May, 1859. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
145 
the prevailing testimony of planters far and wide 
is that in their experience the best season is in 
early Summer, when the trees are pushing out 
their first growth. In the southern States, this 
comes in April and the first part of May ; at the 
north, in May and the first half of June. 
Doubtless many evergreens will be planted the 
present Summer. A new appreciation of their 
value is being awakened in all parts of the coun¬ 
try. Northern people especially, whose Summer 
season is so short, begin to feel the desirableness 
of having their home-scenes made cheerful by un¬ 
changing foliage. How the wintry winds twist 
and batter, if they do not break down young or¬ 
chards and rare ornamental trees, which a belt of 
evergreens would defend from injury. How the 
storms roar around many an exposed house, rat¬ 
tling the doors and windows, sifting in through 
cracks and crevices, and making a Winter resi¬ 
dence on certain sides of the house uncomforta¬ 
ble, which a few groups of pines and spruces 
would soften and keep at bay. And does not the 
wood-pile and the coal-heap waste faster, in the 
attempt to warm a house so exposed 1 
Let it be remembered too, how many months of 
the year are leafless months. Not to speak 
now, of mid-winter, there is a month or two in 
Autumn, after deciduous leaves have dropped, 
and before snow has fallen, when the grounds of 
a country home are quite desolate. Desolate in¬ 
deed, if planted with deciduous trees alone; but 
if fringed and interspersed with groups and scat¬ 
tered specimens of evergreens, they continue 
cheerful. The grass holds much of its freshness, 
and with this and a variety of well managed ever¬ 
green trees and shrubs lighted up by a warm 
November sun, one hardly misses the departed 
glory of Summer. And the same is true in Spring. 
We have early blooming flowers, the air is full of 
singing birds, and the grass is green for quite a 
time before the tardy deciduous trees have put on 
their Summer robes. In this period, evergreens 
play an important part, breaking off the cold 
winds and giving a cheerful air to the landscape. 
To the eye of the landscape-artist, these trees are 
as important in Summer as in Winter. He wants 
the depth of color and the richness and variety of 
tint in his groups of foliage which can be got only 
by a due admixture of evergreens. He wants 
their bold forms to pierce through and break up 
the monotony of round-headed trees, and to give 
them life and inspiration. 
But we must stay our pen for the present. 
Enough for this month, if comfort, health, econo¬ 
my, and beauty, plead for the planting of conifers. 
At another time, we may add a few words on the 
selection of trees, from old and new sorts. 
“May Day” Tree Planting. 
G. B. Richards, of Addison Co., Vt., sends us 
a lengthy communication, but we have only room 
for the following summary : In Vermont and 
some other parts of New-England, associations 
or societies are formed for the improvement of 
neighborhoods, by planting ornamental shade 
trees around the churches and country burying- 
grounds, also along the streets of villages and 
country roads, with groves on ihe commons, and 
vacant corners thrown into the highways at road 
crossings In that latitude, ‘‘May Day ” is chosen 
as an appropriate season, since vegetation is more 
backward than further south. The day is 
anticipated with much interest and looked upon 
as a sort of holiday by the young people who are 
wont to have a merry-making in the evening, 
where, of course, the country and village lads 
and lasses are represented. At each succeeding 
year failures are made good and the line of road 
planting extended, either from the finest trees of 
the native forests, or with cultivated trees, which 
are not unfrequently supplied gratis by the public- 
spirited nurserymen of the neighborhood. These 
trees besides beautifying the whole country are a 
real comfort during the scorching days of Sum¬ 
mer and a sort of belt to break the force of high 
winds, and, where interspersed with evergreens, 
temper the chilling blasts of Winter. 
These examples are worthy of imitation, in all 
country places. It is surprising what changes may 
be produced by a very little tree planting like this. 
How- many of us have seen a few trees growing 
in the street even, before a man’s door, which the 
owner would not part with for ten times the cost. 
In riding over a monotonous plain during the sul¬ 
try days of Summer, how the eye longs for some¬ 
thing to change the scene, and both traveler and 
beast are delighted to enter a wood, with the high 
over-arching bows meeting to form a cool re¬ 
freshing shade. In some places they carry the 
spirit of liberality so far as to plant fruit trees 
along the road sides, to afford both shade and fruit 
for the weary traveler, each landholder gathering 
in its season, what remains opposite to bis prem¬ 
ises. Were such customs more prevalent, the 
neighboring orchards would be much more se¬ 
cure. 
-— --<a«*>--- 
Town Horticultural Societies- 
In some former volume we have called atten¬ 
tion to the importance of local horticultural socie¬ 
ties ; and we are constrained to do so again. The 
leading object of such societies is the diffusion of 
information, especially suited to the locality in 
which they exist, and the promotion of a public 
interest in rural pursuits. Much can be learned 
by two or three annual gatherings of the farmers, 
gardeners, and amateurs of the tow-n, comparing 
notes, and exhibiting the fruits of their labor and 
skill. And the stimulus gained thereby to their 
zeal is very great or useful. 
