CRAM BE. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CRATVEGUS. 



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shoots are in many cases crowded with 

 them for some distance. It is useful for 

 grouping here and there, its main value, 

 however, being from the beauty of its 

 berries. Himalayas. 



C. horizontalis (Plumed C.). In this 

 the branches are frond-like and almost 

 horizontal, while the small leaves are 

 regularly disposed along the thick sturdy 

 branches. A charm of this species is the 

 manner in which the leaves die off in the 

 autumn : frequently the leaves will be of 

 a glowing red colour, with the exception 

 of those on the tips of the shoots. The 

 berries are very showy, bright vermilion, 

 and the flowers large and pretty. China. 



C. microphylla (Wall C.). An ever- 

 green clothed with tiny deep-green leaves, 

 in spring crowded with whitish blossoms, 

 the berries crimson, and, if untouched, 

 remaining on the plants for a long time. 

 There are some well-marked varieties of 

 C. microphylla, one of which thymifolia 

 is smaller in all its parts, while congesta 

 is even more of a procumbent habit. C. 

 microphylla is useful for sloping banks or 

 like positions, while it will cover a wall 

 with such a dense mass that nothing else 

 can be seen. Again, in the larger parts 

 of the rock-garden a place may be found 

 for it ; and its variety, congesta, is more 

 at home when draping a large stone than 

 in any other way. On the lawn the 

 spreading shoots dispose themselves in a 

 very pretty way when planted as a small 

 group. Himalayas. 



C. rotundifolia is like the preceding, 

 but with thicker branches and rounder 

 leaves. The berries are of a brighter 

 tint. Both these species may, where a 

 group of the larger Cotoneasters is planted, I 

 be used for the outskirts of the clump. 



CRAMBE. One of the finest of j 

 hardy and large-leaved herbaceous 

 plants, as easily grown as the common : 

 Seakale, and in rich ground having [ 

 many stout leaves and dense sprays of 

 small white flowers. C. cordifolia may be 

 planted wherever a bold type of vege- 

 tation is desired. C. juncea, a dwarf 

 kind, has white flowers and much- 

 branched stems, the ramifications of 

 which are elegant, but it is not so valuable 

 as C. cordifolia. 



CEAT^SGUS (Thorns). Beautiful 

 hardy flowering trees, of which some of the 

 most beautiful kinds are seldom seen out- 

 side botanical gardens : many are charm- 

 ing for their flowers, others for their 

 pretty fruits, while in a few the habit is 

 picturesque. Perhaps the most beautiful 

 of all is C. Oxyacantha, the Hawthorn or 

 Whitethorn, and its varieties have every 



gradation of tint from deep crimson, 

 through pinks, to the snowy whiteness of 

 the double sort. Paul's Double Scarlet, 

 the double pink, double white, the single 

 scarlet (Punicea), rose (Carminata or 

 Rosea), and various others are precious 

 for the garden. Some varieties, like the 

 graceful Pendula, are remarkable for their 

 habit, others have distinct foliage, and a 

 few differ as regards fruit, there being 

 white and yellow-berried varieties. 



Other species deserving of a place in 

 gardens are many. A selection of the best 

 includes : The Cockspur Thorn (C. Crus- 

 galli), from North America, usually about 

 10 ft. high, is remarkable for peculiar 

 growth, especially the variety pyracanthi- 

 folia. In this the branches spread out 

 like a table, and the older the tree be- 

 comes the more pronounced the table-like 

 growth. Other distinct sorts of the Cock- 



spur Thorn are nana, linearis, ovalifolia, 

 and prunifolia. The Scarlet-fruited Thorn, 

 also North American, is beautiful both 

 when covered with white bloom in early 

 summer or with scarlet fruits in autumn. 

 The Tansy-leaved Thorn (C. tanaceti- 

 folia) is distinct in foliage, with cut leaves 

 of a whitish hue, and it is one of the 

 latest Thorns to flower. C. Azarolus, 

 Aronia, and orientalis are all natives of 

 the Levant, and they are so beautiful in 

 autumn, with fine-coloured fruits as big 

 as Hazel nuts, that they deserve a place. 

 One specimen of any of these on a lawn 

 would be sufficient in a small garden, as 

 they are spreading, and in good soils 1 5 

 or 20 ft. high. The Washington Thorn 

 (C. cordata) flowers when all the others 

 are past ; hence its value. C. glandulosa, 

 also known as C. flava, has yellow fruits. 

 C. Douglasi has dark-purple haws, and C. 

 melanocarpa and C. nigra have black 

 haws. The Pyracantha (C. Pyracantha), 

 so common as a wall climber, is a favourite 

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