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m\ v YOI ** rA*: c % VROE » JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Vol. 49 No. 586 OCTOBER 1 9 4 8 PAGES 225 — 248 OCTOBER EVENTS AT THE GARDEN Members' Day Program 3 p. m. in the Members' Room Oct. 6 " Insurance" For Your Plants P. P. Pirone Plant Pathologist Courses of Study Two- Year Course in Practical Gardening Cultivation of Trees & Shrubs Six sessions, alternate Thursdays, 8 - 1 0 p. m. Sept. 30- Dec. 16 Instructor: /. H. Beale $ 10 Designing the Home Grounds Autumn term Five sessions, Thursday afternoons, 3 - 5 p. m. Oct. 7 - Nov. 4 Instructor; Alice L. Dustan $ 7.50 Free Saturday Programs Complete schedule mailed on request. 3 p. m. in the Lecture Hall HARDY CHRYSANTHEMUM DISPLAY AND PROGRAM In co- operation with the N A T I O N A L C H R Y S A N T H E M U M SOCIETY F r i d a y , Saturday, Sunday . . . O c t o b e r 22, 2 3 , 2 4 , 1948 Opening Friday at 2 p. m. — Free to the Public DAILY Outdoor Display of Hardy Chrysanthemums 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. Competitive Exhibits In the Museum Building, Friday 2 p. m. to 5 p. m. Saturday and Sunday 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Chrysanthemum Paintings in the Chinese Manner By Wang Chi- Yuan On the mezzanine. Museum Building Professor Wang's exhibit will continue through November 14 FRIDAY PROGRAM 3 p. m. in the Lecture Hall Chrysanthemums as I Grow Them An informal talk by Ernest L. Bertram President, National Chrysanthemum Society Flower Arrangements With Chrysanthemums A demonstration by Mrs. Loren R. Doason SATURDAY Children's Competitive Chrysanthemum Exhibit In the basement of the Museum Building, Noon to 5 p. m. TABLE OF CONTENTS OCTOBER 1948 CHRYSANTHEMUMS, PORTRAYED IN THE CHINESE MANNER From a gouache painting made especially for this Journal by Wang Chi- Yuan THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PLANTS OF W E S T AFRICAN PEOPLES. I. F. R. Irvine 225 A N E W RACE OF DOUBLE- FLOWERED DAYLILIES A. B. Stout 236 HEDGECRAFT IN THE BRITISH ISLES C. Romanne- James 239 THE ROLE OF MULCH IN FOREST AND GARDEN R. R. Fenska 241 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 244 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 248 The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York 58, N Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y,, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies NEW V01K BOTAN'CAI QARCEN JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor DL. 49 OCTOBER 1948 No. 586 be Indigenous Food ' Plants f West oAfrican ' Peoples By F. R. Irvine I " ' H E origin of man's foods in any country is a fascinating study. In - Africa, much can be learned from early explorers and from a study the present- day African's food plants and methods of agriculture. Today the foods most commonly in use are of American or Asiatic igin, such as cassava, groundnuts, plantains, coco- yams, and maize, . it there was a time when these were not known, when the original in-bitants had to depend on their own indigenous plants. Some of these ants are still used today, though generally not as staples, while some are Jy used in times of scarcity. ie Climate and its Effects Over much of West Africa there is one long dry season, alternating th one rainy season during which planting is possible. In wetter coastal ain forest" regions two rainy seasons occur, one of " main rains" and e of " small rains." These climatic factors largely determine the hunting, hing, and planting habits of the people. The alternating periods of 3d shortage and abundance are partly counteracted by food storage. In ars of very low rainfall or plagues of locusts, famine such as is common primitive man elsewhere sometimes occurs even nowadays. At such nes, emergency foods are gathered from the wild. These may be 3ts, such as wild yams and others, which sometimes require prolonged iking, washing, and boiling to eliminate poisonous elements. Sometimes : y consist of tiny seeds of wild grasses, some of which are parched in : sun ( 1) * before being prepared for cooking. Wild fruits in their oper season ( 2) are generally eaten raw, but the many leaves which : collected for food are cooked. Mushrooms ( 2) of various kinds and igures in parentheses refer to the list of publications at the end of Part I. 225 226 IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE GOLD COAST NEAR GAMBAGA Typical savannah country is shown here as it appears early in the rainy season. Later, the grass will be much taller. Photograph by courtesy of G. S. Cansdale, Zoological Society of London. even gums from acacia ( 3, 5) and other trees may be eaten. But such famine conditions are much less severe in modern Africa, as food can be brought much more quickly to famine areas. In earlier times, severe famines were more common, particularly during intertribal wars, aggravated as conditions often were by the slave trade. The Food of Primitive Africans Kolben ( 1731) describes the way in which the indigenous inhabitants of South Africa followed the hedgehog and baboon to discover their sources of food, and refused to taste any kind of root or fruit which these animals did not eat ( 4). Schultze ( 1907) reports that the Namas of South Africa rob stores of grass seeds collected by black ants, grinding and roasting the flour they obtain thereby ( 5). Honey has always been widely used in Africa, where it is generally robbed from wild bees' nests. Primitive beehives are sometimes constructed, however, but the whole colony is destroyed when the honey is taken. The use of modern beehives is hardly known at present in West Africa. While in such countries as Senegal and Gambia it is the beeswax which is exploited, in many other areas honey is the product sought from the nests or hives. Though it is gathered principally for food, its use in making mead, an intoxicating drink, is also known. The meat diet, being deficient in many districts, has sometimes been supplemented by animal proteins of insect origin, such as termites ( white ants), locusts, and certain beetle larvae, while in Rhodesia, certain caterpillars are also eaten ( 2). 227 Prehistoric hunters in the largely uninhabited West African rain forests probably noted, as African hunters do today, which fruits were eaten by gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, elephants, antelopes,. and other animals, and so learned to eat them too. In more open parts early man probably used his hands or some primitive tool, such as a digging stick, in digging up wild roots. It is certain that he discovered only by trial and error which plants could be eaten; some of his feeding experiments must have ended in illness, and even in death. Just as in olden times the more agricultural of the American Indians did not subsist entirely on their crops, but also gathered certain plants from the wilds ( 6), so it was in West Africa ( 7). As primitive Africans took up a more settled form of life and became agriculturists, they brought numerous plants into cultivation near their homesteads. When clearing the bush for farms, they would sometimes carefully preserve those trees which bore edible fruits ( 8). S A MAURITANIA FRENCH WEST PL A F R I C A W. LG F R. E N c ' h SUDAN GOLD COAS Ught of Benin Fe*% v% B i'eht of GULF of GUINEA BUfr*. CHAD < r u c? Hi UBANGIOSHAR « J WEST AFR. ICA < u < o / ANGOLA " W^ 228 Agricultural Practices It is known that the sparsely populated rain forest areas were formerly much more extensive. With the opening up of the country and the planting of perennial crops such as cocoa, from the Americas, immense areas of such forest have been cut down. Swamps often made farming difficult, the huge buttressed trees, the rapid regrowth of woody plants, and the inadequate tools available, all made clearing arduous. Moreover, the labour in disposing of felled trees and shrubs is immense. Because of the deadly tsetse fly, which carries trypanosomiasis ( sleeping sickness), game animals were scarce and draught animals could not be kept, so that ploughing was impracticable. The rain forest was probably used for hunting smaller game animals, edible snails and the like, which fed on fruits and other forest products. Later, man settled there, making small farms in the drier parts of the forest and practising shifting cultivation. An understanding of shifting cultivation is fundamental to any student of West African agriculture. Areas of primary or secondary rain forest, or of other types of vegetation, are cleared and burnt over and crops are planted for a period, generally of two to three years. After this the farm is abandoned, as the soil has deteriorated, annual weeds have increased, and woody plants gradually crowd out the remaining crops. The vegetation which replaces them is of an inferior type to the original forest. It is known as " secondary forest" and consists of quick- growing and softer-wooded trees, as well as shrubs and climbers. Such areas of secondary forest may be cleared again later, perhaps on more than one occasion, to the detriment of the original rain forest species. Sources of Staple Foods There is little evidence that any of man's main staple foods occurred wild in these rain forest areas. The two most likely indigenous crops of such regions — some of the yams ( Dioscorea species) and the oil palm ( Elaeis) — are both inhabitants of previously cleared forest land. The yearly regrowth of yam stems and slow growth of oil palms prevented their survival in the rain forest. Certain Cola trees, however, really occurred there, but the main food crops of forest areas today — cassava, plantains and bananas, citrus fruits, pineapples, papaws ( or papayas ��� Carica Papaya), coco- yams, sweet potatoes, and maize — were all introduced from elsewhere. In the drier grassy forest ( savannah) regions, other food plants such as the locust- bean ( Parkia), beniseed ( Sesamum), the shea butter tree ( Butyrospcrmum), yams ( Dioscorea), Guinea corn ( Sorghum), and bulrush millet ( Pcunisctum) occurred. 229 GUINEA GRAINS AND SESAME SEED — TWO OF WEST AFRICA'S EXPORTS On the left, Aframomum Melegueta is the plant which gave the name to the Guinea " Grain Coast" of early days. Its spicy seeds, called " Guinea grains" or " grains of paradise," also " melegueta pepper," were exported to Europe as a flavoring and medicine. An ancient plant from tropical Africa, sesame, called " beniseed" in the west, is now widely grown in many parts of the continent. Oil is pressed from the seeds and the residue is used as cattle cake. The leaves, also the seeds, which are first ground and roasted, are put in soups. Exportable Products Very few indigenous West African plants, so far, have attracted sufficient attention outside West Africa to result in their exportation. The two principal ones are the KOLA tree ( Cola), whose fruits provide a flavoring for beverages in other lands as well as being used as a stimulant in Africa, and grains of paradise ( Aframomum), a spicy medicament and flavouring. Of Cola, the most important cultivated species is probably C. nitida. Kola nuts have been used in Africa from remote times, and there was early trade in them from rain forest regions to the drier regions south of the Sahara. When Leo Africanus first described them in 1556, he aroused a European desire to discover their source. Later, slaves carried the seeds to the New World, and in the 17th century certain Europeans, reaching the West Indies, suddenly discovered the kola tree growing there. Thus, for a long time they believed that it was native in that region. 230 4tH # DESSERT FRUITS OF WEST AFRICA The akee apple ( Blighia sapida), above, known as " achee" on the Gold Coast, is a favorite fruit, but only the aril may be eaten with impunity, as the fibrous portion below it is highly poisonous. The West African plum ( Vitex Cienkoivskit), shown below, is reputed to remedy a lack of vitamins in the diet. 231 The so- called grains of paradise or melegueta pepper ( Aframomum Melegueta) of the Ginger family, better known nowadays as " Guinea grains," were formerly exported mainly from what is now the Liberian coast. The small, grain- like, spicy seeds account for the old name, the Grain Coast, given to that part of the coast of Guinea on old maps. Formerly important in European trade, as a spice or medicine, today they are used outside of Africa mainly in veterinary medicine, domestic remedies, and in certain alcoholic drinks. Africans themselves use them in medicine and as a spice in their foods. The kernels of the fruits of the shea butter tree ( Butyrospermum Parkii), of the Sapodilla family, are rich in fat ( broker's standard 46%). This fat, called shea butter, is commonly seen in markets and is locally used for cooking and other purposes. Generally only the kernels are exported, the shea oil being extracted from them and made into vegetable butter and other products. However, locally prepared shea butter itself is sometimes carried to other countries. Another valuable oil seed is the African mango, or dika nut ( Irvingia gabonensis) — which is not a true mango, but a member of the same family to which the tree- of- heaven ( Ailanthus) belongs. It is cultivated in Lower Dahomey, a variety with a thick edible pulp being sold in the markets in Porto Novo. From the kernels, which contain from 54 to 67% of fatty matter, an almost solid, white or pale yellow fat known as dika butter is extracted. This has been tried out experimentally in Europe in margarine manufacture and as a substitute and adulterant for cocoa butter. For local consumption the kernels are dried and split, ground, heated, smoked, and made into cylindrical masses known as dika bread or Gaboon chocolate, to be eaten with meat, fish, or other dishes. Edible Fruits and Seeds Naturally, among man's earliest foods, fruits were of particular importance. In West Africa there are well over 100 species of wild shrubs or trees with edible fruits. These are mainly in the following eight families: Sapodilla ( Sapotaceae), Soapberry ( Sapindaceae), Dogbane ( Apocynaceae), Grape ( Vitaceae), Cashew ( Anacardiaceae), Spurge ( Euphorbiaceae), Madder ( Rubiaceae), and Garcinia, related to St. Johnswort ( Guttiferae). It is likely that all these and many others were eaten in former days. The African still resorts to those places where the fruits can be gathered as they ripen. He sometimes does some clearing to make the task of collection easier and to encourage the growth of the trees. Then follows a feeling of personal or tribal ownership, depending on the organization of such fruit gatherers. Some trees are thus actually inherited. If the fruit supply increases with this care, the people stay longer and sometimes settle in the neighbourhood. This leads to more clearing and 232 WILD AND CULTIVATED FRUITS OF WEST AFRICA The desert date ( Balanites aegyptiaca), left, is found in dry regions which are subject to occasional floods. The fruits are a nourishing staple, the kernels being used in soup and bread- making and as a source of an edible oil. The pulp of the fruit is edible, bitter- sweet in taste, and is also used, with water, as a drink. The Assyrian plum ( Cordia Myxa) is often grown at the edge of the forest by residents of villages. The sticky mucilaginous pulp and also the kernel are edible. encouragement of growth, also to the special planting of new trees as the land is opened up. In the savannah forest regions, similar practices are followed with the West African locust- bean ( Parkia filicoidea) and the shea butter tree ( Butyrospermum Parkii) — both, incidentally, named after Mungo Park, the great explorer of the late 18th century. Both trees are abundant; there are probably more than seventeen million shea butter trees in French West Africa alone! And the fruits of both are practically everywhere harvested from trees in a semi- wild condition. Near towns and villages these trees are often better tended and more protected from bush fires, consequently they yield higher crops. Other fruit trees are planted in village areas or specially planted and cultivated on farms. Among them are several species of Cola, . star- apples ( Chry-sophyllum), the miraculous berry ( Synscpalum or Sideroxylon ditlcifi-cum), akee- apple ( Blighia sapida), hog- plum ( Spondias Mombin), Guinea 233 grains ( Aframomum Melegueta), tamarind ( Tamarindus), dika nut ( Irv-ingia gabonensis), bush butter tree ( Pachylobus edulis), Christ's thorn ( Zizyphus Spina- Christi), sorrel ( Hibiscus Sabdariffa), West African ebony ( Diospyros mespiliformis), Kaffir orange ( Strychnos spinosa), Assyrian plum ( Cordia Myxa), Lannea oleosa, and various species of Solatium. Many fruits are eaten raw, as dessert fruits, an interesting example being the akee- apple ( Blighia sapida), named after the famous Captain Bligh of H. M. S. Bounty. Only the oily yellow aril is eaten, for the dangerous properties of the fibrous raphe attached to it have long been known in West Africa. The tree is also grown elsewhere, particularly in the West Indies, where its name " akee" closely resembles its Gold Coast vernacular name, pronounced " achee," from which it is probably derived. Although the fruit has been commonly eaten in Jamaica, it was a long time before cases of death resulting from vomiting sickness were traced to akee poisoning. Another dessert fruit is the West African plum ( Vitex Cienkowskii), a black fruit with considerable nutritive value, said to counteract avita-minosis, especially in children. Kernels of the " desert date" ( Balanites aegyptiaca), which occurs in dry regions where inundations occasionally moisten the ground, are some- AN EBONY TREE WITH AN EDIBLE FRUIT Diospyros mespiliformis, known as " West African ebony," bears fruit which is appreciated by Africans, who sometimes ferment it to make a drink or a sweetmeat. Among its close relatives in other countries are the persimmon, and the other ebonies which are prized as cabinet woods. 