jacob Moore, of Roches-
ter. Our readers may remember an article from
him last spring, in which he wrote that he sent
us an ear of yellow corn, and prophesied that
the progeny, if grown away from other kinds,
would yield sugar corn. We raised fifty plants
an eighth of a mile away from any other corn.
But we found no sugar corn in any of the ears —

all but one ear was the same little yellow flint
corn which we planted. In this one ear, how-
ever, were a couple of grains of white flint corn.
There can be no suspicion that hybridization
directly or indirectly performed any part in this
change. It is an act of innate evolution.

Small as this fact may seem, it has an im-
portant bearing on some of the great questions
which are shaking the world. For instance the
universal belief is that any one species or variety
sprang from one parent. This is the belief both
of the specialist and of the Darwinian. If a
plant is found on the east side of Behring's
Straits exactly the same as one on the west side,
and it appear impossible to have been carried from
one side to the other by any external agency, it
is likely to be regarded as a proof that time
was when the land was united in one piece.
But the writer of this has shown in some of his
botanical papers the great probability that there
were many distinct "centers," where the same
variety or species appeared, especially in the
case of forms of blackberries ; and this little in-
cident of the white flint corn shows conclusively
that this can appear in more than one center,
and gives a greater probability to the general law.

Chickory — This plant seems to get pushed out
as civilization advances. The roots arc dried
and used as a substitute for, or to be mixed with
cofl'ee. It was one time largely grown about Phi-
ladelphia, but when it was abandoned it became a
weed almost as troublesome in some cases as the
Canada thistle. Its pretty blue and white flow-
ers are, however, a redeeming trait. Califor-
nians appear to be going into its culture heavily,
judging by the following from one of the papers
of that State :

Twenty barrels of ground Chickory arrived at
Sacramento from Schreiber & Howell's ranch,
near Florin, this week, the first of the season.
This ranch and manufactory will turn out twenty
barrels per dsiy soon ; this is the factory we spoke
of some weeks since. We were shown, by one
of the proprietors, samples of the Chickory
raised, and measured from four and a half to
five and a half feet long from crown to tip of
root. The Chickory is grown in a sandy allu-
vial, and is usually plowed out, which cuts oil
the roots about two to two and a half feet long.
The company will probably make about 30,000
pounds of the dried and purified Chickory this
year, which is all engaged in San Francisco.

LaxLon''s New Peas. — Last season, while notic-
ing the new peas of Mr. Laxton, we referred to

S68

THE GARDE^TER'S MOJVTHLY. December

the high praise bestowed on them by the Eng- I
lish press, and though they would probably
prove acquisitions. It was well-known that
varieties of peas which suited England did not
necessarily do well here. Last season we had ,
an opportunity of examining a few growing in j
this countr}', and we are now able to say that '
they proved excellent in every respect. ;

American Sumac. — It often seems dishearten-
ing to the editor to have to be repeatedly urging ,
matters of public good with so little apparent
benefit flowing from it. Yet, once in a while, he .
finds the good seed sprouting, and sometimes
growing up to be a great and majestic tree. '
Thus, some years ago, we pointed out the as" i
tonishing fact that thousands of dollars were j
going to Europe for Sumac, when we had thous- I
ands of tons of as good material in every State, j
Our efforts in favor of native Sumac were ably
seconded by the Xew York Farmers' Club and
the New York Tribune. The idea took root at
once, until now the American Sumac trade has
assumed such vast proportions that a ' • conven-
tion" has been called to discuss matters pertain-
ing to the interest of Sumac gatherers and the
trade generally. The Agricultural Department
likes to tell people how it aided in the original
introduction of the " Imppee" or Chinese sugar
cane ; a lesser light may be pardoned for thus
referring to its agency in the Sumac cause.

Nurseries of C. H. Allen & Co., Kansas City,
Mo. —The West is becoming great in more senses
than f)ne. Groat nurseries are rising continually.
The Kansas City Journal of Commerce speaks "f
the nurseries of C. H. Allen & Co., among the
most promising in the West.

Tlie Beauties of the Postage Law. —Whenever
we can get a few hours to spare, we devote it to
a study of the voluminous postage law. We ex-
pect to earn the title of " Professor'' yet by our
knowledge of this mysterious subject. We note
that it says in

" Sec. 152 That if any mail matter on which
by law the postage is required to be prepaid at
the mailing office, shall, by inadvertence, reach
the destination without such paj'mcut, d )uble
the prepaid charges shall be charged and collect-
ed on delivery."

This seems at least clear enough. In this
case the less paid the better for us. If six cents
be due and only three cents be prepaid, we pay
double that prepaid or six cents ; but if twelve
cents br; due and only three " prepaid," we still
have to pay but '• double the prepaid," or six

cents. But there is another Section 151, which
says :

"All mail matter deposited for mailing on
which less than one full rate of postage has
been paid, as required by law, shall be forwarded
to its destination charged with unpaid rate, to
be collected on deliver3^"

By this we are not to pay double, but only the
" unpaid rate.'' As we said last month, if one
post master does one thing and another some-
thing else, who is there but can forgive them ?

Peach Tree Jnseci^.— Often a mass of gum is
found at the base of young peach trees, and
small white worms are found in the bark beneath,
which are the cause of the gummy exudation.
They do not penetrate deep, and are not very in-
jurious to the tree. The Department of Agri-
culture report says they are the larva of the My-
cetophila persica.

Another Interpretation of the Post Office Laws.
— The Section which most of us have seen limits
packages to twelve ounces ; but there must be
some other one, if any can find time to read the
voluminous law and find it, for the Commis-
sioner of Agriculture saj's, in his report for
September, packages "weighing two pouuds"'
may go by mail.

The Manilla Hemp. — A correspondent of the
Agricultural Departtaent, in the Philippine
Islands, gives an interesting account of this
plant, which is a species of Musa. The stem is
made up of dilated or swollen petioles, imper-
fectly joined together into a trunk. These peti-
oles are termed " strips " by the correspondent,
who says :

" The hemp plantain, called by the natives of
the Philippine Islands abaca, is a species of the
genus 3Iusa, growing wild all over the islands.
It yields a small, inedible fruit, in appearance
like that of the ordinary plantain. The trees at-
tain a height of 20 to 30 feet , grow wild, but are
usually cultivated in groves, in which they are
placed 3 to 4 feet apart The mode of cultiva-
tion is rude, consisting simply in keeping the
groves free from weeds-and noxious plants. At
the age of three years the tree has attained its
growth, and is fit to be cut down. After its
fruit has ripened, ihe tree will not yield any hemp.
It is the stock or trunk which furnishes the fiber.
After this has been cut, there springs up from
the same root a number of trees, at intervals of
a few months, so that a well kept grove can be
cut about twice a year. The tree is cut a few
inches above the ground. These strips are sepa-

187i

THE GARDEJ^^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

^69

rated from each other after the trunk has been
trimmed of its branches. The strips are from 2
to 4 inches wide, and from 5 to 10 feet iu length,
according to the length of the trunk. The strips
are next sub-divided into narrower ones, and
drawn by hand over a knife, the strip being
pressed upon the knife by an underlying piece
of hard wood, and the tension managed by a
treadle. This operation cleans away from the
fibers the watery and fleshy parts of the plant,
and it only remains to dry the fiber in open air
when it i:3 ready for market. It is necessary to
pass the strip over the knife twice or thrice be-
fore the fibres are left perfectly clean throughout
the entire length. One man at the knife and one
to cut down the trees, transport them, and sepa-
rate the strips, will clean about 25 pounds a day,
though this is rather above the average. From
150 to 200 trees are needed to produce the fibre
one picul, (137^ pounds Spanish,) or 140 pounds
English ; 3.200 trees for one ton of 2,240 pounds.
When we consider the small amount of hemp
which an Indian prqduces per day, about 12
pounds, we are astonished at the enormous
quantities of it exported from the East, to Eng-
land in particular, reaching many hundred
thousand bales annually.

FOREIGN.

Flowering Asparagus. — The Gardener'' s Chron-
icle announces that a species with deliciously
Bcented flowers has been introduced. The leaves
are like some of the Acacias.

The Hampton Court Orape Vine. — It is said
that this famous vine produced the past season
its usual large crop, but the leaves are smaller
than usual. Only one vine fills the whole house,
and much of the success of this old fellow is at-
tributed to this fact, as well as to another,
namely, that the roots are very dry, and at the
same time have the opportunity to dry by the
ends of the fibrous roots from a rich cistern near

by.

Names of Plants. — We read of a weeping milk-
maid in an English garden, and came near sym-
pathizing with the afiiicted creature, when we
discovered that it was the name of a Holly.
Some of these names are afiectlonale and pa-
thetic. Little-bo-peep, is no doubt a rollicking
sort of an innocent Fuchsia, — and "Nimble
Jack" ought to be a very early turnip. We
don't believe much in names, however, but per-
haps after all these fancies are better than the

ten feet Latin names some people are so fond of.

Our New Postage Laws.— The Gardener''s
Chronicle recently had a paragraph commend-
ing the American Government for its 4 lb. post-
age law on plants and seed^i, although an En-
glishman enjoys a 5 lb. privilege ; what will it
say when it learns we have gone back to 12 ozs. ?

Civil Service Beform. — Many believe that com-
petitive examinations for ofiicial positions would
be better than the appointing system. One
would think it ought, but many of u& who i*i
our younger days went through the ordeal didn't
think much of it, although at the time supposed
that the "best man" must have won. In a re-
cent examination for clerk to the Curator at
the Kew Gardens, a very brilhant youth answer-
ed all the questions admirably, and took the po-
sition. It was found in practice he was nearly
worthless ; but having been wefl "crammed,'' he
could talk well to the examiner.

The Value of New Plants. — Pew of our readers
have a full idea of the value of rare plants. At
a public sale in England the Journal of Horti-
culture says :

"Mr. J. C. Stevens sold by auction on the-
19th ult. an importation of Orchids. The high-
est prices realized were for Odontoglossum vex-
illarium var. giganteum, £8 8s. ; Masdevallia
chimsera, £7 ; Epidendrum imperator, £Q 6s. ; .
Cattleya gigas, £Q 6s. There were 216 lots, and
the total amount of the sale was about £500,

Fiction in Horticulture. — Some time since we'
pointed out the absurdity of the supposed origin of
the Pope Willow at Twickenham, which was said
to have come from an old hamper basket which
was found along the Thames, and had come from
the Mediterranean. Any one ought to know
that no basket ever was made of the weeping
willow. The Journal of Horticulture says :

The Willow which grew by the "waters oi
Babylon," and whereon the mournful children of
Judah hung up their karps, was not, as Lin-
nceus and others have supposed, the Salix baby-
lonica. It is now thought to be a kind of Pop-
lar, incapable of being grown even in the north-
ern parts of Syria, and, therefore, not likely to
be able to endure our climate. The ordinary
Weeping Willow hS,s been brought from China
and Japan.

Crops in England. — In strange comtrast tke
great abundance of our crops, the fruits of En-
gland are well nigh failures this £;eason. The
polRito crop is also reported to be one of the
greatest failures in many years.

