1882.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



205 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Floral Designs.— "C," Boston, Mass, saj's : 

 " I send you by mail a copy of the Boston Trav- 

 eller, wherein a notice is inserted of certain 

 floral designs originated by me. If you 

 would make some comment in your journal 

 about the same, I would be most thankful to 

 you." 



[This Boston Traveller wandered in a wrong 

 direction. It did not come before us. We refer 

 to the note to say the editor regards it as his 

 duty to the readers to keep them informed of 

 anything novel, at all times. — Ed. G. M.] 



Greenhouse Correspondence. — So much in- 

 terest has been developed in the matter of 

 steam heating for greenhouses, that we have 

 been led to defer some valuable papers on other 

 subjects from esteemed correspondents, which 

 will, however, soon appear. 



Carnation "Beauty".— E. C. Hames writes : " I 

 send by this mail a new Carnation ; a sport 

 from the well-known variety named ' Beauty.' 

 In color it resembles Firebrand, but is not so in 

 tense or glaring, i send also one of Beauty, 

 showing the diflference." 



[And we may add that it is far superior to the 

 original.— Ed. G. M.] 



Fumigating Cones. — From T. T. Southwick, 

 Rochester, New York, we have samples of this 

 excellent idea. Tobacco is so arranged as to 



look like spools of cotton, and are readily ig- 

 nited, and so prepared as to give out much 

 smoke and little heat. Amateurs with a few 

 plant?, placing them under barrels or boxes, will 

 thus be enabled to fumigate them without much 

 trouble. One which we tried under a barrel 

 sickened the insects, and a second dose finished 

 their account with life. It is better to have two 

 doses, than one so strong as to risk the plant's 

 health. 



A Double Catalonian Jasmine.—" R. L. B.," 

 Des Moines, Iowa., writes : " I havea Jasminum 

 grandiflorum that shows a tendency to double 

 flowers, having two rows of petals, of a very firm 

 texture and very strong fragrance ; one flower 

 in a room being almost sickening to such people 

 as cannot endure a powerful perfume. I want 

 to know if there is any process of cultivation or 

 treatment that will increase this tendency to 

 doubleness in this or any other plant? My Jas- 

 mine is as double as any I have yet seen of 

 double Bouvardia Alfred Neuner, which, with 

 me, has not as yet shown over two rows of 

 petals." 



[This will be a valuable variety, if its habits 

 can be fixed. Cuttings from that part would 

 probably secure it. Unfortunately this species 

 rarely seeds under culture; or if a few grains of 

 pollen could be found and placed on the stigma 

 of an ordinary form, the progeny would be in the 

 double direction. Perhaps if care were taken to 

 artificially poUenize the flowers, they would be 

 fruitful.— Ed. G. M.l 



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Last season, during the prevalence of the un- 

 usually hot summer w^eather, the pear trees in 

 the writer's orchard had the upper half of most 

 of the leaves turn brown as if scorched. The 

 diagnosis of the trouble indicated that the 

 moisture from the leaves was being drawn faster 

 than the roots could supply it. The best remedy 

 seemed to be to keep the trees as cool as possible. 

 When the hand was placed on the trunks it 

 seemed warm. In the normal condition the bark 



stems cool, even on the warmest day. To cool 

 this bark the trees were at once lime-washed. 

 This seemed quite cool in comparison with bark 

 not white washed. Though there were many 

 succeeding hot days, there was no more of the 

 leaf-browning. It was remarkable how well the 

 trees kept through it all. This season the trees 

 look wonderfully well. The bark of all the 

 trees white washed, have a smooth, succulent, 

 healthy look, such as all who know a healthy tree 

 when they see it, love to look upon. This ques- 

 tion of coolness enters largely into successful 

 culture. It is because the injurious effects of 



