394 



Garden and Forest. 



[August 14, lit 



On tlie plains, lying above the reach of high water, the tree 

 most conspicuous by reason of its close and symmetrical heads 

 of dark green foliage, and the one most valued, is Acacia flcx- 

 icaulis, the Ebony of Texas. The height of the tree varies 

 from twenty to thirty feet, and the diameter of its trunk from 

 twenty to thirty inches. Its wood is much used for fuel ; and, 

 but for the fact that adult trees are invariably hollow at the 

 heart, its reddish-black heart-wood, exceedingly hard and 

 heavy, and capable of taking a fine polish, would make it of 

 great value for cabinet work, etc. 



Acacia Greggii, the Cat's-claw Mesquite, in this region and 

 on these lands reaches its best dimensions — a diameter of ten 

 to twelve inches. Its trunk is seldom erect, and its head is 

 low and spreading. 



Prosopis jiiliflora, the Mesquite, occurs here as a tree of 

 somewhat larger size than the last, but of similar form. It 

 contributes largely to the ties used by the railroad on the 

 Mexican side of the river ; but so crooked is its timber it re- 

 quires much pains in hewing and laying to get the ties in line 

 for the rails. 



Parkinsonia Texana, the Texan Palo Verde, or Green tree — 

 green as to its entire bark — is at home here as a small tree, 

 with short, crooked stem, sinuous branches, inconspicuous 

 leaves, and showy yellow flowers. Its wood is light, and little 

 used, even for fuel. 



Ehretica elliptica, with a trunk diameter of twelve to twenty 

 inches, and a height of some twenty-five feet, is widely scattered 

 throughout the valley, as are, also, in various situations, Bu- 

 melia lanuginosa and Celtis occidentalis, the Palo Blanco of the 

 Mexicans, the Bumelia having a diameter of six to eight inches, 

 and the last of one or two feet. 



Diospyrus Texana, the Texan Persimmon, is a small tree, 

 seldom a foot in diameter. Its fruits are fairly edible in a 

 region where wild fruits are few. They are globular, one-half 

 to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, black when ripe, and 

 covered with a pubescent, leathery skin. 



Koeberlinia spinosa here branches from its crown, but its di- 

 vergent stems rise to a height of ten or fifteen feet, and may 

 be found six inches or more thick. 



The undescribed Palmetto, discovered by Berlandier below 

 Brownsville and Matamoras more than tifty years ago, ex- 

 tends up the valley for a dozen miles or more above Browns- 

 ville. Aside from its uses in sub-tropical ornamentation, it is 

 a most valuable plant. Its stems, twelve to eighteen inches 

 thick, and as many feet in length, are used for posts and piles, 

 because practicably indestructible by wet ; and its leaves to 

 make a clean and durable thatch. 



A list of the shrubs of the region would include, principally, 

 Leiicophyllicm Texaiiitm, most striking of all, and surpassingly 

 lovely, with profuse purplish bloom surmounting velvety 

 white foliage ; Mimosa malacophylla, a horribly hook-spined 

 climber, which spreads over surrounding shrubs a sheet of 

 white flowers ; Salvia ballotcefolia, a blue-flowered sage, five 

 or six feet tall; Lantana Camara, of so extensive range, with 

 orange-red flowers ; Forestiera attgustifolia, Porliera angusti- 

 folia, Celtis pallida / Karwinskia Hu7nboldtia?ia, with Clematis 

 Driimtnondii and two species of Vitis, probably varieties of V. 

 cordifolia and V. cestivalis, to bind together the stiff and spiny 

 thickets formed by several of the last-mentioned, and masses 

 of the white-flowered BaccJiaris glutinosa, and the pretty yel- 

 low-flowered Nesoia salicifolia by the water's edge. 



Charlotte, vt. C G. Pr ingle. 



Correspondence. 

 Palms from Seed. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The excellent article on Seedling Palms in Garden 

 AND Forest of July 3d, omits mention of one method which 

 can be adopted successfully with some species which require 

 a long time — often several years — for germination. This is to 

 "stratify" the seeds in pots in a mixture of chopped sphag- 

 num moss and pounded charcoal, which keeps the seeds 

 sweet and fresh and allows many more to be housed in the 

 same space, provided they are examined occasionally and the 

 sprouted seeds removed and potted off. This economy of 

 space is important where, as with all the species of Acrocomia, 

 the seeds rarely germinate in less than four years under the 

 most favorable circumstances, and often require six and eight 

 years. 



