200 



variable, 3 to 5 inches long and broad, marbled 

 with white above, purplish beneath, appearing 

 in succession in a dense mass shortly after the 

 flowering of the plant, and lasting until the 

 ripening of the seeds in the following June ; 

 flowers of medium size, rose, red, or white, 

 faintly fragrant, borne from the end of August 

 until October. There are various forms and 

 too many synonyms. Being hardy it is a good 

 plant for the rock-garden. 



Persian Cyclamen (C. persicum). — Asia 

 Minor, Greek Islands, and Syria. Tuber glo- 

 bose when young, flattened and depressed 

 when older, of a brownish colour, 2 to 6 inches 

 in diameter, emitting roots all around. Leaves 

 ovate, more or less marbled with white above, 

 purplish beneath, appearing with the flowers ; 

 flowers large, the petals oblong, ovate, four or 

 five times as long as the tube, coming in succes- 

 sion from October till April, on some plants fra- 

 grant, on others scentless, and of many shades 

 of colour. C. persicum is the most showy of the 

 group, and new strains yield many variations 

 not only in size, but form of petal, some being 

 crested, veined, or plumed. A greenhouse plant 

 of which the culture is now well known. In 

 the warmer parts of the southern counties it 

 may be grown out of doors in sheltered spots 

 on the rock-garden. 



Ivy-Leaved Cyclamen (C. repanduni) . — 

 Native of South Europe, and the Greek Islands, 

 ascending in the mountains of Corsica to a 

 height of 6,000 feet. Tuber small, globose at 

 first, depressed when old, producing roots at 

 the base only. Leaves toothed, angular, 2 to 

 3 inches long, marbled with white above, pur- 

 plish beneath, appearing in spring with the 

 flowers, which are rosy white, fragrant, spotted 

 with purple at thebaseof each petal. In various 

 lists C. vernum is offered as a distinct plant, but 

 there is no distinction in character. This kind 

 is tender in some cold districts. 



Enemies. — Sometimes plants look weak, 

 the leaves are curled and yellowish, and in that 

 case the tuber is often infested with myriads of 

 a small greyish mite, and worms. There is no 

 remedy but to burn the plant. Mice are fond 

 of both tubers and seed, and often cause loss. 

 Slugs are troublesome, eating the leaves, buds, 

 flowers, and seed-capsules ; a sprinkling of pow- 

 dered quicklime around the plants will keep 



them away. Green-fly, thrips, and aphis are 

 most annoying, and are the result of want of 

 air and moisture. A batch of Cyclamen be- 

 set with green-fly rarely recovers ; these, and 

 thrips and aphis must be destroyed in the usual 

 way. Caterpillars will destroy the foliage of 

 a whole batch in a week if left undisturbed. 

 But one of the worst troubles is earthworms, 

 often found in quantity in each pot ; they make 

 the soil sour in a short time, and often stop the 

 drainage. Quicklime water, salt, nicotine, and 

 several other remedies have been advised, but 

 although they destroy the worms, they kill or 

 damage the plants as well. An inoffensive re- 

 medy is a powder called " lombricide," which 

 is applied as follows : put six or eight spoonfuls 

 1 of the powder in a can of water, stir up well, 

 and water the plants thoroughly when they are 

 somewhat dry. Within half-an-hour every 

 worm touched by the liquid will be killed. 



The Creeping Rosemary. — The fragrant 

 Rosemary, brought from Southern Europe 

 hundreds of years ago, has shown little varia- 

 tion from its erect habit. With the exception 

 of poorly variegated forms, none of them worth 

 growing, no distinct variation has been hither- 

 to known. This new plant is, therefore, a wel- 

 come variety of the old favourite, and likely 

 to be as useful as it is distinct. It is a true 

 prostrate form, and precious for use in the rock 

 garden. A local botanist came upon the ori- 

 ginal plant by accident, in a garden in the 

 neighbourhood of Nice, but no one could give 

 further explanation of its origin, so that, whe- 

 ther a garden sport or, as seems more probable, 

 a natural variety is uncertain. Though hard 

 cut for propagation, this plant is now a fine 

 spreading carpet several feet across, showing 

 well its distinct habit, also clearly seen from the 

 outset in young plants. Few plants are better 

 fitted for a place on the rock garden, where 

 the quickly-spreading prostrate shoots follow 

 the outline of the stones, or droop prettily 

 from a ledge. Seen hanging over a wall it 

 would be quite as much at home, and, when 

 covered with its pale blue flowers, the effect 

 is good. Such a nook, amongst sunlit stones 

 and in light dry soil, suits its sun-loving nature 

 I best. 



