HOURS IN OTHER GARDENS 



for jasmine sprays; a strange holly with horned leaves 

 bears its red berries riotously, and the Christmas rose 

 both white and pink turns its loveliness shyly away 

 from our too eager glances. A wonderful develop 

 ment of our common mustard is the Brassica insularia 

 with its tufts of big white flowers. Overlooking the 

 sea a whole hillside of yellow genista glows under strag 

 gly pines. Sixty varieties of acacia, or mimosa as it is 

 called here, are successfully cultivated and are over- 

 poweringly beautiful, hanging in feathery yellow tas 

 sels over rocky walls or massed in small plantations be 

 neath lofty terraces. Special attention has been paid 

 to succulent plants; there are sixty different kinds of 

 agaves and about forty kinds of aloes cultivated here 

 with opuntias and fourcroyas and yuccas and euphor 

 bias in endless variety. The huge sheaths of the cen 

 tury plants about to flower have been likened to gigan 

 tic asparagus, and indeed the simile is a good one. 



Just below the platform that supports the house a 

 stately avenue of cypresses leads to the agrumi planta 

 tion consisting of orange and lemon, grapefruit and 

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