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JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN W£ m WM •; S~>. .' ^ \ ' i# m VOL. 47 No. 557 M A Y 1 9 4 6 PACES 105— 132 JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor MAY AND JUNE EVENTS AT THE GARDEN Rose- Growers' Day June 12 All- day meeting, with F. F. Rockwell as speaker in the morning, followed in the afternoon by a clinic and demonstration on rose diseases and culture. Registration free. Members'' Days May 1 Comments on the Living Plants Displayed T. H. Everett June 5 Painting Wild Flowers in Westchester County Eloise P. Luquer Saturday Afternoon Programs 3 p. m. each Saturday May 4 Plants of Tropical Regions with scenes from Nassau Otto Degener Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany May 11 Journey to Ecuador— With a motion picture, " Down where the North Begins" W. H. Camp Assistant Curator May 18 Mushrooms and other Useful Fungi F. ]• Seaver Head Curator Radio Programs 3: 30 p. m. on alternate Fridays over WNYC May 3 fregetables for Late Spring Planting George H. Gillies Head Gardener, Marshall Field Estate May 17 The World's First Agricultural Crops Major LaVerne V. Johnson May 31 Sixteen Centuries of Tea- Drinking William H. U\ ers Editor, Tea and Coffee Journal June 14 Your 230-^ cre Garden Mrs. Meluin Sawin Member of Advisory Council, New York Botanical Garden June 28 Sugar i. s the Foundation of All Life E. E. Naylor Assistant Curator, New York Botanical Garden TABLE OF CONTENTS MAY 1946 TULIPS AT THE N EW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN. SPRING 1946 Cover photograph by Elmer N. Mitchell Prins Carnaval, one of 60 varieties on view, all presented by the people of the Netherlands, through the Associated Bulb Growers of Holland, as a mark of gratitude for their liberation. A COMMUTER'S GREENHOUSE John H. Myers 10? BEGONIA LITERATURE AND NOTES BEQUEATHED TO LIBRARY 111 ORCHID SOCIETY MEETS AT GARDEN 111 THE HUANITA Margaret Douglas 112 HALF- CENTURY OF WORK AT GARDEN OBSERVED BY JOSEPH W. SMITH 118 F. XHIBIT OF PLANTS WITHOUT FLOWERS WINS AWARD FOR BOTANICAL GARDEN 119 BROADCAST—" BUGS, BEWARE!" Louis Pyenson 120 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 122 CURRENT LITERATURE AT A GLANCE Harriet K. Morse 127 LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS 129 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 130 The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York 58, N. Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies 15 cents. JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN VOL. 47 MAY 1946 No. 557 cA Qommuter's greenhouse By John H. Myers yr HAT is a greenhouse?" This was the opening question in the informal talk on " A Commuter's Greenhouse" given by Mr. John H. Myers of White Plains, a member of the Garden for many years, at the Members' Day program March 6. He answered his own question as follozvs: " It is primarily a glass- enclosed building; in the case of the amateur it may perhaps be better defined as a glass- enclosed room. The glass allows the light and heat of the sun to enter and at the same time retards the radiation of heat from within the greenhouse to the great outdoors. " The equipment of a greenhouse consists of some tools, a supply of water, a source of heat, containers for the medium in which the plants grozv, and the medium itself." The article below has been adapted from his talk. Illustrations show the plans and equipment of his own house. A S a student and a young engineer, I was always more interested in seeing the wheels go round than I was in a garden. However, when I eventually acquired a home in White Plains and became interested in improving its grounds, I began, probably unconsciously, to acquire an avocation— an interest in gardening. As some walks, a patch of grass and a driveway, then a vegetable and cutting garden slowly came into being, my avocation took a stronger hold 105 106 on me and I began to realize, regretfully, that I could garden only about seven- twelfths of the year. Where the idea came from I do not know, but 1 began to think about forcing vegetables in a greenhouse. I read, I rubbered, I asked questions, and, after much scheming and planning, and waiting for the high prices following World War I to subside, I plunged. As a result, in the fall of 1921 a greenhouse came into being. To use a feminine term, the greenhouse was " appliqued" on the southeast corner of the dwelling, opening out of its cellar. It was heated by hot water circulating through pipes running under the side benches and coming at first from a coal- burning boiler in a pit below the cellar floor. The dwelling at that time was heated by a similar but independent plant. Since then an oil burner has been installed which furnishes hot water heat for dwelling and greenhouse with thermostats governing each independently. At the start I experienced much difficulty in acquiring knowledge about the small greenhouse. Seed catalogues of that date, 1921, did not feature greenhouse plants and did not, as most of them do now, offer lists of " Greenhouse Flower Seed Specialties" or " House Plants From Seed"— to quote two of them. What information there was was tucked away in obscure places. Fritz Bahr's Commercial Floriculture— a worthy book— became my guide and mentor, but the scale of it had to be reduced to fit the needs of an amateur. Outdoor gardeners at that time— that is, the amateurs— knew next to nothing about gardening under glass. The men who did know were those who operated large greenhouses on private estates, and with them I had few contacts. An entree to this botanical garden such as I now enjoy would have been a grand help. And many florists had little general knowledge, as they were one- crop men, but I Plan of the property, showing the position of the greenhouse in relation to dwelling, garden, and lawn. Plan of the greenhouse, showing the raised benches down either side, the solid bed in the center where sweet peas and snapdragons are grown for cutting, uiith smaller plants along the edge and a hanging shelf from each side for an extra row of potted plants. The carnation bench at the end is removable so that in summer the outside door is usable. cross- examined them and everyone else who seemed to possess any of the information I was after. So slowly but surely I learned something. For a few seasons vegetables were forced, lettuce and cauliflower in the fall, tomatoes and English cucumbers in the spring. Perhaps I should be careful about using the plural number because there were none too many of them. And I realized as season succeeded season that while any number of people could get an eyeful of beauty from an artistically arranged bouquet of well grown flowers, by no means could the same, or even a less number, get a stomach full of fresh vegetables from the house which produced the bouquet. So the little greenhouse is now used to grow flowers, although in spring a few tomatoes or cucumbers are sometimes ripened in it and plants of tomato, pepper and eggplant are grown, to fruit later in the outdoor garden. Tools, Pots, Flats, and Benches What sort of equipment is used in operating a greenhouse ? Greenhouse tools are diminutives of garden tools. The trowel substitutes for the spade or shovel, the hand fork for the spading fork, and a scratcher does the same work as a three- or five- prong cultivator in the garden. They are used in the right hand whereas the use of the garden tools requires both hands and sometimes, in addition, the right foot. A hose- bib in the greenhouse generally furnishes the water. The source of heat is very often a hot water boiler, and if the amateur's greenhouse 107 108 Rear of the house showing how the one- room greenhouse has been attached, opening out of the cellar and connected with it through a jlat- roofed passageway which serves as a potting shed. In the foreground are the author's coldframes. which supplement the greenhouse in starting plants for the outdoor garden. which I have defined as a glassed- in room is attached to garage or dwelling, their heating plants may also serve the greenhouse. Pipes through which the hot water circulates are generally placed along walls or under raised benches. Containers for the growing medium ( which for the amateur is generally good suitable soil) are clay pots, flats and benches. Flower pots need no description. " Flat" is the name used by gardeners for a plant box. Use it always, or you lose caste. Say, " Two flats of petunias," " A flat of chrysanthemum cuttings," etc. Flats are best made of cypress as it stands up well under damp conditions. Benches need somewhat more description. They may be divided into two kinds, solid and raised. The solid bench consists of soil laid on the dirt floor of the greenhouse and often confined by a low curb. Or the curbs may take the form of walls about 2 feet 6 inches high and the space between them, except for the top 12 or 14 inches, may be filled with broken brick, pieces of concrete, stone and dirt not suitable for a garden. The top is filled with suitable soil. The raised bench is in effect a table generally of wood, preferably cypress, like the flats. The boards of its top are separated by % or J4 inch to afford drainage and around its edges are boards about 109 6 inches high to retain soil or to keep pots from being pushed off and broken. Selecting the Plants to be Grown The question is often asked, What may be grown in the small greenhouse? The answer is, almost any plant that can get along with a night temperature of 50- 55 and a day temperature of 60- 70. Plants of fine foliage or fruit and plants with attractive flowers may be grown in pots. This, by the way, is what our grandmothers did before the introduction of steam heat robbed the air of our homes of most of its moisture content, and many a sitting- room window looking to the south was, during winter, a little greenhouse in itself. Often displayed there were beautiful specimens of foliage and flowering plants. Grandmother tenderly cared for her plants and on severe nights drew the curtains or even moved the plants away from the glass. Another use to which the small greenhouse lends itself is the production of cut flowers. Many people are fond of bouquets in their living- rooms and on occasion derive pleasure from sharing their flowers with friends who from age or illness may be shut- ins. The flowers grown by florists present no great difficulty. A small greenhouse may, in the early part of the year, also furnish seedlings of vegetables or annuals for setting in the garden where their fruits and flowers will mature. Plants grown from seed sown in the greenhouse, followed by those whose seed is sown later outdoors, will afford a succession of vegetables and flowers. Bulbs may be made to bloom in a greenhouse before they open outdoors in the spring. In fact, greenhouse and garden are complementary and, used together, they broaden and round out the pleasure of gardening. Warning Word for the Beginner Without meaning to pose as an expert, a few words of advice to the amateur, culled from my own experience as one of them, may not be out of place. We amateurs are prone to be enthusiastic, optimistic and ambitious. If we were not we would not be successful in gardening or in any other avocation or hobby. Therefore it is well to solemnly warn the beginner who has the ambition to possess a greenhouse that, in indoor gardening as in any other work, one must creep before he or she can walk. Furthermore, while many people understand and make a success of their outdoor gardening, by far the greater number of them are tyros when it comes to the operation of the amateur's greenhouse. Out of doors, nature supplies the light, heat and moisture, while indoors she furnishes only the light and during the short dull days of winter often not too much of it. Gardening under glass is an entirely different operation, as I discovered when I began some twenty years ago. And while I now grow that are essential in the green.' Wwo fiats for raising seedlings and icuttings, with homemade devices for Imaging straight furrows m them and foffsetting plants or seeds placed evenly. :.:* t-: Cd,>: '.-* « -'" THE COMMUTER'S GREENHOUSE^ AND SOME OF ITS EQUIPMENT 1. Looking down the right aisle to the ^ propagating cases at the farther end 2 A closer mew of the propagating cases. some plants from all of the groups which I have referred to above, I by no means did this when I began, but I have expanded my operations little by little over a period of years. If my experience counts for anything, the beginner is likely to have rather vague notions as to what use he wishes to make of his greenhouse. So my advice to him is not to bite off more than he can chew, and to make an easy start in the fall of the year by procuring from friend or florist a few potted plants which will flower in the greenhouse. Then let him pot a few King Alfred narcissus bulbs and bury them in his garden and, after the proper interval, bring into the greenhouse a pot or two of them at a time. And, when spring is at hand, let him sow seeds of a few annual flowers and a few vegetables, say lettuce and tomato. The chances are 110 I ll that when the following fall arrives he will be eager to start another cycle of growing, to avoid errors made the previous season and to widen somewhat the scope of his operations. Thus in time will he find himself and realize to what use he wishes to put his greenhouse and, as season succeeds season, and he perfects his technique, he will derive more and more satisfaction and pleasure from gardening under glass. Begonia Literature and Notes Bequeathed to Library T^ ORTY- FIVE notebooks containing a •*• wealth of material on begonias have become the property of the Library of the New York Botanical Garden through the will of Mrs. Albert H. Gere of Merion, Pa. The collection, which assembles much widely scattered material on the subject, is looked upon as one of immeasurable value for reference work on begonias. Of the notebooks, 42 quarto- size vol- ' umes contain photographic and photostatic copies of literature and illustrations of Begonia species and varieties, including hand- painted reproductions of 83 plates , from Curtis's Botanica! Magazine and of six from Addisonia; also descriptions of begonias as contained in the Transactions of the Linnean Society, the Proceedings of the American Academy of Science, the Philippine Journal of Science, Botanical Cabinet, Paxtpn's Magazine of Botany, and other publications; photographic reproductions of begonias listed in trade catalogs; typed descriptions of begonias from The Gardeners' Chronicle and other periodicals; photographic reproductions of " Les Begonias" by Charles Chevalier, of " Die Begonien" by Karl Albert Fotscli, and of " Be^ oniaceen- Gattungen und Arten" by H. Klotzch. In addition, one leather- covered notebook provides an index to all the' material contained in the 42 quarto- size books, giving the contents of each book and an alphabetical index to the literature on begonias that is reproduced. The two other notebooks contain citations to the literature on begonias, arranged alphabetically according to species or variety. Orchid Society Meets at Garden Members of the American Orchid Society from a dozen states assembled at the New York Botanical Garden March 19 for the annual trustees' meeting. Luncheon provided by Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Wilcox Jones was served to 65 in the Members' Room, where others joined the group for the meeting which took place in the afternoon. Immediately following lunch, the group inspected orchid literature and publications of the Garden in the library, and after the meeting they were taken on tours of the building and of the main conservatories. From the Garden's propagating house about 75 orchid species were selected to be displayed in the Members' Room. Fifteen water- color paintings of Florida orchids by Olivia Embrey Lay were also shown. Among the guests of the day were R. H. Gore, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Mr. & Mrs. Clint McDade, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Dr. Norman C. Yarian, Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. O. Wesley Davidson, Rutgers University; Mr. and Mrs. George H. Pring, Missouri Botanical Garden ; Mr. and Mrs. George Butterworth, Framingham, Mass.; E. T. Hammington, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Robert J. Tither-ington, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs. Halle Cohen, Jacksonville, Florida; Dr. H. O. Eversole, La Canada, Calif.; Louis V. Dorp, Morristown, Pa.; Oliver Lines, Elkins Park, Pa.; Alfred S. Knowlton, Essex Fells, N. J. Mr. Jones, who is President of the American Orchid Society, has been a member of the New York Botanical Garden since 1919. 112 The Huanita Rare Fragrant Tree of Mexico Found Blooming In the Courtyard of a Ruined Chapel By Margaret Douglas EVEN before we entered the gate to the courtyard of the old monastery in the little Mexican town of Santa Cruz de las Flores, which we had come to the State of Jalisco especially to see, the fragrance of flowers from within the high stone wall reached us as an overpowering scent. Inside there grew a gnarled old tree, which, although the trunk was hollow, still had sufficient vitality to produce a crown of foliage and flowers. The shiny leaves of a clear green resembled those of a young citrus tree. It was in full bloom when we were there in January. The clusters of flowers were snow white and grew the way apple blossoms do. The buds were white and waxy- looking, like those of orange blossoms, but the texture of the open flower was not as heavy, and the five petals had a slightly crinkled edge, reminiscent of a crepe- myrtle. The custodian gathered flowers for us, and later as we left the gateway a passing Mexican, seeing them in my hand, stopped and remarked, " That tree is very rare." An old priest, seeing us there, came to invite us into his house beside the present church. That was just at the moment when the Mexican spoke to us, and the priest listened with astonished interest, as he had never heard the legend, while the villager told us the story of the tree. The Legend of the Flowering Tree Hundreds of years ago, he said, a pilgrim was passing through this town, carrying a crate with two little pots in it. He was very weary and as he had to continue his journey, he asked the woman who had given him shelter if he might leave the crate with her, and get it on his return from his pilgrimage. The only thing he asked was that she would pour some water into the crate occasionally, but not open it. This she did, and watered the plants faithfully for years. The pilgrim never returned, and one day when a heavy perfume issued from the box, she decided to open it. There were two beautiful plants, covered with white bloom. She took them to the church and planted them one on each side of the entrance. They grew for years, then finally one died. The villagers, who had become superstitious about losing the last tree, attempted to take cuttings, also to grow plants from seeds, but none ever succeeded. A few years ago, when repairs had to be made to the wall around the church, a long root was evidently cut through by the workmen, and to everyone's surprise, a shoot started up about ten feet from the tree!" 113 The shoot has grown well and: the villagers hope that it will live. I took some slips and I dipped them in hormodin, and they did sprout four small leaves, but unfortunately the pot was tipped over and the roots dried before I discovered the accident. I wrote to the friend who drove us to see the hospice, for any particulars she could glean about the unusual flowering tree. Below I am quoting her reply: Report from Mexico " Senor Cornejo, Director of the Library at the University of Guadalajara, and a most serious student on Hispanic and pre- Hispanic periods in Mexico, discouraged me by admitting that practically nothing of authenticity is known here on the subject. In his extensive perusal of old books and manuscripts, he has found no reference to this tree other than the legend we heard of when we visited Santa Cruz. " The ruins we visited are what remains of the chapel of an old Franciscan hospital, meaning hospital in the sense of the Latin HOSPITAL, or guest house. This guest house was originally intended for the accommodation of officials and priests traveling from the main Franciscan establishment at Tlalcomulco to the outlying convents throughout Nuevo Galicia. " The legend of the tree as fostered by the Spanish priests is this*: An image of the Virgin Mary was shipped from some unspecified port in Spain, cradled against breakage with thin branches of an unfamiliar tree. Upon the arrival of the figure at the hospital, a botanically curious priest placed them in the ground, where one took root to become the tree we saw. Subsequent attempts to propagate the tree in this manner having failed, the rooting of this branch is considered a miracle due to its position over the heart of the image of the Virgin. " Senor Cornejo called to my attention a significant and most interesting fact. The village is now known as Santa Cruz de las Flores, supposedly from the fact that the tree is still in full blossom on the third day of May, which is the festival of the Holy Cross. But this village was known in Hispanic times as Santa Cruz Xuchitlan, Xuchitlan being the Spanish corruption of the ancient Indian name of the village, Xochitlan. We know that in the Nahuatl tongue xocm meant ' flower' and TLAN ' place of.' Senor Cornejo mentioned the known exactness of the Indian nomenclature in identifying place names to some outstanding characteristic of the locality. He cites Mazatlan, place of the deer; Zapotlan, place of the zapote; Aguacatlan, place of the aguacate, et cetera. Therefore, he believes that when the Indians gave this village the name of ' Place of the Flowers,' it was because of some unusual botanical phenomenon occurring there which was not common to the surrounding country. Therefore, Senor Cornejo, along with others interested in the subject, concludes that this tree, with the smaller one we saw, is the sole remaining example in this village of a tree surely indigenous to this part of the world and certainly pre- Hispanic. He believed that the subsequent stories came into being not earlier than the 18th century, when the tree had already become rare enough to have its origin questioned, and pondered upon. He has heard reports of others of its kind in different parts of Mexico, but although he has tried to find the exact location of these specimens, has been unable to discover their whereabouts. There is no record of the tree in Guadalajara." Identification of the Tree From a small branch which I sent to Dr. Robbins, Dr. H. A. Gleason identified the tree as the HUANITA, known in most botanical writings as * The legend here is slightly different from that related by the Mexican villager. 