AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
271 
Notes on the Run—From Albany to 
Mr. Editor Having recently made a hasty 
trip from Albany to Manassas, I have thought that 
a few notes agricultural and horticultural, then 
jotted down, might interest your readers. 
It was the morning of the 17th of June, 
bright and clear. On the night of the 15th there 
had been a hard frost, nipping off corn, beans, to¬ 
matoes and such like tender plants, injuring them 
so badly that in many places they needed to he re¬ 
planted. Here and there a few half-ripe strawber¬ 
ries could be seen—only a few. And the children 
and the birds had found a few pale red cherries. A 
few of the earliest roses were beginning to open ; 
all the others were only in bud. So of the azalea, 
rhododendron and kalmia. On reaching Ne w-Tork 
city, it was plain that we had got into a warmer 
climate. Strawberries and early cherries appeared 
in market plentifully; here, too, were green peas, 
snap-beans and early beets. Bouquets, in which 
roses of all sorts figured in full bloom, were sold 
about the streets. No signs of recent frost. 
Visited Central Park. —What splendid carriage- 
drives and walks ! broad, hard, smooth and clean. 
And these patches of lawn, those sunny slopes and 
knolls, and yonder broad parade ground; these 
bridges; the lake or skating-pond, with the swans 
and then - young broods; the cave and the ramble; 
the high points for observation of the city and sur¬ 
rounding country—could any thing be finer? The 
spot known as “the Ramble,” is one of the most 
interesting features of the Park, its original wild¬ 
ness, of rocks, ravines, springs and brooks, of trees 
and vines and plants, remaining as it was, to a con¬ 
siderable extent, though modified and improved by 
walks, rustic bridges, canopied seats, boat-houses 
on the lake, and by the planting of numberless cu¬ 
rious trees, shrubs and vines. One needs to be 
careful amid these winding footpaths, or he will 
lose his wa,y; but the temptation is very great to 
wander on and on and on, for at every turn he finds 
something newto attract him. I think, Sir, youhad 
better advise your readers to visit Central Park, 
rather than Barnum’s Museum. [Our readers need 
no such advice; some will even go there before they 
will come to the office of the Agriculturist.— Ed.] 
But why so many dead and half dead young trees ? 
They are those which have been recently planted, 
and which have dried up in the recent drouth. But 
why were they not watered and mulched ? You have 
saltmarsh grass in abundance andhandy, and the wa¬ 
ter which you sprinkle so bountifully on those car¬ 
riage roads might some of it have been well applied 
to these trees. With money, men and material pro¬ 
vided so liberally, it is not creditable to the plant¬ 
ers that so many rare trees should die on their hands. 
And why-crowd your trees so closely together ? 
Here are Austrian, Scotch and American White 
Pines and Spruces huddled within four feet of each 
other, and within the same distance from the walks. 
Of course, within a few years, these trees will crowd 
each other and become one-sided, and their lower 
branches will over-spread the walks and roads. It 
will then be necessary to cut down half of the num¬ 
ber, and to lop off all the lower branches of those 
which remain, leaving the trees maimed and imper¬ 
fect. Why not foresee these difficulties at the out¬ 
set, and plant accordingly ? I fancy the response, 
“Well, Sir, you are right, but public sentiment 
seemed to require us to plant for present effect and 
to let the future take care of itself.” But fault¬ 
finding is not my mood; and indeed there is little 
in these noble grounds to criticise. Can any body 
find fault with this Terrace, and the Promenade or 
1 ‘ Mall ” leading to it ? When completed, the archi¬ 
tectural effect will be truly grand and imposing. 
There is nothing like it on this side of the Atlantic 
[or on the other.—E d.] Drive around to the Deer 
Park. Here is a section of ground—half an acre, per¬ 
haps-surrounded by a wire fence or screen, paint¬ 
ed the color of grass, and hence almost invisible. It 
is so high that the nimblest deer can not over-leap 
it, so strong that they can not push it over, and yet 
go light and inconspicuous that at a short distance 
it would hardly be noticed. Let me commend such 
a fence to amateurs who would like the luxury of 
a few deer in their grounds. 
