■78 



Garden and Forest. 



[April 9, 1890. 



handsome leaves of the latter are sometimes subject to disfig- 

 uring spots of as yet doubtful origin. 



The Buttonwood-trees {Platanns occidentalis) in New Eng- 

 land have, in recent years, obtained the reputation of having 

 degenerated and become more liable to disease. For some rea- 

 son, not well accounted for, the terminal shoots are often killed 

 and the trees assume a tufted appearance. But few insects are 

 known to attack the tree. The Walnuts and Hickories are 

 among those trees which usually have comparatively well 

 preserved foliage, even when that of many other kinds is 

 destroyed. The Black Walnut seems especially exempt from 

 serious insect attacks. 



That the trees which are preyed upon by the largest num- 

 ber of species of insects and other parasites are not always 

 the first to show disastrous effects, is well illustrated in the 

 case of the Oaks. In Europe alone there have been recorded 

 about 600 species of insects which live upon these noble trees, 

 and a proportionately large number are probably to be found 

 in this country ; and Professor Farlow has stated* that " the 

 list of fungi which grow on Oaks in the United States includes 

 between five and six hundred species." Of course a large 

 proportion of these parasites also live upon other kinds of 

 plants, while many others are only found upon particular 

 species of Oak. Such figures naturally cause surprise that 

 these trees are able to support such a host of ravagers and yet 

 maintain so fine an appearance as they usually do. On the 

 whole, there seems to be little difference in the value of the 

 various species when considered with regard to immunity 

 from serious diseases; and, as no trees can ever fill their place, 

 the Oaks must continue to be planted for ornament as well as 

 timber. 



Loudon states that the leaves of Birches are rarely subject 

 to the attack of insects. Nevertheless there are about 300 

 species of insects known to live on these trees in Europe, and 

 some of them are of quite a dangerous character- It is true, 

 however, in New England, that the Birches seldom suffer 

 severely. Occasionally they may be attacked by such general- 

 feeding insects as the Fall Web-worm. In the vicinity of Bos- 

 ton, a few trees have been defoliated by one or two species of 

 monophagous Saw-fly larvae, and these, under favoring con- 

 ditions, may sometimes become destructively abundant. 



The Poplars {Poftulus alba, P. monilifera and/*, balsamifera), 

 so commonly planted in some of our cities, have lately ac- 

 quired, especially in the region about Washington, a bad repu- 

 tation on account of the destruction of the foliage by the Fall 

 Web-worm and other insects ; and dead trunks and limbs too 

 often show the ravages of borers. The Willows are attacked 

 by many of the same insects, and are, as a rule, hardly less 

 subject to severe injury than the Poplars. 



Among the conifers we find that the Pines and Spruces of 

 our forests are, at irregular intervals, subject to extraordinary 

 injury and destruction by borers and foliage-devouring larvae. 

 Fortunately there is less liability to such disasters in orna- 

 mental planting, where particular species of trees are usually 

 few or comparatively isolated and insect-eating birds are 

 more abundant than in the woods. Yet in isolated situations 

 the tips of the branches of most of the Pines are often sadly 

 injured by boring larvae, and fungi are sometimes quite de- 

 structive. During the past season an almost universal dis- 

 ease, of uncertain origin, caused the outer ends of the leaves 

 of the White Pines to become brown. The greatest deform- 

 ity of the Spruces in cultivation is caused by a Hemipterous 

 insect (Chermes), which produces large, cone-like swellings 

 on the ends of the branches. The Colorado Spruce (Picea 

 pungens) has so far seemed to escape this disease in New 

 England. It does not infest the native and foreign species of 

 Firs, which, when young and in vigorous health, rarely allow 

 disease of any kind to become manifest. 



The Junipers are sometimes subject to several hurtful 

 fungi, among them the well known " Cedar Apples." South 

 of New York the Red Cedar and the Arbor Vitae are some- 

 times very much injured by the Bag-worm ; but north of 

 Massachusetts the Arbor Vitae is usually one of the trees 

 most free from disfigurement. In recent years the foliage 

 of the Larches over a wide extent of country has been 

 annually largely destroyed by the larvae of a Saw-fly {Nematiis 

 Erichsonii), which is supposed to have been introduced from 

 Europe, and which is the worst known enemy of this beauti- 

 ful tree. The Japanese Larch {Larix leptolepis) at the Arnold 

 Arboretum has not yet been touched by this Saw-fly, but the 

 data are not sufficient to warrant the statement that the tree 

 will not be attacked. The Hemlock is one of the most beau- 

 tiful trees for ornamental planting, and it has few enemies. 

