November 27, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



479 



Springfield, Missouri, and the St. Clair Floral Company, of 

 Belleville, Illinois. A seedling named by the latter company 

 St. Clair received a certificate. The flower is a ball-shaped 

 Japanese, with long, narrow, rolled florets that stand out 

 evenly and full so that it shows no eye. It is quite distinct in 

 form, but as its color is not of the best its value for commer- 

 cial purposes is questionable. 



A unique collection from Santa Barbara, California, com- 

 prised thirty-seven plants, not yet introduced into cultivation, 

 from Dr. E. F. Franceschi, well known to the botanists of 

 Europe and America. They were entered for the Shaw medal 

 for " a plant of decided merit for cultivation, not previously an 

 article of North American commerce." Some of these are 

 recommended by Dr. Franceschi as suitable for pot-culture 

 and likely to become useful as florists' plants, and all of tliem 

 may be counted upon to flourisli in southern California and 

 some of our southern states, so that the collection had a gen- 

 eral interest besides its unquestioned botanical importance. 



The following plants may be named as among the most 

 interesting of the collection : Albizzia occidentalis, an ever- 

 green tree of elegant shape, with fragrant cream-colored 

 flowers, interesting botanically as the only American species 

 of the genus, which, until recently, was supposed to be con- 

 fined to Africa and Asia. Celosia floribunda, a shrubby Cocks- 

 comb, which attains a height of six to nine feet, and is very 

 showy while in bloom. The shining black seeds are used as 

 food for canary birds. Dendrocalamus membranaceus, a 

 giant Bamboo, from Burma, which is likely to be hardy in 

 the south. Lagerstrcsmia Flos Regina;, an Indian tree, which 

 is there considered to be one of the most beautiful when in 

 flower, the terminal panicles being two feet long, and the 

 mauve-colored flowers three inches across. Leptosyne gigan- 

 tea, a most remarkable composite from Santa Cruz Island, with 

 a stout whitisli trunk six to nine feet higli, crowned with a 

 dense head of feathery leaves and lateral umbels of large, 

 bright yellow sweet-scented flowers. Lyonothamnus floribun- 

 dus, an extraordinary tree never before introduced into culti- 

 vation, although it has been known for some time and is 

 figured in Professor Sargent's Silva of North America. It 

 attains a height of thirty to fifty feet and has a straight trunk ; 

 the young growth is covered with reddish hair and exhales an 

 aromatic odor ; the glossy evergreen leaves are finely cut and 

 fern-like, and every branchlet is crowned with a terminal 

 umbel of white flowers four to five inches across. Where this 

 plant is not hardy it ought to be an elegant pot-plant. Physalis 

 glabra, called in Lower California, of which it is a native, 

 Tomate oloroso, the whole plant being musk-scented ; it is of 

 a bluish color and bears yellow flowers and red edible fruit. 

 Sapindus utilis, a native of southern China, which has been 

 cultivated in Algeria for its saponaceous qualities. It bears 

 berries when it is only eight to ten years old, which are said to 

 be very valuable for the amount of Saponine they contain. 



Bnghton, Ills. 



F. W. S. 



Palms in New York. 



THE exhibition which occupied the Grand Central Palace in 

 Lexington Avenue for the last ten days was an unusual one 

 for this season, when the glare of the Clirysanthemum is in the 

 ascendant. Mr. Manda's show was one where handsome 

 specimens and decorative tropical plants were the leading fea- 

 tures, with incidental collections of fine flowers as a secondary 

 feature. This hall, while ample in its floor-space, does not 

 lend itself to broad effects as does the lofty arena of the Madi- 

 son Square Garden. On its spacious floor, however, Mr. 

 Manda exhibited a very fine and, in fact, remarkable collection of 

 plants, considering that they were drawn from his own stock. 

