346 



Garden and Forest. 



I July 16, 1890. 



J. Garden, of Paris, from the neighborhood of Bangkok, in 

 Siam. It is allied 'to C. callosum, and a colored figure which 

 appeared in the Moniteur d ' Horticole for March 10th suggests 

 the question whether it is hotanically distinct from that species. 

 — Gardeners' Chronicle, February 8th, p. 161. 

 K ew . R. A. Rolfe. 



Cultural Department. 



Notes on Shrubs. 



SHRUBS which have the habit of blooming in the early part 

 of July are not numerous in species in this latitude and 

 every one which makes any show is valuable even if it has de- 

 fects' which would cause an earlier flowered species to be con- 

 sidered of little value. There appears to be a slight cessation 

 of blooming among the shrubs just now, but a little later a 

 series of late flowering species becomes quite conspicuous. 



Itea Virginica, for which no more popular name than its 

 generic one appears to have been invented, is a rarely culti- 

 vated shrub which is especially valuable for blooming at this 

 season, and it usually attains its best condition in the first 

 week of July. It is a dwarf shrub of slender habit and under 

 cultivation it seems to rarely grow to a height of more than 

 two or three feet. The flowers are borne in dense, terminal, 

 almost perfectly cylindrical racemes from two or three to four 

 or five inches in length, and about or nearly three-fourths of 

 an inch in diameter. Although the pointed, narrow petals are 

 white or creamy white, a greenish white effect is given to the 

 racemes by the stamens and pistils, and the outside of the 

 flowers, which are light green in color. The fragrance seems to 

 have something of the qualities of the wild Grape and of 

 Clethra blossoms, but is not so strong or sweet as either. The 

 rich color assumed by the foliage in autumn is another quality 

 which, makes these plants desirable for the shrubbery. 

 Although a native from New Jersey southward, the Itea is 

 perfectly hardy in Massachusetts. Where naturally-grown 

 plants cannot be obtained and transplanted from their native 

 habitat they may be propagated in the usual way by seed, by 

 cuttings, or by division of the roots, which slowly spread and 

 form clumps of stems. 



Probably the most conspicuous flowering hardy shrub at 

 this season is our common Elder (Sambucus Canadensis), 

 which blossoms here in the last of June and first week or two 

 of July just as the flowers of one or the latest Viburnums ( V. 

 /nolle) are fading. The common Elder is usually considered 

 valuable on account of its general freedom from disease. But 

 there are complaints this season from various parts of the 

 state of serious destruction caused by the Elder Rusi (sEcidium 

 Sambuci), both to plants cultivated for ornament and those 

 growing wild. This fungus attacks both the leaves and young 

 shoots, and its effect is to cause large swellings and distortions 

 of the parts diseased. When the spores are ripe the swellings 

 have a dusty yellowish appearance. So serious has this dis- 

 ease appeared in some localities this season that it seems as if 

 the destruction of the Elders must inevitably follow. No 

 remedy can be at present suggested except to cut off and at 

 once burn the affected portions before the spores reach 

 maturity. The Elder Rust is found over a large extent of the 

 country, probably wherever the Elder is indigenous. 



Nothwithstanding the many beautiful hybrids and other 

 forms of Rhododendrons which have been produced by the 

 skill of the hybridist or horticulturist, there are few which pos- 

 sess a greater charm and delicacy of color than our native R. 

 maximum. Its value is enhanced in the eyes of all admirers 

 of beautiful flowers by its habit of blooming in July when it 

 has no conspicuous competitors, the blossoms of nearly all 

 other Rhododendrons having long since faded. But besides 

 this evergreen Rhododendron we have two other native de- 

 ciduous species, belonging to the Azalea section of the genus, 

 which bloom at about the same time. These are our com- 

 mon Clammy Azalea or so-called White Swamp-Honeysuckle 

 (/?. viscosum), and the Smooth Azalea (/?. arborescens), which 

 is not found so far north. The flowers of the Clammy Azalea 

 are comparatively so small that they are not so valuable for 

 ornament as they are for the fragrance which they exhale. 

 The plant grows freely and flowers profusely in cultivation, 

 becoming a tall, upright-growing shrub. 



But the Smooth Azalea, figured on page 401 of the first 

 volume of Garden and Forest, is greatly superior to R. vis- 

 cosum, inasmuch as its flowers combine fully as rich a fra- 

 grance, with more than double the size, and, besides, are 

 much less clammy. Although the flowers are partly hidden 

 by the foliage, they are not more so than is necessary for pro- 

 tection from the withering influence of the hot summer sun. 

