February i, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



57 



freely and grew to the glass fifteen feet above, bearing a magnifi- 

 cent crop of its fern-like foliage and it has gained much admi- 

 ration. The leaves have a much longer life than would be 

 supposed from the appearance of the plant. There are now 

 on the tree, in good color and health, leaves that were de- 

 veloped over eighteen months ago. This, of course, is on a 

 thrifty plant. Having seen the tree in flower in California I have 

 been endeavoring to secure some of the beautiful racemes of 

 orange-colored blossoms upon this plant. Some of its side 

 branches have been girdled and others bowed in with the hope 

 of developing flowering wood. - 



State College, Pa. UeorgC L. huts. 



Correspondence. 

 A New Plant Label. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Garden-labels are always necessary in a collection of 

 plants, but they are always a care, and usually a disfigurement, 

 especially when the plants to be identified are small and 

 numerous. 



No one label is adapted to all the requirements of a garden, 

 and there is seldom a design which proves as satisfactory in 

 service as it appears when first devised. Every gardener has 

 memories of labels which have been heralded as perfect, but 

 which have proved delusive. The 

 usual experience is a return to a 

 painted wooden label of suitable 

 size, generally too conspicuous, but 

 if of the right kind of wood, proving 

 fairly durable and legible for a sea- 

 son or two. It is a great tax on 

 one's time and patience, however, 

 to keep a quantity of the best 

 wooden labels in good order. There 

 has always been desired a large 

 permanent label, not conspicuous, 

 but carrying a legible name in 

 characters which can be removed 

 or altered when necessary, and so 

 substantial as not to be broken by 

 a blow, and able to keep its place 

 firmly during frosts and thaws. This 

 want seems fairly met by the label 

 illustrated on this page, samples of 

 which have been sent me by Mr. 

 John Wood, of Kirkstall, England, 

 the well-known hardy plantsman, 

 who is the patentee. The label is 

 stamped from pure zinc, a metal 

 which proves practically indestruc- 

 tible in the weather. The oval 

 head, one and a quarter by three 

 inches, has a rim on the reverse, 

 making a stiff firm plate ; on this 

 the plant name is written with 

 suitable ink, or if painted, a soft 

 pencil mark will be fairly perma- 

 nent. This plate slopes back so as 

 to make an angle of about sixty 

 degrees with the upright shank. 

 This shank, which is eight inches 

 long, is braced and stiffened by 

 being bent through its length, as 



shown in the figure, so as to form Fig. 10.— An English Plant Label. 



two sides of a triangular prism ; it is practically rigid, and yet 

 sharp and thin enough to enter the ground easily. Being 

 stamped out of a single piece of metal, there is nothing about 

 it to get out of repair. 



Owing to the slope of the plate it is easy to read the legend 

 without stooping to its level. The writing can be erased 

 readily with sand-paper. This label seems to possess, in short, 

 the qualities of permanence, simplicity, indestructibility and 

 legibility. Owing to the present high duty on zinc, these labels 

 are fairly expensive, costing over $5.00 per gross ; considering, 

 however, that they are indestructible, this cannot be consid- 

 ered prohibitory where the best is desired. ^ ,r ^ 



Elizabeth, N.J. J.N. Gerard. 



The Old Hedge-rows on Long Island. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — ^If one whose acquaintance with the country had been 

 formed in the western or central states, or even in western 

 New York, were to drive through that portion of Long Island 



which lies east of Riverhead, he would see much that was 

 new, strange and interesting. First, there are the old farm- 

 houses, roomy, comfortable-looking buildings, covered with 

 shingles both on roof and sides, and very different in expres- 

 sion from the smart modern houses on the newer farms. 

 Many of these buildings are very old ; at least, for America. 

 One at Southold, which was built in 1647, was torn down last 

 fall, and we can scarcely go a mile without seeing some that 

 were built 100 to 150 years ago. Around the old house are 

 clumps of Lilac and other shrubs which are so old as to seem 

 quite distinct from the more common younger forms, while 

 the great barns and wide yards have an expression of open- 

 handed hospitality which is delightful to see. Formerly the 

 dividing lines between farms were marked by hedge-rows of 

 a peculiar and distinct character, and they are worthy of par- 

 ticular attention now, as they are rapidly being rooted out, and 

 a few years hence hardly one of them will be left. These 

 hedges are formed by lopping down Oak or other trees and 

 forming with their stumps, trunks and a few rails a sort of a 

 fence at first. Sprouts from the lopped trees are then allowed 

 to grow up, and, with briers and vines, form a thicket or hedge 

 often a rod through. After a few years the sprouts are again 

 lopped down and trimmed, and this process is repeated until the 

 original stumps come to be five or six feet in diameter in the 

 line of the row, although not more than one or two feet in the 

 other direction, and exhibit most picturesque forms, the result 

 of their mutilation and of natural grafting. However unprofit- 

 able and shiftless these old hedge-rows may be from an 

 economic point of view, they are often exceedingly beautiful, 

 not only of themselves, but in their effect upon the landscape! 

 and a study of them can scarcely fail to furnish the landscape- 

 gardener most valuable hints in arrangement and combi- 

 nation. 



Detroit, Mich. Will. W. Tracy. 



Meetings of Societies. 

 The Western New York Horticultural Society. — L 



THE thirty-eighth annual meeting of the Western New 

 York Horticultural Society was held at Rochester last 

 week, and the proceedings were interesting, as usual, and 

 conducted with that peculiar dash and promptness which 

 characterizes this body. The address of the President, Mr. 

 William C. Barry, who was re-elected for the following year, 

 was very comprehensive and covered an unusual range of 

 topics, including the experience of the year with insecti- 

 cides and fungicides, the discussion of methods of mar- 

 keting fruits and the systematic distribution of them so as 

 to secure remunerative prices, the prospects of securing a 

 market abroad, good roads, the proper use of farm-lands, 

 and many other subjects. In speaking of the necessity of 

 education for the farm and garden, Mr. Barry said : 



At no period in the history of this country has it been so 

 apparent, even to the indifferent and careless observer, that 

 the cultivator of the soil must possess more than ordinary in- 

 telligence in order to succeed. Competition is so keen 

 on every side that every acre of land must be productive. 

 Even in this particularly favored state, famous the world over 

 for remarkable climate and fertile soil, there are now thou- 

 sands of acres of waste land which should be reclaimed and 

 cultivated, hundreds of farms impoverished and unproducfive 

 which should be made to yield good crops, innumerable or- 

 chards which are too old and going to decay which should be 

 uprooted and replaced with young, thrifty, fruitful trees. I am 

 aware that the members of this progressive organization are 

 not to be counted among those whose surroimdings are of the 

 nature referred to, but it is our duty as intelligent cultivators 

 not only to do well ourselves, but to encourage others to do 

 likewise. The influence of educated labor is one of the re- 

 quirements of the times, and the agricultural school is one of the 

 most efficient agencies for developing the resources of the state. 

 The advancement of agriculture means the advancement of 

 civilization. The farmer and fruit-grower of to-day need far 

 more information than they did in the past. Labor-saving im- 

 plements are now so numerous that the old-time drudgery of 

 farm-work is no longer experienced, and some time is afforded 

 for reading, study and improvement. I, therefore, ask the 

 members of this association who have sons intending to take 

 up agricultureor horticulture as a life-work, to permit them to 

 take advantage of the opportunities afforded at the colleges of 

 agriculture, and thus become intelligent cultivators of the soil, 

 and scientific and skillful farmers and fruit-growers. Not 



