TREES AND PLEASURE GROUNDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



ciated abroad, and translated into most of the languages of modern Europe. lie was in 

 correspondence with many eminent men, and sent large quantities of American seeds and 

 plants to England. When the infirmities of age and a cataract had rendered him nearly- 

 blind, he could still recognise his favorite trees and Avalks, and delighted to welcome his 

 friends in the garden he had planted. 



Many of the trees have now, at the end of 77 years, attained a large size; the sovereign 

 of the place is a Magnolia accuminata, which lifts up its "leafy crown" to the height of 

 one hundred f.:ct, in form perfectly symmetrical, giving out branches from its stout trunk at 

 regular intervals; it must be a glorious sight to see it in the spring, covered with its large, 

 white [pale buff, Ed.] blossoms. Near by flourishes the Gymnodadas canadensis, or 

 Kentucky coffee, whose broad green pods and divided leaves have a grotesque and foreign 

 appearance. This tree would probably thrive well in New-England, as it grows in Cana- 

 da. There were also fine specimens of the Carya olivoeformis, or peecan tree, the Illinois 

 hickory as it is sometimes called; this tree fruits sparingly in the climate of Pennsylvania, 

 yet it grows well, and is an ornamental tree. 



I noticed nearly the same variety of oaks as in Bartram's garden, especially one of the 

 Quercus heterophylla of a remarkably fine shape. This variety- of oak I have never seen 

 growing in Massachusetts, but it is worthy of a place in every pleasure ground, as its foli- 

 age has all the beauty of the willow, while the tree has the distinguishing characteristics 

 of the oak. A few herbaceous plants still send up some pale flowers from amid the rank 

 grass, which has overgrown both borders and walks. Some of the hard}^ and vigorous 

 sorts have eradicated the native claimant of the soil, and grow luxuriantly, — as the Vinca 

 or Periwinkle, Avhose brilliant dark leaves formed a bed manj^ yards square. 



After examining the trees for some time, the grand nephew of IIcmphrey Marshall, 

 who inherited the place, invited us into the house built by the botanist, where we were 

 shown the telescope sent him by D. Fothergill, of London, whose name is engraved upon 

 it; he pointed out also, the place in the closet where Marshall concealed it by a false 

 back, during the time that the British army were in the neighborhood, for ^Iarshall 

 added to his love of the flowers of earth, a taste for studying the stars, those unfading- 

 flowers of heaven's garden, as a German writer has quaintl}'^ called them. We noticed the 

 little observatory which he built in one corner of the house, where it was his delight to 

 Avatch the motions of the heavenly bodies. It was with regret that I looked again upon 

 the tangled wilderness, " where once a garden smiled, and now where many a garden 

 flower grows wild," and walked towards the burial place of Bradford meeting, in 

 wiiich the remains of jNIarshall were interred nearly fiftj^ years ago. We crossed a stile 

 shaded by magnificent oaks, which must have been spared from the primeval forests. 

 They formed a prett}^ group near the old fashioned meeting-house, their gnarled and pic- 

 turesque appearance presenting a strong contrast to the usuall}"^ plain and exposed state 

 of the Friends' houses of M'orship. The grave-yard was a wide field, unvaried by shrub 

 or stone, the undulating hillocks only marking the " furrows where human harvests 

 grow." This neglect of the Friends to ornament the last resting places of their kind- 

 red, appears strange to one of a different faith, since there seems to be an innate desire 

 in the breast of everj' human being, that some memorial should recall his name to survi- 

 vors. Trees and shrubs at least, might relieve the monotony of these cheerless fields, for 

 in such monuments there can be no ostentation; the poorest laborer can plant a seed, or 

 set a tree. We were shown as nearly as possible, the place where Marshall's grave is 

 supposed to be, but tradition rarely speaks with certainty at the end of half a century, 

 ht for some memento of the spot to take to my distant home ; the only blossom I 



