390 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 290. 



Lepfere, Madeleine Rouge, Pr(^coce dc Hale (Hale's Early), 

 Briignon Violet. Of Pears, prominent kinds are Passe Cras- 

 sane, Beurr^ Hardy, President d'Estaintos, Beurr^ d'Harden- 

 pont, Beurr^ Superfin and Doyenne Blanc. Plums, Apricots, 

 Cherries, Grapes upon American roots and stocks of the St. 

 Lucie (Mahaleb) Cherry are also conspicuous. It must be a 

 matter of chagrin to Americans to know that the only impor- 

 tant exhibits ot fruit-tree stocks are from France ; and that there 

 are no exhibits whatever from any source of small-fruit plants. 

 Chicago, III. L. H. Bailey. 



Notes. 



Among the new Cannas there is not one with brighter flow- 

 ers than the comparatively new Sarah Hill. These flowers 

 have neither spots nor margins of any other color, but are a 

 solid crimson. A mass of them in a large vase produces a 

 glowing effect which can hardly be described. 



The wooded island at Jackson Park is now resplendent 

 with flowers, especially of plants belonging to the Sunflower 

 tribe, which give such a distinct flavor to the American au- 

 tumn. They do not suffer in comparison with the stiff-bloom- 

 ing Hydrangeas, which are also conspicuous now. The island 

 is very dry and all the plants are suffering seriously, but the 

 Sunflowers are among those which are injured least. 



Quebec is now showing many good specimens of the Mon- 

 treal market muskmelons at the World's Fair. Some of the 

 Canadian growers have achieved great success with these 

 melons. They are round, ribbed and netted, of the Hackensack 

 type, but are very large for a northern melon. One now upon 

 the shelves weighs twenty-five pounds two ounces, and another 

 twenty-four pounds seven ounces, while many others nearly 

 reach these figures. 



Of the melons in the New York market the old Hackensack, 

 or some improved forms of this variety, still holds the first 

 place among the green-fleshed varieties. The sm.aller green- 

 tleshed varieties are all called Nutmeg in the market, although 

 they include such good varieties as Netted Gem. In the same 

 way all the salmon-fleshed sorts are called Christiana, under 

 which name the Emerald Gem is often sold, a melon which, 

 in texture, dissolving quality and delicious flavor, is all that 

 can be desired. 



In a collection of native hardy plants the Liatris, or Blazing 

 Stars, which bear rosy purple flowers, are now quite effective. 

 L. scariosa is about the handsomest species, because it has 

 larger heads and bright reddish scales, although its spike is 

 not so long as that of L. spicata, which commences to bloom 

 earlier. L. pychnostachya has spikes sometimes twenty inches 

 long. One detraction from the value of some of the Liatris is 

 the fact that their flowering begins at the extremity of the 

 spike and progresses downward, and, therefore, while the 

 lower flowers are in full beauty the spike terminates with 

 fruit or withered flowers. 



Professor Sellm Lemstrom, of the University of Helsinfors, 

 Finland, a person well acquainted with the life and products 

 of Europe, is now traveling in this country for the purpose of 

 making observations concerning our agricultural products and 

 science related to rural affairs. The most striking peculiarity 

 of the daily life of our people, which he has observed, is the 

 abundance and variety of food which even the poorer classes 

 enjoy, and especially the great amount and excellence of fruits 

 which they consume. He declares that in no European coun- 

 try, not even in Italy, are there such excellent fruits, nor are 

 they used to such an extent as a daily food. He is impressed 

 with the fact, however, that the Americans do not cook fruits 

 in so many appetizing ways as the Europeans do, a circum- 

 stance which is partly due, no doubt, to the almost uniform 

 excellence of our fruits for consumption in the natural state. 



Among the shrubs which carry their flowers into September 

 the late-blooming form of the Tamarisk is among the most de- 

 sirable, and it is altogether better than the forms which, under 

 a variety of names, but with differences which are inconspicu- 

 ous to the general observer, bloom in late spring and early 

 summer. When strong plants of the late-flowering Tamarisk, 

 which is generally known as T. Indica, are cut back hard in 

 early spring, they will throw out long, straight wands from six 

 to eight feet long in a season, and their small pink flowers and 

 buds among the foliage at the extremity of these pliant 

 branches give an unusually graceful aspect to the shrub at 

 this time. Its flowers are only one of its good points, for the 

 soft foliage of masses of this plant produces a very agreeable 

 effect all summer long. The Tamarisk has the special merit 



of being a good sea-side shrub, as it is able to endure both salt 

 spray and strong winds. 



