AMA 



AMU 



the queen's birth-day: ihc roots were 

 brought from Mexico. and there-tore Mr. 

 Fain liild called ii Mexican lily, the name 

 which it has retained. It flowers in the 

 spring in :i very warm stove ; is in beauty 



.ii:iry ; and in a n :ipera- 



ture of air will flower in Maivh or April. 

 A. s:triii<-sis, liliuni sarnie use of Douglas, 

 wlio published a description of it i 



is of others; (iuenise\ lily, so 

 called by Mr. Ray in 1665; with petals 

 linear, flat, stamens and ])istil straight ish, 

 longer than ihc corolla, >tigma.s, parted 

 tod revolnte. The bulb is an oblong 

 spheroid ; the leaves are dark willow 



1 In- number of flowers is common- 

 ly from eight to twehe, and circumfer- 

 ence of each about seven inches; the co- 

 rolla, in its prime, has the colour of a fine 

 gold tissue, wrought on a rose-coloured 

 ground, and when it begins to fade, it is 

 u pink : in full sunsnine, it seems to be 

 studded with diamonds, but by candle- 

 light the specks or spangles appear more 

 like fine gold dust ; when the petals be- 

 gin to wither, they assume a deep crim- 

 son colour. The flowers begin to come 

 out ai the end of August, and the head is 

 ks in gradually expand- 

 ing. This beautiful plant is a native of 

 Japan, and has been long naUirali/.cd in 

 (i'vrnsey. it is said to have been brought 

 :<nd cul ivated in 

 Morin's garden before 1634. It v. 



, at Wimbledon, in Kngland, by 

 (ieneral Lambert, in 16.59, and in 1664 be- 

 came more common : it does not seem to 

 have been in Holland before lt>5. The 

 plants I to owe their origin in 



Guernsey to the shipwreck of a vessel re- 

 turning from Japan, probably before the 

 middle of the scvcntcctrh cei,r,ir\. The 

 bulbs, it is said, h n shore, took 



ha: sandv soil, and produced beau- 

 tiful flowers, which i- imaged the attention 

 of Mr. llatton, the governor's son, who 

 sent roois to several of his friends 

 ricu of this, found at : M.ood 



!Io])e, i.-, described b\ .lac ni'.nwiih a ma- 

 MV-ilowered spathe, coni'las very |i;itent 

 and reflex at tlu- ap-x. ,| p'siil 



s.iiue\\ hat straight, longer tlnu ihe corol- 

 la, and leaves ensitorm-lincar. 



-;>e<-ii s ha\ <:ful flowers, 



and merit the Attention of the botanist and 



The first, or yellow autumnal A. 



is \er\ hardv, and increases by offsets. 



'I'he season for transplanting these roots 



.s from May to the end of .Inly, when the 



;ire decayed They will grow in 



.my soil or situation ; but they will thrive 



best in a fresh, light, drv soil, and open 



VOL. I 



situation, and will keep flowering from 

 the beginn'-ug of September to the middle 

 of \o\i iii'u r. provided that 'h. ;. escape 

 id a succession of flowers 

 will spring from the same root. The 

 Guernsey lily has been cultivated for ma- 

 n\ years in the gardens of (iuernsey and 

 Jerse\ , v hence the roo s arc sent to most 

 parts of Kurope. The bulbs art common- 

 ly brought over in June and July, and 

 the\ should then be planted in pots filled 

 with fresh, light, sandy earth, mixed with 

 a small quantity of very rotten dung, 

 placed in a warm situation, and occasion- 

 ally refreshed with water. About the 

 middle of September the stronger roots 

 will shew their red-coloured flower-stem ; 

 and then the pots should be removed into 

 a situat : on where they may have the full 

 benefit of the sun, and be sheltered from 

 strong winds; but not placed under 

 glasses, or too near a wall, which would 

 draw them up, and render them less beau- 

 tiful. When the flowers begin to open, 

 the pots should be put under shelter, so 

 as to be secure from too much wet, but 

 not kept too close or too warm. The 

 flowers will cont.nue in beauty fora month; 

 and, though w : thout scent, their rich co- 

 lour entitles them to the first rank in the 

 flowery tribe. 



AMASONIA, in botany, a genius of the 



Didynamia Angiospermia class and order: 



calyx five cleft : corolla tubular with a 



small five-cleft border : berry four-seeded, 



are two species. 



AMATKl'K, in the arts, denotes a per- 

 son understanding, loving, or practising 

 the fine arts, wi< bout any regard to pecu- 

 niary advantage. 



AMH \ss \l )OI?, a person appointed by 

 one sovereign power to another, to super- 

 intend his atl'airs at some foreign court, 

 and supposed toreprescnt the power from 

 which he is sent. 'I'he pel-son of an am- 



.',T is inviolable. _ \ 



AMIH'.H, in mineralogy, a resinous sub- \ 

 stance-, called by the ancients electmm, 

 found in different countries; but n 

 abundant]) in Prussia, either on the sea- 

 shore, or under ground, at the depth of 

 100 feet, reposing on wood coal. It is ob- 

 tained in lumps of different sj/.cs. There 

 are the white and the yellow amber. 1. 

 The white amber is in colour straw -\ el- 

 low . inclining to yellowish white ; but 2. 

 The \ellow amber is a wax-yellow ] 



ing to a honey-yellow, yellouish brown, 

 and hyacinth-red. It is found in blunt 

 .'ha rough surface. It is rather 

 brittle, and its specific gravity is from 1.07 

 to 1.08. Amber burns with a yeUow-co- 



a 



