428 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 400. 



perhaps owing to the unseasonably warm weather of the mid- 

 dle of September. Certainly, the blooms do not mature 

 quickly until the nights begin to get cool ; for, even when 

 Chrysanthemums are housed, the conditions indoors must have 

 some relation to those existing outdoors, and so natural to the 

 plant. It has been proven that no amount of forcing will, in 

 fact, bring a plant earlier into bloom ; and when fire-heat is 

 used it is rather to maintain a dry air as a preventive of mil- 

 dew and other fungoid diseases so disastrous to the foliage in 

 the later stages of the development of the plant. 



Mrs. Henry Robinson is the first variety to bloom here. It 

 is a white-flowered Japanese incurved, regular and graceful in 

 outline. So far it is the best early white. The coming popu- 

 larity of the Japanese incurved, of neater and more graceful 

 outline, to the exclusion of the coarser varieties which had 

 only size to recommend them, may be considered as indicat- 

 ing an advance in taste. Mrs. E. G. Hill was cut on tlie 5lh 

 of October last year, but will not be ready to cut this year until 

 the 15th, to be followed a day or two later by Nemesis and 

 M. J. Parker, Jr., both pink. Ivory will not be open until the 

 20th, with Crystallina at about the same date, after which the 

 season will be fairly opened. 



The scorching or burning of many crimson and pink varie- 

 ties is a matter which has troubled growers for a number of 

 years. It is discouraging to see a large, well-formed bud with 

 half the bloom bligiited on opening. It looks as if lenses 

 might have been formed by water on the under side of the 

 glass, through which the sun's rays had passed with added 

 power. This is the idea many have ; though I cannot explain 

 the trouble, I do not think this explanation correct. I know 

 shading will not altogether prevent it, although it may to some 

 extent. I think the injury is done in the bud state, but does 

 not become noticeable until development proceeds. I have 

 noticed, in the morning, dew covering the very fine pubes- 

 cence on the outside of the unexpanded florets. I think less 

 scorching would result if this dew could be evaporated by air- 

 ing early, or some ventilation could be left on overnight, with 

 heat enough to keep the air dry, so that this dampness could 

 be cleared off before the sun gained power. I have followed 

 this plan consistently this season, and so far I have not seen a 

 sign of the trouble. The trouble with William Seward, a fine 

 early crimson, began last year when in the bud state; the 

 buds are now — Ocl;ober 14th — well forward in opening and all 

 perfect. 



The finishing touches have been given to our specimen 

 plants for exhibition. ,r ,^ , , 



Wellesley, Mass. -' • -^- ^a tjl eld. 



Notes on Apples. 



THE Red Beitigheimer Apple, which was so favorably 

 noticed in Garden and Forest for September 25th, page 

 3go, has fruited here several years. While it has valuable 

 qualities for culinary and market purposes, its flesh is rather 

 coarse, and it would not be called a good dessert fruit except 

 by those who like a brisk subacid flavor. On account of its 

 symmetrical form, large size and handsome color no apple in 

 the station collection attracts more attention than this at fairs 

 and exhibitions. Under good cultivation it is a free grower 

 and a regular and abundant bearer. The fruit is very large, . 

 and quite apt to drop before it is well colored. This fault is 

 more serious with the Red Beitigheimer tlian with Wealthy, 

 Alexander or Gravenstein, and probaljly will prevent its being 

 planted extensively in commercial orchards. 



Among the comparatively new or little-known varieties of 

 considerable merit is the Sharp. The fruit resembles Maiden 

 Blush somewhat in shape and color, and is better for dessert 

 use than that variety. Its flesh is nearly white, fine-grained, 

 tender, moderately juicy, nearly sweet, of mild pleasant flavor 

 and very good quality ; season, October. The tree has fruited 

 here but three years, but it appears to be a good bearer. 



One of the handsomest late August and early September 

 apples in the station collection is the Stump, v,'hich is excellent 

 for market or home use. It begins to ripen soon after Che- 

 nango Strawberry, which it resembles in shape. The tree is 

 upright and productive. The fruit, borne on short spurs close 

 to the limbs, is pale yellow, beautifully striped and shaded 

 with red. Flesh firm, crisp, tender, subacid, mild in flavor. 



Switzer is a very handsome German apple that begins to 

 ripen about the first of August. The fruit, which is of me- 

 dium size, is nearly white, with a beautiful blush. It is very 

 good in flavor and good in quality either for dessert or for 

 culinary use. The tree is productive. 



