334 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 229. 



No one can judge of the extent of the Rhododendron-fields 

 on this mountain, for the scale is so vast that the eye cannot 

 estimate areas; certainly there are spots on the summit from 

 which thousands of acres covered with Rhododendrons and 

 Alders can be seen at once. The thickets are impassable ex- 

 cept where bears and cattle have forced tortuous trails among- 

 the bushes which ten days ago were covered with flowers ; 

 these are nearly all of one color, deep rosy pink, very similar in 

 shade to that variety known in gardens as Roseuni elegans, 

 although an occasional plant with darker flowers can be found. 

 An examination of the conditions under which Rhododendron 

 Catawbiense thrives in its home on this mountain will show 

 the treatment its hybrid descendants require in gardens. The 

 soil where the plants are growing, and, indeed, over nearly 

 the entire summit, is rich black vegetable-mold, varying from 

 eighteen inches to two feet in depth ; although saturated with 

 moisture, as small springs are common, the surface-soil is per- 

 fectly drained, being underlain by coarse gravel filled with large 

 stones. Abundant atmospheric moisture, for rarely a day passes 

 without clouds settling over the summit of the Roan, increases 

 the vigor of the plants ; on the open slopes they rarely grow 

 more than four or five feet high, but when protected by the 

 Balsams (Abies Fraseri), specimens twelve to fifteen feet high 

 are not uncommon. These natural conditions seem to indi- 

 cate that Rhododendrons of the Catawbiense blood require 

 rich, moist, well-drained soil, constant atmospheric moisture 

 and protection from high winds, and that grovs'n under such 

 conditions they can support excessive winter cold as the tem- 

 perature on the summit of the Roan has been seen to fall, in 

 winter, to 30 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit, while ice 

 probably forms during every month of the year except in July 

 and August. 



But the Rhododendrons do not offer the only attraction of Roan 

 Mountain. The views from it are superb. A break in the moun- 

 tains immediate!}' to the west opens to the eye all the Cum- 

 berland system of middle Tennessee ; to the south lies in full 

 view the Black Mountain range culminating in Mt. Mitchell, 

 the highest land in North America east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains ; just to the right of the Black Mountains, Pisgah, a hun- 

 dred miles away and twenty miles beyond Ashville, stands 

 up boldly and alone, while beyond it, in shadowy outline, ap- 

 pear the high peaks of the Smokies. To the east of the 

 Roan the broken masses of the Blue Ridge are in full view ; 

 to the north-east Grandfather raises its massive dome, and to 

 the north the eye, looking out over a sea of smaller ranges, is 

 carried into Virginia and West Virginia. The panorama in- 

 cludes eight states, and, owing to the isolated position of the 

 Roan, is not equaled by that obtained from any other Appa- 

 lachian mountain. 



Many summer days may be pleasanfly passed in wandering 

 over the summit of the Roan, in admiring the ever-changing 

 views, in exploring the wild flowers which cover its slopes 

 and cliffs, -or stretched on the soft masses of the Sand Myrtle 

 (Leiophyllum buxifolium, var. prostratum), most delightful of 

 the high Appalachian under-shrubs and the softest of beds, in 

 studying the aspects of the forest, with its countless tones and 

 shades, or in watching the eagles soaring high over the cliff 

 ■ which bears their name. The atmosphere is cool and bracing, 

 the temperaturerarely rising to seventy degrees, Fahrenheit, in 

 the middle of the hottest days ; the nights are always cool, and 

 black flies and mosquitos are unknown. A residence on the 

 summit is said to be a certain cure for hay-fever, and last, 

 although not least, the accommodations in the Cloudland Hotel, 

 built in the depression of the saddle at an elevation of a little 

 more than 6,000 feet above the level of the sea, are excel- 

 lent. 



Leaving the summit of the Roan several roads are open to 

 the traveler. If he is in a hurry to return to the north his 

 quickest way is by Johnson City and the Shenandoah Valley. 

 If two or three days more can be devoted to mountain travel 

 he can descend to Roan Mountain station, continue up the 

 narrow-guage railway to Cranberry, and then ride through 

 the mountains by the new settlement at Linville to Hickory, 

 on the Western North Carolina Railroad. Another route is by 

 Bakersville, on the North Carolina side of the mountain, now 

 reached by a rough trail from the summit, and then by road 

 through a picturesque region to Marion, alongday'sride, or bya 

 road directly into Ashville, a longer and less picturesque journey 

 of seventy miles. It must be remembered that the roads in all 

 this mountain region are bad, and sometimes almost impass- 

 able for wheels, and that it is less fatiguing to ride than to at- 

 tempt to drive. Pack-animals are little used or understood, 

 and it is better not to attempt to carry any luggage that cannot 

 be packed behind the saddle. 



