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AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 493 
Drakæa—continued. 
. porting same is slender, and about 14ft. long. D. ciliata 
and D. irritabilis have several flowers on a stem. They 
thrive in a compost of peat, loam, and rough sand. Pro- 
" pagated by divisions. . 
DRAWING, or DRAWN. А term applied to 
plants whose growth has been unnaturally hastened by 
. Boft-wooded plants, or young shoots, often become Drawn 
in eonsequence of insufficient air and light, or an excess 
of heat and moisture. Such а condition is always to be 
avoided, as solidity of growth is impossible, and weak- 
ness in the plant follows as a matter of course. 
DREPANOCARPUS (from drepanon, a sickle, and 
karpos, a fruit; in reference to the form of the pods, 
which are faleate). Sickle-pod. Овр. Leguminose. A 
genus comprising eight species of ornamental stove ever- 
green shrubs, all of which are natives of tropical America, 
and one of West tropieal Afriea also. "They thrive best in 
а peat and loam compost. Cuttings of nearly ripe shoots, 
intact, root in sand, if placed under a glass, in bottom 
heat. 
_D. lunatus (half-moon-podded). Л. white; panicles terminal, 
ferruginous. J. impari-pinnate, with usually from five to nine 
nearly opposite oval-oblong leaflets; spines stipular, hooked. 
h. 6ft. to Tore. Tropical America and Western Africa, 1792. 
DRESSING. A term applied both to the renovation 
y digging, and the incorporation of manure for en- 
riching, the ground.  Top-dressing is the operation of 
spreading manure, &c., over the surface, whilst the plant 
or crop is in a growing condition. 
A term applied to the plan of sowing 
he open ground, in drills or shallow 
made with a hoe. 'The ground should 
кед rather fine, and a line laid the required 
is , and strained tight. The workman must then 
walk on the ground and make a trench next the line 
with the end of the hoe-blade. The depth may be regu- 
_ lated according to the size of the seed or the sorts. 
. This method, for economy in seed sowing, is much 
superior to any other; for not only сап the quantity at 
command be distributed more evenly, and the necessity 
of severely thinning the young plants thereby obviated, 
but weeding can be performed with every facility. Drills 
should be parallel to each other, and uniform in depth 
and, distance apart. 
DRIMIA (from drimys, acrid; the juice of the roots 
is so acrid as to cause inflammation when applied to the 
skin). Syns. Idothea and Idothearia. Окъ. Liliacem. A 
genus of greenhouse' bulbous plants. They require a 
mixture of sandy loam , legf mould, or peat soil, and, 
when not in a growing" state, *water should be almost 
ly withheld. There are over a dozen species, all 
\ T tropical and Southern Africa; the few in cul- 
tivation are rarely met with, except in botanic gardens. 
ione of them can fairly be called showy plants. — | 
DRIMIOPSIS (from Drimia, and opsis, resemblance). 
ORD. Liliacew. A genus of about half-a-dozen species of 
little-known greenhouse bulbous plants, not unlike Drimia, 
and requiring similar treatment. The flowers are usually 
greenish-white. The following species are most worthy 
of cultivation : 
D. Kirkii(Dr. Kirk's).* fl., 
- . l contempo: П 
narrowed to the base, pale green on the upper surface, with 
om а few of the lowest 
]k- 
overcrowding, о” being placed too far from the glass. ` 
as if covered with dew, in consequence of being beset with 
Drimiopsis—continued. 
emergent and squamose, h. Yin. to lft. Ca Colony, 1851. An 
ornamental and interesting plant, flowering Freely when grown in 
dorm and airy greenhouse, and kept near the light. (Ref. B. iii. 
DRIMYS (from drimys, acrid, or drimytes, sharp- 
ness; referring to the taste of bark) Syn. Wintera. 
OR». Magnoliacee. A genus of five species, one of which 
is South American, two Australasian, and one each from 
New Zealand and Borneo. Fine evergreen half-hardy 
trees, with aromatic bark, and axilary and terminal 
flowers. D. Winteri is the species most frequently seen in 
cultivation. It grows very freely, but requires а little 
management in the training, and the long branches will 
need cutting back. It has been found to succeed out of 
doors when planted in sandy loam against a wall, if the 
winters are not severe. Propagated by cuttings, made K 
of half-ripened shoots, inserted under a glass, in a cold x 
frame. E E 
D. aromatica (aromatic). Л. white, pink, dicecious ; sepals three, 
very concave; petals six, in two rings, or occasionally eight. 
‘April. jr. globose, sub-didymous. l. oblong, gradually арен 
at base along the petiole, light green, distinctly marked wit! 
transparent dots, veinless on the under side. h. 9ft. to 12ft. 
Tasmania, 1 Every part of the plant is highly aromatic 
and pungent to the taste. The fruit is occasionally used as 
pepper. (B. R. 1845, 43, under name of Tasmannia aromatica.) 
D. Winteri (Winter’s).* fi. milk-white, lin. or more across, 
with a Jasmine-like perfume ; petals eight to twelve; peduncles 
almost simple, aggregate, divided into elongated pedicels, i. 
oblong, obtuse; under surface glaucous. л. 25. South America, 
1827. Бүх. Wintera aromatica. (B. M. 4820.) e 
DRIMYSPERMUM. A synonym of Phaleria. 
 DROPWORT. Se Spiræa Filipendula. _ 
DROSERA (from droseros, dewy; the plants appear 
glandular hairs). Sundew. ORD. Droseracem. A 
of about a hnndred species of annual or perennial g 
(very rarely glabrous) herbs, sometimes bulbous. о е 
small-growing, but very beautiful, plants, of insectivorous — 
notoriety. Some of the species, too, are climbers. Dro- . 
seras are scattered over most parts of the world, and - 
usually prefer marshy places. Some, however—several Aus- 
tralian kinds especially—grow in the driest ground, where 
their bulbous roots remain dormant for the greater of 
the year, reviving with the first rains. Flowers im scor- 
pioid revolute cymes, rarely solitary. Leaves ornamented” 
with reddish irritable glandular hairs, discharging : 
their apices a drop of viscid acrid fluid. They are of easy - 
culture, and the majority of those in cultivation thrive - 
well in a compost of living sphagnum and a little peat. 
Plenty of drainage is essential, and the pots in which they _ 
are grown should be stood in a pan of water. Thorough . 
exposure to the light is also important. Propagated 
seeds, which should be sown so soon after gathe: 
possible. D. binata, which is, of the exotic spe 
grown, was formerly increased by i di 
sub-divisions of the crowns. I 
that roots taken from strong p 
genus 
of jin. or lin, in length, will serve the p 
These Are 14 on the surface of shallow. і 
pans, in sand$ peat soil, and covered about jin. deep with 
the same material. They are then placed under a bell 
glass, and transferred to a damp, warm propagating 
house. In the course of a fortnight, swellings begin 
to appear on the surface of the detached roots, which 
increase in length till they reach the top of the. soil. 
This generally takes place about five weeks after being. 
put in. When about 2in. or so in height, they are 
separated, and put into small pots, in similar soil to 
that into which the roots were originally placed, with 
the addition of some chopped sphagnum. If carefully 
attended to, they soon make excellent plants. All the 
species (even the British ones, which, as a matter of · 
course, are perfectly hardy) do well treated as green- _ 
house ри ^ | oo E ou s D 
