September ii, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



441 



situations produce much larg^er llowers than those in dry 

 sandy positions, and as /". idiginostiin is a gross feeder, it needs 

 division every second year when tiie soil should Ije well en- 

 riched with decomposed manure. If this treatment is given, 

 the stems grow live feet high, and from the axils of every 

 leaf a flower stem is produced, bearing a cluster of flowers, 

 each of which is four inchesacross, with petals piu'e white, and 

 a bright yellow disc. This plant is thoroughly hardy, and is 

 by no means new, although we received it as such, three years 

 ago, from Switzerland. Twenty years ago it was quite com- 

 mon in English gardens, but its present popularity comes 

 from its re-introduction with so many other fine old plants that 

 had been under a cloud during the reign of the bedding 

 system. P. tiliginosuin is easily increased by division of the 

 stolons which are freely produced from the old stem, and with 

 us seeds are matured in good seasons and germinate much 

 better when self-sown than when sown under glass. The Great 

 Ox-Eye Daisy deser\'es a place in every collection of hardy 

 plants. 



Clematis paniculata, as it is here, is worth going a long dis- 

 tance to see. There are over 200 plants, and although only 

 nine months old, they are from seven to eight feet high, and 

 covered with the large panicles of fragrant white Hovvers. 

 Their fragrance, in the early morning, especially reminds one 

 of that of the Hyacinth. This plant is being distributed also 

 imder the name of C. robusta, an appropriate name enough, 

 for there is no Clematis in cultivation of stronger habit, but the 

 name C. paniculata is now nearly 100 years old, and it ought 

 to have right of possession, but this is probably only another 

 instance of an old plant under a new name. In addition to 

 the free flowering qualities of C. paniculata thefoliage is large, 

 of a shining, dark green, and the plant is an excellent climber, 

 perfectly hardy, and needs no pruning in spring, except to cut 

 off the old flowering stems. As a plant for the decoration of 

 the piazza there can be no better, for after the flowers are 

 over, the prettily-awned seeds are almost equally ornamental, 

 especially when they take on their peculiar bronzy tint. 



Passaic, N. J. ^• 



Osbeck's Sumach. — -The Japanese variety of Rhus semialata, 

 known as the var. Osbeckii, again flowered profusely at the 

 Arnold Arboretum, and when in blossom, with its many large 

 panicles of greenish-white flowers, it was one of the most 

 conspicuous of small-sized trees in this latitude. With the ex- 

 ception of the Japan Sophora {S. Japonica), which blooms at 

 the same time but continues some days longer, it is the latest 

 to fiower of all the woody plants which assume the true 

 arborescent form. The plant, like its American congeners, 

 is a fast-growing one. With large, pinnated, dark green 

 leaves, and broadly margined or winged petioles, it is hand- 

 some and interesting all through . tlie summer, and in the 

 autumn it assumes the brightest yellow and scarlet colors. A 

 panicle of the small, greenish-white flowers is borne at the end 

 of each branch. The panicles average nearly a foot and a half 

 in length, with a lateral spread almost as great. The flower- 

 ing period is rather short, the first flowers opening this sea- 

 son about July 29th, and the last August 15th. The large 

 plant in the Arboretum bears staminate flowers, but, occa- 

 sionally, jDistillate or perfect flowers are borne also as the pan- 

 icles sometimes produce a very few scattering fruits. This 

 small tree gives promise of being quite hardy where the win- 

 ters are much colder than at Boston. 



Arnold Arboretum. J . 



Orchid Nomenclature. — Since Lindley's time almost every 

 Orchid has been described by Professor Reichenbach, and, as 

 no one else appears to have preserved authentic specimens, 

 and the herbarium of the Hamburg professor is sealed up for 

 twenty-five years, it is difficult, in many cases, to decide what 

 has already been described and what is really new — a diffi- 

 culty rendered greater by the fact that " his papers," as the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle so.^^?,, "are not only extremely niunerous, 

 but scattered through a wide range of publications, in almost 

 all European languages." 



Kevv has stepped forward to fill the gap. We notice a letter 

 setting forth that the director of that establishment is willing to 

 assist cultivators of Orchids in naming their plants in cases 

 where difficulty arises in their correct nomenclature. A sec- 

 ond letter points out that many of the plants described by Pro- 

 fessor Reichenbach still exist in gardens, and requests that 

 specimens of the same be sent for preservation. By this 

 means a considerable number of types might be recovered, if 

 the suggestion is acted upon, which seems likely to be the 

 case. Orchid-growers have learned a lesson — not to send all 

 their specimens to a private herbariimi again. 