But I have not time to speak of everything, and 
only make note further of the old and new Reser¬ 
voirs, to furnish water for the many thousand lips 
of the great city; of the eight streets almost sub¬ 
terranean, crossing the Park, without interrupting 
its privacy; of the Arboretum, etc., etc. Suffice it 
to say that no one should visit New-York without 
making at least a flying trip to Central Park. 
* * * Swift we fly over the rails from New- 
York to Philadelphia, through towns and villages; 
now we pass handsome country-seats, fertile farms, 
and then, though rarely, through wooded scenes, 
where we see laurels, azaleas and rhododendrons in 
a blaze of bloom, and oh! how beautiful! The Red 
Cedar abounds on every side, and takes a great va¬ 
riety of forms; now upright and dense, now loose 
and spreading, and then with branches almost hor¬ 
izontal, with the foliage on the upper side resem¬ 
bling pile of velvet. Near Trenton, the Weeping- 
Willow seems to be in perfection, many specimens 
being as large and vigorous as full grown oaks. 
Here, the corn is six inches high; we left it at 
home just peeping out of the ground, and much of 
it nipped by the frost. Around Philadelphia, the 
farmers are making hay, and the wheat crop is turn¬ 
ing yellow. Peaches are fully two thirds grown, 
and promise a large yield. 
Much of the land between Baltimore and Wash¬ 
ington looks thin and poor; yet here and there are 
farms which show what good cultivation can do. 
Probably the railroad runs through much of the 
poorest land. Yonder are women at work in the 
fields. Can not, at this distance, discern the color 
of their skin; they must at least be well sunburnt. 
All along between New-York and Baltimore the 
native Juniper is seen by the roadside. Now and 
then, it is browned up in spots, where its sides have 
been exposed to harsh winds. Then let not our 
more northern planters pronounce it too tender, 
because it sometimes has this appearance. 
And this is Washington—less a “ city of mag¬ 
nificent distances,” than when I visited it, twenty- 
five years ago. The great gaps between the differ¬ 
ent blocks have been pretty well built up, and its 
70,000 inhabitants make the streets quite lively. At 
present, the nation, as here represented, has beaten 
its plowshares into swords, and its pruning-hooks 
into spears. Nearly every other man on the side¬ 
walk is a soldier; cavalry, artillery,and long trains 
of military wagons continually rumble through the 
streets; and forts and camps bristle on every hill¬ 
side. Went to-day to the market. A little of every¬ 
thing for sale, here. Meats of all kinds, and sus¬ 
penders and cambric needles; fish and jack-knives, 
candy and tin-ware. Strawberries abundant, large 
and fine, chiefly Wilsons, Alice Mauds and Early 
Scarlets. Longworth’s Prolific, Iowa and Hovey, 
at a few stands. 
Visited the grounds of the Smithsonian Institute, 
and of the Capitol, White House and President 
Square. In the first, was surprised to see that the 
grass around the edifice had been allowed to grow 
unshorn until now, the 23d of June, when it was 
being cut for hay! It would seem that an Institu¬ 
tion so largely endowed as this, might afford to keep 
. a portion of its grounds under the scythe and roller, 
at least those immediately adjoining the grand pile. 
I looked around for the marble vase erected herein 
memory of Downing, who laid out this place, but 
was obliged to wade through a large expanse of 
uncut hay to view it. A beautiful work of art it is, 
and worth taking some trouble to see. Here, and in 
President Square, are some fine specimens of the 
rarer evergreens. The Deodar cedar, in certain 
exposures, loses its leader, and makes only a large, 
spreading mass of branches, but elsewhere, it does 
well, and becomes exceedingly beautiful. Downing 
has here set it often in proximity to the Hemlock, 
and it endures the comparison bravely, which is 
saying much. It resembles the Hemlock somewhat 
in the style of its foliage, but is of a greyish green, 
and more feathery and flowing. The Hemlock is 
the richer and grander of the two. The European 
Silver Fir thrives well here, and has a very digni¬ 
fied, architectural regularity. Very noticeable, too, 
are the Deciduous Cypress, and the Chinese and 
Golden Arbor Vitae, and the Yew6, Irish, English 
and Golden. This last is often set over against a 
group of darker conifers with fine effect. The same 
thing is seen in the juxtaposition of the deciduous 
cypress of soft, yellowish green and delicately cut 
leaves, with the broad and dark foliage of the Catal- 
pa. And why are there no large trees immediately 
in front of this majestic structure, and only a few 
groups of shrubbery set near the foundation walls ? 
