202 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 430. 



canal affords facilities for thousands of people to view the 

 races and carnivals without danger of damaging the 

 grounds. Since the lagoons in the park are entirely unsuit- 

 able for racing or other spectacles which would cause great 

 crowds to assemble on the shores, this will afford oppor- 

 tunity for wholesome sport without danger to delicate 

 natural planting. 



A mound from six to eight feet high, with a compara- 

 tively gentle slope all round the north, west and south sides 

 of the park, is to be constructed for the purpose of conceal- 

 ing the city streets even in winter, and to reflect back as 

 much as possible the noise of city traffic. These mounds 

 are to be covered by trees, spaced sufficiently far apart to 

 permit them to grow low branches, and dense shrubbery 

 plantations will be grown outside of them and under them. 



This is the plan in general outline, but we have omitted 

 mention of the facilities for boating and yachting and many 

 provisions for public accommodation apart from those 

 which directly help to the enjoyment of the landscape. 

 There are an unusual number of such introductions, and 

 the skill of the architect is shown by placing these, not 

 only so that they will do as little damage as possible to the 

 turf and the plantations, but in such a way that they will 

 not injure the beauty of the prospects and will interfere 

 as little as possible with visitors who come to the park for 

 the enjoyment of the landscape, for quiet and for secluded 

 recreation. Besides the structures we have mentioned, like 

 the conservatory, the museum and the like, we might name 

 the picnic shelter at the north-east corner of the park, 

 the Germania restaurant, the bath-house, the music court, 

 the various field houses connected with gymnasium grounds 

 for men and women, with the tennis lawns and ball ground, 

 the Japanese temple, the casino, the service yards and 

 administration buildings, the life-saving station, the Belve- 

 dere, with numerous shelters, boat-houses and landings, 

 carriage-sheds and many other artificial works which by 

 their nature detract from the beauty of the landscape, but 

 which all have been concealed by grading or subdued by 

 foliage. That is, in preparing all these attractions and 

 conveniences the primary purpose of the park has never 

 been lost sight of. The landscape is the essence of the 

 park. The green pastures and still waters — pictures of 

 peace — the outlook over the great inland sea, all the com- 

 manding charm of the place, has been preserved and 

 heightened for the refreshment of city-wearied senses. A 

 study of the map is like a visit to the country. One can 

 plainly trace long lines of view which offer every advantage 

 for enjoying the scenery. There are scores of these vistas, 

 and they control the outline of the lagoons and islands, the 

 grading and alignment of the roads and walks and the 

 shape and character of the plantations. Some of them are 

 purely natural and others are directed to bridges or build- 

 ings, which, of course, will be carefully designed. Especial 

 attention is called to the extension of the south lagoon 

 which lengthens the charming view through the middle of 

 the park lengthwise of the lagoons, with the Belvedere at 

 the southern boundary of the park as an objective point 

 for the long vista from the north end of the east lagoon. 



Shrubs, Native and Foreign. 



THE uncertainties of gardening are apparent this 

 spring in the neighborhood of Boston, where many 

 shrubs, usually considered perfectly hardy, have suffered 

 during the past severe winter, which has left others, that 

 might have been expected to have suffered, untouched. All the 

 species of Forsythia, usually remarkable for the profusion 

 of their flowers, have practically been flowerless this spring, 

 although their wood is uninjured. The Japanese Weeping 

 Cherries, Prunus pendula and Prunus Miqueliana, which 

 have usually been considered perfectly reliable, have lost 

 all their flower-buds. Ordinary Cherry-trees have been 

 nearly flowerless, and Pear-trees promise but a scanty crop 

 of fruit. Spiraea Thunbergi has lost, as usual, the tips of 

 its branches and most of its flower-buds, and the Wistarias 



are without flowers. Well-established plants of Deutzia 

 Sieboldiana are in many cases killed to the ground, and 

 Deutzia gracilis has lost more of its wood than usual. 



On the other hand, Ghent Azaleas, which frequently lose 

 their flower-buds in severe winters, promise this season an 

 exceptionally large crop of flowers. Rhododendrons of the 

 Catawbiense type are uninjured in foliage and flower-buds, 

 and conifers generally are in better condition than usual at 

 this time of the year. Apple-trees are covered with bloom, 

 and all the various Japanese, Chinese and Siberian Crabs are 

 covered with flowers. The Japanese Pyrus Toringo and 

 its lovely double-flowered variety, Pyrus Parkmanni, have 

 never been more beautiful, and the value of these plants in 

 decorative planting has never appeared greater than it has 

 this spring. All the Magnolias of the Yunan section, with 

 the exception of Magnolia Kobus, which still remains flow- 

 erless, have bloomed profusely, and have this season been 

 unusually satisfactory, as the flowers have been untouched 

 by frost or rain. All the varieties of the common Lilac are 

 as full of flower-buds as usual, and Syringa pubescens is 

 uninjured, and in a few days will cover itself with its 

 charming fragrant flowers. The flower-buds, however, of 

 Syringa oblata of northern China have been greatly injured, 

 although the semi-double flowered hybrid of this plant, 

 with Syringa vulgaris, has escaped injury. This is the 

 earliest of all Lilacs to bloom, and for this reason, although 

 the flower-clusters are not large, it is a desirable plant. 

 Cornus florida, which in the latitude of Boston often loses 

 its flower-buds in severe winters, is uninjured this year; 

 and the severity of the winter has made no impression on 

 the flower-buds of the American Judas-tree, Cercis Cana- 

 densis. The bush Honeysuckles are all uninjured, and 

 native Viburnums, Roses and Cornels will bloom as usual. 



A winter like the last one emphasizes the fact, if it needs 

 emphasis, that our native shrubs are best suited for our 

 climate, and that foreign plants, however hardy they are 

 usually, are more liable to suffer than native species. 

 Many exotic shrubs, even those which are considered the 

 hardiest, are disfigured in spring by dead branches, and 

 when such shrubs are used in great numbers, as they have 

 been in the Boston parks, the labor of cutting out the dead 

 wood is so great that it is rarely attended to, and shrub- 

 beries present a shabby appearance all summer. Our native 

 shrubs, of course, die sometimes during severe winters or 

 lose part of their branches, but, as a rule, they are in better 

 condition after a hard winter than any of the exotic spe- 

 cies, and with each succeeding season we feel more and 

 more convinced that for planting on the large scale which 

 must be practiced in public parks, or on large private 

 estates, the most satisfactory material will be drawn from 

 the native flora. 



Product of White Pine per Acre. 



ONE of the elements that need to be known in order to 

 discuss the profitableness of forestry is the amount 

 of useful wood which can be produced per acre. On this 

 point the most erroneous and extravagant notions exist, 

 and many calculations are made on paper which can never 

 be realized. The rate of growth of a tree at a given age is 

 supposed to continue indefinitely, and this rate is applied 

 to an acre of trees, the number per acre being guessed high 

 enough to make a good showing, and then the total amount 

 of wood, or at least a large percentage of it, is supposed to 

 be usable, and thus we can compute astonishing yields 

 for the future. 



The latest contribution to these rosy prospects is con- 

 tained in an article by Mr. Edward Hersey, Superintendent 

 on the Bussey Farm, near Boston, on the value of the White 

 Pine as a timber-tree, which, besides several surprising 

 statements regarding the felling time for Pine, contains the 

 following : 



Careful measurements and estimates of the product of many 

 acres of Pine timber in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, have 

 led me to the conclusion that where there is no other timber 



