FRUITS AND FLOWERS OF NORTHERN JAPAN. 55 



The dog-tooth violet (Erythronmm Dens-caiiis) , with unusu- 

 ally large and finel}' mottled leaves and large pink flowers, is a 

 woodland beaut}' which grows in many places in extraordinary 

 profusion ; and excelling even this in abundance is the sweet lily- 

 of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), of which I have seen dozens 

 of acres in one lot. This attains to great size and beauty here ; 

 and so well do soil and climate seem to suit it that in places it 

 takes possession of the ground to the almost entire exclusion of 

 other plants. It makes itself a great nuisance in pastures ; and 

 during my stay in Japan I was more than once consulted as to 

 means of exterminating it, or asked whether some practical use 

 could not be made of it. The beaut}' and the fragrance of such 

 pastures, however, you can imagine. 



A beautiful dark purple (the Japanese say black) lily (Fritil- 

 laria Kamchatensis) is rather rarely found, and it never fails to 

 excite the liveliest feelings of admiration. I have known a Japa- 

 nese to carry a bulb in bud or flower more than one hundred miles 

 on horseback to plant it in his garden. I have myself also tried 

 to transplant it ; but without success. It thrives in cool and 

 shady localities ; and would certainly be highlj' appreciated should 

 it do well under cultivation. 



One other wild Yesso lily I must mention for it is of surpassing 

 grace and beauty. I christened it the " fairy-lily." It is the 

 Lilium medeoloides of Gray. It produces a very large whorl of 

 leaves a short distance below the flower, which peculiarity causes 

 the Japanese -to call it the "wheel-lily." Good specimens pro- 

 duce as many as a dozen of the most dainty lilies I have ever 

 seen. The general color of the perianth is orange, and its divisions 

 are very much reflexed. 



Of one other herbaceous species only will I speak, and from 

 that will pass on to notice a ver}^ few of the ornamental woody 

 species. This is the striking LysicItUon Kamchatense of the 

 Yesso marshes, producing in earliest spring a white flower like a 

 large calla, and, later, enormous leaves of great beauty. In 

 grounds of sufficient extent to afford it a suitable habitat, this 

 must prove a decided acquisition both for its flowers and foliage, 

 which last has a decidedly tropical appearance. 



Among woody plants the magnolias have been mentioned. 

 Both form handsome trees of medium size. The points which 

 would, perhaps, make them desirable here are hardiness and the 

 great fragrance of the flowers. The species hypoleuca is also 



