90 



TUE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



March, 



troublesome to the fruit grower, are not touched 

 by this sparrow. It does not save the -elm from 

 being ridded by the Galeruca. He does not favor 

 the exterminating of tlie bird, which as he well 

 remarked is now impossible ; but he would favor 

 no special law for its protection, but let it take 

 its own chances of earning the farmer's own 

 smiles or frowns as the case may be, as other 

 birds do. One thing is certain that those who 

 do not want the bird on their premises, will have 

 a good luxury in sparrow pies. 



PiCEA MACROCAE.PA. — This described as Abies 

 macrocarpa by Dr. Yasey in our pages some 

 time ago, is thus referred to by Mr. Lemmon in 

 a recent number of the Pacijic Rural Pre^a : 



"Tsuga macrocarpa, Torr., or TsugaDouglasii, 

 variety, macrocarpa, Vasey, the 'big-coned 

 spruce' of the San Bernardino mountains. A rare 

 tree, differing from the typical Douglas spruce 

 in its smaller size, gnarly appearance and the 

 great size and quantity of its cones, 8 to 11 inches 

 long, and lying a foot deep beneath the trees." 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Straavberry Aphides. — If any one troubled 

 with this insect will send a few fresh specimens 

 to Mr. Jos. Monell, care of Mr. Henry Shaw, St. 

 Louis, Mo., who is making a special study of this 

 class of insects, he and the editor will be obliged. 



Hardiness of the Pecan Hickory.— j^Its. 

 S. H. "W., Philadelphia : The pecan nut is quite 

 hardy in Philadelphia, and possibly in most all of 

 the Northern States. A very large tree on the 

 grounds of Dr. Dunton, in Germantown, Phila., 

 bears perfect nuts freely we believe every year. 



PiNUS ToRREYANA. — A Pacific coast corres- 

 pondent writes to us of the heavy weight of the 

 cones of this pine, which grows in that region. 

 He says that from curiosity he counted the num- 

 ber of seeds in a cone of average size and found 

 there were one hundred and thirty of them. 

 These seeds, like Sabiniana, and like the Cembra 

 of Europe are very large and nut-like, their 

 average size being about three-quarters of an 

 inch in length. The one hundred and thirtv 

 seeds weighed a trifle over three ounces, and the 

 empty cone seven and three-quarters, making a 

 total weight of near eleven ounces. 



Collectors and others who have seen this tree 

 in its native wilds say of it that it is beautiful 

 and symmetrical in its growth, of medium height, 

 with leaves of a deep glaucous green. 



Honey Dew. — Mrs. M. R., Mt. Pleasant. 

 Iowa, says : " I would like to enquire the cause 

 of what I am told florists call ' honey dew,' a 

 sliiny substance, sticky, that comes on leaves: 

 and the remedy." 



[In many cases "honey dew" is simply the 

 sweet excretions of aphides, or perhaps other 

 plant lice. But there are some cases wherein it 

 is clear no insects have had any agency in the 

 matter, and these cases are supposed to be due to 

 sweet exudations from the leaves themselves, 

 just as sugar is formed in the sap of the sugar 

 maple during the winter season. But just how 

 the plant does it has not been made known that 

 we are aware of. — Ed. G. M.] 



Self-protection in Plants. — Miss S. S. K., 

 asks : " The question ' how are plants protected 

 from animals and unfavoral)le weather ? ' was 

 referred to me by a botanical class to which I 

 belong. I suppose, of course, it means naturally 

 and not artificially. Small plants are protected 

 by snow and in the forests the fallen leaves serve 

 to keep them warm, but how are the larger ones 

 protected from the weather, and how are plants 

 generally protected from animals? Can thee 

 refer me to any botanical work which contains 

 information on the subject? Would such things 

 as thorns, the sting of the nettle, «S:c., &c., be 

 considered as a protection to the plants?" 



[Many plants get some protection from fallen 

 leaves of taller trees. Others protect one another 

 by growing together in forests or groups. The 

 chief power of protection is by their own internal 

 power to preserve an even temperature, their 

 vital power — just as animals have a similar 

 power, though, also as in animals, unusual ex- 

 ternal causes will induce them to part with that 

 heat and die in consequence. The exact range 

 of this life-preserving heat in plants has never 

 been determined that we know of. Some plants 

 part with their life-preserving heat on the first 

 white frost, while others can keep their juices 

 from freezing even when the temperature is far 

 below zero, just as animals can. In regard to 

 protection from animals, it is just possible that 

 thorns and othm- contrivances may have some 

 slight influence, but the spiny thistle is browsed 

 on by the ass, and the pony kicks open the cac- 

 i tus on the desert for the liquid it contains. Most 

 likely the great exuberance of nature which makes 

 infinitely more vegetation than there is animal 

 life to feed thereon, is the chief " protection " to 

 the continuance of vegetable life in all its varied 

 specific forms. — Ed. G. M.] 



