December 2, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



567 



grow numberless varieties of Nymphaea and Lotus, and even 

 the great salver-like leaves of the Victoria Regia. 



The Lotus-roots live all winter under seventeen inches of 

 ice, and send up their tall stems and great white and rose- 

 colored and blue blossoms in wild profusion. Here the Water- 

 lilies show all the varieties of color of which this charming 

 flower is capable, even yellow blossoms mixing with the white 

 and pink and blue ones. 



Mr. Barney has interested himself largely in trees and shrubs, 

 and the many varieties of valuable specimens that he has col- 

 lected will in years to come help the landscape-gardeners of 

 the park to new and interesting effects. He has planted 

 numerous rare evergreens, and has large nurseries for the 

 propagation of different arborescent and herbaceous plants, 

 which, as time passes, will multiply so as to be of service in 

 future decoration of other parts of the grounds, when formal 

 gardening shall have entered into the scheme, thus making 

 generous provision for generations to come as well as gratify- 

 ing his own taste. 



The land all about and in the town of Springfield lies with 

 the same peculiar picturesqueness in these curious hills and 

 vales caused by some long-spent tide, hinting of other ages, 

 and a still more magnificent river, the ice of which may have 

 ground out these lovely curves and modeled these varying 

 surfaces through untold bygone years. 



Long ago the green valley of Forest Park must have been 

 a water-course, flowing between those high wooded banks to 

 swell the mighty flood of that primeval river. What changes 

 it has known, from the time when the receding tide left it to 

 swampy solitude till the care of man reclaimed it from pictur- 

 esque desolation to its present cultivated beauty ! 



One fault I must find with the management of the little 

 stream that drains the former marsh, and that is, that in por- 

 tions of its career it is so straight as to resemble a canal rather 

 than a natural stream. This is a fault most easily remedied 

 by widening and curving the channel at intervals, and intro- 

 ducing some large rocks, over and around which the water 

 might tumble and meander with more seeming naturalness. 

 It is ungracious to criticise where there is so much already to 

 delight the eye, but Forest Park is not a completed work of 

 art, and is still open to suggestions as the labor progresses. 



With its unrivaled natural advantages, the luxuriance of its 

 vegetation, its diversified surface and its glorious points of 

 view, there is no reason that the artistic sense of many land- 

 scape-architects should not contribute to the entire develop- 

 ment of its extraordinary natural beauties to their best advan- 

 tage. Its miles of as yet untouched surface can be treated in 

 new and charming ways, for there is scarcely any limit to the 

 surprises which it possesses and the artistic use that can be 

 made of them. 



Year by year new acres will be added to its already magnifi- 

 cent extent, affording fresh outlooks on the noble river and 

 its attendant mountains. The little streams that now drip 

 from its rocks into natural basins, to satisfy the thirst of the 

 pedestrian, can be utilized in many a graceful fashion. The 

 rustic pavilions that already afford agreeable shelter to its vis- 

 itors will be multiplied in yet more charming forms, without 

 detracting from the general effect. There is room enough for 

 wild and undisturbed forest, and for pleasure-grounds to 

 satisfy the requirements of an urban population constantly in- 

 creasing. 



The admirable generosity of the citizens is not to end here, 

 and as time goes on the men of Springfield will rejoice in 

 adding to their beautiful pleasure-ground such architectural 

 and sculpturesque decorations as seem appropriate to its de- 

 velopment. The haphazard arrangement which has proved 

 so popular in Mr. Sackett's hands will probably, as the park's 

 resources increase, be supplemented by careful planning of 

 the yet untouched portions of the grounds, and new combina- 

 tions will be formed to give added interest and variety to the 

 endless drives and walks, and less abruptness to their slopes. 



Not more than one-fifth of its surface has as yet been de- 

 veloped, so that it still has enormous possibilities. The trees 

 are very vigorous and healthy, and many of them are of great 

 size. Some of the huge Chestnuts are a hundred feet high, 

 and the groves of tall Hemlocks and Pines are of exceeding 

 beauty. Among them the birds sing and squirrels chatter, 

 and the rabbits sit by the edges of the paths, so tame that they 

 have been known to bite the children who sought to play with 

 them. 



The whole aspect of this charming retreat is joyous and 

 attractive. Everything about it suggests recreation and delight, 

 the admixture of wildness and cultivation, the lack of formal 

 gardening, and the sweet rural aspect even of its most care- 

 fully tended portions, are gratifying and enjoyable. 



