Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-04-05

q ~AMA the little steamer, fully thousand
a. A&AN q feet beneath me, laden with tour
~EX -. lists of all nationalitties plying her
- 4 ~ way back to Naples, sense OF
II q D peace once more descends upon
the island. And surely nowhere can
earth present fairer scene Far away on the
western horizon, the dim outlines of the Ponza
Islands are visible Tschia floating in the golden
haze of the dying day. seems linked by Procida
and Nisida to the mainland, and the eye travels
SLOWLY eastward over Posilippo and Naples to
where Vesuvius, brooding and silent since the
great catastrophe Of five years ago, keeps watch
over the city 1t has so often threatened with de-
struction 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 Raveo and
Salerno's gulf.
Well-nigh two thousand years have come and
gone since Augustus Caesar, wearied by the
splendors Of imperial Rome first gazed on the
matchless beauty of this scene; small wonder
that the magic spell which Capri throughout the
ages has cast upon the stranger within hex gates
should lose of it's potency till mems hearts
shall cease to care for beauty. Since my garden
first came into being, have often analysed how
dmperious is this love Iof beauty, for, from
purely gardening point Of view, would
select spot exposed to all the winds of heaven
and bereft Of water on springless island. And
yet Nature supplies the compensation in having
provided such background to the picture that
she must continue to dominate it, making amends
for the inevitable failures which the gardener
la forever encountering And IL the growing"
period is short In this sun-baked land, yet again
1t Is prodigious in result while 1t 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 establish
themselves and go ahead in half the time making
compact and sturdy growth, and also avoiding
the necessity for unsightly stalking. Six years
ago the hill OF San Michele was little more than
barren rock, clothed In parts with vineyards and
olives. Approaching Capri from Naples, it is cas-
fly discernible it rises midway between the
precipitous cliffs at the eastern end and Monte
SoIaro, 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
fortnight I'm the towering season.
The modest little house-orignally the Colono's
lies at the base of the hill the southern side
The vineyard which surrounded 1t has been
cleared and terrace and parterre substituted;
here in the spring months Darwin and Cottage
tulips 1aunt their painted faces In the sunshine;
freesia narcissi ixias and sparaxs (for Capri Is
buib-soil par excellence) roses are rapidly COW
~erfng the columns and wreathing the olive Trees
all grated on the Banksan rose that boon to the
gardener in the south. Beyond the parterre, In
the lower garden a long tank, hanked by
Expresses on either side holds the beautiful Mel
,nmbium-the Lotus of Old Nile-specosum ro
scum, rubrum, Shiroman and Osiris-a feast Tor
the eye denied to the gardens of the north.
VIII you come with me pilgrimage up the
hfll through the old lemon garden, Where the
trees once pershing from neglect but now we'll
screened from their cruel enemy, the south wind
are bearing thousands of yellow fruit and the air
Is laden with the scent of blossom? AS we as
cend, each successive terrace holds Its quota OF
bulbs and iris, under the silvery sheen or the
olive trees until we reach at length the rose
garden and here 1t is well to rest while. The
Southern Sea stretches below us, with the pic
turesque ruin Of Castiglione in the middle dis
lance Against background of tall bamboos, at
our feet bloom the for which Capri (as
Paestum of old is famed. What would have
been the feelings of Virgil could he have looked
the goodly array to which rosarians are now
accustomed-Mme. A. Chatenay, the Lyon rose,
Richmond Betty, Marquise de Ganay Nine. Leon
Pain in addition to all the older favorites, such
Anna Olivier. Nine. Ravary, Caroline Testout
TO say nothing of pillars wreathing themselves
with Sinica Anemone Transmission, Ideal and
the Mchuraianas! From the rose garden the
circling Of the hill commences: broad path,
planted either side with Towering shrubs
wigeas, lilac, syringa deutzias, pomegranates
and guelder roses-leads to the vine-clad per-
gola and as we leave it, at the farther end the
incompatible Bay of Naples greets the eye. All
available ground on the hillside is being utilized
for shrubs and plants, with wind breaks of Gu
pressus macrocarpa and Pinus halepensis which
grow at surprising rate in this sandy soil Here
are TO be found the Towering crabs thorns and
almonds. while Japanese naples and Rosa ru-
gosa give feast of color in the foreground In
rterspersed with tenderer shrubs, such as Fabana