114 The huanita, rare flowering'tree of Mexico and southward, as depicted in W. Hemsleys " Biologia Centrali- Americana" published in London in 1888. 115 Bourreria formosa, but more properly called, he said, by the older specific name of huanita. It belongs to the Borage family and is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, but is apparently always excessively rare. Most herbarium specimens have been taken from cultivated trees.£ Paul C. Standley, in " Trees and Shrubs of Mexico" ( Vol. 23, part 4, page 1224), gives the following brief description of the genus: " Shrubs or trees; leaves alternate, petiolate, entire; flowers rather large, white, in terminal corymb- like cymes; calyx campanulate, 2 to 5- lobate, the lobes valvate; corolla salverform, the limb usually 5- lobate; styles 2- cleft, the stigmas flattened; fruit a drupe, containing 4 bony nutlets." At the end of Standley's list of ten accepted species of Bourreria, B. huanita is given as a " doubtful species." This is because no specimen was known to the author from Michoacan, the type locality. Yet he gives a number of vernacular names for the plant, such as HUANITA ( Michoacan), IZQUIXOCHITL and JAZMIN DE TEHUANTEPEC ( Oaxaca), and YAGA GUIEXOBA ( Oaxaca, Zapotec). f If B. huanita is identical with B. formosa, as seems likely from the description, then, according to my informants at the New York Botanical Garden, the tree should be known by its earlier name of B. huanita; or, perhaps, if international rules are to be strictly followed, the spelling should be in the original form of Beurrena, or % A specimen in the herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden, collected in August 1938 by George B. Hinton at Acahuato in the district of Apatzingan, Michoacan, came from a spreading tree 15 meters ( about 45 feet) high. It was found in the plaza of the town, and a notation on the herbarium sheet states that " no other exists in the region." A letter in the folder for the species in the herbarium gives some additional information about another specimen of the tree. Addressed to Dr. N. L. Britton, May 23, 1923, it is written by Sylvester Baxter of Maiden, Mass., a business man and writer who did some botanical collecting while in Mexico. Mr. Sylvester writes: " It was in April, 1899, that I went to Uruapam. I had picked up in a curio- shop in Queretaro a history of the Bishopric of Michoacan, in Spanish. . . . It was printed about 1840. In its account of Uruapam it told about a remarkable tree growing near the old mill and quoted La Llave as naming it Huanita uruapensis, and pronouncing it as unique in family, genus and species, and the only individual known to exist. At Uruapam, a little city of rare beauty. I was told that the original tree was dead, but that trees from three cuttings were in existence, one in the garden of the Governor of Michoacan, and one in the garden of a lad)' in town. . . The [ latter] tree was in full bloom and about 20 feet high. Flowers white and crape- like, and of exquisite perfume. The leaves seemed something like an orange. . . I sent cuttings to Prof. Sargent, but they spoiled in the mail; also some seeds, but Dawson could not make them germinate. I think the flowers I sent for the herbarium were referred to Dr. Goodale at Harvard. Probably the common name at Uruapam was TUANITA. " It should be worth while for some botanical explorer in Mexico to go to Uruapam and get cuttings, if possible. April is probably the best time, for it would then be in full bloom. It would be a misfortune for such a rare and beautiful thing to be lost to the world." The tree described by Mr. Baxter, if alive today, stands within range of the dust falling from the newly active volcano Paricutin. E. J. ALEXANDER. t In a later work ( Tropical Woods. 1931), Standley accepts the name of Beureria huanita, as made by Hemsley. 116 even Beureria* The change to an o was authorized by de Candolle in the Prodromus, Vol. 9, page 504. In an extensive article on the huanita in the Anales del Instituto de Biologia, 1931 ( Universidad Nacional de Mexico), A. R. Laguna describes the genus, which he calls Beurreria, as containing only trees and shrubs belonging to the extra- tropical regions of America. The huanita itself, he says, was famous medicinally for many years in Michoacan as a cough medicine, digestive, flavoring, astringent, and a perfume. In delving into the history of the tree, Laguna cites the monumental work of Francisco Hernandez, physician to Philip II of Spain, " Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus," published in Rome in 1649, where there is a description with a magnificent wood engraving of a tree cultivated in Cuernavaca and Huaxtepec and known by the indigenous name of YZQUIXOCHITL. This agrees, in large part, with the plant in question. The same description of the plant appears with slight variations in an edition of the work entitled " De Historia Plantarum Novae Hispaniae," published in 1790. Laguna writes further : " Worthy of special mention is the first description in Spanish of the ' yzquixochitl,' published in Mexico in 1615, in the work entitled, " Cuatro Libros de la Naturaleza y virtudes medicinales de las plantas y animales de Nueva Espana,' by Brother Francisco Jimenez, Dominican friar, who made the translation of the original work of Dr. Francisco Hernandez, enriching it with numerous personal observations, before it was published in Rome. " In 1824, a work written by don Pablo de la Llave and don Juan Lexarza entitled, ' Novorum vegetabilium descriptiones,' first saw public light, and in this was found the first botanical description of the ' huanita.' This description, done in Latin by such illustrious botanists, is found in the first chapter of the work, and in it the scientific name of Morelosia huanita Llav. and Lex. is given to the ' huanita.' " Doctor don Nicolas Leon published in the Gaceta Oficial del Gobierno del Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacan, in 1866 two articles about this important plant, the ' huanita.' " In the first article, Dr. Leon says that he tried to find the plant that Llave and Lexarza were studying, but he was only able to find out that it was found near the old capital of San Pedro, in the district of the same name, in the city of Uruapan, and grafted to a cherimoya, and that it had died many years ago ' for lack of life because of old age/' Farther on he says that he had seen two individuals of this plant: ' one in the house of the estimable senora dona Lugarda Izazaga de Cano,' and the other on the place called ' la cineraria'; he adds that both examples are notable for * Johann Ambrosius Beurer ( 2 Mr 1716— 27 Je 1754), for whom this genus was named, was a pupil of Trew and well known to contemporary botanists. Browne, in 1756, was the first to use his name for the genus, speaking of him as " Mr. Bourer, an apothecary of Nuremberg." He spelled the genus- name Bourreria; in the index, however, it appears as Beureria, which suggests that someone may have called his attention to his wrong spelling. Jacquin took up the name in 1763 ; his is the first legitimate publication. He spelled it, unfortunately, Beurreria, correcting the first vowel but retaining the double r. It would be possible to regard this as an unintentional orthographic error and change it to Beureria. De Candolle had no business changing it to Bourreria in any case. The name is certainly not Bourreria; it may be Beurreria or Beureria as one interprets the international rules. I should favor the later, since the original intent is clear. H. W. RICKETT. 117 their development and that they exceed the designation of ' shrub'* that was given them by de la Llave and Lexarza; that he had news that another example of great size existed in the village of Tacascuaro, and that in the beautiful village of ' Los Reyes' there were also several. Finally, he points out that the Tarascan name of the village of Jiquilpan, which is ' Vanimba,' signifies ' place of huanitas,' which might indicate that in this place there existed at one time, some examples of the plant in question, and that notwithstanding its Tarascan name, considering its rarity in Michoacan, it is believed that this plant is not indigenous there, but imported." I wonder if any of the one hundred fifty members of the Garden Club of America who visited Uruapan with me in 1936 saw any huanitas in the Botanic Garden there. It was the season of bloom. Some years ago we visited President Cardenas at Jiquilpan. He is a great lover of flowers and plants, and had I only known about the huanita at that time, might have hunted for it there, with much helpful assistance from him. In Mixteca the huanita is called YTAYUCUINE, which means " Flower of the Tiger Mountain," according to Dr. Martinez Gracida, who says that YUCUINE of TEHUANTEPEC means " Mountain of the Tiger," and that this place is the plant's native habitat. In ancient times the historian monks called the huanita FLOE DE YUCUAMA, surely a corruption of the name YUCUINE— a type of change which often occurs when a name is difficult to pronounce. Genesis of a War Historians consider this plant as the cause of a bloody war between two of the oldest and most powerful villages. It took place in Tehuantepec in approximately 1496, when an army of Mexicans, sent by the King of Mexico, Ahiutzotl, were vanquished at Guiengola by the Zapotecas and Mixtecas, allies, under the command of the King of Zaachila, Cozijoeza. The Mixtecas, subdued by the King of Achiutla, on the return from the campaign in the country of Tehuantepec carried a tree covered with beautiful and fragrant white flowers, known to the Mexicans as YZQUIXOCHITL. The Mixteca Cacique diligently cultivated it in his gardens and refreshed himself with the beauty and aroma of the flowers. He felt proud to possess this tree belonging to the hot country, and reminding him of the lovely country of Tehuantepec, for which reason he named it, in the Mixtecan, idiom, YTAYUCUINE. When the new king of Mexico, Moctezuma II, heard of it he craved to possess it, and in the second year of his reign, therefore, sent a commission to the Mixtecas to secure by peaceful means the object of his desires. But the Mexican ambassadors were haughtily received by Mallinalli, the Cacique of Tlaxiaco, who refused to give or sell his YTAYUCUINE. Thus started the war— the troops of Moctezuma with their greater units invaded the territory, and were victorious. Mallinalli and the Cacique of Achiutla * The tree at Santa Cruz, growing at an altitude of about five thousand feet, is more than thirty feet high and about eighteen inches in diameter, although described as a shrub of about three feet high, in some other states! 118 were taken prisoners, their towns burned after practically all the inhabitants were sacrificed. Then in the end, the Mexicans transported the precious tree with great care to the gardens of Moctezuma II, at Huaxtepec, near Cuernavaca in Morelos, where plants of all climates seem to flourish. Some Indian monarch said of this tree that the flowers are not to be found anywhere, the solitary specimen having dried out on the road to the garden. Other authors affirm that seeds of this notable tree were carefully sown and cultivated by Moctezuma, and were studied there in the beginning of the 16th century by Hernandez and Fray F. Jimenez. Half- century of Work at Garden Observed by Joseph W. Smith T N tribute to Joseph W, Smith, gardener, •*• on the 50th anniversary of his employment at the New York Botanical Garden, a purse of more than $ 200 was given to him on March 21. Presented during the noon hour in the palm house of Conservatory Range No. 1, it represented contributions from the entire roster of the Garden's employees, who, with a number of friends from outside the staff, all attended the brief, informal ceremony. Mr. Smith, who is now 71, was brought up on a farm in the Bronx, and when the new Botanical Garden was opened in Bronx Park, he sought a job there and began working March 21, 1896. It was about five years before the conservatory, where he has spent most of his half- century at the Garden, replaced the wild cherry trees and mountain laurel that had overrun the old pasture north of Fordham University. He can remember when all the apartment- covered blocks of today's populous borough of the Bronx were rolling farm lands occupied by a mere handful of families. And he can remember when a visit to the new Botanical Garden meant, for most people, a long trip with horse and carriage, with a picnic lunch packed under the back seat. Joe Smith has personally watched the . growth of a large number of the plants that have been cultivated in the Garden's conservatory since the building was erected in 1900. A sugar palm that he planted grew in time to the top of the 90- foot dome; eventually flowered, died, and was cut down in 1934. A seedling from this tree has already shot up some 30 feet. In addition to brief talks given by Dr. William_ J. Robbins and T. H. Everett, the anniversary ceremony included presentation of a water- color painting, showing Mr. Smith in the palm house, made by one of the younger gardeners. The margins bore the signatures of the Garden's staff and employees. At the Members' Day program May 1, Mr. Smith was presented with a resolution of congratulation from the Board of Managers. H 111 % $ 119 • Exhibit of ^ Plants Without Flowers Wins cAward for < Botanical Qarden A GOLD MEDAL was awarded to the New York Botanical Garden for its exhibit of " Plants Without Flowers" presented at the International Flower Show at Grand Central Palace March 16 to 23. This was the first International Flower Show to take place since the war. The Garden's exhibit featured seaweeds, yeasts, molds, and bacteria. An aquarium containing seaweeds from the West Coast occupied the center of the exhibit and a decorative border was made of some of the most ornamental specimens of algae from the Garden's Herbarium. Cultures of various molds, yeasts, and bacteria were shown in four- foot test tubes. Descriptive labels told briefly of the usefulness of these forms of plant life. Enlarged photographs of diatoms were shown at the side as the public approached the exhibit. Flowering plants from the Garden's conservatories occupied tables at either end. A staff of volunteers recruited by the Garden's Manhattan office served at the Flower Show each day, and a member of the staff was also present to answer technical questions. Along with announcements of the Garden's publications and activities, folders prepared by the Manhattan office— " Through the Garden Gate," " See How It Grows" and other pieces of literature— were distributed to all who stopped to view the plants without flowers. The exhibit is now temporarily placed on the main floor of the Museum Building. The New Tor\ Botanical Garden's Gold Medal Exhibit of Plants Without Flowers at the International Flower Show. March 1946. 120 B R O A D C A S T By Louis Pyenson Bugs, Beware! CONTROL MEASURES for a dozen common garden pests were given by Dr. Louis Pyenson of the State Institute of Agriculture, Farmingdale, Long Island, on the New Yor\ Botanical Garden's radio program over WNYC April 19. The information on which his tal\ was based is given here. Grubs About the first pests that the gardener will run across while digging up his plot are the white, fat, half curled grubs that represent the immature stage of such beetles as the Japanese beetle, the Asiatic garden beetle, and the June beetle. Regardless of what beetle they will develop into, they all may cause considerable damage by feeding on the roots of vegetables and lawn grasses. Some lawns can be rolled up like a carpet because the grubs have chewed off the roots about an inch below the ground. I f you find numerous grubs in the garden area that you are spading up, mix up 2Vz tablespoonsful of ethylene dichloride emulsion to each gallon of water and apply it with a sprinkling can to the prepared soil at the rate of 1 gallon per square yard. Water the garden well afterwards. The same method may be used on turf, but an easier method to kill grubs in turf is to apply a 10% DDT dust at the rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet, watering it in well afterwards. The kill is spectacular, as the grubs come to the surface of the ground before dying. to the tree trunks with sprayer or brush in a 3- to 6- foot band in the proportion of 4 tablespoonsful of a 50 percent wettable DDT powder to a gallon of water, which is twice the normal strength used on foliage. One application should be made about the middle of October to get the fall canker worms and one about the middle of February to get the spring canker worms as they crawl up the trunks to lay their eggs on the twigs. Cutworms Another early bird in the garden is the cutworm, which seems to wait for the unwary gardener to put out his cabbage, tomato, or pepper plants to begin snip-ping- off operations. The easiest way for the average small gardener to protect his plants is to put stiff paper collars loosely around the stem of each plant and push them about an inch into the soil. These can be easily made from milk containers. For gardeners with a more extensive acreage, poison baits, made up especially for cutworms, should be scattered over the field a few days before planting. Canker Worms More commonly known as inch worms, these pests are beginning their annual destruction of tree and shrub foliage now. They can be easily disposed of, however, if you are fortunate enough to have a good sprayer. Either lead arsenate or DDT can be used, but DDT appears to be the more effective material. Next year you can do away with spraying foliage for canker worm by using DDT on the trunks of the trees in much the same way as tanglefoot. Apply DDT Flea Beetles Nearly as quick on the trigger as the cutworms are the minute black flea beetles, which appear about the same time as the tomato plants are set out and proceed to pepper the leaves with tiny holes. They can destroy small plants with little foliage in a few days unless something is done to protect them. Pyrethrum, rotenone, or DDT dust can be used effectively but a continuous film on the foliage is necessary during the period of beetle abundance. 