THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



not feeble or so dwarfish as some of 

 them. It makes a very satisfactory or- 

 chard tree and grafts well on our native 

 stocks, but does best on seedlings of the 

 Japanese species. 



" The culture of the chestnut is getting 

 to be an industry of considerable im- 

 portance in America, as well it might 

 be; but our people seem surprisingly 

 slow to take it up. There are millions of 

 acres of suitable chestnut land in this 

 country, and much of it that is peculiarly 

 adapted to its culture. Sandstone, shale 

 or sandy, well-drained soil is the best. 

 Limestone land does not seem to suit 

 the wild chestnut trees, for they are sel- 

 dom found on it. The hills and moun 

 tains from Massachusetts to Georgia are 

 the home of our great wild chestnut 

 forests. There are vast areas in Penn- 

 sylvania, both the Virginias, and the 

 Carolinas in particular, which have been 

 chopped over that would make ideal 

 chestnut groves if worked over with the 

 improved kinds, such as Paragon, Ridge- 

 ly, Numbo, Killen and some others. 

 But it has been done already to a con- 

 siderable degree in Pennsylvania and 

 New Jersey, and with only tolerable suc- 

 cess. The burrs do not seem to be as 

 well filled on these grafted sprouts as on 



trees grown in the nursery set out in 

 orchard form. Cultivation, perhaps, has 

 something to do with this, and insects 

 also for the chestnut weevil is the bane 

 of the business. And it is hard to com- 

 bat, for the eggs is laid in the growing 

 nut by a very long-snouted curculio, and 

 spraying seems futile. Jarring may be 

 a feasible plan, but it has not been de- 

 monstrated as yet. 



" Gathering the nuts is another point 

 of importance. In rough, stumpy, rocky 

 and trashy land this would be a consid- 

 erable task, if the nuts had to be picked 

 from the ground every few days. Per- 

 haps sheep would keep down the under- 

 growth and help to clear the ground 

 somewhat. Picking the burrs before the 

 nuts were quite ready to fall out would 

 do while the trees were small, but this 

 would only be possible for a short time. 

 But in smooth, clean ground that was 

 kept clean of weeds and brush, the gath- 

 ermg would be much easier. The best 

 stocks for the varieties of the European 

 chestnut are seedlings of the same spe- 

 cies, and the best for the Japanese kinds 

 are seedlings of the same type. When 

 grafted on our wild or native stocks the 

 union is not always good." 



TYD^A HYBRIDA. 



TYD.4^w\ are Gesneraceous plants 

 bearing most beautiful, spotted 

 flowers in shape not unlike a 

 Gloxinia. The scaly tubers re- 

 semble a large white " grub worm " in 

 general appearance. The bulbs should 

 be potted in the spring in light, rich, 

 porous soil, watered sparingly till 

 growth begins, then more freely, and 

 given good light and partial shade from 

 direct sunlight. Avoid wetting the 

 foliage during damp weather, and also 



while the sun is shining brightly upon 

 it. After blooming in autumn gradual- 

 ly withhold water, and when the soil is 

 dry set the pots away in a dry room 

 where the temperature is from 50° to 

 55^. The plants are easily grown and 

 deserve a place in every window garden. 

 Plants may be propagated from the 

 seeds. They are very small and require 

 the same treatment as seeds of Gloxinia 

 or Tuberous Begonias. 



428 



