112 



TFIE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



or a low trellis. If the seed pods are 

 removed, it will bloom continuously. 

 Like the fraxinella, it forms immense 

 roots, and must be raised from seed 

 where it is wanted. He saw the Glox- 

 inia cultivated sncessfully in a cold 

 frame last summer, and forming a most 

 beautiful sight. When grown in this 

 way the roots can be easily wintered 

 by storing them in a temperature of 

 forty -five degrees. In the spring they 

 must be started in the house. 



E. H. Hitchings mentioned as desir- 

 able native climbing plants, the Clem- 

 atis Virginiana, Mikaniass candens and 

 Apios tuberosa. 



Mr. Manning said that the Apios 

 tuberosa must be grown in sandy soil, 

 as the tubes decay in rich soil, and 

 when it thrives it is apt to become a 

 weed. The Iris Kcempjeri does better 

 after dividing. 



Mr. Hovey recommended the tuber- 

 ous rooted begonia for planting in the 

 open air. Some of the varieties are too 

 delicate, but others grow freely and 

 blossom up to frost when treated like 

 gladioli. 



Mr. Beard said that the light-colored 

 varieties stand the sun better than the 

 dark, and all are benefited by partial 

 shade, and in such a situation out 

 doors they do better than under glass. 

 The double ones are apt to drop their 

 flowers. 



CLOVER SEED MIDGE. 

 These minute insects are the larvae 

 (maggots) of the cloverseed midge, 

 known as Cecidomyia leguminicola, 

 and also as C. trifolii. It belongs to 

 the same class of insects as the Hessian 

 fly, and is about half as large in all its 

 stages as that insect. The larvse are of 

 an orange color, looking like any other 

 minute maggot. It attacks the seed 

 heads, and when ready to transform in- 

 to the perfect insect, drops to the ground, 



hiding under any shelter, and spins it- 

 self an oval, compressed, rather tough 

 cocoon, to which particles of earth ad- 

 he!-e, thus rendering it difficult to dis- 

 tinguish. Transformed to the perfect 

 insect, it issues forth as a long-limbed, 

 slender, two-winged fly of the general 

 appearance of the Hessian fly to the un- 

 scientitic observer. The eggs are de- 

 [)osited in the young heads of clover, 

 and the maggot lives on the juices, and 

 when numerous, destroys the crop. It 

 has one or two minute species parasitic 

 on it, but when the fly becomes abun- 

 dant the only remedy is to quit raising 

 clover for seed until the insect disap- 

 pears ; and to be successful, this aban- 

 donment of the crops must be general 

 in a locality. — Prairie Farmer. 



CHESTNUT OAK, (QUERCUS CAST- 

 Ayt]A.) 



BY JACOB W. MANNING, OF READING, MASS, 



(PuhlUhed Feb. 17th in the ''American 

 IVaveller," of Boston, Mass. 



This prominent and distinct member 

 of the oak family is not so widely dis- 

 tributed as the gray, red, scarlet, 

 yellow, swamp, white and pin oaks ; 

 the last is found mostly from Connecti- 

 cut south ; all the others are common 

 in New England forests. 



The leaf of the chestnut oak re- 

 sembles that of the American sweet 

 chestnut moi'e than any other tree ; it 

 also has more of the upright habit of 

 the chestnut when growing in the forest 

 than any other oak. 



The texture of the wood is sufficient- 

 ly tough and durable to make it m6st 

 desirable for wheelwright work, ship 

 timber and planking ; it splits, as I 

 well remember, when cutting it, into 

 cordwood more readily than any other 

 oak, and in this respect it also resembles 

 the American chestnut. 



The best transplanted chestnuts of 

 this oak that we have seen are at Ben. 

 Perley Poore's Indian Hill Farm, in 



