May 8, 1873. 1 



JODRNAIi OF HOBTICULXURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



o73 



species^throw np suckers, which offer a ready mode of increase, 

 and it is probable that gracilis may be multiplied in the same 

 way. In the open ground this species flowers about the be- 

 ginning of June ; but when growu as a pot plant, it may be 

 had in bloom at almost any period of the winter and spring, 

 where there are facilities for forcing. With no better accom- 

 modation than that afforded by a good window, it might easily 

 he made to yield its flowers six weeks earlier than in the open 

 borders. The temperature of an ordinary apartment will be 

 sufficient to excite it into growth ; but it must be confessed 

 that the dry atmosphere of a room is somewhat injurious, both 

 to the foliage and flowers ; it should, therefore, when in 

 bloom, be kept cool and moist. Specimens cultivated in pots 

 should be repotted after flowering, and exposed during sum- 

 mer and autumn in the open air ; they will require to be 

 pruned in the manner explained for the larger plants. 



The Deutzias are very closely allied to the genus Phila- 

 delphus, of which one species, the common Syringa, or Jlock 

 Orange (P. coronarius), is generally found in the shrubbery. 

 In the Syringas, the sepals and petals are each four; the 

 stamens numerous (more than twenty), and the style one ; in 

 Dentzia, both sepals and petals are live in number, the 

 stamens ten, and the styles three ; there are, therefore, 

 abundant marks of distinction. The stamens are alternately 

 longer, the shortest being opposite the petals, and all of them 

 are curiously winged and somewhat forked at the summit, or 

 rather three-toothed ; the anther being seated on the central 

 tooth ; in D. staminea, this peculiarity is so marked, as to 

 have suggested the specific name, broad-stamened. Nor is 

 this the only noticeable feature, for a close examination will 

 reveal the presence of a yellowish ring within the circle formed 

 by the stamens, termed by botanists the disk. 



The leaves of scabra are remarkable for their roughness, 

 and under the microscope this is seen to be owing to hairs of 

 a stellate form, which are supported upon a short stem, the 

 whole presenting a mushroom-like appearance. According to 

 the Dutch botanist Kffimpfer, the wood of this species is much 

 prized by the Japanese cabinet makers for making pegs of the 

 finest quality, it being very hard and tough. And if, gentle 

 reader, you may chance to be of the fair sex, it will, perhaps, 

 interest you to know, that when Orange blossoms are scarce, 

 the flowers of the same species may be employed as a sub- 

 stitute in the formation of the bridal wreath — a hint for 

 which we expect nothing less than a pah' of white gloves. 



To complete our sketch of these interesting shrubs, we have 

 only to add, first, that gracilis, and most of the species are 

 natives of Japan and China ; corymbosa and staminea are 

 from the Himalaya ; secondly, that the not very euphonious 

 generic appellation was confei-red in honour of a Dutch patron 

 of botany, John Deutz, of Amsterdam. — (W. Thompson's 

 English Flower Garden.) 



SHEPHERDIA ARGENTEA AND OTHER 

 BERRY-BEARING SHRUBS. 



I HAVE just read your notice of Shepherdia argentea with 

 great interest, as I have a large bush of it nearly twenty years 

 old. 1 am glad that people have an English name for it, 

 as I dislike unnecessary pedantry. I had some doubts about 

 the fact of its bearing fruit till I saw it confirmed in page 334. 

 My plant is 6 feet high and the same across, and has been 

 frequently trimmed-in. It grows very much in habit like a 

 Lilac bush, and stools-out in the same manner, from which, no 

 doubt, plenty of suckers or layers might be obtained. It is 

 perfectly hardy, and has not had a twig browned during the 

 late terrible spring, which has blown away nearly every Straw- 

 berry in the country, and blighted, as with a flame of fire, 

 common Ivy and Holly. 



My Shepherdia produces every seasoti an abundance of small 

 flowers about the size of those of the Elder tribe ; but these 

 have never been succeeded by any appearance of fruit. I 

 have noticed several other specimens of the plant in public 

 pleasure grounds, but never in fruit. Is it possible that we 

 have hitherto only had a plant of one sex ? — perhaps the barren 

 female — as was the case with the spotted Aucuba, which never 

 fruited till a few years ago, when we got the male plant from 

 Japan. As the Shepherdia has been in the trade for many 

 years, I hope some of our leading firms will give us informa- 

 tion whether they have had it in fruit. I thi nk not, or I must 

 have seen it. 



These remarks apply as well to the Ruscns (Butcher's Broom). 

