CAM'PANUL A. 
fcarcely leafy, with fpreading branches. Native of Mount 
Libanus. 
78. Campanula repens : flem fubdivided, creeping, leaves 
•oblong, flelhy, flowers folitary. Flowers white, feliile, ax¬ 
illary. Native of Cochinchina. 
Propagation and Culture. Rampion is propagated by feeds, 
■which thould be Town in a lhady border the latter end of 
May; and when the plants are about an inch high, the 
ground fliould be hoed, as ispractiled for onions, to cut up 
the weeds, and thin the plants to the diftance of three or 
four inches ; and, when the weeds come up again, they 
nuift be hoed over to deftroy them : this, if well per¬ 
formed in dry weather, will make the ground clean for a 
confiderable time, fo that, being three times repeated, it 
•will keep the plants clean till winter, which is the feafon 
for eating the roots, when they rnav be taken up for ufe as 
they are wanted. Thefe will continue good till April, at 
which time they will fend out their ftalks, when they will 
“become hard and unfit for ufe, as do alio thole roots which 
have flowered ; the young roots only are fit for the table : 
when the feeds are Town too early, the plants frequently 
run up to flower the fame year, and the roots are fpoiled. 
The peach-leaved bell-flower, and all the other hardy 
perennial forts, which are very numerous in this genus, are 
eafily propagated by parting their roots in autumn, at 
which time every head that is flipped otf will grow. They 
will thrive in any foil and (ituation ; and are proper furni¬ 
ture for the common borders of the flower-garden and 
fit rubbery. 
Thofe plants of the pyramidal or fteeple bell-flower, 
which are trained for adorning halls and chimnies, are fel- 
dom fit for the purpole the following feafon ; a (apply of 
young plants therefore fliould be annually raifed. The 
common method of doing this is by dividing the roots ; 
and the bed time for doing it is in September, that the off- 
fets may have time to get ftrong roots before winter. This 
method of propagating by the offsets is the quickeft, there¬ 
fore generally pradtifed, but the plants which are raifed 
from feeds are always (tronger; the ftalks will rife higher, 
and produce a greater-number of flowers; therefore we re¬ 
commend it to the practice of the curious : but, in order 
to obtain good feeds, there fliould be fome ftrong plants 
placed in a warm fituation, near a pale, or wall, in au¬ 
tumn ; and, if the following winter fhould prove fevere, 
they thould be covered either with hand-glades or mats, 
to prevent their being injured by the fro ft ; and, in the 
fumnier, when the flowers are fully open, if the feafon 
fhould prove very wet, the flowers muft be fereened from 
great rains, otherwife there will be no good feeds prodViced: 
the not obferving this, has oecafioned many to believe that 
the plants do not bear feeds in England, which is a very 
great miftake, for Miller raifed great numbers of the 
plants from feeds of his own faving; but he always 
found that the plants which are propagated by offsets fel- 
dom produced feeds ; and this is the cafe with many other 
plants which are propagated by flips, or cuttings, which in 
a few years become barren. 
When the feeds are obtained, they mud: be fovvn in au¬ 
tumn in pots, or boxes, filled with light undunged earth, 
and placed in the open air till the froft or hard rains come 
on, when they fliould lie placed under a hot-bed frame, 
where they may be flickered from both ; but in mild wea¬ 
ther the glades fliould be drawn off every day, that they 
may enjoy the free air. With this management, the plants 
will eome up early in the fpring, and then they 'nuift be re¬ 
moved out of the frame, placing them firfl: in a warm fit 11- 
ation; but, when the feafon becomes warm, they fliould be 
removed where they may have the morning fun only. Du¬ 
ring the following fuminer they muft be kept clean from 
weeds, and in very-dry weather now and then refrefhed 
with water, which muft be given with great caution, for 
the roots are (object to rot with too much moifture. In 
September the leaves of 'the plants will begin to decay, at 
which time they fliould be tranfglanted; therefore there 
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663- 
muft be one or two beds prepared, in proportion to the 
number of plants. Thefe beds muft be in a warm fitua- 
tion, and the earth light, Tandy, and without any mixture 
of dung, which laft is an enemy to this plant. If the fitu¬ 
ation of the place is low, or the natural foil moift, the beds 
muft be raifed five or fix inches above the furface of the 
ground, and the natural foil removed a foot and a half 
deep, putting lime rubbifh eight or nine inches thick in 
the bottom of the trench, to drain off the moifture. When 
the beds are prepared, the plants muft be taken out of the 
pots, or cafes, very carefully, fo as not to break or bruiio 
their roots, for they are very tender, and, on being broken, 
the milky juice will flow out plentifully, which will 
greatly weaken them. Thefe fliould be planted at about 
four inches diftance each way, with the head or crown of. 
