1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



35? 



side of the frame at the base was the word " wel- 

 come," worked in floral letters. The arches of 

 the frame were of iron rods which at each end 

 form two diamonds. The whole of the arch was of 

 flowers composed of Dahlias, Calceolarias, Holly- 

 hocks, and other hardy flowers, many thousands 

 in number, and weighing many hundredweights, 

 filled in with evergreens. Round the bottom of 

 the frame were placed a number of decorative 

 plants in pots. The coronet was formed of Dahlias 

 and bright colored flowers. Within the frame 

 work was a miniature tree, covered with rosy j 

 cheeked apples, representing Adam and Eve in 

 their primitive dress of leaves in the act of 

 pulling the forbidden fruit. There were two 

 serpents entwined around the stem of the tree, 

 which gave it a very realistic appearance. The 

 whole formed an ideal "grotto" alike perfect in 

 its execution and design. 



It was gotten up under the auspicies of the gar- 

 deners of the city, the work being superintended 

 by a committee chosen from their numbers. The 

 work was much forwarded by the assistance of 

 the nobles and gentlemen of the county who, in 

 addition to sending quantities of flowers, also sent 

 them their gardeners and assistants to help with 

 their construction. Numerous emblems of the 

 craft were also carried in the procession. 



Miss Duthie, not satisfied that she had done 

 enough, made a further offer of certain lands in 

 the vicinity of the park, from which rents were 

 derived by her. These rents to be appropriated for 

 the maintenance of the park and that only. But 

 the council of the city seemed to think that after 

 such a munificent donation it would be wrong to 

 entertain such an offer, as the citizens would be 

 dissatisfied with any further encroachment on her 

 generosity, and they insisted on maintaining it 

 themselves. 



On the 19th September the town council unani- 

 mously placed on record in their minutes an expres- 

 sion of their thanks to Miss Duthie, and of the 

 feelings of the general community in this respect. 

 An excerpt of this minute, written in a mag- 

 nificently illuminated album, enclosed in a splen- 

 didly carved casket, was presented to her at her 

 residence by a deputation of the council headed 

 by the Lord Provost. The citizens may well say 

 with a motto carried in the procession : "As long 

 as the water runs in the Dee, Miss Duthie will be 

 remembered." (Dee, a river passing in front of 

 the park.) 



[The formation of public gardens and parks 

 near the large cities of the L^nited States, is just 



now attracting considerable attention, and it 

 seemed to us it might serve an useful purpose in 

 this connection to give with this a sketch of the 

 beautiful park Mr. Robertson refers to. — Ed.G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Hardy Aquatics. — The grand show made at 

 Fairmount Park and particularly the exquisite 

 display made by E. D. Sturtevant at Horticultural 

 Hall at the meeting in September, have shown 

 people how much pleasure these beautiful plants 

 can give. Mr. Sturtevant had the famous Victoria 

 regia both in leaf and flower, giving pleasure by 

 the sight of its huge and wonderfully constructed 

 leaves, and by the delicious fragrance the flower 

 cast around. Then there was the pink Lotus of 

 the Egyptians, with its parasol-like leaves pushing 

 up above the water, as if in rivalry of the hand- 

 some flowers. Pond lilies or Nymph£eas, scar- 

 let, red, white and blue from different sections of 

 the world were blooming together, and the Water 

 Soldier, a sort of marine in the grand army of 

 flora, contributed its share of interest to hundreds 

 of observers. Many of these plants are tropical, 

 and could not be raised wholly in the open air, but 

 those who have greenhouses can advance them a 

 little in tubs of water, and in this way have them 

 forward enough to set out in May and get the 

 bloom during the end of summer. 



City Forester in Boston. — We do not know 

 why Boston should be ashamed of the term gar- 

 dener, but then even in ancient Athens, the people 

 delighted to run after some new thing. However, 

 in modern Athens the city gardener is called the 

 " City Forester," a position filled very acceptably 

 by Mr. Wm. Doogue during the past six years. 

 The flower gardening is described by a Boston pa- 

 per before us as absolutely superb. For the care of 

 the city gardens and parks, Boston appropriated 

 last year S6o,ooo. Only first-class laborers are 

 employed, the poor tools being cast aside after a 

 short trial, and the best get $2 per day. The 

 abilities of Mr. Doogue are highly spoken of by 

 the Boston paper. 



NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 



.EscuLUS sinensis, Bunge. — M. Lavallee re- 

 cently showed specimens of this tree before the 

 Central Horticultural Society of France, from 

 China and from Japan. The tree is hardier than 

 the common Horse Chestnut, and begins to unfold 



