north-west coast of North America, along the river Columbia. According to Dr. Lindley, the stem of this species does not grow more than 6 in. or 8 in. high, and is, in fact, shorter than its leaves. The petioles of the leaves, he says, are jointed at every pair of leaflets, in the manner of a bamboo stem." The plant is hardy, and will thrive in a shady border of peat soil. It was introduced into England in 1822, and may be seen in the London Horticultural Society's garden, but it is not yet extensively distributed. In London, plants cost 10s. 6d. each.

4. M. RE PENS G. Don. The creeping-rooted Mahonia, or Ash Berberry.

Identification G. Don. in Loud. Hort. Brit., No. 28182.; and in Don's Mill., 1. p. 118.
Synonymes. Bérberis Aquifolium, Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 1176.; Bérberis rèpens Pen. Cyc., iv. p. 262.
Engravings. Bot. Reg., t. 1176. ; and our fig. 59.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets 2-3 pairs, with an odd one, roundish-ovate, opaque, spiny-toothed. Racemes diffuse. Root creeping. Filaments bidentate. (Don's Mill., i. p. 118.) A small branched evergreen shrub, seldom rising higher than 2 ft., with the leaves somewhat glaucous on both surfaces. The racemes of flowers are terminal, numerous, fascicled, diffuse, rising from scaly buds. The plant, in British gardens, produces a profusion of rich yellow flowers in April and May, but these have not yet been succeeded by fruit. Found wild on the east side of the Rocky Mountains of the west coast of North America, and per

fectly hardy in British gardens. It is propagated by layers or suckers, but does not strike readily; and it has, in consequence, been but sparingly distributed. Price of plants, in London, 10s. 6d. each.

App. i. Additional Species of Mahònia.

Mahonia nepalensis Dec., Berberis nepalénsis in the list in p. 173., is an evergreen Nepal shrub, from 4 ft. to 6 ft. high, of great beauty, which, if it could be introduced, would probably be found as hardy as the American species.-M. acanthifolia, if different from the foregoing, would also be very desirable. It is said to be a fine pinnated-leaved plant, with round black fruit, found on the Neelgherry Mountains of India, at the elevation of 8000 ft. M. nepalénsis grows at the height of 5000 ft. and 6000 ft., and attains, in shady situations, an elevation of 12 ft. It is also found on the Neelgherries, in 11° of north latitude. (Royle's Illust.) In the Penny Cyclopædia, it is suggested that M. nepalénsis "ought to be obtained from India at any cost, as it would in all probability succeed in this climate.-M. tragacanthoides, with not more than one or two pairs of leaflets, found along the banks of the river Kur, near Teflis; and M. caraganæ folia, a Chinese plant very like the last, having the points of the leaflets hardened into spines; well merit introduction." (iv. p. 262.) A plant is mentioned by Thunberg, under the name of I'lex japónica, which appears to be a Mahònia. It is found in the island of Niphon in Japan, and, as it would very likely prove hardy, ought by all means to be procured.

CHAP. IX.

OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS SPECIES OF THE ORDER CRUCIA CEÆ.

DISTINCTIVE Characteristics. Thalamiflorous. (H. B.) The order Cruciàcer is readily recognised by the cruciform arrangement of the petals, which are always four, in conjunction with tetradynamous stamens, and the fruit a silique or silicle. Though there are several species, which, technically considered, are ligneous plants, such as Alyssum saxátile, Ibèris sempervirens, Cheiranthus Cheiri, and some others; yet, in a popular point of view, the only shrub included in the order is the Vélla Pseudo-Cytisus.

GENUS I.

VE'LLA L. THE VELLA. Lin. Syst. Tetradynàmia Siliculòsa. Derivation. The word Vélla is Latinised from the word velar, the Celtic name of the cress.

Gen. Char. Stamens the 4 longer in 2 pairs, the 2 of each pair grown together. Style ovate, flat, tongue-shaped, at the tip of the silicle. Silicle ovate, compressed, its valves concave. Partition elliptic. Cotyledons folded, the embryo root disposed in the sinus of the fold. (Dec. Syst.)

1. VELLA PSEUDO-CY'TISUS L. False Cytisus, or shrubby, Cress-Rocket. Identification. Lin. Sp., 895.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 223.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 254

Synonymes. Vélla integrifolia Sal.; Faux-cytise, Fr.; strauchartige (shrubby) Velle, Ger.
Engravings. Cav. Ic., 1. 42.; and our fig. 60.

