260 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 331. 



excited a specific cell-growth which led to the formation of 

 the gall. . . . This, I hold, only begins when the larva 

 emerges from the egg." "The moment the larva has 

 broken through the egg-covering and has, for the first time, 

 wounded the surrounding cells with its delicate mandibles, 

 a rapid cell-growth begins." This conclusion was sub- 

 stantiated by investigation, but it applies only to Cynipid 

 Oak galls, since there are numerous exceptions in other 

 instances. A detailed description of the ovipositor is 

 given, the method of its use is observed, and the function 

 of the peculiar egg-stalk in this family is made clear. 



Finally, a chapter is devoted to an explanation of the 

 reasons for this alternation of generations and how it origi- 

 nated ; and the author concludes that, "In any case I 

 consider it certain that parthenogenesis is the primitive 

 mode, and that sexual reproduction is subordinate to it." 



Altogether, the book is one that should be in the hands 

 of every biological student for its scientific interest, and 

 in the hands of every one interested in the growth and cul- 

 tivation of Oaks, for its descriptions of the relation of the 

 gall-structures occurring on it. 



Notes. 



It is announced that Mr. George W. Campbell, of Ohio, who 

 is well known for his connection with the Delaware, Lady and 

 other good varieties of Grapes, is about to introduce an early 

 Black Grape known as Campbell's Early. 



The annual export of tea from Formosa is stated by the 

 Americci7i Grocer to reach almost 17,000,000 pounds, valued at 

 nearly $4,000,000. Formosa tea is said to be the best in the 

 world, and it is stated that unscrupulous dealers in Japan, 

 Corea, and especially in India and Ceylon, have been doing a 

 large business in sending to the market their own goods put 

 up in imitation of the Formosan article. The new law, com- 

 pelling importers to brand each package with the name of the 

 place It comes from, has given much satisfaction to tea mer- 

 chants in China. 



Galium Mollugo is the earliest to bloom of those plants with 

 minute flowers, sprays of which are so useful for mingling with 

 other cut flowers. Galium aristatum, which is still better be- 

 cause its clusters are more open, blooms somewhat later and 

 has a delicate fragrance like that of Buckwheat blossoms. The 

 Gypsophilas, notably G. paniculata, have small flowers on up- 

 right little stems no larger than a cambric needle, and are inval- 

 uable in the garden. Statice latifolia has very minute bluish 

 flowers and stiff slender stems. All of these are perennial 

 plants of the easiest culture, and sprays of them in bouquets 

 have the effect of softening the colors of other flowers and sur- 

 rounding them with a kind of mist or halo. 



In a recent bulletin issued by the Mississippi Experiment 

 Station, Professor H. E. Weed describes and illustrates an 

 attachment to knapsack pumps by which kerosene can be 

 mechanically mixed with water for use as an insecticide, and 

 the mixture appears to do all the work of an emulsion, and 

 thus simplifies the application of the oil. The attachment 

 can be applied to all knapsack pumps of the Galloway pattern, 

 and can now be purchased with the Perfected Galloway knap- 

 sack and the Perfection Sprayer. The attachment can be used 

 for many purposes where a mechanical mixture of two liquids 

 is desired, and, since it is not patented, all manufacturers are 

 at liberty to place it upon their spraying outfits. 



From the Journal of the Kew Guild for 1894 it appears that 

 1,733.386 persons visited the Royal Gardens during 1893; of 

 these 676,894 entered them on Sundays, and 1,056,492 on week 

 days, the greatest monthly attendance being in August, and 

 the smallest in January. Within the Gardens 2.604 acres, or 

 about 113,430 square feet, are enclosed under glass. The 

 Gardens are intersected by nearly fifteen miles of walks, be- 

 sides the one or two miles of walks inside the houses. The 

 big Palm-house, which was built in 1848 at a cost of about 

 $150,000, has a length of 363 feet, with a height to the central 

 dome of sixty-two feet. It is heated by six large wrought-iron 

 tubular boilers and about three and three-quarters miles of 

 piping. 



Professor J. B. Smith, Entomologist of the New Jersey Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, seems to have shown that if a 

 Pear-orchard infested with the pear midge is cultivated as 

 usual, or if the orchard is in grass and the sod plowed under 

 after June 15th, a top-dressing of kainit, applied at the rate of 



one thousand pounds an acre, will kill the insects and benefit 

 the trees. On limited areas kerosene emulsion, diluted ten 

 times, may be used instead of kainit. This, of course, is good 

 treatment for the orchard as well, and it will hold in check this 

 most injurious pest of the Pear which has been introduced 

 into the United States within recent years. Lawrence Pear- 

 trees are most seriously affected, and it is sometimes possible 

 by destroying the entire fruit-set of a few Lawrence trees to 

 protect the remainder of the orchard. 



