SUN-FLOWER. «7ft 



rustic gardeners, and which is thus observed by 

 Clare in his Village Minstrel : 



** And Sun-flower planting for their gilded show, 

 That scale the window's lattice ere they blow, 

 Then, sweet to habitants within tlie sheds, 

 Peep through the diamond panes tlieir golden heads." 



The Perennial Sun-flower, Helianthiis Multi- 

 jlorus, is a native plant of Virginia, and it is of 

 long standing in our gardens, since it is both de- 

 scribed and figured in Gerard's Herbal, who ob- 

 serves, that he had never seen the seed. The 

 Perennial Sun-flower rarely produces seeds in 

 England, but it is easily increased by parting 

 the roots ; and it is by far the most desirable 

 kind for ornamenting the shrubbery, since it con- 

 tinues to give out a multitude of flowers from the 

 month of July to the end of October. This plant 

 is remarkable for not being affected by the smoky 

 atmosphere of London, and is one amongst the 

 small number of plants that will flourish in our 

 overgrown capital. 



The tuberous-rooted Helianthus, or Jerusalem 

 Artichoke, has already been noticed at some 

 length in the first volume of the History of Cul- 

 tivated Vegetables. America has afforded us 

 eleven other species of the Helianthus, which are 

 seldom cultivated excepting in botanical gardens. 



