242 



TJie Canadian Hortiadtnrist. 



color, somewhat bordering on red. 

 A growing plant before ns also 

 showed the leaves to have a rich 

 velvety appearance, and to be darker 

 than the white variety. So much 

 so, that it was quite easy to dis- 

 tinguish them, when growing side by 

 side. The tree makes a close upright 

 growth, another characteristic of its 

 own. 



Whether the bunches of scarlet 



berries will follow after the flowers 

 have dropped, we are unable to say, 

 but we see no reason to the contrary. 

 That this is undoubtedly a grand 

 acquisition to the list of ornamental 

 flowering trees, no one will doubt 

 after seeing it in bloom. Can any- 

 one imagine a more beautiful or 

 unique group on the lawn, than the 

 Red Flowered, the White Flowered 

 and the Weeping Dogwood.' 



\y 



A RAMBLE IN VICTORIA PARK AND VICINITY. 



THE term of Lord Duff"erin's rule, 

 as Governor-General of Can- 

 ada, will long be had in grateful 

 remembrance by that large and con- 

 stantly increasing number of excur- 

 sionists from both sides of the line, 

 who, tired with the press of business 

 cares whether of farm, orchard or 

 office, seek much needed rest and 

 recreation without incurring extrava- 

 gant expenditure. It was in the 

 autumn of 1878 that the suggestion 

 concerning an International Park 

 was made by Lord Dufferin to Gov- 

 ernor Robinson, of New York, and in 

 May 1888, that the Victoria Niagara 

 Falls Park was opened to visitors ; 

 that on the American side having 

 been opened some three years pre- 

 viously. 



To any one who has not visited 

 this park since its emancipation from 

 private greed, the sense of relief, with 

 which one can now view this world- 

 renowned cataract and its surround- 

 ings, is most gratifying. From the 



Clifton House right away past the 

 Horse-shoe Falls, for a distance of 

 two and a half miles, an area of some 

 one hundred and fifty acres has been 

 improved and beautified by the park 

 commissioners, in a manner which 

 reflects credit upon their taste and 

 good judgment. An eflfort has been 

 made to restore to the whole sur- 

 roundings, as much as possible, their 

 natural beauty ; and to this end all 

 unsightly buildings have been re- 

 moved, and the dusty roadway by 

 , the riverside replaced by a narrow 

 walk, bordered with grass and trees, 

 and here and there a rustic seat, and 

 a drinking fountain. The rustic 

 entrance is most appropriate in de- 

 sign, and the boundary fences are 

 made of almost invisible gas piping ; 

 thus there is little to obstruct or to 

 offend even the cultivated eye of the 

 critical observer. 



THE FLORA 



of this locality is very rich, and the 



