316 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Chir it a continued . 

 C. sinensis (Chinese).* A. lilac ; corymbs many-flowered, bibrac- 



teate at the base. July. I. opposite, elliptic-ovate, crenated ; 



petioles trigonal. Stemless. h. 6in. China, 1843. Greenhouse 



evergreen. See Fig. 431. (B. M. 4284.) 

 C. zeylanloa (Ceylon), ft., rich purple, reddish and paler in the 



tube ; large, handsome. I. stalked, ovate, acute, entire, covered 



with rather close-pressed silky-brownish hairs. A. 1ft. Ceylon, 



1840. Stove. (B. M. 4182.) 



CHIRONIA (a classical name, after Chiron, a centaur, 

 son of Phillyra and Saturn ; he was famous for his know- 

 ledge of music, medicine, and shooting, and taught the use 

 of plants and medicinal herbs). OKD. Gentianeas. Very 

 ornamental small soft-wooded greenhouse perennial herbs 

 or shrubs, all from Southern Africa. Flowers reddish- 

 pink or purple, terminal; corolla salver-shaped, with a 

 narrow tube and a spreading limb, which is longer than 

 the tube. Leaves sessile, opposite, decussate. Stems 

 simple or branched. They thrive in a roughish sandy 

 soil, composed of three-parts peat and one of loam, with 

 a considerable admixture of pure sand. Rather small 

 pots and perfect drainage are matters of importance in 

 their culture. They are easily propagated by cuttings, 

 inserted in sandy soil, and placed in a gentle heat, in 

 spring. Great care must be taken not to over-water, 

 especially in the winter months. 

 C. baccifera (berry-bearing), fl. reddish-pink, terminal, solitary. 



June. I. opposite, decussate, glabrous, linear-lanceolate, sessile, 



decurrent, with reflexed edges, longer than the internodes. 



Branches sub-tetragonal. 1759. (B. M. 233.) 

 C. floribnnda (many-flowered).* /. pink ; peduncles solitary, 



one-flowered ; petals obovate. June. I. linear, or oblong-ovate, 



acute. A. 2ft. 1843. Glabrous, much branched. (P. M. B. 



xii. 123.) 

 C. glutinosa (glutinous). fl. reddish-pink; corolla large, with 



an expanded five-parted limb. Summer. I. three to five-nerved, 



ovate-lanceolate. h. 2ft. 1843. Plant dark green, smooth. 



(P. M. B. xv. 245.) 

 C. jasminoides (Jasmine-like).* fl. red or purplish ; panicles 



dichotomous ; or flowers terminal, solitary on the tops of the 



branches. April. I. lanceolate, linear. Stem tetragonal, h. 



1ft. to 2ft. 1812. Plant glabrous. (B. B. 197.) 

 C. linoides (Flax - like).* /., corolla red, with ovate-oblong, 



obtuse segments ; peduncles terminal, elongated. July. t. 



linear, erect, fleshy, acute. Stem branched ; branches terete, 



fastigiate. h. 1ft. to 2ft. 1787. (B. M. 511.) 



CHITONIA. (of Don). See Miconia. 

 CHIVES, or GIVES (Allium Schcenoprasurri). A hardy 

 perennial, native of Britain. Chives do well in any garden 

 soil, and may be increased by division of the roots, in 

 spring or autumn. Their chief uses are in soups and salads, 

 being preferred for the latter, as they are much milder 

 than onions, and also more tender. If planted in small 

 bunches, about 9in. apart, and not allowed to seed, they 

 will soon form good - sized clumps. When required for 

 use, each clump may be cut in turn, close to the ground ; 

 these will soon grow again. Beds should be replanted at 

 least once in three or four years. 



CHLAMYDIA. A synonym of Fhormium. 

 CHLIDANTHUS (from clideios, delicate, and anthos, 

 a flower). OBD. Amaryllidece. A small genus, containing 

 two or three species, confined to South America. They 

 are very ornamental, half-hardy, bulbous plants, the leaves 

 appearing after the flowers. They should be grown in the 

 open air, in a compost of peat, leaf soil, and loam, in equal 

 parts, with some sand, in well-drained pots, until autumn, 

 when they should be removed to a cool part of the green- 

 house, and kept dry until the following April ; they may 

 then be repotted, watered, and allowed a little more 

 warmth. Propagated freely by offsets, which may bo 

 removed, when repotting, in spring. 



C. fragrans (fragrant), fl. yellow, fragrant, sub-sessile, in few- 

 flowered umbels ; perianth with an erect cylindrical tube, widened 

 at the mouth, and a nearly equal somewhat spreading limb of 

 six segments. June and July. I. linear-lorate, sheathing at the 

 base. Bulbs truncated. Buenos Ayres, &c., 1820. (B. R. 640.) 



CHLOANTHES (from chloos, greenish -yellow, and 

 anthos, a flower ; referring to the greenish flowers). OKD. 

