460 



Garden and Forest. 



[September 17, 1890. 



diners greatly from their habit in the open ground, and as for- 

 estry means tree-culture for profit, it is essential that the rela- 

 tive growth of forest-species at different ages throughout their 

 entire life shall be known, and at what age the most desirable 

 quality and profitable size is reached. As an instance of the 

 practical value of such knowledge Mr. Fernow calls attention 

 to many plantations of Black Walnuts in the western states, 

 which grew rapidly for ten or fifteen years, and have become 

 since then a disappointment by their slow growth. 



In order to settle many vexed questions in forest-culture and 

 to obtain positive evidence as to the best method of planting, 

 and the best timbers to use in arid regions, it is desirable to 

 begin systematic experimental plantations. The co-operation 

 of experiment stations now existing in treeless regions, as well 

 as of private individuals who have special facilities, is there- 

 fore invited to establish such experiment plantations upon a 

 uniform and centrally directed plan, and it is further suggested 

 that the authorities in charge of the military reservations of the 

 west be requested to aid in carrying out this plan. 



To the report proper is added an interesting appendix on 

 "The Influence of Forests on Water Supplies." We have no 

 space for quotation here, but what has been discovered by 

 careful investigation in other countries is very tersely set forth, 

 and it hardly needs to be added that these figures do not con- 

 firm Major Powell's theories as to the destructive effects of 

 mountain forests upon the flow of streams which take their 

 rise among them. 



Notes. 



We have received the first number of the Western Garden, 

 a new monthly journal of horticulture published at Des 

 Moines, Iowa. 



A meeting of the New Jersey Horticultural Society will be 

 held at the College building in New Brunswick on Monday, 

 September 22d, beginning at ten o'clock. This is the fifteenth 

 anniversary of the organization of this Society, and it is 

 especially requested that all those who were present at the be- 

 ginning, as well as those who have since been identified with 

 the Society, should make an effort to be present on that occa- 

 sion. The exercises will be interesting and an attractive exhi- 

 bition is promised. 



Although the double site selected for the Chicago Fair was 

 contrary to the advice given by Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, it 

 is to be hoped that he will accept the position of Landscape 

 Architect which was offered to him. So far as spectacular 

 effect is concerned, it was folly, of course, to divide the 

 ground, but a satisfactory plan can no doubt be arranged. As 

 usual in such cases, the trouble from interference and opposi- 

 tion in carrying out the artist's ideas will probably be more 

 serious than the difficulties in the natural conditions of the 

 double site. 



The most interesting plant at the last monthly exhibition of 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was a hybrid Cypripe- 

 dium shown by Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, of Short Hills, New 

 Jersey, and named Arnoldianum. The plant was particularly 

 interesting since it has been raised within two years, which is 

 probably the quickest time on record for the flowering of a 

 hybrid Orchid from seed. This rapid development is more 

 surprising since C. concolor, one of its parents, is a very slow 

 grower. The other parent is C. Veitchii, and the hybrid shows 

 the form and color of both parents in its flower. 



Germany now counts nine schools of forestry, some of 

 which at least are connected with her greatest universities ; 

 and that the professors who instruct in this branch are as highly 

 honored as any is shown by the fact that the rectorship of 

 the University of Munich is now held by Dr. Hess, Professor 

 of Forestry, while last year his fellow at Giessen, Dr. Gayer, 

 held the same position there. Only two forestry-schools exist as 

 yet in Great Britain, one connected with the University of Edin- 

 burgh, and the other with the Indian Engineering College at 

 Coopers' Hill under the control of the Government of India. 



The phylloxera has invaded the Department of the Marne, 

 whence come? all the French champagne. The Prefect of 

 the Department has sent a report on the subject to the Min- 

 ister of Commerce, wdiich leaves no room for doubting the 

 evil news. He says that the Vines over a stretch of country 

 extending from Vincelles to Treloup have a pale yellow tinge 

 instead of their natural green, and that the small fibrous roots 

 are covered with nodosities. The Minister has sent Monsieur 

 Douette, a professor of agricultural science, who studied the 

 phylloxera in the south of France, toEpernay. He is instructed 

 not to hesitate, if he judges well, to apply the Government 

 rules for stamping out the disease. The Prefect says the 



whole country is terrified at the visitation. It is also reported 

 that the phylloxera has appeared on the Rhine, and the 

 vineyards at Maycnce, Rudesheim, Bingen and other places 

 are attacked and great alarm prevails among Vine-growers. 



