223 



probably be upon the wliite poplar, or cottou-tree, {Populus alba, L.) 

 When its seed pods are matured there is a period of eight or ten days 

 during which the air is filled with the cottony down* of the seeds, caus- 

 ing much annoyance. Still, this tree has many good qualities, and we 

 hope it will be left at least until better trees can be reared. 



The locust {Bohinia pseudacacia) has almost disappeared from cultiva- 

 tion at the North by reason of the ravages of the borer. The silver 

 maple is desirable for its rapid growth and beautiful silvery leaves, but 

 in some locality it has been sadly injured by a borer, which has caused 

 the death of many trees. Its long slender branches render it particularly 

 liable to injury from storms of sleet. No native tree we have is better 

 adapted to the purposes of shade and ornament than the sugar maple. Its 

 foliage is full and dense, and its form is that of a rounded cone of beau- 

 tiful proportions. It is also clean and free from insect enemies. It would 

 be well if, in planting shade-trees on our streets, there could be a suita- 

 ble alternation of different kinds, some of rapid growth for temporary 

 use, and others for permanence. Some attention should also be paid 

 to variety. Probably the very best trees for general street-planting are 

 the different varieties of the maple. • Next in value we would place the 

 elms. For intermediate and temporary planting the box-elder and the 

 ash may be mentioned. Here and there should be the bass-wood, or 

 linn, the tulip-tree, the horse-chestnut, and the buckeye. The syca- 

 more and catalpa are too open and straggling in their habit to be valua- 

 ble for shade, but give au agreeable variety to a j)ark. The conditions 

 of latitude and temperature will also modify the selection of suitable 

 varieties. 



Vegetation in Western Kansas. — We have been furnished with 

 several specimens of young grain plants, and of lucerne, from some 

 points in the extreme west of Kansas, which compare very favorably in 

 thrift and size with the same plants in the Atlantic States at the same 

 period of growth. ' 



Mr. R. S. Elliott, industrial agent of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, 

 writes : 



There is no room for doubt that if ^ound were broken at Fort Wallace an immense 

 amount of forage could be raised without in-igation. I shall, this year, give sorghum, 

 millet, and Hungarian grass a bettor test than I was able to give them last year. I 

 expect also to plant a plat of Indian corn. All my operations are without irrigation. 

 In the valley of the Smoky, below Fort Wallace, a large body of land can be irrigated, 

 and quite extensive gardens are being prepared by direction of the officers ; but I hold 

 that a large supply can be grown of rye, sorghum, corn- fodder, and perhaps corn, &c., 

 ©n the upland north of the fort, without irrigation. 



Grasses for fixing a shifting soil. — Several inquiries have 

 recently been made for a kind of grass adapted to growth on the sandy 

 borders of our lakes, and the ocean, for the purpose of fixing the shift- 

 ing sandy soil. Several kinds of long-rooted, deeply penetrating grasses 

 seem to be well adapted to that purjiose. On the shores of Lake Mich- 

 igan the long-leaved Calamagrostis (C. longifolia, Hooker) takes pos- 

 session of the sandy ridges, in connection with several species of low 

 willows, and makes a permanent barrier against the encroaching waves. 

 The sand-reed {Calamagfost is «rew«n«. Roth.) occurs on low, marshy 

 borders, not only of the great lakes, but also of the ocean coast, both, 

 in this country and in Europe. Indeed, in some instances the planting 

 and preservation of this grass have been provided for by law. The 

 roots are very tough, and are used for making brushes and brooms, and 

 the leaves are used for thatching, for mats, and for paper. For forage 

 this grass is valueless, being rejected by all kinds of animals. 



