PARK AND CEMETERY 
37 (. 
land has favored the distribution of several genera 
around all the continents in the southern hemisphere, 
in the southern Guetum, Araucaria and Dacrydium are 
perhaps the only genera found on more than one con- 
tinent. 
It seems to have been otherwise in the ancient world 
whose climate probably varied greatly during immense 
periods of time, for it may be remarked that but few 
of the impressions on stones are identical with living 
species. 
That the remains were Coniferales seems plain, and 
whole tribes have been buried if we may credit the 
CONIFERS AT TIMBER LIMIT, MT. BAKER, COL. 
fossil botanies, and yet the collections seem a mere 
handful. What may not an old continent like Africa 
reveal when bored into and dug over ? But specula- 
tions such as these are barred here and can only be 
touched upon enough to stimulate the curiosity. The 
books are almost endless and cjuite confusing. Only 
the best should be followed, and even they admit of 
simplification. The synonomy of Coniferales is killing, 
and hardly any of it will be used in the following 
notices of the genera. Anyone wanting synonyms 
should consult the cheap Kew guides — and then only 
to avoid it. But the Kew index and its supplements 
must be the final resort for species not in cultivation. 
Ephedra (“joint firs”) in twenty species or more, 
natives of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate Asia 
and America, and of parts of Europe chiefly bordering 
the Mediterranean. They are trailing, sometimes 
sub-scandent, shrubs with slender jointed branches 
similar to Casuarina. 
I remember when E. distachya was the only species 
at Kew, and regarded as a great curiosity. Now they 
catalogue E. fragilis and E. helvetica from S. Europe, 
E. foliata from N. Asia, E. Gerardiana from the Hima- 
layas, E. trifurca from the S. W. United States, and 
E. Americana from Chili. Besides trifurca E. pedun- 
culata, E. Torreyana, E. Antisyphilitica, and the dry 
fruited E. Nevadensis are natives of the Mexican bor- 
der. E. altissima with showy scarlet berries said to 
have been from Northern Africa, was cultivated in a 
few gardens in the south of England years ago. 
Guetum in fifteen species are natives of the tropics 
of America, Asia and Africa, but are scarcely at all 
known in gardens. 
IVehuitschia is monotypic and indigenous to south- 
western tropical Africa. It is one of the plant wonders 
of the world. An African traveler named Anderson 
discovered this plant, but a Dr. Welwitsch sent a speci- 
men to Kew about 1863. It arrived more like a bat- 
tered old saddle with the flaps all torn to ribbons than 
anything, and they placed it in the timber museum. I 
believe the stems would retain vitality a long time, like 
Cycas. I vividly remember the speculation as to how a 
live plant could be cultivated. I have heard they re- 
ceived one at Kew in later years, but don’t know if they 
managed to grow it. It roots deeply, and the stems 
are largely buried in the sands in the manner of Am- 
mobroma. The cones are said to be crimson and abun- 
dantly produced from the top edges of the stems, just 
within the leaves, which trail ofif on either side for eight 
or ten feet. Its native country, Damaraland, has the 
Kalahari desert on its eastern boundary, a region cor- 
responding with southern Mexico as to latitude but 
dry as driest Arizona. James MacPherson. 
SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS, 
Experiments are being made looking to the raising 
of hybrid oranges, having for one parent, the hardy 
one. Citrus trifoliata, the hope being to secure a hardy 
one with edible fruit. As is generally known, the 
hard}" one is too bitter to be eaten. Great hopes of 
success are entertained. 
Clerodendron trichotomum is a lovely summer flow- 
ering shrub, perfectly hardy in the vicinity of Philadel- 
phia, and which flowers profusely toward the close of 
August and later. The flowers are in cluster, crearii 
colored with pink calix. 
October is a good month to plant oaks, first prun- 
ing them closely. Where the ground freezes hard in 
winter, place a mound of common soil around the 
freshly set trees before winter comes, sufficient to keep 
out frost, removing it in spring. It almost ensures 
growth. 
Nursery stock bought, and which for any reason 