234 times used in making a kind of bread, or they may be eaten in soup. They also provide an edible oil. Some fruits, such as garden eggs ( eggplants), especially Solatium iucanum, can be eaten only after cooking. Others may be either cooked or eaten raw. The fruits of the hog- plum ( Spondias Mombin) are sometimes stewed, and the arils of the akee- apple fried in oil or butter before being eaten. A few fruits, such as the Guinea or African peach ( Sarcocephalus csculcntus) of the Madder family and Solatium anomalum, are specially dried for future consumption. Other fruits are pounded and fermented in order to get a preparation which will keep for a considerable period. The best example is the West African locust- bean ( Parkia filicoidea), the seeds of which are boiled for 24 hours, then pounded, cleaned, and allowed to ferment for two or three days. They are then made into balls, well known in West Africa, where the itinerant Hausa traders barter them, under the Hausa name of DAUDAWA. They are very rich in protein and contain also about 17% of a semi- solid fat. Highly nutritious, they take the place, in some ways, of cheese in a European diet. In addition, the yellow powdery pulp in the pods of the locust- bean is dried and sold as meal or made into cakes or blocks which likewise keep well. This is a valuable food, which is put into soup or eaten with other foodstuff's. It is composed of roughly half easily assimilated sugars. A FAMILIAR FOOD PLANT IN ITS AFRICAN GUISE " Garden egg" is the name applied to the eggplant in West Africa. Its fruits are small compared with the eggplants of American gardens. " Brinjal" is another of its African names. 235 More African Foods T N a forthcoming Journal, Dr. Irvine will describe more of the indigenous *- food plants of West Africa, where he lived for many years before returning to the British Isles in 1940. He will tell of the vegetables— roots, fruits, and greens; of cereals and of the grains and fruits that are used for sweetmeats, and of spices, seasonings, vinegars, and beverages. Illustrations in this number and the next have come partly from the herbarium and collection of drawings at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, and have been made in part with the aid of a grant from King's College ( Durham University), Newcastle on Tyne, England. Some of the adapted drawings were made by the author's daughter, Miss Alison Irvine, a student of the Edinburgh College of Art. While in West Africa Dr. Irvine was on the staff of the Government College of Achimota. During that time he produced " Plants of the Gold Coast" for the Gold Coast Government, wrote text books on local botany and agriculture which were published by the Oxford University Press, and initiated the agricultural and botanical work in the college. After spending a year on the administrative staff for science at Edinburgh University, he is now in London. The widely distributed Scsamum indicmn was probably originally tropical African, for it was known in ancient Egypt about the year 1300 B. C. It is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as GINGELLY, TIL, or SESAME in the eastern tropics, and as BENISEED in West Africa. The latter name originated in Bambara ( Senegal) and Malinke ( French Guinea). In West Africa it is grown in pure stands, being mainly cultivated for its seeds, which are rich in oil. They are used in the form of porridge or as thickening in soup, or made into cakes for use on journeys. The leaves are also added to soups. Beniseed is exported from northern Nigeria, the oil being used in margarine manufacture and as a salad oil, or in its lower grades in soap- making. The residue is useful as a cattle cake. Another species, 5\ radiatum, is generally found growing wild, but is sometimes specially cultivated. A closely related plant, Ceratotheca sesa-moides, often found wild, may also be cultivated, the leaves and seeds both being eaten in soups. The main oil- producing plant in West Africa is the oil palm ( Elaeis), which yields a red oil from the outer layer of the fruit. This is greatly used in African cookery, as well as in world commerce — for example, in margarine manufacture — while from the kernels another oil, known as palm kernel oil, is obtained. Kernel oil is used by West Africans as a pomade for the skin, as hair oil, and as a cooking fat, while in world trade also it has various uses. A lingering sweetness of taste is provided by two of the most interesting wild fruits of the region. One is a tall forest herb of the Arrowroot family ( Thaumatococcus Danielli), from which the soft jelly- like arils of the fruit are used. The other is the fruit of a shrub or small tree, 236 Synsepalum ( Sideroxylon) dulcificum, which occurs wild in West Africa but is often specially planted. The pulp around the seeds causes a persisting sensation of sweetness on the tongue, so that even the acidity of lime juice cannot be recognized, nor the bitterness of quinine. These curious effects may last sometimes as long as one or two hours. Africans use them with certain acid fruits and with palm wine, to sweeten other foods, and even to disguise the taste of stale food. These two fruits are both known as " miraculous berries." REFERENCES In introductory portion: 1. Denham ( Major), Clapperton ( Capt.) and Oudney ( Dr.) " Narrative of Travels & Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa," London, 1828. 2: 158- 160. 2. Richards, Audrey, " Hunger & Work in a Savage Tribe" 114. London, 1932. 3. Dornan, S. S., " Pygmies & Bushmen of the Kalahari," London, 1925. 4. Kolben, Peter, " The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope" 1: 202. London, 1731. 5. Schultze, Leonhard, " Aus Nameland und Kalahari" 188- 200 ff. 203- 205. Jena, 1907. 6. Wittrock, Marion A. & G. L., " Food Plants of the Indians'' in Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 57. March 1942. 7. Talbot, " The Peoples of Southern Nigeria" 3 : 909. 8. Schweinfurth, G. A., " The Heart of Africa" 1: 266- 268. London, 1873. The main authorities quoted in the remainder of the article are: Dalziel, J. M. " The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa," 1937. Burkill, I. H. " A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula," 1935. De Candolle, Alphonse. " Origin of Cultivated Plants," 1886. QA New Race of ^ Double- flowered ' Daylilies By A. B. Stout THE accompanying illustration shows flowers of a new race of double-flowered daylilies ( Hemerocallis) that has been obtained by selective breeding at the New York Botanical Garden. The type of flower may be called semi- double, for it is different in character and distinct in origin from the para- double type of flower of the two old clones of Hemerocallis that were named KWANSO and FLORE- PLENO. The character of the semi- double type. In this type of doubleness, as a rule, there is no increase or reduplication of any of the parts of a flower, and especially of stamens and petaloids, as there is in para- doubles.* * For illustration and description of the para- double type see article on " The character and genetics of doubleness in the flowers of daylilies: The para- double class," by A. B. Stout, in Herbertia 12: 113- 123, issued in 1947. *#. 237 FLOWERS FROM THREE NEW SEMI- DOUBLE DAYLILY SEEDLINGS ( About half natural size) The pair of flowers at the left, in orange, and at the top, with terra cotta tints, have proved to be among the best selections so far, as the majority of the blooms on these two plants are semi- double. The attractive flowers at the right are reddish in tone, but the plant produces only a small percentage of petaloid flowers. Other promising plants have occurred in breeding plots with larger flowers and in a variety of colorings. There is only a transformation of one or more of the six stamens into petal- like structures. This process and condition have been called PETALODY and a transformed stamen has been called a PETALOID. In the semi- double flowers the pistil is usually normal in structure and functional in seed-production ; in the para- double flowers the pistil is absent or sterile. In both types the three sepals and the primary whorl of three petals are normal in structure and form in having a flat blade that is composed of a midrib and two lobes or wings that form the expanse of the entire petal. The character of petaloids. In the semi- double flowers of daylilies a petaloid usually has a fragment of an anther near its apex. There are various degrees of petalody. There may be only one lobe or wing along one side of the filament of a stamen. There may be two wings with fragments of an anther at the apex of the common midrib, in which case the 238 face of the petaloid is colored as is the corresponding face of a primary petal. But there are some three- winged and four- winged petaloids whose wings correspond to the main lobes of the normal anther. Each wing of a petaloid has only one side that is strongly colored like the face of a petal. When there are secondary wings the colored side of each meets, and is continuous with, the strongly colored face of the primary wing that is adjacent. The secondary wings may be narrow and even reduced to mere ridges. In many of the flowers of certain of the seedlings the petaloids have blades that are crinkled, and when there are six such petaloids the appearance is as shown in the illustration. Semi- double daylilies of various colors, including terra cotta, have appeared in our breeding plots. The occurrence of petaloids in daylilies. The writer has been observing petaloids in the flowers of daylilies since 1915. At first sporadic cases ' were observed on plants of wild origin, on the clones in early cultivation ( such as LUTEOLA) and on hybrid seedlings. Later as the breeding work progressed and numerous seedlings were obtained, certain plants had one or more petaloids in each of several flowers that were open at the same time, and there were some flowers in which all six stamens were petaloid. The best of such plants were kept and used in selective breeding. Most members of the first progenies had no trace of petalody, but those plants on which some flowers had six petaloids were used as parents in further breeding, and special effort was made to obtain seeds from the flowers that had six petaloids — using either pollen of a flower that had only one or two normal stamens or pollen from an incomplete anther on a petaloid. Several progenies have been grown of such parentage. Although most of the seedlings showed no trace of doubleness, several had a noticeable increase in petalody. On three of these plants a large majority of the flowers had six petaloids. Another plant that first flowered in 1947 had ten flowers entirely petaloid ; five flowers with five petaloids each; one with four; and one with two Thus far, however, no plant has been obtained which has all stamens petaloid in all flowers. The selections which have the most petalody, including the three plants whose flowers are shown in the illustration, are being propagated. They have been used in intra- breeding and in cross- pollination with para-doubles ( KWANSO and FLOKE- PLENO) to the extent that at least a thousand seedlings are being grown. When these produce flowers there will be critical evaluations in regard to possible introductions as horticultural clones. It is to be recognized that the few plants of the semi- double type here reported are merely a beginning in the production by selective breeding of the double- flowered horticultural daylilies of the future. 239 Hedgecraft in the ' British Isles By C. Romanne- James IN the United States of America, I am told, you do not plant and grow hedges as extensively as in the British Isles. Therefore, the subject of hedgecraft and of competitions in hedging — dating back more than 100 years — may be comparatively new to you. While the primary object of a hedge over here is to form a boundary or enclose an area, hedges are found to be further valuable as shelter-belts for stock and crops ; also as producers of organic manure and as homes and nesting places for the small birds which destroy caterpillars and innumerable other pests. The hedge forms a characteristic feature of English scenery, particularly in the Midlands, the South of England and in Wales. Edward VIII when Prince of Wales and paying a visit to Breconshire, remarked that he had never seen better hedges anywhere than in that part of the country — his own Wales. When a hedge is to be made, a row of bushes and small trees is first planted and allowed to take root firmly. Then this skeleton fence is trimmed, staked and " layed", until it forms a strong barrier. The method of " laying" a hedge is this: When a tree is planted in the ordinary way, it naturally grows upright. But in a hedge, upright trees are neither required nor desirable. So, when the sapling is sufficiently grown to train — say in six, eight or ten years — it is " layed." This means that it is cut so that its branches may be bent and trained to grow to the right or left, horizontally. They are twisted in and out of the stakes and of other branches, and thus they form the best part of the hedge. It is often as long as ten years before trees and shrubs that are planted to make a hedge are ready to lay and fill in. Trees and bushes employed for the purpose of hedge- making are many and varied. The only hedges comprised solely of one kind of tree are those to be found in gardens and parks, where ornamental boundary plantings are made of, say, yew, holly, sweet- briar, syringa, or other more or less formal woody plants. All farm and field hedges are made up of a variety of trees, such as thorn, hawthorn, elder, beech, maple, etc., according to the kinds which grow best in the district. Each has its own virtues. Blackthorn, loved of the gypsies, makes a good hedge, though it is too apt to run to root. Hawthorn, a word derived from the old English for " hedge- thorn," is perhaps the most popular because of its amenability to pruning, its prickly nature, and the closeness of its growth which makes it an effective barrier. The same may be said of holly. Hazel — especially young trees produced from suckers — is tough yet pliable and for this reason much employed for 240 O ROMANNE- JAMES, who in private life is Mrs. H. C. Aylen, a Fellow ^ - '* of the Royal Society of Arts, writes regularly for a number of British magazines, among them The Guild Gardener, in which a shorter version of the accompanying description of " Hedgecraft in the British Isles" first appeared. She is contributing this article to the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, she writes, " as a token of the friendly feeling I, and so many others in this country, have toward the U. S. A." Besides being active in numerous horticultural organizations, Mrs. Aylen is a member of the Society of Authors and is the author of a book entitled " Herblore for Housewives." hedge- making in Wales. The purple willow, too, is a favorite hedge-plant in country places because, the bark being bitter, no rabbit or other destructive creature will nibble a way through it. Other useful trees and bushes for hedging are hornbeam, beech, cherry- plum, field maple and the sycamore ( Acer pseud o- platanus) — the last because of its robust nature and reputed long life. My own herb garden is enclosed with a hedge of Lonicera nitida or Himalayan honeysuckle, which is quick- growing, but has to be continually cut to keep it tidy and within bounds. Hedge- stakes, to strengthen the fencing, are inserted down the center in numbers of about twenty- one to every fourteen yards, in order to support the hedge and keep it shapely. They are made of oak poles, larch poles, or any other available wood. Each pole is cut into about three pieces for this purpose, according to its length and the length