6io 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 200. 



number of years, for which a force of well-trained men is 

 needed. 



The extinction of a torrent once accomplished, the complete 

 reforestation of the treacherous basin will have the result of 

 transforming this once-destructive agent into a beneficial 

 mountain brook. After this it will be possible to decide upon 

 the works which it may be necessary to retain and keep in or- 

 der. For the rest it will suffice to open a free passage for the 

 water through their centre, and to take up the differences of 

 level by a series of small rough sills extending across the new 

 bed, while the alluvium will soon be covered and fixed by a 

 vigorous forest-vegetation. In this way the torrents are recon- 

 structed into clear and harmless mountain streams. 



I shall now cite some examples of forests treated by the 

 adopted method. 



THE TORRENT OF BOURGET. 



This torrent empties into the Ubaye just above Barcelonette. 

 The crests of the mountain from which it flows rise to an alti- 

 tude varying from 2,900 to 3,000 meters, while its foot has an alti- 

 tude of only 1,200 meters. The first operations began in 1870 

 with the reforestation of all the stable lands of the basin by 

 sowing and planting Pinus Ce?jibra in the higher region — that 

 is, above 2,400 meters of altitude ; Larix Europea and Pinus 

 montana'm the middle region, between 1,700 and 2,400 meters, 

 and finally of P. Sylvestris in the lower region, between 1,400 

 and 1,700 meters. Woody vegetation has now taken posses- 

 sion of all the basins formerly denuded, and the young 

 forest which has been absolutely created is increasing from 

 year to year. 



The unstable lands have been fixed by a series of corrective 

 operations begun in 1872. The source of the torrent is at an 

 altitude of 2,936 meters, and the profile of its bed is divided into 

 three well-marked sections. The upper section, the catch- 

 basin of the torrent, is 2,100 meters long, with an average pitch 

 of 54 to 100. In this section the rock is hard, and the banks 

 relatively stable. The middle section, constituting the drain- 

 age channel, flows exclusively through Jurassic marls, where 

 the torrent erodes at will, and causes most disastrous washes 

 by undermining banks and starting land-slides from the 

 principal slopes. The length of this section is 1,764 meters, 

 and it has an average pitch of 26 to 100. The third section, 

 formed by the cone of detritus, has a length of 1,283 meters. 

 It is more nearly level, and has an average pitch of 9 to 100. 



The principal works of correction have been confined to the 

 second section. Altogether they required the construction of 

 twenty dams of masonry varying from 3 to 8 meters high. The 

 subjection of the Bourget has been assured for more than nine 

 years by a young forest of 988 acres, which occupies the upper 

 basin. This result has been attained in fourteen years. 



Correspondence. 



Botanical Exhibition of the Appalachian Club. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The Appalachian Mountain Club has just held in its 

 rooms in Boston an exhibition of plants prepared as herbarium 

 specimens. As such exhibitions are none too common, a 

 short notice of it may be of general interest. 



The specimens were all mounted, with the exception of a few 

 cryptogams — Lichens and the like. As many as possible were 

 displayed on the wall, but a great number had to remain in genus 

 covers, owing to the unfortunate lack of available wall space. 

 This insufficient space necessitated covering the walls almost 

 from floor to ceiling in order to make even a partial display of 

 the collection, and therefore fully one-third of the plants 

 shown were so hopelessly "skied" that it was impossible to 

 examine them except with an opera-glass. A botanical speci- 

 men is not like a picture, where distance often lends enchant- 

 ment to the view. It needs to be examined closely, if at all. 



Of three rooms occupied, one was devoted to a large collec- 

 tion of Ferns from various parts of the world ; another was 

 filled with a collection of plants from California, supplemented 

 by a set of colored outline drawings, an excellent adjunct to 

 an exhibition of this nature. In the third room was shown a 

 miscellaneous collection of flowering plants, Mosses, Lichens, 

 Hepaticse and Algae. Altogether, there was enough material 

 to occupy for some time the attention of any one interested in 

 botanical subjects, and many visitors availed themselves of 

 the privilege here offered. 