Spec. Char., &c. Petals yellow, with long dark
purple claws. Larger stamens perfectly con-
nate by pairs. (Don's Mill., i. p. 254.) A
low evergreen shrub, seldom exceeding 4 ft.
in height, with glaucous green leaves, and
bright yellow flowers, which appear in the
beginning of April, and continue till the
middle of May. It is a native of Spain, on
gypsaceous hills about Aranjuez, where it
was first observed by Minuart, and, afterwards,
by Cavanilles. It was cultivated by Miller in
1759, as a greenhouse plant; but is found
sufficiently hardy to stand the open air with a

.60

slight protection. It has stood for several years in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, planted on rockwork, where the dry soil renders protection unnecessary. It has also stood for a number of years in the open garden in the Hammersmith Nursery, and for five years in our garden at Bayswater, where it appears to be as hardy as the common azalea. It is a desirable shrub, on account of the early period at which it flowers; and also because it is a free flowerer. On a mound of rockwork it would form a most ornamental bush, and might be associated with the dwarf furze and Nitrària Schóberi. It is easily propagated by cuttings of the young wood, planted in sand under a hand-glass. Price, in London, 1s. 6d.

CHAP. X.

CAPPARIDA CEE.

CA'PPARIS.

App. I. Other ligneous or suffruticose Cruciacea.

Those who wish to include in their collections all the hardy plants of Cruciàceæ, cultivated in the gardens, which are botanically considered as ligneous, will find The them enumerated in our Hortus Britannicus. principal are, Cheiránthus Cheiri, and several varieties, more especially C. C. fruticulòsus, the wild wallflower; Vesicària utriculàta; Alyssum argénteum, A. saxátile (fig. 61.), and A. gemonénse; Ibèris sempervirens

61

(fig. 62.), I. saxátilis, and I. corifòlia; Lepídium subulatum and L. suffruticosum. Sisymbrium Millefolium, from the Canaries, might also, it is possible, stand out; and it is

very interesting, from its finely
cut leaves, a character which
is comparatively rare in cru-
ciaceous plants. All the lig-
neous plants of this order are
particularly adapted for rock-
work; and, like all low-grow-
ing woody plants, even when
grown in a common border,
each ought to be elevated on
a small mound or hillock of
stones, of such a size as that,
the plant after three or four
years' growth, might hang
down over it on every side, so
as completely to conceal the

stones.

CHAP. X.

RIDA CEÆ.

DISTINCTIVE Characteristics. Thalamiflorous. (H. B.) Sepals 4. Petals 4, Stamens often numerous; if few never tetradynacruciformly disposed. Ovarium stalked upon the receptacle. Fruit either mous, or scarcely ever. pod-shaped or baccate, 1-celled, very rarely 1-seeded, most frequently with many seeds attached to two narrow simple parietal placenta. Seeds kidney-shaped. Properties stimulant or tonic. (Lindley's Introd. to N. S., and Key.)

The only genus in this order, which contains any half-hardy ligneous plant, is Capparis.

GENUS I.

CA'PPARIS L. THE CAPER BUSH. Lin. Syst. Polyándria Monogynia.

Derivation. From kabir, the Arabic name of the common caper.

Identification. Lin. Gen., 643.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 245.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 278.

Gen. Char. Calyx 4-parted.

cate, upon a slender stalk.

Torus small. Fruit a silique, somewhat bac

1. C. SPINO SA L. The spined, or common, Caper Bush. Identification. Lin. Sp., 720.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 245.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 278. Synonymes. The caper having been in extensive cultivation, and used for so long a period, has names in most of the languages of the civilised world, and these, though too numerous to be given here, will be found in Newman's Dictionary, or in the index of synonymes to the Encyclopedia of Plants. In French, the name of the caper is Caprier or Tapenier; in Italian, Capriolo or Cappero; and in German, Kapernstrauch.

Engravings. Blackw. Herb., t. 417.; Smith's Spic., 18. t. 12.; Fl. Gr., 486.; Bot. Mag., t. 291.; and our fig. 63.

Spec. Char., &c. Stipules spinose, hooked. Leaves ovate, roundish, deciduous. Pedicels solitary, 1-flowered. (Don's Mill., i. 278.)

Variety. There is said to be a variety without spines, and with ovaté leaves, the latter more or less hoary.

Description, &c. The common caper plant is a wellknown shrub, trailing and rambling like the bramble, found wild on the rocks in the south of Italy, in the Grecian Islands, and in various parts of Asia Minor. The stems are woody, and covered with a white bark, round, smooth, and branching. The leaves are oval or roundish, succulent, glaucous green, and deciduous. The stipules,

which are two, at the base of the footstalks, are transformed into spines. The flowers are white, numerous, axillary, solitary, large, handsome, and without smell. The petals are much larger than the sepals; spreading, obovate, waved, tender and flaccid; white, faintly tinged with red or lilac. The stamens are about 60, of the same length as the petals, sometimes a little longer. The fruit is an oblong-oval coriaceous capsule. The root is long and woody, and covered with a thick bark.

