New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-09
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS.
Notes on the Ways of Nature and
of Man.

RAMBLER N TIE Buyer q BY d fG
the German by 9. and 3. Comerfor o ?, Casey.
Som Sons pl' - -'''''' 80 y
THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL. Home Woods,
Home Landscape BY ". Robinson. author OF
The Wild Garden svo. PIP ss4. Imported by
THE GARDEN AND ITS ACCESSORIES. BY
IIoring Underwood. With Explanatory lIustIa-
lions from photographs. 12mo. pp. 20. Little
Brown Co.
Professor strasburger's delightful book makes
beguiIing appeal to the true lovers OF Nature.
to those who remember. with longing to see II
again, that glorious blending Of landscape and
seascape called the Riviera Vivid and unai-
fected are his descriptions Of his wanderinss III
those fowery IIgurian valleys, along the noun
tain paths beside the shadowy slopes Of olive
orchard the terraces OF fragrant orange and
lemon trees. The lore Of plant and tree is keenly
enjoyed by this learned botsnist from Bonn.
out he does not allow his text 10 become too
technical for the general reader. Picturesque
elirnpses Of history and Of human nature are
woven into the sunny web OF his "reminiscences
he knows how to turn science TO poetry and
romance. A chapter Of particular interest 70
the student in his field is that describing Sir
Thomas Hanburys marvellous garden at La
AIortola. Who that has seen that thing Of fairy
loveliness slopng steeply UP from the sapphire
sea and nesting into the cool, dim valley beyond
can ever forget its charm?
Its peculiar situation beneath the shelterng
Alps enables II to offer a congenial home 20
plants. shrubs and trees from all over the
world and these treasures from the North ana
South flourish together in equal beauty. Refer
ring to the remarkable growth OF one or these
| strangers. a Eucalyptus 0IobuIus the professor
takes occasion to refute the idea that the ex-
halations OF these trees have wholesome effects.
"Tn reality" he says the infinitely small guam
! titv Of volatile oil which the tree emits could
| scarcely have any appreciable effect on the
! other hand they grow so rapidly, and, being
| evergreen continue 10 cvaporate water from
! their leaves summer and winter, they may con-
! tribute toward the draining Of swamQy ground.
| The hope that an essence extracted from the
leaves and bark OF the Eucalyptus would take
the place of Quinine was never realized. But
this extract does really possess certain febrifuge
properties, and justifes its use from time I'm
memorial by the Australian aborigines." On
/ the subject Of the olive tree. the professor is
an enthusiast, and is nowhere more persuasive
than in the passages dealing with It's beauty
and its uses. AS for the wealth OF flowers that
makes of the whole Riviera bright garden, he
never tires OF chanting their praises We may
add that the Illustrations in color which
thrown upon his pages, the live sprays
/ themselves might be, Of unusual quality.
| On this memory OF delicate bloom the reader
| would like TO lnger, forgetting that here too,
! In this earthly Paradise, the smell of money
mingles with the scent Of violet and jasmine
! Here too, the hand of the Spectator is appar-
ent, every spot on the shore commanding
beautiful views and all points on the heights
| remarkable for their healthy position or other
advantage having long ago been purchased by
joint stock companies. This doubt means
more large and ugly hotels. Let US hope that
| Malinfernet. that Riviera marvel, that fairy
tale in stone" may not be profaned. The trav-
eller climbs the mountain up path fragrant
and gay with wild flowers. Suddenly he finds
himself at the entrance of this Malinfernet
| the dark wood. here glowing in the sunshine and
there shrouded IN the deep shadows OF the noun
! Some vanish, others come into view IN almost
through the dale at one time rushing noisy along,
then gently muImuring. then forming boisterous
the green foliage of the trees; in other
these wondrous rocks! Here we seem to see a spire
like that of Gothic cathedral adorned with carved
flowers and animals and all sorts arabesques;
there again a fort with moat and turrets or an
sre a T ana s here here again sTnaeT seae on
npo2 fose rock He bears his hand as seep
tres two young pine trees At the entrance of this
2na s 6y q 3 & TO ss to
WIG t tTsss Is Ds me 70 son quarry
struggles. Nature has given free scope to her con-
And, as II half ashamed Of this exuberance. she
fas carefully concealed the valley between lofty
| mountains. In fact the Mallnfernet probably re-
! NAMED unknown till December 1851 after the Ma
poeonic coup d'etat, when political refugees con
| cealed themselves mere to escape the pursuit Of
! their enemies.
That veteran English gardener. William Rob
| lnson, is entitled to high regard from all who
appreciate the treatment Of nature which leaves
| her unspoiled, untouched by smart vulgarizu-
ton. In his book, IN many previous
ones. he teaches throughout the lesson of this
fidelity TO nature, the intelligent Interpretation
and adaptation of her own plans. He utterly
abominates the stereotyped gardens made from
| tho architects book OF designs. al would much
rather" he says, trust the first simple person,