ly propagated
by laying down the branches, which will take root in one year, and may
then be cut from the old plant, and planted where they are designed to
remain: it may also be propagated by cuttings, which should be planted
early in the autumn, and guarded against the effects of severe frosts.

"When these plants are removed, they should be planted either against
some wall, pale, or other fence, where the flexible branches may be
supported. These plants should be permitted to grow rude in the summer,
otherwise there will be no flowers; but after the summer is past, the
luxuriant shoots should be pruned off, and the others must be nailed to
the support.

"There are two varieties of this with variegated leaves, one with white,
the other with yellow stripes, but the latter is the most common: these
are propagated by budding them on the plain Jasmine; they require to be
planted in a warm situation, especially the white-striped, for they are
much more tender than the plain, and in very severe winters their
branches should be covered with mats or straw to prevent their being
killed." _Miller's Gard. Dict._

[32]

~Mesembryanthemum dolabriforme. Hatchet-leav'd Fig-Marigold.~

_Class and Order._

~Icosandria Pentagynia.~

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-fidus. _Petala_ numerosa, linearia. _Caps._ carnosa infera,
polysperma.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

MESEMBRYANTHEMUM _dolabriforme_ acaule, foliis dolabriformibus
punctatis. _Lin. Syst. Veg. p._ 470.

FICOIDES capensis humilis, foliis cornua cervi referentibus, petalis
luteis noctiflora, _Bradl. suc._ 1. _p._ 11. _t._ 10. _Dillen Hort.
Elth. t._ 191. _f._ 237.

[Illustration: No. 32]

Though many Latin names of plants, as _Geranium_, _Hepatica_,
_Convolvulus_, &c. are more familiar to the ear, and more generally used
than their English ones, yet _Mesembryanthemum_ though used by some,
appears too long to be generally adopted, its English name of
_Fig-marigold_ is doubtless to be preferred.

The Fig-marigolds are a very numerous tribe, chiefly inhabitants of the
Cape of Good Hope; no less than thirty-three species are figured in that
inestimable work the _Hortus Elthamensis_ of Dillenius. As most of these
plants grow readily from slips, or cuttings, and require only the
shelter of a common greenhouse, and as they recommend themselves to our
notice, either from the extreme singularity of their foliage, the beauty
of their flowers, or the peculi