required. No cord or anything of the kind is used to hold the hedge in place, though the word " tying" is employed to signify skillful twisting in of the ends of dead wood and tree branches. In Breconshire, Wales, where I am for a time domiciled, hedging competitions are held every year, as they have been for more than 70 years in this district. The entrants, all young fellows, are the sons of farmers or farm- labourers who have grown up in the neighborhood, and from the age of fifteen have learned to take part in the farm work, such as milking, ploughing, hedging, sheep- shearing and the training of sheepdogs to herd in the sheep. Incidentally, competitions in all these farm activities take place annually in spring or autumn in many country places in the British Isles. A hedging contest does not concern itself with the making of a new hedge. On the farm chosen for the contest, hedges which have gaps or need extensive repairs are selected and 14 yards are marked off for each candidate, according to the number of entries. Each 14 yards is numbered and each candidate draws a number, which determines on which piece of hedge he shall work. The judges, who watch and time the competitors from beginning to end, give points for banking up the hedge, for staking, tying and for the 241 " laying in," or filling up of gaps with what is known as " dead wood" selected for the purpose. Dead wood is wood which has been cut in long lengths or sticks, has no roots, of course, and therefore does not grow. Pliable dead wood is used in the case of hedge- making to thread in and out to fill in gaps and help support the layed branches. On a recent occasion, when I was invited to watch a competition — the seventieth in the district —, the lads concerned had a special incentive to do their very best, to show off all they knew, for a camera- man arrived at the farm to take photographs for a film. The competitors were shown at work; a piece of newly layed hedge was photographed; and finally the judges were pictured explaining, with illustrations, why full points were given to the winner and where and why others had failed in certain of the necessary operations. The record time for laying fourteen yards of hedging, as here described, was five hours. Full marks were acquired and the successful competitor won the championship of the district as an expert hedger, in addition to congratulations from the judges. If those lads who " hedged" were thrilled at the idea of being filmed, I, as an onlooker, had the same feeling, but for another reason. On a lovely day, in ideal and peaceful surroundings, I had been allowed the privilege of watching a country craft of long standing, performed with patience, skill and ingenuity. I had seen seven or eight lads, keen as knife blades, working to the best of their ability. And I had also learned that there is more to the making of a hedge than at first meets the eye. The Role of cJWulch In Forest and Qarden By R. R. Fenska EVERY forester knows the important function which the mulch in the forest performs in the silvicultural aspect of his profession. This blanket of debris which covers the ground consists of the accumulated and partially disintegrated litter in the forest: leaves, bark, and twigs. Mulch retards evaporation and helps to maintain the degree of soil moisture that is required for plant growth. It insulates the ground against extremes of heat and cold and thereby maintains a more uniform condition for activities of the soil fungi, bacteria, and microscopic forms of animal life which are the factors that break down the litter into humus which becomes incorporated in the soil. The humus, in turn, improves the soil texture and its physical condition; it makes the soil mellow and porous and enables it to retain moisture during 242 a drought. Also, as the litter and forest debris decay, the mineral nutrients and nitrogen which have been withdrawn from the soil by the trees and plants in their growth are returned to it. Thus the fertility of the soil is maintained. On a hillside or slope a mulch will also prevent erosion or washing of the soil. When trees are growing on a lawn an excellent mulch may be maintained without its being unsightly, with the help of a ground cover, such as pachysandra. As the leaves accumulate underneath the tree they are covered by the pachysandra and thus made inconspicuous. This is one of the best means of maintaining healthy shade trees on well kept lawns. When the trees are fed, the holes made for applying the tree food may be left open and yet remain out of sight. A mulch is as important to perennials in the home garden as it is to forest trees. In the garden it also greatly reduces, or even eliminates, the growth of weeds. Those that do come up are easily pulled out of the loose-textured soil. Many of them succumb for lack of light and air. There are other materials besides forest litter which may serve as a mulch. Some of those in common use are peat moss, sawdust, hay or straw, animal manures, or specially prepared paper or burlap held down on the ground over the plants during the winter and early spring. The latter are usually left on the ground until they disintegrate. Snow is an excellent mulch when it really covers the plants that need protecting. Here is an example of its effect. In 1911 or 1912 the state forester of Wisconsin set out several thousand transplants of western yellow pine on the cut- over and burned- over areas in the state reserve. The ground always freezes early up in northern Wisconsin and the freezing is followed by quantities of snow. The first two years, while the little trees were completely covered with snow, they came through the winter in good condition. When the snow melted in the spring the pine needles looked green and healthy. But during the third year the trees had grown so much that the snow of that winter did not entirely cover them. Their tops stood well above the snow- line. The following March when the snow began to disappear it was still apparent where the snow- line of that winter had been. Every pine in that plantation began to show a red top where it had been above the snow- line, while the rest of the tree below the snow- line was as green as a healthy pine could look. The ground had frozen hard before the snow came. As long as the snow protected the tops, well and good, but when they were exposed to the winter winds they could not replace the moisture evaporated from the pine needles when their roothairs were in hard frozen ground. Later, as those roots reached down below the frost line, some of those pines finally became established. Others died out because of the injury known as " winter- killing," which is the cause of more damage to evergreens in the northern latitudes than any other factor. If there is not sufficient snow in a region, a mulch is highly desirable for evergreens, for their leaves keep on functioning all winter while the deciduous trees rest; but they simply can not get the water that they need when the soil is a solid frozen mass. Whenever the sun shines, water is constantly being evaporated from their ever- active green leaves. If the f p 243 roots can not replenish this water, serious burning and eventual death of the branches' extremities will result. If a mulch is applied early enough to keep the ground from freezing at the level of the feeding roots, it may save the life of an evergreen tree or shrub. Deciduous trees also sometimes suffer when there is no mulch on the ground. Frozen soil is responsible for the actual " freezing to death" of many feeding roots on shallow- rooted trees, such as beech. Lack of debris on the ground exposes the soil to all the unfavorable climatic activities, such as alternate freezing and thawing with resultant heaving of the soil. Heaving tears loose the root- hairs of the plants and exposes them to the severe elements of late winter and early spring. There are those who maintain that a mulch should be applied only after the ground is frozen over. The argument is that the mulch is not to keep plants warm but to keep them cold. They recommend that you permit the ground to freeze hard enough to bear a team and a wagon. But this is not nature's way of using mulch. Nature puts it down in the fall when the foliage drops and keeps it there until it has disintegrated to form the humus in the soil. It is true that a mulch placed after the ground is frozen will keep it frozen during the early spring when alternate freezing and thawing may heave small plants or recently planted trees out of the ground and expose their roots. But this is one of the special circumstances where this practice may be of some benefit. When there are bulbs or small fruit trees or ornamentals to be protected, it is again advisable to apply a mulch after the ground is frozen. An early mulch would invite moles to burrow in the nice soft warm earth beneath, making tunnels which the little field mice would use to gain access to the tender bulbs and roots that they like for winter fare. I have seen small fruit trees and dogwoods and magnolias girdled at the base by field mice gnawing away the tender bark during the winter months under the protective cover of the mulch at the base of the tree. And I have known of tulip bulbs that have never sprouted because the mice, running through mole tunnels, feasted on them over winter. Therefore, a hard and fast rule can not be given that will hold good for every condition. Sometimes an early mulch would be the logical procedure, while in other instances it may be better to let the surface freeze before a protective covering is applied. On my strawberry beds I have used a perennial mulch of grass cuttings for several years with good results. Each spring the mulch of the previous year is forked into the top layer of soil before any new material is placed on the beds. The result has been a friable soil with a good texture, almost free of weeds. In the forest we grow the " King of the Plant World" successfully with a natural mulch. We would do well to imitate this method in the production of our agricultural and garden crops. 244 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS Scientist's Point of View On Tobacco Culture THE PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO. Wightman W. Garner. 484 pages, illustrated, indexed. Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1946. $ 4.50. As director of tobacco investigation of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering of the United States Department of Agriculture from 1908 until recently, Dr. Garner has long been in close touch with improved methods for the production of tobacco. This volume may therefore be regarded as the work of a specialist. No such comprehensive study has appeared since 1897 when J. B. Killebrew and Herbert Myrick published their valuable " Tobacco Leaf: Its Culture and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture." In general, " Tobacco Leaf," which is chiefly the work of Killebrew, might be termed a summation of the body of knowledge on the production of tobacco amassed by farmers, while Dr. Garner's study relates chiefly to the work of scientists along the same lines. As a result this volume represents a new departure. It is therefore unfortunate that Dr. Garner did not include information relative to the work of scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture. A chapter on the methods of Milton Whitney, an energetic disciple of Ira Remsen and the first Department of Agriculture scientist to outline a program for improving the production of tobacco, would have enlivened a work obliged by its very nature to be heavy. In Part I Dr. Garner describes the botanical characteristics of the tobacco plant, explains the technical classification of leaf tobacco, and gives the historical background on which the tobacco industry rests. Part II is concerned with applied production of the different classes and varieties of leaf tobacco and should be of especial interest to farmers. Scientific aspects of tobacco culture, including the findings of agronomists, biochemists, physiologists, and geneticists, are summarized and explained in Part III. To the scientifically untrained mind o the reviewer some of the explanation: in Part III are slightly hazy, althougl the general conclusions are clear anc definite. The assembling of the essentia features of tobacco production, togethei with analyses of specialized studies intc one convenient volume, has placed those interested in the subject in great debt to Dr. Garner. Some of the author's views in regard to the historical background of the tobacco industry seem doubtful. There is no clear statement that the colonists at Jamestown failed to become successful in the production of tobacco until after they had obtained seeds of Nicotiana tabacwm from South America as a substitute for the undesirable Nicotiana rustica, native to the Jamestown area. It is doubtful that the early production of bright tobacco was " practically stopped" by the Civil War as Dr. Garner maintains ( p. 42) ; effects of the war served rather to shift the area of production southward. The statement that the cigarette machine was invented in 1872 and that several years were required to perfect it ( p. 468) is misleading. Undoubtedly many cigarette machines were invented during the 1870' s and numbers of them were not patented, but the Bon-sack machine, which was first to influence production, did not appear until 1880. Five years were then required to render it efficient. The chief value of cloth covers on seed beds lies in preventing attacks of flea beetles rather than in conservation of warmth and moisture, as Dr. Garner seems inclined to think ( pp. 126- 127). One variety of flue- cured leaf cited as noteworthy ( p. 74), " Pinckney Arthur," received general condemnation from leaf buyers during the First World War and was scon forced off the market. These and similar small errors in the historical background of the industry, however, are relatively unimportant in a work concerned with the production of leaf tobacco. Unfortunately the author's style leaves much to be desired. Split infinitives 245 Gawmmd'NEW FLOWERS p plus Wayside's Guarantee* of Quality Autumn planting time is here. For an even lovelier garden— grow these new flowers! You'll see these and many more in Wayside's new autumn catalog: THE NEW 1949 ROSE SELECTIONS Here are the two All- America honor winners for ' 49— available now! Forty- niner— a flash of Chrome Yellow and vivid Orient Red. Tall and vigorous. Tallyho — soft rose red inside . . . shaded cardinal red outside. Long- stemmed, fragrant. Proved best in ' 48: Cardinal red Nocturne, carmine rose and gold Taffeta, capucine buff Butterscotch, pink and buff Hill Top. NEW IMPORTED BULB VARIETIES Daffodils— Duke of Windsor, Leviathan and Brookville excel in size and shapeliness anything yet seen. New Tulips — exquisite new colors. Choice bulbs imported from Holland. Order now. DECORATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS Clarke's Giant Lilac— largest lilac in existence. Gentian blue clusters 12 inches long, 8 inches across. Individual florets IY2 inches across. Tree Wisterias — guaranteed to bloom. Lavender- blue. Christmas Rose— a dwarf- growing hardy plant with white bell- like flowers blooming in late winter. See these new flowers and many others in the . . . World's Finest Book- Catalog on Autumn Planting Just off the press: 124 pages. Superb color illustrations, accurate descriptions and cultural instructions. We've spared no effort to make this a valuable reference book on bulbs, roses and flowering shrubs. To be sure you get your copy, it is necessary that you enclose with your request 50c, coin or stamps, to cover postage and handling costs. * Our guarantee, fully stated in our catalog, 19 a clear expression of our policy, well known to Wayside customers. NEW ROSE FORTY- NINER Wax| xicle LI Gjajrlerw 51 MENTOR AVENUE MENTOR, OHIO 246 abound; adjectives are frequently and most peculiarly used as nouns; awkward phraseology often renders meaning obscure; and repetitions of portions of sentences are tiresome and unnecessary. There are many typographical errors and other instances of inadequate editing. The bibliography is generally excellent although such works as the following are omitted: The study by Killebrew and Myrick, J. C. Robert's " Tobacco Kingdom," and Jerome Brooks, " Tobacco, Its History Illustrated by the Books, Manuscripts and Engravings in the Library of George Arents, Jr." Obviously all of them were consulted. In the bibliography not only did the stout old conquistador, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who accompanied Cortes in 1519, have his name misspelled but also an article on cigarette tobacco which appeared in 1936 is attributed to him ( p. 490)! NANNIE M. TILLEY, East Texas State Teachers College. Physician, Patriot, Naturalist THE SELECTED WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN BUSH. - Edited by Dago-bert D. Runes. 