498 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 407. 



set of leaves is produced, while in this latitude (about forty-one 

 degrees) trees do not come into leaf again, and complete de- 

 foliation for two seasons in succession kills them. 



During July, in company with others. I visited the nur- 

 series of Stephen Hoyt's .Sons, at New Canaan, Connecticut, 

 to inspect a steam-power spraying outfit, consisting of an 

 ordinary steam engine of six-horse power and a double-acting 

 force-pump, which, with a tank holding 250 gallons, are 

 mounted on a platform wagon. Two lines of hose, each 100 

 feet long, and warranted to withstand a pressure of 200 pounds 

 to the square inch, are attached to the pump. 



A man among the branches of the tree draws up the hose 

 with a stout cord, and fastens it to a limb, so that he is not 

 obliged to support the weight of the hose filled with liquid. 

 He is then in a position to direct the spray to all parts of the 

 tree, two or three minutes at most being required to spray a 

 large tree. The spray strikes the under surfaces of the leaves, 

 where the insects usually feed. While two trees are being 

 sprayed, men climb two adjacent trees, thus keeping the whole 

 force well occupied. 



There are many large old Elms on Mr. Hoyt's estate which have 

 been sprayed for two seasons with this machinery ; some with 

 Paris green, others with " slug-shot," and all were in good leaf. 

 Other trees close by which were not treated looked brown and 

 dead, so complete was their defoliation. Mr. L. O. Howard 

 finds arsenate of lead the best poison to use against the Elm- 

 leaf beetle. By adding a little glucose to the solution it will 

 adhere to the foliage for a long time. Though the pump and 

 engine were not mounted upon a wagon at the time of our 

 visit, Mr. Hoyt operated it for our benefit. Water was thrown 

 in a perfect spray against the gable of a large barn between 

 thirty and forty feet from the ground. Several different nozzles, 

 including the Nixon, Vermorel, McGowen and graduated gar- 

 den nozzle, were attached. Of these the McGowen was the 

 most satisfactory in every particular. 



The engine is used for many other purposes about the farm, 

 such as cutting ensilage, sawing wood, threshing and other 

 work where power is needed. During our visit we saw it 

 utilized for unloading hay. 



At present there seems to be an opening for a limited num- 

 ber of enterprising young men to take up spraying as a busi- 

 ness. As it is, only the larger fruit-growers and gardeners can 

 afford to equip themselves with elaborate and expensive ma- 

 chines, but there is a vastly greater class who would also spray if 

 this could be done cheaply and in season, ft would require 

 but a small capital to procure an outfit for all kinds of work. 

 But the man who takes up spraying as a business should pos- 

 sess a thorough knowledge of the use of insecticides and fun- 

 gicides as well as an acquaintance with the life-histories of the 

 insect and fungous enemies which he tries to combat. This 

 information can easily be obtained from our agricultural col- 

 leges and experiment stations, and there is no reason why the 

 spring and summer seasons, at least, might not be fully occu- 

 pied in spraying trees and plants against the attacks of different 

 msects and fungi. 



E.xperiment Station, New Haven, Conn. IV. E. Brittotl. 



Dipladenia Boliviensis.— The Dipladenias are not particularly 

 free-flowering plants, but this species, although one of the 

 smallest of the genus, flowers quite freely. It blooms when 

 quite small, and it is rather a straggling shrub than a climber, 

 and it makes graceful little plants when well cultivated. The 

 leaves are leathery, shining green, oljlong-acuminate, about 

 three inches long. The flowers are produced in few-flowered 

 terminal or axillar clusters, and measure three inches in length. 

 The funnel-shaped five-lobed corolla is of the purest white, 

 with a rich orange-yellow throat. Segments nearly trapezi- 

 form in outline, of a waxy texture. The flowers are produced 

 sparingly throughout the summer and last long in perfection. 

 This fine species will do well under ordinary greenhouse 

 treatment in a rich fibrous soil and well-drained pots. 



Newark, N.J. A^^ J. R. 



