By Joseph Sabine, Esq. 235 



Essex, with whom he then lived as gardener ; the plant 

 sprang from seeds, received direct from Mexico, it is not, 

 therefore, derived from any of the first imported plants or 

 seed ; it generally has twelve or more florets in its ray, 

 ranged in one series, not in a double row, as in the semi-dou- 

 ble flowers. This species does not seem to possess the pro- 

 perty of variation, like the other, for all its changes are, in 

 fact, only into shades of the original colour. It has been 

 slow also, in showing a disposition to become double ; the 

 first approach to the character of a double flower, that I have 

 seen, was in a plant raised by Mr. Cormack, this year, in his 

 nursery at New Cross, near Deptford : in it, the radial florets 

 are increased in number to near thirty, and being of a rich 

 colour, the whole flower is very fine. The seeds of the frus- 

 tranea do not ripen so freely as those of the other species. 

 It must be observed, that though the colour of the flower of 

 this species was originally called cocci ne us or scarlet, it ought 

 more strictly to have been described as miniatus, for it is the 

 exact colour of red lead. 



As the two species have been continually growing conti- 

 guous to each other, and as some pains have been taken to 

 disperse the pollen of the various flowers, it has been sup- 

 posed that hybrid plants have been produced : those which 

 have been pointed out to me as such, though they certainly 

 have appearances which might justify the supposition, have 

 not, to my view, more diversity of character, than may 

 fairly be supposed to have arisen from pure seeds of the 

 superflua, which we know has sported into such extraordinary 

 varieties. There are, unquestionably, variations sufficient to 

 destroy the accuracy of the specific characters of the two 



vol. in. I i 



