232 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



\_Augu8t, 



Japanesk Birches. — Mr. Maule of the Bristol 

 Nurseries, has been good enough to send us for de- 

 termination specimens of two Jiipanese Hirches, 

 which from their large (male) catkins and hand- 

 some appearance are worthy attention. One, an 

 upright grower, with the young shoots brownish 

 and dotted with resinous dots, with glabrous 

 ovate leaves gradually tapering to a long point 

 or acumen, with rather closely set prominent 

 nerves, and irregularly serrated leaves, and with 

 male catkins 2i inches long, is, we believe, the 

 B. utilis of Don, or rather that form of it which 

 Kegel calls B. Bhajapaltra, Wall., var.subcordata. 

 We prefer to use the name utilis because it is the 

 earlier name, and one not f^o uncouth to English 

 ears. For garden purposes the varietal name, 

 B. subcordata, would perhaps be the most con- 

 venient. The second is a weeping form, with the 

 young shoots brownish, sprinkled with resinous 

 dots. The young leaves are obliquely ovate cor- 

 date, rather shortly acuminate, serrate, thinly 

 beset with pale appressed hairs, especially along 

 the nerves, and covered on the lower surface 

 with small circular glandular scales. The male 

 catkins are nearly 3 inches long. This second 

 form we refer to B. ulmifolia, var. costata, which 

 might for garden purposes be called simply 

 B. costata. — Gardener's Chronicle. 



OxALis ENNEAPHYLLA. Nat ord., Geraniaccse. 

 — In the "Flora Antarctica" Dr. Hooker des- 

 cribes this plant as the pride of the Falkland Is- 

 lands, where it grows in such profusion at Berke- 

 ley Sound, on banks overhanging the sea, as to 

 cover them with a mantle of snowy white in the 

 spring month of November; adding that it is an 

 excellent antiscorbutic and agreeable pot herb, 

 though too acid to be used except in tarts and 

 puddings. When the above was written, this 

 plant was supposed to be confined to the Falk- 

 land Islands ; it was, however, found in the 

 Straits of Magellan by D'Urville's expedition, and 

 by Lecher at Cape Negro, also in the Straits." — 

 Bot. Mag. 



Pyrethrum aureum laciniatum. — A most dis- 

 tinct and beautifully cut-leaved form of the 

 "Golden Feather." Perfectly hardy, and in 

 color perhaps more golden than the old "Golden 

 Feather," and ofadwarfer and more spreading 

 habit.— IF. Bull. 



Blumenbachia coronata. — This very pretty 

 plant is a native of Peru. It is a dwarf, shrubby- 

 growing annual, forming handsome tufts about IJ 

 feethigh byl foot through. The flowers, which are 



bfirne in great profusion, are of a striking orange 

 red color, coronal-shaped, and are about J of an 

 inch deep by li inches in diameter. — Garden. 



New Hardy Evergreen Flowerin<; Shrcb, 

 Jfi/pericum paluhun {Thunb).— This magnificent 

 shrub is a grand ac<iuisition to our scanty list of 

 hardy flowering species. Its individual flowers, 

 which are produced in bunches, are pale yellow 

 in color and of great substance, resembling much 

 in appearance the beautiful Gardenia javanica of 

 our stoves. It continues long in perfection, com- 

 mencing to flower in June, and has been in fine 

 perfection till the first week in November. We 

 can endorse all M. Carriere says of it in the Re- 

 vue Horticole of May 1st, 1875 (it is also figured 

 there): " This is a species we feel convinced is 

 destined to create a sensation in the horticultu- 

 ral world. It seems, in fact, to unite all the 

 qualities desirable in a plant — hardiness, vigor, 

 fine evergreen foliage, flowers large and numer- 

 ous, a free-flowering habit, prolonged from June 

 without interruption till the frost comes." — 

 Vietch . 



. SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Double and Single Tuberoses. — V. asks : 

 "Will double tuberoses turn to single ones? 

 Though I 'weed' mine every year, there are 

 always some come. I thought at first they were 

 mixed, but now I think they run back." 



[Yes, in this climate there is a great tendency 

 in the double thberose to return to its original 

 single condition. Some seasons this is much 

 more the case than in others. The season of 

 187G was very favorable to single flowers. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Xanthoceras sorbifolia. — Mr. Saul writes : 

 " I forward to your address by mail a few blooms 

 of the beautiful Xanthoceras sorbifolia. My 

 specimen plant, which has stood out uninjured the 

 past three Winters without the slightest protec- 

 tion, is coverel all over from the centre stem to 

 tips of the branches with racemes of its lovely 

 flowers. It is unquestionably one of the finest 

 hardy shrubs which have been introduced for 

 years." 



[We quite agree with Mr. Saul in the estima- 

 tion he places on it. — Ed. G. M.] 



Propagation of Evergreens by Soft Wood 

 Cuttings. — A subscriber from Kentucky writes : 



