January 13, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



23 



different months of the year, and notes those which arc suit- 

 able for felicitous occasions and those whicli, on the otlicr 

 hand, arc called "ominous." 



"Considerations of good or evil luclc," he says, " enter largely 

 into tlie choice of flowers for floral arrangements, especially 

 when em|iloyed as decorations for occasions of rejoicing." 

 Those which are reputed to possess poisonous properties, 

 even if this lie in their roots alone, are objected to at any time, 

 and all Howers having a strong odor are considered unsuitable 

 for placing before guests, a fact which certainly seems strange 

 to the western mind. The Japanese, it may be said, do not 

 feel as we do that the odor of a tlovver adds to its attractions 

 from the point of view of sentiment. Mr. Conder then shows 

 that the art of iloral composition consists of combinations of 

 two or more kinds of growth, and that in these comljinations, 

 not only as regards the actual manner of grouping, but also as 

 regards (he preliminary question of selection, tlie Japanese 

 artist is guided l)y rules which to us seem curiously arbitrary 

 and subtile. The fact that two flowers grow together at the 

 same period of the year by no means justihes their being 

 placed together. ".Sometimes," says Mr. Conder, " too close 

 a resemblance in form or color is the reason of the objection ; 

 in other cases, similarity of species, or of locality of produc- 

 tion, leading to redundancy of expression in the composition, 

 is the cause of the dislike. The Peach and the Cherry, for 

 example, being both flowering trees and somewhat similar in 

 character are not considered suitable in combination." 



We cannot follow the author through his most interesting 

 chapter, called " History and Theory," where he examines into 

 the origin of the now complex art of floral arrangement, and 

 the myriad meanings which the Japanese read into their ar- 

 rangements. In beginning his detailed analysis of Japanese 

 flower-arrangements he speaks lirst of "Lineal Distribution." 

 "The lines or directions," he says, "taken by the dilTerent 

 stems or branches form the basis of all compositions. . . . 

 The treatment followed may be likened somewhat to the 

 methods employed of distributing carved foliage in architec- 

 tural panels. The surface of the water in which the flowers 

 are placed is technically considered to be the soil from which 

 the iioral growth springs, and the designer must here convey 

 the impression of stability and strength. However good the 

 upper lines of the composition may be, a weak springing at the 

 base deprives it of life and vigor; for it must be remembered 

 that not flowers alone, but floral growth and vitality, are to be 

 expressed in the designs. ... In the distribution of the prin- 

 cipal lines of the composition from the point of their separa- 

 tion, the artist studiously avoids an equal-sided or symmetrical 

 arrangement, but he obtains a balance of a more subtile kind, 

 which is at the same time productive of a pleasing variety of 

 form. Balance and harmony without repetition is a govern- 

 ing principle in this as well as in other Japanese arts." Many 

 pages of careful description and many outline cuts then ex- 

 plain the careftd way in which the Japanese arranges his main 

 stems in a flower-group, the arrrangement being sometimes bi- 

 lineal, sometimes tri-lineal and sometimes five or seven-lined 

 by the addition of subordinate lines to a tri-lineal arrangement. 

 Each of these schemes may be infinitely varied, but stems are 

 never grouped together in a careless manner irrespective of 

 an underlying lineal idea. Most arrangements are designed 

 principally to be seen from a point of view immediately in 

 front, yet.'we are told, they are not the flat arrangements which 

 might at first sight be supposed from explanatory drawings, 

 especially in the more complex compositions ; a pleasing va- 

 riety is given at the back and sides as well, and their effect, 

 when regarded from these points, is to some degree taken into 

 consideration. 



" Certain errors," says Mr. Conder, " in arranging the lines 

 of floral designs, are pointed out to be strictly avoided. Some 

 of these are called Cross-cutting, View-cutting, Window-cut- 

 ting, Lattice-cutting and Parallelism, which names sufficiently 

 indicate the elTects produced, and the reasons why they are to 

 be condemned. In man)' compositions one of the principal 

 lines is allowed to droop conspicuously at one side, and is 

 called a Streamer ; but it is a fatal error to use a Double 

 Streamer — that is, to insert a drooping branch on each side of 

 the same composition." 



Bulletin 34 from the horticultural division of the Cornell 

 University Experiment Station is devoted to the Dewberries, 

 several varieties of which have within late years come into 

 prominence. Since the histories of fruits are soon lost and 

 definite knowledge of their methods of variation and degrees 

 of improvement become impossible, we are glad that a record 

 of this fruit should be made thus early in the history of its 



cultivation, and we agree with Professor Bailey that it is a great 

 misfortune that we cannot refer to similar reports on other 

 native fruits, such as Blackberries, Raspberries an<l Crapes. 

