182 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



INDUFIiICATE. Having the margins bent abruptly 

 inwards, and the external face of these edges applied 

 to each other without any twisting. 



INDUSIUM. The membranous cover which overlies 

 or underlies the sporangia of ferns. The name is also 

 applied to the annnlns of some fungals. 



INERMIS. Unarmed; destitute of any kind of 

 spines or prickles. 



INFERIOR. Growing below some other organ. 

 The ovary, or fruit, is said to be Inferior when it is 

 crowned by the calyx, petals, and stamens. 



INFLORESCENCE. The disposition of the flowers. 

 INFRACTOUS. Curved inwards. 

 INFUNDIBULIFORM. Funnel-shaped. 

 INGA (the South American name of one of the species). 

 OED. Leguminosce. A genus comprising 140 species of 

 stove unarmed shrubs or trees, natives of the warmer parts 

 of South America, principally of Guiana and Brazil. 

 Flowers usually white or yellowish, produced in spikes 

 or nearly globular heads, from the axils of the leaves. 

 Leaves abruptly pinnate, composed of from two to five 

 or six pairs of rather large leaflets. The species, with the 

 exception, perhaps, of I. pulcherrima, are very rarely 

 seen in cultivation. They thrive in a compost of peat 

 and loam, and plenty of moisture will be needed during 

 the summer months, but scarcely any in winter. In- 

 creased by cuttings, made of the young shoots, in spring 

 and summer, and inserted in sandy peat, under a bell 

 glass, in heat. 



I. macrophylla (large-leaved), JL yellow. I. bipinnate, of two 

 pairs ; leaflets ovate, acute, smooth, shining above, a gland 

 between each pair; petiole winged, h. 20ft. Cumana, 1815. 

 (B. M. 5075.) 



Z. pulchenima (fairest), fl. scarlet, disposed in solitary, pedun- 

 culate, pendulous heads. Summer. I. with four or five pairs of 

 pinnae ; each pinna bearing from twenty to twenty-six pairs of 

 small, linear, obtuse, closely imbricated, adpressedly-ciliated 

 leaflets. Branches slender, spreading. A. 10ft Mexico, 1846. 

 (P. M. B. v. 147.) 



INKBERRY. An American name for Hex glabra< 



INOCARPUS (from is, inos, a fibre, and karpos, a 

 fruit; in reference to the fibrous envelopes). OED. 

 Leguminosce. A genus comprising three species of stove 

 evergreen trees, natives of the Pacific islands and the 

 Indian Archipelago. Flowers yellow, in axillary spikes ; 

 calyx tubular; petals five. Leaves simple (one-foliolate), 

 coriaceous, penninerved ; petioles very short. The species 

 require a compost of loam and peat. Cuttings of the half- 

 ripened shoots will root in sand, in heat. 

 I. edulis (edible), fl. white ; petals five, united to form a short 



tube. Summer, fr. a one-seeded fibrous pod. I. alternate. 



A. 20ft South Sea Islands, 1793. 



INSECTICIDES. The prompt destruction of in- 

 jurious insects, immediately any are detected, is an 

 important and essential operation to be performed in 

 connection with all cultivated trees and plants. Insects 

 of the most minute description increase with such 

 rapidity, if left alone, that irreparable damage is soon 

 caused to any subject they infest. An Insecticide is 

 any composition prepared from ingredients destructive 

 to insect life. Some Insecticides, too, are useful in 

 checking or destroying low forms of parasitic plant 

 life, such as Mildew, &c. To be effective and avail- 

 able for use on plants, it must be fatal to insects 

 without in any way injuring the host. Plants which 

 are leafless, and in a dormant state, will bear being 

 washed with an Insecticide nearly or quite double 

 the strength they could withstand when in full leaf; 

 hence the importance of thoroughly cleaning plants, and 

 also the house, during winter, when insects increase 

 less rapidly than at other seasons, and are more con- 

 centrated on those parts of deciduous plants which 

 remain. Tobacco, in one form or another, is, perhaps, 

 the most useful substance entering into the composi- 

 tion of Insecticides. It may be soaked in water, for 



Insecticides continued. 