Mr. William Tricker writes that the flowers of Nymphcca 

 Mexicana, which are now open in Staten Island, are much 

 larger than those he took to the Boston Exhibition, and the 

 plants are blooming more freely than those of Marliac's sup- 

 posed hybrid, known as Chromatella. It will be remembered 

 that Mr. C. G. Pringle, in our issue of August 27th, expressed 

 a suspicion that this N. Mexicana is identical with N. flava. 

 We hope that some one who has the good fortune to possess 

 all three of these Water Lilies will take the pains to compare 

 them and note their points of resemblance and difference 

 under cultivation. 



As an illustration of the influence of different soils and situa- 

 tions upon different kinds of Narcissus, the Rev. W. Wilks, 

 Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society, in a note on the 

 Daffodil Conference, published in the Journal of the Society, 

 says : One well known grower writes that Horsfield's variety 

 never has given him one decent flower, although he has tried 

 to grow it for a dozen years, while with Grandis and Empress 

 he invariably succeeds. Another experienced grower writes 

 that with him nothing equals Horsfieldii. The first grower 

 lives on light, dryish, sandy loam, in the south of England, 

 while the latter lives in the north, where rain is never a 

 stranger and the soil is generally heavier. 



A recent issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle contains an inter- 

 esting account of the Alpine garden of Monsieur Boissier, 

 which lies in a sunny nook in the Jura at an elevation of some 

 2,000 feet. The plants from high glacial regions flourish in 

 the hot suns here because of the perpetual humidity which 

 saturates the atmosphere from the evaporation of the abun- 

 dant water which rushes down on every side. But damp as 

 the air is, every provision is made to prevent the evaporation 

 of moisture from the soil about the plants, and one of the 

 means employed is worth notice. All the more tender spe- 

 cies are surrounded by small stones, usually calcareous, and 

 which, broken up into little pieces, cover the soitall round the 

 plant. A splendid white flowered Soldanella minima was 

 growing, covered with bloom, in a rock, which yet seemed 

 excessively dry ; this is a proof that these white stones scat- 

 tered over the ground preserve the coolness and moisture of 

 the soil, not only round the roots, but also round the aerial 

 portion of the plant, the flowers and the leaves. 



Mr. H. W. Wiley, the Chemist of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, has just published a bulletin concerning the cultiva- 

 tion of the Sugar Beet in the United States. The purpose of 

 the bulletin seems to be to indicate the general principles 

 which should be followed by those who intend to embark in 

 this industry, and especially to prevent beginners from start- 

 ing wrong and wasting time in an attempt to solve problems 

 which have already been faced and overcome. From what is 

 stated of the history of the industry in this country it appears 

 that there have been many failures and few successes, and it is 

 to be feared that the reports of remarkable profits in special 

 instances may encourage many to enter into the business 

 without adequate forethought and preparation. The methods 

 of manufacturing sugar from the Beet have been so far per- 

 fected that there is no longer any need of public experiment 

 in this branch of the business. The problem here is the agri- 

 cultural one — that is, the selection of suitable soil under 

 proper climatic conditions, and proper methods of planting, 

 cultivating and harvesting the Grop. In a general way, the 

 coast valleys of California, and probably some large areas 

 near the coast in Oregon and Washington, certain parts of the 

 Dakotas and Nebraska, a few localities in Minnesota, Iowa, 

 Michigan and northern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York, 

 seem to present favorable conditions for growing the Sugar 

 Beet ; but it is only in restricted areas where the conditions 

 are exceptionally good even within these specified limits that we 

 can hope for success. Many attempts have been made dur- 

 ing the past twenty-five years to introduce this industry into 

 the United States, and factories have been located in New 

 England, Delaware, Illinois and California; but, with two ex- 

 ceptions, all these ventures have met with financial disaster. 

 A factory at Alvarado, California, has been successfully oper- 

 ated for a number of years, and another one at Watsonville, 

 in the same state, has been successfully operated for two 

 years. From these successes it is reasonable to infer that 

 others may succeed when all the proper conditions are sup- 

 plied ; but every attempt to erect a factory hurriedly or in a 

 location where the capabilities of soil and climate are untried 

 should be discouraged. 



