oured twigs of the Purple Willow (_Salix
purpurea_) bear red or purplish-tinted catkins in early April. _Salix
stipularis_ may also be mentioned for its beauty when in flower.

ALDERS

With the exception of a few species, such as _Alnus nitida_ and _A.
maritima_, which flower in September and October, all the Alders develop
their blossoms in February and March. The common Alder (_A. glutinosa_)
and its varieties are perhaps as ornamental as any at that time. Like
the Willows, they look best and grow best in association with water. In
such a position an Alder at that time, leafless, but laden with its
slender, greenish-yellow catkins, is a beautiful object, and
characteristic, too, of our English landscape. Other species possessing
a similar quiet beauty are _Alnus incana_, _A. viridis_, _A. oregona_,
and especially _A. cordifolia_ with its green and yellow catkins.

JAPANESE WALNUTS

_Juglans sieboldiana_ and its close allies, _J. mandschurica_ and _J.
cordiformis_, do not flower till May, but bear at that time very
remarkable male catkins. I have measured them over one foot long, and
hanging as they do in goodly number from the branches, perfectly
straight and cylindrical, they have a very striking appearance, although
green. All three species are alike in their catkins, but differ in the
shape of the nuts. They are noteworthy, too, for the imposing character
of their foliage. The leaves are pinnate, and on young trees grown in
good soil are frequently three feet long. They certainly deserve the
notice of planters.

GARRYA ELLIPTICA

From all the catkin-bearers hitherto mentioned, this differs in being
evergreen. It is also far removed from them in relationship, and is
closely allied to the Cornels. At the same time the catkins in external
characteristics are very similar. Not only the catkins but the plants
themselves are unisexual, and, as is usual with the catkin-bearers, it
is the male that is most ornamental. These catkins are from four inches
to eight inches long, and I have heard of (but not seen) them as much as
one foot in length. The time at which the flowers expand depends, as
with all the early catkin-bearers, on the mildness of the season. This
year on a wall the catkins have been in beauty ever since the first week
of January. They are very attractive in their grace and quiet beauty.
Chiefly of soft grey and green colours, the bracts are, however,
suffused with a warmer reddish tint. In the n