February  28,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
179 
Tlje  Indian  Fig. 
This,  the  Cactus  Opuntia  of  botanists,  is  one  of  the  cosmopolitan 
plants,  for  I  have  seen  it  growing  in  the  open  air  of  Europe,  Africa, 
and  Asia,  and  know  those  who  have  seen  it  similarly  thriving  both  in 
South  and  North  America.  Our  earliest  writer  on  plants,  Lyte,  knew 
little  about  it,  for  although  in  1578  he  published  a  tolerable  woodcut  of 
it,  he  had  no  more  to  say  relatively  than  that  it  is  “  a  strange  kind  of 
plante  which  cometh  foorth  of  one  leaf  set  in  the  ground,  and  sometimes 
it  groweth  high,  and  is  named  of  Plinie,  Opuntia,  now  in  these  dayes 
Ficus  indica  ”  that  is  the  Indian  Fig,  a  popular  name  it  still  retains. 
Gerarde  tried  in  1583  to  induce  it  to  bear  fruit,  but,  he  adds,  “  never 
as  yet,  although  I  have  bestowed  great  pains  and  cost  in  keeping  it 
from  the  injury  of  our  cold  clymat.”  We  now  know  that  on  this  plant 
the  cochineal  insect  is  reared  ;  but  Johnson,  who  edited  a  later  edition 
of  Gerarde  s  “  Herbal,”  thought  that  these  insects  were  transforma¬ 
tions  of  the  plant’s  substance.  He  says  :  “  Upon  this  plant  in  some 
parts  of  the  West  Indies  grow 
certain  excrescences  which,  in 
continuance  of  time  turn  into 
insects,  and  these  ontgrowings  are 
that  high-prized  cochenell  where¬ 
with  they  dye  colours  in  graine.” 
This  error  was  soon  dispelled,  and 
the  true  history  of  the  cochineal 
insect  and  its  cultivation  were 
made  known.  I  have  seen  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  hedges  entirely 
formed  of  this  plant,  and  most 
formidable  opponents  they  were 
to  anyone  attempting  to  pass 
through  them.  This  species  is 
sufficiently  hardy  to  bear  our 
winters  without  protection  pro¬ 
vided  it  is  planted  in  a  dry  soil. 
It  is  well  suited  to  ornamental 
rockwork,  and  flowers  in  June  and 
July. — G.  J. 
Conifera. 
( Continued  from  page  460,  last  vol.) 
We  have  given  a  few  inter¬ 
esting  particulars  of  the  natural 
order  Coniferse  in  previous  notes, 
and  will  now  give  a  list  of  trees 
and  shrubs  that  will  be  found 
suitable  for  various  purposes.  We 
will  begin  with  the  Retinosporas, 
or  Japanese  Cypress.  There  are 
many  forms  now  in  cultivation, 
as  a  glance  through  any  good 
catalogue  of  ornamental  trees  and 
shrubs  will  show.  Most  of  them 
are  referable  to  two  species,  Retinospora  obtusa  and  R.  pisifera.  They 
are  all  handsome,  rather  dwarf,  and  neat  growing  Conifers,  the  different 
varieties  assuming  very  distinct  colour  and  habit.  They  are  useful 
for  decoration  in  winter,  being  quite  hardy,  and  are  suitable  for  filling 
vases,  window  boxes,  or  pots.  Many  of  the  Retinosporas  make  a 
dense  growth,  and  are  very  liable  to  injury  from  heavy  falls  of  snow  ; 
they  should  therefore  be  relieved  of  it  as  soon  as  possible  when  it  is 
practicable. 
R.  plumosa  is  a  dense  tree  of  conical  habit  and  moderate  growth  ; 
the  branches  are  numerous,  and  thickly  furnished  with  lateral  shoots  ; 
the  leaves,  which  are  of  a  deep  green  colour,  are  awl-shaped  and 
much  pointed,  which  makes  the  trees  rather  prickly,  but  not  so  much 
so  as  the  J unipers.  There  are  several  varieties.  Aurea  is  very  distinct, 
and  grows  almost  as  rapidly  as  the  type.  It«  terminal  shoots  when 
first  formed  are  of  a  light  golden  yellow,  wa.  1:  "ets  greener  as  the 
season  advances  and  till  it  is  succeeded  in  the  luuowing  spring  by  a 
new  yellow  growth.  Argentea  is  not  such  a  strong  grower,  nor  its 
habit  so  dense,  but  it  is  a  desirable  variety  ;  nearly  the  whole  of  its 
young  growth  is  creamy  white,  which  becomes  green  on  attaining 
maturity,  but  not  before  it  is  succeeded  by  the  white  growth  of  the 
following  season.  Albo-picta,  instead  of  having  the  whole  of  the  new 
growth  white,  has  the  tips  of  the  branchlets  white,  which  gives  the 
The  Indian  Fig. 
plant  a  speckled  and  spotted  appearance.  All  these  plumose  varieties 
are  beautiful  plants  for  garden  decoration,  and  are  among  the  best  of 
Conifers  for  formal  gardens.  They  are  easy  to  grow,  but  do  not 
thrive  so  well  in  very  exposed  situations. 
