April 16, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



195 



through endowments which the wealthy would surely provide 

 when such a work had attained the repute and honor which it 

 would deserve. 



The model of such an association is found in the Lynn Pub- 

 lic Forest Association, whose work, thanks to the acquisition 

 of nearly the whole of the great Lynn Woods by the City of 

 Lynn, is now rendered unnecessary, or, rather, adequately 

 crowned; for the creation of the magnificent Lynn park of 

 about 1,200 acres is really the outcome of the work of this So- 

 ciety. It was this body which succeeded in checking the 

 destruction of the beautiful Hemlock timber in the deep glen 

 on Penny Brook, and which rescued several other sylvan spots 

 in the same neighborhood from profanation simply by buying 

 out the profaners. And the public spirit which its work stimu- 

 lated no doubt made possible the reservation of so splendid a 

 domain for public use in perpetuity. 



Apply the principle, so successful in one small city, to the 

 commonwealth, to any state or to the nation. Let public- 

 spirited men and women unite in such an association, and 

 seek charter and authority to acquire property under proper 

 restrictions. I know of no cause in which the power of 

 eminent domain could be invoked more righteously than in 

 protecting from private destruction the exceptional and strik- 

 ing natural beauties which are equally dear to all, or in pre- 

 serving the groves or trees around which the people's history 

 or legends cluster. But even if such an association had not 

 authority to acquire property by condemnation, the possession 

 of a considerable emergency fund, accumulated in advance 

 and ready to be judiciously drawn upon at once by alert men, 

 would in a great number of cases prevent the defacement of 

 scenery, or the destruction of woods or individual trees which 

 centuries could not replace. 



The best work that has ever been done in this country, in 

 the way of reform and public enlightenment and education, 

 has been at least put in motion, if not completely accom- 

 plished, by private effort represented in associations. It seems 

 to be almost idle to try to get Congress or Legislatures to do 

 anything toward saving the great forest-domains. But is it not 

 possible to make use of the great instrumentality of voluntary 

 association to save the spared monuments of a sylvan past 

 still remaining to us ? „ ._ „, , ,. 



Boston. /. E. thamberlm. 



The Rest of Plants. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — 1. Do all plants have, or require, an annual "rest- 

 period " ? If so, how much is meant by that term ? 



2. Is it true of all the ordinary window-plants, such as Gera- 

 niums, Fuchsias, Gloxinias, Shrubby Begonias, etc., that they 

 require a season of retirement, or letting alone, in some part 

 of the year ? 



3. Can any general rules or directions be given for thus 

 "resting" plants which will be of service to the amateur win- 

 dow-gardener; or must one know the habits, the natural rest- 

 season, of each plant or species ? 



4. Can you name any work or article already in print which 

 treats of this subject in any detailed way ? 



Whitewater, Wis. A. S. 



i. So far as I know, all perennial plants undergo a pe- 

 riod of "rest." It is not certain, however, that this "rest" 

 is in any sense a recuperation or recreation to the plant. 

 It appears to be a hereditary trait, induced by natural en- 

 vironment, a means by which the plant resists untoward 

 circumstances of climate. These untoward circumstances 

 in nature are variations in temperature or moisture, or 

 both. In the dry seasons of the tropics plants "rest" in 

 much the same manner as in northern winters. Any at- 

 tempt in culture to overcome the " resting-period " is apt 

 to injure the plant, from the fact that any energy used in 

 the partial or abnormal development may be subtracted 

 from subsequent growth or development. 



2. 1 know of no investigations to show that this heredi- 

 tary trait of plants has ever been entirely overcome by cul- 

 ture. Our window-plants still demand "rest." 



3. In practice, however, it is in every way more desirable 

 to start ordinary window-plants anew every year than to 

 attempt to handle old ones. Young plants are vigorous, 

 healthy, floriferous and economical of space. Started in 

 late winter or in spring, they will bloom the following 

 winter, after which they should be discarded. But if old 

 plants are retained, I cannot state any general rule for 



"resting" which will apply, with any value, to all kinds. 

