March 29, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



HO 



forests in winter, the only woody plants which preserve their 

 verdure from November to April being the forest Reed or 

 Bamboo (Arundinaria), the Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata), 

 the Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) and two or three spe- 

 cies of Smilax. The almost complete absence of coniferous 

 trees is the next most conspicuous characteristic, there being 

 only one species, and that a deciduous one (Taxodium dis- 



'washington, D. c. jRo6eri Ridgway. 



[In writing of the difference in the character of the under- 

 grow^th in American and Japanese forests, I had in mind 

 New England and the Alleghany country, that is, the 

 regions which most nearly correspond with Yezo and the 

 central mountain chain of Hondo, and not the alluvial 

 Mississippi plain, which finds no counterpart in Japan. — 



c. s. s:\ 



Why Varieties of Orchard-fruits Disappear. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I have read with much interest Professor Bailey's paper 

 entitled " Are the Varieties of Orchard-fruits Running Out?" 

 His argument, drawn from lists of desirable varieties published 

 early in the century and at present, is certainly strong in the 

 line that disappearance is not due to the decay of the variety 

 as such, but to its lack of adaptation to the conditions and en- 

 vironment. Professor Bailey seems to consider only natural 

 conditions as factors. 



If California nurserymen's lists of forty years ago, which was 

 at the beginning of things out here, were compared with lists 

 now current, there would appear a vast change. The percentage 

 of old varieties retained would be smaller than in the contrasts 

 which he cites between the new and the old on the Atlantic 

 coast. Both European and eastern sorts of fruits, notably Peaches 

 and Apricots, have been displaced by Cahfornia seedlings. 

 This exchange is unquestionably due to the fact that the varie- 

 ties which are now listed, both those of distant and local origin, 

 are better suited to the local environment, but this only par- 

 tially explains the rejection of the old and the choice of the 

 new varieties. Another strong force in preserving some old 

 varieties rather than others, and in the popularity of certain 

 new varieties of local origin, is found in their commercial as 

 well as natural adaptations. Possibly this is a stronger con- 

 sideration here than at the east ; with us it undoubtedly has 

 more to do with choice of varieties than any other. We are se- 

 lecting varieties which endure shipment over long distances or 

 varieties with certain characteristics for canners' use or with 

 certain others for drying. Planters have these special re- 

 quirements in mind, andselectfor oneorseveralof them. This 

 leads to the rejection of many varieties which succeed so far 

 as natural conditions go, but which do not meet commercial 

 considerations. In California, surely, the disappearance of a 

 variety from public view does not necessarily indicate its de- 

 cadence. I should like to see Professor Bailey's estimate of 

 this force in connection with the disappearance of varieties at 



Berkeley. Calif. E. J. WlcksOft. 



Salix balsam]fera. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — To the discussion of the geographical distribution and 

 frequency of this rare and beautiful Willow, in recent numbers 

 of your journal, permit me to add that I chanced to find a 

 clump of Salix balsamifera in Keweenaw County, Michigan, 

 early in June, 1888. The specimen was a low, spreading male 

 shrub, and its flowering season was nearly over. As the home 

 of S. balsamifera is in low, wet, swampy ground on banks of 

 small streams, or in copses of Alder, Birch and Maple, it at- 

 tains its best growth here, where the soil is rich moist earth 

 covered with leaf-mold. It often assumes the character and 

 habit of a tree, reaching a height of twenty-five feet, and a 

 girth, two inches from the ground of from three to ten inches. 

 But it assumes its most beautiful aspect, and is more frequent, 

 in the open, swampy grounds, where it is exposed to the sun 

 on all sides. Under these conditions it foums large broad 

 clumps, and rarely exceeds three feet in height. When in 

 flower it is the most beautiful of all Willows. 



Some two or three years ago Mr. Bebb informed me that S. 

 balsamifera appeared to take the place of S. cordata along our 

 northern borders, the two plants never having been reported 

 to him from the same locality. I do not know whether bo- 

 tanical collectors since then have found these two Willows 



together, but it is certain that S. cordata is not found in Kewee- 

 naw County, where S. balsamifera is not uncommon. S. bal- 

 samifera was also found at Flint by the late Dr. D. Clark, but 

 the station, I believe, has since been destroyed. 



Detroit, Mich. 0. A. Farwell. 



T 



Exhibitions. 



The Boston Flower Show. 



