August 2, 1913 



HORTICULTUEE 



139 



has been changed to Philadelphia 

 Pink. 



Kindly make these corrections, in 

 order that you have have an accurate 

 record when referring to the report in 

 the future. 



The following two registrations were 

 received since the publication of the 

 report: 



Alice Coombs. — Parentage two un- 

 known seedlings. Color pink, shade 

 between Winona and Gloriosa. Size. 

 3% to 4 inches. Long stiff stem with 

 good upright growth and a free 

 bloomer.— By A. Roper, Tewksbury, 

 Mass. 



Eureka. — Parentage Beacon X Scar- 

 let seedling from R. Craig. Color scar- 

 let. Size, 2% to 3 inches. Growth 

 like Beacon, but very free and does 

 not burst more than two per cent. The 

 freest bloomer in commerce. — By L. C. 

 Midgley, Westboro, Mass. 



A. P. J. Batjr, Secretary. 



RHODE ISLAND-GREYSTONE 

 SWEET PEA EXHIBITION. 



The first joint exhibition of sweet 

 peas by the Rhode Island and Grey- 

 stone Horticultural Societies, held in 

 the Methodist-Episcopal Church par- 

 lors. Providence, R. I., July 19, was a 

 complete success. Miss Isabella H. 

 Miller of Bustin's Island. Me., made a 

 clean sweep in five classes, shown in 

 vases without competition. Thomas 

 Brooks, of Providence, excelled in 

 keen competition in other classes of 

 peas, winning four firsts and one sec- 

 ond in seven classes. 



Primarily, It was a pea exhibit; 

 however, there were many other things 

 shown. A notable part of the show 

 was non-competitive exhibits from 

 Newport. One was from the garden 

 of Miss Fannie Foster, at Ridgemere, 

 where C. M. Bugholt is the gardener, 

 and the other from the gardens of 

 Mrs. W. B. Leeds at Rough Point, of 

 which William Gray is the gardener. 



Burke & Burns, Providence, made a 

 large display of greenhouse roses. 

 Other displays included peas by the 

 Malvern Farm, Bar Harbor, Me., 

 palms, by William H. Appleton; orna- 

 mental plants, by T. J. Johnston & 

 Co., Providence; ferns and tuberous 

 begonias, by John F. W^ood. The dis- 

 play of gladioli by John Lewis Childs 

 of Flowerfield, L. 1., was said to be 

 the best display ever made in New 

 England. Herbaceous plants were 

 shown by the following; Roger Wil- 

 liams Park, Fred C. Green, superin- 

 tendent; B. A. Jackson, Frank L. Gay, 

 Mrs. E. Orsborne; Scotch heather, 

 John Marshall; "Harry Kirk" rose, 

 Mrs. W. A. Clissold. Plans were made 

 at this meeting for the annual dahlia 

 exhibition to be held in September. 



The committee in charge of the 

 sweet pea exhibit included E. K. 

 Thomas (chairman). State College, 

 Kingston; Joshua Vose, Pontiac; Ar- 

 thur Sellew, Providence; F. T. Jenckes, 

 West Barrington; Prof. John E. Hill. 

 Arthur C. Miller and President Thomas 

 Hope, ex-officio, all of Providence. 



tion of American Cemetery Superin- 

 tendents will be held at Buffalo, N. Y., 

 on September 17, 18 and 19. Head- 

 quarters will be at the Hotel Statler. 

 There will be a trip to Niagara Falls 

 on the third day. 



The American Association of Park 

 Superintendents will have their annual 

 convention in Denver, Colo., on Au- 

 gust 25, 26 and 27. The meeting will 

 be almost entirely devoted to outdoor 

 demonstrative work. A good list of 

 speakers has been arranged for the 

 occasion. 



CLUB AND SOCIETY NOTES. 



The St. Louis County Growers' As- 

 sociation will hold their regular 

 monthly meeting, August 6th. at 8 

 P. M. 



The annual meeting of the Associa- 



THE HORSECHESTNUTS. 



From Bulletin No. 41 ot tbe Arnold .Arbo- 

 retum, Boston. 



The Horsechestnut {Aesculus Hippo- 

 castaniim) growing naturally in a re- 

 stricted area has the power of flourish- 

 ing and reproducing itself in regions 

 with climates as unlike as those of east- 

 ern New England and western Scotland. 

 The home of this tree among the 

 mountains ot northern Greece is of 

 such limited extent that, although the 

 Horsechestnut has been cultivated in 

 Europe for more than three centuries, 

 it is only in comparatively recent 

 years that the wild tree has been dis- 

 covered. The Grecian Horsechestnut 

 is one of the noblest of the exotic trees 

 cultivated in the United States, but for 

 the development of its greatest beauty 

 it requires deep, rich, moist soil and 

 abundant space for the spread of its 

 branches. Few other trees suffer more 

 from smoke, dust, and the other un- 

 natural conditions of city life. There 

 are a number of forms in cultivation 

 but none of them equals the typical 

 tree in beauty. One of the best known 

 ot these abnormal forms is the variety 

 with double flowers (var. Baiimdiinii, 

 florc pleiio). This form flowers later 

 than the single-flowered tree and the 

 flowers last a long time in good con- 

 dition. There are varieties with erect 

 branches (var. pijramidnlin) and with 

 erect and spreading branches forming 

 a round-topped tree (var. vnihraniU- 

 fi'rn): and there are varieties with 

 variously incised leaflets (var. iricisa 

 and var. Inriniatn), and with leaves 

 blotched with yellow (var. vnrieqnta), 

 but these are all horticultural curiosi- 

 ties and of no interest to the general 

 planter. 



