446 THE GARDENER. [Oct. 



sort. The flowers are white, and in perfection in May. This is a most 

 desirable, thongh not a very common, sj^ecies. It prefers a shady situa- 

 tion, but, in common with the other species, adapts itself to the same 

 circumstances as most other peat-soil shrubs will grow and thrive in. 



PERNETTYA. 



The Pernettyas form a group of neat small evergreen shrubs of great 

 beauty, producing their lovely pure-white bell-shaped flowers from 

 May to July in great profusion, succeeded by abundance of showy 

 berries, which hang till late in autumn, and even in favourable circum- 

 stances over the greater part of winter. Nothing can be finer than a 

 well-grown plant of any of the species, when covered with its bright 

 reddish-purple or pink fruit. In a young state they are useful as pot- 

 plants for conservatory decoration, requiring no trouble further than 

 lifting them when the fruit is formed, or even ripe, and introducing 

 them to the house, in which circumstances the berries will hang longer 

 and have a brighter appearance than when exposed to the frost. 



All the species are dwarf and dense in their habit of growth, seldom 

 rising higher than 3 or 4 feet. They are perfectly hardy, and grow 

 readily under the ordinary conditions necessary for Khododendrons and 

 other American shrubs. 



The following are the most popular and distinct sorts in cultiva- 

 tion, and ought to be in every collection : — mucronata, angustifolia, 

 speciosa. Hugh Eraser. 



VICTORIA NECTARIlvrE. 



This Nectarine has been highly commended at different times, and so 

 far as my experience goes, I can indorse all that has been said in its 

 favour. It is a second early variety. The tree possesses a more than 

 usually vigorous constitution, and bears enormously, so that your 

 readers need not fear to include it even in the smallest collection. 

 We have one tree in our second early Peach-house here which was 

 planted a young tree five years ago. It has been trained on the 

 extension system before referred to in these pages, and it has not 

 missed a crop for the last four years. I did not take notice last year 

 nor the year before how many fruit we gathered from it, but I know 

 we left a heavy crop upon it, which finished well. This summer I 

 counted the fruit as gathered, which amounted to eight dozen, or rather 

 more, all fine fruit, many of them measuring between 8 and 9 inches in 

 circumference. It has only one fault — the fruit takes a fine dark-red 



