468 



Garden and Forest, 



[Number 509. 



in barrens and bogs about Humboldt Bay, related to L. mari- 

 tima, which it resembles in habit, bulbs, leaves, and in the 

 dark red of its perianth tips, but from which it is separated by 

 its much larger flowers, with long revolute lobes ; Lilium 

 Bakerii, with a bulb similar to that of L. Columbianum, is dis- 

 tinguished from that species by the form of the perianth and 

 the delightful fragrance of the flowers which perfume the air 

 for a considerable distance, and is a native of sandy woods 

 along Puget Sound in northern Washington and southern 

 British Columbia; and L. parvum, var. luteum, a showy 

 form with perianth segments revolute from the base and clear 

 brilliant reddish orange throughout, tipped with red and 

 marked with small bright red spots. This variety is from 

 Plumas County, where it was collected by Mrs. Austin. 



Two plants of the Heath family from widely separated 

 parts of the world, Azalea Vaseyi and Enkianthus campanu- 

 latus, were conspicuous a few days ago in the brilliant 

 reds of their dying foliage. In the northern states this 

 Rhododendron, with its lovely clear pink precocious flow- 

 ers, is one of the best of our early-flowering shrubs, and 

 at the end of October lightens up the shrubbery with its 

 brilliantly-colored leaves. It was first figured in Garden 

 and Forest (vol. i., fig. 60); and, although a native of 

 North and South Carolina, where it was discovered only a 

 few years ago, it has proved perfectly hardy in eastern Massa- 

 chusetts. Enkianthus campanulatus, the representative of a 

 small genus of southern and eastern Asia, is one of the most 

 beautiful flowering plants in Japan. In its native forests it is a 

 tree occasionally thirty feet high, with a trunk sometimes a 

 foot in diameter covered with smooth light red bark, and abun- 

 dant campanulate Andromeda-like white flowers borne in 

 elongated, many-flowered, racemose panicles. Raised in the 

 Arnold Arboretum from seeds gathered by Professor Sargent 

 in 1892, it has so far proved hardy in the climate of Massachu- 

 setts, although, of course, it is too soon to form any opinion of 

 its real value as a garden plant in this country. During the 

 last week of October the plants in the Arboretum were par- 

 ticularly noticeable from the brilliant color of the leaves. 



The Rural New-Yorker, in explaining the long-keeping 

 qualities of New York state grapes, says that grapes, apples 

 and other fruits grown in western New York have superior 

 keeping qualities, due to the soil and climatic conditions. 

 Grapes grown on clay-land are firmer and ship better than 

 those grown on gravel. In Ohio an association known as the 

 Clay-growers' Association handle only grapes grown on clay- 

 landsT The three sections in New York where grapes are 

 grown to the greatest perfection all lie near large bodies of 

 water, an influence favorable to keeping qualities. Of the long 

 list of varieties cultivated in this state the best of the long- 

 keeping kinds are Catawba, Diana, Isabella and Vergennes. 

 To insure keeping they must be carefully handled ; it is also 

 important that the temperature be gradually reduced from the 

 vines to cold storage, and there must be no sudden changes. 

 The grapes should be left out-of-doors in crates the night after 

 they are picked ; early in the morning they should be removed 

 to a cool building or dry cellar ; then to a still cooler room ad- 

 joining the storage-room, and here the temperature should 

 gradually fall until the desired point is reached. New York 

 grapes intended for exhibition at the World's Fair were placed 

 in cold storage November 1st, 1892, and held there until spring, 

 when they were shipped to Chicago in time for the opening of 

 the Fair, May 1st. The main supply was then placed in the 

 cold-storage building on the exhibition-grounds. This build- 

 ing was destroyed by fire on July 12th and the reserve stock of 

 grapes was lost, otherwise New York grapes would have been 

 on exhibition every day of the Fair. As it was, but fifteen days 

 intervened between the last showing of cold-storage stock and 

 the arrival of new-crop grapes. Catawba grapes are offered at 

 reasonable rates in the markets of this city as late as April. 



The Gardeners' Magazine in a recent issue states that the 

 development of the great industry which has been founded 

 on the beet has been possible only in consequence of the pro- 

 gressive increase in the yield of sugar by the roots. In order 

 to obtain exact information on the subject application was 

 made by the Kew authorities to Monsieur H. L. de Vilmorin, 

 who has had a large share in bringing the beet to its present 

 condition as a commercial source of sugar. In reply Monsieur 

 de Vilmorin wrote to Mr. W. T. Thiselton that both his father 

 and himself had devoted much time and attention to sugar beets. 

 Both the beet-root and the leaf-beet are derived from Beta 

 maritima, L., a native of the shores of the Mediterranean and 

 of the western coasts of Europe. It was known to the ancient 

 Greeks and Romans in both garden forms. In the eigh- 

 teenth century large varieties of the beet-root were transferred 



from the garden to the field and used as food for cattle, first 

 in Germany, and afterward in France and Great Britain. 

