SNAP-DRAGON. 179 



though the plant generally dies in the winter, 

 whilst those that grow on a dry or rocky soil con- 

 tinue for several years. They are easily raised 

 from seed, which should be sown in April, and 

 it may be increased also by cuttings if planted 

 during the summer months. When intended to 

 ornament rock-work, the seeds should be scat- 

 tered both in the autumn and in the spring, which 

 will ensure a supply of plants without farther 

 trouble ; and they are observed to endure the 

 winter better in such situations than when grow- 

 ing in the borders of the garden. 



The Antirrhinum may be considered rather a 

 rustic than an elegant plant, and it should there- 

 fore not occupy a place in the parterre amongst 

 choice flowers, but should be mixed with the 

 shrubs in the back-ground, or placed on the 

 banks, or most elevated parts of the grounds, 

 where, when in large clumps, it produces a showy 

 effect from the end of spring to the autumn. 



The use of eating oil in this country being so 

 confined to the wealthy and higher orders of so- 

 ciety, that the middle and lower classes have 

 rather an antipathy than a desire for it in their 

 food, this checks the cultivating of those plants 

 that would afford us a substitute for olive-oil. 

 Most of the continental countries consume a great 

 deal of oil, which they consider indispensable in 



N 2 



