THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 189 



public-house. Mr. Moule, the author of this admirable essay, is the 

 iuveutor of the Earth Closet, and one of the most active of philan- 

 thropists. "Would that we could find a hundred thousand parsons 

 of the like spirit, and with equal perseverance and unselfishness in 

 labours expressive of the true purport of Christianity. 



The Food, Use, and Beauty of British Birds. By Groom Napieb 

 (Groombridge and Sons). — Mr. Napier's book is a counterblast to 

 gun, traps, and poison, for its object is to show that our song-birds 

 are amongst our best friends, and to kill them is to open the door to 

 ten thousand insect pests, who will surely rush in if we lose our 

 bird protectors, and devour all our garden produce. People who 

 are in earnest about the preservation of birds, should buy dozens, 

 scores, and hundreds of this work, and distribute them gratuitously. 

 Mr. Napier tells all the truth, and that is no small merit of a 

 book written for a purpose. 



NEW PLANTS. 



ELOPERONE CILIATA {Hot. Mag., t. 5888).— A pretty acanthaceous 

 stove plant, flowering in winter. It is of sub-shrubby habit, one to 

 two feet high. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, dark green ; the flowers 

 axillary and terminal ; the corolla violet, with a white palate. If 

 judged by the figure, a good companion plant to Justicia speciosa for 

 winter flowers. 



Xiphion junceum {Bot. Mag., t. 5890). — A pretty Algerian iris, with orange- 

 coloured flowers. The genus Xiphion differs from Iris in having coated bulbs, 

 whereas Iris has creeping root-stocks, according to the terms of Mr. Baker's mono- 

 graph. This plant is a native of dry hills near .Algiers, also of Tangier in Morocco, 

 and of Genoa and Sicily. It is a valuable hardy plant, neat in growth, and ex- 

 ceedingly showy when in flower. 



Tillandsia (Pityrophyi.ltjm) ionantha {Bot. Mag., t. 5892). — A charming 

 little Bromeliaceous plant, with green leaves tipped with rose-colour, and rosy-purple 

 flowers. Dr. Hooker suggests that it is likely to prove distinct from Planchon's 

 T. ionantha, in which case he suggests that it should be named T. scopas, "in 

 allusion to its brush-like habit." 



Pelargonium Pink. Queen {Floral Mag., t. 523). — This splendid nosegay 

 pelargonium is quite a novelty, and promises to be one of the most popular varieties 

 of its class for many seasons to come. In habit it is all that could be desired, 

 robust yet neat in growth, with very dark circular leaves, and producing its large 

 trusses of flowers most abundantly. Its great charm is the colour of the flowers, a 

 rich deep carmine-pink, differing in tone from all other pink varieties, and far 

 exceeding the darkest pinks we have in brilliancy and freedom of flowering. This 

 splendid novelty will be sent out by Messrs. Dowuie, Laird, and Laing. 



Saxifraga (aizoonia) longiflora {Bot. Mag-, t. 5889). — A beautiful hardy 

 plant in the way of S. pyramidalis. Dr. Hooker describes it as " a very striking 

 species, commonly cultivated on the Continent, but very rarely in England, where, 

 however, it succeeds admirably in the open air, or in a partially-shaded rock-work, 

 forming brilliant green rosettes of leaves four to six inches in diameter, and sending 

 up at Midsummer a truly glorious pyramidal nodding thyrsus, a foot high, of white 

 flowers that lasts for several weeks. It is a native of the higher valleys of the 

 Pyrenees, at the Baths of the Luchon, and elsewhere, at elevations of 2000 to 7000 

 feet above the sea." 



Massonia (astemma) odorata {Bot. Mag., t. 5891). — A sweet-scented little 

 Cape bulb with white flowers. It was sent in 1866 to the Royal Gardens by D. 

 Arnot, Esq., who resides in the remote district of Colesberg, under the 32nd parallel 

 of N. latitude, bordering the Griqua territory and Orange Free States, whence he 