 When Achard initiated the manufacture of sugar from beet- 

 root the white field variety was judged the most suitable for 

 sugar-making; it contained from eight to ten per cent of its 

 weight in pure sugar. Selection was then brought to bear on the 

 existing variety, and in fifty years the percentage of sugar was 

 slightly increased, being raised to twelve or thirteen percent of 

 the gross weight of the root. After 1850 more accurate means 

 of ascertaining the amount of sugar in each individual root were 

 introduced by the elder Vilmorin, and in a dozen years a race 

 was established yielding sixteen and even eighteen per cent of 

 sugar. The fibrous tissues of the root which hold most sugar 

 had been developed and the cellular tissues reduced to the 

 utmost extent ; hence the root became small, hard, dry and 

 easily deformed. Since then the object has been to unite 

 a better shape with an equal amount of sugar. Beet-roots 

 containing more than eighteen per cent of sugar cease to vege- 

 tate properly and die. 



No more beautiful fruit has ever been seen in our fancy- 

 fruit stores than the Spitzenberg apples, from California, now 

 shown in the best collections. The fine crimson streaks are 

 laid on a flush of a lighter shade, with clear lemon-color show- 

 ing through in places. The aroma of this apple is delightful, 

 and the flavor and texture are both excellent. These are a 

 specialty with W. & C. Smith, the pioneer fruiterers in this 

 city, at 84 Broadway. Other attractive offerings in their un- 

 commonly interesting display are immense Easter Beurre, 

 Cornice and Beurre d'Anjou pears, which range from seventy- 

 five cents to $1.00 a dozen, and spicy winter Seckels from fifty 

 to seventy-five cents. Coe's Late Red plums are still shown 

 in good condition, and cost seventy-five cents for a six-pound 

 box. Among California grapes are Cornichon, White Muscat, 

 Morocco and Verdelle at seventy-five cents for six pounds. 

 Almeria or Malaga grapes, from Spain, cost forty cents a 

 pound, and there are hot-house Gros Colman grapes. Per- 

 simmons have recently arrived from Florida, after a scarcity 

 of this fruit during the past month ; these are of unusually 

 large size and in their best condition ; they cost $1.00 for a 

 box containing one dozen and a half of the fruits. Grape- 

 fruits, from Florida, cost $2.00, and oranges from the same 

 state sixty to seventy-five cents a dozen. Abakka pineapples 

 command sixty to seventy-five cents each. While the supply 

 of fresh fruits is no less showy in variety and color than 

 earlier in the season, the buyer has, besides, a wide 

 choice of fruits preserved in various ways. Many of these 

 are imported as, Guava jelly and a syrup of the same fruit, 

 besides Guava paste and marmalade, from Florida and the 

 West Indies ; the latter costs twenty-five cents a pound. 

 Lime-juice syrup also conies from the West Indies, while a 

 comparative novelty in our city, Tamarind syrup, comes from 

 the East Indies by way of (he Netherlands, and costs fifty cents 

 a bottle. Blood orange phosphate is a popular fruit syrup, 

 used for making a drink, and costs twenty-five cents a bottle. 

 Neat and attractive glasses of Bar-le-Duc, red currants and 

 white currants preserved separately, and costing twenty-five 

 cents a package, and Cerises au Marasquin, the bright-colored 

 French cherries in syrup, from Bordeaux, are among the im- 

 ported attractions in glass, while slender glass jars containing 

 strikingly handsome fruit, are labeled with the name of the 

 Fabrikant and of the fruit in good German, with no sugges- 

 tion, however, of where the fruit is put up. These glasses 

 show French marrons, cherries glace in vanilla syrup, straw- 

 berries, plums, prunes and pears, all of one kind, or as- 

 sorted in the same jar. The chestnuts are imported; the 

 choice fruits are grown in America, and are preserved in a rich 

 syrup in this country by an experienced German. These 

 jars, weighing one and a half pounds, cost forty-five 

 cents, and two and a half pound packages readily command 

 seventy-five cents. Assorted glace' fruits, from France, in 

 neat paper boxes holding one pound, cost sixty cents, and two- 

 pound boxes of glacg apricots cost $1.25. A section of stem 

 with Muscat dates attached fills a box which holds a pound ; 

 this costs twenty-eight cents. Royal Locourn pulled figs seli 

 for twenty cents a pound, and the best pressed figs bring the 

 same price. The grade known as Extra Natural figs, from 

 Turkey, in their original plump form, realize thirty cents a 

 pound. French prunes sell at twenty-five cents, Russian 

 Imperial cluster raisins, at thirty-five cents, and Arabian dates, 

 seeded, and stuffed with almonds, walnuts or pecan nuts, at 

 thirty cents a pound. Preserved Canton ginger, in five-pound 

 jars, costs sixty cents. Among many domestic and foreign 

 nuts, salted Pistachio nuts, in the partly open shells, are the 

 most interesting. These sell for fifty cents for a half-pound 

 package. 



