is Commercial Gardening 



side of ponds and other small water areas, the object being to obtain a 

 cool retreat during the summer's heat. The selection of positions for 

 trees in the gardens is considered by the Japanese authorities as a matter 

 of much importance, and they feel, as do those in this country who have 

 had experience in such work, that when trees are planted without the 

 exercise of sufficient judgment the desired effect is lost. 



For a long period Pines were the favourite garden trees, and they were 

 trained to form round heads or to some quaint shape to give a distinctive 

 appearance to the spot in which they were placed. Of late years Western 

 ideas would appear to have had some influence upon the Japanese, for 

 within the past decade or so trees more or less natural in growth have 

 come into favour, and the trees with formal heads or contorted branches 

 are no longer fashionable. 



The Japanese Maples, of which there are now so many beautiful forms 

 in cultivation, are not always a complete success in British gardens, and 

 this is due in many instances to a failure to plant them in positions most 

 favourable to their full development. The Japanese, having a full know- 

 ledge of the elegance that characterizes the habit of these trees when 

 growing under natural conditions, and abundant opportunities for enjoying 

 the glorious colour effects produced by their leaves when the breath of 

 autumn has passed over them, freely use them in the creation of garden 

 scenery. They by no means limit their selection to the kinds that do 

 not take on their rich colouring until the summer months have run their 

 course, but group with freedom the many fine forms of Acer palmatum 

 that in the diversity in the form and colour of their leaves afford a rare 

 opportunity for the garden artist to produce colour effects of the most 

 beautiful description, extending from within a short time of the bursting 

 of the buds to the fall of the leaf. These Maples are of much value in 

 gardens, whatever may be their design, and particularly in those of small 

 size; and although the demand for them continues to be great, there is 

 room for an acceleration in the rate at which they are being planted. 



The free use of stone in the making of Japanese gardens is a point 

 of much interest, and while it may not be regarded as of so much im- 

 portance as the trees with which the garden is furnished, sufficient care 

 and attention are bestowed upon its selection to ensure every piece being 

 suited to the position in which it is to be placed. Especially noteworthy, 

 also, are the stone ornaments, of which the lanterns of stone are the 

 most important. These lanterns may be of granite, sandstone, or lime- 

 stone, and they take us far back into the distant past. For many centuries 

 they were exclusively associated with the temples that have a prominent 

 place in many parts of the country; but in the course of the development 

 of the landscape art some of the leading exponents conceived the idea of 

 using them in the adornment of the garden, and within a comparatively 

 short period their use became general. 



Stone lanterns are no longer confined to Japan, for larger numbers are 

 annually imported, and many are the British gardens wherein several may 



