154 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[May, 



rivalling, in their activity to develop the riches of 

 labor, the older nations of Europe that depend 

 chiefly on human blood and military glory to 

 finally resolve the great problems of society. 



The Horticultural Directory of the 

 United States.— By Charles F. Evans ; pub- 

 lished by Isaac D. Sailer, Philadelphia. 



This is the most complete work of this kind ever 

 issued in the United States, containing not only 

 nurserymen, but florists and seedsmen. It must 

 have entailed much labor on the enterprising 

 editor, but the necessity for such a work will no 

 doubt bring a good response. 



Manual of Agriculture for the School, 

 THE Farm, and the Fireside. — By George B. 

 Emerson, and Charles L. Flint. A new edition 

 by Dr. Charles A. Goessman. New York ; Orange 

 Judd Company. 



A large number of works of this character re- 

 main out of print with the first issue. That the , 

 work of the able authors of this book should call 1 

 for a second edition is proof of its value. 



Index Medicus. — This work, of great interest 

 to the medical profession, which was unfinished 

 by the death of its publisher, will be undertaken i 

 to completion, by the well-known enterprising 

 publisher, George .S. Davis, of Detroit, Michigan. 



The Summit Co. (Ohio) Horticultural 

 Society Reports for the Last Sixteen 

 Months. — This gives a full account of the ex- [ 

 cellent work done by this society in fostering a ■ 

 love for garden pleasures in that community. 



Report of the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture for 1884. — The Commissioner reports 

 that during the past year over 100,000 economic 

 plants have been propagated and disseminated 

 for experiments. The department introduced the 

 Japan Persimmon 15 years ago, and mainly 

 through its instrumentality it is becoming one of 

 America's standard fruits. Experiments with tea 

 plants are still going on, and the department has 

 strong hopes of final success. The greatest call 

 on the department for plants for experimenting 

 comes from the more tropical States. The 

 Botanical Department has done good work in 

 making known the value of our agricultural 

 grasses, and herbarium specimens of duplicates 

 are distributed generously to agricultural colleges 

 and elsewhere. 



The Entomological Department has been par. 

 ticularly active and useful. The work of Professor 

 Riley as recorded here, gives a bright character to 

 the report. 



In the Forestry Department the Commissioner 

 believes a report, soon to be specially issued, will 

 be a valuable work to tree planters. He is now 

 satisfied that nothing can be done by the gov- 

 ernment to check the fall of the forests before the 

 fire and the axe, and that our best attention should 

 be given to planting new forests. Nebraska has 

 set out 4,500,000 trees the past year. 



Chautauqua Literary Society.— This body 

 is doing great good by the organizing of branches 

 of intellectual culture. The famous Agassiz asso- 

 ciation of young people for the study of natural 

 history, now numbers 7,000 members. It is now 

 about to organize a similar one for the study of 

 agriculture. Miss K. F. Kimball, Plainfield, N.J. , 

 has this department in hand. 



The Canadian Horticulturist. — This in- 

 teresting monthly gives a colored plate of fruits or 

 flowers wih every issue. The February number 

 has some new dahlias, a flower which not only 

 holds its own in popular estimation but seems to 

 advance from year to year. The Horticulturist 

 is edited by Dr. Beadle, of St. Catharine's, Ontario. 



The American Seedsman Published by 



Isaac F. Tillinghast, La Plume, Pa. 



This is a monthly magazine devoted wholly to 

 the interests of the American seed trade. Among 

 the topics discussed in the number before us is 

 the liability of seedsmen who may sell a 25-cent 

 paper of cabbage seed, for several hundred dollars 

 in damages, should the climate or treatment of a 

 cabbage plant cause it to run to seed instead of 

 forming a head, or meet with some other accident 

 wholly out of the control of the man who sells the 

 seed. Those for whom the magazine is intended 

 will no doubt find much of profit to them in this 

 magazine. 



Woods and Forests. — This independent 

 forestry magazine did not meet with sufficient sup- 

 port and has been merged with the Garden. Mr. 

 Robinson found what has been long known in 

 America, that those who in many cases talk the 

 most about forests, do nothing to make forestry a 



success. 



«-»-»^ 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Kind Words from a Subscriber.- No one 

 but those who have had the actual experience 

 knows of the crosses, trials and tribulations that 

 ' beset the Editor of a magazine like this. The 

 Editor of the Gardeners' Monthly has had 

 twenty-seven years of this experience, and so can 



