OP ORNAMENTAL PERENNIALS. 
77 
1.— HESPBRIS MATRONALIS, Lin. THE COMMON ROCKET, OR DAMES' VIOLET. 
narrow sharply-pointed leaves — the latter is also found wild in Tarioue 
parts of the north of Europe. 
Engravings. — Eng. Bot. t. 731 ; 2d. edit. t. 949. 
Specific Character. — Pedicels length of calyx ; petals obovate ; 
pods erect, torose, smooth, not thickened at the edge ; leaves ovate- 
lanceolate, smooth. (G, Don.) 
Varieties. — There are three forms of this species : one, H. m. 
hortensiSf which is a native of various parts of Europe, but most 
common in Germany, and was introduced before 1597, has sweet- 
scented flowers, and ovate-lanceolate leaves ; the second, //. «i. 
sylvestris, which is a native of Britain, and which is figured in 
Plate 18, has scentless flowers, and cordate leaves ; and the third, 
H» m. Siberica^ which is a native of Siberia, introduced in 1800, has 
Description, &c. — Tliis plant has long been a favourite garden flower ; and the German ladies are said to 
be so fond of it in pots, that it has acquired the name of Dames' Violet. Parkinson calls it the Queen's 
Gilliflower, and Gerard Damask Violet. Besides the regular varieties enumerated, many sub-varieties are 
grown in gardens, such as the double purple Rocket, and the double white ; but the most remarkable of these is 
the double green, a kind now rarely seen in gardens. All the kinds of Rocket are quite hardy, but they will not 
flower well unless they are grown in very rich soil, though not in soil enriched by recent manure. Experienced 
gardeners consider the trenches in which celery has been grown the previous year, as the best soil for the garden 
Rocket ; as celery is a vegetable which requires a great deal of manure to make it fine, and the manner in which 
the ground is thrown up to make the trenches, thoroughly pulverizes the soil. The plants are either raised from 
seed, or propagated by dividing the roots. When grown to the greatest perfection they are transplanted every 
year, or every second year, after they have done flowering, into fresh soil of the nature already mentioned ; care 
being taken to form a pit to receive this soil a foot or eighteen inches deep. Where the soil from celery trenches 
cannot be procured, vegetable mould, mixed with part of an old hotbed, may be used ; but it is essential that the 
soil should be rich, light, and friable. If thus treated, the double white and double purple varieties will have 
noble flowers, and will form a magnificent ornament to the flower-garden. 
2.— HESPBRIS GRANDIFLORA, Sims. THE LARGE-FLOWERED GARDEN ROCKET. 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 2683 ; and our ^^. 1, in Plate 18. I obovate j racemes many-flowered, crowded; radical leaves oblong- 
Specific Character. — Pedicels longer than the calyx; petals ' ovate, obtuse ; cauline ones lanceolate, sessile. {G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — This is a very showy species, growing to the height of three feet or more in rich soils 
and favourable situations. It requires the same treatment as H. matronalis, and if a double variety could be 
obtained, it would be a most splendid border flower. Neither the native country nor year of introduction is 
known, but it has been cultivated in British gardens since 181 7 ; and as it appears quite hardy, it is probably 
a native of the north c^Europe. 
3.— HESPERIS SPECIOSA, Suieet. THE SHOWY ROCKET. 
clothed with stellate tufts of hairs. Leaves sessile, lower ones spatu- 
late, and tapcriug at the base ; upper ones oblong-ovate, acuminate. 
Pedicels much shorter than the calyx. Siliquc tetragonal, very, hairy. 
Stigma capitate, indented at tho apex. 
Engratihos. — Sweet's Brit. Flow. Gard. 2d scr. t. 135 ; and our 
fig. 2, in Plate 18. 
Specific Character. — Stem suffrutescent at the base ; branching ; 
branches short, and clothed at the base with numerous, rigid, taper- 
pointed scales ; and with the leaves, scape, and peduncles thickly 
Description, &c. — A beautiful little plant with rose-coloured flowers, which are first produced in a corymb' 
but afterwards elongate into a raceme. It was raised in 1827 from Siberian seeds by Mr. Cameron at Bury 
Hill ; but as it did not flower till the third year, and as it has never produced seeds in this country, it Is 
propagated by dividing the root. 
