50 MY SHRUBS 



a rich brown tomentum clothes the young shoots. Colonel 

 Fremont did well to bring this notable plant into cultivation, and 

 I continue to hope for success. My first piece attained considerable 

 size, then died ; my second, under more sunny circumstances, 

 died without attaining any size whatever ; and now I have two, side 

 by side in peat, under a west wall. They are, however, different, 

 and it would seem that there are two species of Fremontiay or else 

 it has a wide range of variation. One has large irregularly-shaped 

 leaves, and the other comparatively small foliage of uniform pattern. 

 They have weathered the winter well, and both flowered. The 

 blossoms are similar. A friend sent me pressed flowers and leaves 

 from its habitat recently — both things very beautiful to see, and 

 the blossoms were much finer in colour than my home-grown ones. 

 The generous man added a packet of ripe seed, and soon I hope 

 to hear of a successful family which may become acclimatised from 

 tenderest youth. 



Fraxinus ornuSy the manna ash, I lack ; but this very handsome 

 dwarf tree should be planted if reasonable space is yours. The 

 tassels of grey-green flowers are ornamental and fragrant, and 

 five-and-twenty feet will be its probable limit of height. 



Fuchsia in many varieties is hardy here, but the winter cuts 

 most of mine back pretty hard. They are the better for this 

 natural pruning, however. F. procumbens is a delightful little 

 New Zealander for the sunny rock garden, whose dull crimson 

 fruits crowd the plant in autumn, and F. pumila is also a neat, 

 small upspringing species for the same locality. 



F. splendens and F. corymhiflora, from Peru, and F, triphyllay 

 from the West Indies, are all superb greenhouse species. F, 

 excorticata, from Maori-land, is also now at our disposal with large 



