590 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 251. 



that the meeting will be fully attended by representative 

 men who are interested in the establishment of a wise 

 national forest-policy. 



In no part of the world are so many Mushrooms raised 

 for the market as in the vicinit}' of Paris, where they 

 are cultivated in the long- subterranean quarries which pro- 

 duce the stone of which the better houses in Paris are 

 built, and probably nowhere else is so much skill and in- 

 telligence shown in the management of the Mushroom- 

 beds. Occasionally the plants are attacked with para- 

 sitic diseases, and the Mushroom-growers are quick in 

 recognizing the first appearance of several different mala- 

 dies. Professor Costantin, of the Ecole Normale Supe- 

 rieure, has recently made a scientific study of IMushroom- 

 diseases, and has been able to detect the causes of several 

 of them. 



The two principal diseases are popularly known as 

 the molle and the goutte. In the moUe, or mole as 

 the name is now more frequently spelled, the grow- 

 ing Mushrooms are much distorted, at times so much so 

 that the gills and top of the mushroom can no longer be 

 recognized, and it looks more like a small round puff-ball. 

 The molle is due to the growth of parasitic fungi known 

 to botanists as Mycogone and Verlicillium, forms which 

 are stages of development of species belonging to the 

 genus Hypomyces. The goutte, a disease which, ap- 

 parently, does less harm than the molle, is recognized by 

 the appearance of drops from the size of a pin-head to that 

 of a pea, followed by discolorations on the surface of the 

 mushroom. Professor Costantin believes that the goutte 

 is caused by the growth of bacteria. 



Professor Costantin has also studied the diseased condi- 

 tions of the spawn, what is called by the French le blanc, 

 used in starting the Mushroom-beds. What is called the 

 vert-de-gris, from its color, is due to the growth of a new 

 species of fungus, Myceliophthora lutea. The platre, which 

 makes the beds look as if they had been powdered with 

 plaster, is due also to a new species, Verticilliopsis infes- 

 tans. Besides the chanci, recognized by the rancid odor, 

 which causes trouble in winter, there is a small gnat which 

 is very destructive to the Mushroom-crop in some of the 

 quarries. 



New England Parks. 



THE PROJECTED PARK SYSTEM OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND. 



THE beautiful city of Providence has awakened to a sense of 

 the importance of preserving some of the picturesque 

 forest-land lying at her gates, before it is too late to acquire it 

 at reasonable rates. Certain public-spirited gentlemen, recog- 

 nizing the great advantages of tlie situation, have combined 

 to urge upon the city government the purchase of some fine 

 points along the Blackstone River and the bay, and have in 

 energetic publications set forth the wisdom of adding to tlie 

 land al ready acquired, other well-wooded and historical regions, 

 so that in time a connected system of parks and parkways may 

 wholly encircle the town, and render it a more attractive dwell- 

 ing-place than ever. 



For such a system the city is exceptionally endowed by its 

 surroundings of hills and water. At its southern end it 

 touches upon Narragansett Bay ; the broad Seekonk flows 

 along its eastern border ; on the north-west and north are 

 chains of lakes connected by streams ; on the south and south- 

 west large ponds lie close to Roger Williams Park. There are, 

 besides, numerous little rivers which flow from the neighbor- 

 ing hills in the upper part of the town, and the broad estuary, 

 known as the Providence River, which makes up into the 

 heart of the city, where it is crossed by bridges. The resi- 

 dences of the richer portion of the population are situated 

 upon the brow and slopes of a steep hill, from which an exten- 

 sive prospect is commanded, wliile the business portions lie 

 below, along and across the river, with a broad plain, in which 

 to expand, stretching away to the south and west. Here in the 

 business centre is a tidal basin, known as the Cove, which is 

 being filled up at great expense, some authorities think to the 

 detriment of the river, which needs just this basin to catch the 

 deposit of the tides, and prevent the shallowing of the channel. 

 A great and wise effort was made to turn this reclaimed land 



into a pleasure-ground by retaining a part of the tide-flow by 

 means of gates, and surrounding these lakes with trees and 

 greensward, in which case it would have afforded an attractive 

 breathing-place in the very heart of the city. But the property 

 has largely passed into the hands of the railroad company, 

 and will probably ultimately be devoted to screaming and 

 smoky engines and to rattling cars. Fortunately, the oppor- 

 tunities of the outskirts are sufficient to still afford spacious 

 grounds in all directions, to which communication by land 

 and water will be easy, if the projected park system is carried 

 out, as it bids fair to be. 



