AUGUST. 167 



and was knoA\Ti to the old English gardener by 

 the name of passevelours. The leaves of some 

 species are eaten, and the foliage of several is 

 boiled as spinach, in the East Indies. 



The coxcomb amaranths are very curious 

 flowers, and notwithstanding a certain formality 

 of appearance, are much prized for the deep 

 piu'ple or red of theii' silky or velvet blossoms. 

 The crested amaranth {Celosia cristata) is a 

 native of many parts of Asia, and is said by 

 Thunberg to be cultivated to such perfection in 

 Japan, as that the heads of flowers are often a 

 foot long, and of equal breadth. There are 

 many varieties of this amaranth, and the scarlet 

 species are extremely beautiful. Several are 

 natives of China. 



The strawberry bhte, or Indian spinach, is 

 now red with its juicy fruits, by which it is 

 known to us, rather than by its less conspicu- 

 ous greenish flowers, which bloom in April. 

 These fruits are something similar to our Avood 

 strawberries, but are neither so handsome nor 

 so palatable. Their juice flows very freely, 

 often staining with its deep red the hand which 

 touches them, and the juice was formerly used 

 by cooks in colouring puddings. The berry- 

 headed species (Blitum capitatuin) is the most 

 ornamental ; it is a native plant of southern 

 Europe. There are three species in oiu* gar- 

 dens ; they are commonly called strawberry 

 spinach. Their name, blitum, taken from the 

 Greek, and signifying flt only to be thrown 

 away, woidd suggest the thought that they were 



