FEBRTTARY 21 



and orange. Tellima, its near relation, is also well 

 coloured. Galax aphylla, with its polished leaves of 

 hard texture, and stalks almost as stiff as wire, is 

 nearly as bright ; and many of the Megaseas are of a 

 fine bronze red, the ones that colour best being the 

 varieties of the well-known M. crassifolia and M. eordi- 

 folia. Among shrubs, some of the nearly allied genera, 

 popularly classed under the name Andromeda, are 

 beautiful in reddish colour passing into green, in some 

 of the leaves by tender gradation, and in others by 

 bold splashing. Berberis Agwifolium begins to colour 

 after the first frosts; though some plants remain 

 green, the greater number take on some rich tinting 

 of red or purple, and occasionally in poor soil and in 

 full sun a bright red that may almost be called scarlet. 

 What a precious thing this fine old Berberis is ! 

 What should we do in winter without its vigorous 

 masses of grand foliage in garden and shrubbery, to 

 say nothing of its use indoors ? Frequent as it is in 

 gardens, it is seldom used as well or thoughtfully as 

 it deserves. There are many places where, between 

 garden and wood, a well-considered planting of Ber- 

 beris, combined with two or three other things of 

 larger stature, such as the fruiting Barberry, and Haw- 

 thorn and Holly, would make a very enjoyable piece 

 of shrub wild -gardening. When one reflects that 

 Berberis Aquifolium is individually one of the hand- 

 somest of small shrubs, that it is at its very best in 

 mid-winter, that every leaf is a marvel of beautiful 



