PARK AND CEMETERY 
103 
Getting Acquainted with the Trees, by 
J. Horace McFarland ; New York, 
1904; Doubleday, Page & Co.; price, 
$1.50: 
“Getting Acquainted with the Trees’’ 
is a collection of studies of some of our 
familiar trees that first appeared in The 
Outlook, and is now amplified into a 
beautiful book. It is illustrated with 
many fine photographs taken by the au- 
thor, and comes at a particularly oppor- 
tune time, when the city population is 
turning countryward, and children are 
being taught to know and love out- 
door life. Although in his introduction 
Mr. McFarland disclaims any intention 
of systematic and scientific treatment, he 
is a close observer, a rare photographer, 
and a true lover of nature, and these 
sketches will appeal especially to those 
who love the trees, but have no intimate 
knowledge of them. The professional, 
too, will find much of interest in its 
pages, for Mr. McFarland writes with 
unusual charm, and some of the pic- 
tures show details of leaf, branch and 
flower with unusual clearness and ac- 
curacy. The sketches are charming sto- 
ries of the aspects of the trees at dif- 
ferent seasons of the year, and will find 
a warm welcome from all who are or 
want to be acquainted with the trees. 
The table of contents is as follows : A 
Story of Some Maples ; The Growth 
of the Oak; Pines; Apples; Willows 
and Poplars; The Elm and the Tulip; 
Nut-Bearing Trees; Some Other Trees; 
Index of Common and Botanical Names. 
The Tree Doctor ; A Book on Tree Cul- 
ture. Illustrated profusely with Pho- 
tographs. By John Davey. Published 
by the Author, Kent, O. Price, $1.00. 
We do not know of a book on the 
very important subject of tree culture, 
which, in its comprehensive sense, of 
course, includes “doctoring” as well as 
propagation and cultivation, which so 
readily accommodates itself to the every- 
day intelligence of the average citizen. 
The work is divided into three depart- 
ments: Tree Surgery, Ornamental, and 
Landscaping and Floriculture. In Tree 
Surgery the author is at his best, and 
his enthusiasm, as betrayed in his writ- 
ing, is fairly contagious and should have 
the effect of imparting knowledge to 
the reader of such a 'practical nature 
as to be immediately available. This 
department treats of wounded trees, na- 
ture's trees, crotched trees, size of trees 
for planting, forming the heads of trees, 
pruning, planting, blight, etc. Under 
each subhead there is a fund of prac- 
tical information, which is so copiously 
illustrated that it necessitates consider- 
able reference to forward and backward 
pages in order to secure the thorough 
understanding of the points of the text 
desired by the author. This is one of 
the inconveniences of profuse illustra- 
tion, but is especially commendable in 
connection with this subject, in that the 
photographs both amplify and emphasize 
the text, and render it more interesting 
and comprehensive to the layman. In 
the important section on the heading of 
trees exception would be taken to the 
heights for fruit trees. In the commer- 
cial fruit-growing districts opinion is 
divided, with the balance in favor of 
low-headed trees ; but circumstances 
alter cases, and fruit trees as ornaments 
might reasonably be trained to suit con- 
ditions. So far as cultivation is con- 
cerned, implements are now manufac- 
tured for all accepted methods of cul- 
ture. In the departments of the book de- 
voted to the ornamentals, landscape gar- 
dening and floriculture, exception will 
also be taken to certain of the author’s 
views on the treatment of some of the 
ornamentals and their arrangement in 
the development of home grounds, etc., 
but the higher understanding of land- 
scape gardening is now being developed 
as a profession, and those desirous of 
venturing upon a study of its principles 
must have recourse to the works of the 
authorities in that domain of practical 
art. Flowever, this does not detract 
from the value and interest of the “Tree 
Doctor” for the plain people ; in a style 
of its own it presents a host of facts, 
directions, suggestions and instructions 
available for application in the every- 
day care and culture of trees, shrubs, 
vines and flowers, and its low cost should 
give it a very extended distribution. 
Farming in the City; Annual Reports 
of the Philadelphia Vacant Lots Culti- 
vation Association for 1900, 1901, 1902 
and 1903. Seven years ago the Phila- 
delphia Vacant Lots Association was 
organized for the purpose of giving re- 
munerative employment to some of the 
city’s idle poor and utilizing the vacant 
lots for gardening purposes. During its 
first year 100 families were given an 
opportunity to earn food for themselves 
on land which would otherwise have 
been idle. Sustained by the generosity 
of a few contributors and land owners, 
the work has expanded until during the 
last season 760 needy families were 
helped to help themselves. The expendi- 
ture of $4,837 in setting people to work 
resulted in crops valued at $36,000. The 
report of Superintendent R. F. Powell 
gives detailed methods of work and tells 
of some of the broader educational re- 
sults. There were 275 acres of land 
cultivated last year in 768 gardens, giv- 
ing employment to 3,609 persons. The 
average product per garden was $47 
and the cost per garden $6.16. 
The Bureau of Forestry has recently 
issued four bulletins, which will be of 
great value to students of forestry. They 
are : The Relation of Forests to Stream 
Flow, by James W. Tourney, reprinted 
from the Yearbook of the Department 
of 'Agriculture for 1903; Bulletin No. 
45, The Planting of White Pine in New 
England, by Harold B. Kempton; Re- 
cent Progress in Timber Preservation, 
by Hermann von Schrenk, reprinted 
from the Yearbook, and Bulletin No. 50, 
Cross Tie Forms and Rail Fastenings, 
with special reference to treated tim- 
bers, by Hermann von Schrenk. 
Personal. 
Prof. John Craig, of the Horticultural 
Department of Cornell University, has 
been appointed editor of the National 
Nurseryman, Rochester, N. Y. Mr. 
Craig succeeded Prof. L. H. Bailey as 
Professor of Horticulture when Mr. 
Bailey was appointed Director of the 
College of Agriculture, and brings a 
valuable practical experience as a nur- 
seryman and long training as a teacher 
to his new duties. 
F. A. Haenselman, landscape gardener, 
florist and nurseryman, formerly at La- 
fayette, Col., is now at Boulder, Col. 
Superintendent H. A. Church, of Oak 
Dale Cemetery, Urbana, O., was recently 
tendered a surprise party by the local 
G. A. R. and Woman’s Relief Corps, 
and presented with a leather upholstered 
chair in recognition of his efficient serv- 
ices and courtesies to that organization. 
Publisher's Notes. 
The College of Agriculture of Cor- 
nell University, Ithaca, N. Y., is to 
conduct a school of landscape garden- 
ing, with the city of Ithaca as its labor- 
atory. The school will be under the 
direction of Prof. L. H. Bailey, who 
plans to secure one street from the city 
to be improved as an object lesson in 
scientific landscape work. Two farms 
which the university has just bought, 
and some unsightly swamp lands at the 
end of Lake Cayuga are to be used for 
experiments in park making. The Col- 
lege of Agriculture recently received an 
appropriation of $250,000 from the state. 
Secretary Bellett Lawson of the A. 
A. C. S., Paxtang, Pa., would like to 
hear from anyone having copies of the 
Proceedings of the Association of 
