NRLF B M 312 flflb W.WATF The Gift of Beatrix Farrand to the General Library University of California,Berkeley Ex Libris BEATRIX JONES LANDSCAPE ARCHJT6CTURS REEF POINT GARDENS LIBRARY FAVOURITE FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE FAVOURITE FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE BY EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. l| THE CULTURAL DIRECTIONS EDITED BY WILLIAM WATSON, F.R.H.S. ASSISTANT CURATOR, ROYAL GARDENS, KEW ILLUSTRATED WITH Three Hundred and Sixteen Coloured Plates SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY D. BOIS ASSISTANT DE LA CHAIRE DE CULTURE AU MUSEUM D*HISTOIRE NATURELLE DE PARIS VOL. I LONDON FREDERICK WARNE & CO. AND NEW YOEK 1896 [All Rights Reserved] CONTENTS VOLUME I INTRODUCTION ORDER RANUNCULACE^ CLEMATIS MEADOW RUES . ANEMONES HEPATICAS RANUNCULUS MARSH MARIGOLDS GLOBE FLOWERS FENNEL FLOWERS WINTER ACONITES COLUMBINES LARKSPURS MONKSHOODS PEONIES ADONIS . HELLEBORES ORDER NYMPH^EACE^E WATER-LILIES YELLOW WATER-LILIES . ORDER NELUMBIACE^E SACRED BEAN ORDER PAPAVERACE.E POPPIES . ESCHSCHOLTZIAS . ARGEMONES BLOOD-ROOT BOCCONIAS ORDER FUMARIACE^E DlCENTRAS CORYDALIS ORDER CRUCIFER.E STOCKS . WALLFLOWERS . ROCK CRESS ALYSSUMS . BITTER CRESS HONESTY . SCHIZOPETALONS VIRGINIAN STOCK ROCKETS CANDYTUFTS ORDER RESEDACE^E MIGNONETTE ORDER VIOLACE^ VIOLETS AND PANSIES . Genus Clematis . Thalictrum ,, Anemone Ranunculus Caltha . Trollius . Nigella . Eranthis . Aquilegia Delphinium Aconitum Pceonia . Adonis . Helleborus Nyrnphcea Nuvhar . Nelumbium Papaver . Eschscholtzia Argemone ,, Sanguinaria Bocconia . Dicentra . Corydalis Matthiola Cheiranthus Aubrietia Alyssum . Cardamine Lunaria . Schizopetalon Makolmia Hesperis . Iberis Reseda Viola v PAQK 1 4 7 9 12 14 16 18 18 20 21 23 27 29 33 34 34 36 37 41 43 44 45 45 47 47 50 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 61 64 67 431 VJ CONTENTS OF VOLUME I ORDER CARYOPHYLLE.E GYPSOPHILA PINKS AND CARNATIONS CATCH-FLIES CAMPIONS SOAPWORTS MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEEDS ORDER PORTULACE.E PURSLANES CALANDRINIAS . ORDER HYPERICINE^E ST. JOHN'S WORTS ORDER TERNSTR^EMIACE^E- CAMELLIAS ORDER MALVACEAE- TREE MALLOWS . MALOPES . ROSE MALLOWS . ABUTILONS HOLLYHOCKS ORDER LINEJE FLAX ORDER GERANIACE^E GERANIUMS PELARGONIUMS . NASTURTIUMS WOOD SORRELS . BALSAMS . ORDER RUTACE^E BURNING BUSH SKIMMIAS ORANGES AND LEMONS . ORDER RHAMNE.E PHYLICAS ORDER AMPELID^E VINES ORDER LEGUMINOS^E BAPTISIAS BROOMS . GENISTAS GOAT'S RUE LUPINES . WISTARIAS FRENCH HONEYSUCKLE . CORAL TREES SENSITIVE PLANTS SWEET PEAS ORDER ROSACE^E SPIRAEAS . ROSES Genus Gypsophila Dianthus Silene Lychnis Saponaria Cerastium Portulaca Calandrinia Hypericum Camellia Lavatera Malope . Hibiscus . Abutilon . Althcea . Linum ,, Geranium Pelargonium Tropceolum Oxalis ,, Impatiens Didamnus Skimmia Citrus Phylica . Vitis Baptisia . Cytisus . Genista . Galega . Lupinus . Wistaria Hedysarum Erytlirina Mimosa . Lathyrus Spircea . Rosa PAGE 73 74 81 83 86 86 87 89 90 92 95 96 97 99 102 105 107 109 116 119 121 123 124 125 127 128 129 130 132 133 134 135 137 138 141 142 144 147 LIST OF COLOURED PLATES VOLUME I PLATE FRONTISPIECE. TREE PEONY, Pceonia Moutan . . . To face Title 1. CLEMATIS; Garden varieties ...... To face page 6 2. FEATHER COLUMBINE, Thalictrum aquilegifolium . . . 8 3. POPPY ANEMONE, Anemone coronaria . . . . 10 4. FLAME ANEMONE, A nemone hortensis, vax.fulgens . . . 12 5. COMMON HEPATICA, Anemone Hepatica . . . . 14 6. GARDEN RANUNCULUS, Ranunculus asiaticus . . . 16 7. MARSH MARIGOLD, Caltha palustris var. flore pleno . . 18 8. SPANISH FENNEL FLOWER, Nigella hispanica . . . . 20 9. COLUMBINES, Aquilegia vulgaris, A. chrysantha, and A.formosa . 22 10. LARKSPURS, Delphinium Ajacis, and D. orientale . . . .,24 11. LARKSPUR, Garden Hybrid ....... 26 12. MONKSHOOD, Aconitum variegatum . . . . . 28 13. WHITE PEONY, Pceonia albiftora . . . . 30 14. COMMON PEONY, Pceonia officinalis . . . . 32 15. NARROW-LEAVED PEONY, Pceonia tenuifolia . . . . ,,34 16. EGYPTIAN WATER-LILY, Nymphcea lotus, var. rubra . . 36 17. SACRED BEAN, Nelumbium speciosum . . . . . 38 18. OPIUM POPPY, Papaver somniferum . . . . . 40 19. CALIFORNIAN POPPY, Eschscholtzia calif ornica . . . . 42 20. MEXICAN POPPY, Argemone grandiflora . . . . 44 21. HEART-FLOWER, Dicentra spectabilis . . . . . 46 22. TEN-WEEK STOCK, Matthiola annua . . . . . 48 23. WALLFLOWER, Cheiranthus Oheiri . . . . . 50 24. ROCK CRESS, Aubrietia deltoidea . . . 52 25 TGoLD DUST, Alyssum saxatile . \ 54 (SWEET ALYSSUM, Alyssum maritimum j 26. HONESTY, Lunaria biennis . . . . . . 56 27. VIRGINIAN STOCK, Malcolmia maritima . . . . 58 28. ROCKET, Hesperis matronalis ..... ,,60 29. GIBRALTAR CANDYTUFT, Iberis gibraltarica . . . . ,,62 30 r PURPLE CANDYTUFT, umbellata } 64 \COMMON CANDYTUFT, amara J 31. MIGNONETTE, Reseda odorata . . . . . . 66 32. PARMA VIOLET, Viola odorata, var. parmensis ... ,,68 S LIST OF COLOURED PLATES PLATE 33. PANSY, Viola tricolor, var. maxima .... To face page 10 34. GYPSOPHILA ELEGANS ........ 72 35. SWEET WILLIAM, Dianthus barbatus ... ,,74 36. CARNATION, Dianthus Caryophyllus . . . . . ,,76 37. CHINESE PINK, Dianthus sinensis . . . . . 78 38. GARDEN PINK, Dianthus plumarius .... ,,80 39. CATCHFLY, Silene Armeria . . . . . . 82 40. DROOPING CATCHFLY, Silene pendula ... ,,84 41. CAMPION, Lychnis fulgens ..... ,,86 42. ROSE CAMPION, Lychnis coronaria . . . . . 88 43. PURSLANE, Portulaca grandiflora . . . . . ,,90 44. CALANDRINIA UMBELLATA . . . . . 92 45. ROSE OF SHARON, Hypericum calycinum . ,,94 46. CAMELLIA, Camellia japonica ... . . ., 96 ^ /SPANISH LAVATERA, Lavatera trimestris \ gg ' \LARGE-FLOWERED MALOPE, Malope trifida, var. grandiflora) 48. HIBISCUS ROSEUS . . . . . . . .,100 49. SHOE-FLOWER, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis . . . . 102 50. HYBRID ABUTILON, Abutilon venosum x striatum . . ,,104 51. HOLLYHOCK, Althaea rosea . . . . . . ,,106 52. GARDEN FLAX, Linum grandiftorum . . . . . ,,108 53. BROAD-PETALED CRANE'S-BILL, Geranium ibericum, var. platypetalum 110 54. ZONAL GERANIUM, Pelargonium zonale . . . . ,,-112 55. IVY-LEAVED GERANIUM, Pelargonium lateripes . . ,,114 56. OAK-LEAF GERANIUM, Pelargonium graveolens . . . . ,,116 57. LARGE-FLOWERED PELARGONIUM, Pelargonium grandiftorum . . 118 58. CANARY CREEPER, Tropceolum peregrinum . . . . ,,120 59. WOOD SORREL, Oxalis floribunda . . . . . ,,122 60. ROYLE'S BALSAM, Impatiens Roylei . . . . . ,,124 61. BURNING BUSH, Dictamnus albus ...... 126 62. SWEET ORANGE, Citrus Aurantium . . . . . ,,128 63. PHYLICA ERICOIDES . . . . . . ,, 130 64. BAPTISIA AUSTRALIS . . . . . . . ,,132 65. CANARY BROOM, Cytisus canariensis ...... 134 66. GOAT'S RUE, Gakga officinalis . . . . . ,,136 67. WISTARIA, Wistaria sinensis . . . . . 138 68. FRENCH HONEYSUCKLE, Hedysarum coronarium . . . ,,140 69. CORAL TREE, Erythrina crista-galli . . . . . ,,142 70. SENSITIVE PLANT, Mimosa pudica . . . . . ,,144 71. SWEET PEA, Lathy rus odoratus . . . . . . ,,146 72. DROPWORT, Spircea Filipendula . . . . . ,,148 73. WRINKLED ROSE, Rosa rugosa . . . . . . ,,150 74. TEA ROSE, " Gloire de Dijon " . . . . . . ,,152 75. TEA ROSE, " Safrano " . . . . . . .,,154 76. HYBRID TEA ROSE, " La France " . . . 156 77. BOURBON ROSE, " Souvenir de la Malmaiaon " 158 78. POMPON ROSE, Rosa tentifolia, var. pomponia . . . . ,,160 FAVOURITE FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE INTRODUCTION FROM the earliest periods of which we have any records, flower gardens have constituted a source of pleasure and a means of recreation to the human race. In the older civilisations, as in the new, wealth and taste have been lavished upon gardens, and we are bold to say the investment has been remunerative in the best meaning of the word. The aesthetic sense that finds an outlet in the creation and maintenance of a garden, is itself stimulated and strengthened by its own offspring ; and this is true not merely of the garden of one or many acres, but equally so of the tiny plot attached to the humble suburban dwelling of the city clerk or the mechanic. In many of these restricted areas the amateur gardener finds serious difficulties in his way, in the shape of a crude clay or gravel earth deficient in humus, obstacles to light and air, and so forth ; yet these difficulties may be, and often are, overcome by perseverance and the determination to succeed. So widespread is now this desire for a plot of ground whereon to cultivate the beautiful among plants, a desire restricted to no particular class or condition of society, that the present might well be termed the age of gardens. There are quite a large number of admirable periodicals devoted to gardening, both professional and amateur; and there is an extensive literature of modern books on gardens and gardening of all kinds, but there appears to be no valid reason why a few more should 2 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE not be added to the list. The present work differs from all others with which we are acquainted in several important particulars. It treats not so much upon gardens and gardening as upon the plants which give brilliance and charms to the garden. Its object is, primarily, to present reliable portraits of the representative or type plants of the principal genera that find favour in horticulture. In many cases these are of chief interest because they are the parental stocks from which, by cultivation, selection, and cross fertilisation, horticulturists have evolved the endless improved varieties that we now possess. To the compre- hensive floral portrait gallery or album thus constituted is added a brief description of the principal species grown in gardens, their horticultural history, and hints as to the treatment they should receive to enable them to thrive in our borders and greenhouses. The method adopted is thoroughly popular so far as consistent with accuracy. Popular treatment of such a subject is worthless unless based upon scientific principles ; whilst, therefore, we have been careful not to introduce little-known technical terms unnecessarily, we have not hesitated to do so where precision called for them. A few of these words, accurately denoting the parts of a flower, must be used on every page, but these are now so familiar to all interested in garden or wild flowers, that we do not anticipate they will cause the slightest incon- venience to the merest novice in botany. Should, however, any difficulty arise, we must ask the puzzled reader to refer to the Glossary of Terms, which will be found in its appropriate place in the work. The knowledge of the parts of a flower is a fragment of elementary botany which every person interested in plants and gardens must possess, for without it all descriptions, however simple, are unintelligible. It is principally upon this bit of science that all the wonderful work of the hybridiser, the maker of floral novelties, is built up ; and in order that this flower structure may be perfectly understood, we give in most cases a vertical section showing the relative positions of the different parts of the flower, which will also make clear the methods of fertilisation in each, to which we have frequently called attention in the text. These dissections, together with the picture of the plant itself, will also render the work helpful to students of botany, who will find in it representatives of almost every one of the Natural Orders of flowering plants. In the case of plants such as annuals and biennials that are chiefly grown from seed we have in many cases given drawings of the seeds and the young seedlings, to aid in their ready identification, and to make it easy to distinguish between the young plants and the weeds that threaten to destroy them in the seed-beds. INTRODUCTION 3 Without exception the whole of the three hundred and sixteen plates illustrating this work have been drawn and coloured direct from Nature ; and we think we may justly claim for the artists engaged that they have succeeded admirably in giving not merely shape and colour, but expression also the characteristic pose of each plant. The plan adopted in the work may be briefly stated. The principal genera cultivated in gardens are represented, and these genera are grouped under the Natural Orders to which they belong. They are also introduced to readers in the sequence generally adopted by botanists, beginning with Ranunculacece and ending with Ferns. Each genus is described and its name explained, the prevailing characteristics are noticed and its horticultural history briefly sketched. Then follow a description of the principal species known in gardens and a selection of the best varieties to serve as a guide to the amateur. These descriptions have been extended to allied species and genera which are not illustrated, so that the complete work will constitute a general treatise upon the plants chiefly cultivated in gardens and greenhouses. Directions are given for the cultivation and propagation of the species and varieties, with hints as to the appropriate soils, situations, times for planting, sowing, striking, grafting, and so forth. It should be under- stood that in most cases these directions apply generally to the species and their varieties included in one genus ; where it is necessary to treat certain varieties differently, special instructions are given. The system of classification is that of the " Genera Plantarum " of Bentham and Hooker. Tables illustrating that system so far as it applies to this work will be found in succeeding pages. It is only necessary to add a few words as to the responsibility to be attached to those to whose literary care this work has been intrusted. The original scheme was suggested by Mr. D. Bois' Atlas des Plantes de Jardins, but the plan has been considerably amplified, to make it useful to English readers. Mr. Edward Step, F.L.S., has provided the text, including the lists of varieties and also the cultural directions ; the latter have, however, been revised by Mr. W. Watson, F.R.H.S., assistant curator of the Royal Gardens, Kew. 4 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE CLEMATIS Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Clematis CLEMATIS (Greek, klema, a vine-branch or tendril). A genus of about one hundred species, occurring in warm and temperate regions. They are woody or herbaceous climbers with opposite leaves, divided into three or more leaflets, with twining tendril-like petioles. The flowers are borne in panicles or (rarely) solitary, and are usually long-stalked. The sepals are large and petal-like, in a natural state four in number, but garden varieties have often a much greater number ; colour, white, yellow, red, or purple. The petals are absent, or very small and gradually passing into stamens. Stamens numerous, often brightly coloured. Carpels (fruits) many, one-seeded and usually bearing long feathery styles, which increase in size and become ornamental after the sepals have fallen away. The Clematis has been a favourite garden plant from History. an early period, C. Viticella having been introduced from Spain in 1569. A considerable number of the species are decidedly ornamental in a natural state, but the popular garden sorts are the results of cross-breeding and selection within the last sixty years or so. The oldest recorded hybrid is C. Hendersoni, said to have been raised in 1835 from 0. Viticella and C. integrifolia. The principal raisers of large-flowered Clematis were Mr. G. Jackman, nurseryman, Woking; Mr. J. Anderson-Henry, an amateur, of Edinburgh ; Mr. Townshend, nurseryman, Hornsey; Messrs. E. G. Henderson & Sons, nurserymen, St. John's Wood ; and Mr. C. Noble, nurseryman, Bagshot. French and Belgian nurserymen, also, have raised many fine varieties. Many of the species are cultivated, and among those frequently found in gardens are : CLEMATIS COCCINEA (red). Introduced from Texas Principal Species. about twenty -five years ago. Stems climbing ; leaflets oval, shining, lobed. Flowers singly on long slender stalks ; urn-shaped, fleshy, coral red, 1| inch long; July. Should be planted where its thin stems can trail over a bush. It requires the shelter of a wall except in the warmer parts of this country. Messrs. G. Jackman & Son have lately crossed this with a large-flowered variety named Star of India, and produced a new race with handsome fleshy flowers. C. FLAMMULA (flame), a native of Europe, has small, white, scented flowers in clusters, appearing from July to October. It is a well-known CLEMATIS 5 hardy plant, from which florists have obtained a large number of handsome varieties and hybrids. The deservedly popular Jackmanni is one of these. C. FLORIDA (florid). Introduced from Japan one hundred and twenty years ago. Flowers large, solitary, pure white, from the ripened wood in spring and summer. The leaf is divided into from three to nine oval leaflets, hairy on both surfaces. There is a double form (flore pleno), besides several ornamental varieties and hybrids. C. INDIVISA (undivided) was introduced from New Zealand nearly fifty years ago. Flowers creamy or white, in panicles ; April. Leaves leathery, smooth, of three entire-margined, oval leaflets, each ending in a hard point. A rapid grower, but as it is only half-hardy it should be restricted to conservatory decoration. There is a variety, C. indivisa lobata, differing from the type only in that the leaflets are lobed. C. LANUGINOSA (downy). A native of China (introduced 1851). Leaves broad, heart-shaped, smooth above and woolly below ; the lower ones divided into three leaflets. It has magnificent pale blue flowers, sometimes exceeding 8 inches across, appearing from June to October. The var. pallida has even larger flowers. C. MONTANA (mountain). Native of the Himalayas (1831). Flowers smaller than in the preceding species, white, and in their form and size suggestive of Anemones ; borne in clusters from the axils of the ripened wood. It attains a height of 20 feet, and flowers from May to July. C. PATENS (spreading). Native of China and Japan (introduced 1836). Stems wiry, free growing. The leaves are divided into three leaflets, smooth above and hairy beneath. Flowers, pale violet-blue, 6 inches across, springing from the ripe wood in June and again in autumn. It is one of the parents of many fine hybrids. Other names for it are cosrulea and azurea. C. VITALBA (white vine) is our own native Old Man's Beard or Traveller's Joy, so plentiful on English hedges. The flowers are only an inch across, of a greenish white colour, slightly fragrant ; July to September, followed by the more conspicuous greybeards produced by the development of the feathered styles. C. VITICELLA (vine bower), already referred to as the earliest exotic species introduced. It is very strong and hardy, and therefore is often selected as a stock upon which to graft less vigorous sorts. Leaves undivided, or with three to twelve leaflets. Flowers smaller even than those of Vitalba, blue, purple, or rosy, drooping, produced throughout the summer. This has been frequently used by the hybridisers, and its crossed progeny are mostly large-flowered. i. 2 FLOWERS OP GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE The hybrids that have been raised by crossing and recrossing some of the above are very numerous, and we cannot do more than give a short selection of good forms : Garden Varieties. Albert Victor, deep lavender, with paler stripe. Alexandra, pale reddish violet. Anderson Henryi, creamy white. Beauty of Worcester, single and double flowers, bluish violet, white stamens. Countess of Lovelace, bright bluish lilac, with yellow anthers. Duchess of Edinburgh, double, white, fragrant. Duke of Edinburgh, large, rich violet-purple. Earl Beaconsjield, rich purple. Enchantress, very double, white, outer sepals rosy. Fair Rosamond, rosy white, with red stripe. Fairy Queen, very large, flesh tint with pink stripe. Gipsy Queen, rich velvety purple. Grand Duchess, rose-tinted white. Jackminni, deep violet-purple, flowers in masses. Jackmanni alba, paper white. John G. Veitch, double, large, lavender- blue. Lady Bovill, large, greyish blue. Lady C. Nevill, blush, with mauve stripe. Lady Londesborough, silvery grey, with paler stripe. Louis van Houtte, deep violet-purple, with darker veins. Lucy Lemoine, double white. Madame Edouard Andre, velvety bright crimson. Madame van Houtte, white. Miss Bateman, sepals thick, white, choco- late anthers. Mrs. James Bateman, pale lavender, with darker veins. Standishii, bluish lavender. Star of India, reddish violet -purple, with red stripe. Venus Victrix, double, delicate lavender. Cultivation. The Clematis is most valuable in all gardens, large and small, for producing richness of bloom in beds or for rapidly covering walls, trellis- work, arbours, or old tree-stumps. Any soil will suit it, provided it be deep and well-drained ; but a rich loam well-manured gives the best results, and in dry weather liquid manure should be given liberally. Care should be taken in cutting back during winter, for spring bloomers may in this way be deprived of their flowers. Those of the Lanuginosa type, and others that regularly die back, need only to have the dead wood cut away ; other varieties should only be cut back where growth has been too great to be convenient, as the process retards the period of flowering. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, layering, grafting, or from seed. Cuttings are made from the young shoots, inserted in sandy soil and placed in gentle heat. Layering can be successfully practised out of doors at any time. The bark of the joint should be scraped slightly before being covered with soil, and should be kept watered. Before the new growth starts in the spring the layers, which should now be well-rooted, should be separated and planted where required. In grafting, which is done in early spring, a young shoot is inserted in the cleft root of some such species as C. Flammula, tied up with bast, potted in small pots, placed in a propagating frame and kept warm and moist. They soon unite, and are then gradually hardened off. MEADOW RUES 7 Description of Fig. 1, C. patens aureliana, a single form with eight sepals. Fig. 2, a double form, C. patens sopkia. The figure to the left of the Plate is a stamen, the upper portion being the anther which contains the pollen or fertilising meaL MEADOW RUES Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Thalictrum THALICTRUM (the classical name), a genus of about fifty species, widely distributed in the temperate and colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere; three species being British. They are perennial herbs distinguished by their graceful much-divided (compound) leaves, with stipules, the absence of petals, and the great development of the stamens in proportion to the size of the four or five sepals. The carpels each contain a single ovule, and develop into a miniature nut, called an achene ; a number of these gathered into a head constitute the fruit. The flower-cluster is a panicle or raceme. It is to the great number and large size of the stamens that the feathery appearance of the flower- cluster is due in certain species. As the pollen is shed it is borne by the wind to the stigmas of other flowers, and this method of fertilisation explains why the sepals are not showy, and why the flower produces no honey. The stigmas come to maturity before the anthers shed their pollen, so that self-fertilisation is not likely to occur. Thalictrums have been cultivated in gardens for nearly two centuries, T. cornuti being apparently the first foreign species to be introduced. T. aquileyifolium, the best known of the cultivated kinds, was introduced from the Continent in 1731. Owing to the smallness of the flowers, the species are esteemed chiefly on account of their light and elegant, much-divided foliage, in which respect some of them rival maidenhair ferns. Species and The most popular of the species in gardens to-day are varieties, /p aquilegifolium, T. alpinum, T. anemonoides, T. Delavayi, T. flavum, T. tuberosum, and T. minus. THALICTRUM ALPINUM (Alpine Meadow Rue) is a native, not more than a foot high, with unbranched wiry stem, and a few purplish flowers, at first drooping, erect later ; July and August. Leaflets almost round, bluntly lobed. Often increases by means of runners. Wild in northern mountain bogs. T. ANEMONOIDES (Anemone-like). Rue Anemone. A native of 8 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE North America (1768). It is but a few inches high, with whorled leaves and white flowers, produced in May. There is a variety with double flowers. T. AQUILEGIFOLIUM (Columbine-leaved). Feather Columbine. Grows to a height of 3 or 4 feet with a slender stem, and glaucous wedge-shaped leaflets frequently tinged with purple. Flowers yellowish white, produced in masses ; stamens purple ; May to July. The following varieties are also in cultivation : Var. atropurpureum has dark purple stems and stamens ; var. formosum, also with dark purple stamens, but with dilated tips ; var. roseum, with rosy-red sepals ; var. rubrum, with red stamens. T. DELAVAYI (Delavay's). Introduced from China in 1890. It has slender stems, 3 feet high, blue-green, much-divided leaves, and loose panicles of pale purple flowers; midsummer. A very handsome plant for the herbaceous border or rock-garden. T. FLAVUM (yellow). Fen Rue. Our second British species has a creeping yellow rootstock, stout furrowed stem, 2 to 4 feet ; small pale yellow sepals and bright yellow anthers ; July and August. There are several natural varieties, but they are of interest only to botanists. T. GLAUCUM (glaucous). A native of South Europe (1798). A robust species, 4 or 5 feet high, with blue-green foliage, and yellow flowers in an erect dense panicle ; June and July. T. MINUS (lesser) is also a native, of similarly robust habit with T. flavum (1 to 4 feet), but with yellow-green sepals, and drooping flowers; July and August. There are several good garden varieties, such as var. adiantifolium with maidenhair-like leaves. T. TUBEROSUM (tuberous). Introduced from Spain 1713. Grows to a height of 9 feet, and has large panicles of creamy flowers. Culture and Any good soil will suit these plants. A border that is Propagation. b ac k e( j by a shrubbery or wall is a good place for them ; the taller-growing, of course, being planted in the rear. The coarser sorts are useful for the wild garden. T. flavum, T. minus, and its varieties, succeed best in chalky or limestone soil. All the species are hardy perennials, and may be propagated by division of the rootstock in autumn or spring They may also be raised from seed sown in pans in a frame in February, or in the open border in April or May. The seedlings should be transplanted as soon as they are large enough to be handled, or they may be thinned out if in the position they are intended to occupy permanently. Description of The species figured is the so-called Feathery Colum- Piate 2. bi ne? Thalictrum aquilegifolium ; and in Fig. 1 a single blossom is drawn larger than the natural size, in order to show the structure more clearly. THALICTRUM AQUILEGIFOLIUM Nat. size PL. 2 ANEMONES 9 ANEMONES Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Anemone ANEMONE (Greek, anemos, the wind). Perennial herbs with leaves all radical, lobed or divided. Flowers mostly solitary, on scapes provided with an involucre of three-parted leaf -like bracts. Sepals, petal-like, coloured blue, purple, red, yellow, white (rarely yellow), varying from four to twenty. Petals absent, but the outer row of the numerous stamens are sometimes partially developed into petals. The fruit is a head of achenes, sometimes with bearded styles. There are about seventy species, distri- buted over the cold and temperate regions, chiefly of the N. Hemisphere. Anemones have had their place in English gardens for three hundred years, for A. coronaria was introduced from the Levant in 1596. A. hortensis followed from South Europe in the ensuing year. For a considerable portion of this long period these species have enjoyed great popularity, but of late years the more recently intro- duced (1844) A.japonica has been in greater favour. Still, the old Poppy Anemones and Garden Anemones, as A. coronaria and A. hortensis are respectively called, have many admirers, and are likely always to keep a place in herbaceous gardens. Anemones contribute largely to the beauty of our gardens from early spring, when the Hepaticas are in bloom, to late in the autumn, when A. japonica and its varieties are at their best. Much has been done to improve and vary the most popular of the species, particularly by the French and Dutch gardeners, especially among the Hepaticas, the Japanese, the Poppy and the Star Anemones. ANEMONE CORONARIA (garland). The Poppy Anemone. ' South Europe. Tuberous rooted, 18 inches high, with ter- nate leaves, the segments minutely divided. Flowers with great range of colour variation, from white through pink, rose, scarlet, purple to blue, as well as variegated colours. Sepals, six, oval, in contact. The exceedingly numerous florists' varieties are all beautiful. Flowers, March to May. A. HORTENSIS (garden). Star Anemone. South Europe. Similar to coronaria, but the leaves are tougher and the segments not so finely divided as in that species ; the sepals are more spreading, and there is a distinct " eye " of a second colour in the centre of the flower. Certain well-defined forms, such as stellata and Pavonina, are regarded by some botanists as distinct species, by others as mere varieties. A well-known variety is fulgens, the Scarlet Anemone, with brilliant vermilion sepals, which are rendered all the more dazzling by contrast with the mass of I- 3 io FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE black stamens. All the forms of this species rank among the most beautiful of hardy spring flowers. A. ALPINA (alpine). Europe. A handsome plant, 12 to 24 inches high ; sepals varying white, cream, yellow, with backs pale or purple ; May; suitable for rockery or border, requiring good, deep soil. Var. sulphurea, cup-shaped, yellow, 18 inches. A. APENNINA (apennine). Europe. 6 inches ; bright blue ; March ; requires light sandy loam sheltered by trees. Vars. alba, pure white ; Honda, deep blue, early flowering, wants shelter. One of the best for the rockery or wild garden. A. JAPONICA (Japan). 2 to 3 feet ; rosy carmine with yellow anthers ; autumnal. Vars. alba (Honorine Jobert), pure white; elegans (rosea), very large, pale rose, broad leaves ; rubra, deep red. A. MULTIFIDA (many-slits). 6 to 12 inches; pale yellow, citron or red ; June ; border or rockery. A. NARCISSIFLORA (Narcissus-like). 1 foot ; creamy, purplish at back, variable; May; rockery. A. NEMOROSA (wood or grove). 6 to 8 inches ; our native Wood Anemone, which does well in a shady border ; white or purplish, roots creeping ; March. Vars. flore pleno, double pure white ; /. p. rosea, rose- coloured ; Robinsoniana (cserulea), bright azure. A. PALMATA (palmate). The Cyclamen Anemone. 9 inches ; golden- yellow, narrow sepals ; May ; suitable for damp rockery, Var. alba, pure white, very early. A. POLYANTHES (many-flowered). 12 to 18 inches ; white ; May. A. RANUNCULOIDES (Ranunculus - like). 3 inches; golden - yellow, hairy at back ; April. A. SYLVESTRIS (wood). The Snowdrop Anemone. 12 to 18 inches ; white satiny flowers, nodding on tall scapes above foliage ; April ; roots creeping. Damp, shady position in leaf mould. There are two distinct sections of Anemones which Pasque-flowers. _ , , . gardeners nave long treated as belonging to separate genera the Pasque-flowers and the Hepaticas. They all really belong to the genus Anemone, but we have here kept them distinct. A. PULSATILLA A British species, forming tufts 6 inches to 9 inches high, with finely-divided leaves and well furnished with elegant flowers, which appear in April. These are dull purple in colour, covered with silky hairs. There are several varieties: dahurica, more erect than type, very dwarf ; lilacina, dwarf with lilac flowers ; rubra, dwarf with red flowers. A. VERNALIS (spring). The Shaggy Pasque-flower. A European ANEMONES n species. 6 inches ; flowers white within, bluish purple without, thickly covered with downy hairs ; April. A. PRATENSIS (meadow). 6 to 12 inches; differs from A. Pulsatilla in its smaller, darker flowers and narrower sepals ; May. There are several named varieties. With few exceptions the Anemones are spring Cultivation. * . . bloomers, but by a little method in planting the roots a succession of flowers may be kept up. A rich, well-drained, sandy loam suits most of them. A. coronaria and its varieties are rather gross- feeders, and for these the soil should be made very rich, but fresh manure should never be given to Anemones. In heavy soils they should not be planted deeply, the danger of damping off being then greater ; for, although most of the species like a damp situation, excessive or stagnant wetness is the Anemone-grower's principal difficulty. Some- times the flowers are spoiled by late frosts in April or May, but if these are feared, the beds must be protected at night, when the plants begin to show bloom. Some of the species, such as apennina, fulgens, and sylvestris, do best in the partial shade of trees, or in a shrubbery border. A. japonica and its varieties are excellent plants for furnishing moist tree-shaded corners, and they grow equally well in full sunshine. In some gardens they form a feature when planted together with Kniphofias. They are also happy when planted on the margin of lakes or streams. Most of the Anemones may be grown in pots, and so Pot-culture. treated they may be used to make the greenhouse brilliant through the winter. For this purpose they should be potted in autumn in a compost of turfy-loam, sharp sand, and well-decomposed manure, and given the protection of a cold frame, where they will come on nicely for winter and spring flowering. After flowering the foliage begins to turn yellow, and the material that has been accumulated by the vital activity of the leaf is gradually transferred to the roots. This process is not complete until the whole of the plant above ground has withered. Then the roots may be taken up and divided, care being taken to have an " eye " or incipient shoot on every portion that is separated, or growth will not take place. Some species do not succeed so well as others, if so divided. A. japonica cheerfully submits to the process, as do the various forms of A. nemorosa, but others like A. narcissiflora do not make headway under it. The best method for increasing stock is by raising new plants from seed, except in the case of A. fulgens, which is best propagated by division in July or August. Really double flowers 12 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE do not produce seeds, the essential organs having been converted into petals by the doubling process. The single and semi-double flowers are the seed-producers, and only the finest of these in form and colour should be allowed to mature their seed vessels. It should be remembered that it is from seed that variety is obtained. If you have a pet strain you wish to propagate you can be sure of doing so only by root-division. On the other hand, if you are ambitious to raise new varieties you must select plants of good habit, with well-formed and finely-coloured flowers, and by means of a camel-hair brush convey the freshly shed pollen from the anthers of one plant to the stigmas of another. The seed may be sown in a moist warm bed outside, prepared as if for onions, and the soil should be covered with slates or mats till the seeds germinate ; or in seed-pans, filled with light sandy soil, and placed in a cold frame. When the leaves of the seedlings have withered at the end of their first season, sift fresh earth over the bed to the depth of a quarter-inch, and leave them. At the end of their second summer they will be large enough to take up and plant out where they are intended to flower in the following spring. Most of the seedlings will be ordinary varieties, but in all probability new forms will be found. These, of course, should be marked and placed apart at the resting-season. Description of Plate 3, Anemone coronaria, showing variation in Plates 3 and 4. f orm anc [ co lour of the flowers. The flesh-tinted specimen has had the stamens developed into very slender petals. In the lower left-hand corner is a stamen removed and enlarged. Fig 1 is a vertical section through the flower after removal of the sepals. The carpels are crowded upon a hollow cone-like receptacle, and surrounded by a great number of stamens. Fig. 2 shows the carpels more clearly after removing both sepals and stamens. Fig. 3 is one carpel detached, showing the style with its stigmatic tip. It develops into a fruit called an achene, which is like a little nut, with a solitary seed within. Plate 4, Anem,one hortensis, showing a few of the variations in form and number of the floral leaves. It will be seen that the broadest of these is very narrow when compared with those of A. coronaria. Fig. 1 represents the tuberous rootstocks with their leaves ; Fig 2 is a section through the receptacle corresponding with Fig 1 of Plate 3. ANEMONE HEPATICA and a few allies constitute a kind of sub-genus or section of Anemone so far as the cultivated species are concerned, but the groups are connected by species not in cultivation. Formerly they were regarded as a distinct genus (Hepatica), the characters relied upon for the separation being found in the carpels lacking the tails found in ANEMONES 13 other Anemones, and the character of the involucre. In Hepatica this consists of three simple leaves near the flower, so that it resembles a calyx ; but it is sufficiently remote from the flower to make it clear that the involucral leaves are not sepals. The sepals indeed are coloured and petal-like, as in those other species of Ranunculacese we have already described. The rootstock is not so tuberous as are those of A. coronaria and A. hortensis, but more like that of A. japonica and our native A. nemorosa. The leaves are divided into lobes ; they are glossy, dark- green above, reddish beneath, and persist for -two seasons, so that the plant is always in leaf. ANEMONE HEPATICA (liver : supposed cure for liver-complaints) was introduced from Europe in 1573. It is from 4 to 6 inches high, with the leaves in three almost equal lobes, with clear cut margins free from in- dentations ; the leaf stalks hairy. The flowers are solitary on the hairy scape, and consist of from six to nine sepals ; the normal colour is blue or purple, paler beneath. There are numerous varieties, from white to deep blue and crimson, double and semi-double, and large and small flowered. They are all worth growing either in the rock-garden, or in the front of a sunny border. The flowers first appear in February, and a succession is maintained until April. A. ANGULOSA (angled). The Large Hepatica, from Eastern Europe. Whole plant as large again as A. Hepatica; 8 to 12 inches high, with leaves divided into five-toothed lobes. Flowers, 2 inches across, with black anthers and yellow carpels, appearing in February. The cultural directions for Anemones in general apply Cultivation. * * * equally to this section, but a few lines may be devoted specially to them. -Both A. Hepatica and A. angidosa may be propagated by root-division in autumn, but this method should be practised with caution, for the great thing to aim at with Hepaticas is to get large clumps bearing a great number of flowers. This can be achieved only by allowing the plants to remain undisturbed for several years, for their roots do not increase rapidly. In this case seed-sowing is the better method for increasing our stock; in truth, by allowing the clumps to remain undisturbed, we shall probably get abundance of seedlings round the old plants without any trouble. The appearance of these tiny plants will suggest to us that the seed should be sown as soon as ripe. We have our choice, however, of sowing at once in the border, or holding it over the winter, and sowing it in March in seed-pans. If the latter course be adopted the seedlings will be up in April or May. They must be kept free from weeds, and watered when necessary, till September, when they may be planted out in a sunny border, where they will flower i. 4 14 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE sparingly the following spring. After their second blooming they will have attained to a fair size, and may be shifted to their permanent quarters. Frequent shifting, even unaccompanied by root-division, pre- judicially affects their freedom of flowering. Description of The central group represents the type form of A. Plate 5. Hepatica. B is the double form of the var. rubra. Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the flower. At the left-hand side of A there is a flower from which the sepals and stamens have been shed, showing the maturing carpels. EANUNCULUS Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Ranunculus RANUNCULUS (Latin, rana, a frog, from certain species affecting swampy places). Acrid herbs, annual or perennial. Leaves entire, lobed, or compound; the root leaves often differing from the stem leaves. Flowers in terminal panicles or solitary from the axils ; white, yellow, or red. Sepals, three to five, falling off early. Petals usually five, some- times absent ; with honey glands near base. Stamens numerous ; carpels many, with short style, and one ovule. About one hundred and sixty species distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world. The present year is the tercentenary of the Anemone and the Ranunculus in English gardens ; but the Ranunculus had been largely cultivated in the East during periods long anterior to the year 1596, when it was brought from Constantinople. Even at that early date two tolerably distinct races of Ranunculus asiaticus were known as Old Turkey and Persian. Horticulturists have produced from some of the species a considerable number of varieties, many of which are hybrids between the Persian and some other species. RANUNCULUS ASIATICUS, the Garden Ranunculus, varies Principal Species. from 8 to 12 inches in height. Its root is a bunch of little claw-like tubers, joined to the stem by their upper and thicker ends; these increase in number with the age of the plant. It lacks the easy grace of the Garden Anemone, but has a neater, more stately, and more brilliant appearance. In cultivation there is a tendency for some or all of the stamens to have the course of development diverted, and the opening bud reveals them not as stamens but as petals. The whole of the floral organs may be thus developed, with the result that the flower is as double as a rose. At first the green sepals spread widely, but after- wards turn down towards the stem, and fall off. RANUNCULUS 15 RANUNCULUS ASIATICUS, var. sanguineus, is the Turkey or Peony Ranunculus, and has unbranchecl stems, leaves divided into threes, the segments toothed and blunt. The flowers range in colour through all shades of purple, orange, and yellow, self-coloured or variegated. As they are always double and consequently sterile, sub- varieties can only arise by perpetuating " sports " ; they are therefore few in number. R. asiaticus, var. vulgaris, is the Persian Ranunculus, and its stem branches from the base. The three main divisions of the leaf are again divided into minor threes with acute tips. The flowers have a far greater range of colour than those of the last mentioned, all shades excepting blue being found in one or other of them. They are single, double or semi- double, and may be selfs, or streaked, striped, edged, or shaded with some other colour or tint. They thus present the most bewildering variety. It would be hard to say how many exist in the catalogues of the bulb- growers and florists, but so far back as 1778, Mawe, in his Universal Gardener and Botanist, declared that over a thousand varieties were named in florists' lists. Many of these must have been rediscovered and renamed since then, but by considering the many colours that vulgaris exhibits, and the possible changes that may be rung upon them, it will be seen that a very long list is the natural result of such ancient cultivation. R. ACONITIFOLIUS (aconite-leaved). White Bachelor's Button. From Central Europe (1596). Plant from 6 to 24 inches, with branching stems and three- to five-lobed, toothed leaves. Flowers white, petals variable in form ; May and June. The double varieties are known as Fair Maids of France. R. CORTUS^FOLIUS (cortusa - leaved). From Teneriffe (1826). 