496 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



Benzoin or Spice Bush, a relative of Sassafrass. Its 

 bright yellow flowers appear before the leaves, and 

 during late summer and autumn it is covered with 

 red berries. A valuable dwarf red-berried shrub' for 

 late autumn and winter effect is Ilex verticillata, De- 

 ciduous Holly; it thrives best in rather moist spots. 

 These are just a few of the many delightful native 

 wildlings which, by grouping them in suitable posi- 

 tions, will increase the natural beauties of woodland 

 landscape. 



It is not only in newly planted forests that these 

 points should have consideration, but also in old 

 woods, where possibilities in these directions are even 

 much greater. In cases where there is a close stand 

 of old timber, it is impossible to see the woods for 

 the trees, but this condition is rare in districts where 

 one would choose a residential site. 



Where any quantity of woodland exists in conjunc- 

 tion with a private pleasure estate, the first thing 

 generally thought of in these days is the cutting of 

 roads through the woods, suitable for automobiles ; 

 it is possible, however, to overdo this. Instances may 

 be found where, in a comparatively small area of a 

 hundred acres or so of woods, several miles of wide 

 boulevard have been made. Sometimes these roads 

 may pass through spots where nature has done all 

 that is necessary in the way of supplying landscape 

 possibilities, but when a close, tall stand of trees is 

 cut through, there is nothing but bare trunks to look 

 at. In this latter case infinite possibilities are brought 

 about for ornamental planting by the use of those 

 subjects mentioned above, together with Rhododen- 

 drons, Kalmias, native Azaleas, etc., etc., in addition. 

 Making miles of wide drives in a circumscribed area 

 cuts up the woods into small, more or less narrow, 

 blocks ; an advantage certainly in getting out lumber ; 

 but there is a drawback from the point of view of 

 the bird-lover, as the continual traffic from automo- 

 biles scares the more beautiful and rarer birds away, 

 and game birds will not nest under these conditions ; 

 further, even with ^ liberal amount of ornamental 

 planting along the sides of these drives, the aesthetic 

 conditions of the actual forest is not thereby neces- 

 sarily increased, and, however much there is, little of 

 it can be really seen from an automobile. The true 

 beauties of woodland, whether of large or small area, 

 can only be seen frfim the inside, ^^'e have heard 

 people call woodland commonplace. It is true there 

 are many individuals who can look at the Ijeauties of 

 nature without seeing them, but a walk through any 

 ordinary woodlot will reveal something worth seeing 

 and admiring, if only a little patch of Partridge Berry. 

 The object of Landscape Forestry is, by the encour- 

 agement and increase of beautiful things native to 

 such conditions, to lift woodlands as a whole to a 

 higher plane than is the case when left to themselves 

 ormerelv thickly planted with pure stands of forest 

 trees. The landscape forester has also to devise means 

 of getting into and going about them as easily as 

 possible. The two best, and in point of fact the only, 

 ways of going about woods and at the same time see- 

 ing everything, is either to walk or ride ; two methods 

 of locomotion unfortunately almost extinct. For these 

 purposes trails only are necessary, and while some 

 should be wide enough to afford space for the passage 

 of a team and wagon, there is no reason for a lot of 

 cutting and grading. In Ijlazing a trail, some objec- 

 tive should be kept in view ; some special point of 

 interest which it is desired to reach. It may be a 

 group of picturesque rocks : a grassy dell which it is 

 intended in the future to further beautify by planting: 



some point from whence an outlook may be obtained 

 over a panorama of fine scenery ; a grand monarch 

 of the woods in the shape of a specimen tree that has 

 managed to escape repeated lumbering operations, 

 fine trees of great age, with wide spreading branches, 

 are frequently found on old fence lines ; from a land- 

 scape point of view the more of them there are the 

 better. Where such trees, or others that are likely 

 to reach that condition, exist, any other trees that are 

 now interfering with their natural development or 

 which probably will do in the near future, should be 

 remo.ved ; the giving of trees more space must, how- 

 ever, be done gradually or harm may result. As the 

 grand proportions of a well grown tree cannot be seen 

 at their best when standing close to it, approaching 

 trails shotild be placed and widened out so as to afford 

 a complete view, and, with the gradual removal of 

 surrounding trees, it is possible after a time to have 

 such standing alone in a miniature park. 



Other possibilities are : the opening of vistas, 

 through picturesque ravines and glades ; or for the 

 purpose of enabling some distant point of interest 

 or scenery to become visible. 



A very wide scope in landscape forestry lies in the 

 increase of floral effects not only by the use of shrubs 

 already mentioned but also by means of the thousands 

 of beautiful herbaceous perennials that abound in this 

 country. In all places that have been left to nature 

 these plants are more or less plentiful, the species 

 varying according to situation; sunny or shady; wet 

 or dry ; they can be collected from those places out- 

 side the range of vision from trails, drives, etc.. and 

 massed in suitable positions, thereby creating beauty 

 spots of wild gardening. In addition to flowering 

 plants, the numerous kinds of hardy ferns must not 

 be overlooked, the evergreen species especially add 

 greatly to the charms of strolling through woods dur- 

 ing the short days of the year. As all native plants 

 possess their individual beauties in varying degrees 

 and manners, the mentioning of any of their names 

 is unnecessary. The writer has treated the subject 

 of native plants somewhat fully in connection with 

 wild and other gardening, in his book on Gardening 

 with Hardy Plants, shortlj^ to be published. 



A very interesting and valuable feature may be de- 

 veloped by making one's estate a preserve for native 

 wild plants, many of which are, in some districts, be- 

 ci iming rare, if not extinct ; this, not so much because 

 they have been collected and planted in gardens, but 

 because of their destruction by ignorant vandalism. 



Where estates are fortunate enough to possess wa- 

 ter features, still further possibilities are opened up, 

 especially when these are in the form of a stream 

 fed from springs at higher altitudes. If the water is 

 in the form of pools and swamps, the mosquito prob- 

 lem has to be faced. 



It is useless attempting to increase the natural 

 beauties of an estate if these pests mar and prevent 

 the enjoyment of them. When it is possible to main- 

 tain a stock of fish in pools, the problem is solved, 

 but in some cases the question of drainage has to be 

 dealt with, so as to do away with stagnant water ; 

 needless to say mosquitoes do not breed in running 

 water. Given the fish, a piece of water, in combina- 

 tion with which all the possibilities of aquatic garden- 

 ing have been made use of, will always be a most 

 charming addition to woodland scenery. Water in 

 woods is also valuable by affording birds a place to 

 drink and bathe, by which an estate is rendered more 

 attractive to them. 



(To be continued in December.) 



