120 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
- Asclepias—continued. 
‘lower ones four to six in a whorl; upper ones three in a whorl, 
or opposite. h. 2ft. ft. Mexico, 1821. Greenhouse ever- 
green. 
A. phytolaccoides (Phytolacca-like). fl. purple; corona white, 
with truncate leaflets; umbels lateral and terminal, solitary, on 
long peduncles, drooping. July. J. broad, ovate-oblong, acute, 
glabrous, paler beneath. Stem erect, simple, spotted with 
dia h. 3ft. to 4ft. Virginia and Carolina (on the mountains), 
purpurascens (purplish). f. purple; umbels erect. July. 
l. opposite, large, ovate, with a purplish middle nerve, villous 
beneath. Stem simple, rather hairy at top, brownish green at 
bottom. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Virginia (in shady swamps), 1732. 
Hardy. Syn. A. hybrida. 
A. gsi pepe (four-leaved).* jl. white, small, sweet-scented, 
with red nectaries; umbels twin, terminal, loose-flowered ; 
dicels filiform, July. J. ovate, acuminated, petiolate ; those 
in the middle of the stem larger, and four in a whorl; the rest 
ge Stems erect, simple, glabrous, h. lft. New York, 
1820. Hardy species. 
A. rubra (red), jl. red; umbels compound. July, August. J. al- 
ternate, ovate, acuminated. Stem erect, simple. h. lft. to 2ft. 
Virginia, 1825. 
A, Sullivanti (Sullivant’s). Similar to A. syriaca, but having 
larger and deeper coloured flowers. 
A. syriaca (Syrian).* fl. pale puss sweet scented, in large, 
loose, drooping umbels. July. l. opposite, lanceolate-oblong, or 
oval, gradually acute, tomentose beneath, Stems simple. h. 3ft. 
to 5ft. North America, 1629, SYN. A. Cornuti. 
pe Fic. 158. FLOWERING BRANCH OF ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA. 
A. variegata (variegated). fl., petals and foliola of coron i 
x l xi -, pet a white, 
fructification red, in dense umbels, very handsome; amabield 
almost sessile ; pedicels hai July. l. opposi i 
0 re 3 . l opposite, ovate, petiolate, 
wrinkled, naked, toms ehapie erect, variegated with purple. 
h, 3tt. to 4ft. New York to Carolina (on dry, sandy hills), for 
A. verticillata (whorled). /l., corolla with yellowish gree 
and white nectaries ; umbels mariy-flowcred, July and ta arg 
1. very narrow, linear, thick, quite glabrous, usually verticillate 
_ but sometimes scattered. Stems erect, often branched, having 
a downy line on one side. h. lft. to 2ft. New Jersey, 1759. 
ASCYRON. See Hypericum Ascyron. 
ASCYRUM (from a, without, and skyros, hard; that is 
_to say, a plant which is soft to the touch). Orn. Hyperi- 
cine. A genus of elegant little herbs and sub-shrubs, with 
sessile, entire leaves, destitute of pellucid dots, but usually 
hed with black dots beneath. Flowers resembling 
- they: showid 
Ascyrum—continued. 
Hypericum. They require to be protected during winter 
by a frame; for this purpose they should be grown in pots, 
as they never exist long in the open border. A compost of 
peat, pure leaf soil, and sand, in equal portions, suits them 
well; young cuttings of the shrubby kinds will root in 
sand under a hand bell glass. Propagated by careful 
divisions of the roots in spring. All may be raised from 
seeds. 
A. amplexicaule (stem-clasping). fl. yellow, few, axillary, and 
terminal; corymbs naked. July. J. stem-clasping, ovate, cordate, 
sinuately-curled. Stem dichotomously panicled, h. 2ft, North 
America, 1823. ‘The flowers and leaves are longer in this than 
in any other of the species, 
A. Crux Andrez (St. Andrew’s Cross).* fl., petals narrow, pale 
yellow, nearly sessile, in terminal corymbs, July. J. ovate- 
linear, obtuse, usually in bundles in the axils. Stem shrubby, 
round, A. 1ft. North America (in sandy fields), 1759, This proves 
to be quite hardy in many situations. 
A. hypericoides (Hypericum-like). fl. yellow. 
linear, oblong, obtuse. h. 2ft. North America, 1759. 
A. stans (standing). fl. yellow. August. J. oval or oblong, some- = 
what clasping. h. 2ft. North America, 1816. P 
ASHES. The earthy or mineral particles of com- 
bustible substances, remaining after combustion. Ashes 
are amongst the most economical manures. 
Vegetable Ashes are generally the best application for 
August. l 
manuring boggy, cold, and, consequently, sour and unprofit- 
able land, in quantities of about forty bushels per acre, 
thinly and evenly distributed. The annual exhaustion of 
salts from large crops of grain, roots, and grass, is from 
1801b. to more than 250Ib. per acre; and the aggregate of 
a few years will so far impoverish the soil in one or more 
of the principles necessary to sustain a luxuriant vegetation, 
that it will cease to yield remunerating returns. The ashes 
of vegetables consist of such elements as are always re- 
quired for their perfect maturity, and it is evident they 
must furnish one of the best saline manures which can be 
supplied for their growth; they contain, in fact, every 
element, and generally_in the right proportions, for insuring 
a fill and rapid growth. Both gardener and farmer will 
therefore perceive the great value of Ashes to their crops. 
Coal Ashes. The bituminous and anthracite coals afford 
Ashes, and, although inferior in quality to those made from 
wood and vegetables, are, like them, a valuable manure, and 
be applied to the land in a similar manner. If 
n many cinders, from not having been thoroughly 
they: 
