78 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



berries of the size of peas, and 

 which, when ripe, are of a beautiful 

 purplish-red colour, very bright and 

 glossy, and which remain through all 

 the winter, and are extremely orna- 

 mental. 



This and other species of Pernet- 

 tya, as, for example, P. angustifolia 



PEBNETTTA MUCRONATA. 



and pumila, which are of diffuse 

 habits, and prostrala, which is well 

 adapted for rock work, will grow in 

 good loam, especially if assisted at 

 first with the addition of a little peat 

 or leaf mould, but a cool peat bed is 

 far preferable. The specimen of P. 



mucronata, here figured, was cut from 

 a plant growing in good peat, where, 

 with others of the same species, it 

 has made as brilliant a show all the 

 past winter as could possibly be ob- 

 tained by any hardy subject known. 



As berry-bearing shrubs are inva- 

 luable for winter furnishing, it may 

 be as well to remind our 

 readers of a few of the 

 best. 



Shimmia 2Zeevesii(Si/n. 

 S. Japonica) is very fruit- 

 ful in a small state, and 

 unfortunately grows very 

 slowly. "We find that it 

 grows most rapidly in a 

 mixture of equal parts of 

 peat andj T ellow loam from 

 Wanstead, and we have 

 found it a good plan to 

 remove the flowers from 

 small plants, in order to 

 prevent the formation of 

 berries ; this aids their 

 growth, and when they 

 are a foot high they may 

 be allowed to fruit, which 

 they will do to such an 

 extent as sometimes to be 

 scarcely able to support 

 the weight of the ripe ber- 

 ries. The plant hitherto 

 known and described as 

 Skimmia Japonica, is now 

 known by its proper name 

 of S. Reevesii, the true 

 Japonica having been 

 lately introduced, and for 

 the sake of distinction has 

 been called S. Japonica 

 Vera. This last is more 

 robust in habit and more 

 luxuriant in appearance 

 than S. Peevesii ; it has 

 larger leaves, and forms 

 a more dense and elegant 

 bush. But it has not yet 

 been proved if it is as 

 fruitful as its forerunner, 

 and therefore we cannot 

 now include it among berry-bearing 

 shrubs. 



Cotoneuster mlcropliylla is the best 

 of the genus for gardens near great 

 towns, as it grows freely and bears 

 abundance of fruit in the most smoky 

 districts. Though beautiful and 



