34° 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 339. 



the Character of Soil as Factors in the Development of Rust." 

 Professor C. E. Bessey gave an account of the Russian Thistle 

 in Nebraska. Professor F. A. Gulley, of Tucson, Arizona, 

 read a paper on Canaigre, a Rumex which grows wild in 

 the south-west, with the result of some investigations into its 

 value for tanning purposes. Professor H. J. Patterson, of the 

 Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, discussed the 

 " Effects of Different Fertilizing Elements upon the Composi- 

 tion and Combustibility of Tobacco." 



. Notes. 



It has been an unfavorable season forlate-fiowering annuals, 

 but China Asters, in excellent quality, are now seen in abun- 

 dance on our street flower-stands, and are taking the place of 

 Sweet Peas, which are passing out of season. 



According to an English correspondent in the Fruit Trade 

 Journal, the apple crop in England will be the lightest known 

 in years. This promises a good export market for American 

 apples, but the crops both in the United States and in Canada 

 are estimated to be less than a fair yield. Nearly four hun- 

 dred barrels of apples have already gone forward to England 

 from this port. 



By the burning of the Knox Warehouse, in Washington, a 

 few days ago, Professor Scribner lost his herbarium of North 

 American Grasses, which contained, probably, the best studied 

 and arranged collection of these plants in existence, including 

 many types as well as a number of California species of Dr. 

 Kellogg's collecting, which were in Professor Scribner's hands 

 for study. The loss is an almost irreparable one. 



Mr. Michael Barker, who has for the past six years been con- 

 nected with the Botanic Garden in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

 has taken charge of the forcing house in the Cornell Univer- 

 sity Experiment Station, and will be engaged in other horti- 

 cultural work there. It is proposed to give considerable 

 attention to Chrysanthemum culture, and growers of these 

 plants who have trouble with insects or fungi are invited to 

 correspond with the station. 



At the sale of the second part of the Pickering Lodge collec- 

 tion of Orchids in London last month the prices did not range 

 as high as at the first sale, nevertheless Cattleya Mendelii 

 Bluntii brought one hundred guineas, a magnificent specimen 

 of Lffilia'crispa superba brought fifty-two guineas, Sobralia 

 Lucasiana brought forty-six guineas, S. xantholuca alba brought 

 forty-four guineas, Cattleya Gaskelliana alba, in flower, brought 

 thirty-eight guineas, and so on. 



There have been light showers near this city during the past 

 fortnight, but the intense drought can hardly be said to be 

 broken. The trees in the parks have some of them begun to 

 shed their foliage, and of course unhealthy and old trees and 

 those standingin exceptionally dry places are affected the 

 most. Of the larger kinds, however, only three show any 

 general tendency to drop their leaves, namely, the English 

 Elm, Silver Maple and European Lindens. The native forest- 

 trees in Prospect Park are remarkable for their freshness and 

 healthy color under these trying conditions. 



Edward L. Rand, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and John H. 

 Redfield, Curator of the Botanical Department of the Philadel- 

 phia Academy of Natural Science, have just issued "A Pre- 

 liminary Catalogue of the Plants growing on Mount Desert and 

 the Adjacent Islands," to which a geological introduction, by 

 William Morris Davis, and a new map of the island are added. 

 The flora of Mount Desert, as here enumerated, contains 680 

 species with seventy-one varieties of flowering plants ill 312 

 genera, and 606 species with 133 varieties of Cryptogamia in 

 215 genera, or a total of 1,286 species and 527 genera. In mat- 

 ters of nomenclature the authors have followed the last edition 

 of Gray's Manual of the Botany of the Northern Stales. 



In the current number of the Orchid Review it is stated that 

 many English cultivators of Orchids are now using Polypo- 

 dium-fibre as a substitute for peat. It has been largely used 

 on the Continent with Odontoglossums and Oncidiums, and 

 English growers find that Cattleyas and L;elias grown in this 

 fibre show an improvement over those potted in peat and 

 grown under identical conditions. The fibrous roots alone are 

 used, all pieces of rhizome being discarded. The material is 

 obtained from the Ardennes, where Polypodium vulgare grows 

 in enormous quantities on the rocks and trees, from which the 

 masses of roots are stripped and packed in bales. These are 

 cut small with shears, then mixed with chopped sphagnum 



and used in the ordinary way. One advantage which this fibre 

 offers is that it contains no fine earthy matter, so that the 

 plants can be watered freely without the risk of the compost 

 becoming sour, and the roots soon take possession of the 

 whole. It will not answer for all Orchids ; Dendrobiums, for 

 example, are said to show no improvement with it, while 

 Cypripediums fail when placed in it, as might be expected, 

 since they are terrestrial, and prefer good fibrous loam to 

 peat. 



