366 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Comparettia continued. 



house, where they will not be fully exposed to the sun. 

 Comparettias require a liberal supply of moisture during 

 the growing season, and at no time should they be 

 allowed to become dry. Propagated by division of the 

 plants. 



C. coccinea (scarlet).* /., sepals and petals brilliant scarlet ; lip 

 the same colour, with a tinge of white at the base ; racemes three 

 to seven-flowered. November. I. bright green on the upper 

 surface, elegant purple beneath. Brazil, 1838. (B. R. 24, 68.) 



C. falcate (sickle-shaped).* A., sepals and petals rich rosy-purple ; 

 lip the same colour, but thickly veined with a deeper shade. 

 Columbia, 1836. Not very dissimilar to C. coccinea, but having 

 broader leaves and somewhat differently shaped flowers. Very 

 rare. 



C. macroplectron (long-spurred).* fl. pale rose-coloured, speckled 

 with red, distichous, nearly 2in. long from the tip of the dorsal 

 sepal to the end of the lip ; racemes pendulous. I. two to three, 

 4in. to 5in. long by Jin. to IJin. broad, leathery, green above ; 

 pale, and faintly streaked with rusty - yellow, beneath. New 

 Grenada. (B. M. 6679.) 



C. rosea (rosy).* Very small, but pretty, with shorter and more 

 compact racemes than C. J'alcata. Spanish Main, 1843. Barely 

 seen. (P. M. B. 10, 1.) 



COMPLICATE, COMPLICATED. Folded np 

 upon itself. 



COMPOSITE, or ASTEKACE22. The most ex- 

 tensive order of herbs and shrubs, or trees, in the vegetable 

 kingdom. There are between 700 and 800 genera, and 

 about 10,000 species. Flowers collected into a head on a 

 common receptacle, and surrounded by an involucre. 

 Leaves alternate or opposite, exstipulate. Among the more 

 important genera are : Aster, Chrysanthemum, and Dahlia. 



COMPOSTS. A term applied to any mixture of 

 different soils or manures, either for potting purposes, or 

 for top-dressing plants in pots or in the open ground. It 

 may consist of different ingredients, with or without the 

 addition of any manure, according to the habit or require- 

 ment of the subject for which it is intended. Manures that 

 would prove destructive by their strength to any plant in 

 a pot, may be mixed to form a certain proportion of the 

 Compost, and thereby prove beneficial. Loam, in most cases, 

 forms the greater bulk of soils used for fruit-trees, and for 

 most strong-growing plants of the soft- wooded class. This 

 is not often suitable for use wholly by itself, consequently 

 the addition of other material has to be made, to render it 

 lighter, and so encourage root action, or to keep it suffi- 

 ciently porous to allow the free passage of air and water. 

 Charcoal, sharp sand, leaf soil, burnt earth, peat, and 

 many other things, besides so-called manures, may be used 

 for this purpose ; and, although it may be necessary to add 

 something stronger for sustaining any given plant, yet 

 one or more of these may be generally used beneficially. 

 A Compost of any description should be thoroughly mixed 

 before being used, in order that the different parts may 

 be evenly incorporated. It should be in a condition not 

 too dry nor sufficiently wet to cling together. This is very 

 important, as the after condition of the plants will, in 

 many cases, testify. All manures should be used when 

 somewhat dry, and none applied when in a fresh state, 

 as then they often prove destructive. Good leaf soil is 

 one of the most useful ingredients for Composts, and 

 that which has never been placed in sufficient bulk to 

 cause violent heating, is the best. If obtained from 

 woods where decay has taken place very gradually, it 

 is much to be preferred. It should then be collected 

 ready for use as required, and it will not, as a rule, 

 generate sufficient heat afterwards to cause injury. Hard- 

 wooded greenhouse plants succeed in peat and sand, and 

 manure should never be applied to them. It must be 

 remembered, in preparing a Compost for such subjects, 

 that it will probably have to last for a period of at least 

 twelve months. The following questions should be con- 

 sidered when preparing a mixture of soil. What is the 

 description of plant for which it is intended? Is it a 

 hard or soft-wooded subject and Is it to be potted 



Composts continued. 



temporarily or permanently ? Young plants are, in all 

 cases, benefited by having a lighter soil than others better 

 established, as root action is thereby encouraged. These 

 principles should always be considered, and all subjects 

 treated accordingly. Suitable Composts for most plants 

 are given under their respective headings; consequently, 

 it is only necessary here to give instructions for general 

 guidance. Study and personal experience with the various 

 requirements of the plants to be potted, must be exercised 

 in the application of suitable ingredients in the Compost. 

