Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1870 [PAGE 240]

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I have already alluded to the great work of Leroy. Carricre, Bengy-Puyvallee, and other's works on the peach, excel those of other countries on that fruit, both in number and quality. A special work on the strawberry by a French author, I have seen highly commended. D'Albret and Du-Breuil, and many others, have written books on pruning superior I believe to those of any other country. Books upon ornamental and forest trees are numerous and good. The works of Michaux and Nuttall are still standards, but are not up with the age. Browne's Trees of America is worth having, but seems to be an ill judged compilation. Fuller's Forest Tree Culturist has its value as a compact and practical treatise, but hardly meets our western wants. Loudon's Arboretum, though an English work, and now many years published, is still the best general work, and is a prodigy of energy, industry and research. Of more special books the Book of Evergreens of Josiah Hoopes is very complete, scientific and practical. The Hedges and Evergreens of Dr. Warder was valuable at the time of its publication, but needs revision to bring it up to the existing state of knowledge on this subject. On flower culture we are getting to have a variety of valuable books, among which are the general works of Buist, Henderson and Rand, and the special ones of Parsons and Parkman, on the rose, Rand upon bulbs, etc. There is also quite a number of works on culture under glass, among which are Saunders and Hovey's editions of Rivers' Orchard Houses, Woodward's Graperies, Leuchar's How to Build Hot Houses, etc. This whole subject, however, I suspect demands a revision of the extant books. They seem to be based too much on European experience. Under this head also may be placed a large number of horticultural annuals and magazines. Of annuals we have the American Horticultural Annual of the American Agriculturist, and did have the Record of Horticulture, now discontinued. There are similar annuals in France and England, such as Almanach du Jardinier, etc. Of our horticultural magazines first in order comes Hovey's Magazine, started in 1835, but merged at the end of 1868 in the Journal of Horticulture, itself started in 1867. The Horticulturist, started by Downing in 1845, came next, and is now in its 25th year. The Gardener's Monthly appeared in 1859, and under the very able editorship of Thomas Meehan may now be regarded as about the best of our horticultural periodicals. In Britain there are many horticultural magazines, such as the Floral Magazine, Floral World, Florist and Pomologist, Gardeners' Chronicle (a weekly), Gardeners' Magazine, Journal of Horticulture, and Scottish Gardener. In the French language are the valuable Revue Horticole, started in 1829, now published weekly ; La Belgique Horticole, 1851, monthly; Flore des Serres, 1845; Horticulteur Francais, 1851, monthly; Illustration Horticole, 1854, monthly; Journal de la Societie imperiale et centrale d' Horticulture, 1855, monthly ; Revue de 1' Horticulture, tri-monthly, 1867 ; Revue des Jardens, 1860, monthly; Verger, 1851. The French have, moreover, Le Moniteur vinicole, and Revue viticole, just as we have at St. Louis The Grape Culturist, edited by Mr. Husmann. German magazines, etc. of the horticultural sort, are sufficiently numerous, such as tb* Illustrirte Monatshefte, Pomologische Zeitschrift, etc.