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VOL. XXXIX No. 466 OCTOBER, 1938 PAGES 221— 248 JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York, N. Y. Entered at the Post Office in New York, N. Y., as second- class matter. Annual subscription $ 1.00 Single copies 10 cents Free to members of the Garden JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor OCTOBER, 1938 RED OAK ( Quercus rubra), ONE OF THE NATIVE TREES STILL STANDING ALONG RIVERSIDE DRIVE NEAR 180TH ST. Cover Photograph by Fleda Griffith TREES AND SHRUBS IN N EW YORK CITY AND SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR GROWTH Nelson Miller Wells 221 HABITAT HUNTING IN MOUNTAINS OF THE SOUTHEAST W I TH STUDENT GARDENERS E. J. Alexander 228 WOODY PLANTS W H I C H THRIVE IN N EW YORK'S LESS CONGESTED ZONES Photographs by Fleda Griffith and Nelson Miller Wells 234- 235 T H E GARDENERS FORUM 240 CURRENT LITERATURE AT A GLANCE Carol H. Woodward 241 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 242 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 246 PERIODICALS AND BOOKS Scientists and laymen alike are served by the publications of The New York Botanical Garden. With T^ orth American Flora, which eventually will contain a monograph of every plant family of this continent, taxonomists are kept informed of the identification of every known kind of plant of the United States, Mexico, Central America and the adjacent islands, and, on the north, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. Brittonia, named in honor of the founder and first director of the Garden, contains technical articles on plant identification and descriptions of new species. Addisonia, named in honor of Addison Brown, Dr. N. L. Britton's collaborator in preparing the famous Britton fe? Brown volumes on the flora of North America, gives complete descriptions and full- page colored plates of flowering plants of exceptional interest which have been successfully raised at The New York Botanical Garden or which are native to North America. Mycologia is the official organ of the Mycological Society of America. Issued every other month, it contains technical material, illustrated, on all forms and phases of the fungi. The Garden's Journal, on the other hand, is meant to be popular, and vet to present in authoritative manner to its readers articles of interest on horticulture and botany, nature study, and kindred subjects, besides a survey of the current activities of the Garden. " Plants of the Vicinity of New York" by H. A. Gleason is also intended for the people. This convenient volume dealing with flowering plants which grow within 100 miles of New York, is a simple guide to the flowers of woods and fields usable by anyone who can distinguish a petal from a leaf. While Rydberg's " Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America" is a bofanist's handbook, like Britton 6? Brown's " Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada", it can be used to advantage by the amateur. Such works, which are merely representative of the Botanical Garden's productions, are one of the institution's major services to the world of science and to popular education. JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN VOL. XXXIX OCTOBER, 1938 No. 466 Trees and Shrubs In £ New York Qity cAnd Some Observations On Their Growth « y ^ ehon miier Weiu '-' Landscape Architect The Second Zone ' | ' HE exact boundaries of the second zone of plant tolerance -*- in New York City are not clearly defined. From the edge of the first zone, where the paramount factors are those which limit the successful growth of plants, the second zone extends throughout the built- up business sections and hotel and residential areas, where tall buildings and pavements are practically continuous. About the same growing conditions exist here as in the areas defined as the first zone except for the somewhat less intense pollution of the atmosphere. Substructures which ramify in the soil affect the movement of soil waters; topsoil of a quality sufficient to support plant life exists in only meagre quantities; natural rainfall is collected into storm sewers without benefiting the soil; and dense shade is created by the tall buildings. The plants mentioned as tolerant in the first zone stand a better chance for success in the second, and in addition there are a number of others which will grow here although they vary in the degree of their success. Among the trees, Norway maples and pin oaks have been considered appropriate and each kind has been quite freely planted over a period of years. The pin oak appears to have been the more successful of the two, although it usually loses its excurrent habit and assumes a stunted appearance. Very likely if they were 221 222 tried, the red, scarlet, and shingle oaks would be as good as or better than the pin oaks. Even the Turkey and mossy- cup oaks are reasonably good in Central Park. Pin oaks, having a fibrous root system, transplant easily, even when they have not been nursery grown. The roots of red oaks are coarse and are seldom kept adequately pruned in nurseries; the trees are therefore more risky to transplant. This difference is undoubtedly one reason for the prevalence of pin oaks and the scarcity of reds, though the heavy, glossy leaves of red oaks stand up well during summer droughts while pin oak leaves frequently appear shriveled. Other trees which are reasonably thrifty under these conditions include the horse- chestnuts, honey- locusts and mulberries. Hack-berries have seeded themselves into strange corners and seem capable of withstanding considerable drought and reflected heat. Perhaps they are resistant also to smoky air. They are usually stunted however and heavily laden with witches' brooms. Likewise appearing as a natural growth in waste areas and certain parks are frequent examples of the common black cherry. If it were not for the annual crop of tent caterpillars and some of the other nuisance qualities possessed by this tree it might enjoy a reputation as a desirable subject for city conditions, for it has a picturesque habit of growth, the foliage is good, and it will appear happy even when growing on thin dry soil. The Chinese scholar- tree, though rarely seen, is an excellent tree for this zone. Several specimens have been planted here successfully. Among the lindens, the common, the silver, and the weeping linden appear to be the best, although most of the small- leaved European varieties are also good. They all suffer, however, from summer drought and some species, such as the American linden, lose all their leaves in late summer. Occasionally an Osage orange has been planted in the city and it is found to be exceptionally thrifty. If this tree were not so uncommon in our eastern market perhaps it would be used more freely. Where the bald cypress has been planted as a street tree in a limited area of Flushing, and also in the few places where it exists in the larger parks, it has endured for many years. These are all such luxuriant trees that the species might be expected to withstand even greater adversities. Among the small- growing trees and large shrubs there are a number of good representatives. Hawthorn, witch- hazel, mag- 223 nolia, and cork- trees are about the best, although two of the small maples— the English hedge maple and the Amur maple— as well as the buckthorns and flowering cherries can each be found in this district. All of the common kinds of hawthorn, such as the Washington and thicket thorns, seem to do well, but the glossy- leaved species are the best. The cockspur thorn belongs to this class, and old plants of Carriere hawthorn, with its large varnished leaves, have endured for many years in a thrifty condition in the Broadway plots in mid- Manhattan. Woolly and green aphids are quite serious pests on the hawthorns, but these plants appear to be reasonably free from diseases. Magnolias and witch- hazels seem absolutely incongruous in the city but a number of kinds of each are surprisingly successful. Two of the viburnums also are good. One, the native blackhaw, will grow on poor, thin soil and straggle up to a small tree, although in its youthful stage, when fresh from the nursery, its habit is compact and it has fine specimen qualities. Siebold viburnum is another and, like the specimen at City Hall Park, Manhattan, it will reach a height of twelve feet and appear quite thrifty. Several vines make their appearance in this zone. English ivy is fairly good, especially as a ground- cover. Wisterias will grow several stories high. Matrimony- vines, fleece- vines and the Japanese honeysuckles can each be found on fences, walls and covering the ground. Some of the woodbines are also occasionally found here. The Third Zone The third zone of plant tolerance covers a very large portion of the city. It extends from the second zone through the less intensively developed portions of the unrestricted business zones, including the areas of three- story attached and semi- detached houses in residential areas. It has as its outer limits those portions of the city where suburban conditions prevail. In the suburbs, where houses are spaced on at least 60- foot lots, there is a greatly increased amount of undeveloped land; air and moisture conditions are better, and there is an opportunity for almost any kind of planting that will endure the climate. The line between the second and third zones is quite indefinite. Some of the plants mentioned for the third zone may survive in 224 zone two, and many from that zone are likely to be a great deal more successful here. It is noteworthy that the largest part of the trees and shrubs which appear for the first time in this list are native to this region. They include the American ash, sassafras, sour- gum, sweet- gum, persimmon, and American larch. From other sources come the Japanese larch, sourwood or sorrel, and the European beech. The ash and sweet- gum make good street trees in this zone, while the others are usually found in parks or as lawn shade trees. Several additional large shrubs or small- growing trees appear. These include the goldenrain- tree, the hornbeams ( both native and European species), cornelian cherry, silverbell, snowbell, hazelnut, and Russian olive. Among the native shrubs are the chokeberries. cornels, sumacs, various viburnums, and blueberries, and the shadblow, spicebush, winterberry, and summersweet. Also several of the distinctly gardenesque flowering shrubs can be seen, such as Japanese quinces, bush honeysuckles, hydrangeas, forsythias, rose acacias, prairie and rugosa roses, Japanese barberries, and the winged euonymus and its relative, the European burning bush. Of course there are numerous other kinds of woody plants to be found within this zone, but the ones mentioned here appear to be the best. Some species seem better than others in the same genus, and where there is a preference only the better kinds are noted in the accompanying lists. The most surprising instance I have discovered is a number of bottlebrush buckeyes in a fairly thrifty state growing in the Broadway plots where they have survived for many years in the heat and dust of that busy thoroughfare. Notes on Special Plants Evergreens We all seem to have a longing to use a certain amount of evergreen material in our plantations. Even though we know they are not going to be entirely successful in the city we cannot resist trying some of them. In general they have to be treated like annuals and replaced as often as they fail. Some kinds, however, will tolerate the city conditions better than the others. Austrian pine is about the best of the evergreen conifers, although it soon languishes if the air is bad. The yews, particularly 225 Carnegie A city garden li\ e this, in which hroad- leaved evergreens are a dominant feature, must be replaced with fresh material every four or five years. The scene is in the private garden of Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, overlooking Central Par\ from Fifth Avenue, in ?\[ eu/ York City. 226 the various forms of Japanese yew, are being used extensively. Some will endure possibly for several years but the best plantations are those which have their sickly plants replaced each year. Some of the broad- leaved evergreens are standing very well. The hollies are among the best. Even the native American holly is occasionally seen. The native inkberry and different forms of Japanese holly are especially good. Firethorns are equally successful. Where the cultural conditions are favorable a variety of evergreen rhododendrons together with andromedas, leucothoes, and such azaleas as amoena and indica types do surprisingly well. Evergreen ground- covers like periwinkle, Japanese spurge and evergreen bittersweet are not generally dependable. Plants that are Not Successful Some plants seen around the city are invariably in a weakened and sickly condition. Such kinds should always be avoided where atmospheric conditions are unfavorable. Evergreen trees are the most conspicuous failures. Hemlock, spruce, fir, Douglas fir, and pine are the normally large- growing kinds used in landscape plantations with dwarf pine, juniper, arborvitae and Japanese cypress for low and intermediate heights. None of these has been observed in the cit}' in anything like a thrifty condition. Among the deciduous plants that do not appear to be able to survive in New York City are red and sugar maples. Even the sycamore maple does not like the smoky air. American beech, flowering dogwood, the birches, and two of the viburnums, the Japanese snowball and the linden viburnum, and most of the spireas are poor in growth. In places like Prospect Park, Brook��lyn, some of these may be seen in a fairly healthy condition but they do not do well in Central Park or in situations where the conditions are more adverse. Excepting for the evergreen trees the range of plants is quite extensive for city planting. Trial and error afford the surest test. A certain plant may fail in one particular area but thrive exceedingly well in a similar exposure just a few blocks distant. In the following lists, plants which are most suitable for the second and third zones are named.* * Through an unaccountable oversight, the rose- of- Sharon mentioned last month in the list of plants for the first zone was given the botanical name of the hollyhock instead of its rightful name, Hibiscus syriacus. 227 The Second Zone English Hedge Maple Amur Maple Norway Maple Horse- chestnut Hackberry Carriere Hawthorn Thicket Hawthorn Washington Thorn Cockspur Thorn Honey- locust English Ivy Witch- hazel Japanese Honeysuckle Matrimony- vine Osage Orange Magnolia Mulberry Cork- tree Chinese Fleece- vine Black Cherry Flowering Cherries Turkey Oak Scarlet Oak Shingle Oak Mossy- cup or Bur Oak Pin Oak Red Oak Buckthorn Chinese Scholar- tree Bald Cypress Small- leaved European Linden Weeping Linden Silver Linden Common Linden Blackhaw Siebold Viburnum Wisteria Acer campestre Acer Ginnala Acer platanoidcs Acsculus Hippocastanum Celtis occidentalis Crataegus Lavallei Crataegus intricata Crataegus Phaenopyrum Crataegus Crus- galli Gleditsia triacanthos Hedera Helix and varieties Hamamelis spp. Loniccra japonica Lycium halimifolium Madura poniifera Magnolia spp. Mortis spp. Phcllodendron spp. Polygonum Aubertii Primus serotina Prunus spp. and vars. Quercus Cerris Quercus coccinca Quercus imbricaria Quercus macrocarpa Quercus palustris Quercus rubra Rhamnus spp. Sophora japonica Taxodium distichum Tilia cordata Tilia petiolaris Tilia tomentosa Tilia vulgaris Viburnum prunifolium Viburnum Sieboldii IVistcria spp. The Third Zone Bottlebrush Buckeye Shadblow Red Chokeberry Black Chokeberry Spicebush Japanese Barberry European Hornbeam American Hornbeam Summersweet Cornelian Cherry Gray Dogwood or Cornel Hazelnut Japanese Quince Persimmon Russian Olive or Oleaster Winged Euonymus European Spindle- tree or Burning Bush Acsculus parviflora Auiclanchicr spp. Aronia arbutifolia Aronia melanocarpa Benzoin aestivale Bcrbcris Thunbergii Carpinus Bctuhts Car pinus caroliniana Clethra alnifolia Cornus mas Cornus paniculata and similar species Corylus spp. Chaenomeles japonica Diospyros virginiana Elaeagnus angustifolia Euonymus alatus Euonymus europaeus 228 European Beech Forsythia White Ash Silverbell Hydrangea Winterberry Goldenrain- tree American Larch Japanese Larch Sweet- gum Bush Honeysuckle Sour- gum Sorrel- tree Sumac Rose- acacia Rugosa Rose Prairie Rose Sassafras Japanese Snowbell Blueberry Withe- rod Nanny- berry Viburnum Fagus sylvatica Forsythia spp. Fraxinus americana Halesia Carolina Hydrangea spp. and vars. Ilex verticillata Koelreuteria paniculata Larix laricina Larix Kaempferi Liquidambar Styraciflua Lonicera spp. Nyssa sylvatica Oxydendrum arborcum Rhus spp. Robinia hispida Rosa rugosa Rosa setigera Sassafras variifoliuni Styrax japonica Vaccinium spp. Viburnum cassinoides Viburnum Lentago Viburnum molle Habitat Hunting In zMountains Of the Southeast With Student Qardeners By E. J. Alexander When four of the student gardeners of The Neiv York Botanical Garden chose to spend their vacations this year by making a collecting trip through a portion of the southern Appalachians, they gave themselves the opportunity of seeing in native habitats - many plants zvhich they zvere cultivating at the Botanical Garden. A large proportion of these had been collected on the Garden's Southern Appalachian Expedition of 1933, while others among the newer ones had been acquired by members of the staff on subsequent independent trips. Sonic, on the other hand, were species commonly cultivated, but ones zvhich the students had formerly not associated with the zvild state. In addition, they observed many plants entirely nczv to them and brought back seed or living specimens of a number of subjects zvhich may be nczv to horticulture. Part of their usual outside zvork as student gardeners consists in making herbarium collections of the local flora. To their specimens gathered on previous jaunts in the vicinity of Nczv York, each of them added about 160 nczv subjects, all representing plants zvhich do not grozv north of central Pennsylvania. Thus, while on a vacation trip these four student gardeners— Ralph Pinkus, Samuel Bridge, A. I. Bisaillon, and Donald Samson— became acquainted zvith an important floral region of the United States, increased their own collections of plants for study and reference, and added nearly a thousand plants of fifty or more herbaceous species, besides a number of zvoody ones, to the Botanical Garden through their collections of seeds and living material. Their guide on the trip zvas E. I. Alexander, zvho took them over much of the region coz'crcd fiz'c years previously on the Garden's official expedition in search of plants.