like the seediness which such things as the Heracleums show at the end of summer. I should not like to advise its being planted in the centre of a flower-bed, or in any other position where it would be disturbed; but in case it were determined to plant permanent groups of fine-leaved hardy plants, then indeed it could be used with great success. Supposing we have an irregular kind of flower-garden or pleasure-ground to deal with (a common case), one of the best things to do with this Acanthus is to plant it in the grass, at some distance from the clumps, and perhaps near a few other things of like character. It is better than any kind of Acanthus hitherto commonly cultivated, though one or two of these are fine. Give it deep good soil, and do not grudge it this attention, because, unlike tender plants, it will not trouble you again for a long time. Nobody seems to know from whence it came. Probably it is a variety of Acanthus mollis. The plant varies a good deal; I have seen specimens of it about a foot high, with leaves comparatively small and stiff and rigid, as if cast in a mould, by the side of others of thrice that development, and of the usual texture.
*Acanthus longifolius.—A fine, distinct, and new species from Dalmatia and S. Europe, 3½ ft. to 4 ft. high, distinguished from A. mollis (to which it is allied) by the length and narrowness of its arching leaves. They are about 2½ ft. long, very numerous, of a bright green colour, growing at first erect, then inclining and forming a sheaf-like tuft, which has a very fine effect. The flowers are of a wine-red colour, becoming lighter before they fall. A specimen in the gardens of the Museum at Paris, in four years after planting, had twenty-five blooming-stems rising from the midst of a round mass of verdure nearly 2½ ft. in height and width. This would be very effective on the undulating and picturesque parts of landscape-gardens. It does not run so much at the root as A. mollis. It seeds more freely than the other kinds, and may be readily increased by seeds as well as by division. Its free-flowering quality makes this species peculiarly valuable, while it is as good as any for isolation or grouping.
*Acanthus mollis.—A well-known old border-plant from the south of Europe, about 3 ft. high, with leaves nearly 2 ft. long by 1 ft. broad, heart-shaped in outline, and cut into angular toothed lobes. The flowers are white or lilac, the inflorescence forming a remarkable-looking spike, half the length of the stem. Well adapted for borders, isolation, margins of shrubberies, and semi-wild places, in deep ordinary soil, the richer the better. Increased by division of the roots in winter or early spring.
*Acanthus spinosissimus.—This is in all respects among the finest of thoroughly hardy “foliage-plants,” growing to a height of 3½ ft., and bearing rosy-flesh-coloured flowers in spikes of a foot or more in length. It is perfectly hardy, very free in growth, and is quite distinct from any of the other species, forming roundish masses of dark-green leaves, with rather a profusion of glistening spines, by which it is known immediately from its relatives. As a permanent object, fit to plant in a nook in the pleasure-ground or on the grass, associated with the nobler grasses or other plants, there is nothing to surpass it. I know of no hardy foliage-plant so thoroughly neat in its habit at all times. It does not often flower; and if it should throw up a spike, it will perhaps be no loss to cut it off, as its leaves are its best ornament, though the flowers too are interesting. Never at any time does it require the least attention; it will stand any exposure; and is, in a word, invaluable as a hardy ornamental plant. It will thrive best in good and deep soil. South of Europe.
*Acanthus spinosus.—This species appears to flower well more regularly than any other. Its leaves are rather narrow, and very deeply divided into almost triangular segments: they are also covered with short spines. The flowering-stems are about 3 ft. high, and bear dense spikes of purplish flowers. Useful for borders, or grouping with the other kinds and plants of similar character and size. South of Europe.
