ii8 



Garden and Forest. 



[May 2, 1888. 



Comparing the White Pine with other European and a few 

 American Conifers, I lind the following results in regard to 

 speciiic gravity and resinosity of the wood : 



Specific Per cent, of re- 

 Gravity sin in 100 parts 

 (by weight of 

 dry wood.} 



(Water 



100.) 



78 



63 



55 

 48 



47 



41 

 41 

 39 



39 

 38 



II. I 



2.8 



4.8 



5- 



4-9 



6. 

 1.6 



75 

 6.7 



(i.) Long-leaved pine {Piiitis pahistris), 



sent to Europe as pitch-pine - 

 (2.) Larch, grown in Tyrol and known 



as the best and most durable of all 



liuropean Conifers - - - - 

 (3.) Wood of the same tree grown in the 



milder climate of the plains 

 (4.) Common European pine (Pinus sylves- 



tn's), 113 years old - - . - 

 (5.) Common European pine (/';>; //j sylves- 



/ri's), 235 years old - - - - 

 (6.) Red pine {Pimts resinosa), grown in 



Minnesota ----- 



(7.) European spruce {Picca cxcclsa), 

 (8.) " 'i\v [Abies pecti/tata), 



(9.) White pine (grown in America), 130 



years old ------ 



(10.) White pine (grown in Bavaria), 80 



years old ------ 



If we arrange the different trees according to the amount of 

 resin found in their heart-wood we have the following order ; 

 (I.) Pinits pa/iistris (as representing 



the section with 3 needles in one sheath). 

 .(2.) " Strobus - - - - 5 " .... 



(3.) " sylves/ris and resinosa - 2 " " " 



(4.) The Larch (representing the genus Larix). 

 (5.) " Spruce " " " Picea). 



(6.) " Fir " " " Abies). 



There cannot be the slightest doubt that the wood of the 

 European Larch is far more durable than that of the European 

 Pine and of the White Pine ; still the amount of resin is hardly 

 half as great in a Larch as in a Pine ; even the wood of European 

 Spruce is superior in durability to that of the White Pine. 

 From this fact we are bound to say that the speciiic gravity or 

 the substances that give to the heart-wood its color, are more 

 important factors in determining the durability of a coniferous 

 wood than the amount of resin. I think that the order of 

 resinosity, viz,: Piniis, Larix, Picea, Abies, holds good not 

 only for the European, but also for the American representa- 

 tives of these genera. H. AJajr. 



Correspondence. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest ; 



I have been consulted recently by one of our largest dealers 

 in flowers for an inflammation of the skin of the hands and 

 face. The appearances which these parts presented indicated 

 a dermatitis venenata of an eczematous type, and the patient 

 expressed the opinion also that the inflammation had been 

 caused by contact with some "poisonous" plant in his shop. 

 He stated, moreover, that some of his assistants were affected 

 in a similar way. The trouble manifested itself in all of them 

 for the first time within a few weeks, and in his own case there 

 had been three distinct recurrences of it within that period. 

 His impression was that it had begun about the time that he 

 had been handling large quantities of Acacia pubescens and 

 Primula obconica, and he suspected one of these plants to be 

 the cause of the inflammation. 



I visited the shop, and found one of the salesmen presenting 

 a similar disorder of the face and hands. The former was 

 red, somewhat swollen, and irritable, and the latter exhibited 

 a papular eruption. Anotlier salesman stated that his face had 

 lieen irritated, but it presented slight visible clianges. There 

 were several other empfoyees in the estalilishment, whose 

 sivins were unalTected. I was told Ijy some of them that it 

 was a well-known trick in g-reen-houses to shake a plant of 

 .Icacia pubescens over a green workman to excite an itching of 

 the skin. Primula obconica was the only plant sold for the first 

 time this season, and large quantities of this had been han- 

 dled. I made a list of the plants which were then, or had 

 1 leen during the preceding month, for sale in the shop. Tliey 

 were : 



Acacia pubescens. Calceolaria. 



Amaryllis, two varieties. Calendula. 



Anemone, Roman [A. ho?-- Calla. 



tensis). Camellia. 



Azaleas. Cinereria. 



Bouvardia. Coreopsis. 



Cyclamen. 

 Cypripeihim insigne. 



Harrisii. 

 Cytisus. 

 Daisy {Bellis). 

 Erica. 

