128 



TnU GARDENEH'S MONTHLY 



lApHl, 



fouml willini? to try to do a little more, if it 

 were possible for him to be so useful. 



The papers are just now nomiiuxtiiig this and 

 that one for Commissioner of the Department. 

 We have not heard that Mr. Watts will resign, 

 and Mr. Saunders would be sensitive about his 

 honor in seeking for a higher position unless his 

 superior were to retire, or there was to be a va- 

 cancy in some way. We do not know that he 

 would accept the position even if it were ofl'ered 

 to him ; but if there is to be a civil service re- 

 form—a progression of the deserving upwards, 

 the Pi-esident could not do better than give Mr. 

 Saunders a chance. His salary should be re- 

 stored, at least. 



Dkatii of L.\dy Smith. — This lady, distin- 

 tinguished herself as a botanist as Avell as being 

 the wife ot the great botanist and founder of the 

 Linnajn Society, Sir James Smith, died recently 

 at the age of 104, having been a widow for nearly 

 fifty years. 



Ages of Distinguished Men. — The London 



Gardeners' Chronicle gives the dates of the death 



of eminent Botanists unil Gardeners, from which 



we select the following as more or less known 



by their works or through their associations to 



Americans: — 



Charles DarwiD, 

 H. ti. bausurc, 

 Decai:>ue, 

 Acliiile Kichard, 

 FahreDheil, . 

 Linuxud, 



A. de Kourcrof , 

 Sir SV J. Hooker, 

 Nees Von Esuubeck, 



B. de Jussieii, 

 D. C. M. Ukhard, . 

 Dutfocliet, 



Voa Sclik'cliteudal, . 

 John Kay, 

 J. Curiis, 

 Uedwii;, 

 G. W. Sfcinner, 

 Lliiuxus, 

 J. A. Henierson, 

 U. Sweet, 

 Sausisvire, 

 Miqui-1, 

 Dr. Falconer, 

 Theo. llanweg. 

 Dr. ."cliiiit, 

 W. Gi iffiih. . 

 John tvelyn, 

 Conrad I o'ddiges. 

 Sir J. E. SmiUi, 

 Endlieher, 

 Le Noire, 

 Wallich, 

 B. Maund, 

 Dr. iJirlington, 

 Louij Van lluulte, . 

 T. A. Kuigiit, 

 Dean Herhurt, 

 K. B. Ward, . 

 W. G. Mclvor, 

 Edward Newman, . 

 William K.jllisou, . 

 Sir J. Banks, 

 Allan ( unningham, 

 A de Jiissieu, 

 W. CurlU, 

 Wildenow, 

 David Doii-^las, 

 W. Forsyth, . 

 Wm. Peun, 



E Meyer, 



TliuntierK, 



J.G.VelUh, . 



Duhaiui'l. 



A. H. Haworth, 



Van .Mnns, 



Itubl. Thompson, 



Jaini'H Veilcn, 



Lady I'axton, 



Mirhel, 



A. Von Humboldt, . 



A. L de JuBsieu, 



W. Donn, 



O. Swartz, 



Dr. Withering, 



Dr. Secniiin, • 



I). V. Sehlechtendal, 



Dr. Welwllsch, 



Kobt Fish, 



Kemfer, 



IC G. Henderson. 



B.de Jii'sieu, 



Is Geoff .St. Hilalre, 



Charles Morren, 



Ph. Miller, . 



Warscewicz, . 



Died August 



7, 1868. 

 8, 1828. 

 13, 1870. 



23, 1782. 



24. 18.33. 

 September C, 1842. 



7, 1869. 



10, 1HC9. 



11, 1871. 

 13, 1735. 

 14,176>. 

 15, 1836. 



17, 1827. 



18. 1»71. 

 fi, 1799. 



" 10. 1871. 



12, 1866. 



20, Is72. 



23, 1873. 



November 2, 1716. 



4. 1H7S. 



fi, 1777. 



10, 1861. 



December 17, 18.^8. 



18,1771. 



29, 1867. 



October 



QUERIES. 



Hybrid Grapes. — Mr. D. S. Marvin, Grape- 

 vine Nursery, Watertown, N. Y., sends us an 

 article, and a private note telling us he sends 

 it to see if we have " backbone " enough to pub- 

 lish it. He will see by this that we have not, 

 and the reason is that we do not think he is suf- 

 ficiently acquainted with the subject about which 

 he writes. He thinks it time we "ceased de- 

 ceiving the public " about hybrid grapes — he 

 knows that the "sap of our native, grape is 

 more or less distasteful to the Phylloxera, and 

 therefore the French are using them for stocks." 

 By the time he is able to write well, this young 

 man Avill perhaps have learned that the Clinton, 

 an American grape, is a greater favorite with 

 the Phylloxera than any other variety, native or 

 foreign, and that is for other reasons that it 

 mnkes so good a stock. When he has learned 

 this and a little more, nobody will have cause to 

 make any reflections on either backbone or 

 brains. 



Tumble Weed. — An Illinois correspondent 

 asks us the best way to destroy tumble weed, 

 which he says is quite a serious pest in that part 

 of the world, but we really do not know what 

 tumble weed is. Perhaps the introduction of 

 the tumble bug might destroy it. It is bad 

 enough to be forced to learn a hard botanical 

 name, but these local names can never bo 

 learned outside of the little circle that are about 

 at the christening. 



Contributions to the Magazine. — A corres- 

 pondent speaks approvingly of the notes of 

 General Noble and Mr. Ravenel on keeping 

 tomatoes, and justly says, "if we all told the 

 little we know, Ave should all know together a 

 good deal in the end." Apropos of contribu- 

 tions, we feel proud of our last few numbers. 

 They contain the thoughts and experiences of 

 many of the best horticulturists in the country. 

 We hardly know how the literary matter they 

 give us could be horticulturally excelled. 



