i8o 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
much frost, but it is fine in parts of the world 
where light frosts occur almost every night for three 
months, and does well in southern California. It 
is evergreen in some climates, deciduous in others, 
and varies, too, in its season of bloom. 
Periploca, “silk vine,” is a well-known Euro- 
pean twiner. There are lO or ii others in sub- 
tropical Asia and Africa. 
Asclepias has 6o species in North and South 
America with 2 or 3 scattered elsewhere. A few 
of the orange, purple, and white flowered kinds are 
handsome plants. 
Araujia Sericofera is the plant known in gardens 
as physianthus, and the plant known as Schubertia 
grandiflora is now considered as a variety of Araujia 
graveolens. The genus is South American. 
Marsdenia, in 55 species, are sometimes pretty 
shrubs or climbers found in many warm parts of the 
world. M. flavescens is a creamy flowered Aus- 
tralian climber. M. suaveoleus is a shrub from the 
same country, and M. erecta is a small white 
flowered plant from Syria. 
Stephanotis has 14 species in the south of China, 
the Malay Islands, Madagascar, Peru and Cuba. 
S. floribunda does well in southern California and 
is practically the only species grown. S. Thouarsii 
is in European gardens, but rarely flowers. These 
species are superb climbers with fragrant waxy 
white flowers. 
HoyaMz.?, 50 species in the East Indies and other 
Araujia Graveolens. 
parts of Eastern Asia and in tropical and sub- 
tropical Australia. Probably as many as 40 have 
been introduced to cultivation, but they are only 
met with in the best gardens. H. carnosa, the 
Stephanotis Floribunda. 
“wax plant,” is, however, a popular and easily 
managed plant in southern gardens. It has a pretty 
variegated form. Some of the East Indian species 
are epiphytes, even carnosa will attach itself to 
trees or walls like ivy. James MaePherson. 
The Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
has recently issued “Notes on the Eorest Conditions 
of Porto Rico,” by Robert T. Hill of the Geological 
Survey. Mr. Hill, who made his observations in 
January last, says that the island was originally 
covered with forests, from the sea level to the 
mountain summits, though many of them have dis- 
appeared, owing to 300 years of exhaustive cultiva- 
tion of heavy plantation crops. He is of opinion 
that in ten years the cleared slopes of the barren 
mountain sides can be covered with productive 
trees. These forests now contain thirty varieties 
of trees used for timber and fuel, one for cordage, 
eleven for dyeing and tanning, e'ght resinous trees 
and ten yielding fruit. There are seven varieties of 
palms, which are used for sustenance, clothing and 
utensils. The principal trees valuable for fruits 
are the orange, lime, lemon, citron, guava, cashaw, 
anona, corazones, mamey, jobos, alligator pear, 
and mango, and these are common and highly pro- 
ductive all over the island. It is curious that apples, 
plums, pears, cherries, peaches and other trees of 
teniperate'Tlimes do not bear fruit, though they 
take root and grow luxuriantly. The author is of 
opinion thot Porto Rico presents an interesting 
field for the practice of economic forestry, and that 
all of the mountain slopes can be rapidly refor- 
ested. 
