COLCHICUM. 97 



is formed every year, as the old one decays. The leaves 

 begin to wither in May, soon after which the roots should 

 be taken out of the earth, put in a shady place to dry, 

 wiped clean from earth, decayed fibres, &;c. and put into 

 a dry place, safe from insects, &c. until the beginning of 

 August, when they should be planted again, about three 

 or four inches deep, in a sandy soil. 



The pot should be about six inches wide and nine deep. 

 Water should be given in small quantities, and if the pot 

 be placed in the shade, exposed to the dews and light 

 summer showers, it need not be watered at all, until after 

 the plant has begun to shoot above the earth. 



It injures the root of the Colchicum to pluck the flower 

 when newly blown, as it deprives the new root which 

 is forming of a part of its nourishment. It will likewise 

 be improper to delay planting the roots after the beginning 

 of August, as they will otherwise vegetate, and produce their 

 flowers without planting, which will greatly weaken them. 



COLUMBINE. 



AQUILEGIA. 



RANUNCULACE^. POLYAXDRIA PENTAGYNIA. 



Cock's-foot or culverwort. — The botanical name for this plant, Aqui- 

 legia or Aquilina, is derived from aquila, an eagle, from a notion that 

 the nectaries resemble an eagle's claws. Our English name, colum- 

 bine, is derived from the resemblance which, in a wild state, these 

 parts bear, both in form and colour, to the head and neck of a dove, 

 for which the Latin name is columba. — French, aiglantine, la colom- 

 bine, la galantine ; gands de notre dame [our lady's gloves]. — Italian, 

 achellea, colombina, perfetto amore [true love], celidona maggiore 

 [great celandine]; at Venice, galeti. " 



The Common Columbine is generally, in its wild state, 

 of a blue colour, whence it is named the Blue Starry, but 

 in the neighbourhood of Berne, and in Norfolk, it has 



