GENTIAN. 651 



These plants arc raised from seed that should he 

 sown in the autumn, as soon after they are ripe as 

 possible. They are usually sown in pots, which 

 require to be kept in a shady situation : when the 

 young plants appear above the earth they must be 

 duly watered in dry weather, and in the autumn 

 they may be planted into the beds where they are 

 to remain, as there is danger in removing them ; 

 for if the root, which is like that of the carrot, be 

 broken, it generally causes the plant to perish. 

 The stalks decay down to the ground every win- 

 ter, and they seldom flower oftener than every 

 third year, and never blossom two successive years ; 

 but the roots remain sound for a great length of 

 time in the earth. 



