” 4 ee ee ee ee 
OF GARDENING 
May 
Culture of this Ay acinTu. 
Tt is a nated of the Eaft, and is there found from under a Wood-Pile. 
bordering the Woods and Thickets, where the 
Mould is light and fine; as the common Blue Bell 
ours. 
. In the £af- Tdi it is ufvally found’ in rich 
Soils, and where there is fome Moifture: in Africa, 
where it is fcarce lefs common, it will grow in 
burning Sand. This makes a Difference very | 
_ confiderable and confpicuous in the Plant/ The 
Afiatic is large, and has the Flowers of the true 
Celeftial Blue: the African is {maller, the Stalks 
are more fpotted,. and the Flowers ufually have 
more or lefs of the Red with their natural Blue. 
A Plant fubject to fo much Variation in its na- 
tural State, may well admit great Changes in our 
Gardens: thefe not only fhew themfelves in the 
Flowers, which will be fingle and double, as well 
as.-red, white, and blue, but in the Leaves 
and Seafon of F lowering: for fome are earlier, 
fome much Jater. 
_ All this depends upon the fame original Caufe, | 
ae Difference between the Afatic and African 
Plants ; for the dfrican as they are fmaller and 
narrower leav’d, are alfo earlier in Flowering. 
We have obtain’d Seeds from both thefe Places, 
and the Plants rais’d from them have in fome 
Degree fhar’d the natural Qualities of their O- 
riginal. From thefe we have propagated an in- 
numerable Store, and thefe partake varioufly of 
thefe feveral Properties. 
The Gardener is to learn from this Hiftory of 
the Plant, two Things; that it is an excellent 
Subject for his Induftry, becaufe naturally fufcep- 
tible of fo much Change; and that he has his 
Choice to raife it on a dryer and more poor, or 
on a fomewhat moifter and more rich Soil. 
The Compoft I have found to fucceed with it 
beft, and from which not only the fineft Flowers, 
but the greateft Variety of them have been produced 
under my own Care, is of a middle Nature be- 
tween the two: it is compos’d thus: 
Mix equal Parts of freth Pafture-Farth and rich 
Pond-Mud. To every Bufhel of this add half a 
Peck of Sand, and the fame Quantity of Earth 
Throw the Whole up 
in a Heap, expos’d to the Weather, and let it lie 
from Oéfober to the End of Fuly following, 
Then fill fome Seed-Boxes with it, and fow on 
it moderately thick the Seeds of the great blue- 
flower’d Kind, gather’d from robuft Plants, that. 
have the Stalks well fpotted. Sift over them a 
Finger-Breadth of Mould, and place them where. 
they may have the Morning Sun all Autumn. 
In-Winter let them have thé full Noon-Sun,; 
and in Spring let them be remov’d into their firft 
Place. In very fharp Weather let the Surface 
be cover’d with a little Pea-ftraw: at all Seafons 
let it be kept clear from Weeds ; and from Time 
to Time let its Quality be examined, that it may 
not grow too dry. 
With this Management the young Plants will 
appear in February, and their green Leaves will 
{tand out a great Part of Summer. 
When ote are faded, half an Inch of frefh 
Earth muft be fifted over the Surface, and it mutt 
be kept clear from Weeds as at firft. 
_ A large Parcel of Compoft fhould be now 
made as the firft, and the duguft following a Bed 
fhould be prepar’d with it, and the Roots feparated 
from the Mould in the Boxes, and planted in it.» 
They will flower the fourth or fifth Year: from 
Sowing ; and the Gardener will find his Trouble 
and his Patience very well rewarded, by theit 
Number, Variety, and Excellence, — 
and Beauty. The Method of preferving and ma- 
naging the Roots, when full grown, we have de- 
clar’d already. The common Practice is to pro- 
pagate and encreafe the Flowers from Off-fets pro- 
duc’d by the old Roots : this is a certain Way of 
preferving the fame Flower; but the true Spirit 
of Gardening is not content with that: neither 
will thefe Off-fets for ever _preferve the Luftre of 
| the original Plant. 
Our Student knows that Amaryllis is a Name 
of modern Origin, as apply’d to a Genus, of 
Plants. We have made him acquainted with fe- 
veral of the Species, all elegant ; and for the 
moft Part defcrib’d under very various Names, 
by thofe who wrote. before the Time of the mo- 
‘dern. Improvements of the Science, 
Linn aus firft brought the Plants of this Ge- 
nus together: he found them ally’d_ by Nature, 
Fi. 36. 
Fig. 3. 
tho’ disjoin’d by unfinifh’d Art; and having fepa-— 
rated them from all. others, he diftinguifh’d them | 
by this perhaps fantaftic but certainly appropriated 
Name. Moft of the others had been call’d Nar-— 
ciffus ; ; and this by fome has been diftinguifh’d by | 
| Fibres. 
the fame Generical Name ; by others it has been 
rank’d among the Colchicums. 
AMARYLLIS. 
3 C. Bavrine calls it yellow Colchicum loon 
the Time of its Flowering; tho’ this has no Cer- 
tainty, for the Flower is now perfect in’ fome 
Gardens, and is often much. earlier as. well» as 
much later. see % 2 
Lannavus, who forms his Names from real 
Characters, calls it Amaryllis patha uniflora corella 
equalt ftaminibus déchnatis: Single-flower’d Aiha- 
ryllis, with the Flower apriahs ane the Threads 
ftooping. 
The Root is dated roundith, baal on the Our. 
fide, white within, juicy, and ‘hung with many 
The Leaves are long and moderately bebe, 
wav’'d 
stus has been follow’d by moft: in’ naming: it a_ 
Narciffus, adding the Term Autumnalis, to denote. 
This is the Way to raife them in Plenty, Variety 
