180 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



HAL 



name ; tho seeds are curiously winged. This 

 species improves by cultivation, and thrives 

 well in a poor soil, preferring one near water. 

 It is readily increased by layering, or from 

 seed. 



Halimode'iidron. Salt-tree. From halimos, 

 sea-coast, and dendron, a tree ; referring to its 

 native habitat. Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



H. argenteum, the only species, is a very 

 hardy shrub with silvery hairy leaves and 

 pinkish papilionaceous flowers produced in 

 axillary peduncles in May or June. It is a 

 native of Siberia, in dry salt fields. It is a 

 very elegant shrub for a bleak seacoast, and 

 will thrive better if a little salt is mixed with 

 the soil where it grows. This species is sent 

 out by nurserymen under its former name, 

 Caragana argentea. 



Halle'ria. Named after Albert Holler, author of 

 several botanical works. Nat. Ord. Scrophu- 

 lariacece. 



A genus of ornamental green-house ever- 

 green glabrous shrubs, mostly natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. H. lucida, the African 

 Honeysuckle, has large reddish drooping 

 flowers, and is the species generally seen in 

 cultivation. It was introduced in 1752, and is 

 easily increased by cuttings. 



Haloraga'ceee. A natural order of herbs or 

 under-shrubs, often aquatic, with alternate 

 opposite or whorled leaves, and small, fre- 

 quently incomplete flowers. They are found 

 in damp places and slow streams, sometimes 

 submerged, in all parts of the world. The 

 order contains nine genera, and about eighty 

 species. Gunnera, Myriophyllum, and Hippuris, 

 are examples. 



Hamamelida'ceae. A small, natural order of 

 shrubs or trees, with alternate, feather-veined 

 leaves, and deciduous stipules, natives of sub- 

 tropical Asia, south Africa, and North 

 America. There are seventeen known genera, 

 including Hamamelis, Bucklandia, and Liquid- 

 ambar. 



Hamame'lis. The Witch Hazel. From hama, 

 together with, and mela, fruit ; referring to the 

 flowers and fruit being on this tree at the 

 same time. Nat. Ord. Hamamelidacece. 



H. Virginica is a native shrub, which will 

 grow freely in any soil that is not too rich, 

 though it prefers a dry stony gravel. It has 

 the peculiarity of flowering during winter, 

 beginning to expand its rich, deep yellow 

 flowers just as its leaves are falling off, and 

 dropping its flowers when its branches begin 

 to be reclothed with leaves in spring. The 

 shrub is celebrated for the extract distilled 

 from its bark and roots. Its seeds contain 

 a quantity of oil, and are edible, and a strong 

 decoction of its leaves is said to be a cure for 

 mad-dog bites. 



Hamilto'nia. Named after William Hamilton, 

 an eminent American botanist. Nat. Ord. 

 Rubiacece. 



A genus comprising three or four species of 

 ornamental, evergreen shrubs, natives of 

 India, China, and the Indian Archipelago. 

 Flowers white or blue, fascicled or umbellate ; 

 corolla, funnel-shaped. H. suaveolens, and H. 

 scabra, are cultivated for the sake of their 

 white fragrant flowers. Propagated by cut- 

 tings of the half-ripened wood. 



HAN 



Hand Glass. This is used to protect Melons, 

 Cucumbers, Tomatoes, or other tender plants, 

 on being set out early in the open ground. 

 They are usually about twenty inches square, 

 with a flat or conical top. A cheaper con- 

 trivance for the same purpose is a wooden 

 frame of about the same size, having a small 

 sash to fit the top. Thousands of these are 

 used by the London and Paris gardeners to 

 forward Cucumbers and Melons, but they are 

 less used here than formerly, as the growing 

 of vegetables in the Southern States for 

 northern markets renders their use no longer 

 profitable. 



Hanging Baskets. These are made in a great 

 variety of styles. Those known as "rustic" 

 baskets are made with a wooden bowl to hold 

 the soil, covered with roots of grotesque 

 shapes. They are mostly made of Laurel 

 (Kalmia) roots, which are well fitted to give the 

 basket the necessary rough-looking outer 

 covering. The bowls to hold the soil are from 

 six to fifteen inches in diameter, and of a pro- 

 portionate depth ; the three handles form a 

 triangle, meeting at the top, in which an eye 

 is fixed by which to suspend it. Another form 

 is made of wire, and these, when lined with 

 moss to prevent the soil from being washed 

 out, are far the best for the well-being of the 

 plants. Many other beautiful forms are made 

 from pottery ware to represent stumps, logs, 

 rocks, and other natural objects. The plants 

 used for filling hanging baskets of course 

 vary in accordance with the purpose for 

 which they are wanted. If for shady 

 rooms, shady verandas, or shady places 

 out doors, where there is not exposure to 

 drying winds, Mosses (Selaginellas) and Ferns 

 are sometimes used exclusively ; or, for the 

 same places, Ivies of all sorts, Tradescantias, 

 Moneywort (Lysimachia), Vincas, Ivy-leaved 

 Geraniums, Smilax, Climbing Fern, Fittonias, 

 etc., are plants suited to droop over the sides, 

 while, for the centre, upright plants such as 

 Draceenas and Crotons of sorts, Caladiums, 

 Marantas, Centaureas, Echeverias, Ferns, 

 Sanchezia nobilis, or any other plants of 

 striking form or foliage may be used. 



For baskets to be placed in the sunlight, or 

 partial sunlight, Coleus, Begonias, or bright 

 Geraniums should be used as center plants, 

 with Lobelias, Tropseolums, Petunias, To- 

 renias, Peristrophe, Sedums, etc., to droop. 

 It will be found of great benefit, after setting 

 out the plants in baskets, to cover the soil 

 with an inch or two of (Sphagnum) Moss, to 

 prevent it drying up too quickly ; for when 

 the basket is hung in the air, of course it 

 dries up much quicker than when placed on a 

 shelf in the green-house or on the ground; 

 and one of the main reasons for success with 

 hanging baskets is the careful attention to 

 watering, which is quickest and most thor- 

 oughly done by taking the basket down and 

 immersing it in a tub of water, so that the 

 soil is thoroughly soaked through. This will 

 be necessary once, twice, or thrice a week, 

 according to the position the basket is placed 

 in, the condition of the atmosphere, or the 

 state of the plants ; for, if in a shaded posi- 

 tion, it will require less water ; if the atmos- 

 phere is damp, less ; or if the plants have not 

 attained vigor of growth, less ; the opposite 

 of these conditions, more. The soil used in 



