Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



303 



in progress locally. A city very often purchases dry hillsides or rugged slopes 

 for park purposes. No sooner is this done than an elaborate water system is 

 installed at enormous expense, and plants entirely foreign to such an environment 

 are grotesquely perched where they must serve a life-long sentence of struggle 

 for existence under conditions entirely adverse to their best development. Perhaps 

 such productions are beautiful. They occur frequently enough. But surely they 

 are far from natural, and do not produce a restful effect upon visitors. They act 

 as a living advertisement of what man can do if he has time, water and ample 

 funds, in sharp contrast to nature's own creations. 



Now, why not plant dry hillsides in such a manner that they will produce 

 maximum results at minimum expenditure.'' Plant a dry ground park. Use 



Figure 136. A driveway through a grove of native oaks. 



native plants already accustomed to the semi-arid conditions of our soil and 

 climate. Such a park would be at once unique and individual; it would be decid- 

 edly typical and distinctive of California ; it would be a garden spot of nature, a 

 mecca for birds, a plant paradise; it would be a delight alike to the student, the 

 botanist, the sight-seer and nature lover, each in his own way. If properly 

 handled, it would become of world renown both among tourists and botanists ; it 

 would be the one place where those interested might go and see a collection of 

 California plant life in its native environment; might study the habits of the 

 individual, and see its fullest development under favorable conditions. There is 

 no limit to the end that might be attained with such a park, if it were properly 

 conducted. A descriptive booklet, obtainable on the grounds, would reveal to 



