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H/6/1949-1-
Little House. June 1949.

The wonders of June have been extolled so frequently and
with such eloquence that no description will be attempted here
of the beautiful afternoon on which we gathered at the McReynolds'.
Surely all of us would agree that the weather quite
matched the hospitality of our host and hostess, thus
setting a high standard for even a June day.

President McReynolds called the meeting to order, and the
minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

Elizabeth Ligon read an article from "Flower Grower" on
the desirable qualities of Kousa dogwoods (Cornus Kousa),
which are natives of the Japanese islands. These trees, on
their home soil, reach a height of 20 to 30 feet, but in
this country are not apt to be so large.

The blossoms appear late, as our native dogwoods are ending
their display. Flowers are 3 to 5 inches across, with
bracts pointed at the apex, not rounded or notched like Cornus
florida, and often continue through June and well into July.
In the Fall the trees bear pink berries a full half inch across,
and the leaves turn brilliant tones of pink and orange.

Cornus Kousa thrives best in loamy or sandy soils in
moderately dry locations, and responds to the fertilizers used
for rhododendrons and azaleas. Vigorous plants are rarely
affected by diseases or pests, and if seeds are cleaned and
planted outdoors before winter sets in, they will germinate
as readily as radishes the following spring.

Elizabeth Ligon also read from the same magazine an
article on the sea hollies, or eryngiums, with emphasis on
E. giganteum. This is listed as a biennial, but often does
not bear until the third year. It has value not only for its
garden beauty, but as a source of unusually fine dried bouquets.

E. giganteum, in its flowering year (which it does not
survive) is some 3 feet high and about as wide. Its true
flowers are small and white, on green cones, but its greatest
decorative effect is from its spint bracts which have a white
veining suggestive of the fine filigree on a background of green.
Normally in full display during the entire month of July, the
plant turns to varied shades of brown in August.

Though slow to produce its first flowers, it has compensating
advantages; it self-seeds prolifically, it is easy to transplant,
and seems to have no enemies among pests and diseases.

Lofton Wesley read and account of the work of Dr. Julian
C. Miller. Dr. Miller has done development work with onions,
shallots, cabbages, peppers, peas, pumpkins, Irish potatoes,
and many other vegetables; but as a boy started to improve the
flavor and uniformity of the sweet potato, and by reducing
the progeny of 16,000 hills and their mutations to a final 12 hills
has produced the Unit 1 Puerto Rico, a finer table "sweet" than
our nation ever had before, and of more uniform size and shape.

It is interesting to note that the sweet potato is perhaps
the most widely spread of all wild vegetables, having penetrated
all major ares of the world ahead of man.