152 GLENNv'y HANDBOOK. 



liardy ones are veiy beautiful for rockwork, or, for early 

 blooming, small groups in the flower garden : they are pro- 

 pagated freely by cuttings in sandy soil under hand-lights 

 in a shady place early in the summer. I. coronaria, hardy 

 annual, white. I. Gihraltarica, frame evergreen sub-shrub, 

 whitish pink. I. odorata, hardy annual, white. I. saxatiJi:-<, 

 hardy evergreen sub-shrub, white. I. sempervirens, white. 

 I. umheUata is the common one of purple, red, and white. 



ICE PLANT. See Mesembryantremum. 



ILEX. Holly. [Aquifoliaceae.j Evergi'een shrubs, valuable 

 both for beauty of growth and also for variety. Hollies grow 

 best in a dryish or light sandy loam. Propagated, the common 

 sorts by seeds or berries, which do not vegetate till the second 

 year; the others by cuttings of ripened shoots in autumn, 

 or by budding and grafting, which latter mode is practised 

 with the beautiful variegated-leaved sorts. For small gardens 

 the common Holly {I. aqiiifoJium) affords sufficient variety, 

 includnig, besides the conimon form, an evergreen with dark 

 green spiny leaves ; others in which the leaves are spineless, 

 saw-edged, and hedgehog prickly; gold and silver blotched, 

 and gold and silver edged : others are white or yellow-fruited. 

 Of the variegated fonns there are many variations which are 

 quite constant and distinct. There are some greenhouse and 

 stove evergreens, which are of little garden interest. I. Para- 

 guayensis, a stove plant, furnishes the Mate or Paraguay tea. 

 It is the ornamental foliage chiefly for which Hollies are 

 cultivated. The number of varieties is immense. 



ILLICIUM. Aniseed Tree. [Magnoliaceje.] Half-hardy 

 evergreen shrubs, with good foliage and curious flowers. 

 Soil, peat and loam. Increased by cuttings of young ripened 

 shoots in sand, or by layers, which take two years to get well 

 established. 



IMPATIEXS. ToLTH-ME-NOT. [Balsaminaceag ] Annual 

 or perennial fleshy-stemmed plants, mostly requiring the 

 assistance of artificial heat and a moist sheltered climate. 

 The stove perennial kinds are increased by cuttings in a 

 brisk hotbed, and grow well in a rich light compost. The 

 tender annuals should be raised in hot frames from seeds in 

 February or March, and grown on until summer near the 

 glass in hot frames or hothouses, and may then be bloomed 



