August 3, 1912 



HORTICULTUEE 



145 



A New Hardy Moccasin Flower 



{Cypriiieiliuiii Fraiichctii ) 



On my last expedition (1910) for the Arnold Arbor- 

 etum, I was fortunate enough to succeed in introducing- 

 from the Thibetan borderland living plants of three new 

 and beautiful hardy cypripediums. Two of these flow- 

 ered in the spring of last year and were illustrated in 

 these columns, July 8, 1911. The third species flowered 

 early in June, 1913, in the Arnold Arboretum. As will be 

 seen from the accompanying photographic illustration, 

 this new species, named in honor of the distinguished 

 French botanist, the late Monsieur A. Franchet, in a gen- 

 eral way resembles the Siberian C. macranthou, differing 

 chiefly in its more hairy foliage and certain technical de- 

 tails. Like its allies, C. luteum and C. tibeticum, this new- 

 comer promises to succeed under cultivation and should 

 prove a welcome addition to gardens. All three are na- 

 tives of upland regions and recjuire a moist, shady situ- 

 ation and a compost rich in decaying leaves. 



IN BAR HARBOR. 



A quartette of Boston horticul- 

 turists visited Bar Harbor, Me., on a 

 "week-end trip" last week and experi- 

 enced in full measure the invigorating 

 air of Mt. Desert and the sumptuous 

 hospitality of Messrs. George B. Dorr, 

 Edward Kirk, A. E. Thatcher, W. T. 

 Burton. F. H. Moses and others — a 

 combination that it would be hard to 



beat. 



There are no autos on Mt. Desert 

 Island. The buckboard, with a span 

 of speedy trotters, is the prevailing 

 style of sight-seeing, and it is as en- 

 joyable as it is unique. Nothing can 

 be imagined more inspiring than the 

 famous "22-mile drive" with its grand 

 ocean views, sea-battered crags, ever- 

 green-clad mountain heights, pine 

 forests and palatial summer homes, 

 surrounded by grounds in which na- 

 ture and art have worked hand in 

 hand to develop a veritable paradise. 



Continual improvement is going on, 

 not only in a private but a public way. 

 Through the enterprise and philan- 

 thropic interest of George B. Dorr, a 

 public reservation of 18,000 acres has 

 been set apart, including a large part 

 of the mountain peaks which charac- 

 terize the island. Roads are being 

 constructed and fire protection at- 

 tended to throughout this vast public 

 domain. Flowers are more vividly 

 colored in the moist, cool atmosphere 

 of Mt. Desert than those we are ac- 

 customed to see. Roses, sweet peas, 

 hollyhocks, etc., are of dazzling bril- 

 liancy, and the lawns rival those of 

 Ireland in their rich verdancy. In the 

 laying out of the estates great care 

 and skill has been exercised in har- 

 monizing and linking together the 

 wild scenery and the formality of the 

 villa garden surroundings. Bar Har- 



bor is one grand object lesson in this 

 art for the gardener in search of sug- 

 gestive examples. 



Perhaps the finest example of fine 

 gardening is seen in the estate of Mrs. 

 J. S. Kennedy, where W. G. Burton has 

 had charge during the past 14 years. 

 It covers 25 acres. The Italian gar- 

 den is the best of its type on the 

 Island, there is a splendid garden of 

 sweet peas and, as in all the estates 

 here, a vegetable and fruit garden of 

 highest merit. Rhododendrons do 

 well here as their broad, rich, green 

 foliage attests. In the greenhouses 

 the greatest attraction is perhaps the 

 graperies and melon houses. Such 

 Muscats and Hamburghs as are now 

 ripening have rarely been seen either 

 in this country or abroad. 



Point de Arcadie, George W. Van- 

 derbilt's estate, is in the care of Ed- 

 ward Kirk, whose fame as a melon 

 grower under glass is country wide. 

 This is the place to see Royal Jubilee 

 and Emerald Gem at their best. This 

 is conducted for the time being as a 

 sale place, and the vegetable gar- 

 den is one of its chief assets. Toma- 

 toes, under glass, are also an im- 

 portant item. Mr. Kirk does not re- 

 gard favorably the tomato Lister's 

 Prolific, which was recently awarded 

 a silver medal at Boston. It is simply 

 a question of productiveness, and this 

 variety, he says, is too long-jointed. 

 Sutton's Winter Beauty will give three 

 times the quantity of fruit. Hubert's 

 Marvel is also much prized. Holmes' 

 Supreme promises well. 



The D. C. Blair place, high up on 

 the hill, is conspicuous for its splen- 

 did conifers, sloping lawns, Italian 

 garden and hedges, all so well placed 

 as to harmonize well with the wild 

 surroundings. The chief charm of 

 the place is, however, its magnificent 

 setting of picturesque mountain 

 scenery and sublime vistas of deep 



valleys and wild gorges. Eugene 

 Mitchell has been in charge since the 

 estate was laid out 12 years ago. 



As our readers generally know, A. 

 E. Thatcher went from Boston the 

 past spring to take charge of the Mt. 

 Desert Nurseries. These nurseries, 

 owned by George B. Dorr, are quite 

 extensive, embracing some 150 acres 

 in a state of high cultivation. A branch 

 is maintained at Northeast Harbor, in 

 charge of Richard Rothe, an expert in 

 hardy perennials, who is a frequent 

 contributor to these columns. Evi- 

 dences of able management are seen 

 in all departments of the nursery, and 

 Mr. Thatcher has already demon- 

 strated that he is the right man in the 

 right place. The variety of material 

 carried is very large and many things 

 are doing finely which are not con- 

 sidered reliable even down in New 

 Jersey. Overhead sprinkling systems 

 have been quite generally adopted for 

 Japanese irises, vegetable gardens and 

 other departments where abundant 

 water is essential. A novel adaption 

 of Actinidia arguta has been made in 

 its use as a hedge plant. They are 

 grown on wires stretched six feet high 

 and clipped in the same manner as 

 privet. 



We were pleased to see the veteran 

 Bar Harbor florist Fred H. Moses still 

 at his post. He has a spacious, hand- 

 somely equipped store and is prosper- 

 ous and happy, with the right hand of 

 fellowship finely developed. 



A CORRECTION. 



Kenneth Finlayson calls our atten- 

 tion to an error in his communication 

 on "The Renaming Evil," as printed 

 on page 116c in last week's issue. "En- 

 chantress, Red Fascinator" should 

 read: "Enchantress renamed Fasci- 

 nator." In his copy Mr. Finlayson 

 had used an abbreviation for "re- 

 named," which was misunderstood. 