A suggestion has recently been made that the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society should appoint a Professor of Orchidology, 

 who shall look after the naming and describing of new Or- 

 chids, and to whom all cjuestions relating to their nomencla- 

 ture shall be referred. Another proposal is that a committee 

 be appointed to determine the principles on which they shall 

 in futLU-e be named. It seems hardly likely that the first sug- 

 gestion will be acted upon, as the expense of getting together 

 the necessary herbariimi and drawings would be no inconsid- 

 erable item. The second proposal is good in its way, pro- 

 vided always that the decisions of the Committee are accepted 

 and acted upon, though we do not remember that the former 

 conference, at Liverpool, led to any very practical results. 

 Certainly the nomenclature of Orchids is in a good deal of 

 confusion, and is likely to remain so while growers insist 

 upon having a name for every slight variation which occurs. 



The genus Cattleya furnishes a very good illustration. The 

 Gardeners' Chronicle has seen fit, after a long interval, to con- 

 tinue its " List of Garden Orchids," and this genus is now just 

 completed. Turning it over we note no less than twelve va- 

 rieties of C. guttata, whose characters are briefly given, but on 

 reaching the very polymorphic C. labiata, such an array of 

 names present themselves as to be perfectly bewildering. 

 About nine geographical varieties are recognized, and under 

 several of these a host of variations or polymorphisms are 

 given. The variety Mossia; seems the most polymorphic, 

 having something like forty-seven sub-varieties, or poly- 

 morphisms, or whatever else they may be. The variety 

 Trianffi follows closely behind, with something like forty-one. 

 We wonderhow they all differ, for the'characters are not given — • 

 perhaps on account of want of space, as they take up something 

 like a column and a half as it is. However, those who wish to 

 know will now be able to find them, by the references given and 

 the list of published figures. We note such delightful combi- 

 nations as Cattleya labiata Alossics Peeler sii and C. Reineckiaiia 

 superbissi7Jia, whose correct name would appear to be Cattleya 

 labiata Mossice Reineckiatta superbissinia. Such names, we 

 should think, require a good deal of regulation. 



London. CalypSO. 



Correspondence. 



Forests and Civilization. The North Woods. — VII. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — There have been marked changes in the thought of 

 the people in the Adirondack region since I first began to 

 ol)serve things here. At that time nearly everybody thought 

 the forests were inexhaustible, boundless and everlasting. It 

 made no difference how much timber might be destroyed, or 

 how great areas might be burned over and ruined, there were 

 still illimitable, uninvaded wilds. There was then hardly any 

 care among the guides about putting out fires, and if a visitor 

 wanted his fire extinguished when he broke camp in the morn- 

 ing, his suggestion was often regarded as an impertinent and 

 absurd interference with the affairs of the people of the woods. 

 When a squatter wished to clear a potato-patch for the next 

 spring's planting he fired his brush-piles in the time of greatest 

 drought, and sent the flames roaring away through leagues of 

 forest, not caring how far or how long they might burn. The 

 region was being rapidly devastated by fire, and there were ex- 

 tensive and open depredations on the timber of the state lands. 

 Visitors from the cities often displayed a most thoughtless 

 and uncivilized enjoyment in destroying as much of the woods 

 as they could during their summer stay here. There was 

 little sign of forethought, or sense of responsibility, anywhere, 

 regarding the value or the destiny of these mountain forests. 



All this has been greatly changed. There have been few 

 extensive fires during the last few years, and there has come 

 to be a very general feeling among the people who live in the 

 woods and from them, that injuries to the forests are injuries 

 to their own means of subsistence, and are therefore to be 

 avoided. Camp-fires are generally carefully extinguished, and 

 the wanton destruction of trees by campers is discouraged. 

 The old superstition that the woods are inexhaustible, "has 

 given place to the sense that things are coming to an end ; that 

 the very existence of this great summer resort is threatened, 

 and that the permanence of its pecifliar industries and reven- 

 ues is no longer secure. 



There is a rapidly developing feeling that the region ought 

 to be taken care of, and that something should be done to 

 ]irevent the complete extinction of the woods. These changes 

 in the thought of the peoi^le here have been brought about, 

 partly by the extension of the railroads into hitherto inacges- 

 sible parts of the wilderness, and the increased cutting for 

 lumber everywhere, and partly by the influence of recent 



