Town Planting 89 



from cuttings taken at the Mint. In the East End of 

 London the Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) thrives well as a 

 window plant, while in the chemically impure atmosphere 

 of Lambeth one of the Veronicas is the favourite plant for 

 indoor culture. The St. John's Worts (Hypericum) do 

 not as a rule thrive well in London ; yet around the Tate 

 Gallery, which is only divided by the river from the 

 Lambeth pottery district the worst in the metropolis for 

 atmospheric impurities- one species at least nourishes amaz- 

 ingly, and has produced flowers in abundance for many 

 years past ; while at St. Paul's Churchyard, the lesser 

 Periwinkle (Vinca minor) has become quite established 

 and runs about freely. In Chancery Lane, at the Record 

 Office, the common Ivy, Bladder Senna, and Yucca do 

 best. In other parts of London, too, well known varieties 

 of Campanula are largely grown as pot plants. It is a 

 somewhat strange fact, too, that some varieties of 

 trees and shrubs succeed better than the type species 

 in smoky localities, as witness the London Plane (a variety 

 of Platanus orientalis), variegated-leaved Sycamore, fasti- 

 giate Poplar, two varieties of Pyrus, Weeping Elm, Weeping 

 Ash, and several varieties of Acacia, notably Robinia pseudo- 

 acacia inermis and R. pseudo-acacia Bessoniana. 



Similarly, amongst shrubs, we have the dwarf Holly, 

 golden variegated Euonymus, golden Privet, Ribes, double- 

 flowered Gorse, Euonymus radicans tariegata, and others. 

 With Grasses, too, some curious experiences might be 

 related. At the British Museum the Yarrow completely 

 ousted the Grasses from the plots in front of that building, 

 and in the moat of the Tower of London several Grasses that 

 succeed in less smoky parts of the metropolis quickly die 

 out. Near the main entrance to the Tower of London, and 

 close to Billingsgate Fish Market, considerable difficulty was 

 experienced in getting the Plane trees established ; though 

 in the matter of soil, and choice of strong sturdy specimens, 

 every possible care was taken. At last it was found that 

 the drip from the fish carts was the cause of the evil, and a 

 remedy was quickly found. In another garden, where dust, 

 smoke, and soot are plentiful, the Bladder Campion (Silene 