433 pages, illustrated, indexed. The Philosophical Library, New York, 1948. ? 5. Since Benjamin Rush is described as " a great physician and naturalist," it is disillusioning to learn that he wrote only one paper of botanical importance and disappointing to find that this one, his noteworthy account of the sugar maple in the United States, is not included in this volume of selected writings. ' A man with his alert power of observation and ability to express himself clearly might have made many a valuable contribution to natural science in America, outside of his many papers emanating from his practice and teaching of medicine. His influence in this field, however, was not small; but his name was known especially in political and what came 10 be sociological fields, particularly at the time leading up to the American Revolution. His discourse on the sugar maple, an original copy of which is in the New York Botanical Garden's library, was written as a letter to Thomas Jefferson and was " read in the American Philosophical Society on the 19 of August, 1791, and extracted from the Third Volume of their Transactions, now in the Press." CAROL H. WOODWARD. For All Saintpaulia Fans THE AFRICAN VIOLET. Helen Van Pelt Wilson. 191 pages, illustrated, indexed. M. Barrows & Co., New York, 1948. $ 2.50. This is the book for which all African violet fans have long been waiting. There has been so much contradictory information published on the subject, that growers will warmly welcome a book by a noted author which contains reliable information and explicit cultural directions. By following these directions, it will be possible for every housewife to have a display of Saintpaulias that is second to none. The book is well illustrated with drawings of many varieties and contains a brief description of flower, leaf and plant forms. Many will be able to name their plants after a study of these chapters. I especially like the listing of the different sources of supply; also the clear-cut directions given for packing and mailing plants and leaves. Many people do not know that leaves, if properly packed, can travel from one side of this continent to the other, and produce new plants as quickly as freshly cut leaves. Plant pests and remedies are fully covered in another chapter; you will also find information on propagation, soil mixtures, fertilizers, methods of combating insects and the various diseases that affect these plants. I was much disappointed that the different varieties were not photographed in color, as color is the keynote in classifying African violets. There is a variety of useful information on all phases of culture contained in this book, which will deserve a place on every flower lover's book shelf— whether the grower is a beginner with African violets as a hobby, or a specialist interested in developing new varieties and propagating them for profit. JESSIE J. CRAWFORD. ( With an article published last December, Mrs. Crawford was winner of the first award in Home Garden magazine's African violet contest.) 247 Rose- Growing Made Easy ROSES FOR EVERY GARDEN. R. C. Allen. 218 pages, illustrated, indexed. M. Barrows & Co., New York, 1948. $ 3.50. There is no doubt that the rose has universal appeal and so we welcome this book which writes of this favorite flower. Anyone may read this book with much profit but it is especially useful for the less experienced amateur since it aims to show that " Growing roses quite well is an easy business." The author has covered his subject very well. Opening chapters cover the various classifications of types of roses, making plain their differences. Adequate lists of varieties in each class are given. The cultural requirements such as location, soil preparation, planting, watering, fertilizers, pruning and winter protection, disease and insect control are clearly discussed. Additional chapters contain information on propagation and hybridizing— good encouragement for the amateur. Included also are helpful points for the gardener who takes pleasure in exhibiting at flower shows and for the gardener who likes to use his roses cut for decoration. The color plates and black and white line drawings add much to the enjoyment and understanding of the text. ALICE B. DOSCHER. Legend Brought to Life JOHNNY APPLESEED: A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. Edited by Leslie Marshall. 76 pages. Swedenborg Press, Paterson, N. J., 1948. $ 1.25. John Chapman, the man so dwarfed by his legendary shadow, died in 1845. As a centennial tribute, authorities on his life have prepared this short account of the man— a pioneer and eccentric evangelist— a dedicated man, who moved West with the frontier through the wilderness of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Whatever else, John Chapman was a nurseryman by trade. He did not scatter seeds helter- skelter, but set out acres of nursery stock. Moving west, Chapman left an agent to sell his stock or he would return periodically to care for his seedlings. Chapman was alert enough to the westward movement to get his nursery started one step ahead of settlers, but as an itinerant preacher, the commercial aspects of his nurseries were not uppermost in Chapman's mind. His nickname, Johnny Appleseed, became a byword during his lifetime and the Appleseed legend grew as men moved westward. Few have made as unique and unselfish a contribution to our country in its gawky years as this humble preacher who won men's goodwill with his apple trees. HERBERT S. ZIM, Port Ji^ ashington, N. Y. A Hundred Ferns GUIDE TO EASTERN FERNS. Edgar T. Wherry, 252 pages, illustrated, indexed. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Second edition, reprinted 1948. $ 2. This useful little book is again available. Amateurs everywhere have valued its authoritative text and instructive comments. Each fern ( about 100 species in' all, including the fern- allies) is illustrated by line drawings ( some of which were redrawn for the second edition) which are often somewhat stylized, but which do permit the ready identification of specimens. Identification is also facilitated by a 19- page key, omitted in the first edition. C. V. MORTON, Smithsonian Institution. Bobbink & Atkins 1898 - 1948 " 50 Years of Growing" Our Golden Anniversary Most of the unusual Roses, Trees and Shrubs not obtainable elsewhere will be found growing in this great Establishment . . . one unique in the Annals of American Horticulture. Visitors Always Welcome A copy of our 60 page Golden Anniversary catalogue " Garden Gems" will be mailed upon request if you mention this publication. Bobbink & Atkins Nurserymen and Plantsmen Paterson Ave., E. Rutherford, N. J . 248 Notes, News, and Comment President. During the meetings of the newly organized American Institute of Biological Sciences in Washington, D. C, in mid- September, Dr. W. H. Camp was elected President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Others from the Garden's staff who attended the botanical meetings included Drs. H. A. Gleason, F. W. Kavanagh, H. W. Rickett, D. P. Rogers, and F. J. Seaver. Assistant. Richard S. Cowan came to the Garden September 1 from the University of Hawaii as Technical Assistant, to carry on research on tropical plants while working for a Ph. D. degree at Columbia University. Mr. Cowan is a graduate of Wabash College. During the war he served with the " Seabees" on Tinian where he did some botanical collecting. Later he obtained his Master's degree ( 1948) from the University of Hawaii, meanwhile collecting plants on several of the Pacific Islands. Herbarium Staff. Joseph Monachino, who has been botanist for Merck & Co., working at the Garden under the supervision of B. A. Krukoff, Honorary Curator of Economic Botany, since 1941, has been named Associate Custodian of the Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden, effective September 1. For several years previous to his appointment with Mr. Krukoff, he worked in the Garden's herbarium. Mr. Monachino is co- author with Mr. Krukoff of extensive papers on the genus Strychnos. He has also published in Phytologia, Lloydia, Torreya, Tropical Woods, Brittonia, and the Caribbean Forester, describing new species of plants from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the West Indies and Mexico. He is a life member of the Torrey Botanical Club, for which he has been leading field trips for more than ten years. Visitors. Brother Alain of the Colegio de la Salle in Havana came to the Garden August 17 to study Cuban plants in the herbarium in preparation for a second volume on the Flora of Cuba. Dr. N. Prasad, a graduate student in plant pathology at the University of California, visited the Garden August 6 Before coming to this country he was mycologist for eight years at the Agricultural Research Station at Sakrand in Sind, and is now returning to India. Mrs. Edward A. Belsterling ( Louise Babcock) of Dallas, Texas, a grand-niece of the botanist John Torrey, was a visitor at the Garden August 20. Her mother was a daughter of John Torrey's brother Edward. Vladimir C. Asmous, now in the Slavic department of the Harvard College Library at Cambridge, spent a week at the Garden in mid- September investigating Russian botanical literature of the past ten years. Maxwell S. Doty of Northwestern University worked on the Clavariaceae at the Garden for ten days in August. Polypores of Washington were studied at the Garden for a week by William Bridge Cooke of Washington State College at Pullman. Among other late summer visitors were Mr. & Mrs. Kendal Morton of Coral Gables, Fla., authors of " Fifty Tropical Fruits of Nassau;" Lafayette Frederick of Rhode Island State College, a former student of Dr. Donald P. Rogers at the University of Hawaii; F. G. Walsingham of the Atkins Garden and Research Laboratory at Cienfuegos, Cuba; Wayne E. Manning, Bucknell University, Lewis-burg, Pa.; Ronald J. Mann, University of Florida; Geneva Sayre, Russell Sage College; Charles H. Driver, Fulton County Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Ga., William Irwin Illman, National Research Council, Ottawa; and two students, Paul Wilson Pitman, University of North Carolina, and Rodolfo Moreno from Mexico City, now in the agronomy department at Cornell University. Poliomyelitis. Drs. William J. Robbins, I. N. Asheshov and Robert S. de Ropp attended the first International Poliomyelitis Conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York July 12- 17. Volunteer. Ruth P. Ehrlich, a student at the University of Vermont, worked as a volunteer in the library, herbarium and horticultural department at the Garden during July and August. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Officers JOSEPH R. SWAN, President JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- President CHARLES B. HARDING, Vice- President ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary Elective Managers SHERMAN BALDWIN MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON FREDERICK S. MOSELEY, J R . WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT HOOKER FRANCIS E. POWELL, JR. HOWARD BAYNE MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT EDWIN D E T. BECHTEL CLARENCE M C K . LEWIS WILLIAM J. ROBBINS HENRY F. DU PONT E. D. MERRILL EDMUND W. SINNOTT REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY CHAUNCEY STILLMAN S. J. OAKLEIGH L. THORNE Ex- Officio Managers WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of Nezv York ANDREW G. CLAUSON, JR., President of the Board of Education ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner Appointive Managers By the Torrey Botanical Club: F. J. SEAVER. By Columbia University: MARSTON T. BOGERT, CHARLES W. BALLARD, MARCUS M. RHOADES, SAM F. TRELEASE. THE STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. Director HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director H. A. GLEASON, P H . D . Chief Research Associate and Curator FRED J. SEAVER, P H . D . , SC. D. Head Curator P. P. PIRONE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist THOMAS H. EVERETT, N. D. HORT. Horticulturist H. W. RICKETT. P H . D . Bibliographer BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . Curator DONALD P H I L I P ROGERS, P H . D . C urator HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D . Associate Curator W. H, CAMP, P H . D . Associate Curator E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Associate Curator E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Associate Curator of Education F. W. KAVANAGH, P H . D . Associate Curator of Laboratories IGOR NICHOLAS ASHESHOV, M. D. Bacteriologist ROBERT S. DE ROPP, P H . D . , D. I. C. Assistant Curator MARJORIE ANCHEL, P H . D . Research Associate ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant MARY STEBBINS, M. A. Technical Assistant RICHARD S. COWAN, A. M. Technical Assistant ELIZABETH C. HALL, A. B., B. S. Librarian CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium JOSEPH MONACHINO Associate Custodian of the Herbarium OTTO DEGENER, M. S. Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany ELMER N. MITCHELL Photographer JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. Bibliographer Emeritus BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist Emeritus A. B. STOUT, P H . D . Curator Emeritus INEZ M. HARING Assistant Honorary Curator of Mosses JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diatomaceae B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany ETHEL ANSON S. PECKHAM Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections A. C. PFANDER Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds To reach the Botanical Garden, take the Independent Subway to Bedford Park Boulevard station, use the Bedford Park Boulevard exit and walk east. Or take the Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Garden or the 200th Street station, the New York Central to the Botanical Garden station, or the Webster Avenue bus No. 41 to Bedford Park Boulevard. HHHBHHBB PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Books, Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustra* tions of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 15. Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A. Rydberg. 969 pages and 601 figures. 193 2. $ 6. Plants of the Vicinity of New York, by H. A. Gleason. 284 pages, illustrated. A handbook especially compiled for the beginner. 1935. Second edition 1947. $ 2. The Bahama Flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. 695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and thallophytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections, bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25. North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates of Carex and related plants by Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 10% x 131/ 2 inches; bound $ 17.50. Foreign postage extra. Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25. Plants of the Holy Scriptures, by Eleanor King, with a check- list of plants that are mentioned in the Bible, each one accompanied by a quotation. Revised from the Journal of March 1941. 23 pages, illustrated. 1948. 25 cents. Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles by Marion A. & G. L. 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Contributor | New York Botanical Garden |
Date | 1948-10 |
Description-Table Of Contents | THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PLANTS OF WEST AFRICAN PEOPLES I; A NEW RACE OF DOUBLE-FLOWERED DAYLILIES; HEDGECRAFT IN THE BRITISH ISLES; THE ROLE OF MULCH IN FOREST AND GARDEN. |
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. 49, no. 586 |
Type | text |
