HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



67 



DAY 



Handsome green-house evergreens from New 

 Holland. Like all other plants from that coun- 

 try, they require a bountiful supply of air on all 

 favorable occasions through the winter, and in 

 summer they are much better placed in the open 

 air, so that they, are slightly shaded from the mid- 

 day sun. Some of the species have a subscan- 

 dent habit, which, with their densely-filled, 

 drooping spikes of yellow and red flowers, gives 

 them a very graceful appearance. Propagated 

 by cuttings from well-ripened side shoots. In- 

 troduced in 1792. 

 Day Flower. See Commelyna. 

 Day Lily. See Funkia. 



Dead Nettle. A common name for the genus 

 Lamium, worthless weeds, a few species of which 

 have become naturalized in this country to such 

 an extent as to be troublesome. Natives of Eu- 

 rope. 



Decumaria. From decuma, a tenth ; referring to 

 the ten valvate divisions of the calyx, and the 

 ten cells of the capsule or seed-pod. Linn. Do- 

 decandria~Mono<jynia. Nat. Ord. Ph'dttdnlphacece. 

 A climbing shrub of the Southern States. Al- 

 lied to Philadelphus. The flowers are white, 

 sweet-scented, and arranged in corymbs. They 

 are well adapted for growing against walls, 

 thriving in almost any soil or situation. Propa- 

 gated by cuttings or from seed. 

 Deerberry. One of the popular names of Vacci- 



nium stamineum. 

 Deer-Grass. See Rhexia. 



Delphinium. Larkspur. From delphin, a dolphin; 

 in reference to the supposed resemblance in the 

 nectary of the plant to the imaginary figures of 

 the dolphin. Linn. Polyandria-Trigynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Ranunculacece. 



Well-known annual, biennial, and perennial 

 plants, with curiously-cut leaves and splendid 

 flowers, which are either scarlet, purple, pink, 

 blue, or white, and never yellow. The Siberian 

 Larkspurs are remarkable for the metallic lus- 

 ter of their flowers, the hue of which resembles 

 that of silver which has been tarnished by fire; 

 and the Bee Larkspurs are remarkable and in- 

 teresting for the curious manner in which the 

 petals are folded up in the center of the flower, 

 so as to resemble a bee, or a large blue-bottle 

 fly. The Larkspurs will grow in any soil or 

 situation, but one open to the sun suits them 

 best. They are improved by the addition of a 

 good deal of thoroughly-rotted manure to the 

 soil in which they grow. The seeds keep good 

 a long time, and those of the annual kinds do 

 best sown in autumn, as when sown in spring 

 they are a long time before they flower. The 

 perennials are propagated by division of the 

 root, or by seed, which if sown in March in the 

 green-house or hot-bed, and the plants pricked 

 out as soon as they show their second pair of 

 leaves, and carefully grown on until the first 

 of June, and then turned out into the flower- 

 garden, they will flower finely during the au- 

 tumn months. 



Dendrobium. From dendron, a tree, and bios, 

 life; referring to the way these air-plants fasten 

 on trees for support. Linn. Gynandri'i- Monogy- 

 nia. Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



In this extensive genus we are presented with 

 some truly magnificent epiphytes, which, re- 

 garded either for their singular manner of grow- 

 ing, graceful or grotesque habits, and large, 

 handsome, and richly-scented flowers, are per- 

 haps unsurpassed in the entire range of vegeta- 

 ble forms. In a cultural sense they may be di- . 



DEN 



vided into two sections, the pseudo-bulbous 

 class, and those with tall bulbous stems. Many 

 of the former are extremely small compared 

 with the splendid flowers they produce, and, 

 from this circumstance, are usually grown on 

 blocks of wood or cork, lest the young shoots 

 should receive injury from excessive moisture. 

 Those belonging to the other section are again 

 divisible. The upright growing species, such as 

 D. nobtte, make the best appearance when culti- 

 vated in pots, and trained into suitable forms 

 by the aid of stakes; those of pendent trailing 

 habits should be grown in baskets suspended 

 from the roof of the house; in either case the 

 soil should be composed of about one-half fibrous 

 loam, and the other portion made up of sphag- 

 num and rotten wood. This mixture should be 

 thoroughly incorporated without breaking it 

 fine, and an efficient drainage must be secured, 

 or the plants will not thrive. The base of their 

 stems should be elevated two, three, or four 

 inches, according to the size of the plant, above 

 the top of the pot or basket, as they are liable to 

 much injury from damp when protruding their 

 new shoots. The temperature of the house in 

 which these plants are grown is a consideration 

 of the first consequence to their successful cul- 

 ture; it requires to be assimilated, as nearly as 

 circumstances will allow, to that of their native 

 positions, and may be described as of three dis- 

 tinct phases, a dry and warm season, in which 

 the plants produce their flowers, to be succeeded 

 by one still warmer, and in which an abundance 

 of moisture must be present, as it is at this time 

 that new growths are effected, and this active 

 season must be followed by one suited to pro- 

 duce a state of repose in the plants, by reducing 

 the amount of heat considerably, and restricting 

 the supply of moisture to the least possible 

 quantity. This season is that which corresponds 

 with our winters, and for convenience should 

 be referred to that time. Thus, from December 

 to about the end of March, or later for some 

 species, may be regarded as the period first 

 mentioned, the growing season commencing 

 with each individual as soon as its flowering is 

 over, and continuing until the growth is com- 

 plete, which is usually about the end of August 

 or some part of September, when they require 

 the perfect rest already spoken of. It is in the 

 variation of these seasons, the withholding or 

 appliance of heat, that the whole art of the 

 management lies. If it is done correctly, and at 

 the proper time, of course the plant progresses 

 satisfactorily, but otherwise all is confusion ; the 

 plant continues growing, but does not flower, 

 becoming weaker each season. An average of 

 55, with but slight alteration, should bo ob- 

 served for the dormant season; increasing it 

 gradually to 65 or 70 for the flowering period, 

 and after this is past, the temperature may be 

 allowed to run up to 85, 90, or even more 

 through the summer, keeping a proportionate 

 amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the 

 house by means of frequent steaming, syring- 

 ing, etc. The genus consists of over 200 species, 

 of which upward of eighty have been intro- 

 duced into the green-house, and some of the 

 species are grown to an extent that warrants 

 their use as a cut-flower. Their appearance in 

 the florists' windows is by no means rare, the 

 more common being D. nobile, which flowers 

 freely in the green-house during the winter, and 

 is one of the very few Orchids that will grow 

 and flower very well in the ordinary sitting- 



