69 



COMPOSIT.E. 



not generally in use, tliougli it is a 

 common practice with gardeners to 

 remove plants from hotliouses into 

 the back sheds, in order to retard 

 their blossoming or the ripening of 

 their fruit. It is also the practice in 

 some countries to place pots of fruit- 

 bearing or flowering shrubs in ice- 

 houses, so as to keep them dormant 

 through the summer ; and in autumn 

 to remove them to forcing-houses, 

 where, in consequence of having been 

 so long in a state of rest, they grow 

 with great rapidity, and come into 

 flower much sooner than if they had 

 not been so long retarded. Bulbs 

 are also retarded in a similar manner ; 

 and even nosegays are placed in ice- 

 houses in Italy and other warm 

 countries, when it is wished to 

 retard their decay for particular 

 occasions. 



— CoLLi'NSiA. — Scroxjliuldrince. — 

 Califoruian annuals, of great beaiity, 

 and well deserving cultivation. The 

 handsomest species are C. blcolor 

 and C. lietcrophylla, which are very 

 nearly allied ; and which, if sown in 

 autumn, and grown in rich loamy 

 soil, will grow two feet high, and 

 vv-ill produce splendid spikes of 

 flowers. C. rjra ndifihra and C. vern a 

 are also very nearly allied, if not the 

 same; and they are smaller plants, 

 with rather small, but bright coloured 

 flowers, C. verna has bright blue 

 and white flowers. They grow best 

 in stiff clay. 



V CoLLO'^aiA. — Pokmoniacece. — 

 Hardy annuals, natives of California, 

 but scarcely worth growing from 

 their coarse and weedy appearance. 

 C. coccinea is, perhaps, the best. 



Colt's-foot. — See Tussila'go. 



Columbine. — See Aquile'gia. 



CoLU^TEA. — Legiunindsce. — The 

 Bladder Senna. — Large deciduous 

 hardy shrubs, growing and flowering 

 freely in any common soil. C. crucnfa 

 is the smallest and the handsomest 



species. They are all propagated by 

 layers or cuttings. 



Combre'tum. — Co-nilrciacae. — 

 Splendid climbing stove-shrubs, 

 natives of Sierra Leone, where they 

 support themselves by means of a 

 very curious kind of hook, formed 

 by the persistent foot-stalks of the 

 withered leaves. The principal kinds 

 are C. piirpureum, C. comosum, 

 and C. grandifibrinn. They are all 

 very beautiful, and all require to be 

 grown in a mixture of loam and peat. 

 They are propagated by cuttings or 

 layers. Though generally grown in 

 ' a stove, they may be made to flower 

 j in a greenhouse, or in the open air. 

 — See Allama'nda. 



Commeli'na. — Commelmece. — 



Perennial and annual plants, hardy 



and tender, with beautiful bright blue 



flowers. C. cceUstis L. has tuberous 



roots, but it may be raised from seed, 



by sowing it in a hotbed early in the 



season, and turning it out into the 



I open border in common garden- soil, 



' tolerably rich, during the summer ; 



and in autumn its tuberous roots 



' may be taken up, and preserved 



during the winter, to be replanted 



: in the open ground in spring ; or 



; they may be protected by covering 



i the ground with ashes or sand. 



CoMPo'siTiE. The composite 



flowers, such as the Daisy, are in 

 fact heads of flowers, composed of 

 hundreds of little flowers or florets, 

 as they are called by botanists, each 

 of which has its corolla, stamens, 

 pistil, and fruit ; the whole being 

 surrounded by an involucre which 

 looks like a calyx. The central part, 

 which in the Daisy is yellow, is 

 called the disk, and the florets com- 

 posing it are tubular ; while the outer 

 part, which in the Daisy is Avhite, is 

 called the ray, and its florets are ligu- 

 late, or flat, and open at the extremity, 

 and tubular at thebase. Othergenera 

 have all the florets tubular, as the 



