February 18, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



81 



ers until they wither. I have seen Begonia Winter Gem and 

 its brother hybrid, Begonia John Heal, bear their Mowers fully 

 six weeks before they fade. 



London. ■"• "- 51 



Correspondence. 



Winter Notes from North Carolina. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir. — The Yellow Jasmine {Jasminum fruticans), a low 

 shrub from southern Europe, has been constantly in flower 

 for two weeks or more, notwithstanding the coldest night of 

 the winter came within this time. Spivcea pvunifolia also 

 showed a few flowers in January. Shepherd's Purse {Capsella 

 Bursa-Pastoris) and the little Dead Nettle {Lamium amplexi- 

 caule), so common in some gardens of southern Massachu- 

 setts, are also in bloom. I observed one plant of the Trailing 

 Arbutus {Epigcea repens) and one of As arum Virginicum in 

 full flower ; but the former was well budded, and our New 

 England plants would have bloomed with half as much mild 

 weather. Both of the Hepaticas grow here {Anemone acutiloba 

 and A. Hepatica), but with handsomer mottled and colored 

 leaves than those farther north, owing, no doubt, to their 

 being so much exposed to the sun in winter. They do not 

 bloom here, however, in the first warm sunny days, as plants 

 in New England do, but seem to wait for the proper time, 

 whatever the weather may be. And this seems to be the 

 habit of most native plants here. The same number of warm 

 days in New England, with no frost in the ground, would bring 

 out almost all of our first spring flowers. 



Both of the species of Ginger Root common to this locality 

 {Asarum Virginicum and A. arifolium) are scattered through 

 the woods of the lower elevations. Nowhere abundant as A. 

 Canadense often is in New England, but almost everywhere, 

 in moist, well drained, shaded soil, a sprinkling of them will 

 be found, with their shiny, mottled green leaves as handsome 

 as at any season. Several troublesome weeds here are some- 

 times cultivated north. On dry, cultivated soil, in places, the 

 Passion Flower {Passiflora incarnata) is as common as the 

 Canada Thistle is in parts of northern New England. The 

 Cypress Vine {Quamoclit coccinea), Small Morning Glory {Ipo- 

 mea Nil) and /. lacunosa are troublesome weeds in many cul- 

 tivated fields. On the mountain-sides the Wild Potato Vine, 

 or Man-of-the-Earth (/. pandurata), is abundant. 



One species of the Greenbrier {Smilax glauca) is very abun- 

 dant here, its leaves and fruit often persistent through the 

 winter. The leaf is ovate, and sometimes cordate in outline, 

 and turns to a reddish purple. These, with its black grape- 

 like fruit, which it sometimes bears in great abundance, make 

 the plant an interesting one as seen growing along the mar- 

 gins of thickets, but one who tries to penetrate these thickets, 

 and finds himself arrested by its stout prickles, soon loses his 

 admiration for its beauty. There are places, no doubt, where it 

 might be used to good advantage, but the possibility of its spread- 

 ing beyond its intended bounds might overbalance its merits. 



The American Holly {Ilex opaca) shows the handsomest- 

 foliage of any native tree I have seen here. It is not abun- 

 dant, but scattered specimens are found along the bottoms of 

 ravines in which brooks flow, and also occasionally in the 

 open country along the margins of streams. I have seen only 

 two or three specimens in fruit. The severe frost of last March 

 seems to have prevented its fruiting. 



Lynn, N. c. I- H- Horsford. 



Winter Flowers in California. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — The earliest herald of the new year here is the Chinese 

 Narcissus. Mongolian washermen are quite liberal with their 

 national flower, and many specimens, after having blossomed 

 once in water, have been turned out-of-doors, and blossom 

 annually in the open border. They have been in flower now for 

 several weeks. To-day one of my Trumpet Major Narcissus 

 is in bloom. The Violets commenced to blossom when the 

 cool weather set in. They have kept flowering ever since, and 

 now are quite full. The Pansies, too, and a bed of Verbenas, 

 in a warm situation, have bloomed in a desultory sort of a way 

 all winter, and now present quite a bright appearance. A 

 plant which seems strangely out of season is a Polyanthus, 

 which threw out stray flowers late in the fall and is still in 

 blossom. The Roses, too, feel the influence of the warm spell, 

 and their buds are swelling. There was a Rose carnival at 

 Pasadena, in the southern part of the state, about the New 

 Year, but we wait till May for our Roses. 



