GRACEFUL FORMS 



growing plant of shrubby habit, spreading 

 freely from the root. The cut stems, 2 to 3 feet 

 long, and rigidly straight though feathery at 

 the tips, are graceful for the centre of tall jars 

 or vases, and last for weeks. The well-known 

 Smilax (A. medeoloides) offers another com- 

 plete variation in leaf, habit, and appearance. 

 It is very free in flower, and in the south of 

 France bears quantities of berries (which are 

 not pretty) the young seedlings springing up 

 in all directions from fallen seed. Though too 

 rampant for many purposes, A. asiaticus is use- 

 ful for large houses, growing a main stem of 

 30 feet or more in length with side-growths in 

 proportion. Requiring more heat and shade 

 than most, it is best in a warm conservatory or 

 winter garden. Another warm-house species 

 is A.cethiopicus, from tropical Asia and Africa, 

 a fine plant with short falcate leaves, and climb- 

 ing stems some 1 o feet long: there are varieties 

 from Natal and India. Other less remarkable 

 greenhouse species are A. africanus, Buchan- 

 ani, Cooperi, racemosi/s, and ramosissimi/s, all of 

 which, save racemosus (India), coming from 

 various parts of Africa. 



The hardy and half-hardy Asparagus are 

 not numerous, but include some good plants. 

 Beside acutifo/ius, already mentioned, there is 

 A.Broussoneti^ a very fine climbing plant from 

 the Canary Islands, and hardy in many parts of 

 England. Its dainty leaves are slightly glau- 

 cous, the flowers very small, succeeded by small 

 red berries. Three half-hardy species, requiring 

 a warm corner and protection in winter are 

 A. declinatus from South Africa ; umbellatus, a 

 shrubby plant from the Canaries ; and tenui- 

 folius, a perennial species from South Europe, 

 the great feature of which is the handsome 

 red fruits the size of marbles, borne in the 

 autumn on wiry stems about 3 feet high. Of 

 hardy sorts there remain A. schoberioides, 2. de- 

 ciduous and uninteresting plant from Japan ; 

 trichophy/Ius, with light wavy stems 6 feet high, 

 a strong-rooting perennial from North Asia ; 

 and verticillatus with thick woody stems and 

 fruits like the common Asparagus, which is it- 

 self as beautiful a plant as either of these per- 

 fectly hardy species. 



Landscape Gardening on the Thames. — ■ 

 Many people are rightly sensitive as to the 



picturesque and natural planting of private 

 grounds bordering our great waterway. It is 

 therefore in some concern that a correspon- 

 dent writes us as follows : — "It is lamentable 

 to see the use made of the private grounds 

 which come down to the Thames banks and 

 form an unavoidable part of the landscape. I 

 am sure that it is from ignorance that these are 

 made into irritating eye-sores. Ihavejust been 

 to Goring-on-Thames, and am full of the sub- 

 ject ! Below Streatley the grass meadows are 

 mown and ornamented with cut-out and 'bed- 

 ded-out' flower-beds. Just above Streatley, on 

 the towing-path, is a new house with garden 

 in front in full view. This is dotted over with 

 fancy shrubs, each grafted on one tall leg. Even 

 the standard roses contrive to look hideous. On 

 the grass plot a green cat iswatchingover green 

 poultry all in Box ! The iron railings are red. 

 Then, the Cleve islands, which used to be lovely, 

 are all cut up into garden beds and gravel walks 

 with rows of tubs, — scarlet Geraniums every- 

 where. On the Goring lock island these tubs 

 are bright blue. The boathouses, which should, 

 one would think, be simple in form and un- 

 obtrusive in colour, out-vie one another in 

 gaudiness and expense. (The swans approved 

 here are black with red bills.) I am confident 

 that all this comes of havinga wrongaim. The 

 number of riverside houses is increasing enor- 

 mously every year, which makes the subject 

 urgent. It is cruel to see the lovely Thames 

 being so utterly ruined." — E. F. 



A New Pagoda Tree {Platyosprion platycar- 

 pum). — Though botanists have found in this 

 new kind sufficient variations to found a sepa- 

 rate genus, from specimen sent to us by Herr 

 Spath of Berlin, it would seem, for garden pur- 

 poses, at any rate, to be a repetition of Sophora 

 japonica except in its longer and broader leaf- 

 lets and slight differences in flower which the 

 European raisers have not yet been able to 

 verify. In culture and requirements they are 

 identical, both requiring light warm soils, and, 

 when well grown, are fine trees of pyramidal 

 form. The new kind, now in commerce for 

 the first time, was raised from seeds sent to 

 Herr Spath from the Botanical Garden of St. 

 Petersburg. 



