January 29, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest 



57 



at all times, and as soon as possible harden them off without 

 checking, so that they may be placed in cold frames to grow 

 on slowly until chilling spring winds have ceased, when they 

 may be planted out. The main objection to growing seedlings 

 is that at ilowering time the bushes take up valuable room, 

 and, many being worthless, the 6pace is more profitably occu- 

 pied by varieties of approved excellence. This objection is 

 well taken, but is obviated very readily. The most approved 

 system among the growers now is to plant the seedlings in 

 nursery rows, where they are easily cultivated, and allowed to 

 grow away without removal of branches or suckers. A seed- 

 ling Chrysanthemum is a wonderfully vigorous and thrifty 

 plant, far exceeding in these respects a plant grown from a 

 slip. In early June the plants are all numbered, and a few 

 strong cuttings are taken from each and struck in a gentle 

 bottom heat from manure. They root quickly, are shifted 

 along into five or six-inch pots, are carefully cultivated and 

 disbudded, and show, under this test, very closely their value. 

 It will be seen that under this system no room is wasted, 

 as the test takes little space ; if the plant is of no value it is left 

 out to be thrown away, but if worth propagating, one has not 

 only the tested plants, but a good, vigorous bush full of 

 branches and suckers, from which a large stock may be had 

 at once, a very important point when one considers the value 

 of new varieties of merit. The chance of securing a first-rate 

 variety from seeds such as are ordinarily to be had is very 

 slight,' but the pleasure of watching the whole life of the 

 plant — the germination of seed, the wonderfully thrifty 

 growth and the amazing bloom, will repay any flower-fancier. 



Elizabeth, N. J. 



(jr. 



Correspondence. 



The Knees of the Bald Cypress. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir. — I have read the interesting essay of Dr. Lamborn in 

 your issue for January 8th with great pleasure. My own ob- 

 servations on the knees of the Cypress do not seem to me 

 reconcilable with Dr. Lamborn's hypothesis. The objections 

 which they raise to it are as follows : 



1st. The trees on the sandy uplands need the assumed sup- 

 port quite as much, if not more, than those which grow on 

 the neighboring loam — often clayey — of the inundated bot- 

 toms, yet these upland forms always lack the excrescences. 



2d. While a slight upward growing protuberance would 

 doubtless strengthen- the root, the tall column exhibited by 

 many knees would have no value in this regard. 



3d. The summits of the knees normally attain a height 

 which brings them above the level of the water in the grow- 

 ing season ; when they cannot attain this elevation the tree 

 fails to develop. When, by the subsidence of the land at an 

 earthquake, or the artificial flooding of the area by dams, the 

 crests of the knees are brought under permanent water, the 

 condition is fatal to the plant. 



4th. The fact that the Cypress-knees serve as respiratory 

 organs is made the more probable by the existence of sharp 

 upward flexures of the roots of the Tupelo (see "Effect of perma- 

 ment moisture on certain forest trees" in Science (xiii., 

 176 ; March, 1889). These flexures, as there shown, are horse- 

 shoe-shaped curves of the whole root, which, like the Cypress- 

 knees, rise above the level of permanent water. On the 

 Tupelo these structures are clearly of no advantage as 

 anchors. Dr. Wilson and others have shown that similar 

 structures exist in many plants. 



I was aware that roots extended downward from the base of 

 the Cypress-knees, but it seemed to me that the position of 

 these roots was to be attributed to disturbance in the circu- 

 lation and growth, brought about by the development of the 

 knees rather than that the knees gave rise to the vertical 

 roots. 



Although I cannot at present agree with Dr. Lamborn in 

 his main view, his paper seems to me a very important con- 

 tribution to a discussion which promises to throw much light 

 on the laws of plant development. 



Harvard University. A 7 . S. S/Uller. 



