2. O. MACROCARPUS Pursh. The large-fruited, or American, Cranberry. Identification. Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 263.; Don's Mill., 3 p. 858. Synonymes. Vaccinium macrocarpum Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 1., vol. 2. p. 13. t. 7., Hook. in Bot. Mag-, t. 2506., Lam Ill., t. 286. f. 4.; Vaccinium hispidulum Wangh. Amer., t. 30. f. 67. ; Vaccinium Oxycoccus B oblongifolius Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 228. Engravings. Dend. Brit., t. 122.; Bot. Mag., t. 2506.; and our fig. 993. Spec. Char., &c. Stems filiform, trailing. Leaves elliptic-oblong, nearly flat, and obtuse, distantly sub-serrulated on the margins, glaucous beneath, downy at the points when young. Segments of the corolla linear-lanceolate. Flower- 993 bearing branches erect, proliferous. Pedicels lateral. Points of young leaves, peduncles, and the margins of the calyx and bracteas, downy. Berries spherical, red, often remaining throughout the winter. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 858.) This is a trailing shrub, resembling the preceding species, but it is a larger and more robust plant. Several flowers come forth at the ends of the last year's branches, surmounted by the shoots of the present year. The bracteas are situated on the upper part of the pedicels in this species, while in Oxycoccus palustris they are situated on the lower part. The berries are also larger, and of a brighter red. It is a native of North America, from Canada to Virginia, in bogs, principally on a sandy soil; and it is also frequently found on high mountains. It flowers from May till July. Introduced in 1760, and frequent in collections; producing, when cultivated for its fruit, which is used in all respects like that of the common cranberry both in America and Europe, a larger quantity on a given space than O. palústris. Propagation, Culture, &c. This species may, like the other, be propagated by cuttings taken from the points of the growing shoots, and planted in sand under a hand-glass; or by layers, or division of the plant. In gardens, it may be cultivated as directed for the common cranberry; or in floating islands formed by filling old boats with peat soil, which may be anchored in a river, or fixed stationary in ponds or other pieces of artificial water. Sir Joseph Banks was the first person who cultivated the American cranberry in England for its fruit. He grew it on the margin of a pond, in a box of peat soil, suspended in water, and procured immense crops. An account of his mode of proceeding is given in the Horticultural Society's Transactions, vol. i. p. 71.; and in the Ency clopædia of Gardening, ed. 1835, p. 937. As the results of Sir Joseph Banks's mode of culture, we may here mention, that, in the year 1813, his crop averaged one fifth of a gallon, or about as many cranberries as will make a goodsized cranberry tart, for every 24 square ft. The size of the beds in which they were grown was equivalent to 18 ft. square; and the total quantity produced from this space was 3 Winchester bushels. It is probable that by improvements in the method of culture; such as withholding moisture at the ripening season, mixing the peat soil with leaf mould, or consumed stable dung or night soil; or, probably, by keeping the peat moist with liquid manure instead of common water, and full exposure to the sun, something might be done in the way of increasing the size and flavour of the fruit. At all events, the subject is worth experimenting upon by the practical gardener and the amateur. Those who are fond of overcoming difficulties, and producing objects at once highly artificial, altogether new, and singular as well as beautiful, might try to graft the Oxycoccus, standard high, on some species of Vaccinium or Andrómeda. Variety. O. m. 2 fòlis variegatis Hort., Vaccinium macrocarpum fòl. var. Lodd. Cat., has variegated leaves, and is a very ornamental plant for keeping in pots, or on moist rockwork. 3. O. ERECTUS Pursh. The erect Cranberry. Identification Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 264.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 858. Synonyme. Vaccinium erythrocárpum Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 227., and Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Engravings. Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 13.; and our fig. 994. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oval, acuminated, serrulated, and ciliated. Pedicels axillary. Corolla, before expansion, long and conical, at length revolute. Stem erect." Branches flexuous. Leaves membranous, somewhat hairy. Flowers red. Berries scarlet (Watson says black), quite transparent, and of an exquisite taste. Very different in habit from the other species. