iui;kk;n ni»tki:s. kY 



i 



arc us<e<i for dwarfing as well os for planting in ganlons. Scvci-al hundred such varieties were 

 collictfd in the ganlon of tlie Prince of Tsikvskn. Tlie fondiniis of tlio .Japanei^e for dwarf tries 

 is well known, and tliis Jfumi- is one of the jdants most nsed fur the |inrj)o:?e. In 1820, a dealer 

 oflVrc'd fur sale a spoeiinen in flower which was scarcely three inches hijjii. Thi:* marvel of gar- 

 dening was growini,' in a little red varnished box of three stages, like the drug-boxes whicli the 

 Japanese carry at their belt, Tlie upper stage was occupi<'d by the little Mnml, the niiildle stage 

 by a Spruce Fir ef^ually small, and the lowest stage by u Bamboo not more than an ineii and a 

 half high. As fur the fruits, they ripen in June; when quite ripe they are insipiil, for which 

 reason they are salted down when green, like Cucumbers, and are eaten as a vegetable with riec 

 and fi:^h. Much, however, as they arc esteemed by the Japanese, Eurojieans do not relish their 

 sour bitter taste. They are usually colored red, when suited, by adding the leaves of Ocymum 

 crispum (a kind of curled Basil.) The juice of the green fruit is taken as a refreshing beverage 

 in fevers; and is regarded as indispensable to the prejiaration of the beautiful and delicate red 

 dye prepared from the SaiHower." 



It will be seen from this account that we must not reckon the Japanese Apricot as a dessert 

 fruity unless in the form of a preparation like that of the Olive, for which it seems to be a Jap- 

 anese substitute. We would therefore- guard our readei-s against being seduced into the purchase 

 of it by a fine-sounding name. From the figure in the Tuinhoitw Flora, the fruit would seem to 

 have much resemblance to the little early Apricots which the French call Albcrgcs — pale straw- 

 color, with a little salmon-red on one side and near the stone. But, although no hope can be 

 entertained of its becoming of any value at table, it is vei-y possible that it may become valuable 

 as a stock for the cultivated Apricot. The climate from which it comes is very severe, and it is 

 certainly a ti-ue Apricot. Therefore we have undoubted hardiness on the one hand, and a great 

 constitutional similarity on the other. In the latter reipect, it ought to be much better suited to 

 the Apricot than the Plum stock — which is apt to disagree with its Apricot scion — or than the 

 Apricot itself, whicli is too tender to be buried underground in our wet and cold winters. As 

 soon as the Mum'e becomes cheap enough to be so employed, we would recommend it to the notice 

 of the nurserymen. In the meanwhile let us guard the public against imagining that, because it 

 is really an Apricot, it is therefore worth growing for dessert. Such value in horticulture as it 

 possesses, beyond what is now suggested, is wholly confined to its effect as a tree that blossoms 

 at the same time as the Almond. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



TuE RicE-PArER Plant. — On the morning of the 20th of April last, the steamer in which I 

 was a passenger dropped her anchor a little way up one of the rivers on the north-east part of 

 Formosa. As this was my first visit to this fine island, and as I knew we had only a shoit time 

 to stay, I lost no time in going on shore. Before leaving the vessel I had been examining with a 

 spy-glass some large white flowers which grew on the banks and on the hill sides, and I now 

 went in that direction, in order to ascei tain what they were. "When I reached the sjiot where 

 they were gi'owing, they proved to be very fine specimens of LUium jajwnicum — the lai'gestand 

 most vigorous I had ever seen. As I was admiring these beautiful Lilies, which were growing 

 as wild as tiie Piimroses in our woods in England, another plant of far more interest caught my 

 eye. This was nothing less than the Rice-paper Plant — the species which produces the far-famed 

 Rice-paper of China, named by Sir W. Hookeu Aralia papyrifcra. It was growing apparently 

 wild ; but the site may have been an old plantation, which was now overgrown with weeds and 

 brushwood. The largest specimens which came under my notice were about five or six feet in 

 height, and from si.x to three inches in circumference at the base, but nearly of an equal thick- 

 ness all up the stem. The stem?, usually bare all the v>'ay up, were crowned at the top with a 

 number of noble looking palmate leaves, on long foot-stalks, which gave to the plant a very 

 ornamental appearance. Tlie under side of each leaf, its foot-stalk, and the top part of the stem, 

 which was cla-ped by these stalks, was densely covered with down of a rich brown color, which 

 readily came off upon any substance with which it came in contact. I did not meet with any 

 plant in flower during my rambles, but it is probable the plant flowers at a later period 

 year. Numerous small plants were coming through the ground in various directions, w 



