The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-04-05

N IL b ~ praEe -" ~ upon
the lsiahu "u surrey Ho""eIe "a"
earth present a lalrer 'r'ae far away On uo
western horizon, the dim outlines OF the roma
Islands are visible. lsc' foating%ih the golden
haze Of the dying day, S, ''s linked by Froc'o"
and Nisida to the mainland, and the eye uaNeI5
slowly eastward over PosiIippo and Nah'eS 10
where NcsuviuS, brOodin@ and silent stnceN the
great catastrophe Of five years ago, keeps watc'l
over the city it has so often threatened with de
s]truction. Still further east, the distant peaks OF
the great Apennine Range appear almost to fringe
the sunlit waters Of the Bay Of Sorrento, whose
cliffs, dotted with pink and white walled houses,
are dominated by the rugged mass Of SAINT
Angelo and the hills which guard RavellO and
SRleTnO's gulf.
Wellnigh two thousand wears have come and
gone since Augustus Caesar, wearied by the
splendors Of imperial Rome, first gazed on the
matchIess beauty Of tAis scene; small wonder
that the magic spell which Capri throughout the
ages has cast upon the stranger within her gates
should lose none Of its potency till mems hearts
shall cease to care for beauty. Since my garden
first came into being, have often analysed how
imperiOus is this love Of beauty. for, from q
purely gardening point of view, no one would
select a spot exposed to all the winds Of heaven
and bereft of water on a springless island. And
yet Nature supplies the compensation in having
provided such a background to the picture that
she must continue to dominate It, making amends
for the inevitable failures which the gardener
is forever encountering. And If the growing"
period is short in this sun-baked land, yet again
It is prodIgious in result while IL lasts. Gardening
in Italy teaches one Of many lessons; namely. to
avoid the temptation arising from the desire for
quick effect-that Of planting trees and shrubs
too large in size; the smaller ones establish
themselves and go ahead in half the time, making
compact and sturdy growth, and also avoiding
the necessity for u~nsightly stalking. Six years
ago the hill of San Michele was little more than
a barren rock, clothed in parts with vineyards and
olives. Approaching Capri from Naples, It Is cas-.
fly discernible as it rises midway between the
precipitous cliffs at the eastern end and Monte
Solaro, the highest summit Of the island; this
exposure to all points Of the compass is being
utilized to advantage, as the difference between
the north and south aspect amounts to fully a
fortnight in the towering season.
The modest little hOuBe-Originally the ColonO's
lies at the base of the hill on the southern side.
The vineyard which surrounded it has been
cleared and a terrace and parterre substituted;
here in the spring months Darwin and Cottage
tulips faunt their painted faces in the sunshine;
freesia, narcissi, ixias and sparaxis (or Capri Is
a bulb-soil par excellence); roses are rapidly GOV
ering the columns and wreathing the olive trees,
all grated on the Banksian rose, that boon to the
gardener In the south. Beyond the parterre, In
the lower garden. a long tank, fanked by
Expresses on either side, holds the beautiful Mel
Lotus Of Old Nile-speciosum ro-
scum, rubrum, Shiroman and Osiris-a feast for
the eye denied to the gardens Of the north.
Will you come with me on a pilgrimage up the
hill through the old lemon garden, where the
trees, once ~perishing from neglect, but now well
screened from their cruel enemy, the south wind,
are bearing thousands Of yellow fruit, and tie air