H> IN D FA LLS . 



507 



to be perfectly hardy, and so far as we can judge from 

 an observation extending over ten years, is entirely free 

 from insect pests. 



In this connection, it may not be out of place to say a 

 word for the tulip tree, or Liriodendroti tulipifera , for 

 those who contemplate setting out trees on lawns or road- 

 sides. One grows somewhat weary of the never ending 

 procession of maples and elms, and at times longs for a 

 break in the monotony. The tulip tree is a very hand- 

 some tree and adds a pleasing variety to the list. — Wirne, 

 Port Jervis, A'. Y. 



[In our own grounds, two faults have developed in the 

 otherwise magnificent yellow-wood. One is that some 

 of the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall long before 

 frost. The second is the liability of the main branches to 

 split near the trunk in high winds. It may further be 

 said that the petioles drop constantly from early winter 

 until the ensuing spring, littering the lawn objectionably. 

 Eds.] 



A Tree that Foretells Rain. — The journal " Ciel et 

 Terre," recently called attention to a remarkable prop- 

 erty of the Fountainebleau service-tree {Sordiis latifolia). 

 The leaves, which are green above and white below, turn 

 so as to present the white under surface to the sky just 

 before rain. When the tree turns white it is a certain 

 indication of rain. This vegetable barometer is easily 

 procured and is, moreover, a highly ornamental tree. — 

 Translated from Le Jardui. 



London Summer Flower Show. — Flower shows are 

 delightful as well as fashionable institutions in London, 

 always drawing, besides a host of the "commonalty" 

 a large sprinkling of the nobility and frequently some of 

 the royalties also. They are held chiefly at the Crystal 

 Palace, Sydenham, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, 

 and the Botanical Gardens, Regent's Park. At the last, 

 the first summer show was held early in June, and was 

 a brilliant success. It was hard to say whether the dis- 

 play was brightest among the formal array under the 

 canvas tent or among the flower beds in the bright sun- 

 shine out-of-doors. Here the auriculus, and early bulb- 

 ous plants, tulips, narcissuses and daffodils, gladdened 

 the eye with their bright variegated abundance ; while 

 from the tent came the sweet perfume of roses, wonder- 

 ful orchids and pyramids of azaleas. Heaths, marvelous 

 amaryllis and dazzling pelargoniums were in full bloom. 

 All of the best that art or nature could produce in the 

 floral line was there displayed to the best advantage in 

 profuse abundance. There was plenty for everybody 

 to admire — from the rather stiff and conventional selected 

 triumphs of the gardener's art, to the unrestrained floral 

 attractions of the open air. Fairest of all, however, and 

 most charming, were the throngs of fashionable beauties 

 that outdid the brightest of the floral marvels in comeli- 

 ness of form and variegated splendor. The prevailing 

 color in the costumes was heliotrope, but far redder in 

 tone than the pinkish blue blossoms that adorn the gar- 

 den. With youth, beauty, rank and wealth everywhere, 

 the choicest and costliest flowers glorifying the scene and 

 filling the warm air with fragrance and the music of the 



Life Guards' or Coldstream Guards' band pulsating in 

 sweet cadence around, a London flower show is a sight 

 not soon to be forgotten. 



Floriculture as a Business. — In a recent census bul- 

 letin it is stated that floriculture, though carried on as a 

 business for more than 100 years, has increased greatly 

 in the past 25 years. Of 4,659 establishments, more than 

 half, or 2,795, have started within this period. There are 

 312 commercial floricultural establishments, owned and 

 managed by women. All the establishments have in the 

 aggregate 28 millions square feet of glass, covering over 

 S91 acres of ground. They employ 38 million dollars of 

 capital ; give employment to 16 thousand men and 19 

 hundred women, who earned in the census year over S 

 million dollars. The products were over 12 million dol- 

 lars for plants, and for cut flowers 14 millions. The 

 horticultural societies of the Union, 358 in number, as- 

 sisted by the horticultural and agricultural press, have 

 aided to bring the industry to its present large propor- 

 tions. It is estimated that 80 per cent, of the whole 

 business has been developed during the past 25 years. 

 The improving and refining influence of this business on 

 the many ten thousands who have purchased at these es- 

 tablishments, or who have obtained supplies through their 

 agency, could not be stated in numbers, and can be only 

 dimly appreciated. 



Truck Farming. — The census office has recently is- 

 sued some highly interesting statistics of truck farming in 

 the United States, as distinguished from market garden- 

 ning, which is conducted so near to the local market that 

 the farmer depends on his own team for transportation. 

 The average truck farm is situated a great distance from 

 the market in which its produce is disposed of. 



It is estimated that upward of $100,000,000 is invested 

 in the industry in the United States, the annual produc- 

 tion being three-quarters of this amount, or $76,500,000, 

 realized from 534,440 acres of land. In the work are en- 

 gaged 216,765 men, 9,264 women and 14,874 children, 

 who are aided by 75,868 horses and mules, and use 

 nearly ^^9,000,000 worth of agricultural implements. 

 The industry is carried on in nearly all the states, but 

 the principal districts are a narrow belt on thfB South 

 Atlantic coast and along the Mississippi Valley. The 

 more fertile soils are chosen ; labor and the railroad do the 

 rest. The big cities are the best customers of the truck 

 farmer, the wants of the people in the smaller centers 

 of population being to a large extent supplied from the 

 immediate neighborhood, and they take less per capita 

 of that grown in other climates than their own. 



The merchants of Chicago draw hither the fruits of 

 Georgia, Florida, the West India Islands and Central 

 America ; the peaches and berries of Illinois and Michi- 

 gan, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri ; apples, grapes and 

 pears from California; and cranberries from the marshes 

 of Wisconsin. And the range of their distributive work 

 is almost equally wide. 



Few people have a correct idea of the effect this busi- 

 ness has on transportation. In the season for most of 

 the fruits special trains run each day from the produc- 