 Verbenaceoe. Pretty greenhouse evergreen shrubs, allied to 



Chloanth.es continued. 



Lantana. Flowers solitary, axillary, on short peduncles; 



corolla tube with a woolly ring on its interior, above the 



apex of the ovary. Leaves opposite or ternate. They 



thrive in a compost of fibry loam, and turfy, sandy peat. 



Cuttings of young shoots root freely in sandy soil, under a 



hand glass. 



C. coccinea (scarlet), fl. scarlet, nearly sessile and axillary, but 

 collected into short leafy spikes or heads at or near the summits 

 of the branches. I. opposite or in whorls of three, narrow anil 

 rly terete, owing to the revolute 



margins, obtuse, iin. to lin 



cloth "-- 



h. 1ft. to 2ft. Western Australia. 

 dnlosa (glandular), fl. yellowis 

 luncles 3in. to 4in. long. July. I. lanceolate pr linear-lanceo- 



, 



long, bullate-rugose. Stems usually clothed with a white cottony 

 wool. 



C. glandulosa (glandular), fl. yellowish, IJin. long, axillary ; 

 peduncles 3in. to 4in. long. July. I. lanceolate or linear-lanceo- 

 ite, bullate-rugose and decurrent, about liin. to 3in. long. h. 2ft. 



New South Wales, 1824. 

 C. stoechadis (Sto-chus-like).* /. greenish-yellow. June to 

 August. Stem erect, h. 2ft. New South Wales, 1822. 



CHLOR.A (from chloros, pale ; alluding to the pale 

 yellow-coloured flowers). Yellow-wort. OBD. Gentianece. 

 Very pretty little hardy (mostly) annuals. Flowers yellow, 

 terminal, stalked, aggregate or solitary ; corolla salver- 

 shaped; tube shorter than the calyx. Leaves opposite, 

 sessile, or perfoliate, entire. They are very easily cul- 

 tivated, succeeding in pots or borders, in ordinary garden 

 soil; and may be readily propagated from seeds, which 

 should be sown in pots, in a cold frame, in spring. 

 C. grandlflora (large-flowered).* /. golden-yellow, much larger 



than those of the kinds described below, h. 6in. to 1ft. Corsica 



and Sardinia. Hardy biennial. (R. G. 469.) 

 C. imperfoliata (not-perfoliate). fl. terminal; corolla deep 



yellow, six-cleft. June. 1. sessile, somewhat stern-clasping, 



ovate, acute. Stems simple, tetragonal, h. 1ft. South-western 



Europe, 1823. 

 C. perfoliata (perfoliate).* fl. golden yellow, in a corymb of two 



forks, with a pedicellate flower in each fork. July. I., root 



ones oval, sessile, rosulate, the lower stem ones oval-lanceolate, 



the rest perfoliate. Stem dichotomous, cylindrical, h. 1ft. 



Europe, in chalky pastures or banks, and limestone and clay 



soils. (Sy. En. B. 913.) 

 C. serotlna (late-flowering), fl. yellow. November, h. 1ft. 



Europe, 1832. 



CHLORANTHACE2!. An order of tropical trees, 

 shrubs, or rarely herbs. Flowers minute, in simple or 

 branched terminal spikes, often articulate. Fruit a small 

 drupe. Leaves opposite, stipulate. Of the few genera, the 

 one best known in this country is Chloranthus ; the minute 

 flowers of C. inconspicuus are said to be used by the 

 Chinese in scenting tea. 



CHLORIDE OF LIME is composed of chlorine and 

 lime. When exposed to the air, it parts with a portion of 

 its major constituent, chlorine, and is thus changed to 

 Muriate of Lime, a salt which rapidly absorbs moisture 

 from the air. It has been used with moderate success for 

 quickening the growth of Turnip seed, in the proportion 

 of lib. to six gallons of water, soaked for thirty-six hours. 

 Great care should be taken in using it, as it will totally 

 destroy the germinating powers of many seeds. Chloride 

 of Lime is also very valuable as a disinfectant solution 

 ilb. to two gallons of water. It is one of the most effectual 

 applications for fixing ammoniacal fumes. In order to 

 bleach skeleton leaves and fruits, the green cellular por- 

 tions of which have been got rid off by maceration in 

 water for a longer or shorter period, according to the 

 texture and general character of the specimens, immersion 

 in a weak solution of Chloride of Lime for a day or two, is 

 all that is necessary. 



CHLORIS (from chloros, green). OBD. Gramineoe. A 

 genus of very pretty greenhouse or hardy annual grasses. 

 Spikelets one-flowered, awned, singly sessile in two rows on 

 one side of simple spikes, either solitary or digitate at the 

 end of the peduncle, the rachis of the spikelet articulate 

 immediately above the glumes. The few species in cultiva- 

 tion are easily grown in the open air, during the summer 

 months, in a light sandy soil. Propagated by seeds, in a 

 warm situation, during May. 

 C. barbata (bearded).* /?., spites IJin. to 2in. long, many-fascicled; 



