September 26, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



381 



GARDEN AND FOREST. 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



THE GARDEN AND FOREST PUBLISHING CO. 



Office: Tribune Building, New York. 



Conducted by Professor C. S. Sargent. 



ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE POST-OFFICE AT NEW YORK, N. Y. 



NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1894. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 



Editorial Articles: — The Distribution of Seeds by the Department of Agri- 

 culture 381 



Preparation for Spring 381 



Carpet Bedding ,.H. A. Caparn. 382 



Native Trees and Shrubs about Montreal, Canada.— I J. G. Jack. 383 



Planting the Locust W. J. Beal. 384 



New or Little-known Plants :— Syringa Pekinensis. (With figure.) 384 



Plant Notes 384 



Cultural Department :— Oncocyclus Irises T. B. Ellis. 386 



Narcissus poeticus and its Hybrids G. H. Engleheart. 386 



The Water-garden J. N. Gerard. 387 



For the Perennial Garden Mrs. J. H. Robbins. 387 



The Reine Claude Plum E. P.P. 387 



Dendrobium Phalsenopsis Schrcederianum Erar.k Gould. 388 



Correspondence:— Winter Pears R. A. 388 



The Water Chinquapin W. IV. 388 



The Dahlia Stalk-borer Rev. E. J. Hill. 388 



Keeping Half-hardy Plants^over Winter Lora S. La Mance. 388 



Elm Trees in Central Park Austin Scott. 389 



Recent Publications : — The Trees of Nebraska. . . .Professor Charles E. Bessey. 389 



Notes 39° 



Illustration : — Syringa Pekinensis, in a Massachusetts garden, Fig. 62 385 



The Distribution of Seeds by the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



THE report of the Chief of the Seed Division of the 

 Department of Agriculture for 1893 shows that the 

 cost of this distribution during the fiscal year amounted to 

 $160,000. More than 7,700,000 packages of seed weresent 

 out, so that they cost something like two cents a paper, 

 besides the expense of transporting through the mails more 

 than two hundred and seventy-five tons of matter. It was 

 more than half a century ago when the Commissioner of 

 Patents began to send out a few improved varieties of seed 

 to certain farmers at his own expense, and a small appro- 

 priation was made a few years later to aid him in this 

 object, which at that time may have been praiseworthy. 

 The money was voted for the purpose of giving the farmers 

 and gardeners of the country an opportunity to try seeds 

 which were new, so as to ascertain whether they had any 

 practical value over those already in use. But of the 387 

 varieties sent out last year many of them were so common 

 and well known that they hardly required the formality of 

 printing their names upon the package. 



The abuse has grown to its present dimensions in the 

 face of constant protest, since there never was any excuse 

 for sending seeds of Turnip or Cabbage, which could be 

 bought at any country store, and even this outrageous 

 violation of -the intent of the law has been carried on with 

 fraudulent accompaniments — that is, very often the seed of 

 common plants which has been sent out has been worth- 

 less, and oftener than not it has been purchased at extrava- 

 gant prices. To justify the practice it was urged that it 

 was worth while to test common seeds in different regions 

 to ascertain their relative local value, and, therefore, the 

 various packages distributed contained plainly printed re- 

 quests that the receiver should make trial of the seed 

 enclosed and report the results to the Department. The 

 chief of the division, assuming that five papers were sent to 

 each person, estimates the number of recipients of the seed 

 at about a million and a half of persons. In spite of the 

 fact that every one of these was requested to give an 

 account of his experience, so that an intelligent report 



might be furnished the following year, less than one out of 

 a thousand acknowledged the courtesy of the Government 

 by sending a line to Washington. These few reports were 

 couched in vague and indefinite language, and conveyed 

 no useful information as to the time of planting, character 

 of soil, method of cultivation or adaptability to climate, 

 and they were considered so utterly useless that they have 

 never been published. 



Secretary Morton has been making a praiseworthy effort 

 to abolish this senseless and extravagant practice, but not- 

 withstanding this the last Congress voted money to con- 

 tinue the abuse. The people have been assured that the 

 Secretary will interpret the words " new and valuable 

 seeds " according to the original intent of the law and will 

 send no other. Even with this restriction the distribution 

 is now needless, since our enterprising nurserymen and 

 seedsmen are alert to procure and test every new plant 

 which has any promise, and their catalogues, as well 

 as our periodicals devoted to agriculture and horticul- 

 ture, keep cultivators thoroughly informed as to novelties. 

 Every intelligent man in the country ought to support the 

 Department in this view of the case. Mr. Fagan, Chief of 

 the Seed Division, in his report states what every one 

 knows to be true, that for many years no useful purpose 

 whatever has been served by the continued enlargement 

 of the quantity of seed annually bought and its indiscrim- 

 inate distribution to those who, by accident or design, be- 

 come the recipients of this gratuity. If it was ever a useful 

 practice the conditions have changed since the time when 

 there were few propagating gardens or seed-farms in the 

 country. Private industry and private capital have now 

 built up establishments for raising new and valuable seeds 

 and for propagating rare plants and flowers, so that there 

 can be no possible loss to agriculture or horticulture in- 

 curred from the abandonment of this business by the Gov- 

 ernment. 



There can be no doubt that the Secretary of Agriculture 

 is thoroughly right in his contention that this seed di- 

 vision has outlived its usefulness, and we heartily agree 

 with the statement of Mr. Fagan, that this distribution of 

 seed is altogether wasteful, and that the continuance of 

 the practice is an infringement on the rights of citizens 

 engaged in legitimate pursuits. 



Preparation for Spring. 



AS the year is mellowing into autumn, with its inde- 

 £\_ scribable, although somewhat pathetic, charm, we 

 must not forget that the keenest delight a garden brings 

 comes with the bursting forth of new life in the early year. 

 Each season brings its special pleasure and satisfaction, 

 but if we devote ourselves to specialties it is the spring 

 garden which we have always advocated as peculiarly 

 adapted to American habits and American climate, and, of 

 course, all the preparation for this must be made before the 

 long winter comes, when hardy plants are resting from 

 their labors. The perennials which flower early have 

 already stored up in bulb and root the material for new 

 flowers, and now is the time to reset them where any 

 change of arrangement is needed, so that they can become 

 established before freezing weather, and be ready to unfold 

 their beauty when they are warmed into active life once 

 more. 



In our cultural notes we have tried to give, from time to 

 time, directions which will aid in the selection of varieties, 

 and suggestions as to the proper treatment of each, and 

 our present purpose is simply to remind our readers 

 that there is work now to be undertaken if we are to look 

 forward with any reasonable expectation of success in the 

 garden next spring. The seeds of many early-flowering 

 plants ought to have been sown long ago, and we should 

 already have stout seedlings of Rock Cress, Spring Adonis, 

 Primulas, Daisies, Aquilegias, Larkspurs, Iceland Poppies 

 and many more for next year's flowers, but if we have 

 neglected to do this at the proper season, plants of the 



