H. Takeda. 
56 
which was greatly modified in later years. So far as I know, one 
of the famous gardens, designed some 500 years ago, still exists. 
Generally speaking, the gardens are very different from Euro¬ 
pean ones. Geometrical carpet bedding and lawns are quite 
unknown, and beds are used only in the nursery. Rather different 
from the original Chinese gardens, which are more artificial and 
Gothic, the Japanese gardens are miniatures of natural landscape. 
Generally, there is a small hill or two, a pond, a bridge, and a few 
stone lanterns. This is copied (very badly) on a small scale and 
exhibited at the Temple show every year. Trees and shrubs are 
mostly used, and comparatively few herbaceous plants are grown. 
Pines and Chamcecyparis are indispensable. Except Abies firma, which 
is hardy in the lowlands, other species of this genus and Picea are 
hardly ever seen, while a dwarf variety of Taxus cuspidata and 
Juniperus chinensis are sometimes used. Broad-leaved evergreen 
trees and shrubs are mixed with deciduous plants. Half-a-dozen 
species of Primus are planted for the sake of their flowers, while a 
great many varieties of Acer palmatum and other species of maple 
are grown for their foliage. Ferns are usually neglected except for 
a few hardy species. Amongst shrubs many kinds of Azalea , with 
Cydonia, Nandina, and Pyrus floribunda are favourites, while 
Wistaria is often planted over a pond. Stones and rocks of 
different colour and shape are always placed in certain definite 
positions, and sometimes even a small cascade is reproduced falling 
over a rock. There are several types of gardening, the principles 
of which are not very easily understood ; some trees, shrubs, and 
stones should occupy a certain position, trees should have certain 
ramifications, and certain shrubs should be trimmed in definite ways. 
In some cases, a landscape garden is skilfully reproduced in a 
box or in a pot. One of the best examples which was transferred 
from the Japan-British Exhibition can be seen in Battersea Park, 
London. For this purpose the plants used must necessarily be 
small, but perfect in style and shape. 
The dwarf pot trees, which appear somewhat mysterious, even 
to a scientific eye, may also have been introduced from China. The 
art has been improved with great skill. Not only arboreal plants, 
but also various other evergreen plants such as A corns grammeus, 
Rhodea japonica , and even Psilotum triquetrum became material for 
pot cultivation. Some are grown for their flowers, others for 
fruit, or foliage. In some years variegated leaves of any plant are 
much valued, in other years Chamcecy paris is in fashion, and so forth. 
