AMELANCHIEE 



BOSS OBDEB 



OSTEOMBLES 413 



the open air in the northern parts of the 

 kingdom. It may be planted against a 

 south wall in milder parts, or even grown 

 as a bush in the most favourable localities 

 of the south of England and Ireland. A 

 good well-drained garden soil or sandy 

 loam will suit it well. It may be increased 

 by cuttings of the half-ripened shoots 

 inserted in sandy soil under a handlight in 

 summer ; or it may be grafted in March 

 and April upon stocks of the common 

 Hawthorn or upon Cratmgus coccimea. 



AMELANCHIER (June Bbrky).- 

 This genus contains 4 species of pretty 

 shrubs or bushes, with alternate, stalked, 

 simple, deciduous, entire or serrate, often 

 woolly leaves. Flowers in racemes. Calyx 

 lobes 5, recurved, persistent. Petals 5. 

 Stamens many. Berry small. 



Culture and Propagation. — Amelan- 

 chiers thrive in a rich loamy soil, and may 

 be propagated in the same way as the 

 Cotoneasters (p. 410) by sowing seeds 

 out of doors or in cold frames as soon as 

 ripe; by cuttings of the half-ripened 

 shoots inserted in sandy soil under a 

 handlight in summer ; by layering the 

 shoots in autumn ; or by grafting on the 

 common A. vulga/ris about March. 



A. alnifolia. — A pretty N.W. American 

 shrub, about 8 ft. high. Leaves variable, 

 sometimes entire, sometimes serrate. 

 Flowers in spring, white, in compact 

 racemes, succeeded by brilliant purple 

 berries. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. canadensis {Pyrus Botryapium). — 

 Grape Peav. — A very handsome Canadian 

 shrub 6-8 ft. or more high. Leaves 

 oblong eUiptio, tailed, hairy when young, 

 and assuming rich mellow tints in autumn, 

 the under surface being of a deep 

 reddish or brownish purple colour. 

 Flowers in April, snowy white, in great 

 profusion. Fruits purple-crimson. There 

 are several varieties, of which florida, 

 ovaUs, pa/rvifolia, rotundifolia, ohlongi- 

 folia are more or less easily recognised 

 by their fohage. 



Culture dc. Bullfinches are very fond 

 of the flower buds. 



A. oligocarpa. — A bushy shrub 2-4 ft. 

 high, native of the Eastern United States. 

 It has smooth oblong acute leaves with 

 crenulate edges, and produces its white 

 flowers, each about | in. across, in April 



and May, either solitary or in pairs, but 

 rarely three or four in a raceme. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. sanguinea. — This differs from A. 

 canadensis chiefly in having shorter 

 racemes of flowers, oblong serrate leaves, 

 and blaekisbi-purple fruits. In the ' Kew 

 Handlist ' it is given as a synonym of 

 A. canadensis. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. Vulgaris {Mespilus Amelanchier). 

 This pretty European shrub, 3-9 ft. high 

 or more, has been cultivated for about 

 300 years. Leaves roundish-oval, downy 

 beneath, when young. Flowers in April, 

 white. Fruits dark purple. 



Culture dc. as above. 



OSTEOMELES.— A small genus of 

 trees and shrubs having alternate stalked 

 leathery leaves, usually simple and ever- 

 green, but compound in the species de- 

 scribed below. Flowers few or numerous, 

 borne in corymbose clusters. Calyx more 

 or less bell-shaped, adnate to the carpels, 

 and having 5 lance- or awl-shaped per- 

 sistent lobes. Petals 5, oblong spreading. 

 Stamens 10 or more. Carpels 5. Drupe 

 fleshy. 



O. anthyllidifolia. — A remarkable and 

 interesting Ghiuese evergreen shrub about 

 5 ft. high, with shghtly twisted and 

 gracefdlly inflected branches of a violet- 

 brown colour, and downy in a young 

 state. The oddly pinnate leaves consist 

 of 10 or 11 pairs of small opposite or 

 alternate oval-pointed leaflets, which are 

 very downy on both sides. From 10-25 

 long-stalked piu:e white Hawthorn-like 

 flowers are borne in a loose corymbose 

 cluster at the ends of the young shoots, 

 and are succeeded by small Cotoneaster- 

 like fruits, which change from green to 

 violet-red, and then black, with a hoary 

 bloom when fuUy ripe. 



Culture and Propagation. — ^This is a 

 comparatively new introduction to cultiva- 

 tion, and is too tender for growing in the 

 open air, except in the very mildest parts 

 of the country and in sheltered spots. It 

 flourishes in a mixture of sandy loam and 

 peat, and may be increased by seeds — if 

 obtainable — which should be sown as soon 

 as ripe in cold frames or greenhouses. 

 They will probably take a long time to 

 germinate, perhaps 12 months. Cuttings 

 ofthehalf-ripened shoots will root in amix- 

 ture of sandy loam and peat in July and 

 August if placed under a handlight and 



