22 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
wonderfully comprehensive and thorough. 
To the student it gives the “why,” to the practical man 
it presents lists, alphabelically arranged of most of the 
plants grown in nurseries, and tells how and when lo 
prune each kind. 
The specialist is not overlooked, for it gives full infor¬ 
mation of modes and methods of the pruning and trim¬ 
ming of fruit trees, etc. 
It is published by The MacMillan Go., 66 Fifth avenue. 
New York. Price $2.00. 
Joseph Meehan, who we believe has more practical 
knowledge of the Gordonia than any other man in the 
United States, says “I have seen seed vessels on the 
Gordonia pubescens so often that they were no curiosity, 
but never saw a seed in any one of them. I would not 
be quite sure just what the seeds look like, but presume 
they are somewhat similar to those of the Gamelia and 
Stuartias, which belong to the same natural order, hence 
I expect those of Gordonia to look somewhat like the 
roundish seeds of the Honey Locust. There should be 
no scarcity of plants, as it is very easy of propagation 
from either cuttings or layers. My beautiful plant is 
cutting raised. The past year it had over a thousand 
tlowers on it. 
Referring to its hardiness, it has proved hardy at the 
Arnold Arboretum at Boston. Ten years ago Jackson 
Dawson showed me some plants he had rooted from cut¬ 
tings^ models of good health.” 
Rah! Rah! Rah! Phil-a-del-phi-a! 
It is not too early to commence to “root” for the Phila¬ 
delphia Convention. Think about it now, get it fixed in 
your mind that you are going to Philadelphia in June. 
SEEDLING “FRANKLIN TREES” 
Those who know Gordonia pubescens (or “Franklin 
Tree,” as it is sometimes called) and have seen the flow¬ 
ers of this most rare and beautiful tree, will be much in¬ 
terested to know that specimens in the vicinity of Phila¬ 
delphia have i)roduced fertile seeds, and that young plants 
have been successfully raised from them. 
Judging from reports of several well-known horticul¬ 
turists, this is quite a rare occurrence, at least in recent 
years. 
It was in June of 1913 that the writer discovered seed- 
pods on the tree growing on the estate of VV. Hinckle 
Smith, Bryn Mawr, Pa. (I say “the” tree because of the 
very few that are as yet seen on grounds) ; on being ap¬ 
prised of the fact that his tree was likely to mature seed, 
Mr. Smith had his gardener keep a sharp eye on the seed- 
pods to see if fertile seed would develop. Such fortun¬ 
ately proved the case, and we are glad to record that as a 
result of “watchful waiting” a number of young, thrifty 
one-foot plants may now be seen in 6 inch pots at “Tim¬ 
berline,” Mr. Smith’s interesting estate. 
Gordonia pubescens 
By the kindness of Thomas Meehan & Sons, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Simultaneously with the finding of seed at Bryn Mawr, 
we also found some plump pods on the specimen at 
“Compton,” Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, the grounds of 
John T. Morris. We understood young plants have also 
been raised from the seed that matured. 
The fruit of the Gordonia is a five-celled capsule, and 
while much smaller in size, closely resembles the seed- 
pod of an Althaea or Hibiscus, but unfortunately it does 
not contain a like quantity of seeds. 
Following out the truths propounded by Mr. Joseph 
Meehan on the question of the increased hardiness of 
seedlings from northern gathered seeds, we may yet 
look for the Gordonia to live and thrive much farther 
north than has yet been recorded. 
The demand for the tree far exceeds the supply; one 
Philadelphia nursery has orders booked for a year or 
more in advance of being able to fill them. Like many 
other good things, its rarity makes it much desired. 
It has been the usual practice to raise young plants 
from half-ripened wood in July and August. It is not 
an easy subject to handle by this method, however, and 
