September 13, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



3B9 



the large hole in the tree ? The sound wood in the trunk ap- 

 pears to be from four to six inches through at the base. Is 

 this enough to support the tree against strong winds in an ex- 

 posed position ? „.- -, c i 

 ^Winchester. Mass. ^- T. Sanbortl. 



[The hole in the tree should be cleared as far as possible 

 of the dead and decaying wood, the soil being removed 

 from about the trunk for the purpose, and the surface should 

 then receive a good coat of coal-tar ; borers, if they are 

 found to exist, should be killed by probing their holes with 

 a sharp wire. The edges of the cavity should then be 

 made smooth and even, and then into the cavity should be 

 fitted as tightly as possible a piece of oak-plank, on which 

 should be spread a coat of coal-tar. The soil should then 

 be put back about the base of the trunk. The coal-tar 

 should be renewed every year or two to prevent the 

 wooden covering of the cavity from decaying. A healthy 

 growth will spread from the margin of the cavity, and 

 eventually may be expected to cover it. The ants are not 

 the cause, but the result, of the decay, which will stop when 

 the air and moisture are excluded from the cavity ; they 

 can be driven out by fumigating with tobacco-smoke or 

 with fumes of sulphur. 



The tree is, of course, weakened by the internal decay of 

 the trunk, and is more liable to be broken off by the wind 

 than a perfectly sound tree would be. It may fall with the 

 first severe gale, or it may stand for years. The object of 

 the plank-stopper is to afford a surface for the new growth 

 from the margins of the cavity to spread over and to ex- 

 clude moisture from the cavity while the protecting layer 

 of new wood and bark is growing. — Ed.] 



Rudbeckia purpurea. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Rudbeckia purpurea has been highly commended twice 

 in your columns. Will you kindly inform me if it is a native 

 of any part of the United States ? I do not find it in any botany. 



Boston, Mass. Howard P. Amold. 



[Rudbeckia purpurea, or, as it should more properly be 

 called, Echinacea purpurea, is a native of the United States 

 from Virginia and Ohio to Illinois and Louisiana. A de- 

 scription and full synonymy of the plant, with reference to 

 published figures, will be found in Gray's Syiiopiical Flora 

 of North America, vol. i., part ii., p. 258. — Ed.] 



The Columbian Exposition. 

 The Nursery Exhibits in the Midway Plaisance. 



NEAR the east end of the Midway Plaisance, two and a half 

 acres, divided by the street, are devotedto nursery exhibits. 

 It was originally Intended to devote a larger area to this indus- 

 try, but, owing to delay in preparing it and the disinclination of 

 nurserymen to make displays so far removed from the main 

 part of the Fair-grounds, the plan was abandoned this spring, 

 and the present area was hastily put in order. The soil is 

 sandy, and none of the stock was set until May, so that the 

 exhibit is necessarily poor. The fruit-tree nurserymen of 

 America are wholly unrepresented. In fact, the only really 

 worthy American effort at nursery display is made by EUwan- 

 ger & Barry upon the wooded island, and this exhibition is 

 confined to ornamental plants. Once it was proposed to have 

 American nurseries in actual operation, from the raising of 

 the seedlings to the budding and grafting and the handling of 

 marketable trees ; but the time was too short for accomplish- 

 ing so much, and the nurserymen were not inclined to respond 

 quickly. As it is, the nursery-grounds in the Plaisance are 

 occupied chiefly by California with a citrous orchard and 

 various specimen plants, by a mixed collection from Mexico, 

 three exhibits of evergreens by Illinois and Wisconsin nur- 

 serymen, and displays by five French firms. 



California fills about half the entire area. This display makes 

 little attempt to show nursery stocks or methods. The greater 

 portion is an orchard of Oranges, Lemons and other citrous 

 fruits, and is really a mate to the small orchard in the north 

 court of the Horticultural Building. Many of these trees now 

 bear nearly full-grown fruits, the product of flowers which ap- 



peared before the trees were set in their present quarters. 

 Mediterranean Sweet Oranges, Villa Franca Lemons and some 

 others are set fairly well with new fruits from the flowers 

 which appeared in June. Still the trees have not set fruit to 

 the extent which the flowers promised, and Mr. Robert Pegg, 

 the chief gardener of the California exhibits, thinks this failure 

 due to the absence of bees. A Villa Franca Lemon-tree, which 

 was six months old when set in the Plaisance, is now bearing 

 fruit upon the subsequent growth. Many interesting single 

 specimens of various plants are comprised in the collection. 

