1882. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



313 



groups of other shrubs, a portion of which re- 

 tain their foliage the year round, i. e. ever- 

 greens. There can be no doubt of the utility of 

 many of our native shrubs and vines being 

 eminently adapted for service on our lawns and 

 public parks, and profiling by the experience of 

 our most successful cultivators, it is to be hoped 

 that more use will be made, in the near future, 

 of these worthy plants. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Sex of the Ailantus. — A note in the Ameri- 

 can Agricullunst, probably from the pen of Prof. 

 Thurber, than whom there can be no better 

 authority, calls attention to the fact that there 

 are three kinds of Ailantus— the male, which is 

 foetid for the few days it is in flower, the female, 

 which is inodorous, and the hermaphrodite, 

 which, though perfecting seeds as the female 

 does, has also disagreeable flowers. The purely 

 female is the form which those should raise from 

 root cuttings who find fault with the odor of the 

 others. 



The Mole. — This creature is often discussed 

 at horticultural meetings. The question usually 

 turns on the inquiry whether it is carnivorous 

 or herbivorous. To most cultivators the greater 

 question is the throwing up of the earth. This 

 cannot be endured no matter what it eats ; and 

 discussions on the best kind of mole traps will 

 still be in order. 



The Rose Without Thorns.— In a feeble sort 

 of apology for just a little wickedness in human 

 beings, a French writer assures his readers that 

 " a rose without thorns, is a rose without fra- 

 grance." Just now we do not feel sure of our 

 position, but are inclined to regard the crimson 

 Boursault as a completely thornless and yet 

 very fragrant rose. What do our readers say? 

 We are not inclined to have the delightful rose 

 made to cover moral delinquencies without 

 strong evidence of its dereliction. 



Coal and Lignite in Mexico.— We notice by 

 the bulletin of the agricultural society of 

 Mexico that companies are being formed to 

 develop the carboniferous resources of Mexico. 



Tomato Disease in Kentucky. — A correspond- 

 ent of the Farmers' Home Journal notes the pres- 

 ence of a serious disease in the tomato near 

 Louisville. ''The leaves and stem of the tomato 



blight and fall from the main vine. They begin 

 at the bottom of the plant to turn yellow, then 

 brown and black, and fall lifeless, leaving the 

 stalk covered with finely-grown fruit without 

 any shade to cover them from the sun." 



We have not seen this peculiar form of disease. 

 That which we have had reference to recently 

 affected only the fruit. For many years the 

 plant has been subjected to an attack of a fun- 

 gus similar, and probably the same, with the 

 verbena rust. The description above looks as if 

 the trouble might arise from some stem borer, 

 though no such insect is known at present to be 

 engaged in such work. Have the stalks been 

 examined? 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES, 



Tubular-bayed Rudbeckia.— I. II. Slocombe, 

 New Haven, writes : " I have sent by mail two 

 flowers of Rudbeckia hirta, as found growing 

 wild. This is the second season it has produced 

 such flowers as sent. I have never seen any- 

 thing like it, and am going to cultivate it." 



[The ray flowers are tubular instead of strap- 

 shaped. The ox-eye daisy has been found that 

 way, and the Gaillardia has several pretty varie- 

 ties of the same character. It is the first notice 

 we know of in Rudbeckia. It will make a 

 pretty border plant.— Ed. G. M.] 



Poisonous Kalmia. — "H." writes: "I have 

 been looking over some old numbers of the 

 Horticulturist, and been reading up the various 

 articles signed 'Thomas Meehan.' One on page 

 169, volume for 1856, is only signed T. M., and 

 in it I see you do not agree with the opinion (or 

 at least did not then) that the leaves of Kalmia 

 latifolia are poisonous to animals. I firmly be- 

 lieve in it, but shall not trouble you with my 

 reasons until I know that you are still a doubter." 



[This subject has been gone over pretty well 

 lately, but still we are not convinced, simply 

 because we do not regard the evidence warrants 

 the belief that it is. It may be poisonous, but 

 the fact that some sheep have died after eating 

 it, does not prove it. Some people have died 

 after eating oysters, and it is said King Henry 

 VIII. died after eating strawberries. 



If there are any poisonous properties in Kalmia, 

 chemistry ought to show it. In former corres- 

 pondence we suggested that it would be much 

 better to have a chemical analysis made of the 

 leaves than to have so many letters with our 



