95 



DION^A. 



— D. Humholdtiana is a very pretty 

 little plant from, the mountains of 

 Ceylon. It is a greenhouse plant 

 here, ^vith lilac flowers, slender 

 seed pods, and primula-looking 

 leaves. The habit of the plant is | 

 very like that of Chirifa sinensis. 



Die'lytra. — Fumaridcece. — The 

 new name given to several kinds of 

 Fumaria ; as, for example, F. eximia, 

 F. formosa, &c. A very handsome 

 species of this genus (D. spectahilis) 

 Avhichvv'as introduced by Mr. Fortune, 

 from China, in 1846, will flower in 

 the open air near London, if kept 

 under glass during the winter. 



Diervi'lla. — Caprifoliacecc. — 

 A little North American shrub, with 

 yellow flowers, something like those 

 of the Honeysuckle in shape. It 

 was formerly considered to belong to 

 Lonicera. It is very hardy, and will 

 grow in almost any soil or situation, 

 sending up abundance of suckers, by 

 which it is easily increased. 



Digging. — The art of pulverising 

 the ground so as to reduce it to a fit 

 state to be penetrated by the roots of 

 plants ; and also to render it pervious 

 to the rain and air, without the aid i 

 of which neither seeds could vegetate | 

 nor trees grow. Digging (or plough- | 

 iug, which is the same thing on a < 

 larger scale) is the first operation | 

 performed by man on a barren waste \ 

 when he takes it into cultivation. | 

 Digita'lis. — Sa-ophuIdrincE. — 

 The Foxglove. — If this plant were 

 not a common British weed, it would 

 be thought very ornamental ; and, in 

 fact, the Teneriflfe species, D. cana- 

 o-icnsis, L. [hopUxis canariensis, 

 Gr. Don), with yellow flowers, and 

 I Z>. scejjtrum, L. (/. sceptrum, Gr. 

 i Don), with orange flowers, are fa- 

 ' voiirite greenhouse shrubs. They 

 should be grown in a mixture of 

 lime and peat, and may be propa- 

 gated by cuttings or seeds, which 

 they ripen in abundance. The hardy 



herbaceous species, which modern 

 botanists have left in the genus 

 Digitalis, are mostly natives of the 

 south of Europe, and are all orna- 

 mental. They reqiiire a light rich 

 soil, and are propagated by seeds. 



Dillwy'kia. — Leguminbsce. — 

 Australian shrubs, with heath-like 

 leaves, and pea-flowers, which are 

 generally scarlet and orange. They 

 should be grown in pots well drained, 

 and in a mixture of peat, loam, and 

 sand ; and they should be well and 

 regularly watered, but no water 

 should ever be allowed to stand in 

 the saucers, if their pots should 

 have any, but they are much better 

 without. They are propagated by 

 cuttings, which should be struck in 

 sand under a bell-glass. 



DiiiORPHOTHE'CA. — CompositCE. 

 — Professor De Candolle's new name 

 for the Cape ^Marigolds, formerly 

 called Calendula pluvicills and 0. 

 hyhrida. — See Cale'ndula. 



Dion-e' A,— i)rosera cecE.— Yenus's 

 Fly-trap. — A curious little American 

 plant, nearly allied to the common 

 Sundew, so often found in boggy 

 meadows in different parts of En- 

 gland. — (See Dro'sera.) Dion<e''a 

 Musc'ipida has a scaly root, almost 

 like a liliaceous bulb, and it sends 

 out few fibres ; it is, therefore, very 

 difficult to keep, but it does best in 

 a greenhouse, grown in moss, with 

 a little mould at the bottom of the 

 pot, and the pot kept standing in 

 water, and covered with a bell-glass 

 during the heat of the day. The 

 glass is generally taken off" towards 

 the evening, and the plant allowed 

 plenty of fresh air ; but some gar- 

 deners do not think this necessary. 

 It is supposed that the flies this plant 

 catches, are useful in nourishing it, 

 though not essential to its support ; 

 and the experiment has been tried of 

 feeding it with veiy small pieces of 

 raw meat, which in a few days ap-" 



