July 23, 1MJ2. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
741 
gracillinum fronds. Miss Marshall came in second, 
with a very light and elegant arrangement, with 
Chard's wire stands as the central objects ; and Miss 
Steel was third. With a similar sized table decorated 
with British wild flowers only, Miss Steele was first 
with a singularly pleasing arrangement; and Miss 
Marshall was again a good second. Mr. W. G. 
Bailey, a local florist, was very highly commended 
for a capital group of plants, bouquets, and other 
floral adornments. 
-- 
TREES AND SHRUBS 
FOR THE SEASIDE. 
For some days past I have been noting down a list of 
such trees and shrubs as I have found best suited for 
withstanding the peculiarities of temperature and 
atmosphere with which they have to contend when 
planted by the seaside. The notes are taken all 
tlong the coast from Dover to Ramsgate, butparticu- 
here is entirely chalk, with in most places hardly a 
loot of soil atop.— A. D. IVebster, F.R.S.E. 
--- 
ON PACKING FRUIT. 
What a sad sight it is to see, as we have too often 
done lately, finely grown Grapes hanging in 
fruiterers’ windows, reduced very much in value 
through bad and slovenly packing, and Peaches 
bruised and disfigured from the same failing. Two 
causes may be assigned for this, viz., loose packing 
and wrong material. Soft moss is often recom¬ 
mended, but at the best this is not particularly clean, 
or soft and pliable in texture, and in many places 
even in the country is very difficult to procure. 
The finely-cut wood-wool lately introduced is not 
perfect, indeed most unsuitable for Grape packing, 
except to fill up a box for the bunches to rest upon 
with a sheet of paper between. For Peach packing 
I have never discarded cotton wadding, thin t trips of 
superior. I got my supply from Mr. David Thom¬ 
son, Nurseryman, Edinburgh.— Stirling. 
-•*-- 
CORNUS KOUSA. 
We are now in a position to give an illustration, 
from a clever sketch by Mr. J. W. Page, of 
this highly ornamental shrub, which was exhibited at 
the Drill Hall last month by Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Chelsea, and which was honoured by a First- 
class Certificate. The plant was originally intro¬ 
duced from Japan in 1847, under the name of 
Benthamia japonica, and although less well known 
than B. fragifera, it is probably the hardier of the 
two. It was figured and described in Siebold's Flora 
Japonica I., p. 38, t. 16, published in 1835, as 
Benthamia japonica, but that genus has long since 
been merged in Cornus. The specific name Kousa 
is doubtless of Japanese origin, and was given by a 
European botanist, Burger, Ion? r esident in Japan. 
Cornus Kousa. 
larly at that favoured and botanically interesting 
spot, St. Margaret’s Bay. 
Probably the Elder does better than any other tree, 
next to it coming the Sycamore, Black Poplar, White 
and Cane Willows, Evergreen Oak, Laburnum, 
Scotch and Austrian Pines. Amongst shrubs the 
much-praised Tamarisk, Sea Buckthorn, St. John's 
wort, Fuchsia globosa, the Snowberry, Flowering 
Currant, Mahonia aquifolia, Holly, Mexican Orange 
flower (Choisya ternata), Lilacs, and the Tea Tree 
(Lycium Europaeum). 
Of climbers Ampelopsis Veitchii, the common Ivy, 
Clematis montana and C. vitalba, and nearly all the 
forms of Honeysuckle. These have succeeded well 
out of a very long list of kinds that have been tried. 
Junipers do well naturally on the chalk cliffs, and a 
little way inland the Wayfaring tree (Viburnum 
lantana) takes up most of the hedges and does re¬ 
markably well. Of course it should be remembered 
in connection with the above list that the formation 
which are wrapped round each fruit after they have 
been partly encased in tissue paper. We leave 
a third of the fruit, the top part, exposed, and when 
placed in the boxes they look as if closely fixed 
in little nests. Over all we put a sheet of soft paper, 
and then fill up with wadding, gently pressing it down 
so as to prevent any movement of the fruits. 
My object at present in referring to a matter often 
discussed by gardeners is to call attention to a 
material I have in stock now, and with which I am 
much pleased. I think it is the same as is often 
used in the packing of brittle confectionery ; in any 
case it consists of the fine silky shavings of some 
sort of tissue paper. It is as soft as wadding, and is 
certainly the most satisfactory material I have ever 
handled for fruit packing, being clean, elastic, 
exceedingly cheap and as light as down. The old 
kind of soft paper shavings so much used in the 
packing of fruit for market is better than many sub¬ 
stances in use, but what I now' refer to is vastly 
In its native habitats, the mountains of Kiusin and 
Nippon, it is found at elevations between 2,000 ft 
and 4,000 ft. 
Messrs. Veitch’s plants were obtained through 
Mr. Maries about twelve or fourteen years ago. In 
England it flowers in June. The shoots terminate 
in a capitate inflorescence surrounded by four large, 
ovate, white bracts, the whole of which to the un-. 
educated eye appears like a single flower. The little 
roundish pieces in the centre are all separate flowers, 
which are followed by fruits that grow together in a 
mass which resembles or may be compared to a 
Strawberry, as in Benthamia fragifera. The fruits of 
Cornus Kousa are yellowish-red. The leaves are 
ovate, and drawn out to a long, slender point. Their 
arrangement is somewhat peculiar. The stem ends 
in a single inflorescence, on each side of which is a 
leaf. A short shoot arises from the axil of each of 
the latter and bears a single pair of leaves, so that 
six of the latter are arranged round each inflorescence. 
