hermione\ 



141 



hierVcium. 



should be taken up every two or three 

 years in autumn, and replauted. If 

 this be not done, the earth should be 

 raked or hoed up round them, so as to 

 cover the roots, as if these are left 

 exposed, they will wither, and the 

 plants will probably die. The flowers 

 of the Hepatica, unlike those of most 

 other plants, possess their full colour 

 from the first formation of the bud. 



Heracle x um. — UmbelUferce. — 

 The Cow-parsnip. The gigantic Sibe- 

 rian cow-parsnips, H. asperum, and 

 H. giganteum, are probably two of 

 the most magnificent herbaceous plants 

 in the world. They are biennials, 

 and are propagated by seeds, which 

 ripen in abundance. The plants should 

 be placed in a shady, moist situation, 

 near a pond, if possible ; and where this 

 is not practicable, they should have 

 abundance of water. Thus treated, a 

 plant has been known to attain the 

 height of fourteen feet in a single sum- 

 mer, with a fluted stem six or eight 

 inches in diameter ; and a compound 

 umbel of white flowers, measuring 

 twelve feet in circumference. A plant 

 of these dimensions, with leaves 

 equally enormous, grew in the grounds 

 at Bromley Hill in the summer of 

 ] 839 ; and another of nearly the same 

 size grew in our small garden at Bays- 

 water in the summer of 1840. 



Herbe'ktia. — Iridece. — A beauti- 

 ful bulbous plant named in honour of 

 the Reverend and Honourable Wil- 

 liam Herbert, whose botanical labours 

 are so well known. It is a native of 

 Buenos Ayres, and it may be grown 

 either in a pot, or in the open air, in 

 a sandy loam, as it only requires pro- 

 tection from severe frost or long- con- 

 tinued rains. 



Herb-Robert. — A kind of wild 

 geranium, very common by the road- 

 sides throughout England and the 

 north of France. 



Hrrmionis . — A name given by Mr. 

 Haworth to one of the genera which 



he formed out of the genus Nar- 

 cissus. 



Heron's Bill. — See Erodium. 



Hespera'ntha. — Iridece. — The 

 Evening Flower. A genus of Cape 

 bulbs, nearly allied to Ixia, and re- 

 quiring the same treatment. 



He'speris. — Cruciferce. — The 

 Garden Rocket. These flowers, 

 though very common, are rarely well- 

 grown, as they require a great deal of 

 care to bring them to perfection. They 

 are all perennials ; and as soon as they 

 have done flowering, they should be 

 taken up, and transplanted into fresh, 

 and very rich soil, which must be of a 

 light and friable nature. The best is, 

 perhaps, that which has been used 

 during the preceding summer for ce- 

 lery trenches. Thus treated, the 

 double white and double purple varie- 

 ties of Hesperis rnatronalis will 

 attain extraordinary size, and will 

 flower splendidly. 



Hibbe'rtia. — DilleniacecB. — 

 Trailing shrubs with large yellow 

 flowers, natives of New Holland, 

 which require a greenhouse in Eng- 

 land. They should be grown in a 

 mixture of sandy loam and peat, and 

 they are propagated by cuttings. 



Hibi'scus Malvaceae. — Showy 



plants with large handsome flowers. 

 The hothouse species, which are mostly 

 from China, require a strong moist 

 heat. Hibiscus syriacus, the Al- 

 thaea frutex, is a hardy shrub, which 

 will grow well in any common garden 

 soil, and of which there are numerous 

 splendid varieties, some of the best of 

 which are those raised by Mr. Masters, 

 of Canterbury. The Althcea frutex 

 is propagated by seeds or layers. Se- 

 veral of the different kinds of Hibis- 

 cus are marsh plants, which grow 

 best in pots suspended in water from the 

 side of a pond. See Water-plants. 



Hiera cium. — Composites. — The 

 common Hawkweed. British plants, 

 with large yellow flowers, which will 



