1 88 



— A scarce plant from the south of China, not 

 long in cultivation and tender in English gar- 

 dens. It is nearly allied to V. tomentosum, but 

 with leaves broader and less indented. A good 

 American shrub — V. molle — sometimes does 

 dutyforthis in gardens, but the plantis neither 

 distinct nor hardy enough to be of much use 

 to planters. 



The Common Wayfaring Tree [V. Lan- 

 tand). — A stout shrub or low tree growing 20 

 feet high, and common all over Europe and 

 in this country, thriving in woods and damp 

 hedgerows, especially upon the chalky soils of 

 the southern counties. Its leaves are large, 

 rounded, finely toothed, and covered (espe- 

 cially beneath) with a scurfy down, extending 

 to the stem and branches ; in the autumn this 

 hairy coating turns a dark red, which is very 

 attractive when trees are massed in the wild 

 garden or upon the bounds of a plantation. It 

 is also handsome in flowers, which appear in 

 profusion during May and June as broad flat 

 clusters, the white blossoms succeeded by 

 fruits, at first red and yellow, ripening to a 

 glossy black. It will grow in drier soils than 

 most of the Viburnums, and comes freely from 

 seed. Several varieties are grown in gardens, 

 the most distinct being rugosum, with larger 

 leaves, deeply wrinkled, and heavier clusters of 

 flower ; punctatus, distinct in leaf ; and a form 

 variegated with white and yellow. 



The American Wayfaring Tree [V. 

 lantanoides). — -A vigorous shrub of spreading 

 or drooping habit, reaching 1 o feet, its young 

 branches thickly covered with a powdery coat- 

 ing of hairs. It is widely spread over North 

 America from Canada to Carolina, and com- 

 mon about Quebec and Lake Huron, where 

 it is known as the Hobble Bush. Its leaves 

 are large and broadly rounded, measuring from 

 3 to 8 inches, with an abrupt tip and a coating 

 of scurfy hairs upon the nerves and stems. 

 The white flowers come in May upon very 

 short stems, and in large heads of several inches 

 across, the outer flowers being enlarged and 

 conspicuous ; these clusters give place to 

 bunches of oval red fruits, ripening to dark 

 purple in the autumn. A hardy shrub of free 

 growth, fine in foliage and flower, it merits a 

 place in the rougher parts of pleasure grounds, 

 where the deep wine-red of its autumn colour 

 is also good. Easily grown from layers, the 



trailing branches rooting where they touch the 

 ground. 



The Tree-like Guelder Rose {V. Len- 

 tago). — A large spreading bush or low tree, 

 reaching 30 feet, and sometimes trained to a 

 stem with fine effect. It is common through- 

 out North America in woods and moist places, 

 and is an old plant in English gardens. Its 

 broadly oval leaves, pointed, and toothed at 

 the edge, are of deep shining green changing 

 in autumn to varied tints of purple, red, and 

 yellow. The white flowers appear in stem- 

 less clusters during May and June, followed 

 ' by large black berries, bluish with a delicate 

 bloom, pleasant to the taste, and hanging upon 

 the branches for several months. A variety in 

 which the flower-heads have short stems is 

 known as subpedunculatum, 



{To be continued.) 



IDESIA POLYCARPA. 



Even amid its nativeforests of the island 

 of Kiusiu, Japan, the Idesia is a scarce 

 tree, found in only a few sparse groups, 

 and seen as rarely in Japanese gardens 

 as in those of Europe. Why this should 

 be is not easy to understand, for the tree 

 is hardy, fine in outline and in leaf, and 

 well fitted for use in avenues and for 

 shade around houses. One cause of its 

 slow increase may be that the two sexes 

 are apart in the Idesia and good seed 

 scarce when fertile trees are few, but as 

 it may be increased in other ways this 

 would hardly seem to be a sufficient 

 reason for its rarity. 



Discovered by the Russian traveller 

 Maximowicz in 1 8 6 6 , it was introduced 

 into Europe by way of St. Petersburg, 

 and shown among the new plants at the 

 Paris Exhibition of 1868. In its native 

 country it is said to reach a height of 

 S 40 feet and upwards at maturity, but its 

 habit of growth is such that many years 

 must elapse before the young plants to 

 be seen in western gardens can reach 



