Billerica Town (part 15 of 17)

North Shore

To the owner of the trees who appreciates the value of his property and who realizes that tree planting is an investment which can be duplicated only in time and by time, it is not necessary to point out that it is worth his while. Our trees are the heirlooms of hundreds of years, and time alone can replace them. The North Shore region bordering Sheridan Drive has today many fine remnants of the old plantings, both evergreen and fleciduous.

for which trees are planted, namely, shade and ornament. The planting being done along the North Shore is primarily for both ornamentation and forestry purj^oses. For ornamental uses Evergreens are unsurpassed by any other ordjBr of plants or trees. They never fade, are always fresh appearing and last for generations, growing more beautiful each year and at maturity are lasting monuments to the original planter. In all cases the important considerations are adaptation to climate and adaptation to soil.

As regards adaptation to soil I emphasize that in most cases physical conditions, especially water supply, are of more n oment than chemical composition, and that all species thrive best on one kind of soil, but most all can be grown under less favorable conditions, enduring, however, not preferring, as the case may be, drier or wetter situations. I shall deal principally with varieties that should readily adapt themselves to the North Shore conditions.

In studying the habits and native haunts of many of our leading hardy native varieties, we find them growing and thriving splendidly under natural conditions such as exist along the North Shore. Douglas Fir, Concolor Fir, Blue Spruce, and Englemann Spruce are all native of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, growing upon a variety of sandy, rocky, clay soils, sometimes clinging to steep cliffs, while others find homes in the deep canyons and sides of steep gullies, holding the soil firmly in position, preventing washing and wearing of the soil by time and storm. In a search thru tiie Black Hill regions of South Dakota, in the rough mountain territorv bordering the "Bad Lands," we find Black Hill Spnice and Ponderosa Pine growing to great size and beautiful outline in the poorest of soils.

The Pines are among the hardiest conifers, adaptive to the driest sandy soils, and drouth iest climate, with representatives ranging almost to the Arctics. White Pine, Norway Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Jack Pine and Pitch Pine are all medium to large growing trees, mostly rapid growers and easily handled, growing naturally over a range of territory having the same

The Spruces as a family are medium sized trees and one of our most hardy conifers, retaining their symmetry and full branching longer than some of the Pines and other evergreens. The Spruces grow naturally over a wide range of country. Some varieties, such as Black Hill Spruce and Blue Spruce, can adapt themselves to very drouthy conditions. Europe supplies the Norway Spruce, that is a wonder for rapid growth and ease with which it may be transplanted and its ability to survive upon poor soils, either wet or dry.

Along the North Shore region it is certain that Pines, Spruces, Pirs, Arbor Vitaes, Larches, Oaks and Birches can be grown in plantations. The Pines will do best on sandy or gravelly land. Spruces and Firs prefer a well drained soil, either clay, gravel or loam. Arbor Vitac and Hemlock can be planted in ravines and in situations where the earth is cool and damp. The Birches, Oaks, Ashes, Elms, Maples and Larches will grow upon almost any type of soil and certainly reach a state of fine development upon the soil found along the North Shore region.

The size of the plant-material influences the success of the planting more than is realized by many planters. The desire to secure a tree of good size and form is often better subserved by planting a small one and biding the time needed for its growth than planting at once a larger size. There are two reasons for surer success of smaller trees, namely, the fact that they can be more readily taken up without loss of root, and because the necessary care in their transportation and setting out is more easily applied, the small damage, if any, being more readily repaired. Yet, but for unforeseen accidcntiJ, if all the care is used which I have recommended, there is no reason why the tree planter should not make a success of every transplanting with trees of any size, as far as keeping them aHve is concerned, especially if the trees have been properly prepared for shipment at the nursery.

Evergreens and deciduous seedlings should be piu'chased in one, two and three year sizes. They come tied in bundles of 50 and 100 trees each. Trees of this size and age handle readily in an economical manner, both as to transportation and cost of planting operation. Failures in tree planting can be attributed to two causes in general, weather conditions and poorly handled stock. Of the former, I count a long siege of drought after planting out of the trees, as it is difficult to get newly planted trees staii:ed to growing when seasonal moisture fails to exist. Poorly handled stock is, however, in my judgment the larger factor of the two; this is due to failure to provide for prompt handling of the trees upon arrival, and also to lack of dctmite method of caring for the trees awaiiing their planting, and the handling during the operation.

When received, nursery stock should be opened at once in a shady, cool place and the root packing should be removed only as the trees are needed.

Cut open the bundles and heel them in dee])ly in a trench under shade in fresh soil and drench them thoroughly with water, keeping them drenched for a day or two, or until they are wanted for planting. Even if the buds of evergreens are started they can be safely transplanted. In plantings where thousands of small trees are set, they are transported to the holes in a pail partly filled with water. Care should be taken that the roots are not exposed to the air for a single instant. While some experiments here in the nursery have shown that evergreen seedlings and small transplants will survive a great amount of abuse in the wind and sun, our advice is, "The use of excessive care in handling the small plants from the packing box to the planting hole.'*

Thorough preparation of the soil by plowing and harrowing will many times pay for itself. Besides putting the soil in good tilth, it shortens planting operations, conserves soil moisture, helps ensure the establishment of the trees and induces a rapid initial growth. In some situations, of cour>e, such ])re])aration is unnecessary.

as on sand which does not support a heavy sod of grass; in others it is impossible except at prohibitive expense^ as on steep slopes or in soil ^led with rocks or large roots. Where the soil cannot be prepared before planting a small area surrounding the spot in which the little plant is to be placed should be cleared of competing growth of grass and weeds.

Transplanting a tree frdm one site to another is a surgical operation during which the patient needs special attention. In transplanting large trees, it is rarely, if at all, possible to take up all the fine rootlets with their root hairs intact. These adhere closely to the soil particles; hence, in the attempt to remove them, a portion of the feeding apparatus is always mechanically dcstroved. However, in the digging and handling of seedlings and small trans])lant8 we are able to get the entire root system intact. The seedling, as you rniiy know, is the young plant in the seed bed, where it has grown from seed. Transplants are the same trees after thev have been taken from the seed bed and planted in rows in the nursery. Evergreen seedlings are usually transplanted when two or three years old. lYansplanting encourages the growth of masses of fine feeding roots. The advantage of nursery grown trees over naturally grown stock from pasture or forest lies not only in the more symmetrical crown, but in the more compact root system, with feeding roots close to the stem. The value of socalled "transjilanted" or "several times transplanted stock" lies in the compact, stocky root system. Tn purchasing nursery grown phints, therefore, you will expect not only live roots and buds, but a cood form of root svstoni.

in setting a tree into a new position care should be taken to make it easy for the roots to resume their functions and to recuperate and form new rootlets as soon as possible. Three conditions are favorable to this object, sufficiently loose soil, a sufficient supply of moisture and close contact of soil and root. In actuallv setting the tree, the first care is not to set it too deeply. Many trees are lost from this cause, suffocation resulting from preventing the breathing organs of the roots from getting access to air. The proper depth is that at which the tree has stood in its original site, which usually can be readily recognized by a color line at the base of the stem. If planted in very light soil, which is easily penetrated by air, the tree may without harm be set somewhat deeper to allow for settling. In such soil, to set the tree too shallow is even more detrimental than to plant it too deeply.

The question as to the proper time for transplanting has been discussed ever since the age of the Greeks and Romans. Theoretically speaking, trees may be transplanted any day in the year if proper precaution is taken, but practically, it will be well to choose a time when the least care is needed ; for evergreens that is during the period when vegetation is at rest, late in summer and in early autumn, and the spring months, April and May.

There are in existence todav several thousand species, varieties and forms of trees and perhaps not less than two thousand are found cultivated in j)arks and gardens, and of North American species alone nearly two hundred and fifty. But if we confine ourselves to the consideration of the varieties mentioned we shall have at least included the best for general use.

The following list gives varieties that are suitable for planting along the North Shore region. They can be purchased in quantities at a low price in either seedlings or young transplants.

Garden

The general term Aster is used as a common name to plants of seven distinct genera, having no affinity with the true Aster. The China Aster of our gardens is Callistephus chinensis. Starwort is the most common name of our wild Asters. There are about thirty-one species of the true Aster in Lake and Cook Co., Illinois, including A. Tradescanti, the Michaelmas Daisy of England. These wild Asters are so abundant and play such an important part in the coloring of our landscape views that they speak for themselves, and many of them are so improved in their form and color that they are worthy of being brought into the borders. One can readily select special colors among these growing all around us and bring them into our gardens.

There are only two species of Boltonia known to the trade, one, the False Chamomile or Foam-flower (B. asteroides) a native to Illinois south of Chicago in moist situations; the other, the Pink Boltonia (B. latisquama) from Kansas and Missouri. I prefer B. latisquama, but it does not seem as hardy as the other. There is a variety of this one growing only about two feet tall. They are both fine subjectvS for bold masses at the rear of the border.

Boltonia asteroides is an adThirable tall plant to be used in the wilder parts in connection with its still handsomer Missouri sister. The first named bears numerous white, and the latter, ])ink asterlike flowers, borne in profusion throughout September.

