46 



Garden and Forest. 



[March 21, 1888. 



it will not freeze, until about the lirst of May in this latitude, 

 when, as soon as the ground becomes warm, it may be 

 sown out-of-doors. If the seed is not washed clean as soon as 

 possible after gathering, it quickly becomes rancid, and will 

 not germinate readily; but when thoroughly cleaned and mi.xed 

 with damp sand it will keep for a long time. I have sown the 

 seed without washing, and the pulp in rotting soured the soil 

 and a fungus appeared in it, so that tlie plants had to be moved 

 into fresh soil to save them. 



When the Magnolias are propagated by grafting, the stocks 

 should be well established in pots the year before and plunged 

 in a frame or other sheltered place and cared for during the 

 summer. When cold weather approaches, the pots should be 

 removed, before they freeze, to a pit or frame where they can 

 be protected until used. They can be grafted successfully 

 from the middle of January to the middle of March either by 

 side or cleft-grafting under double frames — that is, under a 

 box frame in the green-house. They prefer a slight bottom 

 heat to start the roots into working- condition. The frame 

 should be kept close for a few days, or weeks, during bright 

 weather, but air may be given when the house is closed and 

 on cloudy days. A slight syringing- once or twice a day in 

 bright weather will be beneficial. It is usually from three to 

 five weeks before grafts can be considered established, although 

 in from seven to ten days an estimate can be niade of what 

 percentage has " taken." Magnolias can also be grafted from 

 half ripened wood from July to Septeniber, and they can be 

 budded during August or September. They are usuallv 

 grafted on stock of M. acuminata and JM. Uinbrellaj some pre- 

 ferring the latter because of its abundant fibrous roots and the 

 ease with which it can be transplanted. I prefer, however, M. 

 acuminata, because the other species suckers, and unless 

 great care is taken these shoots will kill out the graft in the 

 young- stock. 



Magnolias can also be increased by layering ; in fact, luitil 

 within a few years this vi-as the favorite method of propagation, 

 and few gardeners knew how to graft them. Laj^ering is a 

 simple operation, and can be performed in spring or summer. 

 A small trench is dug a little way from the plant, and into this 

 branches are bent down and held lirnily with hooked pegs. 

 The ends are then turned up, the young branches are tongued 

 under an eye and the trench is filled up with good loam. 

 In hot, dry weather, water should be given occasionally. If 

 layered early some of them will root the first season, although 

 rnany of the Magnolias will not root until the second year. As 

 soon as rooting takes place, the branch should be separated 

 from the old plant, pruned into shape and transplanted into 

 good soil in the nurserv. 



"Jamaica Plain. Mass. ' JacksOn DaU'SOU. 



Rules for 



Planting Wind-breaks. 



''I^HE influence of the wind-break is local and almost entirely 

 •'• mechanical. It prevents the fierce sweep of winds over 

 the surface of the ground, and therefore tends to diminish 

 evaporation frorn the soil and from plants, especially in cold 

 weather, and to lessen the mechanical injury to trees and 

 bush-fruits. It is apparent to all good observers, however, 

 that wind-breaks are sometimes injurious. Therefore there 

 must be certain rules to govern their planting. The most im- 

 portant of these rules, for Michigan especially, may be briefly 

 stated : 



1. The wind-brcalc slionid not obstruct atniosplwric drainage. 

 Cold air is heavier than warm air, and it therefore settles into 

 the lower areas. Elevated areas are consequently warmer 

 than low ones in still -weather. Inasmuch as these high 

 lands are more wind-swept than others, it has become a com- 

 mon impression that the wind itself is in some manner a pro- 

 tection to fruit plantations, whereas the protection really comes 

 from atiiiospheric drainage. The w-ind-break upon most of 

 the elevated areas, therefore, should be open enough to allow 

 of the free drainage of air. In such localities a tight wall of 

 evergreens is apt to be positively injurious. Deciduous trees, 

 with perhaps a sparse admi.xture of evergreens, niake the 

 better wind-breaks for such places. If should be borne in 

 mind that the object is riot to stop the wind, but rather to break 

 its force, to check it. Breakwaters are often niade of a netwoi-k 

 of naked spiles rather than a solid wall. 