It may seem ungracious to be critical in regard to such an 

 informal exhibition, and yet it may be of service to point out 

 a few defects. Much pleasure and instruction can be gained 



from such exhibitions, while, as object-lessons, their value is 

 beyond question. But, of course, the work must be carefully 

 planned and carried out if these desirable results are fully 

 achieved. 



In this case the whole exhibition displayed a lack of system. 

 Some attempt had been made to arrange the plants in differ- 

 ent genera, especially among the Ferns. The whole result, 

 however, gave the impression that a number of people had 

 been working each on a different plan. The genera appeared 

 and disappeared in a most provoking manner, and many an 

 important genus seemed wholly unrepresented, unless, per- 

 haps, in the regions near the ceiling or somewhere in the 

 genus covers. Mixed with the general collection, but without any 

 general plan, appeared several special collections that it was 

 desired to keep together, and altogether it was difficult for an 

 observer to find any special plant without assistance. 



It may well be questioned whether a local exhibition of this 

 kind should not give a local collection the place of promi- 

 nence, and admit other plants only in the form of special col- 

 lections, as seems to have been actually done in the case of 

 the California plants. Visitors are likely to be more interested 

 in the plants of their own part of the country than in stray 

 specimens and insufficient collections from here, there and 

 everywhere. A good general collection is much beyond the 

 scope and attainment of any small exhibition of plants, and a 

 poor one serves more to gratify idle curiosity than to give in- 

 struction. It would, therefore, seem better to have some defi- 

 nite purpose to accomplish, such as showing the flora of a 

 special region, or special plants for some marked object. 

 From this point of view, the exhibit of our poisonous species 

 of Rhus (under glass), together with some of the plants most 

 resembling them, was most commendable. The wonder is 

 that some one did not also make a special exhibit of our plants 

 poisonous to the taste. 



Unfortunately, it must be said that some determinations 

 were open to suspicion, some were questioned, in many 

 cases there were no names at all, in many more no specific 

 name was given, and in a few cases the common English 

 name of the plant seems to have been thought sufficient. 

 Such errors could be avoided by providing for a careful in- 

 spection of all plants contributed under the supervision of 

 some one of recognized botanical standing. 



Again, there was too much disregard of ordinary care in 

 preparing and mounting the specimens. Many of the labels 

 lacked neatness ; different varieties of a plant were mounted 

 upon the same sheet, and in some cases not only two or three 

 different plants were mounted together, but a whole flower- 

 garden with not even a label to guide the observer through its 

 mazes. 



In spite of these manifest short-comings every visitor must 

 have been impressed with the great promise that this venture 

 gives, and must have felt grateful for the perseverance shown 

 by the club in its first attempt. The more undertakings of 

 this kind we have the better. If properly conducted, they can 

 do great good by arousing a healthful and practical interest in 

 our native flora. May this exhibition, therefore, be but the 

 beginning of many in the years to come. 



Boston, Mass. Edward L. Rand. 



The Acorn Crop near Chicago. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — In the issue of Garden and Forest for October 21st 

 information is requested about the acorn crop in different parts 

 of the country. Having been closely studying the Oaks of this 

 vicinity for some time, the fruit has received a good deal of 

 attention on account of its importance in the determination of 

 species. Hence any great change in its amount, and particu- 

 larly any failure, would have been observed. But no failure 

 has been noticed, though in the case of the Bur Oak, which is 

 more immediately concerned, it has seemed less productive 

 than usual the past season. Besides this, the forests are sup- 

 plied with the White Oak, Swamp White Oak, Red Oak, Black 

 Oak, Scarlet Oak, Yellow Chestnut Oak, Shingle Oak and a 

 hybrid of the last with the Black, or Scarlet Oak, much 

 like Quercus Leana, These are all of whose presence I 

 am certain, or familiar with in this region. All have been 

 carefully studied, and, with the exception of the last two spe- 

 cies and the hybrid, are abundant or common, though the Red 

 Oak and Swamp White Oak are more restricted in their habitat 

 than the other common kinds, and not so generally met with. 

 On all biennial-fruited Oaks the acorns were very abundant 

 last fall, as they are nearly every year. The annual-fruited 

 kinds have seemed to me more changeable and uncertain in 



