THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



EL^AGNUS. 



557 



are beautiful, and some quite splendid 

 when in flower. E. Fe7idleri bears some 

 of the brightest flowers. Other kinds 

 are E. ncepJiiceus, gonacantJius, viridi- 

 florus^ and paudspiitus. Give them soil 

 which is well drained and a sunny, 



Echinocereus. 



exposed place away from all protection, 

 taking care so to place them in rela- 

 tion to surrounding objects that their 

 stems cannot easily be hurt. A few pro- 

 tecting stones can be grouped so as to 

 keep off the digger and other dangerous 

 animals. A close turf of some dwarf clean 

 alpine will prevent earth-splashings and 

 will improve the effect. 



Echinochloa. See Panicum. 



ECHINOPS {Globe Thistle).— K fine 

 hardy plant from S. Russia, 3 to 5 ft. high, 



.. •>*"•- 



fr\ 



^^ 



J 



Echinops ruthenicus (Globe Thistle). 



covered with a silvery down, E. ruthenicus 

 having the flowers blue, in round heads. 



Thrives in ordinary soil. Easily multiplied 

 by division of the tufts, or by cuttings of the 

 roots in spring. It is the most ornamental 

 of its distinct family, and is highly suit- 

 able for grouping with the bolder her- 

 baceous plants. It would also look well 

 when isolated on the turf There are 

 other species, mostly from S. Europe and 

 the Levant, among which are E. Ritro 

 and E. banaticus ; but we have never seen 

 any so good as E. ruthenicus, and, as the 

 species are very much alike, it is enough 

 to grow the best. E. spha^rocephalus is 

 a fine species tall and handsome ; 

 giganteus isagarden variety of the above, 

 more robust, and with larger heads. 



ECHIUM {Viper's Bugloss).—Yi2.nd.- 

 some plants of the Forget-me-not Order, 

 the finer kinds of which, though superb 

 in the open gardens of S. Europe, are 

 too tender for our gardens. E. planta- 

 gineum is one of the handsomest of the 

 annual or biennial species. Its showy 

 flowers, of rich purplish-violet, are in long 

 slender wreaths that rise erect from a tuft 

 of broad leaves. It is handsomer than 

 our indigenous species, E. pustulatum and 

 E. vulgare. E. rubrum is a scarce and 

 handsome species, its habit is similar to 

 those above mentioned, but its colour is a 

 reddish-violet, similar to the attractive E. 

 creticum. The Salamanca Vipei-'s Bugloss 

 (E. salmanticum) is another fine kind, but 

 difiicult to obtain, except from its native 

 locality. These five species are now in 

 cultivation, and are representative of the 

 annual and biennial Echiums. They are 

 all showy and of the simplest culture. 

 The seeds should be sown in ordinary 

 garden soil, either in spring for the current 

 yeai-'s flowering, or late in autumn for 

 flowering in early summer. Our native 

 E. vulgare is good in certain positions ; 

 its long racemes of blue flowers are hand- 

 somer than those of the Italian Anchusa. 

 Against a hot wall, where nothing else 

 would grow, Dr. Acland, of the Grammar 

 School, Colchester, planted some, and 

 they gave a beautiful bloom. It is 

 valuable for such positions, particularly 

 on hot gravelly or chalky soils. 



Edraianthus. See Wahlenbergia. 



Edwardsia. See Sophora. 



EL^AGNUS {Oleaster). — Several of 

 the Oleasters are l3eautiful shrubs, and de- 

 serve to be much more widely cultivated 

 than they are now. 



E. angustifolia, the form which grows 

 wild in South-eastern Europe, is the wild 

 Olive of the old Greek authors, and in 

 some modern books is called Jerusalem 

 Willow. The long silvery-gray fruit is 

 constantly sold in the Constantinople 



