According to a competent authority the smoke nuisance has, in consequence, greatly abated, and with the purer air, the cultivation of window and other plants, as well as of trees and shrubs, has been to some extent simplified. The electrification of the Underground Railway has also had a beneficial effect on vegetation. Although we cannot prevent fog, which is an atmospheric condition, yet much can be done to prevent it being a dirty fog, and during the past five years much has been done in that direction. Better roads with less dust also assist largely in keeping the atmosphere of London in a pure condition. With the rage for coniferous trees which was at its height about half a century ago, it is not surprising that several species of Cypress and Cedar, the stately Pines and Arbor vitæs, as also the Araucaria and Junipers, found their way into our town gardens and squares. Hosts of evergreens, too, from almost every part of the world were introduced into London, but few have been able to survive the smoky and otherwise impure atmosphere of the great metropolis. Deciduous trees and shrubs, both flowering and ornamental-leaved, should certainly be regarded as the _sine qua non_ of the London planter. Amongst evergreen trees few are suitable for town planting, and, though a limited number of evergreen shrubs may succeed for a time, yet the list of deciduous species is far more extensive. We have only to take notice of such evergreens as the Holly, Rhododendron, Laurel and all the conifers, with probably one exception, to find how useless it is to plant them in expectation that they will give satisfaction. This is not hard to account for, as in winter, when the fires are all alight and smoke and soot the order of the day, the leaves of evergreens are fully developed and in the best possible condition for reaping the attending disadvantages. With deciduous species the case is quite different, for these are, so to speak, asleep when the deadly smoke and vapours are most abundant in our towns and cities. I am quite aware that one occasionally sees evergreen shrubs and trees in a fairly thriving condition; but it should be remembered that in the majority of such cases they were planted when conditions were much more favourable than at present. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that evergreen shrubs do not succeed better in smoky localities, being planted principally for their refreshing colour in winter; but if our atmospheric conditions utterly preclude the use of such, then it is folly to throw away money on useless planting, and the winter aspect of deciduous trees and shrubs is infinitely preferable to that of unhealthy evergreens. The bursting into leaf of the deciduous tree or shrub is not shared to a like extent by evergreens, which lack that delightful changeableness and the interest that is attached to spring growth.