358 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 231. 



The park is not paid for. When I first began this small-park 

 campaign on our city my plan was to negotiate with the own- 

 ers of the ground so as to make the best bargain possible for 

 Philadelphia. For the first little square we took, that of Wec- 

 cacoe, the owners demanded $20,000. It was a small plot, but 

 I had it taken so as to make a precedent of getting possession 

 of abandoned grave-yards. I and my colleagues, five of us, 

 who were a Committee of Councils, considered $10,000 an 

 adequate payment, and we therefore had an appropriation of 

 this sum made, and offered it to them. The owners finally 

 took this amount, and yet it was freely stated that part of this 

 money was needed to defray the "cost of getting the matter 

 through Councils" ; and this accusation was spread by the at- 

 torney of the owners, who is said to have received $1,200 for 

 his services. It was very evident that, no matter how honestly 

 public business of this idnd is conducted, there will always be 

 a suspicion that there is a job in it. Since that time I have 

 changed the practice, and land is now taken by award of a jury 

 regularly appointed by the court, and the money to pay for 

 these lands is raised by the usual process of mandamus on the 

 city treasury. This is the only way to protect ourselves against 

 ungenerous accusations. Vernon Park will probably cost nearly 

 a quarter of a million of dollars, but pviblic-spirited citizens 

 have already subscribed one-tenth of the sum in view of its 

 advantages and size. 



I once looked upon these breathing-places for the poor in 

 large cities with the eye of an artist, valuing them primarily 

 as spots of beauty and ornament to the city. It was my desire 

 that they should all be educators in taste and landscape-art. I 

 still would have them beautiful, provided this did not interfere 

 with the real needs of the poor. I look upon them now as 

 playgrounds and places where all kinds of physical recreation 

 can be enjoyed, and I leave the details of garden beauty and 

 the ornamentation of the city to take a subordinate place. 



Fortunately for our Vernon Park, while lovers of the beauti- 

 ful in nature, as well as those who delight in historical associa- 

 tions, will have full satisfaction in it, about one-fourth of the 

 whole space is open lawn, which will be so arranged that the 

 children can romp and play on it and enjoy themselves as 

 they will. 



Oermantown, Pa. 



Thomas Meehan. 



Gardens in Northern Germany. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — As the Forest Department of the German cities is a 

 distinct branch of the municipal government (see Garden and 

 Forest for JVIay 4th, p. 314), so is the Field Department also 

 a separate organization, in which is included the official over- 

 sight of the suburban gardens, which are found in every di- 

 rection, either adjacent to the main promenades and shaded 

 walks, or further away, where they were established often 

 many years ago. No one ever hears it said in those cities, "I 

 am going to make a garden this year." A piece of land once 

 a garden is always a garden there, and by good management 

 it increases in value yearly, and is kept in the family for gen- 

 erations. The country abounds in numerous lakes and rivers, 

 great and small, and care is generally taken to place the gar- 

 dens close to the water's edge, so that steps may lead down to 

 it, or a platform extended over it, and provided with seats for 

 the members of the family. Here angling is also a favorite 

 pleasure. The waters abound with fish of all kinds, and a 

 floating fish-box is a certain and necessary article in the house- 

 hold, so that fish may be kept fresh in their natural element; 

 nobody eats fish which are purchased after they are dead. 

 Laws in relation to the taking of fish out of the waters are 

 strictly enforced, so that the future generations may also have 

 an abundant supply. The largest fish are not taken, but left in 

 the waters for propagation. 



The fertility of the garden-soil is kept up by carefully saving 

 all waste and every fertilizing product. The waters are not 

 polluted by sewage. The gardens are generally divided by 

 hedges, but of late wire fences are also much used because 

 they are cheaper and need less care. The wealthy and more 

 prominent people have houses built where garden-parties are 

 held ; others have only small, but quite ornamental, cabins or 

 rustic arbors for holding their tools in security when not in 

 use. The land is spaded, for the trees and different berry and 

 flower bushes will not permit the use of horse and plow. A 

 family garden contains little or no turf ; every bit of ground is 

 made to produce its utmost. All beds are laid out in straight 

 lines, and the various vegetables are set where each can se- 

 cure the amount of sunshine and shade it needs. Most people 

 have two gardens, one of them called the wet garden, where 

 they raise their cabbage and vegetables for winter's use. Often 



a part of those outlying gardens is sowed with Flax, also for 

 family use. 