Ukiah, Cal. Carl Purdy. 



Recent Publications. 



Die Krankheiten und Beschddigungen un sever landwirt- 

 schaftlichen Kulturpflanzen. Von Dr. Oskar Kirchner. Stutt- 

 gart, 1890. 8vo, pp. 637. 



The number of treatises on plant diseases which have 

 appeared in Germany in recent years is so large that one 

 could hardly expect any novelty in the method of treating the 

 subject. In this well-printed and neatly bound volume the 

 author has, however, arranged his material on a plan which 

 differs considerably from that of previous works. In the first 

 part, under the heading of Grains, Fodder-plants, Fruit-trees, 

 etc., are arranged the principal plants known in the agriculture 

 and horticulture of Germany, and under each species is given 

 a popular account of the more frequent morbid appearances, 

 as spots, distortions, tumors, etc., with the name of the fungus 

 or insect which causes them. The plan might be called a 

 dichotomous key to morbid appearances, and, except in its 

 more detailed character, resembles the synoptical keys com- 

 mon in botanical manuals. A key to morbid appearances is, 

 as far as we know, quite novel, certainly on such a large scale 

 as the present. The second part of the book is a condensed 

 account of the principal genera of injurious fungi, with a few 

 genera of parasitic phsenogams, and the genera of injurious 

 worms, insects and snails. Under each genus is a description 

 of the species mentioned in the first part of the book, cross 

 references being made by bracketed numbers. 



The plan is certainly simple, and, if practicable, the work 

 must be of good service to those who have little previous 

 knowledge of fungi and insects. Whether really practicable 

 or not experience alone can decide. But fungi are so numer- 

 ous and complicated that it may perhaps be doubted whether 

 the unlearned reader could be supposed to follow the key with 

 any great degree of confidence. If it should happen, as might 

 easily be the case, that he had before him something not in the 

 key, he would go hopelessly astray. For those who know 

 something of fungi, the present key is cumbersome and less 

 accurate than other methods found in previous works. Since 

 there are no figures to aid the beginner, and he must depend 

 on the text alone, we shall look with interest to know whether 

 in practice the plan works well, for, if it proves to be a good 

 one, it is likely to be adopted by future writers. 



Exhibitions. 



Orchids at Short Hills, New Jersey. 



ALL last week the United States Nurseries were receiving 

 visitors at the invitation of the proprietors, Messrs. Pitcher 

 & Manda. Many persons from distant cities were there, and 

 every one was repaid for the journey by the abundant display 

 of Orchids in flower. In the chain of houses, 425 feet long, 

 the Cypripediums were most numerous, the plants in flower 

 numbering a scant dozen less than 700, while the Cattleyas 

 flowering in brighter groups mustered 567 strong. These 

 numbers give some idea of the extent of the exhibition, while 

 the neatness of the whole, with the skillful arrangement and 

 perfect health of the plants, made it unusually attractive in 

 quality throughout. 



In so extensive a collection, it is, of course, impossible to 

 name all the plants of special merit. The 126 varieties of 

 Cypripedium in flower, for instance, would naturally include 

 most of the standard sorts which flower at this time. Perhaps 

 the searcher for novelties would be most interested in the 

 varieties Electra, Pitcherianum and Galatea, all good in their 

 different types, and all flowering now for the first time in this 

 country. Some hybrids between C. venustum and C. Boxallii 

 were interesting. They were raised in this establishment, and 

 the extent to which the production of new seedlings is carried 

 on is appreciated by the visitor when he is introduced into a 

 house where 1,700 seedlings are growing. Some of the Cypri- 

 pediums are coming into bloom now about two years after the 

 seed was sown. One of the hybrid Dendrobiums raised 

 here is now in flower. It is from D. Rukeri, fertilized by 

 D. nobile. 



Other noteworthy Dendrobiums in bloom were the rare 

 white form of D. densiflorum, large specimens of D. thyrsi- 

 florum and D. Wardianum grandiflorum. There were fine 

 varieties of D. Ainsworthii, and the variety Wallicliianum of 

 D. nobile. 



The pick of the Angrrecums was a large specimen of A. 

 sesquipedale, with seven of its great white star-like flowers 

 open at once. A good plant of the white variety of Cce/ogyne 

 cristata, and some fine varieties of C.flaccida were the attrac- 



