PARK AND CEMETERY. 
227 
JAPANESE MAPLES. 
T he fol- 
lowing 
articl e 
on Japanese 
maples has 
been p r e- 
pared by Mr. 
A. S. Kin- 
ney, super- 
ten d ent of 
the Botan- 
ical Garden, 
Mt. Holyoke 
College, 
charactkristic craves. Mass, 
Of the many interesting and beautiful plants 
which have been introduced into our gardens and 
conservatories from Japan, perhaps there are none 
that are more attractive to many lovers of nature, 
than the Japanese Maples, and it seems very strange 
that these little foreigners have not become more 
widely known in this country. More than a quar- 
ter ol a century ago specimens of these Oriental 
maples w'ere first 
introduced into 
the United States 
and since that time 
they have been 
planted upon near- 
ly every kind of 
soil and in a large 
range of climates 
from the North* 
to the South, and 
repeated experi- 
ments have shown 
that many of these 
Japanese varieties 
are quite hardy, 
even as far north 
as Southern Can- 
ada. They also 
seem to be able to 
adapt themselves 
to a variety of 
soils which should 
make them a gen- 
eral favorite for 
landscape work. 
It would not be correct to state however, that these 
maples do equally as well upon one kind of soil as 
another, for that is not the case. Although they 
may grow and apparently thrive upon a variety of 
♦Garden and Forest Vol. I, p. 453 and Vol, III, p, 75- 
PRATE I. .ACER PORYMORPHUM JACONIT.V. 
soils, still there are certain definite kinds or condi 
tions of the soil that seem to be most congenial to 
them and upon such soils they respond most satis- 
factorily to cultivation. 
In the habit of growth the Japanese species 
have much to recommend them; but I believe their 
strongest claim upon the gardener’s attention is in 
their foliage, for they seem to supply that delicacy 
and brightness that is lacking in so many of our na- 
tive species of plants which are being used for dec- 
orative purposes. The different varieties present a 
large range of colors from the brilliant blood red to 
the most delicate shades of green, and unlike our 
native maples the leaves are colored from the time 
of opening in the spring, and in the autumn become 
even a more brilliant hue than the red maple. Thus 
the trees add a life and brightness to the landscape 
the entire season which is very pleasing, especially 
so, where grouped together, or intermingled with our 
native shrubs as single specimens. It is as single 
plants, that these maples show off to their best ad- 
vantage. When grown in this manner with a con- 
siderable open space about them they form verv 
symmetrical and graceful crowns. This symmetry 
of growth together 
with the large va- 
riation of foliage 
in the different 
varieties makes 
the Japanese ma- 
ples fully as de- 
sirable for the 
small private 
grounds as for the 
larg.er private or 
public parks. 
At the present 
time the chief ob- 
jection to these 
trees for general 
planting is the 
cost of young 
s to c k, which is 
greater than many 
of the planters feel 
that they can pay. 
These high prices 
are largely due to 
the fact that the 
demand is at pres- 
ent limited and also to the difficulty experienced in 
propagating; but as the demand increases the prices 
will probably come within the reach of all who wish 
to purchase, for the Japanese maples are not espe- 
cially difficult to propagate when the work is carried 
