34 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



buds first appear till they are dead, and that comprises one- 

 half the entire year. 



There are some forty species, most of which are hardy ; 

 the genus has, however, by later botanists been separated 

 into Leucothoe, Cassandra, Oxydendrum, and Cassiope : of 

 A. polifolia there are many garden varieties. The following 

 are most ornamental : — 



A. (Leucothoe) axillaris (axil-flowering) ; hardy evergreen 

 shrub; 2 feet ; flowers white, in June; North America; 1765. 

 A. (Cassandra) calycidata (small-calyxed) ; hardy shrub ; 2 feet ; 

 flowers white, in March ; North America ; 1748. A. (Leucothoe) 

 Catesbosi (Catesby's) ; hardy evergreen shrub ; 2 feet ; flowers 

 white, in June ; North America ; 1793. A. floribunda (free- 

 flowering) ; hardy evergreen shrub ; 3 feet ; flowers white, in 

 May; North America; 1812. A. polifolia (polished-leaved); 

 hardy evergreen shrub ; i foot ; flowers pink, in July ; North 

 America; 1790. A. Mariana {?,\2iggtx-\)M^\^\ hardy deciduous 

 shrub ; 3 feet ; flowers large white, in June ; North America ; 

 1763. Oxydendrum arboreum (sorrel-tree) is a very ornamental 

 tree of the second class, bearing in August large racemes of 

 white flowers. Hardy south of Massachusetts. 



Androsace. [Primulaceae.] Elegant alpine plants, re- 

 lated to the primroses ; the hardiest of them well adapted 

 for sheltered rock-work, and all very interesting ; grown in 

 pots. Soil, sandy peat and light turfy loam in about equal 

 proportions. Their greatest risk is from excess of moisture 

 about the crowns or roots ; and from dampness in winter 

 they are much more liable to suffer injury than from the de- 

 gree of cold. They ought to be kept in small pots, very well 

 drained ; and, in the application of water, great care is neces- 

 sary at all seasons, but especially in winter. In our sum- 

 mers, they require a cool situation. The perennial, bien- 

 nial, and annual species require the same kind of treatment, 