121 Aphids Nearly every vegetable, fruit, and ornamental appears to have a species of aphid that is particularly fond of its juices. In no time at all aphids can breed up in tremendous numbers. They are biological wonders, as they go through one generation after another in the summer time with a complete absence of males. On trees and shrubs you must get them . early or you don't get them at all, since they are quite well protected from sprays in the curled up foliage. The fairly new DINITRO sprays sold under a number of trade names are excellent for killing aphid eggs on trees and shrubs before the leaf- buds open. Of course, it is too late for that now. Nicotine sulfate is still about the best material for aphids beyond the egg stage on shrubs, trees, and vegetables. Cucumber Beetles An uncanny judgment as to when to come out of hibernation seems to be possessed by the cucumber beetles. They generally pick a warm, sunny weekend when no one is around to pounce on the recently emerged cucumber, squash, and melon plants, and simply cause them to disappear by Monday. Even if they don't destroy the plants, they may affect them with one of two bad diseases— cucumber wilt and encumber mosaic. The beetles should be kept entirely away from the plants if you wish to keep the plants healthy. That means dusting from the time the seedlings emerge until harvesting time with a ro tenon e- copper or cryolite- copper combination dust. Boxwood Leaf- miner One of the worst pests that the boxwood grower has had to contend with is finally on the verge of being conquered, even wiped out. I am referring to the boxwood leaf- miner, which has been very difficult to keep down without considerable labor. Recent experiments that I have conducted on the grounds of the State Institute of Agriculture show that one DDT spray applied thoroughly to all sides of the foliage just prior to any adult emergence ( generally ekrly in May) will destroy every single fly coming out of the foliage for the entire emergence period of 2 to 3 weeks. Rains do not impair its effectiveness providing suitable stickers are used in the spray. Mexican Bean Beetle We can always be sure of one pest that will be with us in the garden— the Mexican bean beetle. The beetles come out of hibernation about the time the earliest planted beans are getting their second or third set of leaves. Both they and their spiny yellow larvae do considerable damage to bean foliage. We still have to rely on pyrethrum or rotenone dust to keep these pests under control. Two or three dustings at weekly intervals are essential— and remember, the underside of the foliage must be hit. Chinch Bugs In June some of our once beautiful lawns will begin to show brown patches— those chinch bugs again. But this year you will be equipped to deal with them more effectively than ever before. Two new dust materials are available, both of which are much better than the rotenone or nicotine formerly recommended. They are a 10% SABIDILLA dust and a 10% DDT dust. Either of these materials applied in early June and early August at the rate of 2Vz pounds per 1,000 square feet and raked in well should nearly eliminate chinch bug trouble. Corn- Borer We also have two new chemicals to help conquer the European corn- borer which attacks nearly all succulent stemmed plants, especially sweet corn, dahlias, and gladiolus. One of these materials is known as RYANEX and is obtained from a tropical shrub; the other chemical is the well knowrn DDT, used as a 3% or 5% dust. Either of these materials applied in dust form at five- day intervals during the hatching periods of the corn- borer eggs ( June and August) gives better control than rotenone. Slugs Many gardens in damp seasons or in damp locations are troubled by slimy, gray, spotted creatures that come out only after dark and feed on vegetables and 122 flower foliage and in addition leave slimy trails wherever they go. If you suspect slugs, go out after dark with a flashlight and inspect your plants. You will see them all over the foliage, if they are present. Small heaps of a prepared poison bait containing methaldehyde placed at intervals in the garden will effectively curb these night prowlers. Japanese Beetles We must not forget the Japanese beetle, which is sure to be with us again in July and August, chewing on everything that appears edible. So far the best protection for foliage has been obtained with the use of DDT, which will not only kill them but seems also to keep them away from foliage coated with it. DDT tends to stay effective for about three weeks, so that one application in early July and another some three weeks later should give ample protection to foliage for the season. Remember, DDT is a poison and should not be used on fruits or vegetable parts that are to be eaten. Fruit trees can be sprayed with DDT safely only if the fruit is not to be harvested until twc months later. Notices and Reviews of Recent Books { All publications mentioned here may be consulted in the Library of The New York Botanical Garden or may be purchased on order through the Library.) Nine Experts Solve Dilemmas For the Home Gardener GROUNDS FOR UVING. Edited by " Van Wie Ingham and Richard B. Farnham. 323 pages, indexed, illustrated by George J. Baetzhold. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick. 1946. $ 2.50. The gay paper cover of this book was its first attraction, depicting the enclosed outdoor living- room which is essential to my happiness; I have never understood the American propensity for goldfish- bowl existence, and have always loved the European way of placing houses directly on the street front, with gardens for outdoor living behind, completely screened from public view, and high walls even shutting out the adjacent neighbor's roving gaze. So it was pleasant to find my own desire for privacy, even slightly emphasized by Charles H. Connors, the first of the nine experts who have undertaken this comprehensive and valuable contribution to the solution of the many problems besetting the small home owner who is eager to use his limited grounds to the best advantage. The volume is full of charts, references and helpful suggestions, some new and most welcome even to those of us who have done much reading and given much thought to this engrossing subject. It is particularly good to be reminded of the many excellent government and college bulletins available today; we are apt to overlook the sources of information so easily available to us. Landscaping in miniature— lawns, shade trees, flowers, vegetables, fruits, soil and outdoor construction are all ably covered. The chapter on flowers is particularly good, encouraging the amateur, reassuring and giving confidence to the beginner with common- sense observations and practical instructions; with wise cautions against undertaking too much— advice which the over- ambitious would do well to heed, or the pleasure which should be derived from the outdoor living room will turn to gall and wormwood! I was surprised, in the section on fruit trees, that their beauty when in flower is not more stressed— that all too brief moment of sheer, exquisite joy for which one waits all winter; and that the espaliered tree is not mentioned for its highly decorative and space- saving qualities. In the chapter on construction, the type of wall preferred is not to my taste, and I looked in vain for practical suggestions for a watering system which would save the poor householder hours of tiresome toil which could better be 123 devoted to relaxation or other pursuits. Was it not the Romans who used overflow bath water for irrigation of their grounds? To be able, with a turn of the wrist, to attend to this most irritating of summer chores, is a dream I wish our nine experts had put their minds on causing to come true! A permanent, efficient installation of some sort should not be too difficult of realization these days of amazing modern improvements. But in spite of this lack, more than made up for in other respects, here is a book which should be on every gardener's bookshelf— the acid test being, that having just read and enjoyed it, I have ordered it to add to mine, and expect to turn often to its pages for solutions to my own dilemmas. KATHERINE G. FENIMORE COOPER. Nutrition from a New Food THE USEFUL SOYBEAN — A plus factor in modern living. Mildred Lager. 295 pages, indexed. McGraw- Hill Book Co., Now York. 1945. $ 2.75. Miss Lager is a pioneer in nutritional education and in introducing new foods to the public. In this book she has given a b<- ief history of soybeans and their uses. Especially striking is the description of their increase in importance as a food product during World War II. Miss Lager's statements concerning the value of ( he soybean in nutrition are backed by scientific facts coming from some of the leading laboratories and nutrition experts. She gives facts concerning the protein, vitamin and mineral content of soybeans. One chapter is devoted to the use of soybeans in industry. She includes 350 recipes for preparing soybean foods. ILDA MCVEIGH. Manifold View Of American Forestry BEHOLD OUR GREEN MANSIONS. Richard H. D. Boerker. 313 pages, illustrated, indexed. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. N. C. 1945. ? 4- A compendium of useful facts about forestry in the United States, " Behold Our Green Mansions," is written in a manner to make a strong appeal both to the professional forester and the lay reader. One is impressed particularly by the thoroughness with which every phase of forestry is treated and the reliability of the statistics presented. A wealth of excellent photographs illustrate the points brought out in the text. In them certain minor errors were noted, as follows: In the last page of photographs following page 30, the bottom one should be labeled " The Flowed Lands," instead of " Blue Mountain Lake." The titles of the two photographs on the fourth page immediately following page 78 should be transposed. The preface enumerates the many ways in which the forests of this country and their products contribute to the national economy. Next, forest fires and their de-structiveness and provision for forest recreation are covered well. The discussion of progress in wild life management is comprehensive. The book is particularly thorough in treating the relationship of forests to stream flow, soil conservation and flood control. Particular mention is made of the value of forestry on the upper watersheds of streams to control floods. This is followed by a summary of Federal legislation for flood control which, as the author is very careful to point out, is not a cure- all. A thorough discussion of all forest products, with considerable statistical information regarding production, is contained in the chapter on lumber and its by- products. In the chapter on the forest as a livestock range, a most interesting picture of the livestock history is given of the West in relation to forestry, with especial mention of what government control has accomplished in the West with regard to grazing. The author points out the need of co- ordinating grazing and timber production in the Northeast. He could well have emphasized more strongly how detrimental grazing is to farm woodlands in this region. The relation of the farmer to forestry and the importance of farmlands in producing forest crops for both local use and for sale are brought out rather well, and the author points out how farmers can and should support forestry. In the chapter on " Fire, the Destroyer" it is stated on pasre 149 that one fire in New York State in 1903 burned 450,000 acres. That was the total area burned that year, rather than the area of a single fire. A brief but excellent summary is given of insect enemies and tree diseases, par-ticularly the chestnut bark disease and the 124 white pine blister rust among the tree diseases, together with a brief discussion of wood rotting fungi and others. The author devotes a chapter to the leadership of the Federal government in forestry, taking a great deal of his material from the so- called Copeland Report of 1933 and the report of the Joint Congressional Committee on Forestry in 1941. He shows an appreciation of the fact that the burden of responsibilitv for developing forestry on all but Federal lands lies upon the states. A complete chapter is devoted to the forestry problems of the South, which the author points out is particularly important as a forest producing region. Mention is made of successful European community forests and the advantages of this ' type of forest to American communities. The last chapter covers economic factors in private forestry. The author feels that privately owned forests cannot meet future demands for timber crops. He recommends the increasing of publicly owned forests from the present 196,000,000 acres to 315,000,000 acres. It appears that he is influenced in this recommendation by the Report of the Joint Committee on Forestry referred to above. He points out that - public help is needed for private forests. Then he tackles the extremely controversial question of public regulation, Beginning with the statement that " as long as the private owner and the states cannot effectively handle the forest resources problem, public regulation is inevitable." However, Mr. Boerker evidently is not in entire sympathy with the United States Forest Service in demanding Federal regulation, for he states that he favors " local legislation and enforcement with a minimum of Federal supervision"— a position with which most foresters and timberland owners will agree. WILLIAM G. HOWARD. Director, Lands and Forests, N. Y. State Conservation Dept. Long- Needed Handbook GUIDE TO SOUTHERN TREES. E. S. Harrar and J. G. Harrar. 712 pages, illustrated, indexed. Whittlesey House, McGraw- Hill Book Co., New York. 1946. $ 4.50. This is an excellent handbook of the' trees indigenous to the region south of the Mason and Dixon Line, the Ohio River, and an extension of the Missouri- Arkansas boundary to the western limit of southern forests. Somewhat over 350 species are discussed and more than 200 are illustrated by excellent line drawings showing all important characters. There is a handy introductory portion giving the basic concepts of nomenclature and taxonomy, an illustrated glossary of terms employed, and a 19- page key leading sometimes to genera, sometimes to individual species. Genera with more than one species in the area have a key to species included after the generic description. Common names, as well as scientific names and authorities, are given for each species. The specific descriptions are quite complete, including in most cases statements concerning the habit, leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs, bark, habitat, distribution, and economic importance. There has" long been a need for such a book as this. H. N. MOLDENKE. Beneficial Bacteria MICROBES OF MERIT. Otto Rahn. 277 pages, illustrated, indexed. Jacques Cattell Press, Lancaster, Pa. 1945. $ 4- 00. It is indeed high time that someone called our attention to the fact that not all microbes produce disease, and no one is better qualified to do so than Dr. Rahn, • who has spent years working and teaching in this field. His book emphasizes the large number of harmless and beneficial bacteria; he tells us that only one out of every 30,000 bacteria produces disease. He discusses briefly the characteristics of micro- organisms and describes the various types of beneficial ones, not forgetting the yeasts and molds, in such a simple manner that anyone can understand him. His illustrations are especially worthy of note; they add greatly to the interest and clarity of the book, and some of them are really fascinating. In spite of its simplicity, however, this book is remarkably complete and accurate, and should appeal to scientist and non-scientist alike. It should prove especially interesting to science students of high school age. JEAN E. CONN, New Haven, Conn. 125 Rice- Planter's Tale Of a Century Ago THE SOUTH CAROLINA RICE PLANTATION as revealed in the papers of Robert P. W. Allston. Edited by J. H. Easterby. 478 pages, indexed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 194S. $ 5. Mr. Easterby has given us a painstaking, intelligent study of rice planting in the low country of South Carolina, more specifically in the Georgetown district, from 1820 to 1868. The book has three divisions:— first in fifty pages, an interesting account of the life of Robert F. W. Allston, graduate of West Point, engineer, lawyer, governor of South Carolina, but above all rice- planter. Two hundred pages of the Allston family letters follow, then come another two hundred pages of overseer accounts, slave documents and factors' correspondence. At one time Robert Allston owned seven rice plantations, all situated in the tidal swamps of the Georgetown district that lies along the neck of land between the Peedee and Waccamaw rivers. Rice planting was big business. One of the Allston plantations one year produced a crop of 20,000 bushels of rice. The documents show men and women doing honest but difficult work, day bv day, year after year— a far cry from the romance of the legendary South, or the pigsties of " Tobacco Road." We should be grateful to Mr. Easterby for a job well done. LEE WICKER KINARD, Winthrop College Rock Hill, South Carolina. Conifers for Cultivation THE FRIENDLY EVERGREENS. L. L. Kumlien. 230 pages, indexed, illustrated. D. Hill Nursery Company, Dundee, 111. 1946. $ 6. Here is a beautifully illustrated volume, worthy of inclusion in the library of everyone interested in the horticultural aspects of coniferous evergreens. The abundant drawings, black- and- white photographs, and colored pictures were well made and are excellently reproduced. And in the chapters are accounts, not only descriptive of most coniferous evergreens in cultivation, but also covering pruning, diseases, insects, landscape uses, soils, fertilizers, transplanting, propagation and other relevant topics. E. H. FULLING, Editor, The Botanical Review. Chromosomal Point of View GENETICS. Edgar Altenburg. 452 pages, illustrated, indexed. Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1945. $ 3.20. This is a general text covering the entire field of genetics. It approaches the subject primarily from the chromosomal point of view and includes more maten .1 on cnro-mosome behavior and the chromosomal basis of inheritance than do most elementary texts. A very helpful innovation is the inclusion of a brief summary at the end of each chapter, which should prove of distinct use to the beginning student. There are numerous problems, which will also serve to increase his understanding of the subject. Many of the figures are new and some, notably the chromosome map of Drosophila on pages 194- 195, are interesting and ingenious. No book of this sort can include everything, but it seems to the present reviewer that the author might well have added a brief discussion of the remarkable studies in physiological genetics which have been made on Neurospora. Nothing is said about plant chimeras, which have thrown a good deal of light on the genetic basis of developmental problems. In general, the chapter on development seems a little limited. The introduction of the student to the chromosomal and genie mechanisms before he has studied the genetic facts is perhaps not as good pedagogy as taking up Men-delism first and passing from it to the physical basis of inheritance. This, however, is an arguable point. The author has taken over into all his genotypic formulae the use of the wild- tvpe symbol + , as has long been done with Drosophila, With plants this sometimes results in rather awkward situations since the wild- type may be unknown and the choice of a particular trait as wild- type must therefore be arbitrary. It might be simpler to give a definite letter symbol for every pair of alleles. These are minor points, however, and the text in general seems to be excellent. It should prove a valuable addition to the list of books available to the teacher of introductory courses in genetics. EDMUND W. SINNOTT, Yale University. 126 A Pioneer Writes Again On Begonia Culture BEGONIAS AND HOW TO GROW THEM. Bessie Raymond Buxton. 