ERYTHRJEA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERYTHRONIUM. 465 



All of them are easy to grow, and delight 

 in gritty soil and a well-drained and sunny 

 position on the rock garden. Among the 

 biennial and annual kinds, the best is 

 E. Perofskianum, i to i feet high, with 

 dense racemes of orange-yellow flowers. 

 For early flowering it should be sown in 

 autumn, and again in March and April 

 for later bloom. E. arkansanum and 

 pachycarpum are similar to E. Perofski- 

 ant>tm. 



Eryniuin Oliverianum. 



ERYTHRZEA (Centaury). Pretty 

 dwarf biennials belonging to the 

 Gentian family. E. littoralis, common 

 in some shore districts, is worth culti- 

 vating. It is 4 to 6 inches high, and 

 bears an abundance of rich pink 

 flowers, which last a considerable 

 time in beauty. The very beautiful 

 E. diffusa is a similar species. It is a 

 rapid grower, with a profusion of pink 

 blossoms in summer. 



E. MUHLENBERGI. A beautiful plant 

 about 8 inches high, putting out many 

 slender branches. It bears many flowers, 

 the blossoms 3^ inches across, of a deep 

 pink, with a greenish-white star in the 

 centre. Seeds should be sown in autumn, 

 and well grown till the spring ; the plants 

 will then flower earlier and produce finer 

 flowers than spring-sown plants. They 

 are excellent for the rock garden and the 

 margins of a loamy border. The soil must 

 be moist. 



The native kind and its forms are 

 pretty in the fields and shores, and the 

 plants so far rarely have a place in 

 gardens. 



ERYTHEINA (Coral Tree). These 

 beautiful trees are pretty general 

 through the tropics. Some attain 

 great dimensions, while others are 

 dwarf bushes with woody root-stocks. 

 Many produce beautiful large Pea 

 flowers, usually of a blood -red or 

 scarlet colour. E. Cristagalli will 

 thrive for years against a warm south 

 wall in a light soil if protected about 

 the roots in winter. 



ERYTHRONIUM (Dog's-tooth Vio- 

 let). Liliaceous bulbs, among the 

 loveliest of our hardy flowers, with 

 many species and varieties of inter- 

 est, and high garden value. These 

 belong to N. America, with the excep- 

 tion of : 



E. DENS-CANIS. A beautiful plant 

 found in various parts of Europe. It has 

 handsome oval leaves, with patches of 

 reddish-brown ; the rosy-purple or lilac 

 flowers are borne singly on stems 4 to 

 6 inches high, and droop gracefully. It 

 thrives in moist, sandy, or peaty soil. In 

 sun or shade it is most valuable for the 

 spring or rock garden, or for a border of 

 choice hardy bulbs, and where it is suffi- 

 ciently plentiful, for edgings to American 

 plants in peat soil. The bulbs are white 

 and oblong, resembling a dog's tooth, 

 hence its name. It is increased by divid- 

 ing the bulbs every two or three years, 

 and replanting rather deeply. C. Europe. 

 There are now many varieties white, 

 purple, rose, and violet. I have planted 

 them largely in grass, and find they thrive 

 in any soil in that way, and are very early 

 and pretty both in leaf and flower, 

 scattered in groups and colonies in turf. 



E. AMERICANUM (Yellow Adder 's- 

 tongue). Common in the woods of the 

 eastern states of N. America. Its pale 

 green leaves are mottled, and commonly 

 dotted with purple and white. Flowers 

 i inch across, pale yellow, and spotted 

 near the base ; on slender stalks 6 to 

 9 inches high in May. A variety (E. brac- 

 teatum) differs in having a bract developed, 

 as E. grandiflorum sometimes has. It is 

 very pretty, but being somewhat shy to 

 flower, is seldom seen in cultivation. In 

 poor, sandy soil, this little plant blooms 

 better than in compact or cold soil. 



E. GIGANTEUM. A variety of E. grandi- 

 florum. Its showy flowers of pure white 

 have a ring of bright orange-red, and 

 measure 3 inches in diameter. It is found 

 in California at an elevation of 6000 to 

 10,000 feet, and also in Vancouver's 

 Island. 



E. GRANDIFLORUM. The only cultivated 

 kind with more than one flower on a stem. 

 In a peat bed, with Lilies and other peat- 

 loving plants, it is very fine, and produces 

 as many as five flowers on a stem. 



2 G 



