August 12, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



383 



penditure for cultivated flowers, this wealth of greenery and 

 woodland bloom in the the hands of skillful decorators is very 

 charming. 



On the Oakland ferry-boat, a few days ago, I first noticed 

 one of the sad results of the fashion for decorating with wild 

 flowers. There were large baskets full of False Solomon's 

 Seal {Smilacina amplexicaiilis) that gives so much beauty to 

 many a ravine of the Coast range. The plants had been up- 

 rooted in every instance. I began to investigate, and soon 

 discovered that few, except coarse and common plants, are 

 left in the canons near the bay, and the Ferns have disap- 

 peared from places within three or four hours' travel. In 

 many counties public sentiment is becoming ready for a law 

 that shall adequately protect certain wild plants of California. 



In the case of Smilacina amplexicaiilis all that is needed to 

 preserve it is reasonable care in cutting. Like the allied spe- 

 cies, S. sessifolia, it grows from a hardy and stout root-stock. 

 If this is undisturbed and a few leaves left, the plant will thrive 

 for years and furnish large quantities of its graceful foliage. 

 Among the Ferns that are disappearing from our canons are 

 Adiantum emarginatum and A. pedatum, Pellcca andromcda- 

 folia and P. Ornithopus, and Gymnogramme triangularis. 

 Even the Wood wardia ( W. radicans), which was once so abun- 

 dant, is in danger of extinction in many districts of the state. 

 The coarse bracken Fern, Pteris aquiliua, forms dense thickets 

 acres in extent in the northern counties of Humboldt, Klamath 

 and Siskiyou, and is a troublesome weed in garden and field. 

 But no other Fern appears safe, and such delicate species as 

 Cheilanthcs Calif ornica, the Aspleniums, and others that have 

 always been rare, are threatened with extermination. 



The careless ravages of picnic parties and tourists have dis- 

 turbed thoughtful people, but it is only the showy annuals and 

 such things as readily recover which are gathered by this class. 

 Eschscholtzias and Larkspurs are nearly as numerous in die 

 Marin County pastures this summer as they were twenty years 

 ago. Berkeley canons are still brilliant with flowers, and there 

 are miles of rose-hued wild Currants along Strawberry Creek. 

 But the Trilliums, that used to grow by thousands in shady 

 places under the Oaks, are becoming scarce. All the finer 

 bulbous-rooted plants are fast disappearing, not so much 

 because a few careless young people wander into the woods, 

 but because of the ravages of the hired men of the professional 

 decorator. 



Private ownership of land has not prevented the gathering 

 of wild plants, because California is full of large ranches, and 

 many of its wilder canons — the sheltered haunts that the shy 

 wild plants love best — are so unfit for cultivation that they 

 remain unfenced and unprotected. Thousands of pounds of 

 " green stuff," as the vandals call their spoils, may be gathered 

 and carried off without hindrance. I know of perhaps half a 

 dozen small canons that are fenced and well guarded during 

 the season, and in one or two cases there is even some re- 

 planting and wild-gardening done. For the most part the 

 land-owners have not awakened to the situation. When they 

 do, the native plants will receive, at least, as much care and 

 protection as do the quail and other game. Signs like these 

 will then perhaps be seen scattered along our ravines : " Use 

 scissors on Ferns and other small plants " ; " Do not break or 

 trample " ; " Leave some flowers of annuals for seed." 



A story was recently told to me by a lady who had just re- 

 turned from camping in the Yosemite Valley. A friendly 

 guide, when asked about the Ferns of the region, answered 

 that he would have to know her a long time before he would 

 be willing to tell her about the kinds in the valley, and con- 

 tinued : " I know you don't mean any harm, but there was a 

 young woman here from the Bay — a great botanist — and I told 

 her of a Fern that only grew in two places, so far as I knew, in 

 the whole region. Then she was wild to see it. I told her 

 she might have some leaves to press in her brown-paper books, 

 but warned her not to pull up any. ' Don't you s'pose I know 

 better than to spoil your Fern-garden ? ' replied the college 

 girl. So I showed her where the stuff grew — one place, where 

 the most of it was, under some dry brush I had put there — and 

 I made her promise again not to tell any one, and not to pull 

 it up. I said to her, ' I guess there ain't but two clumps of it 

 in the Yosemite, and my idea is it ought to stay here. It would 

 be a kind of murder to drive it out.' Then she looked real 

 pretty, and said she entirely agreed with me. It might be a 

 new species, she remarked, and it might be named after me 

 if I would let it be taken away, but then I was exactly right, 

 and it belonged right here. 



