i CULTURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 
growth is readily appropriated by this thirsty plant, which also revels in a warm atmos- 
phere. It is usually propagated by florists from sections of the root, as already. described 
under Bouvardia and elsewhere. It may, however, be rooted from small offshoots that 
grow on the side of the stem; and also from seeds, but this last method is rarely followed. 
HCHEVERIA. 
van ELONGING to the class of plants known as Houseleeks, which 
BY. are often carefully grown on the roofs of cottages and stables by 
many of the peasantry of ‘Europe, under a superstitious belief that 
they afford protection from lightning and other calamities, the 
Echeverias are a very ornamental, thick, flesh-leaved tribe of culti- 
vated plants. They are in demand for ornamental plants in houses, 
on rockwork and on high, sandy ground; as also sometimes for low edgings of 
beds and walks. Some of them look not unlike old, rusty iron; others have 
bluish-green leaves; and one variety, called the E. rotundifolia, or round-leaved, 
makes an elegant vase plant to surmount a pillar or parlor-stand. Being of the 
very easiest culture, almost anyone can cultivate them in nearly every condition of 
soil or climate; but an excess of water in cold weather will prove fatal. Some of the 
species flourish through the winter, sending out spike-like racemes, two or three feet in 
length, of a very waxy, flesh-colored appearance, which remain a long time on the stems. 
Other low-growing species have bright yellow flowers, after the manner of the Mossy 
Sedum or Wall-Pepper. They luxuriate in a loose, sandy soil, containing some leaf-mold, 
and though not dependent on a rigid regularity in the water supply, they should not be 
entirely neglected during the growing season. Side-shoots, or even the flower-stems, can 
be made the means of propagation, being set in clean sand and sparingly watered until 
rooted. 
ERYTHRINA. 
UDDY is the meaning of the botanic name, derived from the Greek, 
and the plant belongs to the widely-extended Pulse family, having, 
in common with most of the allied genera, a butterfly-shaped flower. 
There are several thousand species of the Pulse family —nine thou- 
sand, some one has computed —scattered throughout the world, and 
WER l for the most part they are of the highest utility in the animal economy 
AGY RS of the universe. Containing a relatively large proportion of nitrogenous and 
‘ bone building material, they are extensively used everywhere as food for man 
and beast, but nowhere as much used by human beings as would be for their 
well-being. The elegant Erythrina, sometimes called Coral Plant, ought 
to have a place in every outdoor collection; it is a fine object standing alone ina 
lawn or garden, its long racemes (often not less than two feet) of thick, waxy, coral-like 
(a 361 X 
or ty 
