92 



DIANTHUS. 



■ndll have a splendid appearance. I'he 

 most ornamental species are natives 

 of Nepaul and other parts of the East 

 Indies, and some of them are hardier 

 than many other kinds of Orchids. 

 The beautiful D. chi^sdntheraum, 

 however, which is a native of Nepaul, 

 should have a heat of 75 ^ to throvv^ 

 it into flovrer. 



Deptford Pixk. — Didnfkus Ar- 

 meria. — An annual species of Dian- 

 thus, with clusters of small pink 

 scentless flov/ers, something like 

 those of Lobel's Catchtly. A native 

 of Britain, generallyfoucd in gravelly 

 soil, and growing freely in any gar- 

 den where the soil is not too rich. 



Desfoxtainia. — Solanacece. — 

 A very curious South American 

 plant, v^'ith leaves like a holly, and 

 long tube-like scarlet and yellow 

 flowers. 



Deu'tzia. — Philadelphacece. — 

 Slender-branched, graceful shi-ubs, 

 with compound panicles of beautiful 

 white flowers. They will thrive in 



! any light soil in the open ground ; 



i but as they require a slight protection 

 during winter, they are generally 

 grown in pots, and kept in the gi-een- 

 house. I), scdbra, the most common 

 species, takes its specific name from 



I the roughness of its leaves ; which, 

 in its native country', Japan, are 



j said by Thunberg to be used by the 

 cabinet-makers in polishing the finer 

 kinds of wood. 



Devil in a bush. — SeeNiGE'LLA. 

 Devil's Bit. — Scabiosa succisa. 

 — A kind of Scabious, quite hardy, 

 and growing in any soil or situation. 

 It was formerly supposed to have 

 .great medicinal virtues ; and hence, 

 •says the legend, the devil, envying 

 mankind such a treasure, attempted 

 to destroy it, by biting off' a part of 

 the root, which appears as though a 

 X^art of it were bitten off" at this day. 

 Dia'nthus. — Caryophylldcefe, or 

 Silendcece. — A genus of perennial 



and herbaceous plants, containing 

 several beautiful and well-known 

 flowers. The most popular perhaps 

 of these is the Carnation {Jjianihus 

 Caryophylhis), which is occasionally 

 found in a wUd state in Britain on 

 old walls, particulurly on the ruins of 

 Rochester Castle, &c. In a culti- 

 vated state, the Clove Carnation 

 may be called the breeder, or normal 

 form, as it bears about the same re- 

 lation to the variegated Carnations as 

 the self-coloured Tulips and Auriculas 

 do to the named varieties of those 

 plants. The varieties of Carnations 

 are divided into three kinds : the 

 Flakes, which are striped with broad 

 bands of two colours ; the Bizarres, 

 which are striped or streaked with 

 three colours ; and the Picotees, 

 which are much the hardiest, and 

 are only bordered with a narrow 

 margin of some dark colour, or 

 dotted with very small and almost 

 imperceptible spots. Carnations 

 should be grown in a rich loam, 

 mixed with sand or peat to keep it 

 open, and a little rotten cow-dung, 

 or vegetable-mould to enrich it. 

 They do best in pots, and the earth 

 should be jjressed into the pots as 

 firmly as possible, more so, indeed, 

 than for any other plaiit. The plants 

 raised from layers should be sepa- 

 rated from the parent in August, 

 and they may be potted three in a 

 five-inch pot. The pots should be 

 well drained, and the plants fre- 

 quently watered till about the 

 middle of October, when the water- 

 ing snould be gradually decreased. 

 The layers, when first potted, may 

 be kept in the open air ; shading 

 them for a few days after potting 

 fi'om the sun, and putting a hand- 

 glass over them if there should be 

 apprehended any danger of severe 

 frost at night, though a little frost 

 will not hurt them. About the mid- 

 dle of November, the plants should 



