12 



IRISH GARDENING. 



B. subcaulialata appears to ripen its friiit later 

 and seems a stronger }:;ro\ver tlian the other two, 

 the leaves are larger and the branches are angled. 



The following eveigreen Barberries of the 

 Wallichiana section ha\'e a general resemblance, 

 and bear blackish fruit covered by a bluish 

 bloom. 



Berberis Gagnepainii has now been introduced 

 sonie years ; it suckers freely, grows vigorously, 

 and has a narrow waved leaf spiny on the margin 

 about 2 to 3i inches long. 



According to Professor Sargent, Berberis 

 Sargentiana is the only evei-green Barberry which 

 has i)roved ])erfectly hardy in the Arnold 

 Arboretum : in Massachusetts theVinters are much 

 more severe than in any itarts of Britain. All 

 the Barberries 

 here mentioned 

 have not been 

 affected by Irish 

 winters, but it is 

 w o r t h knowing 

 that B. Sargentiana 

 is much hardier 

 than Wallichiana 

 and others, for 

 hardy evergreens 

 are very useful. Tt 

 resembles a strong 

 growing form of 

 the latter species 

 with the young 

 stems reddish. 



Berberis ,] ulianae 

 has been named by 

 C. K. Schneider in 

 comi)liment to his 

 wife, and promises 

 to make a hand- 

 some dense grow- 

 ing evergreen ; the 

 leaves are a very 

 deep green, with 

 spiny margins, 

 from 2 to 4 inches 

 long and broadly 

 lanceolate in shape. 



Berberis levis 

 and Bergmannia^ 

 r'ar. acantho))hylla 

 are two more new 

 forms, the former 

 with long narrow 

 leaves, and the 

 latter somewhat 

 resembling small holly leaves. 



Berberis verruculosa, with warty branches, is 

 a dwarf sturdy bush, with dark green spiny 

 leaves about 1 inch long, which are glaucous 

 underneath. 



B. Wallichiana var. ])allida, which was sent out 

 by Vilmorin, has been changed to B. candidula. 

 Its very jirostrate habit and slow growth should 

 make it valuable for the rockery. 



C. F. B. 



Aralia Sieboldii. 



OUK illustration is from a phot()gi'ai)h of a line 

 specimen of AraUa which was in fidl flower on the 

 1st of December, 1913. Mr. Buthven, who 

 kindly sends the photograi)h, writes : — 



" This plant usuahy blooms in September; 



I'hofo hit 



Aralia Sieboldii. 

 In Achnacarrv Garden, Sandymount. 



this year it is not only two months later, but the 

 blooms are double th(^ (juantity. The plant is 

 growing in the open facing south-west, sheltered 

 overhead by a glass-i'oofed verandah." 



"^rhe Ivy is a relative of the Aralia, both belong- 

 ing to the same natui'al ordei' called Araliacea^, 

 so that the flowers are similar in shape and 

 structure, but those of the Aralia are white, borne 

 in much larger clusters, consequently when in 

 flower the ])lant is strikingly 'handsome. 



Although in gardens it is usually known as 

 Aralia Sieboldii or A. japonica, its real name is 

 Fatsia japonica, the word Fatsia being derived 

 from the .lapanese name of one of the species. 

 In England, exce])t in the south-west, this Aralia 

 is not hardy enough to stand the winter, but in 



most of our Irish 

 gardens it will sur- 

 vive afid make a 

 beautiful evergreen 

 bush. 



On account of 

 its handsome shin- 

 ing green leaves 

 many j^lants are 

 raised from seed 

 annually and sold 

 for indoor deco- 

 ration, for this 

 Aralia is one 

 of the best ])lants 

 to stand the 



somewhat ad- 

 verse conditions 

 to ])lant life 



found in a 

 dwelling h o u s e. 

 "Castor Oil 

 Plant " is a 



name frequently 

 but w r o n g 1 y 

 applied to this 

 Aralia, for Cas- 

 tor Oil is ob- 

 tained from the 

 seeds of Kicinus 

 communis, which 

 is treated as 

 an annual when 

 g !■ o w n i n t li i s 

 lountry, but in 

 S. Euroi)e may 

 be seen growing 

 like a shrub. 



J. A. V. Tiutliven, 



A Naturalist in Western China.* 



This is the most interesting book of travi'l we 

 liave seen for many years, and embodies .Mr. 

 Wilson's eleven years of exi)loration in the little 

 known ])arts of the Flowery Kingdoju. 



Robert Fortune, for " the Royal Horti- 

 cidtuial Society, and then Charles Maries on 

 behalf of Messrs. Veitch in 1S7!), collected many 

 valuable plants, but api)arently they did not go 

 far enough into the interior, so it was left to 

 later years, when the collections of the Roman 

 Catholic i)riests, les Abbes David and Delavay, 

 also those of Pratt and Henry, astounded 

 botanists, and they began to realise China's 



* '■ A Naturalist in Western China," by Ernest Jlenry Wilson, 

 V.M.H. London: Methuen cV Co., Ltd., 36 Essex Street, W.C. 

 2 vols. Price 30s. net. 



