382 



Garden and Forest. 



, [Number 290. 



some of his impressions of America, which were published 

 on Sunday last in the New York Tribune and in the papers 

 of several other cities. Mr. Nicholson's ample knowledge, 

 his catholic taste and sound judgment give a genuine value 

 to any of his deliberate utterances on horticultural matters, 

 and we are, therefore, glad that his views have been so 

 widely published. We desire especially now, however, to 

 call attention to a suggestion which he made about three 

 remarkable trees which stand near each other on what was 

 once part of the old Parsons' nursery-grounds in Flushing, 

 Long Island. One of these is a specimen of the Golden 

 Larch of China, Pseudolarix Kaempferi, which is, probably, 

 the first ever brought to this country, and is, without doubt, 

 the largest now standing in America. Another is the cele- 

 brated Weeping Beech, whose hanging branches touch the 

 ground in a circle nearly 200 feet in circumference. This 

 tree was described and figured in the first volume of Gar- 

 den AND Forest, and it has long been known as one of the 

 remarkable trees of the country. The third is a Purple 

 Beech, which is also of magnificent proportions. It is 

 doubtful whether three such noteworthy trees can be found 

 standing together anywhere else in America, and Mr. 

 Nicholson suggests that some provision ought to be made 

 to keep them from being swept away before " the march 

 of improvement," andthatin someway theyshould become 

 public property and be held forever for the enjoyment of 

 the people of Flushing and of tree-lovers everywhere. 



In many states there is no provision for transferring 

 property to trustees to be held for public use. Massa- 

 chusetts, however, has laws under which places which are 

 interesting for their beauty and history can be so preserved, 

 and, fortunately, a law was passed in this state in 1888 

 which enables any fifteen citizens, under certain restric- 

 tions, to secure land for public use independent of muni- 

 cipal authority. Such corporations can acquire property, 

 by gift or otherwise, to the amount of half a million dol- 

 lars, and they are clothed with the power of employing 

 officers to enforce order in compliance with the rules they 

 make. Any fifteen citizens of Flushing, therefore, under 

 this act can organize as a body corporate with the power 

 of succession to purchase or receive as a gift the land on 

 which these noble trees stand, and they can hold and pro- 

 tect them with their surroundings and preserve them for 

 the delight of present and future generations. We have 

 nothing to add to this suggestion, as the details can well 

 be left to the citizens of Flushing, a town whose excep- 

 tionally well-planted streets indicate a high degree of 

 public spirit and an intelligent love of trees in general. 



It is pleasant to see ourselves as others see us when they 

 see us with pleased eyes. Therefore, we offer a trans- 

 lation of some passages from a letter published in a recent 

 number of Gartenflora, and written on July 19th from 

 Chicago by Dr. Wittmack, the editor of that journal, and 

 an eminent horticulturist. The party to which he belonged 

 went first to Mr. Henry Villard's place at Dobb's Ferry, on 

 the Hudson. Of course, they were delighted with the Hud- 

 son, and declared that we do not overpraise it when we 

 call it our Rhine, and he adds ; 



For hours we passed by the most beautiful places, which 

 recalled somewhat those in the suburbs of Hamburg. Although 

 only here and there did they equal these as regards stretches 

 of turf and floral adornments, on the other hand they were 

 often much more extensive and park-like. Indeed, the whole 

 region resembles a park landscape. Mr. Villard's spacious 

 grounds, like all the others, lie open to the public, even though 

 it may come in carriages, a proof of liberality of spirit seldom 

 found with us at horae. The European plant-lover is much 

 impressed when, for the first time, he finds growing wild the 

 American trees and shrubs, and even many flowers, which he 

 has hitherto known only as garden-plants. Here we saw the 

 many kinds of Oaks, and there various species of Grape-vine 

 in luxuriant growth, while in the grass grew Coreopsis, 

 Phlox, etc. 



Next we visited Sunnyside, sacred ground ! Although the 

 other parks are open to all comers, one must leave his carriage 



at the gate, and enter on foot the place which was once Wash- 

 ington Irving's home. His house is a veritable idyll, idyllically 

 enveloped in ancient Ivy, grown from a sprout given to Irving 

 by Walter Scott at Abbotsford. The most beautiful views open 

 from this spot over the Hudson, which is much broader than 

 the Rhine. 



