STONEFIELD 



The first things to attract attention are some 

 specimens of Eucalyptus gunni, the tallest of which 

 is 80 feet high, and 5 feet in circumference at 4 

 feet from the ground, with a beautiful clean bole of 

 25 feet. The blue gum (E. globulus), though perfectly 

 hardy against frost, grows such length of soft wood 

 that it constantly gets broken by the wind. Probably 

 if planted in mass, the trees would protect each 

 other, but JE. gunni is evidently a preferable species. 



Near the foot of one of these gum-trees is a 

 bush of the Chilian Desfontainea spinosa, a mass of 

 rich myrtle green, 75 feet in circumference and 14 

 feet high. It has been severely cut in on one side, 

 to prevent it overspreading a gravel path, and, when 

 thickly set with its scarlet and yellow blossoms, must 

 indeed be "a sight for sair e'en/' Another shrub, 

 from the southern hemisphere, Griselinia littoralis 

 from New Zealand, here assumes the proportions of 

 a small tree, 30 feet high. Mitraria coccinea, seldom 

 seen in British gardens, and, when seen, usually of 

 very modest dimensions, has grown so dense and 

 spread so wide that last year a hen pheasant chose 

 a bush of it for her nesting place. Philesia buxifolia 

 rivals it in size ; Abutilon vitifolium, 15 feet high, 

 Myrtus (Eugenia) apiculata and Cordyline Australis each 

 20 feet high, Esccdlonia rubra with a stem girth of 

 2 feet, Buddleia Colvillei 9 feet high, are a few of the 

 things most worth noting before passing on to 

 examine the rhododendrons, which are the special 

 glory of the place. By the by, why can we not 



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