163 pages, illustrated, indexed. Issued under the auspices of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Oxford University Press, New York. 1946. $ 2.25. In 1939 the author published a book under this same title and it answered a long- felt need and reawakened lively interest in begonias. The new book embodies much of the first volume— thus it is not exactly a new book, but an old one with additions. New species and varieties increase the list of begonias and more photographs are both helpful and interesting. There is a chapter devoted to tuberous- rooted begonias, as well as one which discusses begonia shows. An appendix describes the American Begonia Society. This book makes a subtle appeal to the home grower; herein lies one of its high values. It is so designed as to make a delightful hobby workable for the many who have but few leisure hours. In spots there are accumulated bits of information that are somewhat confusing, as in the paragraph on hairy- leaved begonias under Pests and Diseases. Also one learns from experience and from observation that the Calla begonia is not alone as a contradictory plant among begonias. The reviewer questions the wisdom of such labels as " a difficult plant to grow" and " the result is a sickly plant." With a wealth of good material scattered through its pages, its usefulness can scarcely be overestimated in the large particular field in which it serves, and in which the author is an outstanding pioneer. For those who have come further along the road, one hopes for the more technical book, one which will lay down definite rules for begonia culture, such being the result of purely scientific research. RALPH P. SISSON, Hopkinton, R. f. C' TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ROSES to be held June 15 to July 15 at the Rose Capital of America PREVIEW the new Modern Roses developed and tested by the J. 8C P. Department of Plant Research. REVIEW the 3000 different varieties of Roses growing in our display gardens. Jackson & Perkins Co. NEWARK, NEW YORK 127 Current Literature* At a Glance By Harriet K. Morse Fuchsias in Color. The Fuchsia Book for 1944, published last year by the American Fuchsia Society, contains 22 handsome illustrations in color. A descriptive check list of varieties introduced since 1934 is of great interest, as is the list of nurseries which furnish true- to- name stock. Seed Germination. The Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin for March 1946 publishes a list of some 150 garden flowers, vegetables and herbs with the number of days required for their germination. Radishes appear in two days while among the slowest are Gloxinia and Lychnis ( 21 days). Delphiniums from Seed. Arnold Zurawski, writing in the 1945 publication of the American Delphinium Society, presents an article of special appeal to those who would like to grow choice delphiniums from seed. Many other authoritative articles also appear in the book. Novelty Tomatoes. Here is a story about the growing of 22 kinds of miniature tomatoes as a hobby. Wilma S. Soule ( in Home Gardening for the South, March 1946) describes her collections and comments on their uses as food and decoration. Among them are red and yellow * All publications mentioned here— and many others-— may be consulted in the Library of the Botanical Garden, in the Museum Building. pear tomatoes, plum, cherry, strawberry, peach, persimmon, green gage and apple tomatoes. They are disease resistant and prolific, she says, and they escape the commercial markets because they do not endure much handling. Rubber. Under the title, " Rubber, Heritage of the American Tropics," W. Gordon Whaley in The Scientific Monthly for January gives a concise history of rubber from the 16th century on, when the early Spanish explorers in America first sent back reports of this curious milky substance found in trees. The history is brought up to date with a description of current production problems, including disease control, in different parts of the world. Postage Stamps. In Frontiers magazine for February, stamps of the world have been singled out for the story they tell of the characteristic flora of the country concerned. Costa Rica shows the fruit of the chocolate tree; Bulgaria a full blown rose beside a perfume flask; New Zealand, the kauri tree; Madagascar, the traveler's tree; Colombia, a banana, and so on. The United Nations stamp carries a laurel branch with berries. For further pursuit of the subject, the following articles might be consulted: " Plants on Stamps," Gardeners' Chronicle of America, April 1945 ; " Trees and Postage Stamps," American Forests, October 1940; " Breadfruit Tree Stamps," Nature Magazine, November 1939; " Things Apothecary on Postage Stamps,'' American Druggist, Mav 1940; " Agriculture in Stamps of the Pan American Republics," Bulletin of the Pan American Union, March 1939. COSTA'S Penthouse Landscapers BArclay 7- 0764 196 Greenwich Street New York 7, N. Y. 128 £ PJ( m < jtfAead' , fok %/ ctek & ieeb • Many, many trees have become war casualties. Injuries, diseases and insects have made headway during years when expert care was scarce. More than 700 Davey Tree Surgeons have been in the armed services. Now they are coming back to the work they love. They are good men— skilled, reliable, diligent. Soon the Davey organization will be well along toward its prewar ability to serve you. Plan now to have our local representative examine your trees. Let Davey Tree Surgeons minister to their needs . . . restore their health and vigor. DAVEY TREE EXPERT COMPANY • KENT, OHIO MARTIN I. DAVEY, PRESIDENT TWO G E N E R A T I O N S OF TREE S A V I N G SERVICE 129 For the Blind. In a foreword to his brochure, on " Gardening for Health and Happiness," Dr. Hugh Findlay, the author, says, " This book is prepared primarily for the blind who love nature and gardens, and those who might add more vegetables to the world's great storehouse." This informative little book will, it is hoped, be produced in braille, that the blind may read for themselves how to Become vegetable gardeners. Orchid Magazines. The Orchid Digest, spring 1946, issued by the Orchid Society of California, lists six periodicals on the orchid in English, besides one in Portuguese and one in Spanish. Library Acquisitions Some of the Library's lately arrived purchases are briefly described here. Two early works on the camellia have been reprinted by E. A. Mcllhenny of Avery Island, Louisiana. One is the Monography of the Genus Gamellia by the Abbe Lorenzo Berlese, as it first appeared in an English translation in 1838; the other, " New Iconography of the Camellias" by Alexandre Verschaf-felt ( 1848- 1860), translated from the French by Mr. Mcllhenny himself. Only the texts of these two books are given; not the illustrations. Pioneer Settlement in the Asiatic Tropics by Karl J. Pelzer. Studies in land utilization and agriculture in southeastern Asia. American Geographical Society Serial Publication No. 29. 1945. Darwin on Humus and the Earthworm, with an introduction by Sir Albert Howard. A 1945 edition by Faber & Faber of London of Charles Darwin's volume of 1881 entitled " The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observations on their Habits." Five illustrated volumes of Flora Agaricina Danica, dated 1941, have been received from Copenhagen. Prepared by J. E. Lange, they are published by the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College, Department of Plant Pathology. Several volumes of the long- awaited Flore General de Vlndo- Ckine have lately arrived from abroad. Startling New DAHLIAS ROYAL MINIATURES Perfect small flowers of Formal Decorative type . . . iV- i in. or less in dia. on diminutive plants. Beautiful colors— lovely for room decoration. White— Yellow— Blue— Bronze- Lavender SPECIAL ROYAL COLLECTIONS Collection E— 5 roots, 1 each of above colors, ( Value 0 . ) $ 4.50 Collection F— 10 roots, 2 each of above colors, ( Value # 10.) $ 8.50 Sensational Novelty PINK REGALIA Informal Decorative Type Offered last Spring for the first time. Blooms 7 to 9 in. across in lively, intense pink. Sturdy bushes, 4V2 to 5 ft. high. Wonderful for garden and cutting. $ 3.50 each; 10 for $ 31.50 132- 138 Church St., Dept. BO N. Y. 8 Suburban Stores: Englewood, N. T. White Plains, N. Y. Newark, N. J. Stamford, Conn. Hempstead, L. I. 130 Notes, News, and Comment A. A. A. S. At the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis the last week in March a paper was given by Dr. H. W. Rickett on " Travels of Sesse and Mociiio in New Spain" and by Dr. W. H. Camp on " Biochemical Clin'es, Polymorphic Populations, and the Problems of Specific Delimitation of the Cinchona Population of Ecuador." Charles L. Gilly, who was formerly botanical artist at the New York Botanical Garden and who is now teaching in Iowa State College after spending several years in Mexico, presented a detailed paper on " Distribution and Variability in Teosinte." These were all given at sessions of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Mr. Gilly was co- author with Dr. Camp of an extensive article on " The Structure and Origin of Species'' which appeared in Brittonia in 1943. Dr. Ilda McVeigh, Technical Assistant at the Garden, was one of four authors of a paper presented on the " Comparative Studies on the B- Vitamin Content of Wholesale Seeds Imported Grasses Lawn Mixtures Seaboard Seed Company Philadelphia 47, Penna. Trisomic and Disomic Maize," representing work that she did while at Yale University, and also presented a paper prepared in co- operation with William J. Robbins on " The Effect of L— Hydroxy-proline on Trichophyton mentagrophytes." Dr. Margaret Fulford of the University of Cincinnati, who has twice been a recipient of the Marshall A. Howe Memorial Fellowship at the Garden, presented " A Discussion of Phytogeography of the Hepatics of North and South America." Chairman. Dr. W. H. Camp was elected chairman of the systematic section of the Botanical Society of America for the year at the meeting in St. Louis at the end of March. He was also appointed chairman of the committee on nomenclature for the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and was elected a member of a committee for drafting a constitution for the newly organized Society for the Study of Evolution. Lectures. Dr. Bassett Maguire went to Hanover, N. H., March 19 to address the Dartmouth Science Club March 20 on his exploration of Table Mountain ( Tafelberg) in Surinam. He also talked on his expedition before the Quarantine Club in the New York City Federal Building March 27 and the Science Club at Columbia April 8. Dr. A. B. Stout went to Boston last month to address the Chestnut Hill Garden Club April 2 on " Lilies for Gardens." T. H. Everett spoke before the John Burroughs Garden Club of Yonkers, an Affiliate of the New York Botanical Garden, April 17 on " Garden Soils and Composts." Dr. William J. Robbins addressed the Greenwich Garden Club April 16 and gave demonstrations on " The Botanical Aspects of Penicillin and Similar Substances." Dr. H. N. Moldenke talked on " Treasures of the Watchung Mountains" before the Garden Club of the Oranges April 2. The Katonah Women's Club was hostess in its club house to two clubs in Bedford Township April 11 to hear a talk by Elizabeth C. Hall on " The New York Botanical Garden's Library and its Services." Miss Hall illustrated her lecture with books, booklets, lists, prints, and other materials from the library. 131 On his return from St. Louis, Dr. W. H. Camp on April 1 addressed a group at Ohio State University, where he had taught for ten years before joining the Garden's staff in 1935, speaking on " Wartime Experiences of a Botanist." Field Work. Marjorie J. French of Amherst, Mass., a graduate of Oberlin and a student in the School of Library Science at Simmons College, spent a week at the New York Botanical Garden last month doing library cataloguing as part of the field work required in her course. Solidago. Dr. Arthur Cronquist worked in the National Herbarium in Washington, D. C, at the Bureau of Plant Industry in Beltsville, Maryland, and in the Gray Herbarium at Cambridge, Mass., during part of February and March studying specimens of Solidago. Before he returned from the St. Louis meetings the first of April he stopped at Notre Dame and Ohio State Universities to inspect additional specimens of Composites. Conferences. Staff members who attended the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis the last week in March addressed the monthly conference of the scientific staff and registered students of the Garden April 10. They were Drs. W. H. Camp, Arthur Cronquist, F. W. Kavanagh, Ilda McVeigh, and H. W. Rickett. At the previous conference, March 13, Dr. H. A. Gleason spoke on " Trying to Maintain some Well Known Names" and Dr. H. N. Moldenke on " Some Little Known Genera of Verbenaceae." Groups. M. Truman Fossum, Assistant Professor in the Department of Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University, brought a group of 22 students on a special trip to New York March 16 to visit the New York Botanical Garden. They were taken on a tour of the Museum Building and Range I and were shown the Garden's short motion picture film. Among other groups which have recently made guided tours of the Garden are a Boy Scout troop from the Bronx and a sixth grade class from P. S. 114. Visitors. Dr. Albert Zeller of Basle, who is working on a nutrition project for the Swiss government, visited the New York Botanical Garden in early March. He was particularly interested in Dr. Robbins' work on nutrition in which fungi are used as the experimental material. Dr. Budd E. Smith of Coker College, Hartsville, S. C, came to the Garden last month to consult with E. J. Alexander on his collection of South Carolina plants. Jeannette E. Graustein, Professor of Plant Morphology at the University of Delaware, spent part of her spring vacation working in the Garden's library on a research project in the correspondence of John Torrey. Richard A. Howard, who has recently been released from service with the Armed Forces, came to New York from the Gray Herbarium and worked April 10- 13 in the herbarium here on the flora of the West Indies. Among other visitors of recent weeks have been Henry Teuscher of the Montreal Botanical Garden; Olav Einset of Lofthus, Norway; F. W. Went from the California Institute of Technology; Ruth Patrick, Pennsylvania School of Horticulture at Ambler; Edgar T. Wherry from the University of Pennsylvania; Robert T. Clausen, Cornell; C. V. Morton, Smithsonian Institution; A. J. Grout, on his way from Florida to Vermont ; George H. Spaulding, a former student gardener who has been serving with the Marines in the Pacific and who is now returning to his nursery business in California; William M. O'Sullivan, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Stanley Smith, Cornell University. Conference. Research carried on in the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico during the summer of 1943 by Dr. H. W. Rickett formed the subject of the monthly conference of the scientific staff and registered students of the Garden February 13, when Dr. Rickett spoke on " The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain." This expedition, headed by Martin de Sesse, began its work in 1787 under the authority of Charles I I I ; it did not return until 1803, when the court at Madrid was completely indifferent to the flora of New Spain. Much of the work of this group of botanists was therefore lost, until Sesse 132 SEED COLLECTORS We are Interested in purchasing Tree— Shrub— Perennial Seeds Correspondence invited HERBST BROTHERS 92 Warren St. New York 7, N. Y. AETNA PHOTO ENGRAVING CO., INC. 305 EAST 47th STREET NEW YORK 17, N. Y. MAKERS OF PRINTING PLATES PROCESS BENDAY LINE & HALFTONE and Mochio's works were published in Mexico near the end of the 19th century. The expedition, however, resulted * in important botanical collections, now deposited in Madrid; these are of value in our knowledge of Mexican botany. Dr. Rickett deciphered and translated all of the correspondence and records relating to their explorations which he was able to locate in the Mexican archives; for the first time detailed dates and itineraries of their travels are available. The complete story will be published in a special issue of Chronica Botanica. Easter. Pre- war crowds invaded the New York Botanical Garden on Easter Sunday, where flowers were blooming in abundance both outdoors and in. Approximately 30,000 people were clocked entering the grounds in automobiles and on foot, and of these more than 7,000 visited the Easter display in House 6 of the Main Conservatories. Among the flowers arranged there in garden effect were Darwin tulips, marguerites, butterfly- flowers ( Schisanthus hybrids), cinerarias, azaleas, and showy African daisies of several genera. Outdoors, the late flowering cherries were at the peak of their bloom. The first of the poet's narcissus came out in time to blend with the earlier yellow daffodils, which had remained in prime condition throughout the long cool weeks since they first opened. There were still magnolias in flower at the edge of the woodlands in the southeast section of the grounds, and the many dogwoods gave promise of flowering in another week. The first of the massed azaleas were showing color, and at the entrance to the rock garden the Chinese redbud ( Cercis chinensis) was brilliant with its deep magenta flowers j ust opening. In the rock garden itself, which had been opened to the public for the first time this season on the Sunday previous, many hundreds of visitors enioyed the first of the primulas, epimediums, grape hyacinths and other small bulbs, violas, Virginia bluebells, moss pink ( Phlox subulata) of several colors, rock- cress, evergreen candytuft, the lilac flowers of Daphne Genkzva and the pink of Daphne Cneorum, and many other flowers. In several of the tulip beds adjacent to the conservatories, early varieties had come into bloom. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Officers JOSEPH R. SWAN, President HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN, Vice- president JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- president ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary Elective Managers WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT MRS. ELON HUNTINCTON FRAX EDWIN DE T. BECHTEL HENRY F. DU PONT MARSHALL FIELD REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, S. J. E. POWELL, JR. HOOKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER WILLIAM J. ROBBINS CLAREKCE MCK. LEWIS A. PERCY SAUNDERS E. D. MERRILL EDMUND W. SINNOTT ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY CHAUNCEY STILLMAN H. HOBART PORTER SIDNEY T. WEINBERG Ex- Officio Managers WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of Neiv York MARY E. DILLON, President of the Board of Education ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner Appointive Managers By the Torrey Botanical Club H. A. GLEASON By Columbia University MAKSTON T. BOGEKT MARCUS M. RHOADES CHARLES W. BALLARD SAM F. TRELEASE THE STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. H. A. GLEASON, P H . D. HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE FRED J. SEAVER, PH. D., SC. D. A. B. STOUT, P H . D. BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. H. W. RICKETT, P H . D. BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D. ELIZABETH C HALL, A. B., B. S. ELMER N. MITCHELL Director Assistant Director and Curator Assistant Director Head Curator Curator of Education and Laboratories Plant Pathologist Bibliographer Emeritus Bibliographer Curator Associate Curator Librarian Photographer E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium W. H. CAMP, P H . D . Assistant Curator E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Assistant Curator ARTHUR CRONQUIST, P H . D . Assistant Curator F. W. KAVANAGH, P H . D . Assistant Curator SELMA KOJAN, B. S. Technical Assistant ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant ILDA MCVEIGH, P H . D . Technical Assistant MARY STEBBINS, M. A. Technical Assistant CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal THOMAS H. EVERETT. N. D. HORT. Horticulturist G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium OTTO DEGENER. M. S. Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany A. J. GROUT. P H . D . Honorary Curator of Mosses TNEZ M. HARTNG Assistant Honorary Curator of Mosses JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diafnmaceae B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany F. THEI. ANSON S. PECKHAM Honorary Curator, Iris mid Narcissus Collections A. C. PFANPER Superintendent of Buildinas and Grounds To reach the Botanical Garden, take tlie Independent Subway to Bedford Park Boulevard station; use trie Bedford Park Boulevard exit and walk east. Or take the Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Garden or the 200th Street station, the New York Central to the Botanical Garden station, or the Webster Avenue surface car to Bedford. P^ rlf " Bntilpwarrl... . __ Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Gar PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Books, Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustrations of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 13.50. Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A, Rydberg. 969 pages and 601 figures. 1932. Price, $ 5.50 postpaid. The Bahama Flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. 695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and thallophytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections, bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25. North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates of Carex and related plants by Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 1 0 ^ x 13|/£ inches; bound $ 17.50: unbound $ 15.50. Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25. Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles by Marion A. &? G. L. Wittrock in the Journal for March 1942. 15 cents. Vegetables and Fruits for the Home Garden. Four authoritative articles reprinted from the Journal, 21 pages, illustrated. Edited by Carol H. Woodward. 1941. 15 cents- The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries by E. J. Alexander and Carol H. Woodward. 28 pages, illustrated with photographs and drawings; bound with paper. 1941. 25 cents. Catalog of Hardy Trees and Shrubs. A list of the woody plants being grown outdoors at the New York Botanical Garden in 1942, in 127 pages with notes, a map, and 20 illustrations. 75 cents. Succulent Plants of Netv and Old World Deserts by E. J. Alexander. 64 pages, indexed. 350 species treated, 100 illustrated. Bound in paper. 1942. Second edition 1944. 50 cents. Periodicals Addisonia, annually, devoted exclusively to colored plates accompanied by popular descriptions of flowering plants; eight plates in each number, thirty- two in each volume. Now in its twenty- second volume. Subscription price, $ 10 a volume ( four years). Not offered in exchange. Free to members of the Garden. Journal of The New York Botanical Garden, monthly, containing news, book reviews, and non- technical articles on botany and horticulture. Subscription, $ 1.50 a year; single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden. Now in its 47th volume. Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise; devoted to fungi. including lichens, containing technical articles and news and notes of general interest. $ 7 a year; single copies $ 1.50 each. Now in its thirty- eighth volume. Twenty- four Year Index volume $ 3. Brittonia. A series of botanical papers published in co- operation with the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Subscription price, $ 5 a volume ($ 4 to members of the Society). Now in its fifth volume. North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North America, including Greenland, the West Indies, and Central America. 94 parts now issued. Not offered in exchange. Prices of the separate parts on request. Contributions from The New York Botanical Garden. A series of technical papers reprinted from journals other than the above. 25 cents each, $ 5 a volume. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. A collection of scientific papers. Contents and prices on request.
