THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



755 



is that they are about eighty feet high, which is more 

 than the height of the trees of an average American for- 

 est. They are justly renowned for the size of their 

 trunks, the girth of the largest reaching forty-seven feet. 



A striking peculiarity of these trees is the growth of 

 their branches, which extend straight out at right angles 

 to the trunk and are furnished with exceedingly thick 

 foliage, brown as seen from beneath, but when viewed 

 from the hillsides their upper surface resembles a rich, 

 dark green lawn studded with cones standing erect. 

 These latter are the size of large goose eggs. 



In some other parts of the Lebanon there are cedar 

 groves, but the trees arc much smaller. Here we have 

 a suggestion of what the Lebanon was in ancient times, 

 when the now bare peaks and mountainsides must have 

 been covered with these trees. 



It was here that King Solomon's seventy thousand 

 hewers wrought, with their three thousand si.K hundred 

 overseers, besides those supplied by Hiram, King of 

 Tyre, to get the cedar wood required for the temple at 

 Jerusalem, and which was taken in rafts to Jaffa and 

 thence carried up to Jerusalem. These trees were also 

 used in the construction of David's house, and later in 

 the building of the second temple. A white resin which 

 they exude served in the ancient process of embalming. 



These trees (Cedrus libani), called by the natives 

 "Arz," are a local variety of a widely distributed species. 

 The wood is cream color and works up easily, much re- 

 sembling soft pine. This grove stands on a small hill 

 situated at 6,315 feet atove sea level and above it rises 

 abruptly the lofty Jebal el .A-rz. whose summit is seldom 

 without snow. 



The Christian natives attach a sanctity to these trees, 

 and here is held an annual feast to which pilgrims flock 

 from all directions. It also serves as a delightful sum- 

 mer camping place. At the tiri:e of our visit a number 

 of families were encamped among the trees, including 

 some of the professors from the American College at 

 Beirut, who, with their families, were here for their sum- 

 mer vacation. 



While sauntering through the grove we encountered 

 the Maronite priest in charge of the chapel. He asked 

 how we liked the cedars, and in reply we expressed our 

 admiration, but said it was a pity there were so few left. 

 He replied, "So they have been for 4,000 years, and his- 

 tory tells us that they have been just as you see them 

 since the flood." 



"But," we remonstrated, "Solomon got all his timber 

 for the building of his temple from these mountains, so 

 there must have been many more." "It is true," he said, 

 "that Solomon got his timber here, but that was long 

 before what I have just mentioned." A peasant stand- 

 ing by, regarding with awe the wisdom of the priest. 

 added, "You see, khawaja (gentlemen), these trees," 

 pointing to sorrie of the smallest of the cedars, "have 

 been growing since the days of Christ." 



As we turned away we mused upon this new leaf of 

 history, that Solomon lived before the flood, and that 

 it takes 2,000 years for a cedar to attain a diameter of 

 about eighteen inches. 



BERRIED AND OTHER SHRUBS EN MASSE. 



.As a rule the landscape architect wiH arrange his de- 

 signs so that the grouping of shrubs as far as the flowers 

 are concerned (also the foliage") do not clash in color, but 

 blend together so as to cause the natural observer to halt 

 and gaze on the plantings with delight while the sun on 

 the horizon adds the beauty of its rays to the scenery, and 

 the song of the birds brings joy to the heart, and man 

 repeats " 'T is well done." 



At the same time, in my opinion, our berried plants 

 arc worthy of more consideration than is generally given 

 to them. For winter effect too often we see them dotted, 

 straggling, here and there, whereas it would be much 

 more attractive to have -them grouped together in con- 

 spicuous places. It is also preferable to plant one large 

 group of a said variety to several smaller ones, cutting 

 out (if 1 may term it such) too much of a sameness Is it 

 not irritating while passing along with a lady or gentle- 

 man to hear the remark, "Oh, this or that variety is beau- 

 tiful," and then, added just as a little stinger, "But you 

 have so much of it planted in different places ?" Far better 

 would it be, generally speaking, to arrange for only one 

 clump or cluster of each variety, so that a person passing 

 along may be the more interested in looking always at 

 something new. 



I had intended to draw a plan or sketch of what I 

 would suggest for a mass of berried shrubs ; but, as time 

 will not permit it, I shall use numbers in connection with 

 a few names of varieties which I think would prove very 

 effective in autumn and winter. Just a few names as an 

 illustration of the idea I wish to convey, as it would 

 hardly be possible to name all the varieties, and, from 

 what I have learned from the contributors to these pages, 

 the readers are quite capable of selecting their own plans, 

 and of planning out their own lines of planting. Suppose 

 it is a border. We will start with No. 1, a clump of 

 herberris vulgarie, purpurea Japan ; No. 2, rhodotypos 

 kerriodes ; No. 3, Honeysuckle Morrowi ; No. 4, Bay- 

 berry ; No. 5, Euonymus Americanus ; No. 6, Ligustrum 

 vulgare ; No. 7 might be the Stag-horn sumach ; No. 8, 

 Ilex verticillata ; No. 9, English Privet; No. 10, Honey- 

 suckle Tatarica ; No. 11, Viburnum dentatum ; No. 12, 

 Euonymus Europaeus, and so on. 



Here let us remember that a very attractive border or 

 bed can be had in winter by grouping plants for the sake 

 of their bark only. Even the simple Willow, clumped in 

 colors, is very pleasant to the eye. 



These suggestions are submitted by me in the hope that 

 they might provide an opening for a little more contro- 

 versy on the subject of landscape gardening than we are 

 in the habit of seeing in print. In comparison with other 

 departments, landscaping is sorely neglected, and in the 

 future I hope that there will be more articles on this sub- 

 ject appearing in the Chronicle, and that I may read 

 different views than those I may ever have dreamt of. 

 Especially would I like to see the young men take up their 

 pens and contribute their opinions to this paper. 



S.vMUEL Scott. 



SMOKE INJURIOUS TO PLANTS. 



A well-known gardener who has given much study to 

 tlic effects caused by smoke on growing plants, in which he 

 includes the trees and shrubs, says that smoke inter- 

 feres with plant life, growth being impossible and death 

 often resulting, that it is not possible to long maintain 

 life in a smoky atmosphere. 



Besides the chemical and physical injury to plants, he 

 claims that smoke proves injurious because of the lesser 

 amount of light which reaches the leaves. He specifies 

 four ways in which plants may be injured by smoke. 

 First — By the appearance of injurious chemical elements 

 in the smoke wliich injure the cell structure. Second — 

 V>v the free acid in the smoke coming into contact with 

 the ground, thereby destroying the beneficial bacteria. 

 Third — By the tarry matter in the smoke coating the 

 leaves and cb'>kiiig tlie pores, thereby smothering the 

 jilant. Fourth — By the smoke cloud limiting the avail- 

 able sunlight. 