— C. H. W. 229 Into the Southern Appalachians THE shale- barren region along and around the Virginia- West Virginia state line was the first objective on the student gardeners' trip. This area is the home of several interesting and attractive plants, some of which were introduced to cultivation by the Garden's Southern Appalachian Expedition of 1933. Since a few of these plants had presented difficulties in cultivation the students wished to study them in their natural habitats to try and find the conditions necessary for their well- being. The large-flowered Oenothera argillicola was not yet in bloom, but many plants were seen in their young stages. The small gray- foliaged ragwort, Senecio antennariifolius was past flowering, but its seeds were ripe and it is hoped yet to introduce this plant to rock gardens. One of the greatest rarities of the region, the little purplish-flowered Astragalus distortus, which had proved most unamenable to cultivation, was sought and found in both flower and fruit. Growing as it does in a dry hardpan mixture of shale fragments and their residual clay, it will probably still prove a difficult though desirable subject. Trifolium virginicuin, the stemless endemic clover of the region, was found also in flower and fruit. The shale- barren region is not continuous, so we found a different type of habitat to investigate by visiting a partly wooded cliff area adjacent. Plere in crevices and on steep slopes were seen the little white- flowered crucifer, Draba ramosissima. In loose cushions on the cliff edges were large patches of a sandwort, Arenaria stricta, and back among the trees the shooting- star, Dodecatheon Meadia, and the pale- pink- flowered Sedum telephi-oides, a rather coarse but attractive plant. The purple- flowered wood- mint, Blephilia ciliata, was quite common in this area, making large clumps on open slopes. Nearby we found frequent colonies of Linum perenne naturalized along the roadside. So far as we know, this is the first record of this European species in this region. Near the headwaters of the Potomac river, we came across numerous stands of Anemone riparia in open limestone woods. This plant with its handsome, rather large, white flowers would be a worthy denizen of the shaded wild garden if amenable in cultivation. On the mountains east of Monterey, Va., we stopped to look at plants of Mensiesia pilosa, an ericaceous shrub with 230 dull yellowish- orange flowers, and in searching through the neighboring woods we found the lily- of- the- valley in full flower. This plant is strangely enigmatical in its occurrence in the European mountains, the southern Alleghenies, and in eastern Asia. It is the only plant known with a natural distribution in the temperate zone of three continents. In damp hollows nearby were attractive colonies of the filmy-flowered Heuchera villosa and the white heads of Clintonia umbellulata. One more shale- barren was visited where, in August and September great drifts of Eriogonum Alleni cover the steep unstable slopes with a yellow glow. 1 Here also are colonies of the shrubby Clematis ovata, with dull purple nodding bells. The white- flowered Sedum Nevii- is common throughout the southern Appalachians, but nowhere does it reach better development than in the shale-barren area. A side trip was made in West Virginia to visit a colony of the rare box- huckleberry, Gaylussacia brachycera, each colony of which is said to consist of a single plant. In the same region we found the recently described Phlox Buckleyi in full flower, some plants having flowers with laciniate petals. In southwestern Virginia, nearby mountain- slopes and hillside pastures were frequently buried under a pink avalanche of mountain laurel, one of the finest sights of the trip. Reaching the crystalline Blue Ridge, we began to see more and more frequently the typical southern mountain plants which are either confined to or reach their best development in the higher altitudes. Those which first became plentiful were Magnolia acuminata, M. Fraseri, Oxydcndrum arbor cum, Clethra acuminata, Azalea calcndulacea, Galax aphylla, Silene virginica3 and Sedum ternatum. All have been long in cultivation, but it was of great interest to the students to see them in their native stands. In northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee, it was of botanical interest to note frequent occurrences of Hieracium pratense. which is not listed in the manuals as occurring south of Virginia. 1 For a description of Eriogonum Alleni see Addisonia 20: No. 3. 1938. 2 Sedum Nez'ii is now well established in the Thompson Memorial Rock Garden, where it is making an increasingly splendid show of white bloom every year in late spring. 3 Though a difficult subject in the north, Silene virginica now seems to be holding its own with its fiery blossoms in the Thompson Memorial Rock Garden. For a description, see Addisonia 19: No. 2. 1935. 231 Photograph by A. J. Bisaillon The upper portion of Mount Pisgah, 5,749 feet in altitude, is a heath'bald in an advanced stage. The middle slopes of this great landmar\ west of Asheville are covered with a typical southern Appalachian forest. The saxifrage shown on page 238 was photographed on its upper slope. Traveling on steep grades and long winding and twisting roads, first up one mountain range, then down another and back up still another, as it can only be done in North Carolina, we finally arrived at Asheville, the center of the mountain region. Here we visited Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Clement at the Nik- Nar Nursery, through whose efforts many rare native plants are being brought into cultivation. Accompanied by our friends we visited the 232 famous swamp at Flat Rock where in its type locality we saw Sarracenia Joncsii. Associated together in this same swamp is a curious mixture of coastal, mountain and northern plants. Some of the more prominent among them were Helenium brevifolium and Pogonia divaricata from the coastal plain; Amianthium mus-caetoxicum and Azalea arborsecens, generally from the mountains ; Myrica Gale and Azalea viscosa, which are distinctly northern species; and Kalmia Carolina and Scutellaria integrifolia, which may be found both in the mountains and along the coast. On Chimney Rock mountain, the high scenic point of the Hickorynut Gap section, we saw such typically southern Appalachian plants as Heuchera parviflora, Philadelphus inodorus, P hirsutus, Selaginella Shcrzvoodii, Rhododendron carolinianuni, Tsuga caroliniana, Pinus pungens, Trautvctteria carolinensis, Talinum tcretifolium, Phacelia bipinnatiftda, and Penstemon canescens. There were of course many other plants, but those named are in exceptionally well- developed natural stands and furnished the best examples for study. In the nearby warm valley region, we saw a fine colony of the hardy native passion- flower, Passiflora incarnata, Mt. Pisgah, a beautifully shaped mountain west of Asheville, has a fine heath- bald development, making it an area especially well worth visiting. In the forests on the middle slopes are great festoons of Aristolochia macrophylla and fine thickets of Azalea calendidacea. On the upper elevations, Saxifraga Icucanthemifolia and Houstonia purpurea form the great mass of cliff- face plants, the woods around being well supplied with Hugeria erythrocarpa, Ilex monticola and Mcnzicsia pilosa. On the uppermost areas, Hypericum Buckleyi and Potentilla tridcntata form heavy sods in open stretches, while Rhododendron carolinianuni and R. catawbiense form the heavy thickets just below the summit. On the summit itself is one of the most finely developed stands known of Pieris floribunda, where a trail runs for a mile or so through its gnarled, headtopping growth. Off the western slopes we saw handsome colonies of Phlox Carolina and Eryngium yuccifolimn. and in the Nantahala Gorge we had a long- drawn- out search for some of the large colonies of the rare sedge, Cymophyllus Fraseri. The rocky walls here were also well- decorated with Dicentra cximia. Crossing into the Tennessee River valley we saw the only bit of southern lowland flora of the trip, where along the river- 233 banks were heavy thickets of Ulmus alata and Quercus nigra and scrambling over them Vitis rotundifolia, Bignonia crucigera and Cocculus carolinus. Ascending the Great Smokies from the west, we admired the great forests and the thickets of rhododendron and laurel, and on the summit ridge made several side trips into the heavy growth of Abies Frascri and Picea rubens. The more interesting things seen were a handsome purple- flowered form of Hydrophyllum virginiamtm, occasional patches of Claytonia caro-liuiana and Pamassia asarifolia and quantities of Solidago glomerata and that interesting endemic of the Smokies, Senecio Rugelia4. Back in North Carolina we found along the bank of Alarka creek a nice stand of Rhododendron minus. In open thickets along the stream were scattered plants of Thcrmopsis caroliniana. a common enough garden plant, but extremely rare in the wild. Leaving the gorge and climbing over the ridge, we found near the top colonies of the parasitic shrub, Pyrularia pubera, its pearlike fruits half- formed. Many splendid specimen plants of Silene virginica, the fire- pink, were seen in this section. As we approached Wayah Bald, splendid stands of Rhododendron maximum and Kalmia latifolia 25- 30 feet high were seen, and great colonies of the endemic huckleberry, Gaylussacia ursina, mingled with Indian paint- brush, Castilleja coccinca, and the bunch- flower, Mclanthium latifolium, the latter a useful plant for shady woodland planting. On the summit of the mountain, the fine stand of Azalea arborescens Richardsonii was just coming into flower, the yellow blotch on its upper petal easily distinguishing it from the species. Near the summit was the finest plant we saw of Azalea calcndidacea; it measured about 15 feet in diameter and height and was ablaze from top to bottom with bloom. In some of the deep ravines on the lower slopes were frequent colonies of Diphylleia cymosa, a relative of the May- apple, with leaves a foot in diameter. Near Highlands, we went to see one of the finest known colonies of Stewartia pentagyna and near it the velvet- leaved, dwarf holly, Ilex Beadlei. But now our troubles started. It was decided after a council-meeting to go into the Whitewater country in South Carolina to see Shortia galacifolia in its natural habitat. It would probably make an interesting afternoon trip of 20 or 30 miles and we could easily reach Asheville again by dark. So we went blithely 4 Senecio Rugelia is described in Addisonia 20: No. 2. 1937. 1. Wisteria reaching to the roof on one of the early houses at Washington Square. 2. An American holly 28 feet high growing in Owl's Head Par\ in Brooklyn. 3. A row of young pin oa\ s, recently planted, giues promise of a fine avenue along 195th St. between Jerome and Reservoir. 4. The shfrigle oak. often assumes a'flat-topped appearance in the city. It holds its foliage well during the summer. WOODY PLANTS WI THRIVE IN NEW YO LESS CONGESTED ZC ^: M¥" *? f^ Kt rf.',;>:-,,:-.-^ • p.-' ii,, '\ :,''?£:•' ;<:';"; ^ ^ ^ w *"""' ' ]|| fi|| 1ll|| lii> K:'!" ljilsil!!: j £ s r a^ p'ff* On the grounds of Mother Cahrini Memorial Hospital is a thrifty planting which includes a paulownia, American plane, hac\ berry, and Lombardy poplar, all bordered by privet. The large glossy leaves of Crataegus Lavallei appear luxuriant even after many years on Broadway, m one of the plots near 80th St. 7. Paulownia, the empress- tree, reaches its northern limit in 7^ ew Tor\, and grows even within the city into an appropriately majestic tree. This one is in Central Par\. 236 Photograph by A. J. Bisaillon Galax aphylla is one of the commonest of woodland cover plants in the southern Appalachians. This was found on Mount Mitchell. Ralph Pin\ us is shown examining one of the candle- li\ e spires of white bloom above the glossy evergreen leaves. down into Horse Cove, from which we turned into a side road winding down one mountain after another. We knew that our plant grew in damp rhododendron thickets, and we examined many of them. Of course we were not in the Whitewater valley and we knew it, but why should Shortia not grow in other valleys where the habitat was similar? We did find beautiful colonies of the large- flowered wild ginger, Asarum Shuttlczvorthii and one patch of the rare Ophrys Smallii, a tiny orchid with rather 237 drab- colored flowers, and many a beautiful woodland stand of Amianthium muscaetoxicum? Black clouds rolled up and rumbles of thunder came nearer and nearer. Many a head- high thicket of Leucothoe Catesbaei, 0 in most perfect development did we see, but no Shortia; neither could we find South Carolina, although we had left Horse Cove only three miles from the state line. Finally we crossed the Chattooga River and, quite positive we were in South Carolina, stopped at the first mountain cabin we saw to do some inquiring. A rather shabby- looking man, a woman, and six children were tilling a small garden patch. The man came over and after a few pleasant amenities, we asked if he had ever seen " little coltsfoot" in this section. He had never heard of it, but stated he was familiar with all the flowers of the region, so we went through all the " common names" under which the plant has been listed in books, but not one did he recognize. In final exasperation a piece of paper was produced and a picture of the plant drawn. Immediately his eyes lit up. " Oh," said he, " We calls that Shortia." He then stated that it grew 15 or 20 miles away in South Carolina, and recommended that we go to Salem, for anyone there could direct us to it. To Salem we went, finding it only after using the hit- and- miss system in threading a maze of clay farm roads. No one we could find in that town had ever heard of the plant, but said they knew all the plants in the region. One man however knew where Whitewater Falls was and directed us to the place. The road twisted through great thickets of farkleberry, JTaccinium arboreum, and finally started to ascend the mountains. It became almost impassable at times with its mudholes and steep stony grades but we blundered through for 18 miles to the accompaniment of frequent rolls of thunder, until we heard the roar of a great waterfall. There in a deep gorge was the 300- foot plunge of the 5 A description of Amianthium muscaetoxicum will appear in the next number of Addisonia. 6 Other southeastern plants mentioned here which have been illustrated and described in Addisonia are: Rhododendron carolinianitm. Vol. 1. No. 1 ; Cymophyllus Fraseri 1. No. 4; Oxydcndrum arboreum 4. No. 2; Leucothoe Catesbaei 4. No. 4; Gaylussacia brachycera 6. No. 2: Shortia ( Sherzvoodia) galacifolia 10. No. 1 ; Asalea viscosa glauca 11. No. 3; Eryngium yucci-folium ( aauaticum) 11. No. 3; Azalea calendulacea 13. No. 2; Sedum terna-tum 13. No. 2; Dicentra ( Bicueulla) eximia 14. No. 4; Oenothera argilli-cola 17. No. 4; Pogonia ( Clcistes) divaricata 18. No. 3; Stezvartia ( Mala-chodendrou) pentagyna grandiflora 19. No. 1 ; Asalea arborescens 19. No. 2. 238 SCENERY AND PLANTS FROM THE STUDENT GARDENER'S VACATION TRIP " Whitewater Falls in South Carolina is in a remote mountain section near the tri- state corner. Rhododendron minus stands in the foreground here. Photographs by E. J Saxifraga leucanihemifolia, which stands about a foot high, frequents wet cliffs and streamsides in the southeastern mountains, but it is not well \ nown in cultivation. From which the student gardeners brought bac\ from their trip it is hoped to establish this airyli saxifrage in gardens. Shortia glacifolia " grows li\ e a weed" in its native haunt in a smai in the " Whitewater country in South Carolina. 239 Whitewater River, the cliffs all around covered with Rhododendron minus in full flower, truly a glorious sight. Still no Shortia. Several hours later we came out on the state highway in North Carolina, with an extensive knowledge of where Shortia did not grow. At the last mountain cabin, however, ten or twelve miles back, we had found an old man who had given us the exact locality, and who clearly knew what he was talking about. It was in the Whitewater valley but on the opposite side from where we had been. We spent the night at Lake Toxaway and held another council to decide if the elusive Shortia was worth another day— and concluded that it was. We went to Rosman and took the main road into South Carolina, since this road skirted the far side of the Whitewater valley, and finally found someone who knew where Jocassee was. It was this " village" we had been told to look for. It was necessary for us to be led by another car through the maze of farm roads to an old rambling building which looked as though it had once been a country hotel. It was labeled Camp Jocassee. . . Small wonder it was on no map! We stood on the banks of the Whitewater River in front of Jocassee and wondered what next. Down the road came a barefooted farmer and we drew him into conversation. We asked for this and that place, arousing his curiosity until he asked what we were looking for. Again we drew a picture. " Oh, that weed," he said, " it grows around the spring right over here." We followed him across a bridge into the rhododendron. Yes, it was there, in quantity, carpeting the ground, the stream bed, and the steep walls of ravines through the thickets. We were assured it was a common weed throughout the region, and were also told we were about eight miles from Salem. Shortia's associates were Asarum virginicum, Viola hirsutula, V. Iiastata, V pollens, V rotundifolia, Viburnum nudum, and the climbing hydrangea relative, Decumaria barbara. The habitat was exactly what we had thought: wet rhododendron thickets. Mt. Mitchell, highest point in the eastern states, was our next goal. There, accompanied by no difficulties we saw splendid specimens of Robinia viscosa, very rare in the wild, frequent colonies of Thcnuopsis fraxinifolia, and Galax aphylla. This region gave us by far the finest display of Azalea calendulacea of the trip, to say nothing of the great carpets of Houstonia scrpyllifolia and H. purpurea which fairly outdid themselves. At one place a colony of pure albino H. scrpyllifolia was found. Above 5,000 feet. 240 Rhododendron catawbiense ran riot, in all shades of magenta, rosy- purple, and even rose. The last day was spent in a highly educational trip through the famous Biltmore Estate, where we saw many surpassingly fine plantings of both common and rare plants, native and exotic. On the way out of North Carolina, we found good colonies of Symplocos tinctoria Ashei, an early spring- flowering shrub which is to be tested for hardiness. At Blowing Rock, the crevices were draped with the silvery heads of Paronychia argyrocoma interspersed with the rare Liatris Helleri. In the northwestern corner of the state and in adjacent Tennessee we found Crepis capillaris, unrecorded before from this far south. On the way back through Virginia, stops were made to see the rather rare Pachistima Canbyi and Clematis Addisonii, as well as the more common Anemone lancifolia, Phlox ovata, Allium cernuum and Delphinium tricornc. Perhaps the greatest value of this 2,000- mile trip was the opportunity of seeing many ornamental and rare native plants in their natural habitats and in the areas where they reach their greatest development. Many of the plants here mentioned are now commonly cultivated, some of them through having been introduced by The New York Botanical Garden, but a fair number still remain to be placed in cultivation or to have their horticultural possibilities worked out. Practically all are being tried out at this institution, for their hardiness and ornamental value. Of equal value was the sight in the Nik- Nar Nursery and in the private nursery of Mr. C. D. Beadle, Superintendent of the Biltmore Estate, of a number of native rarities which we did not have time to seek out in the wild. These were taking their first steps along the road leading to American gardens. The Qardeners Forum A S AN unofficial organization among the student gardeners and other members of the gardening staff of