_Generic Character._
_Cal._ nullus. _Petala_ 5. Nectaria 5. trifida, intra corollam.
_Capsulae_ 5 connexae.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
NIGELLA _damascena_ floribus involucro folioso cinctis. _Lin. Syst.
Vegetab. ed._ 14. _Murr. p._ 506. _Sp. Pl. p._ 753.
NIGELLA angustifolia, flore majore simplici caeruleo. _Bauh. Pin._ 145.
The great Spanish Nigella. _Park. Parad. p._ 287.
[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 22]
Is an annual, and grows wild among the corn in the southern parts of Europe; varies with white and blue flowers, both single and double.
"May be propagated by sowing their seeds upon a bed of light earth, where they are to remain (for they seldom succeed well if transplanted); therefore, in order to have them intermixed among other annual flowers in the borders of the Flower Garden, the seeds should be sown in patches at proper distances: and when the plants come up, they must be thinned where they grow too close, leaving but three or four of them in each patch, observing also to keep them clear from weeds, which is all the culture they require. In July they will produce their flowers, and their seeds will ripen in August.
"The season for sowing these seeds is in March; but if you sow some of them in August, soon after they are ripe, upon a dry soil and in a warm situation, they will abide through the winter, and flower strong the succeeding year; by sowing of the seeds at different times, they may be continued in beauty most parts of the summer." _Miller"s Gard. Dict.
ed._ 6. 4_to._
[23]
~Tropaeolum majus. Greater Indian-Cress, or Nasturtium.~
_Cla.s.s and Order._
~Octandria Monogynia.~
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ 1-phyllus, calcaratus. _Petala_ 5 in aequalia. _Baccae_ tres, siccae.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
TROPaeOLUM _majus_ foliis peltatis subquinquelobis, petalis obtusis.
_Lin. Syst. Vegetab. ed._ 14. _Murr. p._ 357. _Sp. Pl. p._ 490.
CARDAMINDUM ampliori folio et majori flore. _Grande Capucine Tournef.
Inst. p._ 430.
[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 23]
The present plant is a native of Peru, and is said by Linnaeus to have been first brought into Europe in the year 1684; it is certainly one of the greatest ornaments the Flower-Garden can boast: it varies in colour, and is also found in the Nurseries with double flowers. The former, as is well known, is propagated by seed; the latter by cuttings, which should be struck on a hot-bed. To have these plants early, they should be raised with other tender annuals; they usually begin to flower in July, and continue blossoming till the approach of winter: the stalks require to be supported, for if left to themselves they trail on the ground, overspread, and destroy the neighbouring plants.
Elizabeth Christina, one of the daughters of Linnaeus, is said to have perceived the flowers to emit spontaneously, at certain intervals, sparks like those of electricity, visible only in the dusk of the evening, and which ceased when total darkness came on.
The flowers have the taste of water-cress, with a degree of sweetness, which that plant does not possess, more particularly resident in the spur of the calyx or nectary; hence are sometimes used in sallads, and hence the plant acquires its name of _Nasturtium_.
[24]
~Agrostemma coronaria. Rose c.o.c.kle, or Campion.~
_Cla.s.s and Order._
~Decandria Pentagynia.~
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ 1-phyllus, coriaceus. _Petala_ 5 unguiculata: limbo obtuso, indiviso. _Caps._ 1-locularis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
AGROSTEMMA _coronaria_ tomentosa, foliis ovato-lanceolatis, petalis emarginatis coronatis serratis. _Lin. Syst. Vegetab. ed._ 14. _Murr. p._ 435. _Sp. Pl. p._
LYCHNIS coronaria dioscoridis sativa. _Bauh. Pin._ 203. The single red Rose Campion. _Parkins. Parad. p._ 252.
[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 24]
Grows spontaneously in Italy and Siberia; Linnaeus informs us that the blossom is naturally white, with red in the middle.
"The single Rose Campion has been long an inhabitant of the English gardens, where, by its seeds having scattered, it is become a kind of weed. There are three varieties of this plant, one with deep red, another with flesh-coloured, and a third with white flowers, but these are of small esteem, for the double Rose Campion being a finer flower, has turned the others out of most fine gardens. The single sorts propagate fast enough by the seeds, the sort with double flowers never produces any, so is only propagated by parting of the roots; the best time for this is in autumn, after their flowers are past; in doing of this, every head which can be slipped off with roots should be parted; these should be planted in a border of fresh undunged earth, at the distance of six inches, observing to water them gently until they have taken root, after which they will require no more, for much wet is injurious to them, as is also dung. After the heads are well rooted, they should be planted into the borders of the Flower-Garden, where they will be very ornamental during the times of their flowering, which is in July and August." _Miller"s Gard. Dict. ed._ 6. 4_to._
Miller, by mistake, calls this plant _Caelirosa_.
[25]
~Dianthus chinensis. China or Indian Pink.~
_Cla.s.s and Order._
~Decandria Digynia.~
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ cylindricus, 1-phyllus: basi squamis 4. _Petala_ 5, unguiculata.
_Capsula_ cylindrica, 1-locularis.