1g2 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
D. STAMINEA (prominent stamens). Stems 3 feet high. Leaves 
broad, lance-shaped, woolly beneath. Flowers white, fragrant ; corymbs 
many-flowered; May and June. Native of Himalaya. 
Deutzias are hardy shrubs in the South of England, 
and may be grown in the border, but a wintry spring 
is likely to spoil that season’s floral display so far as these plants are 
concerned. It has, therefore, been customary to grow them more as 
pot-plants, and as subjects for forcing in order that their flowers may 
be available in the first days of the year. They are not particular as 
to soil or position, but a rich loam is the most suitable. For potting 
this should be improved by the incorporation of well-rotted cow- 
manure and sharp sand. Cuttings should be taken from the lateral 
shoots, and slipped off with a heel. These may be rooted in a shady 
border or in a cold frame. In autumn they should be potted if required 
for indoor use, or planted out in the shrubbery border. Those in pots 
should be placed in cold frames, where they will gradually develop 
during the winter, and from which they may be taken in succession 
and brought into a higher temperature gradually. They do well 
between 45° and 50°, producing leaves as well as flowers, whereas at 
a higher temperature the flowers precede the leaves. For foreing 
“D. gracilis stands unrivalled, but the same plant should not be forced 
two seasons in succession. 
Description of A flowering shoot of Deutzia gracilis, reduced about 
Plate 91. one-third from the natural size. The extra figures are— 
I, an enlargement of the flower; 2, a section of the same; 3, a stamen, 
4, the calyx and female organs, after removal of the petals and stamens. 
Cultivation. 
JAPANESE SPIREA 
Natural Order SAxrrRAGEH Genus Astilbe 
ASTILBE (Greek, a, without, and stilbe, lustre or brightness, from the 4 : 
smallness of the flowers). A small genus of branching herbs, with 
slender stems and compound leaves. The flowers are similar to those 
of the genus Sazifraga. Stamens eight or ten; earpels three. They 
are natives of Asia and North-East America. As garden plants they 
are distinctly modern, all having been introduced during ‘the present 
century. Astilbe japonica may be said to have a_ history, which ee 
consists, however, of a record of its being bandied about from one genus 
to another. Formerly regarded as a species of Spirewa, it was not only 
