and the form of the crests are so variable as seldom to give two of the same shape. In the floral games at Toulouse, the prize for the finest lyric poem is an Amaranth of gold. XERANTHEMUM, OR IMMORTAL FLOWER. Xeranthemum. Natural Order Composite Discoidea Corymbiferæ, Juss. A Genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua Class. THIS plant derives its name from the Greek Enpos, dry, and aveos, a flower, because the petals of the corolla are of a dry chaffy nature, and the flower therefore does not wither when gathered, but is, on this account, admitted into the number of immortal flowers. It forms one of the principal ornaments of the dried bouquets, as the colours vary from white to a bright glossy yellow; whilst others are of a fine lilac or purple, resembling flowers formed of foil and floss silk. In their natural state these flowers are single, but the art of the florist has doubled the petals from a single row to eight or ten rows of irregular-sized petals, falling over each other like the scales of fish. The seeds are feathered similar to those of the Dandelion, but are set on a flat, instead of a globular receptacle. When these flowers are intended to be kept in a dried state, they should be gathered before the seed is matured; for it frequently happens that when the seeds have arrived at maturity they fly off when dry, and this sometimes happens in the most beautiful manner. The seeds, releasing themselves from the receptacle, are only kept together by the feathery nature of their plumage, which, as it becomes agitated by the air, escapes by swelling first into a kind of dome, the feathers being attached to each other in the most delicate manner imaginable, with the seeds downwards; after which, as they loosen themselves, the effect is still more delicate and singular, as it resembles, in miniature, a number of stars being thrown out of a circular piece of fire-work. The annual Xeranthemum is a native of the South of Europe; and the first notice we have of its being cultivated in this country was in 1658, when it was growing in the botanic garden at Oxford, under the management of Jacob Robart, a German, who was the original gardener of that establishment. This plant sends up a stalk of about two feet in height, on which the purple or white flowers are supported. These, when gathered just before the seeds are ripe, retain their beauty for a great length of time, and the brilliancy of the purple colour may be restored at the end of several years, by holding them in the vapour of any acid. This plant is best raised by sowing the seeds in the autumn, soon after they are ripe, for, when omitted until the spring, the plants seldom grow to their natural size, or produce either fine flowers or seeds. The seed should be sown on beds of free light earth, in a dry and warm situation. When the plants are about two inches high, they may be transplanted into other beds, or into the quarters of the parterre where they are intended to flower. The Great Yellow-flowered Xeranthemum, Fulgidum, is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and was introduced by Mr. Masson, in 1774. VOL. II. M MARVEL OF PERU. Mirabilis. Natural Order Nyctagines, Juss. A Genus of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. Of colours, changing from the splendid Rose AKENSIDE. On this marvellous plant of the New World, whose flowers seem too timid to expand their variously coloured corollas even to an European meridian sun, and on which account the French have named it Belle de Nuit, M. Constant Dubos has given us the following beautiful lines: Solitaire amante des nuits, Pourquoi ces timides alarmes, Tu caches ta fleur purpurine, En nous dérobant tes attraits, Permets du moins qu'on les devine. Lorsque l'aube vient éveiller Les brillantes filles de Flore, Et craindre l'éclat de l'aurore. Tu reprends alors ta parure; |