58 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 468. 



with blotches of deep ultramarine andayellowcrest. Blue flow- 

 ers are rare about this time of year, and its fresh color makes it 

 very welcome. It is not quite hardy, and must be either potted 

 or cultivated in a frame, but it well deserves such extra care. 

 Its near ally, I. histrioides, is quite hardy, but it does not make 

 its appearance before the middle or end of February, and its 

 flowers are smaller. 



A new Colchicum from Persia is showing bud and will be 

 out as soon as we get a few bright days. Although its white 

 and pink flowers are small they are borne in great numbers, 

 and on account of their earliness this Colchicum will be a wel- 

 come addition to spring-flowering bulbous plants. I have 

 been fortunate in securing a small importation of the rare and 

 beautiful Scilla Messeniaca, which is to flower in March and 

 on which I will report later. 



Baden-Baden. 



Max Leichtlin. 



Correspondence. 

 Evergreens in Winter. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Evergreens and shrubs that retain their berries until 

 spring are now the leading attraction of the winter garden. 

 The conifers used to form shrubberies for effect in the dark 

 season should be those that retain a healthy appearance of 

 their foliage throughout the winter. The foliage of many 

 evergreens burns and browns under the varying conditions of 

 sun and storm, freezing and thawing, to which they are sub- 

 jected at this trying time. For a number of years I have taken 

 note of many Pines, Spruces, Retinosporas, Arbor Vita?s and 

 Hemlocks, and I have been much struck by the variety of ap- 

 pearance the different species and varieties assume at this 

 season. In this climate the Arbor Vitass and Retinosporas give 

 less satisfaction than do some other conifers, as they look dull 

 and rusty even in mild winters, and are only beautiful during 

 the season of growth. Such conifers are not as well adapted 

 for winter gardens as the Spruces, Hemlocks and Pines. 

 Strangely enough our native Pines do not compare favorably 

 with those of foreign origin in this regard. In my little 

 pinetum it is the American Pines whose foliage discolors in 

 winter. The common White Pine, Pinus Strobus, for instance, 

 has a way of folding its needles together as if it were preparing 

 for a long winter's sleep, and all its foliage assumes a dull 

 olive-grav tint, in striking contrast to the wide-awake aspect 

 and sprightly green of some of its foreign neighbors. Pinus 

 excelsa, the Lofty Bhotan Pine, one of the most beautiful of 

 its class, is very effective in the winter landscape here, and is 

 almost as bright a green now as in the summer. The same 

 may be said of P. Thunbergii, from Japan, and of the Swiss 

 Stone Pine, the Austrian Pine and others. Our native Cedars, 

 Juniperus Virginiana, now have a dark, dingy appearance, 

 which is particularly noticeable when the ground is covered 

 with snow. Some very young trees of this species turn a deep 

 purplish green. In very mild winters like the present the Irish 

 Junipers retain their fresh color throughout the season, but 

 they winter-kill badly from the excessive freezing and thawing 

 of cold changeable weather. 



Perhaps the most satisfactory of the conifers in our collec- 

 tion for winter color is the Douglas Spruce, Pseudotsuga taxi- 

 folia. It certainly is not surpassed by any other known to me 

 for the clear, bright green of its foliage at this time. As grown 

 here it is a compact tree, feathering out quite to the turf with 

 graceful, downward sweep. Its foliage has a peculiar softness 

 to the touch, and it succeeds best on exposed hillsides, where 

 it does not discolor in the severest winter. The Spruces, too, 

 as particularly desirable for winter effects are the Blue Spruce, 

 Picea pungens, and a glaucous form of White Spruce, sold 

 under the name ot A. ccerulea. A variety of the Norway Spruce 

 known as Conica has dark foliage and retains its color well, 

 but is not so graceful in habit of growth as some other Spruces. 



Hemlocks have a beauty all their own, and are never as 

 charming as when their graceful branches are slightly bent 

 under a light fall of snow. When Bittersweet vines are 

 allowed to clamber at will over a clump of young Hemlocks 

 the effect of the latter is much enhanced by the bright berries 

 that mingle with their airy foliage. Cupressus Lawsoniana 

 deserves mention as one of the most cheerful of evergreens 

 as seen here in winter. It is hardy with us and is planted on 

 the crest of a hill, a situation which suits it better than any 

 other. 



