September 3, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



435 



especially in the Caucasus; and being more conversant than 

 any one else with this vexed question, will, wc hope, bring us 

 back its solution. 



Lauche received the seeds from Monsieur Radde, of Tillis, 

 that great explorer of the Caucasus, who is still living within 

 its borders. Only a single seed germinated in 1870 or a little 

 later. The plant which it produced so strongly resembled A. 

 Nordmanniana that it was at first considered simply a variety 

 of this; but, prematurely producing cones as early as 1881, 

 the abnormal form could not escape the practiced eye of 

 Lauche — they were much smaller and of a bluish black. 

 Moreover, the silvery color of the under surface of the leaves 

 and the very pronounced glaucescence of the young shoots 

 clearly distinguished this conifer from A. Nordmanniana, 

 which it otherwise so much resembles. 



The original tree at Potsdam is now eight feet in height, 

 with a considerable spread. No one would call it a beautiful 

 object. Placed in a very confined position between other 

 conifers, all of which surpass it in height and in beauty, it 

 merely forms a large bush of irregular tufted shape, having 

 lost its leader, and is making no haste to repair the loss. Since 

 its first attempt at fructification it has remained sterile, so that 

 the rare specimens to be found elsewhere have all been pro- 

 duced by grafting. The specimen in the Botanic Garden at 

 Berlin has remained a dwarf not more than two feet in height. 

 A much better specimen, and one which promises to develop 

 admirably, stands on the Island of Scharfenberg. Its height is 

 about seven feet, and with its fine, straight terminal shoot and 

 its superb silvery color, it is a most attractive object. 



Let us hope that we may soon see clearly through the mys- 

 tery that enwraps A. Eichleri. Certainly the last word has not 

 yet been said with regard to it. Lauche believed that he had 

 good authority for the belief that in its native wilds it reaches 

 a height of 100 feet, usually being clothed with branches down 

 to the ground. Moreover, it seems very improbable that 

 seeds from Japan should have strayed to Tiflis, a city so far 

 from the great commercial routes which unite the extreme 

 Orient to Europe. I may add that the person to whom Lauche 

 dedicated the tree was Herr Eichler, the last Director but one 

 of the Botanic Garden in Berlin, who died only a few years ago. 

 Bciin. Carl Bolle. 



Tree Peonies. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — Having been much interested by the letter from Mr. 

 Watson on the cultivation of Peonies in England, which you 

 recently published, I venture to send a few complementary ob- 

 servations upon Tree Peonies. 



These plants generally do very well in all soils where there is 

 not an excess of moisture. A good ordinary agricultural soil 

 (Wheat soil) is what suits them best, the fertilizer used being 

 well pulverized cow manure mixed with leaf-mould. Fresh 

 manures should be avoided as very prejudicial. These mag- 

 nificent plants, as remarkable for the elegance of their foliage 

 as for the brilliant and varied colors of their immense flowers, 

 are all the more valuable as ornaments of the garden because 

 they bloom at a season when flowers are still rare, long before 

 the blossoming time of Roses. One sometimes hears the 

 complaint that Tree Peonies do not bloom until several years 

 after planting. Most often this results from improper methods 

 of propagation. These shrubs, and especially certain strong- 

 growing varieties, do not lend themselves well to rapid multi- 

 plication, and each stock normally yields but a small number 

 of good shoots. Yet many horticulturists pitilessly take all the 

 branches which a mother-stock can furnish in order to graft 

 them, if possible, by single eyes. When for several years 

 plants have suffered mutilation of this sort they produce only 

 very small shoots, still suitable for grafting, but utterly incapa- 

 ble of flowering; and young plants obtained from such degen- 

 erate shoots are never vigorous ; sometimes they take from 

 seven to eight years to come into bloom, and certain indi- 

 viduals never bloom at all. 



