414 



the apex. Tlie material for the plate ivas supplied by Capt. D, 

 V. Pirie from his garden at the Chateau de Varennes, near 

 Ang;ers, where it foi-ms a charming- picture clambering over an 

 old grey wall. ' 



Cotoneaster wood for Golf Clubs In a letter recently 



received from Sir Herbert Maxwell, he sends the following 

 interesting information as to the value of the -wood of Coton- 

 easter frigida for making the heads of golf clubs : — 



" When I began golf 50 years ago, it was considered 

 that crab was the only wood fit for making into club heads. 

 The rapid spread of golf all over the world soon used up 

 the available supply of crab, so the makers took to beech. 

 Beech w'as apt to snap at the neck of the club and was 

 abandoned for persimmon, which, I believe, is now used 

 almost exclusively, 



"I know not what the world's resources in persimmon 

 may be, but two years ago, having occasion to remove a 

 large Cotoneaster frigida, I thought the wood likely to prove 

 as good as persimmon. 1 therefore sent some chunks of 

 it to Charlie Hunter, the father of golf at Prestwick, and 

 when I w^as there a few weeks ago, he presented me with a 

 very pretty club made of the Cotoneaster. He says the 

 wood is most suitable. There is no difficulty in growing 

 any quantity of it, for it sows itself freely, but requires 

 about 40 years' growth to produce timber of suitable size." 

 It is also probable that the wood of Cotoneaster hacillaris may 

 be^ found suitable for making club heads. It grows freely in 

 this country, forming stems several inches in diameter. Gamble 

 ''A Manunl of Indian Timbers," p. 326, says of this species: 

 "Weight on an average 57 lbs. per cubic foot. The wood is 

 used for making walking-,stieks. The al])enstock8 used through- 

 out the West Himalaya are usually made of it. Aitchison 

 says that in the Kuran Valley tt forms a great part of the scrub 

 within the hills at 7-8000 ft., and is largelvin request for 

 agricultural implements, staves and bows." 



Flora of the Upper Gangetic Plain The first part of 



volume III. of Mr. Duthie's work has recently been pub- 

 lished. It contains the M onochlamydeae from Nyctaginaceae 

 to Ceratophyllaceae, and comprises 168 pages. 



The Nyctaginaceae are represented by 3 species of Bocr- 

 fmama; Amarantaceae by 9 genera, 18 species; Chenopodiaceae, 



5 genera, 7 species ; Poly^onacme, 2 genera, 17 species ; Aristo- 

 lochiaceae, 1 species; Piperaceae, 2 genera, 2 species; Lavraceae, 



6 genera, 10 species; Elaeagnaceae, 1 species; Loranthaceae, 2 

 genera, 7 species; Santalarcae, 1 species; EupJiorhiace^ie, 21 

 genera, 61 species; Urticaceae, 17 genera, 44 species, 18 of 

 which are Ftcus. Casuarinaceae, 1 cultivated species; Cupuli- 

 ferae, 1 Qnercus; Salicaceae, 2 species, and Ceratophyllaceae, 

 1 species. In addition to the above, Mr. Duthie gives useful 

 descriptive notes on all the introduced and cultivated species 

 of the families dealt with. 



J. H. 



