365 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 19, 1861. 
consider you to be the royal family of greenhouse shrubs.” Then 
he placed his olfactory organ very near to our pretty faces. From 
the three first named he could not inhale perfume ; then turning 
to me with a look of despair, anon he exclaimed, Oh, delicious! 
He had seen us in bloom many times, and only just now made 
the discovery that we, Camellia tricolors, possess fragrance as 
well as beauty. For a moment he thought it might be a freak 
of mine, and as I had an elder sister in the same house in beauti¬ 
ful bloom, he stepped up to her to ascertain the truth of my dis¬ 
closure, and soon satisfied himself that our every bloom possesses 
the same delicate fragrance. Fearing this is not generally known 
amongst our friends, I take the liberty to ask if you, Sir, will 
kindly publish it, trusting it will be the means of increasing the 
numbers of our family and admirers.— Camellia Tricolor. 
NICE, ITS CLIMATE AND PLANTS. 
No. 2. 
Nice, Maech 4, 1861.—In the expressive language of Scrip¬ 
ture it may now be truly said of this place, “The winter is 
past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, 
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the 
turtle is heard in the land.” The weather is magnificent— 
almost a cloudless sky. The thermometer in the sun generally 
above 100° ; whilst in the shade it is deliciously cool, ranging in 
the daytime between 55° and 62°, the night temperature being 
from 45 3 to 50°, so that it is just warm enough within doors to 
render fires unnecessary. Yiolets are in great profusion both 
cultivated and wild. In the neighbourhood of Villa Franca the 
air is literally perfumed with them, great numbers of the Double 
Palermo variety being grown for scent-distillation. Children 
meet the visitor almost everywhere with them for sale at a 
halfpenny (sous), per bunch. 
Since I last wrote new varieties of the wild Anemones have 
made their appearance in the surrounding country; amongst 
which the double scarlet (Regina duplex), semi-double pink 
(A. stellata), single scarlet with yellow band inside (A. pavonia), 
are especially deserving of notice. The wild flowers now also 
include Tulips, large red (T. oculus solis), and a smaller kind 
with sharp-pointed petals, white with carmine red (T. Clusiana), 
Primroses, Hyacinths (H. orientalis), both blue ar.d white, 
Narcissus of many sorts, particularly the fine milk-white (N. 
polyanthus), and the N. Tazetta, which is perhaps the most 
common—white with orange nectary in the centre. On the hills 
the yellow C'oronilla is very showy ; and also the purple Stocks 
(Mathiola annua), and bright yellow Wallflowers (Cheiranthus 
cheiri), on the rocks. The Asphodelus fistolosus and Aristolochia 
rotunda are in blossom near the sea at Petite Afrique—a rather 
warm locality. The Black Thorn (Prunus spinosa), and other 
kinds of Plums, also the standard Peach, Apricot, and Necta¬ 
rines are in blossom, the Almonds being fully out in leaf. 
A plan has been adopted here amongst some of the visitors 
for the investigation of wild flowers, which might, perhaps, be 
advantageously followed as the spring advances in some of the 
English country districts. About twenty ladies and gentlemen 
meet weekly and produce any specimens of plants or flowers 
they may find during their country rambles. These form the 
subjects of mutual discussion, the names and other particulars 
being given by those parties who are most conversant with them 
for the information and instruction of the others. Considerable 
interest is excited, and also amusement and instruction afforded. 
I would strongly recommend some such proceeding to any of 
your readers who may be circumstanced so as to admit of 
adopting it, and should be happy to afford any further infor¬ 
mation in my power as to the mode of carrying it out into 
practice. It affords, what is often much needed for the young, 
a source of healthy recreation and exercise combined with profit¬ 
able instruction. We are also at the same time, in some degree, 
complying with the exhortation of our Saviour, “ Consider the 
Lilies of the field how they grow,” enforced by the additional 
reflection, that “ even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
like one of these.” 