2 feet. Stem branched. Root-leaves, kidney -shaped, slightly lobed, with large rounded teeth (crenate)', stem-leaves almost stalkless, five-parted. Flowers yellow ; sepals spreading, petals lance-shaped ; May. R. LINGUA (tongue). Spearwort. A native plant growing in marshy ground ; 2 to 3 feet ; the stem hollow, lower portion rooting at the joints. Leaves lance-shaped, 6 to 10 inches long, stalkless, clasping stem. Flowers yellow, 2 inches across ; July to September. Should be planted on the edge of water. R. LYALLI (Lyall's). New Zealand Water-lily. From New Zealand (1879). Stem branched, erect, 2 to 4 feet. Leaves round, concave, 1J foot across, leathery; the leaf-stalk attached to centre of underside (peltate). Flowers white, 4 inches across. Requires the protection of a frame, except in the warmer parts of the country, where it thrives in a deep soil in a partially shaded position and flowers in summer. & FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE All the forms of JR. asiaticus (Persian, Turkish, etc.) like good rich loam, mixed with the well-rotted remains of a hot-bed, or equally well-rotted cow-dung, and some sharp sand. The beds should be in neither too sunny nor too shady a position. The soil should be dug out to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches, and care taken to secure good drainage, for though these plants love plenty of moisture, they cannot endure a water-logged soil. The prepared compost should now be laid in, and the claw-like roots planted, four or six inches apart. They should then be covered with fine soil. If planted in October or November, the roots should be three and a half inches beneath the surface of the finished bed, and protected from frost by a layer of leaf -mould, straw -litter, or fern, which should be removed when the severe weather is past, and before the tender shoots appear above ground. If the roots are held over till February, they should not be planted deeper than two inches. Water should be given if the soil gets dry, but if the foliage turns yellow before the flowers appear, you may conclude the drainage is deficient. Propagation of the double sorts must be effected by root-division, or separating the offshoots ; these generally flower the first season after separation, and . this plan leaves the parent root intact, which is desirable. The division should take place when the roots are lifted for drying after flowering. New varieties are raised from seed as in the case of Anemones. The seedlings flower in their second or third year. Sowing may take place in autumn, protecting the young plants under glass during the winter ; or the seed may be sown in a cold frame in January. Description of The figures of R. asiaticus give a slight idea of the Plate 6. variation in form and colour of the flowers. Fig. 1 shows the carpels arranged on the conical receptacle, and surrounded by the numerous stamens. MARSH MARIGOLDS Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Caltha CALTHA (Greek, kalathos, a basket or cup). Five or six species of marsh herbs, with stout creeping rootstocks, and heart-shaped, glossy leaves, chiefly from the root. Flowers few at ends of branches, white or yellow. Sepals, five or more, petal-like, not remaining long after the flowers open. Petals absent. Carpels many, developing into many-seeded follicles. Distribution, temperate and cold regions. MARSH MARIGOLDS . 17 The genus Caltha has no horticultural history in the sense that the preceding genera have, for it is no exotic. The Marsh Marigold of the gardener is merely a double-flowered variety of our native C. palustris, which has sacrificed its sexual organs to his demand for a brave show, and has converted them into a dense mass of petals. CALTHA PALUSTRIS (marsh) in the single state has Principal Species. in five, six, or seven unequal, broad, golden sepals and yellow stamens. The leaves enlarge greatly after flowering, and their stalks lengthen. Sometimes the stem rises in a sub-erect manner to a height of 3 feet; at others it rambles along the ground. The flowers are 2 inches across ; March to May. There are several natural varieties, of no horticultural interest, save that one, var. guerangerii, is thought to be the progenitor of the double-flowered form. It differs from the type in its more erect habit, the smaller and more numerous flowers, and the remoteness of the sepals form each other when expanded. Two varieties of C. palustris have been introduced from North America : var. biflora, shorter than the type, but with larger flowers in pairs ; var. parnassi- folia, with longer, more oval leaves, and several flowers on each stalk, 3 or 4 inches high. Then there is a var. purpurascens from South Europe, of more erect and branching habit, with purplish flower- stalks. C. L-EPTOSEPALA (slender-sepalcd), 1 foot, is an introduction from North- West America, with slender white sepals and heart-shaped leaves, whose margins are almost free from anything in the nature of teeth. Flowering in May and June. Under cultivation C. palustris has branched off into two distinct double varieties : the dwarf nana plena, and the larger monstrosa plena. No special instructions are needed for the successful Cultivation. cultivation of Caltha in any of its forms, for it is perfectly hardy and will do well anywhere, if liberally watered. In its wild state it is found in marshes, bogs, and by the sides of rivers and streams, and this fact suggests that it will succeed best where similar conditions prevail. It should at least have the dampest spot in the garden, and should the soil be naturally light and dry, we would advise the sinking of a tub, filled with soil, in the border, into which Caltha may be planted. By this plan, sufficient moisture may be assured to it. Propagation of the double varieties must be effected by dividing the roots early in the year, before the buds have appeared, or in summer, after the flowering is past. The single forms may be treated in this way also, but these may be raised from seed in addition. This should be sown in soil kept damp by I- 5 i8 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE an admixture of cocoa-nut fibre refuse, say one part of fibre to two parts of the garden soil, to which has also been added a little sand. Description of The central group is a plant of G. palustris flore Plate?. pleno; and of the subordinate figures 1 is a section through the flower showing the arrangement of stamens and carpels ; 2 shows the carpels alone. In Fig. 3 these carpels have developed into ripe seed vessels open follicles containing two rows of seeds. GLOBE FLOWEKS Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Trollius TROLLIUS (Old German, trol, a globe). A small genus consisting of nine species distributed over the north temperate and Arctic regions. They are erect perennials with palmately lobed leaves, and large terminal globular flowers, yellow or lilac. Sepals, petal-like, five to fifteen ; petals small, narrow, five to fifteen. Stamens numerous. Carpels, five or more, ultimately becoming follicles. TKOLLIUS EUROP^US (Europe), the Globe-flower, is a Principal Species. native of Britain ; -J to 2 feet high, with leafy stems and pale yellow globose flowers ; June to August. T. ASIATICUS (Asia), a Siberian species, 1 to 1J foot, is similar to europceus, but the larger, dark orange flowers are solitary ; May and June. Petals longer than stamens. T. CAUCASICUS (Caucasus). Yellow flowers; stamens longer than petals, otherwise similar to asiaticus. In a natural state Trollius likes a rather heavy moist Cultivation. soil, but under cultivation it will thrive in any fairly good garden soil. It is a suitable subject for the mixed border. Propagation is effected by root-division in autumn; and by seed, which takes a year to germinate. FENNEL FLOWERS Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Nigella NIGELLA (from Latin, niger, black : the colour of seeds). Fennel- flowers. A small genus of erect annuals with alternate compound leaves, the divisions cut into thread-like segments, perhaps suggesting the popular name. The flowers are white, yellow, blue, or purple, terminal FENNEL FLOWERS 19 on the branches, consisting of five regular and petal-like sepals, five to ten petals, small and inconspicuous, beneath the numerous long stamens ; carpels, five to ten, more or less united from the base, and surmounted by long simple styles. Natives of the Mediterranean region and West Africa. Nigella sativa was introduced from Egypt to English herb-gardens as far back as 1548 ; its seeds being in request as a spice or seasoning. In the East this species appears to have been cultivated for ages before its introduction to Britain; the spicy seeds being used to sprinkle over the tops of cakes, as we do comfits. Canon Tristram is of opinion this is the " fitches " (Ketzach), whose seeds are " beaten out with a staff," as stated in Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27. But the species chiefly grown in the flower-garden are N. damascena and N. hispanica, introduced in 1570 and 1629 respectively, and both popularly known by the somewhat incongruous titles of " Love-in-a-mist " and the " Devil-in-a-bush." NIGELLA HISPANICA (Spanish). 1 to 2 feet; flowers Principal Species. i VLU j i i It large, blue, white, lilac, or purple, with dark red stamens ; no involucre. The large size and profusion of the blossoms contrast well with the fineness of the foliage, and make the plant a highly ornamental one ; it is therefore surprising that it is not more generally grown. It flowers from June to August. Plate 8. N. DAMASCENA (Damascus). 1 to 2 feet ; flowers pale blue, smaller than hispanica. Involucre finely divided and moss-like. Seed vessel bladder-like, and seeds wrinkled. There is a var. alba (white), and another with double flowers (flore pleno). Flowers June to August. N. SATIVA (cultivated) is the Nigella of commerce. Height, 18 inches ; bluish flowers ; no involucre ; July. Seed-vessels connected almost throughout their length, and covered with hard raised points. Leaf divisions shcfrter and broader than in the foregoing kinds. The seeds are much esteemed by French cooks as a flavouring and condiment. They are hot and pungent to the taste, and are said to form a considerable portion of the powder sold as pepper ; but this practice may be obsolete in these days of just dealings and adulteration penalties. The Egyptian fellahin cultivate the plant for the sake of these seeds, which they scatter over their bread before baking it, as caraway and poppy seeds are used in Europe. N. NIGELLASTRUM (Star-nigella). Height, 1 foot ; flowers brown and green ; carpels, two or three only, with short styles. Leaves very slender. Flowers solitary ; July. N. ORIENTALIS (Eastern). Height, 1| foot; small yellow flowers spotted with red ; July. Leaves divided into long narrow segments. Of the forep*oinp; species, the first two are the most Cultivation. suitable for cultivation in the flower-garden, as they require 20 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE no greater care than is involved in the culture of hardy annuals generally. Ordinary garden soil that is neither too poor nor too heavy will suit them. The seeds should be sown thinly in the open border, any time from March to May ; the seedlings being thinned out until only the best plants are left at intervals of seven or eight inches. They do not succeed so well if transplanted. Description of The species represented is N. hispanica. Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the flower, showing the interior of the carpels with their double rows of ovules and the singular petals below the stamens. One of these petals greatly enlarged is shown in Fig. 2 : there are two lips and a hollow spur within which honey is secreted. Fig. 3 depicts the smooth black seeds, which are acrid and aromatic; they are shown of the natural size and much enlarged. Fig. 4 represents a seedling. WINTER ACONITES Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Eranthis ERANTHIS (Greek, ear, the spring, and anthos, flower). A genus containing two species of tuberous-rooted perennials, with radical palmate leaves ; and flower scapes bearing a solitary flower, surrounded by an involucre cut into many narrow segments. The flowers appear before the leaves, and consist of from five to eight coloured sepals, and a similar number of short, tubular, inconspicuous petals. Natives of Europe and N. Asia. E. HYEMALIS (winter). Well known in gardens as the Winter Aconite, because of the resemblance between its foliage and that of Aconiturfi. The cup-shaped golden yellow blossoms appear in January or February with those of the Snowdrop. It has from six to eight sepals, and as many petals. It seldom exceeds 5 or 6 inches, so that it is very suitable for a front position in the border. E. SIBIRICUS (Siberian) is much smaller (3 inches), and blooms a little later. It has only five sepals. Aconites succeed in any soil, and if left undisturbed soon become naturalised. They are increased by root-division, and are suitable for the rockery, wild garden, or a slope partially shaded by trees. They are very effective when planted thickly in shrub-beds on lawns, etc. A pretty spring effect is produced by planting Eranthis under the Siberian Dogwood (Cornus sibirica). COLUMBINES 21 COLUMBINES Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Aquilegia AQUILEGIA (Latin, aquila, an eagle). Erect perennial herbs distributed over the north temperate zone ; species generally considered numerous, but reduced by Sir Joseph Hooker to five or six. Leaves alternate, twice or thrice divided. Stems leafy, branched, 1 to 4 feet. Flowers solitary or panicled ; stamens maturing before pistils. Sepals, five, coloured, petal- like. Petals, five, curved in front and extended backward as hollow spurs in which honey is secreted. Stamens numerous ; carpels, five, with many ovules. In cultivation the flowers occur double, and in some of these the spurs are suppressed, when the flower has a flat, starry appearance. The genus furnishes a large number of the most graceful and showy plants for the hardy garden, and yet they may be said to be quite modern as garden flowers. Some of them, it is true, are merely cultivated forms of our native Columbine (A. vulgaris), and this and A. canadensis were practically the only two known to gardeners a hundred years ago, although two others had lately been introduced to England. A. canadensis came from North America as far back as the year 1640, A. alpina from Switzerland in 1731, and A. viridiflora from Siberia in 1780. The others came during the present century, the popular A. chrysantha so recently as twenty-three years ago. A large number of the garden Aquilegias are hybrids between some of these species. There is probably no group of plants that are so difficult to keep distinct in a garden; they hybridise so freely without the gardener's aid. It is almost impossible to get seedlings true unless the parent plant has been kept in a kind of quarantine by covering it with muslin during the flowering period. For our present purpose we shall ignore Hooker's reduction of the genus, and speak of the sorts by the names they commonly pass under. AQUILEGIA VULGARIS (common). The Common Columbine. Principal Species. * ' 2 to 3 feet. This is the species most frequent in gardens. Its flowers are normally purplish blue, but they vary from dark blue to dull red, and to white. The spurs are curved inwardly, hooked and knobbed at the extremity. It flowers from April to October, though the principal dis- play is over by July. The principal varieties of vulgaris are the following : Alba, flowers pure white, single and double forms. Ccerulea nana, deep blue, double, of dwarf habit. ffybrida, sepals lilac-purple, short, broad I. 6 portion of petals white, spur almost straight. Vervceneana, leaves mottled with yellow. Wittmanniana, like hybrida, but finer flowers, very large, spur curved. 22 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE From other well-known species grown in gardens we select the following : A. OERULEA (sky-blue). 2 to 3 feet; large flowered, sepals long, dark blue; petals pale blue, almost white; spur long, slender; April to July. From Rocky Mountains (1864). A. CANADENSIS (Canadian). 1 to 2 feet; small, narrow flowered, brick- red, spur straight, short ; April to June. A. CHRYSANTHA (Golden-Flower). 3 to 4 feet; sepals pale yellow, spreading ; petals richer yellow, with very long diverging spurs ; May to August. A. FORMOSA (handsome). 2 to 4 feet ; very showy ; sepals vermilion with greenish tip ; petals red with mouth of tube yellow ; spurs rather short, straight ; May to September. The var. calif omica hybrida origin- ating from formosa has the flower orange-yellow with long orange-red spurs. Native of West North America. All the foregoing do well in the border ; the following are well suited for the rock-garden, being more alpine, and dwarfish in habit : A. ALPINA (alpine). 8 to 12 inches; flowers large, deep blue or blue and white ; spurs short, slightly incurved ; May. Swiss Alps (1831). A. GLANDULOSA (glandular). 8 to 12 inches ; showy spring bloomer ; sepals lilac-blue, petals white, spur very short, incurved. The var. jucunda is smaller, and shortlived. Siberia (1822). A. PYRENAICA (Pyrenean). 9 to 12 inches ; bright lilac-blue ; spur long, slender, slightly incurved ; leaves small ; June to August. Pyrenees (1818). A. SIBIRICA (Siberian). 12 inches; lilac; petals sometimes white near edges ; spur stout, strongly incurved ; June to August. Siberia (1806). The dwarf form of A. vulgaris, already mentioned, also makes a good plant for the rockery. All these species, their varieties, and the endless and Cultivation. . . x . , . nameless hybrids that arise in every garden where several species are grown openly, are plants suited for ornamental gardening. The free and elegant manner in which the flowering stems rise above the light leafy base renders them graceful objects wherever placed. They thrive in any fairly good soil, though the delicate kinds require for successful treatment sandy loam, manure or leaf -mould. They like a sunny position, and a fair amount of moisture, but the drainage must be good. Special sorts should be propagated by root-divisions in February. Seed should be sown, as soon as it is ripe, thinly in pans. The seedlings may be planted out where they are to flower as soon LARKSPURS 23 as they have four leaves. They should be placed nine or ten inches apart. Description of The three purplish flowers (A) are those of A. vulgaris. Plate 9. TWO examples of the long-spurred A. chrysantha are given at BB, whilst C depicts A.formosa. The open follicles with their ripe seeds are sown to the right of C, and the seeds, natural size and enlarged, are depicted at the foot of the Plate (1). LARKSPURS Natural Order RANUNCULACE.E. Genus Delphinium DELPHINIUM (Greek, delphin, a dolphin). A genus of about forty species of erect annual or perennial herbs, natives of the north temperate zone. The leaves are alternate, lobed or cut into fine divisions. The flowers are borne in racemes, or panicles, each flower starting from the axil of a slender bract. The five coloured sepals cohere below, the upper one produced as a long spur behind. The petals two or four, the two upper with spurs which lie within the spur of the sepal; the lateral ones, when present, small and spurless. Stamens numerous ; follicles, one to five. Delphinium Ajacis, the common garden Larkspur, appears to have been introduced from the Continent in 1573, and in several places garden escapes have become naturalised; especially is this so in the cornfields of Cambridgeshire. At the end of the sixteenth century two other species were introduced, D. datum (now recognised as a synonym for D. exaltatum) from Siberia, and D. staphisagria (Stavesacre) from South Europe. During the last and present centuries a number of beautiful species have come from Siberia, America, and our Indian Empire, and many fine hybrids and seedlings have been produced from them. Messrs. Kelway & Sons of Langport are the principal breeders and growers of the best of garden Delphiniums. DELPHINIUM AJACIS (Aiax's) is an erect, hairy plant, Principal Species. ... about 18 inches high, with finely-divided leaves, and long racemes of white, pink, or blue flowers, which appear in June and July. Follicles hairy. Most of the Rocket Larkspurs are descended from this species. D. CONSOLIDA (joined in one). 12 to 18 inches; more branched, racemes shorter, petals joined, follicles smooth ; June. 24 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE D. CARDINALE (cardinal-red). 3 or 4 feet ; erect spikes, bright scarlet sepals, yellow petals ; August. A native of California. The foregoing species are annuals ; the following are perennials : D. AZUREUM (sky-blue). 3 feet; large sky-blue flowers in erect racemes ; petals with bearded tips ; July. North- West America (1805). D. CASHMIRIANUM. 3 feet; abundance of large violet-blue flowers, an inch or two across ; broad sepals joined at apex to form hood ; July. Cashmir (1875). D. DASYCARPUM (hairy follicles). 4 to 6 feet ; large blue flowers, dark brown petals ; June. - D. EXALTATUM (exalted). 3 to 5 feet ; medium flowers in upright racemes, blue or white ; June to September. Caucasus (1819). D. FORMOSUM (beautiful). 1J to 3 feet; long spikes of sky-blue flowers shaded with indigo; spur long, violet, two-cleft; June to September. Armenia. D. GRANDIFLORUM (large flowered). 1 to 2 feet ; flowers few, large, varying blue to white, with intermediate shades; June. Siberia (1816). D. NUDICAULE (naked stem). 1 to 1^ foot; stems almost leafless, flowers few, sepals scarlet, petals yellow, spur very long; June to September. California (1869). Delphiniums are among the most valuable of hardy garden plants, owing to the brilliant appearance of their stately flowers. They are by no means fastidious as to soil or situation, provided it be not too damp ; yet few plants so well repay a little care and attention in preparing good accommodation for them, and in watering them in dry weather. They thrive best in a deep soil, into which a liberal supply of thoroughly well-rotted manure has been dug. Those sorts that are of medium height make fine displays when beds are filled entirely with them, and for this purpose the plants should be put in at distances of three feet all round. The taller kinds, like exaltatum and dasycarpum, should be planted at the back of borders, or in front of shrubberies, singly, and at intervals of eight or ten feet. The annual kinds must be grown from seed, which should be sown thinly, where the plants are to flower, in March or April, and thinned out, as they do not succeed so well with transplantation. The perennials may be increased by seed, by dividing the roots, by offsets, or by cuttings. The seeds of these should be sown as soon as ripe, or in February, for they do not germinate rapidly. They should be sown in beds, the seedlings thinned out, and in the autumn the plants all lifted with a fork, and planted in the borders, or flower-beds. In those cases where seed is not desired, the capsules should not be allowed to develop, and the plant LARKSPURS 25 in consequence will have more vigour to put into offshoots from the base. As soon as the stems have died off in autumn the plants may be taken up, the offsets picked off, and the root divided. The offsets, if rooted, may be planted out permanently at once, or they may be put into pots until they are well furnished with roots. In autumn or spring cuttings may be taken from the new growths and struck singly in pots without any difficulty. They should be placed in a cold frame, and planted out when they show signs of being well established ; they will flower in the following summer. The plants that figure in florists' catalogues as named Hybridisation. _ . . . . t , . , , , . Delphiniums are mostly hybrids obtained by crossing the finest of the perennial species. Like Aquilegias, the Larkspurs take very kindly to this treatment, and the amateur gardener may be confidently invited to try his skill in this direction. There are, of course, certain rules to be observed, which we shall endeavour briefly to indicate. Already it has been made plain to the reader that the stamens and the pistil (including ovary and stigma) are the all-important organs of the flower; the stamens producing the fertilising pollen (male element) in their anthers, which is to be absorbed by the stigma and conducted to the seed-eggs (ovules) in the ovary or carpel. Now, for success in hybridising, one must be acquainted with the natural history of the species to be operated upon, for in some the pollen is shed before the stigma is ripe and receptive, in others these conditions are reversed. In Delphinium the anthers ripen successively and shed their pollen before the female organs are mature, so that the fertilisation of the ovules by pollen from the same flower is all but impossible. In this case, having selected a suitable plant for our purpose to act as seed-bearer, we must carefully cut out the anthers and wait until the stigmas erect themselves vertically. They are now ripe, and we must at once select the plant suitable for crossing, and from a newly-opened flower delicately pick up some pollen by means of a camel-hair pencil, and as carefully and lightly deposit it upon the stigmas of the seed-bearer. The flower so operated upon should be at once covered with a bag of fine muslin to prevent the access of insects, who may carry pollen that would vitiate our experiment. In hybridising, some point should be kept in view other than the mere prospect of getting a strain different from those already existing. We should seek to improve the form we have selected as seed-bearer by crossing it with pollen from a plant with desirable qualities such as the seed-bearer does not possess, but which, to our fancy, would considerably improve it. If we aim at securing a I- 7 26 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE double form, the seed-bearer should be the most perfectly formed single flower we can find, and the pollen should be provided by a semi-double possessing the desired points. By this method we are likely to secure seed- lings with double flowers. In raising plants from hybrid seed, it should be remembered that for the after propagation of any specially good sort so obtained, root-division and cuttings must be relied upon. Seed from such plants must not be expected to produce a similar progeny, whilst, of course? if the hybrid is a double it will most probably produce no seed at all. Most of the Named Delphiniums are the result of crossing D. exaltatum, D. formosum, and D. grandiflorum. It would be foreign to the purpose of this work to attempt to give any- thing like a complete list of these, but the following selection is calculated to fully meet the requirements of our readers : Hybrid Varieties. Alopecuroides, dark blue. Amphitrite, bright blue with lilac-mauve centre. Andrew Grey, semi-double blue. Ben Davies, dark purple and violet. Cantab, pale blue, very fine. Ceto, sky-blue, double. Comet, sky-blue and purple. Diomedes, violet, semi-double. Dr. Morgan, purple with white centre, very large. Finale, violet with white eye. Hermann Stenger, violet-blue with rosy centre, double. Horus, cobalt-blue with white centre, semi- double. Ivanhoe, light blue, white centre, semi- double. Keteleeri, lavender-blue, tinged reddish, double. Leon Dubois, rosy violet and blue, double. Life Guardsman, bluish purple. Lord Mayor, blue. Madame Henri Jacotot, bright sky-blue, rosy-tinted, double. Madame Richalet, cobalt-blue tipped with rosy violet, white centre. Mento, violet, petals plum-coloured with white centre. Midas, bright blue, rosy veined. Miss Macintyre, heliotrope, edged with blue, very large. Mons. Barral, bright blue tipped and tinged with crimson, brown centre. Nahamot, dark blue. Nuphar, deep blue, petals plum-colour, white centre. Prince of Naples, dark blue, petals plum- colour, white centre, semi-double. Prince of Wales, azure blue, white centre, double. Puck, bronzy purple. R&ve. d'Or, light blue, petals light pink. Robin Adair, dark blue, tinted purple, dark centre. Royalty, rich dark blue. Salamander, light blue and rose, white centre. Seaman, sky-blue, petals mauve pink. Sea Spray, sky-blue, petals lavender, white centre. Susan, deep blue and plum-colour, white centre. Ustane, light blue, petals rosy mauve, dark centre. Description of Plate 1Q illustrates the annual division of the genus. Plates 10 and 11. Both D. Ajacis (A) and D. orientate (B) are tall-growing kinds, and each has single and double flowers. The double form of Ajacis is shown in three colours as well as the single rose. The carpels do not greatly differ from those of Aquilegia, but, as will be noted on the fruiting stalk in the background, they do not all mature, so that the MONKSHOODS 27 follicles are frequently solitary. Fig. 1 is a section through flower ; Fig. 2 shows the curiously ribbed seed, natural size and enlarged ; and Fig. 3 is the seedling. Plate 11 is an example of the garden hybrid forms. MONKSHOODS Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Aconitum ACONITUM (the classical name). A genus of about twenty species of erect, perennial, poisonous herbs, natives of the mountains of the north temperate zone. Leaves palmately lobed and divided, alternate. Flowers white, yellow, purple, blue, in racemes or panicles, the anthers maturing before the stigmas. Sepals, five, large, coloured ; the upper one developed into a great vaulted hood. There are nominally five small petals, of which the two upper ones are hammer-shaped; these are hidden within the hood, but the three lower and smaller ones are entirely wanting in some species. The follicles vary from three to five. Whether Aconitum napellus, the common Monkshood, be really a native of Britain or not, it appears certain that the large clumps sometimes met in woods and plantations are descendants of garden escapes. From the end of the sixteenth century several species and varieties have been introduced from abroad, and during the present century many more. Of the sixteenth century importations, which were brought from the mountainous districts of Europe, several have continued to hold a place as favourite border plants, such as A. Anthora, A. lycoctonum, A. napellus, and A. variegatum. It must be admitted that their presence in English gardens has not been an unalloyed pleasure, for they are among the most virulently poisonous of plants, and many deaths have occurred through eating the rootstock in mistake for horse-radish. It is not easy to understand how any person could make such a mistake, but the evidence that it has been done is conclusive. It should, therefore, only be planted where there can be no possibility of such an error being repeated ; it should never find a place in those gardens where culinary vegetables hob-nob with ornamental flowering plants. In the general appearance of the Aconitums there is ' much to remind one of the Delphiniums : the stately habit, the divided leaves, the distinct form of the flowers, and the erect racemes, Like those, the Aconitums make fine imposing masses for beds or shrubbery borders, and they continue in blossom for six or eight weeks. 28 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE ACONITUM NAPELLUS (little turnip), 3 to 4 feet, is the best-known species, and its flowers are both large and numerous, of a very deep blue. The hood at first covers the other sepals. May to July. There are many varieties and hybrids of this species ; two may be mentioned : album, white ; and pyramidalis, with pyramidal racemes. A. ANTHORA (flowery). 1 to 2 feet ; flowers pale yellow ; leaves cut into very narrow segments ; July. There are several varieties : decan- dollii, leaves with large lobes ; grandiflorum, large flowers ; nemorosum, leaves with broad lobes. Pyrenees (1596). A. AUTUMNALE (autumn). 3 to 4 feet ; bluish purple, hood closed ; July to September. A. BARBATUM (bearded). 3 to 6 feet ; cream colour, middle sepals bearded; leaves divided into narrow segments; flowers July. Siberia (1807). A. CHINENSE (Chinese). 4 to 6 feet ; very bright blue ; June to August. China (1833). A. GMELINI (Gmelin's). 2 feet; cream colour; July. Siberia (1817). A. HETEROPHYLLUM (vari-leaved). 2 feet; large, pale yellow at back, deep blue in front; leaves broadly heart-shaped, with toothed edges. Alone in the genus this is said not to be poisonous. August. Himalaya (1874). A. JAPONICUM (Japanese). 6 feet ; flesh colour, conical hood ; July to September. Considered one of the best. There is a var. cceruleum with blue flowers. Japan (1790). A. LYCOCTONUM (Wolf s-bane). 4 to 6 feet; large, purplish yellow; leaves seven-lobed ; flowers July. Europe (1596). A. PANICULATUM (panicled). 2 to 3 feet ; large, violet, conical hood ; June to September. Europe (1815). A. VARIEGATUM (variegated). 2 to 6 feet; large, blue; hood bent forward; July. Europe (1597). There are several varieties : albiflorum, small white flowers ; bicolor, white tinged with blue, blue margins. There is little difficulty in growing Aconitums, as any ordinary garden soil suits them, but they should be planted in quantity where they can remain undisturbed for years, as they look best in large clumps. A. paniculatum should have leaf -mould. If there is a choice of soil for the other species, they will be found to do best in one that is rather heavy. Aspect, again, is of secondary importance to them, as they do perfectly well in the shadow of trees even in plantations ; therefore (except in the case of A. chinense, which needs warmth and protection) it is unnecessary to give them the sunny position that is PEONIES 29 more required by some other plants. At the same time it should be stated that the Aconi turns will do well in a hot, sunny border, for their thick fleshy rootstocks hold a good store of moisture. If an increase of flowering stock is desired the roots should be divided before the crowns have begun to shoot in early spring. They produce an abundance of seed, and this should be sown as soon as it is ripe, in beds, or in pans placed in a cold frame. The seedlings, when large enough to handle, should be pricked out into boxes, to remain until the following spring, when they may be planted out in their permanent positions, nine or ten inches apart. Description of The plant represented is A. variegatum, var. bicolor. Plate 12. Fig i i s a section through the flower, showing the hammer-shaped petal within the hood. PEONIES Natural Order RANUNCULACE^E. Genus Pceonia (the classical name used by the Greeks, who are said to have named the plant in honour of Paeon, a physician who used it medi- cinally), a genus of herbaceous and shrubby perennials, including about two dozen species distributed over Central Europe, temperate Asia, and North- West America. They are distinguished by the large, alternate, lobed or finely-divided leaves, and the very large and showy regular flowers There are five green sepals, persistent; petals, five to ten in the single flowers, white, pink, crimson, or purple. Carpels, two to five. The Peony, as a cultivated plant in this country, dates from the year 1548, when Pceonia officinalis was intro- duced from Southern Europe, probably more for medical use than for the beauty of its flowers. It spread widely, and may now be found in most cottage gardens, whilst its modified varieties have their place in all sorts of gardens. P. peregrina, which is also commonly cultivated, appears to have been the next introduction (1629), also from Europe ; and a few years later (1633) the dwarf P. humilis came from the South of France. It was not until a hundred and thirty -two years after that P. tenuifolia was brought from Siberia, followed at a distance of nineteen years by P. albiflora from the same regions, the parent of an enormous number of fragrant varieties and hybrids. P. Moutan, the only species with shrubby habit, was introduced from China in 1789, and of this also our gardens have produced many beautiful varieties, i. 8 30 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Cultivated Most of the species are very suitable for cultivation Species. an( j large as the number of garden varieties is, there is little room to doubt that many more will be produced. The great number of stamens, and the fine colours of the petals, render the manu- facture of good doubles a comparatively easy matter, and the greater the number of original species that are brought into general cultivation, the larger will be the list of varieties produced by cross fertilisation. P.EONIA ALBIFLORA (white-flowered). 2 to 5 feet ; the long smooth stalks are often branched towards the summit, and bear from two to five flowers. The leaves are of a brighter hue than usual in the genus, and sometimes the veins and the edges of the leaflets are tinged with red. The leaflets are 3 or 4 inches long, often running together at the base. There is usually a simple leaf a little below the flower, and immediately beneath the calyx a couple of leafy bracts. The flowers are from 4 to 6 inches across, fragrant, normally white, but under culti- vation they exhibit various degrees of coloration in yellow, rose, crimson, and purple; some self-coloured, others streaked or striped. Flowers May and June. The follicles in this species are not more than an inch long, smooth and recurved. The natives of Mongolia use its tubers and seeds as food, hence one of its synonyms is P. edulis. Plate 13. P. CORALLINA (coral-red). 2 to 3 feet; stem unbranched, bearing one flower; leaves smooth; flowers 3J to 4 inches across, crimson- rose; May. Tubers spindle-shaped. Long known to grow on Steep Holmes Island in the Severn, but introduced, not native. Known in gardens as the Male Peony. Europe. P. DECORA (comely). 2 to 3 feet ; stem smooth ; leaves hairy beneath ; flowers solitary, purple ; May ; follicles, woolly, two or three, spreading. Thrace. P. HUMILIS (lowly). 1J to 2 feet; stem hairy near top; leaves dark green and smooth above, downy beneath; flowers solitary, bright red; May. Europe. P. MOUTAN (Chinese Meu-tang King of Flowers). 3 to 5 feet ; stems much branched, woody, forming a shrubby bush, with flowers much larger than those of any other Peony, pure white, pink, rose, crimson, purple, single, double or semi-double. The parent of all the garden Tree Peonies. Flowers May. See Frontispiece to present volume of this work. P. OFFICINALIS (of the shops). 2 to 3 feet ; stems stout, smooth ; leaves smooth, dark, paler beneath, lobes unequal ; flower solitary, with unequal sepals, petals deep crimson ; carpels, two or three, densely woolly ; flowers May. Much cultivated in gardens (especially the double form) under the name of Female Peony. Europe. Plate 14. PEONIES P. PARADOX A (paradoxical). 12 to 18 inches; leaves glaucous above, hairy beneath, divided into thirty or forty small and narrow segments ; flowers solitary, 4 inches, crimson or purple, single or double ; May. Mr. Baker considers this a natural variety of the next species. Native of the Levant. P. PEREGRINA (stranger). 1J to 2 feet; stem downy towards top; leaves smooth, dull green above, paler and velvety beneath; flowers solitary, bright crimson; May; follicles, two or three, erect. Much cultivated. Levant (1629.) P. TENUIFOLIA (narrow-leaved). 1 to 1| foot ; stems smooth, densely leafy from base to summit; leaves excessively dissected into many alternated segments ; flowers solitary, 2J to 3 inches across, crimson, or purple-red ; June ; follicles small. The Adonis Peony of gardens. Tubers in bunches, with runners. South Europe (1765). Plate 15. P. WITTMANNIANA (Wittmann's). 