confined to the Isle of Walney in Lancashire, and succeeds best in light, well-drained, but rich soil.

G. striatum (Striped Cranesbill).—For mixed borders this is perhaps the handsomest of the Cranesbills that are in cultivation; and it is, at the same time, one of the most commonly cultivated. The plant is dwarf and compact, rounded in outline, about a foot high. The leaves are bright lively green, those of the roots divided into five-toothed lobes, and those of the stems are three-lobed and toothed. The flowers are white, veined with delicate lines of rosy red, and are borne, two or three together, on a stalk; they appear in greater or less profusion from early summer till late autumn. Italy and other south European countries.

Native of

Erodium (Heron's-bill).-The same culture is required in the case of the present genus as that advised for the last. The first species is easily managed in the open border in most parts of the country, the other is best adapted for rockwork everywhere.

E. Manescavi.-This is one of the largest-growing species, reaching the height of about 1 foot. The leaves are pinnately divided. The flowers are borne, umbel fashion, at the top of stout stems; are rather large, and pale purple, and appear in early summer. Native of the Pyrenees.

E. Reichardi. This is quite a contrast to the last, being a low prostrate plant, a few inches high. The very numerous small leaves, roundish in form, are undivided, but bluntly toothed on the margin. The flowers are pure white, solitary on their stalks, and appear continuously from spring till autumn. Native of Minorca.

TROPEOLACEÆ.

We are all very familiarly acquainted with the various annual and hybrid representatives of this order, which are so worthily popular in the gardens of rich and poor; but of the hardy perennial species of Tropaolum we see and know very little indeed. There are several species reputed hardy, but I can only speak of them from hearsay observations, and dare hardly recommend them for culture in the open air in all parts of the country. I have seen T. tuberosum and T. polyphyllum tried in the north of Scotland, in warm borders under walls, with no very encouraging results. They did not appear to succumb to cold directly, but became a prey to many of the ills that attend

on debility, from whatever cause-and the cause may have been cold-and ultimately perished. These are, however, interesting and ornamental plants where they do well, and should be tried freely in the more favourable parts of England and Ireland in a variety of positions, till such time as experience may accumulate and decide what is best for them; and the same has to be said for T. edule. They are tuberous-rooted plants, some with bulky, short, or round tubers; others with thick, widely-extending, succulent roots, whence spring the wiry climbing stems in all directions. They are all easily propagated by means of these roots, and by seed sown in pots in a mild hot-bed in spring. They are all natives of South America, inhabiting chiefly moist shady places at greater or less elevation above the sea.

T. edule (Edible-rooted T.)—This species climbs a height of 6 or more feet, with weak tortuous stems, clothed with milky-green leaves, composed of five to seven narrow lance-shaped leaflets. The flowers are solitary, one in each axil, deep yellow or orange. It sometimes bears the syn. polyphyllum, to which, however, it has no claim, and is easily distinguished at a glance from that species by its deeper-cut and more widely-spreading leaflets, and its weaker and more tortuous-climbing stems. Native of Chili; flowering in summer; and should be tried in sheltered warm places, in deep rich loam, with the protection of litter fern or coal-ashes over the roots in winter.

T. polyphyllum (Many-leaved T.)—With the same colour of flowers, this has different leaves from the last, and a sturdier and shorter growth. The leaves are divided variously, but generally the leaflets amount to ten in number, with the edges quite close or overlapping each other, and they are deeply glaucous. Perhaps from its trailing mode of growth it is better adapted for culture on rockwork than against walls or other supports. Native of Bolivia.

T. speciosum. -This beautiful hardy herbaceous climber is of comparatively recent introduction, having been brought to this country from New Grenada about 1846; and notwithstanding its rare grace and beauty, it is not yet very generally cultivated in private gardens. Only within the past few years have its fine qualities been recognised, and a demand sprung up for it among amateurs; while professional gardeners are even yet tardy in giving their recognition of its merits. A plant such as this, it might be thought, with flowers of brilliant scarlet, and foliage and habit of growth most graceful, and withal hardy, would not be long in winning many admirers; and if some easy and quick mode of developing its beauty

were hit upon, no doubt its admirers would be numerous. But, as a rule, the plant does not establish itself readily in any place, no matter how favourable it may be to its healthy existence: it flowers little, if at all, the first, and not much the second, year after planting; but from the third or fourth year onwards there is a rich reward for the exercise of patience and care. Such tardy progress is scarcely tolerable in this railroad age. There must be very little waiting for results, and only a short step must bridge our efforts and the effects in the flower-garden, or we impatiently discard the materials as unfit. Unfortunately, therefore, for the universal popularity of this charming plant, it will not be coaxed into early effectiveness; yet many, when it becomes better known, will be pleased to wait a little for such a treat as it ultimately affords. Another hindrance to its becoming universally cultivated lies in its being fastidiousalmost capricious, indeed—as to soil and situation. It reaches its greatest strength and beauty in a rich, moist, deep soil, and in partial shade; but while I have seen it yielding all its beauty in the north of Scotland, planted in thin soil and clambering over a bald granite rock rising a few feet out of the soil, and in the same neighbourhood luxuriating on one of the finest but most wind-raked terraces in the country, I have also seen it in the south of England refuse to grow in nearly every kind of soil and degree of aspect, even with all conceivable coaxings. This is probably owing to climate. It is very impatient of atmospheric drought, as well as at the roots; and the absence of the long bracing nights and refreshing dews of the north is perhaps the cause of the ill-success of the endeavours I have seen made at cultivating it in the south. In planting, the roots should be put 6 or 7 inches into the soil, and the planting is best done in February or March; the surface should then be mulched with good old manure, and there should be twigs or some kind of support inserted into the soil for the growths to cling to as soon as they appear above ground. This is of much importance, as it enables the plant to establish itself earlier than it would otherwise do.

