187T.] 



AND HOBTIGULTURIST. 



85 



marked, is the relative productiveness. The 

 white oak (Quercus alba) which, during its first 

 year has entire leaves, has them lobed at matur- 

 ity; and those which have them the most deeply 

 lobed are the most productive in acorns. 



He found these observations to hold .good in 

 the entire leaved Liriodendron. During the 

 first year all tulip trees, had entire leaves, or at 

 at least more or less so in comparison with those 

 which they afterwards assume. These large trees 

 with entire leaves had merely retained their ju- 

 venescent form. The other attendant characters 

 of juvenescence were also present. The tree from 

 which the large, entire leaf exhibited was taken, 

 had no signs of ever having borne seeds. In one 

 place he found two trees which, from surround- 

 ing circumstances he should judge, were prob- 

 ably about the same age, and in every circum- 

 stance relating to nutrition, equally favored ; one 

 with very deeply cut leaves, even to the most 

 feeble branch, was covered with seed cones, and 

 was thirteen feet in circumference. The other 

 had leaves almost entire, with but few fruit, and 

 a trunk of only eight feet round. 



The danger was, that in discussing laws of 

 variation in connection with the origin of species, 

 we may overlook these sexual and physical 

 changes. If one never having seen a Baltimore 

 oriole, should notice particularly the brilliant 

 plumage of the male bird, and without noticing 

 the sex, compare it with the very different look- 

 ing female bird, he would be very apt to think 

 he had found a " missing link " in a grand evolu- 

 tionary chain. There were many diflferences in 

 animals which were recognized as having their 

 origin in obscure sexual laws, as well as many 

 more unrecognized, but probable. And he be- 

 lieved these cases were far more numerous in 

 vegetation, and which would have to be carefully 

 eliminated from consideration in any study on 

 the origin of species or the evolution of form in 

 relation thereto. 



Botanical Garden in Fairmount Park. — For 

 many years past there has been a desire in 

 Philadelphia to establish a botanic garden, but 

 the exact way to bring this about has never 

 been clear. In a general way the most endur- 

 ing establishments of this kind grow, and are 

 not made. As a rule, the majority of the peo- 

 ple who pay taxes prefer horticulture to mere 

 botanical science, and therefore, the one should 

 grow out of the other, if at all. The Kew Gar- 

 den plan is the best yet worked out, and the 



Horticultural Department of the Centennial 

 may lead to such a garden as Kew. The gardening 

 about the Hall was so very beautiful, that there 

 was a general desire by the people to "have it 

 over again." The City Councils have made an 

 appropriation for the purpose, and some intelli- 

 gent citizens, in order to get a good start for an 

 arboretum, moved in the purchase of the exhi- 

 itors' collections as a nucleus to start from, 

 Mr. Eli K. Price has recently made a report to 

 the American Philosophical Society, from which 

 we extract as follows : 



"Some planting out of the various trees in the 

 nurser}' had been made in the Park along the 

 few avenues opened, and 1639 trees have been 

 planted over the space occupied for the Centen- 

 nial International Exhibition. The formation 

 of the grounds within that space by the Board 

 of Finance of the Exhibition and the planting 

 therein, are an invaluable acquisition to Fair- 

 mount Park, as open waste fields have thereby 

 been converted into beautiful gardens, with ave- 

 nues, walks and fountains. It is true, that the 

 garden of the Horticultural Hall was, to a large 

 extent, planted with trees and flowei's by For- 

 eign and American exhibitors. James Veitch 

 & Sons, of Kitjg's Koad, Chelsea, S. W., near 

 London, presented to the Park Commissioners 

 their valuable collection of trees and plants, 

 consisting chiefly of Rhododendrons. 



The American exhibitors who bad collected 

 and planted in the garden of Horticultural Hall 

 a rare variety of trees and ligneous plants were 

 Thomes Meehan, of Germantown; Hoopes, 

 Brother & Thomas, of West Chester, Pa.; S. B. 

 Parsons & Sons, and R. B. Parsons ct Co., of Flush- 

 ing, N. Y.; Miller & Hayes, of Mount Airy, 

 Philadelphia; Mahlon Moon, of Morrisville, Pa.; 

 and Robert Buist, of Philadelphia. They were 

 actuated by a liberal desire that their collections 

 should remain in the Park, and off"ered them at 

 prices which they esteemed little over half the 

 cost to them. It was an object to the Commis- 

 sioners to secure these permanently for our 

 Park, to be transplanted as thinning out shall be 

 required for their healthy growth, and they have 

 been secured by purchase. 



The resources for this purchase should be here 

 stated. They were as follows : 



The city's appropriation, by the Park Commission ap- 

 plied for Nurseries in 1876 81,500 00 



Accumulatedlnterest on Elliott Cresson's Legacy 3,000 00 



" " Andre F. Michaux's Legacy... 414 60 



"Contributions by the following persons of 

 $100 each, to-wit : 



Wm. L. Schaffer, George C. Thomas, Chas. H. Rogers, 

 Samuel Jeanes, Joseph Jeanes, Joshua T. Jeanes, 

 Isaac F.Baker, Eli K. Price 800 00 



Moses Brown and J. C. Sirawbridge, each $50 KM) 00 



Total 85,814 60 



"As the legacies of Elliott Cresson and Andr6 

 F. Michaux are enduring funds for planting in 

 the Fairmouut Park and elsewhere, it is proper 

 here to show what are the trusts of those wills, 