 When I lived in London, eating my terms for the bar, I re- 



member well the branches of it, which were used to decorate 

 shops at Christmas time, bore a bright red berry, and children 

 buying such in Covent Garden used to ask for " a piece of 

 Cbiistmas." It had such a lively appearance that I procured 

 a great many plants of which I have large patches in my 

 grounds. They have never fruited, and nurserymen about 

 here tell me that it does not bear a berry at all, but that is 

 quite incorrect. Is it possible that we have hold of barren 

 plants of this shrub also ? I have Euscus aculeatus, our native 

 plant, and B. Hypoglossum. There are two others in cata- 

 logues — viz., R. HypophyUum and E. racemosus, sometimes 

 called the Alexandrian Laurel, which I am not familiar with. 



To use the Shepherdia as a hedge seems to me absurd, ex- 

 cept as a screen to conceal some eyesore in summer, as it is 

 very lax in its habit, very tender in texture, and very brittle. 

 The Osage Orange was much puffed as a desirable hedge plant 

 many years ago. I raised a great many from seed. In this 

 country it wUl only live behind a wall, and grows in a very 

 crooked straggUng manner like the Pyrus japonica. 



I was a very hard-working member of the Acclimatisation 

 Society whUe it existed, and was very anxious to introduce 

 hardy game birds, such as the praiiie fowl, ruffed grouse, d'c, 

 instead of cockatoos and kangaroos, and at the same time 

 urged the introduction of ben-y-bearing shrubs suitable to our 

 climate, and which these birds fed on in their native habitat, 

 but no one but Mr. H. Burr, of Aldermaston, would listen to 

 me. From what I read in botanical works I am quite con- 

 vinced that there are many plants in the wilds of America 

 which might be introduced here with great advantage both as 

 ornaments and as food for game and other birds. — Jaceson 

 GiLLEANKS, Cumherland. 



P.S. — Since writing the above I have looked into Loudon's 

 " Encyclopedia of Gardening," which states (p. 935) that this 

 shi-ub (Hippophaii of Lin.) is called by the Indians Eabbit- 

 berry and Beef-suet trees, and that it was said to have borne 

 fruit at Loddiges' arboretum ; also that the fruit of another 

 variety, H. rhamnoides, is much eaten by the Tartars. To 

 show the long duration of winter here, we have still large 

 patches of snow on Skiddaw and the adjacent hills ; thick ice 

 every night. Plenty of woodcocks still in the country, though 

 the cuckoo has commenced calling. May 1st, 1873. 



[We think it very probable that our coiTespondent's speci- 

 men is barren on account of its being either a male or female 

 plant, as the Shepherdia belongs to the Linnaean order Dioecia. 

 We join Mr. GUlbanks in the wish that some of our readers 

 win inform us if they have ever in this country known the 

 Shepherdia argentea ripen its fruit in the open air. The 

 Euscus is also a direcious plant, and may be barren from the 

 same cause. It certainly beai's berries in this country when 

 the male and female plants grow near each other. — Ens.] 



MALINES. 

 The MiJisioN of M. F. de Cannart d'Hamale, Sexateur. 



From the earliest days of our gardening history, the city of 

 MaUnes, in Belgium, has been associated with the study of 

 botany and horticulture. Here it was that Dodoens was born, 

 and resided as physician to the Emperor Maximilian and his 

 son Eudolph II., till, through jealousy, he was compelled to 

 leave the court, retiring to Antwei-p, and finally becoming 

 Professor of Botany at Leyden. Here, too, in more recent 

 times resided Major Esperen, devoting his time to the study 

 of pomology, and the raising of new fruits, leaving behind 

 him a name enduring as long as those deUcious fruits with 

 which it is associate wUl last. .A.nd here also Uves in our own 

 day one of the most prominent patrons of Belgian horticulture 

 and native industry, the Senator M. de Cannart d'Hamale, 

 author of " Monographic Historique et Littfraire des Lis," 

 well known and as highly respected wherever European horti- 

 culture is found. , , n i. 



In the garden attached to the mansion of M. de Cannart 

 d'Hamale is a collection of plants of much interest. The 

 garden itself is a bijou, of limited extent, but so skilfully and 

 so tastefully designed as to appear considerably larger than it 

 is. Here are cultivated all descriptions of plants, mcluding 

 Orchids, Camellias, Azaleas, Ferns, Pahns, and those which 

 are so much admired for their fine foliage. There are five or 

 six glass houses adapted for the different classes of plants, 

 and in all of them we were struck with the tasteful arrange- 

 ment and the skilful cultivation. In the Grande Serre, which 

 is the prominent object in our second illustration, Ferns and 



