456 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 239. 



A correspondent writes that the practice of removing tassels 

 from Indian Corn, to which we alluded on page 3S4, is prac- 

 ticed largely in southern Euro|)e, where only a few of the male 

 llowers are left to fertilize the ear. The tops are used as 

 green fodder for cattle, which is very scarce during the sum- 

 mer months. 



Some months ago we published an appeal for the preserva- 

 tion of Poe's cottage, which stands in a much-neglected con- 

 dition at Fordham. Now we learn that it is to be preserved, 

 although not on its present site. It has been bought by a 

 well-known Catholic publisher, and will be removed to his 

 grounds, which, however, are in the near vicinity, and trans- 

 formed into a library and studio for his use. 



The recent blueberry season in iVlaine was a very good one, 

 and surprising accounts have been given of the activity of the 

 canning factories where this fruit is preserved. It was not un- 

 common, we are told, for 700 or 800 bushels of blueberries to 

 be delivered at the door of a single factory during one morn- 

 ing, and as all had to be canned within the twenty-four hours, 

 operatives were kept at work until one or two o'clock at night. 

 Whole schooner-loads of the canned product were shipped to 

 Boston and other seaports. 



At a recent convention of the American Florists in Washing- 

 ton the question, What are the twelve best monthly or ever- 

 blooming Roses for amateurs ? was answered by Mr. P. O'Mara, 

 of New York, and Mr. E. G. Hill, of Richmond, Indiana. Both lists 

 contained the following Roses: Agrippina, Clothilde Soupert, 

 Souvenir de Malmaison and Madame Hoste. To these Mr. 

 Hill added Mrs. George Paul, Crown l^rincess Victoria, La 

 France, Duchess of Albany, General D. Mertchansky, Som- 

 breuil. Meteor and Grace Darling; while Mr. O'Mara named 

 Hermosa, Perledes Jardins, The Bride, Sunset, Catharine Mer- 

 met, Mrs. DeGraw, Bon Silene and Madame Pierre Guillot. 



A late number of the Gardeners' Chronicle gives the figure 

 of a curious hybrid between a Black Currant and a Goose- 

 berry, in which the hanging fruits resemble a currant, while 

 the leaves resemble somewhat those of the Gooseberry. The 

 fruit appears in bunches of from two to four. They are about 

 the size of black currants, but in color like a red gooseberry, 

 and are covered with fine hairs and destitute of seeds. The 

 flavor partakes of that of a gooseberry and a black currant, and 

 seems to Dr. Masters to be an improvement on both. If 

 gooseberries of improved flavor can be grown in clusters and 

 on a bush without spines, Mr. Culverwell, the producer of this 

 new hybrid, will prove a benefactor to horticulture. 



A correspondent of the journal of Horticulture names the 

 following as the best of thirty-six varieties of Sweet Peas 

 raised by Mr. Henry Eckford, and displayed at a recent exhi- 

 bition in Shrewsbury : Emily Eckford ; this approaches a true 

 blue, the v/ings of a well-marked cerulean tint, but the standard 

 suffused with reddish mauve. Peach-blossom; the wings soft 

 rose, shaded with cerise, the standard rosy red at the base, 

 shading upward to pale pink. Ovid ; one of the most richly 

 colored varieties yet raised — a brilliant rosy carmine. Royal 

 Robin ; a clear pink, with blush wings and a white keel. 

 Venus ; a blush-colored flower, with a suffusion of pale yel- 

 low, very distinct. Stanley ; a dark flower, with standard and 

 wings brownish purple, almost black. Blushing Beauty ; soft 

 pink, suffused with lilac. Lady Penzance ; large smooth 

 flowers with a prevailing color of lustrous rose. 



The following brief paper was read by Mr. T. T. Swinburne 

 at the last session of the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science : " It is suggested that the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, in the absence of 

 a national flower, request the management of the Columbian 

 Exposition to adopt the Columbine as the flower of the Fair, 

 leaving the national flower, whatever it prove to be, to grow 

 in popularity. Its name comes from the same root as Colum- 

 bia, a name our country often bears ; it is classed with the 

 Aquilegia or eagle variety, because its petals end in spurs re- 

 sembling the talons of an eagle ; it grows in red, white and 

 blue, our national colors ; it has five trumpet-shaped petals, 

 corresponding to the five points of the star upon our flag, and 

 these are grouped around a central shaft, similar to the ar- 

 rangement of the states around the central government ; and 

 it is indigenous to the North American continent, a hardy per- 

 ennial and wild flower that is found in every part of our land, 

 growing even upon the Rocky Mountains, and in the very 

 heart of the country. It is appropriate in name, form and 

 color. Its name suggests Columbia, and its form is the proto- 



type of the Phrygian liberty cap, the head-dress of Cokmibia, 

 and an exact copy of the cornucopia, the symbol of the Co- 

 lumbian Exposition." 