2 feet ; a species rarely cultivated, but distinct from all others by reason of its solitary, bright yellow flowers, which appear in April. Caucasus (1842). Garden These, as we have already indicated, run into many Varieties, hundreds, and from them we can do no more than select a few names ; but it must not be supposed that these have very special claims to be considered before the others. They are all good, and whether the amateur selects from subjoined list or another, he is almost certain to be satisfied with his choice. These garden varieties and hybrids may be divided into three sections Chinese, European, and Tree Peonies. CHINESE ; scented, flowering in June and July- I. WHITE. Alba plenissima. Blanc. Candidissima, with primrose inner petals. Duke of Wellington. Duchesse de Nemours. Duchesse de Theba, inner petals edged with crimson. Edulis. Festiva maxima. Lady Godiva, flesh centre. Madam Callot. Madame Serret. Papaveraflora, centre primrose. Snowball. Sulphurea, tinged yellow. Viscountess Folkestone. Whitlcji, tinged rose. II. BLUSH. Agnes Barr. Carnea elegans. Caroline Allain, centre sulphur. Charlemagne, laced rose. Formosa, primrose centre. Lady Ardilaun. Lord Fauntleroy, white centre. Madame Vilmorin. Madonna. Marie. Marie Lemoinne. Noemi. Reevesii. Virginie. III. ROSE. Augusta van Geert. Comte de Paris. Decaisne. Decandolle. FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Gloire de Patrie, tipped white. Helene. Lord Lytton. Magnifca. Modeste, rosy purple. Heine des Hoses. Hose Quintal. Rosea pcrfecta. Sir Walter Scott. Tricolor plena. Washington. IV. CRIMSON AND PURPLE. Ambroise Verschaffelt, reddish purple. Bossuet, purplish rose. Daurica plena. General Roberts, purple. Gloire de Douai, crimson-purple, dwarf. Joseph Chamberlain, rich crimson. Lord Salisbury, crimson, very large. Marshal Macmahon, carmine. Pio Nono, purplish crimson. Pottsii surpass^ crimson, dwarf. Prince Prosper, purple-magenta. Purpurea superba, rich purple. Sir Frederick Leighton, crimson-carmine. Superbissimus, deep carmine. Triomphe de VExposition de Lille, rich purple. EUROPEAN ; flowering in May I. Varieties of P. OFFICINALIS. Double A nemone-floweredRed, rich crimson, petals irregular. Double Anemone-flowered Rose, yellow centre. A tro-rubens plena, blood red. Double Red, rich crimson. Double Rose, rosy changing to flesh. Double White, at first pale pink, changing to white. II. Paradoxa fimbriata, double purple, dwarf, bushy. Tenuifolia flore pleno, double crimson. There are also many single garden varieties of these European species. MOUTAN or TREE PEONIES ; flowering in May Alba lilacina. Atropurpurea. Belle de Monza, light salmon. Blanche Noisette, white, tinted salmon. Candida, white. Clara, enormous, deep rose. George Paul, deep lilac-violet. Lactea, pure white. Madame de Vatry, enormous, bright rose. Manetto, white, tinted flesh. Orgueil of Hong Kong, large, bright purple. Reine Elisabeth, large, reddish salmon. Van Houttei, deep purple, white tipped. Cultivation. All the Peonies love a heavy, rich, deep, well-drained soil. All may be described as hardy in this country, and P. Moutan as a trifle too hardy or at least too precocious. In the South of England its new shoots start so early, that they are frequently injured by spring frosts; and where this is likely to occur it should have slight protection. Where it is proposed to make Peony-beds, or to plant them in masses, as in shrubbery borders, the ground should be trenched, and well-rotted manure dug in. Planted in the front row of a shrubbery, at intervals in the herbaceous border, or fine large examples solitarily on a lawn, they produce splendid effects. They will appreciate top-dressings of thoroughly-rotted manure, and occasional waterings with weak liquid manure during the summer. Having regard for its need of protection, P. Moutan should be placed where mats can be conveniently arranged to shelter it in early spring when the buds begin to burst into growth, and where it will obtain all the available sunshine PEONIES 33 for the hardening of its wood. The mistake, however, should not be made of giving it winter shelter, and thus inducing it to break earlier than it otherwise would. P. Moutan may also be treated as a pot-plant for flowering early under glass ; it is sometimes forced, to obtain flowers in February, but this is an exhausting treatment, which necessitates a couple of years for recuperation before the plant is again subjected to forcing. The compost for Peonies in pots should be made very rich. The herbaceous species and their varieties do well and look well almost anywhere in a garden. Their stems and foliage die down completely in winter, the entire life of the plant being withdrawn to the thick under- ground rootstock. Propagation is chiefly effected by the division of the rootstock, but if good results are desired, this should be done sparingly. It is better to leave the greater portion of a plant for flowering, and be content with separating the offsets for increasing the stock. The secret for obtaining large clumps is to well manure, and leave undisturbed for several years. Tree Peonies are increased by taking suitable cuttings in August, and grafting them upon the rootstocks of seedlings of P. Moutan, albiflora, or officinalis, the former for choice. The single and semi- double kinds may also be grown from seeds, sown soon after they are ripe in autumn, or held over till March. They should be allowed to remain in the seed bed for two seasons, and in their first autumn the bed should have an inch of light earth sprinkled over it for protection through the winter. In the September of the following year they may be transplanted to their permanent positions. Description of We have devoted no less than four Plates to the Plates. illustration of this important genus, of which one serves as frontispiece to this volume. It represents the flower and upper leaves of P. Moutan, drawn about one-fifth less than the natural size. Plate 13 shows P. albiflora and the details of flower-structure, including the unopened bud with its crimson-edged sepals, and the opening flower with the sepals turning back. Fig. 1 has the petals removed to show the stamens and carpels. Plate 14 presents the natural form and size of P. officinalis ; the stamens and carpels so clearly seen that no extra figure is needed. Plate 15 is also a natural-sized representation of P. tenuifolia, and an extra figure showing the short carpels, the slender stamens with their long filaments, and the persistent sepals. There are several genera of the Order RANUNCULACE.E not repre- sented in this work by illustrations, but as they contain cultivated species, a brief reference is necessary. ADONIS (name classical). A genus of three or four annual or 34 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE perennial herbs, with much-divided leaves; petal-like sepals, five to eight; and from five to sixteen red or yellow petals; there are many carpels (achenes), each with a solitary ovule. One species, A. autumnalis, the Pheasant's-eye, is naturalised in parts of Britain, and this and several other species are grown in gardens. A. cestivalis (summer) is an erect annual (1 foot), with deep crimson or orange flowers an inch across, with black spot at base of petals; June. A. autumnalis (autumn) is of similar height, with branched stems, and globose blood-red flowers, with black centre; May to September. A. pyrenaica (Pyrenees), 1 foot; flowers yellow, almost stalkless; July. A. vernalis (spring), 9 to 12 inches ; flowers yellow (2 inches diameter), with ten or twelve slightly toothed petals; March. The first three species are annuals, the last is a perennial, suitable for the rock-garden, and requiring rich, sandy loam and undisturbed occupation. HELLEBORUS (the old Greek name) contains ten species of coarse perennial herbs, natives of Europe and Asia. They have thick root- stocks and handsome palmate leaves, five petal-like sepals, small, tubular petals, and many stamens. Several species have been much cultivated, notably H. niger (black), the Christmas Rose, with large white or pinkish flowers, which appears between December and March; H. olympicus (Olympian), with many rosy or purplish flowers, appearing in early spring. There are a number of hybrids in cultivation, the result of crossing various species little known in gardens. They thrive well in most garden soils, but the best results are attained from rich, moist, but well-drained loam. They are very impatient of disturbance at the root. H. niger is an excellent plant for the wild garden. It is also a good pot-plant, if allowed plenty of root-room, good soil, a position out of doors during summer, and in the cold frame during winter. All the Hellebores thrive under deciduous trees. They should be somewhat shaded, and before the buds open they should be covered with a hand- glass to preserve the purity of the petals, which are easily soiled. If cut just as they begin to open, the buds will expand in full beauty when placed in water indoors. Propagation is chiefly effected by root-division. WATER-LILIES Natural Order NYMPTLEACE^E. Genus Nymphcea NYMPH^EA (classical, the Greeks having dedicated these plants to the water-nymphs). A genus of handsome aquatics, with fleshy or tuberous WATER-LILIES 35 rootstocks, large flat, floating leaves, and large white, red, or blue solitary flowers. There are four sepals, many petals, the inner series passing gradually into stamens. Carpels many, sunk into the fleshy disk, and so forming a many-celled ovary. After fertilisation this is withdrawn under water to ripen. There are about twenty species, natives of the temperate and tropical regions, excepting New Zealand and the Isles of Pacific ; one British. The history of the cultivation of exotic Water-lilies History. in this country is no very ancient story, the year 1786 appearing to be that in which N. odorata was introduced from North America ; and in 1792 N. scutifolia, from the Cape of Good Hope, made us acquainted with something quite fresh, in the shape of a Water-lily with bright blue flowers. In the same year another blue member of the same genus was introduced from Egypt, under the name of N. ccerulea, but this afterwards proved to be N. stellata. It was not until 1802 that the white form of N. lotus, the flower that the ancient Egyptians dedicated to Isis, was introduced from Egypt ; and when a year later the red form was brought to England, it was thought to be a different species, and was named N. rubra. Several of the exotics are plants from tropical regions, requiring " stove " treatment ; and as the establishments posses- sing large tanks in their stove-houses are not very numerous, these species can hardly be said to be in general cultivation. Our own solitary native species is very frequently cultivated where there is a lake or pond. This is Nymphcea alba (white), with scentless white flowers, 4 to 6 inches in diameter, floating on the water. The four sepals are white inside, and green on the back, narrow-oblong. There are two or three rows of petals, varying in number from fifteen to twenty-four. The large floating leaves (5 to 10 inches across) are round heart-shaped, with entire margins and smooth surface. There is a pretty variety (rosea) with pale rose petals. Like all the other species of the genus this is a summer bloomer. N. ELEGANS (elegant) is a fragrant stove subject from New Mexico (1850), with yellowish flowers tinged with purple, and of similar proportions to N. alba } though the leaves are smaller. N. GIGANTEA (gigantic) has blue flowers, 6 to 7 inches across, with numerous golden-yellow stamens. The leaves are round, dark green, with the leaf -stalk attached to the centre of the under side (peltate). It was intro- duced from Australia in 1852, and requires stove or greenhouse treatment. N. LOTUS (Egyptian name). The type has large, pink- tinged, white flowers, the sepals with red margins, the outer series of stamens with petal-like filaments ; the floating leaves toothed, veins prominent on under 36 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE surface. The var. rubra (see Plate 16) has red or rose-tinted flowers. The species is a native of the Old World tropics, and requires stove treatment. N. ODORATA (sweet-scented) is very similar in proportions, colour, and appearance to N. alba, yet quite distinct. It opens in the morning and exhales its delicious perfume, but closes its rose-tinged petals soon after midday. Hardy. N. SCUTIFOLIA (shield-leaved). A blue fragrant-flowered species, with peltate toothed leaves, smooth on both sides. Stove. Cape of Good Hope (1792). N. STELLATA (starry). Blue, fragrant, similar to scutifolia, but distinguished by its smaller size and few petals. Stove. There are several varieties of this species ; one (versicolor) opens with white flowers, which afterwards change to red. N. ZANZIBARENSIS (Zanzibar) is the largest and handsomest of all the Stellata group, having flowers 9 inches in diameter and coloured rich blue-purple. It was introduced to Kew by Sir John Kirk in 1880. A number of beautiful hybrids, all of them hardy, have recently been raised by a French nurseryman, Marliac, among them being yellow, pink, and crimson flowered sorts. These are certain to become popular wherever Water-lilies are grown. The best of them are ignea, Robinson- iana, carnea, rosea, chromatella, and Laydekeri. The stove species should be potted, or placed in tubs, the hardy sorts placed in wicker baskets, and both should be sunk until the crowns are about a foot below the surface of the water. The soil should be a compost of turfy loam and sharp sand with an admixture of well-rotted manure. The hardy species will soon send their roots through the basket and into the bottom of the lake or pond, thereafter needing little attention. The stove species require to have their water maintained at a temperature of 70 Fahrenheit, though this may be reduced to 60 after the leaves have ripened. The tubers of the tropical kinds should be repotted in February. If not convenient to keep them in water all winter, they should be taken out of the soil in November and kept in moist sand in a warm house. Propagation is effected by divid- ing the rootstock, and by sowing seed in spring. The seed-pot should be submerged in the stove-tank,where germination takes place rapidly,and the young plants come on so well that they will probably flower the same year. NUPHAR (Arabic, naufar) is a closely allied genus containing, three or four species of Water-lilies, distinguished from Nymphcea by their always yellow globose flowers with five or six large coloured sepals and small numerous petals, and by the stigma having lobed margins. They are natives of the north temperate zone. NELUMBIUM 37 N. LUTEUM (yellow), our common native species, may be taken as the type ; and for cultivation they may be treated in the way prescribed for the hardy species of Nymphcea. The other species are N. advena, from North America, with red anthers ; N. pumilum, similar to luteum but smaller, with more rounded petals ; native of Europe, and occurring in Scotland and Shropshire. The Order NYMPH^EACE^E also includes the genera Euryale and Victoria, the noblest aquatic plants known. Euryale ferox, a native of India, has floating leaves as much as 4 feet in diameter, and purple flowers ; the calyx and stalk covered with sharp spines. Victoria regia has leaves from 6 to 8 feet across, with turned-up edges, and of great buoyancy; the flowers more than a foot across, with red sepals and white petals, the inner series rosy. Native of tropical America. Both these species are stove plants. Description of Nymphcea lotus, var. rubra, is here shown about one Plate 16. half o f the natural size ; with upper and under surfaces of the leaf. Fig. 1 is a section through the flower deprived of sepals and petals, showing how the carpels are sunk in the receptacle. Fig. 2 represents two stamens, to show the petal-like character of the outer series, and how the filaments are narrower as they are placed nearer to the carpels. NELUMBIUM Natural Order NELUMBIACE^E. Genus Nelumbium NELUMBIUM (Nelumbo, the Cingalese name). A genus of two species of aquatics, one a native of the southern parts of North America, the other distributed throughout Asia and found in Australia. They have a horizontal rootstock from which spring the large peltate leaves, at first floating but afterwards borne clear above the surface by the lengthening of the long cylindrical leaf-stalks. The flowers are also large and raised on long stalks ; the petals in several series, the stamens very numerous in several series. The receptacle is greatly extended and expands into a top-shape with hollow summit in which the carpels are embedded, and to whose base the petals and stamens are attached. Few plants have so interesting or ancient a history as Nelumbium speciosum, the Asiatic species. It was the Sacred Bean of the early Egyptians, and is believed to have been intro- duced to Egypt at a very early date. Four thousand years ago it was the emblem of sanctity among the priests of Isis ; and it is described by I. TO 38 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Herodotus, Strabo, and Theophrastus as a native of Egyptian waters. It is abundantly represented in the sculptures of Egyptian temples, and is still venerated throughout India, Tibet, China, and Japan, though it has for a very long period entirely disappeared from Egypt. It was intro- duced to England from India in the year 1787 ; and N. luteum was brought from Carolina in 1810. NELUMBIUM LUTEUM (yellow) has fragrant yellow flowers exceeding a foot in diameter. The connective tissue of the anther-cells is drawn out into a narrow appendage extend- ing some distance beyond them. The blue-green leaves are a foot or more in diameter. Flowering in July. N. SPECIOSUM (showy). Sacred Bean. The fine rosy flowers are very fragrant, about a foot in diameter, consisting of about twenty petals ; the appendages to the stamens, club-shaped. The leaves are from 1 to 2 feet across, peltate, margins wavy, the upper surface clothed with an almost imperceptible down ; ultimately raised a couple of feet above the water. Each carpel contains one ovule, and about twenty carpels are embedded in the receptacle. When these are ripe the entire head bears some resemblance to the rose of a watering-can, and when shaken the loose seeds make a noise like a child's rattle. The particulars given for the cultivation of Nymphcea Cultivation. , _ r __ , & 7 . ._ also apply to Nelumoium, so tar as soil and method of planting is concerned. They require bright sunshine, a rich deep soil, and, when grown under glass, a stove temperature. In the United States and Japan, where the summers are hot, they are grown in tubs, tanks, and ponds in the open air. They may also be grown in the South of England in outdoor tanks, over which frames can be placed to protect them during the winter and early spring. Over the glass some further protection in the shape of straw, fern, or matting should be placed, and in spring this can be moved first, then the glass partially lifted, and finally taken right away when all danger of frosts has passed. Propagation is effected as in Nymphcea by division of the rhizomes, and from seeds. Explanation of N. speciosum is the species selected for illustration, Plate 17. an( j th e fig ure of the flower is about half the natural size. Whilst, of course, the same scale of reduction has been adopted for the leaf, it will be understood that the leaf selected by the artist was a small one ; the true dimensions are given above. It will be noted that the margins are entire devoid of teeth, and that the centre is marked by a pale spot from which the air-channels radiate to the circumference. This spot exactly corresponds to the point of attach- ment of the leaf -stalk on the under surface. It is a singular fact that POPPIES 39 the breathing pores of the leaf (stomata), instead of being well distri- buted over the surface, as in most plants, are here confined to this pale patch, where they communicate directly with the air-passages. The rolled-up leaf is a young one, and the figure shows the manner in which it first makes its appearance at the surface of the water. Fig. 1 shows the receptacle and inner row of stamens, after clearing off the floral leaves and o~uter stamens, the scars of their attachment being seen below. Fig. 2 is a single stamen showing the club-shaped appendage more clearly. POPPIES Natural Order PAPAVERACE^E. Genus Papaver PAPAVER (the classical Latin name). The typical genus of the extensive Natural Order PAPAVERACE^E, which includes no less than sixteen other genera. The species of Papaver are about a dozen, erect annual or perennial herbs with milky juice, cut or lobed leaves, and honeyless flowers on long stalks, whose anthers mature before the stigmas. Sepals, two, falling when the bud opens ; petals, four. The ovary is one-celled, but divided into several compartments by the growth of partitions (placentas) from the walls. The stigmas are united into a flat or pyramidal rayed disk. They are natives of Europe, North Africa, and North Asia ; one only is South African and one Australian. There appears to be no record of the date when Papaver somniferum, the Opium Poppy, was first intro- duced to Britain ; but we may be sure it was at an early date, for it was cultivated by the early Greeks for medicinal purposes, and they were acquainted with the production of opium from it. It is believed to have been originally a native of the Levant, but it is now very widely distributed. There are several places in this country where it is quite naturalised. P. orientate was introduced from Armenia in 1714; P. nudicaide came from Siberia in 1730; P. setigerum from South Europe in 1825, and P. horridum from New Holland a year later. By the crossing of certain of these, and by long cultivation and selection, many fine varieties, doubles and hybrids, have been obtained. , _ . Most of the species of Papaver are annuals, and a few Principal Species. perennials. The latter are not so desirable from a horti- cultural point of view, for though they make a rich blaze of colour during their flowering season, this is so brief that we are apt to grudge the large amount of room occupied by them during the greater part of the year. For this reason we will keep the two sections distinct. 40 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE I. Perennials : PAP AVER NUDICAULE (naked-stemmed). 9 to 18 inches ; flowers large and showy, sepals hairy, petals nearly round, white, yellow or orange. Leaves finely cut, pinnate, glaucous. Summer-flowering. P. ALPINUM (alpine). 6 inches ; really a dwarf form of nudicaule, but treated as a separate species by gardeners. Flowers commonly citron-yellow, less frequently white or rose-tinted. Summer. There is also a var. croceum, the Saffron Poppy, of dwarf habit (8 to 12 inches), with saffron or orange-yellow flowers. P. ORIENTALE (Eastern). The Oriental Poppy. 2 to 3 feet. The glowing deep scarlet flowers measure 6 inches across, the petals crumpled, and having a very dark purple spot at the base of each. A singular point in this species and its varieties is the possession of three sepals, whereas the other species have but two. It flowers in early summer. A well-marked form of this species, with bracts on the flower-stalks, is usually given specific rank in gardens, under the name of P. bracteatum. It is taller-growing and has flowers even larger than the type. There are several other varieties, including triumphans, of dwarfer habit and producing a greater abundance of flowers. II. From the annual species we select the following : P. HOOKERI (Hooker's). 3 to 4 feet ; an Indian species introduced a dozen years ago, and closely resembling our common P. Rhceas, or Corn Poppy, but forming a bushy clump. The flowers vary from pale rose to rich scarlet, the base of each petal marked with a white or black patch. Flowers in autumn. P. RH^EAS. 1 to 2 feet ; flowers large (3 to 4 inches), brilliant scarlet, the four petals in two unequal pairs; stems with spreading bristles; leaves pinnatifid, bristly ; June to August. Under cultivation number- less varieties have been produced ; the double forms are known as Carnation Poppies, Picotee Poppies, and Ranunculus Poppies. The var. umbrosum has a black patch at the base of the petal. P. SOMNIFERUM (causing sleep). 3 to 4 feet ; the Opium Poppy, with large flowers, 5 or 6 inches across, of various colours and shades, white, lilac, rose, blue-purple; petals usually with dark base; leaves large, glaucous, clasping the stem (amplexicaul). It is usually quite smooth and free from hairs or bristles, but occasionally one develops a few scattered hairs. Flowers July and August. Some of the double garden forms are very fine ; one of these is named pceoniceflorum, from the approach to the double Peonies in the form and size of its flowers ; another is var. Murselli, with fringed petals like that shown on Plate 18. P. danebrog is a single garden variety of P. somniferum. ESCHSCHOLTZIA 41 Poppies do well anywhere; but they do better in a Cultivation. ... . * m i gritty loam than in any other soil. Ihe annual species are good border plants, but the perennials are best relegated to the wild garden or the plantation ; in the latter situations they scarcely need more than an introduction, and they will become naturalised. The Shirley Poppies pay for good cultivation. The seeds should be sown in autumn on a bed or border of good well-manured soil. In early spring the seed- lings should be thinned to three inches apart. They all come freely from seed, which they produce in abundance someone has calculated that a single capsule or poppy-head of P. somniferum contains about thirty-two thousand seeds. These should be thinly sown where desired, in March or April, and the young plants thinned out to a foot apart. The perennial species may also be propagated by taking up the parsnip-like root, and cutting it into transverse sections an inch long. These inserted in a pan of sandy loam and placed in a frame will all root and shoot. Explanation of The illustration shows a double form of P. somniferum. Plate is. TO the left is a figure of the young capsule showing the low pyramidal stigmas; and the Fig. marked 1 represents the seeds of the natural size and greatly enlarged. Fig. 2 is a seedling. ESCHSCHOLTZIA Natural Order PAPAVERACE^E. Genus Eschscholtzia ESCHSCHOLTZIA (named after Dr. J. F. Eschscholtz, an eminent botanist, 1793-1831). A genus of one or four hardy perennial herbs, smooth and glaucous, low-growing, much branched. The leaves are bi-pinnate and much divided into exceedingly slender segments. The flowers are similar to those of Papaver Rhceas, though more cup-shaped and rich yellow. The sepals are joined in an extinguisher-like cap, which is thrown off by the opening flower. Receptacle fleshy with expanded margin. Petals, four, with the stamens attached to their base. Seed-capsule a two-valved silique, with the seeds attached to edges of valves. Native of North- West America only. As a garden-plant Eschscholtzia has a brief record. It is one of the many beautiful additions to the garden that we owe to David Douglas, the intrepid collector sent out by the Royal Horticultural Society to find new species suitable for culture. Eschscholtzia californica was sent home in 1826, and has been in most British gardens ever since. In some it has responded so kindly to the i. ii 42 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE hospitality offered, that it is now regarded as a troublesome, but still beautiful, weed. There are four forms of Eschscholtzia that are commonly regarded as distinct species, but most botanists regard them as mere varieties of ESCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNIC A (Calif ornian). 18 inches; flowers large, bright yellow, deeper tinted in the middle ; the long pods resembling the seed-vessels of a Cruciferous plant. Flowering throughout the summer. E. C^SPITOSA (tufted). 6 inches ; a dwarf compact variety, branched from near the base, but with less disposition to occupy a large area; leaf -segments very slender and thread-like. Flowers smaller, sometimes called tenuifolia. E. CROCEA (saffron). 1 foot ; flowers of a rich saffron tint. E. COMPACTA (compact). 1 foot; like ccespitosa, small flowered, yellow and orange. There are a great number of undoubted varieties produced by cultivation, with flowers white, pale yellow, pinkish, rosy, red, orange- crimson ; single and double. Eschscholtzia is as easy of cultivation as Papaver. It Cultivation. J flourishes in any soil, even in sea-sand, but it will not open its flowers except in the sunshine. We have stated that all the kinds are perennial, but as they bloom the first year it is the fashion to call and treat them as annuals, pulling them up when they have done flowering, and sowing fresh seed. Personal preference can be followed in this matter. It may be argued that when a plant has been flowering all the summer it is better to clear it away, and start afresh ; on the other hand, plants that have been trimmed up after flowering, and have recuperated during the winter, are in a better position as well-established individuals to put forth a good display of blossoms. We should advise the adoption of both courses, and- the comparison of results in your particular locality, to be followed later by adherence to the plan that succeeds most. The seeds may be sown either in the autumn or in the following February or March. We think autumn-sowing is the better mode, the young plants having had a longer preparation for flowering. The seed should be sown thinly where they are to bloom, as the seedlings do not bear transplanting well, unless it be done on a wet day. Description of One branch of E. californica is here depicted, showing Plate 19. leaves, unopened bud with its completely -joined sepals, open flower with essential organs, and a developing pod. Fig. 1 is a petal with a bundle of stamens attached to its base ; 2, a receptacle from which both petals and stamens have been detached ; 3, a reduced drawing ARGEMONE 43 of the ripe seed-vessel, dehiscing, and showing the rounded seeds within ; 4, a seed enlarged ; 5, a seedling. PLATYSTEMON (Greek, platus, broad, and stcmon, a stamen) is an allied genus of Papaveraceee, containing but one species, a hairy annual spreading plant with lance-shaped entire leaves, arranged in threes, and solitary, stalked, yellow flowers. There are three sepals, six petals, numerous stamens with dilated filaments (whence the generic name), and many carpels, at first partially connected, but separating as they mature. Flowering in July and August. PLATYSTEMON CALIFORNICUS, the Calif ornian Poppy, is the only species; a hardy annual, 1 foot high, with yellow flowers, and hairy capsules and leaves. There is a variety leiocarpus, from Siberia, which has yellowish- white flowers and smooth capsules, and which is frequently accorded specific rank. The remarks respecting the cultivation of the annual Poppies apply equally to Platystemon. ARGEMONE Natural Order PAPAVERACE.E. Genus Argemone ARGEMONE (argema, cataract of the eye). A genus consisting of half a dozen annual glaucous herbs with yellow juice. Leaves pinnatifid, the lobes usually with spiny teeth. The flowers are similar to those of Papaver, with two or three concave sepals, each ending in a hard point ; petals, four to eight ; stamens numerous ; stigmas, four to seven, radiating. The seed-vessels are oval capsules, opening at the top by little valves ; the seeds are acrid, narcotic, and purgative, and have been used as a substitute for ipecacuanha. The yellow juice has been used in ophthalmic medicine, hence the name of the genus. Natives of America, but they have become widely distributed. Argemone mexicana, the Devil's-fig, appears to have been introduced to England so far back as the year 1592, probably with a view to .its use medicinally. It was not until 1820 that a second species A. albiflora was introduced, and seven years later two others were added grandiflora and ochroleuca. The large-flowered A. hispida did not make its appearance in Britain until 1872. ARGEMONE ALBIFLORA (white flowered). 1 foot ; petals, three, white ; flowers July and August. 44 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE A. GRANDIFLORA (large flowered). 3 to 4 feet ; flowers panicled, large (3 inches in diameter), white, with yellow stamens ; leaves smooth, with spiny teeth, nerves whitish ; July. See Plate 20. A. HISPIDA (bristly). 2 feet ; flowers pure white, larger than grandi- flora (3 to 5 inches) ; leaves bristly ; September. The disadvantage of bestowing such names as grandiflora, majus, minus, and so forth, is seen in this case. Grandiftora was so called because it was the largest flowered species known, but years after hispida was discovered with much larger blossoms, yet grandiflora will continue to give the impression of having the largest flowers. A. MEXICANA (Mexican). The Devil's-fig. 2 feet ; flowers yellow, solitary ; petals, four to six ; leaves blotched with white, spiny ; June. A. OCHROLEUCA (yellow- white). 1 J feet; flowers pale yellow, solitary; petals, six ; stem prickly ; leaves with white blotches, nerves with prickly bristles; August. All the species are hardy, and will succeed in almost any garden soil. Not only for their fine flowers are they worthy of cultivation, but their foliage and habit render them orna- mental. The larger kinds, however, are not quite suitable for small gardens ; especially does this apply to A. grandiflora, but where there is a shrubbery border of moderate extent, with light soil and sunny aspect, its presence will be appreciated. The seeds should be sown thinly where they are to bloom, at the end of March or during April, and the seedlings afterwards thinned out to sixteen or eighteen inches apart. Description of The species represented is A. grandiflora, and its Plate 20. flowers are shown in all their stages. The horned sepals separate, and are thrown off completely by the expansion of the crumpled petals. In the fully open flower the numerous stamens are seen surround- ing the ovary, and the successive stages in the development of this organ after fertilisation are shown until the full-sized, ribbed, and spiny capsule is formed. Fig. 1 is a section through the flower and ovary; Fig. 2, the large pitted seed, and an enlarged view of it ; Fig. 3, a seedling. SANGUINARIA (Latin, sanguis, blood). A one-species genus of PAP AVERAGES, which consists of S. canadensis, the Puccoon, Blood-root or Blood-wort, of the United States and Canada. It is about 6 inches high, herbaceous, with a thick creeping rootstock, filled with a blood-red acrid juice. From each branch of the rootstock rises a single leaf and a solitary flower-scape, the leaf at first wrapped round the scape. The form of leaf is roundly heart-shaped, the margin broken into seven palmate lobes, and the surface netted with nerves. The flower consists of two smooth sepals, which drop away as the white petals expand; eight petals in two series, about twenty-four stamens and two carpels. DICENTRA 45 The flowers are from 1 to 2 inches across, and appear in April and May. Introduced to England in 1680. Sangidnaria succeeds best in light sandy loam, or peat. Its lowly stature entitles it to front rank in the border, but it should be given a sunny position, for it is only in sunshine that it opens its flowers. It is propagated by division of the rootstock, or by sowing the seed as soon as ripe in the open border. It is perfectly hardy. BOCCONIA (named after Dr. P. Boccone, a Sicilian botanical author) is another genus of this order. There are several species, of which the most frequently cultivated is Bocconia cordata, a stately plant growing to a height of from 5 to 8 feet, well-covered with boldly cut, deeply veined leaves, and small reddish-yellow flowers. These consist of two petal-like sepals, and a number of stamens, individually not at all strik- ing, but they are combined into a very large pyramidal panicle, which has a fine striking effect. It is seen to most advantage when planted in groups in wide borders, or in a bed on a large lawn. It is also a most valu- able plant for what is termed sub-tropical gardening. It flowers from May to July ; but its appearance is by no means what one expects from a Papaveraceous plant. B. cordata was introduced from China in 1795. It is propagated by cuttings or suckers, and likes a rich loamy soil. DICENTRA Natural Order FUMARIACE^E. Genus Dicentra DICENTEA (Greek, dis, two, and kentron, a spur or goad). A genus of about a dozen species of hardy herbaceous plants, natives of North America and North- West Asia. They are all perennials, and have tuberous, fleshy, or fibrous roots. The leaves are much divided, and the flowers of singular form borne in racemes. The sepals are mere minute scales that drop off before the flower opens. There are four petals in two quite dissimilar pairs ; the outer, concave, swollen at the base, and spreading acutely at the apex ; the inner, slender, clawed, keeled at the back, and cohering at their tips. Stamens, six, in two bundles of three ; ovary, one-celled. This genus of handsome plants is of comparatively recent introduction to the gardener. One species, Dicentra Cucullaria, was brought from the United States in 1731, but does not appear to have been at all widely grown ; D. formosa was introduced I. 12 46 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE from North America in 1796 ; D. spectabilis, the finest and best known, was brought from Siberia in 1810 ; D. eximia from North America in 1812 ; D. canadensis in 1822 ; D. thalictrifolia from the Himalayas in 1831, and D. chrysantha from California in 1852. The genus is, perhaps, more popularly known as Dielytra ; but it appears to have been originally Dicentra, then to have been misprinted Dielytra, and to make sense of this it was deemed that the c was a mistake for e ; and so the etymology of this new word was explained as dis, two, and elytron, a sheath, a derivation sufficiently backed up by reference to the outer petals of the flower. DICENTRA CANADENSIS (Canadian), 6 inches, is the Squirrel Corn of the Americans. It has glaucous leaves divided into very slender segments, and bears few flowers. These are white, with short blunt spurs, and appear in May. D. CHRYSANTHA (gold -flowered), 3 to 5 feet, has finely -divided glaucous foliage, and erect racemes of bright yellow flowers, which are produced in September. The flower-stem is leafy. D. CUCULLARIA (hooded). 3 to 6 inches ; a very dwarf species, with smooth, slender leaves, and flowers white, with yellow tips. Flower- stem leafless. This species is known in the United States as the Dutch- man's Breeches, from the shape of the flowers, which appear in May. D. EXIMIA (unparalleled). 1 to 1J foot; leaves small and few, with oblong lobes ; flower-stem leafless ; flowers reddish purple, drooping, in compound racemes ; June and July. D. FORMOSA (beautiful). 6 inches ; very like a dwarf form of eximia, but the flowers are broader, and of a brighter red ; May. D. SPECTABILIS (worthy of notice). 2 to 3 feet; with handsome foliage and leafy stems. The rather flexuous flower-stem bears from eight to twelve, or more, large rose and white flowers, an inch long. Flowers spring and summer. The popular names of Lyre-flower and Heart-flower have been applied to it. There is a var. alba, with flowers entirely white. D. THALICTRIFOLIA (thalictrum - leaved). 3 feet ; with alternate, glaucous decompound leaves; flowers fragrant, yellow, with reddish mouth ; August to October. All the species being quite hardy, and succeeding in any moderately rich, light soil, there is little difficulty in their cultivation. They should certainly find a place in the herbaceous border, and the larger kinds look well backed by a shrubbery. This last is especially the position for D. spectabilis and D. chrysantha ; the dwarf kinds will, of course, come more to the front. D. spectabilis is used as a pot-plant for gentle forcing very early in the year. For STOCKS 47 propagation the crowns arc separated early in the year ; or the fleshy rootstock may be cut into short lengths, and potted in sandy loam. They will soon send out fresh root-fibres and leaves. Description of A portion of the flowering-stem, with a few leaves, of Plate 21. Dicentra spectabilis are here represented of the natural size, giving side and edge views of the buds and flowers in various stages. In the smallest of the buds the sepals will be seen still attached. Fig. 1 has had half of each petal cut off to show the interior of the flower and the arrangement of the organs. CORYDALIS and FUMARIA are other genera of the Order FUMARIACE.E, which resemble the genus Dicentra in the character of their foliage and the general structure of their flowers, which, however, are smaller. Corydalis differs from Dicentra in having but one of its outer petals spurred or inflated. They are mostly yellow -flowered. One species, C. claviculata, is a native of Britain, and two others C. lutea and C. solida are naturalised, the descendants of garden escapes. C. NOBILIS (noble), from Siberia, is probably the best in cultivation. It is less than a foot in height, with long-spurred yellow flowers, which appear in May. A moist, shady nook at the foot of rock-work suits this species. C. SOLIDA (massy), 6 inches, is also a hardy species that likes a moist situation ; flowers rosy purple, in one-sided racemes ; April and May. STOCKS Natural Order CRUCIFER^E. Genus Matthiola MATTHIOLA (named after Dr. P. A. Matthioli, an Italian botanist, 1500- 1577). A genus of about thirty species of herbaceous or sub-shrubby plants, with entire or waved-margined leaves, alternate on the stem, and downy with starry hairs. Flowers in terminal racemes, honeyed. Sepals, four ; petals, with long claws, four ; stamens, six. The sepals are always erect, so that with the claws of the petals they form a kind of tube round the stamens and pistil. The two carpels are united to form a nearly cylindrical pod. The species are natives of Europe, North Africa, West Asia, and (one species) South Africa. Matthiola incana is a British plant, although now History. probably extinct in the wild state except in the Isle of Wight, where it grows on the cliffs. It is the parent of all the cultivated 48 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE varieties known as Brompton Stocks and Queen Stocks. We have another native species, M. sinuata, the Great Sea Stock, now restricted to the seashores of Wales, Devon, Ireland (South-East and South- West), and the Channel Islands. M. annua, the Ten-week Stock, was introduced from South Europe in 1731. M. odoratissima, a very fragrant, ever- green species, came from Persia in 1795. M. fenestralis, which was introduced from Crete in 1759, is the Great Cape Stock, and believed by some authorities to be a mere form of incana. M. grceca, from South Europe, is the parent of the Wallflower-leaved Stocks, and probably only a form of incana. The gardeners of a hundred years ago called these plants Stock Gilliflowers, and regarded them botanically as of the same genus as the Wallflower (Cheiranthus), with which they also associated the Virginian Stock (Malcolmia). MATTHIOLA ANNUA (annual). 1 to 2 feet ; with blunt- pointed, lance-shaped, hoary leaves, a smooth upright stem, branching upwards into a bushy head and numerous racemes of purple, crimson, lilac, and white flowers. M. FENESTRALIS (window). 1 foot ; with crowded downy leaves, the edges rolled backward ; flowers crimson or pale purple ; July and August ; stem erect, unbranched, sub-shrubby. M. INCANA (hoary). 1 to 3 feet ; a sub-shrubby biennial, with lance- shaped hoary leaves, and large white, crimson, or purple, double or single flowers, summer and autumn. The above are the principal species from the horticul- Garden Varieties. ..,..-. I, ,-, ,- turist s point of view, as the parents of the garden varieties. The latter may be divided into two great sections Summer Stocks and Winter Stocks, these terms implying that the first section are annuals, blooming their first summer ; the second, biennials, blooming after their first winter. SUMMER STOCKS include the many varieties of Ten -Week Stock and the hybrids most nearly approaching it. They are almost without number, and it is unnecessary to give a selection of names, for they are almost without exception good, flowering profusely and sweet-scented. Most of the seed is raised on the Continent, where the cultivation of the Stock is an important branch of horticultural industry, and special attention has been paid to getting seeds that will produce a very high percentage of double-blooms. Summer Stocks are not so suitable for pot cultivation as for beds and borders. WINTER STOCKS. Under this head are classed the Brompton, the Perpetual, the Giant Cape, the Intermediate, and the East Lothian Stocks. The Brompton are very robust, branching Stocks, well-suited for " bedding STOCKS 49 out. They flower in May and June. The Perpetual or Emperor Stock is also vigorous and branching, about 18 inches high ; it forms a good subject to follow on after the Brompton, as it flowers in autumn, if sown in March ; in the ordinary way it is sown in June, and blooms a year later. The Giant Cape is esteemed for its immense pyramid of bloom. The Intermediate and the East Lothian are dwarf and bunchy, with a profusion of flowers, and are therefore very suitable subjects for pot- culture and for filling beds for an early summer display. It should be borne well in mind that the Stock is a gross feeder, and it is well-nigh impossible to have a soil too rich for it. The ground should be light, in a sunny position, dug deeply and plenty of manure incorporated with it, and top-dressings of half -rotted stable manure added in dry weather, when it should also be liberally supplied with water. The seeds of the Summer Stocks should be sown in pans at the beginning of March, and placed on a gentle hot- bed. As soon as fit, the seedlings should be pricked into boxes of light rich soil at a distance of two or three inches apart. Plenty of air must be given at this stage, or the young plants may damp off. By the middle of May you should have nice compact dwarf plants, ready for planting out into beds and borders. To carry out this operation with a prospect of success, you must wait for a mild, showery day when the soil will readily adhere to the young roots. Should there be reasonable fear of frost at this time, some provision must be made for slightly sheltering the tender plants. The Winter Stocks should be sown in July in pans, and these put into frames without heat. When large enough they should be potted singly in " thumbs," and plunged into ashes in a cold frame. Late in autumn or early in spring these will want more room, and should then be shifted into five-inch pots. At this period it will be possible to distinguish between the single and double forms by paying attention to the following points : the doubles have very long leaves of a light green colour, hairy and with curled edges, the cluster of buds being enclosed in incurved whitish leaves ; the singles, on the contrary, have leaves of a deeper colour, with rounded ends, and the leaves enclosing the flowering heart are arranged shuttlecock-fashion. Winter Stocks should never be placed outside to pass the winter unless the situation is very dry and sheltered. Damp is far more to be dreaded for them than frost. Description of Here are represented four of the double forms of Plate 22. Matthiola annua, the Ten-week Stock, in various tints. The garden name for this species is due to the fact that from the time of sowing to the time of flowering is about ten (ten to twelve) weeks. ! 