HARDY PERENNAL PLANTS. 177 



Spring. They come safely through a temperature of several degrees be- 

 low zero, but just how much cold they will stand I am unable to state. 

 The plants thrive best in the shade of dwellings, or anywhere except 

 under the shade of trees, and in positions where direct sunlight reaches 

 them during the middle of the day. The bulbils pass the Winter success- 

 fully fully exposed on the surface of the soil, but precautions must be 

 taken to provide against rapid thawing and freezing. When the bulbils 

 are left to themselves they usually sprout too thickly together. The 

 weaker plants should therefore be thinned out, to give those which are 

 left full opportunity to develop, otherwise their period of blooming will 

 be short. To have plants early in bloom the bulbils may be harvested 

 shortly after the plants are done blooming, kept during the Winter in 

 a bottle and sown in time to have the plants in 3-inch pots by the mid- 

 dle of May. Notwithstanding the many fine varieties of Begonias for 

 bedding, this is one of the best for borders which get the benefit of full 

 light from the north. 



BOCCONIA CORDATA (Plume Poppy) Probably the most imposing 

 in appearance of all hardy herbaceous plants, making growths of from 

 6 to 10 feet high. The plant has a grayish green appearance. The 

 leaves are large and much cut up, or lobed. The flowers, borne in large 

 terminal panicles, are not showy, but they harmonize grandly with the 

 foliage. The plant is well fitted for isolated positions on lawns, among 

 shrubs, or for large herbaceous borders. While thriving best in deeply 

 worked, fairly rich soil it will succeed in stiff and poor ground. Seeds, 

 of which a medium-sized plant will produce large numbers, are best for 

 propagating in large quantities. They should be germinated in April 

 and the seedlings potted off when small. The plant is also increased 

 from suckers, which are produced in abundance. It is a native of China 

 and Japan, and very hardy. 



CALLIRHOE A genus belonging to the same family as the Abutilon 

 (Malvaceae). C. involucrata, the most useful species, has long, trailing 

 stems, with fair-sized purplish red flowers in the axils of the leaves. It 

 spreads very rapidly during the Summer months. A good subject for 

 borders of moderate width. It should be propagated from seed. Old 

 plants need to be frequently renewed, as they seem to exhaust them- 

 selves, probably owing to their rampant growth. In C. i. linearifolia the 

 leaves are smaller a good form for the rockery. 



CAMPANULA (Bellflower) The perennial species are nearly all desira- 

 ble border or rockwork plants, but a few of them become troublesome 

 by increasing too fast. C. rapunculoides, when once it becomes estab- 

 lished on rockwork, is sometimes very difficult to keep under control. 

 None of the kinds usually grown is hard to manage thriving in ordinary 

 garden soil. They are propagated most freely from seeds. The best 

 time for the operation is in late Summer, wintering the seedlings in 

 frames so that the plants may be in good condition for planting out 

 early the following Spring. C. persicifolia and its forms are easily in- 

 creased by division, which should be done after the flowering season. 

 The species in cultivation range in height from 2 or 3 inches to several 

 feet; but the rare dwarf kinds are seldom seen in America, nor do they 



