HAKDY SHRUBS. 



179 



are among the greatest attractions of the shrubbery in June ; and those of most of 

 the other species of this esteemed genus are almost equally showy. When old, they 

 are liable to become naked and unsightly at the base, an appearance which may be 

 prevented if the plants are pruned while young. C. ladaniferw produces the 

 largest flowers ; and where only one species is grown, it should be preferred; where 

 there is room for a larger selection, jmjmlifolius, laurifolius, venustus, and villosus, may 

 be grown ; the last has purple flowers, the others are similar to those of the first 

 named species. Few shrubs are more easily increased by cuttings ; those of the 

 Gum-Cistus will strike in autumn without a hand light, and as young plants are so 

 readily raised, it is advisable to remove the old ones when they become scrubby. 

 Besides the species we have named, there are a considerable number of dwarfer 

 kinds, adapted for the front of the shrubbery ; among the best of these are 

 acutifolius, white ; creticus, purple ; platysepdus, red ; Ledon, white. These dwarf 

 species are rather less hardy than the larger kinds, and as a precaution against loss, 

 a cutting of each should be preserved from frost in a pot. 



Coronilla glauca.—We are somewhat at a loss to understand why this pretty 

 evergreen is not more generally cultivated in the open borders, as it is certainly 

 quite hardy, although classed with greenhouse plants by most Botanical writers, 

 and forms, when raised from seed, much handsomer specimens than those usually 

 seen in pots. At the Gold-Eood, a villa near Ipswich, an example of this plant 

 may be seen in the open ground, and which is said to have been in its present 

 situation nearly twenty years— a length of time abundantly sufficient to test its 

 hardiness. As far as our experience goes, we may state that a seedling plant in 

 our possession has been exposed two seasons, and is now, in the middle of November, 

 covered with a considerable number of flower-heads. It may be necessary to warn 

 our readers, that the plant does not flower very freely until it has been exposed one 

 or two seasons. If, however, after it has reached its full height (three or four feet), 

 the shoots, which often form so dense a head that the stem is hidden from view, 

 are rather severely thinned, there will be no subsequent lack of its bright yellow 

 flowers ; in fact, an established specimen is seldom without blossoms. 



Cytisus raceniosus.—We have no doubt the appearance of this species in a list of 

 hardy shrubs, will excite surprise in some minds, the plant being usually treated as 

 a greenhouse subject, and is very often grown as a window plant, for which it is well 

 adapted. It will, however, bear full exposure, and in the open ground attains a 

 much larger size than in pots ; but its flowers are, of course, produced at a later 

 period of the spring than when cultivated under glass. When in bloom, it forms a 

 most interesting object, and loads the air with its delicious perfume. It is best 

 raised from seed, which may be procured of most seedsmen, and it will, perhaps, be 

 desirable to preserve the seedlings from frost tho first winter. It may also be 

 increased by cuttings, but these make smaller plants. The C. sessilifotus is a 