The New York Botanical Garden, the Gardeners Forum began its eighth year of activity at the annual meeting held Sept. 19. P. J. McKenna was re- elected chairman for the year; Joseph Tansey was chosen vice- chairman to succeed Franklin C. Moore; and Wilbur Wright was made secretary- treasurer, succeeding 241 J o h n T. Moss. Assisting Mr. W r i g h t in planning the subjects for discussion d u r i n g the year will be George McGregor and Samuel Bridge. M e e t i n g twice a month d u r i n g the autumn and winter, the G a r d e n e r s F o r u m gives its members an o p p o r t u n i t y to present p a p e r s on h o r t i c u l t u r a l topics and to discuss the subjects afterward. Last year, when H o w a r d Swift and Ronald Townsend were on the committee with Mr. Moss in p l a n n i n g the p r o g r a m s, the following subjects were p r e s e n t e d by the g a r d e n e r s named: Fraser MacCartney Edward J. Brennan John T. Moss Donald Moss LILIES SOILS AND FERTILIZERS PROPAGATION OF TREES AND SHRUBS NOTEWORTHY TREES AND SHRUBS SOME CURRENT METHODS USED IN THE PROPAGATION AND CULTURE OF PLANTS THE TREND OF HORTICULTURE GREENHOUSE INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL LANDSCAPING THE SMALL HOME GROUNDS RHODODENDRONS AND AZALEAS THE ROLE OF LIGHT IN THE LIFE OF PLANTS LAWNS: CONSTRUCTION AND CARE THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL FLORICULTL* RE Ronald B. Townsend Frank G-. Mackaness George McGregor C Nicholas A. Pecora Ralph Pinkus A. E. McKay Donald Samson Samuel Bridge Current Literature* At a Glance By Carol H. Woodward Mushroom Culture. Edmund B. Lambert, writing in the Botanical Review for July, deals with a subject of wide appeal, scientific, practical and popular— the principles and problems of mushroom culture. Besides the common Agaricus campestris, he mentions a number of other mushrooms which may be subj ected to cultivation, though he goes into greatest detail in treating the field mushroom of the American market. Galapagos. The vegetation of the curious island which for years has been a goal of both scientists and explorers is treated in Spanish in a recent paper-covered volume entitled ( in translation) " Galapagos Observed Phytologically.'' M. Acosta Solis is the author of the book, which is published by the Central University of Quito, Ecuador. * Ali publications mentioned here— and many others— mav he found in the Library of The Botanical Garden, in the Museum Building. Plant Influence. The possibility that ethylene emanation from fruits may have some purpose or usefulness not yet discovered is suggested by F. E. Weiss in an article headed " The Influence of One Plant on Another," which appears in the April Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. He refers particularly to the discovery of Molisch that the presence of apples promoted the growth of callus in cuttings of poplar and willow and stimulated root formation on willows. Small Bulbs. Crocuses which flower in autumn are the leading subject in the National Horticultural Magazine for July. Alfred Bates, in this article, describes more than 20 species and varieties. In the same issue B. Y. Morrison, editor, treats of " Various Muscari." Besides photographs of the flowers he shows sketches of the bulbs of many species in natural size. House Plants. What to do with potted plants when they are brought indoors at the end of the summer is told by Esther C. Grayson in the September number of the American Home. 242 Reviews of Recent < Hooks ( All publications reviewed here may be consulted in the Library of The New York Botanical Garden.) Growing Plants in Chemical Solutions SOILLESS GROWTH OF PLANTS. Carleton Ellis and Miller W. Swaney. 155 pages, illustrated, indexed. Reinhold, New York, 1938. $ 2.75. CHEMICAL GARDENS AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. Revised Edition. Anonymous. 19 pages. 1938. Chemical Garden Co., Evanston, 111. 25<*. GROWING PLANTS WITHOUT SOIL BY THE WATER CULTURE METHOD. D. R. Hoagland and D. I. Arnon. 16 pages, mimeographed, 1938. University of California, College of Agriculture, Berkeley, Calif. Popular interest in the growth of plants without soil has been aroused by considerable publicity in the newspapers. This method of growing plants has been variously called water culture, tray agriculture, tank farming, hydroponics, chemical gardening, and so on. The three publications mentioned above were written in response to this interest. The book by Ellis and Swaney is the most ambitious of the three. Its presentation of the subject is largely uncritical and it contains considerable erroneous and dubious botanical information. In addition to discussing the growth of plants in water culture and in sand or cinder media, other topics— for example, auxins, colchicine and heavy water— which have recently attracted popular notice receive attention from the authors. They discuss their own experiments, including tho^ e on rocking troughs simulating the conditions if plants are grown in soilless cultures on ships at sea, as well as experiments by others. The pamphlet by the Chemical Garden Company gives a straightforward description of the equipment, chemicals, and procedure which may be used in the " water culture" system and incidentally advertises its own products. Hoagland and Arnon in a mimeographed circular from the California Agricultural Experiment Station give a conservative discussion of the water culture method and procedures for growing plants by the water culture method. They do not believe the water culture methoc offers advantages over soil. They say " There is no magic in the growth o plants in water culture," and " . . present indications are that over th< course of a year the yield of fruit pei unit area or per plant, of plants grow: in fertile soil, will not be significant!} different from that of plants grown ii water culture.'' W. J. ROBBINS. Forests in Germany GERMAN FORESTRY. Franz Heske 342 pages, illustrated with photographs charts, and maps; indexed. Yale Uni versity Press, New Haven. 1938. $ 3 The management of forests in German} as a natural resource to be maintainec on a sustained yield basis has long beei recognized as a precept to be followec by every other country which has becomt conscious of its timber heritage. Professor Heske, representing the oldest foresl school of academic rank in the world, has presented the background, the development, and the present structure of this management, in an effort to make its technique more available to foresters ir other countries. We are indebted to thf Trustees of The Oberlaendcr Trust anc to members of the Carl Schnrz Memorial Foundation for this volume, for they invited Dr. Heske of the Forstliche Hoch-schnle, Tharandt bei Dresden, to make 2 brief survey of American forestry ir 1934, and subsequently to conduct a grour of American foresters and lumbermer through Germany and Austria. Out oi these mutual experiences there developec this volume in German, now made available to English- speaking people by Prof Recknagel of Cornell University anc several collaborators. It is especially interesting to note thai until recently forest management in Germany was the concern of individual state; rather than of the national government and that only in 1934 was an organiza tion developed comparable to the Ameri can Forest Service in its scope and cen- 243 tralizing objective. A year later, private forests, which have long played an important role in the sum total of German forestry, came under national supervision, not by way of confiscation, but by technical guidance coupled with self- administration in a manner to avoid bureaucratic tutelage. This national administration, as would be expected in Germany, is highly organized, and each state has its own counterpart. In addition to these strictly governmental agencies, the National Socialist Party has its own forestry agency, the principal purpose of which is said to be the coordination of the entire German forestry structure. With respect to the natural woodland resources of Germany, we are reminded that the forests no longer are natural forests but cultivated areas, for centuries of colonization have completely removed the primeval stands and therewith have in many cases seriously altered the association of plants. The result today is a land covered with fifteen different types of vegetation, namely, the heath region of northwestern Germany, the western Baltic beech region, the broadleaf and pine region of Pomerania, the spruce region of East Prussia, the north German pine region, the pine- spruce- fir region of Upper Silesia, the spruce- beech- fir region of central and southern Germany, the pine and oak region of the Upper Palatinate and Central Franconia, the alpine spruce region, the broadleaf region of southern Germany, the broadleaf region of western Germany, the oak region of the lower Rhine and Westphalia, the pine and broadleaf region of the Rhine, the bottomland region, and the black soil regions. The total forest area covers 27 per cent of the country, exclusive of the Saar, and this area is not considered adequate to meet Germany's forest needs. In fact, the country has not been self-sustaining in these matters and great amounts of pulp wood have long been imported from Scandinavia. In addition to these items, culled from this interesting volume, there are chapters dealing with forestry education, the development of land use in Germany, the management of all the various types of forests, employment of labor and other social problems, and finally with forest taxation and fires, two of the most vexing questions concerning our own forest heritages in the United States. E. H. FULLING. Five Pounds on Gardening THE GARDENER'S OMNIBUS. Edited for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by Edward I. Farrington. 886 pages, illustrated, indexed. Hale, Cushman & Flint, Boston, 1938. $ 3.50. " Thirty- nine books in one" is the announcement which accompanies The Gardener's Omnibus of the 109- year- old Horticultural Society which has its headquarters up in Boston. The subjects of the " books" vary from the Garden Calendar, resembling the column which has appeared each week in Horticulture for many years, to rock gardens, and include a special section on each of the important groups of plants, such as roses, wild flowers, hedge plants, bulbs, and trees, besides discussions of garden pests, labels, pruning, greenhouses, and many other topics. Most of the material has appeared in Horticulture and the whole book is made up in the style of that weekly magazine — which means that its 886 large pages with heavy covers weigh five pounds. Nearly every page contains at least one photograph of a plant subject being discussed. While many names of experts appear at the ends of articles, the bulk of the book is admittedly written by and for amateurs. Though many statements are made with New England conditions in mind, the articles cover the country in application from coast to coast and from the Gulf beyond the border into Canada. CAROL H. WOODWARD. A Fungus- Insect Relationship THE GENUS SEPTOBASIDIUM. John N. Couch. 480 pages, indexed. Illustrated with text- figures and plates. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1938. $ 5. A volume entitled The Genus Sep-tobasidium by Dr. John N. Couch, Professor of Botany at the University of North Carolina, has recently appeared. This work was started more than ten years ago, and at that time this fungus genus was represented by about 75 species, while the present volume contains descriptions of 176 species, many of which have been described as new by the author of the work. The introduction presents a description of the life histories of some of the typical 244 species of this genus, and the account reads like a fairy story. The interesting and intimate correlation of the fungus with its insect host is almost unbelievable. All of the species of this genus are parasitic on scale insects, which in turn suck their nourishment from the plant host on which they live. The fungus appears not to be able to live without the insect on which to feed. The insect, on the other hand, is able to live but fails to prosper in isolation. As the author points out, this is not a clear case of parasitism where the fungus lives purely at the detriment of its insect host. In return for its enforced hospitality the fungus very generously provides minute houses in which the insects live and by which thev are protected from the attacks of their natural enemies. Under this arrangement, which is referred to by the author of the book as a symbiotic relationship, many of the individual insects must sacrifice themselves to the well- be; ng of the fungus, but others that are not so sacrificed receive the protection of the fungus and in turn are able to reproduce their kind and thus continue their own existence at the same time insuring the continual existence of their fungus protector. Mycologists will find this one of the most interesting volumes that has appeared in recent times, and the author is to be congratulated on his valuable contribution to science. F. J. SEAVER. Exploring in Burma And Tibet PLANT HUNTER'S PARADISE. F. Kingdon Ward. 347 pages, illustrated with nhotographs; appendix; index. Macmillan, New York. 1938. $ 3.50. Looking down the 1 ist of names of plants that have been introduced into horticulture directly through the explorations of Mr. Kinedon Ward, one sees such already familiar names as Aster himalaicus, Cotoneaster micro phylla, En-kianthus pancif torus, and Prunus Pud-dum ( P. ccrasoides). And if one were living in the British Isles, where the less hardy species of Rhododendron thrive, where Meconopsis can be grown and where certain species of Primula and Berberis do not turn up their toes in the heat of midsummer or cold of winter, one would find many more names that in recent years have entered catalogs, gar dens, and flower shows. In the appendix to Plant Hunter'; Paradise there are listed some 300 name; of plants which the author has been re sponsible for introducing. Each time tha he writes a new chapter ( the story o his fourteenth expedition into Asia is now running in the Gardeners' Chronich of London), he mentions newly discov ered plants which offer possibilities foi the still greater enrichment of gardens. In Plant Hunter's Paradise he give; a tantalizing glimpse of his lifetime wort in search of Asiatic plants which maj be introduced into gardens on other con tinents. This is the story of his entr} into Tibet over a pass unknown to whitt men from the valley of the Adung rivei in upper Burma. It is lightly, pleasingl} written, with just enough plant descrip tion to satisfy the botanist without an noying other readers with technicalities It is a good tale, both as a story o travel and adventure and as a backgrounc for the plants to be grown in tomorrow': gardens. CAROL H. WOODWARD. Tree Care for the Amateur OUR SHADE TREES. Ephrain Porter Felt. 187 pages, illustratec with photographs, indexed. Orangi Judd, New York, 1938. $ 2. Of the many books and periodicals published on the care of trees few if anj contain such a wealth of helpful information as this popular- priced book by th< well known entomologist and tree authority, Dr. E. P. Felt. Little more coulc be said in as simple and understandablt a manner on such a subject. Each of the eight chapters is outlinec in the table of contents. Dr. Felt thei commences with a general discussion oi the place of trees in the world, theii economic and historical importance, thei' relation to man and to the tree exper himself. Ensuing chapters deal with en vironmental factors affecting trees; tr& wounds and cavities; the selection am planting of trees, and a full chapter oi the pests and diseases of trees and thei control. Such a synopsis might seem com plete, but no, we find thirty- one inter esting illustrations as well as severa helpful graphs. The whole book, includ ing the captions to the photographs, l admirably readable, and shows th 245 author's keen sense of tree problems and of the important place of trees in the community. Throughout there is a general feeling that only experts are capable of managing the various difficulties encountered in the culture of trees. It is true there is no one better equipped to cope with problems of tree culture than the expert, but it would be more gratifying to the amateur if he could handle many of the smaller problems which this book fails to explain in adequate detail. This can readily be overlooked when such other more important problems have been so thoroughly treated— for example, the detection and knowledge of tree deficiencies. After all, the analysis of symptoms is the prime requisite for any successful diagnosis. JOSEPH W. TANSEY. Auxins and Other Compounds PLANT GROWTH SUBSTANCES. Hugh Nicol. 108 pages. Indices of substances, authors, and plants. Leonard Hill Limited, London, 1938. This is the fourth book on plant growth substances which has come to the reviewer's attention; the others are the text by Boysen- Jensen, the translation and revision by Avery and Burkholder of Boysen- Jensen's book, and the text by Went and Thimann. Although entitled " Plant Growth Substances" this book is largely limited to a discussion of the " auxins'' and compounds having similar effects. Brief reference is made to vitamin C as a growth substance, to pantothenic acid, thyroxin, male and female sex hormones, Bottomley's auximones and other substances, but rather surprisingly no mention is made of bios or of the thiamin ( vitamin Bi) system. The first two chapters are addressed to the lay reader but the absorption of the author in the chemical aspects of the structure, synthesis, and origin of the growth substances discussed makes the balance of the book heavy reading for the laity. It is apparent from the author's discussion of the use of potassium permanganate on rooting that he is unfamiliar with the extensive work of Curtis on this subject. He is apparently unaware also of the negative results of Deuber in experiments designed to test Oddo and Pollacci ' s report of the substitution of magnesium 2- pyrrole- carboxyIate for iron in the growth of plants. Altogether the book is a stimulating discussion, and, though not exhaustive, it should be a part of the library of any one especially interested in plant growth substances. WILLIAM J. ROBBINS. Darwin— A New Portrait Of the Naturalist As a Man CHARLES DARWIN. Geoffrey West. 359 pages, illustrated, indexed. