July 29, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



309 



doubt, by careful selection with a view to securing large 

 and juicy fruits, better and more edible varieties than any 

 we now have could be produced. 



The Mahonia or Oregon Grape, Berberis Aquifolium, is 

 well known for its dark evergreen Holly-like leaves, large 

 clusters of bright yellow flowers, and large grape-like fruits 

 covered with a dense blue bloom. This fruit is said to be 

 much used and valued in some parts of the Pacific states. 

 B. buxifolia, sometimes called B. dulcis, is a narrow-leaved 

 evergreen species, a native of Chili and Patagonia. In 

 Sweet's Floiver Garden the fruit is said to be used in its 

 native country, " both green and ripe, as we use gooseberries 

 for making pies, tarts and preserves, for which it is most 

 excellent. The berries are round, black, about the size of 

 a Black Currant, and are produced in great abundance." 

 This species is not very hardy in northern gardens. 



Many of the other species of Berberis, of which there are 

 a great number, produce juicy fruit which can be util- 

 ized. Among the least valuable from a domestic point of 

 view is the fruit of the showy Japanese species, B. Thun- 

 bergii. This is not as juicy or pulpy as that of most other 

 species, although it is more ornamental in winter after the 

 fruits of others have dried and faded. — Ed.] 



Privacy in Suburban Life. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — In die June number of The Cosmopolitan Magazine, 

 Mr. R. C. Sturgis, a well-known Boston architect, published an 

 article pleading for more privacy in our homes and deploring 

 the bare and forlorn appearance of our average suburban 

 towns. This article has been noticed in Garden and Forest 

 by two editorials, but, to my disappointment, although agree- 

 ing with Mr. Sturgis in deploring the present state of affairs, 

 the remedy suggested by him of adopting the English methods 

 of treating smali places is declared to be unsuitable for our 

 country. 



If, however, we look in Europe for other examples, we seem 

 to find none that so well suit our climate and mode of life. 

 The chief difficulties that lie in the way of our adopting the 

 methods as described by Mr. Sturgis apparently consist in the 

 greater cost of labor with us and in the different character of 

 our climate. To the first objection it may be answered that, 

 although the price of labor is greater here, our suburban pro- 

 prietor is receiving a salary correspondingly larger than that 

 of his English cousin. As regards our climate, we hear a 

 great deal of our scorching sun in summer and intense cold in 

 winter, yet there is an abundant supply of trees, shrubs and 

 flowers that thrive admirably with us ; and, in fact, with the 

 exception of evergreen shrubs, we are fully as well supplied 

 with material for planting as they are in England ; neither is 

 the lack of moisture very severely felt in most small places, 

 where the abundance and cheapness of our water-supplies 

 allow a free use of the hose. The difficulty of growing flowers 

 in our climate has always been greatly exaggerated ; once the 

 soil has been properly prepared they require but little care. 



I cannot agree with the advice you give to place flowers in' 

 the front edges of the shrubberies ; with but few exceptions 

 they give poor results when robbed by the roots of shrubs. 

 Such places can be better filled with spring bulbs of Crocus, 

 Narcissus, etc., that will enliven the border in the early spring 

 and whose decaying leaves will be covered later by the 

 branches of the shrubs. A separate p'ace should be reserved 

 for flowers alone ; it was formerly the custom to reserve the 

 front yard for a flower garden, but a much belterarrangement 

 is to place it on one side, where it can be more easily screened 

 from the highway as suggested by Mr. Sturgis. It can be con- 

 nected with the house it desired, but in any case it should be 

 screened on at least two sides by shrubs. Such a garden filled 

 not with scarlet Geraniums and Coleus, but with our fine 

 perennial flowers that come up year after year and require hut 

 little care, would be a constant source of delight to its owner. 



The true reason for the bareness of our suburban towns is 

 the result of an unfortunate fashion which claims that by 

 removing all fences and boundaries a more park-like effect is 

 produced. Tin's fashion, although it has never received the 

 sanction of our leading landscape-architects, has met with 

 great success, and in this part of the country the fences have 

 almost entirely disappeared, and with them, unfortunately, the 

 gardens and shrubberies as well. The crusade which Mr. 

