1892.] ESSAYS. ' 103 



yellow Daphne I always sought out in earliest spring. Its 

 leaves are evergreen, its flowers yellow and very sweet. 

 .Diei'villa versicolor, wild there, I consider even handsomer than 

 the Diervilla common in our gardens. I transplanted this 

 species to my Sapporo garden and found it bore the change well 

 and amply repaid the little care it required. 



The A.ctinidia polygama, common everywhere in Yesso, 

 deserves more extended mention. I must first call your atten- 

 tion to the fact, however, that the Kokuwa ( Actinidia arguta), 

 of which I have already spoken, has been sometimes mistakenly 

 called by this name. The two species are wholly distinct, and 

 the polygama, in my opinion, for ornamental purposes is worth 

 far more than the other. Its habit of growth is considerably 

 less vigorous, though it is by no means a slow grower. It will 

 be found far less obtrusive and more manageable ; but the chief 

 point in which it excels arguta is in the beauty of its foliage. 

 Mature plants have the habit of producing at the ends of grow- 

 ing lateral shoots some four to six leaves which are tipped with 

 u lustrous silvery white, usually spreading over more than half 

 the leaf. This peculiarity gives it at a little distance, as it 

 clambers over thickets, the appearance of a plant in full and 

 abundant bloom. Then, too, the uncolored foliage is exceedingly 

 beautiful, and the flowers, though partly hidden by the leaves, 

 are very pretty and have all the fragrance of those of the orange. 

 I moved a number of these climbers to my lawn but the plants 

 were young and after three years the foliage had failed to show 

 any white. Living plants in Amherst failed to show it for the 

 first two years but the third year this most valuable peculiarity 

 showed itself and I have no doubt as the plants grow older will 

 become increasingly abundant. The fruit is similar in size and 

 structure to that of the kokuwa, but it is far less abundantly 

 produced and less delicious. 



A word about the mistletoe and I am done with the wild 

 flowers of Yesso. This, as I have already pointed out, is 

 abundant. There are two species, one producing red, the other 

 yellowish berries. Both add greatly to the winter beauty of 

 the forests. It is an interesting question to my mind whether 

 these plants would prove hardy here, but from what I know of 



