206 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



surrounding the mansion is a lawn kept somewhat in the English style, 

 and in the best of condition, with but few flower-beds to mar its beauty. 

 Upon the walls of the Villa were Tecoma jasminoides flowering most 

 profusely, Mandevilla suaveolens as we rarely see it in England, 

 Solanum jasminoides making a good display, Bougainvillaea glabra 

 Sanderiana doing well, its bracts being of a deeper shade than usual (this 

 was also grown in bush form and plunged in the grass here and there). 

 A species of Sterculia — probably S. nobilis — was in profuse flower, as 

 well as an Abelia that I did not recognize. 



In the open, Lager stroemia indica was just opening its first highly 

 coloured blossoms, the plant being in luxuriant growth. Hydrangea 

 paniculata was grouped in masses, and of the purest possible white, 

 better than we usually see it in England. Desmodium penduliflorum 

 (syn. Lespedeza bicolor) was thriving well. Of Diospyrus KaJci there 

 were several specimens which made me quite envious. Hibiscus sinensis 

 was doing well with many flowers to expand. The upright Cypress, such 

 a fine feature in the Italian landscape, was planted in permanent 

 situations with telling effect. 



Passing from the mansion, the lawn is broken up into shady glades 

 and walks where the grass, somewhat mossy, is not kept so close as 

 we see it in English gardens, a system that we might, I think, adopt 

 more than we do with distinct advantage, both in ultimate effect and in 

 the saving of labour. In a sheltered spot — i.e. sheltered from the 

 prevailing winds — I noted a grand mass in vigorous growth of Musa 

 japonica. The pleasure grounds away from the mansion are almost 

 entirely of an undulating character, the natural outcome of their 

 situation upon the lower slopes of the mountain. ' This permits the 

 attainment of many charming effects and of the choice of spots 

 congenial to the growth of various shrubs and trees. Many palms were 

 thus advantageously placed with distinctly good effect ; among them 

 fine specimens of Pritchardia pacifica and of Cliamaerops Fortunei (syn. 

 Trachycarpus excelsus) : the former remarkable for its stout, sturdy stem, 

 and the latter for its height. Of Bamboos there were huge masses 

 of Phyllostachys mitis, which is evidently a favourite form in this 

 locality ; several of these were more than 30 feet in height. There were 

 also P. aurea and P. nigra which were, though not so tall, in fine 

 condition. 



The Coniferae were represented by Araucaria imbricata, dark green in 

 colour, dense in growth, and in more than one instance with cones 

 developing. Cupressus funebris (the Weeping Cypress) first sent to 

 England by Fortune from Northern China, was in good condition and 

 character, especially one very fine specimen such as we rarely see in this 

 country. What struck me as most remarkable among the many fine 

 Coniferae in this garden was an immense spreading growth of Juniperus 

 Sabiua, the original stem of which was only about 4 feet in height 

 (knotted and gnarled in all directions), and at that height put on its 

 drooping habit and covered a space about 50 feet by 40 feet with dense, 

 dark green, healthy foliage. The ground upon which it rested sloped 

 sharply downwards, and when looked at from below was one dense mass of 

 verdure. Among Acacias there were several good plants of A. dealbata 



