LEGUMINOS^. 103 



rockwork. It grows freely in any soil, and is easily increased 

 by division in autumn or spring. Height about 9 inches. 

 Native of the Alps of southern Europe in moist upland pas- 

 tures. 



Hippocrepis comosa {Tufted Horse- Shoe Vetch). — This is a 

 member of a small family of European plants mostly annual, 

 and is the only perennial in cultivation that is worthy of a 

 place. It is indigenous, but limited in its distribution, being 

 confined to the chalk and hmestone districts of England, in 

 which it appears in greater or less profusion, but does not 

 occur in either Scotland or Ireland. It is very near in 

 character to some of the Coronillas already described. It is 

 dwarf in stature and diffuse in habit. The leaves are com- 

 posed of many pairs of oblong or linear leaflets. The flowers 

 are produced in small heads or umbels of six or more blossoms, 

 which are pale yellow, and appear in May and last till August. 

 The plant grows freely in any well-drained soil in the mixed 

 border, but it is more characteristic of rockwork. Increase by 

 division from autumn till early spring. 



Lathyrus. — This is one of the most showy and handsome 

 of the hardy herbaceous Pea-flowering genera. It is a numer- 

 ous group ; but the greatest number are annual, among which 

 the Sweet Pea, in its rich variety of colour and its delightful 

 fragrance, is the most popular. But there are several beauti- 

 ful perennials which are not uncommon in gardens, and which 

 may be strongly recommended for more extended culture, as 

 they are not only very handsome, but may be grown with the 

 greatest ease in any kind of garden-soil, and are adapted for a 

 greater variety of ornamental purposes than many of the more 

 beautiful hardy herbaceous plants. They may be planted 

 against any kind of rustic trellis-work, erected either for the 

 purpose of screening off objectionable objects or for purely 

 ornamental purposes. Arbours may be covered in the same 

 way; and, supported on stakes, they are beautiful objects in 

 the mixed border, if it is large enough properly to admit such 

 bulky plants. They may also be easily naturalised in groves and 

 half-kept parts of pleasure-grounds ; and in this way, grouped 

 along with plants of similar habit, such as the Hop, Glycine, and 

 Tamus, they produce a strikingly characteristic effect. Easily 

 increased by division or by seed, the latter sown where it is to 

 remain permanently. 



L. grandiflorus {Large -floivered Everlasting Pea).-—T\i\'s, 

 species grows from 3 to 5 feet high, with rather rigid but 

 climbing, winged, and angular stems. The leaf-stalks are 

 stout and also winged, supporting two broadly oval leaflets and 