An Asiatic species, Calimeris incisa, of Aster-like appearance in its pale lavender flowers, growing about three feet tall, is ii good companion for the Boltonias. It blooms from mid- July to September.

The Eupatoriums are represented in our native flora by four species, including E. purpuroum, the Joe-pye-wced, named after an Indian medicine man of old New England, famed for his skill in curing typhoid fever. His cure-all was a tea made from tlie leaves and stalks of E. purpureum. Other species were used in the medicinal arts in the early days. The one species worthy of cultivation is E. urticifolium, commonly known as E. ageratoides, the White Snake-root, whose white flowers in the autumn remind one of a giant white Ageratum. In August and September it is a welcome guest when the yellows run riot. While it prefers a damp situation it seems to do well in any situation and grows about four feet tall. It is a good companion in the border for the Mistflowor (Conoclinium coelestinum) which is often classed as an Eupatorium. This grows about two feet tall, appearing like gigantic plants of the blue Ageratum. It may be used with tlie White Snake-root as it blooms before the former is through. This plant is not over hardy and might not live through some winters although it is native to Michigan and Illinois. I take up my plants and cold frame them.

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) is a native in damp soils all around us, and its forms, rubrum and Riverton Beauty, are worthy of extensive use either in the border or in the damper parts of the wild planting. A. pumilum magnificum does not last long with me.

Heliopsis scabra, the rough-leaved False Sunflower, is one of tlie most numerous natives we have, and makes gb splendid natural border line at the junction of the lawn and woods. Before its bloom its green foliage is good and its color pleasing (to those who like yellow) when in bloom. There is a semi-double sport from it called var. zinniaeflora, worthy of a place in the border.

Tliere is but one Lythnim native to Illinois, L. alatum, found in wet places. In England this is considered an elegant plant, but I have never seen it in cultivation in this country. We grow L. Salicaria var. roseum and splendens which, however, do not generally do well except in moist and half shaded positions. In open sun and dry places the foliage burns and looks untidy.

Lysimachia clethroides. Loosestrife, Goose-neck, a Japanese introduction of about 1869, is a reliable, easily grown plant that in good soil increases rapidly, requiring frequent division and replanting. lU lon^jT broadly lanceolate foliage enables it to be used in connection w^ith the Iris in wild swampy places. It is, however, a splendid companion to the Japanese Speedwell (Veronica longifolia var. subsessilis). They bloom at the same time, are about the same height and their long drooping, pointed flower spikes, one blue and the Loosestrife white, closely resemble each other.

An Asiatic species, L. punctata, blooming in the axils of the whorled leaves, bearing small star shaped yellow flowers, possesses a rustic beauty of its own for those who admire delicacy and chasteness in a flower rather than gaudiness. It makes a splendid cut flower as it furnishes its own green in delicate profusion.

Actaea alba and A. spicata, the White and Ked Cohosh (Baueberry), have been found occasionally in Northern Illinois, and take kindly to wild planting treatment^, but like a rich "woody** soil, where in the fall months the spike-borne berries, white and red, are quite handsome. They like open shade.

Another handsomely berried plant that will grace a shaded corner if allowed a fair amount of moisture is our indigenous Spikenard (Aralia racemosa) a rather stately plant, bearing in early fall larg^ spikes of highly colored red berries. Plants found on the upper edge of our ravines where it is quite dry in summer are rather spindling in form, but if taken into our shady borders and given the same treatment as our general run of perennials, they become fine bushy plants. Their only fault is that the foliage turns brown rather early in the fall.

The only herbaceous member of the extensive genus Artemisia is Artemisia lactiflora, a recent introduction from China, possessing a dark green, finely laciniated foliage. It is a tall growing species, bearing in August and September large Hawthorn scented panicles of creamy white flowers. It makes a fine show when planted in masses at the back of large borders. I imagine that it could be used to advantage on the borders of streams or swampy areas for distant effect. While it is not particular as to soil, it does not grow as tall in dry situations as in damper ones.

Akc'Hitecture As Applied To The Wants Of

The vast regions yet lying undisturbed between the Mississippi and the Pacific comprise such resources of wealth and variety of sublime and picturesque features of natural scenery as can be seen on no other portion of the earth's surface, that is accessible to civilization. This is the raw material which is placed in our hands to be moulded into shape for the habitations of a nation, and such as we create, it must essentially remain for all future time. All coming generations are to inhabit the cities and towns, and go to their daily labors in the streets, and seek recreation in the parks and pleasure grounds, and be laid to rest in the cemeteries, the foundations of which we are laying or preparing to lay, and whose essential features of arrangement are immutable from the time they are first occupied.

It may not at first sight appear that the duties and responsibilities devolving upon us are materially different from those which have attached to the similar work in which our fathers have been engaged throughout our national existence. A little reflection, however, will show that the march of modern improvement has so altered the relative proportion of means to ends, that the application of the creative powers we now possess to the development of a new country, can no more be governed by the record of the past than the destructive agencies of modem warfare can be directed by the military tactics of a past age.

Before the introduction of railroads the settlement of the West was by a gradual process of accretion, a vanguard of hardy pioneers keeping ever in advance, enduring hardships and privations which could only be borne by men unaccustomed to the ordinary comforts of civilization. The better classes who followed were necessarily governed to a greater or less extent in whatever further improvements they attempted, by the works of their predecessors, and notliing approaching to scientific or artistic designs of arrangement of extended areas, based upon wise foiethought of future necessities, waa attempted. The Government system of surveys of public lands formed the only basis of division, the only guide in laying out county roads, or the streets of proposed towns; and if the towns grew into cities it was simply by the indefinite extension of the straight streets, running North, South, East or West, without regard to topographical features, or facilities of grading or drainage, and still less of any considerations of taste or convenience, which would have suggested a different arrangement. Every Western traveler is familiar with the monotonous character of the towns resulting from the endless repetition of the dreary uniformity of rectangles which they present; yet the custom is so universal and offers such advantages in simplifying and facilitating descriptions and transfers of real estate, that any attempt at the introduction of a different svstem encounters at once a strong feeling of popular prejudice.

A new era in the process of the redemption and settlement of the wild country has now commenced, and a vast extent of new territory is annually opening to its advancing waves. Wherever a railroad is opened, all the labor-saving machinery and all the comforts and luxuries of civilization are at once introduced, and the newest settlements are equipped from the outset with all the physical necessities of civilized life.****

But in the arrangement of towns no advance has been made from the original rectangular fashion, which even when the site is level, is on many accounts objectionable while with every dej)arture from an even surface, the advantages become apparent of adapting the arrangement of the streets to its inequalities.****

If a iown is to be laid out on any given tract of land, the first question in the mind of a landscape architect should fee: llow can the area be divided so as to secure the best disposition of the different departments whose necessities can be foreseen and provided for?

economize cost of eoDstruction, and attain ease of grade and facility of drainage^ by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by nature to save expense of cutting and filling, while preserving the most desirable building sites in the best positions relative to the roads?

How can any naturally attractive features, such as a river, a lake or a mountain, near or distant, be made to minister to the beautiful or picturesque character of the place, by adapting the arrangement to the development of their most attractive aspects ?

Every one can see in the mere statement of these questions, (which are but samples of many which will readily suggest themselves), that the answers must involve possibilities of vital moment in a sanitary, economic and esthetic sense, and although the answers may be only approximately and conjecturally correct, it by no means follows that there is no room for the exercise of judgment. To pretend that their conditions can be best filled by an invariable adherence to the rectangular system is as absurd as would be the assertion that the convenience and economy and comfort of every family would be best secured by living in a square house, with square rooms, of a unifonn size. The rectangular system has this in its favor, that the first cost of laying out is less than that of a more elaborate architectural arrangement, because any surveyor can run out the lines, and moreover, there is no way in which so many lots can be got out of a given area.****

Take the common case of a town on a river bank, whose site comprises a level area of bottom land of greater or less extent, backed by a range of steep wooded bluffs, which are intersected at irregular intervals by ravines, diverging at various angles from the course of the main valley. Everv AVestern traveler can recall instances of towns so situated, and tlie hideous results of the effort to force nature into formal shape by laying out the streets without the slightest regard to topographical features. The exorcise of artistic skill and judgment niiglit often render the peculiar natural features of such a site, the source of its most striking and attractive characteristic. The level land next the river is obviously the most appropriate situation for the commercial and manufacturing interests, and the high lands which overlook it, for the best residences. The steep hillsides, if preserved in their natural condition, or developed into more artistic expression of their natural characteristics, by appropriate planting and culture, would form a strikingly beautiful feature in the general aspect of the town. Advantage should be taken of ravines to secure an easy ascent to the summit of the bluff, and a fine avenue arranged along its brow, which would furnish building sites for the best residences, overlooking the lower town, and commanding the views up and down the river. Footpaths could be arranged up and down the bluff, winding sufficiently to secure easy grades and taking advantage of any natural terrace or "coigne of vantage" to increase the picturescjue effect by the introduction of appropriate decorations: as a fountain, a monument, or perhaps a rustic arbor and a bit of rich lawn. Thus, the face of the bluff which is commonly rendered a hideous looking precipice, scarred with gullies, and unavailable for any useful purpose, would become a chief ornament and striking feature in the general aspect of the town.

