April 29, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD , 
357 
green, and are broader and shorter than those mentioned 
below. The stigma is pink or pale red, with four small dark 
spots in the centre. (See illustration of E. arborea.) 
The other supposed parent was Erica lusitanica, better 
known, perhaps, in gardens under the name of E. codonode®. 
The flowers are bell-shaped, elongated, not contracted at the 
mouth, and usually produced in threes in great abundance 
at the ends of the very short, twigs, giving the appearance of 
being in racemes, or panicles, when looked at in the mass, as 
may be seen by reference to our illustration in another column. 
In the bud state the flowers are quite red, and gradually fade 
to pure white as they reach maturity. The leaves are in 
whorls of three, as in the other forms under notice. They 
are also light green and more or less ascending, so as to lie 
against the stem. The latter is hirsute in its earlier stages, 
but becomes more or less smooth as it gets old. The stigma 
shows a small, wavy, red ring around its edges. 
E. Yeitchi is the supposed hybrid between the above two 
species of Tree Heath, and originated in the nursery of 
Messrs. R. Veitcli and Son, Exeter, who kindly supplied us 
with the specimens from which our photographs were taken. 
The flowers of E. Yeitchi are narrowly bell-shaped, or shortly 
cylindrical, and slightly contracted or narrowed just above the 
situation of the anthers. They are pink in the bud state, but 
giadually become silvery-white. The short stalks of the 
flowers are white, whereas in E. arborea they are red, and in E. 
lusitanica light green. The stigma of E. Yeitchi is of a deep 
red, with four crimson markings arranged in the form of a 
cross in the centre. The leaves are produced in whorls of 
three, and are of a light bright green. The bush is dwarfer 
than the supposed parents, and the branches more spreading 
than in E. lusitanica, and longer, than in E. arborea. The 
stems are hirsute in the young state, but this character is not 
so conspicuous as in E. arborea. 
It will no doubt be seen that the differences in these three 
consist in very minute characters, but E. Veitchi, judging from 
the specimens sent us, bears three to six flowers in a cluster, 
and the clusters are exceedingly numerous, as may be seen by 
reference to our supplementary illustration. The hybrid can 
also be distinguished by the shape of its flowers', which come 
nearest to those of E. lusitanica in length, but are slightly 
contracted at the mouth, as- in E. arborea, though less 
markedly. The leaves of the new-comer are also of a lighter 
green than those of E. lusitanica, even in the dried state. The 
leaves of E. arborea are darker than either, usually shorter, 
broader, and more spreading. 
Y hile we are searching for differences in these minute parti¬ 
culars, including even the stigmas, the cultivator will have 
less difficulty in distinguishing all three of them if lie has a 
healthy bush of each in close proximity. The differences are 
mere apparent in the mass than when searching for the minute 
differences. These three Heaths are certainly all closely allied, 
and it is only natural that the differences should exist only in 
minute particulars when two closely allied subjects are crossed. 
Notwithstanding these minute differences when closely ex¬ 
amined, the effect of the three in a live state, when seen side 
by side, is different, and quite apparent to the naked eye. 
Accompanying E. arborea was a spray which might have 
been taken off a younger and more vigorous bush ; but when 
minutely examined it seemed to us an albino of the last-named 
species, possibly a seedling. The leaves were more erect than 
m the type, the stems more hirsute, the flowers larger and 
purer white, the pedicels of the flowers being also white. We 
should certainly consider it an albino, having lost the colour 
which is present in the various parts of the type. 
Lewisia Tweedv 1 . —As far as we have seen, no better spec 
? r en t .', lls P lant ha s ever been grown than that exhibited b 
Ahss Y illmott of Warley Place, Great Warley, at the rneetin 
ot the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday last. It wa 
mown m a pot, and carried fifty buds and blooms, many c 
the stems being branched and carrying several flowers eacl 
the colour is creamy yellow and blush Apricot, like a Tea Ros< 
Letters to the Editor. 
Gardening as Employment for Women. 
To the Editor of The Gardenino World. 
Sir,—I am glad to see that your correspondent “ D. C." still 
has a leg to> stand on. His support is not, however, exactly one 
that could be regarded as by any means reliable. 
He at first takes a wide view of the subject, and invites your 
readers “ to examine the matter as it stands.” But, alas! he 
confines his examination to the one narrow channel of a 
woman’s ideal place in nature. Because a woman can perform 
Erica arborea: the Tree Heath. (Seep. 356.) 
the duties of a gardener and perform them successfully does 
not imply that she ought to be a gardener ; but what I main¬ 
tain is this: when a woman devotes her life to the profession 
and thinks more of it than of any other trade, then that woman 
has a perfect right to take her place among us. Old-world 
ideas and fancies are very pretty in this busy, bustling life of 
to-day; but I am afraid that most of us cannot afford to 
waste the time and money trying to give them effect. Oh! 
yes, it is nice to say : “ Woman is the fragrant and fragile 
flower which fills the home with sunshine—the blessed thing 
of all creation,” etc., but that is not the idea nowadays. Have 
you ever heard of women such as these? The girl who sits 
day after day in a stuffy city office writing line after line or 
typewriting sheets of never-ending dreariness : the poor, thin, 