Transcript | m\ v YOI ** rA*: c % VROE » JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Vol. 49 No. 586 OCTOBER 1 9 4 8 PAGES 225 — 248 OCTOBER EVENTS AT THE GARDEN Members' Day Program 3 p. m. in the Members' Room Oct. 6 " Insurance" For Your Plants P. P. Pirone Plant Pathologist Courses of Study Two- Year Course in Practical Gardening Cultivation of Trees & Shrubs Six sessions, alternate Thursdays, 8 - 1 0 p. m. Sept. 30- Dec. 16 Instructor: /. H. Beale $ 10 Designing the Home Grounds Autumn term Five sessions, Thursday afternoons, 3 - 5 p. m. Oct. 7 - Nov. 4 Instructor; Alice L. Dustan $ 7.50 Free Saturday Programs Complete schedule mailed on request. 3 p. m. in the Lecture Hall HARDY CHRYSANTHEMUM DISPLAY AND PROGRAM In co- operation with the N A T I O N A L C H R Y S A N T H E M U M SOCIETY F r i d a y , Saturday, Sunday . . . O c t o b e r 22, 2 3 , 2 4 , 1948 Opening Friday at 2 p. m. — Free to the Public DAILY Outdoor Display of Hardy Chrysanthemums 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. Competitive Exhibits In the Museum Building, Friday 2 p. m. to 5 p. m. Saturday and Sunday 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Chrysanthemum Paintings in the Chinese Manner By Wang Chi- Yuan On the mezzanine. Museum Building Professor Wang's exhibit will continue through November 14 FRIDAY PROGRAM 3 p. m. in the Lecture Hall Chrysanthemums as I Grow Them An informal talk by Ernest L. Bertram President, National Chrysanthemum Society Flower Arrangements With Chrysanthemums A demonstration by Mrs. Loren R. Doason SATURDAY Children's Competitive Chrysanthemum Exhibit In the basement of the Museum Building, Noon to 5 p. m. TABLE OF CONTENTS OCTOBER 1948 CHRYSANTHEMUMS, PORTRAYED IN THE CHINESE MANNER From a gouache painting made especially for this Journal by Wang Chi- Yuan THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PLANTS OF W E S T AFRICAN PEOPLES. I. F. R. Irvine 225 A N E W RACE OF DOUBLE- FLOWERED DAYLILIES A. B. Stout 236 HEDGECRAFT IN THE BRITISH ISLES C. Romanne- James 239 THE ROLE OF MULCH IN FOREST AND GARDEN R. R. Fenska 241 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 244 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 248 The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York 58, N Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y,, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies NEW V01K BOTAN'CAI QARCEN JOURNAL of THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor DL. 49 OCTOBER 1948 No. 586 be Indigenous Food ' Plants f West oAfrican ' Peoples By F. R. Irvine I " ' H E origin of man's foods in any country is a fascinating study. In - Africa, much can be learned from early explorers and from a study the present- day African's food plants and methods of agriculture. Today the foods most commonly in use are of American or Asiatic igin, such as cassava, groundnuts, plantains, coco- yams, and maize, . it there was a time when these were not known, when the original in-bitants had to depend on their own indigenous plants. Some of these ants are still used today, though generally not as staples, while some are Jy used in times of scarcity. ie Climate and its Effects Over much of West Africa there is one long dry season, alternating th one rainy season during which planting is possible. In wetter coastal ain forest" regions two rainy seasons occur, one of " main rains" and e of " small rains." These climatic factors largely determine the hunting, hing, and planting habits of the people. The alternating periods of 3d shortage and abundance are partly counteracted by food storage. In ars of very low rainfall or plagues of locusts, famine such as is common primitive man elsewhere sometimes occurs even nowadays. At such nes, emergency foods are gathered from the wild. These may be 3ts, such as wild yams and others, which sometimes require prolonged iking, washing, and boiling to eliminate poisonous elements. Sometimes : y consist of tiny seeds of wild grasses, some of which are parched in : sun ( 1) * before being prepared for cooking. Wild fruits in their oper season ( 2) are generally eaten raw, but the many leaves which : collected for food are cooked. Mushrooms ( 2) of various kinds and igures in parentheses refer to the list of publications at the end of Part I. 225 226 IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE GOLD COAST NEAR GAMBAGA Typical savannah country is shown here as it appears early in the rainy season. Later, the grass will be much taller. Photograph by courtesy of G. S. Cansdale, Zoological Society of London. even gums from acacia ( 3, 5) and other trees may be eaten. But such famine conditions are much less severe in modern Africa, as food can be brought much more quickly to famine areas. In earlier times, severe famines were more common, particularly during intertribal wars, aggravated as conditions often were by the slave trade. The Food of Primitive Africans Kolben ( 1731) describes the way in which the indigenous inhabitants of South Africa followed the hedgehog and baboon to discover their sources of food, and refused to taste any kind of root or fruit which these animals did not eat ( 4). Schultze ( 1907) reports that the Namas of South Africa rob stores of grass seeds collected by black ants, grinding and roasting the flour they obtain thereby ( 5). Honey has always been widely used in Africa, where it is generally robbed from wild bees' nests. Primitive beehives are sometimes constructed, however, but the whole colony is destroyed when the honey is taken. The use of modern beehives is hardly known at present in West Africa. While in such countries as Senegal and Gambia it is the beeswax which is exploited, in many other areas honey is the product sought from the nests or hives. Though it is gathered principally for food, its use in making mead, an intoxicating drink, is also known. The meat diet, being deficient in many districts, has sometimes been supplemented by animal proteins of insect origin, such as termites ( white ants), locusts, and certain beetle larvae, while in Rhodesia, certain caterpillars are also eaten ( 2). 227 Prehistoric hunters in the largely uninhabited West African rain forests probably noted, as African hunters do today, which fruits were eaten by gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, elephants, antelopes,. and other animals, and so learned to eat them too. In more open parts early man probably used his hands or some primitive tool, such as a digging stick, in digging up wild roots. It is certain that he discovered only by trial and error which plants could be eaten; some of his feeding experiments must have ended in illness, and even in death. Just as in olden times the more agricultural of the American Indians did not subsist entirely on their crops, but also gathered certain plants from the wilds ( 6), so it was in West Africa ( 7). As primitive Africans took up a more settled form of life and became agriculturists, they brought numerous plants into cultivation near their homesteads. When clearing the bush for farms, they would sometimes carefully preserve those trees which bore edible fruits ( 8). S A MAURITANIA FRENCH WEST PL A F R I C A W. LG F R. E N c ' h SUDAN GOLD COAS Ught of Benin Fe*% v% B i'eht of GULF of GUINEA BUfr*. CHAD < r u c? Hi UBANGIOSHAR « J WEST AFR. ICA < u < o / ANGOLA " W^ 228 Agricultural Practices It is known that the sparsely populated rain forest areas were formerly much more extensive. With the opening up of the country and the planting of perennial crops such as cocoa, from the Americas, immense areas of such forest have been cut down. Swamps often made farming difficult, the huge buttressed trees, the rapid regrowth of woody plants, and the inadequate tools available, all made clearing arduous. Moreover, the labour in disposing of felled trees and shrubs is immense. Because of the deadly tsetse fly, which carries trypanosomiasis ( sleeping sickness), game animals were scarce and draught animals could not be kept, so that ploughing was impracticable. The rain forest was probably used for hunting smaller game animals, edible snails and the like, which fed on fruits and other forest products. Later, man settled there, making small farms in the drier parts of the forest and practising shifting cultivation. An understanding of shifting cultivation is fundamental to any student of West African agriculture. Areas of primary or secondary rain forest, or of other types of vegetation, are cleared and burnt over and crops are planted for a period, generally of two to three years. After this the farm is abandoned, as the soil has deteriorated, annual weeds have increased, and woody plants gradually crowd out the remaining crops. The vegetation which replaces them is of an inferior type to the original forest. It is known as " secondary forest" and consists of quick- growing and softer-wooded trees, as well as shrubs and climbers. Such areas of secondary forest may be cleared again later, perhaps on more than one occasion, to the detriment of the original rain forest species. Sources of Staple Foods There is little evidence that any of man's main staple foods occurred wild in these rain forest areas. The two most likely indigenous crops of such regions — some of the yams ( Dioscorea species) and the oil palm ( Elaeis) — are both inhabitants of previously cleared forest land. The yearly regrowth of yam stems and slow growth of oil palms prevented their survival in the rain forest. Certain Cola trees, however, really occurred there, but the main food crops of forest areas today — cassava, plantains and bananas, citrus fruits, pineapples, papaws ( or papayas ��� Carica Papaya), coco- yams, sweet potatoes, and maize — were all introduced from elsewhere. In the drier grassy forest ( savannah) regions, other food plants such as the locust- bean ( Parkia), beniseed ( Sesamum), the shea butter tree ( Butyrospcrmum), yams ( Dioscorea), Guinea corn ( Sorghum), and bulrush millet ( Pcunisctum) occurred. 229 GUINEA GRAINS AND SESAME SEED — TWO OF WEST AFRICA'S EXPORTS On the left, Aframomum Melegueta is the plant which gave the name to the Guinea " Grain Coast" of early days. Its spicy seeds, called " Guinea grains" or " grains of paradise," also " melegueta pepper," were exported to Europe as a flavoring and medicine. An ancient plant from tropical Africa, sesame, called " beniseed" in the west, is now widely grown in many parts of the continent. Oil is pressed from the seeds and the residue is used as cattle cake. The leaves, also the seeds, which are first ground and roasted, are put in soups. Exportable Products Very few indigenous West African plants, so far, have attracted sufficient attention outside West Africa to result in their exportation. The two principal ones are the KOLA tree ( Cola), whose fruits provide a flavoring for beverages in other lands as well as being used as a stimulant in Africa, and grains of paradise ( Aframomum), a spicy medicament and flavouring. Of Cola, the most important cultivated species is probably C. nitida. Kola nuts have been used in Africa from remote times, and there was early trade in them from rain forest regions to the drier regions south of the Sahara. When Leo Africanus first described them in 1556, he aroused a European desire to discover their source. Later, slaves carried the seeds to the New World, and in the 17th century certain Europeans, reaching the West Indies, suddenly discovered the kola tree growing there. Thus, for a long time they believed that it was native in that region. 230 4tH # DESSERT FRUITS OF WEST AFRICA The akee apple ( Blighia sapida), above, known as " achee" on the Gold Coast, is a favorite fruit, but only the aril may be eaten with impunity, as the fibrous portion below it is highly poisonous. The West African plum ( Vitex Cienkoivskit), shown below, is reputed to remedy a lack of vitamins in the diet. 231 The so- called grains of paradise or melegueta pepper ( Aframomum Melegueta) of the Ginger family, better known nowadays as " Guinea grains," were formerly exported mainly from what is now the Liberian coast. The small, grain- like, spicy seeds account for the old name, the Grain Coast, given to that part of the coast of Guinea on old maps. Formerly important in European trade, as a spice or medicine, today they are used outside of Africa mainly in veterinary medicine, domestic remedies, and in certain alcoholic drinks. Africans themselves use them in medicine and as a spice in their foods. The kernels of the fruits of the shea butter tree ( Butyrospermum Parkii), of the Sapodilla family, are rich in fat ( broker's standard 46%). This fat, called shea butter, is commonly seen in markets and is locally used for cooking and other purposes. Generally only the kernels are exported, the shea oil being extracted from them and made into vegetable butter and other products. However, locally prepared shea butter itself is sometimes carried to other countries. Another valuable oil seed is the African mango, or dika nut ( Irvingia gabonensis) — which is not a true mango, but a member of the same family to which the tree- of- heaven ( Ailanthus) belongs. It is cultivated in Lower Dahomey, a variety with a thick edible pulp being sold in the markets in Porto Novo. From the kernels, which contain from 54 to 67% of fatty matter, an almost solid, white or pale yellow fat known as dika butter is extracted. This has been tried out experimentally in Europe in margarine manufacture and as a substitute and adulterant for cocoa butter. For local consumption the kernels are dried and split, ground, heated, smoked, and made into cylindrical masses known as dika bread or Gaboon chocolate, to be eaten with meat, fish, or other dishes. Edible Fruits and Seeds Naturally, among man's earliest foods, fruits were of particular importance. In West Africa there are well over 100 species of wild shrubs or trees with edible fruits. These are mainly in the following eight families: Sapodilla ( Sapotaceae), Soapberry ( Sapindaceae), Dogbane ( Apocynaceae), Grape ( Vitaceae), Cashew ( Anacardiaceae), Spurge ( Euphorbiaceae), Madder ( Rubiaceae), and Garcinia, related to St. Johnswort ( Guttiferae). It is likely that all these and many others were eaten in former days. The African still resorts to those places where the fruits can be gathered as they ripen. He sometimes does some clearing to make the task of collection easier and to encourage the growth of the trees. Then follows a feeling of personal or tribal ownership, depending on the organization of such fruit gatherers. Some trees are thus actually inherited. If the fruit supply increases with this care, the people stay longer and sometimes settle in the neighbourhood. This leads to more clearing and 232 WILD AND CULTIVATED FRUITS OF WEST AFRICA The desert date ( Balanites aegyptiaca), left, is found in dry regions which are subject to occasional floods. The fruits are a nourishing staple, the kernels being used in soup and bread- making and as a source of an edible oil. The pulp of the fruit is edible, bitter- sweet in taste, and is also used, with water, as a drink. The Assyrian plum ( Cordia Myxa) is often grown at the edge of the forest by residents of villages. The sticky mucilaginous pulp and also the kernel are edible. encouragement of growth, also to the special planting of new trees as the land is opened up. In the savannah forest regions, similar practices are followed with the West African locust- bean ( Parkia filicoidea) and the shea butter tree ( Butyrospermum Parkii) — both, incidentally, named after Mungo Park, the great explorer of the late 18th century. Both trees are abundant; there are probably more than seventeen million shea butter trees in French West Africa alone! And the fruits of both are practically everywhere harvested from trees in a semi- wild condition. Near towns and villages these trees are often better tended and more protected from bush fires, consequently they yield higher crops. Other fruit trees are planted in village areas or specially planted and cultivated on farms. Among them are several species of Cola, . star- apples ( Chry-sophyllum), the miraculous berry ( Synscpalum or Sideroxylon ditlcifi-cum), akee- apple ( Blighia sapida), hog- plum ( Spondias Mombin), Guinea 233 grains ( Aframomum Melegueta), tamarind ( Tamarindus), dika nut ( Irv-ingia gabonensis), bush butter tree ( Pachylobus edulis), Christ's thorn ( Zizyphus Spina- Christi), sorrel ( Hibiscus Sabdariffa), West African ebony ( Diospyros mespiliformis), Kaffir orange ( Strychnos spinosa), Assyrian plum ( Cordia Myxa), Lannea oleosa, and various species of Solatium. Many fruits are eaten raw, as dessert fruits, an interesting example being the akee- apple ( Blighia sapida), named after the famous Captain Bligh of H. M. S. Bounty. Only the oily yellow aril is eaten, for the dangerous properties of the fibrous raphe attached to it have long been known in West Africa. The tree is also grown elsewhere, particularly in the West Indies, where its name " akee" closely resembles its Gold Coast vernacular name, pronounced " achee," from which it is probably derived. Although the fruit has been commonly eaten in Jamaica, it was a long time before cases of death resulting from vomiting sickness were traced to akee poisoning. Another dessert fruit is the West African plum ( Vitex Cienkowskii), a black fruit with considerable nutritive value, said to counteract avita-minosis, especially in children. Kernels of the " desert date" ( Balanites aegyptiaca), which occurs in dry regions where inundations occasionally moisten the ground, are some- AN EBONY TREE WITH AN EDIBLE FRUIT Diospyros mespiliformis, known as " West African ebony," bears fruit which is appreciated by Africans, who sometimes ferment it to make a drink or a sweetmeat. Among its close relatives in other countries are the persimmon, and the other ebonies which are prized as cabinet woods. 