April 6, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



159 



winter the Barberries were parties to some enchanting effects 

 in the plienomenal ice-storm, and in tliat damp, soft clinging- 

 snow tliat clung tln-ougli the calm air of two or tlu-ee days. 



Along the foot of this ledge remained a bank of gravel, 

 which was covered with soil and planted with a carelessly dis- 

 posed growth of shrul)bery— Symphoricarpus vulgaris, the 

 Bayberry, Wild Rose, Staghorn and Glossy-leaved Sumach, 

 Elder, Japanese Barberry, Japanese Honeysuckle, and an ex- 

 ample or two of other species. Next the path is a border of 

 Periwinkle. One portion of the ledge is faced with a luxuriant 

 growth of the variegatetl-leafed variety of the Japanese Honey- 

 suckle, whose golden tone contrasts agreeably with the darker 

 foliage around. Over another portion a Japanese Ivy clings, 

 and an English Ivy, which is perfectly hardy on other ledges 

 in the neighborhood, has made a good start. Elsewhere the 

 clinging Eunoymns radicans is growing slowly. The whole 

 elTcct is that of a natural growth that adapts itself admirably to 

 the ruggedness of the ledge. Here and there some spring 

 bulbs — Scilla, Narcissus, Jonquil, etc.— give beauty to the 

 ground before the foliage appears, and, where room has per- 

 mitted, some hardy perennials, like Phlox and Loose Strife, 

 brighten the leafage with masses of color in the summer. 

 Sunflowers and Poppies, from seeds thrown carelessly, also 

 spring up in places where opportunity offers. 



The space of turf borders the drive-way with a grassy bank, 

 and here the first flowering bulbs of spring-time sprinkle the 

 tender green with their welcome bloom — Crocus and Snow- 

 drops, followed by Scilla. Here, also, a diminutive water-gar- 

 den has given such satisfaction as to cause a desire for an 

 expansion, as aforesaid. It consists of the two halves of a 

 linseed-oil barrel, burned out and set in the ground, side by 

 side. In one a Lotus has flourished superbly, with its great 

 velvety leaves and exquisite blossoms of blushing rose-tipped 

 creamy petals. In the other, for two years, a fragrant white 

 Water-lily, the common Nymphsa odorata, bloomed profusely 

 for two summers ; but, unfortunately, acting on the advice of 

 some one who said he had left a Water-lily out in a tub over 

 winter the year before and it had proved perfectly hardy, when 

 spring came it did not make its appearance. This season the 

 place of the Water-lily was occupied by the floating plant 

 known as the water Hyacinth, which, from a single example, 

 spread so rapidly as soon to crowd the tub. Out of this 

 growth there rose the graceful shape of a Calls. With the 

 pure, waxen-white flower of the latter surrounded by a mass 

 of the delicate lilac-colored spikes of the water Hj'acinth, and 

 the noble foliage and queenly flower of the Lotus adjacent, 

 the spectacle was enchanting. 



The house is dressed with Virginia Creeper, Japanese Ivy, 

 Clematis, Wistaria, Japanese Honeysuckle, and a Bittersweet 

 from the neighboring woods. With these mingle some climb- 

 ing annuals, like Morning Glory and Canary-flower. For a 

 flower-garden there is not, as yet, so much space as one might 

 think, for where there is the most room it would appear in- 

 congruous, and the Apple-trees shade an otherwise most 

 appropriate place. As these serve to screen prosaic features 

 of the neighborhood, it would hardly do to cut them away. 

 The flowers are therefore, for the most part, confined to the 

 immediate neighborhood of the house. In the shade of the 

 northerly side a bed of tuberous Begonias has given much de- 

 light with their wealth of large and richly colored flowers of 

 many shades and hues — crimson, scarlet, vermilion, lemon, 

 strawcolor, cream and white. A most exquisite variety is a deli- 

 cate yellow, with the tips of its petals flushing into rose. 



The steep and dry southerly slope of the premises has not 

 yet been touched. From the house the eye is carried at once 

 into the distance by the broad prospect Bostonwards, and the 

 ground falls away so abruptly that it is overlooked. Here a 

 few utterly neglected Pear-trees, pathetic in their awkward- 

 ness, persist in pleading for their lives with such abundant 

 annual offerings of their fruit — loyal to the reputation of the 

 surroundings of Boston as the finest Pear-country on the con- 

 tinent — that they have been spared. This slope would prob- 

 ably make an e.xcellent vineyard, or perhaps even a vegetable- 

 garden, if one could afford that luxury. One proposition that 

 commends itself is to establish a growth of trees on the lower 

 portion to shut out the main street and the backs of its bor- 

 dering houses — the sight of which might some day become 

 unpleasant, though not so now — and to carpet the remaining 

 space with flowering shrubs and hardy perennials, which 

 should bloom in succession through the season. 



The southerly slope of a neighboring unimproved tract to 

 the westward immediately adjoining is rapidly reverting to 

 wilderness, and if left untouched a few years more will see a 

 flourishing young forest there. May it long remain so. 

