THE ORNAMENTAL CHERRIES OF JAPAN. 



401 



succeed at all, they should be cut early in December, 

 packed at once in damp moss and forwarded by express, 

 so they can reach their destination before the end of Jan- 

 uary. On the other hand, young trees, if well packed, 

 can be forwarded by freight at much less expense, and 

 with greater assurance that they will grow on arrival. 

 The native nurserymen are not good packers of trees for 

 long trips. They lack experience in such shipments. 



and they fail to comprehend the trying 

 conditions to which the stock will be ex- 

 posed. In the moist, mild climate of 

 their native land, everything grows, no 

 matter how rough the treatment it re- 

 ceives. In early spring it is of almost 

 daily occurrence to meet gangs of men 

 hauling large trees, bursting into flower, 

 and almost completely deprived of their 

 roots, intended to be planted elsewhere; and I never 

 knew one to fail to grow. The same is true of trees of 

 all kinds They plant them when convenient, regard- 

 less of the season. 



C. C. Georgeson. 



JAPANESE FLOWERING CHERRIES IN NEW 

 ENGLAND. 



There appears to be some reason to doubt whether all 

 the ornamental Japanese cherriesiusually classed as va- 

 rieties or forms of Pniniis Psendo-Cerasus really belong 

 to one species. Among the many names under which 

 the plants are sometimes offered" in catalogues, the fol- 

 lowing may be mentioned, besides the usual Jlove plena 

 appendages to the generally 

 accepted name. As the plan 

 is a cherry and many authors 

 still adhere to the generic 

 name of Cerasus, we find it 

 passing under the names of 

 CtTasus Pseudo-Cerasiis rosea 

 na, Cerasus Sieboldi and 

 varieties alhn p!e>ia and rosea 

 plena, Cerasus 

 Capronia flore 

 rosea plena, Cer- 

 asus serra/ifolia, 

 Cerasus Lannesi- 

 ana and Cerasus 

 Walereri. Plants 

 have been re- 

 ceived as Prunus 

 aeiJa, and they 

 are also sold sim- 

 ply under the less 

 pret e n t i o u s 1 y 

 sounding names 

 of Double Chin- 

 ese Cherry, Double Jap- 

 anese Cherry, Double 

 Rose-flowered Cherry, 

 etc. This chaos may 

 very easily be divided 

 into three or four lots, 

 according as the flowers 

 are single, semi-double 

 or full double, and with 

 reference to their white 

 or rosy color ; but a crit- 

 ical examination shows 

 much variation and di- 

 versity in the foliage. P. Pseudo-Cerasus does not appear 

 to be as well known in this country as it deserves to be, 

 but where it has been planted it has often been under 

 the impression that it will speedily become a large, sym- 

 metrical tree like the double-flowering garden cherry. 

 This, however, is hardly the case in this latitude, for 

 the Japanese species appears small and shrub-like in 

 comparison, and is without the vigor of the common 

 kinds ; and, moreover, it is apt to be misshapen, unless 

 carefully trained. It is, however, well worth cultivat- 

 ing for its flowers, which are among the most beautiful 

 of ornamental cherries we can grow. In the climate of 

 the region about Boston the plants are perfectly hardy, 

 where planted on well-drained soil and not forced into 



