DIA 



[ 327 ] 



DIG 



stemon, a stamen. Nat. ord., Gesner- 

 worts [Gesneraceee]. Linn., 1-i-Didy- 

 namia 2-Anyiospennla, Allied to Con- 

 radia.) 



Stove herbaceous perennial. Divisions ; cut- 

 tings of its young shoots, when two or three 

 inches in length, after commencing to grow ; 

 peat and loam. Summer temp., 60 to 85; 

 winter, 48 to 55. 



D. ochroleu'ca(jellow-\vhite-Jlowered). 1. Au- 

 gust. New Grenada. 1844. 



DIBBER, or DIBBLE. This 

 instrument for making holes 

 in which to insert seeds or 

 plants is usually very simple 

 in its construction, being at 

 the best the head of an old 

 spade-handle. To secure 

 uniformity of depth in plant- 

 ing beans, &c., by this in- 

 strument, it is useful to have 

 it perforated with holes to 

 receive an iron peg, at two and three 

 inches from the point as in 

 the annexed outline. It 

 should be shod with iron ; 

 for if this be kept bright it 

 will make holes into which 

 the soil will not crumble 

 from the sides. The crum- 

 bling is induced by the soil's 

 adhesion to the dibble. For 

 planting potatoes, a dibble 

 with a head three inches 

 diameter at the point, eight 

 inches long up to the foot- 

 rest, and with a handle four 

 feet long, is to be preferred. 

 For the insertion of seed, a 

 dibble that delivers the seed 

 has been invented by a Mr. 

 Smith, and another, by Dr. 

 Newington ; the last is the best. 



DIBBLE'MMA. (Derivation not known.) 



A stove fern allied to Parkeria. Division; 

 peat and loam. Summer temp., 60 to 85; 

 winter, 50 to 55. 

 D. Samare'nse (Samarese). East Indies. 



DICE'RMA. (From rfi.?,two, and crma, 

 a prop ; referring to the two bractlets 

 under the flower. Nat. ord., Legumi- 

 nous Plants [Fabacea 3 ]. Linn., \l-Dia- 

 delph la ^-Decandna. ) 



Stove evergreens with yellow flowers. Seeds 

 in hotbed, in March ; cuttings of half ripened 

 shoots, in sand, under a bell-glass, in bottom- 

 heat, in April or May ; peat and loam. Sum- 

 mer temp., 60 to 80 ; winter, 50 to 55. 



D. biarticula'tum (two-jointed). 2. July. E. 

 Indies. 1808. 



e'legans (elegant). 1. July. China. 1819. 



pulche'llumtne&t'). 1. July.' E. Indies. 1/Q8. 



DICHI'LUS. (From dis, two, and 

 chi'ilos, a lip; in reference to two divi- 

 sions of the calyx being longer than 

 the rest. Nat. ord., Leyuminom Plmtlx 

 [Fabacese]. Linn., 16-Monadelphia 6- 

 Decandria. Allied to Hypocalyptus.) 



Greenhouse evergreen. Cuttings of young 

 shoots getting firm at the base, in sand, under 

 a bell-glass; sandy peat. Summer temp., 

 55 to 80; winter, 40 to 48. 

 D. Lebeckioi'des (Lebeckia-like). 2j. White, 

 yellow. April. Cape of Good Hope. 

 1826. 



DICHORISA'NDRA. (From <Zw, twice, 

 chorizo, to part, and aner, an anther ; 

 referring to the anthers being two- 

 celled. Nat. ord., Spiderworls (Com- 

 melynacese]. Linn., Q-Hcxandrla 1- 

 Monoyynia. Allied to Campelia.) 



D. thyrsiflora is the handsomest plant of this 

 order, and one of the best stove plants in cul- 

 tivation, for winter or late autumnal flowering. 

 We have seen it under liberal treatment rise to 

 ten feet, branched all round, and every branch 

 ending in a long spike or thyrse of densely set 

 sky blue flowers. When the flowers begin to 

 expand, it may be removed to a warm con- 

 servatory, where it will last in bloom from six 

 weeks to two months. Stove herbaceous pe- 

 rennials from Brazil. Division of the plant, when 

 growth is commencing ; seeds sown in a hotbed 

 in spring ; peat and loam, with sand and leaf 

 mould. Summer temp., 6(1 to 80; winter, 

 45 to 55. 

 D. di'scolor (two-coloured). September. 1848. 



gra'cilis (slender). l. Blue. August. 



oxype'tala (sharp-petaled). 2. Red. August. 



1810. 



ovalifo'lia (oval-leaved). Purple. May. 1846. 



pi'cta (painted-leaved). . Blue. September. 



1830. 



pube'rula (downy). 3. Blue. August. 1823. 



thyrsiflo'ra (thyrse-flowered). 4. Blue. Au- 



gust. 1822. 



DICKSO'NIA. (Named after James 

 Dicksou, a British botanist, who studied 

 this Nat. order Ferns [Polypodiacea-]- 

 Linn., %-Cryptogamia l-Filices.) 



Who that has visited the first resting place 

 of the remains of Napoleon Buonaparte, at St. 

 Helena, did not admire the native tree ferns, 

 D. arborescens, a little beyond. To transport 

 this memorial with the weeping willow, to our, 

 and other shores, any time within a month 

 before your departure from the island, cut off 

 all the branches or fronds to within two inches 

 of the stem, making a clean cut from the under- 

 side ; clear away the soil till you see the fang- 

 like roots ; cut them with a chissel and mallet 

 without moving the stem ; smooth the cut end 

 of the roots, and the trunk is ready to travel, 



