18 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



favourite Pyrus japonica, with its beautiful varieties, still holds 

 a foremost place among our early-flowering shrubs. I ought 

 not to omit mention of two other rosaceous shrubs, which, 

 although introduced some time ago, are not very often seen. I 

 allude to Stephanandra flexuosa and Bhodotypus kerrioides, the 

 last named a near relative of one of the oldest of old garden 

 friends, Kerria japonica. Of the true Eoses there is not much 

 to' be said ; most of the best have long been in cultivation ; two 

 or three others are more recent introductions, and from the unin- 

 troduced wild kinds not much, I think, can be expected in a 

 horticultural sense. 



In the Saxifrage family, the Hydrangeas, of which there are 

 some seven or eight species, are as conspicuous a feature in 

 Japanese floral decorations as they are in ours, but of these 

 species at least four would scarcely, I think, be welcomed in 

 British gardens. It may not perhaps be generally known that 

 Hydrangea paniculata in favourable situations on the hills of 

 Hokkaido forms a tree 25 to 30 feet high. The allied monotypic 

 Schizophragma hydrangeoides is a vigorous rambling plant 

 useful for covering large spaces. Among the Hamamelids, 

 Hamamelis arborea and H. japonica are certainly handsomer 

 shrubs than the American type species, H. virginica. Corylopsis 

 pauciflora and C. spicata are worthy of mention as dwarf early- 

 flowering shrubs that may be found useful for forcing, especially 

 the first named. In this family is the curious but little known 

 monotypic Disanthus cercidifolius, a spreading shrub 8 to 

 10 feet high : the small dark purple flowers appear in October, 

 when the fruit is developed from the flowers of the preceding 

 year, and when the leaves begin to put on their rich autumn 

 tints of vinous red and gold. 



Among the Japanese Araliads there are seven species of 

 Acanthopanax ; at least one of these would be an interesting 

 addition to the British Arboretum. I allude to Acanthopanax 

 sciadophylloides, a tree sometimes attaining a height of 40 feet 

 in the mountain forests of Nikko and on Mount Hakkoda in 

 Northern Honda ; its handsome foliage would impart a distinct 

 feature to our park scenery. Another species is A. ricinifolium 

 cultivated in British gardens under the name of Aralia Maxi- 

 moioiczii ; in the forests of Hokkaido it is a large tree from 60 to 

 80 feet high, with a trunk of 4 to 5 feet in diameter. 



