August 17, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



197 



Odontoglossum Harryanum 



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0(.lontop;lns^iim Hanviiiiuui is vorv ]ittlo known 

 and, I believe, soniewhal ran'. Tt lias just flmvcved in 

 llie collection here, and is considered iiv all who have 

 seen it, to be a very striking :=pccies. The accoinpan\'- 

 ing photograph conveys only a poor idea of the exquisite 

 riarkings of the flowers. The sepals somewhat resem- 

 ble 0. triumphan; but are more intensely blotched and 

 dotted. The color is a liiiht yellow blotched with 

 brownish purple. The jx-tal? are }cllow faintly lined 

 near the bases with mauve, which toward tlie apices 

 becomes heavy purple lines and blotches. The lip. the 

 most striking part of the flower is divided' into two 

 nearly equal ]::arts. the lower half pure white changing 

 into pale yellow as the flowers become older; the upper 

 or basal half is rich yellow in the centre, and on each 

 side is lined with numerous delicate, interrupted lines 

 which radiate to the oiiter margins. The flowers when 

 fully expanded measure three inches froin tip of ixpper 

 sepal, to lower tip of the lip. The length of the spike 

 is about twenty inches. 



Flowering as it has in midsummer when few odonto- 

 glossums are able, in this climate, to mature flowers 

 equal to those formed in spring, it may be that under 

 more suitable conditions tlie flowers may be even larger 

 and more numerous. 0. Harrvanum is by some author- 

 ities considered a variety of O. tripudians which it 

 somewhat resembles but its appearance is far superior 

 and I think distinct enough to make it a species. It is 

 a native of Columbia and should be given the same 

 treatment as 0. crispum and otlier cool growing species. 



Ginkgo biloba 



I was very nuu-li interested in what Mr. Hans says 

 m HoRTicrLTUiiK page 161, about the Ginkgo. This 

 beautiful and useful Japanese tree is a great favorite 

 with most people. T liave been watching it as a street 

 tree in Philadelphia lor the past few years and it is 

 certainly one of the very best for that purpose. It is 

 not only free from the attacks of insects and diseases, 

 but it does not lose a leaf until the first sharp frost 

 in the autumn when all the leaves practically come down 

 at once. 



It is gratifying to know that there is a way to teU the 

 staminate from the pistillate forms before planting, for 

 the one which bears the fruits would be very disagree- 

 able if used as a street tree — when the fruits were ripe 

 and dropping. 



There are some trees of the Ginkgo growing near to 

 Horticultural Hall, Fairmount Park, that have inter- 

 ested me ever since I realized they were quite distinct in 

 their manner of growth from any that I have seen else- 

 where, excepting one that I saw on my way back from 

 Fairmount Park on Saturday afternoon and that is to 

 be seen in the gardens of the "zoo." They grow quite 

 dense and pyramidal in form, as much so as the best 

 Lombardy poplars I have ever seen. 



Last autumn when in Central Laurel Hill Cemetery 

 I saw a solitary tree of the Ginlvgo of the spreading 

 form beneath which were a large quantity of seeds. 

 The smell of the pulp was very offensive. A few seeds 

 were secured and on arriving at the greenhouses they 

 were dropped inio an empty three-inch flower pot and 

 forgotten until this spring when I found some of the 

 seeds had sprouted. 



I now know. I believe, how to raise Ginkgos from 

 seed, and it will be my ambition to raise some of the 

 pyramidal variety to be found in Fairmount Park either 

 by budding or grafting on the seedlings — positive knowl- 

 edge thereof to be determined by experiment. The 

 Gingko is classified by botanists as dioecious; now, if 

 that tree which I took the fertile seed from is a solitary 

 individual, whence came the pollen to make it fruitful? 

 In some dinecious classes — the holly for instance — some 

 of the trees are hermaphrodite: there may be some of 

 the latter class among the Ginkgos, or there may be 

 a male tree sufficiently near to the seed bearing one that 

 I had not noticed which had had the desired effect ! 

 I must investigate further in this matter, if only for the 

 I'enefit of science. 



Xeither Bailev nor Nicholson raeution a pyramidal 

 form. Three varieties — namely, lacinata. pondula and 

 variegata only are on record. Neither have T found it 

 offered in any catalog I have at hand. The tree I 

 noticed in the gardens cf the '"zoo" must have been from 

 ihe same lot as those to be found in Fairmount Park, 

 because the zoo gardens are practically a part of the 

 ]>ark and the late Chas. H. Miller had charge of the 

 early plantings in both. Perhaps 3'ou. Mr. Editor, or 

 some of your numerous readers may enlighten us on the 

 pyramidal form of the Ginkgo. I hope so. 



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