During the past five or six years I have endeavored to get 

 a small quantity of the seeds of each Palm offered by Euro- 

 pean seedsmen in each year, excepting only the tenderest 

 equatorial species. Usually I preserved a specimen seed of 



each packet, and a review of tlie collection thus formed shows 

 that it is rather the exception than the ride that the same 

 species should be sent out twice under the same name by any 

 dealer. 



This, of course, does not apply to sorts like the so-called 

 Latania Borbonica and a few others which are sold in vast 

 quantities, but it does apply to nine-tenths of the species cata- 

 logued, and I often wonder whether the growing Palms 

 offered by nurserymen at home and abroad must not be sim- 

 ilarly mixed and untrue to name. 



An illustration or two may not be out of place. I am just 

 potting off the fourth species of Phoenix received as P. Siam- 

 ensis from the same dealer within three years — one sort im- 

 ported from Siam, the others said to be grown in southern 

 Europe. Some of these lots of P. Siamensis seeds are more 

 distinct from each other than are the seeds of any of the 

 twenty-six other alleged distinct species of Phoenix that I have 

 grown. I have had five species sent as Cocos Bonneti, and 

 one of the most extensive and trustworthy dealers in Germany 

 habitually sends out as Borassus flabelliformis, seeds 'which 

 have but one-thousandth part of the bulk of the genuine, and 

 probably belong to a species which never grew natin'ally 

 nearer than six or eight thousand miles of the habitat of 

 Borassus. Of course, the dealers not being experts in the 

 determination of Palms, necessarily give the names as fur- 

 nished them by collectors all over the world, but in discuss- 

 ing the hardiness or other characters of any Palm which 

 has been raised from such seed, it is well to bear in 

 mind the great probability that the nanie by which the Palm 

 goes is not the one which belongs to it. 

 Oviedo, Fia. Theodore L. Mead. 



Dig the Potatoes Early. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The Potatoes are rotfing badly. An inspection of sev- 

 eral large Potato-farms shows that the vines are prematurely 

 dead, and the crop will not only be short, but of poor quality. 

 This rotting is due to a well-known fungus, Phytopthora infes- 

 tans, which usually makes its appearance upon the upper 

 leaves, and afterward extends to the stems, finally reaching the 

 tubers. One of the most favorable conditions for the growth 

 of this mildew is a moist atmosphere. If to this is added a 

 medium summer temperature, the Potato-field is quite apt to 

 be " struck by the rot." The succulence, dense shade, and 

 nearness to the ground of the Potato " tops " in July all favor 

 the rapid development of this mildew, which is a first cousin 

 of the one that preys upon the Grape, and this is also abund- 

 ant this season. 



July has been a very wet month, as the disastrous floods in 

 many valley-towns and cities do not permit us to quickly for- 

 get. In fact, the past four weeks have been of that peculiar 

 character known as "close" or "muggy," when moulds 

 thrive in every possible place. With the Potato crop, since 

 the advent of the rot fungus in 1840, the wet summers have 

 been the seasons of decay of the tubers. 



The question now is how to best save what crop there is. 

 If moisture and medium temperature favor the rot, it is evi- 

 dent that it is wise to get the tubers out of the soil as soon as 

 possible. The moist soil, warmed by the excessive sun since 

 the rains, furnishes the best conditions for decay, and the longer 

 the crop is left unharvested the poorer it will be. As a p're- 

 caution against contaminating the exposed tubers, the vines 

 should be raked into heaps and burned. This is an inexpen- 

 sive task, and serves to destroy millions of spores of the rot 

 fungus. After leaving the Potatoes upon the ground until 

 the surface is thoroughly dried, they should be stored in a 

 dry, cool, airy place. This may be in a barn or loft imtil cold 

 weather comes, using shallow bins, or even shelves or the 

 floor. Avoid large heaps, and frequently inspect the crop and 

 discard any decayed tubers before they spread the rot to their 

 neighbors. Air-slaked lime may be sprinkled, a handful to a 

 bushel, upon the Potatoes as they are stored. 



N.J. Exp. station, Aug. 7tii, 1889. Byron D. Hals lead. 



Ribbon Grass. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — At Nonquit, Buzzard's Bay, the Ribbon Grass {P/ialaris 

 arundinacea, var. picta) is found growing abundantly in a low 

 plain adjoining the salt marsh, but in 1888 did not flower. Is 

 this inaptitude to flower a characterisfic of the variety ? This 

 form is spoken of by authors of the earlier period as occur- 

 ring wild and as cultivated for ornament. It is figured 



