October 2, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



399 



each attack, and the more severe the poisoning the greater 

 their number. r- - 



Cornell University. E. (j. Lodeiltan. 



[We have received a letter from Mr. Joseph Meehan, of 

 Germantown, in which he speaks of an exact repetition of 

 Mr. Lodeman's case ; that is, a friend of his in Philadelphia 

 was poisoned badly by Rhus Toxicodendron when on a 

 visit to the country, and for several years afterward at 

 the same season of the year, even although he did not 

 leave the city, the effects of the poison appeared again, 

 severely at first, but in a less aggravated form from year 

 to year, until it finally ceased to reappear. Mr. Meehan 

 adds that he is convinced that he has suffered in the same 

 way, although he cannot be absolutely certain that he was 

 not exposed to the poison the second time. — Ed.] 



Glimpses of Ventura Gardens. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — One of the most charming towns of the Pacific coast is 

 Ventura, of old christened San I3uena Ventura, and surely it 

 was an especially good venture of the Franciscan Mission- 

 builders that led them to this narrow crescent of sheltered 

 land, sloping soutii to the Pacific and guarded from storms by 

 mountains and islands. In the first week of September I 

 visited the place and found it full of surprise and pleasure. 

 No portion of California will better justify a horticultural 

 pilgrimage. 



Two Date Palms, planted by the priests, yet remain in the 

 old garden of the Mission. The church-bell still stands in 

 vines and trees, swinging from ancient cross-bars, and the old 

 Mission building gives the quaint town a peculiar beauty of 

 its own. 



It is hard to say what trees and flowers do not thrive here, 

 so surprising is the range of species. One passes a Ficus elas- 

 tica tree, for instance, in an old garden ; the tree is twenty- 

 three years old, and it has a trunk that girths four and a half 

 feet. The spread of its boughs covers a circle whose diameter 

 is fifty-five feet, and it is twenty-five or thirty feet in height. 

 It is a tree of astonishing beauty and form, and the town of 

 Ventura should buy the ground so as to name and care for it. 



The most attractive and interesting garden here is that of 

 Mrs. Theodosia B. Shepherd, who is a well-known hybridizer 

 of various flowers. The advantages of location are great, but 

 she has shown uncommon skill in utilizing those advantages, 

 and her name is now prominent among California growers 

 and experimenters. One of the first things of importance I 

 noticed here was her new Begonias. Mrs. Shepherd has a very 

 large collection of fibrous-rooted species, and after numerous 

 experiments is now rejoicing in a strain of attractive hybrids of 

 Gloire de Jouy X rubra. Tins new production is really a race 

 of giant Begonias, some of which send up canes six or eight 

 feet high, \n\.\\ rich, lustrous, metallic leaves, often fifteen 

 inches long by eight inches wide. The glossy and brilliant- 

 hued flowers of immense size, far surpassing the parent types, 

 hang down in long, open panicles of rose, rose-red or coral- 

 red. Nothing could be finer for use as backgrounds in 

 Begonia houses. Three varieties have been named Fair Rosa- 

 mond, Heart's Delight and Modjeska. The Begonias are 

 grown in the ground here, but are sheltered by lath-houses 

 which shut oft" about one-fourth of the light at all seasons, and, 

 being partly covered with delicate-leaved vines, at times shut 

 out fully one-third of the sunlight. In more inland situations 

 these lath-houses, or open sheds of slats, should shut out as 

 much as one-half of the light. They are becoming more gen- 

 erally used in California gardens for Ferns and many classes 

 of plants besides Begonias. 



Growing out-of-doors, without protection, and flowering to 

 perfection, I took especial note of the following vines : Bigno- 

 nia venusta, B. magnifica, B. siderafolia and B. Tweediana ; 

 Bougainvillea glabra and 15. spectabilis ; Iponicea Learii and 

 many other Ipomoeas; Passiflora incarnata, Tacsonia Von 

 Volxemi, T. Buchanani and a noble Tacsonia which is possibly 

 a cross between the scarlet and the pink varieties, called by 

 Mrs. Shepherd, T. Sutherland!. There is also a grand climb- 

 ing Solanum from Mexico, one of the most picturesque of 

 tropical vines. Nowhere else in California can be found finer 

 specimens of some of these beautiful vines, and they form one 

 of the most memorable features of the place. 



