A D I 



ADO 



Culture. — ^Thc method of raising plants of this 

 sort is from the seeds, which are obtained from 

 abroad, and sown in pots of good mold, their 

 vegetation beiini; promoted by the assistanee t)t a 

 hol-bcd, under^glasses, or the bark -bed. After 

 the phuUs are a^iittie advanced, they should be 

 placed out in the bark-stove of the hot-house, 

 where thev must eonstaully remain; and where, 

 from their large and beautifully bianehing leaves, 

 they allbrd a fine appearance. They have not yet 

 been found to produce flowers in this climate. 



ADl AIsTUM, jMaidc/i-hair, a genus compre- 

 hending sewral harbaecous perennial plants of 

 the fern kind, some of which have been intro- 

 duced into culture. 



It belongs to the class and order Crijptogumia 

 Filice'i. 



The characters of w hich are : that the fructi- 

 fications are collected in oval spots at the end of 

 the fronds or leaves, which are folded back ; or 

 at the reflex tip of the frond underneath. 



The species are very numerous, but there arc 

 onlv a few introduced into cultivation; the prin- 

 cipal of which are: 1. A. CapUliis J'em-rl-., True 

 Maiden-hair ; i. A.pedatiim, Canadian Maiden- 

 hair; i.A.rcn'tJvnue, Kidney-leaved Maiden-hair; 

 4. A.J'rngians, Sweet-scented Maiden-hair; 5. 

 A. pteroides, Heart-leaved Maiden-hair ; 6. A. 

 villimim, Hairy-stalked Maiden-hair; 7- A. tra- 

 pezijhrme. Rhomb-leaved Maiden-hair. 



In the tirst, the fronds, branches and petioles 

 arc of a shiuina: blackish colour. The leaves are 

 at fust roundish, afterw ards wedge-shaped. The 

 stem is slender, and of a dark purple colour. The 

 petioles of the branches are very large, sustaining 

 three leaves, which are smooth, tender, toothed 

 in the further part, fan-shaped, dilated, either 

 cut shortly into lobes, or more deeply, three-, 

 f"our-,seven-Iobed ; the lobes obtuse. There is one 

 or two fruit-bearing dots to each tooth, to which 

 the edge of the leaf is attracted. The roots arc 

 of the fibrous creeping kind. It is a native of 

 France, Italy, and other southern kingdoms. 



In the second species the root is small. The 

 stipes is of a dark purple colour, eighteen inches 

 in height or more. The leaves have much resem- 

 blance to the comb of a cock. It is a native of 

 Canada in America. 



The third sort has the fronds somewhat of the 

 kidney form, the stalks being ?df)rned with 

 numerous flowers. It is a native of the Island of 

 Madeira. 



The fourth species has the fronds bipinnate ; 

 the pinnas being ovate, sublobcd, obtuse, aini 

 naked underneath. It is an inhabitant of the 

 same island as the above. 



In thelifth, the stipes are seven inches high, of 

 a purple colour, smooth. The pinnas are streaked ; 



the edge being covered underneath with a? many 

 white scales as there are notches, covering the 

 fructifications. It is a native of the Cape of 

 Good IJopc. 



The sixth sort rii'cs to the height of two feet. 

 The stem is of a black colour, strong, triangular, 

 and covered with a hairy, ferruginou-!, mo'^^y 

 subfiance. The fronds proceed from this about 

 a foot from the ground. The pinnas are alter- 

 nate ; the pimiules being an inch long, and 

 about half as broad, and of the figure of a tra- 

 pezium. It is a native (,.'' .Jamaica. 



In the seventh species the leaflets are alternate ; 

 the pinnas being of a rhomboid form, gashed, 

 bearing fruit on each side. It is found in its na- 

 tive state in New Zealand. 



Culture. — The first and second species of these 

 plants require little or no trouble in their culti- 

 vation, being propagated simply bv parting their 

 roots. The latter is however the most tender, as 

 thouoh it w ill often stand through the w inter in 

 the open air, when the winter is not too severe, 

 yet when that season is very severe it is liable to 

 be destroyed bv the frosts. A plant or two 

 should of course always be kept under the shel- 

 ter of a frame, or the greenhouse. The first suc- 

 ceeds much better w h.en planted out in pots filled 

 with gravel and lime rubbish than if put in good 

 mold. 



The third, fourth, and fifth species require the 

 constant protection of the greenhouse, in order 

 to preserve them in the winter season. 



And the last three sorts, from their being na- 

 turally inhabitants of hot climates, demand the 

 continual aid of the stove to preserve them. 



All the species are useful for the purpose of 

 affording variety, and the three last highly cu- 

 rious and ornamental among collections of exo- 

 tics, on account of their black shining stems, and 

 the great irregularity in ihe shape of their leaves. 



ADONIS, a genus comprehending several 

 annual and perennial herbaceous plants of the 

 flowery tribe ; the Flos Adonis, Adonis Flower, 

 or Pheasant's Eye. 



The characters are; that the calyx is a five- 

 leaved perianthium, and the leaflets are obtuse, 

 concave, a little coloured and deciduous: the 

 corolla has from five to fifteen, but most com- 

 monly eight, oblong, obtuse, shining petals: 

 the stamina consisf of very short subulate 

 filaments, and the antherre are oblong and 

 inflex : the pistilkim Ins numerous germs col- 

 lected in a head, no styles, and acute refle.'c 

 stigmas ; no pericarpium, but an oblong, spiked 

 receptacle : the seeds are numerous, irregular, 

 angular, gibbous at the base, reflex at' the top, 

 a little prominent, and naked. 



The species chiefly cultivated arc : \. A. au- 



