692 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 2, 1905. 
Notes froa Shanghai, China. 
flourished for nearly a century ; and its existence 
surely could not have been unknown to such 
an eminent person as Dr. Hooker. This 
majestic Vine was, I believe, planted in the 
year 1832, and it can boast of the unique and 
envious distinction of being by far the largest 
and most productive Vine not only in Britain, 
but in Europe. It covers 4,275 square feet of 
glass, and produced a crop of 3,511 bunches of 
grapes in one season. Thus there are established 
almost in the centre of the Grampian Mountain 
ranges records in practical Vine culture which 
virtually will not be easily beaten. It would 
be interesting to ascertain whether the roots of 
this venerable Vine are provided with a concrete 
bottom. Perhaps the Editor will favour his 
readers by making inquiry. 
J. C. Peebles. 
THE COMMON - - - 
©Trurrmef ©Jfoaoer. 
(Tecoma radicans.) 
Considering the length of time the above 
climber has been in this country, or rather 
since it was first introduced, it is- surprising 
that so few people attempt its cultivation ; 
evidently many are under the impression that 
it is not hardy. That is a mistaken notion, 
for in the southern counties of England and 
the west coast of England and Scotland it is 
quite hardy. Ireland may also be taken into 
account as a country where it would be per¬ 
fectly hardy. It may be grown in a variety 
of ways, but mostly as a climber, and few 
things are better suited for covering garden 
walls, where ornamental climbers are desired, 
if the situation is suitable. 
A warm aspect should always be selected for 
it, where it will get plenty of sunshine dur¬ 
ing the greater portion of the day in order to 
ripen the young wood and enable it to flower 
freely. It is perfectly useless to plant it in 
shady situations where it cannot get sun¬ 
shine. No one who undertakes its cultiva¬ 
tion should act so injudiciously as to plant 
it anywhere without discrimination. The 
first point to remember is that it must be well 
exposed to light and air, with direct sunshine 
for a good portion of the day at least. 
A very fine example of this old climber at 
Sunbury, Middlesex, reminded me of the neg¬ 
lect with which it has been treated by planters 
in past years. This particular specimen is 
planted against a wall, where it has climbed 
to the top, and now sprawls all over it, 
sending a wealth of flowering branches down 
both sides of the wall. The flowers are 
tubular, trumpet-shaped, and deep scarlet- 
red, each being 2in. to 3in. long. These 
flowers are produced in good-sized bunches at 
the end of the flowering branches, and when 
the latter are allowed to hang down freely, 
the beholder can practically look into tha 
flowers, although they may be suspended at a 
considerable elevation. The actual height 
of the wall is not a very important factor, 
as the plant will flower if trained on a wall 
only 3ft. high, and will prove equally flori- 
ferous if the wall is 12ft. high. P. C. 
Continental Wav of Eating Asparagus.— 
As regards Asparagus, the popular taste both 
in Holland and Germany is different to that 
in this country. Dutch Asparagus has no 
green tops, and consequently, though some of 
the stalks are not quite so long as we are 
accustomed to, the edible portion is rather 
more. This delicacy, too, is served in a dif¬ 
ferent way to which we are accustomed, quan¬ 
tities of powdered Nutmeg being eaten with 
the Asparagus. 
As you correctly surmise, the Paulownia 
grandiflora of my letter was P. imperialis. It 
was a mere slip, as P. grandiflora is the name 
given to it here, the habit of using it or hear¬ 
ing it being my excuse. P. imperialis is the 
only species here, though a small-flowered 
variety is very distinct, flowering nearly a 
month later, and possessing smaller flowers 
on a more decidedly branched inflorescence. 
The fall of snow, somewhat late in the spring, 
rather spoiled the flowers this season, else I 
would have sent you a photo for your own 
collection. 
I have been busy all spring laying out 
various new gardens in connection with new 
municipal buildings ; although they only 
average in extent lg acres, yet being scat¬ 
tered, visiting them takes time. 
The land in this neighbourhood being for 
the most part reclaimed from the river and 
low lying has had an influence on the local 
flora, which consists of what might be termed 
“ adventures,” that is, the class of plants 
usually consorting with Wheat, Cotton, etc., 
and arising spontaneously on ground remain¬ 
ing uncultivated for a season. The most con¬ 
spicuous plant is Aster indicus. The Common 
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is very pre¬ 
valent, as are various Sedges. Perilla nan- 
kinensis occurs frequently on cultivated land. 
[The Perilla has been used as a bedding 
plant in this country for many years on ac¬ 
count of the rich purple-black colour of the 
foliage. —Ed.] 