S70

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY. December,

Effects of Coal Gas on Plants.— Some of our
readers will remember that in Philadelphia a
few years ago a florist, Mr. Thos. Robertson,
had his plants destroyed by gas escaping from
the street mains. He applied to the city for
damages, but judge and jury decided that coal
gas would not injure plants. Since that time
reports have been given of experiments by some
learned Frenchman, who also decided that no
injury resulted, and now it is said experiments
have recently been made in Berlin, to ascertain
the eflect of coal gas upon the roots of trees ex-
posed to its influence. Three trees were select-
ed, two limes and a maple, and after seventy
days the gas was cut off to see whether the trees
which had become blasted would recover. One
of the lime trees again put forth foliage, but ex-
hibited evidences of ill health, while the remain-
ing two trees were killed. That part of the earth
which was compacted around the roots appear-
ed to transmit most rapidly the poison of the
gas.

We suppose no one who has had any unbiased
experience in the matter but knows that coal
gas will destroy plants in the manner stated.
Those who have had no experience had better
take care to guard against it.

OBITUARY.

REV. J. KNOX.

The horticultural community will receive with
sadness the news of the sudden death of Mr.
Knox, of Pittsburg, which occurred by apoplexy,
■on the 13th of N'ovember.

Mr. Knox was for many years a preacher in
the Methodist denomination, Pittsburg, we be-
lieve being the last station at which he regular-
ly served. Being in possession of a large tract
of land at Pittsburg, and fond of horticulture,
and at the same time a man of great energy and
force of character, he entered largely into the
grape excitement raised by Dr. Grant and Messrs.
Thompson and Campbell with the Delaware ;
and Mr. Bull and others in the East with the
Concord, and some fourteen or fifteen years ago
erected houses for the extensive propagation of
the native grape on his Pittsburg farm. But he
"Was a man of far-seeing business capacity, and
he well knew the importance of showing the
public what could be done, ns well as furnishing
them with the material for doiug it themselves.
There was no subject on which in conversation
•v^ith the writer Mr. Knox was more earnest in

expatiating on than that in America it was of the
highest importance that "horticultural mission-
aries" should not only "teach sound doctrine,"
but be themselves bright examples of the doc-
trines they taught. This we believe was the
leading idea in the establishment of the Knox
vineyard, the grapes from which soon became
known for many a hundred miles.

But it is perhaps in strawberry culture that
Mr. Knox's name will be the most inseperably
connected. He was probably among the first, —
if not to learn — at least to recognize the great
profit to be had from raising very superior fruit.
His plan of raising these was more elaborate
than any which had been practiced by his co-
temporaries. There was more labor and more
expenditure ; but the increased price and ex-
tended reputation which followed the fruit from
the Knox nurseries, taught a lesson which fruit
growers will not soon forget. This faculty of seeing
profit where others could not, was a marked fea-
ture in Mr. Knox's character. In strawberries the
Triomphe de Gand had been long in cultivation
and had been, if not actually discarded, at least
had not achieved a very high repute. Mr. Knox,
not satisfied with what the "public" believed,
experimented for himself, and found it the best
of the large number he tried, Knox's immense
Triomphe de Gands created enthusiasm every-
where ; and to this day it stands higher with cul-
tivators than It did before his experience with
it, and higher than it probably ever would but
for the great success he found in its culture.
The Jucunda was another illustration of this pe-
culiar character of our friend. Others had had
this plant for some years, but they saw nothing.
Knox was the first to detect its superiority to
all, — and there were probably no strawberries in
the world that could enter into competition with
the Jucunda from the Knox fruit farm and nur-
series. True, others did not always have the same
success which he had, but as a general rule they
were persons who did not approve of his mode
of cultui-e. He found at the greatest success.
His grounds were always freely open to others
to see the success, and he spoke and wrote only
of what he had clone.

And referring to his speaking, again reminds
us of how much our Poraological societies wiU
miss him. With a splendid voice and great ora-
torical gifts, he was always welcomed, and al-
ways valued. He generally confined himself to
detailing what he had done, aud though this ne-
cessarily savored to some of egotism, it was ra-

187^.

TEE GARDEJ\rER'S MOXTRLY,

871

ther characteristic of the practical character of
the man. But it is not for us to enter into any
Tveak point of Mr. Knox's character. We, all
of us, have of these enough and to spare. The
benefits he conferred on horticulture by his great
business energy and perseverance, we are all too
glad to remember. The thousands who now en-
joy so cheaply the fruit of the vine, and the deli-

cious spring fruit, the strawberry, will ever hold
his name in grateful remembrance. He will
need no monument to commemorate his memo-
ry. As the " strawberry king" we do not an-
ticipate there will be very soon a successor ; and
it will be impossible for any American history
of fruit growing ever to be compiled or written
without a reference to Jeremiah Knox.

SCEAPS AND aUERIES.

Kaising Magnolias.— jD. S. Jf., Bridge- i
ville, Del., asks : "Can any of your correspond-
ents inform me how to start seeds of the com-
mon Magnolias that grows wild in the Delaware
swamps, soil to plant them in, and also how to
start seeds of the M. grandiflora ? Can the M.
Soulangeana be budded on the common swamp
Magnolia ?"

Name of Plant.— Jfrs. McM., Mankato,
Minn., wrote some time ago as follows, which
we have held in order to inquire for her what
the plant may probably be. It is most likely to
be the white African Lily, Agapanthus uyiibella-
tus :

"Two years ago I sent to Henry A. Dreer, of
Phila., for a plant, the Valotta purpurea superha,
for which I paid $1.00; it was marked as thefabove
name, and described as a scarlet Lily-like flow-
er. After keeping it until now it has bloomed,
and I want to know what it is. It has a stalk
18 inches high, around the top are 56 white flow-
ers, resembling tuberoses, without smell. The
root is immense, completely filling a 10 inch pot ;
it has never had a slip or tuber on it. The leaf
yesembles an Amaryllis, (which I suppose it is)
but never having seen one in bloom would like
to know if it is, and if so, how it is propagated ;
it is beautiful.

Fibre of the Sporabolus.— B". C. B.,
PainesviUe, 0., writes : "I sent sample of the
fibre of Sporabolus cryptandrus to Mr. Saunders
of Washington, by whom it was submitted to
examination by the Chemist of the Department.
I append a copy of his report.

"Washington, D. C, Oct. 24, 1872.

The fibre of the Sporabolus cryptandrus, sub-
mitted to examination in the laboratory, con-

tained 1,947 per cent, of inorganic matter ; the
remainder (98,033) being pure celluline or woody
fibre. It has the properties of an excellent ma-
terial for paper, and probably a good substitute
for hemp in the manufacture of cordage.

Kyland T. Brown, O/tcmisi."

The only doubts I entertain in regard to the
practical value of this fibre, arise from fears that
it cannot be produced in large quantities."

[The paper maker to whom we referred the
specimens sent last month, reports that for cord-
age he would regard it as superior, but has his
doubts about its extra value in paper manufac-
ture.]

Mildew on Peach Trees.— S R. B., Phila. ^
writes : " Can you tell me what causes mildew
on peaches that are othei-vvise healthy and good ?
Would it benefit them to thin the surrounding
leaves ? I have two peach trees growing vigor-
ously in a town yard since 1870, when they were
removed from the country, where one of them
stood more than 20 years without bearing ; but
these two past summers they have produced
much more fruit than it was safe to allow to ri-
pen ; they have made n?-*h wood and very thick
foliage. I shall be much gratified by an answer
through your valuable magazine, and hope some
remedy may be suggested."

[We have an article with illustrations by Mr.
Taylor in another column, which will throw
some light on this subject.]

The Mission of Horticultural Journals.
A Kansas correspondent says : " I have never
been a regular subscriber to the Gardener''s
Monthly, but shall be with the commencement
of the new year. The West sadly needs a po-
mological magazine, and it is sad to think that

372

TEE GARDEJ^ER^S MOJ^THLY. Decemher

no enterprise of this kind has ever been a suc-
cess. The "West is concerned in tree culture,
orchards and cheap flower culture, and has lit-
tle time for anything else."

[We are afraid the failure of the "Western pa-
pers referred to by our correspondent has been
from the want of perception of the true mission
of a horticultural magazine. In regard to the
matters named there could be no better papers
than CohnaiVs Bural World of St. Louis, the
Kansas Farmer of Leavenworth, the Michigan
Farmer of Detroit, the Homestead of Des Moines,
Iowa, the Michigan Farmer of Madison, and the
Prairie Farmer and Western Bural of Chicago.
All these and some more newer and less widely
known ones, have departments which give con-
siderable prominence to what might be termed
the agricultural phases of horticulture. They
manage these departments, as a general thing,
80 intelligently, that there seems really no room
for a horticultural paper of this border line class.
For there is a line between horticulture and
agriculture, although not an exact one,— a sort
of a twilight between day and night. Horticul-
ture starts rather from a mental pleasure down
to meet the profitable ones ; while agriculture
commences rather with the stern wants and ne-
cessities of life, and advances upwards to meet
the pleasures and refinements of gardening.
While therefore the agricultural and horticultur-
al papers must necessarily find much in com-
mon when they approach the boundary line,
their main missions are essentially distinct.
The unfortunate papers of the West our corres-
pondent refers to have none of them appreciated
this distinction. Though called horticultural or
pomological, they were essentially agricultural,
and with no distinctive features be5'ond what
the regular agricultural papers exhibited. There
never was a ghost of a chance for a long con-
tinued separate existence.]

the half ripened wood. Cuttings made at this
season seldom do well. Perhaps the best plan
will be to wait for growth next year before at-
tempting the propagation.]

Yakiation IN A Hydrangea.— TT. C. S.,
iicoAid-, Iowa, writes : "I have a ' Hydrangea'
having every appearance of ' Hortensia' in leaf
and bloom, with the exception that it has a
number of florets around the main blooms simi-
lar to the 'Hen and Chickens Daisy.' Is it a
known variety or is it a sport V"

[Not a known variety, probably a sport. If
this branch were propagated from it would prob-
ably always retain this character. This is how
many of these peculiar sports are perpetuated.
Generally the Hydrangea is best propagated by

Post Office Matter. — JB. , writes : ' 'Thanks
for your ventilation of the Post Office question.
No one knows what an immense amount of an-
noyance, trouble and vexation which those of us
who have heavy business with the office often
have to endure, and which I verily believe would
not be tolerated by any other country in the
globe. Piecently I had a letter returned to me,
directed to a number and full address in your
city of Philadelphia, and it was returned to me
as 'not being found' at that number and street,
when my correspondent is there and has been
for years. But what I would like to know now
is, what is the object of the stamping of letters ?
The matter is brought thus before me by a cor-
respondent who has signed nothing but his
name ; on referring to the post office mark I
find that is illegible. Half the letters I get are
in this condition. As there appears to be no
use in these post office marks as they are, what
purpose are they intended to serve ?"

[We fear our correspondents are bent on dis-
covering how much of an ignoramus the editor
is. We have no doubt there is some hidden
meaning to these illegible marks. It may be to
frighten thieves, who, like all the rest of man-
kind, always have a dread of what they do not
understand.]

Black's Early Peach.— A correspondent
asks us what we know of this and where to get
it. We never heard of such a pe.ich. There is
a worthy fellow in the peach business at Higlits-
town, N. J., named Black ; if any one knows
anything of such a peach, we suppose he ought
to be the man.

Begonias. — W. J. i/., S^ndusl-y, O., writes:
" Will you please answer through the columns
of the Gardeners'' Monthly for next month, the
proper way to cultivate Begonias. I have one
that is a large plant, and it has not bloomed
since early last fall, one year ago ; keeps grow-
ing, but has no buds. In looking over your
magazine I find in 18(30 you had such an article,
but the number that contained it is missing. I
trouble you therefore for the information, and
you will oblige."