Plainly it was the design of Downing thereby to 
enhance the loftiness and grandeur of the edifice. 
The grounds around the White House, and in 
President Square, opposite, are maintained in the 
highest order of keeping. The grading is excellent; 
the walks are broad, smooth and clean; the grass 
smoothly shaven and rolled; the trees, in nearly 
every case, chosen specimens, and these well-cared 
for. Some cunning hand has given admirable shape 
to these trees: we would like to know his name, 
that we might praise him. The view from the 
south windows of the famous East Room in the 
Presidential mansion, is seldom surpassed. Beneath, 
in the immediate foreground, is the flower-garden, 
and the lawn with its fountain and flag-staff, the 
whole skirted with trees. Through a broad open¬ 
ing in front through the trees, spreads out a large 
meadow with cattle grazing, or reposing in the shade. 
Beyond this rises the Washington monument, and 
further on lies the Potomac, winding its way down 
to Alexandria, until the view is lost in the blue- 
hills of old Virginia—erring, bleeding, sad Virginia. 
The favorite street trees in Washington, are the 
Abele and Silver Maple. Now and then a Button- 
Ball, or Ailanthus is seen, but nine-tenths of the 
trees are those first named, and their quality is only 
second-rate. There does not seem to be much sys¬ 
tem in planting. A city of this age and size ought, 
by this time, to show fine avenues of large trees. 
In such a warm climate, they are almost indispen¬ 
sable to comfort. 
On board the steamboat for Alexandria. And do 
these green-hills show any signs of the prevailing- 
war ? Only that, here and there on the crests there 
areforts, each crowned with the “Stars and Stripes,” 
and that a wide strip of forest has been cut away 
between each fortification and the river. Having 
procured “ a Pass ” from the Provost Marshal, (a 
privilege seldom granted to civilians) we enter the 
cars for Manassas Junction. Our fellow passengers 
are nearly all soldiers returning to camp from fur¬ 
loughs. Losing sight of the earthworks around 
Alexandria, we pass at every road crossing, bridge, 
or sudden turn of the railway, squads of soldiers, 
stationed here -to guard the track and the telegraph. 
But where are the farmers and gardeners along this 
railroad? Only here and there do we see any 
growing crop. The fences have long ago been 
burned by roving bands of armed men to light their 
camp-fires. Mow the train rumbles across “Bull 
Run,” whose waters, several miles northward, were 
once reddened with human blood. And now, we 
are within four miles of “the Junction.” Not a 
fence or cultivated field or garden is to be seen. 
The trees have mostly been cut down for fuel and 
to build the huts occupied by the Confederate 
army, last Winter. And here are the huts, large 
villages of them, scattered over the rolling table 
lands. Arrived at the “Junction.” Whatascene! 
It reminds one somewhat of State Agricultural Fair, 
on its last day. Rough board shanties of sutlers, 
with flaming signs; tents innumerable scattered 
over the plain; soldiers, negro men and women 
running to and fro; horses neighing and prancing; 
mules braying; locomotives screeching, and a gen¬ 
eral scene of confusion, noise and dirt. And yon¬ 
der are the fortifications which kept the Federal 
army so long at bay. Between these numerous 
rifle-pits and breast-works, and all over the plain, 
grass and weeds are now growing luxuriantly. Not 
a fence to be seen as far as the eye can reach, nor a 
cultivated field, orchard or garden. All is one wide 
scene of desolation. Oh! may the time soon come 
when these lands shall be restored to cultivation. 
We plucked a few wild flowers as mementos, and 
returned, glad to lose sight of war’s desolations. 