234 times used in making a kind of bread, or they may be eaten in soup. They also provide an edible oil. Some fruits, such as garden eggs ( eggplants), especially Solatium iucanum, can be eaten only after cooking. Others may be either cooked or eaten raw. The fruits of the hog- plum ( Spondias Mombin) are sometimes stewed, and the arils of the akee- apple fried in oil or butter before being eaten. A few fruits, such as the Guinea or African peach ( Sarcocephalus csculcntus) of the Madder family and Solatium anomalum, are specially dried for future consumption. Other fruits are pounded and fermented in order to get a preparation which will keep for a considerable period. The best example is the West African locust- bean ( Parkia filicoidea), the seeds of which are boiled for 24 hours, then pounded, cleaned, and allowed to ferment for two or three days. They are then made into balls, well known in West Africa, where the itinerant Hausa traders barter them, under the Hausa name of DAUDAWA. They are very rich in protein and contain also about 17% of a semi- solid fat. Highly nutritious, they take the place, in some ways, of cheese in a European diet. In addition, the yellow powdery pulp in the pods of the locust- bean is dried and sold as meal or made into cakes or blocks which likewise keep well. This is a valuable food, which is put into soup or eaten with other foodstuff's. It is composed of roughly half easily assimilated sugars. A FAMILIAR FOOD PLANT IN ITS AFRICAN GUISE " Garden egg" is the name applied to the eggplant in West Africa. Its fruits are small compared with the eggplants of American gardens. " Brinjal" is another of its African names. 235 More African Foods T N a forthcoming Journal, Dr. Irvine will describe more of the indigenous *- food plants of West Africa, where he lived for many years before returning to the British Isles in 1940. He will tell of the vegetables— roots, fruits, and greens; of cereals and of the grains and fruits that are used for sweetmeats, and of spices, seasonings, vinegars, and beverages. Illustrations in this number and the next have come partly from the herbarium and collection of drawings at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, and have been made in part with the aid of a grant from King's College ( Durham University), Newcastle on Tyne, England. Some of the adapted drawings were made by the author's daughter, Miss Alison Irvine, a student of the Edinburgh College of Art. While in West Africa Dr. Irvine was on the staff of the Government College of Achimota. During that time he produced " Plants of the Gold Coast" for the Gold Coast Government, wrote text books on local botany and agriculture which were published by the Oxford University Press, and initiated the agricultural and botanical work in the college. After spending a year on the administrative staff for science at Edinburgh University, he is now in London. The widely distributed Scsamum indicmn was probably originally tropical African, for it was known in ancient Egypt about the year 1300 B. C. It is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as GINGELLY, TIL, or SESAME in the eastern tropics, and as BENISEED in West Africa. The latter name originated in Bambara ( Senegal) and Malinke ( French Guinea). In West Africa it is grown in pure stands, being mainly cultivated for its seeds, which are rich in oil. They are used in the form of porridge or as thickening in soup, or made into cakes for use on journeys. The leaves are also added to soups. Beniseed is exported from northern Nigeria, the oil being used in margarine manufacture and as a salad oil, or in its lower grades in soap- making. The residue is useful as a cattle cake. Another species, 5\ radiatum, is generally found growing wild, but is sometimes specially cultivated. A closely related plant, Ceratotheca sesa-moides, often found wild, may also be cultivated, the leaves and seeds both being eaten in soups. The main oil- producing plant in West Africa is the oil palm ( Elaeis), which yields a red oil from the outer layer of the fruit. This is greatly used in African cookery, as well as in world commerce — for example, in margarine manufacture — while from the kernels another oil, known as palm kernel oil, is obtained. Kernel oil is used by West Africans as a pomade for the skin, as hair oil, and as a cooking fat, while in world trade also it has various uses. A lingering sweetness of taste is provided by two of the most interesting wild fruits of the region. One is a tall forest herb of the Arrowroot family ( Thaumatococcus Danielli), from which the soft jelly- like arils of the fruit are used. The other is the fruit of a shrub or small tree, 236 Synsepalum ( Sideroxylon) dulcificum, which occurs wild in West Africa but is often specially planted. The pulp around the seeds causes a persisting sensation of sweetness on the tongue, so that even the acidity of lime juice cannot be recognized, nor the bitterness of quinine. These curious effects may last sometimes as long as one or two hours. Africans use them with certain acid fruits and with palm wine, to sweeten other foods, and even to disguise the taste of stale food. These two fruits are both known as " miraculous berries." REFERENCES In introductory portion: 1. Denham ( Major), Clapperton ( Capt.) and Oudney ( Dr.) " Narrative of Travels & Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa," London, 1828. 2: 158- 160. 2. Richards, Audrey, " Hunger & Work in a Savage Tribe" 114. London, 1932. 3. Dornan, S. S., " Pygmies & Bushmen of the Kalahari," London, 1925. 4. Kolben, Peter, " The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope" 1: 202. London, 1731. 5. Schultze, Leonhard, " Aus Nameland und Kalahari" 188- 200 ff. 203- 205. Jena, 1907. 6. Wittrock, Marion A. & G. L., " Food Plants of the Indians'' in Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 57. March 1942. 7. Talbot, " The Peoples of Southern Nigeria" 3 : 909. 8. Schweinfurth, G. A., " The Heart of Africa" 1: 266- 268. London, 1873. The main authorities quoted in the remainder of the article are: Dalziel, J. M. " The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa," 1937. Burkill, I. H. " A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula," 1935. De Candolle, Alphonse. " Origin of Cultivated Plants," 1886. QA New Race of ^ Double- flowered ' Daylilies By A. B. Stout THE accompanying illustration shows flowers of a new race of double-flowered daylilies ( Hemerocallis) that has been obtained by selective breeding at the New York Botanical Garden. The type of flower may be called semi- double, for it is different in character and distinct in origin from the para- double type of flower of the two old clones of Hemerocallis that were named KWANSO and FLORE- PLENO. The character of the semi- double type. In this type of doubleness, as a rule, there is no increase or reduplication of any of the parts of a flower, and especially of stamens and petaloids, as there is in para- doubles.* * For illustration and description of the para- double type see article on " The character and genetics of doubleness in the flowers of daylilies: The para- double class," by A. B. Stout, in Herbertia 12: 113- 123, issued in 1947. *#. 237 FLOWERS FROM THREE NEW SEMI- DOUBLE DAYLILY SEEDLINGS ( About half natural size) The pair of flowers at the left, in orange, and at the top, with terra cotta tints, have proved to be among the best selections so far, as the majority of the blooms on these two plants are semi- double. The attractive flowers at the right are reddish in tone, but the plant produces only a small percentage of petaloid flowers. Other promising plants have occurred in breeding plots with larger flowers and in a variety of colorings. There is only a transformation of one or more of the six stamens into petal- like structures. This process and condition have been called PETALODY and a transformed stamen has been called a PETALOID. In the semi- double flowers the pistil is usually normal in structure and functional in seed-production ; in the para- double flowers the pistil is absent or sterile. In both types the three sepals and the primary whorl of three petals are normal in structure and form in having a flat blade that is composed of a midrib and two lobes or wings that form the expanse of the entire petal. The character of petaloids. In the semi- double flowers of daylilies a petaloid usually has a fragment of an anther near its apex. There are various degrees of petalody. There may be only one lobe or wing along one side of the filament of a stamen. There may be two wings with fragments of an anther at the apex of the common midrib, in which case the 238 face of the petaloid is colored as is the corresponding face of a primary petal. But there are some three- winged and four- winged petaloids whose wings correspond to the main lobes of the normal anther. Each wing of a petaloid has only one side that is strongly colored like the face of a petal. When there are secondary wings the colored side of each meets, and is continuous with, the strongly colored face of the primary wing that is adjacent. The secondary wings may be narrow and even reduced to mere ridges. In many of the flowers of certain of the seedlings the petaloids have blades that are crinkled, and when there are six such petaloids the appearance is as shown in the illustration. Semi- double daylilies of various colors, including terra cotta, have appeared in our breeding plots. The occurrence of petaloids in daylilies. The writer has been observing petaloids in the flowers of daylilies since 1915. At first sporadic cases ' were observed on plants of wild origin, on the clones in early cultivation ( such as LUTEOLA) and on hybrid seedlings. Later as the breeding work progressed and numerous seedlings were obtained, certain plants had one or more petaloids in each of several flowers that were open at the same time, and there were some flowers in which all six stamens were petaloid. The best of such plants were kept and used in selective breeding. Most members of the first progenies had no trace of petalody, but those plants on which some flowers had six petaloids were used as parents in further breeding, and special effort was made to obtain seeds from the flowers that had six petaloids — using either pollen of a flower that had only one or two normal stamens or pollen from an incomplete anther on a petaloid. Several progenies have been grown of such parentage. Although most of the seedlings showed no trace of doubleness, several had a noticeable increase in petalody. On three of these plants a large majority of the flowers had six petaloids. Another plant that first flowered in 1947 had ten flowers entirely petaloid ; five flowers with five petaloids each; one with four; and one with two Thus far, however, no plant has been obtained which has all stamens petaloid in all flowers. The selections which have the most petalody, including the three plants whose flowers are shown in the illustration, are being propagated. They have been used in intra- breeding and in cross- pollination with para-doubles ( KWANSO and FLOKE- PLENO) to the extent that at least a thousand seedlings are being grown. When these produce flowers there will be critical evaluations in regard to possible introductions as horticultural clones. It is to be recognized that the few plants of the semi- double type here reported are merely a beginning in the production by selective breeding of the double- flowered horticultural daylilies of the future. 239 Hedgecraft in the ' British Isles By C. Romanne- James IN the United States of America, I am told, you do not plant and grow hedges as extensively as in the British Isles. Therefore, the subject of hedgecraft and of competitions in hedging — dating back more than 100 years — may be comparatively new to you. While the primary object of a hedge over here is to form a boundary or enclose an area, hedges are found to be further valuable as shelter-belts for stock and crops ; also as producers of organic manure and as homes and nesting places for the small birds which destroy caterpillars and innumerable other pests. The hedge forms a characteristic feature of English scenery, particularly in the Midlands, the South of England and in Wales. Edward VIII when Prince of Wales and paying a visit to Breconshire, remarked that he had never seen better hedges anywhere than in that part of the country — his own Wales. When a hedge is to be made, a row of bushes and small trees is first planted and allowed to take root firmly. Then this skeleton fence is trimmed, staked and " layed", until it forms a strong barrier. The method of " laying" a hedge is this: When a tree is planted in the ordinary way, it naturally grows upright. But in a hedge, upright trees are neither required nor desirable. So, when the sapling is sufficiently grown to train — say in six, eight or ten years — it is " layed." This means that it is cut so that its branches may be bent and trained to grow to the right or left, horizontally. They are twisted in and out of the stakes and of other branches, and thus they form the best part of the hedge. It is often as long as ten years before trees and shrubs that are planted to make a hedge are ready to lay and fill in. Trees and bushes employed for the purpose of hedge- making are many and varied. The only hedges comprised solely of one kind of tree are those to be found in gardens and parks, where ornamental boundary plantings are made of, say, yew, holly, sweet- briar, syringa, or other more or less formal woody plants. All farm and field hedges are made up of a variety of trees, such as thorn, hawthorn, elder, beech, maple, etc., according to the kinds which grow best in the district. Each has its own virtues. Blackthorn, loved of the gypsies, makes a good hedge, though it is too apt to run to root. Hawthorn, a word derived from the old English for " hedge- thorn," is perhaps the most popular because of its amenability to pruning, its prickly nature, and the closeness of its growth which makes it an effective barrier. The same may be said of holly. Hazel — especially young trees produced from suckers — is tough yet pliable and for this reason much employed for 240 O ROMANNE- JAMES, who in private life is Mrs. H. C. Aylen, a Fellow ^ - '* of the Royal Society of Arts, writes regularly for a number of British magazines, among them The Guild Gardener, in which a shorter version of the accompanying description of " Hedgecraft in the British Isles" first appeared. She is contributing this article to the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, she writes, " as a token of the friendly feeling I, and so many others in this country, have toward the U. S. A." Besides being active in numerous horticultural organizations, Mrs. Aylen is a member of the Society of Authors and is the author of a book entitled " Herblore for Housewives." hedge- making in Wales. The purple willow, too, is a favorite hedge-plant in country places because, the bark being bitter, no rabbit or other destructive creature will nibble a way through it. Other useful trees and bushes for hedging are hornbeam, beech, cherry- plum, field maple and the sycamore ( Acer pseud o- platanus) — the last because of its robust nature and reputed long life. My own herb garden is enclosed with a hedge of Lonicera nitida or Himalayan honeysuckle, which is quick- growing, but has to be continually cut to keep it tidy and within bounds. Hedge- stakes, to strengthen the fencing, are inserted down the center in numbers of about twenty- one to every fourteen yards, in order to support the hedge and keep it shapely. They are made of oak poles, larch poles, or any other available wood. Each pole is cut into about three pieces for this purpose, according to its length and the length required. No cord or anything of the kind is used to hold the hedge in place, though the word " tying" is employed to signify skillful twisting in of the ends of dead wood and tree branches. In Breconshire, Wales, where I am for a time domiciled, hedging competitions are held every year, as they have been for more than 70 years in this district. The entrants, all young fellows, are the sons of farmers or farm- labourers who have grown up in the neighborhood, and from the age of fifteen have learned to take part in the farm work, such as milking, ploughing, hedging, sheep- shearing and the training of sheepdogs to herd in the sheep. Incidentally, competitions in all these farm activities take place annually in spring or autumn in many country places in the British Isles. A hedging contest does not concern itself with the making of a new hedge. On the farm chosen for the contest, hedges which have gaps or need extensive repairs are selected and 14 yards are marked off for each candidate, according to the number of entries. Each 14 yards is numbered and each candidate draws a number, which determines on which piece of hedge he shall