September 12, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



369 



pear we can raise. I suggest to apple-growers to turn a part 

 of their attention to pears. They will ship better than apples, 

 and pay a better price. Lawrence has proved very profitable. 

 I have no fruit of any sort that pays better than Anjou. The 

 tree is a model of symmetry and power yearly to bear splen- 

 did crops of very large smooth fruit. 

 Clinton, N. Y. E. P. Powell. 



The Southern Tomato-blight. 



THIS disease was quite prevalent during the season of 1892 

 among the Tomatoes growing in my garden and also on 

 the experimental grounds at the station. Its first indication is 

 the wilted appearance of the plants, as though from lack of 

 water or from some injury. In many instances the entire 

 plant suddenly wilts ; but usually at first it is only the tip ends 

 of the branches that are affected. The wilted portions soon 

 die and dry up and the plant makes a sickly growth. Fre- 

 quently the disease extends throughout the entire plant, which 

 dies, turns black and dries up. 



Last season only a few plants were affected among those 

 growing on our experimental grounds. 



We observe that the disease seems to be more prevalent 

 upon land where Tomatoes were grown the preceding year 

 than where new ground is planted. In my own garden last 

 season five rows of Tomatoes were grown, one row of which 

 was planted where Tomatoes were grown the preceding sea- 

 son. That entire row of plants was destroyed by this blight, 

 while there were no indications of the disease among the 

 plants in the remaining rows. 



Thus far this year the plants on our grounds are entirely free 

 from the malady, although no precaution has been taken ex- 

 cept to plant on new ground. Spraying the plants thoroughly 

 with Bordeaux mixture has been recommended to prevent this 

 disease, but we have not yet tested it for that purpose. 



Ag'l Experiment Station, Newark, Del. M. H. Beckwith. 



Grapes, Good and Bad.— In my list of more than sixty Grapes 

 over half are nearly or quite worthless. Among them are Ver- 

 gennes, which lacks quality and is tough ; Diamond, from its 

 utter instability in ripening ; Eaton, from its coarseness and 

 pulpiness ; Woodruff Red, from its positively bad quality and 

 lateness of ripening, except in very favorable localities; Jes- 

 sica, because it is all seeds ; Empire State, because as soon as 

 ripe it withers and drops from the stem. There is no excuse 

 for sending out hereafter a grape inferior in bunch, color, 

 beauty or quality to Brighton. Here is a grape that may stand 

 fairly as a standard. It lacks, however, ability to self-pollenize, 

 and it loses flavor soon after ripening. Now give us improved 

 Brightons, improved Wordens, improved Herberts, improved 

 Niagaras, improved or enlarged Delawares, an earlier Jeffer- 

 son, and a hardy Iona. 



Clinton, N. Y. E. P. P. 



Helianthus mollis. — Under the name of Grandiflorus I lately 

 saw at Mr. W. A. Manda's nursery a variety of this native 

 species, which is noble and distinct in foliage and habit, and 

 bears fine, firm, single flowers about four inches in diameter. 

 The plant flowers at the height of four feet, has hoary leaves 

 and is not at all weedy in habit. 



Elizabeth, N. J. / . N. G. 



Correspondence. 



Monoecious or Polygamous Willows. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — With reference to the letter by Mr. J. G. Jack, of the 

 Arnold Arboretum, published in your issue of the 25th April 

 last, I am sending you a specimen of Salix elegans, Wall., col- 

 lected in the north-western Himalayas, in the Jaunsar District, 

 which has both male and female flowers on the same spike. 

 The male flowers are collected on the lower half of the spike, 

 and the female flowers on its upper portion. This species of 

 Salix is common in the north-west Himalayas at elevations of 

 from 7,000 to 10,000 feet, especially on the outer ranges. Speci- 

 mens with polygamous flowers have been collected at Deota, 

 Deoban and Bodyar, all in the Jaunsar District, so that it may be 

 safely said that the polygamous form is also common. There 

 are several other species of Willow in the Jaunsar district, but 

 no polygamous flowering spikes have as yet been found on 

 any of them. 



