April ii, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



149 



in this country, and I was impressed with the noble aspect of 

 the plant as a specimen. It is a cross between C. oculata 

 gigantea and C. Sanderiana, both of which are robust growers, 

 but this plant is evidently stronger than either of its parents. 

 Besides its beauty, the flower of the offspring has especial in- 

 terest in showing to what extent the characteristics of each 

 parent appear in it. In C. oculata gigantea only the base of 

 the lip or eye is purple, the remainder of the flower being a 

 pure white. On the other hand, the entire flower of C. San- 

 deriana is rose color, with a lip of deeper shade. The flowers 

 of C. Gigas are large, with a lip of deep rosy-purple, and petals 

 white suffused with purple. 



Here, too, I saw Calanthe bella, a lovely hybrid between 

 C. Turneri and C. Veitchii. Its color is an exquisitely delicate 

 rose, with a deeper eye margined with cream-white. The 

 spike arches gracefully, and the flowers are set closely so as to 

 give it a much better effect as a specimen than many others 

 have, especially those which belong to the vestita type. C. Vic- 

 toria Regina resembles C. bella, but is a shade lighter. C. Sand- 

 hurstiana has the general form of C. Veitchii, but is much 

 better in color. Another hybrid, C. Barberi, is an admirable 

 white, much better than either of its parents, C. vestalis or 



C. oculata. u ,, ,-, 



Wellesley, Mass. -<• L). Hatfield. 



Recent Publications. 



Injurious Insects and the Use of Insecticides. A new de- 

 scriptive manual on noxious insects, with methods for 

 their repression. By Frank W. Sempers. W. Atlee Burpee 

 &Co., Philadelphia. 1894. 



The little book under the above title is a useful and 

 handy volume which ought to prove helpful to every 

 practical farmer. There is a great deal of accurate in- 

 formation in it, and while it is by no means complete, we 

 have observed nothing which is actually misleading. The 

 author does not claim to be an entomologist, and as his 

 book is mainly a compilation from authoritative sources, 

 it occasionally shows the little inaccuracies inseparable 

 from works of that description. The first part, devoted 

 to insect classification and insecticides, gives an ex- 

 tremely generalized account of the orders of insects, the 

 composition of the leading insecticides, the formulas for 

 mixing and using, and of some of the nozzles and pumps 

 that should be used. The formulas given are good, and 

 the methods of use are sufficiently accurate. Part II. is 

 devoted to orchard fruits, and the insects most troublesome 

 to each are treated. The fact that the author is not an en- 

 tomologist appears here and in the subsequent portions of 

 the work, in an apparent lack of familiarity with the litera- 

 ture of the science. Contrary to the statement on page 70, 

 the life-history of the apple-twig borer is completely known. 

 The latest information concerning the pear-leaf mite, page 

 82, is not included, perhaps because the bulletin containing 

 it had not come to hand. Better methods than those 

 enumerated on page 85 can be used against white grubs, 

 and the pear-midge is not mentioned at all. In Part III., 

 devoted to the insects injuring small fruits, we find a few 

 more serious omissions. The very complete life-history of 

 the strawberry-weevil, and the careful experiments recorded 

 in Insect life, vol. v., are entirely overlooked. Under the 

 Blackberry and Raspberry insects, there is no mention of 

 the red-necked gall-maker, by all odds the most troublesome 

 of the species injurious to these plants, and no account of 

 the crown-borer or of the giant root-borer, which three 

 species are more abundant and injurious in the eastern 

 United States than all the others mentioned in the book. 

 The work done in New Jersey on the Cranberry insects has 

 been overlooked, and the accounts given are quite in- 

 complete. 



