578 



Garden and Forest. 



[November 26, 1890. 



cultivation that it could be recommended as an effective under- 

 shrubin late autumn. It is valuable simply for its fruit, which is 

 the staple and earliest Blueberry of northern markets. The leaves 

 fall quite early, a habit which appears to be possessed by the 

 alpine and very dwarf V. caspitosum, and also by V. Cana- 

 dense, which in some respects is very similar to the Low Blue- 

 berry. The leaves of the northern Bog- Bilberry (V. uligino- 

 svm) are also quite early deciduous. The Deerberry or Squaw 

 Huckleberry (K stamineum) apparently loses its leaves with- 

 out taking anv bright colors. It is almost impossible here to 

 get perfect fruit or seed of this species because of some small 

 lepidopterous larva?, which live within the berries and destroy 

 them before they are fully ripe. The rare and edible-fruited 

 V. hirsutum, from the mountains of North Carolina, is as 

 beautiful in the richness of its autumn coloring as V. corym- 

 bosum, and it also has the merit of retaining its leaves until 

 those of nearly all other deciduous species have fallen. The 

 true Huckleberries {Gay hi s sacia resinosa and G.frondosa) hold 

 their leaves well and they also assume pleasing purplish and 

 orange colors. 



The Sorrel-tree or Sour-wood (Oxydendrum arboreum) is 

 hardly surpassed by the Flowering Dogwood in the depth and 

 richness of its autumn foliage, but the leaves drop easily, and 

 the plants here are leafless comparatively early in the season. 

 Many of the leaves of the Stagger-bush {Andromeda Mariana) 

 hold until quite late in November, and are often quite brightly 

 colored ; and perhaps no deciduous species in the whole 

 family is more showy than Leucothoe racemosa, with purple, 

 scarlet and orange foliage, which persists throughout the 

 month. Although the flowers of this plant are of no orna- 

 mental value it is nevertheless a desirable one for planting in 

 shrubberies and other situations where very late autumn color 

 is a desideratum. It is easily cultivated, and once established 

 it slowly increases and spreads by underground shoots. The 

 beautiful flowering Andromeda speciosa retains its leaves in a 

 fresh appearing condition quite as late as L. racemosa. Many 

 of them gradually become yellowish, but there is no display 

 of color. 



Among the hardy deciduous Rhododendrons or Azaleas 

 there appears as a rule to be little very attractive and constant 

 character in the late color of the foliage. Some of them be- 

 come purplish or reddish, others dull yellow or brown. The 

 beautiful flowered Rhododendron Vaseyi possesses handsomer 

 autumn foliage than any other, as it first turns purplish and 

 later to a deep crimson, and generally persists well into No- 

 vember. The leaves of its nearest American ally, the Rho- 

 dora, gradually dry without coloring, and leave the plants 

 leafless quite early in the season. 



Arnold Arboretum. J- "• J- 



Potentillas. — It may be a help to those who know this bright, 

 free-blooming family of summer-flowering perennials to have 

 a short list of some of the best and most distinct varieties. 

 There may be others quite as good, and I should be pleased 

 to know of them through other correspondents. All the va- 

 rieties enumerated are double, as the single ones, although 

 very bright, are not nearly so lasting. The foliage of all the 

 Potentillas have a close resemblance to that of the Straw- 

 berry, to which it is nearly allied. The flowering sea- 

 son is during the summer and early fall. Gloire de Nancy, 

 golden yellow, large, full flowered ; Jane Salter, orange 

 shaded with scarlet, medium size, free ; La Vesuve, bright red 

 fringed with yellow, very double ; Mars, dark velvety red, 

 very free flowering ; Perfecta, maroon shaded with lemon, 

 ve'ry distinct variety ; Wm. Rollinson, dark reddish crimson, 

 splashed with orange, the freest flowering variety of all. 



Norwood, Mass. 



C. H. Re a. 



Correspondence. 



The Lake Scenery of Central New York. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir.— The policy which you have often advocated of estab- 

 lishing a state board of trustees empowerd to acquire and 

 hold for public use and enjoyment tracts of interesting 

 scenery, suggests a means whereby a most valuable feature 

 of the lake scenery in central New York might be preserved. 

