1872 n%e Western Pomolo^ist and Gardener. 103 



on hand. I cut down several which were twelve to fifteen feet high, prepared them for 

 grape stakes, and set them about the first of May. This spring on the second day of 

 April, I had occasion to examine them, and found every one so rotted that it had either 

 fallen down or would break off with a very slight pressure. These facts led me to the 

 conclusion that we had better be careful in recommending the larch for durability in the 

 various purposes for which it is used in France, Germany, England, Switzerland, Italy, 

 etc. That it is greatly atFected or clianged in its quality by being grown in different situ- 

 ations, even in Europe, there is the highest authoritj-. - 



In Mr. Loudon's " Encyclopedia of Gardening," page 1112, he says : " That species of 

 British timber which approaches the nearest to the pine and fir timber of the North is 

 the Scotch Pine, when grown in the North Highlands, and the Larch Fir (Larit Europe.a) 

 when grown in hilly or poor districts ; resinous timber of the species indigenous to cold 

 countries, when grown in rich soils, and in warm climates, being found deficient in dura- 

 bility." And again, on page 1157 he Says : " The larch will grow and attain a large size 

 in every soil and situation except in standing water, but a certain elevation of surface, or 

 coldness of climate and inferiority of soil is absolutely necessary to produce the timber ' 

 in perfection." This author also states that there are some soils in which at the age ot 

 forty years the " larch rots at the heart," in other " cankers," etc. 



Oar experience in the Western country has not yet fully decided, nor have we had the 

 means of determining the many important considerations arising out of the larch prob- 

 lem, and having found it foil so utterly with me in one of its prominent uses in other 

 countries where its durability has been establi.shed, I make the foregoing suggestions and 

 statements for those who are interested in the matter. 



I have brought specimens of my three years' experience witn this timber for grape sup- 

 ports, to the Agricultural College, where they will be kept for the inspection of all who 

 may desire to see their condition after standing three years in the ground. Also, others 

 can be seen on my premises at Knoxville. 



Parasitical Plants. • 



Bt Jacob Staupfer, Lancaster, Pa. 



Ed. Pomolooist and Gaudener: — Plants which grow in the tissues of other species, 

 and feed upon their juices, are parasitic. Our object is to present a chapter without spe- 

 cial classification. We mention, however, that the term parnsitieal is often applied 

 improperly to mosses, orchidaceous plants, TiUandsias, and the like, which are mostly 

 Epiphytes, growing upon the bark of trees, but deriving their food from the air by means 

 ol their own roots. 



The Mistletoe is a true parasite ; the species vary according to the country in which 

 they flourish, and adopt different kinds of plants for their foster parents ; some bear a 

 reddish colored fruit, others a yellow, and others a blue. Not unfrequently it spreads 

 over a plantation in such profusion as completely to destroy it. In coffee plantations of 

 South America -its ravages are often extensive. 



The Mistletoe Family consists of shrubby plants, with coriaceous, greenish foliage, and- 

 " differs chiefly from the sandalwood family by their parasitic growth and habit, and by 

 their more reduced flowers, than by essential character," (Dr. Gkat). The species found 

 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey to Illinois, and South, which Tursh named viscum flaves- 

 cens, seems to prefer the Elms and Hickories. This, Dr. Gray calls the Phoradendron, 

 flavescens. The generic name is compounded from the Greek, a thief and a trw, because 

 these plants steal their food from the trees they grow on. Bnt so far as that is concerned, 

 the Mistletoe that flourishes on the apple tee, and is common in England, is as much of 

 a thief. 



This is the Viscum Allnim. There is a curious legend concerning this plant found in 

 the old Norse mythology. Balder, the sun-god of the Scandinavians, and his mother, 

 Friga, and Loke, his chief enemy, figure in it. The ceremony of the Druida in cutting 

 the Mistletoe is interesting to the antiquarian, but I will not tax your readers with » 