The so-called red-flowered Horse- 

 chestnut, which appeared in Europe 

 many years ago, although Its origin 

 is not entirely clear, is probably a 

 hybrid of the common Horsechestnut 

 with the red-flowered A. Pnrla of the 

 southeastern United States. The right 

 name of this tree is .4. cnrnen, al- 

 though it is often found In nurseries 

 under the name of A. riiMrundn. It 

 has the general habit and appearance 

 of the common Horsechestnut, but it 

 is a smaller tree and blooms later, and 

 the flowers on different individuals 

 vary from red to pale rose color. The 

 handsomest form (var. Brintii) has 

 deep red flowers and. is one of the 

 most ornamental of the arborescent 

 Horsechestnuts. The Japanese Horse- 

 chestnut (.4. turhhinfn) is rather close- 

 ly related to the Grecian tree and re- 

 sembles it in general appearance, al- 

 though the flowers are less showy. In 

 its native country this is a large and 

 handsome tree, and it promises to be 

 a valuable ornamental tree here. The 



largest specimen in the United States 

 is in Rochester, N. Y., where the Jap- 

 anese Horsechestnut has flowered and 

 produced large crops of seeds tor sev- 

 eral years. The Himalayan Horse- 

 chestnut, the species from central 

 China discovered by Wilson, and the 

 California species are not hardy here, 

 and the north China Horsechestnut Is 

 not yet established in the Arboretum. 



Southeastern North America is the 

 real home of the Horsechestnuts, judg- 

 ing by the multiplication of species in 

 that part ot the world where a num- 

 ber of interesting and valuable new 

 forms have recently been discovered. 

 The earliest of the American species 

 to flower is the so-called Ohio Buck- 

 eye, .4. glabra. This is a small 

 tree with pale yellow flowers, fruit 

 like that of the Grecian tree covered 

 with prickles and dark bark exfoli- 

 ating in thin flakes. A form of this 

 tree with usually seven instead of five 

 leaflets (var. Bucklryi) is not otherwise 

 different from the common form. An- 

 other form of this tree (var. leu- 

 codcrmifi) from southern Missouri and 

 Arkansas, with pale bark, blooms 

 about two weeks later than the type. 



The other yellow-flowered arbores- 

 cent Horsechestnut of the eastern 

 states (.4. octniidra) differs from the 

 Ohio Buckeye in the absence of 

 prickles from the fruit. It is a larger 

 tree, growing sometimes on the slopes 

 of the southern Appalachian Mountains 

 to the height of eighty feet, and 

 blooms a week or ten days later. 

 This is a valuable ornamental tree 

 which is now rarely found in collec- 

 tions. The other arborescent species 

 of the southern states, the red-flow- 

 ered A. Pnria. is not yet established 

 in the Arboretum, although some gar- 

 den forms of this tree (var. atrosan- 

 qmimi and var. Whitmii^. flower here 

 freely. 



From a race of hybrids between A. 

 ortfindrn and A. Pavia some valuable 

 garden plants have been obtained. 

 This hybrid appeared in Paris at the 

 beginning of the last century and the 

 correct name for it is .4. hyhrida, al- 

 though in recent European publica- 

 tions it is sometimes called A. rersl- 

 color. The flowers are of different 

 shades ot red, and individuals differ In 

 foliage, in the size and color of the 

 flowers, and In their time of opening. 

 Ot recently described species from the 

 southeastern states only .4. peorqiana 

 from central Georgia will flower this 

 year. This is a broad, round-topped 

 shrub growing sometimes to the 

 height of five or six feet, with large 

 red and yellow flowers in long com- 

 pact clusters, and a plant of much 

 promise as a garden ornament. A. 

 pnrrifora is the last of the Horse- 

 chestnuts to flower and its tall nar- 

 row snikes of white flowers do not 

 open before midsummer. In the Ar- 

 boretum are beds of young plants of 

 the yellow-flowered A. nrrjutn. a small 

 shrub from eastern Texas, and of the 

 beautiful red-flowered shrub or small 

 tree from the southern and south- 

 western states usually called A. mis- 

 trina. Much attention has been paid 

 to the formation of the Arboretum 

 collection of Horsechestnuts and It 

 will well repay the attention of per- 

 sons interested in a beautiful genus 

 of now too little known trees and 

 shrubs well suited for the decoration 

 of northern parks and gardens. 



