March 25, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



137 



portrait of a small tree growing in England, appears in the 

 issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle for March 7th. This is the 

 Mexican Fir-tree, through the forests of which travelers visit- 

 ing the city of Mexico by rail now pass near the summits of 

 the mountain ranges which are crossed before the valley of 



because the Mexicans are fond of decorating their churches 

 with its branches. 



The colored frontispiece of the March number of the 

 American Garden is devoted to a cluster of fruit of Akebia 

 lobata, and serves to illustrate the third number of Professor 



Fig. 25. — A Fruit of Akebia quinata. — See page 136. 



Mexico is reached. It is a very beautiful tree, but, unfortu- 

 nately, is not hardy in the northern and eastern states. It 

 might be expected, however, to nourish in California, and it 

 would be interesting to know if any large specimens already 

 exist there. The specific name given to this tree was selected 



Georgeson's instructive papers on the economic plants of 

 Japan. Akebia quinata is well known in gardens, but this 

 second species, for some unexplained reason, appears never 

 to have been introduced into those of America or of 

 Europe. Its home, Professor Georgeson tells us, is in the 