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Contributor | New York Botanical Garden |
Date | 1946-05 |
Description-Table Of Contents | A Commuter's Greenhouse; Begonia Literature and Notes Bequeathed to Library; Orchid Society Meets at Garden; The Huanita; Half-Century of Work at Garden Observed by Joseph W. Smith; Exhibit of Plants Without Flowers Wins Award for Botanical Garden; Broadcast—Bugs, Beware. |
Format | application/pdf |
Format-Extent | 51 v. : ill. ; 25 cm. |
Identifier | 0885-4165 |
Language | eng |
Publisher | Bronx : New York Botanical Garden, 1900-1950 |
Relation-Is Part Of | Journal of the New York Botanical Garden : v. 1, no. 1-v. 51, no. 612 |
Relation-IsVersionOfURI | http://opac.nybg.org/record=b1104879 |
Rights | http://www.nybg.org/library/ |
Subject | Plants--Periodicals; Gardening--Periodicals; Plants, Cultivated--Periodicals; New York Botanical Garden--Periodicals. |
Title | Journal of the New York Botanical Garden |
Volume, Number | Vol. 47, no. 557 |
Type | text |
Transcript | JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN W£ m WM •; S~>. .' ^ \ ' i# m VOL. 47 No. 557 M A Y 1 9 4 6 PACES 105— 132 JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor MAY AND JUNE EVENTS AT THE GARDEN Rose- Growers' Day June 12 All- day meeting, with F. F. Rockwell as speaker in the morning, followed in the afternoon by a clinic and demonstration on rose diseases and culture. Registration free. Members'' Days May 1 Comments on the Living Plants Displayed T. H. Everett June 5 Painting Wild Flowers in Westchester County Eloise P. Luquer Saturday Afternoon Programs 3 p. m. each Saturday May 4 Plants of Tropical Regions with scenes from Nassau Otto Degener Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany May 11 Journey to Ecuador— With a motion picture, " Down where the North Begins" W. H. Camp Assistant Curator May 18 Mushrooms and other Useful Fungi F. ]• Seaver Head Curator Radio Programs 3: 30 p. m. on alternate Fridays over WNYC May 3 fregetables for Late Spring Planting George H. Gillies Head Gardener, Marshall Field Estate May 17 The World's First Agricultural Crops Major LaVerne V. Johnson May 31 Sixteen Centuries of Tea- Drinking William H. U\ ers Editor, Tea and Coffee Journal June 14 Your 230-^ cre Garden Mrs. Meluin Sawin Member of Advisory Council, New York Botanical Garden June 28 Sugar i. s the Foundation of All Life E. E. Naylor Assistant Curator, New York Botanical Garden TABLE OF CONTENTS MAY 1946 TULIPS AT THE N EW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN. SPRING 1946 Cover photograph by Elmer N. Mitchell Prins Carnaval, one of 60 varieties on view, all presented by the people of the Netherlands, through the Associated Bulb Growers of Holland, as a mark of gratitude for their liberation. A COMMUTER'S GREENHOUSE John H. Myers 10? BEGONIA LITERATURE AND NOTES BEQUEATHED TO LIBRARY 111 ORCHID SOCIETY MEETS AT GARDEN 111 THE HUANITA Margaret Douglas 112 HALF- CENTURY OF WORK AT GARDEN OBSERVED BY JOSEPH W. SMITH 118 F. XHIBIT OF PLANTS WITHOUT FLOWERS WINS AWARD FOR BOTANICAL GARDEN 119 BROADCAST—" BUGS, BEWARE!" Louis Pyenson 120 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 122 CURRENT LITERATURE AT A GLANCE Harriet K. Morse 127 LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS 129 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 130 The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York 58, N. Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies 15 cents. JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN VOL. 47 MAY 1946 No. 557 cA Qommuter's greenhouse By John H. Myers yr HAT is a greenhouse?" This was the opening question in the informal talk on " A Commuter's Greenhouse" given by Mr. John H. Myers of White Plains, a member of the Garden for many years, at the Members' Day program March 6. He answered his own question as follozvs: " It is primarily a glass- enclosed building; in the case of the amateur it may perhaps be better defined as a glass- enclosed room. The glass allows the light and heat of the sun to enter and at the same time retards the radiation of heat from within the greenhouse to the great outdoors. " The equipment of a greenhouse consists of some tools, a supply of water, a source of heat, containers for the medium in which the plants grozv, and the medium itself." The article below has been adapted from his talk. Illustrations show the plans and equipment of his own house. A S a student and a young engineer, I was always more interested in seeing the wheels go round than I was in a garden. However, when I eventually acquired a home in White Plains and became interested in improving its grounds, I began, probably unconsciously, to acquire an avocation— an interest in gardening. As some walks, a patch of grass and a driveway, then a vegetable and cutting garden slowly came into being, my avocation took a stronger hold 105 106 on me and I began to realize, regretfully, that I could garden only about seven- twelfths of the year. Where the idea came from I do not know, but 1 began to think about forcing vegetables in a greenhouse. I read, I rubbered, I asked questions, and, after much scheming and planning, and waiting for the high prices following World War I to subside, I plunged. As a result, in the fall of 1921 a greenhouse came into being. To use a feminine term, the greenhouse was " appliqued" on the southeast corner of the dwelling, opening out of its cellar. It was heated by hot water circulating through pipes running under the side benches and coming at first from a coal- burning boiler in a pit below the cellar floor. The dwelling at that time was heated by a similar but independent plant. Since then an oil burner has been installed which furnishes hot water heat for dwelling and greenhouse with thermostats governing each independently. At the start I experienced much difficulty in acquiring knowledge about the small greenhouse. Seed catalogues of that date, 1921, did not feature greenhouse plants and did not, as most of them do now, offer lists of " Greenhouse Flower Seed Specialties" or " House Plants From Seed"— to quote two of them. What information there was was tucked away in obscure places. Fritz Bahr's Commercial Floriculture— a worthy book— became my guide and mentor, but the scale of it had to be reduced to fit the needs of an amateur. Outdoor gardeners at that time— that is, the amateurs— knew next to nothing about gardening under glass. The men who did know were those who operated large greenhouses on private estates, and with them I had few contacts. An entree to this botanical garden such as I now enjoy would have been a grand help. And many florists had little general knowledge, as they were one- crop men, but I Plan of the property, showing the position of the greenhouse in relation to dwelling, garden, and lawn. Plan of the greenhouse, showing the raised benches down either side, the solid bed in the center where sweet peas and snapdragons are grown for cutting, uiith smaller plants along the edge and a hanging shelf from each side for an extra row of potted plants. The carnation bench at the end is removable so that in summer the outside door is usable. cross- examined them and everyone else who seemed to possess any of the information I was after. So slowly but surely I learned something. For a few seasons vegetables were forced, lettuce and cauliflower in the fall, tomatoes and English cucumbers in the spring. Perhaps I should be careful about using the plural number because there were none too many of them. And I realized as season succeeded season that while any number of people could get an eyeful of beauty from an artistically arranged bouquet of well grown flowers, by no means could the same, or even a less number, get a stomach full of fresh vegetables from the house which produced the bouquet. So the little greenhouse is now used to grow flowers, although in spring a few tomatoes or cucumbers are sometimes ripened in it and plants of tomato, pepper and eggplant are grown, to fruit later in the outdoor garden. Tools, Pots, Flats, and Benches What sort of equipment is used in operating a greenhouse ? Greenhouse tools are diminutives of garden tools. The trowel substitutes for the spade or shovel, the hand fork for the spading fork, and a scratcher does the same work as a three- or five- prong cultivator in the garden. They are used in the right hand whereas the use of the garden tools requires both hands and sometimes, in addition, the right foot. A hose- bib in the greenhouse generally furnishes the water. The source of heat is very often a hot water boiler, and if the amateur's greenhouse 107 108 Rear of the house showing how the one- room greenhouse has been attached, opening out of the cellar and connected with it through a jlat- roofed passageway which serves as a potting shed. In the foreground are the author's coldframes. which supplement the greenhouse in starting plants for the outdoor garden. which I have defined as a glassed- in room is attached to garage or dwelling, their heating plants may also serve the greenhouse. Pipes through which the hot water circulates are generally placed along walls or under raised benches. Containers for the growing medium ( which for the amateur is generally good suitable soil) are clay pots, flats and benches. Flower pots need no description. " Flat" is the name used by gardeners for a plant box. Use it always, or you lose caste. Say, " Two flats of petunias," " A flat of chrysanthemum cuttings," etc. Flats are best made of cypress as it stands up well under damp conditions. Benches need somewhat more description. They may be divided into two kinds, solid and raised. The solid bench consists of soil laid on the dirt floor of the greenhouse and often confined by a low curb. Or the curbs may take the form of walls about 2 feet 6 inches high and the space between them, except for the top 12 or 14 inches, may be filled with broken brick, pieces of concrete, stone and dirt not suitable for a garden. The top is filled with suitable soil. The raised bench is in effect a table generally of wood, preferably cypress, like the flats. The boards of its top are separated by % or J4 inch to afford drainage and around its edges are boards about 109 6 inches high to retain soil or to keep pots from being pushed off and broken. Selecting the Plants to be Grown The question is often asked, What may be grown in the small greenhouse? The answer is, almost any plant that can get along with a night temperature of 50- 55 and a day temperature of 60- 70. Plants of fine foliage or fruit and plants with attractive flowers may be grown in pots. This, by the way, is what our grandmothers did before the introduction of steam heat robbed the air of our homes of most of its moisture content, and many a sitting- room window looking to the south was, during winter, a little greenhouse in itself. Often displayed there were beautiful specimens of foliage and flowering plants. Grandmother tenderly cared for her plants and on severe nights drew the curtains or even moved the plants away from the glass. Another use to which the small greenhouse lends itself is the production of cut flowers. Many people are fond of bouquets in their living- rooms and on occasion derive pleasure from sharing their flowers with friends who from age or illness may be shut- ins. The flowers grown by florists present no great difficulty. A small greenhouse may, in the early part of the year, also furnish seedlings of vegetables or annuals for setting in the garden where their fruits and flowers will mature. Plants grown from seed sown in the greenhouse, followed by those whose seed is sown later outdoors, will afford a succession of vegetables and flowers. Bulbs may be made to bloom in a greenhouse before they open outdoors in the spring. In fact, greenhouse and garden are complementary and, used together, they broaden and round out the pleasure of gardening. Warning Word for the Beginner Without meaning to pose as an expert, a few words of advice to the amateur, culled from my own experience as one of them, may not be out of place. We amateurs are prone to be enthusiastic, optimistic and ambitious. If we were not we would not be successful in gardening or in any other avocation or hobby. Therefore it is well to solemnly warn the beginner who has the ambition to possess a greenhouse that, in indoor gardening as in any other work, one must creep before he or she can walk. Furthermore, while many people understand and make a success of their outdoor gardening, by far the greater number of them are tyros when it comes to the operation of the amateur's greenhouse. Out of doors, nature supplies the light, heat and moisture, while indoors she furnishes only the light and during the short dull days of winter often not too much of it. Gardening under glass is an entirely different operation, as I discovered when I began some twenty years ago. And while I now grow that are essential in the green.' Wwo fiats for raising seedlings and icuttings, with homemade devices for Imaging straight furrows m them and foffsetting plants or seeds placed evenly. :.:* t-: Cd,>: '.-* « -'" THE COMMUTER'S GREENHOUSE^ AND SOME OF ITS EQUIPMENT 1. Looking down the right aisle to the ^ propagating cases at the farther end 2 A closer mew of the propagating cases. some plants from all of the groups which I have referred to above, I by no means did this when I began, but I have expanded my operations little by little over a period of years. If my experience counts for anything, the beginner is likely to have rather vague notions as to what use he wishes to make of his greenhouse. So my advice to him is not to bite off more than he can chew, and to make an easy start in the fall of the year by procuring from friend or florist a few potted plants which will flower in the greenhouse. Then let him pot a few King Alfred narcissus bulbs and bury them in his garden and, after the proper interval, bring into the greenhouse a pot or two of them at a time. And, when spring is at hand, let him sow seeds of a few annual flowers and a few vegetables, say lettuce and tomato. The chances are 110 I ll that when the following fall arrives he will be eager to start another cycle of growing, to avoid errors made the previous season and to widen somewhat the scope of his operations. Thus in time will he find himself and realize to what use he wishes to put his greenhouse and, as season succeeds season, and he perfects his technique, he will derive more and more satisfaction and pleasure from gardening under glass. Begonia Literature and Notes Bequeathed to Library T^ ORTY- FIVE notebooks containing a •*• wealth of material on begonias have become the property of the Library of the New York Botanical Garden through the will of Mrs. Albert H. Gere of Merion, Pa. The collection, which assembles much widely scattered material on the subject, is looked upon as one of immeasurable value for reference work on begonias. Of the notebooks, 42 quarto- size vol- ' umes contain photographic and photostatic copies of literature and illustrations of Begonia species and varieties, including hand- painted reproductions of 83 plates , from Curtis's Botanica! Magazine and of six from Addisonia; also descriptions of begonias as contained in the Transactions of the Linnean Society, the Proceedings of the American Academy of Science, the Philippine Journal of Science, Botanical Cabinet, Paxtpn's Magazine of Botany, and other publications; photographic reproductions of begonias listed in trade catalogs; typed descriptions of begonias from The Gardeners' Chronicle and other periodicals; photographic reproductions of " Les Begonias" by Charles Chevalier, of " Die Begonien" by Karl Albert Fotscli, and of " Be^ oniaceen- Gattungen und Arten" by H. Klotzch. In addition, one leather- covered notebook provides an index to all the' material contained in the 42 quarto- size books, giving the contents of each book and an alphabetical index to the literature on begonias that is reproduced. The two other notebooks contain citations to the literature on begonias, arranged alphabetically according to species or variety. Orchid Society Meets at Garden Members of the American Orchid Society from a dozen states assembled at the New York Botanical Garden March 19 for the annual trustees' meeting. Luncheon provided by Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Wilcox Jones was served to 65 in the Members' Room, where others joined the group for the meeting which took place in the afternoon. Immediately following lunch, the group inspected orchid literature and publications of the Garden in the library, and after the meeting they were taken on tours of the building and of the main conservatories. From the Garden's propagating house about 75 orchid species were selected to be displayed in the Members' Room. Fifteen water- color paintings of Florida orchids by Olivia Embrey Lay were also shown. Among the guests of the day were R. H. Gore, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Mr. & Mrs. Clint McDade, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Dr. Norman C. Yarian, Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. O. Wesley Davidson, Rutgers University; Mr. and Mrs. George H. Pring, Missouri Botanical Garden ; Mr. and Mrs. George Butterworth, Framingham, Mass.; E. T. Hammington, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Robert J. Tither-ington, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs. Halle Cohen, Jacksonville, Florida; Dr. H. O. Eversole, La Canada, Calif.; Louis V. Dorp, Morristown, Pa.; Oliver Lines, Elkins Park, Pa.; Alfred S. Knowlton, Essex Fells, N. J. Mr. Jones, who is President of the American Orchid Society, has been a member of the New York Botanical Garden since 1919. 112 The Huanita Rare Fragrant Tree of Mexico Found Blooming In the Courtyard of a Ruined Chapel By Margaret Douglas EVEN before we entered the gate to the courtyard of the old monastery in the little Mexican town of Santa Cruz de las Flores, which we had come to the State of Jalisco especially to see, the fragrance of flowers from within the high stone wall reached us as an overpowering scent. Inside there grew a gnarled old tree, which, although the trunk was hollow, still had sufficient vitality to produce a crown of foliage and flowers. The shiny leaves of a clear green resembled those of a young citrus tree. It was in full bloom when we were there in January. The clusters of flowers were snow white and grew the way apple blossoms do. The buds were white and waxy- looking, like those of orange blossoms, but the texture of the open flower was not as heavy, and the five petals had a slightly crinkled edge, reminiscent of a crepe- myrtle. The custodian gathered flowers for us, and later as we left the gateway a passing Mexican, seeing them in my hand, stopped and remarked, " That tree is very rare." An old priest, seeing us there, came to invite us into his house beside the present church. That was just at the moment when the Mexican spoke to us, and the priest listened with astonished interest, as he had never heard the legend, while the villager told us the story of the tree. The Legend of the Flowering Tree Hundreds of years ago, he said, a pilgrim was passing through this town, carrying a crate with two little pots in it. He was very weary and as he had to continue his journey, he asked the woman who had given him shelter if he might leave the crate with her, and get it on his return from his pilgrimage. The only thing he asked was that she would pour some water into the crate occasionally, but not open it. This she did, and watered the plants faithfully for years. The pilgrim never returned, and one day when a heavy perfume issued from the box, she decided to open it. There were two beautiful plants, covered with white bloom. She took them to the church and planted them one on each side of the entrance. They grew for years, then finally one died. The villagers, who had become superstitious about losing the last tree, attempted to take cuttings, also to grow plants from seeds, but none ever succeeded. A few years ago, when repairs had to be made to the wall around the church, a long root was evidently cut through by the workmen, and to everyone's surprise, a shoot started up about ten feet from the tree!" 113 The shoot has grown well and: the villagers hope that it will live. I took some slips and I dipped them in hormodin, and they did sprout four small leaves, but unfortunately the pot was tipped over and the roots dried before I discovered the accident. I wrote to the friend who drove us to see the hospice, for any particulars she could glean about the unusual flowering tree. Below I am quoting her reply: Report from Mexico " Senor Cornejo, Director of the Library at the University of Guadalajara, and a most serious student on Hispanic and pre- Hispanic periods in Mexico, discouraged me by admitting that practically nothing of authenticity is known here on the subject. In his extensive perusal of old books and manuscripts, he has found no reference to this tree other than the legend we heard of when we visited Santa Cruz. " The ruins we visited are what remains of the chapel of an old Franciscan hospital, meaning hospital in the sense of the Latin HOSPITAL, or guest house. This guest house was originally intended for the accommodation of officials and priests traveling from the main Franciscan establishment at Tlalcomulco to the outlying convents throughout Nuevo Galicia. " The legend of the tree as fostered by the Spanish priests is this*: An image of the Virgin Mary was shipped from some unspecified port in Spain, cradled against breakage with thin branches of an unfamiliar tree. Upon the arrival of the figure at the hospital, a botanically curious priest placed them in the ground, where one took root to become the tree we saw. Subsequent attempts to propagate the tree in this manner having failed, the rooting of this branch is considered a miracle due to its position over the heart of the image of the Virgin. " Senor Cornejo called to my attention a significant and most interesting fact. The village is now known as Santa Cruz de las Flores, supposedly from the fact that the tree is still in full blossom on the third day of May, which is the festival of the Holy Cross. But this village was known in Hispanic times as Santa Cruz Xuchitlan, Xuchitlan being the Spanish corruption of the ancient Indian name of the village, Xochitlan. We know that in the Nahuatl tongue xocm meant ' flower' and TLAN ' place of.' Senor Cornejo mentioned the known exactness of the Indian nomenclature in identifying place names to some outstanding characteristic of the locality. He cites Mazatlan, place of the deer; Zapotlan, place of the zapote; Aguacatlan, place of the aguacate, et cetera. Therefore, he believes that when the Indians gave this village the name of ' Place of the Flowers,' it was because of some unusual botanical phenomenon occurring there which was not common to the surrounding country. Therefore, Senor Cornejo, along with others interested in the subject, concludes that this tree, with the smaller one we saw, is the sole remaining example in this village of a tree surely indigenous to this part of the world and certainly pre- Hispanic. He believed that the subsequent stories came into being not earlier than the 18th century, when the tree had already become rare enough to have its origin questioned, and pondered upon. He has heard reports of others of its kind in different parts of Mexico, but although he has tried to find the exact location of these specimens, has been unable to discover their whereabouts. There is no record of the tree in Guadalajara." Identification of the Tree From a small branch which I sent to Dr. Robbins, Dr. H. A. Gleason identified the tree as the HUANITA, known in most botanical writings as * The legend here is slightly different from that related by the Mexican villager. 