THE MANUAL OF GARDENING. 
49 
in a cultivated form in the United States. The abundance of 
their flowers, and their unsullied purity, made more apparent by 
the protruding golden anthers, excite our admiration, and entitle 
the Halesia to a prominent position. Its extreme hardiness, 
and easy culture, is another commendation to notice. 
Hibiscus Syriacus, popularly termed Althea , is known to all ; 
it is referred to here, to direct attention to certain varieties not 
generally known; viz., double white, double purple, silver 
f striped leaved, and variegata-superba, a fine seedling variety 
of the old variegated, which originated, it is understood, at 
Philadelphia. For the rear of borders, or screens to un- 
sightly objects, the Altheas are well adapted : hardiness, quick 
growth, and long continuance in bloom, are qualities worthy of 
regard. 
Hydrangea hortensis, bear the open air very well, though 
they are often kept in pots, because highly ornamental. The soil 
most suited for them is maiden loam, taken from a field or com- 
mon ; add to this well-rotted manure: they require abundant 
watering. Cuttings of the young shoots will strike readily under 
a hand-glass during the month of May. Pots containing them, 
if well exposed to the sun during the autumnal months, may be 
kept through the winter in cellars with little or no water; but 
they must be brought out early in the spring and re-potted, re- 
moving as much of the old earth as possible without injuring the 
♦ roots. The weaker shoots should be cleared away from the old 
plants, which will cause the flowers to be larger and of a finer 
colour. When in bloom they should be sheltered from the mid- 
day sun, else the flowers will flag and prematurely fade. The 
H. quercifolia is an American plant, and entitled to regard ; 
though not so showy as the Chinese, it is certainly very graceful 
and picturesque. 
Hyrpeicum. St. John's wort. — There are numerous species of 
this genus, several of which are natives of America, others of 
the south of Europe, China, &c., bearing neat yellow flowers. 
Kalmia, Laurel. — The angustifolia, narrow-leaved laurel , 
and latifolia, broad-leaved flo., are American shrubs, of. much 
beauty ; the latter is a great ornament to mountain scenery, and 
when transplanted to a damp shady situation in the garden, never 
♦ fails to please ; the filaments or thread-like portions of the 
flower, are sensitive, and spring forward on being touched, cast- 
ing the pollen on the stigma. 
Ligustrum Europa. European Privet. — This shrub, almost 
an evergreen, is used for ornamental hedges, also for screens. It 
bears the shears tolerably well, but is injured by the heat in this 
country, and assumes a brownish hue at mid-summer. 
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