A plant of Cereus triangularis, which has climbed to the top 

 of the two-story house and far up the slope of the roof, has 

 wide fame throughout California. Planted out in the garden 

 are many of the finest Cacti. I noted two species of the spine- 



less Anhalonium, eight species of Cereus, two of Echinopsis, 

 six of Echinocereus, five of Echinocactus and many of other 

 classes. Especial attention is being paid to the edible-fruited 

 Cacti, and these, as well as others, are being crossed on a large 

 scale, so that great numbers of seedlings are coming along. 



All experiments are not made out-of-doors, however, even 

 here. Several well-kept propagation-houses and greenhouses 

 for tropical plants contain large collections. Some Orchids do 

 well out-of-doors in summer hung against the trunks of frees. 

 Laslia anceps has grown and bloomed for three winters in such 

 a location. 



Among the striking specimens here is a plant of Streptoso- 

 lon Jamesoni, from Central America, an evergreen bush 

 twelve feet high and fully as broad, which blooms "from March 

 to October. Its effective Browallia-shaped flowers of bright 

 orange, changing to cinnabar-red, are produced in great pro- 

 fusion. There is an Erythrina Crista-Galli tree that stands 

 about sixteen feet high, with Ijranches covering a circle thirty 

 feet in diameter, and a double trunk, either stem of which is 

 ten or twelve inches in diameter. Nearly three acres in the 

 home garden, and five or six acres in other parts of the town, 

 are devoted to the growth of plants and seeds. I cannot even 

 mention the new varieties of Fuchsias, Abutilons, Cannas, 

 Gladioli, Cosmos and many other species of flowering plants 

 which Mrs. Shepherd has originated here. She is working 

 with tireless energy and passionate devotion, much as Luther 

 Burbank, of Santa Rosa, works, and no other woman in Cali- 

 fornia has done as much in this field. 

 Niles, Calif. Charles Houiard Shinn. 



Recent Publications. 



Chrysanthemums and Tlieir Culture. By Edwin i\Ioly- 

 neux. London. 1894. 



The American Chrysanthemum Manualiox 1S95. Michael 

 Barker. Mayflower Publishing Co., Floral Park, New York. 



The first of these books is the eighth edition of the stand- 

 ard work of Mr. Molyneux, who has done more, probably, 

 than any other man to establish what is recognized as the 

 best practical system of growing Chrysanthemums. This 

 last edition of his book contains, in addition to the original 

 text, lists of the newer varieties and gives some of the 

 latest improvements in the methods of cultivating the 

 plant. Of course, the book is written, primarily, for Eng- 

 lish gardens, but the rules for managing plants for various 

 purposes, the methods of potting and training, together 

 with all the other details of culture, will be found laid down 

 here with clearness and with a freshness which distin- 

 guishes the work of an original investigator and experi- 

 menter. There are annual Chrysanthemum shows in every 

 town of any size in England, and a first prize there is still 

 a much-coveted honor. It is not wonderful, therefore, that 

 a large portion of this book should be devoted to the 

 methods of preparing plants and flowers for exhibition, and 

 we are not surprised to see the pictures of forceps, brushes 

 and other appliances for " improving " flowers that are to 

 be exhibited, and a discussion as to the proper size of the 

 tweezers and of the material out of which they should be 

 constructed. We hardly consider operations of this sort an 

 essential part of Chrysanthemum-growing, but no one who 

 wants to familiarize himself with all the refinements of the 

 art of growing and exhibiting the queen of autumn can 

 afford to be without a copy of this well-known manual. 



Mr. Barker's book is the first one of what promises to be 

 a series of annual publications, and it is certainly well 

 done. The book contains many things that are not worth 

 putting on record, but it also contains much instruc- 

 tion by recognized experts. Such men as Edwin Lons- 

 dale, E. G. Hill and William Tricker write about planting 

 in beds and benqlies. Mr. T. D. Hatfield explains how 

 he has trained the specimen plants with which he has 

 so often won prizes in Boston. Professor Halsted writes 

 of fungous diseases, while James Brydon, John Dyer, 

 Grove P. Rawson, James Scott and John N. May discuss 

 various phases in the cultivation of these plants, of which 

 they are recognized masters. Mr. E. O. Orpet makes a 

 sound plea for cultivating such neglected groups as 

 the Anemone -flowered Chrysanthemums, and single- 

 flowered ones like the variety called Daisy, which really 



