202 
Summer Show in July, the chief things | 
shown by nurserymen in the open lawn 
were masses of common variegated 
shrubs. Large pots even were filled j 
with variegated Privets. In Lincoln's j 
Inn Fields lately, under the County i 
Council's system of gardening (the most j 
ridiculous in Europe) a line of common j 
variegated Privet has been planted all 
round the square, the most inartistic 
fringe that could be thought of. Squares 
like that of St James's and Lincoln's Inn 
bear witness to the way these weedy 
shrubs run amok in the finest positions 
in London, and also to the callous ignor- 
ance of those responsible for their care, 
and many country seats show a like re- 
sult. In designing new places and even 
in public gardens, we see this evil system 
of planting quantities of coarse ever- 
green shrubs because they are cheap and 
rapid growers. In this way the cost of 
the formation of these gardens is in a 
great measure wasted, so far as regards 
any artistic point of view, or even from 
that of the simple aim of teaching the 
variety of beautiful shrub-life. 
I went to the Zoological Garden in 
the Regent's Park the other evening — 
a warm and close one — the place had 
been ignorantly planted with Privet in 
many parts and the odour was nauseat- 
ing, and this has a bad effect on people 
who do not know its source. 
Sometimes the stock of evil-doers is 
increased by the grafted shrubs syste- 
matically sent out, as in the case of the 
pontic Rhododendron, which in time 
kills most of the kinds grafted on it, 
and takes their place. Beside a lake I am 
now grubbingupa number of rankOsiers 
which obscure the view. They came 
there as the stocks of Willows which 
havesinceperisheddislikingthe"union" 
and these weeds are now unfortunately 
making a vigorous growth. The use of 
the Osier for grafting ornamental Wil- 
lows leads to much ugliness of this kind. 
Evil-doers are just as rampant among 
herbaceous plants and novelties, half 
the kinds mentioned in catalogues with 
extravagant descriptions, being useless 
for effect. The scope of a botanic gard en 
is different, although even there the re- 
petition of worthless species is a mistake. 
One good plant known tons, well grown 
and well placed , is generally worth many 
novelties. In no case has the grower 
more need to be cautious, than when 
making selections from catalogues of 
perennial plants. * * * 
THE CHINESE TULIP-TREE 
(Liriodejid?^07i chmense) . 
For many years the facts concerning 
this tree were so little known that botan- 
ists have been in no hurry to name it, 
but with our present knowledge there 
is no question of its distinct character. 
Both the American and the Chinese trees 
are equally variable in the shape of their 
leaves. In size, possibly, those of the 
latter are the larger, and they are often 
somewhat glaucous, but it would be 
unwise to attach importance to this fact. 
It is only in the flowers and fruit that 
any real distinction exists. In the Chin- 
ese tree the flowers are only about half 
the size of those of the American species, 
so finely shown (but also reduced about 
one-half) in the engraving. In the flow- 
ers of the oriental tree the petals are nar- 
rower and more widely divergent ; the 
