1880 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
235 
of public institutions, for in nearly all cases the 
labor could be mainly done by the inmates, not 
only without cost, but to their physical, mental, 
and moral advantage. The grounds surrounding 
the various public buildings on Blackwells Island, 
New York, and at Flatbush, Long Island, are, and 
have been so for many years, models of excellent 
cultivation, and reflect credit on the management; 
but there are many others in the suburbs, and hun¬ 
dreds in all sections of the country, where no at¬ 
tempt whatever has been made, and in others it is 
so feeble that it has amounted to nothing. There 
is no excuse for this. There are always men fitted 
to take charge of such work, to be had for moder¬ 
ate salaries, who, with the free labor by the in¬ 
mates of the institutions, many of whom would like 
the work, could produce crops that would add 
vastly to the comfort and health of the inmates, to 
say nothing of the saving to the county or State. 
Census of Forest Trees. 
“A chiel’s amang you takin’ notes,” or soon will 
be among the farmers about the forest-trees, and 
the care taken of them, and the uses made of them. 
Professor Sargent, the Special Agent for the Forest¬ 
ry of the Tenth Census, has had printed and wide¬ 
ly distributed: A Catalogue of the Forest Trees of 
North America, of 93 pages, including a full index. 
It is printed on one side of the paper, so that there 
is a blank leaf facing every page of priflt. This is 
for making notes on. The trees are arranged under 
their natural orders ; the botanical name is followed 
by the English names, then the geographical range 
is given, then the character of the wood, the size and 
port of the tree, and the known uses it is put to. 
If any one knows any of the trees outside of the 
range assigned to it, or knows any other uses of its 
timber, its bark, its fruit, etc., or knows any tree 
particularly remarkable in size or age, or otherwise, 
he is to make a note of it on the blank page, and 
send it by mail to Prof. C. S. Sargent, Brookline, 
Mass. If the sender wants to have his catalogue 
back again, to keep—as we suppose he generally 
will—the Professor will return it, or a fresh copy. 
Every one who can will wish to contribute to 
the Census Report on American Trees and Forests. 
American Yellow-wood.— The Ladies’ Gar¬ 
den Club of our Street, taking several horticultural 
periodicals, some of them English, occasionally get 
bits of news which are not quite adapted to our 
meridian, and which therefore puzzle them. For 
instance, Mr. Burroughs, in “The Garden” (Lon¬ 
don), for March 6, gives a glowing account of the 
above named tree, “ or rather shrub,” as he says, 
which “commonly attains the hight of 15 to 18 
feet,” though indeed he does know one more than 
30 feet high ; and he says “ it has handsome yellow 
flowers.” The ladies ask me what all this can 
mean. For all the old trees here are at least fifty 
feet high, and the younger ones grow apace, as if 
not meaning to be left behind. Then they know 
that the flowers are white, and are a deal hand¬ 
somer than Mr. Burroughs allows. The meaning 
of it all is that this noble tree does not get sum¬ 
mer enough in England, and hardly ever blossoms 
there. The author of the article, who says he has 
seen few specimens there, should have said that he 
never saw it in blossom ; and he probably jumped 
to the conclusion that the flowers are yellow, be¬ 
cause the botanical name is Yirgilia lutea (or Cla- 
drastis lutea), though he might have guessed that the 
“ lutea ” or yellow referred to the wood. He says 
he is indebted to a New York paper for the illus¬ 
trations of the blossoms and seed pods—and they 
are so poor that they excite the commiseration of 
the Club. He surely could not have got the yellow 
from the same source. A. G. 
[The Yellow-wood or Virgilia owes so much of 
its attractiveness to the graceful sweep of its 
branches, the airy pendulous character of its flower 
clusters, and its charming and peculiar green, that 
it is difficult to give an idea of it by an engraving 
of a small part, as we found when we figured a 
flower-cluster in the American Agriculturist for 
Nov., 1875. Perhaps, taken for all in all, it is the 
most beautiful of our native deciduous trees. Yet 
how few know this most desirable tree at all!—E d.] 
A Garden Reel. 
A convenient Reel for holding the line used in 
garden work, is presented in the accompanying en¬ 
graving, from a sketch sent us by Mr. R. B. Kidder, 
Columbia County, VVis. It can be made to suit the 
size and amount of cord. Mr. K., in making his, 
used a piece of inch oak, 4 inches wide and 3 feet 
long, sharpened at one end. A slot is cut in the 
top 2 inches wide and 12 inches deep, in which the 
reel is fastened. The shape of the pieces out of 
which the reel is made is shown at a. The cord is 
run through a hole one foot from the bottom of the 
standard, and secured at any place by looping 
the cord, or a small wooden pin may be used. 
The Most Fragrant Honeysuckle. 
