VACCINIUM. 
best in a soil of peat, and the rest ina mixture 
of peat and loam. One or two are propagated 
most readily from cuttings, three or four from 
suckers, and all the rest from layers. 
The most interesting, additional to those no- 
ticed in other articles, are the diffuse, V. diffusum, 
a hardy deciduous tree of about 20 or 25 feet in 
height, carrying pink flowers from May till July, 
and introduced from Carolina in 1765; the bear’s 
grape, V. arctostaphylos, a hardy deciduous shrub 
of 10 or 12 feet in height, carrying white flowers 
from April till June, and introduced from Cau- 
casus in 1800; the bushy, V. dwmosum, a hardy 
deciduous shrub, of 3 or 4 feet in height, carrying 
white flowers in May and June, and introduced 
from North America in 1774; the pleasing, V. 
amenum, a hardy deciduous shrub, of 6 or 8 feet 
in height, carrying white flowers in May and 
June, and introduced from North America in 
1765; the Maryland, V. martanum, a hardy de- 
ciduous shrub, of about 2 feet in height, carrying 
white flowers in May and June, and introduced 
from Maryland in 1812; the Pennsylvanian, JV. 
pennsylvanicum, a hardy deciduous fruiting un- 
dershrub, of about 20 inches in height, carrying 
white and blush flowers in May and June, and 
introduced from North America in 1772; the 
narrow-leaved or myritle-like, V. angustifolium, a 
hardy deciduous small shrub, of about 2 feet in 
height, carrying pink flowers in April and May, 
and introduced from North America in 1776; the 
Madeira, V. madecrense, a hardy deciduous fruit- 
ing shrub, of 6 or 7 feet in height, carrying red 
and green flowers from June till August, and 
introduced from Madeira in 1777; the beautiful, 
V. venustum, a hardy deciduous shrub of about 
3 feet in height, carrying pink flowers in May 
and June, and introduced from North America 
in 1770; the corymbose, V. corymbosum, a hardy 
deciduous shrub of about 8 feet in height, carry- 
ing white flowers in May, and introduced from 
North America in 1806; the glossy, V. nitedum, 
a hardy evergreen undershrub of about 20 inches 
in height, carrying pink flowers in May and 
June, introduced from Carolina in 1794, and 
comprising a decumbent variety, V. . decumbens, 
of about only one half its own height; the fron- 
dose, V. frondoswm, a hardy deciduous shrub of 
about 3 feet in height, carrying white and green 
flowers in May and June, and introduced from 
North America in 1761; the pale, the long-stem- 
med, and the white-flowered, V. pallidum, V. 
stamineum, and V, albwm, hardy deciduous small 
shrubs, about 2 feet high, carrying white flowers 
in May and June, and introduced from North 
America in 1772; the twiggy, V. virgatum, a 
hardy deciduous shrub, about 3 feet high, carry- 
ing pink flowers in April and May, introduced 
from North America in 1767, and comprising a 
variety, V. v. angustifoliwm, with narrow leaves 
and white flowers; the resinous, V. res¢nosum, a 
hardy deciduous shrub, 3 or 4 feet high, carrying 
purple and green flowers in May and June, in- 
VALERIAN. 693 
troduced from North America in 1772, and com- 
prising three varieties, with viridescent, rubes- 
cent, and yellowish flowers; the myrsine-leaved, V. 
myrsinites, a hardy evergreen undershrub, about 
20 inches high, carrying pink flowers in May and 
June, introduced from Florida and Carolina, and 
comprising two varieties with respectively lanceo- 
late leaves and obtuse leaves; the myrtle-leaved, 
V. myrivfolium, a slightly tender evergreen trail- 
er, about 10 or 12 inches high, carrying white 
flowers from May till July, and introduced from 
Carolina in 1812; the earth-spread, V. humifu- 
sum, a hardy, very handsome, very small ever- 
green trailer, only 2 or 3 inches high, carrying 
white flowers in May, and introduced from the 
Rocky Mountains in 1827; and the meridional, 
V. meridionale, a tender evergreen small shrub, 
about 2 feet high, carrying white and green 
flowers from March till June, and introduced 
from Jamaica in 1778. 
VAGS. Turfs cut and dried for fuel. 
word is provincial. 
VALANTIA. A genus of hardy herbaceous 
plants, of the madder family. The crosswort 
species, V. cruciata—called by some botanists 
Galium cruciatum,—is a perennial-rooted, trailing 
native of Britain, about 15 or 20 inches high, 
carrying yellow flowers in May and June. Five 
annual species, and five perennial-rooted trailing 
ones, all with flowers of more or less of a herba- 
ceous colour, have been introduced to Britain 
principally from Continental Europe; but they 
do not possess much interest, otherwise than as 
being near akin to the bedstraws and the true 
madders. 
VALERIAN,—botanically Valertana. A genus 
of ornamental, calyciflorous, herbaceous plants, 
constituting the type of the natural order Vale- 
rianaceee. This order is intermediate in bota- 
nical character between the teazel and the mad- 
der families; and consists of small, neat, sym- 
metrical herbs, many of which are more or less 
suitable for the parterre, and some useful for 
either culinary or medicinal or economical pur- 
poses. One or two greenhouse species and up- 
wards of 50 hardy ones, belonging to the genera 
valeriana, valerianella, patrinia, fedia, and cen- 
tranthus, occur at present in British collections. 
Three indigenous species, nearly 20 introduced 
exotic species, and about 50 known unintroduced 
species belong to the valerian genus ; and except- 
ing one biennial and one tuberous-rooted peren- 
nial, all the introduced species are fibrous-rooted, 
annual-stemmed perennials. Most thrive well in 
any common soil; and all are propagated by di- 
vision of the plant. 
The officinal valerian, or great wild valerian, 
V. officinalis, is a perennial-rooted, annual-stem- 
medindigen of many parts of Britain. One variety 
of it inhabits woods and marshy grounds, and 
another inhabits high pastures and heaths; and 
the latter is superior to the former in medicinal 
power. The roots comprise long and slender 
The 
