24 



Editorial Notes. 



And winds were lulled about the bended head, 

 And the warm sunlight swathed her as in 



flame 

 While the awed answer came, 

 " Halh He not Mid." 



Perfect Nonsense, 



The horticultural editorial genius who 

 penned the following sketch was either a 

 natural born fool, or else lived in " moon- 

 shine " too much. The idea of growing best 

 in cold weather ! " Delicate flower ! " " Fra- 

 •gile!" " Star reflectors ! " "Perfumes!" 

 Whew ! Carry us out ! 



" The California hop vine has the singular 

 habit of only growing in winter. The cooler 

 the weather, the better it thrives; and on 

 clear, frosty nights, it sometimes grows an 

 inch in five hours. It bears beautiful, snow- 

 white flowers, something like tuberoses, only 

 much more fragile and fragrant. Ladies 

 wear them with diamonds at evening par- 

 ties. They wither in daylight, and open 

 only at night. When the mercury is lowest, 

 and the stars are almost reflected on the 

 crisp, shining snow, then this delicate flower 

 opens its petals and fills the frosty air with 

 its perfumes.*' 



Geot-ffe Jfefibodiff Tlitijii Occidentulia Tiufen- 



This new Golden Arbor Vitse is claimed 

 to possess the richest golden yellow color of 

 any evergreens — color almost entirely covers 

 the plant — marks not merely the tips of the 

 leaves, but covers from one to three inches 

 of the current year's growth ; color very 

 brilliant, and more decidedly golden than 

 Biota elegantissima ; color permanent, both 

 in the suns of hot summer and among the 

 frosts and winds of winter. Plants also 

 hardy, having stood the cold, dry, hard 

 winters of 1870-'71-'72, and lives in every 

 locality where the common American arbor 

 vitae thrives. 



On February 12, 1873, the Koyal Horti- 

 cultural Society of London awarded it a 

 first-class certificate. 



A. Jiiff Apple Crop, 



Mr. John Morse, of Cayuga, N. Y., has 

 realized $8,000 from a single apple crop 

 within the past year. 



Geori/ia Ilorticiilttiritl Sorirly, 



A new society with this title has been or- 

 ganized and holds its sessions at Atlanta, 

 Ga. At its meeting this fall, the members 

 filled two tables, each 100 feet long, with 

 fruit of most attractive description — pears, 

 apples, grapes, figs, etc. 



Neiv President of Illinois Horticultural Society. 



At the last meeting of this society, we 

 observe Robert Douglass was elected presi- 

 dent. 



A yetv Vegetnhle. 



The Gardener'' s Chronicle says : "In the 

 current number of the Journal of Botany, 

 Dr. Hance describes a Chinese Culinary 

 Vegetable, consisting of the shoots of a 

 grass, Hydropyrum tatifoHum, wild in 

 Northern China and Amuor Land, and cul- 

 tivated in Southern China in standing water. 

 As brought to market, the " cane shoots " 

 occur in cylindrical pieces of a white color, 

 2^ to 3.^ inches long, 1 to 1\ inch in diame- 

 ter, tapering upwards into a conical point, 

 and surmounted by the leaves and culm, 

 from which they are readily detached. In 

 taste, the raw shoot is not unlike a half-ripe 

 nut, but it is never eaten uncooked. By 

 the Chinese it is stewed with meat, and by 

 foreigners cut longitudinally into two or 

 three pieces, well boiled, and served with 

 melted butter. Prepared in this way, it is 

 stated by Dr. Hance to be one of the most 

 agreeable of vegetables. "It is difficult," 

 says the writer from whom we quote, " to 

 describe its exact flavor, but it is, perhaps, 

 nearer to that of unripe maize, as boiled 

 and eaten by Americans under the name of 

 green corn, though it possesses a richness 

 and delicacy to which I know no parallel in 

 any other vegetable." The species in 

 question is nearly allied to the American 

 species, H. esculentum, formerly grown in 

 this country. There is little doubt that the 

 Chinese plant would also thrive in our cli- 

 mate, on which account we are glad to hear 

 that Dr. Hance intends to send home living 

 plants. 



