The World's Best For Our Own Gardens — -II 



Mr. E. I. Farrington Now Recalls Some Trees of Distinction and Individuality That Are Available for General Planting and 

 Which Have Achieved Positions of Merit After Trial Under Different Conditions 



WHILE more different Hawthorns are 

 found on the American continent than 

 in all other parts of the world combined, 

 a few remarkably good species come 

 from other lands. One of the best foreign Haw- 

 thorns, and indeed one which must be included 

 among the best half dozen to be found anywhere, 

 is Crataegus pinnatifida, from Northern China, 

 where it was discovered by Maximowicz and in- 

 troduced into Russia. Seeds were first sent to 

 this country by Bretschneider in 1892, and hand- 

 some trees are now growing in the Arnold Arbore- 

 tum. Its merits as an ornamental tree entitle this 

 Oriental Hawthorn to wide dissemination, al- 

 though it is little known here as yet. It has a 

 wealth of white blossoms in the spring, these 

 blossoms being succeeded by brilliant red fruits. 

 The leaves are large, deeply lobed, and very lus- 

 trous. The fruit is about three-quarters of an inch 

 in length, and is esteemed highly by the Chinese, ' 

 who grow orchards of this tree in the vicinity of 

 Peking. 



\\ ell distributed as it is, yet Sophora japonica 

 is perhaps better known to the layman under the 

 fantastic title Japanese Pagoda tree. A number 

 of specimens are growing in various parts of this 

 country, and the tree is offered by nurserymen. 

 In spite of its name, it is really a Chinese tree, 

 although long cultivated in Japan. It is valued 

 for its generally attractive appearance, and es- 

 pecially for its small, creamy-white, pea-shaped 

 flowers, which appear in August, although not 

 until the tree is several years old. Apparently 

 this tree was taken from China to Europe more 

 than a century ago, having been discovered by 

 Father D'Incarville and probably it came to this 

 country by way of France. 



Father D'Incarville is also responsible for the 

 introduction of the Ailanthus, which Professor 

 Sargent calls the most generally useful of all the 

 large deciduous leaved trees which 

 have been brought here from north- 

 ern China. This tree grows rapidly 

 and is perfectly hardy. Moreover, 

 it can resist the heat, drought, and 

 dryness of American cities better 

 than almost any other tree. What 

 more need be said? Altogether the 

 Ailanthus ranks high among the 

 foreign trees introduced to America. 



Objection is placed against this tree 

 on account of the odor of its stamin- 

 ate flowers which most people say 

 completely belies its popular name 

 of 1 ree of Heaven. On the other 

 hand the fruiting tree (it is dioecious) 

 is not objectionable on this account 

 and indeed its crimson pinks are very 

 decorative as they ripen in late 

 summer. 



AnotherChinese tree of great value, 

 and one perfectly able to adapt itself 

 to New England's climate, is Pseu- 

 dolarix, which was discovered by Ro- 

 bert Fortune, England's famous plant 

 hunter. It is often called the Gol- 

 den Larch. As its name would indi- 

 cate, however, it is not a true Larch, 

 although closely allied to the Larix 

 family. Its long spreading branches are pendu- 

 lous at the extremities, and the foliage is almost 

 feathery in character, giving the Golden Larch a 

 distinctive and most attractive appearance. It 

 grows well in almost any good soil, but demands 

 a sunny open position to display its full beauty. 

 Estate owners who buy this tree should make 

 sure that it has been grown from seeds, for when 

 grafted it seldom makes a satisfactory specimen. 



Because of its peculiar, rough bark, the tree 

 known to botanists as Phellodendron saghalinense 

 is commonly called a cork tree, although the bark 



is not so corky as that of some other species of the 

 genus. This is the best of the Phellodendrons for 

 planting in the northern United States. It was 

 introduced by the Arnold Arboretum from seeds 

 sent from Japan in 1876 by Col. Clarke. Here is 

 an excellent tree to plant when one wants to 

 produce a somewhat tropical effect, the compound 

 leaves being very different from those found on 

 most trees growing in northern regions. These 

 leaves have a pungently aromatic odor when 

 bruised, which to protects them from insect 

 pests. The tree which will thrive in any soil 

 and grows rapidly, especially when young, 

 is likely to come into favor for lawn planting in 

 suburban sections, and is to be recommended 

 because of its easy culture and its freedom from 

 insect pests, as well as its ornamental character. 



Although high in the favor of many landscape 

 gardeners because of its spire-like form, the Lom- 

 bardy Poplar is by no means a satisfactory tree 

 in many ways. Another Poplar with somewhat 

 better habits, but having the same pyramidal 

 shape is the tree known as Boll's Poplar, from 

 Central Asia, and catalogued as Populus alba 

 Bolleana. The leaves have a peculiar silvery- 

 white appearance, and when this tree is used with 

 discrimination it is valuable, especially to give 

 architectural emphasis. One of its real advan- 

 tages lies in the fact that it has a much longer life 

 than the Lombardy Poplar. 



