The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-05

middle one of which is notched in the GEN.
ter, giving 1t very individual appearance,
| and in the autumn they assume golden
! yellow color before they fall. The flowers
are tulip-shaped and shade from yellow to
| orange and from orange to green, varying
more or less on different trees and at diff
ferent stages OF development. Surrounded
| by luxuriant foliage they always produce
a fine effect and are sold on the street in
some of the Eastern and Southern cities.
Huxley, in one of his most interesting
essays, uses an illustration drawn from an
avenue of tulip trees to show how incom-
prehensible to the finite mind is the idea
of million. He describes a tulip-tree
avenue known to him at one of the famous
English parks. This avenue is three miles
long and is supposed to be in full flower
Every square yard of its surface is sup
posed to contain nine flowers. Mr.. Hux-
ley then proceeds to figure out the number
of flowers in bloom on this avenue, and it
falls far short of the desired million. But,
as he says, one might ride along the ave-
nue. an endless number of times without
being able to carry in the mind distinct
and separate conception of each one of all
the units of flowers which go to make up
the total.
There are other beautiful American de-
ciduous trees, famous among the spring
boomers, such as the Western catalpa,
and still more glorious in flower but of
lesser size, our own California Cornus Nut
tall. But let us glance moment at one
or two notable trees from Japan. Among
the magnolias of the deciduous-leafed type
is M. conspicua, in various forms, pro-
ducing white flowers in spring before the
leaves; M. purpurea, which varies in color,
the predominating shade being purple
maroon, belongs to the same general class,
and there are many allied species. The
larger Japanese magnolias in their native
forests are trees of from forty to fifty feet
high, and as tree of thirty feet in height
is extremely useful for avenue purposes
the better species of deciduous magnolias
should not be forgotten. All these mag
nolias are of easy growth, and could be
raised at slight expense if they were in
sufficient demand.
A much-neglected Japanese tree of mass
i've, semi-tropical appearance is the Paul
ownia imperialis. 1t is a tree with the
habit of the Catalpa speciosa, and was
originally classified with that tree. It's
growth is extremely rapid. 1t has large,
dense and spreading top crowded with
abundant broad rounded leaves which the
irreverent might compare to huge sun
flower leaves. The chief drawback to the
extensive use of these trees consists in the
fact that these leaves make good deal of
litter, as is the case with the mulberry tree,
ing large rapid-growing leaves.
The glory of the Paulownia consists in
its immense terminal panicles of lavender
colored flowers. The tree was not sue
cess in England, comp aratively speaking,
because the flowers do not come out well
in that climate. and it is far too tender for
the Atlantic States. But in California,
wherever it is given space to develop, the
grandeur of large trees in bloom becomes
something worthy of admiration. Where
masses of this tree could be planted on hill
sides or in ravines and belted with golden
acacias they might be very beautiful when
looked down upon from winding drive
ways. The tree has high place in jap
anese decorative art. Not only the large
flowers and spikes, but the curiously
covered brown flower buds, the knotted
joints and the speckled stems of the
younger growth are used in conventional
lied forms, and the flower is especially
dedicated to the Emperors service.
CHARLES HOWARD SHINN.