January 12. THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 273 
WEEKLY CALENDAR 
51 
D 
. 
n 
w 
JANUARY 12-18, 1854. 
Weather near London in 
Barometer. Thermo. Wind. 
1853. 
Bain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon Moon’s 
R. & S. Age. 
Clock 
af. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
12 
( Th 
Julus pusillus ; grass roots. 
29 503—29.412 
53—38 
s w. 
24 
4 a 8 
13 a 4 
6 51 13 
8 38 
12 
13 
F 
Craspedosoma Raulinsii. 
211.454—29.382 
48—45 
s.w. 
* 
15 
7 45 14 
9 0 
13 
14 
s 
Oxford Term begins. 
29.77e-29.072 
47—34 
XV. 
01 
3 
16 
rises. Q 
9 22 
14 
15 
Son 
2 Sunday after Epipiiany. 
29.406—29.393 
47—31 
s.w. 
12 
2 
18 
5 a 18 16 
9 44 
15 
16 
M 
Lithobius forficatus ; stones. 
29.392-28.996 
45—33 
s. 
23 
1 
19 
6 29 1 17 
10 4 
16 
17 
To 
Lithobius variegntus. 
2f). 540—29.157 
42—34 
N.W. 
— 
0 
21 
7 42 1 18 
10 24 
17 
18 
W 
Lithobius vulgaris. 
29.943—29.762 
41—41 
N. 
08 
VII 
22 
8 57 19 
10 44 
18 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations durina: the last twenty-six years, the averaee hiehest and lowest tern- 
peratures of these days are 42° and 31.3* respectively. The greatest heat, 60 , 
14tli in 1838. During the period 104 days were fine, and on 85 rain fell. 
occurred on the 14th in 1849 ; and the lowest cold, 4°, 
on the j 
NEW PLANTS. 
Metternichia PRiNCirxs (Princely Mellernichia). 
At first sight this plant has the appearance of a loosely- 
: flowered Azalea indica, but it belongs to the Natural Order 
' of Nightshades, and to Pentandria Monogynia of Lirmams, 
; being grouped in the Natural System with Sessea and 
I Oestrum. It is in our stoves an evergreen shrub of about 
' three feet high. It was named by M. Mikan, its discoverer, 
I in honour of the Austrian Prince Metternich-Winneburg. 
j I ts flowers are white, with greenish tubes, and “ powerfully 
I and deliciously fragrant." It blooms during August in our 
stoves. ( Botanical Magazine, t. 1747.) Some authorities 
have stated, that in its native country it attains the height 
of twenty-five feet, but Mr. Gardiner, curator of the Ceylon 
Botanical Garden, and who had seen it growing about Rio 
Janeiro, says it is a shrub smaller than Sliftia chrysantha, 
] the average stature of which is eleven feet. He justly 
j describes the flower as “ not unlike those of a Datura." 
Abies bracteata {Bracled Silver Fir). 
We are so utilitarian that w'e rejoice over the introduction 
of a new hardy timber-tree much more than over the 
I appearance among us of the most beautiful new flowers. 
I Bight glad are we, therefore, to find that this noble example 
of the true Pines is now settled among us, and may be 
purchased of Messrs, Veitch. It was introduced by their 
CCLXXVI., VoLi XI. 
able and successful collector, Mr. Lobb, who we congra¬ 
tulate upon having returned to England in health and safety. 
It is a native of California, where it was first discovered by 
Hr. Coulter, and subsequently by Douglas, in latitude 30°, 
and at an elevation of 6,000 feet. Mr. Lobb thus describes 
it:— 
“ ‘ This beautiful and singular tree forms here (he writes 
from the Californian forests) the most conspicuous orna¬ 
ment of the arborescent vegetation. On the western 
slopes, towards the sea, it occupies the deep ravines, and 
attains the height of 120 to 150 feet, and from one to two 
feet in diameter: the trunk is as straight as an arrow ; the 
lower branches decumbent; the branches above are nu¬ 
merous, short, and thickly set, forming a long tapering 
pyramid or spire, which gives to the tree that peculiar ap¬ 
pearance which is not seen in any other kinds of the Pinus 
tribe. When standing far apart, and clear from the sur¬ 
rounding trees, the lower branches frequently reach the 
ground, and not a portion of the trunk is seen from the 
base to the top. 
“ 1 Along the summit of the central ridges, and about the 
highest peaks, in the most exposed and coldest places ima¬ 
ginable, where no other Pine makes its appearance, it 
stands the severity of the climate without the slightest per¬ 
ceptible injury, growing in slaty rubbish, which to all 
appearance is incapable of supporting vegetation. In such 
situations it becomes stunted and bushy; but even there 
the foliage maintains the same beautiful dark green colour, 
and when seen at a distance it appears more like a hand¬ 
somely-grown Cedar than a Pine. No doubt it is one of 
the hardiest trees of the Californian vegetation, and is 
equally well adapted for clothing the mountain-tops as the 
sheltered valley. 
“ ‘ The cones, too, are quite as singular as the growth of 
the tree is beautiful; when fully developed, the scales, as 
well as the long leaf-like bracts, are covered with globules 
of thin transparent resin, presenting to the eye a curious 
and striking object. Douglas was mistaken in saying that 
this Fir does not occur below 0000 feet of elevation ; on the 
contrary, it is found as low as 3000 feet, where it meets 
Taxodium sempervirens.’ —Perhaps the introduction of no 
Coni/era, not even that of the Deodar, has excited a more 
lively interest in horticulture and arboriculture than that of 
the present species, with its porcupine-like fruits.” — 
(Botanical Magazine, t. 4740.) 
Mr. Lobb is believed to have also iutioduced another new 
Conifer from California, for which Dr. Lindley has proposed 
the name Wellinglonia gigantea. This, however, is pre¬ 
mature, for it is not yet clear 1 that it has generic characters 
sufficiently distinct to separate it from Sequoia. In the 
Gardeners' Chronicle, Mr. Lobb thus speaks of this “ Giant 
of the Forest ’’— 
“This magnificent evergreen tree, from its extraordinary 
height and large dimensions, may be termed the monarch 
of the Californian forest. It inhabits a solitary district on 
the elevated slopes of the Sierra Nivida, near the head 
waters of the Stanislau and San Antonio rivers in lat. 38° 
N., long. 120° 10' W., at an elevation of 5000 feet from 
the level of the sea. From 80 to 90 trees exist, all within 
the circuit of a mile, and these varying from 250 feet to 320 
feet in height and from 10 to 20 feet in diameter. Their 
manner of growth is much like Sequoia (Taxodium) sem¬ 
pervirens, some are solitary, some are in pairs, while some, 