"It is worth one's while" says a recent writer in a Boston 

 journal, "to go to the Parker Memorial Building to see the 

 labor of love which is being done by the young ladies who are 

 interested in the Flower Mission. Inside there are groups of 

 girls sorting the flowers, and around the door stand groups of 

 children, some with baskets, some without, all lingering to 

 obtain their much-prized posies. When the flowers have all 

 been arranged, the work of distribution begins, and the young 

 ladies start about on their errands which are to make so many 

 people happy. At the hospitals, patients, nurses and sur- 

 geons are waiting for their visits, and the thankful looks 

 and the grateful words repay them for all their trouble. 

 To the crowded workshops some of the girls go and pass 

 around among the workers, giving to each a bouquet. These 

 are cherished, and when the day's work is done they are taken 

 home to brighten up the ordinarily cheerless rooms in dark 

 tenements. On a single day in July, and not an exceptional 

 day either, 1,594 bunches of flowers were sent out to various 

 institutions, besides some which were given away at the door 

 of the Mission ; and, in addition, fruits, jellies and vegetables 

 were largely distributed. Nevertheless, the demand was 

 always greater than the supply, and there is need for all livers 

 in the country or owners of urban or suburban gardens to be 

 constantly reminded of the existence of these missions, and of 

 the infinite pleasure they give to the very poor." 



The "Sacred Lotus," Nelumbiumspeciosum, has found a con- 

 genial home in one of the small lakes of Central Park, New York 

 City. It has been established three years, and this season 

 covers an expanse of considerably over half an acre, being, 

 probably, the best example of the plant to be seen in the 

 United States. The plants are thrifty, with leaves of the larg- 

 est size, and at present hundreds of the noble flowers are 

 open, while innumerable seed-pods show the wealth of bloom 

 of the earlier season. Given a soil in which the tubers may 

 mature properly each season, this Nelumbium will not only 

 grow luxuriantly, but it can be counted on as perfectly hardy. 

 In the large fountain-basin at the head of the Mall there are 

 some exceptionally good specimens of Nymphsa Zanzibaren- 

 sis, both the blue and red varieties. The tubers are said to 

 be three years old. The large highly* colored flowers and 

 ample foliage attract more attention than any of the other 

 varieties in the same basin. N. Devoniensis, N. Sturtevanti 

 and N. dentata are represented, but these night-flowering vari- 

 eties are not seen to the same advantage here as in such basins 

 as Union Square, where there are electric lights. Masses of 

 the Egyptian Papyrus with the Nymphjeas make an effecflve 

 picture in the upper basin, it not being at all crowded, and 

 there being ample margins of water among the various plants. 

 Abundant spaces of clear water around aquatic plants are the 

 main essential to the perfect harmony and beauty of a water- 

 garden. A tank or a lake covered entirely, even with the 

 choicest plants, is, at its best, commonplace. 



At the late Begonia Conference at Chiswick, England, the 

 remarkable evolution of the present race of garden Begonias 

 was illustrated by a collection from ICew, which showed the 

 various stages of its progress from the original forms. In the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle the singular fact is stated that several 

 of the original species which formed the starting-points of this 

 remarkable development have apparently disappeared from 

 gardens, the parents having been completely superseded by 

 their more attractive progeny. Historically, this is unfortu- 

 nate, but the loss is not so great as it seems, for it must be re- 

 membered that these plants, unlike Orchids, have not been 

 exterminated in their native haunts, and they can be reintro- 

 duced. Again, a much more complete record, both in the way 

 of illustration and verbal description, has been made than was 

 formerly done. It is not long ago since the source of novel- 

 ties and the origin of crosses were often carefully concealed, 

 and sometimes deliberately misrepresented, in the supposed 

 interest of trade. We agree with I)r. Masters that it would be 

 well if the hybridizers of these plants should in the future 

 make an attempt to secure greater hardiness and greater va- 

 riety, to form new and distinct races, and that they sliould give 

 over attempts to produce flowers which are merely larger than 

 they are now. If hybridizers and cross-breeders will follow 

 the natural lines of the flower, will enhance and emphasize 

 them rather than attempt to reduce them all to one uniform 

 circular outline, they will not create flowers which, so far as 

 their form is concerned, might be Hollyhocks or Double Bal- 

 sams or Camellias or anything else than Begonias. 



