AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



19 



differ from Irises in having six introrse sta- 

 mens, and from Liliaceous plants in their 

 ovary being inferior. A few species of Nar- 

 cissus and Galanthus are found in the north of 

 Europe and the same parallels. As we pro- 

 ceed south they increase. Pancratium ap- 

 pears on the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 and on our own Southern coasts ; Crinum 

 and Pancratium in the West and East Indies ; 

 Hcemaidhus is found for the first time, with 

 some of the latter, on the Gold Coast ; Hip- 

 peastra show themselves in countless num- 

 bers in Brazil and across the whole continent 

 of South America ; and, finally, at the Cape of 

 Good Hope the maximum ot the order is be- 

 held in all the beauty of Hatmanthus, Crinum, 

 Olivia, Cyrtanthus and Brunsvigia. A few are 

 found in New Holland, the most remarkable 

 of which is Doryanthes. Poisonous properties 

 occur in the viscid juice of the bulbs of Bu- 

 phane toxicaria and Hippeastrum; those of 

 Leucqjum vernum, the Snowdrop, and Daffodil 

 and other kinds of Narcissus, are emetic. 

 Nevertheless, the Agave, or American Aloe, 

 as it is called, has an insipid, sweet juice. 

 Others are detergent, and a few yield a kind 

 of arrow-root. Between 300 and 400 species 

 are known. 



Amaryllis. The name of a nymph celebrated 

 by the poet Virgil. Nat. Ord. Amaryllidacece. 

 Bulbous plants, chiefly natives of the Cape 

 of Good Hope and South America, but which 

 have been increased in number tenfold by hy- 

 brids and varieties raised in England and on 

 the Continent. All the kinds are eminently 

 ornamental, and they are all of easy culture, 

 the great secret being to give them alternately 

 a season of excitement and a season of re- 

 pose. To do this effectually, the plants 

 should be abundantly supplied with water 

 and heat, and placed near the glass when 

 they are coming into flower, and water should 

 be withheld from them by degrees when they 

 have done flowering, till they have entirely 

 ceased growing, when they should be kept 

 quite dry and in a state of rest. When in this 

 state they may be placed in any obscure part 

 of a green-house where it is dry, and of a tem- 

 perature not under forty or fifty degrees. If 

 kept in such a situation during winter, some 

 kinds may be turned out into a warm border 

 in spring, where they will flower ; and if the 

 season be fine, they will renew their bulbs in 

 time to be taken up before the approach of 

 frost. The chief value of these plants, how- 

 ever, is to produce flowers in the winter sea- 

 son which they readily do if they are kept 

 dry and dormant during the latter part of the 

 summer and autumn. Indeed, by having a 

 large stock of these bulbs, a regular succes- 

 sion of flowers may be procured during every 

 month in the year. When the dormant bulbs 

 are intended to be brought into flower, they 

 should be freshly potted in sandy loam and 

 leaf-mould, and put in a hot-house or hot- 

 bed, the heat beginning at fifty degrees, and 

 ascending to sixty or seventy degrees; and 

 when the leaves appear, they should be 

 abundantly supplied with water. Where 

 seeds are wanted the watering must be con- 

 tinued, though somewhat less abundantly, 

 after the flowers have faded, till the seeds are 

 ripe; and when these are gathered, they ought 

 to be sown im mediately in light, sandy loam, 



AMH 



and placed in a frame, or near the glass, in a 

 moist part of the hot-house. If the young 

 plants are potted off as soon as they are an inch 

 or two in height, and shifted frequently in the 

 course of the growing season, they will attain 

 a flowering size in from fifteen to twenty 

 months. The pots in which these and all 

 other bulbs are grown ought to be thoroughly 

 drained by a handful or more of potsherds 

 (broken pots) laid in the bottom of each pot, 

 and covered with turfy loam, and tne mould 

 used should also be turfy, in order the more 

 freely to admit the passage of water. Our 

 long and warm summers enable us to culti- 

 vate many of these beautiful bulbs in the open 

 air, merely protecting the roots in the winter 

 in the same manner as those of the Dahlia. 

 See Hippeastrum. 



Amary'llis formosissima. A synonym of Spre- 

 kelia, which see. 



Amaso'iiia. Named in honor of Thomas Ama- 

 son, an American traveller. Nat. Ord. Ver- 

 benacece. A genus of South American shrubs 

 found chiefly in Brazil ; closely allied to Cler- 

 odendron, from which they differ chiefly in 

 habit. A. calycina, better known as A. puni- 

 cea, is particularly striking, in having a series 

 of the richest Poinsettia-like, vermilion-crim- 

 son, spreading bracts, arranged along the en- 

 tire length of the racemes, which are a foot 

 long. These bracts are four inches in length, 

 and remain in perfection fully two months. 

 Syn. Taligalea. 



Ambro'sia. The botanical name "of Ragweed, 

 Bitterweed, etc. 



Amela'nchier. June Berry, Shad Berry, Ser- 

 vice Berry. From Amelanchier, the popular 

 name of one of the species in Savoy. Nat. 

 Ord. RosaceoB. 



A. Canadensis (the only American species) 

 and its numerous varieties are low trees, com- 

 mon in the woods in the Northern States, re- 

 markable for their numerous white flowers, 

 which appear about the middle of April, com- 

 pletely covering the tree before the foliage or 

 flowers of the neighboring trees have com- 

 menced their growth. The foliage resembles 

 that of the Pear, and changes to a bright yel- 

 low in autumn. The fruit is a dark-purple 

 berry, ripe in July or August, and has an 

 agreeable flavor. 



American Aloe. Agave Americana, which see. 



American Centaury. The popular name for 

 Sabbatia. 



American Columbo. See Frasera Carolinensis. 



American Cowslip. See Dodecatheon Meadia. 



American Cranberry. See Oxycoccus macro- 

 carpus. 



American Cress. Barbarea prcecox. 



American Frog's Bit. Limnobium spongia. 



American Ivy. Ampelopsis quinquefolia. 



American Pitcher Plant. See Sarracenia. 



American "Wood Lily. See Trillium. 



Amhe'rstia. In honor of the Rt. Hon. Countess 

 Amherst and her daughter Lady Sarah 

 Amherst ; the zealous friends and promoters 

 of every branch of natural history, but espe- 

 cially of Botany. Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



A. nobilis, the only species is an East Indian 

 tree, said to be one of the most magnificent 



