38 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[Fkbruary, 



bear a certain resemblance to the curled plumes 

 of the ostrich (or the white stork), whence its 

 popular name of 'Marabout.' It flowers in Au- 

 gust, about the same time as T. indica. The 

 flowers, which are disposed in dense erect pani- 

 cles, have an airy lightness, which adds much to 

 the elegance of the foliage. Isolated on a lawn, 

 or in a large park, T. plumosa forms a compact 

 mass of the most pleasing appearance. It is 

 quite as hardy as T. indica, and propagated and 

 treated in precisely the same manner." 



Daphniphyllum Roxburghii. — A deciduous 

 tree, belonging to the natural order Euphor- 

 biaceae. It has an extensive geographical range ; 

 the plants here offered are from Japan. It has 

 an erect twiggy habit, with oblong-obovate or 

 ovate opposite deep green leaves, and axillary 

 racemes of minute flowers. 



QUERIES. 



Rare Evergreens in Maryland. — W. G. A. says 

 "A friend brought me from Maryland, near Gun- 

 Powder river (or creek), these evergreens which 

 grow beautifully at that place. I was not able to 

 name them. The Spruce is very abundant, about 

 30 feet high, and beautiful. What spruce is it ? 

 The black and white belong to the north ; the 

 arbor vitse, I take to be our own. What is the 

 cedar ? These trees are supposed to be indigenous 

 in that locality." 



[It is surprising to get specimens like these with 

 the suggestion that they might be indigenous. 

 One is the American arbor vitge from the north- 

 ern part of the continent; another the deodar 

 cedar of the East Indies ; another the Japan ce- 

 dar, Cryptomeriajaponica; and the other Liboce- 

 di'us decurrens of the Pacific coast. The re- 

 markable health of these specimens, shows that 

 they are excellent kinds for our Maryland friends 

 to cultivate.— Ed. G. M.] 



Disease in evergreens. — B. T. B., Carlinville, 

 111., says : " My evergreens are dying ' piece- 

 meal,' that is, they die in spots ; a little branch 

 here, and another there ; sometimes on one side 

 of the tre^, and then again on the other ; and 

 then again, all through the tree you will see little 

 dead branches or twigs. What can be the mat- 

 ter with them ? Can you, and will you if you 

 know, tell me ? I would not bother you if it was 

 the busy time of the year. But now, I thought 



you had time, and would, perhaps, give me the 

 desired information. My trees stand just aa 

 they have grown, never having been trained a 

 bit or a branch broken if I could prevent it, and 

 consequently grow down to the ground. I hate to 

 lose them now, they are 20 or 30 feet high ; and 

 should like it very much if you would tell me 

 what to do for them." 



[Evergreens, especially pines, are liable to the 

 attack of a small fungus, which comes out in 

 spots like small pin heads all over the leaves, 

 and soon injures them, severely affecting in 

 time very seriously the health of the trees. This 

 is known as the ^cidium abietinum. In addi- 

 tion to this, pines often suffer from insect attacks ; 

 some kinds bore into the young branches and 

 kill them. This is probably what is the matter 

 with these trees; slit some of the injured 

 branches lengthwise and see. If so, their traces 

 will be seen, and the only remedy is persistent 

 watchfulness, to cut off and burn all injured 

 branches as soon as they are seen. — Ed. G. M.] 



Chiococca racemosa. — M. C. & Co., Atlanta, 

 Ga., say; "A lady of Cedar Keys, Fla., sends us 

 the enclosed branch and fruit of a vine that is 

 indigenous to that part of Florida, and says it 

 blooms three times before fruiting, once flowers 

 yellow, twice white, and very fragrant. We do 

 not recognize it. Can you tell us what it is? 

 Also, seeds of flowering potato — so called there; 

 can you locate it ? 



[We give the name above. There were two 

 kinds of seeds in the letter, one of sdhie malva- 

 ceous plant ; and the other, perhaps, a convolvu- 

 lus.— Ed. G. M.] 



Raising Thorn Seed.— J. C. T., Farber, Mo., 

 writes : " I have tried to get information of the 

 American Agriculturist how to manage thorn 

 seeds like this I enclose. I cannot find out \Vhy 

 I have failed two different times to get these 

 seeds to grow. I froze them all winter and 

 planted in good soil, but as yet not a single plant 

 appears. It grows abundantly here, a natural 

 hedge plant ; stocky, hardy, dwarf, very thorny, 

 and. so thick naturally that small birds make 

 their nests in it with perfect safety from large 

 ones. I have lost several years in trying, and 

 now appeal to you. Please tell me all the details 

 of treatment, as I have a lot of seeds now buried 

 with some crab-apples also, with which, I am 

 going to make some hedges, if I have to dig up 

 the roots. I have had the same luck with these 

 \ as with the others. I am greatly dissatisfied with 



