SMILACIXA. 



Smilacina, — These, on the contrary, are for the bog, or for rich 

 cool B dy woodland places. They stand near Solomon's Seal. 



with the same creeping rhizomes, but with fluffy spires of white stars 

 at the ends of the shoots. S. racemosa is the tallest, nearly a yard high 

 often, and especially handsome with its ample glossy-dark 

 leaves alternating up the stems, and then the ample cone-shaped 

 creamy plume in May and June, followed by berries like vitrified drops 

 of bright blood in autumn. 8. sfeBata is much dwarfer, with whitish 

 flowers much more scattered and starry in their loosened and scantly 

 furnished head, produced much later in the summer, about August, 

 and followed by berries of green and black. S. trifoiia is not more than 

 4 inches high, with white stars in May ; uud the relationships of the 

 race may be gathered from the fact that Ciintonia borealis sometimes 

 bears I e me of SmUocina instead. 



Sobolewskya clavata is an Eastern Crucifer of a foot high, 

 with long a] .. I | ore-white flowers in midsummer, and heart -shap d 

 leaves below, on long stems, and a general dishonouring likeness to 

 hriam AUiaria, though far more refined. S. WhophUa is wiser 

 in taking Hutchinsia for its model, and achieving the same effects in 

 the same easy conditions, with white flowers in spikes on stems of 5 or 

 6 incl 



Solanum Dulcamara is a native climber, with clusters of 

 violet and gold fiov. a dwarfer and unaspiring form in 



China, called S. d. <; nanshan " ; and S. Sindairii is a quite tin}* minia- 

 ture of the next, which I here mention, because 8. tuberosum was 

 warmly recommended to some enthusiastic rock-gardening friends of 

 mine, as being a really beautiful thing of about 15 inches or 2 feet, 

 rather leafy, but with fine foliage and profuse leads of very largo 

 -blue or white flowers, with a rich golden pointil, carried unre- 

 mitting]}- all through the summer, and of the finest effect. Accord- 

 ingly they purchased seed and raised it with great care, and planted 

 it out with more, in the choicest of places, expecting their reward of 

 beauty. And they got it, too, precisely according to the fair and 

 unadorned promise ; only they Lad omitted to enquire the more 

 vulgar name of the plant — which is " Potato." 



Soldanella, — in moist cool soils in open yet cool exposures and 

 atmospheres, the Soldanellas are both hearty and immortal. And 



inted to change so lovely a name into 



•nwort " is not clear ; but even Parkinson seems to have shared 



(reluctantly) the general and enduring craze for forging foolish English 



nam' iee that are not English (and therefore make such pallid 



pretences seem even more pretentious than before), a craze that has 



368 



