202 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 166. 



its attacks in a direct manner upon living tissue, but it does 

 not hesitate to pass from the dead to the living when condi- 

 tions favor it. In other words, theCalla-leaf is safe against the 

 attack of the spores of the Botrytis, but when the vigorous fila- 

 ments of well-established plants present themselves the resist- 

 ing power is not sufficient to overcome them. If we had found 

 the remains of the blossom in the centre of the dead blotch it 

 would have been natural to ascribe the cause to the flower or 

 the fungus it harbored, but in many instances the leaf black- 

 ens without any apparent cause. Nevertheless the cause re- 

 mains the same, for the source of contamination had been 

 removed before the decay in the leaf had become perceptible. 

 The practical conclusion is, that no opportunity be given these 

 half-way parasitic fungi to gain an entrance to healthy plants. 

 The gardener knows how important it is to keep all dead 

 leaves and decaying blossoms from contact with the healthy 

 parts. Neatness as well as health demands that the living be 

 kept apart from the dead. 



Rutgers College. B. D. H. 



Correspondence. 

 Notes from Passaic. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — "American trees for American gardens," enthusiasti- 

 cally exclaimed a friend while making a tour through the 

 ranges of the Blue Ridge, where is to be found such a variety 

 of handsome trees and shrubs, only partly appreciated by our 

 planters. Very much the same enthusiasm for American 

 flowers moved me a few days since as I strolled through the 

 hill-side garden of Messrs. H. Meyer & Co.'s Passaic Nursery 

 and found many of our native plants well^stablished and in 

 bloom. Shortia galacifolia, in flower there, needs no intro- 

 duction to the readers of Garden and Forest, but it cannot 

 be too often told that this plant is one of the choicest of our 

 native flora. Entirely hardy in this latitude, with beautifully 

 colored firm, persistent foliage and dwarf habit, add to these 

 charming fair-sized flowers, bell-shaped, with graceful curves, 

 petals white, with the most dainty rosy flush borne on pink 

 peduncles, you have a plant to excite enthusiasm. A mass of 

 this gives distinction to the choicest border, and it will flour- 

 ish, which is a merit not possessed by all Alpines. Trilliiiin 

 grandiflorum, T. stylo sum and T. pusillum were well in bloom 

 and happy in the not too dense shade. Erythroniums are now 

 at their verybest, with their beautiful maculated leaves and grace- 

 ful flowers — among them the yellow "Dog's-tooth Violet " (E. 

 Americanum), E. grandiflorum and E. giganteum. The white 

 flowers of Dicentra cucullaria were just showing above the 

 daintily cut leaves, while D. eximia showed racemes of red above 

 its attractive foliage. If Hepaticas and Sanguinarias were rare 

 flowers perhaps they would be appreciated by us as their 

 beauty deserves, but looking through this hill-side garden 

 and noting the dainty. beauties in bloom, and Cypripediums, 

 Sarracenians and others just pushing, and thinking of the suc- 

 cession of native flowers unmatched in their various seasons, 

 the thought was forced on me that we do not appreciate our 

 own treasures. Our hardy plantsmen, however, are finding a 

 larger demand for native plants, and they are a feature in most 

 nurseries. It is curious, though, that if seeds of any but the 

 most common native plants are desired they must be ordered 

 from abroad. 



In the more open part of the nursery I noticed good breadths 

 of Aubrietias in full bloom — A. GrcEca, A. dettoidea and A. 

 macrostyla, the last distinctly the best of the purple varieties, 

 and making a fine mat. A. Leichtlini may be a break toward 

 the red, but its dull red flowers are of a color which can be 

 spared from the garden. 



Mertensia Virginica (Lungwort) was showing its gracefully 

 drooping flowers ; a most valuable plant in not too conspicu- 

 ous a position. Hellebores are still in full bloom, H. niger in 

 varieties and H. orientalis, both untouched by the severe 

 winter. Saxifraga cordifolia is opening its rose-colored 

 flowers, and is one of the best of the section, but its broad 

 leaves sometimes suffer in hard winters. It will well repay 

 protection. I think it has before been noted that Doronicums 

 are the best early-flowering, large yellow composites. Here 

 D. Clusii, D. plantigeneum excelsum and the variety Harpur 

 Crewe were in bloom. The latter seems a good form of D. 

 plantige?ieu?n excelsum (and the name is much easier). D. Clusii 

 is very similar in form, but its finely cut petals are slightly 

 recurved. But space forbids my mentioning all the blooming 

 plants, and I can only note Arabis alpina variegata, with 

 flowers like the type, but with white variegated foliage. Great 

 breadths of Narcissi, such as Pallidus Praecox, Golden Spur, 



Henry Irving and Sir Watkin, give the principal effect of color 

 at this early season. 



