RUMEX. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SAGINA. 



787 



Excepting R. maxima, I have, in a long j 

 gardening experience, found no difficulty in 

 maintaining a stock of all these cone-flowers. ! 

 R. pinnata, R. laciniata, R. hirta ripen plenty 

 of seed every year. I never found ripe seed ! 

 on any of the others, but they are all easily i 

 divided ; the whole tribe likes a rich moist I 

 soil and a warm aspect. C. WoLLEY-DOD. 



RUMEX (Dock}. The only one worth j 

 growing is our great native Water Dock I 

 (R. Hydrolapathum), sufficiently striking ! 

 for a place amongst ornamental subjects ! 

 by the water-side. Its leaves, sometimes j 

 2 ft. or more in length, form erect and : 

 imposing tufts ; while its flowering stem, i 

 frequently 6 ft. in height, has a dense, 

 pyramidal panicle of an olive-fawn or 

 reddish colour. In autumn the leaves 

 change to a lurid red, a colour they retain 

 for some time. A root or two deposited 

 in the mud near the bank of a pond or 

 a slow stream will require no further j 

 attention. 



RUSCUS (Butchers Brooui}. These ! 

 are distributed throughout Europe, North j 

 Africa, and temperate Asia. All the I 

 hardy kinds may be planted under the 

 drip and shade of trees where few other 

 evergreens could exist. Propagate by ; 

 division of the roots. The R. aculeatus ! 

 (Common Butcher's Broom) is a native of j 

 our copses and woods, with curious I 

 prickly leaves, or rather substitutes for | 

 leaves, and small greenish flowers which 

 appear in April, and succeeded by bright j 

 red berries about the size of Peas. This i 

 dense, much-branched Evergreen rarely ! 

 grows more than 2 ft. high, and its thick, ! 

 white, twining roots strike deep into the 

 ground. The Alexandrian Laurel (R. 

 racemosus) is an elegant shrub with glossy 

 dark green leaves. Its stems are valuable 

 for cutting from either in winter or at any 

 other season. It is one of the best j 

 plants for partial shade, and should have ! 

 deep loamy soil, but thrives on chalk. S. j 

 Europe. R. Hypophyllum, a very dwarf j 

 kind, and R. Hypoglossum are not im- | 

 portant. 



RUTA (Rue]. The common Rue (R. 

 graveolens) is not ornamental, but R. ! 

 albiflora is a graceful autumn-flowering j 

 plant about 2 ft. high, with leaves re- 

 sembling those of the common Rue, but i 

 more glaucous and finely divided. The 

 small white blossoms, borne profusely in I 

 large terminal drooping panicles, last until 

 the frosts. In some localities it is hardy, 

 but, unless planted against a wall, should 

 generally have slight protection in severe j 

 weather. It is also know r n as Bcenning- ' 

 hausenia albiflora. Nepaul. Another 

 pretty plant is the Padua Rue (R. patavina), 

 4 to 6 in. high, with small golden-yellow 



flowers of the same odour as the common 

 Rue, and the plant is about as hardy as 

 R. albiflora. 



SABBATIA (American Centaury]. 

 Pretty N. American plants of the Gentian 

 family. The species introduced are S. 

 chloroides, with large pink flowers ; S. 

 campestris, with light rose flowers ; and S. 

 angularis, with purplish-red flowers. S. 

 chloroides, being found in bogs, requires a 

 very moist spot ; S. campestris, an open 

 and drier place ; S. angularis, a sheltered 

 situation and partial shade, in imitation of 

 that afforded by the vegetation amongst 

 which it grows wild. The soil should con- 

 sist of equal parts of good fibry loam and 

 finely-sifted leaf-mould, with enough sand 

 to make it open. Seed, w r hich should be 

 sown in summer. The seedlings should 

 be potted off before they become in the 

 least drawn, or they will make weak 

 plants, and they should be wintered in a 

 cold airy frame. In spring repeatedly 

 stopping the shoots will induce them to 

 form bushy plants before flowering. All 

 are biennial and should be raised annually. 



SACCHARUM. S. agyptiacum is a 

 vigorous perennial Grass, forming tufts of 

 reed-like downy stems, 6 to 10 ft. high, and 

 clothed with graceful foliage. It is suited 

 for the margins of pieces of water and for 

 pleasure-grounds, and requires a warm 

 position. In our climate it does not 

 flower, but is a good plant from its 

 leaves and habit. Division in spring, and 

 the offsets should be started in a frame 

 or pit : in May or June they may be 

 planted out. N. Africa. S. Maddeni is 

 a quick-growing hardy perennial, about 5 

 ft. high, w^ith graceful leaves, and is well 

 worthy of growing with other large Grasses. 



SAGINA (Pearhvorf.-The only species 

 worthy of culture is the Lawn Pearlwort 

 (S. glabra), a plant very generally known 

 in consequence of being much talked of 

 a few years since as a substitute for lawn 

 Grass, though it has not answered the 

 expectations formed of it. It is none 

 the less a pretty little alpine plant, 

 forming on level soils carpets almost as 

 smooth as velvet, and these in early 

 summer are starred with pretty little 

 white flowers. It is multiplied by pulling 

 the tufts into small pieces and then 

 replanting them a few inches apart, when 

 they soon meet and form a carpet. Al- 

 though S. glabra does not generally form 

 a permanent or satisfactory turf, yet by 

 selecting a rather deep sandy soil a 

 turf may be made, but it must be kept 

 perfectly clean and well rolled, and this 

 is rarely worth attempting. When the 

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