A GARDEN AT LAKE WORTH. 



259 



wave and winged wind may have wafted seed and germ 

 hither, and they yielded gracefully to the change and 

 rooted themselves permanently amid their new environ- 

 ment. These tropical tendencies necessitate experiment- 

 ing and feeling of the way as to adaptability, manner of 

 growth and special culture. The beautiful as well as 

 the useful has received attention. 



Two acres border on the lake and are faced by a stone 

 wall ; the remaining acreage runs back in a slope that 

 terminates in a ridge crested with pineapples. The resi- 

 dence is near the center, with a north front looking to- 



secluded and circuitous paths one comes suddenly upon 

 a Pohiscttia pnlchcrrtma , a blaze of scarlet and gold, or 

 Acalypha Macafeana, exhibiting such hues and propor- 

 tions as could only be found in a climate like this. On 

 December 11 there were in bloom a large white clematis 

 (Emma Bateman, I think), callas, geraniums, bignonias 

 and an Arabian acacia, which for delicate and delicious 

 perfume exceeded anything with which I am familiar. 

 If they have many such flowers in Arabia, it is deservedly 

 called " Araby the blest." Alocasias of magnificent pro- 

 portions with immense leafage mingle with the floral 



IN THE SUBTROPlC.\L GARDEN OF R R. McCORA\ACK, NEAR LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA 



wards the lake, from which it is separated by long col- 

 onnades of cocoanut trees. These graceful trees, growing 

 in parallel lines, their gray stems sloping smoothly up to 

 the crown of feathery green plumes, bear more than a 

 fancied resemblance to the stone columns skirting a cathe- 

 dral aisle, and the dim religious light hardly permits the 

 grass to grow, On either side are flower-beds, notably 

 three large ones watered by subirrigation, containing 

 fancy-leaved caladiums. On either side of the fountain's 

 stone basin is a bed of crotons, the finest private collec- 

 tion we have seen. Concrete walks are bordered by 

 achyranthes, chrysanthemums, etc. Wandering along 



treasures from many latitudes. The Russdia j'uucca, so 

 difficult to cultivate successfully in the north, here sways 

 its long branches of delicate green, scarlet-tipped, in the 

 most graceful manner imaginable. 



Our visit in one respect was ill-timed, as it was the 

 season for planting rather than exhibiting ; but even in 

 the transition stage its perfumed walks and flower-fringed 

 ways were goodly sights to see. 



Leaving them reluctantly as only half explored, we re- 

 galed our vision upon lime, lemon and orange trees, bearing 

 their golden fruitage, the sour-sops and sapodillas, as 

 new to us in nomenclature as they were in taste, tall 



