THE GARDENS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 



710 



Along the banks of a picturesque stream called 

 Strawberry Creek, which marks the southern bound- 

 ary of the gardens, flourish the buck-eye, the laurel 

 or bay-tree, the sturdy madrono, the mountain lilac, 

 the brook-willow, and the alder. Rustic bridges 

 conduct the rambler to shady sequestered nooks, 

 where, surrounded by trailing wild honeysuckle, 

 blackberry vines and periwinkle, and greeted by the 

 grateful aroma of worm-wood, sweet-ferns, and 

 yerba-buena, it is easy to imagine one's self in the 

 heart of the country in its primal condition, though 

 really but a few steps from this western seat of 

 learning. 



The experiment gardens, established twenty years 

 ago, shortly after the organization of the University, 

 contain over six hundred specimens of trees and 

 shrubs, which remain at all seasons in the open air, 

 with the exception of a few fragile exotics, which 

 are, in winter, temporarily transferred to the con- 

 servatories. Among large ornamental trees are 

 noticed the great, blossom-laden magnolia {Magno- 

 lia grandiflora), which grows luxuriantly with little 

 or no cultivation ; the graceful, drooping, Chilian 

 pepper-tree [Sc/iinns mdic), the rice-paper tree [Fa/- 

 sii papyrifera), the osier- willow, the Port Oxford 

 cedar, Norfolk Island pine, the funeral cypress, and 

 the strawberry-tree ; all these in that vigorous grow- 

 ing condition which denotes not only a favorable 

 situation but intelligent care. 



Ranks of stalwart evergreens fringe the outskirts 

 of the grounds, forming considerable wind-breaks. 

 Much success has been met with in the raising of 

 coniferous trees, suchi as the majestic Douglas 

 spruce, the towering sugar pine, and the yellow pine 

 of the vicinity of Mt. Shasta, the white cedar of 

 Oregon, the redwood, the digger-pine of Napa Valley 

 (the nuts of which were formerly used as food by 

 the Digger Indians), the California big-tree and the 

 California cedar. Of these some are particularly 

 notable for their stately beauty. 



Following the windings of the broad, smooth 

 drive-ways, many pleasing features attract the eye. 

 The breeze rustles gently through the stiff leaves of 

 stately dracecnas or dragon-palms, from the islands 

 of the Pacific, while a greater tropical effect is pro- 

 duced by long avenues of beautiful fruit-laden fan- 

 palms. Other members of the palm-family are seen, 

 as the cabbage-palm of the Southern States, the 

 Chinese fan -palm (our well-known Latania Borbon- 

 ica), the date-palm, and the deep green Ckamcprops 

 excc/sa, borne company by the Abyssinian and Chi- 

 nese bananas, the stately screw-pine and the dis- 

 tinct Spanish bayonet. 



Tall liedges of mock-orange, laurestinus or Mon- 



terey cypress, form a rich setting for clumps of gay- 

 colored canna, or Indian-shot, Scotch broom, hy- 

 drangea bushes and Chinese abutilon. The land- 

 scape is further diversified by beds of brilliant an- 

 nuals and perennials, which are the haunt of nu- 

 merous rainbow-hued humming-birds, combining 

 the beauties of the rich flora and fauna of the 

 country. 



Choice roses, geraniums, and fuchsias here attain 

 their highest perfection, regardless, for the most 

 part of fog, frost, hail, rain or wind ; even raising 

 their dainty heads boldly from the soft blanket of 

 snow, in the light snow-storms with which this sec- 

 tion of California has two or three times been fav- 

 ored. Eastern growers can scarcely realize the 

 luxuriant beauty of their commonest dwarf bedding 

 plants in this kindly climate, where such old friends 

 seem to lose all their characteristics of small habit. 



The so-called Garden of Economic Plants, occu- 

 pying an area of nearly two acres, near the western 

 entrance to the grounds, was set apart some twelve 

 years since for experiments with useful trees and 

 plants native to foreign countries. The soil is of 

 fertile adobe, and the spot is sheltered by thick 

 shrubbery on the windward side ; so the care and 

 watchfulness of the horticulturist have met with 

 gratifying returns. The enclosure is shaped some- 

 what like a horse-shoe, that portion which repre- 

 sents the outer curve being bordered with clumps 

 of the handsome New Zealand flax the long fibrous 

 leaves of which are sold to vineyardists for securing 

 their vines to stakes. 



Within this is planted a row of the delicate Euro- 

 pean esparto grass (Stipa tenacissimd), used on the 

 continent in the manufacture of thread, ropes, bask- 

 ets, mats, etc., and to some extent in paper and 

 carpet-making ; it is probably that this grass will 

 show valuable characteristics here. 



Among other textile plants are to be found the 

 jute, the ramie, or Chinese grass-cloth plant, the 

 common flax and the century plant, all of which are 

 receiving careful attention in view of their economic 

 possibilities. The first two especially give promise 

 for the far western farmer. 



Of the grass family, the Chinese species of bam- 

 boo from Choo Foo produces the best and longest 

 canes. Next to this is the Himalayan species, 

 and then come the Indian and the Los Angeles 

 bamboos, all interesting and valuable, and all grow- 

 ing with great freedom and vigor, though so far from 

 their native habitats. 



The Japanese camphor {Catnp/iora officinaruni) is 

 a noble looking tree, reaching the height of twelve 

 ur fifteen feet. Mulberries prosper luxuriantly, 



