88 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 471. 



For a very light shading a mixture consisting of one pint of 

 boiled linseed oil to one gallon of turpentine is quite satisfac- 

 tory ; it is easily applied with a large brush and withstands the 

 weather. Naphtha and white lead, or kerosene and white lead, 

 in proportions to suit, are used for this purpose on many large 

 commercial places; these make a good shading in summer, 

 but they do not withstand frost and snow. Linseed oil should 

 never be mixed with this preparation unless a permanent paint 

 is desired on the glass. Another preparation useful for shad- 

 ing is a cold-water paint known as Indurine ; this withstands 

 the weather much better than the lime-wash, and apparently 

 does little injury to woodwork. 



At this season the value of a slightly heated frame or pit is 

 particularly evident, as much young stock is in preparation for 

 outdoor planting to follow the crop of spring bulbous (lowers. 

 Such a frame need not be costly, and will do much to relieve 

 the congested condition of the greenhouses and to obviate 

 the use of unsightly shelves in them. 



Young Carnations, Geraniums, Verbenas, Drummond Phlox 

 and other annuals make a more sturdy growth in frames, and 

 will be in better condition for planting out-of-doors. 



Cuttings of Carnations may yet be put in, and a surplus of 

 these plants in autumn will allow of more critical selection 

 when the blooming stock is brought in again. Planting out the 

 rooted cuttings of Carnations in flats or shallow boxes filled 

 with good soil is not a new method, but it is a good one ; it 

 not only allows of their ready removal from one house to 

 another, but the plants are less liable to become starved than 

 those in small pots. Rose cuttings may also be made now, 

 and if properly cared for will root quickly. Grafting the ordi- 

 nary Tea Roses, such as are used for forcing, has again been 

 discussed by some expert growers, and the opinion has been 

 advanced that it is a paying operation. To say the least, it is 

 interesting work, and even in the line of experiment it is worth 

 a trial. The stock most highly recommended for this purpose 

 is Manetti, and the experiment may be made now. 



Mention was recently made of the sowing of Gloxinia seeds 

 (see Garden and Forest, vol. x., page 27). When the seed- 

 lings are large enough they should be pricked out into small 

 pots and shifted on into a larger size as soon as the roots come 

 through the soil nicely, for if they are once stunted they do not 

 soon recover. These plants require light rich soil, a rather 

 moist atmosphere and moderate shade. Similar conditions 

 apply to Tydseas, Achimenes and Eucodonias. 



The best time for repotting Ferns is when the growth 

 begins, and the young roots thus get the benefit of the new 

 soil. Much of the old soil is removed in repotting, and the 

 ball is much reduced. A reasonable after-treatment includes 

 care in watering to avoid any extreme, and also a closer 

 atmosphere until the growth is renewed. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. II. Tapllll. 



Correspondence. 



The Forests of Pennsylvania. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The state of Pennsylvania has attacked the forestry 

 problem so seriously that I wish to invite attention to one or 

 two points in the Report of the Commission which was edito- 

 rially reviewed in your paper, vol. ix., page 521. It is a matter 

 of some regret that Dr. Rothrock has not given more detailed 

 information as to actual forest areas in the state and their con- 

 dition, especially since the Commission covered into the state 

 treasury more than $5,000 of the sum appropriated to its use. 

 It would seem that this money could not have been put to 

 belter or more legitimate use than in furnishing more accurate 

 data on these points. Dr. Rothrock tells us that the present 

 method of making forest area returns by the assessors is un- 

 pardonably bad, and yet this seems about the only source of 

 information on this important topic of which he avails himself. 

 The fire areas and the damage caused thereby was gained by 

 circulars of inquiry from which the recorded returns are 

 meagre and unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the Report, as you 

 have stated, is rich not only in fact but in suggestion, and is a 

 notable addition to the popular literature of forestry, for it is 

 the evident intention of Dr. Rothrock to enlist public interest 

 not only in forest preservation but in all that pertains to 

 trees. 



It appears that 36.29 per cent, of the state area is in timber, 

 but no estimate can be made of the value of this forest cover. 

 " Much of what appears as timber land is not such in any 

 productive sense. It may be producing Scrub Oak of no 

 value or White Oak of great value." In Lackawanna and ad- 

 joining counties there " is an unproductive area of 970 square 



miles which may be regarded more as a menace to the pros- 

 perity of the commonwealth than as an element of strength." 