13 50 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE WALLFLOWERS Natural Order CRUCIFEILE. Genus Cheiranthus CHEIRANTHUS (Greek, cheiros, hand, and anthos, flower). The botanical characters of this genus differ but slightly from those of Matthiola, but whereas all the sepals in that genus are green and alike, in Cheiranthus they are coloured and the two lateral ones are bulged (saccate) at the base, the leaves are sometimes toothed, and the hairs on the plant are forked. It is not an extensive genus, only about twelve species being known, and these are natives of the north temperate and polar regions. Cheiranthus Cheiri, the Wallflower, has been so Ions: History. naturalised in this country that those persons may be pardoned who regard it as indigenous, when they behold old ruins ablaze with its yellow blossoms. It was introduced from the Continent in 1573, and has been in our gardens ever since, getting improved both in colour and form, and even escaping to adjacent old walls, to lead a more natural existence, and to defy the fury of the roughest gales. It is never found thus growing away from the present or former habitations of man. Many varieties, double and single, have originated in gardens partly from selection, partly as the result of hybridisation. In 1777, C. mutabilis was introduced from Madeira, whose flowers, at first cream-coloured, change to purple. C. scoparius, from Teneriffe (1812), similarly changes from white to purple. (Probably forms of the same species.) G. semperflorens, which may be found in bloom any day in the year, came from Morocco in 1815. All these are evergreen. CHEIRANTHUS ALPINUS (alpine). 6 inches ; leaves dis- tinctly toothed ; flowers pale yellow, abundant ; May to July. North Europe (1810). C. CHEIRI (hand-flower). 2 feet; leaves lance-shaped, entire; flowers in wild condition always yellow, but varying, light brown, red, or dark brown, under cultivation ; fragrant. Chiefly spring flowering. C. MENZIESII (Menzies'). 6 to 8 inches; a Californian perennial with long branching rootstock, radical woolly leaves, and purple flowers, appearing in spring. Half hardy. These are numerous, but are chiefly distinguished by Garden Varieties. ' J f gradations or colour, and each tint has its doubles and its singles. Of these, the double yellow, double light brown, and double dark brown are to be recommended, whilst from the singles should be selected BLOOD-RED, BELVOIR CASTLE, yellow, TOM THUMB, orange, and HARBINGER. WALLFLOWERS 51 C. MARSH ALLII (Marshall's), 1 to 1J foot, with orange flowers, is thought to be of garden origin a hybrid between C. Cheiri and C. alpinus. From the fact that Wallflowers do so well in unpro- Cultivation. . . ., .. .. , .. ... , .. * mising situations in the wild state, it would be evident that their cultivation was no difficult matter; and horticultural experience proves this to be so. The amateur may have his house surrounded with a blaze of refined colour and the atmosphere laden with delightful fragrance with little trouble and cost if he will grow Wallflowers in plenty. Light, well-drained soil and a sunny aspect are the chief essentials for success. Dig your bed or border in May, and on the fresh earth sow your seeds. By the middle of July you will have nice sturdy little plants, and when the rains of that month come, as they rarely fail to do abundantly, plant the seedlings out a foot apart. There let them stay until September or October brings another few days of wet, and then finally place them where you wish them to provide their sweetness and light in the following spring. If your packet of seed is from a good strain, you are almost sure to get a percentage of double-flowered plants, and if you wish to propagate these you must do so by taking cuttings. These should be taken from young but fully-grown not woody plants, inserted in sandy soil under a hand-glass, where they soon become rooted. If thought desirable, any of the shrubby singles may be pro- pagated in the same manner ; the half-hardy kinds having the additional protection of a cold frame outside the hand-glass, where they may be kept through the winter. They will succeed well on a rockery, and an unsightly old wall-top that gathers all kinds of vagrant weeds may be made beautiful by the judicious dropping of a few Wallflower seeds in suitable chinks and covering them with light, dry soil, leaving the rest to the sun, rain, and dews. It is marvellous what toughness and vigour these plants develop in such situations. Quite recently we watched some Wallflowers on the top of a wall, during a gale of wind. They appeared to be fixed by double-acting hinges, so that the wind could throw them down, now this way, now that, flat to the wall-top. The bruises they received must have been sufficient to entirely destroy most plants, to say nothing of the complete demoralisation of the root-fibres. A few days later we again looked at them, and found them erect and firmly rooted, flowering freely and bearing no signs of their rough treatment. Description of A couple of single plants, red and yellow, of Plate 23. c. Cheiri occupy the central position ; and these show the stalkless leaves, the coloured erect sepals, and how the sepals, petals, and stamens drop off, leaving the enlarged siliqua which is the type of 52 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE seed-vessel throughout the Order CRUCIFER.E, though varying in size and shape. Fig 1 is a section through the flower, showing arrangement of organs. Fig. 2, the two-celled ovary and stigmas ; 3, the ripened siliqua or pod opening by two valves to discharge the red seeds; 4, a seed, natural size, and the same enlarged. KOCK-CEESS Natural Order CRUCIFEILE. Genus Aubrietia AUBRIETIA (named after M. Aubriet,. a French botanical artist). A genus of half a dozen species of dwarf evergreen trailing plants, with hairy, entire or toothed leaves, and few, comparatively large purple or violet flowers. They are natives of the Mediterranean region. There is little of historical interest concerning this genus. The British gardener knew it not until 1710, when Aubrietia deltoidea was introduced from Naples. Its very low stature and neat habit made it welcome as a rock-plant, for bordering and for carpet-bedding, and under cultivation it has produced a number of varieties and several hybrids. Respecting certain of these forms there is considerable disparity of opinion as to whether they should be ranked as separate species or as varieties of deltoidea. Species and AUBRIETIA DELTOIDEA (shaped like the Greek letter A). Varieties. 4 inches ; the name is supposed to refer to the shape of the leaves, but it is a misnomer : they are nearer oval, with one or two teeth on either side and rough with branched hairs. The outer sepals have saccate bases as in Cheiranthus, but they are green; the petals are purple, the yellow stamens contrasting prettily with them ; flowers, March to May. A. PURPUREA (purple), 4 inches, is somewhat larger of stature and has larger, deeper flowers ; stems more leafy, and leaves broader with more teeth ; whole plant more erect ; March to May. The principal varieties and hybrids are the following : Boiiganvillei (Bouganville's), very dwarf, owing to shortness of flower-stalks ; flowers light violet-purple, petals over- lapping. Campbelli (Campbell's), also known as Hendersoni ; larger, deep violet - blue flowers ; more vigorous. Croatica (Croatian), more compact, flowers large. Eyrei (Eyre's), free branching habit, with large flowers of rich violet-purple. Grandiflora (large flowered), similar to Campbelli. Grceca (Greek), vigorous grower of com- ALYSSUM 53 pact habit, with light purple flowers ; a form of this with flowers of a deeper colour is known as snperba. Lcichtlini (Leichtlin's), dwarf, flowers large, rich crimson. Purpurea variegata (variegated), pleasing and effective ; suitable for edging and for carpet-bedding. Rosca (rosy), flowers soft rose - pink, of neat and compact habit. Violacca (violet), finest of all ; flowers large deep violet-purple. Cultivation. The Aubrietias, or Rock-cresses, are all hardy perennials, and may be reproduced either by seeds or cuttings. It is not difficult to please them in an ordinary garden where there is no wide choice of soils. They will do well in the rock-garden, or in a sunny border where the soil is deep and rich. Seeds should be sown in April or May in the open air, and the seedlings planted out in the shade. The young plants may be transplanted to their permanent quarters in autumn, and will flower in the following spring. Cuttings should be taken in the spring and struck in gritty loam. The plants from which the cut- tings are to be taken should first be placed in a frame to induce new growth of tender shoots, these being better for the purpose than the harder out- side growths. They should be kept rather close after insertion, and when well-rooted and hardened off, they should be planted in a shady border, and in autumn placed finally where they are to bloom. A third method of propagation is to layer the stems of older plants after flowering, covering them with soil. They freely root, and send up numerous shoots which develop into new plants, though at present connected with the old. They will produce fine masses of bloom in the spring, after which the new plants may be separated by cutting through the layers. Description of An entire plant of A. deltoidea is here depicted, Plate 24. o f the natural size, and showing the habit of the species. Fig. 1 shows the interior of the flower, and the dilated filaments of the stamens. Fig. 2 is the short siliqua opening, and 3 is an enlarged view of a seed. ALYSSUM Natural Order CRUCIFEILE. Genus Alyssum ALYSSUM (Greek, a, privative, and lussa, rage, frenzy, from a former belief in its power to cure madness). A genus of about ninety species, of which some are annuals, others dwarf shrubby perennials, more or less hoary from a clothing of stellate hairs. Radical leaves tufted, usually entire, the stem-leaves distant and alternate. Flowers small, four-parted, white or yellow ; sepals equal, petals entire or notched, i. 14 54 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Pods short, variable in form. The species are chiefly from Europe and the Mediterranean region. Alyssum spinosa appears to have been introduced from South Europe in 1683 as a curious greenhouse plant on account of the thorny character of its old wood and its flower-stalks. A. maritimum appears to have been cultivated at an early date, for it has become thoroughly naturalised in waste places near the sea in England and the Channel Islands. A. olympicum came from Northern Greece in 1700, and ten years later the well-known A. saxatile w T as introduced from South-East Europe ; A. montanum from Germany in 1713, and A. calycinum from Austria in 1720. This last species is found occasionally about cultivated fields in this country. A. alpestre came from South Europe in 1777. A considerable number of other, forms have been introduced during the present century, but those mentioned are the principal ones in cultivation. ALYSSUM ALPESTEE (alpine). 3 inches high ; a yellow- flowered, shrubby -based, greyish-hoary perennial, forming neat little tufts and flowering in June. Leaves egg-shaped. A. ATLANTICUM (atlantic). 3 to 12 inches; yellow-flowered, shrubby- based, erect. Leaves, lance-shaped, velvety hoary; flowers May and June. Perennial. A. MACROCARPUM (large-fruited). 8 inches; white-flowered, shrubby, spiny-branched. Leaves oblong, silvery white; flowers May to July. Perennial. A. MARITIMUM (maritime). Sweet Alyssum. 6 to 9 inches ; white-flowered, with wiry, much-branched trailing stems and very narrow lance-shaped leaves. There is a pretty form with the green leaves streaked yellow. Flowers, sweet scented ; May to July or July to September, according to period of sowing. Frequently named Kceniga maritima. Annual or perennial. A. MONTANUM (mountain). 2 or 3 inches ; yellow-flowered, scented ; somewhat glaucous ; leaves oval (lower) or oblong (upper), downy ; flowers May to July. Perennial. A. OLYMPICUM (Olympian). 2 to 3 inches ; deep yellow flowers ; leaves small, greyish, spoon-shaped ; June to August. Perennial. A. ORIENTALE (eastern). 12 inches; yellow-flowered, somewhat shrubby at the base, leaves lance-shaped, downy, waved, with distant teeth; May. Perennial. A. SAXATILE (living among rocks). Gold Dust. 12 inches; yellow- flowered, shrubby, branched. Leaves lance-shaped, hoary; flowers, brilliant; May. Perennial. Plate 25. BITTER CRESS 55 The species of Alyssum are favourite plants for rock- work, dry borders, and edging. Most of them produce an abundance of small but bright blossoms, at a period when garden flowers are not very plentiful. They are of easy cultivation, and will succeed in any well-drained soil, especially if it be of a stony character and in a sunny position. They may be raised from seed sown in the open border during March or April. The perennial species may also be propagated by dividing the roots, or by taking cuttings from the young growths in August or September, and striking them in sandy loam in a frame or shady border. These will form neat little plants for blooming in the following spring. Description of Fig. A represents the upper and lower portions of a Plate 25. branch of A. saxatile. Fig. 2 is an enlarged flower showing the form of the petals and other organs and their disposition. In Fig. 3 two of the petals have been taken away to give a clearer view of the interior. Fig. 4 is the orbicular pod with narrow wings, and the persistent style. Fig. B shows a division of the stem of A. maritimum, and Fig. 1 is an enlargement of one flower. BITTER CEESS Natural Order CRUCIFER.E. Genus Cardamine CARDAMINE (Greek, kardamon, cress). A genus of about fifty annual or perennial herbs, natives chiefly of the temperate and colder regions. The leaves are generally pinnate ; flowers white, creamy or purple. Sepals with equal bases ; petals clawed. Pods long and narrow, compressed, with flat, elastic valves which, when the seeds are ripe, spring open from the base and discharge the seeds. The flowers are borne in terminal, bractless racemes. Higto The species of Cardamine are not in general cultiva- tion, though a few of the Continental species were intro- duced in the seventeenth century. Cardamine trifolia, for instance, was brought from Switzerland in 1629, C. latifolia from Spain in 1710, C. chelidonia from Italy in 1739, and C. macrophylla from Siberia in 1824. C. pratensis is our own native Cuckoo-flower, the Lady's Smock of Shakespeare's well-known lines. Of this species there is a natural double variety occasionally found, as also several varieties with single flowers. C. pratensis is plentiful in damp meadows, and swampy places on commons. Its flowers are white or pale pink. C. amara } another 56 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE native, has creamy white flowers rather smaller than the last named ; it grows by river sides, but is scarce. The other native species have very small flowers. Cuiti f There is no difficulty in the cultivation of these plants, provided they be planted in a moist, shady situation. Moisture is of more importance to them than any special kind of soil. Given that, they will propagate themselves freely, 0. pratensis in a peculiar and interesting manner in addition to its production of seed like the others. If growing on wet soil, as when it is naturally growing amid Sphagnum-moss, its radical leaves when spread out flat put out slender rootlets from the base of each leaflet, and from its axil arises a bud, which soon develops into a complete little plant that may be separated from the parent and transplanted. HONESTY Natural Order CRUCIFERVE. Genus Lunaria LUNARIA (Latin, luna, the moon, from the shape and colour of the disk- like partition of the seed-vessel). A genus consisting of but two species of erect-growing herbs with branching stems and large, rough, heart- shaped leaves, toothed and stalked. The flowers are in terminal and axillary racemes, each with the four petals arranged cross-wise, and the two outer sepals bulging at the bass. The remarkable feature of the genus is the extraordinary degree to which the seed-vessel (siliqua) is compressed. It varies between oval and orbicular in outline, and when the valves drop off* the seeds remain attached to a thin pearly membrane, which has earned for the plants two of their popular names, Moonwort and Moneywort, though they are more frequently known as Honesty. They are natives of Central and Southern Europe, and Western Asia. Both species have a record of three centuries of cultivation in this country. Lunaria biennis appears to have been introduced from Sweden in 1595, and to have been followed in the succeeding year by L. rediviva from Germany. They have been, and remain, general favourites in old-fashioned gardens, more especially L. biennis, on account of its larger flowers and seed-vessels. LUNARIA BIENNIS (biennial). Honesty. 1J to 3 feet, with large violet-purple flowers appearing in April and continuing till July. The large leaves and pyramidal habit give this plant a handsome appearance in leaf and flower ; and this is not less so SCHIZOPETALON 57 when the flowers have passed and the pearly lustre of the seed-bearer is uncovered by the falling of the valves. There is a white-flowered variety (albiflora). LUNARIA REDIVIVA (renewed). 1 to 3 feet ; a perennial with smaller, bluer flowers, fragrant, and a smaller seed-vessel, which is lance-shaped> pointed at each end, and not nearly so conspicuous or pretty as that of L. biennis. Flowers May and June. Lunaria succeeds in almost any garden soil, but it will do especially well if the soil is of a sandy nature. It may be increased by division, but usually it is propagated by sowing the seeds as soon as ripe, which would be about July or August. These may be sown in the open border, where they will soon make nice bushy plants, and flower soon after settled ; mild weather comes in the following spring. They thus come in nicely at a time when there is no superabundance of the warmer colours among the flowers ; whites and yellows being then the prevailing hues. They also thrive under the shade of trees, and are admirable for producing bold colour effects in the wild garden. When the seeds are all but ripe the raceme should be carefully gathered and stood indoors to dry. The valves of the silique will then readily part, the seed may be secured, and the dividing pellicle attached to the oval frame- work be preserved for filling vases when there is a dearth of cut flowers. Description of Lunaria biennis, upper portion of stem, with flowers ; Plate 26. a l so a single leaf from the lower part of plant, Fig. 1 is an enlargement of the flower; Fig. 2 the same with the petals and two of the sepals removed, and the ovary cut through. It will be seen that the long style remains attached to the growing pod, and in Fig. 3 it is still a prominent feature. In this figure the valves of the pods have been removed to show the seeds adhering to the central partition. SCHIZOPETALON Natural Order CRUCIFER^E. Genus Schizopetalon SCHIZOPETALON (from Greek, schizo, to cut, and petalon, a petal). A genus of five or six Chilian species of CRUCIFER^E remarkable for the fact that their petals are cut up or lobed in a pinnate manner. They are all half-hardy annuals with erect, slightly branching stems, and alternate wavy-toothed or pinnatifid leaves. The flowers are purple or white, in terminal racemes with leafy bracts ; sepals erect as in Lunaria, almost equal at the base ; petals with a claw, pinnately lobed. 58 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE SCHIZOPETALON WALKERI (Walker's) is the only species cultivated in this country, where it was introduced seventy- five years ago. It is about 2 feet high, covered with down, the individual hairs of which are branched. The flowers are white in long racemes, each footstalk furnished with a long slender bract. The seed- pod is extremely slender. The seedlings are as remarkable as the cut petals, for they are provided with no less than four spirally twisted cotyledons. The flowers appear from May to August. The seeds should be sown in spring, in pots filled with Culture. . . , i fi i a compost of peat, loam, and sand ; raised in the greenhouse, and afterwards carefully planted out in a sunny border. To ripen seeds a few plants should be grown in the greenhouse, but even there they will not be produced in great number. In the warmer parts of the country the seeds may be sown in February on a sunny border, where they will readily germinate and produce good plants by midsummer. VIEGINIAN STOCK Natural Order CRUCIFER^E. Genus Malcolmia MALCOLMIA (name commemorative of William Malcolm, a London nurseryman of the last century). A genus of about twenty herbs, mostly hardy annuals, of varying habit. They have branching stems, with alternate, roughish, toothed or sinuate leaves, and flowers destitute of bracts, disposed in racemes ; purple or white. They are distinguished from their nearest allies by having an awl-shaped stigma, and a roundish seed-pod thickened at the base. The species are mostly natives of the Mediterranean and Caspian regions, but few of them are cultivated. Malcolmia littorea has been known in our gardens for a longer period than M. maritima, for the former was introduced from South Europe more than two hundred years ago, whilst the latter was not brought from the same neighbourhood until early in the last century, and was followed about twenty years later by M. chid from Greece. M. maritima has long been a favourite in gardens, from the ease with which it is grown, its disregard of poverty of soil, and its suitability as an edging for beds and borders. MALCOLMIA CHI A. Native of Chio, Greece. Stems branching, 6 to 12 inches ; radical leaves egg-shaped or spoon- shaped ; stem leaves narrower and more pointed, mostly entire, downy beneath. Flowers purplish lilac, about three-eighths of an inch across; June. ROCKETS 59 M. LITTOREA (of the seashore). 6 to 12 inches, with very narrow, lance-shaped, almost entire, hoary leaves. Flowers large pinkish purple, distinguished from the following species by the lack of veining on the broad portion (limb) of the petals; June to November; succeeded by hoary seed-pods. M. MARITIMA (of the sea). Virginian Stock. Stems erect, branched, 6 to 12 inches. Leaves narrow, oval or elliptical, much narrowed at the base, grey-green. The flowers are from f to 1 inch across, of various colours ; white, pink, lilac, rosy-red becoming tinged with violet ; spring to autumn according to date of sowing the seed. Naturally these are plants of the seashore, and used to a poor, light soil ; there is therefore no need to prescribe special composts for them in the garden. The almost universal mistake made by amateurs is in sowing the seed with a too lavish hand lavish, that is, not in the sense of sowing broadcast, but of dropping too large a quantity of seed into too restricted a space. They desire thick lines of flowery edging, but defeat their own purpose. One-sixth of the quantity usually sown would give more robust, longer-lived plants, that would give a better and more continuous floral display. Overcrowding of the seedlings means semi-starvation and a short display, to be followed by a weedy-looking edging in which dead plants are as numerous as the living ones. If sown where they are to flower, the seeds should be sprinkled sparingly but evenly. A better plan is to sow in a seed-bed in September, and thin the seedlings out to a couple of inches apart as soon as possible. Then early in March transplant to the bed or border where they are desired to bloom, keeping them about eight inches apart, and in lieu of the usual wiry, weedy specimens you will have thick bushy plants that will produce abundance of large flowers for a long period. A succession may be kept up by later sowings. Description of M. maritima, the Virginian Stock. White and pink Plate 27. flowered specimens are shown, with the leaves and seed- pods. Fig. 1 is an enlarged section of the flower, showing disposition of the parts. Fig. 2, a seed, natural size, and much enlarged. Fig. 3, a seedling. ROCKETS Natural Order CRUCIFEILE. Genus Hesperis HESPERIS (Greek, 'esperos, the evening, bestowed because some of the species are only fragrant in the evening). A genus of about twenty 60 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE erect, biennial or perennial herbs with branching leafy stems. Leaves alternate. Flowers large, numerous, in terminal or axillary racemes. The sepals erect, side ones enlarged at base ; petals clawed ; stigma lobes almost erect. Pods roundish, seeds in a single row, valves keeled. Natives of Europe and Western Asia. Hesperis matronalis has been so long cultivated in gardens that the date of its introduction is not known. Its native countries are known to be in Southern Europe and Russian Asia, and it has been included in the British floras of various authors, but it is now well understood that the specimens occasionally found growing wild are the descendants of garden Rockets. This species was described by an old horticultural writer as " so remarkable for imparting a most fragrant odour, that the ladies were fond of having them in their apart- ments. Hence derived the name Dame's Violet, and bearing some resemblance to a Stock-gilliflower, were sometimes also called Queen's- gilliflower; but are now most commonly called Rocket." H. tristis, the Dull-flowered Rocket, was introduced from Eastern Europe two hundred and sixty years ago. Of H. grandiflora, another cultivated species, the native country is unknown. H. matronalis is the species most commonly grown, and even that is more frequently seen in cottage gardens than in large spaces ; but it is certainly as deserving of more general cultivation as the Stock. HESPERIS MATRONALIS (matronly). Common Rocket, Dame's Rocket, Dame's Violet. Stems erect, 2 to 3 feet. Leaves oblong, lance-shaped, with long narrow points, and finely-toothed. Flowers f of an inch across, white, lilac, red, purple or variegated, fragrant in the evening, probably because chiefly fertilised by night- flying moths. There are many double and single varieties. Flowers from May to August. H. TRISTIS (dull). Dull-flowered Rocket, or Night-scented Stock. Stems much branched near the top, 1 to 2 feet high. Radical leaves stalked, upper stalkless ; egg-shaped with long points, entire or toothed. Flowers ranging in colour from white or cream to brownish-red or dark purple ; May to August. Biennial. The double forms of H. matronalis are most worthy Cultivation. of recommendation, but the single forms are well worth growing. They will grow almost anywhere, but they prefer a moist sandy loam, that has been well worked, and is in a shady position. The single kinds are most readily increased by seed, which may be sown in March or April in a border of light earth. The seedlings should be thinned out to a couple of inches apart, and when these have become ROCKET (HESPERIS MATRONALIS) Nat. size PL. 28 CANDYTUFTS 61 nice plants about three inches high they should be transplanted, allowing an interval of six inches between the plants. Here they may remain till late autumn or early spring, when they must be removed to their flowering stations. Very few doubles will be obtained from seed, and in order to maintain and increase our stock of these we must propagate by dividing the root or by taking cuttings. For this purpose plants should be set aside, and before the flower-buds have increased much in size the stem should be cut off near the ground, divided into two or three lengths, the flower-buds picked off, and lengths used as cuttings. The plant thus treated will throw out off-sets all round, and in September the clump so formed may be broken up, and each off-set planted separately. They will flower in the following spring. Description of The ordinary form of H. matronalis is shown, with Plate 23. the flowers in various stages, and the young seed-vessels. Fig. 1 is an enlargement of a flower, showing the swollen base of the lateral sepals ; Fig. 2 is a section of the same, showing arrangement of parts. CANDYTUFTS Natural Order CRUCIFER^E. Genus Iberis IBERIS (from Iberia, an ancient name for Spain, and derived in turn from the river Iberus). A genus of about twenty species of smooth, low, branching herbs, frequently with a shrubby base. Leaves entire or cut pinnately, sometimes fleshy. The flowers are borne in racemes or corymbs, but sometimes, by an after development of the stem, the flower- cluster in some species resembles a spike. The sepals are all equal at the base, less erect than in Hesperis and other genera. Sepals unequal, the two outer being longer and larger than the inner. Stigma notched. Seed-pod much compressed, the valves keeled or winged, each cell containing but one seed. The species are chiefly natives of the Mediterranean region; one British. IBERIS AMARA, the only native species, has long been known as a garden plant, but it was upon /. umbellata that the name Candytuft was originally bestowed. The seeds were brought three hundred years ago from the Island of Crete, at that time better known as Candia, consequently the plant became known as Candy Mustard, afterwards improved into Candytuft. It was more than a hundred and thirty years later when we became acquainted in this country with an evergreen species, by the introduction of /. sempervirens i. 16 62 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE from the same locality ; and soon after another perennial, /. gibraltarica, was imported. More recent introductions have given a greater variety of species of differing habits and suited for different situations, but the older forms have continued to be the most widely cultivated. It may be more convenient to separate the annual or biennial from the perennial species. The following are annuals or biennials : I. AMARA (bitter). Stems erect, ribbed, branched, 6 to 12 inches. Leaves oblong, lance-shaped, stalkless, sparingly toothed. Flowers white or purplish ; June. The flower-cluster begins as a corymb, but finishes as a raceme. I. CILIATA (ciliated). A biennial, 9 inches high, with very slender entire leaves, fringed with fine hairs at the base. Flowers white ; June and July. A native of Italy (1802). I. CORONARIA (garland-bearing). Rocket Candytuft. A plant of doubtful relationship and origin ; probably a form of /. umbellata. It is about a foot high, with leathery, lance-shaped, entire leaves, and pure white flowers clustered in long dense racemes at the top of the stems. July. I. NANA (dwarf). About 3 inches high, with fleshy, spoon-shaped, entire leaves, and purple flowers. June and July. A native of France and Italy. I. ODORATA (perfumed). A foot or more high, with very slender toothed leaves, broader at the top and ciliated at the base. Flowers pure white, sweet scented, in racemes; May to August. Introduced from Crete (1806). I. UMBELLATA (umbelled). Purple Candytuft. This is the most fre- quently cultivated kind, and grows to a height of about a foot. Leaves narrow, lance-shaped, the lower ones saw- toothed. Flowers variable, white, lilac, crimson or purple, forming terminal umbels. It flowers throughout the spring and summer. There are several recognised colour varieties to which distinctive names have been attached ; var. carnea, is pale flesh coloured ; purpurea lilacina is lilac purple, of dwarf habit ; afro purpurea, dark crimson ; and nana-purpurea deep purple, dwarf. Of the perennial species we may mention the following as specially worthy of cultivation : IBERIS CORRE^FOLIA (Correa-leaved). An evergreen hybrid of garden origin, and one of the finest of this section. Its stems are woody, slender, and bend to the ground. Leaves spoon-shaped, entire, smooth. Flowers large, pure white ; at first in close flat corymbs, but afterwards elongated, spike-like ; May and June. I. GIBRALTARICA (of Gibraltar). A shrubby, half-hardy species, GIBRALTAR CANDYTUFT (IBERIS GIBRALTARICA) Nat. size PL. 29 CANDYTUFTS 63 growing to a foot or two feet high, with wedge-shaped leaves toothed near the top. Flowers large, white tinged with lilac, pink or red ; early spring. Native of the south of Spain and Morocco. The var. hybrida is an improvement upon the type, being of more compact growth, and even more closely covered with blossoms; white tinged with rosy purple. I. PRUITI (Fruit's). A shrubby species, nearly a foot in height, well covered with dark green spoon-shaped leaves, and bearing compact heads of flowers almost as large as those of /. gibraltarica, but pure white. Flowering in May and June. A native of Sicily. I. SAXATILIS (living among rocks). Kock Candytuft. Shrubby stems lying along the ground, with very narrow evergreen leaves, and flat corymbs of pure white flowers ; spring and summer. Very useful for the rock-garden or border. Introduced from South of Europe (1739). I. SEMPERVIRENS (evergreen). Evergreen Candytuft. Stems much branched, shrubby, 9 to 12 inches. Leaves oblong, blunt, narrowed at the base. Flowers pure white in abundant racemes, appearing in May and continuing through the summer. Native of South Europe (1731). This is the most commonly grown of the shrubby kinds, and deservedly popular. There is a var. garrexiana, somewhat dwarfer in habit, with smaller white flowers, the racemes gradually lengthening. Also a var. Jlore pleno, dwarf and compact. I. TENOREANA (Tenore's). Stems nearly shrubby at base, ascending ; 6 inches. Whole plant hairy. Leaves somewhat fleshy, with rounded teeth ; lower ones egg-shaped, narrowing to the base ; upper ones much narrower. Flowers in umbels, white at first, changing to purple ; May. Native of South- West Europe (1822). All the species mentioned above are very desirable garden plants, being easy of cultivation, of neat habit and free-bloomers, but they like plenty of sunshine and an open position. The annual sorts come freely from seeds, which should be sown in a light sandy soil in early autumn, if the species selected is a spring bloomer ; if a summer bloomer, the seed should not be sown until March or April. They are plants that do not succeed well when transplanted ; therefore it is advisable to sow the seed where the plants are to flower and then to thin out the seedlings to not less than six inches apart. Autumn-sown plants endure the winter better if they have been sown on a dry soil, but the spring-sown plants require a moister soil, as well as sunshine. The perennial species may also be grown from seed, but in their case this is not very desirable, for they are so readily propagated by means of cuttings. These should be taken from the young shoots immediately 64 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE they are mature, and before the wood has begun to harden. Insert them in sandy soil, either in a frame or under a bell-glass in the open-air, and they will soon send forth roots. It is advisable to leave them where they are until the spring, when they may be planted out into permanent positions in the herbaceous border, or in the very forefront of the shrubbery. Such of the shrubby forms as have a tendency to trail may also be increased by layering. Certain of these /. gibraltarica and / saxatilis, for example sometimes get untidy from this trailing habit, and must either be pegged down or cut back. /. gibraltarica does best on a well-drained rock-garden in light soil, where its struggling pro- pensity is no disadvantage. 7. tenoreana likewise demands a well- drained soil and a sheltered position, otherwise it will die off in winter- /. gibraltarica var. hybrida makes a capital bedding plant. Description of The Gibraltar Candytuft (/. gibraltarica) is shown on Plates 29 and so. Plate 29, the branches in their natural sub-erect attitude, the leaves and flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1 is an enlarged drawing of a single blossom, to show more clearly the disparity in the size of the petals, their characteristic direction, and the half -erect attitude of the sepals. Fig. 2 is a section of the enlarged flower, and Fig. 3 is the ovary and style. Plate 30 represents the annual species (A) /. umbellata and (B) /. amara. The figures of the details are drawn from /. umbellata, and depict : (1) a flower from the centre of the corymb ; (2) one from the cir- cumference with the larger petals more spreading ; (3) a section of the same ; (4) the seed-vessel with its horned wings ; (5) the same enlarged and opening to discharge the seed ; (6) the seed, natural size and enlarged ; (7) the seedling. On comparing 4 or 5 with B, considerable difference in the form of the seed-vessel will be seen to exist between the two species. MIGNONETTE Natural Order RESEDACE.E. Genus Reseda RESEDA (Latin, resedo, to quiet, the plant having formerly been thought to act as a sedative). A genus of about twenty-six alternate-leaved herbs, natives of Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, including the British species. The flowers are irregular, and the stamens more conspicuous than any other part. The calyx is from four to seven- parted, irregular, remaining attached to the seed-vessel. The petals vary from four to seven, attached beneath the ovary (hypogynous), and are cut up into a number of segments, the upper one with a membranous MIGNONETTE 65 expansion on its upper surface. The stamens vary from ten to forty ; the carpels, two to six, their edges joined, open at the top, the opening bounded by stigmatic lobes. The disc is broad, dilated at the upper side of the flower into a perpendicular yellowish plate, secreting honey at the back. Seeds numerous, kidney-shaped. Few of the species have any interest as garden plants. Our native Reseda Luteola, or Dyer's Weld, was formerly extensively cultivated as a dye-weed, for it produced a beautiful yellow dye, and from its juice the artist's colour known as Dutch Pink was obtained. R. alba, introduced from South Europe at the end of the sixteenth century, is occasionally seen in cultivation, and has established itself in waste places near our coasts after being turned out of gardens. R. odorata, the fragrant Mignonette, was introduced from Egypt less than a hundred and fifty years ago, but the country of its origin is quite unknown. It is probably the most popular of all garden plants, and the number of gardens in this country in which it is not grown must be an exceedingly small percentage of the whole. Its growth in the South of France for the purpose of supplying winter bouquets to Paris and other large cities has assumed vast proportions, and it is stated that, in the neighbourhood of Nice and Hyeres, a little more than two acres of land sown with Mignonette will yield from 400 to 600 per annum. RESEDA ALBA (white) grows to a height of 2 feet, and has pinnate glaucous leaves, the leaflets lance-shaped. Flowers, with a five- or six-parted calyx, as many white petals each cut into three filaments, stamens twelve or fourteen, brownish; in dense spikes, May to September. A biennial. R. LUTEOLA (yellowish). Weld, Dyer's Weed. A striking plant with erect branching stems, 2 or 3 feet high, and narrow, lance-shaped undivided leaves. The flowers are yellowish green, in long spike-like racemes. Flowers June to August. Annual or biennial. R. ODORATA (perfumed). Sweet Mignonette. Stems diffuse, of varying height, clothed with bluntish, lance-shaped leaves, entire or three-lobed. Flowers in long, loose, terminal racemes; calyx, six-parted ; petals creamy, finely cut into numerous divisions. Anthers red. June to October, or later. Annual or perennial. Under cultivation R. odorata has produced many Garden Varieties. ... i i -11 , A1 varieties, of which we will mention some of the most desirable : Crimson King, dwarf, pyramidal, with I Garaway's White, thick long racemes of bright red flowers. I white flowers. I. 17 66 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Giant Pyramidal, plant of pyramidal form, very large racemes of reddish flowers. Golden Queen, dwarf, dense-growing, flowers golden yellow. Machef, dwarf, but robust, broad racemes of bright red flowers. Miles' Hybrid Spiral, dwarf, branching, racemes dense, a foot long, flowers white. Parson's White, long racemes of whitish flowers. Queen Victoria, dwarf, branching, flowers deep red in profusion. What we have said concerning seed-sowing under the head of Malcolmia applies with equal force to Reseda, and indeed to all annuals : amateurs make the mistake of sowing the seed far too thickly. The huge trusses of bloom one sees on pot-plants of Mignonette in the florists' shops are obtained by giving the roots sufficient room to develop, and so provide the plant with plenty of food. To crowd the plants so closely as is usually done must prevent root-development, and so starve the plant. A hundred years ago, when R. odorata was not so extensively grown in this country, and the seed less plentiful, it was customary to raise it on a hot-bed as a tender annual, and to trans- plant with a ball of earth round the roots. This plan at least ensured proper space being given to each plant when at last it was planted out in the bed or border. Another error often committed is to grow it in a position too fully exposed to sunshine, which results in a rapid running up to seed and exhaustion of the plants. The seeds should be sown sparingly in April or May, and light soil sifted over them. Even so, they are likely to come up too thickly, and quite early the seedlings must be carefully looked over and thinned out. In June or July another sowing should be made, to ensure autumnal bloom. The soil should be rich and rather heavy, and the situation such that it is shielded from the midday sun. During dry weather the young plants must be watered. R. odorata is much grown in pots for spring- blooming. For this purpose seed of a good sort should be selected, such as Crimson King, Garaway's White, or Machet. Five- or six-inch pots should be filled with a compost of loam, dried cow-manure, old mortar finely broken, and a little soot. Late in August a few seeds should be sown in each pot, covered lightly, watered, stood in a cold frame, and given plenty of air. The seedlings should be thinned out to at least an inch apart, the most robust being left, and a stick inserted for each. During winter they should have a temperature of from fifty to fifty -five degrees, and should not be allowed to get dry, though water must be given with caution until growth becomes more active in the New Year, when a good supply will not hurt the plants. Artificial manure sparingly applied when the flowers begin to appear will tend to Pot-Culture. MIGNONETTE (RESEDA ODORATA) Nat size PL. 31 VIOLETS AND PANSIES 67 largo trusses. Plants grown on singly in a greenhouse in a mixture of good loam, bone dust, and sand pressed firmly into the pots will form little shrubs in about two years, or they may be grown into little standards. In sub-tropical countries the Mignonette forms a large perennial bush. Description of A stem and branch of R. odorata. Fig. 1 is an Plate si. enlarged flower ; 2, a section of the same showing the ever- open capsule ; 3, is the ripe capsule ; 4, a seed, natural size, and enlarged ; 5, a seedling. VIOLETS AND PANSIES Natural Order VIOLACE.E. Genus Viola VIOLA (the old Latin name for the flower). A genus of about a hundred species of low herbs and a few shrubs. In most cases the leaves are all radical, but where a stem is present the leaves are alternate ; the flowers produced from the axils on one -flowered (occasionally two -flowered) stalks. The