488 



Garden and Forest. 



[OCTOBEK 9, 1889. 



Bitter-sweet {Ct'lastrus scandens) docs not usually open its 

 showy orange-colored pods and disclose the scarlet covering 

 of the seeds until October. As in the case of Clematis Vir- 

 giniana, where fruit is desired, care should be taken to select 

 cuttings from good fruiting plants. On many of the plants all 

 tiie flowers are sterile, and consequently produce no fruit. 



The native Black Alder or Winterlierry {Ilex verticillata) is 

 a much-neglected shrub, in spite of its neat, compact habit of 

 growth in cultivation, its delicate early summer flowers, and 

 the abimdant rich red fruit of September, which remains until 

 winter, if not eaten by birds. A clear, light yellow-fruited va- 

 riety is growing at the Arboretmn. The less common Ilex 

 laevigata ripens its fruit a little earlier in the month than the 

 last species, and, although rather larger, it is similar in other 

 respects, and is equally ornamental. 



To the white and blue fruited species of Dogwood, which 

 ripen in August, the present month adds the Flowering Dog- 

 wood [Coriiiis florida), with clusters of large, oval, bright red 

 fruit, which make the plant almost as showy as when in 

 flower. Unfortimately, birds, especially robins, are very fond 

 of this fruit, and, in this region, it rarely remains long on the 

 tree after it is ripe. It is one of the very few large shrubs or 

 small trees which show red foliage so early in the season. 



Of several species of Hawthorns which ripen fruit during 

 the month there is none so handsome and conspicuous as 

 Crata-gus pyracantha, a native of south-eastern Europe, where 

 it is evergreen. It is not very hardy here, and is usually much 

 injured in winter, butinsheltered situations itbecomes a dense, 

 spreading shrub, which retains its leaves and fruit through the 

 winter. The fruit, which is bright red, is as large as good- 

 sized peas, and thickly set in small corymbs along the 

 l)ranches. 



The crimson cone-like fruit of the Magnolias always attracts 

 attention at this season, and, in this vicinity, grafted plants of 

 Magnolia glauca showed the scarlet seeds early in the month, 

 much earlier than any other species or than the same species 

 when grown on its own roots. <^ ^ ^ , 



Arnold Ai-bortum. /. G. Jack. 



Observations on the Grape Crop.' 



IN former years the birds have stripped the vines of Early 

 Dawn and some other varieties early in the season, while 

 the Clinton has fallen a prey to them later ; but this season 

 they seemed to prefer the Clinton first of all, and long before 

 it fairly began to ripen. From six Clinton vines which were 

 loaded with fruit, every berry was taken two weeks ago. The 

 same is true of Cornucopia, Early Dawn and several others 

 with berries of that size which seems to be preferred. 

 After these, the birds paid attention to Ives, Wilder, Worden, 

 and large grapes of this class. Many of the grapes were only 

 stabbed and left for the bees and wasps to finish. The 

 \vhole berry was carried off in some cases, but this was not 

 usual as it was with the smaller kinds. Preference was also 

 manifested for the black grapes ; the red ones were taken to 

 a limited extent, but so far as I have seen not a white one was 

 molested. Color seems to have been the first attraction, size 

 next, while flavor was a matter of minor consideration. If 

 not, why should sour, unripe Clintons be preferred to sweet 

 Wordens and Wilders ? 



Many would be ready at once to charge the English spar- 

 rows with this destruction, but I have not seen one in my 

 vineyard this season, and I conclude they are not indictable 

 for this offence. The guilty ones are robins, thrushes, cat- 

 birds and " chippies." It has been remarked that robins are 

 unusually numerous this season. They picked my black caps 

 early in the season, and made clean work of it, and they did 

 not refuse a meal of strawberries occasionally, and now if is 

 the grapes. Can it be a scarcity of their usual autumn food, 

 or does the increase in numbers account for their increased 

 destructivenes ? I have learned one lesson, at all events, 

 which, is that safety in the future can only be insured by bag- 

 ging every grape. 



Bagging grapes has not afforded protection in other regards 

 this year as it has formerly. While some clusters show the 

 dried, mummified carcasses of berries destroyed by Black Rot, 

 many more are of full size, the white ones hard as bifllets, of a 

 yellow, golden or leaden hue, with threads of fungus visible 

 through the skin. The peduncle of such berries is invariably 

 black and dead, and has a feeble hold on the berries. How 

 does the fungus get to the clusters ? First, it is possible that 

 the spores may have been lurking on the young cluster when 

 bagged; but the chances of this were much reduced in the case 

 of clusters bagged before they bloomed, and these seem about 

 as badly affected as any. My next theory is that the rains, 

 which have been heavy, frequent and almost constant, have 



pounded holes through the bags, and through these holes 

 liave probably carried the spores which lodged in the cluster, 

 and, under favorable conditions, germinated and grew. In 

 many cases where the young clusters touched the side of the 

 l)ags'exposed to the rain, the l)ags were beaten so hard against 

 them that grapes not larger than a ' half-grown pea were 

 forced through and grew to maturity. In some instances 

 these outside berries were the only diseased ones on the clus- 

 ter, which speaks well for bag-protection. I regret very much- 

 that I had not tried a few of the water-proof bags to see if 

 they would have afibrded any better protection. 



