May 26. 1S97.] 



Garden and Forest. 



201 



GARDEN AND FOREST. 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY " 



THE GARDEN AND FOREST PUBLISHING CO. 



Office: Tribune Building, New York. 



Conducted by Professor C. S. Sargent. 



ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE POST-OFFICE AT NEW YORK, N. V. 



NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1897. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Editorial Articles :— One Way to Make Parks Attractive 201 



Forestry in New Jersey 202 



The S mice of Abictene.. Professor Henry Trimble. 202 



Quercus lobata at Ukiah, California. (With figures.) Carl Pur dy. 22 



Foreign Correspondence :— London Letter W. Watson. 203 



Plant Notes : — Pyrusjaponica J. G. Jack. 204 



Ervthronium gtganteum and E. Hendersonii Carl Purely. 204 



Cultural Dei-artmen r :— TheVegetable Garden IV. IV. Craig: 206 



Notes on Gardfn Irises J. iV. Gerard. 206 



Flower N otes T. D. Hatfield 207 



Notes from the Rock Garden Robert Cameron. 207 



Summer Pruning the Raspberry John Craig 208 



Correspondence :— Lilac on Privet Stock John Craig. 20S 



The Massing ot Wild Flowers Lora S. La Ma nee. 20S 



Protecting Roses in Winter David h. Bradley. 209 



Sprouting Pines B. E. Fernow. 209 



Recent Publications 209 



Notes 210 



Illustrations : — Quercus Iobata in the Ukiah Valley, California, Fig. 25 202 



Quercus Iobata in the Ukiah Valley, California, Fig. 26 205 



One Way to Make Parks Attractive. 



AT a conspicuous point on a hillside in the Arnold Arbo- 

 retum there is planted a broad stretch of Forsythias, 

 and about three weeks ago, when these shrubs were all in 

 bloom, every visitor was struck by the great stretch of 

 bright yellow which shone like molten gold in the sunlight. 

 The Forsythia is a common shrub, and the only remarka- 

 ble feature in this spectacle was its unusual extent, and 

 the lesson it conveyed to every beholder was that 

 a thousand Forsythias massed together on an acre of 

 ground will make a much more striking display than the 

 same plants would if scattered along a walk or a driveway 

 for a mile or more. One would tire of such a blaze of yel- 

 low if it remained all summer long, but it burns out before 

 it grows wearisome, and when the flowers have fallen all 

 too soon, we think with pleasure of the remarkable pageant 

 until the year brings around the flowering season again. 

 If any one raises the objection that there is something 

 spectacular or theatrical in planting of this sort, we must 

 answer, as we have done before, that no one complains 

 of nature for spreading out hundreds of acres of Rho- 

 dodendrons on the summit of Roan Mountain, and, 

 indeed, when one looks over this foreground at the great 

 landscape beyond he sees nothing inharmonious in the 

 picture. We do not tire of Dogwood-blossoms extending, 

 like snowdrifts, for miles along a wood border in the 

 middle states, or of ten thousand Red-buds in bloom at 

 the same season, but we realize that these great combina- 

 tions can produce effects which are marvelous in their 

 impressiveness, and which ought to be repeated, if pos- 

 sible, in our great rural or semi-rural parks. 



Of course, it is easy enough to overdo the matter in pro- 

 viding what are known as special attractions for visitors to 

 the park. Playgrounds for games of various sorts, provision 

 for skating or music and for museums of animals or plants 

 have been introduced into parks, but they are to be com- 

 mended only so long as they are held in strict subordina- 

 tion to the design as an artistic whole. It must be 

 remembered, too, that the general landscape ought never 

 to be marred by anything which conflicts with its motive, 

 and great masses of flowers are not to be used without 

 caution and judgment. But the wild flowers of any region, 



for example, might be planted along the wood borders and 

 in the glades of any park in such a way that they would not 

 detract from its general beauty a7:\d, would increase the 

 attractiveness of its details. Besides this, . , sucn planting 

 would serve a distinct educational purpose to" a '' who are 

 inclined to study their local flora. 



It is in a line with this view of the case that we r\ ave ln 

 former numbers of this journal suggested that the be3J~ ers 

 of small park openings should be composed of sh ^~ s 

 which flower at the same time of year, one meadow ben, 

 belted with shrubs which flower in early .May, another one 

 with those which flower a week or two later, and so on, so 

 that there might be a series of gardens like a panorama 

 showing their flowers one after the other, according to their 

 season. In a large park system masses of a single shrub 

 or tree could be used in sufficient abundance to be impres- 

 sive when their flowers are open, and yet they might form 

 so small a portion of an extensive view as not to interfere 

 with the variety of the landscape when out of flower. 

 Along one of the driveways of the Arnold Arboretum a hun- 

 dred and twenty different varieties of the common Lilac 

 are now in flower, and while such a collection has an edu- 

 cational value for all who care to study these plants, it has 

 besides a beauty which can only be appreciated by those 

 who have been privileged to see them. The material for 

 such striking displays is almost endless, and it need not by 

 any means be confined to flowers ; trees conspicuous 

 for the beauty of their foliage in spring or autumn could 

 be grouped together, and every one who has seen a swamp 

 in winter lighted by the scarlet berries of the Black 

 Alder can readily understand how the bright-colored fruits 

 of many shrubs can be massed impressively. 



This general subject was suggested by the great number, 

 variety and marvelous beauty of the so-called " flowering 

 Apples," which were at their best a fortnight ago, and the 

 spectacle which they presented again proved that they 

 offer unequaled material for massing in large places. A 

 double-flowering Peach, especially the one with scarlet 

 flowers, is almost a startling object when in full bloom. 

 There is also a double pink form with flowers almost iden- 

 tical in color with those of our ordinary Peach, and a white- 

 flowered form which cannot be excelled for the purity of 

 its color and the profuseness of its bloom. These trees, 

 however, have no great beauty except during their brief 

 flowering season, and in our northern states, even when the 

 buds are not killed by earl}' frost, they are subject to many 

 diseases and the attacks of borers, and are short-lived trees 

 at the best. The Plums, too, of various species are delight- 

 ful small trees, but the Apples as a class are altogether 

 superior for general purposes. Most of them have no off- 

 years and are covered with flowers every May. They are 

 perfectly hardy and long-lived. The flowers on the various 

 trees differ much in color and in abundance, some of them 

 completely covering the branches, and others, although 

 borne in great quantities, are sufficiently scattered to show 

 the softening effect of the light green of the young leaves. 

 The plants vary greatly in size. Some of them are 

 low, spreading shrubs, others are small, bushy trees, 

 others have an upright habit, and many of them have 

 a way of throwing out long wand-like branches at 

 graceful angles, which gives them an exceedingly pic- 

 turesque outline. The fruit of some of them, especially the 

 varieties of the Asiatic Pyrus baccata, is beautiful and 

 fragrant. There are several species like 1'. spectabilis, P. 

 Toringo, and perhaps others which have been frequently 

 crossed, so that it is hard to distinguish some of the plants 

 botanically, but they are all beautiful objects at any 

 season, and especially so when in flower. The so-called 

 Japanese Crabs are particularly showy on account of the 

 color of their buds, which are crimson, and the white or 

 pink masses of their flowers are often beautifully varied by 

 a few unopened buds near the ends of the branches. ( )ur 

 own native Crab, P. coronaria, is also extremely useful for 

 its large fragrant flowers and its odorous fruit, and it has 

 the advantage of flowerinsr later than those of the other 



