598 Botanical Cabinet. 



yllyssum podolicum that used to be. A desirable constituent of potted col- 

 lections, as its tufts of powdered leaves and racemes of clear white blossoms 

 render it ornamental. 



Part CLXXIII. for September, contains 

 1721. /beris Tenoreawa. A beauty less known than it should and must 

 be. Called perennial, but is only biennial ; as it seeds freely, this is but slight 

 detraction from its merits. Plants from seeds self-sown are finest, and well- 

 drained soilfittest for them. — 1722. Phlox procumbens. An interesting pretty 

 species of an esteemed family. — 1723. Grevillew sulphurea. Mr. Brown's 

 Prodromiis of the Plants of New Holland is well known : to that work he 

 has recently (see p. 212.) published a First Supplement, which only includes 

 the plants of one order, 'PxotedcecB, that have been discovered since the 

 publication of his Prodromiis. Of these there are nearly 200 additional 

 species ; hence, observe Messrs. Loddiges : — "If in one single order so 

 much has been discovered in New Holland, what indeed must there be in 

 that immense country of all other plants !" — 1724. Gesnen'a bulbosa. 

 See p. 569. — 1725. Andromeda /jolifolia var. *revoluta. Increased by 

 layers, " which will root sufficiently in from one to two years." We here 

 introduce an extract from Smith's translation of the Ldchesis Lajipionica 

 or Tour in hapland, of Linneeus, which, besides exhibiting Linnseus's reasons 

 for applying the name Andromeda to A. polifolia and its allies, exhibits 

 also a specimen of the powers of memory and imagination imparted to him. 

 In vol. i. p. 188., it is stated that " Andromeda joolifolia was now, June 

 12., in its highest beauty, decorating the marshy grounds in a most agree- 

 able manner. The flowers are quite blood red before they expand, but 

 when full grown the corolla is of a flesh colour. Scarcely any painter's 

 art can so happily imitate the beauty of a fine female complexion ; still less 

 could any artificial colour upon the face itself bear a comparison with this 

 lovely blossom. As I contemplated it I could not help thinking of Andro- 

 meda as described by the poets ; and the more I meditated upon their 

 descriptions, the more applicable they seemed to the little plant before me; 

 so that, if these writers had had it in view, they could scarcely have con- 

 trived a more apposite fable. Andromeda is represented by them as a 

 virgin of most exquisite and unrivalled charms ; but these charms remain 

 in perfection only so long as she retains her virgin purity, which is also 

 applicable to the plant now preparing to celebrate its nuptials. This plant 

 is always fixed on some little turfy hillock in the midst of the swamps, as 

 Andromeda herself was chained to a rock in the sea, which bathed her 

 feet, as the fresh water does the roots of the plant. Dragons and venomous 

 serpents suiTounded her, as toads and other reptiles frequent the abode of 

 her vegetable resembler, and, when they pair in the spring, throw mud and 

 water over its leaves and branches. As the distressed virgin cast down 

 her blushing face through excessive affliction, so does the rosy-coloured 

 flower hang its head, growing paler and paler till it withers away. Hence, 

 as this plant forms a new genus, I have chosen for it the name of Andro- 

 meda." Linngeus has drawn this fanciful analogy farther in his Flora 

 Jjapponica. " At length," says he, " comes Perseus in the shape of sum- 

 mer, dries up the surrounding water, and destroys the monsters, rendering 

 the damsel a fruitful mother, vv^ho then carries her head (the capsule) 

 erect." — 1726. Primula pusilla. A Canadian, resembling our Westmore- 

 land beauty, the P. farinosa. — 1727. ^rica Patersoni (Patersoni«?2« of 

 our Hortus Britdnnicus, but perhaps wrongly). " Of much larger growth 

 than the majority of species, as it will readily attain the height of 6 ft. or 

 more, if duly encouraged with sufficient pot room ; in fact it does not 

 flower well till full 3 ft. high. Nothing can be more magnificent than its 

 bright gold-coloured blossoms, which appear in May, and are very dur- 

 able." The blossoms are tubular, and proceed from the axils of the 



