59G 



HISTORY OF THE ViSUETABLE KINGDOM. 



inches deep; and care must be taken not to break 

 them, unless nature has shown where it is prac- 

 ticable to divide them easily. The pots, -when 

 filled, must be plunged into the bark bed, where 

 the heat should be equal to 95°. At first, water 

 is to be given very sparinglj'; and though, as 

 they grow, they will require a more liberal 

 supply, yet it is necessary at all times to be very 

 moderate in giving it. The heat must be well 

 kept up, and as the roots extend they must be 

 supported. Under such treatment, a plant has 

 been known to grow ten feet in the course of a 

 season, with numerous blossoming stems upon 

 it. The flowers are at first green; and they 

 afterwards assume those beautiful yellow tints 

 I'or which they are so much celebrated. The 

 plant is readily propagated by dividing the 

 roots. 



Stapelias. Natural family asdepiadeee; pen- 

 tandria, digynia, of Linnseus. This family of 



\Vai-t-Flowered Stapeli». 



plants grows at the Cape of Good Hope. They 

 have diminutive, succulent stems, without leaves, 

 with proportionally large, curious flowers, whose 

 odour is frequently very disagreeable. Yet, from 

 their singular forms, the plants make a curious 

 variety in the conservatory. There are several 

 genera, and numerous species, almost all natives 

 of Africa. They were first introduced into the 

 gardens at Kew, by Masson, about the end of 

 last century. Some of the species are used as 

 articles of food by the native Hottentots, and by 

 the Dutch settlers at the Cape, in the form of a 

 pickle. They thrive best in a sandy loam, mixed 

 with old lime or brick rubbish. If planted in 

 a richer soil, they will tlirive better for a time, 

 and produce larger flowers; but then they are 

 very apt to rot off, particularly if watered too 

 freely. Indeed, they require very little mois- 

 ture, except when they are in flower, when 

 water may be given more freely. They are 

 readily propagated by cuttings. These should 

 be laid to dry in the stove till they begin to 

 shrivel, and if planted in this state in pots, they 

 will root in a very short time. If planted im- 

 mediately on separation from the stem, and 

 .when full of juice, they are very apt to rot. 



Marvel of Peru (mirabilis dichotoma, and 

 jalapa). Natural family nycia^zne^y pentandria, 

 monogi/nia, of Linnseus. This is one of the 

 most fragrant of flowers, and has the singular 

 property of expanding during the night. On 

 these accounts it has received its names; having 

 been first called by Clusius admirabilis, and by 

 Van Royen, nj/ctago, or night-blowing. M. dich- 

 otoma is called the four o'clock flower in the 

 West Indies, from the flowers opening regularly 

 at that time of the aftei-noon. The common 

 marvel, (m. jalapa), of which there are several 

 varieties, will grow in this country in warm 

 sheltered borders, and forms a very pleasing and 

 ornamental flower. In order to have it in per- 

 fection, it should be sown in pots in the green- 

 house, and then planted out into a sunny shel- 

 tered border. The roots are large and tuberous, 

 and if taken up and treated in a similar way as 

 directed for dahlias, and planted out in summer, 

 they will flower perennially. These roots, when 

 washed and dried, are reduced into powder, foi-m- 

 ing a substance similar to jalap, and possessino; 

 similar purgative properties. 



The Raeflesia Arnoldi. This flower, of 

 which a figure is given at page 170, is one of the 

 most extraordinary productions of the vegetable 

 kingdom. It is a parasitic plant, a native of the 

 island of Sumatra, and was discovered there in 

 the year 1818, by the late Dr Arnold. He found 

 it in a jungle or thicket, growing close to the 

 ground, underneath the bushes, and attached to 

 the roots of a species of cissas. The plant con- 

 sists of a flower only, having neither leaves, 

 brandies, or roots. This flower however, is of 

 gigantic size, measuring a yard across. The 

 petals, which are roundish, were twelve inches 

 from the base to the margins, and at their inser- 

 tions about a foot separate from each other. 



These petals are from a quarter to three-fourths 

 of an inch thick, and the nectarium was calcu- 

 lated to be of such a capacity as to hold twelve 

 pints. It appears to take its origin in some 

 crack or hollow of the stem, and soon shows 

 itself in the form of a round knob, which when 

 cut through exhibits the infant flower enveloped 

 in numerous bracteal sheaths, which successively 

 open and wither away as the flower enlarges. 

 A singular change takes place in the vessels of 

 the root, or stem of the tree on which it grows, 

 their ramifications are multiplied, and they take 

 a direction so as to unite with, and accommodate 

 theiKselves to the base of the parasite, to which 

 they convey nourishment. The general appear- 

 ance of the flower resembles the stapelias, and 

 like them its smell is foetid. It is dicecious and 

 supposed by Brown to belong to the natural 

 order asariiis-. There have since been disco- 

 vered other species of much smaller dimensions. 



Venus Fly Trap. Dionea muscipula; dccaii- 

 dria, monogpiia, of Linnceus. This is a plant 



