346 THE GARDENER. [Aug. 



In foliage, style of growth, and general appearance they are sugges- 

 tive of the Cypresses, to which family, though separated by some 

 peculiar botanical characters, they have evidently a close affinity. 



Though little more than twenty years have passed away since the 

 first representative of the group was introduced into European collec- 

 tions, there are already some eighteen or twenty species and varieties 

 in cultivation more or less distinct, but without exception eminently 

 handsome; and even from the short experience we have had of them in 

 this country, the great majority having been sent home since 1864, 

 there is no doubt of their adaptability to our soils and climate, and that 

 they are invaluable acquisitions as decorative shrubs. 



In habits of growth they are for the most part dwarf and bushy, in 

 some cases only rising a few feet from the ground, and are thus most 

 useful for planting in miniature gardens, grouping in flower-garden 

 beds, or for rockeries. Two of the species, however, attain the dimen- 

 sions of trees, producing timber of such excellent quality, both as re- 

 gards its durability and fineness of grain, that it is much used by the 

 Japanese cabinet-makers for their most artistic work. 



Like many of their congeners, the Retinosporas thrive best in a deep 

 rich loamy soil, with the land sufficiently drained to prevent any ac- 

 cumulation of water at the roots ; and though they are for the most 

 part hardy enough to withstand any amount of frost they are likely 

 to be subjected to in this country, they require a sheltered situation, 

 or at least one where they are not exposed to the full force of violent 

 winds. 



While each of the various sorts, whether species or varieties, has its 

 own peculiar claims upon the attention of planters of ornamental 

 shrubs, and may with confidence be recommended as worthy of intro- 

 duction among the most choice of that class of plants, where space 

 and other circumstances permit, we note the following as specially dis- 

 tinct and attractive : — ■ 



R. Ericoides {the Heath-like Retinospora). — This is a pretty 

 dwarf species, rarely found in its native habitats higher than from 4 

 to 6 feet. It is much valued as an ornamental plant by the Japanese, 

 who use it in the decoration of their gardens, and as a pot-plant for 

 balconies and terraces. 



It is here a slow-growing conical bush, clothed to the ground with 

 innumerable tiny heath-like branches, densely covered with small 

 leaves of a glaucous-green colour in summer, changing on the approach 

 of winter to a bright violet-purple. It is a fine rockery plant, and 

 most useful for winter bedding, or for margins of ornamental shrub- 

 beries, where it makes a striking contrast with others of a light-green 

 hue. 



