122 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
SELECTED NOTES AND EXTRACTS. 
The New York Bird Law. 
The law designed to protect bird life 
recently enacted b}' the New York legis- 
lature and dulj- ap ■■roved by Gov. Roose- 
velt in the light of present statistics is 
timelj'. It provides that: “Wild birds 
other than the English Sparrow, Crow, 
Hawk, Crane, Raven, Crow-blackbird, 
common Blackb’rd, Kingfisher, and birdi 
for which there is open s ason (game 
birds, ) shall not be taken or po sessed at 
any time, dead ru alive, except under the 
authority of a certificate issued under this 
act. No part of the plumage, skin or 
body of a }■ bird protected b}- this section 
shall be sold or had in possession for sale. 
A person who violates an}- provision of 
this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
is liable to a penalty of twenty-five dol- 
lars for each bird, or part of a bird taken 
or possessed.” The act also imposes a 
fine of twentv-five dollars for robbing a 
nest of any of the birds protected. Certifi- 
cates may be issued by the American IMu- 
seum of Natural History, New York City, 
but they can only be obtained under ex- 
ceptional conditions and for purely scien- 
tific purposes. Let other states follow 
this example. 
Thinning Ornamental Trees. 
One of the difficulties landscape gar- 
deners experience in laying out grounds 
for their patrons is in the planting ar- 
rangement®. They have in mind the pic- 
ture of the future when the trees and 
shrubs have grown. But the owner de- 
sires to enjoy' the living present, and the 
grand results in the artist's brain have to 
be, in a measure, realized in some respects 
at once, or there is not full satisfaction. 
To effect this, trees and shrubs have to be 
planted thickly, — the artist explaining 
that the common things must be cut away 
from time to time as the trees grow. But 
this thinning rarely occurs. In a few 
years there is a mass of vegetation, pretty 
as a mass, but with the natural beauty of 
the individual tree wholly lost. 
In our public parks and pleasure 
grounds, particularly, is the want of jud- 
icious thinning painfully evident, as a 
rule. The great public has been taught 
that to cut away a tree is a mortal sin 
never to be forgiven, and there are few 
managers courageous enough to brave 
this exagg rated condition of public opin- 
ion. It is the same with our street and 
boulevard trees. They have to set closely 
to meet the demand for speedy shade. 
They soon meet, and unable to spread 
horizontally, struggle upwardly', until the 
“tree-butcher” becomes a public blessing 
in beheading them with hatchet and saw. 
In almost all newly planted places, an 
intelligent landscape gardener should be 
called in to advise with after a period of 
about ten years, — and a second inspection 
should be arranged for after another simi- 
lar period. The “joy for ever” that we 
read so much about would be an actuality 
whenever the beautiful trees and shrubs 
were looked upon. — Meehans' Monthly 
for July. 
'k * * 
Sloping Banks in Garden Grounds. 
No feature is more frequent in gardens, 
whether large or small, than a change of 
level necessitating a flight of steps. The 
nature of the steps, whether of wrought 
stone with balustrade, as in the more im- 
portant cases, of brick or rougher stone 
in those of lesser caliber, need not now 
be discussed; they must follow the style 
and treatment of the garden and near 
buildings. 
The change of level, if not retained by 
a wall, usually has for its fate the steep 
turf bank, unbeautiful, awkward to mow, 
and in all ways a very' “bad second” to 
the better way of treating it as a slope 
planted with suitable bushy growths. 
Such a bank is shown covered with Coton- 
easter, a most suitable dwarf shrub, but 
only one among the many that can be 
used in like manner. Such a bank 
planted with Savin (Juniperus Sabina), 
an evergreen of deep, low-toned color, 
that accords with the most dignified of 
masonry', would always, winter or summer, 
clothe it well and be pleasant to see. T1 e 
late Dutch Honeysuckle, though not 
evergreen, is also a capital thing, for its 
masses of growth, interlacing in a kind of 
orderly tangle, are by no means unsightly- 
in winter. For banks of large size there 
is Pyrus Japonica, the free growing Roses, 
and the double Brambles. For hottest ex- 
posures there are the Cistineae (.Cis'us and 
Helianthemum, ) while some of these and 
other sun-loving plants, such as Phlomis, 
Rosemary and Lavender, can be used in 
mixture,"!. A beautiful combination is of 
the common Berberis ( B. aquifolium ) and 
Forsythia suspensa, the yellow bloom of 
the free-arching Forsythia coming while 
the Berberis is showing its own yellow 
bloom, and still holds its leaves of winter 
red-bronze coloring. Ivy and St. John's 
Wort are obvious plants for such us‘, but 
the r monotony makes them less desir- 
able than the more interes ing treatment 
with shrubs of low or spreading growth. 
Scotch Briars are also excellent for this 
kind of planting, while if the bank oc- 
curs in a shady spot or has a cool expos- 
ure, it will be a good place for the hardy 
ferns. — The Garden, London. 
* * » 
Evergreens in Cities. 
The common box bush is a favorite 
evergreen to plant near dwellings in cit- 
ies, as it thrives where but few everg'eens 
will, not being over particular whether it 
be placed in the sun or in a shady place. 
Its hardiness, compactness of growth and 
deep green foliage are its recommenda- 
tions. Then there are now so many var- 
ieties of it from the common box edging 
of our gard- ns to the tall tree box, that 
as many as a dozen sorts could be named. 
Added to its deshability is the fact of its 
hardiness. Its chief enemy is the red 
spider, a little insect which preys on the 
under surface of the leaves, sucking out 
the juices; but where there is hose and 
hydrant, as there usually is in cities, the 
red spider can be quickly dispersed by 
frequent drenchingsof water. The spider 
loves dry places, hence to make it un- 
com'ortable by splashing water among 
the leaves makes the plants less alluring 
to it. In addition to box bushes, the 
Japanese Euony'mus is a most desirable 
evergreen for city yards, and best of all 
it delights in shade. In such a position 
it winters better than when the sun 
strikes it. In fact, when in the sun in 
winter it will sometimes loose its tops, a 
somethirg which does not occur when it 
is in the shade. There is the common 
green leaved one, a variegated silver 
leaved and a golden leaved variety; and 
when these are in a group they make a 
handsome displa}-. Another evergreen 
wl ich flouriihes fairly well in city gardens 
is the Rhododendron. Given light .«andy 
soil and no lack of moisture, it will thrive. 
It likes some shade, and this the house or 
a neighbor’s house usually gives it. Be- 
sides the foliage of evergreen character 
there sre the handsome flowers. Our wild 
one is a light pink, almost white, but h}-- 
bridisers have so improved them that there 
are now dozens of sorts of a'most all col- 
ors. It is a very desirable evergreen in- 
deed for a city garden or any other place 
of limited space. — Joseph Meehan in 
The Practical Farmer. 
* • * 
Paspalom Dilitatom. * 
In speaking of a grass for binding loose 
and sandy soils, Indian Gardening; and 
Planting of Calcutta sa3-s Paspalum Dili- 
tatum, to which it before drew attention, 
is a gra.ss for this purpose. “It is also an 
excellent fodder grass and is a native of 
Ceylon. Those inclined to experiment 
with it can get seeds from the Agri-Hor- 
ticultural Society of India, Calcutta. The 
grass is largely used in Australia for cover- 
ing sandy situations and for farm stock.” 
