34 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



lages in New England some three years ago, and every one of 

 them was beautiful, every one had beautiful avenues of trees, 

 and all of them had parks and flowers. 



Mr. J. H. Larson : Do you consider the red berried elder 

 poisonous?" 



Mr. Loring: No, it is not poisonous; not at all. 



Mr. Ferris (la.) : Is the Japan clematis, the last flower you 

 spoke of, is it the one known as paniculata? 



Mr. Loring: Yes, it is the same. There are a number of 

 varieties, but this is considered the most valuable. 



Mr. J. F. Benjamin : Have you had any experience in plant- 

 ing the white birch as an avenue or road tree? 



Mr. Loring: I will answer the question by saying that I 

 have seen a few of them used, but I should not consider it 

 a good road tree. I know of an avenue of cut-leafed birch that 

 at present is rather beautiful, but, as we all know, they are very 

 short lived, and an avenue so planted would very soon begin to 

 lose its trees. I have never seen an entire avenue of white birch, 

 but I have seen them planted on an avenue. 



Prof. N. E. Hansen (S. D.) : By short lived, how long do 

 you mean? 



Mr. Loring : Twenty to twenty-five years. 



Prof. Hansen: If it is irrigated in the fall? 



Mr. Loring: I do not think it would answer; they will die 

 anyway. 



The President : We all know we did not need any irrigation 

 the past two seasons, but there was the same difficulty with the 

 birch, they were all affected very seriously. One of the most 

 beautiful birches in our city, out by itself and with an abundance 

 of moisture, has been slowly dying and is practically dead now 



Prof. Hansen : I would like to know more about the cut- 

 leafed birch. I am sorry to hear that it is short lived. I would 

 like to know about the stock. I think in Europe they in-arch on 

 other stock. Why would it not be a good idea to do something 

 of that kind. I would not like to have it thrown out altogether. 



Mr. Loring: I have had quite a little experience, and I cer- 

 tainly would not throw it out. If I knew it was going to die, I 

 would certainly plant it. 



Mr. C. E. Older: If I knew I had to plant the cut-leafed 

 birch every ten years. I would plant it anyway. 



Mr. Ferris (la.) : I would just like to state a fact in regard to 

 the white birch. We have trees at Hampton at least thirty years 

 old. Mr. Bender has those trees, and they are very nice trees, 

 but I do not know how to propagate them. 



IVIr. T. E. Perkins: My first trial in planting trees was in 

 planting the white birch. That was forty years ago last spring, 

 and they are growing still, but they are not so handsome looking 

 a tree as some others. 



Mr. C. E. Older: I think as birches grow older they lose 

 their beauty by reason of their losing their lower branches. There 

 is a row of birches Mr. Ness planted in Luverne twenty-five 

 years ago, but they are not as handsome as the younger trees. 



