My New Zealand Garden 97 



trickling down it, and my fingers had not suffered 

 such agony since the rat-trap adventure. I can 

 recommend this wood as absolutely impenetrable, 

 and everlastingly a Passive Resister. 



A kind of Protea, commonly called Honey- 

 suckle, without any good reason at all a la 

 Cabbage-tree forms a bold and beautiful pattern 

 when cut on the cross, and, cut either slanting 

 or with the grain, it is exceedingly pretty. The 

 Fuchsia, which really is a Fuchsia, is another 

 which is quite as much admired by some, with its 

 black markings on a rich yellowish ground, and 

 there are many more, equally pretty, all of which 

 make a tempting display in the cabinet-makers' 

 windows. 



Among exotic things worth having are the 

 Proteas, or Cape Tulips handsome shrubs, with 

 large tulip-shaped flowers. P. filifera is a very 

 light pink in colour, and unless it is a good one 

 of its kind, it is more like a bad white. It does 

 not open more than half-way, and has quite a 

 network of stamens, etc., inside, which have the 

 appearance of preventing the flower from opening 

 further. There is a very grand variety, with 

 claret-coloured blossoms, which open wide and 

 are 8 or 9 inches across ! 



Leucadendron argenteum (Silver-tree), of South 

 Africa, belongs to the Protea tribe, and its ver- 

 nacular name describes it. Nothing can be more 



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