534 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Synnotia— continued. 
them with lin. of soil. The pots may then be plunged 
or stood on ashes in a cool frame, and but little water 
will be required throughout the winter. When the flowers 
appear, more water may be given, and the plants fully 
exposed to light and plenty of air: draughts, however, 
must be avoided. After flowering, growth and a gradual 
ripening should be encouraged, by keeping the plants 
watered for a time. When the leaves die away, the 
bulbs may be shaken out and stored in bags until the 
autumn, or they may be allowed to remain in the soil 
and be kept dry. 
S. bicolor (two-coloured), fl. alternate, distant; perianth violet 
and yellow, the tube curved, the segments ovate; — Zin. 
e 
long ; scape erect, 6in. to 10in. high, simple or branched, leaf: 
ae p y. 
March. J. distichous, striated, acute, Zin. broad, 1786. (B. H. 
ii. 25; B. M. 548, under name of Jzia bicolor.) 
S. galeata (helmeted). /., perianth ringent, the three lower seg- | 
ments yellowish, the others white tinged with red. Z. ovate- 
ensiform. 
Fig, 560. FLOWERING BRANCH OF LILAC CHARLES X. 
S. varis (variegated).* fl alternate, distant ; periant yellow 
and violet, the tube elongated, lżin. long, the uppermost seg- 
ment erect, the two lateral ones recurved; scape terete, simple, 
ee high. May. J. ovate-lanceolate-ensiform, the lower ones 
distichous, the upper ones alternate. 1825. (S. B. F. G. 150.) 
SYNONYM. 
name. 
SYNSEPALOUS. The same as Gamosepalous 
(which see). 
SYRINGA (from syrin, syringos, 
In botany, a superseded or unused 
a pipe; the 
branches are long and straight, and are filled with 
meduila). Lilac; Pipe-tree. Including Ligustrina. ORD. 
Oleacee. A well-known genus, comprising about ten 
species of ornamental, hardy, deciduous, glabrous or 
pubescent shrubs, natives of Eastern Europe and tem- 
perate Asia. Flowers disposed in terminal, thyrsoid or 
trichotomous panicles, the inflorescence at first centri- 
Syringa—continued. 
petal, ultimately often centrifugal; calyx campanulate, 
irregularly toothed; corolla tube cylindrical, rarely 
- shortened; lobes four, shorter or longer than the tube, 
induplicate-valvate; stamens two, affixed nearly at the 
apex of the tube, the filaments short or filiform. Leaves 
opposite, entire or rarely pinnatisect. Nearly all the 
species, and many splendid varieties, have been intro- 
duced to our gardens. The common English name is said 
to have been derived from Lilac or Lilag, the Persian 
word for the flowers. The common Lilac, S. vulgaris, and 
its varieties, are the largest in the genus, and are also 
among the commonest and most beautiful of our spring- 
flowering shrubs. 
Propagation. Lilacs may be readily increased by 
suckers, which are produced in abundance from the roots. 
Scarce or good varieties may be increased by means of 
shield-budding, using a pushing bud in April, or a dormant 
one in July. Orown-grafting or cleft-grafting in March 
is also practicable, either on stocks near the 
ground, or on others prepared as dwarf or tall 
standards. Seedling plants should be raised 
for stocks, as they are less likely to produce 
suckers, which would, in due course, deprive 
the bud or graft of its full amount of nutri- 
ment. Strong-growing varieties are usually 
worked near the ground, and the new shoot 
allowed to run up; others, of slender growth, 
are best united higher up on a more vigorous 
stock. The varieties may also be raised from 
cuttings. 
Cultivation. Few shrubs are more univer- 
sally grown and admired when in flower than 
the species and varieties of Syringa. They 
grow freely, and flower profusely outside in 
almost any soil and situation, but well repay 
any extra attention bestowed in removing 
suckers or giving a little good soil occa- 
sionally. They are also amongst the best of 
subjects for forcing in winter and early spring. 
One of the finest varieties for this latter pur- 
pose is Charles X. (see Fig. 560): its panicles of 
flowers are much larger and more compact 
than the so-called Persian Lilac of gardens 
(S. chinensis), which is, however, well adapted 
for treating in a similar way. In France, 
Lilacs are extensively forced in places where 
light is excluded. The flowers thus become, 
by blanching, pure white, and are in great’ re- 
quest in the flower market for making bou- 
quets, &c.; large quantities being sent annually 
to England, amongst other places. The com- 
mon Lilac (S. vulgaris) is also amenable to 
blanching. It has been recently discovered 
that, if foreed in a sufficiently heated struc- 
ture, the colouring matter has no time to form 
in the flowers, and therefore the same results 
are obtained as if the plant were, according to ¿the old 
recognised method, grown in a place where light was 
excluded. 
Lilac flowers, when blanched pure white, have a very 
chaste and beautiful appearance. The process of blanch- 
ing is best performed in a cellar or shed, from which all 
light can be excluded. A temperature of 55deg. or 60deg., 
with a moist atmosphere, should be maintained, and it 
should preferably be secured by fermenting material com- 
posed of stable litter and leaves. One disadvantage 
connected with blanching is the impossibility of obtaining 
any foliage to accompany the flowers. Leaves procured 
from other plants exposed to light may, however, be 
substituted. 
Forcing. Lilac plants intended for forcing are best 
prepared by being grown purposely in pots; at any rate, 
they should be lifted and potted early in autumn, 
using any ordinary loamy soil, and afterwards standing 
