262  A  Visit  to  Shaw's  Gardens.        {  A5^f mf* 
Upon  entering  the  gate  the  visitor  is  struck  by  the  beautiful  shrub- 
bery upon  every  side,  with  handsome  hedges  bordering  on  paths  lead- 
ing to  the  Arboretum,  or  portion  devoted  to  the  culture  of  various 
forest  trees. 
This  portion  is  intensely  interesting  to  a  lover  of  nature,  even  if 
not  botanically  inclined.  Long  rows  of  the  handsome  Pinus  strobusy 
or  American  white  pine  trees,  are  upon  either  side  of  the  walks,  and 
these  are  interspersed  with  silver-leaved  maples  and  thrifty  oaks  and 
elms,  all  carefully  pruned  and  cared  for. 
Juglans  einerea  and  niger  stand  side  by  side  with  Larix  europosa, 
while  in  turning  in  from  the  gateway  a  very  fair  specimen  of  English 
elm  stands  almost  opposite  the  Scotch  elm,  or  Ulmus  montana, 
and  the  Acer  platanoides,  from  Norway,  leans  complacently  toward 
the  Acer  saccharinum  of  our  own  country,  while  scattered  here  and 
there  are  fine  specimens  of  the  Japanese  maiden  hair  tree,  Salisburia 
adianttfolia,  intermingled  with  basswood,  Tilia  americana ;  lime, 
Tilia  rubra  ;  and  white  linden,  Tilia  alba. 
Of  the  genus  Pinus  the  collection  is  particularly  fine ;  within  a  few 
paces  of  each  other  the  writer  noticed  Pinus  strobus,  P.  austriaca,  P. 
sylvestris,  P.  mugho,  P.  rubra,  P.  Benthamiana,  P.  edulis,  P.  rigiday 
while  in  P.  inops  we  recognize  the  familiar  Jersey  pine  by  the  side 
of  a  specimen  from  the  Pyrenees  mountains. 
Juniperus  communis  and  J.  virginiana  are  in  company  with  the 
Chinese  variety,  J,  chinensis  ;  while  the  cypress  and  white  cedars  of 
Lebanon  are  drawing  sustenance  from  the  same  soil  with  Salix  albay 
and  Abies  balsamea,  and  A.  excelsa. 
The  effect  of  this  mixture  of  different  foliage  is  very  striking,  and 
this  alone  is  well  worth  coming  some  distance  to  see,  while  for  botan- 
ical students  the  advantages  which  these  groups  afford  for  study  are 
excellent. 
Passing  alongside  of  the  conservatory,  we  noticed  several  interest- 
ing specimens  ;  one  of  the  Laurus  nobilis  is  particularly  fine,  and 
reminds  us  of  the  leaves  of  the  same  variety  frequently  met  with 
upon  opening  cases  of  Calabria  licorice  extract.  Next  to  this  are  the 
lemon  trees  and  common  laurels  from  the  Levant.  Fine  specimens 
of  Acacia  longifolia,  A.  verticillata,  A.  melissina,  A.  Farnesianay  A. 
angustifolia  (New  South  Wales),  and  A.  cultriformis  (Australia),  are 
also  found  here.  The  guava  tree,  Psidium  cattelianum,  and  African 
Baobab,  Adansonia  digitata,  are  also  here,  with  a  fine  female  specimen 
of  the  Cephalotaxus  fortunei. 