sepals, five in number, remaining attached to the seed-vessel, are nearly equal, their bases extended a little beyond their attachment to the receptacle. Petals five, unequal, erect or spreading, the lowest one largest (by the bending over of the tip of the stalk this appears to be the upper petal), spurred at base. Style swollen at the tip; stigma often cup-shaped. Seed-vessel three-valved, elastic. The petals are often suppressed, and the calyx in such flowers remains closed, but the resulting capsules produce good seed. The species are distributed throughout the temperate regions of the globe. Seven species of Viola and several sub-species are indigenous to Britain, among them the Violet, V. odorata ; it therefore appears to be very probable that the Sweet Violet would be among the plants to be found in the first gardens made in this country. Many species of Viola have been introduced from abroad, but most of these are of botanical rather than horticultural interest. V. suavis, the Russian Violet, however, is commonly cultivated ; it was introduced from Tauria nearly eighty years ago. V. blanda, which is only faintly sweet- scented, came from North America in the first years of the century. Others have been introduced and cultivated on account of their large flowers in spite of their lack of sweet odour. Such a species is V. cucullata, from North America (1762). V. cornuta, a native of the Pyrenees, introduced a hundred and twenty years ago, has been crossed with the sub-species lutea of our native V. tricolor, and has produced 68 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE the now favourite Bedding Violas. Whether the magnificent Garden Pansies have been produced solely by selection from V. tricolor, or whether that species has been crossed with V. altaica and V. rotho- magensis, are open questions. V. tricolor had long been grown in gardens, but nothing appears to have been done in the way of improving it until early in the present century, when Lady M. Tennet and her gardener, Mr. Richardson, effected considerable improvement by selection. To-day the varieties are simply innumerable, and they are exceedingly popular, and deservedly so. VIOLA ALTAICA (native of the Altaian mountains) has a slender creeping root, and oval leaves with wedge-shaped, toothed stipules. The flowers are large, yellow, with a spur, and appear from March to June. The plant was introduced from Siberia in 1805. V. BLAND A (alluring) is a North American species (1802), with creeping rootstock and kidney-shaped leaves, covered with delicate down. The flowers are small, white, faintly scented, short spurred ; the lateral petals veined with lilac. Flowers in early spring. V. CALCARATA (spurred) has short, unbranched, tufted stems, and roundish spoon-shaped leaves with rounded teeth; stipules cut into three, or in a palmate manner. Flowers large, purple-violet, spur slender, as long as the petals ; the sepals oblong with glandular teeth. March to July. Introduced from Austria nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. There are several varieties: albiflora, with large white flowers; Halleri, similar to albiflora, but with blue flowers; Zoysii, with smaller yellow flowers. V. CORNUTA (horned) is a tufted plant with diffuse, ascending stems, and heart-shaped leaves whose edges have rounded teeth and are finely fringed. The stipules are irregularly heart-shaped, toothed and fringed. Flowers lilac-blue, with long slender spur, and awl-shaped sepals. May to July. The var. alba has white flowers. Many forms of this species are in cultivation as bedding plants, and valued on account of the profusion of their blooms, which, though pale, are of a deeper tint than those of V. calcarata. Both these species resemble the Pansy in the flatness of their flowers. V. CUCULLATA (hooded), with heart-shaped leaves on long stalks, erect, with blunt teeth. Flowers varying from pale violet-blue (nearly white) to deep purple, with short, thick spur ; on long scapes. Early spring. There is a var. palmata, with some of the leaves cut up into from three to seven parts. V. ODORATA (perfumed). Sweet Violet. Rootstock short, covered with the scars of last year's leaves, and sending off runners. Leaves VIOLETS AND PANSIES 69 broadly heart-shaped, stipules glandular, leaf-stalk covered with hairs pointing downward ; leaves enlarging after flowering. Flowers fragrant, with nearly straight, short spur ; varying in colour, blue, reddish purple or white. Style hooked, stigma oblique. Flowers from March to May. Several natural varieties occur, of which the white form alba is one. In some districts all the wild Sweet Violets are white, those of the usual colour to be seen only in gardens. Var. permixta has pale scentless flowers, and the runners do not root ; var. sepincola is more hairy, has dark scentless flowers, and its runners do root. By some authors these two are regarded as distinct species, but Hooker thinks they are probably hybrids of V. odorata and V. hirta. V. PEDATA (footed the form of leaf) differs greatly in the character of its leaves from the forms usual in the genus. It has a thick creeping rootstock, and leaves divided into six or seven narrow, lance-shaped segments, arranged like the toes of a bird's foot. Some of the segments may be divided at their extremity into three teeth ; the others -entire. Flowers large, varying in colour, white, pale blue or (usually) bright blue ; none of the petals bearded. May and June. A native of North America, introduced nearly one hundred and forty years ago. In addition to the white-flowered form, which is known as var. alba, there is the var. bicolor with the upper petals of a velvety deep violet and the lower petals blue. V. ROTHOMAGENSIS (Rouen) is a European species (introduced one hundred and fifteen years ago), to which we have referred as a suspected factor in the evolution of the Garden Pansy. Stems branched, zigzag. Leaves egg-shaped, the lower ones tending to heart shape ; with rounded teeth and fringed edges. Flowers bright blue, the lip and lateral petals with black streaks ; spur, short, tubular. April to August. V. SUAVIS (sweet). The Russian Violet. With creeping and rooting offsets, broad, heart-shaped downy leaves, and pale blue flowers; lowest petal broader than the others; fragrant. March to May. V. TRICOLOR (three-coloured). Heartsease or Pansy. Stem branched, wavy, angular. Leaves ovate-oblong, with distant, rounded saw-teeth. Petals spreading, longer than sepals, pale yellow or lilac ; variable in size. May to September. The sub-species V. arvensis has erect white or yellowish petals, shorter than the sepals. Sub-species V. Curtisii has a branched rootstock giving off' runners. The petals spreading, longer than sepals, blue, purple or yellow. Sub-species V. lutea has also a branched rootstock, short stems and underground runners; petals spreading, much longer than the sepals, blue, purple, or yellow. i. 18 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Garden Violets. These are very numerous, and are being constantly added to. The following selection includes some of the best : Venice, double, rosette-like mauve flowers. Victoria Regina, double, large, blue, fragrant flowers. Argentceflora, white tinged with purple ; small flowers, very fragrant, strong grower. Belle de Chatenay, large, pure white, fragrant, double flowers. Comte Brazza, a white form of the Nea- politan, double and fragrant. Czar, large blue ; an albino form is known as White Czar. De Parme, lavender-purple, double, free bloomer; suitable for producing cut flowers in frames. Devoniensis, deep purple, fragrant. Double Red. Duchess of Edinburgh, mauve edged with azure; double. King of Violets, dark blue, very large and double. Marie Louise, large fragrant flowers, lavender-blue with white centre ; free bloomer. Mdlle. Berths Barron, fragrant, double, indigo-blue flowers; compact and vigorous. Neapolitan, double, fragrant flowers, pale lavender with white centre. Odoratissima, large, round, fragrant, blue. Parmensis, double flowers (see Plate 32), fragrant; leaves small, flower-stalks long. Queen of Violets, double, white tinged with rose, large and fragrant. Russian, large, blue, free bloomer ; leaves small, runners abundant. BEDDING VIOLAS. Accushla, white, with broad purple margin. Alpha, bluish purple. Ar dwell Gem, light yellow. Beauty, dwarf, crimson. Black Douglas, dark purple. Blue Bell, bluish violet, dwarf. Bluestone, rich blue. Brilliant, rich yellow. Bullion, deep yellow. Canary, yellow. Champion, white. Colleen Bawn, large white, purple laced. Criterion, violet. Dicksorfs Golden Gem, golden yellow. Goldfinder, yellow edged with lilac. Holyrood, indigo-blue with darker blotch. Lord Elcho, dwarf, deep orange. Mrs. C. Turner, purple self. Paragon, rich dark blue. Pilrig Park, large, pure white, yellow centre. Rothes, large, deep yellow, fragrant. Snowflake, pure white with yellow centre. Skylark, white, blue edged. Souvenir, bright mauve, very large, very free. Vestal, white. Tory, pale indigo. York and Lancaster, white, striped with rosy purple. Garden Pansies. These are divided into three groups, Fancy, Show, and Bedding Pansies ; the Show section being again divided into classes founded upon the ground colour of the flowers. The Bedding Pansies really run into, and can with difficulty be separated from the Bedding Violas. FANCY PANSIES. The full catalogue of these is of great length, and it may be said with truth that all are good and worth growing. The following brief list does not pretend to be more than a guide to a fairly representative selection. Agnes Mabel, immense flowers with circular purple blotch, laced pinky white; upper petals white and rose. A. H. Murray, black blotches laced rosy white ; upper petals crimson, pencilled white. VIOLETS AND PANSIES Alex. Grant, brown blotches ; upper petals bright yellow, edged crimson. Anne Johnstone, upper petals white, edged and blotched with dark crimson ; lower petals blotched and laced crimson and pale yellow. Beauty, dark crimson blotch ; lateral and upper petals laced white. Byrrh, upper petals plum colour; lower blotched and veined black. Campbell - Bannerman, white, blotched purple ; upper petals purple edged. David Rennie, maroon blotched, chrome edged ; upper petals pale yellow, pencilled with rosy purple. Donald Morrison, very large, dark purple blotches, yellow laced; upper petals purple and yellow. James Grieve, large, yellow, flaked red, dark blotched. John Allan, very large, deep plrm blotches, white belted ; upper petals plum laced white. John Pope, dark blotches, edged bright yellow; upper petals yellow, shaded purple. John Taylor, very large, lemon with circular blotches. Maggie Cochran, blue-purple blotches, edged white ; upper petals white, pencilled rosy purple. Maggie M'Phail, dark purple blotched, edged white ; upper petals white, rosy purple, flamed. Martha M ( Intosh, dark blue blotched ; upper petals puce, edged white. May Hynd, deep violet blotched, laced cream ; upper petals mauve Mina Scott, dark violet blotched, white edged; upper petals white, pencilled violet. Mrs. G. P. Frame, dark blotched, shaded crimson, white laced. Mrs. E. J. Martin, dark violet blotched, white edged ; upper petals white, rosy pencilled. Mrs. W. D. Black, maroon blotched ; upper petals shaded rosy purple, white edged. Pilrig, large, mulberry blotched ; upper petals yellow, crimson edged. Senator, dark blotched, edged crimson and white ; upper petals crimson. Tom Alexander, large, crimson self. William Dick, maroon blotched, edged golden yellow. SHOW PANSIES. I. SELFS. A. Fox, dark. Artemus, large, dark. Black Prince, very dark. Countess of Rosebery, primrose. David Malcolm, black, without shading. Gomar, deep yellow. James Skinner, rich mulberry. Janie Anderson, large, white. Paragon, rich yellow. Pilrig Gem, maroon. Robert Black, black. Winnie Irvine, primrose. Wm. Forbes, plum-purple. II. YELLOW GROUNDS. Alex. Smith, dark purple belt. Chaucer, chocolate blotches. Ella Murray, bronze belt. E. J. Martin, bronze-purple belt. Lord F. Cavendish, bronze-purple margin ; very large. Robert Burns, very large, lemon, chocolate belt. Wm. Beatson, bronze, purple belt. Wm. Robin, golden yellow, bronze belt. III. WHITE GROUNDS. Augusta, bluish purple belt. Benachie, violet belt. Devonia purple belt. Lizzie Donaldson, large, dark purple belt. Miss K. Sutherland, dark purple belt. Mrs. A . Peebles, large, violet-purple belt. Mrs. Sharp, large solid blotches. N. H. Pownall, purple belt. Victoria Gem, light purple belt. W. E. Gladstone, deep purple blotches. Cultivation. All the species may be readily propagated by seeds, cuttings, or root-division ; but the varieties of course must be increased by cuttings or divisions. Sweet Violets should not be placed in a position that is hot and dry. Sandy loam and leaf -mould is 72 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE the soil that suits them best, and during hot weather they should receive a mulching with well-rotted short manure, to keep the soil cool and prevent excessive evaporation. The young runners should be nipped off as soon as they appear, unless they are required for propagation ; in that case not more than three should be left on a plant, and these should be pegged down. For winter flowering they are grown in frames or pits. These should have a south aspect, and be filled to a depth of half a foot with a mixture of leaf-mould and stable manure. The plants should be put in during the latter half of September, and well- watered ; then the frames should be kept closed for a week, after which period the lights should be removed during mild weather and sunshine. Among the best varieties for this treatment are Comte Brazza, Marie Louise, and Neapolitan, all doubles. They will flower from November till April. The best method for the propagation of Pansies and Bedding Violas is to take off the side-shoots from the old plants, with the roots just pushing out. These, taken off late in summer and inserted in a north border, in sandy soil, soon become well-rooted, and may be planted out the same autumn to bloom early in the following season. Should the variety it is desired to increase be one that produces side shoots shyly, recourse must be had to the layering process, or cuttings may be taken from the stems. In August or September the old plants may be taken up, and the division of their roots will give you a larger number of already rooted plants. Provided Pansies are planted in a cool, moist, but well-drained position, they will do well in most soils; but for keeping up a profusion of large blooms, a border should be specially prepared by digging in to a good depth fibrous loam, road-scrapings, and well-rotted cow-manure. The roots, too, should be placed in the ground as deeply as possible without crowding them together ; and in the flowering season the surface should be protected by mulchings. Spring planting should be done at the end of February or beginning of March, or the plants will be insufficiently established when the hot weather comes. The popular bedding varieties are increased by means of cuttings taken off in August and September and planted in light sandy soil on the north side of a hedge or wall. They are covered with hand-lights or cloches, and kept close and moist till they are rooted and start into growth. Description of V. odorata var. parmensis is shown in Plate 32 ; Plates 32 and 33. jr tricolor var. maxima in Plate 33. In the latter, which is not intended to represent the enormous Show varieties, an attempt is made to give an idea of the way in which a few colours are variously disposed to produce great variety; 1 is a section, to show structure. GYPSOPHILA ELEGANS Nat. size PL. 34 GYPSOPHILA 73 The swoollen seed-vessel is shown towards the lower right-hand corner, and nearly below it, at 2, is a seed, of the natural size, and greatly enlarged; 3 is a seedling. GYPSOPHILA Natural Order CARYOPHYLLE^E. Genus Gypsophila GYPSOPHILA (Greek, gypsos, chalk or lime, and phileo, to love). A genus of about fifty species of mostly low-growing annual or perennial herbs with small, usually flat, and often glaucous leaves and small flowers. These are white, pink, or red, usually in light diffuse panicles. The calyx is bell-shaped, five-lobed, the petals five, stamens ten, ovary one-celled, with two styles stigmatic on their upper surface. The stems are thickened at the nodes, where the leaves are given off in pairs with their bases connected (connate). This character of stem and leaves belongs to the whole of the Natural Order CaryophyllesB. The species are mostly natives of South Europe and Asia. Few of them are cultivated to any extent, and only in dry borders and on rockeries. GYPSOPHILA CEEASTOIDES (Cerastium-like) grows to a height of 3 1 feet, with erect stems. The leaves are velvety and fringed at the edges ; those from the root are spoon-shaped on long stalks, those from the stem egg-shaped. The flowers are white, veined with red, and clustered in corymbs; May. Native of the Himalayas. Perennial. G. ELEGANS (elegant) is about 2 feet high, with white and pink flowers in extensive panicles, appearing from June to September. Leaves lance-shaped. Introduced from the Crimea (1828). Annual. G. FASTIGIATA (peaked). Stems 1 foot ; flowers pale red in pyramidal panicles. Leaves very narrow, smooth, fleshy, flat. Flowers July. Native of Europe (1801). Perennial. G. GLAUCA (glaucous). Stems 1J foot; flowers white, in a wide- spread, straggling panicle. Branches downy and clammy ; leaves narrowly lance-shaped, fleshy. Flowers July. Native of the Caucasus (1822). Perennial. G. MURALIS (wall). Stems 6 to 12 inches; flowers flesh-coloured, June to October. Europe (1739). Annual. G. PANICULATA (panicled). Stems 2 to 3 feet, forming a light elegant bush. Flowers small, white, numerous in widespread panicles. Leaves narrowly lance-shaped, rough. Flowers June to August. Europe i. 19 74 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE (1759). Perennial ; well suited for cutting for bouquets, and succeeding best when treated as an annual. G. PROSTRATA (prostrate). A trailing plant about 1 foot high, with pink or red flowers, and narrow glaucous leaves. Flowering from July to September. Native of Central Asia (1759). Perennial. G. REPENS (creeping). 6 inches high, with few white or pale rose flowers in panicles. Leaves very slender, smooth. Flowers July to September. European Alps (1774). Perennial. Suitable for rockery. The lightness of the flower-clusters makes these plants desirable for cut flowers. In flower-beds and borders the same character is valuable as affording a contrast with plants of stifFer and more compact habit. Seed may be sown from April to June, or the perennial species may be increased by cuttings, and division of the old plants. For successful culture, chalk, lime, or old mortar rubbish should be freely incorporated with the soil of a somewhat dry border. Description of The upper part of a plant of G. elegans, showing the Plate 34. diffuse nature of the panicles. Fig. 1 is an enlarged flower, and Fig. 2 a section of same, giving details of structure. PINKS AND CARNATIONS Natural Order CARYOPHYLLE^E. Genus Dianthus DIANTHUS (Greek, Dios, divine, and anthos, flower Jove's-flower). A genus of about seventy tufted herbs, mostly with a shrubby base. The leaves are opposite, more or less connate, as in Gypsophila, and of narrow, grass-like shape. The flowers are dichogamous, that is, though they each contain stamens and pistil, they are incapable of self -fertilisation, because one set of these organs does not mature until the other set has passed maturity. In Dianthus the stamens mature first, and the flowers are therefore protero.ndrous. The calyx is tubular, with five teeth at the top, and overlapping bracts at the base. Petals five, with a long narrow claw concealed within the calyx tube. Stamens ten, of which five ripen at one time and five later. Ovary one-celled, styles two. The species cultivated are mostly hardy perennials. They are dis- tributed throughout Europe, temperate Asia from the Atlantic to Eastern China, North and South Africa, and North- West America. The genus Dianthus includes all those garden plants that go by the name of Pinks, Carnations, Picotees, and Sweet Williams. When it is said that the name Jove's-flowers was PINKS AND CARNATIONS 75 given to them by the old Greek philosopher Theophrastus in the fourth century B.C., it will be understood that their beauties were appreciated at an early date. Four of the species are natives of Britain D. armeria, the Deptford Pink, D. prolifer, Proliferous Pink, D. ddtoides, Maiden Pink, D. ccesius, Cheddar Pink; and in addition D. Caryophyllus, the Clove Pink, and D. plumarius, the Wild Pink, have become naturalised on old walls. All these must have had their place in gardens from very early days, and D. Caryophyllus is supposed to have been cultivated in ancient times by the Mussulmans of Africa, and to have been introduced to Europe from Tunis in the thirteenth century. This may be true of a cultivated form of the plant, but in its wild state it is now considered to really be a native of Europe. Gerarde, writing in 1597, was of opinion it had been introduced to Britain from Poland. Until recent times it was known in gardens as the Clove Gillyflower, later as Clove Pink, and the more highly-developed forms as Carnations and Picotees. The beginnings of the Carnation's history may be obscure, but the results of its cultivation as seen in the magnificent varieties of modern gardens, are wonderful ; for not only is the improvement one of size or form, but there is a most remarkable colour development also, with hues that are never seen in the original form. D. sinensis was brought from China by a French missionary named Bignon at the beginning of last century, and has been much improved by cultivation. Several species are grown occasionally in gardens which have no claim to floral excellence above the general run of the genus, but probably these will in time be more earnestly taken in hand by the horticulturist, and by judicious selection and crossing produce results as fine as those achieved with D. Caryophyllus. We propose to confine our notice of the genus to those species that are very widely and generally cultivated. DIANTHUS BARBATUS (bearded). Sweet William. Stems from 12 to 20 inches high. Leaves lance-shaped, leathery, evergreen. Flowers small, but very numerous, in large dense corymbs. There is enormous variation in colour. Flowers from early summer to autumn. It is said to have been introduced from the Continent in 1575, but probably it was in English gardens at an earlier date than that. It is only during the last seventy years that it has been much improved. The flowers may be white or any shade of red almost to black, and upon such a ground lighter or darker tints are arranged in a circle of dots or streaks. Perennial, but usually treated as a biennial. Among the recognised garden varieties are : Auricula-eyed, each flower with a distinct eye ; Dark crimson ; Doubles, of various tints ; White, with large heads of entirely white flowers. 7 6 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE D. CARYOPHYLLUS (name of the Clove-tree). Clove Pink, Carnation. Stems much branched from the woody base, 18 to 24 inches high ; whole plant glaucous. Leaves very long and narrow, recurved, grooved above, margins smooth. Bracts membranous with herbaceous tips. Flowers in cymes, fragrant, each flower 1J inch across. Petals large, rosy, toothed. July to August. Perennial. The parent of all the varied forms of Carnations and Picotees. Plate 36. D. PLUMARIUS (feathered). Wild Pink, Pheasant's Eye. Stems tufted, branched, 12 inches ; leaves very slender, with pointed tips, and rough edges. Flowers similar to those of D. Caryophyllus, but smaller, rosy purple; petals fringed. Sweet scented. June to August. Perennial. Introduced from Europe (1629). Parent of the Garden Pinks. Plate 38. D. SINENSIS or chinensis (Chinese). Chinese Pink, Indian Pink. Stems branched, 6 to 12 inches ; leaves lance-shaped, glaucous. Flowers very variable in size and colour; petals toothed, usually some tint of red with darker rings. June to August. Biennial, but usually grown as an annual. There are single and double varieties. Plate 37. The named sorts of Carnations are now so very numerous that it has been found necessary to divide them into classes, as is done with the Pansies. We can only give a few illustrative names in each group. Bizarres have a clear ground, variously marked with the colour denoting the section, and with other colours in lesser degree. Carnations. SCARLET BIZARRES. PINK AND PURPLE BIZARRES. Admiral Curzon. Fred. Falconbridge. Mrs. Barlow. Alfred Hudson. Gilbert. James Taylor. Princess Beatrice. Albert Whitham. Guardsman. Lord Clifton. T. S. Ware. Ben Simonite. Joseph Crossland. Chas. Turner. Lord Napier. PURPLE FLAKES C. H. Herbert. Mars. Pure ground flaked with purple. Dandy. Mr. Fawcett. Agricola. Juno. Dr. Wilson. Duke of Graf ton. Fanny Gardiner. Robert Lord. Sir. J. Paxton. Tom Brown. Attraction. Beauty of Wood- house. Mayor of Notting- ham. Mrs. Douglas. Charles Henwood. Nelson. CRIMSON BIZARRES. Earl Stamford. Squire Whitbourne. A. D. Southgate. Lord Milton, Florence Nightin- Squire Trow. Black Diamond. Major Drage. gale. Young Meynell. Capt. Preston. Marguerite. Eccentric Jack. Rifleman. ROSE FLAKES. J. D. Hextall. Squire Dodwell. Crista Galli. Jessica. John Cliff. Thomas Moore. Delicata. Lily Cannell. John Simonite. William Slack. Dorothy. Mary. PINKS AND CARNATIONS 77 Mrs. Byass. Rose Cannell. Laertes. Rosalind. Mrs. Gunn. Sybil. Midas. Rose Celestial. Rachel. Thalia. Oxonian. Ruby. Robin Hood. Tim Bobbin. Rob Roy. Tom Wood. SCARLET. Aline Newman. Joe Willett. SCARLET FLAKES. Brilliant. Jupiter. Annihilator. Matador. Cantab. King of Scarlets. Clipper. Rich. Dean. Cardinal. Meteor. Dan Godfrey. Rich. Gorton. Danger. Oriftamme. Friar Tuck. Robert Cannell. Defiance. Sandringham Scar- Joe Edwards. Sportsman. Gaiety. let. John Ball. Waterloo. Horace. Scarlet Gem. John Payne. Wm. Lang. BLUSH. SELFS Alba perfecta. Hebe. One or more shades of the same colour. Blushing Bride. Lady Nina Balfour. Albert Turner, purple. Dot. The Governor. Arethusa, magenta. YELLOW. Bride, pure white. Annie Ross. Madame Van Cynthia, bright rose. Esmark. Houtte. Gertrude Teigner, pink. Gloire de Nancy, pure white. King of the Yellows, rich sulphur. Lady Rosebery, fine yellow. Mary Morris, large, salmon rose. Germania. Goldfinder. . Lady Edwards. Leander. Monte Christo. Mrs. Bright. Mrs. Hooper. Sunrise. Vivid, brilliant scarlet. WHITE. W. P. Milner, pure white. Albino. Mrs. Frank Watts. TREE CARNATIONS. Annie Lakin. Avalanche. Mrs. Fred. Mrs. Jack. A. J. Balfour, orange and red. Emma Lakin. Niphetos. Alegatiere, bright scarlet. Empress. Sensation. Boule de Feu, scarlet Gloire de Nancy. Snowdon. Charles I., rosy fawn Lord Salisbury. Waverley. Dragon, scarlet. Duke of York, velvety crimson. GARDEN PINKS. Jean Sisley, yellow, red edged. Ada Louise, rosy purple. Juliette, deep rose. Annie Boleyn, pink, dark centre. Maiden's Blush, blush white. Ascot, pink. Mrs. G. Hawtrey, bright yellow. Attraction, ruby. Mrs. A. Hemslcy, rich crimson. Bertram, red. Mrs. Hamlet Riley, pale flesh. Carnea, flesh. Mrs. F. Mangold, salmon. Clara, red. Mrs. Moore, pure white. Denise, bright purple. Oriftamme, salmon, edged red. Emerald, red. Rembrandt, crimson. Ernest, ruby. Souvenir de Malmaison, blush white. Eurydice, rosy. Fimbriata major, white. BORDER CARNATIONS- Galopin, rosy. HOSE AND CARMINE. Jr J Geo. White, purple. Abigail. Cynthia. Hercules, white. Amethyst. Duchess of Teck. Her Majesty, white. Ariadne. Eurydice. Lord Lyons, rosy purple. Captain Cuttle. Fedora. Malcolm Dunn, white and maroon. 1. 20 78 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Modesty, rosy purple. Mrs. LaJdn, white. Mrs. Pettifer, white. Mrs. Sinking, white. Newmarket, pink. Pilrig Park, white, pink, and crimson. Reliance, red. Robusta, pink. Shirley Hibberd, rosy purple. The Rector, reddish purple. Snowdon, white. Volunteer, rosy purple. The type forms of all the species of Dianthus named may be raised from seed, cuttings, or layers, but the named varieties, of course, must be propagated only by cuttings or layers. Sweet Williams are mostly grown from seed, which should be sown as soon as ripe, the seedlings pricked out early, and planted out in the autumn. Thus treated they flower the following summer. Chinese Pinks may be treated in the same way, but they are usually grown as annuals, the seed being sown in the open border in March, and the plants flowering a few months later. Seeds of Garden Pinks and Carnations are sown in pans and germinated in the greenhouse or on a gentle hot-bed. A packet of good mixed seed from one of the best houses will ensure a variety of singles and doubles. Good forms of the latter may thus be obtained, and after- wards multiplied by layers or pipings. It is a good plan to cover the seed-pan with a sheet of glass, as this ensures regular moisture and the conditions favourable to germination. But as soon as the seed-husk has been thrown off, the glass should be removed, or the seedlings will become weak or damp off. A bed should now be prepared for their reception, and should contain a liberal admixture of loam and well-rotted manure. When the seedlings are sufficiently firm, they should be pricked out in this bed and allowed to remain until the autumn. In dry weather they will require water, and late in September, or at the beginning of October, they will be sturdy little plants, and should then be finally placed in the flowering beds or borders, provided these are sufficiently well-drained or of light soil. Where the soil is damp or heavy many plants are lost in winter, and if there is any danger of this happening they must be wintered in cold frames. With choice kinds, even where the situation is favourable, this course should certainly be adopted to avoid risk of loss; advantage being taken of fine weather to give as much air as possible, and taking care not to water too freely, until growth commences again in March. The most popular method of propagation for Carnations is by layering. This process is carried out in summer about the end of July and consists in pegging down the shoots, and covering a portion with soil. By this treatment roots are induced at the part pegged down, and when these are sufficiently developed the new plant thus formed is separated from the old and transplanted. First of all, the surroundings PINKS AND CARNATIONS 79 of the plant selected for the operation are prepared by loosening the surface and adding to it a couple of inches of a special compost consisting of equal parts of leaf -mould, sand, and loam. This mixture is specially favourable to the emission and development of roots. Now suitable shoots should be selected, and where the new wood joins the old the leaves should be detached, for this is the point to be operated upon. With a sharp knife make a clean cut half through the shoot, from the under side, commencing a little below the joint, then running along the centre of the wood, upwards, and through the joint. In the slit thus made a splinter of wood or a morsel of clay should be placed to prevent contact and probable healing of the cut surfaces ; for the success of the operation it is essential the cut should remain open. It should now be pegged down to the special compost, covered with the same to the depth of an inch, and watered. This operation requires care, as the shoots easily break off. Thereafter the compost must not be allowed to get dry ; and in about a month the tongue will be found to be well furnished with roots. Pot-plants may be treated in similar fashion, but they must be turned out of doors until well-rooted. There should be no haste in separating new plants thus formed ; better to leave them a few weeks longer than is necessary, rather than move them a few days before the proper time. Another method is by means of pipings (cuttings), and this is the way in which Pinks are chiefly propagated. With some specimens of Carnation from which it is desired to obtain a good number of young plants, there will not be sufficient room to make many layers. In such a case layering may be supplemented by pipings ; and where accident causes broken shoots or stems the detached portions may be utilised for pipings. They should be cut on the slant through a joint, and inserted one inch apart, in several inches of light sandy soil on a gentle hot-bed. The soil should be pressed firmly round them, and well watered ; then the lights must be put on, and kept close and shaded until the roots are formed, when air should be admitted in gradually increasing quantities. _-... The genus Dianthus is a very suitable one for the HyDriuising 1 . amateur to experiment upon in the way of hybrids, for not only will the different cultivated forms of one species as the Carnation cross-fertilise, but good seed may be obtained by fertilising, say, Sweet William with pollen from the Carnation, or either with that of the Chinese Pink. In attempting hybridisation, regard should be paid to the suggestions made on page 25 in this connection; the principles involved are the same in each case. So FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE cultivation. ou ^ oor gardening the principal species of Dianthus described are almost invaluable, and some very fine effects could be obtained from a border filled with these alone. Dianthus sinensis and its var. Heddewigi grown in masses produce very rich colour effects. D. barbatus looks well in clumps of about a dozen plants at distances of five inches apart. D. plumarius spreads in all directions from the centre, and should be planted a foot apart, and D. caryophyllus a foot or a foot and a half apart. The small-growing species are grown on rockeries, or even on old walls where a little soil can be supplied. Planted at the edge of a large stone, the stems soon spread over it, and in time form a thick covering. In such a position the plants are healthier, and flower with greater profusion than when grown on a flat border. Such species as D. callizonus, D. alpinus, and D. glacialis should always be grown in a sunny position on the rockery. The flowering stems of Carnations are very long, and careful staking and tying are necessary to keep them neat and obtain the full value of their flowers. Much labour will be saved in this respect if wire supports are used. They may be purchased ready-made, or may be easily prepared at home from lengths of galvanised iron wire of sufficient thickness to prevent bending under the weight of the flowering stem. They are fashioned in this wise: a length of thirty inches is coiled in a loose spiral round a rake-handle and then slipped off. By fixing this upright in the ground beside the flowering stem, and twining the latter once round, it will be retained erect without stiffness, and without being tied, whilst the wire support will be practically invisible. Where large blossoms are desired the buds must be thinned out before they attain any size. A rich loamy soil suits both Pinks and Carnations, but it should not be stiff; if so, it should be lightened by well- working in leaf-mould and sharp sand. Tree Carnations may be grown in pots either in the greenhouse or out of doors. If the latter, it is well to take them up at the end of September, and pot them ; keeping them in a shady place outside for a week or so, and then removing them to a cool greenhouse or to the house-windows, where they can be kept through the winter at a temperature of 50 or a little over. Description of Plate 35. -D. barbatus, or Sweet William, giving Plates. characters of upper leaves and flowers. The three varieties illustrated show the general arrangement of the tints, but these vary to" a very great extent. Fig. 1 is a flower separated from the cluster, and showing the long slender bracts at the base of the calyx ; 2 is a section through the same. Plate 36. D. Caryophyllus, or Carnation, with a few examples of CATCH-FLIES 81 colour-disposition. Fig. 1 is the natural form of the flower as found naturalised on old walls occasionally. Fig. 2 is a section. Plate 37. D. sinensis, or Chinese Pink. The same general form is observable, but the limb of the petal is more round and full. Fig. 1, a section through flower ; 2, a seed, natural size and enlarged ; 3, a seedling. Plate 38. D. plumarius, or Common Pink. Those figured may be regarded as typical forms, upon which gardeners have made many and considerable improvements. Fig. 1, section through flower. CATCH-FLIES Natural Order CARYOPHYLLE.E. Genus Silene SILENE (from Greek, sialon, saliva, in allusion to the stickiness of certain species). A large genus of annual and perennial herbs having many of the characters of Dianthus. They have the sepals joined into a tubular calyx, more or less inflated, with five teeth and ten nerves. The petals are five in number, each with a long narrow claw ; the blade with two scales at its base, which produce a crown-like effect at the mouth of the tube in some species. Stamens ten ; ovary one- to three-celled ; styles usually three, occasionally two or five. There are about eight hundred known species, distributed over the north temperate zone, of which number, eight are natives of Britain. The species of Silene at present found in our gardens do not appear to have a long horticultural record, unless such belongs to 8. Armeria and S. nutans. S. Armeria, a Continental species, appears to have been in our gardens for so long a period that the date of its introduction is not recorded ; in fact, it is regarded in the old gardening books as though it were a native. Even so recently as in Loudon's Hortus Britannicus, it is described as a plant of British corn- fields. It was formerly called Sweetwilliam, and the monkish Latin name Armeria given to it, a name that also does duty to distinguish a genus of plants. S. muscipula was introduced from Spain three hundred years ago, but is not now a well-known garden plant. Similar remarks apply to S. fruticosa, from Sicily (1629), and 8. viridiflora, from Spain (1739), which were among the few species formerly grown in gardens, but do not appear to be cultivated now. A hundred and twenty years ago the list of Silenes cultivated consisted of seven kinds, i.e. those already named, with the addition of S. quinquevulnera (a var. of 8. gallica) and 8. bupleuroides, of which Loudon fixes the date of introduction i. 21 82 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE from Persia twenty-three years later. We shall here mention only those species that are chiefly grown in our gardens to-day. SILENE ACAULIS (stemless). Moss Campion, or Cushion Pink. A densely-tufted, moss-like perennial, about 2 inches high, with closely-set bright green awl-shaped leaves, and solitary pink flowers, | inch in diameter. Petals and scales notched. Flowers June to August. There is a white-flowered form (var. alba). It occurs wild on British alpine rocks. S. ARMERIA (Sweetwilliam). Lobel's Catchfly. An annual with branching stem, 12 to 18 inches high, and lance-shaped leaves. Flowers in panicles, with long club-shaped calyx, petals pink with long scales ; July to September. S. ATOCION (Atocion-like). An annual with branched downy stems (6 to 12 inches) and broad, egg-shaped leaves; the lower stalked, the upper stalkless. Flowers in erect panicles. Calyx long, club-shaped ; petals heart-shaped, pink. June and July. Introduced from the Levant (1781). S. COMPACTA (compact). Similar to 8. Armeria, but larger, prettier, and more leafy ; yet less hardy. A smooth, glaucous annual or biennial, with erect, branching stems (18 inches) and dense corymbs of pink flowers. A native of Asia Minor (introduced 1823). This must not be confounded with the var. compacta of S. pendula. See below. S. ELIZABETHS (Elizabeth's). A dwarf perennial with tufted, more or less erect stems (9 inches), covered with sticky down. Leaves lance- shaped, sticky. Flowers large (1J inch across), in terminal panicles. Calyx with purple margins ; petals rosy. July. A native of the Tyrol (introduced 1863). S. MARITIMA (maritime). A native perennial with a fleshy rootstock and many spreading stems. The leaves are long, egg-shaped or oblong lance-shaped, glaucous. Flowers white, an inch across ; two to four in a cluster ; petals cleft, with white scales at the base of the limb ; calyx much inflated, bladder-like, with strongly marked network of nerves. April to August. There is a double var. /lore pleno, in cultivation. S. ORNATA (adorned). A strong-growing downy annual or biennial with erect, branched stems, 2 feet high, and blunt lance-shaped leaves. Flowers in panicles ; the calyx cylindrical, striped and veined ; petals dark purple, two-cleft, with broad lobes. May to September. A green- house plant, introduced from South Africa a hundred and twenty years ago. S. PENDULA (flowers hanging down). A downy annual about 1 foot high, with branched trailing stems and oval lance-shaped leaves. The rosy-purple, white, or flesh-coloured flowers are produced solitarily from CAMPIONS 83 the axils of the leaves. The calyx is somewhat inflated and ribbed ; the petals notched, with the usual scales. Flowers May to August. A native of the Mediterranean region (introduced in 1731). There is a var. compacta the S. compacta of most gardeners of very dwarf habit, only 2 or 3 inches high, but forming dense cushions a foot in diameter, well covered with pink blossoms. A favourite spring-bedder. S. PUSILLA (small). A charming little rock-plant, about a couple of inches high, introduced less than ten years ago. The white flowers (J inch diameter) are so freely produced on short slender stalks that they nearly hide the foliage. Perennial. S. SCHAFTA. A neat little perennial about half a foot in height, with a number of erect, unbranched stems. Leaves egg-shaped with acute points. Flowers purple, solitary or in twos; the calyx club- shaped ; petals wedge-shaped, toothed. June to October. A native of the Caucasus (introduced about fifty years ago). Silenes are plants that all may grow, for they are accommodating in the matter of soil, but light loamy ground suits them best. The dwarf kinds noted above are suitable for the rockery, or for the front of the border. The annuals must be grown from seeds, the perennials from seeds, cuttings, or division of the old plants. Those that bloom in spring or early summer should be sown out of doors between July and September; the seedlings pricked out and transplanted before winter, or as early as possible in spring. Or if the seed is held over the winter and sown in March or April, the plants will flower in July and August. A deeply-dug and well-drained border in a sunny position will produce the best results with these plants. Description of Plate 39 represents S. Armeria of the natural size, Plates. together with an enlargement of the flower (1) ; a section of the same (2); a single petal (3), showing the horn-like scales; the seed (4) ; and a seedling (5). Plate 40 shows S. pendula ; with an enlarged section (1), the seed (2), and seedling (3). CAMPIONS Natural Order CARYOPHYLLE.E. Genus Lychnis LYCHNIS (Greek, luchnos, a lamp). A genus of about thirty herbs, similar to Silene, the chief difference consisting of the possession of five styles by Lychnis, whilst in Silene they are usually three in number. The petals are notched in a similar manner, and have a simple or two- 84 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE cleft scale at the base of the blade. Natives of the north temperate zone ; six British. The species of Lychnis are familiarly known as Campions. They have been in gardens for a long period. L. chalcedonica, from Russia, and L. coronaria, from South Europe, were introduced three hundred years ago, and these with our native species have formed the principal representatives of the genus under cultivation. To these were added L. pyrenaica, from the Pyrenees, in 1819 ; the popular L. fulgens, from Siberia, three years later ; and L. Lagascce, from Spain, about thirty years ago. L. Haageana, from Japan, was until recently thought to be a garden hybrid between L. fulgens and L. Sieboldi. Cultivation and selection have produced varieties of most of our native species. LYCHNIS ALPINA (alpine) has a branching rootstock 'and tufts of slender lance-shaped radical leaves, from the centre of which rise the flowering steins (4 to 8 inches). The rosy flowers are about J an inch across, on short footstalks, and disposed in compact cymes. June and July. Native perennial. L. CHALCEDONICA (like chalcedony). A favourite perennial, 2 to 3J feet high, with lance-shaped, hairy leaves and dense clusters of bright scarlet flowers ; calyx club-shaped, ribbed. Flowers throughout summer. There are several varieties, single and double, red and white. L. CORONARIA (crowned). A silvery-haired perennial, about 3 feet high, with tough, thick, woolly, lance-shaped leaves, and large rose or purplish flowers sometimes white on long footstalks. Calyx strongly ribbed ; petals entire. Flowers June and July. Plate 42. There are several varieties; one with double purple flowers. L. hybrida is said to be a hybrid between L. coronaria and L. Flos-jovis ; it has its flowers usually crimson or scarlet in dense heads. L. DIURNA (day-flowering). Red Campion, Bachelor's Buttons. A native perennial of damp hedgebanks, with erect, soft hairy stems, 2 or 3 feet high, and rosy flowers in loose cymes. Calyx reddish ; petals cleft into two lobes, with lance-shaped scales. Flowers April to Septem- ber. Although a common weed in some districts, it lends itself to cultivation, and there is a large double-flowered var. rubra. L. FLOS-CUCULI (cuckoo-flower). Ragged Robin. A pretty native perennial weed of moist meadows and bogs, with slender stems and nodding rosy flowers in loose cymes. Calyx purple veined ; petals divided into four long and slender segments. May and June. There is a double-flowered variety. L. FULGENS (shining). A perennial with hairy stems about a foot CAMPIONS 85 high, hairy lance-shaped leaves, woolly calyx, and brilliant scarlet velvety petals. These are cleft into two broad lobes, each having on its outer edge an awl-shaped filament. The flowers are clustered in erect corymbs, and appear in spring and summer. There are varieties with orange, salmon, and white flowers. Plate 41. L. HAAGEANA (Haage's). With shaggy stems, 2 feet high, and large, hairy, lance-shaped leaves. The handsome flowers are 2 inches across, brilliant scarlet, pink, orange-red, salmon, or white. The calyx is angular and shaggy ; the petals similar to those of L. fulgens, but fuller. L. LAGASCLE (Lagasca's). A tufted dwarf perennial, about 3 inches high, with oblong, somewhat leathery leaves. The bright rosy flowers are an inch across, with white centres. April to July. A suitable plant for a sunny place on the rockery. I-. PYRENAICA (Pyrenean). A fit companion to the last-mentioned for the rock-garden. It is somewhat taller, with smaller flowers (J inch). The radical leaves are spoon-shaped ; those of the stem heart-shaped ; glaucous. The flowers are on long footstalks, in clusters; calyx bell- shaped ; petals notched, flesh-coloured ; summer. L. VESPERTINA (evening flowering). White Campion. This is a native plant very similar to L. diurna, with which it was amalgamated by Linnaeus under the name of L. dioica. The calyx is greenish, with long teeth ; the petals white, opening in the evening, when it becomes fragrant. It flowers from June to September, and is frequent in fields and hedgerows. It is the double form that is mostly cultivated. L. VISCARIA (sticky). German Catchfly. Another perennial native, though very local in this country. Its stems are from 6 to 12 inches high, stout, sticky at the joints. Leaves narrow, lance-shaped. Flowers almost stalkless, in few-flowered cymes, densely panicled. Calyx purple, with short teeth; petals rosy purple, notched, with short scales. Flowers June to August. The best varieties are pallida and splendens flore pleno. All the species described are desirable garden plants, as Cultivation. they bloom freely for a long period, and are easily cultivated in ordinary garden soil. A light sandy loam enriched with well-rotted manure will give the best results. The taller species are very suitable for the shrubbery border ; the dwarf kinds for the rockery and alpine garden. Propagation is easily effected by division of the roots in spring ; or by seed sown in March or April on a border of light soil. The seedlings will be up in a fortnight or three weeks. They should be pricked out in a nursery bed, in June, and planted out where required to flower, in October or March. The double kinds may be increased by cuttings made from the stems before they flower. Three or four joints should be i. 22 86 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE allowed to each cutting, and of these, when inserted, only one joint should be above ground. Put them in so that a batch may be covered with a hand-glass, and keep moist. They will be strong plants in autumn, when they should be planted out. Description of Plate 41 exhibits the upper portion of L. fulgens with Plates. some of its colour- variations ; fig. 1 being a section of the flower. Plate 42 shows a similar portion of L. coronaria, slightly reduced in size, with the white-flowered form. Fig. 1, a seedling ; 2, a section through flower ; 3, the seed-capsule with the mouth split into five strong teeth ; 4, a section through the same, showing the stalked seeds ; 5, a seed of the natural size, and the same enormously enlarged, to show form and sculpture. Among other plants of the Order CARYOPHYLLE^E cultivated in gardens we may briefly mention the genera Saponaria and Cerastium. SAPONARIA (Latin, sapo, soap ; a decoction of the plant having formerly been used as soap). A genus of annuals and perennials differing from Silene and Lychnis, chiefly in having only two styles. There are about thirty species distributed over Southern Europe and temperate Asia. The best known of these are 8. calabrica, a hardy annual, from Calabria (1830), with erect, fork-branched stems (6 to 12 inches), and beautiful rosy flowers, produced solitarily from the axils. It flowers in August. 