May 15, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



231 



Rubus Henryi. — The genus Ruljus is represented in China 

 by at least fifty well-marked species, the majority belonging to 

 the simple-leaved section, to wliich the present species belongs. 

 A tall, climbing shrub, with deeply three-Iobed thick leaves, 

 glabrous above, and clothed with a white tomentum lielow; 

 flowers small, red, in terminal racemes. Received from Dr. 

 Henry, Ichang, and figured in Hooker's hones Plantarum, 

 t. 1705. Certainly one of the most distinct of the genus. 



Petrocosmea Sinensis. — A new genus of the Cyrtandrecr, lim- 

 ited, so far as we know at present, to this species. An elegant 

 little plant, in habit resembling a Violet. Dr. Henry toimd it 

 growing on the surface of the rock in the bottom of a small 

 cave near Ichang, with tlie leaves closely pressed against the 

 rock. It has violet or blue flowers, and is figured in Hooker's 

 Icones Plantarxiin, t. 1716. Several other members of the same 

 natural order from China are figured in this work. Thus 

 Didissandra sesquifolia {t. 1797), a remarkable species, from 

 Mount Omei, Szechuen, with large flowers and very luiecjual 

 leaves. Hemibaa Henryi (t. 1798), the type of a new genus, of 

 which two other species are described. Didymocarpiis ste- 

 naftthos {i. 1799), a modest plant from Mount Omei. These 

 plants are indeed all of them somewhat humble members of 

 an order rich in showy plants. 



Primula. — The mountains of Yun-Nan have yielded such a 

 harvest of new species of this genus as nobody could have 

 anticipated. It is not merely the number of new species, but 

 the great diversity of types — among them two or three abso- 

 lutely different from anything previously known. Altogether 

 we have evidence of between forty and lifty species of Prim- 

 ula in China. Foremost among these novelties is P. Delavayi, 

 the flowers of which are solitary on radical scapes, and appear 

 before the long-stalked, cordate-rotundate leaves. Corolla 

 deep purple, large, funnel-shaped, with fringed lobes. It 

 differs from all other described species, too, in having large, 

 flat seeds. Discovered in the mountains of Yun-Nan at an ele- 

 vation of about 15,000 feet. P. vinciflora resembles P. El- 

 ■wesiana from the Himalayan Mountains, and the large, solitary 

 scapose flowers bear a striking likeness to those of a Vinca. 

 P. incisa, a small-flowered, umbellate species, has small pin- 

 nate leaves on slender petioles very much like those of some 

 of the small Potentillas. P. niitatis has almost capitate flowers 

 with the lilac-purple corollas directed downwards. P. blatta- 

 riforniis and P. vialvacea are also very curious species ; the 

 former having racemes of flowers fifteen to eighteen inches 

 long ; the latter having whorled flowers with an usually large 

 calyx. P. bella is a beautiful little plant, and the smallest 

 from the Chinese region, but not so small as some of the 

 miniature Himalayan species. Many of the others are equally 

 as attractive as those named. Indeed, one might say that all 

 of them are pretty. 



Lindera fragrans. — An elegant shrubby Laurel from three 

 to five feet high, with slender branches, narrow leaves and 

 axillary clusters of small, fragrant flowers. From the neigh- 

 borhood of Ishang, and figured in Hooker's Icones Planta- 

 rum, t. 1788. 



Lonerila peperomiafolia. — A pretty species, having fleshy, 

 strongly-nerved, ovate, long-stalked leaves, a scapose inflor- 

 escence and loosely cymose flowers about an inch in diame- 

 ter. A native of the province of Ishang figured in Hooker's 

 Icones Plantarum, t. 1814. 



Hemsleya Chinensis. — A new genus of Cticurbitacece, a very 

 slender climber of elegant habit with pedately-divided leaves 

 and dioecious flowers. The male flowers are very singularly 

 formed, the almost free petals being recurved on the pedicel 

 like an lunbrella or parachute. The clavate seed-vessels are 

 borne in clusters, and open at the top by means of a small lid, 

 giving egress to the numerous winged seeds. A native of 

 the provinces of Hupeh and Szechuen ; figured in Hooker's 

 Icones Plantarum, t. 1822. 



Enimenopterys Henryi. — This is an ornamental tree, thirty 

 to forty feet high, from the Patung district in the province of 

 Hupeh, belonging to the tribe Cinchonece of the Rubiacece — a 

 tribe that is almost wholly American. In this, as in Mus- 

 sjenda, which belongs to a different tribe of the same natural 

 order, the most conspicuous part of the inflorescence is the 

 foliar development of one of the calyx-lobes of some of the 

 outer flowers of the clusters, such as occurs in the South 

 American genera, Calycophyllum, Monadelphanthus and 

 others, and in the recently-discovered Malayan genus, Crea- 

 ghia. A similar, though quite different ornamental append- 

 age to the inflorescence, is found in the Indian genera, Hymen- 

 opogon and Hymenodictyon, l)elonging to the tribe Cinchonece. 