 Sturgis is leading against this fashion seems worthy of the 



assistance of Garden and Forest, and his suggestion for 

 improvement ought not to be condemned unless some scheme 

 that is definitely better is proposed. The vague allusion to a 

 future American suburban garden, which is not described in 

 detail, hardly meets the case. 



Some solution of this problem of suburban homes would be 

 of great interest to American architects, and if Garden and 

 Forest were to give us a series of articles on the treatment 

 of small suburban lots, they would, I think, be gladly copied 

 in our architectural papers. Unfortunately, the architect is too 

 often forced to do work that more properly belongs to the 

 landscape-gardener, for, although for estates of more impor- 

 tance, the client will usually consent to the employment of a 

 landscape-gardener, in the case of a lot of small size such a 

 request from the architect is rarely accepted. The architect 

 is then placed in a quandary and not unnaturally looks to a 

 paper like Garden and Fores i tor assistance. After all, the 

 main point in Mr. Sturgis's article is a plea for privacy ; the 

 question of more or less formality in the arrangement of our 

 grounds wili always be a matter of individual taste, depending 

 largely on the style of the house and the general lay of the 

 find, although our suburban lots being usually level, a formal 

 arrangement would seem to be the simplest. The high walls 

 of England covered with Moss and Ivy are undoubtedly out 

 of place in our dry climate, but the same result of privacy can 

 be attained during the summer months at least, when such 

 privacy is most needed, by either belts of shrubs and trees or 

 hedges. It is aigued against the use of hedges that gaps may 

 occur in them, but this will apply also to a row of trees or a 

 garden-edging, and when properly planted such gaps occur 

 but rarely. The labor of trimming a hedge is slight and 

 requires little skill, and we have a large number of deciduous 

 trees and shrubs admirably suited for such purposes. In spite 

 of our much-abused climate we are unusually fortunate in a 

 large choice of the so-called garden trees that are especially 

 weil adapted for small places, and a border of Crabs, Thorns 

 and Magnolias, with smaller shrubs in the foreground, can 

 give us as good effects as any produced in England, while 

 serving as a screen from the highway as well. 



Our houses, too, often stand bare when they should be cov- 

 ered with vines, and the foundation walls are unscreened 

 when low shrubs should be planted against them to join the 

 house to the ground. Few people realize how greatly a house 

 is influenced by its surroundings ; the old Colonial Homestead, 

 stripped of its twin Elms and its enclosed garden gay with 

 flowers, would lose thegreater part of its charm. 



In conclusion, allow me to ask the readers of Garden and 

 Forest to study the interesting plans which Mr. Sturgis has 

 published, and I believe they will find that their leading fea- 

 tures can be profitably adopted in American gardens as well 

 suited to our climate and our mode of life. 



Boston. Architect. 



Recent Publications. 



First Principles of Agriculture. By Edward B. Voorhees, 

 A. M. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 



This little book of two hundred pages does not consist of 

 elementary treatises upon the various sciences which are 

 the foundation of agricultural practice. It is simply meant 

 to be an orderly presentation of such principles as are 

 needed for the instruction of pupils in country district 

 schools where the study of primary agriculture forms a 

 part of the curriculum. Mr. Voorhees is the Professor of 

 Agriculture in Rutgers College, and his experience has led 

 him to believe that scientific agriculture can be taught in 

 these schools in a sufficiently clear and simple way and to 

 a sufficient extent to make what is learned there a sate 

 guide in the ordinary operations of the farm and to consti- 

 tute a proper foundation for future study. The scientific 

 facts here stated seem to have been well selected for 

 purpose — that is, for example, what is said of the origin 

 and formation of soils, of their composition and the means 

 of improving them, are all up to a certain point subjects 

 which can be treated within the comprehension of any 

 bright boy or girl, and made most interesting. Whether 

 this book will fulfill its purpose, however, depends to 

 a large extent upon the teacher, who ought to have a 

 much wider and profounder knowli hemistry, bot- 



any and biology than the elementary principles which are 

 here enunciated. The facts are clearly stated, and in accord- 



