102 



than 2 inches thick is being deposited yearly in some parts. At 

 the upper end of the Lake, however, farthest away from the 

 intake, the nine years' accumulation of mud was not more than 

 6 inches in thickness. A gang of 16 to 20 men was employed on 

 the work for about seven weeks, and it is estimated that more than 

 4,000 cubic yards of mud were wheeled out. The mud when dry 

 and aerated resolves into a soil of great richness. It makes an 

 admirable top-dressing for lawns and trees, and for enriching the 

 borders proves to be quite as valuable as top-spit loam. 



Catalpa Bungei, C. A. Meyer.— The catalogues of many dealers 

 in hardy trees and shrubs offer plants of Catalpa Bungei at very 

 ordinary prices. But it is safe to say that not one of these 

 nurserymen could supply a single plant of the true C. Bungri of 

 0. A. Meyer. And, although many of the continental botanic 

 gardens offer seeds of this tree also, they are really in similar 



case, for man\ 



tor the kew collection. Seeds and plants from the sources above- 

 mentioned have been from time to time procured, but they have 

 always proved to be either G. KaempfeH or a dwarf variety of 

 C. bignonioides. Now that we are fortunate to have obtained" the 

 true plant through the liberality of Profer or Sargent of the 

 Arnold Arboretum, it may be well to record its first genuine 

 introduction to Britain. 



«, T o e s P ecies was first described by Meyer as long ago as 18S7 in 

 the BuW'tin of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Peters- 



? Urg ^ v 1S a natlve of several provinces of China and has been 

 found by several collectors in the neighbourhood of Pekin. One 



xx ^T Ml \^- Hancock, F.L.S.-found it in flower there in 



May, loou, and described it as " a handsome tree 20 to 30 feet 



high, with numerous purple and white flowers." The species is 



distinct enough not to be confused with the others in cultivation. 



I he inflorescence, which is corymbose rather than thvrsoid, carries 



but few flowers compared with the other cultivated species, 



he number on each varying from three to twelve; the corolla is 



t&ZSZ ? *wu the / a P e in *idth. The leaves are small in 



S P wh i W1 , th ° Se °/ the ^erican species or the O. KaempfeH 



hSJ£« • «." 8 °u 0t \ en C0nf01lnd *l ; the largest in the Kew 



V inohT. 1S ' - m 4 heS l ° n * and 4 ^ inches ^ide,the smallest only 



eJn^P L g ' l hQY are ovate -acuininate, with a truncate or 



to for™ ft' 60m f 17 f es entire ' but ofteQ coarsely scalloped so as 



base ° ne 6 ° r 8ix large teeth on each side towards the 



MmZfrl ^ me " m Mntoire NatureUe, 3rd series, t. 4, where 

 he observes XST ^T *? el ^° nite review of the ^ Her, 



species nFran i e u l7 ^^ ° f ° ne genuine exara P le of thi8 

 !S!J^lfi nce - Xt was in «>e Arboretum of the late M. 



Lavallee 



W. J. B, 