Possibly the most interesting plant is 
Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes australis), a 
pretty little Orchid found abundantly in 
moist clay land. Rosa multiflora, Ligustrum 
lucidum, and Clerodendron trichotomum may 
be considered to be the most decorative of 
local shrubs. [All the three are in culti¬ 
vation in this country, and highly appre¬ 
ciated.— Ed.] 
Certainly the most useful, if not the most 
interesting, are the Bamboos, particularly 
the common Bamboo (Phyllostachys mitis), 
masses of which are to be seen surrounding 
every village, providing in the summer time 
a desirable shade and a protection from the 
cold winds in the winter. In the spring the 
young growths, as they protrude through the 
soil, are cut in a similar way as a gardener 
cuts Asparagus, and sent in large quantities 
to the vegetable market as “ Bamboo shoots,” 
where they command a ready sale, being em¬ 
ployed as food both by foreigners and natives. 
It is the old culms which are so essential to 
the native. A collection of articles made with 
Bamboo would form a large and interesting 
exhibit, for not only may a native furnish his 
house therewith, but he might with the same 
material erect it. It would be assuming too 
much to say that without it John Chinaman 
could not exist, but it is safe to say without 
it his pleasure in existing would be somewhat 
strained. 
I note some of your contemporaries refer to 
the Chinese Cabbage. The Brassicas in 
The Rain-tree.— The Rain-tree of Colombia 
measures about 50 ft. high when at maturity, 
and about 3 ft. in diameter at the base, it 
absorbs an immense quantity of moisture 
from the atmosphere, which it concentrates, 
alid consequently sends forth from its leaves 
_ A LETTER 
TO THE EDITOR. 
China show the same tendency to assume as 
many different forms as they do in Brit- 
There are said to be over twenty varieties. 
As far as I have seen, I can detect no differ¬ 
ence in the flowers or fruits, though there is 
a marked difference in the habit and season. 
One variety in texture, disposition of leaves, 
and colour greatly resembles the ordinary 
Cabbage of British gardens, with the excep¬ 
tion that it does not form a head. Another 
in colour, texture, and disposition of its 
leaves resemble a Turnip ; whilst ’twixt those 
two extremes there are various gradations. 
The Shantung Cabbage, however, in appear¬ 
ance is vastly different, as different as a good 
variety of Cabbage is to a large Lettuce. 
It produces on a stalk 12in. to 14in. long a 
large heart-shaped head, firm, compact, and 
crisp, weighing on an average fully 31bs. Be¬ 
yond that it is almost tasteless ; it is in size 
and appearance really a first-rate Cabbage, 
similar in all respects to a good-sized mid- 
season one in England. It is not grown in 
this locality ; in fact, the natives say it will 
not produce a heart here, but is brought in in 
boat-loads during the winter. As it comes 
into the market, though with stock (or stem) 
and remains of root intact, it is devoid of 
loose leaves which surround the heart, whilst 
the heart is so white as to convey the im¬ 
pression that it has been blanched. The 
native Cabbage is here being ousted by the 
so-called foreign Cabbage, the garden variety 
introduced from England, which grows 
freely, for which there is a large demand, as 
the natives themselves are acquiring a liking 
for it. 
[The Shantung Cabbage, and possibly all 
other forms of Chinese Cabbages, are varie¬ 
ties of our Turnip (Brassica campestris 
chinensis). We figured the Shantung Cab¬ 
bage on p. 315 of the present volume, where 
an account is given of the early experiments 
with it in Kew Gardens. Previous to that 
there had been some discussion in our pages 
concerning another variety named the Cut¬ 
leaved Mustard, a mere variety of the Chinese 
Cabbage.— Ed.] 
We are now entering (July 2nd) our two 
months of tropical summer, when north 
temperate plants heave a sigh and decide it 
is really too hot for any exertion, and, with 
a philosophy quite human, they capitulate. 
Herein the pathos of cultivation : the human 
being exerts a positive influence, attempting 
to infuse into his plants his own vitality and 
determination to exist. They live sometimes, 
but await the fall of the mercury before they 
go to the trouble of adding to their stature or 
form. Still, there are compensations, for, 
after affording more shade to a languishing 
Auricula, one can turn to the shrubberies 
and gather a nosegay of delightfully fragrant 
Gardenia blooms, or, after gazing sorrowfully 
on a burnt-up Primrose, cull an armful of 
gorgeous Oleander flowers. After all, when 
the Snowdrop heralds the spring, the Auri¬ 
culas and Primroses are also evident. 
D. MacGregor. 
and branches in a shower, in some instances 
so abundantly that the ground in its vicinity 
is converted into a quagmire. It possesses 
this curious property in its greatest degree in 
the summer, when the rivers are at their 
lowest and water most scarce. 
