CACCINIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CALCEOLARIA 



371 



gardens as an edging, and also in 

 shrubberies. The beauty of its habit 

 is seldom seen in gardens, owing to 

 being too much crowded, but seen 

 wild its habit is most graceful, and it 

 might be well to secure the same 

 beauty of habit by planting in groups 

 upon exposed knolls. Almost all the 

 species and varieties have variegated 

 forms, which, though pretty, are not so 

 good as the natural forms. B. sem- 

 pervirens (the Common Box) from its 

 close bushy habit is one of the most 

 useful Evergreens for garden hedges. 

 It may be pruned or clipped into any 

 shape. While there are few soils in 

 which it will not thrive, it prefers such 

 as are light, with a warm gravelly 

 subsoil. Among the species is Japon- 

 ica, a dwarf form, but hardier. The 

 Minorca Box (B. balearica) is a native 

 of islands in the Mediterranean, as 

 well as Italy and Turkey, where it 

 forms a fine tree of from 60 to 80 feet 

 in height. The leaves are larger than 

 those of the Common Box, and when 

 exposed to the sun are of a lighter 

 green, but it only succeeds well in 

 warm, well-sheltered situations, with a 

 dry soil and a warm subsoil. Other 

 species are Harlandi, microphylla, and 

 Wallichiana, but few of these so 

 precious as the Common Box. The 

 variegated forms are never so good as 

 the green. 



CACCINIA GLAUCA. A dwarf 

 hardy perennial belonging to the 

 Borage family from the highlands of 

 Persia. About 9 inches high, with 

 sparingly branched, succulent stems 

 and glaucous leaves, covered with 

 stiff hairs and short terminal racemes 

 of flowers about half an inch in dia- 

 meter, resembling in form that of 

 Borage. 



CACTUS. Various plants belonging 

 to the Cactus order of plants have 

 proved hardy in England. Opuntia, 

 Echinocereus, Mammillaria, and Echin- 

 opsis are among the hardiest. Pretty 

 effects are shown by some Cacti in the 

 open air in Southern England, the 

 plants blooming freely when fully 

 exposed in the sun on a warm rock 

 garden, though the loss of the sun 

 of their native plains is against their 

 being very happy in Britain. 



It is well to place Cacti so that they 

 may be safe from injuries, apart from 

 climate, and the best places are, as a 

 rule, on well-drained ledges in the rock 

 garden. In effect they seem out of 

 place in an English garden. 



CAESALPINIA JAPONICA. A 



graceful and distinct summer-leafing 

 shrub, one of a genus usually tropical, 

 but this is hardy in the country around 

 London. It has hard prickles, leaves 

 a foot long and very graceful, and hand- 

 some yellow flowers in racemes. Does 

 best in good free soil, and is excellent 

 for dry banks, and in Midland and cold 

 districts deserves a south wall. Seeds. 



Calampelis. See ECCREMOCARPUS. 



CALANDRINIA (Rock Purslane). 

 Dwarf annual or perennial plants of 

 the Purslane order. Few are very 

 effective for gardens ; some are bril- 

 liant border or rock plants, thriving 

 in warm soils. C. discolor is a beau- 

 tiful S. American plant, from i to i 

 feet high, with fleshy leaves, pale green 

 above and purple beneath, and bright 

 rose flowers in a long raceme, i| inches 

 across. C. grandiflora is a handsome 

 annual with showy blossoms. It 

 thrives in a warm and good loam, and 

 blooms throughout the autumn. C. 

 oppositifolia is a distinct plant, and is 

 well marked by its larger, very thick, 

 succulent leaves and delicate white 

 flowers. C. speciosa has flowers from 

 to i inch across, purple-crimson ; 

 on sunny mornings they open fully, 

 closing early in the afternoon. C! 

 umbellata is a distinct and pretty 

 plant, the flower dazzling magenta- 

 crimson. It does well in sandy peat 

 or in other light earth, and is perennial 

 on dry soils and in chinks in a well- 

 drained rock garden. Seed sown in 

 pots or in the open air in fine sandy 

 soil. Chili. 



CALCEOLARIA (Slipper Flower). 

 Handsome herbs or low shrubs of 

 the Foxglove order, mostly from S. 

 America, many of high garden value, 

 but few hardy. In the London dis- 

 trict many of the varieties die from 

 disease, or are short-lived as regards 

 bloom, but the handsome C. amplexi- 

 canlis, with its bold habit and lemon- 

 yellow flowers, is always a favourite. 



The best time for propagating the 

 shrubby varieties is the end of Sep- 

 tember and October. Cuttings of 

 recent growth of 3 inches or so long 

 are the best, and if made to a joint in 

 the usual way and inserted in sandy 

 soil in a cold frame, will, if kept close 

 and fairly moist, root to almost cent, 

 per cent. When rooted ventilate 

 freely. Kept moderately dry, the 

 young plants will pass an ordinary 

 winter with impunity. In February 



