^74 PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Notes on English Parks. 
During my visit to England last summer I made 
it a point to visit all the parks, public and private 
grounds, that were convenient and that I could gain 
admittance to. Arriving at Southampton on 
HOLLY. — Ilex aquifolinin laurifolia. 
Wednesday evening, before leaving the town next 
morning, I took a walk through one of the parks, 
of which there are several there, and I find that by 
my note-book that the first thing that attracted my 
attention there was a fine Hawthorn, Crataegus 
grandiflora, the large white one. Hawthorns were 
yet in bloom, though it was the end of May. In 
the south of England, wherein is the town of South- 
ampton, the varieties of Hawthorn are very much 
prized. Besides grandiflora, which has large white 
flowers, there is a single pink and a double rose va- 
riety much planted in England, and in this park 
were several of all these kinds and others, beauti- 
fully in bloom. I do not know why we do not 
grow these beauties more here. It is quite a mis- 
take to suppose they won’t grow here. At least, in 
Pennsylvania there is no trouble at all in growing 
them. The red flowered Horse Chestnut is a uni- 
versal favorite, being seen everywhere, and making 
a fine round-headed tree, and having leaves of lus- 
trous green color. It was in splendid bloom. To 
have the best success with Horse Chestnuts here, 
they need to be planted in deep soil. When the 
roots penetrate to a gooddepth they appear to hold 
their leaves better in the summer. Besides the red 
flowered there was an avenue of the common one, 
and these, too, were in full flower. We think our 
winters trying on rhododundrons and similar ever- 
greens, and so they are, but we are not alone in thus 
catching it. The rhododendrons in this park wcic, 
many of them, dead, and all showed foliage more or 
less injured Among bays, laurels, aucubas, euon- 
ymus and similar broad leaved evergreens, all show- 
ing more or less injury caused by the winter, a no- 
table exception was the Japanese broad leaved ever- 
green, Photinia serrilata, so admi rably had it stood , 
where even Magnolia grandiflora had been hurt, 
that I am nearly sure that this would prove hardy, 
say from Philadelphia southward. Later on, in 
July, I saw it again, the picture of a beautiful shrub. 
The Portugal laurel , Cerasus lusitanicus, was also in 
an unhurt condition, and a variety of it, pyramid- 
alis, is said to be hardier than the parent form. 
There were signs of injury on many trees usually 
deemed entirely hardy. I am satisfied that were we 
to plant more in masses, as the English do, we 
could have lots of nice things which we now deem 
tender. I have seen living out in Philadelphia an- 
cuba Japonica, Azalea Indica, Magnolia grandi- 
flora, Ilex cornuta, Eleagnus pungens and similiar 
things, deemed tender by most persons. We want 
more shelter belts and close planting about our fa- 
vorites, then they would survive. There were in 
this park some fine specimens of the Ilex aqui- 
folium laurifolia, known as the entire-leaved holly. 
This reminds me to say that, contrary to the general 
opinion, this holly will thrive here. As a proof of 
it, I submit a photograph of a fine branch of it 
growing in the Drexel lot, at Woodlands Cemetery, 
Philadelphia. This plant is fifteen feet high and 
some eight feet wide at the base, and, being of lux- 
uriant growth, dark green leaves and almost spine- 
less, it attracts universal attention. And in Laurel 
Hill cemetery there is one of the common form 
which has flourished for years, even in the severest 
weather. The variegated and golden leaved hollies 
are prominent in all the parks of Pingland. A mile 
or two outside of Southampton is a large public 
common, kept up in good condition, and patron- 
ized all the time by the public. There seems less 
desire to have flowers and shrubs than to have a 
place where children, and grown up persons, too, 
for the matter of that, can romp and play and en- 
joy themselves on the grass. Everything invites 
you to get on the grass and nothing tells you to 
keep off it. On this common I saw, and for the 
