:he sno 

 There d 



Hiding their modest and beautiful heads 

 Under the hawthorn iu soft mossy beds. 



Sweet as the roses and blue as the sky, 

 Down there do the dear little violets lie, 

 Hiding their heads where they scarce may be seen 

 By the leaves you may know where the violet hath 

 been." MoULTRiii. 



Vaccinia' cese). 

 This is the name of a 

 large genus which in- 

 cludes the Whortleberry 

 (Vaccinitim myrtilhis], a 

 pretty little heath-like shrub with droop- 

 ing flowers and showy fruit. The 

 Whortleberry is also known as the 

 Bilberry, Bleaberry, and Blueberry. The 

 Cranberry (Oxy coccus) belongs to the same 

 order, but to a different genus. The 

 Vacciniums require peaty soil. 



Vale'rian (nat. ord. Valeria'neae). ' 



Perennial plants suitable for rock-work. 

 The best known is Valeriana officinalis, 

 the Common Valerian, also called All 

 ileal and St. George's Herb, noticeable 



for its pink flowers growing in loose 

 corymbs. They are propagated by divi- 

 sion of the roots, and do well in any ordi- 

 nary soil. 



Vallisne'ria (nat. ord. Hydrocha^ 

 rid'ese). 



A curious and most interesting water- 

 plant ( Valiisneria spiralis, also called Eel 

 Grass and Tape Grass), and named after 

 Antonio Vallisneri, an Italian botanist. 

 It should be potted in turfy loam, and 

 the pot sunk in the water-tank of a green- 

 house or conservatory. The male and 

 female flowers are on different plants the 

 latter rise on a spiral stalk to the surface, 

 while the former are produced at the 

 bottom. " Before the anthers burst to 

 discharge the pollen," says Mrs. Loudon, 



53Q 



