890 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 24, 1903. 
of tlie lawn or shrubbery where, it may happen to be grown. 
Several species of Arbutus are in cultivation, but the only one 
that fairly rivals that under notice in decorative value is A. 
Andrachne, which is a. much taller-growing plant, and less 
suitable where space is limited. 
The Strawberry tree is a native of some parts of Ireland, 
particularly in the bushy and woodland places around Lake 
Ivillarney, where it attains a considerable height. There has 
always been some- doubt- as to- whether it- is truly a native-, but 
a recent- good authority on the subject thinks it is truly a 
wildling of the wilds, shunning rather than seeking the haunts 
of men. The- very fact of its- growing so readily there and 
maintaining it-self for centuries- is good evidence that- it. may 
be grown in various parts of Britain to great advantage. We 
the shoots produced during the past season. The habit of the 
shrub is slender and graceful, but requires no staking, and 
should therefore be planted by itself, where the arching 
branches and the rich profusion of flowers may be seen to the 
be-st advantage. The varieties of Syrian Mallow, sometimes 
known in nurseries under the name of Althaea i'rutex, hut 
correctly named Hibiscus syria-cus, are- of great value for garden 
ornamentation during the autumn months, provided the 
weather is sufficiently mild no-t to destroy the flowers. They 
are always late in, our climate, but- in warm seasons they come 
in somewhat earlier than this. The variety sent us is H. s. 
totus albus, with pure white flowers, which recently received 
an Award of Merit- from the Royal Horticultural Society. 
The Strawberry Tree evidently flowers well at Aldenham 
ARBUTUS IJNEDO, OR STRAWBERRY TREE, SHOWING FLOWERS AND FRUIT. (See p . 889.) 
he-lieve, however, tha-t some people, have a, difficulty in getting 
the plant to fruit, even although it flowers freely. 
The photograph accompanying this .was taken by Mr. Ch-as. 
Jones, of the gardens, Ote Hall, Burgess Hill, Sussex, where it- 
flowers and fruits freely enough. It also- flowers and fruits in 
Surre-y and Herts, as we; experienced the other week from 
specimens -sent, us from Aldenham House, Elstree. The plants 
are in flower now, and both the type and it-s varieties m-ay 
continue to make a- display for some; weeks- to come. At the 
s-ame time, the berries- or fruits of last year are about- half 
grown, and will ripen later on, possibly well into the spring; 
but- the fact that flowers and fruits may be seen upon the 
plants at the same time gives them a highly ornamental char¬ 
acter, and reminds one of the behaviour of the Orange family. 
On the Editor’s Table. 
On our table is; a very interesting lot of flowering shrubs 
which become doubly valuable a-t this season of the- year, 
when flowers of this character a-re relatively very scarce. Le-s- 
pedesa, Sieboldi, better known in gardens as De-sm odium p-em- 
duliflorum, has veiy dark purple flowers with a- paler keel and 
profusely produced in. racemes from the axils o-f the leaves on 
House, Elstree, Herts, from whence Mr. A. Thatcher sends us 
the specimens. The sprays carried flowers and fruits varying 
from four to eight in a cluster and a-t present just- about- half 
grown. We are pleased to- note the healthy green, character of 
the foliage. A veiy showy shrub- at- the present tune is Caiy- 
opteris Mastaoaathus, a member of the Verbena family, willi 
bright blue flowers produced in great quantity in. cymes in the 
axils of the upper- leaves of the stems-. The leaves themselves 
are- dark green on the upper surface and silvery white on the 
under surface, making a beautiful contrast. In co-id clay soils 
this requires to- be planted in a- warm situation, not being so 
hardy as the others here mentioned. The flowers remind us of 
the scent of Lavender to- some extent. Very useful also- is 
Abelia. chinensis, known in gardens under various o-the-r names, 
such as A. rup-estris, A. uniflora, etc. The white flowers, 
slightly flushed with rose, make a beautiful contrast- against- 
t-he bronzy-red calyx. The dark green shining leaves are 
similar to t-ho-se of a- Myrtle, and in some countries would 
probably be evergreen ; most of them drop- before spring in 
this country. In any case it is a ve-iy handsome shrub. 
Second Crop of Magnum Bonum Plums. —Mr. Gilbert Smith, 
Greenville Lodge, Bristol, has just picked over 401b. of Magnum 
Bonum Plums as a scond crop from the same trees this season. 