 Among the best is a tree of Grevillea robusta, twenty-feet high 

 and six inches in diameter at the base, and some Pepper-trees, 

 Schinus mollis, both of which are popular street-trees in south- 

 ern California. The Loquat is also conspicuous, and the sides 

 are interspersed with Roses, Lantanas and Polygalas, and in- 

 teresting specimens of Aralia papyrifera, Phcenix dactylifera 

 and P. Canariensis, Chamaerops excelsa and the Umbrella-tree, 

 Melia Azaderach. 



The most conspicuous feature is the display of Mexico, con- 

 tributed by Gustave Schiebe, of the City of Mexico. This col- 

 lection arrived very late, and the continued drought has short- 

 ened its growth. Yet the plants are so novel to northern eyes 

 that the plot has unusual interest. A mere list of some of the 

 more conspicuous plants will show the character of the exhibit 

 and indicate the kind of plants which the Mexicans grow in the 

 open : Coffee, Sarsaparilla(Smilax), Musas, Begonias, Ficuses, 

 Macrozamia Mexicana, Clerodendron (Volkameria) fragrans. 

 Cacti, Rivina humilis, Dioon edule, Anthuriums, Sanchezia 

 nobilis, Citrus myrtifolia. Oestrum coccineum, Ardisia Mex- 

 icana, Datura arborea, Senecioelegans, Poinsettiapulcherrima, 

 Pachira fastuosa, Guava in fruit, Hibiscus Chinensis, Jambosa 

 (or Eugenia) vulgaris. Cinchona, Bescharneria yuccoides. 

 Logwood (Hasmatoxylon Campechianum),Cibotium (or Dlck- 

 sonia) Schiedeiand C. nigrum. 



At the end of the Mexican section, Martin Klein & Co., of 

 Detroit, show a few bushes of the " Dwarf Cherry," a plant 

 which the vender supposes to have come originally from 

 Japan, but which is the common wild Prunus pumfla of the 

 northern states. I have long been convinced that this litUe 

 Cherry has merit as a fruit-plant, and I am glad that it is being 

 prominently advertised here ; yet it seems to be urged for 

 some supposed medicinal value, founded largely upon the 

 vivid red color of the roots, rather than for its fruit. It is said 

 that the bush has been planted rather largely, one person in 

 Michigan having 45,000 plants set in a regular plantation. 

 Prunus pumila should not be planted indiscriminately, because 

 it is a variable plant and many of the forms are utterly worth- 

 less for fruit. As soon as named varieties appear we may 

 expect confidence on the part of nurserymen and growers. 



A Cranberry-bog in full operation attracts much attenfion. 

 It is shown by A. C. Bennett & Son, Appleton, Wisconsin. A 

 raised border, a foot and a half high, surrounds the little bog, 

 and a small reservoir for water lies at one side. The water is 

 conducted from this water-head through a gate, when it runs 

 through the ditches which surround the four beds of Cranber- 

 ries. These beds are each about ten feet square, and are 

 bearing fairly well. 



The chief attraction in nursery displays, however, is in the 

 French section, where displays of fruit-trees and a very few 

 ornamentals are shown by Pinguet-Guindon, of Tours ; Aus- 

 seur-Sertier, of Liensaint ; L. Paillet, of Valine de Chatenay, 

 near Paris ; Honors Defresne et Fils, of Vitry, and Croux et 

 Fils, of Sceaux. Most of the fruit-stock in these displays is 

 trained in various fashions to fit it for growing upon walls or 

 espaliers, or as globe-headed tall trees to stand in the centre 

 areas of small gardens. The method of training Apples, Pears 

 and other fruit-trees on wires, much after the manner of train- 

 ing Grapes, is rarely seen in America, but in the confined 

 areas of European countries it is common. The fruits which 

 are obtained from these little trees are large and excellent, and 

 usually sell for fancy prices. An Apple-tree which is trained 

 to a one-arm cordon, the arm being eight or ten feet long, may 

 be expected to mature from six to a dozen fruits. Of the bet- 

 ter varieties, these fruits sell for one to three francs apiece in 

 midwinter. This is especially true of Colville Blanc, which is 

 one of the best varieties and a long keeper. A French gar- 

 dener informs me that he sold a basket of these apples, con- 

 taining twelve fruits, for forty-five francs last February. It is 

 interesting to note how different the varieties of these French 

 trees are from our own fruits. Among Apples one notices 

 the varieties of high quality and difficult culture. There are 

 Colville Blanc, Colville Rouge, Pigeon de Rouen, Reinette de 

 Caux, Reinette du Canada, Reinette de Granville, Reinette 

 Franche, Reinedcs Reinettcs and Pomnicd'Apis (Lady Apple). 

 Among Peaches are Bon Ouvricr, Madeleine de Courson, Alexis 