 So recently was this waste a lumber-producing area that in 

 1894 Dr. Rothrock counted thirty-six solid White Pine stumps 

 still standing on an acre of ground. To-day, however, Yellow 

 Pine from the south is being imported into the region for 

 home construction. There is no development of mineral 

 wealth, and the only possible function of the area is the pro- 

 duction of timber, but it is a literal barren over which fires 

 sweep every year, destroying the young growth and rendering 

 the soil more and more sterile. Other regions of similar 

 character are noted, and the forest crop removed thence is 

 discussed, showing a constantly decreasing value in the timber 

 output of the state, with a corresponding increase in waste 

 areas. The figures quoted show conclusively that the White 

 Pine, the most valuable of Pennsylvania trees, is practically 

 exhausted. There have floated through the Williamsport 

 boom, for the years mentioned, Pine and Hemlock logs as 

 follows : 



In 1875, 190,000,000 feet, 1>. m., . . White Pine. 



" " 19.963,736 " " . . Hemlock. 



" 1884, 154,000,000 " " . . White Pine. 



" " 84,980,514 " " . . Hemlock. 



" '893, 33,197,267 " " . . White Pine. 



" " 186,984,478 " " . . Hemlock. 



Dr. Rothrock is careful lo explain that the increasing 

 amounts of Hemlock do not indicate an inexhaustible 

 supply, but, on the contrary, Hemlock too is approaching 

 extinction. 



The reduced value of the forest area is further illustrated by 

 the lands advertised for tax sale, the amount being for 1894 

 1,500,000 acres. The Commission concludes that "between 

 lands stripped of timber and worthless, and worn-out and 

 unprofitable farm lands, Pennsylvania has at this hour not less 

 than 8,716 square miles (about one-fifth the total area of the 

 state) which have ceased to be an element of strength, and 

 that this area is passing constantly into a worse condition." 

 The state possesses practically no public lands, but the Com- 

 mission, in discussing available areas for forest reserves, 

 opposes the plan of using lands advertised for taxes, since their 

 isolation renders their management too expensive, aside from 

 the small size of such tracls. 



The chapter on Timber and Fire as elements in the forestry 

 problem is illustrated with a view of a volunteer crop of White 

 Pine, thirty-five years old, standing in "The Barrens" of Center 

 County, and this is conclusive evidence of the ability of this 

 species to reproduce itself when protected from fire. As Dr. 

 Rothrock well says, " planting alone goes for nothing in the 

 absence of protection." 



An examination of the final chapter of the Report, in which 

 details regarding the forest area are given by counties, empha- 

 sizes the regret that the facts relating to this part of the Com- 

 mission's work are so few. Nevertheless, data enough are 

 given to show urgent need of a complete forest survey of the 

 state, a work which will doubtless he undertaken in due time 

 and for which Dr. Rothrock is peculiarly fitted. 

 Washington, D. C. Charles A. Keffer. 



The Keeping Qualities of Fruits. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — One of my boyhood recollections is of a long-keeping 

 apple which grew in an old orchard. There was an abundance 

 of these apples in our cellar long after all the other varieties 

 had disappeared. It was due to the fact that they were so sour 

 not even a boy would eat them as longas any others remained. 

 This variety was a beautiful-looking apple, very highly colored, 

 of good size ; the skin was thin, yet very firm and rather tough ; 

 the flesh was very white, tender and juicy, and if it had not 

 been so decidedly acid the variety would have been a valuable 

 one. A fruit must have something more than its keeping 

 qualities to recommend it, otherwise it is soon consigned to 

 oblivion. 



It is one of the difficult problems of the fruit growers in the 

 states south of Mason and Dixon's line to secure long-keeping 

 varieties of apples adapted to the locality. It is a well-known 

 fact that the late winter varieties of the north when grown in 

 the south become autumn varieties. The Baldwin, for instance, 

 when grown in the south matures early in autumn and will 

 keep but a short time. It has often been said that Delaware is 

 not adapted to apple-culture, but the fact that many varieties 

 of fine apples are grown there is rapidly changing that 

 opinion. It is very true that even northern-grown varieties 

 are difficult to keep in prime condition in that climate. Never-, 