 The corollas expand in their widest part fully two inches 



across from tip to tip of petals. They are usually white, but 

 vary in some plants toward a decided rosy tinge of color. The 

 long stamens and pistils are bright red, becoming paler or 

 light pink toward the base, and the anthers are yellowish. In 

 this climate the blossoms are usually in their best condition 

 during the last week of June and first week of July, and may 

 be counted but very few days in advance of those of R. visco- 

 sum. Plants of R. arborescens, raised from seed collected in 

 North Carolina, and now ten years old, are bushes from three 

 to four feet high, with as great a spread of branches. They 

 are perfectly hardy, but, as a rule, not very profuse in their 

 bloom. In its native habitat it is said to become fifteen or 

 twenty feet in height, but its low spreading habit in open culti- 

 vation here is in striking contrast with the more erect habit of 

 plants of R. viscosum of the same age. R. arborescens does 

 not appear to have been much used in hybridizing with other 

 species. 



Arnold Arboretum. J • <-* '• J- 



The. Strawberry Season. 



'THE Strawberry season of 1890 wasa short one. On June 3d I 

 *■ picked the first ripe berries of Pearl, Jessie and Bubach. 

 I could probably have done this on the 1st had not my 

 friends, the birds, been sampling them since they began to 

 color. The Bubach had probably been overlooked, which ac- 

 counts for my ability to pick it with the others, as it is gener- 

 ally two or three days later. On the 5th I was able to pick 

 three quarts for the table and the season was fairly open. 



I find on reference to my notes of last season that this was 

 three days later than last year, and the last picking of any 

 amount was made on the 21st, though there were a few late 

 comers until the 26th. 



The quality of the fruit was good as long as sunny weather 

 prevailed. On the 12th, 13th and 14th rain fell freely, and the 

 three following days were dull, so the abundance of moisture 

 and the absence of sunshine soon caused a depreciation in 

 flavor, and bad color. The berries at once became soft and 

 decayed quickly, and the blight was on hand to do its fatal 

 work. This reduced the crop very materially and necessitated 

 great care in picking. 



The Pearl still suits me for size, shape, beauty, vigor and 

 quality. It ripens evenly and the berries from the largest to the 

 smallest are generally perfect in shape and well filled out. 



The Jessie occasionally produces a large berry of cocks- 

 combed shape, but on the average the fruit runs no larger and 

 yields less abundantly on my soil. The chief fault of the 

 Jessie with me is its uneven ripening. For the first week, at 

 least, one third or more of the berries which were crimson on 

 one side were white or green on the other. This adds very m uch 

 to the time and labor of picking if one is careful to avoid pick- 

 ing the unripe ones. Toward the close of the season this 

 feature is less apparent. Mr. Charles A. Green, the introducer 

 of this berry, tells me that this characteristic does not develod 

 at Rochester. 



The Bubach, as a rule, is a little later than Jessie. It is a 

 vigorous grower and productive. The first berries to ripen 

 are generally twins, but perfect in shape. The texture and 

 quality is not quite as good as the preceding, and the rain and 

 absence of sunshine told on them in this respect more se- 

 verely. For productiveness and large size under favorable 

 conditions this variety will give great satisfaction even though 

 the quality is a little inferior to that of others. 



Jewell is very much like it in texture and quality and more 

 subject to rust, so much so as to render it quite worthless 

 with me, and each successive season it seems to be more 

 subject to these fungi. If this proves to be the case with Bubach 

 it will be short-lived. Last season I did not notice that it 

 was at all affected, and I had higher hopes of its future than I 

 have now. Belmont produces a few large berries at first, but 

 like the Sharpless the later settings are abnormally developed 

 and unsightly. A poor cropper it is, too, with me. 



I have many newer varieties, but a single season's experi- 

 ence will not justify any judgment of their merits. 



Montciair, N.J. E. Williams. 



Among the more recently introduced Strawberries none 

 are proving- more generally satisfactory in our state than the 

 Warfield No. 2, Jessie and Haverland. The peculiar merits of 

 the Warfield lie in its deep, brilliant and glossy color, which 

 gives it a most attractive appearance, the firmness of its flesh 

 and skin, which enables it to endure carriage remarkably well, 

 and its great productiveness, which renders it a very profitable 

 variety to grow. 



The Jessie surpasses the Warfield in size and quality, and 

 possesses the further advantage of being perfect in flower. 



