September 16, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



379 



to the first sub-period the older trees prevail, while the younger 

 trees are more numerous in the areas assigned to the last sub- 

 period. 



SELECTION OF TREES TO BE GIRDLED. 



The rules for the selection of the trees to be girdled are simi- 

 lar to those which were laid down at the outset in 1856, but 

 with some important points of difference. In 1856 there was 

 no staff of officers available for the care of these forests, hence 

 the selection of the trees to be girdled had to be regulated by 

 a few broad general rules. The work had necessarily to be 

 commenced on a large scale in an exceedingly rough manner. 

 Gradually, as officers were appointed for the management of 

 the different forest districts, the work was organized on a more 

 systematic plan, hence in 1880, when I laid down the prin- 

 ciples (o be observed in the selection of the trees to be girdled 

 within the demarcated reserves — that is, within the tracts 

 intended to be permanently maintained as forest — the main 

 point insisted upon was that each locality must be treated on 

 its merits, and that by the removal of the trees girdled the 

 reproduction of the T< uk must not be impeded, but, if possi- 

 ble, be promoted. This principle necessitated a different treat- 

 ment of patches where Teak prevails from those where it only 

 forms a small proportion of the growing stock. Again, woods 

 in which mature trees, those of the first class, prevail, would 

 require a treatment different from those in which the smaller 

 classes are more numerous. In the special working plans an 

 important rule has been introduced which is in accordance 

 with this principle. A distinction is made between Teak grow- 

 ing in moist forest, where the trees remain green until the end 

 of February, and where consequently the rate of growth is 

 somewhat more rapid than in dry forest, where the trees lose 

 their leaves earlier in the season. And it has been provided, 

 that while in dry forests the minimum size of the trees to be 

 girdled remains six feet as heretofore, in moist forests no tree 

 should be girdled that had not attained a girth of seven feet. 

 These two classes of Teak-producing forest can most conve- 

 niently be distinguished by the species of Bamboos associated 

 with the Teak-tree, Bambusa polymorpha being the species 

 most common in the moist, while Dendrocalamus strictus 

 prevails in the dry forest. It is obvious that under these special 

 working plans the girdling operations are regulated with 

 greater regard to the maintenance and improvement of the 

 forests than was possible under the summary plans which at 

 the outset were a necessity. In each district a number of com- 

 partments are assigned to one sub-period of five or six years, 

 the maximum number that may be girdled in those compart- 

 ments during that sub-period is fixed, and the selection of the 

 trees to be girdled is governed by the peculiar conditions of 

 each locality. Under these arrangements it was not necessary 

 to maintain the original rule, that in one locality never more 

 than one in four of the mature Teak-trees should be girdled. 

 As an experiment this rule had already been set aside in 1868, 

 and this was justified, because the annual yield of the forests 

 at that time was fixed at a very low figure. 

 Bonn, Germany. Dietrich Brandis. 



Exhibitions. 

 The Boston Flower Show. — II. 



LAST week we had a general note on this admirable exhibi- 

 tion, with the names of some of the leading prize-takers. 

 Large specimen plants were not abundant, but, in accordance 

 with the tendency here and in Europe, there were many 

 medium sized plants and groups which, to a certain extent, fill 

 their places, although one likes to see specimens of Cleroden- 

 dron, Allamanda, Stephanotis and the like which have been 

 grown with great care for years until they haveattained stately 

 proportions. Specimen flowering plants were few as com- 

 pared with those whose value consists in form and foliage. 

 The new Allamanda Williamsi, however, was well shown, and 

 the fine specimen sent by N. T. Kidder, Esq., added much to 

 the appearance of his group of plants. It is a very floriferous 

 and graceful plant, and although the flowers are smaller than on 

 some of the old varieties, they have the same rich golden color. 

 It is easily propagated and will soon be in every collection. 

