NAT. ORDER. — SPlR.f:ACE.(E. 147 



Propagation and Cullure. In all the shrubby sorts, this may be 

 performed by suckers and layers, aud cuttings. The suckers should 

 be taken ofT in the autumn, and planted out where they are to remain, 

 or in nursery-rows, to attain a fuller growth. The first sort requires 

 to be cleared of these suckers every two years at most. 



The layers should be put down in the autumn or in the spring, 

 £ind may be taken off and planted as above, in the autumn or spring 

 following : all the sorts may be raised in this way ; but it is most pro- 

 per for such sorts as do not send off suckers. The cuttings may be 

 made from the shoots of die preceding summer, and be planted in a 

 shady border early in autumn : when they have become well rooted 

 they may be removed and managed as others ; they succeed in this 

 way with less difficulty than in either of tlie others. 



All the herbaceous sorts may be increased by seeds, or parting 

 the roots. The seeds may be sown in autumn or early in the sprin"- ; 

 but the first is the better mode, on a bed of fine mould ; when the 

 plants appear they should be kept clear from weeds till the autumn, 

 when they may be planted where they are to remain, or in the nur- 

 sery for a year or two. The roots should be parted in the autumn or 

 spring, when the stems decay, before they shoot out new ones, beino- 

 planted immediately where they are to grow. The double-flowered 

 and striped varieties can only be presei-ved in this way. They all 

 afford variety and ornament in the shnibbery and oUier parts. 



Medical Properties and Uses. The roots and leaves of this plant 

 possess astringent properties, and have been used as a vulnerary, with 

 considerable success : it has also been highly recommended for stone 

 and gravel. By some writers it is recommended in leucon-hoea and 

 hernia : they act also as a sudorific, and are sometimes given in erup- 

 tions and skin diseases. 



