NEW ZEALAND FLAX 575 
plants, and with occasional spongings the leaves keep wonderfully well. 
The best soil for potting is a compost of rich loam and leaf-mould in 
equal portions, with a little sand added. The variegated form should 
be potted in poor soil, or it soon becomes green. The drainage should 
be efficient, as they require a good deal of moisture during the summer. 
When repotting is necessary, it should be carried out early in the year, 
before the new growth begins. Care should be taken not to damage 
the rootstock ; and it is well to keep the plant for a short time under a 
closed frame, to enable it to get well established. Propagation is effected 
by division. 
Description of Aspidistra lwrida, one-fourth less than the natural 
Plate 266. size, with leaves and flowers. Fig. 1 is a section through 
the singular flower, showing the parts. 
NEW ZEALAND FLAX 
Natural Order Liniacea. Genus Phormium 
PxHorMiuM (Greek, phormos, a basket or plaited mat; from the use 
to which the leaves and fibres are put). A genus of two species of 
fleshy-rooted perennials, with rigid sword-shaped leaves in opposite rows, 
clasping each other at the base. From the centre of the tuft rises 
a tall, slightly zigzag flower-stem, with alternate short flower-spikes 
from the axils of large bracts. The flowers are tubular, with a 
perianth of six erect divisions, the three inner with spreading tips. 
The six stamens project beyond the mouth of the flower. ‘There is a 
three-celled ovary, a three-sided style ending in a simple stigma; 
and the fruit is a three-sided, three-valved capsule, with two rows of 
flattened black seeds in each cell. They are natives of New Zealand. 
ae Captain Cook, on his first visit to the New Zealanders, 
found the fibres of Phormium tenax in general use for the 
manufacture of many useful articles, including clothing, baskets, fishing- 
nets, mats, ete. Itwas not until 1789 that living specimens reached 
this country, and from that date many attempts have been made to 
grow it here for commercial purposes, but without success, most of our 
winters being too severe for it. In many places in the South of England 
it is quite hardy in gardens; but this, of course, is a very different 
matter from growing it in open fields, as would be necessary for 
commerce. Great quantities of the leaves and fibres are imported 
annually for the purpose of manufacturing ropes and twine. The 