8. ccespitosa and 8. lutea are dwarf species from 3 to 6 inches high ; the former with rosy, the latter with yellow flowers. They are perennials, bloom from June to August, and are very suitable for rockwork ; so also is 8. ocymoides, the Rock Soapwort, with red or pink flowers in bundles. This species is a trailer of perennial duration, and blooms from May to August. 8. officinalis, the Common Soapwort, or Bouncing Bet, is a Continental plant that has been naturalised in this country for centuries. It has a straight stem from 1 to 3 feet in height, and large white or lilac flowers (1 inch diameter). There are several varieties, including a double form ; one of these, var. hybrida, has all the petals joined. The cultivation of all these species is unaccompanied by difficulty, and they may be treated as directed for Lychnis. CERASTIUM (Greek, keras, a horn, from the form of the seed-vessels). A genus of about forty downy herbs, with small leaves and white flowers. Eight of the species are native weeds, not suited for horti- cultural purposes. That most frequently grown is C. tomentosum, a very downy evergreen, introduced from the Continent about two hundred and fifty years ago, and largely used for edgings to beds and borders. It PURSLANES 87 is about 6 inches in height, and flowers in early summer. C. Bieber- steinii, from Asia Minor (1820), is similar to the last, but its leaves are less silvery. C. grandiflorum is of similar stature, with larger flowers in con- spicuous clusters ; but it is not evergreen. It is strong-growing and requires plenty of room. They are all of easy culture, being suited by ordinary garden soil, and readily propagated by division of the roots, or by cuttings taken in late summer, after the flowering period. It will be found that where the stems of the growing plant come in contact with the soil they readily root, and these may be advantageously used as rooted cuttings. They also come readily from seed. PURSLANES Natural Order PORTULACE^E. Genus Portulaca PORTULACA (a modification of Pliny's name Porcilaca for these plants). A genus comprising about sixteen species of widely distributed fleshy herbs with alternate, or irregularly opposite leaves, often with tufts of bristles in their axils. The upper leaves form a kind of involucre to the ephemeral flowers, which are purple, rosy, or yellow. They only open in direct morning sunshine, and then close finally. There are two sepals, four or five petals, and many stamens. Ovary of three united carpels with several stigmas. The species are chiefly natives of South America and South Africa, inhabiting dry, parched places. P. oleracea is naturalised in most of the warm parts of the world. The history of Portulaca as a garden plant begins with P. oleracea, which was cultivated as a pot-herb in very ancient days, and consequently got well distributed over the tropics and the temperate regions. We introduced it from Southern Europe in 1582 as a culinary plant, but it appears to be little used now in this country, though the young shoots may occasionally be encountered in the salad bowl. In Holland it is still cultivated extensively for this purpose, and for pickling. Several species and varieties have been introduced at different periods, but those now cultivated for the sake of their brilliant flowers have come to us within the present century. Of these, P. foliosa came from Guinea in 1822 ; P. Gilliesii from Mendoza in 1827, and in the same year the subject of our illustration (Plate 43) from Brazil. This species, P. grandiflora, is the one now chiefly grown, and it has produced several good varieties in cultivation, all having the brilliant characters of the type. 88 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE POKTULACA FOLIOSA (leafy) is a half-hardy annual, about 6 inches high, with awl-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. Calyx hairy, and involucre many-leaved. Flowers June. P. GILLIESII (Gillies'). Stems branching from the base, somewhat erect, 6 inches; leaves cylindrical with flattened sides, blunt tips, and bunches of hairs in the axils. Flowers red or purple, at the ends of the branches, usually solitary ; June and July. P. GRANDIFLORA (large flowered). Sun Plant. Stems fleshy, at first reclining then more erect, 6 inches high, with short branches, each terminating in three or four flower-buds. Leaves somewhat cylindrical, flattened. Flowers about 1J inch across, of the most brilliant tints of yellow, orange, red, purple, and white ; June to August. Involucre of many leaves. A rather tender perennial, but best grown as a half-hardy annual. The var. thellusoni has scarlet flowers with white centre, and taller stems ; var. splendens has purple or crimson flowers. P. OLERACEA (pot-herb). Purslane. Stems prostrate, 6 inches high, with oblong wedge-shaped leaves. Flowers, yellow, clustered or solitary. Perfectly hardy. The sunniest, driest spot in the garden is the proper situation for the species of Portulaca. They prefer a light, porous soil, but unless in full sunlight they will not open their flowers. In such soil and situation as we have indicated, the large size and brilliance of their flowers, combined with their lowly habit, render them valuable plants for edging to beds or borders. The double varieties must be treated as perennials and propagated by cuttings. These readily root, but require to be housed in heat during the winter. The single forms should be grown as half-hardy annuals, sowing the seed in a sunny border in May, or on a hot-bed early in April. It is best to make the May sowing a permanent one, leaving the plants, after thinning out, to flower where they germinated. The April sowing, of course, will need transplanting, and this should be done as soon as the seedlings have several leaves. They are useful for furnishing beds containing spring flowering bulbous plants which are left in the ground all summer. The seeds of the Portulacas should be sown as soon as the bulbs have gone to rest. P. grandiflora makes a charming pot-plant. When grown in the greenhouse great care must be taken to keep the pots fairly dry ; they should have a high and light position. Description of Three separate pieces of P. grandiflora are shown, Plate 43. each w ith flowers of different colour. Fig. 1 is a section; 2, the seed, natural size and greatly enlarged; and 3, the seedling soon after its first appearance. ROSE CAMPION (LYCHNIS CORONARIA) 3 U Nat. size PL. 42 CALANDRINIAS 89 CALANDRINIAS Natural Order PORTULACE^E. Genus Calandrinia CALANDRINIA (named by Humboldt and Bonpland in honour of J. L. Calandrini, a botanist of Geneva). A genus of about sixty species of smooth fleshy plants with many of the characters of Portulaca, but differing in respect of the two sepals, which are not united at their base, and which are persistent, wrapping round the seed-vessel after the petals have fallen. The petals are from three to five in number, usually five ; attached like the stamens below the ovary. In Portulaca these spring from the sides of the ovary. The style ends in a three -branched stigma ; and the fruit is one-celled, splitting into three valves when ripe. They are natives of Australia and America. But few of the species described have been introduced as living plants, and still fewer are cultivated. These are all of recent introduction, that is to say, within the present century, and there is nothing of special interest in their garden history. Like Portulaca, they require bright sunshine to encourage them to open their flowers, so that they are unsuitable for places that have not a sunny aspect. CALANDRINIA DISCOLOR (two-coloured). Stems, 12 to 18 inches. Leaves oblong or lance-shaped, glaucous, mostly from the root, green above, purplish beneath. The flowers are large (1J inch diameter) with broad rosy-purple petals, and numerous bright orange stamens. The two sepals are broad, concave, spotted with black. The flowers, which appear in July and August, are combined in a loose raceme. The species is a native of Chili, whence it was introduced little more than sixty years ago. C. GRANDIFLORA (large flowered) closely resembles C. discolor, but the flowers, in spite of the name, are slightly smaller, and of a darker hue. The stems are partly shrubby, and about a foot in height ; and the leaves are fleshy, rhomboid, more tapering at each end, and green on both sides. Flowers June to August. Native of Chili (introduced seventy years ago). C. MENZIESII (Menzies') has much-branched, prostrate stems, about 9 inches high, with spoon-shaped leaves, and deep purple-crimson soli- tary flowers, nearly an inch across, produced chiefly from the axils. It flowers from June to September, and is a native of California (1831). C. NITIDA (shining). A neat little tufted species, 6 inches high and i. 23 90 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GRENHOUS the tufts as broad. Leaves similar to those of G. Menziesii, smooth. Flowers 2 inches in diameter, rosy, in leafy many-flowered racemes; June to August. A native of Chili (introduced 1837). C. UMBELLATA (umbelled) is also a tufted form. Its stems (6 inches) are shrubby, and well-clothed with long slender leaves with fringed edges. The flowers are carmine with a tinge of violet, the yellow anthers showing conspicuously in the centre; they are associated in cymes at the extremity of the stems, several of them producing the appearance of an umbel. Flowers June to September. Introduced from Peru seventy years ago. Plate 44. Of the species described, some are annuals, others Cultivation. i ,1 perennials, in their native country; but owing to the difficulty of keeping them through our winters it is customary to treat them as half-hardy annuals. An exception to this treatment may be made in the case of C. umbellata, which, though really a perennial, is generally grown as an annual, but may be treated as a biennial. In some districts on a dry, well-drained soil it endures our winters ; and where this hardiness is considered probable it will be wise to give it a trial as a perennial, or at least as a biennial. For this purpose the seed should be sown in a frame in May or June, and transplanted when sufficiently large. The other species which are to be treated as annuals do not often succeed when transplanted, and these should be sown where they are to flower. They require a light sandy soil and a sunny aspect ; and in such a situation the seed should be sown thinly in May, the young plants being thinned out to allow for the prostrate growth in the case of certain of the species indicated. Description of C. umbellata is here shown of the natural size. Plate 44. rp} ie section of flower (Fig. 1) should be compared with the similar figure of Portulaca grandiflora (Plate 43), as showing at a glance the principal differences between the genera. Fig. 2 is the ripe seed-capsule, invested by the persistent sepals, and splitting into three valves to liberate the seeds. ST. JOHN'S WOETS Natural Order HYPERICINE^E. Genus Hypericwm HYPERICUM (the old Greek name used by Dioscorides, but of obscure derivation). A genus comprising about one hundred and sixty species of herbs, shrubs, and small trees, popularly known as St. John's Worts. ST. JOHN'S WORTS 9! The leaves are opposite, stalkless, often dotted with raised glands or with pellucid glands looking like pinholes when the leaf is held up to the light. Almost without exception the flowers are yellow, and consist of five sepals, five petals, ovary of three, four, or five carpels and as many styles; stamens, a large but indefinite number, combined in several bundles by being connected at their base. The species are distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world, and eleven of them are indigenous to Britain. St. John's Wort, in addition to its real or supposed medicinal qualities, had long been an important ingredient in Midsummer Eve spells and incantations, and in warding off the evil powers of witches and warlocks ! It is probable, therefore, that our native species notably Hypericum Androscemum were the first to be cultivated, and not alone for their floral beauty, but for their reputed supernatural powers. H. calycinwni, a native of the Orient, has been naturalised in Britain for a long period, and H. Coris and H. hircinum were introduced to our gardens more than two hundred and fifty years ago. H. hookerianum (formerly oblongifolium), however, is the most ancient introduction of which we have record ; it was brought from Nepal as far back as 1523. Many others have been introduced at different periods as H. olympicum from Cyprus in 1706, H. balearicum from Majorca in 1714, ZT. kalmianum from North America, 1759, H. elcyans from Siberia, 1817, and others during the present century but very few of them are found frequently in cultivation. We shall therefore name only a few of the most desirable kinds. HYPERICUM ANDEOS^MUM (man's blood colour of juice). Tutsan, Sweet Amber. Stems shrubby, erect, four-angled, 2 feet. Leaves oval or oblong, with close minute glands. Flowers about f inch in diameter, clustered in corymbose cymes. Sepals glandular, petals oblique, styles three, curving outward. Flowers June to August. Native. H. CALYCINUM (large calyxed). Kose of Sharon, Aaron's Beard. Stems shrubby, 1 to 2 feet, four-angled, rising from an extensively creeping rootstock. Leaves leathery, oblong, 2 to 4 inches long, pitted with large, scattered, pellucid glands ; nearly evergreen. Flowers 3 to 4 inches, terminal and solitary ; July to September. Plate 45. H. ELEGANS (elegant). Stem erect, 1 foot, winged and dotted with black glands. Leaves oval, lance-shaped, with pellucid dots. Flowers in racemes ; June to August. H. HOOKERIANUM (Hooker's). A half-hardy evergreen shrub, with round stems, 2 feet high ; crowded with lance-shaped leaves, which are 92 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE clotted thickly with pellucid glands, and the edges turned back slightly. Flowers large and few ; June to August. H. PATULUM (spreading). Stems herbaceous, round, purplish, 6 feet high. Leaves lance-shaped, with edges rolled back; not dotted with glands; tapering to the base. Flowers in corymbs, June to August. Native of India and China (introduced 1823). H. moserianum, a hybrid of garden origin obtained by crossing H. patulum and H. calycinum, is one of the most beautiful of dwarf summer-flowering shrubs. There is a variety of it called tricolor, with small leaves coloured white and rose. H. PERFORATUM (perforated). Stems erect, 3 feet, slender, branched, two-ridged, brown. Leaves narrow oblong, 1 inch, with pellucid veins and glands. Flowers, 1 inch, in many-flowered corymbose cymes. Sepals with black glandular lines or dots; persistent. Petals also marked with black glands. July to September. Native. With the exception of H. hookerianum, all the species Cultivation. .f ... ' mentioned are quite hardy, and will succeed in ordinary garden soil, if not very poor and light. Sandy loam is the soil that appears to suit them best. H. calycinum does well in the shade of trees, and is often planted as a cover for game. They produce great quantities of seeds, and may either be propagated by this means the seed being sown in the borders in autumn by cuttings, which readily root, or in the case of those with a creeping rootstock, by cutting this up and allowing a stem to each portion. These last quickly establish themselves and grow freely. The operation should be performed early in spring. H. moserianum should be planted in a large bed in a conspicuous place on a lawn. It is not hardy in the North of England. H. patulum is almost as effective. H. sinensis is a useful plant to grow in pots for the greenhouse. Description of H. calycinum is the species represented, with leaves, Plate 45. bud, and flower. Fig. 1 is a section of the essential organs only. CAMELLIAS Natural Order TERNSTR^MIACE^E. Genus Camellia CAMELLIA (after Father Kamel, a Jesuit missionary and traveller of the seventeenth century). A small genus of shrubs and trees which includes the Tea plant. They have thick, leathery leaves, and generally large handsome flowers which exhibit no very sharp division between sepals and petals. The sepals are usually five or six, but there is a gradual CALANDRINIA UMBELLATA Nat. size PL. 44 CAMELLIAS 93 transition from bracts to sepals and from sepals to petals. The petals agree in number with the sepals, and cohere slightly at their base; stamens numerous. They are hardy, or nearly hardy, evergreens, natives of China, Japan, Borneo, and India. ffi The cultivation of the Camellia in this country dates back to less than one hundred and sixty years. It is said that the first plants were introduced in 1739 by Lord Petre natural single red forms of C. japonica as shown in Plate 46. More than half a century passed before the introduction of the double white and double striped from China, and soon after that the double red came. Early in the present century C. sasanqua was introduced from China ; C. oleifera in 1819, C. reticulata in 1824. These are the principal garden species. They are usually treated as greenhouse plants, but some of the forms of C. japonica can endure the outdoor climate of the South- West of England in fairly sheltered positions. It is interesting to learn that the first two plants of G. japonica introduced were sold for a considerable sum of money, and, as seemed fitting for such expensive things, they were taken great care of, by being placed in a hothouse. Here probably their roots got dry the principal danger in growing Camellias and they died. Some years later, James Gordon, a nurseryman, attempted to grow a plant in the cooler, moister air of an orangery, and succeeded not only in flowering it, but also in propagating it. CAMELLIA EURYOIDES (Eurya-like). A shrub about 4 feet high, with hairy branches, lance-shaped leaves which are silky beneath, and toothed. The white flowers are borne on scaly stalks, and appear from May to July. A native of China (intro- duced 1822). C. JAPONICA (Japanese). The Common Camellia. Stems, 20 feet ; leaves, egg-shaped with long narrow points, and toothed edges, leathery, varnished. The flowers are produced in the axils of the leaves, stalkless, and are variously coloured, white, red, blush, flesh, yellow, streaked, etc. ; they appear from October to July. This is the parent of the multi- tudinous forms of Garden Camellias raised in Europe, chiefly in Belgium and France. A large number have also been introduced from China and Japan. C. DRUPIFERA (bearing fruit like cherries). Stems, 4 feet ; leaves lance-shaped, with long points ; flowers small, white, fragrant, May to July. Seeds yield a medicinal oil. Native of East Himalaya. C. OLEIFERA (oil-bearing). Stems, 6 feet ; leaves elliptic-oblong ; flowers solitary, white, numerous, and fragrant, May to July. Native of China. i. 24 94 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE C. KETICULATA (net- veined). Stems, 10 feet ; leaves oblong, with veins forming a network pattern, flat. Flowers large, rosy, semi-double (also a form with fully double flowers) ; April to June. Native of China. C. SASANQUA (Japanese name). Stems, 4 feet ; leaves ovate-lance- shaped ; flowers small, white, scentless ; February to November. Native of China and Japan (introduced 1811). C. THEIFERA (Tea-bearing). Tea shrub. Stems, 2 to 6 feet ; leaves narrow-oblong, saw-toothed ; flowers, axillary, white, drooping ; sepals and petals five, spreading ; November to May. Native country uncertain, but probably India, whence introduced to China and Japan. The Chinese plant, now called var. chinensis, differs from the Indian plant, or type, in having narrower, more pointed and thicker leaves. The list of Garden Camellias is now so long, that a Garden Varieties. . _ je . ,. _, , ,, short selection is the most serviceable to those amateurs who can grow but a few plants. The names we give are among the best. WHITES. Alba plena, double. Candidissima, imbricated. Fimbriata alba, outer petals notched. Mathotiana alba, large, imbricated, Montironi. Myrtifolia alba. Unica. WHITES, FLAKED OR STREAKED. Bonomiana, flaked and striped carmine. Countess of Orkney, striped carmine. Jenny Lind, striped and marbled rose. Jubilee, marbled rose. Madame A. Verschaffelt, shaded blush, dotted red. Mrs. Cope, striped crimson. Prince Albert, flaked carmine. Princess Frederick William, petals tipped carmine. Zora'ide vanzi, rosy striped. CRIMSONS AND REDS. Archiduchesse Marie, bright red, banded white. Augustina super ba, clear rose. Chandleri elegans, light rose, large. Comte de Gomer, soft rose, crimson striped. Donkelaarii, rich crimson, marbled white. Imbricata, deep carmine. Mathotiana, brilliant red, very fine. Princess Bacciocci, rich carmine. Rubens, deep rose, striped white. Thomas Moore, very large, rich carmine. In the South of England, the Camellia may be grown in the shrubbery border, provided the soil is not too light and dry, and the position not too hot. A northern aspect is the best, and if against a north wall, all the better. For Camellia-growing out of doors the ordinary soil of the border should be removed to a depth of two feet, and the space filled with a compost of peat, loam, and cow- manure, with a little silver sand and leaf -mould. In severe winters the plants may need a little protection, and this may be secured by sticking in a few branches of fir around them. They must never be allowed to suffer from drought, and after flowering, they should be liberally supplied with manure-water. But the Camellia succeeds most when grown in pots or if the plants are large, in tubs in the greenhouse or TREE MALLOWS 95 vinery. They should be potted in a compost of peat, loam, and leaf- mould, with a little silver sand added ; and should be placed near the glass. During their growing period they should be kept at a temperature of from 55 to 60 Fahr., frequently syringed, given plenty of water, and air whenever the outside temperature will permit. Dryness of the roots causes the buds to drop the chief difficulty of the amateur Camellia- grower. The plants should not be crowded together ; and should " scale " appear, it must be picked off at once. When the buds are well-formed the plants should be gradually removed to a cold house or pit, first moving them from the glass to the back of the greenhouse. At the end of May they may be removed to a cool but sheltered position out of doors, and watered alternately with clean water and weak manure-water. In October, move back into the greenhouse, where they will flower during the winter ; after which they may be repotted if necessary. Camellias are usually increased by layering or cuttings ; the rarer kinds by grafting and inarching. The single red is also propagated from seed, and the resulting plants used as stocks whereon to graft the doubles. For cuttings, the new shoots that are thoroughly ripened should be taken off in August, and dibbled in pans of the peat, loam, and sand compost, then placed in a cold frame and shaded from strong sunshine. There kept until spring, they should be moved into gentle heat as soon as they begin to grow, and in the autumn following they will be ready for potting. Grafting and inarching are effected early in spring. Description of The branch figured is from the natural plant of G. Plate 46. japonica as found wild in its native country. Fig. 1 is a section through the flower showing the several parts, the petals cohering at the base, etc. TREE MALLOWS Natural Order MALVACEAE. Genus Lavatera LAVATERA (named in honour of the brothers Lavater, Swiss physicians and naturalists). A genus of about eighteen tall herbs or shrubs, one of which is British. The leaves are angled or lobed, hairy or cottony. The calyx is five-lobed, and below it there are three little bracts, joined at their base to form an outer calyx (epicalyx). There are five petals, and the numerous stamens have the greater portion of their filaments combined to form a tube, surrounding the styles, and to which the petals are joined. The styles are thread-like, stigmatic on their inner surface. Natives 96 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE chiefly of the Mediterranean region, one Australian, and two indigenous to the Canaries. Lavatera arborea being found wild on our coasts where there are rocky cliffs, we may suppose that it got trans- planted to neighbouring cottage gardens, where we constantly find it. In some districts the converse of this is true : the plants growing wild on the cliffs are really escapes from the cottage gardens. But we may feel sure that L. arborea was the first member of the genus to be cultivated in our gardens. Of the exotic species, L. Olbia came first, having been introduced from South Europe three and a quarter centuries ago ; L. trimestris reached us from the same quarter in 1633. Others followed at later dates, but those mentioned are the most important from a horticultural point of view, and practically the only ones at all widely- grown to-day. LAVATERA ARBOREA (tree-like). The Tree-Mallow. Downy ; stems, 3 to 6 feet, stout and erect. Lower leaves with five to nine short broad lobes and long stalks ; upper more entire ; edges round-toothed. Flowers purple, glossy, 2 inches diameter ; July to Sept. Biennial. The garden var. variegata has strikingly mottled leaves. L. OLBIA (rich). Stem shrubby, rough, 6 feet. Leaves woolly; lower five-lobed, upper three-lobed. Flowers, reddish purple, solitary; June to October. L. TRIMESTRIS (three - monthly). Spanish Lavatera. Stem her- baceous, rough, 3 to 6 feet; leaves heart-shaped, somewhat smooth. Flowers rosy ; June to August. Hardy annual (Plate 47). For cultivation see remarks on Malope below. MALOPES Natural Order MALVACEAE. Genus Malope MALOPE (Greek, mallos, woolly). A genus containing two or three species in many respects similar to Lavatera, with entire or three-lobed leaves, and large showy violet or rosy flowers. The three bracts of the epicalyx are heart-shaped and distinct throughout, not coherent as in Lavatera. - eci MALOPE MALACOIDES (Mallow-like). Stems prostrate, branching, hairy ; plant 1 foot high. Leaves oblong egg- shaped with rounded teeth, or deeply cut lobes, on footstalks. Flowers large, axillary, rosy pink with purple tinge ; June. A South European biennial (introduced 1710). ROSE MALLOWS 97 M. TRIFIDA (thrice-cleft). Stem erect, 3 feet, with small, slightly three-lobed leaves and rosy-purple or white flowers. July to September. The plant usually grown in gardens is the var. grandiflora, taller, more robust, and with larger flowers (Plate 47). There is also a var. alba. An annual, native of Spain and North Africa, introduced 1808. The species of Malope and Lavatera will succeed in any ordinary garden soil, but they will do best where that soil is of a sandy nature, and in a sunny position. Seeds may be sown in the open border in April or May and the young plants thinned out to ten inches apart. Their proper station is at the back of the border, where they make a good background for smaller subjects. Description of M. trifida, var. grandiflora, is shown at B. A Plate 47 represents Lavatera trimestris, and the figures of details also relate to this species. 1 shows the cohesion of the filaments to form the staminal tube ; 2, a section of the flower after removal of the petals ; 4, the seed, natural size and enlarged ; 5, a seedling. Fig. 3 is the seed of Malope. ROSE MALLOWS Natural Order MALVACEAE. Genus Hibiscus HIBISCUS ('ibiskos, the old Greek name for the Marsh Mallow). A genus of about a hundred and fifty showy herbs, shrubs or trees, chiefly natives of the tropics. Its characters are in the main similar to those of the allied genera Lavatera and Malope, but the staminal tube does not bear anthers fully to the upper extremity, the style is five- branched, and the epicalyx consists of many bracts, rarely so few as four or five. The fruit is five-celled with more than one seed in each cell. _ The cultivation of Hibiscus in our gardens extends History. back for fully three hundred years, and appears to have begun with H. syriacus, introduced from Syria, and H. trionum, from Italy. Nearly a century later (1690) H. mutabilis came from the East Indies ; and among other of the numerous species cultivated to-day, H. rosa-sinensis was introduced from the East Indies in 1731, the var. palustris of H. roseus from North America in 1759, and its var. militaris in 1804. H. coccineus came from Carolina about a hundred and twenty years ago, H. elatus from Jamaica in 1790 and H. marmoratus from Mexico in 1854. Some of the species were imported, not alone or chiefly on account of their showy flowers, but because of some medicinal or commercial use. Thus from the inner bark of H. elatus and others, " Cuba-bast " is i. 25 Miniatus, flowers semi-double, vermilion, 4 inches across. Vivicans, semi-double, brilliant crimson, 4 or 5 inches. Zebrinus, double, the principal petals scarlet, margined with creamy -yellow stripe, imperfect petals, yellowish streaked with scarlet. 98 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE obtained ; a kind of Jute is prepared from H. cannabinus, and this species, as well as others, is used as a pot-herb. Chinese ladies dye their hair by rubbing it with the bruised flowers of H. rosa-sinensis, and in Java these flowers are used for blacking shoes ! HIBISCUS COCCINEUS (scarlet). A greenhouse perennial, from 4 to 8 feet high ; the long-stalked leaves of five lance- shaped, toothed lobes. Flowers brilliant scarlet ; July and August. H. EOSA-SINENSIS (China Rose). Stem tree-like, 10 to 20 feet. Leaves oval, smooth, coarsely toothed towards smaller end ; persistent. Flowers large, 4 inches or more in diameter ; variable in colour, white, yellow, brilliant red, purple or variegated, single, or more or less double. Summer. A warm greenhouse perennial requiring heat for its successful treatment. There are several varieties in cultivation ; among them Brilliantissimum, with spreading crimson flowers, 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Calleri, with flowers of a buff yellow deep- ening to red at the centre. Cooperi, with scarlet flowers and variegated leaves of greens, crimsons, and white. Fulgidus, flowers carmine with deeper centre, 5 inches across. H. ROSEUS (rosy). Stem herbaceous, about 3 feet high ; leaves oval- lance-shaped, lower ones heart-shaped at base, cottony beneath. Flowers, 4 inches diameter, rose-coloured; August to October; hardy perennial. Plate 48. The var. Militaris has stems from 2 to 4 feet high ; I three-lobed, toothed, downy beneath ; heart-shaped leaves, tending to be | flowers rosy ; June to August. H. SCHIZOPETALUS (cut-petaled). Flowers drooping, bright orange ; edges of petals deeply cut; style projecting far beyond mouth of flower. A hothouse perennial ; native of Zanzibar (introduced 1881). H. SPLENDENS (shining). Stems, 12 to 20 feet high, shrubby and cottony, branches prickly. Leaves very large, heart-shaped, or with three or five lance-shaped lobes. Flowers very large, rosy : May. Native of Australia (introduced 1828). Greenhouse shrub. H. SYRIACUS (Syrian). Stems, 6 feet. Leaves wedge-shaped, three- lobed, toothed. Flowers large, single or double, and varying in colour from white to red and purple, appearing in August and September. It is a hardy deciduous shrub, with many varieties catalogued by the nurserymen, and more highly esteemed than the type. Often known in gardens as Alihcea frutex. H. TRIONUM (ploughing oxen). Bladder Ketmia. Stems hairy, 2 feet high, with linear-lobed, heart-shaped leaves, and purple-centred ABUTILONS 99 yellow flowers; June to August. Calyx swells into a bladder-like covering to the fruit. Hardy annual. The species of Hibiscus have a liking for a soil that Culture. is sandy, but they are not hard to please. Many of them, as already indicated, require greenhouse protection, and even stove treatment. Such is the case with H. rosa-sinensis and its beautiful varieties. H. trionum, on the other hand, is a perfectly hardy annual, and may be raised from seed sown in the open border in March or April. Cuttings of the perennial kinds should be taken in spring, and should be struck in a close frame. Those requiring hothouse treatment may be grown either in pots or in the hothouse border ; the compost most suitable for them being a mixture of equal parts peat and fibrous loam, with a little charcoal added. If H. rosa-sinensis or its varieties should be treated in this way, the plants will flower through the winter ; but if kept dry and in a restful condition during winter, they may be utilised for beds outside during the summer. For this purpose they should be potted, and at the beginning of June, or later, according to the prevailing temperature, the pots may be plunged in the beds, and removed to winter quarters again at the end of September or beginning of October. H. syriacus is a handsome, hardy shrub, which prefers a light rich soil and a sunny position; it is propagated by cuttings inserted in autumn. Description of The upper part of a branch of H. roseus is shown Plates 48 and 49. j n Plate 48 reduced by one- third from the natural size- The epi calyx, so characteristic of the genus, is clearly represented in several of the figures. Fig. 1 is a section through the flower after the petals have been removed. The staminal tube with its spreading anthers is seen to be somewhat similar to those of Lavatera and Malope. Plate 49 represents H. rosa-sinensis, reduced by one-fourth. The section shows the great length of the staminal tube, which bears anthers only towards the extremity, so that when the petals are expanded this portion extends far beyond the mouth of the flower. ABUTILONS Natural Order MALVACEAE. Genus Abutilon ABUTILON (an Arabic name for a species of Mallow). A genus of about seventy shrubby and herbaceous plants, with similar flowers to those of Hibiscus, but wanting the epicalyx. The staminal tube bears stalked ioo FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE anthers to its very tip, and in the petals there is a nearer approach to a claw. Ovary of five carpels inseparably adhering by their edges, but opening at the top. Natives of the warmer regions of the globe. The name Abutilon was formerly bestowed upon a section of the genus Sida, but on the discovery during the present century of several American species the genus was revised, and certain species were separated under the name Abutilon. To these others have been added in recent years, but very few of the species are of interest to gardeners, the forms generally grown and so deservedly popular being hybrids of garden origin. The objection chiefly made to the natural species is that they do not bloom freely enough for garden purposes; but in this respect the hybrids are quite satisfactory. The history of Abutilon as a garden plant may almost be said to have begun with the introduction of A. striatum from Brazil in 1837, though several others might occasionally have been found in greenhouses at an earlier date. A. vitifolium was introduced from Chili in the same year, and A. insigne from Colombia in 1851. A. megapotamicum came from the Rio Grande in 1864 and A. Darwini from Brazil in 1871. These with A. venosum practically complete the list of the natural forms recently grown in gardens, but even these are mostly obsolete now, except as stocks with which "to experiment in cross-fertilisation and the raising of improved hybrid forms. Of these there are now a very large number catalogued by the florists, and every year sees considerable additions to the list. . . . We give the characters only of those original species 'that are still of garden-interest as the parents of the popular hybrids, and we would say on their behalf that they do not deserve to be let fall into utter neglect. ABUTILON DARWINI (Darwin's). One of the parents of many of the popular garden hybrids. Stems about 4 feet, with large broad leaves. Flowers cup-shaped, bright orange veined with a deeper tint ; April. A. INSIGNE (remarkable). Stem covered with short hairs ; about 6 feet high. Leaves large, heart-shaped, wrinkled. Flowers large, produced from the axils, in hanging racemes ; petals broad with edges turned back, purple - crimson with darker veining; winter. Sometimes called A. igneum. A. MEGAPOTAMICUM (from the big river). Stem, 3 feet, with small pointed leaves, and small drooping flowers. These are very freely produced, of a fine bell-shape, and of handsome appearance owing to the colour-contrasts : the sepals dark red, petals pale yellow, and the stamens dark brown. Flowering in autumn and winter. ABUTILONS 101 A. STRIATUM (channelled). Stems of great length, twining round rafters of cool greenhouse or conservatory. Leaves large, three- to seven- lobed, wrinkled, on long footstalks. Flowers on long, curved footstalks ; petals dull orange, veined with thick streaks of deep bloodied. Blooms continuously. A. VENOSUM (veined). Stems about 10 feet, with large, palmately lobcd, vine-like leaves. Flowers solitary, bell-shaped, 3 inches long, orange veined with crimson, similar to those of striatuwi, but much larger ; footstalks a foot long. Flowering in July. A. VITIFOLIUM (vine-leaved). Stems about 30 feet high. Leaves heart-shaped, with five to seven palmate lobes. Flowers large, bluish white; May. The following selection includes some of the best of Garden Varieties. the garden varieties mostly hybrids : Anna Crozy, dwarf, deep pink with white veins. Aureum globosum, deep orange, shaded with red. Boule de Niege, pure white. Brilliant, dwarf, bright red, paler out- side. Calypso, large, pure white. Canary Bird, tall, primrose. Caprivi, large, deep