1882.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



217 



acese. It was indeed this character in the spe- 

 cies here illustrated which led us to wander into 

 these comparisons, hoping thereby to instruct 

 the general reader in some usually abstruse bo- 

 tanical points. The ends of what Mr. Bull, the 

 introducer, calls " pinnulets," have the leaves 

 suddenly appressed, as we often see in the pine, 

 and as if the plant had half determined to form 

 a spike or "cone." Of the horticultural merits 

 and history of the plant itself, we will here ap- 

 pend what Mr. Wm. Bull says of it : 



"An elegant sub-scandent species, introduced 

 from the South Sea Islands. It has a creeping 

 caudex, from which at intervals spring up an 

 erect stem, which lengthens by forming new 

 growths at the point; these stems produce alter- 

 nate lateral branches of an ovate outline, flat 

 and closely pinnate, like the frond of a fern. 

 The color is a dark sap green, the spikelets and 

 young growth being of a paler and lighter hue. 

 It is allied to S. Wailichii, but is a still more ele- 

 gant plant, and differs essentially in having a 

 long terminal pinnulet to each branch, instead 

 of diminishing gradually to the end." 



Abies Coxcolor and Lowiana.— Dr. Masters 

 read before the Royal Horticultural Society the 

 substance of a letter from Dr. Engelmann, re- 

 lating to these plants, in which the historian of 

 the American Conifers stated, that he had now 

 seen the species concolor extensively distributed 

 in a living state from Oregon to Arizona, and 

 especially in California, and that he had only 

 occasionally met with the variety with long 

 straight leaves (the form Lowiana). Dr. Engel- 

 mann is unable to separate Lowiana as a species, 

 but refers it to concolor as a variety. In culti- 

 vation the form Lowiana is much more widely 

 represented than the species. 



The Date Palm. — A correspondent of the 

 Gardener's Chronicle says of the Date Palms : 

 " They do not thrive in regions where they can- 

 not reach water by means of their long strong 

 roots, or where they cannot be watered. The 

 largest Palm forest I have ever seen is at Elche, 

 in the province of Murcia, in Spain. It is many 

 miles in circumference, in a most arid, burnt up 

 spot, but then a small river runs through it ; 

 round every tree there is a large saucer or de- 

 pression, and at intervals throughout the sum 

 mer the river is turned into these saucers by 

 irrigation canals throughout its entire extent. 

 The trees are grown for profit. They produce 

 ripe edible fruit, which are sold in all the mar- 

 kets of this part of Spain as an important article 

 of food. The Dates, however, are not the sac- 



charine Dates we see and eat in the North as a 

 sweetmeat, but a farinaceous dry Date which 

 grinds into flour, and is consumed as such. I 

 was told in Algiers that they cultivate in the 

 desert oases sixty different kinds of Date. I 

 saw very few Date trees in the vicinity of Algiers 

 and along the coast. They are principally culti- 

 vated on the southern side of the Mount Atlas, 

 in the numerous oases that are found in the 

 desert within a short distance from the southern 

 basis of the Atlas range. 



A Colossal Fern.— Recently a huge stump- 

 fern, Todea, writes Baron Von Mueller, was, 

 brought away from its seclusion in the Dande- 

 nong Ranges, near Port Philip. "After the re- 

 moval of its hundreds of fronds, the stump-like 

 trunk weighed 2,900 pounds. It required to be 

 dragged by a train of oxen out of its recess, 

 where it may have grown for more than a cen- 

 tury to accumulate the substance of its massive 

 stem. This monster fern is to be placed in the 

 conservatory of Melbourne where the mycologist. 

 Rev. Heinrich Tode. so long labored for the 

 Church and for science also, and where his mor- 

 tal remains are buried. A brisk trade in large 

 Todeas ought to arise, as the marvelous specimen 

 at Kew must have attracted the attention of 

 professional and amateur horticulturists for 

 many years after its removal thence from the 

 Melbourne Botanic Garden. Giant Todeas may 

 be obtained from South Australia (Mount Lofty 

 Ranges), various places in Victoria, Tasmania, 

 New South Wales, and Queensland, but speci- 

 mens weighing over half a ton (without fronds) 

 are rare. This colossal fern has also the recom- 

 mendation of bearing a considerable amount of 

 frost, so that in temperatures like that of Arran 

 it could be grown in the open air. In South 

 Africa it seems never to attain to the enormous 

 weight of extra large Australian specimens." 



[Todeas are often seen in America collections 

 of exotic ferns, usually kept always under glass 

 cases, as it seems impossible for them to thrive 

 anywhere but in a close and damp atmosphere. 

 In such glfiss cases however , they thrive amazing- 

 ly, and those who have them usually feel that 

 they have something to be proud of when they 

 exhibit them to admiring friends.— Ed. G. M.] 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Barren Gingko Trees. 

 Lewisburgh, Pa., says : 



-Professor G. G. Groff", 

 We have two large 



