DEL 



DEL 



llic approach of winter. See Fruit- and Fo- 

 r.Ks-i-'rui:i;s. 



This sort of trees and shrubs are in general 

 of liardy arowth, being capable of succeeding 

 well in tin- full ground in different situations, 

 according to their kinds. 



Particular descriptions of the different sorts, 

 as well as of their habits of growth, culture, 

 niauagemcnl, and uses, are given under the ge- 

 nus to which they respectively belong. 



The proper seasons for removing this kind of 

 plants from the nursery or other places, and 

 planwng them out where they are to remain, are 

 either the carlv spring or autumn, according to 

 the kind and the natiu-e of the soil. In general, 

 rvherc the land is dry, the latter is the more pro- 

 per and advantageous; but in the contrary cir- 

 cumstances the former may be the more advi- 

 sable. In the planting out all trees, shrubs, and 

 other plants of this sort, sufficiently large open- 

 ings should be formed for tlie roots to be conve- 

 niently bedded in, after having been suitably 

 trunnied according to the kinds ; and the 

 mould be made thie and well mixed in with the 

 roots by slightly shaking the plants, and then 

 well trodden in about them. In the early plant- 

 ini'^s at both seasons it is of much advantage, 

 especially when the weather is dry, to have them 

 well watered occasionally, and most of the sorts 

 should be kept steady in their situations by pro- 

 per stakes, as they never succeed well where this 

 is not the case. 



DELPHINIUM, a genus comprising plants 

 of the herbaceous flowery hardy annual and 

 perennial kinds. Dolphin Flower. 



It belongs to the class and order Pohjaiidna 

 Trigyiua, and ranks in the natural order of Miil- 

 th'ilkjuce. 



The characters are : that there is no calyx : 

 the corolla has five petals, unequal, disposed in 

 a circle ; of which the uppermost in some is 

 more obtuse than the rest in front, and is ex- 

 tended behind into a tubular, straight, long, ob- 

 tuse horn: the rest ovate -lanceolate, spreading, 

 nearly equal : nectary two-cleft, seated in front 

 within the circle of petals on the upper part, 

 bihind stretched out, involved within the tube 

 of the petal : the stamina have very many fila- 

 ments (fifteen or thirty), subulate, wider at the 

 base, very small, inclined towards the petal : an- 

 thers erect, small; the pistillum consists of three 

 or one germ; ovate, ending in styles the length 

 of the stamens: stigmas simple, reflex: the pe- 

 ricaipium has as manv capsules, ovate-subulate, 

 straight, one-valved, gaping inwards: the seeds 

 verv many, and cornered. 



The species mostly cultivated are : 1 . D. ad- 

 jacis, Upright Larkspnr; 2. D . grandijloium , 



Great-flowered Bee Larkspur, 3. D. datum, 

 Tall Bee Larkspur. 



There are other species that may be cultivated. 

 ^" The first is annual, and has the stalks eighteen 

 inches and more in height, seldom branched : the 

 leaves are finclv divided, connnonly by threes, on 

 broad petioles : the segments are linear, quite en- 

 tire, and channelled above ; the spike of flowers 

 erect, dense, and of difl'erent colours. 



There are \arietics with single and double 

 blue flowers ; with single and double purple 

 flowers ; with single and double sih'er-coloured 

 flowers; with single and double violet-coloured 

 flowers; with single and double ash-coloured 

 flowers ; with single and double striped flowers ; 

 Large Rocket Larkspur, and Dwarf or Rocket 

 Larkspur. 



The second species has a perennial root, which 

 puts out two or three branching stalks every 

 spring, rising about a foot and a half high : the 

 leaves are smooth and of a hght green colour 

 above, and hoary beneath, composed of manv 

 narrow segments, which terminate in several 

 acute points : the flowers come out towards the 

 upper part of the stalks singlv, each on a long 

 naked peduncle; they are large, and of a fine 

 azure colour. They appear in June and July, 

 and the seeds ripen in autumn. It is a native 

 of Siberia. 



The third rises to the height of a man: the 

 root is perennial: the leaves slightlv villose, be- 

 coming smooth bv age, half-five-lobed, petio- 

 led ; lobes acute, often half-three-lobed, sharp- 

 ly serrate. The spikes of flowers very long and 

 handsome, of a deep blue colour, with a wrink- 

 led spur. It is a native of Switzerland, &c, 

 flowering from June to September. 



Culture. — These plants, in all the sorts and va- 

 rieties, are propagated bv sow ing the seeds in the 

 early spring, as in Februarv, March, or the fol- 

 lowing month, or in the autumn immediately 

 after the seeds become ripe, in theclunips, borders, 

 or other places where the plants are to remain, as 

 they do not succeed so perfectly by transplant- 

 inc", in patches of eight or ten in a place, cover- 

 ing the seed in to the depth of nearlv half an 

 inch, the niouUl being previously rendered fine. 



Where the annual sort and varieties are culti- 

 vated lor a large show , the seed may be sown 

 tliinly in drills on beds four feet broad, at a foot 

 distance, covering it in to the above depth. 

 They are sometimes sown in other forms for the 

 purpose of appearance. 



The autunni sowings of these seeds should be 

 marked by placing small sticks in the places, to 

 ])revent their being disturbed by the spring dig 

 ging of the ground. 



The only culture the plants in general require 



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