2o8 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



vation of our wild flowers ; upon induc- 

 ing children to learn the names of the 

 more common species, and generally 

 interesting them in the subject. It 

 will be part of my duties to reply to all 

 correspondence sent in to the depart- 

 ment in which inquiry is made about 



FIG. 2. POTOMAC RIVER GORGE AT GREAT 

 FALLS, MARYLAND. BUGLOSS AND YAR- 

 ROW IN THE FOREGROUND. 



the wild flowers of the country. If of 

 sufficient interest, letters will be pub- 

 lished, and in some cases the flowers 

 inquired about will be illustrated from 

 my own flower negatives, of which I 

 have a large collection to draw upon ; 

 in fact, the pictorial feature of the de- 

 partment will be well cared for. Nu- 

 merous heretofore unpublished pic- 

 tures of flowers ; parts of flowers, and 

 localities where certain species are to 

 be found, will appear in every issue. 



As examples of these reproductions 

 of photographs, I here ofTer, by way of 

 illustration, two of my recent success- 

 es. In Fig. I we have two flowers of 

 the swamp magnolia — or what is gen- 

 erally known as the swamp magnolia. 

 These I secured from beneath the tree 

 upon which they bloomed, and several 



such trees adorn the banks of the just- 

 ly celebrated water-lily gardens of 

 Mrs. L. Helen Fowler, at Kenilworth, 

 one of Washington's suburbs. These 

 gardens are known as the "Shaw 

 Ponds," and upwards of an hundred 

 species of water lilies are cultivated 

 there. 



In Fig. 2 we have a picture I secured 

 of the upper Potomac river on the 

 Maryland side, just below Great Falls ; 

 the main river is seen in the distance. 

 In the foreground we see a most beau- 

 tiful collection of wild flowers, includ- 

 ing very tall specimens of yarrow and 

 of bugloss. 



Through the influence of American 

 Forestry, it is hoped that an added in- 

 terest will be taken in our flowers and 

 the preservation of them in many parts 

 of the country. 



In Japan. 



BY S. C. HUNTER, NEW ROCHELLE, NEW 

 YORK. 



We were visiting Nara, once a fa- 

 mous capital with a population of 250,- 

 000, but now a small town nestling 

 among beautiful hills in the south- 

 eastern part of Nippon, the largest of 

 the group of islands that comprise the 

 Kingdom of Japan. Our object in 

 stopping off was to see the colossal 

 image of Buddah, the giant among 

 Japanese idols Within the walls of 

 an ornate and beautiful temple this 

 curious figure of copper, gold and wax 

 had been seated for centuries. It 

 measures fifty-three feet in height, sit- 

 ting in Japanese fashion with the feet 

 under the body, and weighs nearly 

 five hundred tons. Everybody touring 

 Japan visits this temple to view the 

 great Dai-Butsu and also the beautiful 

 and celebrated natural park in which 

 the temple is located. This park is 

 called Nara-Koen. It is laid out in a 

 wild and hilly country, is about half 

 the size of Central Park and is left in 

 nature's design. Finely graded paths 

 afford charming access to many attrac- 

 tive nooks and vistas ; but the chief 

 feature is the herds of tame deer that 

 loiter about everywhere, supremely in- 

 different to the presence of their arch 

 enemy, man. 



These beattiful animals, chiefly 

 prized on this continent as a target for 



