A C R 



A C R 



different parts of the kingdom. It is sufficiently 

 distinguished by its long, narrow, sword-shaped 

 leaves, winch are of a bright green colour, waved 

 along one of the edges, and when broken yielding 

 a strong aromatic scent; and also by its oblong, 

 cylindric spike of flowers, coming out from the 

 side of the stem at the edge of the leaf, which is 

 generally single, though sometimes double. The 

 root is long, cylindric, tuberous, spongy, marked 

 with rings, and putting out abundance of fibres, 

 which are the proper roots of the plant. It 

 flowers in the months of June and July. 



The second sort has the roots in tufts, with a 

 few thready fibres : the stem is scarcely any, or 

 very short : the leaves are equitant, erect, some- 

 what alternate, linear-sword-shaped, pointed, a 

 little thickened at the margin, smooth, ever- 

 green, a span long, edged at the base, with a 

 white, pellucid, shining membrane : the stalk 

 like the leaves, but a little shorter, erect, some- 

 what thickened under the spadix, afterwards nar- 

 rower, and altogether leafy ; about equal to it in 

 length, scarcely longer. The spadix, arising la- 

 terally from the stalk near its top, is erect, cylin- 

 drical, obtuse, being entirely covered with yel- 

 lowish-green sessile florets. 



The whole plant has an aromatic smell when 

 bruised, much resembling the Sweet Flag, from 

 which it is distinguished by the shortness of that 

 portion of its stalk which is above the spadix, as 

 well as by all its parts, except the florets being 

 five times smaller than in that plant. Professor 

 T. Martyn observes in his Dictionary, that it 

 is probably a native of China, being at least 

 frequently cultivated, for the sake of its smell, 

 in pots, about the habitations of the Chinese. 



Culture. — The first of these plants requires 

 little trouble in its cultivation, as it may be pro- 

 pagated by its creeping roots with great facility. 

 It should be transplanted from its natural situa- 

 tion in the autumn or early spring months, and 

 placed in such moist ground as that its roots may 

 be well supplied with water, for where this is not 

 the case it seldom produces flowers. The si- 

 tuation should likewise be open, as it does not 

 thrive well under the shade of trees. 



It has been suggested that the root of this 

 plant might be employed as a spice, when re- 

 duced to Ihe state of a powder ; but it is chiefly 

 cultivated on account of the fine smell which it 

 affords, and the ornament of the flowers. 



The second, or Chinese sort, may be propagated 

 by parting the roots, and placing them in pots of 

 good mold in dry stoves, where they will re- 

 quire only a moderate degree of heat. This 

 species is cultivated for variety, as well as the 

 fragrant odour which it affords. 



ACROSTICI1UM, a genu* including various 



plants of the fern kind, some of which maybe 

 cultivated for the purpose of ornament and variety. 



It belongs to the class and order of CryploJU- 

 mia Filices. 



The characters of which are: that the fructifi- 

 cations cover the whole inferior surface of the 

 frond or leaf. 



The species are extremely numerous : but 

 those hitherto cultivated for the purposes of or- 

 nament in open exposures are : 1 . A. septen- 

 trionale ; 2. A. australe; 3. A. ruj'um; 4. A. 

 MararJce; 5. A. ilvense. 



The first grows in tufts somewhat resembling 

 rushy grass. The fronds are from one to four inches 

 in length ; commonly a little curved, narrow, 

 entire at the base, but dilated towards the extre- 

 mity, and divided into two or three lanceolate 

 segments, which are again irregularly cut into two, 

 three, or more, smaller recurved ones. The fruc- 

 tifications first appear in small lines, but in the 

 adult plant the lower surface of the leaf is totally 

 covered with brown dusty capsules. 



The second species much resembles the above; 

 but it is silvery, and more regularly divided, hav- 

 ing purple fructifications proceeding from the in- 

 ner edge, which are cleft longitudinally ; the last 

 divisions of the fronds being subulate, roundish, 

 and straightish. 



The third sort rises to eighteen or twenty 

 inches in height. The cup is round, covered with 

 ferruginous hair, and leafy almost from the root. 

 The pinnas are about an inch from each other, on 

 a small pedicel ; each pinna being about an inch 

 long, and half an inch broad at the base, whence 

 they decrease to the end, which is round ; and 

 they are covered all over with a rusty woolly hair. 



The fourth species has the stipes about seven 

 inches high, of a dark purple colour. The frond 

 is almost bipinnate, lanceolate, closely imbrica- 

 ted beneath, with chaffy orange-coloured scales. 

 The leaflets are opposite, almost pinnate ; having 

 the pinnas ovate, obtuse, thick, quite entire; but 

 the lower ones often toothed on each side at the 

 base. The fructifications spread between the leafy 

 scales over the whole under surface. Sometimes 

 the stipes is blood-red, all hairy, from eight 

 inches to a foot in height. 



The fifth has much resemblance to the above, 

 but only rises a few inches in height, seldom ex- 

 ceeding seven. In this the stipes is of a green 

 colour. 



There are several other species descrihed by 

 Professor T. Martyn, in his edition of Miller's 

 Dictionary, that may be cultivated with equal 

 facility, but they have been yet little introduced 

 among gardeners. 



Culture. — All the above species may be culti- 

 vated and preserved by being planted out in pots 



