DWABF AND SLOW-GBOWING CONIFEBS 3 



add a touch of distinction to the Rock Garden, and seeing 

 them there, the owner of a lawn or of a small garden 

 began to realise what he had missed in overlooking them, 

 and in how many ways they might be utilised. The 

 demand for dwarf conifers recommenced, and became daily 

 more insistent — but, alas ! there was no longer a supply 

 to meet it. Most of the old specimen plants had gone, 

 and in many cases nothing remained but a name or an 

 inadequate description. In the meantime, a considerable 

 number of new dwarf forms had appeared on the Continent. 

 In the nurseries of Spath of Berlin, Hesse of Weener, and in 

 many smaller nurseries, unusual forms had been found, 

 and, to a certain extent, propagated. The demand in 

 America and Great Britain for dwarf trees had to be met, 

 and consequently Continental sources of supply had to be 

 tapped, and were tapped with disastrous results. It is not 

 quite clear whether all these Continental forms had been 

 previously named, but it is quite clear that when the 

 demand arose for forms well known by name, such as Picea 

 excelsa Clanbrasiliana, this demand was met largely by 

 the supply of some strong growing, easily propagated, 

 new Continental forms, that bore no resemblance to the 

 originals. These false forms came almost entirely from 

 the smaller Dutch and French nurseries, and Great Britain 

 and America are now flooded with them, and the result is 

 grotesque. I have seen and received one strong growing 

 Picea excelsa form under no less than five different names, 

 to none of which it can lay any claim. 



The importing nurseryman is not entirely to blame ; it 

 is not to be expected that the average nurseryman could 

 either spare the time or find the opportunity for tracing 

 these forms and verifying them, and the few old Continental 

 nurseries which might still be trusted to have the genuine 

 article would be unable to supply anything like the 

 quantities required; consequently, there was no check on 

 the importation of impostors, and it was only when un- 

 suspecting purchasers began to compare their specimens 



