50 MY SHRUBS 
a rich brown tomentum clothes the young shoots. Colonel 
Fremont did well to bring this notable plant into cultivation, and 
I continue to hope for success. My first piece attained considerable 
size, then died; my second, under more sunny circumstances, 
died without attaining any size whatever ; and now I have two, side 
by side in peat, under a west wall. They are, however, different, 
and it would seem that there are two species of Fremontia, or else 
it has a wide range of variation. One has large irregularly-shaped 
leaves, and the other comparatively small foliage of uniform pattern. 
They have weathered the winter well, and both flowered. The 
blossoms are similar. A friend sent me pressed flowers and leaves 
from its habitat recently—both things very beautiful to see, and 
the blossoms were much finer in colour than my home-grown ones. 
The generous man added a packet of ripe seed, and soon I hope 
to hear of a successful family which may become acclimatised from 
tenderest youth. 
Fraxinus ornus, the manna ash, I lack ; but this very handsome 
dwarf tree should be planted if reasonable space is yours. The 
tassels of grey-green flowers are ornamental and fragrant, and 
five-and-twenty feet will be its probable limit of height. 
Fuchsia in many varieties is hardy here, but the winter cuts 
most of mine back pretty hard. They are the better for this 
natural pruning, however. JF. procumbens is a delightful little 
New Zealander for the sunny rock garden, whose dull crimson 
fruits crowd the plant in autumn, and F. pumila is also a neat, 
small upspringing species for the same locality. 
F. splendens and F. corymbiflora, from Peru, and F. triphylla, 
from the West Indies, are all superb greenhouse species. F. 
excorticata, from Maori-land, is also now at our disposal with large 
