Garden and Forest, 



[Number 483. 



Notes. 



TheVgeneral catalogue of the Southern California Acclima- 

 tizing Association has once more come to this office from 

 Santa Barbara 'The list of plants is very interesting and valu- 

 able for planters in the southern states, and the hints for culti- 

 vation make the little pamphlet what it claims to be, a guide 

 for gardening in the south. 



Nymphaea alba and N. Laydekeri were in flower in this 

 vicinity last week. These will be closely followed by N. 

 carnea, N. chromatella and others which are now showing 

 buds. The continued low temperature of the season has 

 checked the tropical Lilies, though, perhaps, few have yet 

 been planted out by prudent growers. With the exception of 

 the Cape Pond-weed, Aponogeton, there do not seem to be 

 any exotic aquatic plants which rival in earliness of flower our 

 native Marsh Marigolds and Arums. 



The last issue of the New York Fruit Trade Journal gives 

 an account of a newly planted Grape-fruit grove in Florida, 

 said to be the largest in the world. The soil is virgin hum- 

 mock land which, within a year, was cleared of massive Oak 

 and graceful Palmetto trees and comprises above two hun- 

 dred acres. The tract extends half a mile along the Manatee 

 River and is more than that distance in depth. The land was 

 thoroughly prepared by experienced cultivators of Grape-fruit, 

 and 20,000 budded trees of the best varieties have been 

 planted. 



California papers say that nearly two thousand acres of 

 Canaigre will be in cultivation on the big plantations of the 

 Anglo-American Canaigre Company, near Rialto, in San Ber- 

 nardino County. This is a native plant of the Dock family, 

 whose roots are rich in tannin, and it is expected that 8,000 

 acres will be planted at the beginning of the next year. The 

 plant is indigenous to many parts of the state, and wild roots 

 are gathered, planted in rows and cultivated like Sweet Pota- 

 toes. It is said that tanning with Canaigre can be done much 

 more rapidly than with other material and requires only days 

 where weeks and months are needed with barks. 



The first consignment of winter apples from Australia 

 reached San Francisco last week, and in this fruit Mr. Alex- 

 ander Craw, the State Quarantine officer, discovered the small 

 white larva of an unknown moth. This grub was tunneling in 

 various irregular directions through the apples close to the 

 skin, and the evidence of its industry was manifested on the 

 outside by an irregular discoloration. Every apple was con- 

 signed to the steamer's fire-box, for, undoubtedly, if this 

 Australian apple-miner had been landed it would have become 

 a dangerous enemy to the fruit industry of the Pacific Coast, 

 which has so far escaped from the ravages of the codling 

 moth. This is not the first time that this vigilant quarantine 

 officer has saved the fruit orchards and Orange groves of the 

 west coast from devastation by a new pest. 



Fothergilla Gardeni, a shrub of the Witch Hazel family, 

 and the only species of the genus, which was in flower here a 

 fortnight ago, is rarely seen in cultivation either in America or 

 Europe, although it was introduced into English gardens from 

 our southern Alleghanies 130 years ago. For some reason, 

 perhaps because it is not easy to cultivate, it is not as abun- 

 dant in England now as it once was, although it is very beau- 

 tiful when in flower, and has an excellent habit, with abundant 

 deep-colored foliage. It is a compact shrub when well grown, 

 five feet high, with numerous stout stems, and in early spring, 

 just before the leaves appear, it is covered with almost globu- 

 lar clusters of long white stamens, the only showy parts of the 

 flower, which make it a conspicuous object. Although it is 

 not found naturally north of North Carolina, it seems to be 

 perfectly hardy in New England, and it flowers profusely in the 

 Arnold Arboretum, although it does not ripen seed. It was 

 figured in this journal, vol. viii., page 445. 



The first car-load of California cherries arrived in this city 

 May 19th, when the best grades of favorite varieties brought 

 from $4.30 to $6.25 a box, wholesale, the highest prices ever 

 paid here at auction for this fruit. Early Purple Guigne, con- 

 sidered the earliest good cherry, was the first arrival this year ; 

 it is of medium size, sweet and juicy. The dark varieties thus 

 far have been of better quality than those of lighter color. 

