1875 . 
THE 
GARDE MEW 
S MOM THEY. 
158 
Jurassic, and is believed even the Triassic, pines 
any deciduous or other trees, with the exception 
of the huge tree ferns, the calamites, Lepidoden- 
dra and other uncouth vegetation of the carboni¬ 
ferous and other early periods ; and their cones, 
very similar to our present pine Cones, are found 
in those strata. 
Thus the pines are really the pioneers of 
modern forests in early geological times. I have 
called them the first exogenous trees; trees the 
wood of which exhibits those concentric layers or 
rings with which we are familiar in our common 
woods, and which indicate the annual addition 
of the exogenous growth, on the surface of the 
wood, under the bark. Palm trees and other 
endogenous woods increase without regular an¬ 
nual layers by irregularly interwoven fibres. 
The conifers or pines, terms which I use here 
indiscriminately for all the members of the pine 
family, exhibit to this day their primeval origin 
in the primitive and simple organization of their 
reproductive organs, more simple than that of the 
humblest grass, which thus stamps them as 
among the earliest of flowering plants, certainly 
the first of exogenous growth. 
(To be continued.) 
EDITO RIAL NOTES. 
Miller & Hayes Catalogue. With the spring 
edition these"'gentlemen have issued a beauti¬ 
ful colored plate ofthenew rose “Miller Hayes, ” 
named in their honor by Weedier of Paris, and 
of which a description has already appeared in 
our pages. 
Webster’s Landscape and Ornamental 
Gardener, is a small pamphlet, published*%^. 
William Webster, of Rochester, Hew York, who 
has already achieved considerable eminence in his 
profession, and is known in connection with some 
of the famous gardens of our country. We suppose 
the pamphlet is for gratuitous distribution. Tj*s$f 
full of excellent hints to those desirous of ipa^frov- 
ing their grounds ; with ground plana,iea some of 
the places already made beautiful by Mr. Web¬ 
ster’s agency. 
American Enterprise.— It is often said 
that if we want new things, we have to go to 
Europe to find them. Taking up to-day some 
catologues of a leading Prussian firm, we find 
Hesperochiton Californium, and other new and 
good things offered for the first time, which have 
already been made familiar to American flower 
by the catalogues of Messrs. J. M. Thl>r- 
have made their appearance, far in advance of*mirn & Co. We are glad to note these evidences 
<||home enterprise. If the people would/en¬ 
courage them more they would doubtless before 
freqUent. 
Hanz Heuner &Co., Louisville, Kentucky, 
illustrated catalogue of seeds, plants apA bulbs, 
has a handsome lithograph of a very pretty gar¬ 
den scene¥or a frontispiece. / 
Hew Jersey State Agricultural So¬ 
ciety.— Report to the Legislature for 1874, 
contains amoa^ other excellent matters two 
articles on cranberry culture, and roads; the 
last especially should be universally read. 
That good roads pay at any reasonable cost is a 
general truth. It is not yet clear how to bring 
about this desirable en& in our country. 
Hurseryman’s Directory.— By an adver¬ 
tisement in last number, it“ will be seen that D. 
Wilmot Scott is engaged on this useful work. 
Mr. Charles Downing--^T he Gardener's 
Chronicle has an excellent portrait, with an ap¬ 
preciative but very well deserved sketch of his life 
and services. 
Observations |on the Phenomena of 
Plant Life.— A. Paper presented to^he Mas¬ 
sachusetts Board of Agriculture, by\W. S. 
Clark, President of the State Agricultural 
College, Amherst, Massachusetts. President 
Clark has beqome well known by reason of the 
numerous experiments in plant life, which he 
has instituted in the college, and to which we 
have occasionally referred. It is safqttfsay that 
no more useful work has ever been undertaken 
in this country, and every, lover of vegetable 
physiology will feel undetf great obligations to 
Mr. Clark, for the good work which he has done. 
Having recently given a synopsis of many of 
%h^ experimpnf s, we need not go over them again 
now. ■' Jf we Ttere disposed to be critical we 
might’say that we hardly think some of the de- 
sductions whicE^|esident Clark makes, are war¬ 
ranted by his facts ; but this does not detract 
from the value of these facts, on which of course 
every reader is at liberty to place his own inter¬ 
pretation. The paper is profusely and in tell igent- 
ly illustrated. ? 
Privet— “ Private. ” When the proof sheets 
of our last number came before us, a few altera¬ 
tions in the arrangement were necessary, which 
left a blank, that we asked the printer to fill in 
with some paragraph from the matter “ crowded 
out.” He selected the answer to a correspon¬ 
dent on “Privet,” but supposing we did not 
L# 
