214 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
having investigatad and named the fungus, the i)ractieal 
plantsman is just as sure tliat nearly all diseases come 
from uneongenial eonditions and that this particular tun- 
gus is just as likely to be of the scavenger group whose 
work it is to give ])aek all dead organic matter to the 
(demeids and the real nmiedy is to spend money to pro¬ 
duce growing conditions for the trees rather than in in¬ 
spection, ([uarantine, blight commissions and talk, but 
such a thought is eidirely too ])rimary for this seieii- 
titie age. 
The nurseryman does see the country devastated in 
the coal regions, trees dying from (fungous diseases?) 
and he also sees them in the same region thriving as well 
as could be desired wbere the conditions are made right 
for them to thrive and what is even more hopeful he sees 
that in a very few years, after the poisonous coke ovens 
are cool their ruins are quickly covered with growth, 
first the herb, then the shrubbery and eventually tbe for¬ 
est and if it is not the same kind of tree that was orgin- 
ally there before man destroyed it it was another more 
adaptable to tbe changed conditions. A letter from the 
* Forest Service U. S. Department of Agriculture which we 
print herewith shows the Dei)artment is fully alive to the 
value of humus, ])erhaj)S in time they will realize its loss 
is mainly the cause of iniectious diseases and insect 
])ests. 
FOKFST FIRES HARM SOIL FERTILITY. 
A definite relation between the amount of humus, or 
vegetable matter in tbe soil, and its crop-i)roducing i)ow- 
er as shown by yields of corn, is given in figures just is¬ 
sued by the department of agriculture. The depart¬ 
ment therefore advocates the use of various methods to 
introduce the reciuired humus into the soil. 
Experts of the forest service state that the soils of 
the whole country, and particularly of the south, have 
lost and are losing immense amounts of this source of 
soil fertility through forest fires which ai)parently do 
little immediate damage but rob the soil of accumula¬ 
tions of humus. In many parts of the south, land is be¬ 
ing cleared for farming, and where such forest land has 
not been burned, there is a large percentage of vegetable 
matter, wbich provides considerable fertility, ajul a good 
texture. Moreover this soil has a greater capacity to 
absorb and retain moisture, and thus is less likely to be 
washed and gullied under heavy rains. For these rea¬ 
sons, leaving out of account the damage to standing tim¬ 
ber, tbe department's authorities are agreed that fire 
should be rigidly kei)t out of woodlands. 
EXHIRITS AT THE CONVENTION. 
The committee on exhibits has secured very good 
accommodations at the Ilollenden Hotel for this ])urpose 
and expect to provide room for all Exhibits if the space 
is ai)plied for in advance. We expect to classify the 
different exhibits according to their character. Imj)le- 
ments and such things will be separated from the Cata¬ 
logs and Lithograph work, and the Horticultural and 
Floi'al dis])lay together. We hope to have a nice display 
from the Florists in the vicinity of Cleveland, and also 
of Nursery produc, implements, catalogs and other 
things of interest to Nurserymen. We ho|)e and trust 
to have as full an exhibit as there ever has been at any 
Convention. 
President Pilkington ex|)ects to bring wdth him an 
(exhibition of Pacific coast fruits that will be ri{)e at that 
time and we ho])e and trust he will be able to do so, be¬ 
sides other Horticultural products from that section. 
I hope the Nurserymen and others interested in the 
East will make an Exhibit that is creditable to this sec¬ 
tion of the country also. 
T. B. West. 
GOOD NEWS FROM GEORGIA. 
Think there will be a strong delegation from the 
South at the Nurserymens’ Convention in Cleveland. 
Young stock is growing nicely, but everything is at 
least two or three weeks behind this year, owing to the 
late cold spring. 
The peach cro}) of Georgia is estimated at about 
5000 cars. The orchards were never in better condition, 
as they have been cultivated, pruned and sprayed in a 
most thorough manner. P. J. Beuckm.vns Go. 
THE DOUBLE-FLOWERING DOGWOOD. 
This spring the w riter has had the pleasure of see¬ 
ing the Double-flow ering Dogw ood, Gornus florida fl. pi. 
sent out by J. Van Lindley Nur. Go., several years ago. 
Everything considered it came fully up to expectations, 
in fact, it exceeded them as wdiile a double flow^er w^as 
ex])ected it was with doubts and misgivings as to 
whether it could be a real improvement over the single 
one and be a worthy novelty. The outer })etals, or per¬ 
haps to be more technically correct, bracts are the larger 
ones and the inner ones gradually get smaller. It is w ell 
known that a double flower is caused by the stamens be¬ 
coming converted into petals. In the case of this Double- 
flowering Dogwood the change has completely taken 
])lace although the inner bracts are somewhat smaller 
and are not well formed. 
It is, however, a tremendous stride in the improve¬ 
ment of the flow ering Dogwood or perhaps w^v should say 
in the ])roduction of a good horticultural form of it. It 
is a fine loose flow er and very w hite, in fact more so than 
the single, which often shows greenish or a shade of 
l)ink. As one observer put it '‘What a fine thing it 
w ould be if it were pink” and w ho know s but wdiat evemt- 
ually it w ill be ])roduced in a double pink form as w ell as 
a double w hite form. This is a goal w orthy of the efforts 
of any nurseryman. The J. Van Lindley are certainly 
to be congratulated in disseminating such a promising 
novelty. We now have the Cornus florida, the Gornus 
florida rubra and the Cornus florida fl. pi., double white 
flow ering, all very good, truly American and w orthy of a 
j)lace in every garden. 
