130 



IRISH GARDENING. 



thick felt on the underside, the upper side of the 

 former being glossy green and wrinkled, and of 

 the latter dark and eventually smooth. Eh. 

 Hodgsonii and Eh. niveum, moreover, show 

 this characteristic, the felt being less dense and 

 of different shades; while Eh. grande, Eh. King- 

 ianum, and Eh. Eollissonii (zeylanicum) — the 

 last two with pecidiarly stiff leaves — are fine 

 objects even when out of flower. Some of the 

 Chinese kinds of recent introduction desen'e 

 notice, of which Eh. argyrophyllum. Eh. calo- 

 phvton, Eh. discolor. Eh. euanthum, Eh. lu- 

 tescens, Eh. oreodoxa. Eh. oreotrephes, Eh. 

 sutchuenense, and Eh. zaleucum may be men- 

 tioned. Eh. habrotrichum has a hairy foliage, 

 while all the branchlets are clothed with bright 

 red bristles, a feature which is also to be seen in 

 tlie Himalayan Eh. barbatum. In Eh. fulvum 

 the underleaf and the young shoots are of a 

 wonderful orange tint, the upperside smooth 

 and a good green. This promises to be a very 

 desirable species. But Eh. sino-grande is per- 

 haps the most remarkable of the whole series, 

 with enormous dark leaves, two feet and more 

 in length and wide in proportion, and with a 

 broad, pale yellow midrib. In spring and in the 

 early summer, as they begin to develop, they 

 are mottled brown and white, like a crocodile's 

 skin, gradually turning through many inter- 

 mediate shades to their normal colour. It is 

 quite new to cultivation, and probably no one in 

 this country has yet seen it in its perfection, but 

 we can easily imagine what an addition it will 

 make to our gardens. 



The Compf)site Order embraces many phmts 

 f)f nuich interest. A bush of Olearia macro- 

 donta, with dark grey undulate foliage, is 

 always a welcome sight, especially when 

 covered l)y masses of silvery white bunches of 

 flower. (). argophylla, (). avicenniiefolia, (). 

 Forsteri, (). nioschata, and O. virgata may also 

 be noted. (). Traversii grows to tree-like dimen- 

 sions, with a rugged, light brown bark, and with 

 sliining leaves, silky white beneath, that show 

 up well when stirred by the breeze. The wliite 

 underleaf is also seen in (). Lyallii, a wvy hand- 

 some species, and in (). insignis. The latter is 

 small, and is well adapted to rock work, dark 

 leaves, more than nine inches in length ; the 

 whole of the young growth, including even the 

 flower stalks, is covered by a thick woolly felt, 

 and the plant then presents a beautiful combi- 

 nation of white and green. Sf)me\\li;it llic same 

 underleaf characteristics are to In- obsfi'ved in 

 species of the kindred genus Senecio — in 8. ro- 

 timdifolia, a sturdy and beautiful shrub frf)tn 

 New Zealand, ten feet and more in height, with 

 large round, highly-polished, leathery leaves; 

 and in S. Grayii, S. compacta, and 8. IVIonroi, 

 which are spreading and smaller, and which art- 



crowned by rich golden bloom. !S. Buchananii 

 resembles S. rotundifolia, but the underleaf is 

 tinged with yellow; it is probably hardier. S. 

 Hectori is different ; it forms a great bush with 

 pale green foliage, cut into a few short pinnules 

 or stipules at the base, and ending with a large 

 terminal leaflet, one foot long and six to seven 

 inches broad, serrated at the edges, and sur- 

 mounted in summer by panicles of daisies two 

 feet wide by one foot high, each flower nearly 

 two inches across. JSrachyglottis repanda merits 

 a j)assing notice, even though it is somewhat 

 tender and can hardly be grown everywhere; 

 the leaves are slightly lobed, bright green above, 

 one foot by six inches in size, midribs and veins 

 purplish red and intensely white beneath. ^Ve 

 might add to this list many Artemisias, most, of 

 them with feathery foliage, some of the Achil- 

 leas and Celmisias, Diotis candidissima, Eaou- 

 lia australis, Santolina Chamaecyparissus (in- 

 eana), Senecio Cineraria, S. leucostachys, and 

 Tanacetum Herderi from Central Asia, all 

 silvery grey of vaa'ious shades, some almost 

 white, and all suited to the Eock Garden. Nor 

 should the Cassinias be forgotten, with minute 

 leaves, the branchlets and underleaf golden in 

 C. fulvida, paler in C. vauvilliersii, white in C. 

 leptophylla and in C. letorta ; while C. longi- 

 folia from Australia differs from them, and is 

 garbed in sombre green, that not only contrasts 

 with the surrounding foliage, but also sets off 

 its conspicuous white flowers in summer. 



Drimys aromatica, with bright red branchlets, 

 and D. Winteri are i)robably well known; 1). 

 colorata is more rare, and is remarkable for the 

 pecvdiarity of the leaves, yellow, as if smeared 

 with mustard and splashed with red. In the 

 allied genus, Magnolia, there is M. Delavayii, a 

 recent introduction from Yvmnan, with large, 

 hard evergreen foliage, greyish dull above, more 

 glaucous below; and M. macrophylla, decid- 

 uous, whose huge leaves are sometimes as inucli 

 as three feet long, heart-shaped at the base. Of 

 the Berberis may be mentioned the common 

 ]\lahonia (B. Aquifolium) and its near relations, 

 ]^. nervosa and 1). repens ; also B. candidula, 

 J^. concinna, B. (lagne|)ainii, B. Hookei'iana, 

 B. japonica (Bealii), and ]^ nepalensis — the 

 last two with stiff pinnate foliage. Among the 

 species of I'ittosjjorum there is 1'. eugenioides, 

 long leaves, undulating at the margins, and 

 shining olive gieen : and its beautiful variegated 

 form. Also I'. Pxicli.iuaiiii, paler and smaller; 

 and 1'. temiit'olinin, with t\\(i varieties, Mayii 

 and nigricans, the latter grey and feathery. The 

 burnished slender branchlets of the a))ove are 

 black, and add much to the effect wliicli these 

 gracefully habit('(l .-uid evergreen shiubs, or 

 ]-ather small trees, lend to the scenery. Three 

 varieties of the common Holly (Ilex A<iuifoIiumj 