In many interior localities a dense wind-break on the north 

 and west e.xcites an early growth in tender fruits, thereby 

 increasing danger from late spring frosts. Hence : 



2. The wind-break should never be dense enottgli to force the 

 buds on fruit trees, in those localities wluch are subject 

 to late spring frosts. It is evident, therefore, that Spruces 



and other evergreens should be planted sparingly in such 

 places, and that deciduous trees, which do not come early into 

 leaf, should be chosen. 



One of the most disastrous elTects of winds in the orchard, 

 and especially in small fruit plantations, is the sweeping of the 

 surface of the ground, causing excessive evaporation, carrying 

 oft' the snow and thereby exposing the roots and crowns of the 

 plants to danger. Therefore : 



3. As a rule, in localities where atmospheric drainage will 

 not be seriously checked, the wind-break should have a compar- 

 atively dense bottom, formed by ttndergrowth or low-branching 

 trees. 



All crops closely adjoining the wind-break suffer from lack 

 of moisture and food supply, and many small plants, as bush- 

 fruits and nursery stock, are broken by the accumulating 

 snow. Hence : 



4. So far as practicable, the wind-break should be planted at a 

 distance of six rods or more from the fruit platitation. 



In our severe climate only the most hardy and vigorous 

 trees should be planted ; or, in other words : 



5. Native trees and shrubs are preferable for wind-breaks. 

 Of exotic trees, only the Norway Spruce and Apple are desir- 

 blefor wind-breaks in Michigan. L. H. Bailey. 



The Forest. 



The Forests of Vancouver Island. 



VANCOUVER ISLAND is situated between the parallels 

 0148'^ and 51*^ N. lat. and between 123° and 128° W. 

 long-. It is about 240 miles in length and from 40 to 

 70 in breadth and contains about 14,000 square mile.s. 

 With the exception of the southern part and a few settle- 

 ments at Nanaimo and Comox, the -whole island is still 

 covered by heav)' forest. 



Through the centre of the island runs a ridge of i-noun- 

 tainous country of varying width, wdiich, commencing 

 with Donald Peak at Metchosin, runs north-westerly, and, 

 constantly increasing in altitude, culminates in Mount 

 Arrowsmith, about 100 rniles from Victoria. This moun- 

 tain is 5,976 feet high, but to the north numerous peaks 

 rise much higli£r, ranging frorn 6,000 to 8,000 feet in 

 height. Lying between the mountain .chains, or at the 

 base of the single mountains, are numerous lakes of clear 

 water, which are frequently united by connectmg streams 

 and discharged into the sea by rivers of no great size. 



It will thus be seen that but a small portion of the sur- 

 face of the island is level; indeed, it is for the most part so 

 elevated that it must be called mountainous rather than 

 hill}'. Owing- to the position of the island, in regard to the 

 Pacific, the low grounds seem to have just as damp an 

 atmosphere as the more elevated parts, and a -wet, cloudy 

 winter is succeeded by a cloudless, though not atmos- 

 pherically dry, summer. These conditions will account 

 for the rei-i-iarkable growth of timber on the island and the 

 appearance of certain trees north of their expected range. 

 The forest ought, therefore, to be composed chiefly of 

 mountain species, and this is the fact, as the hardwood 

 trees of the low or coast districts are of little account in 

 the general distribution. 



The Oak {Quercus Garryana) occupies more superficial 

 area than all the other deciduous trees together. It is 

 abundant in all the district around Victoria, seldom grow- 

 ing tall and straight like the eastern Oaks, but appearing 

 more like the 'trees in English parks. Usually the lai-ge 

 trees gro^v singly amongst the rocks, and their gnarled 

 trunks and wide spreading limbs appear out of place in 

 America. ■ North of Victoria it becomes scarce and at last 

 ceases to grow at Comox, 140 miles to the north. 



Two other trees claim particular notice. These are the 

 Madrona {Arbutus 3/ensiesii) and the Flowering Dogwood 

 {Corniis Nntta/lii.) The former, w-ith its large laurel-like 

 evergreen leaves and reddish bark, -would claim attention 

 anywhere, but to find it a stately forest tree north of the 

 49th parallel is a remarkable fact. On all the islands in 

 the Gulf of Georgia, and on all the exposed points of 