When we come across a desirable plant, or fruit, 
we are sometimes in doubt as to the best time for 
bringing it to the attention of our readers. If we 
describe the plant or fruit at the time of flowering 
or ripening, it is likely to be forgotten at the time 
of planting. On the other hand, if we defer the 
mention of such things until the planting season, 
they are very apt to be crowded aside altogether 
bv things that have come up and demand immedi¬ 
ate attention. As between the two we think that 
the best time to notice a plant is when it is in its 
perfection, whether of flower or fruit. It is a doubt 
that has occurred to us many times, and especially 
as we were, about the middle of April, enjoying the 
fragrance of Lonicera fragrantissima, the Most Fra¬ 
grant Honeysuckle, and considering how we could 
best make known the merits of so valuable, and yet 
so unusual, a shrub. This Honeysuckle is one of 
the bush sorts, a native of the north of China, and 
though it was introduced over 30 years ago, about 
the same time with the Weigelias, the Forsythias, 
and others from the same country, it does not seem 
to have shared the popularity of its more showy 
companions. The bush grows 5 or 6 feet high, and 
as soon as spring fairly opens, its branches are 
thickly studded with little clusters of nearly white 
flowers, which appear before the leaves show them¬ 
selves. The shrub can not be regarded as a very 
showy one, but when it comes to fragrance, we 
know of no shrub of its season that equals it in 
this respect. Not the heavy overpowering fra¬ 
grance that we often meet with, but that delicate 
spring odor which some one has aptly called 
“ woodsy,” and which we find in such perfection in 
the Trailing Arbutus—satisfying in itself, and still 
more delightful in the memories it suggests. For 
the rest, the shrub is perfectly hardy, and requires 
no particular care, except perhaps a shortening 
here and there, when it tends to grow straggling. 
Let lovers of fine shrubs make a memorandum, to 
be referred to next planting time, to the effect that 
no collection of flowering 6hrubs can be regarded 
as complete without Lonicera fragrantissima. 
Another Tomato Trellis- 
The above heading implies that we have already 
given other Tomato Trellises—and we have, a great 
many, from a rustic lattice-work of rough sticks 
up to permanent affairs, to be put away when not 
in use and last for several years. The fact that so 
many designs have been published, shows that a 
trellis of some kind is needed. If any of our read¬ 
ers have grown tomatoes without the use of some¬ 
thing to support them, we advise them to not let the 
coming summer go by without a trial of one. Left to 
themselves, the tomato plants soon fall over, and a 
large share of the fruit rests upon the ground, often 
ripening unequally and soon decaying. Aside from 
the question of neatness, and that in a garden is an 
important point, the vines, when trained, are more 
productive, and imperfect fruit may be cut out. 
For eating raw, there is no comparison between 
tomatoes ripened upon a trellis, and in the usual 
way, upon the ground. The fruit, being all in 
sight, can be gathered at the proper time, and there 
will be no loss from over-ripening, and no injury to 
the vines in gathering. Sometimes the tomato 
plants are trained to a single stake, but other than 
as a matter of amusement, this is not to be com¬ 
mended, as so much of the plant has to be cut 
away. It makes but little difference what kind of 
a trellis is used. Whatever can be most readily 
constructed will answer, whether of sticks, slats, 
or wires ; it should be stroug, as the weight to be 
supported is considerable ; about four feet is a con¬ 
venient hight, though, if afforded support, the 
vines will grow much taller than this. Mr. Edmund 
Johnson, Winnebago Co., HI., sends a sketch of the 
trellis here given ; as his accompanying letter is an 
example of what such letters should be—to the 
point, giving all that is needed, and no more, we 
give it entire : “ Our country gardens generally 
contain tomatoes, but they are allowed to grow 
along the ground without support, and thus the 
yield is very small. I send you a plan of the trellis 
that I use, and with very satisfactory results. The 
bases are pieces of 4 by 4 scantling, two feet long. 
A slanting hole is bored in each end, through 
which to drive a stout pin to keep the trellis in place. 
The upright pieces are 4 feet long, and 3 inches 
wide. The slats are 2 inches wide ; 8 feet is a con¬ 
venient length to make them. The manner of put¬ 
ting together maybe seen in the diagram,”—which 
we may add was as clear as his letter is concise. 
Whatever kind of trellis is used, let the lower part 
ANOTHER TOMATO TRELLIS. 
be low enough to allow the plants to be tied to it 
before they fall down, and be sure to tie them be¬ 
fore this happens, as after they have once fallen 
over it will be difficult to train them. Strips of cot¬ 
ton cloth are convenient to tie with. No other rule 
can be given than to tie the stems to the trellis 
where they seem to need it, and to cut away all the 
shoots that can not be tied without crowding. 
Cultivating Water Lilies. 
We have several times suggested that those who 
are fond of the most beautiful Water Lily, or Pond 
Lily (Ngmphcea odorata) —as “ who is not ”—can 
cultivate it with very little trouble. Those who 
have hesitated to make the attempt will be encour¬ 
aged by the following account of its successful 
treatment, by Miss Ruckman, St. Joseph Co., Ind. 
Miss R. Writes : “ We have a half hogshead in our 
yard, which is sunk even with the ground. In the 
bottom is some of the soil taken from the bottom 
of a little lake where the Water Lilies grow. We 
put in several roots of the Lily, filled the barrel 
with water, and then awaited results. The next 
July we noticed seven small buds on the surface of 
the water; by the 1st of August, the surface of 
the tub was a mass of beauty, the large white Lilies 
being an attraction for the passers-by that could 
not be resisted. This was three years ago ; each 
year there have been more flowers than in the pre¬ 
vious summer. In the fall, we throw a little ma¬ 
nure into the tank, place some boards over the top, 
and with this little bit of trouble increase the 
beauty of our experiment, which has been a success. 
