TREES AND SHRUBS. 



351 



is, too, readily distinguished from the common Lilac, 

 S. vulgaris, by its more graceful habit, smaller 

 stature, narrow leaves, and more profuse inflorescence 

 of reddish - violet hue — there are several forms, 

 varying principally in the colour of the flowers. 

 S. Emodii, a Himalayan species, has large oblong net- 

 veined leaves, warted branches, and dense erect 

 panicles of lilac or white flowers. S. Josikcca, a 

 native of Eastern Europe, has ovate-lanceolate, 

 wrinkled, dark green leaves, and bluish-purple scent- 

 less flowers. The true S. Persica is the smallest of 

 the group, it has slender branches, narrow ovate- 

 lanceolate leaves, and flowers varying in colour from 

 rosy-carmine to white. A form with laciniated 

 leaves is in cultivation, and this seems to be not 

 •uncommon in a wild state. S. vulgaris, the common 

 Lilac, is perhaps, with the single exception of the 

 Laburnum, the most popular of all spring-flowering 

 shrubs. It has been in cultivation in this country 

 for about three centuries, and although its origin is 

 somewhat uncertain, it is believed to have been 

 brought from Persia. It would occupy too much 

 space to give a description of the numerous garden 

 varieties, the names of which may be found in nursery 

 catalogues ; of recent years a series of remarkable 

 double forms have originated in Continental gardens. 



Tamarix. — Comparatively few of the score or so 

 species of this genus are in cultivation, and for 

 practical purposes T. Gallica is the only one worth 

 notice here. Its minute Heath-like leaves and dense 

 spikes of small reddish flowers render it very con- 

 spicuous, and totally unlike any hardy shrub be- 

 longing to any other family. It is invaluable for 

 planting near the sea, when it thrives in spots where 

 scarcely any other shrub can be induced to grow. 

 Inland, however, it attains a considerable size — we 

 have, seen specimens about twenty feet high — and its 

 feathery branches when laden with blossoms attract 

 the attention of even the least observant. The 

 Tamarixes are generally found wild in dry sandy 

 spots, so they should not be planted where there is 

 any stagnant moisture. 



Tilia {Linden). — There are hardly more than half 

 a score species of Lindens, and all — with the excep- 

 tion of T. Mandschurica , which begins to grow too early 

 and often gets injured by the late spring frosts — are 

 hardy ornamental deciduous trees of great value. The 

 genus is confined to Europe, North Asia, and North 

 America. The timber is said to be superior to that 

 of nearly every other tree for ornamental carving, 

 and from the inner bark of some of the species are 

 made the bass mats so largely used in gardens for 

 shelter, shading, &c. 



T. Americana, the Basswood of the Eastern United 



States, has thickish green leaves, which are nearly 

 or quite glabrous. It grows sixty or eighty feet 

 high, with a trunk tbree to four feet in diameter. 



T. argentea, the White or Silver Lime, is one of 

 the handsomest species, and attains a considerable 

 size. The greyish- white bark, the dark green leaves, 

 clothed with a silvery pubescence beneath, and the 

 erect habit furnish characters sufficient to dis- 

 tinguish this from any other. It is a native of 

 Eastern Europe, &c. 



T. cordata is perhaps better known under one or 

 other of the following names — T. parvifolia, T. ulmi- 

 folia, or T. microphylla. It is a small-leaved species, 

 the latest to flower of the three Limes most commonly 

 cultivated, the two others being T, platyphyllos and 

 T. vulgaris. It suffers, too, in dry seasons much less 

 than either ; in some of the Continental cities, &c, 

 where the three were growing in company, T, 

 cordata looked fresh and green in the August of 

 1885, whilst the foliage of its allies was burnt and 

 discoloured, or had to a great extent fallen, on 

 account of the phenomenally hot and dry summer. 

 A native of Britain, and widely distributed through- 

 out Europe and Asia. 



T. cuchlora is a distinct and handsome species 

 with dark green, glossy leaves, glabrous except in 

 the axils of the principal veins on the under surface. 

 A native of the Caucasus, &c. 



T. Europcea really includes two distinct species — 

 T. platyphyllos and T. vulgaris. The first has rough 

 hairy leaves, and is the first to flower ; the latter 

 has smooth leaves, more or less with a glaucous 

 tinge beneath, and glabrous, except in the axils of 

 the principal veins. Of these two a large number of 

 slightly varying forms are cultivated in nurseries, &c. 



T. petiolaris is the correct name of the Lime 

 generally grown under the name of T. Americana 

 pendula. In general aspect of foliage, &c, it re- 

 sembles T. argentea, but differs in its long-stalked 

 leaves and pendulous branches. Native of Eastern 

 Europe. 



The numerous garden varieties of the species 

 above-mentioned are propagated by grafting on 

 clean-grown seedling stocks of the common wild 

 types. 



Ulex (Gorse). — There are about a dozen species of 

 G-orse, all natives of Western Europe and North- 

 western Africa. Two of the British ones are as desir- 

 able and distinct as any of the others. XI. Europeans 

 begins to open its golden-yellow flowers in Feb- 

 ruary and March, whilst the dwarf, compact-growing 

 V. nanus does not commence flowering until July, 

 and continues until November ; the double form of 

 the first-named is a valuable bush for dry banks, 

 and it remains in flower much longer than the 



