June 15, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



285 



qualities of these plants are their complete hardiness and their 

 satisfactory growth without the least attention after planting. 

 Even in the grass of the wild garden they thrive and bloom 

 year after year, and there is no situation in which they are 

 more pleasing and effective. 



Stellaria Holostea. — European gardeners do not think 

 much of this plant, presumably because it is quite common in 

 many parts of their continent, including England. But there 

 are some who give it a place in the garden, and their pains are 

 well rewarded by its neat tufts of bright green foliage, which 

 are completely covered in May and June by spreading snow- 

 white flowers three-fourths of an inch across. S. Holostea 

 lacks that character of weediness for which all other Stellarias 

 are chielly noted ; and in this country especially its habit is 

 more compact and the flowers are produced with far greater 

 freedom than in its native home. This is doubtless due in 

 some degree to the drier atmosphere and greater warmth of 

 our spring and summer. The height of the plant under ordi- 

 nary circumstances is about nine inches, but in dry places it is 

 often much less. The opposite leaves are sessile and lanceo- 

 late. The tufts soon attain large dimensions, for the roots are 

 of a creeping disposition, a fact which renders the plant ex- 

 tremely easy of propagation by division. It is an excellent 

 plant for the front of an herbaceous border, preferring a sunny 

 position and soil of medium depth and fertility. Some por- 

 tions of the rock-garden suit it very well, and it is always 

 charming wherever it can be induced to grow. 



Veronica gentianoides. — It is nearly one hundred and 

 fifty years since this pretty Levantine Speedwell became 

 known in gardens. The plant has creeping roots and is of 

 erect habit, varying in height, according to soil and position, 

 from six to twenty-four inches. The radical leaves are lanceo- 

 late, obtuse, from three to six inches long, smooth or slightly 

 pubescent and of rich green color. The stem-leaves gradually 

 diminish in size toward the top, and ultimately become mere 

 lance-shaped bracts among the flowers. The flowers are 

 rather more than half an inch across, and are borne in com- 

 pact terminal racemes. They are very pale blue, with nu- 

 merous lines much darker in color. It is one of the earliest 

 species of the genus to flower, being in full bloom about the 

 middle of May, and lasting well into June. No special care is 

 required to grow it well, as it thrives in almost any soil or lo- 

 cation, and the dense patches of verdant foliage impart a re- 

 freshing appearance to semi-barren spots during the scorching 

 months of summer. The plants grown in shady places, where 

 the soil is rich, are, of course, much more vigorous than those 

 given poor soil and full exposure to wind and weather. There 

 are many parts of the rock-garden in which it will be at home, 

 for it is one of our hardiest plants, and a genuine alpine. 

 There is a dwarf form with variegated foliage which is useful 

 in formal bedding. Division of the roots is the most expedi- 

 tious method of propagating both plants. 



Cambridge, Mass. Al. barker. 



The Pear Psylla. 



PEAR orchards in some sections of New York have been 

 seriously injured by a small, sucking insect, commonly 

 called the Pear psylla. It appears to be particularly abundant 

 in the Hudson River Valley, but orchards in the lake-regions 

 of the western part of the state have also been seriously injured. 

 This insect was uncommonly destructive during the past year. 

 At the Cornell Station experiments have been made to deter- 

 mine at what stage of its existence the pest may be most suc- 

 cessfully treated. Mr. Slingerland, assistant in the entomolog- 

 ical department, has had charge of the work, and has arrived 

 at some interesting conclusions. 



The Pear psylla, which did so much damage during the past 

 summer, is probably a new species. In general appearance it 

 closely resembles the cicadas or " locusts," but the mature 

 insect is only about an eighth of an inch long. Mr. Slingerland 

 found adult forms in crevices of the bark during winter and 

 early spring, and it is probable that the insect passes the winter 

 in this form only, as no eggs could be found. During April 

 and early May these adults lay their eggs, generally near the 

 ends of the smaller twigs. The eggs are very small, ovoid, 

 and of a shining yellow color. They hatch in about three 

 weeks, the time depending somewhat upon the weather. The 

 young insect is quite flat. The insects soon crawl toward the 

 extremities of the shoots and begin operations among the 

 petioles of the young leaves or upon the young shoots. Some 

 are also found upon the midveins of the leaves. These 

 immature forms secrete a nectar or honey-dew in such quan- 

 tities that sometimes the secretion in two days will be equal in 

 amount to the bulk of the insects themselves. It is probable 

 that the viscid substance which was so abundant upon aftected 



trees last year was not the sap of the tree, but was the secre- 

 tion of the insect. Later in the season affected branches 

 assumed a black, sooty appearance. The number of broods 

 produced in a season has not yet been determined. 



