Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-03


live here and can therefore fully realizt
how very grand country is Texas. it /!
decidedly surprising to the well-informeS
beyond our borders that nearly all the de
cidedly important Southern novelties il
modern fora should have originated in the
Lone Star state. But such is the fact
And this surprise to the outsider is not a
all diminished when he learns that thost
things have simply originated of them
selves without any particular effort OF
the part of our people to bring The
change about Nature appears to worl
differently in Texas, to a certain extent
than in any other state of the Union. In
other states the culturist must be con
stantly on the struggle to prevent his va
rieties from falling back toward imperfec
| ton, but here nature tends to the opposite
! direction. Even under the most fragrant
neglect varieties hold their own to ar
amazing degree with US. and, in many cases
actually improve, even to the extent OF
originating new and more valuable varieties
than have heretofore been known. In moi
a few instances new species would be the
better term to employ, though, since bot
anists would not permit new species" to
be used, we must content ourself with
new varieties
The most successful Southern peaches
now known are native" Texas peaches
from the old Spanish strain, supposed to
have been brought here by the early mis-
sionaries, and where a little judicious selec-
ton has been exercised none could be better.
The red ''blackberry' now prominent in
most Southern nurseries, is of Texas origin
no one knows how, when or where it
originated, other than that it undoubtedly
originated in Texas. The umbrella China
tree is well known to have originated in
Texas as freak from the old China-tree, or
pride Of India (AIelia Azedarach). How or
where in Texas it originated is 'lost
ball, - but that it did originate here is a fact
universally admitted. And now we have
an entirely new freak in the same direction
which has caused this article to be written,
and which, if we mistake not land we
think there can be no mistake in the case),
is destined to soon be cutting figure in
Southern shrubbery of no less Importance
than that which is now being cut by the
umbrella China-tree
A few days ago the Baker brothers, nur-
serymeu at Fort Worth, called our atten-
ton to a small evergreen shrub, which in
terested us at once, for never before had
we seen anything like it. What was it,
They could not tell US, owing to the fact
that it really had no name, but they could
give Its history. Some few years ago there
grew in Mr.. William Watson's Rosedale
nurseries at Brennan, Immediately side by
side, with their tops tapping to-
gether a specimen of the golden
arbor vitae and the Retinospora squar
rosa-both well-known nursery or
yard shrubs, Both were fruiting, and the
seeds were planted in the nursery with a
view to increasing the nursery stock From
a seed borne by one of these shrubs tD1r.
Watson does not know which,, sprung the
strange plant that we have been referring
to, and which is supposed to be the result
of an accidental cross between the two
species. They are calling it the ''Rosedale
hybrid'-it may be hybrid, as is sup
posed, or it may be a mere freak
from one of the shrubs. In either
case it must be accepted as
q most remarkable and beautiful shrub,
very little resembling either of the alleged
parents. About as good a way to describe
it as any we know of would be to state that
it resembles 4 huge soft, green feather
brush CARRYING somewhat of the arbor vitae
character. AS yet it has not fruited, there
fore no one knows whether or not it will
truly reproduce itself from seed, or that
it will seed at all, neither does anyone know
how large 1t will grow, as it has been
known only about six years. The
Baker brothers think it viii grow to
the height of about six or eight feet. 1t re-
tains the same bright, healthy appearance
through summer and winter, is entirely
hardy in every respect, and does not seem
to be at all affected by drouth. No effort to
push it upon the trade appears to have been
made as yet, it now being grown by nur-
serymen more as a curiosity than for any
other purpose.
That it will eventually go with a boom
we have no doubt, and we do hope some one
high in authority will soon give it an APP
propriate name. There can be no doubt of
its having originated with Mr.. Watson of
Breuham. hence we would suggest that
when it is named the name of Mr.. Watson,
the oldestnurserymau in Texas, be appro-
prately represented in whatever it may be
called.