Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 7, ETM-GOA

FLO [ 3°J ] FLO
Flowers, Flowers, in chemiftry, are the fined and mod is feen all the while, and they are managed better as to Covering-.
Flowering, fubtle parts of dry bodies, raifed by fire, into the veffel’s the fupply of water.
v.—y- head and aludels ; and adhering to them in form of a "
fine powder or dud. Such are the flowers of fulphur,
benjamin, &c.
Flowers, in the animal economy, denote womens
monthly purgations or menfes.—Nicod derives the
word in this fehfe from jluere, q. d. jluovs. Others
will have the name occafioned hence, that women do
By repeated-experiments in this way on dried bulbs,
and on thofe taken frefli out of^the ground, the former
have been found to fucceed the bed. For thofe taken
frefh out of the ground being full of moidure, will not
fo foon, upon changing their element, be nourifhed
fully by a new ©ne ; and the fibres which they had
druck in the ground, always rot when put into the
not conceive till they have had their flowers; fo that water, and new ones mud be formed in their places ;
thefe are a fort of forerunners of their fruit. fo that it requires more time for them to come to flow-
Flowers, in rhetoric, are figures or ornaments of ering. The bulbs themfelves will not rot in this man-
difeourfe, by the Latins called flofculi. ner ; but they will never be fo drong as thofe which
FLOWERING of Bulbous Plants. 'Thefe plants were put into the water dry, which gradually fill
will grow and flower in water alone, without any earth, themfelves with moidure from it, and regularly plump
and make ,3 very elegant ’appearance. We daily fee up. The bed method of managing the whole pro-
this pradtifed in Angle roots ; but there is a method of cefs is this : Place the bulbs at fird only on the
doing it with feveral roots in the fame veffel. Take
common fmall garden-pot; dop the hole at the bot¬
tom with a cork, and lute in the cork with putty, that
no water can get through ; then fit a board to the top
of the pot, and bore fix or feven holes in it at equal
didances, to place the bulbs in ; and as many fmaller
ones near them to receive dicks, which will ferve to
furface of the water; for thus they will '{trike out
their fibres mod drongly. When they have dood
thus fix weeks, pour in the water fo high as to cover
them entirely, and keep them thus till they have done
flowering.
Sometimes the roots will become mouldy in feveral
parts while they dand above the water, and the clean-
tie up the flowers. Then fill up the pot with water to ing them of it is to no purpofe ; for it will eat and
the board ; and place tulips, jonquils, narciflus’s, and fpread the farther, and frequently eat through two or
the like plants in the root upon the holes, fo that the three of their coats. In this cafe they mud be imme-
bottom of the roots may touch the water: thus will diately covered with water; when the mould will be
they all flower early in the feafon, and be much more flopped, and the roots become found, and flovver as
beautiful than any pot of gathered flowers, and will well as thofe which never had any fuch didemper. If
lad many weeks in their full perfection. After the the roots are fuffered to remain in water all the year.
feafon of flowering is
, the roots will gradually they will not decay; but will flower again at their
fir rink through the holes of the board, and get loofe in- proper feafon, and that as vigoroufly as thofe which
to the water : but, indead of being fpoiled there, they have been taken out and dried. The old fibres of
will foon increafe in fize ; fo that they cannot return
through the holes, and will produce feveral ofif-fets. It
is natural to try from this the confequence of keeping
the roots under water during the whole time of their
blowing ; and in this way they have been found to fuc¬
ceed very well, and flower even flronger and more
beautifully than when in the ground. They may thus,
alfo, with proper care in the degree of heat in the
room, be kept flowering from before Chridmas till
March or April. It is not eafy, in this lad manner,
to manage the keeping the boards under water, for
thofe roots never rot' till they are ready to pufli forth
new ones. It is found by experience, that the hya¬
cinth, and many other plants, grow to a greater de¬
gree of perfe&ion when thus in water than when in
the ground. There is a peculiar fpecies of hyacinth
called Keyfer’s jewel; this never, or very rarely, pro¬
duces feed-veflels in the common way of flowering in
the ground ; but it will often produce fome pods when
blown in water.
Mr Millar has intimated, in the Philofophical Tranf-
aftions, that bulbs fet in glafles grow weaker, and
which reafon, it is better to procure fome flreet-lead of flrould be renewed every other year : but it is found,
about four pounds to the foot, and cut this to the fize that, when managed in this manner, and kept under
of the mouth of the pot. In this there fliould be bo¬
red holes for the bulbs, and other holes for the dicks:
and, in order to keep the dicks quite firm, it is pro¬
per to have another plate of lead draped to the bottom
of the pot, with holes in it; anfwering to thofe of the
water, at the time of taking them up, they are ,
large, and fome of them larger, than when planted {
and if thefe be dried at a proper feafon, they will flow¬
er, year after year, as well as frefli ones.
Ranunculus and anemone roots have been found to
upper plate made for the dicks. The dicks will by Ihoot up their flalks very well in this way; but the
this means be always kept perfeclly deady ; and the flowers are ufually bladed, which feems to arife from
roots, being kept under water by the upper plate of want of free air. Pinks will flower very well in this
lead, will flower in the mod vigorous and beautiful manner; auriculas alfo may, with care, be brought to
manner imaginable. —Some have thought of adding to flower, but not firongly. Rofes, jefiamines,‘and honey-
the virtues of the water by putting in nitre in fmall fuckles, may alfo be made to flower this way, and will
quantities, and others have added earth and fand at the thrive and fend out fuckers ; the bed pieces to plant,
Bottom ; but it has always been found to fucceed bet- are fuckers cut off about three inches under ground,
ter without any addition. ~:‘x—^ r:'
l>may be more agreeable to fome to ufe glafs-jar
in this lad method with the leads, inflead of earthen 0 „ .
pots. The bulbs fucceed full as well as thefe ; and laid by to dry for a month till it is an abfolute flun,
there is this advantage, that the progrefs of the roots as foon as it is put in this manner into water, it be-
Vol. VII. Parti. Qjj gins
without any fibres. The fucculent plants may alfo be
raifed this way ; for indance, the opuntia or Indian
fig. If a fragment of a leaf of this plant be Cut, and