July 4, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



267 



A plant labeled P. latifolius, from Flushing, appears to be the 

 same, except that it is a day or two later in flowering, being 

 now (June 25th) in about its fullest bloom. 



Quite as late as this is a plant labeled Philadelphia undulatus, 

 from Kew ; it has medium-sized fragrant flowers which never 

 more than half-expand, the petals keeping an open bell-shaped 

 position. 



A distinct Mock Orange in the collection is Philadelphus 

 hirsutus, the seed of which was received from Tennessee. 

 This has a stiff, erect habit of growth and is intermediate in 

 time of flowering. The leaves are large, and the flowers, 

 which expand from an inch to an inch and a half, are of a very 

 pale yellowish or straw color and nearly scentless. 



About the latest species to blossom is Philadelphus Lewisii, 

 which, in the last week of June, is in its best condition, with all 

 the buds not yet opened. The stems and branches are more 

 slender than those of P. coronarius, the leaves are small, but 

 abundant, and the flowers are pure white and expandaboutan 

 inch in diameter. The petals are thin and delicate and ovate 

 in outline. The small size of the blossoms is more than com- 

 pensated in their abundance, from eight or ten to twenty deli- 

 cately fragrant blossoms being common on the branchlets. 



in early spring it is often mistaken for a flowering Forsythia 

 at a little distance. 



While it is not to be regarded as a showy or altogether sat- 

 isfactory plant in this climate, the delicate and graceful little 

 Philadelphus microphyllus is sure to give pleasure by its 

 pretty and sweet strawberry-scented flowers. It is so different 

 from its congeners that it is not always at once recognized as 

 a "Syringa," to use a popular name commonly applied to the 

 Mock Oranges, but which botanically and properly should be 

 restricted to the Lilacs. 



Arnold Arboretum. J • cr* J CICk, 



Injury from Overpruning. 



IT would astonish any experienced orchardist to note the way 

 in which the average farmer prunes his fruit-trees when he 

 is once convinced that something must be done in this direc- 

 tion. Before such conviction comes to him he generally is of 

 the opinion that to prune is to lose just so much fruit as the 

 removed branches might be expected to bear for several years 

 at least. But if some one in whom he has confidence suc- 

 ceeds in convincing him that there will be as much gained in 



-Pussirlom 



anicata, in Santa Barbara, California. — See paj 



Under the names of Philadelphus Falconeriiand P. Zeyheri, 

 the Arboretum has received from the Parsons nurseries at 

 Flushing an interesting and anomalous Mock Orange, the 

 origin of which is not known, and which cannot well be re- 

 ferred to as a form of any species in cultivation. It is a vig- 

 orous shrub, with rather small narrow leaves and narrow 

 boat-shaped petals, which do not spread out horizontally, but 

 remain more or less bell-formed, although the flower has a 

 general star-like appearance. The calyx-lobes are narrowly 

 pointed and quite glabrous. The flowers are slightly fragrant, 

 and usually three or five are borne on a branchlet. It is alto- 

 gether so very different from any other form in cultivation 

 that it may be considered quite an acquisition. 



A somewhat similar, but much inferior, plant was raised 

 from seed sent from Paris as Philadelphus laxus. There 

 are so-called double-flowering forms in cultivation, but 

 they are not beautiful and not generally satisfactory. A yel- 

 low-leaved variety or form of P. coronarius is now well 

 known, and is desirable in all gardens where hardy varie- 

 gated or colored foliaged shrubs are wanted. When leafing 



size as is lost in numbers, and especially if his attempts to sell 

 his fruit have been met with complaint at its small size, he 

 may take up the saw and axe. In that case he may commonly 

 be expected to use these implements with the fury of a Sioux 

 brave on the war-path. 



I have just been looking over an orchard which was pruned 

 last year in this woodchopper's style. The remark of one of 

 the neighbors, after seeing the results, to the effect that the 

 primer must have been short of fire-wood, was a natural one. 

 The trees were uniform ly " pruned up " — that is, the lower limbs 

 were taken off, and very little thinning done to let in air and 

 light among the upper branches. Where limbs were taken off 

 by the saw, stubs several inches long were left, while with the 

 axe the cut was just as it happened. In neither case was any 

 precaution used to prevent a removed limb from taking with 

 it a considerable strip of bark. The wounds were not painted 

 or otherwise protected. 



But what has surprised the owner most (and it puzzled me 

 some at first) is that while the "remains" of this orchard, in 

 common with all Apple-trees this year, bloomed very freely, 