The Chinese Persimmon. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — I read on page 612 of the second volume of Garden 

 and Forest a note from one of your southern correspondents 

 relating to Japanese Persimmons, which leads me to believe 

 that you have only the Kiki of Japan, the Diospyros, Si-Tche' 

 of Bunge, in the United States. But there is another and very 

 distinct Asiatic species, the D. Sinensis of the same botanist, 



which we cultivate at the Villa Thuret and which produces 

 excellent fruit here. 



The Chinese Persimmon is not as hardy as the Kiki of Japan, 

 the leaves are more persistent and the habit is different. The 

 flowers are smaller and yellower, the globular fruit does not 

 turn red in ripening, and at maturity it is yellowish green and 

 the size of an apricot, with sweet flesh, and generally contains 

 several seeds. This species could, no doubt, be crossed with 

 your Virginia Persimmon, a cross which might produce inter- 

 esting and valuable results. 



I have noticed that the seeds of Diospyros lose their power 

 of germination almost immediately when they are exposed to 

 the atmosphere, and, like Orange seeds, they should be pre- 

 served in the fruit until the planting season arrives. 



Antibes, France. C. No.1t din. 



The Western New York Horticultural 



Society. 



The Annual Meeting at Rochester. 



THIS society, which is mainly composed of progressive 

 and successful fruit-growers, held its thirty-fifth annual 

 meeting at Rochester last week, and the proceedings were 

 characterized by a business-like directness and expedition 

 which is always expected there, but rarely seen in similar 

 gatherings elsewhere. Practical and instructive papers and 

 discussions, together with promptness, precision and system 

 in the conduct of business, and all pervaded by unfailing 

 good humor and fraternal feeling, constitute a positive 

 educational force, so that these meetings have a direct 

 value which is recognized and appreciated. Mr. Patrick 

 Barry, who has been the efficient President of the society 

 for more than thirty years, was unable to attend the ses- 

 sions or to prepare his usual address. He sent a letter, 

 however, offering his resignation on account of years and 

 infirmities, but this was met with a unanimous declara- 

 tion that so long as he could sign his name he must allow 

 himself to be considered as the executive head of the body 

 over which he had for so long a time and so acceptably 

 presided. It was announced that Mr. George Ellwanger 

 had given $1,000 to the permanent fund started by Mr. 

 Barry last year for the society, and additional contributions 

 increased it to more than $4,000. Abstracts of some of the 

 papers and notes from the various Committee Reports and 

 from the discussions are given below, and will be continued 

 in our next issue. 



FORCING VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS. 



This was the subject of an admirable paper by Professor 

 L. H. Bailey, the greater portion of which here follows: 

 During recent years great progress in the fcrcing of plants 

 has been made in two general directions : First, in improved 

 methods of constructing and heating glass houses ; second, 

 in the increased knowledge of the demands of particular 

 plants. Many garden vegetables are now grown during 

 winter with profit, and the number is constantly increasing. 

 This business of forcing esculent plants is a special business, 

 requiring a particular kind of knowledge and careful attention, 

 and therefore, in common with all special businesses, it is 

 profitable when properly handled, and it is not likely to be 

 overdone. As a rule, the most difficult crops are the most 

 profitable. Yet there are no great difficulties attending the 

 forcing of plants, as most people seem to suppose. The 

 business demands only care and thoughtfulness. The de- 

 mand for certain kinds of winter vegetables is steady and is 

 rarely weakened by overproduction. Winter gardening is a 

 business which, in a peculiar way, pieces out and supplements 

 the horticultural operations of the year, superseding the un- 

 profitable link of winter idleness. 



The most important advance in winter gardening lies in 

 the improved construction of glass houses ; and this consists 

 not so much in the mechanism of the buijding as in the appli- 

 cation of the laws of nature to plant growth. And this improve- 

 ment has resulted not only in producing better plants at lower 

 cost, but it has reduced the cost of building the houses. The 

 first feature of the improvement is found in the relations of 

 the house to light. The gardeners of a century ago were 

 aware of the value of light for forcing plants ; but they were 

 not successful in securing it. Efforts were made in the 

 early part of the century to construct the roof at such angles 

 as would catch the most ravs of light, for it is well known that 