Geography and History. Found wild in the southern countries of Europe, in the Levant, in Sicily, and in the south of Spain, on rocks, walls, and dry places. It is mentioned by Theophrastus as a wild plant, and incapable of be ing cultivated; but, in the south of France, it has been grown for the flower buds from time immemorial. It was cultivated by Gerard in 1596, who tells us that he put the seeds into the brick walls of his garden, "which did spring and grow green;" and Bradley states that, he sowed some seeds which he procured from Italy on the garden walls of Camden House, near Kensington, about the year 1716. Mr. Miller mentions an old plant growing there (probably the same that Bradley sowed), which resisted the cold many years, and annually produced many flowers, but the young shoots were frequently killed to the stump during the winter. This plant died about the year 1816. In general, the caper bush is grown in green-houses or stoves, but even in them it is not very frequent, and is seldom seen in flower. The largest plant that we know of in England is in the bed of a conservatory at Troughton Hall, near Manchester; its shoots cover a space between 20ft. and 30ft. long, and 4ft. or 5ft. wide, and it is profusely covered with blossoms every year.

Properties and Uses. The flower buds are well known throughout Europe and America as a pickle, and in the south of Italy the fruit is prepared in the same way as the buds. Their properties are, acridity, bitterness, and aroma. The buds are gathered daily, from the middle of May, when they begin to appear, till the end of autumn. They are taken when about half the size which they would attain when just about to expand. They are then thrown into a cask, among salt and vinegar, in which they remain till the end of the season, when they are taken out and sorted, and put into other casks with fresh vinegar, when they are fit for sale. Covered with vinegar, caper buds will keep many years. It is said that in order to increase the green colour, it is customary to put filings of copper in the first pickle. Bosc states that, in order

to effect the same object, they use sieves formed of copper wires, when separating the large buds from the small ones, previously to placing them in fresh vinegar; the consequence is, he says, that capers are always more or less poisonous. (N. Cours d'Agr., tom. iii. 413.) The substitutes for capers are, the green fruits of the nasturtium (Tropæ`olum màjus), and the unripe pods of the Euphorbia Láthyris.

Soil and Situation. A very dry soil, somewhat calcareous, and a situation fully exposed to the mid-day sun, are essential. It should either be planted against a wall, or on the south side of dry elevated rockwork; and, in either case, it will require some protection during winter. In the Nouveau Du Hamel it is stated that it will not grow at all if placed in the shade. In the neighbourhood of Paris, it is grown in light soil, on a stratum of broken limestone, and protected during winter with straw or leaves. There is a plant against the wall in the London Horticultural Society's garden, which in 1835 had stood there 8 years with very little protection. There is a large and vigorous plant of it in the botanic garden at Cambridge, planted in the open air, but in front of a stove, and near the furnace, which produces strong shoots, and flowers abundantly every year.

Propagation and Culture. In France, where ripe seeds can be procured, it is raised from them; but they require to be sown immediately after they are gathered. About Marseilles, where it is cultivated extensively in the fields, it is multiplied chiefly by cuttings; but partly also by division of the root. (See Statistics.)

Statistics. The caper is cultivated for its fruits and buds on both shores of the Mediterranean; and in Greece, and even in Egypt, the buds are gathered for sale from wild plants. In France, the only caper plantations are in the neighbourhood of Marseilles and Toulon, and these have existed from the time that Marseilles was founded by a colony from Greece. The plants are there grown in open fields, planted at 10 ft. apart in quincunx. They attain the height of 4 ft. or 5 ft., and the bush covers a space of about the same diameter. Every autumn all the shoots are cut off within 5 in. or 6 in. of the root; and, over the stools so formed, a little heap of earth is thrown up, of from 6 in. to 8 in. in thickness. In spring this earth is spread out, and the ground is hoed or ploughed; and this is the whole culture which the plant receives. As soon as the plants begin to flower, which, about Marseilles, is early in May, women and children are employed to gather the buds, and they continue doing so throughout the season, till the commencement of frost in November. Every day's gathering is thrown into a cask in the evening, and every addition of capers is followed by an addition of vinegar, with a little salt in it, so as to keep the buds always covered with liquor to the depth of 2 in. When a new plantation is to be made, the shoots cut off in the autumn are formed into cuttings of about a foot in length, which are immediately planted in a nursery, and covered with straw, to protect them from frost. They remain there two years, and afterwards are transplanted to their final situation, where two, and sometimes three, plants are always placed together to provide for deficiencies from deaths. Sometimes new plantations are formed by dividing the roots of old plants, and this operation is always performed in spring. The culture of the caper has been tried, with a view to commercial objects, in the neighbourhood of Paris, but without much success; not so much on account of the severity of the frosts there, as owing to the humidity both of the situation and of the climate. In Spain, on the shores of the Mediterranean, the caper is planted on the face of terrace walls on the sides of hills. Bosc observes that the gathering of the caper buds by women and children is a "cruel torment" to them, on account of the numerous spines which cover the branches; and he adds that he has heard of a variety, which, however, he says, is not known in France, which is without spines, and which it would be very desirable to substitute for the other in general cultivation. In the south of France, every one who has a garden grows his own capers; and cottagers sometimes plant them in their garden walls, in order to sell the