THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[January, 



the bi-auches should be cut close to the trunk, so 

 that no dead stumps shall be produced on the 

 tree, and bark will readily grow over. Many 

 persons cut ott' branches of trees iu midsummer, 

 in order that the returning sajj may speedily 

 clothe the wound with new bark, but the loss of 

 much foliage in summer injures the tree, and 

 besides painting the scar removes all danger of 

 rottinrr at the wound. 



COMMUNICA TIONS 



PUBLIC PARKS AND CEMETERIES. 



BY AV ALTER ELDER, PHILADELPHIA. 



The "Notes of a Southern Cemetery," in 

 August, "Rural Cemeteries" in October, and 

 "Disgraceful Public Parks" in November much 

 interested me, as subjects long on my mind, and 

 worthy of the attention of every intelligent hor- 

 ticultural journal. The last one has too harsh a 

 heading to accomplish any improvement. Mild 

 persuasive argument is more powerful in con- 

 vincing wrong doers of the errors of their ways. 

 It w^ould be much better to show that efforts at 

 real improvement, would result better to a good 

 name, and actual benefit, than neglect of one's 

 duties will do. 



If properly shown to the managers, surely 

 every cemetery company would see that it was 

 to its interest to have a skilled gardener. One 

 of this class would require no higher wages in 

 many cases, than an ignoramus, — and even in 

 larger enterprises the gardener and the engineer 

 would both work together for each others' bene- 

 fit. Some people talk of politics as the reason 

 why unskilful men are in charge of park gardens 

 and other public positions; please let me ask 

 how many skilled gardeners are there in the 

 Philadelphia cemeteries, where there is no poli- 

 tics to interfere in the matter? There are a 

 very few intelligent and worthy exceptions, — 

 but the majority are no better than those who 

 get places in public work and under political in- 

 tluence. There are good politicians and there 

 are corrupt ones; there are good nurserymen, 

 and nurserymen who are governed by avaricious 

 motives, who would crowd in stock good bad and 

 indifferent, and men to suit, if it served their 

 avaricious purposes ; and one kind of manage- 

 ment is no worse than the other. 



"What we want is honest, intelligent manage- 

 ment in public parks and city work. We want 

 men who will not "bow the knee to Baal." 



Philadelphia has long been famous for her 

 skilled horticulturists. She is known all over 

 the Union as the city of good gardeners. 



[All that Mr. Elder says is true, but he has 

 not told us what we are all longing to know — 

 how to get these intelligent people into the 

 places where their knowledge will tell. His 

 point on the wretched material often found in 

 situations wholly outside of politics is a very 

 good one, yet there is probably a much better 

 class as a general thing in these situations than 

 find their places in city grounds. 



And we really think the trouble comes from 

 what we have stated. That is to say, A., an ex- 

 cellent gentleman, does not want the office. B., a 

 poor stick, does want it. A. and his friends re- 

 main at home and do nothing, believing that the 

 office should seek the man. B. has his friends 

 actively at work. They tell C. D. E. F. and so 

 on, what a magnificent fellow B. is, and that if 

 he is elected there will be work for all, and per- 

 haps more which the demagogue knows how to 

 put forth plausibly, and the result is that B. goes 

 into the office. 



Now, the problem for our good-wishing friends 

 to solve is, how to get the office to the good 

 man who does not want it, and to keep out the 

 bad but industrious worker who is not fit for it. 

 —Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Pleasures of Gardening. — In con- 

 vei'sation with Mr. Bayley Potter, the distin- 

 guished English Member of Parliament, who 

 has recently been making observations through 

 this country, in answer to questions by the 

 writer of this as to his impressions, he thought 

 Americans superior in many respects to his own 

 countrymen, while in others they seemed to be 

 deficient. Among other things he thought 

 Americans more industrious, but less disposed 

 to take time to enjoy the fruits of their labors 

 than his own countrymen were. This seems to 

 us particularly true as regards gardening. Even 

 many who have gardens, and gardeners, take 

 but little personal interest in what is going on, 

 while English ladies and gentlemen are con- 

 stantly employed. We are reminded of this by 

 the following paragraph. 



" The Marquis of Drogheda is reported to have 

 met witlj a rather serious accident lately while 

 pruning some shrubs in his pleasure gardens at 

 Moore Abbey, Co. Kildare. In making a blow 



