TEMli^liit. 



CULTIVATION OF THE ANTIRRHINUM, OR SNAP-DRAGON. 



By Joseph Breck, Ex-President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 



Antirrhinum major has not only a beautiful flower, but one which is 

 also veiy curious in its structure. The corolla is monopetalous, or of one 

 piece, and irregular in its outlines : it is divided into two lips which termi- 

 nate the funnel part of the flower. The upper lip is arched over and 

 closes the orifice : when gently pressed with the thumb and finger below 

 the lip, the lower one is thrown open, as with a spring, and discloses four 

 stamens in two pairs of unequal length ; one of the pairs being longer than 

 the other. Gerarde, in his old " Herbal " says, " The flowers grow at the 

 top of the stalks, of a purple color, fashioned like a frog's mouth, or rather 

 a dragon's mouth, from whence the women have taken the name of snap- 

 dragon." The scientific name antirrhinu7n is derived from Greek words 

 which mean " similar to a nose." The body of the corolla, in some of the 

 most beautiful varieties, is a pure white, while the lips are carmine, crim- 

 son, purple, rose, or yellow ; some are beautifully striped like a carnation ; 

 while the whole flower of others is pure white, yellow, purple, or crimson. 



