5o8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 302. 



these berries keep their freshness and color for a long time. 

 This may be considered the only good white-fruited plant at 

 this season. Others, like the western Symphoricarpos occi- 

 dentalis and the Poison Sumachs, have whitish fruit, but it is 

 dull white and not attractive. The Bayberry, or Candleberry, 

 Myrica cerifera, is not particularly showy, but its persistent 

 blue-gray fruit is clear and attractive. 



Among black-fruited plants the common Privet, Ligustrum 

 vulgare, is the best, as its shining clusters keep fresh for a 

 long time. A yellow-fruited form is occasionally seen. The 

 fruit of the Asiatic L. Ibota is black, but with a persistent rich 

 bluish bloom. The white blossom of Rhodotypus kerrioides 

 is followed by three or four erect shining black or chestnut- 

 brown akenes, which persist throughout the winter. Vibur- 

 num acerifolium sometimes holds its clusters of black drupes 

 in a fresh and shining condition until quite late ; but, although 

 the fruit of the Sheepberry or Sweet Viburnum, V. Lentago, 

 persists, it becomes somewhat shriveled and loses its lustre, 

 and this is also true of V. cassinoides. 



Hardy shrubby plants with pappus-bearing fruits are rare in 

 this latitude, but the Groundsel-tree, Baccharis halimifolia, 

 thrives, and the pistillate plants are covered with the gray 

 pappus in the late autumn. ^ r '^ h 



Arnold Arboretum. J • ". faCK. 



Primula Forbesii. — This is a new species sent to Paris by 

 Abbe Delavay from the province of Yun-nan, China. It was 

 this year introduced to general cultivation by Messrs. Vilmorin. 

 Seed sown early in the year quickly made flowering plants, 

 among which no differences either of foliage or flowers have 

 appeared. The leaves are dark green, somewhat hairy, ellip- 

 tical and toothed. The flower-scapes are radical, slender, and 

 bear at varying heights three or four rows each of six or eight 

 flowers, which are individually small, about a third of an inch 

 in diameter. These are blush rose, with yellow eyes. The 

 plant is very prolific of flowers, and the introducers report that 

 the original plants have been quite continuously in flower for 

 several years. This species, while distinct and attractive, has 

 a rather delicate and quiet order of beauty, and will not prove 

 so general a favorite as either P. obconica or P. floribunda. 

 It is probably not a hardy species. 



Ostrowskia magnifica seems to be giving trouble to many 

 growers, and a friend has reported several failures with this 

 interesting plant. I, therefore, uncovered the root the other 

 day to examine its condition. As it was firm and strong buds 

 were showing, it is evident that the position and conditions 

 have suited the plant, and it may be helpful to add to my note 

 in Garden and Forest of June 28th, 1893. It is planted in a 

 raised south border, protected by the house, and is in sandy 

 loam. As it is next to a collection of Oncocyclus Irises, and 

 ripened even before some of these, being also an Asiatic 

 plant, it struck me that the same treatment might suit it. There- 

 fore, as soon as the stems disappeared I have, for two seasons, 

 placed a frame of glass over it and kept it as dry as pos- 

 sible till late in August. The border is so protected that 

 it receives very little rain at any time, and it has been very 

 dry during the summers. Since the plant has flowered and 

 made constant progress in strength, it is probable that my 

 tentative culture is the proper one. 



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



Correspondence. 

 The Rust of Mountain Ash, 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — I enclose you a few leaves of the Mountain Ash, which, 

 as you will see, have long excrescences on the under sides. 

 The trees hereabout seem in good health up to September, 

 when they begin to be affected, and the trees become un- 

 sightly. The general health of the trees does not seem to be 

 injured, for they start off as vigorously as usual the next spring. 

 Will you be kind enough to inform me whether this is the 

 work of an insect, and, if so, what remedies can be used 

 against it ? 



Bar Harbor, Me. B. J. 