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1938. $ 3.50. It is not merely as the great naturalist who formulated the theory of natural selection as the basic mechanics of organic evolution that Geoffrey West paints his portrait of Darwin in this latest biography ; it is rather of a fanatically honest and inoffensive man who, in spite of almost insurmountable handicaps of lifelong ill health, became so obsessed with an idea that its ultimate publication more profoundly influenced the thinking of subsequent biologists than any previous or succeeding idea. The story begins, as must all tales of Charles Darwin, two generations before his birth, for at that time the association of two prominent lineages had its inception. Physician Doctor Erasmus Darwin attended his patient Josiah Wedgwood and both became life- time friends as well as the grandfathers of Charles. The botanical publications of the versatile Erasmus were numerous and significant, and among them was foreshadowed that idea of a struggle for existence which was so immortally promulgated later by his grandson Charles. But many years intervened before the day of the Great Work, as Charles Darwin regarded it. In the meantime we read of Charles' happy days at Shrewsbury, at a time when all Europe was astir over the Napoleonic struggles, but to which Charles paid little heed. He was in school at the time, slow to learn and not at all scholarly. His father a physician, he too entered the profession, not from any desire to do so, but rather to please his forbear. It was all in vain, however, and next he entered the clergy " where any man, wise or foolish, studious or sporting, could find a niche according to his talents." Soon, however, his interests wandered into natural science, into collecting, and 246 particularly into geology. And then came the great opportunity, Charles' acceptance of which haunted him for many years to come, for he feared he had displeased his father, as he probably had. It involved his becoming naturalist on the famous round- the- world voyage of the Beagle, an adventure which took him from England five long years. Teneriffe, the Cape Verde Islands, the Brazilian jungles, the Rio Plata, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, the Galapagos, Tahiti and New Zealand, lay ahead of him and in each of these places he spent varying periods of time. He was only twenty-three at the time when the voyage began, but his earlier excursions into natural history had already gained for him the recognition necessary for this appointment. It was with an open mind, devoid of preconceptions, and still as a student of the Gospel, that he undertook the assignment and labored through the long journey, still hoping for his father's forgiveness. Frequent spells of sea- sickness were the nemesis of his folly, but despite his recurring periods of misery Darwin's keen powers of observation and his collecting mania have since made the voyage memorable in the annals of science. Finally he returned to England with a diary of some 189,000 words and a constitution so impoverished that for nearly forty years, it was said, " he never knew one day of the health of ordinary men.*' It was his stomach that wrought such misery during the remainder of his days and incapacitated him so severely that for years at a time he was unable to work more than a few hours a day. Had it not been that he chose an ideal wife in his cousin Emma Wedgwood his misery might have been even greater and the world deprived not only of immortal scientific contributions, but of an inspiring example of industry despite ill health. By way of compensation, Darwin was financially independent, the beneficiary of the family fortune which permitted him to pursue his studies and leisurely life unhampered by any bread- earning responsibilities. He had long enjoyed an annual income of perhaps £ 1500, but his father's death raised it to nearly £ 5000. Fifty years were devoted to studying and writing about geology, coral reefs, insect pollination, and variation of plants and animals under domestication, as well as sexual selection, earthworms and other phases of natural history. The culmination of it all was the announcement ii 1858 of the Theory of Evolution by Nat ural Selection, and the publication u 1859 of The Origin of Species. By 187. this work was in its sixth and last edi tion and despite the inevitable criticisri of all great works it had withstood th test and was established as a great con tribution. Darwin frequently feared lest publica tion of his ideas offend people. Thi: angle of his nature bothered him par ticularly when he was led into a con sideration of Man himself. Finally, hi: convictions prevailed and " The Descen of Man" appeared. But the most inter esting incident bearing on the human re lations of this man was with respect tt Alfred Russell Wallace, his contemporary In the midst of Darwin's labors he re ceived an essay from this colleague whicl contained the very essence of Darwin's long pondered ideas and which seemed tc take all originality from his own work But Darwin knew no malice and passec the essay on for publication. His reward lay in the greater fame attached to his own work later and in the friendship and recognition which came from Wallace. EDMUND H. FULLING. Notes, News, and Comment Storm Damage. In the heavy storm which struck New York Sept. 21, The New York Botanical Garden lost about fifty sizeable trees, practically all of which were native species, particularly oaks and ashes, besides a few elms. These large and usually durable trees succumbed to the wind chiefly because the rocky ground had long impeded their root-growth and they did not have sufficient anchorage for their heavy tops. There was less damage than had been expected in the Hemlock Grove, where thirty trees were uprooted beyond the point of reclaiming them. Many other conifers were leaning after the storm, but they have been straightened and braced. The ornamental plantings of collection material suffered comparatively little damage. Most of the uprooted trees were at the edge of the woods and around the site of the old Lorillard Mansion. While branches were broken from many of the dahlias, which were just entering a promising season of bloom, 247 and the hardy asters, just beginning to open, were whipped almost beyond recognition, both plantings recovered enough to present an excellent showing of flowers around the first week in October. The hardy chrysanthemums did not seem to feel the effects of the storm. At the Arnold Arboretum Dr. E. D. Merrill reported the damage from the storm to have been the worst in the history of the institution. " A hurried survey made the next morning," he wrote, " shows that approximately 1,500 trees were either uprooted, broken off, or their tops so badly damaged that they will have to be removed." Wind velocity 12 miles distant was recorded, he said, at 187 miles an hour, and certainly it blew well over 100 miles an hour at the Arnold Arboretum at Jamaica Plain. Autumn Flowers. In The Garden's display of autumn flowers this year around the main conservatory, an announcement of which was sent to members Sept. 30, 900 dahlias in 400 varieties are being shown, and 70 different kinds of hardy asters (" Michaelmas daisies") occupy a border containing 2,500 plants. Chrysanthemums are expected to be in good bloom around the middle of October. Of these there are 3,000 plants in 72 varieties. The hardy and tropical waterlilies have been exceptionally fine this year and their blooming has been continued well into the autumn. Board. Mr. Pierre Jay, President of the Fiduciary Trust Company, was elected to the Board of Managers of the Botanical Garden in the class of 1939 at a meeting of the Board Sept. 16. In Chicago. Dr. W. H. Camp was invited to lecture at the Field Museum in Chicago October 1 on " Winter in Oaxaca." He also spoke at Northwestern University. Before returning to New York he went to St. Louis to investigate species of Vaccinium from the Ozark Mountains at the Missouri Botanic Garden. Geneva. Dr. A. B. Stout spent a week at Geneva, N. Y., the middle of September to study and evaluate the season's work in the breeding of hardy seedless grapes. While there he attended the meeting of the New York State Fruit Testing Association, where he spoke briefly on the new seedless grapes. Visitors. Dr. David Crawford, President of the University of Hawaii, visited The New York Botanical Garden Sept. 6 on his return from a three months' tour of Europe. He was at one time professor of botany at Pomona College. F. G. Walsingham, Director of the Harvard Botanical Garden in Cuba, spent several days at the end of September at The New York Botanical Garden studying the living collections of tropical plants. He was on his way back to Cuba after three months spent at Kew Gardens in England on a special commission for working with tropical plants. Prof. William Randolph Taylor, specialist in algae, stopped at the Garden in mid- September on his return to the University of Michigan from Woods Hole, Mass., where he had passed the summer. Frank G. Mackaness, who was returning from a summer at his former home in England, visited the Botanical Garden early in September before going to New Orleans, where he is heading the horticultural department at Dillard University. Bernice G. Schubert of the Gray Herbarium spent a week at the Garden in September working on the genus Desmodium. Rev. John Brett Langstaff has been a frequent visitor in his search for biographical material on Dr. Samuel Bard, the nineteenth century physician who took over the practice of Dr. David Hosack to enable the latter to spend more time on the Elgin Botanic Garden of which he was the founder. Joseph A. Manda, retired orchid grower of West Orange, N. J., came to the Garden during September, bringing a number of fine orchids with him. E. P. Killip of the Smithsonian Institution spent a week working on a collection of Venezuelan plants at the Garden in September. Among others who have registered in the Library during recent weeks are Theodore L. Steiger of Wellesley College; E. P. Felt of the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, accompanied by G. M. Codding; E. D. Merrill of Harvard University; A. LeRoy Andrews of Cornell University; Kenneth F. Baker of Honolulu; Arthur Herrington of the International Flower Show ; Margaret McKenny ; Dr. William S. Thomas; M. L. Fernald of the Gray Herbarium; F. Raymond Fosberg of the University of Pennsylvania; Henry Teuscher of the 248 Montreal Botanic Garden; Leon Croizat of the Arnold Arboretum; Ernest Rouleau of the University of Montreal; Wanda K. Farr of the Boyce Thompson Institute; Clyde Fisher of the American Museum of Natural History and Mile. Germaine Plouse of Bordeaux, France, who is doing pathological research at Louisiana State University this year. Lectures. Opening the first of a series of lectures arranged for patrons of the flower show in Greenwich, Conn., T. H. Everett spoke the evening of Sept. 20 on " Rock Gardens." The show is sponsored by the Westchester and Fairfield Horticultural Society, with the co- operation of the Greenwich, Riverside, and Hortulus Garden Clubs, the Little Garden Club of Rye, The Green Fingers, and the Woman's Club Gardeners. Mr. Everett addressed the Westport Club in Connecticut Sept. 16 : on " Garden Soils and Their Improvement" and the South Orange Garden Club Sept. 28 on " Bulbs and Annuals from South Africa." Dr. H. N. Moldenke lectured to the Mount Vernon Garden Club Sept. 19 on " Botanizing in Florida." On Sept. 25 he led a combined field trip of the Torrey Botanical Club, Newark Museum Nature Club, and the Naturalists' Club of Newark in the Watchung Mountains. Dr. B. O. Dodge spoke at Baraboo, Wise, before the University Club with the Garden Club as guests Sept. 18 on " Growing Healthy Plants at The Xew York Botanical Garden." Mycological Foray. Traveling to Duchesnay, northwest of Quebec, where the Forest Rangers School acted as hosts, Dr. B. O. Dodge, Dr. F. J. Seaver, and Mr. Robert Hagelstein were among the 70 persons who attended the annual foray of the Mycological Society of America, beginning August 23 and continuing to the end of the week. Two weeks of rain which were followed by fairer weather, combined with the royal entertainment which was offered throughout the session, made the foray an unusually successful one. Mr. Hagelstein addressed the group on myxomycetes and Dr. E. B. Mains of the University of Michigan gave a lecture on color photography. The events also included, outside of collecting trips, excursions to the surrounding country and motion pictures of Canadian scenery and life. The Gardening Staff. Donald Dodds, ; former student gardener, who was at tht Botanical Garden until December 1935 returned to the Garden in September as assistant foreman gardener in the greenhouse and has been assigned to Range 2 He has been greenhouse assistant undei Mr. J. G. Esson at the Mrs. Roswell Eldridge estate at Great Neck since leaving the Garden. John Borin, who has been assistanl foreman at Range 2, is being transferrec to Range 1 as assistant foreman. M. Truman Fossum, formerly assistanl foreman at Range 1, has enrolled this fall at Cornell University. Stephen G. Cutting returned from Europe October 1. After a year as exchange student gardener at Kew, he had arranged for a year of work at the Berlin- Dahlem Botanic Garden, but left after little more than three months there. After a season spent working in a nursery in Switzerland, Albert Gebert, a former gardener at the Botanical Garden and a graduate of the science course, also returned to this country in September. To Yale. John T. Moss, a student gardener who received his certificate from the Garden's science course last spring, is leaving October 15 to organize a new department for the propagating of plant material for Yale University's ornamental gardens. The work, which will come under the management of the Bureau of Planting, will chiefly be done in the greenhouse of a small estate which has recently been bequeathed to the University. The place is adjacent to the botanical garden at Yale in New Haven Mr. Moss began work at The New York Botanical Garden two years ago as ar apprentice, and shortly after was appointed a student gardener. Inez Mexia. Having contracted E chronic illness while collecting botanica! specimens last spring in Oaxaca and ad joining states of southern Mexico, Mrs Inez Mexia died July 12 in Berkeley Calif., at the age of 58. Her specimens located in the various herbaria of tht world, including The New York Botani cal Garden, leave evidence of her Ions continued activities as a plant collectoi in the relatively little known portions o the western hemisphere from Alaska intc South America. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF MANAGERS I. ELECTIVE MANAGERS Until 1939: ARTHUR M. ANDERSON ( Treasurer), CLARENCE LEWIS, PIERRE JAY, E. D. MERRILL, HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE ( Secretary and Assistant Treasurer), WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, and J. E. SPINGARN. Until 1940: HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN ( Vice- president), CHILDS FRICK, ALLYN R. JENNINGS, HENRY LOCKHART, JR., D. T. MACDOUGAL, and JOSEPH R. SWAN ( President). Until 1941: MARSHALL FIELD, MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON HOOKER, JOHN L. MERRILL ( V'ice- president), COL. ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, and H. HOBART PORTER. II. EX- OFFICIO MANAGERS FIORELLO H, LAGUARDIA, Mayor of the City of New York. ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner. JAMES MARSHALL, President of the Board of Education. III. APPOINTIVE MANAGERS TRACY E. HAZEN, appointed by the Torrey Botanical Club. R. A. HARPER, SAM F. TRELEASE, EDMUND W. SINNOTT, and MARSTON T. BOGERT, appointed by Columbia University. GARDEN STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D., SC. D Director H. A. GLEASON, P H . D Assistant Director and Head Curator HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director A. B. STOUT, P H . D Curator of Education and Laboratories FRED J. SEAVER, P H . D. f S c D Curator BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D Plant Pathologist JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D Bibliographer PERCY WILSON Associate Curator ALBERT C. SMITH, P H . D Associate Curator HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D Associate Curator ELIZABETH C. HALL, B. S Librarian H, H. RUSBY, M. D Honorary Curator of the Economic Collections FLEDA GRIFFITH Artist and Photographer ROBERT S. WILLIAMS Research Associate in Bryology E. J. ALEXANDER Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium W. H. CAMP, P H . D Assistant Curator CLYDE CHANDLER, A. M Technical Assistant ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant FREDERICK KAVANAGH, M. A Technical Assistant CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B Editorial Assistant THOMAS H. EVERETT, N. D. HORT Horticulturist G. L. WITTROCK, A. M Docent OTTO DEGENER, M. S Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany ROBERT HAGELSTEIN Honorary Curator of Myxomycetes ETHEL ANSON S. PECKHAM. . Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections ARTHUR J. CORBETT Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds A. C. PFANDER Assistant Superintendent MEMBERSHIP IN THE GARDEN Established as a privately endowed institution, aided partially by City appro-priations, The New York Botanical Garden is dependent for its progress largely upon benefactions and memberships. Through these means, though young as botanical gardens go, it has become the third largest institution of its kind, its library, herbarium, and horticultural collections ranking among the finest and most complete in any country. Membership in The New York Botanical Garden, therefore, means promotion of scientific research in botany and the advancement of horticultural interests. Scientifically, the Garden is able to serve as a clearing- house of information for students and botanists all over the world; horticulturally, it often serves as a link between the plant explorer or breeder and the gardening public. Through memberships and benefactions, provision is made at the Botanical Garden for the training of young scientists and student gardeners; hundreds of new books are added annually to the library, which is open daily to the public for research and reading; free exhibits are maintained in the museum, the greenhouses, and gardens, and lectures, courses, and free information in botany and gardening are given to the public. Each individual member of the Garden receives: ( 1) A copy of the Journal every month. ( 2) A copy of Addisonia twice a year, each number illustrated with eight colored plates of unusual plants, accompanied by complete descriptions and other pertinent information. ( 3) A share of surplus plant material of interesting or new varieties whenever it is distributed. ( 4) Announcements of special floral displays at the Garden from season to season. ( 5) Credit, to the extent of the membership fee paid, toward courses of study offered by the Garden. A limited number of garden clubs are accepted as affiliates. The privileges of affiliation are a subscription to the Journal, announcements of displays, a specially conducted tour of the grounds and greenhouses, and a lecture once a year by a selected member of the staff. Fellowships or scholarships for practical student- training in horticulture or for botanical research may be established by bequest or other benefaction either in perpetuity or for a definite period. The classes of membership and types of benefaction are as follows: Annual Member Sustaining Member Garden Club Affiliation Fellowship Member Member for Life Fellow for Life Patron Benefactor annual fee annual fee annual fee for club annual fee single contribution single contribution single contribution single contribution $ 10 25 25 100 250 1,000 5,000 25,000 Contributions to the Garden may be deducted from taxable incomes. The following is a legally approved form of bequest: J hereby bequeath to The New Tor\ Botanical Garden incorporated under ihe Laws of New Yor\, Chapter 285 of 1891, the sum of . Conditional bequests may be made with income payable to donor or any designated beneficiary during his or her lifetime. All requests for further information should be addressed to The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York, N. Y.
