4 8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 310, 



leaf-stems and pure white flowers, a striking contrast that is 

 noticed at once. 



There is also an improvement in the double varieties one 

 can obtain from seed, and these flowers last longer than the 

 single ones, but are not so effective. A race of perfectly double 

 Primulas was formerly cultivated and perpetuated by means 

 of cuttings each year. These were known as Gilbert's strain, 

 and very beautiful they were, but we do not hear much about 

 them now, though I remember them as being very handsome, 

 although not easy to propagate. We have heard much during 

 the last two years of the " Moss-curled" section, varieties that 

 have foliage' much crisped at the edge, and are novel in this 

 respect, but the flowers are poor and small, and neither single 

 nor double. The single ones with plain foliage are far better 

 for all purposes. 



Chinese Primroses can he relied on to come true from seed 

 if procured from good sources, and this is a great point in their 

 favor. On the contrary, it is most difficult to obtain a good 

 strain of Cineraria-seed. On one occasion I had such a strain, 

 and attempted to perpetuate it by careful isolation and use of a 

 camel's-hair brush, but the results did not warrant the attempt 

 again. There would be a great demand for a reliable strain of 

 Cinerarias if good seed could be obtained as readily as that 

 of Primulas, Gloxinias, Cyclamens and Calceolarias. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



The Earliest Flowers. — The present winter in this section has 

 been one of an average mild temperature, with much soften- 

 ing of the ground in day-time, though scarcely free from frost 

 in any night. It might be thought that, under such conditions, 

 the winter-flowering plants which make progress whenever the 

 upper soil is loosened, would have come forward rather more 

 rapidly than usual. Such has not been the case, and the first 

 Snowdrops and Crocuses of the season are only just appear- 

 ing. Of course, the first starting of vegetation in the early 

 year is a movable feast, influenced by more or less rigid con- 

 ditions of temperature, but in the majority of seasons here 

 Galanthus Elwesii will show flower during the first two or 

 three mild days after New Year's, and another of my tests, 

 seeds of Scilla Sibirica, will germinate at the same time. I have 

 observed, however, in the latter case, that temperature is only 

 one factor, for germination does not take place freely, if at all, 

 unless we have had a fall of snow, the melting of which seems 

 to give the necessary quickening effect. This is a fact well 

 known to hardy plantsmen who use this quickening action in 

 germinating certain seeds of alpine plants ; but it has interested 

 me to watch my border for seven or eight winters and verify 

 the fact. This may be one cause, and probably the principal 

 one, of the delay in the flowering of my arctic and alpine 

 plants. Such plants in their native environments are covered 

 with snow, the melting of which releases them, and under the 

 stimulus of abundant water in which is incorporated ammonia 

 or other elements stored in the snow, they make in the sun- 

 light a growth which in quickness, if not in luxuriance, can 

 scarcely be rivaled in the tropics. Except for one or two small 

 flurries, we have had no snow here this season, and this seems 

 to me a sufficient reason for a fortnight's delay in such things 

 as Anemone blanda, Galanthus Elwesii and Crocus Imperati. 

 The first of these, as yet, makes no sign. However, in such 

 things one can only write with a reservation, for it is only after 

 observations extended over a term of years that one can speak 

 with any confidence, and even confidence is tempered by the 

 knowledge that nature sometimes works in a mysterious, and 

 before unobserved, way. 



Elizabeth, N. J. J ■ **. G. 



Persimmons in New York. — My success with this fruit in this 

 section has been remarkable this year. Cions, procured of the 

 Secretary of the Missouri Horticultural Society, were set in 

 1892. In 1893 these bore masses of fruit, not scattered along 

 the limbs, but in large clusters. It was not ripe before frost ; 

 but after a good freeze it was gathered and stored. The as- 

 tringency, slightly perceptible even after freezing, soon passed 

 entirely away. It is desirable to obtain very early varieties for 

 this section, whereas those I have are rather late. Even these 

 persimmons were delicious, and they make a fine addition to 

 our November fruits. There is no question of the hardiness of 

 seedling trees, but they are likely to be barren, as mine were, 

 until grafted. 



Clinton, N. Y. -£• r. f. 



for the insect-feeding birds which make their winter home here. 

