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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
THE 
GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 
OF AMERICA. 
Published by 
THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. 
Office of Publication 
286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK 
MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor 
EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. 
Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 
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Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New 
York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Published on the 15th of each month. 
Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. 
For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All edi- 
torial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 
President. Vice-President, Treasurer. 
W. N. CRAIG, THEO. WIRTH, JAMES STUART, 
Brookline, Mass. Minneapolis, Minn. Mamaroneck. N. Y. 
Secretary, MARTIN C. EBEL, Madison. N. J. 
TRUSTEES FOR 1916. 
Peter Duff, Orange N. J.; William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J.; William 
Turner, Bernardsvillc, N. J.; William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. 
Huss, Hartford, Conn. 
DIRECTORS. 
To serve until 1917 — Wm. Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal. ; Robert Angus, 
Tarrytown, N. Y. ; Robert Bottomley, New Canaan, Conn.; Alex. Fraser, 
Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, Reading, Pa.; Thomas W. Head, Lake 
Forest, 111.; L. P. Jensen, St. Louis, Mo. 
To serve until 1918 — William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; William J. 
Kennedy, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John W. 
Johnston, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Peter 
Johnson, Dallas, Tex.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass. 
To serve until 1919— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Thomas W. 
Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.. Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; James Mac- 
Machan, Tuxedo Park, N. Y.; A. Bauer, Deal Beach. N. J.; David Fraser, 
Pittsburgh, Pa.; George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS 
President, 
EMIL T. MISCHE, 
Portland, Ore. 
J. W. THOMPSON, 
Seattle, Wash. 
JOHN F. WALSH, 
New York, N. Y. 
Vice-Presiden ts, 
ALEX. STUART, 
Ottawa, Ont. 
E. P. GRIFFIN, 
East St. Louis, 111. 
Secretary -Treasurer, 
ROLAND W. COTTERILL, 
Seattle, Wash. 
L. P. JENSEN, 
St. Louis. Mo. 
EUG. V. GOEBEL, 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Vol. XX. 
Tune, 1916. 
No. 6. 
NEW PLANTS FROM CHINA. 
'THE third expedition into China to discover new 
plants suitable for introduction into the United 
States has been completed by F. N. Meyer, plant 
explorer of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who re- 
cently returned to Washington after a three-year trip in 
the far East. As a result of this expedition through the 
center of China, of the many specimens secured, the 
specialists regard as most significant the jujube, a 
fruit new to this country, which may be suitable for 
use in the Southwest ; a wild peach resistant to alkali, 
cold and drought, the root system of which offers 
great possibilities as a grafting host ; certain Chinese 
persimmons larger than any hitherto known in this 
country : a number of aquatic food roots and vege- 
tables which otter promising possibilities for the utili- 
zation of swamp land; some thirty varieties of vege- 
table and timber bamboos; and a number of Chinese 
vegetables, bush and climber roses, shrubs and trees. 
Of scientific rather than commercial interest is the 
discovery on this expedition, near Hangchau, of a 
hickory tree, the first found in China. The existence 
of this tree, together with the facts that the sassafras 
and tulip trees are common in both countries and the 
Chinese tea box tree is closely related to the sweet 
gum of the South, confirms the fact that the flora of 
the southeastern United States and that of sections 
of China are closely related. Another discovery of 
botanical interest was the finding in a remote and 
hitherto unvisited valley in Tibet of a hazel tree 100 
feet high, a surprising departure from the hazel bush. 
Elsewhere English walnuts were discovered in a wild 
state; and the discovery of the wild peach is regarded 
as significant because it seems to establish that the 
peach may have been a native of China rather than of 
Persia, to which its origin has been ascribed. The dis- 
coveries of native and hardy oranges and other citrus 
fruits, a number of which have been brought to this 
country for breeding work, give added evidence that 
China was the home of the orange, which was intro- 
duced into other countries probably by early Portu- 
guese travelers. Similarly many plants commonly 
ascribed to other countries, such as the wistaria, 
chrysanthemum, lilac, azalea and certain peonies and 
rambler roses, have been developed by the Chinese, 
although because they reach Caucasian use through 
other nearby nations, their Chinese origin often has 
been overlooked. 
The wild peach discovered in China, and now 
brought to this country for the first time, is consid- 
ered of great interest although its fruit is not desir- 
able. Investigation in its native habitat showed that 
the roots of this plant are not as susceptible as our 
native peach to alkali in the soil, while it will with- 
stand cold and does not require much moisture. Ex- 
periments are under way, therefore, to determine the 
usefulness of the rootstock of this peach for grafting 
with different hardy American varieties. If success 
is achieved, the specialists believe that they can de- 
velop peach trees which will make possible the raising 
of peaches in the Southwestern or alkaline sections. 
Of special interest also are the collections of aquatic 
food plants secured in the recent expeditions. These 
include water chestnuts, water nuts, and a number 
of aquatic bulbs, as well as the water bamboo. The 
Chinese, the explorer found, have mastered through 
centuries of experiments the process of using swamp 
lands for the raising of food crops, and their success 
is believed to point to commercial possibilities for 
some of our swamp regions where reclamation by 
drainage is not practicable. Whether the American 
farmer would ever be willing, however, as a commer- 
cial enterprise, to grow crops which call for cultiva- 
tion in water-waist deep is open to question. 
To lovers of flowers the new Chinese rose known as 
the Rosa xanthina should be of special interest, par- 
ticularlv in view of the fact that there is at present a 
great demand for yellow roses. This bush has small, 
light yellow flowers, but its great quality is its hardi- 
ness which will enable it to flourish in the North even 
as far as Canada. The chief promise of this rose, how- 
ever, lies in the fact that it will in all probability lead 
to the production of new hardy types of yellow roses 
adapted to cultivation in America. In addition, the ex- 
plorer found a number of new rambler roses, particularly 
certain yellow ramblers which, if locally successful, will 
meet a demand for a climbing rose with a flower differing 
in shade from the crimson and pink flowers of the 
well-known rambler varieties. 