After a rhapsody on Niagara Falls, the writer refers again 

 to the pleasure of seeing American plants in their native 

 homes : 



Here were the beautiful red-flowered Rubus spectabilis, 

 Asclepias Cornuti, Grape-vines, Celastrus scandens, Phlox, 

 etc., luxuriantly growing on the chalk rocks which form the 

 upper verge of the river-bed. Especially interesting, however, 

 were the high-stemmed specimens of Thuja occidentalis on 

 Goat Island, partially torn, or even broken, by the wind, and 

 exciting the admiration even of those who are not specially 

 concerned with plants. 



Finally we reach the Fair itself. The grounds seem so enor- 

 mously large that all ordinary conceptions of distance must be 

 considerably stretched, as, indeed, is everywhere the case in 

 America. But the main thing is that the exhibition is great as 

 well as large, and that he makes a mistake who condemns it 

 as a whole. From the artistic and architectural points of view 

 it is unsurpassed; no previous exhibition has shown so many 

 bold and new forms in the buildings, the sculptures, etc. ; and 

 as regards size, the buildings leave all their predecessors far 

 behind. The "White City" is, in truth, a wonderful city, and 

 if one puts out of mind the hurly-burly of the Midway Plai- 

 sance, one must confess that it contains much that is great, 

 good and beautiful. The horticultural display no longer de- 

 serves, as a whole, the criticism which it has called forth. 

 The much-abused rockery, under the central dome of the 

 main building, has become completely overgrown, so that one 

 no longer perceives that it is made of canvas. I had expected 

 to see something very different, it is true. I thought it would 

 be a rockery like those we have at home, where only here and 

 there groups of plants sprout forth, a big rocky hill with paths 

 for the feet of the visitor. But it is not at all like this. It is 

 an immense truncated pyramid, entirely covered with creep- 

 ers and other plants, Musas, Pandanus, Palms, Aroids, etc. ; 

 and it is not accessible to the public, which may merely inspect 

 a "crystal grotto" under the rock. It is true that at the foot 

 of the mount the green boards, which form its support, still 

 peep forth, and on close inspection one perceives a few rough 

 boxes on which the Palms are placed ; but in general all that 

 is visible is green foliage. 



Our German display makes a good impression, although at 

 this particular time it is poor in flowers. It lacks Begonias, 

 Cannas, and, above all, tall Palms. But other European lands 

 are no better represented ; indeed, only Belgium is conspicu- 

 ous with the Azaleas of Monsieur Vuylsteke. The German 

 open-air plants on the island are usually well placed ; the Aza- 

 leas and Roses have bloomed well, the latter still bearing some 

 flowers ; the Cannas are coming on very irregularly and are 

 remarkably behindhand ; so, too, the tuberous Begonias, of 

 which, in general, one sees few at the exhibition. The Stocks 

 suffer from the heat, which, however, since we have been 

 here, has been quite bearable. It is to be hoped that more 

 effective displays will be here for the autumn weeks. It is mel- 

 ancholy that the proprietors of German nurseries should have 

 been so wanting in public spirit, especially with regard to co- 

 niferous trees. From this department, where they might have 

 made a fine display, they are entirely absent, and are put to 

 shame by Waterer, of England, and by Moser, of Versailles, the 

 consignment of the latter having been sold immediately to 

 Kelsey, of New York, and being exhibited under the latter's 

 name. 



The displays in the fruit sections are really grand, and ought 

 to improve as the weeks go by ; and fruit-growers of Germany 

 might learn from Americans how to exhibit fruit in an artistic 

 manner. 



Late Summer in the Pines. 



DESPITE the unusual dry summer in the Pines, I see little, 

 if any, appreciable difference in the abundance and beauty 

 of the flowers. While our cultivated plants droop and suffer, 

 the wild ones show no lack of life or lustre, and the varied 

 hues of leaf and blossom seem as clear and fresh as ever. 

 The Gentian family is now well represented among the plants 

 in flower. The lovely Fringed Gentian, the Closed Gentian, 

 Gentiana Andrewsii, and the Soapwort Gentian, G. Saponaria, 

 are flowering on every side, and here, too, is the more exclu- 

 sive G. angustifolia, with its narrow leaves thickly set along 