It is now possible to get Florida oranges in New York all 

 the year through since growers have been developing varie- 

 ties which fruit very early and others which fruit very late. 

 Some which have been held in cold storage are now selling at 

 seventy-five cents a dozen on the fruit-stands, and while not 

 quite as juicy as in winter are still of good flavor. Rodi oranges, 

 the summer Mediterranean fruit, command thirty to fifty 

 cents a dozen. Along with these, Jamaica oranges will soon 

 be offered, the first shipments of which have arrived here 

 green and are being ripened up for market. Limes are in 

 considerable demand at fifteen cents a dozen. Moore's Early, 

 Niagara and Delaware grapes of good quality and attractive 

 appearance are now coming from this state. These bring 

 from fifteen to twenty-five cents a pound at retail. Princess 

 Anne cherries, from California, were seen on our fruit-stands 

 until within a week past. The last blackberries, small and 

 dry, sell slowly at ten cents a quart, while huckleberries, more 

 plentiful and in better condition, bring thirteen cents a quart. 

 Orange Pippins, Maiden Blush, Keswick Codlins and the 

 firmer Coxsackie Pippins are already being shipped to Eng- 

 land, 165 barrels having been forwarded last week. 



Mr. Joseph Meehan writes to the Country Gentleman that he 

 prefers to transplant most coniferous evergreens in August 

 and September. Of course, evaporation from the leaves will 

 be quite as rapid then as at any other season, but new root- 

 fibres will form in the warm soil much more rapidly then than 

 at any other time. The soil in midsummer resembles soil in 

 a propagating-bed, and trees and shrubs should be treated 

 just as cuttings are. They should be shaded, if possible, and 

 the roots should be kept moist. The holes for the trees, in 

 Mr. Meehan's practice, are dug- to the proper depth, and good 

 earth is put in places where the soil is poor. Fine earth is 

 filled in about the roots and pounded to make it solfd, but the 

 roots are never bruised. When the holes are half-filled sev- 

 eral buckets of water are poured in, until the soil becomes 

 mushy. After the water has soaked away more soil is filled 

 in, but the hole is not completely filled. The next day the 

 roots are thoroughly soaked again ; on the third day the filling 

 of the holes is completed, and no more water will be required. 

 The roots will be moist for a week, and by that time new 

 fibres will have put forth. When a good ball of earth is re- 

 tained about the roots Mr. Meehan has never found it neces- 

 sary to shade the trees or to sprinkle them, but there is no 

 doubt that shading could be practiced with advantage where 

 it is practicable, and syringing the foliage a few times a day 

 would certainly be a benefit. 



Perhaps the demand for flowers has never been as great in 

 all the history of commercial floriculture as it was in Paris at 

 President Carnot's funeral. As soon as the news of the Presi- 

 dent's death reached the French capital it was almost impossi- 

 ble to secure flowers at any price. Common roses, which 

 were selling at a franc a dozen the day before, advanced at once 

 to three francs, and blooms of La France Roses, which sold be- 

 fore at six francs a dozen, at once brought a franc each. 

 Other flowers rose in proportion under the immense orders re- 

 ceived from all directions. The Emperor of Russia, for exam- 

 ple, ordered through his Ambassador a wreath costing S.ooo 

 francs from a leading florist in the Rue Royale. This firm 

 could not undertake the order, having received more commis- 

 sions than could be executed. Finally, another florist was se- 

 cured who could furnish a wreath for 5,000 francs. All kinds of 

 flowers were used for the wreaths, and anything that could be se- 

 cured was used. The leading florists bought at once whole beds 

 of Pansies, Marigolds, Marguerites, the entire product of Rose- 

 borders and houses filled with flowering Orchids, and paid any 

 price that was asked. Most of the European sovereigns sent 

 magnificent wreaths of rare and beautiful flowers, and various 

 societies and associations in France, as well as different cities, 

 sent wreaths of colossal size. That from the city of Bordeaux 

 was made of roses and white laurel, including a pomegranate 

 velvet pillow with an inscription upon it in gold letters. This 

 tribute was raised by a subscription which was limited to a 

 franc for each person, and it measured more than thirty-two 

 feet in circumference. 



