38o 



Garden and Forest. 



[Algust 7, 1S89. 



transphinting was done during an unusually dry August, and 

 the distance of removal was about half a mile. The fall 

 months continued to be so exceptionally dry that many trees 

 in the forests perished in consequence, yet the new plantation 

 proved to be remarkal)ly successful. This was due to the 

 tine, yet compact, condition of the soil enabling the young- 

 roots to form rapidly, and the trees were well established 

 before winter set in. Pei"haps this was the first e.xtensive ex- 

 periment in the August planting of conifers in this coimtry. 

 But it was so conspicuously successful that confidence in the 

 practice was soon established. The common name, Evergreen, 

 indicates the persistence of the foliage, and these trees must 

 be in full leaf at whatex'cr season they are planted. The essen- 

 tial point to secure is quick root-action, to sustain the tree as 

 speedily as possible. It is well known that the I'oots of ever- 

 greens are in active growth long after the upper growth is 

 fornied and while it is hardening. Hence it seems reasonal)le 

 to conclude that when the soil is warm in the last half of 

 August and early September and the air is growing cooler the 

 equilibrium of a transplanted tree will speedily be restored. 

 In the month of May, when by far the largest number of trees 

 are planted, active growth soon follows, evaporation is exces- 

 sive diu'ing the hot June days, and it is the common experience 

 that the strain, upon trees of any size, is severe. 



Let me cite two cases during the past year by way of com- 

 parison. On the 25th of August, 1888, I transplanted from the 

 nursery into groups on an avenue eleven White Spruce trees, 

 averaging five and a half feet high. They had ordinary care 

 and have made healthy growth, none of the terminal shoots 

 being less than twelve inches in length. Indeed, they com- 

 pare favorably with their companions, which remain in the 

 niu'sery. On' the 14th of May last Mr. Bowditch, the well- 

 known landscape-gardener, ordered 200 Spruce trees of the 

 same size, and, as is his custom, sent his men to dig and replant; 

 but, finding that he had dug forty trees more than were wanted, 

 he requested permission to replant these in my groimds. 

 Now, since his men are as careful planters as mine, a good 

 opportunity offers to compare the results of planting in August 

 or in May. Mr. Bowditch's trees lived, of course, but they 

 look as May-planted trees usually do — that is, as if they had 

 passed through a fit of sickness from which they were slowly 

 recovering. In no case is the annual growth more than seven 

 inches, and the average is less than six inches. In my judg- 

 ment the different times of planting will account for all the 

 difference in growth, and this is so obvious that I am sure 

 Mr. Bowditch will excuse me for citing the case. 



Newton Highlands, Mass. Wjll. C. Strong. 



Two Lessons in StrawberiT Culture. 



TOURING a recent visit to the extensive small fruit and vege- 

 ■L-' table gardens of Mr. J. M. Smith, of Green Bay, Wiscon- 

 sin, my attention was called to two striking facts in Strawberry 

 culture. Mr. Smith is a large grower of Strawberries, and still 

 adheres to the old Wilson as the most profitable variety, all 

 things considered. Although this tune-honored sort has gen- 

 erally failed of late years to maintain its former excellence, on 

 his grounds it continues to yield immense crops, and has not 

 as yet been surpassed in productiveness by any of the more 

 recent introductions. 



Mr. Smith ascribes his success with the Wilson chiefly to 

 his method of propagating the plants. About ten years ago he 

 noticed the fact that a bed set with plants that had grown from 

 a setting made the preceding spring, and which had, conse- 

 quently, never yielded a crop of fruit, made a better growth 

 and bore more Strawberries than another bed of plants formed 

 on a setting that had already yielded a crop. This raised the 

 question in his mind whether the vital force required to ma- 

 ture a large crop of Strawberries in a productive variety like 

 the Wilson may not so far impair the vigor of the plants that 

 their progeny will become weakened. Since that time Mr. 

 Smith has been careful, in setting new beds, fo use only plants 

 propagated from those that have never borne a crop, and as 

 the result his Wilsons have fully maintained their original 

 vigor and productiveness. In favorable seasons they still yield 

 as high as 400 bushels per acre. The rust, which has been the 

 ruin of this variety in most localities, does not appear in his 

 newly-planted beds. After a bed has yielded a large crop of 

 fruit, however, the plants are severely attacked by the rust ; 

 but as Mr. Smith does not usually take more than one crop 

 from a setting, the rust has no opportunity to work harm. 