Part IV. is devoted to insects injurious to vegetables, 

 grains and grasses. Under the cabbage-maggot there is 

 no mention of the hellebore decoction as a remedy, which 

 has proved so successful in several hands, and while kero- 

 sene-emulsion is recommended, there is no suggestion as 

 to the proportion in which it should be used. The Cucur- 

 bitacese are sadly neglected, no mention being made of the 

 melon-louse, which does more injury than all other species 



combined, while the account of the squash-borer is quite 

 inadequate. Sweet-potato insects are not mentioned at all. 

 The "Boll-worm," p. 154, is treated only as a cotton insect; 

 and while in the middle states its injuries to corn and early 

 tomatoes are serious, nothing is said as to remedies in these 

 cases. On p. 157, in treating of the corn-root louse, no 

 mention is made of the success attending the use of the 

 mineral fertilizers, while the root web-worms are not men- 

 tioned at all. In Part V., which treats of insects that infest 

 domestic animals, the account of the "horn fly" is based 

 entirely upon the report of the Kentucky Station, while the 

 full accounts published by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, and by the New Jersey Station, seem to be 

 overlooked. Without pointing out other errors of omission, 

 those we have noted will suffice to show that this work 

 must not be accepted as containing the latest knowledge 

 even on the subjects which it discusses. As we said at the 

 outset, however, it can be safely followed as far as it goes, 

 and it will prove a useful addition to the practical literature 

 in the libraries of farmers, gardeners and fruit-growers. 



The Beautiful Flower-garden is the title of a little paper- 

 covered book issued by Burpee & Co., and written and 

 illustrated by F. Schuyler Mathews. The beginner will not 

 find much definite and detailed instruction in it, but it will 

 exercise a wholesome influence by opening to novices an 

 inviting field where personal study ought to be profitable. 

 Mr. Mathews holds that the best effects of a flower-garden 

 are produced by arranging the various flowers with a view 

 to their harmonies and contrasts of color, and the hints for 

 arrangements which he gives ought to stimulate the reader 

 to try others of his own devising and to endeavor to adjust 

 his plants in accordance with their relative colors and in 

 conformity to some well-considered color-scheme instead 

 of jumbling them together haphazard. Persons who do not 

 quite assent to Mr. Mathew's assumption that color is the 

 all-important element in a garden arrangement, and others 

 who might take exception to the way in which his more 

 elaborate plans are cut up by walks and drives, and even 

 those who could in no way be induced to give any hos- 

 pitable welcome to such a beast as Mr. Mathews' Chinese 

 dragon, constructed out of lath, cement and Nasturtiums, 

 will find healthful suggestions in his spirited drawings 

 which illustrate how groups of plants can be made effec- 

 tive. The book concludes with some very general, but, 

 as far as they go, sound and practical directions concern- 

 ing the cultivation of different classes of ornamental plants 

 by Mr. A. H. Fewkes. 



All About Sweet Peas is another of Burpee's little man- 

 uals, which has been prepared by the Rev. W. T. Hutchins, 

 who knows whereof he speaks, for he has carefully tested 

 the new Eckford varieties, and that he knows how to grow 

 them well is proved by the fact that he carries off prizes 

 wherever his flowers come in competition with others. 

 The book contains a descriptive list of all the varieties and 

 explains how these new kinds are produced, and then it 

 gives elaborate details of the most improved methods of 

 culture by which the largest flowers can be had in abun- 

 dance and kept in bloom for a long season. Lest the 

 novice should be alarmed by the somewhat voluminous 

 and explicit advice, he can rest assured that the essen- 

 tials of cultivation are comparatively few. The seed should 

 be sown as early as possible in deep soil, which must be 

 kept cool and moist, so that the roots will have ample space 

 and have abundant food. They are best planted in a trench, 

 say, five inches below the surface, in soil that has been 

 worked deep, and should be covered with about an inch of 

 soil. When the plants are up some three inches the soil 

 should be drawn about them, so as to leave a couple of 

 inches at the top above the surface, and this should be re- 

 peated at intervals until the furrow is nearly full. A slight 

 hollow should be left lor convenience of watering, for in 

 dry weather it is essential that the plants should have all 



