CHAPTER II 



OF BacchariSy I will merely say that the name is derived from 

 Bacchus, god of wine, and refers to the spicy odour of the 

 roots. I forgot to smell the roots of mine when I pulled 

 it up and flung it away. It is said to make a good hedge by the sea. 

 It may be so. I glean also that A, xalapensis is rarely seen in 

 gardens, and am not astonished to hear it. The noble race of 

 Banksia is also rarely seen in gardens, though the south of France 

 displays a few of these grand Australians under flourishing circum- 

 stances. I remember a giant at La Mortala — Mecca of all shrub 

 lovers. More than a hundred years ago the Botany Bay House 

 was opened at Kew for Banksia and its allies ; and in the " seven- 

 ties " certain nurserymen still made a special study of them. Kew 

 yet shows them under glass ; though among the fifty species 

 recorded, perhaps not a dozen live in England to-day. Mr. 

 Boscawen is reported to have the gorgeous " waratah " (Telopea) 

 prosperous in Cornwall ; but of the Protea order I only know 

 Banksia quercijolia in the open. With me it lost heart at the 

 first whisper of frost, flung down its foliage and perished. And 

 yet I learn that in Dorset it makes a festive display. Few English 

 enthusiasts have ever seen Banksia ^ but let those who can do 

 so consult the old " Botanical Magazine," plate 738, and there they 

 will find B. ericcefoliay and judge of the splendour and novelty of 

 this genus. 



I believe we frequently err in the time of planting half-hardy 



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