 Here, instead of a foliar development of one of the calyx- 

 lobes, some of the bracts of the inflorescence enlarge and 

 color in a similar manner. The broadly funnel-shaped, al- 



most campanulate flowers of Enimenopterys are j'ellow dotted 

 and about an inch across, while the leafy expansions of the 

 calyx are white, and persist until the fruit ripens and falls. 

 Dr. Henry does not give particulars of the habitat of this tree, 

 so that we ;ire unable to judge its constitution ; but in a gen- 

 eral note relating to the phmts from the Patung district, he 

 states that most of them come from a range of mountains 

 6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea-level, along which virgin forest 

 extends for many miles. Enimenopterys is figured in Hook- 

 er's Icones Plajitarum, t. 1823. 

 Kew. W. Batting Hcmsley. 



Horticulture in California. 



'T'HE gardens of this State are superl) this year, as the winter 

 ^ was very mild, warm and moist, and the fifteen Rose-fairs 

 soon to be held in different parts of the State will be unusually 

 interesting. The orchards look well, and the fruit crop will be 

 twenty per cent, greater than it was last year. Only the Apri- 

 cots will show a shortage, owing to the heavy rains which 

 fell when they were in blossom. The Apricot fails to fertilize 

 well under such conditions. 



I lately visited the " Northern Citrus Belt" of this State. It 

 is, broadly speaking, the old gold-bearing belt of the Sierra 

 foot-hills, in which nearly all of the famous old placer camps 

 of 1849-53 were situated. In all this region Orange seedlings of 

 great size and vigor are to be found, but commercial planta- 

 tions have been established at only a few points. The most 

 important of these is Oroville, on the Feather River, thecountv 

 seat of Butte County, and sheltered on the north by a high 

 plain, which rises to the great pine-clad volcanic wall of Table 

 Mountain. There are several colonies here, and some two 

 thousand acres of young Orange-trees are already planted. In 

 the gardens of the beautiful little town are many trees of fifteen 

 or twenty years of age, and the orange crop is already of con- 

 siderable commercial value. The town holds an annual Cit- 

 rous fair, late in December, in a large tent in the court-yard 

 pitched over a number of well-grown Orange-trees in full 

 bearing. 



There is a manifest desire here to plant more native trees 

 and shrubs. The beautiful Romneya Coulteri, so long a suc- 

 cess abroad, has been, to some extent, re-discovered by Cali- 

 fornians. It is now in great demand, but good plants cannot 

 be obtained at the nurseries. A gentleman of Alameda 

 lately sent a man to the mountains of San Diego County to 

 dig up roots, and obtained in this way a good stock for his 

 own garden. 



In new fruits the Loquat [Mespilus Japonica) has become 

 fairly naturalized. One farmer in Alameda County is able to 

 sell $100 worth of Loquats annually from two long rows 

 planted originally for an avenue. The Loquat here presents 

 several distinct types, one, apparently, the result of long selec- 

 tion, and well worth grafting. Many of the Loquats are not 

 worth fruiting, but this better type has an undoubted future as 

 a market fruit. The true Carob-tree is bearing here, in Ala- 

 meda County. Lbifortunately the trees were planted on low 

 land, and grew too much to leaves, so that as yet the crop is 

 but light. The Japanese Persimmons are slowly falling in 

 public favor. For a few years producers made money ship- 

 ping them, but now the large orchards planted ten years ago, 

 when yearling trees cost a dollar apiece, are being cut down. 



A curious source of revenue was brought to my notice the 

 other day. Trees grow so fast in this climate, and there are so 

 many old orchards, old gardens and old nurseries that good- 

 sized trees of an immense variety of species are continually 

 being cut down and carted to the wood-pile. A young man 

 conceived the idea of buying up whatever woods appeared 

 valuable and selling them to the carvers and turners in San 

 Francisco. He knew nothing of botany, and the stuff was all 

 sold in " mixed lots," but at high prices. In all he gathered up 

 this winter from farms and gardens, within fifty miles of San 

 Francisco, some seventy-five kinds of woods, none of them 

 indigenous. One Osage Orange trunk was fourteen inches in 

 dianieter and eighteen feet long. The wood was a rich orange 

 and lirown, deepening to nearly black at the heart. A Pome- 

 granate trunk was four inches through. An African Tamarisk, 

 whose wood is very close-grained and creamy-white, was 

 about the same size. A Japanese Persimmon was a foot 

 through. The wood of this tree is light-colored, with curious 

 black specks and stains, and works in the most charming 

 manner. Among other woods gathered up were .'Vshes, Ma- 

 ples, Retinosporas, Auraucarias, Grevillias, Acacias, Paulownia, 

 Cork Oak, Persian Walnut, Orange, Lemon, Large-flowered 

 Magnolia and Olive. I notice that the wood-turners call Osage 



