Остовев 26 1895.) 
and scabrous opie a tree presenting the most sub- 
dued an conceivable; this pigmy tree 
es, but fire is 
actually congenial and subservient to its existence, 
for — tree, instigated by the —2 t 
itself into great сетови The nam E this 
is — (Rhopala ee indi 
Am 
1 is widely distributed in Colombia, for I have 
found it at the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, and 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE 
489 
plan There is a popular belief in Tolima, 
nem alluvial me yr ter that this tree flourishes 
only on those seductive vg —— as & guide to 
searchers after the precious 
„The bark of the tree is — — € It 
consists of a congeries - — or semi- 
detached layers. The o — about 4 inch 
thick, performs no tere thea and this portion 
of the bark, in conjunction with its peculiar compo- 
sition, protects the inner vital integuments from 
injury by fire. 
n. The. form and structure of the tree may have 
Fic, 84.—opONTOGLOSSUM CORONARIUM, 
(In the Gardens of W. W. Groves, Esq., The Larches, Alderley Edge, Cheshire.) 
dispersed inland 1000 miles from the sea, In con- 
tact with the great forest, it maintains a precarious 
existence. Bat, as already explained, it usurps 
а in places where no other tree can grow. 
In Tolima it abounds on the slopes and ridges of 
М hills at elevations from 1000 to 3500 feet. In 
is department alone hundreds of square miles of 
the т чудай hills, which have been reduced to sterility 
and it assumes the aspect of vast systematically 
contrary, е во regularly placed 
aspect vies with | that of the most carefully-formed 
originated from * severe ordeal through which 
has survived. For instauce, according to the > 
of natural selection, some animals when they migrate 
intoa "pn — covered with thicker 
ve seen with candi to this plant, the 
powers * Wisére have been encroached upon, ie, 
the plant having emerged from a state of nage it 
has made for itself a law of its own, for it has 
triumphed over the most disastrous element to all 
fe. 
— 
or 
‘t The hundreds of square miles of worn-out lat d 
covered by this beneficent tree in Tolima — are 
Uoration, which 
position of a few simple de 
“Tt is noteworthy that the Cbaparro prefers the 
" and Py of the rua to the flat savannahr, 
which seldom foun 
ый, id widely Sas Firerages with far 
o 
m 
o 
а 
bd 
. Ф 
et 
ЕД 
c 
e 
= 
с 
8 
— 
с" 
— 
* 
= 
co 
= 
т 
= 
"m 
з 
o 
o 
of beg qe for the I to the pernicious eru 
ence of the accumulat of water on the plain 
* the rain) season. 
The — Humboldt, during his travels in 
South America, noted the dispersal of this plant on 
the vast llanos E re from the Orinoco, &с. 
These llanos are, for the most part, d 
tation other than Graminem. The only trees 
were f n 
e found o these dreary wastes 
specimens of Chaparro, and in more humid 
spots a Palm, Thus, referring to the llanos which 
he traversed, he says, ‘For many square miles поб а 
tree to be seen 
found they are, in humid districts 
Palm, and in arid spots the Rhopala со 
“ Vast deserts and semi-deserts steed yrosae - 
the tropical world, эла marcy hel thousands 
aquare miles. It may be e Chaparro is 
destined to play an important 
of these illimitable vision: for the [ег leaves 
gradually form a crust of vegetable mould.” 
Mores pel n CORO- 
specimen of Od ossum coronarium in 
dir. ыа of Wm. W. Groves, Esq, The Larches, 
Alderley Edge, Cheshire, is a notable o It is 
growing in a equare teak raft abont 2 2 = 2 
a mixture in which growing sphagn moss 
аа, the whole surface is n ng mats 
of sphagnum, and beautiful it looks with the great 
coriaceous pseudo-bulbs € to npo spring- 
ing from its midst. There пен auch pseudo- 
ers че” of them, 
; — representation 
(fig. 84), shows the habit of the species, and ind cates 
inam th cro 
which is thoroughly matured, must wait its turn for 
floral development, The spike is carried on a atrong 
mma nd the flowers are crowded to. ether not 
ca а пуна чка. 87 are twenty-four auch 
e stalk, h of whi 
the colour is rich 
golden cri d edges; the petals 
bluntly acuminate, with golden clouds shining 
throvgh the sienna-ground. Т ip is ensiform, 
the throat bright, a 
base; the colomn is shor 
copious supply of t is now so 
large, that we may expect to see it flowering year by 
year, о о in и "А.к - 
charge, wi тышы MIN. J. 
ООҢ fo UL TRY. 
By Harrison WEIR. 
(Copyright) 
( Continued p. 238.) 
Ав shown, the 3 of the Shang-hai and 
Cochin fowl has e effect of seriously depre- 
ciating ag of our рик breeds for tabl 
— 
amo 
fat, and a — for incubation, bas rendered the 
