758 



HORTICULTURE 



following notes, amongst others, under the date 1724: 

 "The plants of England, as well those of the fields 

 and orchards as of the garden, that have been brought 

 over into New England, suit very well with the soil, and 

 grow to perfection. The apples are as good as those of 

 England, an<l look fairer, as well as the pears; but they 

 have not all of the sorts. The peaches rather exce'l 



1078. Relic 



days — apple tree at 250 years. 



barrels 



those of England, and there is no trouble or expence of 

 walls for them; for the peach trees are all standards, 

 and Mr. Dudley has had, in his own garden, 700 or 800 

 flue peaches of the rare-ripes, growing at a time on one 

 tree. • • • The peach trees are large and fruitful, 

 nly bear in 3 years from the stone. » * • 

 11 I'lierries are not so good as the Kentish 

 I ii^hiii'l; and they have no dukes, or heart- 

 in two or three gardens." It was re- 

 1. cpf "late years have run much upon 

 r:ii lii-oiluct of these orchards was chiefly 

 111- of theirapple trees will make 6, some have 

 of cider: but this is not common; and 

 the apples will yield from 7 to 9 bushels for a barrel of 

 cider: a good apple tree will measure from 6 to 10 feet 

 in girt." Dudley mentions a blooraless apple, and "the 

 tree was no graft." In common with other new countries. 

 New England astonished persons with the luxuriant 

 growth of the plants. "An onion, set out for seed, will 

 rise to 4 feet 9 inches in height. A parsnip will reach to 

 8 feet; red orrice [orach] will mount 9 feet; white or- 

 rice 8. In the pastures he measured seed mullen 9 feet 

 2 inches in height, and one of the common thistles above 

 8 feet." Record is made of a pumpkin vine which grew 

 unattended in a pasture. It made a single stem which 

 "ran along over several fences, and spread over a large 

 piece of ground far and wide." "From this single vine 

 were gathered 2G0 pumpkins; one with another as large 

 as a half peck; enough in the whole, to fill a large 

 tumbrel, besides a considerable number of small and 

 unripe pumpkins." Indian corn was "the most prolific 

 grain." Jlr. Dudley did not accept the notion that the 

 mixing of corn is due to the intermingling of the roots, 

 but tbought that it was brought about through the 

 ageiii-y of the wind. He also noted that the hop and the 

 running kidney bean twine in opposite directions on 

 their support. 



The colonial ornamental gardens were unlike our own 

 in the relative poverty of plants, in the absence of the 

 landscape arrangement, in the rarity of greenhouses, and 

 the lack of smooth-shaven lawns (for the lawn mower 



HORTICULTURE 



was not invented till this century). These gardens 

 were of two general types : the unconventional personal 

 garden, without form but not void (Fig. 1079), in which 

 things grew in delightful democracy; the conventional, 

 box-bordered, geometrical garden, in which things grew 

 in most respectful aristucra.-y. (Plate XIV.) There 

 were many iutc n .im- nn.i . hd.orate private gardens in 

 the colonial d:i.\ - ' ': : . 'ailiest and best was that 

 of Governor r. i. - ; 

 York, near Tliini \\ - mn 

 where 40 or OU negro slavt 

 were kept at work. "There 

 in good condition, and shadi 

 side where 



if tbi 



f New Amsterdam (New 

 iiwn as the "Bouwerie," 

 nd also white servants, 

 to the city had been put 

 !es were planted on each 

 ■emor's property." The 

 .-s has Inst the Eden-like 



h,M t.. th.' ■■■■M.b-iH-es of 



Wealtliv |ii r.,,n- liv til.- inlcMh- ..1 l:.-t 



ably carli.r. aii.l tlicv w.-iv >:M to liavc l.ccn encour- 

 aged by the ixample and precept of Washington. There 

 are records of many large and meritorious collections of 

 plants a century and more ago. William Hamilton's 

 collection at Philadelphia was one of the best, and it 

 contained a large collection of exotics. It flourished to- 

 wards the close of last century, and was broken tip in 

 1828. William Jackson began "a highly interesting col- 

 lection of plants at his residence in Londongrove," Penn- 

 sylvania, in 1777 Al'oiit iMiii .loslnia and Samuel Pierce, 



ment of an arl" 

 botanic garden 

 John Bartram'^. 

 contained a gv ^i 

 of the trees an- i 

 of the citv. Hail 

 and his sons. J, 



I i L :iii u, ailc.rn their premises 

 ■: li-.- ami l.y the establish- 

 _-i. .11^. Tlie most famous 

 ' ' \ lii' ri<:i lias ever had was 

 I- . i. I, .Ilia in 1728. It 

 ■:iT iMJii ; . .. ' :■ . jilaiits, and some 

 11. 'w III III ,: . 1 1 ~ allied landmarks 



Irani \Mi- II - kill III 111! nil r and gardener, 

 lohn and W illiam. inlierited his tastes 

 and continued the garden. The elder Bartram was 

 prohablv tlie first American to perform successful ex- 

 periments in hybridization. Bartram's house (Fig. 1080), 

 built by himself, is still one of the sights of the environs 

 of Philadelphia, and the site of the garden, with many 

 of the old trees standing, is now happily a public park. 

 Bartram's cousin, Humphry Marshall, established a bo- 

 tanic garden at West Bradford, in Chester county. Pa., 

 in 177:i. John Bartram's name is preserved to us in the 

 mossBartramia, an.l Marsbairs in tin- -.nn^ IMarshallia, 



1079. An old- 



applied to small Compositse of the eastern states. The 

 Elgin botanic garden, near New York, was established 

 in 1801 by David Hosack, a man of great learning and 

 of the keenest sympathies with rural occupations. He 