Williams' Favorite is a dessert fruit that should be more 

 widely known. Its symmetrical form and deep red color make 



it an attractive apple in market. It is also desirable for home 

 use, as it is good in flavor and quality. The tree makes mod- 

 erate growth and is a good bearer. 



Among the October apples desirable for culinary use may 

 be mentioned Cox's Pomona. It is an old variety of English 

 origin. The fruit is large, highly colored with crimson on a 

 clear, very pale yellow ground, making it an attractive market 

 fruit. The flesh is white, crisp, subacid. It cooks evenly and 

 ranks good in quality. 

 Experiment Statiun, Geneva, N. Y. S. A. Beach. 



California Irises. — Like many other plants native to the Cali- 

 fornia coast, the Irises are not satisfactory under ordinary 

 cultivation. I. Macrosiphon, which grows so vigorously in 

 northern California and Oregon that the long slender leaves, 

 with the strong fibres which form their edges, are used for 

 making ropes, fish-lines, nets and coarse cloth, has been rarely 

 seen in such robust form elsewhere. The beautiful I. brac- 

 teata, too, which is figured in the first volume of Garden and 

 Forest, page 43, has also proved troublesome to cultivators. 

 In regard to these two plants Herr Max Leichtlin writes 

 that he has received them from their native quarters fresh 

 and looking healthy, but, after many trials, they have never 

 lived long. He has found, however, that they can be moved 

 when they are in full vegetation. They must be growm from 

 seed, and the seedlings must be allowed to remain where they 

 are until they have formed solid root-stocks. After this, and 

 when they are beginning to grow, they can be safely handled 

 and transplanted like other Irises. This spring Herr Leichtlin 

 had plants with twelve to thirty flowers open at the same 

 time in all shades of ochre and cream color. They certainly 

 are striking plants, and it is to be hoped that growers will test 

 this treatment in eastern North America. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J.N.G. 



Aglaonema commutatum. — Unlike the rest of the family, this 

 species is quite showy when in flower, and as its numerous 

 spathes are freely produced it is well worth growing for the 

 sake of the flowers alone. The leaves, while quite orna- 

 mental, are less richly colored than those of Aglaonema 

 pictum or even A. nebulosa. They are eight or fen inches 

 long, green and glossy, with a few silvery spots scattered over 

 the surface. The spathe is two or three inches long, spoon- 

 like, of a creamy white and waxy in texture. The spadix is 

 cylindrical or slightly tapering to the base. The stem is thick 

 and fleshy, covered by the sheathing petioles of the leaves. 

 The plant is generally kept dwarf and compact, side shoots 

 being freely produced if the main shoot is topped. It is most 

 ornamental when only eight or ten inches high, but broad and 

 spreading. 



Short Hill's, N.J. N.J.R. 



Correspondence. 



Garden Notes from Southern California. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Ipomcea versicolor, or, as it is commonly known in 

 gardens, Mina lobata, a charming climber from tropical 

 America, is still a comparative stranger to our people, but it is 

 admired by all who have grown or seen it. It makes a quick 

 and truly tropical growth, climliing to the top of whatever sup- 

 port is given to it and reaching still upward until it bends 

 under its own weight. The mass of dark green foliage is 

 refreshing in a thirsty land, but when the slender spikes of 

 buds appear, at first of a rich poppy-red, gradually changing 

 to a delicate canary-yellow, the plant is strikingly handsome. 

 When fully open the flowers are pure white, slightly tinged 

 with yellow at the base of the corollas, and a faint, almost per- 

 ceptible, ring of rose-purple around the edges. The spikes of 

 flowers are in pairs, like the tines of a fork, erect, with a grace- 

 ful curve, and carrying thirty to forty buds and flowers ; the 

 flowers at the base of a pure white, like the down of a bird's 

 wing, and the brilliant buds at the tips heighten the fancied 

 resemblance to the wings of a parrot, whence comes the popu- 

 lar name of the plant among the Mexicans, who call it Ala de 

 Perico. In some of the villages in the warm portions of 

 Mexico I found that this vine was grown in every yard in the 

 greatest profusion. The exsert filaments are twice the length 

 of the corolla, and are of a straw-yellow, the anthers of an 

 Indian yellow. The plants wilt before the least touch of 

 frost, and mature seed with great uncertainty ; probably to 

 this fact, and the consequent high price of the seed, is due 

 its rarity in American gardens. 



Lantana delicatissima is probably a Mexican shrub, although 



