444 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June i, 1897. 
Erytbronium, a little yellow Wood Violet, and a Sisyrinchium, Sanguin- 
aria ranadensis, Houstonia cferulea, Impaticns flava, Phytolacca decandra, 
a dwarf Solanum, Heuchera americana, Osmantaya, Eupatorium, and 
the lovely Cassia marilandica growing in the woods on the banks of the 
Schnylkill river ; many varieties of Asters, and the lovely Golden Eod 
(So’idago), which is likely to be adopted the national flow’er ; in fact I 
have found a great many, and more than I have been able to find the 
name of. 
Rose-growing is a great business in this country. It seems customary 
among the gardeners the first question to ask, “ How are the Roses ?” 
and indeed they are successfully and well grown here, of course I mean 
under glass. We have a Rose house 100 feet by 22, with about 1000 
plants in it, and they produce on an average from 100 to 200 buds per 
day (ours are for the Park Commissioners). They are planted out in 
shallow border’s in July, and allowed to commence flowering at the end 
of October, and they keep on more or less till May. Do you know if this 
plan could be done successfully in England ? We have sirch varieties 
as La France, Duchess of Albany, American Beauty, W. F. Bennet, 
Papa Gontier, Niphetos, Madame Hoste, Bride, Perledes Jardins, Sunset, 
Catherine Mermet. Many people get their living at Rose-growing here, 
as they are worth from 5 to 30 cents per bud. Some of the florists 
hwe acres of Roses. 
I visited the Chrysanthemum Show at the Horticultural Hall in 
Broad Street last November, and they certainly can grow them here, I 
think, about as fine as they do in England, some varieties being extra 
good, .such as Mrs. Alpheus Hardy, Puritan, L. Canning, Gloriosum, 
Tokio, Cullingfordi, Mrs. G, W. Childs, &c. Some of the classes are very 
good. My brother Edward has a small place about three miles froih 
me at Bala, just outside the city limits. He has two hoirses, kitchen 
garden, flower beds, lawn, &c., in his care, and is getting along very 
n'cely. He has -been there three years in February, so we see each other 
o'ten. He is very good with Carnations and Roses. He also has a small 
collection of herbaceous plants from the Boston Botanic Gardens, but 
people don’t appreciate them so much as the more showy florists’ flowers, 
but I think they will soon become more popular, as there are one or 
two enterprising nurserymen in Germantown growing them rather 
extensively. 
Philadelphia is a large and handsome city. There are very fine 
buildings everywhere, the finest cf which is the City Hall, which has 
already cost 11,000,000 dols., so you can imagine its greatness. It is much 
handsomer than St. George’s Hall in Liverpool. The Masonic Hall, too, 
is remarkably handsome. Electricity is very extensively used ; nearly 
all the street, stores, and hotels use it, and the Edison incandescent is in 
nearly all the wealthy people’s houses. It is also used for the locomo¬ 
tion of street cars, both the overhead wire two-battery system ; in fact 
the Americans seem far ahead of the English in many things, although I 
don’t like to own it.—Yours most respectfully, Feancis Canning. 
The writer of the above letter is evidently a true Britisher in 
not liking to own that the English can be beaten, though he has 
to admit the Americans take the lead in “many things” besides 
the horticultural hall. It is for him to sustrin his reputation 
as a horticulturist, and at least keep well abreast of his American 
friends, and he will then be a credit to the Old World and the New. 
-—A British Gardener. 
CUPRESSUS MACROCARPA. 
I FIND that more than 20^ of frost damages this fine Conifer 
very much, and am not at all surprised that “ W. I., Somerset^'' 
remarks at page 407 regarding its doubtful hardiness. It is stated 
to be a native of South California, where doubtless the more 
powerful sun in the summer months thoroughly ripens the young 
growths, or possibly its habitat may be near the sea coast, where 
the frost is not so severe. I have never seen a tree of it killed 
outright by the frost, but the terminal shoots of many of last 
summer’s growths, about a foot in length, seem to have turned 
brown and dead, giving the trees an unsightly appearance. If 
anyone living within a feiv miles of the sea coast in Britain would 
give their experience it would be a guide to those who wish to 
plant it near the sea, as it seems a fine tree for shelter. 
I fear, however, that not much can be said in its favour as a 
timber tree. The trunks are knotty, and the wood when sawn 
through has a very rough and coarse-grained appearance, and is not 
durable. In 1882 a trunk 2 feet in diameter that was taken down 
was sawn in sections of about 18 inches in length, to be placed here 
and there about the grounds and shrubbery walks as rough seats ; 
and although they are still in that position now the wood in many 
parts can be picked to pieces with the thumb nail. Some English 
Elm that had been similarly treated two years before is now sound. 