Now for the two lessons. Mr. Smith generally, after plow- 

 ing up a bed of Strawberries, devotes the ground to other 

 crops for a year or more before re-setting it again with Straw- 

 berries. In the spring of 1888, however, he found it conve- 



nient to vary the rule, and to re-plant a portion of some beds 

 that had produced Strawberries the preceding year. Although 

 this ground had been kept in a high state of fertility, the re- 

 sult was most marked. The stand of plants on the ground 

 that had produced a crop the year before was noticeably thin- 

 ner and less vigorous, and the yield was smaller by half. 



In one part of this ground, that was occupied the second 

 time in succession, another experiment was tried. Mr. Smith 

 departed from his custom here in another particular, and 

 used young plants that had been propagated from a bed which 

 had already borne a crop. He expected little from this 

 portion of his held, but he received literally nothing, for the 

 plants, which suffered a double abuse — first, in having been 

 raised from weakened stock, and again, in having been 

 planted in old Strawberry-groinid, unrefreshed by rest and 

 rotation — were so far enfeebled that they were abandoned as 

 worthless and plowed under. 



Mr. Smith's experience has proved it unwise to grow Straw- 

 berries after Strawberries on his ground, even with high ma- 

 nuring. There is nothing particularly novel in this, however ; 

 but very full of suggestion is the fact that a variety like the 

 Wilson, which has been considered "rim out" in many places, 

 has not only maintained its vigor when propag^ated from vig- 

 orous young stock, but has also escaped damage from rust. 

 Here is another held for experiment, not only with Strawber- 

 ries, but with other fruits, upon which our experiment-stations 

 should be prompt to enter. t- a r- rr 



Madison, Wis, -C,- -J- <JOj;. 



[Professor Goff sent with this article a photograph of 

 tlie field described, and it enforces in a striking waj' the 

 lessons of the text. — Ed.] 



Orchid Notes. 



Odontoglossum Harryanum.— Although only in cultivation 

 for the short space of three years this species has acquired 

 great popularity, and is universally acknowledged to be one 

 of the best Odontoglossums yet introduced, presenting, as it 

 does, a type of beauty different from that of any other species 

 of the genus. It isnot generally known that 0. Harry aniini 

 is a native of Colombia, where it was discovered by a traveler 

 nained Rodriguez Pantocha,' who, in 1886, sent plants of it to 

 Messrs. Horsman & Company, of Colchester, England, from 

 whom the stock, at that time, was obtained by Messrs. \'eitch, 

 to the head of whose establishment it was dedicated by the 

 late Professor Reichenbach. Since then quantities have been 

 imported by Messrs. Sander & Company, so that there is not 

 much doubt of it being soon found in most collections. 



The much compressed oval-oblong pseudo-bulbs, which 

 become more or less wrinkled and furrowed when old, have 

 on their summits two strap-shaped, pale-green leaves, from 

 nine to twelve inches long. Cultivated plants generally pro- 

 duce racemes about a foot or eighteen inches long, bearing 

 from four to twelve flowers, each over three inches in diameter; 

 but in imported plants, racemes over a yard long, and having 

 from twelve to twenty flowers, have been seen. Perhaps they 

 will produce as many some day under cultivation ! The elliptic 

 oblong sepals are slightly recurved at the tips, more or less 

 undulate on the margins, and of a deep chestnut-brown with 

 yellowish, transverse, hieroglyphic markings, chiefly on the 

 basal portion, while all round the margins is a conspicuous, 

 narrow, yellow border. The petals have usually the appear- 

 ance of being only partly expanded, a fact which many 

 consider to be the only defect in the flower ; occasionally, 

 however, flowers may be seen which have the petals well 

 spread out. They are oblong-acute in shape, reflexed at 

 the tips, and much narrower than the sepals; the basal 

 portion is pure white, blotched and spotted with mauve-purple; 

 the upper portion is deep chestnut-brown, passing into a 

 golden-yellow blotch at the tip, from which it extends into a 

 narrow border on each side to the base. The subcordate- 

 pandurate, acuminate lip is remarkable for the great beauty 

 of its colors which present a striking contrast to each 

 other. The basal portion is bright yellow, with a few brown 

 spots, and from seven to nine serrulated crests, on each side 

 of which are oblique stripes of rich violet-purple on a white 

 ground; the anterior portion of the lip is infolded or convolute 

 at the apex, and pure white in color, which, however, changes 

 to bright yellow in old flowers, and in dried ones also. 



O. Harryanum seems to be a continuous bloomer, as 

 plants were in flower here last Christmas, and since then there 

 has always been some in flower. July, however, seems to 

 be the proper flowering season, there being several plants 

 with fully expanded blooms, and many others in bud. During 

 thesimimer months a cool and somewhat moist atmosphere 