work. The judges, who watch and time the competitors from beginning to end, give points for banking up the hedge, for staking, tying and for the 241 " laying in," or filling up of gaps with what is known as " dead wood" selected for the purpose. Dead wood is wood which has been cut in long lengths or sticks, has no roots, of course, and therefore does not grow. Pliable dead wood is used in the case of hedge- making to thread in and out to fill in gaps and help support the layed branches. On a recent occasion, when I was invited to watch a competition — the seventieth in the district —, the lads concerned had a special incentive to do their very best, to show off all they knew, for a camera- man arrived at the farm to take photographs for a film. The competitors were shown at work; a piece of newly layed hedge was photographed; and finally the judges were pictured explaining, with illustrations, why full points were given to the winner and where and why others had failed in certain of the necessary operations. The record time for laying fourteen yards of hedging, as here described, was five hours. Full marks were acquired and the successful competitor won the championship of the district as an expert hedger, in addition to congratulations from the judges. If those lads who " hedged" were thrilled at the idea of being filmed, I, as an onlooker, had the same feeling, but for another reason. On a lovely day, in ideal and peaceful surroundings, I had been allowed the privilege of watching a country craft of long standing, performed with patience, skill and ingenuity. I had seen seven or eight lads, keen as knife blades, working to the best of their ability. And I had also learned that there is more to the making of a hedge than at first meets the eye. The Role of cJWulch In Forest and Qarden By R. R. Fenska EVERY forester knows the important function which the mulch in the forest performs in the silvicultural aspect of his profession. This blanket of debris which covers the ground consists of the accumulated and partially disintegrated litter in the forest: leaves, bark, and twigs. Mulch retards evaporation and helps to maintain the degree of soil moisture that is required for plant growth. It insulates the ground against extremes of heat and cold and thereby maintains a more uniform condition for activities of the soil fungi, bacteria, and microscopic forms of animal life which are the factors that break down the litter into humus which becomes incorporated in the soil. The humus, in turn, improves the soil texture and its physical condition; it makes the soil mellow and porous and enables it to retain moisture during 242 a drought. Also, as the litter and forest debris decay, the mineral nutrients and nitrogen which have been withdrawn from the soil by the trees and plants in their growth are returned to it. Thus the fertility of the soil is maintained. On a hillside or slope a mulch will also prevent erosion or washing of the soil. When trees are growing on a lawn an excellent mulch may be maintained without its being unsightly, with the help of a ground cover, such as pachysandra. As the leaves accumulate underneath the tree they are covered by the pachysandra and thus made inconspicuous. This is one of the best means of maintaining healthy shade trees on well kept lawns. When the trees are fed, the holes made for applying the tree food may be left open and yet remain out of sight. A mulch is as important to perennials in the home garden as it is to forest trees. In the garden it also greatly reduces, or even eliminates, the growth of weeds. Those that do come up are easily pulled out of the loose-textured soil. Many of them succumb for lack of light and air. There are other materials besides forest litter which may serve as a mulch. Some of those in common use are peat moss, sawdust, hay or straw, animal manures, or specially prepared paper or burlap held down on the ground over the plants during the winter and early spring. The latter are usually left on the ground until they disintegrate. Snow is an excellent mulch when it really covers the plants that need protecting. Here is an example of its effect. In 1911 or 1912 the state forester of Wisconsin set out several thousand transplants of western yellow pine on the cut- over and burned- over areas in the state reserve. The ground always freezes early up in northern Wisconsin and the freezing is followed by quantities of snow. The first two years, while the little trees were completely covered with snow, they came through the winter in good condition. When the snow melted in the spring the pine needles looked green and healthy. But during the third year the trees had grown so much that the snow of that winter did not entirely cover them. Their tops stood well above the snow- line. The following March when the snow began to disappear it was still apparent where the snow- line of that winter had been. Every pine in that plantation began to show a red top where it had been above the snow- line, while the rest of the tree below the snow- line was as green as a healthy pine could look. The ground had frozen hard before the snow came. As long as the snow protected the tops, well and good, but when they were exposed to the winter winds they could not replace the moisture evaporated from the pine needles when their roothairs were in hard frozen ground. Later, as those roots reached down below the frost line, some of those pines finally became established. Others died out because of the injury known as " winter- killing," which is the cause of more damage to evergreens in the northern latitudes than any other factor. If there is not sufficient snow in a region, a mulch is highly desirable for evergreens, for their leaves keep on functioning all winter while the deciduous trees rest; but they simply can not get the water that they need when the soil is a solid frozen mass. Whenever the sun shines, water is constantly being evaporated from their ever- active green leaves. If the f p 243 roots can not replenish this water, serious burning and eventual death of the branches' extremities will result. If a mulch is applied early enough to keep the ground from freezing at the level of the feeding roots, it may save the life of an evergreen tree or shrub. Deciduous trees also sometimes suffer when there is no mulch on the ground. Frozen soil is responsible for the actual " freezing to death" of many feeding roots on shallow- rooted trees, such as beech. Lack of debris on the ground exposes the soil to all the unfavorable climatic activities, such as alternate freezing and thawing with resultant heaving of the soil. Heaving tears loose the root- hairs of the plants and exposes them to the severe elements of late winter and early spring. There are those who maintain that a mulch should be applied only after the ground is frozen over. The argument is that the mulch is not to keep plants warm but to keep them cold. They recommend that you permit the ground to freeze hard enough to bear a team and a wagon. But this is not nature's way of using mulch. Nature puts it down in the fall when the foliage drops and keeps it there until it has disintegrated to form the humus in the soil. It is true that a mulch placed after the ground is frozen will keep it frozen during the early spring when alternate freezing and thawing may heave small plants or recently planted trees out of the ground and expose their roots. But this is one of the special circumstances where this practice may be of some benefit. When there are bulbs or small fruit trees or ornamentals to be protected, it is again advisable to apply a mulch after the ground is frozen. An early mulch would invite moles to burrow in the nice soft warm earth beneath, making tunnels which the little field mice would use to gain access to the tender bulbs and roots that they like for winter fare. I have seen small fruit trees and dogwoods and magnolias girdled at the base by field mice gnawing away the tender bark during the winter months under the protective cover of the mulch at the base of the tree. And I have known of tulip bulbs that have never sprouted because the mice, running through mole tunnels, feasted on them over winter. Therefore, a hard and fast rule can not be given that will hold good for every condition. Sometimes an early mulch would be the logical procedure, while in other instances it may be better to let the surface freeze before a protective covering is applied. On my strawberry beds I have used a perennial mulch of grass cuttings for several years with good results. Each spring the mulch of the previous year is forked into the top layer of soil before any new material is placed on the beds. The result has been a friable soil with a good texture, almost free of weeds. In the forest we grow the " King of the Plant World" successfully with a natural mulch. We would do well to imitate this method in the production of our agricultural and garden crops. 244 NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS Scientist's Point of View On Tobacco Culture THE PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO. Wightman W. Garner. 484 pages, illustrated, indexed. Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1946. $ 4.50. As director of tobacco investigation of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering of the United States Department of Agriculture from 1908 until recently, Dr. Garner has long been in close touch with improved methods for the production of tobacco. This volume may therefore be regarded as the work of a specialist. No such comprehensive study has appeared since 1897 when J. B. Killebrew and Herbert Myrick published their valuable " Tobacco Leaf: Its Culture and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture." In general, " Tobacco Leaf," which is chiefly the work of Killebrew, might be termed a summation of the body of knowledge on the production of tobacco amassed by farmers, while Dr. Garner's study relates chiefly to the work of scientists along the same lines. As a result this volume represents a new departure. It is therefore unfortunate that Dr. Garner did not include information relative to the work of scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture. A chapter on the methods of Milton Whitney, an energetic disciple of Ira Remsen and the first Department of Agriculture scientist to outline a program for improving the production of tobacco, would have enlivened a work obliged by its very nature to be heavy. In Part I Dr. Garner describes the botanical characteristics of the tobacco plant, explains the technical classification of leaf tobacco, and gives the historical background on which the tobacco industry rests. Part II is concerned with applied production of the different classes and varieties of leaf tobacco and should be of especial interest to farmers. Scientific aspects of tobacco culture, including the findings of agronomists, biochemists, physiologists, and geneticists, are summarized and explained in Part III. To the scientifically untrained mind o the reviewer some of the explanation: in Part III are slightly hazy, althougl the general conclusions are clear anc definite. The assembling of the essentia features of tobacco production, togethei with analyses of specialized studies intc one convenient volume, has placed those interested in the subject in great debt to Dr. Garner. Some of the author's views in regard to the historical background of the tobacco industry seem doubtful. There is no clear statement that the colonists at Jamestown failed to become successful in the production of tobacco until after they had obtained seeds of Nicotiana tabacwm from South America as a substitute for the undesirable Nicotiana rustica, native to the Jamestown area. It is doubtful that the early production of bright tobacco was " practically stopped" by the Civil War as Dr. Garner maintains ( p. 42) ; effects of the war served rather to shift the area of production southward. The statement that the cigarette machine was invented in 1872 and that several years were required to perfect it ( p. 468) is misleading. Undoubtedly many cigarette machines were invented during the 1870' s and numbers of them were not patented, but the Bon-sack machine, which was first to influence production, did not appear until 1880. Five years were then required to render it efficient. The chief value of cloth covers on seed beds lies in preventing attacks of flea beetles rather than in conservation of warmth and moisture, as Dr. Garner seems inclined to think ( pp. 126- 127). One variety of flue- cured leaf cited as noteworthy ( p. 74), " Pinckney Arthur," received general condemnation from leaf buyers during the First World War and was scon forced off the market. These and similar small errors in the historical background of the industry, however, are relatively unimportant in a work concerned with the production of leaf tobacco. Unfortunately the author's style leaves much to be desired. Split infinitives 245 Gawmmd'NEW FLOWERS p plus Wayside's Guarantee* of Quality Autumn planting time is here. For an even lovelier garden— grow these new flowers! You'll see these and many more in Wayside's new autumn catalog: THE NEW 1949 ROSE SELECTIONS Here are the two All- America honor winners for ' 49— available now! Forty- niner— a flash of Chrome Yellow and vivid Orient Red. Tall and vigorous. Tallyho — soft rose red inside . . . shaded cardinal red outside. Long- stemmed, fragrant. Proved best in ' 48: Cardinal red Nocturne, carmine rose and gold Taffeta, capucine buff Butterscotch, pink and buff Hill Top. NEW IMPORTED BULB VARIETIES Daffodils— Duke of Windsor, Leviathan and Brookville excel in size and shapeliness anything yet seen. New Tulips — exquisite new colors. Choice bulbs imported from Holland. Order now. DECORATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS Clarke's Giant Lilac— largest lilac in existence. Gentian blue clusters 12 inches long, 8 inches across. Individual florets IY2 inches across. Tree Wisterias — guaranteed to bloom. Lavender- blue. Christmas Rose— a dwarf- growing hardy plant with white bell- like flowers blooming in late winter. See these new flowers and many others in the . . . World's Finest Book- Catalog on Autumn Planting Just off the press: 124 pages. Superb color illustrations, accurate descriptions and cultural instructions. We've spared no effort to make this a valuable reference book on bulbs, roses and flowering shrubs. To be sure you get your copy, it is necessary that you enclose with your request 50c, coin or stamps, to cover postage and handling costs. * Our guarantee, fully stated in our catalog, 19 a clear expression of our policy, well known to Wayside customers. NEW ROSE FORTY- NINER Wax| xicle LI Gjajrlerw 51 MENTOR AVENUE MENTOR, OHIO 246 abound; adjectives are frequently and most peculiarly used as nouns; awkward phraseology often renders meaning obscure; and repetitions of portions of sentences are tiresome and unnecessary. There are many typographical errors and other instances of inadequate editing. The bibliography is generally excellent although such works as the following are omitted: The study by Killebrew and Myrick, J. C. Robert's " Tobacco Kingdom," and Jerome Brooks, " Tobacco, Its History Illustrated by the Books, Manuscripts and Engravings in the Library of George Arents, Jr." Obviously all of them were consulted. In the bibliography not only did the stout old conquistador, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who accompanied Cortes in 1519, have his name misspelled but also an article on cigarette tobacco which appeared in 1936 is attributed to him ( p. 490)! NANNIE M. TILLEY, East Texas State Teachers College. Physician, Patriot, Naturalist THE SELECTED WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN BUSH. - Edited by Dago-bert D. Runes. 433 pages, illustrated, indexed. The Philosophical Library, New York, 1948. ? 5. Since Benjamin Rush is described as " a great physician and naturalist," it is disillusioning to learn that he wrote only one paper of botanical importance and disappointing to find that this one, his noteworthy account of the sugar maple in the United States, is not included in this volume of selected writings. ' A man with his alert power of observation and ability to express himself clearly might have made many a valuable contribution to natural science in America, outside of his many papers emanating from his practice and teaching of medicine. His influence in this field, however, was not small; but his name was known especially in political and what came 10 be sociological fields, particularly at the time leading up to the American Revolution. His discourse on the sugar maple, an original copy of which is in the New York Botanical Garden's library, was written as a letter to Thomas Jefferson and was " read in the American Philosophical Society on the 19 of August, 1791, and extracted from the Third Volume of their Transactions, now in the Press." CAROL H. WOODWARD. For All Saintpaulia Fans THE AFRICAN VIOLET. Helen Van Pelt Wilson. 