114 The huanita, rare flowering'tree of Mexico and southward, as depicted in W. Hemsleys " Biologia Centrali- Americana" published in London in 1888. 115 Bourreria formosa, but more properly called, he said, by the older specific name of huanita. It belongs to the Borage family and is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, but is apparently always excessively rare. Most herbarium specimens have been taken from cultivated trees.£ Paul C. Standley, in " Trees and Shrubs of Mexico" ( Vol. 23, part 4, page 1224), gives the following brief description of the genus: " Shrubs or trees; leaves alternate, petiolate, entire; flowers rather large, white, in terminal corymb- like cymes; calyx campanulate, 2 to 5- lobate, the lobes valvate; corolla salverform, the limb usually 5- lobate; styles 2- cleft, the stigmas flattened; fruit a drupe, containing 4 bony nutlets." At the end of Standley's list of ten accepted species of Bourreria, B. huanita is given as a " doubtful species." This is because no specimen was known to the author from Michoacan, the type locality. Yet he gives a number of vernacular names for the plant, such as HUANITA ( Michoacan), IZQUIXOCHITL and JAZMIN DE TEHUANTEPEC ( Oaxaca), and YAGA GUIEXOBA ( Oaxaca, Zapotec). f If B. huanita is identical with B. formosa, as seems likely from the description, then, according to my informants at the New York Botanical Garden, the tree should be known by its earlier name of B. huanita; or, perhaps, if international rules are to be strictly followed, the spelling should be in the original form of Beurrena, or % A specimen in the herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden, collected in August 1938 by George B. Hinton at Acahuato in the district of Apatzingan, Michoacan, came from a spreading tree 15 meters ( about 45 feet) high. It was found in the plaza of the town, and a notation on the herbarium sheet states that " no other exists in the region." A letter in the folder for the species in the herbarium gives some additional information about another specimen of the tree. Addressed to Dr. N. L. Britton, May 23, 1923, it is written by Sylvester Baxter of Maiden, Mass., a business man and writer who did some botanical collecting while in Mexico. Mr. Sylvester writes: " It was in April, 1899, that I went to Uruapam. I had picked up in a curio- shop in Queretaro a history of the Bishopric of Michoacan, in Spanish. . . . It was printed about 1840. In its account of Uruapam it told about a remarkable tree growing near the old mill and quoted La Llave as naming it Huanita uruapensis, and pronouncing it as unique in family, genus and species, and the only individual known to exist. At Uruapam, a little city of rare beauty. I was told that the original tree was dead, but that trees from three cuttings were in existence, one in the garden of the Governor of Michoacan, and one in the garden of a lad)' in town. . . The [ latter] tree was in full bloom and about 20 feet high. Flowers white and crape- like, and of exquisite perfume. The leaves seemed something like an orange. . . I sent cuttings to Prof. Sargent, but they spoiled in the mail; also some seeds, but Dawson could not make them germinate. I think the flowers I sent for the herbarium were referred to Dr. Goodale at Harvard. Probably the common name at Uruapam was TUANITA. " It should be worth while for some botanical explorer in Mexico to go to Uruapam and get cuttings, if possible. April is probably the best time, for it would then be in full bloom. It would be a misfortune for such a rare and beautiful thing to be lost to the world." The tree described by Mr. Baxter, if alive today, stands within range of the dust falling from the newly active volcano Paricutin. E. J. ALEXANDER. t In a later work ( Tropical Woods. 1931), Standley accepts the name of Beureria huanita, as made by Hemsley. 116 even Beureria* The change to an o was authorized by de Candolle in the Prodromus, Vol. 9, page 504. In an extensive article on the huanita in the Anales del Instituto de Biologia, 1931 ( Universidad Nacional de Mexico), A. R. Laguna describes the genus, which he calls Beurreria, as containing only trees and shrubs belonging to the extra- tropical regions of America. The huanita itself, he says, was famous medicinally for many years in Michoacan as a cough medicine, digestive, flavoring, astringent, and a perfume. In delving into the history of the tree, Laguna cites the monumental work of Francisco Hernandez, physician to Philip II of Spain, " Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus," published in Rome in 1649, where there is a description with a magnificent wood engraving of a tree cultivated in Cuernavaca and Huaxtepec and known by the indigenous name of YZQUIXOCHITL. This agrees, in large part, with the plant in question. The same description of the plant appears with slight variations in an edition of the work entitled " De Historia Plantarum Novae Hispaniae," published in 1790. Laguna writes further : " Worthy of special mention is the first description in Spanish of the ' yzquixochitl,' published in Mexico in 1615, in the work entitled, " Cuatro Libros de la Naturaleza y virtudes medicinales de las plantas y animales de Nueva Espana,' by Brother Francisco Jimenez, Dominican friar, who made the translation of the original work of Dr. Francisco Hernandez, enriching it with numerous personal observations, before it was published in Rome. " In 1824, a work written by don Pablo de la Llave and don Juan Lexarza entitled, ' Novorum vegetabilium descriptiones,' first saw public light, and in this was found the first botanical description of the ' huanita.' This description, done in Latin by such illustrious botanists, is found in the first chapter of the work, and in it the scientific name of Morelosia huanita Llav. and Lex. is given to the ' huanita.' " Doctor don Nicolas Leon published in the Gaceta Oficial del Gobierno del Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacan, in 1866 two articles about this important plant, the ' huanita.' " In the first article, Dr. Leon says that he tried to find the plant that Llave and Lexarza were studying, but he was only able to find out that it was found near the old capital of San Pedro, in the district of the same name, in the city of Uruapan, and grafted to a cherimoya, and that it had died many years ago ' for lack of life because of old age/' Farther on he says that he had seen two individuals of this plant: ' one in the house of the estimable senora dona Lugarda Izazaga de Cano,' and the other on the place called ' la cineraria'; he adds that both examples are notable for * Johann Ambrosius Beurer ( 2 Mr 1716— 27 Je 1754), for whom this genus was named, was a pupil of Trew and well known to contemporary botanists. Browne, in 1756, was the first to use his name for the genus, speaking of him as " Mr. Bourer, an apothecary of Nuremberg." He spelled the genus- name Bourreria; in the index, however, it appears as Beureria, which suggests that someone may have called his attention to his wrong spelling. Jacquin took up the name in 1763 ; his is the first legitimate publication. He spelled it, unfortunately, Beurreria, correcting the first vowel but retaining the double r. It would be possible to regard this as an unintentional orthographic error and change it to Beureria. De Candolle had no business changing it to Bourreria in any case. The name is certainly not Bourreria; it may be Beurreria or Beureria as one interprets the international rules. I should favor the later, since the original intent is clear. H. W. RICKETT. 117 their development and that they exceed the designation of ' shrub'* that was given them by de la Llave and Lexarza; that he had news that another example of great size existed in the village of Tacascuaro, and that in the beautiful village of ' Los Reyes' there were also several. Finally, he points out that the Tarascan name of the village of Jiquilpan, which is ' Vanimba,' signifies ' place of huanitas,' which might indicate that in this place there existed at one time, some examples of the plant in question, and that notwithstanding its Tarascan name, considering its rarity in Michoacan, it is believed that this plant is not indigenous there, but imported." I wonder if any of the one hundred fifty members of the Garden Club of America who visited Uruapan with me in 1936 saw any huanitas in the Botanic Garden there. It was the season of bloom. Some years ago we visited President Cardenas at Jiquilpan. He is a great lover of flowers and plants, and had I only known about the huanita at that time, might have hunted for it there, with much helpful assistance from him. In Mixteca the huanita is called YTAYUCUINE, which means " Flower of the Tiger Mountain," according to Dr. Martinez Gracida, who says that YUCUINE of TEHUANTEPEC means " Mountain of the Tiger," and that this place is the plant's native habitat. In ancient times the historian monks called the huanita FLOE DE YUCUAMA, surely a corruption of the name YUCUINE— a type of change which often occurs when a name is difficult to pronounce. Genesis of a War Historians consider this plant as the cause of a bloody war between two of the oldest and most powerful villages. It took place in Tehuantepec in approximately 1496, when an army of Mexicans, sent by the King of Mexico, Ahiutzotl, were vanquished at Guiengola by the Zapotecas and Mixtecas, allies, under the command of the King of Zaachila, Cozijoeza. The Mixtecas, subdued by the King of Achiutla, on the return from the campaign in the country of Tehuantepec carried a tree covered with beautiful and fragrant white flowers, known to the Mexicans as YZQUIXOCHITL. The Mixteca Cacique diligently cultivated it in his gardens and refreshed himself with the beauty and aroma of the flowers. He felt proud to possess this tree belonging to the hot country, and reminding him of the lovely country of Tehuantepec, for which reason he named it, in the Mixtecan, idiom, YTAYUCUINE. When the new king of Mexico, Moctezuma II, heard of it he craved to possess it, and in the second year of his reign, therefore, sent a commission to the Mixtecas to secure by peaceful means the object of his desires. But the Mexican ambassadors were haughtily received by Mallinalli, the Cacique of Tlaxiaco, who refused to give or sell his YTAYUCUINE. Thus started the war— the troops of Moctezuma with their greater units invaded the territory, and were victorious. Mallinalli and the Cacique of Achiutla * The tree at Santa Cruz, growing at an altitude of about five thousand feet, is more than thirty feet high and about eighteen inches in diameter, although described as a shrub of about three feet high, in some other states! 118 were taken prisoners, their towns burned after practically all the inhabitants were sacrificed. Then in the end, the Mexicans transported the precious tree with great care to the gardens of Moctezuma II, at Huaxtepec, near Cuernavaca in Morelos, where plants of all climates seem to flourish. Some Indian monarch said of this tree that the flowers are not to be found anywhere, the solitary specimen having dried out on the road to the garden. Other authors affirm that seeds of this notable tree were carefully sown and cultivated by Moctezuma, and were studied there in the beginning of the 16th century by Hernandez and Fray F. Jimenez. Half- century of Work at Garden Observed by Joseph W. Smith T N tribute to Joseph W, Smith, gardener, •*• on the 50th anniversary of his employment at the New York Botanical Garden, a purse of more than $ 200 was given to him on March 21. Presented during the noon hour in the palm house of Conservatory Range No. 1, it represented contributions from the entire roster of the Garden's employees, who, with a number of friends from outside the staff, all attended the brief, informal ceremony. Mr. Smith, who is now 71, was brought up on a farm in the Bronx, and when the new Botanical Garden was opened in Bronx Park, he sought a job there and began working March 21, 1896. It was about five years before the conservatory, where he has spent most of his half- century at the Garden, replaced the wild cherry trees and mountain laurel that had overrun the old pasture north of Fordham University. He can remember when all the apartment- covered blocks of today's populous borough of the Bronx were rolling farm lands occupied by a mere handful of families. And he can remember when a visit to the new Botanical Garden meant, for most people, a long trip with horse and carriage, with a picnic lunch packed under the back seat. Joe Smith has personally watched the . growth of a large number of the plants that have been cultivated in the Garden's conservatory since the building was erected in 1900. A sugar palm that he planted grew in time to the top of the 90- foot dome; eventually flowered, died, and was cut down in 1934. A seedling from this tree has already shot up some 30 feet. In addition to brief talks given by Dr. William_ J. Robbins and T. H. Everett, the anniversary ceremony included presentation of a water- color painting, showing Mr. Smith in the palm house, made by one of the younger gardeners. The margins bore the signatures of the Garden's staff and employees. At the Members' Day program May 1, Mr. Smith was presented with a resolution of congratulation from the Board of Managers. H 111 % $ 119 • Exhibit of ^ Plants Without Flowers Wins cAward for < Botanical Qarden A GOLD MEDAL was awarded to the New York Botanical Garden for its exhibit of " Plants Without Flowers" presented at the International Flower Show at Grand Central Palace March 16 to 23. This was the first International Flower Show to take place since the war. The Garden's exhibit featured seaweeds, yeasts, molds, and bacteria. An aquarium containing seaweeds from the West Coast occupied the center of the exhibit and a decorative border was made of some of the most ornamental specimens of algae from the Garden's Herbarium. Cultures of various molds, yeasts, and bacteria were shown in four- foot test tubes. Descriptive labels told briefly of the usefulness of these forms of plant life. Enlarged photographs of diatoms were shown at the side as the public approached the exhibit. Flowering plants from the Garden's conservatories occupied tables at either end. A staff of volunteers recruited by the Garden's Manhattan office served at the Flower Show each day, and a member of the staff was also present to answer technical questions. Along with announcements of the Garden's publications and activities, folders prepared by the Manhattan office— " Through the Garden Gate," " See How It Grows" and other pieces of literature— were distributed to all who stopped to view the plants without flowers. The exhibit is now temporarily placed on the main floor of the Museum Building. The New Tor\ Botanical Garden's Gold Medal Exhibit of Plants Without Flowers at the International Flower Show. March 1946. 120 B R O A D C A S T By Louis Pyenson Bugs, Beware! CONTROL MEASURES for a dozen common garden pests were given by Dr. Louis Pyenson of the State Institute of Agriculture, Farmingdale, Long Island, on the New Yor\ Botanical Garden's radio program over WNYC April 19. The information on which his tal\ was based is given here. Grubs About the first pests that the gardener will run across while digging up his plot are the white, fat, half curled grubs that represent the immature stage of such beetles as the Japanese beetle, the Asiatic garden beetle, and the June beetle. Regardless of what beetle they will develop into, they all may cause considerable damage by feeding on the roots of vegetables and lawn grasses. Some lawns can be rolled up like a carpet because the grubs have chewed off the roots about an inch below the ground. I f you find numerous grubs in the garden area that you are spading up, mix up 2Vz tablespoonsful of ethylene dichloride emulsion to each gallon of water and apply it with a sprinkling can to the prepared soil at the rate of 1 gallon per square yard. Water the garden well afterwards. The same method may be used on turf, but an easier method to kill grubs in turf is to apply a 10% DDT dust at the rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet, watering it in well afterwards. The kill is spectacular, as the grubs come to the surface of the ground before dying. to the tree trunks with sprayer or brush in a 3- to 6- foot band in the proportion of 4 tablespoonsful of a 50 percent wettable DDT powder to a gallon of water, which is twice the normal strength used on foliage. One application should be made about the middle of October to get the fall canker worms and one about the middle of February to get the spring canker worms as they crawl up the trunks to lay their eggs on the twigs. Cutworms Another early bird in the garden is the cutworm, which seems to wait for the unwary gardener to put out his cabbage, tomato, or pepper plants to begin snip-ping- off operations. The easiest way for the average small gardener to protect his plants is to put stiff paper collars loosely around the stem of each plant and push them about an inch into the soil. These can be easily made from milk containers. For gardeners with a more extensive acreage, poison baits, made up especially for cutworms, should be scattered over the field a few days before planting. Canker Worms More commonly known as inch worms, these pests are beginning their annual destruction of tree and shrub foliage now. They can be easily disposed of, however, if you are fortunate enough to have a good sprayer. Either lead arsenate or DDT can be used, but DDT appears to be the more effective material. Next year you can do away with spraying foliage for canker worm by using DDT on the trunks of the trees in much the same way as tanglefoot. Apply DDT Flea Beetles Nearly as quick on the trigger as the cutworms are the minute black flea beetles, which appear about the same time as the tomato plants are set out and proceed to pepper the leaves with tiny holes. They can destroy small plants with little foliage in a few days unless something is done to protect them. Pyrethrum, rotenone, or DDT dust can be used effectively but a continuous film on the foliage is necessary during the period of beetle abundance. 