3 68 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 499. 



Notes. 



Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry on the 4th of September shipped 

 a collection of 125 varieties of pears from the Mount Hope 

 Nurseries, Rochester, New York, to the Horticultural Exhibi- 

 tion at Hamburg, Germany. 



American readers of Tke Garden will be interested in the 

 colored plate of Lathyrus splendens in a recent issue of that 

 journal. This peiennial Pea, native of southern California, 

 flowered at Kew for the first time this year, and for three 

 months there was a continuous display of the beautiful rich 

 red-maroon blossoms. 



In the fancy-fruit stores, among choice and handsome offer- 

 ings, are luscious Kelsey plums with honey-like flavor and 

 laige nectarines from the Pacific coast; spicy muskmelons 

 from Rocky Ford, Colorado ; new-crop lemons from Florida ; 

 so-called Valencia oranges, from California, held over in cold 

 storage ; Prickly Pears, the fruits of Opuntia Tuna, from the 

 Mediterranean, and the first winter melons, from fields near 

 Naples. 



Since the time of the Pharaohs lime has been used in 

 European countries in agriculture, and perhaps more experi- 

 ments have been made with this substance in connection with 

 plant growth than any other chemical. A condensed sum- 

 mary on the practice of liming has just been published by the 

 Rhode Island Experiment Station, which gives in a brief com- 

 pass some essential facts that every agriculturist ought to 

 know, and we commend this little treatise of a score of pages 

 to the careful attention of every student of agricultural 

 science. 



An instructive circular has just been published by the 

 Division of Forestry, relating to the age of trees and the time of 

 blazing them as determined by annual rings. The difference 

 of the layers ot spring wood and summer wood in coniferous 

 trees, as well as the structure of ring-porous woods like the 

 Hickory and Locust, is explained so that the careful student 

 receives all needed directions in making his invesiigations. 

 The circular covers less than a dozen pages, but it is so care- 

 fully illustrated and prepared that no novice can read it carefully 

 without receiving genuine instruction. 



Mr. Joseph Meehan recommends Pueraria (Dolichos) Thun- 

 bergiana for a trellis on the veranda. The best opportunity 

 is thus afforded to train this vine so that its fragrant rose-col- 

 ored flowers are not hidden under the luxuriant foliage. The 

 perennial Plumbago Larpentas is now showing its blue flowers 

 in Germantown, where it is sometimes at its best during Octo- 

 ber. Mr. Meehan calls attention to the advantage of cutting 

 off the tiower-heads of Spirasa Bumalda in July when the first 

 blooming season is past. With this attention this plant is now 

 flowering as profusely as early in the season, though the 

 flower-heads are not as large, and its season may be indefi- 

 nitely prolonged. 



Mr. J. G. Jack will conduct a series of lectures and field 

 meetings at the Arnold Arboretum, beginning September 181I1 

 and closing November 6th, for the purpose ot supplying popu- 

 lar instruction about trees and shrubs which grow in New 

 England. The intention is to indicate by comparison the 

 easiest means of distinguishing the common native trees and 

 shrubs and to recognize foreign species which have been 

 introduced into gardens. The ornamental and useful proper- 

 ties of these trees and shrubs, their habits of growth and other 

 peculiarities will be considered, and particular attention will 

 be given to their identification and general aspect as they lose 

 their leaves and prepare lor winter. The cla-ses will meet on 

 Saturday mornings at ten o'clock and on Wednesday after- 

 noons at three. Applications or inquiries may be addressed 

 to Mr. J. G. Jack, Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts. 



Professor Plumb has recently followed the example set by 

 many other American students of Agriculture and visited 

 Rothamsted, the scene of the great series of experiments which 

 have been persistenily carried on for more than half a century 

 in order to ascertain some trustworthy data in regard to the 

 exhaustion of plant-food from the soil. Interesting as is this 

 estate, it is very plain that Sir John himself will continue to be 

 the crowning attraction of Rothamsted as long as he lives. 

 He wears his eighty-three years like a man of middle age and 

 tramps his fields as sturdily as if he were no more than thirty- 

 five. Sir Henry Gilbert, his companion lor more than fifty 

 years, and who has been helping Sir John carry out his experi- 

 ments, is an equally well preserved example of English country 

 life, and every civilized man who takes an interest in agricul- 

 ture will unite with Professor Plumb in wishing to these 



eminent Englishmen many and fruitful years to their generous 

 work. 



