THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
3i 
enthusiasm prevails that every moment of the convention 
sessions will be of interest. Time spent on this matter suffi¬ 
ciently in advance will be doubly repaid. 
IN SOUTHERN FIELDS. 
Breathing in every page the warmth of the sunny South 
bright with color and luxuriant with scenes of verdure along 
southern streams, Alice Lounsberry’s fascinating book, “South¬ 
ern Wild Flowers and Trees” affords many an excursion to 
haunts which time and circumstances are likely to prevent in 
any other manner. Fortunate indeed is the individual who 
has opportunity and disposition to peruse this interesting addi¬ 
tion to the long list of nature books. With painstaking love 
of the subject the author has traveled from cabin to cabin 
over mountain and valley, swamp and meadow, through the 
great region whose flora she has so successfully endeavored 
to portray. It is the first book to treat in a popular way of 
the beauty and interest attached to plant-life of the South. 
A glance through this volume of nearly six hundred pages, 
profusely illustrated, will cause the reader quickly to endorse 
the author’s opinion that for variety and beautiful, luxuriant 
growth the southern field is perhaps unrivalled. Somewhat of 
this beauty has been transferred to the pages of this book 
through the sixteen colored and one-hundred and sixty-one 
black-and-white plates and eighty-eight vignettes and diagrams 
by Mrs. Ellis Rowan. To learn something of the history, the 
folk-lore and the uses of the southern plants and to see rare 
ones growing in their natural surroundings, Mrs. Rowan and 
Miss Lounsberry traveled in many parts of the South, exercis¬ 
ing always their best blandishments to get the people of the 
section to talk with them. 
The book is simply written and the plan of arrangement is 
in accordance with the leading scientific botanical works of 
the day. Botanical terms are explained and illustrated. 
“ Rather ” says the author, “ than use for this book, which 
makes mention of over a thousand plants, some popular classi¬ 
fication such as that of soil or color, a simplified key to the 
plant families has been arranged. The book will thus be a 
better stepping-stone to those purely scientific.” There is an 
introduction by Chauncey D. Beadle, of the Biltmore Herba¬ 
rium, in which the plan is heartily commended. 
Transporting her readers at once to the home of the Georgia 
pine about which she chats entertainingly, telling us that the 
needles are regarded as an excellent disinfectant and are used 
by native surgeons in dressing wounds, the author introduces 
us to the mountaineers of the Alleghanies and the Blue Ridge 
whose whole life is spent among the hemlocks and spruces and 
balsam and silver firs, and then describes the Florida pencil 
cedar, the cypresses of the swamps, the yews, the palmettos of 
the Floridan keys, and the wierd melancholy of the Florida 
moss which is everywhere. The wonders of the St. John’s 
river are depicted with illustrations of the Spanish bayonet, 
the water hyacinth, the mistletoe and half a hundred other 
attractions. We are shown the southern red lily of the pine 
barrens, the laurel-leaved greenbrier of the thickets, the wake 
robin in the shady glades, the showy orchids in the rich woods 
and the lily-of-the-valley on the mountain slopes. The 
yellow-fringed orchid in the wet meadow, the pitcher plant 
and Venus’ fly-trap are contrasted with the cottonwoods, the 
walnuts, the chinquapins, the laurel oaks, the mulberries, mag¬ 
nolias and sassafras, the white-barked blue-blossomed lignum- 
vitse, the mahogany hung with capsules large as lemons, and 
the persimmon. In plates which do justice to their brilliant 
colors we are shown the jessamine and the Cherokee rose, the 
flame azalea, the trumpet flower and the raven-footed gilia. 
The wistaria, mimosa, passion flower, holly, rhododendron, 
mountain heather and loblolly bay are but a few of the charm¬ 
ing creatures of the plant world brought to view. 
“Southern Wild Flowers and Trees” should be in every 
nurseryman’s library, for by its perusal one gets recreation in 
a line analogous to his trade and obtains information in a most 
pleasurable manner. The book is handsomely and substan¬ 
tially bound by its publishers, the Frederick A. Stokes Com¬ 
pany, New York. 
FEDERAL INSPECTION BILL. 
Regarding the federal inspection bill notice of the report on 
which appears in another column, Chairman C. L. Watrous, 
Des Moines, la., of the committee on legislation, of the Amer¬ 
ican Association of Nurserymen, writes to the National 
Nurseryman ; 
From all that the committee were able to learn in Washington, I 
believe there is a fine prospect of the success of the bill. The only 
difficulty likely to stand in the way will be the failure to obtain an 
hour for its consideration. There seems to be no opposition to the bill 
anywhere, but on the contrary a strong desire for its success, especially 
from the California people who have heretofore been in opposition. 
The committee cut out some things in the bill which we who pre¬ 
pared it had written in, but I do not think that the bill is seriously 
weakened. It will protect the nation from serious harm from foreign 
importations, and it will afford uniform regulations for interstate ship¬ 
ments. The supposition is that the secretary of agriculture will avail 
himself as far as possible of the services of men already doing inspec¬ 
tion work in the various states. What the terms may be and how 
much of their services he will be able to defray out of the appropria¬ 
tion I do not know. The nurserymen’s committee thought it better to 
obtain the law without all the appropriation asked for, and trust to 
future opportunity to obtain a larger appropriation. If this law 
answers the purpose for which it is intended, there will be no trouble 
hereafter to obtain all the appropriation necessary for its thorough 
enforcement. 
The bill has been published in full in this journal. It is 
practically in the same form now. Provision is made for 
acceptance of imported stock on the certificate of an author¬ 
ized official in the country from which the stock is sent; but 
in the absence of such a certificate stock may be inspected in 
all kinds of weather at the port of entry. 1 he provisions 
regarding interstate transportation are about the same as 
formerly. The chief feature of this bill is the very small 
amount to be appropriated, $50,000. I hat sum would barely 
be sufficient for work in New York State alone. Chairman 
Watrous touches upon this point in the above communication. 
The bill was introduced by Mr. Haugen on February 7th, was 
referred to the committee on Agriculture and ordered to be 
printed. On February 17th it was committed to the Commit¬ 
tee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered 
to be printed. Chairman Watrous was in Washington at the 
time, representing the interests of the American Association. 
His report will be presented at the Milwaukee convention. 
A. M. Leonard, PiquA, O., February 11, 1902—“ Your journal Is 
all right and I enclose herewith $2 for two years subscription. 