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Contributor | New York Botanical Garden |
Date | 1938-10 |
Description-Table Of Contents | Trees and Shrubs in New York City and Some Observations on Their Growth—II; Habitat Hunting in Mountains of the Southeast with Student Gardeners; Woody Plants Which Thrive in New York's Less Congested Zones; The Gardeners Forum; Current Literature at a Glance; Reviews of Recent Books; Notes, News, and Comment. |
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. 39, no. 466 |
Type | text |
Transcript | VOL. XXXIX No. 466 OCTOBER, 1938 PAGES 221— 248 JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York, N. Y. Entered at the Post Office in New York, N. Y., as second- class matter. Annual subscription $ 1.00 Single copies 10 cents Free to members of the Garden JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor OCTOBER, 1938 RED OAK ( Quercus rubra), ONE OF THE NATIVE TREES STILL STANDING ALONG RIVERSIDE DRIVE NEAR 180TH ST. Cover Photograph by Fleda Griffith TREES AND SHRUBS IN N EW YORK CITY AND SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR GROWTH Nelson Miller Wells 221 HABITAT HUNTING IN MOUNTAINS OF THE SOUTHEAST W I TH STUDENT GARDENERS E. J. Alexander 228 WOODY PLANTS W H I C H THRIVE IN N EW YORK'S LESS CONGESTED ZONES Photographs by Fleda Griffith and Nelson Miller Wells 234- 235 T H E GARDENERS FORUM 240 CURRENT LITERATURE AT A GLANCE Carol H. Woodward 241 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 242 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 246 PERIODICALS AND BOOKS Scientists and laymen alike are served by the publications of The New York Botanical Garden. With T^ orth American Flora, which eventually will contain a monograph of every plant family of this continent, taxonomists are kept informed of the identification of every known kind of plant of the United States, Mexico, Central America and the adjacent islands, and, on the north, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. Brittonia, named in honor of the founder and first director of the Garden, contains technical articles on plant identification and descriptions of new species. Addisonia, named in honor of Addison Brown, Dr. N. L. Britton's collaborator in preparing the famous Britton fe? Brown volumes on the flora of North America, gives complete descriptions and full- page colored plates of flowering plants of exceptional interest which have been successfully raised at The New York Botanical Garden or which are native to North America. Mycologia is the official organ of the Mycological Society of America. Issued every other month, it contains technical material, illustrated, on all forms and phases of the fungi. The Garden's Journal, on the other hand, is meant to be popular, and vet to present in authoritative manner to its readers articles of interest on horticulture and botany, nature study, and kindred subjects, besides a survey of the current activities of the Garden. " Plants of the Vicinity of New York" by H. A. Gleason is also intended for the people. This convenient volume dealing with flowering plants which grow within 100 miles of New York, is a simple guide to the flowers of woods and fields usable by anyone who can distinguish a petal from a leaf. While Rydberg's " Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America" is a bofanist's handbook, like Britton 6? Brown's " Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada", it can be used to advantage by the amateur. Such works, which are merely representative of the Botanical Garden's productions, are one of the institution's major services to the world of science and to popular education. JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN VOL. XXXIX OCTOBER, 1938 No. 466 Trees and Shrubs In £ New York Qity cAnd Some Observations On Their Growth « y ^ ehon miier Weiu '-' Landscape Architect The Second Zone ' | ' HE exact boundaries of the second zone of plant tolerance -*- in New York City are not clearly defined. From the edge of the first zone, where the paramount factors are those which limit the successful growth of plants, the second zone extends throughout the built- up business sections and hotel and residential areas, where tall buildings and pavements are practically continuous. About the same growing conditions exist here as in the areas defined as the first zone except for the somewhat less intense pollution of the atmosphere. Substructures which ramify in the soil affect the movement of soil waters; topsoil of a quality sufficient to support plant life exists in only meagre quantities; natural rainfall is collected into storm sewers without benefiting the soil; and dense shade is created by the tall buildings. The plants mentioned as tolerant in the first zone stand a better chance for success in the second, and in addition there are a number of others which will grow here although they vary in the degree of their success. Among the trees, Norway maples and pin oaks have been considered appropriate and each kind has been quite freely planted over a period of years. The pin oak appears to have been the more successful of the two, although it usually loses its excurrent habit and assumes a stunted appearance. Very likely if they were 221 222 tried, the red, scarlet, and shingle oaks would be as good as or better than the pin oaks. Even the Turkey and mossy- cup oaks are reasonably good in Central Park. Pin oaks, having a fibrous root system, transplant easily, even when they have not been nursery grown. The roots of red oaks are coarse and are seldom kept adequately pruned in nurseries; the trees are therefore more risky to transplant. This difference is undoubtedly one reason for the prevalence of pin oaks and the scarcity of reds, though the heavy, glossy leaves of red oaks stand up well during summer droughts while pin oak leaves frequently appear shriveled. Other trees which are reasonably thrifty under these conditions include the horse- chestnuts, honey- locusts and mulberries. Hack-berries have seeded themselves into strange corners and seem capable of withstanding considerable drought and reflected heat. Perhaps they are resistant also to smoky air. They are usually stunted however and heavily laden with witches' brooms. Likewise appearing as a natural growth in waste areas and certain parks are frequent examples of the common black cherry. If it were not for the annual crop of tent caterpillars and some of the other nuisance qualities possessed by this tree it might enjoy a reputation as a desirable subject for city conditions, for it has a picturesque habit of growth, the foliage is good, and it will appear happy even when growing on thin dry soil. The Chinese scholar- tree, though rarely seen, is an excellent tree for this zone. Several specimens have been planted here successfully. Among the lindens, the common, the silver, and the weeping linden appear to be the best, although most of the small- leaved European varieties are also good. They all suffer, however, from summer drought and some species, such as the American linden, lose all their leaves in late summer. Occasionally an Osage orange has been planted in the city and it is found to be exceptionally thrifty. If this tree were not so uncommon in our eastern market perhaps it would be used more freely. Where the bald cypress has been planted as a street tree in a limited area of Flushing, and also in the few places where it exists in the larger parks, it has endured for many years. These are all such luxuriant trees that the species might be expected to withstand even greater adversities. Among the small- growing trees and large shrubs there are a number of good representatives. Hawthorn, witch- hazel, mag- 223 nolia, and cork- trees are about the best, although two of the small maples— the English hedge maple and the Amur maple— as well as the buckthorns and flowering cherries can each be found in this district. All of the common kinds of hawthorn, such as the Washington and thicket thorns, seem to do well, but the glossy- leaved species are the best. The cockspur thorn belongs to this class, and old plants of Carriere hawthorn, with its large varnished leaves, have endured for many years in a thrifty condition in the Broadway plots in mid- Manhattan. Woolly and green aphids are quite serious pests on the hawthorns, but these plants appear to be reasonably free from diseases. Magnolias and witch- hazels seem absolutely incongruous in the city but a number of kinds of each are surprisingly successful. Two of the viburnums also are good. One, the native blackhaw, will grow on poor, thin soil and straggle up to a small tree, although in its youthful stage, when fresh from the nursery, its habit is compact and it has fine specimen qualities. Siebold viburnum is another and, like the specimen at City Hall Park, Manhattan, it will reach a height of twelve feet and appear quite thrifty. Several vines make their appearance in this zone. English ivy is fairly good, especially as a ground- cover. Wisterias will grow several stories high. Matrimony- vines, fleece- vines and the Japanese honeysuckles can each be found on fences, walls and covering the ground. Some of the woodbines are also occasionally found here. The Third Zone The third zone of plant tolerance covers a very large portion of the city. It extends from the second zone through the less intensively developed portions of the unrestricted business zones, including the areas of three- story attached and semi- detached houses in residential areas. It has as its outer limits those portions of the city where suburban conditions prevail. In the suburbs, where houses are spaced on at least 60- foot lots, there is a greatly increased amount of undeveloped land; air and moisture conditions are better, and there is an opportunity for almost any kind of planting that will endure the climate. The line between the second and third zones is quite indefinite. Some of the plants mentioned for the third zone may survive in 224 zone two, and many from that zone are likely to be a great deal more successful here. It is noteworthy that the largest part of the trees and shrubs which appear for the first time in this list are native to this region. They include the American ash, sassafras, sour- gum, sweet- gum, persimmon, and American larch. From other sources come the Japanese larch, sourwood or sorrel, and the European beech. The ash and sweet- gum make good street trees in this zone, while the others are usually found in parks or as lawn shade trees. Several additional large shrubs or small- growing trees appear. These include the goldenrain- tree, the hornbeams ( both native and European species), cornelian cherry, silverbell, snowbell, hazelnut, and Russian olive. Among the native shrubs are the chokeberries. cornels, sumacs, various viburnums, and blueberries, and the shadblow, spicebush, winterberry, and summersweet. Also several of the distinctly gardenesque flowering shrubs can be seen, such as Japanese quinces, bush honeysuckles, hydrangeas, forsythias, rose acacias, prairie and rugosa roses, Japanese barberries, and the winged euonymus and its relative, the European burning bush. Of course there are numerous other kinds of woody plants to be found within this zone, but the ones mentioned here appear to be the best. Some species seem better than others in the same genus, and where there is a preference only the better kinds are noted in the accompanying lists. The most surprising instance I have discovered is a number of bottlebrush buckeyes in a fairly thrifty state growing in the Broadway plots where they have survived for many years in the heat and dust of that busy thoroughfare. Notes on Special Plants Evergreens We all seem to have a longing to use a certain amount of evergreen material in our plantations. Even though we know they are not going to be entirely successful in the city we cannot resist trying some of them. In general they have to be treated like annuals and replaced as often as they fail. Some kinds, however, will tolerate the city conditions better than the others. Austrian pine is about the best of the evergreen conifers, although it soon languishes if the air is bad. The yews, particularly 225 Carnegie A city garden li\ e this, in which hroad- leaved evergreens are a dominant feature, must be replaced with fresh material every four or five years. The scene is in the private garden of Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, overlooking Central Par\ from Fifth Avenue, in ?\[ eu/ York City. 226 the various forms of Japanese yew, are being used extensively. Some will endure possibly for several years but the best plantations are those which have their sickly plants replaced each year. Some of the broad- leaved evergreens are standing very well. The hollies are among the best. Even the native American holly is occasionally seen. The native inkberry and different forms of Japanese holly are especially good. Firethorns are equally successful. Where the cultural conditions are favorable a variety of evergreen rhododendrons together with andromedas, leucothoes, and such azaleas as amoena and indica types do surprisingly well. Evergreen ground- covers like periwinkle, Japanese spurge and evergreen bittersweet are not generally dependable. Plants that are Not Successful Some plants seen around the city are invariably in a weakened and sickly condition. Such kinds should always be avoided where atmospheric conditions are unfavorable. Evergreen trees are the most conspicuous failures. Hemlock, spruce, fir, Douglas fir, and pine are the normally large- growing kinds used in landscape plantations with dwarf pine, juniper, arborvitae and Japanese cypress for low and intermediate heights. None of these has been observed in the cit}' in anything like a thrifty condition. Among the deciduous plants that do not appear to be able to survive in New York City are red and sugar maples. Even the sycamore maple does not like the smoky air. American beech, flowering dogwood, the birches, and two of the viburnums, the Japanese snowball and the linden viburnum, and most of the spireas are poor in growth. In places like Prospect Park, Brook��lyn, some of these may be seen in a fairly healthy condition but they do not do well in Central Park or in situations where the conditions are more adverse. Excepting for the evergreen trees the range of plants is quite extensive for city planting. Trial and error afford the surest test. A certain plant may fail in one particular area but thrive exceedingly well in a similar exposure just a few blocks distant. In the following lists, plants which are most suitable for the second and third zones are named.* * Through an unaccountable oversight, the rose- of- Sharon mentioned last month in the list of plants for the first zone was given the botanical name of the hollyhock instead of its rightful name, Hibiscus syriacus. 227 The Second Zone English Hedge Maple Amur Maple Norway Maple Horse- chestnut Hackberry Carriere Hawthorn Thicket Hawthorn Washington Thorn Cockspur Thorn Honey- locust English Ivy Witch- hazel Japanese Honeysuckle Matrimony- vine Osage Orange Magnolia Mulberry Cork- tree Chinese Fleece- vine Black Cherry Flowering Cherries Turkey Oak Scarlet Oak Shingle Oak Mossy- cup or Bur Oak Pin Oak Red Oak Buckthorn Chinese Scholar- tree Bald Cypress Small- leaved European Linden Weeping Linden Silver Linden Common Linden Blackhaw Siebold Viburnum Wisteria Acer campestre Acer Ginnala Acer platanoidcs Acsculus Hippocastanum Celtis occidentalis Crataegus Lavallei Crataegus intricata Crataegus Phaenopyrum Crataegus Crus- galli Gleditsia triacanthos Hedera Helix and varieties Hamamelis spp. Loniccra japonica Lycium halimifolium Madura poniifera Magnolia spp. Mortis spp. Phcllodendron spp. Polygonum Aubertii Primus serotina Prunus spp. and vars. Quercus Cerris Quercus coccinca Quercus imbricaria Quercus macrocarpa Quercus palustris Quercus rubra Rhamnus spp. Sophora japonica Taxodium distichum Tilia cordata Tilia petiolaris Tilia tomentosa Tilia vulgaris Viburnum prunifolium Viburnum Sieboldii IVistcria spp. The Third Zone Bottlebrush Buckeye Shadblow Red Chokeberry Black Chokeberry Spicebush Japanese Barberry European Hornbeam American Hornbeam Summersweet Cornelian Cherry Gray Dogwood or Cornel Hazelnut Japanese Quince Persimmon Russian Olive or Oleaster Winged Euonymus European Spindle- tree or Burning Bush Acsculus parviflora Auiclanchicr spp. Aronia arbutifolia Aronia melanocarpa Benzoin aestivale Bcrbcris Thunbergii Carpinus Bctuhts Car pinus caroliniana Clethra alnifolia Cornus mas Cornus paniculata and similar species Corylus spp. Chaenomeles japonica Diospyros virginiana Elaeagnus angustifolia Euonymus alatus Euonymus europaeus 228 European Beech Forsythia White Ash Silverbell Hydrangea Winterberry Goldenrain- tree American Larch Japanese Larch Sweet- gum Bush Honeysuckle Sour- gum Sorrel- tree Sumac Rose- acacia Rugosa Rose Prairie Rose Sassafras Japanese Snowbell Blueberry Withe- rod Nanny- berry Viburnum Fagus sylvatica Forsythia spp. Fraxinus americana Halesia Carolina Hydrangea spp. and vars. Ilex verticillata Koelreuteria paniculata Larix laricina Larix Kaempferi Liquidambar Styraciflua Lonicera spp. Nyssa sylvatica Oxydendrum arborcum Rhus spp. Robinia hispida Rosa rugosa Rosa setigera Sassafras variifoliuni Styrax japonica Vaccinium spp. Viburnum cassinoides Viburnum Lentago Viburnum molle Habitat Hunting In zMountains Of the Southeast With Student Qardeners By E. J. Alexander When four of the student gardeners of The Neiv York Botanical Garden chose to spend their vacations this year by making a collecting trip through a portion of the southern Appalachians, they gave themselves the opportunity of seeing in native habitats - many plants zvhich they zvere cultivating at the Botanical Garden. A large proportion of these had been collected on the Garden's Southern Appalachian Expedition of 1933, while others among the newer ones had been acquired by members of the staff on subsequent independent trips. Sonic, on the other hand, were species commonly cultivated, but ones zvhich the students had formerly not associated with the zvild state. In addition, they observed many plants entirely nczv to them and brought back seed or living specimens of a number of subjects zvhich may be nczv to horticulture. Part of their usual outside zvork as student gardeners consists in making herbarium collections of the local flora. To their specimens gathered on previous jaunts in the vicinity of Nczv York, each of them added about 160 nczv subjects, all representing plants zvhich do not grozv north of central Pennsylvania. Thus, while on a vacation trip these four student gardeners— Ralph Pinkus, Samuel Bridge, A. I. Bisaillon, and Donald Samson— became acquainted zvith an important floral region of the United States, increased their own collections of plants for study and reference, and added nearly a thousand plants of fifty or more herbaceous species, besides a number of zvoody ones, to the Botanical Garden through their collections of seeds and living material. Their guide on the trip zvas E. I. Alexander, zvho took them over much of the region coz'crcd fiz'c years previously on the Garden's official expedition in search of plants.