WIND-FLOWER:** A genus of the polygynia order, belonging to the polyandria clas of plants; and, in the natural method, ranking under the 26th order, *Multiflora.* It has its name from the Greek *anemos,* signifying the wind; because the flower is supposed not to open unless the wind blows.—The characters are: There is no calyx. The corolla consists of petals of two or three orders, three in each series, oblongish: The stamens consist of numerous capillary filaments; the antherae didymous and erect. The *pi-ffillum* has numerous germina collected into a head; the styli are pointed; the stigmata obtuse: There is no pericarpium; the receptaculum is globular: The seeds are very numerous.

Of this genus Dr Linnaeus enumerates 21 species; but those valuable on account of the beauty of their flowers are only the following. 1. The nemorosa, which grows wild in the woods in many parts of Britain, where it flowers in April and May. The flowers are white, purple, or reddish purple, sometimes single, and sometimes double, so that they make a pretty appearance. 2. The appennina is likewise a native of Britain, growing in woods. The flowers of this species, like the last, are sometimes single, and sometimes double; their colours are white, blue, or violet. They appear in April. 3. The coronaria. 4. The hortensis. These two are natives of the Levant, particularly of the Archipelago islands, where the borders of the fields are covered with them of the most beautiful colours. When they grow wild, the flowers are commonly single; but by culture they are greatly improved: they become large and double, making some of the greatest ornaments of gardens. Their principal colours are red, white, purple, and blue; some of them are finely variegated with red, white, purple, and many intermediate shades of these colours.

**Culture.** The first and second sorts may be propagated by taking up their roots when the leaves decay, and transplanting them in wildernesses, where they will thrive and increase greatly, if they are not disturbed. The two last sorts require a good deal of care, and ample directions for their culture.—The soil in which these flowers will thrive extremely, may be composed in the following manner: Take a quantity of fresh untried earth (from a common or some other pasture land) that is of a light sandy loam or hazel mould, observing not to take it above ten inches deep below the surface; and if the turf be taken with it, the better, provided it hath time to rot thoroughly before it is used: mix this with a third part of rotten cow-dung, and lay it in a heap, keeping it turned over at least once a month for eight or ten months, the better to mix it, and rot the dung and turf, and to let it have the advantages of the free air. In doing this work, be careful to rake out all great stones, and break the clods; but by no means sift or screen the earth, which has been found very hurtful to many sorts of roots. This earth should be mixed twelve months before it is used, if possible: but if constrained to use it sooner, it must be the oftener turned over, to mellow and break the clods; observing to rake out all the parts of the green fowld that are not quite rotten, before it is used, as they would be prejudicial to the roots if suffered to remain. The beginning of September is a proper season to prepare the beds for planting, which (if in a wet foil) should be raised with this sort of earth fix or eight inches above the surface of the ground, laying at the bottom some of the raking of the heap to drain off the moisture; but, in a dry foil, three inches above the surface will be sufficient: this compost should be laid at least two feet and a half thick, and in the bottom there should be about four or five inches of rotten neats dung, or the rotten dung of an old melon or cucumber bed. The beds must be laid (if in a wet foil) a little round, to throw off the water; but in a dry one, nearer to a level. In wet land, where the beds are raised above the surface, it will be proper to fill up the paths between them, in winter, either with rotten tan or dung, to prevent the frost from penetrating into the sides of the beds, which otherwise may destroy their roots. The earth should be laid in the beds at least a fortnight or three weeks before the roots are planted, and a longer time would be yet better, that it may settle; and when they are planted, stir the upper part of the foil about six inches deep, with a spade; then rake it even and smooth, and with a flick draw lines each way of the bed at six inches distance, so that the whole may be in squares, that the roots may be planted regularly: then with three fingers make a hole in the centre of each square, about three inches deep, laying therein a root with the eye uppermost; and when the bed is finished, with the head of a rake draw the earth smooth, so as to cover the crown of the roots about two inches thick.

The best season for planting these roots, if for forward flowers, is about the latter end of September, and for those of a middle season any time in October: but observe to perform this work, if possible, at or near the time of some gentle showers; for if planted when the ground is perfectly dry, and there should no rainfall for three weeks or a month after, the roots will be very apt to grow mouldy upon the crown; and if once they get this distemper, they seldom come to good after.

As all the fine varieties of these flowers were first obtained from seeds, so no good florist that hath garden-room should neglect to sow them; in order to which, he should provide himself with a quantity of good roots of the single (or what the gardeners call poppy) anemonies, of the best colours, and such as have strong stems and large flowers, but especially such as have more leaves than common, and also other good properties: these should be planted early, that they may have strength to produce good seeds, which will be ripe in three weeks or a month's time after the flowers are past; when the seeds must be carefully gathered, otherwise they will be blown away in a short time, as being inclosed in a downy substance. You must preserve this seed till the beginning of August, when you may ci- ther sow it in pots, tubs, or a well-prepared bed of light earth; in the doing of it you must be careful not to let your seeds be in heaps; to avoid which, the best method is to mix them with a little fine sand, and, when sown, gently break the bed with a strong hair-brush.

In about two months after sowing, the plants will begin to appear, if the season has proved favourable. The first winter after their appearing above ground, they are subject to injuries from hard frosts, or too much wet, against both of which you must equally defend them; for the frost is very apt to loosen the earth, so that the young plants are often turned out of the ground, after which a small frost will destroy them; and too much wet often rots their tender roots, so that all your former trouble may be lost in a short time for want of care in this particular: nor is anything more destructive to those tender plants than the cold black frosts and winds of February and March, from which you must be careful to defend them, by placing a low reed-fence on the north and east sides of the bed, which may be moveable, and only fastened to a few stakes to support it for the present, and may be taken quite away as the season advances, or removed to the south and west sides of the bed, to screen it from the violence of the sun, which often impairs these plants when young. As the spring advances, if the weather should prove dry, you must gently refresh them with water, which will greatly strengthen their roots; and when the green leaves are decayed, if your roots are not too thick to remain in the same bed another year, you must clear off all the weeds and decayed leaves from the bed, and sift a little more of the same prepared good earth, about a quarter of an inch thick over the surface, and observe to keep them clear from weeds during the summer season, and at Michaelmas repeat the same earthing; but as these roots so left in the ground will come up early in the autumn, the beds should be carefully covered in frothy weather, otherwise their leaves will be injured, whereby the roots will be weakened, if not destroyed. If your roots succeed well, many of them will flower the second year, when you may select all such as you like, by marking them with a stick: but you should not destroy any of them till after the third year, when you have seen them blow strong, at which time you will be capable to judge of their goodness; for until the roots have acquired strength, the flowers will not show themselves to advantage.

The fingle (or poppy) anemones will flower most part of the winter and spring, when the seasons are favourable, if they are planted in a warm situation, at which time they make a fine appearance; therefore deserve a place in every flower-garden, especially as they require little culture. There are some fine blue colours amongst these fingle anemonies, which, with the scarlets and reds, make a beautiful mixture; and as these begin flowering in January or February, when the weather is cold, they will continue a long time in beauty, provided the frost is not too severe, or if they are covered with mats. The seeds of these are ripe by the middle or end of May; and must be gathered daily as they ripen, otherwise they will be soon blown away by the winds.

Horned cattle, when removed from the higher grounds into woods and woody pastures, frequently eat the wood-anemone; and, according to Linnaeus and Gunner, many observations have proved that it causes the bloody flux among them.

Sea-Anemone. See Animal-Flower.