214 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 167. 



cana as such, and can find in his writings a description under 

 that name. Last, though in the minds of many this seems the 

 foremost use of the citation, the personal consideration comes 

 in of giving credit to the discoverer, the descriher, the namer 

 of the plant. 



Making priority of name the criterion for its use, I take it, is 

 not to glorify the namer and give him due credit, but to find 

 some basis upon which to establish order out of chaos. 



The notation, by which we write Hicoria minima (Marsh.), 

 Britton, answers admirably all the requirements of ready 

 reference, historical accuracy and personal responsibility. 

 None other will suffice ; none better, I think, can be proposed. 

 Leaving out "Britton" at once introduces a factor of error or 

 doubt as to what plant really is meant, for Marshall never de- 

 scribed any plant under that name, and we could not identify 

 it by reference to his publications unless we guessed that his 

 Carya corresponded to Hicoria ; furthermore, it would be 

 misleading historically, for in his time, or by him, Hicoria was 

 not known as equivalent to Carya, and even personal respon- 

 sibility would be misplaced, for he was not the author of the 

 name as it stands, but only of a part of it. 



On the other hand, if we write Catalpa Catalpa (L.), Sud- 

 worth, we know at once this is a plant which bears its name 

 by virtue of a revision made by Sudvvorth, and somewhere I 

 may find the history of that revision and the relation of this 

 name to other names. It shortens the road, moreover, by 

 giving me the historical information that Linnaeus used the 

 specific name Catalpa, but did not place it in the genus Catalpa ; 

 hence, if I know that the genus Catalpa and Bignonia have 

 been differentiated, I can at once identify Bignonia Catalpa of 

 Linnaeus as the plant here meant, and identification, historical 

 truth and proper reference, the three objects of citation, have 

 been attained. 



Let us for once agree as to what thing we mean to call by a 

 given name, and it will be possible by and by to drop the 

 author of the name entirely, just as in common life, when we 

 speak of a billiard-table it is not necessary to add, " I mean 

 that which So and So first called billiard-table." This time, 

 however, is not near at hand, except perhaps with some well- 

 established, unmistakable species, and, therefore, we shall 

 have need, for the sake of accuracy, to continue citing au- 

 thors. But by all means let us have them cited fully and accu- 

 rately, or else the value of the citation is illusionary. 



Forestry Division, Department of B. E. remOW. 



Agriculture, Washington. 



Apr 



)ril Flowers in Northern California. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The middle of April, in California, north of San Fran- 

 cisco Bay, finds the wild flowers, in hundreds of species, and 

 often in vast quantities, covering acres on acres of ground. 

 As yet the height of the season is not reached. The San Joaquin 

 Valley and Monterey are fully three weeks earlier, and south- 

 ern California earlier still. A month ago our common Butter- 

 cups, Ranunculus macranthus, were few in numbers ; now 

 the roadsides are yellow with them, and pastures are covered 

 with them by the acre. In wet places R. Bloomeri takes its 

 place with equal profusion. Yellow seems a favorite color here, 

 for it is always seen in masses. In places a low-growing GEno- 

 thera, in profuse flower, shows the richest of yellows for a long 

 period. Then the Eschscholtzia fairly monopolizes some vacant 

 lots in this town where there is a deep gravelly soil. These 

 beautiful Poppies appear, not in dozens or thousands, but turn 

 whole acres into billowy masses of splendid orange ; other 

 acres glow with the darker orange of Amsinckia or the purple- 

 blue of Lupines. The Eschscholtzia foliage is especially rich this 

 season in scarlets and bronzes, which, if they could be relied 

 upon as permanent, would make it an interesting foliage 

 plant. 



Nemophilas are largely used by nature as bedding plants 

 here. N. insignis. Blue Eyes we call it, is everywhere in 

 single plants or in beds, a few yards in extent, and occa- 

 sionally by the solid acre. Gilia tricolor is another plant 

 which now covers entire hillsides. Platystemoii Califor- 

 7iica, another member of the Poppy family, is also a favorite 

 with nature. The flowers are a creamy yellow, borne sepa- 

 rately on long stalks. In dry fields it covers large areas. 

 White is the rarest color in these natural parks. Several 

 species of Eritrichium are here, with delicate, white flowers. 

 Limnanthes Douglasii, long in cultivation, forms large, white 

 masses in moist places. Scarlet does not yet appear in abun- 

 dance, although Calandrinia Menziesii, another cultivated 

 species, is everywhere. 



