October 81, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
133 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
Variegated Oleasters. 
The species of Elaeagnus are variously reckoned 
from twelve to twenty-seven in number. These are 
scattered over various parts of the world, some of them 
being natives of South Europe. Most of those under 
cultivation in British gardens, and likewise the most 
ornamental kinds are natives of Japan, and with few 
exceptions very hardy in this country. Last winter 
was rather hard upon the Evergreen kinds, but they 
nevertheless lost very few of their leaves, and the 
new growth made during the past winter completely 
obliterated all traces of damage. The variegated 
forms under notice belong to two species, notable for 
the leathery character of their dark green leaves and 
distinct appearance, whether planted as isolated 
specimens on the lawn, or as a covering to walls to 
which they impart a warm appearance when vegeta¬ 
tion is inactive and the 
bulk of wall climbers are 
naked. They are easily 
increased by layers and 
cuttings, while other spe¬ 
cies which fruit freely may 
be propagated in quantity 
from seeds. On the grass 
they require little or no 
attention, beyond cutting 
away the stray shoots; on 
walls, however, when the 
latter are once covered, 
the breast wood must be 
pruned away occasionally 
to preserve a neat and 
tidy appearance. 
El^eagnus pungens.— 
The leaves of this Japanese 
species are oblong, wavy 
at the margins, leathery, 
deep green above and 
more or less covered with 
scurfy scales above or 
almost naked, while the 
under-surface is silvery 
from a dense layer of 
small scales, dotted over 
with larger rusty ones. 
The variety E. p. variegata 
has a narrow yellow 
margin to its leaves and 
is highly ornamental in 
winter. Sometimes a few 
of the leaves on the small 
shoots are wholly yellow. 
On the other hand E. p. 
aurea marginata has a 
broad, irregular yellow 
band along the margin. 
Altogether different is 
E. p. maculata, which 
has a broad, irregular 
band of pale yellow along 
the centre, fading to 
creamy yellow or silvery 
white after the leaves have 
reached maturity and 
during the winter. A nar¬ 
row green margin bounds 
the large, central blotch, 
and sometimes the upper 
leaves on small branches 
are wholly yellow. Our 
illustration of a spray taken from a plant exhibited 
by Messrs. J. Veitch& Sons, Chelsea, at the Drill Hall 
a few weeks ago, gives a good idea of the appearance 
and variability of the variegation. The shrub is of 
dwarfer habit than the above-mentioned kinds, and 
being bushy, and very freely branched it might be 
put to a variety of purposes with good effect, espec¬ 
ially in winter when rich colouring out of doors is 
comparatively scanty. 
E. glabra. —The leaves of this species are ovate- 
oblong, smooth above, and evergreen ; the under¬ 
surface is quite silvery with a close felting of circular 
scales, studded all over with larger rusty ones. The 
shrub varies from 3 ft. to 6 ft., is a native of Japan, 
and may be used for the same purposes as E. pun¬ 
gens. It has also given rise to a number of varie¬ 
gated forms in gardens, somewhat similar to the 
yarieties of the last named species, as far as the range 
of colour is concerned. E. g. maculata has a broad, 
pietjium, yellow band, and a good bush of it js 
very effective, The leaves of E. g. variegata are 
margined with yellow. 
Desmodium penduliflorum. 
There are some 125 species of Desmodium scattered 
over various parts of the world, and consisting of 
perennial herbs, shrubs and subshrubs. That under 
notice is decidedly of shrubby habit, and grows from 
4 ft. to 6 ft. in height, making rampant and vigorous 
shoots producing an abundance of flowers in racemes 
terminating the short side branches all along the 
stems, as if they were greatly elongated panicles. 
Our illustration (p. 129) was taken from a plant exhibi¬ 
ted at the Drill Hall in September, by Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, Chelsea. It had by that time become a showy 
plant, and judging from the number of unflowered 
buds would have continued in flower for several 
weeks. The Pea-shaped flowers were of a deep rosy- 
purple, and sufficiently large to make the plant both 
conspicuous and ornamental. Its lively appearance 
EL,®AGNUS PUNGENS MACULATA, 
would serve greatly to lighten the shrubbery borders 
which often present a dull appearance towards the 
end of the summer and autumn. The leaves consist 
of three oblong leaflets not unlike those of a magni¬ 
fied Clover and are therefore very distinct from those 
of the bulk of shrubs seen in gardens. The species 
is a native of Northern China and Japan and is 
therefore hardy in this country. 
