A C O 



AGO 



In the fourth, the stem rii?cs to the height of 

 Jlbout four feet: tlic leaves are divided into lo:ig: 

 tcmnents, deeply jagged into many narrow parts 

 whieh lie over one another like seales, having 

 lonsr spikes of pale vellow flowers of a middling 

 size~. It mav be allowed a plaee among shruh?, 

 or in such parts of tlie sarden as are not much 

 fret]iicnted bv younff children. 



The lifih species lias a tall stem, frequentlv 

 risinir to the height of six feet : the leaves are 

 divided into numerous wedge-shaped lobes, w iiich 

 are cut into many acute parts: the flowers are 

 larire-and numerous, and of a pale blue colour. 



The varieties chiefly cultivated are : the Wedge- 

 lobed Purple, the W'edge-lobed 15lueish Purple, 

 and the \Vedire-lobed Deep Blue Aconite. 



The sixth sort has a stem rising sometimes 

 nearlv to the height of the fornitr, with pal- 

 mated three-paite-d leaves acutely divided, and 

 large white flowers. 



The seventh species seldom rises to more than 

 the height of two feet : the leaves are many- 

 parted, the segments being half cut through, 

 and the upper ones the broadest ; the spikes of 

 'flowers small, and variegated with blue. It 

 flowers about the end of June. 



In the eighth the leaves are three- or fi ve-lobed, 

 angular, and tooflied : the flowers are blue, and 

 come out singly, having the top of the helmet 

 hooked, extending straight further than the tail. 



All the species have perennial roots; but the 

 •tems and leaves are annual, rising in the spring, 

 and decaving in the autumnal months. 



Culture. — These are pkuits that rei'juire little 

 diflicultv in their culture. All the species and 

 varieties mav be easily raised from seed, as 

 well as bv parting the roots. In the first me- 

 thod the seeds should be sown in autumn, on 

 cood common earth, in a rather shadv situation : 

 this is said to be preferable to sow ing them in the 

 spring months, as where that mode is practised 

 thev Seldom come up till the year after, \\ hereas 

 in this thcv commonly appear in the spring fol- 

 lowing. They are to be kept clean from weeds 

 during the ensuing summer months, and must 

 have water given them occasionallv when the 

 season turns out dn,-, until theplants are in a state 

 to be pricked or planted out in a bed or border, 

 whieh shoidd be done at the distance of about 

 fourteen inches each wav, taking the plants up 

 carefully, and watering them as often as mav be 

 necessary until they have taken fre^h root. After 

 this they demand no other management, but that 

 of keeping them clean from w eeds, till they are 

 readv to be flnallv planted out in the succeeding 

 autumn. They afterwards require little attention, 

 except that of cutting down and clearing away 

 their sterna and other parts evcrj- autumn. 



■Wlicrc the method by parting the roots ig 

 practised, it is best performed in October, or to- 

 wards the month of March. In the common 

 sorts, every piece that possesses a bud or eye will 

 readily grow and produce a plant, on being set in 

 good eaith. 



As these plants, especially all the common 

 kinds, delight in siicli shady situations as are not 

 much exposed to tlte drop of tre. -, they are well 

 calculated for those large borders, clumps, and 

 other compartments in ornamented grounds, that 

 are not much overhung bv trees or tall-gnnvinn- 

 shrubs, as in suchexposurc-s they continue much 

 longer in flower. Some of the blue sorts will 

 likewise thrive under trees, where they do not 

 stand too closely together. From their contain- 

 ing large handsome spikes of flowers that con- 

 tinue long in blow, and their having nnich di- 

 versity in their leaves, they afford considerable 

 variety when planted out in such situations as 

 mentioned above. There is, however, one ob- 

 jection to them, which is their possessing poi- 

 sonous qualities, w hich render them improper ia 

 places where children are much admitted. 



Most of the blue sorts have been lono- in cul- 

 tivation, and almost all the other kinds may be 

 procured from the nurseries and flow er-gardens. 



ACORN, the seed or fruit produced by the 

 different species and varieties of the oak. It is a 

 sort of nut, from which trees of this kind art 

 mostly raised. See Qukrcl's. 



ACORUS, a genus comprehending hardy, her- 

 baceous perennials, of the Sweet Rush or I'laf' 

 kind, cultivated for the sake of their fragrant 

 aromatic qualities. 



It belongs to the class and order He.vandria 

 Mo/iogij/iia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 PipcritcB. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a cylin- 

 dric, simple spadix, covered withfloscules, with- 

 out spatha or periantliium : the corolla is com- 

 posed of six petals, obtuse, concave, loose, thicker 

 at the top, and in a manner truncate : the sta- 

 mina are thickish filameuts, somewhat longer 

 than the corolla; and the anthera? are thickish, 

 twin, terminal, and adnate : the pistillum is a 

 gibbous germ, rather oblong, and of the length 

 of the stamina, without style: the stigma is a 

 prominent point : the pericarpium is a short tri- 

 angular capsule, attenuated to both ends, obtuse, 

 and thi-ee-celled : the seeds are many, and ovate- 

 oblong. 



The species are two : \. J. Calamus, Calamus 

 aromatlcus, Common Sweet Rush ; 2. A. ara- 

 miiwiis. Grass-leaved Sweet Rush, or Chinese 

 Sweet Grass. 



The first is a plant of the aquatic kind, being 

 found to grow naturally in waten- situations ili 

 C2 



