478 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 510 



general interest it excited, not only when delivered, but 

 in press notices and in invitations for its repetition from 

 teachers, schools and clubs in all sections of the state. 

 At the meeting' in Harrisburg it was evident that the 

 more serious the proposition the closer was the atten- 

 tion. A resolution was unanimously adopted by the Fed- 

 eration declaring that, "in consideration of the importance 

 of the preservation and cultivation of the forests of our 

 state, both as a means of maintaining an adequate supply 

 of water and of securing a proper distribution of rainfall, 

 thereby increasing the state's productiveness and conse- 

 quent wealth, the State Federation, through its clubs and 

 its individual members, should use every effort to arouse 

 interest in our forest conditions and resources with a view 

 to an intelligent understanding of the value of forest pre- 

 serves and the best means of protection and cultivation." 



New York. M. B. C. 



Notes. 



Dr. J. N.Rose, of theUnitedStates National Museum, has lately 

 returned to Washington from a five months' botanical expe- 

 dition through Mexico, bringing with him a collection of more 

 than fifteen hundred species. Most of the collecting was done 

 in the states of Durango, Zacatecas and Jalisco, and in a region 

 which, it is said, has never before been visited by a botanist. 



The decadence in training wall fruits has recently been the 

 subject of considerable discussion in several numbers of the 

 Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener. The reasons 

 given for the decline of this department of English gardening 

 during the past twenty years are reduced labor, partly caused 

 by the depression in agriculture and in everything pertaining 

 to land ; and to the larger outlay for society expenses, the 

 garden being usually the first department of an establishment 

 to feel the effect of economy. Besides, the increasing lavish- 

 ness in table and house decorations make an excessive demand 

 on labor, so that the vegetables and fruits are neglected and 

 receive only hurried and careless attention. The garden walls 

 which were once the pride of the gardener in their orderly 

 training, and in the health and fruitfulness"of the trees, now 

 frequently have an air of neglect and unproductiveness. 



The most brilliant plant in northern gardens, now that De- 

 cember has come and leaves have fallen or withered, is the 

 native Black Alder (Ilex verticellata), which, this season, is 

 unusually well covered with its bright red fruits that make 

 a brilliant show in the landscape. Almost equally brilliant are 

 the fruits of the Japanese Berberis Thunbergii, which still 

 retains a few of its scarlet leaves. This Japanese Barberry has 

 proved to be one of the best exotic shrubs which has been 

 introduced into this country, where it appears to be fully 

 appreciated and is now largely planted. No other shrub car- 

 ries more brilliant fruit through the entire winter, and few 

 shrubs make a braver showing in autumn dress. Some of 

 the American Hawthorns, too, are still brilliant, although their 

 leaves have fallen. The most conspicuous, perhaps, is the 

 Washington Thorn (Crataegus cordata), which is still loaded 

 with its small bright orange-red fruits. Crataegus Crus-Galli, 

 with less brilliantly colored fruit, is beautiful, too, until the 

 very end of winter, and the fruits of Crataegus viridis and Cra- 

 taegus Carrieri still retain all their beauty of form and color. 



The Pacific Rural Press, in a recent issue, describes and 

 figures the Mammoth Blackberry, a hybrid between Rubus 

 ursinus, the common wild Blackberry of California, and the 

 Texas Early, a form of Rubus villosus, recently obtained by 

 Judge J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, the originator of the Logan 

 berry. The Mammoth, which is a cross between two plants 

 which produce medium-sized fruit, curiously bears berries of 

 immense size, fruits two and three-eighths of an inch in length 

 being common. The canes of the Mammoth are large and 

 thickly covered with small short spines ; starting early in 

 March, they grow thick and stout until about five feet high, 

 and then, becoming pendulous or semiprostrate, grow from 

 twenty-five to thirty feet more during the season ; late in the 

 autumn the tips of these shoots take root. Producing no ad- 

 ventitious root-buds, this variety cannot be propagated by 

 root-cuttings, and the only way to multiply it is with stolons. 

 The Mammoth begins to grow and flower early in the spring 

 and ripens its fruit at Santa Cruz the last of May, or some 

 weeks earlier than the Lawton. The flavor of the fruit is 

 described as more acid than that of the Lawton, but when 

 perfectly ripe is said to be sweet ; when cooked or canned the 

 flavor is identical with that of the fruit of the wild California 



Blackberry, which is excellent, although, owing to its poor 

 bearing qualities, it is rarely cultivated. 