OXALIDEÆ.

The only genus we will have occasion to notice here in this order is Oxalis. It is numerous in species, many of which are highly ornamental, but very few have any claim to be considered hardy, except in the most favourable circumstances in the mild

est localities of England and Ireland. There are two indigenous species, O. acetosella and O. corniculata, the former abundant in most localities in woods and moist shady places; the other is not so common, being confined to a few places in the south of England; but from our experience of it in gardens in the shape of the variety named O. c. rubra, so much used in bedding-out, there is every reason to believe that it would establish itself anywhere in light rich soil if once sown or planted out. In many gardens it is troublesome after the first year. It seeds abundantly, and germinates in spring and all through the summer like the hardiest weed. In warmer climates it is perennial; but in view of its self-rearing habit, although it is annual in this country, there is no reason to doubt but that it would be equally luxuriant and abundant with our indigenous perennial Woodsorrel if turned out into warm banks and less shady positions than that species naturally affects. Of the perennial exotic species we have not many in cultivation, which is somewhat strange when the elegance of foliage and pretty and profuse flowering qualities of many of them are considered. It is not owing to any difficulty that exists in cultivating them, unless it be in the absence of difficulty, for there is no class of plants more simple in their cultural requirements. Of course I am referring to their culture in pots, and in that way their neat and compact growth, and their habit of free and continuous flowering, along with the fact that, by a judicious selection of species, they may be had in bloom the year round in such humble glass structures as are generally possessed by amateurs, commend them strongly to that class of cultivators; and the autumn and spring flowering species would be found most useful in gardens of greater pretensions, especially where much room and table decoration had to be supplied in winter. But this is a digression; and to return to such as may be cultivated in the open air. It has already been stated that these are few—at least our experience has not revealed many that may be safely left out all the year round. But in mild localities, where there are borders alongside walls or around hothouses, the following species have done well and proved attractive objects; and no doubt others equally ornamental would adapt themselves to such circumstances freely enough, while one or two of the selection will be found hardy enough to succeed on rockwork in sheltered sunny situations in less favourable localities. They all delight in a free porous rich loam, dry rather than otherwise, and are propagated by means of the natural increase of tubers or bulbs, by seed, and, in the case of those furnishing stems, by cuttings also.

Oxalis Bowiei (Bowie's Wood-Sorrel).-This is a robustgrowing species, forming bold masses of leaves 6 to 9 inches high. The flowers are dark rose, in umbels, appearing in relief of the foliage. It appears continuously throughout the summer, suitable only for warm borders in the south of England and Ireland. Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

0. Deppei (Deppe's Wood-Sorrel).-This species grows about 6 inches high; the leaves are divided into four large obcordate leaflets; the flowers, numerous in umbels, are dark lurid red, appearing early, and continuing late in summer, under the same circumstances as the last. Native of Mexico.

O. floribunda (Many-flowered Wood-Sorrel).—This is perhaps the best known of the hardier perennial species. It grows from 6 to 9 inches high, producing abundance of foliage, the leaflets, three in number, being broadly egg-shaped, and deeply notched at the top. The flowers are rose-coloured, in manyflowered umbels, and appear in early summer and continue late. Native of Brazil.

O. lasiandra (Woolly-stamened Wood-Sorrel).—This is one of the most distinct and beautiful, producing very large dark-green leaves, divided into about seven oblong leaflets, widening somewhat upwards, and producing umbels of very numerous flowers of a bright rose-colour. Flowers in early summer. Native of Mexico, and adapted to culture on warm rockwork. O. violacea (Purplish Wood-Sorrel). This species grows about 6 inches high; the leaves are divided into three obcordate leaflets; the flowers, in few-flowered umbels, appear in early summer, and are rosy purple. Native of N. America, and more hardy perhaps than either of the foregoing.

RUTACEÆ

There are many beautiful shrubs comprised in this family adapted for culture in greenhouses, but there is only one herbaceous genus, so far as I am aware, that yields anything sufficiently ornamental for the hardy flower-garden. Dictamnus, popularly known as Fraxinella, is that genus, and it is not uncommon in old-fashioned and cottage gardens, but not nearly so frequent as it ought to be, considering its beauty and the fine balsamic odour it gives out when rubbed or pressed. It appears in gardens in two distinct colours-one red, the other white; and they are distinguished as species, but are the same