ALE 



ALE 



fpct as an ornnnientiil pisnt. It is a native of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



The tbiirtU species, or Ceylon Aletris, has tlie 

 first leaves laneeolate, flat, erect, and short ; the 

 rest subulate, seniieyllndrical, chaunelled, and 

 very lonir. It has fleshy, creeping roots, which 

 nui'ltiply^CTcatlv, and seldom rises more than six 

 iiiches in heiglit. 



But in the Guinea Aletris all the leaves arc 

 lanceolate, flat, and erect. They are in both of 

 a pale green colour, -with bands of _ a darker 

 crecn; and do not appear to be specifically dif- 

 ferent. It has thick fleshy roots, like those of 

 tiie flaff, creeping far where they have room. 

 'J'lie leaves come singly from the root; arc near 

 a foot and a half longrsiift", waved, proceeding im- 

 nicdiatelv from the root, as also the flower-stems; 

 w hich when the roots are strong arc often a toot 

 and a half in height, adorned almost the whole 

 length with flowers of a clear white, but which 

 seldom continue in beauty more than t\yo or 

 three days, and never produce seeds in this cli- 

 mate, it is often known by the title of Guinea 

 Aloe. 



The fifth species rises with an herbaceous stalk 

 to the height of eight or ten feet, having many 

 joints, and is adonied toward the top with a head 

 of leaves, which are of a deep green colour, and 

 reflex at their ends, embracing the stalks with 

 their base. The flower-stems arise from the 

 centre of the heads, and arc generally two feet in 

 heioht, branching out on each side, being fully 

 garnished with white flowers, in shape some- 

 what like those of the second sort; but these 

 open only in the evening, when they emit a 

 most fragrant odour, closmg again in the mom- 

 ino-, and" are not of long duration. They are 

 however sometimes succeeded by seeds, but 

 which are seldom capable of producing plants. 



The roots in all thediflerent species are tliick, 

 fleshv, fibrous and creep'-ng ; and from their man- 

 ner of o-row th some of the sorts have been deno- 



o 



niinated siloes. 



Cull lire. — The propagation of these plants 

 may be efiected either T)y suckers and ofi:sets 

 from the roots, or by seeds ; but as the last sel- 

 dom ripen sufliciently in this climate, the former 

 is the most general method in most of the sorts. 

 As the first Two species send off" shoots very spa- 

 ringlv, they are raised with more difficulty than 

 thelast Iw o, which afford heads from their creep- 

 ing roots, and the sides of the stems, in a much 

 more abundant manner. The third kind is most- 

 ly raised from seed, which it affords in great 

 plenty. 



In the propagation of these plants by the first 

 mcthodj the offsetSj side-shoots, or heads, should 



be taken otFin tlio sunnner month-;, and be plant- 

 ed out in small pots of good light sandy earth, 

 which must tlien be placed in a moderate bark 

 hot-bed. In the last sort, the side heads, after 

 being taken from the stems, shoidd be placed in 

 the stove for several davs, that their wounds may 

 be healed before they are planted in the pots. 



In the second mode, or that of raising the 

 plants from seed, they should be sown in pots 

 immediately after they become perfectly ripe, 

 ancf be protected during the ensuing winter by a 

 good hot-bed frame and lights. When the 

 plants appear in the spring they should be gra- 

 diiallv inured to the action of the open air ; and 

 after they are become of a sufficient size, some of 

 them may be planted out in warm borders in dry 

 light soils : but as they are very liable to be de- 

 stroyed in severe winters, a few plants should al- 

 ways be put in pots, in order to preserve the kind, 

 by beino- protected under glasses in sharp sea- 

 sons. The third sort is the best propagated in this 

 way. 



The after-managcnicnt that is necessary is dif- 

 ferent in the different kinds. 



The first si^irt, though tolerably hardv, requires 

 the protection of a hot-bed frame during the 

 w inter, in order to preserve it. As the roots in 

 this sort increase very slowly, and the seeds sel- 

 dom become sufficiently ripened in this climate 

 to produce plants, they are very seldom met 

 with. 



The pots in the second sort should be sheltered 

 in a dry airy covering of glass, in winter, as 

 the plants are too tender to thrive in the open 

 air in this country': they should be removed into 

 this situation in October, being sparingly watered 

 during the winter season. About May they may 

 he placed abroad in a sheltered situation, and in 

 warm weather be frequentlv refreshed with water. 

 In this management the plants often flower; but 

 as they seldom perfect their seeds here, or increase 

 much by roots, they arc very scarce. As in the 

 third sort the plants will seldom have acquired 

 sulficient vigour or hardiness in the lirst season 

 to bear the effects of cold, they should receive 

 the protection of glasses in the second winter as 

 well as the first. 



The fourth and fifth kinds of Aletris are too 

 tender to live through the w inter in this climate, 

 unless placed in warm stoves ; and do uol pro- 

 duce flowers if the plants be not plunged into 

 tan-beds ; for though they may be preserved in 

 dry stoves they make but little progress. In a 

 tan-bed they always advance faster; the leaves 

 aie much larger, and the w hole plant considera- 

 bly stronger. The Guinea Aletris sometimes 

 flowers in a dry stove ; but the flower-stems are 



