SCHIZANTHUS. 



28; 



SCILLA. 



/ Schiza'nthus. — Solanacece, or 

 Scrophuldrince. — A genus of very 

 beautiful half-hardy annual flowers, 

 which may be either sowti in autumn 

 or spring. If wanted to flower in 

 spring, the seed should be sown in 

 August or September, as soon as it 

 is ripe, in light rich mould ; and 

 the young plants should be kept in 

 well-drained pots, in a frame or 

 greenhouse during winter. In Feb- 

 ruary, they should be shifted into 

 larger pots, and this shifting should 

 be repeated every week or fortnight 

 till the plants have formed their 

 flower-buds. Care must be taken 

 in shifting the plants not to injure 

 the roots, as they are very tender 

 and succulent. The plants are also 

 liable to die suddenly if the collar is 

 exposed to much sun-heat or much 

 moisture. The soil should be com- 

 posed of equal parts of vegetable 

 mould and sandy loam, or of loam, 

 peat, and rotten manure from an 

 old hotbed. It has latel}' been found, 

 however, that *S'. retusus vnH flower 

 better in a poor dry soil than in a 

 rich one ; all the kinds require very 

 little moisture, and if the soil be 

 too rich for them, they will produce 

 only leaves instead of flowers. "When 

 the seeds are sown in spring, it 

 should be on a hotbed, and the 

 young plants should be removed into 

 the open air in J\Iay, when they "noil 

 flower in autumn. The plants are 

 much larger in the open ground, and 

 the flowers are finer, if the soil be 

 sufficiently rich and light ; but care 

 should be taken to plant them in a 

 sheltered situation, or to tie them to 

 stakes, as the stems are very brittle, 

 and very liable to be broken off by 

 high winds. The principal kinds of 

 Schizanthus are S. pinnatus, with 

 its varieties, all of which have pur- 

 plish flowers ; S. retusus, with scar- 

 let and yellow flowers ; and S. 

 Friestii, with white and yellow 



flowers. Of these, *S^. j^i-t^uitus and 

 its allied species or variety, S. por- 

 rigens, are the hardiest. 



Schizope'talon. — Cruciferce. — 

 An annual flower, with curiously cut 

 petals, and a strong tap-root. It is 

 rather difficult to grow, as it does 

 not bear transplanting well, unless 

 when quite young, and it requires a 

 deep free soil for its descending root. 

 It should be sown in spring, and, if 

 possible, where it is to remain. 



Scho'tia. — Leguminosce. — Cape 

 shrubs, with veiy showy flowers, 

 which may be kept in a greenhouse 

 during the greater part of the year ; 

 but which should be removed to a 

 stove or hotbed frame during win- 

 ter. They should not, however, be 

 plunged, as bottom-heat does not 

 appear to suit them. They should 

 be grown in peat mixed with a 

 little loam, or in a very sandy loam, 

 the pots being very well drained ; 

 and they are propagated by cuttings 

 struck without bottom-heat. ]\Iany 

 gardeners keep them in a gi-een- 

 house all the' year, covering them 

 with a hand-glass and a mat in 

 very severe weather. 



Schombu'rgkia. — Orchicldcece. 

 Some of the species of this genus are 

 very handsome, and as they are found 

 at a great height above the sea in 

 South America, they will probably 

 prove more hardy than most other 

 orchids in this country. 



Schube'rtia. — Conlferce. — See 

 Deciduous Cypress. 



Sci'lla. — Asphodelece. — The 

 Squill or Wild Hyacinth. — Bulbous- 

 rooted plants, mostly natives of 

 Europe, which send up their beau- 

 tiful bell-shaped flowers before their 

 leaves. Their flowers resemble those 

 of the Hyacinth, but they are much 

 smaller. S. sibirica is perhaps, the 

 most brilliant blue flower grown in 

 British gardens ; and there are other 

 kinds with white or pale pink flowers, 



