248 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 276. 



trees have overflowed to a few hundred outside frames, 

 which seem to be perfect and cheap summer-plant factories. 

 Besides Palms, there were in the hill-rang-es many hundred 

 Azaleas still in perfect flower, fine specimen Achanias, Calceo- 

 larias, Tuberous Begonias, Cannas— among these very prom- 

 ising seedlings — and even a few Chrysanthemums, very much 

 out'of season. In the upper ranges a frequent visitor fails to 

 feel surprised by the constantly increasing wealth of plants. 

 While one notices the disappearance of special lots there is an 

 ever-increasing abundance of plants in all stages. 



Like all other flowers, those of Orchids vary very much in 

 beauty, and differing tastes may differ as to their beauty, but 

 no plantsman could look over the veritable mine of collected 

 plants, lying in heaps in the side houses, without being bitten 

 with a desire to grow all he could acquire. One lingers over 

 the often shriveled plants, handling the unkempt masses, 

 imagining ever a rarity and longing with impatience to start 

 the pieces into active life. Speculation this, of course, but are 

 we not all tinged with the speculative instinct, even in our pleas- 

 ures ? The flower-grower even must have his excitements. It 

 seems unnecessary to say that the Cypripedium house is al- 

 ways bright with flowers ; to name them is to give a leaf from 

 a catalogue. After these, Cattleya Mossias was represented in 

 greatest numbers, these being now in season. Especially no- 

 ticeable were the white variety, and Hardyananum which has 

 curiously shaded petals. Numerous forms of Odontoglossum, 

 Chysis, Saccolabium, Vandas, etc., also added to the present 

 brightness of the houses. 



New York. ^• 



The Small Parks of Philadelphia. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — In 1845 a number of suburban boroughs were all con- 

 solidated under the title of the "City of Philadelphia," the 

 whole then comprising about 180 square miles. That act of 

 consolidation made it incumbent on the city to provide small 

 parks or open spaces for the people similar to those laid out 

 by William Penn in the city proper. At the time of consolida- 

 tion there were but Independence, Franklin, Logan, Washing- 

 ton, Rittenhouse and Centre Squares, the last-named being 

 the open space now occupied by the new City Hall, and which 

 was in the middle of the plot set aside for the city by its 

 founder. This obligation remained a dead letter for some 

 years until there arose a general demand from intelligent 

 people that Bartram Garden be preserved to posterity. While 

 on a visit to Philadelphia in 1880, Professor Sargent found a 

 liberal-spirited friend wiUing to expend $15,000 on its purchase, 

 the garden to be presented to the city and to be retained for- 

 ever as public property. Mr. Thomas Meehan undertook to 

 negotiate in the matter, but every effort failed, the executors 

 of the estate being naturally desirous to get as much money 

 out of the property as possible. This they thought could be 

 best done by putting the garden upon the market as a desira- 

 ble piece of real estate. Mr. Meehan felt that such a course 

 would be no financial advantage to the estate, and as Mr. East- 

 wick, who owned it, a descendant of John Bartram, had in his 

 life-time expressed a strong wish to have the garden saved, 

 Mr. Meehan felt that he would be doing no ill turn to the family 

 if he forced the executors to sell it to the city for park pur- 

 poses. About this time Mr. Meehan was strongly urged to 

 represent his ward in City Councils, a position which he ac- 

 cepted for the opportunity it gave him to move for the saving 

 of this historic botanic collection and also to inaugurate a 

 movement in favor of small parks. One of his first move- 

 ments as a councilman was to introduce an ordinance to select 

 unimproved plots over the whole city, a few mfles apart, leav- 

 ing them to grow in value, and then sell outlying portions in 

 order to pay for the parks. This plan was pronounced illegal 

 by the city solicitor, the charter of Philadelphia forbidding it 

 to sell real estate. A plan to raise a loan for purchasing the 

 plots was also found to be impracticable, the debt of the city 

 having already reached the limit allowed by law. The only 

 method left was to put such plots on the plan as were not 

 likely to be pushed to purchase for a number of years, so that 

 they could be taken gradually as the annual income of the city 

 permitted, just as street lines are placed on the public plan. 

 This prevents subsequent use by the owner for real estate im- 

 provement, the city paying the value under asubsequent ordi- 

 nance " to open for public use." 



