562 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 248. 



pink, gave an early pink-flowered variety, with Goldfinder's 

 peculiar character of flower. Violet Rose dominated all it 

 came in contact with, but produced no seedlings itsell; of any 

 distinct value. It was not always the strongest variety which 

 made the greatest impression. Mrs. Alpheus Hardy showed its 

 influence upon all it came in contact with — some very distinct 

 varieties producing pure white spiny flowers. The pure in- 

 curved Chinese completely dominated the Japanese. Louis 

 Boehmer X .Belle Pointevine, white, gave a first-rate white 

 incurved flower ; and by a yellow incurved, various shades of 

 yellow and bronze, all incurved, and very few spiny. The 

 incurved forms, on the contrary, showed no trace of Japanese 

 influence, all coming perfectly and truly incurved. The whites 

 varied to yellow, and yellows to white. 



It has been suggested that better results might be had by 

 emasculating the fertile florets of the disk, pollenizing only the 

 ligulate florets. In my experience, seeds from the ligulate 

 florets are not produced in the proportion of more than one 

 seed to one flower, or, botanically, one head of flowers. A 

 further, and more reasonable, suggestion is to take the fertile 

 florets found scattered through the ligulate ones, even in the 

 most double flower, as being less liable to insect agency than 

 an open disk. 



The deductions are, that while artificial crossing may, and 

 often does, give the result looked for, we have not yet estab- 

 lished any laws which we can trust with any degree of certainty. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. H. 



New Cypripediums. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Cypripedium x Ephialtes is the name proposed for a 

 cross between C. insigne Chantinii and C. auroreum. It is com- 

 pact in habit ; the foliage is sparsely mottled with deep green 

 on a pale ground, silvery underneath ; the single flower is pro- 

 duced on a brown pubescent scape ; the dorsal sepal is orbicu- 

 lar, pubescent on the back, front smooth, very pale green, 

 bordered with white and carmine, with the radiate veins bright 

 green, the principal ones spotted with brown ; inferior sepal 

 veined with pale green, petals pointed, margined with black 

 hairs, rich brown, veined and shaded with green, with an oc- 

 casional dark brown spot on the surface and margin, lip acute, 

 brown on front, pale green beneath, with darker veins, infolded 

 lobes dull waxy yellow, speckled with brown, staminode green 

 and brown. 



Cypripedium x luridum, var. grandiflorum, is the largest of 

 the Harrisianum section, and one of Pitcher & Manda's hy- 

 brids between that species and C. auroreum. The foliage is 

 bold and striking, scape pubescent, flower waxy, dorsal sepal 

 twisted, veined with dark green, and shaded with brown on a 

 white ground ; petals minutely pubescent on margins, rich 

 brown with green nerves, and a median line of dull purple ; 

 lip dull green-yellow, faced and veined with brown. 



Cypripedium X Cybele. This beautiful hybrid is the result 

 of a cross between C. Drurii and C. Lawrenceanum. The 

 foliage is glossy, compact, six inches long by two wide, light 

 pea-green with deep green neuration ; scape and seed-pod 

 brown, very pubescent ; flower much the shape of Drurii; 

 dorsal sepal flat, slightly incurved, villous on the back and 

 margin, white, shaded and reticulate veined with pale green 

 and vinous brown, with a deep brown midvein ; inferior sepal 

 white, with striate green veins; petals somewhat incurved, 

 with apices reflexed, pilose on the margins, brown, shaded 

 with green, with a median vein of rich vinous purple, spotted 

 near the base with brown ; lip symmetrical, rich waxy brown, 

 paler beneath, pubescent and speckled with purple inside ; 

 staminode broadly obcordate, vinous purple, with a pale green 

 spot in centre. This plant is one of the most conspicuous of 

 the genus. It was raised by Pitcher & Manda. 



All three of the above plants are now in bloom in the collec- 

 tion of Mr. Graves, of Orange, New Jersey. „ , ^ 

 Orange, N. J. Robert M. Grey. 



Snow Scenes. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — This morning everything was covered with a mantle 

 of soft snow, like that more often seen in late winter or early 

 spring. The impressions, always so pleasing, which such a 

 scene gives, were in this case heightened by the fact that some 

 trees and shrubs have not yet lost all their foliage, and the 

 effects produced by the different manner in which the snow 

 was held were especially pleasing. An Apple-tree, for 

 example, still bearing a few leaves, had the outlines of its 

 crowded angular twigs brought out with particular distinct- 



ness. Near by is a bank of natural forest-growth, largely 

 composed of tall evergreens, among which an occasional 

 deciduous tree reached out its bare arms, now conspicuous 

 with their covering of white. On the street a group of 

 Birches still held most of their foliage, and the faded color of 

 the leaves, inseparably mingled with the minute patches of 

 white, produced a curious, if not wholly artistic, effect. The 

 Hemlocks and Pines stood out in strong contrast, one with its 

 broad and heavy masses of white, the other with its more 

 broken and varied outline, or in older and more thinly leaved 

 specimens, with the needle-like leaflets still upright, and hold- 

 ing their beautiful load like a broken mass of foam. 



