June 21. 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



587 



REMEDY FOR ONION MAGGOTS. 

 Seattle Gardener Finds One That 

 Gives Much Satisfaction. 

 Seattle, Wash., June 12, 1919. 



Dear Sir: — 



In "The Gardener's Section" of 

 Hokthiltirk, of May 17, 1919, a ques- 

 tion was asked regarding a remedy for 

 onion maggots. 



These maggots are a great pest in 

 this vicinity, especially in light soils 

 and make the successful culture of 

 onions, radish, turnips and cabbages 

 almost impossible, unless a protection 

 of cheese cloth is used. 



This year I have used Red Seal Lye 

 with great success on onions, the oaly 

 one of the above mentioned vegetables 

 I planted here this year and have not 

 found one maggot so far. whereas in 

 former years hardly 5 per cent .were 

 fit to use by this time, and onions in 

 neighboring places which were not 

 treated with lye are almost ruined 

 by the maggots. 



I spray the onions once every eight 

 or ten days with a solution made by 

 diluting one ordinary can of Red Seal 

 Lye in fifteen gallons of water aiming 

 to moisten the soil around the onion? 

 rather than the tops though this spray 

 will not harm the latter materially but 

 encourage the growth of the onions in 

 a wonderful way. 



I have used only Red Seal Lye up 

 till now and do not know if other 

 brands will give the same good re- 

 sults. 



Yours very truly, 



P. E. Stenneberg, 

 Gardener to Mr. C. D. Stimson 



THE STYRAX JAPONICA OR SNOW- 

 DROP TREE. 

 The beautiful Styrax japonica 

 proved ; hardy with us through the cold 

 winter of 1917 and '18 and is now in 

 full blossom, contrasting the delicacy 

 of Its dainty white flowers with the 

 dark rich red : of the Eva Rathke dier- 

 villa in bloom just behind it. Our 

 tree or shrub is six feet tall and very 

 compact in its growth, making a round 

 bush with a spreading top. The whole 

 shrub suggests the delicacy and ex- 

 quisiteness which we associate with 

 Japan. The leaves are smooth and 

 translucent showing their veining very 

 distinctly when held toward the light. 

 They are smooth with only a slight 

 dentation and taper both towards the 

 stem and to the apex. The upper side 



of the leaf is a little darker and more 

 glossy than the reverse. In color the 

 Styrax suggests the bridal beauty of 

 the orange-tree, having the dark 

 foliage with the pure white blossoms 

 and yellow stamens. This beauty of 

 color is enhanced by the red hue of 

 the upper side of the stems of its 

 twigs. The bell shaped blossoms have 

 either four or sometimes five petals 

 and hang in pendulous clusters of five; 

 three coming at the terminal of the 

 twigs and two growing out from the 

 petioles of the leaves. These five long 

 thread-like stems make the clusters of 

 blossoms very graceful. The long 

 pointed buds add to the dainty effect. 

 There is a slight, delicious fragrance 



The Styrax to be fully appreciated 

 should be examined as it has a tend- 

 ency to hide its flowers in the fulness 

 of its growth, instead of flaunting 

 them to the passer-by as the snowball 

 viburnum does, proud of its wealth of 

 bloom 



M. R. Case. 



Hillcrest Farm, Weston. 



THE GINGKO AS A SEASHORE 

 TREE. i 



The value of the Gingko biloba as a 

 seashore tree has been demonstrated 

 in the Park system at Boston. Two 

 lines of these trees were planted in 

 the spring of 1916 at City Point, South 

 Boston, bordering on the water front; 

 and subjected to a north-eastern ex- 

 posure. They have grown remarkably 

 well, and have proven themselves' 

 equal to the location. Their ability td 

 withstand the rigors of such an ex- 

 posure was demonstrated in the 

 severe winter of 1917-18. 



The value of this beautiful tree td 

 produce a picturesque effect has been 

 unquestioned among arboriculturists; 

 although its hardiness is proven, and 

 its freedom from insect injury un- 

 questioned. There is, however, an ob- 

 jection to the pistilate form, on ac- 

 count of the obnoxious odor; it is 

 therefore advisable to procure the 

 staminate tree. 



In addition to its aesthetic import- 

 ance, it is also of great educational 

 value, in as much as it is perhaps the 

 most interesting tree in existence. It 

 is a solitary species of a solitary 

 genus, and we learn that it is the sole 

 survivor of many species which grew 

 abundantly in the carboniferous .age; 

 although, deciduous, it is classed 

 among the conifers. 



This beautiful tree should be more 

 widely known, and its use in private 

 and public grounds encouraged. It is 

 however, used to a great extent in 

 Washington, D. C. as a street tree^ 

 where it, has proven its value as such. 

 Richard J. Hayden 

 Park and Recreation Dept. 



NEW ENGLAND. 



John Seastrone, for 25 years super- 

 intendent of parks and commons at 

 Manchester, N. H. has resigned. 

 Daniel F. Cronin, city forester, has 

 been appointed to succeed him. Mr. 

 Cronin will also continue in charge 

 of the city forestry work. 



Edwin Jenkins of Bellefontaine has 

 been appointed an advisor on land- 

 scape work for the Pittsfield park 

 commission. Mr. Jenkins, who is 

 superintendent of Giraud Foster's 

 estate, has a wide reputation as florist, 

 gardener and landscape engineer. 



Lewis K. Colton of Hudson has be- 

 gun work for the Bay State Nurseries 

 at North Abington, Mass. 



Walter Dock has become head gar- 

 dener on the estate of C. H. Hutchins 

 at Shrewsbury, Mass. 



P. E. Sanborn of Beverly has been 

 granted a permit to build a forty foot 

 greenhouse. 



NEW YORK. 



Robert Grieves has become super- 

 intendent of the A. H. Alker estate at 

 Great Neck, N. Y. 



Harry Brudelow, who has been en- 

 gaged in war work for some time, Is 

 now head gardener on the Poor es- 

 tate at Southampton. 



Hugo P. Stenstrom is now head gar- 

 dener of the H. L. Blum estate called 

 Rockledge at Hartsdale. 



A friend of the public schools of 

 Yonkers has sent to Schools Number 

 One, Number Nine and Number Twen- 

 ty-two six thousand aster and cosmos 

 plants for distribution among the chil- 

 dren of these schools. This friend 

 says that the public schools is his re- 

 ligion. 



Dr. Charles T. Mitchell has been re- 

 elected president of the Canandaigua 

 Botanical Club at the last meeting. 



Mr. Frederick Boughton, of Pitts- 

 ford, exhibited a remarkable collec- 

 tion of ferns and orchids from Pana- 

 ma, giving interesting descriptions of 

 them. 