If it is understood that the town society is to 
have in June an exhibition of fruits, vegetables, 
and flowers, every person who owns a rod of 
ground is wide awake to see how much he can do 
with it. Radishes, lettuce, rhubarb, asparagus, 
peas, and strawberries are all cultivated with spe¬ 
cial care. In strawberries, particularly, there is 
great competition. Mr. Hovey, who has so long 
carried off the prizes, finds Mr. Peabody, Mr. 
Wilson, Mr. McAvoy, Mr. Hooker, and a multi¬ 
tude more panting hard after him. One claims 
superior size, another earliness, another excels 
in sweetness, or firmness, or prolificness, and so 
on. This is the season, too, for roses and many 
other flowers. Here the ladies especially show 
their zeal and taste. For several weeks before 
the exhibition, shrubs and plants are watched 
and pruned and watered with unusual care. Rose- 
bugs and slugs get their eyes full of whale-oil 
soap suds, or tobacco water, or lime. The conse¬ 
quence is, that this queen of the garden makes a 
grand display. Lilacs, paeonies, parrzies, daises, 
honeysuckles, and many other flowers of the sea¬ 
son combine to deck off the gala scene. 
And if there is, (as there should be,) a second 
exhibition in September or October, there is a 
fine opportunity for the show of othergood things 
Potatoes of all sorts, squashes of old and new 
kinds, cauliflower, melons, tomatoes, egg-plants, 
pears, apples, quinces, grapes, blackberries, all 
are represented, and all give an interest to the 
occasion. Pears and grapes attract more atten¬ 
tion than any other fruits. The many Beurres, 
the Seckel, D’Augouleme, Louise Bonne de Jer¬ 
sey, Belle Lucrative, Lawrence, Onondaga, Vicar 
of Winkfield, Flemish Beauty, each in its own 
ruddy, golden or russet hue, attracts many ad¬ 
mirers. And the best of it all is, that most of 
these admirers resolve on the spot, that they will 
henceforth give more attention to pear culture. 
Perhaps a discussion arises among the knowing 
ones, on the comparative merits of the pear-stock 
and the quince-stock, but it ends, where such de¬ 
bates always end, in assigning the quince-stock to 
the garden, and the pear-stock to the orchard. 
What a crowd around the tables of grapes ! 
“Is that the Dy-anmj ?” says one. “And that 
must be the Concord, where the war was fought.” 
“ Here we have the Rebecca ,” says a lady pomo- 
logist,” and the Delaware, too ; small berries, but 
most delicious ; “nature often does up her best 
things in small packages.” “ Let's see your 
Chartcr-Hoak," says a burly Englishman, “they 
do say if you heat one of ’em for supper, you'll 
’ave to send for the doctor afore mornin !” And 
so the talk goes on, every man, woman, and child 
admiring the splendid clusters, and not a few re¬ 
solving to try their hands at grape-culture the 
coming season. 
Nor are flowers wanting at this exhibition. 
Oonspicious above all are the showy dahlias. The 
gladiolus, Japan, and other lilies, tiger-flowers, 
perpetual roses, phloxes, verbenas, petunias, 
asters, balsams, and a nameless multitude of 
beautiful and fragrant things meet the eye on 
every hand, and invest the scene with the air ot 
enchantment. 
Now, who can not see that such town fairs ex¬ 
ert a good influence 1 Almost every person 
learns something new, every one gets a stimulus 
in the work of gardening or farming, which makes 
his subsequent labors at home easier and plea¬ 
santer. The kindly social feeling fostered in the 
community by such familiar gatherings is also be¬ 
yond price. 
-«- ■«« # wm - » » 
Landscape Gardening—N. Y. Central Park. 
A capital opportunity is now presented to those 
who desire to study Landscape Gardening, which 
they can do practically, by an immediate visit to 
the Central Park in this City, and then continuing 
their visits from time to time, as the work pro¬ 
gresses. The grounds are under the direction ol 
Mr. Olmsted, as chief Architect, assisted by Mr. 
Vaux. Good taste and skill, with indefatigable 
industry appear in what has already been accom¬ 
plished. The grounds at the north end are al¬ 
ready beginning to assume shape and beauty ; and 
even now there are numerous foot-paths over the 
rough rocky hillocks, and down the wild glens by 
babbling streams, plashing water-fall, and crystal 
fountain. A friend who traveled abroad in form¬ 
er years, has just returned from his first visit to 
our Park, and he is quite enthusiastic. He thus 
writes down for us his impressions : “ The Ar¬ 
chitects have happily seized upon the varied points 
in the original rough landscape, and are shaping 
them to a picturesque beauty, such as I believe 
no Park in Europe can be compared with, except, 
perhaps, that of Stockholm in Sweden. The Lon¬ 
don people would think themselves happy in pos¬ 
sessing a single one of its many rockeries at a 
cost of £5,000 ($25,000). 
“ The view from the Central Park observatory is 
varied in the extreme. North, is the Hudson 
River, its towering Pallisades, the hills o-f West¬ 
chester, and the broad Sound ; East, a wide river 
and Long Island; South, the Bay and wooded 
hights of Staten Island ; while all around are the 
magnificent buildings of the great cities of New- 
York and Brooklyn.” 
