117 



and mow olf the oats around the the trees twice du- 

 ring the growing season, four or five feet around 

 from the stem of the tree. The trees will do better 

 with this closely mowed sod about them, than it the 

 ground is kept clear of every thing. On no account 

 let the oats grow up to maturity about the young 

 trees. ] 



Washingtonia GiGANTEA.--"Our very quiet and 

 retiring contemporary of the Gardener s Montlily, 

 who is always so courteous and gentlemanly in his 

 own columns, seems to have forgotten his usual ur- 

 banity when writing for other papers ; and we great- 

 ly regret to see our respected correspondent, Hon. 

 R, S. Field, and, we think, also the friend of Mr. 

 Meehan, and every lover of fine trees, set down by 

 him as an "ignorant newspaper writer," because be 

 don't agree with Mr. Meehan in calling the Wasb- 

 intonia a Sequoia, when such "ignorant botanical 

 compilers" as the late Dr. Lindley said it was dis- 

 tinct from Sequoia, and gave it the name of Wel- 

 lingtonia. We are so used to being classed witb 

 the "ignorant newspaper writers," that we don't 

 mind it ourselves ; but we do protest against having 

 such intelligent men as Mr. Field, and otbers of 

 equal information, designated by such polite terms. 

 Does our contemporary claim to hold the place of 

 arbiter in such matters of opinion among tbe bota- 

 nists and horticulturists of the world ? Mr. Meehan 

 ought to know that Uncle John, who claims gene- 

 rally all that belongs to him, — and sometimes more 

 —grabbed our bigsrest tree and called it Welling- 

 tonia ; that the French, who ignore the name of 

 Wellington, call it Sequoia; and that the Yankees, 

 who think they know as much about their own big 

 farm, and what grows upon it, as anybody, and who 

 first di.«covered the tree, insist that it shall not be 

 dubbed Wellingtonia, when they, and the French 

 too, know that it does not belong to Sequoia, and is 

 as much unlike it as a Thiija is unlike a Cypress. 

 " Ignorant newspaper writers " ! Almost "made 

 himself ridiculous"! Sounds well, — quite Pick- 

 wickian." 



[The above is in reference to a remark of Mr. 

 Meehan's in Judd's Horticultural Annual, that 

 " some ignorant newspaper writers have called the 

 tree Washingtonia, and ignorant botanical compilers 

 in England affect to give as a synonym, 'Washing- 

 tonia of the Americans'." 



The statement is strictly true. Ignorant writers 

 in California newspapers called the tree Washing- 

 tonia; and Mr. Hovey, with no pretensions to botan- 

 ical knowledge that we ever heard, followed in their 

 wake. If Mr. Hovey wishes to make our statement 



untrue, will he tell us what Botanist named the tree 

 Washingtonia? Endlicher is the authority for Se- 

 quoia, Lindley for Wellingtonia, and ignorant news- 

 paper writers, and no other., for "Washingtonia." 



We trust it will not affect our standing for cour- 

 tesy and gentlemanly treatment of any who attack 

 us in the above style, to remark that all the talk 

 about " Yankea knowing," "Johnny grabbing," 

 "Arbiter of Botanical knowledge," " Sounds Pick- 

 wickian," and so forth, is rather illustrative of the 

 ignorant newspaper writer than of Uie intelligent 

 man. 



We have labored to make American horticultural 

 literature respectable at home, and respected 

 abroad. It is just such miserable stuff as this which 

 we find continually in our way. We have never 

 made any high pretensions to knowledge, yet we 

 know enoup-h to see occasionally about us men who 

 are too stupid to learn for themselves, and too proud 

 to learn from others ; and these, unfortunately, 

 manage to get the public ear in a manner to appear 

 as the type of the whole nation, and bring ridicule 

 ttnd disgrace on the people they pretend to serve. 



As to Mr. Field's preferring to follow ignorant 

 newspaper writers, instead of intelligent authors 

 like Torrey and Bigelow, (see Pacific B. B. Beports, 

 Vol. IV and Y,) it is nothing at all to us; and if 

 he feels his intelligence flattered by the association 

 in which Mr. Hovey places him, we do not envj him 

 the compliment.] 



Excrescence on Apple Trees. — A Cleveland 

 correspondent recently wrote to us about an excres- 

 cence on Apple trees, to which we replied in our 

 February number. Since then, he sends us speci- 

 mens as requested ; and instead of their being 

 caused by insects, we had our suspicions that it was 

 of fungoid origin, — as is the case with the Black 

 Knot on the Plum. But as Mr. Stauffer has made 

 Practical Entomology a matter of very close and la- 

 borious study, we sent it to him for further exami- 

 nation. It will be seen that he agree with us in 

 opinion ; and as it is now evident that we have a 

 " knot " to contend with in the Apple, as well as 

 Cberry and Plum, it will be well to take especial 

 pains to keep the disease from spreading, which can 

 be easily done by cutting off and burning the 

 swollen parts as soon as they appear^ and before they 

 have time to mature spores for another crop : 



Lancaster, February 25, 1867. 

 Friend Meehan : — Yours of the 22d, with the en- 

 closed excrescence, sent you by your Cleveland cor- 