HE annual spring exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society, which was held in Boston last week, although 

 smaller than usual, perhaps, in the number of plants ex- 

 hibited, was one of the most interesting which have been 

 seen in Boston for several years. ' The feature of the exhibi- 

 tion, from the cultural point of view, was a collection of Per- 

 sian Cyclamens, staged by Mr. Kenneth Finlayson, the gar- 

 dener of Dr. C. G. Weld, of Brookline. The plants were 

 admirably grown and covered with long leaves and beautifully 

 colored flowers ; they deservedly received the first prize. A 

 collection of these plants staged by G. M. Anderson was no- 

 ticeable for the size of the flowers, which surpassed, in this 

 respect, those in Dr. Weld's collection. 



Of forced hardy bulbs the Hyacinths were remarkably fine, 

 especially those shown by Dr. Weld, who carried olT the prin- 

 cipal prizes ; by Mr. N. T. Kidder, the president of the society, 

 and by Mr. John L. Gardiner. Dr. Weld's collection was 

 especially strong in such standard sorts as La Grandesse, Lord 

 Macaulay, King of the Blues, Von Schiller and Sir Henry 

 Berkeley. Tulips, Narcissi, and other plants of this class which 

 usually appear at flower shows at this season of the year, were 

 not abundant, and while a few were good, they were not, as a 

 rule, of high quality. 



The exhibition of a number of well-grown plants of Acacia 

 indicates, it is to be hoped, that these beautiful and useful 

 winter-flowering plants are regaining their popularity in north- 

 ern greenhouses. The species shown were Acacia pubescens, 

 one of the most graceful and beautiful of all winter-flowering 

 shrubs ; Acacia Drummondii and Acacia cultriformis, the last 

 rather a difficult plant to manage ; and it is unusual to find it 

 under glass in as good condition and as well flowered as the 

 specimen exhibited by Dr. Weld. 



Mention should be made of a collection of hardy shrubs 

 forced into bloom at the Bussey Institution, especially of some 

 well-flowered plants of Andromeda speciosa, the most beauti- 

 ful of all our native species, with large, waxy white, abundant 

 flowers. This, apparently, is one of the best shrubs for the 

 winter decoration of conservatories. 



The plants of Indian Azaleas were not very numerous or 

 striking. Mr. Kidder, the presiden't of the society, obtained 

 the principal prizes for them. Orchids were represented by 

 good specimens from E. W. Gilmore and N. T. Kidder, an in- 

 teresting novelty from Pitcher & Manda, of Short Hills, New 

 Jersey, in Cypripedium Greyanum unicolor. Siebrecht & Wad- 

 ley, of this city, besides some good Orchids, exhibited a re- 

 markable new pink hybrid Tea Rose of exceptional beauty, 

 and one of the most promising of its class which has lately 

 come under our notice. It was unnamed, and is said to be a 

 seedling of La France. It received honorable mention at the 

 hands of the committee, as did John N. May's new hybrid Tea 

 Rose, Mrs. W. C. Whitney. Joseph Tailby & Sons received a 

 certificate of merit for a seedling self-yellow Carnation named 

 Henrietta Sargent, which was exhibited the week before in 

 Philadelphia and attracted much attention on account of its 

 pure color. 



There was, perhaps, nothing more beautiful in the hall than 

 a vase of seventeen varieties of Carnations shown by R. T. 

 Lombard, and one of Sweet Peas sent by Harry S. Rand. Fran- 

 cis B. Hayes received a silver medalfora dwarf Japanese plant 

 of Cycas revoluta, recently brought from that country by his 

 gardener, James Comley. The plant, which is a fair specimen 

 of Japanese dwarfing, is about eighteen inches high. It was 

 claimed by the exhibitor to be one hundred and twenty-five 

 years old and to have been grown in the pot in which it was 

 shown for fifty years, and to be worth $500. Persons inter- 

 ested in such oddities ought to be informed, perhaps, that still 

 more distorted and more expensive plants than this can be ob- 

 tained in Japan. 



Among other exhibits, mention should be made of the Cine- 

 rarias grown by Mr. C. M. Atkinson, gardener to John L. Gar- 

 diner, Esq.; the general collection of bulbous plants from 

 Wm. Elweil & Son ; and seedlingsof Primula Sieboldii by Rea 

 Brothers. Besides the exhil)itors mentioned above, prizes 

 were awarded to Mrs. Mary T. Goddard for Cyclamens ; Wm, 



