Hamiltonia
(named after William Hamilton, an eminent American botanist). SYN. Spermadictyon. ORD. Rubiaceae. A genus comprising three or four species of ornamental stove evergreen shrubs, natives of tropical and sub-tropical India, China, and the Indian Archipelago. Flowers white or blue, fascicled or umbellate; corolla funnel-shaped. Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, shortly petioled. A loam and peat compost is most suited to Hamiltonias. Half-ripened cuttings root freely in sand, under a glass, with a moist bottom heat. H. scabra (rough). fl. azure-blue, deliciously fragrant; inflorescence densely villous. November to March. l. ovate-lanceolate, short-acuminated, scabrous on both surfaces. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Nepaul, 1823. SYN. Spermadictyon azureum. (B. R. 1235.) H. spectabilis (showy). fl. lilac-blue, in large, much-branched panicles, agreeably scented. Winter. l. ovate-lanceolate, green and smooth above, paler and rough beneath. h. 4ft. to 6ft. (R. H. 1872, 191.) H. suaveolens (sweet-smelling). fl. pure white, sessile, in terminal corymb-formed heads, very fragrant. October. l. broad-lanceolate, 3in. to 6in. long. h. 4ft. to 6ft. India to China, 1818. (B. R. 348.) HAMMER, GARDEN. Hammers are principally used in gardening for nailing wall trees. The head should be rather short, and quite flat at the end used for driving nails. The other end should be shaped like a claw, and turned back sufficiently to serve as a fulcrum for drawing out nails that are useless or misplaced.