In 1884 the first ordinance under this plan was passed. At 

 this time a number of progressive men and women, under the 

 leadership of Mrs. Brinton Coxe and Mrs. Dr. Lundy, formed 

 the Small Parks Association, and succeeded in enlisting the 

 leading Philadelphia newspapers to aid the cause. Especial 



credit is due to Colonel McClure, of the Times, Mr. Emery 

 Smith, of the Press, and to ex-Mayor Fitler. The movement 

 rapidly became popular, and plots of ground were placed on 

 the plan by councils. Indeed, the very popularity of the 

 movement has made it advisable to hold it in check rather 

 than to urge it forward, since there is an increasing demand to 

 take these spaces at once and more rapidly than the financial 

 condition of the city will allow. 



Bartram Garden, the first inspiring thought in the move- 

 ment, was naturally the first park taken. Stenton Park, the 

 estate of Logan, the secretary of the commonwealth under 

 Penn, himself a great botanist, as the Order of Loganacese so 

 well commemorates, was next placed on the plan, with the 

 understanding, however, that if not pressed to occupadon by 

 the city it shall be deeded ultimately by the present occupant, a 

 descendant of Logan. Stouton Park, the estate of the. Mac- 

 Phersons, was next placed on the plan. Then followed Juni- 

 ata, Frankford, Waterview, Treaty Elm — the spot on which 

 William Penn made his celebrated treaty with the Indians — ■ 

 John Dickinson, Wharton, Mifflin, Harrowgate— the site of the 

 famous Harrowgate Springs — Vernon, Womrath, Ontario, 

 Pleasant Hill and Stephen E. Fotterall, the last being named 

 after a captain in the war of 1812 by request of the descendant 

 from whom the square was purchased, and who threw off 

 $20,000 on condition that the memory of his grandfather should 

 thus be preserved ; Weccacoe, a small square in the slums, 

 and then the Starr Garden, which was presented to the city by 

 an association in the hope that it would be enlarged. This has 

 been accomplished through the condemnafion of the half of 

 the square surrounding this small garden. 



Most of these are now not only placed on the plan for small 

 squares, but several have been taken and paid for and others 

 are now under condemnation by jury proceedings. Three 

 placed on the plan two years ago have just been ordered taken 

 by councils. Two or three of the parks are comparatively 

 small, notably Weccacoe and the Starr Garden, but being in 

 the midst of improved property they are intended as entering 

 wedges and to be enlarged from time to time by tearing down 

 buildings known as " rookeries." Womrath is the smaller 

 of the larger blocks, being less than three acres; a few are 

 from twelve to fifteen. It will be seen that, although all this 

 work has to be paid for out of annual taxation, not one dollar 

 being borrowed, the acquirement of parks has been remark- 

 ably successful. At this time two projects are before the com- 

 mittee on municipal government, of which Mr. Meehan is a 

 member, for plotting a park of 300 acres in the south-western 

 part of the city, the bare thought of which would have been 

 thoughtquixotic ten years ago. Another project now being con- 

 sidered by the committee is to appropriate thirty acres adjoin- 

 ing the University of Pennsylvania in trust to that institution 

 for the purposes of a botanic garden and park. 



Next to Bartram Garden, the crowning success of the whole 

 movement is Vernon Park, a tract of twelve acres in German- 

 town, the home of Mr. Meehan. Although recently in the 

 family of the Wisters, it was originally laid outand planned by 

 Meng, one of the early settlers in Germantown, a wealthy 

 banker and a lover of rare plants. Under his patronage, 

 Kin, an early botanical explorer of this country, traveled. 

 Among other rare trees introduced by him and still standing, 

 there is a large Magnolia macrophylla, probably the first ever 

 planted by man. 



Philadelphia, Pa. C. B. M. 



Conifers at Dosoris, Long Island. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — We have had no hard luck with our conifers in West 

 Island by reason of the past winter. The Retinosporas have 

 come through better than usual. Indeed, only the R. squar- 

 rosa has suffered any injury at afl. Tsuga Sieboldii has 

 maintained its reputation for perfect hardiness. The same can 

 be said of Pinus excelsa, Picea Morinda and Sciadopitys verti- 

 cillata. This last is especially useful with us, because it not 

 only stands the cold, but the north-west wind as well. Our 

 Cedars are also in good order, only the C. deodara showingany 

 trace of an unfriendly climate. The Yews, too, andPodocarpus 

 Japonica are in good condition. In fact, the only coniferous 

 plant that has suffered any real injury is an Abies Numidica, 

 though another plant of the same species has gone through 

 unharmed. Even A. grandis has experienced much less 

 unfriendHness than its usual spring appearance evinces. 

 Everything in our part of Long Island is fresh and vigorous 

 with the opening summer and the abundant rains, and nature 

 was never more beautiful in her verdurous display. 



Dosoris, L. I. C. A. Dana. 



