252 



TIIK GARDENER'S MOXTIILY 



{^August,,. 



ladlos for hardy Fern jjardens, it is pleasant to 

 obscrvt' a irrowintr t:iste for them in tliiseountry. 

 Mr. J. "Warren Merrill, of ("ainl)rid<j;epor(, Mass., 

 has felt warranted, in consetjnenee of tlie in- 

 creased demand for them, in makinc; a special 

 business of growini; them for sale. 



FerN-S of Kektvcky, — by .John AVilllain- 

 son, of Louisville, Kentucky. Price S'2. This 

 prettily printed and profusely illustrated little 

 work should have an extensive sale, as the ferns 

 of Kentucky are in a great measure the ferns 

 of other sections of the Union. This work treats 

 of tifty-five species or marked varieties, and many 

 of them ligured witli microscopic details en- 

 larged so as to make the structure very plain to 

 the observer. The cosmopolitan reader, is well 

 cared for, as in a very plain manner the whole sub- 

 ject of ferns is treated. " Ferns of Kentucky " 

 does not tell the whole truth in its title. It is, in- 

 deed, an excellent treatise on ferns, and no one 

 who loves ferns and can spare S2, but will be 

 gratified by the possession of the little book. 



Moore's Rural Life. — A circular before us 

 announces a new agricultural paper, by Mr. D. 

 D. T. Moore, founder, and for twenty-five years 

 so favorably known in connection with the 

 Rural New Yorker. It is to be called Moore's 

 Rural Life. 



Death of James Fleming.— This well- 

 known Seedsman of New York, died at New 

 Canaan, Conn., on July 10th. Mr. Fleming was 

 born in Ayr.shire, Scotland, in 1833, and was 

 consequently forty-five years of age. He was an 

 excellent tyi)e of the best classof Scotch Garden- 

 ers, an educated, intelligent man, thoroughly 

 versed, not only in the varied details of all the 

 branches of Horticulture, but was besides an ex- 

 cellent botanist ; but his character was so innately 

 modest, unassuming and unpretentious, that 

 only his most intimate friends were aware of his 

 varied acquirements. Mr. Fleming was a resi- 

 dent in and about New York for the past twenty 

 years. For some five years he had charge of 

 the fine collection of Orchids and other plants 

 of Mayor Van Vorst of Jersey City, N. J., which 

 some fifteen years ago was one of the finest in the 

 country. From there he started the Seed business 

 in New York City, in partnership with Wm. J. 

 Davidson ; subsequently Mr. Davidson sold out 

 his interest to. Peter Henderson and for five 

 years the firm of Henderson «& Fleming did a 

 large business, particularly with private gar- 

 deners with whom Mr. Fleming was a special 



favorite, as he never failed to use his influence- 

 to help llii'iii to new positions — or encourage 

 them witli liopeful wftrds and sound advice when 

 he could do no more. Tlie firm of Henderson & 

 Fleming was dissolved in 1^72, and Mr. Flem- 

 ing continued the bu.siness alone until six 

 months ago, when failing health, and other- 

 causes, induced him to retire from active life to 

 his Connecticut farm, where death came far 

 sooner than his many friends expected. Few 

 men of his age were better known to the garden- 

 ers of New York than James Fleming, and cer- 

 tainly none were more beloved. Open-handed,, 

 open-hearted, genial and hearty always, he will, 

 long be remembered by scores of poor fellows 

 into whose plodding lives he tlu"ew many a 

 gleam of sunsliine. Few men die to whom the 

 grand words of Fitzgreene llalleck are nioret 

 appropriate than to James Fleming: — 



' Green be the turf above thee, 

 Y rieud of iii.v early days, 

 None kiK^w tliee, but to love thee : 

 None uanied tliee but to praise." 



X.. 



Professor Asa Gray. — The Washington- 

 correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial^ re- 

 ferring to Prof. Henry's funeral, gives the fol- 

 lowing sketch of Prof. Asa Gray : " The Pro- 

 fessor's head is bowed, not by age, but because 

 he has so long looked down in the faces of the 

 tiny fiowers; his countenance reflects only the 

 delicacy and purity is)f the wild birds, with their 

 fresh flush and modest glow." Professor Asa 

 Gray is a native of Oneida County, N. Y. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Fuchsia.— H. E. N., "Please give in the 

 Gardener's Monthly the proper pronunci- 

 ation of Fuchsia." 



[Fu-she-ah, — but as the accent is on the first 

 syllable, to the ear it will sound almost like 

 Few-shah.— Ed. G. M]. 



Geranium and Pelargonium. — Memphis. 

 asks : " Can you tell what is the class now 

 called Geranium, and what is the Pelargonium? 

 They seem now much mixed. Many years ago- 

 all were Geraniums — Horse Shoe, one type,, 

 and the other the Geranium proper with the 

 blotch in the upper petal — these got to be "Pel- 

 argoniums," and now they have got so that al- 

 though I know what I want, I know not by what 

 name to order. Again, if you order Pansies and 

 you get Violas-, how is that?" 



[It is difficult to answer our friend's question. 

 The trouble comes from a class of well mean- 



