22 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
ART AND NATURE. 
lion. Cliarle.s W. Garfield, of Grand Rapids read a paper 
before the Western New York Horticultural Society, 
on “ The Art Which Doth (not) Mend Nature ” in which 
he deprecated the practice of too closely trimming trees 
for ornamental purposes. An abstract of his paper follows ; 
“ The object in the selection of this topic is not so much 
to indicate what it shall cover, as to form a sort of clothes¬ 
line upon which can be pinned a number of articles in the 
form of criticism and suggestions upon subjects that are 
quite diverse, and not arranged in logical order, but having 
one common factor. 
“ Step with me for a moment to the border of the aver¬ 
age city or village cemetery, and note the method in which 
the so-called embellishments of the grounds in the form of 
trees and shrubs, plants and flowers have been handled. 
See how trim and accurately pointed are the forms of the 
junipers and red cedars, scattered here and there over the 
premises. Note with Avhat precision the shears have been 
employed in forming the oval, globular, or pyramidal heads 
of the Norway spruce. Just see how the native drooping 
habit of the hemlocks has been metamorphosed into a stiff 
o-eometrical form. Here and there a lot has been enclosed 
by a hedge that has been pruned into the rigidity of right 
lines. Cast your eye over the triangles, rectangles, circles 
and ovals of the flower beds that adorn the undivided graves. 
Even the shrubs, the distinctive character of which is due to 
the individuality of leaf and branch, have been cut to one 
model. There is a stiffness and unnaturalness that makes 
one feel as if he were out of place except he is arrayed in 
swallow-tailed coat, choking collar and silk tile ; and still, 
some of nature’s most beautiful forms, most attractive crea¬ 
tions have been taken in the name of adornment, and shorn 
of the very elements of attractiveness, in order to bring 
about this condition with the term ‘ city cemetery.’ 
“ I wish to enter an emphatic protest against this misuse 
of the beautiful creations of nature, and to suggest if cold, 
stiff formality is to rule, that granite and marble be employ¬ 
ed exclusively, and that delicate live things that naturally 
if left alone assume beautiful proportions and delicate farms, 
be excused from forming any intrinsic part of such an en¬ 
vironment, after being- shorn of all those attributes that 
render them attractive to people of taste. I find men all 
over the country in charge of these places (which should 
be, because of their association, made quite beautiful), even 
calling themselves plantsmen and horticulturists, who are 
entirely lacking in every element fitting to these employ¬ 
ments. Ought not our horticultural clubs and societies 
devoted to progressive horticulture, to give utterance in no 
feeble way to their protest against these outrages upon the 
profession they are engaged in developing and elevating ? ’ ’ 
RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
“ Selection in Seed Growing” is the title of a valuable little 
pamphlet published by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of Philadelphia. 
It embraces papers read at the World’s Horticultural Congress on 
the subject of seeds, and the discussions which followed. Among 
the subjects treated are : “ Pedigree or Grade Races in Horticul¬ 
ture,” Selection in its Relation to Seed Growing,” ” Seed Grow¬ 
ing in Denmark,” “American Seed Growing,” “ Modern Methods 
of the Seed Trade,” “ The Seedsman’s Trial Grounds.” Philadel¬ 
phia : W. Atlee Burpee & Co. 
The fourth annual report of the Horticultural Society and 
Fruit Growers’ Association of British Columbia contains a large 
amount of valuable matter in the form of paper's and discussions 
upon horticultural subjects as viewed by residents of a section 
about which comparatively little is known in the United States. 
It is believed that the fruit industry in British Columbia is but in 
its infancy. The secretary of the association is A. H. B. Mac- 
Gowan of Vancouver. 
The second biennial report of the Oregon State Board of Hor¬ 
ticulture, recently prepared under the direction of the secretary, 
George I. Sargent, of Portland, is a comprehensive record of work 
in horticulture in the state dui'ing the year and there is, besides, a 
large amount of miscellaneous matter connected with horticulture 
in its varied forms on the coast which makes it a most interesting 
volume. 
In Part VI. of “ The Book of the Pair ” the chapter on foreign 
manufactures is continued. The opening pages are devoted to 
illustration and description of the exhibits of Austrian bronzes, 
Bulgarian statuary and Bohemian glass. Then follow the repro¬ 
duction of the beauties of the Belg'ian section and then the Norway 
and Russian sections, including Russian bronzes and elaborate 
Norwegian carved work. The beautiful exterior of the Italian 
pavilion introduces specimens of Italian marble statuary, china 
and decorations. The Spanish, Mexican and South American 
exhibits and those of the Ottoman Empire, Corea, Bulgaria and 
Siam vie with the Japanese vases, china and bronzes which follow. 
Handsome full-page illustrations of Krupp’s gun exhibit, the lion 
fountain and obelisk in the grand basin, and the likenesses of the 
foreign commissioners are features of Part VI. The full-page 
illustration of the grand basin from administration tower far excels 
any other attempt to reproduce this imposing view. Chicago: 
The Bancroft Company. 
The U. S. Department of Agriculture has issued numbers 2, 3 
4 of volume V. of the “Experiment Station Record,” a report of 
the crops of the year 1893, and the report of the statistician, all of 
which contain valuable information for the horticulturist. 
The report of the horticulturist of the Canada Department of 
Agriculture, John Craig, contains, among other valuable matter, 
a tabulated statement of information from fruit growers through¬ 
out the province of Ontario on the subject of pear and apple 
blight, descriptions of new varieties of fruits and a district fruit 
list adapted to the province of Quebec. Many interesting experi¬ 
ments, too, are noted. 
The general catalogue of fruit and ornamental trees and 
shrubs, issued by Ellwanger & Barry is in the usual attractive 
form this year with a variation in the cover and the addition of 
novelties. This catalogue of 152 pages is a recognized standard in 
all the offices of nurserymen in this country. This is the 54th 
annual publication. 
In Part IX of “ The Book of the Pair ” the reader is introdticed 
to some of the marvels of recent invention in the mechanical 
arts, including silk machinery, cotton and woolen looms, paper 
making, wood working, printing, book binding, moulding and 
drilling machinery, fire and drilling apparatus, etc. Realistic il¬ 
lustrations of the burning of the cold storage building are a feature 
of this number. In this part also, is begun the interesting chapter 
on agriculture and the building devoted to it, which was one of 
the most artistic in the group. The illustrations here are among 
the most attractive in the book and the descriptive matter is cor¬ 
respondingly attractive. A full page illustration of the famous 
colonnade adorns this part, which closes with a striking repro¬ 
duction of the poultry exhibit. “The Book of the Pair” is a 
valuable souvenir of the world’s greatest wonder, a summary of 
modern civilization. Chicago : The Bancroft Company. 
