The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-07-30

Grove of Queer-shaped Trees.
In Japan large salaries are paid to
skilled gardeners who can twist and
torture trees from their normal forms
or growth into the likenesses of ami
mails, boats, houses and other designs.
VI late years the custom has been i'm
ported to this country, and with it the
oriental tree twisters. Not the most
skillful of them, however, can beat
natures distorters of vegetation. the
persistent winds, and the Japanese ex-
perts couldslearn lessons from a grove
or trees on the Jersey coast. The
place Is aptiy called Wildwood. II
forms part of an island cut off from
the mainland by a narrow arm of the
ocean. For centuries the gales have
wrought their fierce will upon the
vegetation with which 1t is covered.
Wild grapes are abundant. and vines
are seen which are fully eight to twelve
inches thick and have in some cases
so completely covered the trees that
the arboreal foliage can scarcely be
seen. The trees themselves have as
sumed some very odd forms. For in
stance. there are two which are very
similar to the letter wv" and have
been called wv" trees by the natives
One is cherry tree which has taken
a fancy to grow in this way, while the
other is fir, which first split away
at the base, then described q curve
took hold of the ground, and grew nm
again, forming a perfect, Il rather
widespread. "W." Another curious
form of growth is shown by holly.
From the roots of the main trunl a
smaller one has started. which is
Joined to the other in no less than Ave
dinerent places from the top branch to
the ground. Some of the connections
are but an inch or so in length. while
the others are four or five inches. One
or the oldest formations of the grove
Is pine tree. Which is still growing
IN spite Of disadvantages. The trunk
has been twisted around so as to form
the figure eight from one point of
vicv' and the letter co." looking at
Ut from another point, while one OF the
branches or arms at the left forms the
head OF snake, including the curve
In the neck. The front view of the
snake is startlingly realistic, the head
being of the true, fiat-topped, veno-
NOUS type, and the posture character
Iistically viperine. All these freak
trees are located about mile from the
highway on the banks of what is
known as Grassy sound. They form
a grove about mile long and half a
mile In width. In the entire lot scarce
ily one can be found which grows like
an ordinary tree. The various species
Include holly, birch, pine cherry, ash
and cedar. Some OF the cedars still
giving out leaves have not a particle
lof bark upon their trunks from the
ground to the first branches. The win
tier gales have stripped the covering i
Many OF the trees are several centu-s
.ries old. The action of the wind upon |
the branches has twisted them into ev-
cry conceivable fashion. so that At Is
hard to tell where one branch begins
land another ends. In several parts
lof the grove different kinds of trees
have grown together, such as fir and
holly and cherry and ash The growth
is generally formed by limb from
one being bent against the other. 1t
lis quite common for two trees of the
same variety to grow together. but
the joining of the different varieties
Is problem which the experts have
not yet been able to solve, especially
where some of the limbs grow from
one tree directly into the trunk of an
other and have not been forced against
the outside Chicago Journal.