I noted Heuchera sanguinea in the open, strong and vigor- 

 ous, and only the lower leaves scorched. Evidently this plant 

 may be considered reliably hardy. 



Elizabeth, N.J. G. 



Botanical Nomenclature. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — In No. 162 of Garden and Forest (vol. iv., pp. 165, 

 166), Mr. George B. Sudworth, of the Forestry Division, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, discusses the use of bino- 

 mials composed of specific names identical with generic, 

 brought about by the rigid adherence to the rule of nfaintain- 

 ing the oldest specific name, and records himself as in favor 

 of the practice. He alludes to its non-acceptance in my "Cata- 

 logue of the Plants of New Jersey," but expresses the supposi- 

 tion that I had good reasons for not using it there. He is in 

 error. I had no good reasons. I was deterred from accept- 

 ing the well-known practice of zoologists from simple con- 

 servatism. 



When, in 1887, the committee of the Torrey Botanical Club 

 which was appointed to issue the "Catalogue of Anthophyta 

 and Pteridophyta growing within one hundred miles of New 

 York," decided on taking the stand of maintaining original 

 specific or varietal names, it was well aware of the revolution 

 which such a measure would suggest, and had no idea as to 

 the measure of support which such a suggestion would re- 

 ceive. Up to that time Professor Greene and myself were the 

 only American botanists, I believe, who had recorded them- 

 selves in favor of the practice, and the committee deemed it 

 wisest to await the result of its work before going further, de- 

 ciding to throw out generic names identical with specific, and 

 not to take up a considerable number of genera whose claim 

 to priority was perfectly well known. In my New Jersey cata- 

 logue the nomenclature of the Hundred-mile Catalogue was 

 closely followed, from my being governed by the same con- 

 siderations of conservatism. However, now that the desired 

 change of opinion, which we have ever since attempted to in- 

 fluence through the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, has 

 been brought about, and, as Mr. Sudworth remarks, "nearly 

 all botanists are thoroughly in unison with the present vigor- 

 ous movement to place botanical nomenclature on a firm 

 footing," I am heartily in favor of the practice he approves. 

 But I would now favor going considerably further toward the 

 methods of the ornithologists, so far, indeed, as to practically 

 accept most of their " Code of Nomenclature." I would write 

 Magnolia fatida (L.), not Magnolia foetida, Sargent; Hicoria 

 minima (Marsh), not Hicoria minima (Marsh), Britton ; Catalpa 

 Catalpa (L.), not Catalpa Catalpa (L.), Sudworth. In other 

 words, I would quote the original author of the name, and 

 leave the author of the binomial to be brought out in the 

 synonymy of the species, by means of a check-list or other 

 compilation. This has the advantage of doing away with the 

 double citation and eliminating all personal considerations in 

 the publication of new binomials. 



And there is another exceedingly good rule of the ornitholo- 

 gists which I may remark on here. It is to the effect that a 

 generic name or binomial once used in description is unavail- 

 able for use for any other genus or species, even if it be shown ■ 

 to be a synonym. "Once a synonym, always a synonym," is 

 a terse and very useful motto, which prevents many trouble- 

 some complications. 



Columbia College, N. Y. N. L. Britton. 



Insect Lime, Nevertheless. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Allow me to make a rejoinder to both Mr. Smith's and 

 Mr. Jack's exceptions to the application of insect lime. 



I appreciate Mr. Smith's warning not to turn a good remedy 

 into a quack medicine, to be used "against all ills," but I must 

 warn him in turn not to diagnose too hastily. There are two 

 points he overlooks — first, that we do not expect our police to 

 catch all the thieves, that a reduction only, and not extirpa- 

 tion, is attainable by all our remedies ; and, secondly, that be- 

 sides the biotic phases of insect life, accidental conditions 

 must also be considered in devising means of protection. 

 Now, while there may not be any voluntary wandering ob- 

 served in the Tussock moth and Bag worm, as there is with 

 the Gypsy moth, and, to some extent at least, with the Web 

 worm, Mr. Smith, in my opinion, does not appreciate suffi- 

 ciently the services of wind and rain in downing the larvae. 

 By these agencies they are thrown to the ground, probably 



