1M 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



NAV 



it np so as to flood the beds. The advantage 

 of having the beds excavated at right angles to 

 the stream rather than parallel with it is, that 

 in the event of freshets the crop is less liable to 

 be washed away. The length and number of 

 the beds excavated must, of course, be deter- 

 mined by circumstances. Water Cress seeds 

 germinate freely in earth when kept saturated; 

 hence the beds, when properly leveled and pul- 

 verized by digging and raking, should be slight- 

 ly flooded (enough to saturate the soil only 

 when the feeds germinate;) for, of course, if the 

 beds were filled up with water the seeds would 

 be washed off. After the seedlings have started 

 so as to show green, the water may be gradually 

 let on as they develop. Probably the best time 

 of sowing the seed would be, for the latitude 

 of New York, about the middle of August. 

 When Water Cress is found growing naturally, 

 the beds can be made by setting the plants six 

 or twelve inches apart each way. When the cul- 

 tivation is once fairly begun there is no diffi- 

 culty about forming new beds, as few plants 

 grow more rapidly when proper conditions are 

 present. If the crop is planted or the seed sown 

 by the middle of August, it will have spread all 

 over the beds by November. The streams being 

 full in autumn, the beds will be fully flooded, 

 so as to protect the plants during winter. It is 

 always found wild growing best in clear, shal- 

 low, slowly-running water with a sandy or grav- 

 elly bottom ; and as Nature is always the surest 

 guide to successful cultivation, the nearer she 

 can be imitated the better the success. I find it 

 is one of the plants the culture of which is not 

 very easy to give by writing, as so much must 

 be determined by the circumstances of locality. 

 "Wherever a suitable stream is at command the 

 experiment of growing Water Cress is worth 

 trial, especially when we know that it, in many 

 cases, pays for a given area six or eight times 

 more than any other vegetable cultivated, pro- 

 vided it can be sold in the markets of New York 

 or Philadelphia. It is usually sold in baskets 

 containing about three quarts, which sell, when 

 first in market, at one dollar each; and two 

 hundred or three hundred such are carried in 

 an ordinary wagon, so that from a single load of 

 this simple vegetable, two hundred to three 

 hundred dollars are realized. The Water Cress 

 has a particularly pleasant pungent taste, agree- 

 able to most people in early spring. It is said, 

 that when Sir Joseph Banks first arrived in 

 England after his voyage around the world 

 among the first things he asked for were Water 

 Cresses, well knowing their value as a purifier 

 of the blood; and that he afterward presented 

 one of the largest Water Cress growers for the 

 London market a Banksian Medal, for energy 

 shown in the business, believing that, while he 

 had benefited himself, he had benefited the 

 community. I have no doubt whatever, that in 

 situations where irrigation could be used at 

 pleasure, and regular plantations made as for 

 Cranberries, if grown in this way, (judging 

 from the enormous price they sell at, picked up 

 as they are in the present hap-hazard way,) at 

 present prices, an acre would sell for four thous- 

 and or five thousand dollars." 

 Mayarrettia. Derivation of name unknown. 

 Linn. Pentandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Pole- 

 moniacew. 



Mostly coarse hardy annuals, with blue flow- 

 ers, from California. They are allied to Ipomo- 

 *w, and should have the same treatment 



NEL 



Navelwort. See Cotyledon. 



Neapolitan Violet. See Viola odorata pallida 

 plena. 



Necklace Tree. See Onnosia. 



Nectarine. Persica terw. The Nectarine is al- 

 most identical with the Peach, and both owe 

 their origin to one and the same parent, Amyg- 

 dalus Persica. Most botanists consider them the 

 same species; the only difference between the 

 two being in the skin, the Nectarine having a 

 smooth and the Peach a downy one. Their 

 identity has often been confirmed by fruit of 

 both sorts being produced not only on the same 

 tree, but on the same stem; and instances are 

 recorded of the same occurring in one fruit, one 

 side of which was downy like the Peach, the 

 other smooth like the Nectarine; and the Boston 

 Nectarine was a seedling from a Peach stone. 

 The French have always considered them the 

 same, and designate them as smo6th and downy 

 Peaches. From the ravages of the insect known 

 as the Curculio, the Nectarine is rarely grown 

 to perfection in the open air in the United 

 States. For their history see Peach. 



Nectaroscordum. Honey Garlic. From nectar, 

 honey, and skorodon, garlic; referring to honey- 

 pores in the flower of this onion-like plant. 

 Linn. Hexandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Amaryl- 

 lidacece. 



This genus of b.ulbs is allied to the Allium, and 

 was formerly called Allium siculum. It is a very 

 curious, hardy bulb, throwing up a flower scape 

 three to four feet high, quite slender, with a 

 cluster of long, pendulous, green or purplish 

 flowers. It grows freely in a light soil, and 

 flowers in June. Introduced from Sicily in 

 1832. It is increased by offsets. 



Negundo. Box Elder, Ash-leaved Maple. Deri- 

 vation of name unknown. Linn. Dlcecia-Pen- 

 tandria. Nat. Ord. Aceraceiv. 



A genus of hardy native deciduous trees, 

 allied to the Maple. N. fraxmifolium is com- 

 mon in Pennsylvania, and South and West. N. 

 folia var legato, a variety, is one of the handsom- 

 est variegated trees under cultivation in Eng- 

 land, but is rarely seen in the dry climate of the 

 United States in perfection, though a native. 

 The leaves are beautifully marked white and 

 green, and it is a plant of rapid and vigorous 

 growth. There are several variations, but none 

 so good as the above. They are all natives of 

 the United States. 



Nelumbium. Nelumbo, Sacred Bean. From ne- 

 lumbo, the Cingalese name of N. speciosum. Linn. 

 Polyandria-Polygynia. Nat. Ord. Nelwnbiacece. 



This genus contains several beautiful species, 

 which are aquatic plants, growing in ponds and 

 slow-running streams. N. speciosum is the Sa- 

 cred Bean or Sacred Lotus of India. It is a na- 

 tive of both the East and West Indies, China, 

 Japan, Persia, and Asiatic Russia. According to 

 Thunberg, it is esteemed a sacred plant in Japan, 

 and pleising to their deities, the images of their 

 idols being often represented as sitting on its large 

 leaves. The worship of the Lotus was com- 

 mon with the ancient Egyptians; it is not now, 

 however, to be met with on the Nile. Herodotus 

 described the plant with tolerable accuracy, 

 comparing the receptacle of the flower to a wasp's 

 nest. Sculptured representations of it abound 

 among the ruins of Egyptian temples, and many 

 other circumstances prove the veneration paid 

 to this plant by the votaries of Isis. The Chi- 

 nese have several varieties, the more beautiful 

 being the rose-colored flowering one. They 



