PARK AND CEMETERY. 
179 
are employed. This, however, is a large 
subject and would need a separate lecture 
to do it justice; but I fear I have already 
taken up too much of your time so I will 
confine the rest of my remarks to some 
herbaceous plants which thrive best at the 
edge of the water or in marshy ground. 
Many of these are recent Chinese intro- 
ductions, and when seen growing one is 
greatly impressed with the remarkable 
beauty of that country's flora, and they 
are all perfectly hardy. 
Astilbe Davidii is perhaps the most beau- 
tiful of the family and like all the others 
would be worth growing for its luxuriant 
foliage. The flowers are produced on 
branching stems, five feet in height, and 
the color is best described as deep rose- 
pink with a suffusion of violet, a pecul- 
iarly beautiful combination not seen in any 
other plant. A. grandis is similar in all 
respects, except that the flowers are pure 
white. 
A. rivularis and its two varieties, gi- 
gantea and major, are noble plants with 
immense foliage and arching spikes of 
creamy white flowers. 
.A. Chinensis is a plant of great merit 
with a light pink inflorescence and such 
varieties as Washington, Xew Rose, Queen 
Alexandra, Silver Sheaf and Thunbergii, 
which grow from two to three feet high, 
are indispensable where the best plants are 
desired. 
The Spiraeas, though often regarded as 
being akin to Astilbes, are botanically very 
different; but they are equally beautiful 
for waterside planting. There is con- 
siderable variety of form and coloring 
among them and a good selection would 
include gigantea and its variety, rosea, 
which are six feet high. Venusta with rich 
pink flowers, palmata and its two varieties, 
alba and elegans, and the double form of 
the English Meadow Sweet S. Ulmaria 
flore pleno. 
Everyone is familiar with Caltha pal- 
ustris, the Marsh Marigold or King Cup, 
of which there are several good double 
forms, but the most noteworthy is the new 
C. polypetala, which is the giant of the 
family. It has very large foliage and the 
flowers are borne on long stems. 
Two handsome North American plants 
are Napaea dioica and Stenanthium robus- 
teem, both deserving of extended cultiva- 
tion. Oreocome Candollei is also very un- 
common, but its elegant foliage and white 
flowers render it very attractive. 
China is responsible for the best of the 
hardy Primulas and pulverulenta, rich pur- 
SENECIO VEITCHIANUS. 
pie ; Cockburniana, orange scarlet, and 
Vittata with deep rosy purple flowers are 
unsurpassed for such positions as where 
P. Japonica succeeds. For many years 
Rodgersia podophylla was the only mem- 
ber of this family cultivated in gardens, 
and had no new varieties been discovered 
in China we should have been perfectly 
satisfied with the large bronzy foliage and 
numerous white flowers of the well known 
species, but now there are several others 
of even greater value. R. aesculi folia, with 
leaves like a horse chestnut and large 
panicles of rosy white flowers on stems 
four feet high, is extremely effective. R. 
pinnata, with salmon pink flowers and its 
white variety are also desirable plants. 
Saxifraga peltata, which produces its tall 
flower stems in spring before the foliage, 
is one of the best waterside plants and the 
variety gigantea is a larger edition in all 
respects. 
One does not often see that beautiful 
British plant Butomus umbellatus in culti- 
vation, although it is one of the best for 
growing just at the edge of the water. It 
has rust-like foliage and tall umbels of 
rosy pink flowers. For spring flowering 
the Globe Flowers or Trollius are unsur- 
passed and many beautiful varieties are 
now obtainable in a variety of color, some 
with yellow and others with rich orange- 
colored flowers. Fire Globe, Newry Giant 
and Orange Globe are three of the most 
desirable plants I am acquainted with. 
Rheum Alexandrae is an extremely or- 
namental rhubarb from China and the 
most effective of the family. The pale 
yellow leaf bracts which cover the flower 
stems present a unique and beautiful ap- 
pearance in June and contrast well with the 
dark glossy green foliage. Perhaps the 
most ornamental of all bog garden plants 
from the Far East are the Senecio’s, and 
Mr. Wilson would have done a good work 
for horticulture had he only introduced 
these. Senecio clivorum is a singularly 
beautiful plant, with foliage a foot or 
more in diameter and rich golden yellow 
flowers three inches across on branching 
stems five feet high. S. Veitchianus has 
large foliage and bright yellow blossoms 
which are produced on the upper portion 
of the stem for fully two feet, and S. 
Wilsonianus, which is similar in habit, has 
smaller flowers in much larger numbers. 
As single specimens or when planted in 
groups these three plants are unsurpassed. 
ATTRACTIVE TYPES OF PARK CONSTRUCTION 
GUOUND r^LAN OF SHELTER IN BLACK HAWK I'ARK, HOCKFOUD, ILL. 
I'wo very interesting and appropriate ex- 
amples of park building construction have 
been completed in Black Hawk Park, Rock- 
ford, 111., under the direction of Superin- 
tendent Paul B. Riis. 
The new shelter of bungalow type, built 
of local stone and stucco, is a particularly 
pleasing type of structure. The stone used 
in the construction of this shelter was quar- 
ried 500 feet from where the building 
stands and the stones are locally termed, 
cut stones, rock faced, and boulder shaped, 
instead of the square cut stone work used 
entirely in Rockford, as clearly depicted 
on the Jai)anese covered piers. 
The general layout of the building is 
shown in the ground plan illustrated here, 
which shows the main auditorium, refect- 
ory, tower and comfort houses in proper 
