YELLOW CLEMATIS, 



35 



in such fine dimensions as 10^ feet and 13^ feet in 

 girth, and 131 feet and upwards in height ; these 

 growing in clumps of their own species, or with a 

 strong admixture of Beeches and some Firs. The 

 Pine in its best state is met with in Corsica on the 

 slopes of the mountains, with a northern exposure, 

 commencing at an altitude of 2,950 feet about (the 

 limit of the maritime Pine) ; they are found as high 

 as 5,900 feet. Here they become rare, not, however, 

 that they are unfitted to thrive at this altitude, be- 

 cause strong specimens of this Pine are to be found 

 at the uppermost limits of the forests, notably at 

 Aitona and Bonifato, but because these heights are 

 the summer pasture of flocks of sheep and goats. 

 Outside this elevated zone, natural propagation by 

 seed is easy ; the risk the young forest stands most 

 in is that of fire during the hot dry summer months. 

 The more ancient parts of the forest run less risk, 

 the stems being stripped of their lower branches, and 

 the undergrowth having generally been choked off 

 by the Pines. One sees these clumps as thick and 



regular as in the continental forests of Norwegian 

 Pines and Silver Fir in some parts of the forest of 

 Aitona, which is one of the most regular as regards 

 density. 



It is, however, at the highest edges of the forests 

 that the Pine is seen in its most picturesque aspect. 

 In these regions the trees grow wider apart owing 

 to the conditions of their existence being much 

 harder and, especially, to the browsing of animals, 

 which hinders the growth of the majority of plants, 

 thus reduced to the condition of Japanese conifers. 

 In its struggles with wind and snow the tree is of 

 lower growth, the stem thickens, throwing out some 

 powerful branches, the top shoot is obliterated, and 

 the summit takes a flattened and spreading form. 

 Looking at some of these Pines as they can be 

 seen close to the pass of Saint Pierre, which forms 

 the dividing line between the forest of Aitona and 

 Valdoniello, it is difficult to persuade one's self that 

 they are not Atlas Cedars, as they grow on the 

 highest summits of Algeria. 



A FINE YELLOW CLEMATIS. 



(Clematis 



It is fifteen years since I received from one of my 

 correspondents, under the uncertain name of Cle- 

 matis peiropolitanaQ\ a plant which appeared to bear 

 a strong relationship to C. orientalis : there were the 

 same vegetation and the same form and colour of 

 leaf. On the evidence of this apparent similitude 

 it was given the same treatment as C. orientalis ; 

 that is, it was cut down rather short after the winter 

 and before the rise of the sap, to rid it of the old 

 wood and to make sure of a fine bloom on the new 

 year's shoots. But not a flower appeared, and I was 

 beginning to accuse the new arrival of ingratitude, 

 when a branch that had eluded the knife one fine 

 spring day showed large rounded buds at the end 

 of its long peduncles, and very soon afterwards the 

 flowers opened like large gold buttons, different 

 from what I had expected and much prettier. 



From that time I knew what I had to do with. 

 To timely moderation on my part I owed the 

 abundant blooms of the following spring. 



In my opinion, however, it is an error to 

 classify it as a variety of the Eastern clematis. 

 Certainly, in the immense area of its distribution, 

 from the Cyclades to Manchuria and the north of 

 China, crossing the Caucasus, Persia, Afghanistan, 

 the Himalayas, Nepaul, Songaria, the Pamirs, and 

 the Altai mountains, C. orientalis can possibly count 

 some different forms corresponding with soils and 

 climates so diversified. But all those we know 

 bloom in summer and autumn on the branches of 

 the same year, while the flowers of C. tangutica 

 come in the spring on the last year's wood. No 



tangutica.) 



confusion need, therefore, exist for the man who 

 has cultivated the plants and seen them flower. 



The difference is fundamental, and sufficient, I 

 think, to justify the inclusion of the Tangut plant 

 in the ranks of distinct species. But it is further 

 distinguished by other marked characteristics : the 

 flowers are much larger, of a fine golden yellow 

 colour — not pale yellow — the sepals thick, fleshy, 

 not contorted, but well displayed and slightly re- 

 flexed at the tips, their consistency and appearance 

 being waxlike. The peduncles are much longer, 

 and the leaves, though of like form and colour, are 

 more deeply indented and to a greater extent. 



This plant, which flowers at the same season as 

 the large-flowered mountain clematis, possesses a 

 high decorative value. Its vigour is very great and 

 it attains great dimensions. It is absolutely hardy, 

 having passed unscathed through most severe win- 

 ters, including that of 1893, when at Lyons the 

 thermometer showed 2 6° and 30 below zero. It 

 flowers abundantly in the spring, and the colour of 

 its blossoms is unique. Its seed, even in their large, 

 silky, silvered tufts, are pretty, and mingle pleasantly 

 with the flowers that adorn trellises, old walls, or 

 the sides of rocks. Frequently it happens that some 

 more vigorous of the year's shoots bear isolated and 

 tardy blooms. It is very easily increased, either by 

 cuttings under bell glasses or by grafts made on the 

 roots in the usual manner. Very young plants have 

 a tendency to go back in winter ; this may, however, 

 be remedied by making grafts and cuttings as early 

 as possible in the spring. — Franqisque Morel. 



