11 



elegant, but, like the Acacias mentioned lately, they are mere 

 fancy flowers, not in regular demand on the markets. 



I cannot dismiss the subject of tree flowers without men- 

 tioning Haked laurina, alias H. eucalyptoides, one of the 

 strangest looking plants when in bloom of the aptly named order 

 ProteaceaB. The half globular trusses of flowers, with their long 

 curved filaments crimson at the base and white at the top, look 

 as much like a sea anemone as anything. 



The best collections of flowering trees and large shrubs are to 

 be seen at the Villa Thuret, near Antibes, and at La Mortola, the 

 residence of Mr. Thomas Hanbury. Both places are filled with 

 collections of the highest botanical value. Villa Thuret is 

 officially connected with the scientific universities of France, 

 and La Mortola might aptly be described as a South European 

 extension of Kew Gardens. 



SHRUB FLOWERS : ROSES, MARGUERITES, ETC. 



Roses are everywhere on the Riviera ; they grow in hedges, 

 hang from trees, cover the front and sides of houses, overtop 

 fences, and line railway tracks. Many kinds, such as the Indica 

 major and the Banksian Roses, bloom only in spring, when they 

 are of surprising beauty. Some others flower nearly all the year 

 round, and it is on these latter that the winter supply has to 

 depend. 



The highest authority on Roses in England, the Dean of 

 Rochester, remarked more than ten years ago that out of every 

 hundred Rose-bushes planted on the Riviera, ninety belong to 

 the Safrano variety. The remark holds good to this day, but 

 only where the production of Roses in the open air and without 

 shelter of any description is contemplated. On the other hand, 

 Safrano is very seldom if ever grown under glass. 



This shows plainly that the one capital merit of Safrano is to 

 continue blooming and developing buds at a temperature which 

 would be too low for any other Tea Rose. How often, for instance, 

 do we find, even in the North of France or in England, well- 

 formed buds of Safrano in November or December, when every 

 other hybrid or Tea Rose is crippled by cold. It seems that 

 the limit of temperature at which Safrano would cease blooming 

 is just equal to the lowest temperature experienced at well- 



