18T6.'' 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



91 



have seen tomatoes suffer, however, from the 

 fungus known as Verbena rust.' It is instructive 

 to know that the tomato fungus does not thrive 

 in the drier dimate of America. Would Mr. 

 Meehan kindly tell us to what extent the potato 

 disease exists in America." 



[The potato disease is rarely virulent of late 

 years in our country. It seldom takes the form 



of destroying the haulm — blackening them in a 

 few days. The most usual course is rotting of the 

 tubers in the ground when about mature, or in 

 the cellar soon after storing. For some years past 

 the dise;ise has been comparatively slight all 

 over the Union, until last year it was rather severe 

 in California, taking the most virulent form in 

 the destruction of the growing foliage. — Ed. G. M.] 



JTERATURE, ?^RAVELS & pERSONAL ^OTES. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



THE CHARTER OAK. 



BY C. M. HOVEY, BOSTON, MASS. 



In your January number you have some re- 

 marks in regard to the species of oak to which 

 this famous old tree belonged. I now send you 

 leaves and acorns gathered this day, Jan. 31, the 

 leaves from the tree, and the acorns from the 

 ground beneath it, by which you will know the 

 species even without seeing them; as Michaux 

 states that the Quercus alba is " the only oak on 

 "which a few of the dried leaves exist till the cir- 

 culation is renewed in the spring; one tree is just 

 now covered with leaves but they continue to 

 blow off with every wind, and by April 1 only a 

 few remain. 



You may possibly inquire what tree, when we 

 say we gathered them from the tree, and how it 

 is known to have any relation to the Charter Oak ? 

 We will tell you. 



About the year 1836 or '37, the late Dr. E. W. 

 Bull, of Hartford, who was well known for his 

 love of and deep interest in horticulture and arbor- 

 iculture, and who had a beautiful residence in 

 that city, on a visit to us, stated that he had 

 reared two young trees out of several acorns he 

 had planted, which he gathered with his own 

 hands from the old tree, and he kindly offered 

 to give us one of them if we would accept it. We, 

 ■of course, were too glad to do so, and he said that 

 at the proper season he would bring it himself to 

 Boston. His promise was fulfilled, and he put 

 the tree, which was one year old, in his carpet 

 bag, and brought it to Boston. It was so small, 

 and for fear of its being injured or dug up by 

 carelessness, we planted it in a pot, and kept it in 



the greenhouse and cellar in winter for two or 

 three years. It was then placed out in the open 

 ground, but grew slowly, and was only five or six 

 feet high in 1845 or '6, when it was removed to 

 its present position on the lawn in front of the 

 conservatory. It is now about 30 ft. high with a 

 handsome head. 



This is the history of our Charter Oak, and the 

 tree from which we gathered the leaves. We un- 

 derstood from Dr. Bull some years later, when he 

 visited us for the last time before his sad death, 

 that there were only two seedlings in existence, 

 the one we had and one in his own grounds, and 

 we believe, if our recollection serves us, that after 

 the destruction of the old oak itself. Dr. Bull's 

 specimen was planted out in the identical spot 

 where the old tree stood for so many years before 

 its destruction. Dr. Bull had a real affection for 

 the old oak. He never failed to speak of it, and 

 he sent us two or three engravings of it, one of 

 which he desired us to present a copy of in the 

 Magazine of Horticulture ; but the drawing was 

 on so small a scale it would not give a very good 

 representation of the tree, and we laid it aside for 

 the time. 



We at one time thought it could not be the 

 Q. alba, but for some years since it has developed 

 itself we think there can be little doubt about it, 



[The leaves sent by Mr. Hovey are undoubt- 

 edly Quercus alba, the common white oak. It ia 

 clear, from all the evidence, that those who have 

 Quercus discolor under culture as seedlings from 

 the original Charter Oak are mistaken. Ed. 

 G. M.] 



»^M 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



.Advertisements. — Why will people send ad- 

 vertisements and other business matters to Mr. 