121 Aphids Nearly every vegetable, fruit, and ornamental appears to have a species of aphid that is particularly fond of its juices. In no time at all aphids can breed up in tremendous numbers. They are biological wonders, as they go through one generation after another in the summer time with a complete absence of males. On trees and shrubs you must get them . early or you don't get them at all, since they are quite well protected from sprays in the curled up foliage. The fairly new DINITRO sprays sold under a number of trade names are excellent for killing aphid eggs on trees and shrubs before the leaf- buds open. Of course, it is too late for that now. Nicotine sulfate is still about the best material for aphids beyond the egg stage on shrubs, trees, and vegetables. Cucumber Beetles An uncanny judgment as to when to come out of hibernation seems to be possessed by the cucumber beetles. They generally pick a warm, sunny weekend when no one is around to pounce on the recently emerged cucumber, squash, and melon plants, and simply cause them to disappear by Monday. Even if they don't destroy the plants, they may affect them with one of two bad diseases— cucumber wilt and encumber mosaic. The beetles should be kept entirely away from the plants if you wish to keep the plants healthy. That means dusting from the time the seedlings emerge until harvesting time with a ro tenon e- copper or cryolite- copper combination dust. Boxwood Leaf- miner One of the worst pests that the boxwood grower has had to contend with is finally on the verge of being conquered, even wiped out. I am referring to the boxwood leaf- miner, which has been very difficult to keep down without considerable labor. Recent experiments that I have conducted on the grounds of the State Institute of Agriculture show that one DDT spray applied thoroughly to all sides of the foliage just prior to any adult emergence ( generally ekrly in May) will destroy every single fly coming out of the foliage for the entire emergence period of 2 to 3 weeks. Rains do not impair its effectiveness providing suitable stickers are used in the spray. Mexican Bean Beetle We can always be sure of one pest that will be with us in the garden— the Mexican bean beetle. The beetles come out of hibernation about the time the earliest planted beans are getting their second or third set of leaves. Both they and their spiny yellow larvae do considerable damage to bean foliage. We still have to rely on pyrethrum or rotenone dust to keep these pests under control. Two or three dustings at weekly intervals are essential— and remember, the underside of the foliage must be hit. Chinch Bugs In June some of our once beautiful lawns will begin to show brown patches— those chinch bugs again. But this year you will be equipped to deal with them more effectively than ever before. Two new dust materials are available, both of which are much better than the rotenone or nicotine formerly recommended. They are a 10% SABIDILLA dust and a 10% DDT dust. Either of these materials applied in early June and early August at the rate of 2Vz pounds per 1,000 square feet and raked in well should nearly eliminate chinch bug trouble. Corn- Borer We also have two new chemicals to help conquer the European corn- borer which attacks nearly all succulent stemmed plants, especially sweet corn, dahlias, and gladiolus. One of these materials is known as RYANEX and is obtained from a tropical shrub; the other chemical is the well knowrn DDT, used as a 3% or 5% dust. Either of these materials applied in dust form at five- day intervals during the hatching periods of the corn- borer eggs ( June and August) gives better control than rotenone. Slugs Many gardens in damp seasons or in damp locations are troubled by slimy, gray, spotted creatures that come out only after dark and feed on vegetables and 122 flower foliage and in addition leave slimy trails wherever they go. If you suspect slugs, go out after dark with a flashlight and inspect your plants. You will see them all over the foliage, if they are present. Small heaps of a prepared poison bait containing methaldehyde placed at intervals in the garden will effectively curb these night prowlers. Japanese Beetles We must not forget the Japanese beetle, which is sure to be with us again in July and August, chewing on everything that appears edible. So far the best protection for foliage has been obtained with the use of DDT, which will not only kill them but seems also to keep them away from foliage coated with it. DDT tends to stay effective for about three weeks, so that one application in early July and another some three weeks later should give ample protection to foliage for the season. Remember, DDT is a poison and should not be used on fruits or vegetable parts that are to be eaten. Fruit trees can be sprayed with DDT safely only if the fruit is not to be harvested until twc months later. Notices and Reviews of Recent Books { All publications mentioned here may be consulted in the Library of The New York Botanical Garden or may be purchased on order through the Library.) Nine Experts Solve Dilemmas For the Home Gardener GROUNDS FOR UVING. Edited by " Van Wie Ingham and Richard B. Farnham. 323 pages, indexed, illustrated by George J. Baetzhold. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick. 1946. $ 2.50. The gay paper cover of this book was its first attraction, depicting the enclosed outdoor living- room which is essential to my happiness; I have never understood the American propensity for goldfish- bowl existence, and have always loved the European way of placing houses directly on the street front, with gardens for outdoor living behind, completely screened from public view, and high walls even shutting out the adjacent neighbor's roving gaze. So it was pleasant to find my own desire for privacy, even slightly emphasized by Charles H. Connors, the first of the nine experts who have undertaken this comprehensive and valuable contribution to the solution of the many problems besetting the small home owner who is eager to use his limited grounds to the best advantage. The volume is full of charts, references and helpful suggestions, some new and most welcome even to those of us who have done much reading and given much thought to this engrossing subject. It is particularly good to be reminded of the many excellent government and college bulletins available today; we are apt to overlook the sources of information so easily available to us. Landscaping in miniature— lawns, shade trees, flowers, vegetables, fruits, soil and outdoor construction are all ably covered. The chapter on flowers is particularly good, encouraging the amateur, reassuring and giving confidence to the beginner with common- sense observations and practical instructions; with wise cautions against undertaking too much— advice which the over- ambitious would do well to heed, or the pleasure which should be derived from the outdoor living room will turn to gall and wormwood! I was surprised, in the section on fruit trees, that their beauty when in flower is not more stressed— that all too brief moment of sheer, exquisite joy for which one waits all winter; and that the espaliered tree is not mentioned for its highly decorative and space- saving qualities. In the chapter on construction, the type of wall preferred is not to my taste, and I looked in vain for practical suggestions for a watering system which would save the poor householder hours of tiresome toil which could better be 123 devoted to relaxation or other pursuits. Was it not the Romans who used overflow bath water for irrigation of their grounds? To be able, with a turn of the wrist, to attend to this most irritating of summer chores, is a dream I wish our nine experts had put their minds on causing to come true! A permanent, efficient installation of some sort should not be too difficult of realization these days of amazing modern improvements. But in spite of this lack, more than made up for in other respects, here is a book which should be on every gardener's bookshelf— the acid test being, that having just read and enjoyed it, I have ordered it to add to mine, and expect to turn often to its pages for solutions to my own dilemmas. KATHERINE G. FENIMORE COOPER. Nutrition from a New Food THE USEFUL SOYBEAN — A plus factor in modern living. Mildred Lager. 295 pages, indexed. McGraw- Hill Book Co., Now York. 1945. $ 2.75. Miss Lager is a pioneer in nutritional education and in introducing new foods to the public. In this book she has given a b<- ief history of soybeans and their uses. Especially striking is the description of their increase in importance as a food product during World War II. Miss Lager's statements concerning the value of ( he soybean in nutrition are backed by scientific facts coming from some of the leading laboratories and nutrition experts. She gives facts concerning the protein, vitamin and mineral content of soybeans. One chapter is devoted to the use of soybeans in industry. She includes 350 recipes for preparing soybean foods. ILDA MCVEIGH. Manifold View Of American Forestry BEHOLD OUR GREEN MANSIONS. Richard H. D. Boerker. 313 pages, illustrated, indexed. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. N. C. 1945. ? 4- A compendium of useful facts about forestry in the United States, " Behold Our Green Mansions," is written in a manner to make a strong appeal both to the professional forester and the lay reader. One is impressed particularly by the thoroughness with which every phase of forestry is treated and the reliability of the statistics presented. A wealth of excellent photographs illustrate the points brought out in the text. In them certain minor errors were noted, as follows: In the last page of photographs following page 30, the bottom one should be labeled " The Flowed Lands," instead of " Blue Mountain Lake." The titles of the two photographs on the fourth page immediately following page 78 should be transposed. The preface enumerates the many ways in which the forests of this country and their products contribute to the national economy. Next, forest fires and their de-structiveness and provision for forest recreation are covered well. The discussion of progress in wild life management is comprehensive. The book is particularly thorough in treating the relationship of forests to stream flow, soil conservation and flood control. Particular mention is made of the value of forestry on the upper watersheds of streams to control floods. This is followed by a summary of Federal legislation for flood control which, as the author is very careful to point out, is not a cure- all. A thorough discussion of all forest products, with considerable statistical information regarding production, is contained in the chapter on lumber and its by- products. In the chapter on the forest as a livestock range, a most interesting picture of the livestock history is given of the West in relation to forestry, with especial mention of what government control has accomplished in the West with regard to grazing. The author points out the need of co- ordinating grazing and timber production in the Northeast. He could well have emphasized more strongly how detrimental grazing is to farm woodlands in this region. The relation of the farmer to forestry and the importance of farmlands in producing forest crops for both local use and for sale are brought out rather well, and the author points out how farmers can and should support forestry. In the chapter on " Fire, the Destroyer" it is stated on pasre 149 that one fire in New York State in 1903 burned 450,000 acres. That was the total area burned that year, rather than the area of a single fire. A brief but excellent summary is given of insect enemies and tree diseases, par-ticularly the chestnut bark disease and the 124 white pine blister rust among the tree diseases, together with a brief discussion of wood rotting fungi and others. The author devotes a chapter to the leadership of the Federal government in forestry, taking a great deal of his material from the so- called Copeland Report of 1933 and the report of the Joint Congressional Committee on Forestry in 1941. He shows an appreciation of the fact that the burden of responsibilitv for developing forestry on all but Federal lands lies upon the states. A complete chapter is devoted to the forestry problems of the South, which the author points out is particularly important as a forest producing region. Mention is made of successful European community forests and the advantages of this ' type of forest to American communities. The last chapter covers economic factors in private forestry. The author feels that privately owned forests cannot meet future demands for timber crops. He recommends the increasing of publicly owned forests from the present 196,000,000 acres to 315,000,000 acres. It appears that he is influenced in this recommendation by the Report of the Joint Committee on Forestry referred to above. He points out that - public help is needed for private forests. Then he tackles the extremely controversial question of public regulation, Beginning with the statement that " as long as the private owner and the states cannot effectively handle the forest resources problem, public regulation is inevitable." However, Mr. Boerker evidently is not in entire sympathy with the United States Forest Service in demanding Federal regulation, for he states that he favors " local legislation and enforcement with a minimum of Federal supervision"— a position with which most foresters and timberland owners will agree. WILLIAM G. HOWARD. Director, Lands and Forests, N. Y. State Conservation Dept. Long- Needed Handbook GUIDE TO SOUTHERN TREES. E. S. Harrar and J. G. Harrar. 712 pages, illustrated, indexed. Whittlesey House, McGraw- Hill Book Co., New York. 1946. $ 4.50. This is an excellent handbook of the' trees indigenous to the region south of the Mason and Dixon Line, the Ohio River, and an extension of the Missouri- Arkansas boundary to the western limit of southern forests. Somewhat over 350 species are discussed and more than 200 are illustrated by excellent line drawings showing all important characters. There is a handy introductory portion giving the basic concepts of nomenclature and taxonomy, an illustrated glossary of terms employed, and a 19- page key leading sometimes to genera, sometimes to individual species. Genera with more than one species in the area have a key to species included after the generic description. Common names, as well as scientific names and authorities, are given for each species. The specific descriptions are quite complete, including in most cases statements concerning the habit, leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs, bark, habitat, distribution, and economic importance. There has" long been a need for such a book as this. H. N. MOLDENKE. Beneficial Bacteria MICROBES OF MERIT. Otto Rahn. 277 pages, illustrated, indexed. Jacques Cattell Press, Lancaster, Pa. 1945. $ 4- 00. It is indeed high time that someone called our attention to the fact that not all microbes produce disease, and no one is better qualified to do so than Dr. Rahn, • who has spent years working and teaching in this field. His book emphasizes the large number of harmless and beneficial bacteria; he tells us that only one out of every 30,000 bacteria produces disease. He discusses briefly the characteristics of micro- organisms and describes the various types of beneficial ones, not forgetting the yeasts and molds, in such a simple manner that anyone can understand him. His illustrations are especially worthy of note; they add greatly to the interest and clarity of the book, and some of them are really fascinating. In spite of its simplicity, however, this book is remarkably complete and accurate, and should appeal to scientist and non-scientist alike. It should prove especially interesting to science students of high school age. JEAN E. CONN, New Haven, Conn. 125 Rice- Planter's Tale Of a Century Ago THE SOUTH CAROLINA RICE PLANTATION as revealed in the papers of Robert P. W. Allston. Edited by J. H. Easterby. 478 pages, indexed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 194S. $ 5. Mr. Easterby has given us a painstaking, intelligent study of rice planting in the low country of South Carolina, more specifically in the Georgetown district, from 1820 to 1868. The book has three divisions:— first in fifty pages, an interesting account of the life of Robert F. W. Allston, graduate of West Point, engineer, lawyer, governor of South Carolina, but above all rice- planter. Two hundred pages of the Allston family letters follow, then come another two hundred pages of overseer accounts, slave documents and factors' correspondence. At one time Robert Allston owned seven rice plantations, all situated in the tidal swamps of the Georgetown district that lies along the neck of land between the Peedee and Waccamaw rivers. Rice planting was big business. One of the Allston plantations one year produced a crop of 20,000 bushels of rice. The documents show men and women doing honest but difficult work, day bv day, year after year— a far cry from the romance of the legendary South, or the pigsties of " Tobacco Road." We should be grateful to Mr. Easterby for a job well done. LEE WICKER KINARD, Winthrop College Rock Hill, South Carolina. Conifers for Cultivation THE FRIENDLY EVERGREENS. L. L. Kumlien. 230 pages, indexed, illustrated. D. Hill Nursery Company, Dundee, 111. 1946. $ 6. Here is a beautifully illustrated volume, worthy of inclusion in the library of everyone interested in the horticultural aspects of coniferous evergreens. The abundant drawings, black- and- white photographs, and colored pictures were well made and are excellently reproduced. And in the chapters are accounts, not only descriptive of most coniferous evergreens in cultivation, but also covering pruning, diseases, insects, landscape uses, soils, fertilizers, transplanting, propagation and other relevant topics. E. H. FULLING, Editor, The Botanical Review. Chromosomal Point of View GENETICS. Edgar Altenburg. 452 pages, illustrated, indexed. Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1945. $ 3.20. This is a general text covering the entire field of genetics. It approaches the subject primarily from the chromosomal point of view and includes more maten .1 on cnro-mosome behavior and the chromosomal basis of inheritance than do most elementary texts. A very helpful innovation is the inclusion of a brief summary at the end of each chapter, which should prove of distinct use to the beginning student. There are numerous problems, which will also serve to increase his understanding of the subject. Many of the figures are new and some, notably the chromosome map of Drosophila on pages 194- 195, are interesting and ingenious. No book of this sort can include everything, but it seems to the present reviewer that the author might well have added a brief discussion of the remarkable studies in physiological genetics which have been made on Neurospora. Nothing is said about plant chimeras, which have thrown a good deal of light on the genetic basis of developmental problems. In general, the chapter on development seems a little limited. The introduction of the student to the chromosomal and genie mechanisms before he has studied the genetic facts is perhaps not as good pedagogy as taking up Men-delism first and passing from it to the physical basis of inheritance. This, however, is an arguable point. The author has taken over into all his genotypic formulae the use of the wild- tvpe symbol + , as has long been done with Drosophila, With plants this sometimes results in rather awkward situations since the wild- type may be unknown and the choice of a particular trait as wild- type must therefore be arbitrary. It might be simpler to give a definite letter symbol for every pair of alleles. These are minor points, however, and the text in general seems to be excellent. It should prove a valuable addition to the list of books available to the teacher of introductory courses in genetics. EDMUND W. SINNOTT, Yale University. 126 A Pioneer Writes Again On Begonia Culture BEGONIAS AND HOW TO GROW THEM. Bessie Raymond Buxton. 