Evening star., 1926-04-11

by stone on Alban Hill.
The yesterday and today of Amer
lea have been linked by the placing
within the limits of the close Of GER
tain historic lockwood whose known
history is that of centuries and some
of which is connected with the
careers Of Americas great men and
women.
"A single piece of old English box
wood said a famous architect re-
Gently, 'can make as definite a con-
tribution to a garden as an old mas
ter in furnishing a room"
This ornamental shrub has become
ono of the treasures OF American
horticulture. Many ruined homes
have been rehabiitated by discovery
of the natural wealth at their doors
In sturdy hedges OF lockwood, Elis-
tening in dark green beauty, which
have withstood the devastation Of the
changing fortunes Of the once proud
owners of colonial homes. Really
fabulous prices have been paid for
some of these hoXwool hedges or
trees. This famous member Gt the
tree family viii aGOrTl any mansion
or furnish an adequate ana impress
sive setting for 4 great cathedral.
The All HalloWs' guiil OF the Ma
tional Cathedral Association OF the
Washington Cathedral. with infinite
pdllSilNC anu QGNOlIO4l 20 kL!S TASK, Has
succeeded in. placing at the cathedral
many of the specimens OF lockwood
now eXtant there. However, some OF
the historic lockwood in the cathedral
close has record preceding the .plac.
ing of the cathedral site on Mount St.
Alban.
A well-founded tradition records
what is known as 'the Jefferson hox"
there for more than a century. and it
. Is said That tho original CLING
from beautiful Monticello. the manor
house of Thomas jefferson. author of
the Declaration of Independence and
third President OF the United States.
in the Virginia hills.
1t Is well known that Thomas JET
ferson was an ardent horticulturist
and arborlSt and like George Wash.
ington, he was always experimenting
with new specimens Of these fine arts
of nature. Generous souled, President
Jefferson was very liberal in the mat
ter of presenting slips and seeds from
his treasure trove of flowers. plants
and shrubs. It is understood it was
in this manner that the Jefferson box
now in the Cathedral Close passed
into the hands of the early owners OF
the site.
Memories Of dainty Dolly Madison
White House lady, whose remem-
brance is still enduring more than a
century after her regime, are pre-
served by the thriving Dolly Madison
Box" another group Of lockwood at
Cathedral Close. This lockwood also
was planted more than a hundred
years ago on the present cathedral
site.
At the Inauguration of her husband,
Dolly Madison carried a beautiful
cluster of flowers containing several
sprigs of lockwood. One of these was
% yKyhn ht1rt-fnd
to his mansion on Alban hill and
planted it on his lawn, where 1t now
spreads itself in century-old green
glory.
Perhaps the box itself came from
Montpelier, the ancestral home OF
the Madisons in Orange County, Va.
where President James Madison died
at the age of IS, and where he and
his vivacious. never-to-be-forgotten
wife rest in the quiet of death within
the Montpelier gardens today.
x X x y
lockwood. or ''box" as it is famil.
iarly called, has been famous in
song and story for centuries. Shakes
peare mentions it In THE Tempest"
and other poets have dwelt upon its
beauty.
terest.
The common box, from the genus
buxus, is generally believed to be
native Of England in the chalk hills
of the south of England, and also OF
the southern part of Europe. 1t ex-
tends through Persia into India,
where It is found growing on the
slopes of the western Himalayas.
The origin Of it's name is variously
I'll
than 200 years ago. declared: The
box grows wild on Boxhill. hence the
name; also at Boxwell, on the Cottes-
void Hills in Gloucestershire and at
BoXley in Kent. 1t grows plentifully
on the chalk hills near Dunstable."
The box IS a very slow-growing
plant, adding not more than IL or 2
inches to its diameter annually, and
on an average attaining only a height
Of 16 feet with a mean diameter Of
1919 inches. The leaves of this spe-
cies are small, oval. leathery in tex
ture and of a deep, glossy green color.
The wood possesses a delicate yel-
low color, IS very dense in structure,
and has a fine, uniform grain which
has giverA II unique value for the pur-
poses of the wood engraver. A large
amount Is used in the manufacture
of measuring rules. other mathemati-
AoA AHctI l4uicS dilu OlucI AA0SA'
cal instruments, as well as for turn
ing into many minor articles and for
inlaying, and II Is q favorite wood for
small carvings. The use of lockwood
for turnery and musical instruments
Is mentioned in PlinS. Virgil and Ovid.
The quest for lockwood for the
Cathedral Close has been O. real volume
in garden adventures for the loyal
workers Of the garden committee of
Io1I ruiJH % No%{ o1
Cathedral Association, headed by. It's
devoted and indefatigable chairman. n.
Mrs. G. G.. f. BratenahI, wife Of the
dean Of the National Cathedral Of St.
Peter and st. Paul. Romance, fra
grant historical associations and the
enduring love of nature are bound
into the wonderful specimens Of box
wood which have been secured
through the agency of this guild.
1t is recalled that this "God-inspired
anthem in stone" as some one has
described the ediflce, is to be a replica
OF the fourteenth century cathedrals.
So within the sunlight and shadows OF
this fourteenth century cathedral, in
keeping with the spirit of that period.
the garden builders naturally turn to
ancient sources for guidance.
r X X ~ ~s.--
THE cathedral annals will cherish
- the fascinating story OF the latest
addition to the lockwood wealth Of the
close.
1t was the first step in three years
program to complete the Bishops Gar
den by the time the general conven.
tion of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in America opens in Washing.
ton in the Autumn Of 1928.
The garden committee learned Of an
entire plantation OF old English box.
wood, six hundred feet and more Of