March 29, 1S93. j 



Garden and Forest. 



i39 



GARDEN AND FOREST. 



PUBLISHKD WEEKLY BY 



THE GARDEN AND FOREST PUBLISHING CO. 



Office : Tribune Building, New York. 



Conducted by 



Professor C. S. Sargent. 



entered as second-class matter at the post office at new YORK, N. y. 



NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 1893. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 



Editorial Articles :— Flower Shows and their Uses , 139 



Warnings which should be Heeded by the Guardians of our Public 



Forest-lands 139 



Notes of a Summer Journey in Europe. — XXIV J. G. Jack. 140 



Native Plants for Winter Decoration Mrs. Mary Trrat. 141 



Making Maple-sugar : Approved Modern Practice. — 11. Timothy iVlieeltr. 141 



Notes on the Forest Flora of Japan.— IX. (With figure.) C. S. S. 142 



Plant Notes :—Cypripedium Rothschildianum. (With figure.) :... 144 



ANewNymphsea E. D. Sturtevani. 144 



Cultural Department: — Cypripediums O. O. 14s 



The Persian Cvclamen.— II M. Barker. 146 



Sowing Seeds of Annual Plants.— II T D. H 146 



The FoKE^T: — Notes on the Climatic Influence of Forests B. E. Fernow. 147 



Correspondence :— On the Local Segregation of Trees Robtrl Ridgway. 148 



Why Varieties of Orchard-fruits Disappear E. J. Wickso7i. 149 



Salix balsamltera O. A. FarwM. 149 



Exhibitions :— The Boston Flower Show 149 



Notes -5° 



Illustrations :— Acer Miyabei, Fig. 24 143 



Cypripedium Rothschildianum (reduced). Fig. 25 145 



Flower Shows and their Uses. 



IN our report of the Philadelphia Flower Show last week, 

 regret was expressed that so few real Spring flowers 

 were exhibited. The season was still young and back- 

 ward, it is true, but in the very same paper it was stated 

 that some of the early Irises, like I. Histrio and I. Baker- 

 iana, were showing their beautiful and fragrant flowers in 

 the neighborhood of this city, while the ground about them 

 was frozen hard. Of course, there were Snowdrops and 

 Crocuses in many Philadelphia gardens at that time, and 

 with the help of sashes and no other heat than that from the 

 sun, spring flowers could have been shown in great abun- 

 dance and variety and with that unique charm which invests 

 these earliest reminders that the winter is past and the 

 time of the singing of birds has come. These flowers then 

 were not absent there because it was impossible to procure 

 them, but because the burden of preparing the exhibition 

 fell chiefly upon commercial dealers and growers. Of 

 course, there were many admirable exhibits from private 

 collections. A flower show in Philadelphia without speci- 

 men plants from the collections of Miss Baldwin, Mr. 

 Drexel and Mr. Childs can hardly be imagined now ; but 

 besides these noteworthy plants, the preparation of the great 

 body of the show, and of the flowers in particular, devolves 

 upon those who sell them or raise them for the market. Very 

 naturally, these men grow plants for which there is a de- 

 mand, and they exhibit what they grow to perfection. One 

 never fails, therefore, to see at our exhibitions Roses and 

 Carnations, Lilies and Cytisus, with similar plants in their 

 season, and beyond these little else. Just now the florists 

 are unusually busy with Easter work, and this makes it 

 still more difficult for them to prepare anything for exhibi- 

 tion which is not directly in the line of their business. 



Of course, no onecaii criticise sucli exhibitors for limiting 

 their display to this class of flowers. On the contrary, we 

 should feel inclined to thank them for showing flowers of 

 such perfection and finish, for no one grows them better. 

 But, after all, it is plain that one sees nothing at a flower 



show conducted on this plan which cannot be seen in a 

 florist's window, and certainly the show would be more 

 attractive and more instructive if visitors could find there 

 something which they have no opportunity of seeing else- 

 where. We have spoken of a few of the Irises which were 

 blooming a fortnight ago. The truth is, that the entire 

 Reticulata group of these plants, with the exception of the 

 type, could have been had in flower out-of-doors a week 

 ago, while the type itself and many others, like I. Persica, 

 could have been flowered at the same time in a cold frame. 

 There are no more beautiful flowers than these, and ever^^ 

 lover of hardy plants at Philadelphia would have been de- 

 lighted at the opportunity of seeing the difterent varieties 

 together, and noting their similarities and distinctions. 



Again, few people know any other than the common 

 Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, and, perhaps, the Crimean 

 Snowdrops, but there are a score or more of distinct varieties 

 which can now be obtained, and half a dozen of them, at 

 least, are good species. The varieties of Narcissus have 

 multiplied almost beyond computation, but all the types 

 except the latest ones could have been easily brought for- 

 ward in a cold frame, so that they could have been admired 

 and stu lied together at Philadelphia. Scillas and Bulboco- 

 diums were already open in the borders, and Spring Snow- 

 flakes, Fritillarias and Chionodoxas, if slightly protected, 

 might have kept them company. Anemone blanda has 

 been flowering all through February in the open air, and 

 in a cold frame many other varieties could have be^n 

 brought forward. The lovely Winter Aconite, the hardy 

 Primroses, the Lenten Roses and manystrictly alpine plants 

 could have been had with little trouble ; but there is no 

 need to continue the catalogue. It is enough to say that 

 at this time, and a little later, when the Tulip species will 

 come into bloom, there could be brought together in this 

 latitude a group of flowers that would rival in beauty and 

 excel in poetic charm any collection of outdoor blooms 

 made at any other season. 



Now, to insure the exhibition of such flowers, it is neces- 

 sary to interest those who grow them. In the vicinity of 

 New York, Boston and Philadelphia there are many per- 

 sons who cultivate, for example, a great variety of garden 

 Narcissi, and yet we have never seen anything like a com- 

 prehensive exhibit of these plants. The same is true of Snow- 

 drops and other genera. The mere offering of premiums 

 by societies will hardly suffice to induce growers of such 

 specialties to exhibit their pets, but a direct appeal to those 

 who are known to have such collections might perhaps 

 avail. Again, why should not horticultural societies offer 

 sufficient premiums to induce commercial growers to ar- 

 range for exhibits of this kind.? The men who have bulbs 

 for sale could hardly devise a better way of advertising 

 them than by an exhibit of their flowers in early spring. 

 Can it be doubted that if a group of spring Irises in flower 

 had been exhibited in Philadelphia a fortnight ago many of 

 the visitors would have at once prepared for a similar exhibi- 

 tion in their own gardens next year.? If the men who sell 

 seeds, plants and flowers wish to educate people as to the 

 best varieties there certainly is no surer way to do this than 

 by exhibiting them, so that every one can learn how beau- 

 tiful they are. 



These exhibitions by the great societies now give pleasure 

 to thousands. If the plan on which they are conducted 

 were broadened out in the direction we have indicated 

 they would have a much higher value as educating forces 

 and essential factors in the horticultural progress of the 

 country. 



Many warnings, which might well be heeded by the 

 guardians of our public forest-lands, have come down 

 from past ages embalmed in literature; and the beauty of 

 form which has preserved them adds to the impressiveness 

 of their counsel. That this counsel, although repeated a 

 thousand times for thousands of years, is still disregarded, 

 proves how hard it is for a knowledge even of firmly 

 established facts of the highest practical importance 