*Adiantum pedatum.—This fern, which abounds in the woods of Canada and the United States, is unquestionably one of the most elegant of those which are able to endure the climate of Britain, and grows from 16 ins. to 20 ins. high. From the tops of the erect black stems the fronds branch and spread horizontally in a very graceful and peculiar manner. The leaflets are slightly wedge-shaped, the upper margin resembling an arc of a circle. The American Maiden-hair flourishes in a light cool soil, and in a half-shaded position, or in a coarsely-broken, shallow, turfy peat soil, covered with a layer of moss to keep it constantly cool. It is commonly grown in the greenhouse with us, but is especially adapted for embellishing the low and shady parts of rockwork, and for ornamenting beds and mounds of peaty soil which have a north aspect or are sheltered from the full sun. It is propagated by division of the tufts in autumn or early spring. If done in autumn, the divisions should be potted and placed under a frame for the winter, as they form new roots more readily if so treated. There can be no question that, if planted in rich moist soil in a shady wood, we should have no trouble in naturalising this graceful fern, the fronds of which are such graceful objects in the dense woods of the “great country.”
Agave americana.—This and its variegated varieties are plants peculiarly suited for subtropical gardening, being useful for placing out of doors in summer in vases, tubs, or pots plunged in the ground, and also for the conservatory in winter. It forms a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves of a glaucous ashy-green colour, overlapping each other at the base, from 4 ft. to 6½ ft. long, and from 6 ins. to 10 ins. broad, ending in a strong spine, and having numerous spines along the margin. When the plant flowers, which it does only once, and after several years’ growth, it sends up a flowering-stem from 26 ft. to nearly 40 ft. high. The flowers are of a yellowish-green colour, and are very numerous on the ends of the chandelier-like branches. It will grow in any moderately dry greenhouse or conservatory in winter, or even in a large hall, and may be placed out of doors at the end of May and brought in in October. All the varieties are easily increased from suckers. N. America.
*Agrostis nebulosa.—This beautiful annual grass forms most delicate feathery tufts about 1 ft. or 15 ins. in height, terminated when in flower by graceful panicles of spikelets, which are at first of a reddish-green colour, and afterwards change to a light red in the upper part, the remaining two-thirds being of a deep green: the pedicels are extremely slender and of a violet colour. It forms very handsome edgings, and is very valuable for bouquets, vases, baskets, room and table decoration, etc. If cut shortly before the seed ripens, and dried in the shade, it will keep for a long time. Dyed in various colours it is much used by makers of artificial flowers. It may be sown either in September or in April or May. In the former case it will flower from May to July, in the latter from July to September. The seed, being very fine, should be only slightly covered. Though small, this deserves a place in groups of the finer and dwarfer plants, such as Thalictrum minus, and also in herbaceous borders. Spain.
*Ailantus glandulosa.—Much trouble and expense are incurred in the purchase, growth, and protection of tender plants with fine compound leaves like this, but which in our climate never display anything like the fresh vigour, health, spotless appearance, and youthful grace characteristic of hardy subjects. This is one of the most valuable of the hardy trees which, if kept in a dwarf state by being planted young and cut down annually, will furnish as good an effect as any tropical plant. The Ailantus should be kept in a young state, with a single stem clothed with its superb pinnate leaves; and we can readily keep it in this form by planting it young and cutting it down annually, taking care to prevent it from breaking into an irregular head, as then the symmetry of the leaf beauty becomes confused and is not at all so effective as when it is kept to a single stem. Vigorous young plants and suckers in good soil will produce handsome, arching, elegantly divided leaves 5 ft. and even 6 ft. long, not to be surpassed by those of any stove-plant. Under such treatment it could be grown conveniently to about from 4 ft. to 7 ft. high, and would thus do grandly for association with the larger class of garden flowers—Gladioli, Dahlias, and Hollyhocks, for example—while among Cannas and the like it will prove fine. The leaves are not liable to be attacked by insects—a good point in a plant used for the purpose I suggest—and they retain their healthy green till the first frosts in November, when they suddenly drop off. It is propagated with facility by cuttings of the roots, but is cheap in all nurseries. China and Japan.
*Aira pulchella.—One of the most ornamental grasses, with numerous hair-like stems, growing in light elegant tufts 6 ins. to 8 ins. high.