Mr. E. P. Powell writes that he finds a row of Tartarian Honey- 

 suckles particularly useful as a screen about small fruit-yards 

 against the frosty winds which often set in just after the fruit- 

 blossoms are well set. He does not allow the plants to grow 

 up to tree form, but cuts them back occasionally, and if 

 by any accident a bush is broken down, it will be in good shape 

 again within a year. He sets the white, pink and deep red 

 flowering sorts in succession, so that the hedge in May is a 

 mass of blossoms, delicate in form, color and fragrance. 

 He also finds our native Lonicera ccerulea valuable for this 

 purpose, for, although the flowers are less conspicuous, they 

 come earlier than those of L. Tartarica, and are exceedingly 

 fragrant. The berries of different shapes are not only orna- 

 mental, but are much relished by the birds, and robins will 

 leave raspberries for the fruit of these Honeysuckles. 



At the annual Rose and Strawberry show of the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society, in Boston, last week, the strawber- 

 ries were unusually good. This is particularly true of the Mar- 

 shall, a new variety with large, dark and well-shaped berries. 

 Owing to the excessive cold in March, which followed a season 

 of warm weather, and the drought and exhaustive heat of the 

 week before the exhibition the roses suffered in quality, al- 

 though great numbers were displayed. The largest contrib- 

 utor was the Honorable Joseph S. Fay, of Woods Holl, and the 

 four varieties which took the first prize for new kinds were 

 Mrs. Harkness, Violet Queen, Spencer and Duke of Fife. 

 There was a good show of annual and perennial herbaceous 

 plants as well as interesting collections of wild flowers, one of 

 them including forty-six species and varieties. From a cultu- 

 ral point of view, perhaps, the best plant in the exhibition was 

 one of Erica Boswelliana, shown byC. M. Atkinson, gardener 

 to John L. Gardner, Esq. The principal prizes for roses were 

 taken by Joseph S. Fay, Dr. C. G. Weld, Sumner Coolidge and 

 Mrs. J. W. Clark. The principal awards for strawberries were 

 made to Warren Hustis & Son, George F. Wheeler, W. C. 

 Strong, William Doran & Sons, George V. Fletcher and Wil- 

 liam G. Prescott. 



More than 200,000 packages of vegetables reached this city 

 from the south alone during last week. This large supply of 

 perishable stock was handled with considerable waste, on ac- 

 count of the excessively hot weather, and many cherries and 

 berries remained unsold. Small fruits from near-by states 

 now in the markets include cherries from New Jersey, Staten 

 Island and the Hudson River district. The last strawberries of 

 the New Jersey crop are being handled, and the best berries 

 now here are from New York state. This fruit throughout the 

 season has been of large size and excellent quality, and the 

 abundant supply has made it cheap enough for all buyers. 

 Black raspberries from Maryland have been selling as low as 

 two cents a quart at wholesale ; red raspberries command 

 from five to eight cents for a pint cup, in large quantities. 

 Blackberries are coming from North Carolina and northward, 

 and huckleberries from Delaware. Offerings of choice ripe 

 currants are in limited quantity, and green gooseberries sell 

 slowly. The Niagara and Champion grapes, from Florida, are 

 already in market, and some Le Conte pears, small and not 

 really ripened, from the same state. The watermelons re- 

 ceived from Georgia are smaller than those which came from 

 Florida early in the season ; the best command seventy-five 

 cents to a dollar each. Muskmelons from Charleston are 

 plentiful and fair in quality, and sell for ten to twenty-five 

 cents each. The last Bidwell and Peen-to peaches have left 

 Florida, and as part of the forty-one car-loads of California 

 fruit sold here during the week, were Alexander, Briggs' May, 

 Garland and Hale's Early peaches in considerable quantity. 

 Apricots from California are still small and of poor flavor. 

 Clyman, St. Catherine and Cherry plums and Tragedy prunes 

 are here from California, with a few boxes of Madeline pears. 

 Montgamet cherries from California command the highest 

 prices obtained for this fruit, Royal Ann and Black Tartarian 

 following in price. These cherries are all affected by heavy 

 rains on the Pacific slope, and they are much less showy and 

 durable than in former seasons. Prices for California fruit in 

 eastern markets have thus far not been encouraging to the 

 growers. 