 In common speech, the word Dewlicrry is applied to anv 

 creeping Blackberry, Init the true Dewberries are distinguished 

 from the Blackberries not only Ijy tlieir trailing habit, but par- 

 ticularly by their inllorescence, which is cymose, tlie centre 

 flower opening first, and the flowers few and scattered. In 

 the Blackberries, on the contrary, the clusters arc essentially 

 corymliose or racemose, the lower and outer flowers gener- 

 ally opening first and the flowers carried in dense clus- 

 ters. Another difference is, that the Dewberries are propa- 

 gated from tips, while the Blackberries propagate by 

 suckers. 



Dewberries, as cultivated, represent two distinct species of 

 the Bramble or Rubus, the first of which is the northern Dew- 

 berry (Rubus Canadensis), to which type belong the varielir'S 

 known as Windom, Lucretia's Sister and Geer. Under this 

 species are two sub-types, to one of which ■ belongs the Lu- 

 cretia, botanically recognised as variety roribaccus, and to the 

 other sub-type, tlic variety invisus, belongs the Bartcl or Mam- 

 moth, General Grant and Never Fail. The second species is 

 the southern Dewberry (Rubus trivalis), to which belong Fair- 

 fax, Manatee, Bauer and Wilson's White. Since these species 

 are quite distinct, it is reasonable to infer that different man- 

 agement should be used in the different classes, or, at 

 least, that various results will be obtained from their cultiva- 

 tion. 



Professor Bailey adduces a large mass of testimony from 

 various sources, which brings out the peculiar merits of the 

 Dewberries as cultivated fruits as well as their peculiar de- 

 merits. Their good points are earliness, large size, attractive 

 appearance and the ease with which they can be protected in 

 winter. Their quality is a matter of question. In some places, 

 and to some tastes, they are delicious, rich and spicy, while 

 other judges call them flat and flavorless. The disadvantages 

 in the cultivation of Dewberries are the failure of the flowers 

 to set, the formation of nubbins, or imperfect fruit, and the 

 difficulty of picking the fruit. There is reason to believe that 

 pruning and thinning the canes would tend to obviate the first 

 two difficulties and to make the plants productive, but this is 

 not known positively. The labor and unpleasantness of pick- 

 ing may be avoided by training the plants on a rack or trellis, 

 and by keeping them well pruned. 



The plants are generally set about the same distance apart 

 as Blackberries — that is, in rows seven feet apart and three or 

 four feet apart in the row, and the canes are allowed to lie on 

 the ground, and are headed in when they reach about three 

 feet in length. A mulch of straw beneath the canes keeps the 

 berries clean and renders picking pleasanter. A wire trellis, 

 like a Grape-trellis, or various kinds of racks may be used, 

 upon whicli fruiting canes can be tied, and for amateur culti- 

 vation, at least, some such upright training seems to be ad- 

 visable. Only four to six fruiting canes should be allowed on 

 one plant. Some varieties, particularly the Windom and Bar- 

 tel, appear to do best when the fruit is shaded. 



Twelve varieties of Dewberry have been named and more 

 or less disseminated during the last twenty years. Of these, 

 four (omitting the Mammoth) have gained more or less promi- 

 nence, and are found to possess decided merits in certain 

 places. This is a fair proportion of good varieties to inferior 

 ones, as indicated by the annals of other fruits. Many persons 

 have found the cultivation of this berry profitable, and this is 

 evidence that the fruit is an acquisition. But it has not yet 

 foimd general favor, and it is hardly probable that it will ever 

 become a rival to the Blackberry in popularity. 



The varieties which enjoy most prominence are Windom, 

 Lucretia, Bartel and Manatee. The Windom possesses promise 

 for the north-west, of which it is a native. It has not yet been 

 tested to any extent elsewhere. It appears to demand partial 

 shade for the best success. The Lucretia has been found to 

 be a desirable and profitable fruit in many places over a large 

 extent of territory, and it is therefore safe to conclude that its 

 range of adaptation is large. Many, however, have failed with 

 it. It appears to be variable, and many of the plants are worth- 

 less. It is seriously attacked by anthracnose and by a Bram- 

 ble rust. Bartel has found great favor with some growers in 

 the west, from Wisconsin to Nebraska (see Garden and 

 Forest, vol. ill., p. 273, and vol. iv., p. ig, where the plant is 

 figured). It has not succeeded well in the east so far. Some 

 of the variety known as Mammoth appears to be identical with 

 Bartel. Manatee is probably valuable for the south, and it ap- 

 pears to be the most useful form of Ruljus trivialis yet tested. 

 There are varieties of the southern plant with white berries, 

 for which special merits are claimed. 