red. Clochettc, dwarf, deep rose-pink, crimson veined. Couronne d'Or, bright yellow. Crimson Banner, dwarf, rich crimson. Darwini majus, bright orange. Darwini tesselatum, foliage mottled green and yellow. Emperor, large, claret-crimson. Fire King, bright orange-red, crimson veined. Grandiflorum, large, orange -red, red veined. Igneum, variegated foliage. King of the Roses, dwarf, deep rose. Lady of the Lake, rosy pink. Lustrous, dwarf, large, brilliant crimson. Miss L. Powell, dwarf, yellow. Ne Plus Ultra, intense crimson. Premier, large, rosy purple. Prince of Orange, orange. Princess Marie, rich rose-lake. Purity, pure white. Purpurea, purple-lake. Queen of the Yellows, large, lemon yellow. Rosceflorum, salmon -rose, veined crimson. Royal Scarlet, rich scarlet. Scarlet Gem, dwarf, brilliant scarlet. Sellowianum marmoratum, leaves mottled yellow and green. Seraph, dwarf, white. Thompsoni, leaves blotched with yellow. Violet Queen, bright violet-purple. Wissmann, orange-buff, crimson veined. Yellow Prince, rich golden yellow. Culture. The treatment required for Abutilons is practically the same as for Fuchsias. A. vitifolium and A. striatum are almost hardy in sheltered places in South- West England and in Ireland, but they need protection from frost. They may be grown as wall-plants in mild situations where they can be covered in winter. All of the species and varieties described are satisfied with greenhouse protection in the winter, and in early summer they may be turned outside for bedding purposes, for which they are greatly esteemed. A. megapotami- cum is hardy in the South of England if planted against a south wall i. 26 102 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE where it flowers freely until winter. The most suitable compost for them consists of equal parts of peat, loam, and leaf-mould, with the addition of a little sharp sand. They require abundant water when growing, but the drainage of pots must be perfect or they will quickly suffer. They need little water in winter if the house is cool. Should they be required to flower at this period, they must be placed in a warm house. They may be trained either as standards, bushes, or pillar-plants. When trained along the rafters of a conservatory, where the pendulous blossoms can hang freely, they become very ornamental. Cuttings should be taken from the young hard wood either in early autumn or early spring, inserted in pans of the compost recommended, and placed in the greenhouse or frame ; September is the best period. Seeds may be sown in pans as soon as ripe. The shoots of most species require to be freely pinched back, which causes them to break more luxuriantly into flower. Description of The Abutilon figured is a hybrid of garden origin, the Plate so. result of a cross union between A. venosum and A. striatum. Fig. 1 is a section illustrating the structure of the parts as explained in giving the characters of the genus. HOLLYHOCKS Natural Order MALVACEAE. Genus Althcea ALTHAEA (Greek, 'altheo, to heal : some of the species having been used medicinally). A genus consisting of a dozen species of hairy or woolly herbs with lobed or divided, alternate leaves. The flowers are produced solitarily from the axils or in terminal racemes. Attached to the calyx is an epicalyx divided into from six to nine lobes, though the calyx itself is but five-parted. The staminal tube is long, the filaments distinct at its summit. The ovary many-celled, the styles thread-like, their inner surfaces stigmatic. The species are distributed throughout the warm and temperate regions of the earth. With the exception of Althaea rosea, the Hollyhock, the genus can scarcely be said to be known in flower gardens. A. officinalis, the well-known Marsh Mallow, has long been esteemed in domestic medicine, a demulcent drink being prepared from its roots. This and A. hirsuta are natives of this country, but they are not commonly cultivated. A. rosea was introduced from China more than three hundred and twenty years ago. A. cannabina came from HOLLYHOCKS 103 South Europe just upon three centuries since, and A. ficifolia, the Antwerp Hollyhock, from Siberia in the same year. A. narbonensis is another South European species introduced to this country in 1*780. In the endeavour to improve A. rosea the other species appear to have been forgotten ; but we are of opinion that several of these would repay a little care bestowed upon them, just as A. rosea has done. The double varieties of this produce magnificent blossoms, that would perhaps be more highly esteemed if they occurred singly, their individual beauty being to some extent lost in the closely-packed spike-like raceme. ALTH^A CANNABINA (hemp-like). Stems, 5 or 6 feet ; leaves compound, of coarsely-toothed, narrow lobes, and downy. Flowers rosy, in axillary recemes ; June. Perennial. A. GAMBIA (Caribbean). Stems bristly, 3 feet. Leaves roundish- heart-shaped, lobed, and toothed. Flowers solitary, almost stalkless, rose-coloured with yellow centre ; March. A biennial, introduced from the Caribbees in 1816. A. FICIFOLIA (fig-leaved). The Antwerp Hollyhock. Stems, 6 feet ; leaves with seven oblong, irregularly-toothed lobes. Flowers large, axillary, yellow or orange ; June. Biennial. There is a form with double flowers. A. NARBONENSIS (from Narbonne). Stems, 4 to 6 feet. Leaves downy, lower seven-lobed, upper three-lobed. Flowers pale red ; August. Perennial. A. OFFICINALIS (of the shops). Marsh Mallow. Stem, 2 to 3 feet. Leaves shortly stalked, of varied form: heart-shaped or nearly round, entire or three- to five-lobed, toothed, softly downy. Flowers in axillary cymes, of a delicate rosy tint, 2 inches across corolla ; July to September. Perennial. A. ROSEA (rose). Hollyhock. Stem straight and hairy, 6 to 8 feet. Leaves rough, heart-shaped, with five to seven angles, and rounded teeth. Flowers axillary, almost stalkless, rosy or purple; July. Perennial, but usually treated as a biennial. Plate 51. . The natural single form of A. rosea has been all but superseded in cultivation by the more popular double forms, exhibiting an extensive series of gradations in colour from pure white through yellows and rosy reds to violet and purple of the deepest shades. It is of little practical value to give a list of named varieties, for though large numbers have been raised by selection and hybridising, their culture and even existence has been seriously threatened by the appearance, within the last quarter of a century, of a parasitical fungus (Puccinia malvacearum), which has ruined many splendid collections, and taken away much of the popularity of the plant, because 104 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE of its uncertainty. Plants raised from seed appear to have more power to resist the attack of the disease than those propagated by cuttings or divisions. A large proportion of the seedlings raised from seeds saved from double-flowered varieties will be single flowered. The seed may be sown as soon as ripe either in pans or gentle bottom heat, or in the open air. The seedlings will require winter protection, and as soon as they are large enough for removal from the seed-pans they should be potted separately in three-inch pots, and removed to a cold frame or house. Or the seed may be held over until the beginning of April, and sown in a seed-bed previously prepared by deep trenching and manuring. The seed should be sown thinly to allow plenty of room to the young plants, which will be ready in June for removal to a nursery bed, where they should be planted, each half a foot clear of its nearest neighbours. In autumn they may be placed where intended to flower in the beds or borders. Here they must have plenty of room, for experience shows that the disease causes far greater havoc where the plants are grown closely together. Three or four feet should be allowed between the plants; and stakes for tying should be inserted when they are about a foot in height, two stakes being allowed for each plant. Of the choice double varieties only two stems should be allowed to grow ; they should be tied at intervals to the stake as they grow, to prevent any injury from the wind. Where they are likely to experience heavy frosts, it is better to remove the young plants in autumn to cold frames, planting them out about the middle of April, after previously hardening by gradual removal of the lights. Protect during cold nights until well established, and see that they have plenty of water during the time they are making growth, as much of the success in flowering will depend upon this. At this period also they will be greatly benefited by a top-dressing of well-rotted manure. Cuttings are prepared from the young shoots taken from near the rootstock at almost any time ; a fact that may be taken advantage of to maintain a succession of bloom, for those cuttings that were established early will bloom in July, whilst those taken later will flower as late as November. A similar difference will be observed between autumn-sown and spring-sown seedlings. Cuttings are placed singly in small pots of sandy soil, and kept in a close frame until rooted. The rootstock may be divided after the flowering period. The single-flowered varieties are practically disease-proof. They are much more ornamental in the border than the double-flowered forms. They are perennial, ripen seeds freely, grow to a height of 8 feet, each clump producing about a dozen stems, every one of which flowers profusely. FLAX 105 Description of Several colour varieties of A. rosea are here shown, Plate 51. about half the natural size. The leaves figured are only the small ones from near the summit of the flowering stems. Fig. 1 is the staminal tube, removed from the flower, the stigmas showing above it. Fig. 2 is a single seed, and Fig. 3 a seedling. Among other plants of the Order MALVACEAE grown in gardens, brief reference may be made to the genus CallirJioe, of which several members admit of easy cultivation in rich sandy loam. C. pedata, an erect, branching annual with pedately-lobed leaves, and flowers 3 inches across, cherry-colour with white centre, appearing in August. C. involucrata is of more straggling habit, with lobed heart-shaped leaves, and light- centred purple flowers, 2 inches in diameter; a summer-blooming perennial. FLAX Natural Order LINE^E. Genus Linum LINUM (Greek, linon, flax, thread, fishing-line, etc. ; such articles being made from the fibres of these plants). A genus of about eighty species of herbs or small shrubs, characterised by their narrow, entire, usually alternate leaves, and five-parted flowers. The sepals are quite entire ; the petals distinct or joined below, falling away early. Ovary five-celled, styles five. The species are distributed over the temperate and warm regions of the earth. The story of the cultivation of Linum is so exceedingly ancient that no one knows its beginning. Linen cloth, flax threads, and the stone spindles for spinning it are found in the Swiss Lake-Dwellings of the Stone Age, where there is no sign of the use of cereals having yet commenced. The cloth used by the Egyptians at a very early period for embalming their dead was of coarse linen, and the word linon was used by the Greeks for a number of articles, including sails and fishing-nets, which were evidently woven from flax-fibres. And yet, we believe, Linum usitatissimum, which has been so long cultivated to provide flax, is not known to occur truly wild anywhere. Three species are natives of Britain L. catharticum, L. perenne, and L. angustifolium ; other species occasionally found in gardens, or deserv- ing a place there, are of comparatively recent introduction. L. alpinum was brought from Austria in 1739, L. arboreum from Crete in 1788, L. flavum from Austria in 1793; but L. grandiflorum, the only one i. 27 io6 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE that is widely grown for ornamental purposes, was not seen here until seventy-six years ago, when it was introduced from Algeria. LINUM ALPINUM (alpine). A dwarf perennial, about Principal Species. . ^ r ' 6 inches high, with awl-shaped leaves, covered with pellucid dots. Flowers few, large, blue ; July and August. L. ANGUSTIFOLIUM (slender-leaved). Stems many, 1 foot high. Leaves narrow, lance-shaped. Flowers pale lilac-blue ; May to September. Annual or perennial. L. ARBOREUM (tree-like). A dwarf shrub, about 1 foot high, with wedge-shaped, recurved leaves. Flowers few, yellow, large and hand- some ; May and June. Rather tender, requiring a sunny position, with slight winter protection, L. FLAVUM (yellow). Stems with shrubby base, 1 foot to 18 inches high. Leaves narrow, lance-shaped. Flowers numerous, golden yellow, produced in dense corymbs; June to August. Needs slight winter protection in North of England. L. GRANDIFLOKUM (large flowered). Stems slender, erect, 6 to 18 inches. Leaves slender, lance-shaped. Flowers, 1 inch in diameter, crimson, with dark radiating streaks at the base of the petals, borne in panicles ; June to August. Hardy annual. Plate 52. L. PERENNE (perennial). Stems nearly erect, 12 to 18 inches, wiry and slender. Leaves very slender, smooth. Flowers bright blue, 1 inch diameter ; June and July. L. USITATISSIMUM (most-used). Common Flax. Stems erect, smooth, branched above, 18 inches high. Leaves lance-shaped, upper very slender. Flowers large, blue, in corymbose panicles; June and July. Hardy annual. Most of the above-mentioned species are very free Cultivation. * J bloomers, whether annuals or perennials ; and with the two exceptions mentioned, are sufficiently hardy to make their cultivation easy. Even in these cases the only protection needed is the shelter of a bush or two in the hardest part of the winter. Linums like a well- drained sandy soil, and if to this is added a little peat or leaf -mould, they enjoy it the more. The dwarf er forms make good subjects for the rock- garden. Seeds may be sown out of doors in April, or in the case of the annual species, such as L. grandiflorum, in March, where they are to flower, thinning out the seedlings to a distance of six inches apart. The perennial species may also be propagated by means of cuttings, taken from the hardened young growths in summer, and struck under glass in the shade. Under the names of L. trigynwm and L. tetragynum two useful GERANIUMS 107 stove or warm greenhouse plants are cultivated in gardens. They are now removed to the genus Reinwardtia. They form compact shrubs a foot high, and bear numerous bright yellow bell-shaped flowers 2 inches across. Description of The showy L. grandiflorum is shown of the Plate 52. natural size. Fig. 1 is an enlarged section of the flower ; 2, the seed, natural size and enlarged ; 3, a seedling. GERANIUMS Natural Order GERANIACE.E. Genus Geranium GERANIUM (Greek, geranos, a crane, from the form of the fruit). Crane's- bill. A genus of about one hundred species, chiefly herbs with swollen joints a few shrubs. Leaves usually cut or lobed, with stipules. Flowers regular, of five sepals, five petals, stamens ten, disc of five glands, ovary five-celled, style with five stigmas. The stamens are in two sets of five, one set maturing before the other. The five one-seeded carpels of the fruit have long tails by which they are attached to the style. Each carpel and tail is thus said to resemble the head and bill of the crane. The species are distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world. There are no less than eleven species of Geranium History. indigenous to Britain, some of which have insignificant flowers or a weedy habit, which renders them undesirable as garden plants; but most or all have pretty foliage. Several of the larger- flowered natives may be found in modern gardens, and doubtless they were more in evidence in our borders before we were acquainted with so many exotic plants. Geranium macrorhizon was introduced from Eastern Europe three hundred and twenty years ago, and G. tuberosum from the Mediterranean region twenty years later. G. striatum, which is frequently found growing almost wild in plantations, came from Italy in 1629 ; G. argenteum from the Alps in 1699, G. maculatum from North America thirty-three years later, G. anemoncefolium from Madeira in 1778. G. ibericum, of which the var. platypetalum is shown on Plate 53, is a native of the Caucasus, and was introduced from the Levant in 1802. Among the more recent introductions have been G. wallichianum from Nepal (1819), G. dahuricum from Dahuria (1820), G. atlanticum from Algeria (1878), G. Endressi from the Pyrenees. The so-called Geraniums with thick fleshy or shrubby stems, so exten- sively used in modern gardens, are really Pelargoniums (see page 109). io8 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE GERANIUM ATLANTICUM (Atlantic). Stems, 12 to 18 Principal Species. . , , . , T , . i inches high. Leaves round in general outline, but deeply cut up into radiating segments, which are again cut into narrow lobes. Flowers pale purple, streaked with red, 1J inch in diameter; on two- flowered hairy stalks ; June. G. ENDRESSI (Endress'). Stems, 12 inches ; leaves opposite, palmate, with three or five toothed lobes. Flowers, pale rose with darker veins, on twin-flowered stalks from the axils ; June to August. G. IBERICUM (Iberian). Stems, 1 2 inches ; leaves divided into five or seven segments, again cut into toothed lobes. Flowers large, violet- blue, with heart-shaped petals ; June to October. Whole plant hairy ; perennial. The var. platypetalum is somewhat taller-growing, the petals broader, of a more purplish tint, with reddish streaks ; usually of a brighter blue than the specimen figured. G. MACRORHIZON (large rooted). Stems, 12 inches, sub-shrubby at the base. Leaves of five toothed lobes. Flowers carmine ; calyx inflated slightly ; May to July. Perennial. G. PH^EUM (dusky). Sterns many, 18 inches, erect, hairy. Leaves round, 4 or 5 inches broad, cut into five or seven toothed lobes. Flowers, dusky purple, f inch across ; May and June. Naturalised in British woods. Perennial. G. PRATENSE (meadow). Stems erect, 3 to 4 feet, branched above. Leaves round, 4 to 6 inches diameter, with seven to nine divisions, ragged and toothed. Flowers numerous, purple-blue, 1J inch across; June to September. Whole plant downy ; perennial. G. SANGUINEUM (blood-red). Stems, 1 to 2 feet, with spreading hairs. Leaves round, 1 to 2 inches across, with five to seven lance-shaped divisions deeply cut. Flowers, 1 to 1J inch diameter, crimson, on long stalks ; July and August. Perennial. There are two natural vars. prostratum, with shorter, less erect stems and pinkish flowers; lancastriense, with flesh-coloured, purple- veined flowers. Lancastriense is the form most frequently found in gardens. G. STRIATUM (channelled). Stems tufted, 12 inches high. Leaves with three to five toothed lobes. Flowers pinky-white, with delicate streaks of rose-colour ; May to October. Perennial. G. TUBEROSUM (tuberous-rooted). Stems, 9 inches. Leaves cut into many segments which are lobed pinnately. Flowers large, rose-purple ; May. Perennial. Geraniums are of easy cultivation, and succeed in any well-drained garden soil. They are specially suited for grow ing in the rock-garden, the herbaceous border, and on banks. They are PELARGONIUMS 109 readily propagated by division of the plants in spring ; or by sowing seed at the same period on a shady border. When the seedlings are about three inches high they must be pricked out to a distance of six inches apart, and in the autumn following transplanted to their permanent positions. Description of The plant figured is the var. platypetalum of Plate 53. . ibericum, and Fig. 1 is a section of the flower. PELARGONIUMS Natural Order GERANIACE^E. Genus Pelargonium PELARGONIUM (Greek, pelargos, a stork ; from the supposed likeness of the carpels to a stork's head). Stork's-bill. A genus of about one hundred and seventy species of perennial herbs, shrubs, or sub-shrubs, similar in many respects to Geranium, but differing in the irregular petals, the absence of glands, and in the upper sepal being furnished with a spur, which, however, is not very evident owing to its growth to the footstalk. There are ten stamens as in Geranium, but of these from three to six are always without anthers. The genus is divided into a number of sub-genera. The flowers are borne in umbels; the leaves usually opposite, and the umbels axillary on long stalks. The species are nearly all natives of the Cape of Good Hope, the exceptions being two or three indigenous to North Africa, two or three to Australasia, a couple to St. Helena, and one to Asia Minor. None are really hardy in Britain, though some will survive ordinary winters out of doors in sheltered places in the south. ffistor The first species of Pelargonium to be introduced to the notice of the English gardener appears to have been P. triste, brought from the Cape in 1632. (It should be understood that, to avoid much needless repetition, all the species mentioned are from South Africa, unless otherwise stated.) Not many other species were introduced in the seventeenth century, but towards its close P. capitatum (1690), P. cucullatum (1690), P. alchemilloides (1693), and P. myrrhi- folium (1696) first made their appearance here. It was during the eighteenth century that most of the important species were made known, such as P. peltatum (1701), P. zonale (1710), P. gibbosum (1712), P. inquinans (1714), P. angulosum (1724), P. quercifolium and P. graveolens (1774), P. lateripes (1787), P grandiflorum (1794). P. endlicherianum is of quite recent discovery, having been introduced from the Taurus in 1855. For a period of about one hundred and i. 28 no FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE seventy years gardeners have been experimenting with some of these species, selecting, crossing, intercrossing, and recrossing, and producing such an enormous number of hybrids that it is now impossible in most cases to say what relationship exists between these and the original species. Every year sees considerable additions to the list of these garden varieties, and there is no probability of an immediate stoppage of the production of new sorts. The result is that the original species have been elbowed out of our gardens and greenhouses by the improved strains, and these the horticulturists have had to separate into sections according to certain marked characters. For long lists of these sections we must refer the reader to the most recent florists' catalogues ; all that we can attempt here is to give the characters of the few original species from which all these varieties have been produced, and to add to these a very brief selection of named varieties in each section. PELARGONIUM ANGULOSUM (angled). Stems, 3 feet, Principal Species. . -.IT 5u * forming a large bush. Leaves with from three to five shallow, angled lobes, toothed and with short stalks. Flowers purple with darker streaks ; petals twice the length of the hairy sepals. One of the parents of the ivy-leaved section. P. CAPITATUM (growing with heads : large flower-heads). Stems shrubby, branching, 3 feet high. Leaves heart-shaped, but with from three to five obtuse, toothed lobes. Flowers rosy purple, in dense many- flowered umbels. P. CUCULLATUM (hooded). Stems, 3 feet; leaves kidney-shaped, concave, toothed, of soft texture. Flowers purple ; petals as long again as sepals ; footstalks and sepals covered with silky hairs. P. ENDLICHERIANUM (Endlicher's). Stems erect, unbranched, 2 feet. Leaves chiefly radical, heart-shaped, with slight indication of five lobes. Flowers large, deep rosy; the two larger petals each with fine purple streaks ; umbels many-flowered. P GIBBOSUM (swollen). " Gouty Geranium." Stems shrubby, soft, joints much swollen, 2 feet. Leaves, glaucous, smooth, cut in three or five wedge-shaped segments. Flowers greenish yellow on very short stalks. P. GRANDIFLORUM (large flowered). Stems, 3 feet high. Leaves with from five to seven deeply-cut lobes arranged palmately. Flowers white or red, streaked with deeper red : two upper petals broader, marked in centre with a dark red or purple patch. Plate 57. One of the parents of the Large-flowered Show and Fancy Pelargoniums. P. GRAVEOLENS (strong-smelling). " Oak-leaf Geranium." Stems, 3 feet, slender. Leaves heart-shaped, deeply-cut into seven to eleven PELARGONIUMS iii segments, which are again deeply lobed ; giving out a strong, sweet smell when touched. Flowers small, rose-purple. Plate 56. P. INQUINANS (stained). Stems branched, 3 feet ; younger branches velvety. Leaves round kidney-shaped, with slight indications of lobing ; downy, with short stalks. Flowers almost regular, varying from white and rosy pink to scarlet ; petals, short and broad ; footstalks (pedicels) very short, flower-stalk (peduncle) very long. One of the parents of the " Scarlet Bedding Geraniums." P. LATERIPES (side-foot). " Ivy-leaved Geranium." Stems slender, angular, reclining, 2 feet. Leaves thick, with five angled lobes, the margins entire and clean-cut. The flowers vary in size and colour white, pink, or red the flowerstalks very long. Plate 55. P. QUERCIFOLIUM (oak - leaved). "Oak -leaf Geranium." Stems shrubby, much branched, 3 feet. Leaves with short stalks, heart-shaped at base, with wavy margins and rounded teeth, hairy ; giving out strong scent when touched. Flowers purple or pink, on short footstalks. P. ZONALE (girdled). "Horseshoe Geranium." Similar to P. inquinans, but smaller. Leaves on long footstalks, strongly zoned the horseshoe mark of the popular name. Flowers scarlet. The principal progenitor of the Scarlet or Zonal Geranium. Plate 54. All these species in a natural state are summer bloomers, but with our indoor treatment they flower at all seasons. Hybrids and As already indicated, these are so exceedingly numerous Garden Varieties. an( j their relationship so involved, that growers have divided them into sections. These are as follows : Show Pelargoniums, Kegal Pelargoniums, Decorative Pelargoniums, Fancy Pelargoniums, Zonal Pelargoniums, Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, Variegated Pelargoniums. The Show, Regal, Decorative and Fancy varieties are chiefly the results of intercrossing with descendants of P. grandiflorum, P. cucullatum, and P. capitatum; the Zonal or Bedding, including the "tricolor" and "bicolor" races, such as Mrs. Pollock, are principally derived from P. zonale and P. inquinans; the Ivy-leaved from P. lateripes and P. angulosum. SHOW PELARGONIUMS. Achievement, bright orange-scarlet, upper petals darker, white centre. Amethyst, rich purple, upper petals deep maroon. Blue Beard, light purple, upper petals dark, white centre ; very large. Chi'if Secretary, rosy crimson, shaded maroon, white centre. Conspirator, rosy salmon, upper petals dark maroon, light edges and centre. Digby Grand, blush-white, with veined blotch. Duke of Clarence, scarlet, upper petals maroon. Florence, rich crimson, light centre. May Queen, salmon rose, dark crimson blotch in upper petals. I 12 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Retreat, deep rose, maroon spot, white centre. Sappho, cherry-rose suffused with purple, white centre ; dwarf. Wrestler, orange, maroon spot, white centre. REGAL PELARGONIUMS. (Hybrid Semi-doubles.) Bush-hill Beauty, very large, rosy mottled. CannelVs Double, a sport from the white form of Volontd Nationale. Duke of Fife, clear lake with pure white margins and centre. Fimbriata alba, white dwarf. M. Balmont, bright scarlet, crimped edges. Mrs. Innes Rogers, rosy carmine, blotched with maroon, crimped edges. Mrs. Harrison, pink ground, netted white, white centre and margins. Madame Thibaut, white, blotched and marbled with rose and crimson- maroon ; petals undulating. Volonte Nationale, white, blotched rosy carmine. DECORATIVE PELARGONIUMS. Eclipse, salmon - red, darker blotches ; dwarf. Harry Buck, upper petals crimson, blotched maroon. Princess Maud, crimson blotches on white ground. Radiant, red, feathered crimson, darker blotched on upper petals. The Bard, rosy crimson, dark blotched; dwarf. FANCY PELARGONIUMS. Ambassadress, lilac-rose, white centre. Atlantic, rich crimson and purple. Bridesmaid, pale lavender, edged white. Cherry Ripe, rosy crimson, white centre. Delicatum, white, pale rose blotched. Lord of the Isles, deep rosy purple, white centre and edges. Miss Emily Little, rosy purple, white margin. Mrs. Mendal, white spotted with rosy lilac. Princess Teck, white, carmine spots. ZONAL PELARGONIUMS DOUBLE SCARLETS. Calif ornie. Double Guinea. Golden Rain. Gripper Banks. F. V. Raspail. Ludwig Ferchl. M. De Latour. Raspail Improved. Althcea. CERISE-SCARLET. Mathias Sandorf. Australian Gold. Danae. Aime Henriot. Due de Mortemart. Earl Granville. Girome. Mrs. Corden. President L. Simon. PINK. H. M. Stanley. Lord Derby. Madame Barny. Madame De la Rue. Diego Podda. Gloire de France. Lady Candahar. Lord Tennyson. SALMON. Louis Argens. Miss Floss. Picotee. Ruy Bias. CRIMSON AND PURPLE. Alsace-Lorraine, deep purple. A. Rouillard, magenta. Boule Noir, intense purple. Cardinal Lavigerie, magenta. Charles Lalande, intense crimson. Colossus, rich crimson. Crimson Velvet, dwarf. Edison, magenta. Grand Chan. Faidherbe, intense crimson. G. Caillebotte, rich magenta. Rafael Garreta, rich crimson. DOUBLE WHITE. Boule de Neige. Hermine. Heroine. Leon Xandrof. Madame L. Dalloy. Mrs. Gladstone. Rosee. Snowdrop. Swanley Double. White Abbey. BEDDING ZONALS SCARLET AND CRIMSON. CannelVs Dwarf. Corsair. Henry Jacoby. Her Majesty. John Gibbons. King of the Bedders M. Myriel. Triomphe de Stella. Vesuvius. West Brighton Gem. Lucy Mason. Mrs. Holford. SALMON. Omphale. Surprise. PELARGONIUMS Beckwiths Pink. Lady Bailey. TlNK. I ^ frs. Turner. Mrs. W. Browne. IVY-LEAVED DOUBLES. Alice Crousse, rich magenta. Beauty of Castle Hill, rosy, with dark blotch. Candeur, pure white. Cuvier, light magenta. Galilee, rosy pink. Giro/lee, magenta-purple. Liberty, light magenta. Miirillo, rich crimson. Ryecroft Surprise, salmon-pink. Surcouf, deep pink. Souvenir de Ctiarles Turner, pink feathered with maroon. IVY-LEAVED SINGLES. Bridal Wreath, pure white, pink centre. Colonel Roudaire, scarlet. La France, light rose. Masterpiece, magenta-crimson. Mrs. H. Cannell, mauve-purple. Multiftore, bright pink. Victoria, rose-pink. VARIEGATED-LEAVED PELARGONIUMS- GOLDEN TRICOLORS. Adam Bass. Countess of Craven. Enchantress. GoldenBrilliantissi- mum. Lady Cullum. Macbeth. Marie Stuart. Mrs. Pollock. Peter Grieve. Prince of Wales. Sir R. Napier. SILVER TRICOLORS. Charming Bride. Dollij Varden. Empress of India. Eva Fish. Lady Dorothy Neville. GOLDEN Best Bronze. Black Douglas. Black Vesuvius. Bronze Queen. Distinction. Effective. Golden Harry Hie- Lass o' Gowrie. Miss Farren. Mrs. Glutton. Mrs. Laing. Mrs. Miller. Prince Silverwings. BRONZE. Her Majesty. Jubilee. King of the Bronze. Marechal Mac- mahon. The Shah. White Distinction. WHITE-EDGED Boule de Neige. Brilliantissimum. Dandy. Flower of Spring. Little Trot. Mangle's Varie- gated. Miss Kingsbury. Viscountess Cran- brook. YELLOW-LEAVED. Creed's Seedling. Crystal Palace Gem. International. Robert Fish. Verona. Propagation. The favourite method of propagating the Pelargonium is by cuttings, because this is the simplest plan, and by follow- ing it we know exactly what result we are to get. But the various kinds produce seed freely, and these readily germinate and may be grown into flowering plants without any special difficulty. The drawback to this method is found in the naturally strong tendency of the seedlings to revert to the ancestral forms. Still, it is by this means that the enormous number of garden varieties have been raised, and a little care in the cross-fertilisation of the parents may reward the amateur with a new variety. The seed may be sown as soon as ripe, but growers generally prefer to save it until the following spring, as by this practice the young plants have a greatly lengthened growing period before en- countering their first winter. The seed should be sown in a pan of light, fine soil, and slightly covered. In gentle heat they rapidly germinate. When large enough to handle, the seedlings should be transplanted to pots i. 29 ii4 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE or pans where they can have sufficient room for growth without being drawn up at all. At a more advanced stage they must be potted separately. Five-inch pots are sufficiently large until after their first flowering, when they must be carefully scrutinised. All plants that show inferiority to the parent form should be remorselessly consigned to the rubbish-heap, and only those that show an advance, or are at least as good, should be pre- served. These selected ones should be grown on as directed under the head of Cultivation below, and the stock increased by cuttings made at any time from shoots of firm substance ; spring and late summer are, how- ever, the most profitable periods, for they then root more readily. The nurserymen not only use the shoots for this purpose, but also cut the more vigorous roots into pieces .an inch or two long, and plunging them in pans of sand, with their tops just showing, keep them in a temperature of about 60. The sand is merely kept from getting absolutely dry, and as soon as a couple of leaves appear the cuttings are potted singly, and accustomed to a lower temperature. In taking cuttings from shoots of most of the sorts, it will be found they are very juicy and have a tendency to bleed. It is, therefore, well to leave them lying on the potting-board for twenty-four hours, during which period the cut portion will dry up. The cuttings should be inserted in sandy soil, and arrange- ments should have been made previously to ensure the perfect drainage of pans or pots. If they exhibit a tendency to become tall, the top of the stem should be taken off, and they will then shoot lower down and become nice bushy plants. Cuttings of the varieties used for summer bedding should be planted in boxes of sandy soil, and placed in a sunny sheltered position in the open air, or in a light frame. They do not require much water until they show that they have rooted by starting into new growth. The cuttings of the show and fancy varieties are usually inserted in sandy soil in small thumb-pots, and placed on a shelf in a greenhouse till rooted. All the sections of Pelargoniums will succeed in a Cultivation. ' compost, of which turfy loam is the predominating ingredient, with the addition of thoroughly decayed manure to the extent, say, of one-fourth of the whole, and a little sand. This should be well mixed some little time before it is required for use ; and in potting, the plants should be firmly fixed. Abundant bloom is secured -by stopping the most vigorous shoots, and under-potting. The fine regular fo>rm and dwarf habit, combined with profuse flowering, so noticeable in the pot-plants supplied by the professional growers, is attained by these means, and the training of the tender shoots before they have attained any firmness. This is especially a point to be aimed at in the production PELARGONIUMS 115 of line Show and Decorative Pelargoniums. The cuttings have been taken in August from specimens specially prepared by full exposure to the sunshine, so that the shoots made earlier in the season may be fairly hard. To bring these cuttings on more rapidly they are put in a frame fully exposed to the sun, and, when rooted, potted in 3-inch pots, returned to the frame, and kept close. Soon after growth has recommenced the point of the stem must be picked out, with the result that several side- shoots will appear which must not be allowed to grow upward, but must be brought and kept close to the pot. This is effected by tying a string under the rim of the pot, and to this short lengths of bast may be tied, the free ends then passed round the young shoots and slightly strained until the new wood has become firm, when the bands and the string should be cut away. By such means it is possible to greatly modify and improve the natural form of these plants, which always have a tendency towards lankiness. The shoots so trained will with further growth take an upward direction away from the centre of the pot ; but by their natural branching they will soon fill the central space, and become of fine bushy form. If larger plants are desired, to bloom at a later period, these shoots also may be stopped. During winter they should be kept near the glass in a cool house, where, however, a temperature above freezing point is maintained. If they are desired for early flowering in spring the winter temperature must be higher to keep them growing, though slowly. When the buds are swelling, and during the time they are expanding, weak manure water should be given, or a little dry guano stirred into the surface of the soil. After flowering, the plants should be fully exposed to sunshine outside for four or five weeks, cut back, and allowed to grow again. The smaller-flowered " Fancy Pelargoniums," are less robust, and consequently require more care. The cuttings of these are taken from the hardened new shoots in spring. In winter they will require a higher temperature, and even more careful watering than the show varieties. Where zonals have been used for bedding purposes, and are required again in larger numbers for the following year, numerous cuttings may be taken from the beds in August, struck in boxes outside, and removed into a dry warm place by the beginning of October. Very little water should be given until February, when they should be potted and grown on, ready for bedding-out in May. In stopping Pelargoniums care should be taken to do so back to a joint from which a growth shoot is breaking. If there should be only a flower-bud there, the result will be to increase the ungainliness of the plant and check its development unduly. Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums are n6 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE best used for ornamental garden vases, baskets, window-boxes, and especially for the decoration of the greenhouse or a conservatory. Most of them are of trailing habit, and unless they can hang down the sides of their receptacle they must be trained and tied to pyramidal " ladders," or balloon-shaped frames of wicker or wire. They require more water than the other kinds, and occasional syringing is desirable. Cuttings may be taken at any time other than winter, when the plants should be allowed to rest in a cool place. Description of Plate 54. Fig. 1 represents Pelargonium zonale, the Plates 54 to 57. leaves exhibiting the characteristic girdle, that varies in breadth and intensity in different individuals. Figs. 2 and 3 are hybrids partially descended from P. zonale. Fig. 4 is a section of the flower, showing, besides the arrangement of organs, the hidden spur of the calyx. Plate 55 is a form of P. later ipes, the Ivy-leaved Geranium ; Fig. 1, a section of the flower. Plate 56 shows one of the so-called Oak-leaved Geraniums, P. graveolens, in which there is little resemblance to an oak-leaf unless the segments are taken separately. Plate 57 represents P. grandiflorum, one of the parents of the Show and Fancy Pelargoniums ; Fig. 1, section of flower. NASTUETIUMS Natural Order GERANIACE^E. Genus Tropceolum TROP^EOLUM (Greek, tropaion, a monument or trophy; the round leaves of certain species being thought to resemble bucklers and the flowers helmets therefore the growing plant mimicked a pile of such things). A genus of annual or perennial herbs, mostly climbers. About thirty-five species are known, all natives of South America, but some perfectly hardy in this country. The stems are soft and succulent ; the leaves alternate, more or less round, palmately-lobed or dissected, on long leaf-stalks which twine round twigs or branches for support. The flower is somewhat similar to that of Pelargonium, irregular. The five sepals are conjoined towards their base, and continued backwards in a long, hollow, honeyed spur. They are coloured like the corolla. The petals are five in number yellow, orange, purple, or blue ; the two upper differing from the others. Stamens eight, unequal. Fruit usually of three one-seeded fleshy carpels. NASTURTIUMS 117 Just three hundred years ago when Drake was fighting the Spaniards in their South American settlements, and Raleigh was seeking El Dorado, Tropcvolum mimis, the Dwarf Nasturtium of our gardens, was introduced to English gardens from Peru. Its seeds were to be pickled whilst still green and juicy, its leaves and flowers to be eaten in salads, and its flowers for the garnishing of the same also. From the resemblance in flavour between its hot, pungent juices and those of the Water-Cress (Nasturtium officinalis) it got the popular name of Nasturtium (nasi torsionis, nose-torturing); and also Indian Cress. About ninety years later T. majus was brought from the same country and dubbed Great Indian Cress. The next species to be introduced was T. Smithii from New Granada in 1775, and thirty-five years after that, there came from South America T. perigrinum, the Canary Creeper. From that date other species have been introduced at intervals, among them T. tuberosum (Peru, 1827), T. tricolorum (1828), T. edule (1841), T. azureum (1842), all from Chili; T. Lobbianum (Columbia, 1843) and T. speciosum from Chili in 1846. In spite of the fact that all these plants are strictly South American in their distribution, we fear that popular names still produce erroneous notions in the minds of many gardeners, amateur and professional. Indian Cress implies that the plants came from some portion of our Indian Empire. The name Canary Creeper was originally given to T. peregrinum, in consequence of a fancied resemblance in form and colour between the flower in certain aspects and a canary-bird with extended wings. But the prosaic gardener, who has no eye for images of this sort, regards the name as indicating the Canary Islands as its place of origin, and persists in calling it canariense. TKOP^EOLUM AZUKEUM (azure-blue). Tuberous-rooted 'greenhouse perennial. Leaves five-lobed, peltate. Flowers azure-blue, faintly scented ; petals with long, greenish white claws, and deeply notched at the apex ; October. T. JARRATTI (Jarratt's). Tuberous-rooted greenhouse perennial from Santiago (1836). Leaves six- or seven-lobed. Sepals orange-scarlet spotted with yellow ; petals bright yellow, the two upper ones with deep brown markings. Flowers June. T. LOBBIANUM (Lobb's). Greenhouse perennial. Leaves round, peltate, slightly lobed. Flowers orange ; upper petals entire, lower three smaller, deeply toothed and fringed. The var. fimbriatum is a garden hybrid. Mayes Seedling is a form used for summer bedding. T. MAJUS (greatest). Great Indian Cress ; Major Nasturtium. Too familiar to need description. Leaves round, peltate. Flowers orange, two upper petals marked with purple-brown ; May to October, i. 30 u8 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE There are many varieties in cultivation with crimson, scarlet, yellow, striped and spotted flowers, single and double ; some with compact dwarf habit making them suitable for bedding. The var. atropurpureum nanum has long been favourably known as Tom Thumb. Var. atrosanguineum has dark blood - coloured flowers ; coccineum nanum is a scarlet dwarf. Bedfont Rival, Empress of India, Golden King, King of Tom Thumbs, King Theodore, Pearl, Ruby King, The Moor, and Vesuvius are other desirable garden varieties. T. MINUS (lesser). Small Indian Cress, Minor Nasturtium. Similar to T. majus, but smaller and weaker ; edges of the leaves slightly curled back. Flowers of a more reddish orange in the type, but varying much in gardens ; petals ending in a bristle-like point ; June to October. T: PENTAPHYLLUM (five - leaved). Tuberous - rooted, half-hardy perennial. Leaves composed of five distinct digitate leaflets. Sepals purple and green, the spur bright red ; petals two, small, greenish and inconspicuous. Flowers June and July. T. PEREGRINUM (foreign). Canary Creeper, or Canary-bird flower. Leaves in general outline somewhat kidney or broad-heart shaped, but divided into five or seven lobes. Flowers yellow ; spur of calyx very long and hooked ; greenish ; two upper petals lobed and toothed ; three lower ones small, slender, fringed; June to October. Grown in a greenhouse this is a perennial, but out of doors it is rightly treated as a hardy annual, the first touch of frost killing it. T. SPECIOSUM (showy). This species and the next are tuberous- rooted perennials. Leaves nearly peltate, with six lobes. Flowers scarlet, long spurred ; upper petals narrow wedge-shaped ; lower, almost round; June. Hardy. T. TUBEROSUM (tuberous). Roots tuberous, edible when boiled. Leaves somewhat peltate, five-lobed. Flowers yellow and red, spur reddish orange ; September. Half-hardy. As a rule Tropseolums do not require a rich soil ; T. majus in fact seems to do well in the poorest, driest, hottest garden. Luxuriance of growth, such as will follow upon generous treatment, will be attended with poverty of flowers. T. majus and some of the hardy tuberous-rooted section are extremely useful for rapidly covering a trellis; the dwarf forms make admirably compact bedding plants. If too luxuriant, some of the leaves may be picked off with advantage, and as a rule this treatment will encourage more flowers ; but the mistake must not be made of picking too many leaves and thus starving the plant. The seeds of the hardy species may be sown in the open border in April ; or in pots or boxes, whence they are readily and successfully transplanted when their first leaves are as large as a three- penny piece. The double varieties must be propagated by cuttings, of course. These must have bottom heat, upon which they will root WOOD SORRELS 119 readily. The tuberous-rooted species come readily from seed, or they may be increased by striking young shoots from the old tubers. Plants of this section should be grown in a cool greenhouse in pots, with a compost of sandy peat and leaf -mould or turfy loam ; given plenty of water whilst growing and kept perfectly dry when at rest. T. speciosum is a beautiful summer climber in some counties, especially Yorkshire, where it is grown against the walls of cottages. It does not thrive so well in the south. It prefers a deep cool soil and dislikes drought. T. tuberosum has edible potato-like tubers and is grown in some countries as a Held vege- table. The tubers are frequently offered by dealers in Covent Garden. Description of Tropceolum peregrinum, the Canary Creeper. Upper Plate 58. portion of plant only, natural size. Fig. 1 is a section through the flower. WOOD SORRELS Natural Order GEKANIACE.E. Genus Oxalis OXALIS (Greek, oxys, sharp ; all the species having acid juices). A genus comprising about two hundred and twenty species of herbs and (a few) dwarf shrubs. Leaves usually trefoils, radical, or alternate. Flowers regular, from the axils, on one- or more-flowered stalks. Sepals and petals five each ; stamens ten ; ovary five-celled, stigmas five. Capsules elastic- valved, irritable, discharging their seeds with considerable force. The bulk of the species are confined to South Africa and South America, but a few are very widely distributed. The Wood Sorrels are among the most elegant of plants, but the introduction and cultivation of the exotic species is comparatively modern. Our native Oxalis acetosella is exceedingly plentiful in some woodland districts, and no doubt it would be grown in gardens at quite an early date ; and 0. corniculata which is believed to be indigenous in the south-west counties only, is frequent in gardens. But the first introduced species of which we have record is 0. stricta from North America, in 1658. This is so near 0. corniculata that some botanists regard it as possibly a sub-species; it has become quite naturalised in parts of this cauntry. The next record is of 0. speciosa, in 1690, from the Cape of Good Hope ; but this has since turned out to be a variety of 0. variabilis, of which the type was not introduced till a hundred years later. A great number of species were introduced from the Cape at the close of the 18th century, chiefly within the last decade ; and to those a good many others have been added in the present 120 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE century. One of the prettiest and most interesting, viz. 0. enneaphylla, is a native of the Falkland Islands, from whence it was introduced to Kew about twenty years ago. It has pure white flowers an inch across, and is quite hardy. The American species were chiefly introduced a little more than seventy years ago. The genus is a very interesting one to botanists, certain of the species producing flowers that never open, and which are entirely without petals, but which produce seed abundantly. Then there is the elasticity and irritability of the seed-capsules, to which reference has been made, and the habit of folding each leaflet in the middle, and bringing the three close down to the stalk at nightfall. OXAUS ACETOSELLA (little sorrel). Common Wood Sorrel. Rootstocks knotted, creeping, pink. Leaves, trefoils, all radical ; edges and under-side covered with scattered white hairs. Flowers solitary, white, delicately veined with pink ; April. Height, 3 inches. Perennial. O. BOWIEI (Bowie's). Flowering stem 6 to 8 inches. Leaves radical, large trefoils, with fringed edges, and slightly downy beneath. Flowers, rich rose-red with yellowish centres, in umbels; August. Half-hardy. Perennial from South Africa, 1824. The handsomest of all the cultivated sorts. 