370 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 394. 



posed by Mr. Johnson. His views were strongly controverted 

 by Mr. B. E. Fernow on the ground that the time was ripe for 

 action rather than for .investigation, and that Congress would 

 be more likely to consider legislation already discussed during 

 the past session rather than take a backward step in the ap- 

 pointment of a commission. After some discussion, and under 

 a suspension of the rules, the following resolution was adopted : 

 Resolved, That we, this association, join with the New York 

 Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade in hearty advocacy 

 of the establishment of a forestry commission of three mem- 

 bers to make a thorough investigation of the public forest 

 lands and to make recommendations concerning their disposi- 

 tion and treatment, and tlie Executive Committee is hereby 

 directed to represent the association in support of such legis- 

 lation. 



Notes. 



An orchard of more than one hundred trees of the Alligator 

 Pear, Persea gratissima, has been planted by Mr. Kinton 

 Stevens, Montecito, California. 



It is stated that the Southern California Acclimatization As- 

 sociation has on its trial-grounds eight hundred species of 

 woody plants belonging to 316 genera and eighty-five ditferent 

 families. 



Rev. John Batchelor and Dr. Kingo Miyabe have recently 

 printed in the twenty-first volume of the Transactions of the 

 Asiatic Society of Japan an interesting paper on plants used 

 by the Ainos in medicine and as food. 



The Minnesota Horticulturist asserts that there is no more 

 desirable small tree for the lawn in that region than the native 

 Choke Cherry, Prunus Virginiana. The foliage is peculiarly 

 rich and healthy ; the leaves appear among the earliest in 

 spring, and not only when covered with its fragrant white 

 blossoms, but when drooping under its burden of shining red 

 or dark crimson fruit, it is a noticeable tree anyvi'here. 



A late number of The Garden contains a colored plate of a 

 variety of the Siberian Scilla, which is called MultiHora, and 

 seems quite a distinct break from the well-known plant which 

 has shown little tendency to vary in gardens. Some of the flower- 

 stalks portrayed in the plate are eight inches long and bear 

 half a dozen or more large flowers which are rather lighter in 

 shade than those of the type. It is said to bloom very freely 

 and the flowers appear in England three weeks earlier than 

 those of Scilla Sibirica. The variety is also said to have been 

 collected by Mr. E. Whittall in the Taurus Mountains and 

 named by him Taurica. 



Professor Hopkins, of the West Virginia Experiment Sta- 

 tion, has been making tests with Timothy, and he finds that 

 there are marked varieties of this Grass, some of them early, 

 some of them late, and others showing great differences in size 

 and productiveness of seed. In a paper read before the Society 

 for the Promotion of Agricultural Science at its late meeting 

 at Springfield, he showed that if pure seed of the early variety 

 could be secured it would be of special value to grow with Red 

 Clover, since it would be at the proper stage for cutting when 

 the Clover would have the highest value for hay. There is 

 evidently very much of practical value to lie learned from the 

 study of Grasses and Grass seed. 



Mr. Isaac Kennedy, of Philadelphia, in speaking of Roses 

 for out-of-door planting at the Pittsburg Florists' Convention, 

 said that the two best hybrid Perpetuals of the year areJ.Shar- 

 man Crawford and Helen Keller, both introduced by Alexander 

 Dickson & Sons, of Belfast, Ireland. The flower of the first is 

 large and full, a deep rose-pink, with the outer petals tinted 

 with a pale flesh color, and the plant is a strong hardy grower. 

 Helen Keller is a free bloomer of vigorous growth, with flow- 

 ers large, full, fragrant, rosy cerise in color, and somewhat 

 resembling American Beauty. Among new Polyantha Roses 

 the Pink Soupert is said to be as hardy and free-flowering as 

 the well-known Clothilde Soupert. 



We have already noted that great numbers of insects inju- 

 rious to fruit were killed by the freezing v^^eather in Florida 

 last winter. Unfortunately, the weakened condition of the 

 Orange-trees in that state has left them a prey to other insects 

 from which they suffered little when in health, and the wood- 

 boring beetles are attacking in great numbers those portions 

 of the trees which are not already dead. The remedial treat- 

 ment recommended is to drive a small wire nail into each 

 hole made by the borer, thus stopping it up and preventing 



the insect from laying eggs and finishing its work. A long 

 flexible wire, pushed in as far as it will go, is serviceable when 

 the gallery is longer than the nail. In the enfeebled condition 

 of the trees powerful insecticides cannot be used, nor is it 

 safe to smear the bark with any substance which will repel the 

 borers. 