After the severe winters of 1879, 1880, and 1881, Cupressus 
macrocarpa, although not killed, was nevertheless much injured, 
and the succeeding spring of the latter year from thirty to forty 
trees here, none of them less than 45 feet high, were grubbed up. 
They were growing in close proximity to another kind of Conifer, 
and spoiling them, were also browned very much with frost, so the 
order was given to root them out. They were most of them of 
the upright or fastigiate form, and many of them had fair-sized 
trunks ; but a timber merchant of great experience that I called 
in to see them said they would be of little value, except perhaps as 
gate-posts. I could very well see that the wood was not of much- 
value, and as we had cut down a large tree of it on the lawn the 
year previous, from that I had a very poor opinion of it. The 
timber merchant, however, bought them at a price, that with the hard' 
wood left and the faggots for kindling purposes, also two years- 
peasticks picked out of the half-dead branches, they about paid for 
the labour of grubbing them out, a work that took two good men 
a month, including the cutting up of the branches. It certainly 
throws plenty of wood useful for fencing purposes and mending 
hedgerows, but not at all equal to the Oak, Ash, or Elm. These 
trees are not so easy to grub out as appears on the surface, for 
the rootstock or stem enlarges very much in the ground. The 
Wellingtonia is even worse for enlarging below. One tree of it 
grubbed out a short time since measured at the ground line 11 feet 
in circumference, but 9 inches below that 15 feet round. 
There are two distinct forms of the Cupressus macrocarpa^, 
although the cones from each are exactly alike and the foliage 
is also similar. The upright, or fastigiate form, appears from 
about thirty or forty good specimens left here of both sorts,, 
to suffer the most from frost, although the spreading form of 
it is browned badly in some trees. The upright kind ascends in 
height more rapidly than the other form. What appears to be the 
tallest tree, I find on taking the tree measurer to it, is 60 feet in 
height, with two main trunks about a foot in diameter each atr 
bottom. The spreading form, however, although it does not 
ascend so rapidly, makes a trunk of finer proportions. On running 
the tape round at a foot from the ground of one of our finest 
trunks I find it to be 8 feet 6 inches. It is from 45 to 50 feet irt 
height, and apparently of the same age as the upright form at 
60 feet above mentioned. It is a fine specimen, with a spread of 
branches 36 feet in diameter. As showing the quantity of branches 
and wood that grow on this Conifer, I may state that this year,, 
three trees near a drive, the bottom branches of which were 
choking all other evergreens near them, were sawn off at the 
trunk to the height of 6 feet to let more light and air in, and tO’ 
get about comfortably under them. From these three trees about 
a hundred good household faggots were made, besides a large- 
quantity of hard wood. Many of the under branches near the 
ground were dead, and had been for some time, the others above,, 
being thick and very close together, having smothered them. The 
green foliage makes a capital Christmas evergreen : nevertheless, E 
should advise that not too many be planted about a place inland, 
even if it be extensive, as there are other kinds of North Americana 
trees that are more handsome and far hardier.—H., North Hunts^ 
New Orchids. 
Orchid lovers had a floral feast at the Temple Show last 
Thursday and Friday, and were not at a loss for novelties with 
which to increase their collections. Never have so many Orchids 
been shown on one occasion, and very rarely have thirteen been 
found worthy of awards at one meeting of the Orchid Committee.. 
The members, who acted fully up to their instructions, remorselessly 
rejected several good plants that did not appear to possess sufficient- 
distinct characters or were not in condition to justify an award. 
There was certainly no laxity on this occasion, and the Committee 
Avas repeatedly nearly equally divided in opinion regarding the- 
novelties submitted. Taking the amateurs’ exhibits first, a few words* 
of description may be devoted to those that secured honours from 
this Committee. 
Oncidium loxense. —This was shown by J. Ingram, Esq., of 
Godaiming, and readily obtained a first class certificate, for it is an) 
extremely distinct species. It is a Peruvian Oncidium of the- 
O. macranthum section, and though known for a considerable time 
it has not been imported alive for the past fifteen years, and there 
are few plants in Europe at the present time. The flowers are 
of moderate size, the sepals roundish ovate, pale green transversely 
striped with brown ; the petals are of similar shape, dark brown,, 
the lip is rounded, curiously hollowed, and bright golden yellow. 
The flowers are borne in long twining racemes like othea’s of the 
section, and the growth also resembles them. 
Aerides Savageanu.m —This handsome Aerides was shown 
by Baron Schroder, Sir Trevor Lawrence, and Mr. Sander, and in 
accordance with the custom of the Royal Horticultural Society a 
first-class certificate was awarded to each exhibitor, though much 
