AND GENEEAL HOETICULTUEE. 



33 



AKE 



plentiful supply of early foliage, which is 



eaten with avidity by cattle. It is a trouble- 

 some grass with other crops. 

 Arrow Cane. Gynerium saggitatum. 

 Arrow Grass. Triglochin palustre. 

 Arrow-head. Chinese. Sagittaria Chinensis, 



Common. Sagittaria sagittcefolia. 

 Arrow Poison. Gaboon or Trop. Africa. Stro- 

 phanthus hispidus. 



Guiana, Curari or Curali. Strychnos toxifera. 



Javanese. Strychnos Tiente. 



Malay. Antiaris toxicaria. 



Arrow-root. A pure kind of starch employed 

 for dietary and other purposes, obtained 

 from various sources, the principal of which 

 are the following : 



American. Zea mays. 



Bermuda. Maranta arundinacea. 



Brazilian or Tapioca Manihot utilissima 



Chinese. Nelumbium speciosum. 



E. Indian. Curcuma angustifolia, and other 

 species. 



English. Solanum tuberosum. 



Mexican. Dion edule. 



Portland. Arum maculatum. 



Arrow-wood. American. Viburnum dentatum. 

 California!!. Viburnum ellipticum. 

 British Columbian. Spiraea Douglassi, S. 

 opulifolia. 



Artane'ma. An interesting genus of plants 

 belonging to the Nat. Ord. Scrophulariacece. 

 A. ftmbriatum (closely allied to Torenia) 

 is a handsome evergreen shrub with large 

 funnel-shaped, fringed, blue flowers, bloom- 

 ing from June to November. It was intro- 

 duced from Moreton Bay, New Holland, in 

 1830, and is readily increased by cuttings or 

 seeds. 



Art'anthe. Derivation of name not given. Nat. 

 Ord. Piperacece. 



A small genus belonging to the Pepper 

 family. They are woody plants, with jointed 

 stems, rough leaves, and spikes of flowers 

 opposite the leaves. A. elongata furnishes 

 one of the articles known by the Peruvians as 

 Matico, and which is used by them for the 

 same purpose as Cubebs, the produce of a 

 nearly-allied plant ; but its chief value is the 

 power it has of staunching blood. The un- 

 der-surface of the leaf is rough, traversed 

 by a network of projecting veins, and covered 

 with hairs ; hence its effect in stopping hem- 

 orrhage is probably mechanical, like that of 

 lint, cobweb, and other commonly used ap- 

 pliances. The species are not esteemed valu- 

 able a? flowering plants. Placed by some 

 authors under Piper. 



Artemi'sia. Wormwood. From Artemis, one of 

 the names of Diana. Nat. Ord. Composites. 



Shrubby or herbaceous plants with their 

 leaves usually muchdiyided and frequently of 

 a grey color. The genus is widely distributed 

 over the temperate regions of the globe and 

 most of them are remarkable for their 

 strong odor and bitter taste. In certain 

 parts of the West, as Utah, Texas, New 

 Mexico, etc., there are large tracts almost 

 entirely destitute of other vegetation than 

 that afforded by various kinds of Artemisia 

 which cover vast plains, and give them 

 an universal greyish green hue. They 

 are unfortunately of no value for forage. 



AET 



This genus contains amongst others the well 

 known Southern wood or Old Man, A. Abro- 

 tanum, the finely divided leaves of which have 

 a fragrant aromatic odor. A. Absinthium,thQ 

 common Wormwood, possesses aromatic, 

 bitter, and tonic properties and was formerly 

 much used as a vernyfuge ; it is also in con- 

 nection with several species growing in Switz- 

 erland and used in the manufacture of the 

 bitter aromatic tonic " Extrait d' Absinthe." 

 The Tarragon, A. Dracunculus, differs from the 

 majority of its fellows, in that its leaves are 

 undivided, they are narrow, of a bright green 

 color and possess a peculiar aromatic flavor 

 much valued in Salads, etc. Native of Siberia. 

 The Chinese Chrysanthemums are fre- 

 quently miscalled Artemisias. 



Arthropo'dium. From arthron, a joint, and 

 pous, a foot; the foot-stalks of the flowers 

 being jointed. A genus of Australian and New 

 Zealand Liliacece allied to Anthericum, with 

 grass-like leaves, and purplish or white flow- 

 ers in loose racemes. 



Arthroste'mma. From arthron, a joint, and 

 stemon, a stamen, in reference to the stamens 

 being jointed. Stove or green-house, ever- 

 green shrubs, from Central America, belong- 

 ing to the Nat. Ord. Melastomacece. 



Some of the species are very handsome, 

 with rose or lilac flowers, resembling the 

 Ehexias. Propagated by cuttings. 



A'rtichoke. The Cynara scolymus, the Globe 

 Artichoke of gardens, is a hardy perennial, 

 growing from three to four feet in height, 

 with numerous branches. The leaves meas- 

 ure from three to four feet in length, pinnati- 

 fld, or cut in deep, horizontal, convex seg- 

 ments, which are covered with an ash-colored 

 down, the whole plant resembling a large 

 Thistle. The portion eaten is the under side 

 of the head, before the flower opens. The 

 whole head is removed and boiled, the leaves 

 laid aside, and the bottom eaten, dipped in 

 butter, with a little pepper and salt. The 

 Artichoke is a supposed native of the south of 

 Europe. The first account of its cultivation 

 was in Italy, in 1473, and from that period, 

 when it was said to be very scarce, it has 

 steadily grown in favor, and its cultivation 

 extended. The artichoke thrives best in a 

 light, very rich, moist soil. One containing a 

 large proportion of saline properties suits it 

 best. Propagated by seeds or by suckers 

 from established plants. The Jerusalem Arti- 

 choke is in no sense a true Artichoke, but the 

 tuberous root of a species of Sunflower, Heli- 

 anthus tuberosus, a native of the north- western 

 States, the north-western British Possessions 

 and Canada. Its nativity has generally been 

 credited to Brazil, without any good author- 

 ity; on the contrary, there is abundant proof 

 that it abounds in a wild state in the localities 

 above-named. Its cultivation is now strongly 

 recommended on dry soils, liable to excessive 

 droughts. It is said that 1,500 bushels per 

 acre can be produced, upon which swine will 

 thrive finely, the tubers furnishing sufficient 

 water to allay thirst. They also furnish excel- 

 lent food for sheep. Some agriculturists 

 claim that the tops, cut and properly cured, 

 form an excellent hay, with a yield of five or 

 six tons to the acre. 



Articulated. Jointed, having joints. 



