218 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[July, 



and only those that have been here before the I we call Indians natives, simply because they 

 white man came would be called indigenous or I were here when our history began. A foreign or 

 native. As a matter of fact there is nothing to i introduced flower, would be one that has been 



show that any plant is " native," in the sense 

 that it is now in the locality where it was first 



known to come here since our time. It is 

 scarcely worth arguing whether a plant is indi- 



created. Plants are great wanderers. They are geuous or exotic. When it once makes a home 

 ever on the move. We call plants native just as ' here, it should be regarded as a native. — Ed.] 



Literature, Travels ? Personal Notes. 



NOTES AND QUERIES-No. 14. 



BY .JACQUES. 



The Black Oat, Avena sativa, has become a 

 terrible weed in South Australia, which is singu- 

 lar, as the variety, the sterilis, its near relative, 

 is a great blessing to California, over which it 

 has been widely diff'used. Schomburgh says, 

 "The Black Oat has the most jiotorious pre- 

 eminence of all the introduced weeds, and the 

 effects of this intruder are the most ruinous to 

 the farming community. Thousands of acres of 

 arable land are totally ruined for the purposes 

 of wheat growing by the Black Oat." 



The United States Consul at Florence, Italy, 

 gives, in a report to the State Department, an 

 account of the flour made from chestnuts and 

 used in many parts of Southern Europe. The 

 writer says : 



The number of trees in Tuscany and Lucca is 

 estimated at several millions, and the nut and 

 wood have done more to maintain the popula- 

 tion of some of these districts than any other 

 production. In some places wheat flour and 

 corn meal are entirely superseded by the chest- 

 nut flour, which is very nourishing and much 

 cheaper as an article of food. 



Mr. Crosby is of opinion, after a careful study 

 of the subject, that this variety of chestnut can 

 be grafted on the native American species, and 

 thus be made a source of wealth and profit in 

 this country, especially in certain mountainous 

 districts, where it is almost impossible to raise 

 cereals, owing to the nature of the soil and the 

 steepness of the mountain sides, and where 

 transportation is so difficult and labor so high 

 and scarce. Outside of this question of using 

 the chestnut for food in the districts where it 



j could be cultivated and grown to advantage in 

 I the United States, the present price of the im- 

 ported Spanish chestnut, which is used for vari- 

 ous purposes throughout our country, would, he 

 claims, amply repay any outlay farmers might 

 have to make in importing scions or shoots of 

 this magnificent variety from Italy, for grafting 

 on our own chestnut trees. * * * * 



The flour can be preserved for two years. It 

 is used in the same way as wheat flour, and 

 though less nutritious, is much cheaper ; and, at 

 the same time, exceedingly agreeable to the 

 taste. He says that, in those regions where the 

 inhabitants live almost entirely on the chestnut, 

 they are of better appearance and more healthy. 



The Garden notices a double fragrant Wistaria. 

 Is it known in America ? 



An ancient Yew tree has been removed at 

 Dover, England, which, with the earth to be 

 moved with it, weighed about fifty tons. 



Wax being indestructible by the elements, it is 

 suggested that marl^le and even the Egyptian 

 obelisks be coated with the white material. 



The use of diluted yeast as an insect killer is 

 again recommended. 



The Tree Box is the evergreen for cities. 



Fairmount Park this year exhibits an emphatic 

 progress and improvement in the way of plant- 

 ing, under the able auspices of the landscape 

 gardener, Mr. Charles H. Miller. We wish he 

 had more facilities. 



Mosquitoes and insects are kept aloof by a 

 solution of Quassia made by boiling. Put it on 

 the skin to dry and the result will be as stated. 



According to Prof. Church, withered leaves of 

 the usual autumnal colors — yellow, red, or brown 



