, and, though the colours are not showy, they
are attractive from the way in which they are borne on the straight
stems and the absence of the larger leaves. It is a desirable species
for the garden; a few specimens grown amongst a mass of the "winter
aconite" are enough to make one forget that it is winter.

Cultivation, as for _H. niger_.

Flowering period, February to April.

Hepatica Angulosa.

_Nat. Ord._ RANUNCULACEAE.

This is a very distinct species. It comes from North America, and is
twice the size of _H. triloba_ in all its parts; the leaves are more
cut, and very woolly; the flowers are bright mauve, and 11/2in. across.
All the Hepaticas are slow growers, but _H. angulosa_ is the more
vigorous. Some say they should be grown in peat, but I never saw them so
fine in peat as in strong loam, well drained and manured; they are the
better with slight shade. I do not object to peat, as possibly it may be
more suitable than the natural soil of some gardens. Still, if I had to
make up a compost for Hepaticas, I should freely use strong loam on a
well-drained site. With me they have been in flower nearly three months,
commencing in February.

It seems desirable to increase these fine spring flowers, but they are
most impatient of being disturbed, and, after all, the increase can
exist in no finer form than in big clumps, though when they are to be
propagated the roots should be divided before the new leaves are
produced, which is during the blooming period. A deeply-dug and
well-manured plot should be prepared for them, and their long roots
should not be doubled up in the least; they both need and deserve great
care.

Flowering period, February to April.

Hepatica Triloba.

_Syns._ ANEMONE TRILOBA _and_ ANEMONE HEPATICA; _Nat.
Ord._ RANUNCULACEAE.

[Illustration: FIG. 50. HEPATICA TRILOBA.

(One-third natural size.)]

The well-known common Hepatica, of which there are so many beautiful
varieties. It is a hardy perennial, one of the "old-fashioned" flowers
of English gardens, and is said by some to be a British species; anyhow,
it was well known and admired in this country 300 years ago.
Well-established specimens form neat tufts of three-lobed leaves on long
stems, which are not evergreen in this climate, though the Hepaticas are
known to be so in North America, one of their most extensive habitats.
Here, under cultivation, they produce much finer flowers, and more of
them. The cut (Fi