[Some Begonias do not flower freely linles

1872.

TEE GARDE J^'EWS MOJ^TELY,

S7S

they have abundance of light, and others if they
are too richly grown. The Herbaceoua Bego-
nias flower better than most others in partial
shade, but these are usually grown for the beau-
ty of their leaves, and flowers are of secondary
consequence. The upright woody Begonias,
ifgrownina tolerably rich soil, not too much
overpotted, and kept growing in a temperature
of about 50', and in a tolerably light place, usu-
ally flower freely.]

Ke"w Post Office Decision. — The postal
law says "mailable matter of the third class

shall consist of prints, engravings —

seeds, plants," and soon, "not exceeding twelve
ounces in weight." The Postmaster General has
decided that this " does not mean" prints, en-
gravings, and has given permission that these
may go in four lb. packages henceforth. The
picture trade has got ahead of the seed trade.
Cannot this great industry also succeed in show-
ing the Postmaster that it does not mean seeds
or plants, any more than pictures.

Keeping Plants over Winter.— J". (?.,
Ypsilanti, Mich., writes ; "I have the following
plants :

Salvia Gardenii.

" splendens variegata.

" patens.

" coccinea.
LobeliaB Sunset Cinderalla.
Alternantheras.
Lantanae.

Centaurea gymnocarpa.
Cerastium tomentosum.
Artemesia stellaris.
I wish to know

1. Which (if any) of these I can keep over
winter for use next year ?

2. How they should be kept (parlor, cellar,
cold frame) ?

3. How they can be propagated (cuttings or
otherwise) ?

4. When it is best to propagate them ?"
[The above letter became misplaced, or it

would have received earlier attention. It is now
too late for the replies to be of much service to
our correspondent. He will please consider
that he has a claim on us for "any number" of
queries during the next year for the accident.
So far as the preserving the plants are concerned,
however, there is not much lost by the delay, as
as it is far best of most of these things, to have
new plants every year. The Cerastium is hardy
and will come up again next season. The Sal-
via patens root is dug up and saved like a
Dahlia.]

Borers in Evergreens, — W. -ff., Louisville^
Ky. Any number of borers affect living ever-
greens. The larva of a large, long-horned beetle,
Monolmmmus titiUatoi\ is the worst enemy to
the White Pine, and frequently bores its way
out after the wood is made up into beams and
pillars. Another Cerambycid larva is death to
red cedars here in the west, while a host of bark
borers affect all kinds ol evergreens.— C. V. R.

]VEW AND MRE PLAINTS.

Callicarpa purpurea.— This has been a fine
season for this shrub. It was figured in the
second volume of the Gardeners' Montlih/, but
is yet but little known. The plant grows into a
thick bush about two or three feet high, and the
flowers are borne in the axils of the leaves in
pine. They are small and of a delicate pink
color,but numerous enough to be quite attractive^
Small berries about the size of small red cur-
rants appear after flowering, which in Septem-
ber change to a pearly violet color, continuing
to attract attention till severe frost destroys them.

Salvia taraxacifolia.— A native of the
lower slopes of the Greater Atlas, and discover-
ed there by M. Balansa in 1867. It has been
seen by Dr. Hooker growing in broad patches
along the base of the Great Atlas, and present-
ing a very beautiful appearance. Calyx half an
inch long, tubular-campanulate ; tube densely
appressed, tomentose, and clothed with spread-
ing hairs ; lips nearly straight, upper three,
lower two-lobed. Corolla nearly twice as long
as the calyx, pale pink, with a yellowish disk to
the lower lip, and purple-speckled prominent

37Jf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJSTTELY. December,

pilose palate ; tube ventricose, villous near the
faux and on the short galeate compressed upper
lip ; and with a ring of brown hairs near the
base within. — Botanical Magazine.

Lache^talia tricolor.— L. tricolor, accord-
ing to Mr. Baker's determination, is a very vari-
able plant, and includes as forms L. quadricolor,
L. luteola, Jacq., and L. aurea, Lindl, of which
the last, that now figured, is by far the most
elegant, and is further remarkable for its bright
color and the waxy texture of its flower. Tt
flowered in the Royal Gardens, Kew, in March
of the present year from bulbs. Leaves dark
green, uniformly colored, or speckled or spotted
with darker spots. Scape 6 to 10 inches high,
reddish, variegated with darker red or purple.
Perianth golden yellow, waxy, 1 inch long, tubu-
lar ; base rounded, rather gibbous •, outer seg-
ments connate to or below the middle, obtuse,
with a gibbous dorsal boss below the tip ; inner
almost twice as long as the outer, pale yellow,
spathulate, slightly spreading ; tip rounded or
obtuse. — Botanical Magazine.

New Gladioltjs,— a correspondent of Jour-
nal of Horticulture says : I will now make a few
remarks on the new varieties of this season sent
#ut by M. Souchet. 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. Beatrix is
a good white flower, and specially noticed by the
Rev. H. H. Dorabrain as being very fine in my
stand at the Crystal Palace, but if I had labeled
it Norma no one would have known the difler-
ence ; and the spike of Beatrix was not nearly
so good as that of Norma exhibited by Mr.

Dombrain at South Kensington the previous'
week. Minerve is similar to Phidias. I plucked
a single flower from each variety, and placed
them together, and could not say which was the
one and which the other. Yirginalis, again, is
rather paler than Mary Stuart, and much like
it, but does not produce such a long handsome
spike. Jupiter is new in color — a fiery crimson
—and if the spikes are not large, the flowers are,
and it is an acquisition. Pbcebus, Mr. Dom-
brain has spoken highly of. I have not seen it
yet, but a spike exhibited by him at South Ken-
sington did not seem to be honored with a certi-
ficate. M. Souchet has sent out in former years
many splendid varieties, and we owe him many
thanks for them. I hope that those put in com-
merce from his establishment next season will
maintain his reputation ; the present batch has
signally failed to do so.

At the Lyons Horticultural Exhibi-
tion, which was opened on the Ist of August of
this year, there was shown two Robinias, one by
the firm of MM. Durousset, and the other by
that of M. Morel. They are both said to be
evergreen, and if this be true, will prove valu-
able acquisitions for purposes of ornamentation.

New 0RNA3IENTAL Cherry.— A remarka-
ble sport of the May Duke Cherry has been pro-
duced in the grounds of M. Ferninand Messange,
of Baillonville. The leaves become narrow at
the end, so as to resemble those of the peach, or
even the willow. Some are 8 inches in length
and an inch in width ; others are 4 inches ia
length, and about the third of an inch in breadth.
— Belgique Horticole.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Yellows of the Peach.— On the 1st of July
last I commenced a series of experiments by the
moist process with the bark of a peach tree af-
fected with the yellows. Into five glass receivers
I placed, respectively, a few drops of water, just
Buflicient to form a moist atmosphere in each.
Into No. 1 I put a piece of bark affected with
the yellows ; into No. 2 a piece of bark from a
healthy peach tree ; into No. 3 a handful of

peach leaves from the unhealthy tree ; into No.
4 a similar quantity from the healthy tree ; and'
into No. 0 portions of bark from the healthy and
unhealthy trees mentioned. All the specimens-
were secured from outward atmosphere. The
temperature of the room in which the specimens
were kept was frequently at 90" Fahrenheit.
These conditions were highly favorable to the
development of such fungi-germs as mature un-

1872,

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTRLY,

375

der excess of heat and moisture. Previous to arranging the specimens in the receivers th®
were examined minutely with a low power, but no signs of fungi were visible. On the 15th
day the unhealthy specimens in Nos. 1 and 5 exhibited on their external surface a spotted ap-
pearance. When viewed by a power of 75 diameters they were seen to consist mostly of a translu-
cent, yellowish-bi'own, spiral, thread-like fungus known as Ncemaspora.

Plate 15, figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, represents plate 15.

the first stages of this fungus. When a
portion, about 0.3ths of an inch is placed
under an object glass of one inch, and secur-
ed in the usual manner by means of a disk,
with dilute gum-water, the spiral forms are
seen to dissolve gradually, and ultimately
to form a yellowish stain. On viewing it
with a power of one-eighth, it appears to be
a mass of curved spores, resembling in form
caraway seeds, but invisible to the naked
eye. Each spore has a life-like motion con-
fined to the centre of its own. When they
are treated to the action of nitric, muriatic,
and nitro-muriatic acids, no immediate
change is observable ; and in those strong
acids the life-like motion continues, which,
I think, proves that the motions are not
the result of any form of organic life, but
simply what is known as " Brownian mo-
tion,'' which is frequently seen when minute

Plate 16. particles of inorganic matters are placed un-

der a high power. When the spores are com-
bined either with concentrated sulphuric
acid or caustic potash they become comple-
tely destroyed, forming a homogeneous
mass, and their organic structure is no
longer visible.

Plate 16 represents a sectional view of the
bark. Figure 6, I^cemaspora ; 7, the same,
when placed in water or acid, except sul-
phuric ; 8, a very highly magnified form of
the spores contained in Fig. 6.
About the 20th day mycelium was founa
in abundance growing from the spiral
threads, (see Fig. 5,) resembling double-cell-
ed Puccinia, the spores, varying in number
from 1 to 10, and so small that a power of
one-eighth was required to give good defi-
nition. Since contact with water dissolves
Ncemaspora without destroying the life of
the spores, it is evident that the action of
rain or washes of pure water will only tend to diffuse the spores over the body of the tree and
roots, while the application of solutions of sulphuric acid and alkalies will destroy them.
Hence a remedy may be found for peach-yellows in the application of alkalies and sulphates, and
their compounds, to the bark and roots of the trees. Statements have frequently been made
that the application of hot lye has been known to cure peach-yellows when applied to the bark and
roots. My own observations seem to confirm these common rumors.

S76

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^TELY. Dectniher,

In receiver Xo. 5 the healthy bark was not con-
taminated, seemingly, with the Ncemaspora,
notwithstanding its immediate contact during
several weeks with the unhealthy bark. As
might be expected, the common molds, Penicil-

of proper nourishment, the fruit cannot mature.
It has been long observed that trees aflfected
with the yellows fruit earlier and mature perma-
turely, and soon decay. The presence of a larger
amount of sap in the unhealthy than in the

liinn, and J/ucor?, grew all over the surface of Hiealthy, indicates an earlier and greater flow

the specimens, healthy and unhealthy. The
leaves in ]^os. 3 and 4 were next examined.
They had been subjected to the same treatment
as the bark. The healthy leaves, although con-
fined during four weeks in a moist atmosphere,
at a temperature ranging from 80^ to 90^,;exhibi-
ted no signs of mildew. A split branch to which
the leaves were attached exhibited a small
portion of Mucor fruit, and Mycelium on the
sap-wood and pith ; but the unhealthy leaves

than in that of the healthy tree. The presence
of watery sap in the leaves, twigs, and buds
would induce naturally an early growth of fruit
and premature decay. From these and other
observations the disease seems traceable to the
body of the tree or roots. Applications of
washes in this case to the leaves would probably
prove useless, but if applied to the bark and
roots, might prove curative ; and for that pur-
pose, judging from microscopic observations, I

hot lye as the best substance.— Thomas Tay-
lor, Microscopist to the Depavtmeyit of AgHcul-
ture.

