DEN 



D I A 



after they appear, is that of thinning them in a 

 proper manner, according to circumstances, and 

 keeping them free from weeds. And in the peren- 

 nial sorts removing the stems in the autumn. 



These plants afford much ornament and va- 

 riety in the different compartments of pleasure- 

 grounds, and they succeed in most soils and situ- 

 ations, being of hardy growth. 



DENTAKIA, a genus affording plants of the 

 herbaceous flowery hardy perennial kind. Tooth 

 Violet. 



It belongs to the class and order Tetradynamia 

 SUiquosa, and ranks in the natural order of Si- 

 liquosce. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a four- 

 leaved perianth : leaflets ovate-oblong, converg- 

 ing from parallel, obtuse, deciduous : the corolla 

 is four-petalled cruciform : petals roundish, ob- 

 tuse, scarce emarginate, flat, ending in claws the 

 length of the calyx : the stamina consist of six 

 subulate filaments, length of the calyx, of which 

 two are shorter : anthers cordate-oblong, erect : 

 the pistillum is an oblong germ, length of the 

 stamens: style very short, thick: stigma obtuse, 

 emarginate : the pericarpium is a long columnar 

 silique, two-celled, two-valvtd, bursting open 

 elastically with the valves rolled back : dissepi- 

 ment a little longer than the valves : the seeds 

 are many, and somewhat ovate. 



The species chiefly cultivated are : 1 . D. pen- 

 taphylla, Five-leaved Dentaria, or Tooth-wort ; 

 2. D. lullifera, Bulbiferous Dentaria, or Co- 

 ral-wort. 



Other species may be cultivated. 



The first rises with a strong stalk a foot and 

 half high, with a leaf at each joint, composed 

 of five lobes, four inches long, and near two 

 broad in the widest part, ending in acute points, 

 and deeply serrate; they are smooth, and stand 

 on long footstalks; the flowers grow in loose 

 spikes at the top of the stalks, are small, and of a 

 blush colour. It is a native of Switzerland, &e. 



The second species has a perennial root : the 

 stem is simple, a foot in height; the lower 

 leaves have three pairs of leaflets, and an odd 

 one which is confluent with the pair below it; 

 they are bluntly lanceolate and serrate; the 

 leaves above these have five leaflets, and the 

 upper leaves are trifid or simple, acutely lance- 

 olate, serrate : the flowers are in clusters on the 

 tops of the stalks, and flesh-coloured or purple. 

 The scaly bulbs in the axils of the upper leaves, 

 falling off, take root, and propagate new plants ; 

 so that it rarely produces seed. It is a native of 

 Sweden, flowering in April and May. 



Culture. — The propagation in these plants is 

 effected by sowing the seeds in a light sandy soil 

 where the situation is shaded, either in the au- 



tumn as soon as they arc perfectly ripened", or in 

 the early spring. The former is the better season 

 where the soils are sufficiently dry. They ar.; 

 also capable of being increased by parting the 

 roots, and planting them out, where there is a 

 due degree of moisture and shade, in the au- 

 tumn or spring; and in the latter sort they 

 may be raised by planting the bulbs produced 

 on the sides of the stems. 



The only culture the plants stand in need of 

 afterwards is that of keeping them clean from 

 weeds, and in the first method removing such 

 plants as may be too much crowded, to proper 

 situations in the spring. They mostly flower 

 and produce seeds in the second year's growth. 



These plants are well adapted to the borders 

 and other parts of shady walks and other similar 

 compartments, where they grow well, and have 

 an ornamental effect. 



DIANTU US, a genus furnishing plants of the 

 herbaceous flowery ornamental kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Decandria 

 Digynia, and ranks in the natural order of Ca- 

 ryophyllei. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a cylin- 

 dric perianthium, tubular, stria! ed, permanent, 

 five-toothed at the mouth, surrounded at the 

 base with four scales, of which the two oppo- 

 site are lower: the corolla has five petals, claws 

 length of the calyx, narrow, inserted into the 

 receptacle: border flat; the plaits outwardly 

 wider, obtuse, crenate: the stamina consist of 

 ten subulate filaments, length of the calyx, with 

 spreading tips: anthers oval -oblong, compressed, 

 incumbent : the pistillum is an oval germ : styles 

 two, subulate, longer than the stamens: stigmas 

 bent back, acuminate : the pericarpium is a 

 cylindric capsule, covered, one-celled, gaping 

 open at top four ways : the seeds a great many, 

 compressed, roundish: receptacle free, four-cor- 

 nered, shorter by half than the pericarpium. 



The species chiefly cultivated in the garden 

 are: I. D. lariat us, Sweet William, or Bearded 

 Pink ; 2. D. caryophylhts, Clove Pink, or Clove 

 Gillifiower; 3. D. deltoides, Common or Madder 

 Pink; 4. D. plumarius, Feathered Pink; 5. D. 

 ccesius, Gray-leaved or Mountain Pink; 6. D. 

 Chinensis, China Pink; 7- D. superlus, Superb 

 Pink. 



The first has a perennial fusiform root: the 

 stems are upright, jointed, smooth, a foot and 

 half high, branched : the leaves, soft, veined, 

 connate, from half an inch to almost an inch 

 broad in the widest part, bright green ; the 

 bundles of flowers compact, umbelled, and ses- 

 sile. These are of different colours, in different 

 varieties. It is a native of Germany. 



The principal varieties are : the Broad-leaved, 



