AND GENERAL HORTICULTUEE. 



107 



CRA 



between the plants. With this treatment 

 many of the crowns, under favorable circum- 

 stances, will be strong enough to yield a crop 

 the next season. 



Cranberry. See Oxycoccus. 



Cranberry -Tree. See Viburnum opulus. 



Crane-fly Orchis. See Tipularia. 



Cranesbill. See Geranium. 



Crape Myrtle. See LagersfroBmia. 



Cra'ssula. A diminutive of crassus, thick ; in 

 reference to the fleshy leaves and stems. Nat. 

 Ord. Crassulacece. 



Succulent green-house plants, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope, with heads of red or 

 white flowers. All the Crassulas should have 

 alternate seasons of stimulus and repose. 

 When they are growing, and about to flower, 

 they should be well watered, and when the 

 flowers begin to fade, the supply of water 

 should be gradually lessened, till at last very 

 little is given. The plants are propagated by 

 cuttings, which should be laid on a shelf two 

 or thi'ee days to dry before planting, or they 

 may rot. Most of the species are from the 

 Cape of Good Hope, and have been in cultiva- 

 tion more than a century. 



Crassula'ceae. An extensive natural order 

 consisting generally of succulent herbs or 

 shrubs. Natives of dry places in all parts of 

 the world. They are found on rocks, old 

 walls or hot, sandy plains, exposed to the 

 heaviest dews at night, and the scorching 

 rays of the mid-day sun. Some species are 

 astringent. Sedum acre is very acrid, and is 

 hence called Wall Pepper. Sempervivum tec- 

 torum, the House-leek, is so called from being 

 grown in some places on the tops of houses. 

 Bryophyllum calycinum possesses the property 

 of producing leaf-buds along the margins of its 

 leaves. There are over fourteen genera, in- 

 cluding Crassula, Sedum, Sempervivum, Pen- 

 thorum, etc., and over 400 species. 



Cratae'gus. The Hawthorn. From kratos, 

 strength ; in reference to the strength and 

 hardness of the wood. Nat. Ord. RosacecB. 



A well known family of moderate-sized 

 trees, commonly called thorns. They are 

 found throughout the United States, Europe 

 and the temperate regions of Asia and Africa. 

 There is a great resemblance to each other in 

 all the species, both as to the shape of i he 

 leaves and color of the flowers. The English 

 Hawthorn, C. oxyacantha, so commonly used 

 as a hedge plant, will not stand the severity 

 of our winters, at least much north of New 

 York, with a certainty that would warrant its 

 use here. Single specimens are often met, in 

 old gardens, of great age and size. The 

 Hawthorns are remarkable not only for their 

 fragrant flowers and ornamental fruit, but for 

 the variations common in both. The flowers 

 are usually white, but in the cultivated varie- 

 ties vary to pink and crimson. The fruit is 

 sometimes globular, sometimes oblong, but 

 generally smooth and polished, and in some 

 quite downy ; while the color is from black 

 and dark red, to orange-yellow and white. 

 The double-flowering varieties are especially 

 beautiful. Some of our native species are 

 among the most ornamental low trees we 

 have in our gardens, being, when in bloom, 

 completely covered with pure white flowers 

 of delicious fi'agrance. From the time of 



CRE 



their coming into flower they have been 

 quite commonly called the Maj'-tree. From 

 the perfect hardiness of the species, their 

 ornamental appearance both in flower and 

 fruit, which never fails, they should be 

 cultivated in preference to the foreign 

 kinds. Propagated usually by seeds, which 

 not unfrequently take two years to germi- 

 nate. A double-flowering variety, sent from 

 France, is a tree of great beauty, the 

 flowers being bright rosy pink, not unlike the 

 flowering Ahuond, but of greater substance. 

 This variety is not considered hardy north of 

 Philadelphia. The great drawback to its 

 culture is its being subject to the attacks of 

 the " borer." It is propagated by cuttings or 

 by budding on the more common varieties. 

 C. Pyracantha, the Evergreen Thorn, has 

 fruit of a bright scarlet color, about the size 

 of a pea, remaining on the tree all winter. 

 There is another variety with bright yellow 

 berries. They are both valual>le for lawn 

 decoration, and make excellent hedge plants. 

 The whole species grow well in a soil that is 

 naturally dry ; wet or marshy situations are 

 wholly unsuited to them. 



Crazy Weed. See Astragalus. 



Crawfu'rdia. In honor of Sir John Crawfurd, 

 governor of Singapore. Nat. Ord. Gentiancece. 

 This genus consists of two species, both 

 herbaceous climbing plants, closely allied to, 

 and formerly included in, the genus Gentiana. 

 C. Japonica (Climbing Gentian), a native of 

 Japan, is an exceedingly beautiful plant, at- 

 taining a height of six feet, and producing 

 large axillary bell-shaped flowers of a deep 

 blue color. C. fascicidata (fascicle flowered), a 

 native of the Himalayas, is a similar species, 

 but not so tall. Propagated bj- division or 

 from seed. Both species are of recent intro- 

 duction into the garden. 



Creeper. Properly, a plant that trails on the 



ground. 

 Creeping Charlie. A popular name of Lysi- 



machia numm ularia. 

 Creeping Forget-Me-Not. See Omphalodes 



verna. ' 

 Creeping Jack. Sedum acre. 

 Creeping Jenny. Lysimachia nummidaria. 

 Creeping Myrtle. See Vinca. 

 Creeping Sailor. Saxifraga sarmentosa. 

 Creeping Stem. In common usage, applied to 



stems growing horizontally, both above and 



under ground. An underground stem. 



Crenate. Having convex flat teeth, or rounded 

 or scolloped notches. 



Crenulate. Having small round notches. 



Creosote Plant. See Larrea. 



Cre'pis. From krejyis, a slipper. Hawksbeard. 

 Nat. Ord. Compositce. 



A genus of herbaceous plants consisting of 

 about one hundred and thirty species, very 

 few of which are of miich interest. Two of the 

 few worth growing are C. aurea and C. rubra. 

 The first is a neat border perennial, and the 

 latter a very prettj- annual. They are both 

 of easy cultivation. 



Crescentia. Named after Pieiro Crescenzi, an 

 Italian writer on agriculture. Nat. Ord. 

 Bignoniacece. 



