1880.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



83 



than a Locust i)ost. But the Locust suffers ma- 

 terially in some parts of the country from insect 

 depredations ; and again the Locust is almost 

 worthless where nailing is required. The nails 

 •draw in hot weather, or rather by the cold 

 which follows hot weather, as the wood does 

 not shrink as the nails shrink. In railroad 

 sleepers the spikes draw out in the fall, and 

 cannot be tightened again. We do not know 

 whether the railroad companies who are inter- 

 ested in Catalpa planting have tested this point 

 or not, but we suppose they have. We have 

 seen posts of Catalpa with hinges for heavy 

 gates exposed to the full sun for some years 

 without any sign of drawing out ; so far we 

 think it safe. 



There are two species of Catalpa. C. big- 

 nonoides and C. speciosa. So far as we know 

 there is not the slightest difference in the value 

 of the two as timber trees. Indeed all, or 

 nearly all of the merits of Catalpa as a durable 

 wood is derived from the older known form of 

 the Eastern States. It is claimed for Catalpa 

 «peciosa that in the extreme ^Northwestern 

 States ; say Minnesota, and Northern Iowa, it 

 endures the printers rather better than Catalpa 

 bignonoides. There are other differences, such 

 as early blooming, beauty, and so forth, which 

 entitle it to attention from the lovers of orna- 

 mental trees, but we do not know of any other 

 advantage claimed for it in its relations to the 

 timber question. — Ed. G. M.] 



Our Rocky Mountain Evergreens. — Mr. 

 Hobert Douglas has issued a catalogue in which 

 the nomenclature fixed by the recent careful 

 researches of Dr. Engleman is adopted. It is 

 :gratifying to note this cheerful acquiescence of a 

 ■nurseryman in botanical decisions, because the 

 lack of this virtue in the trade generally, and 

 especially in the English trade has led us into 

 endless trouble with the names of our plants, 

 and often leads to a purchaser buying things 

 •over again under various names. 



It ought to be generally known that the rule 

 for plants' names is that the first person who 

 •shows wherein a plant is new, and describes and 

 names it in any reputable scientific publication, 

 ■shall have the privilege of naming it. This 

 name stands against all that may come after 

 it. Subsequent names are synonyms. Now, 

 very often the wrong name will prevail for 

 some reason, and though the error is known, 

 people dread to change for fear of confusion. 

 JBut dt is generalil}' found that the time comes 



when some one or another digs up the original 

 name, and insists on the law of priority, and 

 more trouble comes from going back then, than 

 if the courageous step had been taken when the 

 error was first discovered. Thus it has been 

 with Abies and Picea. We have tried to toler- 

 ate the error for years, but have to come back 

 to the track at last. Mr. Douglas while giving 

 the correct nomenclature also gives the s)m- 

 onyms, so that no confusion can arise till peo- 

 ple become accustomed to the change. We 

 give below his account of them which will be 

 of interest to those studying Rocky Mountain 

 forestry. 



Picea Engelmanni, Engelm. (Pinus Commu- 

 tata, Parlat.) — This beautiful tree is the most 

 alpine of all North American Spruces, growing 

 in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, at an alti- 

 tude of 12,000 feet. It grows from eighty to 

 one hundred feet high, with a strict pyramidal 

 habit and pleasant glaucous coloring. The 

 wood is white, soft, free from knots and resin, 

 easily worked, and of great value. This species 

 will be found an invaluable acquistion for the 

 Northern portions of the United States, Canada, 

 and the North of Europe. Even at St. Peters- 

 burg it has proved perfectly hardy. 



Picea pungens, Engelm. (Abies Menziesii of 

 the Rocky Mountain flora, or Abies Menziesii 

 Parryana of the Gardener^ s Chronicle.) — This 

 species has been tested at various points on our 

 Northwestern prairies, enduring a temperature 

 of 30° below zero without injury, and also very 

 extensively near Boston, where it has stood out 

 entirely uninjured during the last sixteen years. 

 This is not only one of the hardiest but the 

 most beautiful of all the Spruces. 



Pseudo tsuga Douglasii, Engelm. (Abies Dou- 

 glasii of Colorado.) — Raised from Colorado 

 seed, this fine tree has proved itself perfectly 

 hardy in the very low temperature and severe 

 winds of the Northwestern prairies, and in 

 Eastern Massachusetts, where it has stood en- 

 tirely uninjured during the last sixteen years, 

 although plants raised from seed from the Pa- 

 cific coast are quite tender and unable to endure 

 our winters. 



Abies Concolor, Lindl. (Picea concolor, Gor- 

 don.) — This includes Abies grandis of the Cali- 

 fornia botanists. A. Parsonsiaua, A. Lowiana, 

 A. lasiocarpa and amabillis. 



The seedlings offered have been raised from 

 seed collected in the Rocky Mountains, in Colo- 

 rado, and will, without doubt, prove hardier 



