AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



185 



HEL 



height, with numerous narrow recurved 

 leaves surmounted by large loose panicles of 

 comparatively small bright yellow flower 

 heads, forming when in bloom a veritable 

 fountain of gold. It is one of the most 

 striking and useful of autumnal flowering 

 plants. H. multiflorus plenus, a variety of 

 H. decapetalus, produces large, very double 

 flowers, three to five inches in diameter, ex- 

 ceedingly showy and desirable. H. rigidus 

 and several other species are well worthy of 

 a space in a collection of hardy herbaceous 

 plants. 



Helichry'sum. Everlasting Flower. From 

 helios, the sun, and chrysos, gold ; in allusion 

 to the brilliant flowers. Nat. Ord. Composites. 

 Syn. Elichrysum. 



The genus consists of annuals, hardy herba- 

 ceous perennials, and evergreen shrubs, the 

 two latter rarely seen except in botanical 

 collections. The common yellow Everlasting, 

 H. bracteatum, is a hardy annual that only 

 requires sowing in the open border. H. bicolor 

 is a very slight variety of it, merely differing in 

 having the outer petals tipped with copper 

 color; but H. macranthum has white flowers 

 tipped with pink, and is very handsome. This 

 species is a native of the Swan River colony. 

 It may either be sown in the open ground in 

 April, to flower in autumn, or in a hot-bed in 

 February to plant out in May. H. orientate, 

 the Immortelle of commerce, a native of the 

 Island of Crete, although known in Europe 

 since 1629, was not generally cultivated before 

 1815. At present it is chiefly grown in the 

 south of France, where the laud gradually 

 slopes to the Mediterranean. It comes to 

 the greatest perfection in positions well 

 exposed to the sun, and surrounded by dry 

 stone walls, where it commences to bloom in 

 June. It is propagated by division of the 

 larger tufts, and thrives best in a light, stony 

 or porous soil. The flowering stems are 

 gathered before the flowers are fully expanded, 

 by women, who make them up into small 

 bundles which are usually placed to dry on 

 the stone walls of the enclosure in which they 

 grow. When properly dried, they are taken 

 away by young girls who are employed to 

 remove the downy covering from the stems. 

 A pound weight of the dried plants contains 

 about two hundred stems, each bearing on an 

 average twenty flowers. Each tuft of the 

 growing plants produces from sixty to seventy 

 stems. An acre of ground contains about 

 16,000 tufts, which will annually yield from 

 two to three tons weight of dried Immortelles, 

 and a well-established and well-managed plan- 

 tation will continue productive from eight to 

 ten years. The flowers are sold either by the 

 bundle or weight, the bundles ranging from 

 three to six cents each, according to size, 

 while, if sold by weight, the price varies from 

 three to five dollars a hundred weight, 

 according to the state of the market. 

 The natural color of the flowers is a 

 deep yellow, but the manufacturers of 

 garlands, bouquets, wreaths, etc., dye largo 

 quantities of them in other colors also 

 chiefly black, green, and orange-red. This 

 last named color, said to be obtained from a 

 preparation of borax, is very handsome, and 

 is the favorite tint of the people of the south 

 of Europe. Large quantities are also bleached 



HEL 



white, with a preparation of chloride of lime, 

 and with the natural yellow flowers and those 

 that are dyed black are used to form the wreaths 

 and other devices devoted to the dead. Those 

 which are dyed of brighter colors are used, 

 either alone, or mixed with natural flowers, for 

 bouquets, or room decoration ; in these, how- 

 ever, the Immortelle takes no prominent place 

 among other flowers. Its great distinction 

 from them seems to consist in its possession 

 of those peculiarities of structure which have 

 induced a nation of sentiment and refined 

 taste to select it as the most fitting of all to 

 fill the office and bear the title of "The 

 Flower of the Grave." The manufacture of 

 Immortelle wreaths in Paris for funeral 

 decorations engages upwards of 1,500 persons. 

 The Immortelles are gathered in August on 

 the arid hills of central and southern France. 

 They are brought to the market in their 

 natural condition, and the yellow blossoms 

 are dyed or bleached white, green or red, in 

 readiness for All-Saints and All-Souls days, 

 November 1st and 2d, when all good Parisians 

 visit their relatives' graves. On these fetes- 

 des-morts, the gates of the cemeteries are beset 

 with dealers in wreaths, crosses, and head- 

 crowns. At Pere la Chaise alone it is esti- 

 mated that more than 200,000 persona visit 

 the cemeteries, and the sale of Immortelle 

 wreaths reaches about 25,000. The silvery- 

 white " Cape Flower " of the florists is 

 Helichrysum vestitum (syn. Leucostemma) intro- 

 duced to cultivation from South Africa in 

 1774. Large quantities are imported every 

 year from the Cape of Good Hope, the lovely 

 silvery sheen of the flowers superseding in a 

 great measure the French or German white 

 Immortelles. 



Helico'nia. From Helicon, a hill consecrated to 

 the Muses; from its affinity to the genus 

 Musa. Nat. Ord. Scitaminece. 



A genus of interesting plants from the West 

 Indies and South America. Their fruit is 

 eaten by the natives, though inferior to the 

 Banana. It requires the same general treat- 

 ment as the Maranta, but is too large for gen- 

 eral green-house cultivation. Propagated by 

 division of plant. 



Helio'phila. From helios, the sun, and phileo, 

 to love ; referring to the sunny aspect where 

 they delight to grow. Nat. Ord. Cruciferce. 



Beautiful little annual plants, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope, generally with blue 

 flowers, and very long, slender stems. The 

 seeds should be sown on a hot-bed in Febru- 

 ary, and the plants planted out in a warm, 

 open situation in May. 



Helio'psis. Ox-eye. From helios, the sun, and 

 opsis, like ; in allusion to the appearance of 

 the flowers. Nat. Ord. Composite. 



A genus comprising about six species of 

 hardy perennials, with rather large, golden- 

 yellpw flowers. The native species, H. laws, 

 is very showy and deserving of cultivation. 



Heliotrope. See Heliotropium. 



Heliotro'pium. Heliotrope. From helios, the 

 sun, and trope, twining ; in reference to the 

 curled or twining flower branch. Nat. Ord. 

 Boraginacece. 



This genus of interesting plants consists of 

 hardy and tender annuals and green-house 

 shrubs. Of the latter H. Peruvianum is the 