The picturesque and attractive character which may be conferred upon a town hy thus making an ornamental use of areas which are useless for other purposes, is almost inconceivable to one who has given no thought to the subject, and this may be very greatly increased by attention to yarious little details, which are never even thought of by those to whom the work is ('(mmionly entrusted. Suppose, for instance, as is frequently the case in the West, tliat the site of a town is intersected by one or more ravines, beginning a mile or more from the shore of the lake or river on which the town is situated. In many instances these ravines assume an exceedingly picturesque and attractive character, attaining a depth of a hundred feet or more, sometimes comprising at the bottom V charming bit of secluded lawn, while the almost precipitous sides are clothed \yith a fine growth of forest trees, and in the spring are brilliant with the blossoms of the trillium, anemone^ blood root, and other wild flowers, which seem to love to cluster upon such positions as are most difficult of access. The invariable custom, in laying out land comprising such features, is to place the roads at such a distance from the ravine as to admit one tier of lots, tlie houses on which, fronting on the street, will have their back yards running to the bottom or across the ravine, the object being simply that the proprietors may get paid for the land comprised, in the ravine, which is unavailable for any useful purpose. The result is that all effect of natural beauty is lost to the general public, who never get sight of the ravine except from some point where a road is carried across it, and then its attractive expres^^ion is entirely destroyed by the fences running across it to mark the iKUindaries of the different lots, as well as by its being made the dirt hole in which every family deposits its accumulating store of old barrels, boxes and battered tinwtire. If, instead of this, the roads were carried on each side just on the edges of the bank, and buildings only allowed on the opposite side, the ravine would form an ornamental feature between, on which the liouses on each side would front, nnd the residents on each side would feel a mutual j)ride and pleasure in keeping it tidy, and adorning it with trees and shrubberv. It is easv to perceive that such a. street would form a highly ornamental feature in a town, the. picturesque effect of which would be greatly increased by the occasional introduction of a tasteful bridge as convenience miglit dictate.****

In arranging suburban additions to Western towns it is important to hold out to purchasers the inducement of an opportunity to secure a return of investment bv future subdivision, and to this end the lots should be of such size, and so shaped that such subdivision mav be easilv made, without injur}' to the portion which the purchaser would wish to reserve for his own occupation. In every growing town of the West is to be found a numerous class of men of moderate means who are seeking an opportunity to invest a small surplus in a home for themselves, but who cannot afford to purchase solely with that view, yet may be induced to make an extra effort if the prospect is held out that a future sale of a portion may aid them in meeting subsequent payments. A simple division into rectangular lots of proper size for a homestead does not meet this demand effectually: First, because they are not large enough for subdivision, and secondly, because they have no reference to the shape of the ground, which is often such that no portion can be set off which is in itself attractive, without serious injury to the beauty or convenience of that which is left.

The men who are desirous of making such investments are usually of the most industrious and thrifty class, and conse- (juently such as it is most desirable to secure as permanent occupants, as a means of giving such character of stability and lespectability to the place as will prove the most powerful attraction to others.****

Here it is that the advantage becomes appal ent of making the arrangement of the roads and lots conform to the shape of the ground in such manner that every desirable building site becomes available, without injury or inconvenience to others, which in case of inequality of surface or the presence of attractive natural features it is impossible to do by a system of rectangles. It is obvious that, for the accomplishment of the object in the most desirable manner, the tract to be subdivided should comprise an area of considerable extent, and in most cases this can onlv be secured by the mutual consent of several proprietors. My own experience in repeated instances has given me confidence that proprietors of adjoining estates will generally acquiesce in a plan of improvement which commends itself when fairly laid before them, as being mutually advantageous; but on the other hand, it must be confessed that hardly any communities are free from representatives of the class whose object seems to he to profit by the labor and enter})ri8e of others, and who block the efforts of their lunghbors by refusing to cooperate with them.

It would be easy to point out instances of towns or villages possessing all the requisite elements of attractive development, but in which the efforts of the en- terprising and public spirited members of the community have been completely thwarted by the swinish obstinacy of a single individual of the class alluded to. But such men have existed from the time AKsop wiotc the fable of the dog in the riMinger, and we can only trust that like i>ther vermin whose presence is offensive, they may serve some useful purpose of which we - and probably they themselves - arc ignorant.

The point of essential interest, in the experience of those who have undertaken the constniction of ornamental suburban additions, is the evidence they afford that tasteful and skillfully arranged improvements are readily appreciated, and if wisely managed are very sure to provp lucrative investments.

Inasmuch as they add materially to the attractions of a city, and enhance the value of real estate in its vicinity, the projectors of such improvements should be encouraged so far as possible by liberal treatment on the part of municipal authorities. Even if the motive be only a speculative one the result is nevertheless a public benefit and every such effort should be facilitated by such aid as mav be legitimately afforded.****

The world is always wondering at the exhibition of the last evidence of human skill, enterprise and power. The public W'orks, the palaces, hotels, steamboats and ships, which in their day are described as magnificent triumphs of ingenuity and energetic enterprise, but which in the opinion of croakers must prove ruinous to their projectors, are found in a very few years to be inadequate to the public necessity, and are so far eclipsed by the new creations which that necessity inspires, that they sink into comparative insignificance.

And the same is true of the growth of new cities. To some of lis who are not yet decrepid, it seems but yesterday that travellers who had penetrated by weary stage journey into the wilds of Western New York, came back with enthusiastic accounts of the wonderful city of Rochester, which had sprung into bein^ in a day and attained civic rank while the stumps were still standing in the streets. Then came Buffalo, and Cincinnati and

Chicago, each outstripping the other, and (aeh confident that it was the Ultima Thule. But each has found itself the stepping stone to regions of greater and more varied resources, demanding more expansive systems of development. Chicago in a single generation has risen from an obscure village to be the greatest lumber market, the greatest grain market, and the greatest provision market, not in the United States alone, but in the world.

What is the explanation? Simply that the wealth of production, already developed in the regions of which she is the depot of supply and distribution, is greater than is elsewhere concentrated at any one point. But those regions are but thinly settled in comparison to their capacity; their productive powers are not yet half developed, and their whole area is insignificant in comparison with what still lies beyond unappropriated and valueless till its latent powers are touched by the magic wand of labor.****

Only roadside plants in the North Shore region, or such as can be seen from public roads without encroaching upon private grounds, will be designed in these notes. The side of the road is indicated by the compass abbreviations, N., S., E., W.

Other lists of notew^orthy plants will be printed in later issues to indicate the location of plants accessible to the public. Yon are asked to co-operate in compiling notes for such lists.

As this magazine is prepared to stimulate A KEENER APPRECIATION OF THE LANDSCAPE AND VEGETATION BEAUTY of the North Shore above Chicago; TO AID IN CONSERVING AND INCREASING THIS BEAUTY BY CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT ; to record tests of old and new plants, made to determine their special values for the creation and enrichment of landscapes, w^oodlands, lawns and gardens; IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PROPERTY OWNERS CO-OPERATE IN EXTENDING AND NAMING THEIR ROADSIDE PLANTATIONS rXTIL ALL RELIABLY HARDY WOODY PLANTS ARE THUS MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC ENJOYMENT AND INSTRUCTION, and that they ALSO CONSIDER THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLIC FROM THE HIGHWAYS and public reservations in the design of their places.

The general term Aster is used as a common name to plants of seven distinct genera, having no affinity with the true Aster. The China Aster of our gardens is Callistephus chinensis. Starwort is the most common name of our wild Asters. There are about thirty-one species of the true Aster in Lake and Cook Co., Illinois, including A. Tradescanti, the Michaelmas Daisy of England. These wild Asters are so abundant and play such an important part in the coloring of our landscape views that they speak for themselves, and many of them are so improved in their form and color that they are worthy of being brought into the borders. One can readily select special colors among these growing all around us and bring them into our gardens.

There are only two species of Boltonia known to the trade, one, the False Chamomile or Foam-flower (B. asteroides) a native to Illinois south of Chicago in moist situations; the other, the Pink Boltonia (B. lati squama) from Kansas and Missouri. I prefer B. latisquama, but it does not seem as hardy as the other. There is a variety of this one growing only about two feet tall. They are both fine subjects for bold masses at the rear of the border.

Boltonia asteroides is an adniira])le tall plant to he used in the wilder parts in (-(mnection with its still handsomer Missouri sister. The first named bears numerous white, and the latter, pink asterlike flowers, borne in profusion throughout September.

An Asiatic species, Calimeris incisa, of Asicr-like appearance in its pale lavender flowers, growing about three feet tall, is a good companion for the Boltonias. It blooms from mid-July to September.

The Eupatoriums are represented in our native flora by four species, including E. purpureum, the Joe-pye-weed, named after an Indian medicine man of old New England, famed for his skill in curing typhoid f(»ver. Ills cure-all was a tea made from llio article on llio North Shore ravines i.s sent in by Mr. Otto O. Schaffer of Lake F'orest, wlio has had much experience in the construction of places in Lake Forest in which ravines were notable features. This work has given him the knowledge that enables him to write with authority.