the root half an inch below the furface ; if there happens 
a gentle fliower of rain foon after they arc planted, it will 
be of great fervice to the plants; but, as the feafon fome- 
times proves very dry at this time of the year, in that cafe, 
it will be proper to give them a gentle watering three or 
four days after they are planted, and to cover the beds- 
with mats every day, to prevent the fun from drying the; 
earth ; but thefe muft be taken off in the evening, that the- 
dew may fall on the ground. Towards the end of October 
the beds fliould be covered over with fome old tanners 
bark to keep out the froft, and, where there is not conve- 
iiiencv of covering them with frames, they fliould be 
arched.over with hoops, that in fevere frofts they may bs? 
covered with mats ; for thefe plants, when young, are often 
deftroyed in winter, where this care is wanting. In the 
fpring the coverings: muff be removed, and the. following, 
fu miner the plants muft be kept clean from weeds ; and, 
if the feafon fliould prove very dry, they muft now and 
then be refrefhed with water. The following autumn the 
furface of the ground fliould be ftirred between the plants, 
and fome frefli earth fpread over the beds, and in the win¬ 
ter covered as before. In thefe beds the plants may re¬ 
main two years, during which time they muft be treated 
in the manner before diredted ; by which time the roots 
will be ftrong enough to flower: in September they fliould 
be carefully taken up, and fome of the moft promiljng 
planted in pots ; the others may be planted into warm 
borders, or in a frefli bed, at a greater diftance than be¬ 
fore, to allow them room to grow. Thefe plants which, 
are potted fliould be flieltered in winter from great rains 
and hard frofts, otherwife they will be in danger of rotting, 
or at leaft be fo weakened, as not to flower with any 
ftrength the following fumnier ; and thofe which, are 
planted in the full ground, ’fliould have fome old tanners . 
bark laid round them, to prevent the froft from entering 
deep to the roots ; with this management thefe plants 
may be brought to the utinoft perfection, and a conftant 
fucceflion of good roots raifed, which will be much pre¬ 
ferable to thofe which are propagated by offsets. 
This and feveral other forts of campanula deferve to-> 
be more generally cultivated, for their large- and (howy 
flowers. They are well adapted to tire decoration of roek- 
work, and, being hardy perennials, may be propagated by 
parting their roots in autumn. 
The broad-leaved bell-flowerise-aflly propagated by feeds,. 
which it furniflies in great plenty ; if thefe be fufltered to 
fcatter, the plants will come up abundantly the following, 
fpring,. when they may be removed into the nurfery till 
autumn, at which time they (hould be transplanted where 
they are defigned to remain. As this fort delights in 
(bade, the plants may be placed under trees, or in lhady 
borders, where few better things will thrive ; and they 
will there afford an agreeable variety when jn flower. 
With refpeCt to the great Canterbury bells, the double 
forts are propagated by parting tlieir roots in autumn^, 
which fhould be annually- performed, otherwile the,flowers- 
are apt to degenerate to (ingle. The foil fhould not be too 
light or rich, in which they are planted, for in either of' 
thefe they will degenerate.; but in a ftrong frefh loam their 
flowsis 
