58 Subtropical Gardening. 



who value fine grasses should try it. Well-drained and 

 deep-sandy loam. 



♦ARALIAS. 



This genus embraces many plants of very diverse aspects, 

 and few that are fitted for the open air in our climate ; 

 but in the case of A. canescens, and its relative (A. spi- 

 nosa), the Angelica-tree of North America, we have 

 subjects which thrive perfectly well in our gardens, and 

 which in the size and beauty of their leaves are far before 

 many " foliage-plants " carefully cultivated in hothouses 

 at a perpetual expense. 



*Aralia canescens. — The specimen of this species 

 figured was one of a batch of young plants growing in a 

 London nursery, and sketched in the summer of 1868. 

 The engraving falls far short of rendering the beauty of 

 the plant. It is easy to imagine what a graceful effect may 

 be realised by such an object, either isolated on the turf 

 near the edge of a shrubbery, or grouped with subjects of 

 similar character. Success with these plants may be se- 

 cured by first selecting a sheltered and warm position, so 

 that their noble leaves may be well developed and not 

 lacerated by storms when they are fully grown ; secondly, 

 by giving them a deep, free, and thoroughly-drained soil ; 

 and thirdly, by confining them as a rule to a simple and 

 rather dwarf stem, so that the vigour of the individual may 

 not be wasted in several branches. The effect of a plant 

 kept to a single stem, as shown in the plate, is always much 

 superior to that of a branched one. Young plants pre- 

 sent this aspect naturally ; but old ones may be cut down, 



