340 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



Mountain Ash Bkkhiics Poisonous. — An Eng- 

 lish paper sjiys : — "A girl, four years old, named 

 Campbell, has died at Grennock from the effoots 

 of having eaten a (juantity of Kowans or Mount- 

 ain Ash tree berries." 



When the writer of this was in England re- 

 cently, there was much excitement over a 

 supposed case of death from eating ice cream ; 

 and people have died from eating oysters and 

 other things. But there is a prevalent belief 

 that no rosaceous plant is poisonous, and we 

 very much doubt whether the Mountain Ash is 

 an exception to this rule. 



The Poisonous Yew.— It has long been a 

 belief that yew berries are poisonous. The pulp 

 around the berries certainly is not. There is a 

 discussion going on in England, that the seeds 

 neither are poisonous, but we should not be 

 disposed to risk them. 



A New Destructive Beetle. — Dr. Horn has 

 named a new beetle after Mr. A. S. Fuller— 

 Araniigus Fulleri. It is a brown, warty-coated 

 insect, about the size of a pea, and is a voracious 

 leaf-feeder. It does not seem to be particular 

 what plant it feeds on. It is not found in any 

 great numbers, but makes up for this in its im- 

 mense apjietite. It takes to New Jersey chiefly. 



A Curious Fact for Darwin. — Under this 

 head, a paper from which we might expect bet- 

 ter things, has the following: — 



" In a garden at Billancourt maybe seen af 

 the present moment an apple tree loaded with 

 fruit. There is nothing extraordinary in thi.s, 

 but the stock of the tree is cherry, on which has 

 been grafted (he apple, a species of goklcn pip- 

 pin. Tlie fruit precisely rescmi)!es cherries — 

 the same stem, the same size, the same form, 

 and nearly the same color ; but its taste is that 

 of an apple, and it contains pips instead of 

 stones. Specimens of this botanic jihenomenon 

 were recently submitted to our inspection. Jt 

 must be a real curiosity, for it is generally 

 thought impossible to graft a pip-bearing fruit 

 on the stock of a tree bearing stone fruit." 



In a public garden of some pretension, where 

 the trees are grouped scientifically, we saw the 

 " Mountain Ash," which is not an Ash planted 

 with the true Ashes. It would be just as reason- 

 able to call this a "fact for Mr. Darwin." No 

 doubt the "garden at Billancourt" has here 

 an "Indian cherry," which is not a cherry, but 

 nearer to an apple. There is much misconcep- 

 tion in the public mind as to the work of Mr. Dar- 

 win, and all sorts of absurdities are passed off 

 under his name. People may honestly differ from 



Mr. Darwin in some of his conclusions, but few 

 men have appeared who have done so much for 

 true science as he. 



The "Tumble Weed."— In Mr. Hall's note 

 (see p. 30o) last month, " Artemisia dracuncu- 

 loides" should read Amphj/dchiris dracun(hiloides. 

 The error was ours — not Mr. Hall's. It is a yel- 

 low flowered composite plant — or as we may say 

 in popular language, of the Aster family. 



The Andromeda arborea. — The Garden cred- 

 its the American Agriculturist with saying that 

 this tree " is valuable for its fruit which hangs on 

 all Winter, and that it is a native of Pennsyl- 

 vania and southwards." There must be an error 

 somewhere. The fruit is dry and valueless, but 

 it is well worthy of culture for its graceful habit 

 of flowering, and its pretty Fall colored foliage. 



The Flavor of American and E.nglish 

 Peaches. — The following letter is given just as 

 received : — 



" Mr. Editor: You live near by one of the best 

 peach regions in the United States, or at least of 

 the Northern States. You have just passed a 

 Summer in England, and you may fairly be sup- 

 posed to know as much about fruit as anybody I 

 could refer to. Pray allow me then to ask you 

 what you think about peaches? The point is 

 this: My English friends and acquaintances 

 when they come over here praise our pears, but 

 declare that our peaches are not good. On the 

 other hand, I believe that our people who cross 

 the Atlantic think that English peaches, how- 

 ever fair to the eye and exalted in price, are de- 

 ficient in flavor. My own experience accords 

 with theirs, but it is very limited as respects the 

 English fruit, and I have eaten delicious peaches 

 on the continent. I lately had the question of 

 the relative gitodne.ss of English and American 

 peaches put to four ladies of undoubted taste and 

 judgment, two of whom had resided for some 

 years in England, and the other two had passed 

 more than one season there, while all had the 

 means of indulging in good fruit and the oppor- 

 tunity of tasting it at the tables of well to-do peo- 

 ple. The answer was essentially unanimous, 

 that EiigMsh i)eaches were not to be mentioned 

 in the same day with ours, that they were sweet 

 and juicy, but comparatively insipid. I suppose 

 that the standard is diflerent in the two coun- 

 tries; for our English friends say that our peaches 

 are acid, and need to l)e eaten with sugar. But 

 I remark that this does not apply to other fruits; 

 for our friends say that in our apples thej' miss 

 the 'agreeable tartness' of the English article. 



'• N(j\v please give us the benefit of your large 

 experience on bcjth sides of the water, and oblige 

 your constant reader, Persicus." 



[This is one of those happy cases in which 

 both sides are right. The Editor had boasted of 



