1 64 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[June, 



ones who had the good fortune to behold the 

 magnificent spectacle the writer vainly strives to 

 depict in Philadelphia last November, like him, 

 they would feel how utterly futile it is to attempt 

 to give expression to the feelings of surprise and 

 admiration the sight of so much beauty produces 

 when suddenly coming in view. The numerous 

 examples of excellent cultivation comprised fine 

 specimens of a few of the good old kinds that 

 will always claim attention ; with the best modern 

 varieties of Japanese and Chinese species, whose 

 general good qualities could not possibly be 

 surpassed, I feel confident, at any similar ex- 

 exhibition on this continent. When making these 

 positive assertions I speak advisedly from what I 

 have seen and know about them in this and 

 other lands. 



In the famous Temple Gardens of London, 

 where Shakspeare alleges the long and sanguinary 

 quarrel between the rival houses of York and 

 Lancaster first began— the factions of which were 

 symbolized by a white and red rose — and which 

 are now at this day more celebrated for fine, 

 handsome Chrysanthemums, than beautiful Roses, 

 where they are said to flourish better, in the damp 

 dense smoke of that vast city, than they do in 

 their native countries. And when the man of sci- 

 ence says, "the coal burned in London alone dis- 

 engages into the atmosphere three hundred thou- 

 sand tons of sulphurous acid annually;" it almost 

 seems incredible they could exist and thrive as un- 

 doubtedly«they do, in the stifling, murky fumes of 

 the modern Babylon. From the recollections 1 

 have of the noted Temple Garden plants, I can 

 say without the least hesitation, that I candidly 

 believe the Philadelphia grown ones were as near 

 par with them as possible. The only perceptible 

 difference appeared to be in the somewhat thinner 

 foliage about the base of the plants, caused by 

 our brighter sun and hotter summers; while in 

 floriferous beauty and symmetrical form they in 

 every respect were quite their equal. 



Mount Holly, N. J. 



ends of the copper wire a twist of one or two turns 

 close down above the label. This simply prevents 

 the label swinging on the wire ; where it hangs 

 loosely the almost unceasing vibrating in the wind 

 soon wears it away. I would add — although it has 

 already been given in Gardeners' Monthly — 

 that the best thing for marking zinc labels, especial- 

 ly where they are exposed to the weather, is a com- 

 mon lead pencil. The material of the pencil soon 

 corrodes the surface of the metal and the marking 

 becomes almost as lasting as the metal. In this case 

 the corrosion may be caused by galvanic action, due 

 to the carbon of the plumbago ; burying the label 

 in the earth does not obliterate the marking but 

 increases the corrosive action. This using of a 

 pencil the writer accidentally discovered in 1847, 

 while using zinc labels, with ink, according to a 

 recipe on page 575 of the Horticulturist of that 

 year^getting out of the ink in the hurry of plant- 

 ing, a pencil was used. Newark, N. V., April 4. 

 [In case there should.be any possible objection, 

 our correspondent sends us a label with a gal- 

 vanized eyelet inserted, as the metallic ones are 

 in ordinary parchment tags. — Ed. G. M.] 



THE CHINA TREE. 



WEARING OF THE EYE IN ZINC LABELS. 

 BY F. W. 



Regarding the objection that the eyelet hole in 

 a zinc label soon wears away when it is suspended 

 by a copper wire, I have used them for some years 

 and, as I understand it, the wearing is not from 

 galvanic action but from the label swinging loosely 

 in the wind. To prevent this I have practiced — 

 before attaching the label to the tree— giving the 



BY MRS. J. S. R. THOMSON. 



I You failed to do full justice to Melia Azederach, 

 ' Pride of India ; one variety called in ignorance 

 " Umbrella Tree " from its peculiar habit of growth 

 forming a dense round head, flattish underneath, 

 which, viewed at a distance, resembles somewhat 

 an umbrella in shape. This tree here in the South 

 is prized highly for several reasons, partly eco- 

 nomic and partly for its beauty. First — It is a 

 beautiful shade tree, furnished in May with myriads 

 of exquisitely fragrant lavender or lilac flowers, 

 which render the air intoxicating in its sweetness. 

 Second — For its valuable wood which works up 

 beautifully as cabinet work or interior wood work 

 to our dwellings. My father's stair-way made of it, 

 with handsomely turned newel post and balus- 

 trade, is often mistaken for mahogany, which it 

 closely resembles, only a lighter tint; and, third — • 

 for its useful berries, which southern housewives 

 used in ante-bellum days (when we had pork to 

 cure) to throw on the fires built to smoke our meat ; 

 wherein the virtue lay "deponent saycth not," but 

 guess, Yankee like, it must have destroyed the 

 larviE of the skipper. 



There arc several varieties of this tree. Of the 

 Umbrella variety I have one I am very proud of, 

 planted in my back yard — not flower garden, 



