ACACIA GRANDIS. 



117 



The beauty of the flowers of the Acacias is entirely due to the long projecting 

 stamens, the calyx and corolla being so small, as not to be easily distinguished 

 after the full expansion of the capitule or flower-head. Both the floral envelopes 

 referred to are composed of five equal divisions, regularly arranged ; and, in this 

 respect, there is a departure from the type of the Order, which, as our readers are 

 well aware, is chiefly characterized by its papilionaceous flowers, of which those 

 of the common Pea and Laburnum are examples. In those genera of the Order 

 in which the flower is regularly formed, we still find the peculiar pod-like 

 seed-vessel or legume, on which the name of the Order is based ; so that the 

 recognition of the Leguminosce is one of the easiest problems for the student of 



Botany. 



The Acacias, including the species now figured, generally ripen seed ; but the 

 number of legumes bears but a very small proportion to that of the flowers, for 

 it must be borne in mind, that most of these contain stamens only : of the twenty 

 or thirty florets composing the capitule, but a very few contain both stamens and 



pistil. 



In some of the Acacias, the spiny process in the axil of the leaf is so largely 

 developed, as to be a very formidable organ, and capable of inflicting a serious 

 wound, as in the A. horrida and A. Cafra; in others, it is altogether absent, as 

 in the species Julibrissin, lophanilia, dealbata, and discolor. 



The A. grand is is a most charming window-plant for spring flowering, being at 

 that season loaded with its golden yellow balls ; and at all periods of the year 

 its elegant foliage gives it an ornamental character. 



Its propagation is effected cither by seeds or cuttings, usually by the latter 

 method ; they should be inserted in white sand, or very sandy soil, and covered 

 with a bell glass or tumbler. As they are impatient of damp, they require a little 

 more care during the rooting process than those of the leafless species ; the inside of 

 the glass should be wiped daily, and as soon as the cuttings are fairly struck, they 

 must be potted off into sandy peat, and eventually into good fibrous peat containing 

 less sand. During the summer, the pot may be placed out-doors in a warm aspect, 

 on a layer of ashes, to keep out those plagues of the gardener, the worms ; but in 

 dry weather, it must be carefully watered, as the foliage of this and similar species 

 is more delicate than that of the phyllode-bearing Acacias, in which the cuticle is 

 much thicker, and contains fewer stomata or exhalating pores. In this and other 

 cases, it will be found an excellent plan to place the pot containing the plant into 

 one considerably larger, the space between the two being filled up with moss, which 

 may be kept damp. This will prevent the roots from being injured by long 

 exposure to the scorching rays of the sun. 



As it is essential to the production of flowers the following spring, that the young 

 wood should be thoroughly ripened, it will be better to remove the plant from the 



