28 glenny's handbook 



in common garden soil, and increase by division. There are 

 many species. 



ASTRAGALUS. Milk Vetch. [Leguminosae.] Peren- 

 nials and annuals, mostly hardy, bearing papilionaceous 

 flowers : the large species are suitable for the common 

 borders, and the smaller ones for rockwork. They are in- 

 creased by seeds, by division, or by cuttings, according to 

 their habit. It is a very numerous family, containing many 

 species of merely botanical interest. 



ASTRAXTIA. [UmbelliferjB.] Elegant herbaceous 

 plants, quite hardy. Common garden soil. Increased by 

 division. Many varieties pretty, but none particularly 

 striking. 



ATHYRIUM. [Polypodiace^.] Elegant hardy ferns, 

 including the Lady Fern, A. Jilix-foemina, one of the most 

 beautiful of the larger growing of our indigenous species. 

 It is an admirable kind for planting on shady rockwork, or 

 on the shady margin of shrubberies, growing most vigorously 

 where the situation is damp as well as shady. The fronds 

 are annual, that is, they grow up in spring and perish in the 

 autumn, new ones being produced from the root in the suc- 

 ceeding spring. It grows in any light common soil. Grown 

 under shelter in a pot, and also, if placed in heat, it is re- 

 markably elegant. 



ATRAGENE. [Ranunculaceae.] Hardy deciduous climb- 

 ing shrubs. Soil, light loamy garden mould. Propagated 

 by cuttings in common sandy soil, covered with a hand-glass, 

 or by layers made in the autumn, which by the next autumn 

 will be ready to take off as strong plants. A. Americana, 

 purple ; A. Austriaca, blue ; and A. Sibirica, white, are best. 



AUBRIETIA. [Cruciferae.] Pretty dwarf evergreen 

 herbaceous perennials, suited for rockwork, or for the flower- 

 borders, or for pots. If planted in the mixed flower-border 

 they should have two or three stones placed about them, 

 over which their branches will spread. Common garden soil. 

 Increased by dividing the plants. 



AUCUBA. [Cornaceae.] A. Jajjonica is the most useful 

 of all evergreen shrubs, as it will grow almost anywhere, and 

 even thrives in the smoky atmosphere of dense cities : its 

 ample foliage, chequered with white blotches, renders it at all 