It may be that in other localities trees which grow dingy 

 here hold their fresh co'or in the winter. I am only giving my 

 personal observations. 



Rose Brake, w. Va. Danske Dandridge. 



Meetings of Societies. 



Western New York Horticultural Society. 



THE forty-first annual meeting of this society, which 

 stands in the very front rank of organizations de- 

 voted to fruit-growing, was, as it usually is, largely 

 attended, and several of the papers were notably instruc- 

 tive. It is said that the meeting did not move with the 

 vim and snap which has characterized the proceedings of 

 this body in years past, and those who have attended 

 former gatherings can hardly imagine a dull hour at one 

 of them. But fruit growers who are cheerful this year are 

 made of sturdy stuff. 



ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT BARRY. 



After an historical sketch of some of the earlier societies in 

 the country, Mr. Barry spoke of the exceptional weather and 

 the exceptional crops of last season. In the first place, the 

 winter was long and severe, remarkable for periods of extreme 

 cold and heavy falls of snow. In January, while the ground 

 was bare, a period of extreme cold came, in which large 

 orchards of Duchess Pears suffered injury, many of the trees 

 being found dead. Of other varieties of Pears the Anjous 

 suffered least. President Barry does not know whether this 

 injury to the trees will be permanent, but the question of the 

 comparative hardiness of varieties is one which certainly is 

 worth investigating. Snow lay on the ground till late in March 

 and kept out the frost, and on the first of April nurserymen 

 began to lift and pack trees. There was no delay from frost 

 as usual, but there came a sudden and intense heat which pre- 

 vailed during the middle of the month, with the thermometer 

 in the eighties for several days. This made the packing and 

 the shipping season the most hurried that has ever been 

 known here, for by the first of May every tree was in full leaf, 

 and the season for planting was practically passed. After 

 this abnormal beginning a drought succeeded, with little rain, 

 till the 20th of July, and this resulted in much loss to newly 

 planted trees. The summer was hot, and, although compara- 

 tively dry, plants of all kinds which survived the early drought 

 made a growth which surprised every one. For several years 

 in western New York the orchards had produced but light 

 crops, so that the trees were in a condition to yield heavily, and 

 the apple crop was enormous. Every tree which was of bear- 

 ing age was filled with handsome fruit. The result was sur- 

 prising and discouraging, since only a small proportion of the 

 fruit brought remunerative prices, most of it being taken to 

 cider-mills or evaporating-houses, or utilized in other ways 

 which gave small returns. Excessive quantities were exported 

 to Europe, and instead of using extra care in selection on 

 account of the exceptional crop, snippers hurried to pack with- 

 out proper care in selecting, so that in many cases they 

 received hardly enough to pay for their barrels. In this way 

 the crop at home and abroad was practically lost. 



President Barry advises that storage houses be provided 

 where fruit can be kept till the time arrives when it can be 

 advantageously sold. He added, as a practical point, that among 

 the varieties which growers in the neighborhood of Rochester 

 had an opportunity to test, Jonathan heads the list as a hand- 

 some, delicious and profitable apple. Its size, shape, color, 

 flavor and shipping qualities are all that can desired, and it is 

 strange that a variety possessing so many desirable characteris- 

 tics should not have long ago received greater attention. An 

 orchard of Jonathan apples is one of the most beautiful spec- 

 tacles in nature, the tree being naturally graceful, the branches 

 willowy, and the dark red apples against the bright foliage 

 present a picture which never fails to excite admiration. The 

 President also had a good word for the new plums raised by 

 Luther Burbank, of California. He advised fruit growers to 

 enlarge their spheres of work and to cultivate fruits for different 

 seasons of the year so as to give employment to a regular 

 force of laborers, who, on account of their proficiency, would 

 become indispensable on the fruit farms. Crops should be 

 anticipated and markets provided by the fruit grower, just as 

 the manufacturer seeks and secures sales for his goods. 

 Only by alertness in marketing, as well as care in growing — 

 that is, by conducting fruit-growing on business principles the 

 year through — can success be assured. Under existing condi- 

 tions it will never answer to leave anything to chance. 



NEW FACTS ABOUT THE CODLING MOTH. 



Professor M. V. Slingerland, in speaking of recent work 

 among Insect Foes of the Horticulturist, urged all fruit 

 growers to cooperate with the stations, so that practical 



