May 7, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



229 



next the sun at its hottest — when a little past the meridian. 

 The bark becomes hardened so as to interfere with its growth 

 by compression, and sometimes it is killed outright. It has 

 been advised to attach a slip of board to the trees on that side; 

 but anotherway is to lean the tree in setting a little to the west 

 of south, and also to encourage the growth of a few short 

 branches low down on the same side. It is, of course, better 

 to select varieties not so sensitive to the sun's action, or to use 

 such sorts for stocks, to be top-worked. It is well to know and 

 remember points like these, for success with an orchard re- 

 quires a wide and various knowledge of all the needs and 

 peculiarities of the fruits we want to grow. Probably the larger 

 part of all the orchards planted fail of profit because their 

 proprietors have not an adequate knowledge of the minor 

 details which are essential to successful management. 

 Newport, vt. T. H. Hoskins. 



Seasonable Hints. — Many vegetables which are highly 

 esteemed in Europe are comparatively unknown in Ameri- 

 can gardens, partly because they are not so easily cultivated 

 in our climate, but mainly because they have not been more 

 widely tried. Globe Artichokes, Sea Kale, Cardoon, Endive, 

 Fetticus, Celeriac and such herbs as Tarragon and Borage 

 would make welcome additions to the supplies of many a 

 country home where now they are never seen. Seeds of the 

 Globe Artichoke may still be sown, although this should have 

 been done a little earlier. The young plants should be 

 thinned out so as to give room for full development, and 

 should be transplanted the following spring to permanent 

 beds, in rows three feet apart and three feet apart in the rows. 

 It would be better now to secure a supply of young plants and 

 thereby save a year. In any event, they will not bear much 

 the first season, but afterward they will produce a fine crop 

 for years, although it is better to renew the plants every two 

 or three years. They need a covering of coarse litter in the 

 winter, as they are rather tender, and they should be set in a 

 comparatively dry spot, as they are liable to rot from undue 

 moisture. In June they begin to produce flower-heads, which 

 should be gathered before they open, and when properly 

 served will be found a great delicacy. Seeds of Cardoon may 

 be now sown very thinly in rows three feet apart, and thinned 

 later to eighteen inches between the plants. With ordinary 

 cultivation the leaves can be tied up by the latter part of 

 August, to promote a perpendicular growth, and then they 

 should be earthed like Celery. The plants can be preserved 

 for winter by trenching as for Celery, and they make fine fla- 

 voring for soups and salads. Endive is extensively grown by 

 German cultivators, but is rarely seen in the gardens of ama- 

 teurs. The seeds may be sown any time before July 15th, and 

 the plants should be transplanted into beds about one foot 

 apart each way. The simplest way of blanching them is to 

 set boards along the rows when they are about half grown. 

 The curled varieties make ornamental garnishing for various 

 dishes and the broad-leaved variety is highly esteemed as a 

 salad. The seeds of Celeriac should be sown at once, and as 

 soon as of sufficient size, the plants should be set in rows 

 eighteen inches apart, with six inches between the plants. 

 They require slight earthing up, and by November will 

 have formed bulbs like a small turnip, which is the edible 

 part of the plant. About this time they should be dug up, and 

 placed entire in shallow trenches, with but a small portion of 

 the top appearing above the surface, and over this straw may 

 be laid as cold weather sets in. The sliced roots make an ad- 

 mirable salad, and when grated dry, are useful for flavoring 

 the finest soups. Plants of Tarragon should be secured at 

 once and set in a sheltered situation. The young leaves are 

 not only useful for flavoring in cooking, but when placed in 

 vinegar they make a palatable and appetizing condiment. 

 The blue flowers of Borage are not only ornamental, but they 

 are much sought by bees for the abundant nectar they yield, 

 while the aromatic leaves are particularly valuable as flavor- 

 ing for salads, cooling drinks and light wines. The seeds 

 may be sown now, and transplanted into rows eighteen inches 

 apart and twelve inches apart in the row. 



Bergen. N.J. P. O. 



Magnolia Kobus. — It has been said of this Magnolia that it 

 does not flower until it reaches a large size. At any rate, the 

 behavior of a large specimen here warrants the belief that it is 

 most unsatisfactory in its flowering. It is one of the finest 

 specimens in this neighborhood, being fifteen feet high and 

 sixteen feet broad at the base, and fully developed on every 

 side. It has been growing in its present position twelve years. 

