1 66 



Garden and Forest. 



[May 30, iS 



scarcely edible fruit. It is a common Siberian tree, extending 

 through northern China to Manchuria. It is very hardy here 

 and exceedingly ornamental wlien in bloom. Another Prunus 

 from the mountains near Pekin is now in flower in the Arbo- 

 retum for the first time. Dr. Bretschneider considered this Ihe 

 wild single-flowered form of the well known flowering Al- 

 mond (/>7/«;cj- [.■l>/ivi,'-i/ir/opsis] triloba), so common in gardens 

 and one of the most beautiful of all early spring flowering 

 shrubs. ^ The Pekin plant produces in great profusion large 

 pink solitary single flowers on its naked branches; and apart 

 from its great botanical interest is a handsome and very hardy 

 shrub, well worth cultivation. Its habit, its Ijark and foliage 

 appear identical with the double-flowered plant. 



Prunus Simonii, which Maximowicz, in his monograph of the 

 species of the genus Prunus of Eastern Asia, cisnsiders the 

 wild type of the Nectarine {Prunus Pcrsica nectarina) is in 

 flower. It is a dwarf tree, with erect branches covered, as well 

 as the stem, with light gray warty bark. The leaves are oval, 

 elliptical, denticulate and borne on short petioles ; theyare pre- 

 ceded by small white flowers, with oval, unguiculate petals and 

 pubescent ovaries. The fruit has the g'rooved stone of a 

 Peach and the smooth skin of a Plum. It is a handsome brick 

 red, depressed-globular, and with a depression in the upper 

 and lower sides. The flesh, which adheres to the stone, is 

 yellow, rather juicy, although austere. It is not large, hardly 

 exceeding an inch or an inch and a half in diameter, but doubt- 

 less might be greatly improved by cultivation. Prunus 67- 

 monii is a native of China, where, as well as in Japan, it is often 

 found in gardens. Here it forms a small and perfectly hardy 

 tree, with a strict pyramidal habit. Its resemblance to the cul- 

 tivated Nectarine is interesting, and might be taken advantage 

 of by pomologists to establish a new race of hardy Nectarines 

 capable of supporting the extremes of our northern climate. 



May 12th. y. 



The Forest. 



T 



A New Jersey Pine Forest. 

 HE illustration upon page 164 represents a pure forest 



X of Pitch Pine {Finns rigida) in Ocean County, New 

 Jersey. It is situated about twelve miles from the sea 

 coast, and forms a part of the extensive and interesting 

 domain which surrounds the Laurel House at Lakewood, 

 to the proprietors of which establishment it belongs. 



This forest is interesting from several points of view. 

 It is extremely picturesque and beautiful. It occupies 

 ground which only fifty years ago was employed for 

 farming purposes ; and it is one of few forests composed 

 of a single species of tree which can be seen in the 

 Northern States, where a number of different trees are 

 usually associated together in forest growth. The Pines 

 .in this Lakewood forest have an average height of fifty feet; 

 and their trunks an average diameter often inches. They 

 stand so close together that grasses and undershrubs can- 

 not survive in their dense unbroken shade. The forest 

 floor is deeply carpeted with moss, however, and alto- 

 gether this forest reminds one more of one of the planted 

 Pine forests of northern Europe than anything we remem- 

 ber to have seen before in the United States. The rapid 

 and vigorous growth of this young forest upon poor and 

 comparatively worthless lands shows, moreover — and this 

 is its^ chief interest— the way such lands along the 

 Atlantic seaboard, north of Virginia, can be used to the 

 best advantage. And finally it Tllustrates the possibility of 

 protecting, by means of a little trouble and foresight, such 

 forests from burning up in the fires which annually rao-e, 

 unchecked, over great tracts in the New Jersey coast 

 region. 