[It is not unusual in the autumn to find the leaflets of the 

 Mountain Ash more or less blotched with red upon the 

 upper surface, while long protuberances opposite to these 

 extend from the under side. This gall-like appearance 

 naturally suggests the work of some insect ; but the mal- 

 formation is due to a fungus belonging to the group of the 

 true rusts. It is an instance of a fungus which exists in 

 more than one state during its life-history. In one form it 



infests the common Juniper or Red Cedar, where it forms 

 small galls upon the leaves and branches, much smaller 

 than those caused by another species which produces the 

 large Cedar-apples, so called. This fungus is known as 

 Gymnosporangium globosum, Farl. ; and the form found 

 upon the Mountain Ash is called the Roestelia state, above 

 briefly described. It also infests various species of the 

 Hawthorn, and also the common Apple. In this latter it is 

 often noticed that the Roestelia state of two species of 

 Gymnosporangium are closely associated. We may also 

 have upon the sarhe small branch of the Red Cedar two 

 species of Gymnosporangium — namely, G. globosum, Farl., 

 and G. macropus, Lk. — and upon the Apple the Roestelia 

 forms of these same two species. 



The important practical point is that this rust of the 

 Mountain Ash grows in one of its stages upon the Cedar, 

 and, therefore, it is probable that the presence of Cedar- 

 trees in the vicinity of the Mountain Ash is necessary for 

 the development of the Roestelia form. If it were worth 

 while to try to conquer this rust it might be advisable to 

 destroy Cedar trees that are growing in the vicinity of the 

 Mountain Ash-trees, but, perhaps, the Red Cedars will be 

 considered worth more than the others. — B. D. I/.] 



The Chrysanthemum Shows. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Besides the exhibitions this year in the large cities, 

 there were many successful Chrysanthemum shows in sma'ller 

 towns. The one held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, compared 

 favorably with those in the great cities, and was ahead of them 

 from an artistic point of view. A pleasing feature of this ex- 

 hibition was a children's show. In the spring a thousand plants 

 had been given by a leading florist to the school-children and 

 prizes were offered to those who exhibited the best plants in 

 the autumn. There is a town of 10,000 inhabitants in this 

 vicinity, and two or three gardeners have agreed to furnish a 

 committee of school. teachers one thousand plants. The duty 

 of the teachers will be to get out a schedule card containing a 

 few instructions as to the best methods of cultivating the plants 

 and the most effective ways of exhibiting them. The teachers 

 will endeavor also to solicit the patronage of prominent towns- 

 people, and they have every hope of success. This plan, with 

 modifications to suit different localities, could be adopted in 

 many towns of similar size with little expense and great 

 benefit to the community. No doubt, florists and gardeners 

 would be glad to furnish these plants from motives of public 

 spirit, and yet they ought to remember that the cultivation of 

 an interest and love for plants and flowers among the rising 

 generation is the surest guarantee of their own success in the 

 future. 



Judging. — Where judges are all florists it is naturally sup- 

 posed that they will estimate the value of a flower from the 

 florist's standpoint, and a flower as large as a dinner-plate, 

 with the leaves close up to the blooms, will invariably get the 

 prize. There ought to be a chance, however, for the hardy 

 little Pompons, the graceful Anemone-flowered ones and the 

 neatest of the Chinese incurved ; while, as regards foliage, it 

 ought to be borne in mind that many varieties produce their 

 best blooms only on crown-buds, blooms on a terminal bud 

 being altogether out of character. By the very nature of a 

 crown-bud there is little probability of any foliage nearer than 

 six inches from the bloom, and often not within twelve inches. 

 Certainly these facts ought to be taken into consideration when 

 judging. Mr. Gerard's suggestion in behalf of the old-fash- 

 ioned board-exhibits has considerable weight in the case of 

 these crown-bud flowers. I certainly should not have flowers 

 shown exclusively on boards, but such displays can always be 

 made very interesting features of a show, and they would 

 enable us better than any other way to judge the merits of a 

 single bloom. Still, the boards ought to be arranged differ- 

 ently, for there is no need having the blooms lie entirely flat. 

 It was customary years ago to lay some fine green moss over 

 the board, which gives it a velvety appearance quite pleasing 

 to the eye and affords a little refreshing moisture, besides be- 

 ing a more congenial rest for the blooms than dry, stiff white 

 paper. 



Specimen Plants. — Many failures to raise good specimen 

 plants come from the practice of selecting varieties which 

 take the lead in the production of specimen blooms instead of 

 from plants which make good specimens themselves. The 



