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E. variegata. — Variegated Spurge. — A most elegant 

 species ; a native of Missouri and Arkansas Territory ; 

 an annual much cultivated now in gardens, and highly 

 esteemed ; flowering late in autumn, and remarkable for 

 its abundant variegated bracts or floral leaves. Leaves 

 oval entire ; wavy, edged with white ; capsules smooth ; 

 stems hairy. The seed must be sown early in April ; it 



FRITILLARY. — Fritillary. 



[From Fritillus, the Latin for dice-box, probably in allusion to the shape of the 

 flowers.] 



A genus with showy and singular looking flowers. The 

 plants all require a deep loamy soil, and aie readily in- 

 creased by offsets or by seeds. They grow readily in the 

 shade of trees, and do not require to be taken up oftener 

 than once in three years. 



Fritillaria impcrialis. — Crown Imperial— A native of 

 Persia. There are many varieties ; all handsome, varying 

 in color ; viz. : bright yellow, scarlet, orange-scarlet, 

 double red, double yellow, gold-striped-leaved, silver-strip- 

 ed-leaved, etc. This species is less esteemed than its 

 beauty merits, on account of its strong, and, to some, its 

 disagreeable scent. It flowers in April ; the bulb throws 

 up a strong, vigorous stem, three or four feet high, pro- 

 ducing near the top a crown of beautiful, drooping, bell- 

 shaped flowers, making a very conspicuous object at a 

 season when but few flowers grace the garden. Above 

 the crown of flowers the stem terminates in a tuft of its 

 glossy green foliage. The nectaries are very curious ; each 

 cell, six in number, contains a large drop, which looks like 

 a brilliant pearl. When the flower decays, the seed-vessels 

 take a position the reverse of that of the flower, and stand 