The work is mostly done by women. In fact, their life and 

 that of the children, when they are not at school, is practically 

 spent in summer in the garden. Without any special efl'ort the 

 younger generation in this way becomes acquainted with all 

 kinds of practical garden-work and knowledge of natural his- 

 tory. The natural sciences, and especially botany, are taught in 

 the public schools, and when a plant or insect unknown to a 

 child or its parent is discovered it is preserved, and the next 

 day sent to school to be identified by the teacher. Woe to him 

 if he cannot give the needed information. His whole influence 

 and reputation are lost. This is a serious matter, for schools are 

 not free, and the parents, who have to pay for the tuition of 

 their children, are keenly interested and anxious to find out 

 whether they are getting their money's worth of instruction. 

 My observation in this country leads me to suspect that the 

 people most benefited by free schools appreciate them but 

 slightly, considering, perhaps, that anything which costs nothing 



must be worth litde. ,,, ,, , . r~ ,■ 



Haitfoid, Conn. Wilhehmtie Seltger. 



Wintering Half-hardy Plants. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — The possibility of growing out-of-doors many more 

 things than we do by protecting them in winter, as suggested 

 .by Professor Massey, is an interesting subject, and I have no 

 doubt that many plants could be added to those now cultivated 

 in almost all localities. There are here specimens of the Melia 

 Azederach and Bumelia tenax, which were coaxed along at 

 first by a little shelter in winter, and which are now taking care 

 of themselves. Last winter the following plants were left out 

 without any protection beyond that afforded by large shrub- 

 bery, and all are thriving to-day : Cleyera Japonica, Leycesteria 

 formosa, Choisia ternata, IlexCornuti.Fi£rs and Pomegranates. 

 The Cleyera and Ilex were entirely unhurt, Choisia and Pome- 

 granate partly killed back, and Figs killed to the ground. No 

 covering of any kind was given to any of these plants, and it is 

 probable that a little protection would have saved them all. 

 Mrs. Dandridge speaks of the Abelia rupestris doing well at 

 Washington. I may add that it thrives at Germantown. Where 

 shrubs are grouped as at Washington and sheltered by large 

 buildings many partly tender kinds can be easily carried 

 through the winter. I have there seen fine Aucubas, English 

 Hollies, English Laurel, Abelias, evergreen Magnolias, Acacia 

 Julibrissin, and similar plants massed together, one protecting 

 the other, and all thriving because of this protection. 



Germaniown, Pa. Joseph Meehan. 



Recent Publications. 



The Cultivated Native Plums and Cherries. Bulletin 38, 

 Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Horticul- 

 tural Division. L. H. Bailey. Pp. 1-73 ; 14 figures. 



In his introduction to this important paper, in which are 

 printed the results of six years of careful study. Professor 

 Bailey tells us that "since the introduction of the Wild Goose 

 Plum, some forty years ago, there has been a steadily growing 

 interest in the amelioration of our native Plums." Of these at 

 least one hundred and fifty named varieties are now recog- 

 nized by pomologists ; and it was the attempt to classify these 

 and refer them to wild types which led Professor Bailey to un- 

 dertake a critical study of all the Plums of probable American 

 origin found in our gardens and orchards. 



Eastern North America contains six species of true Plums 

 which are either native to the soil or have become entirely 

 naturalized. Of these nothing need be said now of Prunus Al- 

 leghaniensis, a local Pennsylvania species, or of the southern 

 P. umbellata, for, although the fruit is collected from the wild 

 trees of these species and is sold in the markets of the regions 

 which they inhabit, they are not known to have given rise to 

 any recognized garden varieties. Of P. maritima, the Beech 

 Plum of the Atlantic coast, little, too, need be said, for only a 

 single variety of this plant is cultivated for its fruit, and this, 

 apparently, is of no great value, and is hardly superior to the 

 fruit produced ordinarily by the wild plants of this species. 

 The other cultivated Plums derived from eastern American 

 species, or from naturalized species, Professor Bailey ar- 

 ranges as follows : 



a. The Americana group. 



b. The Wild Goose group. 



c. The Miner group. 



d. The Chickasaw group. 



e. The Marianna group. 



