TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. 13 



siou ; the sub-shrubby ones by cuttings. Vigorous two-year- 

 old plants are the best for blooming ; the others are unim- 

 portant. The plant commonly called Sweet Alyssum is not 

 of this genus ; it is the Koniga maritlma. 



AMARANTHUS. Amaranth. [Amaranthacese.] Hardy 

 and half-hardy annuals, sometimes showy from the large 

 masses of rich- coloured flowers, as in A. caudatus, in which 

 they droop, and A. hjjwchondriaciis, in which they grow erect ; 

 sometimes grown for the curiously-coloured foliage, as in 

 A. tricolor. Soil for the hardy sorts, rich garden mould : 

 these are propagated by seeds sown in the open borders in 

 April, the young plants thinned out to six inches apart. The 

 tender sorts require a light and highly-manured soil — equal 

 parts light loam, leaf-mould, and decayed manure ; and must 

 be sown in a hotbed in March, and nursed on till the end of 

 May, and then planted out in sheltered places, or grown on 

 in pots along with Balsams, Cockscombs, &c. A. hicolor. 

 half-hardy annual ; foliage red and green. A. caudatus 

 (Love-lies-Bleeding), hardy annual; flowers deep crimson. 

 A. tricolor, half-hardy annual ; foliage green, yellow, and 

 red. 



AMARYLLIS. [Amaryllidace^.] Half-hardy bulbous 

 plants, producing flowers and leaves at diff'erent periods, the 

 flowers very handsome. Soil, rich deep loam. Plant six 

 inches deep in a sheltered and well-drained situation, as at 

 the foot of a south wall. Propagated by seeds, which should 

 be sown thinly in pots, in a frame, as soon as they ripen, 

 and after the second year transplanted. (See also Brunsvigia, 

 HippEASTRUM, Neris^, Vallota.) A. Bauksiana, green- 

 house bulb ; flowers pink. A. belladonna, half-hardy bulb ; 

 flowers rose and white. A. iMllida, half-hardy bulb ; flowers 

 pale blue. 



AMBERBOA. [Compositag.] Hardy annuals. Rich gar- 

 den soil. Propagated by seeds sown in the open borders in 

 March and April. A. vwschata, flowers purple lilac. A. 

 suaveolens, flowers yellow. 



AMELANCHIER. [Rosacese.] Small deciduous trees 

 or shrubs. Common garden soil. Propagated by seeds, 

 layers, or by grafting on the hawthorn. , A. botryapium 

 (Snowy Mespilus), flowers white, in spring. 