These varying effects all emphasize the value of mixed 

 groups in planting, and also the advisability of considering 

 the character of different trees and shrubs in respect to this 

 phase of their winter aspects. These lessons come but 

 seldom, yet to most of us they pass unheeded. Even this is 

 written from memory, as the scene is recalled. No doubt I 

 could have found many specially beautiful effects to note if 

 my attention had been fully aroused this morning, but now 

 they are gone and I can only regret that, having eyes, I saw 

 not until it was too late. 



Cornell University. Fred W. Card. 



Exhibitions. 

 The Cincinnati Chrysanthemum Show. 



A MOST delightful exhibition opened in this city on Novem- 

 -'"^ ber 8th, and continued throughout the week. Music 

 Hall, one of the grandest auditoriums in the west, was 

 tastefully decorated for the display of cut flowers, which 

 were arranged on large tables nicely draped in yellow, the 

 predominant color, and which made a pleasant setting for 

 the tall crystal vases, which were large and heavy enough to 

 display to their very best advantage the truly regal specimen 

 blooms sent in by the numerous exhibitors, who had been 

 attracted by an unusually liberal premium list. 



One of the most attractive entries in the show was that call- 

 ing for three blooms each of fifty distinct varieties. Nine 

 tables of 150 blooms each competed in this class, constituting a 

 whole exhibition in itself, and so uniformly good were these 

 entries that the judges, Mr. John Thorpe and Mr. E. A. Wood, 

 had considerable difficulty in forming their decision. Mrs. 

 F. T. McFadden was awarded first premium, $150; E. G. Hill 

 & Co. came a close second, and Frederick Dorner a very 

 close third. The number of varieties of recent origin was 

 most noticeable, and we specially noted the following recent 

 novelties, all in fine form, as weak stems and poor foliage 

 were debarred from premiums : Edward Hatch, Harry Balsley, 

 Mrs. Governor Fifer, George W. Childs, Colonel Smith, J. H. 

 Taylor, Elmer D. Smith, Mermaid, Roslyn, Harry May, Sugar 

 Loaf, Eda Prass, C. B. Whitnall, Golden Gate, Dr. Callendreau, 

 Madame Forgeot, Marguerite Jeffords, Hicks Arnold, Mrs. L. 

 C. Madeira, Potter Palmer, Viviand Morel, Mrs. Drexel, Flora 

 Hill, Jos. H. White, besides many others from the recent 

 sets. Harry Balsley attracted much attention, its color being 

 similar to that of V. H. Hallock, and Marguerite Jeffords, as 

 shown by Dorner, was one of the finest flowers in the hall, 

 regular and very compact, and of fine size and color. 



Of almost equal interest with the above was the class call- 

 ing for best fifteen varieties, three flowers of each. This was 

 won by George R. Gause & Co., Richmond, Indiana, and was 

 generally thought to contain the most uniformly excellent flow- 

 ers in the show. The fifteen varieties were : V. H. Hallock, 

 Marguerite Jeffords, Mrs. A. J. Drexel, Mrs. L. C. Madeira, S. 

 W. AUerton, Frank Thomson, Colonel Smith, L. Canning, 

 C. H. McCormick, Edw. Hatch, Mademoiselle C. Krieger, 

 Golden Gate, M. Wanamaker, Harry Widener. 



The prize for twelve best pink blooms was won by Viviand 

 Morel; twelve best white, by Ivory; twelve best yellow, by 

 H. E. Widener ; twelve best of any color, by E. G. Hill ; and a 

 vase of twelve Mermaids, shown by George Gause, was so fine 

 as to call for a special award of merit. 



As usual, very great interest centred in the seedlings ; the 

 award for the best one never exhibited previous to 1892 was 

 won by Nathan Smith & Son with Niveus, a very fine white 

 variety of immense size, a perfect ball of straight erect petals, 

 the foliage showing it to be a fine grower. For second best 

 seedling not previously exhibited, the award was made to 

 Henry Rieman, of Indianapolis, for Irma, a small, perfectly 

 incurving Chinese, of violet-pink color. This won enthusiastic 

 commendation from both judges, but, as usual, the Chinese 

 regularity failed to please the public at large, as do the more 

 imposing Japanese forms. 



