ROBINIA. 352 ROCKWORK. 
drooping racemes of flowers. The ‘two years before they germinate. 
common kinds of Robinia are gener- | When grown in strong clay, or in 
ally called Acacias in gardens; | any moist soil, old trees of Robinia 
though why this name has been | Pseud-Acacia are very often found, 
given to them, unless from their | when cut down, to be hollow at the 
pinnate leaves, which resemble those | heart. Several plants formerly con- 
of the true Acacia, it would be sidered to belong to Robinia, are 
difficult to say. The name cf Lo- | now distributed through the genera 
cust, which is applied to Robinia | Caragana, Halimodendron, &c. Of 
Pseud-Acccia in America, also| these, the most beautiful are the 
appears to have no definite mean- | Caraganas and the Halimodendron, 
irg, unless it alludes to the leaves, | 
which beara very slight resemblance | 
to those of Ceratonia Siliqua, the | 
Locust: Tree of Holy Writ. The 
flowers of all the kinds of Ro- 
binia are very handsome; but the | 
arborescent species are not hand- | 
some trees, from the liability of | 
their branches to be broken off by | 
nigh winds, which gives them a_| 
ragged and untidy appearance ; and | 
the wcod, notwithstanding the ex- | 
travagant praises cf Cobbett, is of | 
very little value. The roots of the 
Robinia also extend just under the 
surface ; and thus a tree of this ge- 
nus occupies nearly twice the ex- 
tent of ground which would be | 
taken up by a tree of the same size | 
cf almost any other kind. The 
shrubby kinds of Robinia are also 
liable to the same objections ; though | 
the long racemes of rose-coloured | 
fiowers of the Rose Acacia (R. hiés- | 
pida) are so beautiful, that no shrub- | 
bery should be without it. All the 
Robinias are quite hardy, and they 
may be grown in any soil, though | 
they thrive most in a rather rich | 
sandy loam; care should be taken 
always to plant them in a sheltered | 
situation, as no plants are more in- | 
jured by high winds. They are | 
propagated by seeds, layers, cut- | 
tings, and suckers, which are pro- | 
duced in great abundance. When | 
Robinias are raised from seed, the 
seeds should be steeped for twenty- 
four hours in hot water, before sow- 
or Salt Tree. 
Rocket.—See He'speris. 
Rock Cress.—A kind of A'rabis. 
Rock Rosze.—See Cr'stus. 
Rockwork is a very common or- 
nament in gardens ; and, producing 
a striking effect, it is introduced 
more frequently than judiciously. 
Rockwork may be divided into two 
kinds: that which is intended to 
imitate natural rocks, and that 
which is intended merely as a nidus 
for rock-plants. Imitations of na- 
ture should always consist of large 
| blocks of stone of the same kind, 
-and should, for the most part, be 
disposed in imitation of some kind 
of stratification. At the same time, 
as in many parts of the country, 
large, round, or roundish, or angular 
blocks of stone are found distributed 
over the surface, it is not objection- 
able to collect these together in 
groups so as to form a feature in 
scenery, and to insert plants among 
them. Rockwork, as a mere nidus 
_ for plants, should never be attempted 
on a large scWe without the intro- - 
duction of large blocks of stone, 
and some kind of stratification be- 
ing adopted; and in this case, as 
before mentioned, using one kind 
of stone will produce an effect in 
accordance with that of nature. 
On a small scale, however, different 
kinds of stone may be used, more 
especially when these are well coy- 
ered with plants; but even on a 
small scale, one kind of stone has 
ing ; as, unless this is done, they | always a better effect, and will be 
_ will sometimes remain in the soil! felt more agreeable to the eye, than 