For Thanksgiving-day trade, last week, tempting arrays of 

 fruits were made in the markets and stores. California grapes 

 were offered in large variety and of excellent quality, and, 

 handsome with their rich bloom, these looked as iresh and 

 crisp as when taken from the vines several weeks ago. New 

 York state grapes, of remarkable freshness for this season, 

 were also displayed in variety, and included good Niagaras 

 and Delawares. Lady-apples, some red bananas, strawberries 

 from California, cocoanuts, pineapples, Italian and French chest- 

 nutsandcranberries were all in special demand. Other favorite 

 fruits were Florida oranges and grape-fruits, choice varie- 

 ties of pears, as Winter Seckel and Cornice, and showy apples. 

 During last week 37,633 barrels of the latter fruit were received 

 in this city for the local trade, besides 18,861 barrels for ex- 

 port. Other receipts of fruits last week were two cargoes 

 of cocoanuts from Colon and Trinidad, which comprised 

 nearly 250,000 of these fruits, and four steamers brought 

 60.000 bunches of bananas from Jamaica and Central America. 

 One cargo from Kingston, Jamaica, consisted of 10,613 barrels 

 of oranges and 665 boxes, besides other shipments of oranges 

 from the same island. There are now on the way from the 

 Mediterranean to this port 6,200 barrels of Almeria grapes, 

 3,000 boxes of oranges and 60,700 boxes of lemons. Fruits are 

 still coming from the Pacific coast, and twenty-one carloads 

 were sold here last week, of which nineteen were grapes. 

 Other western fruits received were Winter Nelis pears from 

 Oregon, Easter Beurre and other late varieties of pears from 

 California, a carload of new crop Navel oranges from the 

 southern part of the same state, and attractive lemons of excel- 

 lent quality. 



" The Cherry in Delaware" is the title of Bulletin No. 35, 

 issued by the Delaware College Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. In a systematic treatment of the subject, Mr. G. Harold 

 Powell, Horticulturist and Entomologist of the station, clearly 

 explains the classification of this fruit ; the practical consider- 

 ations of soil, location, distance of trees ; the propagating of 

 varieties; pruning; cultivation; injurious fungi ; insect ene- 

 mies ; climatic injuries ; handling the crop and profits. The 

 Cherry interests of Delaware, it is stated, are confined to door- 

 yard and garden spots, and the product is disposed of in the 

 local markets at prices that warrant an extension of the indus- 

 try. The Cherry-tree thrives best in a warm, dry, loamy soil. 

 The sour Cherry likes more moisture and is hardier. Soils 

 too dry can often be improved by the addition of humus and 

 by cultural aids. The land should be plowed early in spring 

 and receive frequent cultivation until the first or middle of 

 July, and then be seeded to a cover crop. Sour cherries can 

 be grown commercially in all parts of the state, but the sweet 

 Cherry should be confined to the rolling lands of New Castle 

 County. The orchards should be placed on an elevation sloping 

 to the north and the fruit-buds will thus be retarded in spring. 

 Sweet Cherries should be planted thirty feet, and sour Cherry- 

 trees sixteen to eighteen feet apart each way. The buds for 

 the future orchard should be selected from trees of a uni- 

 formly heavy-bearing habit, as a promiscuous selection tends 

 to make unlike trees. Sour Cherry-trees should be pruned 

 similarly to the Peach ; sweet Cherries should have three to 

 five main arms. Brown rot is the most destructive fungous 

 disease and can be controlled by spraying and by picking the 

 fruit just before it is ripe. Black aphis and curculio are the 

 worst insect enemies. Both are most destructive to the sweet 

 varieties, though the curculio is sometimes serious in the sour 

 kinds. Spraying controls black aphis, and jarring the latter 

 pest. Sun-scald and bursting of the bark are not uncommon 

 and are due to climatic influences. They are favored by 

 nitrogenous fertilizers, late fall growth and exposure of 

 trunk. Care in the selection of soil and in fertilizing, and 

 a low-headed spreading form of tree reduce the danger. 

 Geographical varieties are as yet undeveloped. The most 

 profitable among sour Cherries are Montmorency and 

 Early Richmond, and among sweet varieties, Black Tar- 

 tarian, Roberts' Red Heart, Napoleon, Windsor and the new 

 Dikeman, described on page 367 of this volume of Garden 

 and Forest. A list of varieties suitable for home use is also 

 given. It is important that the packages for market be small 

 and neat. The purpose of the bulletin is to awaken an interest 

 in the cultivation of this fruit, so that it may help supplement 

 the present products of farms in localities where it can be suc- 

 cessfully grown. This interesting pamphlet records a practical 

 experience in the cultivation of Cherries in sections of country 

 where it has for years been a profitable industry, and half-tone 

 illustrations add to the value of the text. 