 See also Manures. 



COMPOST YARD. An inclosure in gardens, gene- 

 rally in the neighbourhood of the potting sheds, where 

 different soils, manures, &c., are stored until required 

 for use. A great advantage is gained if the Compost 

 Yard contains an open shed, in which the whole or a 

 part of the soils used for potting, can be placed, and 

 kept dry, or be prepared in wet weather for use. A rule 

 should always be enforced of having that portion of any 

 soil or manure left properly placed together and tidy 

 each time any is taken away. 



COMPOUND. When formed 

 of several parts united in one 

 common whole. A Compound Leaf 

 is shown at Fig. 505. 



COMPOUND CORYMB. A 



branched Corymb, the divisions of 

 which are corymbose. 



COMPRESSED. Pressed together and flattened. 

 COMPSANTHUS. A synonym of Tricyrtis (which 

 see). 



COMFSOA. A synonym of Tricyrtis (which see). 

 COMFTONIA (named after Henry Compton, once 

 Bishop of London, the introducer and cultivator of many 

 curious exotic plants, and a great patron of botany). OBD. 

 Myricacece. An ornamental hardy deciduous shrub, re- 

 quiring peat earth and a shady situation. Propagated by 

 layers, which should be put down in autumn. 

 C. asplenifolia (Spleenwort-leaved).* fl. whitish ; male catkins 

 lateral, cylindrical; female catkins lateral, ovate. March and 

 April. I. simple, alternate, lanceolate, pinnatifldly toothed, 

 downy, sprinkled with yellowish, resinous, transparent particles. 

 Stipules half heart-shaped, h. 3ft. to 4ft. North America, 1714. 

 A distinct shrub, with fragrant fern-like leaves. (W. D. B. 166.) 

 CONANDRON (from konos, a cone, and aner, andron, 

 a male, an anther ; the appendages to the anthers are 

 united in a cone around the style). OBD. Gesneracece. A 

 rare and very pretty, but not quite hardy, herbaceous 

 perennial. For cultivation, see Ramondia, to which this 

 genus is allied. 



C. ramondioides (Ramondia-like).* fl. shortly pedicellate, with 

 linear bracts, borne on leafless scapes in a forked corymbose cyme, 



FIG. 505. COMPOUND 

 LEAF. 



hich is at first drooping ; corolla white, or pink with a purplish 

 , twice the length of the calyx ; tube s 

 alyx about iin. long, pubescent. Summe 



metimes solitary, stalked, ovate-oblong, acute, coarsely serrated, 



eye, rotate, 

 whi 



sub-globose, 

 ent. Summer. I. few, 



dark green and rugose, h. 6m. Japan, 1879. (B. M. 6484.) 



CONANTHERA (from konos, a cone, and anthera, an 

 anther ; in reference to the six anthers forming a cone in 

 the early stage of the flower). OBD. Liliacece. Very 

 pretty little half-hardy bulbous plants, rather difficult to 

 preserve, and hence rarely seen in English gardens. They 

 should be planted in sandy soil, in a warm border, and be 

 well protected throughout the winter from excessive rains 

 and frosts; or lifted and stored in sand, in frost-proof 

 quarters. Propagated by offsets, or by seed. 

 C. bifolia (two-leaved). A. blue, in small panicles. April, f. 



linear, acute, h. 6in. to lift. Chili, 1823. 

 C campanulata (bell-shaped), fl. blue, paniculate. April. I. 



linear, shorter than the peduncle, h. 1ft. Chili, 1823. SYN. 



Cumingia campanulata. (B. M. 24S6, under the name of 



Conanthera bifolia.) 



CONCAVE. Hollow. 



CONCENTRIC. Having a common centre. 



