September 24, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



47i 



Correspondence. 



Some Northern Ferns. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The rarer Ferns found sparingly in the northern limits 

 of the United States, but more generally in the eastern pro- 

 vinces of Canada, are generally away from the beaten tracks 

 of tourists — amid mountain glens, in the neighborhood of 

 waterfalls or nestling quietly on shaded cliffs above the reach 

 of any but the most venturesome climber. The pretty little 

 Asplcniiun viride is exceedingly rare, f have only met with it 

 in the neighborhood of St. John. Here it is found in com- 

 parative abundance, in some half dozen places, hiding in the 

 clefts of limestone rocks, and defying any but the most Fern- 

 loving eye to discover its retreats. A few friends who have 

 occasionally accompanied me to my " preserves" have been 

 successful in its cultivation, and I have never seen it more 

 beautiful even in its native haunts than it appears in a dainty 

 dish in a friend's house. Two years ago the plant was set in a 

 moderately deep glass dish with the small amount of earth 

 which was gathered from the cleft of rock in which it was 

 found growing. An occasional spraying of rain-water, with care 

 to drain off the extra moisture that had gathered in the dish, 

 is all the attention it has needed. 



Pellcea gracilis I have seen only in the northern part of New 

 Brunswick, in the neighborhood of Grand Falls and Wood- 

 stock and one or two of the tributaries of the St. John River. 

 I shall never forget the sight that once met my eye on a pro- 

 jecting ledge of that most beautiful of New Brunswick rivers 

 — the Madawaska. Growing from the clefts of rocks, and 

 lifting up its delicate, pale green fronds on the grassy slope of 

 the bank in the greatest profusion and luxuriance, the whole 

 spot of wonderful green could have been covered by my um- 

 brella, f had never seen the Fern before, and I have seen it 

 but once since, but that exquisite little picture in the wilderness, 

 with surroundings in perfect harmony, is a joy forever. 



Scolopendrium vulgarc is found in one locality in New 

 Brunswick, but just where is unknown to me. Ten years ago 

 the gardener of Mrs. Charles Council, Woodstock, discovered 

 the only specimen that has been seen in New Brunswick. A 

 few Fern-lovers have searched diligently for the coveted prize 

 in all the shaded ravines for miles around, but as yet without 

 success. 



A few weeks ago a party of adventurous students of the 

 Nova Scotia Summer School of Science started one morn- 

 ing to rind Moose River Falls in the recesses of the Cobequid 

 Mountains. Adventurous, f say, because only one lady had 

 ever visited the falls before, and here were at least twenty 

 accomplishing the feat of scaling mountain heights, toiling 

 through ravines, to catch a glimpse of one of the choicest bits 

 of scenery to be found in eastern America. The Moose 

 River, rising amid the heights of the Cobequid Mountains, 

 acts much like other mountain streams at first, but suddenly 

 makes a series of three or four mad plunges, the last and 

 greatest being a leap of about a hundred feet into a basin in 

 the form of an amphitheatre whose walls of perpendicular 

 rock rise to the height of over 300 feet from the bed of the 

 stream. Far up in the clefts of the rocks could be seen at 

 least one Woodsia (perhaps Ilvensis) and Aspidium fragrans, 

 which I had been trying to find for several years and now saw 

 for the first time, ft is found in two localities only in New 

 Brunswick, and this was the second for Nova Scotia. Mr. A. 

 H. Mackay found it again a few days after at Minnehaha Falls, 

 another picturesque glen of the Cobequids, along with Asplcn- 

 ium Trichomanes, which, although described as common in 

 Gray, has never been found in New Brunswick and but twice 

 in Nova Scotia. . 



St. John, N. B. G. U. Hay. 



Insect Enemies of Ampelopsis. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The Vine on my house, Japanese Ivy, has been de- 

 vastated during the past summer by a green worm of consider- 

 able size. Many other houses on this street are similarly 

 afflicted. It is gradually becoming a serious pest. Can you 

 suggest any remedy? Is there any liquid application that 

 could now be made to the roots of the Ivy that would kill the 

 creature in its present state ? 



Beacon Street, Boston. A. 



