482 



Garden and Forest. 



[October j, 1890. 



easy. Good loam, yearly repotting and liquid manure when 

 forming the flowering stems ; these seem to be all the re- 

 quirements necessary to insure success ; yet, we seldom see 

 them well grown. 

 Wellesley, Mass. A L). H. 



Clematis paniculata. — For a vigorous growing, profuse flow- 

 ering species this cannot be excelled. The long shoots of 

 this plant, now in bloom, are furnished with crowded clusters 

 of feathery, fragrant, white flowers, which, though small, are 

 borne in such wild profusion that the vine appeal's as a mass 

 of white. The lower vine is well furnished with large, firm 

 leaves. A Clematis which will make eight or ten feet of vigor- 

 ous growth in its first season, is free from disease and flowers 

 so profusely, is an ornament to any garden. 



Newark, N.J. J. 



Shirley Poppies. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — Will you be kind enough to tell me what is a Shirley 

 Poppy and how it differs from other Poppies ? 



JMuri'istuwn, N. 



B. 



Correspondence. 



Home Experimental Gardens. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The value of experimental stations varies according to 

 the good judgment of the Director and the wide diffusion of 

 results in an intelligent form. I believe, however, that, as a 

 rule, we get as reliable reports to guide general cultivation 

 from private experimenters. I have in a long course of trials 

 learned to rely on one or two special sources of information 

 in each special field of work. If I wish to know the truth about 

 a new Strawberry I compare the judgment of such men as 

 Crawford, Williams and Miller; and there are two or three 

 of the state experimental stations I am glad to hear from. 

 What I wish to urge is that we shall all of us establish a series 

 of home experiments, and make it a fixed part of our annual 

 efforts in horticulture. These experiments, when they reach 

 fixed results, should be reported on in such a way as to reach 

 the general public. 



For many years I have made it a point to cross-breed or 

 specially select both among flowers and vegetables. For ten 

 years I have carried on a series of experiments with Beans, 

 Corn and other garden products. I have raised a Pumpkin 

 that kept with dry storage all summer; but have not held it to 

 be of sufficient value to disseminate. My experiments with 

 Strawberries have never given but two promising sorts, and 

 one of these may at some time prove to be worth general test- 

 ing. In Raspberries I am testing a strain of very early red 

 seedlings that so far promise to be superior to Turner, Marl- 

 boro and other early sorts — certainly far ahead of Hansel!, 

 Crimson Beauty and Lost Rubies. I have no Blackberry that 

 I am certain of, but some good ones. Black Raspberries fol- 

 low their parentage very closely. What I hope for is a seed- 

 ling Gregg that shall be absolutely hardy. Seedling Grapes 

 have shown some good points, but nothing to warrant their 

 being sold. The Gooseberry is a grand fruit, growing slowly 

 into popularity. I have succeeded in starting, or rather finding, 

 a true cross of native and English that, after five years' test, I 

 believe to be an advance on what we have. 



Corn I have crossed quite to my heart's content, and the re- 

 sult is many very good sorts, from very early to very late; but 

 I am not sure that they should be offered to the public. 

 In Beans I have had better success. A white Wax-pod 

 ten inches long and three inches around is big enough. The 

 beans inside in some sorts number nine or ten and are white 

 in color; in others pink or yellow. 



Comparative culture opens another admirable field for home 

 experiments, only that it requires far more patience than is 

 often exercised. Very many reports as to the comparative 

 merits of deep or shallow planting, level or hill culture, the 

 merits of seed from the end or from the middle of the ear, of 

 small or large tubers, etc., are vitiated by the variation of 

 seasons. 



But whatever results may prove of advantage to the public, 

 these experiments are of immense importance to the farmer 

 or gardener who works at them, and to his family. They lend 

 a charm to rural life that is hardly obtainable in any other 

 way; turning hand-work into head-work, and drudgery into 

 poetry. The effect on children is most admirable. I should 

 by all means allow each child a special part in a special ex- 

 periment ; let him work it out himself. Here he gains the 

 power to investigate and observe, which makes all scientific 

 research and acquisition possible. An experimental plot is 

 better than botany books. Hired men will also be greatly 

 improved by being engaged in comparative culture. 



Clinton, N. Y. £. P. Powell. 



[These Poppies were produced by selection by the Rev. 

 W. Wilks, of Shirley Vicarage, England. Mr. Wilks found 

 in a corner of his garden a stray lot of the wild scarlet 

 field Poppy {Papaver Rhceas), and amongst them he no- 

 ticed one blossom whose petals were distinctly edged with 

 white, with their bases shading into the black of the sta- 

 mens. A second plant he found near his home with the 

 same white edging, and having saved the seed, the next 

 year gave him a few blossoms which were more or less 

 edged with white, and some others of a paler shade of red. 

 The seed of the most distinct ones was saved from year 

 to year, and Mr. Wilks is positive that he still finds im- 

 provement in the plants. In some of them all the dark 

 tinge has been removed at the base of the petals, and 

 golden stamens and anthers have taken the place of the 

 sombre centre of the flower, and the color of the petals 

 varies from pure scarlet to paper white, including all 

 shades of pink and salmon-pink. 



The plants have grown in vigor and robustness of. habit 

 as well as in beauty. The strain has become so well 

 established that not more than one per cent, of "rogues'' 

 or black-centred flowers are found. A good colored plate 

 of these Poppies was published in Amateur Gardening 

 July 5th, 1890. — Ed.] 



The Fay Currant. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — I observe that Mr. E. P. Powell speaks disparagingly 

 of the Fay Currant in your issue of July 23d. My experi- 

 ence has differed so completely from his that I am led to 

 inquire whether his views are generally accepted. Either the 

 conditions at his place are exceptionally unfavorable for this 

 fruit or the conditions with me are unusually good, for it is 

 by odds the best Currant I have ever tried. 



New Haven. •■>■ V. C. 



[So far as our observation goes the Fay Currant is alto- 

 gether a superior fruit. Many correspondents corroborate 

 this opinion. Dr. Hoskins, for example, writes from Ver- 

 mont that it is a great success with him and far ahead of 

 the Versailles on rather light soil. The clusters are almost 

 like Delaware Grapes in size, they sell well, and no 

 complaint is ever made of their quality. Mr. S. D. Willard 

 writes from Geneva that his experience with this Currant 

 is most favorable, and he adds that he considers this 

 the prevailing sentiment among horticulturists of western 

 New York.— Ed.] 



Recent Publications. 



The Trees of North-eastern America. Illustrated from 

 original sketches. By Charles S. Newhall. 8vo, pp. 242. 



This work has been prepared for the sole purpose of en- 

 abling persons who have no botanical knowledge to identify 

 the native trees of Canada and the northern states east of the 

 Mississippi River, and a few — some twenty or more — of the 

 more common species that have been introduced and natural- 

 ized in this region. The characters used are few in number, 

 and mainly those which are most obvious. The leaves of the 

 trees are principally relied upon in the descriptions given, and 

 the classification is based on leaf-forms exclusively. The plan 

 is for the student to take a leaf of his specimen, and follow it 

 down through a few of its plainest characters — that is, whether 

 simple or compound, alternate or opposite, entire, toothed or 

 lobed, and if the latter, whether the lobes are entire or toothed. 

 Having pursued his specimen to this group the student will 

 find the leaves of all the trees of its class rather coarsely 

 figured from what appear to be actual impressions from 

 typical specimens. The figures are accompanied by brief de- 

 scriptive text, which gives additional data for identification, 

 drawn from the bark, "flowers and fruit. 



Since the book has an aim so definite it may have been ad- 

 visable to omit any details that are not absolutely needed for 



