1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



75 



Mr. Treecllmber has Something to 

 say for Botanical Names, 



" What I is Mr. Treeclimber in favor of such 

 terrible jaw-breaking names too ? I supposed 

 he was much too sensible for that." J think I 

 hear some of my young friends make such a 

 remark before they have heard what I have to 

 offer. 



First let me say that I am a wai-m friend of 

 the best common names of plants, but not to a 

 degree that would lead me to banish the botani- 

 cal ones. While prefering for all ordinary uses 

 the names Mignonette for Respda odorata, 

 Diadem Pink for Diantlnis Heddewigii dia- 

 dematus florepletto, etc., I yet find the latter 

 names of gi'eat importance. One thing that 

 has given me great pleasure in reading Popular 

 Gardening is that its editors, ever since I have 

 known the paper, have shown a preference for 

 the common names of plants in its columns. 

 Not but what I observe that they also appreci- 

 ate the botanical ones, for usually I see these 

 are given somewhere neai- the common names 

 which they represent, and this is proper. 



Wherein then does the 



VALUE OF THE HARDER BOTANICAL NAMES 



lie you will want to know. It is in the simple 

 fact that such names are fixed and the same the 

 world over in all languages. What I mean by 

 this is, that these are the Latin names of plants 

 and Latin is the language of science every- 

 where. With common names it is quite other- 

 %vise; usually they are common only in one 

 language, and even at that, a certain name for 

 a certain plant may often be known only to a 

 very narrow region. Indeed nothing is so com- 

 mon as to find many of the more ordinary kinds 

 of plants having a different name in almost 

 every locality where they grow. 



NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY COMMON NAMES 



such maj' altogether have throughout this or 

 that state or country. To illustrate : sometime 

 since five intelligent men from different parts 

 of the state were discussing the subject of com- 

 mon and botanical names, when one of them 

 picked up a weed that is widely known, and 

 asked each of his companions to give the name 

 he knew it by. Every one of the five gave a 

 different name. In the neighborhood where 

 this occurred the same plant was known by 

 several others. And such cases of an abun- 

 dance of names are anything but rare. 



The worst part of this common name matter 

 is that it leads to much confusion. How could 

 it be otherwise with speaking of the same plant 

 by different names in different places? Let us 

 look at several familiar examples which clearly 

 show this gi-eat liability to confusion. Take for 

 one the well known shi-ub which botanically is 

 everywhere known as Rhvs CoHrms, but which 



BEARS SEVEN COMMON NAMES 

 that I know of, and who can tell how many 

 more besides. I will make a parallel exhibit of 

 the names : 



COMMON NAMES OF THE 

 SAME SHRUB. 



Venetian Sumach. 

 Purple Fringe Tree. 

 Smoke Bush. 

 Cloud in the Air. 

 Summer Fringe 

 Wig Tree. 

 Mist Tree. 



Now suppose some one of my readers knew 

 this shrub only by the first name given, and 

 some distant friend of yours would know it 

 only by the last name given. Then supposing 

 you was to offer that friend a sprout of your 

 Venetian Sumach and he, not knowing it by 

 that name, but having the same plant by the 

 other name, would accept of your kind offer, 

 do you not see how annoying the little friendly 

 deal might prove to be > Or some friend might 

 have a Cloud in the Air on his lawn which you 

 very much admire. You would want to plant 

 one and would order it by this name from a 

 nurseryman. But how could he fill your order 

 even though he might have thousands of trees 

 for sale, knowing them only as Purple Fringe 



BOTANICAL NAME OF THE 

 SHRUB. 



Rhus Cotinus. 



BOTANICAL NAME OF THE 

 TREE. 



Abies Douglasii. 



or else by the botanical name. You will see 

 at once in these cases, that had the botanical 

 name been known and used along with the 

 common ones, all chance of trouble would 

 have been avoided, because this alone represents 

 the same plant everywhere. 

 Here is even 



A MORE STRIKING INSTANCE 

 of the same kind, in the case of an evergreen 

 tree well known in many place and which case 

 I present similarly to the former one. 



COMMON NAME OF THE 

 SAME TREE. 



Douglas Fir. 

 Red Fir. 

 I Black Fir. 

 I Douglas' Spruce. 

 I Red Spruce. 

 I Black Spruce. 

 Hemlock. 

 Oregon Pine. 

 Bear River Pine. 

 [Swamp Pine. 

 Western Pitch, and per- 

 haps others. 



In this case no less than eleven names are 

 borne by the same tree in different localities of 

 om- country. It is possible that it has as many 

 more common names in other countries. But 

 with all its common names it bears but a single 

 botanical name and that is the same everywhere 

 and as a rule unchangeable. These illustrations 

 must serve to show you very clearly how un- 

 satisfactory is the attempt to get along well 

 with only the common names of plants. If 

 the Latin names may be somewhat hard to re- 

 member, really it is the common ones that give 

 the most trouble and by a good deal. 



But I have more to say on this subject which 

 must be deferred until some future time. 



Timothy Treeclimber. 



Growing Tree Chrysanthemums. 



This is the month in which to start on getting 

 up next fall's flowering stock. On raising that 

 alwaj's interesting class, the Tree Chrysanthe- 

 mum, a correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune 

 writes: 



It is yet a mystery to most people how the 

 expert gardener obtains his fine specimens of 

 the showy autumn flowers. Chrysanthemums 

 in tree form. The popular delusion that they 

 are old plants, grown for two or three years in 

 advance, is untenable for the reason that Chrys- 

 anthemums are herbaceous, and the tops conse- 

 quently die down to the surface of the ground 

 after the flowering season. 



