September 4, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



359 



late leaves, having a very pretty effect. The basin is tilled 

 with plants of the Sacred Bean, Nelumbium speciosum. A 

 semicircular tank on the outside of this is allotted to the water 

 Hyacinth and the water Poppy. It is noteworthy that the 

 Papyrus Antiquorum and also Hedychium Gardnerianum, 

 which are recommended by dealers in aquatic plants, thrive 

 much better in the open ground than they do as aquatics. 



The unusually large number of tender evergreens is sure to 

 cause remark. Here, perhaps, is the finest collection to be 

 found anywhere on this side of the Atlantic ; certainly, if the 

 age and size of the plants is the main consideration. Few vis- 

 itors realize the amount of care these plants require ; and bear- 

 ing in mind that all these shrubs have to be stored in cellars, or 

 given winter protection under cover where the temperature 

 does not go much below freezing point, it is surprising how 

 rapidly they recover each year from removal and assume a 

 home-like appearance. They are mostly trimmed or cut into 

 shape, and most judiciously disposed throughout the garden. 



Before giving in detail any accountof the tender evergreens, 

 there is one coniferous tree worth especial remark. This is 

 the Parasol-tree of Japan, Sciadopitys umbellata. It is a per- 

 fect sugar-loaf in shape, about fifteen feet high, and has never 

 been injured. 



There are Japanese Spindle trees in endless variety, in all 

 forms and degrees of variegation. Two of these weigli nearly 

 half a ton each, and it is a considerable piece of work to move 

 them mdoors and out every year. Osmanthus fragrans 

 variegata and O. Aquifolium are both handsome evergreens 

 and very distinct-looking members of the Privet family. 

 Aucuba Japonica, although very common in European gar- 

 dens, where it is hardy, is seldom seen here. It is ditscious, 

 and in order to have the pistillate plants well set with bright 

 red berries, some staminate plants must be grown with them. 

 It is difficult to do tliis where plants have to be pollinated under 

 glass, but Mr. Harris has succeeded well, and has had some 

 plants handsomely covered with berries. Pittosporum Tobira 

 is a beautiful dark-leaved shrub. It is a favorite plant in the 

 Paris flower-market, and largely grown for its very fragrant 

 blossoms. Ligustram coriaceum, with dark green, sinuated 

 leaves, is a most singular-looking bush. 



Palms are represented here by three large plants of Chamae- 

 rops Fortunei, which, in winter, are stored in the cellar. The 

 tallest of these is fifteen feet h.igh and now covered with large 

 bunches of ripe fruit. 



English Hollies are well represented in many forms in de- 

 grees of variegation. These are among the most difficult 

 shrubs to care for in winter, being very liable to lose their 

 leaves, and often in an unaccountable manner. The roots do 

 not liold soil well, and unless grown in tubs they are sure to 

 come up in the autumn without any ball of earth. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Rhus Poisoning. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The various letters upon the influence of Poison Ivy, 

 which have appeared in recent issues of your journal, have 

 been read by me with more than ordinary interest in view 

 of the somewhat extended personal experience which has 

 fallen to my lot in this respect. As pomted out by Mr. Harri- 

 son, in your issue of July 3d, the poisonous principle is not 

 peculiar to any one species of Rhus, but is more or less com- 

 mon to the entire family. Thus, in breaking open an old 

 " Marking Nut," Semecarpus anacardium, I was subjected to 

 the effects of the black, varnish-like latex found in the inte- 

 rior, which were those of our common Rhus Toxicodendron. 

 My chief experience, however, has been with tfie Japanese 

 lacquer as derived from R. vernicifera, the poisonous quali- 

 ties of which are well known to Europeans, though many of 

 the Japanese, notably those who gather and prepare the latex, 

 as well as those who apply it to its various uses, are wholly 

 exempt from its ill effects. 



This most valuable of varnishes is not only applied to the 

 manufacture of the many kinds of lacquered wares for which 

 the Japanese are so well known, but it is employed for all 

 those purposes for which we generally use other materials. 

