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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



grown. What a pity it is the Poisonous Oak should be so 

 dangerous a plant ! No vine, I should think, is to be compared 

 to it in the way in which, on the rich or moist soils of the 

 Eastern States, it clothes the otherwise bare trunks of the trees 

 with its twining shoots, covered with glossy foliage and large pic- 

 turesque leaves, so lovely in the autumn. For artistic beauty the 

 plant is indeed as highly endowed as for deadly properties, the 

 berry being as attractive as it is poisonous. The Rhus cana- 

 densis, with beautiful, thick, nicely cut leaves, is worthy of being 

 better known ; it is a low bush, and quite proof against drought. 

 Rhus aromatica, with leaves bearing a close resemblance to the 

 Field Maple, is also a very fine bush, that will make good hedges, 

 or for the front of plantations, shrubberies, or groves. 



In the leguminous tribe I will mention the Amorphas, and 

 especially A. canescens. The name is sometimes given in mistake 

 by nurserymen to some varieties of A. fruticosa, which are very 

 common. The true A. canescens of Nuttall is a low, somewhat 

 stiff, grey-leaved, late-blooming shrub, but the contrast of the 

 whitish colour of the foliage, the dark purple of the flowers, and 

 the gold of the stamens is quite a sight, and every amateur 

 would, I am sure, consider this shrub a great attraction in his 

 collection. 



Wistarias are much grown in New England gardens, and 

 sometimes as potted shrubs, to be placed out of doors in large 

 casks. For this purpose they are propagated from cuttings, and 

 kept as standards, 5 to 10 feet high, when by pruning they are 

 made to branch and to become bushy. Fine specimens require ten 

 years' preparation. In the Arboretum the time of flowering is 

 as follows : W. sinensis is closely followed by W. japonica, then 

 comes W. multijuga, and the American W. frutcscens will close 

 the series, the fine variety W. frutcscens magnified being the 

 latest. Compared to W. sinensis, W. japonica is more glossy in 

 the foliage, and the flower seems smaller ; otherwise there is but 

 little difference in their appearance. 



Two species of Prunus are very interesting — one, Primus pen- 

 dula(see fig. 1, p. 26), for its gracefully drooping mode of branch- 

 ing ; the other, Prunus pumila, for its ability to thrive in poor sandy 

 soils, its hardiness, and edible fruits. Its common name in the 

 Central and Northern States is Sand-Cherry, the small fruit being 

 about the size of a small Cherry, and the stalk long and thin. 



