LIMNANTHES ROSEA. 
179 
are generally solitary ; and exactly where the 
rent or cut is made, some sap vessels are per- 
ceived. It seems very evident that the cotton 
of Artemisia vulgaris is a sort of hairy felt, 
which makes it somewhat analogous to the 
real Indian cotton, which is also composed, as 
is well known, by the hairs which cover the 
seeds of the cotton trees. The similarity be- 
tween the two products is further increased 
by the form of the hairs of these two orders 
of plants being both very long and flat. But 
the real cotton of the cotton trees is distin- 
guished by the fulness and broadness of the 
organs, and also by the multiplicity of the 
cells of which they are composed ; while in 
the Artemisia these cells are not present, and 
the breadth of the threads is scarcely more 
than a tenth, part of that of the cotton of the 
cotton trees. Still the extreme combustibility 
of the cotton of the Artemisia is a fact which 
will by and by be turned to some useful 
account in manufacture. It may be somewhat 
difficult to say what it might be used for ; but 
its tenacity is extraordinary, and the length of 
the thread would allow of its being easily pre- 
pared as felt cloth. It would doubtless be 
worth while to examine it in its relation to 
the arts, by making a series of experiments, 
embracing the manufacture of lace, net-work, 
or thread. In a chemical point of view it 
would be interesting to have it converted into 
an inflammable matter, the explosive power of 
which might not be unworthy of examination. 
The object of detailing the result of the fore- 
going investigations, is to direct attention to 
the facts. The Artemisia vulgaris is a plant 
that grows in stony soils, among rubbish, and 
in waste ground, and when planted in a rich 
loamy soil, it grows with extraordinary rapi- 
dity. It is herbaceous, and requires almost 
no attention. It may therefore be cultivated 
with very little trouble or expense. 
LIMNANTHES ROSEA. 
Limnanthes rosea, Bentham (rose-coloured 
Limnanthes). — Tropseolaceas § Limnanthese. 
We have had for some years in the gardens 
a species of Limnanthus named Douglasii, 
which, though not ranking higher than a 
second-rate plant in an ornamental point of 
view, was yet interesting as belonging to a 
natural order with which its affinity is not 
very striking. This our readers who are not 
botanical adepts will readily comprehend when 
they are requested to compare the accompany- 
ing engraving of the new Limnanthes with 
the familiar garden plant, the common Nastur- 
tium. Thus it is that botanical affinities are 
little influenced by prima facie appearances. 
Both the species of Limnanthes are of the 
same habit of growth. They are prostrate, 
succulent herbs, of annual duration. Ini. rosea 
the leaves are very variable in their form ; 
they are usually pinnate, or even sometimes 
bipinnate, with all the parts extremely narrow; 
but sometimes they have only a pair of side 
lobes, and sometimes none whatever. The 
blossoms, consisting of five inversely heart- 
shaped petals, stand up on stalks much longer 
than the leaves ; they grow singly from the 
axils, and are described as being of a "pale, 
dirty rose-colour." We should, however, ima- 
gine, that as the summer of 1848, during 
which only it has been grown in England, 
was wet, and unfavourable to the high deve- 
lopment of colours, this plant may prove in 
brighter seasons better coloured than this 
description would lead us to expect, especially 
if it were grown in a warm, dry situation. 
This seems the more probable, as Mr. Hart- 
weg, the collector who sent it to the Horti- 
cultural Society, gave it the name of pulcheUa 
(pretty), a name which has been rather cava- 
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