April 15, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



179 



second variety or not. He adopts for the California tree the 

 name of Abies grandis, var. Lowiana. If he considers it dis- 

 tinct from the Abies concolor of Colorado, his seems to be the 

 correct name, but if he holds that there is really but one 

 mountain form of A. grandis worthy of a distinct name, then 

 this should be known as variety concolor, it having been named 

 Abies concolor before the name of Abies Lowiana was bestowed 

 upon it. 



Mr. Lemmon, in his very full and interesting description of 

 the Big Trees, raises an interesting point as to the origin of 

 the name Sequoia. The name was made by the Austrian 

 botanist, Endlicher, who published the genus in 1847, but, un- 

 fortunately, did not give the etymology of his name. It has 

 been generally supposed that it was formed from the name of 

 the half-breed Cherokee Indian, Sequoyah, a man distinguished 

 in having invented a syllabic alphabet for his tribe. Gordon, 

 however, in the second edition of his "Pinetum," published in 

 1875, states that the name was probably formed from "se- 

 quence, separated or following in order of succession after 

 Taxodium from which Professor Endlicher separated it." Mr. 

 Lemmon now says that Professor Gray, at the time of his visit 

 to the Pacific coast in 1877, informed him that "the report of 

 its being derived from Sequoyah, the Cherokee, was doubtless 

 an afterthought ; that undoubtedly Endlicher derived his name 

 from sequi or sequor, alluding to the well-known fact that our 

 Redwoods are the followers or remnants of several colossal 

 extinct species." 



Further investigations do not throw much additional light 

 on this subject, and the answers sent in reply to Mr. Lemmon's 

 inquiries by a number of distinguished men are not very satis- 

 factory in their conclusions. The venerable De Candolle 

 writes: "The supposed origin of Sequoia from Sequoyah or 

 Sequamal is entirely fanciful. By the appearance of the name 

 it is probable that it originated from or was taken up from 

 some native word and written more or less correctly. His- 

 torically, it is a matter of regret, of course, that any doubt 

 rests upon the origin of the name of the two trees which sur- 

 pass all others in size and in the interest attached to the history 

 of the genus to which they belong. But, after all, as De Can- 

 dolle writes, "it matters little, a name is a name, the essential 

 things are, first, that it be the expression of a natural genus ; 

 second, that it has not been employed before ; and third, that 

 the genus has not previously received another name." 



Mr. Lemmon's paper contains, in convenient and acceptable 

 form, a great amount of useful and interesting information, 

 botanical, historical and economic, relating to the trees which 

 compose the larger part of the Pacific-coast forests, and which 

 make these forests the most wonderful and important forests 

 of conifers known to man. It will be welcomed by all serious 

 students of American trees, and will take its place in the per- 

 manent literature of the subject. 



Exhibitions. 

 The New York Spring Flower Show. 



THE first exhibition of the New York Florists' Club, held in 

 the Lenox Lyceum last week, was one of the most attrac- 

 tive displays ever seen in this city, not only because it con- 

 tained so many good things, but because so few indifferent 

 plants and flowers were admitted to fill up vacant spaces and 

 degrade the general average of excellence. The first object 

 presented to the eye of the visitor on entering the hall was a 

 mass of Cytisus some twelve feet high and nearly as wide at 

 the base. The plants at the summit and sides were of Cytisus 

 Canariensis, with long, arching and pendulous branches, 

 while the plants at the base were specimens of C. racemosa, of 

 bushy and upright habit, and they gave to the whole the 

 needed suggestion of stability. The plants were all remarka- 

 bly well-flowered and the foliage was of the cleanest and fresh- 

 est. Some of the plants of the type of C. racemosa were seed- 

 lings, and the color of the racemes of their flowers varied from 

 nearly white to deepest yellow, and the foliage of some of 

 them was a pleasing glaucous green. Mr. James Dean, of Bay 

 Ridge, New York, who exhibited these plants, is said to have 

 some seedlings of very distinct habit, which are well worth 

 propagating as garden varieties. Mr. Dean's collection of 

 Azaleas, too, was a noteworthy one, and he took prizes for 

 Rhododendrons (specimens of Prince Camille de Rohan being 

 exceptionally good) and for a remarkable group of Hydrangeas. 

 The centre of the hall was occupied by the prize group of 

 Palms and decorative plants, arranged for effect, with a superb 

 specimen of Acanthophaenix crinita at the summit. The mass 

 was about fifteen feet high, and its general shape was conical. 