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 858.) It is a native of Virginia and Carolina, on lofty mountains, where it grows to the height of 2 ft.; flowering in May and June. It was introduced in 1806; and there are plants at Messrs. Loddiges's, and in other nurseries. It is rather remarkable, that this species has not yet been cultivated in the kitchengarden, as a fruit shrub. 994 App. I. Genera of Ericacea, of which it appears doubtful if any hardy ligneous Species have yet been introduced. GENUS I. BRYANTHUS Gmel. THE BRYANTHUS. Lin. Syst. Decandria Mono gýnia. Identification. Gmel. Sib., 4. p. 133. t. 57. f. 3.; Don in Edinb. Phil. Journ., 17. p. 160.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 833. Synonymes. Andrómeda sp. Lin.; Menziesia Swartz and Pursh; Erica sp. Thunb. Gen. Char., &c. Calyx 5-leaved, imbricate. Corolla deeply 5-parted, spreading. Stamens 10, shorter than the corolla. Filaments flattened, glabrous. Cells of anthers short, awned behind. Stigma obtuse. Capsule 5-celled.-Trailing evergreen shrubs, natives of Asia and North America. 1. B. GME LINI D. Don. Gmelin's Bryanthus. Identification. D. Don in Edinb. Phil. Journ., 17. p. 160.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 833. Synonymes. Menziesia bryantha Swartz in Lin. Trans., 10. p. 378. t. 30. f. b.; Andrómeda bryantha Lin. Mant., 238., Pall. Fl. Ross., p. 57. t. 74. f. 1.; Erica bryántha Thunb. Diss., No. 8., Willd. Sp., 2. p. 386.; Bryanthus rèpens serpyllifolia flore roseo Gmel. Sib., 4. p. 133. t. 57. f. 995 Engravings. Swartz in Lin. Trans., 10. p. 378. t. 30. f. b.; Pall. Fl. Koss., p. 57. t. 74. f. 1.; Gmel. Sib., 4. p. 133. t. 57. f. 3. ; and our fig. 995. Spec. Char., &c. Branchlets pruinose. Leaves with denticulated margins. Peduncles glandular, many-flowered. Anthers mutic. Style filiform. Flowers red. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 833.) A trailing shrub, a native of Kamtschatka, about Port Ochotsk, and of Behring's Island, where it grows in thick masses covering a great extent of surface, like wild thyme. Pallas says that he first observed it near the Sea of Ochotsk, in low mossy situations, also in Kamtschatka, and Behring's Island, being the only ornament of the rocks which compose the greater part of its surface; sometimes also he found it along with Empetrum and mosses, in boggy places. This very elegant little plant would form a most desirable introduction for the British ericetum, from its close general resemblance to the genus Erica. We have been informed that it is already in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, and the climate of that part of Britain is doubtless better adapted to it than that of London; but if we have been misinformed, and it is not yet introduced, there could not be much difficulty in procuring it through the medium of the Botanic Garden of St. Petersburg or of Upsal. The directors of these gardens, and indeed the directors of botanic gardens generally, are always happy when they can supply any wants of their friends: and the greater the distance of those friends the better; because the articles they are entitled to ask in return, are the more likely to be new and rare to thein. ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 2. B. STE'LLERI D. Don. Steller's Bryanthus. Identification. D. Don, 1. c.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 833. 996 PART III. Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., p. 58. t. 74. f. 2.; and our fig. 996. Spec. Char., &c. Branchlets glabrous. Leaves with obsolete crenulated edges. Flowers solitary, nearly sessile. Anthers 2-horned behind. Style conical. Flowers pale red. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 833.) A trailing shrub, a native of the northwest coast of America, on the Rocky Mountains, and near the mouth of the Columbia River, and in the Island of Sitcha. This plant, Pallas observes, although a specimen is preserved in the herbarium of Steller, has been altogether omitted by the two Gmelins; perhaps because Steller himself described it imperfectly. In his MS. he says, "it occurs together with the former (B. Gmèlini); its mode of growth, and time and place of flowering, are also much the same, so that before the flowers expand they can scarcely be distinguished from each other." however, are different; being larger, and about half an inch broad; with a monopetalous, white, 5-cleft corolla. The fruit resembles that of B. Gmèlini. It