[In the absence of specimens or more exact information 

 we would say that the injuries referred to are probably 

 caused by the caterpillars of the so-called eight-spotted 

 Forester (Alypia oclomaculala), an insect which has some- 



times caused much disfigurement to the foliage of both 

 Japanese and American species of Ampelopsis in Boston 

 and other cities. The moth which deposits the eggs which 

 hatch into the troublesome larvae expands from an inch to 

 an inch and a half across the wings. It is of a velvety 

 black color, and is marked by eight large conspicuous 

 spots, two on each front wing being pale yellow, two 

 on each hind wing being white. Unlike the great majority 

 of moths these fly in the day-time, and observing persons, 

 when crossing the Boston Public Garden, cannot have 

 failed to notice these insects as they fluttered about the 

 flowers of the dwarf Mountain Ashes, the dwarf Deutzias, 

 the Spiraeas and other plants in the latter part of May and 

 in June. Where this insect causes serious injury to the 

 Ampelopsis the moths should be caught and destroyed 

 whenever possible. In destroying the caterpillars hand- 

 picking may be tried on small plants. Where hand-picking 

 is out of the question insecticides must be tried. Fresh 

 Pyrethrum powder may be dusted on dry from a hand- 

 bellows made for the purpose, or used in a liquid form by 

 spraying with a strong syringe or a force pump. This in- 

 secticide kills by contact, and not by being devoured, and 

 may be used without fear of injury to persons. White 

 Hellebore may be found more efficient, as the caterpillars 

 are poisoned by eating it, and it also may be used dry or 

 in water. In a liquid form this and the Pyrethrum may be 

 used at the rate of a tablespoonful to a gallon of water. 

 Although a poison, the Hellebore is not nearly so danger- 

 ous as London Purple or Paris Green would be. 



Kerosene emulsions might be equally effective, but these 

 and the arsenical poisons, in inexperienced hands, are 

 liable to injure the foliage, whereas the first two can do no 

 harm to the leaves. The remedies should be applied as 

 soon as the caterpillars are found on the Vines, usually 

 early in July, and they should be repeated if found neces- 

 sary. The pest cannot be destroyed by applications of 

 anything to the roots of the plant. — Ed.] 



Practical Aid for Forests. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir. — Professor W. A. Buckhout's article on " Restoring 

 Wasted Forests," in your paper of August 20th, is one of re- 

 markable interest and value. All its suggestions are excellent, 

 and if they were heeded there would be little need of forest- 

 tree-planting in the eastern states. The idea of the use of 

 trespass notices is sensible and practical, and along with them 

 a brief educational appeal of fifty or a hundred words, a re- 

 quest and a reason for being careful, printed in large, plain 

 type on some durable material, and fastened to the trees every- 

 where, would soon have an improving and perceptible effect. 

 There is still a good deal of common sense in the world, and 

 it responds to effort of this kind. To make an enduring and 

 fruitful impression on a community regarding a new subject 

 requires time, and, especially, it requires much repetition, but 

 it can be done by the use of such means, and the sooner wc 

 begin the sooner we shall accomplish something. 



And now, particularly, I know of nothing else so effective 

 which would cost so little as to reprint this article of Professor 

 Buckhout's in a "slip," to send to the people who are inter- 

 ested in forestry-matters — or who ought to be — everywhere. 

 We could all use it in our letters, and the distribution of a few 

 thousand copies would exert an inlluence. It would be doing 

 something, and until we do something we do not improve 

 things very much. 



New York. /■ B. Harrison. 



The Pepino. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir. — In answer to Dr. Sturtevant's inquiry as regards the 

 Pepo of Peru, I can say it is probably identical with the Pepino 

 of Central America. This Solatium fruit is of the size of a 

 hen's egg or a «oose egg; tastes like a melon with a very fine 

 acid; allays thirst readily. I introduced this plant some seven 

 years ago, and it has been tried in various parts of the United 

 Slates, It has only succeeded in Florida, but has there proved 

 of considerable value. It is one of the finest fruits of the 

 highlands or cooler parts of the tropics. 



California Academy of Science, San Francisco. LiUStav Kisetl. 



