1882. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



231 



to the annual report of the Secretary of that 

 Board some notes on tree planting. That por- 

 tion of most interest to us relates to the Ailan- 

 tus. It is true that the tree has one, easily 

 avoided fault, which cannot, in the mind of any 

 sensible person, offset its usefulness, &c.' I would 

 like to get that report, and am ignorant of the 

 name or address of anyone from whom I might 

 get them. If you could help me get that report 

 and any other information on the subject you 

 may know of, I should take it as a great favor." 

 [There are hundreds of Ailantus trees about 

 Philadelphia, a number of them within twenty 

 yards of the spot from this writing, and though 

 some of these trees must have been where 

 they are growing for twenty-five or fifty years, 

 we never heard a hint that any one suspected 

 them of being in any way injurious to health. 

 We should not hesitate to say positively they 

 are not. It would indeed be strange if, in the 

 midst of the talent and fame connected with the 

 medical colleges of Philadelphia, no one of the 

 thousands of eminent men educated in them 

 should have discovered the unhealthy character 

 of this tree, some of which actually grow about 

 the University. We should be inclined to carry 

 it to the courts, if any Town Council ordered 

 any of our Ailantus trees cut down for such 

 reasons as these —Ed. G. M.] 



The Double Sloe.-A correspondent says: 

 " What is the meaning of the following from the 

 catalogue of EUwanger & Barry ? ' Prunus spi- 

 nosa,var.flore-pleno,— a beautiful small tree or 

 large shrub from Japan, covered in spring with 

 small, double, daisy-like, white flowers, suc- 

 ceeded by small, dark, purple fruit.' I had 

 always understood Prunus spinosa to be the 

 common sloe, of the English hedge rows, and 

 not a Japanese plant; and that plants with 

 double flowers never made fruit." 



[The Sloe is a native of Japan, as well as of 

 the North of Europe, and a double one may 

 have been introduced as well from there as from 

 Europe. There has been a double Sloe under 

 culture for the past fifty years in European gar- 

 dens, but we cannot say whether this from Japan 

 is like unto it or not. There may be different 

 kinds of double flowers, and it is just here the 

 bother with Latin names for mere garden varie- 

 ties comes in. A mere ''flore-pleno" would not 

 be new. As to double flowers producing fruit, 

 our correspondent is right in the main, but 

 sometimes all the stamens and pistils are not 



changed to petals, and fruit may then follow. 

 The double apple, double peach, double roses, 

 double petunias and double carnations often 

 produce seed.— Ed. G. M ] 



Raphiolepis indica. — Mrs. S. E. B., Houston, 

 Texas, writes : " Please be so kind as to give me 

 the name of the shrub — spray enclosed. I wish 

 to buy one and do not know the name to order. 

 A friend has it here, and so far I have failed to 

 grow cuttings from the young wood. The plant, 

 four feet high and the same in diameter, is cer- 

 tainly a thing of beauty." 



[Although this plant has the rather hard name 

 we have given at the head of the paragraph, it 

 would perhaps be called "Evergreen June- 

 berry" if it were grown in the North, where the 

 Amelanchier or Indian cherry is so well known 

 by this name. It is not far removed, botanically, 

 from this plant, the very sweet, hawthorn-like 

 flowers being in similar racemes with the addi- 

 tion of a tinge of rose at the base of each. In 

 the South, however, it flowers as early as Janu- 

 ary or February, and is among the most prized 

 of dwarf evergreens wherever there is little frost. 

 It is a native of China, and the temperate parts 

 of the East Indies.— Ed. G. M.] 



Hemlocks and Maple Treks. — Dr. C. A. K., 

 Chester, Pa., writes : " Will you have the kind- 

 ness to inform us whether a hemlock hedge 

 would thrive in rather close proximity to maple 

 trees, say one foot from tree, and trees twenty 

 feet apart. It is to be only a small hedge in 

 front of residence, with every facility of water- 

 ing twice a day, and keeping ground moist." 



[We should under no circumstances recom- 

 mend a hemlock hedge, or any kind of ever- 

 green hedge where there are strong roots of 

 trees, not even though water could be given to 

 them occasionally in summer time. Deciduous 

 hedges grow better. The roots of the trees will 

 get the moisture the evergreen roots ought to 

 have, and they die in the winter from the lack 

 of moisture in the summer —Ed. G. M.] 



Improvement of Small Gardens. — The re- 

 marks of Miss A. G. on the management of 

 small gardens, must have a widespread inter- 

 est. It is wonderful how much more may be 

 done, than is, to increase pleasurable surround- 

 ings. Her remarks may be profitable for large 

 as well as small places. It is amazing to note 

 how bare of tasteful notions many places are. 

 A few trees, a few flowers and bushes; and 

 a nice lawn ! But why should these be all ? 



