252 Ornamental Shrubs. 



rich and poor, old and young, all are enthusiastic ad- 

 mirers of the cherry flowers. The trees are planted in 

 groups in the parks, in temple groves, in avenues lining 

 many of the principal streets and roads, singly and in 

 clusters in the gardens and yards about dwellings ; they 

 are dwarfed and grown in pots of all sizes, and trained in 

 many forms and with pendulous* branches ; they are 

 favorite objects with artists for conventional representation 

 in paint, in lacquer, in metal — everywhere. Both in nature 

 and art, one finds unmistakable evidence of the innate 

 love which the people have for this flower. The trees 

 bloom during the balmy month of April, when the raw 

 and chilly winds of winter have given place to the warmth 

 and calm of cheery spring, and all nature leaps into 

 renewed life. 



" Invited by the irresistible charms of nature, the people 

 collect in gayly dressed throngs under the pink clouds of 

 cherry blossoms, and there abandon themselves to jest 

 and merrymaking. In Tokio, Ueno Park and the street 

 called Mokojima are especially renowned for the charm of 

 their cherry blossoms, and on pleasant days these places 

 are visited by tens of thousands of people who have 

 banished care and are bent solely on enjoyment, and they 

 form, perhaps, the happiest collection of humanity that 

 the world ever sees. It is a motley but always good- 

 natured and orderly throng. The grave savant, the spec- 

 tacled student, the flushed and prosperous merchant, the 

 careworn poor, the decorous matron, giggling maidens 

 and hilarious children — all are there, with laughing faces 

 and in holiday attire. The cherry blossoms also usher in 