— C. H. W. 229 Into the Southern Appalachians THE shale- barren region along and around the Virginia- West Virginia state line was the first objective on the student gardeners' trip. This area is the home of several interesting and attractive plants, some of which were introduced to cultivation by the Garden's Southern Appalachian Expedition of 1933. Since a few of these plants had presented difficulties in cultivation the students wished to study them in their natural habitats to try and find the conditions necessary for their well- being. The large-flowered Oenothera argillicola was not yet in bloom, but many plants were seen in their young stages. The small gray- foliaged ragwort, Senecio antennariifolius was past flowering, but its seeds were ripe and it is hoped yet to introduce this plant to rock gardens. One of the greatest rarities of the region, the little purplish-flowered Astragalus distortus, which had proved most unamenable to cultivation, was sought and found in both flower and fruit. Growing as it does in a dry hardpan mixture of shale fragments and their residual clay, it will probably still prove a difficult though desirable subject. Trifolium virginicuin, the stemless endemic clover of the region, was found also in flower and fruit. The shale- barren region is not continuous, so we found a different type of habitat to investigate by visiting a partly wooded cliff area adjacent. Plere in crevices and on steep slopes were seen the little white- flowered crucifer, Draba ramosissima. In loose cushions on the cliff edges were large patches of a sandwort, Arenaria stricta, and back among the trees the shooting- star, Dodecatheon Meadia, and the pale- pink- flowered Sedum telephi-oides, a rather coarse but attractive plant. The purple- flowered wood- mint, Blephilia ciliata, was quite common in this area, making large clumps on open slopes. Nearby we found frequent colonies of Linum perenne naturalized along the roadside. So far as we know, this is the first record of this European species in this region. Near the headwaters of the Potomac river, we came across numerous stands of Anemone riparia in open limestone woods. This plant with its handsome, rather large, white flowers would be a worthy denizen of the shaded wild garden if amenable in cultivation. On the mountains east of Monterey, Va., we stopped to look at plants of Mensiesia pilosa, an ericaceous shrub with 230 dull yellowish- orange flowers, and in searching through the neighboring woods we found the lily- of- the- valley in full flower. This plant is strangely enigmatical in its occurrence in the European mountains, the southern Alleghenies, and in eastern Asia. It is the only plant known with a natural distribution in the temperate zone of three continents. In damp hollows nearby were attractive colonies of the filmy-flowered Heuchera villosa and the white heads of Clintonia umbellulata. One more shale- barren was visited where, in August and September great drifts of Eriogonum Alleni cover the steep unstable slopes with a yellow glow. 1 Here also are colonies of the shrubby Clematis ovata, with dull purple nodding bells. The white- flowered Sedum Nevii- is common throughout the southern Appalachians, but nowhere does it reach better development than in the shale-barren area. A side trip was made in West Virginia to visit a colony of the rare box- huckleberry, Gaylussacia brachycera, each colony of which is said to consist of a single plant. In the same region we found the recently described Phlox Buckleyi in full flower, some plants having flowers with laciniate petals. In southwestern Virginia, nearby mountain- slopes and hillside pastures were frequently buried under a pink avalanche of mountain laurel, one of the finest sights of the trip. Reaching the crystalline Blue Ridge, we began to see more and more frequently the typical southern mountain plants which are either confined to or reach their best development in the higher altitudes. Those which first became plentiful were Magnolia acuminata, M. Fraseri, Oxydcndrum arbor cum, Clethra acuminata, Azalea calcndulacea, Galax aphylla, Silene virginica3 and Sedum ternatum. All have been long in cultivation, but it was of great interest to the students to see them in their native stands. In northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee, it was of botanical interest to note frequent occurrences of Hieracium pratense. which is not listed in the manuals as occurring south of Virginia. 1 For a description of Eriogonum Alleni see Addisonia 20: No. 3. 1938. 2 Sedum Nez'ii is now well established in the Thompson Memorial Rock Garden, where it is making an increasingly splendid show of white bloom every year in late spring. 3 Though a difficult subject in the north, Silene virginica now seems to be holding its own with its fiery blossoms in the Thompson Memorial Rock Garden. For a description, see Addisonia 19: No. 2. 1935. 231 Photograph by A. J. Bisaillon The upper portion of Mount Pisgah, 5,749 feet in altitude, is a heath'bald in an advanced stage. The middle slopes of this great landmar\ west of Asheville are covered with a typical southern Appalachian forest. The saxifrage shown on page 238 was photographed on its upper slope. Traveling on steep grades and long winding and twisting roads, first up one mountain range, then down another and back up still another, as it can only be done in North Carolina, we finally arrived at Asheville, the center of the mountain region. Here we visited Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Clement at the Nik- Nar Nursery, through whose efforts many rare native plants are being brought into cultivation. Accompanied by our friends we visited the 232 famous swamp at Flat Rock where in its type locality we saw Sarracenia Joncsii. Associated together in this same swamp is a curious mixture of coastal, mountain and northern plants. Some of the more prominent among them were Helenium brevifolium and Pogonia divaricata from the coastal plain; Amianthium mus-caetoxicum and Azalea arborsecens, generally from the mountains ; Myrica Gale and Azalea viscosa, which are distinctly northern species; and Kalmia Carolina and Scutellaria integrifolia, which may be found both in the mountains and along the coast. On Chimney Rock mountain, the high scenic point of the Hickorynut Gap section, we saw such typically southern Appalachian plants as Heuchera parviflora, Philadelphus inodorus, P hirsutus, Selaginella Shcrzvoodii, Rhododendron carolinianuni, Tsuga caroliniana, Pinus pungens, Trautvctteria carolinensis, Talinum tcretifolium, Phacelia bipinnatiftda, and Penstemon canescens. There were of course many other plants, but those named are in exceptionally well- developed natural stands and furnished the best examples for study. In the nearby warm valley region, we saw a fine colony of the hardy native passion- flower, Passiflora incarnata, Mt. Pisgah, a beautifully shaped mountain west of Asheville, has a fine heath- bald development, making it an area especially well worth visiting. In the forests on the middle slopes are great festoons of Aristolochia macrophylla and fine thickets of Azalea calendidacea. On the upper elevations, Saxifraga Icucanthemifolia and Houstonia purpurea form the great mass of cliff- face plants, the woods around being well supplied with Hugeria erythrocarpa, Ilex monticola and Mcnzicsia pilosa. On the uppermost areas, Hypericum Buckleyi and Potentilla tridcntata form heavy sods in open stretches, while Rhododendron carolinianuni and R. catawbiense form the heavy thickets just below the summit. On the summit itself is one of the most finely developed stands known of Pieris floribunda, where a trail runs for a mile or so through its gnarled, headtopping growth. Off the western slopes we saw handsome colonies of Phlox Carolina and Eryngium yuccifolimn. and in the Nantahala Gorge we had a long- drawn- out search for some of the large colonies of the rare sedge, Cymophyllus Fraseri. The rocky walls here were also well- decorated with Dicentra cximia. Crossing into the Tennessee River valley we saw the only bit of southern lowland flora of the trip, where along the river- 233 banks were heavy thickets of Ulmus alata and Quercus nigra and scrambling over them Vitis rotundifolia, Bignonia crucigera and Cocculus carolinus. Ascending the Great Smokies from the west, we admired the great forests and the thickets of rhododendron and laurel, and on the summit ridge made several side trips into the heavy growth of Abies Frascri and Picea rubens. The more interesting things seen were a handsome purple- flowered form of Hydrophyllum virginiamtm, occasional patches of Claytonia caro-liuiana and Pamassia asarifolia and quantities of Solidago glomerata and that interesting endemic of the Smokies, Senecio Rugelia4. Back in North Carolina we found along the bank of Alarka creek a nice stand of Rhododendron minus. In open thickets along the stream were scattered plants of Thcrmopsis caroliniana. a common enough garden plant, but extremely rare in the wild. Leaving the gorge and climbing over the ridge, we found near the top colonies of the parasitic shrub, Pyrularia pubera, its pearlike fruits half- formed. Many splendid specimen plants of Silene virginica, the fire- pink, were seen in this section. As we approached Wayah Bald, splendid stands of Rhododendron maximum and Kalmia latifolia 25- 30 feet high were seen, and great colonies of the endemic huckleberry, Gaylussacia ursina, mingled with Indian paint- brush, Castilleja coccinca, and the bunch- flower, Mclanthium latifolium, the latter a useful plant for shady woodland planting. On the summit of the mountain, the fine stand of Azalea arborescens Richardsonii was just coming into flower, the yellow blotch on its upper petal easily distinguishing it from the species. Near the summit was the finest plant we saw of Azalea calcndidacea; it measured about 15 feet in diameter and height and was ablaze from top to bottom with bloom. In some of the deep ravines on the lower slopes were frequent colonies of Diphylleia cymosa, a relative of the May- apple, with leaves a foot in diameter. Near Highlands, we went to see one of the finest known colonies of Stewartia pentagyna and near it the velvet- leaved, dwarf holly, Ilex Beadlei. But now our troubles started. It was decided after a council-meeting to go into the Whitewater country in South Carolina to see Shortia galacifolia in its natural habitat. It would probably make an interesting afternoon trip of 20 or 30 miles and we could easily reach Asheville again by dark. So we went blithely 4 Senecio Rugelia is described in Addisonia 20: No. 2. 1937. 1. Wisteria reaching to the roof on one of the early houses at Washington Square. 2. An American holly 28 feet high growing in Owl's Head Par\ in Brooklyn. 3. A row of young pin oa\ s, recently planted, giues promise of a fine avenue along 195th St. between Jerome and Reservoir. 4. The shfrigle oak. often assumes a'flat-topped appearance in the city. It holds its foliage well during the summer. WOODY PLANTS WI THRIVE IN NEW YO LESS CONGESTED ZC ^: M¥" *? f^ Kt rf.',;>:-,,:-.-^ • p.-' ii,, '\ :,''?£:•' ;<:';"; ^ ^ ^ w *"""' ' ]|| fi|| 1ll|| lii> K:'!" ljilsil!!: j £ s r a^ p'ff* On the grounds of Mother Cahrini Memorial Hospital is a thrifty planting which includes a paulownia, American plane, hac\ berry, and Lombardy poplar, all bordered by privet. The large glossy leaves of Crataegus Lavallei appear luxuriant even after many years on Broadway, m one of the plots near 80th St. 7. Paulownia, the empress- tree, reaches its northern limit in 7^ ew Tor\, and grows even within the city into an appropriately majestic tree. This one is in Central Par\. 236 Photograph by A. J. Bisaillon Galax aphylla is one of the commonest of woodland cover plants in the southern Appalachians. This was found on Mount Mitchell. Ralph Pin\ us is shown examining one of the candle- li\ e spires of white bloom above the glossy evergreen leaves. down into Horse Cove, from which we turned into a side road winding down one mountain after another. We knew that our plant grew in damp rhododendron thickets, and we examined many of them. Of course we were not in the Whitewater valley and we knew it, but why should Shortia not grow in other valleys where the habitat was similar? We did find beautiful colonies of the large- flowered wild ginger, Asarum Shuttlczvorthii and one patch of the rare Ophrys Smallii, a tiny orchid with rather 237 drab- colored flowers, and many a beautiful woodland stand of Amianthium muscaetoxicum? Black clouds rolled up and rumbles of thunder came nearer and nearer. Many a head- high thicket of Leucothoe Catesbaei, 0 in most perfect development did we see, but no Shortia; neither could we find South Carolina, although we had left Horse Cove only three miles from the state line. Finally we crossed the Chattooga River and, quite positive we were in South Carolina, stopped at the first mountain cabin we saw to do some inquiring. A rather shabby- looking man, a woman, and six children were tilling a small garden patch. The man came over and after a few pleasant amenities, we asked if he had ever seen " little coltsfoot" in this section. He had never heard of it, but stated he was familiar with all the flowers of the region, so we went through all the " common names" under which the plant has been listed in books, but not one did he recognize. In final exasperation a piece of paper was produced and a picture of the plant drawn. Immediately his eyes lit up. " Oh," said he, " We calls that Shortia." He then stated that it grew 15 or 20 miles away in South Carolina, and recommended that we go to Salem, for anyone there could direct us to it. To Salem we went, finding it only after using the hit- and- miss system in threading a maze of clay farm roads. No one we could find in that town had ever heard of the plant, but said they knew all the plants in the region. One man however knew where Whitewater Falls was and directed us to the place. The road twisted through great thickets of farkleberry, JTaccinium arboreum, and finally started to ascend the mountains. It became almost impassable at times with its mudholes and steep stony grades but we blundered through for 18 miles to the accompaniment of frequent rolls of thunder, until we heard the roar of a great waterfall. There in a deep gorge was the 300- foot plunge of the 5 A description of Amianthium muscaetoxicum will appear in the next number of Addisonia. 6 Other southeastern plants mentioned here which have been illustrated and described in Addisonia are: Rhododendron carolinianitm. Vol. 1. No. 1 ; Cymophyllus Fraseri 1. No. 4; Oxydcndrum arboreum 4. No. 2; Leucothoe Catesbaei 4. No. 4; Gaylussacia brachycera 6. No. 2: Shortia ( Sherzvoodia) galacifolia 10. No. 1 ; Asalea viscosa glauca 11. No. 3; Eryngium yucci-folium ( aauaticum) 11. No. 3; Azalea calendulacea 13. No. 2; Sedum terna-tum 13. No. 2; Dicentra ( Bicueulla) eximia 14. No. 4; Oenothera argilli-cola 17. No. 4; Pogonia ( Clcistes) divaricata 18. No. 3; Stezvartia ( Mala-chodendrou) pentagyna grandiflora 19. No. 1 ; Asalea arborescens 19. No. 2. 238 SCENERY AND PLANTS FROM THE STUDENT GARDENER'S VACATION TRIP " Whitewater Falls in South Carolina is in a remote mountain section near the tri- state corner. Rhododendron minus stands in the foreground here. Photographs by E. J Saxifraga leucanihemifolia, which stands about a foot high, frequents wet cliffs and streamsides in the southeastern mountains, but it is not well \ nown in cultivation. From which the student gardeners brought bac\ from their trip it is hoped to establish this airyli saxifrage in gardens. Shortia glacifolia " grows li\ e a weed" in its native haunt in a smai in the " Whitewater country in South Carolina. 239 Whitewater River, the cliffs all around covered with Rhododendron minus in full flower, truly a glorious sight. Still no Shortia. Several hours later we came out on the state highway in North Carolina, with an extensive knowledge of where Shortia did not grow. At the last mountain cabin, however, ten or twelve miles back, we had found an old man who had given us the exact locality, and who clearly knew what he was talking about. It was in the Whitewater valley but on the opposite side from where we had been. We spent the night at Lake Toxaway and held another council to decide if the elusive Shortia was worth another day— and concluded that it was. We went to Rosman and took the main road into South Carolina, since this road skirted the far side of the Whitewater valley, and finally found someone who knew where Jocassee was. It was this " village" we had been told to look for. It was necessary for us to be led by another car through the maze of farm roads to an old rambling building which looked as though it had once been a country hotel. It was labeled Camp Jocassee. . . Small wonder it was on no map! We stood on the banks of the Whitewater River in front of Jocassee and wondered what next. Down the road came a barefooted farmer and we drew him into conversation. We asked for this and that place, arousing his curiosity until he asked what we were looking for. Again we drew a picture. " Oh, that weed," he said, " it grows around the spring right over here." We followed him across a bridge into the rhododendron. Yes, it was there, in quantity, carpeting the ground, the stream bed, and the steep walls of ravines through the thickets. We were assured it was a common weed throughout the region, and were also told we were about eight miles from Salem. Shortia's associates were Asarum virginicum, Viola hirsutula, V. Iiastata, V pollens, V rotundifolia, Viburnum nudum, and the climbing hydrangea relative, Decumaria barbara. The habitat was exactly what we had thought: wet rhododendron thickets. Mt. Mitchell, highest point in the eastern states, was our next goal. There, accompanied by no difficulties we saw splendid specimens of Robinia viscosa, very rare in the wild, frequent colonies of Thcnuopsis fraxinifolia, and Galax aphylla. This region gave us by far the finest display of Azalea calendulacea of the trip, to say nothing of the great carpets of Houstonia scrpyllifolia and H. purpurea which fairly outdid themselves. At one place a colony of pure albino H. scrpyllifolia was found. Above 5,000 feet. 240 Rhododendron catawbiense ran riot, in all shades of magenta, rosy- purple, and even rose. The last day was spent in a highly educational trip through the famous Biltmore Estate, where we saw many surpassingly fine plantings of both common and rare plants, native and exotic. On the way out of North Carolina, we found good colonies of Symplocos tinctoria Ashei, an early spring- flowering shrub which is to be tested for hardiness. At Blowing Rock, the crevices were draped with the silvery heads of Paronychia argyrocoma interspersed with the rare Liatris Helleri. In the northwestern corner of the state and in adjacent Tennessee we found Crepis capillaris, unrecorded before from this far south. On the way back through Virginia, stops were made to see the rather rare Pachistima Canbyi and Clematis Addisonii, as well as the more common Anemone lancifolia, Phlox ovata, Allium cernuum and Delphinium tricornc. Perhaps the greatest value of this 2,000- mile trip was the opportunity of seeing many ornamental and rare native plants in their natural habitats and in the areas where they reach their greatest development. Many of the plants here mentioned are now commonly cultivated, some of them through having been introduced by The New York Botanical Garden, but a fair number still remain to be placed in cultivation or to have their horticultural possibilities worked out. Practically all are being tried out at this institution, for their hardiness and ornamental value. Of equal value was the sight in the Nik- Nar Nursery and in the private nursery of Mr. C. D. Beadle, Superintendent of the Biltmore Estate, of a number of native rarities which we did not have time to seek