Arbutus Unedo. — The Strawberry Tree, as this plant is often 

 called on account of the slight resemblance of the fruit to a 

 strawberry, is a native of the shores of the Mediterranean and 

 the west of Ireland. Its principal claim to the attention of the 

 gardeners of this country is its time of flowering, which is from 

 the end of November to the middle of January, when it makes a 

 very gorgeous display of its almost pure white nodding panicles 

 of flowers. There is a large plant of it in the conservatories at 

 the Botanic Garden in this city, which is yearly covered with 

 l>loom, but, curiously enough, although it has been there over 

 twenty years it has never been known to bear fruit. This is 

 probably owing to the absence of insects at that time of the 



year. The fruit is quite as attractive as the flowers ; the color 

 is reddish yellow ; size about an inch in diameter, covered with 

 minute warty protuberances which give it a very fascinating 

 appearance. A good-sized plant, grown in a tub, is quite an 

 ornamental subject for outdoor decoration in summer, and 

 few plants are found more useful for winter flowering in a 

 cool greenhouse where there is abundance of head-room. 

 Cuttings taken about this season root before spring in a cool 

 house. The plants ought to be grown in soil containing a 

 liberal quantity of peat and sand. 



Botanic Garden, Washington, D. C. G. IV. O. 



Correspondence. 



Does Size Affect the Flavor and Color of Fruits ? 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — It is generally believed by horticulturists that large size 

 in fruits is attained at the expense of high color and fine flavor. 

 Although this opinion is commonly accepted, it does not stand 

 the test of philosophical reasoning or of a comparison of these 

 merits in the various varieties of fruits. It is interesting to 

 note that this opinion is probably the outcome of the theories 

 of Goethe and St. Hilare, who maintained that every plant has 

 a sum of activity, within which all variations must take place, 

 and that a marked variation in one direction must be at the 

 expense of some other part. It is now supposed that a plant 

 can be made to vary progressively in all its parts, which means 

 that vigor, size, fruitfulness, good color, etc., can be combined 

 in the same individual. 



It may be said further that a comparison of the quality and 

 size of small varieties, with the same qualities in large varie- 

 ties, cannot be made, because only those small varieties which 

 have a special merit in their high color or fine flavor have 

 been profitable to propagate, while hundreds of unprofitable 

 small varieties have been thrown away. On the other hand, 

 it may pay to propagate a large variety, because of its size, and 

 consequently many such apples as the Ben Davis and Twenty 

 Ounce are grown, though both are inferior in flavor. 



A study of the fruit catalogue of the Michigan Horticultural 

 Society for 1894.-95 gives opportunity to show proof that large 

 size may coexist with fine flavor. In this list the fruits are 

 described according to size, color and form and their special 

 value for dessert, cooking and market, each quality being 

 marked on a scale of ten. 



There are thirty-two dessert apples which rank nine and ten, 

 five of which are large, four medium to large, fifteen medium, 

 four medium to small, three small and one undescribed. Of 

 the two apricots, one is large and one very large. Of the seven 

 best blackberries, six are large and one medium. Of the 

 twelve cherries, six are large, two very large and four 

 small ; and a similar uneven relation exists in the other 

 varieties of fruits described. The figures, therefore, seem 

 to show that large size and fine flavor are entirely unre- 

 lated ; that size and color are unrelated, and that a large pro- 

 portion of the large apples and other fruits ranked nine and 

 ten for dessert are both high-colored and fine-flavored. 



Cornell University. G. Harold Powell. 



Notes from Brookline, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — During a recent visit to private gardens in Brookline, 

 Massachusetts, I noticed in the fine collection of tropical plants 

 belonging to Dr. C. G. Weld a beautiful specimen of the some- 

 what uncommon Pavetta Borbonica. This handsome plant 

 has leaves opposite, lanceolate, dark glossy green, about one 

 foot long, and dotted with spots of lighter green, and is useful 

 for dinner-table decoration. It belongs to the Rubiacese, to 

 which also belong the Ixora and the Cinchona, and is a native 

 of the Isle of Bourbon. Dracaena Baptisti and D. magnifica 

 are two handsome varieties of the bronzy leaved type, and are 

 here represented by two well-grown specimens. There are 

 also large specimens of Kentia Belmoreana, K. Fosteriana and 

 K. australis. Curculigo recurvata, in the green and white 

 variegated forms, is indispensable in any grouping of plants 

 for effect. Broken into single crowns and potted into six-inch 

 pots, it makes specimens of convenient size. It should be a val- 

 uable market plant when grown in this way. Its Palm-like 

 growth and endurance of rough usage makes it valuable also 

 as a house-plant. Its general appearance does not indicate its 

 family relationship with the Amaryllids, but an examination of 

 its six-parted yellow flowers and the position and structure of 

 its seed capsule proves it. It is a native of the East Indies. 



