May 4, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



213 



of this variety as have appeared,g'ive indications ol' being- very 

 handsome. Herr Lcichtlin's varieties, A. blanda alba and A. 

 blanda Cypriana, have also, in exposed positions, conlirmed the 



•f 



Fig. 39.— Narcissus rupicola. — See page cog. 



conclusion stated, that protection and subsequent baking are 

 desirable for these plants. ~ ,, ^ 



Elizabeth, N.J. J. N. Gerard. 



Campanula pyramidalis. — Contrary to expectation this plant 

 has proved quite hardy here where the commoner C. Medium 

 died. It is one of the very best for pot-culture, having a com- 

 pact self-supporting habit. Compared with the Canterbury 

 Bell the flowers are small, but they make up for their lack of 

 size in number. They come into bloom early in June, and 

 are very useful foj standing on steps and about entrances of 

 residences. 



Ahhough a true perennial, when grown in pots it is better 

 treated as a biennial, as excessive blooming destroys the sym- 

 metry of the plants, so desirable when grown as specimens. 

 Seeds sown in spring will produce fine crowns for potting into 

 nine-inch pots in the autumn. It is better to store the plants 

 in a frost-proof pit, otherwise they will lose their lower 

 leaves, and look leggy. As single specimens in a rock-garden 

 this Campanula serves in a charming way to bi'eak up the 

 monotony so often noticeable where nothing but low-growing 

 herbaceous or alpine plants are used. For this purpose the 

 white variety is the more effective. 



Alstroemeria pelegrina, var. alba, the "Lily of the Incas," is de- 

 scribed in European catalogues as tender, and it is further 

 recommended that "a warm spot be selected for it." The fur- 

 ther my observation goes the more I am convinced that the 

 test of hardiness is not in proportion to the lowness of tem- 

 perature. This plant has proved quite hardy here for two 

 winters, even in exposed situations. It will be fortunate if this 

 lovely Amaryllidaceous plant should prove quite hardy, being 

 an excellent subject both for border and cutting purposes. 

 Plants come quite easily from seed or by division of the roots. 



Medinilla magnifica is now in bloom in the tropical plant 

 houses belonging to H. H. Hunnewell, Esq., Wellesley. It 

 comes from the East Indies, and was once commonly grown, 

 no collection of flowering stove plants being considered 

 complete without it. It is gorgeous when in bloom, with long 

 verticillate, drooping panicles of pink flowers ; the appendic- 

 ulate anthers, a character peculiar to all IVlelastomaceae, are 

 strikingly conspicuous. When out of bloom it is a very 

 ungainly shrub, very subject to insect pests, particularly the 

 mealy bug. 



Primula rosea is very "bright this spring. It easily loses 

 color, and is past very quickly if the weather is unseasonably 

 warm, as is often the case during April. This spring has so 



far been very cool, and Scilla Sibirica and Chionodoxa 

 Lucilkc have Ijeen in fine condition for a long time. One or 

 two hot days will finish them. 

 Well.-sley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



The Forest. 

 The Forests of California. 



AT the last meeting of the American Forestry Congress, 

 lion. William Alvord, the president of that body, read 

 a paper on this subject, from which we make the following 

 extracts : 



There is much about the silva of California that is broadly 

 distinctive, and not met with in any other part of the world. 

 Some of the trees are larger and probably older than any found 

 elsewhere, except perhaps among the Eucalyptsof Australasia, 

 and they are not confined to small groups or belts, but are in 

 great forests, some of which cover areas nearly as large as the 

 whole of New England. There are millions of trees any one 

 of which would yield enough lumber to build a good-sized 

 house. Twenty millions of acres of California are covered with 

 magnificent forests ; the remainder is sparsely wooded or 

 wholly treeless. 



The heavily timbered districts are confined to the Sierra 

 Nevada mountains on the east, the mountainous regions in 

 the northern half of the state, and what is known as the Red- 

 wood belt, lying along and adjacent to the north-western sea- 

 coast. The heavily timbered portion of the Sierra Nevada 

 covers a territory five hundred miles long by seventy wide ; the 

 Redwood belt and the timbered mountains at the north com- 

 prise nearly half as much more. The whole aggregates about 

 50,000 square miles of lumber-producing forests for the entire 

 state, which contains 158,000 square miles. 



There occur in other sections of California patches of lum- 

 ber trees, the most important of these being in the Central 

 Coast Range and in the San Bernardino and Kingston moim- 

 tains ; the product of the latter, situated in the desert regions 

 of the south-east, is more valuable for fuel than for building 

 material. The inferior growth consists mainly of several va- 

 rieties of Oak and Pine, with some Madrona, Maple, Walnut, 

 Alder and Ash ; the Sycamore, Willow and Cottonwood grow 

 along the water-courses and in other moist localities. The few 

 trees that grow in the desert-lands in the south-eastern angle 

 of the state are the Mesquit, Palm and the Paloverde ; the 

 Palms, of which there are several varieties, are almost worth- 

 less, being alike unfit for fuel or lumber, and they do not bear 

 edible fruit nor furnish shade. These and the Cactus are signs 

 of aridity and barrenness. 



The cliain of mountains which skirts the easterly border of 

 the state has an average height of about 8,000 feet, with long 

 stretches much higher, some of the peaks attaining an altitude 

 of 14,000 feet. The Piedmont country on the west, which at- 

 tains an elevation of about 2,000 feet, and varies in breadth 

 from fifteen to twenty-five miles, is covered with a sparse 

 growth of scrubby Oaks and Pines ; at the upper edge of the 

 domain the more stately and valuable forest begins. While 

 the foot-hill Oaks are of several kinds, the Pines are mostly 

 confined to a single variety, the Pinus Sabiniana, called by 

 Californians the Digger or Nut Pine. The last name is given 

 it on account of its edible nut, which constitutes one of the 

 staples of subsistence of the Digger Indian. The Nut Pine, 

 though little fit for lumber, makes a fuel nearly equal to 

 Hickory, and serves tolerably well for mine-supports. Mingling 

 with the Oaks and Pines are various dwarf trees, also much 

 shrubbery, chiefly the Ground Oak, Chemisal, Buckeye and 

 Manzanita. These are worthless save for firewood, and they 

 are being cleared off in many places since theground is found 

 to be excellent for fruit-trees, and many orchards are being 

 set out here. 



Leaving the Red foot-hills we enter the zone above, with its 

 steeper acclivities and its wondrous wealth of woods. While 

 nearly all that is valuable consists of conifers, there are Oaks 

 and many other deciduous trees in considerable numbers up to 

 a height of 7,000 or 8,000 feet ; also the Nut Pine up to 4,000 

 feet. This is the only conifer that does not thrive at a higher 

 level. 



While there is considerable shrubbery at these levels, the 

 forests are so litfle obstructed with undergrowth that a wagon 

 can be driven through them almost everywhere without much 

 trouble. The woods lower down are still more open. The 

 forests in this higher zone take in nearly the entire cone-bear- 

 ing family, the Pine, Spruce, Fir, Cedar, Juniper and Cypress 

 being represented, and they thrive in all latitudes and levels 



