THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



883 



He will cunduct the new (ieparliucnt, '■The I'uii uf See- 

 ing Things," as he would lead a party of young folks on 

 a ramble. There will be more spontaneity than restraint, 

 more originality than formally trimmed rhetoric. 



Boys and girls that wish to share in this real fun may 

 address Dr. Bigelow at Arcadia, Sound Beach, Conn. 



HOME OF THE 

 HOLLY. 



GREAT BRITAIN Though very widely dis- 



tributed — for it grows in most 

 of the countries of middle 

 and southern Europe, as well 

 as in parts of Asia and Africa — the real home of the 

 holly may be said to be in Great Britain, for in no other 

 country does it thrive better than here, says an article in 

 the Westminster Gacette (London). Bradley records 

 that there were to be seen some years ago in the famous 

 "Roll}' Walk," near Frensham, in Surrey, specimens of 

 holly reaching to the great height of 60 feet — a dimen- 

 sion which, it is believed, has never been attained in an)- 

 other place, either at home or abroad. In Bretagne. how- 

 ever, the holly has often been known to reach a height of 

 50 feet, but trees of that size, though not common, have 

 been recorded in this country on many occasions. 



The early recognition of the holly, not only as a hand- 

 some plant, but as one that was useful in many ways, 

 is to be observed in the names of many ancient villages 

 throughout the country. "Holme," "Hulver"' and "Hul- 

 fere" were all old names given to the holly in times gone 

 by, and we find the first in the names of such places as 

 Holmwood and Holmbury in Surrey ; Holme Chase on 

 Dartmoor; Holmer in Herefordshire; and in Holme, 

 which name occurs by itself in a great many places all 

 up and down the country. Hulver, in Suffolk, also 

 doubtless took its name from the pleiitifulness of the 

 holly trees in that district. In Devonshire, by the way, 

 the holly is still often referred to as the "holme," and in 

 Norfolk it is still sometimes referred to as "hulver" — a 

 name that is probably as old and a good deal older than 

 the poems of Chaucer, in one of which he says : 

 "This herbere was full of flowers gende. 



Into which as I beholde 'gan, 

 Betwixt an hulfere and a woodbende. 

 As it ware, I saw where lay a man." 



The largest tree in the 

 LARGEST TREE IN United States is said to be the 

 UNITED STATES. "^lother of the Forest." a 

 giant redwood in the Cala- 

 veras big tree grove in California. It is supposed to 

 contain 140,619 board feet of lumber. There are, how- 

 ever, many claimants for the honor of being the "largest 

 tree" and the "oldest tree," and these claims, according 

 to foresters, cannot always be verified. 



Txrtr\7 o ^^ course, bad seeds will 



WHY SEEDS not germinate under any 



SOMETIMES FAIL. treatment. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, good ones fail to do 

 so, even when every convenience exists for their proper 

 treatment. There are several causes for failure, name- 

 ly, sowing too deeply, not deep enough, a too wet soil 

 and al.so a too dry one. Now, to be successful, the 

 reader will at once think that the happy merlium must 

 be secured in each case. If it is, there will not lie many 

 failures; but with a certain amount of moisture we 

 must also have heat. If seeds are sown in a very cold 

 soil at this season, many may perish in it. especially if 

 the soil be very wet. Seeds of the more tender kinds 

 of plants require a warmer temperature than those of 

 hardier kinds. Example : Cucumber seeds would decay 

 in the soil if given similar conditions to those of Bmad 



Beans, but the latter would germinate quickly if treated 

 the same as Cucumber seeds. In very hot weather — 

 in summer time — it is absolutely necessary to give 

 seeds a moister soil than in January, February and 

 .March. Uust-like seeds — those of Begonias, for ex- 

 ample — should be sown on a moist surface where 

 coarse sand is plentiful. Celery seeds should have a 

 quarter of an inch of fine soil evenly scattered on them ; 

 Cucumber seeds require nearh' an inch of soil ; Peas 

 rather more ; Broad Beans quite two inches, and so on. 

 The soil must be maintained in an even state of mois- 

 ture. Many cultivators cover the seed-vessels with 

 glass and paper. If the covering is removed in good 

 time the young seedlings will not be damaged ; but if 

 left on too long — even a day in some cases — the 

 seedlings are much weakened and often die afterwards. 

 Never sow thickly, as crowded seedlings are always 

 weakly. — Exchange. 



Many ui ihe efforts of 

 SANITY AND wealthy men to do something 



SANITATION. lor the improvement of agri- 



culture have been tinged 

 at least with intelligence, but frequently they have 

 lacked the saving grace of horse sense. There has 

 recently come to our attention a description of a rail- 

 way president's new dairy barn — Mrs. Dairy Cow's 

 boudoir. We give just a few lines concerning this $15,- 

 000 home for a few imported cows : 



"There is a shaded electric light at the head of each 

 manger. A tank filled with running water provides a 

 place for 'bossy' to quench her thirst at any time she 

 chooses. Water will be furnished at a fixed tem- 

 perature. The building is of brick, with a roof of as- 

 bestos. The interior is finished in white enamel, in- 

 cluding the walls and stalls, and the floor is of white 

 tile. The interior is decorated in bronze, and on a 

 jjrijnze plate at each stall will be engraved the name 

 of the cow." 



it is said that this cow palace was erected on the 

 advice of a woman member of a state fair board and 

 that she plans to bring farmers to the place to show 

 them the advantages of fine homes for milch cows. But 

 it is extremely doubtful if she can convince them of 

 the benefits to themselves. 



Sanity is as necessary as sanitation. — Cniutry Gentle- 

 man. 



Even sweet fruits have some 

 ACIDS IN FRUITS. ,,^^,,^. ,^.,,,^^^.^ j,^^ sourness of 

 other kinds is due to an ex- 

 cess of such acids. Though there are apparently a good 

 many degrees of sourness in fruits, the acids which cause 

 them are comparatively few. Malic acid seems to be 

 the principal one. It is, probably the only acid, in jilunis, 

 apples, cherries, bananas, persimmons, watermelons, 

 peaches and quinces as well as many others. In the 

 canteloupe, lemon, orange and pomegranate citric acid 

 is found, while in cranberries, raspberries and black- 

 berries both citric and malic acids are present. In some 

 cases one or the other of these acids is represented bv a 

 mere trace or it may disappear altogether. 



NUMEROUS There arc somewhat more 



SPECIES OF TREES *'^^" ^^ recognized tree 

 jj, Tj g sjiccies in the I'liited State«. 



of which about 100 are com- 

 mercially important for timber. Of the 500 recog- 

 nized species 300 are represented in the government's 

 newly acquired .^ppalachian forests. 



