Villas. 87 



in this country many years, having its stem and 

 branches matted on approach of winter ; and if the 

 semi-double kind, called . Knighti, will flourish 

 under such treatment, it may be a beautiful feature 

 in summer and autumn. Ordinary good garden soil 

 suits all well. 



Amongst many novelties which I observed at Mr. 

 Grumblet oil's is Fremontia Californica, which doubt- 

 less will soon be well known for its pretty yellow 

 flowers, expanding in April and later. It was dis- 

 covered by Colonel Fremont a few years ago in the 

 northerly part of Sierra Nevada. It is of the Malva 

 family, and the flowers are pretty abundant at the 

 ends of short spur-like branches. 



Varieties of variegated Phormium, New Zealand 

 Flax, here proved that they well bear some of our 

 climates, and they are now planted out in many 

 places near Dublin and elsewhere. 



I may suggest that in the grounds of many villas 

 there are streams and streamlets, lakes and ponds, 

 whose spongy margins invite experiment with aqua- 

 tic and many other families hitherto too little grown 

 in such places. In how few of them in Ireland have 

 the Richardia, commonly called the Egyptian Arum, 

 and others of the same family, been tried ? It is 

 only of late years that Disa grandiflom, one of the 

 loveliest of terrestrial Orchids and which is now 

 imported pretty freely from its native Table Moun- 

 tain in Southern Africa was seen amongst us even 



