TROP^OL-UM. 



319 



TROP^OLUil. 



in sandy peat, and they are propa- 

 gated by cuttings. 



Trito^nia. — Iridece. — Bulbous 



plants with splendid flowers, which 



will thrive in the open ground for 



many years vrithout taking up, if 



I grown in a diy sandy soil, or pro- 



j tected from rain during winter. — 



i See I^xiA. 



Tro'llius. — Ranunculacece. — 

 The G-lobe Flower is a British plant, 

 frequently growTi in gardens, but on 

 j which cultivation appears to have 

 had no effect. There are some 

 exotic species. 



>^Trop^'olum. — Tropceolacece.— 

 The Garden Nasturtium. — The well- 

 known annual plants called the 

 Nasturtium are common in every 

 garden, and only require soM-ing 

 with the other hardy annuals in 

 spring ; they may be suffered to sow 

 themselves in autumn. There were 

 formerly only two kinds of the 

 annual Tropfeolums, T. imjus and 

 T. Tiihius, but since 1830, several 

 I varieties have been raised. One 

 I with very dark flowers, is called T. 

 I m. atrosanguineiihi, and another, 

 I with dark stripes, is T. m. venmtum. 

 I The young shoots of these plants are 

 ! succulent, and taste like the com- 

 j mon land cress, the botanical name 

 I of which is Nasturtium, and hence 

 i they have received their popular 

 ! name. Besides the hardy annual 

 kinds, there are several half-hardy 

 species, most of which are kept in 

 the greenhouse. The best known 

 of these is TropcB'olum tricoloncm, 

 with red, black, and yellow flowers, 

 which has tuberous roots, and such 

 very weak and slender stems, that 

 it is found necessary always to train 

 them over a wive frame, as they are 

 quite unable to support themselves. 

 In Paxion's Magazine of Botany it 

 is stated, that the tuber of the root 

 should not be buried, but only 

 placed on the surface of the soil, so 



that the fibrous roots may penetrate 

 it. This, it is said, will enlarge 

 the bulb or tuber in "a truly 

 astonishing manner," and though 

 the plants will not appear healthy 

 the first season, they will after- 

 wards become extremely vigorous. 

 He also recommends using double 

 pots for these plants, and filling iip 

 the interstices with river sand, 

 which should always be kept moist. 

 T. hrachycenis may be treated in 

 the same manner ; and it would 

 probably succeed with T. tuberosum, 

 a species which it is very difficult to 

 throw into flower under ordinary 

 treatment. T. peregrlnum or cana- 

 riensis, as it is sometimes called, the 

 Canary Bird flower, was formerly 

 considered a greenhouse plant, but 

 it ii now found much better to treat 

 it as a half-hardy annual, raising 

 the seeds on a hotbed and planting 

 them out in May, near some trellis- 

 work, or other support, which the 

 plant will soon cover, in the most 

 graceful manner, producing thou- 

 sands of its elegant fringe-like pale- 

 yellow flowers. 



Several new species of Tropae'olum 

 were introduced from 1840 to 1848 

 inclusive, and some few have been 

 introduced since that period. An 

 account having been given of a 

 beautiful blue Tropie'olum having 

 been seen in Chili, collectors were 

 sent by different persons to obtain 

 it, and in consequence a great num- 

 ber of Trop£e'olum tubers were sent 

 to England in the hope of one of 

 them bemg the desired species. At 

 last the Blue Tropfe'olum, T. azii- 

 reum, was obtained, and it flowered 

 beautifully in Messrs. Yeitch's nur- 

 sery at Exeter, in the autumn of 

 1842. There are two plants which 

 appear to be dift'erent varieties : the 

 one having dark-blue flowers with a 

 white centre, and the other being 

 all pale-blue. The habit of both 



