IRISH GARDENING 



65 



H. (cgnplliicuht forms an upright little bush uinr 

 inches to a foot iu height, the shoots clothed with 

 small glaucous leaves and terminated by umbels of 

 pale AvUow flowers. There is doubt as t-o the hardi- 

 ness of this species, which is not infrequently badly 

 hit in hard winters, but it is so nearly hardy as to 

 be worth keeping stock of. 



H. coris is one of the most satisfactory as well as 

 one of the prettiest species. It fonns many 

 stemmed Uttle bushes, the wiry stems well fumi.shed 

 with tiny grey-green leaves and surmounted by com- 

 paratively large, pale golden yellow flowers. 



H. cremilatum is a low decumbent gem, the wiry 

 stems clothed with tiny glaucous leaves with crenu- 

 late margins .and bearing gooti, clear yellow flowers. 



H. cuneatnm is a dainty fragile beauty but 

 apparently quite hardy. Tthe slender thread-like 

 shoots lie almost prostrate? and are clothed with 

 tiny wedge-shaped leaves of a .somewhat glaucous 

 hue. The flower buds before opening are rich red; 

 the expanded flowers beautiful golden yellow. Given 

 a hot sunny position in sandy soil the plant flourishes 

 and is never more attractive than when the flowers 

 are in the bud stage. Seeds are produced fairly 

 freely, and cuttings may be rooted, but the plant 

 must be carefully handled, as the shoots are abnor- 

 mally brittle. 



H. onpetrifolitiin is an erect gi-ower making 

 fifteen inches or more when in a suitable position, 

 the stems clothed with small heath-like foliage and 

 bearing at their summits numerous golden yellow 

 flowers. A sunny position sheltered from east winds 

 is best for this species, 



H. fragile, by some considered a variety of H. 

 ohjmpicum , is a robust grower makin,g a profusion of 

 arching, wiry shoots thickl\- furnished with small 

 grey leaves and bearing abundance of golden yellow 

 flowers. This is a good plant for a pocket between 

 large stones, where it can spread out its stems to 

 the sun. 



H. Kotclnjanuin grows about six inches high and 

 has somewhat hoary leaves and bears on each shoot 

 several golden yellow flowers. 



H. nummnlarium is another dwarf about six inches 

 or so in height, the slender stems clothed with 

 roundish leaves and tenninated in due course with 

 beautiful golden flowers. 



H. alympicum, alluded to above, is more erect 

 than H. fragile, with the same glaucous leaves and 

 yellow flowers. 



H. nlympicutn citrinHm, of upright habit, has 

 pale, citron-yellow flowers, and is a plant of great 

 beauty, forming quite a considerable bush some 

 fifteen inches or more in height. 



H. polyphyllnm is somewliat in the way of H. 

 ohjnipicum, but is more diti'use in habit, never 

 reaching the height of the latter. The stems are 

 more arching, furnished with smaller glaucous 

 leaves and bearing numerous golden yellow flowers. 



H. repenfi has small heath-like leaves, and in habit 

 is somewhat intermediate between H. coris and H. 

 empeirifoh'um. The bushy habit and racemose in- 

 florescence render it distinct. It is often confused 

 with H. rcptans, a totally different plant of prostrate 

 liabit, the shoots lying close to the stones among 

 or over which it is growing. The slender stems bear 



numerous bright green leaves, forming a lovely 

 carpet, and the flowers, of large size, are of a beauti- 

 ful golden yellow. This is a doubtfully hardy 

 species and should have a sheltered position, 

 certainly protected from cold wind. 



H. rhodopcum is an interesting dwarf species with 

 hoary leaves, reminiscent of H. kotchyamim . and 

 likes a sunny position. 



H. tomentosum is another of the doubtfully hardy 

 species but succeeds in a position facing the sun, 

 and where it can be dry in winter. A good way is 

 to plant close under a somewhat over-Iianging 

 stone, or just under the branches of a dwarf .shrub, 

 where the shoots can grow out during summer and 

 the roots will be dry in winter. The prostrate shoot.s 

 are furnished with downy leaves and bear pale yellow^ 

 flowers. 



{To be continued i) 



Mushrooms. A Chance Crop. 



Theikk are few crops more welcome to many folk 

 than Mushrooms, yet it has to be said in respect to 

 their culture, that even after the most carefully 

 arranged plan has been followed, the results do not 

 always come up to our expectations. The spawn 

 may have been procured from the best source and 

 the bed made up on approved lines, with stable 

 manure minus straw, and specially selected loam 

 as a covering. The bed is spawned, and then we 

 watch and wait — but no mushrooms appear! "We do 

 not quite know always to what we ma.y attribute 

 our non-success. It may have been the spawn; 

 more likely it is the over-heating of the bed — at any 

 rate we miss our favourite dish. That is the experi- 

 ence some of us have had at one time or another, 

 though Ave may not confess it. There is .another 

 way to be tried, though it cannot be guaranteed. 

 It is the dibbling about — ^Avherever manure has been 

 worked in — in the garden, of pieces of spawn, 

 amongst second early Potatoes, alongside of Peas 

 and Beans, and sometimes, where the crop under 

 cover fails, we find om-selves able to gather mush- 

 rooms without having made up a bed — a crop that 

 is appreciated though only half expected — a chance 

 crop, if you will. ^y. t.ixdei?s Lea. 



Zonals and Fuchsias. Old Greenhouse 

 Favourites. 



If it were possible to obtain statistics as to the 

 variety of greenhouse flowering plants, I have no 

 doubt that we should find there would be many 

 subjects with which most people would bo familiar, 

 and from a long experience had come to regard as 

 almost indispensable. If observation counts for 

 anything, there would be at least two plants that 

 Avould exceed others in point of popularity, and I 

 venture to say that such a " census " would reveal 

 the fact that Zonal Pelargoniums (" Geraniums ") 

 and Fuchsias would lead the -wny. This, I submit. 

 is not s\n-prising, as it is hardly possible to cHooso 

 two subjects which, taken all round, render such 

 service to the owner of a greenhouse. One reason 

 for this is that both arc extremely easy to grow. 



