THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
3 
dieting, was changed by the irate Minerva into a spider. 
Of the Sedums, S. Nevii is very satisfactory for rock- 
work ; it grows in dense rosettes, flowers white. S. 
Douglasii, an Oregon species, has bright yellow flowers ; 
S. pule helium , Widow’s Cross, has bright purple flowers. 
This variety is annual rather than perennial. Among 
half-hardy succulents, which require the shelter of a frame 
during the winter in the Northern States, we have the 
Echeverias, very similar to the Houseleeks. E. secunda 
is a Mexican plant, forming large rosettes of a charming 
silvery green. The reddish flowers, forming a ’long 
raceme, are much admired. The plant does well in rock- 
work. Echeveria metallica is a large-leaved species, pro¬ 
ducing a great rosette of metallic-shaded foliage. It forms 
a striking centrepiece for an herbaceous or rock-border, 
surrounded by smaller plants—Sedums, Sempervivums 
and Saxifrages. It is not hardy; requiring shelter in¬ 
doors through the winter, and is only mentioned here 
because it is so often associated with herbaceous plants. 
We might fill a bed, or cover a rock-border with the 
Gentianella— Gentiana acaulis. This is a noticeable 
plant in the high Alps, where it forms close tufts of 
leathery leaves, with large erect solitary flowers, of a rich 
blue, with dotted throat. It readily adapts itself to cir¬ 
cumstances, doing equally well on low ground, or on 
rocks, where the fissures give it free root-hold. Gentiana 
Andrewsii, the Closed Gentian, differs greatly from the 
foregoing in habit; it is tall and erect, bearing tubular 
flowers, closed at the top, deep china-blue in color. It 
prefers a moister location than the Gentianella, or the 
Fringed Gentian, Gentiana crinita. This latter is a little 
beauty, bearing solitary sky-blue flowers, deeply fringed. 
I have seen it forming a perfect carpet on an exposed 
bluff, where the soil was a stiff clayey loam, containing a 
great deal of broken shale and rock. Bryant’s lines to 
this flower are too pretty to leave unquoted here: 
“ Thou blossom, bright with autumn dew, 
And color’d with the heavens own blue, 
That openest when the quiet light, 
Succeeds the keen and frosty night; 
Thou comest not when violets lean 
O’er wandering brooks and springs unseen, 
Or columbines, in purple dress’d. 
Nod o’er the ground-bird’s hidden nest. 
Thou waitest late, and com’st alone, 
When woods are bare and birds are flown, 
And' frosts and shortening days portend 
The aged Year is near his end. 
Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye 
Look through its fringes to the sky, 
Blue—blue—as if that skv let fall 
A flower from its cerulean wall.” 
Pachysandra procumbens, Mountain Spurge, is a little 
botanical oddity, well fitted for the open border. There 
is but the one variety of this genus in the United States— 
in fact, singular to say, its only relative is found in Japan. 
It is not at all striking; it has low-growing evergreen 
leaves and spikes of small dull-colored flowers, but it 
blossoms as soon as the frost leaves us, and renders 
its locality delicious by its perfume, though too often it 
“ Wastes its sweetness on the desert air.” 
We should give a little space to the Daisy, not the 
ubiquitous and—to the farmer—pestiferous Ox-eye Daisy 
(.Leucanthemum vulgare ), but the “ wee modest crimson- 
tipped flower ” of the poet, here called the English Daisy— 
Beilis perennis. There are a number of varieties, vary¬ 
ing from white to crimson. Their neat growth and pro¬ 
fusion of blossom make them very desirable. 
We might cover a bank, or edge a border with the 
Gibraltar Candytuft— Iberis Gibraltarica. It is much 
larger than the other Candytufts, bearing reddish lilac 
flowers. But the most popular of this family is the 
Evergreen Candytuft, Iberis Se?npervirens. It is a half- 
shrubby dwarf perennial, and in early Spring is cov¬ 
ered with masses of white flowers. It forms a very 
desirable evergreen edging, making a close wreath of 
white in April or May. It prefers plenty of sunlight. 
If we wish to make a carpet under trees or shrubs, 
where grass obstinately refuses to grow, we may add to the 
common “ Myrtle,” or more correctly, Periwinkle— Vinca 
7 ninor —the pretty Creeping Loosestrife, also known 
as Moneywort and Creeping Jenny— Lysimachia nutn- 
mularia. It is a charming little thing, with its countless 
golden stars. The generic name of this plant is a yery 
ancient one, the common name, Loosestrife, being a 
translation of its derivatives. According to Pliny, it pos¬ 
sessed the quality of quieting contention, whence its name. 
A pretty little shrubby plant, producing spikes of blue 
flowers, is Veronica chamacedrys, Germander Speed¬ 
well. How it received its romantic name we cannot tell, 
unless it is dedicated to St. Veronica, the patroness of 
needlewomen. It will grow rapidly, crawling around 
sunny rocks. Of course we can only give an outline of 
what may be done in an herbaceous garden ; the subject 
might fill many volumes. Next month we may have 
something to say about hardy bulbs, jr l_ Taplin. 
THE CLERODENDRON. 
T HE several species that compose this genus of green¬ 
house plants are not less remarkable for their brilliant 
flowers, so freely produced, than, when well cultivated, 
for their rich tropical character and appearance. Al¬ 
though natives of tropical India, where they have a humid 
atmosphere, yet they readily adapt themselves to ordinary 
greenhouse culture, and thrive remarkably well as house 
plants. It is difficult to imagine more beautiful objects 
than several members of this genus, when well cultivated. 
They are readily propagated by cuttings taken off at any 
time when the wood is solid, or half ripened, and given 
gentle bottom-heat. When rooted they should be potted 
snugly in small pots, in which they should be kept 
through the succeeding winter, on a shelf or underneath 
a bench in the greenhouse. About the first of February 
re-pot them, giving them a liberal shift. The soil should 