In speaking of foreign trees which have proved 

 themselves well adapted to American conditions, 

 the Ginkgo, or Maidenhair tree, must not be over- 

 looked; its foliage is like that of our well-known 

 fern in form, and assumes a beautiful golden- 

 color in late fall — enduring after the Maples. 

 This is the only remaining representative of a 

 genus once widely distributed over the northern 

 hemisphere. It was introduced into Japan from 

 China at least twelve hundred years ago. Growing 



Golden Larch (Pseudolarix Kaempferi) growing on the lawn of Mr. Hunnewell at Wellesley, 

 Massachusetts. It does best in full exposure to sunshine 



near Japanese temples, there are specimens fully a 

 hundred feet high, with trunks six feet in diame- 

 ter. So far as is known, William Hamilton 

 brought the first specimen to this country in 1784, 

 planting it in the famous garden which he had 

 made in West Philadelphia. Specimens of this 

 tree have now been planted in many parts of the 

 United States, and have almost invariably given 

 the utmost satisfaction. One of the finest speci- 

 mens is to be found in the Mt. Auburn 

 cemetery, near Boston. No one knows where 

 the original home of the Ginkgo actually was, 

 l(i(i 



but some five years ago the late F. N. Meyer, 

 of the Department of Agriculture, found it grow- 

 ing spontaneously over some ten square miles in 

 the Chekiang province of China. This is the 

 only place where the tree is known to grow except 

 in cultivation, and may perhaps have been 

 the original home of the Ginkgo. 



A tree which attracts much attention in the 

 Arnold Arboretum is a globular form of the Nor- 

 way Maple, known botanically as Acer platan- 

 oides globosa. It is a remarkable tree, for while 

 twenty-eight years old it is hardly more than eight 

 feet high, and with a greater girth. It has 

 dark rich green foliage, and its compact growth 

 gives it a most symmetrical appearance. This 

 mop-headed form of the Norway Maple is in 

 commerce and is likely to displace the dwarf form 

 of Catalpa bignonioides, commonly sold under 

 the name of C. Bungei, for it has a more distinct 

 growth,, and is better in several other ways. 

 It is characteristic of the Maples to show a great 

 tendency to variation, and many different forms 

 have been propagated by European nurserymen. 

 This globe-like tree probably came from Germany 

 in 1888. 



It is a well known fact that as a rule trees in- 

 troduced from Asia are more satisfactory when 

 grown in this country than those which come 

 from Europe. A distinct exception, however, 

 must be noted in the European Lindens, which 

 thrive remarkably well in the northern United 

 States and are to be preferred oftentimes to the 

 native kinds. Two silver-leafed Lindens from 

 eastern Europe, Tilia tomentosa and Tilia petio- 

 laris, are especially handsome trees, well worth a 

 place in the planting lists of northern gardeners. 

 The former comes from Hungary, where it gets 

 to be a large tree. It has been planted to some 

 extent in the parks of New York City, where its 

 value and enduring worth have been proven. 

 Tilia petiolaris is better known in 

 New England, especially in Newport, 

 R. I., where some large and well 

 grown specimens are to be seen. It 

 is not known in the wild state, and its 

 origin is very uncertain. As grown in 

 the Arnold Arboretum, most of the 

 European Lindens, of which there are 

 several, thrive as well as on their na- 

 tive heaths. 



Among the particularly good lawn 

 trees introduced from Europe is the 

 Fern-leaved Beech, which may be 

 found catalogued as Fagus hetero- 

 phylla or F. asplenifolia. This grace- 

 ful tree, with its fern-like foliage, is 

 ornamental when small and remark- 

 ably handsome when full grown. Its 

 form is unusually symmetrical, and 

 if it is allowed to retain its lower 

 branches it makes an exceptionally 

 satisfactory lawn specimen. Some 

 very large trees are growing in the 

 older gardens of our land and arouse 

 much admiration. One of the finest 

 specimens is to be found on the 

 grounds of the Redwood Library, at 

 Newport, R. I. Curiously enough 

 110 record can be found as to the 

 origin of this handsome tree. 



The weeping form of the European Beech has also 

 proved a good tree here, although it makes very slow 

 growth so that no exceptionally large specimens are 

 yet to be found in this country. The great tent- 

 like specimens seen in Europe are among the finest 

 of the trees that grow there. Experience has 

 shown that the normal form of the European 

 Beech in cultivation is a better behaved tree in 

 many partsof this coun try th an thenative American 

 Beech itself, and that it grows faster, although it is 

 not quite so handsome as its bark isdarker colored. 