There are also some problems regarding the fructification 

 of the blossoms not easily solved. We would naturally ex- 

 pect the strongest and most vigorous vines to set and mature 

 a large crop, and yet the weakest and feeblest vines are fre- 

 quently found to have not only the largest crop, but the largest 

 and best developed clusters. Scores of what I consider 

 my best vines have, this season, made a sorry show of ragged 

 imperfect clusters, a result which I have never before seen. 

 There is a cause for this freak, no doubt, but I have yet failed 

 to discover it. Another peculiarity is the unevenness with 

 which the grapes grow and ripen. While the larger portion of 

 the cluster will be fully ripe, the remainder will be green or 

 partly colored. By the time these late berries get ripe, if they 

 ripen at all, the rest of the cluster will be rotten. This feat- 

 ure of uneven ripening was prevalent last season, but far 

 more so this season. The few days' difterence in the blooms 

 of the cluster seem hardly sufficient to account for this phe- 

 nomenon, and I have never heard any attempt to account for 

 it otherwise. 



The last and most serious calamity with which our grapes 

 have had to contend has proved the most fatal one. To have 

 them escajDC mildew, rot, anthracnose, and the whole tribe of 

 insect enemies, and then burst open just as they are at the 

 threshold of maturity is disappointing, to say the least. But 

 nine consecutive rainy days were too much for many kinds,, 

 and the way they split was a sorrow to behold. I had a quan- 

 tity of fine Wilders, which lacked but a few days of ripeness, 

 but the great majority of them cracked and became food for 

 the bees. Cottage, Worden, and many others, fell a prey to- 

 the same cause ; while Jefferson and Salem are a total loss. 

 Remarkable as the season has been, my Salems were larger 

 and finer than I ever grew, but they have all decayed. 



It has often been said that the great diminution of the grape 

 crop throughout the country would enhance prices, so that a 

 partial crop would net as much money, but the present tone of 

 the market does not justify that predicfion. Retail prices 

 seem to rule about as usual. I hear of many vineyards being- 

 uprooted because the prospect for grape-growers is so gloomy. 



In my case, copper sulphate has not given immunity from 

 mildew. This fungus is abundant, although the foliage of my 

 Vines generally is, I think, quite as perfect as usual at this sea- 

 son of the year. Some varieties, of course, are entirely de- 

 nuded, showing them to be less susceptible to the influence of 

 the sulphate than others, if the retention of the foliage is to be 

 credited to its presence. Perhaps I made too few applications, 

 or more probably the rains washed the sulphate from the 

 Vines as soon as applied. Forty-one rainy days in three 

 months and a half , with much dull and foggy weather between 

 the showers, exactly suited the habits of the fungus and pro- 

 tected it from our remedies. In a season of less moisture, and 

 earlier and more persistentapplications, I doubt not the results, 

 would be more satisfactory. 



The most perfect foliage in my vineyard is on a few Vines- 

 of Vitis rtipestris. They are as fresh and bright as in mid- 

 summer, and I am inclined to think that Professor Munson, of 

 Texas, is on the right track in attempting to evolve from this- 

 species and V. asiivalis a new race of grapes with iron-clad 

 foliage. My Vines of Woodruff Red, whose foliage appears as 

 wild as the wildest of ourLabrusca varieties, present the oppo- 

 site side of the picture, showing that appearances are often 

 deceptive, and that only by actual trial and experience can we 

 determine the endurance of a Vine's foliage. Next to hardi- 

 ness of wood, this hardiness of leaf is the most valuable 

 quality in a Vine. E. Williams. 



Montclair, N. J. — 



Stove Plants in Flower at Kew. 



Solandra grandiflora. — The Solandras arid Daturas are 

 closely related to each other ; they are also remarkable as be- 

 ing the largest flowered of tlie plants included in the order 

 Solanaceae. There is, however, a disparity between the two 

 genera of some horticultural importance, namely, the shy- 

 flowering nature of the Solandra as compared with the Da- 

 tura. But it seems not impossible that, by proper treatment,. 



