A N T 



ANT 



The best time of transplanting these roots is in 

 July or August, when their leaves begin to de- 

 cay. In summer the pots should be placed in 

 the open air, but in winter removed, and placed 

 under hot-bed frames, as they are not very ten- 

 tier : where damp exists the leaves are apt to be- 

 come mouldy. The roots send forth shoots in 

 autumn, the flowers begin to appear in May, and 

 the seeds ripen in August. When the third sort 

 is raised in this wav the seeds should be sown 

 in pots about the middle of August, and placed 

 in situations where they may enjov the morning 

 sun, being gently watered in dry weather. In 

 September the pots may be removed to a. warmer 

 situation, and in the following month placed 

 under a frame, to be protected from frost and 

 hard rains, but in mild weather exposed to the 

 free air. The plants appear in October, and 

 continue growing all the winter : their leaves 

 decay in June, when the roots may be taken up 

 and planted out in pots. 



In the latter mode, or that by means of off- 

 sets, which is mostly practised with the third, 

 fifth, and sixth species, the best season of plant- 

 ing out the roots is in the latter end of summer 

 or beginning of autumn. In the third species 

 the method recommended by the Editor of Mil- 

 ler's Dictionary is to plant the roots out" in pots 

 filled with light earth, to remain in the open air 

 till October, when they must be removed into 

 shelter, either into an airy glass-case, or placed 

 under a hot-bed frame, where the leaves keep 

 growing all winter, and in the spring the stalks 

 arise and flower. During the winter season the 

 plants require a little water when the weather is 

 mild, once a week, but it must not be given in 

 great quantities, especially in cold weather : in 

 the spring they should be watered oftener ; and 

 when the flowers are past the pots should be re- 

 moved into the open air to perfect their seeds, 

 which will ripen the latter end of June, soon 

 after which the stalks decay to the root. When 

 the stalks are decayed, the roots may be taken 

 out of tbe ground, and kept in a dry room till 

 the beginning of autumn, when they should be 

 replanted." 



The roots of the fifth and sixth sorts are di- 

 rected to be planted, when the leaves are decayed, 

 in separate pots filled with light fresh earth, and 

 placed in the open air till toward the end of Sep- 

 tember, when the leaves begin to appear above 

 ground, at which time remove them into shel- 

 ter, as the plants require protection from the 

 frost : they should not, however, be treated in 

 too tender a manner. The best method is pro- 

 bably that of plunging the pots in an old bark- 

 bed that has lost its heat in the beginning of au- 

 tumn, covering it with glasses, which should be 



drawn off daily in mild weather to admit free air. 

 About March or April, when the flower-stems 

 begin to shoot, they should be removed to a 

 glass-case or good green-house to stand for 

 flowering, after which free air should be admit- 

 ted to perfect the seed. Two or three small 

 roots may be planted in a pot, according to the 

 size, and have the same management as the 

 lar.ge ones the first season, and in the second 

 have separate pots. 



Some of these plants are highly ornamental, 

 but from their tender nature require the p; jtec- 

 tion of the stove or green-house. 



ANTHOSPERMUM, a genus comprising 

 plants of the shrubby green-house Amber Tree 

 kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Pvlygamia 

 Dicecia, and ranks in the natural order of Stel- 

 late?. 



The characters are : that the male calyx is 

 a one-leafed conical pcrianthium, quadrifid be- 

 yond the middle : the divisions ovate-oblong, 

 evolute, obtuse, and a little coloured ; there is 

 properly no corolla : the stamina consist of four 

 capillary filaments, erect, the length of the 

 calyx, and inserted into the receptacle : the an- 

 theras twin, oblong, four-cornered, obtuse and 

 erect. In the female the calyx and corolla are 

 the same : tbepistillum an inferior, ovate, four- 

 cornered germ : the style recurved : -the stigmas 

 simple. 



The species are : 1. A. JEthhpicum, Smooth 

 Amber Tree; 2. A. ciliare, Ciliated Antho- 

 spermum ; 3. A. herhaceum, Herbaceous Antho- 

 spermum. 



In the first the male flowers are borne on one 

 plant, and the hermaphrodite flowers on an- 

 other: its beauty chiefly consists in its small 

 evergreen leaves, which grow as close as heath, 

 and being bruised between the fingers emit a 

 very fragrant odour. The stem is low, but 

 erect and branching. 



In the second species the root is perennial and 

 woody : the branches many, scarcely dividing : 

 the leaves narrow and lanceolate : the flowers 

 axillary and sessile : the calyxes four-parted, and 

 the stamens four in number. 



In the third species the stalks arc herbace- 

 ous, diffused, roundish, red and smooth : the 

 branches opposite : the leaves are in whorls, 

 sessile, lanceolate, smooth, and one-nerved : 

 the flowers axillary. 



"All the species are natives of the Cape. 



Culture. — The propagation in these plants 

 may be effected by layers or cuttings, which in 

 the' latter case should be made from the young 

 shoots or branches, and planted in pots of good 

 light sandy earth in the early summer months, 



