GARDEN FLOWERS. 337 



earth, or a free light loam ; this is especially the case with 

 several of the smaller kinds. They multiply rapidly by 

 means of offsets, and their culture is very simple, for they 

 merely require planting in the autumn (the bulbs being 

 placed from two to four inches under ground, according to 

 their size), and they may then remain year after year. Ex- 

 cept for the sake of increase, the less they are disturbed the 

 better. There are something like three dozen species re- 

 corded as being in cultivation, all of which are worth plant- 

 ing in a garden. 



S. amcena (pleasing) ; hardy bulb ; 3 inches ; flowers blue, in 

 May; Levant; 1596. S. bifolia (two-leaved); hardy bulb; 3 

 inches ; flowers blue, in May ; Europe and Asia Minor. S. 

 campanulata (bell-flowered) ; hardy bulb ; I foot ; flowers blue, 

 white, or pink, in May ; Spain ; 1683. S. Italica (Italian) ; har- 

 dy bulb ; 9 inches ; flowers blue, in May ; Switzerland ; 1605. 

 S. prcecox (early) ; hardy bulb ; 3 inches ; flowers deep-blue, in 

 May; Siberia; 1790. S. Sibirica (Siberian); hardy bulb; 3 

 inches ; flowers blue, in May; Siberia; 1795. 



SCORPIURUS. [Leguminosae.] Hardy annuals. Common 

 soil. Increased by seeds. 



SCROPHULARIA. [Scrophularineae.] Hardy perennials. 

 Common soil, rather damp. Propagated by divison. 



SCUTELLARIA. Skull-cap. [Scrophularineae.] A rather 

 numerous family of dwarf herbaceous perennials, some of 

 which are very ornamental. They are mostly hardy, showy, 

 and worth growing in the mixed flower borders. They are 

 not particular as to soil, and are readily increased by division, 

 or, where the roots are indivisible, by planting as cuttings 

 the young shoots produced from the crowns of the roots in 

 spring. There is another class requiring greenhouse pro- 

 tection, at least in winter. These are increased by cuttings 

 planted in sandy soil, and placed in a mild hot-bed ; and 

 the plants should be potted into rich soil of loam and leaf- 

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