82 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 156. 



tions offered by this genus ; and among Cymbidiums there were 

 good specimens of C. giganteum, C. Lowianitm and its dark 

 purple variety. The choice Cattleyas were varieties of C. 

 Percivalliana, one specimen showing twenty-seven flowers, 

 and some exquisite forms of C. speciosissima. 



About the best of the Masdevallias in bloom was the large- 

 flowered variety of M. Veitcliiana, and the best of the Lycastes 

 were some plants of L. plana and the ever-pleasing white va- 

 riety of L. Skinneri. There were some fifty fine Odontoglos- 

 sums in flower, one of them a grand specimen of 0. Pescatorei, 

 and some specially elegant varieties of 0. crispum. The best 

 Oncidium was a really splendid plant of O. splendidum, and 

 of the Phalaenopses a specimen of P. Schillerianiun, with a 

 spike thirty inches long and bearing thirty-four flowers, took 

 the lead, followed by good specimens of P. Stuartiana and 

 P. amabilis Day ana. There were many other things besides 

 Orchids to see, but these plants should not be left without 

 mention, of a magnificent specimen of Vanda gigantea, some 

 fine examples of V. tricolor and Rollins' variety of this species. 



Outside of the Orchid houses the visitors found the greatest 

 delight in the long structure, where they walked under an 

 almost interminable line of arching fronds of Tree-Ferns and 

 the spreading leaves of great Palms, with Musas, Dracaenas, 

 Encephalartos and other plants grown for graceful effects of 

 foliage. The houses branching off from this were each de- 

 voted to some special plants — one to Anthuriums, another to 

 Pandanus Veitchii and Dracaenas, a third to Camellias and 

 Azaleas, a fourth to Cocos and Kentias, and so on. Perhaps 

 the most interesting of these contained a broad central bench, 

 devoted throughout its entire length of a hundred feet to 

 Araucarias. The middle row of these was of a uniform 

 height of some four feet, the outer rows growing shorter 

 toward either side. The perfect evenness of the plants, with 

 the delicate texture and color of their foliage, made a long, 

 regular mound of soft green which was strangely beautiful. 



New York. -J- 



Meetings of Societies. 

 Iowa State Horticultural Society. 



THE twenty-fifth annual meeting of this Society, at its 

 rooms in the'state capitol at Des Moines, was largely 

 attended, and although a series of severe winters has given 

 a check to fruit-growing in the state, and many orchards 

 have been killed, yet two mild winters have once more 

 given good fruits and renewed hope. The apple industry 

 in parts of southern Iowa is now fairly prosperous, and 

 there are many large commercial orchards there. In 

 northern Iowa, aside from some of the new Russian varie- 

 ties, only the Oldenburg, Tetofsky, Wealthy and Whitney 

 Number 20 can be recommended for general planting. 

 The sum of $2,000 was appropriated by the Society for 

 horticultural experimentation next year, and it was decided 

 to continue on an enlarged scale the work of last year in 

 crossing and hybridizing, with the hope of producing va- 

 rieties of fruits which are better adapted to the various 

 climates of the state. The following officers were elected : 

 President, Eugene Secor ; Secretary and Director of Experi- 

 ment Stations, G. 13. Brackett ; and Treasurer, Henry 

 Strohm. 



PLUMS AND CHERRIES FOR THE FARMER'S ORCHARD. 



Mr. H. A. Terry, of Crescent City, Iowa, delivered an ad- 

 dress on this subject, from which we make the following 

 extract : 



" It is a well-known fact that the Sweet Cherry and the 

 European Plum have not been grown successfully on the 

 fine loam soils of the west, but on the clay soils on the 

 eastern side of the state they are grown quite success- 

 fully. I have been experimenting for several years with 

 many varieties of Plums, but my main successes have been 

 with the American varieties. I have much faith in some 

 of the Russian and Japan varieties, however, as they seem 

 much hardier in tree and fruit-bud than any of the older 

 European varieties. The following list of American Plums I 

 can recommend for general planting in the farmer's orchard, 

 and the names are arranged in the order of their ripening : 

 Milton, a new variety, and the earliest of the Chickasaw class, has 

 large, bright red fruit. The tree is a fine upright grower, very 

 hardy and productive. Wild Goose is the well-known variety 

 nextinearliness, and very good for culinary use. Forest Garden 



follows close after Wild Goose, and is a fine dessert or cooking 

 fruit. The tree is a strong grower, perfectly hardy and wonder- 

 fully productive. The fruit is a light mottled red, with a very 

 thin skin, and is superior for canning. De Soto is a native of 

 Wisconsin, with large yellow fruit, which becomes red when 

 over-ripe. It is excellent in quality and unexcelled for canning. 