"Two or three weeks after that her camp broke up, and she 

 went up the valley and dug up every root of the Fern that she 

 could find. Fact. I saw her doing it; When I went down to 

 camp to tell them good-by, that cussed little hypocrite sidled 



up and begged me to take good care of the Ferns — specially 

 of that new land ! No, mum, I'll show you everything in the 

 line of plants, from the Merced River to the top of El Capitan, 

 except one little bunch of Fern — all that was left by that young 

 woman from the Bay." _, , , _, . 



Mii es cal. Charles Howard Shi tin. 



Recent Publications. 



The Cauliflower. By A. A. Crozier. The Register Publish- 

 ing Co., Ann Arbor, Michigan. 



In most gardens of the United States the Cauliflower is con- 

 sidered an uncertain vegetable. This is due to the fact that 

 American gardeners are not well acquainted with the methods 

 of cultivation suited to our climate and with the best modern 

 varieties of the plant ; and yet such varieties can, as a rule, be 

 grown with success wherever the soil and climate is particu- 

 larly suited to the Cabbage. The fall crop is to be relied upon 

 mainly here, for it will be waste of effort to grow Cauliflowers 

 when they head in the heat of our summers, and, although 

 the time may come when we can have Cauliflower and Broc- 

 coli here as they do in England the year round, as yet it is 

 only under the most favorable circumstances that it pays to do 

 much even with a spring crop of these plants. 



Mr. Crozier has prepared a manual which he has endeav- 

 ored to adapt to the different conditions found within the 

 limits of the United States. He has laid down rules for culti- 

 vation, but he has explained how they must be adjusted to suit 

 the different localities. The directions are minute, but, at the 

 same time, the grower is cautioned against following them 

 implicitly, and he is advised to make personal experiments 

 after he has gained some general information, so that he can 

 determine for himself the details of the cultural methods re- 

 quired by his soil and exposure. The book opens with a brief 

 chapter on the Origin and History of the Cauliflower, and this 

 is followed by a sketch of the Cauliflower industry both in 

 Europe and the United States. Under the head of the " Man- 

 agement of the Crop" will be found the most important in- 

 formation for cultivators relating to soil, fertilizers, transplant- 

 ing, cultivating, harvesting and marketing, and the chapter 

 entitled "Cauliflower Regions" gives the records of experi- 

 ence from growers on the upper Atlantic coast, the lake re- 

 gion, the prairie region, the south, and on the Pacific coast, 

 all of which will be found of special interest for each locality. 

 The chapter on Varieties is very complete, and the sections 

 devoted to the insect and fungal enemies of the plant con- 

 tains the most recent information as to approved methods of 

 fighting all these pests. 



Altogether, Mr. Crozier has furnished an excellent handbook 

 on the "subject, and one which will prove of great help to any 

 one who is beginning to cultivate the Cauliflower for market 

 purposes, and Professor Goff, of the Wisconsin Experiment 

 Station, is quoted as saying, " I incline to think that there is a 

 fortune in store for the energetic young man who finds a 

 favorable locality for growing this vegetable near any one of 

 our large cities, and who will make a specialty of the work." It 

 may be well to add a recapitulation of the points which, are 

 important in Cauliflower culture, according to Mr. Crozier : 

 (1) The best localities for Cauliflower are those where the 

 climate is cool and moist, as, for example, near some large 

 body of water. (2) The Cauliflower will endure nearly as 

 much dry weather as ordinary crops while growing, provided 

 it has a cool, moist time in which to head. (3) The best soil 

 is a sandy loam, though any cool, moist, fertile soil will answer. 

 (4) While a moist soil is desirable, thorough drainage is 

 essential. (5) An abundance of manure is necessary, as the 

 Cauliflower is a gross feeder. (6) Frequent tillage is needed, 

 that there may be no check in the growth of the plants 

 until they are ready to head. (7) The leaves should be tied 

 over the heads, as soon as they appear, to keep them blanched 

 and protected from frost. (8) If any plants have failed to 

 head on the approach of winter they should be removed to a 

 shed or cellar and they will head there. 



Notes. * 



According to the New York Sun, " Sod No. 14, in the 

 Central Park grass-garden, has made the best growth of 

 any of the sixteen varieties set out last spring. It is a close 

 and fine variety of Rhode Island Bent-grass. A bit five inches 

 square has developed into something like a square yard of 

 thick velvety turf." 



As is well known, the chief source of the vanilla of com- 

 merce is an orchidaceous plant, Vanilla aromatica. But a 



