dia'nthus. 



82 



dia'nthus. 



any light soil in the open ground ; 

 but as they require a slight protec- 

 tion during winter, they are generally 

 grown in pots, and kept in the green- 

 house. D. scabra, the most com- 

 mon species, takes its specific name 

 from the roughness of its leaves ; 

 which, in its native country, Japan, 

 are said, by Thunberg, to be used by 

 the cabinet-makers in polishing the 

 finer kinds of wood. 



Devil in a bush. — See Nigella. 



Devil's Bit. — Scabiosa svccisa. 

 — A kind of Scabious, quite hardy, 

 and growing in any soil or situation. 

 It Mas formerly supposed to have 

 great medicinal virtues ; and hence, 

 says the legend, the Devil, envying 

 mankind such a treasure, attempted 

 to destroy it, by biting off a part of 

 the root, which appears as though a 

 part of it were bitten off at this day. 



Dewberry. — Riibus ccesius. See 

 Rubus. 



Dia'nthus. — Carophyllaceee, or 

 Silenacece. — A genus of perennial 

 and herbaceous plants, containing 

 several beautiful and well-known 

 flowers. The most popular perhaps 

 of these is the Carnation (Dianthus 

 Carophyllus), which is occasionally 

 found in a wild state in Britain on 

 old walls, particularly on the ruins 

 of Rochester Castle, &c. In a cul- 

 tivated state, the Clove Carnation 

 may be called the breeder, or nor- 

 mal form, as it bears about the 

 same relation to the variegated Car- 

 nations as the self-coloured Tulips 

 and Auriculas do to the named va- 

 rieties of those plants. The varieties 

 of Carnations are divided into three 

 kinds : the Flakes, which are striped 

 Avith broad bands of two colours ; 

 the Bizarres, which are striped, or 

 streaked, with three colours ; and 

 the Picotees, which are much the 

 hardiest, and are only bordered with 

 a narrow margin of some dark colour, 

 or dotted with very small, and al- 



most imperceptible spots. Carnation* 

 should be grown in a rich loam, 

 mixed with sand or peat to keep it 

 open, and a little rotten cow dung, 

 or vegetable mould to enrich ic. 

 They do best in pots, and the earth 

 should be pressed into the pots as 

 firmly as possible ; more so, indeed, 

 than for any other plant. The plant9 

 raised from layers should be sepa- 

 rated from the parent in August, and 

 they may be potted three in a five 

 inch pot. The pots should be well 

 drained, and the plants frequently 

 watered, till about the middle of 

 October, when the watering should 

 be gradually decreased. The layers, 

 when first potted, may be kept ire 

 the open air ; shading them, for a 

 few days after potting, from the sun ; 

 and putting a hand-glass over them, 

 if there should be apprehended any 

 danger of severe frost at night, though 

 a little frost will not hurt them. 

 About the middle of November, the 

 plants should be removed to a green- 

 house, or shed, where they should be 

 kept entirely in the shade, merely 

 protected from the frost, as they will 

 bear a considerable degree of cold 

 much better than too much heat, 

 Here they may remain till March or 

 April, according to the season, when 

 they should be repotted, and, after a 

 few days, turned into the open air. 

 In May they may be either planted 

 out in beds, or removed to larger 

 pots for flowering, which they will do 

 in June and July. When the buds 

 have formed, the plants should be 

 w ? ell watered morning and evening ; 

 and, in the evening, they should be 

 syringed over the leaves, always 

 waiting till the sun has gone down. 

 The principal points of beauty in a 

 Carnation are, that the stem should 

 be strong and erect, the calyx well 

 and regularly opened, the flower 

 round, with the petals regularly dis- 

 posed, the largest on the outside, and 