To obtain vigorous and floriferous plants enough shoots 

 must each year be left on the mother plant to ensure its pro- 

 ducing blossoms, and thus furnishing well developed cions 

 which, for the most part, have already borne flowers. I am 

 absolutely in accord with Mr. Watson when he says that the 

 most vigorous plants will be those grafted on P. Moutan. But 

 such grafting being little practiced on account of the almost 

 insurmountable difficulty of getting roots large enough to re- 

 ceive fine grafts, we graft on the root of P. Sinensis: but 

 instead of grafting a single eye at least two eyes must be taken 

 (and even more if the eyes arc very close together), and so 

 disposed that at least one eye is beneath the surface of the 



ground. This eye greatly encourages the formation of roots 

 on the graft, and such plants draw a great part of their nourish- 

 ment from their own roots. Long experience has proved that 

 Tree Peonies thus obtained are always the most vigorous and 

 the most floriferous ; and by this method we have plants of 

 extraordinary vigor which delight all visitors by the abundance 

 of their blossoms. 

 Chenoiiceaux, France. AllgUSte Dessert. 



The Pepo of Peru. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir.— In Feuillc's " Peru," p. 735, under Melongcna laurifolia, 

 fructu Inrbinato, variegato, a fruit is described resembling a 

 melon in appearance and taste.and cultivated in gardens at Lima 

 under the vernacular name of Pepo. Dunal, in his Histoire 

 des Solatium, identifies it with Solatium mnricatum, Ait., with 

 S. scabrum, Lam., and S. variegatum, Fl. Peru, as synonyms, 

 and he adds that it also occurs in the gardens of Teneriffe. 



Can any of the readers of Garden and Forest inform me 

 whether this fruit has ever been tested in American or Euro- 

 pean culture, and whether it has merit as judged by European 

 palates? 



South Framingham, Mass. E. Lewis Sturtcvant. 



Recent Publications. 



The True Grasses. By Eduard Hackel. Translated from 

 Die Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien bv F. Lamson Scribner and 

 Effie A. Southworth. Pp. 236. Henry Holt & Co., New York, 

 1890. 



This is a most interesting volume and it will be indispensa- 

 ble to every botanist who has a library of any pretensions. It 

 will be found worthy of a place on the shelf beside such works 

 as those of Sachs, De Bary, Strasburger and the Genera Plan- 

 tarum by Bentham and Hooker. No man has a better reputa- 

 tion for thorough insight into the structure and classification 

 of the Grasses than has Mr. Hackel, and the results of his patient 

 study are shown on every page. He has taken advantage 

 of the labors of the best agrostologists who have gone before 

 him, whether it be Robert Brown, George Bentham or General 

 Munro. 



Part I. treats of organs of vegetation, minute structure, the 

 ligule, the leaf-blade, leaf-torsion, nervation, inflorescence, 

 the spikelet, the stamens, the pistil, pollination, ovule, fruit', 

 seed, starch, means of distribution, geographical distribution 

 and fossil grasses. 



At the outset, the difference between" tufted and creeping 

 grasses is explained, the latter only being well suited for mak- 

 ing the close, even turf so much admired in lawns and old 

 pastures ; the difference between the culm-nodes and -sheath- 

 nodes is also noted, the latter usually extending farther down 

 the culm. On the third page we are told that the nodes are 

 not, as is often supposed, for the purpose of giving strength 

 to the culm, but their function consists solely in the erection 

 of culms that have become bent down. The parenchyma of the 

 node is geotropically sensitive, and as soon as the culm is bent 

 over, the cells on the lower side of the node elongate, and thus 

 the action of several nodes will again partially place the 

 lodged grains and grasses in an erect position. 



The author refers, with some ^explanations, to the fact that 

 many blades of grasses are twisted one way or the other; that 

 many, when full grown, are uniformly "bottom side up"'; that 

 most leaves have peculiar enlarged cells in the epidermis 

 which are very sensitive to moisture and dry air. These are 

 bulliform cells, and aid leaves in closing or "rolling" in a dry 

 time, as in case of Indian Corn. 



Part II. consists of keys of analysis and descriptions of tribes 

 and genera. The reader of the best literature on agriculture, 

 as well as the botanist, will find much of interest in this part of 

 the book, which contains valuable information on the history 

 and economic properties of grasses. 



Great care has been used to secure "accuracy of translation, 

 and a very complete index gives added value to the book! 

 The impressions of the numerous excellent cuts are well taken, 

 and the publishers' work in general is of the best quality 



W. J. B. 



Notes. 



The importations of fruit into England increased a little more 

 than a million bushels in 1871 to six and a half millions in 1888. 



A statue is to be erected at Prague in honor of the famous 

 plant collector, Benedict Roezl. It will represent him seated 

 and at work studying a plant. 



