ON TREES AND SHRUBS. 



429 



flowers are borne very freely in long, pendulous racemes. It 

 requires a rich loamy soil, and copious supplies of water while 

 growth is being made. C. I. albo marginata has green leaves, 

 distinctly edged with cream-white. C. I. myrtifolia is of dwarf, 

 compact habit, with small Myrtle-like leaves. It is of more 

 erect habit than the type, and like it well adapted for growing 

 in standard form. C. I. azorica is conspicuous for its larger 

 leaves and bigger flowers than the type. 



Choisya ternata (Mexican Orange Flower). — An exquisite 

 shrub, with fragrant flowers, and hardier than many suppose. It 

 grows freely in ordinary garden soil if sweet and well-drained, 

 and forms a cheerful-looking, freely-branched bush, with glossy- 

 green leaves, relieved in April and May by terminal clusters of 

 white Hawthorn-scented flowers. Considering its hardiness and 

 beauty, it is astonishing that it is not more generally grown. 

 Although hardy, it is as well to protect it, from cold winds, 

 especially in the North, while a sunny spot should be chosen for 

 it to thoroughly ripen the wood. 

 When pruning or thinning of the 

 shoots is necessary, this should 

 be attended to as soon as the 

 flowers are over. For forcing it 

 is also valuable, as its flowers, 

 when cut with long stems, are 

 useful for many purposes. 



Cistuses (Rock Roses) are 

 very showy free-flowering shrubs, 

 but unfortunately rather tender. 

 In fact, only in dry and well- 

 drained soils can their real 

 beauty be displayed. Damp, 

 cold, low-lying ground is fatal to 

 them. Sloping sunny banks are 

 necessary to promote thorough 

 ripening of the growth, without 

 which a wealth of flowers is 

 impossible. They are very 

 beautiful when in blossom, and 

 succeed in maritime districts. 

 The following list comprises 

 some of the best kinds : C. 

 tnonspeliensis ; flowers white ; 

 produced in summer. C. ladan- 

 iferus (Gum Cistus) grows about 



4ft. high, and bears handsome white flowers in June and July. 

 The lanceolate leaves are deep green, and covered with a 

 sticky substance on the upper surface. There is also a spotted 



Fig. 274. — Cistus ladaniferds 

 maculatus. 