A portion of the Introduction of "Ti'ces of North America," by B. TJ. Piper, M. D., published in 1858 by A. Williams & Co., of Boston, Mass., is given in this number because it ably puts forth a plea for general tree planting as well as for the appreciation of the beauties of individual trees.

The Preservation Of Old

There are ancient trees that have during each of tliese many years been adding to their beauty and to their majesty, disregarding, or courageously combatting.

We point to the pyramids of Egypt, the buried cities of Italy, the great wall of China, and the stone ruins of Central America, as evidences of the skill of ancient man, but they are all in ruins now. Even that obelisk in our own most beautiful capital city to that greatest of Americans gives visible evidence of the disintegration of its surface. All of this is proof of the fugitive character of men's structures when we compare them with the oldest trees.

The people's love of trees and their willingness to make every effort to promote their welfare is indicated by the swarming hordes of tree doctors who are beseeching every tree owner to permit him to perform surgical operations on well trees and doctor sick trees, too often with an assurance that is never backed by a financial guarantee that sick trees can be made well.

Without doul)t many trees are benefited by trimming, especially 3'oung trees wherein a little trimming wall prevent branches from chafing, establish leading branches, and protect wounds that otherwise would cause decav; but with ancient and much decaved trees monev is oftc^i wasted in attempting to restore health where the period of vitality that will permit this has long passed by.

This is an appeal to you to save fine old trees. If they are on tlie property of an owner who is likely to cut them, buy the trees with the use of the land so long as they live, if you cannot buy the land. I have a deed for 15 old Pines that I see lialf a mile away from my old home. If a man won't give you a deed, buy the trees and secure a receipt for your money and an agreement that the trees will be allowed to stand. There are few men whose love for trees will not give an assurance that they will stick to such a bargain. Or have the trees deeded to the town or an Improvement Association, as the Harriet Rogers' Beech Tree in North Billerica has been deeded.

Can you imagine a more lasting or worthier monument to an individual who would establish a fund to preserve old trees that would grow in beauty each year, and be succeeded bv a new generation of old trees? THE DIRECTOR.

North Shohe K A Vines

comparable to that which now covers Greenland, though many times larger. It is not my purpose to discuss the climatic clianges which brought about this glacial condition. Conjecture has attributed it to changes in the earth's orbit, to changes in the distribution of the land, and to many other changes. Suflice it to say that scientists are by no means agreed as to the true explanation of the fact. Whatever the cause may have been, the fact of the existence of this vast ice sheet, more than 4,000,000 scjuare miles in area, is generally admitted.

Lack of space forbids my giving more than a general idea of the glacial action which caused the very interesting tojwgraphy of the >^'orth Shore. Briefly it was this: As tlie glacier advanced over the region it found forests and swamps. Trees from the forest were either buried where they stood or were torn up bodily and carried along with the ic(\ The soils of the swamps sometimes suffered a similar fate, but more often, as tliey offered no resistance to the ice sheet, they were simply buried. If the species of the plants thus carried along could be determined, they would give some chic to the climatic conditions preceding; the advent of the ice shoet.

Stones of all sizes were incorporated in the underside of the ice sliect. As the sheet moved forward, these stones ground away the rock surface underlying the legion from which trees and soil had been removed. The bed rock over which the glacier moved shows quite plainly, through its striation, the direction of the movement.

However, the wear effected by the rock-shod ice field was not confined to a mere marking of the surface over which it passed. Where prominences of rock obstructed progress, they were acted upon all know tliat tiiey are there. How many and worn away. Where the sheet moved through a valley lengthwise, the eflfect was to deepen the valley > where the movement was across the valley, the effect was to wear down tlie borders.

Those geologists who have concerned themselves especially with the question are confident that the whole glacial period w^as composed of several glacial epochs, separated by inter-glacial eiM>chs. Ehiring these inter-glacial epochs plant and animal life returned to the region, only to be driven out and southward witli the coming of the next glacial epoch. The ice sheets of several of these glacial epochs passed over northern Illinois and each contributed sometliing to the present effect of glaciation.

On melting, these glaciers left their foimer bed covered with the debris which they had carried. Had this debris been equally distribiited throughout the glacier, the de}3osit would have been of uniform depth and would not have altered greatly the topography. But the drift was not equally distributed, and, as a result, it rfltercd the to})ography very markedly; in our region the variation in the depth of deposit is 150 feet or more. From the above very general summary, it can be seen that the topography of the Xorth Shore is a result of the superi>osition of an unequally thick mantle of drift on an uneven rock surface. The formation of soil throughout the region is a result of the decay of vegetable matter which began to grow as soon as the ice had melted away.

The actual fonnation of the ravines which are such a large part of the natural beautv of the Xorth Shore was due to the action of the water resulting from the melting of the glacial ice. This water, in finding its way to the lake, naturally took the course of the small depressions left in the drift. Gradually these depressions were worn down and deepened until the present ravines, in some instances 70 to SO feet deep near the lake, were formed.

These ravines are the most attractive and interesting features of the North Shore. They are also perhaps the least well known features. I do not mean that the residents of the North Shore are not aware of the existence of the ravines. We of US really know them, know of their wealth of plant life, ranging from giant Cotton woods, magnificent White Pines and White Oaks, Sugar Maples, Lindens, Ash trees, Birches, Arbor Vitaes, Spruces, Wild Crabapples, Hawthorns, Willows, and many other trees; through the interesting and ever changing Witch Hazels, JX)gwoods, Viburnums, Honeysuckles, Shepherdias, Wild Koses, Elders, and many other shrubs; to the dozens of varieties of beautiful wild flowers which bloom continuously from the time of the first Hepatica until the last Aster and Golden-rod; Violets, blue, yellow, white; Trilliums, Lady Slippers, Shooting Stars, Mandrakes, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Blood Roots, Anemones, Cranesbill, Gentians, Solomon*s-Seal, Bell- Worts, and hosts of others? How many of us who are no longer children still know these flowers and plants? How long ago is it since you found the very first Hepatica bud of the season and carefully removed the leaves which covered it in order to hurry it into bloom ?

Unfortunatelv verv few of our North Shore towns realized what fine park possibilities their ravines offered in time to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire them. Lake Forest and Lake Bluff both have ravines as part of their Park systems and both have done something to o})en the ravines for the use of the people.

I^ke Bluff, though only a village, and therefore limited in funds, has recognized the value of its ravines as an educational institution and has had a very fine trail system developed which is used extensively. Lake Forest has also put a trail through its Park ravine and it is one of the most beautiful and interesting walks in the city. I question whether more than one in ten of the people of the city know it.

The most interesting ravines are owned by individuals who have, for the most part, done little, if anything, to make them a part of the landscape development of their place. Too often the ravine has been used merely as a convenient dump for drainage water, ashes, tin cans, and, in some cases, for sewerage. There

I have in mind the case of a man who bought, some four years ago, a small piece of property fronting on L^ke Michigan and flanked on one side by a really fine ravine, full of evergreens, deciduous trees, shrubs and wild flowers. The actual area available for a house site, and the other features usually associated with a North Shore lake front estate, was less than one acre. The man, however, had a vision of a home with a real North Shore setting and decided that the acre available was (^nough for a house and the other necessary parts of a place. He really bought the place because of the ravine, and his first step toward making a place was the development of the ravine. He had a complete system of trails put through the ravine before anything else was done on the place. The place is not yet complete, but the man considers the money spent on his ravine as the best investment on the place and finds the ravine trail an ever-pleasant source of beauty and inspiration, both winter and summer.

The most highly developed ravine along the North Shore is that of Mr. (Vrus McCormick in Lake Forest. Mr. ^^cCo^mick is a real ravine enthusiast and has an intimate personal acquaintance with every nook and corner of his very extensive ravine. With the help of Mr. Warren H. Manning, of Boston, and the able assistance of Mr. Orpet, his superintendent, Mr. McCormick has develo}^d his ravine from a ratiier ordinary one into a veritable paradise of ravine l>lants. In many places, where the slopes were bare as a result of slides, locusts bad to be planted to hold the soil. These liave gradually been cut out and replaced with trees, shrubs, and wild flowers native to this range. Thousands of wild flowers of all kinds and varieties have l>een planted.

A simple gravel drive, winding down through the ravine alongside of the little stream at the bottom, and hundreds of feet of trails on the slopes afford a means of reaching every part of the ravine. The sides of the stream channel have been protected from washouts by the use of stumps and rocks, so cleverly placed and the crevices so well planted that one gets the impression that they were always there. The really fine thing about Mr. McCorniick's work is the fact that he permits others to wander at will, through his ravine and shares with any who may care to enjoy it, the beauty of his place. The only request made is that the wild flowers be undisturbed. A walk through the ravine in late April, when the slopes are literally covered with Hepaticas, pink, blue, lavender, and white, or a little later when the Trilliums and Violets hold the stage, is a pleasure never to be forgotten.

