288 AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. 



with tendrils it lays tight hold of, and mounts up the tall pines to 

 the very top, or often entirely covers the wall of rocks with ever- 

 green. In the Mediterranean region it could perform the same 

 service that Ficus repens does in hot-houses, clothing the naked 

 masonry with foliage. 



Shizophragrna hydrangeoides, S. and Z., the Shiro-tsuta-no-ki, 

 or "white climbing tree" of the Japanese, is known for similar 

 peculiarities and still greater hardiness. It is one of the largest 

 climbers of the mountain forests of Japan, with a mossy trunk 

 attaining 40-60 cm. in circumference, and sometimes mounts up 

 15-20 meters high on the rocks and old trees. 



There is in the Mediterranean countries a beautiful thornless 

 climbing rose, Rosa BajiksicE, R.Br., the Mokoko of Japan and China, 

 which is more of a favourite than the preceding climbers for cover- 

 ing surfaces. Its has shiny, evergreen leaves, and double yellow 

 or white flowers which blossom in spring and in small irregular 

 clusters on the ends of the branches. The yellow variety is the 

 most beautiful and most numerous, and is seen in greatest perfec- 

 tion in the villa gardens on the North Italian lakes. In the snug 

 patios of Cordova, Seville and other Spanish cities, it often covers 

 entire walls, and is seen in gardens winding itself, like the Wistaria, 

 through the crowns of the ornamental trees, and adorning them in 

 a peculiar fashion with its abundance of blossoms. 



The traveller from Northern Europe, in visiting the beautiful 

 gardens of Mediterranean countries is struck not only by the 

 luxuriant abundance of plant-life, the motley forms and colours of 

 the deciduous trees, with the evergreens from all sub-tropical lands, 

 but more than all by the appearance of the palms and bamboos in 

 their free and perfect development. If he seeks the homes of 

 these exotic plants, he will find among the palms, in addition to 

 the Japanese Shuro {Chaincerops excelsa, Thunb.), which is here 

 perfectly acclimated, the representatives of nearly all species of 

 the non-tropical regions of the earth, but among bamboos chiefly 

 the Japanese kinds. These latter are the smaller species and 

 sub-species which the gardeners generally call Bambusa nigra, B. 

 mitis, B. aurea, B. viridis glaucescenSy B. viridis striata, B. Fortune'i, 

 B. pygmcea, and B. Ktmiasasa. The Kuro-dake or black bamboo 

 is unquestionably the most striking and beautiful of all (see p. 230). 

 It grows in fine wide-spreading groups on Lake Maggiore, reaching 

 its full development at 6 m. height and an average diameter of 3J 

 cm. According to Tschihatchef,i in the Jardin d'Essai at Algiers, 

 it sometimes grows 400 mm. in twenty-four hours. 



1 Tschihatchef : "Espagne, Algdrie et Tunisie," p. 164. 