out in the wild. These were taking their first steps along the road leading to American gardens. The Qardeners Forum A S AN unofficial organization among the student gardeners and other members of the gardening staff of The New York Botanical Garden, the Gardeners Forum began its eighth year of activity at the annual meeting held Sept. 19. P. J. McKenna was re- elected chairman for the year; Joseph Tansey was chosen vice- chairman to succeed Franklin C. Moore; and Wilbur Wright was made secretary- treasurer, succeeding 241 J o h n T. Moss. Assisting Mr. W r i g h t in planning the subjects for discussion d u r i n g the year will be George McGregor and Samuel Bridge. M e e t i n g twice a month d u r i n g the autumn and winter, the G a r d e n e r s F o r u m gives its members an o p p o r t u n i t y to present p a p e r s on h o r t i c u l t u r a l topics and to discuss the subjects afterward. Last year, when H o w a r d Swift and Ronald Townsend were on the committee with Mr. Moss in p l a n n i n g the p r o g r a m s, the following subjects were p r e s e n t e d by the g a r d e n e r s named: Fraser MacCartney Edward J. Brennan John T. Moss Donald Moss LILIES SOILS AND FERTILIZERS PROPAGATION OF TREES AND SHRUBS NOTEWORTHY TREES AND SHRUBS SOME CURRENT METHODS USED IN THE PROPAGATION AND CULTURE OF PLANTS THE TREND OF HORTICULTURE GREENHOUSE INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL LANDSCAPING THE SMALL HOME GROUNDS RHODODENDRONS AND AZALEAS THE ROLE OF LIGHT IN THE LIFE OF PLANTS LAWNS: CONSTRUCTION AND CARE THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL FLORICULTL* RE Ronald B. Townsend Frank G-. Mackaness George McGregor C Nicholas A. Pecora Ralph Pinkus A. E. McKay Donald Samson Samuel Bridge Current Literature* At a Glance By Carol H. Woodward Mushroom Culture. Edmund B. Lambert, writing in the Botanical Review for July, deals with a subject of wide appeal, scientific, practical and popular— the principles and problems of mushroom culture. Besides the common Agaricus campestris, he mentions a number of other mushrooms which may be subj ected to cultivation, though he goes into greatest detail in treating the field mushroom of the American market. Galapagos. The vegetation of the curious island which for years has been a goal of both scientists and explorers is treated in Spanish in a recent paper-covered volume entitled ( in translation) " Galapagos Observed Phytologically.'' M. Acosta Solis is the author of the book, which is published by the Central University of Quito, Ecuador. * Ali publications mentioned here— and many others— mav he found in the Library of The Botanical Garden, in the Museum Building. Plant Influence. The possibility that ethylene emanation from fruits may have some purpose or usefulness not yet discovered is suggested by F. E. Weiss in an article headed " The Influence of One Plant on Another," which appears in the April Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. He refers particularly to the discovery of Molisch that the presence of apples promoted the growth of callus in cuttings of poplar and willow and stimulated root formation on willows. Small Bulbs. Crocuses which flower in autumn are the leading subject in the National Horticultural Magazine for July. Alfred Bates, in this article, describes more than 20 species and varieties. In the same issue B. Y. Morrison, editor, treats of " Various Muscari." Besides photographs of the flowers he shows sketches of the bulbs of many species in natural size. House Plants. What to do with potted plants when they are brought indoors at the end of the summer is told by Esther C. Grayson in the September number of the American Home. 242 Reviews of Recent < Hooks ( All publications reviewed here may be consulted in the Library of The New York Botanical Garden.) Growing Plants in Chemical Solutions SOILLESS GROWTH OF PLANTS. Carleton Ellis and Miller W. Swaney. 155 pages, illustrated, indexed. Reinhold, New York, 1938. $ 2.75. CHEMICAL GARDENS AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM. Revised Edition. Anonymous. 19 pages. 1938. Chemical Garden Co., Evanston, 111. 25<*. GROWING PLANTS WITHOUT SOIL BY THE WATER CULTURE METHOD. D. R. Hoagland and D. I. Arnon. 16 pages, mimeographed, 1938. University of California, College of Agriculture, Berkeley, Calif. Popular interest in the growth of plants without soil has been aroused by considerable publicity in the newspapers. This method of growing plants has been variously called water culture, tray agriculture, tank farming, hydroponics, chemical gardening, and so on. The three publications mentioned above were written in response to this interest. The book by Ellis and Swaney is the most ambitious of the three. Its presentation of the subject is largely uncritical and it contains considerable erroneous and dubious botanical information. In addition to discussing the growth of plants in water culture and in sand or cinder media, other topics— for example, auxins, colchicine and heavy water— which have recently attracted popular notice receive attention from the authors. They discuss their own experiments, including tho^ e on rocking troughs simulating the conditions if plants are grown in soilless cultures on ships at sea, as well as experiments by others. The pamphlet by the Chemical Garden Company gives a straightforward description of the equipment, chemicals, and procedure which may be used in the " water culture" system and incidentally advertises its own products. Hoagland and Arnon in a mimeographed circular from the California Agricultural Experiment Station give a conservative discussion of the water culture method and procedures for growing plants by the water culture method. They do not believe the water culture methoc offers advantages over soil. They say " There is no magic in the growth o plants in water culture," and " . . present indications are that over th< course of a year the yield of fruit pei unit area or per plant, of plants grow: in fertile soil, will not be significant!} different from that of plants grown ii water culture.'' W. J. ROBBINS. Forests in Germany GERMAN FORESTRY. Franz Heske 342 pages, illustrated with photographs charts, and maps; indexed. Yale Uni versity Press, New Haven. 1938. $ 3 The management of forests in German} as a natural resource to be maintainec on a sustained yield basis has long beei recognized as a precept to be followec by every other country which has becomt conscious of its timber heritage. Professor Heske, representing the oldest foresl school of academic rank in the world, has presented the background, the development, and the present structure of this management, in an effort to make its technique more available to foresters ir other countries. We are indebted to thf Trustees of The Oberlaendcr Trust anc to members of the Carl Schnrz Memorial Foundation for this volume, for they invited Dr. Heske of the Forstliche Hoch-schnle, Tharandt bei Dresden, to make 2 brief survey of American forestry ir 1934, and subsequently to conduct a grour of American foresters and lumbermer through Germany and Austria. Out oi these mutual experiences there developec this volume in German, now made available to English- speaking people by Prof Recknagel of Cornell University anc several collaborators. It is especially interesting to note thai until recently forest management in Germany was the concern of individual state; rather than of the national government and that only in 1934 was an organiza tion developed comparable to the Ameri can Forest Service in its scope and cen- 243 tralizing objective. A year later, private forests, which have long played an important role in the sum total of German forestry, came under national supervision, not by way of confiscation, but by technical guidance coupled with self- administration in a manner to avoid bureaucratic tutelage. This national administration, as would be expected in Germany, is highly organized, and each state has its own counterpart. In addition to these strictly governmental agencies, the National Socialist Party has its own forestry agency, the principal purpose of which is said to be the coordination of the entire German forestry structure. With respect to the natural woodland resources of Germany, we are reminded that the forests no longer are natural forests but cultivated areas, for centuries of colonization have completely removed the primeval stands and therewith have in many cases seriously altered the association of plants. The result today is a land covered with fifteen different types of vegetation, namely, the heath region of northwestern Germany, the western Baltic beech region, the broadleaf and pine region of Pomerania, the spruce region of East Prussia, the north German pine region, the pine- spruce- fir region of Upper Silesia, the spruce- beech- fir region of central and southern Germany, the pine and oak region of the Upper Palatinate and Central Franconia, the alpine spruce region, the broadleaf region of southern Germany, the broadleaf region of western Germany, the oak region of the lower Rhine and Westphalia, the pine and broadleaf region of the Rhine, the bottomland region, and the black soil regions. The total forest area covers 27 per cent of the country, exclusive of the Saar, and this area is not considered adequate to meet Germany's forest needs. In fact, the country has not been self-sustaining in these matters and great amounts of pulp wood have long been imported from Scandinavia. In addition to these items, culled from this interesting volume, there are chapters dealing with forestry education, the development of land use in Germany, the management of all the various types of forests, employment of labor and other social problems, and finally with forest taxation and fires, two of the most vexing questions concerning our own forest heritages in the United States. E. H. FULLING. Five Pounds on Gardening THE GARDENER'S OMNIBUS. Edited for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by Edward I. Farrington. 886 pages, illustrated, indexed. Hale, Cushman & Flint, Boston, 1938. $ 3.50. " Thirty- nine books in one" is the announcement which accompanies The Gardener's Omnibus of the 109- year- old Horticultural Society which has its headquarters up in Boston. The subjects of the " books" vary from the Garden Calendar, resembling the column which has appeared each week in Horticulture for many years, to rock gardens, and include a special section on each of the important groups of plants, such as roses, wild flowers, hedge plants, bulbs, and trees, besides discussions of garden pests, labels, pruning, greenhouses, and many other topics. Most of the material has appeared in Horticulture and the whole book is made up in the style of that weekly magazine — which means that its 886 large pages with heavy covers weigh five pounds. Nearly every page contains at least one photograph of a plant subject being discussed. While many names of experts appear at the ends of articles, the bulk of the book is admittedly written by and for amateurs. Though many statements are made with New England conditions in mind, the articles cover the country in application from coast to coast and from the Gulf beyond the border into Canada. CAROL H. WOODWARD. A Fungus- Insect Relationship THE GENUS SEPTOBASIDIUM. John N. Couch. 480 pages, indexed. Illustrated with text- figures and plates. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1938. $ 5. A volume entitled The Genus Sep-tobasidium by Dr. John N. Couch, Professor of Botany at the University of North Carolina, has recently appeared. This work was started more than ten years ago, and at that time this fungus genus was represented by about 75 species, while the present volume contains descriptions of 176 species, many of which have been described as new by the author of the work. The introduction presents a description of the life histories of some of the typical 244 species of this genus, and the account reads like a fairy story. The interesting and intimate correlation of the fungus with its insect host is almost unbelievable. All of the species of this genus are parasitic on scale insects, which in turn suck their nourishment from the plant host on which they live. The fungus appears not to be able to live without the insect on which to feed. The insect, on the other hand, is able to live but fails to prosper in isolation. As the author points out, this is not a clear case of parasitism where the fungus lives purely at the detriment of its insect host. In return for its enforced hospitality the fungus very generously provides minute houses in which the insects live and by which thev are protected from the attacks of their natural enemies. Under this arrangement, which is referred to by the author of the book as a symbiotic relationship, many of the individual insects must sacrifice themselves to the well- be; ng of the fungus, but others that are not so sacrificed receive the protection of the fungus and in turn are able to reproduce their kind and thus continue their own existence at the same time insuring the continual existence of their fungus protector. Mycologists will find this one of the most interesting volumes that has appeared in recent times, and the author is to be congratulated on his valuable contribution to science. F. J. SEAVER. Exploring in Burma And Tibet PLANT HUNTER'S PARADISE. F. Kingdon Ward. 347 pages, illustrated with nhotographs; appendix; index. Macmillan, New York. 1938. $ 3.50. Looking down the 1 ist of names of plants that have been introduced into horticulture directly through the explorations of Mr. Kinedon Ward, one sees such already familiar names as Aster himalaicus, Cotoneaster micro phylla, En-kianthus pancif torus, and Prunus Pud-dum ( P. ccrasoides). And if one were living in the British Isles, where the less hardy species of Rhododendron thrive, where Meconopsis can be grown and where certain species of Primula and Berberis do not turn up their toes in the heat of midsummer or cold of winter, one would find many more names that in recent years have entered catalogs, gar dens, and flower shows. In the appendix to Plant Hunter'; Paradise there are listed some 300 name; of plants which the author has been re sponsible for introducing. Each time tha he writes a new chapter ( the story o his fourteenth expedition into Asia is now running in the Gardeners' Chronich of London), he mentions newly discov ered plants which offer possibilities foi the still greater enrichment of gardens. In Plant Hunter's Paradise he give; a tantalizing glimpse of his lifetime wort in search of Asiatic plants which maj be introduced into gardens on other con tinents. This is the story of his entr} into Tibet over a pass unknown to whitt men from the valley of the Adung rivei in upper Burma. It is lightly, pleasingl} written, with just enough plant descrip tion to satisfy the botanist without an noying other readers with technicalities It is a good tale, both as a story o travel and adventure and as a backgrounc for the plants to be grown in tomorrow': gardens. CAROL H. WOODWARD. Tree Care for the Amateur OUR SHADE TREES. Ephrain Porter Felt. 187 pages, illustratec with photographs, indexed. Orangi Judd, New York, 1938. $ 2. Of the many books and periodicals published on the care of trees few if anj contain such a wealth of helpful information as this popular- priced book by th< well known entomologist and tree authority, Dr. E. P. Felt. Little more coulc be said in as simple and understandablt a manner on such a subject. Each of the eight chapters is outlinec in the table of contents. Dr. Felt thei commences with a general discussion oi the place of trees in the world, theii economic and historical importance, thei' relation to man and to the tree exper himself. Ensuing chapters deal with en vironmental factors affecting trees; tr& wounds and cavities; the selection am planting of trees, and a full chapter oi the pests and diseases of trees and thei control. Such a synopsis might seem com plete, but no, we find thirty- one inter esting illustrations as well as severa helpful graphs. The whole book, includ ing the captions to the photographs, l admirably readable, and shows th 245 author's keen sense of tree problems and of the important place of trees in the community. Throughout there is a general feeling that only experts are capable of managing the various difficulties encountered in the culture of trees. It is true there is no one better equipped to cope with problems of tree culture than the expert, but it would be more gratifying to the amateur if he could handle many of the smaller problems which this book fails to explain in adequate detail. This can readily be overlooked when such other more important problems have been so thoroughly treated— for example, the detection and knowledge of tree deficiencies. After all, the analysis of symptoms is the prime requisite for any successful diagnosis. JOSEPH W. TANSEY. Auxins and Other Compounds PLANT GROWTH SUBSTANCES. Hugh Nicol. 108 pages. Indices of substances, authors, and plants. Leonard Hill Limited, London, 1938. This is the fourth book on plant growth substances which has come to the reviewer's attention; the others are the text by Boysen- Jensen, the translation and revision by Avery and Burkholder of Boysen- Jensen's book, and the text by Went and Thimann. Although entitled " Plant Growth Substances" this book is largely limited to a discussion of the " auxins'' and compounds having similar effects. Brief reference is made to vitamin C as a growth substance, to pantothenic acid, thyroxin, male and female sex hormones, Bottomley's auximones and other substances, but rather surprisingly no mention is made of bios or of the thiamin ( vitamin Bi) system. The first two chapters are addressed to the lay reader but the absorption of the author in the chemical aspects of the structure, synthesis, and origin of the growth substances discussed makes the balance of the book heavy reading for the laity. It is apparent from the author's discussion of the use of potassium permanganate on rooting that he is unfamiliar with the extensive work of Curtis on this subject. He is apparently unaware also of the negative results of Deuber in experiments designed to test Oddo and Pollacci ' s report of the substitution of magnesium 2- pyrrole- carboxyIate for iron in the growth of plants. Altogether the book is a stimulating discussion, and, though not exhaustive, it should be a part of the library of any one especially interested in plant growth substances. WILLIAM J. ROBBINS. Darwin— A New Portrait Of the Naturalist As a Man CHARLES DARWIN. Geoffrey West. 359 pages, illustrated, indexed. