350 



JOURNAL Ol' HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( April 30, 1874. 



and orchards in this district, we may loolv forward to realise an 

 abundaut supply of fruit in the coming summer. 



Peas are in flower in the open borders, and we look forward 

 to be able to gather by the last week in May. — .Tames Smith, 

 Ezton Park Ganlcm. 



EXTRACTS FROM NOTES ON A VOYAGE TO 

 AUSTRALIA. 



Tv'hat a cheery and honest ring there seems in Shakspeare's 

 words where he says, " Come, my spade." " There is no more 



ancient gentlemen than gardeners They hold up 



Adam's profession." If it is not a profitable business, it is 

 nevertheless a pleasant one and an honest one, and with truth 

 may be said to be more ancient than the Golden Fleece or the 

 Roman Eagle, and more honourable than the Star or Garter, 

 or any other earthly profession in existence 



Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, where your humble cor- 

 respondent in due time arrived, was in the wildest confusion 

 and excitement. The " gold fever " was at its height. The 

 contagion had spread everywhere. 



I accepted an invitation to visit St. Kilda, the home of Mr. 

 May, a nurseryman whom I previously met. He was an early 

 acquaintance of mine, and his father had been one of my horti- 

 cultural mentors when a young lad " in merrie England." 

 Within his Vine-covered cottage in that beautiful suburban 

 village I met with a hearty and hospitable welcome. Being 

 a man after my own heart we readily agreed to explore the 

 Botanic Gardens of Dr. Mueller fame. It was not the first time 

 I had rambled through those excellent grounds, which presented 

 so many attractions. Happily, they are better kept now than 

 they were at the time of which I write. The same causes which 

 had affected the Sydney Botanic Gardens had existed here. 

 As is usual in all scientific establishments of a like nature, the 

 gardens contained a good collection of the native and foreign 

 flora, all of which were correctly named and properly arranged. 

 The lake, or aquarium, was better stocked with aquatic plants 

 than any other I ever saw. I could scarcely describe the many 

 species without naming almost everything whose habitat was 

 watery ; but a few must suffice to mention where all were 

 equally interesting — viz., Victoria regia, a regal plant in every 

 respect ; Papyrus antiquorum, P. odoratus, P. laxiflorus, 

 Cyperus Luzula, C. strigosus, with several Xyris, Nelumbiums, 

 Nymphseas, Nuphars, Pontederas, Limnocharis, Hottonias, 

 Valisuerias, Sagittarias, Trapa bicornis (the Water Caltrops 

 ©f China) , etc. 



There was also a fine collection of young Oaks, the species 

 indigenous to this country especially. The same may be said 

 of herbaceous plants. Most of the trees and shrubs with which 

 the gardens were stocked were small though thrifty and vigor- 

 ous. A few others I feel constrained to mention as having a 

 special interest, and not often met with — in fact, all uncommon 

 to Europeans and Americans. For instance, Parkia globosa, 

 the Mitta Tree of Africa, and named in honour of the lamented 

 traveller Mungo Park. Also the African Silver Tree, Leucaden- 

 dron argenteum, a beautiful specimen ; Erythrina coralloden- 

 dron, the handsome Coral Tree, some 20 feet high ; E. crista- 

 galli, of fine arboreal proportions, and upwards of 30 feet high ; 

 Fagara Pterota, a native of Jamaica, an exceedingly beautiful 

 tree, and then about 15 feet high. Perhaps the most interest- 

 ing of all I noticed was the East Indian Teakwood tree, Tectona 

 grandis. It appeared to be quite acclimated and thrifty. In 

 India it is one of the most valuable timber trees grown, so 

 generally useful : there it frequently attains to upwards of 

 100 feet high, and is highly esteemed for its uses in naval 

 architecture, and is the most durable timber used for railway 

 sleepers, itc. .\gati grandiflora is a splendid tree of great 

 beauty, a leguminous evergreen : literally, it is a flaming tree 

 if not a burning bush. There was also a fair specimen of the 

 remarkable Banyan tree of India, Ficus religiosa, or the sacred 

 tree of the Hindoos. Lastly, another interesting and orna- 

 mental tree, Comocladia ilicifolia, a Caribbean native of peculiar 

 habit. The smooth stems are foliated only on the extreme 

 ends, and appear as it they were tied on in bunches. . . . 



Taking passage on a small steamer which ran from Melbourne 

 to Geelong, we passed down the muddy stream of the Yarra- 

 Yarra to Hobson's Bay and Corio Bay. At the head of the 

 latter stands Geelong. It was then a rather straggling town, 

 while now it is a fine city of considerable importance. 



The Ballarat gold fields, some fifty miles beyond, were then 



" in full blast," and (reelong being a sort of half-way town 

 between the mines and the capit,al, was in a state of chronic 



tumult with the miners on their way to and fro to Digger- 

 dom. 



