110 



ANDROSACE ANEMONE. 



scenery with their moss-like appearance. According 

 to Sweet, they are increased by layers, and also from 

 seeds, which must be very thinly covered with earth, 

 and transplanted when about an inch high into pots, 

 until they are sufficiently strong, when they may be 

 planted out in the open ground. 



ANDROSACE (Linnaeus). A family of small 

 annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous plants, 

 natives of the mountainous parts of the continent of 

 Europe. Linnean class and order, Pentandria Monogy- 

 nia. Natural order, Primulaceac. Generic character : 

 calyx, five-sided, five-toothed ; corolla, salver-shaped, 

 throat glandular, limb five-lobed ; stamens, within the 

 tube ; capsule, five-valved, five to ten-seeded. The 

 large round hollow leaf of the common androsace has 

 been compared to the buckler of the, ancients, and 

 hence its name. 



ANEILEMA (R. Brown). A genus of exotics, 

 chiefly evergreen creepers requiring the protection of 

 the greenhouse. Linnaean class and order, Triandria 

 Monogynia. Natural order, Commelinees. 



ANEMONE (Wind-flower). An extensive and 

 beautiful family of ornamental herbaceous plants, 

 mostly natives of Europe. Linnaean class and order, 

 Polyandrla Polygynia. Natural order, Hanunculacece . 

 Generic character : flower having an involucrum, 

 often at a distance from the flower ; calyx resem- 

 bling a corolla with many petals ; nectarium none ; 

 stamens below the germen ; filaments like threads, 

 sometimes dilated at top ; anthers oblong, two-celled ; 

 style filiform, short ; stigmas headed or flatted ; ca- 

 ryopses naked. 



Of this genus there are forty-one species described, 

 of many of which, particularly the //. comnaria, there 

 are numerous varieties ; and the structure is also so 

 different that botanists have divided the family into 

 six sections, founded on the different appendages of 

 the seeds and form of the involucrum. The greater 

 number have tuberous roots, among which the coro- 

 naria or garland anemone has been raised to the dig- 

 nity of a bed flower by professional florists, and for 

 some of the newest and best high prices are charged. 



The anemone is propagated and new varieties are 

 obtained by^owing the seed. This should be chosen 

 from the best old flowers, impregnated with semi- 

 double flowers, having the desirable properties of rich 

 colour and fine form. The seed being liable to be 

 blown away by wind, should be gathered as it ripens, 

 and be preserved dry till the month of January, when 

 it should be sown. It requires to be prepared for 

 sowing by being mixed with, and rubbed in sand, to 

 free it from its downy covering. The seed-bed 

 should be composed of fresh garden ground or loam, 

 from twelve to eighteen inches deep, well broken 

 and aired, to free it from worms and insects ; and, 

 for the better security against these, a layer of lime, 

 three inches thick, should be laid in the bottom of 

 the bed ; and, to prevent the approach of slugs or 

 worms to the surface, the outskirts of the bed should 

 be frequently sprinkled with lime-water. 



A shallow one-light frame is necessary for the de- 

 fence and nurture of the seedlings. In this, when 

 the soil is settled and levelled, sow the seeds 

 equal[y, and press them into the earth with a board, 

 or back of a spade. The bed should be kept rather 

 moist. While the seeds are vegetating the glass- 

 light should be kept close ; and as they swell and 

 rise above ground, a slight covering of loam may be 

 sifted on occasionally till the seeds are hidden. Air 



must be afterwards given at all times when the 

 weather permits ; and should the bed become too 

 dry, it must be lightly watered. If the surface ap- 

 pear crusted when the seedlings are rising, it must 

 be cautiously loosened with the point of a stick. 

 This treatment must be continued till the leaves 

 begin to die off, and when they are quite withered 

 the tubers may be taken up. 



As these small roots are irregular in form, and of 

 a dingy colour, they are not readily found, unless 

 two or three inches of the surface be passed through 

 a fine sieve, to separate them from the mould. When 

 freed from earth and dried, they are kept in boxes 

 till the planting season. 



These seedlings, planted in a nursing bed, will 

 mostly flower in the second year ; all that are worth- 

 less may be discarded, arid the best kept to breed 

 from, or take a place among the finer sorts. The 

 finest double varieties are only procurable by a long 

 course of successional sowings from individuals of good 

 colour, and which show a tendency to become double. 



Anemones may be planted either in the month of 

 October, or in February. The autumn is the most 

 natural season, provided the bed is defended by proper 

 coverings during severe frost. By spring planting, 

 the risk of injury and trouble of covering is avoided ; 

 but in highly kept flower-gardens, they are planted 

 in both seasons to ensure success. When coverings 

 are necessary, they should be of bass or reed mats, 

 and raised on hoops a foot or two from the surface, 

 and always rolled off when the weather is mild. 



The habits of the anemone, as being a production 

 of the moistest season of the year, seem to point out 

 the soil most congenial to it ; viz. a mellow, moist, 

 rich loam. It is such as absorbs and retains an equable 

 degree of moisture, without repletion or deficiency ; 

 and, though surface-water be neither naturally ne- 

 cessary or suitable, yet a substratum of rich soil re- 

 tentive of moisture is indispensable. 



In forming the bed, the bottom must be loosened 

 sufficiently deep, say two feet at least ; and, about 

 eight inches from the surface, let a stratum of strong 

 loam and rotten dung, well incorporated, be laid, and 

 on this a surface layer of lighter loam to receive the 

 tubers. The bed being formed and levelled, drills 

 are drawn across about five inches asunder, on which 

 the roots are placed, crowns upwards, four or five 

 inches apart, according to their size, covering them 

 as near as possible about two inches deep. 



The subsequent management consists in defending 

 the bed from frost, slugs, and insects. If the month 

 of March be dry, the state of the soil should be 

 examined ; if found too loose, a little fresh loam may 

 be added and pressed tight to the plants ; and if too 

 dry, a good soaking of manured water may be given, 

 and this occasionally repeated, if dry weather pre- 

 vails. When coming into bloom, shading as well as 

 watering will be required ; as well to ensure perfect 

 flowering as to preserve their beauty. After the 

 flowering, and when the leaves fade, dry weather 

 matures the tubers readily ; but if very wet, the bed 

 should be protected from rain : because this keeps 

 them excited, and tends to weaken them. About a 

 month after the bloom the roots may be taken up, 

 carefully cleaned, dried, and stored up. 



There are four species of this plant found in 

 Britain ; the wind-flower, A. nemornlis, and the 

 Pasque-flower, A. puJsatilla, are among the gayest 

 ornaments of the spring. 