 Boston. Sylvester Baxter. 



Holiday Notes in Switzerland. — III, 



FROM Munster, which we had reached when this record was 

 interrupted, we went by diligence to Fiesch, and thence on 

 foot to Bricg, which is 2,224 feet in altitude. As might be ex- 

 pected from the decreasing elevation, few plants belonging 

 strictly to high altitudes were noticed. Selaginella Helvetica, 

 a pretty rock-plant in English gardens, was seen on the banks 

 skirting the road near the Bridge of Grengiols, and from the 

 bridge itself, on ledges in the ravine much too far below us to 

 allow of our recognizing the species, we saw huge masses of 

 Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum). On sunny exposed banks 

 Dianthus Carthusianorum, with clustered heads of red flow- 

 ers, and D. sylvestris, with solitary rose-colored flowers, were 

 not uncommon. Both are charming plants, which thrive un- 

 der cultivation, and are worthy of a place in every rockery. 

 Lactuca perennis, a beautiful composite with pale blue flower- 

 heads, grew in company with the two last-named plants. On 

 walls and rocky banks Sedum reflexum and S. album were 

 noted in great abundance, but neither species was in flower at 

 the time of our passing. On the banks of the Rhone 

 the long compact spikes of Veronica spicata, rising from 

 a carpet of gray-green leaves, and clumps of Prunella 

 grandiflora attracted attention by their showy blue flowers. The 

 two are excellent garden-plants and easily grown. Coronilla 

 varia formed masses of rich green, enlivened by numberless 

 heads of white and lilac pea-shaped blossoms. This is an ex- 

 cellent perennial for dry banks. Vicia sylvatica, with lax ra- 

 cemes of whitish flowers lined with violet, is another perennial 

 both pretty and graceful. The Bladder-senna (Colutea arbo- 

 rescens) was abundant. In Swiss rustic practice its leaves are 

 sometimes substituted for senna as a purgative. Hippophse 

 rhamnoides and Myricaria Germanica both grew along the 

 Rhone — in some spots out of chinks in huge masses of rock 

 in the bed of the river itself. 



From Brieg, a beautifully situated little town and a railway 

 terminus, we took train to Sierre, an inferesting town, one of 

 the most famous of the Swiss " grape-cure " stations. The cli- 

 mate here is favorable to convalescents and to sufferers from 

 bronchial affections. Good wines are made in the neighborhood. 

 At Sierre we left the Rhone Valley and its vineyards and 

 began at once to ascend the Val d'Anniviers above the narrow 

 inaccessible gorge of the Navigenze. Fine forests, principally 

 of Scotch Pine and of Norway Spruce, occur on the steep 

 slopes ; on the first-named, the Misfletoe (Viscum album) 

 grew in abundance at the mouth of the valley. The Virgin's 

 Bower (Clematis Vitalba) climbed high up the trees among 

 the rocks below the road, and the Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus 

 latifolius) was also not uncommon. In clearings, some not a 

 dozen yards square, on ground so steep that the manure nec- 

 essary for the rye and other crops has to be carried in baskets 

 on men's backs, the peasants were busy turning over the soil. 

 Before we had proceeded far up the Val d'Anniviers we came 

 upon some of the " bisses," or irrigation canals, which form 

 so striking a feature in many places in the eanton of Valais. 

 As Dr. Christ well says, in his Flore de la Sinsse et ses Origines, 

 these "bisses" excite the wonder of every one who for the 

 first Hme visits the Valais. They represent a sum of work and 

 perseverance which gives the highest idea of the energy of 

 the inhabitants. These works cede in nowise — as regards ex- 

 tent — to those of the dykes and innumerable canals of the 

 rice-plantations of Piedmont, and they surpass them much in 

 boldness of execution. The " bisses " often descend from the 

 very foot of the glaciers, for it is only from there that, in the 

 middle of summer, a constant supply of water can be de- 

 pended on ; even in the upper mountain regions the glacial 

 torrents hollow out a bed for themselves in gorges so deep 

 that it is often impossible to get at the water. The wooden 

 troughs are often carried along on wooden or iron supports 

 which the workmen have had to fix into the vertical or over- 

 hanging sides of precipices while suspended at the end of a long 

 rope. The commune of Mund, for example, had to procure a 

 rope 1,200 metres in length to enable it to carry out its own 

 irrigation system. Without these wonderful constructions 

 many districts in Valais would be completely burnt up in sum- 

 mer, and a good deal of high ground, now of great value for 

 grazing, would be absolutely useless. In the lower districts, 

 hill-sides, now of considerable value as vineyards, could not 

 be used for any purpose without this constant supply of water. 

 The excessive dryness of the climate of Valais will be under- 

 stood when it is stated that it is necessary to water the vine- 

 yards — in most parts of Europe the Vine suffers from too 

 much water rather than from too little. 



Among many handsome plants noticed between Sierre and 

 Vissoye were Teucrium montanum, a dwarf-growing spe- 



