184 
NAT. ORDER. SAXIFR.VGEiE. 
granulata. The bulbs or tubercles of such roots answer an impor- 
tant purpose in vegetation, by supplying the plants with nourish- 
ment and moisture, and thereby enabling them to resist the effects 
of that drought to which the dry soils they inhabit peculiarly ex- 
pose them. 
Sedam 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. With- 
ering, is used with success to cure the piles. Simpermvum tectorum 
(common house-leek) which is nearly allied to the Telephiam 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 oberacea 
(garden purslane) both of this natural order, afford a simular 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 belonging to sections Micrantlms and Hbxulus grow best in 
a peat soil, which should be kept rather moist. The species be- 
longing to the section Porplnjreon are so very pretty little plants as 
to be worth growing in pots for ornaments, being clothed with ele- 
gant 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. 