To obtain fine specimens, the old stock plants 

 should be started in February, and the cuttings 

 taken off and rooted as soon as possible. After 

 potting them off in rich mellow soil, give an 

 abundance of water both over the tops and at 

 the roots. A little bonedust incorporated with 

 the soil and a weekly allowance of liquid ma- 

 nure will cause vigorous growth. Keep the tem- 

 perature at all times cool, but never permit 

 frost to enter. 



Train to a single stem and when the shoot 

 reaches say four feet in height, pinch out the 

 center, when side branches wiU at once start 

 out. These in their turn must be pinched to 

 form a compact head. As soon as the weather 

 is sufficiently mild in spring, pot up the plants 

 and plunge in the ground up to theii- rims. 

 Never neglect to water, and syringe at least 

 once a day, excepting in rainy weather, and 

 continue the use of liquid manure all the season. 



Striking Cuttings in Bottles. 



Variety in the methods of propagation are 

 always of interest. One method for doing this 

 work that is rarely applied beyond the rooting 

 of Oleander cuttings, is in bottles, and this is 

 .suited to many other kinds also. At least so we 

 are informed by our always interesting corres- 

 pondent, M. W. H., of Dover, N. H. Along 

 with this " note to the family" she also sent 

 the little pencil sketch from which our engrav- 

 ing was made. She says : "I have rooted 

 not only Oleanders, but Roses, Passion Vines, 

 Virginia Creepers and numerous other things 



in bottles with success. I have a sprig of 

 Ground Ivy which I put in a specimen glass of 

 water nearly two years ago, and it threw out 

 roots, and is still growing, although it is not 

 near the light. 



For this kind of slipi)ing I prefer a wide- 

 mouthed bottle, and this I fill nearly full of 

 water, and keep in a light place during root- 

 ing. I have tried bottles of different colored 

 glass, and also stone bottles, but find no per- 

 ceptible difference in the results, while the 



STRIKING CUTTINGS IN BOTTLES. 



light colored ones are more interesting and 

 ornamental. I propagate at any season of the 

 year, but find the present time very suitable. 



The cuttings I take off with a heel, and not 

 straight across. These I set so they do not dip 

 more than three-fourths of an inch into the 

 water. In the water I sometimes have put lumps 

 of charcoal, but could see no good from it. 

 The water may be changed if it becomes clear, 

 having the fresh of the same temperature as 

 the old. The cuttings usually start to throw 

 out roots inside of three weeks, and I pot them 

 as soon as ever the latter show. I have had 

 success in striking outdoor Rose cuttings in 

 the summer in this way." 



]+J 

 1; 64 

 arden 



Garden and Flower 



Received at this Office. 



CATALOGUES.— FIGURES INDICATE ITOMBER OF PAGES. 



Island Seed Co., Muscatine, la.. Seeds; 34. 



F. Bartelds & Co., Lawrence, Kas., Seeds- % 



D. M Ferry & Co., Detroit. Mich., Seeds; m 



Plant Seed Co., St. Louis, Mo., Seeds etc • M 



D. M. Dewey, Rochester, N. Y., Col'd Plates; 56 



Hill & Co., Richmond, Ind., Roses, etc • 60 



A. J. Caywood & Son, Marlboro, N. Y Small 



Fruits; 10. 

 Cole & Brothers. Pella. la.. Seeds; 48. 

 C. L. Whitney, Warren, Ohio., Evergreens' 4 

 F. K. Phoani.x & Son. Delevan, Wis., Nursery 12 

 Isaac F. Tillinghast, La Plume, Pa., Seeds: 33' 

 Wm. Toole, No. Freedom, Wis., Pansy .Seeds' 8 

 Parsons & Sons Co., Flushing, N. Y Trees- I'lo' 

 Peter Henderson & Co .New York. Plants etc-14b 

 .James Vick. Rochester. N. Y., Plants etc ■ 144 

 Young & Elliott, 54 Dey Street, N. Y., Seeds- 64 

 Johnson & Stokes. Philadelphia. Pa., -Gardei 



and Farm Manual;" 86. 

 John O. Hartel. Keokuk. la 



Seeds; 36. 

 F. N. Lang, Baraboo. Wis.. Seeds; 46. 

 Rose JIfg. Co., New York City. Insect Powder- 4 

 William Henry Maule, Philadelphia. Pa., Garden 



Supplies; .52 

 L. W. Ooodell, Dwight, Mass., Seeds, Trees and 



Plants; :i2. 

 Frank Ford & Sons, Ravenna. Ohio, Seeds and 



Small Fruits; 31. 



MLSCELLANEOUS. 



" Fourth .\nnual Report of the New York Agri- 

 cultural Experimental Station," Geneva N Y 348 

 pages. 



' Report of the Fungus Diseases of the Grape- 

 vine." By F. Lamson Scribner. B. Sc. From the 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington D C 



"The Gold Fish and its Culture with a View to 

 Profit." By Hugo Mulrett. liiK pps. H. Muh-ett 

 Cmoinnati, Ohio. 



"Art of Propagation; a Hand-book for Nursery- 

 men. Florists, Gardeners and Everybody." By J 

 Jenkins. Illustrated. 32 pps. Jenkins' Grape and 

 Seedling Nursery, Winona, Ohio. 



