264 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 489. 



grafted on the native Crab-Apple ; just as the introduced 

 Cherries in Oregon, when grafted on the native wild Cherry, 

 Primus mollis, excel any grown on their own stock. 



The Grasses all grow luxuriantly and make excellent 

 forage ; the opinion expressed by some that cattle will not 

 eat the native grasses is a mistake, the plants which they 

 reject being some of the Sedges (Juncacese), which many 

 people do not distinguish from the true Grasses. Lettuce 

 does remarkably well, and by sowing at intervals it can be 

 had ready for use the greater part of the season. Oats will 

 ripen, but cannot be harvested. Onions will not do well 

 when grown from seed, but when grown from sets pro- 

 duce very acceptable "green onions." Parsnips grow 

 fairly well, but are small and not of first-class flavor. 

 Peas of the early varieties do remarkably well, and far 

 exceeded my expectations. Potatoes, though very late in 

 sprouting some seasons, grow rapidly, and when planted 

 in well-drained soil give a fairly abundant crop and of 

 fine flavor. They have been cultivated for a century or 

 more by the Indians (Haidas) on Prince of Wales Island. 

 Radishes proved to be excellent, and when sown at inter- 

 vals can be used all through the season. Rhubarb grows 

 abundantly, but not of quite as good a flavor as when 

 grown farther south. Rye will not ripen. Timothy grows 

 luxuriantly, but cannot be harvested. Turnips, though not 

 large, proved to be a good crop and of fine flavor. Wheat 

 grows a good straw and well-developed head, but will not 

 ripen, and could not be harvested if it did mature on ac- 

 count of the prevalent rains and continuous cloudy weather. 



The quantity of rain which actually falls does not give a 

 non-resident a proper idea of the impediments to agricul- 

 ture in the territory, as the number of rainy days in pro- 

 portion to the amount of rain is much greater than in the 

 middle or eastern states, while the proportion of cloudy 

 days and the consequent difficulty of harvesting a crop is 

 still greater. To better illustrate this fact I submit the 

 following record of precipitation and number of rainy 

 days during the months of June, July and August for the 

 years 1892, 1893, 1S94 and 1895 : 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



is now finely in flower in 

 spikes being over a yard 





1 



>, 

 £ .5 



]g 3 . 



- V 



.- SL 



1 

 =1 



6 £- 

 u 







Rain in 

 inches. 



1 



394- 



.5™ 

 cJS 



«.5 



if 

 in 



°-§ 



6 >, 

 S5.S 



c 



95- 

 c . 



£.2 





19 



28 



3.62 

 6.81 

 10.61 



22 

 22 



24 



4.60 



9.26 



12. 70 



21 

 20 

 19 



3-57 

 8.97 



9.49 



21 



17 

 26 



6.77 



5.S5 



s . 1 ,8 



July 



Total for three summer I 

 months \ 



70 



21.04 



6S 



26.56 



60 



22.03 



64 



21.30 



This, however, being only for the three summer months, 

 is still considerably below the average annual precipita- 

 tion, which is 1 1 1.72 inches. 



Even if the region was fully soil-covered, the surface of 

 the country is so precipitous and uneven, and the annual 

 rainfall so great, that the soil would soon be washed into 

 the gulches and ravines if the hillsides were once denuded 

 of their forest covering. The forests, while containing 

 some valuable timber, such as the Tideland Spruce (Picea 

 Sitchensis), Pacific Red Cedar (Thuya plicata) and Alaska 

 Cypress (Cupressus Nootkaensis), are not nearly as exten- 

 sive as many people suppose, and in any event will only 

 be sufficient to supply the local demand. 



In conclusion I would say that the territory can never, 

 under any circumstances, be a field for the farmer, and, 

 although the grasses are abundant and nutritious, it can- 

 not be utilized for stock-raising, owing to the long winters. 



Its only industrial possibilities are for the miner, the 

 salmon-canner and the fur-hunter. 



Portland, Ore. M - " • Oon/nni. 