There are, of course, many other fine examples of ravine development along the Nortli Shore. The Bosenwald ravine in Highland Park, the A. A. Sprague and Stanlev Field ravines in Lake Bluflf, as well as several others, have been partly developed. I have cited two definite instances to show that ravine work is not ne<*essarily dependent upon the possession of much money. One of the most modest ravines of all the region has, by careful planning and the expenditure of only a little money, been developed into one of the most interesting.

There are dozens of ravines along the North Shore which contain a wealth of beauty entirely unknowTi to the people who live within a stone's throw of them. All these ravines could be made the most interesting feature of their respective owner's estate by the addition of a simple inexpensive trail, with a few steps to help over the steep places. Once the charm of these ravines is appreciated, it will not be long until their owners will open them to use and will consider them the attraction of the place instead of a convenient, out of the way place into which to turn drains and sewers.

Nature considered it worth while to spend thousands of years' time and sacrifice vast quantities of plant and animal life in order that there might be a North Shore. Should not we, her stewards, consider the gift worth cherishing? Set aside a few hours of the many devoted to unnecessary activity, and wander through the nearest ravine. The leaves of the Sugar Maple have a much more wonderful coloring than any seen on the avenue. The purple grackles are gathering their clans preparatory to the southward journey. You may see a cotton-tail meditating upon the fickleness of summer and wondering how plentiful next winter's food supply will be. At any rate, if you observe the Oak leaves carefully, you may get a good idea for that suit or hat.

Some Peculiarities Of Plant Life

I have often wondered if plants were endowed with instinct. We all know that instinct is an impulse to act without a preliminary reasoning as to why the act bhould be performed. Plants often act in this manner and why should we not attribute it to instinct?

Darwin experimented with a vine grown in a pot. The vine had reached some six inches higher than a stake which supported it and was wandering aimlessly around. lie placed the pot within a few inches of a string fastened perpendicularly reaching higher than the vine. *l*he following morning he found that it had reached over and entwined itself around the string. He unloosened it and placed it at the opposite side and the vine soon found it as before. How did the vine know where to find the string? Was it instinct ?

Why do the runners of a Strawberryplant extend quite a distance from its parent before they root at the tips unless it is to get into unoccupied soil and thus have ample food? Something akin to instinct must prompt it.

Some years ago I had a Paulownia imperalis in an individual hole some eight feet away from a well enriched flower ))ed. It remained there probably five years when I took it up. I had noticed a mass of feeding roots in the flower bed and presumed it came from the Paulownia, but as the roots of a tree in an open situation generally radiate from the main trunk like the spokes of a wheel and extend as far as the branches overhead, it would make the root system of this tree fully sixteen feet in diameter, entirely too large for the size of this tree. The puzzle was soon solved. The hole in which the tree was planted was about three feet in diameter, hardly large enough for a single perennial, but I did not know better then and none of the roots reached the outer edge when planted, nor were any of them more than three-quarters of an inch in diameter. When I took up the tree 1 found that none of the roots but one had gone beyond the original hole more than five or six inches and had not increased in size to more than an inch thick. The one exception was a root originally pointing towards the mine of rich food, the flower bed, which had run directly towards it and upon reaching its borders had spread its fan-shaped system of fee<ling roots all through the bed. This root had forced itself througli six and a lialf feet of hard clav loam in order to reach a rich foraging ground and was as thick as niv arm at its base. The root had to enlarge its carrying capacity in order to convey the great supply of food its feeding roots were giving it. It was in fact the main source of food. How did this tree know of that mine of food eight feet away and what caused it to push forward to it? It must have stinted the downward How of sa]) to the other roots and pushed this one on rai)idly so as to reach th? feeding ground.

A plant bent over permanently will soon turn up its tips and side branches. Tt seems to know that the full effect of sunlight on all its foliage is necessary in order to prepare its sap for assimilation. How does it know it, and knowing it what prompts it to act ? It may })e called a law of nature. So it is. Instinct is one of the laws of nature. The law of nature causes a duckling to take to the water. We call it instinct.

1 raenlioned the fact that the Paulownia had forced one root over six feet through a hard clay loam, encountering hard obstacles such as stones, etc. We marvel at this when we consider that the terminal point of a root is slender and pliable. The feeding roots are mainly of annual duration and are slim and hairlike. The roots we see when a tree is taken up are mainly bark-covered channels through which the sap gathered by the feeding roots is conveyed to the tree. The extended growth of a branch or root is caused by the growth - by multiplication - of the cellular tissues. New cells are produced and the new growth thus extended. The power pushing this new growth forward is mysterious but effective. It is said that a mushroom that mav be crushed under one^s foot has a power during its growth to lift a flagstone. This mysterious growing power is constantly pushing the tips of the root through the soil, but so slowly and subtle in its progress that it does not bend or l)reak. What of the tender point that has to battle with the hard soil and encounter ilinty rocks? Surely these would soon be worn off and disabled. Xature takes care of this. These points all wear thimbles. The Lord made thimbles before man did and the trees wore them before woman did. She wears them to protect her fingers, the tree to protect its toes. Tliese protective thimbles, or caps, are composed of "older and lees delicate cells, wliich slough off and become slimy as tlK\v are pushed ahead of the elongating tip." They are not set on loosely like my lady's thimble, but are attached firmly to the point of the root they protect. The new growth - the multiplication of cells - takes place at the junction of root and thimble, and not only extends the root, but forms new cells on the under side of the thimble. As the outer cells are worn off the next layer takes their place.

We all know that the sap ascends the tree mainly in the spring and early summer and is distributed among the leaves which are the fireless cookers that pre- ])are it for the tree's assimilation. This sap is composed mainly of the mineral elements obtained in the earth, held chieflv in mechanical solution in water. It is unfit for plant food until acted upon by sun and air. The numerous leaves of deciduous trees are flat so as to give a greater "cooking" surface. Here most of the water evaporates and the food prepared in the leaves passes downwards, depositing new layers of growth to trunk, branch and root, and furnishing food for the increase of cellular tissue that extends branch and root. Some shrubs are so constructed l)v nature that thev will grow in shade and assume the normal fonn of their kind, but those that do best in the sun, and also will grow in open shade^ assume, in shade, a different form than when in the sun. The Witch-hazel, for instance, when in shade assumes a spreading, umbrella-like shape. It must have some light to act upon its sap so it npreads out its branches laterally so that every leaf has an upper surface fully exj)Osed. Did instinct cause this?

You know that when we cut back the branches of a tree or shrub it breaks out with new branches further back and thus l)ecomeB bushy. You also know that when a tree is slowly dying it becomes thin at the top, often sprouts at the base ana sometimes makes new growth on the trunk near the lower branches. The reason is that it is too weak to pump the sap up to the top and as a consequence the tree breaks out" lower down.

Now, all leaves, flowers and branches start from a bud. We did not see any ])uds where these branches came from, still they were tliere, dormant but hidden. Xature insures against accidents and these obscure liuds arc the paid premiums that force out a renewed verdure.

Where the descending sap is building uj) all y>arts of the tree it also forms what are sometimes called "adventitious buds." They are not fully formed buds but "points" of active life which will perform the functions of true buds if called upon to act. They are distributed along the trunk and branches. These embryonic l>oints of life may reniain dormant many years and not act unless required. They are wliat pioduce the new growtli when vou cut back your trees or shrubs.

A tree often prunes itself and sets us i\ good example of how neatly the job may be done. Sometimes the quantity of sap taken up into a tree is greater than tlie foliage can take care of. It then calls ii])on its adventitious buds for relief and new shoots are s(M)n formed. These are called sap shooti? or water shoots. Sometimes they remain, but more often the tree casts them ot! - ^pmnes them - ^when the proper balance between the flow ol sap and leaf jmrface is obtained. I said casts off, shoves off would be better for they are really slioved off. The tree rid?

itself of them in the same manner it casts off its foliage in the fall when it has no inore use for it. It forms a corky substance or growth between the stem of the leaf, or base of the sap shoot, and the branches or trunk, that as it thickens in growth it shoves off the leaf, or sap shoot, leaving no perceptible scar. As soon as a branch dies it receives no more of the prepared food. At its base a ring of new growth takes place, which tightens in on the dead branch as the gi'owth proceeds until it finally chokes it off and in time covers up the opening.

Vines are set in their ways. Some twine from right to left and seldom can be made to go the other way. Others reverse the proceedings and twine from left to right. The tendrils of the grape, the gourds and many others are provided with a spiral spring that relieves the tension when the winds sway the vine, thus 1 educing chances of breakage.

Many plants possess odd and interesting features. One would hardly look for a perennial that would produce a volatile gas that may be ignited and have it flame up its flower spike and do no damage to the flowers - a flame two to three inches long running upwards with a hissing sound. Still we have it in the Dictamnus alba, the Fraxinella or Gas Plant.

Many have seen the showy vines of the Bougainvillea glabra that does so well in Florida and southeni California, but how many can tell the colors of the flowers? I had a plant of the variety Sanderiana in a tub and had lots of fun in asking visitors to name the color of its flowers. N>arlv all called it some shade of red and were surprised when I showed them the small vellow flowers that were surrounded by the brilliantly colored cordate-ovate bracts which are the attractions of the bloom. These bracts bear the same relation to the true flower that the yellow ravflorets of the sunflower do to it, both l)eing attractive dinner bells to the insects who in obtaining their meals, fertilize their hostess.

