IXOKA. 



172 



to within about a quarter of its 

 depth from the surface of the ground. 

 The bed should then be filled with 

 a mixture of light turfy loam and 

 sand, the loam being broken or 

 chopped small, but not sifted. The 

 surface of the bed should be raised 

 two or three inches above the level of 

 the surrounding border ; and it is 

 most desirably situated, if backed by 

 a south wall, and sloping from the 

 gravel- walk. In this bed the Ixia 

 roots shoidd be planted in quincunx ; 

 andiftheyareprotected by a thatched 

 covering raised on a slight wooden 

 frame during winter, they may be left 

 in the ground several years without 

 sustaining any injury. In the north 

 of England, or in any cold wet cli- 

 mate, the Ixias may be planted in 

 October in pots, well drained, with a 

 layer of cow-dung over the drainage, 

 and filled up with a mixture of turfy 

 loam and sand. The Ixias should 

 be planted three in each pot ; and 

 the pots should be plunged into a 

 hotbed, and covered with a glass 

 frame during winter. In s^jring, the 

 glasses may be gradually removed, 

 and when the flowers are nearly ready 

 to expand, the pots may be removed 

 to the greenhouse, or the window of 

 a sitting-room. AVhere the soil of a 

 garden is a fat yellow loam, on a 

 chalky or other porous subsoil, and 

 the situation dry and yet sheltered, 

 the bulbs may frequently be planted 

 in the open ground, and left there 

 for years, without any other care than 

 covering them with a heap of dead 

 leaves during winter. 



Ixo'ra. — Ruhiacece. ■ — Splendid 

 stove jjlants. The history of Ixora 

 cocchiea, the best known species of 

 the genus, israther curious. Itisana- 

 tive of China, and of some of the East 

 India islands, where it is worshipped 

 as a sacred plant, and where it is said 

 to form a small tree about six feet 

 high, rising with a single stem, and 



having its head formed entirely of 

 clusters of bright scarlet and yellow 

 flowers, whence it has received the 

 names of Fldmma Sylvarum, and 

 the Tree of Fire. This plant was 

 first introduced in 1690 ; but it was 

 soon lost, and its existence was even 

 doubted till it was re-introduced about 

 a hundred years afterwards by the 

 celebrated Doctor Fothergill. After 

 this, seeds were obtained by several 

 nurserymen, and the plant was so 

 much admired that it was sold for 

 several years at five guineas each. It 

 is now common in collections, but it 

 is rather difficult to keep ; as, though 

 it requires a moist heat, it will die if 

 its roots are suff'ered to retain any 

 stagnant moisture among them, and it 

 must not be plunged either in tan or 

 in a hotbed. It is also very liable to 

 be attacked by insects. Ixbra ja- 

 vunica is a very handsome plant, with 

 bright red branches, orange flowers, 

 and large deep-green leaves. It is a 

 native of Java, and in this country it 

 requires a warm moist stove ; as, 

 unless it has abundance of heat and 

 moisture, it is apt to be infested 

 with insects. 



TA^CA, OR Jack Tree. — A species 

 ^ of Artocarpus, or bread-fruit. 



Jacob-e^a. — The plant usually 

 called by this name is a species of 

 Senecio, or Groundsel. It is also called 

 purple Eagwort. See Sene'cio. 



Jacobea Lilt. — Asplendidbulb- 

 ous-rooted plant, formerly caUed by 

 botanists, Amaryllis formosissima, 

 but the name of which is now 

 changed to Spreke^lia, which see. 



J ACQUi'Ni A. — Myrsincce. — West 

 Indian trees and shrubs, with showy 

 flowers, requiring a stove in England. 

 They should be grown in loam and 

 sand, and are propagated by cuttings. 



Jalap. — The plant producing 

 Jalap was formerly supposed to be a 