appears to us highly probable from The flowers, this description, that the two sorts are only different states of the same species; but, be this as it may, the plants would not be the less interesting, if introduced into our cellections. mend such of our readers as live in alpine situations, to direct their attention to the procuring of plants of Bryanthus from their native habitats either in Russia or North America. Perhaps they We recommay be procured from the most northern parts of North America; or by means of some of those numerous British travellers who, at present, are to be found in every part of the globe. Cladothamnus pyrolaflorus Bongard in Mém. Acad. Petersb., 2. p. 155.; Pýrola fruticosa Eschscholtz; is a much-branched evergreen shrub, a native of the north-west coast of America, growing to the height of from 4 ft. to 6 ft. App. II. Half-hardy ligneous Species of Ericaceae. There are no plants, Dr. Lindley observes, " more general favourites among collectors than the species of Ericaceæ. It is, however, very remarkable, that, notwithstanding the extensive commerce of England, the zeal of her merchants, and the enterprise of individuals, some of the most magnificent of these plants are still known to Europeans only from the dried specimens in the herbariums of botanists. We allude to the noble genus Befària, which contains many species more beautiful than even Rhododendron and Azalea; to the Thibaudias, with long tubular crimson blossoms, and to many species of Gaylussáccia. The finest of these plants inhabit the Cordilleras of Peru, in the country of the cinchonas; and, certainly, if. one half the sum that has been sometimes wasted in ill-considered undertakings were applied judiciously to an expedition into this region, there would be no reasonable doubt of success, and the results would be indescribably important." (Bot. Reg., as quoted in Gard. Mag., xi. p. 523.) Identification. Lour. Cochin., 276.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 833. Lin. Syst. Decandria Mo Derivation. From egkuos, pregnant, and anthos, a flower. The flowers swollen. Gen. Char., &c. Calyx 5-cleft, with coloured bracteas. Corolla campanulate, with a 5-cleft limb, and with 5 pits at the base of the tube. Stamens 10, inserted in the base of the corolla. Style filiform. Berry 5-celled.-Low evergreen shrubs, natives of China, where they are held in high veneration by the natives; in Britain, somewhat difficult of culture. They grow best in sandy loam, mixed with a little peat, with a very moderate degree of heat, rather less than that of a conservatory, and placed near the glass. Cuttings of the ripened wood will root in sand under a bell-glass. As they flower from September to February, and as their flowers, which are of pink mixed with white, are extremely beautiful and showy, they are valuable ornaments in the winter; but, from their flowers appearing at that season, they are more fit for a cold-pit or a conservatory, than a conservative wall. Till lately, as far as we have been able to learn, these plants have only been well cultivated and flowered, in England, in the conservatory of W. Wells, Esq., at Redleaf, in Kent. A plant, however, flowered in the spring of 1836, at Drayton Green, in the garden of Mrs. Lawrence. They do not succeed well, if disturbed after being once planted. 1. E. QUINQUEFLO`RUS Lour. The five-flowered Enkianthus. Identification. Lour. Cochin., p. 276.; Don's Mill., 3. p. 834. Synonyme. E. reticulatus Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 883., Botanist, t. 1. margins. Flowers 5-6 together, at the tops of the branches; generally pink, or with the calyx red, and the corolla nearly, white. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 834.) A shrub, growing to the height of from S ft. the Leaves oval-lanceolate, acuminate somewhat waved on 997 to 10 ft.; a native of the south of China. Introduced in 1812, and flowering from February to September E. biflorus Lour. Coch., p. 276., Don's Mill., 3. p. 834. Stem shrubby. Leaves oval-lanceolate. Flowers twin, terminal, and red. A shrub, a native of the south of China. