RARE AND NOTABLE PLANTS 



Smith, pronounced "the greatest bot- 

 anist living," and here amidst the 

 sanctity of its associations lives the 

 son, a most worthy successor. Quot- 

 ing from an article written several 

 years ago by William E. Meehan, 

 which is sufficiently full for our pur- 

 pose, there is growing at "Grumble- 

 thorpe" "a number of interesting 

 trees, among them three old pear 

 trees, two late Catherine and one su- 

 gar pear. There are records to show 

 that these trees are about 150 years 

 old. The sugar pear, which still bears 

 abundantly, is 50 or 60 feet high, and 

 has a girth of six feet. An aged ivy 

 has completely overgrown the trunk 

 and has climbed almost to the top- 

 most branches. A very fine specimen 

 of the famous larch of the Alps, fa- 

 miliar to every student of Swiss Al- 

 pine scenery, is also growing on these 

 grounds. This tree, knotted and 

 gnarled with age, has a trunk 5'^^ feet 

 in circumference, and the tree is 

 probably the finest of its kind around 

 the city." 



A Japanese Ginko tree, which was 

 among the first importations, is also 

 among the curiosities of the Wister 

 place, and, it may be well to add, this 



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