TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. S07 



tap-roots of 0. Deppei are cultivated as a delicate esculent ; 



I aud the tubers of 0. crenata are also sometimes grown for the 



same purpose, the leaves and stems of this latter kind 



•forming a substitute for rhubarb stalks and son-el in domestic 



. cookeiy. When cultivated for their produce they must have 



; a very rich soil. Of the ornamental kinds there are some 



'which have short fleshy stems, which just serve to elevate a 



dense tuft of leaves and blossoms above the soil. 0. carnosa, 



> O. fiorihunda, and 0. laslandra are veiy pretty subjects of 



this class. Of these 0. jiorihunda has been proved a valuable 



1 flower-garden plant, incessantly blooming through the sum- 



imer. These should have a free open peaty soil, whether 



; planted in pots or in beds; and they may be wintered in a 



cool greenhouse or dry frame. There are some hardy annual 



species, and some few stove shrubs. The bulbous kinds are 



increased from the offsets : the fleshy-stemmed kinds by 



division ; the annuals by seeds ; and the shrubby kinds by 



cuttings. O. Boii-lei, flowers pink, in spring. 



OX-EYE. See Buphthalmum. 



OX-LIP. See Primula. 



OXYCOCCUS. Cranberry. [Ericaceee.] Trailing 

 [evergreen shrubs, requiring marshy peat soil. Increased by 

 layering and division. 



OXYLOBIUM. [Leguminosoe, § Papilionaceae.] A genus 

 of very ornamental evergreen greenhouse shrubs. They may 

 jbe increased by cuttings, which strike in an inch of sand 

 upon a pot of the ordinary soil made sandy, the bottom of the 

 cutting just to reach the soil : they should have slight bottom 

 heat, and be covered with a bell-glass. The plants seed 

 rather freely, and may be raised from the seed sown as soon 

 as it is ripe in wide-mouthed pots, and placed hi the green- 

 house. When up they may be pricked out, and when large 

 enough potted, and changed from small to larger ones as the 

 former fill with roots. The compost for them should be peat, 

 loam, aud sand, in the proportions of three parts of the first 

 to one of each of the latter. To make handsome plants they 

 should not grow too fast. They are just the kind of plant that 

 would hardly be known if, instead of regular growth in the 

 soil we have mentioned, they were placed in more exciting 

 soil and a little artificial heat. 0. capitatum, flowers yellow. 



I 



