308 



GARDENERS' CUROMCLE 



The varieties are well worth growing, and merit the best posi- 

 tions in the flower border, being esiiccially effective when planted 

 in groups of three, six or nine in a clump, from July to Septem- 

 ber. P. virginiana has bright pink, tubular flowers, and grows 

 three to four feet tall. P. v. alba has snow-white flowers, and 

 grows onlv two feet tall. — Gardeners' Chronicle {British). 



M.^GNOLIA STELLATA.— All the members of this family 

 arc fine, handsome subjects and the species under notice is no ex- 

 ception. It does not grow^ so tall as some, only reaching a height 

 of four to six feet. It has small, waxy white flowers, and has 

 the advantage of being very free flowering, which cannot be said 

 of some other varieties. The tree flowers in March and April ; the 

 blooms are about four inches across and star-shaped. It forms 

 a dense bush and the foliage is a beautiful light green. The flowers 

 are sometimes marred by early spring frosts, but in an open sea- 

 son it is an object of great beauty. .A bed of this Magnolia 

 planted in a sheltered position is a fine sight when the trees are 

 in full bloom, and the flowers are sweetly scented. This Magnolia 

 is much used for pot cultivation ; it is one of the best of shrubs 

 for the front row of the shrubbery and should not be omitted when 

 fortning a new plantation of mixed shrubs. — Gardeners' Chron'iclc 

 (British). 



THE JUDAS TREE.— Of the small genus Cercis, this species 

 (C. silicpiastrum) is the most fatniliar, though it is by no means 

 common in gardens. It is one of the oldest of exotic trees, hav- 

 ing been introduced to this country from Southern Europe in 

 1596. The generic name appears to have been bestowed upon it 

 by Theophrastus some two hundred years before the Christian 

 Era. and tradition has it that it was upon a tree of this kind 

 that Judas hanged himself. C. siliquastrum is generally seen as a 

 low, somewhat spreading tree of fifteen to twenty feet in height, 

 but it will attain a much greater height. It is a deciduous species, 

 the broad, rounded leaves being a pale green changing to yellow 

 in Autumn. The flowers, which appear before tlie leaves in 

 Spring, are pea-shaped and are produced at the joints of the old 

 wood, or even from the trunk. They vary a good deal in color, 

 but in average specimens they are a full toned rosy lilac, so that 

 a Judas Tree laden with these pretty blossoms on a sunny day in 

 May is a very beautiful object. There is a variety w-ith white 

 flowers. Much of the beauty of the Judas Tree, however, lies 

 in its characteristic habit of growth and equally remarkable bark. 

 C. siliquastrum is naturally a sun-lover, and it will thrive in .my 

 well drained loam, the situation being one that is sheltered from 

 cuid spring winds and late frosts. — The Garden. 



on the flesh which outlines the situation of the core in an ordin- 

 ary apple, there are neither core nor seeds. The apples were 

 developed in an orchard at .Vbbotsford, and the discovery that they 

 were out of the ordinary was an accident. They had come from 

 a new block of Fanieuse, about eight years old, which had been 

 top grafted on Rabka seedlings. The discovery was made while 

 grading for market, but unfortunately no record was kept of the 

 tree or trees producing the new fruit and it will not be before an- 

 other harvest that steps can be taken for its development. — Amer- 

 ican I-ruitgrciivr. 



Comments from Our Readers 



In tlie interesting note on Hibiscus in the November issue, 

 "Florum Aniator" states that "There are twenty-eight species of 

 Hibiscus.'' This statement can hardly be accepted as completely 

 inclusive. Bailey, in his Cyclopedia of Horticulture, notes that 

 "there are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred species, 

 but perhaps only twenty known horticulturally in this country." 

 Over four hundred species arc listed in the Index Kewensis, all in 

 good standing from a botanical point of view, but probably not all 

 grown under cultivation. 



It is a genus which is pretty well spread over the earth; Xorth 

 and South .'Xmcrica, China and Japan, South Africa, .Australia, 

 India, Abyssinia, and Madagascar. What a fine jaunt it would be 

 to visit all the Hibiscus at home ! 



Besides the species mentioned by "Florum Amator" there are 

 two others worth while growing as annuals just for garden dis- 

 play. Hibiscus Manihot, native of- India, where it is perennial, 

 makes a strong single stemmed plant six to eight feet high, with 

 large palmately divided leaves. The flowers are pale yellow with 

 a dark eye, and are si.x inches or more in diameter. If need be, 

 the roots can be lifted and stored over the winter. 



H. Trionum, a South African species, occasionally seen listed 

 as H. africanus, makes a bushy plant about two feet high, with 

 flowers also pale yellow with dark centre, about two inches across. 

 — H. E. Downer. 