 Sometimes the presence of Red Mites (Te tr any c hits) gives a 



" * Vice-President's Address. Section F, Proc. A. A. A. S., vol. XXXVI., 1887. . 



portion of the leaves a pale or dusty appearance, but vigor- 

 ous, well branched, isolated trees are rarely otherwise in- 

 jured. Our Cypress (Taxodium distichnm) has no serious 

 enemies recorded against it, and the Gingko has so far given 

 a promise of being one of the kinds best suited to those who 

 want trees which do not require to be diligently guarded 

 against destroying foes. 



Arnold Arboretum. /. G. Jack. 



Grapes for Family Use. 



T HAVE just been asked to name ten or twelve of the best 

 -*■ varieties of Grapes for family use to plant in the vicinity 

 of Plainfield, New Jersey. The inquiry comes from a man 

 who has lately moved into the country, but who still retains 

 his business in New York and goes into the city every day. 

 As this class increases every year a reply to the inquiry may 

 be helpful to some of the readers of Garden and Forest. 



It is difficult to give a general answer to such a question, not 

 only because individual preferences vary as to the quality of 

 the different Grapes, but because differences of soil and of 

 location and of the adaptability of varieties to different condi- 

 tions make an answer which is correct for one place almost 

 worthless for another a few miles away. However, as the soil 

 in the district mentioned is a light sandy loam I will frame my 

 answer accordingly, although in my own heavier clay soil in 

 Essex County I would still name the varieties which I give 

 below. 



For early black Grapes I would name, in the order of ripen- 

 ing, Moore's Early, Cottage, Worden and Concord. These are 

 all hardy, vigorous growers and likely to succeed anywhere in 

 the state. The first named I have not found quite as produc- 

 tive as the others, but its earliness compensates for any defi- 

 ciency in this respect. The quality is very much like that of 

 the Concord, the parent of all the others, while the Worden is 

 the largest and best of them. For eariier kinds than the above 

 I might name Champion and Eaton, but the former is too poor 

 in quality, and the latter has not yet established its true posi- 

 tion as a grape for table use. 



For later black Grapes the following kinds among Rogers' hy- 

 brids are named in the order of the estimation in which I hold 

 them : Wilder, Barry, Herbert, Aminia and Merrimac. These 

 are all first-class in size, thick skinned, meaty, and of richer 

 quality than the preceding and better keepers. 



For red Grapes I name Brighton, Delaware, Lindley (Rogers' 

 9), Agawam (Rogers' 15) and Berckmans. Of these, Delaware 

 and Berckmans are among Grapes what the Seckel and Dana's 

 Hovey are among Pears, small and not vigorous growers, but of 

 first quality. The strongest grower is Agawam, a thick skinned, 

 aromatic, musky-flavored grape, much admired by some and 

 equally disliked by others. It is liable to set poorly, and the 

 Lindley, equal to any in quality, has the same defect. The 

 Brighton never fails to satisfy the most exacting taste, even if 

 not fully ripe. 



For white Grapes I name Lady and Martha first, because of 

 their earliness. The latter is the more vigorous grower, while 

 the former has the larger berry and is better in quality, but it 

 wastes very soon after ripening, often before, and the clusters 

 of both are small. Following these comes the Niagara, a 

 larger and far better Grape in everyrespect ; in fact, in my 

 experience, it is the only white Grape I have that is worth the 

 ground it occupies. Pocklington, so highly praised in some 

 sections, is with me a failure in every way. Empire State and 

 Duchess, while of better quality than Niagara, have berries 

 only half as large and are so uncertain that I can only recom- 

 mend them as an experiment. Lady Washington makes a 

 fine cluster, but it is too late to be depended on in this lati- 

 tude. Moore's Diamond and Hayes are as yet new — that is, 

 they have not been cultivated long enough to make theirgood 

 and bad qualities apparent. 



I might mention several more in all classes that have some 

 desirable qualities, but the list is large enough to select a 

 dozen varieties from. Still it represents an individual opinion 

 merely and a consensus of opinions gathered from a larger 

 area may be more satisfactory. The New Jersey State Agri- 

 cultural Society at its annual meeting six years ago voted on 

 a selection of the best six varieties of Grapes. Ten red Grapes 

 were named and eight each of white and black. The four of 

 each color receiving the highest vote were, in the order named: 

 Red: Brighton, Jefferson, Delaware and Wyoming Red; 

 white : Pocklington, Duchess, Lady Washington and Lady; 

 black: Concord, Worden, Moore's Early and Wilder. This 

 vote was based on their value for general use, which included 

 their value as market Grapes. Some kinds named were new 

 and the desire to sell the vines probably influenced some votes. 

 Some members, too, had no experience with all the kinds 