[By the kindness of the Hon. Commissioner of
Agriculture we have been allowed the use of the
cuts to illustrate this Lrlicle.— Ed. G. M.]

were completely covered in two weeks with My- \ would recommend the frequent application of
celium, (mold.) and the fruit of the common blue,
yellow, and black Penicillium and Mucors. I
kave repeated these experiments several times,
always with the same results. It is evident that
the healthy leaves possess an antiseptic sub-
stance, which prevents the growth of common
molds on them. A portion of healthy and un-
healthy leaves from the trees above mentioned
was analyzed in the laboratory to determine the
respective amounts of moisture, organic matter,
and ash in them, and gave the following results :
Healthy peach leaves :

Moisture, ' 29.20

Organic matter, 63.22

Ash, 7 58

Unhealthy leaves
Moisture,
Organic matter,
Ash

36.9

C.9.4

3.7

100.0
The fict of the absence of ash or solid matter
and of the increase of moisture in the unhealthy
leaves, would of itself account for their greater
tendency to mold. Since leaves do not absorb
earthy matters from the atmosphere, it is evi-
dent that the cellular structure of the tree has
in some way failed to perform its functions ; for,
had the ascending sap carried with it potash,
lime, or other earthy matter, the leaves would
have been stored with them, since the leaves
have no power to evaporate them. The deficiency
of earthy matters in the leaves may also account

Fra^je: Leslie'3 Country-seat.— Respect-
ing improvements at Saratoga Lake and a mag-
nificent villa residence now being prepared for a
well known ^N'ew Yorker, the Saratogian says :
''There are few more delightful places for a
summer residence than the shores of our charm-
ing Lake Saratoga, and Frank Leslie, with an
100.00 I ^y^ '° *'^® picturesque and elegant, has occupied
and possessed himself of one of the finest sites
thereon for his long contemplated summer es-
tablishment. His 'domain' includes about sixty
acres, extending from the west s-hore of Saratoga
Lake, half a mile this side. On these palatial
grounds it is Mr. Leslie's purpose to rear a
handsome residence. The grounds themselves
will be laid out in accordance with the best taste,
in landscapes, gardens, walks and drives. Al-
ready some two miles of drives have been laid
out by surveyor Cramer, and the contract for
constructing the same, amounting to several
thousand dollars, awarded to Mr. P. P. Robbins,
of this village. Work on them has commenced,
and they will be finished as rapidly as possible.
The drives extend from lake to lake. Some por-
tion of them, on the lake shore, has already been
completed. Mr. Robbins has also taken the
contract for constructing about six hundred feet

for the absence of ash in the fruit. If the theory

is well founded that the leaves elaborate juice for i of dock on the Saratoga Lake front, both for

the growth of the fruit, the leaves being deprived I c onvenience and to protect the bank.

1872.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY,

377

EOUEIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

HORTICULTURAL OBSERVATIONS IN
ENGLAND.

One of the best exhibitions of the season in
these parts was held at Plymouth, September 3,
thirty miles from here. Passed through Lotness
on the way, a very ancient place on the river
Dart. According to history, it was a place of
trade with the Phcenecians before the Christian
era ; they came up the river from Dartmouth to
purchase tin, which was obtained on the moors
near by. There are the remains of an ancient
castle here, from the summit of the battlements
a very extensive and interesting view is obtained
of the town and surrounding country. The ex-
hibition was held out of doors in tents, or one
large tent, 180 feet long and 60 feet wide, on a
beautiful spot called the " Hoe.'' This is a park
or public promenade running right down to the
bay or sound, and elevated 100 feet or more
above it, and affords a very commanding, exten-
sive and picturesque view of the sound and coast.
On the right is the noble park and grounds of
Earl Edgcumbe, which are open to the visitors
on certain days during summer ; on the left, the
bold sandstone cliffs, and right facing you is the
celebrated breakwater, 1000 yards long with two
arms 350 yards running diagonally towards the
shore ; also " Drake's Island," which reminds
me of Governor's Island in New York harbor.
In the distance, 14 miles away, and which can
'be distinctly seen on a clear day, is Eddystone
Lighthouse.

The chief competitors at the show were Mes-
srs. Veitch and Luccombe and Pince & Co., of
Exeter.

In the Yeitch collection the most noticeable
were Statice Ilolfordii, a splendid plant four feet
high, with about 20 large panicles, also S. pro-
fusa, Crowea Saligna stricta, Vallota purpurea ;
one bulb with seven thick flowers stems, and
each truss containing about ten flowers. A fine
specimen of Cattleya Mossiee, AUamanda nobilis
on balloon trellis, fine; Ixora amboyensis.^schy-
nanthus grandiflorus on trellis, three feet high ;
Aphelexis prolifera five feet high and three feet
through, Ananasia Barncsii, Dipladenia ama-
bilis on balloon trellis, a beauty ; an immense

plant of Croton variegata, do. C. Weismannii,
do. C. undulata, do. C. interrupta, do. C. irregu-
lare. The Dracaena genus contained D. magni-
fica, do. Mooreana, do. Gilfoylii, Maranta Veit-
chii and tubispatha, Anthurium Scherzerianum.
Conspicuous in the Luccombe and Pince collec-
tion were the following : Erionema marmorata,
Maranta tubispatha, M. illustrious, Retinospora
Lycopodoides variegata nana, Primula Japonica,
Phormium tenax variegata, Sansevieria Javanica
(five feet) ; Eerns, fine specimens of Adiantum
concinnum, Farleyensis, Toclsea superba, Tricho-
manes radicans, &c., &c. Pandanus Veitchii.
(fine for baskets or vases,) ^aectochilus inter-
media,do. argentea picta, and various other good
plants. These two collections would have made
the eyes of our old friend and prince of plant
growers, Mr, L. Menand, dance with delight,
could he have seen them. •

Mr. Serpen, of Plymouth, also— who has a fine
nursery here — staged quite a number of good
plants. On his table were some fine Dahlias,
the best Peri, Mephistophels, Criterion, Mon-
arch, (splendid dark,) Golden drop and others,
Erica cerinthoides coronata, Pho3nix reclinata,
Dalechampia Roezliana, iEleagnus Japonica,
Lilium album marginata, and Wilsoniana, new,
also a splendid brace of cucumbers, (Marquis of
Lorne,) 28 inches.

The day being beautiful, also a yacht race in
the bay, with two bands of music from the bar-
racks, it was quite a treat to witness it, and be
here, irrespective of the exhibition, as there are
many historical associations connected with this
place.

On the " Hoe," where the show was held, (so
saith the chronicler,) on the 20th of July, 1588,
Sir Francis Drake was playing bowls when the
news arrived of the appearance of the " Invin-
cible Spanish Armada" off the coast ; with 120
vessels they were attacked and repulsed near
the Isle of Wight.

We had a sharp frost here on the 23d of Sep-
tember, which cut the Dahlias, Heliotropes,
scarlet Runners, &c., in the low ground ; since
then the weather has been delightful, thermome-
ter ranging between 45° and 60°. J. W. W.

378

TEE GARDEJVMR'S MOJVTHLY. Becemher,

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Early Winter.— Xot only have the Fens
near Howgin, in Westmoreland, and the Car- j
narvonshiie mountains, been covered with
snow a week since — in some places it was 4 j
inches deep— but in the neighborhood of Bland- j
ford, in Dorsetshire, we know that the frosts I
have been sufficiently severe to form ice. At I
Luton Hoo 5" below freezing has been registered, j
and even near London Coleuses and some of the j
more tender flower garden plants have had their I
beauty destroyed.

Oregon Cedar.— (Thuja gigantea) which is i
generally diffused throughout che Washington ',
territory, grows to an immense size, being often '
from 12 to 15 feet in diameter. Its trunk is of- i
ten straight and branchless for 20 feet, but the i
top is so knotty as to be of scarcely any value. I
In lightness, softness, and durability its w ood j
excels any other, but is deficient in strength and
elasticity. It is used chiefly for shingles, rails,
and fine inside finishing. For most purposes
for which the red wood of California (Sequoia
sempervirens) is used it is superior, and is there-
fore much exported from the Washington terri-
A backwoadsman can in a few days, with his
axe, make for himself a comfortable cabin from {
one of these Cedars, as it can be split into tim- !
hers and boards with the greatest ease. This I
fact has long been known to the Indians, who
used to split it with stone hatchets and wedges I
of the Crab apple (Pyrus rivularis). They also
make from its trunk their celebrated canoes, |
which are more lighter and more elegant than
any save those of Birch bark, used farther north.
The wood is wonderfully durable. The thin
bark, which comes off in long ribbon-like strings,
is manufactured by the Indians into bags and
articles of dress, and has been suggested as suit-
able for employment in paper-making.

A New White Radish.— In the Garde?; for
December 16th, Mr. William Robinson supplies
some further information about the new white
Radish, to which I made reference in my last
letter ; and I give it because it is of an interest-
ing character. It is to this effect : " The fact
that some imperfect specimens of this have re-
ceived a first-class certificate from the Royal
Horticultural Society justifies some allusion to it.
It was when walking tlirough the Chinese quar-

ter of San Francisco, in the beginning of No-
vember, 1870, that I first saw it. Among the
various vegetable products that were exhibited
outside the Chinese shops, was what seemed to
be a peculiarly tender looking white turnip, with
a skin as smooth as glass, and pure white. The
roots were cylindrical in outline, but usually
rather neatly rounded at the ends, somewhat
like a cucumber ; and they wei'e from eight to
twelve inches long, and from two and a half to
three and a half inches in diameter. Certain
that it was a distinct and excellent variety of
turnip, I made some inquiries as to the variety,
and learnt that it was a radish. But surely a
radish of suce size must be a tough subject in the
centre! On the contrary, the largest specimens
were found to be as tender throughout as a well-
grown young summer turnip. I afterwards
visited the gardens where these radishes were
produced, and found them grown, and thorough-
ly well-grown too, in beds about four feet wide,
with a narrow alley between. The plants, ar-
ranged in lines, had abundant room to grow,
and seemed to have thriven unchecked in the
sandy soil, kept well moistened and enriched by
the Chinese gardeners. The culture seemed to
me remarkably like what one sees in a good
market garden at Paris ; the only difierence I
saw being that, between every two lines of plants
there was a little hollow scooped out, and in this
a small drill of half-decomposed manure wiig
placed. Specimens bought in the Chinese mar-
ket, at San Francisco, and brought to London
with other seeds and roots, maintained their
freshness and good flavor for many weeks. They
were shown to some of the most experienced
seedsmen and growers in London, not one of
whom ever suspected they had anything to do
with a radish, though they employed the tongue
as well as the eye test. Where these radishes
are grown so well, the winter climate is much
like that of our early autumn, so they do not suf-
fer from cold. The tops of the specimens shown
at South Kensington were dead from frost. The
plant must, of course, receive the treatment of
an autumn and winter radish, and be sown in
rich, light, and warm soil. In the colder parts
of the country, it might be desirable to place
some plants in positions where they could be readi-
ly covered by a Ground Vinery; or some such
protection, so as to prevent their being checked
or destroyed by autumnal frosts. If it prove
distinct, it will doubtless be an acquisition,''

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Colored Plate, Frontispiece Blood Leaved Peach.

" " June Grimes' Golden Apple,

A

Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, New Building of 219^

Adiantum Farleyense 8d

B

Boiler and Pipes for Greenhouses, Arrangement of 263

Brown's "Wonder Strawberry 281

F

Fungi-Germs magnified to 7o Diameters .••• 375

H

Heating Apparatus for Greenhouses 263

Hot Water Circulation, (Diagrams) - 328-329

L
Layering 214-26T

THE GARDE jYER'S MOJVTELY.