Have you ever seen the flowers of the Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora? If not, look down in among the sterile flowers, they being the main ones visible, and you will find tiny true flowers possessing

I have noticed quite a number of things along the same line; for example, a tree on "Dolobran" at Haverford, Pa., had quarry chips and soil filled over the surface about 4 ft. up the trunk when the tree was 3 in. in diameter. There had l)een a great accumulation of earth and leaves over the surface of these chips sufficient to start roots on the trunk. These roots had continued to develop and had l>ecome the main support of the tree, the old trunk practically remaining dormant without decay and not increasing in size. The new trunk had a diameter of about 8 in. It was necessary to move the tree, so it was cut off below the new set of roots and transplanted. This root system was sufficient support for a few years, but the tree finally died.

In another case filling was placed about the trunk to a height of about 7 ft. New roots started out just under the surface of this fill which later was removed, leaving a fringe of roots about 5 ft. long hanging around the tree on all sides, the old system remaining perfectly normal.

I have also seen new roots form well up the trunk of a tree, and find tlicir way down under old bark in the decaying wood and sawdust made by wood borers, that had worked under the bark, until there was quite a complete network of fibreti covering the surface for several feet l)elow the uninjured cambium layer from whicli the mot started aftt^r the bark had fallen awav.

The native inidergrowth at WALDEN at first sight d(K»s not seem to be much varied, though it is typical of the region. Even in the vicinity of the residence. where any American R[)ecie8, not native to this region, have been added, much of the taller covering of the forest floor is a mixture of Common Hazel (Coiylus americana) and Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), the latter being by far the most common shrub at WALDEN. In some spots their place is taken by the Downy Arrowwood (Viburnimi pubescens) in great patches, or rarely by smaller groups of the Maple-leaved Arrowwood (Viburnum acerifolium). But not infrequently the drier parts of the woods are quite open and covered by a rank growth of sunflowers. The slopes of the ravines are often entirely apiHX)priated by Witch Hazel, but in places there are masses of the Round-leaved Dogwood (Comus rugosa), the Alternate-leaved Cornel (Comus alternifolia), the Panicled Dogwood (Comus racemosa). Common Elder (Sambucus canadensis), Nannyberry (Viburnum Lentago), Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium), all of which bear their clustered fruits abun- <lantly in autumn. On the dry slopes two dwarf shrubs are found in small groups, the New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americana) and the Fly Honeysuckle (Diervilla Lonicera). They are interesting little shrubs when in bloom and unnoted for the rest of the year.

One Wild Rase is sparingly tucked away among the Hazels. It is probably Rosa acicularis, the fruit not being as ellipsoidal as in some extreme forms. There are several Brambles or Wild Blackberries in the oi)en thickets, and a Red Raspl»erry, a form of Rubus idaeus, is not infrequent, but as a rule the undergrowth is free from thorn v briars.

The Wild Black Currant (Ribes amerioanum) and tlie Prickly Gooseberry (Ribee Cynosbati) are sparingly scattered through the open woods. With the Haspberries and Brambles and Shadbushes they represent the edible native l)ush fmits, whose cultivated relatives make up the bush fmits of the garden. On the lake bluff are vigorous small ])lants of the Smaller Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia canadensis), which is fre- (|uent along the whole lake shore. This is a comparatively rare plant and merits to i>e encouraged as a dwarf shrub for dry slo}ie8.

growth of many parts of North America, is here wholly lacking, probably because of the unfavorable chemical contents of the soil. Khododendrons, Laurels, and others have been planted, but they refuse to grow. It is interesting, then, to the student of plants to find on the top of the ravine slope one small patch of the Late Low Bludberry (Vaocinium vacillans), which forms great patches in the eastern part of this continent. There is no record that this imder-shnib was ever planted liere, nor does it seoni to be increasing or decreasing, but merely continuing its existence under unfavorable conditions.

Thr^ native woody vines are not many. Heavy masses of the Eiver-bank or Frost Grape (Vitis vulpina) hang from the trees in the vicinity of the lake and lower tangles of Climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) give a brilliant show of scarlet fruits in autumn. The Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is native to the woods of Lake Forest, but all the plants now growing on the trees at WALDEN were planted, and Engelman^s variety has been extensively used on the buildings and bridges. Two species of Honeysuckle are frequent in the deep woods. One is certainly the Minnesota Honeysuckle (Lonicera SuUivantii), as identified by its much-whitened leaves and elongated clusters of pale yellow flowers and orange fruit. The other is less high climbing with deep red flowers, it may possibly be Tx)nicera serapervirens. Two plants of a species of Green Briar (Smilax) have been noted, but it seems to have been an accident. Moonseed (Menispermum canadense) is also native, but those on the fence have been planted.

Finally, while the undergrowth at WALDEN is not wonderfully varied to the scientist seeking a variety of plant forms, as only few types of woody plants are well represented, to the eye of the nature lover there is no lack of interest and variation. Whatever the future plantings at WALDEN may add to the borders of the roads and trails, the native shrubbery will still have an individuality of its own, while the wonderful herb covering beneath it blossoms forth every year in an unrivalled proceSvSion.

No one, it seems to us, who possesses I he least s])ark of intelligence, can look abroad upon the works of nature, without being struck with the fact that the design of the All-wise Father was to addreBs us more directly, and to impress us more fully, through the aesthetic sense, or sense of tlie beautiful, than by any other means. All His works are clothed with beauty as witli a gannent, as if to conceal their utility, in the usual acceptation of that term, in order to make us forget that sordid appreciation of them, which is too common with us all. He might have given us fruit, without first clothing the trees in a robe of beauty and of joy. He might have given us com and grain, without their successive stages of beautiful development. He might have given us rain aud sunshine, without every moment, during the solemn march of the ages, presenting new pictures in the earth and sky. He might have given us trees and plants, and clothed them with leaves and flowers, without forming them as now, so that no two trees in all the world are alike, nor any two leaves in all this mighty mass of verdure that we cannot distinguish from each other, nor any two flowers, upon the same stalk even, which are not sufficiently unlike to enable us to mark them as individuals.

Take for instance the branch of an oak, and examine every leaf in succession. You will find each is unlike every- other, and that in addition to this variety, by the combination of lines and angles, the arrangement of the leaves on the stem so that each presents a different aspect to the eye, the effect of light and shadow, the shadows of some passing over the others, and in the thousand variations of tint and tone, which no language can describe, you have a mass of bewildering beauty, every part of which is felt to be distinct from the rest, and yet so alike, that you would not for one moment mistake the kind of tree to which it belongs.

joying the shade and coolness of the leafy road, or in contemplating the many uses to which the tree is adapted. Who has not felt to bless the name of Tudor, when rambling over the ''stern and rock-bound shores'' of Kahant? And who does not feel a glow of gratitude, when walking the lofty aisles of verdure in the "City of Elms,'* to him who did so much to produce so wast a leafy temple ?

In our enjoyment of the present, we are apt to forget that we cannot, without sin, neglect to provide for those who are to come after us. In order to do our duty to our country, to those who are to succeed us, we should do all in our power to encourage the planting of trees. In ^ame parts of Germany the government makes it a duty for every landholder to plant trees in the highways, l)efore his property; and it is said tiiat in a few towns no young man can marry till he ha© planted a tree. As the people govern here, they should see that their government he as enlightened in this direction as that of the despotic rulers of the old world.

Lord Bagot planted, during his life, over two million oaks in Straffordshire a ad Wales, which are said to be the most planted by any one man in England in hi? time. It would seem as if a sort of noblo rivalry existed among many English gentlemen, in respect to planting trees. Davy speaks of Sir Joshiia Vannec, who, he says, "has, with his nol)le plantations of oaks, beeches, chestnuts, etc., ornamented the whole country, and which in half a century, as the soil is favorable to them, will be an inexhaustible treasure to the public, as well as to his family.'* Tlu' profit of growing forest trees is a subject upon which we hope to be able to |)roseiit some data in the ptogress of this work, which will be of value, and furnish additional inducements to the planting and prcforAation of trees. Mr. South n^entions that an oak of sixty years' standing will in twenty-four years double its contents of timber, and of course increase iU value in a much greater ratio. Another foreign writer mentions a growth of two hundred acres of wood, which was three times cut over in twenty-four years, producing in all fifteen hundred dollars of our money, when, had it been allowed to stand from the first an equal number of years, it would have produced, at the very lowest valuation, thirty thousand dollars. We shall see from this how much care and judgment should be exercised in the cutting down of our forests. But we hope to pursue this subject further in the future. The editor of the Horticulturist, a publication, we would remark, which ought to be in the hands of every family in the country, furnishes us with some facts which are of so much interest to all, that we shall avail ourselves of this opportunity to present them to our readers. It seems that the supply of many kinds of wood, which are necessary for mechanical purposes, is becoming so uncertain as to make it a matter of serious inquiry, what is to be done, in our own day, to meet the demand. It is proposed to plant the sides and embankments of railroads, canals, and public roads, with locust, white oak, chestnut, hickory, and larch, which would, in a few years, not only add much to the beauty of the country, but create a supply, sufficient, if properly managed, to meet an immense annual demand, and yield a very large profit on the first investment. This is a subject of so much importance to every one, whether small or great, in our country, that, although it may seem to some a little out of place in a work of this description, we shall pursue it still further. State governments should at once take this matter in hand, and thus do as much as is in their power to remedy past neglect. No public road or canal, of any kind, over which these governments have control, should be constructed without making the planting of the borders with trees, and their after care, imperative upon those who have the management. Had this been done early in the history of tliese enterprises, says the author quoted above, "in the Southern States there would now have been an ample provision of live oak timber, and in the Northern of white oak, locust, etc., for national and private purposes."

