DESCRIPTIVE AND SELECTIVE. 261 



because it fosters close, neat growth. Most of the 

 Houseleeks like lime. They are easily propagated 

 by the offsets which they form in late summer ; these 

 may be taken off and pressed close together in the 

 sides of a small, firm mound of soil, and will root in 

 time to be planted out the following spring. If a few 

 of them are pressed into pellets made of cow manure 

 and moist soil, they can be established almost any- 

 where. They all like sunshine, and flower in summer. 

 The following are a few of the best species : arach- 

 noideum, the " Cobweb Houseleek,'* so called on 

 account of the downy threads which over-run the 

 rosettes ; it is a European Alpine, with red flowers ; 

 there are a good many varieties of it, of which Hans- 

 manni and Laggeri are two of the best. Montanum 

 is an Alpine with rose flowers. Tabulae forme and its 

 variegated form used to be a good deal used for making 

 the divisional lines of designs by carpet-bedders, and 

 are still planted a good deal ; they form flat plates ; 

 not quite hardy. Tectorum, with light red flowers, 

 is the common Houseleek ; there are several forms 

 Funckii (see coloured plate) has purplish flowers. 



SENECIO. — ^The fact that the common groundsel 

 is a Senecio hardly tends to commend this genus to 

 flower-lovers, but it contains several good garden 

 plants. The best of them are better suited for the bog 

 garden than the rockery proper. This applies to the 

 new Chinese species, Clivorum, and to the magnificent 

 macrophyllus ^ both of which have yellow flowers 

 and handsome foliage, green in the case of the former, 

 glaucous blue in that of the latter. Of the Alpine 



