The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-11-30
Where The Rivers Meet.
Something About An Arboretum and a
Dreamer. Both Have a Mission for Ma
ture Lovers.
[ Rockland Courier Gazette. I

[Rockland Courier Gazette
Situated between Thomaston and War
rem, on the line of the Rockland, Thomas
ton q Camden Street Railway, is a CO.
acre tract of land, all but FIVE acres of
winch Is heavily wooded. A stranger
travelling over that division sees the little
waiting station, and a sign which reads
Utopia Park, and wonders. perchance, if
lt mas any connection with Utopiap
dreams.
The owner is Norman W. Lermond of
| Warren-a dreamer, whose chief dream
nowadays is the perpetuation of Knox
Arboretum, where there may be assem-
oled all the varieties of trees, shrubs and
vines that can withstand our hardy eli
| mate, and where wild life may thrive and
multiply, undlsturbed by man or dog.
Utopia Park enjoyed brief existence
as public playground, with it's band
concerts of Sunday and its lecture plat
form, whence were eXpounded Socialist
i'd ais. Tickle public fancy dethroned it
In favor of Oakland Park, the latter be-
ing handler for the general public, and
with more attractions of artificial crea-
| ton.
MIR. Lermond closed his Park to the
general public, and began to carry out
his cherished desire for an arboretum.
which takes on the name of Knox with
out the necessity of an explanation,
The owner of Utopia Park, or Knox
Arboretum, comedies that he is dreamer.
His thoughts. far from ever being in the
skies, find practical application to ma
lures soil, whence he wrests livelihood
while devoting his spare moments to
what other men of other minds might be
pleased to term fad. Fol- several years
he has been busily at work, as opportuni-
ty and time from his other duties would
permit, setting out trees, shrubs, ferns
and wild plants not already growing
within the limits of the Park, his plan be-
ing TO make the place an arboretum. He
has made trips from one end of the coun-
ty to the other for rare trees and shrubs.
Thus he went to Friendship for pitch
pines; to North Warren for the burr and
swamp white oaks; to Alma and Damaris-
| Gotta for white oaks and cockspur thorn;
to North Union for the black spruce, and
Labrador tea; to Warren village for the
procumbent juniper; to South Thomas
ton for the blue beech; to East Warren
for the round leaved dogwood; to Thomas
ton for the osler dogwood to Cushing
for mountain ash; to North Warren for
white ash, American linden, panicled
dogwood, the cranberry tree, sheepberry,
greenbrler and button-bu to Rockport
for arbor-vitae; to Washington and North
WaldobCro for water looSestrife and rare
varieties of arrowhead, and so on. He
has sent to Nebraska, Ohio, New York
and Vermont for hardy species of south
ern and western trees and shrubs and has
also set out few European trees.
Within the confines of the Park quite
large variety of trees have natural exist
ence. Here is the list: white ash, red
maple, rock maple, red oak, black cherry,
red or bird cherry, hop hornbeam, beech,
shad bush, black willow, American pop
lar, large-toothed poplar, gray birch.
yellow birch, canoe or white birch, white
thorn, white pine, red spruce, white
spruce, hemlock, fir and American larch,
or hackmatack.
The trees which Mr.. Lermond has set
out are: American linden. European
linden, European birch, coffee tree, ST.
berian pea tree, pin oak, Carolina poplar,
Volga poplar, golden poplar, Norway
poplar, laurel-leaved willow, golden will
low, butternut, chestnut, persimmon,
red bud, blackberry, blue beech, pitch
pine, red pine. white spruce, blue CoIora-
do spruce, Norway spruce, Scotch fir,
jack pine, Austrian pine, Scotch pine,
black spruce, Irish juniper, white oak,
swamp white oak, silver maple, Euro
pean maple, catapa (speciosa), honey
locust, mountain ash, cockspur thorn,
mossycup oak, scarlet oak, black oak,
post oak, chestnut oak, Black Jack oak,
shagbark hickory, plgnut hickory, mock
ernut hickory.
A list of shrubs found growing in the
Arboretum comprise wild gooseberry,
wild rose, meadow sweet, steepIe bush,
high blackberry, chokeberry, dwarf blue
berry, early BURBERRY, black buckle
berry. fly honeysuckIe, oush honey suckle,
arrow wood, alternate leaved dogWood,
kinnikinnink, mountain holly, black alder,
choke cherry, redberried elder, bayberry,
beaked hazel nut, sweet fern, common
juniper, American yeW, staghorn sumach,
maple-leaved vibernum, spotted alder,
pussy willow, witch hazel, brlstly sar-
saparilla.
The shrubs set out by Mr.. Lermond
comprise sheepberry, highbusn cram
berry, maple leaved arrow-wood, hobbe
bush. paniced dogwood, osier dogwood,
ninebark, barberry. round-leaved dog
wood, Labrador tea, button-bush, an
dromeda, leather leaf, procumbent juni-
per, and smooth winter berry.
The Courier-Gazette reporter devoted
recent Sunday to tour of Knox Ar
boretum, personally conducted by Mr..
Lermond, whose keen interest in the
work and marvellous memory were evil
denced by his unfailing ability to point
out any of the trarsplanted shrubs or
sapiings, no matter how small it might
be or how cleverly concealed by natural
growth.
A conspicuous feature of the Park is
found in the many noble pines. One
measures three feet in diameter at the
butt, and at height of 100 feet proudly
rears itself above the other denizens of
the forest.
Walking along the river drive Mr.. Ler-
mond pointed out many of the trees and
shrubs above catalogued. noted fondly
the progress they have made since he
jyxEEi