GARDEN FLOWERS. 25 



summer. It is chiefly cultivated for the leaves, which pos- 

 sess a pleasant lemon-like fragrance, whence the common 

 name " Lemon verbena." The flowers are in spikes purplish- 

 white and inconspicuous. Soil, sandy loam and leaf-mould. 

 Propagated by cuttings, which root freely in sand in March 

 from the old wood, in August from the new. 



A. citriodora (lemon-scented) ; greenhouse shrub ; i to 5 feet ; 

 flowers purplish-white, in summer ; Chili ; 1784. 



ALSINE. [Caryophyllaceae.] Hardy annuals, some of 

 which are rather pretty. A. laricifolia, introduced from Si- 

 beria in 1834, is a perennial ; propagated by division. A. 

 mucronafa, molluginea, pubescens, and segetalis, are pretty an- 

 nual species with white flowers. Propagated by seeds. 



ALTHAEA. Marsh Mallow. [Malvaceae.] Hardy annuals, 

 biennials, and perennials, but, excepting the Hollyhocks (A. 

 rosea and ficifolia J, of little horticultural importance. Com- 

 mon garden soil. Propagated, the annuals and biennials, by 

 seeds ; the perennials, by division of the root. 



The Hollyhock (Althcea rosea) is a noble flower ; and the 

 varieties are becoming so numerous, and so much improved, 

 that it is an established favorite. It is raised from seed, and 

 multiplied by parting the roots ; the former to produce new 

 varieties, the latter to propagate old ones. In autumn the 

 old plants must be dug up and parted, each heart being 

 separated with a portion of root to it. These are to be 

 planted out in a nursery-bed one foot apart, or they may 

 be ' planted at once where they are to bloom. They will 

 stand three years, or even more, if a large plant and a num- 

 ber of spikes of flower be the object. Even in parting them, 

 they need not be divided into single hearts, unless increase 

 is desired. Choice varieties may be increased by cuttings of 

 the flowering stems ; every leaf, with a portion of the old 

 stem containing a bud, being capable of forming a plant if 



