206 ROCK GARDENING FOR AMATEURS 



drained loamy soil, and a partially shaded spot meet its 

 requirements. Propagation is best effected by cutting 

 up the roots in autumn, potting each piece with the top 

 just beneath the soil, and keeping them in a cold frame 

 until spring. It is known also as Macrotomia echioides. 



Artemisia. Half shrubby plants, chiefly European, 

 belonging to the Daisy family (Compositae). Artemisia 

 abrotanum is the well-known fragrant-leaved Old Man 

 or Southernwood. They are valued for the sake of their 

 pleasing grey foliage which is more or less scented. 

 Artemisia alpina, from the Caucasus, growing some nine 

 inches high, and bearing yellow flowers in July ; sericea, 

 a dwarf kind from Siberia, with beautiful silvery leaves ; 

 frigida, native of Siberia, nine inches high, having yellow 

 blooms in July, and vallesiaca, with graceful silvery leaved 

 stems about ten inches high, are the best for the rock 

 garden. They thrive best in a sunny situation, and in 

 rather poor soil. An increased stock may be raised by 

 taking cuttings in September. They are placed in pots 

 and kept in a cold frame during winter. 



Asarum (Wild Ginger or Snake Root). The Asarums 

 are more prized for their singularity than their beauty, 

 and they are not at all attractive to the ordinary cultivator 

 of rock plants. They belong to the natural order 

 Aristolochiaceae. Only a few of the small number of species 

 are procurable, and but few are hardy. They like a 

 little shade, and are best in rich, moist soil on the level. 

 They are of creeping habit, and bear curious bell- or urn- 

 shaped flowers. A. canadensis, native of Canada, is 