INDEX VOLUME XIV.

Abies Plrma, 94
" Orientalis, 94
" Plcea, the German name
of, 135
Acacia Acuminata, 108
" Decunens, lOS
" Homadophylla, 103
" 5Ielaiioxylon, ItS
Academy of Natural Sciences
ofPhila., 96, 224, 352
Acer Campestre, 109
" Colchicum lubniin, 178,
295
Da«yc»rpum, 109
Maerophyllum, 109
Negundo" 109
Palmatum, 109
Platanoides, J 09
Pseudo platanus, 109
Rubrum, 109
Saccharinum, 1C9
Address of President Hoopes,

40, 75
Adiantum Capillus-Veneria
Daphnites, 316
<• Farleyense, 89
JEchmea Maria; Reginje, 222
JEscnlus Hippccastanum, 109
JKstbetlcs, Railroad, 300
Aged Trees, 30

Agricnltural College, JIasB.,
Kinth Annual Re-
port of tli3 Trustees
of, 220
" Department, The

Botanist of, 20
" and Mfchanical As-
sociation, West Ala-
bama, 256
•• Paper, An, 20

'• Society, Franklin
& Hampden, Mass.,
Transactions of, 219
« •' Plymouth,

Mass., Transactions
of the, 27 S
" >' WiscoEsin

State, 2S8
Allantbus Glandulosa, 109
Alexander Peach, 347
AlycD Rhodicecc, 220
Alnns GlutiriOf a, 109
Alocasia Marshalli, 317
Altar, Flowers of the, 61
Amaryllig, 235

" and other matters,
Note on, 301
American Aspen, The, 30

'« EnlomologUt, The, 23
« Institute Fair, N. Y

City, 2S6
" Pomological Society,

220
'* Raised Arborvitajs,
Hardiness of, 153
Ammonia, Influence of on the
Color of Flower*',
158
Arayris TerebynthifoUa, 110
Andromedas, 197
Angophora Intermedia, 110

Animal Life, Vegetable and, 70
Apple Borer, 247

Brier's Sweet Crab, 58

Cadwalader's Golden, 120

Coopet's Red, 121

Grimes' Golden, 183

Gully, 59

Hailey, The, 346

Hocketi's £weet, 315

Lanier, 2S

Lawver, 58

Lincoln Sweet, 315

Mason Pippin, 59

Mercer, 121

Primate, 274

Seedling, 282

Seeds Sold for Pear, 24

Smith's Favorite, 28

Soulard and Soulard
Crab, The, S9
" Crab, 28

Stocks for Cordon Train-
ing, 115

Tree, a Pear Fruit from,
343

" Waldridge, in Wisconsin,

58
" Worm, Parasite on the,
I 140

1 Apples, Sweet Rhode Island
• Greening, 23

! " Names of, 309
Araucaria Bidwilli, 5
" Fraziliensis, 5

'• Cookii, 5

" Cunninghami, 5

" Excelsa, 5 i

" Imbricata, 5 |

" " at Bicton, i

]G0 " , 1

ArboricuUnral Society, Kansas, i

127
ArborTitic, Hardiness of * raei i-

cau raised, )53
Arisema Ringoiis, 156
Artichoke, Jerusalem, 147
Art of Beautifying Suburban
Home Grounds of Small Ex-
tent, 24
Ash Leaved Maple, Sugar from

the, 117
Asparflgus Culture, 325

" Cutting back, 247

" I ioecism in, 274

" Large, 179

" Male, 344

" Repeated Cutting
back of, 217
Salt for, 179
Aspen, The American, 30
Atlantic & Richmond Peaches,

The, S47
Australia, Qeensland, Rambles
in, 200
' Victoria, Recollec-
tions of a Journey
from Slelbourne to
Getlong, 10
Autumn Flowering of the Horse

ChestDut. 310
Azaleas and Rhododendrons at
Bloomsdale, 311
" Hardy, 197

Balogtia Lucida, 110
Baltimore, Annual Report Park I
Commissioners of, \
220
Bark Louse, The Oyster Shell,

331 I

Farleria Dichtoma, 317 I

Mackenii, 317 j

Bean, Canadian Wonder, 120 j

Beans, Lima, without Poles,lo6

" Mexican, ISO |

Bedding Plants, 308. 341 I

" " Summer, 309 I

Beet Sugar in Colorado, 148 !
Beets, Quantity of,,theAcre, 153
'Begonia Carminata, 318

" Hvbrid Multiflora, 216, j
249, 264 1

Begonias, 254. 372
Berberis Aquifolium leaves for i

Bouquets, 349
Best Strawberry, Tlie, ICO
Betnla Alba, 110
" Linto, 110
" Nigra, 110
" Paphyracef, I'O
Binding the Monthly, 55
Blackberry, Ford's Hoosic
Thornless, 2S2
'* Western Triumph,

315
Black's Early Peach, 280, 372
Black Walnut, the Small Fiuit-

cd, 157
Blight, Fire, S6
Blodgett's Late Peat h, 347
Blood Leaved Peach, 316
Blooming in Winter, Plants for,

85
Bine Color of the Sky, Influence
of, on Animal and Veg-
etable Life, 220
BlneGKiss, 143

Boiler and Heating Pipes for
^ Greenhouses, Arrange-

I ment of, 132

Boilers, Hitchiag's, Co.=t of, 302
Borer, Apple, 247

" How to Expel the, 297
Borers on Evergreens, 344, 373
IBotaniciil Clai^sification, 153
Botanist of the Agricultural De-
pfrtmont, The, 20,179
Botany in New Tcrk, 179
[Bottling Grapes, 187
Bouvardia. New Pink, 55
iBoyer <fc Co., and C. T. Crol e,S5
I Bouquets, Berberis Aquifolium,
I Leaves for, 349

Branches, Stems and, Structure

of, 43
I Brandy from Saw Dust, 183
iBrandywice Raspberry, The,
1 S8, 120

{Brier's Sweet Crab Apple, 58
Brown's Wonder Strawberry,
i ^■ew, 281

Bud Grafting Pears,Summer,119
I Buds, Peach, De^truction of, 55
JBug-1'roof Potato, 157
Bulb.=", New, 165

Bults, Planting, 274

" Small, 136
Burned out, but not Burnt up, 67
Business Notices, 86

Cabbage Moth, The, 250
Cactus, Night Blooming, S60
Cadawalader's Golden Apple,

120
Caladium Esculentum in the

Ground, S5
Caladiums, Names of, 217
California, Lima Beans in, 60
Calla, The, 2S5
Callicarpa Purpurea, 373
Callitris Quadrivalvis, 5
Calochortus Leichliinii, 316
Camellias Seedling, 152'
Canada, The Grape in, 59
Canadian Wonder Bean, 120
Carbolic Acid Soap, 152
Card of Thanks, 216
Carica Papaya, Wonderful

Growth of, f 5
Carplnus Betulu.", 110
Gary a Alba, 110
" Amaro, 110
" Glabra, 110
" Oliviformus, 110
" Sulcata, 110
" Tomeniosa, 110
Castanea .Sativa, 111
Cai-tanopsis Argentea, 111
Casuarina Glauca, 111

" Qaadrivalvis, 111

" Suberosa, 111

Catalogue, Landreth's Illustra-
ted, 57
" of Geo. Siir , 314

ofLili's, ja
Cafaloi^ues, 67, 313
Cats, New use for, 285
Cauliflower, About, 212
Cedar of Lebanon, How to Grow
the, 39
" Oregon, 378
Cedrela "Taona, 111
Celery Sandrinoham White,120
"" Wild, 117, 150, 181,214
Cells, Contents of, &c., 44
Celtis Australis, HI

" Occidentalis, llJj
Cephalotaxus Fortune!, 3

The, l<i5
Ceratouia Sillqua, 111
Cereus Giganteus, 282
Cinnamornum Camphora, 111
Chambereburg, Pa., Peach from
J. Hevser, 34«
Chambers Pear, The, 250
Cherry, Frogmore Early Bigar-
reau, 250
" Leib, 23
" Meadow, 53
. " New Ornamental, 373
" Royal Anne, 59, 120

Stock for the We.-t, The
best, oil
'' Tree?, Insects on, 164
Chromo, Vick's, 119
Churns, Improved, 21

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^TELI,

Circulation of Hot Water, 100,

Dalmatia, Forest Renovation in,

Eucalyptus Citridodora, 141 | Frosts of March, Effecte of the

163

284

" Diversicolor, &c., 142 Severe, 193 ... i

Citrus Japonica, The, 1S6

Dammara, 6

Eucharls Amazonica, 33,3

Fruit B irrels. Size of, 125 "■,.',

Classes of Roses, Tlie, 246

Daphne Cneorum, 84

European Larch, American Seed

" by Mall, 60

Classification. Botanical, 153

Majus, 198

for the, 179

" Culture in the South, 273

Clematis, 29.5

Darlington)a Califoraica, Flow-

Evaporation on the Farm, 286

" " Prineiple in, 149 ^

" LangniDOsa, 29

ering of the,180

Evergreen Cuttings, Raising, S3

" Describing, 15

" Viorna, 246

Death of Mr. Lyman, 85

" Shrubs, 341

" Destroyers, History of the,

Clematises, Kew, 2S2

Decilnous Shrubs, 341

Evergreens and Deciduous Flow

220 r> H

Clereodeadro'-i Bungei, S-1

Dendrobium Nobile, 168, 329

ering Shrubs, Har-

" Diseased, Precocity of, 167

Cleveland, Ohio, Fruit prospects

Dendro — Pomological Garden,

dy, 159

" Drying, 91

near, 247

A, 24

" Borerson, S41, 373

" Garden, 3 '., 67, 98, 130, 162,

Climate of Noith-east Massichu-

Department of Agriculture, The,

" Hardy, Effeots .of

182, 195, 2i7, 258, 292,

setts, 24S

277

Winter on, 148

322

Climbers grown as Trees and

Bo-

" Mulching, 302

" Growers' Society, The

Shrabs, 16.5

tanist to the, 20,

'' Linus Excelsa and

Penna., 2 ', 62

Climbing Plants, Preferences of,

179

other, 13 »

" Prospects in Kentucky, 66

190

" ' " " De-

" The Shortcomings

" '• near Cleveland,

Codling Moth, The, 22"

scriptive Cata-

of, 300

Ohio, 247

Col. Cheney Strawberry, 25 )

logue of Plants,

" Winter on, at Har-

" Trees in Grass, '23

Cold Graperies, About, IW

279

risburg, Ohio, 267

" " Mulching, 22

Colorado, Beat Sugar in, 148

Describing Fruit, 1.5

" " Skill in Uultivatiag,

Potato Beetle, The, 90

Destroying the Cut "Worm, 212

F

178

Colnmnea, The, 1S8

Destruction of Peach Buds, 55

Fruitful Diana Grape, 55

Communication, About a, ISO

Detroit, Change of Firm at, 118

Fruits, New Seedling, Raising,

Communications. Notes and, 55

Dew, How formed, 150

Fairmount Park, 104

145

Complimentary Tickets, 276

Diana Grape, Fruitful, 5 j

Fagus Cunninghami, 143

Fuchsia. The. 91

Conifers, 19 >

Dimorphanthns Mandcharicus,

" Sylvatica, 142

Fuchsias from Seed, Raising, 54

Conservatories, Small, 14S

60

Farmer and Gardener, The, 279

Convallaria MhjsIjs, 60

Dicecism in Asparagus, 274

Farm Girdeninsr and Seed

G

Co-operative Parks, 337

Diospyros Virginlana. Ill

GrowiDg.'lSl

Cooper's Red Apple, 121

Diseased Fruit. Precocity of,lo7

Fay's Early Peach, 118

Cordon Training, Apple Stocks,

Disease in Peach Trees, 311

Female the Better Half, The,3.39

Garden, A Dendro-Pomological,

for, T15

DistribuWon of Plants, 332, 3 51

Ferns, Kew, 1.5.3

21

Corn, Hybridized. Immediate

" " over Sur-

Fibre of Sporabolus, 371

" Prospects in Northern

tfiect on, 218

face of the Earth,

Ficus Sycamoru.s, 143

Michigan, 54

" Transmutation of, 20

Natural mode of,

" Macrophylla, 143

Gardeners and their Employers,

Cornns Panieulata, 217

220

Fire Blight, 81

85

Coirespondent of the Rural'

Dodds Mary, 2i2

" Hot-Beds— Forcing Pits, 111

" Good English, 21

Homo, 5 1 1

Dog Story, A new, 174

" Losses by, 119

" Wages of 87

Correspondents, To, 53, 3 ;0 j

Dollar and Cent HorticuIture,52

Fitzrova Patasronica, 6

Gardening, Foreign Works on,_

Corruption in High Places, EC

Domestic Notes, 14. 208, 337

Flax, New Zealand, 347

51

Corylus Colurna, 111

Dommesta Bessarabia, The, 221

Floral Sabbath, The, 2'i9

" Is the Profession of.

