ACHIMENES. 



AGAPANTHUS. 



baskets ; they combine great individual 

 beauty with a variety of rich and brilliant 

 colours rarely to be met with. Some of 

 them are remarkable for their peculiar 

 markings, others for their large handsome 

 flowers, while all are so exceedingly effec- 

 tive as amply to recompense the amateur 

 for his care and attention, which are trifling 

 compared with what some plants of far 

 inferior beauty require. The hybi id varie- 

 ties are very numerous, and the blooms are 

 white, orange, rose, crimson, scarlet, blue, 

 and purple, some being diverse in colour, 

 and beautifully marked and veined. The 

 character of the flower will be best under- 

 stood from the accompanying illustration. 



ACHIMENES, VARIETIES OF. 



For a detailed list of varieties readers are 

 referred to the catalogues of the growers 

 and tc the nearest nurserymen and florists 

 in their respective districts. To give them 

 here would take up far too much space. 



Culture. Use a compost of peat, loam, 

 and leaf-soil ; or leaf-mould, loam, and 

 silver-sand, and secure good drainage. 

 Plant five to seven tubers in a five or 

 six-inch pot, with their growing ends 

 inclining towards the centre, and their root 

 ends towards the circumference of the pot, 

 and cover them with about an inch of the 

 compost. While growing, they should be 

 well supplied with liquid manure ; start 

 them when convenient in heat, and when 

 an inch and a half high they may be 



removed to the greenhouse. To keep up a 

 succession, commence starting them in heat 

 in January ; and as one lot is taken out 

 another should be put in, till May ; do not 

 neglect tying up the stems, or they will fall 

 down and get injured. 



Planted in pans or baskets and suspended, 

 they will become objects of the greatest 

 interest, falling gracefully over the sides, 

 and literally covering the pot or basket 

 with their truly magnificent flowers. 



Ac'onite (' ord. Ranunculacese). 



The generic name of a great variety of 

 hardy herbaceous plants grown as peren- 

 nials in gardens and on the verge of 

 shrubberies. They grow from three to 

 five feet in height, and produce long spikes 

 of helmet-shaped flowers, mostly blue in 

 colour, but also white and purple, and 

 even yellow in some varieties. The 

 most common are Aconitum Napellus^ 

 or Monk's-hood, and Aconitum lupicidum, 

 or Wolfsbane. The former is tuberous- 

 rooted, and the latter fibrous-rooted. 



Culture. Division of the roots, and by 

 seeds. 



Adian'tum Capillis Veneris. * 



Maidenhair Fern, p. 565. 



Agapan'thllS (not. ord. Liliaceae). 



An African lily blooming in August, 

 combining graceful foliage with large 

 handsome heads of blossom. In flower- 

 beds or masses, the blue variety, Agapanthus 

 umbellatus, is lovely ; planted in a strong 

 rich soil, it produces a splendid effect, and 

 when mixed with gladioli, either of the 

 Ramosus or Gandavensis sections, the effect 

 is unique. Agafanthus umbellaius albidus, 

 a white variety, forms a good companion 

 and excellent contrast to the preceding. 

 j There are others, but these are all that 

 need be mentioned here. 



Culture. A nine-inch pot will be ample 



