Evening star., 1923-08-12
limetree, ,whitewood, white lind,
wickup tree ana whistlewood

limetree, .whitewood, white lind,
| wickup tree ana whistlewood.
,i',,* * = i
THE season Of blossoming is brief
about two weeks-as brief as
cherry blossom time. Today thou
sands of visitors are attracted to
! Washingtonvin- April to see the Japa-
nese cherry blossoms on the speed
way. These trees which now num-
Der. several thousand were a gift
from. the Japanese government to the
United States during the Taft admin
istra ton. When. the trees first bios
somed forth in all the glory of their
pink and white blossoms the Presi-
dent. his Cabinet and all the nota bles
OF Washington fiocked to the speed
way to see and admire, and the exam
pie set by the chief executive has
been followed by countless thousands
since. All nature lovers rejoice to
see the thrones enjoying the spec
tacular beauty of the Japanese cherry
blossoms, which are said to have
| reached a. greater perfection in Po
tomac Park. Washington. than at any
one spot i'll Japan.
Americans need only TO visit their
own National Capital to see in their
greatest glory the cherry blossoms of
Japan. the amaryllis of South America
and the towering linden, famed in
classic literature of Europe. On
Massachusetts, avenue one can drive
under the lindens for seven miles in
almost unbroken strengtlr And such
| lindens as they are The writer, like
/ many another American visitor to
Berlin. experienced a distinct feeling
of disappointment when she first saw
| the famed "Cnter den Linden" There
was no tree there as noble or as beau
tiful as those in Americas capital.
Why, the wild limetrees or bass
woods she had seen in the southern
mountains were far finer.
On investigation she found that the
European linden. of which she had
heard SO much. though similar to the
American linden, is rarely over
thirty-five or forty feet high while
the American linden grows to
height of so to 120 feet. and in mature
growth easures from six TO eight
feet in diameter at the stump.
the flowers. The European variety
has no petallike scale attached to
It's stamens. 1T is the delicate fra
GRANGE of this blossom that is one of
the linden's chief charms The Jap
anese cherry blossoms are far more
| spectacular but they have nos odor
and the tree is small and straight and
! gives no appreciable shade.
x X
IN EARLY June, when the lindens
i are in bloom. is a fitting occa-
sion for visit to the National Capital.
The writer has made three such pill
grimages. In June Washington is
bedecked in all its summer raiment.
| The many noble trees, for which this
capital is noted, are in full leaf, the
flowers in parks, gardens. squares,
circles and triangles are in full
bloom, and roses are everywhere. In
addition the lindens that are to be
found in different portions of the city
bloom in june. 3 No thoroughfare of
the old world can boast of lindens
/ in such number or such perfection.
If one starts at Union station and
GENE etery,.. where the street ends. one
has driven three miles, under the lin
,, dens, some of. them so stately and
old that they must have been planted
when Washington was first laid out.
Immediately upon leaving Union sta
tion, however, one looks in vain for
! linden trees. When the approach to
Union station was graded the lindens
! were supplanted by young oaks,
| which are to be found for several
blocks to east and west and appear
again on the western end Of. Massa-
! chusetts avenue extension.
II one starts west, on Massachusetts,
| avenue from Union station. one is. apt
proportions of" the station itself, at
the Columbus statue opposite, at the
Capitol, several blocks to- the south.
and, at the. splendid new post office
| on the right that. one is, scarcely
conscious of:.trees until New Jersey
Avenue is passed and here the lindens
| begin, doubie~ row Of them on each
side. From here to 7th street, where
the Avenue runs into the Public
Library, there is nothing to see of
interest except the lindens
From 9Th street the visitor needs
some we'll informed person to point
out some of the. many points Of in
terest. He hardly needs told that
Mount Vernon Place NJ. E. Church
South is, one of ~the--finest churches
| in the city. .-To~the.right, near 18th
street, the Church. Of the Ascension
raars ita oray stone front On fhe
next. block the. home of the. National
Catholic Welfare Council comes into
view. AT 18th we round Thomas
Circle. getting "a glimpse of
the back Of Gen. George H. Thomas
statue. We take the Terrace drive
to. the right. passing at 1895 the Ger
man embassy; at 1445, tfe former
residence Of Spencer F. Baird, secre-
tary OF the Smithsonian Institution
and r first Ash commissioner, and at
1856. the last house, on the Terrace.