This species is very commonly attacked, and often almost 

 entirely defoliated by the larvae of a beetle very closely allied 

 to Melasoma Populi. The imagos of this beetle appear in 

 large numbers about the middle of the month of June. The 



larvae themselves are attacked by a species of Tachina, and 

 also by a small green hymenopterous insect, probably one of 

 the chrysididae. 



Imperial Forest Service, Dehra Dun, India. C. Gilbert Rogers. 



[The specimen sent by our correspondent reminds us of 

 our own Salix rostrata in the general appearance of its leaves; 

 and, like our species, it is said to attain the size of a large 

 shrub or small tree in its native habitat. It is one of 

 twenty-five or thirty species of Willow said to be native to 

 British India. The specimens submitted very plainly show 

 their monoecious character. They are long past the flow- 

 ering stage, and the fruiting capsules seem nearly mature, 

 but the male flowers are still persisting and entirely cover 

 the basal half of each spike, while the female flowers oc- 

 cupy the upper end. It is of interest to have these speci- 

 mens from another part of the globe, and we have no doubt 

 that other careful observers will be rewarded by finding 

 many cases with monoecious or polygamous flowers. — Ed.] 



Hard}' Plant Arrangements. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The letter and the editorial article on Herbaceous Bor- 

 ders in your issue for August 22d, embolden me to speak of 

 a floral combination which is now in splendid bloom in my 

 own garden, and which it is a pleasure to possess. It consists 

 of a clump of tall Hibiscus Moscheutos, with stems five feet 

 high and flowers a deep clear rose color, and surrounded by 

 white Japanese Lilies. Altogether, the group seems very 

 effective, and perhaps some of your readers would like to try 

 the arrangement on a larger scale. In early spring this bed 

 was covered with the hardy Primula vulgaris, and the dark 

 velvety flowers were beautiful to see. The leaves of the plants 

 are now lying flat on the ground, overshadowed by the larger 

 plants above them. 



Hartford, Conn. G. N. 



Recent Publications. 



Annals of Horticulture in North America for the year iSgj. 

 By L. H. Bailey. Orange Judd Co. 1894. 



This volume differs somewhat in plan from the earlier 

 ones in the series, because so large a portion of it is de- 

 voted to the history of horticulture at the Columbian Expo- 

 sition. The subject, however, is of sufficient importance 

 to warrant all the attention given to it, but it seems unfor- 

 tunate that the " special annals " have, therefore, been ma- 

 terially curtailed. It is a misfortune that the demand for 

 such an excellent work as this is not such as to justify the 

 enlargement of this volume so that the usual directories, 

 indexes to literature, obituaries, etc., could have been pub- 

 lished as usual. Professor Bailey passed a large part of the 

 summer at the Chicago Fair, and how carefully he studied 

 the horticultural features of the exhibition is known to the 

 readers of Garden and Forest, for which he prepared an 

 admirable series of descriptive letters. We are glad that 

 many of the facts in this continued correspondence have 

 been collected together, as they constitute the most thor- 

 ough and impartial record of the exhibition that has been 

 or is likely to be published. 



The first chapter, which is on the general subject of 

 Crops and Prices, is much more than a mere schedule of 

 the amount of horticultural produce sold and the money 

 which it commanded. Careful descriptions of new methods 

 of cultivation, of marketing and of exporting are given, 

 while sketches of various features of the fruit industry, 

 fresh notes on such topics as American grapes abroad, the 

 import and export of fruits and of vegetables make instruc- 

 tive reading. The next section treats of such interesting 

 subjects as floriculture in landscape-gardening, the new 

 enterprises and organizations of the year, horticultural 

 education, enemies and diseases of plants, the legal 

 aspects of horticulture as seen in state laws and custom- 

 house decisions. The Columbian Fair then occupies sev- 

 enty pages, while the so-called special annals and an 

 admirable index complete the volume. 



Professor Bailey remarks in his preface that the failure of 

 the rural arts and sciences to take rank abreast of the arts 



