ACT 



ADA 



filled with gravel or lime rubbish. ' TIcncc they 

 are proper Vor the purpose of ailorniiiij tlirieieiit 

 kinas of artiticial rock-work, and for beiiitr plant- 

 ed upon old wall*. 



But those species which arc natives of warm 

 climates require to be planted in pots, and plun- 

 ged into bark-pits, in order to preser\ e them in 

 this country. 



ACTyEA, a genus comprehending plants of 

 the Herb Chrislophttr orBancberry kind, which 

 are hardy herbaceous perennials, of tall growth. 



It belontis to the class antl order I'olyandrla 

 Moiwiiynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 JMiiltlai/'Kliuc'. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a perian- 

 thium of four leaves, with roundish, obtuse, con- 

 cave, and caducous leallcls : the corolla has four 

 petals, acuminate at both ends, longer than the 

 calyx, and caducous : the stamina consist of nu- 

 merous, usually about thirty, pa|iillary lilaments, 

 broader at top : the anthera; are roundish, twin, 

 and erect : the pistillum has a superior ovate ger- 

 men, no style, and a thickish, obliqucly-depres- 

 seil stiffma : the pericarpium is an oval-globose, 

 * .smootli, one-furrowed, and one-celled hern,-; 

 and the seeds are many, semi-orbicular, and 

 Ivins; over each other in two rows. 



The species that chiefly deserve notice for the 

 purpose of cultivation are : \. A. spicata, 

 Common-spiked, Black-berried Herb Christo- 

 pher ; i2. A. rucemosa, Clustered, Long-spiked, 

 American Herb Christopher. 



The llrst sort crows two feet and a half high, 

 the footstalks of the leaves rising from the root ; 

 these divide into three smaller footstalks, each of 

 which divides again into three, and these have 

 each three lobes, so that each leaf is composed of 

 twenty-seven lobes or small leaves. And the 

 flower-stem which rises from the root has leaves 

 of the same form, but smaller. On the top of 

 the stalk appear the flowers, which grow in ra- 

 mose spikes, and are of a pure white; these 

 come out in May, and are succeeded by black 

 shininiT berries about the size of peas, \s hlch ripen 

 in autanm. 



There is a variet\- of this plant with while ber- 

 ries, and another in which they are of a red colour. 



71ie second kind has large compound leaves, 

 which rise inmiediately from the root, and are 

 branched after the same manner with the first. 

 The tlower-stcms frequently rise to the height of 

 four or five feet or more. The flowers are white, 

 in a long spike, reflex at the lop. It flowers in 

 June, or the beginning of Julv, but does not per- 

 fect seed in this climate. It is a native of North 

 America, where it is often distinguished by the 

 title of Black Snake-root. 



Culture. — The propagation of these plaiUs may 



be easily effected by sowing the seed on a shidy 

 border of common earth in the autumn, as soon 

 as tliev are taken from tiie plants, as when 

 the sowing is deferred till the spring they are 

 liable to remain in the soil until the same time 

 in ihe following year before they come up, and 

 nuK-h time is lost. From the irregular manner 

 in which the plants mostly ai-i)ear, the mold of 

 the beds should be as little as possible disturbed, 

 Ifst they be destroved. When fully grown in 

 the succeeding autumn, they may be transplant- 

 ed into the situations where ihey are to remain, 

 which should be rather shady. 



The seeds of the second specic-s are mostly sent 

 annually from America, and should be put into 

 the ground as soon as possible after they arrive. 



As these plants rise to a considerable height, 

 and are ornamented with leaves on the lower 

 part of the stems, and w ith handsome spikes of 

 flowers on the upper parts, they are well suite4 

 for adorning the common compartments and 

 clumps of pleasure-grounds, especially where 

 there is a degree of shade without the inconve- 

 niences of large trees ; and also in the intervals 

 between large shrubs in conspicuous situations, 

 where, from their hardy nature, they w-ill only 

 require the same treatment as them. 



As these plants are perennial in root, but an- 

 nual in the leaf and stem, these last require to be 

 cut oft' and cleaned away every autumn. 



The berries of these plants are believed to have 

 a poisonous property, a single berry being said 

 to be capable of instantly destroying fowls and 

 other birds. 



ADANSONIA, a genus furnishing a tree of 

 the deciduous kind, which grows to an extraor- 

 dinary size in its n.ative soil. It is the jlj'rican 

 Calabash Tree, which, when cultivated here, does 

 not rise to any great height. 



It belongs to the class and order Monadeljjhia 

 Pulijaiidria, and ranks iit the natural order of 

 Co/m/i/iiJercB. 



Its characters arc : that the calyx is a one- 

 leafed, semiquinquefid, cvathiform perinnthium, 

 w ith divisions revolute, and deciduous : the co- 

 rolla consists of five roundish, nerved, revolute 

 petals, connected bv the claws with each other 

 and the stamina : the stamina have numerous 

 filaments united at bottom into a tube, which 

 thev crown, expanding horizontally : the plstX- 

 lum has an ovate germ, very long, tubulous, and 

 variously inlorted stvle: the stigmata are many, 

 often ten, prismatic, villous, and radiate-ex- 

 panded : the pericarpium is an ovale, woody, 

 not gaping, ten-celled capsule, with farinaceous, 

 pulp, and the partitions membranaceous : the 

 ■ seeds are numerous, kidney-shaped, rather bony, 

 being involved in a friable pulpy substance. 



