June 20, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



249 



spread rapidly to nearly all of the flowers. Not only did it 

 affect the flowers, but in many cases the young leaves and 

 twigs were affected. It spread to such plants as Amygdalus 

 nana and to Peach-trees and miscellaneous plants growing in 

 proximity to them. The fact that old rubbish is a constant 

 source of danger should not be overlooked. 



Iowa Agricultural College. _____ 



L. H. Pammel. 



The New Nurseries at South Orange, New Jersey. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — Among the plants which I found at the nurseries of 

 W. A. Manda a few days since, a rather full set of Ivies 

 was particularly interesting. Few of these plants are in gen- 

 eral cultivation, and I therefore made memoranda of (he kinds 

 which seemed most distinct and striking. Of the various 

 forms of Hedera Helix, the variety Algeriensis has large light 

 green leaves of varying shapes, and is, altogether, a very 

 bright plant and apparently free in growth. The variety Den- 

 tata has still larger leaves and darker foliage, while Atropur- 

 purea has the darkest foliage of all, being nearly black later in 

 the year. The leaves are of medium size and rather more 

 finely divided than those of Digitata, and the plant is a slow 

 grower. The leaves of Digitata are blackish green, with light- 

 colored veins, colors which also prevail in Donerailensis, a 

 pretty small-leaved variety. In Chrysocarpa the central lobe 

 is elongated, and the color is a greenish gray, while in Tau- 

 rica the leaves are heart-shaped. Some of the variegated 

 Ivies make good plants, and they may be useful for window- 

 boxes and for cutting for floral arrangements. The best is a 

 variety of Hedera Helix, which is named Marginata rubra, with 

 occasionally another Latin adjective added. In autumn it 

 takes on a deep rose color at the edge of the leaf which is 

 maintained throughout the winter. Cavendishii is a pretty 

 small-leaved kind for pots, while Banksiana has a wider golden 

 margin, and Himalaica is a variety with longer leaves and 

 light green centre and ample yellow margin. There is a varie- 

 gated form of the Irish Ivy which, while very vigorous, is not 

 constant in its variation. 



Mr. Manda has gathered an extensive collection of green- 

 house and hardy plants, among which I noticed the new 

 white-flowered Canna, as it is sometimes called by florists, 

 although it is botanically a Calathea. It is a new introduction 

 from Guinea, strikingly like a Canna in form and habit, 

 and its flowering is awaited with interest. There were fine 

 specimens of the white-flowered Swainsonia galegifolia, whose 

 dainty foliage and pure white pea-shaped flowers have made 

 this an increasingly popular plant. Most of the well-known 

 decorative species were here in abundance, and more seed- 

 lings of different plants than I have ever seen together. As 

 an example of the fact that plants under glass sometimes take 

 on new phases, I observed in one house some pots of the 

 hardy Evening Primrose, (Enothera speciosa, the flowers of 

 which were quite distinct, having deep yellow bases to the 

 pure white petals. 



This new nursery is located at South Orange ; the four 

 acres of land are rapidly filling with hardy plants, and the 

 brook which borders it on one side is being broadened out 

 into pools to furnish a supply of aquatic and bog plants. 



New York. -A . 



Meetings of Societies. 



The American Association of Nurserymen. 



THE nineteenth annual convention of the American Asso- 

 ciation of Nurserymen brought together nearly three 

 hundred members at Niagara Falls on the 6th of June, many 

 of them from Ontario and remote states, although western 

 New York was naturally most largely represented. Since this 

 organization is devoted mainly to trade interests, the papers 

 which are of interest to the general public were comparatively 

 few. The President, Mr. N. P. Pearsall, of Fort Scott, Kansas, 

 in his opening address said that nursery interests had weathered 

 the commercial storm better than most other industries. In 

 spite of apprehension, the trade this spring had been active, 

 although prices were low, and nursery stock of all kinds in 

 nearly every part of the country had been cleared up better 

 than it had in many years. He criticised the laws enacted in 

 some Pacific states, ostensibly for preventing the introduction 

 of insects and plant diseases upon nursery stock, but which 

 were better adapted, in his view, to keep out trees than pests, 

 since their operation has practically excluded eastern trees. 

 He argued that it would be easy to have nursery stock exam- 

 ined by experts where it was grown at the expense of the con- 



signor. The inspection could be made then more carefully 

 than after the stock had been packed and shipped, and there 

 would be no danger of losing young trees on the frontier after 

 they had made an expensive journey. 



