29 



EDITORIAL. 



We deeply regret the long delay in the publication of our January 

 issue, which would have been in the hands of our readers early in the 

 month but for an unfortunate circumstance, over which we had no con- 

 trol, connected with the deliver}^ of paper for the covers of the mag- 

 azine. 



There has ])een of late considerable agitation in the local press 

 with regard to the proper labelling of the numerous shade trees for 

 which Washington is so justly celebrated. This cit}', situated as it is 

 midway between the north and the south, possesses a climate which 

 admits successful cultivation of ornamental trees and shru])S in sfreat 

 variety. It has been the general custom to plant individuals of a sin- 

 gle species along a given street; thus we have honey-locusts on IJ 

 street, sycamores on Florida avenue, elms on Khode Island avenue, 

 and so forth. This arrangement adds much to the beauty of the 

 streets in summer time, and the varieties selected for this purpose are 

 usually well chosen, though it may be questioned whether the box- 

 elder can ever be regarded as a good shade-tree, on account of its sus- 

 ceptibility to insect attacks; while the silver maple and the white pop- 

 lar are so likely to succumb to the severe storms of wind and rain 

 which occasionally visit this region that they, too, might better be dis- 

 carded. 



Our parkings and squares are tilled with hardy and half-hardy 

 plants, many of which are unknown outside of greenhouse cultivation 

 in more northerly latitudes. It is even more importj^nt, therefore, 

 that there should be some attempt to properly label these, so thai 

 visitors may not be oljliged to seek the officers of the National Museum 

 and the Department of Agriculture in search of information, as is now^ 

 often the case. One of the most interestino- features of the New York 

 Botanical Garden will be the complete and thoroughly adequate system 

 of labelling, employed not only on the cultivated plants l)ut on the 

 indigenous trees and shrubs. 



