OPERATIONS FOR JULY. 
143 
hence it is now thought that H, orientalis, which correctly answers to that character, is the 
genuine Black Hellebore. The roots were gathered on the Bitliynian Olympus by Mr. Sandison, 
Her Majesty's Consul at Brusa, and sent to the Horticultural Society. " No doubt this is hardy, 
although, on account of its great rarity, it has at present been kept in the greenhouse. If so, 
and it should flower at the same time as the Christmas rose, as is probable, it will be a welcome 
addition to our collections. In the greenhouse it flowers in February and March, and requires 
rather a damp shady situation, with peaty soil to grow in. It is easily increased, either by 
dividing the old plants when sufficiently large, or by seeds, which should be sown directly they 
are ripe." Bot. Reg. 34. 
MiMO^SA Urugue'nsts. " A pretty greenhouse shrub, very nearly hardy, which would no 
doubt improve much in appearance under the hands of a good cultivator, and it would reward his 
pains." It is a native of the province of Buenos Ayres, whence seeds were received by the Hon. 
W. F. Strangways, and given to the Horticultural Society. It has a few strong thorns on its 
stems, and the leaves have from eight to twelve pairs of narrow leaflets. The flowers have the 
aspect of a ball of crimson stamens, tipped with yellow anthers. " It requires such protection 
in this country as is given to Verbenas, Acacias, and things of that description. It grows well in 
a mixture of light loam and leaf mould, and may be readily propagated by cuttings in the usual 
manner." Bot. Reg. 33. 
Rhodode'ndron anthopo^gon. " The Countess of Rosslyn has taken great pains to form, at 
Dysart House, an unusually extensive collection of the different species and superb varieties of 
Rhododendron; and placed there, under the judicious management of the gardener, Mr. Blair, 
they flower in a manner certainly not surpassed in any collection in Britain. Among these, the 
rare species now described forms a dense bush. It was obtained fi'om Messrs. Loddiges five 
years ago, and during each of the last three years it has flowered in the open border abundantly 
in April, and partially in August. It is a native of the Himalaya mountains, and extends, as we 
are informed by Dr. Royle, along the range from Nepal to Cashmere, never descending lower 
than 9,000 feet above the level of the sea, but rising to an elevation exceeding 14,000 feet, with 
the last remains of woody plants." The shrub grows from a foot to eighteen inches in height, is 
very bushy, and has its branches, as well as the lower part of its leaves, clothed with brown 
scales. The flowers are small, and yellowish white. 
OPERATIONS FOR JULY. 
The present month is naturally both a hot and dry one, and the lengthened drought by which 
it has been preceded will have caused a large demand for water to be now experienced, in regard 
to plants in the open ground. Half-hardy sorts that have been planted in the borders, annuals, 
transplanted shrubs, and even many common herbaceous plants and evergreens, will have made 
little or no real progress during the last six weeks, and some will hardly have been kept from 
perishing. 
All these will need to be watered most abundantly at this season, unless there is a timely and 
frequent supply of rain. They should always be watered in the evening, after the sun has 
ceased shining on them, when it will be of great service to sprinkle water over their leaves 
likewise. When watering is once commenced, it should never be abandoned till rain falls in the 
requisite quantities ; for a plant which has been left wholly to nature, will sustain drought far 
better than one which has been artificially furnished with fluid. Water, too, should always be 
administered very copiously, as the amount of evaporation daily going on at this period is 
astonishing. It should, further, be rain-water, or that from an exposed pond, reservoir, or river, 
and not from a spring, which last has a great tendency to harden the ground. To avoid the 
latter circumstance, moreover, water should be applied to each individual plant through the spout 
of a pot, and not poured over a whole bed with a rose. We have repeatedly and very recently 
seen beds of plants that had been watered by a rose, and the surface- soil was baked together into 
a crust almost as hard as concrete. This would have been obviated by watering through the spout 
alone ; but where it does occur, it is necessary that the earth be loosened and stirred frequently 
with a small fork, to render it pervious to water. 
