AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



89 



Antirrhinum continued. 



A, majns (large).* Greater, or Common Snapdragon. JL racemose, 

 approximate ; corolla lin. to 2in. long, shades infinite ; palate 

 yellow at top, very prominent ; tube downy outside. Spring, 

 summer, and autumn. L oblong-lanceolate, lin. to Sin. long; 

 upper ones narrower, attenuated at both ends, glabrous. Branches 

 erect, usually branched again, h. 2ft. Europe (naturalised in 

 Britain). The named varieties are numerous, but it is unnecessary 

 to enumerate any, as an equal amount of variation can be obtained 

 from seed. See Fig. 115. 



A. molle (soft).* JL few, at the tops of the branchlets ; corolla 

 lin. long, whitish, with a yellow palate ; upper lip striped with 

 purple. July. 1. opposite, petiolate, clothed with glandular and 

 clammy hairs, about iin. long, and little more than Jin. broad ; 

 branches procumbent, slender.clothed 

 with woolly hairs. Pyrenees, 1752. 

 A very pretty plant, which should 

 have a warm position on the rockery. 

 A. semperrirent comes close to this 

 species. 



A, Orontinm (Orontium). Jl. axil- 

 lary, distant ; corolla rose-coloured 

 or white, striped with purple ; tube 

 furnished with a few glandular hairs ; 

 palate veined with purple ; sepals 

 linear-lanceolate, large. June. L ob- 

 long-lanceolate, acutish, attenuated 

 at both ends, glabrous, 2in. long. 

 h. 6in. to 12n. Europe (British 

 cornfields). Annual. See Fig. 116. 



A. O. grandiflorum (large-flowered). 

 A variety with larger, paler, and more approximate flowers, 

 and with broader leaves, than the type. Europe (British corn- 

 fields). 



A. sicnlnm (Sicilian). JL in loose racemes; corolla hardly lin. 

 long, white or yellowish, rarely purple ; tube rather hairy ; lobes 

 of the upper lip and the middle lobe of the lower lip emarginate. 

 July. L lin. to liin. long, linear-lanceolate, opposite, alter- 

 nate or three in a whorl, narrowed into petioles at the base. 

 Branches erect, h. 1ft. to 2ft. Sicily, 1804. STJf. A. anmisti- 

 foKum. 



A. tortnosum (twisted).* fl. disposed in spiked racemes, ap- 

 proximating by threes and fours ; corolla (the largest of the 

 genus) purple ; tube short ; upper lip large. June. I. linear, 

 acute, opposite or three in a whorl, 2in. long, attenuated at both 



FIG. 116. 



ORONTIUM. 



ends ; upper ones very narrow. Branches erect. 

 Italy. 



A synonym of 



, 1ft. to IJft. 

 Rhynchoglossuxn 



ANTONXA. 



(which see). 



ANTB.OPHYUM (from antron, a cavern, and phuo, 

 to grow ; referring to its place of growth). Including 

 Polytcenium. OBD. Filicea. A small genus of stove ferns, 

 very rarely seen in cnltivation, all with simple fronds, of 

 firm bnt fleshy texture, and copious, uniform, hexagonal 

 areolse. Son carried along the veins, imperfectly reticu- 

 lated. For culture, &c., see Ferns. 



A, cayennense (Cayenne), sli. lin. to 4in. long, fronds 6in. to 

 9in. long, lin. to liin. broad, lanceolate-oblong, narrowed at both 

 ends ; edge thickened, entire ; areolse half as broad as long, tori 

 snb-superficial, often forked. Guiana, Ac. 



A. corlacenm (leathery), fronds 6in. to Sin. long, about iin. 

 broad, narrowed very gradually from the centre to the base, very 

 acute at the apex, very thick ; areolae very long and narrow, 

 distinctly raised on the upper surface, gori quite immersed, 

 sometimes confluent. Himalayas, &c. 



A. lanceolatnm (lance-leaved).* fronds 1ft. or more long, Jin. to 

 Jin. broad, point acute, edge entire, the lower half narrowed very 

 gradually to the base ; areolae two or three times as long as broad, 

 about three rows between the midrib and the edge, gori slender, 

 superficial, often joining. West Indies, southwards to New 

 Grenada, 1793. 



