122 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[April, 



usual trade furnishes a sufficient stock, are not 

 really totally unsalable. For a great number of 

 bulbs, not generally known, and not employed for 

 some special purpose, there is only place for a re- 

 stricted number to supply the amateur and some 

 growers who keep collections. These remarks 

 naturally do not concern a local trade, they have 

 only relation to the position of the trade of bulb 

 collectors on the world's market. 



A great inconvenience arises when collectors 

 send bulbs without, or with wrong names. In 

 such cases the value of the bulbs is much in- 

 ferior as to what it would have been otherwise. 

 Received without a correct name, the article first 

 must be cultivated, and is not salable before it 

 has flowered and the name has been ascertained. 

 Great error occurs from sending under false 

 names, so large numbers of the fine but totally 

 different Sprekelia glauca were some years ago 

 sent as Amaryllis formossissima to the great dis- 

 appointment of those who received them. 



The best plan for collectors is to correspond 

 with one or only a very few leading firms, and 

 before sending out any thing, first to inquire what is 

 salable and in what numbers. In every doubtful 

 case it is advisable to send first a small quantity 

 as sample, that the expected buyer may see and 

 if necessary study this, and then if the offer is 

 accepted for later consignments a fair price can be 

 paid. Haarlem, Holland. 



ORIGIN OF THE NAME PERSIMMON. 

 BV MAJOR JED. HOTCHKISS. 



I see by the " Persimmon " item, on page 94 of 

 your capital March number of the Gardeners' 

 Monthly, that you have not at hand the " Works 

 of Captain John Smith," especially the elegant 

 and scholarly edition that Prof. Edward Arber, 

 Birmingham, England, has recently published. 

 The following extracts record what he had to say 

 about persimmons in 1607-9. 



In hischapter "Of such things which are naturall 

 in Virginia and how they use them," Captain Smith 

 says : " Plumbs there are of 3 sorts. The red and | 

 white are like our hedge plumbs ; but the other, I 

 which they call Putchamins, grow as high as a \ 

 Palmeta. The fruit is like a medler ; it is first 

 greene, then yellow, and red when it is ripe ; if it 1 

 be not ripe it will drawe a man's mouth awrie with 

 much torment; but when it is ripe, it is as delici- 

 ous as an Apricock. 



"The fruit like medlers, they call Putchamins, 

 they cast uppon hurdles on a mat, and preserve 



them as pruines." Arber's Works of Captain John 

 Smith, page 57. 



This fruit, as you know, is highly esteemed in 

 Virginia, so we are interested in whatever is said 

 of it. You have in the above the origin of the 

 name, I suppose. The present form is one that 

 can be readily evoluted from Putchamin. 



Staunton, Va. 



[It would be very interesting to know the mean- 

 ing of the Indian word. Persimmon. — Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



M. Carriere. — We have already noted the 

 government honor conferred on this distinguished 

 French horticulturist ; some additional notes con- 

 cerning him are given by a correspondent of the 

 Garden : 



" Those who are acquainted with the able chie' 

 editor of the Revue Horticole, or with his works 

 will be pleased to learn that the French Govern- 

 ment has conferred upon him the Cross of the 

 Legion of Honor. Probably no horticulturist liv- 

 ing better deserves this compliment than M. Car- 

 riere, who has ever been noted for remarkable ac- 

 tivity, great practical knowledge, and the art of 

 imparting the same in clear and concise language. 

 For many years in charge of the outdoor depart- 

 ment of the Paris Botanical Gardens, he possesses 

 an intimate knowledge of hardy plants of all 

 kinds, their capabilities and propagation. Besides 

 constantly contributing valuable articles to the 

 French gardening papers, M. Carriere has written 

 a number of works, some of which are highly es- 

 teemed. The most important are the ' Propaga- 

 tor's Guide,' illustrated, which is considered the 

 best work of that kind in the French language ; a 

 ' General Treatise on Conifers,' ' Encyclopaedia 

 of Gardening' (' Encyclop(5di6 Horticole'), and 

 ' Obtaining and Fixing Varieties of Vegetables." 

 M. Carriere's last work just issued is called 'Orna- 

 mental Fruit trees,' and is a small illustrated 

 volume of 175 pages, containing all necessary in- 

 formation concerning those small fruited apples 

 which are only useful from an ornamental point 

 of view. In France these ornamental apples are 

 more planted than with us." 



Tewin — not " Lucien," is the name of the Hert- 

 fordshire town noted by Mr. Wooding in our last. 



Knowledge of Every-day Things — Nothing 

 is more common than to find people of remark- 

 able education, utterly helpless in the every-day 

 affairs of life. They are really the most ignorant 

 of human beings. We can therefore sympathise 

 with the author of the following lines ; simply 

 premising that from our experience of human life, 

 some female lampooner could hit the male sinner 

 a great deal harder, only for the charity which 



