AUCUBA. 



22 



AZALEA. 



Atamasco Lily. — See Zephyran- 



THES. 



Atrage W. — RanunculacecB. — 

 This genus is nearly allied to Cle- 

 matis. The species are suffruticose 

 climbers, much admired for the beauty 

 of their flowers, and very suitable for 

 training against walls, or trellis-work, 

 or for covering bowers. They all 

 grow freely in any common garden 

 soil, and they are readily increased by 

 layers, or by cuttings of the growing 

 wood planted in sand under a hand- 

 glass. They also frequently ripen 

 seeds which ought to be sown imme- 

 diately, in which case they Avill come 

 up the following spring ; otherwise if 

 kept some months before sowing, they 

 will probably lie in the ground a year ; 

 all the species are beautiful, but A. 

 austriaca, with blue flowers, and A. 

 sibirica, with white flowers, are the 

 most ornamental. 



Aubrietia. — Cruciferce. — A 

 genus of pretty little plants, generally 

 with purple flowers, not above three 

 inches high, which flower in March, 

 and are admirably adapted for pots, or 

 miniature rockwork. They grow in 

 any common soil, and are readily pro- 

 pagated by division. A. deltoidea, 

 and A. purpurea, are the most 

 desirable species. 



Aucuba. — Loranthacece, or Cor- 

 nacecB. — A hardy evergreen shrub, 

 which, though a native of Japan, en- 

 dures the severest winters in the cli- 

 mate of London. It is common in 

 every garden, and it is often called 

 the Japan, or spotted laurel. The 

 leaves are leathery, and variegated ; 

 and the bark of the shoots is of a deep 

 pea-green. It will grow in any soil, 

 either in an open situation, or under 

 the drip of trees ; and it forms a 

 compact bush, which never requires 

 pruning. It is propagated by cuttings 

 or layers. The Acuba in British 

 gardens is supposed to be only the 

 female plant, as though it has 



been introduced above fifty years, it 

 has never ripened seeds, though it 

 flowers every spring ; and the species, 

 of which our variegated plant is evi- 

 dently only a variety, has never been 

 introduced. Botanists also appear to 

 have been much puzzled to know 

 where to place it ; as it was first con- 

 sidered to belong to Rhamnacese, with 

 the buckthorns, then to Loranthacese, 

 with the miseltoe ; and now to Cor- 

 naceae, with the dogwoods. 



Auricula. See Primula. 



Australian Shrubs have nearly all 

 a strong tap root, which sends out 

 very fiue fibres; they all require a 

 sandy loam, or peat, mixed with de- 

 cayed leaves ; and they should all be 

 frequently watered, but the water 

 never suffered to remain in a stagnant 

 state round their roots. They are all 

 easily killed by an excess of either 

 stagnant moisture, or drought, as in 

 the latter case the slender fibres of 

 the roots wither, and are seldom, if 

 ever, renewed ; and the seeds of nearly 

 all of them are very long before they 

 vegetate, unless steeped for at least 

 twenty-four hours in water, which 

 should be hot when poured on them. 

 All the Australian shrubs and trees 

 are very tenacious of life ; and when 

 apparently killed, they will generally, 

 if cut down, spring again from the 

 root. 



Azalea, L. — Ericacece. — Beauti- 

 ful shrubs, natives of North America, 

 and India ; the former growing freely 

 in the open air, but the latter requir- 

 ing the protection of a greenhouse. 

 They should be grown in peat earth, 

 heath mould, or very sandy loam ; 

 and provided the ground they grow 

 in is well drained, and they are never 

 allowed to become too dry, they will 

 thrive in almost any situation, though 

 they prefer the shade ; they may be 

 transplanted at almost any age, or 

 season, even when in flower, provided 

 a ball of earth be kept round their 