A long discussion followed a resolution favoring the admis- 

 sion without duty of all stock plants which cannot be success- 

 fully grown in this country, the chief argument being held on 

 the question what particular stock plants can be profitably 

 grown here. It seemed to be the general opinion that, even 

 with the frequent use of spraying, Pear-stocks cannot be suc- 

 cessfully grown here, and the same is practically true of the 

 Quince-stock. In reference to Plums and Cherries, there was 

 a difference of opinion. 



A general expression of opinion in reference to the freezing 

 weather of last March showed that its effects were serious as 

 far north as North Carolina, and that it extended westward to 

 the plains and southward to the Gulf. In the middle southern 

 states it seems to have been the most serious late frost within 

 the memory of the present generation. 



Mr. J. H. Hale, of Connecticut, in the course of his address 

 on "Profitable Methods of Introducing New Fruits," paid a 

 eulogy to the labors of E. W. Bull, the introducer of the Con- 

 cord Grape, and at his suggestion a purse of $100.00 was 

 raised as a testimonial to Mr. Bull, and sent to him with ap- 

 propriate resolutions. The essential point in the successful 

 introduction of a new fruit, in Mr. Hale's opinion, is that it 

 should supply some actual need, and without this it will never 

 fill any prominent place, no matter how much it may be ad- 

 vertised. 



Professor Bailey, of Cornell University, in speaking of 

 synonyms, said that these can often be accounted for by a re- 

 origination of some variety or by variation of the original 

 type when it is grown under different conditions and in differ- 

 ent localities. In this way synonyms have a distinct natural 

 history, and the more synonyms a variety has the greater are 

 the chances that this variety is adapted to a wide range of cli- 

 mate and uses. All the old sorts of fruits have many synonyms 

 because seedling types of distinct origin are constantly re- 

 ferred to the original stock, each one being an independent 

 testimony to the value of the kind. These synonymous forms 

 are not necessarily identical with the parent, but are rather 

 distinct strains or sub-varieties which may be better suited to 

 certain purposes than the type itself. 



Robert Douglas, the veteran nurseryman, of Waukegan, 

 Illinois, read a paper on forestry which dealt particularly with 

 the distribution of certain types and the relation of this distri- 

 bution to the characters of seeds. For example, it was a par- 

 ticularly happy thought of Nature to give winged seeds to 

 cone-bearing trees so that their gyrating motions as they fell 

 might carry them from under parent trees, for if the seeds 

 should germinate in their shade the seedlings would damp off. 



Mr. N. H. Albaugh, of Ohio, spoke of the habit of some nur- 

 serymen of refusing trees on their arrival because they do 

 not consider them to be of the grade which had been ordered. 

 The trouble lies in the fact that there is no uniform system of 

 grading fruit-trees. In eastern nurseries a first-class fruit-tree 

 is one that has a heavy trunk and a low head, while in the 

 west a tree is demanded which has a tall and slender habit of 

 growth. Refuse nursery-stock is of no value to the distant 

 consignor, and therefore buyers should familiarize themselves 

 with the features of trees grown in different parts of the coun- 

 try and then exercise charity. 



Mr. Wing R. Smith, in speaking of the culture of standard 

 Pears, said that good stock could only be grown upon heavy 

 land which was well drained. He considered tile drains a 

 necessity in almost every soil which was suitable for a Pear 

 nursery. 



In the discussion which followed the paper of Mr. C. Mor- 

 gan, of Ontario, on novelties, in which the introduction of new 

 varieties, until after they had been thoroughly tested, was dis- 

 couraged, the opinion prevailed that it was quite impossible 

 to make anything like a full test of any novelty until it was 

 sent out, and that really the only way to test varieties for all 

 purposes is to introduce them. 



J. H. Hale, of Connecticut, was elected President for the 

 ensuing year ; N. H. Albaugh, of Ohio, Vice-President; N. A. 

 Whitney, of Illinois, Treasurer, and George C. Seagar, of 

 Rochester, New York, Secretary. 



Notes. 



A fruit-grower in Chautauqua County, New York, who also 

 grows flowers, had Crimson Clover in bloom in his orchard. 

 In sending some cut-flowers to Buffalo, New York, he put in, by 



