236 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



sub-soil, and have a rich loamy soil. We have recently seen some fine 

 specimens grown in the greenhouse, and trained to various formed wire 

 trellis's, they had a beautiful appearance ; one plant, G. Siebaldii, had near 

 three hundred flowers upon it. Trained up a post to a wire frame in a flower 

 garden or along, a fence round a flower bed it would be beautifully neat. 



The most common method of propagating these plants is by layers. By 

 securing each bud of the shoots to be layered at a trifling distance below the 

 surface of the soil, they will soon push root, and by the severance of the shoot 

 between the buds, a quantity of plants, equal to the number of buds, will be 

 obtained, A very quick mode of increase however, is that of grafting, them 

 into the stock of the common kind of clematis. A young shoot (not too ten- 

 der) inserted into a strong stock, soon unites and grows rapidly, lnaiching 

 the kinds upon a common and vigorous sort is the most certain and quickest 

 mode of increase, and where practicable should be resorted to. Cuttings of 

 the old shoots are struck with difficulty, and young ones often damp oft'; 

 when plants are obtained by cuttings, they are not so liable to be lost as 

 grafted or inarched ones are, for if even cut down, by a very severe winter, 

 or other casuality, to within a few inches of the ground they will push again, 

 but when a plant raised by the other modes dies down to where it was insert- 

 ed the kind is lost.— (Cond.) 



VEGETATION OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AND VAN DIEMAN'S 



LAND. 



How I thought of you at the Cape, that Paradise of flowers ! though the 

 first bloom was over on our arrival, yet enough was left to show what had 

 been, nor without seeing can you imagine the profusion ; there are actually 

 no weeds. Our favorite little blue Lobelia is the chickweed of the place, 

 the ditches and all damp places are filled with Cape Lillies, Heaths of all 

 colours, the Erica, I believe coccinea, growing very high, Diosmas, Crassulas, 

 &c. &.C. 1 saw a great deal _of the Cape, we were above a fortnight there, 

 and travelled above a hundred and eighty miles into the interior. With the 

 general appearance of the country I was disappointed, there are no trees. 

 The silver tree, a Protea, is the highest indigenous plant that I saw. There 

 are oaks in and about Cape Town, Constantia, Wynebeig, &c. and indeed 

 wherever a house is built, a few trees are planted for shade, butthe country 

 for miles has nothing higher than heath, and for the greater part of the year 

 is sterile looking. But in the season the whole face is covered with flowers ; 

 and such a face ! fancy acres of heaths, of all colours, interspersed with 

 Gladioles, Ixias, Watsonias, Babianas, Lachenalias, Sec. without end, all 

 growing and flourishing in their native luxuriance. Some bunches of Mes- 

 embrvanthemums near Sir Lowry Cole's pass were actually too bright to look 

 at. 1 lived in one constant whirl of delight, that extacy in which we behold 

 perfection. I could not see fast enough. Most of the Ixias were out of bloom, 

 but their remains were like patches of a hay-field in seed, only the stems 

 closer together. Mrytle hedges were eight and ten feet high ; the one I saw 

 at Sir John Herschell's must have been more, and as close and substantial 

 as our best holly hedges. We visited Villette's and Baron Ludwig.s garden, 

 but where the whole country is a garden, these were of less interest. The 

 Melia Azedarach, with its sweet lilac blossoms, is a beautiful and ornamental 

 tree which I did not see wild. We visited the Constantias; Great Constantia 

 is beautiful, the soil is white, and looks like lime and sand intimately 

 mixed. I thought of our gardener's recommendation of lime rubbish for 

 vines. 



To the Cape, Van Diemen's Land is a direct contrast. This is a country 

 of hills, fringed, to the very top, and perhaps about the thickest vegetation in 

 the world. All is evergreen, and one dense mass of gloom. At first sight it 

 is sombre enough, but like a dark beauty it has its charms : the wood is chiefly 

 "genu"' (Eucalyptus), growing to an immense height, and throwing its long 

 white arms about in a wild Salvator style. The young "gums" are beautiful, 

 and their new shoots of reddish brown lightening into a paler hue, ami deep- 