SOPHORA JAPONICA. 
There are several forms of this tree in gardens, 
including the Weeping Sophora, but whether the 
trees are grown for differences in form or habit, the 
foliage is always of a rich dark green, and very 
marked in a landscape. As the leaves are amongst 
the very last to burst into verdure in spring, so are 
they amongst the most enduring and dogged in the 
autumn, defying wind and rain until frost settles 
them. Notwithstanding a certain similarity between 
this tree and the common or False Acacia the habit 
is altogether different, the growth slower and tjre 
foliage a darker green. The last named tree flowers 
about midsummer, while the Japan Sophora is 
amongst the latest to come into bloom. There is 
even some weeks of difference between the flowering 
of some individuals and others, the later trees being 
hardly yet in bloom, although the flowers in most 
cases are on the point of expanding. Where a 
broad-headed and bushy tree of a rich dark green is 
required for a landscape, planters would do well to 
give this a trial as it is very hardy, and requires little 
or no attention to keep it in form. 
HARDY FRUIT CULTURE. 
Many of your readers were doubtless much interested 
in Mr. Nutting’s excellent though short paper on the 
above subject at p. 104. His remarks about Covent 
Garden are, from what I have heard, very much to 
the purpose, but being only an amateur with but a 
somewhat small fruit gar¬ 
den the question of dispo¬ 
sal does not concern me 
personally, though it is of 
paramount importance to 
the trade grower. 
The point in Mr. Nutt¬ 
ing’s paper I wish to 
"drive home," is the 
question of selection of 
varieties. My favourite 
hobby being the growing 
of Apples (more particu¬ 
larly culinary sorts), about 
five years ago I planted 
about fifteen varieties, 
one tree of each; they 
were nice little bushes on 
the Paradise or Nonsuch 
stock. My soil is a deep 
loam, somewhat retentive, 
and the subsoil chalk, and 
I find it is necessary to 
root prune certain sorts 
frequently, to prevent too 
gross growth. The trees 
were planted in the natural 
soil, which was an old 
meadow, a hole being dug 
about 2 ft. 6 in. deep ; the 
turf was chopped up and 
mixed with the other soil, 
and no manure whatever 
was or has been used. 
Soon certain varieties 
came to the front with 
regard to cropping, viz., 
Lane’s Prince Albert ; this 
I consider the best culin¬ 
ary Apple we have, it is 
large, extremely hand¬ 
some, a certain cropper, 
and has such a beautiful 
flavour and texture when 
cooked, requiring very 
little sugar. Stirling 
Castle is, perhaps, the 
heaviest cropper we have 
the fruits are handsome, 
shapely and good all ways. 
Saltmarsh’s Queen is a re¬ 
markably handsome free 
cropping Apple. Warner’s 
Iving,“veryfineand large;" 
Lord Suffield, excellent for early work; Cox’s 
Pomona, very handsome and good, also for dessert 
when fresh from the tree ; Manx Codlin, a heavy 
cropper, though somewhat small but good, being 
early ; Dumelow's Seedling, an excellent late keep¬ 
ing Apple, and one we cannot well do without, is 
with me rather a shy bearer, unless root-pruned 
every two years ; Blenheim Orange is rather a shy 
bearer, and almost without exception a biennial 
cropper. It may be said my list is extremely small; 
this I admit, but I have Apples the greater part of 
the year, or at least for nine months. 
Mr. Nutting’s remarks as to getting advice from 
your neighbours as to the best sorts to plant is good, 
and I know from the freemasonry which exists 
amongst gardeners that they are only too pleased to 
impart knowledge, still I hold that a little distance 
even makes a great difference in soil and situation, 
and if intending planters can wait, say three years, jt 
js much better to plant wjiat I will call a few pilots ( 
