350 



Garden and Forest. 



[September 19, i? 



shall 1)6 made ; the second man uses the saw, which must 

 be attached often to a long handle ; while the third holds 

 one end of a rope fastened to a belt on the man ni the 

 tree, and passed over a branch above his head as a pre- 

 caution against a fall. Nearly all our forest trees bear 

 severe pruning of this sort, and improve under it. De- 

 crepit Red, Black, White and Swamp Oaks, Black Birches, 

 Beeches, Hickories and Elms have been pruned in this 

 way in the Arnold Arboretum, where maiiy of the trees 

 in the natural woods were perishing from pasturage and 

 neglect. They were covered with dead branches, the foli- 

 age upon them was thin and poor, and their dying tops 

 showed that they had but a short time to live. It was 

 important to preserve man}^ of these old trees until a ncAV 

 growth of self-sown seedlings could be brought on to re- 

 place them and a covering to the 

 forest floor grown. A portion of 

 these old trees are pruned each 

 year, and those which were op- 

 erated upon first, or si.x or seven 

 years ago, show, in their dense, 

 dark-colored foliage, compact 

 habit and vigorous growth, how 

 pruning can, without fresh soil 

 and without the aid of manure, 

 put new life into feclile and dying 

 trees. 



It often happens that when 

 trees have grown together thick- 

 ly, as in a forest, they are destitute of lower branches. 

 When such trees are thinned, as often happens in the im- 

 provement of grounds, single specimens are left with 

 long, straight stems, and without foliage exxept at the 

 very top. Such trees, from the point of view of orna- 

 mental gardening, are ugly objects, and are, moreover, 

 liable to blow down in the first gale. 



But there is no deciduous tree, however tall and un- 

 sightly it may be, which cannot be gradually converted 

 into a handsome, branching specimen, by the aid of a saw 

 and a pot of coal-tar. 



Flowers in Japan. — II. 



THE nurseries of the gardeners who supply the Japa- 

 nese with the immense quantities of flowers, shrubs 

 and trees they demand are scattered about in the suburbs 

 of the cities. They are well kept and contain a great 

 variety of plants, the most valuable of which are usually 

 very old, dwarfed trees. Singular objects, which are 

 greatly prized, are very old trees, which, to all appear- 

 ances, are quite dead, but still retain sufficient vitality to 

 send forth a few fresh blooming shoots each spring. Good 

 specimens of such trees are not common, and, on several 

 occasions when I found an unusually fine one, I was told 

 by the gardener that it had been in the possession of his 

 family for two or three generations. Rarity, in Japan, as 

 elsewhere, constitutes a virtue, as I found with regard to 

 some of the most highly prized and expensive plants I 

 saw, the chief recommendation of which was by no means 

 their beauty. A small plant, consisting of half a dozen 

 coarse, Pampas-grass-like blades, was pointed out to me 

 by a gardener as one Of his most valuable possessions, 

 his price being 300 yen (about $250). Upon observing 

 my look of astonishment, he assured me that this was 

 not at all an unusual price, and that in former times he 

 might have sold it for double that amount. I was some- 

 what incredulous, but I learned later, on trustworthy 

 authority, that this was not a fictitious value. These 

 gardeners also arrange flower-shows in their gardens 

 from time to time. One of them, whose place I frequently 

 visited, held an annual Pseony exhibition, which enjoyed 

 more than a local reputation. The potted plants were 

 placed under a light bamboo awning which extended 

 around three sides of the garden. The flowers were 

 placed on step-like shelves, which showed off each plant 



distinctly. The exhibition was always announced by the 

 newspapers and was generally largely attended. Over 200 

 varieties, each represented by the most perfect specimens, 

 were shown. There are also numbers of private gentle- 

 men who devote themselves to horticulture and who give 

 annual exhibitions of their productions. 



But the most wonderful and elaborate displays of this 

 kind are given every spring and autumn by the Mikado 

 at his private gardens in Tokio, the former being devoted 

 to a view of the Cherry blossoms and the latter and most 

 attractive to a Chrysanthemum show. 



Of late these entertainments have assumed a semi- 

 European character. Four years ago, when I attended 

 one of them, the Empress and her ladies appeared in the 

 picturesque and unique old court dress, but now that has 

 been superseded by the Enropean style, which, as can 

 be imagined, deprives the occasion of much of its former 

 charm and interest. 



The entertainment is given in a large park-like garden, 

 vi-here a collection of the most varied and perfect speci- 

 mens of the Chrysanthemum are <in exhibition. A num- 

 ber of light, neatly constructed bamboo sheds are 

 erected, and underneath, on the tiers of shelves, specimen 

 after specimen of every possible variety of this favorite 

 flower is shown in the greatest perfection. These plants, 

 each in a separate pot, bear only two or three flowers 

 each, the others having been nipped in the bud in order to 

 bring the few remaining ones to the greatest develop- 

 ment. There are, however, a few exceptions, consisting 

 of plants each of which bears several hundreds of very 

 perfect, though smaller, flowers ; and, as the stem of 

 every individual flower is strengthened by means of a 

 fine stri|5 of bamboo and drawn by a thread in a position 

 to show it to the fullest advantage, they seem even more 

 numerous than they are. One of the causes that have 

 tended to make the Chrysanthemum such a favorite, may 

 be the fact that it is the last of the long series of Japanese 

 flowers, and continuing until covered by winter's snow. 

 The Chrysanthemum also forms the Mikado's official crest. 



Another exhibition of the Chr3'santhemum, consisting 

 of large figures, made up entirely of these flowers, of 

 different colors, is very popular with the masses. Several 

 months in advance of the Chr)fsanthemum season the 

 frame-work of great figures, ranging from life-size to thirty 

 feet in height, is constructed of wood and bamboo. Over 

 this frame-work is a covering of rough wicker-work which 

 outlines the forms of the figures. The head, hands and 

 feet are made of papier mache, colored like life. The 

 wicker-work interior is then filled in with great quantities 

 of Chrysanthemum plants m bud. If, for instance, one of 

 these figures is to be represented in a white garment, 

 then the whole surface of the figure is filled in with 

 white flowers. If embroidery is to figure thereupon, the 

 effect is produced by variously colored flowers — yellow 

 to represent gold, etc. — and as the embroidery generally 

 consists of floral designs, it is readily produced by flowers 

 of the shade required. The plants are placed inside of 

 the wicker-work covering, with the thickly massed buds 

 protruding, while the roots are inside. The interior space 

 is then filled with earth, and when the solid masses of 

 blossoms burst into bloom, they form a most harmonious 

 glow of color, and so skillfully are they arranged, that 

 the effect, at the proper distance, is quite deceptive, and 

 gives one a verj^ fair representation of richly embroidered 

 costumes. 



These figures arc arranged singly and in groups, and 

 represent, as a rule, mythological and historical charac- 

 ters. A favorite among these characters is the great hero. 

 General Benke, in the act of slaying an enormous dragon. 

 Another represents a fair courtesan in rich attire, accom- 

 panied by her little maid, who stops and gazes with con- 

 sternation at an old priest who slowly approaches, and 

 prophetically holds a grinning skull before her. A junk 

 of almost natural size, with life-size figures, generally 

 forms one of the most elaborate representations. Wrestlers 