 Rollingstone originated in Minnesota. The tree is hardy and 

 productive of medium-sized free-stone fruit of excellent 

 quality. The Wolf is .a strong, rather upright grower, very 

 hardy and productive' of large, rather dark red, firm, free-stone 

 fruit of good quality. Hawkeye, another new variety, has done 

 well wherever it has been tried. The tree is a vigorous grower, 

 upright while young, but becoming more spreading with age, 

 very hardy and productive. The fruit is of largest size and 

 finest quality; it is light red, mottled with darker red;-the 

 whole fruit becomes dark red when fully ripe. The firmness 

 and large size of the fruit make it very desirable for canning. 

 Forest Rose is a late variety, with fruit of good size and good 

 quality. The color is dark red, like that of the old Miner, of which 

 it is a seedling. It bears abundantly, and the fruit keeps well. 

 Maquoketa is another seedling of Miner, with fruit a trifle 

 larger than its parent, and is one of the best for culinary pur- 

 poses. If the farmer wishes to prolong the plum season he 

 should plant a few trees of the Moseman, probably the latest 

 variety in cultivation. The fruit is only medium in size, of a 

 bright shining scarlet, and it ripens in early October, but will 

 keep fresh until November. The tree is vigorous and most 

 productive. The fruit is not of the first quality. Its chief 

 value consists in the lateness of its season and its great pro- 

 ductiveness. 



" The list of really valuable Cherries is not a long one, but 

 two or three of the old sorts would pay to plant, even if one 

 has to replant, say every ten years. Early Richmond, Dyehouse 

 and English Morello are all good varieties, but are not long- 

 lived trees, and will require to be renewed every ten or twelve 

 years. The Russian varieties that have been sent from the 

 State Agricultural College seem to be hardier and more en- 

 during for our severe climate. Among the most promising 

 varieties so far in our state is the Wragg, introduced by Mr. 

 John Wragg, of Dallas County. The fruit is a little larger than 

 English Morello and of fine quality. Another Russian variety 

 is a hardy and handsome tree, with fruit of finest quality, 

 which ripens eight to fifteen days earlier than Early Richmond. 

 The cherries are large, light red, and they hang on stems two 

 to three inches long in a convenient way for picking. If it has 

 a name I do not know it." 



CROSSING AND HYBRIDIZING FOR FRUIT. 



An address on this subject was delivered by Mr. N. E. Han- 

 son, who did much practical work in this direction under the 

 direction of the Society last year. He said : 



"Much excellent work has been done in improving flowers, 

 garden vegetables, grapes and some of the small fruits by 

 hybridizing and cross-breeding, but comparatively little work 

 has been done with the orchard fruits, because results are not 

 so quickly reached, and we have been satisfied with chance 

 seedlings and allowed insects and the wind to do most of the 

 work for us. But the peculiar climate of the north-west re- 

 quires especial care in originating new varieties better adapted 

 to this vast region. The indiscriminate sowing of seeds is an 

 expensive lottery. Breeders of animals select the parents, 

 why should not breeders of plants do the same ? Crossing 

 and hybridizing plants is a method of abridging the process 

 of evolution by introducing new elements of variation. The 

 primitive types peculiar to each region should be used, if 

 possible, for one side of the cross to impart hardiness, be- 

 cause they have become fully adapted to the environment by 

 centuries of selection. The cultivated types should be used 

 to impart size, beauty and quality of fruit. 



"In conducting a series of experiments in crossing fruits for 

 this Society last year I adopted the following general method : 

 About twenty-four hours before the flower opened the stamens 

 were removed with a pair of small forceps or pincers, such as 

 are used in botanical laboratory work. In practice, only the 

 anthers are removed, leaving most of the filaments. Gen- 

 erally, only two flowers in each cluster of Apple-blossoms 

 'were operated upon ; the others were removed. Blossoms 

 growing on a strong spur were preferred to those near or at 

 the end of a limb. Most, or all, of the petals were removed 

 to give easier access to the stamens. A one-pound thin ma- 

 nilla paper sack, with bottom squared so it could stand on a 

 level surface, was then used to cover the blossoms and pro- 

 tect them from insects and foreign pollen. The next day the 

 sack was removed, pollen applied to the stigmas with a 

 camel's-hair brush, and the sack replaced. This time it 



