THE STORY OF THE DAVIDIA 293 



cracks from the summit to about two thirds down; 

 in others a narrow valve-like shutter was forced back 

 slightly and the tip of a root showed clearly. All 

 was well. In a month or so thousands had sprouted, 

 and from this bed an assistant and I potted up 

 more than thirteen thousand plants, of which nearly 

 every one grew. Of the seeds sown indoors scarcely a 

 single one ever germinated. 



I brought home with me, in 1902, three or four living 

 plants and these were planted in various positions 

 in the Coombe Wood nursery and in the summer grew 

 amazingly. So, too, did the seedlings, and Davidia 

 immediately made itself at home in England. The 

 first to flower in England was a seedling plant in the 

 Coombe Wood nursery in May, 1911, and a cut 

 branch was exhibited by Messrs. Veitch at the famous 

 Temple Show on May 23d, and received a First 

 Class Certificate — the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 highest award. Since that date many have flowered 

 in various places and fruit was produced in 1915. 

 In Kew Gardens there are now trees nineteen feet 

 tall and thirteen inches in girth of stem. 



This Hupeh plant proved to be a smooth-leaved 

 variety of the type and in the autumn of 1903, 1 had 

 the pleasure of securing in Mupin, Pere David's orig- 

 inal locality, a few hundreds of fruits of the type 



