184 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[June, 



on the cow-catcher of a locomotive of the Union 

 Pacific Railroad, soon after it was opened, and 

 perhaps before the birds had been used to the 

 locomotive. For some reason the meadow larks 

 seemed to endeavor to fly a race with the engine, 

 trying to keep just ahead. The engine went 

 faster than the birds flew, and as we overtook 

 them, many were caught in a soft hat. They all 

 seemed entirely dead on the instant of being 

 caught. In order to be satisfied that it was not 

 from the actual force, the hat would be drawn 

 back on the instant of contact, in a manner well 

 known to those experienced in ball-catching. 

 Death evidently resulted from nervous shock. 

 During the past winter chipping sparrows were 

 caught in rabbit traps by the editor's boys. 

 Instead of turning them out again into the 

 dreary snow field, they were put into cages. 

 Though they ate freely, and seemed glad to 

 appease their hunger, they died in a few days. 



The Botanic Gardens at Melbourne. —Vic- 

 toria is the smallest of the Australian Colonies, 

 but a very progressive one. The beautiful 

 botanic garden at Melbourne is regarded as one 

 of its greatest attractions. It comprises eightj-- 

 three acres. In its early history it was devoted 

 chiefly to botanical work, and made for itself a 

 famous name in this connection all over the 

 world. In later times horticultural features have 

 been added, which make the gardens especially 

 popular with the Melbourne people. 



In a recent account we note that they use in 

 this garden as a lawn grass. Stenotaphrum 

 glabrum, which they call "Bufll'alo grass," and 

 praise it highly. It makes dense masses of grass 

 which do not dry out in the hottest weather. 

 This would not thrive above the frost line, but it 

 might be very valuable in the Southern States. 

 The United States Department of Agriculture 

 had recently much criticism bestowed on it, 

 because it distributed these seeds as "the Buffalo 

 grass ;" Buffalo grass in America being Buchloe 

 dactyloides. But it is merely another case of 

 trouble from the reckless coining of popular 

 riames. If General Le Due had put " of Austra- 

 lia" after Buffalo grass he would have saved his 

 skin from the lash of the critics. That excellent 

 Botanist, Baron Von Mueller, has charge of the 

 Botanical Museum at Melbourne; Mr. Guilfoyle 

 is Director of the garden. 



The Annual Circles of Wood in a Tree.— 

 Among the curious papers read at Cincinnati, 

 was one suggesting that the examination of the 



transverse sections in a felled tree would show 

 when the seasons in the past were dry seasons, 

 and when wet ones— thin layers indicating the 

 dry, and wide layers of wood indicating the wet 

 ones. It seems scarcely probable that in these 

 days of scientific knowledge, any one assuming 

 to write papers relating to plant life, should not 

 know that the thickness of a layer of wood at 

 the point where we happen to cut it across, is no 

 indication of the thickness at a little distance 

 above or below the cut. But these papers show 

 how slow some people are to keep up with what 

 is known. A circle but a sixteenth of an inch 

 wide, may be one-eighth, or even one quarter of 

 an inch, but a very few feet in a direct line 

 above or below the first cut. 



Wood is made by the development of cells 

 from the cells of last year, and the production of 

 cells is just in proportion to the amount of food 

 at command, or the ability of the germinating 

 cells to make use of food, A branch cut away, 

 or a new branch starting near a certain mass of 

 cells, will make them grow slower or faster than 

 those above or below this. An extra pinch of 

 cold may make perhaps a square foot of cells 

 weaker than some above or below; or a burst of 

 sun in winter happening to concentrate on one 

 small spot, will weaken though not kill the cells, 

 and then they will make but a poor cell growth 

 just there the next season. Any one, in 

 fact, who chooses to look at the nearest 

 Cedar, Apple, Hornbeam, or in fact the trunk of 

 any gi'owing tree, must see the irregularity of 

 outline from this cause, and if he will saw 

 through a trunk at half a dozen places, he will 

 be surprised to find, very often, that the very 

 same ring which at six feet indicated a very dry 

 season, at eight or nine feet proved the same 

 season to be a very wet one ! 



Hybrid Orchids. — Once there prevailed an 

 impression that orchid seeds never, grew. They 

 seem to produce seeds freely enough. If we 

 examine a patch of native orchids, it is rarely 

 that we do not find abundance of capsules with 

 many thousands of the dust-like seeds in each. 

 But it is only occasionally that we see evidences 

 of seedling growth about the old plants. Indeed 

 it a notorious fact that a native locality can soon 

 be destroyed by the continual digging up of the 

 flowering roots. No young ones come on to take 

 their places. In the vicinity of PJiiladelphia, 

 and of all populous places, numbers of orchid 

 localities have been destroyed through the roots 

 being dug up by plant lovers. 



