478 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 405. 



for any investigation to be carried' on in tliis direction this 

 year, but I intend to Iiave llie matter tliorougiily investigated 

 next summer. <^ t c j, 



Beaver Dam, Wis. /■ J^- ^lOtt. 



[It would be interesting to know which one of the many 

 species of Solidago is suspected of causing this disease ; 

 and wliether horses are similarly affected in other sections 

 of the country where this species grows in pasture lands, 

 —Ed.] 



Notes on the Western Apple Crop. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The followmg remarlcs apply especially to the upper 

 sections of Kansas, but are, no doubt, more or less accurate 

 for adjacent sections of Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri : 



In the territory mentioned apples have become an important 

 export crop within the last few years, so that there are numer- 

 ous large orchards. Last spring, 1895, a very heavy crop was 

 set, but the apples fell rapidly throughout the spring, and con- 

 tinued to Jail until late in the summer, when the entire crop 

 had disappeared from the trees. In order to reach a tolerably 

 satisfactory explanation of these facts it is necessary to under- 

 stand the attendant meteorological conditions. These were 

 about as follows ; A phenomenally severe drought prevailed 

 during the fall of 1894, the following winter and the spring of 

 1S95, and this was not broken till July ist, at which time heavy 

 and constant rains supervened. Moreover, this special season 

 of drought had been preceded by two years in which hot winds 

 and lack of rain had reduced the vitality of Apple-trees to 

 much below their ordinary condition. 



it is quite in accord with common experience that trees like 

 these, debilitated and dying, and especially affected by drought, 

 should manifest an unusual tendency to fruit-production. Fol- 

 lowing upon this it was not strange that weak and dying trees 

 still unsupplied with water should be utterly unable to nourish 

 the heavy fruit crop which they had set, and that many of the 

 young apples should be dropped from the sheer inability of 

 ihe tree to keep them growing. But it is not so evident why, 

 after the hanging crop had been more than decimated, and 

 after abundant rains liad begun, the remaining fruits should 

 continue to fall. On this point the following explanation is 

 suggested: that the sudden supply of water to the trees set 

 them to the production of new wood, and that the newly set 

 up vegetative energies of the tree still further diminished the 

 supply of nourishment at the disposal of the fruit by diverting 

 it to foliage and wood-growth. This view of the case makes 

 us able to refer it also to well-established horticultural princi- 

 ples. It is a good old maxim of the German botanists and 

 gardeners that fruit-plants should be freely watered during the 

 period when they set fruit, and that the water-supply should.be 

 gradually withheld with the later development of the crop. 

 Exactly opposite conditions prevailed with this year's apple 

 crop; and it is certain that some causes operated powerfully 

 to the detriment of the fruit set, for almost the entire crop was 

 dropped earlier than usual — that is, prematurely. 



A severe frost which occurred on the 12th of May has been 

 suggested by some as an additional cause of the trouble in 

 question, but its responsibility in the case has not been veri- 

 fied, so far as I know. „ . „^ , 



Manhattan, Kansas. ^- A. WaUgll. 



The Lily Melpomene. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Mr. Allen has done well to call attention to the error 

 that crept in in my notes on Lilies in a recent issue of Garden 

 AND Forest. He is quite right in stating that this Lily is not 

 of hybrid origin, but merely a seed variation from L. specio- 

 sum. I had in mind when writing L. Parkmanni, and so the 

 two were mixed mentally. Can any one tell where the true 

 Melpomene of Hovey can be obtained ? It does not seem to 

 be in any lists which I have seen, and I have never known it 

 but by repute. L. Parkmanni, I fear, we shall never see again 

 in gardens; the whole stock was purchased from Parkman 

 by an English firm, and I saw the whole stock with them this 

 summer, and they assured me that it was impossible either to 

 propagate it or make it grow in any situation, and it was 

 dwindling away visibly, only a few remaining to mark the spot 

 where it was planted. There seems to have been a prepon- 

 derance of the blood of L. auratum in the hybrid, or, at any 

 rate, it has inherited this fatal characteristic of that species, and 

 the place that knew it will shortly know it no more. It is a pity 

 that this, one of the reminders of a man of genius, should thus 



perish, and so soon, but we are fortunate in having other 

 plants, like the Pyrus and the Poppy, which bear his name. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Poison Sumach Once More. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — To what you have published on Rhus-poisoning allow 

 me to add that I recall, at least, three cases in which the affec- 

 tion occurred without renewed exposure, usually at a year's 

 interval, but in the last case which has recently left our hospi- 

 tal, this being the fifth attack, only three months intervened. 

