366 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 499. 



The flowers are small and white, but the stems with their 

 bright green dissected leaves are two inches in diameter and 

 have a striking appearance. Nothing in the garden is more 

 admired by visitors of all classes than two large masses of the 

 pink Water-lily from Cape Cod. 



For late summer and autumn I commend Polygonum Vir- 

 ginianum, familiar in moist thickets. The ovate or lanceolate 

 leaves when grown in the open are dark green, with a velvety 

 appearance. The plants are about four feet high, including 

 the slender spikes, which are from twelve to twenty inches 

 long. Our compound plant is eight feet in diameter. In the 

 woods the leaves are lighter and the calyx is green, but when 

 exposed to the sun the calyx is crimson. The long, slender 

 and naked spikes are rather rigid, and with the persistent 

 crimson calyx, all above the leaves, make a striking picture. 

 The botanist is interested in the plant for its plan of distributing 

 its seeds. Each flower-stalk has a joint at the base, where it 

 separates very easily when mature, ft dries with a tension, so 

 that if touched the fruit goes off several feet with a snap and 

 a bound. The wind or some passing animal shakes the elastic 

 stems, jostling them against each other, and thereby sows the 

 seeds broadcast. The two slender, stout, persistent styles are 

 recurved at the apex, and catch on convenient objects like a 

 burr. Should there be a freshet the seeds, enclosed by ovary 

 and calyx, will float with the sticks and leaves. Besides its 

 beauty of form and color, its other peculiarities make it an 

 attractive plant, and yet no one has thought enough of this 

 hardy perennial to give it a common name. It is nearly allied 

 to Prince's-feather, and is more interesting than that plant. 

 Growing next to it, and belonging to the same genus, is P. 

 arifolium, Halberd-leaved Tear-thumb. This is a neat annual, 

 not pleasant to handle, but interesting as it is seen climbing 

 over bushes and holding on by its recurved hooks. The heads 

 of small white flowers are not gaudy, but they are well placed 

 on long stems above the dark green leaves. 



In damp summers the native Wild Balsam-apple, Echino- 

 cystis lobata, plays a conspicuous part along the river-bank 

 among the bushes. It rambles about, sometimes covering 

 almost everything for a space of forty feet and stands ten to 

 twenty feet above the ground. In such places it is peculiarly 

 attractive at this season. I have recently introduced and 

 planted near this species the One-seeded Bur Cucumber, 

 Sicyos angulatus. These plants ramble over and under each 

 other in a surprising fashion, sometimes one having the ad- 

 vantage and sometimes the other. Last year the Balsam-apple 

 was the more prominent ; this year I think the Bur Cucumber 

 is ahead. 



The deep blue flowers of Wild Comfrey, Cynoglossum Vir- 

 ginicum, are pleasing, and resemble a large Forgel-me-not, 

 with flower-axis somewhat drawn out. 



In a low secluded spot exposed to the sun Castor-oil plants 

 grow ten to fourteen feet high, with stems nearly as large as 

 one's wrist. While the flowers are interesting, these are not 

 as attractive to the general visitor as the great tropical-looking 

 leaves. 



South of an exposed bank I had twenty to thirty loads of sand 

 drawn in from the flats of the river and have had it fertilized a 

 little. Here a mixture of plants is grown which thrive in 

 such soil, including Lupines, three species of Ceanothus, hardy 

 Cacti. Bearberrv, Sand Cherry and many others. Among the 

 favorites are Solidago rigida and Helianthus occidentalis, 

 which several times failed under seemingly better treatment. 

 Tanacetum Huronense, from the sandy shores of the Great 

 Lakes, makes itself at home and strives for more space than 

 we are willing to allow. The bunches of large yellow heads of 

 this Tansy above the healthy feathery leaves are worth inspec- 

 tion. And here Desmodium rotundifolium rambles in great 

 perfection, the prostrate vine overhanging some bowlders. Its 

 round leaflets always attract attention, while the light pink 

 flowers and peculiar fruit help to give variety. 



Lobelias are grown in an artificial depression where they 

 can be flooded when necessary. The bright blues and the 

 cardinal flowers are well known. For a few weeks in Sep- 

 tember the wide row of several species of Hibiscus is at 

 its best. 



Agricultural College, Mich. '< • /. Beat. 



Notes from Rochester, New York. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — There is always a scarcity of flowering shrubs at this 

 time of year, and, indeed, the flowers of perennial herbaceous 

 plant? are not too plentiful in the border at this season, and 

 any additions are welcome. 



