176 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



on the other hand, favour the vegetative organs. In sheltered wet 

 situations, trees bloom later than on exposed and dry ones. 



Other suggested influences which may favour early flowering 

 are too strong or weak insolation, an injury to some part of the plant, 

 general weakness, unripe seed, wrong time of planting, and over- 

 crowding in seedbed. 



Such early flowering often precedes death, as e.g. with one to 

 three year old Oaks, Elder, and Acer mhruni. Other plants which flower 

 at two years old are Potentilla fruticosa, CoUitea, Cydonia Maulei, and 

 Ceanothus americanus. Herr Machet finds that basal shoots of Lilac 

 de Marly {Syringa vulgaris chamaethyrsus ?) bloom in their first spring. 

 Hybrids of perennials may bloom in the first year after sowing, though 

 their parents do not do so until the second or third year. " Hunger 

 forms," as e.g. of Papaver Rhoeas and Air a praecox, scarcely an inch 

 high, are also remarkably precocious. The ' Marronnier du vingt 

 Mars ' in the Tuileries at Paris used to flower at least fourteen days 

 before its neighbours. Roses often blossom at a very early stage 

 of growth, e.g. Rosa indica, after only the first leaf has developed — 

 a Bengal rose 5 J cm. in height and with four leaves ; Rosa 

 polyantha muUiflora, first year in nursery ; hybrids of ' Frau Carl 

 Druschke ' X * White Maman Crochet,' seed sown December 1910, 

 flowered June 1911, and ' Caroline Testout ' x ' Frau Carl Druschke,' 

 sown February 1911, bloomed June 1911 (Veitch). 



So also Swietenia Mahagoni sometimes flowers at a very early age. 

 Carica Papaya has been known to ripen a fruit in six months. Other 

 instances are Cotinus at 25 cm. in height ; Pinus canariensis at 3 feet ; 

 Podocarpus Totara at a height of 3 inches ; Dendro calamus, a bamboo 

 which reaches 100 feet, blooms at thirteen months old and when 

 I foot in height. Dwarf plants of Melia arguta, only 6-7 cm. high, 

 bore a large flower which, however, was abnormal. So also Epacridaceae 

 (Styphelia, Brachyloma) i J inch long ; Needhamia Pumilio, Penta- 

 chondra pumila, and Simsia tenuifolia flower in their first year. 

 So also Astartea fascicularis, Hakea amhigua, Leucopogon gibbosus, 

 Petrophila diversifolia, and Laportea usneoides var. nana are sometimes 

 very precocious flowerers. — G. F. S. E. 



Prickly Pears of Australia. By J. H. Maiden {Agr. Gaz. 

 N.S.W. vol. xxiv. pt. X. pp. 863-866, 973-974, and 1073-1076 ; 4 figs. ; 

 3 col. plates). — Opuntia dejecta, 0. Dillenii, and 0. monocantha are 

 described.— 5. E. W, 



Primula pseudosikkimensis. Anon. (Garden, June 14, 1913 ; 

 P- 303)- — ^The Himalayan Cowslip, P. sikkimensis, is one of the most 

 graceful of the Primulas inhabiting wet, boggy localities in the Indian 

 mountains at 12,000 to 17,000 feet. P. pseudosikkimensis , v/hich has 

 been flowering at Kew, differs little from the type except that it 

 is a native of China, stronger in constitution and of more robust 

 habit, and they are without doubt geographical_forms of the same 