The Pitch Pine springs up spontaneously on the sandy 

 soil which adjoins the coast from INIassachusetts Bay to 

 the capes of Virginia. Land which has once been tilled 

 and then abandoned again to nature, in all this region is 

 soon covered with a dense an., almost impenetrable mass 

 of young Pitch Pines, which if fire is kept away from them 

 soon grow into a valuable forest. If the young Pines do 

 not appear spontaneously the seed can be sown, at a very 

 trifling e.xpense, and with entire assurance of an abundant 

 crop. The seed of no other Pine, of no other tree, indeed, 



sown in the open ground, germinates with such certainty, 

 as the farmers in some of the towns on Cape Cod have 

 shown ; and there is no other tree which can be grown so 

 cheaply on these barren, sandy soils, or give better results 

 in so short a time. And could the people of New Jersey 

 be induced to follow the example of the owners of the 

 Lakewood forests, and protect and encourage the young 

 Pines which are struggling to obtain possession of much 

 of the lower part of tlie State, its wealth and prosperity 

 might be very considerably augmented. 



The Pitch Pine is not one of the most valuable Pine 

 trees of the United States. Its wood is coarse grained, 

 full of resin, and not very strong. It is in every way in- 

 ferior to the wood of the southern Long-leafed Pine, which it 

 resembles in structure and general appearance, but which 

 it will never replace as long as the southern Pine forests 

 continue to yield as freely as they do at present. But the 

 lime will come, perhaps, when New Jersey pitch pine 

 will play an important role in supplying the people of the 

 United States willi timber. The southern pine cannot last 

 forever, under the existing management of these forests, 

 and the species which is everywhere replacing it, the Old 

 Field or Loblolly Pine {P. Tceda), is inferior to the northern 

 Pitch Pine in the quality of tlie timber it produces. Before 

 southern pine was brought to this market the pitch pine of 

 New Jersey was the only available material in many parts 

 of the State for timbers and flooring ; and there are still 

 houses in some counties where floors and floor-timbers are 

 known to have been in constant use for more than a 

 century. But it is ff>r firewood and for charcoal that the 

 pitch pine is most valuable ; and the nearness and acces- 

 sibility of these New Jersey Pine forests to great centres of 

 population give them special importance as sources of 

 fuel supply, which no other forests of this character in the 

 country possess. Much land within three or four hours 

 by rail of this city and of Philadelphia, now utterly unpro- 

 ductive and rapidly deteriorating through the fires which 

 sweep over it every year, can be made highly productive 

 and profitable by means of the Pitch Pine. People who 

 own land of this character will see much to interest and 

 instruct them in these Lakewood forests, and in those in 

 the town of Orleans, on Cape Cod, in IMassachusetts. 



c. s. s. 



Correspondence. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — May I be allowed to say a word in defense of the Norway 

 Spruce, which lately seems to have had the axe laid at its roots 

 rather unmercifully ? 



It is quite easy to understand how it originally found foot- 

 hold among us, liecause while young its habits and color ap- 

 peared to be good, its native climate corresponded fairly well 

 with our own, it could be imported at trifling cost, and was, 

 for quite a long time, a well recognized favorite in landscape 

 effect. To-day we see all over the older settled portions of the 

 country a great many forlorn, weary looking trees that it would 

 lie a kindness to remove altogether. They are denoimced as 

 failiu-es, and certainly we share the general opinion in asking 

 for their extirpation. But we must emphatically resist the 

 seemingly general verdict that the Norway Spruce is worthless 

 for our planting purposes. On the contrar)', there is not to-day 

 one single evergreen that, uniler proper conditions, offers 

 more inducements to the landscape gardener. Let me state 

 these conditions briefly and you may judge for yourselves. 



It is desired to establish a low evergreen hedge, of uniform 

 color, dense habit, inexpensive and reasonably hardy. These 

 are the essentials in a good hedge of this description, and for 

 these good cjualities, tlie Norway Spruce still compels your 

 respectful attention. The Hemlock [Tsuga Canadensis) is hand- 

 somer, but it will not stand the hardships of our foreign friend. 

 The Rocky Mountain Spruce [Picea piingens) is stiffer and pro- 

 bably more hardy, but not uniform in color. Even our White 

 Spruce {Picea alba) is oft" color as compared with the Norway, 

 though as a grown tree it is far superior. 



Please bear in mind that our hedge is to be well planted 

 in good soil, well trimmed each year, and never suffered in 

 any way to deteriorate, so far as skillful maintenance can pre- 



