The Garden Magazine, October, 1919 



95 



THE PEARSON ELM AT BYFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, IS A FAMOUS SPECIMEN 



Although the great Elms shading New England homesteads are tradition laden, even as the Oaks of England, theirs' is a tradition redolent 

 altogether of homely things and practical, with never a hint of imaginative flight. They are domesticated, matter-of-fact and sedate. 



(Ulmus americana) 



tal were also carried to Korea and Japan; even as the 

 apple, the pear, the cherry — also wheat and barley — were 

 brought here from Europe; and later the peach, apricot, 

 almond, date, grape and the like. From this country the 

 sweet potato, potato, tobacco, and corn were taken to 

 Europe and to China and, later, ornamental trees and 

 herbs. 



In all this beneficient work man has been the organizing 

 power and could any of the thousand and one common plants 

 around us tell their story, it would fascinate the least at- 

 tentive. This feeble pen is indifferently equipped — but 

 the purpose of these articles is to show the intimate connec- 



tion, the bond of brotherhood as it were, between ourselves — 

 mankind in general — and certain groups of plants. Animal 

 life, in all its higher forms at any rate, is dependent for 

 its very existence on the vegetable kingdom; and trees 

 will yield to all who heed their beauty and study them, 

 mental enjoyment, T healthful recreation, and full content 

 as well. 



EDITOR'S NOTE — This article is introductory to a series that Mr. Wil- 

 son will contribute during the coming year. Each will deal specifically with the 

 life story of some one plant. The article to appear next month tells of the 

 Ginkgo or Maiden-hair tree, that has been saved to us by the priests of Asia. 



