The World's Best for Our Own Gardens— I 



I. Farrington Tells of Some Worthwhile Trees and Shrubs That Remain Hidden in the Nurseries Because They Are Not 

 "Popular" — Not Speculative Opinions, but the Results of Years of Selection, Trial, and Proof 



JUST because a tree comes from a foreign 

 land is no proper reason for planting 

 it around an American home. Certainly 

 it would be a great mistake for any one 

 deljberately to ignore the native trees of America 

 in favor of those from other countries. At the 

 same time, some of the introduced trees have 

 so many good qualities that any one is justified 

 in planting them. Judgment is to be based 

 solely on their fitness and merits. The list 

 of good trees generally recognized is none too 

 long, and really valuable acquisitions ought to 

 be welcomed. It is fortunate that there is an 

 institution like the Arnold Arboretum, in Boston, 

 where tree immigrants can be tested under the 

 same conditions as they will find in the average 

 home grounds. It is unfortunate, on the other 

 hand, that few nurserymen seem willing to 

 propagate the newer things and give them to the 

 public. Perhaps this work will be stimulated 

 however as a result of the foreign plant exclusion 

 order that has recently been issued from Wash- 

 ington. 



Among the great number of foreign trees 

 which have been planted in the United States, 

 there are a dominant few which stand out as 

 particularly desirable for American grounds. 

 Close to the top of the list is the Acanthopanax 

 (Kalopanax ricinifolium), which was introduced 

 into this country by the Arnold Arboretum in 

 1892, and which promises to become one of the 

 most valuable decorative trees which can be 

 planted here. This Acanthopanax is one of 

 the big trees of Northern Japan, where it often 

 grows seventy or eighty feet high. It belongs 

 to the Aralia family, and has leaves reminding 

 one of those of the Castor-bean. Among the 

 most distinctive trees which can be planted 

 in America, it in many ways suggests the tropics. 

 Those planting this tree will have a specimen 

 wholly different from anything found in their 

 neighbors' gardens. In midsummer it has 

 small white flowers, produced in clusters often a 

 foot wide, and these flowers are succeeded by 

 shining black fruits, which last until winter 

 comes. As this tree is now being sold by nursery- 

 men, it bids fair to become widely distributed. 

 Growing in an ordinary soil it yet prefers one 

 inclined to be moist and in its home reaches 

 a height of eighty feet. The Arboretum trees 

 raised from seed all attained 35 feet in 25 years. 

 Another Japanese tree which deserves a pro- 



minent place in American collections is Cercidi- 

 phyllum japonicum. This makes a large tree 

 in Japan; indeed, is probably the largest decidu- 

 ous leaved tree to be found in that country. 

 Although none of the specimens in the Arboretum 

 have yet attained full maturity, the tree has been 

 proved perfectly hardy and is distinctly orna- 

 mental and is so far free from insects. The 

 shape is somewhat narrow for its height. It is 

 particularly attractive in the spring, for the un- 

 folding leaves are red, adding a bright touch 

 of color to the landscape. This tree is already 

 to be found in a number of gardens, for it has 



been growing in America for forty years. It 

 was introduced by Thomas Hogg, about 1864, 

 the first tree being planted in his garden in New 

 York. This is one of several important oriental 

 trees which came to America before being planted 

 anywhere else outside of Asia. It clothes itself 

 with branches down to the ground and suffers 

 if those are trimmed off. As the name indicates 

 its leaf resembles that of our Red-bud, Cercis. 



Still a third Japanese tree of large size which 

 has been grown for some time in this country, 

 and the wide planting of which is merited by 

 its many good qualities is Prunus Sargentii. It 

 is an interesting fact that this tree came to 

 America from two sources. Dr. William. Sturgis 

 Bigelow sent seeds to the Arnold Arboretum 

 in 1890. Two years later Professor Sargent 

 found this tree growing in Northern Japan, and 

 collected the seeds which were also planted in the 

 Arboretum grounds. The Bigelow and the 

 Sargent trees are still growing. Later this 

 handsome tree was sent to Europe. Although 

 commonly called the Sargent Cherry, it is also 

 known as Prunus serrulata saghalinensis, the 

 name given to it by Ernest H. Wilson. 

 This Cherry is prized chiefly for its wonder- 

 ful display of blossoms in the spring, and for its 

 brilliant foliage in the fall. It is also a good 

 timber tree, and one well adapted to parks and 

 parking strips, making a rapid growth on any 

 soil that supports a cherry. 



In the list of flowering trees from Asia, Mai us 

 floribunda must have a conspicuous place. This 

 is one of the most satisfactory of all the ornamental 

 Crabapples which can be planted in American 

 gardens, with a wealth of blossoms every spring, 

 in spite of the hardest winters. While the 

 flowers are red when they open, they pass through 

 different shades until they are almost white. It 

 is rather curious that different individuals mani- 

 fest distinctly different habits. Some kinds 

 lose their fruit early in the fall, while others keep 

 it until almost spring. Several plants growing 

 near the Administration Building in the Arnold 

 Arboretum are yearly covered with yellow fruit 

 until the winter is well advanced. These trees 

 offer a winter banquet to the birds, and some- 

 times as many as a dozen pheasants have been 

 seen in a single tree at one time. It was dis- 

 covered by Philip F. von Siebold and taken 

 to Holland in 1865. Like many other older 

 Japanese plants, it came to this country from 



Hardy Rubber-Tree (Eucommia ulmoides) 

 comes from central China and is adapted to 

 general planting. It has no close relatives. 

 Prefers a loamy humid soil. Its upright ha- 

 bit and dark green "elm-like" leaves give it 

 attractive qualities 



The naray Japanese Short-leaved Fir (Abie brachyphyll i or homo- 

 ltpisi keeps its dark green color in winter, grows quickly and does well 

 on any ordinary soil 



Cercidiphyllum japonicum, literally the "Redbud-like leaved tree of 

 Japan" is remarkable as the largest deciduous tree of Japan. It has a 

 neat "finished" appearance 



