My Garden in Spring 



much rolled up. I see a self-sown seedling has appeared with 

 the same curious leaves, so evidently this form of madness 

 is hereditary insanity. A Buckthorn, RhamnusFrangula,var. 

 asplemfolia, has leaves consisting of little more than the mid- 

 rib with just a serrated margin of lamina on either side, with 

 a few irregular projections that produce a fern-like outline. 



One of the strangest is a little Ash that is quite a dwarf, 

 and has crimped leaves which are nearly black and beauti- 

 fully polished. It bears the fine name of Fraxinus excelsior, 

 var. atrovirens nana, which is nearly as long as itself, for 

 it is a very slow grower, and makes but a few inches of 

 wood in a season. It looks very strange even in winter, as 

 the little black buds are set so closely together. 



The Viburnum family have sent some inmates. V.Opulus, 

 the Guelder Rose, has a curiously Japanese-looking dwarf 

 variety. It makes a beautifully rounded bush, covered 

 with small leaves, but it is a seriously minded lunatic, suf- 

 fering from melancholy madness, for it never flowers. I 

 have a similarly afflicted form of Philadelphus, but it is not 

 so attractive, and therefore is banished to a private home 

 for incurables under the farmyard wall. V. lantana foliis 

 punctatis is a pleasingly silver-spangled form of the Way- 

 faring Tree, and almost too sane for the company, but its 

 eccentricity appears when it comes to ripening its seeds, 

 for then it cannot make up its mind what colour they shall 

 be, and some turn white while others remain green, and 

 red and black ones may all appear on the same head. The 

 variety called foliis auriis variegatis has just arrived, and I 

 like its soft, downy, sulphur-yellow leaves, and am waiting 

 to see what coloured fruit it will produce. 



Ring-leaved Laurel and Ring-leaved Willow share the 

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