i88s.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



183 



success for establishing a botanic garden in that 

 city. It is a pity Philadelphia does not move in 

 the same direction. The Park Commissioners 

 would no doubt do for some society with this 

 object in view what they have done for the Zoo- 

 logical Society— cheerfully give them all the ground 

 necessary for the purpose. 



Effect of Frost on Orange Trees in 

 Florida. — A correspondent of the San Francisco 

 Chronicle, says: " I have traveled away from my 

 theme, which was in the beginning the cold wave. 

 Some friends, with myself, were talking about it 

 to a gentleman, long a resident of the State, and 

 its effect upon young orange trees. Some rather 

 remarkable incidents bearing upon this subject 

 were related. Among other things, he stated that 

 it was not the cold or the frost by which the trees 

 were killed, but the heat of the sun closely follow- 

 ing it. ' If,' said he, ' any one will take the pains 

 to get up before sunrise and make an incision in | 

 every tree, two or three inches long, with a sharp 

 knife, there will be no danger of harm from the , 

 heaviest frosts. I had a neighbor, who, going : 

 through his grove before sunrise, found his young 

 trees all killed, as he supposed. In a sort of rage 

 he took out his knife and scored the bark of about 1 

 a dozen or two, to make the destruction sure, but 

 in a lew days — lo ! and behold 1 — those he had cut 

 came out in renewed life and beauty and were the 

 most vigorous trees in the grove. Acting upoi) 

 this hint, he always afterward saved his choice ; 

 trees by an application of the knife before the sun 

 had a chance to get at them after a frost." I give 

 this for what it is worth, being assured of it as a 

 fact. It is the newest thing out, and I leave it for 

 gardeners and philosophers to give the reason 

 why." j 



Wild Celery Seed. — The wild celery seed of 

 Chesapeake Bay, on which the ducks and geese 

 feed, giving the flesh the delicious flavor so much 

 prized by epicureans, is the curious water plant 

 known as Vallisneria spiralis. This plant is 

 among one of the wonders of vegetable life, and 

 always entertains the studious. The leaves are long 

 and grass-like, and the minute flowers have the 

 sexes in separate flowers. At the time of flowering 

 the thread-like flower stalks rise to the top of the 

 water. The male flowers cast their pollen on the ^ 

 surface, and it floats along till caught by the female 

 flowers. The male flowers die after shedding the 

 pollen, but the little female with its embroyo seed 

 vessel draws in the flower stalk as if it were a 

 spiral spring, down to the base of the plant among 



the grassy leaves, where it remains till mature. It 

 is rare for even the botanist to get to see a seed 

 vessel, and, as one might suppose, one is only to 

 be obtained at ail under some difficulty. 



One of the surprises to one of our large seedsmen 

 recently was to receive an order for sixteen 

 bushels of the seed ' 



Tree Tomato of Jamaica.— This is the popular 

 name of a fruit naturalized in Jamaica, and found 

 in many old gardens of the Coffee districts of St. 

 Andrews and Manchester. By the kindness of 

 Sir Joseph Hooker it has been determined as 

 Cyphomandra betacea, DC.,* a native of South 

 America, including Peru and Chili, where also it 

 is under cultivation. The plant (belonging to the 

 natural order Solanaceae) is of shrubby habit, about 

 5 or 6 feet high ; the leaves are large (sometimes 

 a foot long), broadly cordate, and softly pubescent, 

 generally confined to the termination of the 

 branches. The fragrant flowers appear as sub- 

 axillary cymes, of a pale fleshy color, with bright 

 yellow stamens, followed by an obconical or ovate 

 fruit, which at first of a greenish or purplish tint, 

 gradually assumes a warm reddish color as it 

 approaches maturity. The bilocular fruit is of 

 firm texture, about 2 inches or 2',^ long, and 

 about 2 inches in diameter. The pericarp is about 

 ,'4 inch in thickness, of a pale color. It is not 

 generally known, and seldom used in Jamaica, 

 but it is without doubt a fruit that should be more 

 largely cultivated, as it answers in every respect 

 the purposes for which the ordinary Tomato is 

 esteemed. On the mainland it is known as the 

 Tomate de la Paz, here as the Tree Tomato, and 

 sometimes, on account of its supposed beneficial 

 action on the liver, as Vegetable Mercury. Plants 

 are easily raised from seed, which come into 

 bearing in about two years. It is a very prolific 

 bearer, and the fruit is available during the winter 

 months — November to March^when ordinary 

 Tomatoes are not so easily obtained. If the fruit 

 is allowed to fully ripen on the trees it may be 

 eaten raw, and it has somewhat the flavor of 

 Gooseberry. If the skin is removed and the fruit 

 (without the seeds) stewed with sugar, it resembles 

 Apricot, but with a slight sub-acid flavor which is 

 very refreshing. In my own household it takes 

 the place of Apple in Charlotte-aux-pommes, and it 



* Pionandra betacea, Miers in " Hook. Lond. Journ. of 

 Bot.," vol. 4, ISIo, p. 3.58 ; Solanura betaceum, Cav. ic. 6, p. 15 

 n.5»9, t. 524; "Ann. de Hist. Nat.," i.p. 44, " Dun. .Sol.," 169, 

 n. 70, syn. 7. n. 16 ; Andrews, " Botan. Rep.," t. 511 Solanum, 

 crassifolium, Ortega, Dec. 9, ]». 117; Solanum obliquum, 

 Bcrtero, pi. exs. n. 1125, m H. DC. nee. Ruiz et Pav. 



