TO THE FLOVrER GARDEN. 2 13 



moderately rich light loamy soil to attain their fall heauty, 

 which is very considerahle. Most of those called half-hardy 

 perennials, which are not sub-shruhby, survive over winters 

 in favourable situations, and protected against excessive wet. 

 It is, however, safer to shelter them in cold frames. They 

 also survive better where there is a keen pure air. The 

 varieties are numerous. 



PERESKIA. [Cactacese.] A small genus of cactaceous 

 shrubs, having woody spiny stems, and flat fleshy leaves. Tlie 

 P. acideata, or Barbadoes Gooseberry, grows with long trail- 

 ing branches, and is often employed as a stock on which 

 Cacti are grafted. When these long stems are trained to the 

 rafters of a plant stove, and are worked with branches of the 

 flowering Cacti, especially the small drooping EpiphyUiuu 

 truncatum and its varieties, it has a very charming effect. 

 For the formation of standard Cactuses the Pereskia is not so 

 good a stock as some of the stouter Cereuses, on account of 

 its wiry stems. Their treatment is the same as that of Cacti. 



PERILLA. [Lamiacese.] Half-hardy annuals. Light 

 garden soil. Seeds. P. Nankinensis has leaves coloured 

 purple. 



PEPiIPLOCA. [Asclepiadaceae.] Hardy deciduous twiners. 

 Common soil. Layers and cuttings. P. attgustifolia, flowers 

 purplish. P. GrcBca, flowers brown. * 



PERIWINKLE. See Yixca. 



PERNETTYA. [Ericaceae.] Pretty hardy evergreen 

 shrubs. Peat. Seeds and layers. P. angustifolia, P. cillata, 

 and P. mucronata, flower white. 



PERSICA. Peach. [Amygdalacete.] This genus, well 

 known from its fruits, contains also some beautiful flowering 

 shrubs. Good garden soil. Propagated by budding. See 

 also Amtgdalus. 



PERSICARIA. See Polygonum. 



PERUVIAN DAFFODIL. See Ismene. 



PETUNIA. [Solanacese.] Showy soft-stemmed shrubby 

 perennials, closely allied to Nierembergia. The garden Petu- 

 nias have sprung from P. vyctafiiiiijiora and P. violacea, the 

 latter, in its original form, one of the richest of all plants for 

 bedding out in the flower garden, owing to its brilliant colour. 

 There are, however, few families in which cultivation has 



