December 15, 1917 



HORTICULTUEE 



64S 



THE PFALTZGRAFF POTTERY CO., York, Pa. 



Manufacturers of Florists Pots, Bulb Pans, Fern Dishes, etc 



WE LEAD IN QUALITY, FINISH AND SERVICE 



F^or Catalogues and Discounts address 



AUGUST ROLKER 8 SONS, 51 Barclay Street, NEW YORK CITY 



Our Selling Agents in N. Y.. N. J. and Eastern States Territory 



SOME DESIRABLE PRUNUSES. 



plums and Apricots. Many Plum- 

 trees were loaded this year with flowers 

 and flower-buds. The earliest of them 

 to flower is probably a plant of Prunus 

 salicina, better known as Prunus tri- 

 flora, which was received a few years 

 ago from a German Nursery under the 

 name of Prunus kurdica, a species 

 from central Asia with small black 

 fruit, first known by a tree cultivated 

 in Vienna. The German plant flowers 

 a few days earlier than the plants of 

 P. salicina raised from seeds collected 

 by Wilson in western China, and dif- 

 fers from them in the lighter-colored 

 bark of the stem and branches. It 

 bears large yellow fruit slightly tinged 

 with red, with thick succulent flesh of 

 excellent quality, and seems worth the 

 attention of pomologists in the north- 

 em states. Prunus salicina, which is 

 the most important Plum-tree of east- 

 ern Asia, is best known as the origin 

 of the so-called Japanese Plums now 

 largely cultivated in the United States. 

 The plants of P. salicina raised froin 

 Wilson's seeds are blooming well this 

 year, and although the flowers of these 

 trees are only about three-quarters of 

 an inch in diameter they are so abund- 

 ant that, apart from the value of their 

 fruit, they are well worth a place in 

 the garden for their flowers. 



Prunus Simonll. This native of 

 Northern China is bloomed more 

 abundantly this year than usual. It is 

 conspicuous among Plum-trees for the 

 erect-growing branches which form a 

 narrow pyramidal head. It produces 

 red sweet fruit of fair quality, and 

 under the name of the Apricot Plum it 

 has been much propagated by Ameri- 

 can pomologists and largely grown in 

 this country, especially in the Pacific 

 States. This tree is hardy but in the 

 Arboretum it has been short-lived, and 

 In this part of the country is only 

 worth growing as a curiosity. 



Prunus nigra. Among American 

 Plums in the Arboretum collection the 

 so-called Canada Plum, Prunus nigra, 

 Is the earliest to bloom. It Is a native 

 of the northern border of the United 

 States from New Brunswick westward, 

 and is distinguished from the more 

 southern Prunus americana by its 

 larger and earlier flowers, the blunt 

 teeth of the leaves and by the darker 

 and closer bark. The flowers turn 

 pink as they fade. The Canada Plum 

 has produced some excellent seedling 

 forms of garden Plums like Cheney, 

 Itasca, Aitkin and Oxford which are 

 esteemed and largely grown by pomolo- 

 gists. The flowers of the Canadian 

 Plum will soon be followed by those 

 of Prunus americana, of the blue-fruit- 

 ed P. alleghaniensis, a native of south- 

 ern Connecticut and western Pennsyl- 



vania, an interesting species of con- 

 siderable ornamental value, of Prunus 

 Watsonii, the little Sand Plum of Kan- 

 sas and Oklahoma, of Prunus Mun- 

 soniana of the Kansas to Texas region, 

 the wild form of the Wild Goose and 

 many other varieties cultivated for 

 their fruit, and of Prunus hortulana, 

 a native of the region from southern 

 Illinois to southern Missouri and Okla- 

 homa. This is perhaps the handsomest 

 of the American Plum-trees and one of 

 the last to flower. In cultivation it is 

 a round-topped tree with wide-spread- 

 ing branches. The flowers are small, 

 often not more than half of an inch in 

 diameter, and open before the leaves 

 which are narrow, long-pointed and 

 lustrous. The globose fruit is scarlet, 

 very lustrous, and looks like a large 

 cherry. Forms of this tree like Golden 

 Beauty, Kanawha, Wayland and Cum- 

 berland, are grown and distributed by 

 nurserymen as fruit trees; but without 

 regard to the edible value of its fruit 

 Prunus hortulana is worth a place in 

 every northern garden for its beauty of 

 habit, foliage and fruit. 