The taste for white Lilacs was introduced into Berlin, says a 

 recent writer in Gartenflo7-a, by the late Empress Augusta. 

 To meet the demand which her preference excited, large quan- 

 tities were imported from Paris just before the Franco-Prus- 

 sian war, while, as the writer remarks with amusement, when 

 they had been grown near Berlin by his father some years be- 

 fore, they had found no purchasers, as they were then not " the 

 fashion." Now white Lilacs are produced in quantities in Ber- 

 lin during the winter, but the demand can still not be met 

 without the aid of daily consignments from Paris. 



Mr. J. J. Thomas calls timely attention to the fact that many 

 choice apples are lost because they are picked either too early 

 or too late. To secure the best fruit of many varieties the trees 

 should be gone over twice, once when the apples begin to 

 drop, at which time the most mature can be picked out by 

 their color and will readily loosen from the stem. Perhaps 

 half of the apples will strongly adhere, and if the last gather- 

 ing is then deferred for a fortnight those will keep longer and 

 be better in quality. The old rule, to pick pears when the 

 fruit will separate readily from the"stem if lifted half-way up, is 

 a good one, but pears usually ripen more nearly at the same 

 time than apples. Early and medium late pears should be 

 gathered some time before they are ripe, and the choice kinds 

 should be laid away in dark boxes and they will have a much 

 finer flavor than if ripened in the open air. Early pears 

 wrapped in flannel and kept several days will not only im- 

 prove in flavor, but those which have a slight blush naturally 

 will redden into real beauty when matured in this way. Such 

 care is not necessary with late autumn and winter pears, but, 

 of course, they should be kept in a cool and uniform temper- 

 ature. 



Mr. T. S. Brandegee's interesting paper, in the fourth volume 

 of Zoe, upon the southern extension of the California flora, has 

 been issued in pamphlet form. On Mount San Pedro Martir, 

 situated about one hundred and twenty-five miles south-east 

 of San Diego, and nearer the Gulf of California than the Pacific 

 Ocean, which Mr. Brandegee describes as an extensive plateau 

 rather than a mountain, with an elevation of 7,000 or 8,000 feet, 

 traversed by numerous rocky ridges which rise 2,000 or 3,000 

 feet higher, he has found what is undoubtedly the southern 

 limit of distribution of a number of well-known California 

 trees. Trees of good size are found over nearly the whole of 

 this elevated plateau, Pinus Jeffreyi being the most common. 

 On the ridges the great California Sugar Pine, Pinus Lamberti- 

 ana, grows sparingly, and along all the streams the Californian 

 Libocedrus occurs. The other trees which will probably be 

 found here in their most southern home are Populus tremu- 

 loides, Quercus agrifolia, Q. Wislizeni, the last two exclusively 

 Pacific coast species. Q. chrysolepis and O. gnsea, which are 

 both common in northern Sonora, where they possibly extend 

 further south than in Lower California, also grow on this 

 mountain. In the same region Mr. Brandegee found Juniperus 

 Californica, Cupressus Guadalupensis, Abies concolor, here 

 probably at its most southern station, and Pinus Parryana, the 

 common Nut Pine of the northern part of Lower California. 



Among the apples now coming to market here in quantity 

 the Duchess of Oldenburg brings the best price, selling at whole- 

 sale for two dollars and seventy-five cents a barrel. A few 

 Seckel pears are in market, but Bartlett pears from New Jer- 

 sey, of excellent quality, have been bringing four dollars a 

 barrel, nearly twice as much as is asked for Seckel pears. The 

 best native black grapes now offered are Wordens, from the 

 Hudson River, which are altogether superior to the Concords. 

 Niagaras are in abundant supply, and of better quality than 

 any yet seen this season, the earlier ones having been picked 

 before they were ripe. Peaches have been plentiful and cheap, 

 although the best fruit from New Jersey is worth from a dol- 

 lar and twenty-five cents to two dollars a basket ; these are 

 mostly Mountain Rose and Crawfords. California plums sell 

 more readily than eastern fruit, and prices have improved 

 during the past week ; the best bring forty cents a dozen. 

 Cranberries from Cape Cod are in moderate supply, but as yet 

 are light in color. The little Lady's-finger bananas, which are 

 too rarely seen, are now coming in considerable quantity from 

 Aspinwall, and sell for twenty-five cents a dozen. A so-called 

 melon pear, from the West Indies, is found on some fruit- 

 stands, and seems to sell quite readily on account of its rich 

 golden color. It is a small melon, quite inferior in flavor to 

 our best varieties. The beautiful Japanese persimmons are 

 seen everywhere, and are evidently growing in popularity as 

 they become better known. 



