GEN 



GEN 



had a twclvcmoinh's growth, to tl-.c places u ntre 

 tlicy are lo remain ; but in the other method re- 

 quire no other cuUure, but proper thinning out 

 and beintr kept clean. 



'ri)e last sort may he ir.crcased by sowing the 

 seeds in pots of good mould in the spring, plun- 

 ging them in a moderate hot-bed. When the 

 plants have attained a lew Inches in growtli, they 

 should be removed into separate pots, and be 

 replunccd in the hot-bed. They aiterwards re- 

 quire the same sort of management as other less 

 tender crecn-house plants. 



All the lirst sorts are well adapted to the fronts 

 and other parts of clumps and borders in orna- 

 mented grounds, by their flowery nature ; and 

 the last alfords a ihie eflect in the green-huusic 

 by its evergreen property. 



GENTIAN. See Gentiana. 



GENTI ANA, a genus of plants of the hardy 

 herbaceous perennial flowery kind. 



It belon"^s to the class and order PetamJiia 

 Dhrtjiiia, "and ranks in the natural order of 

 Rotacfcc. 



Tiie characters are : that the calyx is a five- 

 parted perianthiuni, sharp: divisions oblong., 

 permanent : the corolla has oi>c petal, tubular at 

 bottom, imperforate, at lop five-cleft, flat, wi- 

 therinir, various inform: the stamina have five 

 filaments, subulate, shorter than the corolla: 

 jrnther simple : the pistillum is an oblong gern), 

 cvlindric, length of the stamens : styles none: 

 stigmas two, ovate: (germ superior,; style siin- 

 ple° or two sessile stigmas :) the periear.pium is 

 an oblongcapsule,calumnar, acuminate, slightly 

 bifid at Ihe tip, one-celled; two-valved : the 

 seeds numerous, small, fixed all round to the 

 v.alls of the capsule: receptacles two, each 

 fastened loniiiluduially to a valve. 



'i'he species cultivated are: 1. G. Ititea, Yel- 

 low Gentian; 2. G. punctata. Spotted-flowered 

 (Gentian ; 3. G. asclf-piadia, Swalbw-wort-leav- 

 td (Jentian ; 4. G. acaulis, Dwarf Gentian, or 

 iJentianella. 



The first has a thick root, of a yellowish 

 brown colour, and very bitter taste : the lower 

 leaves arc pelioled, oblong-ovate, a little pointed, 

 stiff, yellowish green, having five large, veins 

 on the back, and plaited : the stem three or four 

 feet high or more, with a pair of leaves at each 

 joint, sessile or almost embracing, of the same 

 form with the lower ones, but diminishing gra- 

 dually to the top : the flowers are in whorls at 

 (!\e npperjoints. It is a native of Switzerland, 

 flowering in June and July. 



The second species has the leaves ovate, elon- 

 gated, and strict: the calyxes shallow, and in 

 form of a basin, the calycinc teeth narrow, 

 sharp, and .not very leafy : the corolla is of a 



papcrv substance, extremely thin, of a dull and 

 verv pale greenish straw-colour, with very mi- 

 nute dots "thickly aud irregularly scattered over 

 it : the setrnients of the border conmionly seven, 

 sometimes eight, but veiy seldom six, always 

 sh)rter, narrower, contiguous, rounded, blunt, 

 without anv auricles at the bas2 ; and finally the 

 bellying of the coiolla is blunter and almost the 

 same over the whole bell. It is a native of 

 Austria. 



The third has the stem upright near a foot 

 hisrh : the leaves smooth, about two inches long, 

 and three quarters of an inch broad at the base, 

 embracing there, and ending in an acute point; 

 they are of a fine green, have five longitudinal 

 veins, joining at both ends, but diverging in 

 the middle, and diminish in size as they arc 

 nearer the top: the fiowcrs are in pairs opposite, 

 on short peduncles; pretty large, bell-shaped, 

 and of a fine blue colour. It is a native of Su itz- 

 erland, flowering in July and August. 



The fourth species has a large woody branchtxl 

 root : a set of ovate-lanceolate leaves spreads on 

 the surface : the stem from one to three inches 

 in height, with one or two pairs of leaves on it, 

 and terminated by one very large, upright, hand- 

 some flower (in the garden, when the plants are 

 stronsr, there are sonictiiues more,) which is of 

 a deq) azure blue, dotted on the inside. It is a 

 native of Austria. 



Culture. — The three first sorts are easily raised, 

 by sowing the seed in pots soon after it is ripe, 

 as when kept till the spring it will not succeed: 

 the pots should be placed in a shady situa- 

 tion, and kept clean from weeds. Some ad- 

 vise their being sown where they are to re- 

 main, but the first is probably the best method. 

 In the spring the plants appear, when they must 

 be duly watei-ed in dry weather, and kept clean 

 from weeds till the following aulunni ; then be 

 carefully shak-cn out of the pots, so as not to 

 break or injure their roots ; and a shady border 

 ©f loamy earth should be well dug and prepared 

 to receive them, into which they should be put 

 at about six inches distance each way, the tt)ps 

 of the roots being kept a little below the surface 

 of the ground, and the earth pressed close to the 

 roots. If the following spring prove dry, 

 they should be duly watered, to forward their 

 growth. The plants may reniain here two years, 

 by which tiine they will be fit to transplant where 

 they are designed to grow, removing them in the 

 autunui, as soon as their leaves deca\', ureal care 

 being taken in digging them up, not to cut or break 

 their roots, as that greatly weakens ihcm. They 

 require afterwards no other culture, but to dig 

 the ground about them early in the spring before 

 they begin lo shoot, aud in the summer to keep 



