SAPONAKIA. 



45 



SAUCERS. 



cannot conveniently be obtained to running 

 streams or to the seashore, in some parts 

 of which fine sand is found, which is most 

 useful for gardening and gricultural pur- 

 poses, the sweepings of the streets and 

 roads, especially the grit blown on to the 

 side-walks of streets in windy and dry 



SAXIFRAGE FOR ROCK-WORK. 



weather, will furnish sand of an excellent 

 quality for plant culture. And the sand 

 that is washed by heavy rainfalls down 

 roads or the channels of streets, between 

 the curb of the side-walks and the roadway, 

 and deposited in some hollow under the 

 hedge in the former, or at the mouth of a 

 gully -hole in the latter, is equally desirable. 

 Grit of this kind is known as road sand. It 

 forms a useful ingredient in compost for the 

 culture of the auricula. 



When thoroughly washed, and all par- 

 ticles of clay extracted, let it be thrown 

 into a heap, sheltered from the rain, and 

 turned until it is thoroughly aerated ; it 

 should then be harvested in a dry place 

 till wanted for use. Silica is a constituent 

 of all the grasses, and is absolutely neces- 

 sary for all those cultivated in our hot- 

 houses and gardens : it is also a necessary 

 ameliorator in all clay soils. Its value, 

 therefore, is beyond calculation to the 

 gardener. 



Sapona'ria (nat. ord. Caryophyll'ese). 



Of these charming little plants it is im- 

 possible to speak too highly ; they carpet 



the ground with their pretty little star- 

 shaped flowers during the summer and 

 autumn months. For edgings they are 

 unequalled, bearing cutting back, if neces- 

 sary, for a late autumn bloom ; in beds they 

 produce a fine effect, while in ribbons, the 

 pink, rose, and white make a striking com- 

 bination. The hardy perennial trailer, 

 Saponaria ocymoides, or Rock Soapwort, 

 flowers so profusely in the spring and early 

 summer months as literally to present to 

 the eye a sheet of rosy pink : a fine rock- 

 plant. Chief among the annuals are S. 

 Calabrica, with flowers of a rich deep pink, 

 ft. , and its varieties, S. C. rosea and S. C. 

 alba, with rose and pure white flowers. 



Saucers. 



It is better to avoid the use of saucers for 

 plants in pots because, instead of the drain- 

 age being able to soak away, the water 

 remains in them and is apt to be taken by 

 absorption into the pot and soil again, and 

 to render the latter sour. To keep plants 



THICK-LEAVED SAXIFRAGE, OR SOW's EAR. 



healthy the shelves on which they stand 

 should be covered with slate, the joints 

 being run in with cement, or a ledge 3 inches 

 wide should be nailed to the edge of the slieii 

 and gravel, or shingle, to the depth of 2 

 inches be placed on it. The pots are then 

 placed on the slate or shingle, as the case 

 may be, and the drainage being thorough 

 the plants remain healthy and unharmed. 

 The roots, moreover, will generally run in 

 the shingle. 



