December 24, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



627 



Two plants of the flat petaled form were left outside this fall 

 till late in November, and both developed a rich purplish tinge 

 on the lower side of the outer petals that was quite striking. 

 From this fact and from the fact that Duchess, one of the most 

 variable in coloring, is usually almost white when subjected to 

 undue cold, it would appear that the state of the atmosphere 

 has much to do with sporting. Duchess is also easily affected 

 by poor light, becoming faint yellow instead of its usual 

 "Zinnia red" color. It will doubtless be found that heat and 

 light are together accountable for about all there is of the 

 change of color in Chrysanthemums. But this does not 

 explain the opening out of the petals of the Fair Maid of 

 Guernsey. 



Buffalo, N. Y. /• L. 



Recent Publications. 

 The Forests of North America. — III. 



Die Waldungen von Nordamerika Hire Holzarten, etc. 



In the previous notices of this work (pp. 193, 200) special 

 attention was given to that part of Dr. Mayr's work relating to 

 the distribution of forests and the species of trees of which 

 they are composed. There now remains another portion of 

 the work to notice — that devoted to Fungus parasites. This 

 part of Dr. Mayr's work, although it occupies but a compara- 

 tively small fraction of the whole, contains a number of errors 

 and inaccuracies of statement which should hardly be allowed 

 to pass without criticism. On pages 433, 434, the author 

 enumerates thirty-four species of Fungus parasites, including 

 two new genera and thirteen new species, although he ex- 

 presses a doubt with regard to three of the latter. Besides the 

 list to which we have referred there are notes and descriptions 

 of some of the species of fungi scattered through the text. 



If there is any genus of fungi found in the United States 

 whose development has been more frequently and carefully 

 studied than any other, it is probably the genus Gymnospor- 

 angium, and there seems no good reason why a foreigner 

 writing on our fungi should not first read what has already 

 been published in America as well as in Europe. Dr. Mayr 

 cites Roestelia lacerata, Sow, on Crataegus as connected with 

 Gymno sporangium macrocarpum on Juniperus Virginiana. 

 But it is a well known fact, as shown by the cultures of Thaxter 

 and confirmed by others, that the Roestelia in this case is not 

 R. lacerata, Sow, but R. pyrata (Schw.) The name of the 

 Gymnosporangium, moreover, is not G. macrocarpum, but G. 

 macropus, Lk., first described by Schweinitz in 1822 under the 

 name of G. juniperi Virginiana. The spelling cannot be 

 considered a printer's error, for it is given as macrocarpum in 

 the list and again incorrectly as macrosporum on page 195 

 and in the index. The author evidently has not studied with 

 care the Gymnosporangia which abound in the United States, 

 for on page 195, in speaking of Juniperus Virginiana, he says 

 " Except G. macrosporum, which causes a witchesbroom 

 distortion (Hexenbesen), the tree seems to have no enemies." 

 The statement is incorrect in two ways. The witchesbroom 

 distortion is not caused by G. macropus, which produces the 

 familiar "Cedar-apple," but by a different species. Further- 

 more, J. Virginiana, far from havingno enemies, is peculiarly 

 susceptible to the attacks of fungi, and, of the genus Gym- 

 nosporangium alone, G. macropus, G. globosum, G. clavipes 

 and one other species are common on that host. 



The author records on leaves and shoots of Fraxinus an 

 yEcidium, the species of which he considers to be in doubt. 

 But why should there be any doubt? The species is one of the 

 best known and most striking in appearance — ALc. Fraxini, 

 described by Schweinitz in 1822. On the other hand, with re- 

 gard to the new species which he calls Rhytisma punctiforme, 

 the author has apparently no doubt ; but, unfortunately, 

 Dr. Mayr was anticipated by Fries, who described the fungus 

 under the name of R. punc latum more than fifty years ago. 

 There is cited on Cornus florida a Microsphara (Erysiphe) 

 Comi, n. sp., which is also figured under the name of Podo- 

 sphara Comi. As the figure apparently represents more than 

 one ascus in a perithecium, the name Podosphara was proba- 

 bly a slip of the pen; but the fungus, as far as can be told from 

 the figure without a description, is the species described by 

 Cooke and Peck as M. pulchra, and referred by some later 

 writers to the older M. A Ini (DC), Winter, which is common 

 especially on C. alternifolia and C. stolonifera. Certainly, 

 without a differential diagnosis, one cannot suppose that M. 