Mr. Slingerland has tried a number of insecticides for the 

 destruction of the eggs and the immature forms. Eggs were 

 dipped in several solutions, but even pure kerosene failed to 

 kill them. It seems doubtful if the destruction of the eggs is 

 practicable. The trees were sprayed with Riley's kerosene 

 emulsion as soon as most of the eggs had hatched. A few 

 days later fully three-fourths of the young insects were dead. 

 This result is very encouraging. If further experiments verify 

 the results, the Pear psylla is practically under control. It 

 must be remembered, however, that this season has been ex- 

 ceptionally rainy, and the viscid substance in which the insect 

 appears to delight in burying itself has probably been washed 

 off as soon as it appeared, thus allowing the emulsion to reach 

 the insect. Last year was dry, and during early summer it 

 was utterly impossible to strike the pest with any applications. 

 The fact that the young insect can be destroyed by the kero- 

 sene emulsion is, nevertheless, of the highest importance. 



Cornell University. E, G. L, 



Correspondence. 



The Color and Form of Houses. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Gratitude is due from your readers to Mrs. Robbins for 

 recommending, in a recent number of Garden and Forest, 

 the use of warm quiet colors in the painting of houses. In the 

 article alluded to it is justly intimated that it matters little what 

 may be the color of suburban and country houses in summer 

 when surrounded by a wealth of foliage. But when the leaves 

 have fallen, all defects of outline and all crudeness of tmt come 

 into bold relief in our clear, thin atmosphere. The house di- 

 vested of its natural embellishments should, by the faultless- 

 ness of its structure, satisfy the eye as perfectly as does the 

 architecture of the tree when stripped of its leaves. But this is 

 far from being the case, and nature in America does not will- 

 ingly cloak architectural frauds or blend inharmonious hues. 

 The clouds, even, do not descend as in England, to envelop 

 and give an added charm of mystery to form and color, and 

 the Lichens, which mellow and adorn stone walls quite gen- 

 erally, hold themselves aloof from wood. 



The house which requires to be painted is at best a make- 

 shift. Although the wooden house may be cheap in the be- 

 ginning, the annual expenditure for paint and putty, in the long 

 run, makes it both expensive and unsatisfactory. It is there- 

 fore surprising that the thrifty New Englander should continue 

 to endure this added strain upon his purse and patience ; but 

 there are men of whom it cannot be said " they builded better 

 than they knew." On the contrary, they have, in a certain 

 sense, built less well. It often happens that in youth the 

 imagination is dazzled by a house more showy than beautiful, 

 or, in spite of its defects, it may be endeared by home associa- 

 tion. These recollections are lasting, the mind is haunted, 

 and, as it were, preempted by them, and in a measure is cut 

 off from receiving new impressions. It therefore follows in 

 the course of time, when fortune is achieved and a plot of land 

 bought, that the house intended to adorn it is constructed with 

 reference to past standards of excellence rather than in accord- 

 ance with present opportunities and knowledge. 



Stone and brick are the appropriate materials for buildings. 

 Their natural color is beautiful and suited to the temperature 

 and atmospheric conditions of all seasons. The boulders which 

 abound in every New England field furnish abundant material 

 for country houses. In the hands of a skillful architect, when 

 combined with unpainted shingles, they produce a grateful ef- 

 fect of solidity and repose. Such houses seem to have 

 emerged by a natural process of growth from the earth itself, 

 and harmonize with the landscape as no other colors or mate- 

 rials would. The vines which grow about them appear to be 

 an integral part of the structure, and render other embellish- 

 ments superfluous ; nor is there the same need, as with frame- 

 houses, for constant painting and repairing, advantages not to 

 be esteemed lightly where there are so many petty cares con- 

 nected with hasty workmanship and perishable materials. 



Moreover, in the use of brick and stone it is almost impos- 

 sible to be vulgar ; at any rate, it requires a deliberate effort to 

 be so. With wood, on the other hand, every architectural 

 abomination is possible. The ease with which it is worked has 

 rendered it the most available material for meretricious orna- 

 ment ; it has of late years fed the insatiate jig-saw and stimu- 

 lated the already unbridled passion for the paint-pot. The 



