THE Y SA Y 



Red Cedar. — To what does A. C. S. refer (p. 185) to 

 as the Rocky Mountain variety of red cedar ? This is 

 the trouble with so-called common names. Does he mean 

 that he has Junipenis virgiiiiana from the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, or some other tree that has been christened red 

 cedar ? Here Jitniperus vij-giniayia is called red cedar, 

 Cupressus Thyoides is called "juniper" and Taxodiuiii 

 distichiim is called cypress, and so it is everywhere that 

 the ' ' common " names some people are so fond of create 

 confusion. — W. F. Massey, N. C. Experiment Siaiioii. 



Turtles as Snail Catchers. — In my fern case there 

 were snails ; their tracks smeared the glass, and some of 

 the choicest ferns and begonias were bitten off and utter- 

 ly ruined. Of course, I turned to my American Gar- 

 den for relief, and found I must get a box turtle and 

 put him in the case. Our small boy found one, and he 

 was soon behind the bars. But the snails weren't scared 

 a whit, and the turtle was the means of bringing me 

 into disgrace with one of our rich neighbors. She is a 

 very fat lady, and one day came in to see the ferns, set- 

 ting herself in a large arm-chair close to the glass. 

 Right in the midst of our talk, she gave a blood curdling 

 scream, and yelled! "A mouse! A mouse!" We 

 pulled her up, and there was the poor turtle trying to 

 get from the seat of the chair to the floor. The glass of 

 the case being lifted a little, tired of hunting for snails, 

 he had escaped. We thought him a failure as a snail 

 catcher, and he was thrown out of doors, but my faith 

 in The American Garden is still strong. — A. L. 



Cypripedium Arietinum in New England : Dicen- 

 tra Squirrel Corn. — In the notice of "Some Native 

 Orchids " in the April issue of the Garden Cypripedium 

 arie/imim is spoken of as not having been reported in 

 New England south of Vermont. In the report of the 

 Connecticut Board of Agriculture for 1885, there is a 

 list of wild plants growing in Connecticut, by James M. 

 Bishop of Plainville, and C. arietinum is given as found 

 at North Haven, and I have found it also in Cornwall, 

 Litchfahl county, 50 miles distant. Another corres- 

 pondent askes if anyone has cultivated the little " Di- 

 centra Squirrel Corn." I transplanted it when in blos- 

 som to my garden, and it flourished for many years, till 

 choked out by more vigorous plants. — T. S. Gold, Conn. 



Many Pears may be picked even a month or more 

 before they are ripe, and if they are well handled in a 

 dry room they will be ready for market two weeks in 

 advance of the regular crop. Some growers pick a part 

 of the crop from the trees in this manner, and allow 

 the remainder to hang. In this way a succession is 

 secured. 



Death of Charles Gibb.— Mr. Charles Gibb, of Ab- 

 botsford, Quebec, died in Egypt on his way to America, 

 the news reaching us just as we go to press. Mr. Gibb 

 was one of the best known horticulturists in the north, 

 and his death, in the prime of life, is a sad and irrepar- 

 able loss. He had been to China and Japan to study 

 the horticulture of those countries. He died March 8, 

 aged 45 years. 



Don't be in a Hurry. — The middle of May generally 

 finds us anxious to put out our plants, especially as we 

 want to clean house, and the prepared garden beds look 

 bare and forlorn. A cold, long rain storm often sets in 

 the last of May, and our poor plants are shaken by the 

 wind, perhaps stripped of their leaves, and need a month 

 to recover their good looks. Let us not therefore be in 

 a hurry, and let us bear in mind the rule about taking 

 down stoves, and taking off flannels. Some one asked 

 an old doctor what day in the year he should take off 

 his woolen undershirt. The O. D. answered the 31st 

 day of May. "When shall I put it on ?" was the next 

 question, " the first day of June," was the answer. I 

 plant my seeds in shallow boxes, placing them in sunny 

 windows, and transplant as they grow and crowd to- 

 gether. I cover the boxes with pieces of cloth, and like 

 this better than glass. If the seeds are very fine, I 

 keep the cloth wet. A pair of iron brackets are cheap, 

 and fastened in the sunny windows, with a board laid 

 across, they afford a nice support for my seed boxes. — 

 Sister Gracious. 



A Trap for Snails. — I have a glass case for ferns, 

 but the snails have given me much trouble, in spite of 

 sifting the earth before the plants were put in ; moreover 

 the glass was smeared over with their tracks and looked 

 badly. The leaves of the Begonia Rex were riddled, 

 and some of the rare ferns were bitten off, or hung in 

 shreds. The family took turns watching for the " var- 

 mints," but they knew too much to appear in the daytime. 

 An effective trap was discovered accidentally. I plant- 

 ed some fern seed in a flower pot saucer and put it under 

 the glass. Next time I took it out, I found three fat 

 snails on the bottom, and next day some more. I ex- 

 amine the case every day and the number grows less and 

 less ; I shall get them all in time. The ferns and bego- 

 nias look much better ; my trap is a success. — Sister 

 Gracious. 



Carnations to the Fore Again. — Few florists' flow- 

 ers are in such demand as the carnation, and none, re- 

 latively bringing such high prices. Only a few years 

 ago, the rose drove the carnation from the market, 

 prices were not renumerative and its cultivation was in 

 a great measure abandoned. Now, the prices for long- 

 stemmed flowers are nearly the same as for the more com- 

 mon of the tea roses, and the few successful growers are 

 reaping a harvest. There is not a flower in the market 

 the growing of which pays so well to grow, or entails so 

 little trouble. Its requisites are plenty of light, and a 

 cool place for growth ; no artificial heat should be em- 

 ployed, except enough to keep out frost. 



Soil for Plums. — As a rule, the clay loams are best 

 for plums. Sometimes the soil has a great influence 

 upon the quality of the fruit. George T. Powell relates 

 a remarkable instance of this. The Lombards sent to 

 the New York market from the west shore of the Hud- 

 son " stand up " better, and bring a better price, than 

 those from the east side, because the soil is clay on the 

 west and sandy or gravelly on the east. . 



