Some time ago a paper was read before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in which variations in form and color of trees were treated with contempt. It did not seem worth while to answer it at that time, because it was evidently the result of an idiosyncrasy which would not be repeated. Now that an article has also appeared in the New York Tribune of July 19th, enunciating the same opinions, it may serve the cause of true taste to criticise them both.

Let us first consider the earlier paper, which says: "We have a long list of Golden Oaks, Golden Ashes, Golden Lindens, striped-leaved, silver-leaved or golden-banded varieties, hideous to any lover of nature. Looking upon these sickly plants, each seems in turn more ugly than its neighbor. All should be sent to the rubbish heap together".

Does the writer think that these plants which he anathematizes, are not works of nature? By what process did man produce them? Does nature always furnish plants of the unvarying green?

Does the writer realize the effect of a picturesque lawn, and cannot this be made by permanent colored leaves as well as by short-lived colored flowers? Knight makes them both necessary.

"The bright Acacia and the vivid Plain.

The rich Laburnum with its golden chain,

And all the variegated flowering race,

That deck the garden and the shrubbery grace".

And again thus describes the colorless places which our writer esteems the resulting efforts of the highest combinations of nature and art.

" But wrapped o'er all in everlasting green, Makes one dull, vapid, smooth, unvaried scene".

At Forest Hill Cemetery, near Boston, there was, when I was last there, a Golden Oak of size, with a tint not of faded yellow nor of yellow bronze, but of a rich glossy, lustrous gold. In May and June its beauty is at the best; in August it fades somewhat, and then through September and October its color comes back to the sunlight tint of June.

The soft rich lavender tint of the Abies pungens has a charm for all who see it. An experience of forty years has not made me insensible to the beauty of foliage, and I never tire of looking at them both. Yet these trees are among those which our writer thinks "should be sent to the rubbish heap." He would send the Golden Ash to the same spot, and yet a recent writer in Woods and Forests describes the beauty of the foliage of this tree as *' that of a cloud of clear lemon." So the Golden Elm is striking for its rich golden bronze, and the White Elm for its strong and constant white variegation.

Let us see what else we should have to send to the "rubbish heap," under the rule above mentioned :

Golden Retinospora

Golden Retinospora - a valuable acquisition from Japan, and so admired that it is used for hedges and also for window decoration.

Golden Yew

Golden Yew - a brilliant evergreen, which makes the charm of the grounds at Elvaston Castle, and is universally admired.

Japan Maples

Japan Maples - with all their charming variegation of scarlet, carmine and gold.

Golden Catalpa, Poplar, Laburnum, Linden

Golden Catalpa, Poplar, Laburnum, Linden - all of which are recognized for their beauty.

Variegated Ash

Variegated Ash - with a constant growth of striking white variegation.

Oaks

Oaks - with silver edge and green and gold variegation.

Variegated Arundo

Variegated Arundo - well defined broad white variegation; very charming, especially when grouped with Tritoma in masses.

Purple Berberry

Purple Berberry - valuable either singly or in groups.

Purple Beech

Purple Beech - well-known for its striking color.

Cornus Sanguinea Variegata

Cornus sanguinea variegata - with a most charming white and green variegation.

Purple Hazel

Purple Hazel - much admired and largely used in the Bois de Boulogne, for planting in masses.

Prunus Pissardi

Prunus Pissardi - with its bright crimson leaves.

Variegated Althea

Variegated Althea - very striking white and green foliage.

Golden Elder, Syringa, Spiraea

Golden Elder, Syringa, Spiraea - all very striking shrubs when alone, and very charming in masses.

Variegated Viburnum

Variegated Viburnum - strong and unique, from Japan.

Lonicera Reticulata Aurea

Lonicera reticulata aurea , well-known as one of the most valuable Japanese acquisitions.

Abies Alba Aurea

Abies alba aurea - a most beautiful and constant green and gold variety.

Abies Alcoquiana

Abies Alcoquiana - with its green and silver.

Picea Japonica

Picea Japonica - with its leaves of snowy white on the under side.

Pinus Massoniana Aurea

Pinus Massoniana aurea - a most exquisite golden variegation from Japan, called the Sunray Pine.

Golden-Leaved Box

Golden-leaved Box - a most valuable acquisition from Japan.

All the white and gold variegations of Juniperus Biota, Thuja and Retinospora, some of which are exceptionally fine.

All these and many others belong to the class of plants of which our writer says, that "the only thing which can be said in their favor is, that they will die naturally in a short time".

These plants are growing well in my private grounds, some of them for forty years, and show no evidence of dying. I should be unwilling to spare them, for they charm my eyes always.

The writer continues thus : " There must always be exceptions, and nature has, in making a change of color, sometimes given us valuable contrasts, as in the case of the Purple Beech; but even the Purple Beech cannot be planted indiscriminately".

Of course there must be judgment in planting, but does not nature scatter with apparent indiscrimination, her masses of gold and purple and scarlet in October forests?