20 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[January, 



tling successfully with all the vicissitudes of its 

 surroundings, a new form may succeed in spread- 

 ing through the lapse of years or ages, over a con- 

 siderable district of country. But the idea that 

 always, and in all cases, species have originated 

 in this manner, presents occasionally difficulties 

 which seem insurmountable. In the case of the 

 similarity between the flora of Japan, and that of 

 the eastern portion of the United States, we have 

 to assume the existence of a much closer con- 

 nection between the land over what is now the 

 Pacific Ocean, in comparatively modern times, in 

 order to get a satisfactory idea of the departure of 

 the species from one central spot, and to demand 

 a great number of years for some plants to travel 

 from one central birth place, before the land sub- 

 sided, carrymg back species in geological time 

 further perhaps than mere geological facts would 

 be willing to allow. But if we can see our way 

 to a belief that plants may change in a wide dis- 

 trict of country similtaneously in one direction, and 

 that these changes once introduced be able to 

 perpetuate themselves till a new birth time should 

 arrive, we have a great advance towards simpli- 

 fying things. 



OF THE SEXES IN CHESTNUT TREES. 

 BY THOMAS T. NEWBY. 



The past season, when my chestnut tree was in 

 full bloom, I got branches with the early male 

 flowers, from other bearing trees, a mile or more 

 away, and hung them up all over my tree. There 

 was a fine show of burrs, and I got two nice 

 chestnuts ; and I think one or two others dropped 

 that I did not get. The rest of the burrs had no 

 fruit in them, and mostly fell off before the time 

 of fruit ripening. I now, however, have much 

 doubt about the theory of the chestnut not perfect- 

 ing fruit unless fertilized with pollen from another 

 tree ; though my experience so far points that 

 way. But on the contrary, I have learned of a 

 tree in Knightstown, Indiana, six miles from my 

 place, which has borne fruit for several years, 

 being an older and larger tree than mine. And 

 there is no other chestnut tree nearer than half a 

 mile, at least large enough to flower. One year 

 the owner got one gallon of nuts ; this year, not 

 so many. I propose to leave mine alone next 

 season, and note the result. Carthage, Ind. 



[Where there are individual trees, at long dis- 

 tances from each other, observers have excellent 

 opportunities of settling these disputed questions. 

 The belief of the editor is that fertilization in the 



chestnut is effected by the second crop of male 

 flowers which come out at the end of the raceme 

 that bears the " burrs." He regards the first crop 

 of male flowers as an utter waste, so far as any 

 good to any chestnut tree is concerned, though of 

 great value in the general economy of nature; 

 and it was in objection to his view that some one 

 raised the question that the use of the first crop of 

 male flowers " might be " to fertilize the flowers of 

 other trees. In other words, it was " an arrange- 

 ment for cross-fertilization."' — Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



K.EMPFERIA GiLiiERTii. — We have here a 

 sketch of a pretty plant belonging to the ginger 

 family or Zingiberaceas, sent us by Mr. Wm. 

 Bull. A fleshy-rooted perennial, with attractively 

 variegated foliage, introduced from the East In. 

 dies. From the succulent roots are annually pro- 

 duced a tuft of oblong-lanceolate deep green 

 leaves, which are slightly undulated at the margin, 

 and bordered by a broad and very conspicuous 

 band of white. The purple and white flowers are 

 peculiar in form, as often occurs in the Zingibera- 

 ceous order. 



Besides its great beauty as a plant for culture, 

 it suggests some thoughts on the origin and nature 

 of variegation — matters which have never been 

 explained to our satisfaction. It has been said 

 that the great object of color in flowers is to attract 

 insects ; but those of us who live among flowers 

 know that insects visit flowers just as freely when 

 there is neither color nor fragrance as when there 

 is. The insignificant flower of Ampelopsis, with- 

 out cither of these attractions, is so great a favorite 

 with bees that they almost crowd each other out 

 to get at the sweets, while the particularly sweet 

 flowers of the grape seem to have no more attrac- 

 tion than any ordinary flower. The pretty red 

 and sweet flowers of the Rubus odoratus get a few 

 visitors evidently for the pollen's sake, while the 

 Black cap raspberries with hardly any perceptible 

 smell, and greenish white flowers that scarcely look 

 like blossoms at all, draw the whole strength of 

 the hive to the feast spread for them. 



And then we have color in leaves as well as 

 in flowers. Color in bracts often long before the 

 flowers are expanded, and they surely can have 

 no special attraction for insects. The white in 

 leaves is frequently merely the absence of green. 

 It is really the absence of all color. In these 