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 834.) Not yet introduced. Virèya is a genus which differs from Rhododendron in the calyx being small, and in the stamens not being attached to the corolla. The leaves are scattered and verticillate, quite entire, coriaceous, and covered with scaly dots beneath; and the flowers are disposed in ter. minal fascicles. The species are chiefly parasitical shrubs, flowering throughout the year; five of them are described in Don's Miller, but none of them are introduced. Befària Humb. et Bonp., Bejària Mutis, is a genus of alpine shrubs, with the habit of some species of Rhododendron; natives of North and South America; ten species of which are described in Don's Miller; but only two of them have been yet introduced. The noble genus Befària, Dr. Lindley observes, as quoted above," contains many species more beautiful than even Rhododendron and Azalea." B. glauca Humb. et Bonp. Pl. Equin., 2. p. 118. t. 177., Don's Mill., 3. p. 849., is a glabrous shrub, with leaves oblong, obtuse, glaucous beneath. Racemes terminal and axillary. what fastigiate. Pedicels someThe plant is much branched, and the branchlets are angular. The corolla is flesh-coloured, and smooth. It is a native of South America, in the alpine regions of the province of Venezuela. It was introduced in 1826, grows to the height of from 3 ft. to 6 ft., and flowers in June and July. We have not seen the plant. B. racemosa Vent. Cels., p. 51. t. 5., Don's Mill., 3. p. 849.; B. paniculata Michr. ; has the branchlets smooth, and sometimes hispid. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, and glabrous; and the flowers are disposed in racemose terminal panicles. Corollas purple. It is a native of Georgia and Florida, in sandy places. It was introduced in 1810, grows to the height of from 3 ft. to 5 ft., and flowers in June and July. Hymenánthes japonica Blum. Bijdr., 862., and Don's Mill., 3. p. 849., is a shrub, nearly allied to the preceding genus, but differing from it in having a small calyx, and monopetalous corolla. It is a native of Japan, from which country specimens were received by Blume, under the name of Rhododéndron máximum. Gaylussáccia H. B. et Kunth is a genus of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, natives of South America, with scattered coriaceous leaves, and scarlet bracteate flowers; but none of the species have been yet introduced. G. buxifolia H. B. et Kunth Nov. Gen. Amer., 3. p. 276. t. 257., is a native of Caraccas, on Mount Avila. The flowers of this, and of most of the other sorts, are scarlet. Thibaudia is a genus of evergreen shrubs, natives of Peru, with coriaceous entire leaves, and drooping bracteolate flowers, disposed in lateral corymbose racemes. Twenty species, green-house or stove plants, have been described, but none of them are yet introduced. T. cordifolia H. B. et Kunth Nov. Gen. Amer., 3. p. 271. t. 255., a native of New Granada, on the Andes, will give an idea of the genus. Cavendishia nobilis Lindl. is a shrub, with laurel-like leaves, and its flowers arranged in capitate racemes, mostly terminal. The corolla is bright crimson, and tubular, about 1 in. long "A most lovely plant," which constitutes a new genus, nearly related to Thibaúdia. It is a native of the Cordilleras of Peru, whence dried specimens were sent home by Mr. Mathews; and the plant in a living state, Dr. Lindley anticipates, will soon find its way to England. (See Bot. Reg., Sept. 1835, and Gard. Mag., xi, p. 523.) Agapètes D. Don, Don's Mill., 3. p. 862., is a genus, the species of which are evergreen shrubs, natives of the East Indies, chiefly of Java, with lanceolate coriaceous leaves with denticulated mar. ins, and scarlet flowers, corymbose and racemose. Sixteen species have been described by D. Don, and also in Don's Miller; but none of them have been yet figured or introduced. Ceratostèma Juss. is a genus of evergreen shrubs, natives of Peru, with oblong coriaceous leaves, and large scarlet flowers. C. grandiflora is described by Ruiz et Pav. in Fl. Per., 4. t. 383. f. b. App. III. Of the Cultivation of the Hardy Ericacea, including the Laying out and Planting of an Ericacetum. In taking a survey of all the different species composing the order Ericàceæ, it will be found that, in a practical point of view, they are all shrubs; very few of them exceeding 5 ft. or 6 ft. in height, till they attain a considerable age. The only exceptions to this remark are to be found in the genera Arbutus, Andrómeda, and Vaccínium; two or three species of which attain the height of small trees in 10 or 12 years. All the species of Ericàceæ either require, or prefer, a soil containing more or less of peat or heath mould; and that, though some species of several of the genera will grow in common garden soil, that even these will grow better in soil containing a mixture of sand and peat, together with rich loam, or loam and leaf mould. Hence the Ericàceæ, from being a truly natural order in their physiognomy, from being all nearly alike in point of magnitude, from all requiring the same kind of soil, from the species consisting both of