376 



Florist's Guide. 



summer, yielding flowers that are more showy 

 than most others of this genus. 



i/yoscyamus niger. A biennial, interesting 

 as a medicinal plant, and otherwise worthy of 

 cultivation. Its flowers have not much gaiety 

 of character, but they possess an exquisite deli- 

 cacy of pencilling, which compensates for the 

 absence of brilliant colouring. The capsules 

 continue on the stem during the winter, and, 

 as they are covered with a tolerably perma- 

 nent lid, the seed is preserved and scattered at 

 variousseasons,much to the increase of chances, 

 that no unpropitious circumstances can destroy 

 all its future progeny. Its baneful effects are 

 best counteracted by a powerful emetic, and 

 by drinking largely of the vegetable acids. It is 

 principally given as a substitute for opium, where the latter sedative is ob- 

 served to disagree with the habit, and in cases wliere the constipating proper- 

 ties of opium render it improper, a quality from which the henbane is free. 



The Florist's Guide and Cultivator's Directory, &c. By Robert Sweet, 

 F.L.S. &c. In 8 vo Numbers, monthly. 35. coloured; 2s, plain. 



JS^o. XIII. for .luly, contains 

 -49 to 52. — Fletcher's Defiance Polyanthus, a very pretty variety, thiiv- 

 ing better in the vicinity of London than some of the other sorts, from the 

 collection of W. Strong, Esq. — Pucelle d'Orleans Tulip. A handsome 

 variety of the Rose class, from the choice collection of Richai'd Percivai, 

 jun., Esq., at Highbury Park, Islington, where it is grown in the middle row 

 of his tulip bed. — Porcelaine Sceptre Hyacinth. — Pollit's Highland Boy 

 Auricula, from the choice collection of L. Weltge, Esq., at Hammersmith. 

 No. XIV, for August, contains 

 55 to 56. — Semplon Tulip, a very strong-growing variety, with very 

 large flowers, striped and marked with purple and velvet, from the collec- 

 tion of W. Strong, Esq. of Shepherd's Bush. The following valuable direc- 

 tions are given for raising tulips from seed : — " As we presume many of our 

 subscribers are now saving seeds of their choicest flowers that have been ferti- 

 lised with the pollen of different varieties, it may not be amiss, in this place, 

 to give our opinion of the best method of sowing and treating it, so as to 

 encourage the plants to produce bloom much sooner than the time that 

 is generally allowed them j we have no doubt but, with proper management, 

 they will bloom when about three years old from the seed ; and, if it could 

 be possible to keep them in continual growth, they would, most probably, 

 flower a year sooner. The seed, when ripe, should be cut, and laid to dry 

 in the capsules at first. As soon as they are perfectly dry, they should be 

 sown as thick as you please, in pans or flat pots, in a light sandy soil ; these 

 must be placed in a frame, or some other situation where they will not 

 become sodden with too much wet in winter, but, at the same time, should 

 be kept moderately moist. In the spring they will make their appearance; 

 and, when two or three inches high, should be pricked off in a light sandy 

 soil, either in pots or in a bed. When planted out so young, they will not 

 miss their removal, but will continue to grow, if kept regularly moist, and, 

 with a little protection, will probably continue to grow till they become of 

 a flowering size ; or, if the leaves die away, the bulbs should not be dried, 

 but should be set growing again as soon as possible, the bulbs to be trans- 

 planted when in a dormant state. By this mode of treatment, we have 

 flowered bulbs of the genus Amarjllis at one year old, and nearly all the 

 sorts at two rears' old, sowing the seed as soon as ripe, and pricking them 