 It is a curious fact that the same portion of the body — in the 

 case above, the left arm — was invariably affected. It may be 

 of some service to future victims to know that applications of 

 spirits of turpentine made early, and, if possible, before vesi- 

 cation takes place, will relieve, if it does not wholly prevent, 

 future suffering. ' Timothy E. Wilcox, 



Fort Schuyler, N. Y. Surgeon, U. S. A. 



Exhibitions. 



The St. Louis Flower Show. 



'T'HE most beautiful flower show I have seen this fall was 

 -'■ that held in the Entertainment Hall of the Exposition Build- 

 ing in St. Louis, beginnmg November 13th. The excellent 

 general effect was due partly to the size and shape of the hall, 

 but more still to the judicious and tasteful distribution of the 

 exhibits. Specimen Chrysanthemum plants filled the dress 

 circle, while displays for cut flowers were placed in the par- 

 quet and on the stage, in the rear of which were banked 

 Begonias, Ferns, Palms, Araucarias and other specimen plants, 

 entered in competition for the Shaw premiums. Pink Chrys- 

 anthemums were sufficiently in evidence to give variety to 

 the prevailing white and yellow, but crimson colors were 

 scarce, and of bronze blooms there were scarcely any worthy 

 of note beyond a dozen flowers of Charles Davis and Bronze 

 Giant. Mr. Hdl's Louise D. Black, of an indescribable hue, 

 was shown in admirable form. The only cut blooms of the 

 hairy type were two or three of L'Enfantdes Deux Mondes. 



The best specimen plant was an unnamed variety exhibited 

 Iiy Vaughan, of Chicago, and it took the premium for the best 

 plant of any color. The same exhibitor took the first prize for 

 the best white-flowered plant with a specimen of L. Channing, 

 and Andrew Meyer, of St. Louis, took first prize for the best 

 yellow-flowered and best pink-flowered plants, with fine bushes 

 of Harry Sunderbruch and Viviand Morel. A fine specimen 

 of Louis Boehmer, with flowers of first-rate color, was notable 

 as the only example of this variety exhibited. 



Of the cut flowers, Golden Wedding and The Queen were 

 most successful, but Ivory, Minnie Wanarnaker, Niveum, Mrs. 

 Robert Craig and Mrs. Jerome Jojies, among the white varie- 

 ties, were conspicuously good. A new form of The Queen 

 was exhibited by the Michel Plant and Bulb Company, of St. 

 Louis, in which the centre of every flower was filled with a 

 tuft of florets somewhat longer than the others, and similar 

 tufts on different parts of the several flowers projecting beyond 

 the evenly incurved outer petals gave them a distinct expres- 

 sion. Philadelphia, as here seen, did not make a good im- 

 pression, on account of its undecided color, although it is 

 beautiful and distinct in form. Flowers of Eugene Daille- 

 douze were not quite up to the standard as to size, but this 

 seemed owing to the fact that the blooms were not as far ad- 

 vanced as in former years ; it is a great favorite here. Major 

 Bonnaffon was as good as ever, and more even in size and 

 development. Harry Sunderbruch, when well grown, main- 

 tains its good qualities, and by retail growers here is said to be 

 the best market yellow. Challenge was seen to better advan- 

 tage than heretofore, although a still later date would have 

 helped it. A few fully blown flowers of this variety were a 

 revelation of its possibilities, as the greenish centres were 

 replaced by florets all of the same deep chrome-yellow as the 

 body of the flowers and showing no trace of an eye. Viviand 

 Morel was so abundantly exhibited that it practically seemed 

 the only pink flower, and it was remarkably even in size and 

 color. 



A notable feature of the cut-flower show was an exhibition 

 of fifty blooms on long stems. The colors were white and 

 yellow, the varieties used being' mainly The Queen and E. 

 Dailledouze, with a few flowers of Mrs. Robert Craig and 

 Pitcher & Manda at the base of the mass. With this exhibi- 

 tion, Messrs. W. J. & M. I. Vesey, of Fort Wayne, took the first 

 prize in the class for growers. Other winners of first prizes for 

 cut blooms were William Schray, St. Louis ; ]\Ir. Chalfant, of 



