THE 





Vol. XII. 



SEPT EMBER, 18S9. 



No. 9 



THE RED-FLOWERING DOGWOOD. 



\ ^ .7^ E have only one genus of 

 ' » the Dogwood family 



in Ontario, viz., the 

 Cornus, a name given 

 it with reference to the hardness 

 of its wood. Of this genus we have in 

 Ontario seven species, to some of 

 which we shall briefly refer. The Red 

 Osier Dogwood {Cornus stolonifera) 

 grows abundantly in the Niagara 

 district, along our fences, and is a 

 very ornamental bush on account of 

 its bright red-purple branches and 

 its white berries. The Bunch-berry 

 (Connis Canadensis) is a small plant, 

 which we found growing plentifully 

 about Gravenhurst, and around 

 Muskoka lake, blooming about the 

 first of July. The Flowering Dog- 

 wood {Cornus Florida) is a small 

 tree, reaching sometimes a height of 

 twenty or even thirty feet, and is 

 very ornamental both in fruit and 

 flower. The flowers are white, often 

 tinged with a shade of pink, and the 

 berries are a bright scarlet. Tiiis 

 tree is very frequently met with in 

 rocky woods in the Niagara dis- 



trict ; we have found it in flower 

 aboat Grimsby , and near the village 

 of Fonthiil, about the beginning of 

 June. 



The Red Flowering Dogwood, of 

 which our colored plate is an illustra- 

 tion, is simply a variety of the latter 

 species, and Mr. Thos. Meehan, of 

 Germantown, Philadelphia, speaks 

 of it as follows : — 



" In walking through the woods in 

 Spring when the White Dogwoods 

 are in bloom, we have often seen 

 flowers that had quite a tinge of pink 

 running through them, though not 

 sufficient to make them particularly 

 desirable. When this new red 

 flowered variety was first introduced, 

 many persons thought it was but one 

 of these light pink forms, that was 

 perhaps a trifle more marked than 

 some of the wild white ones. Be- 

 ing anxious to learn just what merit 

 it possessed, through the kindness of 

 the originator, we secured some 

 flowers of it, and upon opening the 

 box were agreeably surprised to find 

 them of the most beautiful rosv pink 