It was composed throughout of good material, and some of the 

 plants, as, for instance, z.Dieffenbachia imperialis, were excep- 

 tionally fine. This group was arranged with excellent taste 

 by Mr. A. W. Bennet, gardener to William Brown, Esq., of 

 Flatbush, Long Island. Of the three other groups which 

 competed for this prize, that of Mr. Richard Brett, gardener 

 to J. B. Colgate, Esq., of Yonkers, secured second prize. 

 Besides these two prize-groups the collections of Mr. Brown 

 and Mr. Colgate furnished many other attractive features of 

 the exhibition. No better Calceolarias were ever seen in this 

 city than those sent from the former, while the Palm which 

 attracted most attention was an immense Livistona from the 

 same place. From Mr. Colgate's collection came the first 

 prize Cycas, the best group of Ferns, and some fine Azaleas 

 naturally grown. 



In the rear of the stage fine specimens of Areca and Pritchardia 

 showed in pleasant relief against the light-colored paper, but 

 this background did not help the Orchids from the same collec- 

 tion — that of Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, of the United States 

 Nurseries. These Orchids were very numerous, among them 

 being 300 Cypripediums, including many choice hybrids. The 

 White Lycaste Skinneri, Ccelogyne cristata alba, some distinct 

 forms of Cattleya Triance, Odonioglossum Rookerianu?n and a 

 large specimen of Oncidium ampliatum were among the best. 

 Besides the Orchids, Messrs. Pitcher & Manda's display in- 

 cluded a tank of aquatics, some new Anthuriums, and a large 

 general collection of greenhouse plants, and the best Tree 

 Fern in the exhibition. 



It should be added that the arrangement of the plants 

 in the main hall was admirable throughout. Each group 

 had abundant room, so that its best possible effect was 

 secured, and the plants as a rule were distributed with a view 

 to the general appearance of the exhibit, so that the collection, 

 as a whole, looked remarkably well from the galleries and the 

 boxes. The disposition of the plants on the floor was a great 

 improvement on the usual plan of placing them on high 

 stages. 



In the lower room of the Lyceum there was a great display 

 of Roses of all kinds, both in cut flowers and in pots. Taken 

 as a whole, they were the best ever seen in New York. The 

 wonder among them all was a group of cut flowers sent by 

 Mr. H. Dale, of Brampton, Ontario, including Niphetos, Sun- 

 set, Bride and Catherine Mermet. They were of perfect form 

 and good substance, while in size they were almost monstrous, 

 being nearly as large as Pseonies. Among the potted Roses 

 the most interesting was a large group of Baroness Rothschild 

 and Magna Charta, shown by John Henderson & Co. The 

 principal prizes in the Roses were taken by John N. May, F. R. 

 Pierson, Julius Roehrs, Rudolph Asmus, Ernst Asmus and 

 John H. Taylor. Besides the usual commercial Dutch bulbs, 

 hardy flowers were not shown in great profusion. Some hardy 

 shrubs forced into bloom, including Lilacs, Deutzias, Spiraeas, 

 etc., were there, but, although many of them were well flow- 

 ered, it is very evident that some plants, like Spircea Thun- 

 bergii and S. prunifolia, were never intended to be crowded 

 out of their season. Among these shrubs were some choice 

 hardy plants from the collection of Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, 

 which were well flowered without overmuch forcing. Among 

 the best of these were Tree Paeonies and Yellow Day Lilies. 

 Hiding under the larger plants were some pots of choice 

 Alpines, which were a very pleasant surprise to those who 

 found them. Among them were well-flowered plants of 

 Frittilaria Armenna, Primula denticulata, Myosotis elegantis- 

 sima, Aubrietia Grceca and Arabis alpina. 



The Carnations gave renewed proof of the improvement 

 which is steadily going on in the size and quality of these 

 beautiful flowers. The new variety, Sea-gull, exhibited by E. 

 G. Hill & Co., of Indianapolis, secured the silver cup offered 

 for competition in this class. Grace Darling, another new 

 variety, deserves special mention as an advance in good 

 qualities over the favorite Grace Wilder. The new flower is 

 a trifle larger, a deeper pink, and it is unusually fragrant. 

 Flowers of the variety Mrs. Fisher, shown by Lombard, and 

 general collections by such well-known growers as H. E. 

 Chitty and Rudolph Asmus, were all worthy of special men- 

 tion. 



Notes. 



More than five thousand dollars have been subscribed 

 toward the monument to Audubon, the naturalist, which it is 

 proposed to erect in this city. 



It is said that the finest sherry wines yet produced in this 

 country have been made in Arizona, and that this territory 



