AMERICAN GARDEN. 



747 



growth, and form good foregrounds to groups of 

 higher-growing plants. They also form good 

 underwood in plantations, and as such are 

 planted by game preservers. The American 

 species are nervosa, aquifolia, and repens. As 

 the remainder of the genus prefer a peaty soil, 

 they are quite admissible into this description of 

 garden, although not exactly natives of America. 

 They are all propagated by the same means. 



Nyssa. — Best propagated by importing seed 

 from America. They are sometimes laid in the 

 British nurseries, but with less success. They 

 are natives of low damp moist situations, there- 

 fore a similar site should be chosen for them in 

 cultivation. Their flowers are not conspicuous, 

 but as their foliage assumes a deep scarlet in 

 autumn, they give great enlivenment to the 

 grounds by the brilliancy of their colour. 



Prinos. — Propagated by seeds and layers. 

 Does not require an absolute peat soil. 



Purshia. — By cuttings of the young wood in 

 sand, under a bell-glass, and also by seed, which 

 often requires two years to vegetate. 



Rhus. — The North American species, although 

 deciduous, are nevertheless exceeding ornamental, 

 and attain a considerable size, and are therefore 

 proper for the centre of groups in the American 

 garden. They are propagated by seed, which is 

 usually imported, by layers, and by cuttings of 

 both roots and shoots ; will prosper in a soil if 

 light, although not exactly peaty. 



Robinia. — The American species are chiefly 

 propagated by seed, either sown in autumn or 

 spring, being preserved during winter in the 

 pods. R hispida, the well-known Rose- Acacia, 

 being from Carolina, is less hardy than some 

 others. It, however, stands at Dalkeith as an 

 open dwarf standard without any protection. 

 On account of the brittleness of its branches it 

 is very liable to be broken by winds, if not 

 trained to a wall, espalier, or other support. It 

 is also usually grafted on the Pseudo- Acacia at 

 various heights from the ground. In cold situa- 

 tions it deserves a place on a conservative wall. 

 Some of the others are increased by cuttings 

 of the young wood, others by cuttings of the 

 roots, and several by suckers which arise from 

 the roots. The curled-leaved varieties of Pseudo- 

 Acacia, pendula and tortuosa, grafted 4 or 6 

 feet from the ground, form fine bushy heads, 

 and are largely planted in gardens laid out in 

 the formal style. 



Rhododendron. — When propagation is to be 

 carried on upon a small scale, then the seed, 

 which is a better method of proceeding although 

 less expeditious than laying, should be sown in 

 March in flat pans, and placed in a cool rather 

 shaded frame, where they should remain until 

 the plants are fit for pricking out, which they 

 should be as soon as they are fit to handle — say 

 a quarter of an inch in height ; the soil used 

 being sandy peat, the pans well drained, and the 

 soil not over fine until within an inch of the 

 surface, where it should be as fine as possible ; 

 and when rendered quite smooth, the seed should 

 be sown thinly, and merely covered with a little 

 silvery sand, or finely-sifted sandy peat, to the 

 depth of little more than one-sixteenth of an 

 inch. To prevent the seed being displaced or 



uncovered during the process of watering, a 

 little soft moss should be laid over the pots, 

 which will counteract excessive evaporation 

 until the plants appear. When upon a large 

 scale, a frame should be placed in some partially 

 shaded place — that is to say, fully shaded from 

 the meridian sun — a course of drainage laid in 

 the bottom ; and indeed if the frame is elevated 

 the height of a bi'ick above the surface, so much 

 the better. Over the drainage a foot of sandy 

 peat, broken up by chopping it with the spade 

 but not sifted, should be laid, and firmly trodden 

 down and levelled on the surface. On this 1^ 

 inches of finely-sifted sandy peat should be laid, 

 and rendered as smooth on the surface as pos- 

 sible, on which the seed should be sown thinly. 

 If various kinds are to be sown, the surface 

 should be divided off in spaces according to the 

 number of sorts and quantity of each, leaving 2 

 inches between each space to prevent intermix- 

 ture. When each sort is sown they should be 

 carefully labelled and covered to the depth 

 stated above, and a thin sprinkling of moss laid 

 over all. The whole should then be well watered, 

 the glass lights put on, and the whole kept close 

 until the seeds begin to vegetate, at which time 

 air should be gradually admitted and increased 

 as the plants appear, when the moss should be 

 removed. As soon as the plants are from a 

 quarter to half an inch high, they should be 

 pricked out into other beds similarly prepared, 

 choosing dull cloudy weather for the operation. 

 They should be covered closely and moderately 

 shaded until they have taken root and begun to 

 grow, when air should be more abundantly 

 admitted, removing the glasses entirely during 

 fine genial showers, and hardening the plants 

 by progressive exposure, until they will stand 

 the weather without protection. During winter, 

 however, they should be protected by the glass 

 sashes, and towards the month of May following 

 they will be fit for planting out, with little balls 

 of soil at their roots, into nursery- beds in the 

 open ground, but at the same time in prepared 

 sandy peat soil. The propagation of rhododen- 

 drons from seed can hardly be too much insisted 

 upon, seeing that they form by far the most 

 valuable of our evergreens, if we except the 

 holly, even for underwood and cover, while they 

 surpass even that fine plant in consequence of 

 their abundant and gorgeous bloom. It is of 

 little use in these days to breed from the old 

 common sorts, seeing we have so many very 

 superior which seed as freely. Of the old 

 species, the true Catawbiense is the only one we 

 would propagate from. As Scarlets and Whites 

 are so much better for the purpose of display than 

 the ordinary colours, we would increase them 

 largely ; and to insure something like certainty 

 in the result, attention should be paid to the 

 plants the seed is taken from. In hybridising, 

 regard should be had to increasing the constitu- 

 tional hardiness of the stock, as well as obtaining 

 mere improvement in form and colour without 

 that merit ; and varieties that will flower late in 

 the spring should be sought rather than such 

 as flower early, as these are so liable to be de- 

 stroyed by frost. 



Approved varieties may be planted out as 



