FEBRUARY 43 



of the useful embrocation which bears its name ; but none 

 of these, unless it be mollis, is worth growing for orna- 

 ment, and nurserymen are very apt to supply the less 

 desirable species. 



One shrub more I must mention, not because there is 

 only one more, but because this one is so seldom met with, 

 even in considerable collections to wit, Azara integrifolia. 

 A lovely evergreen, with sprays something like box, but 

 of deep myrtle green, the underside of which is covered in 

 winter with crowded golden flowers, deliciously fragrant. 

 In cold districts it requires the protection of a wall, but in 

 the south and west, in Ireland, and on the western Scottish 

 coast, it is perfectly hardy and free, rising to a height of 

 twelve or fifteen feet. 



One of the most wearisome features in modern gardens, 

 and especially in the part devoted to shrubbery, is the 

 monotonous repetition of the same species laurels, com- 

 mon rhododendrons, hollies, box all very good in their 

 way; but a little discrimination in choosing from the 

 enormous variety of material adds infinitely to the interest 

 of the most modest collection. At no season is this more 

 conspicuously the case than it is in winter, when every 

 flower, every spray of graceful foliage, is enhanced in value 

 by the prevailing bareness. 



Although the plants recommended above attain greatest 

 luxuriance in mild districts near the sea, yet they are 

 perfectly able to endure the rigours of less hospitable 

 regions. Indeed, although mild seasons induce them to 

 flower early, a really hard winter is better than one of a 

 mixed character, which tempts them into growth and 

 blossom, and then slashes them with sudden frost. A 

 spell of seasonable cold about the New Year arrests sap 