 Ferns. 



Foliage plants. 

 Freesia. 

 Galax (leaves). 

 Hyacinths. 

 Hydrangeas. 

 Jonquils. 

 Lilium longijiorum. 



" candiiium. 



" Harrisii. 



Lily-of- Valley. 

 Marguerite [Chrysanthe- 

 mum frutesceiis). 

 Mignonette. 

 Narcissus. 

 Nasturtium. 

 Pansy. 

 Pink. 



Polyanthus. 

 Primulas. 

 Roses. 

 Smilax. 



Spircea 'Japonica. 

 Tulips. 

 Violets. 

 Wall Flowers. 



In my work on "Dermatitis Venenata," recently published, 

 I give a list of eighty-six genera of plants, one or more spe- 

 cies of which have been known, on good authority, to produce 

 some degree of inflammation of the skin by contact, but in the 

 collection above named there was but one species which finds 

 a place in my list, viz., Tropaolum majus, or Garden Nastur- 

 tium. This I have known, in a few instances, to give rise to a 

 severe inflammation of the skin of persons handling it, al- 

 though it is ordinarily innocuous. It had been always handled, 

 however, by all the persons afl'ected in this instance with im- 

 punity. The only other plants above named, which are closely 

 allied to species known to be " poisonous," are the Anemone, 

 Cypripedium and Marguerite. Several of the Anemones, 

 especially .1. neinorosa, A. patens, and^. horiensis, possess irrita- 

 tive properties, and are even capableof vesicating the skin, but I 

 have no knowledge of such action on the part of that in ques- 

 tion. I know, on the authority of the late Professor Babcock, 

 a distinguished botanist of Chicago, that our native Cypripe- 

 dium pubescens is capableof producing as severe inflammation 

 of the skin as Rhus Toxicodendron. The French Daisy, or 

 Marguerite, is also, so far as I know, innocent, but its relation- 

 ship to Leucanthemum vutgare and Manila cotula, our White- 

 weeds, makes it a possible object of suspicion. 



There can be no doubt, in my opinion, that the cutaneous 

 affection in these cases was of an artificial character, and that 

 the exciting cause is to be sought among the plants recenfly 

 handled in this extensive establishment. If it be some one of 

 these lately introduced into cultivation and the public market, 

 it is important that it should be discovered. It was suggested 

 as a possible explanation by the proprietor, my patient, that 

 some of the fertilizers used about low-gtowing plants, as 

 Violets, etc., might have accumulated upon the leaves, and 

 thus be transferred to the hands in making up bunches for 

 sale, or that some of the mildews upon the foliage might, 

 perhaps, be irritating when handled. Ustilago hypodites, 

 parasitic upon Ariindo donax, is a freciuent cause of cutaneous 

 inflammation among the workers in this Reed in France, but I 

 am acquainted with no other fungus with such properties. 



As it seems probable that the oft'ender in this case is some 

 new plant, I wrote to Professor Goodale asking him if he had 

 known the suspected Acacia or Primula to cause such irrita- 

 tion. He replies : 



" Our gardeners say that they have not experienced any 

 trouble from A. pubescens or P. obconica, but that there is a 

 plant, as yet undetected, which has lately given them a good 

 deal of irritation." 



It is with the hope that some cultivator of, or dealer in, 

 flowers may be able to throw light upon the matter, that I send 

 this communication to Garden .a.nd Forest. 



Harvard Medical School, Boston. JamcsC. Wllite. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — You will, perhaps, be interested to hear that by far the 

 most beautiful of the southern California shade trees is the 

 Pepper tree. Its graceful form, delicate foliage, feathery sprays 

 of white blossoms, and long pendant clusters of red berries, all 

 present in profusion at every season of the year, nrake a most 

 effective feature in nearly all the streets and parks of Los 

 Angeles. Its growth is phenomenally rapid and attains 

 great height and breadth. 



The shade, though not dense, is exceedingly pleasant, not 

 only by reason of the lovely arabesque of tracery reflected 

 upon the hot yellow soil, but also by the pungently resinous 

 odor which it exhales, and which is at once refreshing, stimu- 

 lating- and soothing to the lungs. Nature seems to have pro- 

 vided in great abundance this "healing balm," as the antidote 

 for the irritating effect of the finely powdered, almost impal- 

 pable adobe dust that infests the air of California for the greater 



