62 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 259. 



that still present themselves for creating- new open spaces 

 among the rock-hills along the ponds and streams, and by 

 the bay and the sea. By logical, natural steps he leads 

 the way from the hills down the river-valleys to the sea, 

 and along and near the courses thus traced he finds sites 

 ready at hand, and demanding for their utilization little 

 more than a restoration to their original conditions — some- 

 thing not of extreme difficulty in the accomplishment. The 

 courses of the three rivers, the Mystic, the Charles and the 

 Neponset, present the pleasantest ways to the sea from the 

 interior. This would, therefore, give three valley park- 

 ways with adjacent recreation-grounds as opportunity 

 might offer. These would lead to the bay down from the 

 rock-hill regions, where we would have the Lynn Woods, 

 already established, on the north ; then the Middlesex 

 Fells reservation of 2,500 to 3,000 acres, also on the north ; 

 Prospect Hill, in Waltham, already provided for by local 

 action in that city ; the Muddy Pond Woods in Hyde 

 Park, and the West Roxbury district of Boston on the 

 south, corresponding to the Middlesex Fells in relative 

 position, and then the noble range of the Blue Hills in the 

 same direction, also corresponding to the Lynn Woods. 

 Then with the northerly sea-shore reserved from Winthrop 

 Great Head and along Revere Beach to Lynn, and perhaps 

 Nantasket to the southward of the bay, together with two 

 or three islands in the bay, the future of Boston would be 

 well provided for, so far as open spaces are concerned. 



Mr. Baxter's report deals largely with the problem from 

 the point of view of political and social economy. The 

 careful investigation of the territory made by the com- 

 mission leads him to consider the need of an ample pro- 

 vision for open spaces, and the difficulties at present in the 

 way of obtaining them. The logical method of solving 

 the problem is pointed out, and the special advantages 

 that will follow the adoption of this plan are discussed. 

 He carefully examines the separate features under con- 

 sideration, and, in treating of the Charles River, special 

 stress is laid upon the necessity of securing public owner- 

 ship of the banks, as well as control of the stream, in order 

 to deal with the serious menace of malaria now threatened 

 in that neighborhood. The questions of special pleasure- 

 ways, or roads for light traffic, and of local pleasure- 

 grounds, playgrounds and breathing-spaces, are separately 

 dealt with. 



It is along the lines indicated in these studies that a 

 permanent commission would naturally work. While two 

 years ago it would have seemed almost chimerical to 

 expect favorable action upon such a far-seeing, enlightened 

 and truly conservative proposition, public sentiment has 

 now been so well developed by the educative forces at 

 work, that it would really be surprising if the commission's 

 recommendations were not agreed to. And, if the outcome 

 proves what it should be, Boston will be fortunate in the 

 most comprehensive dealing with the park problem that 

 any great city has yet been favored with. The work of 

 this metropolitan Board must be of great value to every 

 important American city ; it points out the way to deal 

 with a great question in a broad and comprehensive man- 

 ner ; and it should be studied by every one interested in 

 the growth and prosperity of urban populations. 



In the current number of The Atlantic Monthly Mr. Julius 

 H. Ward discusses, in a clear and forcible manner, the value 

 of the White Mountain forests and the dangers which 

 threaten them, and shows conclusively the disastrous re- 

 sults which will follow the destruction of these natural pro- 

 tectors of the water-supply of northern New England. 

 Unlike most writers on the forestry question in the United 

 States, Mr. Ward has a scheme to propose, which, if it can 

 be carried out, will go far to prevent the denudation of 

 northern New Hampshire. 



The great difficulty which reformers in the care and man- 

 agement of forest-property in the eastern states have to 

 encounter is found in the fact that it is exclusively in the 



hands of individuals, and that the state cannot interfere with 

 it without infringing on private rights. The forests which 

 cover the White Mountains, protecting the streams which 

 rise among them, and making them attractive places for 

 summer visitors, belong to individuals and lumber-corpo- 

 rations, who have bought them for the purpose of convert- 

 ing them as quickly and advantageously as possible 

 into money without reference to the future results of their 

 operations. In doing this they are exerting an undeniable 

 right, and any attempt to prevent a man from cutting down 

 his own trees would, at this time, be considered an unwar- 

 rantable piece of tyranny to be resisted to the utmost. 

 But, as Mr. Ward points out, if only trees of a size which 

 would represent the average development of the species at 

 its most valuable commercial period were cut, the forest, 

 instead of being destroyed, would be improved and perpet- 

 uated ; and he would purchase, by the state, through a 

 forest commission, from owners of woodland in certain 

 designated regions, the agreement that they would not cut 

 trees below a certain size. The state, by such an arrange- 

 ment, would acquire no title to the land and would have 

 no control over the forest beyond seeing that the contract was 

 fairly performed by the owners, who would have the right 

 to cut and dispose of all mature timber which it might pro- 

 duce. In this way the forest in such parts of the state, as 

 required, for various reasons, a forest-covering could be per- 

 manently preserved. Forest-land would produce a regular 

 and permanent crop, and those advantages which the peo- 

 ple of New Hampshire derive from their forests would be 

 saved to them. 



The compensation to land-owners might take in part the 

 form of a remittance of taxes, to be refunded to the dif- 

 ferent towns from the state treasury. Of the money ben- 

 efit which the people of New Hampshire derive from their 

 forests there can be no question ; they preserve their 

 streams and bring millions of dollars into the state every 

 year, spent by travelers who come into it to enjoy the 

 beauty of the White Mountains ; and they are capable, if 

 properly managed, of producing a large and constant sup- 

 ply of lumber. It is proper, then, that the cost of purchas- 

 ing their immunity from destruction be borne by the en- 

 tire population of the state, and for doing this economic- 

 ally and quickly no better plan than that proposed by Mr. 

 Ward has been suggested. 



Notes of a Summer Journey in Europe. — XXIII. 



TT was a great pleasure to me to visit the far-fame.d Knap 

 -^ Hill Nurseries and inspect their contents under the 

 guidance of Mr. Anthony Waterer, the proprietor and veteran 

 Rhododendron grower. The visitor in London desiring to see 

 this establishment will fincl it an easy journey of about forty 

 minutes by the South Western Railway from the Waterloo 

 Station to Woking in Surrey. At the Woking Station, car- 

 riages may be taken to the -nurseries, but if the traveler is a 

 good walker he will enjoy the tramp through a quiet, peaceful 

 country, and delight to linger by the roadsides, where many 

 pretty wild plants abound, especially two or three species of 

 Heaths. As one approaches the well-known nurseries, the 

 native vegetation, the situation and the deep dark rich soil sug- 

 gest a location unsurpassed for the successful cultivation of 

 Rhododendrons. These plants are the great specialty here, al- 

 though all other kinds of really hardy trees and shrubs and 

 some of the best herbaceous plants are also raised in quantity 

 and with care. There is no claim made that this place con- 

 tains an arboretum or collection for public display, but fine 

 specimens of many species of plants are frequently seen. 

 One of the finest of uncommon trees is a splendid example of 

 a Weeping Beech, whose branches spread over ninety feet. 

 Our Magnolia glauca is here with a trunk a foot in diameter, 

 and a nice specimen of the rather uncommon Kcelreuteria 

 paniculata has a stem twenty inches through, is over thirty 

 ieet high, and has something of the general aspect of a Wal- 

 nut-tree. Curiously enough, Magnolia macrophylla is here 

 considered almost as tender as our great evergreen species of 

 the south. 



It is a pleasure and delight to the true horticulturist to see 

 the healthy, honest way in which all the plants are grown in 

 this nursery of over two hundred acres. No shiftlessness is 