The Springfield people may well take pride in the posses- 

 sion of a resort of such unusual and varied beauty, and it is 

 to be hoped that in time they will honor the men to whom they 

 are so largely indebted, by some memorial tribute to their mu- 

 nificence here on the spot which they owe to their wise fore- 

 thought and admirable beneficence. 



It seems, too, as if some name more distinctive and of less 

 common usage might surely be found for so unique a spot as 

 this, a name that would characterize its peculiar features, and 

 separate it in the memory from other pleasure-grounds in 

 other cities where forest-parks abound ; and to a spot which, 

 from the numerous aboriginal relics found here, must have 

 been a happy hunting-ground of the red men, some Indian 

 name, significant and melodious, might well be applied, in 

 the syllables of which might be embodied the slopes and 

 streams, the trees and river, which in this lovely park are so 

 rarely and beautifully combined. 



Hingham, Mass. M. C. RobbtHS. 



Late Persisting Leaves on Trees. 



AS the autumn advances and the leaves fall more or less 

 gradually from the different kinds of deciduous trees, it 

 is of interest at the north to note those which have a tendency 

 to hold them the longest. A study of this point might be par- 

 ticularly interesting to people planting trees about residences 

 which are only intended to be occupied until the late autumn, 

 perhaps until the latter part of November. 



It is well known that different species of deciduous trees 

 vary very widely in regard to their character for shedding or 

 holding leaves, but no hard-and-fast rule can be applied to 

 any of them, because even different individuals of the same 

 species show a marked variation in this respect. 



Such a frequent question as : What species of New England 

 Oak is it which holds its dry leaves until well into the winter, or 

 until the buds start in the spring ? may be answered by the 

 statement that it is a habit common to no particular kind, but 

 may occur on individuals of several species and also on other 

 trees besides Oaks. Very often it is an indication of disease, 

 and sometimes we may infer from the circumstance that the 

 wood has not thoroughly matured and the leaves ripened be- 

 fore being unnaturally checked. Almost every practical man 

 must have noticed that the dry leaves cling long to a limb 

 which has been cut off before the end of the growing season. 



Of course, in some cases, the late holding of leaves indicates 

 that the plant is likely to prove evergreen in more southern 

 regions. Magnolia glauca is a fair example of such a case. 

 In our northern gardens the leaves keep comparatively green 

 and fresh-looking, and persist until very late ; but, unless the 

 trees are in exceptionally moist and sheltered situations, the 

 foliage usually disappears before the winter is over. 



Other truly deciduous trees at their northern limits appear 

 to have a tendency to hold their leaves late, and it is also no- 

 ticeable in many trees of a naturally more southern range 

 which have been introduced and found hardy further north. 



It is often a peculiarity of our White Oaks (Quercus alba), 

 and occasionally of other trees, that the leaves on the shorter, 

 lower branches remain on them in a dry and withered state 

 long after the upper leaves have fallen. The reason for this is 

 not very clear, but it may be that the lower branches, being 

 much shaded, do not mature so well as those above. Young 

 trees, more than old ones, often show a tendency to hold 

 their leaves ; and situation sometimes has an influence. 



Fruit-trees, as well as shade-trees, share similar peculiari- 

 ties, although here there is a greater uniformity among 

 the individuals of each variety, brought about by cultivation. 

 The early Astrachan, for example, ripens and loses its leaves 

 many weeks before the American Baldwin, the fruit of which 

 matures late, and which retains a large proportion of its leaves 

 in a comparatively fresh condition through the month of No- 

 vember. 



Of the foreign trees which have been introduced, a few are 

 noted for the persistence of their foliage, as compared with 

 allied native species. The English Elms (Ulmus campestris) 

 are almost invariably covered with leaves when the American 

 Elms beside them are leafless. The English Oaks grown in 

 this country are also often remarkable for the abundance of 

 fresh-looking foliage which they occasionally retain to the end 

 of November ; and the English Hawthorn sometimes retains 

 its verdure better than almost any other of the smaller trees. 



Among our native trees the Scarlet and Black Oaks (Quercus 

 coccinea and Q. tinctoria), the Red Oak (Q. rubra) and one or 

 two others hold their leaves quite late, and they remain dark 

 and smooth, without bleaching and twisting as do the leaves 

 of the White Oak. 