ANTS (Fmrmicida). Well-known pests, easily distin- 

 guished from all other insects. There are a great number 

 of species, differing more or less in habits; but, as a 

 rule, they dwell underground in communities, and con- 

 struct extensive ant-cities, which are occupied by three 

 classes the neuters or workers (by far the most 

 numerous), the males, and the females. There are often, 

 in addition to these, larger and stronger neuters, known 

 as the " soldiers," or defenders of the community. Ants 

 have a long, slender body, supported on long and slender 

 legs. The head bears a pair of elbowed horns or an- 

 tennae, constantly waving about and touching everything 

 the insect comes across. They have powerful mandibles 



Ants continued. 



for cutting, sawing, and biting, and it is with these in- 

 struments that Ants do mischief in gardens. The winged 

 males and females become mature in summer, and on a 

 warm day they ascend in a body into the air; after a 

 short time, they fall to the ground, the females at once 

 free themselves from the henceforth useless wings, and 

 begin to form new colonies. Vast numbers of eggs are 

 laid, from which issue larvae, and these soon become 

 pupae, and then perfect Ants. Some kinds are injurious 

 from their habit (in some species) of collecting aphides 

 together, and farming them for the sake of the honey 

 secreted by the aphides, and that passes out from their 

 honey-tubes (thus helping to perpetuate the stock of 

 these most injurious insects) ; and also from the mecha- 

 nical damage they do in pots, and other receptacles for 

 plants. They likewise cause unsightly hills on lawns 

 and paths, and the large black species that live in decayed 

 wood often injure the framing of greenhouses, Ac., when 

 the woodwork has become somewhat decayed. Where 

 fruit, such as peaches or wall pears, are grown, Ants will 

 at times inflict damage, and, therefore, they should be 

 kept away ; but this is a comparatively easy matter, as 

 the placing of an obnoxious substance along the base of 

 the walls and around the stems of the trees will deter 

 them. For the extirpation of Ants from indoors, the 

 Arsenical solution described below is most efficacious, 

 but it is extremely dangerous. 



Lime. Air-slaked lime plentifully dusted, in warm, dry, 

 weather, over and around the hills and other places infested, 

 will cause the Ants to vacate them in a short time. A 

 thick chalk line drawn round a smooth tree, or across an 

 upright board or post, will render it impassable. 



Arsenic. This must be used with the utmost caution, as 

 it is a poison most fatal to animal life. Eecipe : loz. of 

 ordinary arsenic is placed in an old iron pot with a quart of 

 water, and then boiled until reduced to a pint or a little 

 more of liquid, to which is added lb. of coarse sugar. 

 This mixture can either be dropped about the runs and 

 around the nests, or placed in saucers in the Ants' haunts. 



Ferrocyanide of Potassium. This is also very dangerous : 

 Ferrocyanide of potassium, Idr. ; raspings of quassia, Idr. ; 

 and enough sugar to form a syrup. TJse in the same way as 

 the preceding. 



Calomel and Sugar. Mix together one part of calomel 

 and ten parts of finely-powdered loaf sugar, and lay it 

 in little heaps about their nests and runs ; the Ants will 

 eat it and die. Spring is the best season for this method. 



Guano, when fresh, if sprinkled on and around their 

 quarters, is said to be efficacious in driving them away. 



Camphor. If a piece of camphor, about the size of a 

 filbert, be placed in two quarts of hot water, and this, 

 when cool enough, applied to pot or other plants infested 

 with Ants, the insects will be driven off without injury 

 to the plants. 



Bones. Lay a quantity of partially-picked boiled bones 

 in the haunts, and they will be quickly covered with 

 insects. As soon as this occurs, throw the bones into hot 

 water. Before laying them down again, let all super- 

 fluous moisture drain off. This is a cheap remedy, and, 

 if persisted in, is very effectual. 



Carbolic Acid. This, if of good strength, diluted with 

 about ten or twelve times its bulk of water, and well 

 sprinkled over paths or other places where there is no 

 vegetation, will keep the Ants away. It has, however, 

 an objectionable smell. 



Paraffin Oil. Paraffin, mixed with six times its bulk of 

 water, and sprinkled over the nests every few days, will 

 kill and drive away Ants ; but the smell is disagreeable. 



Quassia. 4oz. of quassia chips, boiled in a gallon of 

 water for about ten minutes, and 4oz. of soap added to 

 the liquor as it cools, if used like the preceding, is fairly 

 effectual; but this, like the other remedies, must be 

 persisted in for som tiro a 



N 



