THE ACONITE. 
371 
near the place they are taken from. As a 
general rule, besides all these, there is one that 
should be observed whenever a flower is 
coining fine ; it is, to take off the end of the 
branch it is on, to prevent any growth beyond 
it, for that would weaken the flower a good 
deal. Besides this mode of treatment being 
good for the flowers coming on, it strengthens 
the plant for succeeding blooms. The only 
difference to make incase of the plant being 
wanted for a garden ornament, is to leave on 
more flower buds, but let them be all placed 
at equal distances. 
THE XERANTHEMUM EVERLASTING 
OR ETERNAL FLOWER. 
There was a time when these flowers were 
valued highly on account of their lasting quali- 
ties, it being well known that they will retain 
their form and colour for years after they are 
gathered and hung up. The great variety of 
hard or horny petalled flowers that now form 
the English winter nosegays have become 
quite an article of commerce, and the natural 
variety is greatly increased by artificial co- 
louring. Nevertheless without these helps, 
there are several very pretty kinds which are 
easily cultivated, and serve well to enliven the 
flower-vases and cups in the depth of winter. 
There are several varieties and species, and all 
of them useful and good. Miller mentions six 
species : Xeranthemum annuum, X. inaper- 
tum, X. orientale, X. speciosissimum, X. re- 
tortum, and X. sesamoides. Of the first, there 
are purple and white, single and double, and 
these have been grown a good deal in England. 
The fourth sort bears a large yellow flower, and 
rises with a shrubby stalk three or four feet 
high ; the colour of this kind is very bright, 
and the flowers are very showy and brilliant ; 
but they are not produced very numerously. 
The culture of these plants is simple. The 
seeds are sown, like other annuals, on a 
slight hot-bed in spring, and when they are 
up they are watered and kept clear of weeds 
until they are large enough to pot or plant 
out. They may be planted out in the common 
borders or on beds, a foot apart at the least, 
and then left to bloom ; or as they are capable 
of being brought forward in bloom they may 
be sown in autumn and potted like ten-week 
stocks, and kept in frames over the winter. 
They will then flower much earlier and 
stronger, and thus grow, as stocks do, two com- 
plete seasons; the flowers should be gathered 
while perfectly bright and soon after they are 
opened ; if they remain long in bloom the seeds 
begin to swell, and the flower will in a few 
months come to pieces ; but if gathered when 
young, they continue wlvjrlc and quite brilliant 
Idt years. All the sorts will grow in the open 
air in the summer time, and will succeed with 
the treatment of most tender annuals, though 
some of them are far from tender. They are 
from various countries : for instance, X. an- 
nuum is from Austria, X. inapertum is from 
Italy, X. orientale is from the Levant, X. 
speciosissimum is from the Cape of Good 
Hope, so also is X. retortum, and X. sesa- 
moides. Seeds may be had both of English 
growth and imported; and a few should always 
be sown in a garden of any size, for keeping, 
when dry, if not for the sake of their present 
appearance. The Cape species require to be 
grown in a green-house, and only succeed 
well with very careful treatment, though they do 
not require to be kept very close. With regard 
to the dyeing process, it, in our opinion, con • 
verts the real to an artificial flower ; while 
retaining its colour and the natural form it is 
curious, but the instant the strong colouring 
is upon it the charm is gone, and gay as the 
novelty may appear we might as well put up 
with the regular artificial flowers of cloth and 
paper, for they would look more natural 
whether they were so or not. 
THE ACONITE, MONKSHOOD, OR 
WOLFSBANE. 
Tins is a popular herbaceous plant, found in 
most gardens, growing freely in all kinds of 
soil, and requiring little or no care in culture. 
It is a rank poison, and is on that account dis- 
couraged in gardens where there are families, 
because so small a quantity is fatal that the 
juice of the plant, when bruised, if it were 
accidentally rubbed against a wound would 
seriously afflict, if not cause death. Indeed 
the ancients used to poison their darts with 
the juice of this plant to insure the death of 
the victim. Miller numbers ten species; 
namely, A. lycoctonum, with yellow flowers ; 
A. altissimum, with yellow flowers ; A. varie- 
gatum, with blue flowers ; A. Anthora, with 
yellowflowers; A. Napellus, with blue flowers ; 
A. pyramidale, the common blue Monkshood ; 
A. alpinum, with blue flowers; A. pyrcnaium, 
with yellow flowers ; A. Cammarum, and A. 
orientale, with white flowers ; all these are 
more or less ornamental, but A. pyramidale is 
the principal garden species. It propagates 
easily from the parting of the rout, and it also 
seeds freely. There is a garden variety with 
blue and white striped or mottled flowers ; 
a very showy dwarf and highly ornamental 
plant, desirable in even choice borders, whereas 
the coarse kind is only fit for the back portions 
of wide borders, for the sake of its long spikes 
of purple flowers. The variegated kind may 
begrown about in front of the borders, forming, 
as it does, a pretty dwarf plant with :\ good 
share, of bloom, and that bloom bright and 
pretty. When the leaves begin to turn yellow 
r. l! 2 