R.  squarrosa  is  not  so  formal  in  its  growth  as  the  preceding  ;  the 
stem  is  much  divided  and  forked,  and  furnished  with  numerous 
branches,  so  that  the  plant  takes  the  form  of  a  dense  bush.  Its  foliage 
is  of  a  bright  glaucous  green,  suffused  with  a  tint  of  almost  silvery 
whiteness,  quite  unlike  any  other  coniferous  tree.  The  leaves  are 
needle-shaped  and  curved.  I  consider  this  the  most  handsome  of  the 
Retinosporas  with  which  I  am  familiar.  R.  filifera  is  quite  a  different 
tree  to  any  of  the  above.  In  its  young  state  at  any  rate  it  is  broadly 
conical,  with  long  spreading  branches;  the  branchlets,  which  are  thin 
and  thread-like,  are  rather  thinly  disposed;  the  leaves  are  pointed, 
distant,  in  alternate  pairs,  and  fulvous  green  in  colour.  It  makes  a 
light  and  graceful  specimen,  and  does  not  appear  very  particular  as  to 
the  kind  of  soil  it  has  to  grow  in. 
Junipers. 
Junipers  are  small  trees  or  shrubs,  having  either  small  scale-like, 
or  spreading,  stiff  and  pointed  leaves.  Sometimes  both  kinds  are 
found  on  the  same  plant.  Juni- 
perus  communis,  the  common 
J uniper,  is  an  indigenous  species 
generally  dispersed  over  the 
British  Isles,  but  more  common 
in  the  north  than  in  the  south. 
It  is  a  very  variable  plant,  and 
there  are  several  varieties. 
Perhaps  one  of  the  best  known 
is  bibernica,  the  upright  Irish 
Juniper.  The  branches  are  erect, 
with  numerous  rigid,  close-set, 
erect  branchlets  ;  the  leaves  are 
shorter  and  deeper  green  than  in 
the  common  kind.  This  is  a 
desirable  shrub,  and  although  one 
of  the  upright-growing  kinds,  it 
is  not  at  all  a  formal  plant,  as 
some  of  the  branches  spread  out¬ 
wards,  further  than  others.  Its 
habit  is  more  columnar  than 
pyramidal,  and  it  will  grow  from 
15  to  20  feet  high. 
Juuiperus  sabina  is  the  com¬ 
mon  Savin.  In  this  country  it 
only  attains  the  size  of  a  few 
feet,  but  is  found,  as  a  tree,  in 
some  of  the  Greek  islands.  This 
is  one  of  the  small-leaved  kinds, 
but  branches  may  be  found  occa¬ 
sionally  with  acicular  leaves.  It 
is  a  mountainous  plant,  and 
thrives  best  in  light  soil  i  in 
sunny  and  airy  situations.  It  is 
a  capital  plant  for  clothing  a 
bank  or  planting  in  the  back¬ 
ground  of  a  large  rockery,  and 
may  also  be  used  in  the  front 
of  the  shrubbery.  There  are  a 
few  <  varieties  —  tamariscifolia  is 
a  dwarfer  plant  with  foliage 
of  a  brighter  green ;  andjvariegata  has  many  of  its  branchlets  creamy 
white  or  pale  yellow. 
Juniperus  virginiana,  the  Red  Cedar,  is  said  to  be  the  tallest  and 
hardiest  of  the  genus.  It  is  a  very  variable  tree,  both  in  the  form 
of  its  leaves  and  their  colour;  and  to  examine,  say,  a  dozen  young 
trees,  some  of  the  number  would  seem  altogether  different  from  others. 
The  wood  is  of  a  close  fine  texture  and  reddish  colour,  very  bitter  to 
the  taste,  odoriferous,  and  avoided  by  all  insects ;  hence  it  is  much 
employed  by  cabinet  makers  in  America.  It  is  also  imported  into 
this  country  for  the  purpose  of  making  black  lead  pencils.  The 
glaucous  form  has  a  more  graceful  habit  than  the  type,  and  appears 
to  make  a  denser  tree.  The  stem  is  thicker,  which  perhaps  may  be 
the  reason  of  it  withstanding  rough  weather  better.  There  is  also  a 
variegated  form,  as  well  as  others. 
The  Chinese  Juniper,  Juniperus  chinensis,  is  not  so  tall  a  tree  as 
virginiana,  its  height  being  from  20  to  25  feet,  which  is  about  half  the 
height  of  the  latter.  It  occurs  in  two  varieties,  the  male  and  female, 
which  differ  from  one  another  in  the  form  of  their  branches  and  leaves. 
They  are  beautiful  shrubs  for  ornamental  planting,  and  are  quite  hardy. 
The  branches  are  more  erect,  and  the  leaves  longer  and  more  sharply 
pointed  than  virginiana,  but  this  species  has  also  scale-like  leaves  as 
well.  There  are  yellow  and  variegated  forms. — Pinus. 
