200 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 29, 1857. 
Raised from seeds collected by 
Hartweg in California ; received at 
the Garden June 5th, 1848, and said 
to bo collected in woods near Mon¬ 
terey ; growing twelve feet high. 
This was originally gathered by 
Menzies on the north-west coast of 
America. Douglas found it at Puget 
Sound. It forms an evergreen bush* 
with dense, narrow lanceolate, slightly 
serrated leaves; covered, especially 
on the under side, with transparent, 
glossy, saucer-shaped sunken scales, 
of microscopical dimensions, con¬ 
sisting of a layer of wedge-shaped 
cells, placed obliquely round a com¬ 
mon centre. The flowers are green 
and inconspicuous, in short axillary 
spikes, which eventually bear from 
one to three small globular fruits, 
whose surface is closely studded with 
fleshy, oblong, obtuse grains of a dull 
red colour, and astringent flavour. 
It is a hardy evergreen, growing 
1 freely in any good garden soil, in¬ 
creased by seeds or by layers, in the 
usual way. It flowers in July, and 
produces in September an abundance 
of its little granular fruits. In gar¬ 
dens it is an acquisition, being a 
hardy shrub, with fragrant leaves, 
and well suited for rockwork or for 
the front of a sliubbery.—(. Horticul * 
tural Society's Journal.) 
MYRICA CALIFORNICA. 
! 
NOTES FROM THE CONTINENT.—No. 16. 
MOABIT. 
When speaking of the garden of Herr Borsig (in No. 6), 
I promised to refer to it again on some future occasion ; for 
tins purpose I paid another visit to the garden in the latter 
part of September. I found the conservatory very gay with 
the crimson Begonia diversifolia, and with some plants of 
Salvia splendens , which had been grown out of doors, and 
lifted. There were also a few flowers remaining on some fine 
hybrid varieties of Gladiolus, They were, I believe, raised 
by M. Chuget, of Fontainebleau; the best were Penelope, 
salmon colour, with crimson throat and violet anthers; Hebe, 
flesh colour, with crimson stripe on the lower division of the 
perianth, and faint pencillings on the others; Dr. Andry , 
very distinct, but rather small, clear vermiflion, and yellow; 
j M. Yinchow , beautiful rosy phik; Imperetrice , almost white, 
with delicate violet stripes ; Leon Lequay , rather dull com¬ 
pared with the others, pink, with crimson stripes. Most of 
them had had from eighteen to twenty-four flowers on the 
spike. Several other sorts were quite out of bloom, and these 
had only a few blossoms open; but they were sufficient to 
show what the plants had been. 
In the palm house, a plant of Philodendron pertusum had 
several ripe fruit upon it. They are about a foot long ; and 
the hexagonal green plates, which cover the individual “pips,” 
being removed, disclose a soft pulpy mass, tasting like the 
Banana fruit, but much sweeter, and more juicy. The green 
covering is acrid and blistering to the mouth; so that care 
must be taken as to the part eaten. 
In a small hothouse were several new plants. Aristolochia 
Thivaitesii , very distinct from most others of the same genus ; 
being a small shrub, and producing dense clusters of its 
curious flowers close to the surface of the soil. It flowers in 
spring. Thunb&rgiaSarrisii , a strongly-growing climber, which, 
when allowed to ramble at will, freely produces its drooping j 
racemes of blue flowers. A pretty little silver-veined plant , 
called Niphcea anechtochilicefolia , flowers small, white, with j 
yellow, stamens. Ncegelia Geraldiana , in habit very like j 
Gesnera zebrina, with large leaves curiously mottled with ! 
light and dark green. It would be as well for my English j 
readers to keep in mind that Ncegelia is the name often used 5 
on the continent for Gesneras of the zebrina division; and | 
that they must be careful in buying plants of this sort, or they j 
will only meet with an old acquaintance under a new name. 
The Orchid house is in four divisions : the first, being the 
coolest, is reserved for plants in bloom; as they remain a 
much longer time in perfection here than in the other houses. 
Among them were a fine specimen of Phalcenopsis grandi- 
flora , and the small, but interesting, P. rosea ; the lovely 
Cattleya elegans; Vanda ccerulea, with three long racemes 
of its delicate blue flowers; and Warrea Lindeniana , with 
its upright spikes of wax-like blossoms; but finest of all was 
a magnificent specimen of the best variety of Cattleya Mossier, 
with fifteen heads of flowers, nearly all open. These, with j 
Miltonias, Oncidiums, Cypripediums, &c., were arranged 
most tastefully; with Ferns and Caladiums between them, 
and with some Stanliopeas and Oncidium papilio hanging 
above; the whole producing the effect of an enormous 
bouquet. , ' 
An ornamental sheet of water, near the lower end of the j 
garden, was worth a journey of many miles to see; it was 
one mass of freely-flowering Nymphseas. The refuse, hot 
water from the manufactory close by is conveyed into it by 
pipes, and keeps it at a genial temperature; which is, of course, 
of great service, particularly in spring. These Water Lilies j 
were brought forward in theVietoria house in J une, planted into i 