 4. The best literature of the practical application of the 

 "resting-period" to plants is found under the discussions 

 of the various species, in garden manuals. L. H. Bailey. 



The Cork-wings on the Sweet Gum. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The Sweet Gum, Liquidambar Styraciflua, which, from 

 its handsome habit of growth and rich autumnal coloring, has 

 been extensively planted in Tower Grove Park, in this city, 

 shows a good deal of variability in the development of " cork- 

 wings" on its branches — a development for which it is noted, 

 and which has received considerable attention from histolo- 

 gists, one of the latest of whom, Miss E. L. Gregory, has given 

 an extended account of it in the Botanical Gazette for 1888 and 

 1889. 



While it appears to be the rule for the branches to bear two 

 or more prominent wings on their upper side (this position, 

 according to Miss Gregory, being peculiar to this species), it is 

 noticeable that not far from one-half of the trees in the park 

 named are destitute of such wings, while a few others possess 

 few of them. The trees compared are of the same age, have 

 grown under similar conditions, and no observable reason for 

 the difference noted is to be seen, the winged and wingless 

 specimens occurring with no regularity. These trees are now 

 about seventeen years old, and the difference referred to 

 appears to depend upon inherent peculiarities of the indi- 

 viduals, since the smooth trees have always been destitute of 

 wings, while these appendages were early developed in the 

 others. The different appearance of the two sorts of trees is 

 very striking when the leaves are off in winter. It is quite as 

 evident in considerably larger and older trees than those 

 illustrated. 



Botanic Garden, St. Louis. VVm. Irelease. 



[Photographs which accompanied this letter clearly 

 show the differences described by Professor Trelease. — En. ] 



Gordonia Altamaha. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The best specimen of Gordonia Altamaha in the District 

 of Columbia grows in Lafayette Square, in front of the White 

 House. The tree, or rather large shrub, which is in vigorous 

 health, is nearly, or quite, twenty feet high and ten feet through. 

 I supplied this as a small plant about the year 1855. It grows 

 and flowers freely, and has not been injured by cold. There 

 are few, if any, other specimens about the city, except those 

 growing on my nursery grounds, on a dry, rich bottom land, 

 where they grow and flourish with great vigor. They pass 

 through ordinary winters without harm, but in one severe 

 season the young growths were killed. The plants, however, 

 all quickly recovered. 



I doubt whether this Gordonia will succeed much farther 

 north, unless planted in a warm, sheltered position. I know 

 of no other tree or shrub, that blooms at the same season, 

 which can compare with it in beauty. Its pure white flowers 

 are produced in July, and appear abundantly up to October, 

 and even on till the middle of that month. The foliage 

 assumes, in autumn, a rich crimson tint, which is quite dis- 

 tinct and striking. 



Washington, D. C. John Saul. 



Notes. 



The Maples growing in the gulches on the western slope of 

 the Sierra Nevada have been tapped this year, and although 

 they do not yield such an abundant flow as the Sugar Mapte, 

 the sap is said to be sweeter and makes finely-flavored sugar. 



It is said that no less than 7,769 school-gardens exist in 

 Austria, not including the sister kingdom of Hungary. They 

 are connected with both private and public schools, are used 

 for purposes of practical instruction in horticulture and tree- 

 growing, and often contain botanical museums and bee-hives. 



One of the most interesting flowers we have seen this 

 spring is the white Chionodoxa, which Mr. Gerard has grown 

 from bulbs sent to him last autumn from Asia Minor, by Mr. 

 Whittall. The color is pure and the flowers are held well up 

 above the foliage. Mingled with the deep blue of the ordinary 

 kind the effect will be very beautiful. White flowers of this 

 class, too, are rare after the Snowdrops are over. These 

 plants are very rare in their native home, and Mr. Gerard's 

 experiments to ascertain whether they will come true from 

 seed will be watched with interest. 



