1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



355 



representing on a larger scale, special parts of the 

 surface. The general character of the moon is 

 highly irregular, marked by huge mountains and 

 pits, the height and depth of which have been ac- 

 curately measured. About one-third part only of 

 the surface presented to us is comjiaratively regu- 

 lar, this regular portion being plains, and not seas, 

 as was formerly imagined. There is no appearance 

 of water ; and although astronomers are divided 

 in opinion about the existence of an atmosphere, 

 we are to conclude that the moon is not in its 

 present state, adapted for the abode of organized 

 beings. With regard to the mountains, a great 

 number of thera are isolated peaks, such as Tene- 

 rifte ; mountain ranges, of which some reach a great 

 elevation, are also present in the moon, though not 

 a chief feature in its surface. At least three-fifths 

 of its surface is studded with caverns, penetrating 

 its body, and generally engirt at the top by a great 

 wall of rock, which is serrated, and often crowded 

 by lofty peaks. These caverns or craters as they 

 are called, vary in diameter from fifty or sixty 

 miles to the smallest visible space. And it is also 

 remarkable that as they diminish in size, they in- 

 crease in number. — English Quarterly. 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



OUB ABBORETUM. 



Mr. Editor: — I once heard an enthusiastic 

 votary of rural adornment strongly advocate the 

 establishment, in our town, of a Park to be sus- 

 tained at public expense. He thought, "a park 

 of a hundred acres, comprising hill and dale, and 

 water sceneiy, beautifully laid out, in walks and 

 drives, a perfect ai-boretum of all the trees and 

 shrubs that will grow in this vicinity, beds of flow- 

 ers of every variety of hue ; with seats and arbors 

 appropriately scattered about," &c., would greatly 

 promote a genial sociability among us, and aid in 

 develojjing all the finer traits of character in our 

 towns-people. He was not without hope of living 

 to see such an institution flourishing here ; and 

 thought it not impossible that some wealthy lover 

 of humanity might furnish the means for its es- 

 tablishment. I agree with my friend in the belief 

 that such a park would be a very valuable institu- 

 tion in any town. And, with your permission, Mr. 

 Editor, I will say to him, and to others, that we 

 already have very nearly the thing that he pro- 

 poses, only the area of our arboretum is to be 

 measured by thousands of acres, instead of being 

 restricted to a paltry hundred. And if he will 

 thoroughly explore this arboretum, he will find a 

 variety of plants, as large, I think, and certainly 

 as beautiful, as in any field of equal extent within 

 many miles of here. He will find a liberal allot- 

 ment of rare plants, and a goodly share of those 

 most eminent for beauty of foliage or flower. If 

 I were skilled as a describer of landscapes, I 

 would tell him of the various beauties of scenery 

 to be found there ; of cosy nooks with their mossy 

 rock seats ; of the beautiful drives that wind about 

 in every direction, some through disused roads, 

 where the carriage bends down the intruding sap- 

 ling in its passage, some over the soft leaf carpet 

 luider ancient pines, some that are not so smooth 

 as those where every grain of sand has been arti- 

 ficially laid, and all been made so even that as you 

 roll along over the surface you ai'e hardly conscious 



of motion, but roads where stones and stumps and 

 deep ruts give you every now and then a good 

 shaking that stirs the blood, even though you may 

 have a slow and reliable horse ; of those M-ood- 

 roads winding around and over hills and through 

 valleys, giving glimpses of rocky cliff, of lake, of 

 river, of distant moimtain, of green fields, of vil- 

 lages and scattered farm-houses. But trusting 

 that he will see these things for himself, I will 

 pass to the less difficult and shorter labor of naming 

 some of the flowers to be found in the valleys and 

 on the hills, in the woods and on the plains of our 

 large botanic garden. These are so numerous, 

 and so many are worthy of favorable mention, that 

 I hardly know which to select to speak of without 

 trespassing too much on your columns. I vriW name 

 them nearly in the order of their blossoming. 



Among the earliest of our spring flowers, and 

 certainly one of the finest, is to be ranked the 

 Mayfloicer, (Epigea repens,) sometimes called 

 the trailing arbutns. This is found in several 

 places in this town, though not in large quantities, 

 and probably grows more or less in raost towns in 

 this region. It is to be found almost as soon aa 

 the snow is off" the ground in spring. It is a low 

 vine, creeping among the dry leaves in the woods, 

 and you find the small flowers at the end of the 

 branches, sometimes white, sometimes shaded with 

 a delicate rose color, and always charged with a 

 pleasant spicy odor. Very abundant in Plymouth 

 county, and derives its common name from the 

 ship that brought over the Pilgrims. 



The Liver-leaf, (Hepatica triloba,) is another 

 very early and a very beautiful light blue flower. 

 It is not found here, I believe ; but it is worth 

 looking for. I once drove twenty miles to the 

 easterly part of Maiden, to see it growing in its 

 wild home. I found it on a steep, rocky hill-side, 

 shaded by young wood, and the beauty of the 

 flower well repaid for the trouble of finding. I 

 brought away a number of plants, and if they fulfil 

 their promise it may not be so difficult for the 

 flower lovers of some future generation to find the 

 hepatica peeping at them from among the dry 

 leaves in some quiet nooks of the Concord botanic 

 garden. 



The Houstonia, a little bluish- white flower, com- 

 mon everywhere in May and June, has also a claim 

 to be called beautiful, even though so abundant 

 that we can hardly avoid crushing many under our 

 feet as we walk in the fields. We are generally 

 inclined, perhaps, to overlook the beauties that 

 are every day before us. We want something that 

 is dear bought, or rare, or far-fetched. If the Hous- 

 tonia had come from our antipodes in Australia, or 

 from some tropical region, and were difficult of cul- 

 tivation, I doubt not it would be a favorite. The 

 Violets come into flower at the same time ; and 

 notwithstanding their commonness, are generally 

 petted. There are many species ; I have found at 

 least eight, on my own httle farm. The largest and 

 most common violet in this town, the pedate, or 

 bii'd's foot, is often so abundant as to give to large 

 portions of our dry pastures a blueish purple ap- 

 pearance, that may be distinctly seen at a consid- 

 erable distance. This is slightly fragrant, as are 

 also the two white species that are common here. 



We have three species of Andromeda, in Con- 

 cord, the earliest of which, (Andromeda caliculata,) 

 flowers in April. It grows chiefly in wet, boggy 

 places, is a small evergreen shrub, and forms its 



