A VIEW AT DOSORIS. 



A PRACTICAL LESSON IN THE GROUPING OF TREES. 



\t I m |TI-^ would call attention to one of the 



\\' jpf^'i; best examples of hardy landscape 

 planting to be found in America, 

 ^fe^^^^ The view is taken from one of the 

 V/' ^ vf lawns at Dosoris Island, the resi- 

 dence of Charles A. Dana, Glen 

 Cove, Long Island. Although it is a private place, 

 it deserves to rank among the educational institu- 

 tions of our country, from the benefit horticulture 

 has received from it by the careful, practical, enthu- 

 siastic and artistic manner in which it is carried on. 

 Although the general public are more familiar with 

 the beautiful productions from there that are ex- 

 hibited at the shows,' those who have been fortu- 

 nate enough to visit the place itself know that it 

 has a glory aside from that of the greenhouses 

 and exotics. 



Our view looks towards the north-northeast, over 

 the blue waters of Long Island Sound, and some 

 dozen miles beyond, not seen in our little picture, 

 are the shores of West Chester, N. Y. , and part of 

 Connecticut. On these broad waters pass in sum- 

 mer the finest yachts the world has known, and the 

 variety of craft that give animation and interest to 

 the scene at different times is as great as found any 

 where. A growth of locusts, that came naturally 

 from some planted here long before, mingled with 

 the native growth and once shut off much of the 

 beauty and interest of the scene. While it was desir- 

 able to retain some of this for protection and its own 

 worth, much of it had to come away to make room 

 for other things and show the beauties of the views 

 beyond. 



In cutting out an old and somewhat crowded 

 growth, and uniting with it newer planting in a way 

 to harmonize, we have one of the problems that oft- 

 en confront the landscape worker, and too fre- 

 quently are beyond his skill. The successful way 

 in which this has been done in the spot we are con- 

 sidering is worthy of particular attention. 



Too often the problem is simplified by cutting 

 down all of the old wood, instead of retaining with 

 judgment part of it and nursing and training it into 

 good form. The locust, never at its best nowadays, 

 owing to the ravages of borers, is nevertheless use- 

 ful in many situations where other trees will not 

 grow ; its young and feathery growth is delightful 



from its color and freshness, although never abund- 

 ant ; the rough, broken and angular branches con- 

 trast well with other things, and the trunks of large 

 trees have a rugged picturesqueness peculiarly their 

 own. It has immense vitality, and thrives directly 

 on the borders of salt water where many things re- 

 fuse to grow. It has been found excellent here to 

 plant on steep sandv banks to help bind them, and 

 encourage the growth of grass, wild asters, etc., 

 spreading its roots for long distances and retaining 

 the light soil in position. The red cedar, too often 

 despised, is one of the best of evergreens for the 

 seashore, thriving with neglect and exposed to every 

 blast. It abounds naturally in this locality, and a 

 few can be seen in our picture to the right just back 

 of the other evergreens, their dark forms giving a 

 tone and depth of color, among other things, that 

 wonderfully help the scene and the delicate tints of 

 sky and water beyond. 



No abrupt line was left between the old and taller 

 growing trees when the rest were cut away to dis- 

 close the view, and the dwarf evergreens were 

 planted around and among them with rare judge- 

 ment and skill, forming a rich border for the lawn 

 and foreground for the view. The old hickory on 

 the left, allowed room to develop, rises with the 

 dignity and grace of an elm, and its toughness de- 

 fies the fierceness of the northern gales that sweep 

 unimpeded over miles of water. The tall white 

 spruce next to it has had the advantage of some 

 twenty-five or thirty years of growth, and its dense 

 masses of thick foliage bear up against the icy 

 winds of winter and summer's fiercest sun, although 

 wanting protection in their early years. On a bleak 

 exposure like this only the hardiest subjects could 

 be used, and they were the mugho and dwarf white 

 and Scotch pines and low junipers. On the south 

 of these (the little cushion-like trees in front) are 

 some dwarf Gregoriana and pigmy Norway spruces 

 doing well. On the other sides they would have 

 starved for want of sunshine and nourishment. 

 The beautiful dwarf hemlock spruces, Hudson's 

 Bay dwarf pine and dwarf yews are all useless on 

 such an exposure, but all excellent when sheltered 

 from the drying, biting winds. Evergreens only 

 look well in such a position, and they show their 

 charms at all seasons. Deciduous shrubs of many 