dipping plants, and the preparation made to any strength 

 desired; used as a dry, ground powder, for dusting 

 over the leaves or points of shoots; or burnt in houses, 

 for the destruction of insects by the smoke. Soft Soap 

 is a cheap and excellent Insecticide, used in many 

 gardens to the exclusion of all other preparations. It 

 may be readily dissolved in water at any time, and to 

 any required strength, according as various plants may be 

 able to withstand it. An ounce, or even less, to a gallon 

 of water, will generally be sufficiently strong to use for 

 sponging the leaves, or for dipping plants in. Nicotine 

 Soap has some of the properties of tobacco; it is a good 

 Insecticide, and may, when purchased, be readily prepared 

 for use. Gishnrst Compound, an old and well-known 

 composition, in frequent use, and Fir-tree Oil, are soluble 

 and useful Insecticides for general purposes. Directions 

 for preparing them accompany each box or bottle sold ; 

 and it is rather important that they be followed, as far 

 as possible, especially in the use of soft water. Petro- 

 leum erroneously called paraffin, a different article is 

 very destructive, especially to Mealy Bug; but, unfor- 

 tunately, it is insoluble in water, and requires very 

 careful application. A small wineglassful to three gal- 

 lons of water, is not too much in many instances; but it 

 must be thoroughly mixed with the water by constant 

 agitation, preferably with a syringe. Hellebore Powder 

 is sometimes employed as an Insecticide, more particu- 

 larly for the destruction of the Gooseberry Caterpillar; 

 but, being a deadly poison, it must be carefully handled, 

 and be afterwards washed off with clean water. Flowers 

 of Sulphur, used either dry or mixed with water, is 

 one of the best things for destroying or preventing the 

 spread of Mildew. There are various other Insecticides 

 sold, but those already noticed are mostly in general 

 use, and answer their purpose, when properly applied, 

 so far as can be expected of preparations. Their use and 

 effect with, and on, different plants can only be treated 

 of individually and after experience gained from ex- 

 periments made according to the directions usually 

 accompanying the respective preparations. 



It is much preferable to avoid, as far as possible, the 

 use of Insecticides, especially those applied in a liquid 

 state, as it is frequently a difficult matter, even with 

 careful precautions, to kill insects entirely, without, at the 

 same time, causing injury to the plants infested by them. 

 If due care and attention be paid to watering, syringing, 

 and ventilation, as well as proper repotting, &c., insects 

 will not give much trouble. When the use of an Insecti- 

 cide becomes requisite, it should be promptly applied, 

 choosing an evening or a dull day for the operation, and 

 afterwards removing all traces by clear water. Insect 

 Powder of which the basis is composed of the dried and 

 powdered leaves and flowers of Pyrethrum roseum and 

 P. cinerarifolium is effective when dusted on infested 

 plants. 



INSECTS. No other class of the animal kingdom 

 is of so much interest and importance to those engaged 

 in gardening, or in farming, as are Insects, which, in 

 in their countless forms and modes of life, force them- 

 selves upon the notice of even the least observant. 

 The destruction they cause to field and garden pro- 

 duce is great, and at times excessive ; and these attacks 

 can be met successfully only when means are used that 

 are based on a knowledge of the habits of the injurious 

 species. But while Insects are more conspicuous because 

 of the injuries they inflict on our fields and gardens, we 

 must not forget that many kinds are beneficial to plants, 

 either by the services they render in conveying pollen 

 from flower to flower, and thereby securing the produc- 

 tion of healthy offspring to the plants ; or by feeding on, 

 and thus destroying, the injurious kinds of Insects. 

 Were it not for the aid rendered to us by the parasitic 

 species, we must often be helpless to check the ravages 



