IBERIS. 



167 



beautiful little Swan River shrub, 

 with peach-coloured flowers. It is 

 a greenhouse plant, requiring the 

 usual treatment of half-hardy Aus- 

 tralian shrubs. The leaves when 

 bruised smell of lemon; and the 

 flowers closely resemble those of the 

 peach-tree, except that they are 

 1 much smaller. 



H Ypoc y'kta. — GesneracecB. — H. 

 gracilis is a pretty creeping stove 

 plant, with cream-coloured flowers, 

 growing like an epiphyte, on trees in 

 the moist forests of South America. 



Hypoxis. — Hypoxidece. — A na- 

 tive of Natal with bulb-like tubers, 

 broad leaves, and a profusion of 

 golden yellow star-like flowers. 



TBERIS. — Cruciferce. — Candy- 

 -■- tuft. — Most of the kinds of Can- 

 dytuft are well-known annuals, which 

 received their name from /. uvibcl- 

 lator, the first species grown as a 

 garden flower, having been brought 

 from Candia, The seeds should be 

 sown in a rich light soil in autumn, 

 where they are to remain, and kept 

 rather dry during winter. They 

 should be repeatedly thinned out, 

 and in spring they should be 

 watered with liquid manure, taking 

 care not to let the liquor touch the 

 plants. When the plants are about 

 to flower, those of the common kind 

 should be six or eight inches apart 

 every way at least ; and those of 7. 

 coronaria, the Rocket Candytuft, 

 should be from one to .two feet apart ; 

 and thus treated, the flowers will be 

 very large and fine. When it is not 

 thought advisable to take so much 

 trouble, the seeds may be sown very 

 thin, either in autumn or early in 

 spring ; either alone, or mixed with 

 mignonette ; and in either case they 

 will look very well in the flower bor- 

 ders. The perennial and suff"ruticose 

 kinds are well adapted for rock- 



work ; and they are easily j^ropa- 

 gated by cuttings, or by dividing 

 the root. 



Iceland Moss. — Cetraria isldn- 

 dica. 



Ice Plaxt. — See Mesembrtan- 



THEMUH. 



Ichneumon Fly.--A very elegant 

 slender creature, somewhat resem- 

 bling a gnat, which generally deposits 

 its eggs in the living body of a cater- 

 pillar. Grreat numbers of caterpillars 

 are thus destroyed every year ; and 

 as the grub of the Ichneumon does 

 notfeed upon vegetable matter of any 

 kind, it may be regarded as a friend 

 to gardeners, and it should be spared 

 accordingly. There are several kinds 

 of Ichneumon Flies, some much. 

 larger than others, but the habits of 

 all are the same. 



I'lex. — This name is fi-equently 

 applied in common conversation to 

 the Quercus I'lex, or evergreen oak ; 

 but it is properly the botanic name of 

 the Holly. 



I'lhx, — Aquifoliacece. — A genus 

 of evergreen shrubs or low trees, of 

 which the most interesting is I'lex 

 Aquifblium, or the common Holly, 

 a native of Britain, with fine dark 

 green prickly leaves, and scarlet or 

 coral-coloured berries. There are a 

 great many varieties of this shrub, 

 some of which have leaves variegated 

 with cream colour, white, different 

 shades of yellow, and slight tinges of 

 red ; and others have white, yellow, 

 and even black fruit. They are all 

 beautiful, and, being evergreen and 

 quite hardy, are reckoned among the 

 most ornamental of British shrubs. 

 They grow slowly, but as they are 

 always erect and compact, they are 

 very valuable for small gardens, 

 where the plants require to be kept 

 within bounds. The species are pro- 

 pagated by seeds, which are kept a 

 winter in a rot-heap before they are 

 sown ; and the varieties are propa- 



