184 
NAT. ORDER. SAXIFRAGES. 
droug-ht to which the dry soils they inhabit peculiarly expose 
them. 
Sedum Telephium, one of the species, is admitted in the Materia 
Medica in the foreign pharmacopoeias ; it has not the acrid characters 
of the various species here figured, but on the contrary is bland and 
mucilaginous. It is said to be diuretic, and, according to Dr. Wither- 
ing, is used with success to cure the piles. Simperviviim tectorum 
(common house-leek) which is nearly allied to the Telephium, in bo- 
tanical affinity, likewise abounds with a mucilaginous juice, said to be 
an useful application to burns, creeping ulcers, and in apthous cases. 
Cactus Opuntia (common Indian fig) and Portulaca oheracea (garden 
purslane) both of this natural order, afford a similar juice, which also 
has been applied to medical purposes. 
Propagation and Culture. Saxifraga is a most extensive genus 
of pretty alpine plants, the greater part of which are well adapted for 
rock-work, or to be grown on the sides of naked banks to hide the 
surface. Many of the more rare and tender kinds require to be grown 
in pots, in light sandy soil, and placed among other alpine plants, so 
that they may be protected by a frame in winter. The species be- 
longing to sections Micranthes and Hirculus grow best in a peat soil, 
which should be kept rather moist. The species belonging to the sec- 
tion Porphyreon are so very pretty litde plants as to be worth growing 
in pots for ornaments, being clothed with elegant little red flowers 
early in the spring. A mixture of peat and sand suits them well. The 
varieties are all well suited to ornament the borders of flower-gardens. 
