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Nigella damascena. Garden Fennel-flower, Love in a mist, Devil in a Bush.
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Class and Order.
Polyandria Pentagynia.
Generic Character.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
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 suc-
"ceed 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 pro-
"per 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 con-
"tinued in beauty most parts of the summer." Miller's Gard. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.