Corynocarpus, Laevigata, 111

T)oryanthes Kxcelsa, 117

Fiorc des Serres, 314

Worse than the

Cotinus Amencanus, 158

Doub'e Epigere, 2S2

Florists Flowers, 159

aver'geofTraderf

Country-seat, Frank LeBlie's,376

'• Gladiolus, 276

Flower Decorations in Winter,

303

Cowingo Seedling Strawberry,'

" Lilac Primrose, 1.50

SJ5

'■ Public, 273

222 i

" Peach Stones, 119

" Garden and Pleasure

Winter, 208

Crab, Brier'.? Sweet, 58 '

Dracsenas, Marantas, &c.. Prop-

Ground, 1, 33. 65. 97,

" Works on, 54

" Soalard, 28

agating. S09

129, 162, 193. 22.5, 257,

Gardens, Woodward's, 223

" " and Soulard Ap-'

DraesenaSplendens, 317

289, 321, 353

Garrya EUiptica, 121

pie, The, S9

Diouth in Winter, Deith by, 21 1

Flowering of the Darlingtonia

Gas, Heating by, 263

Criticisms, Horticultural, Good

Drouth, Forests vs., 18)

Californica, 130

Gaultherias, 193

'J'emper in, 19

Dr. Warder Strawberry, 317

" Plants for April, 214

Geological Exploration of the

Crolie, C. T., & Boyer & Co., 81

Drying Fruit, 91

" " " Jnne, 303

45th Parallel, Re-

Croton Grande, 317

Dubuque, Notes from, 4.5

" " " May, 244

port of, 8S

Crypto Tieria Japonica, 5

Durand's Oak.Quercu.s Durandli

" Seasons. Variations

Geranium, Mrs. Pollock, Origin

Cucumbers, 242

123

of, 187

of, 51

Cultivating Fruit Trees, Skill

Dwarf Orange. 216

" Shrubs, 295

" Paine'a Perpetual,

in, 78

" Pear, The Howell as a, 23

Flowers, Cut, 304

22 2

Cultivation, Tea, in the U. S.,

'■ loflaence of Ammonia

Geraniums, New D juble, 29

327

E

on the Color of, 156

German Name of Abies Picea,135

Cmltnre, Asparagus, 325

" of the Altar, 61

Germination — Its Relation to

" Forest and Timber tree.

Food with Vitality, Connection

Sight, 157

124

Early Grape Culfnrist?, 105

of, 2i0

Germ Theory, Application of, to

" ci Gloxinias, Gesneria

'• Peaches. 342

Forcing Pit.s— Fire Hot-Beds 141

the Making of Preserves,

and Cycamen, 85

Early Winter. 378

Ford's Hoo3:ic Thornless Black-

157

" Pear— Tiie Larch, 165

Earth Worm, New, 283

berry, 182

Gesneria, &c., Culture of, 83

" Rhododendron, 83

Echeveria Abyssinica, 317

Foreign Notes, 15, 210, 339, 271,

Ginkgo Biloba, 7

Cnndurango, 116

Editorial Notes, 174, 2Q8, 239,243,

3 59

Gladiolus, Double, 276

Cunninghamia Cinensls, Hardi-

270, 30 J, 338 367

" Pears, New, 27

" New. 3. '4

ness of, 219

Editor's Department, 310

<' Works on Gardening,

Glass, About, 255

Cnpressns, 6, 6

Elevated Hot Beds, 2G4

54

" Blue lis

Curculio— proof Plums, 249

Eligible Timber Trees, 4, 37, 72

Forest and Timber Tree Culture,

" Houses, Heating, 233

The Plum, 250

108, 141, 168

121

Glazing of Greenhouses, Close.

Curious Sport in Grape Fruit, 21

Elliott's Ml-., Letter, .52

" Renovation in Dalmatia,

181

Cut Flowers, 304

Ellwanger* Barry's Catalogues,

2S4

Gleditschia Kobusta, 113

" Worm, Destroying the, 212

31t

« Trees, oa Planting, 126

Gloxinias, &c.. Culture of, 8 J

Cutting back Asparagus, 217,247

Elms, Grafting, 119

Forests vs. Drouth, 185

Goniopblebium Appendicula-

Cuttings, Burying, for Sua)mer

Employere.Gardeners and their,

Fourcroea Gigactea, 311

tum,93

Grafting, 15 i

85

Fox Seedling Pear, New Cali-

Good Temper in Horticultural

" in Ice Houses, Keep

End ofthe World, 313

fornia, 183

Criticisms, 19

ing. 16 ;

Engelhardtia Spicata, 112

" " Pears, 280

" Wine Needs no Bush, 30

Crytanthera Chrysostepkana,

England, Horticultural Note*

Frank Leslie's Country.seat,376

Grafting Elms, 119

317

frcm an American in, 46

Fraxinus American.a, &c., 148

" Summer, Burying Cut-

Cyclamen 4c., Culture of, 183

English Gardeners, Gjod, 21

" H?terophylla, 214

tings for, 153

" Persicum, 189

Sparrow, The, 44

Freemontia Californica, 282

Grammar of the Greek Laa-

Epigsea, Double, 282 ,•

French Pears, New, 21

gtiag;3, 87

D

'• Repens, 198

Frenela Actinostrobus, &c., 7

Grammatical, 5t, 120

Ericas, 198

Frogmore Early Bigarreau Cher-

Grape Culturists, Early, 105

Errors of the Press, Ac, 81

ry, 250

" Diana, Fruitful, 6)

Daorydiura Cupres^inum, 6
* Franklinl, 6

" Serioos, 84

Frost, How Hardy Trees are

" Fruit, Curious sport ia, 31

Eacalyptns Amygdalina, 112

Killed by, 177

" Qroi C'olman, 121

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TBLY.

Orape Growing, 232

Horticultural Criticisms. Good

Juniper, Swedish, Hardiness of.

Maguey, The Ystle and, 263

« " The Profits of,

Temper in, 19

117

Mail, Fruit by, 60

134

" Notes from an

Jnniperus Bermudiana, i«., 7

Maine, Tree Planting in. En-

*• Grower's Aas'n., New

American in

couragement of, 185

Tork State, 128

England, 45

K

Male Asparagus, 344

" In Canada, The, 59

" Society, Cham-

Manures, Chemical, School of.

" in the South, The Ives',

paigne, 320

279

261

" " Exhibi'

Kalmias, 197

Minures, Liquid, 137

•' Isabella, Origin of the,106,

tionat Louis-

Kansas Arboricultural Society,

Manuring for Strawberries, 127

167, 296

ville, 319

127

Miple, Ash-leaved, Sugar from

" Lycoming. 184

" Exhibiti'n Lyons.

Kansas State Board Agriculture,

the, 147

" Madre><Tille Court, 120

374

EighthAanual Exhibi-

Maple, Red, 217

" Peter Wylie, No. 1, 27,280

" " Kansas

tion, 2i7

Marantas and Dracoenas, Propa-

" Root Insect, 146

State, 319

Keeping Grapes in Bottles of

gating, 309

" Vines, Thrlp on, To Cure,

" " Massa-

Water, 254

March, Effects of the severe

254

chusetts, 96

Kirtland, Professor, .59

Frosts of, 196

" Walter, 315

" " Nebras-

Kolreutheria Paniculata, 91

Marechal Neil Rose, 22. 266

" " Corrections, 66

ka State, 256

Maria Louisa Violet, 23

GraperlCB, Cold, About, 144

" " Ohio,125

L

Market Value of Rose Leaves,

<lrapes. Bottling, 187

279

223

" Hybrid, 106

" '■ Penna.,

Mason Pippin Apple. 59

" in Bottles of Water,

31. 191, 288,

Label, A new, 93

Massachusetts Horticultural So-

Keeping. 2.54

319, 350

Labels, Zinc, Indelible ink for.

ciety, 96

" in Bottles, Preserving,

*•' '- Western

179

Massaehasetts, North-east, Cli-

148

New York, 64

Lachenalia tricolor, 374

mate of, 248

" Mildew in, 251

" Observations in

Lafavette & Co. in New York

Matilda Stra-»^berry. The,133,343

" Why do, fail, .'JIS

England, 377

and Phila., 2 4

McAdow Cherry, 58

<3ras», Fruit Tree.s in. 23

" Journal Mission

Landreth's Rural Register, 57

McMahoD, Bernard, 241

" Rye, About, 119, 211

of, 371

Lanier .i^pple, 28

Medical properties of Night

" Sparto, 311

" " Worces-

Larch. European, American Seed

Blooming Cereus, 249

Grasshoppers, A Machine to

fer Co.,Ma8s.

for the, 179

Memphis, Tenn., Notes on the

Kill, 116

220

Larch, European in America,

Season and Crops at, 293

<3reenhouse, 4, 2 '0, 354

Horticulture, DollarandCent,52

The Seedlintr of the, 33i"i

Menziesias, 198

" Plants, &c., 69

" Ornamental, 175

Larch, The— Pear Culture, 165

Mercer Apple, 121

Greenhottses, Boiler and Heat-

" St. Louis, in, 1.52

Large Asparagus, 179

Mexican Beans, 1^0

ing Pipes for,

" Troy.N. Y.,f,bout,

" Pecans, 22 i

Michigan, Great Union Fair of.

Arrangements

164

" Southern Peaches, 163

256

of, 132

Hot-beds, Klevated, 2G4

" Tomato, A, 56

Michigan, Northern, Garden

" Close Glazing of.