"By planting the acorns, or seeds, scarcely any cost would be incurred; but it can be shown by practical men, that, at present prices, a mile of seedling oaks.

one year old, planted ten feet apart, - which would give for both sides of a road one mile in length, one thousand and fifty-six acres, - could be bought and planted for twenty dollars, and locust for the same, if not for less. At a low estimate, we will assume that these trees, in twenty years, would be worth, on an average, two dollars each, or two thousand one hundred and twelve dollars. (Ornamental trees produce a much greater result in from live to eight years.) If the route from Philadeli)hia to Pittsburg, wliicjj, with its branches, is four hundred miles in length, wore planted on hoih sides, say eight hundred miles, the value produced, where nothing of value is now growing, would, if we are correct, be eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars ! Apply this estimate to the whole length of railroads, canals, and turnpikes in the Union, and the result is too startling for figures." It seems that wa arc now greatly dependent upon C'anada to meet this demand, and the question is seriously asked, **When Canada has exhausted her e^upply," which she must at some time do, 'Svhere are we to go?"

In this calculation, trees of known mercantile value are taken as samples. It is recommended to change their cliaracter, according to climate and soil, and the demand in various localities. In case the (companies already formed refuse to . do this, it is recoininended to form com- ]>anie8 for this s|K*cial purpose, the stock of which, we are assured, would be of much more value than that of the roads themselves. The governments of France and Switzerland, and of some other countries, long ago attended to this matter; and now we are informed that the turn- ]^ikes and canals furnish an abundance of timber for ship building and other purposes. Shall we, with all our common schools and freedom, \ye less wise than they? The English walnut, which is in such demand in this and other countries, is furnished, to a great extent, by trees planted on the sides of the roads leading from France to Switzerland over the Jura.

In Germany, the very near vicinity of the railix)ad track is cultivated bv the lookout men, and the station house grounds, in many instances, are made so

We would again, however, appeal to the thousands of intelligent landholders in our country. It is to them that we look mainly for a reform in this direction. We know of an instance in a neighboring state, where a pasture, of but little value, was covered with fruit trees, which in a few years produced an annual income of more than twelve hundred dollars. 'The father of the late Duke of Athol lived to see a ship launched that was built out of the larch wood planted by himself on his naked Scotch hills." This larch flourishes well with us, and there are thousands of places, where it and other valuable woods should be planted, which would yield a tliousand i^r cent., upon a very small outlay. It is calculated, by the able editor of the Horticulturist, that five hundred dollars worth of locust trees, planted at the birth of an infant, on land of moderate value, would be worth more than ten thousand dollars at its majority.

In order to foster and rightly develop this love of trees, which, according to a celebrated writer, is peculiarly the prop- »erty of the northern races, several methods suggest themselves, which have been before presented by the lamented Downing and others. First, every private individual who owns a garden sliould every year give some portion of his own time, and timt of his gardener, if he employs one, to his neighbors and the public, in order to beautify and improve his town or village. Tliere is no benevolence which |)ays a liigher money interest than this. Hut we would not urge this as a motive, though it may properly have its influence; nor do wc think that it often enters into the calculations of thovse generous tree planters, whose favorite pursuit, according to Irving, is so ennobling in its nature. We know of one gentleman, who has pursued this course, and in a few years has, i)y his generous system, more than doubled the value of his own property, and that of his neighborhood. We were pleased to see Inscribed over a beautiful arched entrance to his grounds, "People are requested to walk in these grounds," and though fruit and flowers are exposed in eveiy direction, his confidence is never abused. Where there is not time to devote to this object, trees might be given away, upon the condition that they be carefully planted and cared for; and, as every sueccj^sful cultivator must have .some pro|)er method of transplanting, etc., he should give some little instruction to the recipients of his gifts, in order to secure, as far as possible, a successful result. There is nothing in which people fail so often as in transplanting trees, and yet nothing is easier, or more certain, if it is conducted upon correct principles. We shall give a few simple rules in another part of this work, which we think cannot fail of being easily understood and put in practice. We have transplanted hundreds of trees and shrubs, and with such uniform success, that we now not only expect them in all cases to live, (where their character and condition would warrant such an expectation), but to make a rapid and vigorous growth. In the second place, we would call upon the nursery men to lend their aid. It is their business, we know, to sell trees, and it may seem strange that we recommend them to give away their goods in order to increase their business; but we are convinced, by actual observation, that what Downing recommended some time since is the best course. He savs, "It may appear, to some of our commercial readers, an odd recommendation, to urge theni to give away precisely that wliich it is their business to sell; but we are not talking at random, when we say, most confidently, that such a course steadily pursued l)y amateurs and nurserymen, throughout the country, for ten years, would increase the taste for planting, and the demaiul for trees, five hundred fold.'' We know of an instance where this course has been pursued, by one lil)eral-minded nursery man, and the result lias been, that his sales have more than doubled, every year, since he commenced the practice. It is but just to say, how^ever, as this will fall under his eye, that he has done this with no view to profit, but from the promptings of a noble and generous heart. ****** As a third means to this end, we would ask the attention of Horticultural and Agricultural Societies to the subject. They have already done so much to develop the resources of the country in other directions, we feel confident, that if they were to take this matter in hand, we should soon see great and beneficial results. It would not become us to point out methods, but we leave it to those who have already shown so much wisdom in giving direction and energy to the development of kindred pursuits.

We cannot better close this part of oui subject than by quoting from one to whom we are already so much indebted, '^n Saxony," says Downing, "the traveler beholds with surprise and delight, on the road between Wiessenfels and Halle, quantities of the most beautiful and rare shrubs and flowers growing along the foot patlis, and by the sides of the hedges which line the public promenades. The custom prevails there, among private individuals who have beautiful gardens, of annually planting some of their surplus materiel along these public promenades, for the enjoyment of those who have no gardens. And the custom is met in the same beautiful spirit by the people at large; for, in the main, those embellishments which turn the highway into pleasure grounds are resjjected, and grow and bloom as if within the enclosures.

*'Doe8 not this argue a civilization among these *down-trodden' nations of Central Europe, that would not be unwelcome in this our land of equal rights and free schools?"

Typical Elms and other Tree-^ of Massachusetis. By Lorin L. Dame. Illustrated by Henry Brooks. Little, Brown & Vo., Boston, 1890. 89 pp., 58 illus. $15.

Large Trees. Strutt's Sylva Brittanica, or Portraits of Forest Trees distinguished for their magnitude, antiquity, and beauty. By Jacob George Strutt. J. G. Strutt, London, 1826. 8 pp., 47 plates. $15.

Trees of Reading. By F. H. Gilson. Pub. by F. H. Gilson, Reading, Mass., 1887. Only one part published, but plates for second part prepared. Only damaged copies of this may be had.

Trees of Orange, N. J. Consisting of two portfolios of photogravures of trees in and about Orange; with descriptions. Pub. by the New England Society of Orange, N. J., in 1874 and 1875. (Difficult to obtain.)

Trees of Worcester. By Arabella R. Tucker, Worcester, Mass., 1894. 58 pp., 8 photogravures. Devoted to notable trees in and near Worcester. $1.50.

Trees of America. K. U. Piper. W. White, printer to the Commonwealth, Boston, 1855. 64 pp., 12 plates. Published also in 1858 by A. Williams & Co., Boston, in four parts at 50 cents each, by subscription.

Les Vieux Arbres de la Normandie. Bv Henri Cadeau de Kerville. Etude Botanic-Historiqtie. Pub. by J. B. Bailliere et Fils, Paris. In four parts, puljlished respectively in 1891, 1893, 1896 and 1899, being extracts from Bulletin of Society of Friends of Natural Sciences, liouen; contains in all 82 plates. Total cost, $4.00.

The Yew Trees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bv John Lowe, M. D. The MacMillan Co., New York and London, 1897. 270 pp. Well illustrated with sketches. $2.50.

Tree^ from Nature. By Geo. Barnard. Winsor & Newion, London, 1868. Large portfolio, 30 reproductions of pencil drawings by the author, with descriptions. Trees studied from artist's point of view, and their landscape especially dwelt upon. Each tree or group of trees taken fi-om some particular point in Europe. $12.50.

Life of Campestris Vim. The Oldest Inhabitant of Boston Common. By Joseph Henry Curtis. W. B. Clarke Co., Boston, 1910. With maps and illustrations.

