2/0 A CJiapter on Everlasting or Immortal Flowers. 



H. brachyrrhynciim ( IVaitzia of the Prussian catalogues). — Of this 

 section I know but little, as I have not been successful in raising the plants. 

 The seeds are very small, and require more care than I have been able to 

 bestow upon them. I have received handsome colored plates representing 

 the flowers with the seed. The flowers have their petals reflexed ; some 

 of them yellow, rose striped, and other shades. The varieties are W. grandi- 

 flora, IV. corymbosa., W. Stecizia, and others. 



Amnwbium alatiim (Winged Ammobium). — The stem of this plant 

 has a curious appendage which runs up the stems, that gives the specific 

 name, alaiiwi, or winged ; the generic name, Ammobium, meaning, " to live 

 upon sand." It is a pretty, half-hardy annual, with dry, silvery-white, involu- 

 cral scales like a Gnaphaliuni, or life-everlasting. This is a fit companion 

 for the other immortelles, as, when the flowers are gathered before they 

 expand, and properly dried, they retain their form and purity any length of 

 time. The flowers are small and yellow when they are fully expanded, 

 and turn brown when dried ; and should therefore be gathered in the bud. 

 The solitary flowers are produced on the ends of the many branches of the 

 plant. The height is about a foot and a half to two feet. The cultivation 

 is very simple, and will succeed in almost any soil. They may be treated 

 in the same manner as directed for the Helichrysums. When the buds are 

 gathered, they should be tied up in bunches, and hung up to dry in the 

 shade, with the buds down. 



Gomphrena globisa (Globe Amaranth). — This well-known and popular 

 tender annual is so familiar to almost every person, that it is not necessary to 

 describe it. There are three varieties, — the purple, white, and variegated, — 

 all requiring a strong heat to start the seeds. In the open ground, they 

 should not be sowed before the last of May. It is best sown in a hot-bed 

 in April, and then strong plants will be ready for planting out the first of 

 June. Some soak the seeds in milk to make them vegetate quickly. What 

 is better is to turn scalding water upon them. I have known gardeners 

 take off the cottony covering of the seed with a sharp-pointed knife ; but 

 this is a slow process. The heads of flowers should be gathered before 

 the seed begins to ripen ; for, if the florets of the head begin to turn brown, 

 they lose their brilliancy of color. 



Aaodinium roseum and album. — Very pretty half-hardy annuals, flower- 