At present the only large cultivated park that Providence 

 possesses is the tract which will soon amount to about 400 

 acres, known as Roger Williams Park; 104 acres of this 

 land were bequeathed to the city in 1871 by the will of 

 Betsey Williams ; it is diversified with hills and dales, trees, 

 lawn and water. There are fine woods of Oak and" Pine, a 

 large artificial lake of thirteen acres, adapted for boating in 

 summer and thronged with skaters in winter, and near at hand 

 is a large sheet of water known as Cunliff Pond, which will 

 form a most beautiful addition to the grounds when the nec- 

 essary arrangements for incorporating it into the present area 

 are completed. The house, 123 years old, formerly inhabited 

 by the testator, is still preserved in the grounds — a quaint 

 old-time cottage furnished in antique fashion, and now used 

 as a retiring-room for mothers with children. 



Near the entrance is the statue of Roger Williams, by the 

 Rhode Island sculptor, Simmons, representing that worthv high 

 in air, with the muse of history writing his name upon a tab- 

 let at the base of the pedestal. Other sculptures ornament 

 the park, among them a bust of Iving Ferdinand of Naples, 

 the last Bourbon king, which was brought home from Naples, 

 after Bomba's flight, by an enterprising citizen, who purchased 

 it when it was rescued from the enraged populace, and buried 

 to prevent its destruction. After serving as a rather incon- 

 gruous ornament of the front yard of the proprietor for some 

 years, it was transferred to these leafy shades, where it must 

 afford much satisfaction to the Neapolitan organ-grinders 

 when they take their recreation in the park. There is near 

 the entrance a building where wild animals are accommodated, 

 and hard by the playful buffalo disports himself with deer in a 

 private yard of his own, his attentions having proved too 

 much for his former companion, a goat, whom he once lifted 

 over the fence in his high spirits, and put an end to him for- 

 ever. The deer, being more nimble, are able to elude him 

 when he attempts the same pleasantries with them, and the 

 noble antlers of one of the stags looked as if two might play 

 at the game of hooking, should the buffalo be again inclined 

 that way. 



A prettier sight than this park in the winter-time when snow 

 is on the ground it would be hard to find. A broad road, some 

 three miles in extent leads to it, which is thronged with the 

 fine equipages for which Providence is famous. The 

 sleighs jingling with bells drive with speed over the course, 

 and then circle about the pond, while their occupants amuse 

 themselves from amid their furs by a sight of the gay figures 

 of the skaters, who come and go among the trees which 

 branch over them, and follow in their flight the graceful wind- 

 ings of the icy course over which they skim. It is like a min- 

 iature Bois de Boulogne, with all this luxury and joyous sport, 

 this kaleidoscope of moving figures, the trees bordering the 

 drive-way, the foot-passengers gathering in groups to watch 

 the flying skaters, and here one best recognizes the wealth 

 for which this growing city is famous, and the general well-to- 

 do condition of its inhabitants. 



In addition to this park, which is greatly prized by the citi- 

 zens and which the proposed additions will render a really 

 important pleasure-ground, the city has recently acquired the 

 Thomas Davis estate, a tract of thirty-five acres, lying within 

 its limits, about a mile from the city hall. This charming 

 spot, happily diversified with woods, meadow, upland, hill- 

 side and ravine, and easily accessible by horse-cars, is a most 

 desirable possession for any town. A forest of a century's 

 growth ornaments the steep hill-side and ravine, through 

 which a running brook finds its way, and from the plateau, 

 which stretches away to the south, in front of the stone house 

 formerly occupied by Mr. Davis, there is a beautiful view of 

 the valley of the Woonasquatucket, the surrounding hills, and 

 the city itself, with its clustered houses and its manufactories. 

 The steep sides of the ravine, at the bottom of which the 

 brook flows, are heavily wooded, and the rounded knolls ap- 

 proaching the ravine add to its picturesque beauty. The 

 woods, which cover some acres of the grounds, abound in Oaks, 

 Hickories, Birches, Chestnuts, with a mingling of Ashes, Elms, . 

 iVIaples, Hornbeams and other variefies, while Pines and Hem- 