Professor J. B. Smith, of the New Jersey Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, has sent out a circular in relation to the San 

 Jos6 scale, which briefly advises that all infested bearing 

 Apple, Pear, Plum and Peach trees should be sprayed 

 thoroughly in September with undiluted kerosene in the 

 middle of a clear, sunshiny day. By undiluted kerosene is 

 meant the ordinary burning fluid used in lamps exactly in the 

 condition in which it is purchased, and it should be applied 

 in the finest possible spray, so that every part of the plant 

 should be wet thoroughly, but no more. One application is 

 sufficient, and it may be delayed until the fruit has been re- 

 moved, although the sooner it is now applied the better it will 

 be. The treating of nursery stock or of very young trees in 

 this way with undiluted kerosene is not now recommended. 

 The details of the experiments upon which this treatment is 

 based will be reserved for the close of the season, but Professor 

 Smith sends out this circular so that something may yet be 

 done before the year closes. 



The problem of food supplies for two million persons 

 crowded on a limited area is an interesting one, and the buyer 

 of choice products at high prices need not have philanthropic 

 impulses to wonder occasionally how the majority of the 

 city's population is fed. Of a halt dozen characteristic markets 

 for the masses scattered through New York City, one of the 

 best known is " Paddy's Market," held each Saturday from the 

 middle ot the afternoon until eleven o'clock at night, on Ninth 

 Avenue from Thirty-eighth to Forty-second Streets. In the 

 evening these four blocks are a scene ot surprising animation. 

 On both sides ot the wide avenue wagons are drawn up length- 

 wise along the curb, the horses headed toward the middle of 

 the street, with push-trays, barrels and crates crowded in, and 

 all heaped with offerings. Much space is also occupied on the 

 sidewalk along the fronts ot the stores. The stock is arranged 

 with considerable neatness, and in some instances the open 

 wagons are entirely lined with heavy white paper. Otten a 

 wagon holds but one kind of fruit or vegetable, though an 

 assortment is sometimes offered. Many flaring torches on 

 the wagons add a weird brightness to the city's electric lights. 

 The rumble of elevated trains overhead and the noise of 

 street cars almost escape notice in the harsh guttural and nasal 

 shouts of venders. A wagon-load of onions may have for its 

 neighbor a wagon-load of peaches, or melons, corn, cabbage, 

 celery, plums, beans, apples, bananas, cucumbers, potatoes, 

 pears, chickens, hams or fish, not taking into account house- 

 hold utensils, shoes and clothing. On a hot night lemons are 

 abundant and sell at five cents a dozen. Among vegetables, 

 string-beans now seem most in demand. Pails are the ordi- 

 nary and enticing form of measurement and hold from one to 

 four quarts. A small pailful of beans sells for five cents early 

 in the evening, and later on overstocked dealers look for buy- 

 ers at three cents. Boys mingle among the throngs on the 

 sidewalks and offer heaped pails ot vegetables and fruits for a 

 few pennies. Women stand at the street corners with large bas- 

 kets containing eggs, and in each instance a candle, and make a 

 show of testing the eggs by its light, at the same time keeping 

 an eye on mischievous lads in the crowd who watch the chance 

 to shy a pebble into the fragile collection. English is heard 

 almost entirely, though there are some Polish and Italian 

 sellers. The orderly crowds of buyers are mostly Irish, Ital- 

 ians and negroes. The purchases are carried away in arm- 

 loads of brown paper parcels, in paper and muslin sacks, and 

 in capacious baskets wilh dome-like lids, and occasionally 

 aprons hold an overflow, while, as the evening progresses, 

 half-bushel baskets of peaches prove an irresistible bargain to 

 thrifty housewives who struggle along with them. A particu- 

 larly fragrant stand has a collection of fresh herbs from a 

 suburban garden and the woods about Fort Lee. Large Mul- 

 lein leaves, plants of Dandelion and stalks of Boneset, Hore- 

 hound and Tansy are confidently recommended as remedies 

 and sold in generous bunches at five cents each ; Mint is said 

 to drive away ants, and Pennyroyal is sold to hang in open win- 

 dows and keep away the mosquito plague of this wetsummer. 

 Policemen seem even unusually scarce here, and from the 

 two hurriedly questioned it was learned that while this market 

 has been carried on during considerably more than a quarter 

 of a century, it has only been organized within the past three 

 or four years. The licensed dealers pay a small tax for the 

 space occupied and share in the cost of promptly clearing 

 away the waste. Only rare and choice fruits and vegetables 

 are missing here. The quality is fair for this class of market, 

 with almost no really unwholesome stock, and the low prices 

 put substantial meals within the reach of persons of very 

 small means. 



