252 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



\^AuguBi, 



failed " to aatonish the Browns." It was a very 

 conspicuous figure among its fellows, with a 

 sombre, if not sinister, cast of countenance. And 

 yet, it was not such a frightful Gorgon, a.s to pet- 

 rify people who looked at it; as a myth of that 

 name is reported to have done. Their flowers 

 are remarkably vivid, and are hichjy prized for 

 their splendor, and general usefulness. E. Poin- 

 settia, E. fulgens, E. splcndens, and E. jacquinias- 

 flora, are universally known and admired. Re- 

 luctantly 1 leave them, to discuss the virtues of 

 bitter Aloes. 



In contradistinction to Agaves, or American 

 Aloes, so-called, are the African Aloes, proper. 

 From A. soccotrina, is produced the nauseous 

 drug, of nasty notoriety. The thick juicy green 

 leaves are equally as unpalatable, as are the 

 abominable dry pellets, ycleped pills. A. dicho- 

 toma, A. Commelyni, A. echinata, A. aristata, 

 A. frutescens, and A. lineata, belong to the sin- 

 gular section. A. serrulata, A. albispina, A. ar- 

 borescens, A. elatior, A. distans, and A. purpu- 

 rascens, are of the stout and sturdy style; and 

 averaged from six to fifteen feet high. The slen- 

 der, graceful, variegated, obscure, big-toothed, 

 noble, reflexed, and proliferous, had each a rep- 

 resentative. They, are embraced in what may 

 be designated a " motley crowde." 



(To be concluded.) 



BURDETT'S ISLAND AND ORCHARD IN THE 

 NIAGARA RIVER. 



BY S., SYRACUSE, N. Y. 



A paragraph in the Gardener's Monthly for 

 June, at page 174, in reference to Mr. Burdett's 

 orchard, on the Niagara River, near Niagara 

 Falls, though of no great intrinsic importance, 

 may perhaps bear correction, and in doing so, I 

 wish to add a few words respecting it. It is not 

 an apple orchard, but one of peaches. The 

 number of trees stated is probably correct. This 

 orchard is situated on an island, near the Ameri- 

 can side of the river, and is a curiosity in its 

 way. I saw it several times a few years since, 

 and suppose it to be flourishing yet. Many of 

 the trees are large, old ones, but continue 

 healthy and productive. The even temperature 

 produced by the open river always preserves the 

 fruit buds from theWinter's cold, and Mr. Burdett 

 obtains a fine crop of peaches every year. His con- 

 veniences for marketi ig the crop are peculiar. As 

 the fruit ripens it is not gathered until perfectly 



mature, and in the best possible state to be enjoyed 

 in eating. The ripe peaches are taken from the 

 trees only as they become fully so ; are placed 

 in baskets and loaded into a barge which lies by 

 a dock close by the orchard, the work being 

 done during the day. In the evening a steam 

 tug arrives from Buffalo, and the barge is towed 

 to that city which it reaches at four o'clock in 

 the morning. The fruit is then distributed 

 through the city, and only those who know what 

 a luscious thing a rij^e peach is, right from the 

 tree, can form an opinion of the character of the 

 fruit thus delivered. The estimate put upon Mr. 

 Burdett's crop, of $6,000, has doubtless been re- 

 alized, although not always amounting to so 

 large a sum. Mr. Burdett's facilities for peach 

 growing and for marketing can hardly be ex- 

 ceeded, although a narrow strip of land along 

 the river is well adapted to apples, pears, quinces 

 and peaches as well as the smaller fruits. Bur- 

 dett's Island furnishes a very choice and favora- 

 ble location for the business its proprietor is in ; 

 but his example might be imitated in a few simi- 

 lar situations in that vicinity, though I believe 

 not to the same extent. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Plural of Botanical Names. — Itisdiflfi- 

 cult to understand what rule our English cotem- 

 poraries have in their plural orthographies. 

 Speaking in the plural of Brodiaea, it has no 

 hesitation in saying " Brodiaeas." Yet in the 

 same paper it does not say Calochortuses, but 

 " Calochorti." For our part, we think, and have 

 before expressed the opinion, that when we 

 adopt a word as an English word, and in the con- 

 struction of an English sentence, the words 

 should follow English rules. We can see no 

 more reason why we should hesitate to say 

 Calochortuses than Verbenas, Fuchsias or Dah- 

 lias. Botany already seems to the masses as 

 loaded with unnecessary terms, and we see no use 

 in bringing in what must appear a mere affec- 

 tation of correctness, when there is not only no 

 occasion for it, but when those who affect it con- 

 tinually violate their own ideal. 



Lemmonia Californica. — This new genus es- 

 tablished recently by Dr. Gray, " to commemo- 

 rate the services of a most ardent and successful 

 explorer of the Sierra Nevadas," and to which 

 we recently referred, as we see by the last issue 