 Among the dark sorts seen here now are Early Black Guigne, 

 known also as Baumann's May ; Black Tartarian, the best of 

 all the black cherries, and of the largest size when fully 

 mature ; Knight's Early Black, Guigne Marbree, the old and 

 well-known May Duke, of rich subacid flavor, and California 



Advance, a seedling of Early Purple Guigne. Rockport Bigar- 

 reau, Belle d'Orleans and Governor Wood are among the light- 

 colored cherries now in season. Thirty cents a pound is the 

 average price of this fruit in the retail stores, but much of it 

 doubtless remains unsold at this high rate, especially as only a 

 small portion is fully grown and ripe. The first Florida peaches 

 arrived on the 19th instant. The variety known as Honey 

 Sweet has been most abundant, with a few crates of Bidwell. 

 New-crop pineapples are also coming from Florida. Straw- 

 berries, from North and South Carolina, and from Maryland 

 and Delaware, are in our markets, together with the first pick- 

 ings from New Jersey. 



Professor Card, of the Nebraska Experiment Station, has 

 been making a study of wind-breaks and publishes a bulletin 

 which embodies the experience of a large number of farmers 

 and fruit growers, both in the east and in the west. A very 

 considerable majority of the writers from all sections of the 

 country believe in the value of wind-breaks, but widely dif- 

 ferent reasons for this faith are given. The western growers 

 consider the protection against the hot winds of summer as 

 the highest use of wind-breaks, while in the east the protection 

 against windfalls is considered the most important by fruit 

 growers. In the west, too, the saving by the prevention of wind- 

 falls is recognized, but of still greater importance is the protection 

 against evaporation of moisture from the soil by winds, which 

 is mentioned in letters from all sections. The western growers 

 protect their land chiefly on the south and west, while the east- 

 ern growers need protection on the north and west. The 

 observations at the station bear out in a striking way the 

 opinion expressed by many growers that wind-breaks are of 

 great value in reducing evaporation from the soil. The water 

 contained in samples of soil showed a decreasing amount of 

 moisture for a considerable distance under the lee of the 

 breaks, and evaporation as measured directly by the evapo- 

 rometer accorded perfectly with the results obtained from the 

 soil samples ; and finally the measurement of certain plants 

 themselves corroborated both the other tests and demon- 

 strated fully the practical importance of this protection in pre- 

 serving the moisture in the soil. 



The Castor-oil plant has been cultivated since the earliest 

 historic time, and specimens of it supposed to be over four 

 thousand years old have been found in Egyptian tombs. It is 

 perennial in India, its native country, but as it has spread into 

 less congenial climates it has lost that habit, like the Cotton- 

 plant, and is known to us as an annual. It is commonly sup- 

 posed that the plant will grow wherever Indian Corn will 

 thrive, and this is true where it is meant to be used as an orna- 

 ment, but a recent circular published by the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture points out that it can only be grown 

 effectively in commercial quantities in warm climates, since its 

 only value is the oil content of the seed, and the general truth 

 which is applicable to nearly all oil-bearing plants holds in 

 regard to this one, namely, the warmer the climate the larger 

 the per cent, of oil. Some varieties of the Castor Bean will 

 mature seed in the northern half of the Indian Corn belt of the 

 United States, but the plant cannot be cultivated there so as to 

 yield paying quantities of oil. It needs a deep, fertile, loamy, 

 friable and well-drained soil, and then where the climate is 

 sufficiently warm it will yield from twenty to twenty-five 

 bushels of beans to the acre, containing from fifty to sixty per 

 cent, of oil. The seeds, after being soaked for twelve hours 

 in tepid water, should be set five or six feet apart each way, 

 two in a hill, and when three or four inches high the weaker 

 plant should be removed. The weeds should be destroyed and 

 the ground kept loose by surface stirring. The seed-spikes 

 should be collected as soon as the pods turn brown and before 

 the seeds drop out of the pods in handling, and placed in the 

 sun until the seeds are partly free from the pods. Frequent 

 gatherings are necessary, so that only such spikes are removed 

 as are in proper condition. The seeds are first cleaned ; then, 

 after being gently warmed, are placed under a screw-press, 

 which liberates a whitish liquid. This is mixed with water and 

 boiled for some time, and the impurities are skimmed off as 

 they rise. Clear oil is at length left on the top of the water, the 

 mucilage and starch being dissolved and the albumen coagu- 

 lated by heat forming a whitish layer between the oil and the 

 water. The oil is further clarified by boiling, which drives off 

 the acrid volatile matter. The Italians have a special method 

 of preparing the oil which rids it of its nauseous flavor, and in 

 this country medicinal oil is manufactured by cold expression 

 from the crushed beans. The oil is largely used in soap 

 manufacture and for machinery. It is the thickest and heaviest 

 of the oils. 



