326 ACANTHOPANAX. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ACER. 



ACANTHOPANAX. --A. ricini- 

 folium is the most striking of the 

 shrubby Araliads, hardy in our coun- 

 try. Curious and picturesque in form, 

 these are not of proved garden value. 

 Professor Rein, of the University of 

 Bonn, mentions trees 90 feet high, with 

 stem 9 to 12 feet in circumference in 

 the forests of Yezo, the great northern 

 island of Japan. A. sessiliflorum 

 is a native of China and Japan. It 

 has wrinkled, dark green leaves of three 

 to five leaflets, the mid-ribs having 

 a few scattered bristles. A. spino- 

 sum. A shrub with leaves divided 

 into segments. They are both hardy 

 in sheltered positions. A. palmatum 

 atro-sanguineum, with very rich crim- 

 son foliage, and pinnatifidum, in which 

 the leaves are much divided, are the 

 finest of the Japanese kinds. A. 

 Henryi is a Chinese kind worth growing 

 for its fruit effect in autumn. The 

 plants should not be grafted. 



ACANTHUS ( Bear' s-breech) . - 

 tately perennials with fine foliage, 



Acanthus. 



mostly coming from the countries 

 round the Mediterranean, and hardy. 

 On rocky banks, borders of the bolder 

 sort, and in almost any position among 



the more vigorous hardy plants they 

 look well, and will thrive in partial 

 shade, yet to flower well should have 

 full sun. Acanthuses succeed best on 

 warm, deep soil, though they will live 

 in almost any. They are easily in- 

 creased by division of the roots in 

 winter, and may be raised from seed. 



There are several hardy kinds : A . 

 hispanicus, A . longifolius, A . moll is, 

 A. m. latifolius (A. lusitanicus) , A. 

 niger, and A. spinosissimus. 



ACER (Maple}. Trees, mostly of 

 northern regions, often of the highest 

 value, some of the species breaking 

 into a great number of varieties. 

 Among the best are the Silver Maple 

 (A. eriocarpum) , a beautiful tree, 

 though we get from it other forms 

 which are not of much value. The 

 Norway Maple (A. platanoides] has 

 many varieties. The common Syca- 

 more Maple (A. pseudo-platanus] has 

 also varieties, though none of them 

 better than the natural tree. It is 

 doubtful if there is any finer tree than 

 this when old. It is the best of forest 

 trees to face the sea, as in Anglesey 

 and many other windy places. Our 

 Native Maple ( A . campestre) is also a 

 pretty tree, seldom planted in gardens. 

 The Virginian ( A . rubrum) is a beauti- 

 ful tree, as is also the Sugar Maple ( A . 

 saccharinum) and the Colchic Maple 

 ( A. Icetum). The Japanese Maples are 

 beautiful, but not quite robust, except 

 in favoured districts. A. Negundo 

 has given us the much over- valued, too 

 variegated Maple common in gardens. 

 A . Ginnala is a low tree whose leaves 

 die off a rich red in colour. The 

 N. American and European species 

 are hardy as forest trees, and thrive 

 in almost any soil, but the Southern 

 American and Japanese kinds want 

 warmer soils to thfive in our climate. 

 A number of kinds have of recent years 

 come to us from China and Japan and 

 other northern regions, but as yet we 

 have little evidence of their value in 

 the home landscape. The best effects 

 so far are from the northern forest 

 kinds, like the Norway Maple, the 

 Virginian Maple, and even the brown 

 forms of the Sycamore Maple, which 

 come freely from seed, and so may 

 escape the mistaken labour of the 

 grafter who does not look to the results 

 of the practice on the life of the tree. 

 The evil result of this is frequent in 

 the varieties of the Japanese Maple, 

 attractive in colour, the Japanese often 

 grafting on other and more vigorous 



