soil and exposure), and which reach a height of 5-8 ft. It is sometimes grown as a glasshouse plant. It is cucurbitaceous (allied to melons and gourds).

Abronia. Californian trailing perennials, but treated as hardy annuals. They thrive in any warm, open garden soil, and are very satisfactory for the margins of beds or borders. The little flowers are borne in clusters. A. latifolia or arenaria (yellow) and A. umbellata or grandiflora (pink) are the leading kinds. Usually sown where they are to bloom. Peel the husk off the seed before sowing.

Abutilon striatum

Abutilons, or Flowering Maples as they are called by many, make fine house or bedding plants. Common kinds may be grown from seed or from cuttings of young wood. If the former, the seed should be sown in February or March in a temperature of not less than 60°. The seedlings should be potted when from four to six leaves have grown, in a rich, sandy soil. Frequent pottings should be made to insure a rapid growth, making plants large enough to flower by fall. Or, the seedlings may be planted out in the border when danger of frost is over, and taken up in the fall before frost: these plants will bloom all winter. About one-half of the newer growth should be cut off when they are taken up, as they are very apt to spindle up when grown in the house. When grown from cuttings, young wood should be used, which, after being well rooted, may be treated in the same manner as the seedlings. The varieties with variegated leaves have been improved until the foliage effects are equal to the flowers of some varieties; and, these are a great addition to the conservatory or window garden. The staple spotted-leaved type is A. Thompsoni. A compact form, now much used for bedding and other outdoor work, is Savitzii, which is a horticultural variety, not a distinct species. The old-fashioned green-leaved A. striatum, from which A. Thompsoni has probably sprung, is one of the best. A. megapotamicum or vexillarium is a trailing or drooping red-and-yellow-flowered species, which is excellent for baskets. It propagates readily from seed. Abutilons are most satisfactory for house plants when they are not much more than a year old. They need no special treatment.

Aconitum. Monk’s Hood. Wolf’s Bane. Hardy herbaceous perennials allied to larkspurs. They are showy border plants, usually flowering the first year from seed, if the seed is started early, and bearing panicles of quaint hood-shaped, rich flowers. The colors have a wide range, but are usually deep blue. The improved varieties are much superior in size and markings. Aconitums are most effective when planted in a mixed border: the flower stalks being held well up, show the blossoms to good advantage. Seed may be sown every two years, as the plants in their year-old and 2-year-old stage have the largest blossoms. Sow in gentle heat in March, transplanting to border when the weather is settled. Roots may be divided if desired, but best results are to be expected from seedlings. A. Napellus is the commonest one. The plants are very poisonous if eaten. Bloom in early summer. 2-3 ft.

Acroclinium. A low-growing everlasting annual flower, white, violet, or rose in color. Seeds should preferably be started in a hotbed or window, and planted out when danger of frost is past; the flowers should be gathered when half expanded and hung in the shade to dry. Half-hardy. Plant 1 foot apart. Grow 10-15 in. high. See Everlastings.

Adlumia cirrhosa

Adlumia. Mountain Fringe. Allegheny Vine. One of the daintiest of climbers, making a very rapid growth, and when once established seeding itself and thriving for years, growing 10 or 15 feet in a season. Give rich, rather moist soil. It is biennial, blooming the second year. Flowers like those of the bleeding heart and other dicentras. It is native.

Adonis. A low-growing hardy annual or perennial of the easiest culture. It makes a fine mass effect, as the flowers are a striking dark scarlet or crimson color, and the plants are very free and continuous bloomers. Sow early in the spring where wanted. The perennial yellow-flowered sorts sometimes bloom the first year from seed. Adonises are very neat in habit, and the foliage is fine and interesting. 10-15 in.

Agapanthus. African Lily. A tuberous-rooted, well known conservatory or window plant. It lends itself to many conditions and proves satisfactory a large part of the year, the leaves forming a green arch over the pot, covering it entirely in a well grown specimen. The flowers are borne in a large cluster on stems growing from 2 to 3 ft. high, as many as two or three hundred bright blue flowers often forming on a single plant. A large, well grown plant throws up a number of flower-stalks through the early season. The one essential to free growth is an abundance of water and an occasional application of manure water. Propagation is effected by division of the offsets, which may be broken from the main plant in early spring. After flowering, gradually lessen the quantity of water until they are placed in winter quarters, which should be a position free from frost and moderately dry. The Agapanthus, being a heavy feeder, should be grown in strong loam to which is added well rotted manure and a little sand.

Ageratum

Ageratum. A half-hardy annual, used as a border plant, for ribbon bedding for mass effect, or in mixed beds of geranium, coleuses and other plants. The seeds germinate readily, but as the plant is only half-hardy and is usually wanted in flower when planted out, it is usual to sow the seed in boxes placed in hotbeds or windows in March, transplanting the seedlings to small boxes or pots and growing the young plants on until the 1st of May, when they may be planted out. Pieces of young wood root very easily, and the gardener usually increases his stock by cuttings. The dwarf varieties are the most desirable, and the two colors, blue and white, may be planted together. 2-3 ft. Plants may be taken up in the fall and set in the house; cut them back severely.

Allegheny Vine. See Adlumia.

Almond is about as hardy as the peach, but it blooms so early in the spring that it is little grown east of the Pacific slope. It is an interesting ornamental tree, and its early bloom is a merit when the fruit is not desired. The Almonds commonly sold by nurserymen in the east are hard-shell varieties, and the nuts are not good enough for commerce. The Almond fruit is a drupe, like the peach, but the flesh is thin and hard and the pit is the “Almond” of commerce. Culture the same as for peach.

Flowering Almond is a very early-flowering bush, excellent for shrub-borders. It is usually grafted on plum stock,