CUSCUTA. 



CUTTINGS. 



notliiiig further will be said here on 

 the subject. It is a hardj' pereunial. a 

 native of mountains in Persia, grow- 

 ing about a foot high in any good 

 garden soil, and well adapted for beds 

 in a geometric flower-garden, from its 

 profusion of bright pink flowers, which 

 it continues pi'oducing from June to 

 September. It is well adapted for 

 rock-work, and it is increased by 

 dividing the roots. 



Cryptogamous Plants. — Ferns, 

 Mosses, Lichens, and other plants, 

 which do not produce any visible 

 flowers. 



Cbyptome^ria. — Cupressinece. — 

 The Japan Cedar {Cryptomeria 

 japunica) is one of the handsomest of 

 its tribe that has ever been introduced 

 into British gardens. Seeds were sent 

 home from China by Mr. Fortune in 

 1844, and so many young plants were 

 raised from them, that the tree is 

 rapidly becoming common. In its 

 native countiy it is said to form a 

 tree 6 or 1 feet hi gh. It is quite 

 hardy near London ; but in cold, ex- 

 posed situations it frequently becomes 

 stunted. If grown in too dry a soil, 

 it is apt to have its lower branches 

 become bare. 



Cu'PHEA. — Lythrdcem. — South 

 American plants, with very curious 

 flowers, some of which are half-hardy 

 annuals, some green-house plants, and 

 some stove- shrubs. — They require a 

 moist rich soil, and a shaded situation. 

 C. strigillosa, C. maniafa, and C. 

 platycentra, particularly the latter, 

 are ornamental green-house plants 

 introduced about 18*6. They are all 

 half-hardy, and will flower profusely 

 in the open ground if planted out 

 in spring. 



Cu'sGUTA. — Convolvidacecc. — The 

 Dodder. — Parasitical plants which 

 are sometimes grown in greenhouses 

 as objects of curiosity. — When this is 

 the case, the seeds should be sown 

 in a pot, in which is growing a com- 



mon horse-shoe geranium {Pelargo- 

 nium Zonule). As soon as the seed 

 of the Cruscuta begins to germinate, 

 it sends out a delicate thread-like 

 stem, which is leafless, and which 

 soon coils itself round the stem and 

 branches of the poor geranium, ad- 

 hei'ing to them by a number of wart- 

 like protuberances, or suckers, which, 

 appear at intervals along its surface. 

 The root of the parasite now withers, 

 but the plant itself continues to thrive, 

 as it feeds, vampire -like, on the sap 

 of the poor geranium ; and it grows 

 vigorously, producing abundance of 

 leaves and flowers, while the gera- 

 nium appears to sicken, its leaves 

 turn yellow and drop off", and it 

 finally wastes away. The geranium 

 should be tall and much branched ; 

 and when this is the case, the Cus- 

 cuta forms a very ornamental object, 

 hanging down in graceful festoons, 

 and producing abundance of its glossy 

 pale blush-coloured flowers, which 

 are very fragrant. Sometimes this 

 parasite is propagated by shoots, 

 which should be wrapped in wet 

 moss, and tied on the.^plant to which 

 they are to adhere. Two species of 

 Cuscuta are natives of Britain, and 

 are very troublesome in oat-fields ; 

 but the other kinds are natives of 

 the south of Europe and the tropics. 

 The handsomest species, C. verrucosa, 

 is from Nepal. 



Custard Apple. — See Ano'na. 



Cuttings. — It may be received as 

 a general principle that all plants 

 which produce shoots may be propa- 

 gated by cuttings ; though some 

 plants are much more difficult to 

 propagate in this manner than others. 

 Generally speaking, all the soft- 

 wooded succulent plants, which have 

 abundance of sap, such as Pelargo- 

 niums (Geraniums), Fuchsias, Petu- 

 nias and Verbenas.strikei'oot readily; 

 while dry, hard- wooded plants, such 

 i as Heaths, and the different kinds of 