 It will, therefore, be understood that there are many occasions 

 on which a susceptible European may receive the full effects 

 of this extremely distressing poison before he is aware of its 

 proximity. My first experience with the poison was when 

 some material was brought to me for examination with a view 

 to its employment in the manufacture of a particular kind of 

 varnish. Not suspecting that so poisonous a substance as 

 lacquer would be handed to me without warning, I stirred and 

 smelt of it before asking what it was. The answer convinced 



me that serious results were likely to follow, and when, two 

 days later, I could scarcely see out of my swollen eyes, I found 

 that my fears had been well founded. On a later occasion I 

 was called upon to enter a building approaching completion, 

 when I found the workmen using lacquer for the wood-work. 

 Again serious results followed. During a residence of four 

 years in Japan I suffered, in all about twelve or fifteen times, 

 from the effects of this poison, but the first attack was by far 

 the worst, and my final impression was that the system be- 

 came gradually habituated to its action, so that the results were 

 in each case less serious than on the previous occasion. 



One very well-defined feature of its action was that after a 

 few experiences it was always possible for me to ascertain 

 whenever I came into an atmosphere charged with the poison, 

 as in a close room. This was manifested by a well-defined, 

 though not strong, acid, taste in the mouth and a slight, some- 

 what acute, pain directly between the eyes. Both of these 

 effects would disappear on regaining the fresh air, but they 

 were invarialjle symptoms of the results to follow. 



Notwithstanding the fact that the active principle is volatile, 

 it sometimes displays a persistency beyond what might be 

 expected. Thus, freshly made lacquer, as sold in the shops, is 

 distinctly dangerous, as I have found to my cost, and the dan- 

 ger from this source does not disappear until the lacquer is 

 several weeks old. 



The only method of treatment with which I became familiar, 

 as employed by the Japanese, is to take the flesh and juices of 

 a fresh giant spider-crab, INIacrocheira Kiempferi, commonly 

 sold in the markets for food, and apply freely to the irritated 

 parts. The effect is gratefully soothing, but beyond this I am 

 not aware that there is any specific action. The treatment 

 eventually adopted was to make free applications of a solution 

 of hyposulphite of soda, one-half ounce ; glycerine, three 

 ounces; carbolic acid, sixty drops, and water, ten ounces. 

 This not only produces a very soothing effect, but appears to 

 reduce the inflammation and hasten tiie drying-up process in 

 a very marked degree. So efficacious has this treatment been 

 that I have frequently made solutions for others, and its use 

 has always been attended with excellent results. 



Montreal. D. P. PenlialloW. 



Recent Publications. 



Tlie Story 0/ the Plants. By Grant Allen. New York : 

 D. Appleton & Co. 



This little book belongs to that useful series of which the 

 Story of the Stars and the Story 0/ Primitive Man have 

 already appeared. The object of each one is to present the 

 leading facts in some branch of knowledge in a clear, inter- 

 esting way, and in language comprehensible to any reader 

 of ordinary intelligence. This especial book is not popu- 

 lar in the sense of being superficial, nor does it treat mainly 

 of what are generally considered the oddities and marvels 

 of plant-life. On the whole, it is rather philosophical. Mr. 

 Allen does aim primarily to make a picturesque story, but 

 in the light of the latest botanical discoveries he sketches the 

 history of vegetation on the earth from the simple primor- 

 dial plant-forms of remote geological times down through 

 the long history of the race to the immense diversity of 

 plant-life as we now know it. Of course, such a sketch in 

 a short two hundred pages must be a mere outline, and 

 such an outline cannot connect the leading facts in so vast 

 a subject as the evolution of plants in an orderly, continu- 

 ous and consecutive way unless its author has a well-de- 

 veloped faculty for rejection. It can truly be said that Mr. 

 Allen has been singularly wise in choosing his topics, and 

 that he has successfully accomplished what he set out to do, 

 which, in his own language, is " to treat the history of 

 plants much as one treats the history of a nation, begin- 

 ning with their simple and unobtrusive origin and tracing 

 them up through Varying stages to their highest point of 

 beauty and efficiency." The general theory of evolution 

 has been adopted throughout and the plants are treated in 

 accordance with the commonly accepted principles of 

 heredity, variation, etc., so that the diverse ways in 

 which plants have come to differ from the primitive pat- 

 tern, their methods of eating, drinking, digesting, marry- 

 ing and giving in marriage, producing and rearing their 

 young, all fall into their proper places as related parts of 

 one comprehensive plan or one continued story. The oft- 



