64 GEMS. 



PART I. 



The cau- ARTICLE 2. The Caulinary Bulb.~-The caulinary 



linary bulb (p/. HI. Fig. 4.) consists of a number of 

 bulb. 



small scales closely compacted together in an 



ovate or conical form, enclosing the rudiments of 

 a future plant, and originating sometimes in the axil 

 of the leaves, as in Dent aria bulbifera, and several 

 liliaceous plants ; and sometimes at the base of 

 the umbel of flowers, as in Allium carinatum 

 and others ; in both which cases it is nourished by 

 the parent plant till it has reached maturity, at 

 which period the bond of connexion is dissolved and 

 the bulb falls to the ground, endowed with the 

 power of striking root in the soil by sending out 

 fibres from the base, and so converting itself into 

 a new individual. 



ARTICLE 3. General Remarks. Some bulbs are 

 found to be useful as articles of food, or rather as 

 giving a seasoning to food, such as the Onion, which 

 is so very generally cultivated in our gardens ; and 

 some are found to be useful in medicine, such as 

 the Squill or Sea-onion, so very well known for its 

 bitter and nauseous taste. 



To the botanist the figure, structure, or situation 

 of the bulb, affords often a good and legitimate 

 mark for the purpose of specific discrimination ; 

 and to the florist the cultivation of bulbs may fairly 

 be said to be a mixing of the utile with the dulce, 

 as no plants are more ornamental, and consequently 

 more profitable to the cultivator, than plants with 

 bulbous roots. 