deciduous and evergreen plants, and from some of them flowering in every month of the year, are peculiarly well adapted for being cultivated together, so as to occupy one entire scene or garden. This garden, for obvious reasons, we propose to call an ericacetum, which, the reader will bear in mind, differs from an ericetum, in containing all the plants of the order Ericaceae, while an ericetum, or heathery, is limited to the species of the section Eríceæ normales. All plants which require peat soil do so in consequence of their having hair-like roots; and, in the culture of the ligneous Ericàceæ, as of all plants whatever in peat soil, to insure success, it is essentially necessary to keep the soil in an equable degree of moisture. The reason is, that plants having hairlike roots never extend these to any great distance from the stem, or main root; and, consequently, that they draw their nourishment, or what, in a practical sense, is equivalent to it, their moisture, from a very limited space. Hence, no plants suffer more from drought than the Ericàceæ, whether in the open air in beds, or in the green-house in pots; and no plants are more difficult to recover after they have sustained injury from being kept too dry. Hence, in very hot summers, the rhododendrons, azaleas, and other shrubs of this order, which grow in common garden or shrubbery soil, are frequently killed to the ground, without shooting up again the following year, as is the case with the shrubs of most other orders, killed down by drought. Every American garden, therefore, ought to be laid out in some situation, and, according to some principle, not only favourable to the retention of the natural moisture of the soil, but also favourable to the application of moisture artificially. A level surface at once supplies both the conditions to a certain extent; and a level surface, sunk 5 ft. or 6 ft. below the surrounding surface, supplies both in the most perfect manner. The advantage of placing an American ground in an excavation some feet under the surrounding surface is, that the soil in the excavation will always be moister than that of the surrounding surface, in proportion as the one is lower than the other. The soil in such an excavation will also be found cooler than that of the general surface, though both may be alike exposed to the direct rays of the sun. These results may not at the first sight appear obvious; but they take place in consequence of temperature and water having both a continual tendency to come to a level. An ericacetum ought, therefore, to be laid out in an excavation, the surface of which is reduced to a perfect level, in order to gain all the advantages of moisture and coolness which the natural situation affords : and, to admit of supplying water artificially to the soil in the beds in the most economical manner; and, at the same time, in the manner best adapted for the plants, the excavation should be intersected with drains at regular distances; all these drains communicating with a main drain in the centre, and this main drain communicating with the source of the water, which should be so arranged as to be turned on and turned off at pleasure. The drains may be laid out in parallel lines, 10 ft. or 12 ft. apart, and 2 ft. or 3 ft. under the surface; and they may be formed of bricks, laid without mortar, 9 in. deep, and 44 in. wide. The main drain in the centre, with which they communicate, may be a foot wide, and a foot deep. The bottom of all the drains ought to be on the same level. The water may be admitted to one end of the main drain by various means. If conveyed under ground in a pipe, that pipe should be 3 ft. or 4 ft. under the surface, so as not to be injured by frost; and the stopcock may be reached from the surface through a vertical shaft of 2 in. or 3 in. in diameter, formed by brickwork, and closed at the surface by a brick or stone, so as not to appear unsightly. If the water is supplied from a pump on the spot, that pump need not lift the water higher than the upper surface of the drain; and it may easily be contrived with a removable handle, so as to have no appearance of a pump, except when it is in use. Where the water is supplied by water-carts, or from a pond at a short distance, it is only necessary to pour it into the main drain through a funnel carried up in masonry or brickwork to the surface, from the centre of the main drain, having a stopper of brick or stone to put on when not in use. Water may be supplied artificially to an ericacetum by surface drains; but these will not apply so well as under drains, in cases where the garden con |