PARK AND CEMETERY. 
iij 
In speaking of Owosso, to the superintendent of 
schools of Ionia, he expressed a wish for help in devis- 
ing the proper use of trees and shrubs. 
These are some of the advances so far apparent. 
Some years ago the State Horticultural Society 
made a start towards trying to induce teachers and 
children to plant flower gardens near the school house. 
In certain instances some measure of success was at- 
tained, but I think the main reason for the lack of inter- 
est was the fact that the long vacation often came in the 
summer, and that in many places there was a change of 
teachers between winter and summer. Again, most 
teachers didn’t know how, nor care to undert tke the 
work. 
At college or university, it is probably best to give 
considerable attention to putting in woody plants on 
steep slopes, low and broken grounds in places not 
likely to be sought for new buildings. By tl is means a 
greater degree of permanence is likely to be secured. 
Nearer buildings, shrubbery and quick-growing trees 
can be used, till it is decided for certain where neigh- 
boring buildings are to be erected. We must remember 
that most of our country is still young and few have 
given any serious thought to ort-door art. I look with 
considerable confidence to the land-grant colleges to 
educate young men in this line of work. Our people 
travel considerably and are ready to pick up ideas re- 
garding home ornamentation, provided there are a good 
number of well kept grounds scattered about the coun- 
try; a few in each state will exert a wholesome influ- 
ence.” 
SOME EFFECTS OF THE COLD WINTER AT 
ROSE BRAKE. 
The intense cold and damaging blizzards of last 
winter proved a severe test on the vitality of tree-s 
and shrubs at Rose Brake. We protect nothing 
as we wish this to be an arboretum of perfectly 
hardy plants, not an asylum for delicate nurse- 
lings. 
When a plant does not prove adapted to our 
soil and climate, or will not thrive without e.xces- 
sive coddling, we let it go and replace it by some- 
thing of sturdier habit. In this manner though we 
sometimes lose trees and shrubs with which we ex- 
perir«ent, we gain in experience. We believe that 
there are enough hardy trees and shrubs adapted 
to the conditions of almost any locality^ in the tem- 
perate zone to form beautiful pleasure grounds 
without the aid of half hardy or tender plants. These 
latter are often very beautiful and desirable, but 
they requiie glass and more care than we are able 
to give. 
Our winters are often very cold. It is an un- 
usually mild season when the mercury in the ther- 
mometer does not go down below zero at least once, 
and last winter was the most severe and stormy we 
hav^ ever known. So that all the plants now living 
here have been tested by extreme cold and icy 
frosts which remained for days, enveloping the 
branches like a coat of mail. 
Broad-leaved evergreens suffered more than any 
other class of plants at Rose Brake. The common 
evergreen Euonymus Japonicus lost the growth of 
several years. Some of these shrubs were five feet 
in height. All were killed to the ground, but not 
one was entirely destroyed. They are of slow 
growth and were planted on a dry sloping bank six 
years ago. 
Another and very beautiful Euonymus from 
Japan was entirely unhurt. This shrub was obtained 
from Mr. John Saul of Washington, D. C., under 
the name of Euonymus Sieboldii. I have seen but 
one other specimen of this charming shrub and that 
was in Mr. Saul’s own grounds. It is not quite 
evergrean although the leaves hang on the branches 
until severe cold weather. These large ovate acum- 
inate leaves are lighter in color than those of the 
commoner Euonymus. They are smooth and thin 
with crenate edges and are not so lustrous as those 
of the evergreen species. The shrub is now over 
five feet in height and as much in diameter. It is 
of compact, bushy growth. In July it is covered 
with clusters of pretty cream-white flowers, making 
it a very desirable flowering shrub, as the blossoms 
are larger and more conspicuous than those of any 
other Euonymus, and stand out well from the 
leaves. It remains in bloom several weeks. But 
its chief beauty is in the fall when the blossoms are 
succeeded by dazzling scarlet fruit, making it, at 
that time, a very showy ornament of the lawn. 
Magnolia grandiflora was the only one of our 
Magnolias that suffered from the cold. This was 
a young plant not more than four feet high and it 
was killed back to the ground, but is now making 
good growth. 
A beautiful little Osmanthus illicifolius was al- 
most destroyed and I fear it will never recover. 
This was a slender tree as yet only six feet in 
height, much like the American Holly in appear- 
ance. All its wmod was destroyed and although a 
few root leaves have made their appearance, it will 
probably die. 
A dwarf evergreen Euonymus called E. pulchel- 
lus, withstood the winter uninjured, but does not 
increase in size and seems ill-adapted to the soil 
and climate here. 
Ilex opaca, the American Holly, was also un- 
injured. 
The spotted leaved Aucuba Japonica, lives with 
us out-of-doors, without protection, but does not 
increase in size. Perhaps this is because we give 
it no especial care. It is a significant fact that it 
passed the winter unharmed. 
Mahonia Japonica has rigid, thick compound 
