A WINTER GARDEN OF TREES 59 



the year. A yellow-barked form of Comus stolonifera, 

 known 2ls flaviramea, deserves mention. 



"Several shrubs are notable for the particularly 

 bright green of their bark. The forms of Kerria 

 japonica and Neillia are very bright during the 

 winter on this account, but still more effective is 

 a near ally, Stephanandra kanakce, a comparatively 

 new shrub, also from Japan, but of little value in 

 any other respect. Finally, I may mention the 

 Rubuses with white stems. As in Salix daphnoides, 

 the bark is covered with the waxy secretion known 

 as ' bloom,' and of a blue-tinted white. Some six 

 or seven species of Rubus have this character. 

 Of those obtainable from nurseries, R. biflorus, a 

 Himalayan species often to be had from dealers 

 under the erroneous name of Rubus leucodermis, is 

 the best. Dr. A. Henry has introduced a Chinese 

 species, Rubus lasiostylus, which is even better than 

 biflorus; the bloom is more distinctly blue, and 

 the stems sturdier and more self-supporting. The 

 species is, however, an extremely rare one in cul- 

 tivation. It is scarcely necessary to repeat how 

 essential it is that these Brambles and Cornels 

 should be planted in bold groups. 



" Among trees the most noteworthy as regards the 

 colour of their bark are the Birches. The beauty 

 of the Common White Birch has not been overlooked 

 by planters. A single specimen or a few grouped 

 together make a bright winter picture when asso- 

 ciated with evergreens. The Canoe Birch of North 

 America (Betula papyrifera) has a bark of an even 