0. CORNICULATA (horned). Stems, 6 to 20 inches, trailing, branched, downy. Leaves, trefoils, all from the stems. Flowers yellow, in umbellate cymes ; April to October. Annual or biennial. The var. rubra has bronze-purple leaflets. 0. FLORIBUNDA (abundant-flowered). Stems 6 to 12 inches, erect, fleshy and leafy. Leaves, trefoils. Flowers numerous, rosy or white, in corymbose-racemes; May to September. Perennial. Native of South America (introduced 1823). (Also known as 0. rosea.) Plate 59. O. STRICTA (upright). Much like 0. corniculata, but stem erect, with many runners from its base, and more flowers in a cluster ; April to December. Hardy annual or biennial. O. TETRAPHYLLA (four-leaved). Rootstock tuberous, with numerous scaly bulbs produced at the summit. Leaflets four, large, on short stalks. Flowers large, lurid red, produced throughout the summer. A Mexican perennial, hardy. O. VALDIVIENSIS (Valdivian). Flowering stems 6 to 8 inches. Leaves, smooth trefoils. Flowers deep yellow streaked with red, in many-flowered, long-stalked umbels; June to August. Hardy annual. Native of Chili (introduced 1862). O. VARIABILIS (variable). Flower stems, 3 inches. Leaves, trefoils ; side leaflets roundish, middle one wedge-shaped at base. There are BALSAMS 121 several forms ; var. albiflora has white flowers, July ; var. rubra, flowers red, September to November; var. speciosa, flowers rosy purple ; Septem- ber to November. Half-hardy perennial. The Wood Sorrels are cultivated with ease. They like a light sandy soil and a warm, dry situation. The dwarf habit of most species makes them very desirable plants for rockeries, ferneries, and so forth. 0. Acetosella does admirably in a fernery made of old stumps and roots, luxuriating in decayed wood and leaf -mould. They are useful for borders, and most of them make good pot-plants. Where once established there is little need to sow seed ; the elastic capsules provide for the efficient distribution of these. The tuberous-rooted species may also be propagated by dividing the roots. 0. tetraphylla produces an abundance of small bulbs which readily separate and grow. 0. crenata is cultivated in the West Indies for the sake of its potato-like tubers, coloured crimson and yellow. They do not find much favour as a vegetable in this country. The Cape species should be grown in pots in light loam, re-potting them in September and placing them in a cool frame. In winter when they are growing they require all the sunlight possible. They flower in spring and early summer. After flowering they should be stood out of doors in the sun and allowed to bake. Description of Oxalis floribunda, leaves and flowers. Fig. 1 is a Plate 59. section through an enlarged flower. BALSAMS Natural Order GEKANIACE^E. Genus Impatiens IMPATIENS (Latin, impatient, in allusion to the irritable seed-capsules). A genus of about one hundred and thirty-five species of herbaceous (rarely shrubby) plants. Flowers irregular on axillary footstalks. Sepals three, very rarely five ; coloured, the posterior one large, produced into a hollow spur. Petals three. Stamens five, filaments short and distinct; anthers cohering. Ovary five-celled, stigma five-toothed. Capsule with elastic valves, which distribute the seeds with great force. The species are chiefly natives of the mountainous regions of Tropical Asia and Africa, but a few species are found in North America, North Asia, South Africa, and Temperate Europe. In that wonderful year 1596, that saw so many good things first introduced to British gardens, Impatiens 122 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Balsamina was brought from Tropical Asia, and has held a good place in the gardener's esteem ever since. There is a native species, Impatiene noli-me-tangere, the Yellow Balsam or Touch-me-not, which is thought to be only truly wild in the mountains of Westmoreland and North Wales, but which is now naturalised in many other districts. Then /. fulva, the Jewel- weed of North America, has become naturalised on some of our river banks within the last sixty or seventy years. The much finer /. Roylei figured in Plate 60 was introduced from the Himalayas in 1838. These, with the addition of /. sultani, of recent introduction from Zanzibar, are the principal species grown in gardens, many of the others being of weedy habit, which renders them unsuitable. Quite recently two welcome additions to the group have been made in /. auricoma and /. Hawkeri. IMPATIENS BALSAMINA (Balsamine). Common Balsam. Stem 1 to 2 feet. Leaves lance-shaped, toothed; lower ones opposite. Flowers, normally rosy red ; but under cultivation it pro- duces very double and regular blossoms of every shade between white, yellow, and dark crimson ; self-coloured, striped, and spotted. Growers distinguish different sections such as Rose-flowered, Camellia-flowered, etc. They are half-hardy annuals, and flower throughout the summer. I. FULVA (tawny). Stem 2 to 4 feet. Leaves oval, coarsely toothed. Flowers orange spotted with reddish brown ; the posterior sepal greatly swollen and ending in a hooked spur. Its singular and handsome appearance is increased by the light manner in which the flowers are suspended ; June to September. Hardy annual. I. NOLI-ME-TANGEKE (Touch-me-not). Stem 12 to 18 in. Leaves oval, coarsely toothed. Flowers yellow, spotted with red ; July. Hardy annual. I. ROYLEI (Royle's). Stem 5 to 10 feet. Leaves lance-shaped, with sharp saw-teeth. Flowers purple or rosy in racemes ; August. Hardy annual. A noble plant for the wild garden, where if once established it will look after itself. I. SULTANI (Sultan of Zanzibar's). Stem 1 to 3 feet. Leaves oval- lance-shaped. Flowers scarlet, the petals spreading flat ; spur long and slender ; almost continuous bloomer. Stove perennial. , . . The hardy annual species and their varieties are easily Cultivation. . J .^V, _ , . . ., , ' raised from seed sown in the open border in April or May. The half-hardy annuals like /. Balsamina should be sown in pans or boxes of rich sandy soil, at the beginning of April or a little earlier, and placed on a gentle bottom heat, or in a warm frame, or near the glass in a sunny greenhouse. They should be kept moist ; and the young plants will soon appear. They must be pricked out into more roomy boxes, at BURNING BUSH 123 a distance of four inches, grown on in the greenhouse where they can have plenty of air and water, or they may be potted in small pots (thumbs), and shifted on into larger pots (3-inch) before they are pot-bound; then into 8-inch pots, giving them rich soil and abundant moisture all the time, and frequently turning them to prevent one-sided growth. Those that are wanted for outside must be gradually hardened, and planted out in June, if the weather is favourable. See that the pots have perfect drainage, for so much water must be given that unless the surplus can run away freely the plants will be ruined. The stove species are easily propagated from cuttings. /. sultani seeds freely, and there are now several distinct colour varieties of it. Description of Impatiens Eoylei. A portion of a flowering branch Plate eo. showing leaf and flowers. Fig. 1 is a sectional view of flower ; 2, the cohering stamens. BURNING BUSH Natural Order RUTACE^E. Genus Dictamnus DICTAMNUS (Diktamnos, the classical Greek name for the plant). A genus consisting of a solitary species whose characters are given below. The Natural Order RUTACE^E to which it belongs contains about eighty- three genera and six hundred and fifty species, including Ruta (Rue), Citrus (Orange, Lemon,) etc., mostly shrubs and trees that are dotted with glands, usually containing a fragrant essential oil. They are distributed over the warm and temperate regions of the earth, par- ticularly in South Africa and Australia. The flowers are in fours or fives, the inflorescence variable, but usually an axillary cyme. The fruit most frequently a capsule or berry, occasionally a drupe. Leaves simple or compound, usually opposite. s ecies DICTAMNUS ALBUS (white). Burning Bush ; Fraxinella ; Dittany. A sub-shrubby perennial, growing to a height of about 2 feet, with pinnate leaves of three to five pairs of finely-toothed leaflets, the latter full of pellucid glands. The petals are white, four of them erect, the fifth distant from the others, and turned downwards ; the ten stamens longer than the petals. Fruit consisting of five beaked carpels, opening by two valves. Flowering from April to June. The whole plant when gently rubbed emits an odour similar to that of lemon-peel, from the rupture of the oil glands with which the plant is more or less covered. This oil is inflammable, and if a lighted match is 124 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE placed against the upper part of the stems, the plant is immediately more or less enveloped in flames. Hence the name, Burning Bush. The species was introduced from South Europe just three hundred years ago, and is one of the plants peculiar to " old-fashioned " gardens. There are varieties with rosy and bright red flowers. As implied in the statement that Dictamnus is a plant Cultivation. _ . .. _ . , , ., , , . , . A T . of old-fashioned gardens, its culture is a simple affair. It is easily satisfied with ordinary soil, but likes a dry position. Seed should be sown in the border as soon as ripe; or the roots may be divided in early spring. Description of The upper portion of Dictamnus albus. Fig. 1 is a Plate ei. section of the flower. SKIMMIAS Natural Order RUTACE^E. Genus Skitnmia SKIMMIA (Japanese, skimmi, noxious fruit). A genus of three or four hardy evergreen shrubs, with green smooth branches, and alternate, leathery, lance-shaped, entire leaves, full of pellucid glands. The flowers are whitish, in terminal panicles, and consist of a four- or five-lobed calyx, and four or five oblong petals. Fruit, egg-shaped or globular drupes. The species are natives of Japan, China, and Himalaya. SKIMMIA JAPONICA (Japanese) is the principal species in cultivation. It is a very handsome, dwarf, holly-like shrub when in full berry; seldom more than 4 feet in height. The berries are bright red, and afford a good contrast with the dark shiny leaves. The fragrant flowers appear in March, and even then the shrub is not unlike some varieties of Holly. This species was introduced about fifty years ago, and was the first to become known. Several other species have been introduced during the last thirty years, those known as S. fragrans, 8. fragrantissima, S. intermedia, 8. oblata, S. ovata, 8. Fore- mani, and 8. Eogersi, are merely seedling varieties or sexual forms of S. Japonica. S. FORTUNEI (Fortune's) has elliptic lance-shaped leaves, and greenish white flowers, the unopened buds being tinted with red; hence it has been called 8. rubella. Introduced from China 1874. S. LAUREOLA (Laureola-like) is a pretty Citron-scented shrub, with oblong lance-shaped leaves, yellow beneath, and pale yellow fragrant flowers. It is a native of Himalaya. ORANGES AND LEMONS 125 The species are propagated by cuttings struck in gentle heat, or by seeds sown as soon as ripe. Peat and sandy loam form the most suitable compost in which to grow Skimmias. They are also useful evergreens for pots and window boxes, as they form compact little bushes, and bear a profusion of bright red berries which remain on the plant a long time. Of course the berries are only borne by the female plants. ORANGES AND LEMONS Natural Order RUTACE^E. Genus Citrus CITRUS (Greek, kitron, the Citron). A genus of five or six species of shrubs or trees having alternate dotted leaves on winged footstalks, to which the blade is jointed. The flowers are white, and deliciously fragrant. The calyx is a five-lobed shallow cup ; the petals long and thick ; stamens numerous, their filaments united into several bundles. The fruit pulpy with a spongy rind a fact that is probably as well known as any in popular botany. There are several species from Tropical Asia, and many varieties ; but as to which are species and which varieties there is considerable divergence of view among authorities. CITRUS AURANTIUM (the Sweet Orange), originally a native of China, from whence it was introduced into India and other tropical countries towards the beginning of the Christian era, is said to have been introduced to Britain by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Bishop Gibson mentions that from these Sir Walter's kinsman, Sir Francis Carew, grew several trees at Beddington, Surrey, which lived to be 18 feet high, with stems 9 inches in diameter; but they were destroyed by the great frost of 1739-40. Its cultivation in Europe is, however, a much more ancient thing, for oranges were being grown at Seville in the twelfth century, and at Palermo in the thirteenth ; and the tree at the convent of St. Sabina at Rome is said to have been planted by St. Dominic in the year 1200. It is not quite hardy in any part of England, but fine fruit has been obtained in Devonshire from trees planted against a wall outside, and covered in winter with a movable wooden shelter. The orange was more frequently seen as a conservatory plant in the earlier part of the century than it is to-day. The Lemon (C. medica), supposed to be of eastern origin, was cultivated in Europe (Italy, etc.) in the fifth century. Its variety, the Lime (C. Limetta), said to be Indian, is largely cultivated for the oil contained in the rind of its . i. 32 126 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE fruits. C. decumana (the Shaddock, Pomello or Forbidden Fruit), some- times produces its enormous fruits in the conservatories of this country. The Bitter Orange (C. Aurantium, var. Bigaradia) is supposed to be a seedling sport from the Sweet Orange, or vice versa. It is wild or naturalised in most tropical countries, and is the stock upon which choice varieties of orange are grafted. Species and We do not propose to give descriptions of the species Varieties. o f fa[ s genus, but to confine our attention to the Orange and its varieties. CITRUS AURANTIUM (golden). A tree 20 to 30 feet high. Leaves oval-oblong; flowers white. Fruit, rich golden-yellow, the seeds em- bedded in juicy pulp, enclosed in a rind. Flowers May to July. The following varieties and sub- varieties are in cultivation : Var. Bigaradia (the Seville, Bitter Grange, or Bigarade). Fruit, round, dark ; rind uneven, bitter. Runs into many sub- varieties, several of which are grown for the superior fragrance of their flowers. Var. nobilis has two sub-varieties : mandarinum, the Mandarin Orange of China, chiefly employed for presenting to the Mandarins. The fruit is small, flattened, and deep in colour, very rich and sweet. Tangierina, the Tangierine, is still smaller and richer than mandarinum. In both these forms the rind is edible. C. DECUMANA is the Shaddock, producing enormous fruit, often over 10 Ibs. in weight, of a greenish yellow colour. It is the so-called Forbidden Fruit or Adam's Apple, with deep yellow rind, smooth, thick, soft, and sweet. Another variety of it is a favourite in the United States, where it is known as Grape-fruit. Some attention is now being paid by growers in this country to the production of choice oranges for dessert, but that is a matter beyond the scope of this work, where we can only recognise them as ornamental flowering shrubs. For this purpose they should be grown in pots or tubs, in a compost of somewhat heavy loam, well-rotted manure and sand. This should be thoroughly mixed, and well rammed in about the roots. During the growing season the plant should be kept in a rather close moist atmosphere, and liquid manure should be given freely. This must be reduced as the rate of growth decreases, and the new wood should be well hardened by exposure to the sunshine outside before the cold weather sets in. During the winter they should have a temperature of about six degrees above the freezing point. Propagation is effected by sowing seeds (" pips ") on a hot-bed, or by taking cuttings and striking them on a hot-bed, or by grafting. The seedlings cannot be relied upon to reproduce the parent variety ; it is therefore necessary that they should be budded or grafted with superior sorts when about a year old. PHYLICAS 127 Description of Upper portion of a branch of Citrus Aurantium, with Plate 62. flowers and young fruit; 1, section of pistil with stamens; 2, stamens with filaments joined ; 3, calyx and female organs ; 4, the ripened fruit. PHYLICAS Natural Order RHAMNE^E. Genus Phylica PHYLICA (Greek, phyllikos, leafy). A genus containing about sixty-five species of evergreen shrubs, chiefly African, with alternate, thick, leathery leaves, the edges entire and curled back. The flowers small, axillary, or in dense terminal heads. The calyx is pitcher-shaped or tubular, with five lobes; the petals are hood-shaped, bristle-like, or entirely absent. Fruit shaped like a pea, dead black. The species are not extensively grown in this country, though Pliylica ericoides, the subject of our Plate (63), was introduced in 1731. This is the best known, and is sold by the French florists as Cape Heath. Its habit is very heath-like, more especially when seen in its native habitat, for it grows in dry sandy ground like some of the real heaths. Among other early introductions of the genus to our gardens was P. buxifolia (1759), with tall stems (6 feet) and greenish flowers in terminal clusters. PHYLICA ERICOIDES (Erica - like). Stems branching Principal Species. j A o * j. - T IJT i 1.1 upwards, 2 to o teet. Leaves very slender, lance-shaped, the edges curled back, downy beneath, smooth above. Flowers pure white, in dense terminal heads ; April to September. P. PLUMOSA (feathery). Stems 1 to 2 feet. Leaves hairy beneath, edges curled back. Flowers whitish, with feathery bracts, which give the tips of the branches a plumose appearance; August to November. The var. squarrosa has white flowers in round heads ; the leaves hoary and shaggy beneath. The bracts are longer than the leaves and out- spread, thus giving the squarrose aspect indicated in the name. P. RUBRA (red). Stems 3 feet high. Leaves lance-shaped, downy beneath. Flowers red ; December. Introduced 1827. Phylicas are greenhouse plants, and will not do well Cultivation. ' . r outside, except in summer. They should be potted in sandy peat, but require no special treatment. Propagation is effected by means of cuttings made from the semi-herbaceous branches. These are inserted in a pan of sandy soil, covered with a bell-glass and kept in a warm greenhouse. 128 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE Description of The upper portion of a branching stem of Phylica Plate 63. ericoides. Fig. 1, a flower head detached ; 2, a single flower ; 3, a section through the same. VINES Natural Order AMPELIDE.E. Genus Vitis VITIS (the old Latin name for the Grape- Vine). A genus comprising about two hundred and thirty species of climbing deciduous shrubs, including the well-known Grape-Vine. They have simple or compound leaves, and tendrils opposite the leaves. The flowers are small and greenish, in panicles, also set opposite to leaves. Their structure is some- what singular, though in general characters not differing greatly from those of Phylica. The calyx is five-lobed, the five petals distinct at the base but cohering at the tops, forming a cap over the stamens. As the stamens increase in size they push off the petals instead of separating them, and they fall away still united. Occasionally the attachment of the petals to the disc is so strong that they do not fall, and as a result the ovules are not fertilised. The grape may grow, but it will be without seeds. The species are natives chiefly of Tropical and Temperate Asia, and North America. We cannot here deal with the grape-bearing species and varieties, but must be content with reference to three species grown merely for ornament, and usually known as Ampelopsis. cies VITIS ACONITIFOLIA (Aconite-leaved). A slender and elegant climber with reddish branches and handsome leaves much resembling those of Monkshood (Aconitum). They are palmately cut into five lobes, which are in turn lobed in a pinnate manner. It is a native of China, and was introduced about thirty years ago. There are several varieties. V. INCONSTANS (very variable). Veitch's Ampelopsis. Ivy-like in the closeness of its attachment to walls. Leaves small, variable in shape, divided into three triangular lobes, which are toothed. A native of China and Japan, introduced 1868. Better known as Ampelopsis Veitchii. V. QUINQUEFOLIA (five-leaved). Virginian Creeper. A very fast- growing climber, with palmate leaves, of three or five stalked and toothed leaflets. The small flowers are greenish purple. A native of North America, introduced 1629. The species mentioned are very desirable for covering new walls, porches, or other structures, which they render SWEET ORANGE (CITRUS AURANT1UM) Nat. size Fruit reduced PL. 62 BAPTISIAS 129 beautiful in autumn by the colour changes in their foliage, the green turning to yellow, orange, and the most fiery and intense crimsons. V. quinquefolia sheds its abundant leaves suddenly on the first sharp frost, but those of F". inconstans (a less hardy species) remain much longer, owing to their closeness to the wall; in some situations indeed this species retains its leaves until the spring. They will grow luxuriantly in any garden soil, and are specially valuable on that account in confined town gardens. Propagation is easily effected by means of cuttings taken in September and inserted in sandy soil. By pegging down a long growing shoot and slightly covering it with soil, roots will be induced at every joint; the shoot maybe cut into as many pieces as there are rooted joints. Where it is desired to cover a house-front, or a high wall, with V. quinquefolia, the best effect will be obtained by planting at distances of 10 feet and training the stems straight up to the top ; then they should be nailed up, right and left, under the gutters and left to themselves. The new shoots will hang straight down and rapidly cover the house with a very regular, swinging curtain. BAPTISIAS Natural Order LEGUMINOS^E. Genus Baptisia BAPTIST A (Greek, bapto, to dip or dye : B. tinctoria having been used as a substitute for indigo). A genus of about fourteen perennial American herbs, of which only two or three are cultivated, and these not frequently on account of their shyness as bloomers. The leaves are divided into three leaflets, or simple. In common with all the plants of the great Order LEGUMINOS^E, the flowers are irregular, the five unequal petals being thus arranged : the upper one broad, and known as the Standard, the two lateral ones (Wings) enclosing the two lower ones, which are more or less united to form the Keel, which curves upwards. In Baptisia the petals are more nearly equal than in most genera. In the majority of Leguminous plants, the stamens are united by their bases into a tube through which passes the ovary, but in Baptisia and allied genera the ten stamens are quite free. The Natural Order LEGUMINOS^S includes about four hundred genera with six thousand five hundred species. _ . . _ _ . BAPTISIA ALBA (white). Stems 2 feet, with wide- Principal Spsciss. spreading, straggling branches, and smooth, stalked trefoils of elliptic-oblong leaflets. Stipules oval -shaped. Flowers white in terminal racemes ; June. This was the first species introduced (1724). i. 33 i 3 o FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE B. AUSTKALIS (southern). Stems 4 to 5 feet, branches diffuse. Leaflets long, wedge-shaped. Stipules large, lance -shaped, twice the length of the leafstalk. Flowers blue, in few flowered racemes ; June. & Introduced 1758. B. TINCTORIA (dyer's). False Indigo. Stems slender, 2 to 3 feet. Leaves scattered, the leaflets roundish. Stipules reduced to small bristles. Flowers yellow, in loose terminal racemes ; June. Baptisias are easily grown in ordinary garden soil, but for successful blooming they require good loam. They may be propagated by division of the roots, but this does not give uniformly good results. They produce abundance of seeds, and these may be sown in spring, in pots filled with leaf -mould and sand, and germinated in a cold frame. The young plants should be transplanted into the border as soon as large enough. It should be noted that seedlings rarely flower before the completion of their third or fourth year. Description of The upper portion of a stem of Baptisia australis is Plate 64. nere shown. From portions of the drawing it will be seen that the stamens as well as the petals drop off when their office has been discharged instead of shrivelling away, as more general in the order. The large stipules of this species are well shown near the base of the figure; fig. 1 is a section through the flower with the parts in their natural positions. BROOMS Natural Order LEGUMINOS^E. Genus Cytisus CYTISUS (etymology of the name obscure). A genus of shrubs, rarely spinous, comprising about thirty-eight species, natives of Europe, North Africa, West Asia, and the Canaries. The leaves are simple or divided into three leaflets ; sometimes entirely wanting. Stipules minute. The flowers are white, yellow, or purple; they do not secrete honey. The calyx is two-lipped, of which the upper has two, and the lower three minute teeth. The standard is not fully expanded ; wings oblong ; keel blunt. Stamens all united by their filaments, forming a complete tube enclosing the ovary ; anthers alternately long and short. The cultivation of Cytisus in our gardens naturally began with our solitary native species, C. scoparius, the Broom, which deserves inclusion in the shrubbery border or plantation. C. spinosus, a South European species, was the first to be introduced PHYLICA ERICOIDES Nat. size PL. 63 BROOMS 131 from abroad (1596), followed at an interval of thirty-three years by C. sessilifolius from Italy, and by C. triflorus from Spain in 1640. Of those of more recent introduction, at present found in cultivation, we may mention C. nigricans, from Austria in 1730; C. hirsutus, from South Europe, 1739 ; C. purpureus, from Austria in 1792 ; and C. scoparius, var. andreanus, found wild in Normandy so recently as ten years ago. . . , C YTISUS CANARIENSLS (Canary). Stems branched, 2 Principal Species. to 3 feet. Leaves small trefoils ; the leaflets greyish and shaggy. Flowers, bright yellow, in terminal racemes, fragrant ; spring and summer. Canary Islands, 1656. C. HIRSUTUS (hairy). Stems decumbent with round, twiggy branches ; covered with stiff hairs when young, smooth when mature ; leaves trefoils, the leaflets egg-shaped, hairy beneath. Flowers yellow, footstalks very short ; racemes lateral ; June. Hardy. C. NIGRICANS (blackish). Stems 3 to 6 feet high, with round, twiggy branches, downy. Leaves stalked trefoils ; leaflets elliptic, downy beneath. Flowers yellow in erect terminal racemes, 6 inches long ; June and July. Hardy. C. PURPUREUS (purple). Stems smooth, procumbent, 3 feet, with ascending or pendulous branches. Leaflets of trefoils egg-shaped. Flowers white, rosy purple, or dull purple, solitary or in pairs, from the axils ; May. This is sometimes grafted upon the Laburnum, when its pendulous branches have a fine effect. There is a hybrid called Laburnum Adami, of which the present species and Laburnum vulgar *e are the parents ; the flowers of both parents and a hybrid form are produced from the same stem. C. RACEMOSUS. This is the common Genista of the florists, hundreds of thousands of it being grown annually for distribution, chiefly by costers, in London alone. It is a native of the Canary Islands, where it forms a big shrub. The plants sold in London for the decoration of rooms, window boxes, etc., are grown in about two years from cuttings. C. SCOPARIUS (broom). Common Broom. Stems 2 to 6 feet; branches angular and furrowed. Leaves trefoils; leaflets egg-shaped, silky. Flowers bright yellow, 1 inch long, the style coiled spirally; solitary from the axils; May and June. There are several natural varieties of this hardy shrub, among them var. andrceanus, which has flowers of a deeper golden colour, with the keels deep maroon instead of yellow. Cuitiv ti With the exception of those species described as hardy above, these plants should be grown in pots for greenhouse 132 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE or conservatory decoration. For this their bright blossoms admirably fit them, and the simplicity of culture makes them specially desirable. The hardy kinds may be readily propagated by sowing seed in the open border in April. The greenhouse species are usually obtained by taking cuttings from the young ripe wood with a keel. If these are inserted in pots, covered with a cloche and placed in a closed frame they will soon become rooted. They should then be hardened off and potted, and if the shoots are frequently pinched back will make handsome little flowering plants for the next season. The potting compost should consist of turfy loam, to which has been added a little manure and sharp sand. After flowering the plants should be cut back, and new growth induced by placing them in a closed frame again. Then, if necessary, they should be re-potted and returned to the frame, but not kept so close as before. About August they should be turned out to harden off, until there is danger of frost, when they should be removed to the cool greenhouse, specimens being brought into a higher temperature as they may be required. When the flowers begin to open, liquid manure should be given occasionally. Description of The upper portion of a plant of Cytisus canariensis ; Plate 65. i ail( j 2 are different views of the flower; 3 is a section showing the staminal tube through which the style protrudes. GENISTAS Natural Order LEGUMINOS.E. Genus Genista GENISTA (the classical Latin name used by Virgil). A genus of about seventy species of shrubs with simple leaves (occasionally trefoils), and yellow or white flowers similar to those of Cytisus, but with bell-shaped calyx. The claws of the lower petals are joined to the staminal tube, and the keel usually bent downwards. The species are natives of Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. Princi ais ecies GENISTA ^THNENSIS (Mount Etna). Stem erect, much ' 'branched, 6 to 15 feet high, sparsely clothed with slender silky leaves. Flowers yellow in terminal racemes; June and July. Introduced from Sicily (1816). G. ANGLICA (English). Needle -furze or Petty -whin. Stems branched, 1 to 2 feet high, with simple spines and oval -lance -shaped leaves. Flowers yellow, in few-flowered racemes at the end of spineless branches only ; May and June. Native. GOAT'S RUE 133 G. HISPANICA (Spanish). Stems branched, 6 to 12 inches high; barren shoots armed with stiff, branching spines. Leaves lance-shaped, hairy. Flowers yellow, in rather depressed racemes; June and July. Introduced from Spain (1759). G. SAGITTALIS (of an arrow). Stems trailing, branches more erect two-edged, 6 inches high. Leaves oval-lance-shaped. Flowers yellow, in short, stout terminal spike ; May and June. Native of Europe (1570). G. TINCTORIA (a dyer). Dyer's Greenweed. Stems erect with erect branches, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves lance-shaped. Flowers yellow, in spike-like racemes ; July to September. Native. There is a good double variety in cultivation. G. TRIANGULARIS (triangular). Stems prostrate three-sided, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves, lower trefoils, upper simple ; hairy. Flowers yellow, in short terminal racemes ; May and June. Introduced from Hungary (1815). For Cultivation, see instructions for Brooms (Cytims). GOAT'S RUE Natural Order LEGUMINOS^E. Genus Galega GALEGA (Greek, gala, milk ; supposed to increase the milk of goats fed upon it). A genus of erect perennial herbs containing only three species. The leaves are divided into eleven to seventeen long, entire leaflets, arranged in what is termed an impari-pinnate manner ; that is, with an equal number of leaflets on each side of the midrib and an odd one at the free end. The stipules are large, of arrow-head shape. The flowers are of similar structure to those of Cytisus, crowded in long- stalked axillary and terminal racemes. They are natives of South Europe and West Asia. In addition to its supposed virtue as a milk producer when eaten by animals, Galega ojjicinalis was once reputed to be medicinal, when administered as a cordial in cases of fever or convulsions. Hence it became officinal a herb that could be bought in the shops. Hence also it was introduced to our gardens, as long ago as 1568, from Spain. The other species came after a long interval, presumably because they were not officinal. G. orientalis, from the Levant, did not reach us until 1881, and G. biloba until 1823. s ecies GALEGA OFFiciNALis (of the shops). Stem 3 to 5 feet ; leaflets smooth, lance-shaped, ending in a hard point i. 34 i 3 4 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE (mucronate) ; stipules broad, lance-shaped. Flowers pale blue in long racemes ; June to September. There is a white-flowered form, var. albiflora, sometimes known as G. persica. G. OEIENTALIS (Eastern). Rootstalk creeping ; stem 3 feet, flexuous, unbranched. Leaflets more ovate ; stipules broad, egg-shaped. Flowers violet-blue ; June to August. G. BILOBA (two-lobed). Stem 3 feet. Leaflets cut at the tip into two lobes. Flowers pale purple ; June to September. The species of Gctlega will succeed in any garden soil, but to treat them properly they should be planted in rich loam, in a sunny border where they may remain undisturbed for several years taking them up only when the clumps have grown too large and division is desirable. Where there is room the large clump should be allowed. Besides division of the roots, the plants may be propagated by sowing seed in the open border in March or April. Description of The upper portion of a flowering stem of Galega officin- Piate 66. a ll 8 i s shown together with one of the larger lower leaves. Fig. 1 is an enlarged representation of the flower, and Fig. 2 a section through the same. LUPINES Natural Order LEGUMINOS^E. Genus Lupinus LUPINUS (Latin, lupus, a wolf or destroyer ; these plants being supposed to be so ravenous that they exhausted the soil). A genus of which about eighty species have been described, but very few are in cultivation. They are hardy or half-hardy annual or perennial herbs, sub-shrubs and (a few) shrubs. The leaves are compound, of 5 or more leaflets arranged digitately (rarely trefoils). The flowers are of the same papilionaceous type as in the four genera last described, and are usually arranged in erect racemes. The calyx is deeply two-lobed ; and the stamens united into a tube. Most of the species are American ; a few annuals, natives of the Mediterranean region, being the sole representatives of the genus in the Old World. Under cultivation many beautiful hybrids have been produced which have to a very great extent superseded the original species, though nearly all are worthy of a place in our gardens. LUPINUS AKBOEEUS (tree-like). Tree Lupin. Stem Principal Species. shrubby, 6 feet. Leaflets slender, lance-shaped. Flowers yellow, fragrant ; throughout the summer. Native of North America (introduced 1793). WISTARIAS 135 L. LUTEUS (yellow). Stem herbaceous, 12 to 18 inches. Leaflets oblong, 7 to 9. Flowers, yellow, fragrant; June to August. Annual species from South Europe (1596). L. MUTABILTS (changeable). Stem sub-shrubby, erect, branched ; 3 to 5 feet. A strong-growing, though somewhat tender species. Leaflets 7 to 9, lance-shaped. Flowers fragrant, variable; at first nearly white, then becoming tinted with yellow and purple ; June to August. Native of the Andes of Bogota (1819); perennial. L. NANUS (dwarf). Dwarf Lupine. Stem 12 inches. Leaflets, 5 to 7, narrow, lance-shaped, hairy. Flowers lilac and blue ; June to August. An annual from California (1833). The garden varieties have flowers white, yellow, or various shades of violet and blue. L. POLYPHYLLUS (many-leaved). Stem herbaceous, 5 or 6 feet high. Leaflets, 11 to 15, lance-shaped, hairy beneath. Flowers, dark blue, sometimes with a mixture of white, in immense racemes; spring and autumn. A perennial, commonly found in gardens. Native of Columbia (introduced 1826). As may be gathered from the frequency with which Cultivation. . y .* * Lupines occur in all sorts of gardens they are easily accommodated, and produce fine effects. The annual species must be sown in spring in the open ground, while the perennials may either be propagated in the same way or have their roots divided in spring. Those with shrubby stems, like L. arbor eus, may also be reproduced by means of cuttings. WISTARIAS Natural Order LEGUMINOS.E. Genus Wistaria WISTARIA (name given in honour of Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), Pro- fessor of Anatomy, University of Pennsylvania. A genus of tall, climbing, hardy shrubs, comprising only four or five species. The leaves are pinnate, with an odd leaflet at the tip ; the leaflets entire. The flowers are very similar to those of Galega, usually of some shade of blue and borne in long terminal racemes. The two upper calyx teeth are shorter than the lower three. Standard large, with two ridges at the base; stamens in two bundleo. Natives of North America, China, and Japan. The Wistaria as a garden flower may be considered quite modern, for though W. frutescens, the Kidney-Bean tree, was introduced from North America a hundred and seventy years ago, and grown in shrubberies, it was not widely known. The general 136 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE cultivation of Wistaria dates from the introduction of W. sinensis from China in 1818. Fortune tells us that he has seen this species in its native country with racemes as long as 3J feet. W. multijuga is also a Chinese species, introduced as recently as 1874. When fairly rooted they make rapid growth, and are therefore desirable aids towards hiding the rawness of new houses. In the South of England they will do well around the pillars of a projecting porch or covering a wire-arch ; but in the north they require the shelter of a wall. They have been popularly named Grape-flower Vines. WISTARIA SINENSIS (Chinese). Stems from 15 to 40 Principal Species. A j \. j j