534 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Synnotia continued. 



them with lin/ of soil. The pots may then be plunged 

 or stood on ashes in a cool frame, and but little water 

 will be required throughout the winter. When the flowers 

 appear, more water may be given, and the plants fully 

 exposed to light and plenty of air: draughts, however, 

 must be avoided. After flowering, growth and a gradual 

 ripening shonld be encouraged, by keeping the plants 

 watered for a time. When the leaves die away, the 

 bulbs may be shaken out and stored in bags until the 

 autumn, or they may be allowed to remain in the soil 

 and be kept dry. 



S. bicolor (two-coloured). /. alternate, distant ; perianth violet 

 and yellow, the tube curved, the segments ovate; snathe fin. 

 long ; scape erect, 6in. to lOin. high, simple or branched, leafy. 

 March. 1. distichous, striated, acute, in. broad. 1786. (B. H. 

 ii. 25 ; B. M. 548, under name of Ixia bicolor.) 



S. galeata (helmeted). /., perianth ringent, the three lower seg- 

 ments yellowish, the others white tinged with red. I. ovate- 



FIG. 560. FLOWERING BRANCH OF LILAC CHARLES X. 



S 'J^ ri - e ?^ to *! va !; ie P te ? ) -* f" alternate, distant ; perianth yellow 

 and violet the tube elongated, liin. long, the uppermost seg- 

 Uft hT*h ' M 6 ? ljlter t al , ones recurved; scape terete, simple, 

 lift. high. May. I. ovate-lanceolate-ensiform, the lower ones 

 distichous, the upper ones alternate. 1825. (S. B. F. G. 150.) 



SYNONYM. 



name. 



In botany, a superseded or unused 



SYNSEFALOUS. 



(which see). 



The same as Gamosepalous 



SYRINGA (from syrin, syringos, a pipe; the 

 branches are long and straight, and are filled with 

 medulla). Lilac ; Pipe-tree. Including Ligustrina. ORD. 

 Vleaceai. A well-known genus, comprising about ten 

 species of ornamental, hardy, deciduous, glabrous or 

 pubescent shrubs, natives of Eastern Europe and tem- 

 perate Asia. Flowers disposed in terminal, thyrsoid or 

 trichotomous panicles, the inflorescence at first centri- 



Sy r inga continued. 



petal, ultimately often centrifugal ; calyx campanulate, 

 irregularly toothed; corolla tube cylindrical, rarely 

 shortened; lobes four, shorter or longer than the tube, 

 induplicate-valvate ; stamens two, affixed nearly at the 

 apex of the tube, the filaments short or filiform. Leaves 

 opposite, entire or rarely pinnatisect. Nearly all the 

 species, and many splendid varieties, have been intro- 

 duced to our gardens. The common English name is said 

 to have been derived from Lilac or Lilag, the Persian 

 word for the flowers. The common Lilac, S. vulgaris, and 

 its varieties, are the largest in the genus, and are also 

 among the commonest and most beautiful of. our spring- 

 flowering shrubs. 



Propagation. Lilacs may be readily increased by 

 suckers, which are produced in abundance from the roots. 

 Scarce or good varieties may bo increased by means of 

 shield-budding, using a pushing bud in April, or a dormant 

 one in July. Crown-grafting or cleft-grafting in March 

 is also practicable, either on stocks near the 

 ground, or on others prepared as dwarf or tall 

 standards. Seedling plants should be raised 

 for stocks, as they are less likely to produce 

 suckers, which would, in due course, deprive 

 the bnd or graft of its full amount of nutri- 

 ment. Strong-growing varieties are usually 

 worked near the ground, and the new shoot al- 

 lowed to run up ; others, of slender growth, are 

 best united higher up on a more vigorous stock. 

 The varieties may also be raised from cuttings. 

 Cultivation. Few shrubs are more univer- 

 sally grown and admired when in flower than 

 the species and varieties of Syringa. They 

 grow freely, and flower profusely outside in 

 almost any soil and situation, but well repay 

 any extra attention bestowed in removing 

 suckers or giving a little good soil occa- 

 sionally. They are also amongst the best of 

 subjects for forcing in winter and early spring. 

 One of the finest varieties for this latter pur- 

 pose is Charles X. (see Fig. 560) : its panicles of 

 flowers are much larger and more compact 

 than the so-called Persian Lilac of gardens 

 (S. chinensis), which is, however, well adapted 

 for treating in a similar way. In France, 

 Lilacs are extensively forced in places where 

 light is excluded. The flowers thus become, 

 by blanching, pure white, and are in great re- 

 quest in the flower market for making bou- 

 quets, &c. ; large quantities being sent annually 

 to England, amongst other places. The com- 

 mon Lilac (S. vulgaris) is also amenable to 

 blanching. It has been recently discovered 

 that, if forced in a sufficiently heated struc- 

 ture, the colouring matter has no time to form 

 in the flowers, and therefore the same results 

 are obtained as if the plant were, according to the old 

 recognised method, grown in a place where light was 

 excluded. 



Lilac flowers, when blanched pure white, have a very 

 chaste and beautiful appearance. The process of blanch- 

 ing is best performed in a cellar or shed, from which all 

 light can be excluded. A temperature of 55deg. or 60deg., 

 with a moist atmosphere, should be maintained, and it 

 should preferably be secured by fermenting material com- 

 posed of stable litter and leaves. One disadvantage 

 connected with blanching is the impossibility of obtaining 

 any foliage to accompany the flowers. Leaves procured 

 from other plants exposed to light may, however, be 

 substituted. 



Forcing. Lilac plants intended for forcing are best 

 prepared by being grown purposely in pots ; at any rate, 

 they should be lifted and potted early in autumn, 

 using any ordinary loamy soil, and afterwards standing 