 Until three years ago I never noticed a flower on it. It then 

 had two. The next year it had the same number ; last year, 

 four or five ; this year, one. The white flowers come before 



the leaves, but they are small and are not sweet-scented. As 

 a large, finely formed shrub it is unexcelled, but sadly disap- 

 pointing in its flowers. It is often called Magnolia Thurberi in 

 American gardens. 



Fothergilla alnifolia. — This shrub is rarely seen in collections, 

 but it is valuable for its beauty at this time of the year. It 

 forms a bushy shrub, with Alder-like, small leaves. Early 

 in the season, before its leaves expand, it is clothed with heads 

 of white flowers. They are clustered together in a dense 

 spike, not unlike a small bottle brush. It is so distinct and 

 pretty that it should be better known. 



Corylopsis spicata. — -This is another good thing now in flower, 

 but a new one, comparatively. It also flowers before the leaves 

 appear. The pendulous racemes of yellow flowers on the 

 hazel-like stems give it a character unlike any other shrub. It 

 will be valued as one of the first of shrubs to flower in the 

 spring, and because of its thriving in any ordinary situation. 



Germantown, Pa. - Joseph Meehan. 



Recent Publications. 

 Forestry in North America. —I. 



A Manual of Forestry. By William Schlich, Ph.D. Vol. I. 

 London: Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1889. 



It may be doubted whether this book will find many readers 

 in the United States at present. The forest question at this 

 distance seems as hopeless as ever. We read of forest-fires 

 which destroy immense areas of magnificent woods, and the 

 wholesale cutting of timber. Laws, it is true, have in some 

 states been enacted to prevent the destruction of forests by 

 fire, but in most instances they have remained a dead letter. 

 The Federal Government, as well as some of the states, own 

 extensive areas of forest-land, but these areas are diminish- 

 ing rapidly by encroachments, and timber speculators find 

 means to cut and lay waste the public forests. 



Excellent treatises have been published to show that, if the 

 present waste is continued, the difficulties will be serious, that 

 in the drier districts, if the forest on the hills is destroyed, 

 irrigation will be impossible and agriculture will suffer. Elo- 

 quent speeches on the forest-question are delivered at the 

 meetings of the American Forest Congress and at local for- 

 estry associations. The practical effect of all these efforts has 

 hitherto been insignificant. The matter seems perfectly hope- 

 less and those who work the forests at present are not likely 

 to be influenced by Dr. Schlich's Manual. 



And yet the matter is not hopeless. Facts are stronger than 

 arguments, and the facts are on the side of those who urge 

 that forest-operations must be conducted on a methodical 

 plan. What, then, is the essence of good forest-management ? 

 Simply this, that forests shall be treated in such a manner that 

 they shall furnish, not huge masses of timber all at once, but 

 a steady, and, if possible, increasing yield every year. The 

 growing stock of trees, which is the accumulated wealth of 

 centuries, must not be destroyed, but must be made to repro- 

 duce itself continuously, and to yield interest in the shape of 

 annual cuttings. 



Other countries have been in the same position in which 

 North America finds itself at the present time. In other coun- 

 tries, also, there has been thoughtless destruction of accumu- 

 lated forest-wealth. It has given way to a methodical system 

 of working, which, in the long run, has been found to be far 

 more profitable than the old system of wholesale cutting. 

 When in British India measures were taken in 1856 to assert 

 and to enforce the rights of the state in the Teak-forests of 

 Pegu, and to substitute a regular system of management for 

 the old practice of cutting down everything that was salable, 

 the timber traders and other merchants of Rangoon raised an 

 outcry of indignation. What they demanded was permission 

 to cut whatever suited them. Teak-timber at that time com- 

 manded a high price, the merchants offered to pay liberally 

 for permission to cut, and they argued that it was better to 

 accept the revenue that would thus be realized, than to 

 attempt the hopeless task of making the forests produce a per- 

 manent annual yield of timber. Iron, they added, would take 

 the place of wood in ship-building, the demand for Teak 

 would diminish, and ere long it would be a drug in the mar- 

 ket. A brisk timber trade during a series of years, while Teak 

 still commanded a high price, would greatly stimulate the 

 development of Rangoon, while the growth of that town would 

 be impeded by the refusal to comply with their demands. 



Such were the arguments of those who opposed the 

 adoption of a methodical system in working the Pegu for- 

 ests. Large and important interests were at stake and their 

 arguments seemed unanswerable. The forests were the 



