DIOSCOREA RETUSA.


[Illustration: FLOWERING SPRAY OF DIOSCOREA RETUSA.]

One of the most elegant plants one can have in a greenhouse is this
twiner, a native of South Africa. It has slender stems clothed with
distinctly veined leaves, and produces a profusion of creamy white
fragrant flowers in pendulous clusters, as shown in the annexed
engraving, for which we are indebted to Messrs Veitch of Chelsea, who
distributed the plant a few years ago. On several occasions Messrs
Veitch have exhibited it trained parasol fashion and covered
abundantly with elegant drooping clusters of flowers, and as such it
has been much admired. When planted out in a warmish greenhouse and
allowed to twine at will around an upright pillar, it is seen to the
best advantage, and, though not showy, makes a pleasing contrast with
other gayly tinted flowers. It is so unlike any other ornamental plant
in cultivation, that it ought to become more widely known than it
appears to be at present.--_The Garden._

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RAVAGES OF A RARE SCOLYTID BEETLE IN THE SUGAR MAPLES OF
NORTHEASTERN NEW YORK.