 The rocky gorges through which flow the tributaries from the 

 surrounding hills into these lakes still retain much of their 

 original beauty, although the regularity of the water-flow has 

 doubtless been materially changed by the clearing off of trees 

 about their sources, and the frequent inroads made upon those 

 which border these ravines upon either side. In spring the 

 water rushes down in full streams, so that strongly supported 

 bridges are needed to withstand their power; but as the season 



advances the channel becomes nearly or quite dry and in 

 places exposed to the sunlight, while the more shaded por- 

 tions are kept moist by springs along the hill-side, the waters 

 of which filter through the soil and drip from the rocks. The 

 timber in some instances has been removed entirely from the 

 less precipitous slopes, which, if available, are cultivated ; but 

 where they have proved too steep or rocky for cultivation a new 

 growth of trees is struggling to reoccupy the land. 



From the summits of the hills that slope toward the lakes a 

 very extensive view may be obtained, in which the trees that 

 follow these water-courses are a most conspicuous and beauti- 

 ful feature, comprising as they do a large variety of deciduous 

 trees, interspersed with Pine, Hemlock and Red Cedar in con- 

 siderable quantity, and the combination presents those inimi- 

 table shades of color which are only found in a wood of Nature's 

 planting. These evergreens, growing down as they frequently 

 do to the shore of the lake, are not less to be prized in the 

 winter landscape. 



Though holding, perhaps, a second place to the trees in im- 

 portance, the loveliness seen by those only who penetrate these 

 sequestered glens is surely worth preserving. The configura- 

 tion of rock, as well as the verdure with which it and the soil 

 are covered, vary so much in each one, that no matter how 

 many of these glens we visit, each one has a charm as fresh 

 as if no other one existed. Cascades are frequent, and the 

 sound of falling water, either near or distant, makes constant 

 music in almost all of these ravines. Ferns and Mosses follow 

 the shade and moisture over rocks and hill-sides, growing out 

 of crevices where no soil is visible. The little Asplenium 

 trichomanes forms with the finer Mosses pretty mosaics on 

 the rugged surfaces. The curious Walking Fern, Asplenium 

 rhizopliyllum, has a good footing in one locality, but is rare in 

 others. As these and many other tender plants are now found 

 only where shade and moisture are uninterrupted, it follows 

 that if the timber is destroyed they must go with it, leaving 

 bare rocks as a rule where now they are the exception. 



Any intervention on the part of the public to stay the 

 destruction of this beautiful as well as useful scenery would, of 

 course, be unnecessary if the possessors of this natural inherit- 

 ance realized its value ; but as many of them do not, it is only 

 by concerted effort on the part of those who do that any posi- 

 tive and hopeful step toward its preservation can be taken. 



Klinger Lake, Mich. Dorcas E. Collins. 



The Trees of the City of Washington. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — No city in the country is so well supplied with well- 

 planted and neatly kept public grounds as the national capital. 

 This is largely due to the fact that the planting of the streets 

 and most of the parks is under one managemeut, thus permit- 

 ting unity of design and effective treatment. Among the points 

 of interest to be noted in the management of these grounds 

 are the following : 



1. The removal within the past few years of most of the 

 fences surrounding the parks. 



2. The planting of entire streets with trees of one species. 

 For example, Eleventh Street, for its entire length of two 

 miles, is lined on both sides with Sycamores ; Fourteenth 

 Street with Soft Maples ; Sixteenth Street with Tulip-trees ; 

 Massachusetts Avenue with Lindens. 



3. Severe pruning of trees which have become overgrown. 

 For the best street effect full-sized trees are in most cases too 

 large. Heavy pruning may injure the vitality of a tree and 

 shorten its life, but the advantage often justifies the process. 

 The Sycamores on Eleventh Street, now six to twelve inches 

 in diameter, were three years ago cut back to bare poles and 

 mere stubs of branches. Now they are as perfectly formed 

 and thrifty trees as can be found in the city. This season the 

 Honey Locusts have been treated in the same manner, though 

 less severely. This tree is too spreading in habit for the best 

 effect as a street tree. 



4. Prompt removal of trees which have proved unsuitable, 

 or which have become unhealthy or hopelessly overgrown. 

 This is a point often neglected on grounds under private man- 

 agement. Sentiment frequently resists with the utmost per- 

 sistence changes which the best judgment requires. 



5. Surrounding the bodies of trees on the leading streets 

 with galvanized wire netting, a precaution rendered doubly 

 necessary by the fact that hitching rings and posts are almost 

 unknown, and that it is the custom here more than in ordi- 

 nary commercial cities to restrain horses by a weight or leave 

 them unhitched altogether. 



If I were to note any omissions they would be, the failure to 

 utilize to a sufficient extent the leading native trees of the 