163 pages, illustrated, indexed. Issued under the auspices of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Oxford University Press, New York. 1946. $ 2.25. In 1939 the author published a book under this same title and it answered a long- felt need and reawakened lively interest in begonias. The new book embodies much of the first volume— thus it is not exactly a new book, but an old one with additions. New species and varieties increase the list of begonias and more photographs are both helpful and interesting. There is a chapter devoted to tuberous- rooted begonias, as well as one which discusses begonia shows. An appendix describes the American Begonia Society. This book makes a subtle appeal to the home grower; herein lies one of its high values. It is so designed as to make a delightful hobby workable for the many who have but few leisure hours. In spots there are accumulated bits of information that are somewhat confusing, as in the paragraph on hairy- leaved begonias under Pests and Diseases. Also one learns from experience and from observation that the Calla begonia is not alone as a contradictory plant among begonias. The reviewer questions the wisdom of such labels as " a difficult plant to grow" and " the result is a sickly plant." With a wealth of good material scattered through its pages, its usefulness can scarcely be overestimated in the large particular field in which it serves, and in which the author is an outstanding pioneer. For those who have come further along the road, one hopes for the more technical book, one which will lay down definite rules for begonia culture, such being the result of purely scientific research. RALPH P. SISSON, Hopkinton, R. f. C' TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ROSES to be held June 15 to July 15 at the Rose Capital of America PREVIEW the new Modern Roses developed and tested by the J. 8C P. Department of Plant Research. REVIEW the 3000 different varieties of Roses growing in our display gardens. Jackson & Perkins Co. NEWARK, NEW YORK 127 Current Literature* At a Glance By Harriet K. Morse Fuchsias in Color. The Fuchsia Book for 1944, published last year by the American Fuchsia Society, contains 22 handsome illustrations in color. A descriptive check list of varieties introduced since 1934 is of great interest, as is the list of nurseries which furnish true- to- name stock. Seed Germination. The Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin for March 1946 publishes a list of some 150 garden flowers, vegetables and herbs with the number of days required for their germination. Radishes appear in two days while among the slowest are Gloxinia and Lychnis ( 21 days). Delphiniums from Seed. Arnold Zurawski, writing in the 1945 publication of the American Delphinium Society, presents an article of special appeal to those who would like to grow choice delphiniums from seed. Many other authoritative articles also appear in the book. Novelty Tomatoes. Here is a story about the growing of 22 kinds of miniature tomatoes as a hobby. Wilma S. Soule ( in Home Gardening for the South, March 1946) describes her collections and comments on their uses as food and decoration. Among them are red and yellow * All publications mentioned here— and many others-— may be consulted in the Library of the Botanical Garden, in the Museum Building. pear tomatoes, plum, cherry, strawberry, peach, persimmon, green gage and apple tomatoes. They are disease resistant and prolific, she says, and they escape the commercial markets because they do not endure much handling. Rubber. Under the title, " Rubber, Heritage of the American Tropics," W. Gordon Whaley in The Scientific Monthly for January gives a concise history of rubber from the 16th century on, when the early Spanish explorers in America first sent back reports of this curious milky substance found in trees. The history is brought up to date with a description of current production problems, including disease control, in different parts of the world. Postage Stamps. In Frontiers magazine for February, stamps of the world have been singled out for the story they tell of the characteristic flora of the country concerned. Costa Rica shows the fruit of the chocolate tree; Bulgaria a full blown rose beside a perfume flask; New Zealand, the kauri tree; Madagascar, the traveler's tree; Colombia, a banana, and so on. The United Nations stamp carries a laurel branch with berries. For further pursuit of the subject, the following articles might be consulted: " Plants on Stamps," Gardeners' Chronicle of America, April 1945 ; " Trees and Postage Stamps," American Forests, October 1940; " Breadfruit Tree Stamps," Nature Magazine, November 1939; " Things Apothecary on Postage Stamps,'' American Druggist, Mav 1940; " Agriculture in Stamps of the Pan American Republics," Bulletin of the Pan American Union, March 1939. COSTA'S Penthouse Landscapers BArclay 7- 0764 196 Greenwich Street New York 7, N. Y. 128 £ PJ( m < jtfAead' , fok %/ ctek & ieeb • Many, many trees have become war casualties. Injuries, diseases and insects have made headway during years when expert care was scarce. More than 700 Davey Tree Surgeons have been in the armed services. Now they are coming back to the work they love. They are good men— skilled, reliable, diligent. Soon the Davey organization will be well along toward its prewar ability to serve you. Plan now to have our local representative examine your trees. Let Davey Tree Surgeons minister to their needs . . . restore their health and vigor. DAVEY TREE EXPERT COMPANY • KENT, OHIO MARTIN I. DAVEY, PRESIDENT TWO G E N E R A T I O N S OF TREE S A V I N G SERVICE 129 For the Blind. In a foreword to his brochure, on " Gardening for Health and Happiness," Dr. Hugh Findlay, the author, says, " This book is prepared primarily for the blind who love nature and gardens, and those who might add more vegetables to the world's great storehouse." This informative little book will, it is hoped, be produced in braille, that the blind may read for themselves how to Become vegetable gardeners. Orchid Magazines. The Orchid Digest, spring 1946, issued by the Orchid Society of California, lists six periodicals on the orchid in English, besides one in Portuguese and one in Spanish. Library Acquisitions Some of the Library's lately arrived purchases are briefly described here. Two early works on the camellia have been reprinted by E. A. Mcllhenny of Avery Island, Louisiana. One is the Monography of the Genus Gamellia by the Abbe Lorenzo Berlese, as it first appeared in an English translation in 1838; the other, " New Iconography of the Camellias" by Alexandre Verschaf-felt ( 1848- 1860), translated from the French by Mr. Mcllhenny himself. Only the texts of these two books are given; not the illustrations. Pioneer Settlement in the Asiatic Tropics by Karl J. Pelzer. Studies in land utilization and agriculture in southeastern Asia. American Geographical Society Serial Publication No. 29. 1945. Darwin on Humus and the Earthworm, with an introduction by Sir Albert Howard. A 1945 edition by Faber & Faber of London of Charles Darwin's volume of 1881 entitled " The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observations on their Habits." Five illustrated volumes of Flora Agaricina Danica, dated 1941, have been received from Copenhagen. Prepared by J. E. Lange, they are published by the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College, Department of Plant Pathology. Several volumes of the long- awaited Flore General de Vlndo- Ckine have lately arrived from abroad. Startling New DAHLIAS ROYAL MINIATURES Perfect small flowers of Formal Decorative type . . . iV- i in. or less in dia. on diminutive plants. Beautiful colors— lovely for room decoration. White— Yellow— Blue— Bronze- Lavender SPECIAL ROYAL COLLECTIONS Collection E— 5 roots, 1 each of above colors, ( Value 0 . ) $ 4.50 Collection F— 10 roots, 2 each of above colors, ( Value # 10.) $ 8.50 Sensational Novelty PINK REGALIA Informal Decorative Type Offered last Spring for the first time. Blooms 7 to 9 in. across in lively, intense pink. Sturdy bushes, 4V2 to 5 ft. high. Wonderful for garden and cutting. $ 3.50 each; 10 for $ 31.50 132- 138 Church St., Dept. BO N. Y. 8 Suburban Stores: Englewood, N. T. White Plains, N. Y. Newark, N. J. Stamford, Conn. Hempstead, L. I. 130 Notes, News, and Comment A. A. A. S. At the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis the last week in March a paper was given by Dr. H. W. Rickett on " Travels of Sesse and Mociiio in New Spain" and by Dr. W. H. Camp on " Biochemical Clin'es, Polymorphic Populations, and the Problems of Specific Delimitation of the Cinchona Population of Ecuador." Charles L. Gilly, who was formerly botanical artist at the New York Botanical Garden and who is now teaching in Iowa State College after spending several years in Mexico, presented a detailed paper on " Distribution and Variability in Teosinte." These were all given at sessions of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Mr. Gilly was co- author with Dr. Camp of an extensive article on " The Structure and Origin of Species'' which appeared in Brittonia in 1943. Dr. Ilda McVeigh, Technical Assistant at the Garden, was one of four authors of a paper presented on the " Comparative Studies on the B- Vitamin Content of Wholesale Seeds Imported Grasses Lawn Mixtures Seaboard Seed Company Philadelphia 47, Penna. Trisomic and Disomic Maize," representing work that she did while at Yale University, and also presented a paper prepared in co- operation with William J. Robbins on " The Effect of L— Hydroxy-proline on Trichophyton mentagrophytes." Dr. Margaret Fulford of the University of Cincinnati, who has twice been a recipient of the Marshall A. Howe Memorial Fellowship at the Garden, presented " A Discussion of Phytogeography of the Hepatics of North and South America." Chairman. Dr. W. H. Camp was elected chairman of the systematic section of the Botanical Society of America for the year at the meeting in St. Louis at the end of March. He was also appointed chairman of the committee on nomenclature for the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and was elected a member of a committee for drafting a constitution for the newly organized Society for the Study of Evolution. Lectures. Dr. Bassett Maguire went to Hanover, N. H., March 19 to address the Dartmouth Science Club March 20 on his exploration of Table Mountain ( Tafelberg) in Surinam. He also talked on his expedition before the Quarantine Club in the New York City Federal Building March 27 and the Science Club at Columbia April 8. Dr. A. B. Stout went to Boston last month to address the Chestnut Hill Garden Club April 2 on " Lilies for Gardens." T. H. Everett spoke before the John Burroughs Garden Club of Yonkers, an Affiliate of the New York Botanical Garden, April 17 on " Garden Soils and Composts." Dr. William J. Robbins addressed the Greenwich Garden Club April 16 and gave demonstrations on " The Botanical Aspects of Penicillin and Similar Substances." Dr. H. N. Moldenke talked on " Treasures of the Watchung Mountains" before the Garden Club of the Oranges April 2. The Katonah Women's Club was hostess in its club house to two clubs in Bedford Township April 11 to hear a talk by Elizabeth C. Hall on " The New York Botanical Garden's Library and its Services." Miss Hall illustrated her lecture with books, booklets, lists, prints, and other materials from the library. 131 On his return from St. Louis, Dr. W. H. Camp on April 1 addressed a group at Ohio State University, where he had taught for ten years before joining the Garden's staff in 1935, speaking on " Wartime Experiences of a Botanist." Field Work. Marjorie J. French of Amherst, Mass., a graduate of Oberlin and a student in the School of Library Science at Simmons College, spent a week at the New York Botanical Garden last month doing library cataloguing as part of the field work required in her course. Solidago. Dr. Arthur Cronquist worked in the National Herbarium in Washington, D. C, at the Bureau of Plant Industry in Beltsville, Maryland, and in the Gray Herbarium at Cambridge, Mass., during part of February and March studying specimens of Solidago. Before he returned from the St. Louis meetings the first of April he stopped at Notre Dame and Ohio State Universities to inspect additional specimens of Composites. Conferences. Staff members who attended the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis the last week in March addressed the monthly conference of the scientific staff and registered students of the Garden April 10. They were Drs. W. H. Camp, Arthur Cronquist, F. W. Kavanagh, Ilda McVeigh, and H. W. Rickett. At the previous conference, March 13, Dr. H. A. Gleason spoke on " Trying to Maintain some Well Known Names" and Dr. H. N. Moldenke on " Some Little Known Genera of Verbenaceae." Groups. M. Truman Fossum, Assistant Professor in the Department of Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University, brought a group of 22 students on a special trip to New York March 16 to visit the New York Botanical Garden. They were taken on a tour of the Museum Building and Range I and were shown the Garden's short motion picture film. Among other groups which have recently made guided tours of the Garden are a Boy Scout troop from the Bronx and a sixth grade class from P. S. 114. Visitors. Dr. Albert Zeller of Basle, who is working on a nutrition project for the Swiss government, visited the New York Botanical Garden in early March. He was particularly interested in Dr. Robbins' work on nutrition in which fungi are used as the experimental material. Dr. Budd E. Smith of Coker College, Hartsville, S. C, came to the Garden last month to consult with E. J. Alexander on his collection of South Carolina plants. Jeannette E. Graustein, Professor of Plant Morphology at the University of Delaware, spent part of her spring vacation working in the Garden's library on a research project in the correspondence of John Torrey. Richard A. Howard, who has recently been released from service with the Armed Forces, came to New York from the Gray Herbarium and worked April 10- 13 in the herbarium here on the flora of the West Indies. Among other visitors of recent weeks have been Henry Teuscher of the Montreal Botanical Garden; Olav Einset of Lofthus, Norway; F. W. Went from the California Institute of Technology; Ruth Patrick, Pennsylvania School of Horticulture at Ambler; Edgar T. Wherry from the University of Pennsylvania; Robert T. Clausen, Cornell; C. V. Morton, Smithsonian Institution; A. J. Grout, on his way from Florida to Vermont ; George H. Spaulding, a former student gardener who has been serving with the Marines in the Pacific and who is now returning to his nursery business in California; William M. O'Sullivan, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Stanley Smith, Cornell University. Conference. Research carried on in the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico during the summer of 1943 by Dr. H. W. Rickett formed the subject of the monthly conference of the scientific staff and registered students of the Garden February 13, when Dr. Rickett spoke on " The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain." This expedition, headed by Martin de Sesse, began its work in 1787 under the authority of Charles I I I ; it did not return until 1803, when the court at Madrid was completely indifferent to the flora of New Spain. Much of the work of this group of botanists was therefore lost, until Sesse 132 SEED COLLECTORS We are Interested in purchasing Tree— Shrub— Perennial Seeds Correspondence invited HERBST BROTHERS 92 Warren St. New York 7, N. Y. AETNA PHOTO ENGRAVING CO., INC. 305 EAST 47th STREET NEW YORK 17, N. Y. MAKERS OF PRINTING PLATES PROCESS BENDAY LINE & HALFTONE and Mochio's works were published in Mexico near the end of the 19th century. The expedition, however, resulted * in important botanical collections, now deposited in Madrid; these are of value in our knowledge of Mexican botany. Dr. Rickett deciphered and translated all of the correspondence and records relating to their explorations which he was able to locate in the Mexican archives; for the first time detailed dates and itineraries of their travels are available. The complete story will be published in a special issue of Chronica Botanica. Easter. Pre- war crowds invaded the New York Botanical Garden on Easter Sunday, where flowers were blooming in abundance both outdoors and in. Approximately 30,000 people were clocked entering the grounds in automobiles and on foot, and of these more than 7,000 visited the Easter display in House 6 of the Main Conservatories. Among the flowers arranged there in garden effect were Darwin tulips, marguerites, butterfly- flowers ( Schisanthus hybrids), cinerarias, azaleas, and showy African daisies of several genera. Outdoors, the late flowering cherries were at the peak of their bloom. The first of the poet's narcissus came out in time to blend with the earlier yellow daffodils, which had remained in prime condition throughout the long cool weeks since they first opened. There were still magnolias in flower at the edge of the woodlands in the southeast section of the grounds, and the many dogwoods gave promise of flowering in another week. The first of the massed azaleas were showing color, and at the entrance to the rock garden the Chinese redbud ( Cercis chinensis) was brilliant with its deep magenta flowers j ust opening. In the rock garden itself, which had been opened to the public for the first time this season on the Sunday previous, many hundreds of visitors enioyed the first of the primulas, epimediums, grape hyacinths and other small bulbs, violas, Virginia bluebells, moss pink ( Phlox subulata) of several colors, rock- cress, evergreen candytuft, the lilac flowers of Daphne Genkzva and the pink of Daphne Cneorum, and many other flowers. In several of the tulip beds adjacent to the conservatories, early varieties had come into bloom. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Officers JOSEPH R. SWAN, President HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN, Vice- president JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- president ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary Elective Managers WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT MRS. ELON HUNTINCTON FRAX EDWIN DE T. BECHTEL HENRY F. DU PONT MARSHALL FIELD REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, S. J. E. POWELL, JR. HOOKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER WILLIAM J. ROBBINS CLAREKCE MCK. LEWIS A. PERCY SAUNDERS E. D. MERRILL EDMUND W. SINNOTT ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY CHAUNCEY STILLMAN H. HOBART PORTER SIDNEY T. WEINBERG Ex- Officio Managers WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of Neiv York MARY E. DILLON, President of the Board of Education ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner Appointive Managers By the Torrey Botanical Club H. A. GLEASON By Columbia University MAKSTON T. BOGEKT MARCUS M. RHOADES CHARLES W. BALLARD SAM F. TRELEASE THE STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. H. A. GLEASON, P H . D. HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE FRED J. SEAVER, PH. D., SC. D. A. B. STOUT, P H . D. BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. H. W. RICKETT, P H . D. BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D. ELIZABETH C HALL, A. B., B. S. ELMER N. MITCHELL Director Assistant Director and Curator Assistant Director Head Curator Curator of Education and Laboratories Plant Pathologist Bibliographer Emeritus Bibliographer Curator Associate Curator Librarian Photographer E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium W. H. CAMP, P H . D . Assistant Curator E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Assistant Curator ARTHUR CRONQUIST, P H . D . Assistant Curator F. W. KAVANAGH, P H . D . Assistant Curator SELMA KOJAN, B. S. Technical Assistant ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant ILDA MCVEIGH, P H . D . Technical Assistant MARY STEBBINS, M. A. Technical Assistant CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal THOMAS H. EVERETT. N. D. HORT. Horticulturist G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium OTTO DEGENER. M. S. Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany A. J. GROUT. P H . D . Honorary Curator of Mosses TNEZ M. HARTNG Assistant Honorary Curator of Mosses JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diafnmaceae B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany F. THEI. ANSON S. PECKHAM Honorary Curator, Iris mid Narcissus Collections A. C. PFANPER Superintendent of Buildinas and Grounds To reach the Botanical Garden, take tlie Independent Subway to Bedford Park Boulevard station; use trie Bedford Park Boulevard exit and walk east. Or take the Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Garden or the 200th Street station, the New York Central to the Botanical Garden station, or the Webster Avenue surface car to Bedford. P^ rlf " Bntilpwarrl... . __ Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Gar PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Books, Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustrations of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 13.50. Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A, Rydberg. 969 pages and 601 figures. 1932. Price, $ 5.50 postpaid. The Bahama Flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. 695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and thallophytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections, bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25. North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates of Carex and related plants by Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 1 0 ^ x 13|/£ inches; bound $ 17.50: unbound $ 15.50. Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25. Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles by Marion A. &? G. L. Wittrock in the Journal for March 1942. 15 cents. Vegetables and Fruits for the Home Garden. Four authoritative articles reprinted from the Journal, 21 pages, illustrated. Edited by Carol H. Woodward. 1941. 15 cents- The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries by E. J. Alexander and Carol H. Woodward. 28 pages, illustrated with photographs and drawings; bound with paper. 1941. 25 cents. Catalog of Hardy Trees and Shrubs. A list of the woody plants being grown outdoors at the New York Botanical Garden in 1942, in 127 pages with notes, a map, and 20 illustrations. 75 cents. Succulent Plants of Netv and Old World Deserts by E. J. Alexander. 64 pages, indexed. 350 species treated, 100 illustrated. Bound in paper. 1942. Second edition 1944. 50 cents. Periodicals Addisonia, annually, devoted exclusively to colored plates accompanied by popular descriptions of flowering plants; eight plates in each number, thirty- two in each volume. Now in its twenty- second volume. Subscription price, $ 10 a volume ( four years). Not offered in exchange. Free to members of the Garden. Journal of The New York Botanical Garden, monthly, containing news, book reviews, and non- technical articles on botany and horticulture. Subscription, $ 1.50 a year; single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden. Now in its 47th volume. Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise; devoted to fungi. including lichens, containing technical articles and news and notes of general interest. $ 7 a year; single copies $ 1.50 each. Now in its thirty- eighth volume. Twenty- four Year Index volume $ 3. Brittonia. A series of botanical papers published in co- operation with the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Subscription price, $ 5 a volume ($ 4 to members of the Society). Now in its fifth volume. North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North America, including Greenland, the West Indies, and Central America. 94 parts now issued. Not offered in exchange. Prices of the separate parts on request. Contributions from The New York Botanical Garden. A series of technical papers reprinted from journals other than the above. 25 cents each, $ 5 a volume. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. A collection of scientific papers. 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