 The Dipladenias shown by Mr. George McWilliams, especially 

 two plants of D. amabilis, grown in large pans and trained to 

 a globe frame, attracted special attention. They were elevated 

 at the end of the hall and conspicuous under the electric lights, 

 and well deserved the silver medal they received. These 

 plants are among our best stove climbers, and the flowers are 

 unexcelled in brilliancy of color. The specimens exhibited were 

 grown in a compost of roughly broken peat and sharp silver 

 sand, so that there was no danger of their ever becoming 



water-logged. Mr. McWilliams' Caladiums, especially plants 

 of C. argyrites and a comparative novelty named C. minus 

 erubescens, were especially noteworthy. In the magnificent 

 group of stove and greenhouse plants from the Harvard Bo- 

 tanical Gardens, the best plants were one of Encephalartos 

 horridus and Maranta (Calathea) Vanden Heckei, and a good 

 example of the Boston strain of Nephrolepis exaltata. For a 

 splendid specimen of the last-named Fern, six feet through, 

 Mr. F. W. Fletcher received a certificate. In Mr. J. C. Bailey's 

 collection a handsome plant of Maranta rosea lineata, which is 

 considered difficult to grow, was good enough to receive a 

 silver medal, while a Spherogyne latifolia, with panicles of 

 lovely pink flowers, and a specimen of Cyanophyllum magnifi- 

 cuin both attracted much attention. This last is one of the 

 finest of stove evergreens, which, at its best, has leaves two and 

 a half feet long, with a velvety midrib and ivory-white primary 

 veins, reddish purple beneath. A striking specimen, Heliconia 

 aureo-striata, was shown by John L. Gardener, Esq. (William 

 Fletcher, gardener), and the Madagascar Lace Plant, always 

 interesting, was shown by Mr. E. L. Converse, although, un- 

 fortunately, it was in a dark corner of the hall. 



Every year it seems that aquatic plants have reached the 

 summit of excellence, but every year there are novelties dis- 

 played which prove in some way better than the old sorts. 

 These plants, favored by the heat of the past summer, never 

 were seen in such abundance or in such good form at an exhi- 

 bition in this country. In Mr. L. W. Goodell's collection there 

 was a flower of Nymphaea rubra which left nothing to be desired 

 in form or color. Of course, Mr. Brydon sent up from the 

 Yarmouthport gardens of Mr. Simpkins an admirable collec- 

 tion which contained some of the newest and costliest of Mr. 

 Marliac's creations. Nymphaea Robinsoniana is a remarkable 

 flower of a deep orange-red, with a splashing of carmine, 

 which makes it quite distinct from all others. These flowers 

 are particularly striking when floating on the surface of the 

 water in the sunshine. N. ignea is another superb Water-lily 

 of a reddish purple, but so brilliant as to be almost dazzling in 

 the sunshine. This plant does not seem to have a strong consti- 

 tution, and, while it must be popular, it will probably be scarce 

 and costly for some time. — [Mr. Marliac's hybrid, called Ignea, 

 seems to flourish very well in England. Flowers which were 

 open late in June in the water gardens of Gravetye Manor, the 

 estate of William Robinson, Esq., were easily the brightest of 

 all the Nymphasas then in bloom. — Ed.] N. lilacina has a 

 beautiful flower of a lilac tint and the peculiar fragrance of a 

 Tea Rose. There were also remarkably good examples of N. 

 Devoniensis, N. rubra, and particularly of N. pulcherrima, 

 which showed a fine large flower of a beautiful soft blue. Of 

 the Nelumbiums there were two vases of N. gracilis with white 

 petals with golden stamens, and carried on long stout stalks, 

 which last well when cut. These flowers are delightfully fra- 

 grant, the odor resembling that of Lily-of-the-valley. One of 

 the new French hybrids was Nymphaea fulgens, shown by 

 Oakes Ames, Esq. (Carl Blomberg, gardener), with flowers 

 somewhat resembling N. ignea in color. In this collection 

 were also flowers of several varieties heretofore mentioned, as 

 well as of the varieties, Exquisita andCaroliniana, of our native 

 N. odorata. The display which William Tricker brought from 

 the gardens of Henry A. Dreer, the Philadelphia seedsman, 

 showed thirty-five varieties of Nymphaea and Nelumbium and 

 a flower of Victoria regia. The new Nymphaea O'Marana was 

 well shown, and so was N. Deaniana and N. Kewensis, the last 

 of which has been especially good, owing, undoubtedly, to the 

 warm summer. This was true of all the tropical Nymphaeas 

 in the collection, but, although the hardy varieties were well 

 represented, they showed the effect of the lateness of the sea- 

 son more than those from collections three or four hundred 

 miles to the north. Nelumbium striatum showed extremely 

 well, combining a robustness and free-flowering quality. N. 

 Kermesiana is another handsome and strong-growing plant 

 with a pink flower. All these flowers were grown in the open 

 water, which again demonstrates their usefulness and the 

 adaptability of both the hardy and the tropical varieties for all 

 purposes in gardens large or small, public or private. The 

 fact that the flowers in Mr. Dreer's collection had been cut for 

 thirty-six hours and shipped from Philadelphia, and alter this 

 made a creditable display, is sufficient evidence of their value 

 for cutting. 



Notes. 



Owing, perhaps, to the abundance of rain this summer, Cle- 

 matis paniculata is flowering very freely near this city. 

 For some reason its flowers expanded a week later than usual, 

 but now many plants are completely covered with them. We 



