297 



left the profession for commercial pursuits, not be- 

 cause they were afraid of competition from " mush- 

 room " gardeners work,|.but because they could turn 

 their talents to a greater account than the most 

 liberal gentleman could afford to give them as gar- 

 deners. 



Some of these quick made gardeners rise to emi- 

 nence ; but yet how few compared with numbers 

 from the best class? 



Mr. Meehan is in business for himself. Mr. 

 Saunders is in an honorable position at Washington. 

 Henderson is on his own account. Mr. Bright has 

 an eminent position as a landscape gardener. Mr. 

 Jerome Grraff is in business in Philadelphia. These 

 men, here mentioned, all of them stood, perhaps, 

 scrubbing flues and pots in a greenhouse. There 

 are scores of the same kind all over these United 

 States. "Mushroom" gardeners do not do that, 

 and they do not reap the same reward. They fill 

 an useful position, but they are not to be feared by 

 those who can get more. 



ON THE AGE OP TREES IN AMERICA. 



BY " QUERCUS." 



Recently returning from a trip to Europe, I was 

 very much struck with the age of trees there, as 

 compared with our own. There ^-ere very few large 

 trees pointed out that was not supposed to be three 

 or four hundred years old. The apple tree particu- 

 larly, seemed to me to last much longer than with 

 us. Certainly the apple does not last near as long 

 here. I doubt whether there is any one hundred 

 years old. 



I have travelled consiierably in western wilds, 

 and noted particularly in Pine woods, the compara- 

 tively youthful appearance of the aged tree — that is 

 to say, trees evidently old before their natural time ; 

 or at least before they would be under favorable cir- 

 cumstances, and which favorable circumstances seem 

 to operate in other climates. Is it not worthy of a 

 thought whether there is any thing in our climate 

 unfavorable to longevity ? and if so, what is it ? 



Enclosed is an extract from one of Murray's 

 Handbooks of English Travel^ regarding a famous 

 oak at Cowthorpe in Yorkshire, from which you 

 will see that nearly two hundred years ago the tree 

 had commenced to decay, and its age must be enor- 

 mous. I think no oak in this climate would live so 

 long in a state of decay. I should be very glad if 

 some of your readers who have examined the matter 

 would give us some figure as to about how long the 

 apple, oak, and other trees will endure in our climate: 



"The true measurements of the famous Cow- 

 thorpe Oak are— circumference at 5 feet from the 



ground, 36 feet 3 inches ; close to the ground, 60 

 feet; extent of the principal branch, 50 feet 6 

 inches ; girth close to the trunk, 10 feet ; height of 

 the tree, including deca3^ed wood, 43 feet ; height of 

 vigorous wood, 33 feet six inches. The tree con- 

 tains 73 tons of timber, and the diameter of its 

 hollow close to the ground is 11 feet. The trunk is 

 quite hollow, but the branches, the largest of which 

 are supported by props, still cover much ground and 

 bear much foliage. The top branch fell about LSO 

 year's since. In 1718 a branch fell which extended 

 90 feet from the trunk, and contained 5 tons and 2 

 feet of wood. Before this fall, the Oak extended 

 its shade over half an acre. In 1772 a branch fell 

 which was 80 feet in length. The height of the 

 tree in 1776 was 85 feet. ^ * * The soil in which 

 the tree stands is a deep, rich, light loam resting on 

 fine clay." 



USES OP EVERGREENS FOR ORNAMEN- 

 TAL PLANTING. 



BY AVALTER ELDER. 



The uses of Evergreens in ornamental planting 

 are manifold, and the numerous genera, species and 

 varieties are ample for all our wants ; flourishing 

 in our climate, they fence in, and garnish the outer 

 boundaries of the grounds, and enclose the various 

 compartments with hedges, edge walks and beds; 

 they clothe lattice work, unsightly walls and build- 

 ings, and carpet the earth's surface and rocks; they 

 embellish and beautify the grounds at large, and 

 give them shelter in winter ; they shut out of view 

 unsightly scenes, and hide us from vulgar glare ; 

 they make a pleasing contrast with the deciduous, 

 and a diversity among themselves, by their various 

 sizes and habits, and leaves of diff"erent forms and 

 shades of verdure. Some delight in the dense shade 

 of the forest, others crown the mountains brow, and 

 bathe themselves in sunshine ; the proud and lotty 

 Pines, Firs, Spruces, &c., soar high towards the 

 heavens; the meek and lowly Periwinkles and Epi- 

 goea crawl with their faces upon the earth ; see the 

 massive stems of trees and the slender shoots of 

 vines, the gloomy sombre of Yews and Tree Box- 

 wood ; the lively green of Biota and the pale ver- 

 dure of Cedrus deodara and Irish Juniper, the gold 

 and silver stamped foliage of Accuba, Holly, Euo- 

 nymus, Boxtrec, Periwinkle ; the broad leaves of 

 Magnolia grandiflora ; contrast with the narrow 

 fohage of Libocedrus chiliensis, the broad transpa- 

 rent leaves of Kalmia, Mahonia, Holly, Rhododen- 

 dron, &c.; contrast with the dull contracted foliage 

 of Juniperus, Arbovitas, &c. See the procumbent 

 habit and flexible shoots of Cephalotaxus ; and the 



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