Hothouse Building, 312

Latin names for Varieties, 152

prospects in, 54

181

Hot Water, Circulation of, 100,

Laws, Our New, 344

Michigan, Peaches in, 59

Grimes' Golden Apple, 183

163

Post Office. Cnange in, 345

Mignonette, Parson's White,

Gros Colman Grape, 121

" Heating, Advan-

Laxton's Peas, 23, 85

New, 2S2

Growth in Plunts, Increasing

tages and Di.'ad-

Layering;. 214, 267

Mildew in Grapes, 2.51

the Vigor of, 190

vantages of, 383

Leaf, The fall of the, 2S6

Mildew on Peach Trees, 371

" of Plants in Frosty

" " by, 46,262,

Lebanon, Cedar of. How to grow,

Mississippi, Notes from, 265

Weather, 149

328

39

Monstera Deliciosa, 249, 294, 364

" of Pear Trees, Wonder-

Howell Pear as a Dwarf, The, 23

Ledum', 197

Monthly, Binding the, 65

ful, 51

How to Grow the Cedar of Leb-

Leptosyne Gigantea, 121

Morus Rubra, 169

" of R;idishes,Speedy, 167

anon, ,"9

Letter, Mr. Elliott's, 52

Moth, The Cabbage, 250

Grubs. White, About, 9

Husbandmen, Warning to 13.3

" Mr. Harding's, 53

CodliDg, 22

Gaevina Avellana, 113

Hybrid Grapes, 106

Lenc.idendron Argenteum, 163

Moving and Replanting Trees,

Gully Apple. 59

Hybridizition, Experiments in,

Liatris Odoratissima, 283

l<iO

Gyianocladus Canadensis, 114

3)2

Libocedrus Chilensis, &c , 8

Mulching Evergreens, 302

" of Plants, Lec-

" Drcurren*, 8, 30

" Fruit Trees, 22

H

ture on. 86

Lieb Cherry, Th.-, 28

Myrtle, White Crape, The, 24

Hybridized Corn, Immeiiate

Light, Germination, Its relation

Effect on, 218

to, 18)

N

Hjementhus Taxicarius, 213

Hydrangea, Variation in a, 372

Lilies, Catalogue of, 158

Hailey Apple, The, 340

Lilium Auratuiu, 325

HrilesiaTetrapiera, IS!

1

Lily of the Valley. 60

Nageia (Podocarpus) Cupressl-

Hardiness of Cunninghamia Ci-

Lima Beans in California, 60

na, &o., 8

nensis, 249

•' without poles, 156

Name of Plant, 214, 3'2, 371

" of Her.«tiue Raspber-

Ice Houses, Keeping Cuttings

Linaria Cynabilaiia, 22

Names, Latin, for Varieties, 152

ry, The, 27 i

in, 15^

Lincoln Sweet Apple, 315

" ofAppleso09

" of Swedish Juniper,

Improved Churns, 2!

Liquidumber &itini,'i;i, 169

" " Caladium.'i, 247

117

Increase of Pine Stumps in Girth

" Styraeillaa, 169

" Plants, 116, 216

Harding's Mr., Letter, 53

after being Cut down,

Liquid Manure-, 137

Narrag.ansett Raspberry,The, 28

Hardy Herbaceous Plants, 3D6,

22

Liverpool, Horticulture at, 287,

Nashville, (Tenn.) New Firm, 83

307, 3C8, 311

Inde.T, Our, 3 '.6

318

Native Plants, 1.53

" Trees, Pow Killed by

Insect, Grape Root, 146

Locust Trees, ISO

Nebraska,Cnampion TreePlaut-

Frost, 177

Insects of Missouri, Fourth An-

London Horticultural Society

er of, 1^5

" " New, 155

nual Report on the,

Show, Tho be.st Roses

New Bulbs, 155

Hearth and Home, 57

219

at, 2S5

" California Pear, Fox seed-

Heating by Gas, 2.52

" on Cherry Trees, 154

Losses by Fire, 119

ling, 183

bv Hot Water, 46, 262,

Inquirers, To, 117

the Winter, 213, 249

" Clematises, 2S2

"328

Iowa, Note.s from, 106

Loudons, Last of tho, 147

" Crimson Primrose, 122

" " " Advan-

Ipora«as, 23.5

Louisiana, The Season in, 1.50

" Dog Story, A, 174

tages and Disadvan-

Irrigation Facts, 190

Louse, Oyster Shell bark, The,

" Double Geraniums, 29

tages of, 336

The Principle of, 228

3>1

" " White Pelargonl-

Hedges. Pyriichntha, 117

Isabella Grape, Oriarin of the.

Lycomiua; Grapo, The, 184

umo, 283

Herstine Raspberry, Hardiness

105, 107, 296

Lyman, Jlr., Death of, S5.

" Earth Worm, 2S3

of, 27 i

Iva Frutescen.", 85

Lyons Horticultural Exhibition,

" Ferns, 155

The, 183

Ives' Grape in the South, 251

374

" Foreign Pews, 27

High Places, <'orrnption in, 80

" French Pears, 21

HitchlDg's Boilers, Cost of; 3.)2

J

M

" GlaJi.ilus, 374

Hockett's Sweet Apple, 315

" Hardy Trees, 155

Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas, Orna-
mental Catalogue of,

" Label, A, 93

Jerusalem Artichok", 147

Macadaroia Tevnifolia, 169

" Leaf Plants for 1S71, 154

2;o

Journals, Horticultural, Mis-

M-ichino to kill Grj.S8hopper8,

" Mignoneite, Parsons'

« Piosident, Address of,

sions of, 371

A, ll'i

White, 282

_., 4 ,^ Yj

Jaglans Cineraria, <tc., 144.

Madura Aurantiaca, 109

" Nashville, (Tenn) Firm, 83

Hoosier Schoolmaster, The, 220

" Rupestris, 157

Madia Radi.'xta, l.'i6

" (Eiothera from Utah, 122

Horse Chestnut, Autumn Flow-

Jujube, The (Zizyphus Sativa)

Madresfltld Court Grapo, 120

" Ornarmental Tree* and

ering of the, 319

167

Magnolias, Raising, 371

Shrubs, 89

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOT^TELY.

New Pears, 250
" Pink Bonvardia, 55
" Post Office Decision, 373
" Seedling Fruits, Raising.

14)
*' Strawberry, Brown'sWhite

282
" Sunflower, 222
•' nse for Cats, 285
*' Whita Radish, 378
" Yorlj, Botany in, 179
" " State Grapo Grow-
er's Association, 123
" " Swintlling in, 149
" Zealand Flax, 347
Night Blooming Cereus, Medical

properties of, 24<)
Night Blooming Cactus, 350
Nitrogen in Plants, Source of,

190
Non-Flowering of an Oleander,

l.-iO
Note on Amaryllis and other

matters, 301
Notes, 53.5

" and Communications, 55
" Domestic, 14, 208, 243,

271, 305, 339
" Foreign, 15, 210, 239, 271,

369
" from Dubuque, 45
" " Iowa, 106
" " M'.ssissippi, 265
" " Western Pena'a,

140, 207

" Horticultural, from an

Aineiican in England,45

" on the Season and Crops

at Memphis, Tenn.,

296

" on the Winter at Dans-

ville, N. Y., 200
" Rambling, 294
'• Rhododendrons, & other

173
" Rocky Mountain, 53
Novelty in Norway Spruce, 176

Oak, Durand's 123
Obituary, 370

Observations in England, Horti-
cultural 375
Oceanica, Burra Burra, South
Australia, Scenes
around. 100
Odors of Plants, The, G4

" on the relation of, to
Plant Life, 138
Ohio Hortioultural Society, 125
Oleander, Non-Flowering of an,

150
Oleanders, Fomegranates.&c , St
Orange and L nibn Orchard, An,

23
Orange, Dwarf, 216
Orchard House, teaches for an,
84
" Peach, A lari:;e Til
" Orange and Lemon, An,
23
Orchids, 73, 112, 168, 29.?, 330
Oregon Cedi'', 378
Oregon. Ribes Singuinea in, 24
Ornamental Horticultui-e. 175
0 age Orange Timber, 184

" " The Wood of the,30
Ostrya Carpi nifolia, 169

" Virginica, 169
Our Fourteenth Volume, 3'>4
Our Index, 366
Out West, 57

Palms from Seed. Raisiiifr, 119
Paper, An Agricultuial, 2 i

" Fifire, Spor balus Crypt-
acdru?, 342
Parasite on the Apple Worm, 140
Park, Fairmonnt, 101

Parke, City of St. Lonis, 59
" Co Ooerative, 337
" Public, 13
Park's Late Cling Peach, 346
Paying through, 275
Payne's Perpetual Geranium, 222
Peach, Alexander, 347

" Black's Early, 2^0, 372
" Blood-I.eavfld. 316
" Buds, Destruction of, 55
" Fay's Early, 118
'■ for J. Heyser, Chambers-
burg. Pa.. 3!6
" Orchard, A large, 90
" Park's Late Cling, 346
" Plowden's Seedling, 250
" Stonlev's Late, 347
" Stones", Double, 119
" Tree«. Disease in, 311
<' " Mildew on. 371

" Yellows in the. 118, 166
" " " Cause of,16

of the, 374
Peaches, Atlantic and Richmond,
347
" B'odgett's Late, 34"

Early. 312
" for anOrchardHouse,84
" In Michigan, 59
" Lirge Southern, 153

Peanut, Varieties of the, 184
Peas, Laston'a, 23, 85
Pear, Apple Se^ds sold for, 24
" Blight, 247
" Chambers, The, 251
" Culture — The Larch, 165
" from York, 3!4
" Fruit from an .^pple Tree,

3t3
" Growing in Saratoga.N.Y.,

60
" Howell as a Dwarf, The, 21
" in the South, Stability of:

the, 92
" New California, Fox Seed-
ling, 183
" profitable. A, 348
" Quinn, 58
" Richardson, 315
'•' Ripening of the Vicar of

Winkfield, 23
'• Seed, On the Treatment

of, 2U
'■'• Trees nearWashington, 185
" " Stately Row of, 206
'= " Wonderful growth

of, 51
" Tree, The Profit of a, 117
Pears, for the Great Plains, 164
" Fox Seedling. 2 =;0
" New, 250
" " Foreign, 27
" " French, 21
'' Some good, bat not well-
known, 90
" SummerBud-Grafting,119
" Winter, 92. 127
Pecan.'!, Large, 223
Pelargonium, Double White, 236
Pelargoniums, Zonal, as Stan-
dards, 1 6')
Pennsylvania Fruit Grower'.s
Society, The, 2J, 62
'' HorticuHuraiSocl

ety,31,m, 2S8,
319. 3.50
'• Western. IS'otes,

from, 207
Peristropho Salicifolia Aureo-

Variesata. 2"'4
Peter Wylie Grape, No.l, 27,280
Phaseolus Caracalla, On the. 173
Philadelphia, Academy of Natu-
ral Sciences o t, 96,
224, .352
Philadelphia and its Environs,

21 !4
Philadelphus Gordoniann^, 247
Philloclaudu? Rhomboidalis,

&c.. 8
Pilea Muscosa, 274
Pine, Sap, 179

" Stumps, Increase in girth
after being cut down, 22

Pinus Abies, 8
" " Var. Cephalonica,

&c., 9
" Cembra, 37, 217
" Cembroides, Ac, 37
" Dumo-!a, &c.. 3S
" Monophylla, &e., 72
" Picea, Ac, 73
" Sylvestris, *c., 74
•■ Excelsa and other Ever-
greens, 133
Pistachia Japonica, 163
Plains, The best Pears for tho,184|
Planera Japonica, 169 j

Planting Bulbs, 274

" Forest Trees, On,l 26 |
'• Street. Trees most suit-
able for, 324
Plant Life, Relation of Odors to,
13:*
" Name of, 214, 312, 371
Plants and Seeds, Postage on,305
" Bedding, 308 341
" Climbing, Preferences of,