Prunus dasycarpa. In the Arbore- 

 tum this tree has been for many 

 springs covered with its large showy 

 flowers. This is the Purple or Black 

 Apricot, so-called on account of the dull 

 purple color of the fruit. It is a small 

 tree with short trunk covered with 

 dark bark, and wide-spreading 

 branches. A native of eastern Siberia 

 or Manchuria, this Apricot is very 

 hardy and is well worth cultivating in 

 the northern states as a flowering 

 plant, for the fruit, which has rarely 

 ripened in the Arboretum, has little 

 value in comparison with that of the 

 common Apricot. 



A Japanese Apricot under the name 

 of "Mikado," a form of the common 

 Apricot {Plunus Armeniaca) , has been 

 grown in the Arboretum for several 

 years where it makes a small tree with 

 erect branches and, flowering freely 

 every spring, has proved here one of 

 the handsomest and most satisfactory 

 plants of its class. 



Prunus triloba. Among the flowers 

 of early spring few are more lovely 

 than those of this small Almond from 

 northern China which, in spite of the 

 fact that it has flowered in the Arbore- 

 tum every spring for the last twenty 

 years, is still very little known, al- 

 though the form with double flowers 

 (var. ple7ia) is a common garden plant 

 In this country and is often success- 

 fully forced under glass for winter 

 bloom. The single-flowered plant should 

 be better known. It is a tall shrub of 

 rather open Irregular habit of growth. 

 The flowers, which are pure clear pink 

 in color, are produced every year In 

 profusion, and among the shrubs in- 

 troduced into cultivation by the Arbore- 

 tum in the last thirty years none excel 



the single-flowered form of P. triloha 

 in the beauty of their flowers. 



— Arnold Arboretum Bulletin. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



J. B. Keller's Sons have added 

 a new lattice work to their show win- 

 dow. 



George Cramer is filling the position 

 at Geo. Hart's of Tom Sullivan who re- 

 cently left for training camp. 



Paul Thomann had the misfortune 

 to slip from a ladder and break his 

 ankle this week which will undoubted- 

 ly lay him up for the rest of the 

 winter. 



NEWS NOTES. 



Oshkosh, Wis.— The Oshkosh Seed 

 Company has increased its capital 

 stock to $100,000. 



Houlton, Me.— Fire early in the 

 morning of December 6 destroyed the 

 office building and salesroom and 

 stock of Harold L. Chadwick, florist, 

 on High street. The fire had gained 

 considerable headway before it was 

 discovered and only the prompt etR- 

 cient work of the fire company saved 

 the large glass conservatories from be- 

 ing destroyed although a large damage 

 was done to some of the plants in the 

 houses. The damage will amount to 

 several hundred dollars and is a par- 

 ticularly hard one for Mr. Chadwick as 

 there was no insurance on the build- 

 ing or stock. 



Plant Propagation, Greenhouse 

 and Nursery Practice 



- By .M. G. KAINS 



We have had many luqulrlei from 

 time to time for a reliable aud op-to- 

 date hook on plant propagation, bnt 

 were alwa.vs at a loss to And any ptili- 

 llcatlon that we could recommend. Th« 

 subject has been dealt with In frnitmen- 

 tarv manner only In book* that have 

 come to our notice. So It Is well that 

 this new work has been Issued, eipecl- 

 ally as It Is both comprehensive and 

 practical, and It should meet with ■ 

 ready sale amonn plantsmen. nnrsery- 

 nien and irardeners. There are nineteen 

 chapters coverlne In detail foplr« nt 

 ecrmln.ntlon and lonceTltv of seeds, 

 propnffatlne by tinds. layerlnB. mtflncs. 

 erafflne. etc.." fnilt tree storks. r1on«. 

 etc.. and there are elehf paees of ron- 

 dentspd cnltur.nl Instructions In tshn- 

 Isted form, coverfnir nnnnals and peren- 

 nlnls from seed, woody plants, erer- 

 ereens. vines, bulbs and tubers, rreen- 

 hnnse and honse plants, ferns, palms. 

 wnter plants, orchids and cacti. The 

 n»t»QtrntIons are nnmerons. compHslnr 

 ?in Azures nnd hnlftone plates, Ther# 

 ore 31?!? paces well hnnnd snd on hesTT 

 paper, teemlncr with helpful Informstloii. 

 Tt 1« a book which no cultivator cun 

 iff'^rd to do withonf Tt Is worth msnT 

 t'mes Its price. Ponl'W ctn be STtpplled 

 frnm the offlce of TTORTTnTLTrRK it 

 ,>,.MIobcr*o price. *1 W 



Horticulture Publishin^r Co. 



147 orMMKH ST.. BOSTOW. MA«fl. 



