i8 97 . 



' ' • GARDENING. 



233 



its name, rigida, seems very well applied. 

 The resinosa is the red pineof the Eastern 

 states, and I think it destined to become 

 quite common in cultivation, it has so 

 many good qualities. It is of heavy 

 growth, and has long drooping needles. 

 Fortunately, as I think, for I do not care 

 so much for pines with stiff needles, these 

 are soft, as soft as those of the Himalayan 

 pine, while of a nice green color. While 

 of rapid growth, it makes branches 

 enough to fill up its outline nicely with 

 foliage. It is thought to be one of our 

 most valuable timber trees as well. 



Contorta comes from the Pacific coast, 

 and is one of but very few from there that 

 do well here. It makes an irregular 

 yet close growth, and it keeps its foliage 

 of a bright green color in all seasons. I 

 think it promises to do very well in the 

 eastern states, as in addition to what 

 has been said, it is perfectly hardy. 



Of the Japsnese ones mentioned, densi- 

 Hora and Thunbergii both are very rapid 

 growers. Densiflora is of much finer 

 growth than the other, though it would 

 not be considered fine as pines go. But 

 Thunbergii is such a heavy, strong 

 grower, that in this respect I think it out- 

 ranks the Austrian, and, like the latter, 

 its terminal buds possess the white color 

 which heretofore so distinguished it from 

 all other kinds. I have known a strong 

 specimen of Thunbergii, not more than 

 five feet high, to make a growth of twenty 

 inches in a season. In general appear- 

 ance it more nearly resembles the Aus- 

 trian than any other, and it could be 

 substituted for it anywhere. 



Philadelphia. Joseph Meehan. 



BREAD FRUIT TREE 



are applied. The timber is soft and light 

 and of a rich yellow color, assuming with 

 age the appearance of mahogany. It is 

 used to make canoes, furniture and to 

 build houses. A cloth is made from the 

 fibre of the inner bark; the staminate cat- 

 kins serve for tinder; the leaves for wrap- 

 ping up food and for wiping the hands 

 instead of towels; the thick mucilaginous 

 juice which exudes from punctures in the 

 bark is used, when boiled in cocoa-nut 

 oil, for making seams of canoes, pails, 

 etc., water tight, and for bird-lime. 



The distribution of the bread-fruit is 

 very extensive, in the East Indies and 

 islands as well as those of the South 

 Pacific, and in tropical America as already 

 stated. 



Much has been said of the value of the 

 bread-fruit to the natives of the regions 

 where it flourishes but it is doubtful if it 

 ever could become popular with civilized 

 tastes in competition with our superior 

 bread-stuffs. J. Higgins. 



SOME UNCOMMON PINES. 



About all old residences near our large 

 cities the pines to be seen are usually of 

 three kinds, the Austrian, Scotch and 

 white. At the time these grounds were 

 laid out our landscape gardeners were 

 nearly altogether confined to the three 

 sorts named. What few nurseries there 

 were imported from Europe the most of 



what they sold, hence the presence of the 

 Austrian and the Scotch pine everywhere 

 in collections of evergreens. While these 

 are still much planted, it has been found 

 our pines and those of Japan ate most 

 desirable, some of our own answering the 

 purpose of our landscape gardeners ad- 

 mirably. I propose to mention a few of 

 them which have done well here. 



Of native pines uncommon in cultiva- 

 tion I would mention Banksiana, con- 

 torta, inops, resinosa and rigida, and 

 among Japanese sorts Thunbergii and 

 densiflora. Banksiana is rarely seen out- 

 side of its wild state, yet it is a pine of 

 pretty growth. In appearance it resem- 

 bles a great deal the inops. which herea- 

 bouts is commonly called Jersey pine, be- 

 cause of its abundance in some parts of 

 that state. Both of them have rather 

 short needles, and but medium sized, 

 rather narrow cones. And when set out 

 with plenty of room to develop they form 

 broad-based not over-tall trees. 



The inops is a beautiful tree when 

 grown singly as described, and it pos- 

 sesses, too, that, piney odor, so pleasing 

 to so many persons. Banksiana has 

 sprung into some repute of late on 

 account of its ability to thrive in rather 

 poor sandy soil, and yet produce timber 

 of much value. Rigida is of much heavier 

 appearance than the other two, being 

 more in the way of the Austrian, and its 

 branches have a less drooping tendency; 



TAB UMBRELLA TREE. 



Your beautiful engraving of the Um- 

 brella Tree in the April 1st issue of Gar- 

 dening (and it seems to me that no floral 

 magazine in the U. S. has as exquisite 

 engravings as you do) reminds me of an 

 avenue of these trees in May Park, 

 Augusta, Ga., which for beauty and sym- 

 metry I believe are unequaled elsewhere; 

 certainly in no country have I seen their 

 equal. There are 35 or 40 of them , abou t 

 30 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter. They 

 line up on either side of a broad avenue, 

 touching each other in line and also across 

 the avenue. The trees are all of the same 

 height and are healthy. 



About many of the trees are circular 

 seats, and as the trees begin to branch 3 

 or 4 feet from the ground, you can easily 

 imagine the deep protecting shade they 

 afford in the hot summer time. 



Many photographs of this avenue have 

 been made. Locally it has quite a repu- 

 tation. It justly merits that widernotice 

 which your magazine will give to it. 



N. L. Willet. 



Augusta, Ga., April 1, 1897. 



China trees, orientally called azedarachs, 

 have several pleasant characteristics: 

 notably, perfect natural symmetry, when 

 of the umbrella pattern, and intox- 

 icating sweetness of bloom. A clump 

 of China trees in blossom is unique in the 

 American range of purples. Each sepa- 

 rate floweret is of a slatish lilac, black 

 centered; but the whole mass of purple 

 bloom resembles nothing so much as 

 those thick daubs of apparently fanciful 

 purple trees on gorgeous Japanese paper 

 screens. The resulting tint is of a tur- 

 quoise opaqueness, but very rich, soft and 

 lovely. Rural Georgians allege that 

 mocking birds fall into tipsiness (we 

 avoid the crude vernacular) from eating 

 China tree berries; but we have yet to 

 meet a disconcerted mocking bird. P. 