Among works of art of every class statues most rarely give 

 permanent satisfaction, and if they are awkward, ungraceful 

 or unsuitable for the situation in which they are placed, none 

 are so obtrusive and unsatisfactory. — Calvert Vaux. 



Watsonia iridifolia O'Brieni 

 an unheated frame at Kew, the 



high, and the flowers two inches across and snow- 

 white. It is in every sense a first-rate garden plant and 

 should prove a profitable investment for growers of bulbs 

 for the wholesale market. It is better than many Wat- 

 sonias in its behavior under cultivation, for it has flowered 

 every year at Kew since it was first obtained in 1891. I 

 have already described it fully in Garden and Forest, but 

 I may repeat here that it is very similar to W. rosea in gen- 

 eral appearance, with larger flowers than any other Wat- 

 sonia, and very fragrant. I have seen spikes of it four feet 

 high with five or six branches and bearing from thirty to 

 forty flowers open at one time. It ought to be a good 

 plant for forcing to flower in spring. W. Ardernei is 

 another name for it. 



Stenomesson aurantiacum. — This is an elegant summer- 

 flowering bulbous plant which until lately has always 

 been grown in pots under glass, but which has proved 

 quite at home in an outside border against a warm house, 

 where it is now flowering nicely. It has globose bulbs about 

 an inch in diameter, linear oblong leaves produced along 

 with the flowers, scapes from nine inches to a foot high, 

 each bearing an umbel of about six flowers, which expand 

 in succession, two or three being open together ; they are 

 nodding funnel-shaped, an inch and a half long, and of a 

 rich orange-red color. It grows in the Andes of Ecuador 

 at an elevation of 13,000 feet. The Coburgia section of 

 Stenomesson includes several beautiful flowered species, 

 which, however, are somewhat difficult to flower under 

 cultivation, although they grow and multiply freely enough. 



Helichrysum rosmarinifolium. — There is no more attrac- 

 tive shrub in June than this in the warmer parts of the 

 United Kingdom. In Ireland, especially the south and 

 west, it forms a bush six or eight feet high, and when in 

 flower it resembles a snow-laden shrub ; hence the name 

 by which it is called there, namely, Snow in Summer. It is 

 now flowering well against a wall at Kew, having withstood 

 the comparatively mild past winter; as a rule, however, it 

 is either killed or cut down to the ground by the winter 

 cold experienced at Kew. It is better known, perhaps, by 

 the name of Ozothamnus. It is a native of Van Dieman's 

 Land and was introduced into England about seventy-five 

 years ago. 



Osteomeles anthyllidifolia. — This plant passed through 

 the cold of last winter uninjured in a sunny position against 

 a wall, and is now bearing numerous clusters of white 

 May-like flowers. In countries where it would be quite 

 hardy — it is not hardy at Kew — it forms an elegant bush or 

 small tree with thin branches, pinnate leaves, more or less 

 persistent, and flowers which in size of umbel, arrangement 

 and color are not unlike those of the Amelanchier, to which 

 genus Osteomeles is closely allied. Although well known 

 to botanists as an interesting shrub of remarkable distribu- 

 tion, it was not introduced into cultivation until about five 

 years ago. It is easily propagated from cuttings and it 

 forms' a nice pot-plant for the cool greenhouse. A second 

 species, as yet unnamed, has lately been introduced into 

 the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and from thence to Kew. 



Cedrus Atlantica aurea. — This well-known variety of the 

 Atlas Cedar was well shown before the Horticultural Society 

 by Messrs. Veitch and obtained a first-class certificate. In 

 soils suitable to it, this golden-tinted form is likely to prove 

 an attractive conifer and a worthy companion to Cedrus 

 Atlantica glauca, of which there are some beautiful speci- 

 mens in English collections. 



Celmbia Monroil — I lately noted this as being in flower 

 at Kew. Some plants of it were exhibited by Messrs. Veitch 

 & Sons at the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, where it was awarded a first-class certificate. 

 It was looked upon as a new introduction by most of those 

 who saw it. 



