1879.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



125 



do not ; impracticable because many bave not 

 the intelligence to order directly, even if tbey 

 could afford to pay separate packing and freight 

 on the little lots which they are able to buy at 

 one time. The extent to which the agency sys- 

 tem has taken hold of the business is well illus- 

 trated by the fact that the most extensive nur- 

 sery firm in the country, and one of the most 

 careful as to the correctness of its varieties, finds 

 it necessary, notwithstanding its liberal adver- 

 tising, to send out canvassing agents in order to 

 secure its fair share of the trade. 



I agree with you that the passage of resolu- 

 tions will not cure this evil, nor will the shutting 

 of the eyes of honorable memliers of the trade 

 to its existence do it. A bold discussion of it 

 by horticultural societies and nurserymen's con- 

 ventions may scare off some who now practice 

 it; if not it may develop a wiser and better re- 

 pressive measure than has yet been suggested. 

 If so I shall be very glad to see the one pro- 

 posed by me give way to it. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Wroxg Names to Plants. — A correspond- 

 ent calls attention to the many misnamed plants 

 in public gardens as well as private, and gives 

 many instances from the public gardens at Wash- 

 ington, such as Osmanthus ilicifolius for the Cae- 

 lebogyne and many others. It is much to be re- 

 gretted that more attention is not given to these 

 points. We have rarely seen a public garden 

 where these errors did not exist often to a degree 

 which seemed inexcusable. It probably often 

 arises from the leading one in authority having 

 too much to attend to personally ; and much has 

 of necessity to be left to subordinates, who often 

 do not care for much beyond their wages. But 

 it is well that these public places should be re- 

 minded of their imperfections, and our corres- 

 pondents' hints about it may set some of these 

 gardeners to amending their ways. 



The Adams Express Company. — It is worth 

 while reminding our readers, that when they send 

 the editor any thing that they wish to prepay, 

 by the Adams Express, the package should 

 always be marked "Paid through to German- 

 town," otherwise this model Company is toler- 

 ably certain to insist that the sender only paid 

 it in part. Of late years we have refused all 



such boxes, though it may have subjected us to 

 the appearance of smallness on the part of the 

 sender, who really believed they were paying 

 all charges. Numbers here have not the nerve 

 to risk this odium. Young ladies at our board- 

 ing schools who have sent to them parcels from 

 parents and friends have to pay out of their slim 

 pocket money for parcels, which their friends 

 suppose paid in full, and the young people won- 

 der why it was only "partly paid" but say noth- 

 ing; and so the custom goes on. The Adams 

 Company may have very good reason for this, 

 and so far it is no business of ours ; but we want 

 to say to our readers that it is not necessary to 

 mark "paid through" on anything that comes to 

 us from Boston, by the New York and Boston 

 Despatch Company, or the Delaware and Lacka- 

 wanna Express from New York. 



After a year's experience with these lines, we 

 find packages promptly delivered, and we have 

 no extra sum whatever to pay, and the charges 

 of what we send by them moderate. 



An Awful Warning. — Our readers may 

 remember that we did not take kindly to the 

 charge of the New Tork Tribune, that there 

 was "not one" of its exchanges that did not 

 almost live by " stealing" from its columns. And 

 now we have the melancholy duty to announce 

 that from that day no Tribune has come to our 

 table; it is of course a terrible punishment, and 

 an awful warning to those who " steal." We 

 have not yet wholly made up our mind to stop 

 publishing the Gardener's Monthly with the 

 next number; we may try to worry through to 

 the end of the year ; but our readers will appre- 

 ciate the terrible strain it must be on the Editor 

 to struggle on without the Tribune to " steal" 

 from. Oh! My! 



Fern Pillars. — We have had several in- 

 quiries as to where to get the beautiful fern pillar 

 noticed in our last can be obtained. As there 

 stated it is the invention of Mr. Tyerman of 

 England, and we only offered it as a test on 

 which to form some suggestions. Not exactl}^ 

 that pattern, but others for the same and similar 

 purposes may be found in the collection of the 

 "Moorehead Clay Works" of Philadelphia, a 

 beautiful catalogue of which is yearly issued, 

 and which we suppose may be had on application . 



Progress of Horticulture. — The best and 

 most flourishing nurserymen, are those who en- 

 deavor to increase public taste among the people 