191 pages, illustrated, indexed. M. Barrows & Co., New York, 1948. $ 2.50. This is the book for which all African violet fans have long been waiting. There has been so much contradictory information published on the subject, that growers will warmly welcome a book by a noted author which contains reliable information and explicit cultural directions. By following these directions, it will be possible for every housewife to have a display of Saintpaulias that is second to none. The book is well illustrated with drawings of many varieties and contains a brief description of flower, leaf and plant forms. Many will be able to name their plants after a study of these chapters. I especially like the listing of the different sources of supply; also the clear-cut directions given for packing and mailing plants and leaves. Many people do not know that leaves, if properly packed, can travel from one side of this continent to the other, and produce new plants as quickly as freshly cut leaves. Plant pests and remedies are fully covered in another chapter; you will also find information on propagation, soil mixtures, fertilizers, methods of combating insects and the various diseases that affect these plants. I was much disappointed that the different varieties were not photographed in color, as color is the keynote in classifying African violets. There is a variety of useful information on all phases of culture contained in this book, which will deserve a place on every flower lover's book shelf— whether the grower is a beginner with African violets as a hobby, or a specialist interested in developing new varieties and propagating them for profit. JESSIE J. CRAWFORD. ( With an article published last December, Mrs. Crawford was winner of the first award in Home Garden magazine's African violet contest.) 247 Rose- Growing Made Easy ROSES FOR EVERY GARDEN. R. C. Allen. 218 pages, illustrated, indexed. M. Barrows & Co., New York, 1948. $ 3.50. There is no doubt that the rose has universal appeal and so we welcome this book which writes of this favorite flower. Anyone may read this book with much profit but it is especially useful for the less experienced amateur since it aims to show that " Growing roses quite well is an easy business." The author has covered his subject very well. Opening chapters cover the various classifications of types of roses, making plain their differences. Adequate lists of varieties in each class are given. The cultural requirements such as location, soil preparation, planting, watering, fertilizers, pruning and winter protection, disease and insect control are clearly discussed. Additional chapters contain information on propagation and hybridizing— good encouragement for the amateur. Included also are helpful points for the gardener who takes pleasure in exhibiting at flower shows and for the gardener who likes to use his roses cut for decoration. The color plates and black and white line drawings add much to the enjoyment and understanding of the text. ALICE B. DOSCHER. Legend Brought to Life JOHNNY APPLESEED: A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. Edited by Leslie Marshall. 76 pages. Swedenborg Press, Paterson, N. J., 1948. $ 1.25. John Chapman, the man so dwarfed by his legendary shadow, died in 1845. As a centennial tribute, authorities on his life have prepared this short account of the man— a pioneer and eccentric evangelist— a dedicated man, who moved West with the frontier through the wilderness of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Whatever else, John Chapman was a nurseryman by trade. He did not scatter seeds helter- skelter, but set out acres of nursery stock. Moving west, Chapman left an agent to sell his stock or he would return periodically to care for his seedlings. Chapman was alert enough to the westward movement to get his nursery started one step ahead of settlers, but as an itinerant preacher, the commercial aspects of his nurseries were not uppermost in Chapman's mind. His nickname, Johnny Appleseed, became a byword during his lifetime and the Appleseed legend grew as men moved westward. Few have made as unique and unselfish a contribution to our country in its gawky years as this humble preacher who won men's goodwill with his apple trees. HERBERT S. ZIM, Port Ji^ ashington, N. Y. A Hundred Ferns GUIDE TO EASTERN FERNS. Edgar T. Wherry, 252 pages, illustrated, indexed. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Second edition, reprinted 1948. $ 2. This useful little book is again available. Amateurs everywhere have valued its authoritative text and instructive comments. Each fern ( about 100 species in' all, including the fern- allies) is illustrated by line drawings ( some of which were redrawn for the second edition) which are often somewhat stylized, but which do permit the ready identification of specimens. Identification is also facilitated by a 19- page key, omitted in the first edition. C. V. MORTON, Smithsonian Institution. Bobbink & Atkins 1898 - 1948 " 50 Years of Growing" Our Golden Anniversary Most of the unusual Roses, Trees and Shrubs not obtainable elsewhere will be found growing in this great Establishment . . . one unique in the Annals of American Horticulture. Visitors Always Welcome A copy of our 60 page Golden Anniversary catalogue " Garden Gems" will be mailed upon request if you mention this publication. Bobbink & Atkins Nurserymen and Plantsmen Paterson Ave., E. Rutherford, N. J . 248 Notes, News, and Comment President. During the meetings of the newly organized American Institute of Biological Sciences in Washington, D. C, in mid- September, Dr. W. H. Camp was elected President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Others from the Garden's staff who attended the botanical meetings included Drs. H. A. Gleason, F. W. Kavanagh, H. W. Rickett, D. P. Rogers, and F. J. Seaver. Assistant. Richard S. Cowan came to the Garden September 1 from the University of Hawaii as Technical Assistant, to carry on research on tropical plants while working for a Ph. D. degree at Columbia University. Mr. Cowan is a graduate of Wabash College. During the war he served with the " Seabees" on Tinian where he did some botanical collecting. Later he obtained his Master's degree ( 1948) from the University of Hawaii, meanwhile collecting plants on several of the Pacific Islands. Herbarium Staff. Joseph Monachino, who has been botanist for Merck & Co., working at the Garden under the supervision of B. A. Krukoff, Honorary Curator of Economic Botany, since 1941, has been named Associate Custodian of the Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden, effective September 1. For several years previous to his appointment with Mr. Krukoff, he worked in the Garden's herbarium. Mr. Monachino is co- author with Mr. Krukoff of extensive papers on the genus Strychnos. He has also published in Phytologia, Lloydia, Torreya, Tropical Woods, Brittonia, and the Caribbean Forester, describing new species of plants from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the West Indies and Mexico. He is a life member of the Torrey Botanical Club, for which he has been leading field trips for more than ten years. Visitors. Brother Alain of the Colegio de la Salle in Havana came to the Garden August 17 to study Cuban plants in the herbarium in preparation for a second volume on the Flora of Cuba. Dr. N. Prasad, a graduate student in plant pathology at the University of California, visited the Garden August 6 Before coming to this country he was mycologist for eight years at the Agricultural Research Station at Sakrand in Sind, and is now returning to India. Mrs. Edward A. Belsterling ( Louise Babcock) of Dallas, Texas, a grand-niece of the botanist John Torrey, was a visitor at the Garden August 20. Her mother was a daughter of John Torrey's brother Edward. Vladimir C. Asmous, now in the Slavic department of the Harvard College Library at Cambridge, spent a week at the Garden in mid- September investigating Russian botanical literature of the past ten years. Maxwell S. Doty of Northwestern University worked on the Clavariaceae at the Garden for ten days in August. Polypores of Washington were studied at the Garden for a week by William Bridge Cooke of Washington State College at Pullman. Among other late summer visitors were Mr. & Mrs. Kendal Morton of Coral Gables, Fla., authors of " Fifty Tropical Fruits of Nassau;" Lafayette Frederick of Rhode Island State College, a former student of Dr. Donald P. Rogers at the University of Hawaii; F. G. Walsingham of the Atkins Garden and Research Laboratory at Cienfuegos, Cuba; Wayne E. Manning, Bucknell University, Lewis-burg, Pa.; Ronald J. Mann, University of Florida; Geneva Sayre, Russell Sage College; Charles H. Driver, Fulton County Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Ga., William Irwin Illman, National Research Council, Ottawa; and two students, Paul Wilson Pitman, University of North Carolina, and Rodolfo Moreno from Mexico City, now in the agronomy department at Cornell University. Poliomyelitis. Drs. William J. Robbins, I. N. Asheshov and Robert S. de Ropp attended the first International Poliomyelitis Conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York July 12- 17. Volunteer. Ruth P. Ehrlich, a student at the University of Vermont, worked as a volunteer in the library, herbarium and horticultural department at the Garden during July and August. THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Officers JOSEPH R. SWAN, President JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- President CHARLES B. HARDING, Vice- President ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary Elective Managers SHERMAN BALDWIN MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON FREDERICK S. MOSELEY, J R . WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT HOOKER FRANCIS E. POWELL, JR. HOWARD BAYNE MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT EDWIN D E T. BECHTEL CLARENCE M C K . LEWIS WILLIAM J. ROBBINS HENRY F. DU PONT E. D. MERRILL EDMUND W. SINNOTT REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY CHAUNCEY STILLMAN S. J. OAKLEIGH L. THORNE Ex- Officio Managers WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of Nezv York ANDREW G. CLAUSON, JR., President of the Board of Education ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner Appointive Managers By the Torrey Botanical Club: F. J. SEAVER. By Columbia University: MARSTON T. BOGERT, CHARLES W. BALLARD, MARCUS M. RHOADES, SAM F. TRELEASE. THE STAFF WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. Director HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director H. A. GLEASON, P H . D . Chief Research Associate and Curator FRED J. SEAVER, P H . D . , SC. D. Head Curator P. P. PIRONE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist THOMAS H. EVERETT, N. D. HORT. Horticulturist H. W. RICKETT. P H . D . Bibliographer BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . Curator DONALD P H I L I P ROGERS, P H . D . C urator HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D . Associate Curator W. H, CAMP, P H . D . Associate Curator E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Associate Curator E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Associate Curator of Education F. W. KAVANAGH, P H . D . Associate Curator of Laboratories IGOR NICHOLAS ASHESHOV, M. D. Bacteriologist ROBERT S. DE ROPP, P H . D . , D. I. C. Assistant Curator MARJORIE ANCHEL, P H . D . Research Associate ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant MARY STEBBINS, M. A. Technical Assistant RICHARD S. COWAN, A. M. Technical Assistant ELIZABETH C. HALL, A. B., B. S. Librarian CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium JOSEPH MONACHINO Associate Custodian of the Herbarium OTTO DEGENER, M. S. Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany ELMER N. MITCHELL Photographer JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. Bibliographer Emeritus BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist Emeritus A. B. STOUT, P H . D . Curator Emeritus INEZ M. HARING Assistant Honorary Curator of Mosses JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diatomaceae B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany ETHEL ANSON S. PECKHAM Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections A. C. PFANDER Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds To reach the Botanical Garden, take the Independent Subway to Bedford Park Boulevard station, use the Bedford Park Boulevard exit and walk east. Or take the Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Garden or the 200th Street station, the New York Central to the Botanical Garden station, or the Webster Avenue bus No. 41 to Bedford Park Boulevard. HHHBHHBB PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Books, Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustra* tions of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 15. Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A. Rydberg. 969 pages and 601 figures. 193 2. $ 6. Plants of the Vicinity of New York, by H. A. Gleason. 284 pages, illustrated. A handbook especially compiled for the beginner. 1935. Second edition 1947. $ 2. The Bahama Flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. 695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and thallophytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections, bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25. North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates of Carex and related plants by Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 10% x 131/ 2 inches; bound $ 17.50. Foreign postage extra. Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25. Plants of the Holy Scriptures, by Eleanor King, with a check- list of plants that are mentioned in the Bible, each one accompanied by a quotation. Revised from the Journal of March 1941. 23 pages, illustrated. 1948. 25 cents. Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles by Marion A. & G. L. Wittrock in the Journal for March 1942. 15 cents. Vegetables and Fruits for the Home Garden. Four authoritative articles reprinted from the Journal, 21 pages, illustrated. Edited by Carol H. Woodward. 1941. 15 cents. The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries by E. J. Alexander and Carol H. Woodward. 28 pages, illustrated with photographs and drawings; bound with paper. 1941. 25 cents. Catalog of Hardy Trees and Shrubs. A list of the woody plants being grown outdoors at the New York Botanical Garden in 1942, in 127 pages with notes, a map, and 20 illustrations. 75 cents. Succulent Plants of New and Old World Deserts by E. J. Alexander. 64 pages, indexed. 3 50 species treated, 100 illustrated. Bound in paper. 1942. Second edition 1944. 50 cents. Review of Juniperus chinensis, et al by P. J. van Melle. A study of the many varieties and forms of Juniperus which have been commonly included in the concept of J. chinensis. 108 pages, illustrated, bound in paper. 1947. $ 2. Periodicals Addisonia, devoted exclusively to colored plates accompanied by popular descriptions of flowering plants; eight plates in each number, thirty- two in each volume. Now in its twenty- second volume. Published irregularly. Subscription price, $ 10 a volume. Not offered in exchange. Free to members of the Garden. Journal of The New York Botanical Garden, monthly, containing news, book reviews, and non- technical articles on botany and horticulture. Subscription, $ 1.50 a year; single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden. Now in its 49th volume. Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise: devoted to fungi, including lichens, containing technical articles and news and notes of general interest. $ 7 a year; single copies $ 1.50 each. Now in its fortieth volume. Twenty- four Year Index volume $ 3. Brittnnia. A series of botanical papers published in co- operation with the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Subscription price of volumes 1 through 5, $ 5 a volume ($ 4 to members of the Society). Now in its sixth volume. Price, $ 7.50 ($ 5 to members of the Society). North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North America, including Greenland, the West Indies, and Central America. 96 parts now issued. Not offered in exchange. Prices of the separate parts on request. Contributions from The New York Botanical Garden. A series of technical papers reprinted from journals other than the above. 25 cents each, $ 5 a volume. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. A collection of scientific papers. Contents and prices on request. |
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