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1938. $ 3.50. It is not merely as the great naturalist who formulated the theory of natural selection as the basic mechanics of organic evolution that Geoffrey West paints his portrait of Darwin in this latest biography ; it is rather of a fanatically honest and inoffensive man who, in spite of almost insurmountable handicaps of lifelong ill health, became so obsessed with an idea that its ultimate publication more profoundly influenced the thinking of subsequent biologists than any previous or succeeding idea. The story begins, as must all tales of Charles Darwin, two generations before his birth, for at that time the association of two prominent lineages had its inception. Physician Doctor Erasmus Darwin attended his patient Josiah Wedgwood and both became life- time friends as well as the grandfathers of Charles. The botanical publications of the versatile Erasmus were numerous and significant, and among them was foreshadowed that idea of a struggle for existence which was so immortally promulgated later by his grandson Charles. But many years intervened before the day of the Great Work, as Charles Darwin regarded it. In the meantime we read of Charles' happy days at Shrewsbury, at a time when all Europe was astir over the Napoleonic struggles, but to which Charles paid little heed. He was in school at the time, slow to learn and not at all scholarly. His father a physician, he too entered the profession, not from any desire to do so, but rather to please his forbear. It was all in vain, however, and next he entered the clergy " where any man, wise or foolish, studious or sporting, could find a niche according to his talents." Soon, however, his interests wandered into natural science, into collecting, and 246 particularly into geology. And then came the great opportunity, Charles' acceptance of which haunted him for many years to come, for he feared he had displeased his father, as he probably had. It involved his becoming naturalist on the famous round- the- world voyage of the Beagle, an adventure which took him from England five long years. Teneriffe, the Cape Verde Islands, the Brazilian jungles, the Rio Plata, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, the Galapagos, Tahiti and New Zealand, lay ahead of him and in each of these places he spent varying periods of time. He was only twenty-three at the time when the voyage began, but his earlier excursions into natural history had already gained for him the recognition necessary for this appointment. It was with an open mind, devoid of preconceptions, and still as a student of the Gospel, that he undertook the assignment and labored through the long journey, still hoping for his father's forgiveness. Frequent spells of sea- sickness were the nemesis of his folly, but despite his recurring periods of misery Darwin's keen powers of observation and his collecting mania have since made the voyage memorable in the annals of science. Finally he returned to England with a diary of some 189,000 words and a constitution so impoverished that for nearly forty years, it was said, " he never knew one day of the health of ordinary men.*' It was his stomach that wrought such misery during the remainder of his days and incapacitated him so severely that for years at a time he was unable to work more than a few hours a day. Had it not been that he chose an ideal wife in his cousin Emma Wedgwood his misery might have been even greater and the world deprived not only of immortal scientific contributions, but of an inspiring example of industry despite ill health. By way of compensation, Darwin was financially independent, the beneficiary of the family fortune which permitted him to pursue his studies and leisurely life unhampered by any bread- earning responsibilities. He had long enjoyed an annual income of perhaps £ 1500, but his father's death raised it to nearly £ 5000. Fifty years were devoted to studying and writing about geology, coral reefs, insect pollination, and variation of plants and animals under domestication, as well as sexual selection, earthworms and other phases of natural history. The culmination of it all was the announcement ii 1858 of the Theory of Evolution by Nat ural Selection, and the publication u 1859 of The Origin of Species. By 187. this work was in its sixth and last edi tion and despite the inevitable criticisri of all great works it had withstood th test and was established as a great con tribution. Darwin frequently feared lest publica tion of his ideas offend people. Thi: angle of his nature bothered him par ticularly when he was led into a con sideration of Man himself. Finally, hi: convictions prevailed and " The Descen of Man" appeared. But the most inter esting incident bearing on the human re lations of this man was with respect tt Alfred Russell Wallace, his contemporary In the midst of Darwin's labors he re ceived an essay from this colleague whicl contained the very essence of Darwin's long pondered ideas and which seemed tc take all originality from his own work But Darwin knew no malice and passec the essay on for publication. His reward lay in the greater fame attached to his own work later and in the friendship and recognition which came from Wallace. EDMUND H. FULLING. Notes, News, and Comment Storm Damage. In the heavy storm which struck New York Sept. 21, The New York Botanical Garden lost about fifty sizeable trees, practically all of which were native species, particularly oaks and ashes, besides a few elms. These large and usually durable trees succumbed to the wind chiefly because the rocky ground had long impeded their root-growth and they did not have sufficient anchorage for their heavy tops. There was less damage than had been expected in the Hemlock Grove, where thirty trees were uprooted beyond the point of reclaiming them. Many other conifers were leaning after the storm, but they have been straightened and braced. The ornamental plantings of collection material suffered comparatively little damage. Most of the uprooted trees were at the edge of the woods and around the site of the old Lorillard Mansion. While branches were broken from many of the dahlias, which were just entering a promising season of bloom, 247 and the hardy asters, just beginning to open, were whipped almost beyond recognition, both plantings recovered enough to present an excellent showing of flowers around the first week in October. The hardy chrysanthemums did not seem to feel the effects of the storm. At the Arnold Arboretum Dr. E. D. Merrill reported the damage from the storm to have been the worst in the history of the institution. " A hurried survey made the next morning," he wrote, " shows that approximately 1,500 trees were either uprooted, broken off, or their tops so badly damaged that they will have to be removed." Wind velocity 12 miles distant was recorded, he said, at 187 miles an hour, and certainly it blew well over 100 miles an hour at the Arnold Arboretum at Jamaica Plain. Autumn Flowers. In The Garden's display of autumn flowers this year around the main conservatory, an announcement of which was sent to members Sept. 30, 900 dahlias in 400 varieties are being shown, and 70 different kinds of hardy asters (" Michaelmas daisies") occupy a border containing 2,500 plants. Chrysanthemums are expected to be in good bloom around the middle of October. Of these there are 3,000 plants in 72 varieties. The hardy and tropical waterlilies have been exceptionally fine this year and their blooming has been continued well into the autumn. Board. Mr. Pierre Jay, President of the Fiduciary Trust Company, was elected to the Board of Managers of the Botanical Garden in the class of 1939 at a meeting of the Board Sept. 16. In Chicago. Dr. W. H. Camp was invited to lecture at the Field Museum in Chicago October 1 on " Winter in Oaxaca." He also spoke at Northwestern University. Before returning to New York he went to St. Louis to investigate species of Vaccinium from the Ozark Mountains at the Missouri Botanic Garden. Geneva. Dr. A. B. Stout spent a week at Geneva, N. Y., the middle of September to study and evaluate the season's work in the breeding of hardy seedless grapes. While there he attended the meeting of the New York State Fruit Testing Association, where he spoke briefly on the new seedless grapes. Visitors. Dr. David Crawford, President of the University of Hawaii, visited The New York Botanical Garden Sept. 6 on his return from a three months' tour of Europe. He was at one time professor of botany at Pomona College. F. G. Walsingham, Director of the Harvard Botanical Garden in Cuba, spent several days at the end of September at The New York Botanical Garden studying the living collections of tropical plants. He was on his way back to Cuba after three months spent at Kew Gardens in England on a special commission for working with tropical plants. Prof. William Randolph Taylor, specialist in algae, stopped at the Garden in mid- September on his return to the University of Michigan from Woods Hole, Mass., where he had passed the summer. Frank G. Mackaness, who was returning from a summer at his former home in England, visited the Botanical Garden early in September before going to New Orleans, where he is heading the horticultural department at Dillard University. Bernice G. Schubert of the Gray Herbarium spent a week at the Garden in September working on the genus Desmodium. Rev. John Brett Langstaff has been a frequent visitor in his search for biographical material on Dr. Samuel Bard, the nineteenth century physician who took over the practice of Dr. David Hosack to enable the latter to spend more time on the Elgin Botanic Garden of which he was the founder. Joseph A. Manda, retired orchid grower of West Orange, N. J., came to the Garden during September, bringing a number of fine orchids with him. E. P. Killip of the Smithsonian Institution spent a week working on a collection of Venezuelan plants at the Garden in September. Among others who have registered in the Library during recent weeks are Theodore L. Steiger of Wellesley College; E. P. Felt of the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, accompanied by G. M. Codding; E. D. Merrill of Harvard University; A. LeRoy Andrews of Cornell University; Kenneth F. Baker of Honolulu; Arthur Herrington of the International Flower Show ; Margaret McKenny ; Dr. William S. Thomas; M. L. Fernald of the Gray Herbarium; F. Raymond Fosberg of the University of Pennsylvania; Henry Teuscher of the 248 Montreal Botanic Garden; Leon Croizat of the Arnold Arboretum; Ernest Rouleau of the University of Montreal; Wanda K. Farr of the Boyce Thompson Institute; Clyde Fisher of the American Museum of Natural History and Mile. Germaine Plouse of Bordeaux, France, who is doing pathological research at Louisiana State University this year. Lectures. Opening the first of a series of lectures arranged for patrons of the flower show in Greenwich, Conn., T. H. Everett spoke the evening of Sept. 20 on " Rock Gardens." The show is sponsored by the Westchester and Fairfield Horticultural Society, with the co- operation of the Greenwich, Riverside, and Hortulus Garden Clubs, the Little Garden Club of Rye, The Green Fingers, and the Woman's Club Gardeners. Mr. Everett addressed the Westport Club in Connecticut Sept. 16 : on " Garden Soils and Their Improvement" and the South Orange Garden Club Sept. 28 on " Bulbs and Annuals from South Africa." Dr. H. N. Moldenke lectured to the Mount Vernon Garden Club Sept. 19 on " Botanizing in Florida." On Sept. 25 he led a combined field trip of the Torrey Botanical Club, Newark Museum Nature Club, and the Naturalists' Club of Newark in the Watchung Mountains. Dr. B. O. Dodge spoke at Baraboo, Wise, before the University Club with the Garden Club as guests Sept. 18 on " Growing Healthy Plants at The Xew York Botanical Garden." Mycological Foray. Traveling to Duchesnay, northwest of Quebec, where the Forest Rangers School acted as hosts, Dr. B. O. Dodge, Dr. F. J. Seaver, and Mr. Robert Hagelstein were among the 70 persons who attended the annual foray of the Mycological Society of America, beginning August 23 and continuing to the end of the week. Two weeks of rain which were followed by fairer weather, combined with the royal entertainment which was offered throughout the session, made the foray an unusually successful one. Mr. Hagelstein addressed the group on myxomycetes and Dr. E. B. Mains of the University of Michigan gave a lecture on color photography. The events also included, outside of collecting trips, excursions to the surrounding country and motion pictures of Canadian scenery and life. The Gardening Staff. Donald Dodds, ; former student gardener, who was at tht Botanical Garden until December 1935 returned to the Garden in September as assistant foreman gardener in the greenhouse and has been assigned to Range 2 He has been greenhouse assistant undei Mr. J. G. Esson at the Mrs. Roswell Eldridge estate at Great Neck since leaving the Garden. John Borin, who has been assistanl foreman at Range 2, is being transferrec to Range 1 as assistant foreman. M. Truman Fossum, formerly assistanl foreman at Range 1, has enrolled this fall at Cornell University. Stephen G. Cutting returned from Europe October 1. After a year as exchange student gardener at Kew, he had arranged for a year of work at the Berlin- Dahlem Botanic Garden, but left after little more than three months there. After a season spent working in a nursery in Switzerland, Albert Gebert, a former gardener at the Botanical Garden and a graduate of the science course, also returned to this country in September. To Yale. John T. Moss, a student gardener who received his certificate from the Garden's science course last spring, is leaving October 15 to organize a new department for the propagating of plant material for Yale University's ornamental gardens. The work, which will come under the management of the Bureau of Planting, will chiefly be done in the greenhouse of a small estate which has recently been bequeathed to the University. The place is adjacent to the botanical garden at Yale in New Haven Mr. Moss began work at The New York Botanical Garden two years ago as ar apprentice, and shortly after was appointed a student gardener. Inez Mexia. Having contracted E chronic illness while collecting botanica! specimens last spring in Oaxaca and ad joining states of southern Mexico, Mrs Inez Mexia died July 12 in Berkeley Calif., at the age of 58. Her specimens located in the various herbaria of tht world, including The New York Botani cal Garden, leave evidence of her Ions continued activities as a plant collectoi in the relatively little known portions o the western hemisphere from Alaska intc South America. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF MANAGERS I. ELECTIVE MANAGERS Until 1939: ARTHUR M. ANDERSON ( Treasurer), CLARENCE LEWIS, PIERRE JAY, E. D. MERRILL, HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE ( Secretary and Assistant Treasurer), WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, and J. E. SPINGARN. Until 1940: HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN ( Vice- president), CHILDS FRICK, ALLYN R. JENNINGS, HENRY LOCKHART, JR., D. T. MACDOUGAL, and JOSEPH R. SWAN ( President). Until 1941: MARSHALL FIELD, MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON HOOKER, JOHN L. MERRILL ( V'ice- president), COL. ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, and H. HOBART PORTER. II. EX- OFFICIO MANAGERS FIORELLO H, LAGUARDIA, Mayor of the City of New York. ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner. JAMES MARSHALL, President of the Board of Education. III. APPOINTIVE MANAGERS TRACY E. HAZEN, appointed by the Torrey Botanical Club. R. A. HARPER, SAM F. TRELEASE, EDMUND W. SINNOTT, and MARSTON T. BOGERT, appointed by Columbia University. GARDEN STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D., SC. D Director H. A. GLEASON, P H . D Assistant Director and Head Curator HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director A. B. STOUT, P H . D Curator of Education and Laboratories FRED J. SEAVER, P H . D. f S c D Curator BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D Plant Pathologist JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D Bibliographer PERCY WILSON Associate Curator ALBERT C. SMITH, P H . D Associate Curator HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D Associate Curator ELIZABETH C. HALL, B. S Librarian H, H. RUSBY, M. D Honorary Curator of the Economic Collections FLEDA GRIFFITH Artist and Photographer ROBERT S. WILLIAMS Research Associate in Bryology E. J. ALEXANDER Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium W. H. CAMP, P H . D Assistant Curator CLYDE CHANDLER, A. M Technical Assistant ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant FREDERICK KAVANAGH, M. A Technical Assistant CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B Editorial Assistant THOMAS H. EVERETT, N. D. HORT Horticulturist G. L. WITTROCK, A. M Docent OTTO DEGENER, M. S Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany ROBERT HAGELSTEIN Honorary Curator of Myxomycetes ETHEL ANSON S. PECKHAM. . Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections ARTHUR J. CORBETT Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds A. C. PFANDER Assistant Superintendent MEMBERSHIP IN THE GARDEN Established as a privately endowed institution, aided partially by City appro-priations, The New York Botanical Garden is dependent for its progress largely upon benefactions and memberships. Through these means, though young as botanical gardens go, it has become the third largest institution of its kind, its library, herbarium, and horticultural collections ranking among the finest and most complete in any country. Membership in The New York Botanical Garden, therefore, means promotion of scientific research in botany and the advancement of horticultural interests. Scientifically, the Garden is able to serve as a clearing- house of information for students and botanists all over the world; horticulturally, it often serves as a link between the plant explorer or breeder and the gardening public. Through memberships and benefactions, provision is made at the Botanical Garden for the training of young scientists and student gardeners; hundreds of new books are added annually to the library, which is open daily to the public for research and reading; free exhibits are maintained in the museum, the greenhouses, and gardens, and lectures, courses, and free information in botany and gardening are given to the public. Each individual member of the Garden receives: ( 1) A copy of the Journal every month. ( 2) A copy of Addisonia twice a year, each number illustrated with eight colored plates of unusual plants, accompanied by complete descriptions and other pertinent information. ( 3) A share of surplus plant material of interesting or new varieties whenever it is distributed. ( 4) Announcements of special floral displays at the Garden from season to season. ( 5) Credit, to the extent of the membership fee paid, toward courses of study offered by the Garden. A limited number of garden clubs are accepted as affiliates. The privileges of affiliation are a subscription to the Journal, announcements of displays, a specially conducted tour of the grounds and greenhouses, and a lecture once a year by a selected member of the staff. Fellowships or scholarships for practical student- training in horticulture or for botanical research may be established by bequest or other benefaction either in perpetuity or for a definite period. The classes of membership and types of benefaction are as follows: Annual Member Sustaining Member Garden Club Affiliation Fellowship Member Member for Life Fellow for Life Patron Benefactor annual fee annual fee annual fee for club annual fee single contribution single contribution single contribution single contribution $ 10 25 25 100 250 1,000 5,000 25,000 Contributions to the Garden may be deducted from taxable incomes. The following is a legally approved form of bequest: J hereby bequeath to The New Tor\ Botanical Garden incorporated under ihe Laws of New Yor\, Chapter 285 of 1891, the sum of . Conditional bequests may be made with income payable to donor or any designated beneficiary during his or her lifetime. All requests for further information should be addressed to The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York, N. Y. |
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