Amid all this turmoil and commotion lived the complacent 

 and happy Jlr. Marlow, whos9 quiet deportment and steady 

 equanimity nothing less than a thunderbolt or earthquake 

 could shake or move from the even tenor of his way. He, sage 

 and solid old gentleman, was contented, healthy, wealthy, and 

 wise. He didn't go to the diggings. The golden changes which 

 sounded so melodious in more sordid ears than his had no 

 charms for him, although music and the love of song dwelt in 

 him. Good old soul — yea, two of them ; Mrs. Marlow, hia 

 helpmate, seemed so like him, and he seemed so like her, who 

 was just such a rib as all good men deserve, from the region 

 of the heart. I could hardly call her his " better half," 

 although I believe wives generally are. They seemed so well 

 mated, so evenly matched, so equally good, and though twain, 

 were but one flesh. Truly, " they lived and loved together," 

 believing in God and one another. " They also loved sweet 

 posies. Lilies, Pinks, and Roses," as all such happy people do. 

 For them to cultivate fruits and flowers was a dual deUght 

 which they duly enjoyed and much prized. They had a garden, 

 a real " garden of dehghts," 



" Where lawns extend that scorn Arcadian pride. 

 And bri^'hter streams than fam'd Hydaspes glide." 



When inquiring for the place, it was intimated that I could 

 not mistake it when I saw the garden : it was impossible. It 

 was even so. 



I have often thought since then, if I did not see at Geelong 

 the first example of sub-tropical gardening, at any rate it was 

 the first time I had ever seen such an array of the rich and 

 rare blended together in that character. There was displayed 

 the best of taste and good judgment, fuUy up to the present 

 style of London and Paris of to-day. Such a galaxy of Aus- 

 tralian beauties, with the floral hon ion of other lands, made 

 me exclaim, Surely, the hke before was never seen ! 



You wLU recognise the following — namely, of tree Ferns : 

 Cyathea meduUaris, C. dealbata, C. Cunninghamii, and C. 

 princeps, Alsophila australis, A. excelsa, A. Leichardtiana, 

 Todea australis, Dicksonia squarrosa, D. antarctica, Cibotium 

 Billardieri, Thamnopteris nidus, and T. australasica, &g., with 

 many of the smaller-growing species. 



Of Palms and Cycads I noticed Sabal Adansonii, Cycas 

 revoluta, C. circinalis, Livistona borbonica, L. australis, 

 Caryota urens, C. elegans, Euterpe edulis, Phamix dactylifera, 

 P. humilis, Rhapis flabelliformis, Corypha australis, Oreodoxa 

 regia, Cham:cdoreaglaucifolia, Jubfea spectabilis, Cocos nucifera, 

 C. australis, Chamferops excelsa, C. elegans, Macrozamia 

 spiralis. There were also several varieties of Bamboos, Zamias , 

 Arundos, CordyUnes, Draccnas, PhUodendrons, Musas, Ficus. 

 Marantas, Caladiums, Arums, Phormiums, Dieffenbachias. 

 Crinums, Y'uccas, Cannas, Aralias, Crotons, Saccharums, 

 Acacias, Casuarinas, Araucarias, Hakeas, Ac. Of Succulents 

 and their aUianoes, such as Euphorbias, Rhipsalis, Opuntia, 

 Epiphyllum, Aloes, Agaves, Mammillaria, Echinocactus, Kalo- 

 santhes, Crassula, Mesembryauthemums, Sempervivums, Ha- 

 worthias, StapeUas, Dyckias, Echeverias, Umbilicus, &a. ; also 

 .Echmeas, Tillaudsias, Buonaparteas, Coccolobas, Fourcroyas, 



In conclusion, permit me to say that I subsequently heard 

 of the death of that good old gentlewoman, Mrs. Marlow, some 

 four years after I left Australia ; and in the year following her 

 husband, " that fine old English gentleman, " crossed the 

 boundary line of " the debateable land," and, leaving his earthly 

 Eden below, entered the one above. — [American Gardenei'i! 

 Monthhj.) 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 

 \ REMABKABLE instance of the rapid spread of a new pest is 

 furnished by the history of Puccinia malvaceardm, a fungus 

 parasitic on various plants belonging to the natural order Mal- 

 Y&ceie. Its native country is probably Chili, where it was dis- 

 covered by Bertero on Althfca oflicinalis. Its first appearance 

 in Europe was in April, 1873, on Malva sylvestris, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bordeaux, and in August it had extended to 

 several other plants of the same order in the botanic gardens 

 of that town, but, singularly enough, was not found on Althtea 

 officinaUs, several other nearly allied genera being also exempt 

 from its attacks. In Germany it was first discovered in 

 October, while in this country it was detected in the summer 

 of 1873, nearly simultaneously in many widely-dispersed local- 

 ities, as Exeter, Salisbury, Chichester, Shore in Surrey, the 



