CHRISTCHURCH DOMAIN.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9835, 18 September 1897, Page 8

CHRISTCHURCH DOMAIN.

SOME CRITICISMS AND SUGGESTIONS. Under date September 16th, " A Visitor to Christchurch" writes to Uβ as follows :— At the risk of seeming officious, I must ask you to permit mc to offer some entirely well meant criticism of certain points in re- ! gard to the management of the public domain of Christohurch. Aβ a visitor to your city I am more than ever impressed with the extent and beauty of its public reserves, and I cannot sufficiently admire the wise patriotism, the foresight and the taste of the early Canterbury settlers in setting aside and planting bo large an area for recreation purposes. At the same time I take leave to doubt whether the successors of the early settlers are worthily continuing and extending the work of beautifying the pnblic domain. I have been a visitor to Christchurch now for many years. A few years ago, say ten or twelve, the chief pleasure I looked forward to in paying Christchurch a visit was an examination of the flower borders in the neighbourhood of the Museum. Mr Armstrong was the curator of the gardens ; and though I had no intimate acquaintance with him I knew enough of him to convince mc that he was an enthusiast. Not merely were the flower borders in his time pretty, but every square yard had its interesting tree, shrub, herbaceous plant or bulb, the trees and shrubs in the background, the smaller things in front, near the eye. The trees and shrubs are there still; but where are the herbaceous plants and bulbs ? I wandered round the borders the other day, expecting to find them teeming with interesting spring flowers. The chief families of spring plants were noticeable, however, only by their absence; the primulas, anemones, narcissi, muscari, &c., were either miserably represented, or entirely unrepresented. In certain private gardens and trade nurseries I saw great numbers of the choicest things; but the place which is the pleasure garden of the people, and which ought, like a public picture aallery or a museum, to be full of all procurable treasures, is devoid of interest, except ot course as regards its trees and shrubs, which, once they are planted, can look after themselves, if only they have elbow room.

Then where have the labels gone to? There may be a few there: but I saw nothing labelled except a few ohrysanthemums. Behind Christ's College there is a very respectable collection of native shrubs, but not a label to any of them ; so that a stranger interested in native plants would be utterly at sea as to their names, families and habitats. Then, again, where are the native herbaceous plants ? As far as I remember, they are represented by one species of celniisia and one raoulia. This neglect of the native flora may be excusable in some places, but in Christchurch, which has already done so much in the way of planting, and which has such facilities for growing native plants, it is inexcusable. What an interesting feature of the Domain, for instance, would be a complete series of the celmisias, properly labelled ! Or of the raoulias, seneeios, and so on. Again, is there in the Domain, any botanic garden, prorxsrly so called ; that is, a garden specially managed to assist the teaching of systematic botany ? If there is such a garden it escaped my notice. If there is not, it is a pity, seeing that the Domain is within a stone's throw of four institutions, where, presumably, botany is a subject of study.

As to the hewing and hacking of the trees along the banks of the river, it is too ghastly for words. The only comfort is that they will grow again, and some time or other possibly be as beautiful as they were before.

Shortly, Christchurch is so exceptionally beautiful and well planted that one is sorry it is not more so.

P.S.— I might note also the absence of aquatic and bog plants, but it is possible that the necessary funds may be wanting for such purposes. Vet wh&t city has such opportunity as yours of growing water and bog plants ? You have only to plant the edgee of your river with meadow-sweet, bog-iris, bog-bean, brooklime, caltha palustris, celandine, &c, and there you are I