116 HEDYSARUM 



HEDYSA'RUM. Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



H. corona'rium, French Honeysuckle. This is not 

 a climber, as one would suppose, but a showy 

 biennial 2 to 4 ft. high, bearing spikes of red 

 flowers in June to August. It is rather a 

 weedy plant and sows itself to an irritating 

 degree. There is a white flower also. Italy. 



Sow in spring or summer ^ in. deep for the 

 following year. 



HELIAN'THUS Sunflower (from Gr. helios, the sun, and 

 anthos, a flower). Nat. Ord. Composite. 



These well-known plants, all having yellow 

 flowers, are to be found in most gardens in one 

 form or another, even the cottage garden, and 

 with a dark background, such as a yew hedge or 

 woodland walk, they look very striking. But they 

 can be very easily misused and overdone, and a 

 row of the common tall Sunflower is anything but 

 original or artistic. It would be much wiser to 

 make a bold group instead of spreading them about 

 all over the place as one so often sees. Neither is 

 the giant-flowered kind the prettiest, with its huge 

 dark centre and fringe of comparatively small petals. 

 This is sometimes grown as a crop for economical 

 purposes in drills 18 ins. apart and 2J ft. between 

 the plants, returning about 50 bushels of seed per 

 acre. This is crushed into oil for oilcake, and is 

 also, un crushed, a valuable food for pheasants and 

 poultry. The leaves and haulm have also their 

 use as fodder and for extracting potash. All the 



