Trees, Shrubs and Vines 
three or four of which on the south bank of the ‘‘ Pond”’ 
form one of the most impressive views in the Park, and 
there are no trees throughout the grounds more likely to 
attract the attention of a passer-by. Another cluster 
is on the ‘*‘ West Drive,’’ near the soldiers’ monument. 
Better than mere size is their picturesque appearance. 
It is as restful to watch those giant forms as to pause by 
a babbling brook, for a breath of air puts the million 
leaves a-quivering, and a moderate breeze instantly fills 
them with a wild thrill of tumultuous silence. Though 
such massive figures demand a long vista, younger 
growths are in much favor for the lawn; and their 
rapid development, vigorous, glossy foliage, and not too 
spreading form have induced their planting along many 
of the streets in New York City. 
In leaf-type, quivering foliage—effected by a flattened 
instead of the usual round leaf-stem, by which it is so 
weakened that the leaf is easily twisted by the wind— 
and appearance of bark, our two aspens, common and 
large-toothed, show themselves allied to the poplars. 
With no objectionable aspects they are not sufficiently 
admired for cultivation, the poor little common aspen 
being hardly represented in the Park, and with not a sin- 
gle specimen of the ‘‘ large-toothed ’’ ( grandidenta) ; so 
that one finds them mostly in thin woods and along the 
roadside, spruce little trees, that leave you asking 
whether favor, as in the human kind, does not go by 
luck as much as by merit. Their smooth yellowish- 
gray bark is characteristic, and much prettier than that 
of most small trees, and the ‘ large-toothed ’’ presents 
a singular appearance in early spring, when its small 
72 
