106 GLENN YS HANDBOOK 



ERANTHEMUM. [Acantbacese.] Showy stove ever- 

 green soft-wooded shrubs. They bloom for the most part 

 late m summer, in the autumn, or winter, according to the 

 culture they receive. The soil required for them is a compost 

 of loam two parts, peat one part, thoroughly decomposed 

 cow or horse-dung and sand together one part. The plants 

 may be cut down to pretty near the old wood every season 

 after blooming. Cuttings may be struck in heat under a 

 bell-glass, and in sandy soil : one joint below and one above 

 the surface is length enough. When they are struck they 

 may be potted in three-inch pots, with good drainage. Give 

 them plenty of water, and keep them in the warmest part of 

 the stove until they become good strong plants. At the same 

 time that the older plants have done flowering, the young 

 ones may be placed with them in the coolest part of the house 

 to rest, and here only get enough water to keep them alive. 

 The flowers of most of this tribe come out in spikes at the 

 ends of the branches ; and, although they soon look untidy 

 when they begin to fade, they are gay enough while in per- 

 fection, which happens among some or other of them the 

 greater part of the year. In short, they are free bloomers, 

 and are a long while in flower. The best are E. alhiflorum, 

 white ; E. x>^dcliellum, blue ; E. variahile, pale purple. There 

 are many other species in cultivation. 



ERAXTHIS. Winter Aconite. [Ranunculacese.] The 

 Winter Aconite is one of those simple flowers which please 

 more on account of the season of their appearance than their 

 beauty. This commences .to bloom in January, often amidst 

 frost and snow, and through February it continues to decorate 

 the garden and shrubbery. It is altogether not more than 

 three inches high, the flowers being seated one on each pair of 

 flat-lobed leaves, which terminate the stalk. They look like 

 little yellow cups, with their bases surrounded by green frills. 

 It is tuberous, and only requires to be planted in the soil 

 and left to itself. Planted just within the margin of a flower- 

 bed it interferes with nothing ; and, if placed thick enough, 

 makes a conspicuous edging for some time. It is also very 

 well placed in patches among shrubs, or in any other wilder- 

 ness scenery, which it serves to enliven at a dreary season. 



EREMJeA, [Myrtacese.] Greenhouse evergreen shrubs. 