The mountaineers are uniformly kind and hospitable, and 



do all that they can to make the traveler comfortable, but 

 their manner of life is very primitive, and a " pone" of corn- 

 meal, a dish of honey and a pitcher of buttermilk often ex- 

 haust their supplies. If this seems too simple fare, or the 

 fatigues of a journey in the saddle are too great, one can see 

 what is most beautiful in the Appalachian country, and get an 

 excellent idea of the Appalachian silva from a visit to Roan 

 Mountain, a journey which is not more difficult or fatiguing 

 than a trip to the Catskills or the White Mountains. 



New York. 6*. 



Periodical Literature. 



The Forms of Trees. — II. 



LAST week we quoted part of a paper on this subject, 

 which was read before the California Academy of 

 Science by Mr. Giistav Eisen, in which the influence of 

 wind and snow was chiefly considered. The following is 

 a continuation of the same paper, in which the effects of 

 sunlight and heat upon the forms are discussed : 



"Another important agency in shaping the forms of trees 

 is the direct sunlight and heat. As the force of the direct rays 

 of the sun is different in different places, it follows that their 

 effect upon trees and shrubs must vary with the locality as 

 well as with the physiological structure and nature of the 

 plants. Various other agencies, such as the moisture in the air, 

 the force of the wind, the rainfall, dews and fogs, combine with 

 the sunlight and heat, either in decreasing or increasing the 

 effects. It is especially in warm and dry regions where the 

 heat and light are all-powerful in modifying and directing 

 the development of the form of a tree or shrub. An excess of 

 heat and light is nearly alwaj's hurtful, and may even be so 

 injurious as to kill the trees, or make them unfit for the region. 

 It is especially the horticulturist that notes these effects of heat 

 and light. In tender plants the effects are more pronounced 

 and principally of two kinds. The direct rays of the sun injure 

 the stem or trunk on the south-west side, or on the side on 

 which the greatest force of the sun-rays are concentrated dur- 

 ing or shortly after midday. The tender bark and cambium 

 are scorched, dry up and prevent the sap from circulating. In 

 course of time injurious insects, such as borers of various 

 kinds, find their way through crevices, and parasites gradu- 

 alljr destroy the trees. Trees which are thus especially tender 

 are, among cultivated trees. Apples and Pears, and among 

 wild trees, Weeping Willows, Poplars, young Oaks, Maples, 

 etc. A tree when once injured seldom recovers if left to itself, 

 but dies, or at least becomes sickly. In order to counteract 

 this fatal force of excessive light and heat combined, the horti- 

 culturist encourages lower limbs and foliage, prunes his trees 

 low, or otherwise shades the exposed parts. Nature works 

 very much in the same way. Young trees growing in heated 

 regions are covered with lower limbs thickly set with foliage, 

 or develop large weeping tops or crowns with drooping 

 branches, which shelter the tender stems as effectually as if 

 they were covered with an umbrella. That such a shade is 

 absolutely necessary can be clearly demonstrated. There is, 

 for instance, no more tender tree than our common Weeping 

 Willow, a native of the hot region of Asia Minor. This tree 

 flourishes even in our warmest regions under proper condi- 

 tions of moisture, as long as its natural form is not interfered 

 with. But let any one prune back its limbs and cause the 

 direct rays of the hot sun to strike its trunk, and the tree will 

 soon become diseased and die. The dying of Weeping Wil- 

 lows is common all over the warmer parts of this state, and is 

 everywhere to be principally ascribed to the cutting away of 

 limbs and to the entrance of heat and direct light. 



" The excessive heat and light have also a bad effect upon the 

 ground in places where rain or other moisture is scarce. The 

 sun dries out the soil and makes it too dry for the trees and 

 plants. To coimteract this heat, nature causes lower limbs to 

 spread out as close to the ground as possible, or furnishes the 

 tree with large, dense and rounded crowns, which cover the 

 soil with shade and prevent the moisture in the immediate 

 vicinity of the trunk and roots from drying out. 



" Nature furnishes also other remedies, such as peculiar po- 

 sition of the leaves, tough and hardy bark, gray and light 

 colors of leaves and stems, hairs or cells especially constructed 

 to withstand evaporation or heat. 



" While the snow especially affects evergreens, the heat and 

 light affect evergreens and deciduous trees almost alike. 



" In the tropics the intense heat develops another tree form, 

 the umbrella form. In this region the heat is always accom- 