 Comi is other than the well known Microsphasra on Cornus, 

 whatever view one may hold concerning the perplexing 

 synonymy in this case. 



Without stopping to consider other doubtful cases, it will be 

 seen that Dr. Mayr is not well informed in the mycological 



literature of the United States; and that being the case, it is 

 to be regretted that he has ventured to introduce into a work, 

 in other respects valuable, so many new names for species of 

 fungi, some of which have for years been well known to 

 American botanists and others of which are doubtful. We 

 can only &gree with Von Tubeuf, who, in his review of the 

 present wont, Hot. Centra/6/., xli., 415, says that "the presen- 

 tation of new genera and species in the absence of descriptions 

 and adequate figures, the material itself being unripe or im- 

 perfect, is not to be approved or acknowledged." 



The Golden Flower, Chrysanthemum, is an elaborately 

 illustrated hook, lithographed and published by Prang 

 Company, Boston. The text is not strictly horticultural nor 

 botanical, although much that is interesting in the history 

 of the flower is given. It consists in the main or a 

 collection of verses from various poets, arranged and 

 embellished with original designs by F. Schuyler Matthews, 

 and the whole is illustrated with reproductions of water color 

 studies by James and Sidney Callowhill, Alois Lunzer and Mr. 

 Matthews. The verses have been selected with excellent taste, 

 but the book is meant primarily to be a work of art, in which 

 the national flower of Japan is successfully used in a general 

 scheme of decoration which is Japanese in its motive. Some 

 of the panels in which the poems are set are admirably de- 

 signed, and Mr. Callowhill has added some of his best floral 

 work in the portraits of the different Chrysanthemums. Of 

 these, eighteen varieties have been selected for their distinct- 

 ness and decorative qualities, and the reproduction of form 

 and color has been very successfully accomplished. Kioto, 

 one of the famous Neesi ma collection, is exceptionally well done; 

 Medusa, although not a pleasing flower in our judgment, 

 appears in its most characteristic form, and Lilian Bird, in 

 spite of the fact that no artificial color can equal in delicacy 

 the shrimp pink of the original, will please all who arc 

 acquainted with this singularly beautiful flower. Cullingfordii, 

 Mrs. Wheeler and Golden Dragon are also well done, and all 

 the flower portraits are much above the current work of this 

 kind. 



Altogether "The Golden Flower" makes a beautiful book 

 for the holiday season, and is most creditable to all concerned 

 in its preparation. 



Notes. 



According to the Critic, Joaquin Miller has abandoned 

 literature for arboriculture, and has already planted more than 

 20,000 trees on his estate at Oakland, California. 



The death, at Nancy, is announced of Antoine Auguste 

 Mathieu, one of the most distinguished students of forests in 

 Europe, formerly Conservator of Forests of France, Assistant 

 Director of the Forest School at Nancy and the author of the 

 well known " Flore Forestierc de la France" and of other im- 

 portant scientific works. 



Mr. T. S. Brandegee has lately returned to San Francisco 

 from another exploring expedition in the southern extremity 

 of Lower California. He found the season there favorable for 

 botanizing on account of the abundant rains of the past sum- 

 mer, and interesting results from his observation may be 

 looked for in an early issue of the Proceedings 0/ the California 

 Academy of Science. 



Mr. C. G. Pringle has lately returned to his home in Ver- 

 mont from a most successful botanical season in Mexico. He 

 brings home with him a collection of 20,000 specimens, and 

 will return again to Mexico as soon as these are distributed. 

 Mr. Pringle's investigations the last year have been largely 

 devoted to the little known region east of San Luis Potosi, 

 where he has discovered many new species, a large proportion 

 being trees and shrubs. 



At a horticultural exhibition held in Buda-Pesth last spring 

 a single firm exhibited 1,500 Roses grown in pots, many of 

 them being standards. Among these last was a gigantic 

 Marechal Niel which measured ten feet in height and had a 

 symmetrical head loaded with immense blossoms. A com- 

 mittee of ladies was appointed to pronounce upon the most 

 beautiful variety of Rose exhibited, and their verdict gave the 

 first place to Madame Charles Meurice, the second to Merveille 

 de Lyon, and the third and fourth to Baron Adolphe Rothschild 

 and Luciola. 



Mr. R. Hector, of Placer County, California, told a conven- 

 tion of fruit growers at Santa Cruz that his famous Cherry-tree 

 had brought him in a gross return of $1,800 in five years. 

 Last year its yield was 300 ten-pound boxes, and an average 