 The arrangement of the main hall was in masses of plants in 

 beds of varying design, with irregular paths between them, 

 while in the side wings were various detailed specimens of 

 plants, interesting on account of some eccentricity or some 

 economic value. Such an arrangement has its advantages 

 and its defects. Its advantage is that the casual stroller is im- 

 pressed by the great masses of fine foliage and color ; but the 

 plant lover misses the individuality of the handsome plants 

 which are necessarily confused in the massing. The most 

 striking feature of the show was a number of very large speci- 

 men Palms, many of which were from tlie Baldwin collection 

 in Philadelphia. One of the most striking of these was a 

 Chamairops gracilis, about twelve feet high and in perfect con- 

 dition, a most distinct and graceful Palm, with finely cut 

 leaves. A spineless form of Livistona Chinensis was repre- 

 sented by two handsome specimens of about a dozen leaves 

 each and of great spread, as this form has unusually long 

 pedoles, about twelve feet m this case. The Cycas revoluta, 

 from the Tilden collection, was an old specimen with a trunk 



six feet long and a head in perfect condition. This has 

 acquired a local celebrity lately as having once been a posses- 

 sion of Washington. A most interesting plant was a specimen 

 of Cocos Weddelliana in fruit. In spite of the great abundance 

 of these plants one seldom sees an old specimen as large as 

 this, about six feet high, in perfect condition, and it seems to 

 seldom fruit in cultivation. There were also fine examples of 

 Pritchardia macrocarpa, Livistona rotundifolia, Phcenix recli- 

 nata, Sabal umbraculifera, Chamasrops excelsa, Ceroxylon 

 andicola, the lower side of pinnje silvery white. Calamus 

 calicarpus, Astrocaryum Mexicanum, a very distinct Palm with 

 a spiny stem. Such well-known plants as Kentia Belmoreana, 

 Pandanus utilis, Areca lutescens were represented by superb 

 specimens. 



The masses of plants were composed variously either of 

 Ferns, Crotons, Dracaenas, Marantas, whose names are mostly 

 familiar to fanciers of greenhouse plants, all in fine varieties 

 and often in good specimens. Chrysanthemums were to be 

 seen in specimen plants and single flowers, but the damtiest 

 effect was found in a bank which masked the front of the 

 stage, where, with a background of mirrors and among fine 

 Ferns and much decorative foliage, were arranged many 

 Orchids in bloom. Minute electric lights disposed throughout 

 the mass helped the mirrors to give a reflection of the rear 

 view of the plants, thus doubling the apparent depth of the 

 group and more than doubling its effect. Here were choice 

 Cypripedmms, Zygopetalums, Oncidiums, Lselias and Dendro- 

 biums in dainty array, all, perhaps, the more enjoyable in 

 contrast with the masses of green to be seen in every other 

 direction. 



Recent Publications. 



AgricuUural Calendar for i8g6. By F. \V. Woll. New 

 York : John Wiley & Sons. 



This is an admirable reference-book for farmers, in which 

 many of the essential facts relating to agriculture are 

 arranged either in tables or in other convenient forms for 

 reference. It contains the latest information in regard to 

 feeding standards for various farm animals, with instruc- 

 tive notes on the characteristics of different breeds, the 

 remedies for their common diseases and hints on their 

 general care. All the ordinary facts about seeding and 

 seed mixtures, the proper distances for planting vegetables 

 and trees, with the average yields per acre of different 

 crops, tables of noxious weeds, the most approved treat- 

 ment for insects and fungi, rules for mixing and applying 

 fertilizers, large numbers of statistics and general tables 

 and concise treatment of such subjects as drainage, road- 

 making, farm machinery, etc. — all this and much more are 

 clearly and concisely set forth. The book closes with a 

 directory in which the faculties and courses of study in the 

 different agricultural colleges are given, a list of the experi- 

 ment stations and their officers, the secretaries of the horti- 

 cultural societies and other organizations, and a catalogue 

 of the chief agricultural and horticultural papers. In fact, 

 the book is full of just such information as any one inter- 

 ested in rural affairs needs, and it cannot but be helpful to 

 every intelligent farmer or fruit-grovi^er. 



Notes. 



Professor Marshall Ward has been chosen to fill the chair of 

 botany in the University of Cambridge made vacant by the 

 death of Professor Babbington. 



Professor A. J. McCIatchie, of the Throop Polytechnic Insti- 

 tute, has issued in separate form his Flora of Pasadena and 

 vicinity, first published in Reid's History of Pasadena. Unlike 

 most American local floras, it enumerates the plants of the 

 lower as well as of the higher orders. 



Two weeks ago in these columns the beauty of the autumn 

 foliage of our native Leucothoe acuminata was discussed. In 

 the Arnold Arboretum last week some of the plants had lost 

 their foliage, but on others the leaves were still green near the 

 base of the stems, while on the upper part of the plant they 

 were either bright scarlet or just turning from green to scarlet. 

 A light fall of snow served to increase their beauty. 



In semi-tropical spots, found all through the San Joaquin 

 Valley, California, Lemons and Oranges flourish as well as m 

 Southern California. The first shipment of oranges to San 