 Whenever the weather is fine these birds may be seen at work 

 searching the bark for the eggs and larva; of insects which in- 

 fest the trees in summer. In very stormy weather, and espe- 

 cially when the trees are coated with ice, the birds suffer 

 severely, and they then come quite close to our back-doors in 

 search of food. It is evident that, if we are to have birds, and 

 wish to encourage their breeding in this vicinity, we must feed 

 them during severe winter weather. A good plan is to place 

 scraps of animal-food in a box protected from cats and from 

 larger birds, such as the blue jay, which is very thievish. 



The downy woodpecker, the smallest of the woodpecker 

 family here, digs into the bark, making circular holes about a 

 third of an inch in diameter ; they are seen particularly on 

 A p| ile-trees, arranged in a circle around the trunk. 



The white-breasted nut-hatch, also called the trump- 

 eter, is a most persistent worker, and probably destroys 

 more insects than any other bird. He takes up a stretch of 

 the tree about one foot wide, working in zigzag fashion, and 

 when one section is finished he returns to the base of the tree, 

 working upward only. 



The red-bellied nut-hatch is similar to the preceding, 

 but is smaller. This bird is peculiar to the Conifer dis- 

 tricts, and an interesting characteristic is that he secures a 

 stock of provision for himself, and no plea need, therefore, be 

 made for a food-supply for this bird. Gathering Conifer-seeds, 

 and particularly the fatty matter which surrounds them, he 

 stores these in the crevices of the bark, generally on the south 

 side. 



The little brown creeper, as he goes up and down the trees, 

 looks very much like a mouse. He sleeps in a crevice on the 

 south side of the tree, and is very hard to discover when not 

 moving. He has a very long bill, and no crevice escapes him, 

 and he searches the bark of all kinds of trees. 



The black-capped titmouse is familiarly known as the 

 chickadee. This little bird follows the woodchopper wherever 

 he goes, feeding on the grubs which are dislodged in the work 

 of cutting down trees. All these birds are found in company, 

 and this indicates (hat their food is very much the same. 



Regarding the much-abused English sparrow, it was ob- 

 served last summer that these birds fed their young on the 

 caterpillars of the cabbage-butterfly. Since the sparrow, so far 

 as observed, is rarely an insect-feeder, the birds were closely 

 watched. It is certain that the young birds are fed with in- 

 sects, but as soon as they can help themselves they become 

 grain-feeders, like their parents. 



Wellesley, Mass. 



Meetings of Societies. 



T. D. H. 



Correspondence. 



The Care of Birds in Winter. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The occupant of the Smith Lodge on the grounds of Mr. 

 H. H. Hunnewell, at Wellesley, finds it a pleasant duty to care 



The Western New York Horticultural Society. — I. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the depressed condition of 

 trade, over 400 persons were in attendance at the 

 opening session of the meeting of the Western New York 

 Horticultural Society, in Rochester, last week, among 

 whom were well-known fruit-growers and scientists from 

 several states and from Canada. The annual meetings of 

 this society are, without doubt, the most enthusiastic and 

 important horticultural gatherings held upon the continent. 

 Rochester is in the centre of the most varied horticultural 

 region in the country. All the fruits of temperate climates 

 are largely cultivated here, while, at the same time, it is 

 the most varied nursery centre of the New World. Many 

 other regions boast larger orchards and nurseries, but in 

 the number of men engaged in the business, and especially 

 in the great diversity of edible and ornamental products 

 grown, no other territory in North America approaches it. 

 The western New York country has always been pros- 

 perous, and, among other institutions, schools, academies 

 and colleges have thrived, and the average grade of rural 

 intelligence is very high. This is forcibly illustrated in the 

 appreciative attention which papers upon ornamental 

 plants, as well as those on fruit-culture, always receive be- 

 fore these annual conventions. Rochester is itself the seat 

 of an excellent university, and Cornell University is only 

 125 miles away, on Cayuga Lake. The latter institution 

 always contributes freely to the meetings, and at this ses- 

 sion about forty of its students attended in a body. The 

 State Experiment Station at Geneva has also been a strong 

 factor in the maintenance of the society. 