Department of Book Reviews 



i||lll<lllll|M"M'I 



Brief Horticultural Jottings 



According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, swallows' 

 nests arc considered a great table delicacy by the Chinese, and a 

 sumptuous Chinese dinner is not complete unless there is a dish of 

 this palatable food. There are two kinds of nests, a white variety 

 and a feathered variety, the latter having birds' feathers in the 

 texture. The nests are obtained from the Malay Archipelago, in- 

 cluding Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and the Philippine Islands. They 

 are also found in other places, especially on the reefs or islets off 

 the coast of Changpu. The popular belief that the nests are made 

 from jellyfish or seaweed is said to be erroneous. The particular 

 swallows' nests used are said to \x rich in albuminous matter, the 

 nitrogen content varying from 3.39 to 24.6 per cent. — Gardriu-r.t' 

 Ckron icle ( Brit ish ) . 



Dr. Sumner Coolidge, a relative of President Coolidge, has this 

 season been thoroughly testing De.xtrogerm, the new radio-active 

 peat introduced by Bernard Field of Plymouth, Mass., and accord- 

 ing to the Boston Traveler, the tests have conclusively proved that 

 Dextrogcrm. use<l cm garden crops, will pnxlucc as good, and in 

 rrfany cases better, results than commercial fertilizers, at one-half 

 the cost. The exiK-riments were carried out on the understanding 

 that the sanatorium shf)uld be at no expense unless the results were 

 satisfactory. .Alternate rows of corn and tomatoes were treated 

 with fertilizer and Dextrogcrm so that the subjects were under the 

 same general conditions. While one or two crops were about even, 

 many others showed a 10 to 20 per cent gain where Dextrogcrm 

 had been used. The experiments, we understand, were conducted 

 under the direction of the State Department of .Agriculture and 

 will be continued next year on a 30-acre lield.— /;.r(7iH»;,'('. 



Apples without cores or seeds arc promised by a discovery an- 

 nouncc<l at .Abbotsford, Canada, the particulars of which have just 

 been received by the IX-partmcnt of Commerce. .According tn 

 the announcement a seedless and corelcss variety of I'aniense 

 apple has been developed, which differs but slightly in sh.ipe from 

 an ordinary Kameuse by being longer and flatter at the ends, but 

 with the typical cfJoring and flavor. Except for a slight marking 



STAXDARDIZED PLANT NAMES is the title of an extra- 

 ordinary volume just issued by the .American Joint Committee on 

 Horticultural Nomenclature. It is extraordinary because it is the 

 first attempt in the history of horticulture to propose one scientific 

 name and one common or vernacular name for each item in .Amer- 

 ican horticultural commerce. It is e.xtraordinary also because it 

 includes, for the first time, the joint efforts toward this end of 

 six important trade and semi-professional organizations and the 

 eight strongest special flower orgainzations. Quite as unusual is 

 the fact that this book has been the result of some ei.ght years of 

 eft'ort by a subcommittee of eminent plantsmen, which if charged 

 for by these gentlemen would make the book cost double the price 

 asked for it. These men are Frederick Law Olmsted, a dis- 

 tinguished landscape engineer, Frederick \'. Coville, the Botanist 

 iif tlie United States Department of .Agriculture, and Harlan P. 

 Kelsey, well known as a landscape architect, plant expert and 

 nurseryman. The work has also had the constant sujiervision of 

 the Cliairman of the .American Joint Connuittee, J. Horace McFar- 

 land, who is likewise res])onsible for its peculiarly efficient and 

 readable tvpograpliic form. 



STA.XDARDIZED PLANT NA.MES is a comi>act vnhnne of 

 .S46 closely printed pages, including more than 40,tKX) entries in 

 one carefully cross-indexed alphabetical se(|uence, with a type 

 arrangement which makes the approve<l and unapproved names 

 instantly and almost subconsciously a|)preciable. It lias as well, 

 in the only separate<l list, the official cnde and list of fruit names <if 

 the .American Pi)mological Society. In this volume there has been 

 no attempt to pro|K)se a new system of horticultural tenninnlo.gy. 

 There has lieen a plain idea to "make buying easy" so far as com- 

 merce is concerned, and to make delinite all transactions in plants 

 and all literature about plants because but one name of its kind is 

 use<l for each item. 



It is only proper to add ibal a long and ini]H)rtant list of collab- 

 orators has aided in getting together this tremendous collection of 

 |)lant names, and in working over them for the end in mind. Dr. 

 Bailey of Cornell, the various authorities (jf .Arnold .Arboreluni, 

 ex|K'rts in the Department of .Agriculture at VVasliington, men ac- 

 quainted with special plant groups all <i\er the n.ition, have par- 

 ticip.ited in preparing the copy and in reading the prtxifs. The 

 biK)k is conse(|Uently in no sense the expression of the terminolog- 

 ical tendencies of a limited grou|). but .i genuine endeavor to ac- 

 complish the object aiined at. 



