584 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Apkil 27, 1912. 



enumerated for their economic uses, a large num- 

 ber of others are new to science, and one new 

 genus, under the name of Swynnertonia, has been 

 added to the Natural Order Asclepiadese. 



The following extract gives the necessary in- 

 formation as to the 



as to me region explored by 

 Mr. Swynnerton : — " The collections which form 

 the subject of this paper were made by Mr. 

 Swynnerton chiefly in the high country which 

 forms the boundary between Eastern Rhodesia 

 and Portuguese territory . . . Mr. Swynnerton 

 also collected in the lower-lying country within 

 the Portuguese boundary, especially in the 

 Madanda Forest and along the Buzi River, which 

 enters the Indian Ocean opposite Beira. The 

 tract that we commonly call Gazaland extends 

 roughly from some distance to the south of 

 Delagoa Bay to the Umvumvumva, Lusitu, and 

 Buzi rivers, the sea bounding it on the east and 

 the River Sabi on the west." 



Monotes hypoleucus is a shrub or small tree. 

 It furnishes a hard wood, which is much used for 

 snuff-boxes. The roots on the eastern and 

 western sides of the trees are taken up by the 

 natives, and the bark is either boiled or infused 



drunk by them for pains in the chest, 

 chirindensis, belonging to the same order as the 

 last, is a new species, and is one of the largest 

 forest trees, growing to a height of 120 feet or 

 more, with a diameter of trunk of 7 feet 6 inches, 

 and a large spreading crown of dark, glossy leaves. 

 The timber, reddish-brown in colour, is easily 

 worked, and, on this account, is a favourite with 

 the natives, who display some skill in carving 

 it into spoons and other articles. Another 

 timber tree belonging to the same Natural 

 Order, and also a new species, is Lovoa Swynner- 

 tonii, known by the settlers as brown mahogany. 

 It grows to a height of 160 feet, mostly with a 

 straight trunk up to 90 feet before branching. 

 The heart-wood is of a deep grey -brown colour, 

 the timber handsome but frequently cross- 

 grained and difficult to work. It has b3en used 

 a great deal locally for outdoor work, being very 

 durable and untouched by insects. Mr. Swyn- 

 nerton says, so far as he knows " the tree grows 

 only in Chirinda, where it prefers well-drained 

 slopes to banks of streams." /. J?. Jackson, 

 Claremont, Lympstonc, Devon. 



(To be continued.) 



I 



Fig. 137. 



sanguinaria canadensis growing in cambridge botanic 



gardens: flowers white. 



in cold water, which is kept in motion by a 

 forked stick revolved between the hands. Gruel, 

 made of any kind of meal, is then cocked in the 

 infusion, and eaten early before meals or late in 

 the evening as a remedy for indigestion or 

 'diarrhoea. Sterculia Triphaca is a large tree, 

 with smooth, richly -coloured, fibious bark, which 

 is collected from the twigs and Used for mat- 

 making and cordage. Grewia madandensis, a new 

 species of a Tiliaceous genus, forms a small tree 

 with a straight stem, with an enlargement at the 

 base just below the ground. Cut off below this, 

 it is much used for knob-kerries or clubs. The 

 wood is extremely hard, and is a favourite for 

 assegai shafts. Teclea Swynnertonii is a new 

 Rutaceous species, and forms a large tree some 

 60 feet or 70 feet high. The fruit is an orange- 

 coloured berry, with a netted seed, and sweet, 

 strongly-flavoured pulp, ripening from September 

 to October. It is much relished by the trumpeter 

 hornbills, baboons, and Kaffirs. Ekebergia 

 arborea, a Meliaceous tree of some 30 feet high, 

 is described as having a very soft, white timber, 

 with apparently no division between sap-wood 

 and heart-wood. It is straight grained, and much 

 used by the natives in the manufacture of pillows 



and bowls. An infusion of th* rnnts is «ni*H feA K^ 



SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 



In the beautiful Sanguinaria canadensis we 

 have an early flowering perennial, equally suit- 

 able for planting in the border or rockery. The 



(see 



% 



137) 



Trichilia panying illustration (see ng. i^Y) is from a 



photograph taken in the Botanic Garden, Cam- 

 bridge, where the plant is growing on a small 

 rockery in the bog garden. R. Stewart Lynch 



HOME CORRESPONDENCE 



(The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for 

 the opinions expressed by correspondents.) 



Flowers in South-Western Scotland 



(see p. 227).— I think it is highly probable that 

 the reason why the Snowdrop comes so much 

 earlier with Sir Herbert Maxwell than it does 

 with me is that the great majority of mine are 

 exposed to the full blast of the south-east winds, 

 from which, I should imagine, they are 

 almost completely protected by their natural en- 

 vironment at Monreith. Galanthus Melvillei, to 

 which Sir Herbert, in his interesting communi- , 

 cation incidentally refers, came to my garden 

 through the kindness of its raiser, Mr. D. Mel- 

 ville, from Dunrobin Castle, many years ago. 