It was a surprise to see in Highland Park, at Rochester, New 



York, some very fine specimens of Vitex Agnus-castus in full 

 bloom. Mr. Dunbar stated that the plants were not hardy and 

 had been killed down to the ground each year. The resulting 

 growth gave them the appearance of being herbaceous instead 

 of shrubby plants. The long spikes of bright lavender-blue 

 flowers were extremely ornamental and distinct. V. Agnus- 

 castus and V. incisa are the species grown there, the latter 

 being the inferior in point of color, but both are desirable 

 where a collection is grown. This plant will probably prove 

 hardy enough in a moderately dry soil in all of the eastern 

 states, as the winters at Rochester are more severe than in 

 Massachusetts, and much difficulty is found there with ever- 

 greens that ordinarily are quite reliable here. It was surpris- 

 ing to see many plants of doubtful hardiness thriving there, 

 and I was shown a vigorous young plant of Sequoia gigantea 

 that had survived the past winter without protection and which 

 had grown nearly two feet this summer. 



The English Broom, Genista scoparia, has also been suc- 

 cessfully grown there for a number of years, long enough to 

 form a handsome bush, and at this time is covered with seed- 

 pods after a fine display of bloom. It would be interesting to 

 see if the variety Andreanus will prove hardy there also. 

 This is only a form of G. scoparia, but it comes from the hills 

 of Normandy, where it appeared as a sport among the com- 

 mon Broom, and, unfortunately, has not proved as hardy as 

 the type, if the latter is taken from a British-grown plant. It is 

 well known that geographical forms of the same species have 

 varying degrees of hardiness, and while we hope Mr. Dunbar 

 may succeed in acclimating the variety Andreanus, this is 

 doubtful. A plant of this species tried here, and which was 

 well established on its own roots, did not survive the first 

 winter. 



There is m uch of horticultural interest in Rochester in its many 

 large and famous nurseries, and the tine system of parks that 

 has recently been formed is already a credit to the city. This 

 system includes the Genesee River Gorge, a feature unique in 

 its way and of inestimable value for its magnificent scenery, 

 and the gorge has been made secure to the public for all time ; 

 the Soutli Park, with its broad pastoral views; and the more 

 highly developed Highland Park, where it has been the object 

 to have every species of deciduous shrub that will grow planted 

 according to its botanical affinity. This has been accomplished 

 in a most happy manner on sloping hillsides that prevent 

 monotony and give easy access by grassy walks. 



So. Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Orpet. 



Peaches in the Ozark Mountains. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The big packing tent in an Ozark orchard of Elberta 

 peaches is a lively and interesting place. Through the centre 

 of it runs a long table, at each side of which the packers, who 

 are all women, sit on boxes set on end. Men in a straggling 

 line pass out, going with empty cloth-lined baskets, and return 

 them filled with richly-colored fruit. There is a general fore- 

 man, who is responsible for the picking, packing, shipping 

 and marketing, an under foreman, known locally as a "straw 

 boss," to every six pickers, and a forewoman for the women 

 packers, of whom there are as many as forty in the busy 

 season. So-called "lackeys," men and boys, keep the packers 

 supplied with fruit, baskets or boxes and wrapping paper, and 

 remove the filled packages from the table. In the tent an 

 efficient forewoman is in authority, and moves about the table 

 with her eyes on every worker, while her constant admoni- 

 tions and directions suggest new ideas to the consumer, 

 who, after much experience in emptying such packages, sees 

 them for the first time being filled. The forewoman decides 

 what sort of packages shall be used for the fruit which is then 

 being picked. The finest grade is packed in "California" 

 boxes, the next in six-basket crates, and the lower grades 

 in four-basket crates, and " thirds," the familiar peach 

 boxes that hold one-third of a bushel. With her cry of 

 "All thirds," " Californias," etc., as the case may be, the 

 empty packages are set within reach, the women at once begin 

 to handle the fruit, and the watchful forewoman is fluent in a 

 series of remarks, as, "handle them fast, girls," "just as fast 

 as you can," " remember ! the long way of the peach, the 

 long way of the box, and the blush side up every time," etc.; 

 but "blush up every time" is most frequently repeated. And 

 the workers, too, have their say. The eight and one-half inch 

 square white papers rustle and crumple under the swiftly 

 moving hands, and the cries of " peaches out of the way " and 

 " more peaches," or "peaches off" and "peaches on," come 

 in rapid succession. Handsome sprays of peach-leaves are 

 laid on the top of all the packages by boys. Men then fasten 



