l62 



IRISH GARDENING. 



NOVEMBER 



foliaife, and are for the most part putting on a 

 fine autnmn colour. There are, too, man)' Ribes, 

 several Hydrangeas, one of which is said to be 

 the finest in China, a new Forsythia with very 

 dark stems, and a new Styrax which is said to 

 bear freely flowers of a pearly white. None of 

 the roses have yet flowered with us, but they 

 seem mostly to belong to the Banksii and 

 Moschata class. Of Buddleas there are several 

 very fine forms of B. variabilis quite equal to 

 the one which Messrs. Veitch call B. V. Magni- 

 fica, also B. Nivca, so called from its white 

 stems, and one or two others. Many Clematis 

 and Lonicera have germinated and grown, as is 

 their wont, with great rapidity ; but for fear of 

 taking up too much of your valuable space 1 

 will only speak of C. Pralli, with red brown 

 foliage and yellow flowers, and C. soulcaiut, 

 which is after the fashion of, but a great improve- 

 ment on, our old friend C. montana. The climbing 

 Loniceras have not yet flowered, but L. Maiicki 

 makes a vigorous bush with showy white blooms. 



There is too a goodly assortment of Spiraeas, 

 mostly of the S. canescens type ; S. Veitchii is 

 said to be the best of these novelties. Actin- 

 idia Chinensis, of which there has been a 

 a good deal of talk lately in the English garden- 

 ing papers, makes a handsome creeper, the 

 young tendrils being of a rich red colour, but 

 the flower is insignificant, and I doubt its 

 producing the edible gooseberry-like fruit in 

 this country unless in highly favoured situations. 

 An entirely new genus is represented by Sinowil- 

 soiiia, which is botanically allied to the Hamamclis 

 family among the viburnums, V. Shytidophylhim 

 (wrinkled-leaved), so fine in fruit and with such 

 showy foliage, which in the distance looks like 

 some of the Sikkim rhododendrons, is probably 

 known to some of your readers, as it has been 

 sent out by Veitch for some little time now. 



V. coriaceum is, however, quite a novelty, and 

 is lovely in flower, evergreen, and as hardy as 

 a dock. It has germinated very freely and 

 grown vigorously, and should prove a great 

 acquisition. Stransva'sia nndulata is a pro- 

 cumbent plant bearing fine orange-coloured 

 fruits. The time has not yet come to describe the 

 various new forms of Pyrus and Cerasus, and 

 the Berberis also are mostly too small to show 

 their true character, but there is one which 

 looks like being a bolder and handsomer form 

 of B. Kvightii. 



Liriudoiduii Chiiiciisc is growing well, and 



though in a quite young state, as we have it, it 

 is not very distinct from our old acquaintance 

 L. tiilipiferinn, yet I have seen an older plant, 

 one of Wilson's earlier introductions, at Messrs. 

 Veitch's Combe Wood nursery, which makes 

 already a most striking tree, the leaf being of 

 the same quaint shape, but much darker in 

 colour, and about twice the size of those borne 

 by its better known relative. A new Piptanlhus 

 is said to be both much hardier and finer than 

 the false laburnum P. Nepalensis, which in this 

 part of the country can only be grown on a wall ; 

 and there is too an Evodia which Mr. Wilson 

 assures me will make a handsome tree well 

 worth growing. Of the Sumachs there are 

 several unnamed species, as also Rhus sylvcstris, 

 and R. vernicifera (the Lacquer Sumach) which 

 comes from a much higher altitude than the for- 

 mer, which was introduced some years ago from 

 Japan, and which could not stand our Hert- 

 fordshire frosts. Ailanthus Viltiiuriitiiiua, wiih 

 its spiny stems, has a very distinct appearance 

 from the common type. 



I could go on describing new plants till I was 

 tired of writing, and your subscribers of reading, 

 such as Pisfaccia, Taptscia, Polythyrsis ; novel 

 species of Diervilla, Stachyurus, Euplclca, Pav- 

 loiviiia, Catalpa, Moms, Coriaria, &c., but I 

 have written quite enough to show that we are 

 indebted to the energy, industry and capacity of 

 Mr. Wilson, and to the enterprise of those who 

 despatched him on his expedition, for probably 

 the largest addition to tree and shrub life 

 capable of existing in this country, which has 

 ever been made at one time, and which in a few 

 years should eflFect quite a revolution in the 

 appearance of our shrubberies and ornamental 

 grounds. 



Rose ]Mrs. John Bateman. 



All readers of this month's number, and especially 

 those whose hitroduction to rose-growing and showing 

 is young, are invited to closely study the picture on the 

 opposite page. I have often wanted to show the 

 "young idea" what a rose should look like when at 

 its best, and here, at last, I have dropped on a perfect 

 example. This rose was raised by .Alex. Dickson & 

 Sons a few years back, and has not received all the 

 support it deserves, probably because other roses of the 

 year were more sought after. Yet Mrs. J. Bateman is 

 a fine rose, and ought to be more grown. The photo- 

 graph, which is perfect, was kindly lent me by P. 

 Murrell, Esq., whose name is well known to all 

 los.iriafls. O D. B. 



