ANEMONE, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Polygynia darts and order. Its characters am, that it has no calyx ; that the corolla has petals in two or three rows, three in a row, somewhat oblong ; the stamina have numerous filaments, ca pillary, half the length of the corolla : anthers, twin and erect : the pistillum has numerous germs on a 'head, styles acuminate, and stigmas obtuse : no pen carpium ; receptacle globular or oblong; seeds very- inany, acuminate, retaining the style: there are about 30 species. The garden anemones are natives of thc east, from whence their roots were origi nally brought ; but culture has so impro ved them, that they are become the chief ornaments to our gardens in the spring. To prepare the sod for these plants, take a quantity of fresh, light, sandy loam, or hazel-earth, from a common or dry pas ture, not dug above ten ;itches tleep ; mix this with a third part of' its quantity of rotten cow-dung, arid lay it up in a heap ; turn this over rit least once a month, for eight or ten months, and every time pick out the stones, and break the clods. After this mixture has been twelve montlit made, it will be fit for use. The bed.s of this earth must be prepared in September, and should be made six or eight inches tleep, in a wet soil : but in a .dry one, three inches will be sufficient ; lay this compost at least 24 feet thick, with about four or five inches of rotten neat's dung, or the rotten durtg of' an old melon or cucumber bed, at the bottom; in a wet soil let the beds be rounded, so that the water may run off; but in a dry soil let them be nearer to a level : three weeks after tho compost has been laid in, stir it about six inches deep with a spade, and then with a stick draw lines each way of the bed, at six inches distance, so that the Nvhole may be in squares ; then make a hole three inches deep in the centre of each square, anti plant a root in each ; and when all are planted, rake the earth of the whole bed smooth, so as to cover the mots two inches thick. The season of planting these roots for forward flow_ ers is the latter end of September ; and for those of a middle season is October : this is best done at time when there are gentle rains. Some roots should also be saved, to be planted after Christmas, for fear of accidents to the former from very hard weather. ,These usually flower three weeks after those planted in autumn. They are propagated two ways, either by dividing the roots or by sowing. The roots are to be divided as soon as they are taken up out of the ground; they will suc ceed, if broken intoas many parts as there are eyes or buds in them; but they flow er most strongly, if not parted too small. The way by sowing is this ; choose first some good kinds of single anemones, call ed the gardeners poppy anemones; plant these early, and they will produce ripe seeds three weeks after the flower first blows. This must be eareffilly gathered,
and in August it should be sowed in pots or tubs, or a well prepared bed of' light earth, rubbing it between the hand.s with a little dry sand, to prevent several of the seeds from clinging together, and spread ing them a.s even as possible all over the bed; after this a light hair brush should be drawn many times over the surface of the bed, to pull asunder any lumps of seed that may yet have fallen together ; obser ving not to brush off the seed, and as nutch as possible not to brush it into lumps. When this is done, some light earth, about a quarter of an inch deep, should be sifted over the bed. If the weather be hot, the bed must be at times covered with mats laid hollow, and gently watered. In about ten weeks after sow ing the plants will appear, if the season has been favourable, and they are to be carefully defended from the hard frdsts bv proper covering., and from the heat of die sun afterwards, by a moveable reed fence. As the sprinr, advances, if the weather be dry, they must be gently wa tered, and when their green leaves deem., there must be a quarter of an inch more earth sifted over them, and the like again at Michaelmas ; and the bed must be kept clear from weeds, and the following spring they will flower, The single or poppy anemones will flower most part of the winter and spring, when the seasons are favourable, and in a warm situation ; and they require little culture, for it will be sufficient to take up the roots every other year ; and when they arc taken up, they should be planted again very early in the autumn, or else they will not flow er till the spring. There are some fine blue colours among these single ;we.
mones, which, with the starlets and reds, form a beautiful mixture of colours ; and RS these begin to flower in January or February, when the weather is cold, they will continue for a long time in beauty, provided that the frost is not too severe. The seeds of these are ripe by the middle or end of May, and must be gathered daily as they ripen, because they will soon be blown away by the winds. The , roots of wood anemone may be taken up when the leaves decay, and transplanted into wildernesses, where they will thrive, and in the spring have a good effect in covering the ground with their leaves and flowers. The blue anemone flowers at the same time with the foregoing, and in termixed with it, makes a fine variety. Double flowers of both these sorts have been obtained from seeds. This, and most of the other wild anemones, may be pro pagated by offsets from the root, which they put out plentifully ; and they will grow in most soils and situations. Vir ginian anemone, and some others, produce plenty of seeds, and may be readily in creased also that way.