296 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



strawbeny. It is first t© grow, blossom, and fruit, is delicious 

 and wholesome, and is always sought for the dessert and for 

 jellies, preserves, and ices, and will always be extensively used. 

 Its consumption is very large, and a ready market is always found 

 for good fruit at a fair price. 



Oakley Park, the Residence of Robert M. Pratt. 



On the llth of August, the Committee, with other invited 

 guests, enjoyed a visit to Oakley Park, Watertown, the estate of 

 Robert M. Pratt, which contains about thirty-five acres and is 

 well known to all. The extensive and well cared for lawns are 

 the first thing to attract attention. They have always been a 

 verj' noticeable feature of this place, no expense having been 

 spared to keep them in the best possible condition, and at the 

 same time the very excellent condition of all the trees adds very 

 much to the appearance of the grounds. On the large number of 

 trees that are to be looked after, not a dead limb, large or small, 

 could be seen. The}' were without exception the cleanest and best 

 lot of trees we have had the pleasure of looking at. In the care 

 of these trees it is worthy of note that wounds on young trees, 

 more particularly of the bark, are plastered over with rubber or 

 elastic cement, and it is really astonishing how quickl}- and well 

 the wounds heal over. In the case of decay in the larger trees, 

 after removing all the decayed part, the hollow made by the 

 removal is filled in with brick and Portland cement, thus exclud- 

 ing all air from any part of the wound. A large oak treated in 

 this way, to which our attention was called, was flourishing and 

 the wound was rapidly healing over. 



Within a few years the division fences and stone walls be- 

 tween the lawn and pleasure grounds and the fruit and vegetable 

 gardens have been removed, much improving the lawn by giving 

 greater breadth. The changes are such that a few years hence 

 hardly a trace of the original flower garden will be visible. In 

 suitable places beds of rhododendrons have been added, and new 

 and rare evergreens have found homes. The formal style of 

 bedding has not been altogether abandoned but though there is 

 much less of it than formerly, there is enough of bedding out to 

 make the place cheerful and pleasant. The large and showy 

 displays often seen in places of this size, are not found here, but 



