THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
91 
fair, invitations to be issued to all nurserymen on the Pacific 
coast, including those of British Columbia, Washington, 
Idaho, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, to meet 
with us at that time to form a Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s 
Association. M. McDonald, Salem ; H. W. Settlemeir, 
Tangent, and Albert Brownell, Albany, were appointed a 
special committee to arrange for such meeting. 
HARDY FRUIT TREE FOR THE NORTH. 
C. V. Hartman of the Botanic Garden, Stockholm, 
Sweden, writes to Garden and Forest'. “Vast territories 
of the North American continent, such as Northern 
Canada, British Columbia and Alaska, comprising tracts 
as extensive as several European kingdoms, are outside 
of the geographical range of the common fruit-trees. No 
practical method has yet been proposed for the acclimat¬ 
ization of fruit-trees in the high North, and hitherto there 
has not been much prospect of the discovery of any new 
fruit-tree especially adapted for these cold regions. For¬ 
tunately, we have a new fruit-tree for the coming orchard 
of the high latitudes. I can write with much confidence 
about the tree because it has been tried for several seasons 
in the high latitudes of Europe above the limits of other 
hardy fruit-trees. 
The tree is a form of the Mountain Ash, Pyrus aucu- 
paria. The fruit, so far from being acid and rough, has a 
deliciously sweet-sourish taste, and is twice as large as 
that of the common type. Ten years ago, I accidentally 
saw an account of this new fruit-tree in an Austrian horti¬ 
cultural paper, and in the belief that it would prove a de¬ 
sirable acquisition for the Scandinavian peninsula, Finland 
and Russia, where the same cold climate prevails as in the 
northern countries of the New World, I drew the atten¬ 
tion of the Director of the Horticultural Department of 
the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture, Mr. Erik 
Lindgren, to this valuable novelty and proposed its culti¬ 
vation. The tree was introduced in Sweden in 1885, and 
has proved to be absolutely hardy, having ripened its fruit 
even as far north as Pitea in latitude 66°, where no other 
fruit-trees can be cultivated. 
“ The home of this fruit-tree is the high mountain region 
of northern Machren, in Austria. The Mountain Ash is 
a characteristic tree of the mountains of Machren and also 
of Schleisen, and appears there in such masses that forests 
are formed of these trees. About ninety years ago, some 
boys who were watching cattle near the small village of 
Peterwald discovered that a certain Mountain Ash in the 
forest had unusually large and sweet fruit. A farmer, 
Christof Harmuth, who had some knowledge of horticul¬ 
ture, made an experiment and grafted this form upon a 
young wilding near his farm. When the grafted tree had 
grown up and produced fruit, he found, to his satisfac¬ 
tion, that it was even larger and better than that of the 
mother tree. New grafts from this improved form gave 
a still finer quality of fruit. The new fruit-tree soon be¬ 
came popular in the neighborhood of Peterwald, and trees 
were planted on nearly every farm. The climate of Peter¬ 
wald is very cold. 
“ In the United States this fruit-tree will prove a valu¬ 
able acquisition to many large mining towns in the high 
altitudes of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Nevada, 
etc. In the small gardens here, where only vegetables 
and flowers are now grown, whole orchards may be 
planted. No improvement of the soil is needed for this 
fruit-tree, that deserves attention for use even as an orna¬ 
mental park-tree. The light greenish tint of the leaves is 
always beautiful, and the white flowers in the spring, as 
well as the large clusters of brilliant red fruit in the fall, 
are very attractive. The fruit will serve for the same 
purpose as the expensive cranberries brought from the 
East. It can also be used as a preserve, in pies, etc. 
Served as a dessert fruit it is showy and attractive in 
glass, and it compares favorably with many other small 
fruits. Through continued culture and careful selection, 
still finer varieties will undoubtedly be obtained from the 
present form, as has been the case with all other fruits. 
The fruits of the Sweet Mountain Ash are almost pear- 
shaped ; the leaves are larger than those of the common 
Swedish form, the segments longer and narrower.” 
RHODODENDRON DELICATISSIMUM. 
The frontispiece of this issue is a representation of a 
single plant of Rhododendron delicatissimum, one of the 
hardiest as well as one of the most beautiful of the 
named varieties. It is worthy of note that upwards of 
2,000 heads of bloom were in full flower on the plant at 
the time the photograph was taken. The dimensions of 
the plant may be seen by comparison with the figure in 
the foreground which represents the senior member of the 
firm of John Waterer & Sons, Bagshot, England. This 
firm devotes 100 acres of its nurseries entirely to the cul¬ 
tivation of rhododendrons, and a very large percentage of 
the named varieties of these plants originated with this 
well-known firm. The Messrs. Waterer have besides 
rhododendrons 150 acres of nursery, which are devoted to 
all kinds of hardy evergreens, deciduous trees, conifers, 
etc., their specimen hollies being an exceptional feature. 
A member of this firm comes to America every year. 
Many of the rhododendrons used so freely in Philadelphia, 
Boston and in the New England cities generally come 
from these nurseries at Bagshot. 
An organization has been formed at Cornell University 
to be known as the Cornell Horticultural League, to act 
as a correspondence bureau, to obtain horticultural facts 
from all parts of the country. Among the charter mem¬ 
bers are: Professors Bailey and Lodeman, Ithaca; 
Jared Van Wagner, Jr., Lawyersville; H. Hicks, West- 
bury Station, L. I.; W. M. Munson, Orono, Me.; F. L. 
Mulford, Edgewood, Pa.; F. W. Rane, Morgantown, W. 
Va.; C. W. Mathews, Lexington, Ky.; F. H. Barnette, 
Baton Rouge, La.; F. W. Card, Lincoln, Neb.; L. C. Cor¬ 
bett, Brookings, S. D. 
