20 



IRISH GARDENING 



\ng over one thousand years. Surely the rates 

 are well spent in securing- such a benefit. 

 Charles Sprague Sargent, Professor of Arbori- 

 culture, was appointed director, and under his 

 fostering care great progress has been made. 

 Professor Sargent, the greatest living authority 

 on trees and shrubs, has seen too much of the 

 wild nature in many lands to allow the arbor- 

 etum to become spoiled by artificial and 

 unnatural objects and outlines. Nature appeals 

 to him, and in return he appeals to nature, and 

 has retained all the natural effects possible, con- 

 sistent with the objects in view. The arboretum 

 is useful as a demonstration of good and sound 

 landscape work as well as a " museum ot 

 trees." Some of the vistas are most effective, 

 such as that along the brook shown in the 

 illustration, and the views from the Pinetum 

 and from Thorn Hill and other places are fine. 

 In the course of experiments and observations 

 is was discovered that trees and shrubs raised 

 from seed saved in gardens and parks could not 

 be relied on, that they did not represent the 

 true wild type, and also that in many cases 

 there had been intercrossing between closely 

 allied species in cultivation, and that several of 

 our supposed species of cultivated trees 

 were hybrids. To ensure absolute accuracy 

 in the types Professor Sargent set to work 

 to collect seeds from as many wild trees and 

 shrubs as possible, and from these seeds the 

 vast majority of the plants in the collections 

 have been raised, thus adding greatly to the 

 interest and scientific value of the collections. 

 He himself explored the North American Con- 

 tinent practically from end to end ; he has 

 travelled Murcipe, right to .Siberia and the 

 Caucasus ; he has explored J;ipan, C'hina, ;uul 

 other countries collecting seeds, and he and his 

 agents are still continuing the same work. 

 To quote his own words, " these explorations 

 have enriched the arhorelum, and through it 

 the gardens of the I'nited -States ;uul ol 

 luirope." The striking features in such a park 

 must be many, and there is not space to go 

 into details. The llowering shrubs form a 

 conspicuous feature, and one which is greatlv 

 appreciated. One of the illustrations in the 

 first pari ot tliis .article (Irish Ci.vrdening of 

 January) shows a llowering group of Kalniia 

 latifolia at the foot of Hemlock Hill, and a 

 further illustration now shows the lilac walk 

 when ill full tlowcr. Lilacs grow well in l-^astern 



America and flower profusely ; hence they are 

 very popular and receive much attention. In 

 the Arnold Arboretum is a very full collection 

 of both species and varieties arranged on both 

 sides of a road for a long distance. When 

 these are in flower a regular pilgrimage sets in 

 from Boston to see them, and " Lilac Sunday" 

 has become quite a popular institution. The 

 best and most interesting natural features in 

 the park is Hemlock Hill, a bold rocky 

 eminence still closely covered with fine plants 

 oi' the Canadian Hemlock Spruce (Tsuga cana- 

 densis), a remnant o( the original natural 

 coniferous forest, and probably marking a 

 geographical limit for the species. This fine 

 arboretum has acted as a stimulus to Rochester, 

 and in that city the park is fine and extensive. 

 There are several large parks covering about 

 1,500 acres, of which 600 acres were presented 

 to the city ; the rest was purchased. The 

 management of these parks is on broad and 

 intelligent lines, the Highland Park o( i 15 acres 

 being devoted to a collection of trees and shrubs. 

 [To be continuvd.) 



e^* ^^* t^* 



ElPHORIil.X BIGLANDLl.OS.X. 

 Throcghoit Deceinlier and January this tine spurge 

 Ikis been tlie brig-htest plant on the Glasnevin rockery. 

 The telling colour is particularly welcome at this time 

 of the year, the long shoots hanging over a large 

 rock, giving a fine effect. From a strong specimen 

 numerous sturdy shoots arise from the roolslock, 

 some ne.arly half an inch in diameter. These shoots 

 are densely clothed with glaucous leaves, which have 

 a very distinct spiral arrangement ; the stems grow 

 upright for eighteen inches to two feet, then appear 

 the bright yellow heads of flowers. Like other Euphor- 

 bias, it is the bracts which are the attractive part of the 

 infloresence, the real flowers are small, and appear 

 later on between two curious yellow glands. After 

 flowering, the stems lengthen to two or three feet, and 

 then hang downwards, losing their erect position. The 

 plant tiiay be increased In* cuttings or raised from seeds. 



Thk Glory ok the Snow. 



TniKi .'ue many bare places which miglii be made 

 beautiful in early spring by planting these bulbs, such 

 as under shrubs in shrub beds or at the base of de- 

 ciduous trees— in fact, almost any place except among 

 coarse grass. .Some of the best varieties are : — 

 Chionodoxa Lucili;e, with blue and white flowers early 

 in March; C. L. alba, a beautiful pure white form; C 

 L. Boissieri, a large-flowered later variety ; C L. .Mleni, 

 or gigantea, with the largest flowers of all, but only 

 producing one oi' two on a stem ; C. L. sardensis, a 

 ple.ising kind, with flowers of a Gentian blue (the bulbs 

 were first found close to the ruins of the ancient town 

 of Sardis at four or five thousand feet above sea level). 



