Naturalisation in Extra-Tropical Countries. 493 



Schinus Molle, Linne. 



From Mexico to Chili, ascending the Andes to about 12,000- 

 13,000 feet. A tree, thriving on dry and sandy soil, odorous in all 

 its parta ; the foliage in bouquets a good substitute for ferns and 

 not quickly shrivelling ; the jerking motion of leaf- fragments thrown 

 into water very remarkable ; the somewhat spicy small fruits serving 

 as condiment. Will bear droughts and the intense summer-heat of 

 Central Australia better than almost any other introduced plant 

 [Mackay ; Kempe]. Becomes in age quite a shade-tree. S. tere- 

 binthifolia (Raddi) from Brazil proved a good promenade-tree in 

 Victoria. 



Schizostachyum Blumei, Nees. 



Java, at an elevation of about 3,000 feet. A lofty Bamboo. A 

 few other species, less elevated, occur in China, in the Polynesian 

 and Philippine-Islands, also in Madagascar. The Bamboos being 

 thus brought once more before us, it may be deemed advisable, to 

 place together in one brief list all kinds, which are recorded either 

 as very tall or as particularly hardy. Accordingly, from Major- 

 General Munro's admirable monography ("Transactions of the 

 Linnean Society," 1868) the succeeding enumeration is compiled, 

 and from that masterly essay, resting on very many years' close 

 study of the richest collections, a few preparatory remarks are 

 likewise offered, to vindicate the wish of the writer of seeing these 

 noble and graceful forms of vegetation largely transferred to every 

 part of Australia, and indeed to many other portions of the globe, 

 where they would impress a grand tropical feature on the land- 

 scapes. Even in the far southern latitudes of Victoria, Tasmania 

 and New Zealand, some Bamboos from the Indian lowlands have 

 proved able to resist our occasional night-frosts of the low country ; 

 but in colder places the many sub-alpine species could be reared. 

 Be it remembered, 'that Chusquea aristata advances to an elevation 

 of 15,000 feet on the Andes of Quito, indeed to near the zone $$ 

 perpetual ice. Arundinaria racemosa and A. spathiflora live on the 

 Indian highlands, at a zone between 10,000 and 11,000 feet, where 

 they are annually beaten down by snow. Forms of Bambusaxjeae 

 still occur, -according to Grisebach, in the Kurilian archipelagus up 

 to 46 N., and in Japan even to 51. We may further recognise 

 the great importance of these plants^ when we reflect on their 

 manifest industrial uses, when we consider their grandeur for 

 picturesque scenery, when we observe their resistance to storms or 

 heat, or when we watch the marvellous rapidity with which many 

 develop. Their seeds, though generally produced only at ,lon'g 

 intervals, are valued in many instances higher than rice. The 

 ordinary great Bamboo of India is known to grow 40 feet in forty 

 days, when bathed in the moist heat of the jungles. Delchevalerie 

 noticed the growth of some Indian Bamboos at Cairo to h'ave be^Ja 

 10 inches in one night. Their power of growth is such, as to 

 upset stone-walls or demolish substantial buildings. 'As shjslteis- 