From reading Mr. Beaton’s accounts from time to time of his 
Experimental Garden, it has occurred to me that something in 
this way might be done so as to ascertain, from the experience 
of this country and climate, what plants would continue in 
flower during the winter, when they are so much needed in 
English conservatories, where a similar artificial climate may be 
maintained. It might be a very useful object for the investi¬ 
gation of the authorities of the new Gardens at Kensingtonj 
which will, I presume, take almost a national lead in such 
matters. On a future occasion I may return to the subject (if 
you concur with me in thinking it desirable) ; but in the mean¬ 
time I would state that in the beginning of next month there 
is to be held here a general show for the various productions— ■ 
floricultural, horticultural, and agricultural—of this district of 
the country, which will, I presume, afford an opportunity for 
acquiring much practical information on these subjects; so that 
it would almost make it desirable for some competent com¬ 
missioner to be sent over on purpose. 
I may mention a fact in natural history, which will, perhaps, 
be interesting to your ornithological readers, as your cosmopolite 
journal embraces a great variety of subjects. During the winter 
a species of Swallow has been almost as numerous as we see 
them in England in summer. They are not, however, the same 
as our summer Swallow, being of a browner colour and not so 
elegant in form—rather more like a Marten. I am informed 
they are the Hirundo rupestris , which, after having passed the 
warm season amongst the mountains, come to spend the winter 
in the basin of Nice, and appear to be indigenous in this country. 
They live, like the others, on flying insects, which from the 
warmth of the climate they find here.— Edward COPLAND. 
NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 
Puya GRANDIFLOEA {Large-flowered Puya). 
One of the most striking of the Natural Order Bromeliaceee, 
Hexandria Monogynia. Native of Real del Monte.— ( Botanical 
Magazine, t. 5234.) 
aEchmea Melinonii ( Copious-flowered Mchmea ): 
Nat. Ord., Bromeliacese. Hexandria Monogynia of Linneeus. 
Native of South America. Thyrsus densely crowded with crim¬ 
son flowers tipped with black, looking before opened very much 
like the seeds of Abrus precatorius, so well known as beads under 
the name of “ Crab’s eyes.”— {Ibid., t. 5235.) 
Coleus inflatus {Inflated Coleus). 
Nat. Ord., Labiatse. Didynamia Gymnosperma of Linnaeus. 
Native of Ceylon. Its pale lilac flowers open in December, and 
are then welcome, though not showy.— {Ibid., t. 5236.) 
Impatiens Walkebi {Walker's Balsam). 
Nat. Ord., Balsamineae. Linn., Pentandria Monogynia. Dis¬ 
covered by General Walker in Ceylon. Flowers scarlet, and 
beautifully contrasting with the dark foliage.— {Ibid., t. 5237.) 
Polygonum chinense foliis pictis {Painted-leaved Chinese 
Buckwheat). 
Nat. Ord., Polygonaceae. Linn., Octandria Trigynia. Native 
of China, Japan, and many parts of East Indies. “ Some leaves 
are purple on the same stem with the green ones, and both are 
marked with broad white lines in the form of the letter V, mar¬ 
gined in the inside with a broad line of deep purple or blackish- 
green.” Really worth culture as a greenhouse plant.— {Ibid., 
t. 5238.) 
THE CAULIFLOWER. 
Few vegetables form a more agreeable adjunct to the dinner- 
table than good Cauliflowers, and to have them in excellent con¬ 
dition for a long period has been the aim of all good cultivators 
from a very remote period. 
The advice given for their growth in old garden works is, in 
most cases, applicable at the present day; but it is fair to say 
some additional improvements have been made which it is right 
should be mentioned, and as our seasons do not always present 
that long-continued feature of severity in winter (though taking 
an example of the present one some of them do), we may be 
allowed to modify some of the conditions for winter preservation 
which the old writers on gardening matters seemed to regard aa 
absolutely necessary to success, although in seasons like the 
present one they have, doubtless, acted on the right side. 
Like that of all the other members of the Cabhage family, the 
origin of this useful vegetable is but imperfectly known, neither 
is it worth while to trace it backwards; for most likely its 
present condition of usefulness was only arrived at by slow and 
oft-repeated sowings of seed from the most perfect specimen, 
until the liabilities of the plant to sport to its original wild 
condition had, in a great measure, been overcome. That this was 