The Northwestern Lumberman calls attention to the fact 

 tliat the magnificent Oak-forests north of the Ohio River, in 

 the central part of the nortliern states, have largely disappeared. 

 Within the last five years there has been an increasing demand 

 for oak in spite of business depression, more especially for 

 such timber as goes into house-finishing, including plain and 

 quarter-sawed red oak and white oak. The duration of the ■ 

 Wisconsin red oak supply is now pretty plainly indicated, and 

 in the mean time remnants of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and 

 southern Illinois oak will have disappeared, except in small 

 farm holdings, and the great bulk of the supply will thereafter 

 come from south of the Ohio. Of course, there is oak in all 

 the southern states, but the alluvial bottom-lands must furnish 

 the great bulk of the timber, and as Kentucky and Tennessee 

 and West Virginia are partly denuded, the main supply will 

 soon be derived from the lower Mississippi and its tributaries. 

 If the finest area of oak timber in the world, namely, that 

 north of the Ohio River, has been stripped while the country's 

 population and industries were comparatively small, how long 

 will the remaining supply last when the needs are measured 

 by our future population and industrial development ? Walnut 

 is gone ; cherry, birch and maple will not last many years, 

 and thereafter the demand for oak will be much greater and 

 will rapidly increase. It must be remembered, too, that oak 

 lands are good for agriculture after the timber is cut, and for 

 this reason the denudation will go on with greater rapidity than 

 on the lands less valuable for tillage. When the tide of emi- 

 gration sets strongly toward the alluvial areas of the lower 

 Mississippi and its tributaries the hardwood forests will melt 

 rapidly away before the attacks of the farmer. It is for this 

 reason that large holdings of southern oak and other hard- 

 woods are now being secured in the south. After a few years, 

 opportunities for such investments on a large scale will be 

 gone forever. 



Grape-fruit from Jamaica is found in some of the best fruit- 

 stores in this city, and while much of it is still quite green and 

 undersized, some is fairly ripened. It sells for $1.50 a dozen. 

 California oranges cost sixty cents a dozen at retail, and lemons 

 find a demand at twenty to fifty cents a dozen. The first Japanese 

 persimmons from Florida retail for seventy-five cents a dozen. 

 Delaware and Maryland peaches are nearly gone, although on 

 Monday the best eastern peaches in the fancy-fruit stores were 

 those from the hillsides of Maryland. These were Late Craw- 

 fords and the white-fleshed Stump the World, beautiful speci- 

 mens of wdiich brought seventy-five cents for a package 

 containing not over three quarts. Selected peaches from 

 New Jersey cost $2.50 a basket. The penmsular peach crop 

 has not been a large one this year, and was below the average 

 in quality, while prices have been comparatively high. Ready 

 sales at good rates are anticipated for the remainder of the 

 New Jersey crop. Plums from the Hudson River section are 

 in small supply. Damsons and Green Gages costing sixty cents 

 for an eight-pound basket. From California are coming the 

 large Coe's Golden Drop, yellow, marked with red dots ; the 

 firm yellowish flesh is especially rich and sweet, and this late 

 variety is highly esteemed for canning on the Pacific coast ; a 

 five-pound package brings seventy-five cents. Large heart- 

 shaped Kelsey plums cost $1.25 for the same quantity. The prices 

 for California Bartlett pears fell considerably in this city last week 

 when large quantities of the eastern-grown fruit were brought 

 out of cold storage, but extra large firm fruit commanded as 

 much as $1.00 a dozen two days ago, and the best Seckels 

 from the west and from Staten Island sold for thirty cents a 

 dozen. The popular and showy Beurre Clairgeau pears from 

 California cost seventy-five cents. Runyon's Orange Cling 

 peaches of immense size are shown, but though this variety is 

 much thought of in the west, and is said to have a rich, 

 sugary, vinous flavor, as seen here it is leathery, and valuable 

 only for table ornamentation. Later varieties of Cling peaches 

 will continue to reach the east for, perhaps, two months, but 

 Salway peaches, the latest of the free-stones, are already here. 

 Large nectarines, at once delicate and brilliant in coloring, 

 make an attractive display, and some of them are not alto- 

 gether disappointing in taste to any one familiar with the 

 luxurious product of eastern hot-houses. They sell for thirty 

 to forty cents a dozen. A small shipment of Gros Moroc 

 grapes received from England last Saturday opened the sea- 

 son for this fruit. They retail for $2.00 to $2.50 a pound. 



