Diascia
(from diaskeo, to adorn; in reference to the pretty flowers). ORD. Scrophularineae. Very pretty greenhouse annual herbs. In this genus, there are about a score species, all natives of South Africa. Seeds may be sown in a gentle heat, early in spring, and the seedlings transferred, like Lobelias and other bedding plants, to the open, about June.
D. Barberae (Mrs. Barber's). fl. rosy-pink, double-spurred, disposed in terminal racemes. July. l. ovate, bluntly serrate. h. 1ft. 1871. (B. M. 5933.) DIBBER, or DIBBLE. A useful instrument in gardens, often made from a hard piece of wood, such as an old spade handle, and principally employed for planting out seedlings, of small or medium size. Dibbers, when used on a large scale, are usually cased with a hollowed, tapering point of steel. In heavy soils, the sides of the hole are liable to become polished with the steel sheath, and the roots do not then penetrate them freely. Light soils give when the Dibber is inserted, consequently they are best suited for its use. Fig. 652 represents two forms of steel-cased Dibbers in general use. One (a) is made from a piece of wood of the shape represented, and is preferred by some to the other (b), which may be prepared from a spade handle.