In the grounds of Eugene S. Shefield at Santa Barbara stands a hand. some seaforthia. At 8 inches from the ground the circumference was 33 inches, and at the flower spike, 3½ feet from the ground, the girth is 23½ inches. It has twelve fine healthy leaves, every new leaf larger than the preceding. It is in robust health, as shown by the deep green color. It has come into flower at a bad time, this being the rainy season, with short days and long cool nights. Whether it will set seed I cannot say, as it was not forward enough when I saw it. Being the first, the flower spike is small, but as it will continue flowering now, the spikes will get larger as the plant increases in size. From the ground to the top of the leaves the plant is about 15 feet high, and Mr. Shefield may well be proud of his Seaforthia elegans, or as some will have it, Ptychosperma Cunninghamii. Is not this the first seaforthia to flower in any of the southern or western states in the open air ? - A. Meston, California, Dec. 11, 1889.