 For the first two or three seasons it was 

 impressive in its dimensions, surpassing in size, 

 and equalling in beauty, the finest forms of Galan- 

 thus Elwesii; but after developing into large 

 clumps it gradually became smaller. Galanthus 

 nivalis, so deservedly eulogised by Sir Herbert 

 Maxwell, succeeds admirably here. At least 

 three-fourths of my Snowdrops (planted by my 

 predecessors) are double, and appear very late, 

 by reason of the exposure to which I have re- 

 ferred. But such lovely flowers as the Crocus, 

 Daffodil, Chionodoxa Luciliae, C. L. gigantea, and 

 Scilla sibirica, many of which have shelter, were 

 considerably earlier than usual this year. As much 

 may be asserted of the graceful Narcissus ornatus 

 now adorning my lawn, especially in front of my 

 study window, with hundreds of its charmingly- 

 formed and richly-fragrant flowers. The blos- 

 soms of the Apple, of which the earliest is in- 

 variably the Irish Peach, have appeared at least 

 a fortnight sooner than I ever remember having 

 seen them before. Prunus Pissardii, notwith- 

 standing occasional atmospheric adversity, is 

 making a more strenuous attempt than in any 

 former season to set its fruit (owing probably to 

 a strong application of lime given to it in Novem- 

 ber last). There is at pres€nt a marvellous pro- 

 fusion of fruit blossom in the garden, caused 

 primarily by the ripening of the flowering wood 

 last year, especially on Denniston's Superb Gage, 

 Early Rivers, Victoria and Czar Plums, and 

 May Duke, Morello and Black Eagle Cherries, 

 which, with the Damson and Myrobalan almost 

 invariably bear abundantly here. The Almond 

 is at present highly picturesque in aspect, with 

 its wonderful luxuriance of pale-pink flowers. 

 Anemone fulgens and the odorous A. apennirta 

 are already in exquisite bloom. David B. Wil- 

 liamson, Kirkmaiden, Wigtonshire. 



Pot Strawberries (see pp. 203, 2^7, 2*5).— 

 When erardfmpr at. Haptwnrvl Park, in 1869, I 



auie hji planting in me ooraer or rockery The »"^«- ^vci u^veiupeu nmorescences < 



plant is perfectly hardy, and at this early season ?*} n }? T P r ? duc f £ wea ^ shart s P ikes ' 



of tho vp.r i c Ai^^^L: u„a u -t i.m ber dl scussing the matter on the srx 



01 uie year is distinguished by its pure white lnf a at,. to:iJL-:xi. *i * tt.^Tj 



of the year is distinguished by its pure white 

 Anemone-like flow T ers. 



The leaves, which are shorter than the flowers, 

 resemble in outline those of Bocconia cordata. 

 They enclose the flower-stem until it is 2 or 

 3 inches high, when the leaf expands and 

 liberates it. The flowers have 8 to 12 petals, 

 and are borne on stems 3 or 4 inches high. 



The plant is commonly known as Blood Root or 

 Red Puccoon, and belongs to the Natural Order 

 Papawraceae. It has medicinal properties used 

 for bronchitis, asthma, and croup. The roots 

 contain a bright red or orange -coloured juice, 

 hence the name Blood Root. The genus is mono- 

 typic, but Dillenius in Hortus EllhamensU 

 describe 



I remera- 



^v,* wiovuoouj^ \tiiK limner un uie ©pot Willi til" 



late Mr. Wildsmith, then at Heckfield. The con- 

 clusion we came to was that, owing to the pre- 

 vious summer (1868) being very hot and drv, 

 runners developed soon, and were potted in their 

 fruiting pots early. With a view to obtaining 

 strong plants, we gave them weak manure water 

 in the autumn. This favoured too much vege- 

 tative growth, hence the plants were less produc- 

 tive. I can remember occasionally turning the 

 plants out of their pots in the autumn to snow 

 neighbouring gardeners what grand balls of roots 

 the plants possessed. After the failure «e 

 ceased to use Keen's Seedling for our main 

 forcing varietv, though runners from the same 

 stock gave fruitful plants for that purpose in 

 this country for some years afterwards. 10 

 older readers will remember that the summer 

 1868 — tn M « u ~* ^ rv vear ' 



UCfttllu ^ uiree varieties, and there is one named Yqaq **~t; b " \ "\"? w drv vear, 



grandiflora, which is said to be finer than the 1Q £ WaS !* e ^oildlh * very h ^^g£ 

 ordinary form. Wlth an ab sence of night dews. I ortehire uu 



ordinary form. 



Sanguinaria canadensis thrives in a light, sandy 

 loam or moist, peaty soil. The plant may be 

 propagated by division and by seed. The accom- 



wi 

 dener. 



1 was surprised to read Mr. t. • 



Branson's note (see p. 245) attributing the tan** 

 of Royal Sovereign to the variety being *" 







