950 



CYRILLARA CEMIFLORA. 



SUPPLEMENT. 



DISCAR1A. 



old Pear Quince. A newer kind, Champion, 

 is also grown in the States. It begins to bear 

 very early and its fruits come a fortnight later 

 than the Orange a useful succession where 

 the winter in not too early. They are apple- 

 shaped, bright yellow, of good quality and 

 rich colour, while 18 ozs. is no uncommon 

 weight. Another good late kind much grown 

 for the American market is McecKs Prolific. 

 Other American varieties little known in this 

 country are the Fuller Quince, with large pale 

 yellow fruits of soft flesh and fine flavour ; and 

 Van Deman, a seedling from the Portugal 

 Quince, with handsome fruits of great size and 

 good quality. A variety thought well of in 

 France is De Bourgeaut, a vigorous tree with 

 large rounded fruits of golden yellow. Nor are 

 the new sorts confined to America, for several 

 good ones have been found in Southern Europe, 

 such as the Lescovez Quince (from the town of 

 that name, where it has grown for generations), 

 an apple-shaped fruit of immense size and re- 

 fined flavour, said to be the best of all for 

 marmalade, yielding a clear jelly of rich 

 colour. The tree is of rather weak habit, with 

 small and very dark green leaves. Another 

 kind from the Balkans is the Bereczki Quince 

 (also known as the Vranja, from its native 

 place), a tree of robust growth with large 

 leaves, very free even from a small size in its 

 large golden fruits with a clear shining skin. 

 The Quince De Baden bears large pear-shaped 

 fruits ; Monstrueux de Bazine, fruits of the 

 same shape but nearly 2 Ibs. in weight and ex- 

 cellent for preserves ; while the Zncker or 

 " Sugar Quince" is a smaller kind from Asia, 

 very sweet and good for stewing. Other sorts 

 offered by continental growers are the Muskat 

 Quince, the Persian Quince, the Constantinople 

 Quince, and the Angers ; this last comes freely 

 from seed, and is that most used for grafting 

 Pears. 



C YRILLA R ACEMIFLOE ^(Leather- 

 wood). A handsome shrub or low tree 

 covering a vast area in the warmer parts 

 of America, yet hardy in the warmest 

 parts of this country, where it grows as a 

 shrub of about 5 ft. high, of slender 

 growth, with fine glossy green foliage 

 which is nearly evergreen in warm places 

 and in a mild season. The flowers come 

 as narrow slender white spikes of graceful 

 effect from June to August, and the leaves 

 take glowing tints of orange and crimson 

 in the autumn. Moist sandy soil and 

 partial shade are the best conditions for 

 this scarce shrub. Increase by seed, or 

 cuttings rooted under glass in gentle 

 heat. 



DIASCIA. A pretty group of herbs 

 from South Africa, allied to Alonsoa. The 

 only kind in cultivation is D. Barbarae, 

 a neat annual 9 to 12 ins. high, with 

 square stems and small wedge-shaped 

 eaves. Raised in heat in spring and 



planted out in May, it flowers until late 

 autumn, the soft coral-pink flowers with 

 two spurs. Though mostly treated as a 

 half-hardy annual, the roots are perennial 

 in the warm soils of southern gardens, 

 spreading by short stolons into handsome 

 tufts. As a precaution it is well to 

 separate a few of these offsets and winter 

 them in a cold frame, and in this way 

 they make good plants for putting out in 

 spring. 



DIPLACUS GLUTINOSUS (Shrubby 

 Mimulus). A beautiful flowering shrub 

 from California, ordinarily grown under 

 glass though hardy in mild places, and 

 far more luxuriant when so planted than 

 when grown in pots. Rich open soil and 

 a sunny place, with abundant moisture in 

 summer, are the best conditions, the pale 

 brown woody stems growing to a height 

 of 4 to 6 ft. with gracefully diffuse 

 branches. In the south-west of Britain 

 it is as hardy as a Fuchsia^ starting away 

 well every spring, free from insect pests, 

 and with a long season of beauty. In 

 many gardens, even as far north as York- 

 shire, it may be grown well against a wall, 

 and even if destroyed in a hard season 

 increase is so easy that the loss is soon 

 made good. During August in particular, 

 the flowers, of a peculiar shade of buff- 

 orange, make a fine show, though the 

 colour is not one that goes well with 

 other things. There are, however, many 

 coiour varieties even in the wild plant, 

 and these have been added to under 

 cultivation, seedlings being easily raised 

 Some of the good older varieties have 

 doubtless disappeared, but coccineus, 

 aurantiacus, puntceus with a deep car- 

 mine flower, ruber, Jubilee bright orange, 

 and Sunbeam with large flowers of a 

 warm shade, are more recent and perhaps 

 still to be found. Wild forms so distinct 

 as to sometimes rank as species, arc 

 D. tomentosus, with soft hairy leaves and 

 large pale yellow flowers ; and D.grandi- 

 florus, with larger flowers of a pale salmon- 

 buff. Increase by seed or cuttings. 



DISC ARIA ( Wild Irishman}. Spiny 

 shrubs allied to Colletia and Ceanothus, 

 and only hardy in the open in the more 

 favoured parts of the south and south- 

 west, though thriving against walls near 

 London and further north. D. serratifolia 

 from Chili, is a loosely branched shrub 

 covered with stout thorns an inch or more 

 long and sharp as a needle. The small 

 bell-shaped flowers are white, coming in 

 pairs at the base of the spines. The 

 leaves are very small. D. toumaion from 

 New Zealand, bears thorns almost at 

 right angles with the stems, and the tiny 



