1923) HOWE, GEORGE ROGERS HALL, LOVER OF PLANTS 93 



Dr. Hall's life was now wrapped up in the care and cultivation of his 

 plants. One of the best fields at Bristol was chosen as a suitable location 

 for the planting of a great evergreen border and here were set out some 

 fifty or more varieties of trees. In the garden back of the house had been 

 planted and still stands the original Japanese Yew — Taxus cuspidata. 

 A great collection of trees, shrubs, fruit trees, lilies and perennial plants 

 are dimly remembered by friends who knew the doctor in those days. 

 Of these many have disappeared, but some of the Conifers and a few of 

 the deciduous leaved trees to-day are among the finest specimens of their 



kind in the country. 



In the great border there now remain several large specimens of Abies 

 firma, Abies cilicica, Abies cephalonica, Picea pungens, and Picea polita. 

 There are a large Picea jezoensis y an Umbrella Pine (Sciadopilys verti- 

 cillata) a Thujopsis, several Yews and a fine Abies homolepis. There are 

 also a number of handsome specimens of Thuya of different varieties, 

 several dwarf Spruces, Retinosporas in variety and especially Retinospora 

 or Chamaecyparis obtusa y which thrives exceedingly and has seeded itself 

 in many places. 



In the deciduous section the important tree is Zelkova serrata, the 

 Japanese Elm, a magnificent tree thriving exceedingly in this climate, 

 but as yet little known. The delicate arching branches of the Zelkowa, 

 its fine, smooth brown bark, and its strong habit of growth should certainly 

 commend it for more general planting. The tree bears heavy crops of 

 seed, which germinate with great readiness, and the ground about the 

 older specimens is generally thickly overgrown with seedlings. Zelkovas 

 planted in Milton by Dr. Hall's daughter and by the author of this article 

 have made rapid and healthy growth. 



Another interesting and rare tree planted at Bristol by Dr. Hall is 

 Phellodendron Lavallei, of which there is but one specimen. The bark, 

 though rough, is less corklike than that of Phellodendron amnrense, and 

 to the uninitiated the tree might be mistaken for an Ash. 



Other more common trees are Ginkgo biloba, Maples including the dwarf 

 Japan varieties, the Kentucky Coffee-tree (Gymnocladus dioeca) 9 the 

 Gums, (Liquidambar Styraciflua y and Nyssa sylvalica), European Beech 

 (Fagus sylvatica), Yellowood (Cladrastis luted), Honey Locust (GlediU 

 sia triacanthos) , Horsechestnut (Aesculus Hippocastanum) of which 

 there is one showing a variegation in the foliage, Pyramidal Oak (Quercus 

 robur var. fastigiata), Tulip-tree (Liriodendron Tulipifera). 



A fine specimen of Hall's Magnolia (M. stellata rosea) still remains in 

 a sheltered spot, and is a glory in the early spring with its profuse clothing 

 of long pinkish white and fragrant blossoms. 



Hall 's Flowering Apple (Mains Halliana) often called the Parkman Crab 

 since Dr. Hall sent the first specimens to Mr. Parkman, may still be seen, 

 though there is no longer a good specimen of this tree. 



Hall's Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica var. Halliana) runs rampant 

 under the trees and has done much harm in the past through climbing 