190
" Distribution of, 332, 3"1
" Flowering for April, 214
" '• February,

151
'• " June, 3 16

IMarch, 151
" " May, 244

" " September

3t
" for Blooming in Winter,85
" Frosty M^ea ther. Growth

of in, 149
" Hardv Herbaceous, 303,

307, 3 '8, 341
" How they behave, 279
'' Hybridization of, Lecture
on, 86 ;

" Keeping, over Wiater373
" Mineral Matter i n , 1
Amount and Origin of, i
347 i

" Names of, 116,214,216,.312!
" Native, 1.53
" Odors of, 94 |

" Source of Nitrogen in, 190:
" Summer Bedding, 309
'■ Trees and, Protective
duties on. 116 I

'• Vigor of Growth in. In-
creasing the, 190
" Window, 3, 83
Platanus Oecidentalis, &c., 16>
Plowden's Seedling Peach, 250
Plum Curculio, The, 251
Plums, Curculio-Proof, 249
Pollock. Mis., Geranium, Origin

of, 54
Pomegranates, Oleanders, &c.,84
Pomologieal Society, Michigan
State, 2-56
" Society's Proceed-

ings, 24"
Popular Science Monthly, 314
Populus Alba, <t-c., 1-9

" Grandientata, &c., 170
Postage Laws. Our, 311
Post-Office Laws, 274

" " Change in the,

34 '>
" Decision. New, 373

Matter, 372
Potato Beetle, '• he Colorado. 90
Putato, Bug-Proof, 157
Potatoes, Strawberries with, 283
Polygonum Cuspidatum, 1.33
Preserves, jApplication of the
Germ Theory to the
making of, L.i7
Pre.=:erving Grapes in BottlP3,148
Press, Errors of the, &c., 84
Price Lists of Horticultural

Buildings, 346
Primate Apple, 274
Primrose, Double Lilac, 1.50
" New Crimson, 12J

Primula Japonica, 12i, 123
Princeton, N. J., The Winter at,

343
Principle in Fruit Culture, 149

Profit of a Pear Tree, The, 117

" Grape Growing, The,134
Propagatiag Marantas and Dra-

ccenas, 309
Propagation of Shrubs, 275
Protection, Winter, 236
Public Gardening, 273

" Parks, 13
Punctuation, Treatise on, 87
Pyracantha Hedges, 117
The, is:

Quantity of Beets to the Acre,1.53
Queensland, Australia, Rambles

in, 200
Quercusi Alba, &c., 170

" Durandii, 123
Quinn Pear, 58

Radish, New White, 378
Radishes, Speedy Growth of, 157
Railroad iEsthetics, 300
Raising Evergreen Cuttings. 83
" Fuchsias, from Seed, 54
" Magnolias, 371
" Palms from Seed, 119
" Rhododendrons from
Seed, 84
Rambling Notes, 294
Raspberry, Brandywine, S3, 120
" Hardiness of the

Herstine, 272
" Herstine, 183

" ^arragaasett, 28

Recollections, Trarelling, 17, 47,

81, 112
Piecollect^ons from Brisbane,
Queensland to Armandale
New South Wales, 356
Red M.iple, 217
Replanting of Trees,Moving and,

160
Rhode Island Greening Apples
Sweet, 23
" Society tor Encour-
agement of Domestic
Industry, Transac-
tions of, 277
Rhododendron Culture, 83
Rhodendrons, 197

" and Azalias at

Bloomsdale, 311
" and other JSotes,

173
" Raising from Seed 84
Rhodoras, 197
Rhus Aromatica, 217
" Suet danea, 171
" Vernicifera, 171
Ribes San>:uinet in Oregon, 21
Richardson Pear, 315
Robbins Anna Strawberry, 2.50
Robinia Pse'tdacacia, 171
Rocky Moiiutain Notes, 53
Rocky Mountains, Trees of the,

US
Roots, Structure of, 41
Rose Leaves, Market Value of,
223
" Marechal Neil, 22, 26G
Soses, 255

" at the London Horticul-
tural Society's Show,
The Best, 285
" The Classes of, 246
Royal Anne Cherrj, .59, 120
Rural Home, Correspondent of
the, 54
" New Yorker, 56
Rye Grass, About, 119, 211

Salix Alba, <tc., 172
Salt for Asparagus, 179
Salvia taraxacifolia, 373
Sap Pine, 179

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY,

Sandrlnghara White Celery, 120 Strawberry.Robbin's Arena, 250

" for Street Planting, most

Walnnt, SmaH Fruited Black,

Saratoga, K. Y., Pear Growing

Wilson, 346

Suitable, 324

157

in 60

Structure of Roots, 41

" Hardv, for the Seaside, 235

Washington, Pear Trees near.

Sassafras Officinale, 172

" Stems and Branches, 43

'' «■ How Killed by

185

Sawdust, Brandy from, ISS

" the Leaf, 77

Frost, 177

Waste Basket, Tke, 216

Sciadopitys Verticilhita 74

Siib-tropical Gardt-n. or Beauty

" " Ornamental and

Water, Too much, 176

Seediug of the European Lircli

of Form in the Flow-

Flowering, 199

Western New York Hort. Socie-

ill America, 179; 33 >

er Garden, 2j

" Locust, ISO

ty, 64

Seedling Apple, 282

Suggestions, 77

" Moving and Replanting,

" Penna., Notes from, 140

Camellias, 152

Sunflower, New, 222

160

" Rural, The, 22

Seed. Eaisiug Fuchsias from, S-i

Swedisb Juniper Hardiness of,

" New Hardy, 155

" Triumph Blackberry,

" Palms from, li9

117

" of the Rocky Mountains,

315

" Khododendrons

Swindling in New York, 149

lis

Where can things be hid? 117

from, 84

" Pear, Wonderful Growth

White Crape Myrtle, 24

Seed, Two kinds from one, SI

T

of, 51

'• Grubs, Ab'-vut those, 9

Seeds and Plan;B,Postage on, 305

Troy, N Y., Horticulture about.

" Spruce, 294

Sempervervium I'ectoium, 2.5

134

Widdringlonia Juniperoides, 75

Sequoia Serapervirens, 74

Tamarix Plumosa, 156

Tuberoses, About, l';2

Wild Celer., 117, 150. ISl 214

" AVellingtonia, 74

Taxodium Ui.-(tiohnm, &c., 74

Turnips, What I know About,

Wilder, Col. M. P., Portrait of

Serious Error, 84

Taxus Baccata, 74

230, 260, 2j7

153

Shrubs, Deciduous, 341

" Erevifolia, 75

Window Gardening. 2 8

" Evergreen, 341

Teacher's .Guido to Bartholo-

u

" Plants, 3. 83

" Flowering, 295

" mew's Drawing

Winter at Dansville, N. Y.,

Lists of, 11.-.

Book. 87

Notes on the, 200

" Propagation of, 275

Tea CuUivation in the U. S., 327

Ulmus Campestris, Ac, 172

" Death by Drouth in 214

Small Bulbs, 136

" Rose, Mile. Eae'.el, 180

" Floridan.a, &c., 173

Early. 378

" Conservatories, 148

Temperature of the Soil, Effects

Utah, New (Eiiothera from, 122

" Flower Decorations in,

Smith's Favorite Apple, 28,

of Snow on the.

Utility of Sparrows, .^1

335

Snow, Effect of. on the Tempera-

347

" Gardening 203

ture of the Soil beneath

Thanks, 342

V •

Lo.^sesby the, 21:; 249

it, 347

Thrip on Grape Vines, to Cure,

" Memorable, The, 204

Soulard Apple and Sonlard Crab,

254

" on Evergreens at Har-

89

Thuya Gigantea, 75

Vanda Coerulea, 350

risbarg, Ohio, 237

" Crab Apple, 2^

'• Occidentalis, 75

Variation in a Hydrangea 372

" on Hardy Evergreens,

South Australia, Oceanica,

Thnyopsis Uolobrata, 75

Variations of Flowering Sea-

Effects of the 14 J

Scenp.s around Burra Bar-

Tilia Americana — T. Europaea,

sons, 18:

" Pears. 92, 127

ra, 100

172

Varieties, L^t.n Names for, 152 " Plants for Bloominq; in.

" Fruit Culture in the, 2:6

Tilton's Journal of Horticulture,

" of SeofcU Pine, 1 '.J

85

" Etabi.itv of the Pear in

Clubbing, 65

" of the Pea Nut, 184

" Proteetion, 233

the. 92

Timber, Osage Orange, 184 .

Vegetable and Animal Life, 70

" The. at Princeton, N.

Southern Peaches, Large, 1)2

" Trtea, Eligible, 4, 37 72,

Gar.lcn, 3. 36, 68, 99,

J., 343

Sophora Japonica, 172

108, 141

131, 102, 195. 2:8,

Wonderful Growth of Carlca

Sparrow, English, The, 44

Tomato, A L:irge, 56

2.5.1,29:, 324,355

Papaya. 65

Sparrows, Utility of, 61

Torreya Californica, ic, 75

Vicar of Winkfield Pear, Ripen-

" '• of 'Pear

Sparto Grass, 311

Trnnsmutation of Corn, 20

ing of the, 23

Trees. 51

Sporobalus Cryptandrus, Paper

Traveling Kecol lections, 17, 81,

Vick's Chromo, 119

Wood oTthe 0.<age Orange, SO

Fibre, 31-!

112

Victoria, Australia, from Mel-

Woodward's Gardens, 223

" Fiiireofthe, 371

Tree Planter of Nebraska, The

b:)urno to Geelong,

Sport in Grape Frult,Carious,21

Champion, 185

Recollections of

Y

Spruces, Norw;iy, Novelty in, 176

Tree-Plan'iug in Maine, En-

Journey, 10

Sprnce, White, 204

couragement of,

" Ee?i;>, Search for the,

Stanley's Late Ptach, 347

185

23'5

Yellows in the Peach, 118 16S

Staphlea Bumalda, 181

" Kmsas Pacific,

Violet, Maria Louisa, 23

373

Statice Ilalfordii, 301

AloQg the Lino of

Vitality, Connection of Food

" " " Cause of,16

Sterility, 77

the, 265

with, 240

« The, 184

St. Loui~, City Parks of, 69

Trees, 199

Volume, Our Twentieth, 3. '6

Ystle and Maguey, The, 2:;3

" Hortlcnlture in, 152

" Aged, 30

St»a wherries, Minnvin;; fur, 127

'' and Plants, Protective

w

z

" with Potatoes, 2 >3

duties on, llli

Strawberry, Best, The, 150

" " Shrubs, 309

" Brown's Wonder,

'• " " Climbers

W igcs of ©urdeners, 87

Zinc Labels, Indelible Ink for

New, 281

Grown as.

Waldiidge Apple in Wisconsin

17 1

" Col. Cheney, 2.50

1G5

68

Zinnea Hiageana Flore Pleno.29

" CowiDg'.s Seedlins;,

" " " Killed in Win-

Wall-Flowers, Improved, 222

Zonal Pel.irgoniums as Stand-

222

ter 1S71 2,309

Walter Grape, 315

ards, 16S

'• T'r. Warder, 34'S

" •' " New Orna-

" " Correction, 56

Zygopetalum Crinitum, 112

Matilda, 183, 340

mental, 8.)

Walnut, Persian, 118

ZyzephnBSativa,The Jujube, 167

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