178 



IRISH GARDENING 



uf wliirli the iollowinK are in cultivation: — 

 Sax. cortuscefolia, with, as the specitic name 

 implies, leaves resembling tihose of the genus 

 Cortusa belonging to the Prinnila order. In 

 this species the leaves are roundish in outline, 

 somewhat lobed and M'ith seirate margins; the 

 leaf st'alks are much shorter than those of Sax. 

 Fortu)u'i. The flowers, which here at least 

 are never produced with anything like the 

 freedom of S. Fort unci, are pure white, pro- 

 duced in October, and borne in panicles as in 

 the latter species. 



Sax. uni'lida is a form of *S'. cortusa' folia, and 

 has lately been offered by the trade. I have 

 not seen the Howers, but in appearance the 

 plant has much in common with typical Sax. 

 cortusoidcs, and is apparently equally shy of 

 flowering here. 



Sax. cuscutceforniis is an interesting but not 

 hardy plant ; it spreads by means of slender 

 runners resembling Dodder, hence the specific 

 name cuscutaeformis. The leaves are small, 

 roundish or orbicular in outline and lobed. The 

 short flower stems bear a few white flowers in 

 summer. An interesting plant* for a cool 

 house where it forms an attractive object if 

 grown in a pan and suspended from the 

 roof. 



Sax. sari}ientosa is better known than the 

 last named, and was at one time frequently 

 seen in cottage ^^'indow'S, very often in a pot 

 suspended by a wire from the top of the 

 window, the runners hanging doM'ii all roimd 

 the pot in quite an attractive manner. The 

 leaves are larger than those of S. cuscutce- 

 forniis, roundish, kidney-shaped, hairy, and 

 reddish below, and mottled white above. The 

 stolons or runners are freely produced, and give 

 rise to numerous young plants after the manner 

 of the Strawberry. The flowers, produced in 

 summer, are white, the petals marked with 

 yellow or scarlet spots. 



Sax. sarinentosa. tricolor has the leaves 

 beautifully blotched with white and red, and 

 makes an ornamental greenhouse plant; both 

 forms are tender, though the type may be 

 groM'ii outside in mild districts or in sheltered 

 places and protected in ^^■inter. 



Sax. tcUiiiioidcs is a robust species suitable 

 for the bog garden or a moist place at the base 

 of a rock. It grows from fifteen to eighteen 

 inches high, producing comparatively hu-ge pel- 

 tate leaves five or six inches across and deeply 

 lobed. The small dull greenish white flowers 

 are of no ornamental value, but the bold foliage 

 is effective among Primulas and other moisture 

 loving plantfe. 



All the species are natives of Japan, \\hile 

 S. .'iarinrntosa is found also in China. 



B. 



Hardy Cyclamens. 



The various species and varieties of hardy 

 Cyclamens are among the choicest and most 

 beautiful of hardy plants. Their cultivation 

 is not difficult, a free open soil, mixed with 

 leaf-mould, suiting them admirably. They may 

 be grown among short grass or under trees or 

 shrubs. About the rock garden in almost any 

 2)osition they are quite happy, and the freest 

 growers soon make large clumps. One of the 

 finest colonies of C. Goum that I have seen is 

 \mder a tree of Tsuga mertensiana at Mount 

 Usher, and there is another of C. rcpanduin 

 growing among short grass under a I'ine tree in 

 the rock garden at Glasnevin; here, too, 

 numerous clumps of G. neapolitaiium, pink and 

 white, are a feature every autuiim. Home, 

 such as the last-named, produce the flowers 

 before the leaves, others produce flowers and 

 leaves together. 



Propagation is best effected by seeds, which 

 in some cases are freely produced. G. 

 africanum, G. rcpanduin and G. ncapulitanum 

 usually seed freely; these, if sown as soon as 

 ripe, germinate in a fortnight or so, and as soon 

 as the seed-leaf is well developed they may be 

 picked off into boxes, two or three inches apart, 

 where they may ' remain until the following 

 year, when the oo-rms will be sufficientily de- 

 veloped to plant out. 



The production of one seed-leaf only has been 

 the subject of inquiry by numerous botanists, 

 the latest being the Assistant Director at Kew. 



In ai paper read recently before the Ijinnaean 

 Society Major Hill sho^\ed conclusively that 

 two seed-leaves are really formed in the em- 

 bryo as in dicotyledons generally, but that one 

 of them becomes aborted and never develops. 



When plantmg the conns the soil must be 

 well broken up and mixed with leaf -mould and 

 sand; in some heavy soils devoid of lime, old 

 pulverised mortar rubble is an advantage. The 

 dorms should be planted just below the siu'face 

 and covered at first with leaf-mould and sand. 

 The jjlanting season varies for the different 

 species; those that flower in autumn nuist be 

 ])lanted when dormant in summer and those 

 flowering in early spring may be planted in 

 early autunm. 



Gjjclanicn africainun, also known as G. niac- 

 ropJijilluin, is a handsome species from N. 

 Africa. The leaves are large, marbled white on 

 the upper surface, reddish below; they are pro- 

 duced with the flowers, but continue to de- 

 velop after flowering is over. The flowers pro- 

 duced in autumn are rose pink in colour with 

 a dark spot at the base of each petal. They are 

 sweetly scented. This is a good species for 

 planting in a sheltered nook of the rock garden 