The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds. By Frank J. Scott. Pub. by D. Appleton & C^o., New York, 1872. Pub. alvso bv American Book Exchange, New York, 1881.

.1 Report on the Trees and Shrubs (i rowing Naturally in the Forests of Massacliusetts. By George B. Emerson. 547 pages, 17 i)lates. Pul). by Dutton and \\Vntworth, Boston, 1846. A second edition in two volumes published by Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1875. A third edition in 1878.

As this magazine is prepared to stimulate A KEENER APPRECIATION OF THE LANDSCAPE AND VEGETAI'lOX BEAUTY of the North Shore above Chicago; TO AID IN CONSERVING AND INCREASING THIS BEAUTY BY CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT ; to record tests of old and new j)lants, made to determine their special values for the creation and enrichment of landscapes, woodlands, la\vns and gardens; IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PROPERTY OWNERS CO-OPERATE I\ EXTENDING AND NAMING THEIR ROADSIDE PLANTATIONS I'XTIL ALL RELIABLY HARDY WOODY PLANTS ARE THUS MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC ENJOY^ MENT AND INSTRUCTION, and that they ALSO CONSIDER THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLIC FROM THE HIGHWAYS and public reservations in the design of their places.

Forest, Lake Blupp, North Chicago And Waukegan

INCLUDMG PARTS OP CHICAGO, AND THE TOWNS OP EVANSTON, WILMETTE, KENILWORTH, WINNETKA, LAKESIDE, GLENCOB, RAVINIA, HIGHLAND PARK, HIGH WOOD, PORT SHERIDAN, LAKE FOREST, LAKE BLUPP, NORTH CHICAGO AND WAUKEGAN . . . .

The Yellow Ladt'H 8Lippkr Is Happiest In Thb Altoo Ether

THE tDOBt important part of your lanilscapR planting is that the epeclmea trees which really form the "climax" of your whole planting, shall be as perfect as you can possibly secure. We invite your cons liberation of Hill's Specimen Evergreens, each of which la grown with as much care as though it were the only one In our nurBeries.

We grow our speclmena from seed and transplant them frequently. This Is one of the great secrets of Buccessful evergreen culture; it la absolutely essential to the formation of a maBB of thrifty roots and a well-buitt, shapely top. But there are other important things to consider also.

Evergreens of exceptional quality cannot be grown in just any soil that you happen to aelect. We located here because we found this section especially well adapted to evergreen culture. Then there must be special knowledge and skill In growing them^we have supplied that In our over 50 years experience.

Gardenera laying out planting calling for especially line speelmenB, or owners desiring to Increase the attractiveness of their grounds by the addition of notably handaome trees, are invited to correspond with us. We always have hundreds o( attractive specimens coming on - well developed Individuals which can be reserved until planting time or until needed by owner.

We invite prospective buyers to call in person to inspect our stock. This la the most satisfactory way, although we are always glad to supply catalog and all particulars by mall, when it Is impossible to come. "Hill's Evergreen Book" sent Free on request. Write for it.

Is it not a pleasure to reco^iize the genius of liobert Douglas and his love of Nature reappearing in sueh a graceful way in tlie article of a grand-daughter, which appears in this issue, ^'Wild Flowers of the North Shore," by Mrs. Georgia Douglas (,'larke?

I believe we may regard Mr. Millard as one of the fathers, if not the father, of the thought of tlie value of wild flowers and even "w(»e(ls" in the work of a municipal officer.

The article by Mr. W. M. H. French is taken from a |mnij)hlct gotten out in association with Mr. H. W. S. (Meveland entitled ''Lan(!sca])c (iardening in the West," ])riiitcd in Cliica^^o. Hazlitt & Reed, IHTl. as an advertisement for gratuitous distribution.

Wild Flower I'Reserves

The whole tendcncv of the davs that have passed in tlie deveh)])ment and maintenance of public parks and most private estates has been to destroy natural conditions and the native wild flowers and to substitute turf and exotic plants in their place. I well remember some years ago in a park near the North Shore region the

Superintendent's taking me with great pride to his "wild garden^' in which there were growing, in specially prepared beds, a few Trilliums, Dog-tooth Violets, Hepaticas and Blue Violets that he had secured from an eastern collector of wild flowers. As we looked them over he said : ''You have no idea what a time 1 had cleaning out the mess of rotten wild stuff befoie I could establish this garden."

Obviously he was absolutely ignorant of the fact that in liis cleaning out process he had destroyed millions of the very plants that he was cultivating by the do/.- ens, for they made great carpets of varied color over which he had tramjwd for a number of years without seeing at all.

What we need are more reservations that are not parks from the gardener's point of view, but tliose in whicli tlie existing wild flower, shrub, and tree growth will be saved and helped to develop the greatest beauty by judicious thinning, transplanting, seeding and fertilizing as the nature-lover, w^th a full knowledge of all the material with which he is dealing, can undertake.

A few years ago a vigorous protest was made against the use of a flne North Shore ravine as the dumping ground for an educational institution that was supposed to teach its students all the refinements of life. The institution has now confined its rubbish dump and litter to a restricted area, but as yet all the neighbors have not come to recognize the value or beautv of the ravine, or the right of those who want to enjoy the view^s fiom the opposite bank.

We want the beautv of such ravines - the most distinctive landscape features of tli(» r(^iri^>n - so fully recognized that public oj)inion will make tlieir defilement and disfigurement impossible. We want more of tlicm accpiired as public reservations.

The attractive narrative of the 'U'iginal conditions on another distinctive landscajie of this sc^ction and flora native to the region comes througli a wonderful appeal from the grand-daughtei- of a man who did more to gain a recognition for the beauty of the cone-bearing trees of America than any other American. Why cannot there be a movement to set aside a Eobert Douglas Reserve at Waukegan?

Wild Flowers Of The North Shore

Emboldened by what others have said, I wrote to the Director, asking him why no one wrote of the wild flowers of the North Shore, not those that are sometimes cultivated, but those that abound on the flats along the west shore of Lake Michigan.

In reply, Mr. Manning asks that I describe this region for Billerica and tell what I can remember of the interest taken in it by my Grandfather, the late Robert Douglas, who has been so aptly called by Mr. Egan, in the July number of Billerica, the "Father of Evergreens."

Just below the bluffs at Waukegan, and to the North of the harbor, begins a stretch of marshy land bare of trees, but broken by sand dunes. This is a veritable treasure house. Here are most of the wild flowers found in the swampy land about Chicago and among the sand dunes at the end of Lake Michigan. Many are fast disappearing, some have already vanished and it seems as if some way might be devised for protecting those we still have with us, if the people of the North Shore would realize the wonder of Nature's own collection here in our midst before it is too late.

There are more than 1000 acres in this tract lying about Dead River, which has an outlet into Lake Michigan. This region was originally covered in the northern part with native White Pines. Most of the White Pines were destroyed by fires, so, more than forty years ago, Robert Douglas bought 600 acres of this land including a long stretch of Dead River and a mile of shore land on the edge of Lake Michigan.

On this lie experimented with a great variety of trees, principally coniferous, to determine which were best adapted to conditions and soil.

This 500 acres was planted at intervals, largely from surplus stock in liis nurseries at Waukegan, and the trees were set in bare sand without fertilization of any kind and left to take care of themselves. Far from town, this land was finally sold and was over-run with fires, Christmas-tree hunters and vandals, yet large numbers of these evergreens, mostly Scotch and Austrian Pines, have survived. This gives a situation somewhat akin to the pine barrens. In this section and over the ridges to the south we find fields of wild flowers of great variety. This region, during my grandfather^s life, was famous among botanists and horticulturists, old-time friends of his, among whom I recall the names of Dr. Warder, Thomas Meehan, Sr., and Prof. C. S. Sargent, who is still inspiring the people with his books, also by practicing what he preaches.

During the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893, the Curator of Kew Gardens, in this country to attend the Fair, spent several days here with Mr. Douglas and visited this region of which I write. He said that on these flats and in the nearby ravines grew a greater variety of trees, flowers and shrubs than in any one locality of the known world.

As a child, I remember roaming with my father through one of these ravines. Sitting beneath some slender White Birches growing on the hillside we were able to look out over the marsh on one side and deep into the ravine on the other. As we talked we became interested in the variety of trees and shrubs to be seen from this vantage point and idly began to count them. What was our surprise to find, in the ravine alone and in plain sight from where we were sitting, twenty-four different varieties.

I shall not mention the flowere that grow in these ravines, as they embrace a collection very different from those on the flats. It is enough to say that they are numerous and very lovely.

This land made up of river margin, low swampy meadows, sand dunes and, far to the north, the pine barrens, brings many specimens of wild flowers together within the compass of a few miles. I wish I might bring to you something of its beauty and its wonder and flll you with a desire to explore for yourselves.

In the early spring when the call of the wild lures us forth, it is by those marshy pools that we find the first Pussy Willows, in their little fur coats. Can't you re- member the thrill? As the faint green spreads over the lowland it is broken here and there with splashes of gold where we find masses of Marsh Marigolds^ rich and yellow. Here, too, is the rank-growing, ill-smelling Skunk Cabbage and the more delicate Jack-in-the-pulpit, preaching his sermon.