13 



AMARANTUS. 



, the stems erect, the plants have the 

 I best effect when grown in rows at the 

 I hack of a Lorder ; or when each plant 

 j rises by itself from a circular patch 

 ! inala-wTi. An avenue of Hollyhocks, 

 i without any other flowering plants, 

 i is also very grand and ornamental, 

 ' especially if the background on each 

 side of the avenue be a hedge of 

 , Laurel or some other e vergi-een shrub. 

 i The fine effect of the Hollyhock with 

 I such a background is nowhere better 

 } seen than at Dropmore. The seeds 

 ! of the Hollyhock, which is a biennial, 

 I should be sown in March ; and in 

 i April, when the plants come up, they 

 ' should be thinned out, and then suf- 

 j fered to remain till September, when 

 ; they should be transplanted to the 



■ place where they are to flower. As the 

 , Hollyhock requires a rich and strong 

 I soil, it will be advisable, if the general 



soil of the garden be not of that 



nature, to dig a pit two feet in diameter 



and two feet deep, which should be 



tilled with equal parts of good strong 



1 loam and thoroughly rotten dung 



j chopped up and well mixed together 



j with the spade. "When the pit is fill- 



I ed, the earth should be allowed a fevr 



days to settle, and then filled up to 



the general level of the garden ; after 



which the young Hollyhocks should 



be planted in it, singly, if the plants 



; be very strong, and three together 



I if they should be weak. When the 



i flower-stem appears, it should be tied 



to a stake, if not strong enough to 



i support itself. 



Alth^'a Fru'tex. — See Hibi's- 

 cus. 

 V Alt'ssum. — Crucifene. — Mad- 



■ wort. — Herbaceous plants, both per- 

 j ennial and annual, of low growth, 



and with shov/y flowers, chiefly na- 

 ' tives of Europe. A. saxdt He, which. 

 j grows about a foot high, and which 

 produces yellow flowers in April, is 

 one of the most ornamental of the 

 perennial species, and is well adapted 



either for rockwork or pots ; as is ^ . 

 delto'ideum L., {A ahrietia deltoidea, 

 Dec, ), which has purple flowers. The 

 Sweet Alyssum, A. halimifdlium, or 

 A. calycinum, now called Konlga 

 marltima, which has white flowers, 

 is well adapted for edgings to beds. A. 

 saxdtile, and all the other perennial 

 j and shrubby species, are placed by 

 j some botanists in a new genus called 

 Adyseiiim ; but this genus is not ge- 

 ; nerally adopted. All the species are 

 I of the easiest cultui-e in common soil, 

 ; if not kept too moist ; but they thrive 

 ; best in sand or gravel. The perennial 

 ; species are readily increased by cut- 

 tings planted under a hand-glass, and 

 the annual ones by seeds. Though 

 the perennial species are very hardy, 

 yet as they are, in truth, not true per- 

 ennials, but plants -vvdth half- 

 shrubby or sufiruticose stems, they 

 are apt to be inj ured by either severe 

 winters or very hot summers (for, 

 though injured by much wet, the 

 I roots will soon wither if they are 

 I kept too dry), and consequently they 

 } require to be renewed every three or 

 four years. 



1 Amaranth, — The Amaranth of 

 I the poets is generally supposed to 

 i be the Globe Amaranth. — See Gom- 

 I phre'na. 



! Amara'ntus. — Amaranthacece. 

 '■ — An extensive genus of annuals, 

 '' chiefly natives of warm climates, most 

 of which will flower in the open air 

 I in this country, if sown in February 

 \ on a hotbed, and planted out in May. 

 I The most common species are A . hypo- 

 I chondnacus (the Prince's Feather), 

 \ and J.. cai{(/af;;s (Love-lies-bleeding), 

 j both old inhabitants of British gar- 

 ! dens, and of the easiest culture. A. 

 I f77Co/or is a greenhouse annual, chiefly 

 ; remarkable for the red and white 

 ' blotches in the centre of its leaves, 

 \ The leaves of all the species may be 

 I used as Spinach ; and those of one 

 I species, Amardntus oleraceus (Chu- 



