AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 203 



seed, wild yam, American ivy, climbing bittersweet, dodder, wild bean, ground 

 nut and poison ivy. In addition, wild flowers, grasses and sedges abound in 

 great variety ; thus affording to the students of the institution a rich field for 

 botanizing along the banks of this lovely stream. 



The grounds distant from the river are ornamented with trees, native and 

 transplanted, of many kinds, and but little different from those already men- 

 tioned. Several specimens of oaks are majestic, and give character to the 

 grounds, while some of the white woods are indeed admirable; particularly one 

 standing by the well, near the main college building. Among the more rare 

 or ornamental trees and shrubs we noticed the giugko, cut-leaved weeping 

 birch, cut-leaved weeping alder, rhododendrons, Siberian and Tom Thumb 

 arbor vitaes, var''egated ash and purple beech. 



The residences of Profs. Beal and Fairchild present a cozy and homelike 

 appearance, that we would rejoice to see imitated in other parts of Michigan, 

 by having trained over their fronts the American ivy. Prof. Fairchild suc- 

 ceeds, upon a brick wall, in making this pretty vine cling closely without ar- 

 tificial support, by simply keeping the loose ends cut. In clearing up the 

 grounds and transplanting, care has been taken to avoid clumps or lines of 

 trees ; the groups are agreeably spread and artistically mingled. The trees 

 all seem to be healthy and flourishing, excepting only the white oaks. These 

 in several cases are dying, probably from the effect of severe cold and lack of 

 moisture ; as the summers preceding the dreadful winters of recent years, 

 when the mercury sank to — 33^^, were remarkable for unusual droughts. In 

 this connection an observation by Prof. Beal, founded upon information ob- 

 tained during the winters of 1872-3 and 1874-5, is recorded as possessing in- 

 terest to all tree growers, viz. : that — 25° with wind is more destructive than 

 — 33° without wind. 



The plan of the grounds was prepared by Mr. Adam Oliver, a landscape 

 gardener, residing in Kalamazoo. The style is neither geometrical nor 

 picturesque, but mixed. The essentials for perfect landscape gardening — 

 lawn and trees and a gently winding stream — are here amply provided. The 

 bold banks of Cedar river, with its lovely entanglement of native trees and 

 vines gracefully describing the southern limits of the grounds, will necessarily 

 become more and more a particular feature of the landscape, and deserve the 

 careful and studied attention of the gardener. The broad expanse of green 

 lawn, with its swells and depressions and groups of trees, through which 

 thread circling walks and drives, will be the second and remaining feature. 



So far the work has been well done, but the grounds are yet far from the 

 finish they are capable of receiving and which they deserve. With the ex- 

 ception of a handsome rustic bridge, designed by Prof. Beal, that leads across 

 a slight ravine from the college southward, and a large boulder put in place 

 in the college front, and properly inscribed by the class of 1873, to mark their 

 labors and triumphs, the grounds are without embellishment of a purely 

 artificial character. The same economy in the expenditure of public money 

 that is so praiseworthy a feature of public administration in Michigan, has 

 obtained here, and the material supplied by nature has alone been used, but 

 we hope the needful funds will not be withheld to more fully develop the 

 beauties of the place, and make it what Milton pictured Eden — 



"A happy rural seat of various views." 



And may we not hope that the spirit of such beautiful surroundings may be- 