Mendocino County and the region around the base of Mount 

 Shasta have the richest flora in California. The Sierra Nevada 

 range is largely volcanic. In the coast range clays prevail, with 

 here and there volcanic projections. At Shasta these two ranges 

 meet, giving in a small space great variations in soil, altitude, 

 exposure and moisture. The rainiest spot in California is 

 closely adjacent to a lava desert, so at Mount Shasta the coni- 

 fers have a wonderful development in species, and the flora as 

 a whole is very rich. In Mendocino County the Redwood- 

 forest furnishes shade and moisture. The dry Chemisal region 

 is close at hand, giving the prevalent flora of the coast range. 

 Elevations of 5,000 to 6,ooo feet give alpine conditions, while 

 isolated volcanic points add variety to soil. Add to this nar- 

 row valleys and deep canons, and the variety of vegetation is 

 not to be wondered at. 



Among shrubs the various Ceanothus are common, going 

 far to make up the unbroken growth, from six to fifteen feet 

 high, which, in an almost impenetrable thicket, clothes many 

 of the mountain-sides of the coast range, and gives them a 

 smooth, Heath-like appearance. The local name for this low 

 growth is chemisal when the shrub Adenostoma fascicularis 

 predominates ; chapparal, if the growth is largely mixed. In 

 the aggregate vast areas are so covered. One continuous belt 

 is sixty miles long by eight or ten wide, with very small breaks 

 in timber or grazing-land. Ceanothus divaricatus is one of the 

 commonest elements of chapparal, and is now in bloom. In 

 the open Redwood C. thyrsiflorus, a fine shrub, often fif- 

 teen feet high, with flowers much like a lilac, and fully as 

 beautiful, covers large areas in an almost impenetrable 

 thicket. 



In mygarden Erythroniicm grandiflorum is beginning to fade. 

 It gave fine satisfaction this season, planted in chip mold, and 

 rather shallow. E. giganteum, from Oregon, bloomed for the 

 first time this year. The bulbs were strong and produced 

 large blossoms, four to six to each, and several three inches 

 across. Close observation shows some difference between 

 this and E. grandiflorum, but the distinction is not well enough 

 defined to be satisfactory. The yellow of the flowers of E. 

 giganteum has a slight greenish shade, while those of E. 

 grandiflorum shade from light straw at tips to rich yellow 

 near the centre, and occasionally with markings from light 

 brown to very dark. E. Smithii lacks the elegance of form 

 of the two former, and is one-flowered. Its color, at first, 

 is white, with a pink tinge, and becomes pink-purple. E. 

 Howellii has a straw-colored flower with a peculiar pinkish 

 orange centre. With me it was quite small, but the bulbs 

 may not have been strong. 



Brodicea multiflora and B. congesta blossomed together, and 

 very beautiful they were. They were planted in shallow 

 boxes, the top soil mold and clay with a light dressing of sand. 

 The first Calochortus to flower was the dainty little C. cceru- 

 leus. It was closely followed by C. lilacinus. The first is doing 

 well in a common clay loam. Fritillaria lanceolata seems to 

 run to many forms, which, to the gardener, would be good 

 varieties. The prettiest I had this year was a light yellow one. 

 They were in shallow boxes about three inches deep, in clay 

 loam, and shaded in the afternoon. Considering the quality 

 of the bulb the flowers were as good as I have seen in the 

 very best natural wild growth. There is a variety of F. recwva 

 which is unusually fine. Some racemes were sent to me with 

 five to nine blossoms, and I have heard of one with eighteen. 



Ukiah, Cai. Carl Purdy. 



Washington in April. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — No city can be more beautiful than Washington is in 

 the latter part of April, with mile upon mile of flourishing 

 trees of all varieties in their fresh young foliage. These bor- 

 der the streets and avenues and stand guard over the wide 

 parking of emerald turf spread out before each residence. 

 The fronts of many houses are at present one mass of long 

 violet clusters of Wistaria, or almost covered with the brilliant 

 green of Honeysuckle or the half-open leaves of the Virginia 

 Creeper, or its next of kin, the Japan Ampelopsis. 



The public parks have burst into bloom and beauty in the 

 most marvelous manner within a few days. Great clumps of 

 white and purple Lilacs, pink sprays of' Flowering Almond 

 and Tamarix, snowy blooms of many sorts of Spirea (although 

 the latter are not doing their best this year), Snowballs just 

 ready to "turn white in a single night," occasional small 

 groups of Blood Maples, Purple Plums and Golden Barber- 

 ries, with the silver bells of the Halesia and the flame of Japan 

 Quince blossoms against the rich satiny turf, make a wealth 



