TROPICAL EFFECTS 329 



So with bamboos. There are six very fine species that are 

 hardy at Philadelphia and I described many others in Country 

 Life in America for March, 1905. Indeed, bamboos are nothing 

 more or less than grasses, though they flower only after a long 

 time and then die. 



Among flowering grasses the most celebrated is pampas grass, 

 great specimens of which are sometimes wintered in cellars as far 

 north as Philadelphia. But I would rather have something that 

 is hardier, even if not so showy, e. g., the giant reed (Arundo 

 Donax) and Ravenna grass. Eulalias I never loved, but some- 

 times they fit well. 



There is a noble reed which raises its spears in serried ranks 

 all summer, on the great salt meadows near New York, and in the 

 autumn its military hosts are crowned by myriads of waving 

 plumes. The name of this reed is Phragmites communis. No 

 nurseryman sells it. I wonder why? 



OTHER "FEMININE" EFFECTS 



Bamboos and other plants of feathery character are generally 

 considered to have a feminine type of beauty. But beauty is, of 

 course, wholly subjective and therefore it would be absurd to 

 follow such considerations far. I will, therefore, merely give a 

 list of hardy plants with pinnate leaves, in order to show that we 

 have plenty that fit our own climate, without importing plants 

 from the tropics for summer use in gardens. 



COMMON NAME NURSERY NAME 



Ash Fraxinus 



Hickory Hicoria 



Japan varnish tree Koelreuteria 



Mountain ash Sorbus 



Sumach Rhus 



Tamarisk Tamarix 



