258 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Leucothoe continued. 



hairs on the under surface. Young branches clothed with 

 powdery down. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1765. 

 L. Catesbaji (Catesby's). fl. white, exhaling the unpleasant 

 odour of Chestnut blossoms ; sepals ovate-oblong, not overlapping 

 in the flower. May. I. ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, and taper- 

 ing into a long and slender acumination, serrulate throughout, 

 conspicuously petioled. h. 2ft. to 4ft. North America. Svxs. 

 Andromeda CatesbaA (B. M. 1955) and A. axiUarig (B. M. 

 2357). 



L. Davisiffi (Mrs. Davis').* /. white, recurved, pendulous; 

 racemes nearly sessile, many - flowered, erect, forming close 

 terminal panicles. I. oblong, obtuse at both ends, obscurely 

 serrulate, bright green, h. 3ft. to 5ft. California, 1853. (B. M. 

 6247.) 



L. racemosa (racemose).* fl. white ; racemes or spikes mostly 

 solitary, erect or ascending ; sepals lanceolate-ovate, very acute. 

 May and June. 1. oblong or oval-lanceolate, acute, serrulate, 

 somewhat pubescent when young, and on the midrib beneath. 

 h. 4ft. to 10ft. North America. (W. D. B. 36, under name of 

 Andromeda spicata.) 



L. recurva (recurved). fl. white ; racemes spreading or recurved ; 

 sepals ovate. June. 1. more acuminate than in L. racemosa- 

 North America. This species is dwarfer and more straggling than 

 L. raeemoia. SYN. Andromeda recurva. 



LEUZEA (named in honour of De Leuze, a friend 

 of De Candolle). SYN. Rhacoma. OED. Composites. A 

 genus comprising three species of hardy herbaceous peren- 

 nials, one broadly dispersed through the western region 

 of the Mediterranean, another from Portugal, and the 

 third from Spain. Flower-heads purplish, large ; involucre 

 ovoid or sub-globose, shining; receptacle densely sub- 

 paleaceous, setose. Leaves alternate or radical, dentate 

 or pinnatifid, hoary-tomentose underneath. Only one 

 species L. conifera is in cultivation. This is a pretty, 

 rather strong-growing, interesting plant. It requires an 

 ordinary garden soil, and may be increased by seeds, or 

 by divisions of the plants, in spring. 



L. conifera (cone-bearing), fl.-heads purple; involucre scaly, 

 glabrous. July. I. lanceolate. Stem simple, one-headed, h. 

 9in. South Europe. 1683. 



LEVELLING. A scientific knowledge of Levelling, 

 sufficiently exact for land surveying, is rarely expected 

 of a gardener; but, in the execution of ordinary ground 

 work, an acquaintance with the principles, and the method 

 of applying them according to requirements, will be of 

 he utmost importance. Levelling is a term similarly 

 applied to the equalising of soil, either on a horizontal 

 or an inclined plane surface. When the preparation of 

 land, by digging, for the reception of seeds or crops, is 

 the only object in view, the surface will generally be 

 rendered level enough with the spade or rake, if their 

 use is guided under the eye of a practical workman. In 

 the formation of an edging of any description, the making 

 or gravelling of walks, turf-laying on lawns, draining 

 operations, &c., some method, in accordance with scien- 

 tific teaching, must be adopted, if satisfactory results 

 would be attained. The difference in permanent work, 

 as above named, executed on a definite plan, regarding 

 the Levelling or the natural inclination of the soil, and 

 that performed in a haphazard way, is widely marked, 

 even on its completion, and more so when tested, after- 

 wards, by heavy rains. Where the general surface of 

 garden land is flat, or nearly so, Levelling is of greater 

 importance, in order to dispose of any superfluous rain 

 or other water which may collect. A slight incline will 

 cause water to flow, but an obstruction to the same ex- 

 tent will similarly check its course ; and, as inequali- 

 ties of this sort cannot with certainty be avoided where 

 the uses of levels are ignored, their value in securing 

 a uniform surface on any plane will be readily seen. 

 Eeference may first be made to the theodolite, a 

 rather expensive instrument, principally used in land sur- 

 veying, for measuring the horizontal or the vertical 

 angle between two distant objects. It consists of a 

 small telescope, which may be raised or lowered ac- 

 cording as the disposition of the ground may require, j 

 the angle in either direction being ascertained by I 

 two graduated circles, which are attached. The in- I 



Levelling continued. 



strument is provided with a spirit-level and adjusting 

 screws, for fixing its proper position. On ascertaining 

 the apparent level at the opposite end, through the tele- 

 scope, the amount of rise or fall in the distance will 

 be indicated, and a calculation will show how much it 

 is in a given distance. Far less expensive, and, more- 

 over, invaluable instruments for Levelling purposes gene- 

 rally, are a good spirit-level, an ordinary straight-edge, 

 and three borning-rods. The spirit-level, in its simple 

 form, consists of a glass cylinder tube, filled with spirit, 

 except a very small space, which is occupied by a 

 bubble of air. The tube is sometimes fixed in the 

 centre of a straight-edge ; but this plan is not to be 

 recommended, on account of the liability of the latter 

 to become crooked. A more certain method is that of 

 fixing it exactly in the middle of a piece of hard wood, 

 having a plane surface on all sides. The air-bubble, 

 being lighter than spirit, will rise in the tube, when- 

 ever either end is placed above the horizontal line. A 

 straight-edge should be made of a strip of wood, not 

 liable to warp easily, and its edges should be planed 

 straight and even as frequently as they get the least 

 otherwise. Borning-rods are about 4ft. long, and have 

 a strip of wood placed exactly at right angles across 

 their tops, and painted respectively red, white, and either 

 black or blue, in order to distinguish each readily from the 

 other. When made of an equal length, and placed in 

 line, all the tops must run evenly when viewed from 

 either end. Sometimes one rod is made longer than 

 the others, and a very small hole is bored through the 

 strip at the exact height of the others, so that the eye 

 may not be misguided. By sufficient practice, Levelling 

 may be very exactly carried out with the borning-rods, 

 after the spirit-level and straight-edge have aided in 

 fixing the proper position for the pegs at the two ends. 

 An insertion of ordinary wooden pegs, at distances of 

 about 8ft. apart, will be a sufficient guide for forming 

 a dead level surface, or for equalising a fall throughout 

 a given length. There are other forms of levels, but 

 those referred to will be found sufficient for all garden- 

 ing purposes. 



LEVISTICUM (a corruption of Ligustikon, the 

 name given by Dioscorides to another Umbellifer). 

 ORD. UnibelliferoB. A monotypic genus. L. officinale 

 is a hardy herbaceous perennial, with yellow flowers, 

 and ternately- decompound leaves, having deeply-toothed 



FIG. 400. LEWISIA REDIVIVJ 



